32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Everyone’s in the Pool Now

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Justin Cuthbert guides Kyle and Elliotte through all eight first-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:Senators-Leafs (2:56)Panthers-Lightning (10:36)Hurricanes-Devils (16:24)Capitals-Canadiens (20:51)Oilers-Kings (27:49)Blues-Jets (34:10)Avalanche-Stars (40:38)Golden Knights-Wild (43:06)Justin, Kyle, and Elliotte answer your emails and voicemails in the Thought Line, which also features an ambush from Sportsnet's Ailish Forfar (45:44).In the final segment, Justin and Elliotte review headlines from across the hockey world. They begin with the departure of Lou Lamoriello from the New York Islanders (56:07). The two react to Jim Rutherford's stunning media moment from Monday afternoon (1:10:57) before discussing the Seattle Kraken's front office shake-up (1:16:49). The episode ends with some quick notes on Nashville, Boston, Calgary, and Pittsburgh (1:18:52).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.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

Kyle do that again My wife's pregnant so I got I got to practice those breathing techniques with her so that's where I'm at Yeah, we're a few months away from where you're living right now. I could tell you've been practicing very good Welcome to 32 thoughts the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra 84x Kyle Bacoskis Elliot Friedman Dom Sharmati and Sierra AT4X, Kyle Bacoskis, Elliot Friedman, Dom Sharmady, and Justin Cutbert with you. Everyone's in the pool now with the Lightning and Panthers finally getting their series underway. Big news in hockey circles, center and ground teams who aren't in the tournament and we'll get to all that before we wrap up the show. But guys, let's run through.

Wait, wait, wait. Biggest news, biggest news of all, Justin, we should let everybody know. You are a new father again, correct? That is true, that is true. Yes, congratulations. Tell us a little about the latest addition to the Cuthbert family. We had a boy in tow, now we got a girl, so I've been told that's a millionaire family, so excited for that. What's her name?

Her name's Maxine. Nice. And she's a couple years, name? Her name is Maxine And she's a she's a couple years your son's name is Max, right? That's right. Correct. Yes some synergy I hope yes help things on the pod somehow in some twisted way, but yeah, we're very we're very very happy It's very cool and getting to be here late night at the office does have its benefits You see that's what I wanted to get to. Not only were we wishing you and Michaela congratulations, but Justin is like every man listening to this podcast understands why Justin at midnight Eastern is still in the office because he's got two young kids at home and a screaming baby and he's staying

at the office. So every male is listening to this saying I understand you Justin and every woman listening to this is saying once again you men are weak cowards. Yes useless sorry honey. Everybody understands useless. We've got to keep working tonight it's another late night sorry can't get home yet yet But by the end of this run guys I think I want to test out just doing one at home and just see what sort of chaos it brings But I thought it was too early to bring that on we're in we're in we'll do it Alright guys eight series finally underway as we mentioned Tampa, Florida finally joining us

So we're gonna begin with Toronto Ottawa Kyle You were just there an undeniably cool moment at Scotiabank Arena tonight Max Domi scoring the overtime winner give the Leafs their first two-nothing series lead in 21 years his dad of course a member of that team and there to celebrate the Domi story guys I think is fascinating because 84 games now into the season and he's a man without like a firm position in the lineup third line that didn't play much. He was semi culpable for Ottawa's equalizer, but he leaves the arena with his finest moment as a pro. Kyle, you talked to him in the immediate aftermath.

What did you make of the moment? So what's great about Max is certainly after moments like that, certainly moments where like he's the author of like he was on Tuesday night scoring the overtime winner and you see all the emotion and the celebration and then taking it all in with his teammates and then when you go to talk to him a couple minutes afterwards already he's managed to flip the switch of like look you know someone had to be the hero, lucky bounce for me, we're on to the next game and off we go to Ottawa for game number three like he's got he doesn't like to get caught up in what's going on it's always on to the the next it seems like for him more often than not which I

don't have an issue with but you're right like this was a guy who I mean started the series on the second line was taken off of that midway through game one and then it felt like you know after Ottawa tied it he ended up back there again with Nylander and Tavares of almost looking for a little more of an offensive spark as Toronto tried to get going again and this is a guy who I believe went through a 25 game gold drought during the regular season and a 26 game gold drought two separate ones over the course of 82 games so it hasn't been a perfect year by any stretch for him. But you know just being at the rink on the off days, the last few in between or before game one and in between game one and two, it was him,

John Tavares were among the last two putting in work. I saw he was out early before their optional skate before game two on Tuesday morning. And I just keep thinking back to something Gary Galley said years ago. And this will tie into I'm sure we'll talk about Colin Blackwell a little bit later on. But you just you never know when your moment is going to come. And this was even a game as it unfolded where I wouldn't say Domi was particularly threatening offensively like he was a guy that was having a bunch of chances. But he got his one golden opportunity which is how the play unfolded in overtime and he made the most of it so all the

extra work just playing through what's been a trying season at time and finding the right role for him between whether it's Domi or Craig Barube all of that leading to the moment he got Tuesday. You know I think this is one of Barube's biggest strengths as a coach is that his doghouse doesn't seem to last very long. Like all three guys on that Domi line had rough moments. You know Domi, now Kevin B. Exeter did a breakdown indicating that Ekman Larson actually made a bad reversal on that game-time goal but Domi had a rough night. Nick Robertson took a bad penalty. McMahon hasn't been scoring lately but still they got two shifts in overtime and that's the one thing I think about Barube is that and you really have to

earn a long-term stay in the doghouse from him and I I think that's one of the reasons the players really like him. You know just some other things from this game that really stood out to me. Finally, finally, Ottawa looked more disciplined after the first period. I thought Kacak, Kyle, I thought you had a great interview with Kacak in the pregame and he seemed so calm, he wasn't yelling. And then he was kind of on tilt a bit at the end of that first period. He took the shot at Matthews he he took the shot at Matthews

he took the shot at Tavares and Ottawa's penalty kill is getting absolutely shredded and destroyed in this series and Finally Ottawa they weren't short-handed after the first period I guaranteed him somebody said something to them like you guys like have to stop doing this and finally they got away from it. You know, all Mark in the playoffs had six periods in a row through one where he'd given up at least two goals and finally he stopped the bleeding and he got beaten overtime on the great screen by Benoit. You know what the other thing was really interesting to me was the whole Greg Stolar's thing. Ridley Greg, you know, like that guy's got an identity.

I'll say that. You know, Matthews broke his stick in game number one. I'm glad our guys found the tape of it. It was hilarious. But, you know, I've seen a couple things in the playoffs. So the other night we were wondering in the Vegas Minnesota game how there wasn't a penalty called on Hague for the cross check. And someone said to me like Hartman was doing a lot before that and kind of earn the cross check. That

was the argument. And I think the referees said, okay, because you know, Kevin and Kelly felt Greg did that to Stollers on purpose in game one. He knew what he was doing. What it said to me on in game two is that the officials agreed with that and they said to Stollers, okay, you got your revenge. You got your chance to hit him back. Now you're even. That's enough. And I think we're seeing that in a few places in the playoffs. Like if you do something that gets someone to take a few shots back at you, it's kind of being allowed, of course guys, until it isn't.

And the funny thing too, Elliot, is that Greg gets two minutes as well. Like Stolar's got his pound of flesh, and Greg just kind of took it, and he's still handsome with two minutes at the same time. The only other thing I wanted to add on Ottawa Alley before and Justin before we move on here is just I thought it was interesting Travis Green in the postgame highlighted the fact that I mean not only is this an inexperienced team when it comes to playoffs also an inexperienced team when it comes to losing in the fashion that they did here on Tuesday night and he said he did go into the room post game and just talk about that set the right tone for the group as things shift to Ottawa but I

mean as you said on the panel afterwards Elliot two games now Ottawa said well we've liked this about our game we've liked that they don't have any results to show for it yet and they just can't afford to continue to do that any further in this series. Yeah guys a lot of unknowns still to be addressed. I mean, you're looking at the numbers. Toronto has played with the lead for over a hundred minutes in the two games combined. So if we're, you know, we're learning clearly about the game state with Ottawa chasing, I'm looking forward to see the game state when maybe Ottawa has the lead or we see these two teams tied for a prolonged

Period of time. Okay, let's move to hold on before we go to the battle of wherever you were gonna take us Just I have one question for young Bacchus Game three, who's the Ottawa crowd gonna be cheering for? Like are you asking how many leaf fans are going to get in there? I might be. Oh, right. Well, I think from what you said a few pods ago, I think you've been funneling tickets to Toronto fans here just to try to fill out the blue and white.

So depending on how successful that attempt was on your part. I think between the organization and the fan base, at least following what's been going on online, they have gone to great lengths to try to ensure at least over 50% is senators fans come Thursday night. My guess it'll be 70-30, maybe even a little more Ottawa way, but let's see. Someone said to me it's like the Sanders have hired CSIS to try to prevent non-Sanders fans from getting in. And for those of you who are not familiar with CSIS, that is the Canadian Spy Agency. It's like the CIA of Canada to make sure that the Leaf fans don't get in.

At least 50 percent. I mean, it's still gonna be a heavy presence if it's only a tick above that. So we shall see Game 3 Battle of Ontario will continue in the nation's capital. Okay, let's go to Florida. Three of the last five Stanley Cup champions in the series. We finally get underway renewing one of the league's best rivalries. A bit of a surprise result the defending Stanley Cup champions Routem Pabe 6-2 and Elliot fresh as a daisy Matthew Kachuk out of the lineup since the four nations scores a couple goals you mentioned last podcast maybe a crackdown on the beginnings or the beginnings of a crackdown on the LTIR and the playoff

overages what have you learned about Kachuk's injury and the timing here? So yes, Justin, I heard from Oilers fans on Tuesday night. They were displeased, unhappy about the fact that Evander Kane couldn't play and Matthew Kachuk did. I do not believe that Matthew Kachuk was under the same scrutiny that Evander Cain was, and I think there are a couple of reasons. Number one, I think Matthew Kachak's injury was later in the year. That's one thing. I think one of the issues with Cain, number one, I don't think it was just the NHL here. I do think the NHLPA was involved as part of this process, and this definitely leads me to believe that they are changing all of this.

Now, I will say this. I understand the Oilers fans and frustration on this. I personally don't understand how you can kind of change it now. You know, Florida's benefited from this. Tampa Bay, of course, benefited from this. Vegas has benefited from this in the past. Although all of Vegas' guys came back early this year. So, like to me it's like this has been established. If you want to change it in a new CBA, change it in a new CBA. So I get why the Oilers fans and the Oilers are frustrated. I will say this, the Oilers, somebody asked me did the Oilers tell orders tell you about this and I was like no they won't even talk about it

but I heard about it because there were some other teams I think involved too like one of the other situations is like Tyler Sagan came back in game 82 he didn't wait till game one of the playoffs so I've kind of wondered if you know that had anything to do with it too, because I heard that they weren't the only team, the others that were looked at. So I think in Kane's case, one of the issues, Justin, was that he's been out for a long time almost all year, and he had another procedure done in January, I think it was. I think one of the things that was being looked at was,

why did he have to have another procedure when he could have had it earlier kind of thing. So I think that was all part of this. Again, I haven't gotten a straight answer, but I've been able to piece together some things. I just think that because Kachuk's injury happened later, and also because Kachak's injury happened later, and also that there was only one injury as opposed to multiple kinds of procedures, that it was less of a factor. I will also say, Justin, that there's been some, I would say, conspiracy theories thrown my way. Number one, because Kachak was injured,

the four nations, they're like, we're not having an issue with that. And number two, people were like, well, Tampa got away with it a few years ago when Kucherov joked about 18 million over the cap. So nobody's too upset to see it happen to Tampa. I don't really subscribe to a lot of these conspiracy theories, but I will say since I mentioned them in the pod I've had people come to me and say these are the reasons and so I'm just kind of Laughing at some of the situations about it. What did you think about the result Elliot? I mean Florida, you know it sputtered through Basically the last third of the season Tampa had really gone on a run one of the best teams since January 1st, however you want to slice it, I mean it's just

the one game, but Florida if we're talking about flipping switches, it seemed like they were quite ready for this moment and being able to flip that switch. Yeah you know you looked at it and you all of a sudden you saw Bennett, Kachak and Marchand in the same lineup and you were like these guys are really excited to play with each other, could you could see you know what you really saw was the swagger like the game was in Tampa and you see the way Kachak celebrating the goals like Florida likes this challenge and this series is far from over you know Tampa's gonna push back I'll tell you this the one thing

they had six goals on 16 shots that's a 375 shooting percentage. As far as I know, the only team that's ever shot better in a playoff game was Pittsburgh was 5 of 12, 42% in game one of the 2017 final against Nashville. I don't think you're going to see Florida shoot 38% again. But I'll say this too, I thought Tampa had a really bad challenge that cost them. I could not believe they challenged that 3-1 goal. That was a bad challenge. They shouldn't have done it. And then Kachuk scores on the power play 14 seconds later and it's 4 to 1. It's going to be a different game, game 2, but those two teams, they're not finished beating up each other, that's for sure. Yeah, Cooper had visions of it being 2-1, it's quickly 4-1 and Florida's running away with game 1. And as I mentioned, the struggles for Florida down the stretch were partly due to a diminished

shooting percentage and then they explode naturally in game one of their first round series with Tampa Bay. Okay, let's switch to Carolina and the Devils early start. Bill Belichick was there and the Carolina Hurricanes did their job. Now up two nothing in their series over the New Jersey Devils winning three to one Tuesday night with the win. Rod Brendamore now has more wins as a coach than he accumulated as a player, his number his 40th. Jordan Martinuc was the story. Brendemore called it maybe his most impactful game as a hurricane. He scored shorthanded to put the Hurricanes

up in the game. Maybe the series Elliott not a fair fight on paper but have you learned anything about Carolina in their pursuit to finally break through? Well Frederick Anderson's off to a good start. That's probably their best news. I've forgotten, those were the first consecutive games he played all year. And I thought this one, the second one, was one of the best games I saw him play all year. I give New Jersey a lot of credit. They played their hearts out.

When the news came out that Dylan wasn't playing and Luke Hughes wasn't playing, I think people thought they were going to lose 47 to nothing. I thought they played really hard. I thought they competed really hard. I thought they showed a lot of pride in who they were. You can't complain about anything the Devils had except for the result. You know, Martin Hook, this year, I think we were reminded about the Hurricanes. And I think they took the shot at Rantanen. He was just a bad fit, even in terms of style of play. And you look at the way Stankovic's played since he got there. And, you know, Tom Gillardi, the owner of the Dallas Dallas Stars did an interview with some of the local

reporters before game two of the Dallas Colorado series and one of the things he talked about was how hard it was to trade Stan Kovan because A he knows him and B like he was like can we trade someone else and it was like no they want him. But I think that Carolina's remembered that you have to fit with their identity and Stan Koven sure does and the guy you mentioned Cuthbert, sorry I shouldn't call you Cuthbert, the guy you mentioned Justin Martinuk sure does. He fits their identity and you're right like every time I looked up and checked in on that game on Tuesday night. He was

Doing something extremely well like when they scored the empty netter Derek Lalone said who made that play on the wall and it was Martin hook to get it to Jarvis for the for the empty net Goal like it was just one of those nights where you were looking going who was this who was that and it was him You know, we'll see what the Devils can do at home I can't they played their hearts out they just didn't have enough to win. Just thinking also Elliot like so Carolina comes through Ottawa at the end of the regular season and talking to some of the the people there like it was just an interesting feeling that they had about their season and that they look at it now and I guess naturally if you're a

member of the organization you want to look at it now and I guess naturally if you're a member of the organization you want to look at it this way but through the first rent and trade and then the second one though they had the player and then he moved on to Dallas they still believe that they're a better team now than they were before all of that with who they brought in not only Logan Stankovic but Taylor Hall too like they really do believe that he fits how they like to play so they went through a Lot this year and I mean we're in the news at times for thinking

Okay, was this a huge mistake and taking on the the rent and and get a gamble they tried it He ends up elsewhere, but they still believe ultimately that they're a better team right now But they still believe ultimately that they're a better team right now Certainly up two to nothing in their first round series Then they were back in December of because of who they were able to bring in around the whole ranton and file Fit matters in rosters and jeans Nobody knows that better than Elliot Friedman There you go.

Interesting moment. At the end, I believe, of the second period, it looked like Brent Burns, I don't know if it was accidentally on purpose, but maybe a little bit of a headbutt on T.V. Oh, it was accidentally on purpose. That was not, like, for those of you who are a certain vintage, you will remember the late Bob Probert headbutting Bob McGill in a bench clearing brawl between Toronto and Detroit. That was a headbutt. This wasn't that kind of headbutt, but Burns was leaning in to let him know he was there.

It's like a little acceptable playoff headbutt we'll call it. Love tap, love tap. A love tap from Brett Burns. I'm probably gonna call don't do that again. I think that's appropriate. Okay guys let's go back to Monday night. Washington takes game one over the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens though they clawed back tied it in the third period but it only sets the stage for an unimaginable first for the legend Alexander Ovechkin. His second of the night was his first career postseason overtime winner in 152 career games in the second season. The celebration guys was all world and it saved the Capitals from having some complacency in the game really cost them. I am more interested guys in how Montreal grew into this game.

Kyle, we'll start with you. I mean, you've seen this team a lot this year. Are you surprised how game they were in game one? Well, if only because, I mean, watching it just from the hotel here on Monday night and listening to, you know, Elliot, you all on the panel there, the intermission, and it certainly felt that way just watching it through the TV screen, just how heavier we knew Washington was going in, but then how much heavier they looked and how they were imposing that on Montreal and they really struggled handling with it in the early going. But it's also, as they've been on this run here down the stretch, like this is what they've done. Like when it looked, you know, they get scored on early, they go down and

they find a way to claw their way back. And I just thought, I mean obviously it ends up being for naught because they lose in overtime, but that Nick Suzuki goal was such a cool one for me watching because there is absolute chaos going on all around him and it's like you could put the slow breathing audio effect over top of that whole play of just like everything in front of the net and he was just like One step two step Takes his time and buries it like that was just was a real, as still a young player in the league, the calmness under pressure to do that, knowing like, oh my gosh, I've got an opportunity

to tie the game here when we were just down two nothing. I mean, if that's an embodiment of what that whole Canadian's team is trying to ultimately get to, I mean, that was a really good sign for a team that wasn't given much chance going into this series But is looking for little things after a game one loss To find to build on and try to earn a split before going back to Montreal Kyle do that again

My wife's pregnant so I got I got to practice those breathing techniques with her so that's where I'm at Yeah, we're a few months away from where you're living right now. I can tell you've been practicing very good. I give Montreal a lot of credit. I did not see that coming at all. On the first shift, when they walked right in and got a great chance, I was like,

this is not gonna be pretty. And even after two periods, I just didn't see it coming. You know, Caulfield had that one moment where Ovechkin was charging at him, and he was like, no, I don't want that. And Slavkovsky backed away from a couple too, and he was like, no, I don't want that. Like, I actually said to myself, and a couple of us were talking about it, for all the good they did in getting into Laplace, They just simply looked like they weren't ready for this like the one thing that we've been reminded In the postseason this year guys is that there's not a league that changes more than the NHL in the playoffs

No league changes more you cannot play 82 games in the regular season Like you play 28 in the playoffs. Everybody four checks, everybody hits. Kevin did a great pack of how nobody's allowed to gain the red line and we saw that on the game-winning goal in the overtime here. No matter how you felt about it that was a perfect example of Patrick Lainey, you are not allowed to gain the red line. And a lot of these Montreal guys were like, they looked like, holy smokes,

like what did I just get myself into? But I give them credit, a lot of them grew into the game, and a lot of them got there. What I thought was really interesting was on the off day, Martes Saint-Louis, he was ready for the jack-eye questions. He knew that they were coming and I don't know if it's because the excellent Montreal Media Relations staff said to him, you know, you better be ready for this one or Saint-Louis just knows the market and he's like, I know they're coming

for me with this and he had a prepared answer. He said, who are you taking out? And I thought it was really interesting. I just think Montreal, they might not win the series, but I think they're going to be more ready to play from the drop of the opening puck in game two than they were in game number one. I don't think they were ready at the beginning. I would also just like to mention, you know mention the Capitals announced that Martin Fervare is out for the year. That's a big loss for them. You have to deal with it, but that's a loss for them. He's a good player

for them. I'm glad you mentioned Martens and Lui, Elliot, because I feel like I'm particularly interested in him in this series because I think he's uniquely positioned to coach in that game in this series and coach those players. I mean, he's a superstar player himself or was a superstar player himself with a decorated postseason history. And I'm watching him in the postgame and he says of the start which was you know pretty Nervy for the Canadians you have to feel it you have to experience it

And I think he certainly allowed that and before he could even coach it his team had clawed back into the game I thought that was interesting. He's calm like that's the one thing all year long He's been calm and he tells them to believe That's the one thing all year long. He's been calm and he tells them to believe You know, I I'm the worst thing you can do is change who you are as a coach in the postseason like a young Team they feed off him and I was glad to see he didn't he didn't change The best part of films with Freidge before that game there on Monday, I really liked when you guys relived the playoff overtime goalie scored against Washington and just that line about like you sense as a young player going through the playoffs for the first time, now you're at another

level and you're off and running from there. That was a really cool thing. You know what he also said, I think it was, I don't think it aired and the main part in TV but he says that he had to score because he threw a pass beforehand to Le Cavalier so it was an awful pass that went right past him so it's like I had to score because I blew Vinny's scoring chance. That's what I remember about that too. It's amazing he still remembers that. His memory is incredible like he's like a golfer it's it's unbelievable really. Okay guys let's go to Edmonton and Los Angeles a sensational finish to their game one. LA had the four goal lead early reestablished a three goal lead in the

third but needed a really fortunate winner from Philip Deneau to avoid chewing on a collapse during an overtime intermission. Interesting pattern here for the Oilers. They've been here before, fourth meeting with the Kings as we know, but they also fall into these early holes. The team has just won three times in 14 game ones in the McDavid-Dry-Seidel era. Now LeBron James famously uses game one to download information, or at least they say

that's what happens with LeBron James in game ones before applying it to subsequent series or the games to follow in the series. It's probably a stretch to say that the Oilers are employing a same strategy, but potentially valuable closing the game in the way that they did even without nabbing a victory? Yeah, I like your optimism Justin. I really do. I like this pro Edmonton slant you've got here,

very, very good. I would say this, there was a lot... I think the biggest concern I had for the Oilers in game number one is that if you're downloading information Chris Knoblock looked very frustrated with About everybody else on the roster like he He tried to play everybody early. So I'm gonna tell you guys a bit of a story. There's a guy by the name of Jason Campo He played for the North Bay Centennial's when they went to the Memorial Cup They won the OHL championship in 1994 leading scorer Vitaly Yatchmenev was there was their leading scorer and He he's actually got lives a pretty interesting existence

He's he's done a lot of different things, but one of the things he is is he's a sled dog racer he has competed in the Iditarod a couple of times and he was actually in a big race in Yukon in 2018 and he fell off the sled and he was temporarily knocked unconscious and one of the things that can happen is your dogs can take off on you. And if your dogs can take off on you, I mean, it's extremely serious. You can be left to die in the wilderness. And when he came to and his dogs were right there, they were standing there watching him. And apparently the speech he gives is he talks about how whether you're the leader of the

pack or you're part of the pack, you don't survive unless you're all together. And he credits his dogs, his pack, with making sure that he survived. And so he met with the Oilers right before the playoffs and kind of gave them that speech. And I think what the Oilers were doing was trying to say to, and I will say this, there are some Oilers this year who have really struggled to grab roles. And I think the whole point of that message was the playoffs start, you can grab your role and you can make an impact. And I think that's what Knoblock was trying to do and

then there were a lot of guys who really struggled and Eventually he had to turn it over to the nuclear weapons and they almost stole the game But you could tell if you watch Knoblock in the postgame He was really frustrated at the performances of some of the support players now. let me also say, Quinton Byfield, what were you doing throwing a punch at Connor McDavid? It was for nothing. I don't care that he hit you. Mike Milbrey told a story once

that when he was playing for the Bruins, they played the Canadians, and Larry Robinson was not playing well and he delivered like a big hitter. He roughed up Larry Robinson and the other Bruins were furious at Milbrey. They're like, why did you do that? Now you've made him angry and he's gonna play and Milbrey said it was one of the biggest mistakes he made on ice in his career. Quentin Byfield, said it was one of the biggest mistakes he made on ice in his career. Quinton Byfield don't throw any more punches at McDavid because it almost cost you the game. Elliott you said before the series how was LA gonna end the streak of

consecutive losses to Edmonton in the playoffs they had to win a 6-5 game at least once. You know what Kyle I'm glad you mentioned that and I want to shout out the Kings fans because I had like ten tweets saying that does this count as our six to five game? Oh yeah? Yes and I want to say thank you to the Kings fans who listened to the pod and your passion for sending those that was awesome. Yes that counts as a big six and I give a lot of credit to the Kings. They absolutely could have folded. Nobody thought they were going to win that game when the Oilers tied it.

Big credit to the Kings and especially Deneau, who scored the winning goal, because don't forget, he's the guy who said it's the B team trying to injure us. So if you're going to talk the talk the talk you gotta walk the walk and Deneau did. Yes and who was right in front of Skinner's eyes on the goal too for LA? Warren Fogel. Yes. You're trying to look for other examples of what's different this year. He's got the other sweater on. He had the great hair in the post-game interview eh? I loved it. Just in every direction blocking his face looked fantastic Perfect LA just like he came right off a surfing excursion

Fogel like Rob Blake Yeah, Rob Blake likes to surf Glenn Murray likes to surf all those Kings guys like to surf he fits right in Guys the only thing else that I have from this game I mean setting the tone for a game one in the Stanley Cup playoffs is a 12 to 15 piece harmonica band the right way to do it? That was awesome I loved it I loved it I thought it was great. The crowd did their part. Oh yeah they sang along they provided the lyrics. It was great. Those are some fun moment. That was a real fun moment Okay guys, let's move on to st. Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets Jets seem to have survived Calm weekend scaries putting forth a much more composed game too and yet pretty nip and tuck right another third period winner for Kyle Connor Great start to the playoffs for him.

This one he delivered far earlier, keeping things a little more cool there during the whiteout. You know, guys, Winnipeg delivering through two games, probably what most people expected, and I still think credit goes to the Blues, and most specifically, Jim Montgomery. It feels like to me that Monty has this team

playing near or at the top of their potential performance range because they're making things real difficult on Winnipeg. I don't know if they have the same horses. They are asking serious questions of Winnipeg, even if it's two-nothing, because these games have been tight. Justin, why do you like Edmonton and hate Winnipeg? I'm just asking you this question.

I'm a little surprised that you got so much Edmonton love out of that. I am enamored by what I saw in the third period but you know. Yeah I don't know how you get the Kings. I gotta tell you something I don't know how anybody could like anything you say about St. Louis fine no problem but I don't know how anybody could watch those first two games and not be impressed with what Winnipeg's done. Game one, game one, Hellebock was not very good day one. And St. Louis has owned the third period in the last two or three months of the season. And Winnipeg won the game even though they were losing after two. Game two, that was, like I'll tell you, someone who was watching that game said to me, this guy's been around the NHL for a long time

He said that first period was one of the nastiest meanest Periods he'd seen in quite some time like there were guys getting hit I could not believe they were getting up from like that like that Kairo hit from Logan Stanley I could not believe he came back into that game But again, it was a tough, tight game, and it was tied going into the third period, and the Jets won it, and Hellebock was better. I'll say this, Winnipeg's best players have been excellent.

And it's not like St. Louis is bad, but Winnipeg's best players have been making the difference over St. Louis' best players. Shifely, fantastic. Kyle Connor, fantastic. You know, one of the things we talked about with Scott Arneal was the disappointment of the Four Nations. Shifely didn't get picked. Connor was scratched in the championship game. Channel it the right way. Channel it the right way. And both those guys are doing it. I'm

so impressed. St. Louis is a great team and that's gonna be really tough when we get back to Missouri but I'm so impressed with Winnipeg. They've had a lot of excuses to lose and they haven't done it. They held serve at their on their home ice. We've just been waiting all year as they've continued to rack up wins as they were on a collision course with the president's trophy. Okay all of that's great. They look to be in great shape. What happens when they get to the playoffs and they're faced with their first bout of fist to the face? Metaphorically or literally, when you mentioned about how mean the series has

been in the early going. And it came game one where Connor Halibuck didn't seem to have it early on, but as you say, like they found a way, like that looks like just already from the early going of game one to how they finished, you know, a couple nights later, and now they have like 13 off days in between the next three games of this series. So it could be June by the time their series finally does come to an end. But in that short period of time though, you think about how much more calm and just that team that's in a direction that has an ability to withstand things now and they've lived it in some of the most peak moments here of playoffs early on.

It's a team that's growing there before your eyes. And I too, Eli, like you wondered about after Connor was having such a great year Then the four nations come it was a struggle the scratch in the final how was that gonna play out the rest of the way and He's provided the difference makers in both outings The only complaint I have about Kyle Connor needs to grow his hair back. I Think he rocks the the buzz cut with folk. Yeah, I don't like it. No, I'm not a fan. I do like though, I think every building at some point during a stoppage needs to play your love by the outfield over the PA.

How about Montgomery? That was understanding. John Shorthouse loved that. He was watching that. He was like, this is awesome. Yeah. Well, it's proof, right? Like the best music in your lifetime is released around, you know, 16, 17, 18 years of age. Like I was trying to find some connection. Why does he love that song so much? The only thing I could connect to it is probably right in his wheelhouse of when things are cool. So Justin, when you were 18, like what was your big song? Oh man. The only things that I could sing every word to would be Blink-182 stuff from like the teenage years. Oh Blink-182 is excellent that's a great I love that but I'm older

than you. What about you Kyle? You know what was big when I was 18 last week? What was your favorite song? So what was big at the time was like Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO. And I mean, that could be a polarizing track. But I'll tell you, whenever it comes on, it's tough not to be taken right back to a specific moment of time in your youth. I feel like they still play that at Scotiabank Arena.

So you probably have these nostalgic moments a lot. Red Fu was at one of the hockey games. Was he at the Tampa game last night? I think Red Fu was at one of the hockey games actually. Good pickup, Elliott. Yeah. Wait a second.

Are you 31, Kyle? 31, 32? Yeah. Oh my God. You know what, Justin? We're talking about your beautiful new addition at the top. So when Steph was pregnant with Max, that song would come on, Party Rock, and you could feel him kicking.

No way! Yes, and when he was a baby, he loved that song. There you go. He's very musically inclined. Now I feel really old Kyle That's not that's the hospital playlist. I have one step from the crypt my goodness That's gonna be up driving to the hospital. I'm throwing that on the throwing that on the Bluetooth party rock indeed Alright guys, let's close out the central division, Colorado and Dallas. I mean, two unlikely candidates, I would say, Colin Blackwell and Evgeny Dattanoff combined

to, in Pete DeBoer's words, save the star season. Blackwell came in for Maverick Bork, so credit to DeBoer for making the move. This is a team with real cup potential, and they flirted with disaster. They've led in this series for 62 whole seconds but will go to Denver with a split. General thoughts Elliot on what you've seen so far. Well it's excellent. It's as expected. You know the first game the score turned out to be a bit lobsaia but it was a competitive game for a while and actually Dallas was better even though they lost. That game too was

phenomenal. It was just great hockey. It was super competitive, fight for every inch, great hockey. You know, Jared Bednar just loves screwing with our heads. You know, it was interesting. Like, Lannis Gogg took the warm-up and he didn't take the line rushes, so it was a pretty good clue he wasn't gonna play. I really believed that game three was gonna be the first one, and I just think Justin was another step towards normalcy that they were gonna give him you know they were gonna I just think now they weren't gonna let his first warm-up be the first game so I wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw him in game number three it'll blow the roof off the ball arena. It's going to be crazy in

there if he makes his debut at home. You know a couple of players that have really stood out for me, I think Thomas Harley who has continued to rise since the Four Nations, they need him to be great and I think he's been great and we talked at the beginning of the series about how one of Dallas's other quote-unquote other D had to be really good I thought Ilya Lubuskin was great in game number two he had to break up a big two-on-one with McKinnon you know I I still think it's a huge challenge for Dallas and you know they said that Hayes- Haskinen's on the trip and Robertson isn't. But they needed another defenseman

to be really great for them. And I thought Lbuskin was that guy in game two. The guy I'm waiting to start making an impact on this series one way is Brock Nelson. I think he's been a little bit quiet in the first two games. And as we go back to Denver, I think Brock Nelson has to have a bit more of a say. The final thought is brought to you by GMC

Elliott's the Minnesota Wild have even their first round series with the Golden Knights big 5-2 winners Tuesday night. So we said on the last podcast that who else was going to score in Minnesota to help them that first line and well I mean what really helps is when you jump out to a 4-0 lead two of the goals come from Kaprizov and Boldy so you can say okay at least we get two from those guys but then you get a Foligno from Hartman goal and a Zuccarello from Johansson goal so in a perfect world Kaprizov got the empty netter in a

perfect world you get goals from your best line and a couple other guys and for the Minnesota Wild it was a perfect world because they got all of that you know I watched the first couple shifts. Vegas was all over them. I was like, oh, this isn't going to be good. And then all of a sudden, Boldy and Kaprizov score and the floodgates opened. Vegas made a bit of a run. The game got nasty at the end of it. We're seeing a lot of that. I know in the NHL, they try to discourage message sending a bit, not in the playoffs. We're seeing a lot of that. I know in the NHL they try to discourage message sending a bit. Not in the playoffs.

We're seeing a lot of that message sending. Barbachev late in the 4-2 game made sure he crashed into Gustafson. The Wild were all over him. They were like, nope, we're not having any of that. That was a night where everything that Minnesota could or would have wanted. Early lead, multiple guys scoring, happened for them. Vegas charged back, the Wild held,

uncharacteristically rough night for Shea Theodore, and that won't happen too often. He's too good a player, just a bad night for him, but the one thing about Bruce Cassidy is, when he looks unhappy, and Justin, for a good chunk of that game, he looked really unhappy. He gets their attention and he makes sure it doesn't last. That's a good split for Minnesota. Really good split because I saw a lot of things

in game one I didn't like for them, and they really fought back in game number two. That was not a fluke win. They earned that one. That was the final thought brought to you by GMC. The Thought Line is next. time now for the thought line as always you can reach the show at one eight three three three one one thirty two thirty two or email us at thirty two thoughts at sportsnet dot

c a okay Dom I understand we have a voice submission to start off the thought line today hello thirty two thoughts it is your in season cup champion Ailish for first time caller a voice submission to start off the thought line today. Hello 32 Thoughts it is your in-season Cup champion Ailish for our first time caller, long time listener. And as champion I have thought long and hard about the preseason bet and I thought I would just drop in unannounced to cordially invite Elliott Friedman to be our show producer slash intern for the day. Yes! Our show The Fan Pre Game airs from Monday to Friday at 6pm as a network pregame show. So we cover every sport. We may require you to step outside of your comfort zone, Elliot.

MLB, NBA, golf, WNBA, PWHL, who knows? So get that Rolodex out and hustle down some big names. Usually our producer creates and prints a thorough color coded rundown with stats, graphics, audio clips, quotes, and thought provoking questions for Justin and I to ponder. As well, you will be required into the office no later than 3pm form. for our pre-show meeting. We will require you to sit in the producer chair in the studio to make sure nothing goes astray. A little coffee delivery is always appreciated.

For dinner, nothing less than a Michelin star restaurant. I await your confirmation to set a date in the next two months, as I know your schedule is quite hectic. We are looking forward to your intern opportunities and hopefully your work propels you to a long and illustrious career at Sportsnet. Wow. Elliot, first off, let me just say here quickly Elliot. So, Tuesday night, Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge when he was with the WWE, was in the building for Leaf Senators. You know what A-List just did? She just cashed in the money in the bank. She waited, waited, and when you were most vulnerable, she cashed in.

Well, I will live up. I lost, fair and square. We will pick a date, Ailish, just in YouTube. I will be your butler slash producer. I will take care of the lineup. I will take care of the coffee. I will take care of the Michelin star restaurant. You guys will be served as a champion, as much as it pains me to say that, deserves. You've got a deal. Two things. I will live up to my end of the bargain. When Ailish was talking about potential guests, she's pretty convinced you're gonna book Sham Sharania, so just be prepared for that.

And the second thing was- I'll ask him. There you go, see, we figured you'd have the contact. And the second thing was, you should have seen the look on our tech support's face when he realized he was in on the meal very, very excited. So- Of course. The show is pumped up and yeah, we look forward to having you in studio. You've got to let me know how many people I've got to get a meal for. It's you, Alish,

and tech support producers. Producer and our tech guy, yeah. We're a four person team. Yeah, everybody gets fed. Everybody gets fed. You got to deal, Alish. You got to deal. Producers. A producer and our tech guy, yeah. We're a four person team. Yeah, everybody gets fed. Everybody gets fed. You got a deal, Alish. Justin's like, oh great, more Elliot. This is awesome.

I actually feel bad. You know what this means, Kyle? You get Mark Casey. Oh, and I guess Mike Feudah to an extent. Oh yeah. So you got to produce the hockey show? You might, yes Yes he does because if A-List picks me then Matt gets Kyle. You know what you're gonna probably have to help undo some

of Mike Fuda's shirt buttons. That's a really good job you can do. Yeah that's a much bigger lift. I don't know I feel they live life more simply. I'm happy to avoid that. I think they both like to live life a little more simply. I may get out okay on this one. It's like I'm going to live with Joey and friends and you're going to move in with Monica. Yeah, that's not good. How many different volumes of towels are there?

13? His? Hers? 11. Unbelievable. 11 is correct. 13 11 11 11 is correct We got two submissions written in guys as we try to pivot Nick in Dallas hello 32 thoughts team My friend and I were at game one on Saturday night after rope a hints took a double minor for high sticking a Question popped into my head in a gripe against high sticking as well. Is drawing blood the only criteria for receiving a double minor? If so, why don't war guys take a high stick and bite really hard on their lip to draw blood, I guess WWE style?

Also what if a guy baseball swings another player in the face and does not draw blood? It's only two minutes. Thank you guys for all the great work you do. When it comes to the biting part, I have no doubt that guys do try to do that. No doubt they try to bite themselves or scratch themselves. I remember a baseball player in a scrum once years ago, and I can't remember the baseball player was Who claimed he got hit by a pitch and when the umpire doubted it while the argument was going on He told us that he bit himself in the arm so that the umpire saw a mark and said oh, yeah, okay You were hit you get to go to first base. So I have no doubt this kind of stuff happens all the time.

The best way to answer your question is to go to rule 60. A double minor, the rule is 60.3, it says, injury results in the manner of drawing blood or otherwise. So it doesn't just have to be drawing blood, it's drawing blood or otherwise. So that's the answer to your question. A deliberate attempt to injure is a match penalty. So that's it. Any kind of injury, blood or otherwise, is the double minor. And I don't know if you caught it, Elliot, the game two of Toronto, Ottawa, when the

Shabbat follow-through caught Mitch Marner. Yes. Brady Kachak went right to the officials. He knew the rule. It was, you know, you're trying to read lips but also the hand signals. He's like, call a four, call a four and then review it, like right away to the referees. And I don't know if that happened on the swinging. Yes, that's what happened in Montreal, Washington. Exactly. And Brady Kachak was right. And the other thing about that is there were some people who felt that it was still a penalty even though it was a follow through because he didn't touch the puck.

That doesn't matter. There's nothing in the rule book that says you have to touch the puck. Yeah, that was an interesting one. I mean, it's not a common sense thing because it's written in the rule book as it's supposed to be called, but it does feel like reckless use of the stick if you aim to do something but don't. But right call on the ice eventually and credit to Brady Kachuk. There is something that says you have to be in control of your stick. So a regular follow through is considered in control.

But if you take like a baseball swing and a bouncing puck and hit somebody, you're going to get the penalty. Yeah, it's right there in the real book. Okay, guys, let's go to Katie. Hello all. I'm married to a hockey coach whose schedule gets a bit wild during this time of year. I've dealt with the late nights, weekends, et cetera, for about 10 years now, and I'm coming to realize that I have been able to use this to my advantage. My question is, do you guys do anything in advance to get in good with your families before the grind

of the playoffs? Just wondering if I should be utilizing this time of year better also in brackets politely, F Western, go Windsor. What? Go Windsor. I like you. I like you, Elliot. I'm a Western guy, so I'm taking umbrage with this as well. You know, I have to say this, Katie. Even people who go to Windsor don't say, go Windsor. Okay? True words have never been spoken. Katie, I got to tell you.

So I don't know if it's different now, and you're probably younger than me. I remember there were times I covered sports at Western. I'd go to sporting events at Windsor, whether it was football or men's or women's basketball or hockey, and that school had no school spirit. I don't know if it's better now, but Windsor had no school spirit. Come on, Katie, come on.

You know what, Katie, first of all, I think I would say this. The fact that you're even asking that question, that tells me that your husband is in great hands and has really outkicked his coverage. The fact that you would ask before the playoffs if there's anything you could do to help relax him or make life easier, that's awesome.

That tells me that you know exactly what you're doing. One thing I do is that I do take four or five days away before the playoffs start, not a weekend, but I'll usually do a Sunday to a Thursday or a Monday to a Friday and I'll take my family somewhere warm for a few days to just relax because as much as they don't see me before the playoffs they really don't see me during them so that's what I try to do. I'm more of a beg for forgiveness after the playoffs are done. I come crawling back and I'm like, can I please do something? Can I come, you know, can I make you dinner?

Can I take you somewhere? He usually comes after the fact as opposed to getting ahead of it. And maybe I need to learn from you here, in this case, Elliot. Yeah, that's terrible. But at the end of the class, I do usually text Steph when I'm on the way back from the airport and say, okay, get your boyfriend out of the house. Daddy's coming home. Alright guys, reminder you can reach us at 1-833-311-3232 or email us at 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. That was the Thought Line,

headlines are up next. Back on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Elliot, let's get to some major headlines in the NHL this week. I mean, as much as we've enjoyed the playoff hockey, I think we've enjoyed all the press conferences and news items that have come down in the last week as teams transition or some teams transition to the summer months. None of these headlines though, bigger than what we heard on Tuesday. News that legendary hockey man, Lou Lamarello will not have his contract renewed by the New York Islanders. Lou spent seven seasons steering the ship on Long Island. The team made the Eastern Conference final twice in his first three seasons. They made the playoffs twice in three seasons prior to this one, but they fell flat this year. Tenth worst record in the league aging roster for Lamorello Elliott, 82 years old, parts of seven decades, coaching and running high

level hockey teams. Is this the end of one of the great careers in hockey? I think the obvious answer would seem to be yes. I will tell you, Justin, I did have some people say to me on Tuesday night, they wonder if there's any chance a team like Buffalo reaches out to him. And you know, the reason is if you look back at where the Islanders were when he got hired, John Tavares was leaving. They looked to be in a really bad place. And he came and he stabilized them.

They went to two Eastern Conference Finals, one nothing game seven lost to Tampa and one of them. He hired Barry Trotz. Like that, there are a lot of Islanders fans, I give the Islanders fans credit, as much as some of them may have felt it was time for a change, there were a lot of them there who really took pains to recognize and how much trouble they could have been in when he got the job and what a great, great work he did in the first few years of his time there. And I think I thought that was really important.

And like I said, I did have some people say to me, there's if there's one team that they could really see that would say, could he help us? It was Buffalo. And, but I don't know. Like I just obviously I haven't spoken to him. And we'll get to the Sabres in a minute. But that was the one team that a couple people mentioned to me. You know, I just want to say a couple things about Lamarello. When that tweet came down, like

I admit, I was in a bit of shock. I had heard rumors that this was possible. On the podcast on Saturday I mentioned that in New York it really came down to or on Long Island what did Scott Malkin think. I think he's the majority owner and I think he was at least considering it but I didn't really believe it was going to happen. I'll tell you a story Justin earlier this year. I heard rumors that they were gonna make a change in season and I made a couple of calls You know number one you always check these things and number two I have a ton of respect for him and I'll get into that in a second

And I wanted to make sure I wasn't even going to talk about it unless I felt I had a good handle on this situation. This was in December and then in March I saw him at the GM meetings in Florida. I really hadn't had a lot of time or reason to talk to him beforehand from December to March, but we walked into each other, and I was with someone else who was on the phone, and he said to me, we said hello, and he said to me,

I heard that you had been calling and asking some questions about me. Like, holy smokes. Like, I was not, I was not, I was not expecting that. I wasn't terrified, but I was caught flat-footed. Like, it surprised me. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was surprised. He said, I heard you were asking questions about me. And I, like I said, I was with someone who got off the phone, I said, talk to you about this and so the next day I saw him again I made sure to find him and I saw him and I said you know I you know obviously I he knew what I was

asking about right and I said to him I hope you understand that I believe you deserve to be treated with a certain amount of respect and that I was calling because I wanted to make sure that before I said anything I knew if it was in any way accurate or not and he said, oh I know and I was told nothing was happening at at that time and he said he knew and that was the extent of the conversation but again I heard at the end of the year, you know, John Collins, who's going to be handling the search as they announced, he was running the

business side of the Islanders. He's a very, very sharp guy, very smart guy. But there was a point during the season where he stepped away because him and Lamarello weren't seeing eye to eye. You know, Lamarello, he has a certain way that he believes things need to be done. And even though he's in charge of hockey, he, you know, believes that hockey should be left to hockey and business should be something else. And they just weren't seeing eye to eye. And I think one of the things that the Islanders

is they're struggling a bit and they miss the playoffs. I think there were some concerns about ticket sales, there were concerns about are they doing the most in the community and Scott Malkin, who's the majority owner, I think there was some talk to him about, do you have to allow more engagement? Are there things you're gonna have to do differently? Like I think he was leading for a long time to giving Lamarello another year, but there's some of the results late in the year, Justin,

including the 9-2 loss to the Rangers, I think it really changed things. I think at the last minute, he kind of agreed that maybe it was time to do something different. I don't think it was an easy decision, but I think he felt it was the right decision. And it was surprising because I think there were a lot of people who believed that Lamarello was gonna be given another year.

And you know, the thing I'll say about Lou Lamarello is if this is it, he treated me great when I was a young nobody, and he treated me great when I'm now an older nobody. And he would, you know, I knew there were things he would never answer, never answer. But he always treated people respectfully. And the thing that he taught me the most, I learned a lot from him, was about the value of consistency. He was about the value of consistency. He was like the same every day.

He dressed up in a jacket and tie. He was in the office during business hours. And the thing that he was great at was being consistent. And you know, I think consistency isn't sexy, but it is the most important thing I really do believe to being successful, is can you try to be at your best as many days of a year as possible. And you know, if this is the end of his career, at least as a GM, because I'm sure someone's going to try to talk to him about doing advising and things like that. I'm going to be sore to see him go because I really love dealing with him as much as

I possibly could. He really is incredible. But I think that Scott Malkin and the Allenders eventually realized that I think Bridgeport's really hard year played into this. They had a really rough year in the American Hockey League a historically poor season you know I think there were some disagreements I don't know how serious there were but there was disagreements I think between him and Patrick Waa over the team how they played Waa was not afraid to open it up a bit

Lamarello likes a really more button-down style of play. You know, I just think it got to a point where the Islanders said, we have to try a new way. And that's where we're going to go here. Yeah. Bridgeport won 15 times, 50 regulation losses, their leading scorer 36 year old drafted in 2007 that being Chris Terry Again, that's not everything minor league teams can fill different sort of Expectations or different sort of means for different clubs

But that doesn't tell you a great story about what's coming up and you mentioned consistency If it's the same thing every day tomorrow or when they make a decision it's gonna be something different so Elliot like what do you think the Islanders will do in their search for a GM what sort of team did they want to have because they can't have another Lew team but they're they have to do something to turn this around well first of all I made a great trade for Brock Nelson he got them another first round pick and a really good prospect in Callum Ritchie. I think the biggest question I had is if you read the tweet

you know they said that they're gonna hire a new GM and I took that to me does that mean they're not gonna do the president of hockey operations? They're just gonna do the GM and I was told that they are open-minded to all ideas. They're looking for the best possible leader or leaders that they can get their hands on. You know for a and I'll tell you this there are some people out there who suspect they've already talked to people here and there but I don't know that for sure. Like if you're doing a president of hockey operations, you know, Ken Holland is an obvious name to build an organization. You know, I had some people say Ed Olchick's

name to me, but those guys are not going to be day to day GMs. They're going to be the president of hockey operations and they're going to hire someone to be the day to day GM. But those are some of the kinds of names that you're going to hear. If you're going to hire someone to be the day-to-day GM But those are the those are some of the kinds of names that you're going to hear if you're going to do Like a manager who's going to build a team worry about hockey intertwine the business and the hockey Then you're going to hear names like I think I think you're going to hear names like Yarmouk Ekalainen I think is going to be because Yarmou Kekilainen, I think is going to be because Yarmou Kekilainen, he's run a hockey organization, he's run departments, Mark

Bergerven, same deal. I think the thing about Bergerven and Kekilainen is everybody makes mistakes, right? But I know that there are people, I think smart people out there look at an organization, after you leave it, did you leave it in good hands in terms of personnel? Like whatever mistakes you made running the team that you have to learn from, like Bergervan left Montreal with a lot of good pieces. Like I said, he'd make mistakes, yes, but did he leave them in a good place?

He did. You take a look at Kekalyanen, did he make mistakes? Yes, but did he leave Columbus in a good place in terms of personnel? Yes. They know how to scout and find young players. So I look at names like that. I think to me, and there's going to be a lot more, there's going to be a lot more. There's gonna be a lot more. I was on an HL network with Brian Boyle on Tuesday afternoon and he was like, do you think people are gonna want this job? I said, absolutely people are gonna want this job. It's a good organization.

You can win with this ownership group. They have resources. Lamarello was allowed to run the organization the way he wanted to do it. Now, will there be more talk about intertwining hockey and business? Yes, but they're going to let you run your organization. I think they're going to have a ton of people out there who are going to want this job and a ton of qualified people so if you want to go the Ken Holland route you can do that if you want

to go the Berger van Kekkeleinen route and that style of person you can do that so they're gonna have options here I I really do believe that. I also wonder too Justin is if They're gonna want an Islander in there Like a Matt Martin or a Thomas Hickey Like those are a couple names. I could see like Train them in the business Have them learn the business or an alumni like Glenn Healy John Collins and Glenn Healy are

Like Glenn Healy would always tell me how much he believed in John Collins But I wonder about a younger alumni like I'm Martin or Thomas Hickey I could see them saying we want that kind of blood in our front office somebody who bleeds New York Islander blue and working under a more senior person. Not necessarily being the GM, but being somebody who learns how to become a GM in a few years. Okay, so maybe multiple opportunities born out of this decision from the Islanders. You mentioned ticket sales and maybe that suggests, hey, they want to win games soon. There's a couple of ways it could go when going from regime to regime. Is there a chance that this is, hey, we're

going to take the long route here? Or kind of like when Lou first showed up, like they want to win now. Let's put together a roster that can compete as soon as possible. I think it's a great question. I think that if you do this properly, you inject some enthusiasm. The one thing is there's no shortcuts. You can sign free agents. You can make good trades.

But the bottom line is you've got to be an organization that drafts and develops well. And like, I think that's the, like, if you look at Pittsburgh and Dubas, like you can tell right now, he wants to make sure that he has a sustainable plan, right? And that I think you have to be able to do both. You have to draft and develop well and create an environment where you can do that. You take your swings. But at the end of the day, Justin, if you don't draft and develop well, you can't win.

So stunning news Tuesday. Stunning comments on Monday from Jim Rutherford. Another notable Jimmy Rutherford media moment, this time at an end of season presser after a pretty disappointing season, brutally disappointing season even for the Vancouver Canucks. The commentary centered around Quinn Hughes, of course. This impacts a market which has been probably on its best days pulling its hair out when considering the future of its best player. But I wonder, Elliot, the talks about the brothers, how is the league processing this? And maybe more importantly, how are the devils

processing this? You know what? There were a lot of people ripping Rutherford after that. I kind of look at it this way. As a member of the media, we can't have it both ways. We can't say, oh, guys are boring or they don't say anything and then we rip them when they actually say something. So I'm not going to be ripping Jim Rutherford. I think it's hypocritical for media to do that. I was, I mean, the thing is about him is you should never be surprised because he'll say whatever he wants, but still he surprises you from

time to time. The league's not going to take any action. I'm sure they'll probably call and say, leave other people's names out of your mouth. But I think it's also kind of, I think the New Jersey Devils know that Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes aren't really eager to be traded to the Vancouver Canucks, right? So I don't think the Devils are too worried about that. I would say this, to me the bigger thing about that Justin, was that was Jim Rutherford warning

his fan base that it's possible Quinn Hughes might not be a lifelong Canuck. That's that told me and look the Canucks had a nightmare year. They they went from one goal loss to the team that went to game seven of the Stanley Cup final to out of the playoffs and with a lot of questions a lot of questions and That is not gonna make Quinn Hughes happy he wants to win like a Vancouver is a good team I don't think they worry about this as much but I think you know Rick Tauke it is uncertain the team on ice is uncertain I think that What I'm guessing is that the Vancouver Canucks know that if they don't stabilize things in

Two years Quinn Hughes is gonna say say, you know what guys, I want to win. I want to win. And if it's not solid there, I think they know they could lose them. And that's what that was about. Yeah. If I'm a Devils fan, you mentioned keep the names out of your mouth. No, keep our name in your mouth because it's- But just as long as you're trading them here. Exactly, but if you look at what's more feasible, the two players going to Vancouver

or the one player a couple years away going to New Jersey, and again, not to start this or take it down a road it doesn't need to, but there's one thing that's more feasible than the other. And I think despite Rutherford saying more than most, he says things with purpose. And I think you nailed it there with, hey, this is something that needs to be considered. A couple other things from that media conference. Number one, I'll say this too. I was reminded,

I'm not sure when Pedersen was signed to his extension. I'm not sure it was unanimous in there to do it But I've been told that the person who fought for the most was Rutherford and he had the most power He was the one who said we're doing this we're offering this to him and we're doing this so when Rutherford talks about What peterson needs to do or what has to happen, it's coming from the voice of the person in the organization who felt the strongest about signing him to that extension.

And as someone said to me, you should take everything he says about Pedersen with that context in your conversation. So I think that's good to remember. You know, the talk at situation, we're still waiting for his answer. As of, you know, Tuesday night as we record this, as we're finishing it up,

it's approaching 2 a.m. Eastern time, Justin. I was under the impression there was no decision yet. There's I don't think there's a deadline but per se but I don't think this is gonna drag like to the end of next week or anything like that. You know we'll see but that's another thing about Hughes is that he really likes talk it. He set it on the record. He really likes him. And you know it's obvious that by Rutherford's comments and by what's going on here that even though as he said they've offered him a big contract it's not

necessarily in where Tauke thinks his market value is which is perfectly fair of him to decide. and I also think he wants to know the true landscape and we're finding out more and more every day. Like when Dave Axel got the Seattle job, Rick Tauke was the runner up. And we all know about his tie-ins with Philly. I mentioned in the last part, I think Anaheim's a very attractive job. I think Rick Tauke wants to know exactly what the whole world looks like.

Okay, in Seattle, Ron Francis moves a little further upstairs with Jason Botterill now tasked with handling the day-to-day as the new general manager of the Seattle Kraken. This is Botterill's second crack at building an NHL club. He spent three seasons at the helm for the Buffalo Sabres after winning a Stanley Cup with Jim Rutherford and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's been a long road back for Botterill. Elliot, what do you have on the big decision made by a club that needs to start trending back in the right direction? So I don't think the Francis Botterill thing came as a huge surprise to people. I've talked about this at length this year that there was a big split in hockey operations last year over the

coaching hire, whether it was going to be Todd McClellan or Bilesma. Dean Evison was a finalist too and I think what this was was for Seattle and I think you have to do it. You have to have your hockey operations department all rowing in the same direction, and it wasn't. And this was their way of saying, our process last summer was flawed, and we can't do that again. So they've handed the keys to Jason Botterill. And you know, with Dan Bilesma,

like I heard Bilesma was shocked. I already didn't see it coming. And I think that Bilesma is the victim of that process not working and It was a really hard year. It just didn't go as well as they hoped and they just said look We have to start again with everybody kind of on the same page and that's what they decided to do I I heard that Francis I think I mentioned this before Francis has submitted a plan that it was going to be aggressive.

They liked the Montour signing. He had a good year. They liked the Stevenson signing because it freed up Baniers and Wright, and Wright in particular took some big steps. I just think that not everybody there was on the same page. And now I think they feel that everybody will be more on the same page. And I think that's true. If you don't have people in your hockey ops pulling in the same direction, you can't win. All right, let's do some quick hitters to close out here.

Elliott, you've got some notes on Nashville, Boston, Calgary. But let's begin with Eric Carlson. Yeah, so Kyle Dubas had some interesting quotes about Eric Carlson. It'll be interesting to see what happens there. Carlson has a bonus. And once he gets paid that bonus, I believe it's on July 1st, his actual cash I think is $11 million for the next two years. He's tradable. And they're going to, there's going to be interest. I think people are going to try to leverage

Pittsburgh on that, get them either to eat money or throw a sweetener in there, but he's not untradable and after that press conference I think it's possible that if not likely that he gets he gets traded I Believe they're gonna try and I believe there's gonna be interest a couple other things still waiting on Buffalo I think we get some clarity on Buffalo like we know that Kevin Adams is gonna meet with Terry Pugula I Think it's either gonna be End of this week beginning of next week. I don't think that Dave

Really settled down to make that decision yet. End of this week, beginning of next week, I think. Nashville, I think we're still awaiting clarity. It was a really hard year there. And I think the organization is still trying to determine, A, coming to grips with how tough it was. I think some of the comments that were made on break-up day, like Andrew Burnett had some blunt comments,

Jonathan Marchessault had some blunt comments. I think those kind of reverberated through the hallways. We'll see what happens. You know, the Bruins, Don Swinney, Cam Neely and Charlie Jacobs meet with the media on Wednesday. I think we're all curious to see what they have to say. And I had some Calgary fans asking me about Dustin Wolf going to the Worlds and why he hasn't been invited yet. I think it's because Jeremy Swainman and Joey DeCord are also on the Team US Radar if they're not going already.

And, you know, Dustin Wolf, he might look at it as, if those guys are going there and they're promised places to play, am I gonna wanna go as the third goalie? And I can understand that. I would say this to Dustin Wolf, that if you wanna be on the Olympic radar for next year and they're even as good as Team USA's goaltending is,

that kid is talented enough to force his way into the conversation. If he says no to the World Championships, it might hurt him to go there. Only he can make that choice, but that's the only thing I would put in his head. And Joey DeCord, chosen Elaine. Yes, yes. He has chosen Elaine. He has locked down to an end. He has locked down Team USA. I think now with 2020 hindsight, I think that one really caught Team Canada by surprise. I'm not sure they were all aware of it. Yeah, that was an interesting one. But I guess he'll keep

himself in the running for potential opportunities down the line going to the World Championship. Elliot, we'll leave it there. We'll be back Friday for another edition of 32 Thoughts of the Podcast.