32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Big Names, Big Thoughts

Episode Date: September 10, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin by unpacking their insights from the interview they conducted with Quinn Hughes. The fellas also talk about their interview with Brady Tkachuk (13:00). The guys talk about Alex Formenton's 1 year deal with the Oilers (15:00). Elliotte provides an update on Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets (18:30). They give their takeaways from their interview with Zach Werenski (24:00). The guys talk about Chris Kreider's contract being terminated (26:00). Elliotte gives an update on the Detroit Red Wings GM search (31:00).Hear exclusive interviews with Quinn Hughes (43:00), Brady Tkachuk (1:00:00), Connor McDavid (1:06:00), and Sidney Crosby (1:17:00). 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 Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's the 60th anniversary. Your team celebrating 60s out of year this season. If you can name your starting six all-time penguins. That's tough. Good question. I mean, I got to leave some really good players off this lineup, so I'm going to take some heat for this. I'll go Mario.

I mean, Yager's got to be there. Are we just saying, like, for the amount they play with Pittsburgh or just the career that they've had? I'd say the amount they've played. In Pitt? Yeah. All time payments. Yeah, I mean, I got to go, I'll go Mario, Gino, Yager,

and then I got to go Tanger. Do I go two Ritey's? I don't know. I go with coffee and two Ritees, or I go Larry Murphy? I don't know. Both good answers. And then in that flower.

Yeah. You left myself up until this. Yeah. Why? You asked me to pick a starting lineup and go with them. Before we dive into this episode of, 32 thoughts, the podcast. News came across on Wednesday night

that the hockey world lost a giant. Barry Melrose passing away, native of Saskatchewan, but of course an incredible mark on the game, particularly in the United States. Elliot, I think of our old teammate, Kelly Rudy,

always spoke lonely of playing for him in Los Angeles, and such a wonderful career as a broadcaster too. I personally didn't get a chance to really get to know. It's all, Elliot. I'm sure you spend some time around him. Your thoughts on the man Barry Melrose? Well, I saw Emily Kaplan and John Buchagros, who was very close to Barry Melrose about an hour before the news came out. And they were the first two people I thought of because we were with them at the NHL-NHLPA media tour. And they were

just as busy as we were. And that obviously would have resonated hugely, hugely with them. You know, when I think of Melrose, I remember him as a player who played for the Maple Leafs briefly, War Number 26. But what you really remember him for was that unbelievable 1993 series between the Maple Leafs and the Kings, the Stanley Cup semi-final. And he got into it with Pat Burns. And for a minute there, there was a game, and everybody who watched that series will remember it. It looked like Burns was going to charge him and they were going to fight. and that would have been some fight between Barry Melrose and Pat Burns. But he loved hockey, he breathed tokey.

And for a long time when even ESPN wasn't a rights holder, he showed up at all the big events. And he was the hockey guy at the network along with Steve Levy. So I feel terrible for those guys who were really close to him. And you were right. Like he was a passionate, passionate hockey fan and support. quarter. Come far too early at the age of 70,

Elliot. A big voice, as you say, when it comes to hockey in the United States, but the roots, of course, in Canada,

he covered a lot of a big personality and a big loss in the sport of hockey. So we send the Melrose family our love, and we're thinking of everybody affected

by what we learned here on Wednesday night. So not the way you never intend to start the podcast, but wanted to shed some love there. But welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, and welcome back, Elliot Friedman.

How was your summer? Well, thank you, Kyle. Summer was great. Outstanding family trip to Croatia. If you're thinking of going there, it's on your list. I could not recommend it enough. We had a fantastic vacation, one of the best we've ever had,

and go. Great people. great, especially if you're like a water person, go. It's phenomenal. You had a good summer, I assume? Really good. Didn't go anywhere as far as Croatia, but lived in our house, which we haven't done much of, the previous summers, some good time with family and people close to us back in BC,

everything I could have wanted. Awesome. Glad to hear it. You know, Kyle, I don't want to dwell on this and don't want to discuss it a lot. I think it's too self-indulgent, but, you know, obviously it got out there that, you know, my contract was up and I had a decision to make. I never really wanted to leave. I love it here, especially with my coworkers, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, the production staff, the technical staff. And I was made to think there was a legit opportunity out there.

I went away at the end of August to clear my head and just think, make lists, pros, cons, and it kept on coming back to number one, and this was the number one factor. I love where I work and I love who I work with. I love what is expected of me. You know, my teammates and ask a lot of me and I like that. I love the responsibility I've been given. You know, I'll never, if anyone asked me if I really said this, I'll deny it. But you and Dom are a big part of why I wanted to stay.

And there are a lot of other people who know who they are in front of and behind the scenes who made me want to stay. There's a lot for us to accomplish together. And I look forward to doing it over the next few years with all of the people I work with. and I'm glad everyone's back who's back and we made some changes. I've worked with Kelly and Scott for 20 years. It's going to be 20 plus years, 23. It's going to be really weird not to work with them. You know, we're leaving the media tour early, Kyle.

You and I are headed to Winnipeg overnight on Wednesday night slash Thursday morning to go to Scott's charity event. it's going to be weird without them. Jennifer, we worked together for, I think, six years now. It's going to be very weird not to work with her, but ultimately, and I'll miss all of them, but ultimately the group of people I'm with, I wanted to be with them. You know, I also wanted to thank all the people who, on social media, who asked about it or sent a nice post, I'll even thank all of you who said, don't come back. because I'm just in a good mood today.

You know, I couldn't reply to anybody. It didn't make sense. You don't want to pour gasoline on the fire. But there were many of you who sent really nice messages, and I just wanted to say, I appreciate it. None of us have a job without the enormous passion of hockey fans everywhere. And the small role I get to play and try to entertain and inform you and be part of your lives,

I don't take it for granted. I really enjoy it. I'll tell you one thing. On Friday night, there was an anonymous Twitter account, Ace Sherbert, who reported I was staying at Sportsnet, but I don't know if that's Tony Staffieri's burner

or Rob Cortez burner or somebody like that, but someone sent this to me and said, is this true? And I was like, Who on earth is this person? Because they were the first one to know. And if there's one thing I could change about all of it, just the Amazon stuff. You know, I hope nobody there was uncomfortable or concerned.

Like that was just never true. And everybody involved knew that. And I just hope that nobody there was uncomfortable by what was being reported because it just there was never anything to that. So, Samoa, one time this year that I gas you up when you are an earshot, because normally the thought of doing that makes me nauseous. I will just say, Elliot, you're our best salesman. I don't know how.

I don't know how. Every year when we're boots on the ground somewhere, it doesn't matter the age of the fan, the gender, their background, you somehow transcend all of it. it makes zero sense as a relatively boring middle-aged white man, somehow you pull it off. So I give kudos to you. And I think I speak for Don when I say,

we're very happy. The show goes on. I love my coworkers and I love the job. And ultimately, that was why I wanted to be here. Beautiful. All right. Good. So you touched on it.

We're here in Vegas for now, but I think when this drops Thursday morning, we will be in transit to Winnipeg for Scott Oaks Gala. We had a busy day here Wednesday. Talk to a lot of players. We talked to Marty Walsh. We talked to Bill Daly. You're going to hear a handful of those interviews on the back end of this podcast, including Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, a little bit of Brady Kachuk. And you're going to hear from Quinn Hughes. I would say he was the headliner coming into this week, given his contract situation.

what's going to happen for the future of him in Minnesota? Is it going to be different? You'll hear the interview in a little bit, and you can all think for yourselves what your takeaways were. That interview wrapped up, Elliot, and you said to us, that was worth the trip right there. Hughes walked in there, and he was confident. He was like, no, you guys think you've got control of this.

I'm in control here. He was ready for anything we could throw at him. We tried a couple curveballs. Everybody out there, as you said, will get a chance to sign for themselves. Now, you know my position, Kyle. I have felt that he was going to sign for three times 18. But I did say that before Leo Carlson and pre-McCarr. And there is one answer in there about being the highest paid defenseman in the league

that I thought about long after the interview was over. Like, Hughes was great here. He didn't duck anything. He answered every question. He was a fantastic interview. I admit I was a little unsure. I didn't, I shouldn't say this. I didn't know what to think after this interview.

When this podcast drops officially, I will listen to it again and formulate my opinion. But what did you say? after it was over and he left the room. I just remember being there a year ago asking about his future in Vancouver, and you thought, ugh, if I'm a Canucks fan, I don't feel any more comfortable after hearing that. And we know what ultimately happened with him and the Canucks.

It was different listening to it here on Wednesday. I still, I have no idea what's going on. I just, to your point, when you set off the top, he just seems like a guy who, A, is more comfortable in his own skin and sure of himself than he may ever have been at any point in his career. And I just think, I got the impression he looks at all this and, oh, yeah, you think I need to sign before the season because it's going to be a distraction or I need to give an answer here or I need to do this at a certain time. I'm in control of this. I'll decide when I'm ready. I thought that was very clear, the point that he made in talking to us.

and everybody else he spoke to here on Wednesday. You know, I think you're right, and I also think this, I think for some of those guys who won the gold medal for the U.S., who maybe hadn't won a Stanley Cup before, hadn't had a big championship victory before, they're all walking now like they're 11 feet tall. And I think Jack Hughes is one. I think Quinn Hughes is another.

I think Boldie is another. I think Matthews is another. You know, Eichols won a lot. Werensky is one. I think, you know, some of these guys have won before at the, you know, the collegiate or the junior or the world junior level. But this is the biggest of the biggest. It's an Olympic gold, a Stanley Cup. This separates you from almost everybody else.

That is the top of the mountain. Those two things. And I think the guys who now have one of those, the U.S. players after the gold, they are different people. And I think Quinn, when you listen to this interview, it's Exhibit A. I was, whether you liked his answers or not, he was calm, he was in command, he was in control. He ran the interview. We didn't run the interview. He ran the interview.

And everybody, I'm curious to see everybody's feedback. after they hear it. So he's a different guy. And then there's Brady Kachuk who's entering a different phase of his life now. And it was funny because, I mean, we sat down with him for a little bit. Before that, we spoke to Jake Sanderson,

who was the Ottawa Senator's representative here at this player media tour event. And he said, like, man, it's still, I saw him on the ice with the Florida Jersey. It was weird. It's still weird. It's still weird. And Kach himself, even admitted.

It hasn't totally sunk in yet. Yeah, you know, unfortunately with Hughes, it was at the end of the day and there was a lot of time. We just didn't have a lot of time with Brady Kachuk. The interviews are very different. You know, I thought the interesting thing, and we'll use Sanderson another time, he was very good, excellent interview. But it's very clear that I think for Sanderson and the other senators, they're not glad he's gone, but they're glad it's over. like that that is definitely true it's you know I think they look at it like this saga isn't going to continue like they've they've they've turned the page and they've moved on and you know you'll hear

that the interviews with hughes and the interviews with kachak are not the same just simply because of time but the more I listened to it Kyle and the more I thought about it I just think it's pretty clear that the Kachucks decided it was time. Let's unite. It's time. For sure. That's what I think. So that's simple. For sure. For sure. And you also, I think for Senators fans out there, I know Luke Fox was cranking out articles like every half hour it felt like on Wednesday. But the one he put out of Jake's quotes, like I would encourage you to go read his take on, because there's a lot of discourse right now of what's that night going to be like his first game back in

Ottawa. I thought his answer to that was if I'm a Senators fan, that's what I want to hear from one of the guys I root for. He was good. He was good. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Good point. By the way, I just want to say

that of all the questions I asked, I'm proudest of the last one to Crosby. Oh. that was, I mean, you talk about worth the trip. We could have gone home after that one. I'm not going to spoil it. Yes.

Last topic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The only tough part of it being audio only is that you don't see the look on Sid's face when the question hits them. It's very, very good. All right. So we've got a few things to get through here before we get to the interviews as we've been teasing here off the top, Elliot.

And the day started, you know, we were doing our thing just outside Las Vegas and there was a whopper of a story to come out of Edmonton and that they had signed Alex Format into a one-year deal. You know, he spoke to the media, Stan Bowman spoke to the media, Connor McDavid spoke to the media back in Edmonton. And I will say the interview you'll hear of us with Connor was done the day prior that this news was out there. So it wasn't asked about then because we didn't know at that point. But what was your reaction to hear, you know, not only Alex Formanton, that was one of the five players with Hockey Canada that went through the trial and were acquitted, but that he signed with an NHL club, but a Canadian club at that.

I think that was the thing that surprised me the most, Kyle, is that I'd heard that, you know, Formanson was the first to be reinstated by Hockey Canada, and I heard when that happened, there was a chance he was going to be back in the NHL somewhere. I never would have imagined that, A, he would want to play in Canada, and B, it would be a Canadian team that would sign him. I think that is the thing that shocked me the most is I just never thought that one of those players would ever play for a Canadian team again. And, you know, look at Calfoot. He tried to sign in Sweden this year, and the team changed its mind after the backlash a short time after. So I think that's the thing that shocked me the most is

I didn't think I'd ever see a day where one of those players would want to play in Canada or a Canadian team would say we're going to sign one of those players. And when we spoke to Bill Daly here on Wednesday, and we asked the question of, was this a case where the oilers had to clear it with the league before they could proceed to sign them? And his answer was effectively no. like they went through a process, you know, after the court case was completed about what reinstatement would look like for those players if they were to sign back in the league. We know Carter Hart's now with Vegas.

And he also said he goes, maybe somebody else in the league knew, maybe somebody else in the league knew besides me. But he didn't know ahead of time. He said he learned about this the same time that everyone else did, which I have to admit was, a bit of a surprise, but... It caught me by surprise, too. Now, he did qualify it by saying maybe somebody else at the league knew, but I can't imagine that there would be too many people who would know what's going on more than the deputy commissioner.

I was surprised at that. Really surprised. All right. Some of the things we want to chip away at, Conor Halibuck and the Winnipeg Jets. Is there anything new there? Yeah, I... So someone sent me on the weekend at Insta story, I guess from like a wreck hockey player or a beer league hockey player in Winnipeg last week. And by the time I got to it, it had been deleted.

I couldn't find it. And I looked into it a bit. And I think a lot of us are looking at it. This is a huge story, obviously, what's going to happen with Hallibuck and the Winnipeg Jets. You know, he's a former MVP and he won a gold medal last year. he's a backbone of their team. And the more I've looked into it, Kyle, the more I really feel for everyone involved.

The Jets, the organization, Helibuck, and most of their fan, the vast majority of their fan base. You know, I just think that there were some things that happened last year that were out of the Jets control post-Olympics that have made this situation impossible to resolve. I think the Jets were hopeful that maybe it would change, but I don't think that's possible at all.

And, you know, it was something that was out of their hands. And, you know, I understand Hello Buck's feelings on this. As somebody who badly wants the Stanley Cup to come back to Canada at some point to cover one of those before Sportsnet eventually does wise up and fire me, I was hoping maybe there could be a resolution between Hello Buck and the Jets, but I just don't believe that's possible because of circumstances that are kind of out of their control. And, you know, I do think the Jets understand that now and we'll see where this goes over the next few days. you know, I think that a couple of things are at play here.

Number one, Hellebuck's list of where he's willing to go is much, much wider than some of the other players who've asked for trades. Like obviously, I don't think he's going to a Canadian team, but like I've heard it's not one of those things where it's about sunlight or about taxes or anything like that is just about where does he think he can win? and it's a wider list.

I think the biggest challenge here, and I did say this on NHL Network about a week ago, and I know it's been referenced, and I still think it's the big thing, is what has changed since the draft? You know, Buffalo doesn't have that fourth pick anymore. Florida, I believe Florida made an offer, but I think some of the pieces,

not all of the pieces, But some of the big pieces in that offer have since been traded elsewhere. Like the draft package for Brady, potentially someone like Evan Rodriguez, who's now with the Devils, like they don't have that stuff anymore. And I think there's some players, and I suspect that Lucan and Buffalo might be won. Their trade list change on July 1st. And knowing potentially he could have been traded to Winnipeg in a hell of buck deal, did he protect it?

And I do think it's obviously Winnipeg's got Stuart Skinner there now and he talked to the media the other day but I do think they were looking for another goalie I think there's some that can block a trade there so I don't know

where this is going to go but I do think Winnipeg is going to try to do it they have to do well like this is a very very important trade for the Jets and they have to do well,

but I think there's a recognition now that this has to happen and is going to happen. And I know the Jets are under a lot of heat. You know, the one thing I'll do is I'll wait to see what this looks like when it's over and what kind of deal they make

before I pass judgment. I think the biggest challenge for the Jets was realizing that they could you know we couldn't go back in time and a deal has to get done at some point have you got i i really do feel badly for everybody involved here this is this is not like some of the other situations this is this is different so have you gotten a sense whether or not you know for for kevin shovel day off is the is he steadfast and that whatever the centerpiece is of a potential return. Does it have to be immediate help, a roster player? Is he open to futures?

Is that ever evolving the longer this goes on? I don't think they want futures. I think they want to compete. Yeah. That's what I would think. Yeah. But the longer this goes on, the more uncomfortable it gets. So I think, yes, and you know, we'll see. Training camp begins next week. You know, I, So I think Buffalo is still around it. I think Utah is still around it. I think Carolina is still around it. I've had very mixed messaging on New Jersey. For a time I heard they weren't interested.

I know some people think they are. I always assume there's people out there. I haven't uncovered yet. But I heard like, you know, Winnipeg has prioritized, and we'll see if it changes, but at times they have prioritized a goalie back. Okay. also point out, you know, when we were here on Wednesday, another great person to listen to was Zach Werenski.

Yes, and we'll run that one soon. Yeah, because it's funny that you think of Zach Wrenski, it was the trade that almost happened, things went off the rails. He's nixing a deal to Dallas. The statements come out of, hold on, no, no, no, I'm committed to playing in Columbus. And you forget that this is a guy that won an Olympic gold medal that won the Norris trophy this year. He talks about, you know, he became a father back in May. And how quickly it can be put onto the sidelines because of what was going on right around the draft and free agency. But it was very clear listening to him, he is committed to make it work in Columbus going into this year. I thought it was refreshing. It was pretty clear that he didn't like the way it all got portrayed. And that's clearly your. fault and not mine. Yeah, exactly.

Welcome back, Ellie. It throws me under the bus. No, he was great. And, you know, they've got another situation with Marchenko and we'll see where that goes. I mean, the Canadians are. Adam Fantilli, too. Yeah, we'll get to Fantilli in a minute. But, you know, the Canadians have been around that.

The Islanders have been around that. I'm sure there's others. You know, he's a really good player. but I just you know what's interesting was at the end you know Boon Jenner's gone now and you know we'll see what happens with the captaincy there but we did ask Oranski about it and he kind of he didn't go too deep into it but I think it's an interesting situation because this got out

but the way he dialed it back especially to us and recently with more local media it has been kind of captain like. You know, he, he is taking something that could have been a five alarm blaze, and he has thrown cold water on it. Big time. And as you'll hear from him, it seems like that's very much his MO. Doesn't like things getting out of control. No, he loves the calm. He loves the calm. So some other news here on Wednesday, Elliot, you know, you reported earlier in the morning of Chris Crider going on unconditional waivers to have his contract terminated. And as you mentioned in the article you put up on Sportsnet.com, and it's quite easy to connect the dots, there's still a 40-goge

score in Cuttergochier that's unsigned in Anaheim, and there's only so much cap space remaining, part of the reason being the big chunk eaten up by Leo Carlson's new deal. So you've got to start making some space somehow, and Chris Kreider looks to be headed elsewhere because of it. So the way this got tracked down was there was a rumor going around that Kreider had been told he didn't have to come out to California for camp. And I don't, I want to stress that I don't believe it was like a negative, like in the sense of don't come. Like it wasn't a slam. It wasn't a slam. It wasn't an insult. I think they'd been working on.

Yeah, I think it was, exactly. You're the wordsmith. That was much better that I could have done. I think it was like the ducks saying, we can't do this. We have to do, we have to open up space somehow. Don't uproot your life because we're going to have to do something. Now, I've heard that Vitrano is out there because that was another guy I wondered about, but it sounds like he's staying.

And I think they really did want to try to find a way to keep Coulorne. So he's going to be out there. But they just looked at the number and they said, Crider's going to have to be the guy. But the Ducks had been working with his agents. They had permission to talk to teams. And ultimately, what I heard is that Verbeek was, you know, people were like asking for first and second rounders.

We'll take Criter, but you've got to give us a first or a second. And that's what I heard out there. and Verbeek was like, we're not doing that. So we have seen the situation. Texier in Montreal was one guy who did it. Brandon Saude was another guy who did it, terminate their deals, walk away from money, become UFAs. I don't know that anyone's had 50 points when they did it before,

and he also had seven points in the playoffs, so he can still produce. But they did put him on the waivers to terminate. He can clear as soon as 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday. I remember the Leafs put Jason Spetz on waivers once late in his career, and his agent at the time, Rick Curran, made it very clear that if Spetsa was claimed, he wasn't going.

And I think that Kreider has indicated that. He wants to go back by his family east. And because that he's worked with Anaheim here, he feels he's earned that right. So he said if someone claimed him where he didn't want to go, he wouldn't report. I know there's a lot of speculation about Boston. It makes a lot of sense. We'll see on Thursday. I heard there was interest in him.

Now, Ducks fans were asking me if that meant that Goce was close. I don't think one means the other. I've heard they've been working at it. I don't think he's going to get what Carlson got, but I don't think he's asking too far away. You know, I'll tell you, next week, the 15th and the 16th, That's when the rules change, not only eight years down to seven max, but also the way you can structure these contracts. And it's a big deal, like between Goce, Fantilli, Drake Batherson in Ottawa, all of those situations could be affected by not only the change in term, but the change in variables and front loading and things structure.

and I think there's a chance if those players go past the switchover to the new rules. I think there's some question about whether those negotiations might go sideways. So deadlines per action, we'll see what happens with those three players and others. Okay. Quickly, just on Batherson, because I know when we recorded the last pod, you said there's a path there. Does your feeling, has it changed at all? I still think there's a path to a deal there. You know, I'll tell you what, where it has changed, Kyle, is the defenseman.

So Zeev Buhiom got that extension in Vancouver, and I've heard that absolutely has changed the calculus. You know, Edvinson and Detroit, it's an unusual situation because they don't have a GM right now. But, you know, I'd heard earlier in the summer, that there was the possibility of something shorter. Well, now if you want to go longer, it's changed. And Nikitian, same deal. Like he already wanted a big number. How does he feel about what Bouyam did?

So I do think for defensemen, the calculus has been changed. Not even so much by the McCar deal, it changed everything, but by the Boeem deal. Nikesian, by the way, I've heard Nashville was kicking around there too. Yeah, yeah, that would make a lot of sense. And they just got a couple of draft picks in that Evangelista deal. Right. Can I ask what's going on in Detroit? So there's the Larkin situation.

Edmondson, of course, needs a contract, one of those defensemen. And then there's the GM question of who's the guy, who's the person at the helm that's going to navigating all of that stuff. You reported earlier this week, and it was out there that, you know, Jeff Greenberg, who was the GM of the Tigers, was a guy that was seriously considered for that position, removed his name from that process.

So where are they at? Because training camp is a week away, and they've got business to get done. I wish I had a better answer for you. You know, one of the things out there is that Detroit has asked for permission for some people and hasn't interviewed them. And I will confess, as my contract stuff was going on, I kind of dropped out on it a bit. So I have to get a better handle of it on where they are.

And I will get to that. So sorry, Kyle, for the incomplete. I hope I will be able to give you reasons to give me a better grade. You know, the other situation I did want to mention that we'll see where we go by by camp and the next of the while is, you know, Shane Wright's situation in Seattle. You know, Jason Botterall has been adamant that he did not give a promise. Kurt Overhart, who represents Shane Wright, has felt there was. you know, he's definitely out there and there definitely is interest

but the Cracken believe that this is still a young player with a lot of potential and they want that rewarded in any kind of trade. All right, with that, let's get to the final thought and normally this would eventually lead to the thought line, which is presented by BetMGM,

make it legendary. But for today's pod, we are simply going to tell you that the thought line is coming back. Don't you worry. We are going to fire it up in earnest for Sunday's recording as we go back to our regularly scheduled Monday and Friday drops next week. So if you haven't already and you've got burning questions, surely you've got a couple after a wild, wild summer across the National Hockey League.

Now's the time to get him in, and we will begin the thought line in earnest on Sunday for Monday's drop. And we are going back to our regular schedule on Monday, Monday, Friday. Yes, yes, yes. So in place of that for today, Elliot, you must have shoutouts. I do have shoutouts. So I took my family to go see Pitbull and Lil John in Toronto last weekend. It was an awesome concert, just fantastic concert.

And for the second time, I ran into Emma Maltay, now of the Montreal Victoire, at a show. The first time I saw her was at Coldplay, and this time I saw her at Pitbull and Lil John. So she's got great taste of music. Let me say that about Emma first. And Emma was there with Sophie Jake's from the Vancouver Golden Eyes, Reagan Kirk from the Toronto Scepters, and Claire to George from the New York Sirens. And I want to shout them out for not only were they there, but you know what, Kyle, they were dressed as baldies. And if you are a pit bull person, you know what a baldy is. It's someone who puts on like a bald cap and some people draw his facial hair on it. And there were a lot of baldies in the crowd on Saturday night and four of them play in the PWA gel.

So it was it was great to see them. Like I said, second time I've run into Amma at a concert. She's got great taste in music, and I just love that the four of them were dressed up like that. I also wanted to shout out on my flight to Vegas on Monday, I ran into, I didn't get the parents' names, but I ran into the parents of Manuel Gomez, who works with the U.S. UNLV club team, hockey team. He's the team manager, and they were going out to visit them. And I always like to shout out the teams that are trying to grow hockey all around the world. And UNLV, their club team, certainly qualifies. And I also wanted to say that in one of my travels over the last few weeks,

there was near Canada flight attendant, Yasser, he came out. up to me, he said he's a big fan of the pod, and he's a big fan of the leaves, Kyle, and he said, do you think there's any chance that Connor McDavid is going to go to Toronto to play with Austin Matthews? He's like, you could tell he was really excited about even the possibility of it. And I said, well, Kyle believes that after the Oilers win the Stanley Cup this year, McDavid will ask to play with Matthews in Toronto. So I hope you are appreciative of how I tried to get your information out there. Oh, that's good. I've been sitting on that after I reported the near Werenski trade that was next. And then I moved to that one. So I'm glad you're spreading

that around. That's good. It's up to my street cred, buddy. I have one shout out. Okay. So a couple weeks ago, me and my buddy went and played golf at Canaan Azcus. And what an experience. We were, we played Mount Kid. We were the first group off on a Friday morning, a beautiful picture perfect Canaanaskis morning. And we were paired up with a father and son from Red Deer. Peter and Yanni, who was nine years old,

nine years old, Elliot, and was just getting into golf and was playing Canaanascus for the first time. Can you imagine playing mountain golf, 18 holes, had nine years old. And like he was just kind of getting started.

It's not like he's been, had a golf club in his hand since he was two years old. incredible. So Peter and Yanni, they're both loyal listeners of the pod, big Euler fans, and the coolest part of the whole day for me was not the beautiful views, was not the scenery, was not the course conditions. It was watching nine-year-old Yanni go from the first couple of holes and he was playing up at the junior T's. The first couple of holes, you could tell, He was intimidated.

He was nervous. He's still clear very new to the sport of golf. But watching him over the course of four hours, how he looked at the beginning, to then midway through, striping the ball down the fairway. His confidence grew. It was just a great lesson from this young man, Elliot,

for anything you're doing in life, right? You step up into what could be perceived as an intimidating environment, and you're like, I'm just going to go for it. It was so cool to see that over the course of the day. And like, what a great memory for a father and son

on a great morning out in K country. I just could not help, but that be in the takeaway of maybe you've got an opportunity, an endeavor that seems daunting, but the potential payoff on the other side could be something you take with you, for the rest of your life. That's all.

How old were you when you picked up? First of all, it was a great shout out. How old were you when you first started golfing? Nine or ten. And then I went away from it for a lot of years and didn't pick it up again until high school because all my buddies started to play. And I thought, well, I wanted to be part of that.

And then I've just kind of chipped away from there. You? I wasn't, I didn't start until I was 18. I wish I would have started younger. Yeah. Although it probably did save me about nine. years of frustration, but I, uh, I, I really, I really wish I would have started earlier. This is amazing.

It's nine years old. Imagine you showing up for school here now this month, all your friends around. You're like, yeah, I played Canon Ascus this summer. Incredible. All right. That'll do it for the thought line. And with that, we will take our first break. When we come back, we will play our collection of interviews for you that we gathered here

on Wednesday and Tuesday at the NHL-NHLPA player media tour from Las Vegas. That on the other side here on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. All right, as promised, a small collection of our conversations from our time here in Vegas at the NHL-NHL-HLPA player media tour. We will begin with the one we were all waiting to hear from. Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild. What does the future hold and how does he feel about everyone hanging on every word he says? Here's Quinn Hughes, followed by Brady Kachuk, now of the Florida Panthers.

Enjoy. So Quinn, a couple of weeks ago, Elliot went and said publicly that clearly you and your brothers have had no time to skate, no time to work out because you've just been at other events. So the floor is yours to either. 15 pounds over shape. Yeah, out of shape. The quote I was told was Hockey's Kardashians. Oh, no. They're doing all right.

Honestly, it's been terrific summer. It did everything I wanted to do. It was a great summer, but also did the training we needed to do and feel like I'm at my best. So I'm expecting now my best season, you know, knock on wood, you want to stay healthy. But if I stay healthy, I think that I'm ready for a big year. You said there was a lot of things you wanted to do. Like, forget the training. But what was the most fun thing or what did you want to do that you did?

I mean, I think that changes every day. Like, when you look back at the summer, it's like each kind of part was amazing. But the Morgan Wall and walkout was pretty cool. I think the World Cup finals was cool. I'd never been, I think that was my first soccer game, actually. How about that? You can't go to another one. Yeah, now downhill from here.

But that was a special event. Like, when you were watching that, it was pretty cool. We're in the shore for six weeks. That was a great time. We were two houses down from Brady. So I spent a lot of time with him and was in the city when the Knicks won. A bunch of different things

and a couple golf trips, that were really cool. Man. That's a great summer. Yeah. Like any place where you ended up and you thought, man, in my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd be here. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. For sure. But, I mean, the most important thing also was the training. Yeah. Yeah. We had another great summer training. I'm excited to watch Luke and Jack this year and all the guys that were in our skate.

That's a fun aspect of the summer, too, is competing with those guys. So we've heard about these legendary stories in the past. What is the latest legendary summer training story or summer competition story between the Hughes brothers from this year? There was only one stick toss this year. Usually there's more than that, but I mean, we're out there with my dad and Matt Williams, and we have so much fun with those guys for them to come out and just be passing pucks with us and running the skates. That's one of the greatest parts to me, too, to have those guys out there.

But training with Werenstki with the last couple summers, like just seeing what he's been able to do and pushing each other. This year I got a white jersey from Minnesota, a practice jersey. he was in his blue, so usually we're on the same team, but we went head to head this summer. That's fun. Downing came in last week. It was fun to be on the ice with him.

Always fun skating with Jack and Luke, so. Who threw the stick? That was actually me. That was me. And I'm usually not that guy. I don't know. It gets competitive out there. I mean, guys are trying to make each other better,

and we have so much fun. It's just our buddies, and we enjoy it. All right, so I've seen your quotes from earlier, that you will not be boxed into a corner. Can you give us an idea of what you're thinking right now, with your future? I mean, to be honest, I'm not thinking too much. I'm excited to go to camp. I loved my season, my time in Minnesota last year.

You know, I was just saying to someone a couple minutes ago, you know, with Eckie and Brodser in that second round, I don't know if we win a series. Maybe we do. Maybe we don't, but definitely would have helped us. and, you know, I had those two guys, see where we're at. I mean, that's an exciting thing for me. I want to win.

I also mentioned this. I was first round against Dallas. I'm lining up, game one. You got Ranting and Wyatt Johnson, Robertson, Heiskin, and Otonjur in the back. But, you know, I'm looking around me, and I got favorite beside me. I got heck. I got krill. I got boldie and Wollstead behind me.

And that was a cool moment for me where I was like, we got a, they got a great team, but we got a great team. And so I'm excited to go back. I mean, Billy, you know, we'll be talking more, I'm sure. You know, I don't feel like necessarily like something needs to get done in the next day or so. If it does, then it does. But, yeah, for right now, I'm just excited to get going at camp. And me and Billy will be in, you know, constant communication.

I'm pretty close with it. So the thing I'm, you know what it's like to be in a red-hot market where every, everything is a five alarm blaze. If you don't sign by the start of the season, there's a chance you're gonna be going through that everywhere. Like everywhere you go on the road, you're gonna be asked about it. Even at home, you'll be asked about it all the time.

Do you, you're a tough guy with a thick skin. Do you want that though? I don't really care. Like I don't care, like if someone asked me the same question a hundred times, like whatever. Like to me, I'm, like I just said, I feel like I'm primed to be at my best if I can stay healthy. I feel like I'm ready to go.

I think I have a lot of experiences in the past with dealing with different things. And to be honest, I kind of just feel at peace. Like, I feel excited to play. I'm excited to play with Brock again. And I'm excited to be on the power with Bulls and Krill and continue building with those guys and start from scratch instead of starting from game 40 or whatever I was. So for me, I just feel at peace.

I feel like there's a lot to look forward to this year. And as far as the noise, if someone wants to ask me a question, like, I'm not, I mean, I'm not basing decisions because I don't want to answer questions. Like, I'm going to take my time, and, you know, Billy's going to take his time, and I'm sure we're going to work it out. I remember shortly after the trade, like, you made a point of... Hold on, Kyle. I'm sure we're going to work it out.

You know that sentence is going to go everywhere. I mean, I can't control who posts what. Yeah. I mean, I'm saying what I'm saying. And whoever wants to post any tidbit, it's welcome to do so. But I think about after the trade, and you made a point about the hall that Bill Garron gave up to get you and that, like, it wasn't lost on you what he had given up. Is that still in the back of your mind going forward?

Yeah, I mean, I have a great relationship with Billy. like a really good relationship with Billy. And that dates back to the Four Nations when, like, I was injured. It was the right decision not to play. I think if I went to that, I either would have been injured in one of the games or I would have been limping back to Van and out for a couple weeks. And at the time, we were in the playoffs. So I felt like I needed to, you know, do his best with Vancouver Canucks.

But dating back to that, I have a great relationship with him. he did give up what he gave up to get me. I think that everything, you know, I'm a very thoughtful person. Everything goes, every little part in detail goes into decision making, but, you know, I can't say that because of that it would be, you know, on the front of, you know, leading a decision or whatnot. I think that at the end of the day, like, I got to do what's best for myself. And, yeah, I think I've very,

earn that right, you know, you'd probably seven, eight years to get to, you know, decide what you want to do. And, you know, I do love it in Minnesota. And, yeah. I'm only going to ask one more on this. A year ago, I asked you, should Kinnok's fans be worried? Should wild fans be worried? No, I mean, I think that I'm just going through the process. And like I said, I don't feel boxing to do anything because, you know, the media wants to ask me a question or I'm worried about people asking me a question in every city like you just mentioned. I feel at peace. I'm ready to go. I think the Wild fans should be really excited about watching us play and I think we're going to be at her best. I think guys are hungry and we're healthy

and you guys know Billy. I mean, Billy could make a massive trade and add to our team at any point. So I think Wild Fan should be, you know, extremely excited for the year. I know you've talked about it. You love watching Kail McCar play. You're in the same division of him. What did you think seeing the contract that he got this summer? I was happy for him. I mean, it's obviously life-changing money.

He already had a great deal and a lot of money in the bank. You know, hear nothing but good things about him. He seems like he's a fantastic person. I actually don't know him at all. but he's been nothing but a professional in Colorado for the last seven, eight years, and they've been really lucky to have him. I've seen some things where it's like that's a lot of money. To me, I think you can't pay a guy like that enough.

And I wouldn't be surprised if he's underpaid in a couple years. That would be the best thing ever for the league to see that. And see the cap just keep going. But I was happy for him, and I think he deserves it, that and more. I'm just like I'm just like curious like I know you guys are everybody is so competitive does it matter to you if you're the highest paid defenseman in the league I mean I think that would be an incredible honor like I don't know if you go in well I definitely didn't go into my career thinking that that was ever going to be a possibility

um I mean I've made 7.85 the last couple years but I still think I'm you know one of the best, if not the best. So it's not like I need to, I feel like I need to raise the bar to prove anything. I think you just got to watch me on the ice. But I do think it's important that, you know, if you're good at your job, you should get paid accordingly. And, you know, this person's getting a fair price for you

and you're doing a lot of, you know, great service for them. And you should get paid for that. So, you know, I believe in, you know, fair deals. If you say anything in life, like if you're great at your job, you should get paid accordingly. So that's what I feel about that. That takes me back to something to the beginning of the interview. You talked about how you're lined up to have your best season or you're excited to have your best season. For Quinn Hughes, what's your best season?

What are your goals? That's a good question. I usually go into seasons with goals. I don't really have any right now, to be honest. Like, I'm not thinking like that, and I usually do. I'm just thinking that I want to be the best I can possibly be every night and do it as many times as I can. And then wherever that takes me, it takes me.

Just having fun, enjoying it, being a good teammate, enjoying the guys. Like, when I first got to Minnie, I was, I couldn't believe how close the group was, to be honest. And I'm looking forward to going back there and being a part of that. You were saying you're at peace here. What got you to that point? What's allowed you to feel that way? I mean, I think a lot of it, too, was the Olympics. Like, we won the Olympics.

That was amazing. And then, you know, I really enjoyed Minnesota. It wasn't how we wanted it to end, but we won that first round. That was really important. The second round, like I said, I wish at Keene Broads were healthy. I mean, I don't know where that would have taken us, but you take our number one center in a top 4D, like that's a, that's no joke.

Like, that's a big time problem. And so, yeah, I honestly lost what I was saying there, but, yeah. You mentioned you were with, you skated with Oranski, you were near the chucks. Like, what do you guys talk about? Because this was a crazy summer in the NHL for a lot of different reasons.

But obviously Brady was kind of in the, middle of it. Wrenski was kind of in the middle of it for a while. How much do you guys talk about your own personal situation? We don't talk about, I mean, I don't want to be in nosy in any means. And honestly, I don't care. Like, it's the summer. I just had a long season. I thought I played amazing at the Olympics. I thought I played great with Minnesota in a regular season and the playoffs. And I thought that, you know, going into the summer, just, kind of let everything go. And so when you see stuff, I kind of just, you know, everyone's doing their own thing. As far as Brady, I mean, he's a close friend. I wanted him to be happy and do

what he wanted to do. And I saw a video of, uh, or something where it's like, should they ought to give Brady a video? And it's like, Brady did eight years of service there. And you, you know, it's worked so hard. He was so competitive. He was a great leader. And, you know, to me, I think that he should be maybe not celebrated, but I don't think that should be thrown out and forgotten. And I was happy for him. And if you care about Brady, you're happy that he's with his brother in Florida. And he did what he wanted to do. And for Z, if he decides to stay in Columbus, I'd be happy for him.

He's such a great guy. And that's what it sounds like he wants to do. And if it doesn't go that way, then it doesn't go that way. and I'd be happy for him wherever he goes. And the same thing with Larks. Like, I thought, Larks has played in five playoff games. He's going into his whole season.

It's like, that guy is the ultimate team guy. Like, seriously. And any team in the league would be lucky to have Larks. Larks is one of my favorite people out there. So if he ultimately makes a decision where he's moving on or he stays, like, I think the wings would be lucky to have him. If he moves on, I know. I would take him in two seconds

and you watch them at the Olympics and you know how much the guys love him what a team guy is and then you know how he performs you know in big moments yeah so that's what I feel about Larks and I thought Ike said the best quote about him actually is no one deserves to be playing playoff hockey more than Larks so

for any of these guys I think they should do you know what makes them happy and whatever they decide and I'll just be happy for them Solved. Minnesota trades for Larkin. You extend. No problem. I just have one last one. I want to ask you about your brother, Jack. Yeah. You love your brother. You love your brothers. You love your family.

It's been six months since the Olympic winner. How have you seen Jack grow after that, benefit from that, and how much did it mean for you to see him score that? Oh, I meant so much. I think that the best thing about Jack is he's like, he never really made it about him. He's so inclusive, you know? Like, it's never really about him. He wants other people to do things with him.

Like, I remember he actually gotten me in trouble a couple of times where it's like he, you know, someone wants him to do an interview. And he's like, oh, I'm not doing this without this guy or this guy. And then I pop in and look like an idiot. But that's him. He's so inclusive. I mean, obviously it was special that he scored. but I don't think he cared, you know, who it was.

He was just so happy to be a part of it. And I think all the guys on the team were happy for him because he's just such a, you know, enjoyable guy, likable guy. And selfishly, I was so happy for him because I think he's one of the best players in the league. And you watch him after the Olympics, I think he led the league in scoring. It's like, you know, I think there's McDavid, there's McKinnon.

Kutjav plays differently than anyone, and you got dry-settled, but after that you got, like, I don't know who plays like Jack and who's as electrifying as Jack, so I think that he kind of missed some years there with the shoulders, and that weighs heavy on him.

And I think with the Olympics and how he balled out and everything that happened, I think he can kind of just close the chapter of all those years and just kind of move on and kind of take that Piano off his back. Awesome. Great stuff. Thanks.

Quinn. Quinn, you were great as always. Thank you. Yeah, thanks, guys. So Brady, we just had Jake Sanderson in here, and he said, it's weird seeing you in a Florida jersey. Like, has it felt, does it feel normal yet to you? It's definitely still, it's still new. It's still weird.

I mean, I know once, you know, put it off for the first time preseason, it's going to feel good, can feel real and going to feel like home. So, but, yeah, I remember that was the first thing. said me when we're on ice, like that just looks weird, but especially the number changed too. Yeah, right. Just in preparation, I've been rereading some stuff, looking back at some stuff. You had a quote the other day where you said there were there some things that weren't true. I just wanted to ask you, give you the opportunity to clear the air, Brady. Like, what in your mind was not true? Well, I think the hardest one is, you know, people saying that my mind

wasn't in it and I've been a year and a half which I've been thinking about it or and that's just not true I feel like I'm able to look myself in the mirror knowing that I gave absolutely everything I had now right till the end and now to see that was was tough to see but I mean everybody has the right to know say whatever they need to say or want to say and but you know all that stuff's in the past now looking forward to the excitement for the new season and being with this new team, group of guys, it's a lot to be excited about. What ultimately did it for you?

What made it happen? I mean, I don't know. I don't know if I really want to get into it too much. You know, that was really hard, emotional. It definitely wasn't an easy decision whatsoever. So for me, it just took a lot of time of thinking in a reflection and, you know, for me, it's kind of all that stuff in the past. And it was, but I have to say, you know, I feel like I've, you know, said a lot,

but, you know, Ottawa truly is a special place to me, you know, been there for eight years. And, you know, the relationships, the people that I could call family and, you know, the city welcomed me right from day one, made me feel like I was a part of the community. And, you know, I became a dad there, became a husband during my time in Ottawa. and I feel like it really formed me into who I am today. And I love the people there, love the city, love the fan base. And I'm not going to really miss being up there. So I just want to ask, Ray, because I saw their firsthand, you in Ottawa,

the time you put in on the ice for where that organization was when you got drafted there to getting to the playoffs and back-to-back years, all the things you did community-wise, whether it was just stuff on like road hockey, charity work, all of it. I just wondered when in your mind did it go from conceptually? Like, yeah, I love one day the idea of maybe playing with your brother to, this is something I really am considering and would love to make happen. I mean, the dream goes back to, you know, being a kid.

I mean, like, your dream of being the NHL and, you know, then you have, you know, two brothers, you know, make it to the NHL. And then, you know, you grew up, you know, my best friend from when I was born to now. So just the idea in general of being able to play in the NHLD brother would just be so special. So now that it is true, it's, it's a dream come true. I mean, not going to take a second for granted.

Have you thought about that first game back at all? Yeah. I mean, of course. Like, it's a special place. You know, it's, as I said, just so many memories that not just I have, but, you know, my family has. and it's going to be special. See people that, you know, within the organization,

outside the organization that, you know, I could call family. It's going to be special. And, you know, whatever the reaction is, it's, I know how much I appreciate, you know, the passion that they have and how those memories of being there for eight years is going to just always be with me and it's now made me who I am. Who, having a little more time to think,

who have you either really enjoyed skating with already in Florida or who are you most looking forward to being able to call a teammate now? I mean, I know this is cliche, but everyone. Like, it's, you can just see, you know, the professionalism. And what I think is, you know, crazy just being the new guys that they haven't talked about the two cups at all. All they've talked about is how last year wasn't the year that they wanted

and how frustrated it was and how not motivated they are to get back to the two cups. top. So that's, I think that's the most impressive and it says a lot about the guys there that, you know, they can always hang their hat off. We have two cups, but, you know, they just want to keep pushing and keep getting better. What's that first shift going to be like with Matthew? Well, we'll see if we're playing together, but, uh, you know what, it's, whatever happens, I think it says a lot about our team that everybody can play with everybody and, and there's so much unreal talent. You have to have thought about it, though. Oh, yeah, for sure. For sure. Like, whatever it may be

game one, game 40, game 84 that to do that, I mean the Olympics is special, Four Nations is special but to do it, be with them every day for the whole season, it's still can't really wrap my head around it. You got your own golf cart yet? Not yet. Yet is the big word.

It's going to happen. Awesome. Thanks very much. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And we finish with two of the biggest names and two of the best players in the NHL,

Connor McDavid and Sydney Crosby. We will begin with the Oilers Captain, and as we mentioned earlier in the pod, wait till you hear Elliot's question at the end of our conversation with Crosby. That right there may have made his new contract worth it, that alone. McDavid and Crosby on 32 Thoughts the Podcast.

So, Connor, I know you by your own admission, not someone that does well with sitting around. So in a season where it ends at the end of April as opposed to the end of June the last couple of years, what did you do with the extra time? It's been a long summer, for sure. But it's been nice, nice to spend some time with some family, spend a little bit of time with friends

and kind of recharge the batteries. It's been nice. We saw photos, you had your whole team out there? Yeah, we had a bunch of guys at the cottage. It was a great weekend, really, really good. Who stood out? Who stood out? Those are the weekends we don't talk about.

Those are not for everyone, but it was a great weekend, as I said. We actually guys travel in too, which meant a lot. You know, it's not easy. There's only so many weekends in the summer. So for guys to travel in and spend some time together, it was great. I heard your summer skates were good too. Was there anybody who stood out to you, looked at and said, this guy, he's going to be ready this year.

Watch this guy. Yeah, you know, the guys at Gary's worked really hard, honestly. Traveled around to a couple of the gyms now and skate with a bunch of guys, but I keep going back to Rob's place just because those guys work, you know, so hard. Leo looks great, obviously. Hyes looks really, really good. You know, he had an opportunity to have a healthy summer, which he did in last year.

His wrist is doing a lot better, and he looks really, really good. good. What did you guys, what do you talk about when you're all together like coming off a different year last year, not dealing with, okay, how do we regroup ourselves after getting to the final and not getting the ultimate goal that you had set out for? What was the vibe like this summer compared to the previous two? Yeah, it felt a little bit more relaxed, I would say, in terms of not so just, you know, the last couple summers I I've just felt like busy, just like fitting in this event, fitting in this thing, still trying to train and get ready and get healthy and all those things. But, you know, this summer's been a lot, obviously, a lot more time, a little bit more of an opportunity

to relax at times. Not that I do that well, but, yeah, it's been nice. I'm ready to go, though. So it was pretty clear with the coaching change and everything, that there were things going on in Edmonton last year, that a lot of us didn't realize from the outside. When you look back now, three months, six months, what do you think things went a little bit sideways last year?

I think you're building, you know, take it back even further. We're building, we feel like we're a young team, building towards a goal and everything was exciting, and we knew how hard it was, and we didn't take anything for granted. You know, then we come a shot away from the ultimate goal. come a couple games away

than the following year, you almost take it for granted that you're this team that's just going to figure it out and be there. But that's not how it works at all. There's steps throughout the season that you have to take.

Starts right now. It starts in the summer with weekends like we had. You know, it's a process to build up to, you know, being ready to play when it matters most. and I felt like we took that for granted a little bit.

And it comes Mike Babcock, and you guys talked about you want to be pushed. You want to be pushed. How do you want to be pushed? I want to be coached. I do. There's areas of the game that I have figured out, and they come naturally and easy to me. And there's other areas of the game that I need some help with. and I need to be coached

and I need to be, we need to be organized. And I know Babs will do that. Babs will have our group organized. We're going to be the most prepared team in the NHL. I know that because I've seen them work already

in their preparation for the year. And it's an exciting time for us. It really is. Can I ask you where do you need to be coached? Well, obviously there's finer details and, you know, defensively and things like that. Offensively, too. You know, I feel like offensively there's a lot of,

these guys will just kind of figure it out. And when it dries up, you know, especially when it matters most, you need to have a system to kind of rely on and fall back on. And we'll have that. So that meeting with him, with Mike, and the leadership group, what was the hardest thing to hear? from his standpoint in terms of what he saw that was missing from your group?

I think both sides were hard on each other. We pressed him on some things and he pressed us on things. And it was pretty clear that he was content with his, where his life was at, where his, and he wanted to make sure that this is what we really wanted. And we wanted to make sure that he wanted to come back and work. and match the level of intensity that us players have. And obviously, both sides felt that it was a good match. One of the things I heard was that,

I don't know if it was you or someone else in the meeting, but that it was talked about that if someone says, hey, Mike, you've gotta dial it back on a guy. You're gonna have to listen to us. Did that come up? Listen, Babs is there to be, deep abs and to coach the way that he sees fit. We're also a team and teammates who care about each other.

And if there's an area for a place where we have to step in, of course we're gonna do that, but we would do that with any coach, it doesn't matter who it is. So yeah. And you've talked about everybody needing to have a role. And certainly that felt like that was sentiment coming out of when when the season ended so I guess further to that like

what is what does that look like when you feel like look around the room and everyone's got a piece of what's going on and I'm sure there's been times where you felt at least pretty close to that in that but certainly yeah we've we've had years and teams and even moments last year where you can tell that everybody's bought and everybody everybody feels a part of it but you know ultimately if if you're not to do much or you're not playing much. It's hard to feel a part of it.

So everybody needs to play. Everybody needs to be a part of it. We look at Carolina who just won. They rolled four lines, 60. They played two or three goalies throughout the playoffs. It took everybody. And that's what it takes to win. It's not just a couple of guys that drive a team to winning.

It's everybody. Last one for me is the league changed a lot this off season. Yep. I know you love hockey. I know you love to look and see what's going on. Can I ask you what you thought is you watched Carlson, Celebrini, McCar, all the stuff that happened?

What are you thinking? I was thinking that's a lot of money. That's a lot of money that they all signed for. And deservedly so. You know, it's been a long time coming for our leave to see some of those numbers. Good on those guys for pushing for that. You're slowly starting to see some player ownership in terms of things.

You know, seeing guys kind of dictate where they want to play, how much they want to make. It's been, that's all positive stuff as a player, you know. You know, I'm sure ownership and management and stuff have some different thoughts. But as a player, I think it's all great things. And yeah, the landscape's definitely changed. It's been fun to watch. Can I ask you, Connor? I mean, it's no secret.

We're starting to see a bit of a trend of US-born players. It's pretty prominent ones that had been playing in Canadian markets that are now elsewhere or requesting to be elsewhere. I mean, you're a proud Canadian. You spent your whole career in Edmonton. You're still trying to win a cup there. Do you have a thought or just your reaction of, as we've seen? Yeah. I don't know if it's Americans wanting to be.

to leave Canada or if it's simply just they don't see the opportunity to win on that specific team, you know, because, you know, we signed Ryan Chey, Trent Frederick signed a long extension in Eminton, you know, Americans still want to play in Canada, at least that's the sense that I get, but they want to play for teams where they see a future. And I don't know anyone's situation and opinions and how they feel about their specific team, but maybe that's it. I don't know. I hope it's not the Americans not wanting to be in Canada.

Canada and US has had a great relationship for years and years and years, and I hope that continues for a long time. And, yeah. Okay, last one I had. I mean, we see how driven, how wire you can be when the season gets going. And as you know, it's a long year. Are you still able to find joy over the course of these next eight months?

Like, we're more often than not, when your head hits the pillow, you're like, wow, that was a great day. Yeah. It's interesting that I get, that's my narrative. I am a happy guy. I live a great life. I have a great wife and a great family. And my life is absolutely great. I'm extremely grateful for how my life is.

And I feel incredibly grateful that I am so passionate about what I do because there's a lot of people in the world that don't get to live with that passion and what they do every day. And so I feel very lucky that I get to do what I do and live the life that I live. And I'm very happy to be doing that. That's a great answer. really good.

Thanks, Connor. All right, so, Sid, two years ago, we sat here, and going into the last year of your deal, then Elliot asked, will the next contract have an 8-7 in it? You were kind of like, well, let's see, and then it turned out to be the exact same thing.

So can we at least confirm that whenever the next contract comes, 8.7 will... I'll say the same thing. I have no idea, but if history... Yeah, if history's any proof of that, we'll see. But, yeah,

Pat and Kyle are talking and hopefully you get something done. So you've always said, I heard your quotes from this morning about you want to play a few more years. So my new working theory is you're playing in France in 2030. I haven't thought that far ahead. I've been honest with you. I think it's so hard, like there's no blueprint for how you're going to feel at this age. You know, you see a lot of guys that I came into the league with, you know, that, you know they're not playing anymore and it's it's really kind of a year to year thing as far as how

you feel and it's hard to project and I want to play for a number of years for sure but you don't know how you're going to feel a year from now to years from now I can go based on how I feel now and that's I feel pretty good you know for playing as long as I have I'm pretty happy with where my body's at so where did that change because a while ago you say kind of the thought of you playing into your 40s, you didn't foresee that. Yeah. Do you feel better now than you anticipated back then, or what changed? Yeah, I think it just seemed so far at the time, you know, and it's so hard.

Like, even in that situation, you know, you think about different injuries you've had. And, you know, I think you just don't want to get your hopes up too much. I think you just try to approach it, enjoy it, approach it the same way, you know, year by year. and, you know, I think I've been, you know, pretty happy with the way I felt and the way that that time frame was gone. So I probably couldn't have predicted that, you know, looking back. I probably wouldn't have expected it to go that way or to feel as good as I have, but that can change pretty quick when you get older. So, you know, I think you just, you know, you try to enjoy it and embrace it as much as you can, but also, yeah, I'm pretty happy the way it's gone.

I golfed last week in Ireland with a guy who turned out to be a very huge Sidney Crosby fan. And he said that he hopes that you play long enough to become the second NHLer ever to hit 2,000 points. You're 239 away. Could you see it? That's some work to do. I don't want to get there. It's three seasons. Yeah.

Three pretty good seasons. Yeah. I think it's three seasons. He was all seen you play. you're still at the top of your game. Yeah, that'd be nice. That'd be a nice number, but, yeah, I think that's, that feels so far away. It feels like when we were talking about it five years ago, you know, it does feel identical to that.

But that being said, I'm not going to shut the door on that possibility. Like, it's good to be motivated. It's good to have goals and milestones that you'd like to hit. But that's not necessarily the main motivation, I think, just, competing, playing at a high level, trying to win. Those are always the main goals and everything else kind of falls. Did last year the good year that Pittsburgh had, how much did that change? Like I've got to think the fact that Pittsburgh had a really good year, and I heard at the

beginning of the year, like, Dubus was like, everybody thinks we're going to stink and we're going to prove them wrong, and you guys make the playoffs. How much did that change your outlook in terms of how much you? wanted to play or how long you want it to play? I don't know if it changed my oh look. I think it just energizes you. You know, when you're winning games and you have young guys come in and you have different guys come in.

And, you know, as a team, kind of have that underdog role. I think you just, you get caught up in that. And it's fun to be a part of that. And I think, you know, we had a rookie head coach in his first year and he had something to prove and we had new guys the organization. at young players. Yeah, I think we just really came together pretty quick as a group, and it was really fun to be a part of that.

And even throughout the year with all the injuries we had, that late push that we made, different guys stepping up through that run. That was, yeah, that year was a lot of fun. So I think when you came into the league, obviously you were probably more mature than what your age suggested at the time. So I'm sure that helped you integrating into a locker room full of older people. Now you at age 39. How do you connect with today's player coming in

that would have grown up watching clips of you on YouTube? Yeah, that's a good question. I think not that much different. I think ultimately it's just connecting with people and everyone's got ways to do in that, I guess. There was one point I remember I started doing it like gaming a little bit. Really? Yeah.

Just because I didn't really know what was all about. and there was a few years back where we started game a little bit and that was pretty fun I was terrible when did you play yeah it was um PubG it was like kind of like um call of duty like something similar to that and uh I ended up I'd always be the first one out so I ended up just hanging out talking the whole time but uh but yeah I just like that was you know that was one thing that was pretty cool it just happened I didn't really think of it that way but I ended up turning into that

And then, you know, I think with younger guys, it's just talking, like, getting to know them. And that's the fun part. I mean, that's not, like, work or that's not something I have to go to my way necessarily to do. Like, I think that's just part of playing out of team, and it comes pretty natural. So I think about over the 21 years, the one move that you will continue to go to of, like, kind of four to five feet out from the crease, and it's almost like a chop deflection. And I cannot think of anyone prior to you coming to the end. NHL doing that and even since then in this whole coffee cat the clips that go on social that

everyone can watch and try to emulate I can't think of younger players that have put that into their game as effectively as you have how did you come up with that I don't know it wasn't really there wasn't anything I really went out of my way to to start doing I think the more I started playing around than had the power play um yeah I've got a pretty straight curve too so like I'm able to to have, you know, opportunities for those deflections. And, you know, it was more just basically trying to adjust to where I was playing, you know, down the goal line or near the net. And there were just opportunities there where I could create lanes for the puck

and not necessarily take a one-timer or a shot, but just get a piece of it and make that play. And Phil was always good at really finding that. And, you know, Hornie was in front all the time. So he created a lot of havoc there. And there was always a lot of openings because of that. So I think, you know, around that time is when I started to do it a little bit more. And, you know, Phil found me a ton there.

And then, you know, Tangers found me a ton, Carl. So it just tried to get on the same page. Right. Because I guess that presents the opportunity for defensemen wherever it's at the top where it's like, don't be afraid to shoot wide. I think it's, like, it almost expands the range of it. Yeah, it's like it's something that, you know, you try to find it. And then there's other times where, you know, do you just step? ups up and picks it off and feels bad.

Maybe they pass up a shot to do that, but I'll be ready for it every time. I like when they try it. Yeah. Okay, last one for me, this one could be a disaster. I'm not sure what someone told me is actually the truth. Do you have a lucky belt? Yeah. You do?

Yeah. This is true? Yeah. Tell me a- We don't really need to go more than this, but I'll confirm it. I've heard you've had a belt that you wear on game days for like 20 years. Is that true? Could be.

Yeah. Could be. Come on, you've got to give us one of that. I'm not, I mean, I'm not going there. I don't talk with the belt much, but yeah, I mean, that's not, you're on to something. You get every scoop hey on everything. You're finding out with my belt.

That's how it's unbelievable. I swear to God, I thought someone was setting me up to look bad. No, no. Really, eh? Is that the only clothing item that has stood the test of time? Yeah. Okay. I get it.

get a good belly. You don't want to move off. I mean, I just want to say, I'm impressed that someone could keep the same waist size for 20 years. I know I haven't been able to do that. I don't know how it's still going. I've fluctuated a little bit over that time. So, yeah. It's still hanging on it. Are we going to talk about your contract? Go ahead.

If you want to go there. If you want to. What's the latest there? We're not tweeting or anything here. I'm signed it's being announced for. Awesome. Yeah. Congrats.

Thank you. Yeah. 8.7 enough. I like it. I like it. Yeah. 3.2. Old strong.

Yeah. So a big thank you to Sid and to Connor and to Brady and to Quinn and everyone who was kind enough to lend their patience and their thoughtfulness and spending some time with us here at this player of media tour. The players that come out to this, they are asked to do a lot in a short period of time. certainly do appreciate the time that they marked for us here at 32 thoughts. That's going to do it for this episode. It is so great to be back.

It was a wonderful summer. But now we are right back into things with training camps being shortened, an 84-game regular season on the horizon, and opening night just 19 days away. So if you missed it earlier, if you weren't paying attention, frankly, I don't blame you. We will be back to our regularly scheduled programming of Monday and Friday drops starting next week.

So what's left of this week, enjoy it. We will be spending tonight in Winnipeg at the Gallup benefiting the Bruce and Anoke Memorial Foundation. The Oak family has already done some incredible things in Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba with the Bruce Oak Recovery Center that's been around for a few years now. And the An Oak Family Recovery Center that is still to come. We will include the link in our show notes here for today's episode if you wish to donate to the Bruce and An Oak Memorial Memorial. Foundation. Talk to you on Monday. It's great to be back.