32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Crown The Cats

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman look back on an epic Game 7 that saw the Florida Panthers crowned Stanley Cup Champions. They discuss what the league-wide impact of this Cup Final will be (13:35). The guys also take a look at what's next for both the Panthers (17:45) and the Oilers (18:24). Afterward, they dive into the latest news and notes. Jeff and Elliotte begin with the  Linus Ullmark trade (27:26) and then touch on Alex Meruelo surrendering his rights to the Arizona Coyotes (32:27). The fellas touch on the hectic week ahead in the NHL schedule (35:23) and provide an update in the Rutger McGroarty story (41:27). They also talk about Matvei Michkov coming to the Philadelphia Flyers (48:09). Finally, Jeff and Elliotte provide an update on Guentzel Watch 2024 (54:02), and ponder on the future of Tristan Jarry (56:19). The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (58:44).Jeff and Elliotte close the podcast by discussing the 2024 NHL buyout window (1:07:59).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.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. 

A dream 30 years in the making is a reality. The Florida Panthers have won the Stanley Cup. Lord Stanley is coming home. You always will have a place in South Florida. Oh my God. The Panthers have won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Yeah! Yeah!

Elliot, congratulations to the 2024 Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers. What a wild ride that was. Welcome to 32 Thoughts presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation, Merrick alongside Friedman and Dom Schrammatti elliot you were there before we get into the specifics of the entire game seven just give us the scene like give us the feeling give us the vibe check give us everything that you experienced from your perch at game seven the thing i always remember after these games are over is who's on the ice, who you see on the ice, who's most emotional,

who says the most interesting things, what stories you uncover in terms of families. Those were the things that I always remember about the Stanley Cup being presented. The way it works at our place is that Kyle goes on and does the first couple of interviews, and then Dave and I go out and join and do the rest of them with Kyle together. And there's always things that you see and things that you notice that stick with you

for a long time. First of all, Paul Maurice, who gave a fantastic interview to Kyle, where he shouted out the Winnipeg Jets. Great. And said, I hope they win the next one. So anybody who wagers, don't bet on the Panthers to repeat. Maurice is already voting for the Jets next season. Sorry, jinx the Panthers.

But that was great. And also, Maurice's wife, Michelle, came on the ice. And she was very emotional, obviously, because the family had won. And I say the family won because the families win together. And one of their daughters had been at the last three games and they'd lost all three. So she had been sent back to Winnipeg. Now, sent back might be a bit of an exaggeration because i believe she's a teacher so she had to go back for work and if i'm mangling this story i apologize but it's something like

this but i believe her work said forget it go back to florida and and she walked out onto the ice got dropped off in an uber as they won the Cup. Like, that's a story that is powerful to hear. Jonah Gajevic, he had baby twins on the ice. He said it was their first NHL game. I said, really? Like, they're not going to expect anything less than this from now. And he kind of laughed. One's name was Lion.

I think the other was adly um apologize if i'm getting the names wrong but so seeing him on the ice with a baby carrier in each hand it was awesome sight um i would also mention rick dudley rick dudley in the nhl for 45 years and finally gets a ring um okpozo ekblad barkov the the kachuks i mean you can name them all um also brian mccabe we interviewed him and he got emotional his father-in-law passed away last week luongo those are the stories that you remember is just the people that you see especially the ones who waited a long time to win it how emotional they get and how emotional their families get and there was a large contingent of panthers fans who moved down to the front and stayed there for a while and like i really believe fans should be rewarded. It doesn't happen this way, but once in your lifetime,

you should be able to see your favorite team or at least one of your favorite teams celebrate something. So I'm always happy to see the celebration. That's what I remember is the stories on the ice. I thought it was fantastic. I thought the whole night was great. I thought the game was marvelous. Verhege scores to make it 1-0.

Janmark ties it up, 2-17 after Verhege opened up the scoring. And Sam Reinhardt scores what turns out to be the Stanley Cup winning goal of making it 2-1. It's short side, just goes under the glove. And I got to tell you, that one was a, if you follow the gameplay and know what the Oilers did to change things around to get back into the series. What did we always talk about, Elliot? The Oilers started collapsing around the net.

They didn't start chasing wide. They didn't start, you know, chasing guys into again collapse, giving Sam Reinhardt a 57 goal scorer, an uncontested clean shot at Stu Skinner. And he buries it in a lot of ways. Elliot, what worked for the Oilers to get back into the series ended up costing them the game with that Sam Reinhardt winner. That's a tough one. for haggie with a great screen he didn't see it um you know we talked about the long travel and how long this series was i know a lot of people didn't like it but it gave us the best possible game seven because that extra day of rest and relaxation i I think it really helped to give us a great intense game seven.

And the other thing I really believe is that it helped Florida recollect. In our last pod, we talked about Kevin Lowe and how he said in 94, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup because they had that extra day off between games six and seven. I think the extra day off between games six and seven, if you heard the Panthers talk post-game, they recollected, they refocused, and in game seven, they played more their game than the Oilers did. How many days were they scored on a great tip on the first goal and how many times Jeff did they come close later in that first period they were tipping a lot of shots they they had layers around

McDavid they never let him wheel they never let the Oilers wheel I mean the Oilers obviously got the one great goal by Yanmark on a breakdown by Florida. But generally, their defense was tight. They defended their blue line. They didn't give up rush chances. They got to the front of the net. They got the tips. Florida was the team that was more like themselves in Game 7. And that's why they won.

You know, to me, I don't know how you felt myself watching it. It looked like McDavid was out of gas at the end of this game. I mean, he carried them for four rounds, not by himself, but the team was really good and got really good around him. But to me, he looked out of gas in the third period. How did you feel? There were three. I feel the same way about McDavid.

I also felt the same way about Dreisaitl, and I felt the same way about McDavid. I also felt the same way about Dreisaitl, and I felt the same way about Zach Hyman. Those three guys specifically, by the end, Elliot, they must have been just going on fumes. I don't know how Hyman did it. I don't know how McDavid did it. I don't know how Dreisaitl did it. Like, you look at that last rush that the Oilers made,

like their last chance, okay, regroup into their own Zone here we go it seemed as if you could see both dry sidle as he curled and McDavid as he curled kind of give one of these like okay I'm gonna give this everything that I have and I don't have a whole lot and they didn't like but the thing is like I thought about this after the game if i was chris knoblock because listen one of the criticisms is going to be oh you rode those guys too hard and by the end they had nothing left if i'm chris knoblock i'm doing the exact same thing these are my best guys how do i not keep them on the ice as much as i can but by the end those three specifically. They left everything. Like they did not have one more ounce of energy to contribute to this series.

So I agree with you, but I wouldn't make it exclusive to McDavid. I saw it in Dreisaitl and I saw it in Zach Hyman. Those three guys for me. And make no mistake about it. Full credit to the Panthers. Oh yeah. They earned the win.

They earned the Stanley Cup. And in the third period on the best chances that Edmonton had it wasn't just Bobrovsky making the saves it was Kulikov knocking the puck away it was Forsling making a hell of a play on McDade I don't know how that didn't go I can't even remember I don't even know how that can go in who split into the net or slid into the crease to prevent the other one yeah but like that was a game where like florida people began to feel that they had a certain level of team defense that they got away from the last three games like really away from they got back to it in game seven and that's why

they won it was a fantastic defensive performance. They just did, like, Edmonton skated rings around them most of the last three games, and in this case, aside from the breakdown that led to the Yanmar goal, they did not let Edmonton wheel on them, and that was the big difference to me.

Connor McDavid wins a Consmith trophy, so he joins Reggie Leach as the only forwards to win that most valuable playoff. Did you have a problem with that? I had no problem whatsoever. None. None.

No, I didn't have a vote this year. I didn't have a vote. But some people, I understand, I really haven't had a chance to look at social, but I understand there were some people who felt very strongly that he shouldn't have won because he didn't have points in game six and seven uh i disagree with that it's totality of the playoffs it's not just game six right it's that's that's not how you

i agree but also and we were talking about this on the drive home there were a few of us in the car i didn't think there was a panther who stole it from him no you know what okay good point because this was bobrovsky's up until game four and then the older started the chip away and the momentum changed to conor mcdavid and all of a sudden it became conor mcdavid's trophy to lose and what happened in game six no one grabbed it away from now bobrovsky had an excellent game seven but was? No one grabbed it away from. Now, Bobrovsky had an excellent game seven, but was that enough to pry it away from Connor McDavid? Not for me.

Yeah. Not for me at all. I don't have a problem with the choice. You know, a couple of my buddies, and again, I wasn't watching it social as much because I was trying to focus on the game. They said one of the most interesting things to them about social media in this game

is because it was a game seven that kind of had the attention of the sports world to itself there were a lot of people watching that wouldn't normally be watching like one thing i did see was reggie wayne who is a fantastic nfl receiver who played his college football at the university of miami he's like tweeting i'm watching this game this is wild i have no idea what the rules are and dan orlovsky who is a former nfl quarterback who's now one of the top analysts in the game like i love watching dan orlovsky and and he was tweeting, okay, you know, he's a great analyst. I really love his breakdowns. He's tweeting about, okay, like if this McDavid is just as special as everyone says he is, let's see what he's got in the third period.

And I found that when I was sent that tweet, I found that very interesting. that tweet, I found that very interesting. It said to me that there was a, the good thing for the sport of hockey on this night was that there were a lot of people who were watching what they normally wouldn't have watched. And I thought the game was super competitive. I thought it was really entertaining, but I kind of wonder if some of those opinions convinced people that maybe mcdavid shouldn't have won but when you look at the totality of the playoffs and 42 points i've got no problem none with mcdavid winning the cons mic uh i want to get to um what's next with the florida panthers but we still have so much more to go over here um what do you think the effects of this are like last podcast we talked about what this means for the revenues

in the nhl having a team like the edmonton oilers um go to the stanley cup final the rangers you know going to going to three rounds um but outside of the financial situation with the nhl the florida panthers winning the stanley cup like that's going to do well for the state of Florida and juicing interest in hockey certainly I can't believe the Lightning sent them a congratulatory tweet I was stunned too to the point where I'm not sure that I like

it Elliot I really don't they must not have run that one by Julian Brisebois I don't know if I like that one no no no I like you guys don't tell the manager that we're doing I like you guys when you hate each other i don't want all the niceties and all that oh seattle said what oh that's nice super competitive yeah let's not i wonder if they hit his phone from him so he couldn't see the tweet let's not do that one tamp i like you guys better when you hate each other um but anyway like what do you think the effects of this one will be

like especially like there's a lot of eyes on it but like what do you what do you think the effects of this one will be? Especially, there's a lot of eyes on it, but what do you think? I think the number one thing is that you have to be able to check. You have to be able to defend. And when you don't do that, even good teams get embarrassed, like the Panthers did in the middle of this series. I think the other thing is that, you know, I'm going to write about this at some point this week, Jeff, but a few years ago

a manager called the panthers a sleeping giant to me he said to me the panthers are a sleeping giant and i hope they never wake up and you know his point was there was no reason they couldn't be as good as tampa and you know i think a lot of people can actually blame the Lightning for this. Because for years, culminating in their sweep two years ago, the Lightning kicked sand in their faces, bullied the Panthers. They were everything the Panthers should have been, but weren't. And now the Panthers have learned their lessons and they're there. And it starts at the top with really stable ownership and a group that has allowed them to do what they need to do to win. And it's a really well-run organization now.

And I think, Jeff, it'll still continue to debate about these no-tax state teams continually winning Stanley Cups. And someone asked me if anything can ever be done about that, and the answer is it probably has to happen to the ownership level cba the owner but yeah the owners are probably going to have to be the ones who decide they're going to want to change that but um to me the biggest thing is is that it tells me that if you're in no tax state and you have good weather there is absolutely no excuse for you not to win and for a long time the panthers biggest enemy was themselves and they figured it out and they won and they're they're not going to go anywhere it's going to be a good market for a long time you know they're

not going to go anywhere yep um nowhere so we are wondering about um the order of passing for the Stanley Cup, the chain, the train for the Stanley Cup. So Barkov goes to Sergei Bobrovsky. I was wondering if Agblad would be second. Well, I wondered about, I think we both wondered about Kyle Ocposo. I thought one of the wild cards might have been Dmitry Kulikov, and he got it after Oliver Ekman-Larsen really early. Yeah.

But do you have a quick thought? Because, I mean, essentially it doesn't really matter, but Barkov handing this one over to Bobrovsky first. No, no issues. No issues. You know, I will say there were people on our show. I'm not going to say who they were. They had a bet on if the Oilers had

won who was gonna get in what order okay so I'll give you an example I'm trying to think who who gets the cup first Perry or Skinner that was one of the bets Perry I would take that was one of the bats. Perry. I would have taken Corey Perry in that one. Yeah, that was one of the bats. Interesting. Okay, so you're talking about David Amber. Okay, good.

Okay, we understand that. That's got to be who this is. So Bobrovsky to Kyle Ipposo to Oliver Ekman-Larsen to Dmitry Kulikov to Aaron Ekblad. I'm actually surprised I couldn't see this because I was going down to the ice. I'm actually surprised Ekblad got it that late. I was too. I was surprised Ekblad got it after

Oliver Ekblad Larson. He's been there for a hot five minutes and is still getting paid by the Vancouver Canucks. I didn't mind Kulikov because he was drafted by the Florida Panthers so many years ago and then came back. Well, you just like Kulikov because he was drafted by the Florida Panthers so many years ago and then came back. Well, you just like Kulikov because he's a CHL guy. Drummondville, Guy Boucher's team. Went to the Memorial Cup as well.

Dimitri Kulikov did. Sean Couturier was on that squad. Anyhow, let me ask you about what's next for the Florida Panthers. We all know there's some business that Bill Zito has to get done by Monday. Sam Reinhardt is a big piece here. Brandon Montour is another big piece. Aaron Eckblad is one year out. Sam Bennett and Carter Verhege are one year out. Anton Lindell is an RFA.

Oliver Ekman-Larsen is a UFA. You want to triage this one, Dr. Friedman? No, I don't. Let them celebrate. I don't want to nuke anybody tonight. I'll nuke them later in the week. Okay, very good then. Okay, so from the Florida Panthers to the Edmonton Oilers,

man, that's a gut punch. But as I said to a lot of people on Monday nights, the Edmonton Oilers just took the entire country, just took Canada for an incredible ride. And I think that is commendable. And it gave Canadian hockey fans something significant to cheer for. And it gave that market a real shot in the arm. How do you see it?

I mean, Conor McDavid didn't come out to accept the Conn Smythe trophy. Both him and Leon Dreisaitl, you can tell, were something else during their interviews in the postgame. You can tell. Because you just never know. You know how hard it is to get there and you never know if you're going to get that close again, right? You know whose name

I think of when I see Alexander Ovechkin? Alexander Ovechkin, Elliot, had one shot and he won. And it took, what, 13 years? And if the Capitals hadn't have won the stanley cup that year

ovechkin could have gone down as one of the greatest players and he's going to go down as the greatest goal scorer when he gets a gretzky record could have joined that club of best players to never win the stanley cup and i think that that that dawns on everybody that gets that close and then comes up short. I'm sure McDavid's thought about it. I'm sure. I know, but you know,

the hockey world is littered with guys that get there early in their career and figure, ah, don't worry, I'll be back. And next thing you know, like 15 years later, they're saying,

man, I'm, I'm just chasing a couple sign with any team that's close. Well, this uplifting blog brought to you by jeff merrick no but i can understand like why they felt the way and looked the way they did after that game well i think you you you put yourself all out there and you get that close like the longer you go the harder it is right so you go to game seven of the stanley cup final and it's devastating when you don't win it

it's um you know i i think this i don't want to make any grand pronouncements i think one of the things that happens is right now you're very emotional very emotional and you know dry sidle has to make a decision about his future and the hardest thing to do is make it days after you've been through something like this like the worst decisions you make are emotional decisions you know that's what agents are for to take the emotion out of it and to talk about it um you know so i'm not going to make any grand pronouncements now either on the future of Dreisaitl or anything like that. I kind of want to see how this unfolds because a run like this one can affect the way you think.

Does that change anything at all about how the others plan or how some of the individual players feel? Like it's got to be a positive, right? You just got to within Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. They have a lot of decisions to make. Connor Brown, great playoff, unrestricted. Warren Fogle,

great final series, one of the most dangerous players, unrestricted. Adam Henrique and Matthias Janmark, great finals line together, unrestricted. Corey Perry wants to play again, unrestricted. You know, I think Evan Bouchard is due a big, big, big raise. Jack Campbell, is there going to be a buyout there?

You know, are they going to keep, you know, it looked like they were going to keep Vincent Darnay during the season. Now what? like they were going to keep Vincent Darnay during the season. Now what? And the other thing too is Ken Holland's contract is up in five days. And so where is all of this going to go? And I do believe they have a plan. I believe Jeff Jackson, who was hired as the president of hockey operations has been putting together a plan for some time now and I think that one of the things he was very careful about is he didn't want anything to get out during the playoffs he was very careful about asking for permission to talk to people or even discussing who he might want

because he didn't want a distraction well now we're here we're here in five days and we're going to start to find out some of the answers to some of these questions but i think to me the number one thing is you know you always have a plan or you're trying to put together a plan and then how much does a run like this change it how does it change the way you feel how does the way it change the way players feel and we're going to get those answers over the next couple of days you know one of the things that i wonder about i'm glad you mentioned evan bouchard he's one year away from free agency albeit restricted free agency but nonetheless if you're evan bouchard how much of

your decisions rest on the decision that leon dreisaititel and then afterwards conor mcdavid is going to make like if you're evan bouchard are you just accepting a long-term deal right now from the edmonton rollers if they offer it at big money or are you saying to yourself um i want to see what this team's going to be all about i i bet you it's probably both because don't forget he's not a ufa no that's it i'm saying he's a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of all this but if you're evan bouchard like even if they offer you something come july 1st for for the next however many years they want to sign do you not at least need to say to the oilers hang on a second here i'm not ready to sign yet i want to see what leon is going to

decide and what you know how that affects what connor may decide i think bouchard probably but again i haven't no i know i haven't spoken to any of these guys i'm just i'm just speculating that's all i'm just saying that this is i don't think this is this is this is oh i know but it's not i don't think it's as simple as they offer him a massive deal and he takes it you know like they could have a whopper there sitting for him. But if you're Bouchard, I don't think it's just as simple as, here's the contract, here's where you sign. I think with this situation, it's

probably a little bit more delicate. How about that? Elliot, one other team we should congratulate, in addition to the Florida Panthers, are the Hershey Bears. Congratulations, back-to-back champions, Todd Nelson, back-to-back Calder Cup champion with the Hershey Bears. Congratulations, back-to-back champions, Todd Nelson, back-to-back Calder Cup champion with the Hershey Bears. And it is an overtime goal scored by Elliot?

Strom. Matthew Strom. So I really like Matthew Strom. Now, I like the entire Strom family. I think they're wonderful people. I really do. I spent one night in Quebec City at the CHL Awards sitting with the family and just delightful people. But I've had a chance to talk to all the kids.

But Matthew Strom's always had a soft spot in my heart for a game that I saw in 2015. And it was a minor midget game between the Toronto Marlboros and the Don Mills Flyers. And it was the OHL Cup final. And it went into overtime at the old Maple Leaf Gardens, now known as Mattamy Athletic Center. And Matthew Strom scored the OT winner. The thing about Strom is that guy scores big clutch goals. OHL Cup championship winning goal in overtime. Calder Cup Championship winning goal in overtime for the Hershey Bears. And on that Marlboro's team, I'll read you a quick little list of names on that squad. Matthew Strom, Mackenzie Entwistle, Ryan McLeod, who we just saw stand out for the Edmonton Oilers,

Kevin Ball, newly acquired Calgary Flames defenseman, and Wendell Clark's son Cody Clark was on that team as well so I've always and then he went on to become the first ever draft pick for the Hamilton Bulldogs won the OHL championship went to the Memorial Cup in Regina for the 100 year anniversary of that championship so I've always had a little soft spot at my little

hockey heart for Matthew Strom so congratulations to Matt Strom congratulations to Todd Nelson congratulations to Matt Strom. Congratulations to Todd Nelson. Congratulations to the Hershey Bears, Calder Cup champions for the second time in a row. And now for Dan Bilesma of Coachella Valley, he becomes the head coach of the Seattle Kraken. His time in the American Hockey League, Elliot, is done.

Well, I'm also wondering if it's going to be time in the American Hockey League, Elliot, is done. Well, I'm also wondering if it's going to be time in the American Hockey League done for Todd Nelson. Well, that's a really interesting question. Yeah, Todd Nelson spent a couple years in the Atlanta organization under Don Waddell. Yep. So he knows him. He has a brief stint as head coach

of the Edmonton Oilers, 46 games, long years as assistant. Now, Don Waddell says NHL coaching experience matters, and he doesn't have as much as some of the other candidates that they can interview for the job. But I do think he's at the least on their radar. Would make a lot of sense. Okay, Elliot, on to the new segment here of the podcast and we'll start with a trade the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators pull off an in-division trade uh Linus Allmark net minder goes to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a first round pick the 25th overall net minder Jonas Corpusalo and Mark Kastelik 25 25% of Korpisalo's salary is retained in this one.

Interestingly enough, and you talked with David Amber about this on Monday night during the game, no extension here for Linus Allmark. That one surprised me, or should I say, no extension yet for Linus Allmark. Well, I should have explained it a little bit better on the air in the sense that he's not eligible to sign one until July 1st. Technically, they couldn't have traded him with an extension. But like Jacob Slavin, they can all but commit to it and then announce it July 1st. So I am under the impression here that Linus Allmark, unless he gets the extension he wants, he is prepared to play this out. So you should always assume that maybe Ottawa will say, look, we will give him what he wants

or we want the extension and we'll see where this goes. But I have heard that Allmark has indicated he is prepared to play out next season. Now, look, like there are players in the league who get traded somewhere and they end up extending. I know some Ottawa fans didn't like that. They were not happy in my DMs on Monday night, but it's not the end of the world. He's there. He's with you. You get a chance to prove to him that he can help you or he's going to be happy there or

it's a good team or things are going in the right direction. It's not the end of the world. But Allmark, from what I understand, is prepared to bet on himself. Now, I had a manager call me during the game on Monday night telling me gleefully that we all got this story wrong. He doesn't believe, and nobody will confirm this to me, but he doesn't believe Ottawa was on Allmark's no-trade list. He doesn't think that's the case, at least not this year. I don't know officially when his list changes. I assume it's July 1st, but I don't know that.

But he said to me, the word going around the NHL today was that Allmark did not have Ottawa on his no trade because they'd acquired Corpus Allo last year. And he was kind of like, Ottawa's not going to trade for me because they went out and had this other goalie, which I thought was really interesting. Again, there's no confirmation but

he said to me that that is one of the pressures that happened here not only the extension he said we were correct in pointing out that the extension was the thing but he felt that boston was in danger of being squeezed because the word around the league was Ottawa would not on all marks no trade now, but it could have been in four days, five days, whatever amount of days this is. Five days. So again, I don't have that confirmed, but I do think it's a very plausible situation. And as part of this deal, we should always look at the bigger picture here for the Boston Bruins. And part of that is they get a little bit of wiggle room and a little bit of cap flexibility here we know that they're looking for at least one center uh this doesn't address the

entire cap situation that they'll need and the defense and the defenseman as well but it and the defense it does very much you know it does very much point to the fact that you know Sweeney and the Boston Bruins here need to get a little bit of work done before they can start to bring in some players. And also, you know, Ottawa's better. You know, in Allmark, you're better. And I really do believe that Ottawa was not the only team out there looking at him. I heard there were a couple others.

I assume Carolina. I don't know Detroit, but I don't think Ottawa was the only team but Ottawa held to it they got their deal and I think Boston knew that there was a limited window they had to get this done do we see goalie hugs with all mark and Forsberg or is that now done it's a good question. You should ask Allmark. I think the goalie hugs.

Or Swayman and Corpus Allo. Probably done Swayman and Corpus Allo. There you go, swapping out goalie hugs. Okay, the other bit of news that came out on Monday, as someone texted me after all of this, after the dust started to clear on all this, Someone texted me after all of this, after the dust started to clear on all this. Props to Gary Bettman for managing to get out of the situation with Alex Morello without a lawsuit.

Alex Morello. This is a Craig Morgan piece. I want to give proper credit to him for doing the legwork on it. Craig Morgan reporting. Alex Morello calling it quits no plans to pursue further arena options alex morello is out with the arizona coyotes so i got a text during the game that something like this was going on but there was nothing i could do in the moment i was like i'll work on this on tuesday of course it never got there because craig was on top of things as is usual

and got it done um you know there's a tweet out there it goes like this the haters said i couldn't do it and they were correct honestly great call from the haters. There is no more perfect tweet from this situation than that. The haters said Alex Morello would never pull this off, that he was a paper tiger, and they were right. It didn't even last three months. And now, basically what happens is Arizona becomes an expansion team. And what they'll do is they'll take their time. They'll figure out the arena situation.

I'll say it again like I did last time. I think the NHL will go back there, but they'll sort out the arena situation, and then we'll see. But everybody who doubted Morello, and there were a lot of people, they were right. And you know the thing is too, you can work in business and operate in the shadows in a lot of places in the world. So whatever you do that's good or bad, people may not notice it.

But in sports, you cannot hide if you get into sports and you're incapable of doing what you say then everyone is going to see it you ca and i i am amazed at how many people who are very smart and other things they do get into the sports world because they want to own a team so they can say i own a team and they realize they are now in the spotlight like they've never been before and it can embarrass you if you're incapable can i ask a question here that i know that none of us know the answer to sure does he get to keep his gambling license honestly jeff as i said the other day I'm done with this one

I'm surprised you didn't snore through my introduction to this one like you did last time but bravo you stuck with it you want to talk about a busy week in the NHL Elliot this is a busy week in the NHL and I know it can never happen.

And I know it's not going to happen. And I always grouse about it. And I always say that if I were the commissioner for one day and I could make one move, I would get the Stanley Cup playoffs out of June. But I know that's never going to happen. This week, just sort of everything brushing up against one another. All these key events on the horizon here, Frege. You know, there's a lot of talk about the schedule.

You're right, Jeff. You know, we work in television, so we are the evils of schedules because a lot of things happen around us. You know, for example, one of the reasons the season starting a week later is ESPN has the baseball playoffs in the week that the NHL used to start and their schedule is jammed so they want the hockey to start a week later and that's one of the reasons and now that ESPN is reportedly about to make a an extension of the NBA rights and ESPN reportedly is about to do an extension of the NBA rights so they're going to

have the final and they're going to have this is year three of the seven-year NHL deal in the states and they have two more finals you know the NHL is always going to want to be away from the NBA final you know this might be our reality and i know a lot of people don't like that but you know this is kind of the way it is especially in the states you know the teams want to stay away from football and not just the nfl but college football which is on more nights than ever high school football very powerful force in some of these markets i mean um i know not everybody likes and i know some of the teams don't and i will say this i probably heard more grumbling about it privately from teams this year than i've ever heard it before but i'm just

not sure how much of this is going to change because, you know, there are rules about how often teams can play and building share. So we'll see if they can do anything with this. So today is the Hall of Fame announcement. Wednesday, tomorrow is Board of Governors. Thursday is awards. Friday is the first round of the draft. Saturday is rounds two through seven. Sunday is...

Travel. Eve of crazy. And Monday is free agency day. So the next week is going to be bananas. It's going to be completely insane. By the way, do you have Hall of Fame preferences for this year? There's a couple, Elliot. I always grouse about Lauren Shabbat.

But as people from the hall of fame have told me before, the people voting in the hall of fame here never saw Lauren Shabbat play. I know that makes things difficult, but historical oversight at all. I know you've always had a soft spot for Steve Larmer. I share that. Alexander McGill in the ditto. Curtis Joseph. The interesting thing about Curtis Joseph too is it seems as if the Hockey

Hall of Fame now wants to look back and have now realized that, eh, you know what? Maybe we've kind of given goaltenders the short end of the stick when it's come voting time. So I wonder if this is the year that Cujo finally gets in. And one of our colleagues, Jennifer Botterill, is probably going to get in sooner than later. And so I will keep saying that name as I will keep saying Cassie Campbell-Paschal's name.

And both eventually will get in. Yeah, I'm with you on Cassie and Jennifer, considering we work with both of them. I'm all aboard those trains. I'm big into McGilney and have been for years i i agree with you on curtis joseph i think the goaltender run of last year should put him in i'm still on the rod brindamore train yeah i think he should be in. What about Talkett? What about Talkett? I don't know.

I love Talkett, but do you think he's a Hall of Famer? I don't know. Can't wait till my next coaches meeting in Vancouver. He had a lot of success in the NHL and also international success as well. A huge game in 87 in that deciding game against the Soviets. Absolutely. I mean, I'm biased because I love the player. He was one of my favorites growing up. So I don't know.

I'll throw him into the mix. I think we've all wondered about Pat Verbeek as well. The points, the cup, even the pins. It's just hard to predict because you never know once they get into the room what they're going to do. Did you mention Patrick Marleau? I have not mentioned Patrick Marleau. Okay, so Patrick Marleau is eligible this year.

He's got a pretty formidable case. Pavel Datsyuk, another guy with a big case. I love Pavel Datsyuk. You know who else I could see getting in on their first try? Who's that? Because he's the kind of player that hockey people love. Big, bad Shea Weber. First try, though?

Hockey people love Shea Weber. They do love Shea Weber. Yeah. I mean, we'll find out. Again, I would... They love Shea Weber. Yeah. I mean, we'll find out. Again, I would- They love Shea Weber like you love vegetables. Oh, I do love vegetables. Oh, even for breakfast,

I recommend broccoli and chickpeas. Okay, so those are some interesting names and I'll make my annual gripe about, you know, transparency in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And I know that everyone on the selection committee gets their backs up about it. But I think in the era right now, people want to know how these things get voted on. And whenever I hear, well, it could offend people, I always say, well, too bad. And then maybe you shouldn't be on the voting committee then if you're too worried about

hurting people's feelings. I know that'll go nowhere and things won't change for a long time, but I like to think that one day the Hockey Hall of Fame will be more transparent about the process of getting people into the most hallowed halls in hockey. Anyhow, always look forward to the Hockey Hall of Fame. News of the week, Rutger McGroarty. So we mentioned this on the last podcast.

He will be traded, whether it happens before or at the draft. Elliot, do you have a spidey sense or a finger in the wind on this one? I think it could happen before. Okay. Someone told me be ready right after the final. Be ready. There's two things I was told to be ready for before the draft. McGroarty and Allmark. I'm sure there's other things out there,

but those were the two things I was told be ready for them. So do you have a thought here or any more clarity on how this all happened with McGordy? Because the one thing that I wonder about here is a sidebar to all of it. Whenever this McGordy deal gets done, if you're Kevin Chevalier off in the Winnipeg Jets, one of the first things you want to do

is change the story away from this kid doesn't want to play with the Winnipeg Jets. Much like Brian Murray, you'll recall after the Daniel Alfredson situation happened, right away it was change the conversation, get Bobby Ryan in here. We need to have a positive story. I would imagine that if you're Kevin Sheveldayoff, you need a positive story. And I wonder if that moves the needle on a Cole Perfetti extension or something like that as a demonstration to the marketplace that, look, young players do want to stay and play here. I don't think you should make decisions like that. Teams do. I know they do, Elliot.

They do. Well, you know, you know, that's right. Teams do. But put it this way. Not my team. If if I ever had a team, you can't. And I recognize that public pressure can break things down. But especially in some markets, as opposed to others, public pressure can really have an effect. But you shouldn't run your organization like that. That's how you walk yourself into trouble. And look, I think the McGrody thing broke down at the end of his season. Some of his teammates at Michigan, Frank Nazar was one of them. They made their NHL debuts, But Frank Nazar did it in Chicago, and they had nothing to play for. Winnipeg was playing for the best possible position in a brutal division that featured Colorado and Dallas. And obviously, it didn't work out.

But that didn't mean the process was wrong. You had to go for the best seating you could get. And it wasn't like they could do it like Chicago could. But if you're a majority, you see your friend get a chance to make their debut, you don't get to do it. And there's probably some level of FOMO. And then you hear next year,

you know what? We're not sure you're ready yet. You're not guaranteed a spot. And if you have your choice between going back to a third year at Michigan or going to the AHL in Manitoba, I don't know a 20 or 21-year-old kid

who wouldn't pick going back to Michigan. Especially with NIL money available. And I think that's where it broke down. That's where it broke down. That's where it broke down. Now, I know Perfetti's been brought up and Hynola's been brought up. And maybe that started to become a thing.

Okay, somewhere down the road, it might be like that. But I think in general, it was a short-term thing that I think the relationship changed when the path this year and the early path next year, it wasn't open to him. And Jeff, one of the things that's kind of happening right now is there's this conversation going on about, especially now that Mishkov has come over to philadelphia or coming over to philadelphia after a year like if you negotiate a cba and the players who go the ushl or the ncaa route have this option then by all means they are entitled to use this option but that doesn't mean that four years after you're drafted you become an unrestricted free agent and that doesn't mean that the team is like

it and what we are clearly seeing now you know Jimmy Vasey did it years ago on Adam Fox. Adam Fox did it. One of the most famous cases. Cutter Gauthier last year. Now potentially McGroarty. You are seeing more and more players unafraid to wield this power. And people are joking right now that the Russians are easier to handle than the NCAA kids are.

And they never thought that they would say that. That's what is being said over the last 24 hours. It's funny you mention that. It's a risk. Monday driving in, I had this exact conversation with someone who said, say whatever you want about Russian players. And sometimes they take like an extra year to get there. But wherever they're drafted, they show up and they play. And then, you know, half of them end up going to the state of Florida

and the other half go to New York eventually where they want to go. But like they're drafted and they don't grumble. They just go and play and they make their money. And then eventually they go where they want to go. And he brought up that exact same point. He said, you know, it's right now, the American kids are very comfortable wielding whatever power and leverage they have. And we used to always complain about, you know, Russia this and Russian factor and all these types of things. But when they come, they just show up and play,

Elliot. You're right. That conversation is happening all over the place. And I wonder, and we're going to get to Mishkoff here, how much of a cascading effect that has on things like the draft. Let me get there in a second. Mishkoff was the other big story of the weekend. And the Philadelphia Flyers drafted him in the first round last year. Everyone wondered where he was going to go. The Philadelphia Flyers stepped up and we wondered, okay, Russian factor, how long is it going to take if he even ends up coming over to North America? One year later, Daniel Breer, GM of the Philadelphia Flyers, has Matvei Mishkov coming to North America. Now they have to work out a contract. They have to

get the visa sorted out. But Matvei Mishkov, as you know, Elliot, is coming to Philadelphia. Well, it's a huge win for the Flyers. There's no question about that. It's getting him over much faster than anybody anticipated. And Mishkov did scare off some teams last year. But the other thing, too, is don't forget in all of this, Mishkov made it very clear he wanted to play for Philadelphia. There was this whole clandestine thing about him meeting with them

and saying he wanted to be there and convincing the Flyers to take him. You know, I think it's, you know, there's so much that happens in Russia that is just out of our control, especially the geopolitics of the world, and they don't want to make light of that. especially the geopolitics of the world they don't want to make light of that um so i mean you just never know but this is a huge win for the flyers and their fan base it's going to be very interesting to see what this does for their projection like i don't think it's fair to compare him to Panarin because Panarin had been in the league for longer. But remember, the Rangers talked about a complete teardown, a rebuild, and then Panarin showed up on their lap and the rebuild was over.

I don't think that's 100% a fair comparison, but injecting that talent into your lineup sooner than you expected it's going to change the trajectory of the franchise like that absolutely is going to happen so it's going to be interesting to see you know kind of what they do around him who do they look at to play with him who do they do they look to accelerate things a little bit? I mean, you could argue that not that the Flyers need a ton of help creating interest, although they sagged the last couple of years, but I can imagine that when the news broke Sunday and when the news officially gets announced, I guarantee you they had people calling and saying, okay,

what's my ticket package for next year? So that gives them a bit of a bump and a bit of relief, but it's also going to raise the expectations. So to me, it's a big win for the team because they get the players sooner than they expected, but it's also going to be interesting to see what it means for how they sort of change their team. means for how they sort of change their team. I mean, there's, I do think they had something going on with Ottawa.

I'm not so sure that's going to happen anymore. I mean, everything's going to be crazy this week. We'll see how things unfold. There's this whole situation with Konechn that i i think those talks have gone a little slower than anybody would have liked but does that really mean anything or does everybody still think there's there's time to work this out um there's a lot going on but Mishkov is a massive massive W for them massive this changes a lot and I just can't help but thinking like you look at all the balls that Daniel Breer has in the air right now and overriding all of it is he's got to do something about his salary cap here like I know you get the the bump up in the offseason but still like if they're going to make some of these moves that

we're all wondering about, a lot of these are going to have to be made after he deals with what he's going to do with his salary cap situation. Because the Philadelphia Flyers are right up against it, if not over it. So we'll see what happens with the Philadelphia Flyers

here. But yeah, as you mentioned, Elliot, massive win for them getting Mishkov over. And if you're a Philadelphia Flyers fan. But yeah, as you mentioned, Elliot, massive win for them getting Mishkov over. And if you're a Philadelphia Flyers fan, get excited because this guy is a flat out hell of a player. The one thing I wanted to say more about McGrory is that I do think there's a lot of interest there. That the Jets are going to be able to make a pretty interesting deal here. like some people said to me

Oh their leverage is gone now. Everybody knows I'm Not buying that I think the reason I found out about it was because a bunch of people knew I think teams were already in conversations with them I'm beginning to believe that maybe more teams have kind of gotten into this now or knowing that it's out there i've kind of raised their offers it's going to be you said on your radio show that you think they want established players i would think so i'm not just i'm not disputing you but i also think they're going to be able to use this if they want to move into the

first round it's it's going to be pretty fast or maybe there's a deal where you can do both you get a first round pick and establish players we'll see i think the jets have some options here and also and when i meant that last one i think it's as part of a bigger deal i think think the Jets have a few things going on. I really do. Seven teams have two first rounders. So if you're looking to do something with the Winnipeg Jets, there are seven teams that I can think of right out of the gate that might say, you know what, we've got an extra first rounder. Maybe let's give Kevin Shevelday off a call here. The reason I mentioned that I can see them wanting to do something and get actual players as opposed to prospects is this is a team that's right in there in the central division,

which you mentioned is a really tough division, obviously. And I don't think the Winnipeg Jets are interested in taking a step back. I don't think ownership is interested. I agree with that. I don't think the manager, I don't think anyone, I don't think the market is interested in a step back. That's why I think that, you know, I don't think they want to. I agree with that. I don't think the manager, I don't think anyone, I don't think the market is interested in a step back. That's why I think that, you know,

I don't think they want to, you know, dip back into the green banana business if they don't have to. Anything new with Jake Gensel, Elliot, as we continue Gensel Watch? I had someone tell me there's a lot bubbling under the surface there. Okay. And that there are some really good teams that you wouldn't think could do it that are wondering, how can we do it? I'm trying to think of where I want to go with this one. Hang on a second. That's what I was doing, too.

Like, I wondered about Kings. You know, they cleared up a little bit of cap room with Kemper. But, you know, Carolina is still around there. I really don't know that Vancouver is going to pull this off. But what this guy said to me is, there are some teams out there that want to know if they can get Gensel because they want them. They're good teams, but it might mean they have to perform some surgery.

Let me throw a name out at you. Okay. Who's always in and around it? You're going to say Vegas. Bingo! Where we're heading. I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. The one i honestly i don't know the one thing someone

said to me about vegas is you're right they're always around it but you have to figure an eichel extension because he's two years away so everything you do you have to do with the lens of that but you know i'm not saying no i'm not saying yes i'm starting to work on this a little bit but that's what someone said to me there are good teams floating around him that are like if we want to know like they said don't be surprised if a team you're not expecting tries to trade for his rights to see what it's going to take. Oh, I can see that. Yes.

And what surgery they have to do. I could see that. With his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, we most recently saw Kyle Dubas sign Alex Zadolkovic to a two-year contract extension, $5 million, 2.5 on the AAV. Should we, because at various times we've wondered about it, be thinking about Tristan Jari here? We should, because on our last podcast, we said, if you're looking for a number one goalie, you've got Allmark and you've got Gibson, and who else is available right now? And this individual said, you are missing someone.

And when I started to figure out who he was talking about, I landed on Jari. That was the guy. So I wonder if he's at play out there too. Five years remaining at 4.5 a season. Good statistical numbers, health. That's the big one. Health is the big one. Good statistical numbers, though.

Good goal. Oh, listen, good goalie. Really good goalie. Just got to stay healthy. Stay healthy. So I was curious about that that says to me there's there's something going on out there uh one thing really quick before i wrap here uh libor hayek um looking to make a return yes so libor hayek played overseas last year, and I have heard that he is looking to come back into the NHL.

And there's a couple people out there who are rooting for him. He's a really nice kid. Two things really hurt him. Separated shoulder and the Rangers having him on the roster without playing him because he was waiver eligible. Said it was just one of those things that it went sideways on him. Didn't work out. But now at 26 years old, he wants to have another chance. And I root for people like that.

So I wanted to shout it out and mention it, that he's looking to come back over to North America. Awesome. We wish him the very best. Don't forget, he was a former second-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning not too long ago. And that will wrap the news segment. We come back with the Montana's Thought Line after this.

Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Welcome back to the podcast, Montana's Thought Line Time, Montana's Barbecue and Bar. Canada's home for barbecue. I'm going to miss that song this summer. Who's kidding who? I'm going to have it burning in my head all summer long. Thank you, Rick Turner, for that.

That's 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. 1-833-311-3232. The way to get in, Montana's thought line, curated lovingly by the great Griffin Porter. Diggity, if that is indeed your real name, in Edmonton, submits this one, Elliot. How could you even

doubt that? Parents are being very creative with kids' names, so why should I doubt that Diggity is indeed this person's name? Hey guys, it appears that the league has finally climbed out of the fiscal hole that was COVID with the cap finally going up. With the Oilers making it all the way to Game 7 of the final, I have to imagine a hockey-mad market like Edmonton

has been spending like no tomorrow, bumping hockey-related revenue to highs unseen in many years. Does the league disclose the revenue earned in the playoffs each year? Is it reasonable to think the cap is going to be higher than expected in 25-26? Or does a single market's performance over a two-month span barely move the needle when it comes to HRR for cap calculations. Is Edmonton spending more money, making it more feasible to keep the Oilers core intact longer? Love the podcast that comes from Diggity in Edmonton. Interesting question, Elliot. A great question. You know, one of the things that is true is that because of the CBA that was done when we went into COVID, the salary cap bumps

for the next two years are previously negotiated. There's a 5% bump each of the next two years, which is why we're going to 88 next season, which they moved up by $300,000 and we're scheduled to go to just under 93 next season. Now, one of the things that has kind of been, I don't even know if anyone's even doing it. I think teams are doing it, but there's nothing quote unquote official is where the cap is going to be in two seasons. Because there's some big guesstimates out there that we could be at 100 million and that could open things up and that could really change what teams are able

to do. But nobody is going public with those numbers or nobody's claiming there are any official numbers. For example, when the agents met and they have three agent meetings right around the playoffs, there's usually one in New York, one in Los Angeles and one in Toronto. And they talked about those two numbers for the cap next year and the year after, but they didn't go into anything official after that. So I think that's kind of what we're all wondering here. Now, the more teams like Edmonton, like the high revenue teams, Edmonton, Rangers, like them going three rounds this year and in Edmonton cases, four, that's very good.

That's very good for the cap. Like one of the reasons I think this year they bumped the cap an extra 300K was because teams like that went deep into the playoffs and people would ask, could you go even more? They could, 300 K was because teams like that went deep into the playoffs. And, you know, people would ask,

could you go even more? They could, but there'd have to be a negotiation about it. And I don't think anybody was really prepared for that. So definitely the case is that the longer, more high revenue teams go in the playoffs, the better it is for the cap. Essentially, if you're a fan of a small market hockey team or a smaller market hockey team, you want your team to get there, but everyone around you, a large market team.

So the salary cap rises. Diggity, if that is indeed your real name. Thank you very much for a great question. Okay, one more because it's a huge podcast. Once again, let's get to Jake in Ottawa. We all know that Jeff, his hatred towards the hockey song. And I was thinking,

what would be then your favorite hockey songs? My submission would be 50 Mission Cap by the Tragically Hip. Thanks for all the work you guys are doing and I hope you have a great time. Thank you so much. Ooh, yes, I do have no time

and I know whenever I mention this, people just flood me with, you know, audio clips of it or remind me or play it around me all the time.

Elliot, I don't know about you, but I have about zero time for Stompin' Tom's the hockey song. Well, that's my favorite hockey song, of course. Ugh. Ugh.

No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. I was just saying. Storm the crease like bumblebees. Oh, God. Vomit. You know, you can't be Canadian and hate stomping Tom Collins. No, I'm not insulting the anthem.

This is a hockey song, man. It's awful. He's got way better songs. It's okay. Good artists were more clunkers. You told me he's pretty hurt to hear you talk like this. I used to play hockey on his son's hockey team, Tom Jr. Don't worry about it.

Everything's cool there. I heard he's upset too. He might be. There's a few that I really do enjoy. And there's one video featuring a lot of hockey players and one prominent hockey media personality that I want to draw people's attention to. But, Rio Static's battle of Wendell Clark,

um, is a favorite of mine. Uh, hockey sucks is a great song by a punk band called the sweaters. Uh, the Zambonis have about a million hockey songs. My favorite is hockey mom, um,

lonely end of the rink. Uh, Jake and I was cited 50 mission cap, but lonely end of the rink, which I believe is 50 Mission Cap, but Lonely End of the Rink, which I believe is about Gord Downie's dad. Gord Downie was a goaltender, and his dad would always stand behind him, behind the glass, to watch his son play. I think that's where that song comes from.

But the one that I want to draw people's attention to, Elliot, I'm not sure if you have a favorite hockey song, but my favorite hockey song slash video is by an artist by the name of Kathleen Edwards who's tremendous. She's got a video for a song called I Make the Dough and it's shot at St. Mike's Arena and Jim Cuddy

from Blue Rodeo is in it. Marty McSorley is in it. Brad DelGarno is in it. Dave Hodge, the legend, is in it as well. And it's a song. I don't want to spoil what the song is all about. And the closing sequence as she leaves the rink is fantastic.

I'm going to put a link to it when this podcast comes out. But that might be my favorite hockey video from any artist. The song, again, is called I Make the Dough by Kathleen Edwards. Do you, Elliot Friedman, have a favorite hockey song? Oh, Paul Coffey's in that video, by the way, too. Coffey's awesome in the video as well. Oh, boy. I don't know if I have a favorite hockey song

as much as songs I associate with hockey, right? Oh, that's good too. Jeez. I would probably say at the lonely end of the rink because I remember at the lonely end of the rink, they debuted it as part of a tease at Hockey Night in Canada. And I was working sideline that night. And I remember Shirely Najak, who was producing,

challenged me to work it into a couple of my in-game hits, and it went pretty well. So I always kind of remembered that as my favorite hockey song. I would say that one. Okay, that gets me to mention something here, and that is from some of those old intros on Hockey Night in Canada. From some of those old intros on Hockey Night in Canada, I can't listen to Love Rain Over Me by The Who without thinking about Tim Thompson's, and I believe it was an opening for the season, collage that he did for Hockey Night in Canada.

And I can't, like, and whenever I hear that song, I always think of that collage and that opening for Hockey Night in Canada that Tim put together. And there's another one. It was before, I think it was a 2009 Stanley Cup final, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Josh Wilder, who was a producer with us at Hockey Night in Canada,

put together an intro and it was a takeoff on Cole Plays the Scientist. And to this day, I can't hear that song without thinking of Josh's intro to that series. So that's interesting, Elliot, because those are the two songs that I always associate with hockey and just because of the Hockey Night in Canada intro. So Josh, Tim, if you're listening, well done. Those two songs will always be hockey songs for me. I'm sure you listening right now have your own favorites. Feel free to send them

in. The Montana's Thought Line, Montana's barbecue and bar, Canada's home for barbecue. We're back in a moment. Oh, yeah Broadcast 32 Thoughts presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Ellie, I want to finish off by talking about the window which will open, which does open 48 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded. And that is the buyout window. Now, in the first block, you wondered and mentioned the name Jack Campbell and wondered if there was a buyout there. You've reported on Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres. I think we've wondered about people like Nate Schmitz of the Winnipeg Jets.

I've wondered about JG Pajot with the New York Islanders. We know they're in a cap situation and how is Lou Lamarillo going to wiggle out of this run to give himself some flexibility to, uh, to improve that team. But nonetheless, um, who are some of the usual suspects for you this time around for buyouts? Well, I think Skinner's the one we're all watching. That's the one. And they don't have to put him on waivers because he's got a no-move clause. So they can just go to Skinner and say, we're going to do this.

So that's the one I think we're all watching. Like I said earlier, Jeff, I think this is going to be a bananas week i think there's going to be things that happen here that we absolutely do not see coming and on one level uh i'm kind of bracing for the crazy on another level i'm really looking forward to it make sure you get your rest um we will get no rest this week. Bleeding into next week as well. Elliot went over the schedule a couple of moments ago here on the podcast. The one thing we will let you know is we have at least one more podcast for you coming up this week. We'll record something in Vegas on Thursday for release on Friday,

which will all become irrelevant by the time the draft starts. But make sure you get it and listen to it as early as you can so you're as up-to-date as you can be. Congratulations again to the Florida Panthers, Stanley Cup champions, 30 years in the making. Looks great on the organization, looks great on the markets, looks

great on those players as well. Congratulations to everybody in and around the Florida Panthers organization. Enjoy what is Elliot has mentioned will be a crazy week. And we'll talk to you again Friday morning.