Transcript of Nashville Predators Forward Zachary L'Heureux & Fleury's Final Pittsburgh Game | Agent Provocateur

This is Agent Provocateur with Allan Walsh and Adam Wild. Welcome to another episode of Agent Provocateur. Adam, how are you?

Allan, I'm good. It's a bit of an odd day here in Toronto, so it's warm, 22 degrees, and it feels a little like summer in the middle of the fall. I feel good today, feeling loose. How about you?

Something's wrong when the heat is more in Toronto than in LA. Yes. It actually was dark and gloomy and chilly all day. I'm just looking outside right now and seeing some blue sky. Okay. Yeah.

That's a little more like it for LA. You know what, Alan? I was saying today to the guys around here, I was like, I can't remember going out for Halloween and not having to bring my winter coat along. My kid's going to go trick or treating on Thursday, and I don't think she's going to need it.

That's That's amazing. It's wild, isn't it?

I think we all know why. But anyway.

Yeah, well, don't go there.

We're not going to talk about that. We are going to talk about a couple of things, though. We got Zachary coming on.

We have a noted client, Nashville Predator's first-round pick, Zachary Leroux, now NHL rookie, Zachary Leroux, who was recently called up, has played for four NHL games with the Preds. The game that I was at over the weekend in Nashville, he was third star, played 14 minutes, was a physical presence on the ice, a couple of great scoring chances with his line. Before being called up, the Preds had started the season 05. I'm not saying that it's necessarily because he was called up, but I He would mention as his agent that the preds are 3, 0, and 1 since he's been called up. Any young player at that age is living their entire NHL existence day to day. They can be sent down at any time. He's well aware of that, but he's certainly come in and making the most out of his opportunity, and that's all you can ask for.

Why mess with a good thing? You're winning. Why can't it be Zachary's fault that you're winning so much? Now, the other things that we're going to talk about beforehand is in a few minutes, we're going to talk about the NHL valuations that came out via Sportico. Now, these are always estimates, but it's about how much each franchise is worth. For the first time ever, all 32 teams are worth over a billion dollars, which was unthinkable 10 years ago. I want to talk about why that is, and there's a few notable examples. But first, Alan, last night was very special, as of this recording last night. Marc-andré Fleury, probably his final start in Pittsburgh, and a 5-3 win at that. Crosby, Malkin, LaTang, didn't score on him as buddies. I want to know what your thoughts about the whole event were. The penguins obviously went the extra mile to really celebrate them.

It's overwhelming having worked with flowers since he was 15. To see the outpouring of love and emotion and celebration for his career that occurred last night in Pittsburgh. Mark's wife, Vero, and kids were there. They're old enough now to understand and appreciate everything that went on. Got basically a front row seat to see it happen all in front of their eyes, which is very special. His mom was there, and that was incredible. The city of Pittsburgh, the fans, the organization have been so amazing to him from the day he was drafted. I was sitting next to him the day he was drafted. It was an amazing moment. If you remember, the penguins had pulled off a middle of the Night Trade with the Florida Panthers for the number one overall pick, specifically to draft him. And he spent 13 years there. And yes, there were some incredible highs, three Stanley Cups. There were some lows. It was a very up and down existence there. It wasn't all flowers, pardon the pun, and roses. But overall, it was home and the people of Pittsburgh embraced him like their own. The couple of moments that stand out for me, I was in Joe Louis, Game 7, when Flauer made the save against nick Littstrom, with a couple of seconds remaining in Game 7 for his first Stanley Cup win.

The for a Stanley Cup win in a long time. The Stanley Cup parade that year was something to behold. It was pandemonium. It in downtown Pittsburgh with all the guys riding in open air vehicles with their families, with their teammates, with the Cup. It was an amazing thing to see and something that I'll never forget. I'll never forget being out on the ice right after a flower in Pittsburgh won that cup in '09 and being part of that celebration, seeing how young the core was. In some sense, you feel that for romantic reasons, maybe it would have been amazing for those four guys to stay together to the end and wonder what might have been afterwards, after Flauer did leave to Vegas in the expansion draft. But at the end of the day, life happens and things happen for a reason. Flauer did go off and win Vesina and have some incredible experiences. Vegas was special. Even his brief time in Chicago was really special time. Of course, in Minnesota, everybody there is so wonderful to him. He and I were texting this morning, and he was reflecting on everything that went on yesterday. Joking around, I sent him a text saying, Hey, Flauer, how about today we announced that you've decided you're going to play one more year?

I got a good chuckle out of him there.

Alan, when you get to this point in a player's career, you've known this guy since he was 15 years old. He came on this show. He talked about how bad your French was when he met you. I wonder for you, what are the emotions that you feel? You've seen this young man, this boy, win cups, and you could see the picture of Alan and Marc-André behind him, by the way. It's right beside his ear in Alan's shot there. I have to know what it What's it like for you thinking about this man's career all in a minute. You know what I mean? Because this seems like one of those culminating this is the end events. And how do you feel about it?

Biddersweet. He's great. 21 years in the NHL, working with him since he was 15. Most of my professional life, this is my 30th year as a agent representing players, most of my life as an agent has been representing and working closely with Marc-André Fleury. He and his family are very much my family, and that part of the relationship will never change. But I'm going to miss watching him play, which is something I take great joy from. I'm going to miss our conversations in between games or after games. He's a very, very special person. I've never had anybody come into my life like him. There's a reason why he's so loved by everybody who's ever known him, anybody who's ever played with him, anybody who's ever interacted with him, whether media, coaches, front office. I mean, Mark is universally beloved. I'm an equal fan of who he is as a person. Just one of the finest, most incredible human beings I've ever known, and I consider myself very blessed and fortunate to have worked with him for so long.

How do you think the rest of this year is going to go for him? Because no doubt last night would be very emotional, but it's a big circle on the calendar. I guess in one way, tough to focus, but then at the other end, how could you not focus You're in Pittsburgh. How do you think the rest of this is going to go for him? Have you had any feedback from him on how he's feeling about this?

I think that Montreal is going to be a very special moment. I think that Toronto will be significant. Going back to Vegas will also mean a lot to him. The fans in Vegas, it It was an incredible mutual relationship between him and the fans. They loved each other, and really, Mark was the face of the franchise for a number of years. I think that's going to be special. At the end of the day, he wants to focus on the game and play the game. There were a lot of distractions yesterday. Yesterday was a hard, wonderful, crazy day for him. It's easy to get too caught up in the emotion and maybe lose some focus. I think he was really happy to get the game over with and come out with a win and to be named first star and to play well. That probably was one of the most special things about the entire day.

Switching gears for a sec, I want to talk about this NHL valuation list that's come out today. And Alan, we touch on this every year, and there's different lists that come out about what these franchises are worth. But what is unbelievable is that in 2010, you could have bought an NHL franchise. Now, we were at the height of a financial issue. You could have bought a franchise for $1,900 million, depending upon the market. I think Vinik bought the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010 for $93 million. He recently sold at a 1.8 valuation. And this is the first time in history, according to Sportico, that every NHL franchise is now worth more than a billion dollars. And there are many reasons for this. But one of them that stuck out to me, that's part of the at the Scuttlebutt is the move to Utah and the effect that that's had on pumping up the value of the rest of the league. Why is that?

When you have franchises that are a drag on the league, revenue-wise, and certainly Arizona was for many, many years, you have a throw-off effect onto other franchises, too. To dragging down their ultimate valuation. Utah is a home run, and the Utah franchise value is going to keep appreciating well beyond the 1.2 billion that Smith Entertainment Group paid for that team in the relocation process. I would venture to guess that over the next two or three years, that team will be worth, have a valuation well in excess of 2 billion. That's where it's going. There's only so many teams to go around, and there are too There are so many billionaires out there today with the ability to buy into a team in a particular city. And once a team is purchased, there is very little turnover. What's going on in Tampa, sometimes this happens for estate planning purposes. Sometimes people are savvy and thinking that from this massive capital gain, I don't want to pass that on to my family. I need to do some planning, and part of that is divesting of the asset while still alive and not passing these issues and problems over to sons and daughters and spouses.

That's one of the main reasons when you see franchise turnover these days. Other than that, it's very rare. It's very rare. Just look at our recent history here. It's quite amazing. The Vegas franchise fee to enter the cartel or the boys club, the country club, was $500 million. A few years later, Seattle entered the country club, and their franchise fee, initiation fee to join the club was 650 million. I have said before on this show, and I'll say it again, When the NHL does their next round of expansion, and it's coming, it's coming sooner than later, the franchise fee will probably be in the neighborhood of 1.5 billion. Wow. Look at that appreciation. Trust me when I tell you, if a new franchise is going to be worth 1.5 billion, I would venture to guess there will not be any franchises worth less, only more. We're not that far away from every franchise in the NHL being valued in excess of $2 billion.Wow.Yes.Wow. There was one example that I just saw where A team was recently sold, and that's Nashville, in four parts. There's four dates when payments are made and equity is transferred, but the price was locked in at 880 million.

When the fourth payment is made and the formal control of the franchise is transferred, the new owner, Jimmy Haslam, is going to be holding a franchise that he paid $880 million for that is worth around $1.5 billion. It's incredible. It's absolutely incredible. Now, to tie all of this back to my day job, my real day job, as an agent representing players, and I know there are some people out there that say the players are not entitled to any of this largesse, But it should be noted that players just went through four years of a flat cap with very little appreciation in player compensation. Just recently, the cap has gone up to 88 million will go to at least 92.4 million next offseason in summer of 2025. And there is a new CBA coming up. That current deal expires September November 2026. So yes, a new deal has to be negotiated. But in the past, the tenor and tone of the negotiation has been Gary and the owners coming to the table and turning their pockets inside out and saying, We got nothing. We got no money. We're losing money. The NHL is teetering on the verge here, and we need you, the players, basically to save us.

And now with Gary's unforgiving triple hard cap system and with these NHL revenues every year are setting new records. Nhl franchise values have exploded, skyrocketed beyond what anyone could have imagined just a few years ago. What's going to be the tone of those negotiations now? Shouldn't it be, well, you guys, you gave back and gave back and gave back, and now that everything is going so well, isn't it now about what we can give the players?

I don't know if it's about that for the NHL. I don't know if that's what they're thinking. But they might need to because they are the product, and they have not participated in any of these things, right, Allan? They had to pay back that big escrow thing over the... And that's the thing it's important to remember. Yes, the NHL owners out of pocket, but asset value-wise, it was exploding at just the same time.

They were made under the deal that was made with the creation of the escrow debt of over a billion dollars. As of the beginning of this season, the owners have been repaid every single penny on the escrow debt created. They have been made completely whole. On On top of that, players lost in the pandemic year of 2020, when the league shut down and into the next year, players lost 20% of their salary to escrow that was never recovered or returned to them. So they lost the 20% of their compensation that year. They received their compensation less 20%, which the escrow debt, which created four years of flat cap. And only now are the players coming out of this and look at the owners.

Yeah. Okay. Well, that's something to keep on the radar, I think. Now, should we bring on Zachary?

Yes, we should. I think I've given Zack a little intro. I just went into Nashville and spent time with him and his family. But before his game against Columbus a few days ago. It's really joyful and meaningful for me to spend time with a young hockey player coming into the league after working with him and his family since he was 14, 15 years of age. Let's bring him on and let's have a great interview with him. We're here today with noted client Zachary Larouh, first-round pick of the Nashville Predators, 21 years old, second-year pro, has been called up to the preds, has played the last four games. I was at one of them recently in Nashville. The Preds had a bit of a tough start going 0 and 5. And of note, since Zack has joined the team, they are 3, 0, and 1. Welcome, Zachary Larouh to Agent Provocator.

He's this year's bonum. Thanks for having me.

That's right.

That's awesome.

So, Zack, why don't you tell us Where you were when you got the call that you were going to Nashville, and what went through your mind at that time?

Yeah, I was just finishing up our home opener down in Milwaukee. Leaving the rink, actually, was in my car with my parents. They drove in for that weekend, and my assistant GM there came flying out the door and stopped my car as I was driving away. I felt my phone ringing, too, at the same time. So he just told me, you know what? I think you got to come inside and see Scooter. And obviously, I walk in, the whole coaching staff's there, and you never really know. Obviously, it's something that I've been waiting for my whole life. So I was maybe a little bit nervous. But when they told me I was going to be going up and playing in the National Hockey League, it was a really special moment. Obviously, I got to run right out of the rink and my parents were there, and they thought, they told me this after that they had a good idea, maybe it was going to be happening. So obviously, ran away. Right away, gave them a big hug, got to see them and enjoy that night and obviously travel to Nashville, and enjoy the whole experience with them.

So you mentioned your parents, your mom and dad, who I know really well. And let's talk a little bit about their odyssey the last week. So they drove from Montreal to Milwaukee to see the Admirals home opener in Milwaukee.

Yeah. And then obviously got the call. So they were going to originally just drive to Nashville. But once we took a look at the schedule, we saw we were playing in Chicago a few days later. So they flew from Milwaukee to Nashville, back to Milwaukee, got in the car, drove to Chicago. And then we had a game the next night after Chicago, back in Nashville. They drove to that one. Then they got in the car from Nashville, and we have friends and family, family friends in Tampa Bay. So drove to Tampa Bay, and they're on their way back to Nashville right now for the upcoming weekend. So they're pretty dedicated. It's fun to see.

So wait a minute. When I left them, they were going Tampa back to Montreal.

Yeah, that was the plan. What happened? Exactly. I don't know. I think they just looked and realized it was about a 22, 23 hour drive back home straight from Tampa to Montreal. And it's like a 10 hour drive from Tampa to Nashville and then like 15. So they're only adding an extra couple of hours of driving total. So they're like, we might as well. We're all the way this far in. The team is doing well while they're in the building. So they thought they just keep it going.

So your mom and dad and your whole family, You have a big extended family, are amazing people. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your mom and dad and the way they supported you all through the years of playing hockey and what they mean to you right now?

Yeah, they mean the world. Obviously, growing up, hockey was the number one thing in my life, where I was waking up at 6:00 in the morning to go to practice or now that I'm older, realizing the hours that they put in of waking up at 7:00 in the morning, going to work, putting in a nine-hour shift, whatever it was, just to come home and right away drop everything for me and bring me to the rink, make sure my scales were sharpened, that my gear was ready. Just those little things that obviously growing up, you don't really realize. But now that it's come full, that I made it and can appreciate those moments. And I think for them, too. It's not a relief, but all those hours and sacrifices that they had to make was definitely worth their while. And to have them in the building and supporting me now, there's nothing like it. And I think it goes to show how great of parents they were to me, and I'll love them forever for it.

Now, talk to us a little bit about the existence of a player who's just been called up from the minors, 21 years of age. Where are you living? How are you eating? What are you doing for food? Talk to us about what it's like for you behind the scenes.

Yeah, obviously, hotel living can get a little long, but at the same time, at least we got our own rooms, which is nice. For food, lucky enough, the NHL gives you a lot of food. So the predators are definitely breakfast, lunch, which helps me not have to go eat out all the time. I still have to figure out my dinners and whatnot and walk to the Walgreens and get some snacks because I don't have a car, so it's hard to get around a little bit. But at the same time, I'm just enjoying every day. There's no bad days in the NHL. So I think I got a smile on my face every time I show up to the rink.

And what's your mentality like in showing up to the rink every day? How are you taking this call up? No one has talked to either of us about anything with regard to the future, short term, long term. How are you living it right now?

It's really day to day. That's the way I'm trying to take it, make the best of every opportunity I get, whether it's practice, game, if it's one shift or five shifts a game, I'll get. It's really not a big deal to me. Once you get to this level, it's all about winning and the team success and anything you can do to help the team is going to keep you around. So that's all I'm trying to do right now. And I think showing up to the rink with a positive attitude, a smile on your face. And I'm pretty comfortable with talking to the guys and fitting in well. So I think I've done a great job so far doing that. And I think, obviously, the team is winning a little more now, too, which is fun to be a part of.

So you've learned the rookie hierarchy in the room. And tell us a little bit about that, what it's like for you as a junior, your last year junior, you're the vet, you're the leader, you're the guy. And now you go to the The American League as a rookie last year, and now you're a rookie in the NHL at 21 years of age. What have you learned about that?

Yeah, you don't want to be stepping on anybody's toes. I think I do a good job of knowing my role, knowing my spot. You don't want to be the loudest guy either. You just want to play that middle ground and whatever the veterans need, you're ready to do it. There's not a no, you're not going to say no to them. So So obviously, whether it's picking up pucks after practice or just little things like that, I think it can go a long way, especially when you have older veterans. I think they notice little things like that, and obviously, they appreciate it a lot. So I know my time will come, and hopefully one day I'll be one of those veterans. But right now, you got to do your rookie duties. And I think it's better to just enjoy it and go with the process and just enjoy the process more than anything. And then Obviously, the tides will turn one day.

I was at a New York Rangers practice once a long time ago before your time, and Wayne Gretzky was out on the ice picking up pucks at the end of practice with a couple of the rookies. And I've seen Marc-André Fleury slide in on one knee to a bunch of pucks with a couple of younger guys and start picking up the pucks there. So I think that Doing very little symbolic things, even as you get older and achieve a bit of a leadership veteran status with teams, goes a long way in earning everybody's respect all the time.

Yeah, I agree. And I also think, like you said, those guys are just good leaders and good veterans to have on a team, and they don't take anything for granted either, and they don't mind helping you out. So obviously, When you see that's doing that, too, that goes a long way for a rookie. It shows the respect that a veteran could have towards a rookie. So for me, little things like that when you can see guys that you grew up idolizing, helping you out and being there for you, supporting you. It just makes the transition in the process a lot easier. And you really just have to focus on hockey.

Adam?

Well, I got to know this because you're living my dream right now, and I think you're living Alan's Every kid in this sports dream. We all wanted to be players. And I want to know what it was like, if you can even remember this, game one, you look down and you've got that Nashville jersey on for the first time, and you're about to step on the ice. Did you soak in any of that? Do you remember any of that? What does it feel like?

Yeah, it's still pretty fresh. So I feel like I remember most of that night. I thought I was going to be a lot more nervous than I ended up being. So So I thought during the moment when I first got to wear that jersey, and obviously you wear it during training camp games, rookie tournament games, but it's really not the same. When you see, I remember just getting to the rink on game day for morning skate and seeing your stall at Bridgestone Arena. It's getting closer and closer and closer. And obviously, once you walk in, you have your suit and tie on, you got pictures taken, a little bit more media, obviously, being your first game, there's a few more cameras on you. So it was just a really special moment. And I think obviously having so much family and friends in town, I knew I want to go out there and have a Rockstar game. And Being at home on top of it. It was just electric atmosphere. So obviously, I really did my best to try to soak it all in. But when the buck dropped, it was just another hockey game. So I just wanted to do my best and play my best to help the team.

How many friends and family did you have at that game, the first one?

Yeah, it was like 30 people, I'd say, around at my first game. So just for that many people to travel. And obviously, flights are decently expensive. And a lot of people just drove up, piled in a car and hit the road. So my sister and my grandparents drove up and their car broke down about four hours out in Cincinnati. So they're all nervous. My grandmother was crying for about five days straight for that to happen, but it was nuts. And everybody made it. And it was just really a special moment. And obviously being able to be with them after the game and hugs and cries, it was really cool.

Yeah, the team put out a video, a great video with you and your parents and your grandmother. And your grandmother was the star of the video. And it seemed that every couple of seconds she was breaking down crying. It was crazy.

You see in the video, I go and give them a big hug before the game, knowing that they've made it. And I was trying not to cry myself, just seeing all the emotion. It was crazy. And obviously the build up. This is a moment that I think not just myself, my whole family has been waiting for for a long time, and you never know if it's ever going to happen. So obviously a lot of hard work and dedication and support from all them. So I think it wasn't just my day. It was definitely my entire family's day.

Sorry. Go ahead, Alan.

No, no.

Go Adam. Well, I just want to know if anybody... Because you got a lot of good veterans on that team. Great leaders. Conn-smith winner with Ryan O'Reilly. I want to know, did anybody say anything to you before game time, or was it just business as usual? Did Brunet take you aside? Or is it just a, you know what? Just let him put his skates on and get out there?

Yeah, it was like that. I mean, a few guys talk to me and more likely than just congratulations, enjoy the moment. Not too many words of advice. I feel like I didn't necessarily need it either. I was so comfortable going into that game. You never know how it's going to go, your first game. I think you're not used to speed of anything. And I think the coaches and my Our teammates down in Milwaukee have done a great job just supporting me and make me become a better player that when I showed up, I was more ready than ever. Obviously, I want to stay here and be an NHL player now for a while. So I think that was my focus on get in the lineup. And then from there, let your play take over.

Right. And how did you meet Alan? How did you guys get connected? Can I ask your origin story, guys?

Sure. Yeah. Basically, I started working with Norm Conway, who's working for Allen when I was, I think I was probably close to 14, 14 years old, 15 years old, so decently young. But at the same time, it was probably one of the best decisions me and my family has ever made. The octagon family really took us in, where there was summer camps, coming out to my games and just helped me become a pro. And I think Obviously, once I got to the QMJHL and started working with Alan a little more and building our relationship and just how much Alan has his guys back and he'll go to war with anybody. It's pretty special. And I'm happy I have him on my side. And he came in clutch a few times, and I'm sure in the future, he's going to be coming in support, too.

Yeah. Well, let's hope not in some of the ways I've had to in What do you mean? Not saying another word. And with that, I know you have a hard out to do another interview. Zack, I love talking to you. I really appreciate your valuable time coming on today with us, wearing two hats, podcast interviewer and agent. It's always interesting and fun, and I really appreciate it, pal.

Well, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. You got it.

This has been Agent Provocateur with Alan Walsh and Adam Wild. Follow Allan Walsh on Twitter @Walsh. A. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast by searching Agent Provocateur and hitting the subscribe button, youtube. Com/sdpn.