32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Hurtin' for Hagens

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman open things by focusing on Alex Ovechkin creeping closer to Wayne Gretzky's goal record. Afterwards, the fellas unpack whether the Montreal Canadiens should "Hurt for Hagens" as they sit dead last in the NHL standings (15:45). Kyle and Elliotte talk about Shea Weber ahead of induction to the HHOF (30:00) and they talk about teams starting to look at possible coaching replacements (36:00). Elliotte scolds Kyle for suggesting it would be challenging for MacKenzie Weegar to crack the Flames lineup (40:00) and Kyle then gives it back for Elliotte's mishap with Dante Fabbro's waiver potential (42:00). The guys talk about the Winnipeg Jets who are off to the best start in NHL history through 15 games (46:50). The Final Thought unpacks the ongoing story now that the NCAA has opened eligibility for CHL players (55:55). Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions in the Thought Line (1:01:18).The guys close the podcast by featuring Rick Tocchet's polar bear white fleece and encourage him to bust it out again to encourage the team back into the win column (1:18:45). Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.  

We wanted to begin this episode by sharing our gratitude on this, the 105th Remembrance Day, a moment to perpetuate the memory of that great deliverance and of those who laid down their lives to achieve it. To the men and the women who made the ultimate sacrifice, we thank you, lest we forget. forget. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. It's the hair, it's the hot air, it's the producer with flair. I'll let you decide which is which. Yeah, I don't think that one's looking good for me. That's a great intro, but I'm not liking where I'm getting placed in that particular one. And that says a lot.

If you're not liking where you think you're going to be headed, Elliot. But that's okay. Hey, well, the reason why I wanted to mention Flair, as we referenced Dom Schrammati at the controls, is that Alex Ovechkin, Elliot, two seasons ago, he scored 42 goals. Coming into this one, 42 was the gap that separated him and breaking Wayne Gretzky's record of 894. And at the start of the year, you thought, maybe he gets there this season.

The odds didn't seem great. No, I'll admit, i said flat out next season not this year not this year so now he's got 10 on the year after two more against the st louis blues on saturday the caps won that game eight to one by the way so now you're looking at he just needs to score 32 in the next 68 games suddenly Suddenly that seems a little easier to digest. And when we are talking about one of, and will eventually be, we believe, the greatest goal scorer of all time,

that doesn't seem out of reach. Is the 11th hour of the chase upon us a little quicker than maybe we imagined, Freach? It's definitely on there faster than I imagined. 11th hour of the chase upon us a little quicker than maybe we imagined, Frej. It's definitely on there faster than I imagined. Like, he's on pace for 59 this year, which would get him well past the record. He's, you know, just over 30 from it now. And I think that we all have to recognize that, you know,

like at the beginning of the year, my reaction was, like like I said I don't think he's getting there this year but we'll see where he is after about game 40 the break for the four nations face off let's see where we are well that's arrived earlier like he's on it now and people are really watching it now and you know one of the things last year was he shot 11% and he's only shot less than that once in the last 13 years. Like basically at the start of his career, 11 and a half percent was around his average, give or take. He shot, the worst he ever had was under nine in 2010-11. And then he became, as his shot volume decreased, like, you know, people forget, there was a big debate about Ovechkin early in his career,

does he shoot the puck too much? And I remember that Bruce Boudreau, who was coaching them, he said that our best scoring chance is when Ovechkin shoots the puck. He wouldn't have any part of that argument. He thought it was super stupid and but Ovechkin you know he got to a point where he led the league in shots taken 10 times in 11 years and then he didn't lead them in 16-17 and since then he's only led the league in shots taken one more time. So as his shot volume has kind of decreased, his accuracy has gone up and the last few years

he's been regularly, if not 15, he's been 13 or 14. Well last year it was a bad year for him. He was 11.4 and this year he's up to 20. Now that would be the best shooting percentage of his career by a considerable amount and I don't think he's gonna stay there. Like I don't think he's gonna stay at 20 but the biggest difference I see between him this year and last year is and Capitals fans will remember this Kyle but if do you remember at the beginning of last year how bad the Capitals looked like they had games where they were getting destroyed destroyed you remember that I sure do and so they're trying to figure out their defensive system because Carberry has them

playing a lot of man-to-man and they were getting tuned and I just think even though they recovered and they got into the playoffs which was pretty incredible I just don't think it was really there for him at the start of last year I mean look like you still want to win you want to be competitive and when your season starts like that like when when they got hot he got hot and what it says to me is that Ovechkin's enthusiasm level isn't solely about chasing after Gretzky's record Ovechkin's enthusiasm level is also tied in to how good the team is. So at the beginning of last year, when they weren't very good, it reflected in his play. And at the end of last year, when they surged, it reflected in his play.

Now, I know some people are going to come at me with the chicken and the egg thing. Oh, well, maybe he got better because they got better. Yeah, I'm not going to argue with that completely. But anyone who knows him will tell you that he's just not as excitable when the team's not very good. Now this year, they're 10-4. They're very much in the race at the top of the Eastern Conference and in their division.

And he is as excited as anyone and some of the goals look like vintage Ovechkin and so I just think the way this team has started the year has energized him as well I mean it's pretty amazing Dylan Strom has 18 assists I think he entered Sunday second in the league and they look like a great combination I think everybody kind of figured that once Backstrom got hurt and couldn't play it would it would never be the same for Ovechkin again in terms of a partner who could set him up but Strom's been dynamite this year to me the way the Capitals have started the year have energized energized him. And Kyle, I think you could be spending a lot of time in Washington towards the end of the regular season.

I just remember a couple years ago, Elliot, the narrative around the Capitals was like, everything is about doing what they can to ensure Ovechkin gets the record because it became attainable after for the longest time it was a record that many people viewed as it would never be broken and even he said questions even he said right you did that interview with him when was that was it was it after World Cup of Hockey 2016 so just before they Amber made me ask it and Ovechkin looked at me like I was an idiot. Amber made me look stupid, not for the first or last time, I may add. the team to a level that they were contending in the playoffs for so many years, like back in the years when Ovechkin was in his prime,

what kind of effect would that have as they tried to pursue this chase for their captain and greatest player in franchise history? And to your point, they're 10-4. How good Dylan Strom has looked? Not only does Alex Ovechkin have 10 goals already this season, so does Connor McMichael. There's another guy. He looks terrific.

I remember early on last season, people there saying to me, like, we're going to start seeing his potential actualized there because it was two years ago that Michael was a critical piece of Hershey's first of what's now been back-to-back Calder Cup championships. He was great for them in the American League playoffs. And the sense was, now you're going to start to see this guy be an everyday NHL player, and he's off to a great start too. And no pun intended here, but the icing on the cake on Saturday,

was it not after Spencer Carberry delivers his post-game speech to the players in the room, Alex Ovechkin was the one to say, hey, coach, is it not your birthday today? Did you see the video? The whole room broke out into song, serenading their head coach, happy birthday at the end of the game in St. Louis. That was awesome. It was a very nice moment, but I will say this. There aren't a lot of professional singers on that capital team.

Not that I'm any good either. That was one of the more off-tune versions of happy birthday I'd ever heard, which is what makes it even better, to be perfectly honest. No, not great pipes, but great results for Washington here early on. What does Anthony Stewart say? His dad told him are you a team or are you a club and that's a team that's a team when when you're doing that for your head coach I think I think the other thing I want to say about this and I think the Capitals is you can't sell tickets purely on the chase for Gretzky.

And you can't sell excitement to your fans purely on the chase for Gretzky. Because even as exciting as it's been at the start of this year, he's still 30 away, right? this year he's still 30 away right and so how many games is that between now and when he gets close 40 50 you know 60 whatever name your number right maybe by christmas who knows what the way he's going i still don't think it's going to be that soon but it's it's gonna be a while and so if you if you're solely selling your season based on ovechkin chasing the goal record that's a long time till people are going to say i'm buying a ticket to go see him try to break the record there's a lot of real estate between now and then There's a lot of real estate between now and then.

And look, the people who run that organization, Ted Leonsis, he's a very competitive guy. Dick Patrick, who's the president, he's a very competitive guy. Brian McClellan, he's a super competitive guy. Just ask Gary Gally, who was his former teammate at Bowling Green. He tells stories about Brian McClellan and George McPhee about how ferocious those guys were on the ice. I think they realize if you don't have a good team, people aren't going to be running to your building until he's close.

So now, as you said, they have a better team. McMichael's taken the jump. They went out, they had a, a big off season, Matt Roy, Dubois, their team is better. You know, Logan Thompson, I have a feeling we could see Logan Thompson and Aiden Hill back together for team Canada because Thompson's been fantastic and Hill's really come on and but that to me is the key the fans are excited because the team is good and Ovechkin's excited because the team is good and he's off to a great start because the team is good I don't think the goal chase

would be happening right now if the team isn't as good as it started those two things to me are directly related to each other and you joked earlier about spending a lot of time in Washington as he gets close to this thing i remember hearing a story back when ian mendez worked at sportsnet and the chase that barry bonds was on to pass hank aaron for the most home runs of all time and it was him and hugo reginball one of our eng camera operators out of the montreal bureau that you know elliot and they remember how long remember how long it took for him to finally like when he was two away to eventually like passing it was like an eternity and they were on the road for all of it and I just they tell the story about when he finally finally one-upped

Hank Aaron they were like jumping in each other's arms not because they were big Barry Bonds fans but it was like finally we get to go home after being on the road chasing this thing. So, gosh, that's where my mind went when you brought that up, which is just funny stories. Well, I'll say, remember, too, when Mark McGuire broke the home run record, like the Marist family's on the road, and you could tell people were talking about how every game, if I remember correctly like I think at one point in time Maguire like kind of felt like he he felt like the said he kind of felt the pressure so they

could finally go home right right so I I could I understand that's a that's a great story I totally forgot about that like all the people who have to follow and chase until it eventually happens that's funny that's that's a, that's a great poll, Kyle. By the way, can we just mention Hershey for one second? I want to, so Hershey, as you mentioned, they have won the Calder Cup as the AHL champion back to back. I think some of those other AHL teams, they just hate them. They hate the Bears. Cannot stand them.

Oh, yeah. That makes sense. Because it's like they're almost too successful, right? And now, like in the AHL, like they want to be seen as a development league. And there are some teams where winning doesn't matter. It's just developed players. But Hershey wants to win. They want to win. They're a really well-run organization. The top AHL vets are very happy to play there. And they're there to win games as much as developed players.

And guys tell me, I actually was talking about this with someone last week because and we'll talk a bit more about uh Hershey in the next section because it comes up again in our in our thought line but there were guys telling me that like they would play Hershey in the playoffs and people from other teams would be texting him like you got to stop these guys you you gotta beat these guys and I admit that if it was me and I ran Hershey and someone told me this was going on I would love it because they don't hate people who aren't successful that means people want to be where you are. But I think those other teams, they cannot stand their success right now. It's lonely at the top, even in the American League. It's lonely at the top.

That's a great story, Elliot. So it's been great news out of the gate for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Not so great of late, Elliot, for the Montreal Canadiens who went into Toronto on Saturday, as you pointed out, one month after shutting out the Maple Leafs on the opening night of the season. They lost 4-1. They are now 4-9-2 on the season.

The losing streak is now six games. Martin St-Louis saying afterwards, among his comments, I think we're a fragile team that's missing confidence right now. He was asked about his top guys. He said they're all fighting it a little bit. They wake up Monday, dead last in the NHL in the standings. This was not supposed to be the story for Montreal at this point of this season.

They're behind the pace they were even a year ago, Elliot. You can tell among the fan base, patience is starting to wear thin. And I think a big reason behind that was the messaging that came from the organization out of the gate this year. What's your read on what those in hockey ops, Kent Hughes and company are reading on all of this as they try to stop the bleeding. If you're a canadians fan

you may not like what i'm about to say but i think now you have to hurt for hagins what yeah begging for haggins this early yeah you know like one of the things we've talked about like the reports have been out there looking for a d i was the one who had they're looking for ford with an edge i uh you know the way it works for people who are not familiar is martin san luis does his scrum with the with the media and then the rights holders, you get a couple extra minutes with them on the side. And so I spoke with them and the great TVA guys were there, Felix Sagan, Patrick Lelime, Renaud Lavoie.

Well, Renaud Lavoie isn't great, but the other two guys are. Oh, come on on I just want to see if he listens I want to find out if you know he does don't listen Elliot great guy but I just want to see if he's paying attention great guy anyway so you know we were talking to San Luis for a couple minutes and you know I said I said to him, you know, the first couple of years, it was all about building your guys up. You know, like he that's what he did. Like he tried to build them all up, made them feel good about themselves. And now, you know, you can see he's getting frustrated and they're getting frustrated.

And he said what this year is supposed to be about is is teaching them how to win better decision-making things like that and he you know the one thing you're seeing now is he's in a great mood in the morning because he loves hockey and so are the players in the morning they're like okay and I saw Suzuki on the bench with you and he's trying to sound positive before the game and then after they just look so defeated and it's that's a really tough place to be in at the beginning of November. Like, it's a really, really hard place to be. But, but, I think that the Canadians are, Kyle, they are not one big trade away. Kyle, they are not one big trade away.

Like, yeah, maybe you can, you know, put a Band-Aid on something. You can get a veteran who can play your blue line. You can get a forward with edge. You can play up front. But you are not one big trade away from contending for a playoff berth. And this is where I think that as an organization, you have to say, we're going to eat it this year. Like, look, like if something incredible drops on your lap that you say you have to take it, then you do it.

But I'm not like, I don't see anything like that right now. I think right now I would have a big conversation about are we really sure that the way we're playing or the way we're doing things is helping the players enough? I do think that part of the reason the Canadians are where they are, and I believe this even more after watching the game the other night, is that they want, when they're good, they want to play this system. Like, there's a lot of talk about the system and Andrew Brewer, whose work I really love on our website. I think that's a huge ad by us. He's talking about how they can change the system.

I think that's a huge ad by us. He's talking about how they can change the system. Well, the one thing I kind of think now after talking to some people on Saturday is this is the system they want to play when they're good. So the players have to learn how to play it. But I wonder, is there more teaching they can be doing? Is there somebody else who can help them teach it a bit? Like even a consultant? I don't know. I'm just throwing stuff out there because you can sit there and you can say this is the way we've got to teach it and they've just got to figure it out. Or

you can sit there and say it's not reaching them and we have to find other ways to help teach it to them. That's for the Canadians to decide but overall big picture if you think you're making a trade right now and again something could drop on their laps and totally surprise me but it is extremely unlikely you're making a trade right now that is gonna get you to a playoff berth. Maybe you get a trade that takes you from where you are now to 27th, 26th, but is that really worth it? And I know there's going to be some Canadians fans who are going to sit there and say to me, you're not the one paying for tickets. You're not the one who has to watch this and I'm with you

on this but I am paid to have a sober second thought on what I'm seeing and what I'm seeing is the reality is what is the point for the Canadians this year to finish 25th or 26th I there is a stud at the top of this draft and you may just have to go for it. And tell your players, it is not acceptable not to learn in the middle of this. That we are going to teach, we are going to drill down, we're going to drill down we're going to expect

that you're going to play hard and hopefully in three or four years we're going to look back at this and we're going to laugh because next year you could have a high pick coming and demidov coming and all of a sudden things could start to look a little rosier. I hear what you're saying. I'm just not sure you can have it both ways with this roster. Like I can buy the idea that, you know, maybe this group isn't as ready to contend to be in the mix come early spring, like maybe they had hoped out of the gate, but the idea of this team continuing to develop, to learn, to progress,

but also be in the hunt for the lottery pick, to be a serious contender to have the odds go their way, I'm just not sure that's feasible. Like you look at having March 18th. Oh, it's feasible. You may not like it, but it's feasible. I'm not not sure that's feasible. Like you look at having March. Oh, it's feasible. You may not like it, but it's feasible. I'm not sure it is because I don't believe like it's been a tough stretch for Montreal, but I don't think this is truly who they are over the course of a year.

Like I don't think I think there's too many good players, even though they may not be a playoff team to continue to be in like the deep basement of the standings all year and you've got a head coach that I mean I understand all coaches are they're wired to to try to win hockey games but Martin St. Louis especially with how competitive he is, I just feel that would be a really tough sell. And he was their hire. It's a hard one to figure out, Elliot. I understand the point that you're trying to make here,

but that is a big step backwards for this team that's gone through some tough seasons already leading up to this one i'm just not sure like here's where i'm going to argue with you okay here's where i'm not i'm going to argue with you here's where i think you're wrong i think you're looking at it the I think that too often people look at things in a certain way. The way people look at sports teams is you're good, you're good, you're good. There's always exceptions to the rule, but eventually you're not good anymore. You go down, you go down, you go down you go down you go down you hit rock bottom you stay at rock bottom for a couple years and then you go back up right so that's what you're thinking right now you're you're on that trap you

are trapped Bukowskis you are I know this isn't linear you are trapped you are chained to the wall. You are trapped. You are, they've been bad. Now it's time to go back up. Like, I'll say this. You look at Philadelphia. Is Martin Saint-Louis any more competitive than John Tortorella? Nope, he's not. Nobody's more competitive than Tortorella.

During the week this week, there was a time Philadelphia was 32nd. During the week this week, there was a time Philadelphia was 32nd. There was nobody in Philadelphia who, like among the fan base, that was going to say this year, okay, we want them to be 32nd. We're expecting them better. But I still look at that roster, and there's a lot of players who are really young. They've still got some holes. I think it's, you know, it goes back to that point

we were making a couple weeks ago. It is really hard to rebuild in this league. It is really hard to rebuild in this league. And I watch Montreal, and, like, I think Philly plays really hard. They played really hard against Florida the other night. They lost. As we mentioned, they played really hard against Tampa in a game. They had a lot of excuses to lose and they won.

And again, I don't think Montreal's problem is that they're not playing hard. Like you're at that game the other night. Do you think they're not trying? No, I would never really accuse anybody in the NHL or a team of that. Exactly. So I think I know what everybody in Montreal is saying. We've been really bad for a couple of years. It's time.

And I understand why fans say that fans are fans. They're entitled to believe that. But I've been watching Montreal a lot this week. My argument is it's not yet time. It will be. They have a lot of lottery tickets. A lot of lottery tickets. And I think there could be an internal discussion about the way they play.

But, but, they're not ready. They are not ready. You know who would find that really tough to hear? Who do you think on that team would find that really tough to hear, the toughest? Brendan Gallagher. I wouldn't say Gallagher, although he won't like it either, that's for sure. He'd be up there there but he's not the guy I'm thinking number one he's not the specific guy I'm thinking for this question their captain yes I I think look Nick Suzuki he's a he's only 25 he's a young guy but you know I'm sure deep down, he's like, you know, statistically, he's got 13 points in 15 games. But like, I got to think deep down, he's thinking, you know, I'm going to be 26 next summer. I want to start winning some games here.

And I think they will. Like I said, I think it will come from Montreal. And he's like, I want it now. I'm sorry. Like, Kyle, they're just not ready. Again, I'm not arguing that point, but the idea of taking this roster, like unless you're starting to look at, okay,

Christian Dvorak, you're gone. Yoel Armia, we're trading you. David Savard, thank you for your service. Up comes, you name it. Owen Beck's getting a chance to play more games. Joshua Waugh is getting more minutes up top. Guy like Sean Farrell, we're starting to play more kids. Then you can start to have that conversation to be legitimately in the lottery conversation. But with how this roster is constructed, again, I'm with you.

They're not ready. But I don't think they're, as it currently stands, as tough as it's been for them, a lottery team. That's my only argument. Okay, you know what? I don't think, Kyle, we're settling any arguments here, except that I'm right and you're wrong. So let's move on. But before we go, Shea Weber's son was at the morning skate

against Detroit on Friday as a guest of Ben Sherratt. And I guess Weber was at the game on Saturday and you have a Weber story you wanted to share. Yeah. So, well, a couple of things. First, I heard, which is kind of neat. The Canadians play an afternoon game Monday in Buffalo. And of course, the induction ceremony is Monday night in Toronto so the six players on Montreal that played with Shea are all going to hustle back to Toronto to be there for the ceremony you mentioned Sherratt him Jeff Petrie are going to come up from Detroit to be there for their old teammates so I thought that was neat to hear another story I heard about him so when

Weber and the other inductees got their rings on Friday, I mean, Eric Engels posted the laundry list of injuries that Weber played through during their run to the cup final in 2021. Torn meniscus, busted ankle, torn thumb tendons, and he tore his groin in the Vegas series in the conference final and joked that he was like a mummy with all the medical tape that was required to get him on the ice every night and so you've talked about it a lot like that scene after Tampa won and they were all celebrating on the ice the amount of Montreal players that went up to Weber because they all kind of knew that they knew how beat up he was and they knew that that was probably it for him as a player and what was interesting to hear over the weekend was though certainly they all had a sense that he was dealing with a lot of stuff Elliot like not even his teammates knew the specifics of what his injuries

were like I guess he went to the trainers and was like do not tell the rest of the guys what I'm dealing with. And not only that, he would get to the arena, whether it was on game night or on an off day for a practice, way earlier than the rest of the players most times. Not only because he had a bunch of rehab work to do on the table before getting on the ice, but it was also because he wanted to get all of that done before his teammates got to the rink he didn't want guys to see him on the table getting all the work done that he had to do just to be able to put the gear on i think a it was for the players and just not having to think about that but also for himself where guys aren't coming

up to him every five minutes going, hey, how's your thumb feeling? How's your groin? How's all of that? He just wanted all of the focus to be on winning games. And he was a guy who I asked a couple of players, like what was his kind of lasting legacy? And someone that just never had an off switch, right?

Like there was always the preparation and being ready to lay his body on the line each and every game. That was kind of what has stuck for him as a teammate. And I just, I had never heard that specific about through that playoffs, how the lengths that he went to, not only the play, but also keep the specifics of what he was dealing with away from his teammates because he just want didn't want any part of that conversation during that time i thought that

was really impressive can't say i'm hugely surprised those are great stories max patch already the last year he played two seasons two seasons right and he told me in one of those years, I can't remember which year it was, but he told me in one of those years, you cannot believe what this guy goes through to play. And that was either 16, 17 or 17, 18. Like that was three years before Weber's last game. scheme so think about how much worse it got in the three years between when patch already said that and the end of his career and you know one other thing i'll say about weber is i have a question i go to the so every friday of the weekend of the hall of fame announcement they have a media conference where everybody who's inducted talks to to. And I have a question I always ask, like what's the best compliment you ever received and who gave it to you? And Weber said, it was so funny, he goes, I can't really answer that because I don't take compliments

very well. I get my back up when I get compliments. It was a uniquely Weber answer. Very uniquely Weber. Great. Well, that's awesome. Yeah, so congrats to him and all the inductees going in on Monday. You mentioned Pacioretty, Elliot.

It was a tough scene for him on Saturday with how he left the game there in the first period, holding the back of his left leg. The team, Craig Berube said after the game, they'll need a day or two to see what's going on with them have you heard anything further on what the path looks like for him well I I just think that you know it it's it's not gonna be he's back right away like I I think there's gonna be um I think there's hope that it's not as bad as it initially looked because you said he he really struggled to get out of the building. But it's not like he's going to be back on Tuesday. So, you know, we'll see how it all plays out.

You're really rooting for him because he's been through enough. The one thing it's going to allow the Leafs to do is they have all these players they kind of have to activate. And it's one conditioning stint after another and this is going to be another situation where it's going to allow them to activate guys but the good news is that it appeared at least on Sunday that it wasn't the absolute worst case scenario which is what you want to hear so we'll see see what they announce, but the hope is it's not as bad as it looked initially on Saturday. Okay.

Well, stay tuned with what goes on there. Hey, so on Tuesday, Elliot, it will be one year since the Oilers fired Jay Woodcroft, replacing with Chris Knobloch, and we all know where the Edmonton Oilers went from there. That was the first coaching change in the NHL last season, and we seem to be at the point of the year already where we are past its early stage, and for some markets there's starting to be that sense of we may be in trouble stage.

I'm not asking if you think there's any change on the horizon anywhere, but is there some chatter starting around some names, coaches that aren't currently working in the NHL? I think it's starting to happen. I think there's a few teams starting to look around and say, okay, you know, is there someone else that we want to look at here? People are being very careful about what particular situations, but I had a few notes when I woke up on Sunday morning about teams are starting to look around.

You know, I think there's some teams potentially considering Joel Quenneville or Todd McClellan. Or even like if someone gets fired in place A, would there be interest in them in place B? I think that's starting to heat up around here. You can sense it's and the other thing, too, is like a lot of the managers are going to be in Toronto over the next few days because the GM meetings are on Tuesday morning and whenever they're together the talk always picks up whether it's about player movement or things like that you know I I just feel that I've got a number of people just telling me that the chatter is starting to pick up. Like you try to give your teams a month, sort themselves out if they're really struggling. And I think that we're kind of getting there in a couple of these situations.

We'll see. Like, again, people are always careful about saying where because I think they're sensitive. Like coaches know, right? Like they know when it's real and they know when it's not real and they try not to pour gasoline on the fire. But it's out there. You can really feel it. And I think Quenville and McClellan's names uh I I think are among the

names that are you know people are starting to talk about I'm sure there's more like like for again I don't know what Boston's going to do here I don't know if anything but I think even if Boston made a change I think a guy like Jim Montgomery would be a candidate in some other places. So I think that, and I don't know what the Bruins are going to do. When they were in town last week, Don Sweeney wasn't letting me know his secrets. So, you know, we'll see. We'll see what's up. But you can definitely feel it picking up.

Right. And Sweeney's got a busy schedule right now. He was in Buffalo Saturday afternoon. He was at the Leafs-Canadians game Saturday night because he's doing the work with Team Canada for Four Nations, right? Suddenly, you mentioned December 4th on headlines that that's where they're going to unveil the rosters. He's got that to worry about on top of his own team's state of affairs.

Well, I think they're going to meet in Toronto too, right? And as you said, I have a feeling that that Calgary-Buffalo game, like you look at those two teams, because he was there with Doug Armstrong, right? Who do you think they're looking at? There's only two guys that jump out to me. Uyghur and Kadri. Yeah.

I was on Calgary Radio last week, and they were asking me about, do you think Weger's got a shot? And I thought, man, and it's no slight to him. He's off to a delightful start to the year. I thought maybe he was a bit more of a long shot to make it, but he was a right shot defenseman. There's not as many of those out there. There's a certain value to it.

Can I teach you something that'll increase your career? Yes, please. When you go on Calgary Radio and they ask you if Weger has a chance to make the team, you say yes. Well, I didn't say no. and they ask you if weaker has a chance to make the team you say yes well unless you don't want them well you did this is not a ring endorsement like this is like lukewarm bath water that you gave weaker i didn't even listen to this but i'm listening to what you're telling me right now like unless you're trying to say to calgary radio don't ever call me again like maybe that's what you're you're trying to do

but you know if you really want to be seen as an enthusiastic guest you would say yeah i think winger could be on that i think winger's got a real shot i do the fact that they're going there at that time of year to see him they're looking at him oh i was just trying to be real poor pat steinberg he invites you on and you like just torpedo his show no it was it wasn't pat but i know i see now you're radioing me here like i went on and said no he's got no you radioed yourself no i was just trying to be honest and you're going all like you're running for prime minister whenever the next election happens next year. And you're saying, just tell the people what they want to hear. Are you kidding?

I would be better than any of these candidates if I was running for prime minister. I would win in a landslide. Oh, God. Yeah. Would love to see that. You, Elliot, are like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman 2, when the whole concept of how they go about doing news changes, right? His line.

I just don't know why we have to tell the people what they need to hear. Why can't we just tell them what they want to hear? That's your MO. I like that. Yes. Not always like that, but to hear that's your mo i like that yes not always like that but i think that's funny speaking of talking facts uh as you predicted uh dante fabbro was went unclaimed on sunday hold on a sec no he was claimed columbus that's great man what the heck and you know

i have to tell you i was not sure but but still, I deserve to get ripped for it. So I have a group of buddies. They love it when I get anything wrong. They just hammer me. And the moment that it got out there that Favreau had been claimed by Columbus, they were all over me. Like, aha, you said you probably wouldn't get claimed. But Columbus wasn't worried about that.

I think the salary did make some people nervous, 2.5 million. Like, if you woke up on Sunday, you know, Columbus in the overall league stats, you know, they did not have the first claim. There were six teams ahead of them San Jose, Montreal, Anaheim, Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia and so there were some teams that I think on paper could have used Fabbro that walked away from him because they didn't like the number and you know like the thing is that Fabbro, they'd been trying to trade him for a while.

I think Fabbro would have welcomed that. As I mentioned, I actually thought that maybe Fabbro, because he wasn't playing, had asked to go on waivers. That happens sometimes. But I was told that wasn't the case and it was the Predators' decision. They were hoping to get him down to the American League to play, even if, you know, he went unclaimed but and the other thing too that complicated this is that you know you can only retain salary

on three transactions right and the Predators are at two so you know even if they split at 1.25 say kept 50% or a smaller amount it would have prevented the Predators from doing it later in the year if they had to. And so I think that added to the problem of this equation too. But I hope it works out for Fabbro. It's disappointing for Nashville. I mean, the Predators fans don't need me to tell them this.

They've had some real trouble with their first round picks over the last few years they just haven't turned out enough as they've wanted it'll be interesting to see with fabro because i remember when he was in the draft he was a stud and there was a big debate who was better charlie mcavoy or dante fabro and mcavoy has gone on the trajectory he's gone on and it just it hasn't worked for Fabbro and that doesn't mean it can't and hopefully it works out for him in the in the longer term a fresh start means a good start for Fabbro but yeah I have to say there were a bunch of teams that told me that they didn't think he was going to get claimed and that was wrong and happy for Fabbro it didn't I think that the one thing you're watching now in Columbus is Yerasek

the relationship between Yerasek and the Blue Jackets has been up and down you remember last year he was disappointed and they had to work with him to sort it out and I think he only played nine minutes the other night in their game against the Kings. And, you know, like it'll be interesting. Like they're both right-hand shots. Does this push Juracek up the lineup or does this push Juracek down the lineup? And obviously, you know, I don't necessarily think Don Waddell thinks like this, but he's a new GM, so he wouldn't have the same attachment to Juracek that like a

Jarmo Kekkalainen would have. So you always wonder like what does that mean? What does that mean for a player there? But so that's the other question that comes out from this. And by the way we should mention congratulations to Kekkalainen who was named to the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame. Very deserving

for Kekkalainen. Nice. And Kyle by the way, speaking about waivers, Fabro, I heard there's another name coming that's possibility and it's Andreas Athanasiu. He's in Chicago. He did not play

on Sunday night as they beat the Wild in overtime. He's only played five games this year. We talked about Chicago looking for a center. He was playing center for a couple of games here and there, but he's only played five games, and I heard it's a possibility he ends up on waivers as well. I'm not going to make any predictions on whether Nagy gets picked up or not, but

someone said to me that that could be coming early this week. And like Fabbro, it's just a player who needs a new start elsewhere. And we should mention too, Elliot, the Winnipeg Jets off to the best start in NHL history through 15

games, 14-1. Big win over Dallas on Saturday at home. How about the Jets fans? They have been dialed in all season inside their home building. The U.S. backup chance directed at Jake Ottinger with Connor Hellebuck doing his thing at the other end of the ice. Remember earlier in the season when the Penguins came through town, the where is Rutger chance after the McGrory trade from Winnipeg to Pittsburgh

in the offseason. And what a Saturday for Winnipeg sports fans. The Jets win in the afternoon. The Blue Bombers punch their ticket to the Grey Cup later on in the day. It was just a neat moment for the province of Manitoba as the Jets continue to roll. First of all, I'm a big Mike O'Shea guy. I loved covering him when I used to do CFL. So, you know, the Blue Bombers going to the Grey Cup. O'Shea's a great

coach. I'm always happy for him. You know, I have to say this, like the Jets fans have had a couple of great ones this year with McGrory and Ottinger. I'm sure in the moment Ottinger hated it because he was having a bad day but I would consider it the biggest badge of honor if an opposing fan base taunted me like that. Because as we talked about earlier they don't hate you when you're bad. They hate you when you're good right so if i was ottinger i'd be like okay maybe we'll see you in april or may or june and we'll we'll figure out where that goes from here but i would consider that the biggest badge of honor if a fan base taunted me like that when i got pulled for a game that's like okay they know i'm a guy that they have to beat but I'll say this like we talked about on Friday's pod that that Winnipeg crowd sounded berserk against

against Colorado they sounded berserk against Dallas it was an awesome weekend you know like you know you can't say they're not giving them anything to cheer about because they they sure are and all you do is you just ride the wave like like I think that's the thing like the Jets they're they're playing hard they're competing hard you have ups and you have downs in every game you know you've you win games you're supposed to lose there eventually will get to be a but they've won games they deserve to win eventually they'll get to a point where it swings a bit the other way and they'll lose games that they're supposed to win but like the thing about hellebuck is like i thought about this even more after our last pod you go back to the playoffs last year

like hellebuck is the backbone of the Jets right like you know of course like someone was having an argument with me the other day they're like you know Hellebuck should be the highest paid goalie in the NHL not Shusterkin not Swayman not anybody else and I said well of course like Hellebuck should be, if not the top, like the number two goal paid goalie in the NHL. But this is a stupid argument because the cap goes up. You're at different points when your contract gets expires. Like there'll be other goalies contracts who expires before Hellebuck's does. And of course they're going to beat them. Like Shusterkin, I've got no problem with him being the number one goalie, but Hellebuck is the

is the backbone of the Jets and the more I think about the playoffs last year when when when Hellebuck got exposed and kind of lost his confidence they were screwed they were completely screwed like they they just weren't able to overcome that because he's so much a part of their identity but I remember when he re-signed there and even before he re-signed there everything he said was I want to win I want to win and watching him go down to the knee and do that big celebration at the end of the game that tells you right now and you and you hope it happens again in April as opposed to just in November but hella buck is at the apex of his powers it's like when Superman is closest to the yellow Sun he is completely unbeatable well hella buck Superman is close to the yellow Sun right now like watching him

do that knee that's him saying you can bring an army of peak gretzky's and lemieux's i'm taking them all on right now like that's how he feels right now he thinks he can beat anybody and as long as he's got that feeling in between his ears and he doesn't lose it like he did in the first round last year to color that Jets team they will they will flow behind him they all rise with him they rise with him they go down with him and when he's like that that Jets team they are convinced they are invincible just don't ask Jerry Jones of the Cowboys about the yellow sun that would be my only only like like it's so cowboys right now like only they could build a building thank god i traded cd lamb in one of my fantasy pools yeah but you know i was just gonna

and you mentioned hey you you threw a winning streak you win some games that maybe you shouldn't and sometimes that's a sign of a streak coming to an end but But with Scott O'Neill saying Saturday, like that was maybe one of the more complete games they've had all year. And they're still racking up win after win after win. Speaks to the level that they're playing at now and head onto the road this week. Stops in Manhattan, in Tampa, and in Florida. So the tests continue for the red hot Winnipeg Jets and speaking of Team Canada Kyle

guess who had a shutout on Sunday night Mackenzie Blackwood so I don't think he's going to be on Team Canada but remember earlier in the year I said that if I was Colorado that's a guy I'd be looking at and I think they've looked at him before Mackenzie Blackwood that's a big money on the board game you could see the smiles from the Sharks after big money on the board game Devils I would shoot them 44 27 by the way Jack Hughes had an incredible week he looked fantastic I I still think there's a goalie there. I'm really curious.

Like, I don't think he's going on Team Canada, but I wonder where he ends up this year. And those were the second biggest goalie hugs I saw this week, Kyle. The first biggest were in Boston. Allmark. Huge win. Well, we talked about it last episode.

12 shots, Kachuk. 16 shots, Bruins. He went 67 minutes without a shot in real time, as Kelly pointed out, and made a huge save. The first shot he faced was a tough one in overtime. Made a huge save right before they won. But how do you know that Ottawa is a team

and not a club? By the way they reacted to him after the game. Big one for him. And he talked about it with Sean McKenzie after the game that that was, it had been a heavy one coming into Boston. There was a lot of emotions, understandably. So a huge result, not only for him, but for the Senators that needed to get going in the right direction again quick.

And you know what kyle i was going to do it later but since we talked about it a little bit here um we should mention um ted wyman uh you talked about uh what a day it was in winnipeg from a sporting point of view with the jets and the blue bombers both winning but it was a bittersweet day for a lot of uh media there uh ted wyman who as you could tell was a very popular reporter by all the tributes that came from all the people who cover winnipeg sports and in media there uh he passed away due to cancer uh saw that both teams did very nice tributes to him in the press box and um you know know, I know, like, for example, too, like Gary Lawless,

who was in Winnipeg a long time but now is down and works for Vegas. It was really tough for all those guys. So just wanted to recognize Ted Wyman. You know, this is a great weekend for media and hockey. You know, Scott Burnside is going to be honored as part of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He's the print, the Elmer Ferguson nominee. The great Pierre Oud is going to be recognized as the broadcast nominee, the Foster Hewitt Award.

We mentioned Eric Duhatchik, who's retiring after 46 years. It's supposed to be a weekend of celebration, but sadness in winnipeg for ted wyman's passing and you want to recognize him and his family okay nicely said there elliot and with that why don't we get to the final thought which is brought to you by gmc so we talked last episode with the news becoming official last thursday that chl players will be eligible to play in the NCAA starting next season. And naturally, a lot of tentacles start to branch out as everyone kind of sorts through the collateral effects

of all of this. What are some of the biggest questions you're hearing now that this is all official? Someone said to me on the weekend you cannot do enough of this on your podcast and your blog and even in headlines they said on saturday night like this is a story that is going to chew up a lot of air because there's so much that has to be determined and there are so many people affected like we we talk about the NHL more of a level Kyle, but most people aside from their fandom, they're not really affected by the NHL.

This is going to affect a lot more young players and a lot more young families, especially if you're good enough to play at a higher level. What is your path going to be? Where are you going to go? So this is going to be a very big deal. I think one of the things that people are expecting in the next CBA with negotiations about to begin soon is that as we mentioned right now, if an NHL team drafts you out of the USHL or the NCAA, they hold your rights for four years and the CHL, it's two. They are

expecting, a lot of people are expecting that will be made even. And those players, they really have no control over this. This is a bargaining issue between the league and the players association. But I've heard from a couple of people that there is a real recognition that it has to be equal. people that there is a real recognition that it has to be equal. So wherever we go there, and the other thing too is that the veteran players, the people who always get affected most in these negotiations are the young players because they don't really have a way to talk for themselves or negotiate for themselves. So they kind of get lost in all of this and you know I don't know the way this will turn out but a few people said to me they won't be surprised if everybody ends up getting four years. Now one person who I think is really smart said to me he wouldn't be surprised

if the draft gets shortened out of this. I did look into it people told me that has not really been discussed yet but we'll see if that turns out to be right. At the bottom at the bottom of it though I do believe Kyle you'll see where you get drafted from it becomes uniform because also right now in Europe if you get drafted out of Europe it's four years so I wonder if we'll see that that become the case in the in the CHL too we'll see where it all goes out the other thing here is somebody mentioned that here's a question to ask and we kind of talked about it the other day and I wrote about it in in my notes this weekend in the CHL

leagues you don't sign year-to-year deals you sign date of entry until the end of the 19th season so how are you gonna handle a 16 or 17 year old who is committed to an NCAA school will they release them for a true freshman season or will that player have to play through 19 and go to Denver and also if a player can sign an NHL entry-level deal and play there so take a player and this person used the name of Harrison Brunicke who was a second round pick from Pittsburgh last year he plays for Kamloops he's got 12 points in 14 games he's been signed by the Penguins could he go next year to the NCAA if they wanted him to or he wanted to

he's still 18 years old and so and he'll be 19 in May so these are all questions like nobody knows the answer to these questions yet and that's why someone said to me you cannot do enough on this topic not do enough and the other thing that's gonna happen Kyle is that everybody's gonna be trying to do this for their own self-interest like someone said there's gonna be nothing pure about all this. It's like, how does this affect me and how can I make it help me? And everyone's going to be like that. Oh, I believe it. I totally believe it. That's why I say it like it's, this is just the beginning, just the beginning. I shudder to think like how this is all going to shake out.

Hopefully there means a lot more opportunity, of course, but you're right. Under that filter, it's going to be the wild, wild west for a while, at least out of the gates, don't you think? Oh, yeah. Crazy. Just crazy stuff. Just the beginning. That was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take a break. When we come back, the thought line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the beginning. That was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take a break. When we come back, the Thought Line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. All right, time now for the Thought Line. 1-833-311-3232 is the phone number to call,

or you can email at 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. This is a safe space for all thoughts, questions, suggestions that you may have for Elliot and I. So we'll start, Elliot, not with a question, but adding on to a theme that has been building. Not the triangle. We're past that. But same name, different sport.

Oh, yeah. Rich from Alsager in the United Kingdom. Hey, Kyle, Elliot, and Dom. Love the pod. Been a listener for many years not a current nhl player but would like to cast your mind back to former nhl goaltender anti niemi not only was there another anti niemi in the world of sports but the other anti niemi was also a goalie he played soccer or football is the proper term no way this is what he's saying in the premier league for No way.

This is what he's saying. In the Premier League for Southampton and Fulham, he also represented Finland internationally 67 times from 1992 to 2007. I just thought it was uncanny that not only are there two anti-Niemies, but both were also goalies in their respective sports, and at the highest level too. Keep up the good work and may Conor Bedard rescue my beloved Blackhawks.

Wow. That is, I would never have known that. First of all, appreciate that. Love hearing this stuff. Want to shout out, there were a bunch of people that wrote in too about Will Smith, Will Smith of the San Jose Sharks

and obviously Will Smith with the Dodgers. He's now won a World Series this year, and of course they were also mentioning the Will Smith, Men in Black, among other things. But Will Smith is a good one. And I got a note this week from a Chris Moxley. Chris Moxley covers college football at Campus Tocantin and he sent me a note

that John Paddock the Sens coach we talked about him on the last pod because Ottawa won was the other team besides Winnipeg to win 13 of their first 14 there was a John Paddock who played quarterback in NCAA football at both

Ball State and Illinois. No way. Yes. In his first start for Illinois, he had 504 yards and four touchdowns. So, Chris, thank you very much for that. much for that I would also like to shout out the Hurricanes fan who said that we did Cam Ward the college football Cam Ward a disservice for not pointing out that because he's the quarterback at Miami he's also the quarterback of the Hurricanes Cam Ward won a Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes Cam Ward now quarterbacks the hurricanes i'm not that

smart sorry about it but also slightly different we i had two dms on my instagram from people who said that when we mentioned jared bednar and jay beagle As people who'd won the Kelly Cup, the Calder Cup, and the Stanley Cup, supremacy in the ECHL, the AHL, and the NHL, we had left out someone. Jason Fitzsimmons, who is the Washington Capitals director of minor league operations, has won two Kelly Cups with the South Carolina Stingrays. One as a player, you said, right? Yes. Yeah. One as a player. What was he, a goalie?

He was. Okay. And then got into coaching. Yeah, you looked that up. That's credit to Kyle. He's won two with South Carolina Stingrays. He's now won two with the hated Hershey Bears. And he also won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Washington Capitals. So it's interesting how two people wrote to me and said that Jason Fitzsimmons deserves to be in the trivia question with Jared Bednar and Jay Beagle. deserves to be in the trivia question with Jared Bednar and Jay Beagle. And by the way, Kyle, I'm watching Jared Bednar now. He should not be coaching Colorado.

Do you know who he should be coaching? Who? Seattle. Why? Because he looks like a grunge band rocker from the 90s. Can you take me higher? To a place where the blind can see.

Oh, yes. I'm watching him today because I guess he announced that Nechushkin's going to play this week. And he's got like a sweatshirt and a hat on and he's got the great hair. The hair is like down to his shoulders. And I'm like, that guy should be coaching Seattle.

This is grunge rock meets the NHL. That's great. I was wondering if you were going to go like Florida a la Pat Riley, but I mean, he of course had the more slick back look. Slick back. Yeah. Yeah. Slick back.

Not push back. Slick back. Slick back. But the flow is still great on Bednar. That's a great, great point. So thank you, Rich, for that one. And to get us going down the rabbit hole of same names. The next, a voicemail.

Daryl from up in White Court, Alberta. Hey, guys. Just was listening to the preamble to Pittsburgh and Washington playing tonight, and they've mentioned that it's the 70th time that Sid and Ovi are going to be matching up head-to-head. And it makes me wonder, can you think of anybody else who has met head-to-head more times than that over the course of a career? I can't imagine there'd be more.

Let us know your thoughts, fellas. Have a good day. That's a great question. Do you have the answer? I do. Yeah. I had to look it up. Okay. Hang on. Hang on. Before you do it, the one thing I'm wondering is, is there any chance it's like an original six when people played for 20 years and they faced each other all those times? You're on the right path, Frege. That's what I would have guessed. Like, it's like Howe and Richard or like Makita and Hull and George Armstrong

or something like that. That was the first thing that jumped into my head because he still played 66 games and there were five other teams, right? So that was my guess. Yes. So you mentioned one of them. Gordie Howe is the answer. George Armstrong?

No. Gordie Howe? Yes, he's one of them. Okay, okay, hold on. Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull. No. Henri Richard. No.

Stan Mikita. No. Maurice Richard. no stan makita no maurice richard incorrect george armstrong i think you already said him but no oh all right let's just give me the answer this This is turning into a disaster. I can't remember who I said. Who was it? Alan Stanley. Oh, man. You know, I got to say, like, that is, that's, I wouldn't have gotten that. I just wouldn't have remembered.

But now that you said it, it makes absolute sense. They met 238 times in the holy smokes second most alex del vecchio tim horton 232 times really yeah to your point with how the schedule was back in the day you saw a lot of each other wow just think about that crosby del Novak in 70 times and these guys are three times that wow yes great question thank you to Sportsnet stats for the assistance there and yeah great question from Daryl all right Paige from Georgina hi 32 thoughts team I was just watching the Leafs win against the Red W on friday by the way i should mention so griffin porter pointed out to us elliot is that this and griffin's the one who curates all

this he curates the all the questions correct so he says we get a lot of questions along this subject line quite a bit and i believe you guys have tackled it on the podcast in the past but with him saying that you this gets asked a lot I thought it was worth the refresher so here we go page writes in I was just watching the Leafs win against the Red Wings on Friday and near the end of the game there was a play in which the commentator said something along the lines of if Detroit scores here you may see Toronto challenge this for offside. Before the play was whistled down, though, Toronto ended up scoring their empty net goal at the other end of the ice.

So here's where my question comes in. If Detroit has noticed they were offside, could they have challenged the play for offside on themselves to render the rest of the play and therefore the goal dead? In short, can a team challenge their for offside on themselves to render the rest of the play and therefore the goal dead in short can a team challenge their own offside thanks for your insight kyle great hair elliott great personality i think they got us you know what i gotta tell you something that's like a bad dating profile when the first thing says great personality it's like not clicking on that one the answer is no you you can't do that it does come up from time to time and i i understand all of you who think like this uh i loophole thinkers i love that

but you can't do it it you're not allowed to do that no simple as that but a good question to ask thank you page all right another question this week from melbourne australia dan writes in g'day g'day kyle elliott and dom love the show he considers himself johnny canuck down under big canuck fan listen to the podcast on motorbike rides to work and drives to the rink i was watching the canucks versus kings game the other night where jean-naud got the major for the hit on besser i saw the stat that came up on the screen for vancouver's conversion rate on the power play, for example, one for three. I was wondering, though, how a major is treated. I understand double minors are deemed to be two power play chances, but what is it for a major?

Three, two and a half, two, or even one? Thanks, guys. Keep up the great work. P.S. Shout out to my Reapers and Ives Wolves teammates. But most importantly, go Canucks, go. Yeah, Dan, it's a good question. So the way it works for a major is, you know, you can never have more goals converted than the opportunity, right? So if you have five minutes, and of course, as you know, that doesn't expire.

If you score, you remain on the power play for the entire five minutes, so long as you don't take a penalty, of course, as you know, that doesn't expire. If you score, you remain on the power play for the entire five minutes, so long as you don't take a penalty, of course. But you can have a situation where you're three, if you score three times in the major, you're not three for one. So you're always, the opportunity is always one greater than the actual success. So if you get nothing on that major, of course, it's 0 for 1. If you score once on that power play, you're 1 for 2 on that major. If you score three times, you're 3 for 4.

That's how it works when it comes to five minutes. Nice. Good stuff. I had a coach who, when I was younger, his way of doing things was to take the power plays, not by number of power plays but by minutes for this reason so he would divide the number of goals by the amount of minutes you spent on the power play so for example if you were uh if you were two minors and a major and you scored twice you had a 222 power play two goals nine minutes he liked that way better really interesting i'd never heard that before yeah he just said it was just said because you can't weigh majors the same as

minors right that was his way of looking at it yeah that's fair all right we'll wrap up thought line with a question from mabel from the bay Area. Hi, Kyle, Dom, and Elliot. I've been enjoying the podcast for a while, especially the behind the scenes, nitty gritty information that you share with us occasionally. We try to do it more than occasionally. Macklin Celebrini scored twice the other night on Marc-Andre Fleury. Is this the greatest difference in age between a goal scorer and a goalie or have there been greater differences? I feel like it can't be, but I also have no idea how to look this up. Thank you for all the great work.

Now, Elliot, before you answer that question, I will just say for the sake of this exercise, we are going to keep it to the situation we would have seen here where the scorer is younger than the goalie because if you imagine if it was the other way around Gordie Howe earlier he would be the answer here so we're going to go young I was wondering if Chris Chelios could be the answer or anything like that or anything no that was the other No, it would be Gordie Howe. That was the other name. It would be Gordie Howe. Okay, so I mean the oldest goalie,

and I don't even think we really even knew how old he was at the time, would be Johnny Bauer. Not the answer here because we're just talking age gap. Yeah, well, don't forget like Johnny Bauer was like in his 40s, right? So that's what I was thinking. Yeah. But it's not the answer. Okay, I'm trying to think.

This is a tough one, though. It is a tough one? Okay, what? How recent? I think people like hearing me guess. If you don't like hearing me guess, then just tell us and I'll stop guessing. Because the guys I was going to name were going to be like Luongo or Brodeur.

Not recent, eh? This happened in the early 70s. Ooh, early. So are we talking like Plant or Glenn Hall or Sawchuck or Bauer, one of those guys? In that mix. But not those guys. No, it's like i feel the one name out of that group that you haven't said okay i said i said hall i said saw chuck i had bauer

jacques plant i mentioned like dennis de jordi or something like that no who is it Like Dennis DiGiordi or something like that? No. Who is it? The goalie was Gump Worsley. Oh, my God. How stupid am I? Like, that is stupid. I didn't even think I am.

I feel like Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live interviewing Paul McCartney. Stupid, stupid question. Yes. That is great. 44 years old. The player, I mean, you can take a crack. Bobby Orr? No.

I'm just going to tell you. You ready? We could be here forever. Just tell me. Dennis Ververgaard. We would have been here forever. Yeah. He was 20 years old.

Gump Worsley was 44. So it was 23 years years 320 days age difference that is the most i can't believe that's gonna ruin my entire day i'm going i'm going to the gym on monday morning i'm gonna go meet someone for lunch and the whole time i'm gonna be thinking i can't believe i didn't get gump worsley i swear to god it's gonna ruin my entire monday time I'm going to be thinking I can't believe I didn't get gummed Worsley. I swear to God it's going to ruin my entire Monday. I think if you just channel it the right way

you could PR big time on Monday. I can just see you there on the bench press just throwing more weight on the bar. Worsley! Worsley! The anger and the aggression coming through you as you're just cranking out reps.

I think it's a great opportunity for you to channel it the right way. Hell of an effort as always, Elliot. A hell of a list of questions by everyone submitted. Once again, thanks for helping. You guys are on fire this year. Our audience has been great this year. I'm loving the, I mean, the anti-Niemi, I mean, and John Paddock today. I love these. Keep them coming. Keep them coming.

Keep them coming. You can keep them coming by calling 1-833-11-3232 or send in an email at 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. Back to wrap after this. Okay, welcome back to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Elliot, how would you like to put a bow on this episode? Well, the end of our show on Saturday night was a tough night for the Canucks. Really good after hours, if you haven't watched it yet,

with Louis and Jake DeBrusque. And Scott Oak is like the third wheel in that segment. Patterson had a good night for the Canucks. Probably his best game of the year, but they lost 7-3 to the Oilers. The one thing I wanted to say is I really do feel that if the Canucks need a jumpstart, they went 4-1-1 after Rick Tockett wore that fuzzy, furry polar bear fleece

on the off day in Vancouver. I think it was on October 25th. I think he needs to bust that baby back out again. The polar bear fleece. I like it. You know what that made me think of? I don't know if you caught it. The Washington Capitals, when they went into St. Louis

and beat the wheels off them 8-1, they wore their navy blue helmets, which typically they wear at home. Those look great. The white buckets on the road i think that was the first time they've done it this year i wonder if that becomes a trend for the caps after the result they got against the blues and we should shout out the panthers wearing the finished bathrobes unbeaten to be honest if i could i would wear a bathrobe to work oh gosh you would have your badge taken so quickly

that is a walking hr nightmare but i still want to see it happen but i still want to see it happen and elliot we will be on the lookout for Rick Tockett's polar bear fleece Tuesday night as they host the Calgary Flames at 10 o'clock eastern 7 pacific I mention that because it is one that can be seen nationally on Sportsnet one just one of the many games to keep an eye on this week enjoy the hockey hockey, enjoy your week, and we'll talk to you again on Friday.