32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Everyone’s Favourite Discussion

Episode Date: December 17, 2021

Restrictions and protocols are taking over the league. Jeff and Elliotte discuss how different leagues are adjusting their COVID-19 protocol as players, coaches and support staff begin to miss games, if attendance restrictions will impact the salary cap, and what players are saying about the Olympics and the current COVID-19 situation.They also touch on trade talks around Jakob Chychrun (19:30), Vancouver finding their stride as they begin to make hires (23:00), Pittsburgh’s surprising run (27:20), why this might be the weirdest NHL season (31:50), and they take a real interest question from the thought line (38:00).Full transcript for the episode can be found here by Medha MonjauryOutro Music: Mata Hari - EasyListen to the full single hereThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Sportsnet 650 and Tampa Bay Lightning.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.

Okay. Oh, wait a second. What are we doing? I know. COVID. What else? Welcome to 32 Thoughts to Podcasts presented by the all-new GMC AT4 lineup. And the caveat for this podcast and maybe all subsequent podcasts, by the time you're

hearing this podcast, everything has changed. So cut us a little bit of slack. Listen to it now because in 15 minutes, it might be completely outdated. Yeah, you're saying that at 8.23 Eastern on Thursday evening. By about 8.25, everything's going to change. So let's try to get this under the wire as quickly as we can so Amal can edit it all together and we can get it up

so it's not too dated. Having said that, we know it will be. The very latest, the Colorado Avalanche. Now going into this Avalanche National Predators game, which I am watching right now over my left shoulder. Okay. There were going to be 11 players absent, seven from the Preds, and then Devon Taves,

Darcy Kemper, Andre Burakovsky, JT Comfer for Colorado. But then right before game time the avalanche added kale mccarr to the mix pavel frantzos gets the start and it's ebug time dustin smith is backing up and you have some interesting information as it relates to the abs side of this agatha christie novel game i have to say also that Kemper, his was late too. Yes. So they were planning on playing without three guys, Taves, Comfer, and Burakovsky.

And then right before the game, they found out about Kemper and Makar. So basically they're throwing a wicked curve ball right before the game. I don't know all of the details, but I do know this, that the Avalanche were given the option of not playing and the players voted to play. Now, since I've tweeted that and we started to tape the podcast, Jeff, I've gotten texts and, you know, were the Bruins given this option? Were the Panthers given this option? Were the Hurricanes given this option. I don't know any of that. I just know that the Avalanche were given the option and they voted

to play. And many might look at this and say, at some point, someone has to step in and say, this is not player option anymore. Like you and I talk about this every day on radio, whether it's the Calgary flame situation, which is the most dire, that team has been shut down 18 players, three coaches, uh, nine staff members. You mentioned the Boston Bruins, you know, names are, are adding up there on that team. You look at the Carolina hurricanes that you mentioned as well. They're two skaters short Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Every single day, there's something new. There's a new log on the fire in all of this. It seems, and again, you may not have any comment or any knowledge about this, but it's important to have it out there. It seems the direction this thing is headed in is one that the NHL and Players Association don't even want to contemplate. in is one that the NHL and Players Association don't even want to contemplate. And that is a pause. Now, there are, not that it's the same thing, but there are minor hockey associations across this country in the United States as well that are looking at pauses as well. And I look at the National Hockey League and I say, how can it not be marching towards

this inevitability? Do you have the same feeling that I do? Yes, I do wonder about that. But sometimes I think you have to step back and look at things from a bigger perspective and not just hockey's perspective. So I'm watching also what's going on with the NBA and the NFL. Right. And what are they all doing? They're avoiding canceling games.

I don't know if you've been watching this stuff play out on social media about the Browns. The Browns are getting clobbered in terms of players in COVID. So is the Washington football team, but the Browns have to play on Saturday. And Baker Mayfield is taking runs at the league COVID protocol on Twitter. Yeah.

And you look at the NBA, the Sacramento Kings got shut down today and they're not canceling games. So all these leagues follow each other, right? Yeah. They all talk to each other and they're all doing whatever they can to avoid canceling games.

It's the absolute last case scenario. And someone from hockey said that the NFL is actually in the worst spot because they're heading into their playoffs. You know, basketball and hockey still have a runway here. The other thing today that's really fascinating, and we were mentioning about Mayfield taking runs at the NFL. You know, the whole NFL situation, I've been diving into it more the last 24 to 48 hours.

So apparently there, the Players Association wanted daily testing. The NFL said no. And the players are now beginning to say, maybe we wouldn't be in this position if we had more daily testing. That's probably not true the way we're going right now. But I understand why the players would at least take that position

in terms of collective bargaining. But what did the NFL do? They just changed their protocols right before the playoffs where they've basically said that if you get a positive test, but you're asymptomatic and you're vaccinated, you can get out potentially in one day. That's the way their rules work now. And I think everybody's been waiting to see if anybody would loosen their rules first.

And like I said, the NFL is closer to the playoffs. They've got more to lose. I'm wondering what this is going to mean for other leagues. So everybody is watching the NFL here. They're the leader. And everyone is thinking, if them, then us. That's an interesting one. But it's very difficult, and I really want to be careful with how I say this,

because it's very difficult to gauge exact numbers. So yesterday we reported that the league and the teams were told about enhanced protocols because of the Omicron breakout. When I tweeted that, I was slightly wrong. And what happened is the NHL and the NHLPA had agreed to it. The players knew about it, but the teams had yet to receive the protocols like i had people texted me from a couple teams later in the day saying this protocol you're telling me but we haven't gotten them yet and i think they're supposed to get them thursday night and one of

the things i'm hearing that happened was you know we saw one player, Nick Cousins from the Predators, go on social media and say there should be a pause. Let's pause until after Christmas. I have no doubt there are other players who agree with him. I can't imagine that Nick Cousins is alone in his opinion. The exact quote is, pause the season until after Christmas. This is ridiculous. Right. after Christmas, this is ridiculous.

Right. And I would bet that he wouldn't say something like this without his teammates kind of agreeing with it. Well, look what his team is going through right now. They don't have a single NHL coach on the bench tonight. Like their bench is being run by their American Hockey League coaches. And I think they've got six players out. However, and this is just like life right now. out however and this is just like life right now i've heard there are a bunch of teams and players who feel that maybe we're getting to the point where we might have to live with this

like they said look like you asked us to get vaccinated every player but one is vaccinated all the staff that have to be nearby are vaccinated. There's two coaches this year, Rocky Thompson and Sylvain Lefebvre, who lost their jobs because they didn't get vaccinated. And, you know, the early word is that the Omicron, which is now in the NHL, while it's highly transmissible, it doesn't seem to be making people as sick again i don't want to say that there's no bad cases because that would be a wrong thing to even guess at but from what i'm hearing a lot of the cases are not that serious knock on wood and hope that stays and this is just what's happening in life there's people who feel lock it down and there there's people who say, at what point do we decide that this is part of our lives?

And if we're vaccinated and possibly boosted, we just have to live with it. And I think the same debate that is being played out on social media and in the world is playing out behind the scenes in the National Hockey League. And I heard it's going on. It's dangerous. And as one of the examples that a buddy of mine gave, because we're having this exact same conversation, I think a lot of us are having this conversation with our friends,

with our family, with coworkers. You know, is it, you know, shut it down and try to snuff it out? Or is it, look, this is just the reality we're with, and we need to learn how to swim. And we were talking about professional sports, and I was bringing up the example that, you know, teams and the league is still hesitant. You know, the idea of even you put someone on the ice who, even though they may be asymptomatic, you know, is still COVID positive.

And a friend of mine gave me this example. He said, well, if you were hosting a party and you had a bowl of M&Ms and you took one M&M and poisoned it and put it in the bowl of M&Ms, would you be comfortable putting it out during the party? And I said, no, of course not. That's awful. And he said, that's probably how NHL teams feel. Like there's always the chance And he said, that's probably how NHL teams feel. Like there's always the chance because there's still the what if factor that we're dealing with here. And I think that's where teams are.

I don't know that they can make, and maybe it's on the advice of doctors. Maybe it's on the advice of attorneys as well and liability. You don't want to do that for the what if scenario. I know we all assume risk. We all assume risk when we open our front door, when we get into our car and drive on the roads, we all assume risk every single day. But I'm with the argument that says, I don't think that teams are there yet that they're willing to say, you know what, we're ready just to swim with this now because this is just our life because of the what if factor. I understand and, you know, I understand. And I do respect your opinion.

No question about it. I'm just saying that I think there are players and teams who feel that way. I'm not sure that the league feels that way. I'm not sure the top of the players association feels that way. And I've had some agents say to me that they don't like that either. So there is opposition, like you said. And one of the reasons is, you know, you don't want to risk the worst case scenario. So you don't want to go there. And, you know, the other thing I want to say is there is a regular listener of this podcast

who was in the medical profession. And whenever we talk about this, he sent me a DM. He said, I would just love it if you could mention the burnout of the medical health professionals. They have to be considered. So I just wanted to mention that as too. Yes. Anyway, what I just want to say, Jeff, is I think behind the scenes, there's the same kind of philosophical disagreements going on that we see on social media.

And I don't know why anybody would be surprised at that because that's just life. What did you make of the Montreal situation? Quebec health authorities are requesting no fans at the Bell Center as I watch this Philadelphia-Montreal game and say to myself, this looks like the Scotia North division, except what are the Philadelphia Flyers doing there? This looks like last season, Elliot. Well, I mean, what are you going to do when the provincial government steps up and say you can't play with fans? You see, I wonder if eventually, I know Ontario has knocked it down to 50% right now,

which people are looking at and saying it's a half measure. This is airborne and okay, so it's not 18,000, but it's eight. I wonder if we'll just quite bluntly see more of this. I don't know. And not just Montreal. I don't know. I think it's something that we're all wondering about at this point. But the two things that, because listen, everything else is speculation,

but the two things that we do sort of have at least somewhat of a handle and maybe a little bit of authority on as it relates to this situation right now, two things, how this is affecting the schedule and how this will affect the salary cap. You know, the point you make about the salary cap. So we know the cap is supposed to go up by 1 million next year. Gary Bettman said that, and you talked about this last week on 32 thoughts, the hockey net in Canada version, that the way that they're going, they could be fully paid off what the players owe to the owners in the summer of 2024 and the cap could go up.

And that's faster than most people predicted. Yep. Somebody said to me tonight, Montreal having the fans taken out against Philadelphia, what's that going to cost? Two million? Yeah, it's a big gate. Toronto's a big gate too, yeah. If you get more of that,

are you going to throw all those predictions offline? That's what I'm asking about. That's my curiosity here. At what point do we say, you know, tonight, okay, there's no fans. Boston on Saturday, okay, no fans. And then the Habs hit the road. But if this is prolonged at all,

my only question is at what point does it impact what we just heard at the Board of Governors at West Palm? With the salary cap going up a million dollars and then edging towards 24, 25, a major bump, which would allow teams to, you know, Carolina to re-sign Ajo and Vancouver with Pedersen and Toronto with Austin Matthews, et cetera. Philly with Carter Hart. Well, someone said to me tonight that they felt teams to you know carolina to resign aho and vancouver with peterson and toronto with austin matthews etc philly with carter hart well someone said to me tonight that they felt when they heard

that they felt the montreal game should have been postponed because that affects the business of your league and i just kind of wondered you know philly's already there they can't really do that it happened what two hours before the game? But I understood his point. It affects the business. And like I said earlier, Jeff, you look at all these leagues right now, we're seeing tons of players entering protocol, and they're doing everything they can to avoid pauses. Yeah, that's the last thing they want specifically.

See, I wonder, and this is just me talking, Jeff. I wonder if the NHL would pause games. This is purely my opinion. I wonder if the NHL would pause games now if the players committed to not going to the Olympics. Well, that takes us into the next discussion, which is we're starting to see more and more players. I mean, Robin Leonard came out early and said, this isn't good for me.

Yeah. This is not good for my mental health. And she comes as no surprise. Robin Leonard is very much a leader in this regard. But whether it's Carlson, whether it's Yossi, Connor McDavid, noncommittal, you know, more and more when the microphones are out and the players are asked to comment about it, what has gone from we're going is now turning into, I need more information. I don't want to make a commitment just yet. It seems like this is a very slow march to the NHL players saying, I don't know if this is such a good idea.

And obviously what's happening in their own league with their teams and they read the COVID lists every day when they come out as well. It's not marching anywhere good for the players that want to go, or I've always said we want to go. But then you have Stephen Stamkos who says, look, I've never gone before. I'm going. Yeah. I think for, for me, if, you know, given the opportunity to go, I would go. You know, there's just a lot of unknowns in terms of the protocol

and a lot of the stuff that's coming out in the media and stuff, like that's worst case scenario stuff, right? And that's kind of being put out in as that's the mandate right now, which I don't believe it is. That's just what's being thrown out there and you know we'll have to wait for some clarification obviously some of the stuff doesn't sound too ideal but until there is some concrete information then you know guys will be able to make a more informed decision i think there's a lot of hearsay right now that is getting

out that not necessarily is exactly what you know is set in stone so like i said for for me it's a little different than maybe some guys who have been there before you know i haven't so if there's an opportunity to do it safely and and the protocols are are you know somewhat okay um then i'm i'm probably gonna go if if i get a chance to make the team. Yeah, you know, I got to tell you, I don't like other people telling me what to do, so I don't like telling other people what to do. You know who that decision is between, to me, Stephen Stamkos and his wife,

and then on the second level, Stephen Stamkos and the Lightning. I'm not telling Stephen Stamkos whether he should go or not go. All I'm saying is I'm measuring off what Carlson or McDavid or Yossi is saying. This isn't all just one side speaking here. There are still players that are saying, I want to go. This is important to me. I've never done this before. We all know Samquist's history of missing the Olympics. He's determined to go. We all know Stamkos' history of missing the Olympics. He's determined to go.

I see people criticizing his stance. I'm not criticizing his stance because I wouldn't tolerate anybody criticizing my personal decisions on how to live my life. And what does it affect? It affects his wife. So he should definitely listen to her. And it affects the organization potentially. So he has to listen to them. But, you know, obviously he's fully vaccinated. That's his choice, and I understand that.

Yeah, it's tough, right, because we get vaccinated and you get boosted and you do all the things that you're trying to do to keep everyone safe, and then you still have those outbreaks. I think that the good thing is the vaccines are working I mean I've talked to a lot of guys that have had it were either completely asymptomatic or very minor you know flu-like symptoms so that's that's a positive I think in terms of it's certainly you know for us it's tough to see that because you know we've tried to do everything that we can to to keep things moving along here so i don't know where it ends to be honest at some point i mean

it's you have all these protocols and if you're vaccinated if you're boosted if this and that and nothing seems to to be working so i don't know if we need to change some things up in terms of the amount of testing or things to that nature it's just you know we can't keep going down this road where we're trying to do everything that we can and kind of abiding by the guidelines that the league puts and then you know now we're in situations like this so it's happening all over you look at all the leagues for whatever reason right now i don't know if it's a new variant or what but the good thing is is no one's getting getting sick. So things are working in that regard. It's just maybe it's time to finesse some things to make sure we can keep

chugging along because it's been a long road in terms of how this COVID has played out. Turning our attention now to the Arizona Coyotes who, listen, we've seen teams stripped down for a rebuild. Tim Murray with the Buffalo Sabres, one of the most obvious examples of recent note. But we've remarked a couple of different times about how Arizona is doing it and taking this down to the frame. And I was always under the impression that everything was available that was not named Jacob chicken. And as you reported at 32 thoughts of sports net.ca,

that might not necessarily be the case. Left shot defenseman who would garner lots of interest on the trade market. $4.6 million is the cap hit that extends for three more seasons after this year who when you measure them off against some of the other like this is the summer where defensemen all got paid not that 4.6 million dollars isn't a healthy paycheck we consider what everybody else made this summer that is a very good contract if you're looking to move jac Jacob Chikorin. What's the latest that you hear about the left shot, D?

So we reported that they were gauging the market for him, and I do think there's quite a bit of interest. I did have one general manager tell me, and he says, you cannot use the team, but you can say that based on the prices we've been told, we're not doing it. We can't do that. And the price is hefty. But as you said, the contract, you get them for three more years at an excellent number, and he's an elite player, they should be asking for a ton. And I don't think anybody really has a problem with them asking for a ton. He just said in his situation, they couldn't do it but i do think to me the coyotes want to know the market and they want to know it soon

which says to me that this is something like i don't want to say it could happen next week because i think that's a crazy prediction to make but i do think they are really motivated to see who's serious and who isn't. So when I look at that right now, who do I look at? I look at Edmonton. I wonder about Boston. Edmonton's wanted a left shot, D. I wonder about Montreal. I wonder about Philly.

Islanders. I do wonder about the Islanders, but if they're really in it and Lamorello hears the speculation, he might just kibosh it. But here's the thing about Chikorin. I think one of the interesting points here is he's got three more years. So even if you're a team that, like you mentioned the Montreal Canadiens,

you might be saying to yourself, well, why are they looking to add? Well, he's 23 years old. Yeah. This is a guy who's staying with you for a while. This isn't just, oh, we have him until the end of the season. This isn't a rental. This is a significant investment in a player on your team. You know who else can do it? Ottawa. Yeah. I wonder about Vancouver, although I don't think

it's as easy for them as some other teams oh LA I've been told that LA is a team that's because they can do it right and he fits a need I think what's going on here is Arizona wants to know who's serious and who isn't you see I look at teams with you know multiple first round picks so Montreal

makes some sense the Buffalo Sabres are another team with multiples, although I don't think they want to let go of first-round draft picks at this point. I think they want as many lottery tickets as they can get. But I'm with you, Frej. If you're the Arizona Coyotes, you're asking for a ton. Yep.

You're asking for a whopper of a package for Jacob Chikrin. Vancouver Canucks getting business done. A couple of things. One, Derek Clancy hired as assistant general manager. And also Stan Smeal is named the VP of hockey operations for Vancouver. That one happening earlier on Thursday evening. Do you have a thought on either of these two bits of news? Clancy was the guy that Rutherford was targeting quickly

and Calgary wasn't going to stand in his way because he was in a scouting position. So it is a promotion. Again, I'm still trying to figure out who Rutherford's going to get permission to talk to in season. Is he going to get a chance to talk to Patrick Alveen in season? And we've discussed this. Rutherford, not exactly uncomfortable with

being the idea of a full-time GM for a few months. You know, we were sort of joking about this on radio this afternoon as well. The idea that I'm going to, that if you're Jim Rutherford, you're going to wait until the end of January. Do you believe that for a second?

You're going to wait until the end of January to see what you have before you do anything? You know, Jim Rutherford. Do you think that's true? Guys were laughing about that. Yeah. Something falls into his lap the first week of January.

He's going to say, no, I don't really have a handle on this situation yet. Or is he going to get the old competitive juices flowing again? And so they go, yeah, I'm going to, this is my Rubik's cube. Now I get to start to play with it. I think we all know what the answer to that is. It's going to be interesting to see what they decide to do because they're really going now, right? Yeah.

You know, that comeback against Columbus the other night was insane. Skates to the boards, drops it back to Hughes, who held in well at the line and goes right side for JT Miller. Miller top of the circle to the back door. Oh! And he scores! Wow. Hmm. And he scores! Wow. I am the captain now!

Paul Horvat scores his second of the game in the final minute of the third. And Vancouver goes up 4-3. What an incredible comeback, but this pass by JT Miller is unbelievable. He sees Bo Horvat streaking to the back door. He throws it to three guys right on the tape of Bo Horvat at the back door on the near side. of Bo Horvat at the back door on the near side and Bo Horvat he gets down on one knee so he can get some leverage on it and he buries it so you know do you tamper with it or do you kind of just let it play they've got to still play at a ridiculous pace to make the playoffs but hey this is no time for facts and common sense. Things are going great right now.

Listen, all I'm saying is Bruce Boudreaux has done it before. I think of that first year with the Washington Capitals 07-08 and what he did to that team. And it took it until game 82. And did they need help from the out-of-town scoreboard? Absolutely. Well, also they were dealing with the South Lease Division, right? Correct. That was a unique structure that isn't there anymore.

I don't know if you can count on it the same way, but again, we're playing the role of, of party pooper right here. Everything's great in Vancouver. And now all of a sudden, now you want to be Debbie Downer all of a sudden freeze. Can you,

can you let them enjoy themselves? Can you let someone have some joy in their life? You know, we should talk a few more minutes. We have some time here. And, you know, there's one person who sent us both a DM saying, can you please talk about something other than COVID? So why don't we? We talked about chikrin.

Why don't we make somebody happy for a change? By the way, how about Washington with a low-key smart move of doing their tests in the States on Friday morning before going to Winnipeg to play that night? So if anybody tests positive, they get left behind and don't have to go into Canada and risk getting stuck there. So two seconds after you say, I want to respect someone who DM'd us saying, can you talk about something other than COVID? You talk about testing. You know, right. That's terrible. Yeah.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, person who DM'd us about this. Okay. Let's talk. What other teams do you want to talk about? There's a few. I don't know what, geez. I mean, I've said this so many different times.

Oh, the Penguins have to stop. The Penguins have to look at moving everybody. They got to restock. And then they'll like rip off five games in a row. And, you know, going into this, you know, we're recording this on Thursday. You know, there's a few teams with five wins in a row. We just mentioned the Vancouver Canucks. And you throw the Avs and the Preds who are facing off against each other this evening.

And the Pittsburgh Penguins as well. I don't know if you got a chance to watch that game against the Montreal Canadiens the other day. But it was, for a lot of people's money, probably Sidney Crosby's best game this season. And you're always looking for, you know, you mentioned, you know, low key. Here's a low key under the radar guy that's really starting to turn heads, who's got a bomb of a shot and is a real dynamic player. And you always look for players that hit their strides seemingly out of nowhere. When I watch Pittsburgh these days, Evan Rodriguez can't take my eyes off of him. Like this is a guy who was a $2 million player in the NHL a few years ago in Buffalo.

It just didn't work right. For whatever reason. Yeah. He's a talented guy. You know, we talked, we've said this about mike sullivan before he says it's no excuses we're going to create a setup where we think you

can win first of all do you get the goaltending and now they're getting the goaltending jari's been really good to smith gave him a big win this week so that's that's number one you have to have that but number two it's no excuses know, he's a no excuse guy. Don't give me excuses. And Crosby is a no excuse guy. Letang is a no excuse guy. Your top players are, don't give us excuses. I'd add Malkin.

He's not playing right now. So Sullivan goes in there and it's not, we're not doing woe is me here. We're playing. And this is how we're going to have to play. And this is how we're going to have to play. And this is how we're going to have to win. And those guys all buy in because he doesn't want to hear, oh, we don't have Crosby tonight. And we've got 12 guys in protocol or whatever the situation is. He just says, we don't have this.

So this is how we have to play to win. And everybody there buys in i love that don't give me the excuses just play one final point on on evan rodriguez you know the day after the the montreal game i was talking to someone around pittsburgh and it came up with that bomb of a shot and this person said to me the interesting thing about rodriguez is we've seen so many players play with crosby and their entire focus is just giving him the puck like kunitz wasn't that way but like a lot of maybe i guess pasco dupuy really wasn't that way but he said we've had like a lot of players that we see here whenever they play with crosby it

seems as if their whole game is just get the puck to Crosby, get the puck to Crosby, get the puck. It's a natural instinct, right? You're playing with someone like Crosby, get that guy the puck. And I think I read somewhere a while ago that Crosby even said, like, I don't want guys to think that way. I want them to be. And you're seeing that with Rodriguez.

Have you ever watched a Penguins game and got the idea that, man, they're just forcing pucks to Crosby, even though they shouldn't at this moment, Rodriguez, not that he ignores Crosby, but if something's not there, he's not going to make a play to Crosby. Yeah.

It's gotta be a weird feeling, but then again, like I'm not an NHL or, and neither are you. But if I was playing on a line with Sidney Crosby, wouldn't your whole game just be like, get the puck to 87, just get this thing off my stick and give it to him?

But he's like so comfortable not shoveling bad plays to Sidney Crosby. That's kind of refreshing to watch. And I'll tell you, I don't know what to make of Pittsburgh. Like, put yourself in Ron Hextall's position right now. Okay, you got an expiring contract with Rusty. You got an expiring contract with Malkin and Latang last summer. You didn't blow it up because you probably thought you should have beat the Islanders if you would have got a save.

So maybe that delayed what many people think are coming. And you think maybe it's going to fall apart this year at some points. And there were times this year where he said, okay, that's it for the penguins. And then they rip off five in a row. So like, if you're Ron Hextall, what are you thinking about your team right now? What are you doing?

It's a great question. And now you've got new ownership. So there's a new vote there. And now new ownership. And what do they want? I don't know, man. It's a good question. To me, it's a fascinating team.

It is a fascinating team right there. Before we wrap up this podcast, Merrick, is this not one of the weirdest seasons you've ever seen? Just forget the whole COVID situation. But look at the standings. Okay, hang on. I'm trying to decide what is more surprising to me. Toronto being number one in points the way they started.

Or the Islanders? Florida's fourth, Tampa's fifth, Carolina's sixth. I thought all those teams would be right up there. But I look at one, two, three, Toronto, Rangers, Washington. I didn't think the way Toronto started, they'd be there, but they've been great. Like there were times Shusterkin completely bailed out the Rangers. And I thought when he got hurt,

they might fall a bit, haven't. Washington, I thought at the beginning of the year, they looked a little bit top heavy to me and they've been fantastic. Pause on Washington for one second. Yeah. I was talking to Anthony Stewart on radio this afternoon and he was talking about Nick

Backstrom coming back. Yeah. And I was making the point about how Ovechkin's, you and I have talked about this, Ovechkin's scoring from all over the ice now doing different things. Yeah. And Stewie's like, watch, Backstrom's back.

That's over. Watch Ovechkin just, just go back to his spot for one-timers because Backstrom's back and he's going ovechkin just just go back to his spot for one-timers because backstrom's back and he's going to be doing all the work again then one of the more underappreciated players that we've seen uh in the nhl in his career like backstrom gets not a ton of respect and he should he is a phenomenal player and he said you watch because ovechkin's had to shoulder a lot of the load you watch back Backstrom's back, all that stuff. He's going to start picking up again.

Yeah, and he did on the first one the other night. It's a great point. Yes. But how many teams are where you thought they'd be? Minnesota is really good. Like I thought they'd be good. They're better than I thought. Anaheim, much better than I thought.

St. Louis, especially with all the injuries and COVID, much better than I thought. St. Louis, especially with all the injuries and COVID, much better than I thought. Colorado will be fine. Calgary, much better than I thought. Nashville, the way they started, better than I thought. Vegas, I think, is going to be fine. I don't know what to make of Edmonton and Winnipeg right now. San Jose, Detroit, better than I thought.

You know, Ottawa, what a week they just had. But took a long time to get going. Montreal, you know, 20 regulation losses. You know, even Buffalo, the record isn't great. Like to me, they're more competitive. The goaltending has really killed them. Same as Seattle. Philly, not as good as I thought.

Devils slowed down a bit, although I like them. Columbus, better than I thought. How many teams that you look at right now, do you say, yeah, they are where I thought they were going to be? Like no one. I think Seattle is where I thought. Buffalo is where I thought, but I think they've been better as a team. Arizona, I think is where we all thought they were going to be.

Yes. That's by design. How many other teams are where you really thought they were going to be? For me at the top, Florida, Tampa, Carolina, and Toronto, I thought they'd be good, but after the way they started the season, I didn't think they'd be where they are right now. You know, I just look at this and I say, you know, I don't know what it means, you know, 30 games into the season, but the top six teams in the NHL are all from the East. Yeah. It's weird.

I don't know. See, I always, I always come shy of saying, oh, this is the most bizarre year ever, because I kind of feel that I say that every year, because this is parody hockey. This is, you know, teams have, uh, have leveled out amongst each other more so than, than, than ever before. And there's going to be an Anaheim that pops and there's going to be an Islanders that drop. Like that's just the nature of, of the game itself. I thought the Florida would be up there. Ditto Tampa. Ditto Carolina. Toronto. Rangers seem ahead of where I thought they would be. I thought Washington, again, because I'm just waiting for this aging curve,

just to fall off the cliff with an aging curve. So they continued to impress me. Colorado, I think, is going to be fine. Calgary surprised me. Maybe they shouldn't have, but they really did. And they have surprised me. Colorado, I think is going to be fine. Calgary surprised me. Maybe they shouldn't have, but they really did. And they have, they have surprised me. There's a few, you know, Boston being as low as Boston is right now. I know they've only played 25 games, but I can't, and we talked about this last podcast or a couple of podcasts before, like how comfortable are they?

Are they just being good? Because that's where, where Boston's at right now. They're no longer. I don't think they like that at all. The one team, the weird team to me, because they can rip off a seven game win streak and then turn around and be ice cold and lose four or five in a row is Dallas. That's the one team that I still, I don't think anybody can get a handle on because when they are hot, look out.

But when Dallas is bad, man, like look at the stretch of Dallas that's going on right now. How about them calling out Sagan? Yeah, I know. I know surgeries are a reality of the game. I know injuries are a reality of the game. I know injuries are a reality of the game. I know where you're going here.

And I agree with that. Anything involving your hip. I can't bring myself to criticize a player who comes off that. And I can't criticize the players who put his body through as much as Tyler Sagan has. I just know that I couldn't do it. Like I'm not management. I'm not the coach. They have different relationships. I know that I couldn't do it. Like I'm not management. I'm not the coach. They have different relationships. I know that I can't blast a player who's been through that for

a perceived lack of performance. I can't fridge. I understand that. And I have to tell you that I think that's the issue there. Like when I see him, I worry that just his body has been through so much that he can't possibly deliver what they hope for him to deliver yeah and he competes like to me it's not a question of the want or the desire i just wonder if he just can't yeah and it's got to be an endlessly frustrating thing too because your head says something and your body says yeah we're not going to do that we're not there. We're not there yet at all. Frieze, let's finish up here with one quick voicemail. This is about Montreal.

This is a voicemail from Colton on the Thoughtline. Hey, guys, it's Colton out in Calgary. Just wondering, all this talk about a possible new general manager in Montreal, is there a job board or a job posting for these sorts of things? How does that process work? I've heard, you know, rumblings of Patrick Law, Daniel Breer, especially listening to this podcast, you've covered this extensively. Just wondering how that process goes. Are they all headhunted? Do people make it known to the front office that they want the job? How does that work? Thanks, guys.

own to the front office that they want the job. How does that work? Thanks guys. It's a great question. You know, a good example would be Vancouver. So we knew after this way, the season started that the owner there was going, Aquilini was going to make changes. And it's pretty obvious that he started making calls and he, you know, there were some people he thought of himself and he asked around, he collects information and he starts talking to people. I think sometimes

you'll call the league and you'll say, I have an opening. Is there anyone you'd recommend? I think sometimes you'll call people, you know, yourself and say, what do you think about this person or that person? I think sometimes you'll ask another owner or someone else that you trust. And other times you hire one person and they said, these are the people I'm going to bring in with me. So I think it kind of all goes that way, Jeff. For example, you can't go to info at MontrealCanadians.com and drop it in there. Although it would be funny.

I'll tell a story about that in a sec. Now we also know that Chicago has gone to Mike Ford of Sportsology. Yes. And maybe some search forums are going to get involved in this now. So sometimes it's word of mouth. Sometimes it's a person you know. Sometimes you hire someone to find people for you that you can discuss it with. And I remember there was one time about info at canes.com. When I was in my second year at university

at Western, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired their football coach and their owner at the time was a guy named Hugh Culverhouse he fired his coach and he said I think he said something along the lines of I don't remember the exact quote I'm terrible at picking coaches obviously because we keep losing so if you have a good coach recommendation please send it here so for the student newspaper because I was you know i was 20 at the time and stupid things you do when you're 20 i got the fax number at the tampa bay buccaneers offices and you applied no i didn't apply send in the name of western's football coach who was larry hayler at the time and he got a call no he didn't get a call but i got a really nice letter from hugh culverhouse or someone on his behalf saying, thank you

for your suggestion. We'll take it under advisement, knowing that not another second was spent taking it under advisement. You know, a lot of it is, I think as well, and you get these calls and you've had these conversations before. People let it be known when they want to get back in. Yeah. Right.

It's like, hey, if you hear anything, can you let me know I'm looking to get back in? How many times you had that conversation with someone I'm looking to get back in? Yeah. Right. It's like, Hey, if you hear anything, can you, can let me know I'm looking to get back in? How many times you had that conversation with someone I'm looking to get back in? Yeah, that definitely happens. No question about that. Everybody talks to everybody all day long, right? It's everybody's job to network and stay in touch and know who's interested and who's really out and who can be talked back. Like all of it. I think everybody understands what the landscape is and who's available, whose contract is expiring, who's looking to take another step in their career, who's all ears and you know,

who's looking to get back in. I think that's, it's just sort of a, a, an industry conversation. Let's just say, would you say that's accurate for each yes yes okay and there's the pod taking us out a five-piece band from chile matahari formed

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