32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Another Tkachuk Exodus

Episode Date: June 22, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman break down all angles of the blockbuster trade that sends Brady Tkachuk from the Senators to the Panthers. The guys talk the impact this will have on Canadian teams considering American players (15:30). They talk about what the Panthers will potentially do with their goaltending (22:30). Kyle and Elliotte revisit all the Maple Leafs news from last week (25:00). They talk about conclusion of the Mike Babcock investigation (35:00). Seattle gets some spotlight after their transactions on Sunday (39:00). Elliotte touches on Tarasenko, Nichushkin, and Trouba (43:30). The Final Thought focuses on the passing of NHL blogging trailblazer Paul Kukla (45:30). The guys also touch on the end of Hockey Night in Canada-Rogers partnership (47:00).  Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and comments in the Thought Line presented by BetMGM (54:35). Today we highlight indie-rock group from Calgary, Alberta Sea of Lettuce and their song Stick Around. Check them out here. Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here. 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 Cristian Ceniti 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

Speaking of the song, do you remember the show sticking around? No, what was that? It was on YTV. It was like, it was a cartoon. Hold on, you'll look this up. The main character always went, hey guys. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

I love YTV nostalgia. Oh, so good. I don't know. Were you too old for the weekenders? No. Now all of a sudden I get. The chump buckets? Oh, love the chum buckets.

My buddy still says, those later days. I'm like, what are we doing? Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the 26 Tacoma. It's time to Toyota. Kyle, Elliot, and Dom back with you. Hope everyone had a great Father's Day, those who were celebrating the father in their lives, those who are being celebrated. Elliot, I hope you had a great Father's Day. Also, how are you feeling? it. My voice is back mostly.

I feel much better. Thank you. And even if it wasn't, I know the audience was going to say, suck it up. We need a pod. So I was ready to play hurt, but I'm not that badly hurt.

How was your first Father's Day, Kyle? Really special. Really special. Had a great morning at home, went to an Okotoketogs dog's game in the afternoon. The weather cooperated. It was a little iffy going in, but it was spectacular. Thanks for asking.

It's cool to be part of the club. Awesome. It's cool to be part of the club. But they don't want us to talk about this. No, no, no. They want us to talk about Keith Kachuk's Father's Day. He may have had the best one of them all. I have to tell you, Elliot, when I saw the Seattle, Florida trade that sent Mackie Samaskavich to the Cracken

and the first round pick going back to Florida, I thought, how long are the Panthers going to hang on to that one? And it turns out it was barely a few hours. The blockbuster so far of this off season, an absolute whopper here on Sunday. Brady Kachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators, is now a Florida Panther. He joins his brother Matthew down in sunrise

for three first round picks and a second round draft pick as well going back to the Ottawa Senators. I mean, there's a lot to unpack here, Elliot. I'll let you choose where you want to start, but it feels like that Team USA Olympic group chat strikes again. There are so many places we could go out of this, but since you mentioned that, let's start there first. So we've talked on this pod, Kyle, about how after the Larkin one got out, there were more.

And then came the nurse one and we mentioned how people were getting angry, that all of these were getting out, but we thought there were still going to be more. And, you know, the really challenging thing for that group of team USA players, Kyle, is that now the other ones, no matter what they say or what their teams say, nobody's going to believe it. It's,

nobody's going to take it at face value. Everybody's going to expect the worst. There have been rumors about Werenski. There have been rumors about Matthews. There have been rumors about Helibuck. I think the Helibuck one, we kind of realize now, you know, Winnipeg and Hallibuck

really worked to try to keep this private, but we see what it is now. The reporting is dripping out. Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. Yes, Winnipeg is considering it. That's everything that we need to know. You know, with Werenski, there's been reports about it. The Columbus fans have pushed back hard.

Matthews, I think he starts next year in Toronto. But the bottom line is, because of the way everything here is unfolded, nobody's going to buy any of this. And that's going to be a real challenge for these players and these teams to navigate. Now, if you've looked what Toronto's done over the past week and what I think they're going to do,

Toronto, I think, is going full steam ahead on Austin Matthews is starting next year and everything we do is about making that work. That's Toronto's plan. You've seen it by them trading and signing radish, and we'll talk about them more in a few minutes. Columbus is in the same situation Ottawa was. And again, it's not exactly the same, Kyle.

Warnski is an American player playing in American city as opposed to Kachuk, an American player playing in a Canadian city. And I know there's a lot of people who are dead. definitely point that out. But we've also seen an American player, Larkin, already asked out of an American city where he thinks they're too far away from winning. And look, there's been some noise around Moransky. And I think what happened here with Kachuk probably makes Don Waddell think a little bit.

Because Ottawa makes this deal. Kachuk has two years left on his contract. same as Warenski. Now, this all happened and we'll do the play-by-play in a couple of seconds. But this all happened

because Ottawa asked Kachuk two years from now, what are the chances that you resign here? And I don't know if he said no chance. I don't know if he said unlikely.

I don't know if you said probably not. Whatever the case is, Ottawa walked out of that meeting thinking they had to do this. So I don't know. Look, we just saw Columbus sign Charlie Coil six times six. And at that time, Kyle, what do we talk about? They want to win now because they know they've got to keep Werenski. I think the only thing you look here, the only question you really ask here, if you're Don Waddell is, does what happen with Kachuk change your

thinking at all? Do you look at this and say, same thing's going to happen to me? Or do you look at it the way Toronto is trying to look at it, which is we're going for it and we'll take our chances? So this is what happened with Kachuk. You'll remember they get knocked out of the playoffs. He goes right home for the right reason. He is, his wife is due. He sees the baby born hours after they're defeated. Therefore, he's not in town for the exit meetings. Steve Steyos goes and visits him in New Jersey where he lives.

And in that meeting, he asks, like I said, what are the chances we can keep you after your contracts up? and whatever the answer is, Ottawa was like, we have a choice to make here. And they could have stuck, Kyle. They could have said, you know what? We'll keep you next year. And we'll roll the dice.

And I think this is the thing that I really think Ottawa probably had to weigh, Kyle. They're in win now mode. Like this is now Stootslis team. and this is now Sanderson's team. They are your two big tent poles now, your two biggest cornerstones. And they're in the primes of their career and they are in contracts that are going to age beautifully

as the cap rises. You cannot rebuild now if you're Ottawa. You can't go into rebuild mode around these two guys in the primes of their career on those contracts. You can't. You have to, there's a fork in the road, what is Yogi Berra's old line.

When you have a fork in the road, take it. But you can't retreat. It just doesn't make sense. You have to find a way to add, and that's what they're going to do. You'll remember we did that interview with Brady Kachuk right before the playoffs and the ferocious reaction it had.

It happened too much in Ottawa. It was too distracting. I think post-Olympics, it became a problem in the room. And it was constantly, it was debate in the market that the fans didn't want and the team didn't want. Nobody wanted it anymore. Everyone was tired of it. And the other thing, too, is this was going to get out. I really thought that Kachuk would be traded this week at the draw.

draft. I think we were not far away from this exploding on the scene. And Steve Sales just said, I am doing this before the damn burst. And initially he gave them four teams, Carolina, Florida, Minnesota, and Vegas. And, you know, I'll say this. One of the reasons I think it stayed quite as long as it did was it involved two teams in the final. And so that kept it quieter for longer. But I've been told by multiple people, it became very clear that Florida was the team he wanted to go to. And because he had a no-move clause,

he could wrap it tight. And that's what he did. And Steyos, I think he tried to get a roster player, like a good one. And Florida just helped. They were like, nope. Nope And at the end of the day Stales just took the best deal he could get

And now, and I think the thing for the senators is The true judge of this deal, Kyle, is what they do with these picks They'll try to add So I think it's not going to be Brady Kachach for three first and a second It's going to be Brady Kachuk for Whatever these picks get you And I really really Wonder, Elliot, between the draft capital and now the extra space that they have on their books,

like do they go, are they a team that potentially goes off for sheet hunting? If there's a guy out there that a winger, we presume, they can give you some scoring. Are you talking about Jason Robertson here? I'm talking about Jason Robertson, but it can go farther than that. Like I watched, I don't know about you, Elliot, watching, I mean, we'll see what happens between Zach Benson and the Sabres. If that guy is an RFA past July 1st, like, he was incredible to watch. We saw what Logan Sankhoven did in Carolina as a smaller body. That guy has a motor that just does not stop. He would be a very intriguing candidate for me also.

I've got no, no intel on all this. Like that's just from what watching four rounds of the playoffs this year in terms of guys that really jumped off the page seeing in person, he was another one. But Jason Robertson's an obvious one that's been out there for a while in terms of potential Ottawa interest. So, Kyle, every year we talk about the offer sheets. Every year people are like, stop talking about offer sheets. They never happen.

This has already been a bonkers year. all I'll say is I'm hearing the same rumors that there's some coming. I don't know. I don't know if I want to put too much stock in it. It could be the big bad wolf huffing and puffing and blowing the house down, but it's already been a wild off season. Why not make it a little crazier? Yes.

Like this is approaching NBA territory. I remember for a number of years there. Their offseason was Cannot Miss. Day after day, it was one big trade after another bombshell signing. And it's kind of starting to turn that way a little bit in the NHL here. We have talked about this on several pods now, how the league is changing, how the players are getting more and more power. And don't you think, Elliot, as you mentioned the teams that Brady gave,

even though it was clear there was one really he was interested in going towards. The fact that, you know, Carolina was there was interesting. But. Well, don't forget that Matthew was almost traded to Carolina. Right. Right. When Matthew was traded to Florida at the end, it was Florida and it was Carolina. And Carolina's package was Natchez, Nekishin.

I think the flames had to take Jake Gardner's money and there was a first or two, one or two first as part of it. So I wondered if the fact that Matthew almost went to Carolina featured in Brady's initial list. Right. And of course, what they've just accomplished, I'm sure it didn't help or didn't hurt matters either.

But the point I'm getting to, the fact, you know, Vegas, Florida, Minnesota's becoming a popular team to end up on a list here in these sort of situations. It just seems it's a lot of the same names, Elliot, that are coming up here. And I wonder, is Garrity under fire.

Garity. Are we moving towards a place? not far from now where Garrity will be a thing of the past because all the best players seem to all want to go to the same teams right now. There's a lot of... Those that are flexing their muscle this way. You know, there's a lot of interesting questions about that. And, you know, one of them is...

And it's unfortunate that this is not a central draft anymore because we could ask all the managers while they're together. But now they'll all get the questions, especially the Canadian ones. Like, are the Canadian GMs going to say, we're not drafting U.S. national team development team players?

And would the U.S. national development team players care that Canadian teams might be afraid of them? Yeah, that's a great point. And, you know, I'll say this. And this is going to, this will end badly. This is me touching the third rail. which is never a good thing. And you may think I'm right.

You may think I'm wrong. You may agree. You may disagree. That's all fine. You're entitled to your opinion. I deal with what I believe is the truth. And what I believe is the truth is that the way the American players who won the gold medal felt in their Canadian markets post-Olympics is a factor here. I think some of those guys, not all of them, but some of them felt a bit hated and it might have influenced their decisions.

Again, you may think that's their problem. You may think that I shouldn't even be bringing that up, but it's a fact and it's part of this process. right so another thing i wanted to ask and maybe it's all irrelevant here now but for all the different times that that storm swirled around ottawa of uh huh could brady be on his way out could this be it for the senator's captain how long until he has moved elsewhere uh do you think that drove kind of the bigger momentum behind him finally saying it was time or whatever the message he gave Steve Stales that gave him that impression that... I don't think he told them he wanted to be traded now. I just think he told them, I think they asked him, what are our chances that we can keep you in two years? Right. But between that answer and you...

You said things were different post-Olympics there. Yes. You're reading the tea leaves. Yes. Even if you don't say it. Ottawa made the choice at the end of the day. So I just wonder if that's what ultimately drove there or was it just simple going, yeah, look, the allure to go play with my brother in Florida is too good to pass up. I think at the end, when he realized the trade was actually coming, he made sure it was Florida.

but, you know, I'll say this. I spoke to a couple of people today after the trade. And, you know, now, you know, one of the things people can speak is now that it's over, you can talk a little more freely. They said there were a few weeks there post-Olympics in Ottawa that it was crazy. Crazy how? Just the reaction is so intense. So intense. And I think he was affected by.

it. Like I think that, you know, being the Canadian capital, the fans there were affected by it. I think he was affected by it. And I think the room got affected by it. Like one thing I don't like is I don't like it when a guy gets traded and instantly there's this explosion of character attack. I really try to avoid that. I, you know, like, I don't like it when that happens. I think the one thing it's fair to say is that the post-Olympic reaction had a huge impact on everybody there. Fanbase could chuck himself

and the players around him. It just, it was a lot. Like one player just said it was a lot. It was intense. It was a lot. And it was exhausting for everybody. All right. So, yeah, and it all kind of starts to make sense that this is where we end up. So it's no question where Ottawa is going from here.

It just comes down to what they do with the added draft capital. They now have a ton of cab space. And all that too. So they've got options. And we'll see how much of those muscles they intend to. to try to flex. You saw Steyer's play. He was never afraid of using his muscle.

He'll try. And I mean, you'll try. And that's kind of been his MO since he took over in Ottawa. Like he's, he's tried to do things. Hasn't always happened. Uh,

but push to make the Dylan Cousins move, made a few others. You know, it's, uh, he has tried stuff. But now it's, it's,

the pressure feels a little different just because as you say I mean we said it after Shane Pinto signed his contract last season like this is this is the go zone for Ottawa yeah and this doesn't change it yeah even if you know somebody said to me Ottawa's rebuilding now no not happening I agree I totally agree so how about the other thing I wanted to mention here okay is I'm curious to see the other guy I wonder about for this is Steve Iserman because he knew about Larkin's request around the same time.

And so I think they're going to trade him. I think Iserman looks at it like we have to move on. Can't bring him back, have to move on. But I don't know if he would accept this trade. and it's not a shot at Stales everybody's situation is different I just wonder if Iserman looks at this and says

it changes his feeling on what he's willing to do I would suspect no but it was one of the things I thought about and I still think Minnesota prefers Larkin over Kachuk they need a center okay so how about Florida I mean we all can even before this

We looked at this year for them going, taking a season to rest up, get healthy again, and that's a very good team that's going to come right back at it in the fall. Now they had the other Kachuk brother into the equation. Do we know what they're doing in net yet? So, Bobrovsky, I have a theory on who could be interested. We'll get to that in a second. So Nick mentioned last week that he was looking for a long-term deal like six years.

We've talked about that. I agree with him. that he looked at the deals that Aaron Ekblad got and Brad Marchand got, who was his age, and he said, well, if they get them, I should be able to get them too. And there was some talk this week that Florida was willing to give him some term, but nowhere near that kind of AAV. Like it was term with a bit lower AAV. And, you know, the other thing is it also came out that Carolina could have had him at the

deadline. I heard Bobrovsky was offered up to a couple of contenders. Like there were a couple of contenders. Carolina wasn't the only one that was asked if they had interest in him. And I think that Florida may have actually done it as a kind of favorite of Bobrovsky, that it doesn't look like we're going to sign him and we're trying to help him get into a good place. But obviously that didn't happen, I just don't think they see his value where he sees it. And I kind of have to go through this and figure out they still have a little bit of cap room. Like Kyle, if they're not willing to trade, unless they're willing to trade someone to Winnipeg that they weren't willing to trade to Ottawa, I don't see how they're going to get Hello Buck. They would have to be

willing to move someone that they weren't willing to do there. If not, I wonder if they look at a guy like Erson, because it doesn't sound like Toronto's married to him, or we just have to find out other goalie options that could be there for them. Because, yeah, not only is Bobrovsky, a UFA, so too is Teresov, of course, right? So they've got a number of decisions to make there. They had Brandon Bussie. They had them.

But now he's a member of the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Is there anything else, Elliot, on Kachuk for now, that you want to touch on? No, I don't think so. Okay, we've covered it. Big one on Sunday. Ooh, boy. It's just been a wild week because you were getting healthy again. We didn't get a chance to chat on Friday.

So kind of going back through a few things that have happened. and over the last just under a week here now. But it's been a busy one in Toronto, Elliot. They had the trade with Philadelphia, Joseph Wold, Simone Benoit are now Flyers, Samerson, Emil Andre, are within the Leafs organization. They hired a new head coach, Jim Hiller, is now the bench boss of the Leafs.

Previous as an assistant there, when Mike Babcock was the headman for four years. Then they bring in Darren Radish on defense, sign him to an eight-year deal at eight-and-a-half per. Where do you want to start with all that's been going on in Leafland? Well, first of all, Hiller, I heard that's three years. I believe most of the coaches that have been hired are three-year deals this year, and Hiller is no different.

So that's one item. I mean, the Rattish one, when Tree Living was the GM, I heard they were going to go after them hard. And obviously that philosophy didn't change under Chica. They went out and they got them and I don't think Tampa was going to do what Toronto was willing to do. As a matter of fact, most people say, seem to think they would be surprised if John Carlson doesn't end up in Tampa, that he's likely

to go to the lightning on a short-term deal for big dollars, but it would be considerably less in terms of overall dollars. Like, his A-A-V might end up even higher potentially than Radish is just obviously for shorter term. You know, Radish is an interesting guy. He, had the huge year last year but I was looking he's top 50 two years ago or rather three seasons ago

he was 44th and even strength points last year he was or two years ago he was 33rd this year of course he had the big year so I look at this for Toronto like I said earlier they're all in.

They have the number one pick this year and then they don't have their first rounder the next two years. Right? They do have the one from Nick Waugh and the Colorado trade, but they don't have theirs. So they have no desire to tank.

Again, they're trying to please Matthews and show that they can win and rebuild quick. And that is, what is influencing their decisions. Also, Rattish, they give up a fifth rounder, and to them, it's just money, right? So they'll take their shot. They think they're a better team in the short term with them,

and they'll take that bet. And anyone who's watched Toronto's power play, and you have, Kyle, they, I mean, not a lot of goals are scored from the point anymore, but you can cause a lot of chaos with a good shot back there. They haven't had that in a long time. So they're banking that that's going to make them better. I still think they could be a fascinating team.

I still think, even though they traded for Erson, I'm not convinced they keep them. I think they're looking in goal. Bennington, if he's available, they'll check it. Hallibuck, I don't know that it's likely. They'll check it.

Bobrovsky. Don't forget. Anthony Stollars won a Stanley Cup backing up Bobroski. Nobody knows him better. And Steve Lorenz was Bobrovsky's shooter.

That's right. He's Bobrovsky's guy. He will always be loyal to Bobroski because Bobroski kept him in the NHL because he would go shoot on him every morning. So there's two guys there who know him extremely well. Wouldn't shock me if he ended up being their guy potentially. And again, if they do that, it's another guy who won't cost him.

you anything but money. And that's kind of the way they look at it. If they have to do something somewhere down the road, they will. And like I said, I think Chica is sitting on one or two

other moves that he could do to really change his team. Now, do you think he is at all interested in trading Matthew Nyes because his name's been out there. Of course, there was everything swirling around him

under Trill Living at the deadline. That went away, it didn't happen. Chica and Sundin come in. Do you have a good sense about how they feel about Matthew Nyes? A guy on another team who I trust the most said they think Toronto could go either way. They said that they're happy to keep them. It's a good player.

They're happy to keep them. And they'll make you work to get them. Like, what is the Brady Kachuk deal due to Nyes? Yeah. Well, I mean, that's a team in Toronto's division. Yeah. Then now you've got to worry about trying to match what Florida has. Yeah, those two.

I was looking at guys. I was saying, I might not be so quick. to move them if I have to deal with those two guys. And I will say too, as much as like going into last year, the conversation was, okay, how's Austin Matthews going to feel and handle Mitch Marner no longer being around? I think we overlooked and we kind of saw it as the year played out, how much of an adjustment that was for Nyes. Yeah.

Once he got there, how Marner plays and the way he kind of figured out how to play off him and then that goes away. I think that was a big adjustment for him. there's the health stuff too of course. I think he's a good player. I do too, but I just like there was just, there was an adjustment period. I think he's only getting traded, Kyle, if you look at the deal and you say, oh, okay.

That's why I understand why that happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But someone said to me that the leaves have indicated they'll be happy to keep them. They don't feel they sure don't feel pressure to move them. They could, but they don't feel pressure to do it. No, and the guy's. signed, shouldn't feel any pressure at all. But they could be a fascinating, fascinating team this week.

I just hope it doesn't happen at 2 in the morning. But this is the week it does. Right. You're still trying to get back to 100%. By the way, we mentioned, we mentioned Hiller three years. So Carberry got an extension this week in Washington. and another coach told me they like him so much that they ripped up. He had one year left on his current deal.

They ripped it up. Wow. They gave him, so normally they'll extend you all start in two years. No, they ripped it up. They ripped up his last year and they gave him a new extension. I think it's like four years.

And he's, I don't know exactly where. he'd rank now in terms of highest paid coaches, but he's in the upper echelon. Like I think one, I think Cooper and Sullivan are both around $7 million. And I think DeBor's at $575. And then I think it's, I think it's talking at five and a quarter. I don't know where Lavellat ended up here, but Carberry's, I think, just below that group. He earned it.

Good for him. Yeah. Jack Adams winner has done a lot of good things in Washington in a short time being there. Well, it's been a few years now, but you can tell he's cultivated a really good atmosphere with the capitals. And while we're on the topic of coaching, Elliot, so in the last week, news came out, the league put out a statement that Mike Babcock has been cleared to coach. in the National Hockey League, and we're all looking at Edmonton. You reported that you anticipate something early this week here by way of an announcement.

So suppose we're counting down the hours until Edmonton announces the hiring. Yeah, so they announced Jason Dickinson on Sunday. He got extended. It sounds like Connor Murphy is getting done. could be today, but it sounds like Murphy is going to get done as soon as today. And then we'll see when they announce Babcock. But unless barring a strange snag, that one is happening too. Now, that statement from the NHL was as backhanded as it gets.

What did it say? Are you referring to the line? our investigation has concluded that even in a light least favorable to Mr. Babcock, there is no current basis to restrict his employment in the league. Yeah, that was an interesting way to put it. It said to me that the league isn't incredibly thrilled about this, and they want the Oilers and everybody else to know it as such. But look, Betman is a lawyer.

Bill Daley is a lawyer. And as long as there was nothing legally that could prevent them from bringing Mike Babcock back, they weren't going to do it. They weren't going to stop it. There had to be a legal reason for them not to do it. And, you know, I'll tell you, I heard from a lot of people who were very upset about it. They were hoping that somehow the league would say no. but that obviously didn't happen.

You know, as I mentioned, when they really began their investigation, you know, we knew about the phone incidents with some players. And I had reported there was one other incident they were looking into. And I heard that that also involved some kind of invasion of privacy and the player cooperated. but didn't stand in the way or didn't provide anything that could legally prevent him from coming back. And, you know, like we also said last week, I think the Oilers were all in on this. They weren't backing down. I don't think their players were backing down. You know, I heard from a couple of people that when he met,

with the three Oilers players, it was some meeting. Like I heard, they really grilled him hard, and I heard he spoke to them about their own role in the fact the others hadn't won yet very bluntly. But they're going to do this, and, you know, I, you know, I mean, I mean, I don't know if Mike Babcock ever thought he'd get this chance again. I think a lot of people, I think the NHL was surprised.

I think the PA was absolutely surprised, shocked and disappointed. You know, I hope he recognizes the opportunity, and I hope he does it the right way. Because if it goes badly, a lot of reputations are going down here. It's a big responsibility. Jeez. Yeah, you said it. So a few of the things we wanted to get to, Elliot, almost lost with all the news of the Kachuk trade and all that.

Not a bad day of business for the Seattle Cracken on Sunday, right? We mentioned getting Samaskavich out of Florida, who is becoming a heck of a player. And then they re-up with Bobby McMahon, who they acquired the trade deadline, six-year deals, 5.75 life-changing numbers for the late Bloomer out of Wainwright, Alberta, 29 goals last year, a career high. Perfect time to do it. And McMahon cashes in with the Cracken. Yeah, it was a good marriage between them, that's for sure. I'm always happy to see someone get paid. It's not exactly radish, but it's kind of similar. Late Bloomer. Guy you wouldn't have expected would be signing that kind of contract at this point.

in their career, very happy for him. You know, Seattle, I think, has really tried to get business done out there. I think they've been making a lot of calls. You know, I got to tell you, like one thing that happened to them last week was they caught some strays from Kelly McCrimmon, the GM of the Vegas Golden Knights who took a real run at them. So, Kyle, I was looking at that, and I was like, if I was the Kraken and I was, and I ran them, I would have that quote up in every room.

I would want everybody seeing red every day that someone in the league felt they could publicly talk about us like this because nothing will kick up your pride worse than that. Like when you told people at the Stanley Cup final that I was the worst teammate you ever worked with, it really motivated me to be nicer to you. I was hoping that wouldn't get out.

Yeah, Amber, Amber, Amber said you were telling him that four times a day. So, yeah, it's good. You submarine me to Amber. Amber's submarineing me to you. Yeah. It's like, no wonder you guys. Yeah, excellent stuff. Yeah, always touch flights the same day.

But, you know, I, like, I would be, you know, remember when, remember when Crosby lost the Stanley Cup for the first time in the next summer, he worked out with the picture of Zetterberg there? Like, every day he looked at the picture of Zetterberg, the next year they won the cup. That's what I would do about. And now he's got every picture of every winner, right? Every captain. Yeah. And McKinnon. I would have that quote up everywhere.

But Seattle, like, they're really out there. and they're really trying. I like Samaskavich as a player. I mean, obviously, hours later, we saw why Florida did that. They wouldn't have had room for him anymore. But, you know, he's a good, he's a good solid player. And I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to add good players. I think Seattle would like to aim higher.

You know, I don't feel like I like to bring it up every pod, but there was the Panarin shot. last year. So I think that they will always try to do something like that again. Like if talk gets to market, I have to think they're one of the teams sitting there saying, we want you and we want you bad. We'll see where that all goes. Okay, three other names you wanted to touch on, Elliot, Vladimir Tarasenko, Val Natchushkin, and Jacob Truba. Yeah, so So Teresenko has changed agents again. I think he set the NHL record for most agents.

He's now with the Mike Cillinger of agents swapping. That's just teams, not agents. No, but of agent swapping. Yes, he's the Mike Sillinger of agent swapping. That's right. So Teresenko has changed agents again, which is obviously a sign that he's not going back to Minnesota. Soda.

I've started to hear Nachushkin's name a little bit. You know, Colorado, looking for some flexibility, I think. His name is out there. We'll see. And Truba,

you know, it's interesting. Truba, like Anaheim's D, Carlson is now going to market. And like I said, I think a lot of people would be surprised if he ended up in Tampa Bay.

Trub, I think, is going to market and looks like Gudis is too. By the way, there was some talk about Gudis in Toronto. I would love to see that. Think of the content, Kyle. Think of the content, Radco Gudis in Toronto. But I don't think that's going to be happening. Oh. endless possibilities.

Yes. Having to have to open up some old wounds, but it would create some marvelous, marvelous content. I'm with you. Okay. Well, with that then, why don't we get to the final thought,

which is brought to you by your Canadian Toyota dealers and Elliott. A few people wanted to recognize here. First being one of the trailblazers, really, when you look at the world of hockey bloggers and one of the first to do it. Paul Cukla passing away last week. Yeah, really said, you know, Cucla's corner for a lot of us was kind of like the first aggregator site, what's going on in the NHL that a lot of us dealt with online, right?

And the thing I like to about Paul is that he did it in the right way. He was very careful not to take things out of context. He wasn't afraid of like longer links, not just a quick bite that maybe distorted what the meaning was. I've had some issues. Like in my job, you have to be careful of what you say. Ultimately, it's your responsibility. But there are times people do really hang you out to dry. I don't think I ever had an issue with Paul.

He was always very good at that. Plus, he was a really nice guy, and he really loved hockey. And unfortunately, in the last few years, he'd had some health issues, and I was just really sore to hear the news. I thought Paul was really good at getting the hockey news out across the interwebs and then social media quickly, accurately, and in a way that was easy to handle, whether you were a diehard fan or somebody who was a little bit. new. So I just wanted to send my best to Paul's friends and his family. And the second thing I wanted to do is, you know, as you all know by now, there was an announcement last week from the, from Sportsnet and CBC that, you know, we're not going to be on CBC next year, which basically brings hockey night in

Canada as it is known to an end. You know, as somebody who grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada his entire life and was honored beyond belief when he got the opportunity to work for it, I think I have the same reaction as everyone else and that I'm sore to see it go. It's a new world. It's a new day. The content, the way it's received by people is constantly changing. And you know what?

The rights fees are getting higher and higher. I think, you know, Kyle, you and I working in this business, as much as we loved and honored to be at Hockey Night in Canada, I think we all knew there was the possibility that this day was coming. It doesn't make it any more enjoyable. But I'm not as upset about the brand as I am about the people. There are 10 people who are CBC employees who were huge parts of our broadcast at Sportsnet and over the last 12 years.

and it's likely and impossible that all 10 of them will no longer be part of the show just because of, you know, the employment contracts and the logistics of how things work. So I just wanted to shout them out. You know, Brian Speer and I have worked together most of the last 30 years. We met each other as interns at the fan and we worked together at the score and we worked together at Hockey Night in Canada. He was the producer of the Big Saturday Studio Show. Just a guy I've known for a long time,

and it's going to be really weird not being with him. Kathy Broderick, I don't know how I'm going to function without Kathy Broderick. She was the person who was sort of the number two next to Brian in the studio for a long time. On the road at the Stanley Cup final, for example, she was the one who would get to the rink first on Media Day. This is your location. This is where you have to be.

This is your technical crew that's working with you. This is where our green room is. This is where they would travel our suits. This is where your suits are. this is who your makeup person is, everything. She was the person who coordinated everything. She was the woman with all the answers. With all the answers.

And also, she has great questions in terms of, did you think of this? I know you're working on this. Are you aware of this? You're sending some Viz to the studio that you want for your hit. Do you have all the right people's numbers? She would coordinate who's responsible for what on each off day. Just a hugely influential person and a person who took care of all of us and make sure everything ran smoothly.

Joel Darling, if you guys really hate me on the air, blame him because he's the guy who hired me 23 years ago. He was the executive producer of Hockey Night and Canada at the time, so ultimately he had to approve my hiring. And Joel has a trick. We golfed a couple weeks ago. I forgot he does this. He always carries a rubber snake with him on the golf course.

And he freaked out Amber once years ago. And I've always remembered when you're golfing with Joel, the rubber snake is coming out at one point. And we played once this year at Piper's Heath, great course. And yes, he threw out the. rubber snake and I go startled for like half a second but then I remembered what it was. I didn't jump around like Dave did though. But I also wanted to shout out Anne-Marie McGarry.

Nobody loved Hockey Night in Canada more than Amarima Jerry basically ran the office for us. Martin Bailey, Matt Runge, Jason Murdoch, great stats guy, Cuthbert's favorite stats guy, Ryan Zaddiabiac, Rod McLaughlin, Josh Wilder. and font person supreme Carl Creight. So those 10 people might no longer be part of the group, and I'm going to miss them all. They were a big part of the last 23 years of my life.

Yeah, excellent for age. And I mean, I worked closely, particularly with Jason and Ryan. Matt Runch did a number of games with over the years. So Josh Wilder, he would do, he was in charge of the graphics. So when we had something of an idea that needed more treatment, something you couldn't just do in the production truck, you would go to Josh. So I always enjoyed the opportunity to try to put our heads together

and come up with stuff. And he did some wonderful work in bringing some ideas to life. And Kathy's seen on the road at the Olympics. You know, we all were over there together. And she took care of everything and more for us over there. And all the immediate liaison there, like she was she became their favorite person like all the kids that were kind of helping along the mix zone to coordinate through all the chaos of the players and coaches coming on after games making sure everyone got who they wanted for interviews um they all when the games ended wanted a photo with kathy before uh she left uh like that's that's the kind of impression that and and impact that kathy could make on people right it was uh it was really sweet to see. So it was, yeah, it's hard because I've always long believed and certainly I'm,

I'm biased. I have no problem saying that. But, you know, we've been part of the, for me, like the greatest team when you look at production wise, you know, that we grind with each and every year, and especially over the two months of the playoffs. And everyone you just listed there one way or another has has a hand in that. So now for 10 of them, to be most likely doing something else in the fall. It's hard to think about right now, but just grateful to have the opportunity, A, to know them, but to work with them for the last number of years

has been really special. Not as long as you have, Elliot, but nevertheless, very, very fortunate. Okay, that was the final thought. Brought to you by your Canadian Toyota dealers, and with that, we'll take our first break. When we come back, it's another new, edition of the Thoughtline. 32 thoughts. The podcast continues after this. Okay, welcome back. Time now for the thought line presented by BetMGM, make it legendary. So Elliot, you remember recently we celebrated

the anniversary of the triple Lindy from the movie Back to School, right? Yes. And that was noteworthy because it was earlier in these playoffs that you mentioned the triple Lindy. And I hadn't heard of it and I kind of backwards somersaulted into the connection between that scene and that movie and the into deep music video by some 41. Well, I had another moment just like that last week. No way. Another connection between 80s movie and 2000's music video. Ready for this? Yes. So last week, my wife and I are watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Oh, great movie. Great flick from 1982.

A movie I was familiar with, knew some of the characters, obviously, Spikoli, right, the rest. I had never watched it start to finish. So we sat down and watched it. And I'm watching what is, we'll call it a very memorable scene between Phoebe Cates and Judge Reinhold. Really? Okay. Right? You know the seat I'm talking about, right? Yes. Okay. So, and I see that, I'm like, oh my gosh.

Because years later, Fountains of Wayne comes out with Stacey's mom. Yes. And in the music video for that, they completely pay homage to that scene in the music video. And I had no idea that that's where it was where they got the idea. for it from you know honestly i never even thought about that yeah i again how did dana feel a dana ever seen fast times at richmond a high before she has yeah she said she's seen it a couple times over the years i had never seen it start to finish so yeah we're trying to work our way through some 80s classics this summer great movie you guys have good taste great movie yeah okay floor is yours sir

Yeah, I've got a few shoutouts. Nothing as interesting as that, I have to say. I've got a few shoutouts. I went to a talk on Sunday morning with John Mann, the right honorable baron man who has been elected six times, I think, is an MP in the United Kingdom. Great public speaker wanted to shout him out. and Saturday, Kyle, I went to go see Germany Ivory Coast, Germany Cote d'Ivoire, which was a great match in the World Cup. Germany winning 2-1 on a late goal. Cote d'Ivoire gave them everything that they could handle and probably should have won. They had a great chance of their own late in the game, but the striker who got it was so surprised, he was so open.

He just fumbled the ball, unfortunately. But it was a great, great, great afternoon. It's the first time I've ever gone to a World Cup soccer match. I've been to high-level soccer before, but never to World Cup. And it was a real highlight. I have to say, getting in and out of the stadium in Toronto was shockingly efficient. I was expecting it to be a total nightmare, but it was extremely efficient. They did a great job moving people.

And I wanted to shout out the individuals who invited me, Natis Bissanath and Trevor Vanderfeld. Also, there was Stephanie who was working there, her boyfriend, Kent, a big Lee fan, who I did a video for. Julie was a name of another person there who helped invite me to the match. I met a couple people I wanted to mention. One of them is Logan Hackett.

Logan Hackett is a sports influencer now. but she was a pretty good hockey player growing up, and she actually played golf at Texas Southern. She was supposed to go play at Baylor, but COVID kind of ruined that, and she ended up going to Texas Southern, and now she's a sports influencer, so a really good athlete.

And Kyle, I saw a couple of coworkers of ours, Jesse Fuchs and Gerdib Alawalia. And I also saw a couple of former co-workers of ours, Lindsay Dunn and Donovan Bennett. So it was great to catch up. up and I loved every second I spent at that match. Awesome. Glad you got out there for a one.

By the way, there was a Cote d'Ivoire fan named Christopher, who I met on the way in. He was fully dressed and he was sitting a couple of seats over. Tough one. Tough one for him because it looked pretty good for them for a while. Well, that's good. I'm glad you were just, you were mingling with everybody there. It's good to hear. Yeah, it was good time.

So I wanted to shout out one person here, too, before we go any further. So the day that we flew home, Dave Amber and I are at the airport in Vegas before going our separate ways. And we were approached by a hockey fan by the name of Brad from Vancouver. It walked over, very friendly, said hi, introduced himself. And Dave Amber, in the only way that Dave Amber could goes, Oh, Brad, it's too bad. Elliot isn't here. He'd give you a shoutout on his podcast.

So I decided I'd do it instead. Amber, Amber does that. He thinks it's so funny. Like, he was mocking me. Oh, you said, hi to Elliot. He'll give you a shoutout on the podcast. Yeah, I will. Because one of us is friendly and down to earth and a man of the people,

a true proletariat. That's me and you. And one of us is bourgeoisie. Azizelitist won't sit with the plebes, as he calls them, Dave Amber. Yeah.

Gate Lice has to get on before everybody else. Oh, that's such a good nickname. Anyway, he was in mostly friendly spirits on this one occasion. Because at least he was able to go home. So, okay, Brad, thanks very much. It was great to meet you there at the airport. in Vegas. Okay, here we go. We begin with Jason from Dublin, Ohio. Dear Elliot and Kyle, my name is Jason from Dublin, Ohio. Most people know Dublin because of the

Memorial Tournament, but as one of the largest suburbs of Columbus, it's also home to plenty of diehard Blue Jackets fans. I've been a huge fan of the show since the early 31 Thoughts Days, but this is my first time sending in a question. My question may be a simple one. I'm mostly understand what a group six unrestricted free agent is and why the rule exists. It gives players who haven't had much opportunity at the NHL level a chance to seek a better fit elsewhere and continue their careers. What I never understood is where the term group six actually comes from. Why is it called group six where there are originally six categories of free agents in the CBA or is there some historical reason behind the name? I'm sure this is one of those questions that

has a quick answer once you know it, but I've always been curious. Thanks for all you do. Love the pot. The answer is yes. There's six different groups. Group one, players finishing their entry-level contracts. Group two is free agents who are restricted. They ended their contract, but they're not eligible to be unrestricted.

Group three are unrestricted, kind of as you know them, the most obvious ones. Group four, that's a player who's, I think they have to be an older player playing in Europe who's never been drafted or signed, right? Those are like those Russian free agents, a lot of them. Or the European free agents, like, for example, the one Ottawa just signed from, Norway. It's that kind of a player. I think another example of that would be, I think Zubb, Zub was another one who qualified that way. What's group five? Do you have group five? That one's escaping me off the top of my head. Believe it is what I was told, 10 plus professional seasons and certain salary criteria

that come along with it. But here, that's like a rare, you don't see that one too often. Okay. And then group six is the one you mentioned, 25 years or older and less than 80 games, and I think it's 30 for goalies. Right. So there you go.

There is a reason for group six. And that is why. Up next, Justin in Bexley, Ohio. A lot of loyal listeners in Ohio, Elliot, and a lot of diehard hockey fans in that state, as you know. Dom, Kyle, and the guy I only remember

for mentioning he used to cover the Toronto Raptors. As NHL fans, we are well-versed in agents-turned GMs having tremendous success. Most recent example,

Bill Zito. The league that Elliot used to cover, or so I hear, recently had big success in turning around my perma loser New York Knicks

with former agent Leon Rose being the architect of the NBA champions. Why in particular do you think these agents have such success as GMs considering that they didn't start as front office employees to begin with? Should we expect a lot more of this trend in the future? You know what? It's a great question.

And I think that one of the reasons that it, kind of works from time to time is that a lot of times when you're a team or you come up through a team, it's a huge organization. You have a lot of people around you, a lot of people who work a lot of different jobs, right? Like if you're the president or you're the vice president, there's a whole staff of people underneath you, player development, you know, coaches, minor league staff, scouts, you have your assistant GMs, things like that. It's a huge organization, right? A lot of agents, they come up through very small companies. Like some of these agencies are massive, but even their hockey departments, are relatively smaller.

So I think it's, and the other thing, too, is you start from a position where you kind of serve the player, right? And I have to say that that is one of the things, a couple of agents who've done it have told me that they think gives them an advantage is that they're generally more player friendly. Like if you come up through management, you're not necessarily adversarial towards players, but players aren't always your primary concern, serving them. And as an agent, it is. You tend to spend a lot more time individually with players, understanding who they are, what makes them tick, things like that. And they think that gives them a lot.

little bit of an advantage. And so if I'm missing anything, I'm sure someone will tell me, but I've had a couple of them say that in a lot of cases, it's because smaller agencies, smaller groups, smaller organizations, they're into the player service routine early. They understand that the player matters the most, your client matters the most. And I would also think that a lot of them have business degrees, law degrees, things like that, accounting degrees. That really helps. Like Tulski, who just won the Stanley Cup, took a very non-conventional path towards hockey. It's not exactly the same as an agent, but he thinks very differently than a lot of people do.

So I would say that those reasons are probably a lot of them. Like, ultimately the play, and, you know, hey, what do we spend the first 30 minutes of this podcast talking about is, you know, how you make players want to play for you or making players happy. Agents have a lot of experience at that. Yeah, and you have to think, too, especially for an agent that has been around long enough that they've had a number of clients playing in different places. It must just be a wealth of information to glean over that. time when you're talking to your clients about, okay, how is your experience in this place? Oh, I loved it. Okay, why? Well, the organization values this, this, this and this, and this is very important to them, and they made sure there's always this for us. And okay, versus the flip side of that.

And you just learn what do players like, what makes organizations successful and what don't. And that all has to be in the back of your mind if you're going to go make the jump into hockey operations itself and having a bit of a book, if you so chose to keep tabs, on what works and what maybe doesn't. Probably just get a different view of a lot of things than most from that role. Okay, David from Ayer, Ontario. Good morning.

On the way to Western. Ah. Thanks for all everyone does to get these podcasts out. So fast, even you, Elliot. My question is regarding salary retention in the summer. We know the NHL has made it so the double retention is much harder with a player having to be on the roster for a minimum number of days before being retained again. Is there anything that prevents a team from trading a player to a new team at 50% retain

and then holding on to that player in the summer months only to trade them to a new team prior to the start of next season with another 50% retention. Again, thanks for all everyone does to get this podcast out each and every time. P.S. Our boys are both named Elliot and Griffin. If that helps get the question on the podcast, it was definitely an honor to hear those names. Nice.

Elliot and Griffin. Well, your two boys must be geniuses. So double retention in the summer. Can you do it? No, you can't. It's, it's, uh, it's not only 75 days, 75 days outside of the regular season do not count. Yes, 75 regular season days. Yes.

So you can trade somebody in the summer. But to do it again, it has to be 75 days into the year. Right. Because that's why we were... I love people who try to think of loopholes, though. Yes. Because remember we were wondering about the Olympic break last year, how that would factor into the count

if teams wanted to explore that. All plays a role. Okay, one final one here. Dave in Colorado. Hello, Dom, Kyle. A. All. Jordan Stahl has played 20 seasons

and has not eclipsed his career high 29 goals that he set in his rookie season does he hold the record for most seasons played without eclipsing his rookie goals total love the show Jordan Stahl has got to be that he's becoming the go-to unique that guy Longest between two cups

longest between 20 goals in a year two brothers winning the cup with the same team but at different times so yes he's played 19 seasons since his rookie year so 20 total but yeah has never eclipsed that mark of 29

I'm trying to even think anybody else who would be even qualified to do that like Gordy Howe didn't do that Chris Chelyos didn't do that one name, when you hear it, it makes sense, but it's probably not on your radar at this moment. When? He came into the league early 90s.

Not Owen Nolan. No. So somebody had, is it a score, like an actual score? Yes. Okay. So I just say there's two. Two players that went longer than Jordan Stalls, what now stands at 19 seasons.

Really? Two that went 20. Oh, well, you know what? Salani. Thank you. There you go. Yeah. 76 is a rookie year.

High bar. Yes, yes. Finish with almost 700 total in his career, but had a couple of 50 goal campaigns mixed in, another 48, but never eclips 76 again. The other one is like, I guess I would say not a score, but played for a long time. Is it Mike Sillinger? No.

Not a forward. Oh, a defenseman. Is it Scott Stevens? It's not. Because there was a time he used to really score. That's the thing. Did he score right away? Right away. Okay, ready for my hand?

Yes. This defenseman started his career in Ontario and ended his career in Ontario. What number did he wear? Mainly two and 22. Is there any chance it's Luke Richardson? It's a hundred percent chance it's Lou Richardson. Nicely done. I was racking my brains.

I just couldn't remember if he finished with the Sanders or not. Yeah, he did. He did. So Luke Richardson. Wow. Had four goals his rookie year. You know what? If you wouldn't have told me two and 22, I wouldn't have gotten it.

Never more than four again. Wow. He matched to two years later. That was it. Over 1,400 games in the first. the league. Terrific career. Super human being.

Terrific guy, yes. Just not a goal score. Made his career doing a whole bunch of other things. So yeah, so those are the two guys, 20 seasons after their rookie year without surpassing. Jordan Stalls at 19. Joe Newendike at 18 and Jason Arnett at 17 seasons. Wow.

So, when Jordan has one year. year left on his deal. He can get to 20 unless, I mean, unless he continues the pace that he had in the cup final, then he's pulling 29 off the off its hinges next season. Well done, Elliot.

You had to grind, but you got there. That's why we keep coming back with trivia time and again. Love the trivia. That was the thought line presented by BEDMGM, make it legendary. We'll take one final break, come back and wrap up this edition of the pod and a little music to play us out on today's episode as well.

We'll be right back. All right. So that is it for us today on this edition of 32 Thoughts, The Podcast. Nice to hear Elliot's voice back in good standing again after down for the count for a few days, especially with what we have seen already this offseason and what could potentially still be on the horizon. plenty to talk about over the next couple of weeks before we set sail for the summer. This week, all three of us, Elliot Donnell and myself will descend on Buffalo in advance of the 2026 NHL draft. First round happening Friday.

That can be seen on SportsNet and SportsNet Plus, of course. So we're going to be there in the flesh Friday morning. It'll be our preview pod of the draft. And of course, any other news going on around the league that, occurs in the coming days. So that is when you'll hear from us next. In the meantime, taking us out today, a track from Sea of Lettuce, an indie rock group from Calgary, Alberta with a fresh spin on the genre's typical sound, known for crafting lush instrumentals paired with reflective storytelling. The band has carved out their niche in the Canadian indie landscape since releasing their debut

album back in 2018. Sea of Lettuce has developed a discerptial. full of summer soundtracks meant to be listened to while enjoying days in the sun. Consisting of four lifelong friends, the band brings an exciting style that infuses elements of indie pop and surf rock into both their studio recordings and high energy live performances. The band recently released their new EP Open Doors this spring. The four-track project tackles themes of dealing with life in your mid-20s while trying to figure out what the future holds. July the fourth as part of the Calgary Stampede festivities. They will be performing on the Coca-Cola stage down on the stampede grounds. This song, along with all the others this year, if you haven't heard already,

you can find it all on one playlist on Spotify called 32 Thoughts, The Music. This is Sea of lettuce, and stick around on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Your backs against the one I shot in the dark And your sticker Raise down from Harry on show Back your way

I shot in the time