32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Canada Can't Refuse Bedard

Episode Date: December 5, 2025

In this episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman start with the growing case for Connor Bedard to make Team Canada. The fellas delve into how Jon Cooper and Jared Bednar handled their respective goal calls (15:40). Kyle asks Elliotte about how aggressive the Stars will be after the Seguin injury (28:00). The fellas follow up the stick-talk after McDavid was using a CCM stick on Thursday (30:00). They talk about Joseph Woll leaving the game for the Leafs on Thursday (32:30). Elliotte checks in on Mason Marchment, Adam Fox, Owen Tippett, and Stephen Halliday (37:30). Elliotte talks about where the Canucks are at with Kiefer Sherwood (42:50). Kyle asks Elliotte about Ryan McDonagh following his extension (46:30). The Final Thought focuses on the arena in Milan after word spread about the unconventional rink dimensions (48:16). Kyle and Elliotte answer your emails and voicemails in the Thoughtline (58:54).Today we highlight nightlife by Divine Lightbody off of her newest record Split in Two. Check her out here.Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here.Check out Detour Coffee Rosters hereEmail 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

You know, Kyle, you might have to wear, like, a protective asbestos suit while you do your stand-ups. You got goggles on? Goggles on. And a hazmat suit? A hazmat outfit. Gold medals on the line. But I just don't think that the IOC is going to say, we're moving this. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, Friday edition, Dom, and.

Elliot, Kyle, back with you. Elliot, we'll have the thought line a little later on in the show, as we always do. You know I am more or less useless in that segment without the aid of the good people at SportsNet Stats, more often than not. Our game broadcasts don't get to the level they get to without the addition and the work of the statisticians that are up in the booth with our commentators. one of the best, one that have done it the longest, is Dave Moyer, wanted to shout him out because he is part of the 2026 class of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame induction, 37 Great Cups, 21 Stanley Cup finals, eight Olympic games, and so much in between. So Dave, congratulations, my man, well deserved. Also, one of our teammates, Cassie Campbell, Pascal, going into the AAHF Hall of Fame, and as you highlight, online earlier this week, Elliot, the Hockey Hall of Fame awaits Cassie as well.

Congrats to you, Cass. Great honors, both Cassie and Dave, congratulations. Both extremely well deserved. Everybody knows Cassie, and it's great to see Dave get the recognition, too, because oftentimes the people behind the camera don't get as much as they deserve for making us look as good as they do. There were a couple other people I wanted to recognize just at the start of today's podcast. Elias Pedersen from the Vancouver Canucks and his wife, Caitlin.

Caitlin announced on social media on Thursday that she'd suffered a miscarriage. And there's not a lot you can really say after that, but, you know, we just wanted to let them know that they shouldn't feel alone. There are many people out there who are hockey fans who are in the hockey world who understand, who've been there, recognize what they're going through, and maybe they're not all there right with them, but they have the Pedersen's backs, and they are supporting them without reservation. So we just want to send our best to Elias and Caitlin in a really, really tough time.

Well said, Elliot. Thank you for that. Okay, we've got a lot to get to here on this edition. 10 games on the ice on Thursday night, some interesting endings, some interesting things, some interesting calls to work our way through. Also, I know everyone's wondering what's going on with the ice over in Milan coming up in February. That's been a talking point again this week.

We'll get to that there. But we will start with a little more Olympic flavor. And we talked about it a little bit in Monday's pod, Elliot. But the growing case for some of those Team Canada bubble roster hopefuls, in particular, one Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks whose stock continues to soar each time he touches the ice. He opened the scoring Thursday night in Los Angeles.

He was incredible the other night in Vegas as well and has been brilliant all season long. So as you analyze things right now, we know the meetings are continuing to happen with the team Canada brass, running out of time before decisions have to be made. week starting Sunday three days of deliberations and we're already into December. New years is going to be here before you know it. What happened to you at the airport on your way

of Toronto this week? Someone who works at the airport who I've chatted with briefly already this year comes up to me on Wednesday and says, is Baderd going to be on the Olympic team? That's what he wanted to know. And with such energy and enthusiasm, it's, it's a fascinating discussion where in October Elliott, even after a great first couple of weeks for him, you're going, okay, still a long shot, still a long shot. Maybe it still is considered a long shot. But as we've kind of discussed, and I looked at the idea of like a Matthew Schaefer

being Kale McCar insurance, I know B.XA first brought that up with Evan Bouchard. I mean, I'm liking more and more of the idea of him in that. similar role with the forward group. How are you feeling about it all? So this is starting to take a familiar feel to me because I agree with you. When it comes to Team Canada's roster, like a couple of weeks ago, it was Celebrini, but now it's almost like people think Celebrini is going to be on the team. So they're wondering about Bedard.

And Bedard at this time, the other night against Vegas, he scores the one incredible goal, as you mentioned. And then in the shootout, he scores another even more incredible goal. And there are Canadians of a certain age who have shootout fear going back to 1998. So knowing that you have that, it's something. that is in your mind, right? Connor Bedard is becoming the people's choice. And it's exactly what you talked about. I get it too.

You know, every interview I do on my circuit of interviews, people ask in the public. We went out to dinner tonight, me and my son, and somebody asked me if I thought Bedard was going to make the Olympic team. And it's, it reminds me of P.K. Suban in 2000. 2014. P.K. Suban, it got to a point where Canadians wanted to see him on the team. Like, that was the guy everybody asked about. Is P.K. Suban going to make the Olympic team? Is P.K. Suban going to make the Olympic team? And people who were there, who were part of the deliberations, they told me that there were, it came up about how much the fans wanted to see Suban there.

Now, the thing I respect most about Steve Iserman is when it came down to making the choices for that roster, he chose country over club, right? You know, he's the guy who initially did not take Martin Saint-Louis. Eventually, San Luis became the injury replacement, and he went there and he played well. But that blew up his team. You know, San Luis didn't forget. And after the Olympics, he went back home and still asked for his trade and got his trade. So, you know, Eizerman wasn't going to make a decision purely based on how the fans felt. Suban made the team, won a gold medal, but it was there.

I was told by several people it was there. And I see a common thread between the push, the public push for Suban, whatever it is, he had it in 2014 and what we're seeing with Badar. right now. Whatever it is, Badard's got it right now. And the way I look at it is, and we talked about this on Monday's pod, there is a group of players. Baddard, Salabrini, Bo Horvatt, Wyatt Johnston, Mark Shifley, Nick Suzuki, Tom Wilson. And those seven players are in it for two, maybe three spots and that is a brutal brutal choice like Wilson is red hot now too the the capitals are really going and Wilson's really started scoring he's closing in on 20

goals and this whole story and we'll get to it a bit later about the arena seems to have only boosted Wilson's candidacy but I I look at it now and the more Bidar does the more people want to see him there. And I think we all know what the reservation is. Can he defend? When you look at the way that these players played in the four nations, everybody was a two-way demon. And I think that's the question.

They're going to be, when they get together on Sunday, and for a couple of days, I guarantee that that's the question that's going to be. asked is can he defend at a four nations level. But all the credit in the world to him for knocking, like he didn't just knock down the door. He kicked it down like Mr. T in his prime. He just took that door and he destroyed it. And the kid deserves a ton of credit because the public wants to see him. They want to see that in the Olympics. because he's been can't miss all year like there's a hawks game on don't risk not watch him because you're going to potentially go without seeing something incredible courtesy of of 98 like that's been that's been the story so far this year with him and the team of course has been entertaining to watch as well i mean you go back to sue and they put the a on him and he only got even better it's almost like you can't even whatever he did and there was a lot of great the first two years in the league like you can't even

make that part of the he's what he is coming out of the gate this year is like a completely I was a completely different but it's a different player there's the great talent it's not only a different player Kyle it's a different vibe different

attitude no no I'm talking about towards him too like there were there were people saying is he really all that is he really a generational guy does he have the speed really to be he was not exactly and nobody's talking about that anymore like there's nobody in the league this year that and people thought he was good the question was was he great there's nobody who was elevated himself more in the eyes of his peers this year than than Connor Bedard and second place isn't even close yeah quietly having Andre Burakoski there I think has done wonderful

for his game in Chicago but some of the stuff when he gets a little bit of room I mean that's all just an all-world player doing things that not many others on this planet can do. You can go back to Suban in 2014 Elliot like there was

he was coming off winning a Norris trophy the year before. There was momentum in that. I think he was third among defensemen and scoring when they announced the roster the Dard is right there now amongst all players in the league third. as we record this late on Thursday night.

And I think, like, the Suban won. He played one game. I think Babcock played him around 11 minutes. Well, they had a really good veteran defense there. Right. That was a, you look at that blue line. And the other thing, too, you got to remember about that team is that's the best defensive hockey team I've ever seen, ever.

Like, that tournament, they weren't, they didn't win it in dramatic fashion, like 1972 or 1987, they weren't as, I would say, electric as the 2002 team turned out to be and the 2010 team turned out to be. That was the most clinical, detail-oriented. Like, they turned that tournament into like a bore. Their most exciting game was Latvia because Gudleski's almost single-handedly beat them. Right? That was, they were so, like that semifinal, they beat the U.S. 1 to nothing.

I remember leaving that building that night, Kyle, thinking they could have played for three days and the Americans weren't going to score against them. They were just so, so that blue line and Suban deserves a ton of credit for making it. But when you look at that blue line, like that blue line was lockdown central. Petrangelo's going to the Hall of Fame Weber's going to in the Hall of Fame Kees in the Hall of Fame and look at the secondary guys that they had like they were you know

Dowdy's going to be in the Hall of Fame someday there's four Hall of Famers of the six on the blue line and the other two were Beaumister and Vlasic who at the time were at the top of their field like it was a really hard blue line to make yeah I mean

I would argue this is a pretty hard forward group to make this time around, too. But if you go back, like, 2014 was one thing because of how sound they were defensively. But O2, you brought up 2010. What was the story around Canada early in those tournaments? They lost early. They lost early. Could they score enough, right? Eventually the breakthroughs came when it mattered, right?

There was the goal against Finland in O2. They get the layup Belarus in the semis. in 2010 it was Russia in the quarters the offense exploded and suddenly you felt better about things again but I mean that's the guy that can help solve some offensive problems again even if I don't know I look at this group I look at this group with McDavid McKinnon Crosby like all those guys at the top I don't see them having trouble scoring but I understand the concern right I Totally. But because of as you continue to pound the drum of how the one thing four nations showed us was there was zero room out there, how committed everyone is to checking. Now, I know Canada isn't necessarily in a group of death to begin their Olympic schedule. But you can never have too many options, I think. I don't disagree. Anyway, he is the people's choice. I like it. They want them there. He is the people's choice. He is the people. people's choice.

Very good. So Bedard ain't going away. In fact, he's only making the conversation louder. There was a lot of noise on Thursday night with regards to some of the games were on tap. I mean, where do you want to start here? There was the Kutrov tying goal in Tampa that was called back, the league-in-vis review, the hand-pass on Hagel.

There was the opening goal on Long Island that, Jared Bednar. Let's go there. So there's the contrasting. You've got the ex-lawyer and John Cooper who gave, as he often does, a very thorough, thorough answer about the goal that was called back in Tampa. Mostly, mostly. Yes. He chose his words carefully like any good lawyer would.

Okay. So let's look at the Cooper one first. Okay. The moment I saw it, so on our Sportsnet Plus at home, we got the Pittsburgh feed, and they saw the goal, and they were like 4-4, and then they realized, wait a sec, Tampa's challenging this, or this is going to be reviewed because it was under a minute left, so it was a league review. And then they first saw the replay, and it's so funny, it just shows. shows you how tribal this league is, right? All the Tampa fans are like, we're screwed, no way. We completely got hosed.

And the Pittsburgh broadcast right away is like, oh, that's no goal. Like, that's not going to count. Right away, they were like, oh, Pittsburgh caught a huge break. This is not going to be a goal. And they were certain it was not going to be a goal. And I'll tell you what, for the Tampa fans, I usually, write down goals that I, or plays that I remember that lead to rulings because I want to have them at my disposal if I'm ever on the air. You know, for example, if you've watched enough of us,

you know that I use that Cal McCar, non-off side goal against the Oilers from the 2022 Western Conference Final. That's when I show a lot on similar plays. But there's one I remember, and if lightning fans want to look at it, it's from GM. anywhere of 2024, Calgary, Toronto. There's a goal that Connor Zeri scores where the puck gets basically shot off of Blake Coleman's glove. He moves it, but he's not trying to direct the pass anywhere. Like he has like a, the puck is shot near him and he kind of has a natural reaction and it hits his glove. He certainly doesn't direct it.

He has no time to try to do anything. anything in terms of directed, but he does move his glove and it hits him. And it goes right to Michael Backland, and Backland passes to Zari, and Zari scores a couple seconds later. And that one did not count. And when that one, when I saw the replay from Pittsburgh and Tampa on Thursday night, the first thing I did was went back and look at that Zari Coleman, no goal. It was taken off the board.

And I said, if that one didn't count, this one is not going to count. So, I mean, I know everybody in Tampa's furious, but you try to look for precedent, and that's the one I always look at. I knew it wasn't going to count. Now, the thing that kind of made me laugh a bit was I was watching Cooper's post-game media conference. And John Cooper, we all know this. He is an elite coach, elite coach. He also was a lawyer, and when I saw this, he said, I knew that if he had chosen not to go into hockey coaching and would have stayed in law, he would have been an elite lawyer. Because he's talking about Rule 791, and 79.1 is the hand pass.

And it says, you know, in the opinion of the off-ice, on-ice officials, he has directed the puck to a teammate. And Cooper says there's no way he directed the puck to the teammate. He was trying to, you know, protect his face or whatever it was. Did Brandon Hagel direct that puck knowing exactly where it was going? No. Would you sit here today and say Brandon Hagel was maybe protecting his face from a puck hitting it or protecting some part of his body? If I threw this microphone at you right now, would you put your hand up to stop it?

Hell yeah, you would. All right? So there's a spirit of the rule. And I was like, whoa, that sounds really good. And then I go look at the rule. And it says, directed the puck to a teammate or has allowed his team to gain an advantage. And subsequently, possession of the control or control of the puck, possession and control of the puck is obtained by the player of the offending team. So while Cooper is not wrong, he kind of bent the rule book to his argument.

But I would just say, like, I knew right. almost right away, that goal wasn't going to count because I remembered that Zari-Backlin-Colman play. It's just, after I saw that one, I was like, just remember this. I have it written down on one of my notebooks and just remember this. And if the lightning fan would want to go watch it, you'll see it's not exactly the same, but there are similarities and that one didn't count. So I knew this one wasn't going to count. It sucks.

And I understand why you all hate it. it. It doesn't look great, but I don't want officials and on or off the ice making a judgment call in this situation. We have too many judgment calls as it is. Trust me when I say it's better that the rule says this and it's just black and white as opposed to, oh, we're deciding in game seven of a Stanley Cup final, did he do it on purpose or not? You do not want that. Agree or disagree. I agree. The only thing I didn't like when the league put out its ruling, they used the wordage. Hagel directed the puck to Jake Gensel with a hand pass. I go, well, a did he? Like, if they would have talked more, if they would have talked more of off his hand and it became an

advantage for the lightning, then you're going, okay, like, you don't love that that is the rule, but that is the rule. It's a little easier to stomach. But the fact that they used directed the puck I'm going, well, back to Cooper joint. Well, then I got to say that takes my whole Cooper argument like out the window because he's just looking at what they said. Oh, come on, NHL, you just ruined like two minutes of this podcast. That's two minutes of people's life that they're never going to have back. Finally, it wasn't our fault this time.

You know, I have to say that was a great hockey game. That Lightning Penguin game was fantastic. Did you see Crosby lose it on West Macaulay? After what the breaking stick over the back? After he broke a stick on J.J. Moser's back? That was what we, remember we talked about when they first played Pittsburgh and when they first played the Rangers and Sullivan was basically having the Rangers tackle Crosby away from the play because they said they won't call that. Like that's basically what happened. Moser was all over him and Sid lost his mind.

And, you know, I always kind of wonder after a game like that, when, you know, Crosby gets mad and, you know, I got no problem with it. I love seeing Crosby animated like that. When Pittsburgh gets the call at the end of the game, does he poke his head into the referees room and say, hey, can you tell those guys in Toronto, they made a great call? Yeah, we're good here, right, boys? Ah, right. All good. That was a wild game. That was absolutely a wild game

There were moments I thought Tampa was going to win that game 25 to 3 But Jari held and they got that big call at the end That was a great hockey game Now the Bednar one Dom you want to play the Bedner clip Hey listen I think goalie interference is a joke If it's not goalie interference I don't know what it is

You can't just shove the goalies pads out of the way and then, like, create a loose puck. I mean, but, I mean, I'm getting them all wrong when I'm looking at the challenges around the league, so, you know, I'm kind of having my mind. I'm not going to challenge unless it's obvious, but to me it was obvious. So Jared Bednar is not a lawyer as far as I know,

but I agree with him on this one. I could not, I was surprised that one counted. To me, the puck is under Blackwood. Under Blackwood. And I just don't think looking at that, you can justify saying, like, that puck came out of him on its own. Allenders were winning that game anyway. They were great, but that was not a goal. And what he says there at the end where he's going, I'm watching the goalie interferences around the league and I can't tell.

It feels like we've taken, like, remember GM meetings last year and they had gone over a bunch with the GM's, a bunch of examples. on that and in other different instances and it was pretty there weren't a lot that they were in disagreement on but Joey Kenwood pointed out that in November there were 12 reviews

for goal interference to come from a coach's challenge around the league only four were successful so these guys are dialing it back there's not a ton but also like the success rate feels down

And I mean, they're telling it back because they're, they're afraid to challenge. Yeah. That's what I mean. Like, it's almost like you've taken a step back to go on into a world of, well, we don't know anymore. So that part is concerning because you don't like the league to be in that space. I know there's always going to be disagreement when it comes to these things. But it felt like for a while there, we were kind of trending towards an area of a bit better understanding with this stuff. But as you said, like you kind of made the point early on in the season.

Like there was just some interesting buzz around review. It doesn't seem like it's gone anywhere. No. No. I, uh, I, I didn't think that should have been a goal. The other one tonight, I have to say, and everybody nailed it, including I want to shout out Steve Goldstein, the broadcaster in Florida. Yeah.

The overtime winner, the overtime winner between that the, the overtime winner for Nashville over the Panthers. and the net got knocked off and Stamco's blasted it through the net. And that's a goal. Like that is a goal. And to his credit, Steve, on the losing broadcast, because the Panthers lost the game, he immediately said that is a goal. They're going to look at it, but that's going to count.

Like that there's nothing to argue about here. That's a goal. And that one was, we've dealt enough with that one over the years that if it's shot directly, in on a net that's knocked off, it's a goal and that one should count. You know, I bet someone this week, Kyle, $100 that the Panthers were going to make the playoffs. Ooh. I would take that bet, too.

Well, I don't know if I'd take the bet, but at least I still think they're going to make it. But, boy, they're making a tougher on you. Yeah, probably. Probably. No, I don't roll in your tax back at Fridge. Give me a break. Oh, come on. Anyway, the Panthers are going to make me sweat this one out, I think, but I still think they make it.

Chuck's coming back. We don't know about Barkov. That, to me, is going to be the most interesting question is do the Panthers get into a situation where they say, we can't wait on Barkov's LTIR anymore? And we have to make a call. Right. Because actually, I meant to bring up to you with the unfortunate injury news with Sagan and Dallas. Yes.

How aggressive do they start to get now if they know. I think they were going to add anyway. And the one thing here is you have to establish like the process. And I think ultimately you will get into a situation where you will, you will have the option if you want to to declare them out. Unfortunately, that's just brutal. but you know as it was explained to me the other day you actually have to get like the medical diagnosis in writing saying that you can LTIR this player and he will be out a long time and then you can make the determination so there's there's a process you have to go through

like somebody was saying to me could they have just done it on Thursday if they wanted to and no like you have to get even though everybody unfortunately knew the injury was serious you have to get the documentation but you know the longer that you know florida is in a battle here do you start to take a look at it and say hey we might need to add help like the lowest of rhinen thing you know it's crazy but like it was it was like it was real so again that's another guy who's really important to your team what's your schedule with him. Like it sounds like Kachuk's not far away and I know some people are like wondering if he suddenly pops up on at the outdoor game but and he'll be obviously a huge boost when it happens but it's

it's it's not just him. It's it's more than him and um the longer you're in trouble the more can force you into make some decisions. Someone said to me this was a few months back but that was what Kachuk was targeting. The Winter Classic at Lone Depot Park in Miami for a return. We'll see. We'll see.

It would be very Kachuk. Look for the biggest stage, right? Yeah, especially because remember when we went to the Winter Classic last year in Chicago, and Bedard had that special edition stick made up with Sherwood? Yes.

Someone told me Just to keep an eye out for potentially something similar if the situation ever arose that Kachuk was back in that game, he, too, is a Sherwood guy. There could be something Floridae with his stick for that game if he was able to return. That would be awesome. I like that stuff. Yes. Been a lot of stick talk this week, eh? Is you having to see which, which was it CCM or Bauer that McDavid was using on Thursday?

No, it was CCM. It was CCM. Yeah, Patrick, four points. I have to say, Kyle, I was amazed at how much, you know, there are things that we say that will get me a few texts here and there. But there was a lot. And a good cross section, like there were players reaching out, there were executives reaching out, there were fans reaching out. Like there were a couple people who own equipment stores reaching out.

that was you know I'm really interested in that tools of the trade I don't know it as well as some other people do but to me it's like golf right like tiger changing his swing when he's at the peak of his powers or a player changing clubs um and you know I think there's people out there who kind of hinted to me that they think that players change a lot more than they let on and they just tape over it or put special covers over it so it doesn't violate their deal deals. But that was, that got a lot of response. And again, thanks to all the people who pointed out that when McDavid went for the third period, he went back to the CCM and scored. But I was amazed at how many people reached out about that. Yeah. It's a whole ecosystem of its own. And it feels like we're getting more and more like as younger players coming into the league. I think they're more open and discussing the different variations of the specs on their stick. So, fans, as you well know, Elliot, just devour all of that info.

They can't get enough. So it's really, really cool. Okay, a couple of the things from Thursday night in Toronto. Impressive finish to the road trip. We kind of talked on the radio earlier on Thursday, Elliot, that this game against Carolina could have been the most telling of where they were at, especially at the end of the trip. It's a Carolina team that can run up the shot volume against you.

They get the win. That's encouraging for the Leafs. What was not was Joseph Wall, unfortunately, a familiar scene, leaving the game after the second period with a lower body injury. And no surprise, Craig Barubei didn't have much to say on it afterwards, but all of it, alarm bells going off because of the history and was Stolars still on the shelf. You know what's wild about that, Kyle, is I think, you know, we talked about it on the show with Matt and Marquesi and Marquesi and Marcos. Mike Feudor about how sooner or later you're going to have to get Hill to be a game here, right? Because, you know, wool is just not built to play that much in a row. Now, he'd been playing fantastic and he'd been massive on the road trip.

It's amazing. When you think of how that trip started, nobody thought it was going to end like that. But it did, to their credit, with the vultures swirling around them, they pulled out four victories but wool was a huge part of that however a number of people were talking about including us that you can't ride him like this you can't ride him by it he's not built for that and then he doesn't come out for the third period you just don't want to see it because personally as much as the team thing personally he was building up momentum for himself and you know you can't help but be really impressed by what he was doing now Brubay was asked about Stollers and he said

isn't skating yet. And you could tell, like sometimes it's not what someone says. It's the look on their face or their eyes when they say it. And you could tell Barouba has been kind of frustrated by the changing timelines this year that he was like, I am not going here until we get the testing done. So you know they're flying home Thursday night. They play Saturday against Montreal. You know on Friday they're going to get their imaging done and they'll get an idea. But, you know, you can tell they're nervous. And they're nervous because it's an injury to a guy who's been incredible for them. And it's also, Kyle, an injury to a guy who's had a lot of injuries. And I think, you know, one of the things, you know, with Demko initially,

you know, it was reported two, three weeks. It's been longer. You know, we've been talking about Laurent Brasois. He's a guy who, and one of the things people are talking about with Demko is, is he compensating for some of the problems he has, and he's hurting other parts of his body. And with Brasois, that's exactly what people think happened. He had some injuries, and they thought he was compensating with other parts of his body.

So you always worry with goalies here, is that what happened? to them. So, I mean, you just hope that's not the case for him. He doesn't need that. He long rode back and he's been doing a great job, but you could tell they were concerned. And all of a sudden, you know, Toronto is is coming back to life. They're scratching and clawing and they're battling. Troy Stetcher is rode in on his white horse to save the season. And you've got a Saturday night game where you could have is your goalie combination, Dennis Hildeby, and Archer Acteimov. Like, it's wild.

Yeah, it is. Like it's, and again, it highlights why the wool Stolar's tandem was so good last year is because they could spell one another off. And when one got hurt, the other one held the fort. Now you don't have either of them. Yeah. But mentioned early on Thursday, like, He'll be though. It took until last Saturday in Pittsburgh to get the first win next to his name this season. He's really battled for them.

So if there's one thing to go, okay, maybe it's not totally disaster zone. If you're looking at it through the Toronto lens, he's been given them quality efforts there. So big game Saturday. Montreal coming to town after that huge win Wednesday over Winnipeg. Another great game this week. Really entertaining. So a great return match after. what they did to the Leafs in their building two Saturdays prior. Mason Marchment, Elliot. So let's go through a few situations here around the league. Okay, so there was a couple things I heard and checked out. You know, Mason Marchman, you know, Edmonton, after going through an embarrassing loss, last week against Dallas, which looked like it was rock bottom for them, has delivered a powerful performance of the.

their own 9 to 4 over Seattle on Thursday night. Mason Marchman did not play. He was hurt and didn't make the trip and there was hope he was going to play on Saturday. I'd started to hear a little bit about him. I got cold water thrown on that. Jaden Schwartz is hurt and is out for a while and, you know, they just simply can't afford to lose another left winger right now at this time. But so, like, this is, so they need them. And, you know, like I said, it had been around a bit, but I had cold water poured on that one. I've heard the Rangers are, you know, Adam Fox being out,

they're looking to see if there's something they can find for a power play quarterback. They got a big win over Ottawa on Thursday night. They only had one power play. They were 0 for 1 on it, hardly much of a sample size. But I do think they are looking. for somebody out there. And one of the names I've kind of heard thrown around was Eric Gustafson,

which would make some sense. He's in the American Hockey League, and they know him. He had 35 assists a few years ago in a season for the Rangers. So I don't think that there's anything done there by any stretch of the imagination, but I know they're looking around

to see if there's someone they can find while Fox is out. Owen Tippett has been in name around a lot. And I kind of looked into this one a little bit. And I think the flyers are trying to do everything they can to calm the noise around him. I think it's bothered him a little bit. I think he's definitely heard it. You know, I think the flyers are trying to say, look, like, this is not our doing. And I do think the Canucks asked about him. I don't think that's going to be happening. But I've heard that the flyers believe that,

there's another level they can get Tippett to and also too for like his contract you take a look at where contracts are going you're going to be okay with that contract and i think the flyers see that too i think they're trying to calm down the noise uh simply because this is not created by them sometimes names are out there because teams are looking to move guys this is not the case with tip it. So we'll see where that goes. You know, the other name, it's not as big a name, but I had a couple people tell me that this is a player that I think a couple teams are trying to see what's his ceiling and what could his role be like in the NHL. And that's Stephen Holiday from Ottawa. He's 23 years old. He just got called up. Didn't play much. They were chasing

the game. I think he only got seven minutes. on a Thursday night. But, you know, Holiday is a guy. He was drafted 104th in 2020. He went to Ohio State. He played a couple years there. Last year was his first pro year.

He turned pro at the end of the 23, 24 season, and he had nine points in seven playoff games for Belleville. Last year, he had 19 goals and 51 points. This year, he's got one goal in 18 of 16. in 17 games he's got one assist in five games for the senators and he's a big guy and like i've pretty good hands too good hands you've seen them more than me so i'll take your word for it um i just i've just heard that like you look at ottawa they're pretty set down the middle for a long time like they've got guys signed who can play center for quite a bit and i've just heard that um this is a guy

who will play more consistently in the NHL, I think people are trying to figure out and watch him and say, how high can he play? So that's an interesting one there too. For sure. And for Ottawa, like, do you think, are they big game hunting or is it too early? I said it. I think they're trying to throw cold water on it. You know what someone said to me, Kyle, they said,

And they, and this wasn't the senators, but, you know, they just said to me, the toughest thing with being, it's like when Craig McTavish came out a few years ago and said the Oilers are going to make bold moves. When you don't make bold moves or you can't make bold moves, you're just worried about, oh, they swung and missed or they can't do anything or you look bad or stuff like that. So I think the senators are happy not to have that designation put next to them. And, you know, there's Vancouver and I didn't listen to my own advice. I poured gasoline on the fire, which I am not supposed to do. And, you know, I just think that they still continue to look and they ask hi. You know, the Tippett news got out that they asked about Tippett. I don't think that that's the only team they've asked a similar player for or a good young player in exchange for what they'd been moving, what they could be moving.

And, you know, we'll see where it goes. It's not happening as quickly as maybe I thought, but it doesn't mean they're not still continuing their process. And, you know, the big challenge is I think that if you're looking at a guy like Sherwood, like he's really wearing it like you can see it he hasn't scored in seven games this isn't easy on a lot of on some guys um you know i think it's interesting i think even without permission teams are trying to figure out if i trade for sherwood and i want to keep him what does it look like and you know so that that affects your decision making too so that's that's what they're kind of going through and i thought the point you made too on radio, and this isn't pertaining particularly to one team or one player, but just that whole

idea if you're trading for somebody that's on an expiring deal that you may be looking at signing to an extension, the workflow, I guess, through all of that in terms of let's make a deal first before you can talk to my guy if you want to sign them to a new contract versus the other way around. The point you made there was an interesting one. Well, so if anybody wasn't listening to me on radio on Thursday, and shame on you if you weren't. I remember talking to Craig Conroy after they made the Noah Hannafin deal with Vegas. And Craig Conroy said after that, that it's probably not the process he would want to do again because they gave Vegas permission.

And even though they didn't sign the extension as part of the deal, it didn't take long for it to happen after. So you can basically look at this. and say, Vegas made that deal pretty much knowing what it would take to sign Hannafin in the ballpark and Hannafin's representatives, Pat Bresson, knowing what Vegas wanted to do. And when Vegas made that deal, I think people around, I remember people around it were kind of like, this is going to get done. Like, there will be an extension here and eventually it was.

And I remember Craig Conroy talked about it afterwards and he said that if he was in that situation again next time he would change it and he would make the trade he was happy with first and then say okay you want to talk to this player about an extension you do you have that you have that power you have that ability but this if you make an extension this is the deal we're agreeing to it's done and i i actually i had a gm call me after hearing that clip and he said that that's a lesson that i think a lot of us have learned that sometimes you think it's better oh yeah okay you make it you sign an extension with that team and then we'll work out a trade and you've actually lost power then the team can say hey we've got an extension here where else you're going to trade them to and so teams don't

like it that way now they reverse it they do it the other way all right well no need to worry about a signing trade here, but the Ryan McDonough three-year extension with Tampa coming in just over four million per guy who's well into his 30s here. I think he'll be 40 when the time this new extension comes to an end. But as you've talked about, a guy who's determined to play forever, still out with injury, but John Cooper's line on Thursday morning that if guys like McDonough can't get in the Hall of Fame, I'm not sure why they would have a Hall of Fame. I'm not starting a debate of is Ryan McDonough Hall of Famer, but it does just highlight the value of that kind of guy to an organization and a coaching staff and why they wanted him to stick around.

Cooper is in fine oratorial form these days. Oh, yes. Red Hot in the morning and post game. That's right. Not everybody can bring it twice a day. John Cooper can. We mentioned the last pod that we'd heard he was going to be re-signed. there that it was going to get done. I didn't think it was going to done this quickly. The other thing, too, is that this is proof that when people say we're going to punt contract discussions until the end of the year, we're not going to talk in season, you do not believe them. They are liars. And they will do it if they see reason to do it.

It's not the first time this has happened, and it won't be the last. But you're right. someone joked to me today that McDonough thinks he can play until he's 100. We'll see if he gives that a good run, but nobody was surprised. He wanted to be there. They wanted to keep him and, like we mentioned

the last pod, it was going to get done. I just didn't realize it was going to get done this quickly. All right. Well, let's get to the final thought then. And yes, back to the Olympic ice conversation. Elliot, at first it was the building itself and where things

were at in construction, there continues to be concerned, as you've highlighted, about what the ice quality is going to be like once everybody gets over there in February. But now the size has come into consideration and conversation, not as long as 200 feet that we are accustomed to in the National Hockey League. So what's going on? How did we get here? And how did seemingly the NHL and the NHLPA kind of be caught off guard by all of this? Kyle, in your question, you mentioned construction.

Let's tie this into real estate. In real estate, what are the three most important words? Location, location, location. In media, what are the three most important words? distribution distribution and the reason I mentioned this is because Doug Armstrong did an interview with the reporter I believe in Dallas a couple months ago where he laid this all out he said that the length of the ice was going to be a bit shorter than what we're used to in the NHL and it wasn't until Peter DeBoer went on with Real Kipper

and Bourne who have a big audit. audience, a loyal audience, and the distribution of Sportsnet to slap up the clip and throw it all over the internet, that people really realized it. But clearly Team Canada knew about it. They weren't the only team that knew about it for a couple of months. And, you know, I think that's the biggest feedback I'm getting is that there was a big miscommunication here. Because people knew about it. Doug Armstrong talked about this a couple months ago and he wasn't the only guy that knew. So somehow there was a gigantic miscommunication because people have known about this for a little while. And I think that also includes people in the league and the players association

because they visited the rank before. And they were aware of the dimensions. So it's just really strange how this all happened. You know, last month, there were NHL games in Sweden between the predators and the penguins, and they apparently, I'm told, had the same dimensions. And what they did was they cut the difference out of the neutral zones. They didn't make the offensive zones any smaller. They took the difference out of the neutral zones. And I'm expecting that's exactly what's going to happen this year at the Olympics. There's a theory going around as to why this happened. And it's basically that they've, when you take a look at the history of Olympic hockey rinks,

basically from every year from 1936 to 2006, which includes the... Olympics in Turin, which are just up the road for Milan, it was 60 meters by 30 meters, and that's the way it was built. In 2002, one of the exceptions was Ken Hitchcock said that Team Canada measured the ice, and while it wasn't NHL width as it was supposed to be, it was somewhere between their and international hockey width. So it was a bit wider, but it wasn't hugely wider. Generally, though, these rings stayed pretty consistent at 60 meters long. And the theory is that just people who were used to building a rink that was 60 meters long, which is just under 200 feet that we're used to in the NHL, they did it. And that's what happened here. Can't prove it. Nobody has

come right out and said that's 100% the case. But that's kind of the working theory that everybody's going under. Now, there's supposed to be a status update on Friday. There have been a lot of crazy rumors about what exactly is going on here from, I think we mentioned this two pods ago, that the roof was too low and they had to raise it and there were some issues with the bathrooms. We'll find out about all this, but we're expecting a status update on Friday. Now, the thing about the players, Kyle, you have to realize is I think a lot of the players are kind of like, it doesn't matter. It's for the Olympics. It's for a gold medal. You tell us where to play and we'll play it. If you tell them, they're going to play in a parking lot, North Battleford,

Saskatchewan, but there's going to be Olympic medals on the line. They'll make it work. Now, obviously, you want to be part of the Olympic experience, and I think that's what's going to happen here anyway. But the point I'm trying to make is, as long as this thing is kind of standing, the players are going to show up and make it work. That's what they do. Remember the first outdoor game, the one in Edmonton against the Canadians in 2003. It was freezing. The ice was cracking. The players got together. Like the NHLPA, the Bob Goodenow was like, we don't have to play on this and we probably shouldn't play on this. But the players are like, no, this is too important.

We're making an agreement. We're doing a no-hitter. Nobody hit the other guy, but we're making this work. That's what players do. They make this work. Now, do I think that some people in the NHL might have said, what do we do if this doesn't work? Let's put together a plan B.

Let's have a backup. Yeah, I think they probably have because that's what they should do. If I was in their shoes, I'd be sitting there saying, where else can we go? But there's a problem with this. And the problem is the fact that only the IOC can move the games. The NHL and the NHLPA can say, you know what, we're not sending our players. We don't like this rank. It's not built properly. We don't think it's safe. We're not sending our players. They have that right. But what they don't have the right to do is say we're moving the tournament. Only the IOC can do that.

and they are adamant that this is going to happen. They're the only ones who could say, we're going to Sweden, or we're going to Sweden, or we're going to Turin up the road, like Eric Engel suggested. That's their call, and they are saying, no, this is going to happen. So people say to me, there's no plan B, there's no plan B. Do I think some individuals may have called or tried to put together an idea? Absolutely. But it's the IOC's call.

I understand the NHL's concern. It's injuries. And I do think that once we get there, and I do think we're going to get there, the biggest concern is going to be the quality of ice. That's what I think, and I've heard this for a few weeks now, that you can talk about the dimensions, you can talk about the roof, you can talk about whatever you want. What they really care about the most is what the ice is going to be like.

So, you know, who knows how this is all going to work? You know, Kyle, you might have to wear. like a protective asbestos suit while you do your stand-ups. You got goggles on? Goggles on. And a hazmat suit? A hazmat outfit. Gold medals on the line.

But I just don't think that the IOC is going to say we're moving this. And I can see why. Because, I mean, talk about a massive embarrassment and indictment on the whole thing if you're going, you can't even have the ice hockey tournament in your host city. And probably it's keeping the feet to the fire of the local organizing committee to go, we're not letting you guys out the hook, like get this bloody thing finished. All of that makes total sense from their perspective of going, this is our only option and it's going to get done.

And the injury thing, too, naturally there's concern because there's precedent, right? Like whether it was Hashek with Ottawa, Tavares. In 2014, it happens. But we had that whole debate last year on the four nations of the benefits of doing it when they did on the calendar, but also the risk that comes with doing it at that time in the calendar. And the Olympics and participating in that is no different. But as you say, players are going to go compete for gold. So they're only wired one way once they get over there.

Unfortunately, you just got to deal with the consequences if – If something like that comes, you hope it doesn't. I think we're going. I think we're going to Italy. And I get people now sending me DM saying, I bought tickets to the Olympic hockey tournament. Am I going to get to go? And it's, what's that great movie?

Come hell or high water? We're going. Come hell or high roofs. We're going. We're going. I was a little too young to appreciate the Chicago stadiums, the odds, the Boston Gardens of the world. So with these ring dimensions, maybe a little wink at the past. And how the game used to be played with branches, as Mike Feudu would say, instead of sticks.

Branches. Okay, that was the final thought. Why don't we take our first break? And we'll come back with the thought line. 32 Thoughts, the podcast, continues after this. since coming aboard this program, was, when it comes to trying to get rid of a raccoon, having to take them enough of a distance away from your home so that they don't find their way back. And with the issues you've been having, I'm wondering if you packed up one of the raccoons and drove them as far as Ashland, Virginia, by chance. I got a lot of those this week. People are still sending me. There's two things people are still sending me.

Number one, the raccoons and the drunk one, especially the drunk one. I got sent that about no joke 25 times. But as you ripped me at the beginning of last pot about the Vikings being shut out last weekend, I got more Vikings memes this week and every one of them makes me laugh. You all have to understand something, though. I was born in 1970. The Vikings have lost four Super Bowls. They are like the Bills.

They are 0. and 4. Now, I'm not old enough to remember all of them. The one I really remember was when they lost to the Raiders, 32-14, when Ken Stabler was quarterbacking. I think that was 1977. So you can keep sending me those, but I am unshakable. I have felt the heartbreak. I have felt the pain.

Nobody loses more painfully than the Vikings. You cannot break my will. You cannot break my spirit. Oh, you're just numb. You are numb now. I am numb. A poor numb soul. I have, I have no feelings, but I did laugh.

You would think that like the second time or the third time I saw that drunk raccoon and I would stop laughing at it? No, every time I saw it, I was laughing at it. The photos are incredible. It's incredible. It's really is. They don't look real. We hope he's all right. But it's just amazing.

Right around the time you raise this issue, now the stories come out that there be becoming more domesticated. We've got the ransacking liquor stores in Virginia. It's crazy. Somebody sent me a photo from a home sense of a painting of a raccoon tending goal for the maple leaves. It's gone crazy, crazy, crazy. They are taken over. Okay, thoughts on the thought line.

So Wednesday night, by the way, I went out for dinner at a restaurant, a pretty new restaurant in Toronto called Samarko. And it's fantastic. It's, the food was excellent. And on the way home, I stopped to pick up some salt. We ran out of salt because I want to, there was a bit of snowfall and I wanted to put some salt down. So it's not too icy on the driveway and the stairs. And as I back into the driveway, I pull out the salt. I'm about to start salting everything.

And I see. And it was a fresh, it wasn't a lot of snow, it was a tiny bit of snow, but there were fresh, but there were fresh. Prince. And I was, I was thinking, like, where is it? Because I've got to open up my garage to put the salt in after I'm done. The last thing you want is the raccoon running into the garage. But generally, I think when you're out there, they stay away from you. You know, the old saying, they're more scared of you than you are of them, which I'm not really sure is true anymore. It feels like it's changing. It's definitely changing. But I knew there was one around. And, uh, It's wild. It's wild. I have to say, Kyle, it's absolutely wild. Oh, boy. Okay. Thoughts on thought line? Anything before we get to? Yeah, a couple things just want to mention. One of the things that happened was on Monday night. We had a Christmas slash holiday party for Sportsnet. And Griffin was there. And I had a chance to say hello. So I wanted to shout out Griffin. Thanks for coming over and saying hello. And it was good to meet the face that does such a great job with our curating our things. thought line. I actually did have written down. Thank everybody for the drunk raccoon videos and the latest Vikings videos, so we already did that. I wanted to thank all the people who sent us their Spotify list that had 32 thoughts, either whether it was number one or in your top five or whatever, there were a number of you sent them. And I tried to send notes. If I missed anyone,

I apologize, but thank you very much. And I particularly wanted to shout out one of our Sportsnet producers, Matt Marstrom, who's in the top percentage of listeners. His top two podcasts were ours and Nick and Justin's. So he's someone I wanted to showdown in particular. Now, I did get a couple of notes that I wanted to read. First of all, one of them via Instagram from an Adam Unruh. Elliot, I am having a great time listening to 32 thoughts this a.m. Thank you, Adam. And as a lifetime Penguins fan, I feel I need to comment on the Crosby statue dialogue.

I'd love to see him and Gino share a statue. But if it had to be on its own, it's him on one knee. No doubt. It is his signature. Think of the countless redirect goals in tight he scores on one knee. his overtime game winner against Tampa in the 2016 Eastern Conference final. All his one-timers, they're on one knee. In Pittsburgh, we have a saying for opposing goaltenders, one knee, zero chance. Love the pod. Thanks for your great work. Great call.

Thanks for the note, Adam. That is a great note. Also, I should say there were a number of Penguins fans who reached out and said, If you're going to do a multiple person statue, LaTang should be there with Crosby and Malkin. So, you know, they're going to have lots of options here. Thanks for the no, Adam. And finally, I would like to shout out the frequent podcast listener,

somebody I am in communication with periodically, who said, Elliot, you must have graduated from MSU, make bleep up. It's always nice to hear from fans, eh? It sure is. It sure is. Oh, boy. Yeah, we got a little bit of that this week a few times.

That's, that is good. All right, that's a good way to wrap up. Before we get to the bulk of it here, okay, this one I wanted to lead off with Alex from Victoria via Powell River. Hello, Kyle and company. I'm a former. goaltender. That is Vancouver Island bias right there. That is Vancouver Island bias. I'm a former goaltender from Powell River who can shed some light on the evolving story of goalies with modified chess protectors.

Remember this conversation a few weeks ago. I have confirmed with several sources that there were indeed pucks taped inside the shoulder floaters of one goaltender, which were uncovered that fateful day while playing against Kyle's Taiz. It is also true that the other goaltender on that very same team concealed components of a disassembled life jacket underneath his chest protector in such a way that it would not be found like his goalie partner. I can assure you this is not the norm for Powell River goalies. And I personally always wore equipment that was unmodified and appropriately sized.

On an unrelated note, you can find all your hunting and fishing needs, including a vast selection of PFDs from Mustang Survival at Powell River outdoors on Marine Avenue. P.S. Kyle never scored on me, so I must be at least as good as Thatcher Demco. I'm waiting on HALs, GM's calls.

Better than Thatcher Demco. We can put that one to bed finally. My memory wasn't escaping me. I knew Vancouver Island was full of cheaters. I knew it. Powell River's a sunshine coast. So let's, don't rope them in with the rest of us. But I appreciate Alex for his honesty.

You got to take a ferry to get over there from the island. I have to say this. When Kyle shows up in Powell River, I want to see pictures of the citizens there putting on the foil to greet his arrival. I'll just, I'll be, I'll be refused entrance. No, no, no, let them in. I just want to see the aftermath. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It won't be good. Anyway, thanks for that, Alex. That was fun. That was good, Alex. Good stuff, man. And good luck with your store. Nate from Chicago. Hello, Dom and NFC North runner-ups.

Oh, boy. Nate from Chicago, go bears. And I have a question about the double retention trades following up from the double retention question from Monday. Can teams put in place a condition in the original trade that a player will be traded to a specific team after 75 days? Or can that third team who is supposed to just eat the salary keep the player? I'm sure it would burn some bridges between GMs, but you play to win the game.

For example, if the Oilers and Blues are working out a trade to send Bennington to a third team so the Oilers would be able to double retention as cap hit in 75 days, but then Bennington goes on a heater. Can the third team just keep them leaving the Oilers short on their plan to make a change in goal? That's a great question. The one thing I love about the thought line is you can tell us a lot of people here who play fantasy sports and they just come up with things that happen in their own league and extrapolated into the NHL or they just come up with these wild theories.

Nate, I think the best way for me to answer this question is to say this. I don't think you could ever have anything in writing. I think the league would hammer people if, because they would consider it. One of the reasons they changed the rule was they considered a cap circumvention, right? Now, I hate that they did this. I disagree that they did this, but I know why they did it. I asked them, I said, why was this so important to you? we consider a cap circumvention.

So anything that the league can find in writing that they would consider cap circumvention, they would frown upon it in the frowniest way possible. All of that said, if a team kind of nudge, nudge, wink, wink did it? Yeah, you could definitely do it. But what that means is in your situation, if the second team, the team that holds them for the 75 days, changes their mind, I don't think you could do anything to really punish them. Now, the one GM may say, I'll never do business with you and hate them eternally, but I don't think there's anything you could do about it.

Where I wanted to say, I think this is interesting, was we've seen a couple of occasions in recent years where teams have said have made a trade with another club, and they've been wary that that player was going to be flipped. and said, I don't want you to flip them. And in both cases, well, at least one case I know for sure. The second one, which Kyle came up on Thursday when we were on radio, I'm not sure if they knew that the flip was going to happen. But one was Ottawa traded Mike Hoffman to San Jose,

and they suspected that San Jose was going to send him somewhere in the Eastern Conference. And they said, you can't do that. And Doug Wilson was the GM of the Sharks at the time. And he said, once you trade him to me, you have no right to dictate to me what I will do with this player. And what did San Jose do? They traded him to Florida. So, and there was another case. And as I mentioned, Kyle, Mike Feudor brought it up on Thursday on the show with Matt Marquesi,

where Martin Jones was traded from L.A. to Boston in a deal for Milan Luch. and then he ended up in San Jose, Boston flipped him there. So the one thing I can tell you is that if a team says, hey, we're trading you this guy, don't trade them either our conference or do our rival of ours. A team can say, hey, once you make the deal, it's our decision and you can't tell us what to do. Jerry Jones wouldn't stand for that. He puts in the, right? That's right.

That's right. with Michael Parsons, you put that in. Ultimately, you can agree to whatever you want to agree to. But if you say no, the answer is no. Okay. Cody from Saskatoon, Hello, Mr. Hairdo, Hair Don't, and Hair Dom. That's not bad. That's pretty good.

That's not bad. I would say this, my hair is not the only don't that's been associated with me over the years. After watching the Oilers, Shutout win on Saturday, I stumbled upon the fact that Connor McDavid has recently entered the top 50 in terms of career assists. I was comparing his games played against everyone else in the top 50 and noticed only two other players also had less than 1,000 games played. Can you name them? Also, you seem to have scared away anonymous since you seemed so sure it is BXA behind it all. Keep up the great work.

Thanks for the pod every week. Well, first of all, BXA will be back. he just needs inspiration. He gets, if you've seen him work on television, you know he gets inspired once about every seven months. So every time he shows up, the clock resets. So we're

not asking about guys who got to a thousand faster, because my guesses to there would be Wayne Gretzky and Ron Francis. That's not what we're asking here. Correct. So not necessarily a thousand career assists, but top 50 all time and assists with

less than a thousand games played. Well, one of them is obvious, and that's Mario Lemieux, because he got to something like 920 games, right? He didn't make 1,000? Yeah, 915. Okay, so Mary Lemieux is the obvious one. Oh, second one. Okay, just think of a hint because I might have to ask for one here in a couple minutes. I love these trivia questions. Um, you know, like a guy who popped into my head, but there's no way he got to a thousand assists he burst on the scene with a lot of assists was joey juno but there's no way he got to a thousand um no and of course again it's just top 50 right yeah because coffee got played well over a thousand games he played a ton at time all right

oates well over a thousand games marcel dion well over a thousand games i'm trying to think of a guys have got a lot of cis. All right, give me a hint. Prolific score of the 80s, not named Gretzky. Oh, Peter Stasney? Yes. That's a great trivia question. You know, the reason is, and I'll say this,

teams like the Nordigues get shortchanged in these records, because whenever I start trying to think of guys I miss, I go through the standings, right? Okay, am I missing someone in the Atlanta? Am I missing someone in the Pacific? And, you know, you may not realize this, Kyle, but Quebec is not in the league anymore. So.

But the jerseys. I know. Sometimes. And that's controversial, by the way. I know. That's a controversy. And sometimes when I think of Colorado, I forget to think of Quebec. But that was a good hint because, of course, the number two score in the 80s was Peter Stasney.

And Stasney started late because at that time, well now everyone knows he's Slovakia but at that time the former Czechoslovakia those players were still behind the Iron Curtain but I didn't remember that he didn't get to a thousand he must have just missed it too but what a great player like just a great player Peter Stassie yeah missed it by 23 97 yeah wow okay yeah that's a good trivia question Cody nice stuff I like that okay Pete from Pennsylvania dear Griffin and Dom Great work carrying Kyle and the other guy

No wonder this one made the short list It's seriously, it was guaranteed People are starting to figure this out You know, you want to make sure it gets to Kyle Just rip us I like that stuff, man That's what life is supposed to be all about Rip your friends

I like that Yeah, because we love Yeah question about that Bedard penalty from last week. Say the rear official saw the slash and called for a penalty shot, but then the front official still called Bedard for the two minute on sportsmanlike. Would Bedard be allowed to take the penalty shot and then serve as minor, or would someone else have to take it? I know from the Penn's Flyers game earlier this year, the players given misconducts aren't eligible for the shootout, so I wasn't sure if penalty shots are different

rules. Just as an aside, I was always an Elliott defender on the thought line right-ins and had initially planned on giving him a nice salutation, but after his take on the Palmary play, he's dead to me. As a lifelong Flyers fan, I will not rest until the league and the NHL pundits singing Palmary's praise admit that it was too many men on the ice. Sincerely, raccoon activists and retired triangle player, Pete from Pennsylvania. Thank you, Pete. By the way, I'll tell you, too, couple funny things. Number one, the player I was referring to, like one of my favorite guys who I said had the awful take on the Paul Mary, he wrote to me, he goes, thanks for not outing me. It was pretty funny. And I wanted to shout out there was a Sharks fan. I can't find the

note. He said that we talked about the Hughes penalty and the Bedard penalty, and we should have also, he felt that we should have also ripped the celebrini call in that same San Jose Vancouver game. He was angry about that. that one. Just don't pile. You can't pile on. That's the, you know, it's enough. I think people got the point.

That's a good one, Kyle. Did you research this one? I don't know it off the top of my head. Yeah. So he can because it's a minor penalty. That's how it would have happened. He would have taken the penalty shot and then go serve the penalty. If it's a misconduct or like an ejection, then it's up to the captain to select somebody

else from that was on the ice when the penalty was called to take the penalty shot. But in that case, if he just. at a two-minute minor, he could still take the shot and then go to the box from that point. I don't ever recall seeing that. I don't remember ever seeing that, but this is what I would want to happen, okay? This could have been even better. Could you imagine a scene where he takes the penalty shot, he scores, and the four officials say, sorry, you can't celebrate with anybody, you have to go right to the penalty box.

that's right they all swarm them after the the pack goes in no they're lined up in front of the bench oh no no no I'm sorry Connor you can't celebrate you have to go over there so he goes he celebrates he's ecstatic

the building's going crazy oh no no no no you don't get to do the line down the bench the high five sorry Connor you committed the penalty you go to the penalty box that would have been awesome yes and then he goes to the box and he goes full dean portman and d3 the mighty ducks he just starts stripping his gear off and he's waving the jersey around in the penalty box the crowd's going nuts that would have been the appropriate response that could have been an unbelievable scene unbelievable

it was right there in front of you couldn't have written a play that good if only they had realized arthur miller either all right a couple more here conrad in oakland go sends he writes Hi, Kyle Dom and the mayor of Detroit. That's pretty good. Is that from Oakland, Michigan, or is that from Oakland, California? Good point. Honestly, I was today years old when I learned that there was in Oakland, Michigan. It doesn't specify here. Yes, but I suppose if he's including.

I'm curious about how a Sanders fan and maybe it's just making fun of the way I say Detroit, but I was thinking like Oakland County, Michigan. Yeah, I know. Yeah. All right, Connor. What's the question? Okay. Colorado, having a plus 50 goal differential, 30% of the way through the season seems crazy.

Last year's differential leader, Winnipeg, was plus 86 at the end of the season. If I'm not wrong, Boston's plus 128 in 2223, the year they won the President's trophy and set all those records, is the highest recorded going all the way back to 2002. and Colorado is on track to beat it. If they do, does Colorado have any shot of setting an NHL record? How far back do gold differential stats go? Well, Conrad, those stats go back as far as your little heart desires. They're not on pace to beat the record. That's got to be one of those Montreal or Boston teams, right?

From the 70s. The top five for Montreal, the other one's Boston well because and the only reason I know that before you read them the only reason I know that it was if you like take a look at the best individual plus minuses ever it's all like Bobby or Larry Robinson Gila point from those teams so I'm not surprised hit us okay sure you'd be shocked to hear the 76 77 Canadians yeah hold the record in this category a plus 216 goal differential So as great as Colorado's doing, they got some work to do if they want to hunt down the 76-77 Canadians.

The 70-71 Bruins are second at plus 192, and then it's three other additions of the Canadians, 176, 163, 149, the top five highest in NHL history. You know, you take a look at this team. I'm looking at the 76-77 Canadians, okay? and the plus minus. Larry Robinson plus 120. I think that's the NHL record. Gila Fleur plus 89. Steve Schott plus 89.

Sir Savard plus 79. Gila Point plus 70. Jacques Lamere plus 69. Then there's a bit of a drop. Bill Nairup plus 42. Imagine being plus 42 and you're seventh on the team. Rajan Oul plus 39. Pete Mahavich plus 13.

You know, the lowest plus minus on the team was, of the regulars, was Jimmy Roberts, who was a phenomenal two-way player. He played 45 games and was plus 22. Like, if he plays a full season, he's plus 40. The lowest among, like, the full-time guys is in the Hall of Fame. Yvonne Cornouillet, but that was late in his career. he was plus 25 and 60 games. The only guy who was even close was John Van Boxmere, another great defenseman.

He played only four games. He went to Buffalo and was a really popular player. But John Van Boxer played four games. He was plus one. Could you imagine if you were the only guy on the roster who was a minus? Oh, these numbers are unbelievable. Bob Ganey and Doug Jarvis, two great defensive players. They created a trophy after Ganey, the Selke, who were plus 31 and plus 30.

What were you two slackers doing out there that season? Supposed to be great defensive players. Yeah, yes, loaded up with D-Zone starts before that was ever a talking point. So Larry Robertson's 120, that's second all-time to Bobby Orr. Bobby Orsell is number one? Yes, 124, and that was the same thing. And the 70-71 Bruins were second on the list. That was from that season.

And that was the team Ken Dryden showed up and beat the 71 Bruins. Like they won the Stanley Cup in 70. They won the Stanley Cup in 72. And they were supposed to clobber Montreal in 71 in the first round. And that's the year that Ken Dryden showed up at the end of the season and beat them and won the Konsmite's trophy. Awesome. Okay, one final thing here, Elliot. This is Luke from Shediak River New Brunswick.

Hello, 32 thoughts. And Elliot. Luke, see you in a See you in a month. Yeah. 32 thoughts crew. Not anymore. That's good.

Yeah. Luke won't be seeing you. On a recent episode, you guys discussed the in-season cup, which got me thinking, would it be possible to include occasional updates moving forward? Something simple, like who's currently in the lead or which team holds the cup. The concept is intriguing, but like many listeners, I don't use X slash Twitter, and from what I can tell, that's the only place it is being tracked. Having updates directly on the pod would make it much easier to follow along.

Love the show. Keep up the great work, including Elliot. Bookends, bookends, the submission with the backhanded compliment. Just wanted to make sure it got in. Like, I'm not going to differentiate myself by not taking one shot at him. I'm going to go with two. Yes. We record the thought line early, so we have a game on Thursday night, and we'll update it in the last block.

I'm a little concerned about this one, because I have the Islanders who are the current champions, and guess who they have? The team we just spent a lot of time discussing, the plus 50 Colorado Avalanche. And who has them? Oh, you have them? It makes it even worse. and then, and Brock Nelson is going to have $10 million up on the board tonight because it's his return to Nassau Coliseum.

Yeah. Or as some call it UBS Arena nowadays, but. Oh, right. Oh, I completely forgot. Sorry, we're talking about the 70s. And I was thinking of the others. Oops. Oh, you redeemed yourself from the Butch Gory Miss last month.

So it all evens out. out on Long Island for Fridge. All right. So because we're doing this earlier in the day Thursday, we will update in the C block where things stand across all in-season cup activities to this point. Good luck, Friege. You don't mean it. I don't.

I really don't. Okay. That's another edition of the thought line. 1833-3-3-1-3-3-2-32 is the phone number to call to leave a voicemail or you can send an email. at 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.ca. One final break, and we'll wrap up the pod with an in-season cup update and our usual look ahead to the weekend after this.

All right, welcome back. Cup update. Elliot's. Yeah, you know what? There was a really nice moment, a really good game between Columbus and Detroit, and there was a really nice moment there late in it, where John Bucciagos showed in the stands, his son and his son and his partner and their child, so John's grandchild, and he mentioned it, it was his late, it would have been his late father's 93rd birthday. So we tied it into four generations of hockey fans, and I just wanted to shout it out. a really nice moment and I can't remember if it was in overtime or right before the shootout or late in the game or whenever it was, but it was a really good hockey game was a really

nice moment. I just wanted to recognize it. Hockey is very fortunate to have someone like Bucci be that much of a fan and champion of the game. So great, good catch there, Fridge. So okay, as fate would have it in this bloody game, the one time, the first opportunity, the Colorado Avalanche have to play for the in-season Cup. All they've done is win this year and they lose their second regulation game of the year to your New York

Islanders. So you are sitting pretty right now going into Saturday where the islanders would play Emily Agarts Tampa Bay Lightning, but you lead the way at 25 days total. Emily, who's put together a very good season at this point.

And she has a shot on Saturday. She's next up because she's got the lightning. Yeah, 17 days, I'm at 13, and Randy Janda, who last week finally got off the Schneide, got rid of the donut, and he's on the board with five. So everybody's got days, but you're once again pacing the group, just like you would have been, I think, around this time last year. Yeah, what good did that do me? By the way, you did a great job on Thursday. You paid your penance. You brought the coffee in, and it was a massive hit.

People were raving about you. You've given me a high bar to leap over. That was the goal. That was the goal to light a fire under you because, yes, you still got to serve your role as an associate producer on the fan pregame show as Alish. And Alish came up to me at the Christmas party on Monday night, and she let me have it. where are you how come you haven't done it i was like man i felt bad alish's poor husband when she gets mad at him he's in big trouble yeah uh so it was kind of mad and mike and mike gentilly to let me hang out and help out i don't know how much help i was uh for the show

on thursday the debt has been settled and yes wanted to shout out detour coffee elli Ryan, Sarah, and Abby from Detour came down, set up their on-the-go coffee road show, and we're cranking out dynamite cup after dynamite cup. Dom's going to include just a link to their site and the show notes. They got a wonderful holiday blend out right now, perfect for this time of year. They were phenomenal. And it was really great that their coffee was a hit, but I wasn't surprised because they do really good work. really good work. Yeah, you knocked out of the park, Kyle.

That was some of your best work. I really have to hand it to you. That's very nice, too, Elliot. Are you okay? That was really nice. I've got a fever. And the only thing that can cure it is more cowbell. Yeah, it tells you how late in the night we are getting this done.

Elliot's being nice to me. Okay, for age as you know, we got a busy Saturday this week. A bevy of early games as we get on the air at 630, Eastern 3.30. Pacific with Ron McLean and Company. We've got the All-Canadian Affair, Montreal, back in Toronto at 7 eastern, St. Louis in Ottawa, and Utah in Calgary from Calgary, but that's a 5 o'clock mountain start at the Scotia Bank Saddle Dome. And then two late games this weekend, another All-Canadian Affair, Winnipeg in Edmonton, David Amber, rejoice, and Minnesota in Vancouver. Jets Captain Adam Lowry is this week. week's guest on After Hours with Scott Oak.

Surely there will be some very topical questions being asked there, as there always is on After Hours, but given the season Winnipeg had and the week the Jets have had to have the captain on with Scott on After Hours, Will Be Must See TV, Elliot. Yes, it will. All right, taking us out today, a track from Divine Lightbody, who is an emerging R&B artist hailing from Toronto, who's mesmerizing vocals. and captivating stage presence have been turning heads

with a voice that blends soul, passion, and vulnerability. She's been making waves with her unique sound and heartfelt songwriting. Born and raised in a city known for its vibrant music scene, Divine was exposed to a rich tapestry of musical influences from an early age. She continues to draw on her jazz background alongside her knowledge of R&B, soul, reggae, and gospel music

to shape her fresh, soulful, and truly, divine sound her newest record split in two was just released in november and is available now on all streaming platforms in 32 thoughts the music playlist can be found on spotify that will now include this track nightlife by divine lightbody and savin on 32 thoughts the podcast got a do from the west side said he want to taste at the dark side said he want to ride through the night with the dime on his own and of the nightlife say you want to roll with a model say you want to shake your life vibrato said you want a good time showing what it feels like baby i'm going to leave you want it more want to more tonight it's you with me no baby don't you leave we're going to be

alright let me change your life see the stars come out and I Get a taste of the nightlife Get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music move him and grooving My hips don't lie when I base is moving Get a taste of the night life Get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music moving and groove him safe

Get a taste of the night life Everyone feeling tipsy You and all your fellows coming with me Say you wanna grow with the diamond and pearls Get a taste of the VIP So you wanna get well to me night, that you want to glance at the city lights.

You're at the right place, at the right time. Maybe that's the life that we're living every night. Tonight's you and me. No, baby, don't you leave? We're going to be all right. Let me change your life. See the stars from out of the night. You're going to get a taste, get a taste of the night.

Get a taste of the night. We're gonna get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music move him and grooving my hips don't lie when I base I'm moving Get a taste of the night life Get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music moving and groove him say He'll get a taste of the night life

Light it up and nine night Yeah Yeah As you can wait your whole night He gonna get a taste He gonna get a taste He gonna get a taste He gonna get a taste

Get a taste of the nightlife He don't get a taste of the nightlife He gonna get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music move him and grooving my hips Don't lie when I base him Get a taste of the night life Get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music move him and groove him say

He don't get a taste of the night life He don't get a taste of the night life He don't get a taste of the night life Get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music move him and groving My hips don't lie when that bass is moving Get a taste of the night life Get a taste of the good life

He don't get a taste of the good life He gonna let the music move him and groove him Say he don't get a taste of the night life