32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Guelph Jammies

Episode Date: July 3, 2021

The Lightning continue to power through the Canadiens. Jeff and Elliotte recap game 3 of the Stanley Cup final (00:00), discuss the impact of Tyler Johnson and the impressive play of (injured) Nikita Kucherov, and explain how Conn Smythe voting works. Plus, they try to figure out where to get some Guelph Gryphons pajamas. They […]

yeah but i will sleep in guelph jammies for at least a week if it's a sweep oh man send for the jammies hashtag go griffins go if there aren't guelph jammies i will just take one of my t-shirts and i will take a red marker and i will spell guelph on. G-W-E-L-F. Can we all tell you went to Western? Oh, Jeff. Yes? Guess what I'm getting a lot of tweets and direct messages about.

Jammies? Guelf pajamas. Griffin's jammies, baby. Go, Griff's, go. Do even such things exist? No, you know why because Amel and I were texting tonight and then When we got on the call here for the podcast Amel

Said he'd been looking for them and they don't exist But there are onesies That exist and he's wondering if they can make An adult size onesie I don't think I'm going to fit into a onesie So I told I made the mistake of telling everybody Else about this today

as Tampa was closing it out in the third period. And Cassie was very excited because she's a Guelfer too. She was raised properly. That's right. Yes. Yes. She's a Griffin. She's a Griffin.

Yeah. And Kevin's like, I always figured you as someone who would sleep in the nude. I was like, Kevin, what am I supposed to do with that? By the way, I was mentioning to Amel and I haven't told him why. I don't like this. Don't like what? The whole idea that you're going to sleep in Guelph Griffin's jammies. Okay.

I don't like this. And here's why. Because it wasn't a real bet. It was just something you said. There was no tension. I put nothing on the line here that's why i don't like this like i'm more than happy to call this off right now but make this part of a bet somewhere down the line because it's not a bet it's just you said that you would

do this if this happened what should have followed is and i'll put something on the line as well otherwise there's no tension there's no tension here at all that's why i don't like it i understand what you're saying but no no jeff jeff you have to understand it's no longer about me and you right it's about the audience and if i'm getting tweets and direct messages it's because i get it people want it everything i've done in this while we've been working during the pandemic is is supposed to be fun for the audience. It's been a really challenging time. I've tried to make it fun for people. If they're into this and reminding us of this,

I mean, it was stupid. I shouldn't have said it. I did say it. It's dumb. It's stupid. But we're not running away from it. It's that simple. No, listen.

I've spent a lot of nights, while you're on television, when I get texts from people saying, what is up with Elliot's fill in the blank, whatever it is, hair, usually. I always say like, this guy's trying to entertain people and make them laugh. This guy's having a good laugh at himself and letting people laugh at the same time. So I get all that. And this is part of it.

So, of course, I'm going to go along with it. Maybe all I'm saying is, I'm not going to take as much. Maybe this is why I don't of it. So of course I'm going to go along with it. Maybe all I'm saying is I'm not going to take as much, maybe this is why I don't like it, I'm not going to take as much delight in seeing it if it does happen. Now let's say it looks like it's going to be a sweep,

but there's still another game here. At least one more game here. And this is, you know, a team that is quite proud and I'm sure it's a team that doesn't want to see the Stanley Cup paraded on their home ice. But I'm sure it's a team that doesn't want to see the Stanley Cup paraded on their home ice,

but I'm not going to take any delight in it, or I won't take as much delight in seeing it as if I had put something up as well. I can't do a victory lap over it. Essentially is what I'm saying. So maybe selfishly, I don't like this because I can't take any delight in it because I didn't get taken off the hook by it

you know what i mean yeah jeff you're overthinking elliot's gonna do it okay elliot's gonna do it nah everything is tension and release tension and release tension and release you're overthinking it all right all right uh here we go tampa six montreal three tampa takes a commanding three nothing lead dom ducharme returns uh behind the bench for the Montreal Canadiens for the second game in a row. No Alex Killorn. 3,500 proud and loud at the Bell Centre. By the way, do you wonder at all if there were more than 3,500 people there?

I was going to get to that. It's funny you should mention that because I did write down, like right beside on my note here, it says 3,500 and then in brackets, I just put a question mark because it looked and sounded like more than 3,500 people. I just wonder.

You were there. Can you count houses? Are you old school wrestler who can walk to the ring and count the house and know what his payoff is? I was once told by a friend of mine who used to work in police that I was the worst crowd counter of anyone he ever met. Yeah, I'm pretty bad at it too. I'm really bad at it.

Yes, I was terrible at estimating crowds. However, that looked, never mind what it sounded like, it sounded fantastic. That looked to me like more than 3,500 people. Okay, so the game gets kicked off by a couple of quick goals by the Tampa Bay lightning, Jan Ruda, Victor had been two nothing.

And then Dom Ducharme calls a timeout three minutes and 30 seconds in to calm everyone down. Philip Deneau scores. That's a line that's been called on to try to get some offense. If you're not going to have a checking game, you got to get at the other end. Transition game here. They're saved by Price, but watch the middle of the ice.

This is Gallagher who creates so much of this. Coming to the net. You know that gets into the hand of Vasilevsky. He's got Savark with him. And this little quick brister up and over the blocker and off the post and in. We saw Caulfield earlier go to the first intermission. What did you think of? I want to go period by period with this on you.

What did you make of the first? You were there. Your thoughts? It was really amazing. The place was so wired. You know that Montreal puts on a great show. Everybody was excited, and three and a half minutes in, it's 2-0. Yeah.

Tampa came ready to play, and you and I had talked about this, and I think I mentioned it in just about every interview I did in the 48 hours leading up to Game 3. The Lightning were going to be juiced to play that game. I mean, we all knew Montreal was going to be excited. They were at home. It was their first Stanley Cup game at the Bell Center. The fans were going to be lined up outside.

It was going to be crazy. They're home down 2-0. We all know that. But you look at all the Quebec connections on the Lightning. Oh, yeah. In the front office, on the ice, you know, you replace one injured Quebecer, Alex Killorn, with another one, Matthew Joseph.

To me, the most interesting one, and I showed it at the end of the, in the first intermission. So all the Tampa guys are getting booed when they're being introduced and they're all stone faced, except when they go to Sergeyev and he has the smirk on his face. And he's of course got the connection too. He was drafted by the Canadians. And I looked at that and I said, they're ready to play. Like sometimes you try to read someone's emotions and it can go totally flat. But the moment that happened, I actually asked our producers to keep that shot for me. Cause I said,

these guys are ready to play. And in one of the few instances, I was actually right about something. I just think Tampa, they're not only a good team, they're a high IQ team and they're well coached and they know what Montreal is going to do and they attack it. They say, this is how we're going to stop it or this is how we're going to attack it. You know, like Kevin talked about,

Montreal packs it in very tight. So guys like Ruda and Hedman, they know what to do and they score the first two goals. I just think, again,a is proving that anything you any way you want to play anything you want to try we're going to be able to handle it and we thought montreal was going to come out and blow off the barn doors tonight tampa's like nope not happening we're shutting it down. You know what I thought of when I saw that smirk from Sergeyev? What's that? A conversation that I had with Rocky Thompson

when he coached the Windsor Spitfire. So Sergeyev was their top defenseman. Everyone at Windsor used to say the same thing. Mikhail Sergeyev skates like he's in a rocking chair. He's just easy and smooth and cool and doesn't get stressed. And that's how he skated. That's how he played.

And Sergeyev and Rocky Thompson would have these great table tennis matches. Both are really good table tennis players. And I remember asking Rocky once, I said, who wins these? And he said, why don't you go ask them? This was after one of the skates. And I went and asked them. And all I saw was that smirk. And that's all he would do.

It was honestly, Friedrich, it was hilarious. And then when we saw that, the anthem, and you brought it up in the intermission, I'm like, I got to mention this on the podcast because I've seen that before. Nice. That's the table tennis question over the epic ping pong battles with Rocky Thompson with the Windsor Spitfires.

We should point out too. And I know goalies will always say, well, it went wide. Cole Caulfield hit a post in that first period too. Like that could go to the first period all tied up at twos after, you know, the Tampa Bay lightning go up too early in this one.

I also, by the way, think that Cooper was really smart not to challenge. Well, absolutely. Or else, and listen, the two, one goal Cooper was really smart not to challenge. Well, absolutely. Or else, and listen. The 2-1 goal we're talking, because first of all, I thought it was on side. And secondly, if he's wrong, it's 2-1 and Montreal gets the power play.

And I bet you Cooper thought about that. Like there's some challenges that have really blown up in people's faces this year. Montreal had one in the Toronto series. Toronto had one in the Montreal series. Toronto had one in the Montreal series. Cooper had one against the Islanders. I think he was just saying, unless it's so blatant, we're not even risking this. A second period was kind of like the first,

in a sense. Kucherov scores, Tyler Johnson scores, more on him in a couple of moments. And then Nick Suzuki scores to end the period to keep that flicker of hope alive for the montreal canyons well they needed that and how often has nick suzuki provided something that canadians have needed in these playoffs and in golf you call it the announcer's curse here's the curse the other other way. Suzuki comes deep in his zone, gets his wheels going,

beats Braden Coy to the outside. And we've seen this shot be successful for Suzuki in these playoffs. Keeps his legs moving, disguises it well, and that one slides underneath. One thing in the second I wanted to get your thoughts on. Did you think that Hedman should have been called when his stick got caught in Corey Perry skates? It's a good question.

Let me give you my theory. My answer is yes. And here's why Corey Perry didn't go down, but if Corey Perry goes down in that situation, he probably draws a penalty. But in that situation, he shows quite obviously that he could have a penalty. But in that situation, he shows quite obviously that he could have stayed up and he did stay up,

that he didn't have to dive. And if he falls down, he probably grabs a penalty, but he didn't. If we're going to try to discourage players from not diving, like if you're Corey Perry and you're going back to the bench, what are you thinking? If that ever happens again, I'm going down and i'm drawing and anyone watching that is going to say the same thing even if i can stand up i'm not getting the call but if i fall down

with his stick you know tucked in my tuck i'm getting the call that's why I was hoping it would be a call. I think that's a legit feeling. I understand that. I think that's, you know, I think that's very well explained, Jeff, and I'm not, I'm not going to debate you on that one. What did you make of the second? Even when they scored to make it four to two, I never really thought Tampa was in trouble. I know, I think it was Kevin who actually started the intermission. And he said that if you're Tampa, you're annoyed, it casts a pall over it.

I thought it was a big goal for Montreal, obviously, to make it 4-2. But I never really felt Tampa was threatened at that point. Vasilevsky was just disgusted at himself. And I just always felt he was going to close the door in the first period. Yes. I thought there was a time where Montreal took over the game and threatened Tampa, but at that point and late in the second period,

I just didn't feel that Montreal was going to have enough to come back and beat them. So Kucherov scores, Johnson scores, Suzuki scores. We head to the third period. Tyler Johnson scores again to make it five two cory perry makes it five three blake coleman with the empty net goal and there's your final six three uh is the final although ben schrott almost had one late

there and and got a pass andre vasilevsky takeaways from this game park the the kucherov conversation because i want to get there but maybe for me front and center and i think for a lot of people as well and a lot of guys on this team starting with really patrick maroon who went out of his way to talk about him tyler johnson had an outstanding game for the tampa bay lightning and here's a guy who's had how many different hurdles placed in front of him whether it it's waivers, whether it's trade rumors, whether it's your contracts, no good. We need to get rid of you to make our cap work here.

And this guy never had boo-boo face to my knowledge, the whole season. And here he is performing in game three. You know, I had an agent send me a note tonight who said that he wonders if Tyler John, it's going to be a lot easier for Tampa to move Johnson now that someone's going to look at the way he's playing now and is going to say

he can help us now, who knows where Tampa will be after the season and what they decide to do. But I thought that was a really interesting point that a text from an agent who's, and he, this agent is not, does not johnson as a client but he just said that they're going to be able to move them somebody's going to look at that guy and say he can help us so i have a i have a funny story too about johnson so i have a friend who lives down in the in the florida area the tampa area and his son's a lightning fan. And he told me that he had a piece of memorabilia that was signed by Johnson. And he said, you'll love this.

You can talk about it, but I can't send it to you. It's a piece of memorabilia signed by a whole bunch of Lightning after they won the Stanley Cup last year. And Tyler Johnson knew he wasn't going to be back. And I said, well, I think everybody thought that. He goes, no, no, no. I knew he wasn't going to be back. And I said, well, I think everybody thought that. He goes, no, no, no, no. I knew he wasn't going to be back. I said, well, how do you know?

He goes, um, he signed it. Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay lightning 2009 to 2020. And I go, oh, wow. Like that's, that's really a good story. I, I really liked that story. So I just double checked, you know, when was Johnson signed? Like, one of those things you just double-check to make sure. He signed in Tampa in 2011.

So I was like, wait a sec. Why would it say 2009 or 2020 if he didn't sign until, like, did he know two years before he was going to sign that he was going to be a member of the Lightning? And, you know, the person said, oh, I think it says 2004 and 2020. And I said, those are the two years the Lightning won the Stanley Cup. So my buddy's like trying to feed me this story and it's completely wrong. He, I'll tell you what, man, I got all day for, I think a lot of us do for Tyler Johnson, the undrafted player is always a great story. Fantastic.

How many years have we talked about the triplets? It seems like a million years ago, but the triplets were a great story once upon a time. And he was a huge part of it. Okay, hang on. Let's talk about the Montreal Canadiens then. Before we get to the Nikita Kucherov conversation, your thoughts on the Habs right now.

So a couple of things. Number one, Price has not been himself. And I know that my Price-Khan-Smith take from the post-game two podcast went over like a lead balloon in some quarters. I saw some of the replies. I was laughing pretty hard at them. But, you know, he just doesn't look like himself.

I thought Kelly did a really good job of talking about it during the game. He's not playing the puck like normal. In the first three rounds, a lot of the times there were just no rebounds and he's, you know, there are rebounds. He just doesn't look comfortable. He looks really uncomfortable.

I have to say when it was four to one, the first thing I looked at was the bench to see if Jake Allen would stir it all or Ducharme would look in his direction and Allen never moved. And I could see what Allen's doing. He's not going to, he's not going to disrespect his partner like that until he's told he's going in. I actually thought he handled it really well.

You know, when it's four, two, you're keeping pricing at that point. I think obviously you're starting pricing game four, but he looks really rough. You know, the other one was, there, you're keeping Price in at that point. I think obviously you're starting Price in game four, but he looks really rough. You know, the other one was there was a lot of talk here,

like do they bring in Thomas Tatar? Do they make a switch on defense with Gustafson or anything like that? And I didn't think they should do it for game three, but I think you have to do something in game four. You know, we all knew Armia was coming back in if he was ready. I think they got to try something a little different. I don't know which defenseman it is. I don't know which forward it maybe goes out, but I would try something a little bit different,

whether it's Tatar or Romanov or whatever it is. I think you've got to try something else. The group is just not secure. It starts with the goaltender and it moves on down from there. Nikita Kucherov. You talked plenty about him on television tonight and we talked about him

on the last podcast. And if it's going to be a Tampa Bay Lightning player that wins the Kahn-Smythe trophy, you were wondering about Braden Point or Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov was... Or Vasilevsky.

I think Vasilevsky is legit. I threw Vasilevsky in there as well, but I tend to always defer to goaltenders in the playoffs for each. Fair. Like when it comes to Kahn-Smythe, I'm always front and center has got to be the goal. There was only one year

where I really didn't have a goaltender in the conversation. That was 2010, but I don't think anybody did. It was like whichever goalie has the nerve to make a save first, that team is going to win the Stanley Cup. Nikita Kucherov, your thoughts right now. This has been, for the second to make a save first, that team is going to win the Stanley Cup.

Nikita Kucherov, your thoughts right now. This has been, for the second playoff in a row, a remarkable, remarkable run for one of the best players in the league. So let me just explain to everybody one of the things about the Consummate Trophy voting. I don't remember the amount of voters. I think it's 18 or something like that. And the two teams that are in, they get

extra voters if there are enough. Like for example, all the people who would cover Tampa Bay, they would get a block of voters. People who cover Montreal, they get a block of voters. And then there would be some at-large voters. And the way it works is whenever there is a clinching game, you must submit your ballot one two and three with 10 minutes to play in regulation and like for example even if for example montreal is winning 5-1 with 10 minutes to go in game four you still have to submit your ballot and you can do some things you know for example if a goalie completes a shutout you can say move vasilevsky up or if the game is tied and this guy can't

choose between say Point and Kucherov and you say, well, if one of those two scores, the overtime winner bumped them up, you can do all this stuff. But you have to have your ballot in. We know we have to submit ballots with 10 minutes left in regulation on Monday night, no matter what the score is. And I think the way it's gone in the final, unfortunately for Price, it's not going to be him, win or lose, at least at this point. But Kucherov, Vasilevsky, or Point,

I'm really going to have to sit down over the next 48 hours. I talked a lot about Kucherov. There are some people who really agree with my Kucherov take that it's an incredible accomplishment considering he didn't play a regular season game. There are some people who really agree with my Kucherov take that it's an incredible accomplishment considering he didn't play a regular season game. There's some people who really disagree with it. We haven't seen anything like this since Mario Lemieux had a herniated disc and missed all but, I think, 26 games in 1991 and then had 44 points in 29 games in the playoffs. I think what Kucherov has done is a great accomplishment.

He's leading the playoff scoring by a significant margin. He's the first back-to-back 30-point guy since Gretzky. There are a lot of people who can't get past the cap situation. They are so angry about the cap situation. They can't get past it. I don't feel that way. If they weren't going to fix it after Kane in 2015, they're not going to fix it. But I'm'm gonna have to sit down between the three of them do you think that affects his votes i can't speak for anyone else it won't affect my vote right but

do you think again i'm not i'm just saying a gut feeling like are there a number of voters so repulsed by the cap situation with nikita kucherov this year in tampa that it would affect their vote not that i know of like nobody's told me that now i have to check the list of voters and i'd probably have to go through some of their previous work to see if they'd ever written anything on it but nobody has said to me and everybody knows i'm voting because i'm on a list but nobody has said to me that they won't vote for Kucherov because of that. I wouldn't. That doesn't have any effect on me at all.

It's remarkable. You remember the Vancouver draft, obviously. That was one of the more, that was one of the more interesting drafts for rumors at that draft was the first time. Oh, and by the way,

I should say, I think Kucherov is hurt. I think he has a rib injury. That is a problem. Courtesy of Scott Mayfield. Yes. That Vancouver draft was interesting. That was one of the more rumor-filled drafts.

And there were all kinds of things we thought were going to happen. Tyson Berry was going to sign with the Vancouver Canucks. That was the first time I had caught wind. Maybe you knew it before that we heard about Neil Ferluchich. And man, Kucherov's name was everywhere, like all over the place with wild stories of humongous trades. Now, obviously, none of them came to fruition, but normally you don't hear that about you know elite level superstar players but i just remember you know remember flying back from that vancouver draft and saying wow man kucherov's name was everywhere like every conversation had hey what's

tampa gonna do here are they really gonna move kucherov like jeez i never thought they were going to i never did never even though i mean, I never thought they were going to, I never did. Never. Even though, I mean, you heard the name out there. I mean, that was huge on the floor. It's certainly on,

on the, on the first night. What do you think happens next game? Do you have a gut on this one? Like the first 10 minutes you suspect are all going to be Montreal. I don't know. I mean, there's such a machine,

the lightning. I feel that Chris Johnson should be tweeting that Tampa Bay such a machine, the Lightning. I feel that Chris Johnston should be tweeting that Tampa Bay is a juggernaut, and maybe that will get Montreal back in the series. Yeah. Okay, we have a lot to get to today. So that is Game 3, a commanding 3-0 series lead. We all await now Monday and Game 4.

A lot of news and notes, plenty to get to. A big signing in Minnesota, that's making headlines. Duncan Keith continues to make headlines as well. And LA and Nashville consummate a trade. All of that's next. There's 31 Thoughts, the podcast kicks off. Welcome to the pod, presented by the GMC Sierra AT4. Okay, welcome back to the podcast.

Merrick alongside Friedman. We want to keep these as tight and bright as possible. I know we get wordy. I believe Elliot refers to it as loquacious. So we'll keep this tight. Joel Eriksson-Ack, an eight-year contract, $42 million, 5.25, is the AAV fourth in Selkie Trophy voting. And without players like Mikko Koivu or Eric Stahl ahead of him,

this guy really had a significant coming out party this year for Minnesota. Your thoughts on the deal and the player? Well, I'm a big fan of the player. I think it's a great signing for Minnesota, and I think he's going to be a huge part of what they try to do over the next few years. This has reshaped my thinking, Jeff. I didn't think we'd see too many eight-year deals, but I think what Ryan Nugent Hopkins has done is given the template for teams and agents to say, if players want to stay in their certain cities because they're happy there,

the teams will give up term and the players will give up AAV. So I think we might see some more long-term deals with lower numbers. You know, when Nugent Hopkins deal, you know, someone said to me, that's a good number. I had a couple people say to me, that's a really good AAV for Edmonton. And they gave up the length. And you'll do that. You know, you'll take your chance on a player you know.

And now, not long after he gets that deal done, Erickson Eck gets this deal done. And it's a number that Minnesota is going to be able to handle no problem. And the player's clearly happy and the team's clearly happy. And I wonder if we're going to see a couple more that look like this, this particular off season. He took a huge step there. He's a really good and talented player. And I think you got to keep and reward your guys and the wild have done that here.

It's been a little bit painful getting there. There've been some scratches. There've been some demotions, but honestly, I think this is proof that don't quit on a player just because he gets sent down to the American hockey league or don't quit on a first round draft pick just because it takes him a couple of years to get it

at the NHL level. Kaken Yemi, same guy. Like, you know, how many people said in Montreal. Bad pick. Bad pick. Bad pick. It takes time. A couple more thoughts on Minnesota quickly.

Other deals still to go. Kevin Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov. Will these be easy? Will these be hard? What do you look for these? Well, Kevin Weeks already gave all Minnesota fans a heart attack. Heart attack. I know.

You know, the same agent who represented Kaprizov, Paul Theofanis, he represented Weeks. So, you know, there's some intel there. I think at the end of the day, the Minnesota Wild believe that Kaprizov wants to be in Minnesota. And this is one where Minnesota is going to have to bend to the will of the player a little bit. I don't think he wants term, you know, Mike Russo, who's as plugged in there as

you get has reported that I don't think he wants term. I think when you have a superstar cornerstone player like this one, you have to be willing to bend a bit more to the player. And I think at the end of the day, the wild may have to do some things here to get them signed. That's not their first choice, but he's got the

power and you have to deal with that. The most exciting player Minnesota has had since Marion Gabrick. Kevin Fiala, quick. Don't have as much intel of him. Switched agents, don't have as much intel on Fiala right now. Okay.

Switching to Los Angeles and Nashville. It is Victor Arvidsson for a second and a third. The Kings need goals. And as you mentioned, I think a couple of podcasts ago, Nashville looking to, quote, do some things. Many have looked at Victor Arvidson, and the main thing that they look at is, man, he can't get the hospital bracelet off. He's been injured a lot the last couple of seasons, and that's hurt his production. Many have pointed to the Robert Bertuzzo hit as the beginning of it for him.

That's true. Can you walk us through both sides of this? Why this works for Nashville? Why this works for LA? Well, one of the things you talked about the injuries, there's no question that since that Bertuzzo hit and a couple of big ones, our origins taken that, you know, it has hurt him a little bit as a player. No question about that.

Nobody ever questions his heart, his effort, his willingness to compete, but he's been through some traumatic things body-wise that he's trying to overcome. I did understand that the medicals were kind of like one of the last things that had to get done. I think the Kings wanted to know exactly

what they were dealing with here, but they were very interested in the player. They went hard after him. And, you know, one of the things I'd heard, Jeff, is that Arvidsson had asked for a trade. Nobody would admit that to me, but if you, you know, David Poyle made some comments after on the ESPN station in Nashville, 102.5, and I'm calling them out because I go on there every week.

So I want to, you know, my broadcast partners here, he made it sound pretty clear that Arvidsson and the team were ready for a divorce. You know, it's a shame. He embodied a lot of who the predators were and what they were about. But, you know, as someone has said to me, I think there's a lot of players right now in teams that after this hard year, you know, there, there could be some breakups here and there. I think Nashville takes a big run at signing Grandland.

I think they might do some other things. I thought it was really interesting to see Philip Forsberg with the thumbs down on Instagram after. Big time. That was a really close team that grew up together and now they see the end. But unfortunately, Nashville, this group hit its peak and they're going to make some changes.

The other thing is I think they were worried they were going to lose them for the expansion draft and they wanted to reap the benefits, not let maybe Seattle flip them and reap the benefits. I'll tell you something else too about the Kings. The Kings are going at it this off season. I was going to say, is this the indication that the Kings are going at it this off season. I was going to say, does this, is this the indication that the rebuild is over?

Over. Yes. Our buddy, John Davis, West Coast Hockey. Yeah. You know, I told him that I was hearing they were going for, going to get Arvidsson and, you know, his reaction was, that's exactly what they need. And he wasn't the only person that responded that way

i'll tell you one other guy who i really wonder if the kings are going to take a good long look at and that's brandon sod they've helped to shore up the right wing with victor arvidson see i look at this and i say we think of the los angeles kings we look at ansi kopitar we look at drew dowdy and we say okay there's some guys from the Stanley Cup era that are still there. But then there's a lot of kids as well. And now this is the beginning of, okay, we're ready to take that step. We're ready to win now.

And I think they look around at their division and say, hold on a second here. We kind of have a shot at this one. Much like I think some teams that were in the north division said this is kind of a chance for us here this might not be the strongest of all possible divisions i think la kings are thinking about the exact same thing in theirs so that shouldn't surprise anyone that they're going after some of the more high-priced help around the NHL, some more veteran guys.

That doesn't shock me a bit. Someone was saying to me they wouldn't be surprised if they're a player for Saad. Obviously, they're listening to what Drew Doughty has to say. Duncan Keith and the situation there. Everyone at Edmonton has circled their own wagon and has said, essentially, we expect Duncan Keith to be an oiler next season. And everybody has their idea of what a return should be. Everyone has an idea of how much money Chicago should eat in this deal.

I know that there's a million people with a million different opinions on it, but the one consistency is Duncan Keith appears to be headed to Edmonton. From the conversations you've had, what can you glean so far? I do think Edmonton is very much a player in this. I had heard Seattle was also a very big player in this, and they made it clear that they wanted to be a big player in this. I had heard that Seattle kind of saw Keith as a guy who could be a great kind of veteran to build the group around and probably be their first captain, but I don't think it's trending that way.

I think we're going to see how, if Chicago and Edmonton can grind their way there. One of the biggest problems is that Edmonton is not crazy about Keith at the full cap hit, even though the cash is way down and Chicago's whole plan for this is to create the room to go get a Seth Jones or a Dougie Hamilton so they don't want to eat a lot of it or take money back that is going to ruin that plan. Like, you know, you've heard it too.

I think everybody believes that Chicago is saying we want Caleb Jones in this deal so that it can help entice Seth to unite with his brother. But one of the biggest hurdles I've heard is both teams don't want to interfere with their cap situations. I will tell you this. I've had some people who tell me they do think it's most likely that Keith ends up in Edmonton, but there are some hurdles that have to get done and it's not a guarantee. What do you hear? I hear that much like you, that Edmonton is very much a favorite in this one, that Caleb Jones's name very much is in the conversation with this deal.

And like you, it sounds like, it sounds like what Chicago wants to do here is unite Caleb and Seth Jones. Just like you mentioned, like that's the play here for Chicago. And I have heard, although I haven't spoken to Seth Jones directly about it, I have heard that Chicago is one of the cities and teams

that intrigues him. Interesting. You mentioned Seattle. I want to end on this one. Todd Laywicky, Seattle Kraken CEO, telling Ron Francis, ownership has given him the green light to spend to the cap. Should that surprise anyone? No, but I don't believe that that is their plan.

I'd be really surprised if they did that. I think the Kraken want maximum financial flexibility. And it's always good to have your ownership come out and say that. I would be surprised if that's what they chose to do. And before we say goodbye, I just want to say this. So on Thursday, Canada Day, I got on my first flight since coming home from the NHL general managers meetings in March of 2020, which was a week before the shutdown. And I can't remember the last game I attended. The last one I know I attended was the All-Star game in St. Louis, but there might've been another one after

that. So this was probably my first game in about 17 months. And it's like, you don't realize how much you miss something until it's gone. I really missed it and I really loved it. And, uh, you know, to all of you out there who are hockey fans listening to this podcast, I

hope you've had a chance to go see a game and rekindle your love for the sport. Many of us in Canada are very similar to me that they still haven't. And hopefully we get to do it next year. And I hope it comes for all of you sooner rather than later because it was special to me. I really didn't care how the game ended.

It was just great to be back in a rink and be among people. You know, we went for dinner last night as a group. It was just great to be back in a rink and be among people. We went for dinner last night as a group. It was just great to do that. I hope every hockey fan, if you haven't already, I wish every hockey fan, as soon as possible,

the day they can go back and watch a game because you walk in there and you realize, holy bleep, did I miss this and did I need this? You know, I'm curious about, was there one thing that you saw, heard, smelled that you had maybe taken for granted until you experienced it?

And then you said, man, I'm never going to take that for granted. Because for me, when I did that Montreal-Vancouver game on Hockey Night this year, and that was my first time in a rink since the top prospects game in Hamilton the year before. The first thing that struck me was the first time I heard, you know what it's like, you walk into the building, and you know you're close to the ice when you hear the puck hit the glass, and there's that crack, that sound. And you're not there to see it. You only hear it sort of faintly in the distance.

I don't want to get too overly dramatic and poetic about it, but it's almost like a call. It's like, okay, follow that sound. That's where the hockey is. And that one really hit me hard, like getting in the rink and hearing the puck hit the glass in warmup. That was a strong one for me.

Was there one of those moments for you? You know, there's a couple of things. So we left to the rink at four o'clock and I walked with Kevin and Dave and, you know, just seeing the fans out, you know, by that time they were starting to claim their spots outside the, the bell center. They were excited. Like there were people clapping for Kevin. I was like, why are they clapping for you? You're not playing, but we were just laughing about it and ripping

each other. And, uh, you know, people were doing selfies and we were just asking them to like, stand in front of us. And we stood behind them a bit socially distant so they could take pictures. And, you know, it was nice to mingle out with about fans, like, you know, the, and, you know, just to smile and laugh. And, you know, we walked into the, to the bell center and the security guy looked at Kevin and goes, your tan's not too bad.

And we were just howling. You know what it was? It was like, it was just being together with people and busting each other, you know, everybody out here that was fun. And I just think that at the end of the day, it was just that feeling of being in the ring for the anthem, the player introductions,

that anticipation and the electricity of a big game. I was caught up in it. I was like, this is a big game. I forgot that feel. It's awesome. It's great. Glad you got to have the experience. That's amazing. I hope everybody out there gets it soon if they haven't had it

already. Amen. By the way, we're dropping another podcast on Monday with a very special guest. This is one that we recorded earlier on this week. You will not want to miss it. Meanwhile, taking us out, an indie folk band from Down Under who's been making music together for the last 15 years.

Their 2014 album, Rucker's Hill, shook up the Australian music scene, but it was their follow-up record that showcased the band's ability to stretch their sound. From their 2020 album, which was partly written at the Westbury Hotel, here's Husky with Wristwatch on 31 Thoughts, the podcast. With my feet pulled down, I've put your eyes hunched in sleep And my car wrapped around you two times I watch you breathe

I put on my wristwatch Set the time to 5.30am Throw my phone in the fire, and leave before I change my mind again. I'm out.