32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Merci Montréal

Episode Date: July 8, 2022

Great to be back at the NHL Draft! Jeff and Elliotte recap day 1 of the draft from Montreal (14:00) and then Elliotte provides a few notes from day 2 (00:10).They discuss Duncan Keith (1:00), the goalie market (3:20), Philadelphia (8:30), the reaction from Montreal fans (10:50) and their thoughts of the event (14:20), Chicago (20:00), Toronto (26:40), Minnesota (28:20), Calgary (38:20), players that fell (31:00), Buffalo (34:25), GM of the Year award (35:10), newsy bits (36:50), and Elliotte tells us a great Shane Wright story (12:00).They guys also remember the late Bryan Marchment (39:10).This podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Sportsnet.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.

Okay. All right. All right. So here's a story. Normally, we wouldn't have a podcast where I came on alone without Jeff. However, we taped a post round one podcast on Thursday night. And by the time Amal was ready to drop it on Friday morning, we already had news that changed. And we are not a day-old bakery.

We do not serve you stale bread or stale donuts. So I said, hold the podcast, and we're going to add some stuff in at the end of day number two. Now, Merrick is away. He didn't have to work day two, so he went with his family this weekend. I know that's a really lame excuse, hanging around with your family instead of hanging around with me.

So we'll excuse him just this once, and I'm going to fill in some blanks just on my own for day number two. And don't worry, I'll keep it short so you don't get bored of me. A couple of things. Obviously, the biggest news of the day is Duncan Keith, future Hall of Famer, three Stanley Cups, two Norse trophies, one Conn Smythe trophy, one of the great defensemen of the last 15, 20 years. Now the Oilers didn't want to say much about it because they, I think, want to do something more formal

for him, but we all know it's happening. Duncan Keith is going to retire. I think this was a really hard decision for Keith. I'd like to hear a little bit more about him. Just to fill in some of the blanks, you're always careful with this information because you don't want to guess wrong about it. I heard at the end of the season, some of the players,

when the Oilers went their separate ways and some of the people in the organization really got the impression that Duncan Keith was done. I think we all knew that there was a good chance Mike Smith wasn't going to play, whether it was injury or retirement. But I was surprised by the amount of people that heard Keith talk and said, oh my goodness, he's not coming back.

And they said, think about it. And I think he wrestled with some things. And he himself eventually will give us an idea of what he really wrestled with. But I don't think anybody was hugely shocked. I think they just wanted to give him the opportunity to think about it. That will open up a lot of cap room for the Oilers, about five and a half million dollars. There are some penalties for the Blackhawks, but they're not a team spending the caps. They can handle a more significant penalty next season and a smaller one the year after. But of course, just the bigger thing is that Duncan Keith is retiring.

Legendary, legendary for physical fitness and what he would put his body through. There's a thing called the VO Max test that all the prospects do at the Combine, and Keith had one of the highest scores ever he was gifted with a natural ability of endurance and he worked at it to make himself even better at it just a phenomenal phenomenal athlete and committed individual okay elsewhere the goalie market what did we learn on friday this is my second take at this initially i said sunday i don't even know what day it is anymore Elsewhere, the goalie market. What did we learn on Friday? This is my second take at this. Initially, I said Sunday.

I don't even know what day it is anymore. Amal, thank you for catching it. What did we learn on Friday? Vili Huso traded St. Louis to Detroit. Signs and extension, three years at $4.75 million. Vanacek traded from Washington to Jersey. Darcy Kemper not going back to Denver. Matt Murray turned down a trade from Ottawa to Buffalo, but his name is still out there. The team I've heard on Kemper for quite some time now, a team that's been interested in him, is Washington. I'm not saying Washington's going to get him,

but I do know that Washington's very interested in him and has been motivated about Kemper for some time now. So we'll see where that goes. Kyle Dubas, the Toronto GM, said that he's been talking to every potential goaltender. There's one team that told me they counted 14 teams that believe are looking at goalies or involved moves for goalies right now. So there's a lot of competition. Dubas said

he's looked at all of them. I do think he's going to have another conversation with Jack Campbell, but I think that's going to be a tough one for Toronto. When it comes to Kemper, be a tough one for Toronto. When it comes to Kemper, what I think happened was Colorado just said, we can't make it work. You'd really have to accept way below market value to stay here. And I think Kemper saw that and he went out to the market. You know, I had one team joke with me today that when it comes to the goalie markets, there's a lot of conversation going out there. Now, you can question whether it's legal or illegal conversation, but it's happening. All of these teams, all of these agents, all of these goalies

have done what they can to determine what the market is and where it's going. And, you know, for example, in Campbell, there's teams who believe the market is five times five. We'll see. The other thing out there too, is the situation in Minnesota between Cam Talbot, Marc-Andre Fleury and Bill Guerin. So on Thursday, Fleury signed a two year, and Bill Guerin. So on Thursday, Fleury signed a two-year, three and a half million per extension with the Wilds. He had a media conference earlier today, and he said that he was told there was going to be a 50-50 split, and he basically believes that's the right thing. I don't think that has satisfied Cam Talbot. His agent, George Bezos, was here at the draft. He met with Guerin on Thursday. He met with Guerin again on Friday. And what it sounds like to me here

is that both sides are kind of drawing a bit of a hard line. Guerin is saying it's a 50-50 job and you're here and you're under contract. You know, don't forget when Cam Talbot signed in Minnesota, there were some people who thought that was a bad deal that they gave him three years. Well, it wasn't a bad deal. It turned out to be a very good deal. And Cam Talbot has done very well there. And I think Minnesota is trying to say to him,

you know what? We took a chance on you. I think Talbot, a competitive guy, he wants to play. He was bothered last year. I think he's really tried to have a good attitude about it. But last year, he lost the job going into the playoffs, and then he started the last game at the end. People want to play. People want to be number one. They want to play the most games. And I think Talbot, through his agent, has made that very clear.

And it's the agent's job to argue passionately on behalf of his client. So right now, we've got Talbot with his agent taking one side, Guerin taking the other side. You're under contract, and we want you to play here and we've got a stalemate. People were asking me today to handicap a trade. I don't know. I think you take Billy Guerin at his word when he says he likes the team he has,

he likes the duo he has, and he wants to start the year with it. And the other thing too is Guerin, he has and he wants to start the year with it and the other thing too is garen he won't be pushed around i just wonder if his path is to let this breathe a bit and see where it goes the other thing we know about garen though is this he doesn't shop people around a lot but if something comes to him that he likes he he tends to jump at it. So that's the way I look at this. My number one expectation is he tries to let this breathe and see if it can settle. I think if you're another GM, you have to go to him with an offer that you have to think he's going to accept because he's not going to waste his time with anything that's not close. That's his history. He's shown other news today. Tony D'Angelo traded from Carolina to Philadelphia, two year extension around 5 million per not done yet, but close,

you know, D'Angelo had permission to shop himself around from Carolina, and I heard there was a lot of interest. For example, I think one of the teams that kind of looked at it, I don't think they got in there overly deep, but I think they looked at it was Ottawa, for example, which is looking for another defenseman. But I think there were plenty more, and there was a lot of competition for him. Philly, I think, is going to be interesting.

They have a lot of moving parts. You know, James Van Riemsdyk's name has been out there for a long time. You know, I tried to ask Chuck Fletcher about it today. He said James Van Riemsdyk's a flyer. He wasn't budging any more than that. But I think one of the things we're kind of looking at here is Calgary continues to wait on Johnny Goudreau. And I think it's possible that GM Bradtree Living and the

agent met a couple of times here. I think a lot of people are watching Philly. What does Philly do? Because by adding this number for D'Angelo, they don't have the space for Goudreau. So I think what a lot of people are looking at is if Philly starts to clear room, is that a sign of where they're going? If Philly keeps where they are, is that another sign of where they're going? Or if they add other pieces what

does that tell us i think if you're waiting for the papal signals on gudro you're watching philly and you're seeing what they do with their roster as a kind of key to where this is going a few other notes vancouver islanders look i'll say this one thing i think that is true is that the canucks aren't letting anybody talk to jt miller about an extension was that what happened here i still think we're gathering that and that's kind of why there's a little bit of a stalemate i'll have talked more about that another time great weekend in montreal i met a lot of fans here on the street of canadians fans who are asking what do you think about what they did do you like the pick do you not like the pick i think they did a really good job of breathing new life into their organization.

They're taking chances on a player like Doc who went sideways in Chicago. They believe in their structure. They believe in Marty San Luis. They believe they've got things straightened out a bit here. They believe in their ability to make proper decisions. They really trust their process and their approach. And I think it was a hugely successful weekend for them. I think other things to keep an eye on, John Klingberg in Carolina, I heard a bit of that. Paul Stasny, likely with a contender, team that he thinks can win. David Pasternak, first brief meeting

between the Bruins and Pasternak's reps this week. The Bruins say they're going to be very aggressive on this one. You know, Pasternak obviously is a participant too. Does he want to sign quick? Does he want to wait to see how the market sets? But I think the Bruins have made it very clear that they want to be aggressive

in their pursuit to sign him. Shane Wright heard a great story that when he was waiting to be picked, obviously dropped a couple spots from potentially one to four. He got a phone call from Wayne Gretzky. from Wayne Gretzky. Apparently, Wayne Gretzky asked someone for Shane Wright's number, and while Wright was waiting at the draft to be taken, Gretzky called him and gave him some words of encouragement. I mean, who wouldn't want to get that phone call at that time?

It's a great story and love to hear it. And finally, next year's draft, I think they're meeting next week to try to finalize it. But I think one of the things the NHL has kind of talked about is, is there a unique way to do the draft? You know, if you look at the way the NFL does it, the players are in one city, but the teams make their pick

in their own rooms, or you could do it at a draft party. Could you have one central place and 32 draft parties i think also they've considered and i heard one of the reasons we're late for the draft this year is because potentially the nhl was looking at a unique neutral site and jeff and i you're going to hear us talk about a little bit he's going to suggest a place where he wanted to go and you know what i'll save it on Amo. You leave that

part in. But I think they're hoping to know in the next little while where next year's draft is going to be. It's 3.29 on Friday afternoon. This is your addendum to the DraftPod. I hope without Jeff,

I haven't been too boring. With our first pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, the Canadiens of Montreal are proud to pick up from the Slovakian national team and TPS Turku, URI Slavkovski. First of all, what a crowd. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, America alongside Friedman and Delic. And first of all, Elliot, what a crowd. Let's begin there. This is the post first round nhl draft podcast and to me one of the stars of the show we'll get into some of the players etc and joe sackett congratulations gm of the year

fans made this fans made this a great night it was great to be back at a draft which was a real draft and i agree with you the fans were spectacular i think the nhl has been considering what to do uh with the draft in what sense so one of the theories i've heard is that they have been talking about a neutral site draft the draft of dreams if you hold that they will come well i think one of the things that they kind of talked about was what if they put it in a place like disney world okay so they're going to treat this sort of like a neutral site version of the winter classic well if you think about it a lot of the way the drafts are done in a lot of other sports yeah it's not like this i think one of the ideas they had was do you ever have a draft sort of like the NFL does

where the players are on site, but the teams, do they make announcements at their own draft party? I think they've thought about some different ideas. And like I said, I think they considered a neutral site where maybe one year ticket draft to a place like Disney world, because they think it could be spectacular and it would be quite a scene. I thought about it and I was interested in the idea when one of the teams mentioned it to me about the possibility of doing something like that. The hockey geek in me says,

okay, but it's got to be at a hockey place. Like it's got to be at Lake Placid or it's got to be like some place where there is like some hockey significance attached to it. I think that's fair. And I bet you they would consider it. I never even thought of anything like that, but I bet you, if you brought it up, they would at least consider it. Hamilton, old cops Coliseum, or is that a little sensitive? Now you're just going down a rabbit hole. But anyway, what I was saying is that I think one of the other ideas is that I think the

Canadians would like to host more drafts. The Habs would. Yes. They do a great. Now this was helped a lot because they were holding the first overall pick and that doesn't happen very often, but still. But where was the NHL draft held for a long time?

Montreal. Yes. Every year. Well, we were walking down the street the other day and we're like look how much history is in this building look outside the queen elizabeth like how much nhl history now a lot of nhl brain cells at the same time too but how much nhl history you know happened at the queen elizabeth how much nhl history has happened here like it's it's hand to glove nhl offices used to be here. So this was perfect for that reason.

And I do think there have been some conversations about, one of the things one of the teams told me is that the draft isn't as popular an event as an all-star game or something like that because it's not necessarily as big a moneymaker. So a team like Montreal, if they were interested in something like that, I think that there would be

some potential discussion about it. They didn't announce next year's draft tonight, and I think they eventually will announce it. I think they're starting to figure out where it's going to be. However, I think they considered something unique this year, and that's one of the reasons

they're a little later in announcing it. From what I've heard, I think they considered something unique this year. And that's one of the reasons they're a little later in announcing it. Before I've heard, I think they have a city and whether it was 32 draft parties with the players of the central location, whether it was a neutral site like Disney world or Lake Placid, or whether or not they were thinking about, do we do Montreal again? Like this was a special night I

agree with you I think they're looking for some kind of pizzazz like that so you've known me a long time now one of the things I'm sure you've heard me talk about plenty in your eyes roll back is I'm in love with in sports specifically that fraction of a second right before an event happens and whether it's you, I think of the Nat Tarofsky picture of 1951, Bill Borolko scoring. And the picture is great because the puck hasn't gone in the net yet. It's right before the event actually occurs. You know what was really cool? The moment right before Kent Hughes said, Joey Slavkovsky. That moment in life, Elliot, I adore. said Jerry Slavkovsky.

That moment in life, Elliot, I adore. I love that little slice of life right before something happens. That to me was one of the highlights because there was so much anticipation, so much built up on this thing. And I had two Montreal Canadiens fans behind me. I was on the floor and both of them were very much pro Shane Wright,

pro Shane Wright. There was people, make the right choice. T-shirts were everywhere, all over the building. That moment, because it's like a lockup, the moment before two fighters lock up. I loved it and I felt it tonight. And to me, it set a great tone for the whole night. And then anytime any of the prospects that just got drafted by the Montreal Canadiens showed up,

the chanting started and the singing started. It was a great evening for a lot of reasons. And those are just a couple for me. What did it for you? Well, there was a lot of action. There's no question about that. There was a lot going on. There were a lot of moves.

I thought the draft was interesting. I don't follow the prospects as closely as you do or Jason or sam or pierre but it's pretty obvious that there were some big rises and and big falls yeah like in terms of some of the players that went up and some of the players that went down but obviously i mean chicago was a huge story and they made a couple of moves it's really interesting ottawa was in a situation where earlier in the day you know Matt Murray vetoed a trade to Buffalo as is his right they were going to flip picks with Buffalo so as part of that deal Buffalo was going to get Ottawa's first round pick

and Ottawa was going to get Buffalo's Vegas pick okay so the Buffalo pick at nine or was going to get Buffalo's Vegas pick. Okay, so the Buffalo pick at nine or it was going to be 16? 16. 16, okay. It was the Vegas pick. And all of a sudden that doesn't happen. And Ottawa fans, they're disappointed. And then we find out that, okay, we're not going to do that. So we're going to use that pick and trade it for Alex to brink it.

What did you make of the deal? I was really surprised. And I think the thing is, is that it took me a little while to get my head around it. If you go back through the last couple of weeks when the news got out that they were really making everybody available, the word on Debrinkit was if he was getting traded, you would look at the deal and you would understand and even recently kyle davidson said we're not going to just do it to give him away it's interesting so somebody told me they heard the last couple of days that if chicago trades up

they were taking that defense kevin kuczynski, Seattle Thunderbirds. That was the guy that they wanted. And someone said to me, if Chicago gets high in the first round, he's going to be a guy they go after. And so Kyle Davidson said in the interview I did with him that we wanted this player, so we made the deal. And that's fair. And I know that there were some people who said

that they really liked the players, Chicago pick, good prospects. There are a few teams that like Korchinski from what I'm told. And also the second pick, Frank Nazar. Look, people like them. It's just a lot lower than what I expected. And it's a lot lower than a lot of people expected. When a team makes a trade, there's always people who come out and say, well, we made

them a better offer. I just think the teams were surprised when they saw what the return was. For whatever reason, somewhere in the last couple of weeks, this changed from Chicago saying we're not trading him unless we have to because the deal is so good to we're just trading him now and the whole argument of he was do a big extension you've got time if alex to bring it goes up and puts another 40 goal season or even has any kind of decent season yeah it's not like you're not going to be able to trade him for a good return i just think for whatever reason the blackhawks decided they had to make that trade now.

And some of the conversations I'm hearing over the last 24 to 48 hours, they really intensified their attempts to make the trade now. But I think there were teams who were surprised that they did it with that deal. Not because they felt necessarily they outbid them, but it's because they weren't expecting it based on where the talk started and where they ended up. You know, one of the conversations I had with someone tonight was, about this deal, was they were surprised that Ottawa

didn't have to include any prospects. And they have a lot, specifically on the back end. Like, No one expects them to trade Jake Sanderson, but Lassie Thompson, Jacob Bernard Docker. I know they just drafted Tyler Clevin, but still they have a lot of prospects on the back end. And one person that I spoke to said, I'm still shocked that they got Alex to brink it and didn't have to give up a body. All they had to do was give up picks. We thought if it's going to happen, it's going to be a combination of a high draft pick and a prospect and maybe another later pick.

And they ended up giving that in the third. But this one person who was pretty plugged in was like, how did Ottawa just do this and not have to give up a body? It's a tidy bit of business here by Pierre Dorian. You really do have to say. Chicago's all in for Conor Bedard. The race is on between them and Arizona. And the thing is, even if you finish dead last, it's not like you're guaranteed to win the lottery.

You know what I heard- But you give yourself a great, I get it. You just give yourself a great chance. That's all. You know what I heard a lot of tonight too, Jeff, was that Chicagoago being good is good business for the league at a time that yes we're coming out of covid yep and i think there were a lot of people who looked at it and said boy that's a big revenue franchise that's just shutting it down they're stripping right down. They're stripping this thing right down.

Like seriously. The whole time that I'm watching this all go down, Elliot, I'm thinking what's going through Jonathan Taves' mind? What's going through Patrick Kane's mind? And what's going through Seth Jones' mind? What are they thinking as they're watching all of this around them just get taken down to the nuts and bolts? Because that's the way Chicago's doing it.

Davidson said in the post game and after the draft, he said, and I do think this is right, it's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing to see it and see what the return is. I think all those players, Seth Jones is partial no trade until the 13th. I don't know if anyone's going to take that deal, but it's real now for Kane and Taves. And their agent, Pat Bresson, went out of his way on Thursday night not to throw any gasoline on the fire.

Just say, we're going to take a timeout here and we're going to figure out what we're doing. But I really think chicago they want kane and tase to make this decision for them so they want those two to come to them and say okay enough's enough it's time for us yeah i think that's what they want you know kirby doc i had mentioned i think today on nhl network that there were teams I heard in the top half of the first round that were willing to trade for Dock. They ended up getting the 13th pick for him.

I think that's about where we were looking at it. I don't think anybody at five was doing that. I think that was the area. I would think that potentially Columbus was in on that too, not with their six pick, but potentially their 12. That's where I thought they were going to get. Based on what I was hearing, I thought that was a pretty fair return for Doc,

but I'm shocked at the Debrinket one. And I think that surprised a lot of people too. What did you make of the Peter Mrazik deal? 25 and Mrazik for 38. That's a big win for Dubas to only have to move down 13 spots to move Mrazik deal. 25 and Mrazik for 38. That's a big win for Dubas to only have to move down 13 spots to move Mrazik's contract. That's a big win for him. One person from another NHL team said to me, Chicago just gave Kyle Dubas a get out of jail card. You could have really stuck it to Toronto on this one. And I know that Chicago needs goalies. I get it. I understand all that.

Now, I know you can look at it historically and say, wow, that signing cost you a first round pick. But then as one general manager told me yesterday, and I mentioned this in our open, he said, I don't care about any of these lists. This whole draft is a spray. And that's what this is. And it was tonight.

And it was a total spray. And I think day two is going to be a total spray as well. Like this is a nice bit of business because Dubas got out from underneath a contract that wasn't working out and a player that wasn't working out for this team. And he's still probably going to get the player that he wanted in the first round. He's still going to probably get that guy. This one was a win for Toronto. I agree with that. You know, the other team I'm looking at is Edmonton.

They moved Zach Kassian for picks. Basically, Ken Holland admitted what everyone's been talking about. Mike Smith isn't going to play this year. It's just a question of is he on LTIR? Does he retire? I mean, we've been talking about this ad nauseum that Jack Campbell is on their radar. Starcy Kemper back on their radar now?

I wonder. I'm curious to see what the Georgiev contract comes out. Let's do a quick one on Minnesota because I think one of the things that everyone will wonder about the first round is you know who you impressed by who do you think had a good first day i think the minnesota wild had a good day when it comes to picks it's always hard because who knows who knows what all these players are going to turn into but i look at what minnesota did today and i look at what minnesota has been able to put together too and I know the story of Minnesota right now for the next couple of years is going to be

salary cap hell we all know that it cost him Kevin Fiala and the Kevin Fiala trade is something that people still talk about around Minnesota but unless you're a really hardcore Minnesota Wild fan know the team well you're probably not paying attention to what is happening with that team away from the big squad and away from the big story, which is the salary cap and Kevin Fiala. Judd Brackett is doing an amazing job with this team. And Liam Ogren and Danilo Uurov are two highly skilled players. Like, as one person texted me today, like, Minnesota robbed the bank again. They have high-end players coming at every single position.

How many times have we talked about Marco Rossi? Well, he's coming in, and he's coming in on an entry-level deal. Jesper Wollstatt, the goaltender. Carson Lambos, two players they drafted in the first round last year, 20 and 26. That's robbery by Judd Brackett. We talk about the Fiala deal, Brock Faber, University of Minnesota in the Fiala deal.

Then you throw depth defensemen like Ryan O'Rourke coming. I know it might be tough for Minnesota Wild fans. Right now, you have this big salary cap hole in the middle of your team. It's going to dominate a lot of the conversation. But at the other end of it, this is where a guy like Judd Brackett is so important to the Minnesota Wild. When they get out of salary cap jail, this is going to be really good.

This is going to be a really, really good day. It might be a little bit painful getting there. I still think that Anaheim is a Cadillac of prospects and how they develop defensemen is first rate. No one does it better than them. And they just keep on adding quality players and here comes another center, but Minnesota is right there too. I think Minnesota has done a marvelous job. And then I throw in what Bill Guerin was able to do today. I just think that Minnesota had a great day, but as far as prospects go, this is just a continuation. Sleep on the Minnesota Wild at your own peril

because they're doing a great job. I think it's an impressive organization. You know what one of the things I really look for is the players who fall. If you would have told me three years ago when we really started to hear the name Brad Lambert that he was going to fall as far as he did, we would have said, not a chance.

Look at the skill on this guy I always wonder if a moment like that scares people straight I mean even Shane Wright for another Shane Wright needed to be scared straight because I think he's a pretty honest and upstanding guy look I think Shane Wright's last two years got ruined by COVID I think it hurt him and I think his game got picked apart because of it. I think that's a great pickup for Seattle at four. Who's the Nashville kid they picked up? Kemmel?

Yeah, Joachim Kemmel at 17 in Finland. Yeah, so he was a guy who dropped. Great shot. Lambert dropped. Jonathan Lekaromaki to Vancouver at 15. I'm surprised Vancouver didn't sprint to the podium to say that. Going into this draft, I thought maybe Vancouver trades their pick and picks up another just because they need to stock the shawls.

But then Lekaromaki's there and how do you not take them? So that to me was a fall right into their laps. But Shane Wright's an interesting one. So what do you think of this theory? So someone from one team brought this to my attention. Outside of Connor McDavid, you know what happens with players that are granted exceptional status? They get their games picked apart more because we have more time to pick apart their games. Yeah. Do you think that Shane Wright is a victim of that if you look at the

players that have been granted exceptional? Well, with jason spezza it happened with john tavaris yeah aaron act blad keep going aaron act blad but i think also in right's case covid changed it all too yes all the ohl kids the talk around the draft about ohl kids and their development is a big thing i had heard that in some of the at least one of the interviews i'll say there was a team that pressed right hard about why he didn't play overseas right and basically what they were saying is that they wished he would have made more of an effort to play overseas and it was a tough one because he was hoping the ohl was going to play and it didn't happen i heard he got really pressed on it, but it still cost him two years. It's over now.

It's a great place for him. Those are the people I always watch is who falls back. I think Seattle got a hell of a player. And now Seattle's looking up the gut at Matty Beneers and Shane Wright for the next 10 years as their centers. I mean, how many teams have been out there looking for first-line centers? We were making this point on the show tonight. Pretty appropriate that it's Ron Francis that drafts Shane Wright. Like when you look at Shane Wright's game,

you tell me that's not someone that Ron Francis looks at and says, man, there's kind of a lot of me in there. You know? Like I was told that the player that Seattle coveted was uh Simon Nemech you wrote about it and I was led to believe that that's who they wanted like they got Matty Beneers okay now they're going to try to get the best defenseman in the draft and New Jersey beat them to the punch and drafted him second overall but what a tidy bit of business by Seattle to get Shane Wright at four like the minute that Arizona took Logan Cooley at three.

Like, what do you think? I always wonder what the conversation is around the table when it becomes obvious that you might get someone that you didn't think you were going to get. And I'm imagining Seattle had that conversation as Logan Cooley was drafted third overall by the Arizona Coyotes. Buffalo Sabres drafted three centers. You know, it's interesting going into the assignment that I had this year for the draft was, you know, do sort of, you know, how the prospect fits in, what the prospect pool is and what each team is looking for. And the thing I wrote down about the Buffalo Sabres was they need more centers.

They have a lot of wingers. They're set on the blue line. They need centers. And they drafted three of them. Matt Savoy, Noah Ostlund, and Yuri Kulich. That's deliberate. Well, Arizona did centers with their first couple picks with their Coyotes jackets. What did you make of that, by the way? I'm glad you asked Bill Armstrong about that because it's one of the things you know.

I'm here to ask the hard-hitting questions.'s with the jackets man you know what i i don't mind it do different stuff here's something the general manager of the year was announced at the draft for the first time congratulations to joe sakic of the colorado avalanche when i first heard they were going to announce it at the draft i I thought that's a pretty good idea. But then when it actually happened, it kind of felt forced. How did it feel to you? Well, it's just a little long. That's what I thought.

Yeah. What did you make of the winner, Joe Sackett? Who's going to argue that? Guy won the Stanley Cup. It still is kind of crazy that Julian Brisebois has never won it. But that's the thing. Here you and I were a couple of weeks ago saying this is a slam dunk for Julian Brisebois. First of all, it was good to see Sir Savard, but I just thought it was a little too long.

That was my only issue. It's Montreal. It's at Buckingham Palace of Canada, the Bell Centre. It's the closest thing we have to Buckingham Palace. First of all, I don't know how anybody can argue against Joe Sackett. Julian Brisebois, are you against Joe Sackett? Well, it is kind of crazy that Julian Breezeball has never won it.

By the way, that's another guy, Isaac Howard, kid who fell. Talk about falling and then landing in a great place, landing in Tampa. And the kid's hilarious. Well, he told us at the combine. Did I tell you this? He told us at the combine he was going to wear

a white suit. It was fantastic. He's a great interview. What did you say to Carolyn? I'm the best looking guy here so i should be the best dress guy yes i am he he has he has some confidence about him sir he really does say uh i like it myself he said he was going to wear the white suit and he went for it good on isaac howard it looked great i have no problem with sakic winning

i'm surprised that breezeze Bois never won. I'm the same way. Just a couple other things out here. Just some news bits. Ron Hextall told us that now he's got a cap number on LeTang. He's going to see what they can do with Malkin. It's amazing. I have people telling me,

I get such a split of information on Forsberg. I get people telling me it's close.berg I get people telling me it's close I get other people telling me it's not close I still lean towards it happening but I have to admit what day is it we've got five more days I'm surprised we're here

I'm surprised we're here but it's amazing I have people saying it's close I have other people telling me it's not close I don't know what to say about it. Can I ask one thing on Malkin? Yeah. Someone whispered to me today. I was like, because we're talking about the Letang deal.

I'm curious about Malkin here. And they were wondering if Seattle could be a fit. I'll say this. People were wondering about six times 6.1 for Malkin. This is purely a guess. I wonder if there was a team offering like four times 6.1 for Malkin. This is purely a guess. I wonder if there was a team offering like four times nine. Whoa. On a piece of paper about Letang, four times seven and a half.

I thought that was what it was going to be. And I am wondering, because it got to 36 million, Jeff, I wonder if there was a team that was willing to do, or Pittsburgh thought there was a team that was willing to do four times nine. that's why we ended up where we ended up that is a whopper of a number and we were waiting for a whopper of a deal with jt miller you have a thought on this one look i know there's people who want to hear me talk about this vancouver thing with the islanders just give me a couple days everyone that's all i'm asking there's been a lot of rumors about matthew kachuk and one thing i do agree on that there are teams kind of hovering around this Just give me a couple days, everyone. That's all I'm asking. There's been a lot of rumors about Matthew Kachok.

And one thing I do agree on, that there are teams kind of hovering around this, waiting to see what the Flames are going to do. And the Flames are going to wait until they have Johnny Goudreau's answer. And I still think they're telling people, actually, I know they're telling people they want to sign Matthew Kachok. But that doesn't mean the teams aren't hovering around it and trying to figure it out.

There's been rumors, because I don't even know if anybody's actually reported it. I know that there have been rumors, and we heard them all about New Jersey offering the number two pick for Kachok. I'm just saying right now that everyone's denying it, because I think we've all heard this rumor. I don't know if it's actually ever been reported, but we heard this rumor just for what it's worth right now everybody's denying it

before we wrap up brian marchman first of all credit to mike greer that was beautiful extremely well done before we make our selection on behalf of the marchman family and the San Jose Sharks organization I want to express our sincere thanks for the outpouring of love and support that we have received over the last 24 hours in response to the sudden loss of our beloved friend and colleague Brian Marchman As most of you know, Brian loved the game of hockey. He absolutely loved it. He breathed it. He used it. No one was happier to be at the rink than Mush.

His opponents may not have enjoyed playing against him, but as someone who was his teammate, I can tell you that there was no one I would rather go into battle with or who you would want on the bench than Brian. Brian's reputation on the ice was that of a fierce, relentless competitor, but off the ice he was honest, down to earth, loving, and he truly cared about people. You could tell this by the way he engaged with everyone, the questions he asked and the time he spent with you as a person. The imprint that he has left on his teammates during a 17-year NHL career,

the Sharks prospects who has mentored and helped develop and on his colleagues both inside and outside of the Sharks organization will be felt well into the future. Tonight, we again send our most heartfelt condolences to all of Brian's family and friends, but particularly his parents John and Joanne, his siblings Wayne, Carrie, and Tara, and especially his wife Kim, his children Mason and Logan we love you Brian you will be missed but you will never be forgotten I mean it's a very very hard day for the NHL community I know you have a story to tell

I just think that people should know that as many people hated playing against Brian Marchment on the ice, loved them off the ice. So in the last couple of days, there were some individuals who told me about people that Brian Marchment was best friends with. And I don't want to say it because I think it's their stories to tell. I said, wow, he was best friends with this person. Like you wouldn't have made the connection, but he was good at making connections. You have some stories you want to tell. The one that always stands out to me, and I've always loved telling the story

because it was just fun and it was just goofy, lovable, pride marchment. It was during the lockout and I was living in the east end of the city in the beaches, an area in Toronto called the beaches. And I was playing in my crappy men's league hockey. And I had gotten to know Brian when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And he just called me up one day and he's like, you're still playing hockey? I'm like, yeah. He goes, can I come up and play on your team? I'm like, we're not even like a A-level like beer league team here. You know, we're like B division. He's like, I don't care. I just want to go out and play and have some fun. I'm bored.

I'll pick you up, throw your bag in the pickup truck and we'll go. I'm like, wow, this is awesome. And so Marchman picked me up. He came out a couple of times. Bought beer for all the guys. It was a big thrill. How often are you going to get to skate with an NHL or either on your team? Or I guess the other teams would have loved it too hey that's Brian Marchman we're playing against

and just like the biggest smile on his face just like not having a care in the world and just playing hockey and having fun like Brian Marchman was one of those people that you just knew was always around had been around hockey his entire life, obviously, and had no plans to ever not be around hockey. It was in his DNA. It was baked in the pie for Brian Marchman. And I'll just never forget how great he made all of us really bad hockey players feel,

as he was very generous with his play and always deferring and always passing and trying to make fumbling bad passes for Marchman. Did anybody try to ever go there was a couple of guys that kind of like this is my shot like hey it's brian marcher i'm gonna see but it's one of those moments where you forget just like how skilled nhlers are because he might as well have been wayne gretzky out there that's just hockey yeah the worst players in the league you know you put them anywhere else and they're dynamic. But I think a lot of it was all in good fun too. And every conversation I ever had with him, ask anyone about Brian Marshman, they'll tell you. He'll stop and have a conversation with anybody and he'll make you laugh and make you feel better

about yourself. And whenever I think of pure hockey joy, one of the names that comes to mind for me is Brian Marchman. So I know it was a sad day for a lot of people who are a lot closer to Brian Marchman. I talked to a couple of them that were on the floor today from a couple of different teams and it was tough for a lot of people on the floor. Tonight, being there without Brian Marchman,

I thought it was a beautiful touch having the flowers in the chair and having his NHL lanyard over top of it. I'm not gonna say that I was really close to Brian Marchman, I thought it was a beautiful touch having the flowers in the chair and having his NHL lanyard over top of it. I'm not going to say that I was really close to Brian Marchman, but I wasn't. But whenever we saw each other, it was always a kind word and a smile and a quick conversation. For my little corner, I know I'll miss him. We'll all miss him and his family certainly will. And that's where all of our thoughts are. And the hockey community just lost one of its best people this week in Montreal.