32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Coyote Ugly

Episode Date: May 17, 2023

Will the Coyotes stay in Arizona? Jeff and Elliotte discuss the decision by voters to reject the proposed Tempe Arena Project (00:01), what might be next for the Coyotes and if we’ll see the team relocate. They also get into Toronto's year-end press conferences (14:00) and the Oilers (33:00), look at the off-season for the Kraken (49:30) and provide a slew of management and coaching updates on — Calgary (39:00), Pittsburgh (40:30),  Washington (47:11), New York Rangers (47:30), and Anaheim (48:20).Plus, they chat with Daniel Hilferty, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Spectacor, (56:40) about the hiring of Keith Jones and Daniel Briere, the hiring process, their approach going forward, timelines, what impressed them about Jones & Briere, and the relationship between team and fans as well as hockey operations to business.Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailOutro Music: OMBIIGIZI ft. Peter Dreimanis - Back At MeListen to the full track hereThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Bally Sports, FXX (Dave - Honestly) and Sportsnet.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.

That is like right next to my cheek. Is that okay? Here we go. Coming down in three, two, and one. So in true podcast fashion, we're beginning today's podcast with an insert. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Canyon AT4X. Merrick Delich Friedman, as per usual. Elliot, it is not a good night for the Arizona Coyotes and their fans. Tempe voters

rejecting the proposal for a new arena and entertainment district. Now there's still a couple of years remaining on the deal with Mullet Arena. We'll get to that in a couple of seconds. CEO of the Arizona Coyotes, Javier Gutierrez, saying, We are very disappointed that Tempe voters did not approve Propositions 301, 302, and 303. As Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said, this was the best sports deal in the history of Arizona. Your thoughts on this one? Like you, Jeff, I feel very badly for the true fans of the Arizona Coyotes. This is going to lead to the end of their team in the market unless one potential solution that we're going to talk about occurs. But like I say to all elections,

the people have spoken and this is what the people want. I believe there's nothing wrong with letting the public have their say on these kinds of things. And when the people speak as emphatically as they did in this particular case, that's just the way it is. And like I said to you earlier, it's why I really don't trust polling. I think polling has become even more of an inexact science. And, you know, when you hear about the disappointment of Javier Gutierrez, I think that probably has a lot to do with it because their polling came across very confident and then you get this result. Then the question becomes what's next? Is it something with the

Suns? Is it Houston as everybody is jumping to right now? Is it another season at Mullet Arena? Javier Gutierrez mentioning that this will be worked out between the Arizona Coyotes and the National Hockey League. You know, one thing as an aside, the one thing the NHL does not want during the playoffs is for a story to dominate the headlines and take attention away from the playoffs. But in a situation like this,

this is going to dominate the headlines and take attention, Elliot, from the playoffs, but in a situation like this, this is going to dominate the headlines and take attention, Elliot, from the playoffs. Yeah, Jeff, I agree with that. I'm sure they have some kind of contingency plan that they'll now have to activate. The one thing I do believe is that the pressure from the Players Association is going to intensify. The new executive director, Marty Walsh, the first team I believe he met with was Arizona. I believe in the process of being interviewed and confirmed for this job, it was made very clear to him that a number of players and agents wanted clarity on the Coyotes situation and did not want this to continue.

wanted clarity on the Coyotes situation and did not want this to continue. So I have no doubt that the Players Association is going to be vocal that they want an answer here. Now, this is what I think is going to happen over the next few days or weeks. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a new owner of the Phoenix Suns, Matt Ishbia. Already, he's shown to be a pretty bold guy. Monty Williams coached the Suns to the NBA final two years ago, and he was fired after they lost in the second round this year. I mean, you know, that's somebody who's not afraid. Yeah, I mean, geez, I mean, that's a tough crowd. But I wouldn't be surprised if Gary Bettman and the NHL, if they haven't already meet with him to

gauge his interest in supporting the idea of turning the Suns current rink into a facility that could also support the Coyotes and that would take some work it might take two summers it'll take a couple hundred million dollars but no matter what happened tonight with the results, I don't think the NHL wants to abandon the Arizona market unless it absolutely has to. It's too big. It's one of the largest metro markets in the United States. I think they will not leave until they go down every path. And unless they've been told already that that situation is

an absolute no, I could see it being something that they try. And I'm curious to find out if they've talked to the sons about it or it's their plan now to go to the sons about it. So that's one question I have. Quick pause on that, Elliot., I'm old enough and you are as well to remember the lockout of 1994 and the lessons of 1994. And that was the NHL wanted their owners to own their buildings. And this situation, the Arizona Coyotes would not be an owner of the building and play there. they would be a tenant. This is how a lot of teams in the NHL used to operate and what the NHL wanted to get away from coming out of the 94 lockout was that exact scenario. We need to own our buildings. I understand this is an exceptional case. I know this is unique, but doesn't this kind of go against everything that the NHL has tried to do coming out of Gary Bettman's first lockout? Yes.

And my answer to that, Jeff, would be, I wonder if part of this is going to be the league forcing ownership to sell. That's just my opinion. Wow. Just my opinion. Okay. Because everything is on the table. Now now if there is no local option with the sons then it's about moving the team and i i think the question becomes do you move the team now or

do they play another year there like you mentioned the lease has a couple more years left in it if you have to you can always pay something to break a lease. That to me is just basic business. So my question becomes then, are you moving the team now? Or do you feel you have enough time to go somewhere next year? Could you go somewhere next season, whether it's Kansas city or it's Houston or it's Salt Lake City or it's Sacramento. Now, Salt Lake City, you've heard me on this podcast say, I believe the NHL is eventually going to go there. It's not a great building for hockey right now. That's expected to change in a few years, but it's not a great building for hockey right now. And I'm under the impression Ryan Smith, who owns the Utah Jazz, who was at the

forefront of this, prefers his own fresh new team as opposed to a move team. But necessity is the mother of invention, as you know. We'll see. But I think it's likely one of those four cities, and we'll see where we go. But I think if they move, the biggest question is, is it now or a year from now? When you say everything is on the table, my mind, and I think a lot of people's minds always go to the extremes of what that means, everything is on the table. And I suppose one of the extremes in this situation would be, one of the extremes in this situation would be, do you think that there's any chance that the NHL, I know this is really early, this is really fresh. I know that Gutierrez, as we record this podcast,

has just spoken. The voters have just spoken. So maybe it's a little bit irresponsible of me to even bring this up, but I just want to bring this into part of the conversation itself. Do you think that there's any chance, I know it's early again, that they look to suspend operations at least temporarily for the Arizona Coyotes given this uncertainty? I have not heard that one. The reason I wonder about that is the players association side of all of it. That if you're a player, you know, last podcast or a couple of podcasts ago, you mentioned Logan Cooley and his decision whether he's turning pro or whether he's, you know, going back to the University of Minnesota. Whether it's, you know, agents, you know, trying to advise their clients on where to go and where the certainty is. where the certainty is. And Marty Walsh now new with his role as the executive director of the NHL Players Association, his thoughts on how he feels about putting his players or allowing his

players to play on a team whose future is uncertain and whose ground is shaky. That's the only reason I bring that up because honestly, Elliot, I think at this point, all we can do is when we say everything is on the table, maybe try to start to define what those things might be. And that's, again, that's an extreme, but that's one of the places my brain goes to in a situation like this. I can't imagine, Jeff, that that's what the Players Association would want because suspend the team will probably hurt player salaries, right? We have. So I can't imagine that's what the Players Association would want because suspend the team will probably hurt player salaries. Right. We have. So I can't imagine that's what the players association would want. I have not heard that one. I just look historically at hockey and that's happened before in the NHL.

Certainly not with the, you know, with the, with the, the, the Gary Bettman, um, regime, but, um, you know, you look historically, these types of things have happened, uh, before. So the question turns to, um, you know, what's next? And one of the things is, you know, relocation. And we've talked about Houston before. You just mentioned Salt Lake City. I really have a soft spot in my heart, and I think you do as well,

because we're the same vintage, and we grew up watching the Montreal-Quebec City rivalry, the Habs and the Nordiques, Carling versus Molson, all of it. Do we put Quebec City into the conversation here? Elliot, do you think? I would always say yes. I think you should always include Quebec City because for one reason, I would love to see it. I think Quebec City is harder in this case because it's an Eastern city as opposed to a Western one. True. And I think they would like to keep the Western balance. My line've used with you i'm angry at my parents because i was born too

late to cover a quebec montreal series um i've always wondered about the nhl's internal data as to what the return of the quebec nordiques does for the mont Canadians. You know, is the province big enough now for two? But I would say, well, I'd like to see it. Not in this case. I don't think so because you don't want it to be 17 and 15. And there's some U S options in that area of the country open there. You know, Houston, I think is a lot of what people are guessing with me tonight. The old Houston arrows, you know, the one thing there is that that Houston owner, when they met with him about the NHL, it wasn't at a number that the NHL liked. So I don't know if that's changed or how it would go, but that was the one thing that

I know that they were concerned about. They do want an owner who would like at a time when Ottawa's story is incredible because of the kind of interest that's in the team and the passion that seems to be around owning the team. You want that kind of passion around your ownership group. And they didn't sense it from Houston. One thing as well, a NHL commissioner and Gary Bettman did speak on this. And here's the quote, the NHL is terribly disappointed by the

results of the public referenda regarding the Coyotes Arena project in Tempe. We are going to review with the Coyotes what the options might be going forward. I don't disagree with that, but one of the things that I would have a hard time believing is that the NHL doesn't already in their mind have a number of contingencies. And part of this discussion is going to be which one they'll choose. I don't think that they're starting from zero and I don't think you do either, Elliot. No, like I said, he has to have contingencies already. And now we're going to find out what they are.

Okay, we'll pause it there. And by pause, I mean, I know we're going to pick up this conversation on subsequent podcasts, starting with the next one. We now rejoin our regularly scheduled and pre-recorded podcast. I gotta do this thing. Honestly. Why can't I do it all? Honestly. pre-recorded podcast. it. I've been planning every meal. Got me sipping on this beer. In a strange reversal of roles, I am on the road in Elliot's at home. Friedman at his luxurious estate in Toronto. Where are you?

Amal Delage to the west of the city of Toronto, and I'm in Raleigh. I just got here a couple of hours ago doing some stuff for the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow, which would be Wednesday for people tuning in or as we like to call it today for people that are tuning in on Wednesday. Yeah. So just a quickie trip, Elliot, just to a couple of interviews and then boogie back Thursday for radio. So it's a quick one for your boy out here in Raleigh. Nice. As we all know, it's the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers. It is the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights. We'll get to that in moments. Also, a little bit later on, you're going to hear from Dan Hilferty. Elliot and I sat down with him on Monday.

Wide-ranging interview. It's one of those get-to-know-you interviews because Hilferty is new on the hockey scene, but he is a longtime Philadelphia Flyers fan who goes back to the glory years of the two Stanley Cups in 74-75. So stay tuned. End of the podcast. Dan Hilferty, governor of the Philadelphia Flyers, CEO of Comcast Spectacore. But shockwave still felt. Discussion is still going on. The Kyle Dubas media availability on Monday. Obviously disappointing to be here.

Feel that the group had a substantial opportunity to continue on this spring and unfortunately did not execute to the level that we would all like. And it's another hard lesson for for all of us and the entire organization with regards to my own situation I'll just address it off the top had a good long relationship here with with Brendan and the owners I'll speak to them in the coming days but probably more importantly, speak to my wife, Shannon, and our family here tonight and tomorrow and see where we're at as a family and how we want to proceed with everything. This has been a, you know, just in learning the past couple of days, it's been a very taxing year on them. And that's obviously very important to me.

couple days have been a very taxing year on them and that's obviously very important to me so we'll go through all that and and we'll all make our decisions and roll from there but that's that's that situation I'll open it up for questions because recognizing what you said about there being a family and business aspect to your decision with your future I'm just wondering though do you still have it in you do you want be here? Do you want to still run the Maple Leafs? What I would say to that is that I think it requires me to have a full family discussion, Chris. So I can't... My family is a hugely important part of what I do.

So for me to commit to anything without having a fuller understanding of what this year took on them is probably unfair for me to answer where I'm at. I wish I could give you more, but we haven't been able to have those full discussions yet. But it was a very hard year on them. And thus, it's tough for me to...

What I would say is that I definitely don't have it in me to go anywhere else. So it'll either be here, or it'll be taking time to recalibrate, reflect on the seasons here. But you won't see me next week pop up elsewhere. I can't put them through that after this year. Boy, there's a whole lot there. You talked about it on television with Kevin and Kelly and David and talked about burnout and how burnout is real. And we don't tend to talk about that a whole lot when it comes to hockey,

but that was right in front of everybody's face on Monday when Dubas was talking. How do you see the Kyle Dubas situation right now? And on Monday night, you did mention that there had been some discussion or some progress on a new extension. Well, I think it caught some people by surprise because all of the intel, like I admit, it caught me by surprise too, just because all of the intel was that Dubas and the Leafs had met and they were working their way towards a contract extension. And the hope was it was going to be finalized this week. All the news seemed to be positive that it was trending in that direction. And again, like you said, Jeff, I believe burnout is real. Look, I'm not a public

figure in the way that Kyle Dubas is. And whenever I'm trending negatively on Twitter, I see the strain it has taken on my family. So I believe that's very real. And Dubas is a public figure at much higher level than I am or ever will be. So I understand that. And I don't question that in any way. I think what this does though, is it ground the process of the Maple Leafs and their GM leadership to a halt. Because when that happens, everybody takes a timeout. Dubas obviously needs to take a timeout to speak to his family and see how they feel. But I think the organization takes a timeout too to say, okay, like we have to make sure here.

Is he all in? Is he okay? Does he need a break? Do we have to go somewhere else? I think it goes both ways. I think it's not only Dubas who has to make a decision in that moment, but it's also the organization that has to make a decision in that moment. Are we sure here that if him and his family are not doing okay, do we need to go in a different direction so I think it kind of threw a curveball

into this process that some people even potentially some people in the organization were not expecting the one thing about recording this podcast on Tuesday and throwing it out there on Wednesday is that by the time the podcast gets out everything could be different because i do believe jeff that the maple leafs want to know on dubis like even if it's not announced this week they want to know if he's coming back by this week and my impression here is they they thought it was going to happen they had to get through the process but it was going to happen and now they're not sure as we tape this on tuesday afternoon you know one thing that um that i don't know if you and i have ever talked about before but given how dubas talked on monday it might be a good time to do so or at least get a couple of comments

about or a couple of thoughts about here i don't know that what we saw on monday from dubas was just about this season because when when I look at Kyle Dubas as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and even previous when he was assistant general manager and was brought in from the Susemri Greyhounds of the OHL, he's someone who's always been questioned. He's someone who has always been roasted at times on social media. He's someone who has always been roasted at times on social media. He's someone that's been doubted a whole lot. There's been a lot of negativity directed his way from pretty much the get-go. I think, one, because of his age originally. Two, because he came in taking over from Lou Lamarillo and those aren't easy shoes to step into.

Lamarillo and that those aren't easy shoes to step into. But three, also he's stepping into the NHL's largest media market where there's no such thing as a small news story. There's no such thing as an easy day. There's no such thing as a simple decision. I don't know that what we saw, Elliot, was just about this season. And I know this season was tough. To me, I'm watching this and I'm listening to Dubas and I'm saying, this is an accumulation going back to, I guess it was right around the Aaron Ekblad draft

when Kyle Dubas got hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs away from the Sioux Greyhounds. Agree or disagree? I don't think you're wrong. I do believe in accumulation. I think this year was extra though, Jeff, simply because there was no contract at the end of it. I think if you have some sort of level of security, then you can get through some of these things. Anytime your security is in question,

I think it only adds to the stress. And not only for you, but also for your family. And this was a year in Toronto where everybody knew if they didn't at least win that round, everybody was gone. And even when they won that round, when the second round didn't go well, all of it came back up again. Like you believe in yourself. You always believe there's going to be someone out there who wants you.

But when you don't have that safety net in the middle of all of this, it's stressful. And I've talked about this before. Like some of the situations I've gone through, when I was single, you could do almost anything to me. And I would just be like, whatever. When I screwed up the swim race, like if I was single without a family at that time, I would have gotten through that no problem.

But because I was married with child, I was worried about the effect it would have on them and our family if my career went sideways. So when Dubas talks about that, I totally get it. If you're a single person out there and you take your risks and things like that, it's a lot easier. Stuff like this never bothered me because it only affected me. The moment you're talking about a partner,

a wife, a couple of kids, I think that adds to the stress. So like, I get it. I think the problem here, Jeff, is that there's not a lot of runway. There are big decisions that have to be made. No trade clauses that kick in. And I think the organization was kind of like, okay, we're getting, we're going to

sort this out and then we're going to get onto the next thing. And all of a sudden this isn't sorted out and there's still next things to eventually get to. So I think that's one of the bigger things here is the lack of a runway to really wait. You've got to kind of know where you are. So the, the other big story around the toronto maple leafs is the future of austin matthews and as we're talking about extension for kyle dubas we also dovetail and talk about extension for austin matthews listen it's not

like we haven't talked about this we have a billion times i know and and here we go again ellie we're gonna do it one more time because the kids want the hits. Play that record again. Where do you see this one trending? Well, I have believed that he'll sign for, I don't know, four or five years, something like that, which puts him in position to sign another big deal when he's 30 or 31 years old. I believe he wants to stay. I believe he likes being a Toronto Maple Leaf,

and he recognizes how special it would be if they were to win here. I think it's going to be a massive number by AAV. I think it's going to be the biggest AAV in the NHL. I know some people out there disagree with that, but you have to understand the way leverage works. And I believe the organization is prepared to do that. Now, do I think they're going to say blank check, here you go? No, I think they're going to try to negotiate it. But my belief is that that was the way it was going to happen. Now, do I think they're going to say blank check, here you go? No, I think they're going to try to negotiate it. But my belief is that that was the way it was going to happen. Now, as I said in the last pod, if they go into the draft, not sure that they can sign

him, it could be a wild draft. But, and that's, I think, one of the reasons that I think they were willing to keep Dubas because they knew that Matthews was comfortable under him. I think if the Dubas thing changes, then we'll see what happens here. But my inclination is that Matthews is going to sign. The thing that really stood out here was when Dubas said at the end of the media conference. This spring and summer through to next October, am interested in doing anything that we, after a very thorough evaluation,

because if you're going to do something like that, you've got to bet it's got to be very thoroughly done, which I think the team we just played serves as a great template for. They won the President's Trophy. They lost in the second round. They were disappointed. They get to the summer and

they trade two of their core guys for for a great young player younger player and that's a that's a big move but I don't think it was hastily done it wasn't until I think it was late July a Friday night late July that they make the move. So the way I would answer it is I would consider anything with our group here that would allow us a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. So I would take nothing off the table at all. And I think everything would have to be considered with regards to anything to do with the Leafs. And what that says to me is that he's putting

everybody there on notice the players who get traded to the maple leaves and you've heard it all in it publicly and now you're going to hear it privately you know riot o'reilly has said it nola charry has said it luke shan has said it jake mccabe has said it all of the guys who get traded here said it. Toronto does everything they can to make players comfortable and create a positive environment. And I think that was Kyle Dubas' way of saying, we have done our jobs here. We have created a winning environment. You guys get everything you need. They made one coaching change. Now there's questions about the next coach. He is putting it squarely on the

players and you know, you can't keep running it back, running it back and running it back. And I, and as I've said, I do think there will be changes, but I think what Dubas said there is guys, we've done everything we can. Now it's even going to be more on you. And if we don't think you can deliver, we're going to make the change. And he's going to investigate what's out there. You know, I think they will investigate some big things. Does he do it? I don't know, but they're not running it back.

Like that's over. And Jeff, probably the biggest one is going to be Nylander. And I know he said he wanted to stay. Look, I love it here. I don't want to be Nylander and I know he said he wanted to stay. Look, I love it here. I don't want to be anywhere else and this is where I want to win and I want us to give it a go as long as

we can. But what's that negotiation going to look like? You know, I thought a lot about, because I knew we were going to lead the program today or at least at some point talk about Kyle Dubas on the podcast. So on the flight over here to Raleigh, I thought a lot about, because I knew we were going to lead the program today, or at least at some point talk about Kyle Dubas on the podcast. So on the flight over here to Raleigh, I thought a lot about Dubas. And the one thing that I kept coming back to is this idea,

because I'm trying to measure off, you know, his media availability from Monday to some of the early Kyle Dubas press conferences at the end of seasons. And a couple of different times over the past few years, I've gone back just to watch them in tone because I knew Dubas when he was with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and what his style was like. And I'm just sort of, you know, I'm interested in watching people evolve through their careers. And some of those early end of season press conferences, a lot of it Dubas took on himself.

This was my failure. I didn't do this. This one's on me a lot about protecting the players all right Elliot it was a lot about you know don't come down hard on Nylander don't come down hard on Marner this is on me I didn't do this I'm the one that's diving on the grenade here for what happened this season. And I measure that off against the Dubas that we're seeing now. And the question I'm asking essentially here is, are we seeing the hardening of Kyle Dubas

or are we just seeing a further maturing of Kyle Dubas in this position? Because I'll tell you, it is very rare to watch someone mature into a position in a market as big as Toronto, but we're seeing it go back and watch those original press conferences, Elliot. It's fascinating. Well, I think that's true. I think you gain experience. I think a lot of times when you walk into a job, and there's a lot of people listening to this who can empathize with this or understand this, you walk into a job or you walk into a school or you walk into an objective and you think it's going to be like this. And actually it turns out to be like that.

And to go back to what we talked about with social media, I recently spoke to a group of young journalists. One of the things I talked to them about is that it's baked into the pie now with the way we've all put our lives out on social media, that you are going to take a lot of stuff that you don't deserve to take. Like you're going to take criticism, but now you're really going to take criticism and it's going to be ridiculous. And some of it's going to be very fair and honest and people making very good, fair points. But some of it's going to be ridiculous and dishonest and from anonymous people who are cowards or from people who talk about the way you

look or your weight or anything like that. And it shouldn't happen, but it does happen. And if you're going to take a public facing job, you have to be prepared for that, whether it's fair or not. job, you have to be prepared for that, whether it's fair or not. And the other thing I said to them is, as you get more successful, it gets harsher and more personal, especially if you're dealing with something that people are really passionate about, like the Toronto Maple Leafs. And one of the reasons it gets harsher and more personal is because people are going to want your job and they're going to try to motivate other people to take shots at you. And it's the way the world works. And you understand that things you are idealistic about don't always happen. Like there are some very good things and very good people in the world, but there are some things you have to do

to be successful, which aren't always very nice. You have to make difficult decisions that affect people's future. So I don't think you can do that job without growing. I think that Dubas has gotten more of an edge to him. I've been on the receiving end of it on occasion and that's perfectly fine. That's life in the big city. I think he's a much better executive now than he was when he first started. He's in the deep end of the ocean. He's in the Mariana Trench swimming with the sharks. And I think he's learned an awful lot. And I think the Maple Leafs as an organization recognize that the best days of his career of an executive are still to come. The one thing I think is that, and I keep coming back to it, I think the Maple Leafs thought they

were making progress here. And so now what does this all mean? I think both sides have to stop and step back and take a deep breath. And it's happening while we do this and kind of figure out what it all means. One final thought here on the Maple Leafs. You want to throw a dart at something here? I did on the radio the other day. Sure. The AAV for Austin Matthews. So Connor McDavid, AAV 12.5, Nathan McKinnon, AAV 12.6. What are the odds that Austin Matthews comes in at 12.7? 6 what are the odds that austin matthews comes in at 12.7 look i don't want to pick a number yet because i want to do some actual honest research at this no no no no have fun pretend you're on my radio show again here no you know what america's if i spit a number it's friedman says this is the

number all right i'll just i think he's going to be the highest paid aav in the league i wanted to do some work on the number when i say number, I want to say it's a number I've researched and this is what I think it could be. By the way, I do think there's been an indication made to Luke Shen that Toronto wants him back. I'm sure he's not the only one. No surprise. But that's one I'm getting some noise about.

Oh, very good. Very good. This just handed to me. This just handed to me. Okay. So, uh, park that car, park the leaf conversation temporarily because still plenty of decisions there. Um, anything that you took away from the Edmonton Oilers closeout Edmonton Oilers press

conferences, it seemed as if, you know, the theme was, you know, Stanley cup or bust, uh, Zach Hyman saying, you know, the theme was, you know, Stanley Cup or bust. Zach Hyman saying, you know, it's Cup or a failure. Yeah, I mean, going into next year, I think everybody's mindset should be, you know, we're winning the Stanley Cup or it's a failure of a season. Like that's the reality of the window

that we're talking about. They're right there, like mentally, physically, all of it. Was there anything other than that that you took away from Edmonton Day? McDavid looks miserable in all of these media. Like that guy just despises to lose. Yes. Like he absolutely does.

I keep asking, like his top teeth have vanished. Like when's the last time we saw his top teeth, Elliot? He does not smile anymore. Well, he cannot stand to lose. He, he just can't. And Dreisaitl is the same way. I remember I once watched a documentary on Bob Knight, like this was years ago.

And Bob Knight coached Indiana for a long time, but he played at. Oh yes, he did. He played at Ohio state. They won a national championship. And I think he was the sixth man of the team there. And the players talked about how angry he would get if they ever lost at Ohio State, because he just could not stand to lose at where he played basketball. And they would talk about

just how enraged he would get. And it didn't take Bob Knight a lot to get enraged, but that especially did it. I was watching McDavid and I was thinking of that. That was the thing that popped into my head. He did throw a chair like Bobby Knight did, didn't he? No, he did not do that. He did not throw a chair at Mark Spector. Although, Mark, sorry, but I assume he wanted to. The way him and Dreisaitl look, you know, BX actually talked last night during the Game 7 broadcast about how much players hate

the end-of-season interviews because they're really not prepared to deal with everything yet. They haven't come to grips with the fact the season is over. And I also thought about Bieksa talking as I watched the two of them. Look, Woodcroft and Holland are talking on Wednesday. I think usually those interviews give you a little bit more. I really like the story about Skinner keeping the stick that broke. I like that. Stu, two questions for you. Is it true that you kept your broken stick from the LA? Yeah. Yeah, it is true. It's in my basement right now. So I'm going to find a

spot on the wall to hang it up. Why is it important to keep that stick and that memory? important to keep that stick and that memory yeah i think i think it's it's important for me because it's a reminder um you know it's a reminder that things you know it's life um you know all of us in this room have experienced that you know things don't go well all the time uh you're gonna get knocked down um you know if you watch rocky balboa movies it's not about how many times you get knocked down right it's about how many times you get back up so um you know we've been down in series you know we've we've lost in the third round lost in the second round uh when i look at that stick it shows me perseverance it shows me that you know things aren't going to go well and it's and that's okay and you're going to battle back from that you're going to battle back from that. You're going to work back from that.

You're going to get back up and, you know, keep fighting. And that's what this team does. So it's a, it's a reminder of, you know, of my teammates and how they persevere and also about how I battle back as well. A really good story. I think a lot of people are very curious about Holland. He's going into the last year of his contract. There's a lot of belief that he may think it's time. We'll see what he has to say. I know Frank had a report about him moving up and Steve Stahels becoming a GM. That conversation has definitely been heard around hockey. When we did our show in Hamilton for the tour,

we had Steve Stahels and Mike Andlauer on as guests those guys are attached at the hip yep and I do think there's legitimate reason to believe that if Andlauer ends up with the Sanders Stahos will end up in the hockey ops there you know I think the Oilers value Stahos so we'll see where this one goes you know you mentioned Ken Holland and potentially the last season and uh one of my first thoughts there is outside of Edmonton, I'll be really curious to see when the schedule comes out to see the Oilers' last game in Detroit next season and the Thank You Kenny chants or the Thank You Kenny signs

that we'll see around the rink there. Listen to the 32 Thoughts Podcast free on amazon music included with prime you mentioned michael and lauer uh and steve steos let's uh transition there quickly the bids are in elliot the bids are in for the Ottawa Senators. So it's the four of them. And as has been reported, Bruce Garriock and Sportico, the three of them that I had heard right away that were absolutely going to bid were in alphabetical order, Michael Anlauer, the Kimmel family, and Nico Sparks. And Bruce had the fourth, which was Steve Apostolopoulos. And that one actually was a bit of a surprise. People said they weren't sure if he was actually going to bid, but he did from what we understand.

People have told me that these bid packages are really complex. It takes a few days to go through them. It's not only the bid number, but how your ownership works, what the percentages are, what your financing is, who's your bank, all of these kinds of things. People told me it would take a few days to go through it and then we'll see who gets like sort of the first exclusive window. I know there are some suspicions out there. I'm going to wait because this process has had a lot of twists and turns, but there are definitely some in the whisper world that people consider as favorites over others i think we'll know in the next few days a few things here and a few teams that we've talked

about and as the days go on you know there may be some more clarity so i'm going to go on a fishing trip here with you and you let me know whether the the lens has focused at all on things we'll start with the calgary flames and their gm hunt so i believe that the calgary flames have two internal candidates uh craig conroy and brad paschal one of the things i just like to say we work with two people who have relatives involved here are cassie campbell paschal of course and brad paschal and jennifer botterill and jason botterill i'm going to say this for the record because i don't like it when people think that the people we work with are giving information because they're not they're the most secretive it's the opposite i find it's the exact opposite it's true so i you know i think craig conroy and brad paschal

have been interviewed and are contenders for the Calgary job. As I said in the last pod, I was told not to shy away from internal candidates possibly getting it. I also think there's some external candidates. Mark Hunter is a name that I have mentioned. And I had heard that initially he declined to interview or he was not available. And now I've heard that might be changing. So we'll see where that goes. But the other name I've heard there is Dave Nones, the former Vancouver and Toronto GM. I have heard is in the mix there.

And Brandon Pridham's name was reported. I just don't know where that stands right now. And I sure there are others i always assume there are people i am not figuring out but those are the names i've heard so far okay elliot the fenway sports group and their search for a couple of different positions here i would suspect because we've seen a number of names already pop up uh that you may want to either add from the list, maybe subtract from the list. What do you want to do with this very public list of names? Well, first of all, I wanted to give you some credits because. What?

What, what, what, what? Yes. You were the first person in the world to mention John Chayka's name in contention with this. Little birds, Elliot. Just little birds. That's all. I believe they've met with him. And the connection here is Chayka has a lot of links to current and former Fenway Sports Group employees.

A number of very strong relationships from what I've been told. And that there are a number of them, as I said, past and present, who know Chayka. I think one of those people would be Theo Epstein, who ran the front office in two Red Sox World Series victories. So there is a lot of familiarity with him and they would have a full dossier of information into him and thought into him so i think you're absolutely right i think he's met with them you know there's varying opinions on where this is going to go and i

think they are definitely considering him uh, nothing is ever done until it's done. You know, the other names, some of them have been reported. Some of them haven't. I'm just going to go over every name I've heard. Jason Botterill. I'm getting very mixed messages on Botterill's candidacy here. I think at times he has accepted offers to interview for jobs like Anaheim, but I think other ones he has said no to. So I'm not sure where Botterill stands on this one. Also with connection to Pittsburgh, which I don't think is a bad thing here. Fenway likes that connection of the city. Jason Carmanos, other names I want to mention, Matthewew darsh steve greeley dad mckinnon who's got a history with mike sullivan and two others from new jersey megan duggan kate madigan eric tulsky

peter shirelli and mark bergevin and also they interviewed i think some younger people like one of the things people told me about pittsburgh was depending on who the first person they hired then it was going to determine which way they were going like it wasn't necessarily going to be a president of hockey ops and a general manager it could be one person and then they would use their leftover kind of budget and titles if they had to promote someone from somewhere else like it's pretty interesting the way pittsburgh thought about this and i think they they thought about some younger people who they believe have bright futures in the game and kind of wanted to get to know them one i think is sam ventura from buffalo who used to work in pittsburgh

and the other i think think might be Cam Lawrence from Columbus. I heard his name in and around this, that he was somebody that they had talked to, but I I'm not sure that he's going to be a finalist in this one, but I'd heard they talked to him. There were three individuals who I believe that they asked for permission to talk to and was rejected. And one is Brad tree living, you know, Jeff, you and I have both talked about this, how we don't agree with what's happening here. Another, uh, Rob Rossi beat me to it in the athletic Jeff Greenberg from Chicago. Now, Jeff has been in the NHL for a year, uh, after coming over from the Cubs, but he's got a long hockey background from his family. And that doesn't scare Fenway.

If it's someone with a bit of a different career path, I don't think they're afraid about that at all. But the other one I'd heard that they may have asked to speak to, and at this point in time it was not granted, was Ryan Martin from the Rangers. Ryan Martin, who we last heard attached to the Anaheim Ducks in their search for a GM before that went to Pat Verbeek. Right.

I think you're right about that. And I don't think it's the last time we're going to hear Martin's name. But Jeff, if not Chica, I think they're beginning phase two of their operation. And some of the names I'm hearing are Darsh, McKinnon, Tulsky. And I can't decide on Greeley and Carmanos. But those are the names I'm kind of hearing. So that's the Pittsburgh story. And that's a lot of names right there.

Elliot Freeman. That's if you're playing, if you're playing name that GM, there's a big list. Okay. So some coaching situations here, whether it's the Rangers, the ducks or the capitals,

but let's start with the blue jackets. What do you hear? What do you know? Yarmulke K kekalian has been the one who has kind of been up front and saying he wants to get this done and i think that he is very serious about that he's certainly interviewed pascal vincent who's there but he's also been looking at coaches with a lot more experience i believe they talked to mike babcock i don't think that's going to happen, but I have a feeling that a guy

like Peter Laviolette could be on the radar for both Columbus and the Rangers. And anything could happen here because I've learned anything can happen, but it sounds like Laviolette is in a really good position here between the Rangers and Columbus, and we'll see what happens. Loves him some metropolitan division is essentially what you're saying here. Okay. The full tour. Yeah, speaking of.

That's good. I never even thought about that, Jeff. That's pretty good. Oh, no, it's all. And then the one dalliance, of course, out in Nashville. Let's stick with the metropolitan then. What do you hear?

What do you know other than maybe Spencer Carberry with Washington? Well, the two hot names there are Spencer Carberry and Jeff Halpern. I don't think those are the only people the Capitals are talking to. I think they're looking elsewhere. But those are the two names right now that we have uncovered. And finally, since you've also covered off the New York Rangers with Mike Babcock, do you have anything else to add to Mike Babcock with the Rangers before we go to Anaheim?

I think when it comes to Babcock, Jeff, and teams do call him, they call him to gauge his interest. I just don't know if a high intensity environment, in terms of median attention, is what is going to work there. So not everyone in the Rangers organization, I don't think, wanted to do Babcock, but I think there were some who wanted to pursue it. And I'm just not convinced that he thinks that's the right environment for him. You know where Mike Babcock started his pro coaching career, right? Cincinnati. Specifically Cincinnati, yes, with the Ducks organization, coached a couple of years with Anaheim as well. Let's get to the Anaheim Ducks here.

What's the latest on Padford Beek's search for a head coach, and could they be revisiting the Babcock question? I don't know about that. I don't get the sense that Anaheim is anywhere close. Oh, I did want to mention one name. We should mention Andrew Burnett's name because I do think he's going to come up for some of these jobs absolutely and the other name i heard a couple people told me not to sleep on uh was bradshaw oh yeah so i wonder if they could be in the anaheim mix but i just heard anaheim's

not close you know as i said to you on monday i think new jersey is going to be lindy ruff i think unless that falls apart and i gotta think also at some point in time, we're going to get a Nashville conversation here too, because I think you get to the point where you have to say to your coaches, we're in or you're in or you're out. You know, what are the names that, you know, every time I have conversations with various people, usually at a certain point people start to wonder about Todd Nelson.

Like I know you mentioned Andrew Burnett's name and him out there, and I know Spencer Carvery, his name is certainly hot with Washington. I do wonder about Todd Nelson here, whether we see Todd Nelson pop up with an NHL team. That's a good one too. Coaching with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Okay, Elliot, before we get to Dan Hilferty here in a couple of seconds, we're going to default to the governor

for the Philadelphia Flyers and the CEO of Comcast Spectacore. Congratulations to the Dallas Stars. They are through to the Western Conference Final. It wasn't easy because Seattle didn't let it be easy for the Dallas Stars. Congratulations to Seattle, their second season. Listen, I know

it was a tough flight, Elliot, back from Dallas. Were you on the plane with them? No, but I can only imagine, Elliot. You know what that flight, because you get so close and you're right there and you have the momentum and then bam, the Dallas Stars stick it to you. Jake Ottinger sticks

it to you. Wyatt Johnson, who is outstanding. The rookie sticks it to you as well.ten drew sticks it to you wyatt johnson who was outstanding you know the the rookie sticks it to you as well but congratulations to the seattle kraken uh a great second season surprised a lot of teams and when i look back at the uh at the kraken and they do have a little bit of business here in the off season i'll i'll get to that with you in a second the one moment where i i think all of us did where we looked at and said hold on a second, the one moment where I think all of us did, where we looked at and said, hold on a second here, the Kraken might be for real. That eight game winning streak in January, seven of which on the road, where they beat the Oilers, the Maple Leafs, they beat Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo.

But that January 12th game, that to me was a huge regular season game for Seattle. That's the game where they went into Boston, handed them their first regulation home loss of the season, January 12th, first home loss that ended their 14 game point streak. They won against Chicago, then went back to Seattle and promptly lost to Tampa. But still, that I think was the moment where we all said, hold on a second here. I think the Kraken are real. Your thoughts on the season, regular

season, playoffs, all of it and what we just saw from Seattle. Like, look, I agree with you. They probably feel like crap right now because that's how people are. I thought it was a huge win for the season i kind of missed the hot takes that would have happened with a vegas seattle western conference final oh yeah i'm watching all of these hot takes about how bad this final is for the nhl which is

you know to me is crazy town seattle last year they were really disappointed you know, to me is crazy town. Seattle last year, they were really disappointed. You know, Vegas warped the expansion success level in the NHL. They went to the Stanley Cup final in their first year and Seattle tried not to be compared to it, but too bad, you can't avoid it. They had a really bad year. There were questions about Dave Haxtell's job security

after year one. Yep. So what did they do? They said, well, we were too slow. They went out and they found speed. We don't score enough. They went out and they got scoring. And you look at all the players, your man crush Sprong, Tolvan and on waivers, Matty Beneers, who was a draft pick, they plugged them in. They went out and they got Bjork Strand because another team dilly-dallied and you know even like this ty carche kid he can shoot hard man he can hit

he can fire a puck and he can hit like that kid's a player they found what they needed to find to make themselves better someone said to me today i think it was on i think it was matt marquez on your show like what are the kraken gonna do you have You have to know the GM. Like, Ron Francis is a slow, slow-moving guy. He believes in process, and he does not vary from the process. Do I think he's going to try to get Benir signed? Yes. Do I think he's going to try to get vince dunn signed yes absolutely and dunn is an rfa one year from unrestricted free agency with arbright's and he's got pat morris negotiating for him like that's going to be a challenge so he believes in improvement from within he doesn't go out and chase things so decisions there you mentioned vince Vince Dunn, Daniel Sprong's restricted as well.

I wonder about Carson Soucy. I really do. Like, I think we all wonder about Vince Dunn and what that number is going to be. And I know that's going to be tough for all the reasons you mentioned. Daniel Sprong with, you know, fourth line 20 goal season.

We've had a lot of fun with Sprong this season, but I do wonder about Carson Soucy who became a pretty important part of that blue line. And you know that more than a couple of teams were calling come trade deadline time. He's an impending unrestricted free agent. What are you thinking? We could use him for our run. Either way, I think Carson Soucy has put himself in a really nice spot. I just wonder if he's back with Seattle, because if he's not and he goes to market, there'll be a lot of teams interested in Carson Soucy. There's not a lot of D out there, Jeff. So that drives up his price, right?

Yep. It's a scarce D market, and everybody got a chance to see him for 14 games in the playoffs. Carson Soucy's not surprising anyone. He played 14 tough games, and now everybody knows what he is. This is the thing, and again, this goes back to Francis. He'll 14 tough games and now everybody knows what he is. This is the thing. And again,

this goes back to Francis. He'll be 29 in July. So Francis's history is we don't pay for those years. We pay for the other years. And if it would be so easy to get him signed, he would be signed already. So now the poker game really begins. Susie knows what his market is. He's got smart reps and he knows he's dealing with a GM who doesn't historically pay a ton of money for those ages of a player's career. It's going to be a challenge, but Jamie Oleksiak, But Jamie Oleksiak, I will say this, they gave him 4.6 until he's about 34. Adam Larson, they gave him 4 million until he's about 33. So I do see some room here. Seuss is at 275.

That says to me, you know, if the number is kind of in that range, there's a path there. You know, if the number is kind of in that range, there's a path there. If the number's much higher than that, I don't know that there's a path there. Okay, on that, we're going to hit a pause. When we come back, you will hear from the governor for the Philadelphia Flyers, Dan Hilferty, in a fascinating conversation about how everything came together in Philly. Stay tuned. Okay, welcome back to the podcast. Now we want to present to you an interview that we did on Monday.

Dan Hilfrey is the CEO of Comcast Spectacore, but for hockey fans, he's the governor of the Philadelphia Flyers. And maybe more specifically, and interestingly, certainly of late, he was one of the main people helping in the search for the Philadelphia Flyers front office positions, now filled by Keith Jones and Daniel Breyer. This is our conversation where he walks us through all of it from Monday.

We really think you're going to enjoy this. This is Dan Hilferty of the Philadelphia Flyers on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Dan, first of all, thanks so much for doing this. Much appreciated. Second of all, hockey fans in Philadelphia, they know you. A lot of people in Philadelphia know you. For our listeners on this podcast, what do you think the most salient point that people should know about you?

So when they hear the name Dan Hilferty, they flash to blank. What should that be? First of all, both to you and Elliot Jeff, thank you for having me on. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to your podcast or watch your podcast, but just this morning I prepped up and I'm looking forward to watching many, many more. But I would say this. I'm born and bred Philadelphian. Other than living out of town for four years to do things similar to the Peace Corps, the Judges Volunteer Corps, and two years in D.C. for graduate school, I've been in the Philadelphia area. Youngest of five children,

born in Philadelphia, raised in South Jersey on the Jersey Shore. And I think when you look at my career, I've had the opportunity to run, over the course of 20-plus years, two major Philadelphia-based companies. And I think what people would say most about me is that I'm an inclusive, collaborative leader. And not only within the organizations I run, but as you think about the community as a whole, I've been part of some great initiatives. We brought two political conventions to Philadelphia. We brought Pope Francis to Philadelphia. And most recently, I've been chairman of the effort to bring the 2026 World Cup to Philadelphia. We are one of the host cities here in the Northeast corridor.

So I think my biggest thing is a collaborative team-based leader. Let me ask a Flyers question quickly, then I'm going to hand it over to Elliot. Were you there for 74 and 75, the Stanley Cup glory? would go up and we'd scalp tickets to go in. But I can't say that I was at any of the finals, watched that first parade on TV. The next year, I was a freshman in college at St. Joseph's University in Philly, and a group of us cut class to go down to the second parade. But watched all the games, continued through my adulthood. I'm a fan of all the Philadelphia teams, but remember them vividly and still think of Bob Clark and that team and smile. What is more challenging, getting the Pope to visit Philadelphia or making a selection of the Flyers leadership group that's going to make everybody happy?

group that's going to make everybody happy? Elliot, it's a toss-up. I mean, the beauty of the Pope trip, a group of us were able to go to Rome two or three times to try to convince them to come. I would say this, the interesting part of this recent process, I'm new in my role. I took over for Dave Scott about two months ago and officially a month ago. over for Dave Scott about two months ago and officially a month ago. So I had a chance to sit with Dave as we thought through the transition to Danny Breer becoming the interim general manager. And I said this at the press conference last week, it took me about five minutes to realize that in Danny Breer, and you guys both talked about it earlier, we had our long-term

general manager. The conversation about the structure we wanted, I think traditionally you start with, okay, we're going to find a president or a president and a GM or a president and a different role of GM. You start from the top and work your way through the organization. Here's how it worked with me and our team. As I personally got to know Danny, as I said, I knew we had the right GM, but it was getting to know Coach Tortorella. I mean, Torts, I kid him, we're in the same age bracket. So we had fun having conversations. And what I realized early on is his fire slash passion, his pedigree. I mean, we have a world-class coach here, a Stanley Cup champion.

And at this stage in our careers, this is my last rodeo, for lack of a better term. And it's my hope that this is his as well. And as he said to me, Dan, look, I'm the right person for this job. I want to teach. I want to do it the right way. I want to be patient. And that's how we all felt. So instead of building from president through the

rest of the organization, I realized, A, we had a general manager that we wanted to keep in the worst way. Dan, he's not only smart, he's organized, he's got a vision for where I'd like to go, and he's a charismatic leader. I mentioned about torts. So we wanted a third piece to complement it. And it was somebody who could assist me and Valerie Camillo, our president of sports and entertainment, that could assist us in really telling the story to the public, being part of the whole NHL leadership infrastructure, and could be that third collaborative piece with Danny and torts and making sure that we really leave no stone uncovered as we patiently build back the Flyers tradition and heritage as the we want to be the envy of the NHL now there's a lot of places to go after that but the first thing I wanted to ask you was the Flyers history. And I miss doing games in Philadelphia because I loved going to games there. The passion, the fan base, they love their Flyers

and they love their Flyers a certain way. And there was a game this year, late in the season where the Rangers were in town and they won the game and. overtime yeah and it was like a rain it was like Madison Square Garden and we got a lot of notes in our Twitter DMs from Flyers fans saying this is unacceptable we can't have this anymore and I just wanted to ask you what did you learn Dan about the fan base about how the fan base feels about the Flyers and what they want from the Flyers? So, Elliot, I have to tell you, growing up here, when you think about how close these cities are, particularly D.C., Philadelphia, New York, there's a lot of that.

Whether it's the Eagles or Phillies or the 76ers. If you noticed in the stands that dreadful Boston Celtics game yesterday that there were a number of people in blue and red drove up from Philadelphia. That doesn't forgive it. I know as a fan, and I'm first and foremost a fan, walking into Wells Fargo Center, the new Wells Fargo Center that evening, and seeing so many Rangers fans, it just turns your stomach. So I not only can relate to what our fans felt that evening, but I feel it too. And so what I will say to you is part of our motivation to do what we're doing is to restore that fire in the belly around the Flyers. Now, we've got to play differently. The days of the Broad Street Bullies are, for the most part, over. You know, speed, what the new

game's about, we've got to be about. But at the same time, we want people to feel about opposing teams coming into Philadelphia. Oh no, we have to play the Flyers tonight and we want our fans to have that same passion that they brought here in 1974 1975 but with an understanding that we are ready to tackle the new era and and that's one of the things I kind of understood is I understood that fans said they don't want the quote-unquote old Flyers in charge anymore but I heard that you guys felt it was very important to have a flyer at the top. So that's a difficult line to walk, Dan, go from flyer to flyer and send the right message. First of all, I agree with most of what you said right there. Let me comment on that. Sure. The first question was, was I around for the parade,

so to speak, or for those Stanley Cup championships? What has been frustrating to me and a number of us is that we look to the past, and I consider those early players the foundational titans of our franchise. 100%. And inscribed, I guess it was Shakespeare that said, the past is prologue. Unless you study and cherish your past, you can't move forward, in my opinion. So first and foremost, we made it very clear that whether it be Bob Clark, Paul Holmgren, Bill Barber, and other alums who come from that earlier era, we're going to cherish what they did for this organization. We're going to respect them as members of our overall team, but they are not going to make the decisions going forward. They don't want to make the decisions. They don't want to be respected.

And if Keith or Danny or Torts have a question to ask, of course they're going to reach out to them. But we want to make that distinction. Okay, guilty as charged. We're honoring the folks from the past, but we're moving in a new direction. Just so happens, and this is where I would have a slight variation to what you said. an ex-flyer to run the organization, either as GM or president. It's that we wanted to pick the best two people for those roles. And it just so happened, in our opinion, the best two people for the roles happened to be ex-flyers, both with national experience, both with other experiences outside of Philadelphia. But it just so happened that the best two in our minds, Keith and Danny, both former flyers. One of the questions people sometimes ask me when I go speak to young people are,

who are the best people that you've ever interviewed? And one of the people I always say is Bob Clark. Bob Clark was one of the best interviews I've ever dealt with in my career because I knew if I asked him a question, I was getting an honest answer whether I liked it or not. But I also admit, particularly when I was a young reporter, I found him incredibly intimidating. And I'm just wondering, you know, you've been around a long time, you've ran big companies. I was just wondering when that conversation came that it was going to be different now for Clark and to another degree, Holmgren and Bar Barber how hard was it or how tough was it even at my age because I do believe in that respecting the past I yes I as a fan I hold I hold them in all of them can't say it any other way but from the moment I took this position the first three people that reached out to me with open arms were the three that you mentioned,

Bob Clark, Paul Holmgren, and Bill Barber. And from my perspective, it was never once you should do this, this, this, or this. It was, Dan, anything you need. In fact, Bob Clark and I played at the same golf course at the Jersey Shore for a number of years and really knew each other casually. I knew Steve Coates much better. Coates and I have had a beer or two occasionally together. But it wasn't like I was intimidated. I could have been intimidated. They didn't allow me to be intimidated. It was just with open arms.

And just I found them to be individuals that I could sit down and talk to and really learn more about the game, not as an event, but as an executive now in the industry. What sold you on Keith Jones? What did he do to convince you that he was the right person? Can I start with Danny first? Because are you okay with that? Sure, absolutely. So Danny, when he finished his career, he immediately came to work on the business side of Comcast Spectacore. And obviously the interrelationship between the corporate side and the hockey side. He sat in a cubicle in the middle of the Comcast Spectacore offices. He went to graduate school at the Wharton School and just decided to learn the business soup to nuts. And I tell you that story because it's how he has gone about this role as an assistant general

manager and now the general manager of the franchise. So there was no interview process per se. It was just from conversations that I knew he was the guy for the reasons we said. Now fast forward to this process. Remember, we came at it kind of top to bottom. We had a coach we were confident in. We now had a general manager we were confident in. So as I thought about what we wanted and worked with Valerie Camillo and a few others, what we wanted in a president role, I kind of developed a profile. And I can say it now because the process is over. It matched who Keith Jones is. And so if we had certain members of the interview process, just great names,

and I obviously won't get into any of them, but they were very clear. I'm going to make the decision on the general manager. I'm going to make the decision on the coach. And right away, I was like, no, that's not what we're looking for. decision on the coach. And right away, I was like, no, that's not what we're looking for. As I interviewed Keith informally and got to know him, it was a no-brainer to me in that he is articulate. You talk about a charisma about a person. I mean, I haven't found anybody yet who has a bad thing to say about Keith. Now, we'll see how that is a couple of years from now after we start winning. But so it was, Keith captured all that I wanted. We've had a disconnect with our fans over the

past few years. I know it as a fan. What we wanted is someone who could bridge that disconnect and do it in a way that would disarm somebody who was feeling really passionate about how our performance has not been up to par as of late. And he just, every box checked for me. Dan, are there any more hires we should expect or is this group done right now? These are the major hires, so to speak. We're in good shape, coach and coaching staff. I would say within the hockey ops offices, Danny is thinking about what he needs. And my sense is, and he has said this publicly, that there will be some changes. We haven't talked about that in depth as of yet. I would say there will not be any other major hires at the level of president, GM, coach. What we're trying to do is make sure there's no

wall between the business side and the hockey side. And the five of us, and we see us as five on the business side, myself and Valerie Camillo, and you know, on the hockey side, Keith, Danny, and Torts, we've agreed that we're going to do this together. And it's going to be about, you asked me what was unique about all my time here in Philadelphia. It's about collaboration. It's about building team. So I would say within that five, there will be no additional hires. From a Comcast Spectacore perspective, I firmly believe that if Keith, Danny, and Torts come to me, come to Valerie and say, we need this, this, or this, we're going to seriously figure out how we can get it done for them. Let me ask about Philadelphia Flyers fans. They are some of the most unique and passionate in the NHL period, which at times can be a blessing when things are going well, and sometimes can be a

curse when things aren't going very well. The answer that I got to this question a lot is honesty and no BS. What do you think Philadelphia Flyers fans want from your organization right now? Honesty and no BS. I mean, I don't say that in jest. It's true. For example, I think we were about the pressures in this league of competing, of trying to get there and maybe making a free agent signing. Or, well, we've made it clear from the beginning, this is a rebuild, number one. And people don't necessarily want to go through a rebuild. But if they know the truth, that that's what you're doing.

And we've been very clear that we're going to do this in a deliberate. We're going to get younger and younger. Well, younger, you can only get so young. But we're going to continue to play younger players. Let me put it that way. We're going to work through the draft. And then certainly as we begin to build the foundation of what we believe we can become, then we'll open the door to a major free agency signing a few years down the road.

But they want honesty. The reaction that we've been getting, be it in social media or people don't recognize me in this role as much as they do, obviously Keith, Danny, and Torts, but we're being very clear It's a consistent message. We're going to do this the right way. We're going to take our time, but we're going to bring you along in that journey. And that gets back to the question about, was Keith the perfect person? I mean, he's a storyteller. We watch him on TV doing broadcast. He tells a story of a game. He's doing the same thing and will continue to do the same thing along with Danny in telling the story to our fans. That's all they want. Sure, they want a winner, but they want to know truthfully what you're doing, why you're doing it, and we're all committed to doing it. I now wear my Flyers garb wherever I go. And it was early in the morning.

We were flying to L.A. and we're having our first cup of coffee. And my wife obviously knows me well. And Joan, she said she saw me looking at people coming in with a Flyers hat or a Flyers sweatshirt. And she said, don't do it. Don't do it. I couldn't help it. I got up. I went over and introduced myself. And they're taking selfies.

I'm saying, you don't want a selfie with me. You want a selfie with the coach or a player. But my point is, they just want to be talked to. And they want to know that you care about them because they're the lifeblood of our organization. They're a lifeblood of any professional team. And they want to know that you're being truthful with them. And so I've been doing it everywhere I go. Can you imagine when Keith Jones or Danny Brayer starts doing this in an airport? Word gets out. It's like a ripple effect. You throw that pebble into the pond. And so that's our commitment from top to bottom in this organization. We're going to talk to fans. We're going to take the hit when we deserve the hit,

but we're going to bring them along on this journey. the hit, but we're going to bring them along on this journey. One of the things about a rebuild is how long does it take? Do you guys have a plan that you've committed to for a length of time or anything like that? You know, Elliot, it's interesting. Remember, I'm a fan. And just to give an example of that, as Torts and I were getting to know each other, we had a two-hour conversation. We never talked about hockey. It was kind of philosophy of coaching and philosophy of life. And so my point is that I still view this as a fan. So even if you were to ask me that question directly about a time frame, I couldn't answer the question.

Here's how I've heard Tts from his perspective. I said this earlier. We're going to do this the right way. I'm going to really be about teaching and developing players. From Danny's perspective, the timeline is up to the players at the end of the day. He said that consistently during our press conference and the interviews after. So what I would say, it's multi-year, but I couldn't begin to put a time frame on it, and nor have we in management, corporate management, so to speak, given a time frame to our leadership team. We want to see improvement, and does improvement mean in terms of wins and losses year to year? I don't think for this first year or two it does, but I can't put a time frame on

how long it will take, nor are we requesting it of them. Let me ask you about Philadelphia Flyers personality. And there were a couple of times this season, and I believe John Tortorella actually referenced it at least once, where teams would either be running up the score on the Philadelphia Flyers, maybe taking some advantage of younger Philadelphia Flyers players, but essentially taking advantage of Philadelphia at a time when they're down and Tortorella's answer after the game, you know, he would talk about having a long memory.

He would talk about receipts. Then he would talk about responses later on down the road that there will be a response at a time from the Philadelphia Flyers. And I'll tell you, Dan, I get like the Philadelphia Flyers because I grew up watching that 74, 70. I was really young, but some of my earliest hockey memories. And I think, you know what?

Like that's a Philadelphia Flyers answer. What type of personality do you want this team to have? Do you want your coach to have? Do you want your managers to have? Like what's the personality that this organization is going to have? What's the personality that this organization is going to have? I would start, Jeff, by saying you summed it up by saying we want a team. We want an overall organization culture that is A, about winning, believes we can win, and doesn't take losing lightly. And I think at the heart of it is what you just said. And you've got to have a long memory if you're not willing to take losing lightly.

So let me just give you my perspective on the season. And remember, from a fan's perspective, there were far fewer games in this past season where the Flyers were totally, totally stepped on. Now, there were more of them in the previous season. on. Now, there were more of them in the previous season. What I found most encouraging about this season as a fan, there were a number of games where we were a couple of goals behind and we fought back. And that for me is very foundational. We might not have won the game, but we fought back. And that is foundational to building that we hate to lose. When we skate onto the ice, we're recognized as a winner, and we'll do anything to win.

And I think, first and foremost, it's in Torts' heritage as a coach, his history as a coach. It's in Danny Breer's history as a player and in management. Danny wasn't the biggest guy on the ice. But you didn't want to face him. And then you throw Keith Jones into that mix and just think of, I mean, his time here on the Flyers, whether it's with the Avalanche and his other stops, they're all fighters.

And that idea that it's going to be the old-fashioned broad street bully fighting, no. Fighting is about winning and getting to the puck first and giving somebody a shot when they're between you and the puck and just being so determined that culture. And I can tell you the part of these three, putting these three, this triumvirate of leadership together was to build that new era of orange that doesn't tolerate losing and has a long memory when taken advantage of in the past. the things, Dan, that we've talked about on this program before is the relationship between, you know, managers and CEOs and, you know, managers and governors. And the one, actually, Bill Guerin mentioned this to us, GM of the Minnesota Wild, when we sat down with him a couple of months ago, and he said, you know, one of the things that my owner wants is, you know, no surprises. I don't want to be surprised by anything. I need to know everything that's going on here. I'm curious, in your position, do you have those conversations, whether it's with Keith Jones, with Daniel Breer, that at the end of the day, there can be no surprises here? I need to know everything that's happening in this organization. Yeah, it's interesting, Jeff. I've never used the term no surprises, but I absolutely understand it. We look at it this way.

I talked about the five of us working together, the three in the hockey leadership, two on the business side. And we've agreed that we're going to be in regular communication. And we're going to be, you know, the hockey ops training facility is probably about 10 miles from the Wells Fargo Center where the business folks are. There's going to be a lot of back and forth, tons of conversation. So it's more about, hey, let's keep each other informed. Let's stay ahead of anything that ultimately could be a surprise. said, there are going to be times when Valerie Camillo and I are not in the room because the three members of the leadership triumvirate are discussing a strategy around a trade, whatever it might be, a free agent signing. We trust that we're going to be part of the process when we need to be, but the hockey folks know what they're doing. So, but yes, you never want to be surprised.

It's less about having to save that forcefully and more about the five of us remaining true to our commitment to keep each other involved. Heck, we want to keep them involved in what's going on on the business side, what's happening at parent company Comcast, Comcast Spectacore. So it's really the five of us committing to open regular dialogue and communication. And I consider it my role as the governor, as the chair and CEO of the organization, to be the initiator of these conversations while understanding the role of the hockey leadership to run the hockey club. Okay, here's my last one i mentioned at a mother's day uh luncheon yesterday that i was going to be talking to you today and one of my sisters said to me you know what i'd

really like to hear and i said okay tell me and she said to me i would love to know from an individual of this experience what you look for in a job interview. When you are meeting with Keith Jones or anyone else who wants to be the president of hockey operations of the Philadelphia Flyers, we hope there's going to be a whole bunch of young people who listen to this. And I want to know what impresses

someone like you in a job interview. What questions, how they're dressed, the things that they listen to, what ideas they come up with. I'd like to do a public service and just help young people looking to get into hockey to understand what impresses someone at your level in a job interview. Thank you for asking that question because not only in hockey, but across my career, I have thoroughly enjoyed interviews. And I'd say this, first and foremost, you get into an interview

with somebody for a leadership position, you know a lot about them. You know, whether you're working with a search firm or you've done your own research, you have a sense of their record, their skill set, their whatever it might be. There's a certain minimum requirement around how they're dressed or whatever, but I don't tend to focus on that. So it comes down to three things for me. Number one, that they appear to be comfortable in their own skin. And that leads to, you know, you're hearing an authentic view of the world or whatever the topic at hand is. Number two, there's a quiet confidence in them. It is build off number one. And that confidence is to look you in the eye, to engage you. And even if they are a little intimidated

or nervous, which I've been on the other side of an interview, they don't lose their focus. The third thing, the thing that always wins me over at the end of the day. I like being surprised by a candidate. All that research, all that background that you do. And then so they come in, they're comfortable in their own skin. They've got a level of confidence that they're engaging you, but they surprise you with something. And it's something that shows their unique leadership way of thinking about leadership, It shows their unique leadership way of thinking about leadership, a unique way they might think about an obstacle that you're facing as an organization or something that you just hadn't heard before. It doesn't always happen. But with Keith Jones and with Danny, Danny not interviewed, just getting to know, all three of those things, check, check, check.

That's great stuff. Not a surprise at all. And that is fantastic stuff. Dan, thanks so much for stopping by today. Let our listeners get to know you a little bit better. We really appreciate your time. We know you're very busy. Best of luck with New Orange. We'll be watching closely. Thanks so much for this. Thanks, Jeff. Thanks, Elliot. Take care, guys. Thank you, Dan. Okay, so that's Dan Hilferty, the CEO of Comcast Spectacore, also the governor of the Philadelphia Flyers. Thanks to Joe Civil and the entire Flyers communications team for making Dan available to us. Taking us out today, Ombigaze.

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