32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Heritage and Hellebuyck

Episode Date: October 26, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts LIVE from Winnipeg Manitoba, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin by unpacking the Connor Hellebuyck trade between the Jets and Devils. They wrap a bow on Heritage Classic weekend in Winnipeg (22:00). They delve into Quinn Hughes's return to Vancouver (27:00). The guys talk about Devin Cooley's run of captivating interviews (30:00). They Check-In on the Dylan Larkin situation in Detroit (33:00), and they talk about Alexander Nikishin's one year extension with Carolina (39:00). Kyle and Elliotte update you on Ivan Miroshnichenko's desire for a trade (42:00). The Final Thought focuses on Nikita Kucherov becoming Tampa Bay's franchise leader in points (47:00). Kyle and Elliotte answer your emails and voicemails in the Thoughtline (54:33).In this episode we highlight Charlottetown rockers Gizmo and their track Gift Shop. Check them out here.Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here.Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.32 Thoughts is 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I just want to say, we're having a good experience at the hotel. Rooms are very comfortable. I have nothing bad to say about it. But Colby says they can't find a room key that works for his room. So every time he comes back to the hotel, they have to call security to let him into his room. And I say to Kevin and Ron, there is no way this is true. He is making it up. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast from Winnipeg, wrapping up our weekend at the Tim Horton's Heritage Classic.

Dom, Elliot, and Kyle back with you. This is the hotel hopping episode of the pod. Now, those that have been listening for long enough, remember a number of years back, this was before my time with any association with this show, the first time Elliot met Dom in person was in Seattle for the winter classic, and their first interaction was, in Dom's hotel room and Elliot sprawled out on Dom's bed, much to this young man's horrifying dismay. I will just say to you, history has repeated itself. Elliot has made himself very comfortable in Dom's hotel room here in Winnipeg. We should say that Dom has two beds. Yes.

And I specifically did ask, which is the one he's not using? although Kyle did doubt I could do a plank between the two beds and I proved to him it was possible. And it was good. You didn't have the point. No, no. I have good plank form. I have good plank form. Nice and flat across the top.

It was very good. So we've warmed up after a great night out in the cold at Princess Auto Stadium and we'll get to the game and just the experience and some highlights over the weekend here at Winnipeg. But we have to start, of course, with the news that finally went down on Friday. With Connor Hallibuck being traded to New Jersey, we interviewed Kevin Shevoldeoff the other day. He was excellent in discussing it. Very good. But you had been withholding your in-depth thoughts on this whole matter until now, Elliot. So why don't you start us there and your feeling on everything that's gone on here?

So deadlines per action, right? And it wasn't a hard and fast deadline. They did not have to trade Connor Hallibuck on. Friday when they did. We know it was the first day that they were probably going to have to pay him because it was the final day of the NHL agreed suspension that the Jets gave to Hellebuck for being out of training camp without permission. So as of that day, they were going to have to start paying him. And that's a factor. Money is always a factor. But I don't know if it was 100% the factor. Kyle, one of the things I've heard that was in danger of occurring over this weekend was,

so at some point last week, Connor Hellebuck informed the Jets that he was going to come into town and do a physical. And you need to have that physical and pass that physical technically before you can be paid. And as part of that, there was a chance that Hellowbuck was going to talk to the media, that he was going to make himself available. And look, regardless of what anyone feels about all this and who they think is right and who they think is wrong and whatever, while this has caused incredible strain on everybody involved, people were trying to be publicly respectful of each other. You know, you heard Shevleda off in our interview on Saturday. What are to talk about, hey, we're having an alumni game this weekend, and someday I'd like for Connor

Hallibuck to be part of it. I think if Hellebuck had spoken, the gloves would have gone off. And I think the Jets would have responded in kind. Like if people think that this was, if this was mean or bad or off the rails or anything like that, when this was all over, people told me it had a big chance to get worse. And it was going to get worse if everyone talked to the media. And I think, you know, between, you know, what do we also know now that, as you talked about it, Shevoldeoff met with his leadership group in Dallas.

And they talked about what the next steps were. And you look at all the comments that were made before the trade, you look at all the comments that were made after the trade, like the Kyle Connor one really stood out in particular. Yeah, pretty succinct. I think the team knew how the players felt. I think, like, I just think the organization said, it's time.

It is time to do this and the time is now. And what I think, and eventually, you know, Hallibuck had agreed, they were working on an, I shouldn't say he had agreed. They were working on an agreement. where he wouldn't come in to Winnipeg until next week or this coming week if he wasn't traded. But even then, there was still a chance that it could go public. I think nobody wanted that.

As much as the financial situation, I think the possibility of this going to another level of he said, she said, finger pointing. nobody wanted that especially not the players and that is to me is as much a reason that this trade happened now as anything else i mean you had gotten the sense Thursday night that this was getting close i do believe for the team flying back from dallas to winnipeg late thursday night i think at that point the players had a pretty good indication that this was coming down to an end yeah on friday morning but you know then you listen to hellabuck when he speaks to the the media the other day from new jersey and his line about i've got a lot to say but i know they've got the heritage classic there so i'm just going to wait on that for now i thought that was interesting only because

like at that point he's not a winnipeg jet anymore if he wanted to speak his mind on whatever clearly there's still stuff on his chest that at one point he'll get off he could have done so there. So I don't know if he just felt in the end, it was civil enough. It got done. He did not want to pour any more gasoline on the fire because my point is he certainly could have. I guess at that point he didn't owe anyone anything if he wanted to go down that road. Well, what's interesting about it is, and nothing you said is wrong, but what did he do on Saturday afternoon? He punted, right? He didn't say, I'm not going to talk about it. He said, I'm not going to talk about it this weekend. which I think was the right thing to do.

I have to say this. I would never profess to tell Connor Hellebuck what to do. But if I was giving him advice or he asked me my opinion, my opinion would be take the W. You've won. You know, you've won. And he got traded. You could see he was in a good mood.

He was happy to be traded. It was time, as we said. He's in a situation where he's obviously very happy. You know, I had people tell me, you know, they play Tuesday night in Dallas and Wednesday in Colorado. I had people tell me they would bet that he'll play one of those games. Yes. And I would be surprised if it was Tuesday. Yeah.

I wondered. I forgot to. check and see if New Jersey practiced on Sunday, but like I was kind of thinking if you go back a year ago when he had the surgery, he had two practices and then played. So if it's if it's so the devil's fans can help me with this. If they practice Sunday, then practice Sunday money maybe Tuesday. But if you don't practice Sunday, maybe you go practice morning skate, then play Wednesday. If it was me, I would say play Wednesday, but it's not me. But I would just say to Helibuck, if I was being asked for advice, take the W.

You know, the only thing you can do, and we'll see what happens. Like, we'll worry about November 10th, the game back here soon. But if what I heard was right that if Helibuck could talk, the Jets were going to talk, all you're doing now is relitigating something that in a lot of ways is over. Right? Yes. Because if he says something that the Jets feel they have to respond

or protect their market, all he's doing is extending it. And if I was the Devils, I would be like, hey, Connor, it's a fresh start. You're here. You got what you wanted. let's move on. Let's worry about the devils and let's not worry about relitigating or continuing to let that burn hot. Now, he might not want to do that. He might not be interested in that advice. But if I was in his shoes or I was saying what to do, I'd be like, you won. Let it go. And you know what Kyle looked too? Like I was watching this weekend. You were watching this weekend. One of the best things.

And we couldn't watch it, but everybody I know who was there had a great time was the alumni game. Okay. Place was packed. It was packed. It was a competitive game. Like you saw the reaction. You know, Blake Wheeler, when he left, it was tough, right? Look at the reaction he got.

You know, Bufflin, the fans always love Bufflin, but it was tough because they had to battle with him because of his health, right? Didn't matter. You know, the feelings right now towards Hello Buck are really raw, but one thing that this market has proved is they love their jets. And I think it's not impossible to me that time could heal this wound. It just depends on what you do from here. Yes. So can I go back to, I mean, you touched on it a little bit ago. but that meeting that Shevoldeuf had with his leadership group in Dallas.

Do you think it was not so much as Shevoldeoff, not given an exact play-by-play of where he's at, but just philosophically what he's thinking. Do you think there was some stuff from the player's side too, have going, Kevin, it's time here. We don't want to have to talk about this anymore. If your leadership group has any kind of juice, and I think theirs does in terms of honesty,

they're going to say this is what we feel. Like in that kind of a meeting, then you're asking for their honest opinion. Right. And they seem like a group that would offer it. Yeah, like, you know, Adam Lowry's been around hockey all his life, right? Like this is a pretty mature group. They're going to be pretty blunt.

Yes. So for New Jersey, because, you know, everyone's drawn the comparisons of, For Sunny Meta, you know, there's the comments of understanding goaltending is a lot more of a tough one to predict where it goes. And you made the point on Sunday, too, is that you've got Sunny Mehta and Eric Tulski, Eric Tulski, two guys that are kind of similarly aligned in that thinking when it comes to goaltending. And both of them were very much in discussions with all of this. So, and as Metta explained, like, you know, it's certainly that's one aspect of it.

it, but there's also, when you're trying to make a gamble, going down the path of Connor Hellebuck, in his mind, seems like a pretty good one to make. And now we all can't help but wonder, is this part of a larger plan for New Jersey? What do you think about that? I think, and I said this a couple times now, over the next six to eight months, they could be the most fascinating team in hockey. Yeah, because there's a couple different things at play here. The sunny met a comment about goaltending, and we should credit the original writer of the article Mike Morialli of NHL.com, those got a lot

of play, and then I thought about Tulski being in on this in a big way too. And you know what's fascinating to me, Kyle, is that there's people doubting Hello Buck. You know, they're saying, you know what? He had the great Olympics, sure,

but his playoff numbers haven't been great, and he hasn't been the same goalie in the playoffs, he's been in the regular season. Okay. but two of the managers who probably would be experts at quantifying risk, META and Tulski, were at the forefront of this, and two of the three most aggressive general managers when it came to this, right? It's very, very interesting.

Tulski's belief in goaltending, I once asked him for a bit of clarity, and he said, if you feel you have one of the best or access to one of the best, then you adjust accordingly. But if you don't, what you don't want to do is pay someone like they're the best, even though if you don't believe they are. And it's very clear to me that meta's ideas are very similar. Like you basically said, for what we're giving up and for what his salary is, this is, this is, a good bet. And it's the same way that Tulski would be. The Devils, though, look, we're watching,

as we're doing this pod, the Canucks fans have just been shouting at Quinn Hughes and then the wild, he's not signing. And it's going to be really fascinating. And then Larkin, adding them to his no trade list, like the whole thing is really fascinating. Really fascinating. And I can't sit here and say with any certainty that the devils are going to pull this all off,

but it sure looks like step one of a multi-step plan or a multi-step hope bet, which is something that meta as a poker player would be familiar with. Yes. Yes, he was. And there was plenty of references to that over the last. few days. So zooming out, Hellebuck, of course, was a big part of it, but the whole package itself and what Winnipeg got back their way, what did you want to touch on there? So I kind of want to go past it. It's, I went back on Sunday morning and I listened to our interview with Shevel

day off much more carefully, making some notes. And it's interesting how the whole thing changed, right and he talked about that about how what was true now wasn't true back then like if you go and look back at the Florida deal at the time they don't have Skinner they don't have Clay Stevenson and so Florida's deal and I've reported this before I think was Rodriguez possibly Losterinen although I will tell you I've had people say they don't think they Florida would put them in there. So I'll say possibly. I heard Lundell was asked and that was rejected.

Like Florida was not doing it. And some package of draft picks, whether it was all the ones that went to Ottawa and the Kachuk deal or not. It was something like that. And at the time, Winnipeg's looking for a goalie. And if they knew

they were going to be, because one thing another team told, me was that Winnipeg absolutely 100% were more comfortable with their goal tending now than they would have been without Hallibuck in June at the draft and it changed their parameters. It's interesting if Winnipeg knew they would have those two guys, would they have taken that deal back then? I don't know because, I mean, it'd

looks like it could be a really good deal. I don't know if Rodriguez appeals to them and Luasteran is not a score, although he's a really good player. Anyway, at that time, they needed a goalie, and Florida didn't have a goalie to give them.

You know, Buffalo, there's been a lot of guessing about what that was. Lukinen, Norris, I heard they were concerned about Norris' is injury history. I know some people who have speculated in McLeod. I've never heard that myself. I can't say for sure.

And you've got to think they asked about one of those guys, like Osland, Hellenius, Quinn, something like that. And then there was the 4-8 switch. I've always heard that the 4-8 switch was a very big deal. That Winnipeg wanted to get 4 and keep 8, and Buffalo was not willing to do that. and what did he say in our interview, Shevled Day Off, he talked about, we're so happy we got Vigo Bjork. And one of the interesting things I've heard about that.

And again, I will tell you that some people have argued this with me, disputed it with me, is that I heard Winnipeg wanted Bjork really badly. And I think we can all see that this guy is going to be a player. You know, the outdoor game was a rough one for him. He got benched for a little bit. he's a young first round he's a first round pick in his first year as a north american pro he's going to be fine he just had a rough day i had heard winnipeg didn't want to take him forth that they would have taken one of those defensemen i don't know if that's true whatever the case is i know they wanted both of those picks Utah was absolutely in this at one point

I don't know what they put on the table. I do believe they couldn't trade Vamelica here. Whether that was pre-July 1st or post-July 1st, I don't know. But I think now he couldn't come here. But I think Utah was in this for a while and ultimately pulled out. You know, the other one, and we talked about this, Carolina, they really wanted them bad. Nikishen wouldn't sign in Winnipeg.

That was a problem. And Winnipeg wanted a forward. They weren't doing Stancovin. They weren't doing Jarvis. They weren't doing Blake. And, you know, after I talked about it on Saturday night, I had another team call me and they say, you know, you kind of undersold it a bit. They said, Carolina really worked at that. Like, they were aggressive.

They were really trying to. to figure out whether they knew who Winnipeg wanted and they chased or they created a profile and said this is the kind of guy Winnipeg's going to want. They really tried. They really did. So, I mean, we have pieces of all this. I don't know if I'll ever find out everything for sure. We have pieces of all this.

The one that's interesting to me is the Florida one the most because I, I do think there was a time that was Helibuck's number one choice. I think initially that was the team he really wanted to go to and eventually he opened it up more. But if Winnipeg knows they're relatively solid in the future with Stevenson and Skinner, does that deal happen? But it's, you know, it's all guesswork. Yes.

It's all guesswork. But those are the teams you believe were legit. in on this. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there might have been more. I freely admit there's always stuff I miss.

The Utah one's very interesting. Yes. Yeah, yeah. It'll be a, anyways. That's, and I will say too, like just even watching Skinner tonight

so far this year, he's looking like a different guy. Like I can see why it's maybe a little comforting. to Shevoldeuf and why he was, I know they got Dawes, of course, back in the devil's deal, but maybe why there was a pivot between Stevenson as well, of course. But it's one thing to sign Stu Skinner and now have him in house, but how he's looked to come out this year, far different than certainly towards the end of his time in Edmonton, and even for large

stretches in Pittsburgh, too. He seems like a renewed guy in that crease. There was a guy in our hotel wearing a Heritage Classic Jets Skinner jersey, and he told me they were all sold out. He had to buy a blank one and go to a store that would put the number and the name on it. So it's a good sign for him here. Yeah, the Stu Chants were very loud at Princess Auto on Sunday night. So you want to get to Quinn Hughes here? You mentioned that, I mean, the Canucks fans have been letting them hear it,

that he's not resigning. They were all over him and warm up. Before we do that, let's just wrap a bow on this weekend. What a great weekend. Yes. Like just the event, the hospitality, the people, they hit this out of the park. And, you know, it's going to get tight here on the Jets because they lost again and they're having trouble scoring and the funds over and now with the great weekend. And now it's going to get serious.

they were it was such a fantastic fantastic time like I really loved every second I spent here I wanted to shout out Gregor Bewer who was one of the members of the Jets media relations team his partner Kayla and her mom Debbie they run a place called sugar and salt bake shop and it was like a 45 minute walk from our hotel to it but I did it on Friday And oh my God, I can barely fit into my pants. It was so good. And I know I brought some treats for you loaded up for all you guys. And oh, like just fantastic stuff.

And I also, there was one great story. There's a woman named Lindsay. And she said she was on the same flight from Calgary to Winnipeg that you and Kevin were on. And she was wearing a Jets team jacket. And on the sleeve, it said, 2011. And she was talking to Kevin, and Kevin said to her, why does that jacket have 2011 on it? Oh, my God.

And I said, no, he didn't say that. No way. And she said, oh, yes. He didn't understand why 2011. And so I said, come on. And she goes, no, I had to explain it to him. And then she goes, as I was trying to get over my dumbfoundedness at this, because it happened right in the middle of Kevin playing for the Stanley Cup. Yeah, and then, you know, the next season, oh, now we're playing games in Winnipe.

And they haven't done that before. And never done that. Well, he had because he played in the Myers. Since he played the minors. He wasn't in the H.L at the time. Yeah. I wonder if he thought it. Did I get sent down?

Why are we here? Why are the Canucks playing the moose? Yeah. So, and so she explained to him that it was because it was our first season. I said, what did he say? And he goes, that's dumb. Oh, my gosh. That's not quite as bad as you forget.

Luke Gazix in the in-season cut this year, but it's in the area code. It's in the area code. But just everyone involved with this, holy cow, did you hit it out of the park? It was, it was fantastic. Yeah, great spectacle, great colors throughout. And they think as time's gone on, of course, and as the league's gotten better at putting these on, I loved how they did up the field in and around the rink itself. Those aerial shots were so neat.

And good on Jacob Fowler, youngest goalie. I think ever starting to Heritage Classic, 21 years old. And some of the guys were saying in the room afterwards, Elliot, and Jake Evans, his line was he goes, he's actually like a normal guy. I think it's kind of, it throws them off. It's not like a weirdo like most goalies? Well, his point was, and Noah Dobson said it too. You know, it's one thing.

Maybe some goalies more now are a little more loose in the lead-up a game. But when the game starts, they really zero in. They said like Fowler will be in the intermissions, will be chirping guys in the dressing room. Evan said like they were standing next to each other. You know how they all lined up there for the anthem tonight and they're waiting

for the anthem to start. He's talking to him like there's, it's not like nothing else outside of them matters. He's just another player in that dress room in terms of mentality and it's working for him right now. Like he looked right there on

on Sunday night. Like I had push across on the Shifley chance in that third period. Yes. Like he looked like he anticipated that so well. So it's going to be interesting. And we talked about it recently. Like it's going to be an interesting storyline going forward in terms of that Montreal crease. But, you know, for a guy that was a couple years ago now when Kerry Price said,

he reminds me of me and for him to still be able to carry on and just develop it and look like a guy that's capable of handling the net. It's pretty impressive. By the way, I love the fact that they welcome Mercer to. Yes. I thought that was such a great. And you could see by the look on his face, he was, he was really impressed with that.

That really blew him away. Yeah. Like the timing of that, there was no, that was not a coincidence, right? Like with everything going on here. No, it was great. And you could tell he did it on purpose and I thought it was a great touch. Yeah. All right, Quinn Hughes back in Vancouver. So he got, I mean, we came out for warm up, the booze were there, first touched the plaque.

There was some chance going on. It's hard to look at what we saw in Ottawa less than a week. But the hate isn't the same, right? It's different. Yes. Canucks is an organization or at a different spot than Ottawa is right now. You knew it was going to be the same type of vitriol. And you know what?

I saw there were a lot of, like, during the video, I saw there were a lot of people. who got up and cheered for him. Yep. And I support that. Recognize Quinn Hughes, how you want to. You're a Canucks fan. As long as you don't go over the line and nobody did, you have the right to decide how you want to recognize Quinn Hughes.

But I think anybody expecting that there would be the same level of anger or betrayal or hate that there was in Ottawa. I'm sorry. Like, it was, I think a lot of people kind of saw it coming. as you said the Canucks are really struggling. It's also been a much longer period of time since that happened. I can't imagine anybody out there thought that this was going to be anywhere close. And then Minnesota had a dominant performance.

Hughes had that unbelievable assist on the fourth goal to Caprice of, like just a great play. And he got his 500th career point to which Dom, our producer, and host of the Canucks intermission broadcasts, and everybody gets their 500th point against us. He's just nodding along. Exhausted. I think, you know, I'll tell you, I worry for, I mean, look, the Canucks know what they're doing here.

They've accepted their fate. But, you know, I'm worried about them after this, after this huge game. It's just not going well. And the worst thing is apathy. You know, the worst thing is apathy. I, like, I, I, I, I wanted to, I want the league to be healthy. And I'm just worried about the apathy here.

Like, you look at Calgary, um, they started 0 and 3 at home and they were getting killed. And now they've at least even their home record, right? Yeah. Like you have to protect your turf. Even if you're not. good, you have to protect your turf. And Calgary has now done that. Yes.

And it helps that they've got the Saddle Dome celebration stuff going on to like bringing back the old 4 era jerseys on Saturday against Detroit. Phenomenal. Heather Lascano's doing the anthem again. There's just a lot going on that can at least distract

you over the course of the year that Calgary's doing and they're just flat out playing better. They're looking more like a team I envision going in where going to have more losses than wins, I'm sure, over the totality, but you're way more, you're competitive most nights. And some flashes of real hope and intrigue from your young players, that's where they're at.

And Saturday night, so after the game, I know, I don't know where you were. Like, you didn't even deserve a paycheck for Saturday. You didn't even do anything. But, you know, when we're on the desk and it shows up, like, Oh, there's Cooley with Brendan Parker. Oh. We were like, okay, stop what you're doing. We have to see this.

It's, Cooley is, first of all, you know what? Like, if you talk like that, but your, your safe percentage is 220, nobody wants to hear from you, right? Like, people are like, be quiet. Your safe percentage is 220. But when you're winning games and you're giving your players a chance, they'll let you talk like that all night long. And when the camera went to him, like Ron was like, okay, be quiet, everyone.

I want to hear this. And we were all riveted to every word. Like he's, you know, it's flow state. He's reading with the bunny rabbit. Like, I'm just looking at this. And like, what planet am I on? Yeah. I feel like I'm at like some sort of 60s crazy party.

Yeah. Yes. He is not Jacob Fowler. No. Different, differently wired. but both so so entertaining. He gets this look on his eyes too when he's about to explain everything.

Yes. It's like he's... The wheels are spinning. The wheels are spinning and he's far away. It's fascinating stuff, but it's the right mentality. Yes. And man, it's working for us.

It's working for him. It's impressive. By the way, Elliot, so you mentioned the baked goods that you got for all of us. I was thinking about this. I wanted to, I meant to tell you,

we're walking over to the rink on Saturday morning to do our interview. And Elliot's got like his backpack is around his forearm somehow. He's holding on to the baked goods. He's got like his sunglasses in his hand. He's got his cuffs aren't cuff linked. Like they're just kind of flapping out of the wind.

And I thought to myself, you're a broom closet with legs. That's what I thought. Watch when you walk around. That's not the best way nor last time I will ever look like that. You are up to. You are a broom closet with legs. Anyway, as one of my friends once said to me, how do you function? It was impressive.

I thought, like, how was your fore? I'm not getting tired with your backpack hanging off the way it was. Anyway, just another day. Okay, that'll bring us to the check-in, which is brought to you by Expedia, the one place you go to go places, Dylan Larkin, Elliot. So I remember a few weeks back when the Red Wings were in Montreal and the chanting, of course all went on there and you said on the pod you could see that maybe moving the needle a little bit there with the idea of could he possibly end up a Canadian after all of this you're on with a TNT with Jackie Redmond before our game here in Winnipeg on Sunday she asked you about that again and you would reference that line and also the whole vision of if this potentially could happen for Larkin and Montreal how do you think that you think that's a lot of you think that's think it could get done. So as we know, Montreal is not on this list of 10. And, uh, but I've been

thinking about this a lot. And, and here's my theory, Kyle. It almost has to be reverse engineered. So when we were driving over here to do this pod, I don't remember if it was you or Dom, maybe it was Dom who asked. He said, like, what happens if you're not on the list? Like, does that, like, it was Dom. Okay. What happens if you're not on the list? Like, Can you get on the list? Well, as we've seen, first of all, he's moved it. But I know there are situations like this where a manager has called and said, okay, this guy Larkin, can I get in on this?

And it can go one of two ways. The GM, in this case, Horkoff will say, look, you're not on his list. He's not going to you. don't even bother. And you're like, okay, you might try, but if you're told no chance, there's no chance.

But what has also happened is, managers have said, look, you're not on the list, but you may have something I want. And if you could, if you, if you give me something that I

like or a deal that I would be willing to make, if you can convince me to go to a player because the deal is so good, I'll do that. So both things can happen. So what I think is almost going to happen here if it's going to be Montreal or if there's any chance of it to be Montreal,

you're going to have to reverse it. My theory is you're going to have to reverse engineer. The Montreal is going to have to call Detroit and say, we want to make a deal for Larkin. and but you have to agree and that's what I think is going to have to happen here that if for for any chance of this to happen and please understand before I get ratioed here I'm just doing this as a hypothetical and this is in my own head that Montreal and Detroit would have to agree on a trade and then Detroit would have to go to Larkin and say look we've got a deal here

from Montreal. Like there's a time I would have said there was zero possibility this could happen. Zero. I think the line has moved for two reasons. Number one, the great reaction of the Montreal fans. And number two, because I think Larkin is honestly trying. The way he's expanding his list, he wants this to happen. And he, so it's moved the line.

I think the only way for it to happen is if Montreal makes a deal for Detroit, and Detroit goes to Larkin and says, look, we have a deal with the Canadians. It's a really good deal for us. Would you consider? And then where do we go from there? That's the way, that's the only way I see it happening. So other than the-

Right now. Okay. Other than the hypotheticals, is there any other movement on the Larkin file or anything new? I just think with Detroit, it's very clear that, they are looking at young centers. Very clear.

And I've mentioned this before in the last call. I mentioned it last pot. I mentioned it on Saturday night. And I keep hearing it. Like people keep saying to me, you're on, you're on this one. Look at guys that teams have.

And I think it's the case for Edvinson too, honestly. Look at guys that teams have young centers. And, you know, like I'll say this like if I'm Minnesota and I'm

seeing this list expanding I we all know how aggressive Bill Guerin is I'm doing what I can to end this but like you know I'll say this like we joked about Eurov last week right

you know we talked about the Winnipeg deal things changed what was true in the summer was not true now I'll bet you Detroit's looking at you're off and saying you know what this guy's taking strides. I bet you a guy like Yorov is more palatable to Detroit than maybe he was five months ago. But it's those kinds of players. Whatever deal Detroit's thinking about here and there could be more than one,

they're looking at guys like that. And even some guys who aren't in the NHL yet. All right. That was the check-in brought to you by Expedia. The one place you go to go places. So also on Sunday, Elliot, Alexander Nikitian. Stay in Carolina for now. It's a one-year deal for $3 million.

So that to me suggests it gets the player back playing again. It puts an end to that. But really, when you zoom out big picture, this is just kicking the can down the road for a matter that still needs to be dealt with one way or another at some point. Kyle, the night got deadly quiet and his face lost all expression, said if you're going to play the Game Boy, you've got to learn to play it right. You've got to know when to hold them, no when to fold them, no when to walk away,

and know when to run. That's one of your favorite songs. It is one of my favorite songs. Look, someone told me that Nikitian was taking a beating on social media. I'm not interested in that. But there are times you have the hammer and there are times you don't. he we've you know he didn't have the hammer in this case and you know it was it was time to fold you know it was time to fold it's it's never easy it's hard um but and you know what i'll say this

like it's very clear nikitian saw a value for himself and a worth for himself i don't have any problem with that but there's times you realize that hey, it ain't going to happen. And the closest it came to happening with the Rangers, it fell apart. Carolina was annoyed at that there's just a moment where you have to say, I'm not going to win this. And he hit that time. And I think it's, I think as much as it might hurt his pride and feel crappy,

He's making the right decision. Now, he'll get his 10 games in, I assume, and next summer he'll be arbitration eligible. He'll be eligible for an offer sheet. We'll see if anything happens. He has to get back in and he has to play. Sometimes you just have to, we don't win all the time. Sometimes you just have to concede and take the L and get ready for your next fight.

The best thing, the thing, what does he control? get in there and play and play well. And that's what he had to do. He wasn't going to win this one. And he probably hasn't got his Stanley Cupring yet. You know, that's a good point. I don't know. Freddie Anderson got his in Edmonton this week.

Yeah. I don't recall seeing him when the whole team got it initially. Yeah, it's a good one, Kyle. I hadn't thought about it. So that's part of it too. Yes. and you know, we'll see. We'll see like, you know, if he plays well, that takes care of business.

All right. So, Yvonne Moroshen-Nashenko, we talked about this a couple weeks ago. Yeah. That was more so at that time, there was some interests out there and some teams wondering, what are the capitals planned for them? Because you saw a young player with some real upside. It was just tough to crack the lineup. And with your headlines on Saturday night,

you're learning that the capitals have given the player and his representation permission to seek a trade. Yes. Allowed to talk to other teams. I like this player. I do. It's kind of just weird timing because if Ovechkin doesn't come back this year, I don't even think this is an issue.

And even Ovechkin played the lowest of his, on Saturday he played the lowest he ever played, right? But, you know, it is an issue. I think there's quite a bit of interest. I thought it was fascinating. The capitals made it very clear they're not putting them on waivers because they know they'd lose them from zero. And they're not doing that.

And so somebody compared it to me to the Chinikov trade. He went from Columbus to Pittsburgh for a second and a third. And I'm curious to see if that's kind of the market. Is that what we're talking about here? Because he's a talented player like Chinnikov was. This is simply a numbers game. He can play, I think, and we'll see where this goes. The other thing, too, is, and actually somebody said this to me on Sunday, Kyle, is,

the other thing that could happen here is, like, Washington just had Dubois, I missed a bunch of games because he was sick. If somebody gets hurt, this guy could be playing. So we'll see how long this lasts. All right. You wanted to touch on quickly, too, the Nashville Predators. I feel like each of the last two years, because of how things have gone there fairly early on in the year, the conversation starts already of what are they thinking with some of the guys that other teams may be interested, whether it's Ryan O'Reilly or go down the list from there. I mean, they've been very active under Chris McFarland.

Yeah, it was he made 15, like 11 trades already. Yeah. And so. Trader Chris. He's not wasted any time. Where do your thoughts and where are you at with the predators here in the early going? We had a big win over Colorado here. So I saw on Saturday night, they lost an overtime to Pittsburgh.

I was like, okay. And in that one, actually, they had a 2-1 lead. And Raquel tied it late in the third. period and I saw some of Andrew Burnett's quotes after that when I was like, uh-oh, and then they Colorado has had some Colorado and Vegas have both had some really

weird losses lately. Like really strange stuff. I generally don't worry about those two teams because they're really good teams, but weird losses early in this year. So that was a big comeback for them. But like there's first of all, Chris McFron

himself said, let's see how the start goes. And it's been okay up and down, 500, which is probably what you expect. But, you know, between the Struble trade and the hunt waiver claim, and I've talked about before about how I think he wants to remake his defense, all of a sudden they got a lot of defensemen. You know, there's rumors about Shea. I think there might be, they might be looking at some other things there. And also the other thing is, you know, the longer O'Reilly goes, though, at the extension, and depending on how their season goes.

So it's like almost every week I'm kind of doing like a Nashville pulse check. Like where are they right now? So I saw that one on Saturday night and I saw Burnett's quotes and then I was like, uh-oh. And then they had that big win on Sunday. But they're an interesting one to me. I'm also going to be, you know,

there have been some big money on the board games this week, right? Like obviously the Hughes one would be a big money on. the board one. The Kachak one was a big money on the board one. I would love to know what it looked like in Edmonton, Toronto, because, you know, Babcock can't technically put money on the board, but you saw how mad he was after that came. He was calm about it. He had the blue shirt all the time at home. I think he was like four one and one in the blue shirt at home or something like that, but the blue shirt got pounded. But I would bet some of the Toronto guys would have had money on the board, too, that are

left over from, you know, when he was there. Just fascinating number of results here. Like, there are some, we saw some really good teams get pounded this week. Colorado, Vegas, Edmonton when they were on fire. And a week ago, everybody was starting to say, oh, Toronto, nose dive, and all of a sudden they won four in a row and they look like world beaters. It's fascinating out there. It's, I don't know how anybody bets on this league.

I really don't. Like we joked last week about Brian Spear going out in three weeks and four weeks in the, oh yes. In the survivor pool. I just don't know how anybody gambles on this league, man. There's so much crazy stuff that happens. The Toronto, they've, if you look at it over the last few years, I feel like any time they go into Edmonton. They're wired.

Yeah. Like they've, they've had good results in that building for a while now. And a big one on, on Saturday night with a few ex-oilers getting on the sheets. And anyway, the top dogs were doing what they were doing. Okay.

And that leads us to the final thought. So another thing that happened over the weekend, Elliot, was Nikita Kuturov now officially is the franchise's all-time leader in points surpasses. Stephen Stamcoast. He's a player we talked about on this, podcast a few times for a few different reasons and we have let it be known we would love one day

to sit down in the film room with him in some capacity or even just a conversation on the podcast though he's my great white well yes we know he doesn't do podcasts i don't do podcasts he told you flat out didn't even blink when he said it one of the more fascinating players maybe the the history of the game when it's all said and done um because a guy that on the the outside doesn't let many people in for his peers, one of the most respected players going, and for his teammates and his coaches, they look at him as one of the brilliant minds in the game that they have ever come across. Well, it's just amazing.

I was going through the quotes. I mean, first of all, obviously, congratulations to him becoming Tampa Bay's all time winning score. But again, it's, you know, ever since McKinnon came on and, basically called him like the hockey player's favorite hockey player like the thinking man's hockey player whatever he called him i really looked at him in a different light and again as he was setting the record or approaching it you know the way surgachev talked about him i know andrude turnier had him in junior the way that andre turnier talked about him um it's just

i i would love to spend like one of the things right now is embedded journalism you go spend some time with somebody i would love to spend a month just watching this guy i you know and and he is he's really happy to keep the world at arm's length um but it's it's like Nikita you have to donate your mind to hockey science like whenever you're retired or wherever you're gone there has to be some sort of database or journal or copy of what you do. He has such gifts of competition, drive, mindset, excellence. People need to have access to this. The archives must be opened. And I just, you know, I just like, like, I, I, I, I, I, so, ever since I got, in this business. The best thing that being a sports reporter has been and working at hockey

night and Sportsnet with the more access you get as a rights holder, I have the greatest gift is given to me, Kyle, is it makes me understand why certain people are successful, how they tick, and why I am not successful, because I don't tick like that, right? Right. But, you know, it's just like I've seen it from so many people. I want to see it from him. And, you know, the other thing too is, you know, and we kind of talked about it in one of the recent pods, but he's not signed for next year. And I just think that I think that's, I don't know because nobody talks here. like Julian Breespo is a vault and Kutjurov's not giving anything away.

But to me, it's almost like it's tied into who he is. It's tied into why he's so successful. He has a value system. We do it this way. I do it this way. I expect this of myself. I expect this of you. And, you know, I just think that, you know, the league has changed.

The structure has changed. and I just see a guy like Kuturov. Again, I want everyone to understand this is me talking because I've seen people like him. If I expect this of myself and I demand this of myself, I expect and demand this of you. And he's got obviously, I don't know if it's a number or a general area that he feels should be his.

and at this point in time, obviously it's not there. But I hope someday before he retires, he lets us see him. And how it all works. Feels like long odds, but I'm holding out hope. Actually, one of his former teammates told me a story

of when he was there, and at one point he got a chance to play on the top power play. And he said, Kutra pulled him aside and like basically did a video session with him and kutrov effectively like just went through all five guys on the ice and described this is what if you're here you should be thinking about this and when the puck's here you should be thinking about that like he basically gave what he felt was the proper thought process for all five guys on the ice in a given situation and this guy was sitting here like just listening

to it i think basically the point was he just thought like what what a thrill this is to just sit here and be able to tap into his mind a little bit, right? And John Cooper had the great line this week, too, of like, as a coach, you treat everyone fairly, you don't necessarily treat everyone equal. And Kutrov is a guy, as a coach for him, he learned pretty early on. You don't treat him the same as everybody else because of how he plays and just what he can bring to the table in terms of how he can see the game and how he thinks the game. It's very cool.

I believe it. Very good. All right, that was the final thought. And with that, we'll take our first break here in Winnipeg. When we come back, it's another edition of The Thoughtline. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, and it continues after this. All right, welcome back. It's time for the Thoughtline.

Presented by BetMGM Make It Legendary, Elliot, Don, welcome to my hotel room. I'm not too sure how to really feel about this, but we're just going to roll with it. I want everybody out there in listener land to know what a gracious, gracious, gracious guest I am. Okay. I just got off the treadmill, a good 35 minute workout. I am dripping with sweat. And I did not sit on Kyle's bed.

That's just common practice. This is me patting myself on the back. That's where you know you are so far offline most of the time. That basic human decency is celebrated for you. Right. Did you hear what happened to Colby at this hotel? No, but now I want to know. So Colby gets in late on Friday night, and he tells us that they can't get a room key that works for his room. I just want to say, we're having a good experience at the hotel.

Rooms are very comfortable. I have nothing bad to say about it. But Colby says they can't find a room key that works for his room. So every time he comes back to the hotel, they have to call security to let him into his room. And I say to Kevin and Ron, there is no way this is true. He is making it up. So we come home from the rink on or the stadium on Saturday night after the show and I see him get escorted out to his room. So I go to the front desk and I said, wait a second. ask you something, is this true that there isn't a door key that works for him? And they go and the guy smiles and he goes, yeah, it's true for some reason. He can't. So they have to use like a special

security master key every time Colby wants to get into his hotel room. Is he in the presidential suite? Is that why? There's extra security. I was going to say this probably tells more about Colby than it does the hotel, that he's a person that needs to be under supervision, 100% of the time. But it is really funny. Like the guy was laughing. He says, yeah, for some reason, we can't get his door to open with any room key.

Poor guy. The last thing you want to deal with, like in the middle of the night when you get in late. But it's probably for the best. It's probably for the best. I think that person should probably stay in there with them too, just to make sure there's no unseemly behavior. Okay.

Before we get started, I wanted to shout out Cody, who sent me a DM a couple of days ago, Elliot, with a couple of coffee shop suggestions here in Winnipeg. Oh, nice. This weekend. So I went to one of them this morning, Cafe Postal. It was lovely.

So, Cody, thank you very much for taking the time to pass along some suggestions. Great. Coffee. What do you got? Okay. I have a few things that I want to read here. In the last pod, we read a letter from a very proud father. about his daughter, the teacher,

who was growing the game of hockey in her classroom in Carolina. And Randy Craig is the father, and he's very proud of his daughter, Katie. And he just followed up to say, they appreciated the shout out, and it took her less than 12 hours to raise twice the funds needed to take the kids to a game. So those kids in her classroom,

which, in case you missed it, was in fifth grade, Durham, North Carolina, they will go to see the Hurricanes against the Philadelphia Flyers on April the 5th. Wow. That's awesome. Well done, everybody. So I have a couple other DMs I just wanted to read.

First of all, from Cam Reed. Elliot, I just want to say thank you for paying for my next family vacation. While watching the outcome of the Panthers Senators game on Wednesday, I bet all my life's savings on you ripping the classic Anthony Stewart, are you a team or are you a club line in reference to the senator's performance on the next pod? And in classic predictable freege fashion, you let her rip in the first five minutes,

beers on me next time you're in Columbus. Am I that predictable, Kyle? I feel there's some Friedman stories that should be taken off the betting market altogether. I think it's, I think it's, it's for the best because it's, it's an automatic. It's an automatic sometimes. I think that's just, that is your comfort in sharing who you are in this space and allowing the listeners to get to know you far more than the rest of people normally would. And this is the byproduct of it. They know when certain Friedman stories or phrases are coming.

And if I can contribute to our listeners financial stability, I am proud. proud to do that. Yes. I have to say Mike Russo sent me a note when we tweeted out that New Jersey was the team that Hellebuck was going to. One of his friends sent him a picture of the Kalshi market on how much that tweet changed the odds. And I have to say, that freaks me out a little bit. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Those are waters you don't necessarily think of waiting into. No, you don't. And then I'm going to read another more serious note here, and I'm not going to name the person, but I saw this note and I wanted to read it. Firstly, I wanted to say that you, Kyle and Dom do a great job with the podcast. I'm a longtime listener to every show. Thank you. I've been struggling recently, and I wanted to share a good experience I had with Connects, Ontario.

I know you do add reads for them for their gambling services, but it turns out they offer mental health services too. I reached out for some help when I needed someone to talk to and they had live chat for me. They also sent me a customized list of free resources specific to my area. I'm now in the process of signing up for ongoing counseling that I wouldn't have been able to afford or even known about. I wouldn't have known about them without the podcast. So thank you. I thought that it was important to read that. I'm not going to share the name of the person, obviously.

but I sent them a note saying, hey, we're with you. And anybody out there who might hear this and say, maybe I can use this too, we're with you too. Awesome. It's good to know that that's available and this person had a positive experience with that. That's great, Elliot.

Thank you for sharing that. Okay, let's dive into it here. Morgan from Missouri, go blues. Hi, 32 Thoughts, gang. Newish hockey fan here. And I've really enjoyed listening to the pod and hearing more about the business side of the sport. I also loved the niche trivia and stats

and some recent goalie milestones in the first few weeks of the season. Plus, the discussion not too long ago about the outdoor games and fans visiting all 32 NHL arenas got me thinking about goalies with NHL game wins in the highest number of venues. Factoring in outdoor games like the Winter Classic and such, as well as teams moving cities or arenas,

especially around the 90s, might be an interesting little puzzle. Thanks for all the work you do, making my commute to work a little more interesting. Wins in venues for goalies. You know what's funny about this? I recently did a Sporkel quiz about who had the most home runs in each ballpark.

Ah, who was it? Well, it depends on the ballpark. Oh, in each ballpark. Yeah, there's a lot of, as you'd imagine, there's a lot of Hank Aaron. You know, there's a lot of Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth. Okay, wins per building. So, no, it's, yeah, the amount of different venues to record a win.

Oh, amount of different venues to record a win. How many different places? There's two at the top. Broder. He's second. I guess technically third. Oh, yeah, okay, so it's okay. 50 different venues for Martin-Brodur.

Okay. And the two had tied the top. Or at 51. Ooh. Luongo. No. Ed Belfour. Yes.

Yeah. And I will say the other guy that he's tied with, Belfour succeeded him in this particular NHL market that I'm thinking of. This guy was there. Yeah, I understand. Ed Belfort comes down. Curtis Joseph. There you go.

Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfort. for have NHL victories in 51 different venues over their career. That's a great question. That's a lot. Because I was trying to think who played A for a long time and B, when a lot of arenas turned over. Yeah, like as Morgan mentioned, the 90s when things were evolving, expansion, new buildings being built.

And then, of course, now we're into the era of so many outdoor, different outdoor games, neutral sites going to play over in Europe. that all factors into. Well, by the way, I forgot one shoutout I wanted to give. Okay. My shoutouts list for this pod, I don't know what I was writing down. I can't even read them. So there's one I can remember.

A fan of the pot I met, actually there's three I remember. A fan of the pot I met at the arena here in Winnipeg where the Jets play, Steve Squire is the executive chef. Oh. Yes. And he said he's a big fan of the pod. This did not get me any free prime rib, I'm sorry to say. But it was nice to meet him.

And I'd like to also thank two individuals who are working at the rink. So Kevin Shevoldeuf had a media conference at 1.30, the day they traded Connor Hallibuck. And I am embarrassed to say I got completely lost in the bowels of the rank. And two employees, Gabe and Darien, saved me. kind of. They grabbed a guide to you? They were looking at me. I think one of them, I don't remember which one it was,

saw me like twice go around and he says, like, what are you looking for? It was embarrassing. I guess they painted the wall. I didn't recognize it. Oh, that's what it was? Yes. I guess it was white before.

Now it's light gray. Completely threw me off. That's great. Okay. Mike from Riverton, Manitoba. Okay. Hi, Dom, Kyle, and Elliot. First off, thoroughly enjoy the podcast.

There has been talk on the pod recently of uniforms and having more colors with helmets and the jersey matchup and the like. With the Heritage Classic and any winter classic or stadium series, I love seeing what jerseys they come up with for these events. So with the Heritage Classic happening in Winnipeg, I'm curious, each of your opinions, Dom included, on which Heritage Classic jerseys of all time have been? in your favorites. Thanks, gentlemen, and Elliot. Keep up the good work. Dom, you're a big equipment connoisseur. Do you have a pick?

What Dom's doing is homework. I know it's on my mind right now because we're here, but I think Winnipeg's are incredible. Both here. I think of all the ones that Montreal has played in, the ones this year, and I'm trying

not to use recency bias, but that kind of off-white cream touch on those sweaters look beautiful in person. I think they really pop on camera. They may be the best ones that they've had. And I also, I know it wasn't a great memory for Canucks fans, but those millionaire jerseys they wore in Vancouver,

they were great. I've long got a soft spot with the off white pants too. Don's got an answer. Yeah, I'm going to be a home where those Vancouver Millionaire's jerseys. I can't argue that. Normally I try to rip you, but that's a fair. That's a fair pick. The Baby Blues, Pittsburgh at the Colby Armstrong play.

I thought were, he scored the first outdoor goal. In the winter classic, of course, that wasn't the first outdoor game. But those were nice. And it wasn't a jersey, but I always loved at the big Edmonton, Montreal one, when Jose Theodore wore the toque with the goalie mask. Yes. So that for me, I have to say that a lot of the toques, I think, are excellent. I remember when the outdoor game was at Notre Dame,

I didn't do that one, but I texted Sean McKenzie during that broadcast, and I said, you have to bring me back one of those toks. I think a lot of the toks that these things have been spectacular. Yes. And I love, like you mentioned Winnipeg. I think they've been in three of these now. And twice they've wore white, and the one in Regina 19, they had the dark blue. But it's basically been the same look in terms of the old. Jets 1.0 logo.

I love that they haven't felt the need to reinvent the wheel there. That logo is so great. The color scheme is so great. No need to deviate, even if it looks similar to what they've wore in the past. Who cares? It is so sharp. All right, a couple more here.

Brandon Caraphyllis. Greetings, Kyle, Dom, and Elliot. I am a writer for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I actually met Brandon last season for a game in Pittsburgh. And for the games, I sit in a booth with the Game Night PR team for the Pends. One of the game night reps found an interesting stat from Nick Robertson's first period goal against the Florida Panthers on Thursday at PVG paints arena.

Robertson, 5'9, became the first player since 2018 to score on a goaltender who was over a foot taller than him, Cooper Black, 6'9. According to his research, the last time this happened was when David DeHarnay scored on Ben Bishop. My question is, what is the largest height difference that was scored on? a goaltender. My immediate thought had to have been any Nathan Gervy goal, but I wanted to ask the excellent crew at SportsNet stats what the record is. Thanks for taking the time, fellas, all the best, and keep up the good work. Well, I will say, Brandon, and thank you for writing in,

that you are completely on the money with your immediate thought going to Nathan Gervy. No surprise there. No, the only other guy I could really think of was when I was a kid, There was a player named Bobby Lalonde, who was the shortest player in NHL history at the time. Yes. But goalies weren't that big then. That wasn't an era where the goalies were giants. But he was the first name that jumped to my head. Nathan Kirby is a great call.

That's the answer? It is the answer. So could you hazard a guess of who there's two goalies that he scored on that would have the record of the biggest defense? So I'm trying to remember like the really tall guys because Ben Bishop would have been my first guess. And I assume is he one of them? Yes. So a 15 inch difference between Nathan Kirby and Ben Bishop. The other goal is also 15 inches.

Okay. I'm just trying to remember. I'm trying to remember who that would have been. What team? So I think of the Oilers for this guy. Oh, is it? It's not costing anything. It is.

It is? It is? It is? Michael Koskenen. Wow. Yeah. So you got two on Ben Bishop, Gerby did, and one on Koskenen.

Wow. That's a great question, man. Excellent. All right, one last one here, Elliot. I hope you like this one. From Lucas Barubi. Hey, gents. A big fan of the pod.

I haven't missed his show since day one. Elliot, you've mentioned a few times that although you're not a big memorabilia guy, you do like to keep your media passes. Well, I'm getting in touch because I recently discovered that I have your media pass from game five of the 2011 Western Conference final and wanted to send it back to you. Now, for those who may not remember,

that was the famous Kevin BX's stanching goal that sent the Canucks to the Stanley Cup final that year. You might get a kick of how I came to possess this pass. My dad... I'm very curious, actually. Ken Barouvae was a longtime CBC employee and worked as an audio engineer on Hockey Night in Canada from the early 80s to mid-2000s. He passed away in 2010,

but I stayed in touch with a few of his buddies from the old hockey night crew. As an aside, I'm forever grateful to Scott O' for the beautiful tribute he paid to my dad during game three of the Canucks Blackhawks series in the second round in 2010 after he passed away.

Anyway, I am a long-time, read long-suffering, die-hard Canucks fan, and was, of course, heavily invested in their 2011 run. I had a nosebleed ticket to game five of the Western Conference final from where I was sitting in the 300 level behind the Sharks net,

I had a perfect view of BX's wounded duck winner and was one of the first people in the building to start celebrating. After the on-ice celebrations and Campbell Bowl presentation, I reached out to one of my dad's buddies to see if he could get me downstairs so I could watch, maybe participate in the celebrations. He met me with the media pass, and down I went to celebrate with the boys.

The night ended up being a bit of a long one, and I had no recollection of what happened to the past or who it originally belonged to until I discovered it in an old box of hockey memorabilia, which included some awesome mid-90s Canucks signed hockey cards, a few of my dad's old media passes, and a really nice letter from Ron McLean on Atlanta-1996 Olympic letterhead. Please let me know the best way to return the pass.

I appreciate all you do for the game and feel a bit bad that I've held it for so long. So he sent a photo of it. There it is. Wow. that is a great story yeah and that wasn't just any other game no that was that was a huge game i'm trying you know you're trying to think is there any way you can dig out of any corner of your mind some kernel on how it ended up there because normally i would keep it but i have no recollection so it sounds like whoever he got in touch with to get down to ice level

grabbed your immediate pass because figured well everybody knows who you are. You don't need to show your pass. And then gave it to him so he could be. You know what? That's a good theory. Because I wouldn't be wearing it while I was going to be on air. Right. Yeah. I mean, it's possible. I hope that 15 years later, the Connox don't come at me for fraud or something like that.

Yeah. At least it was dated just for the one night. It would be hilarious for the next 10 years. He was going into games. Hi, I'm Elliot Friedman. So do you want it back? You know what? No.

You know what? I'll say no because, you know, for Lucas here, it's a memory of an incredible night, right? So, Lucas, you keep it. Like, that's a memory of a special night for you. Keep it as a memory of that night. Great. I love that. Good way to wrap it up.

We'll leave it there. Okay. So if you have any. Good stories like Lucas does. Any other questions or perhaps something you'd like to send in to the thought line? You can do so by email at 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.ca or leave a voicemail at 1833-3-1-3-1-3-3-3-1-3-2. Thanks, as always, to Griffin Porter for curating these for us each and every week.

We'll take one final break and wrap up this edition of 32 Thoughts, the podcast from Winnipeg and the Heritage Classic on the other side. So that's going to do it for our time here in Winnipeg with the Heritage Classic a really wonderful weekend and a great way to wrap up our time in the peg. A reminder, the latest edition of SportsNet Monday Night Hockey, streamed exclusively on Sportsnet Plus, is later on tonight. It's an all-Canadian affair from Calgary.

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their Western trip. They are in there tonight. You can catch the pregame show with David Amber and Luke Gassick and Justin Williams at 8 Eastern 6 Mountain Time. Puck drop from the Saddle Dome, a little after 6th. 6.30 local time, 830 Eastern. Taking us out today, a track from Gizmo, who are Charlottetown rockers inspired by the guitar damaged pop of the 1990s

American slacker bands and their contemporaries on Canada's East Coast. A 120 minutes band for the Gen Z set. They bring a new life into their vintage influences with a distinctive songwriting style and frenetic live show. They emerged to acclaim with 2023's Buddy System EP and just released their full, Thank you, debut, All Your Warships, produced by Alex Edkins and Lowell Campbell earlier this month via Victory Pool Records. You can see them as part of the Winterruption Festival in the New Year in January.

Here they are. It's Gizmo and Gift Shop on 32 Thoughts, The Podcast. Have a great weekend.