32 Thoughts: The Podcast - A Windy City Switch

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

 In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman delve into the Chicago Blackhawks replacing Luke Richardson with Anders Sorensen.  Afterwards the guys focus on the struggling Nashville Predators and where they go from here (18:00). Kyle and Elliotte park some time to highlight Patrik Laine's return and his reception in Montreal (27:44) before highlighting some tight goalie interference calls from Thursday (29:39). The fellas dive into the 4 Nations rosters, discuss their takeaways, and highlight the big surprises from the announcement (34:28). In the Final Thought,  Kyle and Elliotte talk about the reunion of the Pizza Line in Ottawa for the first time since 2009 (45:57). Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and respond to your voicemails in the Thought Line (56:03). In the final segment, the guys discuss the Oilers commemorating Connor McDavid's 1000th point with a little help from Lenard 🐶 (1:19:57).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.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.  

It's not like people are getting up and leaving during video review, but it's getting to be too much. Like I said, I bet you even the people in the video review room, they're unplugging the phones. We're sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Sorry. System wasn't working. We don't want to talk to anybody. Right to airplane mode. Yeah. We don't want to talk to anybody.

Right to airplane mode. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. It's your boys, Shramadi Bukaskis and the corduroy bear, Elliot Friedman. Did you like that jacket? I thought it was beautiful. You were suited and booted on Wednesday night for the unveiling of the Four Nations rosters. We're going to get to all that and the reaction fallout from those names being announced on Wednesday, but we're going to start. Before we get to the news, Kyle, just quick. This is Spotify wrapped week, I guess.

And there were a lot of people who sent us notes talking about how we're high up on their list and Just want to say thanks There's a lot of platforms you can listen to There's also a lot of other podcasts you could listen to and for all those people who sent us notes Saying that we were high up on their Spotify rap. Just a quick. Thank you. It did not go unnoticed very flattering. Well said Elliot So why don't we start in Chicago, though, where earlier on Thursday, they shared the rendering of what they hope Wrigley Field will look like for the NHL Winter Classic come New Year's Eve.

That looks beautiful. However, the rest of the picture on the Blackhawks right now does not. They fire Luke Richardson, the head coach. Chicago, last place in the NHL with an 8-16-2 record. Heading into Thursday, they were 31st in goals for, 21st in goals against. We had Conor Bedard in conversation before the season in Vegas. One of the big lines that he had talked about needing to take a step,

and this team has not done that to this point. I don't know if you can pin it all on the head coach here, Elliot, but was there any part of you that was surprised at the news out of Chicago Thursday? No, I don't think so. I think we all knew this was a possibility. He was in the last guaranteed year of his contract. And I think there was an option for next year and I think there was a realization before the season if it didn't go this

year it could be the end now let's be honest as you alluded to there you take out the bubble where Chicago got in as the number 12 team, the last team to make it in the Western Conference where they beat the Oilers and lost to Vegas. So take out that crazy time, the COVID bubble tournament, and the Blackhawks are on the way to missing the playoffs for their seventh straight season. And now they have not won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2015.

The dynasty is dismantled. It's a very, very different place right now when it comes to hockey. And Luke Richardson was hired a couple of years ago, and he was hired at a time where the Blackhawks were not built to win they were starting over and you know when when you get hired at that point basically you're looking to last as long as you can you always hope for the best you believe that you're going to be the person to turn it around.

Luke Richardson wanted that chance to prove his worth as an NHL coach, but the odds are against you. Very, very few coaches get successful long-term stints in a place when you start where Luke Richardson started with the Blackhawks in terms of their evolution. You know, prime Scotty Bowman isn't going to win Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks as they are currently constituted. I think, though, the timing of this, and you mentioned about how their 31st in goals scored, the timing of this, I think, provides us a clue of why this happened now. And that is that, look, I think a lot of the criticism of Conor Bedard is over the top. All of a sudden, I'm

hearing a lot of people really doubting him. Like some of this is, Kyle, I really think is recency bias in the sense that, you know, we had a great rookie season last year. He won the rookie of the year. Everybody expects improvement. Oh, he had a good year last year. Now we want to see a little bit more. You talked about it.

He said he wants to see a little bit more. It's stagnating everywhere in Chicago. And Macklin Celebrini is off to such a great start and he's breathed some life into the Sharks and after their terrible start there I mean aside from what happened on Thursday night in Tampa Bay where they got blown out of the building he's you know they're showing some real life and now you know like I don't know how you felt but I felt at the very least like at the beginning of the year we're talking about Bedard should he make team Canada and he was on a lot of lists and all of a sudden I was looking at it and saying Celebrini should be at least in the

conversation like I don't know that I would I would have put Celebrini on my team but I think they should have talked about him and you know I'm gonna we're gonna talk about this in a second the disappointment of some of the players please remind me to talk about this um but it's not a shot at Bedard because they're so loaded but I don't think anybody's looking at this and saying it's a snub that Bedard didn't make Team Canada. This year hasn't gone well for him or the team and he just got passed like some other guys did. I don't think that's a rip on Bedard. I think if you take that as a rip on Bedard, you're clueless. Like there's a lot of great players who didn't make this team, but he didn't make it it and no one can look at this and say it's

wrong that Bedard didn't make it and I look at the fact that this happened the day after the Canadian team and all the other teams were announced and I have to tell you Kyle I don't think that's a coincidence like if you've seen, because if you've seen Bedard over the past couple of days, and especially his interviews around it, he did one with TNT when he didn't get named. Like you could see his disappointment. And he wasn't the only guy. If you saw Stephen Stamkos last week in Nashville, that's not only about how the Predators are playing. week in Nashville that's not only about how the Predators are playing that's Stephen Stamkos either knowing at the time he wasn't gonna play for Team

Canada or realizing it was slipping away the other one that stood out and it didn't get as much attention but I watched it after Mike Feudel pointed it out was you watch Tage Thompson after buffalo loses that game to colorado he talks for about two minutes and it is blunt and it is harsh and he is stone-faced and to me that is at the time he knows he's not going to play for team usa or he knows it's slipping away from him and he's disappointed. And I'm not saying that Luke Richardson got fired because Conor Bedard didn't make Team Canada, because I think that's crazy. But I think if you look at the overall picture,

I think Luke Richardson loses his job at this time because the Blackhawks see that Bedard is struggling the team cannot create offense and they have to do something like even though nobody in their right mind thought the Blackhawks were going to be a playoff team this isn't going as well as they hoped this is going worse than they hoped and they had to do something. And I think that's what this is about. Now, I don't know a lot about Sorensen, but I do know this.

They think he's a creative guy. They're going to give him a chance. The plan is to give him a chance to finish out the year and see where it goes. Look, a coach is only as good as his roster. You know, this Blackhawks team is not contending anywhere. But I think what they're saying is we need a bit more creativity offensively. We need some fresh ideas offensively.

Like I wrote in my notes, and I know it's not going well for them, but Andrew Burnett is a good offensive coach and had a great system last year and was coach of the year, and he didn't suddenly become stupid out of nowhere. But it's not working this year in Nashville, and they've tried to do – they've changed their system. They've done different things now with the defensemen. They've done different things now with the defensemen. They've done different things now with their breakouts.

At least they're saying our personnel has changed. And we're struggling with some of the things that worked last year. So we have to try something new. And I think that's what this is. It's an attempt to try to do something new, especially offensively, an attempt to try to do something new especially offensively to get Bedard at least himself heading in the proper direction we did a game on Hockey Night in Canada in Vancouver and Bedard looked devastated at the end of that game he I think he went 0 for 8 in the face-off circle guys were talking about like Luke and Kevin are talking about maybe he should play to

the wing and they did move him to the wing for a little bit and like to me when that happens it's a bit of a defeat it's um and in some of it is you know bedard has to work on things to get better but i always look at that and say, boy, that's a tough thing for your franchise when you feel you have to do that, right? And eventually they moved them back. And that's what I think this is about. It's about, can we come up with some fresh ideas offensively to help get Bedard back on track?

And when you have the roster they have, you can't fix all your problems. You look at Chicago, they have a ton of young players and prospects, Nazar, Moore, and more to come with all the picks that they're going to have. But those players aren't going to be difference makers yet. And like Bedard is young players,

they're going to go through growing pains. Like the cavalry isn't coming here. And this is why they tried so hard to get Jake Gensel last year. And I heard they were really disappointed when Jake Gensel went to Tampa Bay. They really hoped to get him because they really thought he could help. And that's why I wonder, okay, what's this offseason going to be like for Chicago? Are they going to take another swing at something? So when I look at this, to me, it's not necessarily about

what the expectations were win or lose. It's that the expectation was you know the offense was going to get a little bit better the team was going to be a little bit more competitive I don't think they expected what they're seeing right now and that is that everything seems to be going backwards a little bit this wasn't a season about where Bedard and everything would go backwards. And again, it's not all on Richardson, but I think you get to a point where you say,

we have to try something else. And I think Chicago got to that. Yeah, and to your point, I mean, it's not just Conor Bedard that they're trying to put into better situations to produce and have success offensively i mean they signed tyler bertuzzi to a pretty sizable contract i'm sure they'd love a little more from him a guy like philip kurashev they're trying to figure out what his role ultimately is going to be it's been a little bit diminished this season under luke richardson mentioned Sorensen, Andres Sorensen,

who will be the third ever European head coach in the history of the NHL. He's also a guy that- And for Sweden. Correct. Also a guy that the Blackhawks know very well. He's been part of the organization for 10 years now, Elliot. And when he first got the head coaching gig at Rockford, it was initially on an interim basis and then took over full time. You mentioned Frank Nazar. I mean, under Sorensen with the Icehogs, 11 goals, 24 points in 18 games. That has to be seen as a positive for that organization amidst a very difficult season to this point.

So you can understand why they made the move and who they decided to bring in to replace Richardson in the meantime. And now we'll see where this all goes. But yeah, it's been another tough start to the year for Chicago for a whole host of reasons. You know, I can't help, this is my own wondering. I can't help but wonder if when Montgomery is available, I got to wonder if Chicago was in on it. With what we know now, 2020 hindsight coach on an interim basis. Yeah, a couple other things. First of all, Luke Richardson.

I should have said this before. I wish I did, but I'll just say it now. Just one of the great people. Oh, yeah. You know, you and I are both tight with Gary Gally. The Gallys and the Richardsons are very close. You know, when the news broke today, you know, Gary was one of the first people I thought of because I knew that would really affect him a lot. The Richardson's a

great family, great people. And I remember I wrote when he got hired, there would be a lot of people rooting for Richardson to be successful. And I don't think that changed at all. Like I said at the top, you know, in this situation, it's extremely hard to succeed. I think the thing I look at that was the most surprising thing to me was when Taylor Hall got scratched for that game in Chicago. And later, you know, he said that he wasn't, that he didn't know about it.

He wasn't made aware it was even a possibility. And when that turned out to be true, I have to say I was really shocked just because it surprised me that that would happen. You know, Richardson played, what, 1,200 games. He was a first-round draft pick, and he was someone who fought to stay in the NHL. So I was really shocked at that. And I think that also created some ripples in-house that were very very difficult to fix and you know I was you know I was just sore to hear that that it just that one

just went sideways because it just surprised me knowing what a good person Richardson is that you know sometimes we all make mistakes and I was kind of surprised at that one um I would own it he did own it like that wasn't a surprise to me like that he would stand up and and and say I should have done better but I do think that caused some problems uh in the dressing room no question about that um you know the other too, is you talk about the European coaches and Chicago now has done two. Alpo Suonen was one. Ivan Halinka was another with Pittsburgh. But there's the answer to the trivia question is the first European coach in NHL history was not one of those three. Do you know who it was

i don't i got okay so i just remember this old trivia question there was a guy by the name of johnny gotzlig and uh he was actually the head coach of the chicago blackhawks from 1944 until 1948 and the story I was always very interested about Johnny Gotsalig was that he played junior hockey in Canada he grew up in Regina but he was actually was born in Russia and I think officially he was credited with Odessa being his hometown. And he's the guy who really is the first European, even though he was Canadian raised think he was one of the first Europeans born to win a Stanley Cup as the captain because he was the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 30s when they won so I am here I don't know what the current family tree is of the Gotsalig family, but I think he did.

I'm here to make sure the Gotsaligs get the credit. Nicely done. Thank you. That's your, you're bringing thought line energy here early on, which we love to hear. All right. Elsewhere around the league on Thursday, Elliot,

you mentioned Andrew Burnett and the Predators earlier. 3-0, they are shut out in Montreal. It's six losses in a row, three of them though they did get a point in, and they scored two or less in all six of those games. Burnett after the game, his quotes that it's become redundant, just a similar story pretty much all season, and that that loss in Montreal was just another chapter. I really enjoyed the conversation you and Luke Gazdik and Sam Constantino

had on the panel the other night about what you saw and what you heard from the Predators when they came through Toronto earlier in the week. So now what's your read on this team at this juncture? Where do they go from here? That's a great question. You know what really stood out? So they come into Toronto, and it's just after Stamkos had his quotes. And to me, it was almost like, okay, we're coming through Toronto,

we're coming through Montreal, and I know they're going up to your neck of the woods Ottawa after and they were so positive on Wednesday morning at the skate like all the players who talked and they were like Nashville's always had a great room the players are always available they're always no matter who's there it's just like it always seems like they're really great to deal with and they were so upbeat they you know even though the the math is against them Kyle really against them and that's even before these two defeats they were like they were they were acting the way players should act there's still a lot of season to play we have time to turn this around we're starting to get better and I was almost thinking that it was almost

coordinated in a way in addition to what a player should think it's like we're in Canada and anything we say bad is gonna get multiplied 600 fold so we better make sure we're on the same page especially after Stamkos had had been so frustrated the previous week and you know Marcia so had a really good line when I spoke to him about this year struggling he goes I didn't sign here for one year. I signed here for five. Like, we're going to figure this out.

And so and then they go out and they kind of suppress the Maple Leafs for 40 minutes. But then Craig Berube puts Matthews with Marner and it's and they just get run out of the building. And Marner had one of the best, like never mind the assist, like just all-around game. He had one of the best games I've ever seen him play. And then they go into Montreal, and all of a sudden in Montreal, Ryan O'Reilly's hurt. He's now week to week.

And they scratch Tommy Novak, who has really struggled, really struggled. Like now that's – Novak becomes kind of the biggest guy they've scratched now they scratch some of their kids but Novak is more into he's not one of the superstars he's not one of the name guys but this is a guy they signed to a three-year extension at three plus last year there was a lot of interest in him if they hadn't signed him like he's more of an upper echelon player and at the start of the year he's the guy they hope is their number two center and so all of a sudden you're you're playing Montreal and you're without your number one center who's hurt O'Reilly and your number two center Novak who's benched and

you get shut out you know I understand why they benched Novak he hasn't been playing well but I was surprised they did it on a night where they don't have O'Reilly because now you're down your two top centers from the top of the start of the season and Stamkos was was the number one center and he's been playing wing almost all year so I was a little bit surprised at that you know they lost you know as we talked they have changed their system they didn't allow their D to pinch in the ozone now they're allowing it they always wanted the puck moving forward or on their breakouts they didn't believe in D to D now they're doing that a bit. So, you know, Burnett, and like I said, Burnett didn't turn into an idiot in a year. The personnel just changed.

The team is not as quick. It's not working. And at least he showed some adaptability. But these two games absolutely feel like a setback. Like they really do. And, you know, I have to tell you, like, Kyle, I'm watching the games on Thursday night. And, you know, San Jose, even though they've been getting better, they really do. And, you know, I have to tell you, like, Kyle, I'm watching the games on Thursday night. And, you know, San Jose, even though they've been getting better, they're young.

That's going to happen. But, you know, you look at Nashville, you look at the Islanders. You know, we're going to talk about the game. You were at Ottawa-Detroit in a few minutes. Like, all of a sudden, on December the 5th, that was a huge game between Ottawa and Detroit. Like, it always, you know, Buffalo lost again. Kevin Adams is going to be speaking to the media on Friday, which seems a little bit unusual.

Like, there's the stress is big. is big um you know some teams out there they they really need a 90 minute hot stone massage because there's some real stress out there right now and like nashville like the one thing i really think about barry trotz barry trotz is he's been in that chair before he knows what Burnett's going through, and he knows that when you're in the pilot chair like he is, you have to eat the responsibility when it goes bad. And I think that Barry Trotz is legitimately looking at this and saying, I do not want Andrew Burnett to take the full heat for this. Like, I just don't think that barry trotz would be comfortable now eventually you could get backed into a corner and you could be forced to do it that's life in the big city but the sense i really get there is that trotz is saying i do not want brunette to wear this because he's not the he's far from the only person who should take any or wear any responsibility or blame for what's having in nashville that's what i see

in trots but boy like like i said it was a step back this week like even though they weren't winning at least they were in games they They were getting closer. And when you're struggling at center like those two guys, like those guys are, and all of a sudden you lose O'Reilly, oh, man, is that a huge, huge task for Nashville to try to overcome. You already called ahead and booked your hot stone massage in Palm Beach, didn't you? No, you know what? That's why, you know what I, I, or that's a work trip. So I, I wouldn't, I wouldn't do that there, but I did get one

for my birthday, which I still haven't cashed in yet. So I have to do that. Okay. So that's on the mind. No, but you know what, going back to your point about being in games. I mean, there was four games in a row that they lost 3-2 three of them were in overtime and then the regulation lost to Toronto on Wednesday but I can also Elliot remember somebody saying to me once like one of the worst things you can hear

as a general manager is that you have won the offseason like almost in some way it can be a kiss of death because winning the offseason doesn't guarantee a thing when it all starts to count for real. And there were so many people, myself included, that thought they had done some really wonderful things in the summer. And it just hasn't come together. And in fact, it's gone the complete opposite direction to this point.

gone the complete opposite direction to this point and another couple steps back for nashville this week with two critical losses where they get nothing out of them and now without ryan o'reilly for the next little bit as well you know i have to say like there were the the team in the east that everybody kind of drooled over it's worked out for them new jersey like they are the one a lot of people drooled over them and they're hanging in there they're doing a great job and they're as legit as people thought but you're right the other side it was nashville and who thought they would have been 31st like not me no i i don't know i don't know anyone who did but you know I was there was there was about two hours there where you're watching all these games on Thursday night and you see Ottawa Detroit and you're watching you know even like Seattle who beat the Islanders like I think there's been a

lot of stress there a lot of stress there especially in the room who's playing who isn't playing the players who aren't playing like how do they feel um you know there's especially the ones that don't have contracts for next year um you know i think internally for seattle it hasn't been easy and when you're losing it's never easy but there were a lot of games and situations I was watching on Thursday night, Colin, I was saying, boy, this game feels heavy, heavy for early December. I watched Nashville and I see what's going on around them. And I'm'm like everyone's waiting for something to happen I watch the Islanders I see what's going on around them everyone's waiting for something to happen Detroit Buffalo same thing you watch them you you see what's going on around them everybody is waiting

for something to happen we should mention patrick line a two fridge two goals in his first two games back kind of the opposite of heavy for for him it was a heavy start to the year of course with the injury and pre-season and having to wait this long just to play his first regular season game with the canadians you go back to opening night the ovation that he got when he was acknowledged standing there in a dynamite suit on the bench but obviously at that time was a long ways away from playing meaningful games for the canadians and i remember bumping into him briefly at the end of that game and just talking about how the crowd reacted to him and his head was still spinning in a way like he could not

believe how loud that building got when he was shown on the screen. Like that was the first real taste of that market and for him to be embraced in that way. And the roof came off the building, both goals that he scored this week and two more wins for Montreal as they're trying to crawl out of an early hole

that they dug themselves. Yes, I agree with that um and the other thing too about line is first of all i loved his post the instagram post about being at the church and basically pronouncing his return this year i thought that this week i thought it was fantastic but what you know what that was for montreal is it's been a hard year and that was it was kind of like trade making a big trade and getting a big player in it. Kind of breeze new life into your lineup. That's what that was.

It wasn't a trade, but it was a player coming back. And you could see they were excited to have him. And in a really hard year, that lifted them up. You know, I have to say, watching the games, and we'll get to some other stuff in a second, Kyle, but I'm watching these games tonight and there were, again, some really tight goaltender interference calls,

flames in overtime. That wasn't a challenge. That was in overtime. So the league looked at it pareko's goal was able to stand i felt terrible for that sabers uh player who made his nhl debut tonight uh tyson kozak who lost his first nhl goal on a goaltender review call um you know i was surprised that pareko goal stood by the way way. You were, eh? Well, we talked about how many weeks ago about the jab into the pad.

The one thing is that the puck is there and he gets the puck, right? Right. Like the puck is there and he gets the puck. Like to me, that's Pareko. To me, that's like mishkov who by the way looks fantastic offensively like to me that's the same as mishkov that's a guy taking a a swipe at the puck and not trying to push the pad like I I get it I can understand that one but you know what this is starting to remind me of kyle what's that do you remember in 99 how old were you in 1999 like one yeah just about how old were you in 99 what year were you born

i turned six in 99 i was i was way off anyway uh in 99, when the toe in the crease got so bad, like every time a goal got scored, you know, players were looking up and pointing to the video rooms in the building like there was a sniper up there. Like every goal, is there a toe in the crease if so goal doesn't count and betman had enough of it like he he said we can't we can't have this anymore and they changed the rules and got away from that i don't know what the solution is here but there's too much review like i said a couple of podcasts ago i'm getting tired of it

there's too much video review the and i'll be honest here like i don't have a great solution because a i haven't thought of one and b i think this is all about trying to create some predictability for the playoffs but it's too much like I was watching that kid's first goal getting taken down here and I was like I can't look at this anymore yeah any ideas unless they start changing the rules or changing the wording. But so long as we live in a world with this many different camera angles and high resolution camera angles and replays and all of that, under the current way the rules are set up, I don't see it changing at all. I don't think it's possible. You have to change the interpretation or what you identify as a clear goal,

as a goal or one that should be taken off the board yeah we we've got too much replay too much you know what it also too i remember there when there was a time in the in before overtime when they were doing like a dry scrape before overtime. Before the shootout. Right. Oh, sorry. Before the shootout. You're right.

It was before the shootout, not before overtime. And Bettman went to a game at Madison Square Garden. And he saw how many people were leaving while they were doing the dry scrape. And he was like, that's enough of that. That was the end of that and it's not like people are getting up and leaving during video review but it's it's going to be too much like i said i bet you even the people in the video review room they're unplugging the phones sorry system wasn't working i don't want to talk to right to airplane mode yeah

we have to stop this i don't even i don't even have all the right answers but i i just know what he gets like when it gets to be too much i wonder it's just my antenna is too much as usual i have no insight into whether or not this is true but my and my antenna is going off here okay four nations we have the rosters of the four countries competing come february canada us finland sweden all announced at various points on wednesday you were part of the canada u. unveiling. You're also doubling as the VP of Hockey Ops for USA Hockey. That was a takeaway for me, Elliot. I also loved in the blog. Here's the thing about Amber, okay? First of all, it was funny. Somebody asked me,

would that make you angry that Amber did that to you? And I said, no, like I give as good as I get. That's fine. But if Amber had picked USA, there was no way he would have done that. It was only because he was in the safe position. That's it. Right. And was that why after we did our little exercise last week that you pointed out in your blog that you and I had 55 correct picks and DA only had 52? Yes, that had something to do with it. Yeah. Although I didn't like send it directly to Connor McDavid. No, that's right.

That's where you two differ. I am well aware that McDavid would not waste one second of his life reading that garbage. You're right. Okay, so the rosters. Surprises, lots of expected names coming out, of course, but there's always ones that make you go, come again? Well, I would say first, I think the thing that really stood out to me was we talked about it a little bit earlier, but you could tell Bedard was really mad he didn't make it. And I think Stamkos was really disappointed he didn't make it,

and I think that had something to do with the timing of his comments last week. And so this is after, listen to Tage Thompson after Buffalo blows blows that four nothing lead and loses to colorado first period we were all over and making plays and going north with a puck and i think uh you know they make a push and start throwing pucks around not making plays and just giving it right back to them and just shove it back down our throat and spend the whole second and third in our d zone and just scrambling around so it's just ugly ugly last 40 minutes of the game so kyle like he's you can't see it obviously this is a audio medium but he is stone faced through that and he just looks so disappointed and you can tell by the tone like I'm looking at this and I'm saying like people

are wondering does this tournament really matter to the players do the players really want to be part of it to me those are three examples of guys the timing cannot be a coincidence it cannot be a coincidence they're looking like like, like to me, I was astonished. You were right. You were right about Thompson. You didn't have him on your team. Dave and I did. One of David's many incorrect picks.

But like I was astonished that Thompson didn't make the team. And I just think that he's never played an NHL playoff game. I think in a short tournament, that mattered. And I think if you look at Bill Guerin, he went with guys like maybe were struggling this year. Like you look at Canada, Hyman struggles this year, cost him a spot. But the US, for example, their approach,

Kreider, 123 playoff games. Trocek, I think, has 55, and he had 16 points in 20 games last year even though they were having rough years he went for the experience and like i like the way that thompson talked in that scrum to me it was he's not only upset they lose the game, but to me, and someone will tell me if I'm wrong, to me, that's his frustration pouring out that because he's part of a team where it's been like that, he doesn't get to go play in this tournament. And those kinds of comments should erase any doubt about whether or not the players care about this tournament,

especially the ones who've never played in it before. You know, it was interesting. I heard there was one player that when he was told he didn't make the team, reacted so negatively that the team decided they won't even bring him as an injury replacement if it gets to that. I was like, wow, that's pretty serious stuff. They were shocked at how, or I don't know if shocked, they were disappointed at how negatively the player reacted. That's a tough one for me.

I don't know exactly what was said. I think if I was in that situation and really wanted to play i don't think i would react very well either although i don't know that i would i don't know if they considered open disrespect or whatever it was but i i don't think i would cross that line but i would make my disappointment clear um but and on the flip side of that we should point out so seth jarvis would have been probably the one player on canada's roster that may not have been on a lot of lists going in but clearly don sweeney and company saw a lot that they liked and there is a lot to like there with

that player i don't know if you saw the interview he gave to the hurricanes broadcast on thursday but he talked about calling his mom that was the first phone call he made to let her know that he had made it. And he was so emotional. He could barely talk. She started crying. That's the flip side of, you know, certainly there's disappointments along the way. But for a player like Jarvis, who has been pointed out one of the last cuts from the world junior team in 2021.

Yeah, Mike Sondheim with the tweet. Yep. Exactly. PR extraordinaire with Carolina. To go from that and now carving out in a rather short period of time a pretty darn good role and an important piece of that roster, and now you get to play for Team Canada, that was really awesome too. That was really special.

By the way, I think Mike Sunheim has been promoted, so he doesn't have to hang around with the grimy media anymore. No wonder he's in such a good mood all the time. Oh, that's right. Yes. But I agree with you. Sorry, Mike. I agree with you.

That was a beautiful moment. And like I said, that's not a bad pick. That's all of us being dumb for not potentially seeing it coming. You know, what were the biggest surprises for you? Like, for me, like Finland, their pool is such that, you know, there were a couple other players they could take, but I wouldn't call anything a surprise.

What stood out for you? Yeah, I mean, I guess if we go back to, I mean, we talked a lot about ecklund and zetterlin i was surprised neither one of those made it to an extent um you know i i didn't have elias lindholm on initially understand why they go with uh him at the end of the day um for the u.s i mean there was a lot of good options uh carlson not making the blue line i know you talked about that um i would have surprised me he would have been washington no players eh tied for second in the nhl no players i'll bet you like spencer carberry is making

posters uh right now with like a big number on yes zero and and the other thing too is i'm gonna guess that brian mcclellan he's he's probably sitting there going i'll take this i'll take this no it's it's funny like i had one guy say to me that he's wondering if guys are gonna get traded uh like if anybody on those rosters is going to get dealt um and there won't be too many if they get dealt before the tournament because of what happened with tovaris in 2014 oh right yeah very good point that's what someone said to me anyway i'm sure i'm sure mcclellan will be more than happy with Carlson drinking pina coladas in Mexico somewhere.

Yes. And then beyond that, I mean, Scheifele, I thought, may have been there for Canada. Even a guy like Mackenzie Wiegers had a really nice start to the year, but they're all really high-end players. Good for Travis Sanheim for making the cut. What a great opportunity for him. Yeah.

Anyone else on your list of surprises? You know, Hyman. Hyman was a big one for me just because like I don't necessarily like small sample sizes. I think what's happened with the last couple years in in Edmonton but like like you said like these are great players so I was I was a bit surprised at Hyman I was a bit surprised at Rob Thomas but he got hurt too like you know Canada Canada like injuries really hurt guys for Canada with the obvious one being Drew Dowdy. Like Drew Dowdy was going to be on this team. And I understand why they couldn't put them on if he's not going to play until January.

You know, Michael Backlund for Sweden. I was with you. I thought one of Eklund or Zetterlund would make that team, but I was, you know, I was surprised they took both Arvidsson and, and Nyquist.

Nyquist? I would have thought at the beginning of the year there was no chance Nyquist wasn't going to make it, but it's been such a difficult season for him. But now Arvidsson's in this zone that we don't even know when he's going to skate again. So maybe he gets replaced, but Michael Backlund was a surprise to me.

Thompson and Carlson. The one thing I really do think with the U.S. looking at the roster, they do not have a big D. They have, I think, you know, like Canada's got a really big physical defense. The U.S. does not. So I could see, you know, again, leaving out Thompson, but, you know, Kreider's a big guy. Brock Nelson, who's a, but Kreider's a big guy. Brock Nelson, who's a really good player, is a big guy.

And Trochek plays big. I could see them going for guys like that because physically, Guerin says he needs to protect his defense a bit. But, you know, I mean like it's so funny it's hilarious that we put up that snub board for canada and you know people are like ripping us because we don't have guys on the snub board like we need a snub of a snub board we canada's third team i remember in in 91 I I referenced my notes I referenced the 91 Canada Cup team uh and I remember all the guys that got cut from that team where guys like Joe Sackett got cut from that team um I remember Don Cherry went on uh the broadcast and he said the B team could have won that tournament now I don't necessarily think that could happen now, but they wouldn't be terrible.

No, they wouldn't. Just over two months away, February 12th, Canada and Sweden kicks off the four nations face off from Montreal. All right. That brings us to the final thought, which is brought to you by GMC and Elliott on Thursday night in the nation's capital. by GMC and Elliott on Thursday night in the nation's capital. It was the Pizza Line reunion. Daniel Alfredson, Jason Spezza, Danny Heatley, all under the Canadian Tire Center roof again for the first time since 2009.

Now, this is something that has been in the works for a little while now. It's a good interview you did. Oh, I appreciate that. He was really good with his time. It was neat that he had his family there and you could as he said in the press conference and in our conversation too like it was just the joy that he was feeling being back you knew for a while he had wanted to come do this but as he said he wasn't gonna come out uh back to ottawa without an invite first so this is something where, for those that are familiar with the history there,

it was never going to happen under the previous ownership. But now with Michael Landlauer in the fold, I think that's been a big priority for him is rebuilding the relationship with some of their alumni, particularly a big name like Danny Heatley. I really do believe Elliot I mean as much as they build it as the the reunion of the whole line coming in there and it was great that Jason Spezza got honored because though he's come back as a player on an opposing team a number of

times since he was traded from Ottawa in 2014 this is kind of the first time the crowd's been able to welcome him back since he retired as a player but I really believe that night was was about heatly and to have Alfredson and Spezza there too I think was just some great insulation and to have you know the three of them go through that together because you know I he got a great ovation when he was announced and walked out to center ice but I do believe the organization kind of quietly was going until that moment happens you never really know for sure how the the crowd was was going to react and handle that moment but you know you could tell that the fan base was was ready to embrace him again so that was as have, all three of them said, the most success, the high points of their playing careers all came when the three of them were together as teammates and as line mates.

And I thought, you know, it was interesting that Heatley noted, too, you know, he said he didn't have any regrets about how it ended in 2009 but as he went on to San Jose and Minnesota and then a little bit there in Anaheim at the end you know he realized as much as he enjoyed playing with other great players and in the other stops in his career the chemistry the natural fit that it was with the other two, that's something that doesn't come around very often. And as time went on, he realized, you know, that was a tough thing to walk away from that type of success, because it's not guaranteed that you're going to find that everywhere that you go. But Elliot, I know you covered those Senators teams very extensively during their heyday

and over those years. What did you think seeing it all? You know, I liked it. It brought back a lot of memories. Like that Ottawa rise. So the year before I arrived at Hockey Night was the year they lost to New Jersey in the 03 Eastern Conference Final.

And then I came and Ottawa was good for a long time, and I got a lot of those Ottawa playoff series. I covered a lot of games in Ottawa, and I did a lot of those series. So it was a fun time. And I've always said that Alfredson in particular was among the top players I've ever covered. I really liked dealing with him and also with Spezza and with Heatley.

And it was interesting to hear Heatley talk to you about how he left. Like you can tell there's so much more he wants to say, but he gave us a little bit more than he has before. But obviously the rest of it is it's in the past. It's history. He came back. He got a good ovation.

Why go there? To me, it was like a night where Ottawa got at peace with Danny Heatley and Danny Heatley got at peace with Ottawa. I thought it was a really nice night. piece with Ottawa. I thought it was a really nice night. And it reminded me a lot of 07, the day that Ottawa beat Buffalo to go to the Stanley Cup final. And I'll tell you a funny story about that game, Kyle, is that it was an afternoon game and I drove from home. And for whatever reason that day, the border was a mess. And I got there in time. But about half an hour before we were supposed to go on air, we were still at CBC at the time, Joel Darling, the executive producer,

he came up to me and said, Ron and Don are stuck. They can't get across the border. And you might have to do the show start the show i was like okay okay um and i'll tell you this like joel was pacing i could tell and i hope joel listens to this and he laughs but i could tell john joel was not exactly enthused about the idea of me hosting that particular broadcast. Like, it was a huge game. The Senators had a chance to go to the Stanley Cup final,

and, you know, Ron and Don were the stars, and it was just a massive broadcast. And he was like, I can't believe that we're not going to have them here to start the game. And you know what? I don't know what happened. Ron going to have them here to start the game. And I, you know what? I don't know what happened. Ron will tell me, or Joel will tell me, but if I'm not mistaken,

they got like the police to get them through the line and get them over the border. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I think, Oh, I believe it. I think it happened. And they literally got there about 17 minutes before we went on the air and

I mean Don just loved it like he he thought the whole thing was fantastic and you know he knew what he was going to say so it wasn't a thing for him he could just go out there and spout it was fine but Ron who as you know, never looks nervous. He was frazzled. It was the first time. That was my, I think, fourth year at Hockey Night. Oh, 304. So it was my fourth year.

That was the first time I ever saw Ron frazzled. Like, you know how he is. He's got so many things in his head. He's got a plan for everything. Well well his complete routine had been thrown off but of course once the red light on we went on the air you never would have been able to tell anything was unusual he pulled it all together like the great pro he is and i can still remember when that whole building went silent and he scored and to put them in and the celebration and what it was like in their room and i think dalton mcginty was the premier of ontario and he was in the room and i'm like i have never seen this guy around a hockey game before like what's

he doing here and it was just like you know how it is when someone wins, like everybody wants to be in there. Like those were great moments. Covering that team was great moments. And, you know, unfortunately, it was so wild in Ottawa under Melnick because they'd have great teams and then they'd have big, terrible years. Then they'd have great teams again and then they'd have big, terrible years. And, you know, you consider where the senators are now and in 2017 they were in overtime in game seven in the eastern conference final

and it just fell off a cliff like tell me what you saw watching that game first of all that was something like that was a weird game between ottawa and detroit like there was some weird stuff that happened in that game well yes i mean ottawa completely controlled things through two periods and then detroit ties it in the third and the third period is where it got weird i thought there was like an early kind of ticky tacky call and then all of a sudden the standard of the game shifted and so anything kind of close the arm went up and uh it just you know it was managed can only imagine for lalonde and travis green managing the the bench there to try to close that game out an important one as as you

say divisional matchup kind of a four-point uh setup and both teams that that need points to try to get themselves uh back into the the mix here and what an incredible shot from Josh Norris, whose name's been out there in a couple of different circles the last little while. He scores both for Ottawa. So it wasn't exactly a tribute to the pizza line in a 2-1 nail-biter for the Sens. But I guess when Green addressed the team Thursday morning,

he said to them, you know, we need to have a two-to-one mentality, and at least they followed that to a T. Yeah, like Norris, big night for him, big night for Ottawa. It's interesting. Like, you know, Steve Stahos, he works to keep it quiet there. He really does. I would love to tap his phone right now. That was a big one for Norris.

That was a big, big one for Norris. Big one for Norris. Big night for Danny Heatley and Sens fans everywhere as Heater returned to the CTC. That was the final thought brought to you by gmc we'll take our first break we'll come back with a thought line you're listening to 32 thoughts the podcast All right, welcome back. Time now for the Thought Line, 1-833-311-3232. The email, 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca.

Elliot, before we go any further, should we get this whole... The Sedins? The Sedins? Yes. Apparently the Thought Line was jammed full of it. Griffin joke, we may have to call in someone from Sportsnet PR just to sort everything out. There was that many coming after us for the Cedeno mission that was not. Were they from Vancouver?

Were they from Sweden? Like, where were these people reaching out from? Here, there, and everywhere. What kind of phone operator do we need? Do we need Google Translate? Like, what's necessary here? Apparently the hits were coming from all over. Well, I'll just say this.

Like, you guys are all right. Like, Sadeen's going second and third and getting their numbers retired by the same team. Absolutely, totally true. I'll just confess it right away. I was purely looking at one-two picks because the question was about Marlo Thornton. I was thinking about one-twos two three like when I have tunnel vision it's very

on brand I have tunnel vision I don't see anything else if you tell me to look for a bar of silver and right next to me are 36 gold bars. It's possible I may miss the gold bars. So yeah, you guys are all right. Totally true. It was a miss, but it's very on brand for me. If I am thinking about something, I'm not thinking about anything else. And that's why I didn't remember the Sedins. That's all.

And I would just say, because yes, you are absolutely right. The question was first and second overall in a draft to have their numbers retired so that's why I kept the Sedins out of the conversation I know how easily you can get confused and distracted so I didn't want to integrate that into the conversation for your own good thank you Kyle I appreciate you looking out for my well-being. And you noticed, Dom, that we didn't try to say that we knew all along or blame it on something else. You know, we just, you know, we took the blame. And Dom, I would also say, Dom, the producer,

that you're from Vancouver. You should have been the one that noticed it. So truly, it is your fault, not mine or Kyle's. No, no, no. The question was one, two picks. One, two picks. It's one of the few times dom was actually listening to our conversation once again dom dom dom dom sramati i have no responsibility for any of this dom sramati how millennial is me yes you were all right i just wasn't paying attention to it you're forgiven okay thanks and we will begin today with moshe a canucks loyalist in nyc hey elliott kyle dom huge fan of the pod don't miss an episode thank you for that with all the talk about raising the cap and the resulting increase in star player salaries, was wondering about the little guys at the bottom. How is league minimum salary determined and when will we see that go up as well?

Go Canucks go. Good question. So I'm looking at it right now. And basically the way that works is that it's set as part of the CBA. The league minimum salary for this season is $775,000. No player can earn less than that unless they're on a minor league contract, whether it's a two-way or a pure minor league deal but the minimum of an NHL salary is $775,000. Now it hasn't always been that number under the terms of the most recent CBA in 2021 it was $700,000 in 21-22 and 22-23 it was $700,000. In 21-22 and 22-23, it was $750,000. It was moved up to $775,000 last year, obviously this year, and for next year, which is the last year of the current agreement,

it is also $775,000. So that's the number you're looking for. Very good. Keeping with the theme of contracts, voicemail next. Zach from Kelowna. Just had a question about the bonus structure, as you were mentioning on your previous podcast. Curious if there's league rules or guidelines that have to be included and if the NHL has to review them to approve the contracts with these bonus structures included. For example, if a player gets a bonus structure for X amount of games played

and it's lower than other teams, is there a baseline that has to go across the entire league? Appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Also a good question. First of all, all contracts have to be approved by the NHL. No contract can be formally announced until the league central registry has approved it you'll remember a few years ago one of the big

ones was when ilya kovalchuk extended with the new jersey devils he signed a huge contract that the nhl initially vetoed so they do have the power to do that that's part number one number two there are only three kinds of players who are eligible for performance bonuses the first group is anyone on an entry-level contract rookies. Second, are players aged 35 or higher on a one-year deal. You can sign players to bonuses and that's some of the bonuses you're talking about 10 games, 20 games, things like that. And also there is another group and there's a bit of a different criteria for it but the simplest way to answer it is veteran players I think you have to have played 400 games to qualify veteran players who have missed a long time due to injury

and and basically if you've missed I think how it's basically if you've missed about half of the last season due to injury you can sign a contract with bonuses. Like one guy who's like that for Maple Leaf fans is Max Pacioretty. He signed a contract this season, even though when he agreed to go to Toronto, it was a formality that he was getting a full-time contract with the team. They had to exactly figure out what cap space the Maple Leafs needed and make the bonuses work for that way. And so he got, because he's been injured so much, he qualified

for this kind of a contract. Now, in order for bonuses, once they get paid out, if you have room on your cap, then whatever bonuses get paid out will be added to your cap for that season. However, there is flexibility if you're over the cap, then they can be added to your cap for the following season. So there are, so for example, if Toronto ends up being over the cap, then if Pacioretty gets his bonuses, they will come off their cap next year. That's kind of the way it works. Now, there are things in contracts, you know, ultimately if the NHL, like we've seen some

situations where players get bonuses for playing 10 games. The NHL has basically said that is acceptable now. But in theory, they could look at something and say, you know, we don't agree with that and we veto it. And we'd see if, you know, there was any chance for a grievance or anything like that. For the entry-level performance bonuses, they are kind of split into two categories. It's called the A bonuses and the B bonuses. And the A bonuses are things like goals, points, ice time, points per game, all rookie, all-star selections, things like that. Goalies, there's a minutes played bonus that you can get and also save percentage and things like that And the B bonuses are basically if you are among the best

of your peers, like top 10 in certain categories, first or second team all-star, or you win a major trophy. So those can all be worked into a contract. Did I explain that well enough, Kyle, or was I off there? No, I thought I'm missing. I don't think so. Other than like the one question that he had in there too, was more so for like a veteran or the over 35 type bonuses that you can work into the deals.

It's not something where, you know, a bonus, if you're going to give a player for playing 20 games, it's not a flat rate kind of anytime that bonus is handed out anywhere. It's just what the team and player agree to. Like each situation is different. Is that right? No, it's not the same number. Like you can adjust it depending on the team and the player and what cap space you have available. There's not a flat rate. It is, it can be negotiated. Okay, great. Zach, thank you for the question. Up next, Marty from Minnesota. Hey guys, long time listener. I love alliteration.

We're bringing that back. Longtime listener since the old 31 thoughts, but first time making contact with the thought line. I hail from Swan River, Manitoba, but I've ended up in Minnesota due to across the border marriage. I'm a huge Winnipeg Jets fan. However, being here, I'm bombarded with news. You are in enemy territory. That's exactly where he was going. The arch

rival and nemesis, Minnesota Wild. I can't help but notice Brock Faber wearing glasses in most of his office photos, and it had me wondering if there was any player in NHL history that wore glasses on the ice during a game. I coach 10U, and we have a couple

little dudes that wear them, and it triggered the question. Keep doing what you guys do best. Also, if you do a live show in Manitoba, I'll be first in the door. Wow. Duly noted. So Al Arbor came to mind for me. This is the guy who came up from Minnesota,

and the Jets fans are going to pummel him before we can even say that he's really a Jets fan. How dare you, Remus? Al Arbor came to mind for me. That's the one. Like, that's the guy. Al Arbor is the guy. And you're right, Kyle.

And, you know, for the kids who wear glasses on the ice, you should know that Al Arbor was the captain of the St. Louis Blues at one time. So it's not like this is an insignificant player. Anybody should see wearing glasses on the ice as a hindrance necessarily. This was a guy who was the captain of the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League. And, you know, there are pictures of him wearing glasses and no helmet, which is actually kind of funny to see. Of course, Al Arbor went on to be a famous head coach, won four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders. And Kelly Rudy and Glenn Healy speak the world of him as a father figure, a mentor, and a leader.

But I would say to any young player, boy or girl, who's wearing glasses on the ice, if Al Arbor can captain the St. Louis Blues, the National Hockey League while doing it, you can too. And in terms of fictional players, the Hanson brothers as well. Oh, good call. Good call. Although those glasses didn't last very long and all the fighting they were doing. No, they saw some things. They saw some things great question marty all right jacob from wheeling west

virginia greetings from nailer's country was watching the penguins play the flames and ricard riquel took a high stick while scoring a goal. No penalty, no worries. But it got me wondering. Normally, on a delayed penalty, if a goal is scored, the penalty is waved off. But if there were a high-sticking call that drew blood, would they still wave off the whole thing? Or could they maybe just wave off two minutes and still do a minor for the other two? After all, if you score in the first half of a double-minor power play, you get two more minutes to score again.

Keep up the excellence, guys. Dom, Kyle, and I guess even Elliot, too. Oh, I'm wounded. Down he goes. Did you look this one up? I believe the, yes, two minutes still stands. Two minutes is removed. Two minutes goes on the board.

Okay. Double minor becomes a regular minor penalty. All right, good work. I admit, when it comes to the rule book, I double check everything because there's some weird stuff in there and I don't know what it all is. Oh, it's a good question because I'm reading it and I'm going, I think this is the answer, but I better double check. No, Kyle, I don't know what it all is. Oh, it's a good question because I'm reading it and I'm going, I think this is the answer, but I better double check. No, Kyle, I don't think you should check.

I like it better when we just guess and then we get it wrong and somebody calls and says, what on earth are you two guys doing? Why don't you check the right answer? All right. Casey from Potsdam, New York. Hey, fellas. All right, Casey from Potsdam, New York. Hey, fellas. I am the play-by-play voice of the NCAA Clarkson Golden Knights who just lifted the Smashville Women's Showcase guitar.

Yes, congratulations to the Women Golden Knights who beat Merrimack over the weekend. Our equipment manager and I are on a long trek in hour 40 of driving the big box truck and are now wondering the following. Do teams fly to all away games or do they take a bus for some regional trips? We were thinking of Buffalo versus Toronto, Ottawa versus Montreal and other matchups like that. Maybe we are just jealous of our champs who have beat us home by over 12 hours. Big fans of the pod.

Big fans of the pod, thank you for keeping us occupied through a grueling overnighter. Cheers. That's good. There are some bus trips, like Toronto has done the bus before to Buffalo. I mean, obviously, you know, Rangers Islanders, Rangers Devils, like those kinds of

things. Yes, bus, you know, Ottawa, Montreal, I've heard all different. I've heard some flying, I've heard some train occasionally. I remember when I was a teenager, they did a train trip to open the season in Montreal and they all dressed like they were from the 1940s or whatever. So there are, I mean, obviously LA, Anaheim. So there are, yes, some bus trips, but mostly it's flying. I had heard, yeah, from time to time, Toronto would do the bus to Buffalo, but apparently a couple of years ago, they, I think they had lost in Buffalo and it was late at night, they're busing back home and there was a bit of an issue with,

with the bus. And so they were stuck for a little while trying to get all that sorted. And I think from that point on, it was like, we're not putting ourselves in this situation again. So I do believe that more often than not, the Leafs will fly to Buffalo, even though it's a very short flight. I learned today, Elliot, that there are at least 13 instances this season where teams are taking the train from either Ottawa to Montreal or Montreal to Ottawa as they make that leg of the road trip. Really? Yes. And certainly the Sens, when it's a one-off, they will train to Montreal whenever they can. I had no idea the cost just in the wintertime.

Obviously, the price to fly a private jet, you can imagine it comes at a pretty big number. But even things like de-icing, the cost associated with that, I had no idea it was that expensive, but it is. So anytime a team has the opportunity to do something like hop on the train and mitigate the travel expenses, they look to do that. So I had no idea that it was as many as potentially 13 times this is going to happen between Ottawa and Montreal this season, but that's what I learned today. So it happens maybe a little more frequently than we realize. You know, I have to say,

I've become a bigger fan of the train as I've gotten older. You know, they have functioning internet now and I find it pretty comfortable. I find the service pretty good. The one thing though, someone said to me their bag policy is changing and it's ridiculous.

This is a person who takes the train a lot as a matter of fact he's thinking of maybe giving up the train because he thinks their bag policy has become so crazy i don't know what he's talking about but that's what someone said to me today well that person's not going to like the air canada news this week either i heard about this what are they doing like like no like no, no carry on bag. When you do the basic fare. Yes. Unless you're, unless you're, well, because I mean, WestJet went, WestJet went that way.

You see it, I think Porter to a degree, like the most basic fare you've got to pay to have a carry on bag. Well, I've seen that. Okay. Dom's calling me like train insider i i you know i i i know that i recognize that sometimes you have to pay to have your carry-on bag but i i they're i saw they're they're thinking of like banning carry-ons like that's crazy to me planning carry-ons like that's crazy to me unless you're super duper elite like you are if you have the status then you can wait a second you travel more than i do you've got better status than me right but you travel a better a better way than i do

so that's where you catch me. You need a better agent. Oh, man. You are cruel. You are cruel. You're going to receive a cease and desist letter. All right, Casey, great question. Get home safe. Or I hope you did get home safe.

We'll wrap up with Axel from Switzerland. Hi, Kyle and Elliot. Thanks for all the great work you do. And I love how you mix sharp analysis with a good dose of humor. We're still working on that. Kyle didn't think that last one was so funny. Yes. I've got a question that I think might pique your interest. Is Taylor Hall's 659 game gap between his fourth and fifth career hat tricks

the largest gap in NHL history Hall had four hat tricks with Edmonton in his first four seasons but then none for the next nine seasons while playing for the Devils Coyotes Sabres Bruins and Blackhawks looking forward to hearing if this stat has any historical rivals or if Hall takes the crown for the longest hat trick dry spell. I assume you asked about this one because off the top of my head I have no idea. No idea. I sure did. I had to come ready. Okay what is does Hall have the record? He does not. He is so for the purpose this exercise, we're going by total games in between hat tricks as opposed to years and days because of how the question was presented by Axel. He is sixth.

659 games is the sixth longest stretch. I will give you one hint to start. Okay. Number one on this list is an answer to another question we had on the thought line a number of weeks ago now that was kind of a surprise to us at the time. We'll see if that helps. Let me just say for the record, like I can't remember what I ate for breakfast this morning. So if you're asking me what an answer was on the pod weeks ago, chance okay well first of all why don't we do this if he's six give us five four three and two okay number five dale hunter 670 number four matt

duchesne also 670 number three blake wheeler 694 number two gee Carboneau 828. wow okay so when are we what era are we talking about here this is going to be a tough one but i'm going to try what era are we talking about here he's a current player in the nhl current player in the NHL and broke his streak in April of 2022 and still around a forward I assume like a forward yep April 2022 I'm trying to remember what April 2022 looked like Colorado Tampa Stanley Cup final I always start there and kind of work my way backwards. So this would be a guy. I assume this is a guy who's in like his 30s now. Yes.

You know who jumped into my head? I just don't know if it would be right. Claude Giroux. Nice guess. Incorrect. Oh, I thought for a second. The way you set that up, I thought I actually nailed it. My hint to you is he was taken in the same draft as Claude Giroux was. Oh.

Would it be Eric Stahl? You are sizzling hot. Okay, I'm going to admit I'm cheating right now. I'm looking up the 2003 NHL draft. I'm going to be honest with everybody. I cannot lie. I cannot lie to the listeners. What?

Yeah. Well, the problem is you're looking at the wrong draft. Oh. Claude Giroux was taken in 2006, not 2003. Oh, well, then. Okay. Oops. Oops.

As my son says, oops. Okay. Oh, it must be Jordan Stahl then. It is. Oh, my God. Why did I think that Claude Giroux was in 2003? I have no idea. Yeah.

907 games. Mike Richards that year. Yeah. Wow. That's great work. Was it Sportsnet Stats, I assume? Yes. Yeah, great stuff, Sportsnet Stats.

I would never have gotten that without the hints. Never. Never. So, and you remember, it must have been a couple of months ago now, Jordan Stahl was the answer to most games without a shootout attempt. Remember? And we were like, Jordan Stahl, really? Jordan Stahl setting records for

futility on this podcast poor guy catching strays and he doesn't even know why most games on the shootout attempt longest streak within hat tricks what are we gonna get next yeah i don't It's going to score an overtime winner in the playoffs. Be like longest streak between overtime winner. A great player, but the futility king. All right, Axel. Great question. Elliot.

That was a great question. Minimal effort, but you got there. That was the Thought Line. A reminder, 1-833-311-3232. 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. Back to rap after this. All right. Welcome back.

Before we go, Elliot, as you know, the dog's grip on society, I feel, is tighter now than it has ever been before and only gets tighter with each passing year. So Thursday night, Connor McDavid is honored for 1,000 career points. His dog, Leonard, on the ice for the ceremony along with his wife,uren and his parents he was

excited to see connor he even got a silver chew toy he wasn't sure about it initially but great of the oilers to think of that as well he got some cuddle time with gene principale during the intermission too uh once again when you introduce a dog to the conversation they very quickly become the centerpiece of everything that's going on even when we're talking about one of the great players of our time i just loved when gene brought the dog on the set i you know i have to say my only disappointment with this is that i would have figured that gene would have found some way to actually give the dog a human voice and talk into a microphone i'm actually disappointed that did not occur like the what gene's gene slipping that because he would have done because he's the kind of guy who would have

been creative enough to say i'm going to interview this dog and here's what the audio i want you to put in its mouth like i was actually disappointed that this didn't happen are you kidding me the content that guy has created this year alone let alone his entire career I know you've graduated now to life in the studio with your corduroy suits and you're above the rinkside duties and all the work that goes into 30 seconds of television at the start of a broadcast. But I will not stand. I will not stand for disappointment for Gene over this.

No, you know what this is? I got nothing against Gene. Like I said, he should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Gene, or at least the Broadcast Hall of Fame, whatever you want to put him in. But I have a high standard for him now. Because of what he's done, I expect greatness. I expect greatness. And that was a really good segment with the dog on,

but it could have been great. We were missing dog audio. All right. And in the postgame, when he asked McDavid about it. What did you think of having the dog out there? Yeah, I mean, no kids, so he's the closest thing I got. So, you know, it was nice to see him out there. He's a great little dog and I love him.

So it was great having him out there. Yeah, it set the tone for the game. And I think in Columbus's case, they were barking up the wrong tree. Connor, congratulations. Well done, thanks. You could tell he enjoyed that. He sure did.

And we hope you enjoyed this episode of 32 Thoughts. And one final thing, we should mention what's to come this weekend on the network. Hockey Night in Canada, Hockey Central Saturday gets you started. Tomorrow, 6.30 Eastern, 3.30 Pacific. A trio of early games again this week. Toronto's in Pittsburgh. Washington's in Montreal. Nashville is in Ottawa.

The nightcap, Connor McDavid and the Oilers host the St. Louis Blues, who are winners in Calgary, on Thursday night. Also on Sunday, two regional games that can be viewed nationally. Vancouver hosts Tampa Bay, 4 o'clock Eastern, 1 Pacific, and Calgary is in Dallas. That is 8 Eastern, 6 o'clock Mountain Time. So plenty to keep you busy over the weekend. Frege, I will see you down in Palm Beach for the Board of Governors meetings next Monday and Tuesday. That's where we will reconvene for the next episode of 32 Thoughts.

Until then, we appreciate you spending some of your day with us we'll talk to you again on monday bye