Random Thoughts: Checking in from my vacay

Even though I’m on a mini-vacay in Kelowna, my brain didn’t feel like shutting off and that meant you’re all in line for another dose of Random Thoughts. This week, I’m looking at the Sports 1440 countdown, Zack Kassian’s PTO, and the Seattle Kraken’s collection of Oilers.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally excited about the launch of Sports 1440 that’s happening on Tuesday. Not only is it really cool for all of us to be a small part in bringing sports radio back to Edmonton, but I’ve actually been tagged in as a regular contributor and I’m pretty pumped to be joining the team. Long before I was ever Baggedmilk, my dream as a kid was to be a radio DJ but that goal never really came together. Sometimes life gets in the way and plans change, so to be able to do more radio than I already am is something that’s very exciting for me. After months of behind-the-scenes work and planning, we’re only a couple of short days away from go time and that’s incredibly cool. Not only am I looking forward to talking about sports, but I’m also pumped about the opportunity to talk about everything we’ve got going on to an audience that may not know just how big this machine is getting.

Sports 1440 goes on the air September 5th on your AM dial, online at www.sports1440.ca, on the Stingray, iHeartradio, or Radio player App, and live on Oilersnation’s YouTube Channel. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe.

Can we take two seconds to talk about how the Seattle Kraken are slowly turning into Oilers West? With Kailer Yamamoto and Devin Shore both signing contracts to play in Seattle this summer, that makes five former friends who have landed on the coast to play for a divisional rival. With Adam Larsson, Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz, Kailer Yamamoto, and Devin Shore littered throughout the lineup, over 20% of Seattle’s current roster is made up of players we used to love and that’s a weird scene given that they are ultimately standing in our way of winning a Stanley Cup. Normally, I cheer for former Oilers to have success when they leave, but that’s going to be tough to do when there are so many of them playing for a team that would love nothing more than to knock Edmonton off the top of the mountain.

I can’t be the only one surprised to see Zack Kassian sign a PTO in Anaheim, can I? I know his game isn’t where it needs to be — in reality, it’s been in decline for the last few seasons — but I did think he had a better chance to find himself a gig than a simple PTO on one of the worst teams in the league. That was, of course, before I looked at his stats from last year in Arizona. With only two goals for two points in 51 games played, this was easily the worst season of his NHL career and that bums me out because of how much of an impact he made for the Oilers during the 2017 playoffs. Remember the chops? Of course you do. Remember the hits? Absolutely. Either way, I have no idea how like Kass is to turn this PTO into a contract, but I’ll be cheering for him to land the gig given the memories he gave us during his time in Edmonton.

Yesterday, my uncle took me on a wine-tasting tour here in Kelowna, and let me tell you that those things are like a fast pass to having a horrible hangover the next day. Beautiful and picturesque, I had never been to a winery before and to see so many of them basically stacked on top of each other was a very cool experience. There’s something pretty damned cool about drinking a glass (read: multiple glasses) of wine in locations as beautiful as the ones in West Kelowna, and it was a lot of fun to experience something so out of the norm for me. Even though I couldn’t tell you much about all of the wines I tried yesterday, what I can say for sure is that I am not feeling my freshest this morning.

Just because the Oilers aren’t giving us much in the way of news doesn’t mean I don’t still have plenty of useless information to talk about. Subscribe to Better Lait Than Never on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you get podcasts. New episodes coming up later this afternoon.

Much like every time we’ve ever done a trip like this, our first-ever #NationVacation to Seattle is going to sell out quickly so you’ll want to get your spot locked in as soon as possible. Need some details on what’s going down? No problem: