32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Don't Be Afraid to Win

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

Jeff and Elliotte look back at the Toronto Maple Leafs game six victory over the Boston Bruins to send the series to seven. They talk about how the Leafs were written off after trailing 3-1. They also delve into the Bruins' side of things and ponder what might happen if they blow this series (8:31). That makes way for conversation about Rod Brind'Amour's future in Carolina (16:11), news about Todd McLellan (20:00), and updates on Mike Sullivan (21:58) and Craig Berube (24:55). Jeff and Elliotte set up Game 6 between Vancouver and Nashville (25:48).    The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (30:07).Jeff and Elliotte wrap the podcast by revisiting Game 5 between the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights, as the Stars grabbed a 3-2 series lead (40:33). They also talk about what is next for the LA Kings after once again being ousted from the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers (46:52).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.

So erase the board. Yes, just win. That's it. It's simple for Toronto. All right. Let's go, Chuck. I'm prior up. I was up watching you guys at 2 o'clock in the morning last week.

Y'all were taking shots at me and Benz, and we didn't like it. But tonight, we get our revenge. The Toronto Maple Leafs win. Garo! Let's go, Chuck. Let's go. Let's go. Miss Marner, John Tavares, Tavares, and Miss Marner. I'm about to open this podcast with a quote from Glenn Healy.

But first, welcome to 32 Thoughts to Podcast presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Elliot, as Glenn Healy was apt to say more often than not after a game like that, sometimes you paint a Picasso and sometimes you paint a barn. It may not have been the most exciting game we've ever seen, Elliot, until the thrilling conclusion of it. But nonetheless, it was exciting by the end. The Maple Leafs win 2-1 and force a game 7 against the Boston Bruins. Wide brush thoughts on this one no

no austin matthews we should point out but you listen to this podcast you already knew that one going in look kevin bx has said it was not a good game i i completely disagree it's like art jeff somebody looks up at a painting and they since we're going with the art theme and they say that things hideous and another person looks at it and says that is an absolutely beautiful work of art on the level of the 16 chapel i thought so you're great you're you're angling with the eye of the beholder not the educated imagination arguments you're the eye of the momentholder, not the educated imagination arguments. You're the eye of the beholder. Lately, I've seen a lot of things about supposedly educated people that convinces me they're not that smart.

So I'm going with the eye of the beholder. Okay. All right. Very good. But to me, that was a fantastic game. Now, I realized there were a lot of flub passes. I realized there were a lot of mistakes. But for me, it's all about

the drama and from the moment the puck dropped that's true the air that's was thick with it you could feel the fans were nervous the players were nervous everybody was nervous you could feel the nervous energy and that made it great for me. Now, I have to tell you, first of all, this podcast dropping on Friday morning. So six days ago, the Maple Leafs were being run out of Toronto. Oh, yeah. Fans were calling Ubers for the players, the coaches, the front office, everybody. Oh, yeah. Driving to the airport. This car will you want to go to pearson you want to go to billy bishop hey i'll send you to either

one of them but you're leaving and now they're going to play game seven in boston on saturday night the biggest surprise in games five and six for me was the tentative way in which the Bruins came out in both games. In the last two games, they have been outshot 23-3. In game six, they didn't have an even strength shot. They had one shorthanded shot all period. I don't know what's happened here. I've told this story on the podcast before. The basketball coach coach Larry Brown

saying to his players in a game they won by upset Kansas 1988 don't be afraid to win he would talk about the fear of winning oh my God we're actually going to accomplish this I didn't think we'd actually be able to accomplish this oh my God we're going to accomplish this that's what it looks like by the way that happens to people in life all the time elliot you're yes right about that i i'm seeing that with boston i they're they get to the they get to the precipice and they lost last year to florida and they're they're here again and they look tentative. They get stronger as the game goes on. They got stronger in game five. They got stronger in game six.

But they waste the first 30 minutes, and they give the Maple Leafs life. One of the things I think you have to give Toronto credit for is that's one of the best defensive games in a big game that I've seen the Maple Leafs play they got credit for five block shots in the first period they got short changed on that they were in front of any everything poster knock in particular very early had two chances on the same shift and they blocked both or deflected both It was an incredibly impressive defensive performance. And look, I think Domi's been great. I think Nyes has been great. I think Wool has been great.

But the guy who really stands out is Jake McCabe. I think it's a toss-up. The last couple games, I think we all could argue different guys, any of those guys who's been Toronto's best player, but I think it's been McCabe. I really do think McCabe has been their best player, and I think that he's one of the guys, and Nyes is another, and Domi's another, and Bertuzzi, I think he's hilarious. Every time I watch Bertuzzi's shifts, there's one or two plays

that just make me start laughing, but those guys are the ringleaders, and I admit it. And anyone else who said that Toronto was going to force Game 7 in this series, you're either lying or you're related to them, because nobody thought this last Saturday. And all credit to them, these were big, brass-one victories. You know, one name that you didn didn't mention there and you mentioned a lot of good ones like i think that nize has been fantastic and what do they always talk about goals go to your feet and right away he was moving his feet coming off of that overtime victory in game

five and he had a tremendous game on thursday joseph wall i mean that story is getting really well told he's been fantastic in a really really tough situation where he didn't face anything until halfway through the game. And then all of a sudden, the Boston Bruins start turning it on. It is so hard to stay mentally sharp for half the game. And then here comes the Boston Bruins onslaught. And it's Marchand. And it's Pasternak.

And it's McAvoy. So he was fantastic. The one name. And listen, Max Domi was same as game five. Max Domi is really distinguishing himself above the pack here. The one guy he didn't mention was the guy that scored both the goals. What did you make of William Nylander on Thursday? Look, William Nylander is paid to do something, and that is score.

The first one bounced in. I don't care. You make your own luck. know I want to say something about that goal too Kevin pointed out on the air Sheldon Keefe I think everybody knows the possibility that you know he's one of many people in the organization who could be in trouble if they had gotten wiped out in this series. He sees that Boston ices the puck, and they've got their fourth line out there, and what does he do? He loads up. He says, okay, big guys, you're going out there,

and he gets the goal. Keefe takes a lot of blame, as many coaches do, when they don't get the right matchups. That was a moment where he exploited the matchup and deserves credit for it. Nylander is paid to score. He scored. He did his job. And even if the first one was a bit of a fluke because it bounced in off of McAvoy, you know, they don't ask you how.

They ask you how many. Now, I know there's a lot of Bruins fans who are upset about a non-call right before that. Let me just say this. This game was full of non-calls. And, hey, you know me, Jeff. I like a mean, tough game. This was a mean, tough game. That play gets extra attention because there was a goal scored right after it but there were a

lot of plays in this game that could have gotten called but didn't and so i'm not complaining about any calls that uh weren't made in this particular game especially after wednesday night when i talked about the diving and i had a hundred messages from all sides of me on Thursday morning. Okay, so we've talked a lot about the Maple Leafs. What about the Boston Bruins end of things? And first of all, another great performance by Jeremy Swayman. That probably is a conversation we should have had earlier in this chat. He's playing game seven, right?

He's playing game seven, right? Look game seven right look for me he shouldn't have missed the game bless all mark in game two but for me swayman and just how he played hang on i understand it to you but how he played in game one how he talked about afterwards and what it meant to him and all that like you knew this guy was dialed in on the series so for me it's the answer to every question about who's starting is jeremy swyman and even after game like game six for me again it's i saw kevin say all mark but kevin he probably drunk on air to make that comment oh beating space kick uh look he got one was a breakaway and one bounced in off his defenseman he's playing game seven we taught we've talked a

lot about the consequences of a defeat in toronto it's not as if there might not be consequences for boston too like boston is a very demanding organization they expect greatness out of their bruins and i and last year was a big upset and I think it shocked everybody and upsets can happen. But I think if we have this two years in a row, 3-1 up, lose, 3-1 up, lose, Boston to me, the organization of the Jacobs family and Cam Neely in particular, I think Don Sweeney is an intense but very level-headed guy but the jacobs family and and cam neely in particular i don't see them taking this so we up nothing to see here i just i just don't i don't believe that so i think there's a lot riding for the bruins too and the

other thing i'd say is you know one of the things that's that's clearly happened here and I was actually talking about this with someone the other day reminded me about something that I've said is that it's different in the playoffs when people game plan for you in the regular season you know Boston's a great team. They play smart. They rarely beat themselves. They're talented and intelligent. And that's going to win you a lot of games. They get good goaltending, too. But where they think the difference is, is in the postseason when it's one team for seven games,

if they can game plan for what you do, number one, and number two, if they're, especially in Boston's case, a couple people said to me, is that if you're disciplined defensively, for all of Boston's hard work and for all of Boston's brains, how many natural goal scores do they really have? Like you asked me what about Nylander tonight. As far as I'm concerned, Nylander is a natural goal scorer and he scored. That's what he's paid to do. Like Toronto, even with Matthews out, I think you could argue they still have more natural goal scores than Boston does.

And that, when I text people or ask people, what do you think is happening here? And I was getting these during the game, is they just said it's Boston, even with Matthews for sure, they have to work harder to score than Toronto. But even without them, they have to work just as hard if not harder than Toronto that's a tough way to win in the playoffs very tough so Jeff when after game six we hear Jim Montgomery call out David Pasternak and say he needs to be better your best players need to be your best players this time here I think the effort is tremendous they need to be your best players this time of year. I think the effort is tremendous. They need to come through with some big-time plays and big-time moments.

I think Marshawn has done that in the series. Posta needs to step up. This is what I believe he's thinking. He's looking at Willie Nylander scoring those two goals, and he's saying the guy on our team who can do that is David Pasternak. Look up and down the Bruins roster. I don't know if there's anyone else there who can do it anywhere near the same level as he can. Just a natural, supremely talented score.

So what Montgomery is saying, we need you to do that. You have to deliver that for us. Because if you don't, look at what's happening to the Bruins the last couple of games, as the Maple Leafs are doubling down defensively. They need that from Pasternak, and Montgomery and the organization is craving it. They must have it. They know it. And that's why he said it. The thing is about Boston though, and maybe I'm being too naive here,

but let me throw this out at you. Even if like, let's say things go horribly wrong for Boston in game seven and they lose the Maple Leafs advance to face off against the Florida Panthers. It's another up three to one and ultimately lose first round for the Boston Bruins. Pasternak's going nowhere. Charlie McAvoy's going nowhere.

They have a chance to, on July 1st, extend Brad Marchand. Yep. I just don't know where any impactful changes would come from other than lena solomark who still has one more year left uh of term i just don't know where other than we're gonna go with some some younger kids next year i just don't know where the impact will go matt grizz looks a ufa like i just don't know where the big change would come from. To me, the Bruins are problem solvers. They will be aggressive and they will go out

and they will find something. They couldn't do it as much this year because they did it last year, which they should have. But I look at the Bruins as a team that doesn't sit still and they're aggressive when they feel they need to be and I like I said I I look at them as a team that if they lose again they will not simply stand pat or make minor tweaks they will say this is what we need and they will go out and get it i always think that way about them okay last question on this conversation uh this one from the maple leaf's point of view

they were down three to one they're completely written off as you mentioned earlier getting to game seven taking this thing to boston on a saturday night is that enough? Oh, come on. I wouldn't answer this when it was 3-1. I'm not answering when it's 3-3. I want to see it all. I want to have the information. Corey Perry wants his toe dragged back, Elliot. I don't like that. I don't have all the information to answer. Okay. I want to talk about Vancouver and Nashville here in a couple of seconds seconds say this first though they have not quit on each other and they have not quit oh god no no they have not um want to get to vancouver and nashville here in a couple of seconds but up first um some coaching uh talk here that seems to be the call of the day um

what's happening with rod brindamore you and i talked about this thursday on the radio show you seem to be under the impression based on who you've spoken with, that something can get done here. And in all probability, has anything changed since you and I chatted just a little bit after noon Eastern on Thursday? Jeff, I'm under the impression that this is going to get done. And I have felt that way for a long time. This is what I think happened over the last 24 to 48 hours.

I think Rod Brindamore, look, Rod Brindamore is staying in Carolina. He wants to stay in Carolina. He wants to be in Carolina. That's not news. Everybody knows that. They've been working on something for quite some time. It's basically agreed to. We've reported that.

Others have reported that. That's not news. Everybody knows that. He wants his assistants taken care of. He's consistent on that. That's not news. Everybody knows that. The other thing I'll say, too, is that it just wasn't progressing to the level.

I don't know if Brindamore is frustrated. I'm sure he is a bit. But I think Brindamore, never mind I think, Brindamore's a really popular guy in hockey. A lot of people really like Brindamore. They like the way he approaches things. They like him as a person. They just like the guy.

And they don't like how sometimes Carolina drags their feet with him. So sometimes I wonder, is this Brenda Moore unhappy? Sometimes I wonder, is this Brenda Moore unhappy or is it, and I'm sure obviously he's not happy if he feels his assistants aren't being taken care of. But I think also people around him get unhappy because they're like, Carolina knows he's not leaving. Carolina should recognize how important he is, and they do, but they feel that Carolina takes advantage of how loyal he is to the region and the team, and he doesn't want to leave. And I think those people get pissed off. And that's what I think happened here.

Someone spoke up and said, it's ridiculous, we haven't gotten this sorted out, and it got out. Like, I don't think those reports were illegitimate. I think they showed the frustration of either Brindamore or people around Brindamore that this hadn't gotten done yet. And it's not good for Carolina that this comes out around the playoffs. One of the things I think the Leafs figured out in these playoffs is the

weirdness around Nylander. It's just a distraction you don't need. But what they've done with Matthews is they came out right out on Thursday morning and said Matthews is not going to play game 6. And I'm not convinced he's going to play game seven while we're talking, but the Maple Leafs just ended those distractions. If you're the Hurricanes, you've had a few days off, and now you know you're going to play the Rangers in game one on Sunday, you don't need this being around your team.

You don't need the players wondering, wait a sec, what's going on? Is this our last series with Rod, really? And you don't need other rumors coming out like there was with Mike Sullivan, like is he going to the Devils? You don't need that with Brendan Moore. So they're going to put the kibosh on this, and it sounds like they're going to get something done. But what I think this really was, was the frustration pouring out,

either from Brendamore or someone close to him, and saying, I can't believe this is not done. And that's why this exploded at the time it did. I really believe that. Elsewhere in coaching land, a few things. A little bit later on, we're going to talk about the Los Angeles Kings, and we're going to talk about Jim Hiller.

How about we park a few minutes here and talk about the coach that he replaced. Is there anything new with Todd McClellan right now? Someone told me that he's interviewed with four teams. Oh? Yes. Okay. Yes. Should be no surprise.

No. I mean, Travis green's done some interviews i'm sure some teams have reached out uh to dave haxtell uh now that he's free um you know craig berube obviously we've talked about him and we'll we'll talk about him in a second again i mean there's there's a lot of names out there. Dean Evason. It's almost like once you name one, you kind of don't want to forget anybody. But I've heard McClellan has spoken to four teams. And my guess is, my guess on that list is New Jersey, Ottawa, St. Louis, and Seattle. That's my guess.

And so, you know, he's obviously making the rounds. You know, Rick Bonus said on Thursday that he's going to meet with the Jets on Friday. They have a team option, but I think we're going to know sooner rather than later and as we said really tough year on the bonus family and I don't think anybody would be would would would hold it against him if you know he just said you know that it's time but so Winnipeg and I think a lot of people are wondering if that's just gonna be slid over over to Scott Arneal, who did a nice job in the interim there this year.

But, you know, I clearly, clearly McClellan is getting his looks here. Right. What about Mike Sullivan? That's someone who's had and we've talked about it before a couple of different times, had some, as we like to say, noise around him here in the playoffs, Elliot. Yeah, I still think he's staying in Pittsburgh. Like, basically, from what I understand has happened there, they had, like, someone told me on Thursday that they were surprised by all of this because they were under the impression that

Sullivan and Dubas had sat down either late in the year or after the season and they talked about are we on the same page here going forward and the impression in the coaching fraternity was they were now there's been a lot of rumors about assistance and i think that is potentially a challenge um you know one of the other things too is like you know mike sullivan has had big power in that organization obviously the owners love them they extended them um and you know dubas has been given big power in the organization. He's got a seven-year contract. Someone compared it to me. I thought this was a really good comparison.

It's kind of like when Dubas became GM in Toronto and Babcock was already there. You had a coach there with the biggest contract in the history of coaching and a new first-time GM, and Babcock was like, hey, I like doing it my way. And Dubas and him had to find a way to try to work together. And I'm not saying that... I know where everyone's going to go with this.

I'm not saying this. Eventually, Dubas fired Babcock. I don't necessarily think that's what's going to happen here. I don't think that's on the radar. But look, Sullivan's had a lot of power in the organization. His contract dictates it. The fact he was given an extension with ownership dictates it. And now you get Dubas coming in. He's got a big contract too. He's got a lot of power. I do think these guys at times you know you know sullivan's used to a certain way dubas wants a certain way i do think there i do think i don't know if challenge is the right word but i do think you've got to figure out how this is going to work but i had a few different coaches who told me

they were under the impression that these two guys had said we're going to try it because we want to see this through together we'll see what happens with the assistants we'll see if that changes but that's what i'd heard so that'd be todd reardon mike fallucci these types of people in the organization here i i i don't know like i i like it's tough on assistant coaches because of but, you know, those rumors have been out there and I don't, I haven't heard anything that would indicate to me that it's wrong at this point in time. Okay. Let's finish up with someone you mentioned a couple of moments ago, and that is Craig Berube. We've been wondering ever since the moment he was dismissed by the St. Louis Blues, when he would reappear, his name has been attached to various teams throughout the season.

Every time there's a coaching vacancy, his is usually the first name to pop up as a potential candidate. He has to land somewhere, right, Freach? Yeah, and again, I hate mentioning this in the podcast because it sounds a bit stale. I still wonder if he's a guy who someone jumps at and makes an offer. So anyone who's not currently in but might be thinking about it, especially based on playoff results, can't participate.

I've had people tell me, you got to keep on that one because it's going to come sooner or later. And Ottawa and New Jersey are two teams that everyone's talking about, and we'll see if there are others. OK, so that's the latest on the coaches and the carousel around the NHL, Vancouver and Nashville. We started off the podcast by talking about a game six. Here comes another one and a real nice touch on Thursday with J.T. Miller wearing Arthur Shelov's dress shirt in practice, which I, for one, very much appreciated.

I love stuff like that when it comes to hockey. I thought that was great. I thought it was fantastic. Yeah, loved it. Loved it, loved it. Have you ever seen that video of the Blue Jays playing a practical joke on Derrick Bell? Yeah, they sold his car?

Well, no, but they said there's a thank you for a new car, and they drive his car on the field. The look on his face is the best. When Shelov saw Miller go by him, it kind of reminded me of that look from Derek Bell. It's a great video. Yeah, it's good. Hey, another great series. Just great hockey.

Great series. just great hockey great series um i you know i i gotta think i you know the other night i was on with stoffer and edmonton and i said i think it's to smith i don't know i i really don't know but i think it's to smith but i'm wavering the other direction i'm'm thinking, I'm guessing, guessing, stress, guessing. I'm guessing Shelofs. Why have you changed your tune? I just, you know, I think he's played a couple games in a row. He's played well. You know, I mean, I don't know. Talk, it seems to really like him, but i don't know talk it seems to really like him but i don't know

the insider supposedly is an outsider on this one uh look like rick talk has got out of his way to talk about you know closing up when you get a chance here right and finishing teams off when you get a chance here, right? And finishing teams off when you get a chance. And we've talked so much about killer instinct and you have to have it as a team. I think one of the things we forget here with Vancouver is this is the first time going through it for each. Like we want to treat them like just because they have,

they have so many players that are, you know, up for hardware and, you know, best in their position, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. This is still this team's first time going through it. I think the other thing, too, I think that's a great point, but I think the other thing, too, is that Hughes obviously doesn't look 100%, and Roenick doesn't either. The guy has nothing in five games.

And Nashville has targeted those guys in a playoff way, nothing illegal. They're going hard at those guys and they are, they're making life difficult on them. I picked Vancouver in seven, so I don't necessarily think they're in trouble.

But, you know, Nashville has made this series as challenging as they could make it for them which is what you have to do I think this is gonna be a great game I don't know how much I'm gonna be able to see of it unfortunately you know Friday is gonna be a very emotional day a few of us are going out to Newfoundland for Bob's funeral so i don't know how much i'm going to be able to see it but it is i i've loved this series i've enjoyed every second of watching this series and you know what jeff it's it's nice to have some drama when you have five series that

end in five games or less that's not a true fitting first round so to see vancouver give us some drama dallas give us some drama tor to see Vancouver give us some drama, Dallas give us some drama, Toronto, Boston give us some drama. We all need drama in our lives. Our lives can't be boring. Mm-hmm. I hope you're right.

Seven games of this, yes. I'll take that on my order. Okay, coming up after the break, the Montana's thought line. A little bit later on, we will get into that Dallas-Vegas situation as well. Don't go anywhere. 32 Thoughts returns in a moment. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad thought line montana's barbecue and bar canada's home for barbecue

thank you this will never not be funny to me never not funny it always gets Thank you to Rick Turner for that one. This will never not be funny to me. Never not funny. It always gets a smile, just like the Barbershop Quartet. That always gets a smile from me, too. Thank you, as always, to Rick Turner. 32thoughts.sportsnet.ca 1-833-311-3232

32thoughts.sportsnet.ca 1-833-311-3232 Andrew, why do goalies in the NHL 323232thoughts, sportsnet.ca. 1833-311-3232. Andrew, why do goalies in the NHL no longer wear neck danglers? By dangler, I mean the clear piece of plastic that was strung to the goalie's mask and hung to protect the throat. When I think of goalies past, I think of Patrick Waugh and Martin Berdur both wearing a dangler. Marc-Andre Fleury still wears a dangler. So wait.

Actually, as I type this in real time, I may be looking in hindsight with Quebec tinted glasses. If I am wrong and the dangler is slash was just a Quebec thing, it wasn't, then what would the reason a goalie wouldn't add a layer of protection with low angle shots trying to deflect off the goalie's mask seemingly on the rise that is from andrew so guess who i texted with this question today um carrie price the goalie whisperer oh kevin woodley that's even better carrie price doesn't know as much as kevin wood. That's a good call.

Clearly. Good call. Good call. Over any NHL goaltender, I'll take Kevin Woodley. I can't believe I didn't guess that. That's okay. But Woodley brings up a couple of interesting points in the text exchange that we had. One, he said, quite frankly, guys just get annoyed using it because it's always bouncing around the other thing um which is really interesting too and that is he talked about how neck protection um has really improved with modern foams and guys aren't as worried about it now because if you look at the modern approach to

goaltending like remember patrick waugh used to always look he had like that big huge long neck when he played right because the neck was exposed the chin was up looking around scanning but the way to play net now is when you track down on pucks your chin tilts down and you almost the mask itself protects your neck essentially what i'm saying is the style of goaltending now doesn't expose your neck as it used to in in in seasons past but the one thing that's interesting here that I'm curious about to see what changes and Elliot we just saw this in the Vegas Dallas series most recently you and I have spent a lot of time talking about goaltenders in the RVH and players shooting from the side of the net and bouncing it off their heads yeah and what that means for a their safety most notably and you and i always focus on the head and

as part of the exchange that i had with woodley he said you know i wonder with all the headshots with goalies in the rvh how many times a goaltender is going to end up taking it in the neck instead of the head so i don't know if there's going to be more neck protection because of this new phenomenon or players like well most recently the donoff firing it from a from a side angle but he said i you know i don't think we're going to get back to the everyone wearing neck danglers but i do wonder along with woodley at what point we start to see some more neck protection just for guys that are shooting pucks at their heads because i don't think the rvh is going anywhere for age sorry jeff i uh i

tuned you out while i was texting patrick why your phone number while you were calling him big neck guy don't you i love so i'm sure the answer was good but i wasn't listening to any of it sorry patrick um i did i always loved uh watching those big shots of patrick wall almost like an ostrich staring above everybody don't forget he was a really tall goaltender too all right uh let's move on with that before i get any more uh any more trouble here with Patrick Waugh. Here's one. David, he describes himself as the only hockey fan in Columbia, Missouri. Good morning. If it was later in the day,

I would ask you if you had tried the ribs yet. I'm guessing he's writing this first thing in the morning. Go Tigers. I was wondering if certain colors are off limits when a new team comes online or an established on rebrands. For instance, Quebec had a distinctive shade of blue. That's true.

When a Seattle or Vegas comes online or a team redesigns their colors, is that Quebec blue or shade similar to it? And when she writes Pantone PMS 300C, good for you, David. That's respect. Is that off limits? Would the league or the avalanche quote own that color

and make sure no other team goes near it to retain its uniqueness just in case colors elliot i assume you look this up i did not but i think i know the answer to this one okay that's a good first of all i love watching missouri basketball in the 80s and 90s norm stewart shout out columbia one thing i do know jeff is that there is some layer of you cannot steal other like these are trademarked right so right there there is protection but the league is very careful that you know each team looks unique in its own way they don't want copies i mean i'm sure there are some things that are done as a nod to someone else or a tribute to someone else, but they want to look unique and they want to look different. Yes. Like, I think that the NHL assumes that there's going to be

some type of color overlap. How can there not? Yes. But Elliot, if Utah came out tomorrow and said, we're going to go to orange and black, well, there's a team in Pennsylvania that may be curious what your plans with orange and black are. All I'm saying is I think the NHL understands that there's going to be overlap in color.

But to Elliot's point, I don't think that you'll be able to completely rip off colors and color schemes to say nothing of patterns or holes. But great question. One that is a very intriguing one for yours truly. All right. Here's one that might get your eyeballs rolling. Drew from New Jersey. Dom Jeff Elliott. First of all, love the podcast.

Started listening about a year ago. Haven't missed an episode. Thank you, Drew. As I watched the Bruins Leafs game, I thought of a potential rule change that might interest Jeff. Oh, my God. Do I want to log off right now? Yeah, I know.

I want to get your thoughts on this one. I'm kind of like, meh, on this one. But I want to hear what you think. If you won't even entertain it, this is either the new Coke of NHL ideas or the new Homer. Remember the car from the Simpspsons I do remember what the remember what the horn played know what look who Karachi oh this is gonna be the homer of NHL rule ideas okay hit me I'm brave here it is okay okay here it is

this will be the final question on I'm prepared. Final thought. Final question on the thought line for you. Here we go. On a delayed penalty. Okay. What if the player who commits the penalty has to be the one to touch the puck to end the play and start the power play with the extra attacker? The pending power play team can make sure they control the puck or at least guard the penalized player from stopping play. So there's the wrinkle delayed penalty it's the player who the penalty is on

who has to end the play i have to say i don't hate it i don't think it'll ever happen because i think there's too much room for injury i i the longer it goes like like a skilled team and like could you imagine the Oilers with that rule well he okay they would have the empty net for six minutes before that one guy was able to touch the puck it's not bad I I have to say I respect the thinking I just the risk of injury I just don't think they would do it. And here's why. And this is where I went to on that. Similar to your risk of injury, there will be teams.

I mean, every team will try to do this. Obviously, keep the puck away from the player in question. And eventually, that player is going to exhaust. And what do you do? Like, that player can't change. Then you have a completely exhausted player on the ice. And exhausted players equal injuries yeah you're freezing a player on the ice and who knows like that delayed to say nothing the poor official has got to keep his or her arm in the air for that

long as well i'll be talking are you are you going with this arm in the air thing again why not why are we getting goofy here on a friday morning podcast i have to say not the worst idea you've had plenty of worse ideas just i don't think that's gonna happen see that's weird because i was kind of like meh i'll just throw it out there it might mildly mildly annoy elliot and on the scale of insanity that's only like a four that's not mine this is david and clem no no but on the scale of insane ideas it's only a four all right try harder everybody uh the montana's thought line let's really get let's find elliot's last nerve and pluck it like a fiddle the montana's thought line montana's barbecue and bar canada's home for barbecue. Wrap up the pod in moments. Jeff, Elliot, and Tom on 32 Thoughts try their ribs today. Oh yeah. Welcome back to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation.

Elliot, we thought this was going to be a marquee series. It is a marquee series. It is a series that keeps on delivering, and Game 5 was no different. 3-2 is the final score, a wild first period with four goals, some controversy along the way. A great Jake Ottinger save on Chandler Stephenson with 2.35 left. Yes. And the Dallas Stars grab a 3-2 series lead.

They've now won three games in a row off the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, Elliot. What a series. An incredible series. First of all, credit toallas for picking themselves off the mat down to nothing two defeats at home going into one of the toughest places in the league to play using that as a launch point for three straight wins mean series lots of high quality entertainment good hockey what we could have asked for in the stars and the Knights. The Knights own actions indicate to me that they think they're

in trouble and the reason I say that is you go back to the year that they beat Colorado. They were down two nothing to Colorado and they were coming home. Colorado won the first two games at home. That was a confident team. They were like, yeah, we lost these two games, but we still think we're going to be okay. And they were. They won four straight to win that series. I just remember how confident they were. It's rare for me to see the Golden Knights not look confident. I don't think they were too worried after game three, but I think they were worried after game four and the giveaway was some of the changes. They go from Logan Thompson to Aiden Hill. They really rejigged their group. Like there were a lot of moves there that said to me, whoa, like Vegas is concerned here and I don't think anybody should be hugely

surprised Dallas is that good and when they are steamrolling as they started to they are very very difficult to stop the thing about Aiden Hill for Logan Thompson I go back to 2017 Ottawa-Pittsburgh Eastern Conference Final. Matt Murray that year got hurt right before the playoffs in warm-up of game one. Marc-Andre Fleury took them in two rounds, took them through, got them to the Eastern Final against Ottawa, then got yanked in a game Pittsburgh lost.

And I remember we were traveling to Ottawa for one of the games, and I was talking with Kelly Rudy and Craig Simpson. I said, geez, I remember we were traveling to Ottawa for one of the games, and I was talking with Kelly Rudy and Craig Simpson. I said, geez, I wonder who's going to start. And they scoffed at me. They said, Mike Sullivan is starting Matt Murray, and it's not even a debate. And I said, why?

And they go, because Mike Sullivan won a Stanley Cup with Matt Murray, and he's always going to be loyal to that. When he's in trouble, he's going to Matt Murray. And so when this happened, that's the first thing I thought of. This is not on Logan Thompson. Bruce Cassidy won a Stanley Cup with Aiden Hill, and he's not going down without going to Aiden Hill. And I'll tell you something else, Jeff. Another person reminded me of another of my conspiracy theories. And it goes back to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton, Carolina.

Great series. Game six, who shows up out of nowhere? Eric Cole, who we thought we were not going to see again that season. He'd suffered a serious neck injury. We thought there's no way he's going to play. He shows up for game six in Edmonton, which the Oilers win to force game seven. And someone said to me, Eric Cole was not about game six.

If he did anything, it was a bonus. They said Peter Laviolette dressed Eric Cole because he was more worried about game seven. He did not want him coming in cold for game seven. He said, if we lose and we have to play game seven, I want Eric Cole with a game underneath him. And so I obviously, I think he goes to Aiden Hill because he won him a cup,

but two, I think it's also let's get him in there. Let's give him a game. Let's give him some touches. Now they've got less runway. They've still got to win two games, but I wonder if he looks at it and says, I'm happy.

I got Aiden Hill again. One conspiracy theory, the, the Simpson Rudy one, I believe 100%. The other one, we'll find out. Elliot, something I mentioned on the radio on Thursday. I want to run this by you quickly. I don't know who handles the Dallas Stars social media,

but Dallas Stars social media is very active and very creative and excellent. I think back to one of the great hockey tweets of the Twitter age, and that is April 12th, 2012 at 1.26 Eastern AM from the LA Kings to everyone in Canada outside of BC, you're welcome. I do wonder, considering how this is Vegas versus everybody and we all understand the dynamics and the issues at play here what the Dallas Stars social media team has cooked up should the Dallas Stars eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights do we see something similar to to everyone in Canada outside of BC you you're welcome we'll see i don't even i don't even think about this kind of stuff i really know they are you don't think that they might but you know what like anybody this series is not over like i said i think the knights are

reeling a bit um i i think they are surprised at how this has gotten away from them but to me this is the same as winnipeg colorado it's a stanley cup final in round one and somebody good was going down and even though it's 3-2 dallas and they've got the momentum this is far from over i like to me i don't even think of stuff like that you You know, the Dallas Stars social media team has something cooked up in case they win. We'll see. We'll see. Okay. And so, Elliot, the question becomes for the Los Angeles Kings.

What next? Or maybe who's next? The Kings exit by way of the Edmonton Oilers for the third time in as many seasons in the opening round of the playoffs. And we have questions about the general manager. We have questions about the big trade acquisition in the off season. We have questions about the goaltending. Where are your questions with LA? Jeff, there's no doubt in my mind that the biggest question that everybody is asking here is,

are there going to be changes, big changes throughout the organization? to be changes, big changes throughout the organization. And one person who is closer to this than I am pointed out one thing and that is that this is an incredibly patient ownership group. Incredibly patient. Dave Taylor, nine years as GM. Dean Lombardi, 11 years as GM. Rob Blake just finished his seventh season. Now that's close. It's not nine And it's not 11, but it's not insignificant. So I think that's one of the questions that we're all waiting for here. Has, you know, three years of losing to the Oilers in the first round, does that nudge a generally very patient ownership group into saying, now it's time for us to act. One of the things I always wonder about this is, you know, what's the financial health of

the franchise? Like AEG is a massive, massive organization and the Kings do not affect the bottom line, but I'm not naive enough to believe that these companies they run them like businesses and they they want to make sure like is there is there something behind the scenes that aeg says look we're a little concerned about this our season ticket renewals are down or our attendance isn't that strong or whatever the case is those are the kinds of things that can always influence the decision. To me with the Kings, one of the things I've always wondered is and Rob Blake has another year left on his contract, how much longer does Rob Blake want to do this? I think he's a really competitive guy. I

think he burns to win and some of the things that have kind of happened over the last couple years have reinforced that to me how competitive he is and how much he burns to win but I did wonder how long would he want to do it and I think that's another thing I often wonder if it comes up in these conversations as well the other thing I think about too it comes up in these conversations as well. The other thing I think about, too, is it's kind of been assumed around the NHL that if the day came that Rob Blake was no longer the GM, Marc Bergevin was already there as his successor. And I wonder if we are in a situation where Blake says, OK, it's time.

Does that mean that this is still the succession plan or would ownership say no we've got to go outside so these are the questions I kind of have when it comes to the front office and the organization here now Jeff before we talk about dubois and the situation that involves him yeah just remember that any conversation about a pierre-luc dubois buyout yes involves four numbers okay 2038 as in he would be on the cap for 14 years ending in june 2038 a cap hit that at its highest would be just over 3.8 million there's three years it would be close to that but for most years would be below 2 million including the last seven seasons of the buyout, which would be about 1.1 million. But it's 14 years on your cap if we're going down this road.

So then would hockey have its very first Bobby Bonilla day? It's a good question. You come up with all these things I never think of. I have to tell you that. Well, listen, and further to that, when you're looking at numbers like 14 years, again, we don't know if they're going to go down this road, but if they do, Elliot,

you have to really be done with someone to say, you know what? The 14 years is worth it. You have to be really done with someone. Now, Dubois turns 26th on June 24th. And the reason that's important is if you're 26 years old and you get bought out, it's a two-third buyout. The player gets two-thirds of his contract, gets all bonuses, but it's two-thirds of the salary of his contract over double the term remaining. But if a player is 25 or under, and Senators fans will remember this happening with Colin White, it's one-third of the salary over twice. So that's a significant change. I was under the impression that what mattered was the age at the end of the NHL season.

The NHL calendar year goes from July 1st until June 30th. So because Dubois turns 26th on June 24th, I thought that meant he was 26 years old at the end of the calendar year so it was two-thirds no matter what now somebody who's a lot smarter than me sent me a screen grab from the CBA and they said to me look if you read the CBA it seems to matter what the actual date is a player gets bought out. So I double checked it with the league and I was told that person who sent me the screen grab is correct. If Dubois is bought out before his birthday which is June 24th

the Kings can buy him out for 1 third. Now here's the kicker on this jeff okay by the cba the buyout period begins the later of june 15th or 48 hours after the stanley cup final ends and concludes on june 30th okay the last possible date of the Stanley Cup final is June 24th which happens to be Dubois 26th birthday oh wow so there's a lot unpack here Wow okay so this is one to follow very close yes look I also think this and I say the same thing about the Kings they I do about the Jets, that you always look who you lose to. Yes, they lost in the first round, but they got stampeded by a team that destroyed a very good penalty kill. So what does that mean? How do you look at this?

I think they've got to get stronger in goal. While some of their prospects look like they're going to hit very well, like Byfield looks like a stud. Brant Clark is coming. He looks very good. But they only had, of all the kids they drafted, only two of them were in the lineup for game five. Now they've made some other good calls. Philip Dau I think was a really good call the Trevor Moore trading for him was a really good call so Rob Blake has his hits and he has his misses I think the Kaliev situation is is really

unfortunate I would have liked to have seen him get a chance against Edmonton, especially in the last couple of games where they needed goal scoring. Like to me, I would consider that a disappointment. To me, it's all on ownership here. What does ownership think? Because they've been patient with their GMs in the past and right now Blake's tenure is not as long as Taylor's or Lombardi's, although it's getting close. That to me is the biggest question. And King's ownership tends to be more difficult to read than other ownership groups in the NHL. kings i have a real soft spot in my heart for jim hiller so he takes over from todd mcclellan who gets dismissed um it's an interim tag that's on him all season long and you gotta hand it to him elliot he got them into the playoffs question becomes does it amount to anything i think the obvious answers here jeff are that it probably depends on what happens above them and number two I think a lot of people would kind of expect the possibility that the Kings might consider doing what the Devils do

are doing seeing what else is out there although allowing their interim coach Travis Green while saying hey you're still a contender you're free to talk to other teams. Now, I will say this. I had one coach who reached out to me on behalf of Jim Hiller, and he said he thinks the Kings would be crazy to get rid of him because his point was when he took over, they were a reeling, struggling team that was adrift and I think they went something like 21 and 12 underneath them and all the underlying numbers defensively got better and you know he just felt very strongly and like I said this was another coach that if you had plugged any other person behind the bench in L.A. during this season when he took over, they're not convinced anybody could have done a better job. goals for percentage that they were right up there under him about 57 which was right out there up there in carolina territory and you know the carolina territory and that stat is very good so

we'll see where this goes here but and this is not someone who contacts me quite a bit as a matter of fact i think it's someone who prefers the reverse of contacting me, but he felt the need to defend Jim Hiller in this particular case. Okay, let's wrap up the pod there. Don't forget, tonight, a pair of games, a couple of game sixes. You can see the Vancouver Canucks facing off against the Nashville Predators. That game gets underway at 7 o'clock Eastern. Watch it on CBC and Sportsnet. Then at 10 o'clock Eastern, you can see the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Much like Vancouver hopes to close out against Nashville, Dallas hopes to do the same to the defending Stanley Cup champions. Watch that one on Sportsnet and Sportsnet 360, as I mentioned, starting at 10 o'clock Eastern. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Back at you again, first thing Monday morning.