32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Greetings From Paris

Episode Date: August 25, 2022

Bonjour! Jeff and Elliotte are in Paris for the European Player Media Tour and they recap the latest news from around the league including Nathan MacKinnon contract talks (3:30), Nazem Kadri signs with Calgary (7:30), Patrick Kane on the move (14:40), news out of Montreal (18:50) and Phil Kessel signs in Vegas (12:30).The guys also catch up with Leon Draisaitl (22:40) to chat about his playoff injury, how the league has changed and what Edmonton needs to do to take the next steps. They then chat with deputy Commissioner Bill Daly (41:00) about the salary cap, Ottawa, the World Cup of Hockey and the Hockey Canada investigation.Music Outro: Naps - La kiffanceListen to the full single on SpotifyThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.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.

Bonjour, ici c'est Pierre-Edouard Belmar interview in a couple of weeks. On today's podcast, you will hear from Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, Bill Daley, and Leon Dreisaitl in what I thought was a really interesting interview. Dreisaitl, of course, of the Edmonton Oilers, and Dreisaitl talks candidly about the injury

and how gentlemanly everybody else was on the ice who stayed away from relentlessly chopping at his feet and there will be some more coming there'll be uh jacob markstrom will be coming tim stutzler will be coming nico he sure uh there were a lot of really sebastian ajo that jacob verana was really jacob verana was very good there were a lot of really good uh snippets that we're going to get to and it's just nice to see people. It is. And we haven't done a podcast in a while, Elliot.

So I'll- Face to face. I'll refresh you on how this works. So usually I started off and I say something thoughtful, insightful, gripping, usually curious as well. And then you come in and say something that the audience will immediately forget. That's the way it's going to go, Elliot. So let's begin with a quick discussion.

Yes. Well, first of all. First interruption. Congratulations. Well, first of all, you should talk about your trip yesterday. Oh, yeah, yeah. To Mannheim. So this is Wednesday in Paris.

And where were you on Tuesday? Mannheim. Yes. And I'm going there tomorrow. So it's been a couple of days in Mannheim. You're going to Mannheim to do something with Stutzla on Thursday. So yeah, it was nice. Amal and I flew in and spent an evening with the gang from Adler Mannheim, the DEL, the

organization and the program that's graduated players like Leon Dreisaitl, like Tim Stutzla, like Moritz Seider into the NHL. Mannheim is a fascinating place in Germany. Germany is soccer country. We all know that. Soccer is the dominant sport. Football, as Victor Hedman told us. I apologize.

Football. Football. Yes. But Mannheim is this hockey crazed city in the middle of soccer country. And at SAP, at the rink there, they pack it. It holds 13,600 people. And they fill the building.

And they're loud. And they're rowdy. And they love their eagles. And it's a really wonderful program that they've put together, the Hop family. Daniel Hop is one of the owners. His son, Dietmar, who's a partner in the original SAP with Hasso Plattner, bought the team years ago. They run a really great program and had a chance to talk to Daniel

for about half an hour and explain how the whole thing works and how they bring players into the system and take them all the way up and some graduate to pro hockey and others just have a wonderful life experience. Talked to Axel Oliveira, who's the general manager,

also a former pro player in Europe and he's coached up a lot of these players as well, and then had a chance to do a walk and talk and a sit down with Moritz Seider on Tuesday, which that was a nice sit down. And you'll hear from Moritz Seider here on this podcast in the next couple of weeks. Yes, he was here too.

We sat down with him as well. So my first trip to Germany and my first trip to France on this one. Yeah, this is my first time in France too, and I am going to Germany tomorrow, so looking forward to it. Like I said, it's great to get out and see people. True. Now, news.

Colorado, Nathan McKinnon. Well, he just had his Stanley Cup party. He did. Alex Newhook had his too. David Amber, I think, hosted that one. Yes. In Newfoundland. And this comes out of the Cadry situation.

We'll talk about Cadry signing in Calgary in a few minutes. But Cadry, I think his initial first choice was to go back to the Avalanche. And obviously that didn't happen. And I think one of the things that's kind of coming out of there in the aftermath is that I'm really curious to see where we're going to end up contract-wise with Nathan McKinnon here. Okay, so just so everybody knows, he's on the final year of his deal, $6.3 million is the AAV.

That is going to get a boost. Yeah, so the word I've heard is that, you know, they've been talking now. Look, I think it's going to be a big number. I think the best way for me to say it is I think it's going to be a big number.

I think it's a possibility, but not guaranteed, but I think it's a possibility that Nathan McKinnon could end up being the highest paid player in the league. Now, right now that's Connor McDavid at 12 and a half by AAV. I think it's possible,

even if he isn't, I think it's going to be a big number. And so I think one of the reasons, and I think the avalanche were also concerned about term. I don't necessarily think they were willing to go as long for term as for Cadre as the flames and the Islanders were, but I do believe that the McKinnon deal is about to be a very big one and it's possible,

although not guaranteed, he could end up as the highest paid player in the league. You know, if the avalanche do do this and it does end up being as, as high as it could possibly be, I don't think people are going to argue with it. He's that good. And he's that important. The other thing too, as as high as it could possibly be i don't think people are going to argue with it he's that good and he's that important the other thing too is you look at it you know mccarr is at nine ranton is at 925 mckinnon's going to be a total ufa that's the push

and you'll hear bill daly talk about how they're optimistic the cap is going to go up a little sooner than they thought so this is a big one i'm sure the avalanche probably wanted to keep it a little bit lower still double digits but like i said it's it's possible this one goes into highest paid player in the nhl territory or close to it that's really interesting so i i wonder then too, because we've got players like Rantanen and Landeskog and Makar and soon to be Nathan McKinnon on really rich contracts,

like really good, healthy contracts. And you look at what's on the horizon and you wonder what someone like Bowen Byram is going to command and boy, did he look good last year. And then you wonder where Colorado so Colorado is still in their Stanley Cup window so the McKinnon deal is going to be the McKinnon deal they've lost Nazem Kadri you wonder who they would look to bring in maybe on just a one year

this is what I'm curious about do they bring anyone in on a one-year deal this year, just to, Hey, we lost cadre. Couldn't give him a longer term deal. Let's bring in player X on a one-year deal. And you know who I'm thinking about? Who are you thinking about? It's early in the podcast season, but let's say JT Miller. That's the name that I wonder about.

I don't know. I think they could do what they did last year, which is kind of let it play out and see what becomes available i think it's going to be interesting to see what this all means for the avalanche i don't think that's an organization that's satisfied with everything i think they're going to go for it again and you know as you said he's got one more year mckinnon does at this number so it might give you even more reason to try it but i just think that the his extension i'm really curious to see what it is because just think that the, his extension, I'm really curious to see what it is, because like

I said, the whispers are, it's going to be very big. Okay. Kadri, you talked a little bit about Nazem Kadri, the newest member of the Calgary Flames. Seven times seven is the deal. You mentioned his first choice would have been to go back to the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche.

He ends up a flame. So that was announced last thursday i think it was and there were rumors going around a few days beforehand that it was a done deal the flames did confirm that eventually that that it was but that what they were really trying to do was they really wanted to keep a lid on it because they had to make the Monaghan trade. And I think they had more than one option. I think some of them potentially fell through, but they really wanted to create a situation where they weren't getting

squeezed by saying, Oh, we've got Cadre locked in, but we still have to make the move. I think that was a strategy on their part, and clearly that turned out to be the case. You know, Codry, like I said, I think he was really interested in the avalanche.

I don't think the avalanche were willing to do term. You know, the Islanders, it's so tough. Like, you know, I always feel for reporters who do this. I never thought the Islanders and Codry were done. I was specifically warned against saying anything like that, that it would be a mistake to do it at a point. I feel bad for other reporters. I know what it's like to do this job and it doesn't go right. It really sucks. I just don't think it was ever done with the Islanders and obviously it wasn't. The one thing I think

that really helped the Flames was they were the most aggressive team. Like, Calgary's whole summer turned when Uyghur and Huberto were put on the table. I think when they lost Goudreau and they were in danger of losing Kachuk, they were sitting there and they were saying, what are we going to be? Like, where are we going here?

Like, I think their attitude was, if we can find good players, we'll try to run it back with the rest of our group. And all of a sudden, two really good players got thrown at them. So I think that's where it really ramped up for them. Like, they started to believe, you know what, we can still be very good.

And Kadri said it, I think it's true. I think they were very aggressive. Like, I think their offer for a long time was better than Colorado's or the Islanders or anyone else's out there. Colorado, as I said, they had a limit and I think the Islanders eventually got closer to where the flames were.

It's so tough with them because you don't get any news. I just got the sense that it took them longer to get to where Calgary was willing to go. And I think that played a factor. I mean, ultimately, I think the Islanders couldn't clear the room. I've gotten the impression that it took them longer to get to where Calgary was willing to go. Last summer was an impressive one for Brad Treliving.

Yeah. That was a really good offseason for Brad Treliving. And then during the season, and the Toffoli trade is the obvious one, I'm still shocked at how Treliving was able to take such a bad situation that he was handed and turn it into this. Well, it doesn't happen if those two players are available. A hundred percent true. Yeah.

All of a sudden now, like they go from having the best first line in the NHL and two thirds of it are gone now. Oh geez. You bring in Hubert. Oh, that softens the blow. You bring in Nazem Khadri.

Is this guy built for the battle of Alberta or what? Yeah. Now you look with the addition of Mackenzie Weeger Calgary's got one of the best blue lines in the NHL absolutely and I think the thing the flames deserve a lot of credit for is not acting all woe is me like I think they could have been you know thumb sucking all summer and they didn't do it and you look at Sutter the coach like all he's going to say is give me good players and we can make it work. And I think the owner's aggressive that way.

And I think the GM's aggressive that way. And I think that's what it really came down to. Once those guys were thrown on the table, they realized that they could make it work. And look, like this league is one in goal. They have Markstrom who had a great year last year edmonton that's the one thing he's got to figure out his numbers against edmonton weren't very good but you know markstrom had a great year last year their d as you said is very deep they're excellent

all of a sudden that blue line's fantastic all of a sudden down the middle you're you're coming at people with some combination of backland, Caudry, Lindholm. Like that's how you win in this league is down the middle, on the blue line, and in goal. They have a mix of all of that, all of it. And so, you know, I agree with you. I think they were probably in shock and they found a way to crawl out of it. And I don't think they're done either.

Like I think they're going to add another forward. I wouldn't be surprised if they've sniffed around on Evan Rodriguez. You know, Phil Kessel's name has been mentioned locally there. We interrupt this program to bring you a special report. to bring you a special report. Thursday morning insert. It was 7 a.m. in Mannheim when my alarm went off to wake up on Thursday morning, and there was the news that overnight,

at least overnight here in Germany, the Vegas Golden Knights had signed Phil Kessel to a one-year, $1.5 million deal. Great news for Kessel, who can actually tie the consecutive games played record on October 24th with Toronto, one of his former teams in Vegas. He could potentially break it the next night in San Jose, one of the Golden Knights' fiercest rivals, and could play his 1,000th consecutive game, if all goes according to plan,

in November against the Arizona Coyotes. So we'll see how this all goes. Kessel was one of the players who I think was kind of held up by what was happening with the likes of Nazem Khadri, but Khadri signs, Kessel has a new home. A couple of interesting factors there. I think Calgary was interested in Kessel. I do think there was legitimate interest from the Flames to bring him in.

And I'm wondering if the Flames zero in on Evan Rodriguez now, formerly of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And it's a move for the Golden Knights that sues one loss that they had, and that was Paul Stasny. Stasny, who we, as we originally mentioned later in the podcast signed with the carolina hurricanes i think turned down more money from vegas than he got in carolina but he chose to go to the hurricanes this season stasny skates in vegas the golden knights were interested in him jeff had also mentioned the podcast he heard dallas had

interest in stasny, but he chooses to go to the Hurricanes. Now, back to our program. Interesting times. You mentioned the Edmonton Oilers a couple of seconds ago. Pat Kane. Yeah, so this one has been hot locally.

There's been a lot of talk about whether or not they're going to make a run at Patrick Kane. I think it's legitimate that they'd like to. I don't have any reason to believe that this talk is hot air, like the stuff that we emit on this podcast. I see my previous point. I think. Forgetting something that you say immediately.

I think this is legitimate air, not hot air. And the thing I think is, it's that what do the Blackhawks want to do? And what does Patrick Kane want to do? First of all, is Chicago ready to do it? They've been adamant that they're not going to Kane or Taves or Jones unless those players come to them so that's position number one and position number two and I think that this is a key thing is what makes more sense for Patrick Kane picking somewhere now or waiting during the season to see who's good I'm not really worried about the Oilers.

I think they're going to be okay. But I do think that, I think that's one of the things that's kind of been discussed here by both the team and the player is, do we do it now or do we wait to see who's good? And I think option B might be the preferred option. Anything else Edmonton's looking for? You know, I do think before he ended up in Anaheim, I do think they were looking at Klingberg. I think they were trying to do something with another team, potentially Montreal, where

Klingberg would sign there and maybe get traded to Edmonton. And Montreal. Montreal would hang on to 50% or whatever. Or take a bid. And the Oilers would do a sweetener. And maybe they'd have to move a player too. But I do think that was talked about. The same kind of thing would have to happen in any type of Pat Kane deal too.

If we're going to Edmonton. Chicago's going to have to happen in any type of pat kane deal too if we're going to edmonton like chicago is going to have to chomp i think that could be a double retention where kane is traded somewhere else so all of our listeners understand that just means two teams hold salary so essentially he would go from chicago to another team both those teams would hold and then he would end up on edmonton not only the oilers but i think other teams who've been looking into Kane have been looking at double retention situations. And speaking of Klingberg and a team signing him and trading him elsewhere, someone had mentioned to me they thought that might have happened with Kadri, that if the Islanders were to sign him, that another team might sign him first and then trade them so that it would be easier for

the alleners to make it work that was one of the situations that was thrown out out there and it was interesting i listened even though we're overseas i listened to some of lou lamorello's comments uh the other day and um i was really curious about it i had a feeling the romanov was coming in around two and a half to three million i was right about that i heard some real rumors that dobson might come in like at a bigger number like six six and a half clearly i was wrong about that it's the outers man like you just you know who knows but the one thing i did hear was that they had a real difficult time opening up the room and that was discussed for him. But there's a podcast out there on the Islanders.

It's called Islanders Anxiety. And there's a lot of it right now. Lamorello's not going to worry about that. He's going to try to be positive and put the right frame on any situation. I think you should also never assume that he's done. He could do anything at any situation. I think you should also never assume that he's done. He could do anything at any time. But the one thing I do believe is that there's a feeling there that, look, they don't have a long road trip at the beginning of the season.

They felt their year got ruined last year by COVID. They really feel that they're better than they showed last year. And we'll see. We'll see where it goes. A couple more news bits before we move along and bring you Leon Dreisaitl and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley. The news out of Montreal is not good

as it relates to Carey Price. Kent Hughes saying essentially tough to see a path where he comes back to play. Yeah, I think everybody's been kind of bracing for this. I mean, that's why it was so important that they move Shea Weber's deals. They didn't have 18 million in LTIR. That's almost impossible to deal with.

It's too bad to see, really. I mean, like I see this debate about, is Carrier Price a Hall of Famer? Like to me, it's a no doubter. It's not only the NHL Hall of Fame, it's the Hockey Hall of Fame, right? Yeah. And he was the anchor of the best defensive

hockey team I've seen in my lifetime, which was the 2014 gold medal winning hockey team in Sochi. Like to me, he's an absolute, no doubt, hall of fame player. You know, one of the things that I could see, I don't know this to be true, but I've kind of wondered about is, you know, the Canadians

had a lot of issues last year proclaiming that Shea Weber was done forever. The league really battled them on that. So I'm sure they're being careful in making sure they walk through this properly with how the league feels about Price. But I'm sorry to see it. And if it is his end,

I'm glad that he got to end it on his own terms on ice at the end of last season. One other quick note about the Montreal Canadiens. Anything on Kirby Dock? I heard some rumors about a potential extension last weekend, but I was told that was premature. One of the things I heard was, is that the two sides are talking about a bridge deal, but there's different lengths.

It's so don't assume three, don't assume two, don't assume four. It could be different ideas and concepts along those lines. And Paul Stastny, signs of the Carolina hurricanes, one year, 1.5. You know who liked that move? Paul Stastny? Well, I'm sure he did because he signed it. But also Sebastian Ajo was very happy about it,

who we talked to today. We'll find out why as we release the Ajo interview at some point. You know, I got to tell you, I heard there was a lot of interest. Nobody should be surprised. Dallas was interested.

Dallas was interested, but I heard another one of the teams was Vegas and he skates with some of those guys. And I think Vegas actually offered him more money, but he went to Carolina instead. The one thing that was funny about this whole Cadre situation is apparently there were players around the league texting like, Would you please sign?

Would you please sign so other people can go to work and get jobs? I don't know that Stasny was doing that. I'm sure he was very comfortable he was going to find it, but not a surprise that that kind of ended and he kind of came in. But I heard he had some better offers, including potentially one from Vegas, and he passed it up to go to Carolina.

You know, Jeff, before we wrap it up, I just wanted to mention Alexander Texier. The Blue Jackets announced on Wednesday that he will be spending the year in Europe. He's been through a lot. He had a leave of absence at the end of last season after two family members passed away. And he chose to stay in Europe

and Jarmo Kekalainen and the Blue Jackets are supporting it. And just wanted to wish Taxier the best because it's clear and understandably so. He's been through a lot and all the best in his mental health and recovery. So that's the latest. We're going to pause quickly and come back. You'll hear from NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley, but up first, a really interesting interview here. Some really interesting comments from Leon Dreisaitl

of the Edmonds & Oilers. Here, big Leon, 132 Thoughts for Churners. Leon Dreisaitl with us. And Leon, as we keep watching this game get faster and faster and faster and foot speed and foot speed, you proved in the playoffs, you don't actually have to skate to be an elite player in the NHL. We'll try to get as much information out of you as possible about the injury. Not try, not try. We watched your end of season media conference. You're like, of you as possible about the injury not try not try like we we watched your end of season media conference like i'm not talking about the injuries it's been

months because we all saw those highlights holy jeez what were you dealing with obviously it was a high ankle sprain i think everyone knew that but yeah i mean if the second I would catch it in a game just the toe would get stuck or just twist it in a direction where normally like it does nothing the pain would just shoot right up my body take all my energy out so it was definitely painful it was very painful uh there's a lot of a lot of treatment going on but like i said you know there's lots of guys that that obviously play through injuries so it was something that i had to deal with and it took me a little while to get the hang of it of changing my game a little bit because there was the game after i was trying to push off and i just had no pop no

jump and i was getting frustrated with it because i was like oh i can't beat guys like i don't know what to do now so and it's not like i'm the best skater in the world to begin with um but yeah it's just had to change my game a little bit uh slow it down even more if that's even possible so yeah it's just well you became the best stationary player maybe the game has ever seen we were joking about that like like Dreisaitl's piling up points here he's not moving like this is this isn't how you're supposed to play hockey in 2022 like yeah the best stationary player ever I don't you can you can you can make that statement I'm not gonna jump in on that but

um it was interesting though I liked it because I had to change my game. And it kind of, I think, showed me that there's a way that I can become better in a way with doing almost less. I was very interested by that part of the game that when you're healthy, you try and play your best. You try and play with speed. You try and play fast. I didn't have that to my game. So I tried to find a way to be productive in a different way. And I thought I, yeah, I did a, I did a pretty good job of that. Well, you sure did. There's no question about that. I just want to like, were you injured going into the playoffs and then the, then against the Kings that got aggravated on that one play? Is that how it all went down? No.

I mean, I did have a couple of things going into the playoffs, but nothing major. But it was just game six in the first period against LA. When you were pulled down. Yeah, the scrum just, I actually think I got very lucky. Like I heard it pop right away because I fell

back in my leg. If you watch it, you can see my leg just being stuck there. Yeah, it was scary because I've been very fortunate with staying healthy so far. So it was a big mental thing for me to figure out a way to still be productive with playing injured. I've never really been injured in my career so far, knock on wood. But I think it, yeah, it evolved me as a,

as a player a little bit. Well, I think everybody watching was, was unbelievably impressed with how you played. And was there ever a moment, Leon, where anyone said to you, you can't play, or you ever said, I might not be able to play? Yeah. I mean, I think the game after game seven was

close. It was, it was questionable. It was close. Yeah. I, I actually skated in the morning on the other ice where no one. So you hid. Yeah.

On the other ice to try and test it out. And it was like, it was awful. It was so bad. I could, I could, I could barely stand up. But then the adrenaline kicks in, and you're warming up, and you see, I don't know, 10,000 people in the stands already,

and your adrenaline kicks in a little bit, and it becomes a lot easier. It was nice, though, how every other team is such a gentlemanly game. They stayed away from the injury. They didn't try to aggravate you whatsoever. You must have really appreciated that, Leon. Yeah, I love that.

It's lovely. It's amazing. No, I was laughing when we played the Flames and some of them started hacking my left ankle. And I was like, yeah, I don't know what you're doing here. Did you ever say, you know, Hey, it's the other one. Yeah. It's the other one. This one's hurting. I wanted to ask you about that series Leon, because I still look back at that and they win game one and they're winning game two. And it looks like you guys are really in trouble.

And that series changed like that. What changed it? Where did that series turn around? Well, I think what changed it to before that a little bit is that we were, I think, what was it, 7-2 or something? We came all the way back to 7-6 and and we had chances to tie it up late too so i think that put a little bit of doubt in their mind maybe that you know you got to be careful with this team because and we did it again against the colorado game one right like we

we we just continue to play we play our game and then game two, I think we were down 2-0 again, right? Yeah, you were down. 2-0. And yeah, they completely outplayed us. They were clearly the better team. We didn't have anything going. And then I think we scored one, and then we kind of found our legs, and we got going a little bit.

And then I think we just really found our game, especially game three and four at home. Like we really played well and they, they really didn't get much, especially game three. I think we, we, we really dominated,

but it was a, it was a very fun series. It was, it was a lot of fun. Yeah. One of your teammates said to me, like we were, I was talking about him with that,

with that series. And he said, I never thought we were in trouble. I'm like, really? Like I'm, I was watching that. I thought you guys were in huge trouble. He goes, we never thought we were in trouble.

And I was amazed by that. Yeah. Yeah. No, I never had the feeling that we were in trouble either. Obviously there's moments in the game, especially game two, when you're down to nothing, you're like, oh man, we better not let this get

to three nothing. But I think we just kind of got rolling a little bit when we made a 2-1. And then, yeah, we just kind of got into a groove and just played our game. You know, we make a lot of the Battle of Alberta in the media. It's a great and easy story to tell. It's low-hanging fruit, and we'll take it because low-hanging fruit is still nutritious, and it's always been my point. But what is it from a player's point of view like in in your room playing calgary is it just okay well we played the kings last and we don't play colorado next

or like or is it is there some extra spice there i think there definitely is some extra spice there especially you know we finished one and two in our division. And obviously with the history of both organizations going on, and I think there was a stat that it was the first time since 1990 or something that the Oilers and Flames faced each other. So there's a lot of, and the media can hype it up a lot too, right? And the fans. The fans and media. It means to the Oilers fans.

Oh yeah, big time. Both cities, right? Calgary too, you can feel it. Like there's just something in the air. And I think those are just the most fun games. There was so much tension for two weeks. There was so much going on and every game was so hyped up.

So it was so much fun being a part of it. Obviously, it made it a lot better being on the good side of it, no question. But yeah, and obviously the last couple of years, the history with Cassian, Kachuk, all those things, there's so much little pieces that were going on. It just made it all very, very enjoyable. So how does it change?

Kachuk, Goudreau out, Huberto, Uyghur, and Kadri in. How does it change? Well, now you got Kadri and Kane going at it. I don't want to say going at it. Who knows? But they seem like two guys that will get into a scuffle every once in a while. And I think it's just two competitive teams going at it

for the most part. It's two teams, two really good teams. That's a really good hockey team, right? They don't like us. We don't like them. We just, we want to beat them. They want to beat us. And I think that's what essentially

makes it most exciting. It's just that it's two very competitive, good teams going after the same thing. How much do you, how much do players in your room look at a team like Colorado and say, okay, that's what we need to get to. That's like the measuring stick for us here.

Yeah, a lot. I mean, I think a lot of teams, they go after, they look at the team that's won it last, right, and try to pick little things from what they do. Tampa, same thing. But that's a really, really good hockey team. We want to get there.

I think if we want to win the Stanley Cup, we're going to have to go through them again at one point. So, yeah, hopefully it's next season. They were a dominant team in the playoffs. What did you learn about what it will take to beat them? When you guys were done, what did you think? They're the best team in the league. They're better than team in the league. Uh,

they're better than us. No question. I think that the series was a lot tighter than some teams might, or some people might give us credit for. Uh, I think every game other maybe than game two, we,

we could have really went either way. Anyways, they're the better team, but I think just the way they, they just come in you at you in waves. Like there's no stopping. They come from the back end. Their D are all over the map.

They're down the boards pinching. They're hard. But it's just one line after another. You don't get to breathe. The game never slows down because they're just, they go. They drag you into deep water fast. Like right away, we're going to deep water. And with speed, right? They're fast. Like they away, we're going to deep water. And with speed, right?

They're fast. Like they play, yeah. I saw them at the Stanley Cup final and I was like, every guy on that team is ripped and fast and relentless. Yeah. Like everybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the way they were built.

Like their speed was just, I think, for a lot of teams too much much, too much to handle. And for us probably in that series too. Did you ever accept the Makar play in the one that was close to offside? The offside? Yes. Like I understood why it got called that way,

but I also understood, I thought it was the right call, but I understood why everybody hated it. So I was wondering from an oiler playing in that game, how did you feel? I see it was the right call, but I understood why everybody hated it. So I was wondering from an oiler playing in that game, how did you feel? I see it the same way. I understand it.

And that's probably the rule. I just don't really, I don't really understand the rule. I understand that it's a goal. I accept it. I just don't really understand the rule, to be honest. Like how many times does a player skate

over, over the line without, like what, you literally need to touch the puck at all times

skating over the line like that never happens. So, it is what it is. It's, uh, I think it was a very, uh,

specific play. You know, there's, there's very few moments like that where it's so crucial and so, yeah, it's centimeters, right? It's one touch of the puck. It is what it is.

It happened at the biggest moment. So it was everywhere. It was a really big moment, actually. If we go into the intermission tied 2-2, who knows where that's going? And then they get a power play. They score. It's 4-2, right? Chasing that team 4-2, you know, who knows where that's going, but that was, and then they get a power play, they score, it's 4-2, right?

Yes. Chasing that team 4-2 is, it's hard. It's hard. Yeah. Let me ask you about young German hockey players. So I spent a couple of days in Mannheim earlier this week, had a nice conversation with Daniel Hoppe, one of the owners of Adler Mannheim and talked to Mo Sider about his experience.

And Todd Holishko sent me a picture of you with, uh, the Mannheim kids or at St. Andrew's college, which for lack of a better way to describe it as sort of Canada's Shattuck St. Mary's and Dave Manning runs this exchange program with, um, uh, with St. Andrew's college and Mannheim. And so there you were, um, at St. Andrew's college at the rink there with, uh, with the young team. And I can only imagine like what kind of questions they would have for you because,

you know, I was talking to some people in Mannheim and it's like, you know, for young German hockey players, like now more so than ever, whether it's Stutzla, whether, you know,

it's cider and more specifically, you have had a lot of success in the nhl for young german hockey players they can say look that guy got to the nhl look that guy's winning scoring titles like that's a heart trophy like what do they talk to you about like what do kids say to you like you're at the st andrews college with these kids what are they talking to you about to be honest it was very brief um i just you know spoke to them for a second and just said that you know they should enjoy these tournaments outside of germany because i was in that same situation i sat in not that specific dressing room but we used to play

tournaments with manheim in sweden finland uh we played against shattuck. We played in Canada. So those are always the most fun tournaments, right, where you're out of your league. You can compete against teams that are probably better than teams in your league. That's the fun part about it, right? Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, I just try to give them a little bit of encouragement, I guess, that anyone that sits in that dressing room can make it to the NHL.

There's no doubt about it. You keep having fun with it. That's most important too. So yeah, hopefully there's a lot of kids that one day will play in the NHL. Do you have a thought on why we're starting to now finally see this rise in German hockey? see this rise in German hockey? I think about it sometimes and I have a hard time knowing why exactly. It just seems like the last five, six years,

it's just been on the uprise constantly, which is a great sign for German hockey. I just wonder if it's the U23 rule, if it's that simple. Maybe, but there's no kids really that came to the nhl from that right like timmy and mo they were just that good like they didn't yeah they didn't they didn't need they didn't need that rule to be on the team to get to the nhl their their top five nhl picks like they're just that good right so i think in in capacity maybe it helps with more kids playing but i think with those two

specifically i don't think that rule had much to do i think they were just good and they're skilled enough to to make it to the nhl does your dad take credit for you said it's all me yeah for sure probably he won't say it, but he probably thinks it, yeah. Last one I have for you is just about the Oilers again. And, you know, one of your teammates was saying, I think we're pretty good. But the one thing he said that was interesting was with Keith and Smith gone,

he said that sometimes you didn't always see it on the ice, but their personalities were big. And they said that we had a lot of things that went sideways at times last year. And they said three guys, they really said Hyman attitude never changes. He's always the same, but Smith and Keith were guys who pulled you into the fire and he wonders how the group is going to be without those personalities. Yeah.

Do you think that that is something that has to be addressed or looked at? Yeah. I think obviously guys that we're going to miss, especially in that, in that factor, you know, they've been through so much, both of them. Dunkey has just won everywhere. He's been smitty, obviously, with his competitive nature and his swagger and the way

he handles himself. You know, he's intense. He drags you into it. You have no choice but to do it the same way, right? We're going to miss them. But that also leaves a lot of opportunity for other players to grow into that, right? A lot of players that are going to have to step up in that way and, you know, take on a leadership role on our team.

So I think we'll be just fine. But yeah, we'll see. Great. Thanks, man. Really appreciate it. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. You did it faster than Stutzler did,

so you're smarter. He had to think about it for a second. I did too, actually. Elliot, he's probably, Leon is, one of my favorite interviews in the NHL. Well, the thing I really like about him is that he's blunt. He doesn't say it forcefully,

but he certainly knows how to get his point across. And he's pretty funny. So I think there's a lot of people very curious to see what the Oilers are going to look like right from the start of the season. And like I said in the interview, I don't know that I've ever seen a better hockey player standing still than Leon Dreisaitl. Well, he basically said that.

I know. The performance that he put forward last year in the playoffs still, to me, should be. I know that Colorado is going to be, of course, the Stanley Cup champions. They're going to be the big story. But that performance by Dreissel, man, that was one for the ages. I can only imagine what getting through a day must be like or putting on your socks, tying your shoes up. What would that feel like let alone playing an nhl game with a high ankle sprain someone's hitting you on the wrong ankle

hey dummy it's the other one great line uh let's hear from bill daly he's the deputy commissioner of the nhl always lots to go over here with Bill. Here he is on 32 Thoughts. Please be joined by Bill Daly, NHL Deputy Commissioner. And Bill, here we are in Paris. I was in Mannheim for a couple of days, spent some time with Daniel Hopp and the Mannheim organization. Elliot's going to Mannheim tomorrow, NHL games in Europe once again. And if you could, because international has always been something that's been handed to you, this is the Daily File. If you could blue sky the NHL's participation in Europe or plan for Europe, what would it look like? I know getting there is a hard thing, but in your mind, like 10, 15 years down the road, what does the NHl look like here so

i would say continued growth on an incremental basis right continued presence and growth on an incremental basis i think we recognize the importance of kind of seeding these markets with investment but also you know hockey programs at the grassroots level helping in that we just entered into new player development agreements with, I think, 12 European countries, eight-year agreements pursuant to which we pay them for the players we draft from here, the players we sign from here, the players who play in the league on a regular basis from here. It's actually a new formula that we developed. Continued investment, what that looks like 15 years from now. Obviously's actually a new formula that we developed. Continued investment, what that looks

like 15 years from now. Obviously, I get the question frequently about whether we're going to have a permanent presence with European teams here. And I certainly can foresee that. I just can't predict when that happens. I think the markets have to become a little more mature. I think the infrastructure is not the same as North American infrastructure, and I think that's an obstacle in the short term. But I certainly can see an NHL presence in Europe in the long term. Is there anything from European hockey, and I know it's different country to country,

that maybe you look at and you say, hmm, I wonder if this could work in the NHL? Yeah, I mean, I think we look at and you say, hmm, I wonder if this could work in the NHL. Yeah, I mean, I think we look at European leagues and play in European leagues on a regular basis. You know, our scouting presence or our club scouting presence in Europe has never been greater than it is currently. Whether there are ideas that come back from that, you know, maybe there are. But I think we have a pretty thoughtful group already who focuses

on our game in north america and uh you know they're the monitors of our game and and you know i think those issues and those ideas probably come up in our internal deliberations in north america and probably i don't won't even know that some have kind of european flavors one more in international hockey um world cup and we all understand the situation in ukraine and what that means for russia and russia's participation in hockey at a lot of different levels and a lot of different tournaments are you still moving along the same train track regardless of the russian situation still an ongoing project, yes. And it's not dormant. It's being worked on actively.

We're in regular communication with the Players Association and the representatives of the Players Association to move the project along. We're out in the market, both the media markets but also the sponsorship markets. We're still planning an international World Cup tournament in February of 24. I can't guarantee, as I sit here today, that's necessarily going to happen. We expect it

will. Can it be done with Russia where it is internationally right now? I mean, that's one of the things we have to evaluate, right? What is Russia's participation? Is it Russia's participation or is it the Russian players' participation? How can that be organized if we pursue that? So there are a couple of moving pieces, dynamics, that we'll figure out as we go along, but we don't think they're going to get in the way of having the tournament. You were talking just a few minutes ago about some things

are more mature in North America than Europe when it comes to international hockey. And one of the things I've heard over the years about the potential of an NHL division in Europe is, will European fans pay the same ticket prices that North American fans will? Is that one of the things that still is a factor when it comes to a future European division? Oh, we certainly run into that issue um you know when we put on the global series games quite frankly what will the market bear or what can it bear for professional sports or for professional hockey at the nhl level so sure that that is something that you have to take into consideration but quite frankly that you know you have to take that into consideration in north

america as well when you're expanding uh in in North America and what local economies look like and can they support a professional sports franchise you know charging top dollar. Victor Mete released a statement the other day on social saying that he'd been interviewed as part of the investigation into the world junior event in 2018. Where does that stand right now, Bill? It's ongoing. We have interviews scheduled this week. So we continue down the road. Is there a timeline on when you think we could get closure on this? I'm hesitant to give a timeline because I just don't know how long it's going to take at the end of the day. As I said, it's moving along in a perfect world. We'd love to have finality or resolution before training camp,

but is that going to happen? Actually, at this point, I don't think it will. So we're going to do a thorough, comprehensive job, and we'll see where that leads us. Is everybody participating yes okay you know there was a an article by robin doolittle in the globe and mail where the victim was said that she wasn't comfortable with how public that this had become is she participating in the investigation um she has participated to this point in a kind of defined way, but she has.

Yes. Okay. Is there anything else that you'd want to say about this right now? No. The NHL and NHLPA are bringing back their rookie showcase in Washington right after Labor Day. Is there going to be any program as part of that in terms of the league and the players association talking to players about, look, we've seen too many of these

things come to light and we have to change the way we behave in situations. The answer is actually we have a rookie orientation program, which follows up on the showcase that you're talking about. Yes. orientation program, which follows up on the showcase that you're talking about. Yes. And so we're going to have 120, 130 of our young players in that camp. And yes, there'll be attention given to that subject.

As we head into this season, it feels like, because last year there was the Olympic question and things getting compressed and then the season stretched out and here we are in July and holy smokes, here we go. It'sust and we're heading into september in training camps does it feel to you like finally this is going to be and i'm going to always use the air quotes on this one a normal season yeah i mean that's the plan and it does feel like we're getting there i mean we've gotten there gradually right um and uh you mentioned the fact that we're really only two weeks behind schedule for this summer. But I'll tell you, those two weeks are important weeks, right? It makes the summer feel short because it is short. And the fact that we're turning the page very soon and starting a new season,

it's hard to believe that summer has gone by as fast as it's gone by but we do expect that next year will be a normal season that will award a stanley cup at a normal time we'll have a draft at a normal time free agency will start at a normal time and then we'll all have our two and a half months summer instead of a month and a half you know at the board of governors meeting last year uh you and the commissioner talked about last season plus two more before the cap would go up. And then I heard some talk that maybe it was moved to last season plus three more. But I've been talking to some people in the last couple of weeks,

and they're a bit more optimistic. They think that there's a chance the cap goes up sooner. Do you believe that's possible or no i think it's possible what would you think is the most likely scenario where are we kind of looking at it right now i've seen some preliminary estimates recently which would make me more optimistic on the cap going up sooner you know whether that's in two seasons or three seasons i think it's probably more likely than not in two seasons or three seasons, I think it's probably more likely than not in two seasons rather than three. Because you gave me kind of a look there

that makes me say that you know something that the premise of my question might not have been very good. That's what I was wondering. No, no, I actually, it might be good. You know, the fact that our most recent numbers, both are kind of year-end numbers from last year, but also kind of projections for next year are very solid. The better we do collectively from a revenue standpoint, the faster we get to a stage where the cap can go is tied, again, to revenue. We have to wrap here. Is there any other league business that people should know about? No. See previous comment by E. Friedman.

Let me ask you one quick thing about the Ottawa Senators and that organization. Do we have a sense of where that situation is heading with ownership? I don't think there's been any material change in kind of where they are i think uh eugene's daughters are kind of assessing the situation uh obviously management has has operated uh as per usual over the course of the summer i think they've had a great

off season i think the the people in ottawa have a reason to look forward to a pretty good hockey team. So we'll see how that all plays out. But I have no inside information to break. Very good. Released. Thanks, Bill. Thanks, guys. That's NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

Hope you enjoyed the podcast today. Hope you enjoyed hearing from Leon Dreisletel and from Bill Daly. In our next podcast, you will hear from Jacob Markstrom and the Elliot ripped up Tim Stutzler. Oh, boy. He looks like if I'm an Ottawa Senators fan, there's a lot of reasons to be excited if you're a Sens fan. But Stutzler looks fantastic. He looks real good. Prime for a big season.

Final thoughts as we bid everyone adieu from Paris. Nothing from free. She says, go to the music. So, a little something with some local flair. Taking us out, La Kiffance. Here's Naps on 32 Thoughts the Podcast. paraitre là, j'suis en condi, comme à l'ancienne, j'mets le pôle au crocodile, bronzage doré, à l'huile de cocotier, voyager jusqu'au Nirvana, hôtel, 5 étoiles, prendre le petit déj en pyjama, faire un Jeep et tout sur le mont Fuji, yama, faire le tour de la Thaïlande

dans 500 yamaha, faut j'quitte la France, elle a fait la petite frange C'est là qu'il pense, c'est là qu'il pense Que je dépense, rejoins devant la défense C'est là qu'il pense, c'est là qu'il pense