Leon Draisaitl rejected cliché, NHL media need to catch up

After Leon Draisaitl got into it with Oilers reporter Jim Matheson, the Zone Time crew convene to ask who had more right to be pissy, and how bad things are in Edmonton right now.

On the latest episode of Zone Time, Julian and co. also react to the Canadiens new General Manager appointment and share their favourite unbreakable NHL records we'd like to see broken.

Subscribe to Yahoo Sports NHL on YouTube for the latest episodes of 'Zone Time'.

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: You know what? I'm not going to make this about the Leafs. Let's not make this about the Leafs. Let's make this about another team that is more deserving of our attention right now, a team that has been spiraling. I believe they only have like two wins in their last 14 games.

And the latest thing we have to talk about is the fact that one of their star players got into it with a media legend in Edmonton, apparently. I mean, let me not say apparently because Jim Matheson is someone who has deserved the respect of hockey media. And I'm not trying to be pissy like he was trying to be with Leon Draisaitl, but that's what happened, apparently, today.

I'm sorry. I'm not being disrespectful. But essentially, he asked the question, Jim Matheson, that Leon Draisaitl did not like. And Jim Matheson asked him why he was being so pissy. And everyone else laughed at it.

Omar, what did you think of the back-and-forth between Hall of Famer Jim Matheson and Leon Draisaitl?

OMAR: Listen, man, I think-- here's the thing that-- and I don't know if it's a thing that beat reporters just don't understand or maybe just choose to kind of ignore. Players read your stuff, like everything. They read the tweets. They read the reports. They read everything.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: They do.

OMAR: So I'm just going to read something. And Julian, this is something that you actually brought to us off recording. This is something that Jim Matheson tweeted yesterday.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK.

OMAR: So on January 17, "During this awful 14-game Oiler run with 6 points, they haven't gotten mad enough. It's like they magically think it'll turn around because they've got McDavid and Draisaitl. Sorry. Time to get very mad as an entire team at your lot in life after the 9-1-16-5 starts.

So you're going to write that and then come up to Draisaitl, ask him a question which is clearly for an article, the whole like, what can the Oilers do to turn things around? And then he doesn't give you the answer that you want. So then you call him pissy?

And he's like, oh, well, you didn't answer my question. He doesn't have to answer your question. No one does, no one. They just do it because if they don't, then they're a, quote, unquote, "distraction." But they don't.

And the thing that I'm noticing-- and obviously, there are the John Tortorellas of the world who have never hesitated at going back and forth with beat reporters and stuff. But we're starting to see more players kind of, I guess, maybe stand up for themselves when it comes to beat reporters.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Sure.

OMAR: I want to say it was last season, Jacob Voracek, he got into it with Philly's beat writer, saying, it doesn't matter what I say, whatever you write, you're just going to spin it anyway. He called him a weasel.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I almost forgot about that, yeah.

SAM CHANG: That was the first thing I thought of.

OMAR: Recently, Connor Hellebuyck refused to answer a question from a Winnipeg Jets beat reporter. Auston Matthews and Steve Simmons said, hey-- he answered his question but said, hey, I didn't appreciate you leaking some information about me. That wasn't cool.

So it's just like, I think beat reporters-- and again, I don't know. I don't want to make the assumption that they ignore it. But like, hey, any player who says, I don't listen or pay attention to what the media says, it's a lie.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: It's an absolute lie.

OMAR: Yeah. So you can't bury someone in an article, especially when the team is at the lowest point possible. And another thing, you're asking the wrong person. Why are you asking Leon Draisaitl, who's leading the league in goals-- granted, he's tied with Alexander Ovechkin. Why are you asking Leon Draisaitl what to do for the team to improve?

Why are we asking Connor McDavid what to do for the team to improve? Ask Kenny Fricking Holland, who knew what the issues were over the season and didn't do anything and now, this season, is saying, oh, I'm not going to move my first round pick. [LAUGHS]

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Just hold that thought. I'm not sure if you have anything else you want to add.

OMAR: No, that's it, yeah.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Before I let you-- OK, I'll let Rahef get next. But I just want to clarify something because you did, in fact, read a tweet from Jim Matheson's Twitter account. I would just like to make the point that that was a real tweet from his account and not whatever tweet he put up after the fact, supposedly, of people trying to step up for him that Mark Spector and Steve Simmons retweeted and thought was genuinely the truth.

The tweet that you heard from Omar just now was from Jim Matheson's real account. And anything else you've seen that Mark Spector and Steve Simmons have been retweeting since the press conference is not, in fact, real. I just want to put that out there. Rahef, the floor is yours.

RAHEF ISSA: I think, similar to what Omar was saying, something I think beat reporters also do not understand is that when you ask a dumb question, the person you asked that question to is entitled to give you back a dumber answer. And so I don't really understand what Jim Matheson expected Leon Draisaitl to say. What did he think the answer was going to be?

A lot of times, we rag on hockey players for using cliches in everything they say, they give, every single soundbite is a cliche. I don't think we talk enough about how every question that reporters ask is a cliche as well. Every single beat reporter asks the same variation of the same three questions. There's never anything new.

And so if I'm Leon Draisaitl, and this is-- I don't even know what you were saying, Julian, and they've lost like 2 of their last 14 games.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Something like that.

RAHEF ISSA: They've won two of their last 14 games. And obviously, absolutely nothing has gone well. He's not going to be able to answer that question in the way that Jim Matheson expects him to answer it. And so I just totally just do not understand what Jim Matheson expects Leon Draisaitl to respond to that question with, I just simply don't.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Sam?

SAM CHANG: I just am with Omar. I like how often this has been happening. And like Rahef said, play stupid games, win stupid prizes, right?

RAHEF ISSA: Literally.

SAM CHANG: The things I immediately thought of were the Voracek-Mike Sielski thing where he calls him a weasel and says, you're going to write fucking shit anyway. Sorry for the sweaters, but that's what he said.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Well, it is what he said.

OMAR: I remember that.

SAM CHANG: The other thing I thought of was Adrian Dater's bizarre question to Nathan MacKinnon.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh, yeah.

SAM CHANG: And making it just seem like no.

[LAUGHTER]

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He was just so bewildered.

OMAR: He short-circuited. He just didn't know. He's like, do I cliche? Do I have a real answer? He just lagged. It was hilarious to see it.

SAM CHANG: And so those are the situations I thought of when I saw this. And you know what? I think more players should do this. I think the entertainment value in this is great for fans. And maybe it will incentivize writers to not ask stupid questions.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: To Sam's point, during the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, I think after the Canadiens won like 1-0 over the Jets in game two or game three, I asked Carey Price what it was like to go through a game like that where you just stop all of these pucks and just preserve a win. And all he said was, it's fun. And I had a whole bunch of people message me about how dumb of a question that was.

And maybe it generally was a dumb question. But everyone loved the fact that Carey Price was just like, it's fun. And me as a beat reporter, I am not taking any slight to any of the comments that have been said.

Yeah, you're right. We have to ask better questions. We have to come up with better ways than just being like, hey, talk about that play or how are you going to win these games. Yes, we have to find ways to ask better questions and make use of the time that we have.

The thing that kind of makes me a bit cringey at the whole Jim Matheson thing, this is a guy who's been in the game for so long. And maybe he feels he has the audacity and the gall to ask those questions to a player like Leon Draisaitl. I know damn well if I do that, no way. I'm getting shit from PR if I do that, and from other senior colleagues. I know I do not have the grandstanding to be able to do that.

And I know my questions have to come correct for these guys because I do not want to be put on a poster by an NHL player, especially like what Leon Draisaitl essentially kind of did to Jim Matheson.

OMAR: Yeah. And I don't know if you'll remember. Remember when Dan Boyle retired? And he went off.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yes.

OMAR: I think it was Larry Brooks.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: On Larry Brooks.

OMAR: He's like, yo, everyone is fine. But you, you leave. All you do is bury people. At least I have respect of my teammates. Players remember. Players read your work. And they know who you are. They remember.

This man waited until his retirement and then popped off on him and told him to get out. And then I love the media person. I guess the media organizer was just like, OK, OK, let's stop this thing. No, no, no. We can do this. Just, he needs to leave.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He has to go.

OMAR: A lot of people like to say that like hockey is such a small circle and people talk. But it's like, I think we forget that hockey is a small circle and people talk. People remember. They remember when you come down on them because watch.

If the Oilers turn things around and then rip off like 10 wins in a row, Leon Draisaitl is going to be walking in and staring at Jim Matheson with the biggest smile on his face. They remember these things. So it's hey, just, you get it.

Everyone, you need to do your job. You need to write your articles. You get it. We all do things in the media. We get it. But it's just like, when these things happen, you can't come off like you were personally attacked. Oh, you didn't answer my question, why? He doesn't have to answer your question. He doesn't have to. Like, god--

RAHEF ISSA: Yeah, that's the thing about it. It's like, OK, Leon Draisaitl didn't answer your question. It's the fact that Jim Matheson made that comment afterwards. Why are you so pissy? No, my friend. Why are you so pissy that I didn't answer your question?

OMAR: It's like, chill. OK, he didn't answer your question. You can ask someone else. Or hey, maybe you can get a quote from someone else. Or maybe just do a different follow-up, right? If I'm Leon Draisaitl after that, why would I answer any of your questions now, right?

We've seen it. A player, he'll just sit there and just-- or just say yes or no. Carey Price, man, when was it? Was it like two or three years ago? Carey Price went on a run of just giving one-word answers. Brad Marchand did it, I think, in the 2018 playoffs.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I brought up the example with Carey Price. Yes, he gave me two words at least.

OMAR: Yeah, so it's just like you're getting mad about it now. But you don't want this to be an ongoing thing. And calling him pissy-- and now the fact that everyone is talking about it, like what? You think he's going to wake up the next morning and be like, OK, cool, I'll give you an answer? No, jeez. They're people too.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I just also want to offer this perspective too. I understand Jim Matheson has a job. And look, things are really bad in Edmonton. I'm sorry. If you're trying-- I mean, I could understand, hey, you could try to point out whatever positives you like. But there's a lot of bad going on in Edmonton.

I don't think Leon Draisaitl's answer to his question was that bad, even if he was being smug. Everything is bad. Everything needs to be fixed. Leon Draisaitl, I can also understand, will not use his podium or the podium to say everything is bad, this guy sucks, this guy sucks, this guy needs to go, this guy needs to go. He sucks, he sucks. Ken Holland needs to get Evander Kane.

I completely understand why he wouldn't want to say exactly what I've just said, or else we would be talking about something completely different. So even if Leon Draisaitl was being smug and he was just like, yeah, everything is bad-- and maybe it isn't the greatest answer to give. He's also not wrong.

And him, Marc Spector, the entire Edmonton Oilers media-- Avery, we're including him in this as well, of course. They all know. If you were to go off with that answer, I don't think too many people would be that upset personally.

So I really think Jim Matheson was power tripping a little bit. I don't think his answer was that bad. It wasn't as if he was just like mumbling and he didn't answer him or anything. Everything needs to be fixed. Everything needs to get better, essentially. And that's the case. That's the truth. He's not lying. What else do you want him to say?

I don't know, man. But you know what? There's-- yeah, sorry, Omar, go ahead.

OMAR: Yeah I was just going to say, you made the joke earlier about making it about the Leafs. But the Edmonton Oilers are in peak 2013-2014 Leafs territory, where it was all because management had no idea what to do. And they kept asking the stars what was wrong. And the players were getting fed up.

And they didn't know what to say because it's not up to them. So it's just like, you're asking the wrong people. You're asking the wrong people. You can use the cliche. They're just there to play games. They can't--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I have a second question. I have another question I want to ask about this now.

So instead of just making this about Jim Matheson, a lot of people are also making this specifically with Leon Draisaitl. And I hate to bring up Marc Spector again, just because I know some people don't like him as much. I don't have an opinion. But Marc Spector, a quote tweet I'm looking at here. I'm just going to read the quote tweet.

"Here's a look at Leon Draisaitl delivering whatever the Oilers message is in the media. Legit question, immature, dismissive answer. This is not leadership."

RAHEF ISSA: It is not a legit question because like you said, Julian. What do you guys expect him to answer? Is he supposed to sit there and list off every single issue wrong with the team? He's obviously not going to do that.

And I don't understand what answer Marc Spector and Jim Matheson are expecting from Leon Draisaitl. What is he even supposed to say? There is no acceptable answer. He either roasts the team and the management and the coaching staff, and he gets crucified. Or he does what he did, and for some reason, he's still getting crucified.

I don't think there is a correct answer. The answer they're looking for doesn't exist.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK. Sam?

SAM CHANG: I think what I would love to see is for the Spectors the Steve Simmons, the Jim Mathesons of the world to have an NHL player just come out and pull like a Marshawn Lynch. I would love to see someone do that. You think that's--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I'm just going to start a whole kid fight.

OMAR: I'm just here. So it'll be fine.

SAM CHANG: You think that Leon Draisaitl was pissy? Come on, that was a super-low bar if you think that's pissy. And I think it's pretty telling that the types of beat reporters who get upset about these kinds of things and make a big deal about it tend to be the guys who are either considered legends of hockey media or maybe consider themselves legends of hockey media but maybe get regularly shredded by actual hockey fans on Twitter.

OMAR: Yeah, it's just saying that resonates with leadership is just-- it's a completely different conversation. OK, so Patrice Bergeron won the Mark Messier Leadership Award last year, right? So say he walks up and says, oh, you know what, I just want to thank my teammates. I want to thank the organization.

And I think the most important part about being a leader is making sure that, when a media member asked me a question, that I have a full sentence, maybe even two. I'm as honest as possible. I tell them about throwing pucks in deep, working on the forecheck, winning 50-50 battles, playing right, east-west hockey.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: We get to beating those scrubs, and I would look at Patrice and be like, man, what bullshit you on?

OMAR: [LAUGHS] You know what I mean? So it's just like equating this with leadership-- like, come on. Like, come on. The Oilers are bad enough. Let's not make all these connections and say that that's the reason leadership is bad. Jeez, man, they're frustrated. They're having a tough year. They have two of the best players on the fricking planet. And they might miss the playoffs. Give them a break.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I have to-- man, when I saw that they were having that losing streak and we were talking about Mikko Koskinen, I was like, OK, well, this is as low as it'll get. And then Evander Kane happened. It was like, wow, it got lower. And then we have this.

The Edmonton Oilers, just when we thought, man, maybe the Canadiens would be the dumpster fire to look at. Wow, someone threw a jersey on the ice there. And with the Leafs as well, we thought, oh, no, are we going to focus on them as the dumpster fire? No.

Was it the Vancouver Canucks who were going to be the dumpster fire? No, it's the Edmonton Oilers, because at least those three teams, they figured it out. The Leafs started winning. And the Canucks and the Canadiens, which we'll get to, they said, OK, we need to change things. The Edmonton Oilers, at the end of the day, are the one team of the four I've mentioned who are-- they need help. They need some help.