32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Eastern Octagon

Episode Date: February 24, 2023

Rumours are swirling! Jeff and Elliotte continue to work the Patrick Kane situation and what teams might be knocking on the door (00:10), discuss the competitive Eastern Conference (5:00), Boston and Washington make a deal (6:50), where the Capitals will go from here (14:00), how Minnesota has situated themselves at the deadline (17:00) along with the Senators (17:45), what we’ll see from the Blackhawks (19:30), how Carolina is approaching the next week (23:50), wonder if we’ll see Jakub Vrána on the move (29:00), different disagreements in both Pittsburgh (32:20) and Philadelphia (36:30) and Elliotte gives us some quick hitters with Torey Krug (30:30), Luke Schenn (30:45) and Timo Meier (31:20).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailMusic Outro: Hush Forte - Call the BluffListen to the full track HEREGET YOUR 32 THOUGHTS MERCH HEREThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Boston Bruins and WJFK 106.7 FM.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.

Yeah, leave the boom out then. Say the boom now. Leave the boom out. Nah. No, you can say boom. So stupid. I like it. Okay, welcome to what should be another action-packed, trade-filled discussion of 32 Thoughts to Podcast,

presented by GMC and the new Sierra AT4X. I don't know how we refer to the Pat Kane situation other than calling it maybe the new Giroux, or do we call it, Elliot, Giroux Part 2? No, Giroux 2. Giroux 2. And it might be the name of the podcast as well. Giroux 2.

What we're referring to is last year after the All-Star game, Claude Giroux went to the Philadelphia Flyers and said, look, if you're going to move me, it's going to be one team. It'll be the Florida Panthers. That really narrowed what Chuck Fletcher was allowed to do and able to do and that's why the return might not have been what some flyers fans expected are we seeing something similar here with patrick kane the chicago black hawks and the new york rangers well pat burson the agent for patrick kane joked uh tonight in a text message exchange that his phone is exploding.

I don't even think it's blowing up in the vernacular term of the word. I think it might literally be exploding. And his quote, and I've seen it around a couple of other media outlets, but his quote is, Patrick hasn't made a decision yet. So this is what I think is going on.

As you know, Jeff, the Rangers are sitting out two players, Kravtsov and Lecision. I heard that Chris Drury was calling teams and asking if there was a way he could move about $1.6 million in cap room. And if he can't do that in a trade, I think we all need to watch the waiver wire on Friday. And that's going to tell us what exactly is going on here. So the fact that Brisson is still being quoted

as we tape this podcast on Thursday night as saying that Patrick Kane has not made its decision. It says to me that the mechanism is slowly turning and everything has to get into place before anyone's making any pronouncement here so the gears are grinding right now but you know it's interesting too you know we talked over the past couple of weeks about where pat kane wants to be and it's pretty clear as much as we talk about other teams whether it it's Vegas, whether it's Dallas,

whether it's any of the teams that he's gone through in the past couple of weeks where the show is very much on for Patrick Kane. This is, and this is what it seems like, Elliot. This seems like this is Patrick Kane auditioning for the New York Rangers saying, look, I still have a lot of game here. There's room for me along with Vlad Tarasenko. Don't forget how good I am. Like when you look at Pat Kane lately,

the last couple of weeks, like the past seven games, like are you not seeing a guy who's determined to get somewhere we strongly suspect New York? You know, Jeff, I think when it comes down to this is a lot of the comments that you've made

in the past week and a half have really pissed him off. Like, I think this is solely on you. Oh, is that right? Have I been the one going on about the hip and lost a step? Yes. Oh, okay. All right. I am a witness to it. I have heard it all. Oh, okay. You have really pissed him off this time. This time there's no like jeff like you you're right like saturday night when we were doing our work how many teams told you yeah like if we were in on cane we're kind of out of it now

because he's not showing us much yes yes that was a thing and the price was too high was one of the things that i was told right now we're uncomfortable at that price one goes with the other right yeah like to be honest i don't think the price was ever ridiculous. I think the Chicago Blackhawks were perfectly prepared to be reasonable on this. This is Patrick Kane. It's time to move on, and we'll put him in a place he's happy to go. I think when teams were telling you the price was too high,

it's because they just didn't think, they weren't convinced that he could really help them. Well, now, as someone looked at the list i think we've all been consistently putting out and myself too and they were like elliot that list is too small like it's not just vegas and dallas and the rangers and carolina it's a whole bunch of teams now this week reaching out and saying look like does he want to come to us because if he does we'll see if we can find a way to make it work. Like, I think the list of interested teams actually grew.

However, I'm not sure his list of teams he was interested in grew by very much. And I think we all know if the Rangers can get it done, they're the favorites. If the Rangers actually do this and get the room and he doesn't go there, jaws are going to drop. And not just like jaws like normal people, but like cartoon jaws dropping, like a family guy jaw dropping. Peter Griffin's jaw dropping.

Yes. And you need two hands to pick it back up only to watch it tumble back again to the floor. Well, we'll see because, you know, when you look at that and there will be some tougher decisions, like let's get ahead of ourselves here. And if it does indeed end up, I remember the New York Rangers, like there is a spot still in that top six there for them.

Yep. And it makes the New York Rangers look frightening, Elliot. Like we're going to get to Boston here in a second. But that makes the Rangers look terrifying for anybody. Jeff, you hit it this week, right? What did you say? Eastern Octagon. Oh, Eastern Conference Octagon.

No, no, no. You put too many words in. It's not Giroux Part 2. It's Giroux 2. I got to put my English degree to work somehow, Elliot. Let me be a little flowery with the language. It's Eastern Octagon. And look, like if the rangers do this we're

going to talk about boston a minute toronto is added we're all waiting for tampa i think we're all waiting for carolina too like that's we're waiting for their movement we'll talk about them in a minute think about only two teams in the east are going to be standing after two rounds think about who's going out in the first round of the playoffs. Oh yeah. But the thing is, I'm looking at like, look, the Rangers have made one of their couple of moves here. Tarasenko is already in, but Horvat's playing with the Islanders and boy, do they ever need him now with the injury to Matthew Barzell. The Ryan O'Reilly deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And we're going to get to Boston and their moves with the Washington Capitals.

Anybody in the West want to help themselves here? Because to your point, like whoever comes out of the East is going to be damaged goods. Like this is going to be car crash. It's going to be car crash. You have to be, like the West is still going to be rough too. Like it's going to be physical, but it's not as

top end. Okay. Boston. Okay. Before we get to the trade, I want to talk about Gavrikov for a sec. Because I've been riding this train for a week and a half, and I feel I better explain myself because people are going to be like, okay, what happened here?

And a couple of things I'd like to say. First of all, number one, I have no doubt, none at all, that the reason Columbus scratched Gavrikov was because they thought they had something with the Bruins. And I think it was more than just in their eyes. I have to make this very clear. In their eyes, it was more than just, we may do something. They believed there was some kind of verbal commitment there.

And Gavrikov, I don't think has been very happy. I think he's been like, when is this happening? When is this happening? I want to play like Chikrin. He got this. He understands he's not complaining as long as he gets dealt. Gavrikov, I think was very different. He was like, let's go, let's go. I want to play. Let's go. was very different. He was like, let's go, let's go. I want to play, let's go. And I think this whole time Columbus believed that they had something with Boston. I think Boston feels very differently. They felt there was never a commitment that they had taught conceptually and they were thinking about doing it and it was on their radar. And I think they talked to Arizona about Chikrin. I think they legitimately looked at that. I think they talked to Chicago about a package of a McCabe and Lafferty deal.

I think that was discussed. So I think they looked at a couple of different things. And Don Sweeney in his media availability after the trade said the orlov hathaway thing came together pretty quick ultimately you want to get players in here and get them acclimated and comfortable with their new teammates um and the longer runway you can have probably the better off you're going to be and and i think that it presented uh in a situation where we we felt we could be aggressive and close it off. You just never know the timing.

As I always said, every deal, every contract, every situation has its own timeline. And all the work, again, that our pro staff has done over the period of time, the resources that the ownership presents to us, and then you've got to get in this cap environment. Sometimes you have to be ultra-creative. And we were required in this situation to do that. And, you know, Evan worked an awful lot on this deal to see it come to fruition.

We're thankful that, you know, Brian McClellan in Washington did the same. And I think earlier on Thursday, like not long before that trade came down, Columbus found out the deal wasn't going to happen. And Columbus and Boston, I don't know how to judge this. I don't know who's right and who's wrong, but Columbus and Boston had very different opinions on where this trade was. Columbus thought they had a commitment. Boston felt it was never there. And so I had some teams telling me that Boston continued to look.

I was actually on the phone talking to somebody, a GM, when I started to get news of the deal. And he was like, wow, I thought for sure Gavrikov was done. So even depending on who you talk to, there are differing opinions on where this was. But at the end of the day, Boston made this deal. One quick point before we get to this Boston-Washington deal. I wonder now, because after Thursday night's Edmonton-Pittsburgh game, Edmonton makes their way to Columbus. They'll play against the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

I wonder about the Oilers now with Gavrikov. And I wonder if finally Saturday, Gavrikov gets to play again. I'll tell you this, we're going to find out really quickly because if there was no other deal, I assume he's going to be back in the lineup. Like I said, I've heard he really wants to play. So I think there were very differing viewpoints on where this trade was.

And since I was one of the people who'd been talking about Gavrikov going to Boston, I thought I owed everybody an explanation. Okay. Turn the page on that. Washington and the Boston Bruins. We'll get to what this means for the Capitals in a second, but the Boston Bruins, well, it's

their turn to load up now. Dimitri Orlov, Garnett Hath, but the Boston Bruins, well, it's their turn to load up now. Dimitri Orloff, Garnett Hathaway to the Boston Bruins, Craig Smith, a first, a second, and a third going the other way. Washington eating 50% of Orloff's contract. Minnesota gobbling up 25. They get a fifth round pick through all of it. And now the Boston Bruins just got nastier and the blue line got deeper. We'll get to Washington in a second, but the Bruins now are loading up for each.

I think it's a great return for the Capitals. It's a hell of a deal for Boston. And to me, the difference between this Orlov deal and the Gavrikov deal is that Hathaway is with it. One of the things somebody told me after this trade came down was, on February 11th, a couple Saturdays ago, Washington played in Boston, and Garnett Hathaway scored the winning goal. And it was his ninth of the year. It was a 2-0 goal, and the Capitals won it 2-1.

Manto will dump it in. Connor Clifton, first one back for the puck. Jacob Lauko to center, gave it away. Hathaway coming down the middle, he scores! Hathaway with a shot! Ring it up for Gardy, it's two! Nothing! And apparently he had

a pretty good night, and also he's a local guy, so it really helps. But I think that night, like the Bruins were like, if this guy's available available we're in on him even though apparently they had a connection with the leones's family so he was actually a capitals fan he's got ties to boston and i think the bruins really liked that and washington didn't really tell anybody until like end of last week beginning beginning of this week, that they were just saying whatever.

Like they were just potentially waving the white flag and you're like one of our UFAs, tell us, you know, what you want to do. And I think the fact that Sweeney looked and he could get Hathaway and Orlov, that's what tipped the deal for him. He gave up a first, second, and a third, plus Craig Smith. The first and the third is exactly what Columbus was looking for for Gavrikov. So he was able to get Hathaway too. And I just think that this is what they did for Boston. Like he's a Bruin. He can play for a lot of teams but that guy looks like a

bruin and plays like a bruin and they look tremendous i really thought it was going to be tampa for hathaway i really really did that's the kind of guy that julian breezeball brings in around trade deadline time uh to help for the playoff push but he goes to that division and he goes to the boston bruins and you know when you look at stereotypical players he plays like a bruin fridge oh yeah he really does he's got more offensive upside i think than he's shown in washington um and he's nasty and he's miserable and he's a beautiful playoff player he's a boston player through and through so to the washington capitals then So we've talked about this for a while, about, you know, you've made the point about the math

and it doesn't look good and how this season, for various reasons and injuries is one of them and one horrible injury to John Carlson, who's such a key piece of the puzzle for the Washington Capitals. This has not been a good season. Now, we didn't think and still don't think that the Washington Capitals are going to strip this thing down.

I think they'll take a small bunny hop back and then try to lurch forward next season as everybody comes back refreshed. But what I wonder now is how many other players go and how many players end up getting re-signed? Hathaway's deal was expiring. He goes. I wonder now what becomes of Eric Gustafson, who now, when you look at everyone on the left side, everybody gets a bump up now, now that Orloff is gone. I wonder if he now slides into Washington's top six, if he's someone that Brian McClellan looks to move, or is he someone that Brian McClellan looks to sign to a longer term deal? Like there's a number of UFAs that are still on this roster that we wonder

about, whether it's Connor Sherry, whether it's Lars Eller, Nicholas Obey-Kubel, I think Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Nick Jensen as well. Like there's still some pieces here that the Capitals can play with. What do you think this deal means for those guys? Essentially, does this mean that Washington is now open for business and will listen to offers on all of these players with contracts that are about to expire? I think they're listening. Yes.

I think they've made it very clear. They're willing to listen on their UFAs. If you've got some ideas, send it Brian McClellan's way. You can send it by text. You can send it by signal. You could send it by telegram. You could send it by fax. You could send it by email.

Just send it Brian McClellan's way. Look, I think they've tried to sign some guys. I think they tried to sign Orlov. I heard that the issue there was term. I don't think Orlov was looking for eight years, but I think he was looking for close. I just don't think the Capitals were willing to go much beyond three or four.

As a matter of fact, I would be shocked if they were willing to go beyond four at all. So that's one thing. I think they've talked contract with some of the other guys you mentioned. I think they've talked on some level with Gustafsson. I think they've tried to figure out Van Rienstuyck a little bit. Like I wonder now that Orlov's gone, do you sort of continue to move down your list? Okay, who's next?

So I think he's doing both. I think he's trying to see who's willing to resign, what the numbers are. Does it make sense? Yes, we'll do it. Look, he did it with Milano. He did it with Stroh. Does it make sense?

No. Then I'll make a move. That's what we're seeing from them so far. Do you have a sense of what Minnesota is doing here? This is the second trade they've been involved in where they've played banker. I'm kind of surprised that the team that's in salary cap prison is playing banker on trades. Well, they have lots of room this year.

I understand that, but. Basically, though, what this means this year is at the draft in Nashville from rounds four to six, we're going to be calling Minnesota a lot. Bill Garrett, you have the next pick. After that, Bill Garrett. Or we should say Judd Brackett. Judd Brackett, you have the next pick. Some years garrett or we should say judd bracket judd bracket you have the next pick some years you buy lottery tickets right and this is minnesota's year to buy lottery tickets

i'll tell you something else too obviously teams feel that the wild are easy to deal with because it's twice now no that's a really good point a couple of the teams i want to go over here um the nikita zaitsev deal with the ottawaators. I want to get to Chicago here in a second. There's a couple of names we should go over, but Ottawa sends Zaitsev a second and a fourth to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for futures. Hmm. This vague term again, futures, Elliot Friedman.

Do we ever discover what the futures are or will they just vanish into the hockey ethers? No, we're never going to see that. That's like the Max Pacioretty futures. Maybe they'll send like a gift basket or something like that. Nice Christmas card.

Nice Christmas card. No, we won't see anything there. Yeah. I'm really curious to what this is going to mean because I do think Otto was looking out there for Dee right now. I don't think it's Chikorin. I think we're all just wondering, can Otto

would do anything with Ter? Like someone asked me if they thought it was Carlson. I don't think it's Carlson. I don't think it's Chikorin. I mean, I know there's a lot of rumors about Pareko, but I don't have any confirmation that that conversation has actually happened. Doesn't mean it's wrong, but I don't know that it's

happened. Another guy I was thinking about for Ottawa actually, and this is just my personal opinion, be a good pickup for them. Nick Jensen, right-hand shot from Washington having a real good year UFA I'm sure the cost wouldn't be small but I don't know he's a good player you know Dumba's another guy that they've looked at in the past but I mean I don't know right now I can't give you a great name at this point in time but I know they're looking I stick to my line and that is that every defenseman who's been available, they've looked into. So here's what I wonder about with Chicago now with Nikita Zaitsev.

Keep or buy out? There's a couple of options here for Kyle Davidson. Do you have a gut feeling either way? The thing about buying him out, you know, someone said to me that if you buy him out, half of his salary basically next year is in signing bonuses and you can't buy out

signing bonuses, right? Yes. So the actual savings would be, I think, $833,000. Thank you, cap-friendly buyout calculator. But someone was saying to me, if you buy him out, you're probably signing another defenseman for what, $775,000? Mm-hmm. So the question is, do you buy them out, you're probably signing another defenseman for what? 775.

So the question is, do you actually save any money? If that's the case, then are you really saving a lot of money? In that case, you're saving like $60,000. So I think it comes down to, do they buy them out or do they just use them instead of paying like another defenseman,

the minimum. That's what another AGM was asking me. Cause he could see a situation where Chicago saving money and not trying to win says, why are we getting rid of them? If we're just going to sign another guy for the minimum, like why would we do that? So I thought that was a very legit point.

One other player for the Blackhawks. I want to ask you about, it's a real good story. It's a story of perseverance and finally getting somewhere and fulfilling a dream. You ever thought on David Gust? Yes, I do. They're 29 years old, gets an NHL contract.

David Gust, as you said, 29 years old, and he's a local guy. He's from Orland Park, Illinois, and he's going to make his NHL debut sometime with the Blackhawks coming up soon. They just signed him to an NHL contract on Wednesday. So one of the things I found out about David Guss was that was the first time in his career, and he's been a pro since 2017, where he's ever been offered an NHL contract. So he's been like, he's been a pro for what, seven years? And he'd never been offered an NHL contract before. The story on him is in 2017, he was a senior at Ohio State

and he had a really big performance in front of Kelly Buckburger of the Edmonds and Oilers who was scouting at the time. And Buckburger saw him and recommended him to the Oilers. And so they signed him to an AHL contract at Bakersfield. And, you know, he kind of moved around. He went to Charlotte. He went to Chicago with the Hurricanes after a couple of years in Bakersfield. And last year, he had a really good year for the Wolves.

He had 16 goals in the playoffs. He had 12 points in 18 games as the Wolves won the Calder Cup. And after the year was over, apparently he said, I'm done. Like, I know I'm not really going very much farther in my NHL career, but, you know, I want to go out in a high. We won the Calder cup this year. I played really well and he was done. He decided he was going to retire. Well, uh, apparently he was talked into continuing to play. He signed with Rockford, which is still close to home for him. He's got 50 points in 51 games and he got the NHL contract in the call-up and he flew to

meet them in San Jose where the Blackhawks will be playing on Saturday. I just think that's an incredible, incredible story. I love to see people like that get rewarded. 29 years old, just turned 29 on Tuesday. Boom. Just realized that. Just turned 29 on Tuesday. I looked it up while I was talking. I mean, what a birthday gift. What a career. And I hope it works out great for him because that's the kind of story we all like to see.

Can't wait to see the 29-year-old take the rookie lap, Fridge. Can't wait for that. take the rookie lap, Fridge. Can't wait for that. Listen to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Okay, Elliot, we've talked about the teams in the Eastern Conference that have done something,

whether it's the Maple Leafs, the Islanders, the Rangers, the Boston Bruins. We're waiting for a few teams here. We're waiting for New Jersey, and we're waiting for the Carolina Hurricanes. What do you think? I think the Hurricanes, they're pretty good at being stealth.

I have to say that. You're kind of wondering what they're going to do and what they're up to. So one of the guys I've kind of wondered about with them is, as I told you on the radio today, on the Jeff Merrick show with Jeff Merrick, that I've started to hear Nick Schmaltz's name out there. And what made me feel better about that was I saw Craig Morgan then tweet hearing same. I'm not in Arizona, unfortunately, because I'd have a much better tan.

You wouldn't have a sore back from shoveling as much snow as we all have in the last couple of days. That was great exercise though on Thursday morning. When he tweets that out, it's good reinforcement that your information is accurate. I guess that was tweeted out on Thursday and someone sent me a tweet where that was mentioned and they said, this screams Carolina. Like just screams Carolina. And I don't necessarily think they're the only

one, like some of the problem with some of these guys in Arizona is we don't really see them a lot. And you know, Schmaltz is a really skilled guy. His no trade kicks in the end of the season, July 1st, and his cash actually goes over cap. It's cash over cap. Actual salary is above his cap hit the next few years. So to be clear on that one, so what Elliot is talking about is the cap hit is 5.85 million for the next three years. So to be clear on that one, so what Elliot is talking about is the, the cap hit is 5.85 million for the next three seasons, but the actual money

that the team pays in the next three seasons, 7.5, 6.95, and then 8.5 in the final year of the contract. Well, okay. So there you go. And you know, I think the other thing here too is, you know, someone else said to me, he doesn't fit Arizona's window.

And that is absolutely true. He does not fit Arizona's window. And look, I think we're all distracted by the trade deadline right now. I think after the trade deadline is over, we're going to start to have a lot more questions about what is going on down there because there's certainly a feeling that they can't take any money. Look, we all know that they're not expecting to win this year and they're not expecting to win for the next couple of years, but there's a difference between that and just kind of like stripping it down to the bolts, which we're hearing the rumors that they might do. The one thing is i want to see what it looks like after the deadline is over i think that's only fair but like we're still looking at this going okay what are we what are we seeing here and the weber trade is even more of that

anyway i think what it does is it's it's led credence to you know could schmaltz be available and to me that screams carolina and the conversation, the same guy said to me, you know who else screams Carolina? And I said, who's that? And they go, Shane Gostaspare. So this same person is trying to talk me into like a trade scenario. And I'm like, you know, I don't know if I should be presenting too many trade scenarios right now, but I just thought that was interesting like those guys are definitely up Carolina's alley in terms of the type of player

and the thing is too is Schmaltz has term if Carolina is going to pay for somebody they like term and I have to say this I think they were more interested in Kane than they may have let on I just think we kind of all wondering that we see where this is going. Here's something interesting though, because you mentioned the pair, oh, Schmaltz and Gostis bear. I don't reject that out of hand. And I also don't think that something is a coincidence that we're seeing more and more of.

And the one outlier here is the Bo Horvat deal. These are multiple player deals. Like the one today is Or is the Bo Horvat deal. These are multiple player deals. Like the one today is Orlov and Hathaway. We saw Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Achari. We saw Vlad Tereschenko and Nico Mikola. We're seeing players go in pairs now as a theme so far around this deadline. So when you say Schmaltz and Goss despair, I don't look at that and say,

not a chance is going to be, you know, one player here, one player there. It kind of looks like for whatever reason, and I don't know if it's the seller or the buyer, but one side likes doing deals for two more than deals for one. It seems to be, I mean,

people who actually count this stuff will probably know better, but the eye test to me seems to be, I mean, people who actually count this stuff will probably know better, but the eye test to me seems to be there's a lot more two player deals. Yeah. Maybe because of the needed retention. Maybe because you think you can get more of a haul this way now.

I think what part of it is, like if Boston just trades for Orlov, they probably don't get the second rounder, right? Washington and Boston can tell us later if this is right, but I've heard this kind of thing before. You do your first and third for Orlov and you do your second for Hathaway. Now, maybe that's not the case for this deal, but it's the case for many deals like this. Have a quick thought on what's happening with Jacob Verana. Let's pivot to Detroit quickly here. This is becoming an intriguing story.

We thought that perhaps we had seen the last of Jacob Verana in a Detroit Red Wings uniform, not so fast, called up from Grand Rapids, and it's been an intriguing 48 hours, let's just say, for Jacob Verana. Look, every time this guy's name comes up, I just hope he's in a good place. That's the number one thing up, I just hope he's in a good place. That's the number one thing I hope for. Yeah.

That he's in a good place. There's no question in my mind that this is a showcase so people could see how he was. You mentioned some teams. We can talk about some of these other teams. One team I'd heard was Jersey. And then someone said to me, kind of be careful with that. Yes, the Devils are looking to see if there's any undervalued forwards out there because that's what you try to do, try to fund undervalued forwards.

But New Jersey didn't even have a scout, for example, at that game in Washington the other night. So I don't always look at scouting lists because I think they're a little bit deceiving, but I'm watching these ones a little bit closer because to me, there's a reason that Vran is playing and I think teams want to have a bit of a look at him. In addition to that, Jeff,

they're doing their research off the ice. Like, are we sure he's in a good place? Because that's the most important thing. Okay. A couple of quick ones here, Elliot. Give me a couple a good place? Because that's the most important thing. Okay. A couple of quick ones here, Elliot. Give me a couple of fastballs. Yeah. A couple of quickies.

First of all, someone said to me, my Torrey Krug to Vegas idea, like just theory. And I said, that was a theory. I had some people say to me, that one's not going to happen. So stop theorizing. That's number one. Number two, Luke Shen. This has been a really tough one to go with because I think at times it's got hot and then

it's cooled down and it's got hot and then it's cooled down. I was on the impression as of Thursday afternoon that it wasn't imminent, but it changes a lot. So I just want to say that because I think the guy's going through a really tough time. So waiting for all this. So I just want to say that because I think the guy's going through a really tough time. So waiting for all this. So I just want to say that it seemed it was in one of its cooler periods on Thursday afternoon. But again, like these things change fast. And the teams that I think is in on this kind of said to me, we're not sure they're going to want to do this in Marlowe weekend.

Right. But like, again, I really hate making predictions at this time of year. I absolutely hate making predictions at this time of year. So as we tape this on Thursday night and you listen to it on Friday morning, this is the best information I can give you. But hey, things change here. So please take everything knowing that things change. This podcast will self-destruct in 24 hours. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Elliot, another day, another tough night for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they continue to slide.

A tough game against the Edmonton Oilers. What happens in Penguin Town? Well, Jeff, what's happening, according to Rob Rossi of The Athletic, is that there's a split in Penguin Town about Jacob Chikrin. Rob's story on Friday morning saying that Chikrin is on Sullivan's radar but not Hextall's because Hextall doesn't want to give up the future draft capital to get him and Penguin fans may not like to hear this and Mike Sullivan may not like to hear this but I understand why Hextall stance is what it is on this one I do think Pittsburgh was in on Luke Shen this week. Luke Shen obviously doesn't have

the ceiling that Jacob Chikrin does, but he doesn't cost you what Chikrin is going to cost you. And I think on some level, especially after watching some of the games this week with Pittsburgh, you have to be realistic about who and what you are. like look I'm watching the NBA right now the Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis they might not make the playoffs like sometimes it happens even you can have the greatest players and they have one guy who's among the best ever one guy who's close and one guy who's getting his number retired with them you know sometimes it just happens and if i was the penguins i'd be really careful about giving up first round picks even for a guy like chikrin the one thing i would kind of wonder about jeff is if

they could sell off even more pieces like maybe try to sell all their UFAs and then try to get Chikrin after you've done all that. My issue is not with Chikrin, the idea. I think it's actually a very good idea for them. But my issue is you've added one player on a team that needs to fill multiple holes and you don't have the capital to deal with even more of those holes. Like that's why I understand what Washington's doing because it's going to give them options. The other thing to do with, well, I wonder if Washington, by the way, could be a team for Chikrin at all, because now they have extra picks. We'll see. And lots of holes on defense. But the thing with Pittsburgh is I think they have to collect a lot more assets and then

decide before I think they blow all their assets on the one player. That's what I'd be thinking if I was them. Look, if Pittsburgh makes the playoffs this year and their math is still okay, even though they've had a really rough week, you're going to get Boston or you're going to get Carolina in the first round. I would be very careful about doing what you have and all that you have for a matchup in the first round where you're an extreme underdog. And yes, I know anybody can win. You know, the other thing here too is Sullivan has term and Hextall doesn't. That's the other thing that's a factor here. Sullivan, I know he wants to win and he's one of the most competitive guys alive and I get that, but I don't sense that Hextall is the kind of guy who's going to try to make a trade to save his job and then look at it

be a resume killer in a few years if it turns out to be totally lopsided and the franchise doesn't get better over the next couple of years. It's a tough call. Looking at Rob's reporting, I understand why Hextall feels that way. You know, one other thing about Kapanen, who they've made available, I think there's at least one Eastern team this year that had some interest in Kapanen and Hextall wasn't that interested in trading him there. So now it's different. They probably will move him anywhere they can, but it's kind of interesting to see how

that has changed. It's a tough time there, but I wouldn't be blowing all their futures on one move. I'd be looking to make multiple moves and then consider my options with all the assets I'd gain by a sell. Okay. The other team in the Keystone State, the Philadelphia Flyers. So I just wanted to give a little bit of credit to Frank Cervelli, who had a good note today about Joel Farabee being really unhappy. And I think it's true, just so you know. I think the story is accurate. He only played three minutes in the win on Monday afternoon in Calgary,

and he probably would have been benched Tuesday night in Edmonton had Travis Kodakny not gotten hurt. And part of me is kind of like, okay, Farabee had a really tough year, had some surgery in the summer. I know Tortorella said, I'm not letting him use that as an excuse, but it is a factor. And, you know, it's been a really tough year for him. And as an organization, the Flyers, I would be prepared to say, hey, this is a write-off year for Farabee. We just want you to finish it as good as possible,

and you'll be back next year. It'll be a new year. You know, as for what Philly thinks, Jeff, I was told they're not doing it. Like, they're not doing it. The challenge here right now is that, you know, Tortorella at this point in time is very much the face of the organization,

so he's got a lot of say. And I think what Farabee or the people around him are worried about is why would we expect this to be any different in the future? Like this is John Tortorella. This is the way he is. And at this point in time, I don't think Joel Farabee wants more years of this now i always say things can change but that's the way i think that joel farabee feels right now if this is the way it's going to be and we know how tortorella is i don't want this long term now we'll see where this goes don't forget i said to this one person this happened with john tortorella and vincent lecalier oh yeah and it ended in a stanley cup yeah

and what this guy responded to me was kids are different now what vincent lecalier would have accepted 20 years ago he's not convinced that some of these young players will deal with now. Someone told me earlier this year when that Daryl Sutter, Jacob Pelche thing happened with what number did he wear? He said to me, there isn't a player under 25 in the NHL that did watch that clip 50 times and talk about what it meant. So we'll see. I think Frank's intel in the moment is a hundred percent accurate. I think long-term the Flyers will look at this as we can solve this. I just wonder how the player feels because John Tortorella is who he is and he's always stuck true to himself. He doesn't change very much when it comes to his coaching philosophies

and what drives a player. So can this be fixed long-term? You remember how that John Tortorella, Vincent LeCavalier thing played itself out. Yeah, with the Stanley Cup. Well, it finished with the Stanley Cup, but before that, when there was the conflict, I believe it was, and Jay Feaster would have been the GM in question. Jay Feaster essentially saying to both of them, I'm not

going to fire John Tortorella, and I'm not going to trade Vincent LeCavalier. You two guys are here. You need to work this out. 100%. But like I said, it's different now. Okay, we'll finish the pod on a Jay Feaster story. How do we like that?

Okay, so taking us out is a South Florida producer and songwriter who bridges hip-hop, soul, and alternative. With his heart-on-his-sleeve vocals and moving productions, Hush Forte has garnered the attention of the indie music scene. With his latest single, here's Hush Forte with Call the Bluff. This one's for you,iel nagrano on 32 thoughts the podcast I know you ain't honest, but I don't know why It ain't my problem to solve, I've tried I tried. Should I call the bluff or not? My trust is on the line.

Peter, why go with five? If it's lonely, will it all be fine? Should I call the bluff or not? My trust is on the line. If we call the bluff, will they, baby, guess we never know. Sorry, I'm out. Don't want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.