32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Pink Pony Dub

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman look back at an exhilarating Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, in which Edmonton defeated the Panthers 4-3 in overtime. They then delve into the latest news around the NHL. The fellas revisit Gary Bettman and Bill Daly's media conference at the Stanley Cup Final (22:03). Kyle and Elliotte discuss Dan Muse being named the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins (29:14). David Amber makes a surprise appearance on the podcast (38:53). The hosts also discuss the Brock Nelson contract with the Colorado Avalanche (39:23), and Elliotte talks about what's next for Martin Necas (41:58). The Final Thought features a surprise appearance from an anonymous guest (46:49).In the second half of the podcast, Kyle and Elliotte sit down with Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers (52:39), as well as Steve Mayer, the NHL’s President of Content and Events (1:02:24).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

Back to Nugent Hopkins, McDavid, it's the Lions! Leon, dry finals, game one hero! Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. Dom, Elliot, Kyle back with you. Wow! What a start to the Stanley Cup final. Elliott, you were in the building in Roger's place. Why don't you just set the scene for us first? What was that atmosphere like to take in? It was dynamite a year ago.

That city looked more than ready to kick off the Stanley Cup final this time around. Fantastic atmosphere. Dave and I, due to circumstances beyond our control, the Gary Bettman media conference, did not get to eat before the show. And if you know anything about David Amber, if you are between him and funeral. A hungry Dave Amber is as fierce, as dangerous, and as irascible as an angry hippo. You cannot stop it. You can only hope to survive. But, but, young Kyle, I did not want to leave before the oilers skated out and I could hear the crowd and the introductions and all of that. I wanted to watch it in game one. So I made him wait. And while he was snarling and his stomach was growling, Even that you couldn't hear over Enter Sandman and the Euler fan base.

It was bazonkers in there. Fantastic atmosphere. They were wired up. They were ready to go. You know, I thought Florida had a couple of really good shifts early where you were looking and you were saying, uh-oh, they're working what they do to perfection. The Oilers took over, they scored. Florida came back. You know, for them to have a lead the way they did, they don't blow two goal leads, they don't blow leads after two periods.

What were they? 31 and 0. Under Paul Maurice in the playoffs. And they lost. And I have to say in this game, I have seen games where Florida's played like that, where I have looked and said, this game is over. The Panthers are about to choke out this team. They're not going to get anything. I never felt like that around this one. I thought Edmonton was doing enough that they were still going to be fine and I still think even though the Oilers lead this series and they have

backed up their words that this year is going to be different, I don't panic about the Panthers. I think they're too mature, too smart, too technically sound. They are unflappable, too calm. They're going to be fine. This series is far from over. But the bottom line is I thought a game one win was more important for Edmonton than it was for Florida. I really feel that the Oilers after the way last year started, they needed the game one win more. They got it. I think they were the better team for more of the game.

There were times that Florida did pressure them on puck battles and dump-ins in the offensive zone. They caused Edmonton some problems, but I never felt that Florida had them on the ropes like they had some other teams Earlier in these playoffs. I always felt Edmonton was doing enough to be okay And that's a big difference from one year ago as we all expected This is going to be a very very different series Yes, and so as you're looking at from the Edmonton perspective of,

okay, how things, how are they going to be different from one year ago? You mentioned the fact that the Panthers don't lose when they have the lead after the first period, after the second in the Paul Maurice era and the playoffs. That happened here in game one. Leon Dreisaitl did not score in the final a year ago. Any of those seven games. He bookended things here on Wednesday night, opens the scoring, gets the winner in overtime, his third OT winner in the playoffs. And for the first time when it comes to these two teams meeting over the last two years in the final, Edmonton has a series lead.

I think part of the reason why it didn't feel like they really had Edmonton on the ropes here in game one, Elliot, we talked about it before the series got going was and Chris Knoblock touched on it too and we spoke to them. Their defense and their ability to make that first pass to get out of the zone because Florida feasts on teams that can struggle a little bit with how aggressive they play and getting out of their zone. They managed to not get hemmed in too, too long. And I thought as the game went on, particularly in the third period and the first half of overtime, I don't know if you call it Edmonton beating Florida at their own game or

just the way the Oilers play really taking shape. But it was the Panthers suddenly starting to take some icings and their guys getting caught out on long changes because of how aggressive Edmonton played. And they punch back in a way that Florida is typically used to teams, especially on the road in these playoffs. Yes, I thought and Kevin showed a great highlight of how that happened right below me, by the way, where Dave and I sit where Laura Sirinan sat on the bench for about 27 seconds to get the breather and Skinner was was freaking out saying get this guy off the bench

already. Florida is so smart. They did that about two or three times in the game where they just found a way to slow the game down. You know, for example, when they were reviewing if the puck hit the netting or not, even in the last minute of regulation, when they were trying to determine where a face off should be, if the puck hit the netting or not, they still milled around delayed a little bit, bought themselves some more time. Like Florida does all the things that you would expect a wrestling villain to do, to milk the crowd, get everybody angry at them. When the wrestler, they go outside the ring, the referee begins the 10 count and they roll back in at nine, that's the Florida Panthers. Like they are so good at it. Just to roll back out again.

Yeah. And then they roll back out again. I'm watching all this and I'm thinking to myself, these guys are so good at this. So good. Um, but you know, the, the orders stayed calm. Again, I never thought they panicked. Like the whole thing, uh, McDavid talked about was that the whole year they never felt bad. They felt they had everything under control.

And in this game, I thought they stayed under control. You know, there were a couple of things. We talked about how you can get breakaways against Florida. They got a couple in overtime and it didn't happen the way I thought it was going to happen. It wasn't because of Florida's pressure. It was Kaepernick and then Bouchard undressing really good Florida defensemen. Like Forsling got undressed there once. You don't expect that to happen. I thought the I thought the Oilers looked more confident against Florida than Tampa, Toronto or Carolina did. I even when Toronto was up to nothing in that series,

you never got the sense that Toronto felt they absolutely had them. I just felt tonight that the Oilers really believe that no matter what the situation was, they were going to beat them. I think the other thing too is, and this has continued, Edmonton's death players were great. Like Kapanen was great. Pod Colson was great. Arvidsson scored. I thought he was generally great. Jan Mark was really good. But to me, the big difference was Evander Cain. Yanmark was really good, but to me the big difference was Evander Kane. I had forgotten about this, but so a couple years ago when Edmonton played Calgary in that playoff series, Kachak made the money thing to Kane and some of the Oilers players told me that that really angered Kane and Kane took Kachak out of that series.

Like the others felt very strongly that Kane was so mad at Kachak, he made it his personal mission to eliminate him from that series, which he kinda did. And last year, Kane, even though he played a chunk of the final, he wasn't healthy. As Knobloch said the other day, he wasn't good enough to be

what he can be in this game he was he was finishing checks he was hitting guys hard he was a presence you know as on that 3-3 goal whether you think the pass was to him or not and I know Kevin thinks it was to was to him he stopped in front of the net and he caused havoc like he he just finished his hits all night long and you know PJ stock would always remind me that those hits aren't about game one those hits are about game six and game seven we're going to take a toll out of you and we're going to keep hitting you and Kane just looks so different now that he's going to be a bigger factor in this series than anybody has seen, anybody saw last year. And when he's like this,

I don't know if Florida's played against a guy like that in the previous three rounds. I don't know if they, like they, they're team team Florida's team tough and that intimidates opponents We've talked about that. He's not gonna be bothered by it. He's gonna be right in the middle of it So I think they have something unique Again, I don't panic about the Panthers. They've earned our respect and you underestimate them It's stupid to do that. You underestimate them at your peril. But this is going to be a harder series for them, I think. Everything it showed that tonight.

I think it was better for the series of Edmonton one game one. I thought it made this a better series. And I'm convinced of that after watching the game. Okay, you mentioned some of the depth players for Edmonton. I mean, has this not been a career altering last month, five weeks for Casperi Kaepernick? I agree. I mean, we look at, you know, we've seen all the photos come out the last few days of Sam Reinhardt and Leon Dreisaitl and Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett running up the rocky steps before the draft in 2014. Casperi-Captain went in the first

round of that draft as well, a little bit later on, but he was also a top prospect from that year too. I think over the last little bit here, he's certainly shown it's taken a bit of time, but that's the kind of player I'm sure organizations envisioned. Now, after being a waiver claim for Edmonton, you know As Leon said we took a chance on him and and it's working out for everybody here now How many teams have been watching him the last little bit and thinking yeah, we could use a little bit of that in our lineup Tremendous, you know Mike feuda made that point to me during the game. He texted me He said you take a look at guys like Kapanen and Podkulzin.

These were first rounders who have now revived their career in different roles. You know, Kapanen dumped by a couple of teams, waiver pickup this year. Now he looks like he's carved out a role. He'll be able to fill out a role on good teams for a long time if he plays like this. Pod Koles in 10th overall pick. Couldn't really crack Rick Taukett's lineup in Vancouver. And now the minutes he's giving, they're valuable minutes. He's the one who pressured Nosik into the penalty, right? Did you see Jake Wallman? I think it was Klingberg.

They made sure to get into Nosik's face on the way to the penalty box. Did you see that? Yeah, I did. Like there's no, no one's getting anywhere unscathed out there. That's another thing. Tampa is different because they have a long history with Florida and they kind of bullied the Panthers for years before the Panthers said enough of this and started kicking the sand back. But the last two rounds, Toronto and Carolina, Florida

got none of that. Edmonton is making a point of saying, normally you guys are the ones who set the physical and verbal tone. You get others, you get under other's skin, we're coming at you with this too. They're saying we're not letting Florida do all the talking. We're doing some of the talking here too. I think it's a great point about how you can always reinvent yourself. Not everybody's path is linear. Sometimes you create hurdles or you run into roadblocks. Maybe they're your own, you're your own creation. Maybe other things happen to you.

But it doesn't mean you can't adjust, right? And these two have adjusted. They deserve a lot of credit, a lot of credit. I think to me, one of the things that happened in this game, though, you know, Bennett set a record for most playoff goals by a Florida Panther. But I'll tell you the other thing about him too, is that video review. What did you think Kyle? On the goal interference? Yeah. On first blush, I thought that's coming back It took a few Looks for me to see The skate of Kulak and the role that that played and I know we were going back and forth a little bit about it afterwards

But man, I mean the fact that you point out what it's over for in the playoffs and goalie interface challenge They clearly do not want to take Goals off the board. So that's one thing. But now, I mean, there's only two teams left, but you throw that video up in either room and say, hey, if you feel contact, feel free to start tipping over backwards because there's a good chance that goal is going to stand. You've got precedent right there.

1000%. If I was, if I was Paul Maurice or I was Chris Knobloch, that's what I'd be telling my guys. You feel the contact, you go into the crease. They have set the tone. They do not want to take goals off the board and they set the tone with that call. If you feel contact, you have the right to go into the crease. That's the way this final is going to be officiated. And now that they've done this standard once, they have to stick to it. It has to stay like

this. We cannot have inconsistency at this time of year. You know, goaltenders interference is still, I think, a very frustrating situation for the teams and the fans. Also, when I first saw it, I was like, that's no goal. One of the video guys I really trust. Hugely in the league said he thought that was no goal, but I had a few people text me and say that's a bad challenge, including one of my big goalie guys. One of my big goalie guys who sides with the goalies, he thought that was a bad challenge. Very rare for Noah Segal, the great Noah Segal to be wrong.

But in this one, I thought it was the right challenge. But I will say the majority of people that I ask about this, they thought it was the right challenge. But I will say the majority of people that I ask about this, they thought it was the wrong challenge. All I ask is the standard stays. That's it, Kyle. Is that too much to ask? I'm not asking for a lot. Standard stays. I agree with you, but boy, sometimes it feels like it is a lot to ask. My goodness. And by the way, you talk about the Panthers living up to the villain role. Yeah, it took 10 minutes and 49 seconds into game one before a Sam Bennett in and around the crease of the opposing goaltender, controversial

type play to manifest itself. That was unbelievable. Right on cue. It's like, well, wasted no time having that conversation. Now, of course, thankfully, wasn't anything injury related, but goal or no goal. And it stood. It absolutely stood. And the other thing, too, I should mention, dry side all didn't score

all of last year's final two goals in game one. That's massive, massive for the Oilers, massive for him too. He's a confident guy, but there's no doubt he's got to feel good after that. I thought Marchand was going to get a shorthanded breakaway. He was right up at the blue line. He was pressuring them and he had someone helping him. I can't remember who it was. I Thought Edmonton was in big trouble. Yeah, but the others that went up there. It was so right. It was Jones I I thought the others were in big trouble I thought Jones and Marcham were gonna force a turnover and Marcham was gonna have a breakaway But again, it just shows how far Edmonton's come

they make a couple of really good passes the first one to Nugent Hopkins and then down to Perry and McDavid. And all of a sudden, like that was the shocking thing about it. The way the whole playoffs have gone for Florida, you think that's going to be a shorthand of breakaway. But now, all of a sudden, they use Florida's strength against them, the pressure, and it's a two on one with three of the best players in the world. McDavid, Barkov, and Drysidle.

Unfortunately, Barkov, as great as he is, he doesn't have a chance there, and they lose the game. That's another example of how far Edmonton's come in a year. McDavid sets up the tying goal, sets up the winning goal. You know, if Florida wins, I think Bennett could win the Con Smythe, but it's again setting up to be one of those years where McDavid could take it no matter who wins. Now, I know there were a lot of people who thought I was taking a shot at the Leafs when

I said no passengers in my tweet at the end of the game that certainly wasn't intended but after I saw it and people started making the comments I was like oh boy didn't mean it but I know how it looks not much you can do at that point it's out there People interpret it the way they want. You're like the Sam Bennett of tweeters. I actually didn't even think about it. Even my buddies were like, oh you're taking shots with the Leafs, you too, A2 Friedman. I was like, not really, but you know how these things go. Yes, yes I do. Anything else in the game? I think the only thing that we don't, we can't answer after game number one was nobody asked McDavid if Kevin was right,

that he was trying to pass to Kane and not Ekholm. When I watched it again later, I think Kevin has more of a case because Bobrowski does hit the puck, right? Now, we had people saying if you look at his eyes, you could tell he was looking at Kane. Then we had other people saying if you look at his eyes, you can tell he's looking at Eckholm. So I don't think that that solves the problem. Also, it's not like from the They were too far apart in terms of Their location on the ice like obviously weren't standing in the same spot But from where McDavid would be looking they'd be in his field of vision. I believe McDavid could see anything But I don't know, it might have been closer to Kane after watching some of

the replays, as much as it pains me to admit this, Kevin might be more right than I thought. We'll have to ask about this on Thursday. Yes, until we hear it from the horse's mouth. But that's a man that's made a career out of playing chess while the rest of us have been playing checkers. So none of it would surprise me. Do you think if I handed McDavid a $50 bill on the way to the podium on the off day and say if someone asks, make sure you tell them it was Echolm. Do you think he would take the money? I don't know. Or do you think I want a few more zeros?

Do you think he would take the money and double cross? Go full heel turn on you and totally expose you. No, I think you may need a couple more trips to the Grand Villa Casino next door to the rink. Up the Annie and then he'll have something to think about. All right, I'll be there. I'll be there. Okay, so we were going to do the commissioner availability for final thought, Elliot, but something has just come across our desk that we are going to save the final thought for. So right now we will talk about Gary Bettman, who spoke

a couple hours before game one of the Stanley Cup final on, as he typically does, a wide array of topics. We do not have a CBA in place, though we did say talks are progressing, things are all amicable, the discussions are going very well. What were your takeaways from Commissioner Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley, time at the podium before game one? Probably the least newsworthy Gary Betman media conference we may have ever had at the Stanley Cup final.

So as we talked about in Monday's pod. We weren't expecting a CBA announcement. But, Kyle, I don't think we're far away. Objects in mirror are closer than they may appear. I don't think it's very far away. As long as there's no snags, as a matter of fact, Bettman said we still have a year in the CBA. I don't think that statement was made by accident. It's almost like we got lots of time, nothing to see here. They're in the same city. They can still talk. As long as there's no snags, I don't believe

it's very far away at all. The tax differential, I know for some fans that's a big thing, clearly not for the league and clearly not by what Ron Hainsey said for players. So this is not gonna be a big deal. It sounds like they've done something with the LTIR for the playoffs. That's something they've talked about. Other things I've heard they've discussed, deferred money. I've also heard that there's potentially a system being worked on to have a third goalie with you all the time, like a glorified e-bug kind of person who could be with a team.

It's been discussed. Someone who wouldn't make a minimum NHL salary, but potentially a smaller salary and be able to practice with the team. Like, for example, on the road, you could take the e-bug with you. I believe that's been discussed. They confirm no Russian participation in next year's Olympics. you could take the e-bug with you. I believe that's been discussed. They confirmed no Russian participation in next year's Olympics. Bill Daley said there's no formal expansion process but they take meetings and could go to the

Board of Governors if they felt they had good reason to. And the other thing because it has been rumored I just don't know if it's real or not This is not something that you guess about But he was asked if the the players who are on trial from the 2018 team Canada World Junior team Could face penalty league discipline even if acquitted in court Betman said he wasn't going in there all All say is that has been rumored but it doesn't mean it's true and Betman wasn't going there on Wednesday. Okay the other thing too where he talked about the All-Star event on Long Island and the

wording of it kind of made it seem like is initially right this is something that was supposed to be just before the Milan Olympics next year. And he was talking about the year after. Are we looking at maybe a one year deferral for that event and doing something else entirely before the Olympics or further clarity needed there? It sounds to me like next year will be sort of an Olympic send off event and they're talking about something else for 2027. But you know, Kyle, you really picked up on this. You texted me after the press conference. It sure does sound like the possibility that the All-Star game as

we know it is over. It's not impossible based on what the way Betman talked. Right? Yes. And you mean like forever going forward. If we're not going back to the old All-Star game. Yeah, right. And we thought you can't. Yeah, we know we're going,

we know we have Olympics next year, we have another World Cup in 2028. I think we all know that you can't just do that thing again. And it sounds like they're trying to come up with something else. By the way, you notice what else Betman said on Wednesday? What language we've joked about before? Oh, about the draft.

Yes. Yes. We didn't want this. The teams wanted this. So if they wanna switch it back if they want to switch it back, if they want to switch it back, we'd be open to switching it back. Oh, it was glorious. It's so funny. He wants everyone to know.

The thing about this is everybody knows if he wants something done, he'll get it done. The teams walked into this trap there. He's like, OK, I'll let you guys do it. And he makes sure to say first, he just said it privately to them. But now he sees how much everybody hates it. And he's making sure that the public knows it wasn't him. it and he's making sure that the public knows it wasn't him. If the teams won it, we'll switch it back. He's stood in there and taken a lot of bullets over his years as commissioner.

This is clearly not one of those ones he's going to stand in the court. He's not taking this stuff. It's the El Matador. Olay! off to the side The GM's wait a sec. Wait a sec. Wait a sec. There's the bus. It's rolling over. Wait, wait, wait It's now backing up back over you Yes, that was good that was very very good and When he was asked about any succession plan, it sounds like he's

wants to spend the next 50 years. You know what? I gotta tell you something. I have to tell you that interview, and I'm not taking any shots at Craig Leopold or I think it was on with Jimmy Murphy and Pierre McGuire. I am not taking any shots in any of those people, but that interview has extended Gary Bettman's term as commissioner by at least five years. You will never be able to convince me that he wasn't so angry at that interview that he said, enough of this. I'm staying for five more years. Right.

Where Craig Leopold, and he has hinted at... Yeah. That he's leaving and they've got to have a succession plan? No. I may be wrong. I may be proven wrong, but I really do believe it. Batman heard that, that got out and he's like, oh yeah? Okay. I'm not leaving. There was a plan. Plan's over. You know what the new plan is? See it for five more years. How do you like that plan? God. You can't not respect it. All right, Elliott, let's get to some other news from around the NHL. And for the last number of years, there has been growing conversation and desire for okay, when is the next wave, the fresh blood

of NHL head coaches going to surface? There was Marten St. Louis going to Montreal, Spencer Carburetto Washington, Ryan Worsofsky to San Jose, and now Dan Muse named the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was an assistant under Piedlo Lavillette in Nashville and then in New York, your thoughts on Muse being the name that Kyle Dubas picks to run things in Pittsburgh. Kyle, when I heard it was Dan Muse, I was shocked and not because he wasn't on the radar. We'd mentioned them in a couple of previous podcasts that he'd been interviewed and that he'd gotten an in-person interview, but I just didn't take it seriously

enough as a contender. And what I learned is that I have to put some respect on his name. Put some respect on my name. You understand me? When y'all saying my name, put some respect on it. We need to follow the instructions here, Kyle. We did not put enough respect on his name. Listen to Birdman. Listen to Birdman. Again, I just didn't see it coming. I'll be honest. A lot of us had expected Mitch Love for this job. Jay Woodcroft was in this job pretty deep. DJ Smith was another guy towards the end of last week on the weekend. Obviously I had mentioned in the last pod, there were people thinking that he could get

it. I just think what happened with Muse is he just wasn't a guy that had enough people knowing him to promote his case. Although this is a good reminder of something I really believe to be true and that is the right people are always watching. If you do a good job and I'll tell you something like one thing I heard about him in New York was he was consistently the first guy to arrive every day and the last guy to leave. And if you are doing the right things, the right people are always watching. And nothing is better

example of this than this particular case. I firmly believe it and I'm always glad to see that proven true. I think that what this also does is says a lot about where Pittsburgh is going. Kyle Dubas had made it clear that the rebuild was coming in Pittsburgh. If anyone didn't believe him, if anyone thought that Dubas was not serious, then now what do you think? This is proof. You don't hire Dan Muse at this time unless you are simply saying, we're gonna have a lot of young players here,

we're gonna be introducing a lot of youthful faces, and we need someone who knows how to connect with them. If you look at Muse, his history is development, won a Clark Cup, a USHL champion, has coached the national team development program, has been an assistant coach now on a couple of NHL teams. His strength is young players and development. This is Dubas saying, if you didn't believe me before, you're going to believe me now. And I think this caught a lot of people by surprise. I think a lot of

people were shocked. And like I said, I think even some of us who had mentioned they heard his name in the process, didn't take it seriously enough to recognize that this was a serious contender for the job. So he would be considered a pretty young guy when you look at head coaches in the NHL. 42, he's going to be 43 this summer. And then you've got Sidney Crosby that's turning 38 this summer. I don't know, maybe it's already kind of started. But Sydney Crosby, so long as he remains in Pittsburgh, like, does he start to carry the unofficial player coach title as they enter this next phase of where the organization is headed? And the

way a that guy is wired, and how much knowledge because we heard with Mike Sullivan, how often he would be in conversation with him watching games on off nights about hey Maybe we think about doing this to our power play or this to our breakout He's a guy that's always thinking about ways to improve how they're playing. I Wonder now with the first time NHL head coach coming into the mix what that dynamic is like between Muse and the longtime Pittsburgh captain It's a very interesting question. The only reason I'm going to say no, Kyle, is that I think if you went to Sidney Crosby and said, I see you more as a player coach than anything else right now, you might get stuffed into a trash can. Like I struggle to find situations where Sidney Crosby would be angry

enough to stuff you into a garbage bag, but this might be it. That suggestion might do it. Well hold on, I'm not suggesting we're limiting what he's doing on the ice, not at all. I'm just thinking about how long he's been around. I think you were. Well, this is another case of the latest episode of Elliot puts words in my mouth. I think that it's an interesting theory. I have to say I didn't think of that. I think what this is going to do again, and I know the Penguins fans hate this, I'm sorry Pittsburgh fans, but you cannot, you can't escape this. This is going to lead

to another round of what does Crosby think of this and people in Crosby's orbit saying, are you sure about this? About, you know, we know you're loyal. We know you care about the Penguins as much as you care about anything. But are you sure? Sorry, Penguins fans. Like I said, you just can't escape it. Although again, I feel he's loyal to the logo. I don't know. I can't like, I can't think of Crosby as a player coach. I still think of him as incredibly driven guy who wants to win more. Of course. So sorry. I guess I didn't mean to throw out the label of that, but I guess my mind was just thinking.

The way I interpreted that Kyle is, I, is that you think he can barely play anymore. Yeah, I know. This is why your listening skills are so good. That's great interpretation. No, I understand what you're saying. You know what I mean? Like the guys have been doing it at a high level for so long and you've got this head coach that's never done it in the NHL before. He's been an assistant.

I'm just curious about that dynamic as they, again, if Crosby remains in Pittsburgh, as those two guys put their heads together and go, okay How do we get the most out of this group going forward? That's all you know, you know the other thing too it's kind of interesting you did say that because one of the things that Someone did say to me today and this is someone who thought that this was an interesting hire Because he doesn't know Dan Muse But he's heard about him and he made some calls about him when he heard it this

morning and he got some people who gave him really positive feedback. They said that one thing Dan Muse is going to have to do is establish a presence. Like a lot of these coaches you know they players kind of know who they are or they've seen them around. You know again there are obviously a lot of know who they are or they've seen them around. You know, again, there are obviously a lot of people who were the right people who knew about him and brought him along in his career. But they did say like, he's going to have to establish himself as the presence on the Pittsburgh Penguins. And although there's going to be a lot of young players there who won't be rocking the

boat and will be falling in line, you do have to establish it with Crosby. And it's not that Crosby is a difficult guy or anything like that. I'm not saying that at all. But Crosby is Crosby. Sounds to me like you are. I was leaving that open for you. Crosby is Crosby and he wants to win and he burns to win and he knows the game as much as anyone else and You do have to establish that like Muse is gonna have to say hey You're the one of the best players of all time, but I've got to be the boss here and That is a thing

It matters. I you know, I always remember Bruce Cassidy who very much has established himself now as the boss at wherever he coaches, talking about how he walked into Washington the first time he got a head coaching job and he basically blew it on the first day and it was the reason he didn't last. So I think that is a thing. You do have to come in with a plan to establish yourself as the alpha in the room. He was a penalty kill specialist amongst other things with his roles in Nashville and New York under Labialette and a lot more on his plate now for Dan Muse as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Okay, Elliot elsewhere on Wednesday Brock Nelson re-ups in Colorado three years, seven, Dave, Dave, Amber's calling me.

Here. I'm going to put my microphone to this. Can you modulate his voice please? And then just see how it sounds. Hey, Dave, are you speaking to me in a modulated voice? What are you talking about? Just so you know, we're recording the podcast live right now. So I'm putting you on speaker and on the microphone.

I have never called in to your show to dispute anything you have possibly said about me. That was outstanding. That's going in the pod tomorrow. I want to tell you that that's going on elsewhere on Wednesday, Brock Nelson re-ups in Colorado, three years, 7.5 million per. So a raise from the contract that's about to expire, at least when it comes to the AAV. Why did the term, the dollars make sense here for both team and player? Elliot?

You know, I had some other people asking me, do you think that because they made the trade with the Islanders, they felt they absolutely had to sign Nelson at whatever the cost and they'd lost Rantanen, so they have to do this? I don't necessarily think that's the case. I always think there's a limit. Nelson was rumored to have gotten that offer from the Islanders, so you kind of know that's the market. I think at some point in time, you have to say, all right, this is the way things worked out and they didn't go great for us and it wasn't the opportune way for this all to happen. But you can't keep throwing good money after bad. You say, well, we did this, so we have to invest in it further.

I don't buy that. And I don't think Colorado would think that either. I think everybody has limits. This is going to be what Nelson was going to get. And ultimately, I think that Colorado said, we're comfortable with that. Where the cap is going, what that does for our roster, the way he played with Landis Gogh and Natchushkin, it looked good for us. Ultimately, I believe there is a point where Colorado wasn't going to say, yes, we're

going to pay anything to keep Brock Nelson because we traded for him and we lost Rantanen. No, I think you always have limits. And I think at some point you have to say the past is the past it happened and now we've got to move on and Ultimately, I think Brock Nelson was gonna get this deal or something comparable to it from someone Because of just the need for two C's in the cap situation and Colorado said we can deal with this You have to understand that with the cap going up Seven and a half now is not what seven and a half was even a year or two ago. You have to always look at it as percentage of the cap. I had one

friend who loves Cadry and he said, wait a sec, they wouldn't give Cadry seven and they gave Nelson seven and a half. Well percentage of the cap, Nelson is less than Cadry. It's just the number at the time. So staying on the topic with Colorado, Elliot, while we got you here, I mean, anything going on NACCHUS wise, Charlie Coyle wise, just guys that could potentially sign new deals this summer? We'll see about NACCHUS. You know, Nick had him in his trade board. There's a lot of stuff flying out there right now. Kyle, there's so much stuff flying out there.

And again, this is not Sportsnet on Sportsnet crime. I'm just simply trying to figure out what is real out there. Like you hear so many things between being here at the Stanley Cup final and the combine, everything that's out there. I just prefer to knock things down as I hear them. I, you know, Colorado is going to probably going to have to do some surgery here, a little bit of it. But all of a sudden down the middle, you've got McKinnon, Nelson, Coyle and Drury and now for a full season, right?

And there's still Ross Colton there as well too. So that's good. That's one of your strengths. Do I think Colorado is going to have to do something because the salary cap says they're going to do something because the salary cap says they're going to do something? Yes, I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm trying to figure out here exactly what that's going to be. You know, Natures, he has another year before he's a UFA.

He told Carolina that he would sign the two-year deal through his UF to get into UFA and he wasn't doing anything else. I am still waiting to determine if that's in any way different now. And similar situation I guess for Dallas too? Yes there's been a lot of noise around Dallas the last couple of days. They're a team with not a lot of cap room and has to make some decisions. One of the things I'd heard over the last couple of days is that they'd like to keep Michael Grandland. So if that's true, and you really talk about a Finnish mafia there adding Grandland to

it, then if you really want to keep them at the number that it probably is going to take to keep them, then you're they're definitely going to have to make some hard choices. Jim Neal has some big decisions to make there going to be an interesting summer. Seems like the smoke's been billowing out from that part of Texas here for the last few days after their season in a lot of ways shockingly came to an end at the end of the Western Conference final.

Okay, the Maple Leafs, Elliot. So shortly after their season came to an end, you wondered about maybe some buyouts a little further down the depth chart for them. Now you're hearing maybe not so much. No, I don't think Toronto is going to do a buyout. I don't think they're going to go that way. The one of the things about Tavares is you look at it, you can go the Brock Nelson way, which is three years at a bigger AAV, or you could go the Chris Tanev, Yanni Gordway. I could see Toronto pitching that. It worked with Tanev. Obviously, this is going to take him right to retirement. Obviously, Yanni Gord was very happy to do that in Tampa, a thing that Alex Cullorn and Stephen Stamkos were not willing to do.

Not only was the number the same, I think the structure was the same in those deals that those players said no to and Gord took. I don't think it would be as low as 2.3 or whatever it was for Gord. But I can see Toronto pitching that structure to Tavares. But no, I don't think they'll be doing buyouts. Okay, Boam Byram. What's the latest there? Yeah, that's just a hot name. Like it's a hot name.

Yeah. Yeah. Kevin Adams, he's doing his due diligence there and I think there's I think there's a lot of interest as you would expect that's you know, we said it was going to be a hot name this summer and I've just heard there's been a lot of noise around him at the combine. Ehlers is another one I've just heard a little bit here and there, but the one thing I've heard that Ehlers prefers is he wants to be in a situation where he can win and I think that's more important to him than number.

We'll see if that proves to be the case, but I've heard that about him. Winnipeg is obviously a situation where I think you can win, but Jets fans know at times the question there has been about first line or top opportunity. But I've heard that Ehlers and a chance to win is pretty big on his list. All right. And that takes us to the final thought, which is brought to you by GMC. So Elliot, we have gotten some great responses over the last 24 hours to the ongoing mystery that is the anonymous voicemail.

As we have discussed, Dave Amber is adamant that it wasn't him. More and more as Wednesday unfolded, Elliot, Kevin BX's name came up as a suspect, though I'm sure with a busy night of game one you weren't able to pin him up against the wall and say was this you? Maybe that's an update project for you? Don't think even if I wasn't busy I could pin him up against the wall but okay we'll go with that. I was too busy to do that. Terrogate him somehow. All right all of this to say that while we have been recording tonight tonight Elliot we got another email or voicemail or another voicemail from anonymous so I haven't heard this yet you haven't heard this yet

neither has Dom voicemail number two from anonymous Hello, Dom, Kyle, and Elliot. This is Anonymous. You're wrong again, Elliot. This is not David Amber. My question for you is if Amber doesn't even listen to the podcast, what makes you think you'd want to contribute to it you may know who I am you may not we may be friends or colleagues we may not if the Oilers win the cup I'll reveal myself farewell for now, gentlemen. It's Amber. Oh my gosh. Seriously? 100%.

You're tripling down on this. Tripling down. It's Amber. I'll admit, I'll be the ultimate sucker if it proves to be him. It's all his cadence. I think this anonymous voice may have, like they did their homework here. I think they may have been studying Amber for months. Watching them host Wednesday Night Lobby.

Can I tell you something? Sure. If you want to act like David Amber, you don't need to study him for months. You need to study him for like 42 seconds and you've got to figure it out. He's got one speed, one gear. It's the same every time. There's no depth to this guy. He's as shallow as a waiting pool. No diving please. This is becoming all the more gripping, Elliot. Multiple voicemails from this person. You continue to believe as Dave Amber, but I'm not so sure.

But again, understanding your history between the two of you, how far you two go back, it's giving me pause for thought. David even said he would be offering a $10 reward for getting to the bottom of this. It's caused so much emotional hardship for him with everybody asking him or claiming he was the man behind all this. Okay. So, do you know the Dirty Harry movies? I'm familiar with them. I can't say I've watched them

Okay, so it's before your time. They are great movies Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry 1971 film incredible movie incredible movie 1971 film, incredible movie, incredible movie. The villain is Scorpio. And Dirty Harry Callahan, the police detective who's played by Clint Eastwood, has to run from phone booth to phone booth in a specific time limit to answer Scorpio's call.

It's a brilliant sequence. It's brilliantly edited. That's what this reminds me of. Well, that's good. That's a heck of a poll. It's a great movie. Anyone in this who listening this podcast who's watched those movies, they're smiling now because it's an incredible scene.

If you haven't seen these movies and you're a movie buff, take some time, go watch them. But that's what we're doing right now. This is Scorpio and you and I are running from phone booth to phone booth to try to figure out who's on the other line. Whether it's Dirty Harry or Dirty Dave Amber, we're going to get to the bottom of this one way or another by the time the cup's awarded. Dirty Dave Amber. Mark our words. That's a fitting nickname, I have to say. Shallow as a waiting pool.

That was the final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take our first break. No thought line today. That'll be back post game two of this Stanley Cup final series. But when we return a couple of conversations from Media Day one, Elliot did with Brad Marshand and our conversation with Steve Mayer of the NHL. That's on the other side. All right, as promised, a couple more interviews that we did back on Media Day Tuesday in Edmonton. First up, a conversation between Elliot and Brad Marchand.

Now, if you watched our pregame show on Wednesday prior to game one, you would have seen part of the interview. But of course, in the world of television, time is never on our side. So we'll give you the conversation between Marchand and Elliot in its entirety. And then our conversation with Steve Mayer of the NHL. Enjoy the both of them. I don't know if you're aware of this, but you have been on an epic roll lately,

from Dairy Queen to everything else. This might be the best Brad Marchand run of his career. Agree or disagree? Uh, I'm gonna have to agree with that, I'll fight. I mean, I just got a DQ sponsorship. I mean, I can't complain about anything right now. Blizzard's for life? Damn right.

I got to tell you, I still think the Peanut Buster Parfait is the best one. Listen, I don't discriminate against any of them, but it's tough to beat a Blizzard. Okay. You know, one of the things I kind of wondered about is I remember this one time I moved job to job, and I didn't realize until later that it was actually the best thing for me and I needed a change. And I wonder if you've, a couple months later, if that realization has hit you. I think that's a tough question to answer with one specific thing. I think there's just so many different things that go into that answer. I have a family and we've built a life in Boston and

we absolutely love it there. We'll live there down the road. So can I say it's the best thing for me? there down the road. So can I say it's the best thing for me? You know, maybe not for hockey wise. Yeah, absolutely. At this point, you know, when I look back on it, when I look at where I am, where I look at where I would have been if I didn't get moved, you know, at the end of the day I'm a competitive person and you know there there's things that wouldn have been able to do if I would have stayed in Boston, retired there and everything. But I'm in a position to play for a cup and at the end of the day, that's why I play this game.

That's every hockey player's dream is to have that opportunity to compete at this level. So I believe wholeheartedly that things happen for a reason. I think that I was meant to be here and I believe that everything that happened this year was meant to test me and make me better, make me learn, make me appreciate this opportunity right now and be grateful for it. And just, you know, not take for granted the things that we think are just going to happen or we expect to happen and to truly live in the moment and appreciate this. So yeah, I can't say yes or no, whether it was the best thing for me, but I know that I'm grateful to be here and I know that I loved every minute of being in Boston.

I was nervous as anything to move and to not really know what was expected or not know what was coming, but I loved every second of being here as well. So it's a win-win. It is amazing to watch how perfectly it's worked on and off the ice for you. Why do you think that is? I think it when you have a really strong group in the room,

a really strong core belief of what you're trying to accomplish and you have the guys that buy in, I think it makes it very easy to follow that and to come in and just be part of something special. I just think that I was fortunate enough to be put with guys that we play similar styles and we just gelled well. You don't always have that sometimes,

it takes a long time to have that chemistry, but we had it from day one in practice. Sometimes things just line up and they just work. I was also really grateful for the opportunity to be part of a great team. And I went in and just tried to be the best version myself. My family's not with me, so I don't have anything other than just focusing on hockey

Which it helps, you know at the end of the day it does help and it's a sacrifice to be away from them, but there's a lot of things that go into it, but sometimes things just line up and It just seems like things line up the right way. Can you speak? Just I could. Yes. Okay. Do you know any Finnish yet? It's the one language I think that's the most impossible. No, but I don't know any Finnish, but like after playing with the two of them for so long, Lucy and Lundy, I started calling them my Finnish phenoms. And it was going on for about a month,

and it was probably a couple weeks. And finally, Lundy said, he was like, why does he keep calling us females? He thought I was calling them the Finnish females. I was like, he's calling you the phenoms because you guys are unbelievable players. So now it's a running joke through the whole team that they're the Finnish females.

Did you see that, I guess, Kachak said on Spitting Chick List that he told Lester Ryan he'd been treated for you. Did you know that? I heard there was a couple of guys. Yeah, I didn't know it was Lucy or Samo. But yeah, I knew he was pleased. He said it right away. He was like, hey, we traded for Marci.

And he was like, yeah, it was for youcia and he was like, yeah It was for you That's just him do a tee, you know, like he's always poking at somebody whether it's the players the trainers like that's just what he does He's awesome. That's that's that's great stuff. Yeah You know, I also looked at you know with Boston you'd char up or Bergeron yourself like just a great leadership group How does the group here compare to those guys? Yeah, huh? Austin, Yichara, Bergeron yourself, like just a great leadership group. How does the group here compare to those guys? Yeah, it's obviously a different like it's hard to really compare the leadership groups of course, they're just different, but they're great.

Like they and what you see when you walk in the group is it's like a team full leader that that's one of the biggest things That I was surprised about and I was really in awe of when I came in is The work ethic that every guy has and the dedication they put in every day like no one has to tell anyone to do anything They are so dialed in During games that you see everybody is so focused like no one needs to be picked up or anything And it's just the guys know what their job is they do it they work as hard as they can they compete but when you watch their core like they are the guys they're the first ones doing everything right every day the way they

prepare the way they recover they take care of themselves so you know I'm not surprised that this team is built the way they are. When you walk into the room, you see their group, their core, the way that they handle their day to day, they're doing it the right way. Who's the guy here that most surprised you that maybe you didn't know, didn't or maybe either you didn't like and you said, boy, great guy or guy. Oh, let's go with that one because all of them, you know, like that, that's the truth. There's, let's go with that one. Because you're paid enough. All of them. You know, like that's the truth. There's a lot of guys that I just wanted to wring their neck. You know, you get in the room, you're like, even the first time

I met Echlad, like I flew in, I was concussed and all banged up. And he just walked over. He was like, this is so weird. That's all he said. He shook my head. He's like, this is so weird. And he just looked at me, shook his head, and was like, I walked away. You know, we just had that interaction because we

just had battled against each other so much. He's probably one of the guys actually that I competed with a lot and I and I we're always going after each other. And I love him like he's he's, you know, probably one of the best buddies on the team now and spend a lot of time with him. Just an awesome teammate. But there's a lot of guys that were like that. And honestly, Luiste and Lundy,

I thought they were two of the dirtiest guys on the team. I tell them that all the time. And I love them. I love playing with them. So they're, yeah, it's a great group. Just last couple here. Have you thought about your future? In what sense?

Like just where, like what? In the future? No, like yeah, like next year, like have you thought about that much? I mean, I have over the past months. I've thought about, you know, potential situations, but I, you know, until you really know what options are, like you're just, it's all theoretical. So I kind of parked all that and I'm just,

especially right now, just be in the moment and enjoying it. I don't want anything to take away from it and just having fun. So that's awful. Obviously it's going to happen quick after, you know, after playoffs, you know, it, it, it look at it, it's going to come fast, but, you know, it'll be a time and place for that. This is Hawking in Canada. So the question I really want to know was, could you ever see yourself playing in Canada? Anything's on the table. Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm going to listen to anything. But again, we'll deal with it when the time comes and we'll see what the right fit is. You could get tired of us really fast.

I know. I like you guys. You got doughnuts. Thanks very much, man. We really appreciate it. Thanks, bud. Steve Mayer, the president of NHL content and events. Thanks very much, man. I really appreciate it. Steve Mayer, the president of NHL Content and Events.

So we're just after 10 a.m. local time here in Edmonton. You're coming through the door, the energy's up, you're aning your phone off, you're making deals just before you walk in. So my first question is, how does Steve Mayer typically start his day? Wake up. Listen, every day the beauty of... 5% of you wondered if you even go to sleep. No, the beauty of the job, and it's what I love about it,

is that every day presents something new, and that when I do wake up, yes, you have the to-do list, but it grows. It's just naturally, especially this time of year, you just never know and you're going to get curveballs through the day, we're fine. That's part of the job and that's part of the excitement of the job. It's how you handle what some would call stress. I call it energy.

It's cool. And so what you saw is typical. It just doesn't stop. I sit here and talk to the both of you and I'm probably in the back of my head wondering what I'm missing and what I need to do once we're done with this interview because it starts to add up.

But, you know, it's just, there's so much opportunity out there. There's so many things that we wanna do as a league, I wanna do personally. And, you know, these are the exciting times. The Stanley Cup final, followed by the awards, followed by the draft, followed by free agency. There's just a lot of good stuff going on.

Okay. So you said something in that answer. So many things I want to do. What is the number one thing you want to do in the NHL that you haven't been able to do? You ask me this a lot. I know, because I know you think of things. So... Yeah.

So listen, I'm a big fan of what we did years ago in Tahoe. I loved it. All right. And, you know, there were some hiccups to it. But I think there's a world of exploration, things that we could do that really will catch people's attention. And that's what we're trying to do on a day-to-day basis. I think we understand our standing in the society of sports. And we know that we need to figure out ways, especially every single year we talk, there's a new sport, there's something new that comes up, there's something new that challenges

us, but we don't look at it as a challenge. We look at it as a cool opportunity to then push our people, push everybody I work with to do more and more. And you need to figure out ways to connect with the greater audience. And so that's one of the things that I like. Admittedly, Commissioner Betman likes having fans. I do as well. And so we still want to do the outdoor games. I think there's a world where we could do both. And I think there's some new moments in time coming. One is our relationship with Sportsnet and Rogers. And I think that's a signal that we

should be doing some new things in a new deal. And we have new US deals coming up sooner than later. So I think that'll be a moment to sort of change things up a little bit. Because everybody also in the media world is looking for something new and exciting. But I don't know. So in the media world is looking for something new and exciting. But I don't know.

We don't mind changing things up. I think we've proven that. And so that's what also excites me. It's not always the same old same old. And I have a commissioner who lets us do certain things and wants to keep the, you know, I have a commissioner who lets us do certain things and wants to keep, you know, keep going, keep coming up with ideas. And he's so supportive. So I feel really good about what was done, but I feel even better about what we're about

to do. So just to give you one idea, Kyle, and for the audience too, years ago, there was a college basketball game that was played on a aircraft carrier. And I asked Steve if the NHL would ever try something like that and his answer was yes. But I know the biggest issue I'm going to have is the commissioner is going to say if we do something special, how many fans of a team are going to get to go see them? And he didn't like that idea as much because you couldn't have a lot of fans there, that kind of thing.

That's what you're talking about. And there are some ideas, and we've presented them, that actually on the peripheral, like wherever you go, there's gonna be a finite amount of people that could see it. And that also caters to VIPs which we don't want the the fan to be able to be a part of it there are other ideas where you can bring masses to certain places that they get a peek of it but they don't get that bird's-eye view so those are the kind of things we're looking at as you move to

the future and and you know give us one I'll give you an example, but by no means. If you went to Central Park in New York City, there's only a few people that could really see the game, but you could have a million people there just because they're part of the atmosphere and part of the moment. I think there's ways to potentially do it. But I think it's down the line. It's not immediate by any means. Is there like a number in terms of attendance for the leagues going?

It's if we're going to do something like that, we've got to have at least this many people to make it make sense. We haven't talked about it in terms of numbers. No. You know, and we did explore quite a few places during COVID. You know, we ended up on Lake Tahoe, but we did look at almost every place you could go.

Lake Louise, I remember. Yeah, Lake Louise was absolutely one of the places that we looked at. You know, the Grand Canyon. I think I've told absolutely one of the places that we looked at, you know, the Grand Canyon. I think I've told you one of the crazy ideas is to play a game half in the United States and half in Canada, where literally, you know, you've got to go through customs

to just cross the center ice. That's right. And there are places... It's tough to pass the park through a customs room. Yes, it is. But there are places, believe it or not, that would be kind of perfect for being able to do just that, where you do cross the border. And given, you know, the times we're living in, that could be quite interesting.

We're constantly thinking of what to do, but just pick a place. And we have the greatest events team in the entire world. These are the best of the best. We'll figure it out on how to do it. And then the next piece would be how many people can be there. But building a stadium, the other thing you have to take into consideration, it's very expensive. And so there's so many other factors. You just can't go, let's just do a game here. The cost of doing those games have to make sense. And you're building essentially a stadium wherever you go.

And so you have to look at that as a factor as well. But in the end of the day, just keep the ideas flowing and you never know. So I wonder because we talked about this on the pod recently, like Seinfeld, for him and comedy, everything he observes in life is like, can this be a bit? Is it difficult for you to turn that part of your brain off? Never.

And that's probably part of who I am. And I'll give you an example. Last year, after we did the awards, there was sort of a group of people that came and said, do we really like our format? And the awards show, the shiny floor, the players come all dressed up? Is it working?

And we took a long hard look at it. We listened. We talked to players. We talked to agents. We talked to personnel and we decided, you know what? We're not going to do an award show. Talking about observing, I just am fascinated, have been fascinated by the NFL Hall of Fame, the big guy, Baker, who's the head of the Hall of Fame, and he goes and he knocks on

the door and then the guy opens up the door and they go, oh my God, I'm in the Hall of Fame. Just seeing him is the trigger that I've made the Hall of Fame and that's how they've presented it and it becomes very emotional. So, you know, immediately my thought, speaking of what you just said, went to something that I've observed and I personally thought was just wonderful.

Like, it was just emotional, and I noticed, like, these are some tough guys, NFL superstars, who are making the Hall of Fame, and they're breaking down. And so you realize if you find them in a surprise moment, you will get hopefully that reaction. So I immediately proposed, why don't we do that with our NHL awards? And so that's what we've been doing this year,

and that's the new approach to the awards. And, you know, we've now done 10 of these now. So, you know, I'm so surprised that nothing has leaked. It's been unbelievable because we've done a few in very public places. But the reward for us is seeing our players react and get emotional and really, I think, have a totally different approach to the awards than we've ever had in the past. Again, that's just from observing. We're always watching other sports. It's not just hockey.

It's got to be other sports, and entertainment. Like, what are they doing in the world? What's clicking? What are the trends? And how do we apply it in a cool way to hockey? And, you know, that's part of, you know, the job, but it's also part of me personally, and our team who we've now built to, you know, that's what we say. Like we need to know what's going on out there. If I mention something to somebody, a pop culture moment or a pop culture trend and they don't know, it's very disappointing to me.

And by the way, it rarely happens. Like we've got a really great team that we've put together in that world that's constantly looking for like, how do we make our world more interesting? So what is an idea? Well, actually, I got a couple here. First of all, at the time we do this interview, only one award or one award winner has been

revealed. Barkov, who won two awards. Won two awards. The King Clancy and the Selkie. Just tell us the award. Obviously, don't tell us the winner. Of all the ones that you have taped so far, which one had the best reaction that people are going to look at and they're going to say either wow or I love this?

I think the Mastertint is really good. The Calder is also like it was a different reaction than we expected or thought, and that was really good. They're all in their own way. They're all interesting. You know, the Barkov one, which we've now put out there, you know, the toughest thing has been scheduling, you know, and finding the right time. And, you know, when a guy is in the middle of the playoffs,

you know, you want to be able to present it at the right time because you don't want him, you know, laboring on a loss the night before or travel day or what do you mean I have to cut? So we, it was tough because most of the players involved or travel day or what do you mean I have to... So it was tough because most of the players involved were in the playoffs. So we tried to work out the schedule

and that was probably the toughest thing. And we had a couple instances where we were about to go and they said, no, the team said, probably not a good idea. The day is probably not the day. team said, probably not a good idea. Today's probably not the day. But I think those two in particular are very emotional and will get a great response. But in their own way, some are funny and some were punked and some are much more straight and to the point. The other thing that I really enjoyed through this process,

and I went to most of them, the families. Like, the families of our players were awesome. I mean, and we're all in, and we're just a pleasure to deal with. And they're just good people. And they're rewarded, as I've seen now, as much as the player. I mean, you could tell the amount of hard work

that the player has done, it's just based on their parents and how their parents raised them, and then when they win an award, their parents are winning the award. It was so cool. Like just, it's been a great experience. It's been very rewarding for our team. And I think it's gonna be a super entertaining show.

And the Barcov, you know, we said we're talking a day after, it's one of the highest performing videos that we've ever done. Like, so it's just in a day went wild. It was shared so many times. So we're happy with this decision. But what are we going to do next year? We'll see. I don't know if it'll be the same if we go back to the old format. We're just constantly evolving and never know what we're going to do next year. Okay. So what's something you've seen from another league or pop culture recently that you've seen and said, we have to find a way to do that?

That's hard. There are certain trends that are, you know, that are popular Instagram, like, you know, that are fun. And the problem is convincing our players to potentially do it. Sometimes it just has to happen naturally. I don't know if there's anything specific. I mean, I do think as you watch every league and everybody is really putting a lot more into their presentations, into their entertainment value. I think that there's some things that goes back and I'm not going to get into specifics here, but I think we also watch things that we say, let's not do that. We learn from other leagues and go, whoa, that was pretty bad. And so I think we also learn in that way as well, because as I'm

thinking in my mind, things that I saw recently are more what not to do than what to do, and I am not getting into the specifics of it. That was my next question, like what's the worst idea you've ever seen? No, but I've seen some really bad ones lately. I'm going to ask your boss, Nerva, what's the worst idea you've ever had? Listen, I've had so many bad ideas. So many bad ideas. And we've had so many things that, you know, I'll ask you guys what works,

what doesn't. I get it. Like, not everything is going to be great or not everything's going to even be good. And we take, you know, one of the things we're fine with are throwing, you know, 10 things against the wall and having two stick because the two that stick, we love, we appreciate, but at least we tried. And sometimes we try something and it doesn't work, but we know how to tweak it to maybe make it work. But we have no problem at all throwing against the wall.

Right. Safe as death. Yeah. There's a lot of cases. I wonder, like, as the playoffs have gone on, it seems like on the content side, like, you guys are pretty quick in turning around, like, mic'd up videos or some of the behind-the-scenes stuff as opposed to maybe waiting till after the playoffs, however. I'm wondering, like, as you're getting feedback from the fans and the audience, like, what are the things where they're going, keep it coming?

Like, we can't get enough of this. So immediacy is important. Like, you know, and admittedly, I think we might have been a little slow to turn things around. I also think that the teams, you know, are working with us as well. Like, we're miking up, but they're also micing up. So we're really working to try to get as much out there as possible for the fans.

The one thing that we actually did this year was a lot more of the behind the scenes, behind the scenes. Like, the equipment manager. Like, we've done a lot with the peripheral of the league. That stuff. We love that. We love that. They want to know how the sausage gets made. 100%. They want to go to a place that they haven't been.

They want to learn about a certain aspect of the business. And I'll tell you, we've definitely seen that we've got a great response there. We're going to do way more of that. And it's so interesting to sort of peel the curtain back, but peel it back one more time. We've always gone, or we've tried to, get in the locker rooms, go on the trips,

in the planes, on the cars, but when you take it back one more level, and then you start to see, oh, that's how these people work in the front. I didn't see, you know, oh, that's how the like these people work in the front. I didn't know the ticketing department. There are things that go on in an organization that I think we're just too close to it. Sometimes we see it every day, but the average fan doesn't and the average fan is fascinated

by it. So I think we're going to do more of that. And that was some of the things that we put out there during the playoffs that have responded really well. The centralized draft is coming back next year, right? You know, I haven't done a formal poll of the general managers, but I'm getting a sense that the interest to go back to a centralized draft, it's growing. Yeah, listen, we loved doing the draft last year. Sphere was super cool and from the creative standpoint,

it was just, you know, it was amazing. Like, and whether any of our fans thought it was amazing, we just loved working on it. It was so different. And, you know, you get a canvas to paint on, canvas is not usually that large. Yeah. And so we loved the way it went.

And, you know, it's funny. It goes back. When I started at the NHL, and if we talked, like my first few days and you said, what's the one thing at the NHL that you want to change? I would have said the draft. I used to watch it as a fan at home and I would be like, the guy is coming. He just got drafted. He was getting a hot dog and he's walking down to the floor. This is a bizarre world.

And I thought it was just so weird. So the first year I went to the draft, I want to say Buffalo. And I sat there, and I just observed. And I watched it. And I was like, it's pretty cool. And so all we did was sort of organize it a little more, put the players in one area so they weren't over here and over here and over here.

But I really grew to love it. Because it's one of the only places that you can see our whole world together in the same place at the same time. And it was so different in the same place, the same time. And it was so different than the NBA draft, the NFL draft is so different. So personally, a little disappointed when they said, let's centralize. And it's going to be good. Like what we're doing, what we're doing, it'll be, I don't want to say fine, because I hate

saying fine. It's going gonna be good. Like we're, there'll be moments that'll like be unique and, and we'll be different to our draft. But I do think, you know, I'm hearing sort of the rumblings of, ooh, every, you know, everybody is still coming to the certain cities for the teams. So what might have been a budget issue at one point, it's really not. It's just gonna be the same. And then that sort of dynamic of everybody being in the same room at the same time, it's

lost. And so we'll see how it all plays out. But we haven't taken a formal vote by any means. I think that...and I actually heard a Gary Bettman interview where he said, we will, when this is over, at least present it one more time to the board and the GMs and ask them to vote again if they feel there's a strong enough opposition. So we'll see. We'll see. How has the commissioner been in those meetings and planning for this graph? Because

he's made it clear publicly, this is something that the managers wanted, he's wanted, not so much... He's certainly supportive of this is the way we're doing it. And we've done as much sort of informing him of where we're at in the process. But no, I don't think he's picking a side. I truly know. I mean, I think he's very respectful that this was the decision, and his role is pretty much the same.

He will be the one that will announce the first pick. He hasn't done that before. So he has a little larger role, but he'll still be up there and directing traffic and be the first one to greet the player when the player is drafted. And we'll see how it all plays out. But, you know, I'm, you know, I am asked a lot like you think it's one and done? And I don't know for sure, but I do know there will be a few voices of opposition or strong

voices that at least I believe get the group to vote again. Last year, I have to say it was actually a real personal highlight to see it and be right there when Celine Dion, she happened to just walk right by me to get up there, Michael Buffer. So who is the biggest name we're going to have at the draft this year? I'm not at Liberty based on some contractual obligations to announce at this time. But here's what I'll say. I'm very different than Celine.

Okay. Very different than Celine, but a big star will probably be the headliner, but it's a completely different world of entertainment. And will it be, so Gary's doing the first pick. Yeah, Gary's doing the first pick. Yeah, Gary's doing the first pick. And then every pick thereafter will be selected by either a celebrity, an alumni player, or a current player, actually.

There's a couple current players that are in the mix. 90% of them will be in Los Angeles. There will be a few that will be picking remotely. And those that are picking remotely are probably worthy of a remote pick. Like Alex Trebek the one time. Yes. Yes. Like Alex, that was cool.

Yeah, great. When he did that. And we're still actually in the process of, there's a few teams that are without a select tour at this moment, and we'll get them. Kyle's available. Just so you know. Kyle is making... He's not working with that. Kyle, you are making...

You could be the person that's gonna pick multiple ties. He's a big... He might need to... He's a big Sands fan. Yeah, he'll take that. And if for any reason, you know, and if any reason there's a trade, Yeah. where a team magically moves into a position,

we always have the commissioner to make the pick. Right. We always have the commissioner. And there are multiple teams that don't have first round picks. So those are teams that we haven't focused on finding somebody. And so if they did move into the first round, we always do have the commissioner, which is great.

And we do have a couple of teams that are going to have multiple picks in the first round. So, yeah, all good. So are there any celebs, like, just waiting on call perhaps to see if a team moves into the first round? No, no. Will or Annette, you're in. In case of emergency, please break gas. No, we're not going to do that to a celeb to make it. I know.

Could you stay over here in just a case? And the other thing that we're fearful of is actually bringing somebody to the theater and having the team move out of the first round. That could happen, too. But, you know, listen, it is... The beauty of L.A. is, for the most part, most of the celebrities are driving to the theater.

They're not exactly flying. So, you know, I think we would shake their hand and say, thank you for coming, and sorry that they traded into the third round. I'm good if you... I had one more because I found a quote from you recently. I read as this, I love to go to big events and I'm not very easily impressed and I hate that about my life. So what does impress you?

That's a good one. I think when I see something I've never seen before is probably right now in terms of how we look at things, the impressive moments. I mean, we've seen so much. And again, I go back, our teams and our game presentation in our league is exceptional. We've done some really great things. We have the ability to do things that others can.

We have the ice, we have projection, we have lighting. We have the ability to do things that other sports don't. You can't project on grass. Our timing is actually pretty good too. We have intermissions, we have timing that they have one, we have two. And some sports have none. There aren't a lot.

I'm waiting for what's the next thing. I think AI and CGI and all these things that are good TV elements, but they don't work at the event. You feel that you miss something, and what we always are trying to do is make the person who's work at the event. You feel that you missed something. And what we always are trying to do is make the person who's going to the event have the experience. And we've been guilty many times of saying,

are we playing to the 20,000 or are we playing to the 2 million? And I think there has to be that balance. So my experience is different when I'm watching and we talked a little about when you're watching on television. There is a different experience that you're getting from when you're at the event. But you know I try to go to as many as I can because I'm waiting to see that moment that I haven't seen

before. I love being at a big event. I think there's nothing like it as a sports fan. But, and you know that the game itself is gonna be awesome. It's the peripheral, of course, that makes it get to another level for me. And, you know, Super Bowls are probably the best right now. It just giving you that wow experience And you know, Super Bowls are probably the best right now. It just giving you that wow experience

from the minute you walk into, the minute you leave. But there aren't a lot of other events that give you that feeling. And a lot of times it's just dependent on a great game. Okay, so Kyle's question got me one more. Who's your dream get then? Your dream get to show up at an NHL game and perform? I mean, that's just, and that's a person,

Bruce Springsteen would be, you know, a guy I would love to work with at our events. And that's just growing up, I grew up in New Jersey. Yeah, I knew that. And I'm a big fan. You know, I think one of the things we're proud of is a lot of the people that we've worked with over the years have gone on and, you know, have done some cool things too. Like we love to watch the sort of growth of an artist or a

celebrity. But we, you know, the one thing I do love is that we work with and still do passionate hockey fans. You know, there's no BS. These are just not people, and you'll see it at the draft. We're not bringing people in because they're celebrities. We're bringing people in because they love hockey. And that's where you get the most out of all these celebrities and artists,

the ones that just want to be there. Like, that's important, you know. You know, Arkells are playing game one. A lot of people in the States don't know Arkells. They want, like, they want to be here. They love hockey, and it's just genuine, and it shows in the performance, it shows in all the things that they want to do,

and that's probably where we have, uniqueness that other sports, a lot of other sports, they're a football fan, but are they like a hockey fan where they watch every game and they just, they are so happy that you've asked them to come to the Stanley Cup final. It is like, holy, you know what? I'm going? Thank you so much. So, you know, those are the kind of people that we want to continue to work with. But I might, you know, I've got the bucket list or the wish list that anybody would have. The bigger the better, the more impactful the better. You know, but we keep asking.

I've probably been turned down by certain artists 30, 40, 50 times, but just keep asking because one day maybe they'll say yes. All right, thank you again, Steve. Thank you again, Brad. Thank you for everybody that helped organize that media day. That'll do it for this episode of 32 Thoughts the podcast. We will reconvene again in the aftermath

of game two, Fred Mendmanton. Can the Oilers hold off the Panthers from earning a split before the series shifts down to South Florida? Enjoy the next couple of days and we will be back on Saturday morning.