32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Couple Clubs Reach Their Tipping Point

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman talk about the struggling Buffalo Sabres and their 10-game winless skid. Elliotte throws out a wild trade idea between the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks (7:05). The fellas then shift focus to the Vancouver Canucks, their struggles on home ice, their lack of emotional investment, and what Jim Rutherford's plans are with the roster (12:11). They talk about the struggling New York Rangers who are "open for business" (26:00) and Elliotte highlights possible trade targets ahead of Friday's Christmas roster freeze (32:56). Kyle and Elliotte talk about Linus Ullmark who is thriving for Ottawa (38:00) and dive into the feisty Sharks-Utah HC tilt on Saturday (42:30). The Final Thought focuses on a crucial board meeting for the USHL as some of their member clubs look to leave (52:00).Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and respond to your voicemails in the Thought Line (54:44). In the final segment, Kyle and Elliotte focus on the Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Panthers and Oilers (1:12:58). Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis 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

Clearly, it looks like you spent a week and a half putting that together. Jacob, I appreciate the effort. I love it. I'm going to get Don to send it to me, and I am going to make that my ringtone. You still use ringtones. That's terrific. Well, no, I really don't, but I will for this. You'll make an exception.

I want that going off when I'm getting phone calls. Yes, that's right uh that's and uh well it's a good thing that kelly reminds everyone before the show that cell phones on silent you don't need that going off in the middle of the pregame oh no i'm going to leave it on welcome to 32 thoughts the podcast presented by the gmc sierra 84x shramadi vukoskis, Friedman, all with you. And Elliot, before we get started, you wanted to pass along some words of support.

Yes, if you saw the segment, the headlines on Saturday night, at the end we made sure to mention Robert Leonard. We'd just like to start the podcast by doing that again. I know there are a lot of people that are concerned for him. We're among them, the whole hockey world is, and just want to send our support and hope he's okay. Well said.

A lot to get to in this episode. We've got a jam-packed thought line as well. That'll be a little later on, but Elliot, why don't we start in Buffalo in the Sabres, where the winless skid is now 10 in a row. They blew a 3-1 lead against the Maple Leafs on Sunday, dropped that one 5-3. Lindy Ruff, after the game, tried to put the blame on him as much as he could, saying that he's at a loss for words.

And then he said, Elliot... I'm almost lost for words, obviously. It's on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I've been around. But it is on me to get these guys in the right solve I've been around but it is on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game and nobody else just me. Lindy Ruff he's fourth all-time in games coached he has coached over 1800 games in the NHL and he dropped that line on Sunday night so what is going on with the Sabres? Well, first of all, when it comes to that,

when you're the head coach, you try all things, right? Like last week in the game against the Rangers, he benched Owen Power and he benched JJ Paterka and he credited them for their effort after the benching, but he did it. You can't always do that. There are times you have to show your players you're with them and maybe sometimes you have to stand in front of the oncoming bus for them and that's what he's trying to do in this case he knows that the media is going to go in the room and ask the same questions he knows that his players are down you know what he tries to do in this particular case is put the spotlight on himself instead of them and he's also trying to tell them that even though he's the coach and they're the players,

he's in there with them. And you have to do that. It's important. The players have to feel that. So that's why he does that. I'm not surprised it's the tactic he's tried. So I think in Buffalo, there's a rumor going around that Terry Pagula the owner who was at the owners meetings in the NFL last week with the Buffalo Bills may be going to Montreal to meet the team

on Monday and that means to me one of two things either Kyle he's making changes or he's saying that this is the group and this is who we're going with. I don't, I mean, it's possible there's other options, but I wouldn't know what they are. So I think it's one or the other. And, you know, it's not often that an owner goes on the road either with the team or to meet the team. goes on the road either with the team or to meet the team. So, you know, obviously it's a big day and a big meeting for the Sabres. I think the other thing too is I've been around and long enough to know that in these organizations, when you sense that change is coming or you're waiting

for change to come, they can splinter apart people aren't rowing in the same direction people think about okay how do I help myself or save myself here and that's an awful thing to happen too you you have to be everybody has to be on the same page especially when times are bad and I just believe that that's another thing that Pagoula is probably going to deliver, that everybody is affected by what's happening, so there's no point in being selfish. But we'll see what comes out of this, but I'm under the impression he's going to Montreal. Okay, so that's a big one, Frege. As I'm looking at this here, I mean, you've talked about a guy like Dylan Cousins not too long ago

and it's interesting I was in Detroit over the weekend working the Red Wings Maple Leafs game and was talking to someone with the Detroit organization about the idea of when you're in that position for so many years as a group and you're trying to break through that mushy middle ceiling, how challenging that is to do, as Detroit's still figuring out, and certainly for a team like Buffalo, as of late, they've gone the opposite direction. And his point was, as frustrating as it can be in the moment,

that idea of patience, only because you've got so much committed to a good number of players that are in their mid to early 20s. And certainly you need to surround them with the right supporting cast that have been doing it a little bit longer. And you just don't know when it's all going to come together and you take off into a different stratosphere we've seen it happen in other markets around the nhl but the problem is for a team like buffalo i mean it's a different scenario because 2011 was a long time

and they've hit the restart button a couple of times to try to get it right and it still hasn't come to fruition so whether it's a guy like cousins who it's been a less than ideal start from individually as it has been for the issue if patience runs out, you decide to go in a different direction before it all does come together, and now you're seeing a player like Cousins elsewhere on a rocket ship towards the potential that you once envisioned in Buffalo, and that's going on somewhere else I suppose that's always the fear in these scenarios and as you say if in fact

Terry Pagoul is on his way to Montreal I guess we'll have a pretty good idea before too long of how they really feel of what the best next course of action is. All right. So Kyle, with all of that said, I want to stress, this is in my head. I sit down. I am a danger, Kyle, when I have too much time to think. And say we're teetering here is bad for me yes thinking is but i had some time on sunday to think and i was thinking about the sabers and i was thinking about rick tocket okay and what he had to say on saturday and then reiterated on sunday so I want to stress this is purely in my head. Who says no?

Cousins and Bowen for Patterson. Whoa. He's got his microphone muted, but I just heard Dom's head explode. 32 Thoughts, the podcast. We'll be looking for a new producer come Tuesday. Who says no? I could say Vancouver is saying no. Of the two teams, I would think that's the more likely

team to say no. I agree with you. Because they're trying to win a cup this year. And nothing against the other two guys that you mentioned in this hypothetical outlandish scenario. But they haven't been a part of and nothing against the other two guys that you mentioned in this hypothetical, outlandish scenario, but they haven't been a part of... Sorry. Well, Bo and Byron won a cup.

Bo and Byron won a cup. And Bo and Byron not only win a cup, but he won it in similar circumstances, right? what do you mean in the sense that if bowen byram would go to vancouver he would not be the number one d just like he was not in colorado yeah behind kel mccarr behind quinn hughes and you know the one thing about byram is i do think he wants an opportunity at some point to become the number one guy so that's a thing as he gets closer to unrestricted free agency but played almost six minutes on sunday what's that he played almost 26 minutes on sunday i know but but my point is, like, I don't know. Would Vancouver be worried about that in this hypothetical situation

that he would go to Vancouver and say, I don't know that I'd want to do this for long term because I've done this before. But if I was Vancouver and I saw how great Byron played in that run with McCarr there, I would say I'd love that guy right behind Quinn Hughes. Anyway, I think you're right. I think if that was proposed,

I think that Vancouver is more likely to say no than Buffalo. But, you know, one of the things that Adams has talked about, and we should mention Terry Pagula's loyalty to Kevin Adams because he trusts him. One of the things that Adams has talked about is making a move that doesn't make his team worse because he doesn't want to make the Sabres worse. And I know it sounds crazy because they've been going really poorly. I'm just talking about you look at the roster and say it's not starting over.

You can see how a deal makes them better. Pedersen to me, and again, Vancouver, I want to stress this is purely my brain. Pedersen to, makes them better. Dom, as our resident Vancouverite, what do you think about that? Elliot, you're a madman, but I have a theory when it comes to trades. What's your theory? If you are the one trading away the best player in the deal, you inherently lose that deal.

the best player in the deal, you inherently lose that deal. So I don't think the Canucks would be willing to make that deal with the Sabres. That's fair. You know what? Like I said, part of the reason I brought it up on the pod

is I wanted to hear what you guys have to say about it. But you listen to Rutherford and you know the Sabres are looking and you just fiddle around with some ideas in your head. It doesn't prove their defense in defense of your suggestion. Anyway, we'll see how this all turns out.

Bowen Byram and Dylan Cousins did play together in the B.C. Lower Mainland. I didn't realize that. For a period of time. I did not know that. I was more referring to seeing how it turns out with the meeting with Pagula. Way to set Vancouver on fire, Frej. It's not even my goal in this case.

We'll see how it turns out with Pagula and the Savers, but I just don't see any other path. It's either change or it's a commitment to who they've got in place all right well we might as well go to vancouver might as well go to vancouver who had a tough one on the weekend as well by the way you were bang on on saturday about careful poking the bear that is Brad Marchand early on there. And we pointed out last pod, it was a while ago, 2011 Stanley Cup final, but it didn't feel like that with the way that game started and how Canucks fans were trying to get on 63,

and he was welcoming every minute of it. Isn't that the greatest compliment that Marchand could receive? The greatest compliment? Absolutely. After all these years. Yes, they still hate him. And I think that's good. I think it's okay for the Vancouver fans to react that way.

Perfectly fine. And I think it's fantastic the way that Marchand reacted to it. This is entertainment, right? We're in the entertainment business. And that, for Marchand, was entertaining. I think this, too, like, the fans in Vancouver who booed him, like, it was almost what Boston needed. They got smoked in Winnipeg, like, just destroyed.

They got beaten in Seattleattle pretty badly that game got out of hand early and then you walk into vancouver and it's for marchand it's the seat of his greatest triumph and they're reeling and all of a sudden the boos start and you know what it was like it was like i bet you marchhan felt like Popeye after a can of spinach or Green Lantern after the power ring has charged up or Superman after he's exposing himself to the yellow sun, which gives him his powers. I bet it was like all that.

He probably heard the booze and he was like, now I'm in this. If there was any doubt I was in this one now I'm really in it like I would have I would have actually if I was the Canucks or I was like a big Canucks fan I would have been yelling at everybody around me to be quiet because you're just feeding him his power and you could tell he was just dying to do something good so he could make that reaction it was it was pro wrestling that's what that was it was it was pro wrestling it was it was fantastic but not so if you were rick tocket and you know i think for anyone in this podcast who didn't watch Rick Talkett play what he's talking about is his essence for those of us who also grew up at a certain vintage there's a pretty famous

fight and you can watch it on YouTube where the Maple Leafs are playing the Flyers in the 80s in Toronto and Wendell Clark runs over Mark Howe and Rick Tockett comes out of nowhere and it's just an incredible fight and you know Rick Tockett was a guy 87 Canada Cup some of the best hockey we ever saw, he was on that team. And not only was he on that team, but in game three of the best of three final, when Canada was down 3-0 early and came back to win, Taka scores a massive goal and plays a major role. And Taka was not on that team because he was the most skilled player. He was on that team because he was the most skilled player he was on that team because he was a hugely popular teammate like people really loved him and because he played hard and he played emotional all the time he never cheated the game he always brought

it so I think if you're if you're going to have Rick Talkett as your coach, you have to understand that that is the one thing he will not tolerate. He will not tolerate the lack of will, the lack of energy. That is the biggest, when he's saying this and he's doubling down on it, that's about as big a criticism as he can deliver to a team, Kyle. We have, let's face facts, four or five guys. They're struggling. They're struggling to get emotionally invested in the game, and that's my job to get these guys.

It's those certain guys. We've got to find another gear from them. They've got to understand that it's the NHL, and you can't play one good game and then two bad or whatever. This is a sport, the NHL, where you have to be jacked up to play the game. You have to be emotionally in the game. Sometimes the guys take like 30 minutes to get in the game for whatever reason. You guys aren't emotionally invested because when he played,

there was no chance he wasn't emotionally invested because when he played, there was no chance he wasn't emotionally invested. He just looks at a loss right now. Don't you think? As he said, like you've got to be wired to play in the national hockey league and you could see, and especially for him where they were not too long ago. And that sense of where is it all gone to a certain extent or for the group of players that he is referring to.

And then on top of that, you know, Jim Rutherford goes on after hours. He was actually pretty mild this time. Like last time he went on, he was furious. I was actually a bit disappointed. He had the governor on. He was not letting the golf cart go crazy. It was still entertaining, but it wasn't as bananas as last time, unfortunately, from a TV point of view.

Yes, but he did still have some interesting points in there. Like we need to add a couple of players to really give ourselves a chance to contend i mean is that where the wheels first started spinning for your outlandish who says no idea yeah that was one of them that that was one of them yeah i mean look they're gonna do something like rutherford and alvin they they like to be active. They like to do things. It's interesting, and I wrote it last week, and I'm really having, the Canucks aren't making it easy because on one hand, you hear Rutherford say, we've got to see what we've got here.

Like Demko just came back, and Miller just came back, and so you kind of want to see how your team looks. But they're also trying to figure out, they're trying to add, right? They've got to do both. They've kind of got to subtract and they've kind of add. You look at these call-ups and call-downs they're doing every day, and I realize a lot of it's for cap reasons, but I wonder if they think they, like you want to have depth,

but sometimes you can have too many players like if you've got 27 guys sometimes you've got guys around the margins who can be a little bit unhappy because they're going up and down or and you know you go from being on the NHL roster the AHL roster I've seen teams have told me about that, that sometimes you worry about that. Like you might just get some guys who get unhappy, and I just wonder if the Canucks are looking at that and saying, maybe we have one too many guys here.

Like obviously they're trying to move De'Arne, but that's also for cap reasons. So they're going to do something there's there's no question about that rutherford's telling everybody that and it's just we wait to see what they do or we figure it out but you know like i said about talk it what he said the other day that's about as big a shot as he can deliver. And, you know, I think the fact he waited almost 30 games to do it is him saying, all right, I've been patient enough. I've waited. I've given you guys the benefit of the doubt.

It's time to get going here. No more screwing around. He's hinted at it a few times in the past, but that was a different level on Saturday. Yes. And I think the other thing too is, is that the Canucks last year, that was the,

and every team goes through this. You go from the point where you're kind of in rebuilding or not taken seriously mode. And then you get good for the first time. Everybody's like, okay, okay okay is this for real and they had it and they beat Nashville in a really tough series like they earned that win and they stretched the Oilers to seven games and they really made that series tough

and now you know what everybody's looking at you and saying okay they're for real we have to take them more seriously last year they weren't always getting everybody's best game because people didn't know, is this really a team? Now they're getting good games from people. You know, now people are saying, okay, you know, this team is for real. You know, you look how many players they've got that are going to be on these four-nation rosters. They've got important players on these teams. Their best players are going to be on these four nation rosters they got important

players on these teams their best players are going to be on these teams okay you got to take them seriously now like there's there's no night's offer these guys anymore and that's part of what talk it's saying like last year it was a little bit of it was a little easier maybe easier instead of easy because not everybody was was taking you seriously now they are so you have to get up to another emotional level and you know I think on that team I wonder if he looks at some guys and he's saying you know what you haven't shown me you can do it yet now's the time and also with Miller coming back and you know I was really curious to see how Miller would play not only because you're you hope he's in a good place but when you're when you're dealing with what he was dealing with does it change your personality does it change who you are on the ice and I think we got

the answer on Saturday night like I've seen guys shoot the puck at people on purpose before like Daniel Alfredson he did that Scott Niedermeyer on purpose right in front of a whole crowd of people in a Stanley Cup final I don't think Quinn Hughes did that on purpose. I mean, I could be wrong, but it didn't look like he did it on purpose. And, you know, Hughes takes the cross check, and Miller's right there. And I think that says to us that no matter what Miller is dealing with, he's not going to let it change who he is on the ice, right? So I think on some level, it's like all right like this guy

just came back after all this and he's showing us he's still that guy on the ice where's everybody else yeah a good point there anything else with Vancouver for each yeah I uh you know the other thing too I think with talk it talk of watches a lot of hockey. And so in the afternoon, he's probably at the Canucks game and he's watching that Oilers-Vegas game. Now, I know you were in Detroit, so you probably couldn't see a ton of it, but that was a high, high-level game. You know, Edmonton was really good.

I mean, even despite the score score like there was a time there that game was really in doubt Vegas had a few posts uh Edmonton took advantage of their chances uh you know Vegas made it closer in the third period but Edmonton regained control like he's looking at those two teams in his division, and he's saying, boy, those are two really good teams. And then I watched Vegas-Minnesota on Sunday, and that was a really good game. Again, you're looking at those two teams, and you're saying, those are two really good teams.

And Vegas won, and Petrangelo lays himself out on the goal line late in the game to save a goal for the Golden Knights. They played this weekend, even though they went 1-1, it was two big, big games for them. Like I said, the Oilers look great. The Kings look phenomenal. They've won seven out of eight.

And the Wild is a crossover team. If you have to deal with them they look fantastic we all know what winnipeg's done this season like you're sitting there if you're talking and and you're seeing what's ahead of you and what you might have to match up with early in the playoffs and and you're saying we better get going here. Like, Vegas is going. Edmonton's going. Minnesota's been going all year. The Kings are really going. The Jets got off to this great start. The Avalanche are behind us, and they are coming.

You know, like, let's get going here. Hello! Time to wake up. That's what talk is doing. And, well, as tough as the 5-1 loss was for Vancouver against the Bruins over the weekend, at least congratulations, Max Sasson. First career goal in the National Hockey League amidst all of that. So the Canucks will look to pick themselves up

after another tough result at home. The Rangers are still trying to find the answer to pick themselves up again. Elliot, they've won three times in the last 13 games. They dropped both games over the weekend, lost to the Blues on Sunday. Capocacco was a scratch for that game. You said on headlines on Saturday night with Ron McLean, to no surprise, they are a team that is open for business. They're willing to consider all options. Of course, a guy like Igor Shosturka would not be one of them. But we talked, it was only a week ago, figuring a guy like Chris Drury, after making the one deal for Trouba,

how long would he wait until more decisions are made? wait until more decisions are made and the Rangers haven't done much within that time to suggest this group is on the path to finding their way out of this funk so where do things stand out of the playoffs that's where they stand right now they are I never would have thought that we'd be sitting here approaching Christmas and the Rangers would be out of the playoffs. And, you know, you take a look at it, Philadelphia is ahead of them, but they've played one more game. But all of a sudden, they're a point behind Ottawa,

same amount of games played. They're three points behind Tampa. Tampa's got two games in hand. And in their own division, they're already eight points back of third place Carolina so you know they've really put themselves in an incredible hole I don't think anybody saw this coming and then again on Sunday night you know it's just unbelievable how they start games right now they they start games stunned five nothing to the Kings 25 minutes in at home and three nothing to the blues sunday

night you're always trying to climb out of a deep hole like it's an impossible way to play comebacks in this league happen more often than they used to in the dead puck era or the hook and hold and water ski era kyle but still not when you're doing that and uh you know you look at it the other night as you mentioned kako got scratched and that really shocked people but to me the real story was you know they moved a couple guys down the lineup like if you look at crider crider averages 17 and a half minutes a game on Sunday night he played 15 17 but the big one was Zibanejad I mean he plays 18 22 a game and on Sunday night he played 13 04 now Trochek still played a lot he still played 19 minutes and he does play a lot Lafreniere played 19 minutes Heedle played 19 minutes Cooley played 15 minutes but it was pretty obvious by the way they used him that they're really

starting to trust him a bit more and and here's the thing here I wonder like I'm not sure where this is going to go with the Rangers like I said I think he's open for business and willing to consider anything and there's some wild rumors flying around about what that organization could do. But, you know, the thing that stood out to me on Sunday night is, you know, everybody knows Crowder's out there. He's got a partial no move. Zibanejad has a full no move. And, you know, you always look at this, like any player can get benched or move down the lineup at any time but if this 13 minutes on Sunday night to me the question now is is this a one-off or is this real is this the Rangers trying to make Zibanejad uncomfortable. You know, Larry Brooks went on the Spitting Chicklets pod last week,

and he talked about how Zibinijad has a bit of a thin skin. And I think you have to understand that there are people in life who are like that, and there are people in life who have thick skins. That doesn't mean that people are wrong or bad. We all need thicker skins. But, you know, some people are just wired certain ways it's life and you know at times it's obvious that the the rangers try to be really careful of that with Zibanejad they know he's got a really thin skin or he's really sensitive so they try and protect him right now what this is and and like the on Sunday night they said they didn't care about that. And the thing that you now look at is, is that a thing now? Is that a one-off until he plays better?

Or is that this is the Rangers trying to make him uncomfortable to see if in any way, shape, or form, either A, starts to play better, because ultimately that's what everybody wants, or does it get to a point where he says, you know what, if this is the way it's going to be, I'd rather go somewhere else. So you always have to, and look, they did what they had to do with Trouba.

Not everybody liked it, but they did it. And they did what they had to do with Goudreau, and people didn't like it, but they did it. So now you have to look at this with Sabinejad and say, okay, what is this? One-off, or is this the Rangers saying, we've got to do what we need to do? So even more than the Kako scratch,

that's what stuck out to me about Sunday night. Do you think, looking back, had those two names, Truba and Kreider, not got out, are the Rangers in this position now? That's a great question. That's a great question. Only because part of that, as you know,

was because Drury and the organization, there were some underlying trends that were not going in the right direction before things really started to get rocky. And that was part of the reason why what happened happened, and Trouba's now in Anaheim, and there was a shift. But to go from rocking the boat to three wins in 13 games, my gosh. I don't see how you could look at it any other way.

And, you know, I mean, obviously I reported it, so I'm right in the middle of it. But, you know, I'm sure there's some GMs out here, you know, who are looking at it like this is why Steve Iserman or Lou Lamorello or Doug Armstrong is the way that they are, even though that's the trade list. So it's 32 people know what's going on. I think that's why those guys would say why they are the way they are.

It's that when it does get out, look what it does or look what it can do. And this doesn't always do it but in this case it certainly did it i don't know how you can't say that this played a huge factor in it all right well in keeping with the conversation of trades and what could happen the holiday roster freeze comes into effect this friday some names you mentioned over the weekend some interest around tread frederick you mentioned vincent d'arne early Tread Frederick. You mentioned Vincent Darnay early on. Brandon Sod was a healthy scratch for St. Louis on the weekend. Though he did play on Sunday night.

They did put him back in the lineup, yes. So anything you wanted to add to those names? The one thing about Sod is, I guess I was asleep at the wheel. I think Sod has been available for some time now um i i got hate heightened attention because they scratched him on saturday night he has a no trade clause i said on the headlines he's in the third year of four it's the fourth year of five um so as usual i'm my accuracy is just phenomenal, Kyle.

That's what this is for. I think the thing is that it was Fowler. Fowler had a four-team trade list. We'd reported back in September that he was opening that wide. He was willing to consider just about anything and St. Louis had been interested in him uh for quite some time they they they talked about it in the summer obviously it didn't happen but then they got it done I mean what it says is that Nick Letty is probably out for a long time. He's been missing for a bit. So they probably don't like what they hear on him.

But Fowler opened it up. I mean, ultimately, guys want to go where they can play. Unless you have a real family reason or a real dislike about going somewhere, you want to play, right? And ultimately, that's what Fowler did. He made it easy to play. And, you know, I'll do credit to Fowler. He could have taken Saturday night off, but he hopped on a flight.

They were in Columbus. He went right to Dallas to play. Like, I think it just shows you the guy wants to play. You know, I think with Saad, even though he's got a full no trade, the word out there was don't assume he won't go places. Like, check was what I heard because I think there are some places that he would go to that people may not consider so that's where it is with him you know Trent Frederick this is the thing I'm always careful about like I mucked up one thing in Boston already. So, you know, I'm, I, I don't like doing that. And so you always try to be more careful.

You know, I'd said earlier on Marshawn was getting close to a three-year deal and that obviously hasn't happened. But, you know, Frederick, it depends on who you talk to. You know, I, there, there are definitely some teams out there that feel that the Bruins and Frederick won't be able to get a deal done but I was really warned about saying that because as I said on the air on Saturday night there's no deadline right now the true deadline probably isn't until the trade deadline. And things can change between here and there. Situations change.

People talk a tough game maybe a little bit sooner. But that's when you really have to make a decision. And sometimes people say, you know what, I'm kind of happy here. Or maybe, no, I'm okay with my decision. But there's uncertainty about whether or not the Bruins are actually going to be able to get Frederick done. Like one of the things that Don Sweeney said, if you go back to that beginning of the year media conference,

the one where they talked about the Swayman offer that made such huge news, was he said, we started talking to our other free agents. And so we know they were talking to Marchand, and it hasn't happened yet. And we knew they were talking to Frederick, and it hasn't happened yet. And we knew they were talking to Frederick and it hasn't happened yet. So there's a little bit of uncertainty and he's the kind of player that playoff teams are going to want.

They're really going to want a guy like that. He's, he's a good teammate. He's competitive. I know in Winnipeg, they weren't happy with him last week. And to be honest, I wasn't crazy about that either but generally he's a very popular teammate and a willing combatant and so I think there's a lot of interest in him and you know I had one after I reported that on Saturday night someone called me on Sunday and said go back and look at his best game of the year. He had two goals in the game against the Blues.

And he's a St. Louis guy. His family are St. Louis people. Really nice people. I met them during the Stanley Cup final in 2019. And so, like, there's a lot of people kind of wondering if that's what's in his future. But, you know, there's a lot of time between now and then. And we'll see where it goes but

whatever the Bruins intentions are here they are getting a lot of calls about him gotcha yeah and I can see it I mean and he also does scream Bruin yeah he sure does he's got the St. Louis ties which totally makes sense and business comes into play at some point too but uh as you love to say like that guy's a bruin screams bro screams bruin you want to talk about lenis allmark a former bruin yeah you know we should mention him we mentioned ottawa for a second you know that on saturday night um that's that's when that's when you know when you're sitting there and you're the Ottawa Senators

that's a night where you look and you say boy this guy was the right guy for us because you know you're sitting there and he gets the shutout for you the night before and you know how goalies are you know when you know how goalies are um you know

when you're a goalie and you still you know you have to go through your routine preparing to play but you know you're not in you know in theory you're not in right and especially at the point it happened like Forsberg tweaked something while he was doing like his pre-warm-up. Like he was warming up to go warm up. So at the absolute last second, he finds out he's going to play. And no matter how much you kind of prepare yourself, you're not all in at that moment. You're the backup that night.

And all of a sudden, you get the tap. I don't know how much it was, five minutes, ten minutes, whatever, just before you're about to go out there. You're the guy tonight. And I'll tell you, someone who was at the game told me he looked terrible in warm-up like just awful yeah and they're like oh man this is shades of andrew hammond you're right like hammond that's the great story like someone comes in and warm up and says you can't you can't play him tonight he can't stop a thing he goes out and he wins the game and plays great.

But he went out and he was fantastic. As a matter of fact, there's a Senators fans video, I think, going around social of him. I think at the start of the third period, he goes out there. And you know how goalies go to scrape their crease to sort of rough up the ice. They're not sliding anywhere after the flood. And Kyle, he is barely moving.

Like, like normally they're really grinding their skates in there. He is barely moving. Like that is a night that all Mark justifies everything because it's set up for, it's an easy fail. Like if he goes out there and he plays terrible, like you're disappointed, but you're like back to back. And, you know, we didn't even know until the last second. Like that is gutting it out. Like when you see that, you have to win that game.

And the Senators did did that was a that was a big win for them um but that that that's a night where all mark is worth not only every dollar that you're paying him but every dollar that you're still going to pay him because he shows that when you're really stuck in a really unpredictable moment he's far from 100 but he's like i'm gutting this out gutting this that was a great performance and i think if you were to give steve stowess and company a little truth serum as they were watching that unfold saturday surely the win was gravy but it was just get through the game okay yes because that's why they want to start them back to back like they're sitting there going we we don't want this because the weekend prior

they were back to back both home games so no travel you had the islanders coming in the next night they could have started them again there after he was great against nashville the previous game and they didn't because this is it's still early December he's a guy that's dealt with some injuries already this year they didn't go to it then they were forced to on Saturday and he was great and he got through it he's got a 951 save percentage the last seven starts six oh and0-1. Now, is that going to be sustainable the rest of the way? Probably not. But at least it's... I would say no.

I would say no, too. But at least now you're bringing... Compared to where he was before that to now, and you find the middle ground there, that's really good goaltending, and goaltending that Ottawa has been searching for since the days of Craig Anderson. So we'll see what goes on there moving forward, but a great weekend for him and the Sens.

So the San Jose Sharks, Elliot, feisty affair with the Utahns Saturday. Yes. They shouldn't call themselves Utah HC. They should call themselves the Utahns. Hold on. You went through that whole thing while you and I both, the idea of them keeping the HC name, and now you're jumping ship to Utahns full time. No, no, no. I still think they should go to Utah HC, but I like Utahns even more. Yeah. Yes. It does roll off the tongue. So that was fiery. Clayton Keller had the winner there late in the third.

Some upset Sharks fans, members of the organization with calls that were made that were not made. Jonathan Boettcher, the team president, posted on social that fans were voicing their displeasure with the officiating my first thought in digesting all of this elliot curious to know your thoughts but this was a team as we know the doormat for the entire nhl last year they were the punching bag over and over and over again not sure where things will ultimately end up this season for them results wise, but I just thought that was a night where they battled. There was a lot of emotion and it was almost the team going, we're not going to continue to be the punching bag. We're pushing back here. They let it know, they let it known some of the things they weren't happy with of course Ryan Worsofsky pled the fifth post game as coaches will typically do in that case but that

was the first thing that came to my mind I agree with that you know Celebrini has breathed new life into this team they're different now um you know watching him against a really hard team in Carolina uh got the opportunity on Tuesday night to do it I mean everybody who, watching him against a really hard team in Carolina, uh, got the opportunity on Tuesday night to do it. I mean, everybody who's watching him on TV knows this guy's the real deal, the absolute real deal. And I think he's very much on Canada's radar for the Olympics next year. Did not make the four nations team, but I think there's an understanding if, you know,

there's, if he continues know there's if he continues going this way he's going to be very much in the olympic conversation um it's always interesting to me when a team president like jonathan uh does that that that is an eyebrow raiser to me because you know warsawski he knows if he says something he's's, it's like Marshawn Lynch, just here so I don't get fined. Like he knows if he says anything, he's getting, maybe he gets a warning the first time, but also he knows he could get the fine and the ire of the officials. For me, that's, it always stands out when a president does it because they're not, because usually Bettman or or daily deals with those and they like that even less than the hockey ops guys do um but for me it was also him knowing that hey we've got a rookie head coach he probably can't do it and i don't want my players to do it so i'm gonna take it on

myself to do it i think um tara sloan said something about it too. So, you know, it was the broadcasters and it was the president. And it's just so rare to see a team official do it like that. I noticed it. I follow them on social. And I was like, I better go back and look at this call. They didn't like that Cooley caught Granlund up high late in the game. And they were mad that that one didn't get called and uh you know it's just it's always rare when a team official does it to

that level but i i think you're exactly right it was a bit like we out here nobody pays too much attention to us right now but our whole organization is different this year because of primarily because of celebrini and we're not just taking this lying down and you know what their gm when he played he wouldn't have either so it kind of fits his personality too yes absolutely it does all right before we do final thought do you want to talk about your weekend in detroit a little bit so elliot i'm sure you've experienced this over your years back when you traveled a lot more with hockey night but every now and then you roll into a city for a game on a saturday and you realize quickly that you the game you're working is just one of a handful of top-notch sporting events in that city that weekend.

I can remember the one year I worked at Canadiens Games when Sportsnet still had the regional package. And as you know, after Christmas, Montreal will typically go down and play both Tampa and Florida. And we were staying down in Fort Lauderdale. And of course, that time of year is bowl season for college football. And the hotel we were staying at, it just happened to be like the headquarters for Michigan alumni. I think the team may have even been staying there as well.

The whole hotel was covered in Michigan blue. And that was the first time for me, like witnessing firsthand how much college ball moves the needle down there. That was really cool. And this weekend in Detroit, like checking into the hotel. So the CBS production crew were staying at the same hotel, right? That was the marquee game for them this weekend, the Bills and the Lions. There was, of course, a ton of Bills fans. And you know there was a lot

of fans from Ontario that would have come down for the weekend to watch the Leafs play on Saturday and then cheer on the Bills on Sunday. At least for them, they got a split out of the weekend. But it's just one of those ones where you get in there to the city the night before the game and you're like, oh, this is going to be fun here. And right from the opening puck drop at Little Caesars on Saturday, seconds into the game, the chanting starts back and forth, right in sync of let's go Red Wings, go Leafs, go. And you're like, okay, so the fans are wired for this, and now it's just on to the players to give them the show

that everyone here is waiting for. And it ended up being a pretty entertaining game too. So it doesn't happen all the time. As you know, kind of from going from city to city, week to week, whatever the schedule has for you. But when things come together like that, when it's just a great sports weekend in a given town, it's a neat one to just kind of take in for a moment

because they don't happen too often. I'm sure you've lived through a few of those over the years. Yeah, absolutely. First of all, I'm with you. When a city is electric like that, I love it. We used to do the playoffs. We would do, you know, I do a lot of Bruins. We'd go to Red Sox games at Fenway.

That's one thing I really like doing is combine with the playoffs, going to different ballparks. Fenway, a couple times during the Avalanche, we went and saw the Rockies, Nationals during some of the Capitals runs. Obviously, Pittsburgh, one of the best ballparks in all of Major League Baseball when the Pirates have been good. That's one thing that I've always loved doing is going to big baseball games or baseball games during the playoffs. But I have done the NFL hockey weekend before.

I did a game in San Jose once, and the Vikings were playing in Oakland when the Raiders were still there I'm a big Vikings fan and I saw so I did my game on the Saturday I saw Raiders Vikings on the Sunday that was fantastic I have done that too where we did a game Toronto in Tampa and Wisconsin was playing a bowl game down there. And that was our hotel was the Wisconsin players. So I know exactly what you're talking about there. I've done basketball and hockey before.

I did a devil's playoff series when the Raptors were playing the Nets in the playoffs. And I went to a Raptors Nets playoff game on the off night. I'm with you. Those are fantastic, fantastic memories. I love that. I'm glad you got a chance to enjoy it. Yeah, you could just tell the fans that were down there. It was just a great scene.

And on top of all of that, Ice Cube performed at the Fox Theater Saturday night too. It was a bumping scene. Did you go after the game Saturday no no no there was I think that concert it was was wrapped by the time I left Little Caesars what happened to Ice Cube that is concerts done by 10 o'clock what is that like it's hey that those days were a long time ago he needs to get back to the home that's pretty funny dom i gotta tell you boys in the hood ice cube would be very disappointed in 2024 ice cube yeah yeah well times change right i think you gotta you gotta adapt to your audience

there but it looked like because i think there was still the crowd dispersing as i was walking by there and it seemed like that was a good show as well. So great weekend down in Detroit, which will now bring us to the final thought, which is brought to you by GMC. Some news around the USHL, Elliot. What have you got for us? Yeah, Kyle, it's a little difficult to put my finger on. I heard there was going to be an emergency board meeting

of the USHL this week. And then I looked into it and someone told me it's not an emergency meeting. It's regularly scheduled. And I saw some of this online then too, as I was, as we were recording the pod, I really don't know what it all means, except that everybody knows that there's flirting going on here, that there's a couple teams that want to leave, the OHL wants to take them, but it's never that easy. You can't just walk out of something like this. There could be financial penalties or other concerns, but some of the people I was talking to on Sunday,

remember when this whole thing happened with the BCHL and the teams left the Alberta Junior League to go to the BCHL and now, and basically they threw them out during the season, right? And someone said to me, they're wondering if that could happen. Like, could they just say, okay, we know you want to leave and you're going to stop playing now. And I don't know what's going to go on here, but I want to say the same thing now that I said about that Alberta Junior League thing when it happened with the British Columbia League, and that is that don't screw over the kids.

Okay? These are kids. This should be the time of their life where they really enjoy hockey. And they don't deserve to be caught up in this. Like, don't ruin their season. Don't ruin their season. And whatever happens here, make sure the kids get the softest landing possible.

Like I know this is business. I know business is cutthroat sometimes. And I know people where finances are, you have to do what you got to do. But don't screw over the kids. That's the one thing I think is important here. This is not their fault. This is out of their control. Don't screw over the kids. That's the one thing I think is important here. This is not their fault. This is out of their control.

The ground shifted underneath them. They got nothing to do with it. Don't screw over the kids. That's all I want to say. Perfect. I'm with you there a thousand percent and we'll leave it at that. That was the final thought. I'm just brought to you by GMC. We'll take our first break.

that that was the final thought which is brought to you by gmc we'll take our first break when we come back thought line and it's a beauty for you on this episode you're listening to 32 thoughts the podcast stay tuned okay welcome back time now for the thought line where chaos meets curiosity 1-833-311-3232 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca elliot i have just one question okay how off the rails do you want to get here today let's get nuts go big or go home i was hoping that was going to be the answer now before we get into things we need to go back remember a question we got last pod about hockey players making cameos and movies yep we missed some names i'm sure we did one being jeremy ronick nick wrote in said uh watched a 15 year old cable show called leverage and ronick makes an appearance and has a few lines in that show

brad richards and vinnie lecavier was in the punisher briefly oh i forgot about that there you now was it the punisher movie or was it the punisher netflix version do you know it was the 2004 film okay starring john travolta yes i uh i remember that movie i actually like the netflix version better i don't remember them but i remember the movie kevin nash was in that? Yes. I forgot. I forgot about that. Phil from Kitchener, who wrote this in,

he used to work at a Blockbuster Video, and so he had the special edition DVD that he watched at home that I think included the extra scenes that included Richards and LeCavier. He thinks it may not have come out in the initial theatrical release, but they did make the DVD cutvd cut also i mean not a movie but nathan mckinnon appearing in mr d years back yeah yeah yeah very good so those are i'm a big jerry d fan he's like his work is hilarious yes likewise so thank you everyone for keeping us honest there also by the by the way, Dom writes on our chat that Joffrey Lupo and Shane O'Brien

make a cameo in the Entourage movie when Turtle is fighting Ronda Rousey. Nicely done, Dom. Yeah, good job, Dom. Finally. Dom's probably watched that scene 360 times. Yeah. That's why he knows it. Here we go. Finally. Dom's probably watched that scene 360 times. Yeah. That's why he knows it.

Here we go. Okay. So Jacob from Arizona here. Let me tee this up. Hi. Okay. My name is Jacob. I'm from Arizona and I'm a big fan of the show.

On a recent pod, Elliot said, I'm like Einstein and somehow got away with it. Well, get away with it. No more. Dom, let's roll it. And my point was that I'm like Einstein. Yes, yes. Einstein. Einstein.

E equals MC squared. Like, this is the thing. Like, I'm like Einstein. And my point was that, you know, like, I'm like Einstein. Right. Really great point. And now I've got players kind of saying, I'm like Einstein. So if anything good came out of that, it was this.

I'm like Einstein. Wow. I love it. Jacob, that's great stuff, man. Clearly, it looks like you spent a week and a half putting that together. Jacob, I appreciate the effort. I love it. I'm going to get Don to send it to me, and I am going to make that my ringtone.

You still use ringtones. That's terrific. Well, no, I really don't, but I will for this. You'll make an exception. I want that going off when I'm getting phone calls. Yes, that's right. And it's a good thing that Kelly reminds everyone before the show that cell phones on silent.

You don't need that going off in the middle of the pregame show. Oh, no, I'm going to leave it on. Jacob, I just want to say I really do appreciate it. That's spectacular. Awesome. Really great. Also, Terry from Midland, Ontario. Thank you, gentlemen, for a great show.

I feel bad for Elliot, though, as if he thought the triangle topic stirred a lot of interest. I believe he has no idea how many cat lovers are out there. And with regards to his comment of saying that he has a memory of a cat and put it in a negative tone, here, gentlemen, are the results. Cats have excellent memories, including short-term memory. Remember things up to 16 hours. Long-term memory. Really? Store things for weeks to years, and in some cases, their entire lives. Episodic memory. Specific events in detail, including the what and the where.

Preference for certain people because of events of the past. And the emotional side as well. More likely to store events that have an emotional impact in their long-term memory. So well done. We have now upset not only the triangle crowd, also the cat lovers, Elliot. I have to say, I want to say something to everybody who listens to this podcast. The group of you, men and women out there,

you are having an epic year. We aren't even 30 games into the season for most teams. We aren't even 30 games into the season for most teams. And this is the greatest thought line season of all time. I don't know. I'm ready to go. I don't know where we're going to go over the next 50 some odd games and the four nations face off. But this year is epic. I had no idea that was true.

I honestly thought cats had a terrible memory. Maybe I'm really not like Einstein, Kyle. That's right. Suddenly that's in doubt. I've been de-Einsteined. It was a sure thing up until this point. Yes. I've been de-Einsteined.

That is a great, great term. Okay. Some hockey stuff made it into the okay let's just see who else can i offend this week we've got the triangle players the einstein descendants the cat lovers let's see what i can do here okay doug writes hi guys the pod is a must listen for me my question is what does an emergency call up or calledup on an emergency basis mean? Does this have to do with the salary cap? Looking forward to the answer.

Happy holidays. The short answer is yes. For example, if a goalie gets called up on an emergency basis, you always have the ability to call up a goalie. The only situation is in-game, Allmark, Forsberg, Saturday night in Ottawa. If you can't get a goalie there on time, that's when the e-bug becomes available to use for a team.

But if you are going into a game and you know you are short a goalie, another one Saturday night, Kevin Lankanen had the flu, the Canucks told him to stay home. They can always call up someone. You don't have to go into a game shorthanded a goalie. If you know in advance that your goalie is sick or hurt, you can always do that call up. Other than that, you, uh, an emergency call up is when either for cap reasons or for injury reasons, you're short.

And you have to call someone up and you get the opportunity to call someone up outside of the salary cap. But as many of you may know and has happened before, if it's a skater, before you call up someone in an emergency basis you may have to go a player short for a game like there are situations where if you haven't handled your cap properly or your injury problems become so bad that it walks you into a cap problem and for example that's happened before with Vegas you may have to go a player short for a game, and then you can activate the emergency call-up. So that's how that works. Doug, thank you for that question. We'll go back to the voicemail box. Jordan from not far from where we just were, Elliot, in West Palm Beach, Florida. So as someone that was also in the building with Elliot Friedman on Tuesday night for Cane Sharks, my buddy and I believe we saw something in the second period where even though a goal hadn't been scored, puck hadn't gone out of play, we thought we saw the refs just switch out an old puck in lieu of using a new one on the ice.

And we thought this was rather perplexing for us. And we were wondering, is this a common occurrence in the NHL? I know in baseball games, you know, depending on a pitcher or catcher field, they might toss out a baseball for a new one. But is this something that is maybe superstitious or for a reason in hockey? Thanks as always, guys, and have a great holiday season.

Take care. Interesting question. Kyle, do you have an answer for this? Yeah, so I spoke to an off-ice official about this. And the answer is yes. It's typically at the discretion of the linesman. But similar to baseball, although not anywhere near the same type of frequency, if the same puck is in use during gameplay for a large stretch of time

because it hasn't gone out of play, it hasn't been taken out after a milestone goal or point or anything like that. And the linesman feels, or the linesperson feels, that the puck has been chipped up. It's nicked up. It's just not the same structural integrity that a fresh one would be. They'll swap it out. But what was an interesting point that this office official told me was

they will almost never swap out for a fresh pocket the face off is in the attacking zone on either side of the ice they will only do it for neutral zone draws so i don't know if just going from the change of one that's been in use for a while to a brand new one can feel a little different initially and you don't want that to result in in a scoring chance for one team over other. So they save those moments for when it's a neutral zone draw. That's good stuff. Good work, Kyle. Nice work.

All right. Gabriel from Turks and Caicos. What a warm destination questions today. Hello, Kyle, Dom, and Elliot. Writing from Turks and Caicos, home of the Provo Hockey League, which is an inline league because it's too hot and expensive for ice. Gabriel says, I was watching my habs while I thought of this question. As Luke Richardson was recently let go, I was wondering which player has had the most

head coaches in the NHL. A player I would think would be someone like Ryan Nugent Hopkins or Mike Sillinger since he got traded like a thousand times. Thanks, guys. And if you are ever down in Turks and Caicos and want to break a sweat, we play pickup ball hockey every Monday. All right. So let's start here. Really great. Let me start here.

So Ryan Nugent Hopkins, by my count count has played for nine different head coaches over i would bet that's not even close to the record it's a lot near the top five but i would say for a guy on one team i bet it's not bad like luke richardson played 1200 games he's got to be up there correct he is third on this list he's played for 20 different head 20 okay is cylinder on there i thought that was a great guess yes and it was because he is number one 23 different head coaches maybe gabriel should be doing this segment because he answered the question before we even thought about it so i was thinking about i mean i was thinking about chris chelios but i know in detroit they didn't have a lot of changes like i think he only would have played

for two coaches there but would chelios be on that list he's not in the top five that's what i figured so another guy who played for a lot of teams i was thinking about guys who played for a lot of teams, I was thinking about guys who played for a lot of teams. Would Brent Ashton be on that list? No. Would Ray Shepard be on that list? He is not. Would Dino Cicerelli be on that list? Nope.

Okay. I was thinking about guys who played a long time and play a lot of teams. guys who played a long time and play a lot of teams um that's what that's where i was kind of going with this cylinder was a great sound logic yes yeah 23 so i'm trying i'm trying to think for guys you know what would would taylor hall be on the list? No. Okay. Another good guess. What era are we talking about here for two, four, and five? Two, 90s into the 2000s. Okay.

I believe four would be 90 and 2000s as well. And for number five on this list, predominantly 70s into the early 80s. And a little bit late 60s. I'm trying to think of who. I want to get one. That's my goal here is to get one. One out of three, 33%. That's in line with about my high school average.

So you stayed consistent through adulthood. Yes. On my reports, I'm about 33%. So I'm still there. So you stayed consistent through adulthood. Yes. On my reports, I'm about 33%, so I'm still there. Would Ray Bork be on that list? Boston, a lot of coaching changes. Yeah, but not enough. He's not. What number is the lowest, is fifth?

There's a tie at the bottom. Luke Richardson and two other guys had 20 head coaches number two on the list had 22 cylinder 23 it's not luongo is it no no goalies here oh okay because luongo played for a lot of coaches is it dave andrew chuck no jogger no mark recce yes number two he's number he's second yes 22 head coaches okay for the sake of everybody listening to this i'm cutting it there i will take my one and got it you got your go from there. Who was fourth and fifth? Dean McCammond. Oh, boy. We could have been here until next year,

and no offense to Dean McCammond, but I wouldn't have thought of it. And Walt McKechnie. Really? 20 head coaches. You know, for those of you who aren't my age, please excuse me, but for those of you who aren't my age, please excuse me, but for those of you who are, you'll remember Walt McKechnie

was traded to Toronto in the late 70s. And at that time, obviously, your viewing options were not as widely varied as they are now but the mapleys uh went to the playoffs um one year with mckechnie he actually played very well in those playoffs and i think they that year i i think they played atlanta and those games were like full of brawls and i just remember walt mckechnie being kind of in the middle of them really yeah they had tiger williams because he wasn't a big penalty minutes guy no but i remember him being uh involved in those but they had Tiger Williams they had I think Dave Hutchison was on that team like those guys were really tough guys but I remember McKechnie kind

of being in the middle of some of those battles he was a good player yeah great players on that team. Skilled players and tough guys. You're right. That's a good memory. Okay, we will finish with this, Elliot. All I will say is that when we go to Boston for Four Nations, you may want to keep your head on a swivel. Uh-oh. On a boat. What did I do now?

The Brokenhearted from Boston. Gentlemen now? The Brokenhearted from Boston. Gentlemen, this is Brokenhearted in Boston. This message is for Elliot, so the rest of you guys cover your ears. Elliot, you're killing me. I thought Sylvia and I were in love. We're lovebirds. I sent her all my bank accounts so she could have the operation for her mother. And next week I have a plane to go to China so we can get married.

And now you're telling me that you're talking to her? Oh, Elliot, I'm crushed. Keep up the great work, boys. It's always fun to hear the podcast. Thank you. That's outstanding. The bit lives on. That's outstanding. The bit lives on. Oh, my God. That's outstanding.

I swear to God, when I heard that voice and that accent, I was like, true Bostonian. I do not want trouble. Even before I realized where the bit was going, I was thinking, I do not want trouble with this guy. That is fantastic honestly listeners you guys are having a dynamite season like an elite all pro all-star first all-star team season keep it coming yes it has been. And keep the submissions coming for tickets to our live show in Canmore. One more week to get your impressions into the thought line of either myself or Elliot.

Phone number to do it, 1-833-311-3232. If you have a general question or suggestion for the thought line, you can do it there too. Also, the email address, 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. We'll wrap things up after the break. Stay tuned. Welcome back to 32 Thoughts. Okay, Elliot, before we go, we've got to talk about what's on the schedule tonight.

Yes. The rematch in Edmonton. Panthers-Oilers for the first time since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last June. I can remember, we talked about Boston-Vancouver earlier in the pod. I remember the first time those teams played the following season after 2011 that felt like a massive game going into that one and I'm kind

of getting a similar feeling here with the Panthers going in to Edmonton they had been red hot but scuffling a little bit on this western trip they've got one goal in three games the Oilers meanwhile five wins in a row convincingly over Vegas on Saturday. What are your expectations for Monday night in northern Alberta? Well, first of all, I'd like to say, Kyle, that going back over the time I've been fortunate enough, I've done every Stanley Cup final since 1999. I did half of 98. I've done every Stanley Cup final since 1999 and there are cups that you

remember as being some of the favorite you ever covered um you know I would say this the one I love the most for what it was like to cover the series and how much fun we had as a group to me the standard bearer is 2011 Vancouveroston uh the the it was an unbelievable series and just the group we were with at hockey night it was incredible uh it was it that was the one where i wore my wife's lululemon pants i wasn't gonna bring that up well you know i've admitted it that was the one where i wore my wife's lululemon pants and accepted enormous ridicule for how unfortunately revealing they were. But I would say right up there with it, I think this was the closest one last year, Edmonton, Florida. And I know for Edmonton hockey fans, it wasn't the result they wanted, but it was an incredible series.

It didn't start that way, but it was a it was an incredible series it didn't start that way but it sure finished that way and the group that we were with we had an unbelievable time like really really good group and i think there is like the travel was long and you know we were lucky kyle we were on the charter the people who didn't have the charter had it a lot worse than we did it was just like Vancouver Boston it was long travel but there was something about that in the end made the memories even greater so I just want to say that like I whenever I retire I will remember that Stanley Cup final fondly you know Edmonton's on fire you know that Vegas

game I think it was a little closer than the score indicated but it was a great game and the Oilers looked really good and Florida all of a sudden and I think Florida's the best team in the east I don't care what's going on right now in terms of how they've finished the week but the eastern conference playoffs still go through florida and you know they weren't good in vancouver and they were awful in calgary on saturday night so paul maurice will have them riled up to play barkov it didn't sound serious illness i would expect him to play i think that's going to be a great game. I cannot wait to see it. You know the Oilers are going to be riled up for the Panthers. I think the Panthers will be riled up for the Oilers.

You know, the one thing I'm disappointed about is this is the game where, you know, Evander Kane and Matthew Kachuk, it was appointment television when those two were going at each other. And obviously, you know, Kane is still out of the lineup and unable to play. But that's the one thing I think this game is missing. But I'm really, really looking forward to it because two great teams, a great series last year, and you know they're going to be wired to play each other. You got any memories that really stand out to you

from the Stanley Cup Final? Well, I mean, we've talked about what it was like walking around the city of Edmonton those couple of weeks, even the round before that in the building. I could not believe it just seemed everyone in that town not only had Edmonton colors on, they had jerseys on. Everyone was all in. That always stuck out in my mind.

You mentioned the plane rides, us doing Yumi and Amber, immaculate grids, who could one up the other while waiting to take off. That was a lot of fun. Remember all the rain when we landed back down in Florida? Would it have been before game seven? And it was a downpour in Fort Lauderdale. We couldn't get off the plane. We were stranded for about an hour.

And we ended up, I had the iPhone out shooting what you guys were supposed to do, an off-day hit for the Sportsnet news program. I shot it with my phone there. And you guys just hanging out in the gallery there on the plane. I don't think it made the television version of the show, but I do believe they put it online. So things like that just were a lot of fun from that final. And the hockey was great.

The emotion was fantastic. And the dramatics of it all, where you thought this was going to be one of the ultimate air out of the balloons after all the buildup turned into one of the more remarkable finishes, regardless of kind of where your viewpoint and where your fandom lied for all that so I mean I think back to even when when we sat down with Leon Dreisaitl before the season in Vegas and he said like I would love to strap Monaghan and go play one more game to to settle it you know after what happened in

in June of course it doesn't work like that but But I'm with you. I mean you can't guarantee anything come the springtime. By what happens Monday night. But this one that certainly has both teams attention. And as you start to get into the grind of a season. These are the matchups that are a great, great way to break all that up. And bring back some really fond memories of just a tremendous Stanley Cup final, you know, back in June. That is the key to a great Stanley Cup final. Not only does the series have to be good,

but the off-ice camaraderie has to be good. There's no point in having a classic seven-game series if you hate the people you work with. And I only hate them 11% of the time. Great. That's better than 33 in this case. It's a big improvement. So that's Monday.

Tuesday on our network, Sportsnet 1. You can watch nationally also West for those in the Flames region. They host Boston and Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey this week. 7 o'clock Eastern, 4 Pacific, the pregame show, 7.30. Toronto is in Dallas to face the Stars. That's what's on tap on Sportsnet, along with everything else to go along in the hockey world over the next few days. There's only so many hours in a day.

We know we are so grateful you spend a few of them with us. We will talk to you again on Friday.