32 Thoughts: The Podcast - A Wild Weekend Of Surprises

Episode Date: January 10, 2022

Evander Kane clears unconditional waivers. Jeff and Elliotte discuss the news of the weekend as the San Jose Sharks look to terminate Kane’s contract (00:30), how we got here and how the NHLPA will ...handle the situation, and wonder where the Sharks go from here.The guys also touch Rob Blake’s contract extension with the Kings and the club hiring Marc Bergevin as a senior advisor to the GM (9:30), trade talks around Jakob Chychrun begin to heat up (13:20), where we might see Lawson Crouse end up before the trade deadline (18:40), John Klingberg speaks on his negotiation with Dallas (19:30), the In-Season Stanley Cup got a little crazy on Sunday (30:10), a few updates from Edmonton (36:30) and the guys take a few of your emails and voicemails to wrap up the podcast (40:00).We want to hear from you! Leave your thoughts, comments, suggestions and questions via email at 32thoughts@sportsnet.ca or call us toll-free 1-833-311-3232 and leave a message after the beep.Full transcript for the episode can be found here by Medha Monjaury Music Outro: ioakim - swimming poolsListen to more music by ioakim on SpotifyThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Bally Sports Midwest, NHL Network, PepsiCo & Sportsnet.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Christopher Murney. Do you know that name? He's the guy that played Hanrahan in Slapshot. The goalie. He made millions as the voice of Chester the Cheetah from the Cheetos commercial. That's Hanrahan. How to stay cool.
Starting point is 00:00:17 You gotta talk cool. Look cool. Check the shades, baby. Elliot, we'll start the week on 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the all-new GMC AT4 lineup by talking about the big story of the weekend and Saturday, it was a shocker. Vander Keen placed on unconditional waivers
Starting point is 00:00:35 for the purposes of a contract termination and as of 2 o'clock Eastern on Sunday, he went unclaimed. Let two things begin, the termination of the contract and the grievance. What's the latest? The latest is that as of 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday afternoon, he cleared waivers. And shortly after that, the Sharks filed the necessary paperwork to say,
Starting point is 00:00:58 we are terminating Evander Kane's contract. So as it stands right now, Evander Kane has no contract in the National Hockey League and is an unrestricted free agent. However, as you said, this is not over. There is going to be a grievance from the Players Association. And, you know, we're going to see if this ends up in a settlement or this is going to go in front of an arbitrator who will have the right to decide. Now, I will say this. I have learned over the years, do not predict what an arbitrator is going to do. Everybody thinks they know, but for every lawyer who will say one thing, you can find another lawyer who will argue the exact opposite. And you are up to
Starting point is 00:01:45 the whim of the arbitrator on that day. So this is what I can tell everybody based on what I know. As reported on the weekend, the Sharks voided the deal for what are called two violations. two violations. One was on December 21st, he tested positive for the coronavirus while playing for AHL San Jose, and he took a flight to Vancouver on the 29th. And they are saying he did not have medical clearance or permission to take that flight. The second thing they are saying is that he was supposed to return on December 31st and did not return until January 6th. Now, Cain is contesting both of these, and that's the basis of his grievance. You know, people wonder,
Starting point is 00:02:40 do any of the other legal issues have anything to do with it? No, not based on what the Sharks filed. What one lawyer said to me is that one of the more interesting things here is that it would be, if true, his second COVID violation. Kane was suspended the first 21 games of this season for use of a fake vaccine passport. I had one lawyer say to me that they really felt that that bolsters the NHL and the Sharks case. And we should mention the Sharks had the approval of the NHL to do this. I had one lawyer say to me that they feel that that really
Starting point is 00:03:19 bolsters San Jose's case. I had another one that said, the thing that's going to make this most interesting to him is that one was at the NHL level and one was at the AHL level. So will there be an argument that these violations are not the same? Because, you know, as they point out, there's so much money at stake here, about $23 million. Every argument is going to get made. As someone else said to me, one of the NHL agents, one of the reasons the Players Association has to fight this is that if they don't, the risk becomes that any violation of COVID protocol becomes a license for a team to terminate a contract, especially if it's of a player that, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:06 no longer fits in. Right. So that becomes an interesting subplot to all of this too. So one of the things that I wonder about here, and you mentioned on Saturday as well is. And before we talk about Keane's on ice future, I did have someone who sent me a DM who said, under what basis do the sharks or the NHL think that Kane's contract can be
Starting point is 00:04:33 voided? And so I asked about this and I was told, if you want to Google the standard player contract, there's a section it's 14, a failure refusal or neglect to render services and or other material breach of the contract failure to conduct yourself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty morality fair play and sportsmanship and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the club and a material breach while on loan to the
Starting point is 00:05:07 american hockey league and again all of this stuff has yet to be proven or argued in front of the arbitrator we'll see where it goes but someone asked and when our fans ask we come running with the answer here's a potential scenario then, and you mentioned this on Saturday. Let's say Evander Kane signs with another team. We believe, like I was told on Saturday, there would be perhaps 10 teams that would be interested, depending on what type of contract Kane was looking for, who would be interested in the services of Evander Kane. Let's say Kane signs a deal with a new team and then wins the grievance. Whose team is he on?
Starting point is 00:05:51 It's a great question, and that's what I asked. And what I understand is over the next couple of days, and they probably already started, but over the next couple of days, the league and the Players Association are going to have to set some ground rules on how all of this works. I do think there's a lot of people who believe this ends in a settlement that the sharks won't want to risk having it all come back and Kane won't want to risk losing everything.
Starting point is 00:06:18 You know, for example, even though I agree with you that I think there's teams out there looking at this, I don't think he's going to get $24 million. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't think so at all. I think that big payday has gone for Evander Keane. But I think there are a lot of teams that are out there, correct me if I'm wrong, Elliot, that are looking at this and saying, hang on, we all understand the baggage that comes along with the player, but we could get a really high-end player here at a discount
Starting point is 00:06:45 price i don't think everybody's like that but i think there are some teams who will all fully pass that won't do it at all but i think there are some teams thinking that way so it's just a matter of what you know where kane wants to go and and what he wants to play for what he's willing to play for but the league and the players association are going to have to set some ground rules for how all that could work. And I expect they will. And I do think there's going to be a push for a settlement here. And both sides have reason to do it.
Starting point is 00:07:17 You know, the other thing I will say, as you can imagine, Jeff, there are a lot of other teams out here who are not happy. You know how other teams are, how they shiv each other behind the back? Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're not thrilled at this one. Not loving this. They're getting cap relief. They don't deserve.
Starting point is 00:07:37 I mean, you know how it goes. I wonder what this means from a San Jose Sharks point of view as well. And there's one player that I wonder about specifically, and that's Tom tomas hurdle who is a an impending unrestricted free agent and patrick the other day right and he's a wonderful player you know this is his time to ring the bell in a lot of ways he's 28 years old he's on the expiring ufa deal just to be blunt the fact that evander kane is no longer part of the plans in any way shape or form for the san jose sharks does that warm him more to re-signing with san jose or is it still and i don't know just maybe only hurdle has the answer to this or do you think it is just hey listen i've
Starting point is 00:08:18 come this close to free agency what's waiting a couple more months to see what's out there it certainly makes it easier if that's what everybody wants to happen here. I will say this, Jeff, and it might be too early to tell where this is going, but it was definitely trending towards that hurdle was going to test the market. Now we'll see. This story very much a new one, a fresh one. We'll follow it all the way. Stay tuned either at our Twitter feeds, our radio stations, our website, or your favorite podcast.
Starting point is 00:08:51 32 Sots presented by the all-new GMC-84 lineup. Let's kick it off, Elliot. Okay, welcome once again to 32 Thoughts to Podcast. Thanks for joining us to kick off your week of Hockey Ahead. So Sunday, Elliot, as it relates to Los Angeles Kings, was an interesting one. So we get the news about Mark Bergevin, a little bit of a shocker here to most, named senior advisor to the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings. And we all go, uh-oh, what does this mean for Rob Blake, who's the general manager? A few hours go by, and we hear the news that Rob Blake has a contract extension to remain in that capacity with the Los Angeles Kings.
Starting point is 00:09:57 What do you make of Sunday's L.A. news? First of all, Jeff, we should credit John Hoven, who broke the story on Sunday night that Rob Blake has a contract extension coming, a multi-year. He said he wasn't sure four or five years, but I think he's totally right. Not that he needs my confirmation. There was a rumbling earlier in the week that Bergevin was potentially going to San Jose to help out. And I'd looked into that and it turned out, I was told, don't go with that one. And I'd looked into that and it turned out, you know, I was told, don't go with that one. And I'd like to thank the person who told me not to go with that one because I would have looked totally stupid. But I have to say, I'm a little bit annoyed at myself
Starting point is 00:10:34 for not thinking about, well, maybe someone mixed up the wrong California team and they meant a different team in California and I should have pursued it more. But whatever the case is, before John broke the story on Sunday night, someone did say to me, and I think this is a very smart person, don't make any crazy assumptions here. Don't jump to conclusions. Because I know what you're thinking. I know that you're thinking that if Blake doesn't make the playoffs, Bergevin is coming in as the GM. And he said, I will tell you that I think that's a bad assumption for you to make. And now we have a clearer picture as to why he told me that that was a bad
Starting point is 00:11:20 assumption to make. I'm curious to see where this is going to go. I do wonder if Bergevin is doing this right now just to kind of keep busy and keep his name out there because I don't think he's necessarily out of maybe like the Anaheim situation. So I think there's still a story here to be told on what Bergevin's future is in la like for example i don't think this means that he's not going to be looking at any other opportunities that are out there so i think right now it sort of keeps bergevin's name out there it gives him something to do something to be involved in but i don't think it's going to preclude him in any way chasing whatever other opportunities might be out there. The, uh, the Bergevin association is a Luke Robitaille association.
Starting point is 00:12:11 Safe to assume that. Well, you know, you had said earlier, I, one of our previous podcasts that a lot of people wondered if the Bergevin Robitaille association would lead to something in this particular case. And obviously on some level it has, you know, the other thing too, is if you look at LA's history, they've never been afraid to bring, you know, former GMs in there under Dean Lombardi, they had Ron Hextall, for example, and that's been talked about a lot today. To me right now, this just seems like a place for Bergevin to hang his hat a bit, be involved, help with their processes, and then kind of see where things go for him. You know, there's still openings out there. I think it's very unlikely he'd be in Chicago, but there's still Anaheim. You know,
Starting point is 00:12:59 there still might be more changes as the season progresses here. So what this says to me is if he doesn't get a full-time job somewhere else as a general manager or VP or whatever, he has a situation for himself here. Okay. So the Los Angeles Kings, we'll use this as a transition. They are one of the teams who could be interested and could offer a package, the likes of which. You had some real good information, by the way. I wanted to give you credit. You had some great information on the show.
Starting point is 00:13:28 So, and this is all about the Jacob Trickman impending trade, which we believe will happen in advance of trade deadline. Although really, I don't know how much pressure Arizona is under right now to move Jacob Trickman, considering he has this year and then three subsequent years, or seasons rather, still left on his contract but what the Arizona Coyotes are looking for is something as I reported on Saturday something along the lines of the Brent Burns deal and that was Devin Settegucci Charlie Coyle and a first
Starting point is 00:13:56 round pick now Devin Settegucci at that point was a really young good player Charlie Coyle was a highly sought after and highly thought of prospect and the first round pick is a first round pick. You know, I didn't really get a chance to talk with you on Saturday night during that segment because, you know, we were a bit tight. But do you think that's enough? I think it depends on who the prospect is and who the player is. Like this could turn into a player, a prospect, a first and a second as well. I think it all depends on who the players involved are here. And it depends on how impactful the prospect is, how impactful the young player is.
Starting point is 00:14:39 So I think that that's not exactly what they want, but that's the model from what they're working from. Essentially, I mean, Elliot, you want to break it down even more simpler than that. The Brent Burns deal was three first round picks. Devin Setteguchi, Charlie Coyle in a first. You know, the Jack Eichel deal, he's a $10 million player, is essentially three first round draft picks.
Starting point is 00:14:59 So I think that's the basis from which Arizona is working from. Now, that may preclude some teams from making this deal, teams that might have a desire, whether it's the Boston Bruins or maybe the New York Islanders. Maybe they don't have those pieces available to the Arizona Coyotes. But there are teams, I mentioned three, that do have the capability of doing that right now. Do your list. So Los Angeles Kings are one of them.
Starting point is 00:15:29 And they've been interested in Chikrin for a while, I've heard. They have been, yes. Yeah. The Anaheim Ducks are another one. See, that made a lot of sense to me when you mentioned Lindholm. They have three big free agents, unrestricted free agents, Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, and Ricard Raquel. And if they lose Hampus Lindholm, Jacob Trickwin slides into that spot.
Starting point is 00:15:51 Plus, much like Los Angeles, we all know that Anaheim has a really, really deep prospect pool. And it's a team on the rise. So that one made a lot of sense, specifically when you look at the Hampus Lindholm insurance element of it. And the other, this is maybe just because Arizona's general manager used to be in St. Louis and would have an intimate knowledge of that organization and those players. You do wonder about the St. Louis Blues here and how Doug Armstrong feels about his blue line. There have been teams that have tried to get Joel Hofer away from St. Louis before, and they've always resisted, I'm told.
Starting point is 00:16:30 I wonder about the Arizona Coyotes, if they're looking at the St. Louis Blues, and looking at whether it's Joel Hofer, or whether it's Jake Neighbors, or maybe Scott Perunovich plus picks like St. Louis and they're in it. Like St.
Starting point is 00:16:48 Louis is having a real nice season. Despite everything that you got to give it to the St. Louis blues. We've talked about this before. They're having a really good season and they're a heavyweight team. I was very disappointed in their victory on Sunday, but we'll get to that. I know you're,
Starting point is 00:17:03 I know you got boo-boo face about that one, but we'll get to that. We will get to that, Elliot. I know you got boo-boo faced about that one, but we'll get there. They have really good prospects. They're a team that's going for it. I've got to tell you, if you get that Perunovic in that deal, if that's what you're talking about here. Oh boy, I know, right? Listen, I think Joel Hofer as well.
Starting point is 00:17:19 He's a good player. St. Louis has... And they could use a goalie. And that's the one thing that Arizona, I would think more so over any other position would be looking for right now. So I don't know. So I,
Starting point is 00:17:30 the, the, the, the teams that make the most sense, you know, out of, out of the blocks. And like I reported on Saturday,
Starting point is 00:17:35 there are over 10 teams that have made inquiries. Those three seem to be, I don't know about, you know, clubhouse leaders or anything like that, but those seem to be the, the three most obvious ones who would be able to put a package together that would at least give the Arizona coyotes reason to call timeout and have a conversation. So you asked earlier about the coyotes not being in a rush. One of the things that a few other
Starting point is 00:18:02 teams suspect is chickens returning from an injury here, right? And some of the things that's a few other teams suspect is chicken's returning from an injury here right and some of the other teams believe that arizona wants to make the deal because a they don't want this hanging over them which i understand yeah and b you're just worried he's going to get hurt again and if he gets hurt again does that screw up your timing or ability to make a move this season there are some teams out there that they don't think arizona's going to rush to do it but they think they're motivated to do it sure you so you've mentioned st louis here you mentioned anaheim you mentioned la was there anyone else you mentioned on saturday night i can't remember no i mean i mentioned um the boston bruins in relation to loss and kraus and a lot of it's just because
Starting point is 00:18:44 over the past couple of years, the Boston Bruins have always showed interest. And I would suspect that that would still be true. Someone called me this morning and they said, I'll make you a bet. It was an Eastern Conference exec. He said, I'll make you a bet on Lawson Kraus. He said he liked your prediction.
Starting point is 00:18:59 He said it was not as bad as a lot of your regular ideas. But he said, and this is a team that might have to play Tampa Bay. And he said, I don't like it, but I could see Lawson Krause ending up in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay. Interesting. He said that that is the kind of player that Tampa Bay is going to go out to get to replace. Yeah. And they've had some guys there this year who've played really well, but they'll look for that kind of a player.
Starting point is 00:19:25 Interesting. And also, as we all know, it's only a matter of time before Phil Kessel's on the go too. So that's the other one. So that was the main info. Now Klingberg, you had some good stuff on Klingberg.
Starting point is 00:19:36 Dave Pagnotta on NHL Network on Friday reported that John Klingberg had asked for a trade. John Klingberg, after the game, the Pittsburgh game on Saturday, said, well, that's not exactly true. Yeah, I don't think it's entirely true. It's not like I've been going out there and asking, I want to get traded now or something like that.
Starting point is 00:19:54 It's something that's been going on with the negotiations and stuff like that. I'm not going to lie, it's been a couple, few frustrated years individually. And as a player, it all ends up coming to your next contract, obviously. And I've been a Dallas Star since day one. I've been pretty clear that I want to stay here. I grew up here. I got my daughter here and all that. At the end of the day, it's a business.
Starting point is 00:20:19 I understand it's a business on both sides. And I got to take care of my part as well. And it's been standing still. I feel like I wanted to, after last season, I was pretty clear that I wanted to start negotiating right away and see where we were at. They wanted some time with free agency draft and stuff like that. And I understand that.
Starting point is 00:20:42 But at the same time, I feel like I've been here proving what kind of player I've been for for eight years now other guys have signed right before the season before and I wanted to do that as well but lately it's just been going more quietly and quietly and for me as a player I don't feel that I've been appreciated in that way when we don't even negotiating and that it's it's it's quiet so for me as a player and my agent we talked with Jim a couple months back and he agreed that we could start talking with other GMs and see where we're at but negotiating wise with the stars has been very quiet so it's a little bit disappointing, for sure. But it's a business.
Starting point is 00:21:27 I understand. There's stuff that I have my side to take care of as well. I don't want to dispute Dave's reporting because he's a good reporter. And he's right. It sounds like this was semantics. This is. This is semantics.
Starting point is 00:21:38 This is semantics. So I talked to Peter Wallen, who is the agent for John Klingberg. He's in Sweden scouting 06s right now. And he said it was either late November or early December. And this is when the contract talks had hit a stalemate. And we know that the Klingberg camp is looking max term, so eight years, something just underneath $8 million on the AAV. So like $62, $63 million for the entire package.
Starting point is 00:22:05 NIL's not there, obviously. and the conversations had just stalled, at which point Klingberg's camp said, essentially, look, if we can't come to an extension, if you're not committed to my guy to extend him, to keep him part of this team, which is his primary desire, will you please accommodate a trade? Essentially like, look, if you don't want me here long-term, let's just agree to walk away here. So that's what the scenario was. It wasn't as if Klingberg marched into Jim Nell's office and
Starting point is 00:22:36 pounded the table and said, get me out of here right now. From Klingberg's camp is, A, I want to stay here. I want to stay here for the maximum amount of time that I can. I've always been a Dallas star. I want eight years, and here's the money that I feel that I'm worth. And if we can't accommodate this, and I don't know whether Jim Nill is there, whether he's there,
Starting point is 00:22:57 he doesn't like the term, or he doesn't like the decimal point, that I have no idea about. But to Klingberg, choice number one is stay and extend and stay a member of the Dallas Stars. But if that can't happen, would Jim Neal accommodate a trade? So that's what I was able to find out on Saturday as for that.
Starting point is 00:23:14 Again, Dave Pagnotta, not wrong at all. John Klingberg, not wrong at all. Just a little clarity. You know what? Dave should get that on his tombstone. Dave Pagnotta, not wrong. Listen, I'd be happy to have that on mine too. That's high praise.
Starting point is 00:23:28 What do you think of the Klingberg situation? I mean, he talked about how he didn't feel appreciated. That press conference after the Pittsburgh game where he said he didn't always feel appreciated by his team, that's powerful stuff, and you never hear an athlete talking like that. Well, first of all, I loved his honesty. I'm never going to fault someone for being honest. We always always demand it and we get upset and we don't get it you can't criticize people for being it he wore his heart on his sleeve and i appreciate that as a reporter this is what i think is going on in dallas what did dallas do off this on the ice as you mentioned to me they they ended pittsburgh's
Starting point is 00:24:03 winning streak what did they do off the ice? They hired Steve Greeley, as we talked about last podcast. And what did we talk about in terms of why we think they did that? It was because they wanted to change the way they make decisions, right? They want to do business in a different way. And it sounds very much like Steve Greeley is going to have input in a lot of, if not all, decisions, from amateur scouting to pro scouting to trades to everything, pretty much. So I think what this is all about is the Ben and Sagan contracts. And it's not like those are bad players,
Starting point is 00:24:40 and it's not like those players were undeserving of the deals they got when they got them. What is the problem? That both of them have battled significant injuries to try to stay at the level they've been at. And it's affected both of their careers. You know, Jamie Benn is a monster, but he's a little less of a monster, unfortunately, because of his body. Tyler Sagan is an extremely talented, dangerous player, but he's a little less of a dangerous player because of his body. And I think that what has happened here is that the stars have
Starting point is 00:25:20 made the decision that I think they've just looked at it about long-term health. They'll take the eight-year bet on Haskinen because he's younger, but after what's kind of happened with Ben and Sagan, and again, not their will, not their ability, but what's happened to their bodies, they don't want to take that bet. I'm convinced now that's the reason why Klingberg has not been extended long-term. It's because the organization has said, look, we've had too many of these and we're not doing it here. You know, the one thing I would say about elite level athletes is, and elite level people in general, and I know because I'm wired a bit this way, sometimes I take things as slights
Starting point is 00:26:02 that make sense, but they still really, they make sense to other people, but they still really piss me off. And people will say to me, Jeff, like Elliot, you're, you're being unreasonable. I'm like, I don't care if I'm being unreasonable, it still bothers me. And from a business point of view, it's not wrong for Dallas to decide that based on what I think their decision-making is. But if you're John Klingberg and you've spilled blood for Dallas and you've been there for almost a decade, all of us outside can say, okay, that makes sense to us. But John Klingberg doesn't care that it's sensible. He sees what he's done for Dallas,
Starting point is 00:26:44 what they've done for him too but he's also filled his half of the bargain and he's like come on like I've bled for this team I've gotten hurt for this team I've scored for this team and you have to understand that is the emotion of the player now I don't know what Dallas is going to do here Jeff you know they're very much in the race. Like, I think Dallas will make some decisions at the deadline based on where they are with some of their UFAs, not just him. First of all, I can't believe they stayed quiet for almost two months.
Starting point is 00:27:14 And secondly, you know, it says to me that right now, while Dallas is in the race, they're not really interested in making themselves a weaker team. No, and I think what dallas thinks they have in their hip pocket is although he's still a young player is i think that they're looking at their blue line and looking at hayes canin and looking at suitor and saying okay and we also have thomas harley coming here too yes all of this stuff is is part of it like you look like jim nill went out and signed defenseman in the off season, right?
Starting point is 00:27:47 Like we talked about this, you know, uh, not too long ago. Like what did Jim Nill make a priority perhaps thinking that this was going to be an issue? What did he do in the off season? He signed Ryan Suter and he signed Yanni Hockenpah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:28:01 And they joined the organization and they've got Thomas Harley in their hip pocket. Now it's Thomas Harley replacement for John Klingberg? Not a chance. Not a chance right now. But I think maybe they're thinking somewhere down the road, that may be the replacement for John Klingberg. How close do you think they were, Klingberg and Dallas?
Starting point is 00:28:18 What, a million a year apart? Oh. One and a half? Even closer? oh one and a half i even closer see i honestly i i don't know that dallas gets into the 60s on an eight-year term so it's about a million a year maybe maybe a bit less but here's the other thing i don't know if they want to go eight the one thing that i still don't know is what is the issue is the issue the money or is the issue the term that i don't know i just heard the issue was the ben and sagan contracts it's not that they regret them i think that's the wrong
Starting point is 00:28:52 thing to say it's just that they've seen what can happen to someone's body over that long term at that point in their careers and you know like clingberg's not taking a four or five-year deal now, not at this point in time, not the way the defensive market is. I think Dallas legitimately tried to sign him. I think they did. They couldn't get to a sweet spot. And Dallas said, we're just not comfortable going where Klingberg wants to go. What do you think the market for Klingberg is right now?
Starting point is 00:29:25 We know that Carolina has been interested. I put that out there a while ago. I think there's two teams you are going to hear in every trade rumor right now, and that's Carolina and Colorado. I think the market's pretty good because there's going to be defensemen out there, right? Teams are going to need them.
Starting point is 00:29:43 Someone's going to want Mark Giordano. Someone's going to want John Klingberg. guys can win playoffs they're different players but they can win playoff series for you and klingberg as well you always have to mention it right hand shot yes those guys always in demand very well dressed he'll look very good at those walk-in shots very true you want to talk about Dallas St. Louis on Sunday? Do I ever? You know, first of all. In-season Stanley Cup, here we go.
Starting point is 00:30:10 Back home, baby. I love this pool. First of all, that is such a joke that you won that game. That really is. And then I saw that in-season Cup tweet. It's the first time you've beaten me in eight meetings. And I was even more angry about losing that game. I wanted the zero next to you. I was due free. Come on. It's like, I didn the zero next to you. I was due free.
Starting point is 00:30:26 Come on. It's like, I didn't just want to win. I want to win by more. But when I asked Amal to get a piece of video for me, I think the true description of this game belongs to Nikita Kucherov. Number one bullshit. Number one bullshit.
Starting point is 00:30:43 That's funny because that's what you texted me this afternoon after the game. And right after that, I called Amal and said, off number one bullshit number one bullshit that's funny because that's what you texted me this afternoon after the game and right after that i called almost said you got to get that clip that's exactly what elliot texted me even before i had a chance to gloat he texted that to me so you know you know first of all for congratulations on the win uh that was a that was a hell of a game what a meltdown at the end of that game. Imagine you're up 1-0. You know, we all saw the reaction of Bonus after the game,
Starting point is 00:31:10 smashing the stick, and he really composed himself and didn't say anything crazy in the postgame. I can't tell you what the referee said to me. If you were watching the game, you saw what happened. So, you know, they clearly pull Miro down, clearly grab his stick and pull him down. That's my opinion. They got lucky.
Starting point is 00:31:30 We broke his stick on a penalty kill. Second goal goes in off our feet. That's a break to the game. We played a hell of a hockey game. We deserved a lot better than that. We did. We played a hell of a road game for our third game in three and a half days. We battled hard.
Starting point is 00:31:44 We deserved a lot better than that. Boy, there's a lot of hard feelings around Dallas after that one. To get out of that game without even a point, that absolutely stinks. I am not convinced I would have reacted any differently than Bonus. And what really bothers them was for people who didn't see the game, it's 1- nothing in the last minute dallas has been playing great all the way through biddington was unbelievable just an unbelievable was yeah sunday was his day he was great so they're on the power play st louis is it's six on
Starting point is 00:32:17 four there's the puck is loose behind the net going into the corner and he's chasing after it and he's taken down at his stick i just had his stick held a little bit that's all that's all just a little barely anything really barely went down he went down and then so he's mad as he gets up and he slashes kairu's stick and it breaks so you're getting that penalty call i mean it was a legit slash and he broke the stick like everything that could have gone wrong did there and the other thing too was kairou as a stick is breaking makes a pass that eventually leads to the tying goal a shot wide o'reilly he scores the captain is tied the game unbelievable Game unbelievable. And so it's 1-1. They score, and Hayskinen gets a penalty.
Starting point is 00:33:09 And you can see Bonus on the bench is furious. Ben is furious. Hayskinen's furious. And apparently, and I heard this secondhand, Dallas was told that Hayskinen toe-picked, which is, you know, like, hey, you know, know calls get missed but if someone says to me like this is the thing like there's someone who texts me whenever a play like that happens and he says that's a five million dollar call yeah because if you don't miss the playoffs maybe you
Starting point is 00:33:40 lose five million because of that okay yeah but know, I think we always understand that that can happen. It's just a joke he does with me. He says, that's a $5 million call. But the thing is, one of the things we talk about is if someone just says, hey, like, we looked at it again and we just missed it. I think in a lot of cases that diffuses people, I just don't think that Dallas liked the answer that they got about it being potentially a toe pick.
Starting point is 00:34:06 And then the winning goal went in, and bonus went absolutely crazy. Now to Kyrou, in front, they score! Kyrou bangs it in, and the blows! Another power play goal! I probably would have lost my mind too. Holy jumping! The same turn of events that happened at Dallas yesterday afternoon against Pittsburgh.
Starting point is 00:34:31 The Blues have turned the tide. Do you think Bonus gets anything for that? I know he was very composed afterwards, but the antics on the bench with the stick, nah. I'm fine with it, but I just know the NHL frowns on it. That'll be in every highlight package because that is part of the story of that game based on what happened late in the game well here's the thing brindamore was fine this year yes and he had been warned before gerard galant as i understand
Starting point is 00:34:55 it was not fined but he was warned with the incident in new york a couple of weeks ago i know people out there disagree with me. There are people out there who feel that there's kids watching, there's young coaches watching, they think it's okay when you do this. I disagree with that. Like one of my favorite players growing up was Michael Jordan. If I saw Michael Jordan loses temper, I never took that as license for me to lose my temper because I'm not Michael Jordan. I think you have to manage your own house. You know, like that's the way I've always seen it.
Starting point is 00:35:31 Like just because somebody else acts some way doesn't mean it's licensed for me to act some way. So when I look at that bonus thing, my personal belief is he just lost a massive game in a season where it's going to be a battle for them to make the playoffs. I think you have to be understanding. I know not everybody sees it that way, but we all want the coaches and the players and everybody involved to care as much as we do as fans.
Starting point is 00:35:58 I see that. It doesn't bother me. But I know, because I remember the last time we talked about Brindamore, a lot of you who listen to this podcast disagree. That's fine. You're entitled to your own opinion. This one's mine. Okay, from there, I want to ask you about the Oilers and the positive COVID cases and the game
Starting point is 00:36:27 against the ottawa senators on monday postponed that's now pushed to saturday which gives ken holland now six days to make some decisions or have decisions already been made uh you know the one thing i did hear this week we've talked about it before on the podcast and holland has said before this year that he'll move his number one pick if the team's in it if you look at edmonton's draft uh situation this year their fourth rounder was already traded away new jersey's got it in the kulikov deal and their second and third rounders well it depends on what happens it's in the the Duncan Keith trade. It depends on how far the Oilers go, right? Yes. So he doesn't have all of his picks. The other thing I heard is that he was asked about his
Starting point is 00:37:16 first round of this week and he said, no, that's what I was told. And you know, the reason is they're not, they're not 16 and five anymore. Uh. They're on a stretch where they've won just two games in regulation in their last 13, and I don't think that Holland sees it as, I'm not trading my first rounder when it's this. So I think that's off the table for the time being, and I think he was asked about it. What do we know? They're not the team that was 16-5,
Starting point is 00:37:42 but I don't think they believe they're the team that's 2-9-2 in their last 13 either. What I'm hearing is they want to get back healthy, get everyone back in the lineup. Anyone who tests positive doesn't have to test again for three months and see where they go and kind of judge from there. But I still stand to my point, Jeff, that they realize missing the playoffs is not an option
Starting point is 00:38:07 but i think the most significant thing that's happened is that i've heard holland has said i'm not dealing the first rounder when this is where we are in the standings it doesn't make any sense if he's dealing that first rounder it's because he thinks he's got a shot at it being picked somewhere around 25th or later do we expect anything this week from the oilers or is it just eyes on saturday in the game against the ottawa senators i think it's probably can they get everybody back and can they get everyone healthy you know they've fired a lot of people there i really wondered if they would think about a coaching change like i talked to holland not past weekend, but a week ago when the Babcock rumors came out
Starting point is 00:38:50 and he said, look, like I'm throwing cold water on those basically. You know, I believe that. I know one of the things they've talked about in Edmonton is that too often the answer is just fire people. Yep. And it's happened a lot there over the last decade. They want to stop it. And could it happen? Absolutely, it could happen.
Starting point is 00:39:11 But I still don't get the sense that's what he wants to do. I really don't. Okay. On that, we will reset. Quick break. Back with some of your emails and phone calls. 32thoughts at sportscent.ca, the email address and the thought line, 1-833-311-3232.
Starting point is 00:39:32 We'll be right back. Okay, Elliot, so a couple of phone calls and a couple of emails here to wrap up the program once again before we do this yes i wanted to thank everybody for all the dms i got a lot of ridiculous trade proposals but jeff i wanted to let you know that you got a lot of support for the backwards skating idea but not in a lap yeah just a straight line something like that listen i'm not people did support the backwards skating i'm not an inflexible man i will you know i will bend but i won't break i can fine okay if it's going to be see i just looked at and said okay what events can answer a question and the question is quite simple who skates backwards
Starting point is 00:40:23 the fastest so i just wanted to tell you that there were a lot of people in my dm saying that they liked that idea and i had one person who said be nicer to jeff so yeah good luck i will fulfill that request in about 30 years that's not gonna happen anytime soon uh i don't expect it you know what because we uh i got a lot of um replies on that one Twitter as well. And a lot of people, like completely unsolicited, said Jonas Brodine. I got a couple of those. Like there was like five or six people. Because I was always wondering too, like, okay, who will people suggest for this one? Overwhelmingly, the person with the most votes from just from responses that i got
Starting point is 00:41:05 you want to spur to you know the minnesota wild i got a lot of kiel macar yeah i see i don't know about kiel macar as a backwards skater again i just don't know he just looks like he's fast at everything he just looks he's great at everything and smash paul coffee records god he's so good by the way that toronto colorado game was fantastic the other day. That was so fun. That was so much fun. And stars on display. Now, let me ask you this question. How much do you think that third period was about the altitude? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:41:36 Yeah. Because, honestly, I don't know. Kevin mentioned the altitude psychologically and actually. But he's talked about it in the first 10 minutes, right? I get it, but I always wonder about that. Like, when does that show up on a team? First couple of periods, I say, yeah, go on adrenaline and all that. Then I just wonder when altitude catches up to a team that's not used to it. And again, I'm just speculating.
Starting point is 00:41:59 I would assume it would be the third, but I don't know. I would have to defer to someone who put, oh, no, no. Listen, Colorado beat Toronto legit legit and that was a great and that play from behind the net that pass from ranton and good luck yeah that's some elite elite territory that was a fun game okay so let's get to a couple of emails here and selfishly i'm going to start off with one that winks at me from kyle i like jeff's idea oh what a great what a great what I'm going to start off with one that winks at me. From Kyle, I like Jeff's idea. Oh, what a great way to start an email, Kyle. That's how you know it's going to get used. Listen, if you think you can just get on this program here by flattery,
Starting point is 00:42:39 you're 100% right. Oh, my God, that's so weird. I like Jeff's idea of having a shorthanded goal and a penalty. However, what would happen in a situation like tonight with Hagelin scoring on his own net during the delayed penalty? Is the penalty over before it starts like it would have been if Washington had scored on Minnesota? So let me get this straight.
Starting point is 00:43:00 Let me get this straight. We're taking questions now about rules that don't exist, but what would happen if they did exist? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because if we're going to present this to the NHL formally one day, we have to have the casebook that comes along with it. You understand? If you're going to call Colin Campbell to present this,
Starting point is 00:43:20 you need to have a casebook of what ifs to go along with it. Oh, my God. So, listen, I'll play commissioner on this one as you're the in-season cup commissioner. No, because that would just be like a team shooing it into its own net. So no, the penalty would still stand. And you know what?
Starting point is 00:43:36 You mentioned this before the podcast today. We saw a situation like this on- I've seen two. I'm going to put it in the notes on uh on tuesday oh are you in the uh the florida dallas game one in dallas florida which was a great game the other night and there was one i think it was the last game in canada before the christmas break i think it was st louis winnipeg i have to double check excellent okay this is an interesting one from victor i've wondered about this as well how much of an impact will the quote,
Starting point is 00:44:05 no fans situation in Canada have on players willing to come to Canadian teams at the deadline? I think it's a big factor. I do. I know the Canadian teams are worried about it. They are very concerned that players won't want to be traded into Canada. Now we'll see. There's some time between now that the trade deadlines,
Starting point is 00:44:24 March 21st. So it's two months, over two months, things can change. But in my recent conversations, it's definitely a concern. Okay, let's get to a voicemail, Elliot from a listener in California. listening to your most recent episode where you're talking about GM candidates, and there was no mention of Jeff Solomon, who's the interim GM for the Ducks, and his potential to get that Ducks job. I'd sure like to hear your comments on that. Thanks. Great job. Always will listen. Take care. Well, first of all, thank you for listening. And secondly, I think I did mention, and maybe I didn't, but I think I did mention and maybe i didn't but i think i did mention there were internal candidates in anaheim and i thought that would cover off um solomon and dave nonas and potentially martin madden but you know obviously that's that's on me i would say i
Starting point is 00:45:17 didn't make it clear enough i do think the internal candidates um have a shot there i think they are very interested in the job too. So I would say he definitely is a candidate. You know, the thing that's interesting about Solomon in particular, he was brought in there to modernize the ducks and bring them to contemporary standards. And if you had an overall vision, which ownership approved of bringing this person in before the season i don't see why that would change at all so i do think solomon is a very legitimate candidate i just don't know how that's all going to work yet i think the ducks have talked to a lot of people the one of the
Starting point is 00:46:00 things i've heard is the ducks may have talked to more people than anybody else at this time of all the openings and i can't confirm that but i have heard that like they are going out there and trying to talk to everybody they can and kind of whittle it down from there but i do think the internal candidates including solomon are legit candidates for the job and want the job um scott from regina with the jets looking into playing in Saskatoon. Do you think we'll see more NHL neutral site games? That's going to be tough. Yeah. I don't think they're crazy about that.
Starting point is 00:46:33 To spiff buildings and make them NHL ready. That's that doesn't happen overnight. Yeah. One of the, one of the big questions there, Scott is that who was going to pay to kind of upgrade the rink there? Like not that it's a bad rink or anything like that but you have to upgrade the capabilities for an nhl game or multiple nhl games and that was one of the issues and you know i did hear that the the
Starting point is 00:46:56 players weren't crazy about the idea either just because it added more travel and i think they understood what winnipeg was trying to do but i think a lot of people understand what winnipeg was trying to do i just think there's enough travel enough disruption of the season i just don't think people want it anymore right and let's finish off here with a call from jack in new york city hey guys hey elliot hey uh jeff this is jack calling from new york city big house fan big fan of the show. I wanted to make one reference to Elliot's last point on the ladies' episode about star players not being able to fight or Sidney Crosby not fighting against the Blues, no player being able to fight.
Starting point is 00:47:36 I don't think it's the case. I think it's more that some teams that have played to answer the bell, maybe Pittsburgh don't really have that player. So if Puck does get get hit no one's really standing up for him if you look at someone as you mentioned reeves or the islanders you have mcmine or johnson i think so many teams just don't have that player so do you think it's more of a case that these teams just don't have someone to answer the bell thanks guys have a good one well thank you jack and and by the way i did get some angry blues fans who felt that I libeled Mikola in the last podcast
Starting point is 00:48:10 because they felt that Crosby gave as much as he got. So just shout out to the angry blues fans who may or may not have been Darren Pang calling and disguising his voice. I think that's definitely true. You know, Jack, you know, Jeff and I are the same age. You know, we're both in our early 50s, and we remember an era where every team had 5 to 10 guys
Starting point is 00:48:34 like Reeves or Martin or Johnston, and it's very different now. There's no question about that, and some teams do believe we're going to get our revenge on you on the power play. So there's definitely that. I completely agree with that, that that that you know some teams aren't built to handle that and especially against a team like the blues who kind of are built to handle that so i think it's a fair point it goes back to the way i was brought up i think for a lot of us it goes back to the way
Starting point is 00:48:58 we were brought up that if you poked around on someone you might get punched in the face and you probably deserve it. There is a good chance. Awesome. Listen, thanks so much for the phone calls. Thanks so much for the emails. Yes. Again, the thought line, 1-833-311-3232.
Starting point is 00:49:15 Emails always open as well. 32thoughts.sportsnet.ca. Ammo likes going through them. Speaking of Ammo, thanks very much, our star producer. Thanks so much for putting this one together. Thanks for the downloads. Thanks for your ears and lending us your time once again.
Starting point is 00:49:31 Taking us out, an artist and producer based in the south coast of Sydney whose sound resembles an era in Australian music that set the indie pop world in a craze. Iokum has been creating music
Starting point is 00:49:42 the last couple of years and his creative process is quick, food-free, and pretty blurry at times. With his latest single, here's Swimming Pools by Iokum. 32 Thoughts, the podcast. There's no point in hiding Everything that you want to say Thank you. Standing in the living room all day Thinking about you again It's only ever swimming pools
Starting point is 00:50:39 And dance floors I'm ever out with you And that it's lost whenever I'm with you So come on and tell me So just tell me whatever works for you Now my mind is racing But my feet won't move an inch If I had it my own way I would just wake up next to you one day.

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