32 Thoughts: The Podcast - All in Before All-Star

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

Jeff and Elliotte begin with a deep dive on the Elias Lindholm trade between Calgary and Vancouver. Elliotte talks about where Lindholm fits on the Canucks roster (3:04) and what other suitors were involved for his services (6:40). The guys then look back at Andrei Kuzmenko's polarizing tenure with Vancouver and look ahead to his new opportunity with the Calgary Flames (11:32). Jeff and Elliotte also take a close look at Calgary's return, highlight the potential of Hunter Brzustewicz as an X-factor in this deal (14:57), and look ahead at what's next for the Flames (18:21). Next, Elliotte talks about the Philadelphia Flyers and a potential deal with Nick Seeler. Plus, they wonder aloud about Travis Konecny's future (23:26). Finally, they hone in on Los Angeles and David Rittich taking hold of the Kings' crease. (25:11).The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (30:37).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.

I am so embarrassed I brought this up on the podcast. No, no, no. I want everyone to know how proud I was of myself today. Enjoy the All-Star Weekend broadcast. I'll be the guy curled up in the fetal position. 32 Thoughts, once again, as always, presented by the GMC Sierra, Merrick Friedman and Dom Schramatti along with you. It is All-Star Weekend.

We hope you are enjoying as much of the programming as you can. But that's not going to be the lead story of the programming as you can uh but that's not going to be the lead story of the day no no no no no no it is the alias lindholm trade elliot now a member of the vancouver canucks and going the other way andre kuzmenko hunter bruce stevich defenseman for the kitchener rangers uh blue line prospect yoni yermo a first round pick in 2024 and a conditional fourth as pat steinberg mentioned, it becomes a third if Vancouver makes the Western Conference final. So those are the facts.

But take us inside. You know what, Elliot? Take us inside your phone. How did this one work between you, your phone, and the deal? So Jim Rutherford. So Wednesday night in Toronto, I'm hosting an NHL alumni Q&A with Matt Sundin and Curtis Joseph, just name dropping here. Wayne Grestio was told to drop names. Literally about 10 to 15 minutes before it's about to start.

So Jim Rutherford goes on the evil telecom. So Jim Rutherford goes on the evil telecom and I guess they ask him, you know, are you're not, I assume you're going to wait till after the all-star weekend to do anything. And he kind of laughs and says, well, maybe we could do it beforehand. I don't know exactly what he said, but it was something like that. Sure. So someone sends me this clip with a challenge they're like let's see how good you are oh geez and i was like oh my god i got 10 minutes before this thing starts and i called around a little bit and you know that's when i found out watch lindholm watch lindholm like they've really been working on l Lindholm. And so obviously that's when I put out the tweet.

I was pretty sure it was Lindholm. You know, when the thing started, I didn't know what the whole deal was, but that's what it was, Jeff. Like someone just threw his clip on my phone and said, let's see what you can do with this genius. And that's basically what came down. And so, you know, now we know,

last week we're Vancouver scouting meetings. and that's basically what came down. And so, you know, now we know. Last week were Vancouver scouting meetings. I think they decided that Lindholm was their number one target, and I get it, and it makes perfect sense to me. If they keep the 6-4-9 line together, Lindholm can play 2C. If they don't keep it together, Lindholm can play on the wing. And I heard Rutherford on your show today where he said, you know, he has an idea that Talkett might start him with Pedersen. Well, from a team point of view right now, I don't think it affects a whole lot.

You take Kosmenko out of the top six, actually out of that one line, the Pedersen line, and you put Lindholm in. And, like, I'm sure Jim Rutherford has a bit more than an idea. I was kind of laughing when I heard his phrasing. But they have a guy now who can play center or he can play winger, and that is why Vancouver wanted this player. That's why they chose him.

And what it says to you, in case you didn't believe it already, the Vancouver Canucks think that they have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, and they are all in. Jim Rutherford is at the poker table. He is at the Venetian. He's at the Golden Nugget. I don't know which casino that Jim Rutherford gambles at,

but he is sitting there, and he has pushed his chips all in. And I'll tell you what else he's done. He pushed his chips all in at a time when not everybody else was ready to do it. What else have we learned about Craig Conroy this year? When someone becomes a GM, you sit there and you say, what are this person's tendencies? What is he about? How does he do his job? Well, this is the second time this year that Calgary and Vancouver

have done a big deal with each other. But Craig Conroy, he gets someone who meets his price or a price he likes, and he tells the other teams involved, the time is now. Get here or be gone. And I think that these other teams, they couldn't get to where Vancouver was willing to go or they just weren't ready to do what Vancouver was willing to do. So Rutherford pushed his chips in when I think some other people weren't ready. Now, there was a a report I don't know

where it came from I know it's been out there I'm sorry it's been a whirlwind but where there was one team that was not willing to make the deal without an extension and I don't know this for sure but to me that screams Boston because Boston has a need for the player. They did it with Hampus Lindholm. They like to get guys signed. And the other thing about Boston, one of the things about them this year, and they're having another really good year, they went all in last year. Sweeney pushed the chips in last year.

You can't do that every year. You cannot do that every year. You cannot do that every year. And my breed of the situation, again, this is my opinion, but I believe it's an informed opinion because of the way they do business. I would be shocked if that team wasn't Boston without an extension. And if Lindholm hits the market this summer, I think the Bruins are going to be in there. You know what's interesting about the Boston Bruins,

just as an aside with Elias Lindholm here, going back to when he was drafted, and that was the New Jersey Devils draft, they tried to get into the first round to get him. I know it's a totally different regime, et cetera, but that wouldn't be the first time that the Boston Bruins have made a play to try to get him. That was the infamous Nathan McKinnon draft, where Lindholm went fifth to the Carolina Hurricanes. And who was the GM of the Carolina

Hurricanes at that moment? Elliot, if you can refresh my memory, I'm kind of new to hockey. Who was the manager of Carolina back in 2013? The manager of Carolina in 2013 was one Jim R Rutherford. And he gets the player. I don't even know if his middle initial begins with R. I just like it. Okay. Well, it seems to fit. It just sort of rolls off the tongue here. A couple of things. By the way, other teams here, other teams here, I think were there. I rain it had been reported that the rangers really liked them i i think they were one of the teams i think winnipeg was one of the teams i i suspect carolina was one of the teams uh uh vegas i have to colorado for sure was one of the teams vegas i i've really wondered about them and i don't think eichel is out for the rest of the

regular season. He's supposed to meet with the doctors over this break and see where he is, but I know the hope is he'll be back end of February, beginning March. But it kind of fits with the way they think, a guy like Lynn Holm. But those are the teams I think were kind of around this. I'm sure I'm missing someone, and I'm not as certain about Vegas as the other teams, but that's the group I really kind of think about.

But like I said, the one team that wanted to sign him, to me, that just screams Boston, although I've got no confirmation. So Jim Rutherford, once again, shows everybody how he prefers to handle trade deadline, and that is to ignore trade deadline and make all of his deals early. And with Lindholm-

For Jim Rutherford, trade deadline is whenever he wants it to be. Yeah, when he finds a fit and the price is right, Jim Rutherford says, why not? Let's do the deal. With Lindholm as well, we touched on this on the radio show on Thursday a little bit as well. It's almost exactly one year to the day that Bo Horvat was traded

from Vancouver to the New York Islanders. And, you know, sometimes when you move a player, you know, the conversation, Elliot, that gets had is, well, their first order of business now is to find a player that did the same thing the player they just traded did. How much of this with Lindholm do you look at now mind you they are different players but there is some skill set overlap here between Lindholm and Bo Horvat how much of this do you think is you know what Bo Horvat did x y and z we need someone to do x y and z i think it's almost exactly the same um i i look like when you trade bo horvath you lose a you know i mean you under the salary cap you have to make decisions right sure like

look what are we talking about with ottawa jacob chikrin do i i think that's as much about the salary cap as it is anything else so you have to make choices and you have to make choices that sometimes put a hole in your lineup right and that's what it did that vancouver's done really well without horvat they've been very good but that doesn't mean that you can't use a horvat like player to make yourselves even better and that's what they've done. They fit the pieces. They found a piece for Horvat, and he gives them exactly what they were missing without him. He makes them better. They're a better team now.

And look, I think they'll try to sign him in the offseason. I don't know what the likelihood of that is. It probably depends on Pedersen as much as anything else, but they'll try to sign him. We'll see where it goes. You know, I think Calgary and Lindholm by the end were probably about a million apart a year, give or take. And, you know, we'll see what that means for Vancouver.

That's obviously a sizable gap, and we'll see where we go here. You know, the Canucks, I still think they look for maybe some depth D. I think they want cover with, Susie's been hurt a couple of times. You know, they wanted to see Cole on his weak side. How would that go? They didn't get a good look at it because Susie got hurt.

They like Juleson. He's done a really nice job there. I wouldn't be surprised if they go after a deputy um but you know look like the canucks are all in and and you know i i think the other thing now too is that um you know there's the fallout effect for calgary and there's the fallout effect for other teams that we're looking for centers you know does does does k ken hughes get more calls today about sean monahan does pat verbeek get more calls today about adam henrique does um you know there's some been some rumors about scott lawton do the flyers say well you know like if you're looking for a center we got

a good center here with term you know the so we'll see where the market goes but you know there's no question you know rutherford that's what he does. He says, you may not be ready, but I'm ready. And this is what I'm doing. I want to get to a couple of those other names that you mentioned, too, and sort of what the marketplace looks like now. Because one of, if not the biggest trade deadline piece has now been traded and is a member of the Vancouver Canucks here. line piece has now been traded and is a member of the Vancouver Canucks here. From the Calgary point of view, actually, before we get to the Calgary point of view,

how would you describe what just happened with Andre Kuzmenko and the Vancouver Canucks? I mean, I don't think anyone expected he was going to continue to shoot 27% his entire career. It was fun while it lasted, but it seemed very much as if the fit wasn't there this season at all. Elliot. You know what? I think this is a player. He's probably not as good as he was last year,

but he's not as bad as he's been this year. He's, he's, he only, I think he's a good NHL player. You know, sometimes you get into a bad situation and it's tough to get out of it. And he got in the doghouse this year and he was given opportunities to get

out. Like, I don't think Rick talk had buried him there, but you know, one of the pictures we've been shown lately or the video we've been shown lately is him sitting on the bench at the end of the period of that game. I think it was against St. Louis.

Like that said to me that that was just a player who like, like I think that happened with Lynn home this year too. Like people who know Lynn home better than I do. do um like he had a real nightmare year in terms of points he was way off in production and um you know I just think that he's relieved that this part of of his time is over and because I think it was really wearing on him I think he was really struggling now he's you know he's still got to produce. There's no question about that, but he's going to be in a situation where they have a chance to win. You know, he's proven when he plays with great players, he's an elite point producer. You know, so, you know, he's going to be in that situation. And I just think that Kuzmenko is the

same way. He needs a change of scenery. It just wasn't working for him. And they sold him on, you're going to be on the power play. You know, you're going to play on a top line here. And he gets a chance to resuscitate himself. And like I said, he may not be what he showed last year when he was shooting a billion percent, but I think he's better than he's shown this year. And he'll get a chance to prove it. You know, he's got one more year left on his contract and he's got a chance to show calgary and everybody else what he can do you know i um

i gotta tell you i didn't take your advice today oh what's that you gave me advice you said don't use that comparable in calgary yeah way to go. Hunter Bushevich. And I did, uh, I'm just relaying like, you know what? I'm looking at my, I'm looking at Twitter right now and look, we know what's trending. What's that? Adam Fox. So I called him and this is what they call him in the OHL. A couple of people that I spoke to about him specifically, just trying to get a, get a vibe around him outside of, of watching him play. And you know, the, uh, the the tagline is, he's the Adam Fox of the OHL. And I mentioned that to you on Wednesday, and you said, don't use that in Calgary. Don't say that anywhere in Calgary.

And like a dummy, I did. And now my Twitter's on fire, and rightfully so. And I got a lot of people DMing me saying, yeah, you're going to hear it for that comparison. But nonetheless, like they get like the Calgary Flames get a really good defenseman here. Now the foot speed has been an issue and kept them off the American World Junior team this year. But we've seen so many players have their skating quote unquote fixed by the time they get to the NHL or once they get to their NHL team that i don't really worry about it but here's the question i know we're gonna think about okay so who's this first rounder gonna turn into um but how much do you look at the bruce davich kid and say that could be the wild card in all of this

yeah i i think that is the true x factor of the deal and by the way i did look into this he was drafted in 2023 when you're drafted out of a chl team like he was the nhl team has the rights for two years so he's he the flames have his draft rights until 2025 um i asked them if they thought they were going to be able to sign them they they didn't comment but somebody reached out to me who's got contacts in ontario and they said that they don't think that at this point in time, they don't think that's going to be a problem. So they think that they told me that they've heard that he's open-minded

about the opportunity to play in Calgary, and that's the most important thing on the kid's mind is that he just wants to know that he'll have a chance to play in an organization. And apparently I don't have any reason to believe that he would feel that that would not happen with the flames and i agree with you he is the x factor of this deal he is the player that will go one way or another in determining how successful i mean you've got a first round pick i know some of the scouts feel it i I know Sammy feels this way after 20, it drops. That's a lottery ticket. You take your lottery tickets. You give me a lottery ticket. I'll be glad to take the lottery ticket. I might even give you

5% if I win, but you know, like the, like the thing is, is that he's the, um, you know, the, the flames got a few lottery tickets here. Some are better than others, but this is the one that everyone's going to be watching. The people I know, I don't watch the OHL that much. The people I know really like him. They think that this is a really talented kid. They think he's got a real chance, which is good for Calgary. And look, I think Vancouver, look, Vancouver, you make this trade 100 times out of 100.

But if you ask Rutherford, Alvin, all the people who work in that organization, if there was a name here that made them wince in particular to include, this is the guy. Because they know that this is the guy that he has a chance. And I will never rip this trade from the Canucks' point of view. You have to do it when you are in this position. But they know if there's one name that's going to bite them in a few years,

it's probably this one. And as an aside, and I know you'll appreciate this, there is probably no junior hockey player in the CHL more stylish than Brustavich. I like that. He's a guy that shows up on point. That guy looks good. That's worth an extra four points a season for the team like i think the nhl's most stylish team should be credited with four extra points in the standings well then uh they just traded for four extra points because the that's

good this this kid dresses sharp okay so from the calgary point of view here so you know craig conroy um has already moved Tyler Toffoli. Yegor Sharangovich, although it didn't look great to begin with, has really found a spot with Calgary. That trade looks good. The Nikita Zdorov trade, I mean, it was interesting getting there with some very, very public comments. And now we have the Lindholm trade. You talked about, you you know learning about a new general manager's tendencies but what do we expect now from Calgary like there's still a

couple of names that are out there we wonder about Tanev we wonder about Hannafin we wonder about one of the goaltenders take your pick uh what happens next for Conroy's team well I think one of the things is that you know people are going to call him. You know, he's probably run out of trades he could make with the Canucks. So other GMs have to reach out now. Back to New Jersey. Back to New Jersey or back to...

Like, like Hannafin, you know, I said this, I think on Monday's pod, they want an answer i think from hannifin and um i would suspect that they've asked for it like in the near future um uh and just say hey are are you staying are you going and uh because if the if he's leaving they have to go out and they have to start putting him out there but so i think that is something they've asked hannifin to decide uh over the break or in the very near future where where what are you thinking here tanov now there were some reports that tanov uh was potentially

involved in this deal um i don't think it was ever close like do i think the idea came up yes and i have to say i'm not sure that vancouver is the only team that has gone to calgary and said if we wanted two of your players uh what do we have to do here i don't think they're the only one but it sure sounds like like eric francis wrote that calgary thinks that they will get more if they split them all up and i have heard nothing to say that eric eric is wrong about that you know eric's wrong about a lot of things but i don't think he's wrong about that i'll find out if he actually listens to this podcast um but someone said now do i think vancouver like asked about it yeah but look like imagine that trade and then imagine it with tan of in it like that's that's an awful lot for one team to give up so i don't think that

was ever closed look you know me i've talked about about Toronto a lot. I think that – I think Toronto really likes Tanev and would like to get him. I think Ottawa, we've reported. I just don't know. Like, to me, if Tanev's going to Ottawa, that's a summer move. I don't see it as happening right now. You know, I'll talk about Ottawa again in a second, but I think there's other teams in

tan of like i think there's quite a few and i think there's a few that they can deal them to without permission and there's a few that they would need permission um and but i'm sure that they'll treat tan of right and then run anything by them but i i gotta think there's more teams whether it's like a New Jersey or a Tampa or like you know I I'm assuming Winnipeg's looking for a 2c or something like that or a second line forward but I've also kind of wondered if if he would have any interest in if they would have any interest in him at all um but I I think there's a few situations there where Tanev is you know Markstrom again I I just um I I fall back to what I've said and that is

that they are really careful with him and I don't get the sense that there's anything that's even been close on him anything about the other goaltender there no I I just haven't heard much i haven't heard much i i really have not i just i just haven't heard there's been been a ton there but i i think to me it's everybody knows calgary's ready for business and i think the other thing too is that um i think the teams that lost out on lindholm whether it be the rangers like the Rangers, I've wondered if they're going to do two centers. Like one guy I wondered about for them was a guy like Tyler Johnson. Lots of experience. Doesn't make a ton of money.

I haven't watched Johnson a lot play this year. I admit that's me playing sort of like the salary game as opposed to the fit game. But like that was the name i wondered but like all those teams that were looking for centers winnipeg rangers devils bruins avalanche where are they going now like that's that's the fallout from this. Ken Hughes, like I said, probably very popular right now. Pat Verbeek, probably very popular right now. So we'll see where it goes. By the way, Ottawa, I just wanted to mention, a lot of people said,

why would Ottawa be interested in Chris Tanoff? And the reason is, yeah, maybe they're not going to make the playoffs this year, but they sure want to make the playoffs next year. They absolutely do. Okay, Elliot, before we get to the break and the Montana's thought line, a couple of teams. Philadelphia Flyers, never a shortage of headlines there. You mentioned Scott Lawton, potentially, earlier on in the podcast.

What's happening with Breer's team? Well looked like they they made their tippet signing they made their paling signing um i you know i i still think they're taking their run their run at sealer and i i would be more surprised than not if it doesn't get done i would be surprised if there isn't if they don't get a deal done there um and you know the other one i'm really starting to wonder about is is travis connect me i i think they he's he's eligible for an extension on july 1st and i have heard that they would like to get that done so you know the sean walker situation'll see. I definitely think there's some teams asking Philly what they want to do there. You know, Edmonton, Dave Pagnotto mentioned Tampa Bay.

You know, I wonder about Toronto with every defenseman, so I wonder about that, but I'm not sure he's at the top of their list. But I've started to wonder about Konechny there in Philly. I'm just hearing some noise that they want to get that one taken care of. You know, the other team in the NHL who is, even though it's in a different conference, has always been linked to the Philadelphia Flyers, whether it's by way of personnel or whether it's by way of trade,

are the Los Angeles Kings. We used to call LA Philly West. We used to call Philadelphia Los Angeles East. But don't look now. Philadelphia West won a game. Thankfully, the Kings beat the Nashville Predators. 4-2 is the final. Dave Riddick, a 39 save performance. Has he grabbed the number one position? Sure sounds like it. For the Kings? It sure sounds like he's the number one guy. No question about it.

But that's one of those situations where it goes back and forth, right? Like at the beginning of the year, it was Talbot and Riddich was in the minors because Copley was the backup. You know, that's one of those situations where you could see it going back and forth, right? Where, you know, like,

like in Toronto, where we've seen it go from three different guys. Now I could see that happening in LA, but he's done a really nice job there. Very impressive. The surfing is a little more fun for rob blake over all-star because uh because they got that win and we should shout out alex turcotte it's been a long road for him uh some injuries um big night for him and what it does is not only does the wind

make you feel good like if you're on a bad street going into all-star um if you're any kind of a person who cares it really ruins your vacation you might say it's good to get away but you're on a bad street going into all-star um if you're any kind of a person who cares it really ruins your vacation you might say it's good to get away but you're thinking of all the losing now at least in la you can think of a victory and you have a great moment with turcotte and do not underestimate how things like that can really uh help a team so it was an important win for them to get um you know i i still think arvidson coming back they're really hoping that helps their group and i you know kaliev scratched you know look i i don't think the kings are really happy that it got out that that the player was a little bit unhappy with his

role and i think they'd be looking to see what they can do out there and like i mentioned in the last pot i think they're looking for a depth four with a bit of jam and they would be willing to consider something, something like that. So they get, uh, they get their break and a win to go along with it. Man,

did the Los Angeles Kings ever need that one? And by the way, before we wrap up this part of the pod, I have a question for you. Okay, shoot. Did you do 49 pushupsups today no today i did 80 oh my god it's february so here no here's what i figured hang on so you're talking about the

the 2000 push-up challenge yes you make me look like a wimp no no no no no no no because there's like there's a structure so ellie and i are doing this 2000 pushup challenge for February. Yeah. And there's a, there's a different kind of structure for it. Like you start off, I think was, is the first one 49.

Is that why you did 49? And then it peaks. I just, I downloaded the app. Okay. I downloaded the app and it said your target today is 49. So. Okay.

A max helped me count to 49. Okay. So I'm doing this with my, with my son, Brody. And so, we figure we'll just do, in order to get to 2,000, even though it's a little bit more, we'll do 80 push-ups a day together. So, wait a second. How old is Brody? You want me to sound like a human being or a douchey hockey dad?

A human being, please. Okay. He is 12 years old. If I wanted to be a D-bag hockey dad and say, he's a 2012. So Brody, who's 41 years younger than me, did 31 more pushups than me this morning. But yeah, he, he, but he loves stuff. He like, he's that kid that just loves anything. Nobody likes pushups. Okay. Let's stop with this right now. Nobody likes pushups. No, listen, but wait, he did 31 more push-ups than

i did this morning i am so embarrassed i brought this up on the podcast i was so proud i want everyone to know how proud i was of myself today because i used to be able to do 50 push-ups at once but those were a few years ago i was so proud of myself i knocked off 49 and a 12 year old kid beat me by 31 that's oh listen first first of, we're going to the top of the same mountain. We're just going to different paths because you're going to have days. Yes, a 12 year old kid's going to beat me to the mountain by 40 days. You're not listening. You're not listening.

No, I'm not. You're right. We're going to do consistent 80 pushups a day, me and Brody. But what you're doing is like you're having the 49 now but if you look at how the month for you is going to progress yeah there's going to be some days where you have to do like 250 for each i know like there's a bit there's a couple of whoppers coming up for you like so you've done this before no it's the first time i've ever done it i just saw it on instagram i'm like you know what this will be fun and then you started talking about working out in

the gym last friday on Friday on the radio show. And so I said, hey, man, you want to do 2000 for February? It's a challenge. And you're right. There's an app for it. And there's a mental health initiative associated with it as well. So I think it's great. But don't think that just because on day one you did 49 and me and Brody did 80.

Like, trust me, we're not doing the 250 when you get there. But you're flying solo on those days, Elliot. Oh my God. Yep. It's coming for you. I gotta tell you, I was so proud of myself. You should be. 49 push-ups today.

You should be. You should be. It's great. And a kid who's not even a teenager who hooked my ass. Here's the thing. At the end of the month, we're both getting to 2,000 or as I like to think about life. Enjoy the All-Star Weekend broadcast.

I'll be the guy curled up in the fetal position. As I like to think about it, at the end of the game, the queen and the pawn go back in the same box. Montana's Thought Line is next. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime.

Elliot, here we are once again, your favorite moment of the podcast because you get to say your favorite thing. It's Montana's Thought Line, Montana's barbecue and bar, Canada's home for barbecue, Elliot. Try the ribs. 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca. You know what I tried tonight? What did you try tonight?

The mystery dessert from our hotel room. I'm staying in a hotel downtown during All-Star Weekend in Toronto. I moved out of my house. Did they? Steph's boyfriend has undoubtedly moved in, but I had a late night before the pod, this taking the segment of the pod. I ordered room service and they said mystery dessert. Really?

And I was adventurous. I went for the mystery dessert. Question then. Yeah. Considering it's a mystery. So for us normals, you would say, hmm, maybe I'll like it. Maybe I won't. It's a mystery.

Is there any dessert you wouldn't eat? Is there a dessert that you don't like? I'm not big on rice pudding. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, I got you on that one. I'm not big on rice pudding oh yeah yeah I can see that yeah I'm not big on rice pudding I'm not big on anything pistachio like I I like actual pistachios but I don't like like pistachio favorite ice cream I that's disgusting no that's wrong no okay that's wrong okay so one mistake okay keep going like the, this explains everything. Pistachio everything is good.

Pistachio everything. The nuts are great, not the ice cream. Other than that, I have to say there aren't too many, but this was an upper deck home run. It was strawberry raspberry cheesecake. Oh boy. Look out. Well, I'm glad that the mystery dessert worked out for you

here's the numbers again 32thoughtssportsnet.ca 1-833-311-3232 before we get to the questions this conversation we had a couple of weeks ago has kind of been the gift that keeps on giving we had the conversation about and it was during the thought line segment

about which single game had the most Hall of Famers in it. And right away, to our rescue, EJ Radek submits 18. 18 players, and then we also discovered Al Arbor was in the game. He went in as a coach to bring it up

to 19. That's a really big number, right, Elliot? That's like a whole smoke. That's, in one game, that's gigantic. Yeah, 1956 Game 5 Stanley Cup Final, Detroit, Montreal. number right ellie like that's like huge smokes like that's in one guy that's gigantic yeah 1956 game five stanley cup final detroit montreal it's not correct okay it's actually bigger it's actually talking about this game or a different game this game oh okay cory lavalette uh who covers the Carolina Hurricanes for the North State Journal and The Athletic. And I think he has an adorable Twitter avatar of his teeth.

Yes, it's so good. I love it. Yeah, really good. Really nice picture. Yes. Corey's a wonderful guy. I have all day for Lavallette. So he sent me a text saying,

hey, there's actually two more in the game and i love it because it's referee frank udvari and linesman george hayes so my god in that game it brings the total up to 21 there are 21 people on the ice in that game well you know what i'm thinking now hold on this is 1955 right uh 56 56 so what about the coaches and executives we should probably get there too but this is just on the ice though i think we're limiting it to all of a sudden we're drawing we're drawing lines around this okay i don't know if you want like maybe there are some hall of famers in attendance that day to watch the game too you want to throw them into the mix ladies and gentlemen if you were at this game in 1955 and you are in the hockey hall of fame yeah please alert the proper

authorities and we will find out so two really quick fun facts here on george hayes and frank gudvari um george hayes enough, his career ended when he refused to take a mandatory eye exam. League president Clarence Campbell mandated that all officials take eye exams and George Hayes refused and that was the end of his career. When it comes to Frank Udvari,

I always think back to Gordie Howe's great line. You know what Gordie Howe said about Frank Udvari? No. He said, Frank Goodvari? No. He said, Frank Goodvari is the second best referee in the game. All the others are tied for first. Oh, my God. What a fantastic line. Anyhow, Corey, thanks for that.

21 on the ice. I like that. I'm going to use that. Kevin, you're the second best broadcast on this panel behind everyone else who's tied for first. Everyone else is tied for first. Okay, here we go. Hello, Jeff, Elliot, and Dom.

While my wife and I were watching the Leafs-Jets game on Saturday night, Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal called back due to goaltender interference. My wife asked me, who is actually in the Situation Room in Toronto? Is it an ex-official, a league executive? How does one work their way up to the Situation Room? When I didn't have a good answer for her, she said, I should ask that Elliot guy. Thanks, Heath McLeod. Ask that Elliot guy.

Well, Heath, this is that elliot guy's answer first of all obviously there's some senior level people who are in there um some colin campbell uh is in there sometimes colin campbell also has a similar setup at his home um where he can um because he does not live in Toronto, but he has a similar setup at his home where he can, I believe, I'm not exactly sure, but I think he's like on a headset with the Situation Room when he's not in there. Mike Murphy obviously isn't around there as much anymore, but he still is in there time to time. Chris King is in there a lot.

Kay Whitmore is in there a lot. Rod Pazma is in there time to time Chris King is in there a lot Kay Whitmore is in there a lot Rod Pazma is in there a lot there's there's a guy by the name of Sean Ellis who's kind of he used to be in the NHL broadcasting department who's kind of moved his way up a bit he's not as senior a title as some of the other people I mentioned are, but he's a younger guy who's kind of working his way up. So there's one or two senior people. There's a retired referee who is in there because the retired referee helps on things like goaltender interference to give the referees perspective. And also it's not uncommon for, I believe, and forgive me if i don't name the titles properly like junior people or interns or whatever like i don't know what the proper answer is and i'm not trying to

say they're not important because they are but there are some more junior people who are around there to help out and point out things like if i remember it, and it's always good to guess when you don't remember correctly, I think it's basically one person per game every night. So, a night where there's not as many games, there's less people. On a night where there's more games, there's more people. And one thing they also do sometimes is if you're a member of the media and you want to come and watch how they work at one night, they allow that to happen too. Like I know it's not uncommon for broadcasters from teams outside of Toronto. If a team comes in the night before a game, they will ask and they're allowed to go.

And even independent media, you know, I remember a few years ago, there was a controversial call involving the Flyers and one of the Philadelphia colonists. If I remember correctly, it was Rich Holtzman. He said, I want to watch you guys do this. And they said, fine. And he went in to do it. So that's kind of who's in there. To your point about guessing, the rule that I've always followed is if you're not sure about something, say it loud.

So if you're going to guess, be really bold about it. It's not what you say, whether it's right or wrong. It's how confident you say it. That's all it is. Welcome to my career. Okay, Elliot, this is Mark from Maine. Hi, guys. Love the pod.

Haven't missed an episode yet. Wow. And happy to say that even my kids in the car now say quote put on the hockey talk dad oh thank you and he adds take that berkey my question is this is an interesting one i've thought about this myself too with the recent expansion of the league into vegas and seattle and now discussions of utah plus the usual suspect hou Houston, KC, Quebec City, etc. I was curious if anyone in the league or board of governors is ever against continued expansion. I understand the sentiment of the league having the fewest U.S. markets compared to the other big three leagues. I also have to assume

the NHL Players Association gets excited at the opportunity of 23 more jobs opening up with each team. More teams probably mean bigger opportunities for league revenue, expansion fees, TV deal merch. However, wasn't sure if there's concerns from any parties about the caliber slash quality of play declining from dilution of talent, or if there's worry that the league would be biting off more than it can chew by having more franchises than any other major north american league i figure that the almighty dollar is really what matters most but didn't know if you've heard of anyone being against expansion for any reason would the revenue sharing model ever change as a result thanks jelly dom boy that's a that's a really good question. And the revenue sharing does change in terms of when Seattle and Vegas came in. I believe there are, I don't know if limits is i don't have all the information in front of me

but i i know i was told once that like so when seattle came in i don't think vegas got a slice of their expansion fee it's something like that there are you know there are ways that when you first arrive um you know, there are things like that that are kind of put in there that maybe you don't get everything, but eventually you do. I mean, one of the things the NHL did was, you know, in other leagues, I remember when the Raptors came into the NBA, they gave them, like you couldn't win the draft lottery for like four years.

You got, I think, 50% of the cap the first year and 67% the second, or it was 67 and 75. Like the NHL said, we're not doing that. And Vegas went to the Stanley Cup final in year one, and some people didn't like that, although I didn't care. But there are some things like that, yes. As for your overall opinion, yes yes i do have to tell you we we do hear that from time to time um when you have a market that's struggling like arizona

you'll hear people say we should take care of the struggling market before we go anywhere else and i do think that's a part of the conversation at this time. I do hear from people who say, do we have enough players to do all this? Do we really have the workforce to make it work? So yes, I do hear that. I think the big challenge right now is you just take a look at all the valuations for these teams. Ottawa just sold for $950 million. The Baltimore Orioles sold, I think, for $1.7 billion the other day, it was announced. I mean, they were bought for $173 million, I think. And I know that was a while ago, but right now, the Dallas Mavericks went for, what, $3.3 billion. I just think right now the valuations are so high that it's going to be tough. People have dollar signs in their eyes, so it's very tough to get them to say no.

But it does come up occasionally for the reasons I mentioned before. I just think right now, while it's so hot, it's almost like you say, get going before it changes. And I think that's part of what happens right now. Plus also, like with Ryan Smith of Utah, people really want him in this league. You know, if you've heard him on our podcast, he's a very, very passionate guy. And you want people like that in your league.

Okay, this one, Elliot, comes to us from Chris. Hi, guys. Love the show. Appreciate the weekly pods. Huge Canes guy here. Need to get down here and have some Eastern North Carolina barbecue. Vinegar-based is king, Elliot. Well, I'll tell you this much.

The Canes have one of the best medium meals in the league. The pulled pork was always fantastic. The soft ice cream, always fantastic. And one of the great steakhouses in the NHL, Sullivan Steakhouse. Whenever the Flames would make the Stanley Cup final, we'd always eat there. And I always loved Sullivan Steakhouse.

Great steak. Can you tell that Elliot's staying at a hotel and just ordered room service? He adds. I had a good, you know what I had to eat? What'd you have? An ahi tuna bowl. Oh, you love that, don't you?

Oh, yeah, I do. I love my ahi tuna. Yeah, I know. I know. I've been on the road with you. I know you love your ahi tuna. He says, I've got Montana's on my list for my next business trip across the border looking for the ribs.

There you go. You're selling those ribs, Elliot. Question regarding player requested trades. Always curious how it works when a player is granted permission to seek a trade themselves. I know it happens more often in the NFL here, but this also seems to be popping up in the NHL. Is the agent ringing GMs of other teams pitching their players? Are they group calls with GM, GM and agent? Seems like an interesting and potentially awkward situation to deal with.

So I was wondering if you have any insight. Thanks in advance, guys. Have a good one. I think what happens is the team will give the agent permission. I'm not sure if there's a piece of paper or you send out a note, but the agent will say, I have permission to, and the other GM will often check. But basically what happens is the GM will say to the agent,

you can talk to anybody you want. And oftentimes that happens when the team has tried to make a move and can't. But they'll tell them, like, you can't, like, for example, like one of the players that happened this year was like Connor Garland. You know, the agent can't call a team and say, hey, you give the Canucks a seventh round pick and you get Garland. No, like the Canucks have the right to set the parameters and say, look, if we're going to make this deal, this is what we're looking at. So basically sometimes the agent will get permission

to do that, A, to see if they can knock something loose or B, if the team will try to say to the agent, look, we're really trying here. And if you don't believe us, you go canvas people. That's a good one. I think people always sort of wonder about the dynamic of that and how that happens. Okay, let's finish off with this one. This one's intriguing. Mike from Chatham, Ontario here.

Lots of heartbreak here in the detroit suburbs of southwestern ontario after the lions loss in the nfc championship game oh man my cousins my cousins in livonia michigan oh uh the besets and the makulas love you i know it's a tough one uh there's been lots of discussion about some of the mistakes Lions coach Dan Campbell made that led to the Lions loss question have there been any notable coaching snafus that you guys remember that have directly impacted the outcome of an NHL playoff series love the show guys go Red Wings Mike from Chatham You know what I think of right away? Don Cherry?

The too many men on the ice call. Yeah. Do you want to explain it? That's probably the big one. So that's game seven. Semi-final. Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins. The Bruins are leading. There's about, what, like three minutes left in the third period.

And the Boston Bruins get nailed with a too many men on the ice call. Now Don Cherry has never said who the player was who caused the infraction, but it was Stan Jonathan. Now, like, it's not exactly a secret. I guess it's part of hockey history, Elliot. Don doesn't have to mention it, but it doesn't mean that the rest of us can't. There were two players that jumped over the boards. It was Stan Jonathan and Jean Rattel. Now, Rattel realized right away, uh-oh, we got too many men on the ice, and he scampers back.

The problem is Stan Jonathan, I think on his way back to the bench, because he might have noticed too, he hit Mark Napier. And it's right in front of linesman john demico and demico can count and demico counts and it's too many men on the ice and has to call it so bob myers is the referee he goes and you know tells the the montreal canadians um announcer you know claude mouton and everybody in the mont box. Oh, I love Claude Mouton. Oh, it was just the best, wasn't it? Oh, fantastic. And it's like under three minutes to play and it goes to a Montreal Canadiens power play

and we've all seen it. Screaming down the right side, it's Guy Lafleur to Lemaire, Lemaire back to Guy Lafleur and that slap shot past Jojo Bear who's having an outstanding game at the time and the game is tied. Yvon Lambert wins the whole thing in overtime

to give the Montreal Canadiens the win. Now, you know what's interesting about that game specifically? We think about great moments, either good or bad, in the history of the Boston Bruins. And when you think great Boston Bruins moments, like incredible plays that hockey history will remember forever. What is the first Boston Bruins one that comes to your mind, Elliot? Like great Boston Bruins moments.

Winning the cup. Which goal? Oh, Bobby Orr. Against St. Louis 1970, right? winning the cup which goal oh bobby orr against st louis 1970 right one of those legendary moments in the history of the game that happened on may 10th 1970 do you know when the too many men on the ice game was was it may 10th 1979 may 10th 1979 wow the good and the bad of may 10th, 1979? May 10th, 1979. Wow. The good and the bad of May 10th for the Boston Bruins. Wow. That's pretty good. You know what? I tip my cap to you, Merrick.

Normally, I roll my eyes at your craziness. That's pretty good. Just a couple other things. You know, Mario Tremblay, Patrick Waugh. Yep. That changed the course of the NHL. When Mario Tremblay doesn't take Patrick Waugh out against Detroit, Patrick Waugh asks for a trade.

It changed the fortunes of the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche and really the entire NHL. I also think it's not on the same level i don't think in terms of the effect the game but because i don't know if anybody was scoring against dominic hoschek that night but i think people always wonder about when gretzky not appearing in the shootout in the 98 uh semi-final of the olympics can i pause on that sure i pause now for one second absolutely i don't think it's half your podcast i don't well i could do half of what you want look man this is the brand that you started here um the the thing about that situation i know mark crawford always

gets grief for it i understand it i remember doug mclean when i was making a point about like listen wayne gretzky was never great at breakaways. He was never good at like penalty shots. Like that wasn't Gretzky's thing. Oh my God. I heard Gort Stelic ask Gretzky ass about that once. He said, I was pretty good when it counted. Hang on. Hang on a second here.

And McLean, McLean said to me like, yeah, you know what? It's my ass on the line. I'm living and dying with Wayne Gretzky. Yeah, I get it. But you know, but you know what the bigger point of the whole thing was? Their best guy for the shootout was injured and sitting in the stands in Joe Sackick. That was the big problem there in that situation.

Anyhow, continue. I always feel like I'm obliged to bring up the fact that Sackick wasn't available at that moment to Team Canada. But nonetheless, I think you're right. No one's touching Hasasek in 98. Yeah, you know what? I forgot that Sakic was injured. That's actually a very good one.

But you know the other one that I was just sort of thinking about? I was actually talking about this with someone the other day. 1980, Miracle on Ice ice after the first period the soviet union takes trechak out of the game yep now i have to tell you phil esposito always said that trechak was overrated i mean he's phil esposito he's a hall of famer scored 76 goals in a season. He could say whatever he wants. But every time I saw Trecek play, he was, like, frigging incredible. So, but you remember, after the first period, like, Mark Johnson scored with, like, one second left.

It was 3-2 U.S. They took him out. And I know the backup, what was his name again? Was it Mishkin? Mishkin, yes. You're right, Mishkin. He only gave up one goal, so it's not like he was a sieve. But I know people have talked about,

is the miracle and ice happen if Tretjag plays the whole game? He wasn't exactly great in that first period. No, he wasn't. He wasn't. great in that first period. No, he wasn't. He wasn't. He was not. That'll always go down as one of those, what if pulling Vladislav Tretjak out for Vladimir Mishkin was, I think that's a great one with obviously a historical framework around it. I'll tell you another one internationally.

Now it's just popped into my head too. 87 Canada Cup. The great 6-5, 6-5, 6-5 series. Yeah, just like 1972 with the Henderson goal, 6-5. Yeah. And the shift where Canada scores the winner, Gretzky to Lemieux,

ignoring Larry Murphy. Best deep play ever. Fetisov and Kazutonov, the top defense pair, they weren't on the ice. I think Igor Kravchuk was, and I can't remember who was with him. But I saw an interview once with Gretzky where I think he said, you know, I looked up and didn't see those guys there.

So that's another one. You know, another great moment that never gets discussed very much is the Dale Howarchuk hook on the rush, which I think they showed the camera. Why do you hate Canada, Jeff? I'm just truthing on you, Elliot. I'm just truthing on you. That's all. That's all I'm saying.

Why do you hate Canada? Just adding some truth to the little mixture here of, well, Maple Syrup. Gretzky's here this weekend. Maple Syrup. Good thing he doesn't listen to this garbage or he'd be really pissed off at you. How cool did that Wayne Gretzky's here this weekend. Maple syrup. Good thing he doesn't listen to this garbage or he'd be really pissed off at you. How cool did that

Wayne Gretzky pop-up look? Yeah, I gotta go take a look at it. I gotta go check it out. It looks fantastic. That looks awesome. Okay, anyway, that's it for the Thought Line.

Montana's Thought Line, Montana's Barbecue and Bar, Canada's home for barbecue. The way to get in, 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca, 1-833-311-3232. We're back in a moment. home for barbecue. The way to get in 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca 1 8 3 3 3 1 1 32 32. We're back in a moment. Okay.

Elliot, it is a all-star weekend in Toronto. So Friday morning, when people are starting to listen to this podcast, we will be interviewing a number of players at an unspecified downtown hotel. Very much looking forward to that. You'll start to hear those interviews on the podcast as early as Monday. In the meantime, one of the coolest things, like outside of all of the events

and the skills comp and the game and the pwhl three on three and the draft and all that one of the cool things that's pardon the pun has popped up here is the wayne gretzky pop-up experience in downtown toronto richmond street uh i haven't gone yet i'm planning on doing it at some point when i'm downtown this weekend. It looks fantastic. I loved, like capital L loved, the expression on Wayne Gretzky's face himself when he walked into it. And it must have felt like he was walking into his own history. We should all be so lucky that we get to turn back the clock and have that feeling again in our lives. It just looks flat out cool, Elliot.

I don't know what to say but other than man that is such a cool thing it's fantastic it's um i'm gonna go probably on friday we have a bunch of interviews to tape on friday and i'm gonna go after and i'm really looking forward to it i love the the bisonet tweet with gretzky meeting his mom he's like keep your hands to yourself well you know good that's that's so funny i can't stop laughing even thinking about that but you know i'll say this i was walking around uh downtown toronto last night i went for a walk um you know i love i i know a lot of people listen to this podcast they hate toronto i love downtown toronto i'm not down here enough anymore i just love the downtown of the city I know a lot of people listen to this podcast they hate Toronto I love downtown Toronto I'm

not down here enough anymore I just love the downtown of the city and to go walking around last night it was buzzing it was buzzing here and you know we were talking about on your radio show I ran into some fans and they were saying you know they're from Toronto also and they're like the downtown of the city hasn't been alive since the Raptors won in 2019. It's true. You remember what those scenes were like when they were winning and they were shutting down streets and people were climbing up the traffic lights and Drake was yelling about chips and dip. And the downtown core was alive.

I went to, before the Stanley Cup final that year, I went to game six when they knocked out Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference final. And I had an early flight to Boston the next morning. And we weren't sure I was going to be able to make my flight because we couldn't get from the arena to my car. Like, that's how insane it was. And it won't be obviously like that this weekend. But what we were talking about was it this the downtown core just hasn't felt that alive since then and this isn't the same thing

like i said but there's a buzz and um you know i'm really looking forward to all of it i i'm glad the draft is back uh i'm glad that you know we're taking a different run at the skills and uh for a guy who's from toronto has lived most of his life in Toronto, I'm glad to see the downtown buzzing. It really is. And by the way, if you are in the area and you want to go to the Wayne Gretzky Pop-Up Experience, it runs until February 3rd,

open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 594 Richmond Street West in downtown Toronto. Walk-ups are welcome. Reservations are recommended. You can go to at Gretzky Hockey School and check it out there. It looks so cool.

Can't wait for that one and can't wait for everything else with All-Star this weekend. So that's it. We're wrapping up. We're out of words. We're onto other adventures this weekend, but the podcast returns as always Monday morning. Have a great weekend. Enjoy the all-star and we'll talk to you again in a couple of days.