32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Freeze! It's the Holidays

Episode Date: December 20, 2024

In this episode of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman give Scott Oake his flowers for being appointed to the Order of Canada. The fellas then delve into the top trades and stories as we hit the holiday roster freeze (5:00). Elliotte discusses what the direction of the New York Rangers is following the Kakko trade (7:30). The guys look forward to Sabres-Leafs on Friday night (15:32) and Kyle and Elliotte unpack the Carrier for Barron trade between Montreal and Nashville (21:42).  They also highlight Sidney Crosby's 4-point night on Thursday (28:52) and talk about recent fines for player embellishment around the NHL (32:57). The Final Thought focuses on John Tavares's impressive goal-scoring pace in the final year of his contract (35:52).Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and respond to your voicemails in the Thought Line (42:50). In the last segment, Kyle and Elliotte touch on impressive runs from Bedard and Celebrini are on (1:07:16). Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis 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

And speaking of the Penguins, did you see Sidney Crosby's night on Thursday against Nashville? And this came a day after when he was asked about the fact that he had gone 10 games without scoring. And he said, well, usually when I'm asked about it, that's when things start to change. Over to the far corner, swung around the boards, Mark. Malkin settles it down. To Carlson in the high slot. He unloads. Deflection.

They score! Sidney Crosby on the far side. Catches the deflection and the Penguins are back within one. A power play goal. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. Dom, Kyle, Einstein, I mean Elliot, all with you. That went over huge. Yeah, I got a lot of notes about that one.

I'm glad. That was a well-produced piece there. So before we get into all the hockey stuff, we should just quickly mention our teammate Scott Oak, who was announced this week, appointed to the Order of Canada. And Scott, as you know, he's been the standard for sideline hosting in this country for decades, but his impact has run far deeper with the founding of the Bruce Oak Recovery Center in Winnipeg. There's the Ann Oak Recovery Center for women that is under construction,

those facilities for people seeking help for addiction. Scott Oak, congratulations on your appointment. He is someone who, the cutting sense of humor that he carries with him, it can fool you at times, but that is a man who has a big, big heart. Yes, nobody more deserving. Was very happy to hear it. Chris Cuthbert was the one who put it out on his X feed. One story I would like to tell about Scott Oak, because people have gotten to know him on

a wider basis now because of the projects that you mentioned it but people who knew him before those projects were created uh know how charitable he is and how helpful he is i believe for a long time now as long as i have known him and worked with him he serves a lunch at a soup kitchen in Winnipeg I believe it's every Monday he does that but you know I remember and I can laugh about it now Kyle though I certainly couldn't then when I mucked up swimming in Rio in 2016 I wouldn't talk on the phone to anybody and Scott was the person my wife called because Scott was in, obviously was in Rio with me. And my wife was in Toronto

and she was really worried about me. And that's the person that she called and said, you've got to make sure Elliot's okay. So, you know, at that time we're using, we weren't using our regular phones. We were using like our real phones. And so i don't know what the text message i i never saved it but it was something really funny it was something

like if you don't answer your phone you're gonna wake up in the middle of the night and i'm gonna be standing over you like it was something like that and that was like the first time i laughed after that whole thing happened but But I think that really says, in my personal history with him, I think that really says a lot about Scott that when my wife was worried about me, he was the one she called to say, you've got to make sure Elliot's okay.

You got any great memories that stand out for you? Yeah, there's a couple. I mean, I remember when I first went into a season where I was working predominantly with Shrelly Najak, a producer when he was still with Hockey Night. You know, I was asking around, I think I talked to you a little bit before about, OK, you know, what am I getting into working with this guy on a weekly basis? And so Scott was one of the people I reached out to also because they worked together for years and years and years doing games and so I sent Scott an email and said hey any chance I could bug you for a few minutes on the phone and he wrote back uh please direct all email inquiries to sportsnetpr and that was it I was like what that sounds about right yes yeah yes and thankfully he he got he he let that hang just enough for me to think like, was this serious?

To go, no, happy to chat. So that's Oki for you. That's very Scott, I have to say. I'm laughing. And when he answers the phone, it's, go ahead, caller. That's the way he answers the phone. Yeah, exactly. Anyway, great of you to lead the podcast with it.

That's the right way. Yeah. So Oki, great of you to lead the podcast with it. That's the right way. Yeah. So, Oki, congratulations to you. And as we get into the guts of the pod here today, Elliot, wake up Friday morning. The holiday roster freeze is in effect until the 28th of December. But in the days leading up, there's been a handful of trades around the league.

Where do you want to kind of begin here? I mean, the Rangers have been a huge talking point for a few weeks now. Capo Caco is now a member of the Seattle Kraken. Where, what is top of mind as we begin the holiday roster freeze? I have to say that, you know, it was a wild couple days, a wild couple moves, some that maybe we saw coming, some that we didn't see coming. So I was working Toronto, Dallas from the studio on Wednesday night, and I got a note from a couple people saying that the associate GM of the Sabres, Jason Carmanos, was in Detroit for Red Wings Flyers and that one threw some people they were they were surprised to see that now I mean look like the Sabres have players every team in the league would be going after and I know some people speculated that maybe they were looking at the

Flyers I'm not so sure about that I think they were looking at the Flyers. I'm not so sure about that. I think they were looking at the Red Wings. You know, obviously nothing happened by the midnight deadline. You know, one of the things I do try to keep careful with around this time of year is that a few years ago, Chris Letang was mentioned in a trade rumor around Christmas.

And I went and I asked him about it. I think we had a game with Pittsburgh right after the holiday ended. And I just asked him how he was doing. And he said, that trade rumor ruined my family's Christmas. And I was like, thank God that wasn't me. Christmas and I was like oh boy thank God that wasn't me uh but you know I mean like obviously at this time of year I'm doing as much speculating as anyone else so once we get past midnight I kind of sit there and say okay I I'm not gonna name anyone because it's already stressful enough and it's a time people want to enjoy their families unless it's

already been out there but I do think that Carmano's presence at that game had a few people wondering if the savers were going to you know squeeze something in right before the deadline but obviously that that didn't happen so it was pretty interesting that was the one I think on Thursday that I was kind of waiting about and wondering about and trying to see if I could figure out the most okay and as we watch what's going on with the Rangers so Kako second overall pick in 2019 now a member of the Kraken do you think the Rangers and Chris Drury are they looking at doing things to retool for the future? Or do they still see this season as one that is a salvageable and one that they can try to improve the roster to compete come playoff time in 2025?

I think overall, they're looking to take a big swing at something, a very big swing at something. And, you know, one of the things that's happened here, shockingly, is that it is, it looks like it's almost impossible for them to get into the playoffs through their division. I don't want to say it can't happen because they could go on a major league style run, Cleveland baseball, major league style run and make the playoffs. And then we'd all look stupid for proclaiming them done, done, done. But you look at the standings right now, they've played the same amount of games as the Carolina hurricanes who are in third place in the Metro division. And they're already 10 points back of them. So you know right now that their path to the playoffs is through the wildcard,

which is we sit here on Friday morning is Boston and Ottawa. And the Rangers have games in hand on both, three on the Bruins, one on the Senators, but they're five and seven points behind. So while I, you know, Chris Drury, it was reported by Molly Walker of the New York Post that Chris Drury met with the players in Dallas the other day, that he spoke to them, communicated with them. And so that says to me that he's trying to calm the temperature. They made the Kako trade and he's trying to calm the temperature.

See, I think the biggest thing, like there's been a lot reported and a lot said about the New York Rangers over the past little while. But I think one of the biggest things that the players felt was they just wanted a bit more communication in terms of what the plan was as a group and individually. And, you know, like I think they understand and Trochek kind of said this on Thursday, they understand that this is a business and when things are going badly, the general manager has to make tough decisions.

But I think overall, I think they felt there was just a lack of communication in terms of what they were thinking personnel-wise and some of the things that they were going to do and where they were going overall. I think Chris Drury, he made the trade with Kako. It sounds like he's trying to reset them a bit. Let's get our focus back on. Let's get going.

But overall, number one, they've got a really tough path to the playoffs, especially in their division. And number two, it's very clear that the Rangers, as an organization, did not believe in the way they were headed. And if you look at them on the ice, on paper, on paper, The Rangers, as an organization, did not believe in the way they were headed. And if you look at them on the ice, on paper, on paper, they are not as strong a team as they were even three weeks ago. So what this says to me is they have decided to organizationally reset,

and they're going to take a big swing at something. The other thing is, though, is he's saying to these guys, know I've talked about this with you and I've written this Kyle. One of the things I don't like, one of the things I look at, I look at Tampa this year. Okay. The lightning, they let Stephen Stamkos walk. Okay. Stephen Stamkos was a really was their captain there were a lot of players in that room who said that he ran a great room one of the best rooms in the league a room that was welcoming he took care of people and things like that and even the way the the Lightning it, they made a very difficult decision. But you could tell that Julian Brisebois, who never gets nervous,

was nervous about facing the public for that one, even though I think he had no doubt about the decision he was making. But when the puck dropped and when the game started, and maybe it was because it was the offseason as opposed to it happened during the season, but whatever, the Tampa Bay Lightning got down to business. Like, you watch the way they've played this year.

There's been no hangover. Do they miss Stamkos? For sure they do. Do they think he was going to play for them forever? I think they probably did, the players. But the bottom line is they looked at it, a business decision was made and now they have to continue and do their jobs. And they've done that. And I think that's what Drury is trying to sell the players. Yes, this is hard. Maybe I didn't

communicate as well as I could have, but we've got to get going here and I I really do feel strongly and I say the same thing to the Sabres I I think this is also like that Sabres game the other night it's interesting like I've heard two versions of this Terry Pagula meeting in Montreal on Monday like I think the words I heard are the same which is we're not making changes we're not firing people the solution is here uh some of the ways I heard it explained to me was it was a positive meeting some of the ways I heard it also explained to me was like okay let's let's let's get going here like and maybe it wasn't as much positive as it was guys like, you know, we can't play like this. And then you go out and you have that game that they had in Montreal where they're down to nothing quickly.

And what did they do? Give up the first nine shots. Like, I think you get to a point where you simply have to say that for your own pride in yourself and your teammates, like you have a responsibility to be better. And I think that's kind of what both these teams are trying to say. And I'm really curious to see the Rangers on Friday night in Dallas and the Sabres on Friday night at home against Toronto because at some point in time as players, you have to grab hold of it and say, okay, I may not be happy with my organization.

I may not be happy with my general manager. I may not be happy with what's going on. But you know what? I got my own pride in myself, and I have to demand that I be better than this. And I think both of those teams are hitting that. You know, the other team, by the way, Kyle, before we get to the individual trades, the other team I think needs the vacation, the brief Christmas break in the worst way is Vancouver.

You know, they lost to Utah after a great overtime. They lost to Vegas in what I thought was a really good game. They just got beat. But, you know, when the market starts rumbling, and I contributed to this this week. I'm not doing it anymore tonight. I'm giving everybody a break. Ho, ho, ho.

Merry Christmas. But that team needs a break. You can see it. That team needs a break. Yeah, and watching the Sab sabers the last couple here too i mean you've used the line before but just looking like a group that's waiting for something to happen something won't be over the next little bit now with the freeze intact but that looked like a group that was waiting for something to happen do you think what's that crowd gonna be like friday night with toronto in there

like you know obviously leafs fans come in droves for that one oh yeah at the best of times but now you've got like how many sabers fans they have been so loyal for so long here are going you know what don't need this on a friday night so i'm really curious so whenever when i was younger and i was single and you know maybe steph will tell me no i'm working that game on friday night from the studio so i can't go but if i wasn't working a buffalo toronto game in Buffalo I would always go I would always go down because first of all the Buffalo press box is a fantastic press box in the sense that it it it it rests on the last row of the crowd so you really like the fans can talk to you and when the

crowd is really passionate it's awesome like you feel the energy you're almost part of it like no cheering in the press box but you almost feel part of it it's like one of the best places from for a media member to watch the game but there's two types of sabers fans and you know me i love the sabers fans they're great fans but there's two types of Sabres fans. Number one is the Sabres fan who sells their Toronto games and makes back all the money that they've paid on their season's tickets. Like you've got your 41 home games, you sell your two or three Leaf games, and poof, you've made your money back. That's Sabres fan A.

And Sabres fan B is, I don't care how much money those loser Leaf fans offer me I am not selling my seats to them so they can take over my building it's one or the other there's no in between and as a result whenever the Leafs and the Sabres play each other that crowd is bananas now i'm not supposed to support fighting in crowds but like there were times i would go to games and you could scratch on like you keep a tally of how many like near fights or tussles you'd see in there like so you know it's it's it's the christmas holiday the amount of leaf fans are going to descend on that building on Friday night. It's going to be like, you know, you live in Ottawa.

Like the true diehard Sanders fans, when the Leafs show up or the Canadians show up, like they hate it. It bothers them. Like, you know, it's going to be a big Leaf crowd there on Friday night. And, you know, Gord Stelic his old line I love it if you're gonna stink stink on the road and all eyes are gonna be on those Sabres after that performance they had in Buffalo and I I just think at the end of the day a true professional, and I judge myself the same way I judge everybody else, but a true professional looks at the lowest possible moments and says,

how am I going to be part of the solution? So for the Sabres and the Rangers, who are going to be those guys? All right, so we mentioned the Kako trade. A couple of the other ones the last few days. We didn't talk about it too much. The one thing I would say about the Kako deal is I think that's a great gamble for the Kraken. Yes. I think that is a great—maybe it works, maybe it doesn't,

but that is the gamble that the Kraken have to take. The one thing that they don't have compared to everybody else is a young prospect pool, right? Because they just haven't drafted so long. They've got years. They've got Shane, right? They've got one of the kids I love watching ever since I like watching him at the prospects game, Jagger, Fergus, but they just don't have the base. Fergus circus.

The Fergus circus. I Furcus Circus like I I root you for that kid I just really like watching him and he's got a great name but like they don't have a lot of guys like that and the the cost here wasn't a lot. I think Will Borgen is a really solid player but you don't look at the price they paid and say, wow, that was, they got really scorched on that one. And, you know, it'll be interesting. Like, you know, obviously here, if you listen to Kako on Thursday, if he didn't come right out and ask for a trade, the Rangers knew it was time. Like, it wasn't working for them.

It wasn't working for him. It was time to move on. You know, like, the fact that he spoke up this week and like i i have a rule we always say that hockey players are boring and they don't say anything well we can't rip them when they speak their mind right we cannot do the same yeah absolutely if we cannot call people like capocaco boring and then when he comes out and says this is how i feel we can't rip him for it. And I think everybody deserves at least one chance to come out and say, this is what I'm really thinking.

And then you move on. But like, I don't think it happened, be the trade happened because he said that. But I think it was sort of like, okay, we know he feels that way. Now everybody knows he feels that way let's go and i just think for seattle if i was in charge of the kraken that would be the exact type of gamble i would be making that's the kind of player i'm going after and now it's their job to get him to a level the rangers couldn't i i think it was peter baugh who tweeted out that eight of the first 19 picks in that draft are now playing for different teams like that's that's unbelievable that's that's

really unbelievable and to your point here like as a guy that had expectation from where he was drafted it's different now as you say it's not like seattle had to back up the brinks truck to get him it's a fresh start for the player coming to a team that doesn't have a lot of what he can provide when he's at his best still a relatively young guy there's opportunity for that to be a you know buy low and get huge huge reward off of that one so and there's going to be opportunity for him kyle like they don't have a lot of players like him in that age yeah i mean he's gonna get he's gonna get opportunity there all right montreal and nashville alexander carrier for justin barron so carrier a little bit older than barron, 28 years old versus 23.

It just became clear over, as time went on, Elliot, that Barron was just a guy that Canadians necessarily couldn't trust on a regular basis on their back end. I mean, Marty St. Louis mentioned now that Carrier, an older guy, is in the fold, maybe helps managing their bench on the road a little bit better. Was this simply a case of Montreal trying to shore up their defense and add a little experience?

I think so. I mean, one of the things you and I talked about at the beginning of the year for the Canadians was this was the year they were going to start going to have to figure out which of their young kids was going to stay and which of the young kids wasn't and and they still have more to come like you know Mayu is going to be a full-time NHL-er in the not too distant future and you know Reinbacher even though unfortunately is going to be out for most of this year he's going to be an NHL-er not too far away so you could see the squeeze was starting to come you know I think the think the other thing is, like we talk about that, if you're going to stink, stink on the road. I think one of the things that's really bothered the Canadians this year

is some of their worst games have been at home. When you're rebuilding and you're testing your fans' patience, you can't be like that at home. Like they've had about four or five games at home this year. Like that's why I thought their game against Buffalo was so big the other day because, you know, all the Canadiens fans, they're smart. They know the Sabres are reeling. They know they had the team meeting.

And you've been terrible at home. So you're worried that this team is going to come out and make an example out of you. And, you know, the Can the Canadians didn't let that happen. They defended home ice, which I think was very important for them. But, you know, you're addressing a lot of young players. Like you've got Matheson and you've got Savard and you've got a lot of guys, even like Goulet, he's talented and he's going to be a really good defenseman

for a long time, but he's still a young guy learning the league. And, you know, I think Barron was a guy who, you know, simply was, you know, I almost kind of wonder if for like for some of these guys in Montreal was going to be wrong place, wrong time, right? Because there were just too many of them. And I think that's what happened to Barron. I think in Nashville where, you know, eventually Yossi's out right now, but he's going to be back.

He's going to be healthy. They've got a bit of a deeper blue line. I think that's going to help Barron. I think, too, like one of the things with Barron is, and everybody saw it, he's still learning how to handle pressure on the forecheck, right? And when you're in Montreal where they watch hockey so intently like you know there's like if you're having some challenges adapting and he is which is fine he's a young player you'll figure it out but when that happens in that market like you're like it's like all the good

things you do in a market like Montreal they are celebrated and you are put on a pedestal but all of the bad things you do in a place like Montreal, they are celebrated and you are put on a pedestal. But all of the bad things you do in a place like Montreal, which is the same as everywhere else in Canada, is it's on all the highlight shows. They see it. Barron can't do this. Barron can't do that.

And it almost becomes like a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I think going somewhere a little quieter will really help them. You know, Carrier, I think that he's just the kind of player that Montreal needs. They need another veteran like that. They need somebody who can play a bit more solidly and is under term.

I completely understand why they did this. I think to me the most amazing thing about Nashville is, you know, they went out and they signed Carrier like a few months ago. They got him done at a real pressure point time. They have that defenseman Delgazio who they really like too. And now in just the craziness of their season,

they're kind of starting to remake their defense a little bit. Like that guy Adam Wilsby came up and he scored an absolutely ridiculously beautiful goal the other day. And I think that, you know, we know that Trotz wants to get a center and he started to create some cap room and he traded his backup goalie Wedgwood. Like I don't think he's going to undo the decisions he made last year,

not the big ones, but it is kind of interesting how he brought in Wedgwood as the backup. He's now gone for a younger model. He kept Kari in a three-year deal. He goes for Barron. We are starting to see Nashville kind of remodel a little bit here. And, you know, I think that's kind of the consequence of the start of their year.

By the way, you know, I did want to say, we'll see about Hughes when he comes back, what he feels after him and LeCavalier watched Demidov this week. But I've had a few guys who've seen him who say that that guy is an absolute stud, like a stud. And they got him with the fifth pick last year. You know, there are people who hammer Montreal for not taking Mishkov. Mishkov wanted to go to Philadelphia.

Like, we have to get off this. Mishkov, he worked it, and he got himself to Philly. But this Demidov thing, i know people who said to him they said that that will help ease the pain that the canadians fans feel that mishkov got by them that this guy will make that kind of a difference yeah that the build-up of that one is going to be fun to watch as he remains overseas, does Demidov. And the other one too, Elliot, Pierre Olivier Joseph. He is a Penguin once again,

but not before a last supper with his brother, Matthew, as it was shared on social media Wednesday too, which was, I'm sure, bittersweet for the brothers, of course, and the parents too. You finally get your two kids playing on the same team in the nhl how cool is that but i guess st louis blue line got a little crowded after cam fowler came into the mix yeah too crowded like the guys weren't gonna play you know uh like you know doug armstrong had some interesting decisions to make after christmas um you know

that matt he's got a really good young defenseman, Matt Kessel, who's in the American Hockey League right now. He's got Scott Perunovic up there. Yeah, he's got a loaded blue line. And at least you know that Joseph, A, is going back to a place that knows him. And B, he's going to play there. because as bittersweet as that was for the joseph brothers and the parents as you said he has more of a chance of playing in pittsburgh than he would in st louis and i think at the end of the day players players want to play uh you know to me i i think the blues again as you said the timing's not easy but i I wonder if we look back on this and we see that the Blues did him a real favor. And speaking of the Penguins,

did you see Sidney Crosby's night on Thursday against Nashville? And this came a day after when he was asked about the fact that he had gone 10 games without scoring, and he said, well, usually when I'm asked about it, that's when things start to change. He scored all right, four points on the night the first four-pointer he's had all season and made sure to give it right back to michael mccarran after oh yeah his goal too oh yeah he had the daggers for mccarran after that one i you know what's

going to happen now is is mike sullivan is going to be telling the and the Penn's Inside Scoop reporters there. He's going to be like, if Sid goes two games without a point, you have to walk up to him and ask him about his goal drought. That's what's going to be the plan now. Michelle's not going to be allowed to go two goalless games without asking Sid about it. I have to say, too, I watched that game a little bit on Sportsnet Plus, and I thought the Penguins broadcast team man they were they were it was like those guys were on the bench they were

as into that game as the players were they had a great I I honestly feel we don't shout out enough of the regional crews um in this league a lot and uh I was thinking about that while I was watching uh the feed we have up here was penguins and and those guys had a great call uh of that game but that you're right like like i have to say to like brian rust considering sullivan's the coach like i know the u.s is loaded with talent but considering sullivan's the coach i'm shocked that he's not on the U.S. Four Nations team and again they have a lot of great players but I almost wonder if like Sullivan could have said coach is prerogative I I want that guy I've been fascinated to know I think I six goals six

assists in his last six games yeah he and that guy plays hard man yes he Yeah, and that guy plays hard, man. Yes, he does. That guy plays really, really hard. And you know the other guy I wanted to shout out was, I was watching a bit of LA, is Alex Turcotte. Yeah, yeah. He's starting to turn it on. Yeah, he's starting to turn it on. Last year, I remember, I think think everybody was wondering what was this guy's future was he going to be a king was you know fifth overall pick was he going to start bouncing

around a little bit and uh someone out there was like no we just got to get him healthy just got to get him healthy and you know sometimes patience is the best thing you know is 8 of 19 right like it just shows how hard patience is but that kid looks like he's he's really starting to go and uh you know the the kings look terrific um a lot of good games like that calgary's had a really tough week, really hard loss to Boston, really hard loss to Ottawa. Allmark is, what did you say, Brady looked like Tom Wilson in Montreal? I had a little bit of that going where, yeah, puck in the face, comes back, didn't throw the face shield on or the full cage, nothing, just kept playing. His face wasn't as wide as Tom Wilson's.

No, but it had some damage. What did he say after on the postgame? I think he said eight or nine stitches and lost a tooth in the process. And it was similar to Wilson where he's reacting to what he looked like in real time there. It was great television. It was great television. Again, the games on Thursday night were excellent.

But I'll say this. I'm really looking forward on Friday night to Buffalo-Toronto and Rangers-Dallas. Those are big, big games. And I guess we're hearing Ottinger's expected to start. So, you know, he got pulled against Toronto. He's going gonna be wired wired for that one okay something else you've been looking into too elliot there's been two instances in the last little while players have been fined for embellishment josh norris and jeff

skinner you don't see that happen too often, certainly within a small window. So what do you read into that? What I read into that is that kind of went off the grid and now it's back. You know what that says to me? John Tortorella isn't the only one who thinks there's too much diving. That says to me the league thinks it's a problem and they're bringing that back. The small fines and the public shaming. Right. Probably worse than the fines.

Yes. You do not want to be, and it affects you. I remember talking to Thomas Placanitz about it. Thomas Placanitz reached a point where he could not get a call in the NHL. Actually, and you know who looks much different compared to maybe the reputation he had built the first few years in the nhl actually and you know who looks much different uh compared to maybe the reputation he had built the first few years in the league tim stutzla this season yep i think travis green talked to him about it when he took the job it's a much different vibe from him on top of his offensive uh brilliance that we're used to seeing.

You know what? That's a good warning because once you get that label, it is very, very hard to change it. Placanet's talked about that once. Interesting. He said, even when I was getting legitimately fouled, they just didn't care. And so, because if you embarrass someone they will remember it the thing about that is so for Norris and Skinner to get that the two thousand dollar fine that means it's the second time and they've got a warning so the fine goes up a thousand dollars

each time you get cited for it once you get the fine reaches five thousand then the coach starts getting fined too now i don't think we've ever yeah i don't think we've ever seen that i i don't remember any instance where that's occurred but i could only imagine how much a coach would love that if they got fine the first coach first coach fine is $2,000. But a coach getting a $2,000 fine because their player's been cited five times for diving. Oof. I can't ever think of a time that's happened. And it probably hasn't.

That feels like an extreme. I can imagine getting fined five times for embellishing. All right, that'll set us up for the final thought, which is brought to you by GMC. We were talking about Toronto a little bit earlier, Elliot. John Tavares. So he's on pace for around 38 goals this season. It would be the second most he has had in one season

in his time with the Leafs. For those that may not have heard, he is also in the final year of his contract. Do you have anything going on here and much about his future there or where things could be headed with player and team? There's been a lot of noise around it this week about how close he may or may not be to a contract extension. extension I don't think it's that close but the one thing I do believe is that the success he's had and his adaptation to a new head coach has really created a lot of optimist optimism that eventually this will get done I don't think it's a front burner thing right now there still is time um and i think the the maple leaves know that he badly wants to stay but i think the the thing that's really happened is everything he's

done this year has come up sevens right um number one look like the maple leaves and tavaris they The Maple Leafs and Tavares, they did a really good job of turning the captaincy decision from or taking it away from John to or elevating Austin Matthews. They clearly had a media strategy there. Some people buy it. Some people don't. But they had a strategy there, and they really explained it well. They talked more about elevating Matthews than taking it away from Tavares. Now, in a market like Toronto, not everybody's going to buy into that. And the other thing too is in a sport full of alpha males, a guy like Tavares, who's got a lot

of pride, you don't last as long as he has and are as successful as he is without having a lot of pride. No matter what he says publicly, it's not an easy thing to go through. And he hasn't pouted. He hasn't moped. He's done his job, and he's done his job very well. He showed up prepared to play, and he's played very well. And I think the other thing, and I heard this from a few places, and I checked it, is that one of the things that about Tavares's game that has

changed I think has been with the subtle influence of his head coach uh Craig Berube and that is that Berube kind of sees um Tavares as he saw Ryan O'Reilly now they're not the same player um they have obviously but they're both they're both really smart um proud hard-working guys like luke gazdik talked about it on wednesday night how he skated with both of them and he understood the comparison like tavaris has scored more than o'reilly ever has but they're both great players in their own way and one of the the things about Berube and O'Reilly was he talked to him about get the puck behind the D. You've got a really strong stick.

You're a really bright guy. You're a really powerful guy. You will win battles and create opportunities. And I think this year he's talked to Tavares about the same thing. Don't worry about beating guys one-on-one as much. I mean, if you can, you can. But look to get it behind the D. your strong stick use your power Tavares is a is a bull of a guy and overpower people and get opportunities and Tavares has bought into that and I think that the Maple Leafs

seeing how a Tavares has performed and b he's bought into a post-captaincy life and what Berube sees it for him, I think is going to open this up. Like, I mean, you never know what's going to happen, but I think it's, it's obviously all the noise this week,

even though I don't think it's close, there is a path there for this now. And unless something goes really off the rails um i think people see a path where where it will eventually get done it's something i really admire about him i mean you mentioned the pride but you know as he's come out of the gate here and put up some really strong numbers this season and he's been asked questions from time to time about the production and you know the idea that maybe this is some kind of resurgence or renaissance. I mean, we've all heard the storylines around in the last couple of years that as he's starting to slow down a little bit, can he still carry enough mail as a top six center?

Would it be better off on the wing? All those sort of things. off on the wing, all those sort of things. And so when he's asked about his success so far this year, there's tell, I mean, he always answers things politely, respectfully, but there is just that idea of like, this is what I've done my entire life is produce score goals. And that's never changed in terms of the belief in myself. And it's just been just been neat to see where, you know, as time continues to go on here, he's a guy that's continued to work at his craft. And as the game has evolved in a way, he's changed with it.

And though it hasn't always gone absolutely perfectly, I think you see a guy who's just continually driven to find answers and solutions to things. And this is kind of bearing the fruit of it here now with how he's come out of the gates this season and the dynamic with Craig Berube, as you highlighted there, I think only helps elevate things for a player that's been doing it for a long, long time and looks to be in a place where he can continue to do so. Well, look at what we started out talking about off this pod by talking about teams that are having challenges adapting on the fly. And maybe

it's easier when it happens in the summer as opposed to in the season. But Tavares is a guy who has shown that he is willing to adapt when circumstances change on you. Adapt or die. That's good advice, Freed. I'll hang on to that. Very good. Also, you had it out there on Thursday. You think it's Matt Murray time in Toronto.

Anthony Stolarz is going to be out for the next little while, four to six weeks after procedure done on his knee. He pitched a shutout for the Marlies on Wednesday. Do you think we'll see him in Buffalo later tonight? It's possible. You know, I, I, I, I kind of wondered if they might wait until after Christmas to do it and let Hildeby have one more start. But on Thursday afternoon, I wasn't so sure.

Murray had a shutout the other night in Wilkes-Barre. I don't think it's out of the question. We'll see. We'll see on Friday morning. All right, that was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll see. We'll see on Friday morning. All right. That was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take our first break. When we come back, it's the Thought Line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Stay with us. Okay, time once again for the thought line, that beautiful intersection of chaos and curiosity.

Before we get to all of that, final reminder, we're getting close to the deadline for submissions for tickets to our live show in canmore coming up on january the 16th at silver tip elliot understand the voicemail has been stocked full of impressions of you or i as uh our loyal listeners have submitted uh in efforts to get tickets uh to this event coming up next month. So we're going to draw. I look forward to hearing them. Can't wait.

By the way, Kyle, I had a couple more submissions. Brian Boucher, the current commentator and former NHL goalie, apparently was on an episode of the Goldbergs, the great Jeff Garlin. My wife loves that show. Goldberg's the great Jeff Garlin my wife loves that show and I was sent a clip of George McPhee in Who's the Boss no way yeah you're too young for that but that was a big show with Alyssa Milano and Tony Danza in the 80s my sisters love loved that show. Yes. I can see why. Those are some awesome pickups.

Yeah, I would not have gotten either of those two. All right, so we'll keep that tally going and begin our thought line today with Byron from Waterloo, Ontario. Hi, Kyle, Elliot, and Dom. Just a quick question about IR and cap space. I know you have answered this before, but I still don't have a solid understanding of it. That's okay.

Nobody else does either. That's right. I feel the same way half the time. When teams place players on injured reserve, do they accrue that player's salary cap as space? So with the Leafs placing Anthony Stolarz and IR retroactive to December the 12th, for example, does that then grant them cap space in the amount of salary that he would earn while he

is on IR? Let's say he would earn 10K for argument's sake during that time. Would the team then gain 10K in cap space? If not, what's the point of IR in the first place? Thanks, guys. what's the point of IR in the first place? Thanks, guys. Okay, so I'm going to make this even more confusing. There is regular IR and there is LTIR, regular IR and long-term injury reserved. For IR, there's no cap space accrual unless you're under the cap already, okay?

That's, like, IR is about creating a roster space before the trade deadline it's a 23 man roster you can't go over 23 but sometimes somebody gets hurt they're not going to be out for a long period of time maybe a few games but you are at the maximum 23 players and you need space to bring someone up. That's when you put someone on IR. That's what that is. That is simply a mechanism to activate somebody for a game or two. LTIR, if you put someone on there, they're out for a minimum of 10 games and 24 days. That's what LTIR is. It is a more long-term thing. And if the team is in LTIR, you're not accruing cap space. That means you're over the limit, like a lot of teams are, and you're using that to at least fill out your roster. So in order to accrue cap space,

you have to be under the cap. That's the way it works. As my seventh grade math teacher would say, clear as mud. Yes, yes. I hope I didn't make that worse. No, that was a good explainer and a good question from Byron

because it can easily get confusing up next Nora and Greg they write my 10 year old daughter who's in her first year of playing hockey had an interesting question she asked what would happen if someone scored their third goal and all the hats are coming on the ice and then the goal was waved off for some reason has that ever happened love the pod i've trained myself to listen to y'all at one and a half speed so i can fit every episode into my schedule go canes i'm going to i'm going to tell i'm going to tell you that's not the first time i've ever heard that i've had people in the league tell me that they listen to it at one and a half speed because

you draw on too long and you talk too slow. That's what, that's what, not you, me. I'm not referring to you, Kyle. I'm saying it's me they're referring to, not you. The you is me in this particular case. So you're not the only one. There's a there's definitely a community of that um i can't think of situations off the top of my head where it has so you know okay yeah so hit me what do you what do you remember well there's one like in the playoffs a couple years ago joel erickson had a hat trick called off because of an offside review and then kaprizov later in the game i think he scored an empty netter to complete his hat trick that one counted and somehow there was still some hats left in the building and oh yeah after that i remember that now now this one i had to look up

but it this has to be the all-timer so in 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks were hosting the Penguins. They had a promo that night, Elliot. They were handing out red construction hard hats as giveaways with the Blackhawks logo on it. Jonathan Taves scored what appeared to be a hat trick, and you can only imagine what then littered the ice 10 000 plastic hard hats but the goal is called back this oh because of a high stick so you have all these promotional giveaway hard hats littering the ice they're swept up and it's all for naught

that may be the most famous one or the most unique. That's a tough one for the team too because you probably have fans saying, I'd like my hard hat back, but how on earth do you do that properly? Do you just hand them out at the exits? Do you do a second promotional night? Talk about a no-win situation. Some fans that relate to the game that didn't get them on the way in get them on the way out yeah you know and i could see yeah i mean then

again the team could argue if you throw the hat it wasn't that valuable in the first place to you although it is a hat trick and you want to be part of the celebration good job kyle good research the only one and we talked about this on the pod, I can't remember if I talked about it this year or last year, was Doug Gilmore's 1,000th point. And he got it as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Edmonton Oilers. And they had permission for a celebration.

Players were allowed to go off the bench. And they had a a show prepared and it was an 8-1 game and he gets the thousandth point and it got disallowed like i can't remember what it was way back then this is the 90s i can't remember what it was way back then that the goal got disallowed so then in the same game it was so lopsided he got it anyway so they had the second celebration like that's the only one I could think of. Great work, Kyle. Glad to see we could answer the question,

and you could do it properly. Yeah, I think there's been more than those two, but those were ones that came to my head. That's a fun one. Great work. Thank you. Don't hear that often. I'll take it.

Todd in Montana. Hello, Kyle and Dom. Sk't hear that often. I'll take it. Todd in Montana. Hello, Kyle and Dom. Skull Vikings, Elliot. Yes. You know what? I got contacted by the Vikings Club Canada. I got to do something with that. There's a club in Canada?

Oh, yeah. Just for you? No, no. It's for the people who are Vikings fans in Canada. It's basically i know but just under a different name yes in this case when i said you i meant you as the collective we're having trouble with you in this podcast so far yes okay todd writes due to injuries trades and other assorted weirdness my colorado avalananche will have used 36 different skaters and goalies

after the game against Vancouver this week, with eight of them making their NHL debut. This seems like a large amount, and it makes me wonder what NHL team has used the largest number of players in one season. We had to go to the experts on this one as you can well imagine okay what did the experts say at sports net stats the 9192 boston bruins they have the record for most skaters or goalies used in a season all time 55 oh i was gonna guess that's okay yeah no you didn't blow it.

You didn't know I was going to do that. I was going to say above or below 50. 55, eh? That's crazy. Yes. 91, 92 Bruins? They have the most. They have the most.

Let's see. I'm looking at this here. I'm looking at 13. Some more recent examples. Both the Leafs and the Jackets each had 47 in the 22-23 season. Hmm. 47. 55.

I'm looking at this now. Lots of trades that year. That's what really helped. It looks like they made like six or seven trades that year that's what really it looks like they made like six or seven trades that year they traded they all Craig Janney deal that was for Adam Oates yep they traded Brent Ashton away they traded Gary Galley away that's addition to by subtraction they traded oh man I want to see if he listens they traded Chris Nyland away they traded Nevin Mark Ward away they traded the God Gord Murphy yeah there's a lot of trades that year a lot of

trades there's a lot of guys like Jack Capuano two games they use four different goalies wow I never would have got that brief cameo good work here yeah good work uh sports 55 could you imagine that like the guys who played 80 games that year Ray Bork played 80 games Valimir Rozichka played 77 steve leach played 78 glenn wesley played 78 don sweeney played 75 can you imagine what you're like if you're one of those four or five guys and just a constant rotating cast of people around you between that the coach is trying to figure out lineups also the equipment staff the amount of different names you have to stitch onto the jerseys the name plates all right who's coming on the road trip? Who do we got to worry about for their gear?

They're like Roberto Duran. No Moss, no Moss. I can't take this anymore. Okay, up next, Mark from Connecticut. We've seen a couple scenarios where teams have had to start with an emergency goalie already as their backup. So what would happen in the game if the opposing team's goalies left the game due to injury what is the protocol for having extra

e-bugs around well i'll tell you this that if you noticed on saturday night when zach deets who was the e-bug for the injured forsberg in the uh ottawa pittburgh game, he does not sit on the bench. Technically, the e-bug is not able to be on one team. He has to wait in a neutral room, which is where he was. And there were some great pictures of his girlfriend coming down and watching the game with him. And they took a couple of selfies together. So at that point in time, even though the e-bug is dressed, he's not a member of either team because in theory, Allmark could play the whole game healthy

and the goaltender could get hurt for Pittsburgh. And the e-bug has to be prepared to go on for either team. So that's the way the e-bug thing works. Like even though Ottawa only goes with one goalie because Forsberg gets hurt like literally a half hour before the game, the e-bug technically does not yet belong to the Senators until he's activated. Right. And fortunately, there hasn't been a situation

where they've had to worry about two e-bugs in the same game. Well, the closest thing to it was the low was the Luongo thing. Right. Or remember he, he went and he came back from the hospital. That was incredible. Oh, poor Al Montoya. Like can't even move the poor guy. And Luongo's in his clothes and he's gone to the hospital and he

comes back and he gets dressed. That was such a such a crazy night that that night was completely insane so that's the closest thing to it but technically the e-bug is not a senator or a penguin until he enters the game right very good andrew from maple ridge i like this one hi kyle dom and Elliot. I think I have an interesting possible addition to the Hockey Hall of Fame. So UFC inducts individual fights into their Hall of Fame. I was wondering if you think the Hockey Hall of Fame could do something similar and induct games or playoff series into a new wing.

What games or series would you like to see get recognized if this was ever possible? Love the concept. I think it's a great idea. I'm with you. I think that's a great idea. Why not? Why not?

I don't see anything against that. So there would be the obvious international games that you would have to think would be considered if you were to create something like this. I also think about Team North America versus Sweden in 2016. I don't know if we're ever going to see something like that again, like the collection of players and how they came together. And obviously the hockey was just unbelievable as well. You know what the funniest thing was about that was um matt duchene uh was on that team

and we did a live hit with him and uh and he said like we can tell that you guys are cheering for the north american team to play against us and that was true because fin had to beat Russia for the North Americans to play Canada in the playoffs. And I went on at the top of the broadcast and I was like, I know this isn't the right thing for me to do, but I am cheering for Finland in this game. I want North America to play Canada. And he said, and I spoke to him later, he said the players were laughing about it, like how we just openly wanted that game. That would have been great. I'm still like, eight years later, almost nine years later, I am still mad that we were robbed of that entertainment. It was like a tiebreaker thing, right, that ultimately knocked him out. It was so close from happening. As you say, you just needed one extra result, and you would have got it. Any playoff series come to mind for you, Elliot, that you would go,

I would like that immortalized forever? I would take the Pittsburgh-Washington series where Crosby and Ovechkin had the dueling hat tricks. Oh, great, yeah. That was a great series. Just a great a great series just a great great series i'm sure like if you spoke to fans out there about epic series they will never forget um that would be one of them i mean toronto la when gretzky had the all-time incredible game seven um i guarantee you fans of this podcast if we were to submit ask them

i think we've asked for enough content lately with the invitations we're asking for on the weekend but if we were to open this up to fans to say hey um what what's a playoff series or a game that you would want to see from your favorite team in the hall of fame like with special in a special wing i guarantee we get like 10 000 submissions like there's there are so many series that would be so meaningful to so many of these fans like the san jose fans would never want to see it but la coming back from three nothing philly coming back from 3-0, Philly coming back from 3-0. You know, the first two teams ever to do it, the Islanders over Pittsburgh in the 70s, Toronto over Detroit in the 1942 Stanley Cup.

I mean, you mentioned the international ones. Like, what would you put? Like, what would your series be? Yeah, I thought about that. I mean, Vancouver-Boston in 2011 was a hell of a one. Like, one of those Colorado-Detroit series in the 90s, all the drama that fell out from there. I mean, I was a Mighty Ducks fan growing up because like, as you say, you know,

depending on where your allegiance lies, certainly would have an impact on what would be top of mind. But even like in 2003, when they swept Detroit who are the defending champions I mean that was a sweep I know but it was just so unexpected and out of nowhere I was like oh my gosh like the Ducks just swept the wings in the first round of the playoffs that's always stuck in my mind but again I was a big Paul Correa guy growing up so naturally it had a bit more meaning than some of the other ones, but there's some great ones to choose from. Even the cup final.

So was Paul Correa your favorite player? Was he your favorite player growing up? Yeah, I wore nine because of him. Do you think that you guys were comparable players? Oh, God, no. No, but I actually, that came out worse than I intended it to, but did you model your game after him? Did you try to play like korea played no i i mean because he was speedy left shot winger i was slow right shot

in a center so like the complete opposite in every which way but still adored him hey there's nothing wrong with that he's a a great player. Great player. Great player. All right, we'll wrap with this. Mason from Montreal. Hello, Elliot, Kyle, and Dom. Writing to you guys as I watch my Habs absolutely dismantle the Sabres. Yeah, that was a rough one this week. Patrick Lyonnet recorded a hat trick on three power play goals, which got me wondering a few pressing questions.

How many times has this happened to the nhl is linea the first player to do it in the history of the montreal canadians and is there a player who is an all-time leader in power play goal hat tricks i feel like it's probably ovi but who knows thanks for all you guys do i'm a huge fan of the pod while i have your attention i want to give a special shout out to elliot an absolute gentleman who i and my 100 pound golden doodle buster had the pleasure of crossing paths with last april when i was flying out of the fort lauderdale airport he even revealed to me that sometimes he records pod segments from the shower, which I found quite interesting and relatable.

So like you wasted no time in this intro last April getting to the shower segments of the pod. Like I'm just picturing like, excuse me, Elliot, my name's Mason. I'm a huge fan and I watch all the time. And you're like, oh, it's great to meet you. By the way, sometimes I record podcast segments in my shower. Like how quickly did you get to that that's amazing I don't remember the conversation but I have been asked before if when we used to do those interludes that it happened a lot in the playoffs or something really happened late at night I would like I would be in bed and I'd get a text and I'd either text whether it was Amal before it was Dom now I'd say I got to throw something in there and I didn't want to go downstairs so I would go into the shower in our

bedroom and I would just say it so I can't remember how it came up but and then and then and and then it would be you know somebody would ask me like where was that and I would say it was in the shower so people have asked me before were you really in your shower? So that might've been how it came up. Okay. I just love the idea of that. It's great. And you know, hey, like we're in our hotel.

Sometimes that happens too. No water running though. Did you look this one up? Did Sportsnet stats look this up for us? They sure did. So, and of course it has happened before. Do you have any idea how many times and here's so i'm looking at and it's a bit of a broader potentially criteria it's it's instances of player scoring three power play goals in a game so maybe they had four total that game but a hat trick of power play goals in one game i i would have wondered if the

if the record was like one of those oilers whether it it was Gretzky or Curry or Glenn Anderson or something like that. But Ovi is a great guess. Is it Ovi? Is he the correct answer? No. Wait, wait, wait, wait. When? How many?

Give me the numbers and then we'll go for the person. Okay. All right. all right so in total there have been 137 instances that a player has scored three power play goals a hat trick of power play goals in one game two players have done it four times four times yeah well the most famous one i think of and i can't remember if they were all on the power play and it was in the playoffs too i believe was maurice richard's five goal game ah and if i'm not mistaken and people will let me know if i if i am i believe that that five goal game where richard scored was the reason that the rule was changed for power plays to be over

after someone scored right what was that team that caused the change. But he's not at the top of this list. Okay, so four guys have three career power play goal hat tricks? No. Two players have done this four times. Okay. Not even close. Look, scroll.

Okay. What era are we talking about here? Predominantly 80s and 2000s the yachts okay would would uh would it be taimush salani no so the first one yeah tail end of the 70s but you think of this player when you think of the 80s? Lanny McDonald. No. What team? It'll give it away. Well, I mean, I'm not getting it.

So let's do it. The Islanders. Oh, Mike Bossy? Correct. That's idiotic. I should have nailed that one right away. That's terrible I didn't get that one. 2000s?

Yes. I'm going to go with... Solani was my first guess. Joe Sackick. No. All right, we got to record the Christmas holiday episode, so I can't waste any more time. Who is it?

Give me the team. Give me the team. Okay. Well, I'll tell you who they were drafted by. Atlanta. Kobolchuk? Yes. Oh, wow.

That's a great question. I probably wouldn't have gotten them, but they both make sense. I should have gotten Bossy. It's actually quite embarrassing I didn't get Bossy. That's okay. Oh, and he also asked if Laine was the first Canadian to do it. He wasn't.

13 of these instances have involved Canadians players. LeFleur? They've got a history of it. Surely he's done it. He wasn't. 13 of these instances have involved a Canadian's player. LeFleur? They've got a history of it. Surely he's done it. Yeah. Maurice Richard. Know that. Mason, thank you.

And thank you to everyone again who wrote in at 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. There's also where you can live a voicemail 1-833-311-3232. We'll wrap up the podcast

and get you set for the weekend after the break. Okay, welcome back. Elliot, before we go, we've talked a number of times throughout this season about Conor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks, as they continue to work through things, the Macklin-Celebrini effect down in San Jose. You had some thoughts on two young players that are navigating their respective waters here

through the early stages of the year? Well, Celebrini, I mean, I'm not the only one who's been talking about this, but he's becoming appointment television. And, you know, they were up 2-1 after 2 against Colorado on Thursday night. They just don't know how to close games yet, right? Like, they're still learning, and especially, like, that Colorado team, that's a team with a lot of talent, but they're becoming appointment television.

Like you can see the hope in San Jose. You know, the thing about Bedard, it's been a really tough year for him. They're getting their new coach bounce. Three in a row, they beat Seattle on Thursday night. You can see, even though he had a pointless game, he's been starting to go a bit here. He played 20 minutes in that win over the Kraken.

These are kind of the stars that you hope are carrying. I've been thinking about this this week, Kyle. There's been a lot of NBA bashing this week. Their ratings are going through a tough time. I love my basketball. I'm not one of those, please like my sport guys. I don't like people like that. You can, you can like everything. You don't have to like one or the other, but I do think one of the things that's kind of happened, um, you know, with the NBA is that I think that, you know, Curry and, and, and LeBron, they've dominated for so long. I think the new younger players are having a difficult time

taking the mantle from them. I think that's one of the issues they've got there. And so I watch Celebrini. I think Celebrini is already like hockey fans out there are already getting on to this guy. They're like, oh, this is a guy I'm going to have to watch. And I think they want to be the same way with Bedard. At the start of the year, it was really hard for him.

But I think watching him lately, winning makes everybody feel better. And the Blackhawks have a long way to go. But you can definitely see, at least in the short term, that he's having a bit more fun with the Ws. And just in a week where I was thinking about reading a lot of NBA think pieces and talking about the young stars and how hard they're finding it to grab the mantle of the league, I was trying to take some extra time

to watch Celebrini and Bedard this week. Well, it is perfect timing that you bring up those two players because, Elliot, Saturday, look at the lineup of hockey on Sportsnet's family of channels alone. So at 4 o'clock Eastern, 2 Mountain, you've got two games to choose from. On the Sportsnet main channel, the Sharks are in Edmonton, and on Sportsnet 1, Bedard and the Blackhawks are in Calgary.

So those are the mid-afternoon snacks. I have to do afternoon hits into those games too, so I will be watching. And you can tune in for Elliott and the intermissions as a bonus. So as you settle into full-on holiday schedules, that gets you started on Saturday. Then the usual lineup, 6.30 Eastern, Hockey Central Saturday, three early games again this weekend.

The Islanders are in Toronto, Detroit and Montreal, and Minnesota in Winnipeg. That always generates some sparks and fireworks. That's the best game we'll be getting. Yes. On our network. That's the game. To finish off Hockey Night in Canada, the final one

before the holiday break, your Ottawa Senators, Elliot, are in Vancouver to face the Canucks. That's going to be a great game too, actually. I still got to give the edge to Minnesota-Winnipeg, but that's going to be Ottawa-Vancouver will be a great game. Plenty to keep an eye on.

Travis Green's not allowed to put money on the board, but if he could, how much do you think he'd put on the board? Ooh. And him and Talkett are super tight yes they are they talk hockey a lot i don't know would 5k be appropriate no that's not enough that's a joke come on travis don't be alligator army jeez we can't all live in the elliot friedman tax bracket oh i got news for you i think my tax bracket is not as high as his come on travis if you could it's got to be at least 10k all right so the gauntlet's been laid for the late game saturday night uh in vancouver lots to keep you

busy here this weekend as we inch closer to the holiday season but we will as elliot alluded earlier in the pod talk to you again on monday between now and then enjoy the weekend thank you again for tuning in to 32 thoughts