32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Porky Palmer Eclipsed This Podcast

Episode Date: April 8, 2024

In this total eclipse of a podcast, Jeff and Elliotte kick things off by shining a light on Yegor Sharangovich breaking the record for most goals in a season by a Belarusian player. That makes way for a conversation about the Penguins gaining ground in the playoff race (5:00). Jeff and Elliotte also delve into Jake Guentzel's future in Carolina (12:15) and discuss Detroit sneaking into a WC spot for the time being and Patrick Kane contributing to the scoresheet (20:41).  Speaking of sunlight and the eclipse, Jeff and Elliotte make time to mention Joonas Korpisalo getting blinded by sunlight mid-game in Washington (23:55). Next, Jeff and Elliotte discuss the Oilers' need for Evander Kane to find his game if they want to go on a long playoff run (34:52), and Elliotte also mentions that Artemi Panarin deserves love for MVP (38:24). The guys then find the irony in Brady Tkachuk taking issue with Nico Hischier's empty net goal (39:42). Afterward, the guys talk about how the St. Louis Blues have been swept by the San Jose Sharks this season (47:00) and  debate which team they'd want to face in the Pacific division playoffs (50:50).  They wrap the first segment by discussing the future of MLSE (1:01:07). The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (1:09:09). They wrap this edition of the podcast by commenting on the state of officiating in the NHL. Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Didn't Colby tell a story about Crosby's jock? Oh, it's legendary. He used the same jock going back to when he played Rimouski in the QMJHL. Let me circle back to your point about Shanahan. I just want to say I've never really looked at it. I would like that to be on the record. Thank you. Okay, Elliot.

Dom told me I've got to use the word eclipse early in the podcast. Let's see how we do. Don't look at the eclipse. How's do. Don't look at the eclipse. Don't look at the podcast. 32 Thoughts presented, as always, by the GMC Sierra Elevation, Merrick Friedman, and Dom Schramatti, who said you better use the word eclipse early in today's podcast. So let's lead with this one.

Yegor Sharangovich has eclipsed the record for most goals scored in a season by a Belarusian player. Sorry to my neighbor Mikhail Grabovsky who held the record at 29 when he played with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yegor Sharangovich last night

scoring goal number 30. Elliot Friedman, of course, he went over the Calgary Flames in a trade for Tyler Toffoli from the New Jersey Devils. And now, even though Grabo still has the record for most points all time by a Belarusian in the NHL, Sharangovich is sixth.

Sharangovich does have the record for most goals in a season by a Belarusian player. Do you have a thought on that one? And did I pass the test, Dom? That was pretty good. I wasn't expecting that. So Grabowski's at 296 career points.

Correct. Now, he's good buddies with Sharon Govich. I've told you before, like they're pals. And he told me in the offseason, we were at a ring together. And he's like, that's a good trade for Calgary, man. And I'm like,'m like well see you know he looked he looked okay and he goes no no no no this guy's going to be good watch you're going

to see this guy does really good in calgary you know what grabo was right and then he took grabo's record so congratulations eager sharing govich sticking to the name sharing govich by the way is at 162. all-time points he has another couple years like this one he's about two and a half years away from breaking grobovsky's record hearing footsteps grabbo are you hearing footsteps grabbo uh you by the way look at the eclipse did you buy special glasses or anything like that no i'll be getting off the air today right around the time that it starts. So I haven't made any plans for the eclipse. Honestly, Elliot, have you? Did you buy glasses?

Did you buy the phony glasses? Oh, no, you'll be in the air. I'll be in the air. I'm flying to Vancouver. Wednesday night is the annual Canucks for Kids Fun telethon. There is no good reason for this, Jeff, but they have invited me back again this year to co-host it with Randy Janda I am honored and flattered that that for whatever reason they continue to ask me to do

this um it's uh you know I poke fun at Canucks all the time and they're some of their social media but their generosity is second to none when it comes to donating for this Canucks for kids is is an incredible charity they do a just a fantastic job so unless they're flying me into the eclipse I won't be looking at it but I'm here to perform a public service if you purchased eclipse glasses on Amazon and you didn't see this story, Amazon has warned people that some of the glasses sold on its site were frauds. They were fraudulent glasses. So make sure you know what you're doing. And shout out to the Kitchener Rangers and the Erie Otters in the OHL playoffs who had to delay games six and seven because Erie

is right in the line of the eclipse and there were so many people who wanted to see it that there were no hotel rooms available at this time and they had to delay the series yes like if you look at all the hotel like there's a wonderful graphic of all the hotel booking sort of right in line with the eclipse and it's staggering have you seen these graphics of all the hotel there's like this one this is one strip down north america where where the where the eclipse is most visible and it's it's incredible um how many rooms have been booked. I don't know where I saw it, but I saw it somewhere that Erie has 100,000 people and there's 200,000 people coming to watch the eclipse. So I'm assuming every single one of those is a couple and maybe some throuples.

Oh. Because people are more adventurous these days. Oh, my. Live your life as you wish, as long as you don't hurt anybody. Not here to judge. And the Rangers and the Erie Otters with the series right now at 3-2 Kitchener. Mm-hmm. Game six, Tuesday.

Okay. Excellent PSA. And we will move off the- Enjoy the eclipse, for those of you who partake okay very good um you know it was only a couple of days ago we were talking about this but here we are again the uh the race for the final wild card spot in the east and the race for third place. Keep ripping me about the expanded playoffs, people. I see it. I get direct texts.

Yeah, no, I know. The one thing that I've learned about you, Elliot, and all the years that I've known you is, and everyone, you should understand this about Elliot. Criticism to Elliot is like a protein shake. He loves it. It helps sustain shake. Like he loves it. He, it,

it helps sustain him. He adores it. And I think it makes him stronger, at least in his mind, it makes him stronger. But as we sit here right now, yep. Third in the metropolitan,

other New York Islanders who've won four games in a row. Yes. Wild card two in the Eastern conference. and don't blink because it might change that's the way it happens briefly it was pittsburgh now it is the detroit red wings by virtue of a three-to-one victory over the buffalo sabers on sunday i did mention the pens held this thing briefly uh blowing a three-goal lead against Tampa on Saturday, but then ended up winning on a 5-4. That was one of the best games of the year, by the way. It was so much fun.

It was one of the best games of the season. And you know what's great about it? We've been talking so much about the B-list players that are doing a lot of the scoring for the Pittsburgh Penguins in this sort of comeback here. This was Crosby. This was Malkin with a pair. This is Letang.

Saturday's game against Tampa was our stars are going to be better than your stars that's the way it felt to me anyhow one guy who I'm kind of happy for is Michael Bunting scored the huge goal on Saturday for sure he also had a brilliant assist an incredible assist earlier in that game bunting you know his first year in toronto was such a marvelous season his second year was a lot harder you know he became one of those players who gets marked for diving right and in this league like thomas placanitz went through it there's been other players who've been marked for diving before. Tim Stutzler going through it? Tim Stutzler is starting to go through it right now

where they just stop calling penalties against you or you don't get the benefit of the doubt. And that happened with Bunting last year. And I remember there were some people who got upset at me, some Leaf fans, one of whom sent me a really passionate dm about it when i said that bunting had reached a point where he kind of had to suck it up and just play through it because there was he had a reputation and it was and there was no other way for him to change it and i remember actually i got a call from someone in the Leaf organization. I was like, oh God, this is going to be a lot of fun.

And they actually thanked me for saying it because they were trying to tell him that and it just wasn't working. So, you know, it was really tough finish for him. He got a great contract. I was, you know, I'm happy to see guys get paid. a great contract I was you know I'm happy to see guys get paid but right not long after he got into Carolina there was already this talk I was starting to hear things like he's gonna get dealt I remember saying to someone already it's been two months and I go and and I was being told it was just a bad fit it

didn't work and so I was not surprised at all to see him get traded to Pittsburgh as part of the Gansel deal. It made perfect sense when I saw his name in it. Of course. And he's been a big reason as to why the Penguins have been rejuvenated. He's played really hard. He's been a really nice fit there um obviously dubas thinks very highly with him for of him so it made sense that dubas would go out and get him great house life and it's been it's really helped in addition and the other guy there who has been a huge part of this has been nadelkovich and nadelkovich is a a really interesting guy because this is

another one who had he played really well in carolina and they let him go because they just didn't like what his arb cases was gonna be so remember they didn't qualify him and they let him go and nedelkovich is a guy Jeff, what thing does he have to battle? Size. Size matters. I always try to tell people size doesn't matter, but they don't listen to me, Jeff. And I get told size matters. And that's the thing.

He faces the size prejudice. But here, it's going to be a really interesting offseason in Pittsburgh and goal because around the deadline, Pittsburgh was looking to move one of their goalies. And they like the kid they've got in the American Hockey League, Blomqvist. That kid's going to play, I've heard. I've heard and you know there were some rumors earlier in the year that Pittsburgh had something going with another team on Jari it was denied to me but other people telling me there's more there than I kind of knew or or could uncover but right now you know Nadelkovic is a free agent. And I do think there were teams that called Pittsburgh about him at the deadline. But now, especially if they make the playoffs, how do you let this guy walk? No, you can't.

No, you can't. Jari is a really talented guy and he's a really good goalie. But he's always hurt. Like like the thing is if you're gonna be a true number one in this league you've you've got to be dependable right and he just battles the injuries but in the delco vich has been huge for them he's another major reason they're back in the race but again he still faces that size prejudice and i'm curious to see how pittsburgh is going to handle all this so quick plug here for my blog um on sunday uh i published i was talking to stand or rod car old buddy who still does a lot of work for nhl

teams or a hockey researcher and what he tracks every year is players and their performance post, like players that get traded in and around deadline and how well they do until the end of the season. So the cutoff date we put was 10 days before a trade deadline. So Sean Monaghan didn't make it in. This isn't considered a trade deadline so sean monahan didn't make it in this isn't considered a

a trade deadline acquisition for these purposes but 10 days out um in order uh jake genzel is number one 13 games 20 points 5 goals 15 assists yeah he's been excellent this was as i'm curious to see what's gonna happen there too, that's another interesting one. He's been a perfect fit. And again, Carolina's history is not to pay what a 30-year-old would get on the market. But to that point though, perfect fit.

Perfect fit. They broke their own protocols by acquiring him in the first place. I think to me, Jeff, and it's going to be interesting to see what the Hurricanes do with this. To me, that is an easier one to break than the long-term one or the long-term big money one. Because I look up and down Carolina's roster. And by the way, Carolina, they got Scott Morrow signed when the vultures were circling around him.

One thing I didn't realize about Morrow and he and he revealed it. I thought Morrow had another year before he could be a UFA. But he said when he signed with the Hurricanes that's he was graduating this summer so he could have gone ufa sooner and the league knew that somehow like there were teams circling around him and carolina had to battle to get him and they did and then on sunday they signed bradley nadeau who's a really talented young player. They got him to come out after his freshman season at Maine. And it's believed they've got another one, Jackson Blake, who was a fourth rounder three

years ago, coming too. So they've done a really nice job getting these guys to come out and commit to them but the interesting thing is if you take a look at their cap situation they've got a lot of players that need to be signed this summer who still are not yet signed so you know you take a look at it uh there's pesci and shea it's believed they offered pesci five times five a year ago and it didn't happen and you know not none of this stuff is done until it's done okay none of this stuff is done until it's done but it seems unlikely that Pesci is going to stay Shea there's been times I heard he was going to sign there's been times I heard he they aren't going to get it done I heard they offered him they had a couple of unique offers to him is what I heard but at this point

in time it's still not done and so we'll see there's also Martin Nook there's Tara Vinen it's you know all these guys like Tara Vinen's 29 Jalen Chatfield, they've liked him a lot. Chatfield's an interesting one. Chatfield's an interesting one because I really like him as a player. That one's been on and off for the whole season. There were people who thought he was going to get extended before the year. And it's been off and it's been on. And I do think they legitimately want to keep him. But right now, Teravainen's 29. Gensensel's gonna be 30, Martin Nook is 31, Shea is 30, Pesci's 29 you know Chatfield's a bit younger and also it's not as big a deal even a guy

like Stefan Nason has done a really nice job there he's 31 but you've got to think that's also not an earth-shattering deal plus the other thing there is I think they've also started to look towards next summer like Slavin is up after next year Burns is up after next year so it's not just them looking at you know who and also there's Natchez and I think that one's going to come to an end this summer. So it's interesting. They've got a lot of big decisions to make. I think they're doing the smart thing.

Go for the Stanley Cup this year. Let the chips fall where they may. But and I could be proven wrong on this. We'll see. I think it was easier and smarter for them to take the shot this year than I think it will be to give some term. Because the owner there, Dundon, he's a big probability guy. Very big probability guy. Very big probability guy.

He weighs the probabilities. And the probabilities are that a lot, even though I think athletes do a better job of taking good care of themselves than they ever have, like Burns is a perfect example. He's 39 years old and he's still at the top of his game. I'd be very curious to see how he feels about long-term deals so you mentioned bradley nadeau a couple of seconds ago and it's interesting i had don waddell on the radio show on thursday yeah and i asked him about

nadeau because someone someone sent me a note saying it looks like this is going to get done and so i just threw it out there to him. Is there anything on your first round pick from last year? And I mean, he was pretty forthcoming. He said, look, we'd love to sign him. He knows we'd like to sign him. It's going to be his decision. And then watching the Carolina Columbus game on Sunday,

Trip Tracy mentioned that a lot of the hard work on this one was done by Justin Williams to get him to come out, to get him to sign, all of that. So Tripp went out of his way to mention that Justin Williams had done the heavy lift on getting Bradley Nadeau out. Anyway, circling back to what started this conversation. So number one, Elliot, as far as points go, is the aforementioned beginning of this discussion. That is Jake Gensel.

Number two is Alex Nylander of the Columbus Blue Jackets. 19 games, 10 goals, 14 points. So happy for him. I mean, how many places has he bounced around since being a first-round draft pick with the Buffalo Sabres? And then number three, and that's why we started this discussion in the first place,

is Michael Bunting. 16 games, 5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points. So of all those players, to your point about how they're really happy with Bunting and Pittsburgh, yeah, they should be. Of all the players that got dealt, all the players that moved, changed addresses players that move change addresses team sweaters all of it bunting's in third then his flat teresanko and anthony declared around to the top five anyhow do claire i i'm very curious

to see if tampa's gonna sign him he's been a really nice fit there sure has i i honestly i see i see that guy as a fit in so many places. Don't you? Like, don't you look at Anthony DeClaire and see this guy can fit everywhere. Yes. Like, with that skill set and that speed and that ability to get zoned quickly and push back defense. Oh, yeah.

Just about every team. Okay. So, we have the Detroit Red Wings now in wildcard two and the win over the Buffalo Sabres. It's three nothing. Jumped on the Sabres to start and did not let go. Did not let go. Right from the beginning. Right from the hop.

And, you know, we had a couple of fights in this one. You know, Bob Bo Byram catches Joe Valeno from behind slash on the side. Yeah. And I'll gets up and confronts him. They talk. And then there's the, one of the more unlikely fights, uh, that no one would have predicted, but the only thing is Byron makes me nervous. Cause he's had the concussion history, right?

Which is why you have to say to yourself, like, cause it had the discussion too. And I'm like, yes, I'm not so sure that Byron. Okay. He's going to do this. Uh, geez geez and they just hope that he ends up being okay through all of it i'm not surprised in the least that byram would be willing i think that kid is he's one of my favorite players in the league byram i i really like him but just because of his history it makes me nervous the other thing that is noteworthy here is Patrick Kane scores.

So one thing we know about Patrick Kane is he loves torturing his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks and his hometown. That's the things we know about Patrick Kane. And I can't help it. I'm not the only person to make this observation at all, but I'll just add my voice to the chorus. person to make this observation at all, but I'll just add my voice to the chorus. I always look at Patrick Kane and think about the veteran leadership change that they need with the Buffalo Sabres. And Patrick Kane is a kind of player that has the credibility to say in front of everybody, including the coaching staff, this is crap. No, we're not doing this. This is wrong. staff. This is crap. No, we're not doing this. This is wrong. And that's one of the things I believe the Buffalo Sabres lack that kind of veteran, that one that can say like, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no. This is not right. Like we've talked a lot about how the Buffalo Sabres are going to do something with the veteran mix next year. And again, who knows if it's going to be Patrick Kane. If it's not Patrick Kane, someone like that, that has that gravita that they can say, no, we're not doing that because it's stupid. I'm going to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I'm Patrick Kane. I know what works.

That's the kind of guy they need. And watching him play the Buffalo Sabres, I'm thinking to myself, and I'm sure Sabres fans are saying, how come we didn't get Patrick Kane? Again, it just reminds me that that's the type of guy, Elliot, that the Buffalo Sabres need. Anyhow, a thought on Detroit back in the mix here. I thought cider on Sunday was great.

Excellent. I have a new nickname. Uh-oh. Doodlebug. Oh, no, that's the right. No, no. I have a new nickname. Uh-oh. Doodlebug. Oh, no, that's the race. No, no. Doodlebug Derby. It's still there.

Okay. I have a new nickname. Tappan Merchant. No, no, no. Oh, okay. I have a new nickname for Alex Lyon. Okay. The Savior.

You'd be a savior in two places, though. Last year, Florida. This year, Detroit. What a massive game that is on Tuesday night. Detroit, Washington. Massive. I mean, they're all massive games now, but that is a massive game on Tuesday night.

Detroit, Washington. Especially after Washington left the point on the table losing to the ottawa senators sunday in overtime on listen on a great like a couple of things in that overtime uh ridley greg and jake sanderson using high ice in the offensive zone passing it back and forth and circling past one another and dropping it. And then in one of the great screens that we've seen all season, and it's not just the screen, it's when Jake Sanderson let go of the shot. Brady Kachuk just slowly coasts right in front of Charlie Lindgren. And the moment his eyes are taken away, Sanderson reads it and fires it. Connor McMichael is standing there like, what am I supposed to do?

And the shot comes in and Lindgren has no chance. And he just floats it in. Anyhow. Would you say that Lindgren was eclipsed? Ooh, true eclipse references. It was. It was the mass of Brady Kachuk shutting out the sun. Although Jonas Korpisala would have liked the sun

to have been blocked out in that game. That was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. They're going to check this light here. The lights are in my eyes. Can't see. He's saying, come on, fix this for me. I want to make sure it's not going to be shining on me all day long. There it is.

I'll have to close the curtains as the fans still pile in to Capital One Arena here tonight. The Caps and the Senators. I've never seen that before. But I always wonder about, like, you know, when you see, like, the, when you see scenes from, like, European hockey at these rinks where they have, like, you know, one side is all windows. You always wonder about, you know, the sun and the glare and all these types of things. I immediately wondered if the Kraken could do it. types of things i immediately wondered if the kraken could do it because you know the they talk a lot about the natural nature of their arena and it's it's a phenomenal arena but i i what this said to me is that the capitals have blown an opportunity

and that they should be doing that to teams every game. Opening up the curtain to produce light in the goal. Yes, every afternoon game the Capitals playing. When Ovechkin is teeing up on the one timer, they should be opening. Okay, oh, quick, open the drapes. Oh, wow. So this is like the Phantom of the Opera.

So like Ted Leone says it's like the Phantomantom of capital one arena is that what you're saying there was at the odd where the sabers played yeah okay they i remember we did a piece on the closing of the odd and one of the things that the players there told me i think it was renee robert who told me this story that there was whenever they played shooting at the zamboni end and i believe that was the second period i think that was the the second period where they shot at the zamboni door they had it set up where there would be a team employee there and they could rim the puck and that employee if the employee kicked the door at the right time the puck would bounce out it was a set play you know who that was who was that porky palmer porky palmer was that guy long time employee okay long time savers employee look i know you're the

biggest nerd in the history of mankind. This is Porky Palmer. But there is no way you know that the name of the guy who did that. His name is Porky Palmer. And there's no way that person's name is Porky Palmer. Minorly, his real first name is Ensel. How many people listening to this podcast right now believe this story is true? It's a true story, dude.

I'm not making this up. I don't joke about Porky Palmer. My story is believable merrick's is not no our stories are exactly the same because parky palmer was a team employee was there for a long time he used to be a goaltender uh with eerie of the old uh eastern league played a few games there um and this there was this went right up to like the uh the mcgillney lafontaine years where you know there was one year where he probably should have been credited with like eight assists because the Zamboni door to your point, like you would throw a shoulder into it and they would jet out a little bit. I heard it was a kick, but it was probably the same thing.

The goaltender would be going behind the net to play the puck. And all of a sudden the puck would squirt out to the front of the net and it'd be there for a tap-in like there was one year the guys i mean the guys told me that he should have had like eight assists and so porky palmer look it up for each i'm not making it up bro i'm not looking it up i'm not looking i believe you're your way your love for me just got deeper and deeper that i knew the guy's name was porky Palmer, didn't it? Anyway, if the Capitals don't make the playoffs, it won't be because of anything they did on the ice. It will be because of their failure to use the sunlight to their advantage in more games this season.

Listen, but if they do... Carberry is going to lose Coach of the Year votes because he didn't use this to his advantage earlier in the season. That was as weird as anything I've seen. In the Minnesota game the other day against Winnipeg, there was a bird flying around the arena, I think. I've seen that before.

That's not as weird as this, yes. So more day games and black curtains is what you're advocating to get the capitals into the playoffs well listen um the washington capitals uh aren't doing themselves any favors and we spent a lot of time talking about philadelphia last podcast and i don't want to do it again but john torderell is talking about how we have to stay positive after they lost their seventh game in a row, 6-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who tied an NHL record, six goals all scored by defensemen.

That ties a record set by the Washington Capitals in 1992. Elliot. I'm getting tired of talking about the Flyers and Tortorella because we've been doing it so much. I'll say this. I had people texting me after that game, this is all Tortorella's fault. I think this is all crazy.

Philly has done an incredible job being in this place. It's not over yet. They're definitely struggling. They're definitely struggling they're definitely struggling that was a bad loss on Saturday you cannot have that loss you cannot you can lose but you can't lose like that you look at that first of all they set a record six goals by defensemen are tied it anyway but if you and congratulations to Jack Greaves who played really well but you look at that roster that roster should not be beating you six to two at this point in the season and look you

know people can break this down and talk about the coach and this and he was very positive post game and the one thing I'll say is this. I have always believed myself that even if I don't like someone I work with, it is never acceptable to say, ah, I can mail it in or I can be bad because i don't like that person and i don't think the flyers are doing that but i was shocked at the amount of people who were coming up with that theory on saturday night like people are texting me it's like the flyers have quit i said don't bring that anywhere near me i do not believe that think they are, I think the goalie is exhausted in particular. I think, you know, I think I've told this story before. One of the biggest upsets in college basketball in the NCAA championship game was 1988, Kansas beat Oklahoma. At the time, Kansas set a record for most losses during the season while winning the NCAA title.

And I once talked to Larry Brown, who was the coach of Kansas that year, and I asked him about preparing his team for that run, and they got healthy in winning that game. In the national championship, they played Oklahoma, a team that had beaten them twice during the year. had beaten them twice during the year. And he said to them, don't be afraid to win. I said, what does that mean? And he said, you will be surprised. You can go on the journey. You can accomplish on the journey. And then when you get close to pulling it off, there's a moment there where you're like, holy bleep, we could actually do this. And some teams crumble under that. And some players crumble under that. And that was the saying, don't be afraid to win. And I think about the Flyers watching this right now.

I think a lot of those players are exhausted. You know, Couturier's hurt right now, and there would be a lot of times when he'd be out there right now, they'd be looking at him, settle this down for us. And so I just see a team that has given everything, and it might finally be catching up to them. Like, I think it's really caught up to Urson, but I don't think it's acceptable for anyone to say, they're not happy with the coach and what he's saying publicly, so they are giving up.

First of all, I think that's an awful thing to be accused of. And secondly, let's just say for a second, Jeff, if it was true, myself, I would flog myself I would flog myself if I allowed myself to feel that that attitude was acceptable you know let's talk for example five minutes ago on this podcast yeah you are trying to convince me that Porky Palmer is a real person. Correct. In that moment, I hate you. But does that mean that I'm going to throw the pod and be terrible on the rest of the pod?

No. I am still going to try to be great on the pod. It is never a good enough excuse to say, I don't like this guy so i'm doing a terrible job today if anyone believes that's actually happening one quick follow-up on porky palmer and i made a mistake i made a mistake oh my god what i said that he played for erie he played in the old eastern league for the syracuse blazers are you sure it wasn't the syracuse canal mules?

Uh, no, the legendary canal mules that we were part of the, uh, the wonderful shout out Megan Cahill from Syracuse. That was so much fun. And good on hockey league team. Great little video. Syracuse crunch for doing that as well. Oh, and the merch looks great. No, but he played for, he played for Syracuse in the Eastern League.

My only question about, and you'll have to research this, because Bob Costas broke in as a broadcaster for the Syracuse Blazers. Now, I think this was a little bit before Costas. I think Costas was there during their run in the early to mid-70s. And Porky Palmer, if that is indeed a real name jeff played with him in 67 68 he also played one game for the buffalo bisons of the american hockey league phil watson oh no way phil watson was the former rangers coach the guy that used to go to war with gump worsley he was the coach there wow i had no idea about that one anyhow um porky palmer does actually i i believe you you know

one other thing with edmonton here so the cameras on saturday night caught corey perry and evander And it looked like Perry was really unhappy about a giveaway that Kane had there. And BX talked about it. We've seen it with Leon Dreisaitl and Evander Kane. And now we've seen it with Corey Perry Saturday in the Calgary game and Evander Kane. Yes. And so I have a theory on this. And so I have a theory on this. Kane, so Edmonton has that awful game against Dallas,

which is rock bottom for them. And then they come back with their best game of the year in beating Colorado, 6-2. That was their best performance top to bottom. And Kane breaks his schneid. First goals in 21 games. And then the next night he goes into Calgary, and this happens in a really good game. So here's my theory.

Do you want to hear it? Yeah. Well, good, because you're going to hear it anyway. Do I have a choice? No. But I do want to give you the idea that you actually have a choice in these what if i said no what would happen well and i tell you to get lost and i just say it to the empty audience keep walking till your hat floats merrick um my theory is that the

oilers know if they're going to be successful in the playoffs, they need Evander Kane. Of course. They need him. 100%. They need him. And they don't just need him to be moderately engaged. They need big pain in the ass Evander Kane. They need top four checker in the league Evander Kane.

And I think they've just decided that they are going to ride him until he gets there. It's going to be tough love, and it's not going to be the coach who's going to do it. It's going to be the players who are going to do it. And they are saying, if we want to win the Stanley Cup this year, we need a great Evander Keane. And we are taking the responsibility of making sure he gets there.

Because one thing about BX he said is that Perry doesn't do that a lot. So my theory, and I got a lot of theories. You do. But my theory is McDavid and Dreisaitle have gone to perry and said we need your help with this because you in addition to us you also have the gravitas as a veteran player to go to him i'm about to sound like you now uh elliot while i think a lot of your other theories are really dumb and yes miss the mark i like that one i like that one for each i like that and you and you know who else they're calling to to get cane to make sure that, is move your Zamboni doors to the corner. Listen to Porky Palmer and the legend of Ensel Porky Palmer will tell you.

Put your Zamboni in the corner, loosen up the boards a little bit, and at the right time, you can get an assist in the NHL. Oh, by the way, one other thing I just want to say, if people are not mad at me about the expanded playoffs, they're mad at me about my MVP takes. I do think the guy who's getting totally shafted in the MVP conversations is Panarin. Everybody's talking about McKinnon.

He deserves it. Everybody's talking about Kucherov. He deserves it. Everybody's talking about Matthews. He deserves it. Everybody's talking about Kucherov. He deserves it. Everybody's talking about Matthews. He deserves it. Everybody's talking about McDavid. He deserves it. Not enough people are talking about Panarin because he also deserves

big push in this. One or two of these players are not going to be nominated, and people are going to be lighting torches. Yeah. There's another one that people aren't talking about enough. Yossi? Connor Hellebuck. Hellebuck.

Yeah, you know, Hellebuck's another good one too. He's another good one too. But I do think the guy who's getting the least amount of talk who deserves to be part of the conversation is Panarin. You know how huge of a fan I am of Panera no no disagreement there um let me circle back to a name we said about I don't know half an hour ago and that's Brady Kachuk okay so Brady Kachuk with the great screen on the game winning goal on Sunday against the Washington Capitals Saturday we found out that Brady Kachuk is not really a big fan of players scoring empty net goals.

There is an incredible irony to all this. Are you going to bring up Ridley Gregg and Morgan Riley? Pause for one second, because after Nico Heischer had the nerve to caddy the goal and to escort the goal into the net. The thing is, too, is Gregg knew that someone was going to be coming for him. Nico Heischer was like, what? What's the big deal here? Well, Brady Kachuk went banana sandwich.

He was having that kind of game. He was spicy. 16 hits. Chara has the record going back to 99 with 17, but 16 hits. Now, by the way, just get a quick editorial here. I am like many of you. Whenever I see hit stats from the New York Islanders, historically, I sort of raise a Spockian eyebrow about the whole thing. But we will say that Zidane O'Chara, as reported, 1999 with the New York Islanders,

had a game where he had 17 hits. Brady Kachuk had 16 on Saturday night. He was a one-man wrecking ball, Elliot, on Saturday. I did have a watch the game nerds moment at the end of this. So we put out the tweet with the 16 hits, and immediately people came out of the woodwork with well that's bad because they didn't that means they didn't have the puck watch the game nerds and i'm not someone who likes to say this because i do think there are a lot of good numbers out

there that really help you understand the game but that was a watch the game nerds moment for me because anybody who watched that game look they got embarrassed on Thursday night to Florida yeah Kachuk was miserable after the game because not only did they get their ass kicked but they got their ass kicked by his brother so he knows he's going to hear from it all summer hey Brady remember that game we came to Ottawa at the end of the season we beat you by six goals so he's super miserable he's not just miserable he's double miserable and he comes out on Saturday night and I mean you you look at his stat line from that game okay yes the 16 hits uh stands out and I was was agog when I saw that number. But look at his overall line, okay?

His overall line from that game, Brady Kachuk played 20 minutes and 6 seconds. He had a goal. He had a penalty. He had 7 shots, 11 attempts 11 attempts 16 hits two giveaways a takeaway not a great night in the face-off circle 0 for 3 but that is not a guy who was chasing the game all night he had seven shots and 11 attempts and a goal. If you took out the hits, say he had two hits, you'd be saying, wow, what a monster. Just because he had 16 hits doesn't take away anything else

that he did in that game. And so that was a whole watch the game nerds moment for me. Brady Kachuk decided that night that because of the way they lost to florida everybody was getting hammered he was going he was taking no prisoners and so like that was a 16 hit game where it didn't feel like he was chasing all night it felt like he was a wrecking ball who was not going to be denied. Unfortunately, they still lost. Now, when it came to the thing with the empty net, one of the biggest problems in the world today is that it's not about right and wrong anymore.

It's about who you support. So look fans okay you're not gonna like me right now that's okay there's a lot of people in the world who don't like me okay playing the role of Vancouver fans in Elliot's life right now will be Sens fans yes you're not gonna to like me. That's a long list of people. You join my wife, probably my son, my coworkers, my parents, my friends, and basically everyone I know. And Porky Palmer, as you deny his existence. And Porky Palmer, because I don't think this person really exists. And Merrick for bringing up his name on the podcast. You're welcome. You cannot torture yourself into false equivalencies.

Either you have a problem with someone doing something into an empty net or you don't. No, no, no. You can't sit there and say... No, no, what you don't understand. No, no. It's 100% different.

You can't twist yourself into some crazy belief that Kachaka is somehow better because he skated at him at full speed instead of cross-checking him. I'm sorry. You either have a problem with empty net goals or you don't. You don't get to rate them on a sliding scale of what is accessible what is acceptable in an empty net or not either you like it or you don't i know the sense fans hate the leaf fans but on this one you have to give the leaf fans you have to concede that that was a night where the leaf fans could let

you have it and they did elliot um and they did um a couple things quickly here to uh to wrap up um i don't know by the way by the way just before we close on ottawa they made a couple changes uh on uh off the ice on Saturday night they let go of uh Rob Murphy and uh Jim Clark from their scouting staff I don't know Rob Murphy really well but I've met Jim Clark a few times uh him and Doug McClain very tight from their days going back to uh Columbus and Jim Clark like just a really nice guy and And there come times for change. I think we all understand, even in our business, Jeff, there's not a lot of security. You know, there's, there, if your numbers go down, your ratings go down, whatever goes down, there's just times where you know, it's coming. And Stephen, Steve Stahos is going to make changes in Ottawa.

you know it's coming and steven steve stay house is going to make changes in ottawa they have to get their own people in there um it's just it's the circle of life like the lion king i get it jim clark really super guy and i hope he lands on his feet we wish them both well and that they uh they find employment soon uh how do you want to how do you want to tackle this one from the san jose point of view or the st louis point of view because the st louis blues just got swept by the san jose sharks yeah this year i'm really happy for william ecklund uh first career hat trick look great um devin cooley from los gatos that was a great story that That's just so wonderful. First career win. Congratulations there. Dancing with the shark.

That was fantastic. It was awesome. So I don't know if you want to handle this from the St. Louis point of view, where in that game, you know, Kevin Hayes and Torrey Krug were scratched, or you want to handle it from, you know, I don't know. Which side do you want to handle this one from? The positive or the negative? It's been a really hard year in San Jose, a really hard year.

And I think I mentioned it a couple weeks ago. Scott Gordon, who's the assistant coach there, who used to be the coach of the Islanders, David Quinn said that Gordon had a great quote that we're starting to make some teams and some fans mad. And nobody will be angrier at san jose than st louis will be and when doug armstrong and the blues and whatever they do coaching wise look at the end of this season they will look at those games against san jose and say

boy that's that's a reason that we're we're not going to the playoffs this year. I am going to be really curious of what St. Louis does in this offseason because Doug Armstrong has really tried to do some things here. Remember a year ago, he tried the Krug for Sanheim that Krug vetoed, as is his right, but he has really been trying to do some things. And I'm curious to see what he's going to do behind the bench. And I'm curious to see what he's going to do with this team because you can tell he wants to perform some surgery

and not minor surgery. We're not talking about um like something small here like a like a tummy tuck or you know like something like that we're talking about some some major surgery that's replacing a limb replacing a limb something like that yes I he he clearly clearly has the itch to do something here and you know I you know Nashville won again on Sunday night they've they've all but clinched the playoff berth and you can't go winless against a team like San Jose and think you're going in the right direction you just can't one good news story out of st louis jordan bennington's had a really good year yeah he he got really upset again i saw on sunday night i know him against the ducks but bennington has had a great year he's been

really good i had woodley on the show last, and he was just gushing about how everyone's overlooked this and how good Bennington's been. He's got access to clear-sight analytics, too. And he's like, Bennington, don't sleep on it. He's like, Halibut should probably win the VAS. Then Markstrom's going to be in the conversation. But he's like, Jordan Bennington's had a tremendous year. Tremendous.

So he's got a no-trade clause that goes to a partial no trade. I think it's two thirds of the league next year. So his full no trade drops. And, you know, to me, I would be curious about what Armstrong will do here. Wow. If he'll go to Bennington and say, because he's got value. Now, you're not the same. This is one of those things where it's sort of damned if you do

and damned if you don't. Because as promising as Holford looks, you're not as good without Bennington. But it might be your best chance to get something. And before we wrap it up, what are you thinking in the pacific division you think edmonton catches uh i keep going back and forth on that because vancouver vancouver's got a huge one coming up against vegas yeah that is an absolutely massive game. I think they have a shot at it. But then there have been times, like listen, the Vancouver Canucks

aren't playing the best hockey that we've seen recently. And they're not rushing back Demko. I think the earliest Demko plays is Saturday. The earliest. I think there's a chance. I really do. I mean, I do wonder about at what point Edmonton starts to rest some players as well. But I think they have a shot.

What do you think? Here's the other thing. This is a dangerous game to play which is why i like playing it play when i was seven i used to like playing in the street because it was a dangerous game to play elliot frogger who would you want to play oh don't play that. Teams have done it and it always

blows up in your face. Look, you might want to say, oh, you'd rather play the Los Angeles Kings. They just doubled you up last night. Vancouver's had big trouble with LA this year. Mm-hmm. Now, I thought Vancouver actually played

not bad. They didn't get a save. But I thought they actually played not bad. And we had this conversation with BX on Saturday night the other thing too is it looks like the central winner right now is gonna be the one seed Vancouver may catch them right now it's Dallas I don't think Edmonton is gonna be able to catch Dallas but Vancouver might so we'll just we'll just say for the purposes of argument the central winner is going to be the one seed who would you rather

play and I asked and I asked bx because the other thing here is Nashville that's a long flight that's a lot of travel so when when when Vancouver went to the final in 2011, BX had talked about a lot of things on the show on Saturday night about how when they lost Ham Houston, they thought Tampa Bay was the better matchup, but some of his teammates told me when I wrote that big piece about them that one of the places where they really thought they lost was having to play a game six

against the predators because it meant an extra long round trip halfway across or more than halfway across the continent from british columbia to tennessee i don't know. I still do whatever it takes to stay away from Vegas. Weird stuff there. Logan Thompson got hurt. I saw that in practice. Yeesh. In like a two-on-two drill? Yeah.

I would still rather play Nashville than Vegas. The other thing is you can't really plan it because these teams are all flipping around, right? Yeah. Nashville may end up being wildcard one. I thought more you were going with, if you're the Vancouver Canucks, would you rather face off against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round? I was kind of going there. Would you rather concede the first spot in the Pacific?

Logan Thompson got hurt at practice, but Bruce Cassidy said that he thinks he's okay. Aiden Hill was at practice and is traveling with them, but won't be in the lineup, he said, Monday night. But you know who is traveling, Jeff, and will probably play? Oh, yeah. Thomas Hertel. I can't wait.

I can't wait. I can't wait. He's one of my favorite players on and off the ice. Vegas Media, you just got a blessing. You just got a gift. He's a tremendous interview and a great character. And Vegas, the team, you just got an awesome hockey player and a versatile player, right? He'll start at the wing and then eventually make his way to the middle,

we would suspect, right, Freach? I would think so. I want Vancouver to finish first, and I want Vancouver to face Vegas, and I want Mark Stone to be available for game one. Just to see the reaction. Because there are fewer better angry fans anywhere than Vancouver fans. Why are you saying all this stuff when I'm going there? You couldn't have said this on Friday's podcast?

No, this is going to be wonderful. I would love to see that in the opening round. Wouldn't you love to see Vancouver take on Vegas in the opening round? That's a Stanley Cup final. Good. Give me it early while they're the healthiest. Awesome. That's great.

Two amazing teams. Give me it. We've talked about this. I'm the opposite of how everyone else wants the great teams to meet in the third round. I don't because they're all beaten up by then. I want the best teams at each other early. I just care about the quality of hockey.

And I want those two teams to be at their absolute best. Do people understand what I'm dealing with here? Do you listen to this podcast and say, all of a sudden I understand why Elliot is rubbing his head all the time? Elliot has a hard time embracing greatness. That's why. I just want great hockey. I don't know anything about greatness, so I have a hard time embracing greatness. That's why. I just want great hockey. I don't know anything about greatness, so I have a hard time embracing it.

Dom, do you, as the resident Vancouver Canuck expert on this podcast, what's your opinion? You want Vegas early or Vegas first? I agree with Jeff. I don't like to admit it, but I agree with Jeff. Yeah. Get the big match out of the way early. I just want all the Canucks fans to know,

the ones who always get mad at me, that when Vegas puts this on the bulletin board, that the 32 Thoughts co-host and the producer want Vegas in the first round. If it doesn't go the Canucks way this is not my fault you cannot blame me for this we don't want vegas because they're pushovers for as you want it because no i i think you just said it's because they're pushovers i i quite honestly understood it that way and i think most people will back me on this yes it, Don. Welcome to being on the air with Elliott's.

You know, Jeff, just one thing. You know, Dallas, Carolina, Sunday night, huge game. The only good news for Colorado this weekend, Mikko Rantanen not as seriously injured as it first looked. Took two big hits from Matthias Ekholm on Friday night against Edmonton the Oilers had an awful loss maybe their worst performance of the season in Dallas on Wednesday five to nothing they came back with their best performance of the season six to two over Colorado on Friday before winning a tough game in Calgary on Saturday the Avalanche lose that game and then they lose at home 7-4

on Sunday to Dallas. Going to be the first time in four years that the Avalanche haven't won the Central Division. Dallas is five points up now as we head into the last couple weeks of the season. Rantanen, Jared Bednar confirmed what we reported on Saturday that Rantanen was not as badly hurt as was initially feared and looked. He looked really wobbly on the ice as he left the game on Friday night, but he did travel home with them and Bednar said on Sunday that he worked out on Saturday and skated by himself the morning before that Dallas game. So he'll be out a couple of days at least. Hopefully they're careful here. It's like, you know, we talk about Thatcher Demko. It's the Lou Lamorello rule. If you've got time,

use it. They have time. They're in the playoffs. looks like they're locked in to play the Jets Colorado Winnipeg 2-3 just be careful with them you've got time by the way that Dallas win Peter DeBoer he called it the biggest game of the season for the Stars they dominated almost from the beginning Georgiev who you know it's always tough to tell with Twitter because you never know if Twitter is real or just you're getting the most vocal snapshot of Avalanche fans. But there definitely seemed to be some Avalanche fans who wanted a Noonan to play against the Stars.

But Georgiev saved them. They started out really terribly. They scored on their first shot. Dallas was all over them. That game looked like it was going to be a blowout for a while, but like I said, I really do think that Dallas, top to bottom, with Ottinger going, is the deepest team in the NHL, and they sure looked like that on Sunday night.

They were in control, threatened a little bit, but generally in control. And I didn't think there were too many times in that game, even when Jonathan Drouin cut it to 5-4, that I was really worried that Dallas was going to lose. That was a big one for them as the balance of power shifts from Colorado to Texas in the Central the central division okay ellie before we get to the montana's thought line something we probably should have mentioned last podcast but uh we didn't get around to um you and michael grange uh were a really outstanding piece on

the future of mlse now that keith peey has two hands on the steering wheel. What does this mean for MLSC? That is Rogers. That is Bell. That is Larry Tannenbaum. Again, I've made sure to point this out everywhere, but Grange deserves the lion's share of the credit. He did a lot of the work.

Larry Tannenbaum has been a huge part of that organization for a long time. If you talk to a lot of people who work there and a lot of people who played there, they will say when they think about the human face of the ownership and the franchise, he will be that person. Uh, he's hosted a lot of events. He's had great relationships hosted a lot of events. He's had great relationships with a lot of the players.

When a lot of things go wrong, he's the person that comes in and sort of solves it from the human end because people like him and they trust him. But it looks like his time there is coming to an end because they have the contractual ability to open a window and it's expected they will do it. He turns 80 next year, but it sounds like this is like a lengthy year-long process. Nobody knows exactly what it is,

but it seems to be something like that. You know, I think fans always wonder, like, what does this stuff mean for us? There's a couple of things here. First of all, when Lou Lamorello was GM and Brendan Shanahan hired him in 2015, one of the things I learned about Lamorello is, look, he's the boss. He is the boss. He's not just a boss he is the boss it's like in ghostbusters i'm not a god i'm the god but the one thing that lou lamorello always respected and i have grown to understand this in my own life is the chain of command it It's just respect. It's respect for the people you work with.

And I do try to do this. I make a lot of decisions on my own, but if they have any repercussion for my family, I will always involve my wife in it because God knows she's higher on the list than I am. And it worked. I'll say to the people who are my superiors, look, you may not be able to stop me, but this is what I'm thinking. And Lamorello is very much like that. I'm not, you have given me the power to make these decisions, but I am telling you what we're thinking or what I'm thinking. So you will be prepared and understood.

And Shanahan is like that. And even though he had the power over the last few years to speak to the board directly, he would involve the CEOs who were above him out of courtesy. Masayu Jiri was different. And there was a reason for that. Those of you who follow basketball and know the Raptors really well will remember a couple years ago after he won the NBA title, he had a very public, very nasty contract dispute with MLSE and specifically our employer, Ed Rogers. And I have said this many times, Jeff, the issue there was Mike Babcock and that was that when

Mike Babcock was fired as coach of the Maple Leafs with four years remaining on his contract there were people there and I don't even think it was just Ed Rogers I think it was the bell side of the equation too that said are you serious we're going to be paying this guy this much money for this long to do nothing this is the last time that is happening and I don't think that anybody disagreed that Masayu Jiri was worth a lot of money and since he won an NBA title with the Raptors they should have basically given him a blank check but I think even they balked at 14 to 15 million a year, whatever it is he makes.

They just said after what happened with Mike Babcock, we don't want to do this. This is not what we're going to be about. It's too much for one person. Now I think they eventually got past that after the deal was signed. I think they worked at at least mending their relationship, but Ujiri lost trust and understandably so, and he dealt only with Tannenbaum. That's gonna change now.

Peli has the power and I mean, we know him, he will wield the power and he will say, no, you guys are gonna have to come through me. And if the Raptors and the Raptors are starting a real rebuild now and the Maple Leafs are trying to have to come through me. And if the Raptors and the Raptors are starting a real rebuild now, and the Maple Leafs are trying to win, if they're successful, both sides, I don't think you're going to see a lot of change. But if they aren't successful, or if anyone here decides they don't like the new setup, then we are going to see change. So that's where a lot of this is going. One thing that someone told me about MLSC is that because of what happened with Babcock, there was a time there

where it was almost impossible to fire anyone with term on their contract. They basically said, you're not doing this. And working for a telecom and understanding the way they think now like I came from CBC which was public service and I think there are a lot of really dumb and stupid misconceptions about the way the CBC runs their business but they are not as cutthroat as the telecoms are and when I when someone said to me that they basically had a rule, you couldn't fire anybody with term on their contract, I understood that because I see the way that Bell and Rogers kind of do things. So it's going to be really interesting to see where all this goes. Shanahan's up in a year. Ujiri's up in two years. And we'll see how it all plays out but there's there's

no question it's going to be a different era and pelly and jeff you and i have both worked for him he puts he he puts you in a position to succeed he will spend money he will encourage you but he will expect that with that comes success and if if there isn't, there are consequences. You know, one of the most interesting parts of the piece, at least for me anyhow, was the discussion of the future of Larry Tannenbaum and not to assume anything about Larry Tannenbaum. Do you have a thought on the future of Larry Tannenbaum through all this? Well, I have a lot on the future of larry tannenbaum through all this well i uh i have a lot of respect for him i i am a i am a huge fan and we'll see where it goes i've just learned over the years not to underestimate him but they have the ability in their deal to open it up and buy

them out and we'll see what they do i mean like i said this is a long process this is a couple of years look if there's anything we've learned for example with arizona these things never go in a straight line as a matter of fact they go in a line that starts straight immediately hooks left then goes right then goes around in circles then upside down that's the way it goes. Fascinating piece. Encourage all of you to read it. Available at sportsnet.ca. We'll hit pause. We come back with the Montana's Thought Line in a moment. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime.

Welcome back to the podcast. Time now for the Montana's Thought thought line montana's barbecue and bar canada's home for barbecue thank you rick turner and elliot i you and the Hockey Night crew did that this weekend. Yes, Yanni from Montana's. He came by the office on Saturday night. It was great to see him again. And he brought gifts.

Basically, I don't think Santa delivers as much at Christmas as Montana's delivered to the office on Saturday night. And the thing that was great was not only for us on air, but the crew was able to partake too. There was plenty for them. Excellent. And some of the crew that bring their own meals and had Tupperware and stuff like that, they were taking home with them because there was plenty left over. Gus, who does the great job cutting our hair,

he basically left with a Brinks truck full of Montanas. He got a box and he packed it as high as he could. So Montanas made a lot of people very happy on Saturday night and the food was delicious. And let me just add, not a pecan salad to be found which made it even better disappointing but nonetheless uh glad to hear all of this and here's the follow-up question i have for you and maybe the answer is you elliot i don't know who of all the people at hockey night on saturday had to count their fingers afterwards

for fear they may have chewed one off. Watching BX eat, I'm not sure he'll be able to drive a car. May have chewed off a couple of digits in the process? Yes, and I'll say this too. They brought ribs, but they didn't just bring ribs. The mac and cheese was incredible the poutine was incredible the mini donuts for dessert were incredible i know that i am really

pimping a sponsor here and unusually hard for myself but credit where credit is due the food was great that's awesome all right uh that, we get to the questions. The way to get in, as always, 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca, 1-833-311-3232. Kind of starting off with a little bit of a bizarre one here, but let's let this one rip. Scott from New York City. This whole segment is bizarre sometimes, so it fits perfectly. Well, here's a weird one. Let's see your 32 thoughts on the morning of April 5th.

And what do you know? An earthquake. The epicenter was New Jersey, but we sure felt it here in Queens. Thankfully, not big enough to cause any serious damage. They absolutely felt the quake over at Madison Square Garden, where the ice is on the fifth floor. So you must already know what question I'm going to ask. If there were to be an earthquake during an NHL game and the

quake caused the puck to go into the goal, would the goal be waived off? I imagine that this could have real implications, especially for the LA Kings. Additionally, has there ever been an NHL game impacted by an earthquake or another natural disaster? I've seen them being

postponed due to incoming storms. I've seen them affected by issues at the arena, usually electrical. I've just never heard of one that had an unexpected disaster mid game. Love the pod. Thanks for everything. Obligatory barbecue shutout to pig beach in Astoria, New York.

I know you like your barbecue shoutouts, Elliot. So pig beach. I do. Okay. All right. So a couple of I do. Okay. All right. So a couple of things here. Whenever I think natural disaster game,

I always think about the Avalanche versus the Hurricanes, waiting for that to be a Stanley Cup final. Thank you very much. Maybe it happens this year and it'll be branded as the natural disaster Stanley Cup final. This just happened. Did you know this? In March 31st, Laval playing at Rockford, there was a tornado.

And players went to the dressing rooms and the fans all gathered in the hallways. Now, it didn't cancel the game. The players went out and played and the fans were able to go back. But we came this close not too long ago Elliot to having a tornado shut down a game or impact a game more so than just the players being

ushered back to the dressing rooms and fans being sheltered in the hallways but whenever I think about things like this I didn't know that March 31st 1968 so the first year about things like this. I didn't know that. 1968 comes, yeah, March 31st. 1968, okay, so the first year, first expansion year, essentially, in the NHL.

At the Spectrum in Philadelphia, during a performance of the Ice Capades, part of the roof blew off the Spectrum. Now, the Flyers, for the remainder of the season, had to play games, had to play home games in other venues, in other markets. So they played at least one home game in Toronto against the Boston Bruins. They played a bunch of games as well

at Le Colise in Quebec City. So it has happened that it's impacted NHL games, Elliot, but those are the ones that come to mind. There was one most recently at Rockford. All right. Now, first of all, I have to say, I've never considered the possibility that an earthquake would score a goal

and what would happen. I just don't have a good answer for that scenario. The other one you can mention in in the official's casebook anywhere elliot i don't know if you're like natural disaster there's some there are some things i bet are not in the official casebook and that would be one of them but look nhl get on it there should be a ruling so that if it ever happens we know yeah you're prepared but the other one i remember jeff was 1988 stanley cup final bruins oilers game four the oilers are winning the series three to nothing they could win the stanley cup that night and late in the second period of a 3-3 game the power failure

and they could not get the power back on at the boston garden so they packed up they posted they suspended the game or canceled the game and they went to edmonton and the good news for the other fans was when they won the stanley cup in a sweep winning game four ish 4x 4a 6 to, they got to celebrate and win it on home ice. So that's the closest thing I can think of at the NHL level where a big game had something like that happen to it and how the league handled it. They packed up and they moved back to Edmonton.

Another one I remember, just for the pure emotion of the situation, it's very different. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the Rangers and the Flyers played an exhibition game. And I think it was after the second period, President Bush went to speak. So all the players and the fans watched it on the Jumbotron, and they just decided they weren't going to play the rest of the game. That's very different, but I always remember that moment just because of the momentous nature of the rest of the game that's that's very different but i always remember uh that

moment just because of the momentous nature of the world at the time but as far as earthquakes nudging round black discs over red lines don't know that one all right jake and victoria submits this one hey guys my question is if vegas were to have Mark Stone play one or two games on a conditioning stint in the AHL at the end of the year around game 82 in order to prepare for the playoffs, would his cap affect the team's overall cap and how would other teams react to this? It would be, first of all, I personally would have no issue

if Mark Stone did a conditioning stint in Henderson for the Silver Knights of the American Hockey League. There's nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly normal for a player who's missed a serious amount of time to go and do a conditioning stint if they want to. Yes, I'm sure people will scream bloody murder because that's just the way everything is. But I don't have an issue with it and it would not affect their cap situation it's perfectly normal put it this put it this way if matt murray was to get cleared toronto would do the same thing okay uh elliot this one comes to us from jason jeff i got a beauty for you i actually think elliot might like this one too. Okay, we'll see. I'll decide if I like it or not.

Okay, let's see what you think here. On Thursday night, Ottawa 67 defenseman Sam Mayer scored the overtime winner in a thrilling 6-5 game to put the 67s ahead three games to one in their playoff series against the Bulldogs. This is OHL, by the way, folks.

The overtime goal not only capped off a hat trick, but Mayer also had an assist and a fight in the game, giving him the Gordie Howe hat trick as well. This got me thinking a few things. Has any NHL ever had a hat trick and a Gordie Howe hat trick in the same game? If so, have any defensemen done it? For the trivia cherry on top, has any NHL ever had a Gordie Howe hat trick

and a hat trick with the third goal coming as the game winner in overtime? Wow. Quite an amazing game from error in the playoffs, no less. Thanks, fellas. Jason, who describes himself as a suffering Sens fan living in the hellscape of Leafs land. Okay.

Paints quite a picture there. So has this ever happened in the hellscape of leafs land okay paints quite a picture there so has this ever happened in the nhl before it's a great question very a lot of stipulations but a great question merrick only about i assume you have done the research here 44 times so it's and it has 44 times 44 times i just did the fill i just put the filters on right now yeah 44 times so it's and it has 44 times 44 times i just did the fill i just put the filters on right now yeah 44 times so 44 times a hat trick and a gordy howe hat trick 44 times yes correct i never would have guessed it was that much that's incredible to the question about has a defenseman ever done it? Yes. Paul Coffey did it 1985 against the Los Angeles Kings.

Three goals, two assists for five points and 15 penalty minutes in that game as well. So it has happened where this has happened with defenseman not sure about game winning goals here but there's a couple of really interesting names like some that you actually look at that Paul Coffey did it twice oh wow I'm not surprised Coffey tough player man tough player yeah he was he was not shy Jean Beliveau did it three times of course Legros Bell one of my favorites so the play here's one for you. Do you know one story?

I think I've mentioned this before. You know, one story I've heard about Jean Beliveau is he didn't want the Lady Bing named after him. Like, I heard there's a story where the league once talked to Jean Beliveau about having the Lady Bing trophy named after him in his honor. And he was like, nah now i'm a tougher player than that he hang on to that point first of all thanks for bringing that up this is one of the

things that i've always tried to point out about jean beliveau now was jean beliveau a very steady the way he carried himself very stately and gentlemanly 100 100%. Absolutely. Like when you think of like the title of gentleman, to me, there's Jean Beliveau. There's not even a number two. Everybody is fighting for number three. Like that's how I think of Jean Beliveau and the word gentleman in the history of hockey. But having said that,

if you look at his early years with the Montreal Canadiens, he was nasty and he was tough. Like, let's not forget here. He was in a lot of ways, when you looked at, like when Beliveau started with Montreal Canadiens, the thing was, wow, we've never seen someone that big skate like that. He kind of was Lindros before Lindros in a lot of ways. And he was nasty and he was rough. I think he led the Habs in penalty minutes, like the first three years of his career.

We think of him now as, you know, one of the greatest players of all time and cup winning goals and the gentleman. And so super strong, like all those things, we tend to forget that like there was some nastiness and some, you know,

some pretty rough play, dirty play from Jean Beliveau. Seriously. When he started. Yes, he was. He was no shrinking violet. We never talk about that. He totally was.

So that story does not surprise me at all. And I say that with total respect. Totally. You know, so like that's, I love that. I heard that story about Beliveau, I think about a year or two ago. I believe it. I'm not sure if I've ever told it on the pod before,

but I think it's hilarious that and and i'm willing it to be true i i you know obviously there's no way of verifying it but i'm willing it to be true that he said i don't want any part of the lady bing trophy okay let me drill down on this a little bit more so there are four players that are tied with six points while getting a hat trick and a Gordie Howe hat trick. I'm not going to ask you to guess because we'll be here all day. They are. I've had some good guesses lately, but.

You're not getting these. Well, I'm trying to think of who's had six points in a game. Well, you know what? Would Daryl Sittler be one? Well, Daryl Sittler be one? Well, Daryl Sittler is one. Because he was a tough player. He would fight. No, Daryl Sittler is not. Lanny McDonald doesn't surprise me. Another tough guy.

Lanny McDonald is there, absolutely, but he didn't have the six points. Rick Talkett? Rick Talkett, the head coach of thecouver canucks is not on this list brendan shanahan keep it spicy all right well let me just try one more oh shanahan i should have guessed him kevin stevens is not on the list either really yeah okay, erase this part. This is not as good as my guess is from several weeks ago. Okay. You know what? Just do it.

Hang on. Run through the list. Run through the list. Okay. Here are the players tied with six points. Aurel Joliat of the Montreal Canadiens. Dennis Maruk of the Washington Capitals. Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Yep. Kirk Muller of the Washington Capitals. Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks. Yep. Kirk Muller of the New Jersey Devils. Now, do you want me to read the remainder of the complete list here? Some big names. 44 guys. Here we go. I'm going to take a big, deep breath, Elliot. Here we go.

Yep. Jeremy Roenick. Jonathan Chichu. Steve Iserman. I mentioned Paul Coffey. Bobby Clark. Joe Thornton. Paul Correa.

Eric Lindros did it a couple of times. Keith Kachuk, Gary Unger, Perry Turnbull, Walt Kachuk, Brian Sutter, Blaine Stoughton, Marion Stastny, as we all predicted. I mentioned Brendan Shanahan, Bernie Nichols, John McKenzie, Lanny McDonald, you mentioned, Rick Martin, Bill Thomas, Pierre LaRouche, Steve Larmer brian lawton mark hunter right soon to be general manager coming to a franchise near you dave hannon dirk graham ted kennedy theo fleury phil esposito bill derlego one of the more underrated players ever mel bridgman Sean Beliveau and Marcel Bonin.

Those are your 44. Wow. Some of them did it multiple times. Good names. That was a fun question. Thank goodness the NHL does those filters on their website. Bless you, NHL. Here's one from justin in denver uh he wants to know if either of you have any good stories about random equipment or stuff players have hung on to for years and years

refusing to upgrade um shanahan's shoulder pads are one so there's a couple so i think shanahan's shoulder pads were one so there's a couple so i think shanahan didn't didn't colby tell a story about crosby's jock oh it's legendary he's he's used the same jock going back to when he played ramuski in the qmjhl let me circle back to your point about shanahan i just want to say i've never really looked at it i would like that to be on the on the record. Thank you. We should throw Phil Kessel's jock into that as well because apparently he had one that goes back to when he played, I don't know, Pee Wee or something and old shoulder pads as well.

But I'm telling that what I was told is Phil Kessel's jock as far as age rivals Sidney Crosby's. Just put it out there. As Doug McClain once said and often said, I'm not saying it's the truth, I'm just saying what I heard. But to Shanahan's shoulder pads, those were the Sherwood 5030s. I think of also Chris Chelios,

who wore those, I think, all the way to the end and Dustin Bufflin did as well. So I think you're bang on about those shoulder pads. Butch Goring's helmet was a Spaps, which is a swedish brand of helmet that he wore when he was 12 years old and wore his entire career through the nhl and then elliot how can we let that question question go call too gretzky's helmet gretzky's helmet also took a lot of

criticism late in his career but he still wore it yeah yeah someone ludwig's uh shin pads is a good one too really good yeah i mean everybody i think has something that they have a hard time parting with um whether it's a piece of gear that's just worn out and trainers have to keep stitching it together. Whether it is like the aforementioned Crosby or Kessler jock or shoulder pads that, you know, you got in your, I don't know, NHL draft year when you were 17 and you can't part with. with i think i would imagine that most players have something like that in their uh in in their hockey bag which is which is by the way i think a great show waiting to happen what's in your hockey bag maybe just for equipment geeks like me okay let me um let me get to one more here this is right up your alley andrew in toronto hi jeff and and Elliot. Day one listener here. Bless you, Andrew.

We've bored you for a long time. I was listening to Friday's episode and have to say I disagree with the backtracking on the term turtle derby in favor of doodlebug derby. Because they move backwards. Moving backwards imply these teams are losing points, which is impossible. These teams are still moving forward. However, slowly I implore you to reconsider. Okay, so that's the editorial part of the email. Now onto my question.

I will say this, a scientist was the person who disputed this. So you have to trust science, trust the science. Trust the science. But fair comment, fair comment, but that's it. In the era of the death of expertise, please trust the science trust but fair comment fair comment but that's it in the era of the death of expertise please trust the science i was wondering if you could explain to me why the nhl uses aav to calculate cap hit instead of actual salary once upon a time it made sense to me but now i'm not

sure i understand the rationale especially now that there are rules about how much salary can fluctuate from year to year. Is there any appetite from players or teams to change this? Elliot, thank you. Andrew? I don't know if there's any desire to change that, but the answer is pretty simple. The NHL didn't want front load or back loading. They wanted consistency. You know, for example, one of the decisions I've disagreed with the most over the last 20 years was that Vancouver got a penalty for Luongo. That contract was approved and there should have been no problem with it. Once a contract is approved, it's ridiculous that they should have to pay a penalty for it after he can no longer play and retires I I thought it then and I think it now but the NHL didn't want those back diving contracts they want or front diving contracts whatever you want to call them they just wanted consistency

across the board and they did not allow you to base it on the salary per year. That was part of when the salary cap was built into over 2004 and five, that was one of the bedrock principles. There is a story. I was told that when they changed the CBA or did a new CBA in 2013, there was for whatever reason, one team that thought that had changed and they negotiated a deal and submitted it to the league and explained, we're doing it this because of this year, and we want the cap hit this this year and that that year. And the league was like, you know, we didn't change that. And the manager was like, whoops.

I thought for some reason it had changed, and they kind of all laughed about it. And the same deal got done. I heard they didn't change the contract but for some reason someone had thought it had changed but it never has i i don't expect it to i've maybe it will but i've never heard any real talk about that gotcha all right andrew thanks uh for that one and again it's the montana's thought line montana's barbecue and bar canada's home for barbecue. We'll be right back. OK, welcome back to the podcast 32 thoughts presented by the gmc sierra elevation and i am

stepping way out of my knowledge bounds here on this one but i know you have some strong thoughts and maybe a way to tie it into hockey about the iowa yukon illegal screen in the final seconds controversy elliot yeah i wanted to talk about this because I think there's a hockey comparable okay so for those of you who didn't see this Caitlin Clark I was watching on Friday night as Ottawa Iowa played UConn in the women's final four and it was a great game and basically what happened was Iowa was in control and they almost lost control. And one of the things that bailed them out at the end of the game was an illegal screen called against UConn, which basically allowed Iowa to escape with just a couple of seconds left.

And there was a huge debate about was this call acceptable? A trip to the title game on the line. Mule, the drive, five seconds seem to think terrible call. and then the next day and when some people saw some replays they kind of walked it back a bit and first of all I don't like it when people look at this stuff in super slow-mo because it does it creates a bias right it doesn't really look the way and also the referees are making these calls in real time right like that's not a reviewable call you are making these calls in real time, right? Like that's not a reviewable call. You're making that call in real time. Now, I hated the call and I was thinking about it from a hockey point of view.

First of all, you never see that kind of call made at the end of a game. To me, it's all about consistency. And this is what the NHL players freak out about they hate it when something like that late in a game if that was game seven of the Stanley Cup final or game six or whatever of a playoff series what where I think players freak out is you haven't made that call all game or all year and you're making that call now. The first ever playoff series the Toronto Raptors won was against the New York Knicks. And in game five, and back then those were best of five, so that was the deciding game.

I think the Knicks got called twice for illegal offense. There's an illegal offense in the NBA, or at least there was. I don't know if there is now. And I remember after that game, some of the Knicks players were like, illegal offense? Are you freaking kidding me? You never see that call. And so when I used to play a lot of pickup, I was the king of illegal screens.

Nobody was better in pickup basketball at throwing illegal screens than i was and was that illegal yeah was it super was it super blatant i didn't think so i've seen worse screens than that but I always try to think of these in a hockey context. And if I was a player, I would despise that call because you didn't see that call all game. All game, you didn't see that call. And so when you're watching a playoff game and people say, well, if it's a penalty in the first minute it's a penalty in the 49th minute fine but establish that it's a penalty in the first minute or the second minute that's what drove me crazy about that call because unless the offending player basically tackles the defender which didn't happen you can't make that call out

of nowhere in a vacuum and that is something i know that makes players crazy you cannot suddenly call something in a moment that's not supremely blatant without calling it all game. There were people to draw this into hockey. There were people who warned that this is where hockey was going to go in 1998. And do you know what happened in 1998? I turned 28 years old. The and, that was very important um certainly and a close second to your birthday um and turning 28 was the nhl went to the two referee system

and i think the problem we've been arguing about this ever since like if you talk to the old timers they'll keep telling you but you know an official's got a feel for the game. And listen, I understand why there's two officials. It's a hard game to call. You need two officials out there. You really do. It's tough to say nothing about how quickly the game moves and how you have to be in a certain amount of shape.

And the NHL has lost a lot of institutional knowledge because, you know, the older guys just can't keep up anymore. But they have all this knowledge about calling a game. And now they're handing the game over to younger officials that don't have the volume of games under their belt. And you see where I'm going here. Just when you start to get that institutional experience and understanding, you age out because you can't keep up with the game anymore. And it keeps on getting younger and younger. It's a real concern. I think that's where a lot of the frustration comes from but in 1998 the nhl went to the two referee system or as i like to call it the two-person system because these aren't two referees that are the same

these are two people you see things different than i do i see things different than dom does everybody listening to this podcast right now sees things differently. And in 1998, when they went to the two referee system, there were those that said, that's the end of consistent calls in the NHL because it has to be because no one sees the infractions the same. In the olden days, talk to the old timers, there was a consistency about the calls. Now, was there bias? You know, yeah. And some of those

were pretty clear for some officials and some teams. But by and large, like how many times have you talked to an old timer, Elliot, and they talked about

the relationship they had with the official and they knew how the official called the game. Now there's two. Now there's two. And I think it's something that we don't talk about a lot. Because you want to assume that referees are machines or referees are robots.

But they're not. And as much as they're trained the same way. And they go to the same camps as Stephen Walken runs every single year and as much as they read the same rule book and study the same case book there's still two different people asked to make calls on a game that's going incredibly fast I even think there won't be even consistency the way the game is played right now with if they go back to the one referee system let alone two I think the problem is we want consistency where baked into the pie right now you have two people making calls and no two people are going to call the exact same game and the sooner we understand

that i would hope the better off we would be that That's what I think. Good sermonette. Thanks. Here endeth the lesson. I feel like Sean Connery in the Untouchables all of a sudden. That's what I think. I always, when I start to hear about consistency of calls, I say to myself, how?

You have two different people making calls. You're not going to get consistency. I'm sorry. If you want to have officials to be able to keep up and just try to have some modicum of consistency or just resemblance of consistency or just, you know, whisper, have a nodding acquaintance with consistency. This is the way you do it. But expecting consistency in all three periods when there are two people making calls, good luck.