32 Thoughts: The Podcast - All Eyes are on Sweden

Episode Date: November 17, 2023

Jeff and Elliotte begin with the 2023 NHL Global Series in Sweden where the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings kicked things off on Thursday. They talk about the importance of these games and the importance of international best-on-best hockey for a nation like Sweden (7:26). They dive into Daniel Alfredsson's role with the Senators and how Mats Sundin should be more involved with the Leafs (9:45). Jeff and Elliotte talk about what's next for the New York Islanders after they lose 7 in a row (17:58), Elliotte provides an update on contract talks between the Canucks and Elias Pettersson (34:30) and the guys also talk about the NHL contemplating changes to 3 on 3 overtime (43:51). Elliotte also provides the latest on Patrick Kane's future in the NHL (52:28). The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (58:12) and Elliotte sits down with Calgary Flames defensemen Chris Tanev (1:09:25).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.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.

Why do you have to ruin it before I get to it? Okay, sorry, go ahead. Everybody out there, Jeff is anti-union. Not only does he think Rod Brindamore is soft, but Jeff is anti-union. And anyone else you hate on this podcast? I'm not going to be able to step into Coca-Cola Coliseum. All the IATSE guys are going to be in big trouble.

Oh, you're in big trouble there, man. No question about it. 32 Thoughts is always brought to you by the GMC Sierra HD, Merrick alongside Friedman, and the Global Series is upon us. Eyes are on Stockholm, eyes are on, well, Ottawa

and Detroit, as we record this podcast, are playing. Also, Minnesota and Toronto, those are your four teams. Coming up on this podcast, you will hear from Chris Tanev, Calgary Flames defenseman. Elliot Friedman sat down with Tanev a couple of weeks ago, and we thought, maybe

we should get this out before he gets traded. More on that coming up in a couple of moments. Meantime, Elliot, I have been wearing my World Cup of Hockey Team Sweden toque all day long. It's a Trey Kroner. It's the beautiful crowns.

It is blue. It is yellow. It is gorgeous. We've got Sweden on our mind. You know what that does? What's that? That answers the audience's question to Jeff Merrick. What are you wearing?

What's that? Actually, I'm wearing this toque, and I'm wearing a Guelph Griffins hoodie. Guelph Griffins hockey hoodie did you have anything purple on your side of things in the University of Western Ontario I think I'd rather you be I think I'd rather envision you naked than wearing a Guelph Griffins hoodie oh my Elliot every Friday have two Saturdays look at you go okay so as we all have eyes on Stockholm here,

I want to begin by this. And I'm so pleased that the NHL Alumni Association has done this. It's the Boreas Salming Courage Award. This was awarded today and it's an award that recognizes, I'll read it here, that recognizes a European NHL alumni member who's been a positive influence in their community and best embodies Bore's lasting bravery, courage, and dedication both on and off the ice.

First recipient, put on your surprised face, Nicholas Lidstrom-Elliott. Another item for Mr. Perfect, the perfect human. Yeah. Something else for the perfect human's perfect wall very fitting excellent choice can't argue with that at all and not surprised that glenn healy would come up with something like that that really works and and really fits i wonder if there's a problem with the clocks in sweden or if you check your time on a smartphone if there's a problem with the smartphones in Sweden like maybe too close to the north pole the magnetic nature of it gets in the way because

where are you going Detroit slept through the first period oh yeah true Ottawa slept through the second period yeah and I'll say this the best german baseball player around right now i believe is max kepler of the minnesota twins and there is no way he can hit a bouncing puck as well as tim stutzler can no way you know what they always say about bouncing pucks what do they say about them shoot them because you know where they're going? Nobody knows. Just shoot a bouncing puck always. That was a great OT winner by Stutzler.

That was really good. Hey, if that's game 104 in Sweden, you're off to a good start with your product. That was a fun game to watch. You know, the one thing I want to talk about this week and the importance of these games is is is Klingberg in Toronto and look when when Klingberg didn't play last Friday I had people telling me he was going to Robida Island and for those of you who are not familiar with Robida Island that's something that Toronto

fans refer to when Stefan Robida was injured he was sent on to LTIR and it opened up cap room and I was under Lou Lamorello. So Toronto fans have this joke about players who are injured and can't play. And I had people telling me that was going to happen. And so when he played on the Saturday night against Vancouver, I was calling some of these people and saying, you guys are the worst sources ever. Like he's back. And they were kind of laughing about

it and saying look like sweden's next week and and let's see and of course john klingberg is going to be there in sweden he went he made the trip he hasn't practiced doesn't look like he's going to play friday but listening to this about klingberg it's just a reminder like anthony amanda this week we found found out he lost his hearing and he still played through it after he took a shot off the head. And I think it's just another reminder of what these guys put themselves through to play. Even guys who are struggling, like Manta's been struggling and Klingberg's had a tough start.

Getting into these games is so meaningful to them, especially Klingberg going home to Sweden. You know he is doing everything possible to play in this game. Like, everything possible to play in this game. And I really love that they get the opportunity to do it. And ever since Luke Robitaille mentioned on our pod here that they have to go back to London, I'm just envisioning them with another game in London.

I love these things because you can tell for the guys who are from there how meaningful they are. Every press conference I've seen this week is of a player, whether active like a Nyelander or retired like an alfredson or a lidstrom they are just beaming at the possibilities of this and that's why i think it's so important in addition to growing the games part of the the lure of international hockey and again like we all you know waiting for a a sophisticated and consistent international calendar from the National Hockey League here is to establish identity.

Like as far as, you know, identity in a nation is concerned, so much of it is built on their reputation and their play in international hockey. And one of the things that started with the conversation I had with JD Bunkus on 590 in Toronto the other day, which is who is the face of Swedish hockey right now? Like for the longest time early, it was Boreas Salming. At times it was Peter Forsberg. A lot. It was Matt Sundin.

A lot. It was Nick Lidstrom as well. Sadeen Twins. Sadeen Twins, Henrik Lundqvist. Yeah. But right now, right now. Nobody beats that face of Swedish hockey. No kidding. that is tape measure

home run where the pitcher doesn't even watch it he just asks for another ball the left fielder doesn't even turn and look he just stands there yeah i don't need to move for this one but if you look at swedish hockey right now you know do we need to see international competition until someone distinguishes themselves or is it just the top player so is it Elias Pedersen is it Eric Carlson is it William Nylander like to me it doesn't seem like there's one clear-cut face of Swedish hockey and maybe we need to see an Olympic competition or a World Cup competition for one to really pop? You know what I think Sweden needs? And Sandin alluded to this in an interview last year.

I think it was with JD Bunkus, actually, who you just mentioned. But he alluded to they need international hockey back. Meaningful international hockey. And once again, Gary Bettman and Bill Daly were asked about this today and I and obviously they're working towards a 2025 international tournament of some kind and going back to the Olympics in 2026 but to me more than a specific face I think they need best on best we have to have it back and I get this argument all the time there's people who say to me you don't make money off the Olympics you're not getting the money for it I know I know I know I don't care it's still the Olympics and it's still the thing that most people watch and the players

badly want to play in it and you build your you build your league even though it's not technically the nhl you build your league worldwide with your stars at the olympics and so that's why when you say who's the face of swedish hockey i don't think it's as important as getting the best on best with the swedish players there that's how you develop who your stars are pedersen has a chance to be it. And with a big performance on that big stage, he could be it. You mentioned Matt Sundin a couple of seconds ago. And listen, we saw plenty of games with Matt Sundin going head to head with Daniel Alfredson. There was stick toss gate and mocking stick toss and et cetera. So it's just a lot of fun watching Toronto ottawa go at it with two swedes at

the center of that rivalry um daniel alfredson on the bench with the ottawa senators and matt sundin in lengthy conversations with brendan shanahan of the toronto maple leafs um let's start off here twofold thoughts about alson's presence not just in Ottawa but specifically behind the bench at this global series and also I don't know if I should call it a thaw because I don't know if it was a iceberg but

does it seem like there's a more of a warming between Matt Sundin and Toronto going on right now it does first of all about Alfredson, this was always going to be a thing. Now that the standards were sold, he was coming back. It was just a matter of when and in what role.

Well, last Monday, not this week, but a week ago, when Steve Staios addressed the team, Alfredson was there and he was part of the commentary. He was one of the people who addressed them. That said to me that his voice is going to be big and his opinions are going to be heard. I don't even know if title matters with him right now. It's just that he's back in the organization. He's part of the overall group and his presence is there. And the fact they put him on the bench in Sweden, I think that's fantastic. First of all, he's going to love it. It's a proper tribute to him and secondly and i i think this

is an understated thing here it's going to allow daniel alfredson to go on the bench and see what's going on i want to make it very clear here i'm not talking about him like any kind of spy or anything like that because i know people go goofy about those kinds of things. I don't think he's not aspiring to them like that, but what it's going to do is it's going to give him a bird's eye view of kind of what's going on. And is there anything that needs to be fixed? Are they happy with the way everything's going and all the players are

reacting? Like Alfredson has made it very clear that he wants to be as much about development and making things better and offering his opinion as much as he's interested in like you know making trades or going scouting or running the team or anything like that so i think that's one of the things that's going to happen here is he's going to go on the bench he's going to see he's going to say okay this is what i'm seeing and this is how we can make it better so i only i don't think this is only a celebration this is also a chance to get him immersed in what's happening you know the sundin thing i don't like to talk for matt sundin because i think he

would hate it um to be honest but there's definitely been a feeling that Sundin is not as much a part of the organization as he should be and I again I've never spoken to Sundin about this but I know people who know Sundin who know how much he loves the Maple Leafs and loved playing for them and you know he gave his heart for them there's no question he's he sweat a lot of blood for the Toronto Maple Leafs and they feel he should be more involved and they think that he's kind of been I don't know if left outside is the right word but he's never had as much of a role as he should have and i know that these people are there right now and one of the things they're saying is they hope it means that sundin is going to become a bigger part of the organization because he's got a lot to offer and they feel as a guy who was captain as

long as he was he should be part of the organization this isn't like a a dave keon type estrangement from from the toronto maple leaves like i think that you've made that clear and i think it's important that you know that that that that's front and center here this is more of uh and i'm not so much feeling the love here from my old team as opposed to you know dave keon like there was some like legitimate bad blood between Dave Keon and well certainly when Harold Ballard ran the team but he just didn't want anything to do with the Maple Leafs organization he wanted a lot to do with his teammates but not the team itself yeah Keon was I don't like the way I've been treated here I don't like the way this is going and as we learned

that Dave Keon can hold a grudge for a very long time like very impressive skill I have to say to hold a grudge for as long as as long as he did even better that eventually you know that that cooled down and he was he was able to come back and be properly recognized that was Brendan Shanahan too like if Brendan Shanahan can bring Matt Sundin back into his team's mix along with having already brought Dave Keon back into the mix, that's impressive for Shanahan to have on the resume. And now, if you can do it

with Sundin, I think that's important. Like I said, he was always very passionate about the team. He's very smart. He's got a lot to offer. One of the things, I'll tell you this like a it's a funny story kind of but one of Sundin's friends I remember I was working a Toronto Montreal game on a Saturday night okay and Sundin was being honored He gave a speech before the game. It was after he was done playing.

And he talked about how the Leaf fans needed to understand how much the players cared. It was a time when things weren't going really well and they were under a lot of heat. And he gets up there and he stands up for them. He says, you have to understand that these guys really care about being maple leaves they they try really hard they want to win just as much as you do they want to represent the maple leaves very proudly for you so he

basically says leave them alone for a couple weeks while they sort this out and then they go out to montreal and they lose five, nothing. It was on hockey night in Canada. And this guy was at that game and he came up to me after, and he was steaming. He was, he was saying like, he's like those bleeping bleeps,

you know, Sundin goes out there. He tells the fans to get off their backs. He talks them up. He says, I know how much you care and they go out and they suck bleep and they lose five nothing to the montreal canadians they made mats look bad you should go on the air and you should trash them for that i was just i

always remembered that story it was it was really funny anyway like look like he should be part of the organization in some way, and hopefully it works out. Remember when Matt Sundin signed with the Vancouver Canucks and came back to Toronto when there was that ovation? You know, it's good you mention that because I thought about that with Bo Horvat, and that is that it's a reminder that a lot of the noise online is just noise.

You have to remember only a certain percentage of people have, say, a Twitter account or a whatever account. And just because something might be true online or appears to be true online, it's not true. Like Sundin was actually worried about the reception he was going to get. And remember, he gets the big o was going to get and remember he he gets the big ovation when they do the video and he can't take the face off the linesman steps away from the face off so sundine can recollect himself you could tell horvat was nervous for new york in vancouver the other night but the moment he gets out there it was funny what JT Miller said like stop crying I really love that but you know Orvat

was emotional and I think it's a reminder of the online world is not the real world people forget that it is not the real world and sometimes we need to be reminded of that but also Jeff more importantly what it's a reminder of, people understand that you're not always going to get the best results, but what they really know is if you gave them a great effort. If you gave them a great effort where they are, they will always thank you for that. I mean, I'll say this. One exception was John Tavaaris in new york he gave

them a great effort and they weren't having any of it but in most cases i think fans recognize you give us a great effort and we won't forget you for it what do you make of both that that was the game that a lot of us had circled okay this is this is going to be the one. It's the return of Bo Horvat. This is something that Horvat has probably had on his mind since the trade last year. Like, okay, eventually I'm going to have to go back to Vancouver. What is it going to be like?

I was so emotionally tied to that organization and that city and those fans. What's going to come over me? What's it going to feel like? And now he's gone through it. So the relief valve has been sprung for Bo Horvat. what's going to come over me what's it going to feel like and now he's gone through it so the relief valve has been sprung for Bo Horvat but at the end of it like all eyes were on this

game and so now we're looking at the Vancouver Canucks and we're looking at the New York Islanders and we're seeing the tale of two distinct teams like for Vancouver everything is going gangbusters but let's drill down on the on the Islanders here for a couple of seconds. Jeff, unfortunately for them, it didn't get any better on Thursday night. They went into Seattle, a team that was also struggling, and they couldn't get the win there. So every day the tension just piles up on Long Island. First of all, I don't think Lou Lamorello is sitting on his hands.

He didn't go on the road trip. He was in Toronto at the GM meetings. And, you know, one of the things about him is people don't like to say a lot about what he's up to, partially out of respect and partially because he still gives the fear of God into people. into people and you know if you want to make a deal with lamorello when it gets out i think it's harder now to say if it gets out it's not going to happen i i i don't think that happens as much like you'll remember last year when he traded for horvat we said on the pod in the monday morning look out for the islanders and i think it got done that day and someone said to me later that there were people who were nervous in vancouver when they heard about that because they're like uh-oh are we gonna lose the deal and you know

someone just joked with me later it's it's too hard to do that now there's too much that gets out but i do think that he's up to some stuff i think he was talking to a lot of gms uh at this meeting or the word was getting around that he was asking what's out there i i i really i i think they're looking for a score they've been looking for a score for a while i definitely think they're still looking for another one and i also think they're in on some of these defensemen maybe maybe from Calgary. I think he is looking at some ideas out there about how it can work and what he can get. Somebody hinted to me without confirming it that, who was at the meeting, they said they thought that Calgary was one of the teams on the Islanders' radar

about something they could do. And so I think he's definitely looking out there. You know, one of the guys I wonder about for the Flames, if you look at the Flames, they traded for Sharon Govich. They're young guys, like Zari looks like a player. Pospisil's been pretty good. Like they look like they have some young players here. One of the guys I wonder about if they're going to be a factor in all this

is going to be Wallstrom. And simply because I can see the player saying, you know, if I'm not going to get the opportunity here, I have to get it somewhere else. And I can see players like a team like Calgary that picked up a player like Sharon Govich possibly being interested in someone like that. I'm not saying it's going to be him, but that's the kind of player I could look at Calgary having interest in if they're the fit with Vancouver. And I could see a player like Wallstrom simply saying,

look, if I need to get my career going, if it's not going to be here, it can be somewhere else. That's kind of the guy some people have suggested to me is going to be interesting to watch in all this. We should also talk about Lane Lambert. There were a lot of rumors flying around on Lambert on Wednesday. Obviously, nothing happened I really love Lane Lambert the person look one coach has been changed you always wonder is it

going to be more I don't have any information at this point in time that they're doing it and it's tough to get anything out of New York it's just that i think everybody's sensitivities are are heightened to it just because there was a coaching change this week to me it comes down to what does lamorello think makes more sense making a move that helps them or changing a coach to help them bad penalties giving up leads uh special teams issues. There's a lot of problems there. You know what that game looked to me like in the third period? That even though it was 3-1, Vancouver thought they were going to win and the Islanders were worried they were going to lose. And that's been happening all the time.

Like Vancouver's one of those teams now that thinks they can win in any situation. And because the Islanders have had so many collapses you know you it starts becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy once that once that avalanche starts it's really hard to stop okay i'm glad you mentioned that because here's one observation again this is just me watching hockey games but when i watch islanders and when i watch them with the lead specifically like i'm glad you brought that up because it seems as if i mean they're married to a really tight defensive structure and it looks like they're completely risk averse nobody wants to take a chance because of uh their their very strict defensive philosophy and you know what hockey's like right now.

Every now and then you got to open it up. Every now and then you got to let your dogs run a little bit here. The Islanders don't do that. And I wonder too, because I've looked at it the same way. I'm like, oof, these guys may have the lead, but they're playing hesitant. Like they're playing tentative here. And I just wonder if it's because they adhere to this really defensive structure and are scared to open it up and what that might mean for them individually does that make sense it could the the only reason i agree i disagree with that jeff is that i've

seen it work for them right this is a team that went to the eastern conference final back to back playing basically the same system so i don't know that i would make that argument number one maybe it's just possible that you know jeff i mean maybe the answer is they're just simply not as good as they were two years ago or three years ago when they were going far with that when they took tamp to 1-0 in game seven. Like that was a hell of a team. Maybe this team is just two or three years older and we're seeing what catches up with that.

That could be the answer. To me, when I was watching the other night, I just saw a team in Vancouver that was thinking themselves, like when the Blackhawks were at their best, when the Avalanche were at their best, the Lightning were at their best, they never thought they were going to lose. Never.

The Golden Knights. You could be up 3-1 going into the third period and you still thought, you know, we have plenty of time to win this game. We're that good. And even though it doesn't work all the time for Vancouver, for example, they got beat 5-2 by Toronto on Saturday night. They generally think they're going to find a way to win these games. And you really saw that Wednesday night.

In that third period, Vancouver was like, we don't care what the score is. We're going to win this game. All right, let me swing back to the Calgary Flames for a second. How do we think we should best couch this? Open for business uh the showroom is open but the stickers aren't on so we don't know the prices how would you describe calgary right now actively listening you know there's a dorav thing that really hit them hard last week um

i heard there were some pretty upset players like you saw that Backlund clip this week we found out the same time as you did yeah I think there were some pretty upset players obviously Zdorov was very frustrated and you know that's why the agent sent out the tweets but that doesn't mean that everybody knows the situation. You know, there, there've been situations before, you know, some people are, some people say, okay,

someone makes a trade request, whether it's in private, everybody knows about it. That's not always true. And I know the flames felt that, you know, judging from some of the questions that were asked to the players, it's clear that the feeling there was the Flames were taken aback by this too. Now, Zdorov kind of denied that. He felt that he made it very clear, but not everybody in that organization feels the same way. Clearly, there's been some miscommunication here or not everybody is on the same page. So that's problem number one. Problem number two is just because Zdorov may have indicated that it doesn't mean everybody knew. You know, there are times you have that conversation and the player wants it kept quiet or the team wants it kept quiet.

So not everyone is made aware. And for the captain not to know about it, as Backlund said, it definitely would be a big surprise. Like, I think there was some verbal confrontation between players after that. I don't think everybody was very happy. You know, so, and I think the thing is here too, the people, like Craig Conroy, he was a really good player

because he's a really emotional guy. And I think if you're Craig Conroy and you see it play out that way, I think for a couple minutes there, maybe a day, you're angry. You're like, get this freaking guy out of here. That's what kind of happens. But then the GM in you, and that's why also Don Maloney and Dave Nones are around, just calm you down.

Let's work it out. Now, I do think they started getting called by teams what's going on here and I do think the Flames asked teams okay if you were willing to do this and are you willing to do and i think that has happened so the flames are kind of going through this they're deciding what they like they are determined to do this on their own schedule but jeff i would say that it's advanced in the sense that they asked teams if we wanted to move these players what's in the conversation now I'll tell this to you too depending on who you talk to you also hear that there was as much if not more conversation already around Tanev and and Hannafin as there was around Zdorov Zdorov got pushed into the forefront because of the tweets on on Friday night but I still do think that there was also a lot of poking around on the other two guys so it's going to be interesting to see how they all get prioritized who goes first do any of them

go together and where this all ends up now I don't think Calgary wants to trade with Vancouver my opinion on this is if they give you the best deal and you should try to squeeze as much juice out of them as you can, that's your job, then you should look towards that deal. But I think Vancouver knows that if they don't make the trade now, they can always circle back on these players in the summer. I think Tanev, all things being equal, would be very interested in Vancouver. And I think the same for Zdorov. So Vancouver knows if it's not now, they can wait. But they're having a really good year.

And maybe you want to strike when the iron's hot. Toronto, I think the same thing. I always wonder about, it's not the same. They're not in the division i always wonder though in toronto like if you're in calgary how are your fans gonna feel if you know chris tannev or zadorov or both are gonna be like the kinds of missing pieces or have a big run with the maple leafs now you may have heard this jeff i i know you weren't a big run with the Maple Leafs. Now you may have heard this, Jeff. I know you weren't a great student, but the people of Alberta are not always huge fans of the people

in Toronto. You know where that's also true? Where's that? Everywhere else in Canada. I know that's definitely true. So I think there's that. I mean, look, is there anything about the GM who was in Calgary is now the guy in Toronto? Is that a factor? Look, again, I look at it this way. Maybe you try to squeeze the juice out of Toronto a bit more, but if they're making you an offer that can really help you, then I think you take the deal.

I would just be interesting because I think they would want one of Toronto's really good young forwards. Like one of the things we're learning now after the preseason is, well, we're learning now is that maybe Robertson has finally found his role as Max Domi's winger and and you look at these you know tremendous young players and that they that they saw in training camp you know what are you going to do here now the thing here is this is the interesting thing about all this one of the things that someone said to me that makes this more complicated is

remember a couple years ago the rule was changed that compensation can't be determined anymore based on if player resigns right like like you know Toronto and you know Vancouver like a guy like Tanev or a guy like Zdorov, they're going to want to resign those guys if they trade for them. So either you give them permission during the season to see if they can do it, or is Calgary going to look at these teams warily and say, we're going to ask more because we think they're going to resign there. So I've heard in those two cases, that's an interesting part of what Calgary is thinking. Because if you look at like a trade for Zdorov or a trade for Atenev, you're not getting a top prospect for a rental. That's just

not like if you go through all of these trades it doesn't really happen like this anymore unless someone really drives up the price but if you're willing to give permission to resign or you think they're going to resign because you can't you can't do that dependent thing on anymore um then you know you're you're probably gambling a little bit more. One of the things I want to say about Calgary is, and these defensemen, I think there's a lot more teams in there than we realize. Why wouldn't there be?

On these guys. That doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think it should surprise anybody. We're focused on Toronto and Vancouver because we're Canadian supremacists. Oh, my. But I think there's a lot more teams looking at these guys. Okay, before we move on, because I want to ask you,

actually, I want to play a game called Who Said It? But before we get there, what's happening with Elias Pedersen and the much-talked-about contract extension? Because after your boat ride, Elliot, things kind of got goofy. I don't think it was ever, I'm not going to stay here. I think it was, I want to make sure we're good.

And now what are we seeing? Are they on a bit of a PDO bender, as we call it, shooting percentage plus save percentage? Yeah, but you ride that wave. To me, they just look good. Like consistently, their best players are their best players. And the other thing that Rick Tockett does really well, and I think this is really important,

but the other thing that Rick Tockett does really well, and I think this is really important, but the other thing that Rick Talkett does really well is he emboldens his role players. Look at Giuseppe. Look at Dakota Joseph. Look at some of his depth defensemen, Mark Friedman and the Ian Cole pair, for example. He emboldens those guys. He makes them feel important, and he gives them roles on those guys he makes them feel important and he gives them roles

on the team that makes them feel important but the bottom line is they are winning because their best players have been consistently great and and petterson is obviously a huge piece of that look we know they're talking i think they've really tried to keep it under wraps, but Patrick Alvigne decided to say, yes, yes, we're talking. And then the floodgates started open. So I think this is obviously in a very positive direction. I think there's just a lot of places that this could go right now. And one of the places I think it can go is term. One of the

things to hear, and I talk about this a lot on this podcast, Jeff, is that the best determinant of future behavior is past behavior. And Patterson is wrapped by CAA. Earlier this year, CAA did an extension with Owen Power in Buffalo. And the Sabres won eight years. And the reason it got done was because they were willing to go down to seven. And the difference there was it meant that Power would sign his next contract at age 29 instead of 30. And in an analytics-driven world, which hockey is becoming more of, that's a big deal. 29 versus 30 is a big deal for argument's sake here. And I'm just keeping this in mind because it happened once. And like I said, if they think about it there, they think about it here. Pedersen, if he signs a three-year deal will next be eligible for an extension the summer before he turns 29.

So I'm not saying it's going to be a three-year deal, but I think it's possible, possible that Pedersen goes for that area of term instead of eight for two reasons. One, his agency will tell him you can get another deal when you're 29 years old. And secondly, Pedersen to me is the kind of guy. And I say this in a good way who would see Matthews doing a four year deal and ask, why is he doing that? And what's the benefit?

Yes. And consider it. Cause I think he's a pretty intuitive guy. So I think there's time here. I don't think anyone's in a rush. I think this deal is going to get done at some point. But one question is going to be the cap, and the other question is going to be the term.

One quick aside before you move on. Watching that Islanders-Vancouver game, one of the things that i thought about was all-star weekend and would it not be fun to see a hardest shot competition between ryan pulak of the islanders and philip horonic of the vancouver canucks who cranked it up 107.9. Elliot, we've talked about specialists before. Hey, let's go find Martin Furk and bring him in. Tell me that wouldn't be a fun showdown. Even though technically they might not get in as quote unquote all-stars,

would you not love to see that at all-star? I've been screaming about this for years. Like I have been screaming about this for years. i have been screaming about this for years bring in the specialists but people who say that i should use my voice because i have influence this is a proof that i have none so this is why i don't even talk anymore okay quick game of who said it um which player said that his team hasn't quote completely bought in jordan stall carolina hurricanes something just looks off just looks off with the hurricanes i can't it's like grabbing a handful of water what is it something's not right with carolina yeah it's a good question you know

carolina earlier in the year they weren't getting saves and someone said to me don't worry about that they are still a good defensive team they just aren't stopping the puck that'll sort itself out there and i was like okay and now they're not scoring as much. And if you look at the NHL edge stuff, for example, their offensive zone time and even strength is among the best in the league. Their shooting percentage is among the worst in the league. So I'm trying to determine, is this just a bad shooting slump? Is this a Josh Anderson-esque shooting slump where no matter what you can do, you just can't score? Like if you look at their NHL edge numbers, Jeff, they're getting chances from high danger areas and they're in the gray zone which is not the top level

but it's higher than average as compared to the rest of the team so that says to me that they're getting opportunities now I'll probably have to watch them a little bit more I just wonder like Vancouver which has like the the hockey luck right now in addition to how well they're playing, they're on a hot streak. And Carolina is on a, to me, it looks like they're on a cold streak, but I'll watch it a little bit more. Like the one thing I felt about Carolina,

like why did they lose the Eastern Conference final last year? One, Florida was a little bit better. And number two, they could not score. I've always felt since then, like do they need another finisher? Do they need another scorer? And maybe it's as simple as that, but that's one of the things I do wonder here with them. Do they need another finisher?

You? Oh, boy. things i do wonder here with them do they need another finisher you oh boy um i think this is a highly skilled team that is frustrating to play against yeah and i think they like i'm with you i think they need another scorer but i still think they need to get dirtier i still think it's a team like they Again, they're frustrating to play against. Ask anyone that plays against Carolina. Are you calling Rod Brindamore soft? No, but I'm saying don't they scream to you as they need more players that are nasty to play against? You look at all the cup champions of recent note.

What do they all have in common? Well, certainly the blue line, but you can make the argument that Carolina might have the best blue line in the entire NHL. Yup. But they also have players that are miserable to play against, not just frustrating to play against, but miserable to play against.

Vegas had those guys. Listen, Florida had those guys. Tampa had those guys. Colorado had those guys. Listen, Florida had those guys. Tampa had those guys. Colorado had those guys. If I'm Carolina, that's what I'm thinking. We're frustrating to play against, but are we miserable to play against? I don't know that I can say yes.

I don't know. I think they are. I think they're pretty relentless. They are. No, but that's the distinction. I can't wait till Brendamore listens to this podcast and tells his team that you think they're pretty relentless. They are. No, but that's the distinction. I can't wait till Brindamore listens to this podcast and tells his team that you think they're soft. You're not understanding the distinction.

They're frustrating. When Brindamore punches you in the face, do you think it's going to hurt? I do. No, because I can run faster scared than he can angry. I don't know if that's true. Maybe not against Rod Brindamore. It's Rod Brindamore,ore man that's actually an excellent i think there's nothing physically that he can't

do if you told me that he could run a hundred meters in 10 seconds i would believe it and if if you told me that he could win the olympic powerlifting contest i'd believe it quite potentially do both at the same time so i do not believe that you can outrun him not for a second nor do i let me fly through a couple of things here because i do want to get to the tan of interview and we have the montana's uh thought line yeah let's get to uh real quick you know early on this week we talked a lot about three on three coming out of the general manager's meeting and against tabled for for next march as well a lot of discussion about what to do with this thing and by the end of it you know what i kind of got around to thinking is there really that big a problem with three on three as i i know it's not

five minutes of sprints that we always want but is there that big a problem that we have to come up with a goofy mechanism to try to force these guys to go end to end for five minutes. Obviously, first of all, I have no problem with people talking about it. That's number one. There's nothing wrong with brainstorming. There's no such thing as a bad idea, except a lot of them that you come up with on this podcast. Hey, hey. You know what was interesting was someone reached out from the BCHL to me, and they said that this year, they pointed out this year,

they went to three-on-three for 10 minutes. And the percentage of games gone to the shootout has dropped from 41 to 14. Yeah, they don't have a players association to deal with. Well, look, why do you have to ruin it before I get to it? Okay, sorry, go ahead. Everybody out there,ff is anti-union not only does he think rod brindamore is soft but jeff is anti-union and any anyone else you hate on this podcast i'm not gonna be able to step in a coca-cola coliseum all the ayatzee guys

you're in big trouble there man man. No question about it. Anyway, yes, you're right. And what's one of the things that the league said? They're not looking to change the format because that's something you have to do in conjunction with the players. That's actually a rule change. I actually think that might be the answer,

is go to 10 minutes of three-on-three. If the whole idea is you see how it goes in other leagues like if that's if that's what's happening out there that's some evidence for you another one of the things and i reached out to someone i know who's who else is involved with that league and they told me that what you really see happen is you can't shorten the bench as much as you do in in five minutes like you have to go deeper into your group than you do in a five minute overtime because guys get tired so that leads to some even more scrambly play look i think the easiest fix here jeff is

either a shot clock or if once you gain the blue line, if you pass it back out, play's blown dead, you give up a defensive zone draw. The problem with that is they don't want any more whistles. So you have to do, I mean, look, if you really want to fix this problem, Jeff, I mean, if you really want to fix this, you know what you do. If you take the puck back out, pass it or carry it, it's a penalty. I just can't see them wanting to go there i don't think so but i'm curious to see what the players and the fan and the teams and the fans will will come up with i'm sure there'll be good ideas you know the other one

that i thought was kind of interesting and it also takes a rule change you can't just do it is the whole idea of penalty shot you get to pick the player on your team who takes i love that not just the guy necessarily the guy who's fouled as it is now but you get to pick the guy on your team who takes it i've told you this story before talking to the late wade belak about this and i asked wade you know what would you do if you were pulled down on a breakaway and were awarded a penalty shot and he said I'd fake an injury because there's no way I'd be helping my team if I was going to

be the guy taking the penalty shot I'd fake the injury and let Pat Quinn pick someone else you know Sundin or McGillney or whomever who could actually succeed at a at a penalty shot I just see I just love moments where you force someone to choose something. Like I'm always, you know this about me, Elliot,

forced choice. You make a decision right now. Can I give you another one? Yeah, shoot. Okay, so I was doing my regular radio hit in Nashville this week. I do it every Thursday. And with Carolyn Fenton

and the great Derek Mason and Willie Donick and you know Willie Donick came up with an idea he said here's my idea for chaos and this is right up your alley except it was actually a good idea not like you hey but his idea was if a team gets called for a bench minor the team with the power play gets to choose who serves it so then the question becomes do you send the most skilled player into the box or their best penalty killer exactly that finds a home with me because you're forcing choice i knew you were gonna love anytime you can when willie brought it up on the air i first of all i told him i said to him do you have 31 more thoughts for me this week and secondly i said merrick's gonna love that i do because you're forcing

someone to choose it's great it's like choose your opponent in the playoffs force a choice don't worry about your feelings about, oh, I don't want to offend anybody and all the niceties around sports, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Force a choice. The more that I think about, Willie, take the rest of the week off.

Willie, you just earned yourself a corner office. Good thing it's Friday. Willie, bravo, bravo. Yeah, exactly. Could you imagine that? Just think about it like a big game in the stanley cup final you know you're playing against vegas and the other coach says petrangelo you're serving

it so good see that's one of the reasons why you know every now and then we entertain the idea of getting rid of offsides and what always flies back is well what about the player that's just gonna you know cherry pick or goal suck at the other end it's is well what about the player that's just gonna you know cherry pick or goal suck at the other end it's like well that's fine but it's forcing a choice you can either defend that player or take the odd man advantage in the offensive zone it's a gamble but you're forcing a choice i think in sports that's part of the intrigue and that's part of the drama and that's part of the excitement teams are forced to deliberately make a choice. And I think if you're a sport like hockey, you should be trying to force as many of those into your game as possible.

That's why I love it. You know, Elliot, going into the Columbus, Arizona matchup, we looked at this and said, ooh, head-to-head, Logan Cooley, Adam Fantilli. But coming out of it, the story was Johnny Goudreau and Patrick Laine, it the story was Johnny Goudreau and Patrick Laine comma benched in the third period of a one goal game a lot of benchings this year so far Elliot a lot of benchings Columbus has been the epicenter of this you know Huberto got a lot of attention obviously because he's playing in in Canada and that always adds another layer to it. But Columbus has been the most consistent.

Now, this isn't the first time for Goudreau. The one for Laine sticks out to me a bit because he's just coming back from a concussion, right? An injury that cost him a couple of weeks, and you always wonder, does a player who's been through that and is coming from that do they get a longer leash and the answer was no obviously if they felt that line wasn't doing what they wanted or giving the effort they wanted they just said you know what this is the program

and we're sticking to it you know columbus to me is really interesting. They've been a team that has definitely not stopped looking for centers. They got a couple extra D. We've mentioned peak a lot. I think some teams have been in there to look at bulk fist too. So Columbus is interested in dealing. So we've been talking about Columbus for a while now, working on some things like that. I just wonder if we ever get to the point here where maybe Columbus is talking about some bigger deals than

we thought because of the all the benching that they're doing and the messages that they're sending like I don't have a problem Jeff with tough love I don't if my boss doesn't feel like I'm giving my best, they have every right in the world to say to me, you're not doing it. And if it doesn't get better, they can demote me or they can take me off the air or whatever. But, you know, Jeff, I always try to put myself in everybody's shoes here and imagine if this was to happen to me in a work environment and eventually you get to a point where someone says this isn't working or what's the solution here or i just don't want to keep getting benched all the time and you know if you're not playing well that's on you but if you begin to wonder if the fit makes sense, I just wonder where all of this goes.

Okay, quick. Patrick Kane, decision time coming. I think there's eight meetings or Zoom meetings set up this week. I think he's got a couple more. It sounds like the number is approximately eight. And I think this is not so much about contract as it is about feel you know getting talking to the teams the the coaches the gms where do you envision keen playing um you know how do you see him fitting in the roster power play. I think all of those things.

You know, I think Kane, one of the things he has to do is make a decision. I've heard at times he's talked about a one-year deal, playing somewhere this year, seeing how it goes. I've also heard talk about that maybe he might be less interested in that because he doesn't want to move his family around as much. And he might be looking for a couple of years. He's not eligible to sign an over 35 deal because in the NHL, your age is determined by how old you are on July 1st. So he turns 35 actually on Sunday. Happy birthday, Patrick. It doesn't matter at this point. Now, I know that

the Toronto thing got kind of overturned. I'd heard rumors that he was going to talk to him, but the Maple Leafs were kind of looking at it like, hey, is that what we need? Or whatever flexibility we have, we might have to spend it elsewhere elsewhere so I'm still looking at teams like Detroit Buffalo Florida I've wondered about Carolina like we talked we talked on this in this podcast Jeff about Carolina needing scoring you know Kane can score and so I i i still don't know where this is going to go yet but i think that he's got about eight teams he's talked to or talking to and then we go to the next point where he starts to narrow it down or pick his group does it feel to you like the brad richards core ship well he's not flying around everywhere.

Just hearing lining up all the teams and all the Zoom calls. This is the 2023 version of the Brad Richards courting around the NHL. It's an intriguing one. I would have to think that we've talked a lot about Dallas as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they talk to Kane this week. We'll see. I don't think it's going to be Dallas. I think he would like to play there you know we talk in this podcast about about tanev and zadorov and and everything

i think that dallas is going to go out to try to find the best defenseman they can find that's my guess as to what they're going to do so i think kane would love to play there um i just don't know if the fit's going to be possible let me throw another team out at you okay the new york islanders talk about looking for a goal scorer looking for more offense yeah it's not the worst idea again he fits with what they need. They need scoring. It'll be interesting to me if he picks best opportunity to win this year or best opportunity over the next couple of years. You know, to me, if he's doing a couple of years, that increases Buffalo's chances to me.

Detroit, I think, is a really intriguing one, too. increases Buffalo's chances to me. Detroit, I think, is a really intriguing one, too. There's, you know, like, again, I always thought it was going to be about this year. Now I'm not sure it's just going to be about this year. I think Kane has to decide. And we've talked a lot about Florida.

I don't want to name half the league because it's kind of weak move, actually. But the biggest challenge for me right now is figuring out if it's a one-year deal or it's a multi-year deal because that changes the equation. Just a couple notes before we head to the thought line. A couple things. I wanted to shout out Heroes Hockey. Yes. I was at a charity event for them in Toronto at the Steam Whistle Brewery on Thursday night. Just a fantastic event.

Harnarayan Singh was the emcee, and he did a great job. Rob Kerr was also part of the presentation, and he did a great job. It was a great event, like a really spectacular event. And the thing that was most impressive about it a lot of very generous people attended you know people who donated to something that will make a real difference and i thought it was great to be at and the final thing i would like to do jeff before we go to the thought line is apologize for the fact that there was no written blog this week. I promise I'm not getting lazy. It was just one of those weeks.

You're excused. Okay, on that, we'll hit a break. There was a lot in there, and we were trying to be economical this week. Nice try, guys. You're going to hear from Chris Tandem coming up in a couple of moments, but up next, the Montana's Thought Line, some very thoughtful emails and phone calls from you. Stay tuned for that in a moment.

Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Elliot, time now for the Montana's Thought Line. Montana's barbecue and bar, Canada's home for barbecue. Try the ribs. 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca is the email, 1-833-311-3232. Say it slower, dummy. Not everyone has a pen handy. 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca 1-833-311-3232.

We talked about pet peeves last episode, Elliot, and we got a couple of voicemails and a couple of emails about it as well. John from Hawaii. Man, am I envious of you, John, in Hawaii. Me too. One of my father's pet peeves were when the announcer would call it a, quote, 1-1 tie or a 3-3 tie. What else could it be if it's 3-3?

To which I thought, because I got a couple of these this week. Oh my God. And yeah, you'll like this one. Only you, no other normal podcaster would select this as one of the questions. No, come on. This is why podcasts were created, for like petty grievances.

Whenever I hear the phrase pre-scout, whenever I hear the phrase pre-scout, I cringe. You know why? Because all scouting is pre-scout, whenever I hear the phrase pre-scout, I cringe. You know why? Because all scouting is pre-scouting, Elliot. All scouting is pre-scouting. It's like the great Mitch Hedberg used to say, hey, you want to see a picture of me when I was younger?

Every picture of you is a picture of you when you were younger. It's true, Elliot. And by the way, you ever think about how it's possible no I don't think about it to take an elevator down I don't think about it you don't think about how weird it is that we say take an escalator down hmm how can you

escalate downwards anyhow John in Hawaii thank you so much for that one let's get to a voicemail here this is the worst this is your punishment at the end of the week. This is Nick in Chicago. This is my punishment for letting you select the emails and the questions. Go, Nick.

Hey, Jeff. Hey, Elliot. I'll keep it quick, but I was listening to the most recent episode. Jeff was ranting about how he doesn't like good goal and slot area. I've never felt so vindicated in my life. I can't stand the other one second chance opportunity it's said all the time it's just a second chance you don't need the opportunity all right thanks guys love the podcast i swear to god jeff if every one of these is like this i am leaving i just i just live to at this point like i just live to torture you elliot i

just love it. I really, really do. I just love hearing your and imagining your eyeballs rolling to the back of your head. You don't have to imagine it. It actually just did happen. Okay. Here is one that is a sweet spot of the bat for you. This is from Steve.

Hi, Jeff, Elliot, and Dom. Long-time listener to the pod. Love how you guys keep me connected to the NHL with a busy schedule. I saw today the Canadians recalled Gustav Lindström and loaned Yoel Armia to the American Hockey League. I've seen this a few times this year with players being loaned. How does this differ from waivers? And is this a way to skirt another team from picking up your guy? Always keep up the good work, even you, Elliot.

That from Steve. Well, no no the thing is for example with a player like armia when they're called back up you have a 30-day clock so if the 30-day clock isn't expired yet and that would be the case with armia you can loan them back down and the other thing here too is is that people think that when you clear waivers, the 30-day clock begins then. That's not correct. It's when you call them back up. So they were called Armia on October 21st.

So they had another few days before he would have to clear waivers again. So that's why that they can loan him instead of waive him. That's the important distinction. Thank you, Steve, for the email there. Another Steve, this one from Salmon Arm, British Columbia. Hey, Jeff and Elliot, the situation with Jack Campbell going down to Bakersfield has made me curious about how much authority NHL teams have over their AHL affiliates. For example, when the Oilers sent Jack Campbell down to Bakersfield, could they say something like, quote,

you must start Campbell for 10 games in a row so he finds his confidence, or are decisions like that still up to the AHL coaching staff? What if the AHL coach didn't want to play Campbell at all? Thanks, guys. Then I hope he can find a new job very quickly. Ultimately, the AHL is a developmental league. That is the thing that is key here. They will always try to do what is the best for the development of their players. Now, they also understand you've got to sell tickets, you've got to try to win,

and they will try to create environments where if things aren't going very well, they'll switch it up. But ultimately, if the Oilers said to Bakersfield, we need Campbell to play, I don't know if he'd get 10 games in a row, especially with the way the AHL schedule is set up, but he would get a lot of games.

All right, that's a good one. We're going to do one more email and then a voicemail as well dave in vancouver and in brackets go sends so it sends fan living in vancouver uh hey jeff and l dog i like that l dog l dog e l l d o j dog dom is d dog there's already the o dog we're to fill up the whole alphabet. Oh, no. The segment's gone to the... If a player cheats on a face-off,

they will get thrown out from the dot and a new player will come in to take the draw. What happens if the next player cheats on the draw and the next and the next until each player on a team has tried to take the draw and wouldn't this be a good strategy if a tired line was on the ice and needed a bit of a breather? First of all, this sounds like a very,

it sounds like a very Roger Nielsen idea, but Elliot, there's a simple explanation for this one on the second player that comes in. It's a penalty. You had two players kicked out. It's a minor penalty. Because you're right. Somebody would try to exploit it.

There's no question about that. And that person would have been Roger Nilsson. Or Jeff. Who looked for... Let's finish up with a voicemail. Al from Boston. Shoot, Al. Hey, guys. Great podcast. It's the only one I listen to, and there are dozens of them out there. You're a genius. I brought up Gudis'

goal this week. Ah! And it was a mighty duck of Anaheim-type goal. Well, I'm going to show my age but back in probably 72 73 carol vadney when he was on the bruins had a knack of shooting it from the red line like a wiffle ball would go up in the lights and come down right near the nest and i remember it clearly against the vancouver canucks ed dick was the goalie yeah i'm showing my age and uh that he did it i, twice in one season. He would let it fly from the red line as soon as he got over it

so it wouldn't be icing. And he had a knack for it to bounce within a couple of feet in front of the net and just totally fool the goalie. Don't know if there's any video or any YouTube from back in those days, but I think that beat out Gutis'. It was a great work, guys. Thanks. Al and Boston, that is a great call. Outstanding. I love goals like that.

Two players come to mind for me, Elliot, and actually, before we get there, I've always thought that's a great strategy. If you talk to goaltenders, pucks that bounce in front of them, you know where it's going? Who knows? Who knows? So, as far as a strategy of throwing a puck high in front of a goaltender,

I think it's a really smart one because it just might get past the goalie because they don't know where it's going to end up. Two players come to mind. Like Jim Dory, who was a real tough defenseman too, Elliot. You remember Dory. His nickname was Flipper. He actually used to have the record for most penalty minutes in one game since broken.

Yes, absolutely. And his nickname was Fliipper because of how he used to flip pucks and the other that comes to mind ron mclean always talks about him jc trombley jc trombley would do that as well like right around centers flip pucks high on goaltenders i've always thought it's a tremendous strategy to to do it every now and then we do see it um i think it was rob davison who did it on vesa toscala in an islanders leafs game uh years and years ago every now and then you see it and it's kind of a goof i've always kind of thought it's a good strategy no fridge i have to say i like the carol vadnia reference a really good player who kind of got lost in one of the nhl's biggest trades brad park for phil esposito vadnia was part of that deal and he kind of gets lost because of just of the

two other players and also jean retell being in there right so yeah i i like the reference the guy i used to like who would scored from a long way away and it wasn't because he flipped it it's because he added an absolute blast of a shot, was Gaston Gingras. There was a time when Gingras was traded from Montreal to Toronto, like there was just no room for him to play in Montreal. He comes to Toronto and he would tee them up from basically center ice,

and there would be a gasp from the audience because they knew there was a chance he could score. He fooled some goalies from there. So, you know, it was the only guy I remember as a kid going to games in Maple Leaf Gardens where if he teed it up from center ice, the audience thought this guy might actually score from here. So it's different, but I remember it. Do you remember what else used to happen when Gaston Gingras would wind up? Okay, no. used to happen when Gaston Gingras would wind up?

Okay, no. The season ticket holders would duck. Because sometimes that puck went all over the place. I'm with you. He could shoot hard, but man, was he wild sometimes. Holy smokes. Thanks for taking

me down memory lane with Gaston Gingras. That's a good one. Well, before we wrap it up and send it to Tanev, by the way, did you see that thing with tamu solani and brett hull uh yeah you sent that to us this afternoon that was great i don't know what that is but i laughed my way through it it's pretty entertaining let's uh let's hit a break uh when we come back you will hear from chris tan of the calgary Flames on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. You know, one of the defensemen that's emerged as someone who's highly coveted around the NHL as the Calgary Flames perhaps could be open for business. Well, let's face it.

They are open for business. It's Chris Tanev, dependable defenseman, great teammate everywhere he's always gone. Players love him. Fans love him. Coaches love him. Dependable, hardworking D.

Elliot cut up with Chris Tanev a couple of weeks ago when Calgary was in Toronto. We'll play the majority of that interview for you now. Here's Chris Tanev on 32 Thoughts. So I'm going to give you a quote, and I'm going to ask you who said this about you, okay?

Yeah. Chris Tanev is so relaxed. He looks like he's playing hockey holding a cigarette. Your colleague now, my former teammate, Kevin Bieksa. He told you that to your face, I guess, eh? I think he said it in the media, I think, initially, and then sort of talked about it after. But I think it was, I don't know, after one of the playoff games,

maybe, in my rookie year. But, yeah, he's, you know, Kevin was awesome to me. So he treated me great when I got to Vancouver. So I think he enjoys working with you as well. I'm not so sure that's true, but we'll go with it. You know, the one thing he really remembered about you, I was talking to him earlier today, and he said that he was actually worried about your career

because you were so patient and you weren't afraid to wait an extra second to make the proper pass that you were having guys like Chris Neal just paste you into the boards over and over again at that time yeah I was getting I was getting smacked around pretty good but I mean honestly it's it's part of the game I mean I think just being able to break the puck out and I I mean I've always been willing to take a hit I was always a smaller kid growing up so that was sort of always part of my game but definitely in my early few years of my career I got whacked a couple times. I mean I think Jordan Tutu hit me once and my stick, he

hit me sort of below the goal line in our end and I think my stick flew to center ice. He hit me so hard but that's one I'll always remember did you when you played with Luchich in Calgary did you ever say to him was there ever any joke about that about any time he ran you or anything like that oh he he just he just used to say uh like he'd just keep putting in my corner and I'd hit me break the puck out hit me break the puck out sort of that he I don't know he sort of respected that I went uh wouldn't shy away from from getting hit from him but I mean he was uh obviously still is a very good player and a physical body so I mean um we'd always joke around about that and then he'd always joke around about beating us in the finals that year,

which obviously sucks. You know, that's the one joke I won't make ever with Kevin. I won't do that. When I worked CFL football, I once made a joke about a player who never won, and I saw the look on his face, and I said to myself, I am never doing that again. And Kevin has no governor, but I do. And that's the one joke I will never, ever make.

Yeah, I mean, it's tough to talk about, but, I mean, it's part of the journey, and you learn from it for sure. So, I mean, even though we lost, I had a great experience and learned so much from the guys that year. What do you remember about coming into play in those playoffs? Because guys got hurt, you got put in the middle. Yeah, it was sort of like I got called up almost around, I think, Christmas that year, and I think I basically stayed up the rest of the year, sort of in and out of the lineup.

And then Sammy Salo got healthy. Towards the end of the year he tore his Achilles I think he had some weird freak injuries but um I think he tore his Achilles playing like ball hockey in the summer so he he was coming back uh sort of right at the end of the year and then I stopped playing and then um yeah right in San Jose, a couple guys got hurt in one game. I think Hoffer got hurt and maybe Aaron Rome, I'm not sure. And then I ended up playing, getting in games and sort of just kept playing from there.

What do you remember about that first step on the ice for a playoff game? Yeah, definitely nerve-wracking. You don't strike me as the nervous type. But exciting. I think you want to be in that moment for sure. But it's funny. I really don't remember much. I mean, like, even Game 7 we lost, I don't remember really.

The stuff I remember is them holding us in a room because of the riots and sort of everyone with their family and not leaving the rink. But really the game, it sort of blacked out in my mind. I don't know for what reason, but I don't remember much of that game. I want to take you back to your younger. Your and Brandon's route was different. You guys both stopped playing for a while. I mean, I've got to think there was a point in your life where the idea of you being

here this deep into your NHL career must the idea of it must have been just insane yeah I mean there is when I was well I didn't so I didn't play hockey grade 10 and 11 like competitively so I mean I was working I was working at Pizza Pizza making making pizzas you're one of the pizza makers yeah I was I made a terrible pizza so sorry if anyone was getting pizza pizza at the exhibition or ontario place but i wasn't making very good pies but um yeah i mean i was working at pizza pizza then at dominion now metro and no i was in uh in the meat department so i would basically package meat and clean up that was a disgusting job but cleaning up all all the blood and everything after every night but um yeah that's what that's what i was doing and then hanging out with my my buddies and trying to make enough money

to sneak into the bar and have a couple drinks but um yeah things changed really really quickly when did you i'm just imagining you in a pizza Pizza apron or a Dominion apron and all of that going on what brought you back? I grew a lot I was until I was when I was 17 years old I think I was still five feet tall so I was tiny and I had previously gotten cut from a lot of teams. I wasn't really enjoying that, enjoying hockey. And then, honestly, my dad is the reason I got back playing. I would have just went to university. I was a good student, so I always had good grades.

So I probably would have just ended up going to school somewhere in Ontario and hanging out with my buddies. But, I mean, he always believed in me and sort of knew how good I was. And once I grew, a couple doors opened up, and I was able to take advantage of them. opened up and um i was able to take advantage of them and your dad's name is mike but i'm curious have you ever thought if if you hadn't had that growth spurt and you hadn't ended up doing this what would you be doing now so like school for i mean i in grade 12 i applied to i don't know all the canadian all the big canadian universities and in ontario anyways and i was gonna study finance so i mean I think I got in everywhere I applied I was I was a smart student so what were your math grades like

I my average was like low 90s in school so I was I was a good student I struggled with uh like music art I was that wasn't my my thing thing. And then like, and then sort of English class. I was, as a major subject, that was like my worst one. I just, I don't know. I'm not a very,

very good writer and sort of my, my wife still makes fun of that about me. She says I write backwards, but, um, um, but yeah, I was,

I was probably going to go to school for finance um and obviously things changed and sort of my mom dad uh both were were supportive of me and and trying to get back into hockey um and being able to sort of go from not really playing at all to playing junior A. And so your mom's name is? My mom's name is Sophie. Sophie. Yeah, so my parents split up when I was in grade nine, I think, anywhere around there.

So I ended up, me, Brandon, Kyle, ended up living with my mom. She had a bigger house at Greenwood and Danforth here in Toronto. And, yeah, that sort of, I'm just, I was thinking about it on the way here, and I was like, my parents didn't have a ton of money, and to be able to support three kids in AAA hockey growing up was crazy, because to me, I mean, I have one and it takes a lot. But I mean, for three kids and how much money hockey costs and being able to get up to the rink and back every day. So, I mean, thankfully, our grandparents helped quite a bit. And my grandfather basically took me to all my games, which was awesome.

And my dad would take Brandon and my mom would take my younger brother Kyle so what were you so what was your grandfather's best advice to you what would he say to you he was always the uh he was my biggest fan he never missed a game so um whether it was minor hockey or once I started playing junior he but he was he didn't speak that great of English but um when he would speak Macedonian to me I could understand but um he was like the middle ground between me and my dad so like you know if I had a bad game my dad would be all over me and he'd basically be like Mike shut up like he's working hard and you know he's he's trying and um yeah he was a huge he had a huge role in my life so okay um when you got to college

I know when you decided to go pro there was quite a recruiting battle over you from some NHL teams what do you remember about all of a sudden people are saying, you know, Chris, you're going to go to the NHL here. You're going to have a shot. Yeah, it was honestly, it went from zero to a hundred really quick. We were, we had a great team at RIT and just started, started winning and rolling and I was playing great and had a great d partner um and Dan Ringwald who was a senior um helped me a ton and he was really smart player really talented player and um we just we wanted our conference sorry and so then we got an automatic bid into the tournament and um I think we were 15th. So we played two Denver and upset them

and then beat five New Hampshire, like beat, actually beat them. Denver, we sort of got lucky. Our goalie made a bajillion saves. But yeah, then sort of after that going, it was like, there's like a two week break after that. And then you go into the frozen four and we played in that outdoor, it was in sorry in ford field in detroit it was in the football stadium and at the

time i think it was like the biggest um college game that happened so we there was two weeks in between there and all of a sudden stuff started went from like i had zero clue teams were even looking at me. And then all of a sudden there's eight, ten teams trying to watch me play. And then after that weekend, all of a sudden everyone wanted to interview me and talk to me. So it went from like nothing. And then in two, three weeks, it was I have to decide between seven or eight teams where I'm going to play. And my whole plan was always to stay in college. And I was the same height as I am, but I was super scrawny.

What did you weigh at the time? I think I was in the 160s. And what are you now, like 210? No, now I'm like just under 200. But so I was always planning to stay because I figured I needed to get stronger. And even after we lost in the Frozen Four, it was like, I'm going to stay. I'm going to stay. And then just sort of taking advice from people. And you could always go back to school sort of thing, right? If this is your,

could be your one opportunity and only opportunity to go play, which my dad was definitely stressing. So it ended up being a really good decision and I'm very thankful for. What do you remember about like, who was the first team you talked to? Like who was the first team that said, know Chris we want you um so I think Washington initially saw me and so they're they're good for the people scouting from Washington we're good friends with our my college coaches so they I think they played a bowling green together and so I think they initially saw me and then um sort of once one it was like once

one team saw me then there was 10 teams but um and then Dave Gagne um Sam's father we played sort of against each other growing up for for some time so and we played roller hockey together so he was um working with Vancouver then and in player development and um him and Stan Smeal sorry Steamer were were running that thing and I talked to them and I think they they be them and Ottawa sort of became the the most interested teams in me, I think. You know, the joke in Vancouver was that Dave Gagné and Stan Smil fought each other to argue who took more credit for bringing Chris Tana up there. Yeah, no, both awesome, awesome people.

Dave definitely helped me a ton. And then he sort of moved on from, obviously, he's in in the agency business now but and then steamer is just a nicest nicest man alive and would sort of do anything for you and it was uh those two really helped um push me along which was awesome was there ever a time you regretted picking Vancouver? No. I mean, I talked to a bunch of other teams, and some teams, their GM was there, some it wasn't.

So, I mean, you can tell sort of which teams really wanted you, right? If there was just a couple of the player development guys there and then in an hour you're going to meet with mike gillis and lauren henning and dave ghani and stan smeele you're like okay this team wants me a little bit more i think than than the other team and i think the two front runners were vancouver and ottawa sort of um and both had really good meetings with them and And then I think just because of knowing Dave, just you were going to get an honest look, right? That's all I ever wanted is if I was good enough to play,

would they call me up just because I'm not a first-round pick? I'm a college-free agent that no one knows about, right? And they said they would. And, I mean, in like two and a half months sort of in the minors they called me up after that which was which was awesome so you walk into a room with BXA, Kessler, the Sedins, Burrows, Luongo what was it like there when you what do you remember about the first time meeting all these guys oh my first game was in Colorado and I think I was still a little, little skinny kid. And, uh, I think I took my shirt off and Keith Ballard was like, Oh my God, you're going to get killed. or 170 pounds my first year.

So I wish Roger Takahashi, our strength coach, was here. He knew all that stuff. But, yeah, just – but I – honestly, I just remember how great all the guys were. And Bally was my partner for a while. And Kevin and Dan Ham, he was so incredible to me. They sort of taught me everything, taught me how to play, taught me how I should act, how I should dress, why am I eating this, why aren't you eating this. And then you had the twins who are the epitome of how you should do everything.

I mean, they're the hardest workers, best in shape, best players. And then there's guys like Manny Malholtra. Yeah, pro. Manny was basically a coach, right? So, I mean, you know, you have bad periods and the coach doesn't want to come in between periods. Manny's up on the whiteboard, be like, guys, all right, if we do this, this, this, we're going to win the game.

And sure enough, we had a really good team and we'd always come back. But just what I would remember is how great they treated me and how welcoming all the guys were. You know, there's a couple things there that you said that really stand out. And I've had guys tell me that they'll show up, and I think everybody understands when you're, you know, some people don't have the best suits or anything like that.

And there will be a player who will pull them aside and say, come with me. I'm going to get you some stuff. So you just don't worry about it. Just look a little better. Did that happen to you? Yeah. I mean, I feel like I dressed okay, but I still like Manny would be like, hey, come on, kid. We're going to go to the store.

And he'd be like, all right, this looks good. This doesn't look good. But just even, I mean, I went from eating in college, right? We're eating at garbage restaurants, just trying to eat as much as we can and on the cheapest we can right yeah of course I didn't have any money and going now we're going out to the best restaurants and in cities and I was very like very overwhelmed but I mean those guys took took care of me so well and I mean I that's one thing I'll as I I've gotten older I try I've always tried to do is with younger guys I mean if if there's anything they need you know I feel like I try to be there for them and like I don't think I paid

for a dinner my first like three years in the league because just how good I'd always go out and Bally would be like no kid I got it tonight tonight. When you're 30, make sure you pay for the kids coming up now, right? So, I mean, it's sort of, and that's the stuff that I'll always remember from those guys. So there was no rookie dinner for you that you had to do? No, like rookie dinner, but I'm just saying, like, we go, tonight if we're going to go to, I don't know, Harbor 60 or something, like, they would never make they would never

even let me i'd always try to pay they'd be like no you're not paying when you sign a big deal take care of the the young guys that come up and sort of that that's always stuck with me uh for sure so what was your rookie dinner like do you remember my rookie dinner was sucked it was in minnesota on like a tuesday we went curling and to dinner and then out. But I mean, I've been to a lot better ones than mine. Who picked that? I think the schedule was just not great. We didn't have a lot of rookies. So I think it was me and Cody Hodgson. We were the only ones. So I mean, it it was tight schedule and tried to fit it in and and I think that's that's how it was who was a good curler who I don't know I feel like Kammer would be Dan Hammeus would be I have no clue um Yannick Hanson probably

he's in media now he's gonna get you for that I miss Yannick I haven't probably. He's in media now. He's going to get you for that. I know. I miss Yannick. I haven't spoken to him in a while, but he's awesome. So now, when you're in Calgary and you're a veteran, who are the guys that you really take care of? You've got a bunch of guys who have been called up. Yeah, I mean, now we had such an old team the last few years.

We haven't really had any young guys. But, I mean, obviously, Dubes. I try to be as helpful to him as I can. an old team the last the last few years we haven't really had any any young guys but i mean obviously dubes uh i try to be as helpful to him as i can and and rosichka and vladi um but now now we have like sort of an influx of young guys coming so i mean it's just it's just little things you know just talking to them if they need anything making making sure they're not afraid to ask. And if they have any questions that we can handle it. I mean, it doesn't have to be me, right? We have a good group, a bunch of older guys that whoever they're comfortable with talking with, they can go seek some advice and then sort of go from there.

Okay. The summer you became a free agent did you like did you ever envision a day you wouldn't be in vancouver anymore i was curious if you're gonna ask me this but um yeah i did not know i thought i was for sure gonna be back in van um and then sort of i was right after the bubble, um, obviously a lot of COVID stuff. And so I was just sort of waiting and waiting for a contract waiting and they'd tell Wade, my agent, it's coming, it's coming. But I mean, I think they were trying to make some, some other moves and sort of, I was, I was on the back burner, um, which was fine burner um which was fine um it's part of the part of uh

part of the business of hockey but I I definitely didn't envision me not being in Vancouver when did it hit you that it was going to change uh when I didn't have an offer going into to free agency so um and then it's sort of like okay oh baby um it's it's gonna change and um and I was sort of upset by it all and I mean I think if I did it again you know you maybe you take a bit of the emotion away from it but because they did hard they did end up offering me sort of a couple hours into free agency, and I was already sort of upset, and I didn't really want to be back at that point because I wanted to go somewhere where people wanted me, right?

And Calgary and a couple other teams were interested sort of throughout the day. And as the dominoes fell, Wade called me. He's like, hey, he's got a really good offer from Calgary. What do you think? And I was like, yeah, let's take it. So, yeah, as I said, it was a super, super tough decision, but it sort of, I I think made it for itself when I didn't really get an offer until uh until a couple hours into free agency I I had been there for a long time so been there for 10

years and I feel like I uh definitely gave my heart and soul uh every game so I mean it was it was definitely as you said I I didn't think I wouldn't be at Canuck, but I was happy to join Calgary. I knew a lot of guys on the team already, so it was such an easy transition for me to come here. One of the things guys tell me is that when you don't know what's going to happen on July 1st or whatever day it was that year, it's a whirlwind, especially if you get a bunch of teams call and all of a sudden you're sitting there,

especially if you're married like you are and you're saying, our whole life is about to change and like that. What was that like for you? Yeah, honestly, the whole day I was definitely the most, I don't know if nerve wracking, but mix of emotions sort of throughout the day because going to bed that night I was like okay we think a couple teams are interested we'll we'll see what happens sort of when whenever the time is I don't know if it's 10 or noon uh breaks and then it was sort of slow in the morning um and you're like, oh, man, what's going on here?

I'm not going to have a job next year. Yeah, where am I going to go? And then stuff picks up, and then Vancouver sort of offered me a two-year deal, and then it was like, no, these teams are going to offer you a four-year deal. Where do you want to go? It was very, very much a whirlwind of emotions for sure um and I was happy with the with the decision I made at the end what how did Calgary sell you um I knew so I knew Geo well um I knew Monty I knew Johnny a little bit I knew Looch I knew seven or eight guys on the team and

it was sort of Gio was facetiming me like come on let's go uh sign the deal blah blah blah and I mean it was um then Looch would call me and then so you felt like people people wanted you there and it was uh I said I think that sort of made the decision easier for me when you when you think back to your time here in Calgary so far what are the things that stand out for you what do you remember the most um sort of for me like personally uh getting hurt in that last game at Dallas I wish I could have played against Edmonton in the Edmonton series more than I did um just I think we had a really good team that year and could have done something something special we obviously came short and Edmonton beat us in five. We didn't really make it much of a series. But I think that team was, we had a special group of guys on and off the ice.

We gelled really well. So, I mean, I think coming up short then definitely sucked. But just moving forward, I mean, I think we obviously underachieved last year and sort of the start of this year hasn't gone to plan, but, I mean, there's been a lot of change. So, I mean, the last few games have been a lot better for us, and we just need to keep that trend going. I remember when you came back in that series against Edmonton,

the one play on the goal when your arm yeah when Hyman's Hyman scored yeah first period and we saw your arm and we like I can't imagine how hard I mean I nobody was surprised you played but I couldn't imagine how hard it was how much pain you were in, I mean, I hate when sort of everyone talks about that stuff because there's so many guys who play herd and play through stuff and only sometimes the media hears about certain guys, right? So, I mean, there's a lot of guys who are doing stuff. And, yeah, that was just a – I mean, it was obvious to see.

I mean, my shoulder would just pop out, so it's probably easy to see on camera, but there's a lot of guys who are sort of have stuff hidden that no one knows about, right? And that's why I sort of don't like talking about it too much because there's a lot of guys doing similar stuff that sort of don't get maybe the attention they deserve as well. So let me try this way.

What is the worst injury in terms of pain that you ever had? Probably when I got the puck to my mouth here in Toronto. I lost, I don't know, I think I lost seven teeth and all my gums up top are are gone but I mean that was just uh I know sitting in a dentist chair for eight hours in a day is like my worst nightmare now um I don't know I've had some I sprained both my MCLs on the same play I don't know if anyone's done that, but guys on the team were calling me Bambi

because I was walking like a newborn deer that just came out. That's the thing, like you're in pain and your teammates are ruthless. Just ruthless. So that was like I literally couldn't walk almost. I had no, both my knees were hurt. But yeah, I don't know. I had a couple of years where I had some, both my knees were hurt. But yeah, I don't know. I had a couple of years where I had some tough injuries, but definitely feel like I've overcome that

and I've been quite healthy the last four or five years. So to give credit, of all the players you played with, who was the guy who you said, I cannot believe this guy is playing through this? Hmm. who was the guy who you said I cannot believe this guy is playing through this um I think the twins did a lot of stuff that that people don't know about so I think it's like Hank's got a bit older his back wasn't great and he literally couldn't walk sometimes and he's out during the game and being he's the best player on the ice and uh I don't like no one no one knows about it I think I don't know I sort of how those guys conducted themselves was so awesome and professional and they're um they didn't want any attention at all and it was sort of

wanted everything to be about the team and and try to succeed as as much as we could and they're that that them and I mean Kevin also I give him I give him some credit he played through some a lot of tough stuff and I mean he's fingers and torn groins and and stuff like that but I think honestly I think the worst injury I've ever seen was Dan Hamuse got hit in the face Dan Boyle hit him five on three slap shot and I think he broke his jaw in a bunch of places and he was like convulsing on the ice that's how much pain he was in and I I'll never forget uh forget that I don't think okay just let's talk a little bit about Calgary first of all this year um in the offseason I don't think anybody knew what this

group was going to look like and then when you came back that seemed there was some optimism Michael signs just what was the overall feeling at the beginning of this year here? Yeah, obviously big change with Daryl gone and Hus coming in. So we're changing a lot of how we play system-wise. And I think guys were excited to come back and show that we were better than we played last year. Obviously, that hasn't come to fruition this year, but we've had good games. And the last few games have definitely sort of trending upwards in how we want to play. So I think guys are still, it's still early. And I think we're eager to prove that we're a better team than we were last year and how we've started this year.

One of your teammates said to me that the one thing he didn't realize was just how long it took to get over what happened with Edmonton and everything that happened last summer. It just, it took a lot longer than everybody thought. Do you think that's fair? I guess. You're not a guy who likes to make excuses. Yeah, I would say it's more like there was a lot of change last year

than losing to Edmonton. I would say it's more you lose Chucky, you lose Johnny, and then Johnny, Wieg, Naz come in, right? So there's a big change in sort of the top guys on the team, and it takes some time sometimes, right? So it's just we have great people on the team, and Hubie's just, uh, we, we have great people on the team and Hubie's awesome and Wiggs is awesome. And Naz is awesome. And we, we all need to sort of continue to gel and get better. Um, just cause I think there's, there was so many highs the year before with, um,

Lindy, Johnny, and Chucky were the best line in hockey, right? So there's maybe some adjustment from that perspective. But I think we have the right character and right guys. We just need to be able to put it together. Would you talk to Hubie after the game the other night like Kelly Rudy was really interesting on the air just talking about you could tell it pained Kelly to watch what was happening because he knows what that's like as a player would you

ever talk to him yeah like I think everyone's supportive of of Johnny and we know how good he is. So, I mean, as a player, you never want to not play. So I think we've all talked to him and just, I think, told him how important we think he is to the team and how good he is. So I think that's something that he's still adjusting to. I mean, it's been a big adjustment coming from Florida to Calgary. And I think there's a, when you play in the East coming to play in the West, I think that's, I don't know if people agree with me, but I think there's a, the style of play and conferences is, can be very different. And the East is more free flowing a bit and things off the rush and the west can be a

little more grinded out and you got to try to win 2-1 and that's not always the case but I think that sort of there's a there's a change in style so I mean Johnny's uh cares so much and you can see that he cares and he wants to be be the best player he can for us, and that's going to come. He just needs to continue to work hard, and I think he'll be fine. I've always wondered, what makes Chris Tanev mad? You're the calmest-looking guy, I think, in this league.

What makes you mad? Not much. I get scored against I get I get mad um yeah I like I I care so much about trying to win so um I may not show it but I I want to win so badly and um losing definitely can can eat at you. But I think if you're, I don't know, you have a bad game and you don't perform how you think you should be, I get quite upset. I might not show it, but that sort of stuff. I mean, I care a lot about hockey

and I've been doing it for such a long time. So as I said winning is is really what I want to do so um when things don't go your way or things aren't going as well on a team it can be can get upset but I mean I never I don't know I'm not I was right have you ever blown up in a dressing room like in an intermission or a post game i wouldn't say i'd like blow up where there's guys who will go in and break five sticks and f-bomb this and curse this and i'm more of like i will i'll get mad and talk to guys i feel like it's if i'm given like a stern talk i think guys maybe respect it

because I don't talk as much as other guys. But no, I wouldn't say I've had huge blowups. I get mad at myself all the time. I mean, I'll be on the bench yelling, like, Christopher, you're such an idiot. If I'm mad, it's usually at myself. I'm not really getting mad at other guys. But, I mean, as a team, yeah, I may not have the blowups,

but I'm not afraid to say, hey, we need to be better at this or better at that. Is there any time you've yelled at yourself on the bench and you've looked up and one of your teammates is just laughing? Probably, I'm sure. I'm kevin's laughed a couple times but i mean yeah i'm i'm super hard on myself so i mean i uh there's definitely i'm sure there's times where guys are like what the hell is this guy talking about but um yeah just sort of how I am, and I feel like just how I'm wired. Just a couple more. First of all, have you and Brandon ever talked about playing together?

We have a little bit, because sort of a couple years ago, I guess it almost came. It almost happened. One of the GMs called me and was like hey we might trade for your brother um was this in Calgary or in Vancouver is in Calgary but and I was he's like do you care about do you care if you guys play together I'm like no I mean we might get in we'll probably get in some yelling matches on I would get mad at him actually, but, um, on the bench, but no, it'd be, it'd definitely be a cool experience to, to play together. But that's sort

of like the most we've talked about it, uh, to this point anyways. So how close did that come? I don't know. Did you tell him that you knew? I told him after I didn't tell him uh I told him sort of as the a little bit later um I didn't want to because I didn't know what he would sort of think about it either but um he uh yeah he's he's really he's the opposite of me so I mean he doesn't stop talking and he's super fiery and he's not afraid to get into people's faces. So he's very much like my dad and even my mom likes to talk a lot. And I'm sort of the polar opposite. So I'd be curious to see how that would go.

What did he say when you told him? Yeah, he said he would be excited for it. I mean, he also wants to win too right and uh if there was a a chance where we could both be on a good team um and play together that would that would be awesome just and the other thing i wanted to ask you was i i remember your minor hockey team like you played with stamkkos you played with PK um you know like when you made it because you had a much harder route than those guys did did they ever say anything to you on the ice they ever say anything to you now and has there ever been like a reunion

of the whole group that no I mean I work out with with Steven every summer, so we always are talking, and my dad and his dad are friends. So, I mean, we've always sort of stayed in touch. And then I see PK out and about once in a while, and, I mean, we'll talk and have a drink. But, I mean, yeah, it's funny to see the three kids from an eight-year-old team in the NHL. I mean, those two were far better than I was at that age. So I think those two were definitely the best players

in North America at the time. I don't know if we lost a game that year, and it was because of those two. Well, I remember Stamkos has always kind of ripped Tavares because on the one team they lost one game in the shootout and Tavares didn't score. So you guys were like unbeaten together? I could be wrong.

I believe we tied one game and I don't think we lost a game all year. But you'd have to ask the old dads. I'm sure they they uh they all remember um I assume that someday someone's gonna have to drag you off the ice like you're not walking away from this voluntarily yeah no I I feel like I have lots of hockey left to play and uh I um as I said I really I really want to win. And as long as I'm still able to play, I think I'll definitely, and my family's still supportive of that, I will definitely try.

And your son is how old, 10 months now? Yeah, 10 months. Would it be important for you to play long for him to understand what daddy does? I've thought about that and yeah i think he's it would be cool if he's four or five years old and sort of understands a little bit of what i'm doing um but if not you try to get uh yeah you try to get some memories and just to hope that that he remembers but i mean i that's definitely a big goal of mine is to be playing where he can sort of take it in, obviously, a lot more than he is right now.

If there's one thing you could do to the NHL, what would it be? That's a tough question. As far as... Anything. Anything you could change about the NHL. Or if you were in charge for a day, something that you would do? I think the biggest thing

is just trying to get people to know the players better. I think you look at others, and I know there's not a lot of personalities in hockey. There are, but people, maybe people, yeah but people are sort of maybe afraid to get out there or maybe they don't have access to as much of a following as other sports. But I think there's a lot of stars in the league, and I think just trying to maybe get out there and and grow the game and um

sort of seeing what they're about um so who's the person that you know that you'd be like if they showed themselves out there people would love them you have a name oh there's a I'm trying to think but there's like, there's different ways. I think like you could go and look at Quinn Hughes and me and Quinn are pretty close and see, just talk to him and understand how he thinks about hockey. And that would intrigue a lot of people, I think. Or you can like, we have Z on on our team who's a big personality he he loves to talk and sort of just seeing his different opinions on things would i think definitely um get a lot of people's attention so there's i mean there's different ways to go about it you can sort of

look at like z is uh he's definitely gonna have his opinions and whether you believe it or not I mean he's gonna attract sort of people to the game but then you could also talk to a guy like Quinn just about hockey and I think he would how he sees the game would um interest people uh that don't really know about it. Okay. Is there anything I haven't asked you that you'd want to say? No, I know you're not going to volunteer too much. Thanks very much, Chris.

I really appreciate it. No worries. Thanks for having me. That's Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames. And on that one, we'll wrap. We hope you're enjoying all the NHL action this week. We hope you're enjoying the NHL's global series in Stockholm. And on behalf of Dom and the L-Dog,

Jeff Merrick signing off. We'll talk to you again on Monday morning. Thank you.