32 Thoughts: The Podcast - More Drama Than a Playoff Hole at The Masters

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin the podcast by talking about the Calgary Flames crucial win over the San Jose Sharks as they try to claw themselves into the playoffs. They look around at the playoff races as we come down to the final couple games of the season (8:01). The fellas reflect on Ivan Demidov's Montreal arrival (12:17) and Kyle and Elliotte touch on the Blue Jackets crucial win on Sunday (17:43). On the flip side, they ponder whether the Washington Capitals are slipping heading into the playoffs (21:24) and the lack of any supplemental disciple following the Trenin-Forbort fight leads to a conversation about the job of heading the NHL Department of Player Safety (25:22). Kyle and Elliotte delve into the Rangers after their official playoff elimination (37:45) and Elliotte quickly touches on Rick Tocchet's future (48:13). Kyle and Elliotte rate their level of concern over some of the injured players heading into the playoffs (51:44) and The Final Thought focuses on Gabriel Landeskog's first professional games in years (1:01:00).Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and respond to your voicemails in the Thought Line (1:09:44).In the final segment Kyle and Elliotte talk about the quickly changing landscape of junior hockey in North America as the first big transfer from the CHL to the NCAA has occurred (1:29:01). Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

You could always say people want to play for us because we're the Rangers. We're in the biggest market. We're in one of the best cities. We're in Manhattan. It's cool. make it there I'll make it anywhere. It's up to you. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X producer Dom Shamadi, Kyle Bukaskis, Elliot Friedman back with you once again. Elliot, on Sunday night, you worked the final Sportsnet Leafs regional broadcast of the season. Can you tell us what the final score of that game was as that game was finishing right about at the same time Rory McElroy

was finally putting the finishing touches on the career Grand Slam. Kyle, I have to hand that to you because there were definitely moments in there that we were paying more attention to, say, the Masters than we were to the Carolina-Toronto game. There was some anger given towards the NHL schedulemaker for the timing of it and I suspect although I cannot prove that some individuals may have been watching the Masters during the intermissions and I would never tell on anyone but myself. No, you would not have been the only one. That was compelling. You know, one of the things we were joking about during the broadcast too, Kyle, was whenever we saw Leaf with an iPad on the bench, we were asking, are they looking at their shifts or are they watching the Masters? Yes, that's right. They had the alternate feed queued up there just picture

and picture. I bet you the coaches were looking at that too. That's right, yes. Are they looking at challenging for offside? No, no, they just wanted to see a look at McElroy's approach on 17 one more time. Very compelling finish to a great weekend in Augusta and a good win for Toronto. And it's funny in the postgame of Calgary tonight. Yes. Sure you saw Mackenzie Weigel with Ryan Leslie saying the reason why we started so poorly, I think a few of us still had Roy McElroy running the Masters on our minds. We hadn't quite gotten in the game mode. Everybody but Dustin Wolfe, of course. He was lights out from the start.

So you know what was funny? So one of our intermissions lined up with McElroy going to the 18th hole, right? Not for the playoff, but for the first time he played it. And we were waiting for, we needed like, and I think there was one of us who said, we need a broken pane of glass so we can see the tee shot. But no, no such luck.

We had to go into the studio and break down the game. The final score of the game was four to one, but I actually did think, did Toronto make it five to one for a second? Kyle, you have exposed our secrets. No, no, no, no, no secrets. You guys are still, when the lights go on, professionals all the way through.

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that. Most days. Yeah. So Toronto wins, don't clutch the Atlantic, but continue to put themselves in a great spot. The big one though, Sunday of course, Elliott, was Calgary needing a regulation win over San Jose. As we alluded to, a bit of a sleepy start, but they got rolling. Tide heading into the third, and then they pull away with three unanswered.

You didn't think that was going to easy, did you, Flames fans? There was no way Calgary was gonna jump on those guys with five in the first period and win eight to two. That's not the Flames way. They have to tease you and they have to taunt you and they have to make you get nervous and they have to make you pace around the house waiting for them to pull away.

It's never going to be easy and never going to be boring with this edition of the flames. Yes, they have become like the cardiac kids, as we say, all season. They were unable to come back from a deficit in the third period. And now, though it was tied going into the third but San Jose scores first Sunday And they still found a way to get a result the resolve Has been impressive for a team that still does not control its own fate at this point But are doing all they can hear down the stretch to continue to make st. Louis and Minnesota sweat as much as possible

So the wild play Tuesday against Anaheim. They need a point and they clinch. Zeeb Bouiem expected to make his NHL debut in that game. He officially did sign on Sunday. Also on Tuesday St. Louis plays the Utahns and if they win in regulation they clinch a playoff berth. But these are the last games for both the Wild, who have a really beaten up blue line, and the Blues.

If they do not achieve those outcomes, the door swings open for the Flames. Now, the Flames have two games left. They have Vegas on Tuesday night, which is the Golden Knights have already clinched the division. And then they have LA in the makeup from the fires That is on Thursday night and the Kings

Already know that they are going to be playing in the first round against the Edmonton Oilers and You know the only thing to be determined there is home ice advantage. So it will be interesting to see if the Kings are still going to have anything to play for when they play on Thursday night. And you know one of the biggest questions is going to be for Vegas what line up do they have on Tuesday? Because if you go back to their Pacific Division clinching win over the Predators where they won 5-3, that lineup did not include Jack Eichel, that lineup did not include Alex Patrangelo, that lineup did not include Nick Hague, and that lineup did not include Victor Oleson. You know, Patrangelo is one of the league's top defensemen.

Hague is a very valuable player for them. Oleson's had a great year and Eichel to me is on the short list for the Hart Trophy. So that's not to say the Golden Knights aren't formidable without them because they're still a really good team and they play as a unit. But you know, if you're Calgary and you don't see some of those, maybe you know what you say, you say, hey, you know, Kelly McCrimmon, you're an old Western Canada, Western Hockey League kind of guy. You know what? Be okay if Eichel stays home. Be okay if Petrangelo stays home. You know what?

You need him for the playoffs. Why don't you leave? You need him for the playoffs. Why don't you leave? Stone's got connections to Calgary. His brother used to play here. Why don't you leave him at home to do, and maybe, you know, Dorofia is having a good year. He looked a little tired.

He looked a little, he looked a little, looked a little pale on Saturday night. You know, he could use a tan, maybe some rest, leave him. That's what Calgary's saying to Vegas right now. Western guy, Kelly, do us a favor. I'm sure that's likely gonna happen. Well, as history has shown, Vegas very sentimental when it comes to most things. Very understanding of what other people's

wants and dreams are. But I mean, even looking on Sunday too, like Colorado, they're in Anaheim, their final game of the regular season because for whatever reason they're ending three weeks before everybody else. Yes. But no Taves, no McCarr, no McKinnon, no Colton, no Natchushkin. It's a long list of bodies they're sitting out for this one. It is that time of year And I don't think any of their fans are gonna complain they understand get their guys rest and McKinnon sitting out Kucherov wins the Art Ross as The NHL's scoring champion this year. Oh, even if they were tied

He was gonna win it on goals, but he made sure to surpass him in the big win over Buffalo on Sunday It's incredible that there's a scenario that he wins the Art Ross back-to-back years and does not win a heart trophy in either of them so like so I think that's only gonna help his candidacy you know, we've we've talked about how your So I think that's only gonna help his candidacy. You know, we've talked about how your thesis behind Hellebock has really affected me in a positive way. Like most of what you do really affects me

in a negative way. But the Hellebock thesis. It's why I'm here. Yes, and the Jets didn't play Hellebock on Sunday. He didn't even dress as they faced the Oilers at home But I think the Kucherov-Art Ross thing is gonna help him. I do I I mean Again, we said it last pod Kyle and I really do believe it. These are hard votes Like just because you vote for Hellebuck doesn't mean you hate

Kucherov, although all the fans take it like that. It's the pancake waffle tweet, right? These are hard decisions, but I do think Kucherov winning the Art Ross for a second year in a row, and I think that only helps your visibility. We have to have our ballots in, I think on Friday afternoon, and so you don't have to finish your ballot before then, although you shouldn't start last minute. I don't think this hurts Kuturov's candidacy at all.

And the Lightning, they are now actively campaigning. They have put out like a team trophy tracker, uh, giving arguments for why the Tampa Bay lightning should win every award in NHL history. But like I said, I don't think the Art Ross hurts Kucherov in any way, shape or form. I think it serves as a reminder about what kind of fantastic season he's had. And I'm also a big believer, Kyle, in recency bias.

I do think it affects people. I think recency bias is a very real thing. Yes, hot finishes to the year when it comes to a lot of these awards. As much as they shouldn't be impacted, if you look at all 82 games in much cases the same I'm with you there wholeheartedly. Now we should mention Monday night there is a clinching scenario too and so Columbus continues

to refuse to give up like the flames in the Western Conference they refused to quit they beat the Capitals on Sunday afternoon four to one between Jet Grieves the new Savior and goal and They have closed the gap on the Montreal Canadians Now the Canadians have a big one Monday night at home Against Chicago the NHL debut, we are expecting, of Ivan Demidov. Kyle, I was wrong on Friday.

I said, Canadian's clinch or Habs clinch, and they didn't. Your senators ruined it for them, and they lost on Saturday too in overtime. They're closing this out on Monday. You're not leaving it up to the last game of the season against Carolina. Monday night at home Demidov making his debut. Canadians put this to bed. What did you think watching Demidov there on on Saturday when he came out for I mean there's just a couple of scratches that are out for Montreal at Scotiabank Arena because they played the night

before in in Ottawa but at one one point there they're doing just kind of the two-on-two from the top of the face-off circles in the one offensive zone in. And I mean it's two minutes of what you're watching there but man it's like as he was handling the puck there he's playing with his food at some point there. It was just like a kind of, oh, like you could see right away why so many are so excited to see him now in North America and in Montreal colors. Yeah, Kyle, I would say that a two on two on a Saturday morning against the other non-dressed players for the Canadians is not a true indication of what we're going to see on Monday night.

But you are right. You can see the skill. You can see it. So for those of you who are not familiar with how this works sometimes, the Canadians played on Friday night, and the Maple Leafs didn't play on Friday, so Toronto had a full skate on Saturday,

but I would say, Kyle, it's fair to point out that there wasn't a lot of media there. No, well, it was optional for Toronto because they had a full practice the day before. So customary, it was, there was a few regulars that went out there, the usual guys that still like to skate. No, I'm talking for media. It wasn't very busy.

No, it wasn't, but I'm just leading to part of the reason why that was. Oh, okay. Because it wasn't a full skate for Toronto. But yes, be quiet over here. So but the Canadians and normally because they wouldn't skate. I don't think there would have been a lot of media for them either. But everybody was there. There were more media there about five times more media than there were players. There were four players and there were about 20 media and everybody was standing with their

phones out. And there were the cameramen for us and a couple other stations. Demidoff flew to Toronto because the Canadians wanted to find the fastest way, not only for him to get his Canadian work visa, but his American one. Because if Montreal clinches, they're going to open up on the road in Washington, and he needs to have a U.S. work visa too. So they figured the best route to do it was go to the U.S. embassy in Toronto or deal with the

U.S. embassy in Toronto. So everybody knew he was there. Everybody knew he was gonna skate. And this was one of those events, this was an event. It wasn't a huge event, but it was an event. Everybody was there to see it. And if you follow a bunch of the reporters on X, for example, or other social media, you saw all of us,

we all had our footage up. You could compare like Eric Engel's grainy Zapruder video footage with my pristine iPhone skill. Steady and preach. It was interesting. It was a moment. People just wanted to get a look at this guy. Right now he's a curiosity, and Monday night we're gonna see the real thing I think and I'm

excited it's it's one of the this week you don't usually get a lot in terms of excitement aside from who's making the playoffs right like knocking down the burst this is a game that is hugely important to that but also it's all right everybody's been telling all of us who haven't seen him in person that this guy's a stud and he's legit and we're gonna get to see it on Monday night. I'm really I'm really looking forward to it. You know who else was in Scotiabank Arena Saturday morning? Who is that? Friend of the show, fan of the pod, the rated-R superstar, AEW superstar, Adam

Copeland. He was, I didn't see him. Yes, he was there. He was doing some stuff I believe with MLSC earlier or either the day before. Oh, do you think that's playoff intro stuff? It might be. That screams playoff intro stuff to me. Well, if there's someone that knows how to get a crowd going, it would be very wise of MLSC to have him involved in some way, because he was at the league game later that night. But he was there Saturday morning. He's a star. That makes perfect sense to me. And he'd be a great choice. Great choice to introduce. I still remember one of the best Maple Leaf intros for the playoffs, and even one of the best playoff intros I've seen at all,

was because it came totally out of nowhere. This would be about 25 years ago, the Maple Leafs made the playoffs and before they took to the ice, they, suddenly a shot came up on the screen, the big video screen, and there was a camera pushing into a cockpit, and you're wondering what's going on, and all of a sudden they go to the captain's seat, and the captain turned around, and it was Matt Sundeen, and he goes, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Prepare for takeoff.

And the first time it happened, nobody was expecting it, the building went absolutely berserk. That is great. I love this stuff. To me, lay it all on thick. It's the entertainment business. We should shout out Columbus too. As we mentioned, they won in Washington.

And what a weekend for Jett Greaves. Yes. You know, he wins back to back. And Dean Evison had an interesting quote about why Greaves hadn't been up. And he said, ask Don, referring to to the GM Don Waddell and then Evison walked it back like he's very blunt and it's the reason I love Evison but you could tell he kind of regretted that one a little bit you know I'll say this I was talking to someone and and they said to me that

Greaves is one of those guys who's a really talented goalie, but he has to work harder to earn trust because he's just not that big. He's one of those guys that has to work three times as hard as everybody else because he's listed at six foot and 190 pounds, okay? And when you're that size, you can have the best reflexes,

you can have the best ability, but you have to really earn trust. You will always be battling against the guy who's six foot three, or the guy who's six foot five. There will always be a size bias against you. And the interesting thing about this is if you take a look at the two teams that are battling to hang on, who are ninth in their conference, the Calgary Flames have Dustin Wolfe had to beat the same prejudice and now he's done it, and Jack Greaves in Columbus trying to save the Blue Jackets season. And did a heck of a job of it over the weekend. Shut out Washington Saturday and then just gives up the one in Washington on Sunday. The other thing I wanted to point out too about Columbus quickly, Elliot, and I failed to mention when we discussed them a little bit, I think it was about

a week ago after a rough weekend then, but we've talked about it at length, right? Like, nobody would have blamed them if this was a year that was nowhere close to this, success-wise. And when they came through Ottawa a little bit ago, I asked one of the players about that and he said, like, we actually, we talked about that as a group, the players at the start of the year. And the takeaway from that conversation was like, that's the easy way out. Like bleep that. We're not adhering to that whole notion that this is a year where nobody's expecting anything of us because they saw an opportunity that if we can get on a run here

and do something that no one's anticipating, like all of this is going to be part of the Goudreau legacy. Like it can all be tied together. So yeah, the odds are still stacked against them in terms of their likelihood of getting in by the time all this is said and done but just a lot of admiration for how they've handled this this whole this whole journey this season and being this close with less than a week left in the season. One billion percent it's a great attitude and it's why I'm still considering putting Woranski number one on my Norris ballot. All valid reasons, Freage, all valid reasons.

And so on the flip side of the. Thank you, sir. You're very welcome. Of the Columbus conversation this weekend, two important wins over Washington, but for the Capitals, they gave up another 11 goals in two games. Are you starting to get a little bit concerned with how they are

looking coming down the stretch though they have locked up top spot in the East? I'm not concerned but they have been very leaky. There's there's no question about that. They're giving up three goals just about every game now right and it's been masked by A they've had a huge lead all season, they've been excellent. And number two, the Ovechkin chase. Like, nobody really cared how they were playing. It was all about, let's enjoy the goal chase

and have fun with that. Now, I really thought that the goal chase ending early was the best thing for the Capitals, because then they could focus on their game, right? And worry about, you know, buttoning down and being ready before the playoffs. But they're still giving up more goals than you'd want, especially at this time of year. So it was funny. I was talking on Sunday to a retired coach who's older and he said to me, if this was 1985, like a 1980, someone who was coaching in 1985 would be

putting the capitals through practices of doom this week. They would be getting it so bad because, and he said, even there'd be some coaches now, like we always joke about John Tortorella or maybe even coaches like 10, 15 years ago still, like this week, the Capitals would get grinded. Like somebody would just say, you know what, enough's enough. The playoffs are two games away. We're leaky and it's time to crush everybody and get their heads back where it needs to be. And he said he really likes Carberry, and he says that Carberry has hit

all the right notes all season. All the right notes all season. And he could win Coach of the Year this year, and if he does, he deserves it. But this guy just said he's gonna be very curious to see how he handles it now, because there would be a time 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 40 years ago where a coach would just say I am grinding you down this week.

This week, you think this week is going to be fun because the playoffs are next week and we've clinched first place in our conference? No, this week is not going to be fun. You guys are going to get it. But I looked at their schedule. They play Tuesday and since they play Thursday, we're not expecting them to play Saturday on the first day of the playoffs. From what I understand, if you play Thursday, you're not going to play Saturday. So I don't know if there's really the room there to have one of those No pucks no sticks. You're gonna skate till you drop practices ever since this guy said this to me. I kind of

I'm curious to see does Carberry say All right. I gotta get these guys back on track a little bit here Right and really that day is Wednesday right? Because Monday will be an off day after back-to-back games. Right. And then after the Thursday game it's playoff time. You're running out of real estate but it could be. It just feels like it's kind of that the dreaded in-between phase right? That no team has experienced before but you go through the high of seeing Ovechkin break the goals record. And now you've got that little bit of time before, you know you're going to the playoffs, you've got top seed in the East locked up. And there's just

that in between phase that you got to try to make something of, but it just hasn't happened yet for Washington. From what Gary Galley used to tell me, 1982 Brian McClellan at Bowling Green would definitely be cracking skulls about the way Very very good All right, so that's what's going on in Washington It was bizarre on Saturday in a way Elliot to consider that Flames fans were Canucks fans watching Vancouver and Minnesota especially with the Canucks jumping out to a two-nothing lead fans watching Vancouver and Minnesota, especially with the Canucks jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Minnesota of course ends up coming back. They take two points out

of the West Coast. But for two hours Kyle, it looked like the Flames were going to get everything they wanted. The Blues were losing, the Wild were losing, and then it all flipped on them. That's right. It was Rory McIlroy's Sunday at the Masters, just a roller coaster. One thing was going and then it completely flipped. But the main takeaway from that game Saturday night in the aftermath that many were talking about through Sunday and I'm sure the dialogue will continue into the early part of this week was the fight between Derek Forburt and Yakov Trennan of the Wild and that extra punch that Trennan threw while Forburt was on his back on the ice. that Trennan threw while Forbert was on his back on the

ice. Now Trennan's not receiving any supplemental discipline. Forbert suffered a broken orbital bone so naturally not that there's much of a season left but he will miss the remainder of it and understandably Elliot, Canucks fans are wondering why no suspension here? So why not? First of all, let me say I don't like what happened. I hated it. You know, I always defer to guys who did this job as fighters. Luke Gazzdick said he hated it. He didn't like it at all.

And the guy who's in charge of supplemental discipline is a, and we talked about this with Chad Field last week, this is a guy who had 200 fights in the NHL. Nobody knows more about fighting than Peros. But Ben Hankinson, the agent who represents Forbert, he was mad too. And you could tell the Canucks were pretty mad as well. I actually really liked the way the Canucks reacted in the moment. Teddy Bluger got a penalty for interfering from the bench. And if you actually read the rule, Bluger could have gotten more of a penalty.

But I think the officials in the moment realized exactly what was going on. And they said, okay, we're just going to give you a slap in the wrist here and you could tell the Canucks were really giving it to Trennan as he was taken out of the game and the officials were trying to maintain order. I didn't like it. I hated it. I hate to see that kind of an injury. You know I will say this I did have some people who said to me that they think that Trennan was committed to throwing the punch before the official got in there and separated them. But I don't think anybody liked that. I think we all hated it for because of the outcome.

it for because of the outcome. I thought there was going to be a suspension until I looked at, if you take a look at previous aggressor suspensions and there have been a couple of them in recent years, one was Eric Goodbranson on Nick Cousins. Remember Cousins hit Goodbranson with a pretty big check a couple years ago that good Branson absolutely despised and the next time he saw him he jumped him and fought him and like the thing about that one was cousins was down and you pointed out something very important about that one what with cousins well just it was at no point was it a fight like cousins didn't have his gloves off.

There was not two willing combatants. The one thing about Trennan is once both officials were in there, he stopped fighting. Good Branson didn't. He kept throwing punches and that's why in that case he was given the aggressor. Was Zach Kassian to Kachak Matthew? That was the other one a couple years ago in those heated Calgary Edmonton battles. Same deal. Kassian was mad at Kachak. Did Kachak take his gloves off, Kyle?

Yeah, no, because it was right after a hit. Yes. And he kept them on. And Kassian again just pounded away at him and the officials came to break it up and Kassian didn't care. He just pounded away at them. So when I looked at the two previous ones, you know, I asked a couple people, I said, what do you see? I sent them the three clips and they just said like two of these things are the same and one isn't. And I knew it. I knew when I saw it that there was the chance it

was going to be no suspension but I still thought it would be. I was a bit surprised although when you compare the two to this one they are definitely not the same. This one as you said, two willing combatants and those two like when both officials are in this one, Trennan stops throwing punches. When both officials are in the other ones with Good Branson and Cassian, those guys are so angry, they don't care. They just

keep throwing punches. So they don't look all the same. You know, I'll tell you this. I have said, and I say it about this one as well too, you know, George Paros has been challenged here by the Players Association. He's had several appeals and one this year, as we mentioned, the Ryan Hartman one, and we talked about this with Chad Field, it got reduced. And I think what that's done on some level is it makes you more careful. And nobody likes to be overruled by either an arbitrator or their boss, and you're gonna make sure that everything you do

is justifiable in a way so that doesn't happen to you. Now, I will tell you, I was talking about this with someone who really disputed this to me in Peros's case. He said, look, George Peros, I don't think is affected by that. I think he says is this, especially when it comes to fighting, because he did it. He knows it.

He's going to make a decision on whether or not that's something that he would have thought was acceptable in a fight. Someone made a passionate defense of Peros to me in that argument, so I wanted to include it. So George Perros was hired for this job. He joined the Department of Player Safety in 2016 at the start of the season, and he took over in 2017, a year later, September 2017. So, you know, this is his he's coming, he's passed his seven- year anniversary, he's headed into his eighth anniversary. This is not so much about George Perros as it is about Brian Burke, Colin Campbell, Brandon Shanahan, and Stefan Kentel, who are the four people who did this job before him. And I just think this job, it tears you in half. Everybody who's done this job before him and I just think this job it tears you in half. Everybody who's done this job has said that.

This is the one job in the NHL where no one is rooting for you. Everybody comes after you with their own agenda, right? Oh, you hate our team. Oh, you're going to penalize our team. Oh, well, wait a sec You got a you got a clobber that team because it benefits me if you clobber that team I remember one of the former guys told me a story once about how one GM said you can't suspend my guy for this for this this and this a reason and then

The same thing happened in another game and that GM called and said you've got to suspend that guy for this this this and this a reason. And then the same thing happened in another game and that GM called and said, you've got to suspend that guy for this, this, this, and this. And the person who ran player safety said, hey, you just told me before you couldn't suspend someone for that, or you shouldn't. And he said, well, before that hurt me,

now this benefits me. And like, that's the way that job works. And everybody's mad at you all the time. I just wonder if there has to be a time limit for this job. Like US president, Kyle. I just think that you say, OK, you get five years. And then we hire someone else. And maybe it's up to you to bring in your replacement and train them.

Or maybe the NHL can say, all right, we want a fresh person. But I just think that this job, it just hammers people so much. I wonder if everybody would benefit if it changed every five years. Because I think the wear and tear on people is real. I do. I think, like, I've got a thick skin. I've learned to get it. But I think if I had to deal with some of the things I've heard that some of these guys

got to deal with, I think I would have a hard time doing it for this long. Yeah, and I would love to ask George Parris himself how he feels about seven years of doing all of this. But I wonder too, like, do you think there, again, if you're looking at, in theory, every five years having somebody else in that role, are there enough people out there that not only, A, are qualified, but also interested in

taking on a position like that as you say, no one is thanking you for a job well done. That's true. Number one, I don't think you'd have trouble finding people who are qualified. I think the bigger problem is number two as opposed to number one. Qualified a thousand percent. One of the people I believe turned down the job at one point was George McPhee. When George McPhee was between jobs

from Washington to Vegas, he was one of the people they talked to about it and he ultimately decided not to do it. And George McPhee I think would have been very qualified to do the job, but he didn't want to do it. I think there would be more of that, you know number one I I think these jobs pay pretty well number two, I you know, I think

They've always found people willing to do it and maybe it hasn't always been easy but there have always been People there and number three. I'd also point out like Brian Burke after he did that job, he had a lot of big jobs in the NHL. Colin Campbell after he left that job, he's been running hockey ops in the NHL since the first satellite was fired into orbit. So he's, you know, and Brendan Shanahan since he left the NHL, he's had a a pretty good job a pretty high-profile job and a pretty good job for a long time so I think you can look at it as That especially if it's a five-year thing It doesn't have to be the end of your career it can be

Like I just think if you have a job that's high that high profile It can be like I just think if you have a job that's that high profile it can be a very good thing for you. That's the way I'd look at it anyway. It doesn't make your resume worse and I think if you do that job you can handle almost any kind of pressure in the league. You know, if you're a GM, 31 other GMs might want you to fail, but your fan base is behind you. They want you to be great, right? Here, nobody wants you to be great. They all want you.

They're all over you all the time. Right. Well, they all want you to be great, but they also know in their minds, you'll never be great. That's right It's it's nobody's rooting for you in this job So, you know, I was just thinking about that Like I just wonder if one of the way and then maybe we get fresh perspectives You know, I don't know I

and this is not a criticism of peros or And this is not a criticism of Perros or Campbell or Shanahan or Kintel or Burke who've done this job since I've been working in media I just been around long enough to think that I think five years is enough in this job. I really do I think this is the hardest job in the league. Oh For sure for, for sure. For sure, for sure. They say I would love to get the true serum into George Perros and just say, OK, seriously, how has it been? Seven years doing this job.

That could be real eye opening. Not your worst idea, Freach. I take that as a huge compliment. All right, we should talk about the Rangers. Wow, that was something on Sunday. Yeah, well, Saturday first to, I mean, as Molly Walker, her lead in her story from Raleigh in the New York Post was this was dragged out longer than it needed to be as they were officially eliminated from playoff contention. And then Sunday Calvin Dehaan so as the story goes he made

some comments as he was heading out onto the ice for a workout about though it's finally all over and how about the way I've been treated here that of course goes out onto social it It catches like wildfire. There was the anticipation that he was going to speak to the media after he got off the ice to provide further clarification and I guess Dejan speaking with the Rangers PR staff it was we'll do this at the conclusion of the regular season but some of his earlier quotes had already been online and it was everywhere. So DeHaan himself took to X and provided a lengthy explanation of everything he had been feeling, the

frustration of the season. He came over from that Ryan Lingan trade with Colorado just before the deadline. He played three games after the fact. The Rangers went 2-0 and 1 and he pointed that out in his explanation and has not suited up since. He is just really Elliott. When you look at this, one of a handful, a growing number of players, part of that organization that have voiced frustration with how things have been handled over the last, ah, almost a year

now. This is what I'm thinking if I'm the Rangers. This has happened a lot, as Kyle said. Zach Jones, the whole Truba-Cryder thing, Zabinijad has shown frustration this year, like everybody's been frustrated this year. Barclay Goodrow. Barclay Goodrow. Barclay Goodrow. This is the question I'm asking today if I'm the New York Rangers.

No matter what, good, bad, you could always say people want to play for us because we're the Rangers. We're in the biggest market. We're in one of the best cities. We're in Manhattan. It's cool. If you can make it there, I'll make it anywhere. It's New York. Like Paneran.

They were in a rebuild. They sent a letter to their season ticket holders. They came out and said, we're tearing it down and starting all over. And what did Paneran say? I don't care. I want to play for the Rangers. That's the power of New York. You have to be asking yourself some honest questions right now. Are you losing that?

Are you and and not and you can't just sit there and say, No, we're not losing it. We're New York. You have to really sit down and I would be calling agents, I would be calling everyone I can think of and I would be asking, we've had a lot of players pop off this year, are we losing our luster? Now maybe the answer is no, I don't know, like I would tell you Kyle if I was If I was a player and I was a good player and I had chance to play and I was a free agent And someone said to me. Hey, would you want to play for the Rangers? I'd be like New York for sure, but What's going on there?

Mm-hmm Like I want to win. I always want to win What's going on there? Like, I want to win. I always want to win. What's going on there right now? So I think if I'm the Rangers, I am trying to find out. Is this a speed bump or do I really have a problem? Because they went through a time with their basketball team players want to play for the Knicks man, but they went through a time where

people really didn't Like their basketball team right now you look the Jalen Brunson era looks good those guys play hard but they definitely went through a phase where the Knicks brand got tarnished and That's what I'm asking right now You're getting people from different parts in your lineup openly saying How unhappy they've been your captain some of your best players? But even some of your deaf players like I remember Brendan Malone like Michael Malone who got fired as head coach the Nuggets last week

Brendan Malone his dad was the first head coach of the Raptors and He told me something. I've never forgotten He said when you are running a team I've never forgotten. He said when you are running a team, the most important thing are your four best players and your four guys who play the least. If your four best players and your four guys who play the least all like you or will play for you, respect you enough to play for you, the middle falls in line. You're good. You're good. But if either your best players can't stand you and won't play for you or your death players deepest bench can't stand you or won't play for you, you've got a big problem because that means you can't... the

middle's going one way or the other and if they go the wrong way you're doomed but right now the Rangers have some of their top players and Some of their death players all unhappy so that means you have no chance of controlling the middle Under Malone's theory which I think is a good theory. So that's what I'm doing right now if I'm the Rangers. I'm like, are we getting this reputation? Like, can we overcome the way people are talking about us this year? And if I was the Rangers, that would be what I'm asking right now.

And if I haven't been doing it already, I'm doing it right now. Because it's happened too much this year. Too much constant. Yes. It's been a constant march towards I mean, from November on, it's felt like at first it was a little improbable. But as time went on, we were just waiting for this day where it was nope, this is not a playoffoff team the fourth team ever to win the president's trophy and then miss the next season so how deep does the Reflecting go or I should say how far up it goes right? It goes it goes right to the top

it has to go right to the top and and I'll say this too, you know, so someone brought up Good Row last week, right? They were talking about how it's been unsettled going back to Good Row. And so another media member said to me, like, you can't keep bringing that up. Like that happened a year ago. Like people have to move on, right? Fine. But now, like, DeHaan's been there for, what, two months? Not even. And that's the thing, Kyle.

If it was old or guys who've gone, you just move on, you'd say, oh, that's the guys who left. They're still better. But no, now the guys who've here, who've just been brought there. And the thing about Calvin Dehaan is he's played a long time. He's played for different teams. He understands how the league is supposed to work. He even took pains to say, I know I wasn't the reason we won those games I played, two of which were shut

outs. And he says, I understand that it's a younger league. You know what? Because you the reason we won those games I played, two of which were shutouts. And he says, I understand that it's a younger league. You know what? Because you know what's happening is, he wants a contract for next year, or at least a fair chance to show he deserves one. Like you're walking him maybe into a PTO, right? That's why I think he's so upset. And people are going to say, that's a veteran. So I think that's why

the concern is here for the for the Rangers. It's not just the old, it's not just the guys who've been there a long time who are complaining. It's a guy who just got there, who's been in the league for a long time, and people will listen to that. Right. Especially for someone that doesn't... like you don't hear this from Calvin Dohaan really, publicly, in this type of space, over the almost 700 games that he's played. And certainly his time has gone on as he's made his different stops. I know he began his career in New York, but later Chicago, Carolina, Tampa, Colorado before the trade to New York.

There were stretches where, I mean, he was not an everyday player. I think for someone like him, he understands there's times where, though you want to play every game as he's gotten older and as he referenced in what he posted, the youth movement that comes through in the NHL, he gets all of that. But what he's observed over the month plus he's been in New York, for someone that's been around as long as he has to sit here and go, something's not right here, that speaks volumes. I'm right there with you. Yep. All right. So it's going to be a busy start to the off season for the New York Rangers in trying to begin to sort out where they go from here.

And we should go back to Vancouver here quickly, Elliot, and Rick talked to me just because you brought him up on headlines on Saturday. We had talked about it on the plot about what that's going to look like and having that conversation between coach and organization, whether option year that's coming up an extension once the regular season ends you're thinking the timeline won't be a long one there I don't I think we're going to know pretty quickly one way or the other which which

way this is going to go I don't think talk it wants to hang over himself for a long time. I don't think the Canucks want this to hang over themselves for a long time. I think Quinn Hughes comments were very telling. Very telling. As I've said, though, to keep him they'll probably have to go into a financial area they've never really been before and are they comfortable with that. But like the team still plays really hard for Taukit and if your franchise player feels that strongly about it and I don't think that's BS, then you have to weigh all of this stuff. So I definitely think that that's going to be something that we're going to know

reasonably quickly after the season is over. I don't think anyone's interested in allowing that to continue. One other thing I just wanted to touch on quickly with you, I mean a lot of players have been signing over the past couple of days. Tim Walsh, Western Michigan just won the national championship, the Frozen Four. Big weekend. Yeah, congrats to them. First in pro-games history, right? Yeah. Glenn Healy, yes. Jamala Mayers, Keith Jones. But they have a player in air named Tim Walsh who was their second leading scorer 38 points in 42 games behind Alex Bump and the Flyers fans are ecstatic about Alex Bump who was their leading scorer but Walsh who

was their number two leading scorer I've heard there's a lot of teams around him. And I think once they won and people could start talking to him, or at least his representatives, that one's going to be interesting. I heard there's a lot of teams around him. Calgary's signing Carter King King who was Denver's captain That one's done, and we did talk about David Karl on the last pod a little bit Kyle And you know one of the things we mentioned was the financial package has got to make him willing to leave Denver

He has to believe that here. There's a path to victory With a team whether they're rebuilding or not rebuilding he has to believe in what's there but someone else mentioned something I forgot and they said you should mention this because it absolutely matters young family just had a third child and I it's not insignificant to him as to when is the right time for him to move his family and Also, how much does he want to move his family because when you have a young family with young kids You do want to create the best environment for them and someone said to me that will be a factor in any decision

that David Karl makes in any decision that David Karl makes. Certainly knowing the coaching world at the NHL level can be a revolving door, at least it seems at times, but he's putting himself in a great position to try to establish some stability right off the hop with all the success he's had at Denver, Elliot. All right, so this is the time of year. You have three buckets when it comes to the injuries.

Bucket A, not very concerned. Bucket B, I'm concerned. And we were talking before we recorded this, you've now got the bucket C as well. Don't know. I'm not quite sure. Or I don't know to be more blunt But the big one Elliot is is Matias at home in Edmonton and on headlines on Saturday You mentioned he could be out for the season and innocent looking play at a game against San Jose last week now Chris Knobloch said on Sunday He's getting a second opinion. Why don't we start there anything you can update with at home?

Nothing new at this time? I expect that one thing someone said to me is there's a reason the orders haven't made an announcement Because they don't know for sure yet and they're and this is one of those you're kind of throwing a hail mary, right? um You know patrick liney and I always go back to the beginning of the year when patrick liney got hurt In that preseason game against toronto And I always go back to the beginning of the year when Patrick Lina got hurt in that preseason game against Toronto Line a the initial reports who remember Kyle that he was gonna miss the whole season And he found a doctor that offered him a different path and he was back in a few months So I think I'm always reminded of that and even like oh, here's another one Thomas hurdle from Vegas when he first got hurt

As I said on this pod one Thomas Hurdle from Vegas when he first got hurt as I said on this pod there was real concern about him and now he's back so you always have to make sure this at home one all says that there's a lot of concern about it and it hasn't been announced because they don't know yet I think they're hoping they can find something different but there's real worry about it. And I will say, I heard from a lot of different places, there was real worry about it. But one of the best sources I had said,

don't put a number on it, because they just don't know yet. So that's why we are where we are. But I heard that when the others players and stuff left the game on Friday night, they kind of knew how bad it could be. And it was just a crusher. Because number one, he's a really popular teammate. Some of the other ones, Bjork Strand from Tampa, who's a really good player, who's been a good fit for them, they quietly announced week to week, and I heard that one, I think they're still trying

to figure out exactly what that means. But that is a concern one, like it's gonna be a little bit of time. So again I don't know exact time but someone actually said to me, I read your blog, he goes in the concern bucket for at least when his availability is going to be. Nick Ehlers, the Jets still didn't have an update on Sunday night. I think they're still trying to figure out exactly what they're dealing with here. Not concerned bucket, Dylan Samberg got hurt Sunday night.

That didn't look good, but post game Scott Arneal is like, we don't think it's that bad. So I'll put them in my not concerned bucket. Thanks to Scott Arneal. You had a chance to talk to Brady Kachuck last week. You were taping senators playoff preview interviews. And my theory on this is, Kyle, is that if a team gives you a player for a playoff preview interview, you don't have to be concerned about Brady Kachuck's availability. Accept or deny my thinking.

No, I agree. Especially because we lived it at Four Nations, remember? As that tournament went on, we were supposed to talk to a player or two leading up to the final. And one of the teams were like, they're not so sure about it, just because they weren't entirely sure about the player's availability for the game. That was not the case here with Brady.

So who knows? Maybe we don't see him the rest of the regular season for Ottawa. They've got two games left, but all signs look like he will be an option come play out. You know, my theory is there. What's that? I could see them going, we're not going to rush him back into the regular season because the team looks at it and goes, the guy only has one gear. Yes.

And if he's going to unleash that, let's do it. Game one of the playoffs, not Thursday against Carolina. Yeah, I can't argue with that. I really can't argue with that. Jack Eichel, it doesn't sound like there's a lot of concern there, so he's in my non-concern bucket. And I'll say this, I have my not sure bucket, Matthew Kachak, I'll be honest. I really don't know what to make of this one. There's a lot of talk that you know he'll be ready for game one. I'm just curious to see how he moves. Right? And

the other thing too is we learned, like remember how much before the Four Nations final, it was like, oh, there's nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about. And there was clearly something to worry about. History just makes me, I'm not trying to, like this is why he's in my, I'm not sure bucket because I'm not saying there is anything wrong. I just don't know and based on what happened last time I'm gonna wait to see it You know Oliver Ekman Larsen curious to see is there anything there Jake McCabe was skating again Ekman Larsen like guys like that. You know, he'llers right now. You just don't know they're still getting determined. So that. Like, Ehlers right now, you just don't know. They're still getting determined. So, um, but you know, I think

Echolme and Bjorkstrand were a bit more on my worried list. Echolme because like it sounds like it could be very significant and Bjorkstrand because it looks like it's gonna be at least a little bit of time. Okay. Logan Thompson had written down too with Washington. Just don't know. Like, don't, like, that's in my not sure one right now. I just don't know. Don't know, yeah.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, you get a kick out of this. So you remember at the start of the year when we did our playoff predictions and you've been reveling in the fact that Sens Playoffs did come to fruition. I said, I didn't think they were gonna make it, though, I also added, was happy to be wrong. I said I didn't think they were gonna make it though I also added was happy to be wrong. I was wrong and you remember that like first game of the

year Luke one of the arena workers at the Canadian Tire Center. He gave you the stink eye. Exactly. So Friday night we had our Sportsnet game Montreal-Ottawa. I come to the rink you know just after four o'clock to be there beforehand, that's our broadcast, and he's there waiting for me as I go through the metal detector, and he goes, yeah, who was that again? Who was that that didn't think Ottawa was making the playoffs?

So I had to mention that on the pod. I thought you were gonna kick it. Luke, love you, man. That's fantastic. It was fun. Just say, during the Stanley Cup parade Picosas has to buy a ticket Exactly

Before we before we went to the final thought You had one really good sounding Interview, I mean they're all good sounding. I have no doubt, but what was the trivia? Can you give us a trivia game you played, like just a little hint? Yeah, so we did a few different ones. We've got, imagine we sat down with Brady Kachuck, we sat down with Drake Batherson, Dylan Cousins, and also Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzler, right?

They were the headliners of that 2020 draft for Ottawa that completely has changed everything about the organization when you see Ridley Gregg part of the fold here now, Tyler Clevin, Levy Marilainen that I mean a lot of ways kept their season afloat during those critical stretches when Linus Almark was hurt earlier this year but sat down with those two and Jeremy McElhaney who works on the feature side for us at Sportsnet, he was working on this project with us in Ottawa last week and he had a good idea of like coming up

just with a little bit of a trivia, asking questions about the other guy, just as kind of an icebreaker to get them going. And I hope most of it kind of makes the final edit there because there were some funny answers, like just simple things like, okay, Jake, what city in Germany was Tim born and hey, Tim, what state was Jake Sanderson born in? The answers were quite comical.

Marshall, I can't wait to see it. Yes. And even like I asked, I said, Tim, you know, who did Jake Sanderson score his first goal against? Because Tim was on the ice for it. And he got it. He eventually got it. But the him and Han and just the process of elimination in real time, it was fun.

Oh, wow. OK. Nice. I look forward to seeing it. Yeah. I hope it's as good as you say it is. I don't want people tweeting at us and saying, Kyle, I'm really disappointed.

You really oversold that one. You really oversold it. That's right. Like Dumb and Dumber too. It was totally oversold. Didn't match up to the first one. Okay, so that'll take us to the final thought, which is brought to you by GMC and

Elliott over the weekend, Gabe Landisgog for the first time in almost three years played in a professional hockey game again, not just one, but two back to back games with the Colorado Eagles. He scored a goal in the second one. He had a handful of teammates up in the box cheering them on. Chris McFarland was, was there as well, which was a really neat scene. Just to see the smile on his face again after both contests and to live in the battle that he had kind of joked, forgot about all that it was. I love the line that when he went to the penalty box in the first game going, I kind of remember what this feeling was like and it's not a very good feeling. So as you said on Saturday, still a long ways to go, but a real important first step for the avalanche captain.

I loved every second of it that I watched. Loved every second of it that I watched. You know, I wanted to shout out Flow Hockey too. They do a lot of hard work and they got rewarded. They had a big game. They set a viewing record, and from what I could tell, the streaming was all working perfectly. Like you always worry when you get kind of this big an event, do you handle it well? And people really get a chance to, a large number of people really get to watch you at the same time. Does it all work? And it did. So I was happy for the people who worked there. It was great. Like, you know, Kyle, that turned out to be an event.

The Eagles fans and the Avalanche fans and the Colorado hockey fans, they turned out in full force. The older you a team or a club, they're a team. Look at all the Avalanche guys who showed up Nathan McKinnon, Kael McCarr. McCarr's parents were also there because their other son was was playing and they were getting a chance to see him. He just left school to go play for the Eagles. Josh Manson was there, Andrew Cogliano was there, Chris McFarlane the GM was there. You know the Avalanche showed out for Landiscock. There was a couple things here.

One of the things I kind of heard was that he was more nervous than you could tell. That he was nervous because he hadn't played in a long time. He was nervous, I think, because he was like, how much can I play? Can I be effective when I get hit the first time? Am I going to last? How am I going to feel? But I guess in that first game, he was supposed to play 10 minutes and he played almost 15. So if they're calling on you a bit more, then you're doing the right things. And then the second thing was, was he going to be too sore on Saturday to go back to back? And he was fine. He went back to back.

He got the assist. He got a goal. He didn't score in the shootout. I don't know where we're going to go from here. And honestly, I don't know if he'll be ready for the playoffs. But that was a huge, huge step. And I think the number one thing that he showed people is that even when the path is longer

than you think, a lot longer than you think, because I don't know if he expected he would still be trying this after three years, it's not impossible. And obviously the avalanche have been great to Landis Gogh and he's determined to, but everything about this weekend was excellent. It was fantastic. And I think someone said to me, and this is someone who doesn't work for the avalanche, but he works for another team, and he said he said, the biggest thing you're worried about from this weekend is you get the closure that you don't want, that it goes badly and he can't play anymore.

And he said that would be the thing that he would worry about if it was his player, is that here's a guy who has obviously huge dedication to hockey is a hugely popular teammate and a hugely popular player and he gets on the ice and he realizes maybe after a shift or two that he just can't do it and that didn't happen and I think everybody liked to see that it was it was a great weekend either something else I want to talk about with Lannis Goggin a second, but do you have anything that you want to say about this? No, I just think like trying to imagine, you know, what would be going through his mind on a random October day in 2023.

Like how far away a night like he had, whether it was Friday or Saturday, felt given how much time had been since he had last played in a game, like just that the mental fortitude that anyone would go through when dealing with a long-term injury, but with the length and timeline that he was working with and so much uncertainty. But man, you can totally see why the smile didn't seem to leave his face for the whole 48 hours that, you know, within the two games that, that he played there. Um, it's, it's, it's really something to, to consider all that would have gone into just convincing yourself that there was light at the end of the tunnel

somewhere down the line in the future for him. I was just glad to see it play out this way. Now we have like he has one more game in his trial, right? And it's this in on Wednesday night. So I'm looking forward to seeing it. I Everything about this was good. Everything about this was good now I Had some people sending me notes about the cap and land of Scott

So one thing that's been very interesting is I have heard the NHL has been very diligent about contacting teams. What's going on with this player? What's going on with that player? I want to know the medicals. because of all, and it says to me that they're deaf, I heard they're on top of teams about, are guys gonna suddenly show up in game one?

And we'll see, like we'll see if anything happens here. Now, when I was talking to different teams about this, and about Colorado and Landisgog, I don't think that's the same. This guy's been out for three years. I don't think anyone here is really complaining about Landisgog suddenly showing up for game one. I mean I think there might be maybe a couple people are because it's just it's gamesmanship. But I don't think the league is worried about this at all. Like I have heard that everything that has happened with him, they've checked it because they've had

to keep them on their LTIR the whole time, right? The league basically told the Avalanche, you're not getting any special relief for this. And the Avalanche are like, okay, this is where it is, this is where it is, this is where it is, this is where it is. And so, well, I do think the league has checked in on some teams and said, we wanna know exactly

what's going on in this particular case Which also says to me that somehow the league is going to address this in the next CBA I've heard that isn't the case with Colorado that they That they understand that this is a unique situation Guys been at a hockey for three years. I just don't think they feel as concerned about it. Game three in Denver. That would be perfect.

Except if you're Dallas. Yes, everyone outside of the state of Texas. It would be perfect. That was good to see. Very good. All right. That was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take our first break and come back with the Thought Line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. ["Thought Line"]

All right, welcome back. Time now for the Thoughtline 1833-311-3232 or the email 32thoughts at Sportsnet.ca. Week after week, all season long, Elliot Griffin Porter continues to tell us the inbox, the voicemail line jammed. Today, no different with another good batch of intriguing submissions. Thank you all, because that means the less Kyle and I have to think. And when Kyle and I think, it hurts the podcast.

And the world at large. Yes, yes, that is definitely true. Yes. All right. Where do you want to start here? This one. Anything you want to go first? Yeah, we first should add something and thank you to producer Jeff Jaredat, who brought to our attention.

We've been talking about players like Seth Jones, like Dave Shand, like Brad McCrimmon, who have played a lot in one game. And we got a note from Jeff taking a look at a Quebec Major Junior League playoff game between Cape Britain and Bay Como. Game five of their playoff series went to five overtimes. And here are some of the ice times. For the Baycomo Drakkar, their captain Anthony Lavoie, a defenseman, played, Kyle, you ready for this?

7807. Oh, man. Now that's cardio, Anthony. Great job. Great job. Great job. Also on the Drakkar, another defenseman, Evan Bellamy played 69-20 and forward Maciejus Miloszki played 60-31. Meanwhile for Cape Breton which won the game Thomas Lavoie a defenseman was their

leader at 6907 and three other defensemen Andrew Brown 65 15 Xavier Degg 64 52 and Braden Schmidt 6309 so in that game we get a 70 minute skater in Lavoie and six 60 minute skaters great job everybody there five OTs that is more cardio than I've done in my life and you guys did it in one night Unbelievable and the reminder for everybody that Seth Jones number was 6506 so right of that and a number of Those players higher than that in that occasion Unbelievable, so all those players are laughing at Seth Jones They're like don't bring that Seth Garbage Jones anywhere near us.

Hold my electrolytes. That's right. Yeah. Okay. So you mentioned Dave Shan. So we brought him up on the last pod as someone wrote in with the story about him playing 60 minute game because they were so decimated. They had three defensemen play that game.

Okay. Yes. were so decimated they had three defensemen play that game okay yes so Sean writes in mr. Friedman sir and the other two now this I like I like Sean I'm a big regardless of anything else he says I am a big fan of Sean all right I'm gonna put that to the test okay okay okay when someone calls me mr. Friedman I know it's not good, just so you're aware. So Sean says, my uncle lived next door to Dave Shan while growing up. I've known him since I was six. I know for certain he was not the person who sent that message in.

It is much better than that. I'm chuckling out loud as I type this. He had no idea what 32 Thoughts was or who any of you are. He did have the finer details of the game though. I attached my message to him and his response. Hope you enjoy. Love the pod. Don't love the end of the wing season. Now, Elliot, he did send a screen grab. Nowhere here did he say, you know, I've got permission

to share it or anything like out of respect for Dave Shan, I won't read it verbatim. But yes, no idea who we are, who 32 thoughts is. But the things he did point out he did not play the entire 60 minute game only because He got a two-minute minor at some point. He played 58 minutes Wow on the game to one and Greg Millen stood on his head that night Really? Well, I'll say this Good on Dave Shan for playing 58 minutes of a 60 minute game, actually for him 58 minutes of a 58 minutes game because of the penalty. The bad, how can you have no idea who we are?

That is unacceptable. That is great. Sean, thank you for sending that in. Yeah, thanks a lot, Sean. That's great stuff. Fantastic. Thank you for sending that in. Yeah, thanks a lot, Sean. That's great stuff. Fantastic. Thank you for doing that. All right.

Jay from Vernon. In a recent podcast, Elliott stated that LTIR couldn't be used at this point of the season because there are fewer than 10 games remaining. However, earlier this week, the Oilers announced they had put John Klingberg on LTIR. Please explain what happened and why it at least appears to contradict what Elliott was saying. You know what thank you for doing this because I did get a few questions about it. The reason that the Oilers were able to use it in Klingberg's case is because he got hurt

with 10 or more games remaining. So I was referring to the Jonathan Druan injury because I had some Avalanche fans or other hockey fans sending me a note, could they put Druan on LTIR and activate, say, Landis Gogh if they wanted to? And the answer was no because Druan got hurt within 10 games at the end of the season. Once you get injured within the last 10 games, you cannot be put on an LTIR. Because Klingenberg was hurt before the last 10 games, they could do that.

I actually meant to update this in a previous pod. I didn't, thank you for bringing it to my attention because I did get a few questions about it. That's the difference. Yep. All right. Chris from Lloyd Minster, Alberta. Hello from Canada's true border city, Lloyd Minster. And you better say it properly, Lloyd Minster, not Lloyd Minister. For whatever reason, visitors always seem to add an extra I when pronouncing the city's name for the first 17 times. Anyways.

You know why? Because they're so confused figuring out whether they're in Alberta or Saskatchewan, they can't figure out how to pronounce it correctly. Yes, yeah. And as Dom accurately points out, it's like New Westminster in BC, not New West Minister. Got a few examples of this. Thanks for your input, Dom.

Really helpful for the pod. All right, Chris goes on to say, been loving the podcast. No offense, Kyle, Tom. Really helpful for the pod. All right. Chris goes on to say, been loving the podcast. No offense, Kyle, but I primarily listen for Elliot's wisdom and insight as he always seems to have that inside angle that most analysts don't have. None taken. Well, you know what? That's the way this podcast is meant to be consumed.

So I completely understand. That's right. Yes. I'm glad you figured out the purpose of this, Chris. Congratulations. You win. It's like Willy you figured out the purpose of this Chris. Congratulations. You win Like Willy Wonka at the end of the movie you win. That's right. You win My comment is regarding a previous podcast where the question was brought up about 100 point players on bottom five teams Well, I waited and waited for his name to come up

But nay-nay neither of you mentioned his Magnificent name and maybe I misunderstood the question at hand, but I don't think I did Mario Lemieux had 100 points his rookie year on a second to last place Pittsburgh Penguins team Second to of course the Toronto Maple Leafs So hopefully I understood this assignment and I was on target with the topic. You absolutely understood it Tris in more ways than one, as we have discussed. And you are right.

Lemieux did have a hundred points that year. The Penguins finished bottom five. What I failed to mention is we were going through the list of five other players apart from David Pasternak during that question, Elliot, was that the list I was given, they were the most recent examples as opposed to all of them all times.

So my bad for not clarifying there because absolutely. Lemieux in 84, 85 did finish with 100 points. The Penguins finished second last, giving them the grandiose opportunity to draft that spring. Craig Simpson. Bingo. Bingo, bingo. All right. Up next, Maxwell. Hey, guys, Chicago's five to victory over Boston last week featured a blue line with an average age of 21.846 years old.

of 21.846 years old. This turns out to be 200 days younger than Penn State's Frozen 4 decor and 368 days younger than Western Michigan's Frozen 4 decor. Somebody here did some work. Yes, attached a spreadsheet and the whole bit. So congrats to Maxwell. My question is how close did Chicago get to icing the youngest in NHL history? Well, not in the

top four. Are you serious? Yeah. The Toronto Maple Leafs on New Year's Eve. Was that the year the Leafs had Benning Boimstruck and McGill in their roster what year is this? New Year's Eve 1981. So Kyle that was Toronto was my answer because growing up in Toronto at the time you remember that year if you're a Maple Leaf fan they had three young D on their roster Jim Benningning, who was 18, Fred Boehmstruck, who was 19, and Bob McGill, who was 19. Now, they had Salming, who was 30, but anybody here who's familiar with math knows that you can drag the average down with three numbers that low.

I would assume Barry Melrose played at the time, he was 25, who would the other 2D have been? So, actually, the game in question, it was New Year's Eve 1981, so Salman didn't dress for this game. That brings the age down considerably. There you go. Okay. So, McCutcheon, McGill, Boimstruck, Benning, Melrose, and Craig Muny were the defensemen

that dressed for Toronto that night. So I'm looking this up on DB. That's wild. Darwin McCutcheon played one game that year. That's the only game he played. So he was 19, and Muny, who had a really good NHL career, he was 19. He played three games that year. So the oldest guy, so it so Melrose is the only guy in his 20s.

There you go. What was the final score? How'd they do? The average age they won five to over who Detroit. Oh, they were also shots on goal. They got out shot 50 to 21 and one five to two. Who was that Vincent Trombley or bunny la rock that They were also back. They had 50 shots on goal. They got out shot 50 to 21 and won 5 to 2. Who was that? Vincent Trombley or Bunny La Rock? That sounds like Bunny La Rock. That was Bunny La Rock.

Yeah. You're right. Bunny La Rock was incredible when he played for Toronto. He would have nights like that. I'll say this about Bunny La Rock is that if you were a Leaf fan of a certain age the others came in there at one point when he was there and they were They were a tremendous team. Obviously, they were just becoming who they were and the Leafs beat them 7-1 on a Saturday night in LaRocque stopped Wayne Gretzky on a penalty shot and

like for years, Leaf fans who saw a lot of bad hockey, that was one of the games they remembered the most. They clung to it. They clung to it. Penalty shot save. They clung to it. Yeah. Yeah.

Just like Leroc clung to that puck that almost went through his pads, but he made a great save. Wow. It's just like such a fluke. I would know that because I grew up in Toronto at the time. Bravo, you were all over it right from the jump. So that's the youngest in a game that's been recorded. And there were some Boston teams in the 60s that had an average age of just over 21 years.

Was that pre-Bobby Orr or post- or during Bobby Orr? What years would those have been? So 67. Yeah in his rookie year Yep That's 1966 67 was his rookie year. Yeah So that was it. Yeah March and April of 67 Yeah, and he when he made his He's a March birthday. So when he made his NHL debut, he was 18 years old awesome Maxwell well done figuring that out.

First of all, and thank you for the question. All right. Last one here, Elliot. Sanders from Syracuse, New York. As I'm watching my islanders play the Predators, I'm starting to think about the playoffs and how the islanders are not going to be there. I was thinking about Nashville's building and how loud and fun it is there. Obviously. Then I started thinking about the old barn, NASA Coliseum that the Islanders

used to play in growing up on Long Island. I went to plenty of games there and the Coliseum was a great place to watch a game. You were right on the players, low ceilings and experienced some great pops from the crowds there. My question to you guys is what game or moment, playoff game or not, had the biggest pop or explosion from the crowd in which you were in the arena to experience it? Thank you for what you do.

I enjoy listening to the banter, the education on hockey, and the odd quote from classic movies. You got one first, Kyle, or you want me to go first? the education on hockey, and the odd quote from classic movies. You got one first, Kyle, or you want me to go first? So I mean, even trying to remove recency bias, it's hard not to talk about that Canada-U.S. game we experienced. In Montreal, yeah. In Montreal.

Yeah. Somewhere else that my mind went to, and I know you were there that night as well, Game 5 in Boston in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals when Zidane Ocharo was introduced after having his jaw broken in the starting lineup walking out with or standing there on the blue line with the bubble face shield on to add a little extra protection. That pop from the crowd is something that stuck with me for a long long time. Those are both good ones. I think the Montreal one definitely is in the top and if there's any ahead of it there aren't many. Like that that crowd in Montreal because sometimes you know a crowd's exhausted and they don't have anything left for the third fight

but not that Montreal one. Fight number one they were crazy, fight number two they were crazy, fight number three they were crazy. Fight number two, they were crazy. Fight number three, they were crazy. There was no exhaustion there. But one I remember is a non-hockey one. I covered the 2001 World Series between Arizona and the Yankees. And in game seven, yeah, in game seven,

David Amber was working for the Evil Telecom. I was working for the score at the time. And so we were sitting in the right field stands. I was working for the score at the time. And so we were sitting in the right field stands. That's where our seats were. And we had to come down towards the dugout in the media room to get ready for the postgame. And when that happened, we did it just as the bullpen door opened and Randy Johnson came out of the bullpen in relief for the Diamondbacks and the way it works there is you go under the stands and so we're underneath the stands like we saw him come out and

then we went down underneath and we thought the roof was gonna fall on us I remember we both looked at each other and said, wow, like it's crazy out there. So we couldn't see it all, because we left just as it started, but we could feel it, like we heard it on top of us. And I always remembered, you're not in the middle of it,

but you're underneath it, and you could feel, you could hear the noise and you could feel the building shaking on top of us and I always remembered that one. That's a great one. And then there's some to like, you know, now with Ottawa punching their tickets to the playoffs again like my mind going back to the run in 2017 and covering that second round series against New York. There was the crazy comeback in game two, like when Pagio scored in double overtime as four goals. Yeah. Like I'm, you know, at that point, as opposed to being in the bowl somewhere, I'm in the back hallway because you just got to be nimble for whenever a goal is scored to be set up for the post game interviews. So you know the place is going off, but you don't experience it fully because you're underneath the seats and you don't hear it quite the same. Or even, you know the place is going off, but you don't experience it fully because you're underneath the seats And you don't hear it quite the same or even you know later in that series game five Turas scored

And over time to take a 3-2 series lead crazy that Atmosphere as well, but once again underneath the the stands and kind of away from it It's a little more muted live in person. You know if you're out in the bowl. It's it's much more crazier So that's part of it as well, but some great memories Awesome stuff awesome stuff Sanders thanks so much. All right, that'll do it for this edition of the thought line Elliot Before we before we close up the thought line, okay There were there were some noises coming from your room while we were doing that like what was going on

And yeah, sometimes like the mic doesn't pick them up and clearly this time it does. So sorry, my dog Barry, I don't know if you're going through the springtime allergy issues, but he had something going on in his ears that he was trying to shake out. And so eventually I had to send him upstairs just to, just to be safe, but he likes hanging out down

here when, when we record the pod. I don't know why, but he'll always come down. Well, I can understand why his ears would be bothering him. But, but I think everybody who has a dog probably can completely relate to what you were just going through. Yes. There is something soothing about a dog scratching their ears and the sound that that creates.

Very good. Thanks Elliot for pointing that out. No, no. And sorry if I, sorry if it bothered any of the listeners going, No, no, no. I think, you know what I like? The reason I wanted to point it out

is because I think anybody out there who's got a dog will hear that and they will laugh. And they say, I identify with that. Yeah, very good. All right, one final break. I'm gonna go take care of my dog's ears and we'll wrap up the pod. 32 Thoughts continues after this.

["The Daily Show Theme"] ["The Daily Show Theme"] Okay, welcome back. Elliott, this past weekend was yet another reminder of how the new world order could look is going to look when it comes to the hockey development path, the amount of American players taken in the Ontario Hockey League. And then we saw the news to Henry Muse, the third round pick of the Calgary Flames in last year's draft star in the OHL,

but intends to go to Michigan next season. Yeah, really different world, really different world. We've all expected it. It's always kind of been rumored and now it's here. Let's start with Henry Muse because it was the latest news and it was kind of rumored. Kyle there, you know, obviously guys like Cosentino, Bucola, Jeff Merrick, they follow this stuff a lot closer than I do and all of them had kind of heard it throughout the

year and I was like, okay, this is your expertise, it's not so much mine. But now that it actually happened, when the post went out, the social media post from Michigan Hockey went out, it was a shockwave. It was like, this is real. And you were talking about before the pod, the fantastic goal that Gavin McKenna scored in the playoffs this weekend.

And there's lots of rumors about him too and what's going to happen but Now it's real muse has shown that this is real This is a Canadian kid who left the OHL was traded at the deadline for a lot and now he's left so Everybody is looking at this and saying Okay, some of Canada's best players, they have options. They're taking the US option. And this is real now to the Canadian Hockey League.

The other thing that happened was the OHL draft. And John Bartlett was the guy who reached out to me. And John started to say look at he says look at all the American kids getting drafted in the first couple of rounds and then at the end of the draft he sent me a note he said 87 American players were taken in the OHL draft and according to John last year there were 37 so in a year with the new rules we've gone up 150%. And I thought it was very interesting. The USHL put out a statement with the NHL on Saturday afternoon and I thought it

was in reaction to the amount of American-born players drafted but someone said to me that release had quotes in it. You're not putting that together in a day They were expecting it and they had it ready and basically it talked about the USHL USA hockey and the NHL creating a declaration of excellence Now it talked about things like league-wide strength conditioning and recovery programs wellness and mental health support league-wide quality audits, enhanced professional development, all that stuff. It was light on the details, Kyle.

But to me, it wasn't about that. It was about what it was about was saying, hey, we see all these players getting drafted. We know we're in trouble. I'm not here to insult anybody, but I know this. If you took all the ranks and all the setups of the CHL teams and you compared them to the USHL teams, the CHL teams are miles ahead. Miles ahead on average. And everybody knows that. Whether they're willing to admit it or not, they know it. And this is the USHL saying, okay, we realize we have to be different,

or this flood of players getting drafted into the Canadian Hockey League, it's only going to get worse. So, you know, we see a situation where a top Canadian prospect leaves the OHL for the NCAA, and now we also see a league saying we drafted 37 Americans last year well now we're drafting 87 because we're betting they're gonna want to come play for us because our league is better and the USHL made their initial defense to that or their initial response to that now you know one of the things that John brought up

to me too was it was a real smack in the head to a lot of Canadian hockey parents. For them it was probably wow. We weren't expecting this and that means there's a bunch of Canadian players who didn't get drafted who are probably in a little bit of shock but and I don't like to hear. I don't want any kids dream to get crushed like that. But I think we saw this weekend, Kyle, the new reality. This is this is where we're going. It's been talked about. Now it's here and we've seen it and it's real and we're only scratching the surface.

Man, oh man. And now I wonder, you know, you think of some of the elite minor hockey programs that in theory would be in some ways feeder systems to an Ontario Hockey League. What they think of all of this and you know, you've floated the idea of like the pendulum, right? Like this is the first year. So everything swings hard one way. Does it over time start to regress back to the mean? But with that many players south of the border drafted into the Ontario Hockey League, what's kind of the response from those that have kids growing up in the backyards of those teams of the league as well? And how they feel about all of this. It's a good like I would like that for a summer project for myself, Elliot, honestly, like just to put the ear to the ground to say where do they see all of this going? Well, you just gave yourself a summer project. I'll be

grading it in September. Very good. I've got nothing going else in the summer going on. So I got plenty of time. All right, Elliot, we have just one final Scotiabank Wednesday night hockey of the season, but two games this week, both at seven Eastern, four Pacific, Carolina in Montreal and Anaheim in Winnipeg. Six thirty Eastern is the pregame show with David Amber and company. Carolina in Montreal and Anaheim in Winnipeg. 6.30 Eastern is the pregame show with David Amber and company.

And final games on Thursday and then playoff time. First games come this Saturday. So the next time we convene, Elliot will be Thursday to record. You've got a little bit of time off here to recharge some family time before the two month grind that the Stanley Cup playoffs begin. So enjoy all that with the family and we'll talk to everybody again on Friday.