32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Houston, We Have a Problem

Episode Date: December 3, 2021

Are the Coyotes on the move? Jeff and Elliotte discuss the report that Arizona might be for sale (1:00), the challenges that face the team in the area, they try to provide some short-term solutions and wonder if relocation is an option.They also touch on the situation in Ottawa (11:30), the Calder race (17:30), Buffalo trading for Malcolm Subban (25:45), the year of the EBUG (23:00), the success Dallas is seeing (26:50), trade request by Jake DeBrusk (30:20), the $25,000 fine handed down by the league to Rod Brind'Amour (32:00), and a few listener emails are answered (37:30).Full transcript for the episode can be found here by Medha MonjauryOutro Music: Marquis Hill ft. Brandon Alexander Williams - It Takes a VillageListen to the full "Modern Flows, Vol. 2" album hereThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: AM 560 Sports WQAM and Bally Sports Southwest.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.

That was better. Elliot, I want to start the podcast off by talking to one person and one person only, Mark Connors in Halifax. If you're listening, what you went through was garbage. And Elliot feels the same way I do, who feels the same way that Amel does. This is a place that supports you. This is a place that stands up for you. And we wish you nothing but the best of success in your goaltending career.

And I really believe this. Sometimes it's too silent, but I do believe it's the silent majority. Support you too and are happy to have you in the game, Mark. Amen. With that, we'll kick it off. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast brought to you by the all-new GMC-84 lineup. It's always a big story when someone says this team is for sale and the commissioner comes out and says, hold on, not so fast. He rejects it into the stands like a Dikembe Mutombo in the late 90s.

No, no, no. With the finger wag. I actually have a Dikembe Mutombo in the late 90s. No, no, no. With the finger wag. I actually have a Dikembe Mutombo story, Elliot. Not from when I covered the NBA, because that's your thing on the podcast. But I remember running into him. Well, not running into him, but seeing him walk through the airport in Philadelphia.

And I remember saying to myself, how kind of bad it must have been to be him, because everywhere he went like everyone just stood and gawked at like one if you knew who he was it's like hey check it out it's matumbo but if you didn't it's like wow this guy's enormous i have to tell you he's one of the friendliest people i've ever met covering sports like i've heard that just a really and he he didn't know me from any other reporter and he was always gracious with his time and friendly. Anyway, we got off track.

That's great. We did. Let's talk about Arizona and the Forbes story of Michael Lasani. And the Arizona Coyotes are for sale. The Arizona Coyotes are going to move to Houston. The Coyotes organization quickly threw water on that fire as to the commissioner of the NHL. But what do you make of all this elliot

so i think the thing that arizona the coyotes organization and their fans have to realize and they don't like it they won't like to hear it but until we have clarity on what their playing situation is for next year i just think these stories are going to keep coming up and especially as we get later and later into the year until we know for sure where they're playing i think they're going to have to deal with these kinds of rumors and i know that's going to be frustrating for them and their fans i know it's going to be infuriating for them and their fans but i think it's just the way it's going to be until there's an answer yeah it's got to be infuriating for them and their fans, but I think it's just the way it's going to be until there's an answer. Yeah.

It's got to be awful being like, how many times have we said this before? It's really challenging to be a fan of the Arizona coyotes. And this is a market that gets pounded on consistently. I really want this market to do well. I really like going to see coyotes games. Like I don't like the drive to Glendale, but you know

i like watching hockey games there having said all that it's tough to be a fan when you don't know where your team's going to be the following season and glendale's already said it's not going to be here and nobody knows there's a number of different ideas of what they could do with your organization next season. Maybe we'll do that on a podcast somewhere down the road. We can talk about that a bit. What are the options then, Elliot, for Arizona? I think we should say, because this always should come up earlier than it did here,

is that Gary Bettman's history is he's not taking a team out of a market until there's absolutely no options left. That's what happened with Atlanta. There were no options left. They didn't want to own it. There was nowhere else to go. And that was the end of the Thrashers. We're not there yet with Arizona. And until it's all done, they're staying.

Years ago, he said to me in an interview I did with him when I was doing NH Hockey Night in Canada radio that I remember asking him, when do you NHL Hockey Night in Canada radio that I remember asking him, when do you know a team is done in a market? And his answer was simple, when no one wants to own it there anymore. And we're not at that place yet in Arizona. That might not be the answer that a lot of people want to hear, but that's the answer from the NHL. As long as someone wants to own it there, there's going to be a team there. It's that simple. Okay. So there's a couple ways to look at this. First of all, I want to address the Houston angle for a sec, and then we'll go back to

the possibilities in Arizona. Houston. I think it's very fair to say, and you've talked about this before, about how Houston makes a lot of sense for the NHL. Aside from Mexico City, where I'm not counting on expansion, it's the largest market in North America without a team. And you know that the NHL would like to do that because it's a big market potentially, and it gives Dallas a rival. Here's the problem with Houston. A few years ago, there were rumors that Tillman Fertitta had some interest in an NHL team,

and I believe he met with the league. The problem I heard coming out of that was, I should say, Fertitta is the owner of the Houston Rockets and the NBA and the arena there. The problem I heard was he really wasn't interested in the NHL at the number the NHL would want him to buy a team for. Like you're not selling the team below market especially now that pittsburgh just got 500 for vegas and seattle 650 and now pittsburgh we believe 875 you know so you're not doing it at a number less than you think is market and i heard

that what they considered market at the time, it's not what Fertitta wanted to do. And he was more interested in an NHL team coming to his city as a tenant to his arena. The NHL won't want that. Now, what I do think is possible at some point, who solves a lot of these problems for the NHL? Tim Laiweke, Oakview Group. Seattle, they couldn't get an arena done for a long time. That's why it took a while for the Kraken to get into the NHL. Suddenly, Laiweke steps up, helps get it done, plays a big role in it, and now we have a Kraken in the National Hockey League. If you were to tell me that Tim Laiweke, for example, was going to end up going into Houston, that Tim Laiweke, for example, was going to end up going into Houston,

building an arena, and the NHL would be the primary tenant, I could see that. But we're not talking next season. Let's just say it happens soon. We're talking three to five years. So from what I understand about Fertitta and Houston and the NHL,

unless opinions have changed, wasn't yet in the ideal situation for the nhl either all right then here becomes a question what are some of the options for the arizona coyotes as soon as next season well we know that they want to do the arena in tempe right and yes this one is a little bit out of my element because you hear, I'm not down there. I don't have boots on the ground. And you hear so many rumors about whether or not they're going to be able to get it done. You know, the coyotes talk confidently that they'll, they're hoping they'll be able to

get it done. You know, I had a couple of people that sent me a Reddit forum where there was some posts from someone who clearly appeared to have some knowledge, who wrote that he or she believed that it was going to be a big challenge because of some legal decisions that were handed down recently. And that wasn't necessarily good news for the coyotes. I don't know the landscape as well as I'd like to, and my boots aren't on the ground there, but it's a challenge. There's no question. What I've wondered is if Arizona can get the commitment, if they can't play in their current arena next year, and we all believe they're not going to do it, like, you know, what are

your options? There's been reports about Chase field. There's an Arizona state. There's the veterans arena. You know, one of the things somebody was kind of saying to me was, could we see a situation where they play in a bunch of different places in the Valley for a year or two? They simply say, we're going to play some of our home games at Arizona state. Are we going to play some of our home games in the veterans arena? Are we going to play some of our home games potentially even in Glendale if we wanted to?

Could we play some of our home games at Chase Field if that, for example, is an option? Tucson too. Like it's not ideal, but is that at all a conversation if they know they're going to get an arena? I mean, the thing i feel badly for their fans is you know the people who really care about the coyotes and you said it until we know there's going to be all these crazy rumors and you're just like oh my god am i going to have to react to all of these things every day is there any chance they could play in another market temporarily you might as well just take them out right no i mean this is once you break

that umbilical cord nah i don't know right no i mean this is once you break that umbilical cord nah i don't know about that i mean as long as you don't hey if you know that there's a rink coming like how dire is this situation gonna be like i know the idea of you know being this like what you say like take it to kansas city for two years and then bring it back correct oh i i don't like that idea at all hey Hey, listen, man, we're talking about, you know, this is like team nomad bouncing around all these arenas in Arizona. At least they're in the market. I get it.

I'm just saying like, what would have to be on the table for this? Like if that, okay, let's say that that didn't work out for whatever logistical reason. Could you see a scenario where they're out of market for two years and then come back? You know what that's like? That's like when you're 17 or 18 years old and a couple decides to go to university in different cities and you're like, don't worry. In two years, I'll be there for you. Doesn't work in most cases.

You know what? Part of the conversation is always the funniest one. When one of the two says, we we're mature we can do this whenever i find that someone says we're mature we can do this nothing mature ever happens have you ever noticed that yes especially when people i know are involved this reminds me of a funny story i remember one time oh my god this is we're at university and we come home for a weekend and my buddies and i we all meet up to play cards and we all go to school in different places and uh you know one of my friends was going through a breakup and uh you know he was going it was it was tough and we were trying to support him and and he says that his girlfriend at the time you know before they broke up they

said like you know we need our we know we need our separate time or i need my separate time and you know he's trying to manage his way through it and she and she said to him, you know, we need our separate time or I need my separate time. And, you know, he's trying to manage his way through it. And she said to him, well, you know, it's like a bird. If you let the bird fly and it comes back to you, you know it's love. And we all looked at him and said, you're doomed. Like, you're just doomed. Did you look back in 15 years? What was I thinking?

Give my head a shake here. Well, we were right. Like, I have to say, they never got back together. Shocking, shocking developments. Now that we've completely lost our train of thought, I don't like that idea. You can't break the umbilical cord. I don't think you can do that. Okay, Elliot, let's turn our attention now to the Ottawa Senators. I'm going to flip this one. It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. Wednesday was the worst of times. It was the best of times.

Wednesday was the worst of times. A six, two loss of the hands of the Vancouver Canucks. They get on a plane. They fly to Carolina to face off against the hurricanes. The general manager, Pierre Dorian on the flight with the team. There's trouble danger.

Will Robinson danger. And they pull one out against one of the top teams in the nhl the carolina hurricanes 3-2 is the final anton forsberg stands on his head as the ottawa senators are outshot 49 to 20 but they come away with the win frege that was a schedule loss they were set up to be hammered in that game one of the the things about Carolina is if you get a back-to-back with them going in there or leaving there, where you're coming in and out of can really be a challenge because it can be a little bit remote. Not too long ago, Philly played on a Friday there, won,

and then they had to go to Dallas, which is a three-plus-hour flight, and they lost the next night. Ottawa loses at home. They got to go into Carolina, which is a three plus hour flight. And they lost the next night. Ottawa loses at home. They got to go into Carolina where the hurricanes, a real good team are sitting and waiting for them. That was a schedule loss. And in a year, that's not going very well. Anton Forsberg steps up and delivers. That was a 25 out of 10 performance.

I would shot 49 to 20 up to nothing. Outshot 49 to 20. Up 2-0. They got it tied 1. And the other thing too is they found a way to win in regulation. Brady Kachuk, on the Wednesday hockey game, we interviewed him at the bench. And I asked him about what he's learned as a captain in 26 days. And actually, it was Carolyn who suggested I ask that question. And the one

thing he talked about was being positive no matter how bad it is trying to be positive and he made a huge play at the end of regulation to clear the puck on the hurricane's last rush i know it's not exactly who's your favorite artist is it picasso you know jeff do you have a are you an edward munch guy like i don't know that was not a picasso or a munch but you need someone to step up and steal you a win forsberg did it for them i'm an alex gray guy myself that should come as no surprise to you um listen that was really impressive and and good the Ottawa Senators. That's a real tough one. Things still aren't exactly peachy in the nation's capital here in Canada with the Ottawa Senators. You know, does this just, you know, buy them a couple of days of positive press or do they just go right back to hammering on this organization in your estimation?

Well, look, I mean, it's one win in a tough season, but at least you feel better about yourself in that moment. When you have young kids who are in the middle of losing, you have to grasp onto anything that makes you feel good. And tonight they're going to look at Forsberg as they get onto the plane. And, you know, hopefully they formed a large unit to carry Forsberg onto the plane because he probably needed it. But, you know, they formed a a large unit to carry Forsberg onto the plane

because he probably needed it but you know they're going to look at Forsberg tonight and they're going to say man you gave us a good feeling that we desperately need it and that's not insignificant you know Kyle Bacacus on the Wednesday Night Hockey showed that shot of the front office sitting apart a section apart like oh boy those are tough and um the thing i i'd worry is that when you have young players and just i know this is tough for centers fans to do but just leave the status of the organization out for a second when i look at that lineup of young players kachuk shabbat who i think has played very well this year for a lot of the year you know norris pinto even though he's been hurt.

Batherson, all the young guys who got there and the ones that aren't there yet that are coming, the Sandersons, the Bernard Dockers, those kinds of players. I believe in it, and I think their fans want to believe in it. Look, there's a lot of rumors. Is Melnick selling you know what's kind of going on behind the scenes there you know he's still talking about a downtown arena i mean things are kind of all over the place they're all over the map you know the commissioner protects

his owners and i get that that's his job you know i get it i just wonder at what point do you say we've got this group of young guys here and we can't let the overall instability or the way the franchise is run at the top affect them because right now you're worried that they're getting used to lose i don't think they accept losing i don't think that's right but you get used to losing and losing becomes a part of your existence i've seen too many young players in sports not just hockey be affected by losing it hurts their careers and you know jeff that's why i i look at you know at some point in time is the league going to have to step in here and say we have to have this franchise run a different way it's not enough to just say, look, like,

and I know there are people in Ottawa who believe this, we get a downtown arena and everything's going to be okay. Yeah, but even if they put the shovel into the ground tomorrow, how long is that away? You have to build stability around these players. You have to give them a feeling that they've got a chance to win. And I just think right at the top, I just wish the league would get to a point

where they'd step in and say, okay, there's a way we're going to demand that this organization is run. General managers hate it when you redo drafts. I remember I would always bring it up with Doug McClain when we worked together and he would roll his eyes and I could see him clenching his fist. Because he knew what was going to come up. Yeah, I know. There's been a couple of them.

Hey, Zherdev, if you go back, not that long ago, to the 2020 NHL draft, stop me when you think I've hit the best player. Lafreniere, Byfield, Stutzla, Raymond, Sanderson, Drysdale, Holst, Quinn, Rossi. I think you've passed it already. Is it Lucas Raymond? I think so.

Right now it is. It sounds like it to me. Right now it is, isn't it? See, I'm not freaking out as much over what's going on with Stutzla. I just think the guys are really talented players. It's a tough year this year. But I still believe in Stutzla a lot. But I would say that Raymond is right now the best player.

Look, I mean, Team Sweden, Aft uh, the, one of the newspapers out there, uh, reported that Sweden is asking to have them added to the Olympic list. And if you're doing that, you're doing that because he's a legitimate option for you. Yeah. I mean, the biggest question I have is, and I have a vote and I think you do too. You know, if you're voting for calder today who's your detroit pick are you voting for cider you're voting for raymond uh we've talked about my default setting before it's always defense yeah specifically at this age if you can excel on the blue line at this age

that carries more favor with me listen what lucas raymond is doing here 22 points in 24 games 10 goals and some of the goals are just gorgeous. His release, his shot is just next level and playing top line. And I don't know. I love Mo Sider. And we've talked about the Cronwall comparisons and everything. And despite all of these reasons why I should be voting for Moritz Sider, I'm taking Lucas Raymond. He's just too good.

He's doing it from the wing too. Normally the centers really stand out, the defensemen stand out, the goalies stand out. He's doing this as a winger. I know that Dylan Larkin's having a real good season. The whole top line, I know that Tyler Bertuzzi's out on the COVID-19 protocol.

Even the Robbie Fabry looked really good on Wednesday night playing left wing on that line. He's part of one of the best lines in the NHL already. And he's a big part of it. Voting right now, Lucas Raymond's my guy. Like we talked the other day on radio, I think we were talking about who else could even challenge him at this point. Well, Sider. Hasn't he already pulled away from Sider? See, here's the thing about Sider. Like Sider's like within what, two weeks became Detroit's best defenseman. There's no looking back.

I know there's still a lot of heavy lifting to do in Detroit, but man, already, like you got two amazing pieces here and there are more players coming. It's going to take longer than perhaps Eisenman originally planned. We talked about that last year at the draft. But am I allowed to say that it's fun to watch the Red Wings again because they've won four games in a row and I find myself stopping on Red Wings games when I'm bouncing around for each. I think they are fun to watch. And I thought something really important happened to them the other night.

They won a game without Bertuzzi because some of the games that they've played without him, they've been just clobbered. I thought the fact night they won a game without Bertuzzi because some of the games that they've played without him they've been just clobbered I thought the fact that they won without him I thought that was huge for them Raymond I think right now would probably be my vote I'm with you on that I think Sider will have something to say about it I think Zgris will still have something to say about it Dawson Mercer well I'm just wondering if his offense might be taken away now that Hughes is coming back but Mercer I absolutely think is in the conversation sadly Bowen Byram's health yeah uh looks like it's gonna kind of knock him out of the race uh unfortunately and you know I hope he's okay you know there's a couple of really interesting things here, and that is some of the older guys like Nedeljkovic, like Bunting.

I really hate that older thing. It does make me crazy as a voter. The difference between a 20-year-old and say a 24 or 26-year-old. It does drive me bananas. Don't like the Kaprizov one at the end. It does drive me bananas. Don't like the Caprizoff one at the end. No, I had no problem with it because I think if you're eligible under the rules, you're eligible under the rules.

That's it, right? But sometimes I do think it's too wide. I'm just talking about this off the top of my head, so I admit I don't have a great solution for it right here. But sometimes I do find it very hard to decide how do I vote between a 20 year old and a 25 year old? It makes me fret. These are the things that keep you awake. These are the things that keep you, you know,

flip into the cold side of the pillow at night. No, I'll tell you what's keeping me awake right now is one of my buddies remembering that that conversation was about him and him calling me tomorrow angry about you brought up the the bird is free conversation on your pod well you might as well just say his name then so i i know we're really going offline here but i did that once on the air yeah don't do that it really caused a problem so i'm not doing that again there's there's as they say there's no win there no there definitely isn't hey you know who's

winning this season so far for shine time ebugs is this going to be the year of the ebug elliot i have to find out about this a little bit more but again we've talked about whether or not they'll go to this it's starting allowing teams some roster relief yeah doug armstrong has to be doing a slow burn because he already did it once man he already talked about it once when he wanted to bring up perunovic and because of his bonuses he couldn't do that and he campaigned the league about it didn't go anywhere and now on thursday now on Thursday night, he can't call up a regular backup goalie. He's got to use the emergency backup because, again, of COVID. Because Bennington's in the protocol, right?

They're on the road in Tampa. Colorado's situation was a little bit different because Kemper got hurt in the morning at the skate. And it took them a while to get their backup in from the american hockey league the eagles so they had to use the the e-bug for a little bit as a backup but as the covid cases increased jeff i can only imagine how much this is going to become a battle you think they'll be allowed to carry an extra goaltender on the road i don't know that i don't want to say that i know they want to the league is really pushed back against it i know they want to i don't know that's going to be allowed

teams are starting to get really mad about things behind the scenes they're getting mad about the roster situation and they're getting mad about the olympics situation although i think the olympics are really trending i think even some of the players are beginning to realize now that this quarantine in in china is not not feasible well and every day like what do i kick off my radio show with uh almost every day it's like covet 19 protocol roll call it's okay it's brendan gallagher and nikku and it's Dustin Takarski. And, you know, Thursday night, it's Justin Falk. And before that, it was Jordan Binnington and Tyler Bozak. Like I'm with you.

This is going nowhere good. I don't know at what point you start to have the conversation about participation. I know we're still a month and a half away from having to make a decision, but I don't know. They have to start at least having a couple of thoughts about it, right? Well, I just think they'll wait until as late as they can possibly make it. But I think we can all see where this is trending. I think now that the teams feel that the Olympic argument is trending that way,

I think they're really going to start fighting the roster argument. I don't know if they're going to win. I have a better understanding of the league's thinking on this one after talking to some people about it. Like I would use it as bonuses that if you can't fit a person under the cap this year, it's a penalty next year. I just think COVID is something we can't control. Everybody but one player is vaccinated. I don't think that the punishment should be

what it looks like it's going to be. Malcolm Subban goes from the Chicago Blackhawks organization to the Buffalo Sabres organization. What does this say about Craig Anderson? Or is this just a reflection of Dustin Takarski's and COVID-19 protocol? I think it says something about Anderson, unfortunately.

You know, I heard Malcolm Subban was really excited when he heard because he's in Rockford in the American Hockey League. You want to be in the NHL. He's going to get a chance to play for Buffalo. I heard he was very excited to go. As we've talked about, I think the Sabres feel that they owe it to their players to try to give them a bit of support. But what it says to me, me unfortunately Anderson's not in a great spot and and you know they generally haven't been happy with Dell who gave them at least a good start tonight Florida was starting to come back but I just feel that Buffalo felt they needed help and Subban was the quickest place to go get it and they knew he'd be happy coming there so I think

that that's part of the decision making be kind of happy a lot of smiles around dallas uh these days uh one do you have a thought on rick bonus 2500 games and you have a thought on the dallas stars who have now ripped off five wins in a row got themselves out of some heat i mean the fire was really getting turned up in dallas not too long ago but they're trending in the right direction here, Freed. And listen, if you want to look at a save sequence this week, good luck finding something better than Braden Holtby. It's always good when you see the Scorpion save.

Like four of them. Braden Holtby with another save and another save. You've got to be kidding. Braden Holtby take a bow in game 500. This is absolute multi-larceny! Grand larceny! Grand larceny! Take your pick!

Bang! No! Denied. Svechnikov. Unbelievable performance from Holpe, who gets to 40. Shades of Mika Kiprasov back in the day for the Calgary Flames. Anyway, a thought on the Dallas Stars and a thought on Rick Bonus. I'm happy for Bonus, 2,500 games.

a thought on rick bonus you know i'm happy for bonus 2500 games you know we've said before that we're you know happy for his opportunity to get back to be a head coach i think he wanted one more chance and he got it it happened under unusual circumstances but he got it and i i think it meant a lot to him 2500 games his500 games, his whole family, I understand, was there, including grandkids came down to watch it. That's a lot of coaching. That is a lot of coaching. You know, the thing about Dallas is interesting to me is, you know, first of all, they got a really hot line.

And secondly, you know, a couple of weeks ago, there was that Riley Tuft story. And I was concerned about what that was going to mean for the stars I have seen situations where that derailed teams when you have a young player who's going home or a player who's going home and they're excited about the whole situation and they think they're in the lineup and all of a sudden they're not that happened to Kyle Turris when he was a member of the Arizona then Phoenix Coyotes. He was scratched at home in Vancouver and it ruined the relationship. It was one of the things that damaged the relationship between Turris and the Coyotes.

There was Jason Spetz's first game in Toronto where he was a scratch and that absolutely caused a problem among the team and the coach. And it caused a wedge that wasn't fixed and so i thought in that situation you really have to manage that properly because it's not only the players upset the other players are upset yeah so you know i think the fact that dallas put a win streak together after that that it shows a lot because's, it's very easy to go in the other direction. And almost, by the way, almost just jinxed it. Cause he sent a text while we were talking about this, the in-season Stanley cup.

Oh yeah. Almost the game's still going on and they're tied. If they lose tonight to Columbus and Carolyn gets the cup, this is all your fault. That's right. There it is. And the in-season cup in dallas oh emil now people will be happy for carolyn because she's needs some support in this competition yeah

come on ellie no i want to win by more heartless just heartless do you get the feeling that i do which is jake debruska is going to go somewhere else and light it up and turn into like the 30 goal 35 goal guy somewhere because we know we have it in him i know we know we know he has it in him that's how i feel about jake debruska he's going to go somewhere and torch it just The relationship with Boston has just been so sour for so long. It's time. And I do think the Bruins are trying to do it. The tough thing for the Bruins is that you got Marchand suspended, you got injuries, you can't call up players. It's kind of an ugly scenario for them. They've got games in hand, but it's going to be a fight for them right now, right? Just so our listeners understand,

they can't call up players from Providence because the Providence Bruins are going through a COVID situation, an outbreak there, so they can't call anybody up. Just so our listeners know. Sorry, go ahead. You're right. Thank you very much for clarifying that, Jeff, in case people needed more of the information. I just think that Boston, they can't afford to make their team worse.

So any deal they're making, you know, like sometimes if you've built up a cushion, you can say, okay, we're, you know, we can try something here or you're at a different point, but Boston wants to make the playoffs. They're in a battle.

There's some separation between them and the other teams in their division right now at the top. You're in a position where if you're trading him, you need help, immediate help back, or knowing that you can make another move to get immediate help once you do it. I do think they want to accommodate him. I do. It's just that it's not always easy so quickly. Okay.

Before we get to some emails here at 32thoughtsatsportsnet.ca or some thought line comments at 1-833-311-3232. Again, say it slower, dummy. Not everyone's holding a pen, I was once reminded. 1-833-311-3232 um how are you dms these days that's a good question jeff you know i wanted to talk a little bit about um some dms i received because there were a few of them more than normal about one of the notes i had in the blog there were there were a few people who had very measured and thoughtful takes disagreeing with my position on rod brindamore it's fine my reaction was basically i didn't see the big deal and i had several direct

messages more than normal which is why i'm mentioning it of people arguing politely but passionately that i missed the mark on this one so i I said, you know what? I'll give some equal time. And Tyler Anderson is one person. I asked him if I could read parts of his note and he said, no problem. So because there were a lot of you who disagreed with me, I'm just going to give you a bit of equal time here because there were so many. So Tyler writes, Hey, Elliot, I'm pretty disappointed in your 32 thoughts article. You said what Rod Brendamore did wasn't that bad and even made a joke about it. Across North America and across all sports,

we have youth league officials quitting or not enrolling at rates we've never seen before, doing large parts of the abuse directed at them by coaches and parents and even kids. While I understand things were a bit different at the NHL or professional level than the youth level, he felt that it far exceeded normal coach referee interaction I was glad to see the NHL step in with a fine because that's behavior that should not be tolerated at all at any level of sport the life lesson in disagreement isn't to lay into someone and shout at them maybe that was okay in previous generations but it's certainly not anymore and whether professional or not no one deserves that it's been saddening

and eye-opening to me watching and reading so many people joke about this fine insinuate that what he did has a place in the nhl i think that's basically his feeling like i said i don't completely agree with it but you know the one thing i completely agree with is that way too much abuse is happening of youth officials i don't think that because rod brindamore did it it's acceptable for youth officials to do it i'm still concerned that this overall memo and suspension is more punitive than it is about anything else but i wanted to say that tyler anderson and a few other people sent similar notes, and I just wanted to give them equal time. That's all.

I think officials basically are fine getting barked at. I think that's baked into the pie. That's in an official's DNA. I do think there's a line. Yes. I think we all think that there is a line. I know this used to be true. I think it is still true, perhaps to a lesser extent now,

that officials wear the ability to be thick- I think it is still true, perhaps to a lesser extent now, that officials wear the ability to be thick-skinned like a badge. We've seen officials take it and sometimes give it back. But I don't know. That's just sort of part of the official's DNA. Like, I don't like it at the youth levels, and I see it, and everything.

Like any hockey mom or dad will tell you, Elliot, the minute you're, you know this, tell you, Elliot, the minute you're, you know this, you're a parent, the minute, you know, you have a kid, everything changes. Certainly when you have a kid in sports, it changes. And I don't like seeing it at the youth level, either in the stands or behind the bench. Like it's. I would hope that every youth league, not just hockey, boys, girls, anyone, youth leagues at all ages could send that a note out and say, if you think that this is something you're going to get away with, well, we're going to throw the book at you. I would be fine at that. I do think at a higher level, and actually Steph says this

to me, sometimes she worries that I'm going to get in trouble because it really does take a lot to bother me or offend me. I don't think anybody should have to put up with racial abuse. I don't think anybody should have to put up with abuse. But I think that the higher you get up and the more that there is at stake, the more you recognize that you have to, there's a lot of things you have to shrug off. And I don't think I'm being a hypocrite because there's a lot of things that I shrug off that I take that I think a lot of other people wouldn't take. But I think that the key thing to me, Jeff, is I would like to know maybe what the NHL needs to do is say, this is what we found that we didn't like.

Because from the video I saw, I didn't think he was way out of line. And you know what? Fans ask for their players and their coaches and their organizations to be as invested as they are. If I was a Carolina Hurricanes fan, I think they are. They probably think like, I know every night when I pay for my ticket, Rod Brindamore is going to coach that team to give them every dollar's worth that I have. And there's a lot at stake. There's millions at stake. These games have huge ramifications. I think at the pro level, there has to be a bit more of a line, but maybe what has to happen is the league has to come out and say, this is what Rod Brindamore did.

So we all know the answer. Anyway, like I said, I, I wanted to give equal time because Tyler wasn't the only person who wrote, there were like six or seven very similar arguments. And anytime it's like that, I think, you know what? Give people the voice, particularly if they think I'm wrong on this issue. Because if you're going to tell me I'm wrong, but you come at me with a good argument like Tyler and some others did, what's wrong with sharing it? Let's get to some emails and see if we can squeeze in a phone call or two as well. was sharing it let's get to some emails and see if we can squeeze in a phone call or two as well okay so elliot a couple of podcasts ago we had a gentleman by the name of miko from finland write us in and ask about players who missed their chance to play in the olympics they missed their

olympic win remember that one yes so uh we said we would follow up i threw out there a couple of names one mark giordano and the other taylor. Dino emails in on the same subject as players who missed the Olympic window. And this is what Dino says. As a Winnipeg Jets fan, I'm disappointed that Dustin Bufflin missed playing on an Olympic team during his peak. As a Canadian, I'm quite thankful that he didn't have the chance to stop McDavid, Crosby and others in the Olympics, however. So I want to read something here to you. I miss Bufflin, by the way. I do.

Dude, this game misses him. I miss Bufflin in the NHL. I really do. I want that guy back in the NHL yesterday. Loved watching him play. Yeah. So Willie Donick, play-by-play voice, Nashville Predators, sent me this DM after hearing the podcast. Jeff

catching up on the pod. Good stuff on the topic of players who missed their Olympic window. My Nashville nominee is Pekka Rinne. Hadn't quite established himself in 2010 yet. Maybe he should have made it in retrospect. Backstrom, Kiprasov, Nidimaki

had a freak hip infection in 2014. Missed 50 games. 2018 from Kiprasov, Nidamaki, had a freak hip infection in 2014, missed 50 games. 2018 would have been the year, Vesna season. He was the MVP of the World Championships in 2014, but never got to represent Finland in the Olympics. Bummer. Interesting that Saros may get the chance this year if things fall right.

So that would be Willy Donix. Nominee for players who missed their Olympic window. And I'll just listen, Frege. Throw this out to anyone listening right now. This one could be an interesting conversation starter. If you could think of any other ones. I threw Giordano, Taylor Hall, Willie throws Pecorine out there. If anyone out there can think of any other obvious ones,

and this doesn't just have to be at the most recent Olympics, but previous as well, send them in. I think this one, Freed, could really be some fertile ground here on the podcast. That's a great, it's a great, Pecker Rennie's a good call. Yeah, that's a great one. I was on the radio with Willie on Thursday in Nashville. I have a regular radio hit in Nashville on Thursday. He didn't mention anything about it.

I guess what happens on the podcast stays on the podcast, right? Don't cross the beams. Ghostbusters. Him and Mason have a great call, man. Yeah, they do. They are outstanding. Okay, Elliot, here's another one. Man, we've had a lot on the hockey jersey idea.

The third jersey, the third-party jersey. Paul Zulak submits this. Going back to your discussion about wearing a third-party NHL team jersey at a game that does not involve the third party, I do not partake in wearing NHL jerseys outside of the two participating teams. However, as a Philadelphia Flyers fan who resides in Carolina for several years, I did often wear hockey jerseys outside of the nhl most notably my dimitri kristich and alexei zhitnik ukrainian national hockey team jerseys what are your thoughts on

this jersey preference so what paul is asking jeff if i and tell me if you think i'm wrong here he's asking if he goes to a game in carolina he's wearing a ukrainian team jersey is that okay yeah kristich and zhitnik specifically i have jersey. Is that okay? Yeah, Kristic and Zhydnik specifically. I have to tell you that I give credit to our listeners because we're going into areas I never even thought of. So this is totally off the seat of my pants. I think that's okay. I think a Ukrainian team jersey in a game between Carolina and anyone is okay.

You know what I think, Freed? What? Wear whatever you want. It's okay. One of my favorite things is going, it's like the jersey watch phenomenon, right? Going to hockey games and finding people wearing the weirdest jerseys or the most obscure jerseys from various hockey teams. most obscure jerseys from various hockey teams. Actually, Ellie, you know which one pops up a lot more,

like a lot more than you would think? What's that? Troy Crowder. Do you notice that like considering how, you know, Troy Crowder, the real tough hockey player, had some very high profile fights, was, you know, a name in the NHL. But considering how briefly he was in the nhl is there not like a disproportionate amount of troy crowder jerseys that are out there that's

what i seem to find i can't give you any statistical evidence on that this is all just a personal experience this anecdotal i don't even know how you expect to answer that question except i'm very happy for troy crowder that that might be the case i don't know what is that maybe i just they just find me but for whatever reason i find troy crowder jerseys everywhere okay from jonathan the keepers of the in-season cup grade four and fives this is a good one with the increase in covet cases around the league can we get an official ruling from the in-season cup commissioner about how we will proceed if a cup game gets canceled or postponed because of COVID? Now, Jonathan says, our class did a quick brainstorm and we came up with two ideas. First, the day, they think about this, man, they're way smarter than us.

First. And they're in grade four which is even scarier it's so embarrassing for you and me it's so bad first the days with the cup will be frozen until the team can play its next game like the all-star slash olympic christmas break second i like that i think that's good is that if the team with the cup gets shut down they would relinquish the cup to the team they were planned to originally play i.e hang on listen to jonathan if dallas got shut down tonight december 1st and carolina would be the new champs no we're not doing that no no no and i'll say why i think that

first of all i agree with if a team for example d Dallas has the in-season cup. If they're shut down, yes, their days with the cup get frozen. But they're not losing the cup. You're not losing the cup because of COVID. You are a coach. You are such a coach. You sound like a coach. Because all I can hear is various hockey coaches that I've either had or my kids have or that you just hear always saying one thing.

You never let a player injure him or herself out of the lineup. Yeah, but that happens. So that's BS. Like that does occur. To ask Wally Pipp about that. Did he ever get back in the lineup? No, he never got back in the lineup.

That's a good one. So if a team shuts down, the cup gets frozen. That's the answer. Because in theory, they're going to make up those games, right? Yes. You've not thought a second about this, though. Well, excuse me, when I was in high school, I didn't know what COVID was.

That was 1987. No, but for this season's in-season cup, you did not think about this for a second until- No, because I just assumed that COVID would be solved by now. From the 4-5 class. The world was definitely trending in that direction in oakville is putting us to shame with how they think at an elite level unlike us still playing with marbles um okay dale dale submits this one i'll get you to wait on this one but dale says what did jeff think about eckblad lifting the stick of faraby in overtime, sending the stick 15 feet

in the air? It reminded me of Jeff's, oh my god, I forgot I used to have this obsession. Reminded me of Jeff's obsession with Chara doing that to opponents. Then Ekblad buried the winner. Philly fans were saying it should have been a penalty. Tim Peel on Twitter said it should have been interference. I say

hold your stick tighter, Faraby. No penalty, Great play. Great win. You like apples? How do you like them apples? 2-1 in overtime. And the Panthers stay perfect on home ice. You like apples? How do you like them apples? Sam Bennett controls the puck. Gets it down.

Eklad a little give and go with Huberto. Eklad gave it to Huberto. Eklad walked around his man. Huberto gave it right back to him. And then right from the slot, high to the glove side over Marty Jones. And the Panthers with their 46th shot on net get the 2-1 win. Remember when Char went on the spree of launching sticks into orbit? Yes.

I loved it. I completely loved it. I had zero problem with Aaron Ekblad lifting Farabee's stick. He's not holding on to it tight enough. Too bad as far as I'm concerned. And then, you know, Ekblad, who's having a Norris-type season, by the way, we should really point out here. And then Ekblad burying the game winner.

I had no problem with all of it, and I loved all of it, and I love people sending sticks into the stands by launching them, like Chara, or in this case, Aaron Ekblad. What do you think? While you were talking, I went back and I watched the replay. Yeah. That's awesome. It's funny.

And then he scores. You see, I'll tell you this. Ekblad took advantage of, and when I say took advantage, I don't say it in a bad way. I think Ekblad made a great veteran play at the expense of a younger player like I guarantee to you that Farabee is looking at that and saying that guy just taught me a lesson because if you look at it Farabee's kind of thinking he never expects that Ekblad's going to do it. Never. But Ekblad sees he's got a chance to get Faraby beat,

and he could get a pass to win the game, and he absolutely takes advantage. To me, if I'm looking at that play from Florida's point of view, I'm saying genius veteran, school's rookie. But if I'm, well, he's not a rookie anymore, but you catch my drift. But if I'm looking at it from Philly, oh yeah,

Eckblad knew exactly what he was doing and he got away with one. Okay. What a great way to end it because I love the play with Sneaky Good from someone who may win the Norris Trophy this year. He knew exactly what he was doing. Oh,

100%. He knew exactly. Great. Elliot, before you wrap up here on the podcast, we should say a thing or two about a legend in Canadian sports broadcasting, calling it a career after 50 years in the industry, Brian Williams. There have been a lot of great Olympic hosts.

We've seen a lot of people hosting the Olympics. I'm really going to miss the quadruple time checks from Brian Williams. How many hometowns did he have? I always love the time checks. Oh, there, I never knew I could enjoy a quadruple time check like I do when Brian Williams delivered it. But do you have a thought or two on Brian Williams calling it a career? I have many. First of all, a legend.

Like there's no question about it. An absolute legend of a broadcaster. And very fortunate. I had the opportunity to work with him at the CBC. After meeting him, he used to come into the fan for roundtables, and he was a presence. And I got a chance to work with him on the CFL on CBC, and what a phenomenal broadcaster he was and a great storyteller.

And the one story I do remember was we were doing a game in Ottawa, CFL and CBC. It was Calgary to Ottawa, and there was a rain delay. It was a lightning delay, actually. And I had to go out onto the field as we were killing time to interview the referees and the coaches as they were trying to figure out what time the game would start. And it's raining and I had a CFL on CBC

umbrella and the umbrella, I couldn't use it because it was lightning. So there's, and, and so I had to put the metal umbrella away because that's a story I didn't need. And the other thing I remember about this was I had forgotten my tie that week. So I was borrowing one of Brian's. And so I'm on the field and I'm interviewing Tom Higgins was the coach of the Stampeders and the referees.

And I'm giving reports back. And after I throw back, I hear Brian, can I still talk to Elliot? Can I still talk to Elliot? He's on the line. And I go, oh yeah, Brian, I can still hear you. He goes, where is your umbrella? Young man, why are you out there without an umbrella?

And I said, Brian, the umbrella has metal in it and I don't feel like getting hit by lightning right now. And all I heard was this high-pitched laugh that literally blew my IFB out of my ear. Like, he thought that was the funniest thing around. You know, he had a high standard for himself. He was mad at me because he had to get that tie dry-cleaned, and it was one of his favorite ties.

He was just, like, such a high standard for himself, a brilliant broadcaster, the amount of preparation he did. That was the thing that really stood out to me, what he expected about himself. He'd make the smallest mistake on the broadcast and he'd be so mad. I loved listening and learning around him. He was a very, very, very generous teammate. He was very good about setting us up.

And, you know, Elliot, did you feel you got enough to do on the broadcast? And it's not something I ever really care about, but he wanted to know, he wanted me to know that, you know, I was a part of his team. I really loved working with him. Brian Williams, take a bow. Heck of a career.

Really quick, before we get to the takeout music, Emil Delic, our producer extraordinaire, will be updating the 32 Thoughts music playlist for season five. That'll be on Spotify next week. There we go. Meanwhile, taking us out, an award-winning trumpeter, composer, and band leader whose collaborations run deep. Marquise Hill has released 12 records in the last 10 years. Busy. Each with its own unique sound from his 2018 recording modern flows volume 2 here's marquise hill featuring brandon alexander

williams with it takes a village on 32 thoughts the podcast enjoy it takes a village to raise a village pawpaw sit on porch he been peeped Body language is like 90% Might be 95, high to defense Time and intense, memory going But muscle memory still intact He know what to be doing when the energy gets moving He used to be get off my lawn, Twitter Now he Gary from Chicago

I squint in an iPhone and burst mode Crash in the Oscars, he new addition To fun grandpa roster He been overstood the range, king patriarch Family planted, wheel mechanic, never quit moving He been retiring for a minute, but this time feel different Experience one of a tribe, none of a kind Motor oil in the grooves of his fingerprint

Now he just watch cars go by, by his sidewalk And recently, he stopped being scared of black youth That look like he did once upon a time, y'all police can't lie and talk ask me why because he been saw nuances too often and create peace before quarrels start between two answers caught between few children playing unfair to my eye don't you touch your hair don't touch my own elder set that tone all while matriarch looking love up in that home house smell like a fire thanksgiving food truck you can't be in a bad We'll see you next time.