32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Like An Old Married Couple

Episode Date: January 14, 2022

The conversation around Evander Kane is still top of mind for many hockey fans. Elliotte tells Jeff why he contacted the Canadian Border Services Agency and how they are involved in the Evander Kane investigation (2:00). The guys also touch on the Ken Holland press conference, his interest in Kane and if they should make a trade to save their season (4:30), Bobby Clarke’s comments on Ron Hextall as heard on the Cam & Sticks Podcast (21:00), the Panthers and Kodak Black (36:00), All-Star snubs (39:45), the Iowa Wild signing Eric Staal on a professional tryout (46:00), and they wrap things cup by taking a few of your questions (47:00).Full transcript for the episode can be found here by Medha MonjauryOutro Music: Teen Daze - Nite RunListen to the latest album by Teen Daze on SpotifyThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Cam & Sticks Podcast, NHL Network and SportsnetThe 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.

Hey Jeff and Elliot, it's Jonas Brodino of the Minnesota Wild. I love the backwards skating skill challenge idea. I just want to say thank you for your listeners for reminding you that my skating skills are pretty good, especially backwards. Happy to show you one day. Now let's start a podcast. Oh no. I'm telling you man, the idea is catching on. I know they're not going to do, man, the idea is catching on. I know they're not going to do it, but the idea is catching on, Elliot. Hey, if enough people want it.

Like I said, there were a lot of people who reached out to me who said that that idea is not bad. They don't want to watch a lap, but there's got to be something there that they can do to make it interesting. You know, I had Aaron Ward on the radio show today, and I asked him that question. He said, well, I don't know about today, but back in my day, fastest backwards skater. You want to take it interesting? You know, I had Aaron Ward on the radio show today and I asked him that question. He said, well, I don't know about today, but back in my day, fastest backwards skater. You want to take a guess? Okay. I'm trying to think of who he played for.

He overlapped with this player briefly in Detroit is your clue. Steve Duchesne? Nope. I think Kings when I think Steve Duchesne. We got to play that game one day. Whose jersey do you think of when you say a player's name?

I'm trying to think. Uri Schlager? Nope. Was it someone who was in Detroit for a long time or quickly while Ward was there? Ward was briefly with him. Chelios? No. All right, you got me.

Who is it? Paul Coffey. Oh, my God. I can't even believe I didn't even think about that. Paul Coffey. That's terrible. I can't even believe I didn't even think about that. Paul Coffey. That's terrible. But I think it's legitimate curiosity. But the thing is, here's the thing about this question.

I should be banished from an episode of the podcast for not guessing Paul Coffey. Please. It's embarrassing. I think that it's a question that people don't realize they're curious about until you mention it. If that makes any sense. Like I've thought about this for a long time. I don't know how're curious about until you mention it if that makes any sense like i've thought about this for a long time i don't know how many other people have but what but once you mentioned to them they started thinking about it okay we are spending way too much time talking

about backwards skating okay let's start this then with the podcast okay serious topic the evander kane situation yeah we all know uh about the investigation right now with the nhl and as a sidebar to it today you reached out to canadian border services what did they tell you well i should say that somebody gave me a tip saying you should look into this with the canadian border services because they indicated that an investigation was going on internally too about Keynes specifically crossing the border and whether or not that was processed and handled properly. So I reached out and I got an official response saying that there would be no details on specific cases bound by the Privacy Act in regards to

personal information and no details on specific cases. But what they did do was say, okay, here's how you can cross the border. Basically, if you're a Canadian citizen, you can get in by right, but all travelers must provide the required information through arrive can and for those of you who aren't familiar with that that's the app you need to use to cross the border within 72 hours prior to arriving including a negative covid test or a positive test taken between 14 and 180 days before their scheduled flight or arrival at the land border crossing. Look, I'm not doing any guessing here. Obviously, you know, I've heard border services is looking into it. The NHL is looking into it. We'll see where this goes, but you know, border services wouldn't give me any specifics although like i said i heard they were

looking into it too and so obviously right now all negotiations are frozen are on pause there is nothing going on with evander kane do you think that's accurate it's not that there's nothing going on it's just that everybody's going to wait and see what the nhl decides to do here and if the nhl decides to do anything here i think people are aware there's the possibility of a suspension, but I don't like guessing in these kinds of cases. You know, obviously there's been a lot of guessing this week about what Kane's going to do, especially because there's a legal issue here. Yes.

You know, was he correct or incorrect? Did he have the proper medical clearance or not to get across the border? And I think it's stupid to guess when you're dealing with legal issues okay so we'll pause on that conversation but the one team that he was married to most and more than any other was the edmonton oilers and we spent a lot of time a lot of bandwidth and a lot of airspace talking about evander kane and the edmonton oilers even to the point where Connor McDavid surprisingly commented on it. I thought he would have chosen the route of,

I'm only here to talk about players in our room or on our team, but Connor McDavid commented about him as well. What do you think of the situation if Ken Holland brought him in? Yeah, I mean, obviously there's lots of talk going around. I've talked to Kenny. I think that's why everyone likes Kenny so much is he is such an open book. And he keeps that open line of communication with his guys

and for sure know the situation. So you don't think if he comes in, he would be disruptive in your room? Or have you guys had that discussion about how he kind of would fit in? Well, do you know him at all actually? You know truthfully I don't think that's a bridge we need to really cross until you know something is more official you know right now it's all speculation and you know obviously Evander's an amazing player and

you know he's had lots of success over the last couple years and you know, obviously, uh, Evander's an amazing player and, um, you know, he's had lots of success over the last couple of years and, you know, whatever, whatever else is, uh, has been going on is not really something that, uh, I look into much. You know, the Edmonton Oilers are in an interesting spot right now. It's not a great spot. Ken Holland had that press conference where he confirmed publicly what you've talked about for a couple of weeks, which is at this point, we're not interested in trading our first round draft pick. And then on Thursday, they're greeted with the news that Mike Smith has a thumb injury and that will be one to two weeks.

Yeah. How do you feel right now about the Edmonton Oilers and their situation all in light of a couple of things, the Evander Kane situation and the Ken Holland press conference from earlier this week? Well, if you look back, the day that Evander Kane was put on waivers to be terminated, it was Saturday. On that day, Edmonton was in the second wildcard spot. As we taped this podcast on Thursday evening,

they're three spots out of the wildcard position. They're three points back of San Jose. Now, yes, they have games in hand. They have three games in hand on the Sharks, who have played 37. But all of a sudden, look at this. Calgary will play after we record this. They have four games in hand on San Jose. Dallas has four games in hand on San Jose. And Winnipeg has four games in hand on San Jose. I think the thing that's good news

for Edmonton, Calgary, and potentially Vancouver, if they start winning some of these games on this big road trip they're on, is that at least in the Pacific Division, the math says you have a chance if you win your games of catching LA and potentially Anaheim. In the Central, and that's a problem for a team like Winnipeg or Dallas, you know what? Those three teams are pretty set at the top. Nashville, Colorado, St. Louis, and Minnesota,

because Minnesota's in good shape with the games in hand too. I think it's a little easier in the Pacific than it is in the Central, but Edmonton's dropping through no fault of their own. They can't play games. You know, I think everybody can see the desperation out of Edmonton. We've talked about this. They simply cannot afford to miss the playoffs. It is not an option.

So now you don't want to make a panic trade and this player comes available for free. Doesn't cost you anything except the salary to get him and he's only going to sign for the rest of the year look we know this is beyond a second chance for Evander Keane but this is what happens in situations where you're desperate the Oilers have to make the playoffs they do not making the playoffs is not acceptable it's going to lead to big problems and a lot of questions about where they go from here that's where we are and that's why they're involved so here's my thinking on it because I was a little bit surprised at your report to be honest that the Oilers did not want to move

or had no desire to move their first round draft pick? Not for anything shorthanded. Correct. I look at it like this. You tell me whether you think this is folly or not. I look at the Oilers right now and I say their Stanley Cup window with these two Ferraris that they have is the next three years. So to me, I say to myself, whatever is going to maximize our chance of getting close to the Stanley Cup or winning a Stanley Cup in the next three years is what we have to do.

And I look at a first round draft pick and outside of the obvious, you know, number one pick who's going to come in and, you know, maybe like a Conor Bedard who comes in and, you know, starts Bedard who comes in and starts to light it up in the NHL, that player's not going to help you during a Stanley Cup window. So in my mind, that's a resource. You use that, period. You know I like to make fun of you about some of your ideas. I will politely disagree with you in this. I think your reasoning is flawed. Why is that?

Ever since Washington won the Stanley Cup in 2018, I disagree with the idea of the window being that short for Edmonton. This is the question that the Oilers all have to worry about. McDavid and Dreisaitl, their window could be open for another 10 years if you sign them. I don't think the Oilers' window is three years away. You're guaranteed a window of three years. That's better. Okay, now we're going to do a little semantic dance.

So they're guaranteed a window of three years. I think that's big. To me, everything that doesn't help in the next three years is a resource to help in the next three years. Yes and no. But those are the kinds of mistakes you make. You know what that is? That's, and this is a baseball metaphor, that's Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell. And for those of you who are not familiar with that, August 30th, 1990, Red Sox had a terrible bullpen. They wanted someone to fortify their bullpen. They traded for a right-handed reliever, a decent pitcher named Larry Anderson,

but it was a terrible trade because they traded him for Jeff Bagwell, who went on to become a Hall of Famer for the Houston Astros. And when people talk about panic short-term moves, that one is often recognized as one of the worst. Now I realize it's not as hip to this current generation as me quoting a line from Euphoria or something like that. Okay.

But that's the trade that a lot of people quote when they talk about short-sighted, awful, short-term deadline deals. Okay, let me throw another trade at you and I'll stick with the sport of choice for this podcast. As we'll go trade for trade here to try to prove our points. Yeah. Who won the Neuendijk for a Ginla trade? That worked out great for both teams.

Hang on a second here. Who won a cup? I was having this debate with someone the other day. Is it Jerome McGinley's fault that Calgary didn't win a Stanley Cup? No. Jerome McGinley. No, no. Look, Calgary got a Hall of Famer.

Calgary got one of the best players. I'm not knocking Jerome. Jerome McGinley is one of my favorite players. How can you not like Jerome McGinley? I just think I heard you say that Jerome McGinley does not deserve to be in the Hall of Famer. Did everyone listening to this hear that? I think we just heard that. It's one of those trades you make, like does Dallas want to let go of that play? No, but you know your window is open, like,

oh, okay, and we're getting a real good player that's going to push us over the finish line here, and we're going to win a Stanley Cup because our window is open right now. That's how I look at it. And do you give up a future hall of famer? Yeah, but that doesn't mean you lose the deal. You also got a hall of famer, but let me just say for a second, I'm going to concede your point. Who's Joe Neuendijk here? Who are you looking at and saying that Edmonton's getting, that's going to be Joe Neuendijk here? I don't have a magical trade right now. I'm just talking about the philosophy of it. You use that as a resource for this window right now. Like I don't have in my hip pocket the new and Dyke again,

the Harvey deal here. I don't. Okay. So, but I'm saying like they realize, okay, did Dallas want to give up Jerome McGinley? No,

but are they going to win a Stanley cup while Jerome McGinley is developing? Maybe not. But by moving him, you bring in someone who's going to bring you closer to the Jerome McGinley is developing? Maybe not. But by moving him, you bring in someone who's going to bring you closer to the Stanley Cup. That's all I'm saying. Like, here's a window. Who's bringing you closer to the Cup? All right.

Let's just say for a second that I want to agree with you on this. You really try hard not to agree with me on anything, and I love it. I don't know what's happened to me since the new year almost says I'm very angry I guess the point I'm trying to make is I think there's a big difference between trading for the hockey version of Larry Anderson right and Joe Nguyen see here's the one thing that I like if you're trading your number one pick for Ben Sher, who I think is a good player, but you don't have signed. Doesn't make any sense to me. Now, if there's a Joe Neuendijk style player that you can get.

Okay. Yes. So who is it? I don't know who that is, but I'm saying to say that we're taking it off the table. Does you know service? Because that player you're going to draft this year in Montreal is not going to help you while your cup window is open here. Well, sorry, while your guaranteed cup window is open. That to me is a resource you use for the next three years.

Would you trade the first rounder right now for a rental? If I thought it would bring me close to the cup, yes. That's what I'm saying. Why limit yourself? Like there's a couple of things in Edmonton that I really didn't understand and I mentioned Conor McDavid talking about Evander Kane when all he had to say was I'm here to talk

about our team yeah I'm not here to talk about someone who's not on our team okay and I couldn't understand Ken Holland definitively unless it's a ploy just to drive up the value of that pick like maybe it's the long play and Holland publicly saying no we're not letting go of that pick and they're're long playing for eventually they let go of the pick, but they've raised the value of it because, oh, you're not going to get the first round pick from Edmondson.

You know, I'm not, I'm not sure where you go with that question. Just in the terms of, are there any prospects or, or picks or assets that wouldn't be on the table? Could you, is everything on the table? Right now, nobody's on, none of those. Why would I, are you talking a rental or are you talking to make a trade and to trade our top prospects for a rental to try to bail out of this year? Are you trying to, like we're going-

For help this year, for help this year. I wouldn't do that. I think the answer's in that locker room. I mean, why would I trade a first roundround picker, one of our top prospects to do that, to have somebody give us a little bit of a boost and then next year we have a press conference and you're asking me about more secondary scoring again or more depth or more depth. The depth has to be built internally. The depth of this organization has to be the growth, the growth of McLeod, the growth

of Yamamoto, the growth of Bouchard, the growth of Yamamoto, the growth of Bouchard, the growth of Broberg, the growth of Skinner, the growth of Carter Savoy, the growth of Borgo, the growth of Petrov. That's how we did it in Detroit. And when I looked around, that's how the best teams do it. It's homegrown, it's young people, it's being patient. It's, you know, we came here you know sign j woodcroft woody's done a great job in in in in developing players down there you know i think that's that's

how you got to get better it's got to be now i understand connor's 25 and leon's 26 and would i trade something that if it's a hockey trade and it's you bring in somebody and he's here for this year and beyond that's a different that's a different story but if your question is to me just to trade some grade a prospect to give a little bit of a boost and a bump so we can have another press conference next week and then and then that guy goes on and flourishes in another organization somewhere else for for five six seven eight ten years and and and we're back to the market next year because that person we got leaves. I'm not doing that.

Does that answer your question? Okay. Thank you. I don't think he actually said we're not trading the pick. I got the impression from what he said was they're not trading the pick for any short term fixes.

But what if a short term fix can help get you close to the Stanley Cup? When you're battling for a playoff spot i mean if you take a look at it how many teams that were in their position have made a trade that won them the stanley cup i can think of one who jeff carter and that year the kings were an elite defensive team they were an elite defensive team and they were one of the worst scoring teams in the NHL and they won the cup. But other than that,

how many things can you think of that were like Edmonton and Jeff Carter wasn't even a rental. He had term, yeah. He had term, he had a big contract. So does that player exist for a first round draft pick? I don't know, but the only point

that I'm trying to make here through all of it is that is something you use to bring yourself closer to your finish line. Okay. Let's try this one. Knowing full well that that player who you're going to pick this year is not going to help you while this window is open. Okay. If you were Edmonton, would you trade the first rounder for Hampus Lindholm? You know how I feel about Hampus Lindholm. I would really think about that. I would really think about that. See, now I'm getting the soap and warm water feeling.

It's one thing to say first round pick for Ben Sherratt. It's another to say Hampus Lindholm. It's one thing to say first round pick for Ben Sherratt. It's another to say Hampus Lindholm. Or if I'm Edmonton, am I looking to put that first round pick into a package for Jacob Chikrin? At least that is a player who's got term. But we've both heard that we're not convinced Edmonton wants to do that for him. Correct.

Which again, I come back to the idea of why not? Which is really interesting to me because Tippett and Jim Playfair had them in Arizona. I was just surprised by a lot of things coming out of Edmonton this week. That's all. That's my only point. And a lot of them didn't make sense to me. Anyway, I would just say this, that if I was them, I agree with Holland that I'm not doing a short-term fix because I don't think right now, right now.

Now, in two months, I might feel differently. You might have straightened yourself out. Your team might be going better. If you heard Holland say there, he said, I know our team's not the 16-5 team but i don't believe it's the two nine and two team they're gonna go three months now without needing to be tested kovitz wiped through them they're coming back on saturday night he's gonna get the best chance to find out how good his team is now if you come back in two months and you're on a good little run and you say okay our first

round picks back and play because i think we've got a chance i'm willing to do that but right now i think if you do that for anything short term you're doing larry anderson for jeff bagwell okay amal write it down technically elliot agrees with me on that we'll start the podcast welcome to 32 thoughts presented by the all-new GMC AT4 lineup. It's good to be finally correct here on the podcast. Really going to take time to enjoy this one and just savor it. Can I tell you something else? I'm going to tell you something else where you're correct. You're having a great week.

The backwards skating has really done well for you. We'll see how people feel about this Edmonton debate. But I will tell you somewhere else where I was told you were totally right about something. And that is that one of the reasons that Bob Clark has annoyed Ron Hextall is the Trevor Lewis thing. Oh. And even though I think it went away for a while. Yeah. It's still.

These guys have long memories. Yeah, long, long memories. These guys can be vindictive. Okay, so just so everyone listening understands, and maybe you've heard this story before. I'm not sure if I've told it on the podcast or not. So 2006 draft, it's Vancouver. So that's the Eric

Johnson draft. That's the infamous one where Bobby Clark, you know, forgets the name he was going to say on stage. And it turns out that it's Claude Giroux. Homer, who are we taking? Philadelphia selects from Gatineau, the Quebec junior league. Um, what did we forget? Claude Giroux. um forget it that's a moment that young man will never forget so a few weeks before i can't remember the exact time frame but ron hacksaw had been working for the philadelphia flyers part of all the draft meetings scouting meetings all of it had the lists everything before the draft shows up he goes to los angeles to join Dean Lombardi, right? So leaves the Flyers organization.

So the Philadelphia Flyers, Bob Clark, really wanted to take Trevor Lewis from Des Moines. Now, did Bob Clark see a lot of himself in Trevor Lewis? You know, strong center, two-way guy, maybe. But that's the player the Philadelphia Flyers wanted and they were drafting 22nd and that was right in the spot where everybody expected Trevor Lewis to go the Los Angeles Kings are drafting 17th and they take Trevor Lewis and Bob Clark as I was told was livid and is you know staring daggers at Hextall, who in his mind had, you know, left the Philadelphia Flyers after being part of scouting meetings and seeing draft

lists and everything, and essentially taken his guy. Now, the further salt on the open wound there is one pick before the Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers took someone who Philadelphia had on their list as well, took him one before Philadelphia, and that's Bob Sanguinetti, who's a defenseman from Owen Sound. So now all of a sudden, Trevor Lewis has been taken by someone who used to work with the Flyers, and then their choice number two, Bobby Sanguinetti, was taken by the rival New York Rangers. So Clark is livid by the time he gets on stage, and that's why he forgot the name Claude Giroux. And which is why, Elliot, and this is something that I think you and I have talked about. I'm always sensitive about

executives leaving one team for another that close to the draft because they've been there part of the intellectual process of the selection and thoughts on the picks. And I don't know. And maybe it's just because of this one example, but that is the reason why Bob Clark, A, forgot the name Claude Giroux. And by the way, what a great bout of fortune for the Philadelphia Flyers. That worked out fantastic. Not bad getting Claude Giroux. Yeah. Sometimes not getting what you want is a blessing. See the 2006 draft for the Philadelphia Flyers. But I'm always sensitive about executives leaving that close just because you've been privy to so much. I don't know that you can do anything about it.

I'm not sure if there's anything you can put in there to make sure that it doesn't happen. I just know that it's kind of uncomfortable. But from my understanding, that is either the root or the beginning of the root of the animosity between Bobby Clark and Ron Hextall. I think that actually kind of went away for a while, especially when Hextall came back. But someone wanted me to tell you that that was an issue. And look, I think this week on this one that I made the right call,

that the reason Clark did this is to step up on behalf of Chuck Fletcher. I believe that. There's a lot of stress in Flyerland. And I think that right to the top of Comcast, which owns the team, there are real questions about, you know, where this is going to go and what the next path is going to be.

They try to a short-term fix last summer. It's not working now. What? And I think Bob Clark, who was a long history with Chuck and Cliff Fletcher, he will do anything to defend a friend. And he has gone out here to defend a friend because he feels that Chuck Fletcher has not been there long enough to wear this,

and he deserves the opportunity to rebuild the team. Not surprisingly, I've heard from a lot of people over the past couple of days on both sides. Ron Hexall has chosen to stay quiet, but I've had people reach out to me on his behalf. You know, people who back Bob Clark on this have reached out to me on his behalf. Basically, you know what it is, as with any team, there are decisions you make that are good and there are decisions you make that are not good. Hextall has always been very, very tight. And the fact that he had a very small circle of people that he confided in,

that is definitely his way. I think everybody knows that. He made good moves in Philly. He made bad moves in Philly. But you know, the one thing I kind of do agree is that if you're going to say that, and I do think that Comcast played a role in what Chuck Fletcher did in this off season, people were coming out of a pandemic. They wanted fans to come to the games. They felt they weren't far away. A couple of years ago. Fletcher's plan was let's make a couple of moves and we don't have to risk what our fans think about a rebuild. And they bought it. So I think if you're going to change now, I understand that. I understand exactly why Clark's saying what he's saying. Jeff, I don't think we realized the split,

the level of the split between the Flyer alumni and Hextall. It had been talked about at the time, but it really, obviously there were a lot of wounds ripped open there. But again, this week was all about Bob Clark protecting Chuck Fletcher. That's what this was about.

One thing I think we should do is give credit to the Cam and Strick podcast, Cam Jansen and Andy Strickland. That's where Bobby Clark made these comments. Yes. Well done, gentlemen. That was a really great podcast and did a lot of work. He alienated everybody right away. He shut his door. He locked the doors.

He was the boss, and nobody else was part of it. We end up drafted. We get the second pick in the draft, and we end up drafting Nolan Patrick. None of our scouts wanted Nolan Patrick. It wasn't, I mean, I don't know where Patrick should have gone

after his performances in Brown, and he's a pretty good player, but he certainly, they wanted Bakar. Of course, he went next. Now he's a superstar, and Patrick hasn't played a number. But Hextel made that choice himself. And there were other choices that were made in our drafts that we're paying for.

You know, we've got two or three first-round picks that are never going to play and that's why we're struggling hex he made some huge mistakes and hey he he gave the blues braden shen too you know so i mean you know so that was just as bad you know we were nobody do it hex he made that on his own all our scouts it was at the draft our scouts were so mad at Hexie for doing that. We also had a chance to get O'Reilly from Buffalo, but we didn't. Obviously, that was the manager's decision, but it was another one that the scouts weren't consulted on. One of the things that I don't like about this is some of the historical revisionism that we get now on the Nolan Patrick pick. Nolan Patrick has had an awful time with injuries, but at the time of the draft, I mean, it was Patrick, it was Heischer.

Now, sure, Miro Heiskanen jumped up there and so did Kael McCarr. And for some teams, Elias Pedersen as well in Vancouver ended up grabbing him at five. But a lot of that was framed around going into it. Which way is New Jersey going to go? Is he going to be Heischer? Is it going to be Patrick? And for those that don't recall, Nolan Patrick as a junior was a stud. He was phenomenal.

Western Hockey League, you know, playoff MVP, star of the powerhouse, Brandon Wheat King. Like he was a remarkable player so what i always i get an uncomfortable feeling about is when injuries become a factor and the player gets devalued in the nhl and then all of a sudden you measure him up in his drafter against other players that have excelled i don't think that's fair and i don't like it. Nolan Patrick was number two legit. And most teams in the NHL, that was coming down to Nolan Patrick and Nico Heash. Again, I'm going to disagree with you on this too.

There's a lot of disagreeing on this podcast. Good. We're liking a couple that's going through, what was last week, the fourth anniversary of the podcast? Yeah. Well, you and I are going through our seven-year itch right now. We're, you you know get the divorce lawyer on retainer because the two of us are starting to argue a lot i don't agree with

that and again i have no interest in disparaging patrick that's not what i'm trying to do here but that draft privately was all over the map there were some teams that really thought highly of pettersson there were some teams that really thought highly of hayes can in there were some teams that really thought highly of Pedersen. There were some teams that really thought highly of Haskinen. There were some teams that thought really highly of Makar. I remember publicly, Jeff, I think you're right. In a lot of the public models, whether it be Sam Cosentino or Craig Button or anyone like that, I think it was a lot of his share, Patrick won too.

But I think privately there were a lot of teams who felt differently. And the weird thing about this is that some of the people who were directly involved told me that Clark got the wrong player. It wasn't Makara, it was Haskinen. I do think that draft, if we ever got a situation where we could see what teams private lists were, I think you'd see they were all over the place there was a public consensus but there wasn't a private one see the thing about that draft that i remember as well and this is where i kind of look at some of the bob clark comments about kale mccara and nolan patrick sideways is you know the flyers was supposed to draft what 11th or 12th i remember how

angry some of the really bad teams were after that draft. Because the whole odds on that draft of New Jersey, Philly, Dallas were like 1 in 11 billion. Yeah, that was the one where everyone started to say, okay, maybe we need to change the draft lottery here because New Jersey, Philadelphia, Dallas should not be drafting in this order right now. I understand it, and I do understand Bob Clark

trying to protect his friend. You and I talked about this on the radio. Bob Clark is a very loyal person to his friends. Sometimes that's very uncomfortable with certain people. His friendship with some people has been very uncomfortable for a lot of people. And I think, you know what I'm getting at here, Elliot,

but he is loyal. He is loyal for his people. And he is standing up here for Chuck Fletcher. I think Hextall was hurt too. I do. He might never admit it. You know, Hextall,

he loved being a flyer. He loved being the GM of the flyers. He was really surprised and shocked when he was fired as GM of the flyers. You know, I told you the pizza story. Oh yeah. Go over the pizza story for those that didn't hear it on the radio show. If I remember correctly, the flyers first win, the first game after Hextall was fired was in Buffalo.

And there was video that they put up of the players winning that game. And they were gleefully eating pizza. Like they were making a point of eating pizza in front of the camera. And I was like, what is that? It just looks weird. And I reached out to someone and they told me that Hextall had banned pizza after the games and people didn't like it. Now, why was that?

There's a very specific reason though. I asked someone, I said, okay, well, why would pizza get banned? Because as you know, Jeff, when we work double headers at hockey night, we get pizza in the middle and if somebody banned pizza, I would be unable to work. I would be furious. What kind of God would allow that? I know. And I was told that Hextall did it for a very legitimate reason. He asked, I don't know if it was a team nutritionist or who it was, and he or she told them that

that kind of eating after a game was bad for inflammation. And Hextall said, well, if that's not good for us, we're not doing it. So it came from a good place. But I think it just shows you the level of trouble that that whole relationship got to. And for me on a level, like Bobby Clark is a flyer. Ron Hextall is a flyer. The NHL has changed so much.

I think I've mentioned this on the pod before, but hockey is a game of intimidation. Intimidation matters. There's a puck there and only one of the two of you can get it. And what are you going to do to get that puck? I think intimidation matters. And the game has changed a lot because we know more now about the toll that it can take on the athletes involved but i look at markets like philly and i i look at markets like boston and i i look at markets like buffalo and they took so much pride in the toughness of their teams yeah and you know the game has changed a lot and And in a place like Philly, and Philly's got a lot of problems right now, like not having, you know, Ed Snyder's birthday recognized.

And I just think that there's a disconnect there. But, you know, to me, Bob Clark is a flyer. Ron Hextall's a flyer. And it's kind of sad to me that this happened because those guys are flyers. Bob Clark will always be the first line center flyer. And Ron Hextall can't be the first line goalie flyer because they have Bernie Perrant, but he's on the team, right? Well, big time, 87 final for that, then that alone.

I think it's really too bad. I do. I'm with you on that one. Okay, so those were two, well, three really heavy stories that we started off the podcast with. So let's use the classical Shakespearean device. After really heavy emotional scenes, you come back with something a little more lighthearted. Yeah. Elliot Friedman. The comedic interlude, yes. Kodak Black.

You know, look, there's so much going on in the world that's really problematic yep you know we're going through a worldwide pandemic and everything else that's going around i find it very hard to get worked up about this i noticed the panthers have been silent about it yep if i was in charge this is what i'd be doing i'd be reaching out to our fans and our sponsors and i'd be saying privately how are all you guys doing the people who really matter people who pay to get in the games or the people who pay to advertise at our people that keep the lights on got it people that keep the lights on and the people that really care about the panthers Got it. People that keep the lights on and the people that really care about the Panthers.

I'm reaching out to those people. I'm saying, how do you feel about this? And if they're really upset, then you speak to them and you say, you know, it's not going to happen again. And how are we going to make this right to you? And if the people are not offended, you say to them, we're glad that you feel okay about it. It's not going to happen again. And what can we do to give you a little something just to make you feel a little bit better about us? Like I remember one of my friends who was one of the best at customer service.

I remember he always told me that one of the biggest mistakes he learned was sometimes you only take care of the people who complain you don't remember the people who don't complain and how valuable they are too so if I'm Florida I'm just reaching out privately and I'm not doing anything publicly let it go people are moving past it but how do we make sure our fans and our sponsors are okay and even if you are okay what can we do to make sure that you know we appreciate the fact that you're okay? That's what I would do. You know why I like that? Why is that?

And on this podcast specifically, I really don't want to agree with you. Here I go. You know why I like that? Because eventually, Bill Zito is going to have to say something. Or someone from the Panthers organization is going to have to say something or someone from the Panthers organization is going to have to say something further to that point, because eventually it will be asked. And right now I can imagine like that night at that game, I'm sure everybody is thinking, OK, cancel all interviews for tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that happened. Let's shut everything down. We need to you know, this is crisis team

time. How do we do this? Here's why I like your idea because eventually Bill Zito or someone's going to have to comment on this about what happened. And right now that allows them to say, when the question is asked, we talk to our season ticket holders. We talk to the fan base. We talk to our season ticket holders. We talk to the fan base. We talk to our sponsors. Here's what they think. Yeah. This is most valuable to us.

That gives them room to do that instead of coming right out with a statement. That's why I like that from a PR strategy point of view. Because it's obvious that right away and in the couple of days following the incident, they wanted nothing to do with this hot potato. They wanted to be as far away from it as possible. I don't think that's a bad strategy. I think it's fine. Don't give it air.

You know, if Bilzito's asked about it, he just says, look, guys, we dealt with it internally. People do follow-ups and say, look, guys, we dealt with it internally. That's it. Don't give it air. I'll leave it for that. Let's get into the All-Star game and the people that are playing in the All-Star game. And our favorite conversation around the All-Star game, the All-Star snubs. Now, keeping in mind, these are not always snubs.

Sometimes players request not being chosen to go to the All-Star game for various reasons. Maybe they just want the time off. Maybe they've, you know, they've, they've represented their team a number of times and they want to hand it to someone else. So things aren't always as they appear when it comes to all-star games and all-star players, but a couple of names stand out that aren't there. One of them being Sidney Crosby and Yeah. And the other being the human highlight reel for the Anaheim Ducks, Trevor Zegres,

who probably did as much, if not more, for marketing the game in that move against the Buffalo Sabres with Sonny Milano than any multi-million dollar slick marketing campaign anybody could have come up with at the NHL. What stood out for you for the all-star nominations here? Well, Crosby, there's no question that that stood out for me first. I'm very curious to hear. Well, first of all, he's playing, right? And he's not even the last man in. The last man in vote for

Pittsburgh is Gensel. So I'm very curious to see how they're going to explain all this. Because I can't imagine that ESPN wouldn't want him involved in some way. See, I don't have a problem with a guy like Crosby not playing, but you almost have to say, can we involve you somehow? Right? So I'm curious to see where that is going to go. The thing about Zegers, I actually was surprised to see that not only is he not there for the

ducks, but he's also not their last man in vote. That's Troy Terry. So this is what I think happened here in the Pacific. They needed a goalie and Markstrom when they were on their Eastern swing last week, if Ladar had to play back to back, right. You know, Cassie reported there might be something there with his health. That's what this is. I think that Calgary said, look, our goalie isn't a hundred percent healthy.

Goodrow's having a great year. Can we have him go instead instead and i think the league was fine with that but now you've got to figure out where you're getting your other goalie from edmonton no la man maybe it's had a heck of a season he really has quick's been really good yeah we're all handing this thing to cal peterson and quick and not so fast yeah sharks no kraken no canucks you've already got the other guy and knights you want petrangelo and stone right so where's your other goalie gonna come from and all of a sudden you're looking at anaheim and saying we need gibson who's deserving i think the other thing there is i think the ducks wanted troy terry there and he deserves it a thousand percent he deserves it I think Terry is he's their last

man in and I think that hurt Zegras but you know I mean it's tough this is one of those things where you know there's the divergent ideas right I'm sure the marketing people want Zegras there I wouldn't be surprised if the TV people want Zegras there but the Ducks might say you know what Troy Terry is our deserving guy and

the league might look at it and say you know what Troy Terry is pretty deserving but we also need a goalie like I understand how this

happens the other thing you could do Jeff if you're that determined to have him there bring him for the skills who's Zegras yes yeah and then put him on the show or something like that like have him talk If you're that determined to have them there, bring them for the skills. Who, Zgris? Yes.

Yeah. And then put them on the show or something like that. Like have them talk about the, nobody takes the all-star game seriously. Have them be a commentator or something. Listen, I'm with you. I think that players, even if you don't want to play in the game, because let's face it. And again, I want, I want to, and I say this every year and I really want to keep reinforcing this. My life got a lot better, better Elliot when I realized that not everything

has to appeal to me and that just because I may not like the all star game doesn't mean you do away with it. Like I hate that kind of arrogance. Oh, I don't like the all star game. They should scrub it. Well, no, because you look at the kids faces and they love it and the sponsors think it's pretty cool and it's a great way to say thank you. So

even though it's not for me, that's okay. People who say the all star games, I mean I don't even go anywhere with that you hear it every year oh they gotta scrub this this is terrible well just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's not for not everything is this built around you know pleasing and tickling you gentle hockey commentator but i think that that is an event where as we've talked about before this is cool for young fans to see all the stars in one place. And it's a great way to say thank you to sponsors, to sticking with the NHL, especially now in a really tough time and keeping this league going and keeping lights on. And I think that for that,

even if you don't want to play, even just to go and to go. And I understand right now the situation that we're all in right now with the pandemic. But even just to be there so a kid can see you or a sponsor can get an autograph or a photo of something. Even if you're not going to be putting skates on, like leave your bag at the rink. You don't even have to be on the ice. But just be a presence at the All-Star game. Yep. I'm a big supporter of that.

To your point, even if Zegras isn't playing, be there. Second of all, that guy's hilarious. He would be great on the mic. That's another sidebar to what Zegras brings. He's hilarious and he appeals to a demographic that's going to be renewing this game and is your next wave of season ticket holder. Get him there. Put him on TV. Doesn't have to be wearing a wearing skates and a and hockey gloves and a sweater just put them on tv let them talk i'm with you on that one 100 you know the one area where i always i always we're just talking about goaltenders the one position that i always i always worry about if i'm a general manager in the nhl is the goalie position that's the only one like my guy's gonna go to the all-star game.

Okay. It's just going to be fun. He's going to have a light little skate around, but goalies are still the ones that have to work. And if you look at, okay, I don't want you to get injured at an all-star game. Yeah.

You're not going to, unless you're the goaltender and it's happened before. But anyway, that's my only point about positions at the all-star game. Really quick. Eric Stahl, uh, signs a tryout agreement with the Iowa Wild, the American Hockey League, a prelude to joining Team Canada

for the Olympics. Should be about zero surprise to anyone who listened to the Devin Dubnik interview, Elliot. The one thing I'm curious about is, with Stahl, does he go to the Olympics or does somebody sign him first? Hmm. How much of that would come down to what Eric Saul wants to do?

I'm sure probably almost everything. Because he's done everything. Yeah. He's done everything in hockey. That's the one thing someone said to me this morning when it got announced is they're wondering if someone signs him. Right. Okay, let's get in some emails here. 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca.

A couple of GM questions here from Marshall in Edmonton. In your vacant GM discussions on the pod, I did not hear Sean Burke's name amongst the suggestions. I remember a few years ago, he, along with Drury and Guerin, were questions of when, not if. It seems like his quest for a GM gig has stalled despite good work with Team Canada, etc. Is there any reason he's not getting more serious consideration aside from his present employment?

Speaking of which, is he possibly in line for that vacant seat? That would, of course, be Montreal. Well, first of all, when you say vacant discussions about GMs, is he possibly in line for that vacant seat? That would of course be Montreal. Well, first of all, when you say vacant discussions about GMs, is it because the openings are vacant or because Jeff and mine's conversation is vacant? I prefer the term empty calorie conversation that Elliot and I have on a consistent basis.

It is suspected that Burke is in the mix in Vancouver. All right. Another GM question. This from Scott. Lou Lamarillo is approaching 80 years old and just wondering how long you guys think he will be working and who will replace him in the future? Would his son, current GM of the AHL Islanders and assistant GM, get the first look? Or would the Islanders go for someone with experience from outside the organization? I think that's impossible to say. First of all,

I don't get any sense at all that Lou Lamorello was ready to retire. I'm with you. I don't think anybody gets that sense. I remember when Ray Shero went into New Jersey, we all thought Lou Lamorello was getting ready to step back, not be involved, semi-retirement, Ray Shero's going to have the say. And then we learned very quickly, no, no, that's not the case. Lou Lamorello was not ready to retire or take a back seat. I'm not making that mistake again. This pandemic, people are leaving jobs, deciding they want to do different things with their lives. They're getting burned

out. I totally understand all of it. Not that Lou Lamoureux is going to tell me, but I get no feeling from anybody. After Paul Maurice basically admitted that burnout was part of his decision to step down as coach of the Jets, I started asking around, hey, I totally understand, but is there anyone else like this? And nobody mentioned that name to me. I think he's going to be around as long as he wants to be around. And he has brought so much stability to the

Islanders. I don't think that they have any desire for him to go anywhere until he's ready. I think the Islanders would be happy with him for as long as he wants to do it. You know what I find interesting about Lou Lamarillo? A number of things. But one thing that I'd like to point out on the podcast, I think you and I have talked about this before, but I'm not sure. All these podcasts and conversations all run together. When you look at the safest choice or a most conservative choice for a general manager,

someone who's sort of put up as the modicum of how you do things, how you run a team properly and professionally, you can make the case that that's Lou Lamarillo. But what I find interesting about Lou is, do you remember Elliot, because we're both the same vintage, how controversial his hiring was when the New Jersey Devils hired him? That was considered, you know, we always consider, oh, how'd they hire Kyle Dubas from the Sioux St. Marie Greyhounds? This is ridiculous. What's he going to know about running an NHL team? Lou Lamarillo was hired from the Providence Friars. And the conversation around it was, oh, hold on a second here.

This guy's going to go from college hockey to the NHL. Like there was always that vibe, right? Going back to Ned Harkness, right? Oh, college guy, college guy. But when they hired him, that was considered out of the box, out of the world. What are they doing? Who do the New Jersey Devils think they are?

Like that was one of the more unconventional hires in the NHL at that time. And look what's happened. And I'll tell you, Elliot, I always think of that when I think of new general managers. That here we are with Lou Lamarillo, the modicum of hockey conservatism and how you run an organization. That's the safe pick and he's the model. When he was hired, that was radical. That was a radical decision by the New Jersey Devils.

So the next time anyone says, oh, this person can't run an NHL team, that's a radical hire. Just remember, Lula Amarillo was a radical hire once upon a time. Well, you know what that is proof of? It doesn't matter where you come from. 100% true. As long as you have a plan.

100% true, Elliot. 100% true. One more from Adam. As one of the few Nashville Predators fans living in Atlantic Canada, is that true? Are there a few Preds fans in Atlanta? I didn't know that. Well, there's at least one.

There's one. It's Adam. Just wondering if there were any rumors or updates on Philip Forsberg's contract status with the Preds. Are talks happening at all? Possible numbers and term. Man, they're playing so good right now.

Did you watch that Colorado game the other night? Yeah, it was a great game. I wasn't crazy about that. About that too many men called but that's a terrible call but what a game it was a great game it absolutely was a great game yeah you know why at some point in time you got to admit that they're for real i keep waiting for the bubble to burst i'm with you i'm like okay this is cute little three game win streak okay

well hold on a second they've ripped off five in their tops in the division? What? They're playing great. And I think you and I have said collectively here on this show, we'll get a good sense of where David Poyle thinks his team is by what happens with Philip Forsberg. Do we still believe that? Look, you know what Forsberg is going to want.

Oh, yeah. He's going to want a big deal and he's gonna want protection yes I think the protection scares the Predators more than the numbers do that's always been David Poylo he's always been shy but he did it for Yossi yeah look the way it's going it's very difficult for the Predators to walk away from this. And, you know, the biggest challenge, and one player said this to me, is that the Predators have always been very good at saying, look, you're in Tennessee, it's a no-tax state. Well, now Johansson's got the deal, Duchesne's got the deal,

Yossi's got the deal, Forsberg. And Forsberg's, I said this on Nashville radio, the hit I do every week, Forsberg's a predator. Just like Yossi's a predator. I know Forsberg was drafted by Washington, but he was traded there very young in his infancy as an NHL player. He's a predator. Okay. That's a guy you have to find a way to take care of. The other thing is Ryan Ellis signed and he got traded. So it's not that I necessarily think that Nashville did anything illegitimate there, but players remember, they say, okay,

you have to risk if you agree to a deal that maybe is a bit less than you would get elsewhere because Nashville's a no-tax city in Tennessee that you have to have the protection because if you get traded, maybe now you get traded somewhere where it is a big tax state. So that's all part of it. And I think that's a bigger issue for the Predators than anything else. But the fact is you did it for Yossi, who's your best player. You're going to have to do some level of it.

And you can say, look, can we do it for, if we give you an eight-year deal, we'll give it to you for six years and then we'll figure out something on the end. The way it's going for them right now, if it continues to go that way, it's tough for the Predators to sell it. Yep. Really tough. And by the way, speaking of tough, the toughest shot block i've seen this season borowiecki borowiecki in that game against colorado and he that guy is super tough and

i was like legit frightened because that guy doesn't stay down and he went down and stayed down and that's not mark borowiecki. Oh, did he eat that one. Toughest shot block I've seen all year. Alright, on that lovely note, taking us out is a producer from British Columbia who is self-taught in software and recording programs that help him create his sonic and very

heady sound. Jameson Isaac, stage name Teen Days, has an impressive discography that's a fine mix of synth-pop and romantic electronica. From his latest album, Interior, here's Teen Days with Night Run on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Thank you. Outro Music Bye.