32 Thoughts: The Podcast - No Team Is Safe

Episode Date: March 20, 2026

In this episode of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman open with Elliotte’s travel mishap getting to Vancouver, before diving into a league where every game is starting to feel more meaningful as the playoff races tighten. They discuss the Columbus Blue Jackets holding a playoff spot under Rick Bowness (8:45), Edmonton’s disappointing loss to Florida and Kris Knoblauch’s measured response (13:25), and Brady Tkachuk's heart-to-heart with coach Green leading Ottawa to a big win over the Islanders (16:40). The guys also get into heated discussions from the GM meetings around the NHL playoff format (26:45), Auston Matthews undergoing surgery on his MCL with a lengthy recovery ahead (32:00), and Nashville’s accelerating GM search (35:45). The Final Thought focuses on player safety discussions at the GM meetings, where headshots were addressed but goalie interference proved to be the most contentious topic (37:30). Kyle and Elliotte answer listener questions in the Thoughtline (47:02). Today we highlight Hamilton-based singer-songwriter and screen composer Alex Whorms and her track PARANOID! Check her music out here. Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here. 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

If you haven't ready yet, the latest 32 Thoughts blog, Elliot, you had that out somewhere in between. It's good to know that you at least had your laptop with you. Yep, no power with the laptop, yes. Well, your power was in a different bag? Yes, because I, when I'm taking, I don't want all the cords around my bag. So my laptop charger, unless I'm going on like an overseas flight, I put it in my, I pack it. That is wild. Oh, that's not wild at all.

That's like nothing. No, I, especially in your line of work, that's, uh, I am shocked. I never would have guessed that. What do you mean my line of work? Well, how often you are on devices? You're a big devices guy. And the devices need power. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the 100%

electric BZ available now during red tag days. Shramati Friedman Bukascus back with you. Elliot is out in Dom Country on the West Coast. We had to find and fire up an old BC TV sat truck just so Elliot could record here on this Thursday night. I think on the Canucks for Kids Fund telethon, he was wearing an old suit that once belonged to the legendary Tony Parsons. It was a scramble for Elliot here today. So bring us up to speed. How was your Thursday?

What Hal happened? It was one of those rough travel days and a lot of people have had them lately. It's been carnage at some of these airports in the United States. If you've been following the news, unfortunately, my flight out of Palm Beach got delayed. I missed my first connection. I got on a later connection from Denver to Vancouver, but my bag did not make it. So I had to go and first of all, when I got to the hotel, Melissa, who was working the front desk, she was a godsend. She was able to get me a toothbrush, some deodorant, a razor.

That was able to take care of that stuff for me and, to be perfectly honest, for the rest of humanity, Kyle. Yes, more for them than for you, I think. That's right. Scrounge those things together so I could have some level of cleanliness. but I did not have clothes for the show. You know, someone said, well, why didn't you wear a suit on the plane? I'm like, I'm traveling for eight hours. I'm not wearing a suit on the plane.

Anyway, you know, Jack Victor is our clothing sponsor, and there's a store here in Vancouver, not far from our hotel on Hornby Street, on Hornby Street, Brashes Taylor. and Michael Brascia, who's the son of the owner and founder, Mike, he helped me pick out a new jacket, shirts, pair of shoes, pair of pants, and Hamid Akonzada was the tailor who did the alterations in a couple hours. So I had the suit ready for the show on Thursday night. They were a godsend.

And to be honest, they did such a good job. job. Normally, I'm extremely sexy. Today, I was sexier than ever, Kyle. That's how good the clothing was they put together for me. I also want to shout to Russell. He was another one of the people working at the store, but the group at Brasches Taylor, they saved my bacon with a really nice combination for the Canucks Telethon on Thursday night. You know, I did want to shout out. It was a rough game for Vancouver. Tampa dominated. They got up 4-0 on the way to winning 6-2. Kutjurav had another great night. The team as a whole was tremendous. But the Knoch Nation once again, it was approaching $400,000 when I left the building that night. They were fantastic as they always

are. And I wanted to shout out one fan I met, a Cameron Nicholson, a young man. who was in Vancouver from Nova Scotia. He's training with Perry Kane, who was a Vander's dad. And I met him and took a picture with him at the game. And I wanted to shout him out. Really nice kid. Excellent. Nice stuff.

Yeah. I saw it like it looked like a great, great event as it always is every year. Young Spencer Moore, who I know was featured throughout the show, doing the starting lineup beforehand. phenomenal. I can only imagine being that age, going into an NHL dresser and reading out the starting lineup. He nailed it,

confidence in the connection behind his voice. Anyway, so beautiful. He interviewed me before, like at 530 local, about a little over an hour before it went on air. I was sweating by the end of the interview. He was asking some really good probing questions.

He could teach you a little bit about sideline reporting, Kyle, I think. And also, I'll, yes, you should be. And also I wanted to shout out Olivia McDonald, who co-hosted with me and put it this way. I'd rather have her future than my past, that's for sure. She's going to go very far in this business. It was, you know what, it was hosting that telethon. That Canox for Kids Foundation does really incredible work. They have, you meet the families that have benefited from, whether it's the Canucks Autism Fund or the children's cancer hospice, their young hockey program.

There's so many things they do that are really good. And it's an honor to be a part of it. Yes. And after that bit that was put out there with you and Patrick Alvin, once again, hitting home the fact that indeed you are best. Off the cuff. No scripts. Leave the scripts at home. Let me just say this too.

Alvin, like normally I've done some of these things before with NHL executives. And let's just say many of them are slightly wooden. Alveen did not have that problem. He was he was nailing it on quick takes. He did a great job. Really good job. So before we get to the, finish all this tomfoolery and actually get to the podcast,

Kyle, where are you right now? And just so everybody knows, it is, we are doing this podcast, it is 2 a.m. Eastern time Friday morning. Where are you? Yeah, so I'm in Ottawa now, Battle of Ontario's this weekend on Hockey Night in Canada. Yeah, we left each other, left Florida.

First time I think in all my years coming to Florida for game, GM meetings, B-O-G, you name it, back-to-back days with zero sunshine. It was incredible. Anyway, so you left Wednesday. I left Thursday. I am in the hallway of our hotel because, as you know, I'm traveling with my family this week.

So wife and baby are fast to sleep and have been for quite some time. I no longer have the out to come and crash in your room because we're now on opposite ends of the country. So you can't do that anymore. I'm with my closest friends in the big holley. away the hotel, an area that's quiet that's not being bombarded by lobby music. And we're going to get through this together. Awesome.

Yeah, one way or another. Elliot, this is like, it feels every night now for the last while. And it really has picked up in intensity as we've talked about, as the games seemingly feel more impactful. And the nights like Thursday, where there were a lot of games on the calendar. I mean, you start in the Eastern Conference outside. of Carolina and I guess Buffalo now too with the way they keep winning. Everybody else, it's like no one is safe. You have one bad week and suddenly you could be in trouble with teams

nipping at your heels and things start to get clenched once again. But Elliot, waking up Friday morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets are in a playoff spot, not just a playoff spot, but third in their division. The day they made the coaching change, and brought in Rick Bonas. They were tied for last in the east, along with Ottawa. They were seven points out of the playoffs. They have gone 17, 2, and 4 since they are in third in the Metro Division as of this recording. You know what, Kyle, the playoffs have already started.

Technically, the Stanley Cup playoffs don't begin until April 18th. but a month earlier, the postseason is already underway. So Rick Bonas has coached 23 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets this year. Bruce Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award with the Washington Capitals in a year. 61 games. Okay. All right. So we know Rick can get in there.

Okay. So Columbus, we were talking about this the other day about how many good contenders there are for the Jack Adams. Columbus has 14 games left. If they get in, and you know what Columbus could, like they're one point back of Pittsburgh. They could, in theory,

finish second in their division. Can Rick Bonas win the Jack Adams Award coaching 37 games in the season? Now, I don't have a vote for that one. Me neither. I don't know, like, unless there's something in the small print that we're not aware of, I don't think there's any rule that says, no, he cannot. Not as far as I know. Don't you kind of feel you need at least half?

It's quite a precedent if he wins the coach of the year coaching 37 games. Anyway, but now let me ask you, if you had a vote, would you vote for him? Would you put him on your ballot? I would have no problem putting them on my ballot. To me right now, like, it's, it would be a real thorough process for me between Dan Mews and probably John Cooper. Not Lindy? Like, yeah. Why do you hate Buffalo?

I don't. I was just there. We were talking glowingly about them. Yes, but you said you couldn't, you really enjoyed it when it was in your rearview mirror. I'm actually going there on Tuesday. Oh, yeah? Okay.

Yes. I can't wait to hear what they say to you when you show up at the rake. After the things I heard a week ago. Oh, I bet. So, I was anyway, it's a great question. Could you vote for Rick Bonas, especially if Columbus finish the second division, 37 games

could he win coach the year? Anyway, like I said, the playoffs are underway. It is started. And you know where a perfect example of it is, is that you know, a guy like Andrew Cop rushes back and has a big play

well before his timeline says he's supposed to be playing, right? Yeah. That's the kind of stuff that happens in the postseason. Guys say, you know what, I don't care, I'm playing. You know, if you look at a lot of these games, and I'll be honest, on Thursday night, I didn't get a chance to watch a ton. But you look at all of the games that had playoff ramifications.

The only one that was really lopsided, well, there were two. The Bruins pumped the jets, 6-1, But Sanders Islanders, close. Canadians, red wings, close. Crack and predators, close. I mean, I guess Utah, boy, the Golden Knights in goal this year,

you know, please tell me again that the Golden Knights never even thought of looking at a goaltender at the deadline. Flyers King shootout. To me, the one that was really disappointing this night was Panthers Oilers. Yes. And.

Yes. Particularly if you're an Edmonton fan. Yes. I think that's one of those games that, and I've lit enough fires in Edmonton for a little bit of time. But if I bought a ticket to that game, I would be really frustrated. Now, I saw there were some people who were unhappy about what Noblock said after the game that he, you know, he did. didn't rip his team. I think that to me, that's a night where Noblock is like, I'm not pouring gasoline on the fire. Like sometimes you have to rip your team and sometimes you have to be critical,

but you can't do it all the time. And there's, there's moments where you have to say, I'm not making this worse. And to me, Noblock this night said, I'm not making this worse. It's bad enough. Everybody can see it. You know, everyone's disappointed. And I'm not contributing to that. But I would say of all the games played on Thursday night, that one had to be the most disappointing. Like Florida is not Florida right now. They're really beaten up.

The toll of the last three years is catching up to them. They're, you know, they're not going to make the playoffs this year. And, you know, but that doesn't matter. Like your fans still see those guys in that uniform and they're, they want to see some passion. And they didn't get it. I will say this. The really nice thing I thought about that particular game was Mike Benning.

So Mike is Matt's younger brother. Matt, who plays for the Marley's, it will be 32 in May. He's played 465 games. Mike is 24. And that was the fourth game of his NHL career in his first multi-point game. He had two assists against the Oilers. And that's a home game for him, basically. That was a massive.

night for Mike Benning. But if you're an Euler fan, you're looking at that game and you're saying, that's not the guy from Edmonton we wanted to see, have a big night. Great for Benning and his family, pretty awesome. But, you know, it'll be interesting because Edmonton's our late game on hockey night on Saturday night against Tampa. And, you know, Tampa's a bit of a buzzsaw. I mean, that's, I mean, I can't believe that division.

Like just Vegas and the Oilers just floundering right now. It's crazy. And the ducks are leading the way with a negative goal differential. Nikita Kutra, by the way, 96 points in his last 46 games. Yeah, it's ridiculous. He is unconscious. It's ridiculous. He like had three points.

You're like, I barely just happens. Like, I barely even noticed. I don't know you were busy in Vancouver on Thursday night, but, like, like blink and you could miss it. By the way, Elliot, sports net stats pointed out, the Oilers have not won a game this year in the 12 games that Connor McDavid has failed to record a point.

I know they did get shut out here on Thursday, but it's like as if McDavid doesn't find the score sheet, it's as good as them getting shut out, it seems. You know, but that doesn't, you know, obviously that's not a good number. Like I have to say the fact that you didn't get a point it doesn't concern me as much as just they kind of went through the motions a bit, right? Like, again, I couldn't see all of it, but the stuff I did see and the stuff I read, it was a really flat performance.

You know, I think the other big storyline in this particular night was Brady Kachak. Big time. And, you know, someone said to me, watch Travis Green from the pre-game. so I found a couple minutes and I watched it and I don't know about you Kyle but it was almost like green like I got the impression

that green had maybe gone to Kachuk and either asked them you know hey are you all right or what's going on here but like tell me if I'm nuts but It gave me the impression that Green had talked to Kachuk and either said something to him or chatted with him

and was kind of like, am I missing something here? Like, what's happening with you? Is there something going on? Like, what's up? Yeah, and it was very clear in the post game, Elliot, that that in fact did happen, like some sort of heart to heart between the coach and player, which is not unusual.

Like, I think Green is the guy that would kind of routinely, when he sees fit, checks in, not just on his captain, but all of his players when he finds that the time would be right to do so. But certainly, I mean, you know, Sends fans and those would have watched the Wednesday game against Washington. And even Kachuk admitted after the fact, like that wasn't his best. He didn't have his legs. And he also kind of conceded after the game here Thursday that, I mean, he hasn't felt the best after the whole Olympic experience.

Obviously, the high of winning the whole thing. And then as he pointed out, you know, shortly thereafter to play the one game at home. then they come to Toronto and then the whole trip out west and just the constant changing of time zones. And, you know, nobody's certainly not Brady Kachuk is making excuses. But that stuff can add up. I mean, it's just, it's fact. It's as much as you're a top athlete and you take care of yourself and you're the best of the best in terms of conditioning. It's not an easy stretch that he's gone through.

So you could tell he made a point. And as he said, like it was on his mind. all day that he was going to do something kind of right off the hop here against the islanders, you know, knowing how important it was. It was a back to back for Ottawa. The islanders were waiting for them in their own building, in their own city. And credit to Anders Lee, too. Like I think he did Kachuk a favor there.

Like, you know, Kachuk needed that scrap off the opening face off way more than Anders Lee did. And he happily obliged. And then, you know, kind of the undercard that we didn't necessarily. anticipate, but seemingly provided equally or right near as much juice was Ridley Greg and Braden Shen not long after the Cichukin League. They were throwing some haymakers in that one. Big time.

Yes. Greg surprised Shen a little bit too. As you know, Shen is as tough as they come with the ability to stand in there. But like, what a big win for Ottawa. And it's just fun, like being able to hear the buildings again as we get close. closer to the playoffs. Like you mentioned, Ellie,

we're kind of in playoff mode here now. Ottawa being one on Thursday night, like when Kachuk scored with 13 seconds left to put them ahead. I thought Nashville, you know, getting that win.

That was a big win for them. Suddenly they're right back there again. And even, you know, Colorado on Wednesday night against Dallas. Like, that place was just charged the whole night. It's amazing to think

that the stars are this close to the avalanche in the standings as they are now, considering how Colorado started this year. But just listening to that crowd, listening to Jared Bednar, you know that's a team, that's a market that goes, we're okay here. We're going to be fine. But that's always a real exciting part of this time of year, too, as the buildings come more to life and teams are feeding off of it.

And Kachuk certainly did, in his case, with the senators on Thursday. because, you know, they've been on a really good stretch come out of the Olympic break, but a regulation loss is absolutely a killer with how everyone continues to win. I just wonder, like, are these teams going to be able... You think you're getting a point there. You think you're getting a point there, right? Sure. Like, are these teams going to be able to keep this up all the way to the end, Elliot?

You got no choice, right? And I do think I was actually talking about this with someone today. I think some of these teams are really on fumes. Yeah. And that's not going to be easing up. There's, like, I really think that, like, the reason I really like Columbus is they always seem to get points. Like, even when they lose, they seem to get one point out of it, right? And, like, and I think that's, that's going to matter.

Like, that's really going to matter. Like, the Eastern Conference, I think this year is going to be, their playoffs are going to be very different. Florida's not there and they're kind of the bullies. And it looks like Tom Wilson isn't going to be there. Right? Yeah, it's long odds for Washington. There's no question now. So like the Eastern Conference players could be very different this year in terms of the makeup of who is in and what that means.

You know, teams will tell you that, remember, I had this conversation once with Trevor Linden. he kind of said that the last couple weeks of the season are such a grind that the first round of the playoffs, it's almost like it's a relief. You're in and you can relax a little bit. Like those games are really intense. I know you've got a theory about it. But it's almost like you can say, okay, at least we're in the playoffs now. We can breathe a little bit. Like these last couple weeks, they're so condensed and they're going to be a scrambling.

ramble. Like, you just talked about like that, that West. I mean, every day that wild card two seems to change. One day it's L.A., one day it's Seattle. Right? Yes. You know, one day it's San Jose and now Nashville's here. It's like it's both conferences that's kind of had, you know, a similar kind of stretch.

And in both cases, you're wondering. at some point, is there going to be separation here? I suppose there has to be. But, you know, I think there has to be. It could come right down to the end. Yeah, you're right. I don't know. You know, the thing, too, about the Kachuk thing, Brady,

number one, now you're kind of, you're saying, okay, Brady, you're back. We need that again. We need that more often. You know, Saturday is a big. emotional game. It's Toronto, right? Yes. But the other thing too, I wondered about that game is, I think you're right. Like Lee, Lee's the captain, he answered. But I wonder if coaches look at that and they say, we're not doing that for Ottawa again. That helped them too much. Now, sometimes you

might look at it and say, I'm happy to take Brady off the ice. But he was obviously a much different player for a lot of that game because he was engaged early, do you say, you know what, we're not doing that again next time. Brady's going to have to get into the game another way. Yeah, I can see that. I mean, I think there's definitely great mutual respect between the two guys in question here in this particular situation. But certainly if you're a team like the Islanders who also, you know, need points just as bad.

Like we were talking about this before we started recording, Elliot, like through all the shuffling in both conferences, like the Islanders, they're six and four in their last 10 games, which they're not shooting the lights out. It's also not a detrimental run to their season. And yet they're now on the outside looking in. Like there's just no room for for error here, it seemingly feels like. So, I mean, every little bit, I think it all has to be considered. The energy you're trying to create for your what potentially you could be giving to an opponent. So I wouldn't be surprised if that in certain cases is at least mentioned during the pregame video meeting when going over if Ottawa was the opponent. What could Chuck may be looking to do on a given night as he's trying to will himself through what's already been a demanding year. We know like the time is with injury right off the hop this season, which feels like forever ago now. But what's otherwise been an heavy season at times for the senators and yet here they are, still the math isn't great for them.

But they are within striking distance. Yeah, it does seem like every night there's a game of mortal significance out there. Yeah. Two of them. Three of them. And it's funny. Like you see some fans and they're after one, after a game, they'll be like, I'm spent. I hate these guys.

They're never going to make it. They're terrible. The next night they win. Everything's fine again. Yes. It is, it's winning in hell. It's like the fans are feeling the same thing. Kevin Shevolde off.

There's only two moods. winning and hell. Okay, this playoff format talk, right? Because that was one of the things that was discussed a little bit coming out of the general managers meetings, not during the meetings per se, but it was asked and oh, Mike Russo was questioning the commissioner on the current format and if there was an appetite at all to go back to the one versus eight because that conversation has certainly been out there, particularly this year when you look at, you know, the three of the best teams in the league all residing in the central division.

And what this can mean, we've seen it in years past with the Atlantic and, you know, you don't have to look very far to find comparables over the last number of years. So it was one thing, Elliot, I don't know if you agreed or saw it similarly. But when Bettman in his answer talked about how, okay, we love how there are a lot of series in the first round that go long. On top of the fact that the first round is very compelling and sets up, you know, a great rest of the playoffs. That it's not so much, you know, dipping your toe into the water when the playoffs begin in April every year. Because for a while, I've myself wondered, okay, what's it? it for the league besides the fact that, you know, Betman doesn't like undoing something that they've,

they've changed to the league under his watch. You know, what's kept them so hellbent on this current format with the divisions and having to go through your own division and the wildcard system as well? And when he said that, when he talked about having long series in the first round, more opportunity for doing that and more likelihood, it finally started to make sense for the first time for me of like, oh, that is why. So I asked our group just to dig up some numbers here, Elliot, because I was curious. You know, of the previous format, the one to eight, the two conferences that started in 1999,

went all the way to 2013, and then now compared it to the format we're under currently that started in 2014. So the amount of sweeps in the old format, it was certainly more on average in the one versus eight versus now the current system. Also, we should mention some of those years, as you know, it was pre-salary cap. So take that for what it's worth. Not a great deal in between, but there was more the old way than there is the new way. also when looking at series that went at least six games in the old format, it was about 60% of the time, the new format. And again, with this, for the sake of this argument,

I took away 2020, 2021, because things were altered those two years, as we remember. But 60% in the old format, 68% in the new format. So not two completely different worlds per se, Friege, but not understanding the full inner workings when it comes to, how this all works business-wise, but you can certainly understand the idea of, okay, even if it's 8% greater, that's still more tickets to sell,

that's more drinks and popcorn and hot dogs to sell, that's more merchandise to sell, more everything when it comes to revenue. And we know the league likes to chase that down. So trying to make sense of why it's remained this format, even though it can drive fans, crazy, especially when your favorite team has to go up against another juggernauts so early in the playoffs. Starting to make a little more sense why the league likes it so much.

You know what, Kyle, you kind of said this dissertation to me the other day, and I think you're probably right about it. I think Betman really does value the first round, the energy and the frenetic nature of it. I think he thinks it's a good thing for the sport and it brings a lot of attention. And I don't think he really wants to change that. I do think it's also because that this system is kind of quote unquote his. It matters. You've got to give them a lot of reason to change something. And so far, nothing does.

But, you know, I've also felt that TV people like nice, clean, brackets and it gives them the opportunity for clean brackets that are easy. And I've heard in the past that that matters to some of the TV executives. And we all know one thing. TV executives, they run the league. Yes. Well, we are under a month away from the playoffs getting underway officially. Elliot, but as you say, in a lot of ways, it has felt like it has already begun.

Okay, some other things to get to here, Fridge on this Friday edition. Austin Matthews, so he had surgery done on Thursday, Elliot, to take care of that MCL injury. It is a 12-week recovery timeline that the team announced. But I guess the most important thing here is that Matthews will be ready for next season. Anything else you want to say on the matter here with Matthews going under the knife? Not really. I think now it's sort of like, okay, when do they sit down and talk about things? In terms of his future, in terms of the team's future.

Both. Yeah. And there's a lot. That's probably the next big one. Yeah, the biggest one. When you consider the direction of the franchise, Yep. It's going to be, you know, I, this has a chance to be a crazy offseason.

I think it really does. And I don't know what Matthews is going to decide. I haven't had the opportunity to speak to him about it. But, I mean, there's, especially where some of these teams go out, could be a really wild off-season. Especially because, you know, the free agent class obviously is not going to be what could have been when we looked at a year previous with how many have re-upped. That's one thing. The cap going up, as you have talked about, and we have discussed here on this podcast, the value now moving forward of having term and cost certainty.

Yes. And what teams may be willing to pay to do that. And now, like, these new players entering the waters of big game hunting when it comes to teams that were in rebuilds, that were still trying to get out of it for many, many years are now starting to arrive and trying to do certain things. It's kind of creating the perfect storm. And a franchise like Toronto seemingly having a multitude of decisions to make big ones of that, in terms of not only determining the direction they are headed, but who's going to be part of the direction they ultimately want to go in as well. There's a lot, a lot there that should, I mean, that's all to come after what we hope is

a tremendous postseason. But yeah, I'm with you, man. There's a lot over the hill here around the whole league. and what's going on and what could go on in Toronto is certainly part of it too. So if you haven't ready yet, the latest 32 Thoughts blog, Elliot, you had that out somewhere in between. It's good to know that you at least had your laptop with you. Yeah, no power with the laptop, yes. Well, your power was in a different bag?

Yes, because I, when I'm taking, I don't want all the cords around my bag. so my laptop charger, unless I'm going on like an overseas flight, I put it in my, I pack it. That is wild. Oh, that's not wild at all. That's like nothing. No, I, especially in your line of work, that's, uh, I am shocked. I never would have guessed that. What do you mean my line of work?

Well, how often you are on devices? You're a big devices guy. And the devices need power. Well, anyway, you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the latest blog is up with Sportsnet.com. I run through a number of things. Matthews and what's coming for him being one of it.

Also, the GM search in Nashville seems like it's ramping up. Some of the names you mentioned, Mark Bergevan, of course, is a past GM, Brett Peterson as well, an assistant GM with Florida. So are you starting to get more of a sense of timeline there and how Nashville would like to approach things? determining who will succeed Barry Trots? So somebody was saying to me that they think Nashville's about to really cut this down and really turn serious, like in the next week or two.

And the challenge will be trying to figure out if they actually do this, who's on their short list? Because they've talked to a lot of people. And we talked about how they've spoken to some former GMs, they've spoken to some young up-and-comers. They've spoken to the Brandon Shanahan's of the world. And the thing is, and I didn't write it because I didn't really have time to get into it. But I did have somebody say to me, like, be careful how you, what you call these. I go, what do you mean?

I goes, well, not all of them are interviews. Some are more conversations. Some are like get-to-know conversation. I think there's people who've had more than one Zoom call with them. So they've interviewed all kinds. I'm not sure what the profile yet is of the person who's going to get it. But they've had contact with a lot of people, a lot. And it seems like they're getting close to a point now where they're willing to cut it down.

deep. Very good. Okay, with that, time now for the final thought, which is presented by the Toyota BZ, go all-electric and a winter-ready Toyota BZ at your local dealer today. And Elliot, as we left Florida after the GM meetings, I mean, you talked about it. There were some reports out there about a moment during the meetings where headshots was brought up. And Eric Tulski raised his concerns about where the, you know, interpretation of the rule and whether it was still being called as firmly as it should be. Gary Bettman, the commissioner, had his thoughts on all of that and things moved on from there. So that was one moment. But the discussion of goalie interference, which we had talked about going in, felt was going to be part of the week. And it certainly was. And so if anything got spicy at all over the few days among the managers and the league representatives, it was more likely it had to do with goalie interference than anything else.

Is that fair? Yes. I do think if there was a contentious conversation, it was about goalie interference. The one about headshots, I guess Betman got up there and said in, I don't know if I would say it was a quieter moment, but they were discussing overall topics on Tuesday. and Bettman said there's one owner who is said to me that he wants more of a conversation about headshots. And so what he did was he asked the managers, do they have an issue or a concern about the way Rule 48 is called or interpreted?

That's the illegal check to the head. Or is there anything around that rule that they wanted to address? And I guess it was quiet for a second. And Eric Tulski from Carolina spoke up about, yeah, he believes it's a problem. And the commissioner said, well, I guess we know which owner complained about this. And like, I don't know how like if people, I'm not really sure what the reaction was if they kind of laugh or just snickered at the absurdity at all or anything like that. But I heard it really wasn't a big deal. And then Betman said, does anybody else have an issue?

And there was no real response. They just moved on. And, you know, I've had a couple people tell me, like, they have seen Betman dressed down people before. And that is super uncomfortable. This was nothing like that. Like they said that the stuff that happened with the gold tend of interference where Pat Verbeek was involved to was much more with an edge than this. And, you know, I had a couple people say to me that they really, more than a couple, a few people say to me that they really respected that Pulski didn't back down and he spoke up.

And nobody else agreed with him like he did with Verbeek, but nobody felt embarrassed for him or. or felt that, you know, Betman piled over into the ground or anything like that. They just kind of moved on. And like as one guy said to me, it's not the first time someone's going to bring up something and nobody else in the league supports them. So, you know, they felt it wasn't like humiliating or anything like that.

But I do think the more contentious one was the goaltender interference. and, you know, part of me wonders if it's, you know, remember you said during the one of our hits from Florida is that Campbell kind of has that biting width. I've been on the receiving end of it before and it's kind of funny. Like sometimes when he takes a shot at you, it's actually really funny. Like that happened to me there. He took a shot at me one of the days the GM and I laughed. I thought it was pretty creative. Like, Peros doesn't really do that.

He just calmly and rationally explains, this is my opinion. Campbell will challenge you. And sometimes I wonder if that leads to more of a pushback because some of those people, when, you know, especially some of the GMs like Verbeek, when he was a player, if you pushed him, he clobbered you into the next galaxy, right? So oftentimes I wonder if it's some of the makeup of the personalities involved that leads things to go off the rails. But I have to tell you that people said that the one about the headshot, the Dundon was, is it been upset about. They thought it was actually pretty mild.

Now, did you, because we talked about this last year coming out of those GM meetings, I mean, they really tried to, at least create the idea that more or less, everybody, you know, when it comes to the teams, the league, are at least on the path towards being on the same page when it comes to understanding something like goalie interference going into the playoffs. That was really clear at these meetings one year ago. Leaving Florida this time around, Elliot,

I don't feel the same way. And so I'm nervous for when that first one comes in the postseason where you see the first replay, you see the first couple replays, and you go, I don't know. Because I've really, like, I will say it. I think the two of us have both been pushing the idea of the simpler, the better when it comes to describing, you know, what is okay, what is not okay.

You know, the less time we've got to sit here debating, well, is this a goal? Is this not a goal? The better. We don't need the additional debates in our lives or cluttering up any other games or fan discussion or anything. But the problem is with how a number of calls have gone, both for and against this season.

and we've heard from a number of coaches that are becoming more and more outspoken, it just hasn't helped the matter. You know what it is, Kyle, in my case, it's my job to explain it. Like, that's my job. Mm-hmm. And I don't know. I just, I think you said it right. I feel a little bit confused right now.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. That's always, that should be a warning to everybody when Elliot is confused. Trouble. This is the whole podcast of confusion. My brain is scrambled right now. Yes. Supposed to get easier after the trade deadline.

I don't know why, but I feel really scrambled. Yeah. Well, sound like you were getting cozy at least, so me thinks it's getting close to bedtime. Yeah, I'm calling the end to this one. It's bedtime. All right, good. Well, that was the final thought presented by the Toyota BZ.

Oh, before we take the break, quickly, congratulations, Mike Feudah. will be inducted into Etobico Sports Hall of Fame. Great news. Well deserved. Yes. I'm very happy for Mike. I know a lot of people may not know about the Atobico Sports Hall of Fame,

but it's in the Maple Leafs practice facility. And so the people who are in there, they get legitimate visibility. I actually, and I have a thing. I like small halls. of fame, like in smaller places. I like walking into them. Like in San Jose, when I go to see Sharks games,

they have like a San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. And I always liked looking at, like some of the people like you've never heard of, right? Like where the Jets practice facility is, they have like the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. And there's a whole bunch of people in there that are probably very big names in Manitoba, but I have no idea who they are.

And I love reading about people like that. Yeah, really nice. And they have a great display there. And Mike is now going to be part of it and we'll fit right in. So Mike, congrats to you. And why don't we take our first break here? We both need it. When we come back, the latest edition of the Thoughtline on 32 Thoughts, the podcast after this.

All right, hot off the press is a brand new edition of the Thoughtline, Elliot, after our time in Florida, anything, stand. out to you in terms of run-ins, things you need to get off your chest, shout-outs, anything before we proceed any further. You know there are, Kyle. You know there are. No shout-outs this week because instead, well, actually, I am going to say a shout-out. A whole bunch of you sent me a picture of that $400 raccoon head on the wall with a cigarette

in a beer can, and I am going to track it down. I just want you all to know at some point that is going to end up in my house. But as Kyle knows, the primary thing I want to discuss about this week is I want to perform a public service on this pod. I know there are a lot of families who listen to this, and I am going to teach all the men, and the boys a lesson about urinal etiquette. Okay? I walk in, there's where we're meeting for the GM meetings in Florida, there was a bathroom near the room.

I walk into that bathroom on Monday morning. There are three urinals in that bathroom. Renault-Lavois is by himself. of TV Aspor. TV Asper, generally a really good guy except for this. Kyle, of the three urinals,

which one do you think he was in? All I can say is, I know there is one wrong answer here, and I'm starting to wonder if he made the wrong decision. He sure did. He went into the middle one. Oh, I walked

in there and I said to him, Renaud, what are you doing? He had no idea what I was talking about. I said, you walked into a washroom with three of them. They're all clear.

And you went to the middle one. You don't do that. Pick a side. Right side. Left side. I don't care. You pick a side. And he looked at me like I was wrong. So I,

I just want to say we appreciate all the families who listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast, but if you're like a younger kid and you don't know this, pick aside. I remember I told the story a little while ago about my sixth grade teacher had the manned magazines for us at the back of the class. Yes. I remember reading a cartoon on one of the mad magazines. editions that addressed all of this, urinal etiquette. And it's taken me all the way to adulthood in the back of my mind.

It reminds me of that Fred Armisen character in the one episode of Parks and Rec, where all those things straight to jail, right? It's like you turn without signaling, straight to jail. You overcook a chicken straight to jail. You undercook a chicken, straight to jail. You take the middle urinal of, three when all of them are unoccupied, straight to jail. Straight to jail.

Reno-L-Lavois, really good man, great guy, good reporter, anarchy in the bathroom, anarchy. And now has a criminal record to show for it. That's right. Oh, gosh. Let's get to the thought line. Okay, Jerry from Unionville. Hello, 32 thoughtsters.

First things first. Elliot, yes. You normally have excellent insight. But your take on the strike three call that ended that terrific Dominican Republic USA game was terrible, my friend. An inch or two off the plate, yes, as a batter, you have to swing for those, but half a foot down, come on. Okay, I'm going to say this, Jerry. I'm going to say this to everybody else. That pitch, this guy Miller, I didn't realize how unhittable he's been in the last, I don't know, 50 innings he's thrown.

I did see somebody online, and it's online, so it has to be accurate, who claim that might have still been a strike using the electronic system. What a claim. Because it was close enough to the lines when it ducked. I'm just saying, was it Mark Katsay, who ended a Boston-Oakland series striking out looking like about 20 years ago? Don't get. caught looking. I know. You got to get the bat off the shoulder.

I just love that we both put our stakes in the ground and are not moving from it. I'm not backing down on this one. So he goes on to say, Jerry does. All jokes aside, I do have a question. You mentioned last pod about the NHL contract for Cole Hudson only be able to increase 100% year over year. And that's why he may wish to have more bonuses in their deals, even. if they are not likely to meet them.

Could you please explain that more? I feel like we often see players sign out of their entry-level contract for significantly more than 100% of their previous deal and free agents as well. Hold on, I'll get through it. Yeah, yeah. You're going. Even a guy resigning like he for Sherwood, for example, made one and a half mil per season on his previous deal, now signing with San Jose for over five, which seems to be a lot more than 100%.

Are there only specific situations you said would a play? why maybe there is something I'm missing here, a la an obvious ball forecall. I appreciate all you guys do. Thanks for your insight. Jerry, I understand your question. And yes, I'm talking about the same contract. So because Keith for Sherwood, for example, signed two different contracts, the two-year deal, which was worth just over a million a year,

and now the new extension at five times 5.7 or whatever it is, those are two different contracts. That doesn't count. you can go over 100%. Cole Hudson signed a three-year entry-level contract standard under the CBA for his age. In each of those years, it can't go over 100%. And so if Kiefer Sherwood, his new contract, the five-year deal, it couldn't go over 100% more in his new contract.

But from one contract to another, you can have whatever jump or drop is necessary. All right. Thank you for clarifying. Good question, though. I can understand why you wondered about that. That's fair. Nicholas from St. Louis. I have a question concerning roster management.

I knew that you guys could answer for me, and it would be reliable. Oh, boy. Do not put your cart before the horse here, Nicholas. Oh, man, Nicholas. Boy, do you have faith. I appreciate your faith, Nicholas. I play a lot of fantasy hockey

and notice that both Dylan Larkin and Andrew Cop were not placed on IR when they got injured, but remained on the roster. The Red Wings called up Leonard under emergency conditions, but there was not a roster spot available. Did I make a mistake? Or is there no roster limit after the trade deadline? You did not make a mistake, Nicholas. As a matter of fact, at midnight, the morning of the trade deadline. So this year, March 6th, the moment we hit midnight and it switched from March 5th to March 6th, you were allowed to go over a 23-man roster. You still must stay under the salary cap. But for example, if you've got a lot of cap room and you want to have 27 players on your roster,

you can do that. So yes, on the day of the trade deadline, you are allowed to go over 23 as long as you remain under the salary cap. Okay, from Craig. Hello to the three amigos. I was at West McCauley's 1500th game. I know Carrie Fraser has the most games refereed at 1905. Made me wonder how many games an average referee does in a season and what's the typical spread between a ref that covers the least games and the one who does a lot during a typical season. Is there a golden whistle or something for a thousand games?

Any such thing as an iron ref streak? The ref world is fascinating. I'm sure I can look some up, but I'm too lazy. You've come to the right place. We are happy to pick up the slack. We are only a little less lazy. Yes. And generally do nothing with it.

But we're happy to try. So, great question, Craig. And this is one I assume you did the legwork on, Kyle. Yeah. I wouldn't submarine you like this. So in general officials, whether a referee or lines person, they are contracted to work 73 games

during the regular season. Both guys end up around, you know, 72 to 75. There are a small collection of officials, so those are full-time guys. Small collection of officials, kind of like players in this situation, on two-way deals. They work the vast majority of their games in the American League,

but get called up from time to time to fill in for injuries or if there's travel issues, or guys that they just want to get some NHL experience that they one day perhaps see as being full-time guys in the National Hockey League. Some of them would work as little as two to five games during a year. Some of them could work 30 plus. There's a lot of range there.

I don't know in asking around of any current iron ref streak that has kept track of or that is known of internally. But I didn't realize that Brad Kovac, now he's a lines person, but he is the most senior official right now. It's just 30th season this year and has done over 1,900 games. I think he's over 1950 right now. So very impressive for Brad. As we've seen, you know, they do a nice on-ice presentation when an official hit 1,000 games.

They got usually their family in. They get to pick the crew that they get to work with. And if those officials that are fortunate enough to get to something like 1,500, there's other awards and stuff done behind the scenes to celebrate that as well. But hopefully, Craig, that gives you a snapshot of what a typical season looks like for an official and what's done when they hit various milestones. Anything you want to add to that? No, I think you've got it all covered.

I'm really curious to see how long Wes goes for because 1500, it's a lot of games, but he's still a referee the NHL considers in very high esteem. And as long as they feel he can keep up, I can imagine they will continue to see him in high esteem. Yeah, great point. Okay, Jeremy from Tampa, I was looking at the box score for the Utah versus Dallas game earlier this week and saw that although six goals were scored by Utah,

no player had more than one point in the game. Has this happened before? And what is the most goals a team has scored in a game with no player putting up multiple points? So, Elliot, I was a little surprised to learn that that was only the fourth time in history. A team has put up six goals and no player had more than one point.

Really? Yeah. I don't know why I thought that it would have been a little more frequent than that. You would just assume in all the games in the NHL history, the league's been around over 100 years. I would have guessed higher, too. I'm surprised at that.

Only four. And there's never been a case where a team has scored more than six and nobody had multiple point nights. So that is tied for the record. Jeremy, you are eagle-eyed. Yeah, great big. Very impressive. Do you know the other games?

Like, was there any other ones that are wrong? recent? Yes, there is one from about three years ago. Hmm? The Montreal Canadians put up six against Arizona. No multi points there. And the only other two times were both in the 80s. In November of 84, Chicago did it against the Rangers. And in November of 83, the Devils did it to Chicago. Wow. That is it.

What a question. First of all, great research by our crack staff. And great question. I never would have known that. Never. All right. We'll wrap up this edition of the thought line with an unnamed voicemail. Hello, Dom, Kyle, and Elliot's barbecue.

This question is a trivia question. After the recent Tampa and Buffalo game that ended with a score of 8-7, I was wondering what is the highest scoring game of all time to go to overtime. And in addition to that, what is the highest scoring game of all time, period? It's just love to see if Elliot knows this off the top of his head. Thank you. Always enjoy the show. Our listeners love hearing you score.

Well, my barbecue does not have an answer to that question, but I do. Nice. The highest-growing game in NHL history is 21, and I think it's happened twice. I think there was a game between like 100 years ago between, I don't even know what the Maple Leafs were called then. They might not have been called the Maple Leafs yet. They might have still been the St. Patrick's, and they lost to Montreal 14 to 7. And there was another game between Edmonton and Chicago, I think, was 12.9.

21's the record. The one I always remember was there was one in Toronto with Gretzky at his Prime. And that was in 1986 where the Oilers lost the Maple Leafs 11-9. I remember watching that game on television, but I know 21 is the record. The most with overtime, I don't know that one, Kyle. Like, I don't know that one off the top of my head. I'm trying to think if I can remember a game that had a lot of goals that went to overtime. First of all, Bravo for completely nailing the two highest scoring games in history without needing overtime. Well, it's just, you know why?

Because I remember that 11-9 game, right? Like that was that there were two, growing up in Toronto, there were two games against the Oilers that a lot of people in my age remember. And one was that 11-9 game. And I just remember it didn't set the record. It missed by one. So it's just, it's one of those things you remember from childhood. And there was another one when the leaves were not very good.

They traded for Michelle LaRoc. And in the first week, the first Saturday night game he played for the Leaves, they beat the Oilers at nowhere 7 to 1, and LaRocque stopped Wien Gretzky on a penalty shot. And it was just a big game in Toronto. So that one I just remember off the top of my head. But I don't know the highest. I know there was a 9-8 game in the NHL a couple of years ago.

I think it was the Kings in Seattle, but I don't remember if that one went to overtime. Okay, are you looking this up? No. You're just playing dumb here? Yeah, I swear I got it. That's the one. You're kidding me.

Yes, that's the record. That's a fluke. Like, I remember that was a 9-8 game, but I didn't remember if it went to overtime. No, I would admit to you if I was looking it up. Yeah, no, you got it. Well, that's a fluke. The 21 goals, that one I knew off the top of my head, but 9-8 is a total fluke. It was November 29th.

2022. And yeah, Seattle over L.A. 9 to 8. They let an 8-6 lead get away. But Andre Burekowski in the extra frame. And it matters. And you even nailed it was, it was the Toronto St. Pat's too in the game over 100 years ago. That was the version. Like I said, I remembered that one because the leaves got to 20 in that game against Edmonton. And we all thought it was the record and it wasn't. So I just remember those.

Excellent. Great place to leave it. 1833, 311, 323. If you would also like to leave a voicemail, maybe you have some trivia of your own for Elliot to try to test them with. Or you can email us at 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.ca. Take one final break and wrap up this edition of 32 thoughts on the other side. All right, so it seems like we've got this beautiful little juxtaposition in sports this weekend.

Of course, it's the opening weekend of March Madness, second round of game Saturday, Sunday, single game elimination, you win, you move on, you lose your season over. And then in the NHL, as we talked about throughout this podcast, it is like a playoff race that seemingly will go right down to the wire here all the way to the end of the regular season. And it continues on Saturday. Another edition of Hockey Night in Canada, 630 Eastern Ron McLean Company for Hockey Central Saturday. Three games in the seven eastern window. again this weekend, including the Battle of Ontario, the Leafs and the Sends in Ottawa for the first time this season from the nation's capital.

That one's got huge implications for the senators, as you all know. And then the New York Islanders and the Canadians, both teams, needing to continue to collect points. Amazingly, the Islanders find themselves on the outside looking in, waking up here on Friday morning. St. Louis Blues in Vancouver, that one, a 4 o'clock Pacific local time from Rogers Arena. and the late game this Saturday,

the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton O'Ellas. That should just be a ton of fun. McDavid, Kutrov and the rest. Who wouldn't want to wrap up a Saturday night watching those two teams go at it? And beyond that, after hours this week, a very special edition. Scott Oak and Louis DeBrusk,

joined by multi-Stanley Cup winning head coach and the head coach of Team Canada at the Four Nations and at the Olympics this past February in Milan, John Cooper. You know whenever he sets in front of a camera and a microphone, it is much listen. It is much watch. Very much looking forward to this week's edition of After Hours from Edmonton at the conclusion of the Oilers and the Lightning. All right.

Taking us out today, a track from Alex Warms, who's a Hamilton-based singer-songwriter and screen composer who flawlessly blends indie, rock, pop, jazz, and cinematic styles into a sound. that is at once intimate, anthemic, and unforgettable. Of her latest single, Paranoid, Warms says, growing up, I learned to be cautious to a fault. Recently, I stopped to consider the ways paranoia has impacted my life and felt angry at all the missed opportunities this created. It was time to let out the frustration I kept bottled up. This single is a turning point into a louder, more chaotic era,

setting the foundation for a larger project unfolding, throughout the year. And as fate would have it, for those in the area, tonight, this Friday, March 20th, 9 p.m., Alex is performing at Farside in Hamilton. So here she is. Alex Warms and Paranoid taking us out on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Have a great weekend. Hang up on white blouse. Tidy up lights out. Dreamlet I'm downtown. making you perfectly shamed round all of my freak friends wasting the weekend not concerned about what anybody else may have thought know the truth what I'm afraid of guess you trapped me in ideality became exactly What you told me to beat them

To be paranoid like you I was on my knees begging Your blessing Teach me a lesson To dressing My bedroom door is open That can happen