32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Kekäläinen Out and Jack Hughes' Heel Turn

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

On this episode of 32 Thoughts, Jeff and Elliotte delve into the Columbus Blue Jackets relieving Jarmo Kekäläinen of his duties as General Manager. Elliotte expands on some of the names that are in contention to be considered by John Davidson as the new GM (8:01). Jeff also asks Elliotte about Elvis Merzļikins, who publicly expressed an interest to leave Columbus (11:29). The fellas then turn their attention to Jack Hughes, his "people pay to see me" comments, and the ensuing aftermath versus the LA Kings (14:59). Elliotte and Jeff ponder whether the Kings will make a move in between the pipes... Juuse Saros maybe (20:40) ? Jeff and Elliotte then discuss whether suspension appeals are the new normal across the NHL, à la Morgan Rielly (29:10) and does Rasmus Ristolainen's injury prevent the Flyers from making any moves at all (33:23)? To wrap the segment, Jeff and Elliotte speculate on which Western Conference teams will buy in the coming weeks (39:00).  The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (43:58) and finish the podcast by sitting down with Canadian Folk Rock musician Alan Doyle, who is embarking on a brand new tour with a brand new album (54:03). Find Alan Doyle's tour dates & tickets here: https://alandoyle.ca/tour/Find Alan Doyle's music here: https://alandoyle.ca/music/Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Zdorov just did the gritty to Jake Wallman. Oh my. Elliot, did you know what the gritty was before this week? Like, how unhip do you think I am? Seriously, I know what the gritty is. I can't do it, but I know what it is. Let me make one thing perfectly clear here to start this off. People do not pay to listen to this podcast.

More on Jack Hughes coming up in a couple of moments and more on the Los Angeles Kings and their social media coming up in a couple of moments. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented as always by the GMC Sierra, Merrick Friedman and Dom Schrammatti. We will get to Jack Hughes in that New Jersey, Los Angeles Kings game, Elliot's. We will get to some trade-related discussions and drill down on what this latest injury to Jake Gensel means for him and the Pittsburgh Penguins. But up first, the headline story of Thursday bleeding into Friday, bleeding into the weekend, and that is the Columbus Blue Jackets

are looking for a new general manager. After 11 seasons shepherding the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jarmo Kekulainen, relieved of his duties, John Davidson and the rest of management. We'll have a look now for the next general manager and we'll handle all the general manager responsibilities. What happened here, Freach? Well, first of all, we should remember that the last time that the Columbus Blue Jackets made a GM change, it was John Davidson who did it as well. and one day after he fired Scott Housen he hired Jarmo Kekulainen now I did not get the impression that we were going to wake up on Friday morning

and hear that the Columbus Blue Jackets were ready to hire Kekulainen's successor. This sounds like it's going to go longer. You know, what happened was, look, this was a huge year in Columbus. I think Jarmo Kekulainen knew he needed to have a big year and the Blue Jackets needed to have a big year. And he went out and he took a big gamble with Davidson and others and hired Mike Babcock. And he didn't even make it to training camp. And if you remember the statement that the McConnell ownership put out there when they fired Babcock, it was very clear. We were very close to the end of the line and the only thing that was going to save everyone there was an incredible year and not only have they not had it but I think the other thing that's really hurt them is you know everybody understands there's going to be one or two unhappy players a year but there's been four or five blue

jackets this year who've come out publicly and talked about how upset they are about something or how angry they are about something mers lincoln's urasek line a veronkov you know people can decide if these players are right or they're wrong. I'm sure some people will say, well, this guy's right and that guy's wrong. Or they're not all right. A couple of them are right, but this guy's wrong. Like everyone's going to have different opinions, right? But the fact is that, you know, four or five players have come out this year.

It's a lot. And, you know, Kekeleinen had a really good run there. 11 years. They've made the playoffs eight times in franchise history. Under Kekulainen, it was seven. Their only playoff series win was under Kekulainen, and they won the one against Toronto in the bubble. I count that too. I know it doesn't technically count as playoffs, but they did win a series. Their only playoff series wins came under him. You know, 11 years as a GM in this league, that's pretty incredible. Most GMs, that's in most cases, that's like three or four GMs in 11 years. So he had a good run, but it was time, Jeff. You know, you take a look at, you know, the last few years they've missed the playoffs, the situation with Babcock, which isn't all on Kekulainen, but when you're at the front of the line, you wear that. And just some of the troubles they had with the players this year, it was time. And he doesn't leave the cupboard bare.

They've got a lot of good young players there. There's only 32 of these jobs. And people are going to be interested in this one. But it's a good city to live in. It's a good ownership group. And I want to talk about the McConnells again in a minute. And there is good young talent there. And not a bad cap situation.

They have some extensions that they're going to have to deal with, but I think they're going to be fine cap-wise. I was talking to a couple people today. I think they're 15th most cap room in the offseason, so they'll have the ability to do some things. But I think two things, Jeff. Number one, they didn't want Kekulainen to handle them through the trade deadline. Number two, and this is my other theory here, they wanted to get a head start on some of the GM candidates who could be available.

It's possible, very possible, there's going to be more than one gm change in the nhl this year and jeff i'm wondering if this is as much about let's see if we can get to our preferred candidate first before anyone else does i do think that's a factor here too okay before we get to because i think we're all curious about candidates and who are some of the names, a lot of the names will be familiar, might be some new ones that pop up as well, they always do. But before we get there, your point about this is a club that didn't want Jarmo Kekulajnen to handle a trade deadline for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This firing happens three weeks in advance of trade deadline for the Columbus Blue Jackets. This firing happens three weeks in advance of trade deadline. One of the things that I wondered about was, was there something that Kekulainen wanted to do that they weren't able to do or he wasn't allowed to do? And the organization just said, listen, if we're not allowing him to do this, then what's the point of him still being here as general manager? Like to your knowledge, was there something he wanted to do that he wasn't allowed to? So, Jeff, I don't know if it's as simple as saying he wasn't allowed to do something. I think in these cases, there's nuance here and there. But what I do think is a couple of months ago, before Lindholm was traded to Vancouver, Columbus took a pretty good look at him and I think really considered it.

And I don't know how close it got. There's some people who say it got really close. There's other people who say a little bit less than that, but it was serious. I would say that it was serious. And at the end, it was decided that it did not make sense for the Blue Jackets to make this deal now I don't know if there was an extension as part of this I don't I don't have a good answer on that but I do think it was going to cost the Blue Jackets futures like you take a look at the deal that Vancouver did for Lindholm there are futures there and I think what happened was the Blue Jackets decided as an

organization that it did not make sense to do that and as a result the idea was scrapped so I do think it had come to the point where as an organization they had just said, you know what? We're not punting futures right now. And I think that was what happened in that case. Okay. The candidates. First blush, 24 hours after, you know, knee-jerk reaction, first thoughts. Who do you think gets this job? Well, as I said to you on your radio show, the first guy who jumped into my head was Mark Hunter.

And the reason that Mark Hunter jumps into my head is because Rick Nash, London Knight, Basil McRae owned the London Knights with the Hunter brothers and Basil McRae's in the front office there. You know, I don't know what the future of Rick Nash is. I assume he's going to be just fine. I don't know what the future of Basil McRae is.

I do know this. I know that the Blue Jackets have some people in that front office they think are really bright. And so I'm not sure where this is all going to go here but the connections with Nash and McRae have me wondering about Hunter now Mark Hunter he has a lot of control in the sense that he would only leave London for what he considers is the right situation. So I think he would need the say. He would have to have the number one voice in hockey.

But there's obviously people there that he's comfortable with. You know, Jeff Gorton's name has been thrown around there. I think that's a very obvious connection with John Davidson. The biggest question is, would the Montreal Canadiens allow this in any way, shape, or form? So that's another question. The other name that got thrown to me, and like you said, Jeff, we are barely scraping the surface here. There's going to be lots of other names they're going to talk to, and we'll see what we come up with. But another name got proposed to me on Thursday that I thought was very interesting, and that is Ray Whitney, the second captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets after Lyle Odeline, who has been working in the NHL for the Department of Player Safety.

And Ray Whitney is a guy who's been interviewed for a couple of jobs. And I thought that one was interesting because I could see Columbus wanting someone who has a real connection to the area. Now, it would be interesting to see how everybody would feel about all that. And Whitney would have to come in there and do a real good job with an interview. But I do wonder if the Columbus connection

plays any kind of a role there. Matthew Darsh is the next Blue Jack matthew darsh was the first player they signed i i almost worry for darsh he almost gets like named in every one of these jobs i think sometimes i think you it becomes a bad thing if it's if you're constantly mentioned yeah but yeah i mean those are four names i think those are four good names and there's going to be a lot of people that we don't think of off the top of our heads. Like a lot of people are going to want this job. For sure.

Let me ask you about one Blue Jackets player specifically. You know, we've talked plenty about Elvis Merzlikens and, you know, what's the future there, for example. What do you think happens with Boone Jenner? Boy, that is a great question, Jeff. See, I don't think that they want to trade him. I believe that. I believe that. But what I do, and first of all, too,

like Jenner has some say in this. That's one thing that we have to recognize here he has a partial no trade clause i don't think they want to trade them um you need good pros with all these young players like they have a lot of young players and you need good pros and and jenner is a great pro but i compared it on your radio show and i i like the comparison is when you see someone you want to date and you ask them out and they say no do you give up or do you try harder and i think there are some teams who are trying harder like like all I'm looking at some teams here. How many of these teams would, would look better with, with Boone Jenner? Colorado.

Yes. Rangers. Yes. Edmonton. Yes. Boston. Toronto. Yep.

You know how many of them would look better? All of them. All of them. Someone said Carolina to me too all of them I mean whoever it is they all look better with Jenner and I think some of them are trying I don't know I my inclination is that Columbus doesn't want to do this. We'll just see if anybody makes them really think about it. Okay.

We'll follow the story, see if anyone steps up to the plate on Boone Jenner. I also wanted to mention, I would not be surprised if Kekalainen is hired somewhere in somewhere in a personnel role like it depends on what he wants to do advice advisory role or like a player personnel role or like a like some sort of management role to find players like like i think one of his real skills is he identifies players um you know there's this whole debate right now about what makes a good manager and, you know, we can have this debate, but I think as a pure identifier of talent, I think he's very good. And, you know, for example, someone reminded me today that you go back to a team he won a championship with in the Finnish League, and who was on that team? Tim Thomas and Brian Rafalski.

And Brian Rafalski went over to North America and won Stanley Cups. Tim Thomas came over to North America and was a consmith winner as the playoff MVP. This is a guy who has an eye for talent. And a couple people said to me they think that if Kekulainen, he's got a year left on his deal, so he might want to take some time to relax.

I think everybody's entitled. But there will be people who want his eye in their organizations. Okay, we'll follow the Columbus story as it unfolds. This one is long from done. Let's get to Jack Hughes and the Los Angeles Kings. The comments, people pay to see me. This is in an exchange with Victor Arvidsson.

Welcome back, Victor arvidsson to the los angeles kings kings beat the new jersey devils and uh the trusty social media account for the los angeles king is quickly puts out this tweet quote people pay to see me play no that's scratched out lose is what we heard Your thoughts on all of it. Jack Hughes versus the Kings. Well, Jack Hughes has had quite a week. First of all, there was the goalies, the goal. We win when we get saves.

And then, well, the one thing is on the plate, like, like, first of all, like number one, we can't say our, our, and you've heard me say this a billion times we can't say our athletes are boring and then get mad at them when they say something it's either one or the other no one's getting mad at them i just think that when they say things like this we have to remark on it like i think it's fantastic well i think it's a breath of fresh air people will rip hughes for this people will rip hughes for this but i but that's my point is that you if you can't complain they're too boring and then complain when they say something we've learned if you've ever heard hughes on this podcast he's gonna say it and you better deal with it because that's just who he is and he's not changing for anybody.

I'll say this. I understood why he was mad. That should have been a penalty, if not a penalty shot. Like, I get it. But the thing is, my dad always said to me, if you're going to dish it out, you better be able to take it. So if the Kings want to reply that way on their social media and i have to say like the nhl social media staff on these teams they are getting bolder and bolder and i think that's good too if you're going to dish it out you got to take it and so i don't have a problem with any of this. You know, I'll say this about Hughes.

I think there's a lot going on here. Number one, he's had a couple of big injuries this year, so he's frustrated about that. And number two, the Devils have fought their way back into the playoff race after a lot of people, including both of us at different times this year, have written them off as done and so look i think he's annoyed he's been missing a lot of games i think he sees they're back in the race he badly wants to win and he's competitive and that's who he is and you know like like i said

that's who jack hughes is that's just who is, and we'd all better get used to it. The only thing I didn't like from Hughes in this game, Jeff, was the stick smashing. Well, by the bench? Yeah, I've got no problem with the talking, but I'm not crazy about the stick smashing only because my rule is never let them see you sweat right never let them see you sweat because all those guys on the kings are now are like okay we're in his head and the same

thing like jake wallman and we'll talk about the canucks game in a bit but jake wall, he slammed his stick against the Canucks after Zdorov did the gritty on him. Never let them see you sweat. Deliver a sharp line, no problem. Never let them think that they are getting to you. No, but that is off script. If you're going to be an NWA style heel, you do want to see it. You want to show that they've gotten to you that's part of the whole drama he's not paid to let the good guy look good

in the other territory he's there for the devils i just love that he's a natural heel like he's an old school wrestling fans will love this reference you know what he is he's an old school nwa heel that's who jack hughes is he's rick flair he's he's like that yes that's why i'm going with the old nwa heel absolutely in the mid-atlantic they loved him everywhere else they hated him uh you know what you're talking about okay elsewhere around the nhl did you boy i say by the way too like that was a huge win for the kings after that embarrassment in buffalo well the i mean the buffalo game was weird for for so many different reasons because i think it makes us look back at that edmonton game and sort of reevaluate if that was just a you know just an exhausted edmonton oilers team but But also in that Buffalo Sabres game,

when's the last time you saw Andrzej Kopitar at dash six? You know what, I'll tell you. There were players talking about it at the morning skate. I was at the morning skate on Thursday, Toronto, Philly. And there were players on both teams talking about that. Just about how crazy it was that Kopitar was minus six. The respect that Kopitar has around the league is immense immense a couple players were saying he's one of the nicest guys in the league um i'm sure some of the kings fans

would wish like he would he would carve one of them with his sticks so he wasn't seen as so nice sometimes but the respect these players have for him is huge and and they like one of them actually didn't know he he said to me is it true that Kopitar had a bad number last night? I go, he was minus six. His eyes bulged out. He goes, Kopitar was a minus six? That's not a Kopitar number. No, so that was obviously a huge, huge win for the Kings.

And I'm really wondering here what the Kings are going to do in goal. There are more teams here uh what the Kings are going to do in goal there are more teams here thinking that the Kings are gonna you know Rob Blake is kind of at the beginning of the year is like we have no cap room we have to wait till Arvidsson gets back now Arvidsson's back and I kind of want to see how this plays out and Talbot was hot and he goes to the all-star game and then Riddick was kind of hot and now people are are just looking at this and going there's no way they're letting this play out like this they are gonna they're gonna try for something i i think one of the names that we're all thinking about is uc sorrows and if you watch the dallas game against nashville on thursday night you say

to yourself okay maybe you know it is time for the Nashville Predators to start selling off and maybe that begins with UC Soros. And we wonder about LA and we wonder about Carolina. I'm sure there are other teams that have inquired about UC Soros, but your thoughts on the Nashville netminder at deadline. Well, first of all, an overall comment on the Predators. I remember a few weeks into the season, I think they were 31st in the NHL.

And they recovered and they gave it a real good run. Like, I don't think anybody expected Nashville to be too good this year. But they made this interesting. They got into the race. They stayed in the race for a while and they've come out of their break and they have not been very good at all and brunette he talked about they had a bad practice on Monday. They lose on Tuesday. And he says they played like they practiced Monday.

And then they get hammered Thursday night. And what does he say? He says, we've got our minds on vacation, right? So his frustration is boiling over here a little bit. And I just have to wonder, you know, Saros, I think he's a pretty solid guy. But I wonder if, like, we've gone from earlier in the year, like, there's no way this is happening, to now people are starting to think this could actually happen with sorrows and i just i just believe the last trade deadline though elliot we yeah but it

wasn't a deadline too but but but the thing about last trade deadline was someone came to them and people believe it was the kings someone came to them and said what about this like that one wasn't the Predators shopping him that was someone came to him and said what if we do this right and this year like I said earlier this year like Barry Trott said, we're not trading Saros, and I think he made it very clear they were going to talk to extend Saros, and they considered him like basically Rene 2 in Nashville. And now, look, before I would have thought it was 95 to 5 they weren't trading them.

Now, I don't know if I would say it's 50-50, but what are we at, like 75-25? And I've got to think that's going through their room. You know, like all those players know how good Saros is, All those players know how good Saros is, and I just wonder. I just wonder if everyone's realizing, oh my goodness, this could actually happen here. And the thing about Saros is, I think there's a couple of things at play. I think, number one, he's got one more year left on his deal and then you have to extend them and i wonder if the predators are looking at what that might be and saying i don't know number two askarov has gone from a young guy who you wanted to make sure and now they've won what

15 in a row like there's nothing he can do down there anymore. At some point in time, the guy's got to come up and play, and we're at that point here. He's going to have to play there next year. And the third thing I think is that Nashville feels they need to get some elite offensive talent. And you have two choices at that. You can bottom out and play your luck in the lottery, which sometimes works, but sometimes it doesn't,

or you can trade good for good. And they're not trading Yossi, and they're not trading Forsberg, and they're not going to trade one of their really good young players. So who could they move to get offense and i think if they get a good offensive player they're going to consider this and i just wonder if that is kind of shaking some things there a little bit we'll see where this one goes as well i mean do you have any problem with my theory here on this one? No, not at all.

I mean, I would even go as far as to, I wonder, you know, if you're the Los Angeles Kings, knowing that the, uh, Nashville Predators, um, need goals. I would wonder about a player like Adrian Kempe. If we're just trying to make the money wash and trade him before his modified no trade kicks in. That to me, again, this is just spitballing on a podcast. But I think that's the kind of deal we're probably talking about here. I mean, I think you're right.

Like Nashville wants scoring. Nashville needs scoring. LA needs to stop the bleeding and needs someone that they can be successful with in net. So that one would make a lot of sense to me um i gotta think jersey's in that too i think jersey's in i think well i mean you've talked about markstrom before here and on the on hockey night in canada that that story is well told uh i would have to assume that if they're in on markstrom they're in on any other big gold

yeah that can help them so that makes a ton of sense too. Let me ask you about Jake Ensel. So it's an injury. He's on LTI with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's four weeks. And that takes him past the March 8th trade deadline. Elliot, a couple of things. One, this may sharpen the focus on what Kyle Dubas needs to do,

either add or sell, because he's out. If the Penguins can thrive without Jake Gensel and threaten for a playoff spot, well, then you don't move Jake Gensel. Maybe treat him as your own rental. They did win on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks with the returning Conor Bedard, we should add. Great to see.

Who looked fantastic, we should add. How different that team is with this rookie in the lineup. But it carries, you know, Gensel goes past trade deadline here with the injury. How much does that complicate everything for Caldubus? Or any team that wants to acquire? I think actually they consider themselves very lucky. Because it's not worse?

Very lucky. Because it's not worse. Because it's not worse. Yes. So I think everybody will take this, that it's not worse for Gensel. He'll rest and he'll be ready to play. And I don't think this changes anything. I don't think this changes anything for anyone.

The teams that are interested in Gensel can still be interested in Gensel because he's going to be available. And, you know, Pittsburgh, maybe they'll get a look at life without Gensel. But I think, look, we can all see where this is going with Pittsburgh anyway, that they have to make some change for the future. And I think people would be surprised if it doesn't happen. Okay. Thursday, you were at both the Maple Leafs

and Philadelphia Flyers morning skate. Another win for the Toronto Maple Leafs without Morgan Riley. They've beaten St. Louis. Now they've beaten Philadelphia. This one was overtime. Four to three is the final. And Morgan Riley is appealing.

His suspension. The five-game suspension. This is a recording. Is this the way it's always going to be now? I wonder about, because it's the third time this year, right? Yeah. Is this, is this just going to be the knee jerk? It's actually, it's the fourth.

If you include Perron, but Perrons will go to an independent arbitrator, but it's the third one after McAvoy and Anderson Rasm Perrons will go to an independent arbitrator. But it's the third one after McAvoy and Anderson, Rasmus, that doesn't go to an independent arbitrator where Bettman is the final level and nobody ever used to appeal these. And now that's three in a year. And we'll see what happens here. Bettman's upheld the last two two I would expect Bettman to uphold this one you know he has decreased one in recent years and that was Jason Spezza now the Spezza one could have gone to the independent arbitrator because it was initially six games but Bettman reduced it to four and Spezza took it and the but the reason Bettman reduced that one is because Neil Pionk the player that

was injured by Spezza returned to play sooner than expected if you go back and you read the decision that was the major determining factor for for Bettman to reduce that suspension because Pionk returned faster than what was expected that's not applicable here you know Ridley Gregg didn't miss any time and so it's not the same comparison but it is it does look like a new normal here Jeff yes I mean it's not a coincidence by the way I gotta tell you a good story I gotta tell you a good story yeah what do you got so I have a friend who's now no longer in the hockey business, but he used to do some work in the Western Hockey League. And he reached out to me after that play, the Riley Gregg thing. And he reminded me that when he was still in the hockey business in the WHL, he's a big Leaf fan, he implored the maple leafs to draft ridley greg

oh yeah he said that he will be your new nazim cadre in all of the good ways so a skilled player that annoys the other team to no, you know, we've seen is kind of true. But, you know, I have to say, you know, Greg's a hell of a player and he has really leaned into this, and so have the Senators. But I thought that was really interesting. And he did tell me that years ago. I forgot, but he reached out to remind me of that this week. I think he's in the financial industry now,

but when he worked at WHL, and I don't know who from Toronto he spoke to. I don't think it was like Dubis or anything like that. But he said he spoke to some Toronto people and said, you guys have to take this guy. He will be cadre light and he's sure right about that already working up the ire um meanwhile fill out a few flyers uh with erasmus ristelainen's situation right now does that take and you and you think this

is long term right i i i don't know i wonder if this is long termterm, right? I don't know. I wonder if this is long-term. I really do. The fact that it is so quiet around it just makes me wonder whether this is longer than just a couple of weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if this one's long-term at all. Well, my experience is if we're going to know in a couple of days it's it's brace for the worst hope for the best that is my experience so if it is the worst and it is longer than a couple of weeks here given that the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the surprise teams in the NHL and I know that you know Breer and Jones and Tortorella have always said eyes on the prize if we get the right deal

guess what you're in you have a new zip code or postal code if you get shipped to canada but i just can't help but wondering if if ristelainen and his situation uh drags on to the end of the season with this injury does that mean that they don't move sean walker and maybe they don't make any moves at all. I don't know about this. I think like there's a long time. There's still, there's still three weeks, right? So right now we're in that we're playing poker right now, right? It's poker time. It's, it's the player trying to get the best deal he can and the team trying to get the

best deal he can and the team trying to get the best deal they can. So you've got player negotiating with team, team negotiating with player, but at the same time team's negotiating with player, they're putting their name out there and saying, what can we get for them? Like I've heard the price for sealer is very high, and teams take that to mean they want to sign sealer

and if sealer takes what they're offering because i think there's a limit to what philly will do here that's going to get done i think philly wants to keep walker but i think that was also predicated on they've got a lot of bodies now Now, if they can't move Ristolainen, potentially, what does that mean for Walker? We better make sure we have him out there. And I do think there's interest in Walker, too, obviously. Lawton, to me, is a really interesting one in the sense that, like, I do wonder about a team like the Rangers with Lawton to me is is a really interesting one in the sense that like I do wonder about a team like the Rangers with Lawton I've heard that that's the kind of player that they're interested in

and I think he could be perfect for them um but again it's you know if you're looking at the first rounder for the rentals that have gone Lindn holman monahan if you're philly are you moving lot and if you don't get better than that so i think we're right now we're in we're in the big poker game and the big poker game is what hits first and lawn's a bit different but with like sealer and walker what hits first they say yes to my number or i get what i want that's where we are you know which team i wonder about with uh with scott lawton who's that buff the buffalo sabers yeah that that's another good one that's a team that needs uh maybe a different veteran mix needs to be a little tougher.

They do have what Philly wants, and that is, and you've talked about this before, a lot of prospects that they're going to have to start turning into players sooner than later. That's the team that I like. Rangers make a lot of sense, obviously. I also do wonder about the Buffalo Sabres. Yeah, like a Krabs or something like that,

I assume plus. That's the kind of like that I assume plus like that's that's the kind of thing that I could I could see that makes that makes a lot of sense to me it's just me spitballing but yes I I think that's that's right too but we're in the middle of that sort of poker game and I and I do hate to talk about people like that but it's the best explainer I can give to the public you know i have to say while we're taping you're very callous by the way i am a callous person yes i am a callous person i work in the media business callous business cynical callous strips your humanity how so while

we're recording this zadorov just did the gritty to jake wall. Oh, my. Elliot, did you know what the gritty was before this week? Like, how unhip do you think I am? Seriously, I know what the gritty is. I can't do it, but I know what it is. Of all the times... Dom, go back to your cave. Of all the times for Dom to chime in, it's on that. Well, you know what?

Hipster Dom chimes in. You know how many hipsters it takes to change a light bulb elliot how many it's kind of a rare number you probably haven't heard of it oh that's so bad by the way i just want to say some of you aggregators are morons why is that everybody knows what i'm talking about okay you know what's interesting remember last year where the big theme at around trade deadline was everybody west was going east and boston loaded up and toronto loaded up like teams loaded up in the Eastern Conference, right? This was very much a thing. Everybody's going east. All the trades are west to east, west to east.

Does it not seem like we're getting the reverse, this trade deadline? Like if you have a look around at the Western Conference, for example, like who's going to make moves? Edmonton's going to bring something in. LA's going to bring something in. Vancouver's going to bring something inmonton's going to bring something in LA is going to bring something in Vancouver is going to bring something in Vegas is going to bring something in Colorado is going to bring something in Dallas is going to bring something in I still wonder about Winnipeg even though they've made a big move already you know they may bring something in as well and then you look around the Eastern Conference,

and I think we can see Carolina making a move. The Rangers are really married to that first-round draft picks, even if they want to make a move, how much do they have to play with? Not sure that Toronto's going to be able to make a move. Two defensemen out for Tampa. Are they going to be able to make a move? Florida doesn't have very much to give up or wants to give up through all of this. The Boston Bruins made all their huge moves last year. Do you think we're seeing a scenario where it is everyone last year was west to east

and this year it's east to west? I don't know. I don't know if I'm that esoteric. I think Edmonton's going to do something. I just don't believe Rutherford is done. I just think he could do anything. The one thing I think Rutherford considers is they have had a really good chemistry for a lot of this year.

How much do you want to tinker with it? But I know his MO. He could do anything. We've talked about L.A. Vegas has been really quiet. You know, Vegas has been really quiet. You know my theory there, left side. Left side. Dallas, I think, is looking at a right shot D,

like a Tanev type or maybe somebody with term. I don't think they want to give up a one for a rental. You know, Colorado's looking. There's no question about that. You know, one of the things I think Winnipeg has really thought about is Hainola. And he was hurt for a lot of this year. And I know their fans are very impatient for him.

But, you know, Sheveldayoff has shown one thing. He's very very very patient and I do think they want to give Hynola some time to play but I don't think he's out of their radar I think they want to see you know what he looks like with some playing time um you know the the thing though is like we know the rangers are looking to make deals we know the leafs are looking but they're really limited in what they can do i still think boston's out there lurking i don't want to proclaim like who's number one in the East right now? Florida. And I do think they're the best team in the East, and not just because they made it to the Stanley Cup final last year.

I do think, like, Lindell has struggled this year. I think they've got to get him back to where he can go. I think Ekman Larson, even though he's lost a lot of his time, he's made a good blue line a lot better. Again, I think if you're Florida, I know they don't have a lot, but you could win. What's your weakness? What are you trying to seal up there?

And I'll tell you something too, like Bill Zito, he is a, like, he's a tough negotiator. He used to be an agent. So he's done this from both sides of the table. A couple of guys said to me about Zito, if he thinks someone wants to stay and stay in Florida, like that's the advantage of players wanting to be in the state of Florida. He knows he can go past the deadline. I think they're really good. I think they are really good. I don't disagree with you on the Cats.

That team is super legit. And here's another thing. Don't look now, but Matthew Kachuk is very much back. Remember all the conversation at the beginning of the season about what's happened to Matthew Kachuk is very much back. Remember all the conversation at the beginning of the season about what's happened to Matthew Kachuk falling off the map? What's wrong with Matthew Kachuk? Since the calendar

flipped, Elliot, this is going into Thursday night's games. Since the calendar flipped, leading scorer in the NHL, just from January 1st to Thursday before the puck dropped, number one, Matthewst to Thursday before the puck dropped. Number one, Matthew Kachuk, 32 points. Nathan McKinnon, 29.

Connor McDavid, 29. Nikita Kucherov, 29. David Pasternak, 27. Going into Thursday, 2024, number one, Matthew Kachuk, 32 points. Florida just got better. Well, because the thing with them is, remember how battered they were at the end of last year.

Kachuk couldn't play. Montour and Ekblad were out. And one of the reasons I think they're really good is they more than held their water while all these guys were out and now they come back and they're healthy and they've caught up to speed it's an impressive team uh let's finish up this a block here by reminding everybody that's uh still to come on today's show elliot and i sat down with alan doyle x of great big c uh celebrating 30 years in the music industry this is a fun conversation just put out a new album called Welcome Home.

This is a lot of talk about hockey, his love for Montreal, the Montreal Canadiens, and a lot on his music as well. So that's still to come in the third block of the program. When we come back, Montana style, and also still to come, Alan Doyle. The podcast continues. Don't go anywhere.

Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Okay, it's time for Elliot's favorite segment, the Montana's Thought Line, Montana's Barbecue and Bar, Canada's home for barbecue. Take it away, Elliot. Try the ribs.

32thoughts.sportsnet.ca. That's the email address, 32thoughts.sportsnet.ca for the voicemail, 1-833-311-3232. Lauren is going to kick it off today. She submits this. going to kick it off today she submits this i'm sure no one has asked any questions about this but in regards to riley's hearing when the department of players safety always says that they've offered an in-person hearing does that mean a player can decline it if yes what happens then yes a player can decline it i believe that's happened before. I want to say Rafi Torres declined one once because he's just been through them before. But if it's not Torres, I know some players have declined it before. It just goes ahead on the phone or by Zoom or whatever. Basically, the reason you offer an in-person hearing is to give the option to suspend for six games or more.

You can't suspend for that without the offering of an in-person hearing. If someone says no, it doesn't change the possibility that that suspension can be offered. Now, I will say this. Most people tell me you take the hearing because you want to look in someone's eyes. I've had a couple people tell me they think that's BS, but most of the cases, I know that people have taken the hearing because you want to look in someone's eyes i've had a couple people tell me they think that's bs but most of the cases i know that people have taken the hearing i can't see george peros saying you know what it was going to be five but he really looked sorry so it's going to be a two i just can't see george peros uh going along with that one but nonetheless uh that is an excellent question lauren thank you for Thank you for the email. Zach in Grand Rapids.

Hello, Jeff, Elliot, and J-Dom. I'm a born and raised Michigander. J-Dom, I know. Lifelong Red Wings fan, as well as a thorough enjoyer of petty arguments between Jeff and Elliot. Wallman's OT penalty shot goal against Vancouver, this would have been last weekend, folks, got me thinking since assists are arbitrary participation points anyway wouldn't it make

sense okay wouldn't it make sense for players to receive assists on a penalty shot goal since the purpose of a penalty shot is to replay a breakaway that was impeded by an infraction. Shouldn't passes that led to the initial breakaway still be counted as assists? Love the pod. I hope this makes Elliot's eyes roll to the back of his head. Well, I have to tell you, I did play with a guy who was a good passer when I was younger who did feel that way on a penalty shot he should get an

assist if he set up the penalty shot so I'm not surprised that this is out there but I'm assuming you know the answer well no I mean it's just an it's just an it's just an opinion question like should they be given an assist because I remember you, you know what, you and I talked about this. I don't even know if you remember this. You and I talked about this months ago. And I went back because I had sent a message to one of the managers that I know about the idea. And I went back and looked for it. I found it through my phone today. And this is what he said to me. I'd vote no. Nothing that happens before a whistle gets on an assist before a goal that happens after a whistle. That was his thought. And I thought about this more this morning. And you know what I came up with? What's that? Here's what I thought. If you're going to go as far as to award someone

an assist on a penalty shot, do you not then have to award plus minuses for everybody else who is on the ice? And is that a road that you want to go down? So originally, my first thought was, you know what, I might be warm to the idea, but then when it got in my head that a penalty shot is going to affect the plus or a minus for someone who wasn't on the ice for the penalty shot and was only on the ice for the infraction, I kind of turned around on the whole idea. Because if the goal is scored, the player who scores the goal is the only one that gets a plus there.

It shouldn't be everybody else. I'm fair with that. I got to tell you, I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other. But selfish assist guys that I used to play with with that's kind of a misnomer a selfish assist guy but selfish assist guys that i used to play with they argued that they should get a point let's get to a voicemail here alex in st louis hey guys alex from st louis here where we always tell people to try the ribs oh a trappist wood rule question for you it feels like it's a call that's coming

up less and less these days but was thinking about a weird corner case if a goalie makes a sliding or diving save and that momentum takes them back into the restricted area with the puck behind the goal line could that be a penalty thanks for the podcast keep up the great work guys bye this one's interesting i assume you asked someone i did ask someone about it but there wasn't a definite answer to it that i got but here's based on what this person told me and what i believe as well um the well first of all the one thing that i've always wondered about elliot and i've never got an answer to it although i believe the answer is it's not a penalty what if a goaltender is for whatever reason out in the corner and someone shoots a puck at that goaltender in the corner

is it an automatic penalty because they've touched the puck in that area i don't think the answer is penalty but i don't know but what i got back was to this person alex and st louis's momentum carrying them into the area i was had the trapezoid. One, if it's a far distance, the play would have already been whistled down by the time they got there. The other would be if they were already out there around that area and froze the puck and went back in, it would probably be called delay of game.

That's what the call would be. But do you have a thought on... I'm just going to take this in a totally different direction and I'll actually do some homework about it later on this week and find out the answer. If a goaltender is already caught in that position and the puck hits them, is it a penalty? I don't know. I don't know either. I don't know. My answer would tend to be yes I don't know. I don't know either. I don't know. Elliot, I don't know.

My answer would tend to be yes, and I'll tell you why. I don't think it should be. This is based on no real actual evidence, just thinking about something. Look, they're not out there to play the puck. They honestly get hit by a shot. They shouldn't get a penalty. But, Jeffff what happens

if a team is changing and an opponent intentionally shoots i hate that i hate it i hate it but it's a penalty i know i know but i hate it elliot like well first of all you shouldn't do it so some because someone could do it to you oh it's so bad i can't't stand it. So I got to tell you a story. My first year at Western, they were going to play Ryerson. And Ryerson was really terrible at the time. Okay. And like they were losing games like 18 to 1, 20 to 1. Like they were just an awful team. And the year before, I was working on a story

because I was covering them about playing against Ryerson, and one of the players told me the year before that they were tied late in the game, and one of the Western players shot the puck at the Ryerson bench on a line change. And they got a power play and they won the game. Gross. It's gross.

I hate it. They were called, and by the way, I should mention it. It's called by a different name now. They don't use that name. TMU. Yeah, TMU. TMU. They don't use that name anymore.

But they went back to the room and the Western players went after the one guy who did it. They were like, you don't do that. Good. He said, I could not stand the possibility of not beating them. They were so bad. I couldn't tolerate it. Here's why I hate that. Like to the point where.

I agree with you. I think it's a weak move. Very weak move. I hate that. Like to the point where. I agree with you. I think it's a weak move. Very weak move. I think it's, I think one of the most unique parts about hockey is that you change players

while the game is still in play. While there is still motion of players that are on the ice, you're allowed to switch players off and bring new players on. I think it's one of the, one of the, one of the key attractions that we take for granted in the game of hockey. It doesn't happen in other sports. It happens in hockey. It does happen in some others, but basically you don't see that in football. It doesn't happen in other sports. It happens in hockey. It does happen in some others,

but basically you don't see that in football. You don't see that in baseball. You don't see that in basketball. You get it in hockey. It is so unique. And that's why every time I see a player deliberately throwing the puck at someone who's making a line change to get a play,

I say, you are trying to destroy one of the most unique things or take advantage of one of the most unique things in this game, the line change while the game is going on, to the point where, Elliot, I would treat that like puck over the glass. You do that deliberately, you get the penalty. I'll go that far. How about you? I don't have a problem with that.

I think it's a chicken bleat move, to be perfectly honest. I'm with you. Okay, we agree on something quick end the segment montana's thought line montana's barbecue and bar before we start arguing again canada's home for barbecue 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca 1-833-311-3232 those are the ways to get in right, excitement coming up after the break. Alan Doyle, new album, new music, 30 years in the industry, and we're talking hockey with the great Newfoundlander after this. Welcome back to 32 Thoughts to Podcasts presented by the GMC, Sierra, and all of our good friends there. Now, who doesn't love Alan Doyle? Who didn't love Great Big Sea before they broke up?

They've been broken up for a while. We still love their music as well. Alan Doyle, still very much recording music, still touring as well. Has a brand new album out called Welcome Home. Spoiler, it's excellent. We're going to play a part of a track here coming up in a little bit. But earlier on this week, Elliot and I sat down with the great Alan Doyle

and talked about hockey and Guy Lafleur and Montreal and Hurleys and hangovers and playing hockey against NHLers and talked about hockey and Guy Lafleur and Montreal and Hurleys and hangovers and playing hockey against NHLers and talked about music and the new album and his two big loves, hockey and music. Enjoy. Okay, Elliot, joining us now is someone who is, how shall we say, been riding the musical tiger for 30 years and just released his 20th album. He is the one and only Alan Doyle, and he joins us on 32 Thoughts, the podcast.

Alan, first of all, congratulations. When you reach mementos like this and dates like this, it's always a cause for pause and celebration. 20th album, 30 years in the industry. You know, there's an old British World War I saying, which is, I went for my country, but I stayed for my friends. If you can take us back to the beginning and then where you are now. Why did you start and how have you endured? Well, I'll tell you. I'll answer in reverse order.

The great celebration that you mentioned for making it to the 30-year thing. I just released my 20th record. We're making it to the 30-year thing. And I just released my 20th record. And I did the holiest of pilgrimages for people from Atlantic Canada, especially here in Newfoundland. Like a most famous boys weekend here is to go to Montreal for the Super Bowl weekend. Oh, yeah.

Because the Habs have those two afternoon games. Yes, yes. And you plow in there. You fly in as early as you can on Saturday. You go directly to the rink and watch the first afternoon Habs game. Then you usually go to Hurley's. Yes. Then you don't need to say anything else about that. That's that night taken care of right there.

Then you stumble your way over to game number two, and then you go to whatever chicken-winging place will have you, and you watch the Super Bowl. And then you wake up Monday morning with a heavy head and you you fly home and that's exactly what i just did and it was fantastic i couldn't think of a better celebration the only problem was my habs lost yeah my habs lost both games other than that was a great tough one but nonetheless and here we are uh recording this on a tuesday have you recovered yet yeah it took me all of monday all of monday was yeah and going back to the very beginning of it you know i grew up in a little fishing town just uh you know 20 kilometers or so south of

st john's where i live now in a little fishing town called petty harbor and i um you know i was born into the band you know i was born into the doyle family and and they were the band that played for the weddings and the funerals and for the dances and for, you know. And I just sort of learned all my musical lessons the easy way, you know. I didn't even know I was learning them. And went, you know, all paid my way through, you know, university playing in bands. And as soon as I got out, Sean and Bob and Daryl asked me to join and form a new band, which became Great Big Sea. And then that was in 1993 and then we got signed like to warner in canada in 95 and then over the next you know 10 or 15 years we got

signed to you know labels in the us and germany and europe and australia and all over the place and and uh and then um you know as soon when Great Big Sea stopped playing in 2014. I formed my own band, and I just released my sixth or seventh record with that gang. And I'm about to do a, you know, a 40 or 50 date tour in North America between now and the summer. So off we go. Now, I got a lot of questions that come out of this but first of all my only disappointment with you Alan is that you're closest to Toronto on the trade deadline on a Saturday night March 8th in Hamilton that's the trade deadline and March 9th is a Saturday so I don't ask off for work on Saturdays

but I did think about it in this particular case I did want to ask you of the current Canadians like the new generation of canadians who are your favorites who do you like watching it was great to watch like in person because i haven't because the pandemic hit and all that stuff and i haven't actually seen a game in person uh in a while and so i saw two this weekend i'll tell you who was extremely impressive on the on the saturday and that was montebo he was very was very, I mean, they lost 3-2 in a bit of a nail biter, but I think he stopped 41 shots or something. Like, he was amazing.

Suzuki looks amazing. Caulfield, of course, looks incredible. Number 20, the new kid, Slavkoski. I forget how to pronounce it. Slavkoski, the number one pick. Very impressive. Very impressive as well. And of course, you know,

and I'm not just being a homeboy. Here we go. Alex Newhook. Here we go. Come on, Alex Newhook. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? You think I'm crazy? I'm not going to plug Alex Newhook.

They throw you off the island if you didn't. So I totally understand. Say something about Dawson Mercer. Quick. Say something about Dawson Mercer in New Jersey.

Fast. That's right. In my defense you know if TR or Ryder or Langer any of those guys

were still on the team I'd be plugging them too so you know we're all about the same age I know you were a big Canadiens fan

who was your favorite player growing up was it LeFleur Ken Dryden Ken Dryden Ken Dryden can't fault that

I always loved too because I was such a hockey fan. I remain so. But I was born in 69. And so I was in the late 70s, you know, when I was like 7, 8, 9, 10, that time. That was when the Habs won four in a row, right? And they had Keeney and LeFleur and Dryden. The blue line. Et cetera. That massive team.

And what I found the most fascinating is that, of course, we only had the one station, like most of rural Canada, to watch on television. So when Hockey Night in Canada came on on Saturday night, it was like holy ground. And I would watch the Habs in Toronto or New York or, you know, the teams that you saw, Boston. You saw a lot of those teams in that time. And all the cities kind of looked similar and the rinks all kind of looked similar to me, except Montreal. Montreal looked like a fashion show, man. Like everyone was there with fur coats on. They were all smoking behind the bench. The ladies were all dressed to the nines watching the hockey.

And I was like, I don't know anything about this place called Montreal, but I wanna go there. I wanna check that out. And it's remained a dear place. So I fell in love with the Habs, but then I fell in love with the city, right? It's sort of totally vicariously through the television through the television and and I mean I didn't get it didn't

have any money or anything so I didn't get to travel until really until great big C started and I was you know in my early mid-twenties but at the time I actually finally got to go to Montreal couldn't believe it wait now you were that would also would have had meant a Newfoundlander on television, Bob Cole. And I was very lucky when I started my Hockey Night career to do a lot of games with Bob Cole. But I would imagine for somebody who's from there like you are, it's bigger than just listening to a great play-by-play person on TV.

Oh, well, Bob is one of those guys. He would be getting mad at us for even talking about this. Bob was one of the guys without ever trying to just made it made stuff seem possible for us. Right. You know what I mean? How, if you're a band from Petty Harbor now playing accordions and singing about shanties and stuff, nobody from Toronto is going to listen to you. You know, nobody from Quebec is gonna you know and whatever and then you know and then this little place and then the guy who's on the one show

we watched together every week was led by him you know and like and the voice you heard was one of our voices you know and so it was like it just it not only was important for hockey but I think think it was important for everything, you know, and like, I finally got to meet Bob, um, officially kind of like I said hello in an airport a couple of times, but we great BC played the all-star game in, um, Colorado and Denver. And I don't know, it would've been early two thousands maybe, or 2000 or whenever it might've been something like that. maybe or 2004 or whenever it might have been, something like that. And it was, we sang in the first intermission and then after the second intermission or something, they came to us and said,

would you guys like to come up and meet Bob? And I was like, yeah. So I went up to the, you know, up to the top of the rink and there was Bob, you know, and Harry Neal, McCollum the Game. And I was just like, this is the coolest thing. And of course you can imagine over the years, cause one of the things that most people would, I think your listeners would probably be very surprised to learn, is that Bob Cole never moved. Bob Cole still lives here.

He lives about a kilometer from where I'm sitting right now. Bob Cole flew up every Friday and flew home every Sunday. Sometimes Saturday mornings, you know, to do the games. And only the playoffs would he go for an extended period of time. So since that, when we finally met and knew each other, I mean, I must have sat on the plane. Because, you know, I play in a band for a living. We're usually flying home on Sundays.

And, of course, Bob Cole in the winter is flying home every Sunday. And so we sat on the airplane together literally hundreds of times over the years. And it was one of the funniest things about Bob, of course, other than the great stories and all that stuff he has, is that he has no idea that he's like Casey Kasem, you know what I mean? The second he opens his mouth, everybody for a kilometer around knows exactly who it is,

knows exactly what voice it is. And it was like, was incredible like to sit next to him all the time and and and yeah i must say i would it was i miss him i kind of miss him being on the air um well let me stick with bob cole here because um let me see let me see let me see if you think that i'm on the right track here as a musician um i think the reason people from coast to coast to coast love bob cole is because he didn't as much call the games as he did sing them and here's what i'm here's what i mean you could be standing in your kitchen making dinner on a saturday night and the tv is in the living room and from bob cole's voice because he has a number of different levels that he works at, you could tell how important that moment was at that game just by hearing the tone of his voice.

And it was like the melody in a symphony would rise and fall and rise and go away and then return. Honestly, Alan, I really do think that it was more singing than play by play. Agree or disagree? A hundred percent. singing than play by play agree or disagree 100 and like the tone of his voice dictated what uh was happening you know as much as what your eyes were looking at and and what i used to love about bob too was like when the when you know when the situation was was urgent and earnest he he was but it kind of also went the other way and i used to love him for that too it was like well this is you know in the third period he'd be like yeah there's not much of a game here tonight

oh my god are you allowed to say that i think you just said that of course bob would say whatever he wanted you know nobody was going to stop him nobody was going to stop him once by mcleod you know you're like oh my god now God. Now, did you play much? Did you play much? Yeah. Yeah, I played tons. And I played, you know, I'll throw. Did you play Juneau Cup much and stuff, anything like that,

with Ron or anything like that? We had a good little minor hockey set up in the Goulds, which was the farming town, just up from Petty Harbour where I grew up. And guys like Alan Hocko, you know, my actor friend, Alan. Of course. Sort of went through that. He's quite a good hockey player.

His older brother, Greg is my age. And we were the two goalies for the ghouls team. And Greg is the principal percussionist and come from away now. We were in our first band together and all that stuff. So that's how far we go back. And so I played hockey all through. And when I went to university, so 18 or whatever,

just when you're about to start to, I played one season of junior here in St. John's. And the, you know, it was like 18 or whatever, like 16 goalies. I said, there's 16 goalies in this league, 14 of them are way better than me already. And I'm going to university and I'm playing in three different bands. I think I have to pick if I'm going to pick being a goalie or being a guitar player.

And then I, you know, so I stopped playing them. And then when the band started traveling a lot, I didn't play for a number of years and then on my 30th birthday uh my wife and uh and a bunch of people got together and rented the ice and and and got me a some of the saint john's maple leaves goalie equipment ah and it started about 15 years of more hockey and i played a ton and and uh and i only stopped playing really like probably five six years ago in my late 40s just because I figured I was going to hurt myself too bad if I, you know, play goalie. Once you play goalie beyond 50, you're running the risk of. Johnny Bauer thinks you're soft, by the way. I tell you, there's lots of things.

I had a good look at some of the Habs alumni over the weekend, and I can confirm for you that Jenny Bauer is correct I shook Rayshawn Oles hand over the weekend and I thought my he still looks good it almost disappeared like up to my wrist like I couldn't like it was incredible and but like I've done some fun so many fun hockey things like playing in celebrity tournaments over the years and all that playing against some of the, you know, the, just, you know, what they call the alumni and stuff. And I remember like, I knew I was getting a bit too old for it when it was like, I was in my mid forties

or late forties or something like that. And we were going to play, you know, against the, you know, the older guys, you know, the old NHL guys. And I looked at the line and went, two of these guys are younger than me. And then I remember watching Kirk Muller come down the thing, and you know how fit he is. And I was just like, oh, this is not gonna be good.

This is not good. This is not gonna be good. But I had so much fun and great stories playing in those games. Juno Cup and all that kind of stuff, loved it. But my fave thing, I swear to God god my favorite hockey thing that ever happened to me in my life was in i was playing a ton of hockey around st john's and um this would have been i don't know early 2000s i suppose and the st john's maple leaves uh still had the franchise here in town. And I knew Nick and Sean Thornton.

Nick Addyjib was the trainer for the team. And I can't remember who the coach would have been. It might have been Crawford, maybe Crawford. I can't remember. Doug Shedden? I'm not sure if I remember the coach. But I know that Sean Thornton was on that team. Kevin Adams was on that team.

Well, yeah. And the goalies, what's the Toskala? Vesalitoskala? Vesalitoskala, I think. Vesalitoskala? Yeah. I think you're talking about Lou Crawford was the coach. That's who I think you're talking about.

Yeah, that's probably, yeah. Yes. I think you're talking about Lou Crawford was the coach. That's who I think you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. But anyway, somebody got hurt, and somebody got called. Marcel Cousineau was another goalie they had there. And somebody got called up, and somebody got hurt, and they only had one goalie for practice. So they let me come in and sit in on a pro practice. Oh, yeah.

Oh, my God. me come in and sit in on a pro practice oh yeah oh my god it was absolutely one of the greatest and most terrifying 45 minutes of my life how many saves did you make how many saves the guys just lobbed him at my chest you know they did they weren't trying to like okay let's we're gonna show this guy how hard this is yeah well i we did we had first all, I did the stupid thing and tried to do the skating drills. When they went out first, and said, no, I'll participate in the skating drills. And Nick was like, are you sure? And I was like, oh yeah, and I'll be playing,

you know, I play a couple of beer league games a week. I'm sure I'm fine. Oh my God, I thought I was gonna have like a coronary, like after 10 minutes and then, you know, there was a little scrimmage and there was a bunch of shots and the guys were, we had just so much fun. It was incredible to see their skills then, you know, there was a little scrimmage and there was a bunch of shots and the guys were, we had just so much fun. It was incredible to see their skillset, you know? And then, you know, the couple of the more skilled players

would come down and go like, just hold your glove up, just hold it up. You know, and I'd, and then wing it right into the middle of my gloves, but I'd do a full windmill, it was fantastic. Oh, that's great. But before we finished, I remember saying to Sean Thornton,

who, you know, is high up in the Florida racket down there now and doing a great job. When the practice was over, I said to Sean Thornton, I said, man, can you take a slap shot? And he's like, Alan, I'm not taking a slap shot. First, he said, I don't know where it goes when I take a slap shot. And he said, get one of the boys to take a slap shot. So he got Jamie Hewitt. And Jamie's like, oh, dude, you don't want to do that. And I was like, I really do.

I want to see what it's like. And he said, OK, well, and I got in that. And he said, OK, just get in your stance. And he said, and I'm going to just rifle it at you. And he said, you won't get hurt if you don't move. He said, if it misses you, don't reach for it. Don't go sticking your leg out and it hits you, you know, whatever.

So Jamie Heward ripped three at me and he went to get three more and I said, no, that's good. Just three is good. I was like, oh my God, it was fantastic. Let me, you know, still. And did any of them hit you? Oh God, yes, right in the chest, three of them. And how did it feel not good not great

oh my god it was enough to convince me that i should go play play mandolin for a living listen all of our ears are grateful uh that it didn't get that that stint in that encourage you to become uh become more of a musician um i want to i want to read a quote this is my favorite quote about newfoundland and it comes from a uh former uh federal politician john crosby who said you can always tell the new fees in heaven they're the only ones who want to go home what is it about newfoundland i don't know it's kind of an island thing in a way that you see globally, but it's being exaggerated here. And it's funny, the title track on the record is called Welcome Home.

And it's written about this very topic. And it's really, it's all about the compulsion of Newfoundlanders to, first of all, we're almost always forced to leave here to find work and to find opportunity and employment. And then we're all dying to get back all the time. Now, I'm one of the lucky few who's managed to make work for myself in and out of here, and I come and go all the time. But for most people, they leave and they go to work in northern Alberta

and they go to work in Cambridge or Halifax or wherever they go, and they're dying to get back all the time they come back for christmas and they come back for weddings and they come back for the summer and they come back and you know it's the that that welcome home notion is something that lives in in the in the air out here you know that that that this place is not just where uh there's not just where you're from, it's kind of where you belong. It's a strange and wonderful fact. Mr. Crosby hit the nail on the head as he often did.

It's such a wonderful quote. If I can just follow it up about your musical career as well. You've laid before us an impressive, you know, body of work and there's songs that are going to be, you know, with us, you know, forever. But I will put dancing like we did last night up against all of it. I can't get that song out of my head. I can't, it's one, it's got, it's, it's got the thing. I don't know what it is. It's got the thing for me. Dancing like we did last night is like, when I hear it i hear it i i i hum it the rest of the day um yeah it's got it's it's there's a joy in the recording of that one i mean it's really the the song is really written in that kind of um

in the form of like um of of a big celtic pub night out kind of thing. The lyric in it is really about sort of imagining the greatest night of your life, and usually you wake to the morning after and you have to leave it behind. But what if you don't? What if you keep that feeling with you and you keep that sense of freedom and optimism and willingness to find adventure and all.

What if that stayed with you? What would your life be like if that stayed with you? And then, of course, my favorite, I wrote it with my friend Donovan Woods, who's one of the greatest songwriters in the country. And then at the end, it has that, what I always call the centerfold trick. You know what I'm talking about?

No, what's the centerfold trick? The centerfold trick in music bands of what I always call, you know, Jay Giles, right? Yeah, of course, yeah. Angel is it? Centerfold, yeah. You know, they have the same kind of da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na That's what you call it? The fake ending. I love it. That's the centerfold trick. All right. All right. One, two, three.

Great song. Oh my God. It's fantastic. So let me ask you one follow-up on this song, if I may. What makes that, like to you as a musician, what makes that song work? Like I love Kendall Carson. I think she's phenomenal and she's such a big, big part of that song. But for you, like what makes that song work?

Well, first of all, I will say this. If I totally knew the answer to that, I'd be a trillionaire. And I think nobody actually knows the answer to that question. Even the most learned songwriters and producers in the world are chasing the answer to that question. Even the most learned songwriters and producers in the world are chasing the answer to that question their whole lives. Right. Like, you know, and I have this sort of little sort of theory that I've been working on for a while in my own mind that in science and engineering, like people know how to do stuff,

right? They know if you put concrete and iron in that and you cure it for this long, trucks can drive do stuff, right? They know if you put concrete and iron in that and you cure it for this long, trucks can drive over it. Right, works every time, always. In songwriting, in playwriting, in books, in movies, television, theater, dance, art, none of us actually know how to do anything. Because if we did, every Stephen King book would be as good as the best one

every you know and and so we're always trying to we're there's a there's an impossible recipe that none of us know what the fourth or fifth ingredient is or something right and so that's why we're always chasing it and always doing it. That's, I mean, but I'm grateful you're bringing up that song because I love it so much too. And I think that one of the things that is appealing about it, at least so far, and I mean so far in that it's just sort of come out, is that it does have a joy in the writing of it. And then when we recorded it, the collection of us,

our beautiful, beautiful band and me lived up to the joy that's in the lyric and elevated it. And then when you mix it, it elevates it. And then when people hear it, it elevates it. It constantly gets reinforced by every brushstroke that you put on it, you know. And if you're lucky, you know, you'll get a few of them in your life where the song takes on a life of itself and it just becomes a thing, like you said, without you. And like with Great Big Sea we had, way, hey, hey, it's just an ordinary day.

And that song just sort of like lives in the, it made it into the pub culture of Canada and beyond. And that's a really hard thing to do. I have a great deal of respect for anybody whose songs go beyond them and live as a part of the tradition in a restaurant or a bar or a celebration or a Christmas or whatever. And ultimately, I suppose, that's one of the goals of it all.

You know, like I remember, because I was, you're a year older than me, Alan. So, you know, Great Big Sea came out when I was ending my time in university. Up and Play, Western. Oh, don't get him talking about it. Oh, don't. Oh, no. Played lots of times at Western. Yes, don't get him talking about it. Oh, don't. Oh, no. Played lots of times at Western. Yes, it was.

And, you know, Up and Play when I was young in my professional career. So those are the albums. You know, I was 14 when Run, Run Away was originally recorded by Slade. So when you guys came out with the cover of that, I love that song. But the thing I really love was you talk about Ordinary Day being part of the culture when Team Canada made that as their world junior goal song this year. I thought that was a great tribute to what great Big C has created. I thought that's the perfect song for a Canadian team to pick, I really think.

What a thrill, you know? It's like to be, again, like as a fan of, you know, the sport. And what a thrill to be a part of that, you know? Like for a hockey nerd like myself, you know, like to get, it's so cool. And like I found out about it actually just before, I guess during Christmas, I guess only a few days before it started and then like I said,

the only shortcoming was they didn't get to play it enough. They needed to play it about five or six more times. They would have won. Yeah. But I mean, like I say, those kind of things are goals, you know, and sort of cool markers along the way

and I'm super grateful for them and then like, i even like i got i had this sort of gig two years in a row now i got i got a gig uh in the first week of january in in davos in switzerland it was during the world economic forum this sort of gig we've been doing. And the first time I went there last January, I went directly to the hockey rink and got a photo in front of it. Oh, it's beautiful. Me and my brother have been watching the Spengler Cup religiously. Like, we always loved that tournament. And like, I vowed, that's my,

if I went to the Habs Super Bowl weekend this year, the next one I'm going to the Spengler Cup. That is a very, very hockey fan thing to say. That's it. I'm going to the Spengler Cup. Yeah, BX always talked about how great that was. Can you imagine? Did you guys ever work it?

No. Or Spengler? No. No. No. Oh, my God. Unfortunately, no. Would you love to go?

I laugh. When I retire, I'm going to catch up on all this stuff. The club team is playing team canada oh my god love it medvedev from poland or something now the last thing i wanted to ask you was a non-hockey question alan and that is what's it like to work with russell crowe i've always been fascinated by russ what's he like like what's he like oh it's very very like sweetheart of a man like with his buds you. What's he like? Like, what's he like? Oh, he's very, very, like, sweetheart of a man, like, with his buds. You know, it's just like he's one of those guys.

He has the same friends he's had since he was, like, a kid, you know. And he has his gang of buds in Australia that I met up with when I went there for the first time in 2003 or whenever it was. And he still tours with them, with those guys. And he has pals that he goes to the rugby with and all that's you know he's you know in his personal life and stuff he's he's very much like a lot of people i grew up with you know and from small town canada uh in his professional life of course he's one of the hardest working guys i've ever seen in my life like you know and that you know for a fellow with the skill set that he has, you'd think he wouldn't need to do the preparation

or whatever he did. But he's like, make no mistake, there's nobody more prepared when somebody goes action than Russell Crowe. Like, he is on it. And I'm so lucky. Like I said, I got to work with him doing a bunch of different things, music and concerts

and writing songs for other bands and for TV and film. And then actually got to be in Robin Hood with him. And it's just incredible. Like, I got that gig because they needed an Irish-y sounding fellow who could play the lute. And I went to LA in 2008 or 9, I can't remember, and did a table read for the show. And I went and we were a great big scene.

We were playing at the, what's the hockey rink called? The one downtown, the Civic Center. And I remember getting the call from Russell saying, can you play the lute? And I was like, yeah. Pretty sure I can play the lute you know it's like medieval I think I know how to do that like I play bazookas and like you know mandolas wow I can play the lute so I went to the Ottawa Folklore Center and uh and I bought a lute and I got on the plane

two days later when our tour was over and I flew to Los Angeles and I did a table read for the for uh Robin Hood and got the gig and uh and uh and the next thing you know two months later or whatever you know I was walking onto a film set in the you know south of London with Ridley Scott and Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe and and and the experience of that was this like kind of otherworldly and not not necessarily like it was awesome in the way that you know you were I was nervous and I was you know blown away by just the opportunity of it no matter but then very quickly you realize on something that big that an arts project that's that big, you are working with the best people

who do whatever job is around you being done. They are the best people who do that on Earth in order to get there. You know, like the actors and the writers were all amazing. We all know that. And the directors, Ridley Scott, for God's sake. But I can tell you right now, the guy who was the set designer

was like one of the coolest things I've ever seen the guy who was the armorer who showed us how to use the bows and arrows and how to shoot and all the weaponry the guy who taught us on the horses was the best horse teacher like the everybody was just amazing and they were from all over earth like the Spanish horse rider guys and the Northern English armorer guys. And then the crowd from, you know, it was just amazing. Like the, the, the, the trainers were all from the Czech Republic. And it was like, it was just, I mean, they're all just like experts, right? Like the best of the best, the best of the best, the best like Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

They would never accept anything less. The best of the best. This is amazing. And so like, no matter if you're, you know, a singer or an actor or in the arts or not, I mean, I saw that within an hour. And that became my pursuit for the whole summer was just meeting every single awesome person and learning about how they became you know a uh and you know someone who ages clothing for television and film you know stuff like that it's like what like that's amazing amazing experience yeah wow what a perfect way to close uh wonderful stories uh listen best of luck with the new album uh best of luck with the tour we'll link to everything in our show notes alan you parked a lot of time for us today we really appreciate it best of luck with the tour. We'll link to everything in our show notes. Alan, you parked a lot of time for us today.

We really appreciate it. Best of luck. And congratulations again. Thanks to you both. And just to be clear, I know the Habs lost twice, but I still think they're in the mix. A true fan. A true fan. I'm feeling pretty good about it.

A true fan. I love that. Have a great day, guys. Thank you both. That's the's the great alan doyle again the new record is called welcome home uh tour dates are available on our show liner notes please if he's coming to your area check him out the band is great the night will be fun the music's fantastic and everybody and maybe most of all alan doyle will have a great time before we leave you with a selection from welcome home want to remind you hockey night in canada saturday washington montreal and maybe most of all, Alan Doyle, will have a great time. Before we leave you with a selection from Welcome Home, I want to remind you, Hockey Night in Canada, Saturday, Washington, Montreal, Anaheim, Toronto, and your nightcap games

should be a beauty. Winnipeg Jets facing off against the Vancouver Canucks. Stadium series this weekend as well. Saturday, Flyers and Devils, 8 o'clock Eastern on Sportsnet 1. Sunday afternoon, 3 o'clock Eastern on Sportsnet. It's the Rangers facing off against the New York Islanders. And again, before I wrap up here, Alan Doyle, tour

dates available on the show notes. Alan Doyle and the beautiful, beautiful band and they are indeed coming to a town near you. Check them out. We leave you now with, I know I'm biased, I just love this track thanks so much for selecting it dom schramatti dancing like we did last night from alan doyle on 32 thoughts the

podcast enjoy We'll see you next time.