32 Thoughts: The Podcast - All Good in Buffalo

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin by discussing their takeaways from Thursday night's tilt between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers which Elliotte attended, and from the Senators-Bruins game which Kyle attended. They talk about the Devils big victory over the Oilers (11:33) and Elliotte reveals that Adin Hill may be close to signing a contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights (15:23). They dive into the tight Western Conference playoff race before Elliotte credits Quinn Hughes for having Elias Pettersson's back throughout his struggles this season (18:32). The fellas then delve into the Rasmus Dahlin "wants out of Buffalo" rumours (23:22), Kyle Palmieri being close to a contract extension with the Islanders (32:11), and Connor Zary's two game suspension (32:30). Next, they look ahead to the GM meetings that begin on Monday (33:56).Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and respond to your voicemails in the Thought Line (44:47).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

I'll say this like this is kind of my fault. Okay I'm not getting into it any deeper than that, but it's kind of my fault Welcome to 32 thoughts the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra 84x Dom Elliot and Kyle back with you once again Elliot that took me seven seconds to say all of that to which Brandon Montour would say hurry up. Hold my beer. Yes, four seconds Wednesday night fastest overtime winner in history, perfectly executed by the Kraken and a tough point given up by Montreal especially when you look at the Eastern Conference playoff race with some key games around the league on Thursday. Not so much the wild card race, but the Atlantic division race, Florida and Toronto.

You were there Thursday night, Elliot, in the building at Scotiabank. So why don't we start there? Take us into the building. What did it feel like? First of all, if we could go back to that Montreal-Seattle game for a second, Brian Moudrick and Craig Button were calling that game and they had one of those moments that broadcasters dream of because they noticed that Seattle had figured out what Montreal was trying to do. And I think it was Caulfield, they said, was on the bench ready to jump on if Montreal

got possession. And so they said that Stevenson and Montour clearly had an idea of how to bust the Montreal play. And they said that clearly Seattle had scouted, pre-scouted what Montreal was going to do and they were ready for it. And that was one of those moments where you do it as a broadcaster and you're like, this will never work, but it works exactly the way. Cause most things we say like eight times out of 10, seven and a half times out of

10, they never go the way we predict, but that they nailed it. So that was one of those nights they should, as a matter of fact, those two should just quit and never broadcast another game again, because it could never be that good for them. There's nowhere to go, but down. That's right. There's nowhere to go, but down. Uh, Toronto, Florida, uh, you know, you could tell that, uh, in Toronto, I wasn't at the morning skate on Thursdays, but I did go to the game and you could tell that in Toronto, I wasn't at the morning skate on Thursdays,

but I did go to the game and you could tell the way the comments were coming out of the morning skate that this was being framed as a measuring stick game for the Maple Leafs. And it doesn't take a lot for those of us in media in Toronto to create that narrative and say, this is the kind of game that tells us what kind of team the Maple Leafs are. There's only 65 of those a year, but this was one of them. And, you know, I have to say this. I was chatting with Evan Rodriguez in the postgame,

and he called it like a playoff game. He said there was not a lot of room out there. Everybody fought for every inch they had. And I remember earlier in this year, when I saw a couple of room out there. Everybody fought for every inch they had and I remember earlier in this year when I saw a couple of those games between Florida and Boston my feeling about the Panthers was no matter what happened to them during the season in terms of how much they played hard or coasted or had bad games or were banged up or whatever the case was, that was still the team to beat in the East. And after watching this game, seeing them with no Kachak, no Marshand, no Ekblad,

I still believe that. All their good players like Barkov was great, Forsling was great, All their good players like Barkov was great, Forsling was great, Sam Bennett was fantastic. But the amazing thing to me is that they consistently get the most out of so many of their role players too. Like you look at this team now, Mikola, he played great last year and he still looks fantastic. But also like AJ Greer ends up there and he looks fantastic. He looks tremendous. Samiskevich, he looks terrific. They go out and they get Nico Sturm who's kind of lost a bit because he's in San Jose and he is such

a perfect fit for what they do. These Eastern Conference playoffs are gonna be phenomenal but that team I saw tonight especially after they got a bit embarrassed physically in Boston the other night they dictated a lot of this game. You know there were moments Toronto got really hot there were moments that Toronto had Florida and Bobrowski under siege, but for the most part, I thought the Panthers dictated the way the game was going to be played. And I'll tell you, after the game, so I was in the Florida room, Rodriguez came out, Bennett came out, Mikula came out, and while all of that was going on, you know that Toronto room, you've been in there, the goalie stalls, as everybody knows, are a bit larger than the rest of them. But there's one that's by itself in Toronto. And right there was Bobrovsky sitting there with Rob Tallis, the goalie coach.

And while we were talking to the players, they had about a 10 minute conversation about his game. And the whole time I was looking at this and I was saying, this is awesome to witness. I really wanted to go just sit there. If I knew Bobrovsky a little bit better, I might have just gone right over and sat down right next to them and said, what are you guys talking about? Because I was dying to know what was going on in this conversation. I mean.

You should have, you should have. Hey, mind if I join you? Yeah, mind if I join you? Hey, is this seat open? Is this seat taken? Is this seat taken? Because you could tell, like, if you had a microphone on that conversation,

I guarantee we all would have been riveted to that talk because they were, you could see they were intensely breaking down his game. And I thought for a lot of it, he was great. There were a number of good Toronto chances that hit him right in the chest. And I would say also about him, there were a couple of times where you noticed he would make a save and he tapped the skates or legs of the defenseman in front of him because they cleared enough room for him to see. And that Florida team, that was a playoff game, like I said. There was not a lot of room out there and I thought they dictated a lot of it, a lot of it. So a couple of things there. First off, you know, we see the Bruins in the last week where they've gone in a different direction with the amount of players that are now playing elsewhere. But I think back to, I mean, with that most recent core at the height of their powers,

2018, 2019, felt like a couple times a year, you'd go to do their game and Torrey Krug's out with injury. Brandon Carlos missed a bunch of time. David Craichi is hurt. Zdeno Chara is banged up. Tuca Rask has been so, so of late and yet the Bruins have won 12 of their last 14. You know what I mean? Like they just had the ability to fill holes and as you say with Florida now,

a lot of similarities where depth players are elevating and have the ability to do the job when some of the key guys aren't available for the time being. So that was one thing. The other thing too, I mean it's fascinating that Bobrovsky and Tallis do that because here in Ottawa,

Linus Almark, who by the way, entered the chat for save of the year. Yes, I saw that. You were at the Ottawa game. Yeah, that was wild. At the end of their games, so he sits down with Justin Peters, the goalie coach here in Ottawa at his stall and they kind of talk through the entire game, like relive it right then and there in the aftermath and just as you described it we'll be in the room interviewing other players and they're in the corner at his stall discussing what just happened you know the two and a half hours before that so I I I fascinate that because you know a lot of cases you think well let's get back we'll see you in the morning and we can review things there there's something about just right away

talking it all through it's it really really grips me that's quite something were you massaging Brady Kachup's hip postgame? No I wasn't I'm sure somebody was I'm sure somebody was yeah you know working in Ottawa like you have to cheer for the senators. So I figured you were there, you know, trying to make them better. Contrary to the Elliot Friedman belief. Uh, I do not, but you know what?

That was the only, it's been a perfect week for Ottawa. Now Travis Green said yes, because he didn't play the last six plus minutes of the third. Yup. Green said he tweaked his hip, uh, but he expects he will be all right. So we'll see there.

Sens have the day off Friday, the Leafs have the day off Friday, and then face each other in the Battle of Ontario on Saturday. So probably won't hear anything of too concrete until Saturday morning at the Scotia Bank Arena. So that was my night, another big night for Ottawa. Yeah, it was they jumped on them quick, right? And they pounded them early. That had they didn't exactly do the Mortal Kombat finish him. They let the Bruins back into the game

a little bit, but they did enough to win at the end. I think you have to say right now, Florida is four points up on Toronto for first in the Atlantic division. Toronto has a game in hand, but the other thing you look at here is the regulation wins. The Panthers are four up on the Maple Leafs. So, the Maple Leafs not only have to beat them, it looks like they're going to have to beat them outright. And again, you know, they still have 17 and 16 games left respectively. I know there were a lot of people calling this a must-win. There's still time here, but it definitely looks like Florida has put its stake in the ground for number one in that division.

And that could mean Toronto-Tampa head to head again, even though Ottawa is not completely out of the picture for third place. No, absolutely not. Like at least all of a sudden the senators have a little bit of separation in the wild card race. At least all of a sudden the senators have a little bit of separation in the wildcard race and of course it can all change in an instant. But five points up on Columbus who lost in regulation again on Thursday. Big win for the Rangers so them and Columbus were tied at 70.

Ottawa is at 75 and is right there in terms of games played. It was interesting. I mean it was a big win for New Jersey over Edmonton. I know Oilers fans are reeling after seeing, you know, the one goal lead and the third disappear, but I just watching the video of Sheldon Keefe address the team in the room afterwards, you could just tell how monumental of a result

that was for the team that has been through it the last few weeks in terms of injuries and just trying to find better results that was a big big game for the Devils as they try to write themselves again. No Hamilton, no Segan Thaller and I would also say this Nemec getting the winning goal that is so that he will not get a better opportunity this year with all the injuries that they have He will and like there's like this year that kid He got hurt in the Olympic qualifying tournament right before the season and that screwed up his entire year And I know that's how they feel in New Jersey that that really interfered with his opportunity to have the best possible

season. But you could see like there were times recently when he would have a rough game and he's still young like you're going to have bad games. And they talked to Keith after the game and he was he could barely hold his disappointment. And sometimes he didn't even hold his disappointment over how the kid was playing and you know, he's still young He's got a big career in front of him But to get the game-winning goal in that one tonight like just a huge burst of positivity That that he needs like, you know, New Jersey has really stabilized itself I you know, you took a look at all the injuries they were suffering some of the results they were getting

you're sitting there and you're saying, holy cow, like how many teams are gonna catch them? And especially when they got spanked by Winnipeg right after the deadline, like you're just thinking that they're gonna need like a guardrail to save them from going completely off the highway. But they've sorted themselves out a bit here. You know, I was gonna tell you,

I was gonna come with this a bit here. You know, I was going to tell you, I was going to come with this big thing here. So there's a lot of MVP talk going on this week and some people are going Nathan McKinnon would be a great choice. Other people are going Leon Dreisaitl who scored his 47th goal would be a great choice. I have to tell you something. I don't know if I have a vote this year. I haven't been told yet. But if Columbus makes the playoffs, I'm going to be making a case for Zach Warrensky. Now Columbus has been faltering a little bit this week. They got shut out. They lost again. On Thursday night, they got beat by Vegas and Aiden Hale. And we'll talk about him in a

second. But I just want to say this, I think if Columbus gets in and the challenge there now is that the Rangers have also like righted themselves at least this week and they have all the tiebreakers. Like you look at all those teams that are battling in the Eastern Conference down there, the Rangers have a massive tiebreaker lead. Like the closest team is Ottawa, who are already five points ahead of them. So I don't know if it even matters.

But the Rangers have 29 regulation wins. Columbus, Detroit, Boston Islanders, they all have 23. Montreal has 22. Like these teams are going to have to beat the Rangers outright. And I have to say this, so Columbus has got to, and these other teams have got to beat them. But if Columbus gets in, I'm going to be thinking long and hard about Zach Wawrinski, number one on my hard ballot, if I have it.

If I have one. I don't think you'd be the only one. And after saying that, there might be people who say, don't give him one. But I can't help but say that I can't help but think that he deserves consideration for the heart. Yeah, I don't think you're the only one that they would feel that way, Elliot. And it's, yeah, because it's a full ballot that you got to fill out. It's not just one guy, one name you're putting on it. That's been, that guy, one name you're putting on it. That was the biggest eye-opener for me doing it

the last two years, is like, okay, it's one thing to pick, all right, who's your top name, but to fill out the rest of the ballot on each award, it really is quite the exercise to go through of, okay, who do you really give consideration to and who do you feel is deserving? It's quite the, yeah, it's an experience to go through. Now Aiden Hill, we mentioned him just a second ago, he had the shutout for Vegas against the

Blue Jackets on Thursday night. There are some rumblings and we will see, I do not have confirmation as we record this podcast, that he may be closing in on an extension with Vegas. We'll see. Um, you know, uh, he obviously, he won the Stanley cup there. Um, the last time he got extended after he won the cup and got a two year extension right before free agency began, you know, there's a market for a lot of these goalies right now. Uh, like a bunch of these guys have come in around the five times five range or five times five point two five range I could see Hill being a little bit above that you know we'll

see where this goes you know like we'll see if this is a false alarm or something comes out of it but people are quiet on Thursday night so I don't know if it's because they're already in bed or they're just in the witness protection program and we'll see if these rumors lead to anything or nothing. He is set to become a UFA at the end of this season. Okay, do you want to get to the Rasmus Dahlien file? Before we do that, let's just go through some of the Western games. So they had the, did you see the video for Matt Roy and Pierre-Luc Dubois? Oh boy, no I did not. Fill me in.

Well, so, like, you know, I have to say this. I am kind of amazed that the kings did this, but you're kind of stuck, right? Like if you're going to do it for Matt Roy, mismanners would tell you, you can't do it for one and not the other. So I guess they have to do it for Dubois as well and you know it didn't go very well between Dubois and the Kings but they did it and like it was funny that there was booing and Dubois kind of snickered all the way through it. Like it was it was good theater. I will say this it was it was good theater like the fans from what I could see watching they wanted to be

respectful of Roy who was a very good player there but they were not as charitable towards Dubois and clearly he knew it was coming. So you know it was it was kind of it was kind of funny to watch. Like you couldn't help but look at it and laugh as this whole thing played out. But, you know, the Blues, like Pittsburgh has been, Pittsburgh looked like they might end up with a top four pick here and now they're ruining it. They've beaten Vegas and the Blues this week. That's a bad loss for St. Louis. And I'll say this, that Calgary-Vancouver game

the other night, that was a great hockey game. A great hockey game. And you know, I wanna say this about Quinn Hughes. Ryan Leslie did a great interview with Quinn Hughes after that game. And Hughes really went to bat for Pedersen, who had a really good finish to that game. Scored a big goal at the end of regulation, scored a big goal in the shootout, obviously. And one of the things I do believe is that the Miller-Pedersen situation worsened to

the point where it was decided that they were going to trade Miller both for his benefit and theirs. I think he was really backed Pettersson. I think he felt that, you know, he's the captain. He saw the writing on the wall. I think he knew where this was going to go. I think he knew that Miller was going to be leaving and Pettersson was going to be staying. He knew that the fan base was split on this. But I think he said, he felt very strongly that Pedersen could still have a big impact for them.

And I think what he said the other day was, it's not only about supporting the teammate publicly, but I think it's a manifesting of what he believed privately was that this was a move that Canucks had to make and he believed that in the long run everybody would be better off for it, including Miller. And so I think that that's what he's hoping to see. Like I think this is what Hughes believed that when they made the move it was the right thing for the franchise. And if I'm wrong, you know, he can say that I'm out of my

freaking mind, but I've really gotten that impression. And, you know, like Hughes has obviously been hurt. He gave everything he had the other night. Like, oh, Ryan Lombard was was really trying to make life difficult on him, as you would expect an opponent to do. But I thought that was a great game. I thought Hughes played great. I thought Pedersen was really good. And you know, I'm looking at that West right now. And I'll say this. If St. Louis doesn't make the playoffs, that's a game they're going to regret on Thursday night, the loss in Pittsburgh. But I'm really impressed at how Utah is making a run at this. I didn't at the beginning of the season, I picked them to make the playoffs. I kind of gave up on

that. And now they're making this very interesting, very interesting. And the thing about this one that's interesting too, is that if you look at regulation wins, the number one tiebreaker and then ROW is the number two tiebreaker. They're all over the map like Calgary has the most regulation wins but they have Vancouver Utah they have the fewest ROWs so this is one where the second tiebreaker could become a thing. Yeah it's still the race is still on in the west just going back to

the Hughes interview after playing nearly 30 minutes in his first game back. Like I thought when he said that about Pedersen, like he was almost talking directly to the player. Yes. As much as he was talking to his fan base and, and the audience tuning in there. Um, I'm right there with you. That, that was, that was captive material, as they say.

That was pretty, uh, yeah as they say. That was pretty. Yeah, spoke volumes and it was a good night for them. It's like I wasn't really expecting this either, Kyle, but all of a sudden, the Oilers fans have got to be wondering if they're going to be on the road for the start of the playoffs. Yeah, well, it's it's really been a tough go for them over the last little while and they've still got they play again Friday night they play Sunday to wrap up the road trip so there's still more work for them to be done but

man it is not a friendly place right now amongst the the Oilers discourse watching what's been been going on. And I'll say I didn't see much of the game Thursday night just because I was at the game here in Ottawa. But just kind of scanning and trying to get caught up in what happened. It's just been another rough go right right? Lost in Buffalo early on in the week, and now a third period lead against New Jersey that slips away. And as we've touched on,

and it just has felt for much of this season, something just feels a little off, and now almost more than a little. All right, so you wanna get into Dallene? Yeah, why don't we do that? Okay, so for those that may have missed it, early on this week, friend of the show, Paul Bissonette, said on his pod, Spit and Chicklets, that he was told that Rasmus Dallin, the Buffalo Sabres, their captain, met with Kevin Adams and conversation from the player

was that if things don't turn around quick he wanted out of Buffalo. Now Dallin refuted all of it said I have never said I want out of here even the Sabres went to the extent of making reference to all of that and how he dealt with the media on their social media channels. So how would you like to weigh in on this one? How would I like to weigh in this one? That's a really good question, Kyle. Quite possibly the question of the evening. You don't say.

I'll say this. This is kind of my fault, okay? I'm not getting into it any deeper than that, but it's kind of my fault. Okay. I'm not getting into it any deeper than that, but it's kind of my fault. So last week, Dulleen requested a meeting with Kevin Adams and I think he just wanted to know what's our direction. What are you thinking and where are we going? And you know, I think look like nobody wants to lose, especially not for as long as the Sabres have. And I think the fans understand that the Sabres understand that. I don't think any ultimatum was delivered at all.

But like the Sabres know that their guys don't think any ultimatum was delivered at all, but the Sabres know that their guys aren't gonna be happy if they don't start turning things around, right? I think more importantly in this particular case, I think Dallin really appreciated the opportunity to hear from the GM about where they were going. Because, and stop me if you've heard this before, you know, you look at some of the pieces they've got and you feel that you have the baseline of a good team. And I think Dallin would look, they

just, they extended Greenway they extended Zooker and they have other players there who are good players and so I heard that Dullin left that meeting satisfied with what he heard and now they just have to put it into action I think he did want to go in there and say and hear what is the plan? How are we going to get better? You know, Cousins is off to a really good start in Ottawa and he needed a hundred percent of fresh start, a hundred percent of fresh start. And I think Norris is a guy who a lot of teams were talking about. I think St. Louis was very interested. Uh, I think Nashville was very interested.

And I think that was one of those situations where O'Reilly was potentially in Ottawa, Ottawa's radar. But you know, Barry Trotz made O'Reilly a promise. O'Reilly has made it very clear. He wants to be part of the solution and fix the problem. And so they didn't go down that road Like there are two players here who were traded for each other Cousins was coveted because people said he'll be

better in a different situation and Norris had interest because centers are so hard to find people can point out like Norris has battled injuries and he's got a big contract, but centers are hard to find. And Buffalo was able to get one. I think that Dulleen was satisfied with what he heard. And now the Sabres have to put it into action and they just have to get better. I'll say this too, I think one of the biggest things with the Sabres in that Detroit game and boy did Patrick Kane turn back the clock the other night with the five points against Buffalo. But I remember last year with Toronto when they had that thing with Brad Marshand in in Boston when Lillagran got hurt and

They showed video of the lightning and said this is the way the light when if you touch Vasilescu even look at him in the wrong direction There you fight one of us you fight all of us. We're all in together. I think You know some of those Buffalo players absolutely did drop their gloves and get into it, but I still think that Buffalo team as a whole, it needs that same treatment Toronto got, which is the Tampa video. Like you fight one of us, you fight all of us because there's still some guys who aren't all the way like that and your whole team has to be like that.

But the number one thing I wanted to mention on this pod, I think he was looking for answers to his questions and he felt satisfied with the answers he got. And I think the players in Buffalo felt that the trade they made was the kind of trade at least needed to happen on some level. They needed change in there and I don't know that it happened right after the meeting with Dulleen because it forced their hand but I can't imagine it's a huge coincidence that it happened right after he had that meeting with Dallin. And I think the dressing room kind of liked and respected the fact that Dallin asked for a meeting with the general manager

to hear what he had to say. Yeah, I think if you're a Sabres fan, you're like, that's gotta... I know there hasn't been a lot to feel good about this year but that's gotta be something because you look at how he's played he certainly is not the problem. His first year of an eight-year extension he's fifth in points amongst defensemen in the entire league he's been a plus player on a team that struggled I thought he looked really good at Four Nations with Team Sweden and he's a competitive guy. So I think it's only healthy that those conversations take place. Perhaps even a bonus that it's the player that kind of initiated it.

And now we'll see where it all goes because I mean, yeah, 14 years unfortunately is a long time. I think of a guy like Dennis Gilbert who was part of that cousins deal that's now in Ottawa. He's a Buffalo guy, right? Like he, as a kid, he would go like take days off school to be part of the game days during their playoff runs in 2006 and 2007 when that whole city was just going wild for the idea of a chance at winning a Stanley Cup and playing at that time of year. And feels like a long ways away still for that organization to get back there.

But the fact that one of the key contributors and faces in all of that is going to that level to try to find answers and get on the path towards there after so many failed attempts. I mean it's got to start somewhere and the fact that the captain has decided that's an important thing to do doesn't sound like a bad thing at all. No, I agree with you and the other thing too is that the players in the room, And the other thing too is that the players in the room, like you're the liaison, you're the captain, you're supposed to be the guy who helps the players understand what's going on. And you can't do it all the time, and there will be times that the team

can't tell you what they're thinking, but it sounds like due to the timing of it, it was the right time for Darlene to do it By the way before we go on the final thought do you see a vetch can give up the empty net or the other night Yes Nice pretty unselfish. Yeah nice touch for the two people Under one overcoat protists to score.

That's eight. Yes. He uh, Austin powers in mini me in disguise. Hey, did you, uh, Lam Lou Lamarello after the deadline, he said that he were working to, to resign Cal Paul Mary's. Yeah, it sounds like that one's really gaining traction too. I don't know, but it's tough to tell, but it sure sounds like there's a lot of people who believe that one's going to come to fruition. We'll see. We'll see. I don't like to guess what the Islanders, but there was definitely talk that that one

was making progress. Okay. Other news on Thursday. Just quickly, Conor Zeri suspended two games for the elbow on Elias Pettersson of that Wednesday night game in Calgary. He's got no history, no finds before in his career. This is the first time he's been called to the carpet. Any issue with the two games?

No. No. I mean, clearly the player players injured. He missed the rest of the game. I kind of wondered if, you know, that what happened in the first period of and the officials only have two things they can do in that moment, they can either call the five and review it, or they can do exactly what they did and let players safety handle it. I do wonder though, if Zary had gotten thrown out of that game, does he get a hearing? But. So early enough. Because it was early enough. But, you know again, unless they wanna call the five

and review it, which I have no problem with, I don't have a problem with calling a penalty and then letting player safety handle it. If it turns out to be worse than you realize. Gotcha. I know they talked about it on the show and you talked about with Marquesi and Fuda.

I think absolutely the fact that, you know, Vancouver clearly didn't see what really happened to later on, like their lack of over the top reaction of, Oh my God, how did you miss that? I think probably played a role in them not calling a major just to have a second look in real time. But maybe game happens fast. Maybe that's a good call. Okay, next week, Elliott, you and I will be back down in Palm Beach, Florida, this time for the general managers meetings from Monday to Wednesday. Imagine there's a whole host of things on the docket during their time down there. Anything

early on for you that is top of mind that could be front burner for the managers? Well one of the things I'm curious about is is going to be the conversation about about overtime. And remember when we came out of the four nations, there was that one six minute overtime between Canada and Sweden. And I was definitely told after that event that it would be on the docket for the GM meetings. And I don't know if the players would really want to go to 10 and they have a say in this,

obviously, but would they be willing to go to 7 or 8? And I'm curious to see if that's going to be one of the discussions. Do we go to a 7 or 8 on three over time? How do the managers feel about it? And then how do the players feel about it and then how do the players feel about it? Because both have to agree. It's not something that can be done unilaterally. So that's one thing I'm looking for here. Now the other thing is, and this is not a manager's thing, it's more collective bargaining, but last year the managers were made aware of it when

they were at this particular meeting was just, they were told last year that the NCAA changes were going to happen. The ones that we saw with the CHL and the NCAA. And they were right, it obviously did happen. And what I've heard kind of behind the scenes is the NHL and the Players association have been I don't know if I want to say flexing their muscle a little bit but kind of letting it be known what they'd like to see happening obviously because

of their power they have to listen so I am curious and like I said I think this is going to be a collective bargaining thing, and their influence allows them to kind of tell the leagues, this is what we'd like to see or this is how we can make it work. And I am curious to see if the managers are going to be told anything about, hey, this is what the landscape could look like or might look like after the CBA is done. Hmm. It's really interesting because I mean, and just all the little things now that trying to sort out and I think one of the things I was talking to somebody recently, you know, like

rookie tournaments, for example, that go on just before main camps so like in the past you could invite players from the chl to help kind of fill rosters they would be free agent invitees to come participate well now i think you know under the current rules like if you're you can't invite a kid that's committed to an ncda program to to that tournament? And so now with more CHL players doing that and taking the opportunity to commit to an NCAA program, I know that's not obviously the biggest factor in all of this, but it's all just things that as the rules are becoming reality here with the new change, how do the league sift through it all? And the the domino effect of all these changes here too compared to what? Had been done a certain way for so many years Yeah, I think they've been meeting and talking about it and I think the NHL has been kind of at the beginning

I think they were kind of sitting back and listening and now I wonder if they're starting to say okay This is what we need to see here. This is what really helps us. And I think at various times too, I think they've kind of asked some people for input. I don't know if it's central scouting or the teams, but I've heard they've kind of asked around like what makes the most sense. And, you know, you'll remember a few years ago, I think it was Pat LaFontaine who had the plan,

you know, make'll remember a few years ago, I think it was Pat LaFontaine who had the plan, you know, make the first round only, make it a 19 year old draft except for the first round and have the USHL compete for the Memorial Cup and things like that. And I don't know if it's going to be that particular template, but I do think some of this stuff is going to be talked about. All right well with that let's get to final thought which is brought to you by GMC and on Thursday Elliot the news became public that a teammate of ours for 16 years Arash Madani he and Sportsnet have parted ways now your time with Arash dates back even further than that.

So I'll leave it to you here first. What was your reaction when you saw that and just the thought on one of the great storytellers and reporters we've got in our business and in our country? I hated it. I mean, I think like everybody else, you know, I just hate to see good people go. You know, it's, I really don't know what else to say about this. I also really like hanging around with Arash. He's very, very funny.

Like he's just, as usual, some of the stories you can't tell on the air, although there's a couple of great ones I'm just laughing at, thinking about it. You know, I mean, like he's been a huge part of Sportsnet for a long time. And you know, the time comes for all of us, Kyle, I've accepted that and the day will eventually come for me too.

I've said before that, you know, like the athletes we cover, we very, in our business very rarely do we get to call our shot as it ends. And this is a reminder of that. You know, I'm really sore to see Rash go. I think he did great work. He was very passionate. I mean, the two of us are Vikings fans together and we would we would text each other in great moments and and and bad moments and I Didn't get his irrational hatred of Kirk Cousins like I like I I didn't dislike Kirk Cousins as much as a rash did He really had something against the guy But but yeah, I mean I'm yeah, I you you hate to see it.

You do. I think Arash is really talented and I thought it was a lot of fun to be around. Yeah, so for me, I mean, he was one of the first reporters I met when I first got hired by Sportsnet back in 2013. I'd moved to Toronto just steering the headlights in a lot of ways. And one of the first couple days it was the assignment was to shadow a rash and we went and he was covering Leafs practice and I just tagged along and I just I put it out on on X on Thursday

but one of the best pieces of advice he gave me. Certainly at that time, he just said, for you getting started here, keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut. And I thought, OK, that's pretty good. I could have used that advice from Arash a long time ago. I was grateful I got it then. And it's just been, yeah, he was one of those guys that we seemed to hit it off right away.

And like you love being around him, a great sense of humour, always good stories and good laughs. And a guy that, I mean, you know, you're Lioneliot that, you know, you've got to be willing to work in this business. And that's a guy that puts in the work. I mean, every time when we would cover, you know, what was then the Rogers Cup, now the National Bank opened the tennis tournament, whether it was in Montreal or Toronto, year after year I would just marvel at the amount of work, the prep, all of it that he would put into that week. And that's a big week, it's a long week,

long, long days, and he just did not have an off switch. It just it really was something to to see there early on and in you know my career as you're trying to figure out this whole space. Just a really really special mentor I think to have there. So I'm with you. Sucks, I hate it, but I know someone with that versatility and ability to do the job as well as he does and a number of jobs as well as he does, there will be something for him here once the dust settles.

So Arash, all the best to you, buddy. You know, the other thing too I was gonna say is that in general, Kyle, there aren't a lot of people left who do everything. You know, one thing I was very lucky about when I first started my career is I was allowed to do everything. I did baseball, I did basketball, I did hockey, I did tennis, I did golf, I did a lot of different stuff. And those days are kind of coming to an end now. And not only at Sportsnet, but

basically everywhere. You know, if you take a look like, you know, like Sportsnet, we're really big into hockey, we're really big into Blue Jays baseball, we're really big into hockey. We're really big into blue jays baseball. We're really big into UFC. And I understand all that because those are some of our primary rights, uh, of course. And so like we have people in our network who do hockey. We have people in our network, uh, who do baseball and we have some people at our network who do UFC and I just wonder if that's the way that television is kind of going or broadcast or digital is kind of going that you, you do what you do and you try

to be the best at what you do and you don't worry as much about the other stuff and, um, like a rash could do hockey, no problem if he wanted to he's that good and he's that talented but because of our place he wasn't doing Jays as much anymore and he didn't do very much hockey I just wonder if all the various networks with the rights they have they're gonna say we're just gonna be good at that we're just going to be good at that. We're going to concentrate at that. Certainly could be a sign of where things are headed. Okay, that was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take our first break and come back with the Thought Line. 32 Thoughts, the podcast continues after this. All right, it's time now for the Thoughtline.

You have reached the frequently asked questions page of the 32 Thoughts podcast. Elliot, anything on your mind before we get going to today's entries? No. Okay, good, because we have a good list here today and a couple of follow-ups from last episode beginning. So Pascal from Calgary wrote in on the last pod, someone asked if Elliot has ever broke a trade on the podcast.

Well, on August 25th, 2020, Toronto sent Casperi-Cappenon to Pittsburgh and there is audio on the next episode that Elliott received a tip about it and he paused the recording to go chase the news. Go Habs Go, love the pod. Wow, Pascal. I'm impressed. I don't remember that. I'm impressed.

I'm really impressed. Although everyone should know after my screen time, my brain is fried and I have no memory so But Pascal great on you for remembering that because I wouldn't have remembered that absolutely and I think Everything about August 2020 was a blur. Oh, that's right. That's another very very fair point. Yes So that was one also Gary in North Bay I don't really have a good answer to the reason why so many Toronto players changed their numbers in the 1930s. Remember the changing the jersey?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it reminded me of a story I heard about the late Harold Ballard. I heard he was the last team owner to put players' names on their jerseys because he figured it would cut into the sale of programs. This is true. Finally, when the league mandated the jersey names, he put the names on the white jerseys because he figured it would cut into the sale of programs. This is true. Finally, when the league mandated the jersey names, he put the names on the white jerseys and white letters and the names of the blue jerseys in blue letters. That's true. Also, that happened when I was a kid. I remember seeing, I remember when it first happened, I think it first happened on the road and I remember the,

I remember the newspaper the next morning, I think we subscribed to the Toronto Star back then. I remember the newspaper next morning, they had a big picture of a Maple Leaf with a blue jersey and blue lettering and how it looked. And of course that was not a color picture. So it made it look even worse. That I remember as a young kid.

Yeah, so Gary was wondering if there's any connections there with that. There's probably some truth to it. The organization for a long while had a bit of a history of scrounging for every dollar that it could. Nothing's changed. That's true. At least now they don't have to worry about program sales. That's right. It's not the programs they're worried about though, but nothing has changed. No, no, no. Okay. Across the pond, Pekka from Espo, Finland. Hi, good folks of Sportsnet Stats and the supporting cast on the podcast. That's pretty's the truth. That's pretty true.

That's funny. Yes. I understand that with every point he accumulates the rest of the season, Miko Rentinen is pushing the record for most points in a season when playing for three different teams, but how about four? I suppose there aren't a ton of people to begin with who have played for four teams in one season. So a couple of questions. How many such

players exist and what's the points record for such a season? The only player I can think of off the top of my head is Yusi Yokunin with 17 points across four teams in his final season, but that surely can't be the record. He is right, it's not the record, but UC Oakadon did play for four teams in one season. There are a few that have, not many. This is a, it's such an obscure one, Elliot. I don't wanna have to make you sit there for the next one. What year are we talking about here? Okay, so the record for most points,

so there's four players that have done it. Played for four teams in one year. It actually was not that long ago, the 2014-2015 season. 31 points was the total. It's like. Well, cause I remember, you remember when we interviewed Anton Forsberg

and also I remember Eric Comrie. Like I remember goalies doing it when all of them were going on waivers. Forsberg I think was during the bubble year and Comrie, I can't remember what year it was. Remember when he was waived like four different times and claimed by four different teams? Yes.

So those ones I remember really well. Are we talking like, was Kyle Wellwood one of these guys? No, but that's a fine, fine guess. So. 14-15. Hold on. What, what, give me, give me a couple. Teams? Yeah. Give me one guy's one guy in their teams. So. Okay. So you see, O'Connor was one of them. He was one of them, but he didn't have the record. No, he didn't. So who gave me the record holder, Dave McElwain.

Wow. Okay. Yeah. I remember Dave McElwain and then Dennis O'Brien in the seventies. Okay. I wasn't getting that one. I'll give you the teams that he played for. And this is 14, 15, 14, 15 season. Okay I'll give you the teams that he played for. And this is 1415.

1415 season. Okay. 36 games with the Oilers. Four games with the Nashville Predators. 10 games with the Penguins. And 27 with the then Arizona Coyotes. Oilers, Predators, Penguins, Coyotes. 1415

The next season Was in the Maple Leafs organization spent time with the big club and also the Marley's and then went over to Switzerland I'm trying to think of who this would be There's I guarantee to you that I guarantee to you that someone's getting it right off the top of their head Journeyman type guy. Yeah It's not no The first guy that jumped into my head It's not like, like I'm trying to remember that Leaf teen.

There was, it wouldn't be Leupold even though he played for the Oilers. It wouldn't be Grabner. Is it? It's not Milan McAlec. No, this is a North American player. The only other guy I'm trying to remember who played on that team because that was Babcock's first team, right? Yeah, so I'm trying to remember all the guys who were there. Yeah, I remember that Brad Boyd. I mean, I can't remember him playing with all these teams. Was it Daniel Winnick? No, another good guess. So to say,

yeah. So that was, there was the four teams in one year and then right the next season, he was with the Leafs organization. Yeah. 15, 16 was the year with the Leafs. Correct. Yeah. And then Arizona, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Edmonton began his career in Edmonton for a number of years and then gallivanted about the NHL and for sure did. I'm trying to remember. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. I admire this because it sounds like someone I should get. Well it's what when you hear the name you're like, oh yeah that guy. I think he's still playing in Switzerland now.

No it's not like, it's not like Peter Holland is it? No. Who is it? No, he was in, Holland, is it? No. No. Who is it? He was in, you ready for it? Yeah. I can hear Kevin Quinn saying his name. Mark Arcobello.

Oh wow. Wow. Yeah. Yeah I wouldn't have got it. I remember Arcobello. I sure do. I'm annoyed I wouldn't have got it. I remember Archibelo. I sure do I'm annoyed. I didn't get it. Yeah, I'm annoyed. I didn't get it. Mark Archibelo. Yeah. Yeah That's it. That was a great question. That was a great question. It reminds me of one of my one of my favorite

Baseball trivia questions who is the only player? I think he's the only player in major league baseball to play on all four last place teams in one season, like all four different divisions. Oh my gosh. And sorry, like if you're a fan now there's six, but there used to be just four, American League, National League, East and West, but there was a player who played for all four last place teams and he was a shortstop named Johnny LaMaster. And you know what his nickname became after that? Johnny LaMaster.

It's a good one. You know what? That's a great guess. It's actually a great guess. No, they called him Disaster LaMaster. Oh no. If he showed up in your clubhouse. Oh gosh. That's a Johnny LaMaster. That's actually a good guess, Kyle. if he showed up in your clubhouse.

Oh gosh. That's a Johnny last, that's actually a good guess, Kyle. I give you, I give you credit. Like I wouldn't have thought of that. Okay. Sarah in Vermont. Okay. Hi, Kyle, Elliot and Dom. Over the weekend, went skating with a friend of mine. And as we laced up our skates, I wondered, why are we still using this very old method of fastening?

Obviously, even the most expensive skates and the most elite skaters also use laces. Is there not a space-age material or advanced technology that would keep our skates on firmly and not need retying? Ski boots, for example, have secure buckles. Is it just tradition? I knew that you were the only people I could turn to for the answer. Thanks for the always informative and entertaining pot." It's a great question. It is. Because, especially you see some goaltenders now, they have switched away from laces. It gets the buckles set up.

And coincidentally, when I was in Chicago last week, I talked to Spencer Knight about it, who uses that set up with his skates. Oh, he uses the buckles? Yes. And he was saying, he goes with that, the way his skates fasten now compared to the laces, he gets way better ankle flexion

compared to the old school. I think there's, because especially like Sarah pointed out the ski boots, like cycling shoes now, there's that BOA technology, like just to have a more even type of shoe. Like the stuff you wear on pelotons, right? Yeah, exactly. That kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, road bikes and all that sort of thing. I would imagine you could find something that would be very effective there. I just, talking to someone today, like there's the mirror test, right? We know how players are creatures of habit and they sit down there or look down for the first time and it's not laces on their skates, it's something else holding it all

together. I don't know. I think it would take someone to be brave enough to deal with all the verbal abuse of wearing something different and holding their skates together before it truly catches on. Well, I also wonder too, if you have buckles, how much can you really adjust it right like you guys see like we always see players Tying their skates Well, I shouldn't say always but you see guys during games tying their skates on tying their skates things like that Like some part of me wonders if it's just habit as you say maybe psychological a bit But I would bet that some of these guys are like no I can I can do it my way I feel comfortable my way I can adjust it if I'm not

Doing well, I could see all of that too. It's a great question though Mm-hmm. Yeah, like I gotta tell you if I was just like which I am like just like a Like I skate just for fun once in a while. I don't need to lace them up all the time, right? But I would bet knowing how finicky some of these guys are about their skates and their equipment, I could see a number of them saying, no, I like having this kind of control. Yes, exactly. So that's a great question, though. Very good question, Sarah.

Thank you. All right, time for a voicemail. Young Henry in Toronto, What do you got? Hi Kyle and Elliot I'm Henry and I'm nine years old and live in Toronto and I have a question Let's say the Leafs are playing the Habs and the Leafs have a delayed penalty The Habs will pull their goalie and accidentally score on their own net. Would the goal count and would there still be a penalty? Go Leafs, go!

Henry, you sound like such a happy nine-year-old. I blame whoever in your life made you a Leaf fan at this age. They could have told you to go anywhere else. I hope you don't have the same lifetime of pain that so many other Leaf fans have had. I hope you see victory in your lifetime. It's a great question, Henry. The goal counts, Kyle. I know that one. Yep. Goal counts. If you shoot it into your own net, the goal counts. Yes. And the penalty still gets applied, right? Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to remember this happened not too long ago I'm trying to remember. It was one or two

years ago in Carolina it was Carolina Washington but that's going back a little bit now but you're right if there's had to have been something more recent than that. Yes okay so now I just looked it up on the Sportsnet YouTube channel it was Pittsburgh at Arizona. It was in Mullet Arena and the Penguins had the net open. LaTang was skating with it, dropped it back for Malkin. It was in front of his own net and he couldn't handle the pass.

And it went right in, right in. I remember this. Yeah, I think I was watching that game when it happened. Man, oh man, good recall. February 20, no, hold on, that's not right. Yeah, January of last year. Oh, yeah, so really recent. Yes, January of last year.

Arizona won the game five-two. It was three-two when it happened, so that goal made it 4-2. So think, you're about to get a power play, you're down a goal, and all of a sudden you're down 2. Like that's just wild. Oh Dom says that Louis Erickson's first goal as a Canuck was an own goal into an empty net. Should have been a sign. Should have been a sign.

It's wacky. It's wacky. It's one of those ones where you're like, there's no way that happens at the NHL level, right? No, anything can happen. Well, the first goalie in the NHL to be credited with a goal was Billy Smith. And that wasn't on a delayed penalty,

but that was Rob Ramage was the Islanders against the Colorado Rockies the old Rockies who are now the New Jersey Devils and Rob Ramage passed it back to the blue line there was nobody there it went all the way down the ice and because Smith was the last Islander to touch it he got credit for that goal. It wasn't a delayed penalty. It was just an empty net situation. And I'm watching the Erickson play right now. There's four flames on Erickson. And he tries to throw it back to Erica Branson.

He puts it in his own net. I think Brett Kulak got credited with that goal. Wow, a young Brett Kulak. And then similar to your Billy Smith story, I mean, Ilya Sorokin this year too, right? Yes, that's right. Very good. Okay, Henry, thank you for that voicemail. Up next, Jordan from Vancouver.

Hello, Dom, Elliot and Kyle. I've been a fan of the pod for a long time. My understanding is that players can be traded after the deadline but they aren't able to play in the playoffs. It made me think could a team trade a player after the deadline but then acquire the player back right before the end of the season and have them play in the playoffs? Could they be eligible because they were part of the team at the end of the deadline prior for example could Vancouver trade alias

peterson to San Jose after the deadline for some draft picks but then right before the start of the playoffs Vancouver needed more depth and they traded the picks back to San Jose to get peterson back in Vancouver would he be eligible for the postseason with Vancouver since he was with the team at the passing of the deadline? This scenario might happen if a team thought they wouldn't make the playoffs at the deadline but then they go on a run and end up getting in unexpectedly. The short answer is no. You know if you are traded after the deadline you can't even play in the regular season. Really? Yeah you're out. Like for, you can't even play in the regular season. Really?

Yeah, you're out. For example, you don't see it anymore, Kyle. It's usually an extreme situation like a contract termination or even to send someone down to the AHL if you want to, if you have to. But if you're waived after the trade deadline and another team claims you, you can't play for that team the rest of the year. Okay. So that's why if you see someone put on waivers, it's either to terminate their contract or

they're supposed to go back down to the AHL. I like the idea, but there is a fault in that you can't play at all. Got it. All right. We'll finish with this from Sammy. Hi Elliot and Kyle. The Calgary Flames as we record this have hold of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, but also rank 32nd

in goals scored has a team with the lowest goals for in the league ever made the playoffs before or could Dustin Wolf have a chance to make history Oh is that you doing that Kyle or is that Sammy doing that it's I'm full Ron Burgundy here anything you put in that copy Burg Burgundy will read it. That's very good. Before you go to Sportsnet stats, I'm looking for one potential answer here that I remember. Where are they? Yes, so it didn't end up that way.

But if I remember Yes, so it didn't end up that way. But if I remember correctly in 2012, when the LA Kings traded for Jeff Carter, they were dead last in the NHL in goals. And they didn't end up that way. They ended up with 194. And as I'm looking at the standings right here, they passed the Minnesota Wilds, ended up with 177. But the Kings were 31st.

And I remember Dean Lombardi made that deal because even though the Kings did not score a lot, he loved their metrics. At the end of the regular season, they were the best team in the league at goal, sorry, the second best team in the league at goals against with 179. So even though they were 31st in goals, they were second in goals against and their overall differential was plus 15. And so I remember that one and I remember I wrote about it at the time and I do think there was one other team in NHL history that won the Stanley Cup even though they were last in goals but it wasn't a 32 team NHL. It was a smaller league.

So that situation with the Kings was unheard of at the time and the only reason that they didn't end up lasting goals was because the offense ignited after Carter got there. yeah certainly back in the days of original six or even 12 it would not be completely rare for a team to finish last in goals for and still get into the playoffs just because there weren't a lot of teams that missed back then but of the more recent examples of it the last time this happened was 2010 the Boston Bruins were last in goals for 196 on the season and still got in. I think that was the year that they coughed up the three-nothing lead to Philadelphia, right? Yes, that's correct because Philly went the final that year and lost to Chicago. Right and Philly got in that year on the shootout with the Rangers on

the last day. Wild. It's funny and then going through a couple other examples. I don't know where I think I have some of my old blogs on Last day, yes. Wild. It's funny, and then going through a couple other examples, Vancouver. I don't know where I, I think I have some of my old blogs on a hard drive somewhere, because I would have written this while I was still at CBC. And I remember,

I remember there was one other team that won the cup with having the league's worst offense. I could see it, certainly back in the day. Yes. Those old blogs should be in the National Archives of Canada at this point. Yeah, I'm sure people would be rushing to read that garbage. But you look at the Vancouver Canucks, 88, 89, the Detroit Red Wings, 86, 87. They were last in the league in goals for it, yet their totals that year, Vancouver 251,

Detroit 260. Just a different world back then in the 80s, what was considered low scoring. I gotta say, I remember the others those years, they were scoring like 380 goals. It was crazy. Anyway, so it has happened. It would not be history if Calgary gets in but it would be the first time in 15 years if that's the case and they remain 32nd in goals for.

Sammy thank you for that one. Fun thought line today Elliot thanks for playing. Very good, very good. Alright 1-833-311-3232 is the phone number to call if you'd like to leave a voicemail or you can email us. 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. One final break and we'll wrap up the pod when we come back. 32 Thoughts of the land of things to keep an eye on at the network over the course of this weekend. Tonight, if you are so inclined, the Colorado Avalanche are in Calanche are in on the flames that can be

on Sportsnet one. They're o'clock Eastern seven o' pushing to saturday, the time of 6 30 Eastern, 3 3 gang. Luke Gazzick is in weekend. BX has the weeki him soon for sure. A couple of monumentous feeling early games. The Battle of Ontario from Toronto.

The Senators in town on Sportsnet, CBC, Sportsnet One and Omni. And the Florida Panthers are in Montreal. Sportsnet East and City TV. The Nightcap this week. Connor Bredard returns home on the BC West Coast. The Blackhawks and the Canucks on Sportsnet, CBC and Citi. Scott Oak is away this weekend but after hours does continue. He's away? That's what it says. Wow who's doing it? Dan Murphy and Dave Tomlinson are filling in. Not sure who the guests are. I would tell you

this if it was Ryan Leslie I would suspect that he hid oak in his trunk or something like that just to get more airtime but they do great when they're together when they're excellent but if it was Ryan Leslie I would suspect foul play Murph not so much no exactly he only comes after your suits. That's right. Not Scott Oak. So that's the other one to look for. And then Sunday, too, we should say nationally, seven o'clock

Eastern, five o'clock mountain time, the Oilers wrap up their four game trip in Manhattan to face the Rangers. All right, Elliott, lots of hockey to watch again this weekend. The next time we will talk to you Will be from Florida's we get set for the general managers meetings the first half of next week. See you down there for each See you down there Kyle. Have a great weekend everyone. We'll talk to you Monday