32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Friedman Crowns His Most Exciting Team

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin the podcast by highlighting the electric play of the Montreal Canadiens. Elliotte adds to the Lane Hutson contract extension (11:39). The fellas highlight Bo Horvat's unique hat-trick on Thursday night (16:51) and Carolina being the last remaining undefeated team (21:40). Kyle brings up Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar's interview with TNT and how exciting Chicago looks (23:46). Kyle and Elliotte talk about the Ottawa Senators and Brady Tkachuk's thumb surgery that'll have him out 6-8 weeks (31:09). The guys check in with Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann and a possible fresh-start (35:31). They talk about the LA Kings losing Anze Kopitar on Thursday (41:08). Elliotte provides his notes coming out of the BOG's in New York including updates on the "cap-stuff" and where the game is going internationally (43:02). The Final Thought focuses on Carter Hart signing with the Vegas Golden Knights (54:26).Kyle and Elliotte answer your emails and voicemails in the Thoughtline (1:01:37).Today we highlight Montreal artist Meggie Lennon her song Vicious Cycle. Check it out here. 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

I will never forget hearing more than one person out of maybe 3,000 in total, yelling, Hey, Milbury, signed the monkey. He's better than any of these bums. In fairness, Jack was a pretty smooth skater for a champion. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, Elliot, Kyle, Dom, back with you. Lots to get to here on this Friday morning. The thought line back again, of course. We are 10 days in to the 25, 26 season.

in here, Fridge. We've seen some games that, I don't know, kind of look like an extension of the preseason a little bit. There's been some heavyweight tilts and there's been some wild finishes throughout it as well. Some absolute bangers, chart topping bangers through the first little bit. And I hope you like Toronto Seattle matchups because we have a weekend full of it on the diamond and on the ice as well. Where's your mind at through the first week and a half? of the new year. That's actually kind of funny that we were looking at that game, Toronto, Seattle on a Saturday night, and we're thinking who came up with that one?

And now it's right in the middle of the American League Championship Series. Yes. Well, last week... Which may believe, do you think, will yell at Barubei not to come off the ice like Scher did with John Schneider on Thursday night? Well, if Nealander was more of a yeller, I would say him. That's a good call. Yeah, that's right.

He wouldn't yell at Peruvay. He'd just ignore him and keep skating. Right. I could see like a Jake McCabe on a penalty kill calling for fresh legs. And he's like, I'm not going anywhere. Get back in the dugout. Yeah. Yes.

Well, because it's funny, last weekend, we're watching Game 5 of Tigers Mariners and thought, geez, if Detroit wins, we've got Lease Red Wings on Saturday, and then game one would have been Tigers J's on the Sunday. And then now we get kind of... Lease Red Wings played again on Monday, too. Exactly. And now we get the combo of hockey and baseball this weekend instead. So what we've got to do is see, is anybody playing the Kings next week?

The Lease and the Cracken? Who gets them first? Because that'll tell us who's going to win the ALCS. I don't like any of them. Oh, that's too bad. It could have been like Fritzker win $1.4 million betting. Sorry, Elliot. That one's right over my head.

Oh, the Illinois governor had declared a million. dollars in gambling wins. That story's not fishy. Anyway, as you know, from speaking to me over the years, I try to pick one game and zero in on it. And when it either gets lost or it gets boring, I'll switch to another game. Do you know who's number one on my watchability list nine days end of the season, 10 days end of the season? My guess is either Anah or Montreal. It's Montreal. Anaheim's a good guess, but it is Montreal. If they're on TV and I'm sitting down and watching, Montreal is the team that I am picking. I think they're the most entertaining team to watch in the league right now, particularly when they're at home. I think

I think there's a new group of teams. I think San Jose is really fun to watch because it's a It's like river hockey, but they are fun to watch. They're really skilled. Anaheim, I agree with you. They are fun to watch. Chicago has taken a big step this week, the way they pounded St. Louis the other night. And that was not a fluke pounding. That was a legitimate 1975, my dad giving me the strap pounding.

That was not a fluke. that was very very impressive but right now number one particularly when they're at home Montreal and the thing about it is you cannot turn the channel in the last few minutes because you know they're coming they did it against Seattle on Tuesday they did it on Nashville on Thursday and I'll say this too. Adam Oates always said to me when Adam Oates speaks I listen because he's forgotten more about hockey than I'll ever know but one of the things he talks about is the value of a player who can do who can win a puck battle on their own and he says there's always a big difference between winning a puck battle

and tying a puck battle because if the best you can do is tie a puck battle then someone else has to help you come and come get the puck you're not winning it you're tying it and then someone else has to help you get out of it if you can't either break away with it yourself or get it to someone who could move the winning goal people will look at the pass by Suzuki they will look at the goal by Caulfield all of that is incredible but the guy who really makes that play is Matheson he takes on two predators and he beats them both or at least you can say you can even argue he ties them but he ties two guys and then Suzuki comes gets the pocket and Caulfield is wide open.

So when I see that play, I think Adam Oates, and I think the real hero on that play is Matheson, even though Suzuki and Caulfield have to close it. And I'll tell you something else, Kyle. I don't know if your team USA going to the Olympics, I don't know how Caulfield isn't at worst, at worst, your 13th forward. Well, Thursday night, Elliot, he became the fastest player in NHL history to record 10 career overtime goals.

Did it in 292 games played. Frank Finnegan had the previous mark at 304. Like Frank Finnegan 1928, Frank Finnegan? Has there been another one? Not that I'm aware of. So we're going back 100 years, right? Yeah. So.

stood up a long time. Frank had a great run. Is Frank Finnegan eligible for the 2026 U.S. Olympic team, as far as you can tell, Kyle? No, I think they've got to go to the next best available, and that may be Cole Cawfield, to your point. I just don't know how you don't put that guy on the team. You look back at the 2014 Olympics, the Americans needed one more goal, at least to tie Canada. And I'll always say this in 2014, in that semi-final game against Canada, that Canadian team was so good defensively.

That's the best defensive hockey team I've ever seen. They could still be playing that game and the U.S. would never score. That was a one-nothing game and I never thought the Canadians were in danger. In the Four Nations, Bittington stoned them, he beat them. But one shot. I would want Caulfield If I needed one goal to win

I would want Coffield on my roster Because there's a very short list of players in the league Whereas you say if it's a one shot type deal Or who's a guy that doesn't need a lot of space That can do it under pressure Later in games Yeah Not many guys or you go

So, yep, consistently, I'm comfortable with them in that spot. But he would be one of them. He has become one of them. And the bigger the moment, the better he gets. Interesting thing, too, about Matheson. Matheson got put in the background a bit contract-wise this year. I don't think it was easy for him. Like, if you've dealt with Mike Matheson, you know he's very easy to deal with, very professional, very easy going.

But you don't make it to this level without being competitive. I talk about you need two personalities. You need your real personality. And if you're a really nice, decent, polite, friendly person, you kind of have to unlock your other personality when you're on the ice, right? Or you're doing whatever you do out there in life that you're competitive at. Sometimes you just have to say that, take that nice guy or nice woman, And stuff them into the corner and say, now it's time for the competitive side to come out.

And so, like, I saw that guy there on that overtime winner play. And I don't think it was easy for Matheson. I think he kind of got told, and it's obvious by the evidence, we have to take care of Dobson first. We have to take care of Hudson second. I know this is tough to hear, but you're our third priority on the blue line. Well, now it's his time. And the general manager here, Hughes, is his longtime representative. So it's, you know there's a relationship there.

It's business, but it's also a personal relationship. I just have to think if Matheson wants to stay, he's probably, it's like Hughes. someone said to me there's a really good story to be written about what that meeting was like between Hughes and Hudson and what went on in there and obviously Hudson at the end because he wanted to be a Canadian and he wanted to be there he bent to what the Canadians wanted to do with the contract and the CRA which is fine totally fine Matheson is going to have to fit this within the Canadian structure but I have to believe that there's a way to get this done. And that play in overtime, that shows his value. Yeah, I think if you saw off a battle in the corner when you're one on two, that's like a win to go back to the Adam Oates theory earlier. I guess on that note, because it was mere hours after our last,

pod drop that the eight-year deal for Hudson was official at 8.85. Is there anything further you want to add to how that all came together? I mean, you were talking nine-ish for a while and for it to come in a little underneath. So it happened, you know, the Canadians in Hudson did a really good job of taking it out of the public eye as it started to go off the rails. It's obvious the key was that meeting face-to-face on the Saturday and clearly, what's clear to me is the Canadians wanted a chance to sit down with Hudson and say to him, this is how this tax benefit works, and this is why it can get it done.

I think at the end of the day, the player just wanted to sign. it was like I never believe that the kid didn't want to be there I never believe that the Canadians didn't want it to happen but I think that because of how they envisioned all of this happening the Canadians wanted it to occur on their terms it had to happen the way they envisioned it happening and they got it done I don't know if it would have happened

with every player, but Hudson's a young guy. He's only been in the NHL a short time. He wanted to be a Canadian. Like I said, someone told me there's a great chapter of a book to be written about, you know, what that meeting was like. And while Ken Hughes was meeting with Lane Hudson, Jeff Gorton probably had thrown Darren Ferris into a car trunk somewhere so he couldn't get involved. And that's why they both got extensions later in the week. Well, that's right.

Hughes and Gordon. Yeah, that's a big win for Montreal, too. Those guys have done a really good job there. They clearly work very well together, very well together. And you have to give Jeff Moulson a lot of credit because that's not an inexpensive front office. Right, no question. But you think about all the questions on where this franchise was headed. Was there even a rudder in place at one point when they were going through some massive changes coming out of that shortened season where, you know, the unlikely run to a Stanley Cup final?

and then the fallout afterwards and some key players, the injuries ultimately overcoming their ability to continue to play. They still got a long ways to go to ultimately see this thing through. But over the last couple of years, it's been quite remarkable where, I mean, they took some shots at the draft. And on a couple of instances, David Reimbacker still waiting to see.

how does that play out as he gets healthy again and continues to grow and just get a little bit older but boy you're run down whether it's picks transactions who they brought in since they came aboard as a guy that was a player agent for the longest time coming in to be a GM bringing in the coach they did at that time

and the experiment that they were taking on there there's a lot to be excited about now in Montreal to say nothing of as you say just the style of play that we're seeing on the ice through their first five games of the year that kid to geronovsky who's playing in russia right now a few people like i don't see a lot of these guys i don't know the prospects as i can see there's a lot better from jason buckel and sam cosentino at our place on down to a lot of other really good prospect reporters elsewhere to there's not anybody I know who doesn't think that that kid's going to be a big hit as well. And they got him in the second round. But they're number one on my watchability list right now. And who can tear themselves away from watching them? No, it's can't miss right now.

By the way, congratulations. Your first few days of carrying the in-season cup has arrived. Yes. Winnipeg and Victoria against Nashville. on Saturday, so I will care. I know, it's great. They can't lose matchups in the in-season cup. I'm convinced nobody has more of those than you.

You would think it would help me win. Yes, that's right. Unfortunately, it hasn't guaranteed anything yet. So that was a great game to watch. I mean, a big one for the Islanders, their first win of the year. Bo Horvatt, by the way. Did you see the hat trick that he stacked up?

One short-handed. One on the power play, and then the empty net late to seal it. And someone reached out to you asking about how rare that feat is. Am I right in thinking that? That is correct. The tweeter was a gentleman named Frank. How many hat tricks have there been all time like the one Horvatt just had? The natural hatty was shorthanded goal, power play goal, and empty net gold.

have an answer yet. Okay. So in terms of not necessarily a natural hat trick, but a hat trick that featured a powerplay shorty and empty net, more times than I would have thought. Really? Yeah. Do you want the number? Yeah.

74. 74. Really? Yeah. I never would have guessed that. However, we have to mention Mario Lemieux. Of course. Because Mario Lemieux had the ultimate.

And that was New Year's Eve, 1989, December 31st, 1988. He is the only player in NHL history to have an even strength goal, a power play goal, a short-handed goal, a penalty shot, and an empty net goal. They beat the devils. They had eight goals that. night he scored five of them and as impressive as bull horvats feet was on thursday night mario lemieux five goals five ways unbelievable incredible incredible i remember watching the highlights of that in a very different era four highlights watching that and with my jaw a gape.

Yes. God, I never thought I'd see this. And how was the video quality back then? You know what? It wasn't bad. You know, the highlight shows, the global sports line was probably where we watched it. Although it was New Year's Eve.

So, like, obviously, I can't remember the exact circumstances of we watched it. Like, they might not have had a New Year's Eve show back then. They might have thrown it to, Dick Clark's rocking New Year's Eve, and we didn't have. But when I remember seeing the highlights whenever we saw them. Probably January 3rd. Yeah. Right.

And you're looking at this, and you cannot believe this guy is human. So before Horvatt did that on Thursday, actually, Ryan Nugent Hopkins accomplished that feat in March of last year. So it wasn't even that long ago since the last time it happened. Boy, we have short memories. I think because of what Lemieux did, I'm just not as impressed by this. Hadrick, three goals, three like that. Yeah, but naturally,

your mind does automatically go to, well, two away still from matching what Mario did all those years ago. So Steve Fallon, who was kind enough to look into this for us, late at night. He never, he always digs a little deeper. Hey, like you ask him, hey,

what's going on here he'll give you the answer and then go oh and by the way there's also this so he answered my initial question about the horvatt hatrick and then he comes back and says however this was the second time beau horvatt has scored a power play short-handed goal and empty-neck goal in the same game in his career is he the leader of players have done this multiple times Bernie Nichols Brendan Shanahan who's got the most Bernie Nichols, Brennan Shanahan. Do you want to guess? No.

There's, I mean, it's, it's so out there. Like, it could be anybody. Sure. Okay. So the six other players that have done it multiple times. Bernie Nichols, Brennan Shanahan, Danny Heatley, Sebastian Ajo, Theo Fleury, and Wayne Gretzky at the top did it three times.

Oh. Okay. So Gretzky's the record holder, three? Yeah. One of his 60 or 61 records, whatever it is. I guess I should have guessed him. Add it to the list. By the way, Carolina, last undefeated team in the NHL,

beat Anaheim Thursday night. They've got Kings on Saturday. They've got Vegas on. on Monday, they've got Colorado on Thursday and Dallas next Saturday. What are the chances you think they're 8 and 0? I'm not one to bet against Rod Brindamore, but that's a bit of a murderer's row next week for them. I still think they come out above 500, but there may be one out. 500 I would say one L in there above 500 they're four and O with four games to go they'd have to lose all four no no no no no no you are gutless no no no all I'm saying is that of the games you laid out that's to come oh that's not what you said not for the entire season record I was going above 500 they're four no no I think there'll be one L mixed in there of what you just laid out so you think they're going three and one

yeah who do they lose to kings Vegas Colorado or Dallas Colorado I hope that Rod Brindamore puts that up on his chalkboard next Thursday says my Campbell River buddy thinks we're going to choke in this game No, Elliot, I believe only your comments would coaches or general managers ever use as bulletin board material in their dressing groups.

They don't waste their time with mine. And that Kyle Bacoskis is a story for another day. Also, Elliot, just going back to what you said earlier about Chicago being an exciting team to watch fitting that mold here. here early on. So the interview that Connor Bedard and Frank Nasar did with the TNT crew after that game against St. Louis the other night, they beat up on them eight to three. First off, that was if you're a Hawks fan, you were salivating, seeing those two guys there and talk about things the way that they did.

It was interesting that like unprompted, they brought up the Winter Classic game last year. That was the first thing I thought about because so I was still in New York on. on Wednesday night and I went to watch the ball game for a while and then I went back to my hotel room to watch the end of that hockey game and I watched that interview live and that it was a really good interview but the thing that stood out to me was exactly that because you and I were at that outdoor game it was a terrible performance and that was the game where Kyle Davidson went into the clubhouse the Wrigleyfield Clubhouse post game chewed out the Blackhawks for how poorly they'd played. By the way, and yes, if there was ever a place that you're going to get chewed out by your general manager, I don't know if there's much better than the Chicago Cubs clubhouse. That place was spectacular. I agree. Anyway, I agree. You know, I got chewed out in this room for how lousy I played. It was pretty cool. Yeah, I see where you're coming from. Yeah, on that one. But it was, it was interesting how the two of them brought that up. And do you remember what,

one of the things that Kyle Davidson said to us when we interviewed us that when we interviewed him that week he talked about how Bedard is always asking about the prospects right yes and now you see Nazar and you see Renzel and not all those prospects are going to hit you know some of them are going to be misses that's just the way it goes and and still the the Blackhawks have a long way to go. It's just the way it works. But that game that night, like I think St. Louis is good. I think St. Louis is a good team. And they embarrassed them. And of course, they're remembering what happened last year.

And I thought it was a real source of pride for them. And Bedard looks like a different player in a lot of ways. You know, last year, there were a lot of. lot of people questioning Bedard publicly and privately. I think he took a lot of criticism and not just from like fans and media. I think it was other people in the game, other players. Some of them were blunt about it. Others were more whispery about it.

But they, you could see they felt that he had a lot he needed to show. and you know sometime i'm going to ask him how much of that he really knew but it strikes me by the way that he's acting and showing a bit more attitude i think he was pretty well aware of it and you know he's battling for every inch of ice and respect and it's going to get harder that's just the way it is as you know when you beat st louis eight to three people notice right they're like oh okay you know we better be ready for this. And that's a good thing because it shows you're gaining respect

and it shows you're going to get people's better games. But, you know, he's been very quiet about the working out he did in the off-season. One of the things I've heard is that it wasn't like anything he did was revolutionary or completely different or anything like that, but it was streamlined. Like I think when he looked at some of the

stuff he was doing in the past like he was it was it was like a lot of it was being done it was it was I don't want to say it was without purpose but I heard one of the things about it was that it wasn't it wasn't a good plan like he'd be out there and doing things and what they couldn't answer was what is the goal of this what are you trying to accomplish here? Are you just doing a lot of things that may not add up together or aim in the proper direction? And I heard that's what this summer was about as much as anything else. The training we're doing, does it make sense? Am I doing too much of it? Am I optimizing what I'm doing? Does it all work in the proper direction? And so clearly it's made an early season difference. I,

I think to, you know, Danny Wirtz, who runs the Blackhawks, has been doing a lot of interviews. And it seems to me like we're heading in the direction of a Kyle Davidson extension. It sounds like that's where we're going. I don't believe it's done yet. But it sounds like we're going in that direction. I've been hearing a little bit about it. And what I think it says is, like the Blackhawks,

may not win a ton of games this year, but the difference between them now and what they were last year or two years ago is you can see the hope. And also you can start to, and you're going to go to a lot of games there this year, and you might not get wins all the time, but you're going to leave entertained.

You're going to be like, that was fun to watch. Like, the worst thing about that outdoor classic was the biggest stage, and there was nothing fun about. it except for the ballpark as you said i think that happens less and less now and like your fans will be satisfied if they understand you're still rebuilding and growing but at least you're fun and they can see the talent that's where chicago is going here and that's where i think davidson is going to get the vote of confidence i'd be surprised based on the way warts is talking and the and what i've been

hearing, I'd be very surprised if he doesn't get it. By the way, wanted to shout out Nick Falino, you know, taking some time away. I mean, the greatest thing in the world is being a parent. It also is the most vulnerable you'll ever be in the world because you always want to help your kids, but you can't always be the help that your kid, but you always want to help your kids, but you can't always solve. their problems and you put your faith in others and you put your faith in whatever you believe in. And we just wish for the Felino family, it turns out right.

Absolutely. Things are solved the right way. Glad you pointed that out, Elliot. So fun times here for Chicago out of the gate. How about Ottawa, Elliot? So we got the news on Thursday that Brady could check their captain. I had surgery on his thumb. I'm going to be out six to eight weeks, which is not ideal, but going back to initially, was it a hand injury? Was it a wrist injury? And maybe the fear that if he did end up getting surgery, the recovery could be much longer than 608 weeks. So maybe a bit of a feeling of escaping the worst possible outcome for Ottawa. But what did you gather about what all went into the decision for the Sends captain to get that done and to be shelved for a month and a half, maybe two months? I think it was

I think it was really quite simple. You know, what was the best path, right? And I don't think it was one of those things. It doesn't sound like it was one of those things that you could do without surgery. So you have to do it. You have to get the best timeline and we'll see. I thought that was like Seattle's had a really tough week.

They've had two, they started off really well and now they've had two winnable games that they lost control of in, in Montreal. in Ottawa. Like, same thing with Nashville. I think Nashville, like Seattle started off great. And it's still in the big picture. You're happy with where you are.

Cracking or miners? Cracking. You're happy with where you are, but you're like, oh, sucks to lose those two the way we do it. And you look at Nashville, you're much happier with where you are, but you're like, oh, sucks to lose that one in Montreal like we did, when Marsha so had the chance to score and Hudson made the save

but overall you're in a better spot you're just disappointed that you let a couple get away from you here to me like that game Ottawa Buffalo on Wednesday it was so disappointing

for the senators it it was great for the Sabers the Sabres had ample opportunities choke that game away like I guarantee to you when it was 5-4 with those early goals early in the third period everybody thought that the senators were going to win that game 26 to 5 and all credit to the savers they found away um but you know that was a big statement for ottawa to come back after coughing up a hairball against the savers you're really on

the pinto train right now um if i mean who isn't yes if i'm ottawa i am i am lot locking him up for as long as I can. I am just saying, what is this going to take? Now, I'm sure, you know, that it's never that easy, but he's a critical part of their core. I'm asking, you know, I would ask for a number.

I would just go and say, give me the number, seven years, eight years, whatever it is. I just want to know what it is. so I can decide. It's like a star is kind of being born there a little bit, particularly as you say, the circumstances around what that game meant to them Thursday.

Chuck's going to be out for the next little while. He's at a dynamite start to the year. He comes off the invite to the orientation camp for the U.S. in the summer. Not sure if he's going to be there in Milan, but just to be in the conversation is not nothing. I thought he had a really good playoff last year against Toronto. He's their most trustworthy center that Ottawa has right now. And just to look on his face after scoring the shootout winner,

it was almost like we're okay here. We wish we had our captain right now, but I'm going to make sure we're okay here in the meantime. One man's injury is another man's opportunity. Who's going to take advantage? Who's going to step up and say we can curl in the corner in the fetal position or we can go out and the rest of us can pick up the slack. Everybody can be 5% better.

Six goals already on the year for Shane Pinto. Okay, a little bit of news that you had on Thursday, Elliot. Brennan Othman, first round pick for the Rangers back in 2021. He's got 25 career games under his belt in the NHL, just 22 years old, did not make the big club out of training camp. So what does it look like the future could hold for player and team? So I think Othman's now been at five rookie camps, something like that. Forgive me if my math is not that good.

I was told there would be no math. You know, when you've been to five rookie camps, and I would say this, I think Othman and the Rangers would agree that this was a disappointing exhibition season for him. There was an opportunity there, and unfortunately, he just didn't grab it. And so I think what we have here is the Rangers have a lot on the wings. I'm sure, and I think everybody looks here at, is it time for a fresh start? I have not heard he's asked for a trade. It's more just like, is it time for him just to try somewhere else?

Someone told me on Thursday night that the challenge with this is a challenge that happens in every one of these situations, Kyle, is that the Rangers would like something of equal value in return. And then it becomes the question of, okay, they're probably asking other teams for a similar player. But at the high end, somebody who was a high pick maybe isn't in the NHL yet. But the biggest challenge there comes in those kinds of deals, Kyle, is that there'll be other teams that will say, okay, we've got a high pick that isn't in the NHL yet. but we believe that player is ahead of Othman and our organization. So that's the challenge is what do the Rangers think is the proper match and what do other teams think is the proper match?

Like they'll say other teams will be like, no, yeah, we're interested in Othman. We'd love to give him another shot, but he hasn't made the NHL yet. So he's not as valuable to you. and the rangers are going to be like, no, he's still a prospect. He's still a very young guy, and he could go hit it somewhere else, and we want to be, we see it that way. So that's always the challenge with these kinds of deals. Like the same situation that we see with a guy like Nick Robertson in Toronto.

I mean, a lot of people might just look at it as, you know what, he's been here a long time, and it's time for him to go somewhere else, and the leaves will look at it and say, well, he can score. And we just don't want to give him away. And that's been the challenge here. Like Robertson's name came up again this week. I've got a lot of respect for him because he never complains. He never causes a problem.

He's very, very quiet. As you know, he's always professional and always friendly. I am sure he would love to be somewhere else where he'd be in the lineup a little more regularly or feel that he could be given a run of time where he can stick in the lineup more than he does in Toronto but he's never caused an issue I really believe the ask has been there for a while but he is the test case

the textbook case of how to handle yourself when everything isn't perfect no question there's a couple other cases like this too. Like Chinikov in Columbus, him or his representative have been vocal about its time for him or he'd like to go somewhere else and he's been kind of in and out of the lineup. I'm sure another one that I kind of look at and say, where's this going to go is Hendrix LePierre in Washington. He's been sort of

in and out and last year up and down you know he's he's going to be 24 in february i'm sure like there's there's a bunch of these situations in the league where there's talented guys who haven't done it or aren't fitting in roster-wise in their first organization and you look at it and you say okay can you see where this might go somewhere else for a fresh start. I mean, and you understand why a team like New York or the example you bring up, Toronto with Nick Robertson is being careful about if we're going to do this. We don't just want to give the player away as much as we're willing to work with a team on

giving the guy a fresh start because was Sam Bennett not in a similar situation in Calgary? I don't know he was playing, but in terms of role and opportunity, and now we see what become down in Florida, you can see why teams want to guard against potentially having that happen with them. 100%. 100%. Also, Elliot, something to watch for on Friday. I mean, that was a tough loss for Los Angeles Thursday, up to nothing, lose 4-2 to Pittsburgh,

but potentially maybe even a tougher loss is what's going on with their captain. Did not play due to a lower body injury, and the update from Jim Hiller postgame wasn't exactly encouraging. Yeah, I take a closer look and maybe have a better update for you tomorrow, still kind of evaluating where it's at. You know, this, of course, is the farewell tour for Kopitar, so you don't want to see anything threaten that or disrupt it or cause any issues with it. They have not been playing well, and as you said, that's a bad one on Thursday night.

You can't lose that game to Pittsburgh when you're up to nothing. You know, I've been thinking a lot about the Kempi situation, too. I just don't know how L.A. isn't going to have to sign them. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It's going to be more than they like. But unless there's something on the horizon that they see coming with all these chest pieces coming off the board, I just fail to see how they're not going to need to say to, Adrian

Kempi you can hold us up for sure because you've got all the leverage here we need you here we know it

and we've got to make a deal that's good for you and good for us to get it done I just can't see how they're going to get better without them

but right now the first thing I'm thinking about is Kopitar because nobody wants to see this season ruin for him all right

a couple of the things we're looking at right now, Kyle, coming out of New York, two things I wanted to touch on. Number one, at the Board of Governors that had no news, as the commissioner said. No news.

No news. I've had a couple people say to me, you're a bit premature with this cap stuff, lay off for a couple months. And, you know, now, Bettman said that people had asked him if the league and the players were negotiating it.

He said, no. That is not true. And that's not, if anybody took me to mean that they were negotiating that now, that's not what I meant to say. And he also indicated that he thinks that the three years they came up with, 95, 104, 113, or where they're going to stay. We'll see. If this does move, it will be sometime closer to the next fiscal, which is, sorry,

if it does move, it's going to be into 2026. Like, I've had a couple people say to me, you may be proven to be right, but you're talking about this too soon. It's too early. So that's one thing I wanted to put out there. Secondly, I heard that one of the more interesting conversations

they had in the Board of Governors was about international hockey. And they hoax, And they hired a, the league hired a consultant to look at their, look at the world of international hockey and where they should go. And this consultant presented to them at the Board of Governors meeting last June before the draft in Los Angeles. And one of the things they talked about was Germany.

They've got to do a bit more in Germany. and there's lots of tie-ins, there's Leon Drysidal, there's Tim Stutzler, there's Moritz-Sider, there's the suddenly talkative Hossel Platner, the owner of the San Jose Sharks, who I'm sure would love to have his team there. But I heard they talked about it more on Wednesday, and there's nothing formal, as the Bettman said, they had nothing to announce at this time, so I'm curious if it's going to come up at the next board of governor's meeting, which is scheduled for December in Colorado Springs.

And, you know, Kyle, I heard it's, it's, it's, there's some different philosophies here. Like there are, there are people who want to continue to lean in to the places where hockey's strong, the Scandinavian countries, for example. Germany is definitely on the radar, do more there. But there's others who are like, well, I think we also have to go to some areas where we're underserved right now. Remember, Luke Robatai came on the pod and said, we have to go back to London.

Like that's one place that he really mentioned the NHL has to go back to. There are some teams that apparently want to play in Mexico City, an outdoor game. or a game. They feel it's critical that the NHL plays there. There's others who say you've got to go back to China or some other places that are underserved that maybe instead of going to the places, quote-unquote, we go to all the time.

Portugal, like in the thought line from last week. Rafael. And go to some places where we haven't been. So there's a lot of, I heard there was one guy. governor who said something along the lines of, why don't we do a mini tournament in some of these countries? And the key is going to be here, Kyle, we're going to 84 games now, right? So I think there is talk about what can we do with these extra two games to make it special? And I heard what one governor pitched was you do like a tournament. You send four teams to a city for maybe three

games each against each other and you give like, I don't know, something, like a small trophy, you send them to Munich and the team that has the best record in those games wins the Munich Cup or whatever you want to call it, right? But what it's clear to me is it's like you go into a room of, I don't know, how many people is it, 120 governors and what do you get? 250 arguments so actually it's not like that betman runs these meetings with an iron fist but you know what i mean i think there's a lot of different philosophies on where we need to go here and there's a lot of people have different opinions like like as i said new old do we go by this team has

this player who would be this country would be interested in him or do you just say we're sending Connor McDavid halfway around the world because he's our best player or we're sending this Austin Matthews to this country because we think he's one of our top players. So I think people are curious to hear to see which way the NHL goes because there's different ideas, but there's no doubt in my mind there is a real belief that they have to start capitalizing even more on international hockey. You know, someone was talking to me about the Olympics this year in Milan, it would seem like an obvious place to start, and it is.

They were just kind of saying that I don't know that there's an Italian hockey player or somebody that will convince people locally to rally around. Maybe that's just a test of all the great players and hope it moves the needle, even though I'm not sure what kind of facility we're going to be playing in this year. based on all the news that have been going on this week. But that's going to be a big one is where the international game is going. Because a couple of people told me it was one of the things that if it wasn't the thing that was talked about the most, it was up there. Well, I mean, it's interesting you bring up London because I was going to say this for the thought line,

but it makes more sense just to bring it up now. So one of our listeners, Tiago from Sheffield in the UK, They actually just happened, I mean, talk about coincidental timing to write in asking about why for how popular hockey has become over there in the UK. Has there not been a game played over there since 2007? I did find a quote from Bill Daly. It's from just over a year ago. It would have been the lead up to the global series played over in Finland last year. He had said that it is a priority to get back over to London.

again. So I would imagine that that continues to be part of their planning as they go through all this Elliott. But I find that very interesting how it just happened conceptually. We bring up what Raphael from Portugal wrote in. We'd kind of talked about, yeah, we would love to see it. But it sounds like it's one thing for us to say that would be great. But the league is actually considering something like that here. And it seems to be quite a priority, which is kind of cool. I don't know what the Players Association would think about this, but with two X, like one of the things that happens, Kyle, is that, you know, for example, you have to buy teams out of their home games, right? So let's say you send Edmonton on the road

for one, or Toronto or Montreal on the road for one, or the Rangers on the road for one. And you buy them out of a home game. That's a lot of money. Well, now we're going to 84. I think it lessens that excuse quite a bit. I think everybody should go somewhere. I do. Now, we have to go back in the 90s, 1990s, there were 84 games and everybody had neutral games, and the players hated them.

They got to be too much, and I think Good No was in charge at the time. they got rid of them they got rid of them but it's a different era now you've got the sweet private jets there's better ways to do this I think there has to be a way where you can send more teams to good places like I when I heard that tournament idea and I don't know who came up with it but I was like you could do that could you take a city like London and play a four-team tournament there? And no pre-season games.

These have to be regular season games. They have to have meaning. Like, could you say to all the teams, we could have eight four-team tournaments? or four 18 tournaments and each of you is going to one of these that would be a lot but i have no problem with the ambition the hate i get for this i want to know what the hate i'm going to get for this is well what's interesting first text i'm going to get i guarantee is from ron ainsey are you insane so here's i can't remember if i mentioned this on a pod last season but i

I remember a coach saying because the travel, right, and the time change going back and forth. And we've seen in the past where teams go over, play a couple of games in Finland, in Czechia, in Europe. And they come back and the NHL blocks off a chunk of time off afterwards to kind of recover. And I remember the coach saying, like,

don't need to do that because then we get killed later in the year where we see all those games in a short period of time. Like if you've got a team, Like say, all right, Edmonton, for example, to have dry saddle go play in Germany, to have the best player in the world featured somewhere over there. His point was, I know it's a long, it'll be a long time away from home, but you go do that and then stick them in New York, where you're in the Eastern time zone. It's not as much of a jump coming back. Maybe get a couple days and then boom, you rip through New York, New York, New Jersey to at least keep the schedule moving so you don't get killed in the back, half of the year, making up for all the extra time you had off to, in theory, recover.

But anyway, just an interesting point. I hadn't heard it presented that way before. I've solved everyone's problems. Again, I really should be charging for this. My work here is done. My work here is done. Oh, you do. Okay, that'll take us to the final thought, and it became official on Thursday that Carter Hart signed a

PTO with the Vegas Golden Knights. He skated in Vegas on Thursday morning with Sean Burke, the goalie coach, and a few other players before their morning skate took place in earnest. I did field questions from the media afterwards. Among his comments said, have been out of the game for a year and a half now. I've learned a lot. I've grown a lot. And just looking forward to moving forward.

Naturally, Elliot, he of course, the first player from the group of five that were acquitted in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. Understandably, Elliot, there's going to be fans, listeners of this podcast that will never approve of any of those five players signing with the National Hockey League franchise again. And there will also be a segment of fans and listeners that look at it and say they were acquitted and everyone deserves a second chance. So what can you tell us about how all this came together and just, any further thoughts on what all went on here well first of all just politely and professionally i just like to say look i know the the golden nights had a game on thursday and it turned out to be a incredibly entertaining game against boston i know they had a game but i don't think it's right

that on the day this was announced the players and the coaches had to answer for this and the front office didn't um you know the quotes get parsed um when you're talking about a subject as serious and important as this one and i just didn't like that all over social media on thursday the quotes getting parsed were the players in particular the players clearly knew about this and the players approved it, which is not insignificant. You'll remember when Mitchell Miller was signed by the Bruins and these two situations are not the same. There are some similarities, but they're not the same. Clearly in that particular case, the Bruins did not have the support of their players, including their most critical ones. And that was one of the reasons

that it fell apart on them. This is a different situation. Obviously, the night's key players knew what was going on and they supported it. But to me, that doesn't matter. On the day you sign the players, it's the people who make that decision who should be front and center to explain why they did it. And if they didn't want to do it on a game day to disrupt their routine, then they shouldn't have announced it on Thursday. Like, I would say that there would be a lot of senior NHL executives or executives and other teams that would have been front and center and said, I'll be the one to answer to this. And I think that's the way it should be. So I didn't like that. That's my piece what I'm going to say there. As for the overall

situation, I've said this before. And you've heard me say it and I'll say it again. But the verdict itself really changed where this entire situation was going to go until the strong statements from the judge, I didn't think any of those players would be eligible to play in the NHL this year. I thought regardless of what was going to happen, Betman would use his superpowers of the Constitution to come up and say this hurt hockey, this created a negative impression about hockey and I think he was going to say you know you're out for maybe a year and then you'll have to fight for reinstatement and he would have taken his chances with the PA or an arbitrator but the things the judge said and her very strong feelings about the case itself it changed

everything and it gave the players association more willingness to fight and I think it made Betman much more uncertain about what he could do, and that's why the two sides reach the deal they reached. As you said, Kyle, everybody has to recognize here that no matter what you may think, there are people who, despite the verdict, they will never be accepting of this. And there will be other people, as you said, who will say they were acquitted. they're allowed to go back and make this living. Nobody's mind is getting changed.

You just have to understand, like Bettman said that on Wednesday in New York City. He said if a player wants to sign one of these players, they're going to have to deal with the consequences in their market. Now, like we mentioned, the Golden Knights players were on side. Another issue the Bruins had is that they didn't speak to their sponsors. and some of their sponsors got very upset.

I'm assuming that Vegas has done all of that work. And, you know, we'll see how this goes over the next little while. I'm not surprised at all that Hart was the first one. I always believed he was the one that had the most interest. There were the most number of teams that were serious about bringing him in. And I'm not surprised he picked Vegas. It's not in Canada. It's a successful team.

It's not the loudest market. I was a little surprised about the PTO. I'd heard the same rumors about two years of approximately two million as others had indicated. There was some talk on Monday that maybe it might end up being a one-year deal. I don't know that to be true. We'll see what happens. I think the other thing here that's a question is

like Carter Hart's not going to be playing for the Olympic team this year I think we all know that however if he does get back into a position like I wonder if he's and he becomes the kind of goalie he can be I don't know like is hockey Canada even going to want to make him eligible but that just seems a long way from here

now. Okay, we'll leave that there. That was the final thought. And with that, we'll take our first break. On the other side is the thought line. 32 thoughts. The podcast continues after this. All right, welcome back. Time once again for the thought line. But before we get there, Elliot, I understand that Your inbox, light the thought line inbox, backed up over the last few days. So why don't you get whatever you got out in the open here? Kyle, some elite, elite DMs today this week. And not the kind of deep, get your minds out of the gutter, people. Not the kind of DMs that you're all thinking about.

Just elite, elite commentary. Batting lead off. This one could bat lead off. This one could bat clean up. This one could bat second with Aaron Judge. It doesn't matter. This is the Mike Trout of DMs. This is the Mike Trout of DMs.

From Jared Harmon at Van College News, absolutely loved the MVP reference from this week's podcast. I was actually the goalie the chimps scored on in that scene. At the time, I was in grade 12, and our midget A team from South Delta was cast as the special ability extras for all of the hockey parts. I was listening to it with my 15-year-old son in the car, so it gave me some street cred with the teenager. And then he started laughing. Jared Harmon. First of all, Jared, I hope life did not peak for you at that moment.

But seeing as how you're the father of at least a 15-year-old, it clearly didn't. Fatherhood's the best. But thank you for reaching out. And Kyle, do you remember the goal that this chimps scored? Well, I'm assuming he's talking about the one at the end that I was suggesting. That's what I assume is talking about. Yes. Yes.

The one that's a mirror image of Matthew Schaefer's first goal in the NHL. So that is, that's amazing. Could Jared have done a better job making a save on that play? Could he, should he have stopped the chimp, the most valuable primate from scoring? Well, because in that, if it's the one we've been discussing here, the point of this whole. Of course, he said that it was the one. He said it was that one. It wasn't the chimp, though, as we learned.

It was the, uh, the younger sister in the movie that was disguised as the chip wearing, uh, wearing Jack's equipment in that game. But, uh, it was no. Elliot, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to send you the video of it so you can see it once and for all. It is quintessential 2000s. Anyway, it was fantastic how, like, everyone's locked up with one guy. So, like, the puck's just sitting on the goal line and everyone. You ever watch the movie double-teamed?

Yes. The Disney movie. And, like, it's funny, the discord, how that final scene's been picked apart now, where, like, just how she's processing. you're seeing the time tick away and she's starting to get her legs going again and you're like there's no there's way more time that actually went by than there was actually left on the clock it's it's it's similar as you're watching it and like everyone's locked up with uh with the member of the opponent and like nobody can move when the puck's just sitting there on the goal line

it is gold okay so again i've taken this podcast completely off the rails but there's one more MVP note I wanted to include from Dan, who's a big Islander fan, culture of losing. When most valuable primate came out, Jack the Chimp went on a tour of NHL arenas. The Islanders were at their absolute nadir when he skated during an intermission at Nassau Coliseum. I will never, yeah, apparently he was there. I will never forget hearing more than one person out of maybe 3,000 in total. yelling, hey, Milbury, signed the monkey. He's better than any of these bums.

In fairness, Jack was a pretty smooth skater for a chimp. Wow. That's, it reminds me of those videos now with, it's like, POV, you're in the back of the car, and you just lost to a basketball team with a dog on it, like from Airbud. Yeah. And it's like the dad's all mad because you're like,

God, the guy was so good. My dad's like, it was a dog. Oh, that is so funny. I remember when I was a kid, the, I saw pictures of Maple Leaf Gardens. They had skating bears. I didn't see them in person, but I did see the photos of it.

You know, a couple people looking out for your well-being, Kyle. Matt Wadman, Swedish slammer. Anaheim does not share an arena and would help Sportsnet Kyle with his February tan referring to your lack of color, your pale nature, and a host city for

the World Cup of hockey. And there was one more about that. Oh, yes. This was Stephen Fiddler. Hi, Elliot. Listening to the new pod, tell Kyle if he needs a tan, he should make the trip up the QE2

and visit Uncle Jean Principae. A couple of days in jean's tanning bed should make kyle look like a million bucks that is true i don't think there's a tanning bed involved there that guy is oh natural in getting his bronze look going jean is just nuclear like he's he could power the entire planet and i understand you've also got we got corrected on our ice cream we don't have to go yeah to Cincinnati for ice cream right Yeah, there's few people that wrote in. DMs on X in the thought line,

including Hunter that said next time you're in Columbus, there is a Grater's ice cream on Lane Avenue, just about 15 minutes from nationwide, where the jackets play. Make it a priority and get the black raspberry chip. Thank me later. This is Cincinnati's greatest export. You can ignore the other nonsense about their chili. Love the show and go jackets.

Somebody else actually did mention the chili, by the way. They mentioned there was a Sinci chili place in Columbus. I have to say this about the Columbus fans. First of all, there's a number of you who listen. Because whenever we don't get something right about Columbus, we hear it. Because I forgot to mention not only that, but a couple, after Florida had that crazy exhibition game against Tampa, where Mikula got an assist after being thrown out of the game. and we were talking about hadn't seen that before.

A whole bunch of Columbus fans on social too pointed out that happened to Dimitri Varancov last year. He was given a 10-minute misconduct and for some reason he wasn't in the penalty box and he had a shift. And so it happened last year. He wasn't ejected, but he had a misconduct and somehow avoided being off the ice.

But it just reminds me Kyle, if you slander Columbus, the Blue Jackets fans will come after you like Hornets. Yes. Or like Stinger. Like Stinger. Stinger doesn't like the way I use an abbreviation for Columbus either. He lets you hear it too. It has objected before, yes.

Okay, so remember last, I think it was last pod. We had the question about teams that won the Stanley Cup with the most homegrown talent. And you had wondered about the salary cap era specifically. Well, we have an answer. Washington? No, they were close, though. Okay. 13 drafted players.

Okay. One is an undrafted free agent that came up with the organization. So they were one shy of the 07-08 Detroit Red Wings. You know, that's amazing because maybe it's just 02 in my head when they had those 10 Hall of Famers, but I didn't link the Red Wings to a team that had that many of their own players brought up there. 14 plus 1. I would never have gotten that.

I would have completely gone past them simply because of the reputation they had earlier that decade. Right. Yeah. So you have 14 that they drafted and I believe Brett Lebeda was the one that was undrafted but came up through Grand Rapids and then graduated to the wings and played there for a couple of years, including when they won it all in 2008. All right. Deck cleared.

Move on to the latest batch. Feel good? Feel very good. And I look forward to it's, we almost have the thought line and the fallout from the thought line. Yes. It's like instead of the. the sub-reddit, there's like the sub-thought. That's right.

I'm impressed at where this is going. You guys are awesome. All right. We begin with Eldon. Hey, guys. Sitting here in Salt Lake City, watching the Ice Age game of the mammoth and the predators. Notice the sea.

Tusky. Yes. What do we think? I like it. I think there could be, we got Harvey the Hound with the tongue and the history behind that. and viral moment before viral moments

with Craig McTavish something's going to happen with Tuscy Like what? I don't know Someone's going to yank on his snout Hmm

Well now it's going to happen and that person's going to say I didn't think of it until Kyle Bukasquez put it in my mind Well I don't care how we get there I think that would just be good entertainment He had the crowd going, though.

It was fun, fun on Wednesday. Okay, so Eldon saying, notice the sea on Clayton Keller's jersey, and a thought popped into my head. Why don't you ever see a goalie with a C or an A? Because I can't think of a single goalie captain. I assume there is a rule that prohibits it. Have goalies ever been able to be captains? Who was the last goalie to be a captain?

Love the show, tusks up. We're going to be hearing a lot of that. The last captain for a goalie was Roberto Luongo and of the Vancouver Canucks. They made him the captain when he signed a long-term extension with the team. And I think what everybody discovered at that time was goalies have enough to worry about. That Luongo didn't need any more pressure, didn't need any more to deal with. he had enough to worry about. And I just don't think that any team,

I totally understood why Vancouver did it. It was a little different, which never bothers me, but I totally understood why Vancouver did it because Luongo was a huge part of that team, and it's one of the major reasons he's in the hockey hall of fame is the job he did there. But I think if you could go back and ask with 2020 hindsight, they will say goalies have enough to worry about they don't need to do that now goalies have been captains before like especially you know a hundred years ago or 80 years ago there were I believe bill Dernan was the captain of Montreal Canadians I'd have to double check that one he was right and Bill Dernan's a Hall of Fame goaltender who was one of the best in the league at the time but it's just something that went out of vogue right well after

Dernan. The Bill Dernan rule. Oh, there was a Bill Dernan rule? Yes. So that's why you saw none of it until Luongo, but even remember with him, he had the sea kind of on the chin of his mask, but never on the jersey because the rule prohibited it at the time when Dernan was the captain and also goalie of the Montreal Canadians. The rest of the league argued about the fact that how often he was leaving his crease to go speak to the officials about a calling in like a clarification. They thought these are built in timeouts for the Canadians with how much time he's taken, leaving his crease to go speak to the referees. And so though Luongo was named considered captain for Vancouver, he wasn't in a position where he could go stand at the timekeeper's box to get clarification on why their guy got penalized or when things went awry trying to get an explanation for the officials. It was somebody, a skater, that had to do that.

When Luongo was captain of the Canucks, I think there was somebody who was responsible for talking to the referees and officials during play. Right. That's all why. Okay. Megan from Beaumont, Alberta. Hey, Elliot, A. All. A couple weeks ago. I like that, Megan.

Yes. That is the proper respect. I like it. Don't expect to see it for you out here in the West, but it does exist. A couple weeks ago, you explained the difference between being put on waivers versus being sent down versus being released and reporting to the farm team.

This made me think about conditioning stints. Why does a player get put on a conditioning stint? Is there a criteria for how long a player has to be on LTIR or how long a stint can be? I know I've seen goalies be sent down for this more, so, but I believe last year, Gabe Landisog also was. Yes, he was. Please tell me more. Also, I would like to say, as an Oilers fan, Elliot was right. The ovation was way too short. I expected at least a minute. My thought on why this is is that the announcer didn't seem to

really hype it up. He should have said, your captain signed for two more seasons at a steal of a deal, Conor McDavid. Also, we have had a lot more than a two-year contract to cheer about lately, so we're tired. Give us 25 or so games. Megan is going right into the 32 Thoughts Submitter, Thoughtline Submission, Hall of Fame. No three-year waiting period going directly in, like Mary O'Mew and Wayne Gradsky, of course. Okay, good question. conditioning stint there's a couple basically what it happens when you're inactive like

Gabe Landisog went on a conditioning stint he was on LTIR he hadn't played in three years so there is something that allows you to go down there the player has to agree the team has to agree and you can go down there for six days or three games so you can practice you can play games does not count against the cap but that is the way it works so if you've been out for a long time you want to get back in give yourself a test drive that's what happens now there's other conditioning stints you know for example there have been times where guys haven't played in a lot of games they've been out of the lineup and they can go on what is a regular conditioning stint and for that one you can do 14 days but that

one, you still can count against the salary cap and roster limit. So those are the conditioning stints. Everything kind of depends on the circumstances. The league has to approve them. But that's basically what it is. It's either you've been away for a long time or you're on a standard conditioning stint. One counts against the cap. The LTIR doesn't.

And the league has to approve the circumstances. There have been players before who've been scratched for a long period of time or hurt a little bit. and not like a long term and they go down a conditioning stint. That's happened before. Yeah. Very good.

Thank you for the question. Megan, one final one here. Mike from New Jersey. Oh, it does not require waivers. Conditioning stint, no waivers. Oh, good. Thank you for pointing that out. That's another thing that Megan was asking.

Yes. Mike from New Jersey. Hello, 32 thoughts. I know Elliott has his workout routines. I recall talk of a push-up challenge a few years ago, but not sure where that ended up. I started. Oh, you didn't.

Okay. Yeah. I think it was 2000 in February, if that's what I remember correctly. If I got the number wrong, I'm sorry, but I think it was 2000 in February. Good for you. Yeah. I started my own challenge this season that I want to share and maybe inspire other fans to get fit this hockey season around each of our favorite teams. I call it the Get Huge like Heeshire challenge.

It's hot. Now, that's funny. It's 25 sit-ups for each goal for and 25 push-ups for each goal against the devils have this season. I'm thinking about adding squats for shots next. Pick any team you want, pick any set of exercises that work for you, but I find this a great way to hold myself accountable. Thanks for the pod and all the content you put in our ears. And if I may, can I get a shout out to my fellow players at Inman Roller Hockey?

Low gang at Inman Roller Hockey. Shout out Inman Roller Hockey. Like he's sure. Everyone's doing it. Everyone's doing it in Jersey. Mike, I hope the team you watch is a high event team. So you really get into great shape. For example, Mike, if your team is Ottawa or Buffalo, and I know you mentioned New Jersey,

but if your team was Ottawa or Buffalo, on Wednesday night, you got a lot of exercise in an 8-4 game. You got a lot of push-ups in. you got at least a hundred of one of them and 200 of the other because those two teams just kept scoring on each other. So, you know, the only thing is I want you to get into great shape and this is a great start for you. But I would feel bad if one of the reasons you got into great shape was the devils were giving up a lot of goals. So I hope for you, it's a lot of like nine to one or eight to two devils games so you get your exercise or maybe even some five to fours in there that you get a lot of each and the devils aren't you aren't getting in shape while at

the time destroying your mental health because the devils are having like a bad defensive season so I think that's a great idea you know I'll tell everybody like one of my staples and I do this every day is uh I try to do it depends it depends on whether or not my son and I are working out together. But if not in the morning, I'll do, I'll start off with 10 pushups, 10 situps, 20 lunges, 10 on each leg, a one minute wall sit and a one minute plank. And I just find like that, it just gets your body going. And, but I love Mike's idea. Mike, I think that's awesome.

And I encourage every fan to follow. that if you can. It's really good, especially as he's going, I'm adding, maybe adding squats for shots as well. Like that's not just a fun exercise to kind of keep you busy while the game's going on. Like there could be some burner nights, depending on how well your team's playing or what kind of goaltending shows up. I just feel bad because oftentimes now we see a shot and then the shot gets taken off the scoreboard.

So don't wait to see if the shot actually counts. Like if you go to that, do the squat. Commit to the bit. That's right. I know. Oh, gosh. Yeah, don't wait to the intermission. 12 becomes 10, becomes 13.

You could be going back up and back down. Yeah. I can't keep track. That's good. Great stuff, Mike. So thank you to Mike for that suggestion. Thank you to everyone who submitted whether to the thought, line or the Friedman line, it's all great stuff.

You guys have been red hot right out of the gate again this season. Seriously. Thank you. Thank you to Griffin. Thank you to SportsNet. Who's the best team at the start of the season in the NHL? Our listeners? I would say so.

No NHL team has gotten off to a start as good as these guys. That's good. All right, 1833, 311, 3232. 232 is the phone number to call to leave a voicemail, or you can email us at 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.com. Back to wrap after this. All right, before you go, we wanted to give you a heads up on what's on tap again.

this weekend on the SportsNet Family of Channels. And we begin a little bit early, yet again, on Saturday. The Edmonton Oilers continuing their road trip into New Jersey to face the Devils. 3.30 Eastern, 130, Mountain Time. That can be seen nationally on Sportsnet. Hockey Central Saturday on the air, 630 Eastern, 3.30 Pacific. Ron, Kelly, Kevin, Jennifer, Elliott. Great to know that Kelly Rudy will be back this weekend.

Three early games, yet again, out of the gate. Seattle in Toronto, as discussed. The Rangers in Montreal for an original six clash and the National Predators are in Winnipeg. That one on SportsNet West on Saturday night. Late game from Vegas, the Golden Knights and the Calgary Flames who aim to get things back on track. On Sunday, a couple of games to keep an eye on as well.

Vancouver in Washington, 1230 Eastern, 9.30 a.m. out on the West Coast. That can be seen on SportsNet East, Ontario and Pacific. And a little later on, Oilers again in Detroit. Back half of a back-to-back, three-eastern, one mountain on SportsNet and Sportsnet 360. Plenty of hockey to keep you occupied over the next few days

when you're not watching baseball, of course. Help you have a great weekend taking us out today, a track from Maggie Lennon. The shimmering world of Montreal artist Maggie Lennon is a delicate canvas of erythriol, indie pop, and lush soft rock inviting the listener into a space of reverie, gentleness, and introspection. Singer-songwriter's mature songs deal with love, desires, self-acceptance, resilience,

and the complexities of modern life. Maggie Lennon's sophomore album, Desire Days, dropped in June of this year, promising a new chapter of her evolving sound and vision. She's got a couple of upcoming shows over the next few months. November the 22nd, she's in Montreal as part of the M for Montreal event, and December 19th, you can see her in Quebec City. Here's Maggie Lennon with Vicious Cycle on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Breathe, baby. Don't forget to breathe, baby. Breathe, baby. Just keep on breathing. The sky is opening up. Let's me see the light The cries they finally gave up It lets me see the light

That I needed so Now tell me why Do I feel so old down When the leaves It feels a little colder My heart is opening up It lets me see the light That I need it so

My soul is opening up It lets Do you see the lights, did I need it so? I find it particularly hard to keep my mind out of these loops. It always takes me a while to see things through. things through and get myself out of these loops.

It's a vicious cycle. My eyes are opening up it lets me see the light that I needed so My mind is opening up It lets me see the light That I need it so Now tell me why

When the leaves To earn dry It does feel little colder I find it particularly hard to keep my mind out of these grooves It always takes me a while

To see things through And get myself out of these groups It's a vicious cycle