32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Offseason Thoughts for All 32 Teams

Episode Date: September 6, 2024

Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas kick off this season of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast by doing a deep dive into every team's offseason. Included in the discussion is their thoughts on the vigils and tributes for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. The guys look at what's holding up a possible Sidney Crosby extension, as well as what will come this season for Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs. They also talk about Leon Draisaitl's new contract, Thatcher Demko's health in Vancouver, and much more. San Jose (8:15)Chicago (12:00)Anaheim (16:30)Columbus (21:30)Montreal (32:00)Utah (37:20)Ottawa (41:00)Seattle (50:45)Calgary (54:45)New Jersey (1:01:15)Buffalo (1:03:50)Philadelphia (1:06:45)Minnesota (1:11:40)Pittsburgh (1:16:00)Detroit (1:21:20)Washington (1:26:10)St. Louis (1:30:50)New York Islanders (1:34:20)Vegas (1:37:10)Tampa Bay (1:40:20)Los Angeles (1:43:40)Nashville (1:45:45)Toronto (1:48:40)Edmonton (1:54:40)Colorado (1:59:00)Boston (2:02:35)Vancouver (2:08:45)Florida (2:14:15)Winnipeg (2:18:15)Carolina (2:22:10)Dallas (2:27:35)New York Rangers (2:30:20) This podcast was produced and mixed by Cam Barra and hosted by Elliotte Friedman and 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.   

Just use your head, Kyle. Your hair won't go out of place. By the way, that's what someone tweeted at me. They should have caused, I want to find this, but I want to give credit to the specific tweeter. That's what someone tweeted at me. Northern Neighbor said this podcast should be called Best Hair vs. Worst Hair.

But I'm not sure which of us is which. You're not? I think I'm pretty sure i can remember a time a couple years ago where we were sitting in las vegas and we were taping the podcast jeff merrick and i and i remember thinking we were going to do this for 2 000 years years. And you may think I'm joking, but I'm not joking. We were going to outlive everyone. We were going to see a world with flying cars. We were going to see a world with space travel. We were going to see the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup. We were going to see a Middle East where Jews, Christians, and Muslims, along with everyone else, were going to live in safety and security, free to live their lives as they pleased.

We were going to see all of that because we were going to do this podcast for 2,000 years. We were going to be partners until the end of time. What's Mike Tyson's old line? Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. Now, I know there've been people out there who've been saying, I should address this, talk about what happened, give my feelings. And someday, probably when I write a book, I will. But I know that if this happened to me, I wouldn't want any of my friends to say anything until I had a chance to do it. So my belief has always been, aside from the one post on X, my belief has always been it's Jeff Merrick's story to speak about first, and that's where I'm going to leave it.

When Jeff talks, someday after that, I will talk. Jeff is a great broadcaster. He brought out the best of me in this podcast. He was a huge reason for its success, a huge reason it's gotten built to what it is. I will miss his stupid, weird ideas, and I will miss working with him. And as great as he is a broadcaster, he's an even better person. The thing I like the most is that I believe Jeff will land on his feet. And that's important for him and his family. And I look forward to seeing what the next chapter in his life is. Obviously, I'll miss him

just as all of you will too. After this all happened, I was given the option of ending the podcast. That was one of the first things that Sportsnet said to me. Do you want to continue with the podcast? And not for a second was my answer going to be yes. Number one, I'm not a quitter. Number two, life is a place where we like to think we control our fates, but we really don't. There are a lot of things that happen to us that we don't control and we have to react to them. We have to be the ones to say, okay, I'm going to take that gut punch and I'm going to continue going in spite of it.

And one of the major reasons I wanted to continue doing the pod is because number one, I love it. I love doing this podcast. I love everything about it. But number two, it's because I believe in a lot of things. Number one, I believe in all of you, the audience. I have never taken the audience for granted. We are very, very lucky, everyone who works on this, very, very lucky that we have a loyal audience that good or bad, and we've put out great episodes and we've put out terrible episodes. You have been loyal to us. And so I believe in the audience. Number two, he's on vacation traveling all over Europe right now, but I believe in our producer,

Dom Sramati, just as I believed in Amal before him, who's a great producer. I think Dom Sramati is a great producer, and I believe in Dom. Number three, I believe in myself. And number four, I believe in the new co-host of the 32 Thoughts podcast. You know who he is, the smiling assassin, the annihilator of ice cream, Kyle Bukoskis. Welcome aboard, Kyle. Wow, Elliot, first off, thank you. Second of all, I'm trying to picture what you would look like 2,000 years old. I'd have a beard, I could tell you that. Yeah, by that point, no one would be able to tell you no. You know, I was incredibly flattered when you asked, and I just say, I mean, of course, I hate the situation around this all, but man, am I ever grateful. I've got such an

incredible deal of appreciation for this audience. I look forward to getting to know them more here as we move forward. I remember having a conversation with David Amber last year during the playoffs. We were commenting on how often, you know, when we would be on the road, the three of us and the rest of our crew leaving an arena after the game, and there was still some fans hanging around, and the amount of them that said hey elliot love the pod elliot try the ribs elliot i like kevin bx a better

it all just nobody said that no one said that i think one at least did it but it all just spoke to uh just the the the reach and and the impact that this show has, has made. So, um, I mean, I understand people are, are resistant to, to change and I totally get it, but Elliot, have you, do you watch the show? The bear? No, you know what? I tried. I couldn't get into it. I know that makes me a loser because a lot of people out there love the bear, but I tried and I couldn't get into it. Well, I know I don't. I mean, it's a great show, but it is a lot. Anyway, so Jeremy Allen White's character, Carmi, one of his great mentors in the culinary field in this show is Chef Terry, who had a sign in her kitchen that read,

every second counts. And so that's how I'm going to approach this. And damn it, let's have some fun along the way. So go ahead. Let's stop blathering along and let's give the audience what they want, the content. Yes, yes. So with that, we welcome you to the 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by GMC. All right, Elliot. So the last couple of weeks, activities have been picking up around the league. We're less than two weeks away from the start of training camp.

You were just at Disneyland. And I love that before you left, you were all, well, it's the last trip of the summer. I'm going to try to stay off my phone. And then it seemed like any time your wife, Steph, would post a video on Insta, and the camera turned to you and you were on your phone. You couldn't help yourself, but I think it speaks to what's going

on and everything you've been trying to stay on top of. Look, we're all slaves to that thing. Someday I'm going to deprogram myself, but right now we're all slaves to it. So where do you want to begin? Well, I think, why don't we go through the entire league, and maybe this time we'll start from the bottom of the standings from last season and work our way up. All right. If that works. You're the boss. You tell me what to do.

Okay. We'll begin with the San Jose Sharks, who landed Macklin Celebrini first overall. They got him signed. Will Smith out of Boston College, he's now with the NHL club. Ryan Worsofsky is the new head coach there. And it was a pretty busy off season for Mike Greer. What did you think of all the work that he got done?

I thought San Jose had a good summer, Kyle. I think for them, you know, I remember I was joking that celebrating not playing in the NHL, the idea that he should go back to college was loser thinking. So I think it's a big win for the Sharks that they convinced him and Will Smith it was the right thing to do. They surrounded them with some pros. Tyler Toffoli was obviously a big one. They needed somebody who could play with these guys, who could finish with these guys. That was an important get for him. And I'll tell you something else too. I think Iskarov, the goalie from Nashville,

was an important get for them too because I think he's a really talented young guy. And San Jose also convinced him, and we'll talk a bit more about Iskarov when we get to the Nashville part of this, but San Jose convinced him that they had a path for him. They gave him an extension. They made it him that they had a path for him they gave him an extension they made it look like they had a plan and I think that that was what the kid needed to be

convinced that there was a path for him to the NHL relatively quickly and it was a victory for the Sharks they were able to do that when I was in Prague I had a chance to sit down with Zetterlund and Eklund both really impressive kids the one thing that they really talked about was how much they both had a chance to watch some of Celebrini's games or his highlights and they both were excited about his skill set they talked about him being both a scorer and a distributor and obviously he's going to have his growing pains kyle like nobody like only you walk onto the set of hockey night in canada and have no problems like maclin celebrini he's going to have some rough nights uh when he starts in the nhl but the thing that was really interesting about what those two guys told me especially zetterland was last year was

so hard they only had 19 wins they only had 47 points but they talked about being part of the team when it got better and everything they did last year they were like forget about the losses let's worry about being better so we can help being part of the change and it's obvious that even though the Sharks are going to be far from the playoffs this year, I think a lot of the players and a lot of the organization look at this as, okay, now we're building our way back up. We've got a long way to the top of the mountain, but we're building ourselves back up. You heard anything health-related on Logan Couture's future future i think we're going to

get a better idea of that when training camp starts i know he hopes to play again i i know that uh like one of the things i was wondering was there any chance it could be over and i definitely didn't get that impression but i assume when he starts skating or he's around before camp uh we'll get up to, we'll get up to, uh, we'll get up to speed. And by the way, I wanted to give a shout out to Brody Brazil.

He announced on, uh, X today that he's leaving, uh, those broadcasts. And, uh, Brody was a really funny guy and,

uh, was a big part of NHL broadcasting world. So want to wish him the best. Beautiful. Likewise for me. So from San Jose, let's go to Chicago. I want to wish him the best. Beautiful. Likewise for me. So from San Jose, let's go to Chicago. I know you don't mean it. Great.

I'm glad you're unearthing all the truths about me here right out of the hop. Let's go to Chicago here, Frege, because the Blackhawks second last in the West last year. Conor Medard wins the Calder trophy. Kyle Davidson said at the outset of the offseason that there needs to be a progression, that the standard has to be raised.

Where do things stand with the Blackhawks? Well, I think they're kind of like the same thing, right? They went out and they got some more pros. And to me, the key thing about Chicago is that sometimes I think when a contract goes bad Kyle term kills you more than the money um right that to me is a place where some people kind of make more mistakes and if you look at the deals they signed Bertuzzi, Taravainen, they traded for Ilya Mikheyev, TJ Brody, like those kinds of players, they aren't big term deals. Like you're not looking at them and saying they're

going to be tied up. Like if you take a look at Vlasic, he's 23 years old. You're really good with that kind of term for him as a player and you know you've got to keep your flexibility obviously for Conor Bedard when you pay him 11 billion dollars in a couple of years so I think what they did was they surrounded him with some more veterans they are going to be better they still again got a long way to go but they're going to be a better but we're not ready yet to start taking the big swings to me what's going to be the most interesting thing is when does Chicago go out whether it's trade or free agency and they say all right we're Aaron Judge we're at the plate we're carrying the big bat and we're swinging for the fences that to me is the

big question about the blackhawks when does kyle davidson put on the stirrups and say all right i this isn't about warning track power anymore this is about fifth deck home runs or i should say wavelength avenue clearers how about that because it's wriggly well played and it seems to me too elliot and let me know if you you agree or not but i mean part of it was i mean they were ravished by injuries at time last year but i mean i think there are a lot of young players in that organization that were probably playing a little higher and leaned on a little more than maybe they should have been.

And I think that probably plays into how many, as you say, veteran guys that aren't signed to too long a term, but can come in and just help provide some support around those that they see as their future too. You know, I think that is such a big thing, Kyle. It's a great question because you know that your young kids, they need to have nights where they have their teeth handed to them

so they can understand how hard it is, right? But do you want that happening 50 to 60 times a year? Like we're going to talk about Chandler Stevenson when we get to Seattle. Like Chandler Stevenson to me is all about that that signing is all about that with the kraken but this to me like these blackhawks like they hit singles and doubles because they want players to go in there so their young guys won't totally get caved in. Like, again, we talked about the Sharks last. Like, Zetterlin and Eklund talked about how they had nights that were really disheartening,

and it became about we have to commit to being part of the solution. But it's hard to feel that way when you're getting hammered every night. And I think that's what Chicago's saying here. We're going gonna buffer some of our young players because you start to worry do they lose their confidence are they not developing like you don't worry about with that with Bedard like he's just another level but I think you worry

about that with some of your other guys and you just say okay, you don't have to worry about that all-star. You don't have to worry about that guy. You have to worry about just playing well. We've got someone else who can deal with that. So we'll go back to California and the Anaheim Ducks, Elliot. And is there something going on with the future of Cam Fowler who has two years left on his contract? Yes. It's almost as if you read my mind, Kyle,

that I wanted to talk about Cam Fowler. There is something going on here. I believe that Cam Fowler and the Anaheim Ducks are working on what his future could look like. I don't think this is, and I want to stress this, I don't think this is a negative in any way, shape, or form. I believe the player and the team are working together on this. Look, Cam Fowler, as you said, he's got two years left on his contract. He's a little bit older. two years left on his contract.

He's a little bit older. They've got a lot of good young players, a lot of good young players. And eventually what you've got to start doing is you've got to say, you know what, Cam, we have to start taking away some of your ice time so that these other players can learn what it's like to play in the important situations. And those are good young defensemen.

They've got a lot of talent, and he knows that when they're good and really ready to contend, it's going to be their team and not his team. Now, nobody's talking about this in terms of the team, but what I do believe is that Cam Fowler has a small trade list like I think four teams that he can be traded to but what I've heard is that Fowler has indicated a willingness to talk to more teams than that and consider more teams than that so I think this is going to be a story that's going to be worth watching over the next little while. Fowler has a lot of respect around the league. I think there will be interest.

The contract is an eight times eight contract, so it's not easy to fit as much. Everybody here is going to have to make it work, but I believe the Ducks are willing to talk about it I believe the player is willing to talk about it and I think I don't think anybody will be surprised if sometime this season Cam Fowler is elsewhere and from what I've been told it is a positive working environment with him and the Ducks about getting this done and finding him a new place to play. So that is a story to keep an eye on as we go here. I think the other one for Anaheim is John Gibson. I don't know where it stands right now. I also believe that the Ducks and Gibson have been working together to try to find him a new home. Obviously, that hasn't happened yet, but I do believe the situation is similar for Gibson. That's just been going on

longer. I think that the Fowler one is a relatively new phenomenon since the end of the season, and now it's ramped up here at the start of training camp as we approach it. But I believe Gibson is very much in the same boat. And I'm under the impression too with Gibson that even though he's got a trade list, he is willing to consider more situations too. Like I think both of these players have indicated that they are willing to work with the team

to find a situation for them. Okay. What did you think of them going back to the old school logo with the duck mask, but with their modern colors? Those things look great. That is one of the best uniform changes of the season. It looks fantastic. Someone joked to me, he said, this is someone else in the league, he said, their uniforms

are going to look better than a lot of their games this year. And then he said, under no circumstances are you to tell Pat Verbeek who said that. But like the Ducks are going in the right direction. They've got a lot of good young players. And I'll say the other interesting thing about the Ducks this year, Kyle, is that I think they took some big swings in free agency. I think they went hard at Stamkos. I think they went really hard at Jonathan Marcheseau. You know, I think they want to start ramping it up again. They want to start being more competitive. You know, Goudis, I think, is going to end up being the captain there this year. And, you know, they've got, obviously this year, Leo Carlson,

he's going to take a bigger role, and Cutter Gauthier. I mean, you know, Gauthier's going to be a watched guy this year because he's going to be a rookie, and because of the way things went with him in Philadelphia, everyone's going to be watching him, but the kid's really talented. I think the Ducks really want to take a step this season, and we'll see where it goes. Okay, Elliot, the Columbus Blue Jackets, to take a step this season and we'll see where it goes okay elliot uh the columbus blue jackets who

are still mourning and coming to grips with the the loss of johnny goudreau and and his brother matthew i mean let's face it we we all are um because of how it played out and and geez how seemingly avoidable it it all could have been i mean there seemed to be wonderful vigils both in Columbus and Calgary on Wednesday night. And I'm sure you caught just how beautifully I thought, you know, Boone Jenner, Eric Branson, Zach Wierenski, Michael Backlund in Calgary. That all spoke of just an unbelievable tragedy that struck Columbus and the hockey world at large. I don't know where you want to start here. Columbus and the hockey world at large. I don't know where you want to start here. You know, it's been a week, Kyle, and I still find it very difficult to explain my thoughts and put them in a coherent sentence. I'm still in shock. I think like a lot of people, I'm still in shock.

I agree with you. I thought the Blue Jackets did a beautiful vigil the other night, as did the Flames. I think the players and the people who spoke did the Goudreau brothers justice. I think the fans have been exceptional, not only in those two markets, but everywhere around the NHL. You know, I really feel for the families. I really feel for the Blue Jackets who go through another tragedy Don Waddell who went through a tragedy all those years ago with Dan Snyder you in your whole life you hope you avoid one and and now you have to deal with two. The players in both were there in Columbus for Matisse-Caiflanix and now Don Waddell, who was in Atlanta before. You know, the agent, the friends, Kevin Hayes.

Obviously, he's someone I think hugely about. You know, the impact that Goudreau, like I really believe in life, the best impact you can really have is by being a nice person. You know, I remember when I first started at Hockey Night and the biggest star that we had was Don Cherry. And in public, I was blown away by how good he was to people. I remember asking him about it once and he told me something I've never forgotten. He said, you know, you are nice to somebody. He said, it costs you nothing to be nice.

And if you are nice to somebody for one, five, 10 minutes, they are your fan and your friend forever. And there were all these, I saw stories about Uber drivers or DoorDash drivers who dropped off food to Johnny Goudreau and how nice he was to them. And just, he connected with people. And it's so obvious how much he connected with people. You know, he's obviously huge in Columbus. He was huge in Calgary.

You know, he's obviously huge in Columbus. He was huge in Calgary. You know, there was a fan who sent me a DM on X who said that he was going through a really tough time in his life when Johnny Goudreau showed up in Calgary and all of a sudden, like, he would look forward to Flames games to watch Johnny Goudreau, and it helped bring him some happiness. And what a legend he was in the area where he grew up and skated. There's a young player, Braden Scuderi. He's a 2009 born from the Philly area.

He plays at the Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island. He is one of the top forwards of his age group in the US. And he played two on two with Goudreau this summer at a rink in the U.S. and he played two-on-two with Goudreau this summer at a rink in the Philadelphia area and there was one play where he made a great pass to Goudreau and Goudreau scored on it but Goudreau almost missed it from the story I heard because he didn't think this young Scuderi, who's obviously a 15-year-old boy, would have been able to make the pass. And it meant the world from Scuderi that Goudreau looked at him and said, that was like a really impressive pass.

Like, I didn't think you were going to be able to do that to me. And Scuderi, who's not like a big kid, like all the players, not only in philly where he's from but all the small players like they idolize goudreau and um you know he made such an impact on a lot of people um you know i i'm still it's been a week and like a lot of people like i knew goudreau a little bit i I'd interview him. He was always very friendly, but I wasn't close friends with him. A lot of other players in media had better relationships,

but he had this ability to make you feel very important and make you feel very comfortable. I'm still very heartbroken. And I think, you know, Eric Goodbranson, just twice now, both when he met with the media and when he spoke at the vigil, Branson just twice now, both when he met with the media and when he spoke at the vigil, uh, talking about how, if you're not sure, don't get behind the wheel. You know, there's, there's too many options now go out and get someone else to drive you home, an Uber, a designated driver, a taxi, whatever it is. Um, that's the most important message for it,

Um, that's the most important message for it, but I'm, I'm, I'm so heartbroken for people who knew, uh, the Goodrose, uh, so much better than I do. And I, I really wish for and pray for the parents and the family. Like I've, I've lived through situations firsthand about, um, when you lose an immediate family member and how, like, I'm not the only one. There's a lot of people listening to this who've been through that. And it's, it's so, so hard and you so, so need the support. Like the one thing that I always remember is that when we went through it, like in the moment, you see all the people at the funeral, you see all the people who are right there and you need it. It's so important. But the key thing is, it's just human nature. The more time passes, the more some people move on. I always remembered the people who didn't forget, who made sure to keep in touch. And it's not that I thought that the people who didn't were bad people, because I don't think they're bad people. But I think that the ones who

invited us over for dinner or like months later, and that's the one thing I always try to be better at is as time moves on, it's harder for obviously the family, um, you know, just always send a note, always keep them in mind. Um, I wish them the best. It's, it's, it's so hard and it's, uh, I really don't know what else to say, Kyle. Like, what are your thoughts? Yeah, I think I, I feel similar. It's, it's hard to, because as I,, as I said right off the hop, it was all so avoidable, and it's a reminder of how delicate this all is, but it is impressive.

I mean, because it's so easy to get caught up. I mean, he'd been in the league for, what, 10 years, I mean, he'd been in the league for, what, 10 years. And certainly, you know, once you introduce contracts and cap hits and the ability to be a free agent, like, you lose sight of, A, the joy of the game and the impact that someone can have as a player on young fans. It was great. Uh, I mean, of course it, it, it is so hurtful and heartbreaking, uh, how it came out, uh, how,

how we were reminded of it all. Um, but, uh, just the, the, the anecdotes, um, as you say, the amount of people that were impacted positively whether it was a direct interaction with johnny or his brother matthew or just having the chance to watch him really is uh it it hits home um the impact you can have as a as as as a hockey player as as a person. So, Elliot, well said, man. To Guy and Jane and Meredith, Madeline, Katie, Kristen, Noah, little Johnny, Trip, we send our love. They did announce, Elliot, the memorial service is going to be next Monday, September the 9th at noon Eastern, 10 Mountain Time. Both the Flames and the Blue Jackets are going to provide live streams for those that wish to tune in and honour those two men.

To John. I've been lucky to play all around North America and I've been blessed with many amazing teammates. Though within all that movement, I struggled to find constant connection with many of them. When I moved to Calgary, we had our first beer together, Fort Lauderdale Hotel. I knew it was different. Over the next few years, that only grew. Your unique way of driving me crazy only brought me closer. There was always a method to the madness.

Our rides to the rink and knowing my stress level for punctuality, you would walk out seven minutes late. You were one of a kind, and we loved you. And we still do. You were an amazing father. I'll forever remember you complaining about a sore back after spending the night in Noah's crib, and the pride you carried the day you brought Johnny into the room for the first time.

The love you shared with Meredith was a sight to behold. You were truly a family man. And you will continue to inspire me to be just like you. You know, Kyle, I'm going to make an executive decision here. I don't really want to talk about the Blue Jackets as a team right now. I don't think it's fair to them until after the funeral. So we'll make some time, Blue Jacketsets fans to talk about the team somewhere down the road, but I just don't believe any business should be discussed until after the funeral. Okay.

So we'll try to transition then to the Montreal Canadians. And I mean, the one tie-in of course is what a neat tribute that Cole Caulfield is doing changing his number to 13, because of the impact that Johnny Goudreau had on him when he was a young player, and the fact that he wore 13 earlier on in his life, and he will again this season in Montreal. So third straight year of missing the playoffs for the Habs

as they're trying to continue their climb back up the standings and to be a postseason threat again. They made the deal to bring in Patrick Laine. He's been seen skating in Brossard at their practice facility. How are you feeling about where the state of the Montreal Canadiens are at under the... All right, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this.

Do you have the Canadiens as a playoff team this year? I'm going to make Montreal hate you first. Yeah. I don't like the predictions. I really don't. I understand the reason why we do it. If you're going to step out here and be the co-host of this podcast, you have to shed your wimpy skin.

No wimpiness. You've got to make predictions. Are the Canadians like the wimp days of hosts, like, when you're a ringside reporter, you can be a wimpy guy. Like, you don't have to make, you don't have to offend anybody. You don't have to say anything. Oh, my gosh.

When you co-host a podcast, you have to make predictions. No more wimpiness. That's unbelievable. Because every year, how many Saturdays, you know, you're cut out for 30 seconds for a hit and you're like you went you know they went 35 seconds Elliot needs his time um every year so if that is so not true on my part I am so loyal to the sideline reporters if anyone talks too long it's bx uh that's true I know I just had to drag you into this i understand so montreal i i think

they're going to be really close the thing is though like they actually it was tough to get engaged on last year because i mean kirby doc basically missed the entire year like alex new hook missed a bunch of time like they were went through the injury bug again in in a big big way um but if patrick line is healthy and in a good state, as he seems to be, he thinks he doesn't have any interest in coming back to being a 30-goal guy. He wants to be better than that. And now, whether it's a Lane Hudson or a Logan Mayhew or even a David Reinbacker trying to earn a spot here out of training camp, I think there's a lot to be excited in this franchise here to start camp.

Oh, I'll say this. We were in, we were in Europe with Slavkovsky and he looks like a monster. I think, I assume that piece is going to air early in the year. He let us see some of his training. I actually left the gym because it was a really tight gym and I didn't, like, I was just in the way. And also like, I'm, if you've seen me physically, Kyle, you know I'm allergic to gems. But he looks like a beast, like an absolute beast. And, like, I think he has a big season. I think Laine has a big season.

The Canadians really want him badly. Like, I think the Canadians really wanted, like, to add a big offensive player this year i mean we heard all the zegras rumors i don't think that's anywhere right now i'm not expecting that but they went out and they got line a and um like i i think if he can be what he can be that is a huge huge piece to their season me, the other question is at some point in time, like, you know, Gouley, he signed, so he's going to be a big part of their D for a long time. You know, Matheson's there, Savard's there. You know, Reinbacher is coming and they've got a

lot of other D. Everyone there is excited about Hudson, Mayhew. They've got Struble. They've got Jacki. To me this year, the question is how do they sort out their D? At some point in time, some of these kids are going to have to say, this spot is mine and you're not taking it away from me. They had to trade Jordan Harris because they just had too many of these guys. To me this year for Montreal,

I want to see the Canadians playing meaningful games in April. I don't think they get in, but I will be disappointed at the end of the year if we don't have a clear idea of what, or a more clear idea of what their defense is going to look like when they're good like that's that like that to me is the question who is stepping up this year and saying you can put me in in calligraphy i am a a Canadian's defenseman of the future. Calligraphy?

I think a lot of our audience have no idea what that is. I'm about to turn 54. I'm a really old man. That's why you're here now. You're supposed to have the young hip references. I've got the old stuff. Brings the average age to 49. You can put them in the Notes app, okay?

There you go. That they're on the depth chart. How's that? Better? Much better, yes. Now you've got me. Now you've got me. So, could be a big year for Montreal, and it's going to be, one way or another,

a big year in Salt Lake City. Yes. The inaugural season of the Utah Hockey Club. Andre Tourney still remains the head coach. Bill Armstrong's the GM. A lot of the players from Arizona are now in Utah. They made the big deal for Mikhail Sergeyev at the draft. They got John Marino as well.

How should year one be viewed in Salt Lake City, Elliot? Well, I think they have really high standards. That's the one thing I've heard there. They have high expectations. I watched the rookie showcase. I thought the uniforms looked really good. I'm really excited to see what they're going to come up with in the future, but I thought their new uniforms, they looked sharp for the fact that we know

that this is only an intermediate step. You talked about the upgrades on the defense. Like one of the things I heard about Utah is that like they're starting their big transition of that arena, and I heard they're sparing no expense like when they're you know changing the dressing rooms or upgrading the facilities they're not waiting to shop on prime days on amazon let's wait for a week until the price drops for prime day they're like this is the best not an elliot friedman reno that's right that's right yeah that's not like what's the lowest possible price we'll take that which is why all my renos go

poorly um no it's like what's the best thing we can do and we're going to do it and i've heard the the players have have really noticed that again um like i think the west is brutal like edmonton went to game seven of the final. They're going to be great. There's a lot of really good teams around there. And I always ask for a team that's like Arizona that wants to make the step, who are you knocking out? Like, look at those teams and tell me who's getting knocked out.

So that's the challenge is who are they going to pass. But, you know, I think they're hoping for a real big bounce back season from Vemelka. Connor Ingram had a great year last year. They believe in him. I think they're going to make a long-term commitment at some point to Dylan Gunther. They went out and they made the trade, as you mentioned, for Sergeyev.

I thought that was a huge deal for them and obviously a huge deal for Marino. But I still think they're waiting for their guys, the next wave of guys they've got there to take the jump. But the number one thing I believe is what do all these players look like now that the dark cloud of their future is behind them? They know they're here. They know they're going to be funded. They've got an owner who wants to do the things the right way. I just want to see how much better are they as a group because all that uncertainty is gone. And to your point, Elliot, I mean, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, when the calendar flipped to 2024 this season,

the Coyotes were in a playoff spot. And then just with all the noise about the uncertain future, things just derailed down the stretch from there. But they also introduced their broadcast team this week too. Great to see Matt McConnell continuing to provide play-by-play in Utah as he did for so many years with the Coyotes. So lots of reasons to be excited for the NFL franchise. Did you apply?

Yeah, right after I heard about this. Is that why you accepted? Because they didn't take you? Oh, darn, I didn't get the Utah job. I'm going to take this now. Yeah, I think they've definitely made the right choice. You did not. So from Utah, Elliot, to where I call home,

the nation's capital in Ottawa. You should talk about this team. I shouldn't talk about in Ottawa. You should talk about this team. I shouldn't talk about this team. You should talk about this team. Great. Like every year we go into the center season and everyone feels great. Like I know it is different this year. There's no question it feels different this year.

But every year. But the reason why. Every year we go into the center season everyone feels great yes because elliot for years i've heard you talk about the senators just need quiet around them yes thought maybe that last year was going to be the one like you know you think of once the ownership stuff got settled michael and lauer hits his introductory press conference out of the park. You talk about fifth-deck homers earlier. He hit one of those. And then the noise just got louder and louder with everything that unfolded,

the Shane Pinto suspension, all the stuff around the Evgeny Dadunov no-trade fiasco that cost Pierre Doria on his job. That first half of that year was as tumultuous as any, and there's been some whoppers around this franchise, as you know. But it seems like now, Elliot, finally there is some quiet. Steve Stales, at their kind of media kickoff event at the arena on Wednesday, said, you know, our feet are now under us as a front office staff. They've got their head coach in Travis Green.

It seems finally a lot of things are in order for the Sens to try to take a step forward after a step back last year. So let me ask you something. Were you at this media event the other day? I was. Like people were glowing about it. Was it that good? Well, they rolled out.

Here's the thing. As you know in the media world, you roll out some free food and refreshments and everything is great. I got to tell everybody this i everybody was so happy at this event i was like the food had to be great that's what the number one thing that came in my head was right you know the deal so what did they serve you they had just some of the new offerings that they're gonna have uh around the the concourses this year. Like what? This is actually, I'm not joking about this.

I think food at a sporting event is bad food at a game is one of the number one buzz kills at any arena. So tell us about some of this stuff. So a Cuban sandwich was really tasty. There was like a Sparty's lasagna that was quite nice. They do, as you you know shawarma is a big thing here in ottawa they had like shawarma nachos shawarma chicken nachos um and then there was some some new cocktails that they were rolling out i didn't get into that i was working of course yeah but uh a lot of things i think for sens fans to be excited and then they

just went into a little more of some changes they're making to the concourse, as you know, in that building, and you'd be kind of tight along some of the corridors or trying to open some areas up, make some of the traffic flow easier. You know, now it's becoming more popular. Like you see it at the Rogers Center going to Jays games, like just kind of that open area market for getting food and drink. I think they're leaning into that a lot too at the Canadian Tire Centre.

So plenty of reasons, I think, for Senators fans to be optimistic. But I mean, I don't blame them for feeling the way they have been. I mean, it's been seven years without playoffs, the longest drought in franchise history, which says a lot considering how poor the first few years were when they came back to Ottawa.

They're still trying to get back to the postseason here. Yes. So, Mr. Proud Ottawa resident, are the Sadders making the playoffs this year? Yeah. I think they'll find a way to get in. I thought, yeah, yeah. Okay, Kevin.

I think they'll find a way to get in. I like what they've done in terms of who they've added. I mean, obviously the Allmark acquisition is a big one. And if they convince him that this is the right place for him to be and he signs an extension, what a great acquisition and move that they made, what, 30 minutes before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final? Yeah.

I was like what yeah i just thought you know other than i mean brady kachuk had 37 goals last year as a career high but other than that like there wasn't many players that had great years it was a lot of off seasons for um some important players on that team um you, they surround them with a little more veteran quality people. Michael Amadio is one David Perron's one laid out. I really like both those guys. I like Amadio a lot. And I like,

and I'm a huge Perron fan. Like Michael Amadio is one of those guys who nobody really thinks of a lot, but he'll give you moments in the year where you're like thank god we have that guy on our team just in a moment where your best player isn't on the ice but he comes out and he plays well he was here for a hot minute during that covid shortened canadian division season in ottawa i think he played only five games. Anyway, eventually, Vegas claimed on waivers, and you're right, especially during their cup run. Five goals, I believe, over those playoffs.

Those things matter. Can I ask you, though, Elliot? Yeah. This one caught me off guard. News on Thursday. Nikolai Kuliman, 38 years old, spent the last six seasons in the KHL. The Sens signed him to a PTO.

You know, I have to say that blew me away too. I'm going to credit Jeff Villette. Very few people love hockey more than Jeff Villette does. And I give him credit. He's the one who pointed out on social that Kuhlman has a son who's playing under 16 AAA in Toronto. So first of all, Kuhlman, when he played in Toronto, I didn't know him that well, but he's really funny.

He gave me one of the best quotes I've ever received from a Toronto player where he basically said, you guys think you know everything about this team, but you know, absolutely nothing. And he just did it in the most deadpan way. So I always, I always liked that.

Like he, like, like, I don't know if he's still an effective enough to be an NHL player or not, but he was a really smart player. High IQ didn't make a lot of mistakes, was always responsible. It's a nice story.

And, uh, you know, like I, I was looking at it saying, where on earth did this come from until I saw Jeff tweeted that. So, um, you know, Hey, good luck. It's, you know, they, you know, our first exhibition game on Sportsnet this year is Ottawa, Toronto on the 22nd, so I assume he's going to play that game. So, you know, I'm looking forward to seeing it. You know, to me, the thing this year is

Allmark is obviously the big one. Allmark, he doesn't have to be Dominic Hoschuk, but if he can give them two more saves a night, and I think Linus Almark can, Otto was going to make the playoffs. Just give them two more saves a night and he's going to make the playoffs. Two other things I want to say about the Senators. There's a lot of talk about the building. I guess the cutoff date is the 20th. I always remind people that these things can be extended if anybody wants. So the date could be the 20th, but it might not be. I've said this before. My father used to be

in the development business. There is nothing more frustrating than dealing with governments. You may think you have all the power, but they do. It goes at their pace. And the only way governments bend is if they feel pressure to bend. And so when I look at this story, and I don't live in Ottawa, so I don't know it as well as the people who live there do. Do the people that are making the decision on behalf of the government, do they feel pressure? These are not elected officials. Sometimes elected officials feel a lot more pressure. But I remember from the days of my dad doing this stuff, if governments don't feel pressure, you're at a huge disadvantage. So that to me is the true

answer for this. And finally, I wanted to recognize they made some changes in their media relations department. Ian Mendez and Sylvain Saint Laurent are in there, and they're very popular people. I have no doubt they'll do a great job. Brian Morris and Chris Moore are out, and I wanted to talk about those two people for a second. That was a really hard job. When they were there under Eugene Melnick, there were a lot of really hard days. And I think one of the toughest jobs in all the sports is media relations because you're trying to do the best job for the media, but ultimately it's the team that makes the

decision. And a lot of the crap flows downhill. And there's a lot of times that you want to do something, but your boss says, nope, we're doing it this way. And in Ottawa under Eugene Melnick, there were a lot of decisions that were made that they had to deal with. And I think the toughest thing about it when I heard the news is, I actually didn't hear it when it happened. I didn't realize it until recently, is that you think that, okay, there's new ownership now and it's going to get better and you're going to be part of something big. And what happens is you get tied to something that was very hard and a team says we need something new. And I know it happens. And sometimes the people who take the hit for it,

aren't the people who deserve to take the hit for it. And I wanted to say that on this podcast. Great, Elliot, well said. So from the nation's capital, we'll head west to Seattle. So two years ago, they get into the playoffs. They beat the defending champs at the time, Colorado. They reached the second round last year, 81 points, missed the playoffs by 17. Dan Bilesma is in the new head coach after taking Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup final and back-to-back seasons. Jessica Campbell, the first female to coach full-time in the NHL, she was hired as one of Balsma's assistants, and Ron Francis did some big spending in free agency, Elliot. Yes, Chandler Stevenson, a lot

of people were surprised by that deal. I was not, and the reason I was not surprised by it is because number one I think the Kraken feel the pressure the NBA is about to expand and everybody believes who knows the NBA more than I do says they're going back to Seattle and the Supersonics should never have been taken from Seattle in the first place but it's going to be a big reunion when they were there and I think the the Kraken look at it as hey they're going to be our sporting reunion when they were there. And I think the Kraken look at it as, hey, they're going to be our sporting brothers. And it's a good thing for Seattle, and it is. But it's another competitor in a market that's got a lot of competitive sports teams, male and female. So I think the Kraken look at it like we have to show our best.

I think there was a real split about the coaching change. show our best. I think there was a real split about the coaching change. But again, I think it showed that there are people in that organization who are like, nope, we can't be patient for Ron Francis is the most patient guy alive. I wish I had Ron Francis patience when it comes to making life decisions. But I think this year he got pushed by his organization to say, But I think this year he got pushed by his organization to say, no, the status quo cannot stay the same. Chandler Stevenson is a hell of a player. You may look at the contract and say two, he is there to shield Matty Beneers and Shane Wright. So when you look at that contract this year, it's not about Stevenson's production, although it's certainly you want it.

It's about he's here to do the heavy lifting. You look at all of those monster centers in the Western Conference, and his job is going to be to deal with them. Matty Beneers, his job is to score. Shane Wright, his job is to take the next step. Chandler Stephenson's job is to say, you guys do that, and I'll worry about the Eichels. I'll worry about one of McDavid or Dreissel. I'll worry about one of JT Miller or Pedersen. I'm going to deal with all that so you guys don't have to.

But I think what Seattle has basically said, you know, Montour too. Like the other thing too is Seattle was a bit of a, it was the team that had a lot of personality. Brandon Montour has got personality. I think he'll make their room a little bit louder. He'll make their room a little bit more fiery. And that's what I think they wanted to do. They wanted to bring some edge.

They wanted to move the team forward. And this year for Seattle, it's about two years ago they won a playoff round it's hard in this league to do that but this to me was a summer where they sent a message we are here to take a step forward and we are here to make an imprint I think this is a huge huge year for the Kraken and I would just say Elliot that Brandon Montour Montour, a lot of personality. Yes. I think they are going to love him there over in Seattle. Even you can't do a bad interview with him. Yes, yes. That is the barometer.

Can Kyle Bukowskis blow an interview with Brandon Montour? The answer is no. I can, but he can't. We wish him all the best out West after winning a Stanley cup with Florida last year. So Elliot, let's go from Seattle to Calgary another year with, without the post season in Cowtown,

a second year in a row, they, they missed the playoffs. Where are things at now with, with Craig Conroy? Cause he seems, I mean, you talk about the patience of Ron Francis.

He seems to be exercising a bit of that as well to allow an environment for his young players to grow and give them opportunities here, even if that means the short-term success isn't where maybe a lot of the fans would want it to be. You know, first of all, we talked about Johnny Goudreau in the Columbus section. I do want to recognize the fans of the Calgary Flames and the organization of the Calgary Flames on their own tribute on Wednesday night. I thought it was beautifully done. The acoustic version of Johnny B. Goode, it was beautiful.

The Flames fans have really stepped up, and the Flames organization has stepped up in a huge way. And, you know, we should mention that on their own team as well. You know, Craig Conroy and Johnny Goudreau were obviously very tight, as were a lot of players and a lot of the media and the organization who worked there. So, you know, huge credit to them. So this is the thing about Calgary.

Craig Conroy clearly has a plan. His plan is to start turning over his team a little bit. We talked before about teams getting completely run over and not being competitive and your young players getting manhandled. He stopped short of that. He said, I'm not going to bring in veterans. I'm going to keep them. Yes, he brought in a couple, but he kept a couple. And that was what he wanted to do. I don't think he wanted to completely tear it down i think we can all see where the flames are going they are in a rebuild but he didn't want to do it to where the young players starting up would get completely destroyed on ice now

there have been some rumors about some of the flames players this is what i believe is going on. I think there are some players who have said, who are still there, who have said, look, if this is a complete teardown, I'd like you to think about something else. And Craig Conroy has said, look, last year was a really difficult summer for us. This year has been a much better summer.

It's been a lot quieter. I'd like to keep it that way. His plan is to start the year, see how it goes, and then decide what he's going to do with some of these players. He's asked these players to keep an open mind, see how this year goes, and then he'll start looking at what he might need to do or what they want to do. I think those players have said, okay, we will do that. And especially, I think now everybody is just like, okay, there's bigger things, more important things. We don't need any different noise. So I think that's where we are with the Flames. Let's start the year. Let's see how it goes. And then we'll talk about what the future of some of these players might be. But I know Conroy told teams that. I heard he told players that. And I believe that that is his plan. Now,

if somebody steps up with a huge offer for something, that may change in everything. up with a huge offer for something, that may change in everything. But Conroy indicated that was the way he was going to go. I'm really curious to see someone like Dustin Wolfe. Obviously, Dan Vladar is back. Obviously, there are other goalies who are going to want to say not so fast and make it harder for Wolfe to get that path. But I'm really curious to see him, how much he gets a chance to play at the NHL level. I'm really curious to see some of these young players that they've gone out and acquired and what it's going to look like. I want to see Matt Coronado back. I want to see Sharon Govich, who they're obviously very committed to. Again, I want to see Pospisil be able to stay healthy.

I want to see Zari. I want to see all these players take the next step. But I just think that Conroy has decided, I like the calm. I like the quiet. I don't want the craziness of the last couple of years. I just want a more stable situation. And that's what he's asking for at the beginning of the year. And they finally got a new arena to build. Yeah. I mean, obviously that's a huge thing. Like it's tough. You go up the road, you drive four hours up to Edmonton and you see this palatial estate that they have built there that is one of the big revenue generators in the NHL. And you look at there and you say, like, come on. So now they're going to get it.

And obviously, I don't think it's going to be quite as extravagant, but it's going to be, it's going to be huge for them. And obviously it's going to tie into where they're going and where they hope to go. So where they've now broken ground on where the new rink is going to be during Stampede this year, that was where, you know, the Cowboys casino next to the dome. Currently their tent that they have set up for stampede was in that area and so i guess apparently somewhere within the tent there in that parking lot they had put kind of where center ice is going to be for the new rink and so i just i had a buddy text me saying that you know there were a number of guys going out there taking pictures like they're doing the opening face off there so fans great did you bury a loony or have your friends bury a loony in there or a toonie

a lucky loony it's tough to do in concrete just use your head kyle your your hair won't go out of place by the way that's what someone tweeted at me they should have caused i want to find this but i want to give credit to the specific tweeter. That's what someone tweeted at me. A northern neighbor said this podcast should be called Best Hair vs. Worst Hair. But I'm not sure which of us is which. You're not? I think I'm pretty sure. But yeah, you're right.

I just, yeah. If I dig deep enough, I guess, then we could have planted a loonie there for good luck. And maybe somebody did. But great that a new building is coming in the future for the fans in Calgary. So from the Flames to the New Jersey Devils, who now have their former number one netminder in Jacob Markstrom.

They've got a new head coach in sheldon keith two years ago 112 points elliot 81 points last year felt like a step back for the devils sure was stuff jack hughes among them um but now how do they write the ship moving forward well a lot of people think they had uh a good summer i wonder if the if the devils are going to be like one of the trendy, fashionable picks in the Eastern Conference this year. Because I remember after July 1st, when I was just chatting with people, who do you think had a good summer? Everybody mentioned Devils. Like everybody talked Devils. So there's definitely optimism about what they've done. You know, Markstrom, I think it's very interesting about Markstrom how he just, one of the reasons he picked Devils and was happy to go there

was A, he thought the team had a chance to be really good. But I think also after playing, like if you look at where he's played, Florida, Vancouver, Calgary, that's some of the toughest travel. That's three of the toughest travel situations in the league. And now he's going to be in New Jersey with those tough bus trips. And it's going to be easy travel. I think he was really smart about that. Just saying, hey, you know what?

I'm going to be 35 years old old and i can do a lot better for my body about having a place where the travel is much easier i think obviously markstrom allen i think is going to be an excellent pair um you know obviously you're hoping dougie hamilton's healthy uh nemish has got a year under him luke hughes has got a year under him Luke Hughes has got a year under him uh Timo Meyer now is a year after getting the big contract I think some players uh you know really struggle the big contract the first year um I think he's got more out there and obviously Jack Hughes he sure you know they have a lot of talent there they They have a really, really good team. A lot of people felt really strongly that they had an outstanding offseason.

You know, Devils fans are wondering about Dawson Mercer. I look at their cap situation. I just don't see how a long-term deal works. So I expect this is going to be a bridge, barring they do anything else. And I think Sheldon Keefe is a really good coach. I think he's a really good coach, and I think he's going to have a really positive impact on this team. All right, Elliot, from New Jersey to Buffalo,

who, similar to Ottawa, was kind of primed to take a step forward last season and ended up going in another direction. What's old is new and bringing back lindy ruff behind the bench they bought out jeff skinner and as kevin adams said at the end of the season it's go time so where do they go now oh they better go to the playoffs like this is a team internally that they've talked a lot about if if they don't go to the playoffs this year, there could be big consequences. So I think everybody here understands the pressure, recognizes the pressure,

and knows that there are no excuses this season. Now, already a good omen, Jessica Pagula is in the U.S. Open final. So you can't waste that. You have to say, okay, if Jessica Pagula can have this kind of start to the year, the Sabres have to take advantage of that. I think this. I think Lukanen, last year, he started in kind of limbo.

Now he's their guy. I think he has answered the question that he is their guy who's going to be with them is it going to be Reimer is it going to be Levi is it going to be Sandstrom that's something they need to sort out but I think this year with Lukanen is the clear number one that's going to help them and you know you know, I think the rest of it, you're just looking at a lot of other players and you're saying, guys, it's not enough to talk about it. Talk is cheap. There's enough talent there that they should be able to do. And I look at it as it's pretty simple. If you don't do it this year, there's going to be consequences, and everybody there knows it. There's too much talent on this team.

And I think the guy this year who breaks out with a massive year is Quinn. You know, he got hurt in the offseason last year. He's battled a lot of injuries. You know, he had nine goals in 27 games. One of the things I've heard, and I talked with a couple of their guys, Lukanen and Paterka, who I saw in Prague, there are a lot of Sabres apparently predicting a big year for him and really rooting for him.

And Elliot, Jessica Pagula, not only is she this deep into a major, this is the first time ever she's been past the quarterfinals of a slam and beat the number one player in the world, Iga Shiantek, to get there. So more good omens for the Buffalo Sabres. So there's no excuse for the Sabres not to bust through and make the playoffs. You have to ride the Pagula wave. No excuses. The Philadelphia Flyers. It seemed like there were no excuses to not make the playoffs last year with how they were going, but lost nine of the final 11 games down the stretch.

John Tortorell at the end of the year saying what was frustrating for him was that he couldn't get the team to close the deal. How have they gone about recuperating themselves, and how about the arrival of matvey mishkov eliot so i have a trainer at the gym i work out in i know this story is already unbelievable but hold on yes he's not my trainer he is a trainer his name is jared and uh he bought a mishkov jersey so he said to me, like, last year, is Mishkov coming over next season?

And I'm like, I think it'll be two more years. And then when he came over for this season, he, like, rubbed it in my face. You were wrong. You were wrong. And he went out and he bought a Mishkov jersey or a T-shirt, and he wears it around the gym. Like, he is so proud. I am really excited to see this guy.

Urson, we're going to use that conversation a bit later on. He was really disappointed with the way last season ended. And I thought he had, like I had a vote last year in the awards. I voted Kuchetkov for rookie goalie, and it was a defensible pick. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I should have voted for Erson, even though they didn't close the deal. He was really disappointed, but I think there's a lot of guys who that experience will be good for them.

They had a big win. They kept Sanheim. I thought that one was always going to get done. It was a bit rockier, but again, they kept them. I think the other thing too with the Flyers is now they've got to sort out some bodies. They've got a lot of good, talented young players. Again, we talked about the Montreal defense. I think now some guys have to decide who was going to be there

when they really start to turn it. The other thing too is I remember the beginning of last year, I dissed their chances of winning. Now they're going to be on people's radar. It's going to be like, oh, they were close. So I really think a lot of guys now, they're going to have sort of like, oh, it's not an easy night when we play Philly. People are going to be ready for them.

How are some of these guys going to handle that? So I want to see, like Cam York, he took a nice step last year. Does he take another step this year? I'm curious to see what they're going to do in goal. Is it going to be Ersan Fedotov? That's not the most experienced team, although I've become a big Ersan fan. Again, Mishkov, he has a chance to be a dynamite add to this team. In chemistry, the catalyst that really sparks your equation. I think everybody there is really excited to see him. I don't want to put too much pressure on him because there's going to be bad nights, but you can't find talents like this that easily. It's really hard to get them. So I'm really curious to see what he's going to do. One of the biggest stories that might surround the Flyers is what happens with Ryan Johansson.

We're expecting them to terminate or potentially reach some kind of deal. I had a couple of people tell me this is a really huge story behind the scenes because even though nobody's talking, I know this. I've seen enough of these. The Flyers don't do this without the league's blessing. But on the other side, if you're the PA and the other agents and players, you're like, this is a guaranteed contract. We have to fight

to preserve it. And I don't know who's right and I don't know who's wrong, but I always know that everybody fights hard to preserve guaranteed contracts. And so I don't know where this is going to go. I don't know if it's going to end up to be a settlement or how this is going to go, but I know that both sides are going to fight in this case. I know the agent is going to fight for their client. I know the league is going to fight that if not everything here was done the right way. And I don't know what the answer is. And as I wrote in the summer, I never questioned injuries. The guy played 905 games. That takes a toll on a body.

I don't know where this is going to go, but I know that it's going to be a big fight because there's one year of guaranteed money at stake. And when that comes up, everybody battles for it, especially to preserve it. Because if a team wins something like this, then the players association, the players and the agents, they say, okay, that's a big Association, the players and the agents, they say, okay, that's a big win for the league and a team. We have to fight against that. So it's going to be

a big story. No question. We'll follow along to see where that ultimately reaches a conclusion. So let's go to Minnesota, Elliot, that is home to the inaugural Walter Cup champion of the PWHL and home to the Wild that last season missed the playoffs for only the second time in the last 12 years. John Hines' first full season at the helm here upcoming and a final tour around the league for Marc-Andre Fleury. Elliot? Yes. That's going to be pretty emotional.

I'm very curious to see how that goes in a lot of these different buildings he's been a pretty popular teammate uh everywhere he's played um you know i know that it's it's funny like the one player was saying to me he said that guy loves the game so much he's almost like wouldn't surprise me if in the middle of the season he's like i want to keep playing just but not that i think that's going to happen. That kind of felt like last year. Yeah, it's very flurry, and I say that in a good way because the guy really likes hockey.

I think Minnesota was very interested in Patrick Laine. It didn't happen, but I do think the Wild were very interested in him. They got a big piece of business done in Brock Faber. I don't know if they ever expected him to be as good as he turned out to be for him, but what a find he was for them. And a team that really needed some positive momentum on the ice. Brock Faber, what he turned out to be and getting him signed already, that is a big W for the Minnesota Wild. You know, I think other than that, pretty quiet summer. I don't think anybody was hugely surprised at that, aside from the swing they took at line A.

They still have, like, the cap issues that are getting closer to clearing up a lot of the improvement has to be internal like some of the players that they really bet on with some term deals like felino and hartman um you know zuccarello they didn't have the greatest seasons now those players have to live up to how much belief the organization had in them. Boldy has taken a step. It's now time for Rossi really to take a step. So when I look at them, a lot of the improvement has to come from within. Gustafson, two years ago, had a hell of a year. Last year, he didn't. He's got to get back to that level so when I look at a lot of Minnesota's situation yes they took a big swing on line A unfortunately

it didn't work out I still think a lot of what they look at was until we get our cap situation sorted out a lot of our players have to get back to the level they did. We'll talk about this a bit more with Colorado and Rantanen, but Kaprizov has got two years left on his deal. A lot of the Wild fans are going to start switching their attention to him. I think the Dreisaitl contract has moved the needle again. And if you're a team that's got a player at that level and Minnesota does, you're looking at the dry sidle deal and say, like one agent said to me the other day, this changes everything. And I think that there will be a lot of teams that agree with that and they

look at it and they say, okay, we've got a new bar that we have to deal with here mark andre flurry second all-time in wins not going to catch martin broder there and he's 19 games back elliot of roberto luongo for second all-time in games played among goaltenders my money says he becomes the man in the second spot by the time his final season is through boy that's a real that's a real big bet yeah well you told me i couldn't be a wimp so now i'm it's really going out to live there non excellent non-wimpy prediction right right yeah like you calling uh nathan mckinnon for the heart trophy

why don't we go then from flury to where he started his career, and that's in Pittsburgh. The Penguins missed the playoffs for a second straight year. Sidney Crosby, Elliot, one of the all-time greats. I can't believe you're leading with this. Do you think it's right to lead with Sidney Crosby? Do you think that's the smart thing to do? Yes, just like thinking Fleury's going to end up second all-time in games played

by the end of this year. He has one year left on his deal, Elliot. Why does he not have an extension? Kyle, here's the thing about Crosby. This is such a hot topic. I don't want to get it wrong. Number one, I think Crosby believes, and I don't like speaking for him, and he's going to be at the NHL-NHLPA media

tour in Vegas next week. And if I'm wrong about this, I know I'm going to hear it. But I believe that he thinks it's not the biggest deal. He hasn't made a decision yet. That he's a guy who puts a lot of effort into his decisions, and he looks at it as, I have time to make a call. Secondly, I think the Penguins are like, this is Sidney Crosby. He has the right to make the decision as he sees fit, and they are not pressuring him. I think they've made him a bunch of different offers. Like, I don't know if it's two or three or four or five years, but I think they've got

multiple term offers. Like I think if it's three years, it's this, if it's four years of this, if it's five years, it's this, if it's two years, it's this. Like, I don't even think negotiation is the problem. I just think that they're saying, here's this. Like, I don't even think negotiation is the problem. I just think that they're saying, here's what we've got on the table. You let us know what you want to do. They're just like, he's Sidney Crosby. He's been incredible for this franchise. We're not going to pressure you.

The only thing I think about these offers is that they've gotten 8-7 in there somewhere. Not 87 million. I don't think they're offering Crosby 87 million, but I think there's an 87 in there. Why hasn't he accepted? Again, if I'm wrong about this, I'm going to hear it. And one of the things I've kind of wondered actually is if he's going to look at next week and say, I'm going to this event, if I'm not signed by then, every media member in attendance is going to ask me about this. I'm going to this event. If I'm not signed by then, every media member in attendance is going to ask me about this. I'm going to have to talk about this 1,200 times. So I kind of wonder if he'll sign before then so he doesn't have to hear it. But here's my theory

based on what one player said to me about him. Said, look, as you mentioned, Kyle, he had 40 goals last year. He is still a great player, a great elite player. And one of the things that they think that he is coming to grips with and trying to recognize is what if the team is not that good? And, you know, the Penguins last year, there were four teams who missed the playoffs last year who had positive goal differentials. Pittsburgh was one, Buffalo was another, and the other was the team we'll talk about next, Detroit. And I believe that goal differential

is a really good stat for determining how good you really are or aren't. So it says to me the Penguins aren't that far away like the capitals made the playoffs at minus 37 um but you know they're not there and you know kyle dubas sent a signal in the offseason he made some interesting bets like guys like cody glass which i think are the type of bets that he should be taking but you, I think that he's sending a signal with the trade of Gensel that as much as anything else, they have to try to rebuild a little bit, whether it's a rebuild on the fly or whatever you want to call it, they have to start building up the pipeline

and the youth. So like, to me, one thing I wonder is if Crosby is simply sitting here saying, I've got no problem with the offers. I've got no problem with the Penguins. If we're not going to be making the playoffs, am I going to be able to handle that? And I think that's one of the things he's kind of weighing. My prediction is he stays because I think he's a Penguin and he wants to be a Penguin.

But I've tried to ask around like why isn't it done why isn't it done and I think one of the reasons is it's the summer and he doesn't need to rush he's still got time and I think the other one is just like what if it's like that am I going to be able to deal with it because he's still at the top of his game and he's still competitive so Elliot Elliot, then you're thinking like, this is something that's firmly, the ball is in his court. Like we're not looking at a similar situation to like Stamkos a year ago where at the start of camp he's saying disappointed with where things are at.

No, I don't believe that. Like I honestly believe, and I honestly believe the Penguins are like, like I said, I think they've made multiple offers. I haven't heard that he's quote unquote insulted by any of the offers. I don't think it's about that. I think it's about like, first of all, like I said, I think he took the summer. He doesn't feel there's a rush. And secondly, like what one player said to me is you know hey he still wants to win badly

and we know we're turning it over a bit here you know just i think he's coming to grips with that a bit so that's that's the one thing i believe if i'm wrong about any of this i'm sure i will hear it on tuesday all right well detroit Detroit, Elliot, who, I mean, I don't know if you could get much closer to making the playoffs last year. Yes. Not make it, but they were right there. Man, wasn't that fun to watch them push right to the very end? You think of the buzzer beater against Montreal and ultimately.

Shane Goss to spare the gold glove dive. Unbelievable. To keep that puck in, I love that. Yeah, Kenny Daniels had a great call. Yes. But it was all for naught. It was all for naught because Washington had more regulation wins than them. So they're a team that was right there knocking on the door.

As you know as well as any, Steve Iserman doesn't like to let a lot of information out, but knowing all that, I will still ask, where are things at with Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seidner and I guess Jonathan Bergeron as well, three unsigned RFAs? Well, I think the thing with Bergeron, to me, Bergeron's going to be there. It just looks to me like it's one of those things where Bergeron is kind of a little bit of a victim about, okay, well, what's the number going to be for Sider? What's the number going to be for Raymond? And then Bergeron gets fitted in.

But I don't think Bergeron's going to miss camp or anything like that. I wouldn't be surprised if what has to happen is if these guys aren't done, the two other guys aren't done by then uh bergman and the red wings just come to a contract and they say look like this is what we're estimating and you have to be here so you're going to be here and this is the deal you're going to take like i wouldn't be surprised if that ends up being kind of what they do um when it comes to the other two guys, I once asked someone,

what's it like to negotiate with Steve Iserman? And they laughed. And this is someone who's not involved here. I just want to say this. And he said, like he said, you know, Steve Iserman takes a position and then like it's almost impossible to budge him from the position.

And like they said that, you know that one of the places where they think that Iserman had to bend a bit was Dylan Larkin. He had more control because of the UFA status, and Iserman had to bend on that one. These ones, they're good players. They're important players. They're the cornerstone of the Red Wings. But because they're RFAs,

Iserman doesn't necessarily have to bend unless something forces him to do so. Maybe they start losing if they're not signed at the beginning of the year, whatever, you name it. I was talking to another GM about Raymond, and they said once the Jarvis contract came out, he said that seems to be the comparable.

They've both got one 30-goal season. It would seem to me that that is the kind of deal that would make sense, but he said if Iserman doesn't agree with that, he's not going to agree with it. The Sider one, he thinks that's,'s you know it's claude lemieux and steve eiserman it's like 1996 all over again the red wings versus the avalanche this time at the negotiating table i think those two guys don't back down from anyone they didn't back down from anyone on the ice they don't back down from anyone negotiating and you know he thinks that cider is a

is a bigger number than raymond Um, I think most people think that way. And obviously right now they, they don't have an agreement and because people like Iserman puts the fear of God in people, people don't like to give a lot of information when it talks about what, uh, what these negotiations are, but it's pretty clear that right now, Raymond and cider are higher than Iserman wants to go. And if he's dug into his position, you need something to get him to move. Either you bend or you wait for him to bend. And to be honest right now, it isn't a pressure point. I mean, the real pressure point is when you start missing games. Although, like someone was saying to me today,

that with Raymond and Sider, because they're unsigned and they don't have contracts, you could run into visa issues if you do this during the season. So ultimately, that isn't the biggest deal, but it becomes a deal. So that's kind of where we are. Eisenman always talks patience. We don't have to make the playoffs next year. He kind of where we are. Iserman always talks patience. You know, we don't have to make the playoffs next year. He kind of downplays it.

I understand he doesn't like the whole Iser plan thing, but sooner or later, the Red Wings have to make the playoffs. Like, that is a beautiful building that deserves playoff hockey. I've got to think on some level, you know, the pressure is going to be to get there. Okay, so we'll go down to the team that finished just ahead of them in the standings last year, the Washington Capitals. They are our final thought, which is brought to you by GMC.

Elliot, I wonder, Alex Ovechkin, he's 41 goals now, shy of Wayne Gretzky's total of 894 for the all-time record. He had a slow start last year, but still finished with 31. How much is that going to continue to be a conversation point around the organization to see if he can get to a place that many thought no one could get to? Obviously, it's going to be a huge one. And the thing to me about the offseason the capitals had

is there are a lot of teams in the league that would have said hey we made the playoffs i know we were minus 37 um especially early in the year i watched them early in the year and i was like oh man this is going to be awful and they got a lot better it would have been easy for them to just say hey we we can live on that and build. And they're like, nope, nope. We're ripping it up and we're doing a lot more here. And I think a lot of that is because of the chase. There was a point last year where you could make a real argument that all of a sudden you didn't think Ovechkin was going to be able to do this,

that maybe he wasn't going to be able to catch Gretzky after all. And you can't tell me that part of the motivation wasn't the Capitals saying, we are not taking a chance with this. We are going to make sure that this is going to happen. And so, you know, they still kept some of their key young pieces, the LaPierres and the McMichaels of the world and Miroslav Shchenko, but they're going to be a much, much better team. I think the guy here that is the most fascinating is going to be obviously Dubois because I heard a story last year. I told

it on the podcast at the end of the year. I heard a story last year I told it on the podcast at the end of the year I heard a story last year where there was a time that Rob Blake went on the ice with Dubois like Rob Blake put on the equipment and he went on the ice with Dubois and he talked to him about battling and playing hard and I was like, wow, I don't know if I've ever heard that before. And so, yeah, like that's how, and the Kings said all the right things on the way out. Like Blake, again, he could have ripped Dubois and he ate it, which really impressed me. But, you know, Dubois, like this is basically his last chance. This is his fourth organization,

and everyone's talked about how good he could be. And the carburetor, Spencer Carberry, he's got huge respect for being able to unlock players. Like Rasmus Sandin told me a really good story. I'm going to write about it, and now I'm giving it away. But Rasmus Sandin said at his exit meeting with Spencer Carvery last year, he said, you know what, let's take a timeout and talk in a few weeks. And so they had their exit meeting by phone a few weeks after the season

and they said, okay, how do we both feel about their years? And Rasmus Sandin said, I was in a much better position to be honest about what I did well and more importantly, what I didn't do well. He said, I didn't have a great year and better position to be honest about what I did well, and more importantly, what I didn't do well. He said, I didn't have a great year and I want to be better. And Carberry said, I agree. And this is how I think we're going to get you to be better. And I have all the notes, I'll write about it. Sandin talked about all the things he worked on to get better. And he really appreciated the way that Carberry handled it. If this guy can't unlock Dubois, this is his last chance.

And, you know, he's going to play with Ovechkin. You know, he knows what everybody's saying about him. I know what you say about me behind my back, Kyle. So it motivates me to be better. So now the question is going to be, Dubois knows what everybody's saying. It's not even behind his back. It's to his face. And it's being written out there plainly.

He's got to deliver. All right, Elliot, that was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We will take a break. When we come back, we will go through the top half of the standings from last season to get you set for a new year. Plenty more to come on 32 Thoughts, the podcast.

Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. we're back and we're talking the st louis blues who once again missed the postseason last year drew bannister didn't have the interim tag removed he is the full-time head coach yep forward darg armstrong was busy in the offseason, most notably signing Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, former Oilers, to offer sheets, pride them out of Edmonton. He had the great line that he would do it to his own mother if she was managing the Oilers. It sounds like his patience is wearing thin for trying to have a team again that that market is proud of. He cannot stand to lose. He hates losing. And, you know, hey, I give him credit for making our summer very interesting. I also, you know, the Blues also now have

like a cap-friendly site. If you would have told me that Doug Armstrong would have been the first GM to do that on his own site, I never would have believed it. Like, he is captain secretive. He's one of the more secretive GMs, but I give him credit for doing it. I love that line about his mother.

You know, the one thing I will say is that someone sent me the quote about someone wrote that I wouldn't have done it to Ken Holland, but I would do it to my own mother. And so another GM sent me that quote and they said, I think this was directed at you. And I laughed. I said, I think that I love the quote.

It's a great quote. But one thing that I would say to that is Ken Holland was a GM, and Doug Armstrong was a GM together for 20 years, and he didn't offer a sheet at once. He goes out the door, and he offers the sheets to that team immediately. I call a bit of Pinocchio on that one. But I love it happened. It was great for hockey.

The players loved it. The agents loved it. The teams didn't like it. I really felt that the Blues were going to do something. They took a run at Natchez. They couldn't get it done. I think they were one of the other teams that were interested in Cam Fowler, but I just don't think they have the room anymore to do it.

I think it sends a really interesting message to your team that the status quo is not acceptable and we're going to give you help, but we're also going to give you help to get better. I think Robert Thomas becomes one of the breakout players in the NHL this year if he isn't already. I think he goes to the next level and becomes one of the true stars of the league. You know, I think the Blues are going to be a fascinating watch. You know, I wanted to say I watched the Torrey Krug media conference the other day. You know, Tory Krug is a real battler, really competitive guy. Nobody needs to be told that.

I'm glad he's at peace with what he's getting, and we'll see where the future holds. But, you know, like hockey takes a real toll out of a player. The risks are high, but the rewards are high. And, you know, Torrey Krug has taken risks with his body. You know, he's gotten rewarded with a big contract and a great career. But I'm glad he's at peace right now with his situation and the work that needs to get done because he deserves it.

He was a long shot, and he made it. Yeah, he said it was an injury he had been dealing with for six years now. Yes. You hope that somewhere down the line there is a path to full health, whether he's playing hockey or just living his life after hockey. So, Elliot, let's talk the New York Islanders. Going to be Patrick Waugh's first full season behind this bench. They went 20-12-5 after he took over midway through the season.

They got into the playoffs. It seems like, though, once again, this is a team that's trying to up their offense and find a little more goal scoring over the course of the year. I think a full year under Patrick Waugh, I think, is going to be really fascinating because they got the Waugh intensity jolt right like you saw the the effect he had um now I want to see what it's like a full year a full training camp I think Patrick Waugh is really a bright guy um I think he has a great passion for the game he has great demand for the game he demands a lot out of his players. He demands a lot out of himself.

He loves hockey. Everybody who's played with him talks about how much he loves being around the rink and he expects just as much out of himself as he does out of you. I think Duclair is exactly the kind of player that they needed. Someone with some speed, someone who's a little different from what they had. They have a lot of very similar players. He's a bit of a different player with the burst, and I think he's exactly what they kind of needed. The Islanders are a lot of like a three-yard and a cloud of dust team, except for maybe like a guy like Barzell i think duclair gives them a bit of a different look i i really like that i'm curious to see what they do with brock nelson contract wise because i think he's a huge part of the group not that lamorello is going to tell me you know the one thing that

i'm kind of wondering about here and you know obviously it's tough to tell in the offseason we'll see i think sorokin's been battling something and um like they have a great combination of varlamov and sorokin um you know the others are obviously very private lamorello is obviously very private um but i i heard that sorokin's been battling something I don't know how serious it is or isn't the agent won't say anything out of respect to Lamorello I sent a note to the Islanders they won't say anything we'll see where this goes but that's the one thing I've kind of heard about the Islanders that might be something to look into at the start of the year. The one thing that's going to be weird to me is for a long time,

like I've turned into Islanders games just to watch Sezikis, Clutterbuck, and Martin. You know, obviously two of those guys aren't there right now. We'll see what happens, but it's a big change in their identity, but sometimes you have to change. Elliot, the Vegas Golden Knights, no stranger to change over, really, since their inception back in 2017. Did you see what Mark Stone said at their all-time this week?

Oh my God, yes. Mark Stone. Another year. He kills me. Another bunch of articles of writing the Golden Knights off. Who is writing that? I haven't seen, like, I wonder I, like, I wonder, does, does Kelly McCrimmon

get people to write fake articles saying the Knights are going to be terrible? Like, who's writing that? I, I haven't seen any articles. Like, who thinks the Knights are going to be terrible? I actually think, like, they'll obviously hate to say this, but they played so long for a couple of years in a row. They go out in the first round in a tough Game 7 series with Dallas. I actually thought it was the best thing that could happen to them

if they're not going to win the Stanley Cup, go out early so everybody can rest and come back next year. Like Hurdle I saw in Prague, and he's like, I wasn't myself. I'm going to be a lot better this year. That's great news for the Golden Knights but I'm like who is like I like is someone writing fake articles and putting them up all over the Golden Knights dress here about they're gonna be awful this year I don't know a single person who thinks the Golden Knights are gonna be bad they're gonna be really good and everybody knows

they're gonna be good i was reading that and i was like oh god not this again nobody thinks the golden knights are gonna be bad nobody nobody with a brain it's also a contract year for shea theodore yeah i've heard of anything going on there yet not yet i mean i there i'm i have no doubt they've talked about it i've been focusing on some of the other ones, so I haven't really paid attention to that one yet. The Knights really try to do their business quietly. Look, like, guys want to stay there.

You know, half of them wanted to go to Tampa. He gets traded to Vegas, and he signs. Mark Stone gets traded there. He signs. Like, a lot of their guys sign. Like, Logan Thompson got traded because he was like, I want more of an opportunity. You know, I don't think necessarily that's going to be a problem for Shea Theodore.

He gets plenty of opportunity there. Jack Eichel, like I think I can't see a situation where he isn't a golden knight for life. You know, they find ways to keep people that they want. I think if Theodore wants to stay in the nights want him to stay i always assume that this is a place people are going to stay now could there be a whopper of a contract out there that maybe he's thinking about we'll find out but to me like people don't generally leave the golden light nights unless there's an obvious reason for them to do so and you know i hope this doesn't ruin Mark Stone's day,

but I actually think they're going to be pretty good. I was going to be up at night. You know, one thing I really wanted to say about the Golden Knights too, and we'll talk about this a bit with Carolina, but they were a team that really pitched the deferred money to Marcius. And the structure that they pitched was different than the one that Carolina gave Jarvis. But I know that there were a lot of teams that really started talking about this when they heard during the season last year what Vegas was trying to do with Marciusso.

But it wasn't right for the player in that structure. Okay, Elliot, for years, you have had the line, and I've been right there with you. Be wary of betting against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but this is now back-to-back years of being knocked out in the first round. We have entered a world where Stephen Stamkos is no longer part of the organization. They signed Jake Gensel to a big deal. Welcome back, Ryan McDonough.

They bring in Cam Atkinson, Zemgus Gergensons, acquired J.J. Mosier in the Sergeyev deal. Connor Deakey as well in that trade. Where are you at with John Cooper and company? I think the most important thing is where they're at. The message they sent is that I don't care how many Stanley Cups we've won recently, two in two years, and then a final. Not winning is not good enough. That is what the message of the lightning has sent. They are always hungry.

And Julian Brisebois, to me, he's one of the most confident people in the world. When he walks into a room, he always looks like, I'm the man with the plan, I'm confident in what I'm doing, and I get things done. That is Julian Brisebois. When he met with the media after the Stamkos thing, for the first time, I thought he looked nervous. Not because I think he was afraid of the decision he made, but he knew for the first time, Lightning fans were questioning his decision. It was so emotional for them to lose Stamkos that for the first time, he knew that his fan base was like, are we sure we know what we're doing? And it was interesting for me when I spoke to Eric Cherdak in Prague, even he said it

was like a huge shocker. But at the end of the day, I always believe in our organization because I know we're right. And I would bet you once Breezebaugh got through that first media conference where he looked nervous, I said to myself, I've never seen him look this nervous. He was like, okay, I had to do that. Now I'm back to believing in what I'm doing. And they went out and they got Gensel and they got it done.

It's going to be interesting. Like they don't have that big one-timer on the power play. How does Tampa's power play change? Like they still have great players. They still have Kucherov. They still have Point. They've now got Gensel. They still got Hedman.

And I think the really interesting thing is they felt they were really weak against the rush last year. And a lot of decisions they made was how do we really weak against the rush last year. And a lot of decisions they made was how do we get better against the rush? And so they believe in what they do. They have a plan and we'll see where this goes. I think Vasilevsky's health is a big one for me. is a big one for me. He came back off that surgery last year. And if he's right, they're right.

But that's the one thing about the Lightning. I think they like the fact that people question them because they believe in what they do. All right, so the Los Angeles Kings, Elliot. And we talked about earlier of Pierre-Luc Dubois, now a member of the Washington Capitals it was another frustrating end to the season for their fans three consecutive first round defeats at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers but maybe one of the more or most positive things going forward for them aside the fact that they have gone back to the Gretzky era Kings logo

yes Jersey full-time was the breakout season of Quinton Byfield and getting a five-year deal off of it as well. My prediction, Byfield's on Team Canada this year. He plays for Team Canada. Really? Yes. At the Four Nations. That's a prediction. Yes. That's not one of the Wimpy Magoskis predictions. That is a real prediction. I'll say this too. One of the players I'm really watching this year is going to be Tanner Janot. It just didn't work for Tanner Janot in Tampa for whatever reason. I think that guy's a much better player than he showed,

and I think he's going to have a huge impact in L.A. I think he's going to run over people, and I think he's going to be a big factor on him. I'm also really curious about Brett Clark. I think that he's someone that they are really counting on to make an impact and I want to see if he can do it. They made some changes this year. Even though, you know, Kolbatar is not the front-facing guy he used to be, I still believe he's got a huge impact on this team. I think Doughty still has a huge impact on this team.

They still need more other guys. Like Fiala has got to be a bigger, more impressive presence. I think Fogle, the way he finished the season in Edmonton, will be good for them. I think they need other guys to step up and take more of an impact on this team like Trevor Moore has. But I think Byfield continues to get better, and I think Jeannot is much more of a factor in L.A.

than he was in Tampa. For whatever reason, it just didn't work out for him. And for Janot, we go to where he started his career in Nashville. And I think back, Elliot, to the interview you guys did with Barry Trott shortly after he became the GM there. You were in Nashville for the draft, and he was talking to you guys about how he would say to his staff, you know, don't be afraid to be bold. And they were bold this summer. Yes, they were. And the thing about Trots is we spoke after they signed all those guys and we were talking about how Nashville used to be. Like, remember they came into the

league and it's like, people were joking about country music, hockey, and you know, their, their, joking about country music, hockey, and, you know, their budgets were so tight. They couldn't get players to come there unless they had to go there. And now Nashville is a destination. You know, players will tell you it's one of the best places in the league to live. If you're single or if you have a family, it doesn't matter. There's options for everyone to live there. or if you have a family, it doesn't matter. There's options for everyone to live there. It's got great weather. It's got a great crowd.

It's one of the most fun buildings to play in. Nashville has become a destination, and that whole organization deserves credit for it. They have a lot of talent on this team, a lot of talent on this team. They got Soros done, too. I am really, really excited to watch who plays with who, who lines up where, what the power play looks like. Like, I think this is going to make Novak a better player.

I think Tomasino and Parsonen, who aren't signed yet, and I've heard those contract talks are a grind everywhere. But I think it will make all of those guys better players because the roster is better like I think they're going to be one of the most fun teams to watch this year you know the Askarov thing was the one downer on their summer I know it left them a bitter taste know, I think that one of the reasons I heard this went public is because Iskaroff was so determined to either be in the NHL this year or somewhere where the path was obvious, like San Jose. Like, one of the things I heard was I heard New Jersey

was really talking seriously with them. And look, they've got Markstrom, and they've got Allen, and I just think that the kid was like no i want it known it's got to be a simpler path than that and the predators didn't like it but that's why the kid wanted it out there and kevin weeks ultimately put it out there um that the the about wanting a trade it left the the Predators a bad taste. But overall, I look at it like, hey, you guys had a great summer. Don't worry about the bad thing. Focus on the great things because a lot of things went great

and those guys can't wait for the season to start. Okay, Elliot, that brings us to the Toronto Maple Leafs who have a new head coach behind the bench in Craig Berube, Austin Matthews. It was announced in the summer that he is now the 26th captain in franchise history. Takes over from John Tavares, who graciously relinquished the role. Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsen, new faces on the blue line. Anthony Stolarz, an option in goal as well. Nick Robertson remains unsigned as an RFA. The future seems to be up in air there. Where do you want to start in Toronto? Where do you want to start?

We could go everywhere here. Yeah, well, why don't we start with what's going on with Mitch Marner? Kyle, I am shocked, shocked I tell you that Marner is the first thing you'd ask me about the Maple Leafs. A couple things. First of all, I understand he has taken his summer extremely seriously. He knows this is all hovering around him and he has been determined to have the best possible summer he can to be ready.

Second, I believe he's in Vail this weekend with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon. And at times, I understand he's been on a line with them. We've talked on this pod before about at a previous BioSteel camp, he played with McKinnon as line mates. And McKinnon's a big fan. I've heard he's looked dynamite with Crosby and McKinnon at this Vail camp, which I believe is run by Andy O'Brien. I'm really curious to see this. I think he's taken this summer very, very seriously. The whole contract thing, it's never easy. never easy. And if you're asking me what the best thing is for the player and the team,

the best thing for the player and the team is for everyone to come to their senses and find a way to ensure that he stays. But I don't even want to put a percentage down on if that's going to happen. As we know, the contract negotiations are never easy. As we also know, Dissociations are never easy. As we also know, he takes, like, it's a real, like, Matthews, I think he wants to be the best. I've heard he's been training unbelievable. I think he demands the best of himself. And I think he sees the whole market as fuel to prove he's the best.

Nylander, the guy's just got a thick skin. Very few things bother him. It takes a lot to bother him. Last year, they had him on the market all summer. He was like, I don't care. I'm going to come out. I'm going to have a great year, and they're going to have no choice but to sign me. And that's exactly what happened.

And I think deep down, I think that's what Marner wants to happen too. I always believe you bet on talent. The negotiations are always so hard here and so personal. I don't know the way this is going to end. I said this also a billion times too. The agent here, Darren Ferris, he always believes in walking his guys to free agency unless you give him a reason not to. So I think he starts the year and we'll see what happens. But everyone's going to regret it if he leaves. I don't care about the playoff stuff you always bet on talent always bet on talent always so i'll just ask you this quickly then as a follow-up like do you believe both sides have

been talking throughout the summer about what a new deal could look like like where do you think i i don't know like i think it's been in and out and in and out. And, look, he talked with Berube, and I think the two of them are very happy to work together and see where it goes. I don't know that any formal offers have been exchanged, but I think everybody knows where everybody stands here. Let's put it that way.

Other than that, I like the Ekman-Larsen deal. I think the Tanev deal will work fine in the short term he's what they need tree living has lusted after tannev for a year and he finally got him um i like stolars to me wool's health is the big thing. I think he's a really talented goalie. He just needs to stay healthy. The Robertson thing, to this point, like I'll tell you this, I am a stubborn guy. I understand stubborn people. I understand them. I really do.

From what I understand, he hasn't changed his mind. The only thing is I just don't see how it benefits Nick Robertson not to be at a training camp. If Toronto draws a hard line, which I understand they are prepared to do, I just don't see how it benefits him to miss camp. That's the one thing I would ask him. I would say, Nick, how does it benefit you not to be at a camp? And I would bet on myself.

Maybe he takes a one-year deal, sees how it goes under Berube. Believe me, I understand the stubbornness of not wanting to be somewhere, but I would ask myself, is the person I'm hurting the most by not being at a camp me? One other thing about the Maple Leafs, I believe they've had some conversation with Jake McCabe about extending him a defenseman. I'm a big McCabe fan. I think he's perfect for them. I think he's exactly the kind of player they need. I don't know where this is going to go, but I do believe they've had some conversations about extending McCabe. We'll see.

I think they're going to be fine. I just, to me, the biggest question is Wolfe's health. He's got to prove that his body can hold to be a number one. Yes, because he's a heck of a goaltender when he is healthy. The Edmonton Oilers, Elliot,

we were there for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and I will say, Game 6 against Dallas, Game 6 against Florida in the final, two nights that I'll remember for a long time in the atmosphere there in Edmonton, and I'm sure there was something similar

to that kind of vibe this week when the news came out that Leon Dreisaitl had re-upped for eight more years. $14 million is the cap hit. With him now signed, is it all but a slam dunk that Conor McDavid follows suit a year from now? I think so. I think McDavid's staying. And look, so I got a tip, I think it was Monday, that this was done. And it doesn't make my job easier, but I respect this about the Oilers.

Those players protect each other. They don't talk about each other's business. They are very, very mindful of that. And I like that about them. I don't like it because it makes it harder for me to do my job, but I like that about them as people. You know, when last year in the playoffs, when McDavid stood up for nurse, like that wasn't performative.

Like those guys, it's a really tight group, and they stand up for each other. You don't think that Leon Dreisaitl knows exactly what Conor McDavid is thinking. He knows what Conor McDavid is thinking. This was not a Leon Dreisaitl negotiation. This was a Leon Dreisaitl and Conor McDavid negotiation. This was about both their futures. But do you think that Leon Dreisaitl is going to speak for Conor McDavid?

Not a chance. When Conor McDavid wants to talk about his future, and he did a good interview with Mark Spector that's out on our website, Conor McDavid will talk about his future, and Dreisaitl will let him do that. But look, Dreisaitl's not staying without the heads up from McDavid.

I know some people had sticker shock at the number. It's 15 to 16% of the cap. I think 15.8, that's the going rate for your top players. Now, I've told this story now, I think in a couple of places this week, but I'll do it again here. The funny story I always heard from the Oilers, and it was McDavid's last negotiation, Jeff Jackson, who was the agenters, and this is McDavid's last negotiation, Jeff Jackson, who was the agent then and is the president of the team now, he walked in there and he told the Oilers, we're not going to ask for 20%, which is the max. The max you can get is 20%. And the Oilers were like, thank God, we really appreciate it. But if you asked for it, we would have paid it. And so they know what they'd have to pay for.

If he asked for 20%, they would give it to him. But they're going to find the right number, and they're going to get it done. And I'll tell you what else has happened this year, Kyle. I heard from some agents who told me that there were players who took Edmonton off their no-trade list. They'd have Edmonton there the year before, but they said you can took Edmonton off their no-trade list. Like they'd have Edmonton there the year before, but they said you can take Edmonton off.

And that's a sign. Players, like, we can talk about the weather. We can talk about the taxes. We can talk about the attention. The number one thing is still where do I think I can win? Any player you want, that's the number one thing. And players right now, they think they can win in Edmonton. And as they prove with the offer sheets, they're going to sit there this year, they're going to hold, they're going to say, what are

we missing? And they're going to go out and get it. And they know how hard it's going to be. It's still going to be hard, but they're going to go out and they're going to get it oh and and by the way kyle edmonton is still looking for maybe another d you know who i heard would be interested in potentially playing there who's that kevin shattenkirk like wow that's an example of what we were talking about about how you know edmonton is coming off the list of places where people don't want to go. I've heard that Shattenkirk would love to be part of that Oiler team if there's a spot for him. So from Edmonton to Colorado, Elliot, and I think there's questions around

are we going to see Gabe Landeskog as we inch closer to training camp? First off, let's start there. Do you have any insight into what's going on with their captain? I ran into someone who knew Landeskog on the eve of the playoffs. And I just said to him, you know, are we going to see Landeskog in the playoffs? And he said, no. And he said, I don't know if you'll ever see him again, like, to be honest. no. And he said, I don't know if you'll ever see him again, to be honest. And so I was really happy to hear that Landeskog believes he's going to play. I think it's a great thing. And it's just the power of perseverance if he does. This guy wasn't the only guy who thought Landeskog was

done. A lot of people thought Landeskog was done. Now, the Avalanche are going to have a real salary cap dance to do because between Lanscaux coming back and the Chushkin, when he's eligible again to play, they're really going to have some work. And I said on the emergency pod in the summer that teams believe that Ranton is going to sign. I don't think that's necessarily changed, but the one thing that agents and teams did tell me was Dreisaitl's deal has changed everything. It's a new ball game. There's a new bar. And if you're Colorado, you're looking at this and you're saying, we've got McKinnon at his number, 12-5, and he deserves every penny. And there's going to come a day where Makar is going to get a raise

and he deserves every penny. And Ratnan deserves every penny. But you're going to look at it and you're going to say, suddenly we got three guys at these numbers and we're like, okay, even with the cap going up, we're going to have our challenges. Now, you know, they also own a basketball team cranky does they know how much they're playing guys like paying guys like yokich and murray and the nhl is a relative bargain and they should recognize that but there were teams telling me the offseason

that they think ranting and staying and they're not counting on them being available i don't necessarily believe that's changed but it's possible and we'll find out where this goes here, that the math or the equation has changed a little bit. Look, there's still going to be a heck of a team, but I definitely think they're going to have a dance to do once everybody's back. And they're a really smart organization. They plan things out. They don't do things without a lot of thought and a lot of investigation into what makes sense, but they're going to have some really hard decisions to make once everybody here is eligible to return and we hope to see landis kog back in

action if that is in fact the case jared bednard would say a month ago that he's trying to be ready for around the start of the season after a knee cartilage transplant surgery has kept him out for over two years before we finish on colorado there were a lot of rumors about guys like Josh Manson and Ross Colton. And when I was asking around, like teams were saying to me, like, you know, like Colorado was indicating, well, if we trade Josh Manson, we don't have anybody else in our roster like him. And if we trade Ross Colton, it really makes us weaker at the strongest position. It really makes us weaker at the strongest position. So I think some of the things that a lot of us thought that made sense didn't make sense to them. So I'm really wondering how they're going to navigate all of this. All right, let's check in on the Boston Bruins, Elliot. And Brad Marchand, their captain,

was like taking a page out of LeBron James when he first rolled up into South Beach and he was doing the not one, two not three not four about the championships but for marchand it was uh surgeries in the off season he had three procedures done one on the elbow one on the groin and an abdominal surgery as well he said the goal is to try to be ready for training camp he's still not sure if if he's going to be able to be full green light once that rolls around but he's working towards it and as he continues to do that all eyes remain on jeremy swayman who is another unsigned rfa yeah the swayman thing so ryan whitney was saying this week that he heard that the bruins offer to Swinman was four times 6.2

like nobody's disputed that to me so I think he's right I also heard that I know there was a report that Swinman wanted 10 million not that it's a huge difference but I'd also heard the McAvoy contract was the asked which was the 9.5 so it's obvious there's a huge discrepancy here. I do believe, and again, it's tough because the team won't talk and the player won't talk, but I do believe at some point there was an eight-year deal on the table, but it was like in the sixes.

So I don't think at any point here anyone's ever been close um look i think jeremy swayman is a great goalie and i think he did a really interesting podcast interview where he talked about um not being afraid after last year and recognizing what he has to do for the other goalies and i thought that was a really mature thing because I think a lot of players do think like that. Like there better be a situation where you take a deal that can be used to hurt other players.

I know in my own negotiations at time, Kyle, I've had other people who worked with me or worked in other places and say, you can't take deals that can be used as comparables to hurt people. And sometimes my reaction is mind your own business. You don't know my situation. It's unique. But also I recognize that if I don't have a unique situation where I decide to do something a certain way, I do have that responsibility. You know, I asked someone, why do you think the Bruins are taking such a hard line on this?

And I've gotten different reactions from, it's the Bruins, to, you know, one guy said to me, what he thinks is going on is that while the Bruins don't disbelieve in Swayman, he's only played 132 NHL games. If you look at his last three years, he's played 41, 37, and 44 games. And the guy is super talented, and he's going to be a star number one, and I don't think anybody disputes that. But he thinks what the Bruins, and again, nobody for the Bruins has said by this, so understand that this is a secondhand theory.

He thinks what the Bruins are saying is, we do believe in Jeremy Swayman, but he hasn't carried the full load yet. And that's why he believes they are hesitant to commit. Like, look, Charlie McAvoy, they bent on McAvoy. He went to a higher place than Bergeron went or Rask went or Marchand went. David Pasternak, they had to bend with him. He said, look, if you want to keep me, this is what it's

going to take. And eventually they did it. Now, I don't know what they're going to do here with Swayman, but the theory, and I think this is the best theory I've heard so far as to why they won't go where Swayman wants to go, is that Swayman's learned a lot about the way the business works in the last couple of years. And I think he really believes in himself. So you've got a team that believes in its position, and you've got a player that believes in his position, and the leverage would seem to be with the player because they've traded Allmark,

but the Bruins haven't changed their minds yet. Now, I believe that Swayman and Cam Neely met one-on-one recently to talk about this. I don't know that that's changed anything, but I think the Bruins like the player, but haven't been to the position. I just don't know where this one's going to go yet. I really don't. Because you've got two sides that believe pretty strongly in what they want to do, and there isn't a real pressure point yet.

Games are the pressure point. I just think of your line though, Elliot. Bet on talent. Yeah. And he is that. And he's also got it. Yes. I just think of your line though, Elliot, bet on talent. Yeah. And he is that. And he's also got it. Yes. I believe that a hundred percent. He's got it. And the other thing too, is as I always say too, if you have a cornerstone player, pay them as long as you can because the price

never goes down. Never. Correct. I'll also say just a best of luck to Judd Surratt too, Elliot, moving over to the TV side, replacing Jack Edwards as the play-by-play voice of the Bruins this season. Anytime I see Judd on the road, we always end up talking about this podcast, so he's another loyal listener. And by the way, don't count out the Bruins. Never count out the Bruins.

We wrote them off last year. They had a great year. Don't count them out. I think Zdorov is going to be a huge fan favorite there. And I think Lindholm is going to help

some other guys slot where they should be slotted. Got a lot of respect for how that dressing room operates. In Vancouver, Elliot, where it was a breakout year as a team taking the oilers to game seven of the second round a lot of questions though still around the health of thatcher demko as it was in the playoffs and now as we inch closer to training camp and archer silavs as well jim rutherford uh confirming to confirming to our Ian McIntyre that both are working their way

back to full health. What can you tell us about what's going on on the West Coast? Well, I think the Demko thing is, boy, it's been tough. Like Jim Rutherford is the most approachable guy on a lot of things, but the one thing that he will not break his omerita is injuries. He just does not talk about injuries. So it's really hard to pin him down on this one. There's been a lot of rumors about what procedures Demko may or may not have had. There's just a lot of mystery there because nobody will talk about it.

This is what I believe. I believe that the Canucks told Demko last year before the playoffs, we need to know that we can count on you in the postseason. We don't want uncertainty and you have to play two games before the playoffs before we commit to you to start the postseason. I think that's a very reasonable position to take. However, what it did was it forced Demko to rush to get back, and I'm just not convinced he was ever 100% healthy. You can understand the Canucks' position with also understanding what it made Demko do

and so Demko comes back he wins the one game and then he gets hurt I this injury like when it comes to timelines last year in the playoffs there were questions would he play wouldn't he play would he play wouldn't he play everyone kept on telling me no one knew. No one knew. Like still, I have people telling me who believe that if they would have beaten Everton in game seven, he could have played the next round. I have people telling me there was no way he was going to play the next round. But I believe the best intel was nobody knew. And right right now we're still in the same place the best piece of information i've been given is quite simply he's gonna have to learn to play with this like it's not something that can be fixed with surgery but it's something he's gonna learn to

have to play through and he can play through to a high level and so we just got to see what the schedule is right now I don't know that he's going to be ready for the start of the season but what I don't get the sense is that the Canucks are worried he's going to be out for half the year I think the one thing that they can control and this is like Ian Clark is one of the best in the world at what he does as a goalie coach. And he's injured and he's off the ice and he won't be day to day. One of the things I do think is going to happen as the result of that decision is that they are going to change the way Demko practices. Like one of the reasons Demko got to where he is, is because of Ian Clark's tutelage. That should not be forgotten. But I think also

what the Canucks have looked at is like Clark is a drill guy. You do your drills every day. And that's not bad because you, like if you're, if you ever want to be a good golfer, do your drills every day. It's the same as anything. You want to be a great player, you do your drills every day. But I think they feel that that's come at a cost. And now the Canucks feel they have to change the way that Demko practices. That I think is the change that they will get to this year, Demko practices. That I think is the change that they will get to this year, how much he goes on the ice and what his workload is. That's why they're looking at potentially Lankanen or something else. I know those aren't the answers everybody wants, but that's the best picture I can paint around Thatcher Demko. I think for the Canucks, like the noise will never fully go away. It's just,

it's a noisy market. They love their Canucks. They're insatiable for Canucks news. But look, Pedersen signed, Miller signed, Hughes is signed. Everybody there feels very confident. They love playing for their coach. Everybody everybody Roenick is signed they love the team really likes each other they understands each other's roles yeah and now we've got to get the Besser like the one thing is there is that he loves it there and I think they really like him to me that is the start of everything so I until I have reason not to have confidence, I have confidence, but I think it's a team that really likes each other. And that is a group. When you have that, I think you're in a great place. It was clear just to go back to Edmonton when Leon

Drysaddle spoke this week, that's where they're at. And great to see that it seems like the Canucks are entering that territory too with what they've built there. So we'll wait and see what comes on the health front for the Canucks crease. In the meantime, let's check in on the Florida Panthers. Elliot, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Cup got plenty of time in the elbow room in the Atlantic Ocean. We learned about Paul Maurice's cats. We had a shirtless Ryan Lomberg spotted during the parade.

But they also lost a number of players over the course of the offseason. So where do things stand with the Panthers as they go into their title defense? You know, one of the things that's interesting to me is how much will this team push itself early in the season i don't know if ease into the year is the right thing but how do they come out of the gate and not only in terms of their record but usage you know how does paul maurice use the team does he throw his guys right into it? Do the players who play a ton of minutes, are they playing a ton of minutes right away?

Or does he kind of ease his guys into the season? Like one of the guys I'm really curious to watch this year is Spencer Knight. Like I saw him during the playoffs. He looked great. He had a positive attitude. I understand Roberto Luongo has really worked hard with Knight, making sure he's in a good place. Is he the backup at the start of the year?

They also have Chris Drieger there. With Sergei Bobrovsky, do they tell Bobrovsky, okay, you won, now you have to dial it back a little bit? And does Bobrovsky say, get lost, I'm playing a ton of games? You know, I think the other thing too is like, how hungry are they? I bet you they're going to hear this or people are going to be asking this and they're going to say, this is ridiculous. We're still very hungry to win, but we haven't always seen that be the case.

You know, so to me with them, like Bill Zito is a hard-driving guy. I know he's, as much as he's going to be thrilled with the Stanley Cup, he's not going to be satisfied with it. And he's a guy who makes hard decisions. So when I look at them, I think to me it's like I want to see them in the first month of the season. I want to see how much everybody plays, who gets rested, who doesn't get rested. And do they come out like the mean, nasty, snarling Panthers that they can be.

And it's interesting because Paul Maurice did say like a number of times how hard their training camp was last year, despite the fact that they were coming off a run to the final, even though they fell short against the Vegas Golden Knights. But to your point, it's one thing when you get that far and you still have nothing, so the hunger is still there. Will that be similar now that they have won? But they have started to set a precedent under Paul Maurice that those training camps are are not easy and sets them up for some success right out of the gate first day

i remember i remember one of the toughest drills i ever did i briefly before i came to my senses because i was a really skinny slight high schooler went out for the rugby team at my high school. I remember after I was cut, the teacher said, I'm proud that you even tried this, but there was no way I was going to let you play. I was a lot skinnier back then. And we did something, they called it the Scottish mile the first day. And basically we had a track at our school, and you had to do four laps around the track running four people in line, and the last person had to go to the front,

and then when they got there, the next last person had to go to the front, and this was four times around in that rotation. And there's nothing that anybody can do on the first day of camp that will be as hard as that was for me. I can tell you this right now. All right, Elliott Friedman,

the tone setter when it comes to training camp. Okay, the Winnipeg Jets. Second in the Central last year, out in the first round. Rick Bonas calls it a career and a great one of that behind the bench. So Scott Ar'Neill, the new full-time bench boss who worked under Bonus the last two seasons, he's been in the

coaching world for many, many years. Where are things at in the peg? So one of the players I spoke to in Prague, and I'm going to write a little bit about this, was Nino Niederreiter. And Niederreiter is a great talker. He's like a really bright and nino is a great talker he's like a really bright guy he's he's he's a great talker and i talked to him about the playoff series last year against colorado and one of the things he talked about was we he didn't use the term unraveled i'm using that term but what he talked about was Colorado started going at their pace and we basically didn't do what we did all year. They scored and we had to score. We completely lost our patience and we didn't do what we did all year. And to me, if I'm the Jets, like they're a good team. They had a really good year

last year. I'm curious what they think of Hellebuck's workload. Do they try to ease it a little bit this year with Comrie and Kocken in there? Like, do they just say we need Connor to play a little less? Did they feel that that contributed to what happened in the postseason? But my whole year for the Jets is about how do I drill our group so that that doesn't happen again? That we don't get into the playoffs and we panic and we fall apart. I thought Nita Ryder was really good and really honest discussing why they flopped in the first round. So my whole year is about that.

This year, we're not going to panic. We're going to be who we, we're going to make sure that when we get to the playoffs, and of course you got to make the playoffs, we're not going to have a repeat of that if we're going out we're going out the way we play they still got a lot of really good players there um they still got a lot of players who are still trying to get the opportunity to show what they can do at the NHL level. There's the Hainolas of the world. There's the Logan Stanleys of the world. You know, Braden, I thought they made a really good, considering what was going on with Rutger McGrory, I thought they made a really good deal for Braden Yeager. I'm not expecting him to play

this year, but I'm curious to see if he gets any rub. Brad Lambert, I'm curious to see. So Winnipeg's representative at next week's media tour is Cole Perfetti. And as of Thursday night, I was under the impression that Perfetti is still going. That's a bit different than, say, Boston. I think initially Swayman was supposed to go. Now he's not going. I don't know where this negotiation is going. Everybody's been quiet.

But from what I've heard, he still likes being a Jet, and his preference is to work something out there. They have the control. I don't think there's going to be an offer sheet right now. I'm not sure what's taken so long, but the one thing you always have to check is, is there any reason to believe the player is unhappy there? I'm under the impression that's not the case, and Perfetti is happy being a jet all right a couple

more teams to get through here elliot next up the carolina hurricanes who have been one of the quality teams in the east for a while now i've made the playoffs every year under rod brindamore a couple of trips to the eastern conference final over that time, lost to the Rangers in round two last spring. And Eric Tulsky is now the man, the new general manager. So how different do you anticipate the Hurricanes go about things with Tulsky at the helm? I don't think there's going to be a lot of difference. Eric Tulsky already had a big say in Carolina's room

when it came to the decision-making. Don Waddell made a lot of the calls. He made a lot of the connections. He was the guy that knew how things worked around the league, but Eric Tulsky already had a big voice. And so that doesn't change at all. I think what's interesting is Carolina had some things that didn't go their way this offseason.

You know, Gensel, they hoped to keep him. He felt they waited too long, and he chose to go to Tampa Bay. They still kept Slavin. Like Ajo and Natchez talked about this in Prague, about how they know people are looking at them like they're not as good. But we still have a lot here. They lost Brady Shea. You know, they lost players.

They lost Pesci. They lost players who were good for them. And for the first time in a while, there's a bit of question about what they can do. You know, some of their fans wanted to see Natchez sign for longer. He wanted to do this. And, you know, he can be free in two years. He wants the options. I think it's a really interesting gamble by team and player. And Natchez knows,

he talked like a guy who knows that it's on himself to prove it, that he's as good as people think he can be. And I like the. And I like the message he's saying. He said, look, I told Rod Brindamore I want more time. And he said, Rod Brindamore told me, you've got to prove that I can trust you in those times you don't get. And he's determined to show it. I like that. I still think this is a team that makes a lot of smart decisions,

and I wouldn't bet against them. Ajo is a great player. Slavin is a great player. Count them out at your own peril. The Jarvis thing is really interesting. Like I talked about with Vegas, they pitched this to Marciusso, the deferred money. I had a player tell me last week and he said, don't use my name, but you can use my situation. He's in a high tax place, but his plan when he retires is to move to a place where it's lower taxes. And the team went to him and said, we know this. And if you want, we can defer money until you're in that low tax place which would have been years years years down the road and he said no i he thought about it and then with financial advice

said no i'm not going to do that vegas wanted to do it with marcia so and a lot of teams talked about i heard vegas's approach like that's where this kind of came from was the vegas idea the difference between vegas and carolina is vegas really wanted to punt marcia's money down the road like he's 33 34 now and he would have collected it later nobody would tell me exactly when later but it was later and times significantly later. And it wasn't as big a chunk as money as Jarvis will get at the end of this deal. What Carolina tweaked here was they put the deferred money closer. It was a lot closer than what Vegas was willing to do. So that was the tweak that Carolina made that got Jarvis to say yes. Now, a lot of people are talking about

this is going to happen more and more and more. My initial reaction is no, it won't. I think a lot of advice I'm hearing is people saying to players, don't do this. But they had an agent here in Jerry Johansson who really worked to make sure the money was protected. They had a player here who was willing to do it. And they had a team here in Carolina that said,

you won't have to wait 10 to 15 years for the money. You're going to get a huge chunk in eight years the day after this contract ends. And that's why everybody was willing to do it. They took sort of Vegas's everybody was willing to do it. They took sort of Vegas's idea and they improved on it. But I still, a lot of the reaction I get is most people, like I had once time in my career, I was offered deferred money and I took it to an advisor and he said, this deal isn't worth it. I think maybe some players who are older,

who've already made a ton of money might be more willing to do it. I think maybe some players who are older, who've already made a ton of money, might be more willing to do it. I wonder if Jarvis is going to be a one-off. Slavin did a little bit deferred too, but it's interesting and I always appreciate new ideas. And I think the difference between what Carolina did and what Vegas was willing to do with Marcius, though, it did and what Vegas was willing to do with Marcius so is that there was a bigger chunk of money closer to now I think with Vegas it was

later on and that's ultimately I think what Marcius so why Marcius so rejected it although Vegas did try it. Alright the Dallas Stars Elliot first in the West last year I mean went through talk about a murderer's row in the playoffs

before falling to Edmonton in Game 6 in the conference final. Some changes to their blue line. They bought out the final year of Ryan Suter's contract. Welcome in Matt Dumba, Brendan Smith, Ilya Labushkin. Brought back Matt Duchesne. I'm really not looking forward to an NHL now without Joe Pavelski part of it playing at least anyways. And the havoc that he caused around the net for so many years.

But since in Dallas is like this is a core that's ready to take another crack at this thing after how close they were a season ago. Well, and also they got to get an extension done with Thomas Harley. Yes, they do. And one of the things I heard there was, I mean, I'm sure everybody would love to sign him long-term. I just don't know if they have the flexibility to do it. That's the issue, I think, there.

It's just that they have a lot of big extensions that are coming. Eventually, obviously, Wyatt Johnston's going to get one. At some point in time, you're going to have to extend Jason Robertson again. You're ultimately thinking you're looking at guys like Stan Coven, and you're going to look at guys like Maverick Bork, and you're hoping that they're going to be big parts of it too. Jamie Benn and Tyler Sagan are getting close to the ends of their deals. Do you see them in your...

Jake Ottinger, right? Like, they've got a lot of contract work that needs to get done over the next little while, and every decision they make is part of that. They definitely take a long-term view of their roster. I think Dallas is going to be great again. I have no reason to believe that they're going to take any kind of step back. I think they continue to turn over the roster to their younger players. Good players want to play there.

I don't know if they're going to have as dominant a regular season this year as they did last year, because I think they still have to figure out some roles on the blue line and how that's all going to work. But I think come playoff time, they're going to be a force. They are aggressive. They always look at how do we make our team better,

and they're unafraid to do things to make their team better. A definite force at the end of the year and a group that takes a long-term view of their decision-making. That's one thing I think internally they've looked a lot at over the last few years is how do we make long-term decisions and how we do a better job of making sure we have the most flexibility to make long-term decisions. Okay, Elliot, we will finish with the reigning president trophy winners, the New York Rangers.

What was, in your mind, the most interesting part of their offseason? Well, I still think that's still to come. And that is extending their goalie. Yes. Like Shostakhin to me, anytime you have a UFA at this level going into the season, it's just a big deal. Now, Chris Drury, he is in the WPP, the Homer Simpson Witness Protection Program. He doesn't speak very much, so he doesn't create a lot of noise.

Shusterkin doesn't speak very much, so he doesn't create a lot of noise. Shisterkin doesn't speak very much, so he doesn't create a lot of noise. The agent in question here, who is Rick Comerow, he doesn't speak very much, so he doesn't create a lot of noise. In some ways, that's a really good thing because you don't pour gasoline on the fire. In some ways, it's a bad thing because then everybody else speculates because nature abhors a vacuum. I think this, I think the Rangers know that this is going to be a big number. And I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to be the number one paid goalie in the NHL. And I just think it's a matter of getting there. And I think the Rangers recognize this.

I think they know that that's where this is going to go. And just when it's going to happen or how exactly they get to the exact number, what that is, that is still to be determined and you know other than that I really like their team I expect in the middle of all this Shisterkin's still going to do his business I don't think he's going to be rattled by it I still think he's going to be Shisterkin I really like their roster you know obviously I think they're going to have some decisions to make in the future. Keondra Miller, Jacob Truba.

But you can punt those. Right now, you just have to worry about winning games. You hope Lafreniere continues to grow. You hope that Kako, with another opportunity, finds a spot. But you found a lot of people like Trocek found a really good role last year. Vasey found a really good role last year. Like a lot of guys found roles. And I'm a really big believer in that for good teams.

You look at a team and you say, there's a guy who's good with his role. There's a guy who's good with his role. There's a guy who's good with his role. And I a guy who's good with his role. There's a guy who's good with his role. And I thought on the Rangers last year, a lot of guys found that. Now, you know, I think Riley Smith is a really interesting one to me. It wasn't a great year for him last year. I think that guy's a good player. And I think if you're the Rangers, that's a good bet.

And the other thing, thing too is Rempe. I loved Rempe's summer. You know, last year, like he's a popular guy. The summer he had, it showed me that he's not resting. He's not taking anything for granted. He understands that he was a popular guy, but it doesn't mean anything. It's a new year and you've got to prove again, and you've got to find a role.

And did you see his line about that? Sorry to cut you off, Elliot. No, no worries. I've been talking for two hours straight. He said, I don't want to let anyone down. I'm terrified of that. It pushes me every single day. So to your point there, he realizes he hasn't done anything yet.

And you know what that is too? In his mind. That's peer pressure too. It's not only his way, but he knows that the team and the players won't accept that. And I think that's important. That's not only him being competitive, that's being him in a competitive environment. A team that will say, standing still is not acceptable for us. That's the ultimate driver. Okay, we've reached the end how are you doing that was long is that is this how long every episode is

no not every episode will be like this no thank god so we're gonna we're going to vegas next week we're not gonna have one monday but next friday we'll begin our regular schedule of fridays and mondays can't wait excited to be part of this journey with you elliot um thank you all again but next Friday we'll begin our regular schedule of Fridays and Mondays. Can't wait. Excited to be part of this journey with you, Elliot. Thank you all again for who made it to the end of this incredibly long episode one here of the new season. We will talk to you in Vegas next week. Until then, have a great weekend.