32 Thoughts: The Podcast - No Joking About Expanded Playoffs

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Jeff and Elliotte open with a heated discussion about expanded playoffs in the NHL and how it would be beneficial for the league despite the turtle derby in the Eastern Conference right now. That conversation makes way for a discussion around Auston Matthews as he notched 60 goals this season. How long will it take him to chase down the Gretzky/Ovechkin goal scoring record (13:39)? They also talk about how it can effect the Leafs' decision on players like Mitch Marner (20:31). Jeff and Elliotte also talk about the Minnesota Wild losing their extra point in OT for pulling their goaltender (32:05) and discuss Jonathan Quick breaking the wins record by an American goaltender (37:00). Then, the fellas talk about the Seattle Kraken finally recalling Shane Wright from Coachella Valley (38:34). The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (52:34).  Following the Thought Line, Jeff and Elliotte close the pod by giving the Vancouver Canucks their flowers for being the first Canadian club to clinch a playoff spot (1:15:00). Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

The Amber Bowl. The Amber Bowl. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Sunday, Sunday, we'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge. I'm going to name some teams for Elliot here in a moment. Stay tuned. Welcome to 32 Thoughts. The podcast presented as always by the GMC Sierra Elevation, Merrick Friedman, and Dom

Schramatti. Elliot, as I tease, as I put some cheese in the trap there for our listeners, in no particular order, the New Jersey Devils, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the St. Louis Blues, the Calgary Flames, the New York Islanders, the Minnesota Wild, the Seattle Kraken, the Detroit Red Wings. How many of these teams to you deserve to be in the playoffs? Before I give my answer, Jeff said when we were about to start the podcast that trust me, I'm going to like where this is going to start.

He wasn't telling me. Normally he'll tell me I'm coming to you with this first. Yeah. I had visions of Thelma and Louise going off the cliff. Okay. Not bad, Merrick. Okay, thank you. Not bad.

Well, I know. And the reason I respect you coming after me with this is that I am under siege from all sides. Yes, you are. I read slapshots every week in the New York Post and the four horsemen of the apocalypse are coming across the horizon because Larry Brooks is agreeing with Gary Bettman. the horizon because Larry Brooks is agreeing with Gary Bettman. I have someone who calls me on Saturday and says, you know how you like to talk about expanded playoffs? Well, as far as I'm concerned, St. Louis's game in the expanded playoffs was last Monday against Vegas at home and they lost. Do you know that one internet meme of one guy facing off an army? Yes.

Yes. And he says, I am right. And you are all wrong. Yeah. I am not backing down. Okay. I am not backing down. Come at me with your worst, everyone everyone just so we're all clear elliot stand everybody on this one elliot is doubling down not quieting up on his i'm not

doubling down i'm tripling down i'm quadrupling down i'm doubling down i would go even higher if i knew what the proper words for six seven and eight were um on expanded playoffs and that's why i rattled off all those teams for you elliot i will concede this looks bad and betman made a point of saying to me last year, when the teams in the East missed the playoffs by something like 20 points, these playoffs expanded wouldn't look that good this year. I am telling you, I don't care if you want the salary cap to rise, if you want healthier teams, if you want higher TV ratings ratings it's still better for everyone and my biggest feeling is buffalo is going to miss the playoffs for something like the 15th straight year detroit will see but it's been a long time you're a gate driven league it is not healthy for you to have teams out of the playoffs this long I know these aren't competitive reasons I concede these are not competitive reasons but it is bad for your league in a gate-driven league to have this and that's why I am not backing down. Even though someone called me on Saturday night as I was driving home on a night,

the Wild lost, and we'll get to them in a second. The Blues lost at home to the Sharks, embarrassed, boot off the ice after the second period. Detroit lost in a shootout. Washington lost in a shootout washington lost in his shootout philly lost again the islanders lost and new jersey lost to buffalo the night before someone said to me i don't want to see any of these teams I get it, but you're all wrong. Wrong. No sport, no sport, not the NFL, not Major League Baseball,

not the NBA, name another sport. Just pick another league. Has ever regretted expanding their playoffs long term not one i want to get to i am right oh and you are all wrong the bully pulpit of elliot friedman speaks now then will you at least concede one small point okay depends on what it is. Here it is. This is not the time to be pounding the table on this one. Read the room.

To your previous point, nobody wants to see this right now. Is this the time to push this bill through? Many would argue no. Even people that support you elliot would look at this and say i don't know that we're going to get anything close to consensus on this i have a friend okay who every time someone says to him read the room he says to me i'm going to get even worse with what people hate me about i said i don't know if i follow that kind of thinking i just feel look i i concede it looks

bad i do it looks bad it looks terrible i understand why everybody is saying this. I do. Because these teams, this is a turtle derby. You know, New Jersey goes into Buffalo on Friday night. Glorious opportunity. They're winning and they lose. St. Louis has Vegas, as I said, on Monday at home. They get a penalty shot in overtime and they lose. Ultimately, you have to take care of business yourself I get it the health of the league would be better the cap would be higher and all of you I know you don't like, but those two nights when we are playing two games,

if you lose the first game, you have to win the second and then sudden death to go into the next round. It would be a great night for the sport. We all be watching we'd all be rage tweeting each other on the internet it would be awesome and when it happens because i am convinced it will happen in my lifetime less convinced than you think but I'm just trying to wish it into existence. You know what I'm going to be like? Insufferable? Well, no, I won't. I won't be insufferable. You accept defeat and you win with grace, Jeff.

But I am going to tweet once that image of Elmo and the nuclear explosion because people are going to love it. The only thing that I did remotely similar to what you're suggesting was at the all-star game in Nashville when John Scott won MVP and I tweeted, sorry, I wrecked the all-star game. And it felt good for a little bit. And then afterwards- Didn't you get in trouble at our place for that?

I thought I was getting fired bud that's right i forgot about that i remember i drove home and i called my wife and i said well i wonder if they're hiring at the post office i'm gonna call on monday because i think i'm getting fired i think i talked to you about that on the monday too that's right elliot uh i think i'm tiptoeing around here i think i'm getting i think i'm getting fired um well listen i um first of all i admire how um how you're not backing down on this one like there are some people that are listening to this right now and saying why is elliot trying to drink the ocean with a fork like there's this is not gonna happen there's

there's no chance there's no way but here's why i gotta tell you you've given me a task when i go to florida later this month i am gonna try to drink the ocean with a fork drink the ocean with the fork if anybody sees me in fort lauderdale taking a fork into the ocean you know it's gonna be merrick's fault well there's a there's a's fault. Well, there's a great war line by George Orwell who says, the only way to end a war quickly is to lose it. And this is a fight, and this is one that you're going, if you're going to go down, you're going down swinging, and it's going to be long.

Now, listen, I think that long-term you're going to be right, but I think it might take expansion to get there. Because the one thing that whenever I bring this up with anyone in the league, and you're probably the same, they always say the same thing back. Jeff, half the league makes the playoffs. How many more are we going to allow in? You know, there's still that vibe in the NHL for each. Yeah.

Yeah. Look, I know. I just look, people, people are bitching about the cap what's the number one thing people bitch about well there's lots of things that people bitch about i was gonna say but one thing they really complain about is the cap right oh yeah don't you think the cap would go up if we had expanded playoffs absolutely it would 100 it would cap would also go up with the extent but let's go along with your idea then let's take it one step further expand the playoffs how are we lengthening the

season no are we starting the season earlier you know what like for example this year the season ends on the thursday the 18th and the playoffs start the 20th now I think that's too quick I have an idea of why they're doing it I think some of it is USTV I heard that's a big factor and I think also it's really tight on the back end like the last day of the Stanley Cup final is the 24th or 25th the draft is the 28th and 29th of June, obviously, and then free agency on the 1st. So there's all of that. But in the past, you would have the last day of the Stanley Cup, and then you'd have three or four days, right?

So what I'm saying is, and I've said it before, you play your last day of the season, game 82, one day off. Next day, 10 at 7, 9 at 8. Higher seeded team gets both days at home. Game one on the first night. Game two on the second night. Not total goals because if it's 8-0, it's over. Just the result of game one tells you what happens in game two.

If game one's a tie, someone has to win game two. If game one's a loss, the other team has to win game two. If it's two ties or it's a split, 1-1, you play sudden death overtime, next goal moves on. You get a day off maybe, maybe two. And then, so the advantage is for the higher, you also give an advantage for the higher seeded team. The teams that win their division, the one and two seeds in each conference they get a tired opponent they're gonna have three to four maybe five days off and you're gonna get a team that's just played two high intensity games right beforehand so i see a lot of reasons to do it okay so let me throw one more other wild card into this equation here as well. Yeah. We are about to finally,

finally go into a hockey schedule that features an international calendar. Yep. Both of the four nations face off soon to be called world cup or whatever. We're going to refer to it as, and the Olympics as well. And there are going to be NHl breaks that come along with those is the schedule not already crammed enough that's not my problem i am an artist you make the frame i exactly are you make there is already somebody paid a lot of

money to handle that that's their their problem. I love that answer. Okay, we spent enough time on that. So Elliott is double, triple, quadruple, whatever quintupling down on the idea of expanded playoffs. Now then. I know I'm up against it. Yeah. When Larry Brooks is praising Gary Bettman.

That's when I know I'm really in trouble. The horsemen are getting restless. The horsemen are getting restless. I know I'm really in trouble. The horsemen are getting restless. The horsemen are getting restless is all I'm saying here. I know I'm in trouble when I see Larry Brooks and Gary Bettman on the same side. Okay, so I started off the pod

by throwing some random teams at you, which really weren't that random. I'm going to throw some names at you now, which really aren't that random. Mike'm going to throw some names at you now, which really aren't that random. Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, Pavel Bure, Yari Curry, Steve Iserman, Austin Matthews. Yeah, multiple 60-goal scores.

And to think about Matthews and how good he is, you know, you think that there would be more than one active player. You think for sure Ovechkin would have multiple 60s. You think Stamkos, even with all the injuries he's been through, would have multiple 60s. And they don't. And, you know, I want to give credit.

Someone sent me this this tweet today from uh jeff valette and and he actually got it from reddit hockey but someone sent it to me from his feed if you take a look at all of the players who have been drafted since 2010. Matthews, who was taken first overall in 2016, is first overall. He's two ahead of Jeff Skinner, who was drafted in 2010. He's 11 ahead of Tyler Sagan, who was drafted in 2010. He's 13 up on David Pasternak, who was drafted in 2014. And he's 15 up on Dreisaitl, who was drafted in 2014. Like among the guys he's ahead

of, McKinnon, Kucherov, Shifley, Zibanejad. Those guys were all... McKinnon was 2013. The other three were 2011. Now, we're going through a goal chase right now watching Ovechkin, but it isn't going to be too long until we're going through another one with Matthews. That, to me, is an absolutely insane stat. It's not going to be too long that we're all going to be watching Matthews chase, whether it's Gretzky or it's Ovechkin as the number one goal scorer of all time. And the other thing is in his interviews, Jeff,

he kind of downplays it, but all you have to see is the reaction on the ice to know how much it matters to him he was not leaving that shift without scoring that goal and this and the officials robbed us of number 61 when they threw out all 10 guys on the ice with misconducts in the last minute of regulation. But you knew that one was coming, though. Hang on, before we get back to Matthew, just as a quick aside, you knew that was coming. Like, I expect to see that all the time now.

Like, I think, honestly, I think officials have been told, look, when in doubt, late in the game, throw them all out. Oh, of course. Just get everybody off the ice. That was entirely predictable. Even though Matthews was essentially doing statue practice, you knew he was getting tossed. We were robbed of high quality entertainment.

But hang on, your point about Matthews and Ovechkin is an interesting one and a good one. There is an element of, you know, Keith Yandel to Phil Kessel Iron Man streak that, or if I can borrow a term from pro wrestling, transition champion. Okay okay we have the belt on Bob Backlund we want to get it to Hulk Hogan we need a transition champion in there oh call the iron sheik he'll do it like the idea of Ovechkin holding the goal scoring title only to

surrender it to Austin Matthews I think is something that we've all looked at right now I think the only question though I think we've moved past, will Ovechkin catch Gretzky to how long will Ovechkin hold the title? Will it be ephemeral or will he actually hold it for a long enough amount of time? The calendar dictates he'll hold it for a while, but it won't as long as Matthew stays healthy and knock on wood, nobody wants to see anything bad, then it's not going to be anywhere near as long as Gret healthy and knock on wood, nobody wants to see anything bad, then it's not going to be anywhere near as long as Gretzky held it.

Like the amazing thing is Skinner, as we said, is second in goals, 357 of players drafted in the last decade. He's two behind Matthews. You know, Tuesday night is Skinner's 1,000th game. Matthews is going to play in his 554th on Monday. So he's going to have played 45% less games. It's remarkable. It's incredible. And I say this about Matthews all the time. And I really do believe it. That guy wants to be the best at everything at everything he's he he wants to be the best goal scorer he wants to be the best leaf ever he wants to be seen as a great player

in the it wants to be in the hall of fame but he wants to be seen as a great player in the level of some of his peers and you know i i think the other thing too one of the, but he wants to be seen as a great player in the level of some of his peers. And I think the other thing too, one of the reasons that he's the highest paid player in the league by AAV is because he's competitive in that too. He sees that as part of the competitive nature. And I know some people aren't going to like that, but the more I've covered people who are great not only athletes but people who are great thinkers people who are great investors people who are great inventors just people who are great that matters you know Jeff it matters in broadcasting you know like it's it sure does and he knows he has to win he knows winning is part of that equation and I think he burns to win very badly and he's got a long career ahead of him but one of the reasons I think he will go down as the highest scoring player in NHL history for goals is that I think it's,

it's not just a goal of his, I think it's what drives him. And the celebration when he got that 60th is a tell if it didn't mean that much to him, he wouldn't have celebrated that way in a three nothing game. So here's what I wonder about. And I don't disagree with you on any of that. What I wonder about too,

much like with Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals went out of their way to make sure that Ovechkin was surrounded by players who could get him the puck. Get him the puck, he's going to score. Get him the puck, he's going to score. We need to support Alexander Ovechkin. One, we have a Stanley Cup window that's open, but also Ovechkin is chasing a once thought of unapproachable number.

a once thought of unapproachable number. I wonder how much this affects the Maple Leafs decision on players like Mitch Marner. Like there is a feeling that there is a number past which Toronto won't go. But if you're looking at keeping Austin Matthews happy and continuing this chase, are they not obliged then to, much like Washington did with Ovechkin surround Austin Matthews with players that can get them the puck?

Well, I do think it's their goal to keep Marner. I don't have any doubt. I think they know Marner and Matthews want to play with each other. have any doubt. I think they know Marner and Matthews want to play with each other. I believe that's been a conversation in the past where Matthews has made it very clear he wants to play with Marner and Marner has made it clear that he's happy to do it. And look, at the end of the day, there's still going to be a negotiation. We'll see where that goes. And we're going to punt that to the summer because they're not going to do it now but i absolutely believe their long distance plan is to keep them together for a long time okay um buffalo in toronto since we're talking about the maple leaves here austin

matthews and and mitch marner um first of all as predicted uh buffalo sabres fans a large swath of them uh sold their tickets to maple leaves fans on saturday clearly because when huston matthews got the 60 uh the key bank popped like the cork out of a champagne bottle the whole game was like that it was it was a pro leaf now look i i one saber fan i know that we work with was really bothered by it really yeah and i saw i saw mike harrington uh who worked writes for the buffalo news i saw some of his tweets and he was clearly bothered by it and i saw some sabers fans bothered by it it has always been that way we joked about it on friday even when the sabers were good one of the best teams in the nhl what would their fans do they would buy they would buy their like i

remember people would tell me um i'd go sit like that's one of the best arenas to watch games i love it's awesome yes the the press box there like the the row i used to sit in when i used to go watch games there they you know they the basically the last row of the crowd is is right below you and you can talk to the fans and i remember people would tell me that they would have 41 home games and they would keep 38 or 39 of them and sell the two or three that were the leafs and they'd end out a hand or net zero. They paid for their season tickets with a couple of Leaf games. Exactly.

So I don't like, well, you know why it is because they haven't made the playoffs in so long and people there are really frustrated. And look, it's like that Chris Rock show. Everybody hates Chris. Everybody hates Toronto. So you hate when the Maple Leaf fans override your building. Yeah. It was like when they went to Arizona this year, Matthew scored his 50th goal. It was like watching a game at Rico Coliseum. I thought I was watching

a Leafs home game. That one was really a Leafs home game. And you know, what was interesting, Jeff, was there were a lot of people who were kind of saying to me, it's kind of what is missing in Leaf games in Toronto. Like the crowds are not like that. And it was wild. It was crazy. The players clearly loved it. And it is weird to go into another stadium

and you have home ice advantage that was a home game for the Leafs but it's not the first time it's ever happened it's not the last time it's ever happened but one thing I know will drive the players crazy was there was a game earlier this year where the Leaf players went to a Bills game and they got great treatment. They were on the sideline and the Sabres players were like, wait, how come the Leaf players are here in Buffalo getting sideline treatment and we haven't got anything like that? So that's the kind of thing that I think drives the players crazy. And then they made it good and a number a number of them went jeff before we turn the page on the leafs one thing that i wanted to add i got some uh texts from some people i know who are leaf fans and they were saying okay they got benoit done which is a

really good deal uh they got mcmahon done and he started to ask me, does this mean they're going to get Domi done or they're going to get Bertuzzi done? And, you know, I looked into it and I, it doesn't sound like those are active right now. I have been the victim of misdirection. There were a couple of people in the Toronto organization who were laughing

on Friday. I was complaining to you about saying, Oh, Ben was still as our rights. There's no hurry on this one um but uh i just think that the difference between those contracts and maybe domi and uh bertuzzi are those are domi and bertuzzi are probably bigger deals so like those other ones are easier to do right now and it's great for both those players. Someone was joking with me and said, what is the Maple Leafs fascination with the number 1.35?

Like that's three guys on the roster right now who have that AAV coming up. But I just, I didn't get the sense of anything with, because you check like, okay, they got McMahon done. They got Benoit done. Does this mean some of these other ones are getting done? And the answer doesn't appear to be the case right now i don't think there's anything close on on domi or bertuzzi but it is kind of funny that uh someone said to me from another team that everybody was angry at some of these signings

earlier in the season now like let's get them all signed it just shows you like yeah the ride the wave people ride the wave ride the wave uh maple is victory in that one and we talked a little bit about the buffalo sabers last week as well but uh do you have a thought on where the swords are at right now my quick nickel and dime thing with the buffalo sabers complete like the buffalo sabers falling out of it in a season where they're expected to you know threaten down the stretch and maybe get into the playoffs or make the playoffs. To me, one of the things that I wonder about here is they really need to do whatever they can. At this point, this may sound small, but I really do think it's true. They need some kind of good story here.

Something good has to happen to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. Like there has to be a, yeah, you know what? It didn't work at the NHL level, but Rochester's in the playoffs, had a good run last year. We're developing a lot of players. Hold on,

because maybe the worst thing, and listen, they're in a battle right now with Marlies and Laval for playoffs. It gets really, really tough in the American League right now for those teams battling for playoff spots. The last thing you want is for the nhl team not to make the playoffs

and the ahl affiliate not to make the playoffs first of all they're going to celebrate jeff skinner's 1000th game on tuesday and the sabers got lily collins from emily in paris to send a congratulations and apparently this is a big deal. I don't watch Emily in Paris. My wife has, but I was told when that came across the interwebs, that was a big social get for the Buffalo Sabres. I'll tell you what I did have a conversation about.

First of all, Tate Thompson scored four goals on Friday, but I had a couple couple guys say to me, they're very curious to see what Buffalo is going to do in goal next year. They've got, you know, Comrie's contract is up, but they've got Levi and they've got Lukanen. And are they going to go with that combination? That's what I believe.

Because Lukanen's contract is up he will be two years away from unrestricted free agency but he's gonna have a good arb case now they've they're not in any real cap difficulty here but i'm curious to see how the sabres feel those two goalies are going to handle it. And the reason is sometimes when you've got two young guys and Levi is 22 and Lukanen is 25, that's not always the easiest combo to have. Because both players want to be starters as anybody would. But, you know, and sometimes it's not easy when you're a young kid to back up.

Like there are times you know you're not going to play, right? But there's other times you think you should be playing and another young goalie gets the start and you're thinking, okay, what does this mean? That should be my start. Does the organization think less of me is is he the guy you know if you've read some of lukinen's quotes lately it's very clear to him that he thought they were doubting his ability so i did have a couple teams wondering if that's something the sabers and more importantly, the goalies are going to be comfortable dealing with if that's the duo next year.

I think that's an interesting point. And that's where maybe in a perfect world, you do have someone like Craig Anderson around still playing. But I'm very much of the belief that that's what they plan to do. I think in their mind, you know, maybe, you know, Levi goes back to Rochester, finishes up, plays the playoffs for Roche. He's played great down there and comes back and that's the battery. It's Uka Pekka Lukkanen and Devin Levi. And listen, I think we're, I shouldn't say, I think,

I know we're long gone from the days of one goaltender playing 70 games. I think it'll be as close to a 50-50 split, depending on who's playing well at that time, than we've ever seen. So I'm convinced that that's what it's going to be. I do think that Lukanen has a good arbitration case, and I think he's going to get paid,

and I think he should get paid. And I think to all of his comments, I don't think that he's wrong. Here's a guy who's had roadblocks placed in front of him, and that's fine. It's professional sports. But let's not forget, he couldn't even get the net the beginning of the season or the end of last season. There have been a lot of times where U could pack a Lucan in was either put in situations to fail. And I look at that situation last season in Buffalo where,

and you go back and look at the schedule, you know, Craig Anderson, I would say Craig has got easy starts. There aren't easy starts in the NHL, but the workload when Lucan and was up with Anderson, I mean, Lucan and played the top teams and that's where he started to distinguish himself.

And then we talked a lot about what happened last season, beginning of this season, et cetera. I'm not surprised by Lukanen's comments whatsoever. And I do like good, defiant athletes. And Lukanen seems to be a defiant goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres. But having said all that, I don't disagree that, especially with young hockey players,

especially with young goaltenders, there can be an awkward competition between the two, let's just say. But having said all that, I don't disagree that, you know, especially with young hockey players, especially with young goaltenders, there can be an awkward competition between the two, let's just say. But I think that that's what the Buffalo Sabres are planning to do next year. We shall see. We shall see. Okay. Elsewhere around the NHL. Minnesota, Wild, Vegas, Golden Knights,

Jonathan Marcheseau into an empty net in overtime. Vegas over Mini. Your thoughts? I thought they should have done it in regulation. Bless you. Bless you. We joked the last time that you called. Well, it wasn't even a joke. You did call John Hines a coward.

Oh, my God. wasn't even a joke. You did call John Hines a coward. Oh my God. Oh my God, Elliot. Stop with that. No, I did not call him a coward. I just said the bolder move would have been to make the pull in regulation. Again, just the idea is you need to deny that other team a point. Yes.

I agree. You needed to deny Vegas that point. That was the game to do it. That was a game where I go to our guys, guys, we're doing this in regulation. That's where, if you're going to lose and get no points, you might as well do it in regulation. Now, I'd be curious to know what was the discussion internally.

Yes, that's the big one for me. That's the big one for me. Because look, they've already moved the line. They've already moved the line. And I know sometimes when you move the line, you don't necessarily want to move the line again. But I think that's a thing you could have explained. You could have said, guys, we can't have them get anything.

You know, to be honest, I wondered in that game I mentioned with St. Louis last Monday against Vegas, when they scored to tie it late in regulation, I wondered if they were going to do it. But they, you know, they lost in overtime before that really came up. But that was to me a case where, and now, again, I would think that, and I do know this for sure. So I'm not saying I would think. I do know this for sure. This conversation has come up among some of the Eastern Conference teams. Do we do this?

If, yeah, when we get there, for sure. For sure. Now, look, the Islanders are playing Philly on Monday night. The question that someone said to me, and this is not a guy who's in one of those two teams. One of the things that they're trying to figure out is, and we talked about it on the podcast, is the math. Okay. Is it, do you reach a point where it's too early? And I think that, you know, it kind of depends on how close you are to the team in the standings. But he thinks you've reached the point in the season where it's not too early to consider it. If you're three points down and you're five points down, and especially like a team like the Islanders who are not going to win the tiebreaker. And I'll say this too. This guy said to me, if anyone's going to do it, it's, it's going

to be interesting because it's Patrick Watt and Lou Lamorello, right? And Patrick Watt would do anything. He would do anything. And I say that with respect, if there's anybody who's going to have no fear of doing that, it's going to be Watt. be wah and I said you think Lamorello would do it and he kind of hemmed and hawed and he said he thought if you could convince Lamorello of why it needed to happen he thinks it could happen he said that's the team he's watching because it's wah and because they really aren't in a good place in the tiebreakers. But this guy did say to me that he believes or he knows some of the Eastern Conference teams are talking about this. Now that we've seen it happen in overtime, when do we do it in regulation? And he said he's talked to other teams because he works for one of the teams.

and he said he's talked to other teams because he works for one of the teams he said he's talked to other teams and he said yeah they're the coaches are thinking about it too Heinz moved the line he didn't move it again but I don't think I would be surprised if somebody did I think I think it is a great thing like when that happens everybody will be turning to that and everybody will be rooting it for it to work. Yes. Cause you want to see more of it. You want to see more of it. I agree.

And I, and I do wonder what the nature of the conversation was between Heinz and Garen on that one, because you're right. That conversation is not just the coach, you know, spur of the moment. Hey,

this feels right. That's a conversation between the coach and the general manager. Well, before that game, Hey, what happens if we're tied with Vegas late in the third? Do I pull the goaltender? Yeah.

Do we go, do we go for it then? Because not only do we need the points, we need to deny them a point as well. Hey, I know one of your favorite topics is Jonathan quick. And I think we're all on the same page that in 2012, he was the best goaltender in the world.

Now, Jonathan Quick has passed Ryan Miller, 392 wins, most ever by a U.S. goaltender. I know we've talked plenty about Quick this year. I know we've talked about the Rangers and the comeback season that he's had, et cetera. But just have one more quick thought on Jonathan Quick now, passing Ryan Miller, obviously another great American goaltender, most ever by a U.S. goalie, Jonathan Quick. but just have one more quick thought on on jonathan quick now passing ryan miller obviously another great american goaltender most ever by a u.s goalie jonathan quick i didn't think at the

beginning of the season or last summer specifically before he was signed that we'd be sitting here saying jonathan quick has the most wins of any u.s born goalie i love quick um you know kelly taught kelly used to deal with Quick a lot when he was on the road in the Western Conference doing Flames games and doing West Coast Lake games. He always spoke highly of Quick. I love his competitive nature. He doesn't like to talk a lot,

but I really enjoy talking to him. You know, I've told the story before about how he blew my brilliant narrative about when uh they were down in that series they came back against San Jose I think it was the two nothing game where they got blown out he went down the bench apologizing to his teammates and said I'm gonna be a lot a lot better. And they won the series. And he said, that's not true. But other guys have said, oh, no, that's true. He's just too modest to tell you the truth on that one. But it's a great record. And I love Quick, and I was happy to see it.

I'm a huge, huge fan. How can you not be? He's flat out fun to watch and competes hard. Congratulations to Jonathan Quick, career win number 392. The Seattle Kraken did it, Elliot. They called up Shane Wright. Now, what deities were you praying to

for this to occur? What deities? Yeah, to for this to occur? What deities? Yeah, because you have been begging for this for weeks. I just found it weird that you have your first round draft pick from last season in a season that is out of reach. And at that time, you don't bring up Shane Wright Wright who's having a really good year in Coachella Valley to see what he can do at the NHL level and then send him back down for the American Hockey League playoffs and hopefully for his sake and for Coachella Valley's sake he has a good long run

I just couldn't figure out what was taking Seattle so long that That was my only question through all of it. It just seemed like such an obvious play. Did you not think the same way? No, because it's Ron Francis. The thing is, I don't think that Ron Francis does things frivolously. I think that he has a plan. When I look at it now, I look at-

I think this was always his plan. Always his plan for this set of games. I believe there was a chance they could have called him up at home against the Montreal Canadiens last week. They're not going to do that. That's like a setup for way too much attention. It's the obvious Montreal, Shane Wright, that whole sideshow wasn't going to do that.

That makes 100% sense to me. As a matter of fact, I do agree with, and it does look like it's deliberate here, and here's why. They weren't going to bring him up towards the end of the season at home. So they had to find a place in the schedule where they could call him up away from Seattle

and put him in a position to succeed. So their three game road trip is San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim. Like that is a very favorable three game set for the Seattle Kraken to be very competitive in. That makes sense to me. That does. I just couldn't figure out why it was taking them so long to do it i am not like i said i am not surprised in the least bit not surprised at all because it's ron francis and

he's going to do it his way and no amount of complaining or no amount of questioning is going to get that to change. Zero. One other name. I'm happy to see it, and I hope he has a great week. Like, that's the one thing Seattle needs. Seattle needs offensive creativity. It's the hardest thing to find. It's the hardest thing to find. It's what they need.

They have to go out, and they have to get it this offseason. Now, the easiest thing to do is to promote it from within. And hopefully for them, Wright can be part of that. But they need offensive creativity. Now, before we move on to a couple other things, I just want to give out my boo of the week your boo of the week yes like my boo like boo you boo you off the ice or you have an injury this is not like seattle someone texted me on on saturday night he said he's glad he was not near doug armstrong at the

end of that game between st lou Louis and San Jose the other night. So my boo of the week, going back to Philadelphia. Okay. So they signed Ivan Fedotov. Great story. Really happy for him. Really happy for them. Flyers making life hard on us, being very careful and very quiet.

And what did they- That gets the boo for being quiet? No, no, no. I know teams want to do that but what did they list them at six foot seven grumble grumble grumble grumble so this team had a tremendous marketing opportunity this is the team that brought you gritty yes true this is the team that is recapturing the hearts and minds of the city there are people sending out pictures of fedotov making the net look like a barbie toy yep and they list him at six foot seven so he's not the tallest goalie of all time. Yeah. Very disappointing marketing move flyers.

Make a commercial out of that one, guys. So you're saying you wanted the Philadelphia Flyers essentially to lie. Which I'm all for. That's fine. All of these heights or weights are, how many of them are real? How many of them are really real? Well, not a whole lot of them. Okay.

At all. If you would have listed the guy as six foot eight, nobody would have complained. Now, however, we could have a six foot eight guy coming soon. There's a goalie at Dartmouth. Cooper Black is his name. Dartmouth Cooper Black is his name someone tipped me off on Sunday that he may may be going pro he's a sophomore from Alpena Michigan and he went to Florida's development camp and I believe he is on the Panthers radar he is six foot eight so maybe now he's a bit raw and he would need some time to work his way up and by the way i should say this i i spoke to someone last week who saw

spencer knight play a few games recently and he said knight looks terrific oh it just looks really good which i'm i'm really glad to hear about. I've heard that Roberto Luongo has kind of made this his personal project and Knight has looked really good this year. But maybe we get our 6'8 goalie in Cooper Black here from Dartmouth. And we also should mention, you know, again, we talk about one-game eliminations. Some of those NCAA games were tremendous on the weekend uh there was about two hours there where montreal fans were thinking oh we might get lane hudson we might get lane

hudson yeah and they won and then boston college i know the washington fans are salivating over ryan leonard i don't know that that would be happening this year anyway um but his team moved on but their Quinnipiac got knocked out in a heartbreaking overtime game they are the defending champions and their two leading scorers this year there's Colin Graff from Lincoln Massachusetts and Jacob Quillen from Dartmouth Nova Scotia not Dartmouth Big Green but Dartmouth Nova Scotia and um they are going to be heavily chased they both went back to school this year after winning a national championship last year I'm like teams are thinking they're coming out and there's there's a long list on both these players north and south of the border um there's been reports about the Rangers and Graff.

I've also heard the Penguins and Graff, but I think there's plenty more. I'll also come down to where there's opportunities to play and Quillen being a Canadian kid. There's a number of the Canadian teams I think are going after him. So we'll see where it goes, but those are going to be names to watch over the next couple of days and another name to watch is uh jimmy snuggerud yes who uh his father dave was a u.s olympian and he's a st louis pick and there seems to be a lot of belief that he's going to come out and go play for the blues but of course nothing is done until it's done the philadelphia flyers have another chance to do this let me circle back to done. The Philadelphia Flyers have another chance to do this.

Let me circle back to Philadelphia. The Flyers have another chance to do this, Elliot. There is a player in the draft this year, and you know how much I love Dave Manning in St. Andrews College and all the fine work that he's done there. Dean Letourneau is a 6'7 forward, ticketed to go in the first round or early in the second round. So perhaps then Elliot, they learn the lesson from you and draft him, but list him at

six foot eight. Is that what you're suggesting? It foot twelve. It's like Andre the Giant. Just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. They have another shot. Come on, Philadelphia. Number 28, St. Andrews College. Let's go. You can do this. You can do this.

Okay. One final thing here before we get to the Montana's Thought Line. You reported Saturday on Saturday Headlines. Both Newfoundland and Trois-Rivières of the ECHL might be close to throwing the keys on the table. It's a really dicey situation right now. Both teams are owned by the same entity. We may get some closure on this one early this week, but what's the latest you've been able to uncover? So there's a deadline on Tuesday afternoon.

There's a board meeting from the ECHL. And, you know, I will say this. The teams didn't want to talk about it. The league didn't want to talk about it. But, you know, the players are really upset. And because it doesn't look like these players are going to be allowed to finish the year necessarily. to finish the year necessarily. To be honest, I think that one of the reasons I was able to get some of that information was because I think, you know, one of the issues could be here is if they do shutter the teams, Jeff, then look, there might be a limit to all these players are going to become UFAs, but there might be a rule where other ECHL teams are limited to how many they

can pick up, like maybe two. And obviously not every team is going to want to do it. Some and other players will lose their jobs potentially. And so it's, it's a problem. The players, they want, want you know you get to this point you want to finish out your season now i understand that um they've been promised um pay any player affected will be promised pay for the rest of the regular season and i believe it's also possible that some will get pay uh into the maybe into the playoffs i think that's all i think

first round yeah i heard that too but i don't know for sure but i know this is all being worked on um i also know that uh one of some of the players are always very worried and for good reason about their health coverage uh i believe that will be uh covered till juneth, which is the end of the hockey calendar year. So that's a very important thing too, but players want to play. And you know, there, there's a bunch of players here, both on the lions and on the growlers that are going to be thrown into uncertainty. And I'm sure there's other players elsewhere in the ECHL who are looking at this and saying, oh boy, that guy's a good player. He plays my position. Uh-oh. It's just not good for anyone. But the problem is this has been going on for a while. There have been some reports

about money owned to the city of Trois-Rivières. I also think that there is some affiliate money that's due their NHL affiliates, which is Toronto, Montreal, and I believe a little bit to Winnipeg too, because Winnipeg has sent players out to Newfoundland in the past. So that's the issue. And finally, it got to a point where they just said, look, we've been extending the deadline. We've been extending the deadline. We've been extending the deadline. Now we've got to call it to an end. And look, I haven't seen all the documents. I don't know. I don't know all the details, but I do know everything that I've mentioned here. So, you know, we'll find out where it goes. But, you know, it's like the same thing with the BCHL thing that we talked about earlier this year, Jeff. I just don't like it when players get affected by decisions that really have nothing to do with them. One more thing I want to add on that, just to conclude, Elliot, I'm glad you mentioned specifically Newfoundland on Saturday.

I have a real, I think we all do have a soft spot in our heart for Newfoundland, everybody in Canada, and understand the challenges of keeping a hockey team going in Newfoundland. When you look at what's happened to Newfoundland hockey, they've lost teams in the American Hockey League. They've lost teams in the QMJHL. And now it looks like they may just lose a team in the ECHL as well. And it's never been lost on me

or anybody else that follows that level of hockey, but they're the only province in Canada that doesn't have a major junior hockey team. And those are great hockey fans there that deserve something at the elite level somewhere, some team, some league to go and cheer for. I'm glad you mentioned Newfoundland on Saturday because I echo those sentiments 100%. Well, also, Jeff, I don't want to wake up one night from a deep sleep and have Bob Cole charging at me like Mel Gibson in Braveheart. Could happen.

Or him standing over my bed like Chucky, to kill me yes and as i'm drowsy and and and right behind him will be terry ryan and senior as well uh on that we'll wrap up the first block montana's thought line coming up Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Time now for the Montana's Thought Line, Montana's barbecue and bar, Canada's home for barbecue, Elliot. Try the ribs. Try the ribs. And it is home for barbecue, Elliot. That's actually Elliot singing.

Actually, no, it's not. Thank you, Rick Turner. No, it is definitely not. 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca. 1-833-311-3232. Gerard, we'll start here. Good morning, Jeff, Elliot, and Dom. Lifelong hockey fan.

Been listening to the podcast since episode one. Oh, bless you. A great listen on my walks with my dog. Jeff, if you are reading this, I am a Guelph alum. And Elliot, if you're reading this, I'm a Western alum. And if you end up actually reading this question on the podcast because it caught your eye, I'm actually a Memorial University of Newfoundlandland alum and apologies for the cheap way of getting attention so he goes on to tell a story it's quite lengthy uh and we don't have time to get to it but it

involves joe sakic and a suit maybe we'll get there one day but it's a great oh just just just give me the abridged version okay so let me just let me just i've seen joe sakic for a long time i didn't even realize he owned a suit here we go with olympic talk picking up recently i have a funny nhl related story that is linked to the olympics i was living in thailand in 2011 one year after the vancouver games at the time locals associated anyone who said they were from canada with vancouver i was at a market in bangkok with a vendor selling custom-made suits and asked where I was from. After telling him I was from Canada, he asked if I would accompany him inside the store, wanted to show me something.

I thought he was trying to sell me a suit, despite not wanting or needing one at the time. Yeah, you got to be careful in those situations. Like, I love Thailand, but I almost got shaken down once like this. And I just want to say that this should not be seen as a negative reflection on the Thai people. It was one bad experience I had. Yes. Well, he goes on to say, I humored him by going inside his store. When I went in, he held up a finger to indicate for me to wait a minute as he disappeared to the back.

He reemerged with a photo and handed it to me. He reemerged with a photo and handed it to me. Pictured is that same man standing in the exact storefront I was at at that moment, only instead of myself, Joe Sackick was with him. Apparently, Sackick had gotten a suit made by him at some point, one of the more random things I have ever experienced in my life. random things I have ever experienced in my life. We are going to find out if Joe Sackick still has this tie suit. That was from 2011. So it would have been before 2011 that Joe Sackick had that suit made. Okay. That's the story. Now, as for my question. a remember jack buck once told bob costas i have ties older than you kid so it's possible as for my question on a recent episode you discussed the highly

successful 2017 draft that the dallas stars had yeah that was good uh all those scouts uh should have lifetime jobs for that one in your opinion what's the greatest draft year a team has ever had in terms of hitting on multiple picks and completely changing the fortunes of their franchise great job to all three of you i have a best and you want to go first i've got a best and worst and i'm going to kind of cheat this one a little bit if you don't mind elliot's yeah yeah go uh 1979 you're a cheater first of all well thank you i take that as a compliment. First of all, 1970. I'm going to go Oilers on this one.

So Oilers best and Oilers worst. And it's the same general manager, Glenn Sather, in both. So the best, I'm going to put two drafts together here because when you see what happened, holy smokes. So 1979, Wayne Gretzky wasn't subject to the draft for allowing that to happen. 1979, Wayne Gretzky wasn't subject to the draft for allowing that to happen. Edmonton got punted down to the final pick in the first round.

Okay, Colorado goes first and they took defenseman Rob Ramage. So instead of Gretzky, they got Rob Ramage. But here's what with the top three picks Glenn Statham was able to do. Kevin Lowe, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson. Okay, that's one. And then the next year- Pretty good draft. That's really good. Next year, followed it up with Paul Coffey,

Yari Curry, and Andy Moog. And that already compliments Gretzky, whom they just- It's more complicated than that. Don't have time to go into the whole story. But Wayne Gretzky was never subject to the draft. He remained property of the Edmonton Oilers. And that's what Glenn Sather put around him in two drafts.

Now, just so we don't get too high and mighty about the genius it is, Glenn Sather, and it's not a slight. He was a great general manager. He was a great coach. But, you know, sometimes you have misses. Just like the 1990 draft when the Edmonton Oilers had 12 picks and not a single one of them played in the NHL. Elliott, not a single one.

So that is best and worst. You just can't give them credit, right? You have to take a shot. See, that's the difference between me and you. I want balance. I can say great on you. Congratulations. You have to just kick somebody while you deliver a compliment.

Shake the hand with one hand. Shake the hand with your right. Stab them in the back with the left. There's about 18 inches between a pat on the back and a kick in the ass. You know that, Elliot? I think we all know that at this point. That is true. I think we all know that at this point. That is true. I think people would go down,

and I don't think you can have this draft anymore, because the world has changed, but the one everybody talks about, and I think I agree with it, is the Red Wings in 1989. They drafted six players who played over 400 games. They drafted four of them who played a thousand games. They drafted two who are in the hall of fame and it would have been three. And so that draft was Mike Sillinger,

first round, Bob Bugner, second round, Nicholas Lidstrom, third round, Sergey Fedorov, fourth round. You couldn't do that now. Dallas Drake, sixth round, and Vladimir Konstantinov, 11th round, which you wouldn't be able to do now either because we don't even have 11 rounds. But that was a time when your ability to draft and go get Russians was still uncertain. Even your ability to see Russians was very uncertain. But look, Sillinger played 1,049 games.

Drake played 1,009. Fedorov's in the Hall of Fame. Lidstrom's in the Hall of Fame. And Konstantinov, I dare say, would have been in the Hall of Fame if he hadn't suffered that terrible crash. So to me, that goes down as the best draft that I can remember. I'll say this. When you talk about one of the greatest draft in sports, you have to go back to one of the,

I think the one that a lot of people will talk about is the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers. They took Lynn Swan in the first round, Jack Lambert in the second round, John Stallworth in the fourth round, and Mike Webster in the fifth round. And Swan, Lambert, Stallworth, and Webster all went to the Hall of Fame. Swan and Stallworth were wide receivers. They were both great players. Jack Lambert is one of the best linebackers ever. Mike Webster, one of the best centers ever. And those four players were all cornerstones of those Steelers championship teams

with Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris and Mean Joe Green and Jack Hamm and Donnie Shell and Mel Blunt, like a whole bunch of great players. But that was, a lot of people say that that goes down if you're going to rate the best draft ever in any sport there's a lot of people who talk about that one now we're talking about quality let me throw in one more and that is about quantity and this has to be this has to be, Elliot, the record.

For drafts, and surprise, surprise, Sam Pollock is the GM on this one. The drafts that produced the most NHLers. Montreal Canadiens, 1974. You ready for it? Yeah. 13 NHLers. Oh, God. I am not going to ask you to name them. You said 1974, right? Yeah, you're not going to nail 13, no chance. I'm not going to ask you to name them. You said 1974, right?

Yeah, you're not going to nail 13. No chance. I'm going to try. Not a get lost. I'm going to try. Now, okay, how many of them were Canadians? Ah, that is a very good question. Let me just call this up.

You're right, because a lot of them were part of the wha nhl merger so i'll put this way the lion's share of them played with the montreal canadians how's that okay um rajul's earlier like obviously i know like lemare's earlier kernway's earlier robinson's earlier savard's earlier um Cournoyer's earlier, Robinson's earlier, Savard's earlier. Yvonne Lambert, I assume, would be earlier. Like, that's too early for Mark Napier, I think. Dryden was earlier.

Like, would Richard Sevigny be in there? Nope. Would Mario Tremblay be in there? Yes, you got one. Okay, we're off to the races. Mario Tremblay is one of them. Pierre pierre mondew he's already there right like that's too late yeah he's already no no no he's yeah he's he's already there doug risebrow is there yes he was their second pick very good like bill nairup no not that draft no that's too early for rod langway that would be too early for brian engblom right

yes correct okay i'm living with two two out of 13 that was like my grades in high school i'm satisfied with that those are really good um i i thought you might find a uh find a rick chartreau but rick chartreau was one remember him remember r Remember Rick Chartreux? Of course you do. Venezuela. Cam Conner. Let me just read the list here. So in order, Cam Conner, Doug Reisbrough, Rick Chartreux, Mario Tremblay, Gordon McTavish, Gilles Lupien, Marty Howe, Barry Legge, Joe Micheletti. Hey, Joe. Dave Lumley.

Chuck Luska. I forgot who was drafted by them. Charles Luska. Jamie hislop and john stewart 13 players they put in the nhl not all of them with montreal we should point out but 13 players went on to play at least a game at least a game in the National Hockey League. Some, like I mentioned, Jon Stewart played two with the Quebec Nordiques. He was part of the WHA-NHL merger.

There was Chuck Luska, who played his junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers. He played eight games with the Hartford Whalers, played in the WHA with the Cincinnati Stingers. But I think you know what I'm going for here. Like as the merger happened, these players had already been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens

and then went to other NHL teams. But 13 by Sam Pollock in 1974. That is remarkable. And good on you for getting a pair. And great question. Great story. Like story like gerard man that was long but good story and yeah that's a great question i'm glad you read that i'm glad i forced you to read that that's a great story i just thought it was long and i respect people's time and you know people like thai suit stories i really think they'll score high on the focus groups people like stories from thailand no surprise eric hi my question is this could for example conor bedard sign a

shorter entry-level contract for like one or two years and then be able to get a big contract sooner or was he forced to sign a three-year contract, Elliot? Well, that's a great question. And you might be hired by the Players Association, Eric. But the answer is yes. Entry-level contracts for players Conor Bernard's age 18 are three years. There is a point where you get older, for example, 24, 25 years old, that area where it can drop to two years and then one. But for the vast majority of players

entry-level deals are three years okay uh eric thanks for that one uh kevin hey boys i had one of my students ask me this one figured it'd be a good one for the pod can a goalie take a face off we're in floor hockey season one of my goalies wanted to take a draw and asked me if it was legal. Not sure why a team would ever want to do it, but said I'd ask 32 thoughts. That from Kevin. Well, that one is right up your alley. And the answer is no. And it is actually right there in the rule book.

First of all, I think the reason is the advantage you would gain by using the large paddle i think that's the main sticking point in the issue there but um i checked in both the nhl and hockey canada rule books not sure about usa hockey but i would imagine they're the same and in the nhl rule book uh rule 76.1 there's a very specific line that reads like this a goalkeeper may not participate in a face-off the fun police got you again alas alas one day there will be one brave league and i don't know why goalies want to take face-offs but that would i don't know allow goaltenders to take face-offs okay lauren and jonas who is two weeks old in Anchorage, Alaska.

Oh, Jonas. Yes. You are a genius if you can already submit these questions at two weeks. Congratulations, Lauren. You are raising a very bright child. Yes, indeed. Hey, guys. We love the pod.

My husband and I are regular listeners, and we're making our newest addition, Jonas, two weeks old today, a fan too last episode you were talking about Sam Reinhardt's 50 goals and it made us interested as to who was the number one draft pick the year he was drafted come to find there were five other guys three top five draft picks in the 2014 draft year

now playing with the Florida Panthers Gustav Forsling Aaron Eckblad he went first overall Sam Bennett Sam Reinhardt and Brandon Montour. Crazy. This led us to the following question. Are there other teams currently or historically that have had so many or more top 10 players from the same draft year,

or even as many players from the same draft year that ended up playing for the same team? Jonas, two week old, is looking forward to Jeff hunting down this stat. So Jonas and Lauren, because I respect you so much, I enlisted the services of the great Steve Fellin. Yeah, you know, he came up to me on Saturday night and he said, Jeff's getting me to do his work for him again.

So while you were on TV. I'm going to start calling him, I'm going to start calling Steve Merrick's brain. Oh, listen, I wish I had the brain of Steve Fallon. And listen, Steve used to be someone that listened to the old fan show that I did with Strombo and Makowitz back in 1994. That's how far back I go with Steve Fallon. To me, he's like upper echelon friend and colleague and someone that I respect. Well, more than you, I shouldn't say that. Someone that I respect, Elliot, at the tippy top level of anyone that I've ever worked with. The guy is such a pro. I know you feel the same way about him. I think we all do he's a great great dude okay so he was able to track down three examples now these are examples of players all playing in the same game on the same team that came from one draft and steve isolated 1979 draft march 20th 1982, five Boston Bruins from the 79 draft in the same game.

Ray Bork, the late great Brad McCrimmon, Keith Crowder, Mike Kruschl, Nisky, and net minder Marco Barron, baby. So that's great. Wow. That's great. Buffalo Sabres in the 86 87 year had games where they had six players from the 1983 draft tom barrasso adam creighton john tucker christian rutu norman lacombe and uve croup And Uwe Krupp. Now, there's one more that he found where there was more than six. And that is the Washington Capitals. The Capitals had years that had seven players from the 1978 draft

all play in the same game. Here they are. Ryan Walter. My favorite hockey drink. I'll are. Ryan Walter, my favorite hockey drink. I'll have a Ryan Walter. Sorry. Ryan Walter, Paul Mulvey. Sorry, it's a bad joke. Paul McKinnon,

Wes Jarvis, Bent Gustafson, Glenn Curry, and Tim Koulis. There's your answer from the great Steve Fallon. Washington Capitals with seven from the same draft 1978 wow it's good hey that's very good very good by steve yes very good by steve but like i hang on like i get some credit because i sent the text asking him so like i'm kind of involved too like i

should get like i should like some credit for that too because I asked the question congratulations for burning some of Roger's bandwidth to reach out to him okay uh two more Mark from Shimanis BC uh hey guys big fan of the pod I have a question about quote team-friendly contracts Do players ever write post-playing career stuff into their contracts? For example, thinking of guys like Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron, who left millions on the table over the course of their career so their teams could be more competitive. Has anyone ever said, sure, I'll take less than I'm worth,

but you're going to have a high-paying job waiting for me whenever I want in the front office when i'm done with my playing career curious if anything like this goes on great job jeff elliott dom keep up the great i definitely think there's some not supposed to out there yes it's it's not supposed to elliot writing you're in big trouble but uh there is definitely nudge nudge wink wink like we're always going to take care of you kind of thing yes yes or we're we're hiring your father as a scout that used to happen in college basketball a lot I'm sure it still happens in some places but college basketball was big for that Danny Manning his father Ed Manning who was a good player uh larry brown hired him as

an assistant coach at kansas and four years later they won a national championship together so that does happen here and there but uh generally the the written deal is frowned upon as is the next contract in the drawer although we do think it happens gambling at casablanca what all right we'll finish off with uh angela and calgary um hey there what is the story behind the origins of players growing playoff beards in hockey okay um i've always believed that it was the islanders the islanders dynasty that won the four Stanley Cups. Starting with players like Ken Morrow and Clark Gillies. Yes, certainly.

There was some talk that it was the 85 Detroit Red Wings. I don't believe that to be true. No, too late. They may have been the first to actually refer to them as playoff beards. So I think actually the term may come from that Wings team. But it's interesting because I'd always assumed that it was the Islanders. them as playoff beards so i think actually the term may come from that wings team but you know

it's interesting because i'd always assumed that it was the islanders and it was stephen smith who i've talked about on this podcast before and always recommended his book puck struck um for every hockey fan to read um he did research on this a while ago and discovered through various newspapers, bluntly, that it was actually the New York Rangers in 1975. And the charge was led by Derek Sanderson, former Boston Bruin. Derek Sanderson, who had lost a bet and had to shave his mustache, but then on a flight before the playoffs convinced members of the New York Rangers that they were going to grow facial hair for the playoffs to give them good luck, I suppose. Anyways, on a flight, he started a petition and got everybody to sign. This is according to Sanderson himself and Emil the Cat Francis,

who would have been coach and general manager at the time, agreed. coach and general manager at the time agreed and they became the first team to deliberately as we know it grow facial hair for the playoffs used to think it was the islanders there was some noise about the red wings but elliot congratulations new york rangers led by turk derrick sanderson they are considered the first. And that's it. That was a very entertaining thought line. Congratulations to the Rangers. That's the Montana thought line.

Montana's barbecue and bar. Canada's home for barbecue. Again, the way to get in, 32thoughtsportsnet.ca. 1-833-311-3232. Back in a moment to talk about Eric Hornick. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to the podcast. 32 Thoughts presented as always by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Always lock your car.

Keep it going, Frege. Keep it going, bud. You know it, bud. Before we mention what's going on with Rogers Monday Night Hockey, with your host, David Amber. What did you call it? The Amber Bowl? Every Monday it's on SportsCenter, it's the Amber Bowl. Yes, the Amber Bowl.

It tastes like cigarettes. Oh, jeez. It's the Amber Bowl. It tastes like cigarettes. Oh, jeez. We should recognize the first Canadian team to clinch the Stanley Cup playoff berth this year, Dominic Cermatti's Vancouver Canucks. Yes, congratulations to Vancouver.

And had a little bit of a nervous game on Sunday as well against the Anaheim Ducks. The Canucks come back and score two in the third to get everyone's knees shaking together. Including Olin Zellweger. Oh, look at that. Hey, so a quick pause on that one. So this was quite a weekend for Olin Zellweger.

You mentioned on the weekend, on Saturday's headlines, that Landon DuPont is poised to be granted exceptional status this week. Correct, Elliot? That is correct. So the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League won the lottery last week and hold that first pick. Now they got that pick from Kamloops in the Olin Zellweger deal.

So they are going to go from Olin Zellweger to Landon DuPont. And I have seen clips of this kid as many who follow prospects on youtube um as i generally tend to do and this kid is mickey dupont's kid first of all uh for those who remember mickey dupont um risk of remarkable athletes like here we go another another stud player coming from the Western Hockey League. No surprise, and congratulations to the Everett Silbertips. And also we should mention Dakota Joshua, two big goals on Sunday. Yes, including the legs. Yeah, further your point about the Vancouver Canucks

and your congratulations there. Look, a great season for them. I don't know how many people expected it. It's always a rollercoaster ride. We talked two segments ago about toronto ride the wave you have to do that in vancouver you really have to ride the wave but their their best players have been excellent all season they've made the playoffs one of their franchise cornerstones is committed for eight years um they're getting demko a break right before the playoffs it could always be better but players have filled out their roles Joshua is a perfect example

guys like Ian Cole and Carson Soucy are perfect examples Teddy Bluger guys who have filled out their roles now the one thing you want to fix I notice he's going on the road trip is Lindholm he's the one guy you have to sort out before the playoffs but but um there's a lot to be proud of this year in Vancouver and they could win the Stanley Cup like the one thing that people talk about with them and maybe you wouldn't think this but when they were at their best earlier in the year they play with great pace. Like there were a lot of teams that felt they couldn't keep up to their pace. So if those, if they get to that level again, they're going to be a big problem for a lot of people.

Be a handful for a lot of teams. Okay. Want to extend congratulations to Eric Hornick. And if you don't know Eric, you should follow him and you should also read his blog. So Eric has been a statistician for the New York Islanders going back to 1982. He does all the home telecast. He also does some work for TNT and he's written a blog

after every Islanders game. It's called The Skinny. It is must read for everybody. And he just celebrated his 1000th edition, by the way, continuous. He has not missed doing a full blog. And if you've ever read his blogs,

you know how thorough they are about the game and the Islanders and the stats and historical look back, like all of it. His blog is first rate. Congratulations to Eric. I do not miss any of his blogs. It is one of the best ways to keep up with the New York Islanders and what they're doing.

I just want to extend a big congratulations. 1000 consecutive additions of the skinny must read for everybody at E Hornick on Twitter X. Follow that man. I think the NHL should gift him a silver laptop. That's a great accomplishment, Eric. It really is. Congratulations.

The hardest thing is consistency. It really is showing up every day. That's the hardest thing. He does. Monday is going to be a busy night around the NHL. Eight games on the go. On Sportsnet, we have the Florida Panthers and the Maple Leafs. You mentioned earlier, but the Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers.

And if they're tied in the third period, all eyes on Patrick Watt. And will he, won't he pull the goaltender? But on Sportsnet, we have the Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Possible playoff preview. Quick thought on this one for you as we wrap up. Big game. Big game. Even though both teams are in the playoffs, big game.

You know, Toronto, remember at the beginning of the year, they had that game in Boston, and they had the team meeting about that's when Lilligren got hurt. Yes. And what was the thing about? We stand up for each other. We don't let other people push us around. And they've been much better.

Look at the end of that Buffalo game, all the 10-minute misconducts. If there's a team that is woven into their identity, it's the Panthers. It's not only about the game, it's about standing up and battling for every inch of ice. I'm looking forward to it. Going to be a great game.

Going to be a great one. You can watch it on Sportsnet. The pregame Hockey Central gets going at 6.30 Eastern and then the puck drops just after 7. It's Rogers, Monday Night Hockey or as we like to call it around these parts, Elliot's The Amber Bowl. Over to you, David. Thanks for listening.