32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Protection, Expansion & Change

Episode Date: September 21, 2026

On this episode of 32 Thoughts Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin by delving into Canadiens-Maple Leafs preseason tilt. The fellas give an update on Adam Fantilli (9:30). The guys talk about whether GM's are having a sober second thought about handing out trade protection (17:00). Kyle and Elliotte talk about the upcoming BOG's and the looming expansion conversation (22:00). The Final Thought focuses on a potential change to our podcast (29:00).Kyle and Elliotte answer your emails and voicemails in the Thoughtline (33:21).Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here.Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We are always open to ways we can make this show better. It's very rare that you or I or Dom can be the ones that come up with the ideas to make our show better. This is true. Yeah. I hear you heard from somebody that put forth an idea that you're willing to bring to the masses. What's going on? Yeah. So I'm asking for listener and audience feedback on this, okay?

Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Hope you had a great weekend. Kyle Elliott, Dom back with you, Fridge. I nearly, that sound you hear is a sigh of relief coming from my side of the screen. I nearly had to go from enduring, losing to your Vikings a week ago, to falling to Dom's New York Jets, the mighty Jets here on this Sunday. We just began recording minutes after the overtime victory. Had that gone the other way, you may have been recording solo here. I may not have been able to stomach facing the two of you after that stretch.

I'm just saying. I don't know what I would have wanted. Doing the podcast alone or not? Suddenly you're like, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. You had your chance. You had your chance. That's true. I did.

And I'd rather have a partner. Well, good. How you doing? Well, good. Where do you want to go here? Well, I should just say I am in Trau-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-old right now. Craft Hockeyville is tonight. So St. Bonifist was the winner back in 2025.

They delayed the actual game itself by a year. So we're having it here tonight in Tra-Rivier, which is just down the road from St. Boniface at Collise-V-V-T-T-Ran, the home of the Tra-Ravir-Rivier. Lions, the Montreal Canadiens, ECHL affiliate. It looked like it was a great start to the preseason on Saturday for Montreal, both sides of the split squad against Toronto. We'll see who they dressed there. And for Ottawa, a few new names that I think we'll see a couple at least.

I'm not sure how veteran heavy their lineup will be, but I think we'll see some of their new faces here tonight in Toronto, River. Is Eklund going? Do you have any idea? I think he will be. Yeah, that's one of the guys I want to see. I really want to see Eklund. I like him.

I like him. I thought that was a sneaky, good move by the Sanders, getting Eklund. So I'm excited to see him. And you know what? Have you done Hockeyville before? I've done a couple.

That's one of my favorite assignments and the reason why I did the game a couple of years ago that was outside of London, Ontario, just west of Toronto. And you remember, those are the community. where hockey really bleeds through the blood of the people there.

I remember we did, that was the game with the famous Pierre Dorian interview with Dave Amber, where I thought actually Pierre got a really rough break. I didn't think it, I watched it live and I didn't think it was near as bad as a lot of people made out to be, it became one of those internet pile on things. but the one thing I remember was how unbelievably passionate the fans were about hockey and how excited they were to have you guys there and people lined up for Nick Kipriosa's interview like a mile long and nobody wanted my interview to the point where I was helping facilitate Nick

signing for the entire mob. It was pretty funny. Can you get me closer so I can get Nick's autograph? Yeah, no problem. I'll help. that out. So it is a real reminder that those communities are the backbone of hockey support, not only in Canada, but in North America and the world. Yeah. So Zach Bolduk is from Trier and Sam Montembow, I believe, grew up just outside of here. So I hope both of those guys

are in the lineup for Montreal, because that always adds to it. Because the big draw of that game just outside London, I think it was Lucan, right? Luke in Ontario, that game. And that was Tavares' is this first game as a leaf. So that added to the hype there. So yeah, it should be a great time. Yeah, great time here tonight. Entra Revere for Kraft Hockeyville. We missed it after one year away.

How was it being back in studio on Saturday night? You know what? It was good, Kyle. Like I always find it at this time of year. I like to get back to work and I like to get in my mind that, okay, now we're on. Devonte Smith Peli was in mid-season form. Dave and I were not, especially Dave. And, you know, it was actually a good game.

We had the game in Montreal where Toronto did not send a lot of their top players. Like, we didn't have Matthews. You know, we didn't have McKenna. But the one thing I did notice in both games and Matthews talked about it was, you know, Florian Jack Eye got into a fight with Marshall Riffey. and Matthews credited Rifi after the game for it. And in the game in Montreal, there was one hit, and Bluger and Duhain got into it with the Canadians player.

And, you know, Duham is probably the guy who was more suited to fight, but Blugher did it. And it's pretty clear, if you looked at it, that, you know, a year ago, what was one of the critiques of the Maple Leafs, that they were, you know, they were 25 guys, 25 cabs, right? They weren't together. They weren't united. They didn't have each other's back.

And in their first exhibition game, we saw two pretty big examples of somebody's stepping in to make sure something happened. So it's very obvious that they are trying to rewire what they were a year ago. I'll say something too. The other thing I've heard about Toronto is he doesn't say a lot. But Brovowski, I've heard, has become one of the biggest voices. in there, that when he talks, mountains move. And like I said, he won't say a lot, but they're watching what he, when he does,

and they're watching what he does. This is going to be a big week, Kyle. I mean, four exhibition games per team, not as much of an opportunity for someone to make a huge impression, but I think what's going to force teams to do is make quicker decisions. You know, a guy like, if you look at Montreal, for example, a guy like Reinhuecker, like how quickly can he make an impression at the start of this year? And some of the other guys that played, Struble, Jack Eye, you know, Beck.

You know, Jackie, as we know, there's been some talk, is he going to play forward this year? I think there's a lot of players who are kind of on the bubble, whether in the lineup or where they're going to be in the line. lineup and you have less chance to make an impression so you really have to hit the ground running. You know, one one thing I kind of heard is that in St. Louis, for example, they have a bunch of NHL guys who are kind of in the bottom six and not all of them are going to make their team. And I think the blues have let it be known that if you want some NHL depth deeper in your roster, guys who've played, we have extras.

And so I think, for example, that's already a team. It's kind of looking and saying, these guys who are either one ways or high two ways, we're not going to have room for all them. So who's interested? Yeah, that, I mean, you can make the case. You talked about Montreal earlier, how many bodies are there, both on the blue line

and potentially at forward. If everyone stays healthy, there's conversations to be had there as well. There's really no question about it. And the blues part is interesting, especially now with Alex Steen, hands on the wheel, and how he goes to make his imprint on the organization now

with him as the GM going forward. So that's going on there. We've got Montreal trying to push forward after a great season, a great playoff last year. And then, you know, as preseason games is underway this weekend. And I can't help, but again, turn my attention to Columbus. You knew eyes were going to be on that organization going into camp because of how it ended.

And Rick Bonas at the podium there, if I'm back, I am changing that culture. And then he comes out and says, there's two guys. I'm not saying who, but they come in out of shape. Adam Fantelli is still not re-sign. You had Kirill Marchenko doing his best to sidestep and stick handle his way on Friday, questions about, you know, how committed are you? do you want to still be here? What does your future look like?

We all know that he's got one year left at a very manageable number for a guy that scores goals. And then I saw Aaron Portslines tweeting about their scrimmage and Miles Wood and Eric and Branson are going after each other. I mean, in one hand, you think, great, there's intensity, there's physicality, all of it. But you can't help but think on the other hand, what does this all mean? How is this team going to look when the season finally gets started? And so I suppose the Fantilli question, where are we at there? As far as I know, I think there has been some movement, but obviously it's not done. You know, I was after our last pod, I had some interesting conversations after our last pod.

You know, it's funny, you talk about things, or we talk about things on the pod and it kicks conversations loose and you hear some things. And, you know, I had a couple people say to me that this, the number, in the Goce deal. We talked about the great structure of the Goce deal. The number came in lower than I think many of us expected 13.5. But you're willing to take a little less if you get written a

check for $18.6 million on a day, right? So you sacrifice structure for the number. But, you know, a couple of teams said to me, the overall number didn't probably help Columbus more than it helped

Fantilli. Like, Columbus can go and say, and you know my argument on this, Kyle, my argument is a good agent and a good negotiator will say, well, that's their situation, not our situation. But I think overall people would say Columbus would look at Fantilli and say, hey, if Goce is 13.5, that should be above Fantilli. And we'll see where it all goes. Like, there's no question that Fantilli's Camp is probably using all the pressure that Columbus is feeling as a way to get the best deal they can. So it's poker.

As we talk about this a lot, it's poker. Now, I think, like I said, I think there's been some movement, but obviously they're not there. The thing about this and the reason I think that this is a, the Donne Waddell and Columbus has some challenges. It's a puzzle, right? They probably, probably need to know Fantilli's number. before they make other decisions.

So when they sign him, then they know, okay, we've got Fantiliate X dollars, and it's going to be above 10 million, but you've got to know where. And then you can figure out, okay, where do all these other pieces fit? Because one of the challenges with Marchenko is he's only making 3.85 million, even though he's not a $3.85 million player. He's worth much more than that. And next year, he'll be on a contract that is much higher than that. But if you're trading a guy out at 3.85 and you're adding probably one or more pieces that make more than that,

you've got to know what Fantilli's number is so you don't walk yourself into another salary cap problem. So I think, and there's this thing too, like this whole thing about the Marchenka, trade is that depending on who you talk to, you get differing opinions on whether or not Columbus really wants to do this, and especially now. I think most people believe that Columbus wants to start the season and go and then decide what they want to do. Now, there's others who said, no, they think if they get a deal that they want, they'll move Marchenko, but that's in the minority.

That's not what most people think. However, what most people do seem to agree with is, absent knowing Fantilli's number, it's hard to make a trade for Marchenko because it's extremely difficult to see them bringing in less salary than they're sending out because Marchenko was so undervalued at just under $4 million. So I think that's kind of what's going on there.

Now, Kyle, the other thing I'll tell you, and it was a really interesting conversation, one of the big storylines of the summer is how the pendulum has really swung towards the powers in the hand of the players. And, you know, I'm not going to complain about that. I just tried to get every dollar I could in a contract negotiation. So I would be a hypocrite if I said that everyone else doesn't have the right to do it. I think after watching, like there was one manager I spoke to after that Marchenko press conference that Mark Shagg put on Twitter. And he said that there's a feeling around the NHL that among the teams that the pendulum has swung so far the other way that the teams have to get some control back.

And I said, well, how are you going to do that? And they said, well, you know, you got to hold strong. And I said, that's easy to say when it's not your team. Like that's what happens. Like a lot of guys say, oh, this other guy has to hold strong. wrong. And then when it comes to them, they're like, well, I had to. It's my best player. Like, it's funny how it all works. But, but I do think that, you know, when you look at the Larkin situation, and again, like I, I know Larkin took a lot of heat for that press conference last week,

but like I said, he was sitting there saying, I am not throwing any more gasoline on the fire. And I understood why he did it. But between Larkin and Helobach and now this one with Marchenko, I think there are people saying here that the teams feel that they have to regain control. Now, it's hard when you're the one going through that maelstrom, and it's hard when that's going around, that when that gong show is going on around your team. But I do think there's some of that, Kyle. I do think there are people who are like, the players have all the control right now, and we want to try and rest it some of it back. I don't think you can ever put the genie back in the bottle.

The salary structure is forever changed as long as the cap keeps going up. But I do feel the teams are sitting there saying this bus has gone past 55. And we need Keanu Reeves to deactivate it before it explodes. So, and just to jog my memory, correct me if I'm wrong. I mean, the difference between Larkin's situation and Marchankos, I mean, Larkin's request got out, you reported it, but certainly if the player had it his way, that stayed private the whole time.

Marchenko, on the other hand, there was more of a deliberate to put it out publicly. Yeah, that came out during the draft from Kevin Weeks. He spoke to the agent and it got put out, yes. Right. Yes. So I guess when you look at it, what else do they have than other to say, no, we're not going to let that public pressure force us in to doing anything?

Because when it comes to no trade clause, no move clauses, I mean, those are agreed upon with both parties. Do you think now, do they look at, do they look at that general managers now? I mean, how many players have some form of trade protection now around the league? is there a bit of sober second thought and go, did we get a little too excited with handing these out willy-nilly without being exercised in some cases? I may be proven to be wrong here, Kyle, but I don't think the teams can control themselves.

I just don't think they can. You know, for example, you take a look at, there's a young player from Anaheim, Tim Washy, Right? Like Tim Washy is a really good story. He's a really good story. Like this guy was nowhere a couple years ago. You wouldn't have known him.

You wouldn't have thought he was an NHL player. Like he wasn't really on anyone's radar. And then his last year at Western Michigan, he had a really good year. He had 38 points in 42 games. And because he's a big guy and he played hard and the team had a really good year, You know, he was there with other guys like, you know, teams were scouting Alex Bump, who became a flyer draft pick. Teams were scouting Owen Michaels, who's now signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers. You know, like teams knew, were watching him.

And so he has a good last year. He becomes a bit of a target. Anaheim signs him. He plays. And, you know, they needed to. somebody could win a face off, so you know, they liked them. And this year, he got a four-year

extension at $2.25 million. And the last couple years, I think he has a 10-team clause. And I know why Anaheim is doing this because they spent so much money this year on a couple of guys. They need their depth guys locked in. They need

some cost certainty. Plus, he's a good player. Washie got 10 teams. Like, you know, you would think that that would be the kind of situation where Anaheim could say, we're not giving you any kind of a clause. They didn't. They gave them some control. I just think at the end of the day, if we ever get to a situation where this is going to be under control,

it's going to be because they make it a CBA thing and Betman or Daly or whoever does it. I really believe that teams cannot help themselves and the only way it's going to stop is if the league tries to make a point of it in CBA negotiations. I just someone's going to like as I said before it's like a lot of things in life a lot of things in life people say you should do this you should do that and then when it's them in the middle of a storm they're like oh much more easier to say it than do it yes and also oh you know the thing I said that you should do yeah I'm not going to do it either yeah yes yeah exactly This is different.

You don't understand. This is different. There's a nuance here. My situation is not the same as yours. Yes. Yeah. Exactly. And I suppose there are, and that would not be public, but when you say teams can't help themselves,

sometimes there would be maybe pressure from ownership to get a certain deal done. Get it done. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Regardless of how a manager, whoever's doing the contract may feel, just get it done. Okay, you mentioned a big week, especially because of how quick this preseason is. And it could be an interesting week because on Tuesday in New York...

By the way, you know what else I heard at the game in Toronto on Saturday night? What's that? The fans ate all the smash burgers. Oh. They needed an emergency delivery of smashburger meat on Sunday, I heard. Now, I'm not as familiar with the concessions. As often as I do games there, I'm not familiar with the concessions. I'm not like David Alter plugged in on that front.

Yeah. But is that a new ad to the concessions this year? I don't know. I just heard they needed an emergency run on Sunday. My sources told me. So you know what you're going to have to do? You're working Toronto, Montreal there next Tuesday, right? Uh-huh.

You're going to have to eat one. And I better get there early, apparently. Yes. Yes, you might. I said to you, Elliot, a smash daddy that originated in Ottawa. I saw there open a location in Toronto, Put it on your list.

Put it on your list and come talk to me. Okay. So Tuesday. Buy an ad next time. Don't have Kyle just say it. Buy an ad. You got to start somewhere. This is the investment.

Okay. Tuesday, Board of Governors meetings in New York. You're going to be there. And one would assume expansion would be a hot topic given what we have learned over the last few months on that front. You're starting to hear some pushback? So I was on with Maddie and Mike, I think last week or the week before. The weeks are starting to blend together, Kyle.

They are really starting. It's early. The regular season has even started yet, and the weeks are starting to blend together. But I had heard that, and I had said on the air that I think some of the expansion is, farther along than we, then everyone's willing to admit. I got a couple of really interesting calls about that.

And I'll just say that, you know, one of our early pods, we talked about my theory of expansion, new TV deal, the commissioner moves into a lesser role,

Bill Daly steps in, the deputy commissioner. I just doesn't, a couple of people say to me not so fast. Not so fast. And so I'm just, I'm curious to see what's going to come out of this meeting. Are we,

because remember, the Houston-Austin thing was supposed to be a six-month plan, right? Well, we're coming up on three. So we're halfway through it. Like I said, someone just said, not someone,

a couple people just said, to me, don't run too far ahead here. So I think we're going to find out if, like again, it's one of those things that becomes Kyle, you know, there were, when they first announced the Houston Austin idea, there were some reports that there were owners who were against this and there wasn't unanimous support. I don't think Betman ever does anything without knowing, like, the executive committee is 10 of his owners. I don't think he does anything without knowing they're on side.

But I just had a couple people say to me that, and I remember at the time I said, okay, people say it and then when it really comes down to it, Betman gets what he wants. I've just heard this time again, there's some opposition. I think we're going to find out on Tuesday how serious that opposition is or isn't. Well, I thought the same thing because, yeah, the league would not be as open as discussing this stuff as they have been over the few months if they didn't have a pretty good indication of where this was all headed. That's just not how they've operated under the Batman era here. Now, was there really, I'm trying to think back, Vegas, Seattle, was there much pushback at that time?

I just feel once everybody saw what the price tag of the expansion fee was at the time, it was like, yep, we're in. We're in, we're in, we're in. There were a lot of people who didn't think that Vegas was going to work. And the guy who really deserves a lot of credit there is Bill Foley because he was adamant it was going to work. And you know what? Like credit to George McPhee and Kelly McCrimman, they built a winner right away. They got probably the most favorable expansion draft rules maybe in the history of sports. And they took advantage of it, right?

They did a great job. So they deserve a lot of credit, but Foley's the guy. Like, I remember at the time, the NHL wasn't convinced it was going to work. Like, the first thing they did was they said, you have to prove to us, you have a local fan base. You don't just have, it's your, your fan base is not going to be, okay, the lease are in town. We're going to invite Toronto fans who can't get the games in Toronto to come down to Vegas and come to a game while you play blackjack along the strip, right? They were not going to allow that and fully said to them, there will be a fan base here.

And he was right. Like, Kyle, you and I have been to games. It's one of the best places to watch games in the league. And those are serious, hardcore fans. Like, I remember there was one guy sitting near us at the Stanley Cup final last year. And he was wearing a Golden Knights jersey with the number one on the back. and his nameplate said from day as in from day one. And they love that team like that.

But the league wasn't convinced and they still did it. And Seattle, after Vegas came through, nobody was going to argue against Seattle. And also it made sense because you go from 31 to 32, right? The big hope bet, and hope bet actually fits the term because of where it is, it was really Vegas. They weren't convinced that one was going to work. and they hit it not only out of the park, they hit it into an ocean.

This one here, I think there, I have gotten the sense there's probably more opposition than there was to Vegas, but we're going to find out on Tuesday if there's anything real to it. Right.

Now, is it a matter of like Vegas? Are we sure it's going to work? in a Houston or are there other reasons why there's pushback? Because there's one thing as you say, for the league to say, we're not sure about this.

Sounds like they're pretty bullish. But it's other governors that are going, even with the big influx of cash that would come along with it, we're not sold? I think that there's, let's see what happens on Tuesday. Okay.

Let's see what happens on Tuesday. And then they'll really have, like if we hear it's on track and it's coming, then obviously there wasn't the disagreement against it, right? If we find out that they've called a time out or something like that, then we'll have to figure out exactly what went on. I definitely feel, you know, Daley has been on record many times as saying that they don't, they think they have the talent. they don't think the issue is not having enough talent. I have had people disagree with that to me, but for example, I don't necessarily think that's the reason

they would stop expansion. All right. I'm intrigued now, Tuesday in New York for you at the Board of Governors' meetings. How come you're not going? I didn't get the invite. I thought maybe it was presented to you and you said, no, I'm good.

Well, you know, I've always said that SportsNet News makes good decisions. Exactly. No, just trip to Trot-River is enough this week and then I'm sure I'll be bugging you enough the week after to start the next season. Yes, you will.

Yes, you will. Yeah, like, just, you know, I know people are wondering about Helibok-Lark and all those situations. Edvinson, as far as Sunday, I had no other updates. Okay. Well, that, let's get to. the final thought then and Elliot we are always open to ways

we can make this show better it's very rare that you or I or Dom can be the ones that come up with the ideas to make our show better so this is true yeah I hear you heard from somebody that put forth an idea that you're willing to bring to the masses what's going on yeah so I'm asking for

listener and audience feedback on this Okay. So I got a note from somebody who works in the NHL, who I think is a really smart guy. And this person wrote to me on Friday, 100% feel free to ignore this, but I think your podcast should be Monday, Thursday, instead of Monday, Friday.

And I said, when smart people make suggestions, I listen, give me your rationale. I don't want it to go right to this guy's head, but I do think he's very bright. He wrote, basically, it was seven days in a week, you have to make a decision when you want the extra day to fall. I think it makes sense to have that extra day be Sunday when lots of folks aren't in their cars driving to work

at their desks in the gym or listening to podcasts. Also, sometimes I won't finish the pod in one straight shot, so I'll listen over two days. But often the Friday one will just never get finished because I won't be listening over the weekend, and then by Monday the new one is out already. and in general it feels like often there's so much stuff that happens between Sunday night and by Friday morning that it feels like too long a break whereas the weekend flies by. And you know what? I wrote excellent analysis. I will take it to the people.

So I spoke to Kyle and Dom about it because first of all I had to make sure that both Kyle and Dom are okay with this. You know, Kyle travels a bit and but Kyle you usually travel on Thursdays or Fridays. you were okay with the suggestion. And let's be honest, Dom doesn't do anything. So it's not like it really affected his week. So he was fine with it. And so I'm taking it out there to all of you.

You know, there have been times that we've had chances to reinvent the pod. And I've always kept it Monday, Friday, because it's worked this way. and there's a good listenership and why fool around with what works? But this is somebody who listens to the pod who's a bright person

and I want to take the suggestion to the audience. So you can DM us, you can make social media post to us, just let us know. And we'll keep an eye on, you can send your answers to the thought line where Griffin will keep an eye on them and send them to us.

Good idea. Send it into the thought line too. Tell us what you think. Do you want the pod to move to Monday, Thursday, or is your preference for it to stay Monday, Friday? And if the, I don't know what the threshold will be, I have to look at it and decide. But if there isn't, if it's close, we'll probably keep it where it is. But if there's an overwhelming desire to move it, then we will move it. Talk to you guys.

Yes. I understand and appreciate the resistance to change. But I am totally fine if we get an overwhelming majority to adjust the second drop day of each week. But Sunday for Monday will stay the same. Yes, absolutely. All right, good stuff. That was the final thought. And with that, we will take our first break here on this edition of 32 Thoughts to the podcast.

When we come back, a brand new edition of The Thought Line. That's after this. Okay, we're back. Time now for The Thought Line. Sented by BetMGM, make it legendary. Elliot, did you come across any podcast listeners while attending U of T Western on the football field on Saturday afternoon? Yeah, only could stay for the first half.

The Purple Satan romped to a big victory over UFT. And, you know, I love going to those games. It was nice. I took my son. We had a great time. You know, obviously it was a really lopsided game. but I saw a few members of the U of T alumni there. And you know what was actually,

the U of T was getting stomped, but just down from me was a group of like four, I think they were U of T students, and they were four girls, and they had clearly someone they knew on the team, one of the defensive backs or linebackers from UFT, and they were so enthusiastic, and they were like cheering for them on every play,

and they're losing four. to nothing at the half. And I was just like, you know what, good on you because it's not like U.S. college football here. Like they don't have huge fan bases. So a lot of times, especially when you're playing for a team that is struggling and UFT has been struggling this year, I'm sure there's moments like where you're out there like, why am I doing this?

So I just thought it was really great how no matter what was going on, those four women were cheering on their friend relentlessly. But it was interesting. So Western has a cornerback, Owen Jackson. His father is Jeff Jackson, who's the president of the Edmonton Oilers, and he's a really good player. And they have a linebacker. His last name is Tharby, T-H-A-R-B-Y. And I was looking at him.

And I think I covered his parents. his so or at least his dad and probably an uncle when I was a student at western there were a couple of tharbees I think one played at Guelph and one played at Wilford Laurier and I think they were both linemen so I'm so old now Kyle that children of players I covered are now playing university football it was it was a great afternoon it was a beautiful day and it put me in a great mood to cover the Leaf game on Saturday night. And plus also, it brings back memories of when I used to be the Kyle Bukascus of those games on the score. It was a really fun time in my life. Oh, man. That is, are there, any of those tapes still exist somewhere? Did you keep any of them?

Well, one of the really funny stories is the last broadcast I ever did at the score before I got hired at Hockey Night in Canada was a university football game. It was McMaster and someone. I can't remember who they played, but it was in Hamilton. And they asked me to say goodbye at the end of the broadcast. And I was like, really? Like, we did a big goodbye the night before on the desk. It was really nice thing that the people to score gave to me. And they said, yeah, you got it.

It's your final show. You got to do it. And in the middle of it, the satellite ran out. So it went from me saying goodbye to the color bars coming on. And I thought that was the funniest thing ever. It was as if the television God was like, I've seen enough. of you saying bye, enough of this stuff. Yes, that's right.

Too long goodbyes are no good. You don't want the over-extended goodbye. That's right. It was enough. I'm sick of seeing you say goodbye. I have to say, Kyle, the biggest, weirdest thing about the Leaf Regional this week was no Kathy Broderick. It's the first time in 23 years. years I've worked without Kathy.

Come back, Kathy. We miss you. Yeah. You get lost quickly. Yes. And I mean you, specifically you. I'm not arguing with you. Like the things that I'm going to do this year that are going to be stupid and wrong

because she's not around there to correct me or point me in the right direction, it's going to be epic. Yeah. The biggest eye-opener for me with the nonsense she has to deal with on a daily basis was when I travel with you and Dave for two playoff rounds before the final this year with Montreal and the questions I got asked from you guys about logistics, I was pulling my hair out. Okay, let me just say, like, I can at least travel.

I don't know how Dave gets from his house to his car. Like, I just don't. I will not be, I will not. Your questions were it as frequent. I will not allow myself to be put in the same category. Okay. The Venn diagram when it comes to traveling of me and Dave, it's two opposite circles.

They do not overlap. There's a lot of slander I will accept. I'm not accepting this one. Fair enough. Kathy, we miss you. By the way, I did want to shout out our podcast partner, Dom, who on Saturday night, he is the new host of Kodok's

Hockey on radio. And Dom, you had your first show on Saturday night. You're the intermission host. How to go? Really well. Myself and Arash from Mars today, we're hosting intermissions now on Kiss 104-9 in Vancouver.

So really well. We're really excited. Can't wait for the rest of the season. And do you feel you did well? Yes, I felt I did well. Thank you. Good job, man. congratulations, have a great season.

And if you ever need an intermission guest, just call Kyle. I'm impressed, Ellie. This is quite the about face. It was just minutes ago you were talking about how Dom doesn't do anything. So who cares what day you record? And now we're like, congratulations on doing the intermission hosting. That's right. I forgot about that.

Yeah. No, I'm really happy for you, Dom. Like being an intermission host of a NHL broadcast, that's a big deal. So I hope you do great. So I got, do you remember on the last pod, someone reached out to me and said, you didn't answer the question right about the expansion draft? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, he reached out again, and he said you still didn't answer the question right. Like, you did it wrong the second time too. Seriously? Oh, yeah, yeah. He said, I was like, I've almost forgotten what the question was. He goes, he said, If you're only allowed to protect one goalie and you have two goalies with a no move clause that requires you to protect them, what happens?

It's not what do you do if you don't have anyone to expose where the answer is go trade for someone to expose. It's what you do if more players are contractually required to being protected than you're allowed to protect. And I wrote, what a loser I am to get this wrong for to. And he goes, and the guy laughed and he says, you know what? I don't really know what the answer is either. And he said if, you know, he was to sign two goalies with full no move clauses past an expansion date, you know, what does the league do when expansion rolls around and you can only protect one? Because right now there's no rules set forth.

So he said it's an unanswerable question. Right. Because we don't even know, yeah, if the draft will be different from the pre- in terms of who you can protect and who you can't, right? 100%. We don't know that yet. All right. Well, I look forward to revisiting this later in the week about something else you forgot to answer.

I also wanted to shout out. I was walking around the Indigo bookstore at York Del Mall on Sunday morning, and a gentleman who worked there named Peter, says he's been working at that store for 27 years. Say he's a big leaf fan and he can't wait for the season to start. and he listens to the pod, so I wanted to show it out, Peter. Excellent. All right. So we're going to begin today with Mark from Witness England.

Oh, wow. Hello, 32 Thoughts Team. Back in the spring of this year, I was doing some hockey-related research, and I was shocked and excited to discover that Lord Stanley of Preston, who donated the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, aka the Stanley Cup, had actually been laid to rest with members of his family in a recently rediscovered crypt under a church in Nolesley, England, a mere 15-minute drive from my home.

I contacted the church regarding going down and being able to see his final resting place, but it was deemed structurally unsafe and had to have some work done to be able to allow visitors. Fast forward to today, work has been. been completed and I got to go down and view the resting place of Lord Stanley. According to the church records, the last burial in the crypt was in 1943 and the last mention of it on record was in 1946, so it had been left completely untouched and forgotten about for 80 years until early springtime this year when some flooring contractors made the discovery of the forgotten crypt. Being from somewhere that

hockey isn't very popular. You always feel a million miles away from the hockey world, especially the NHL. So to have the actual Lord Stanley buried close by makes me feel a little more connected. Just thought it was a cool piece of hockey history that a hockey historian or anyone who loves the game would enjoy knowing about. I've attached a few photos I took from today on the email. If anyone is interested, keep up the great work, everybody. Go stars. Yeah, I'll show you the photos, Elliot. It's pretty impressive.

It's got the main plate of them and everything. I'm going to start writing. I hope to have a 32 thoughts written out next week. So save those photos for me so I can put them in there. Ask Mark if he's got 31 more thoughts for me too. That is, first of all, Mark, thank you very much for sharing that.

That is a great story. Great story. And Mark is a stars fan. So I don't know. If Dallas is hoisted in the cup this coming spring, we'll know why. Because a loyal fan found where Lord Stanley had been laid to rest many, many, many, many years ago,

thereby reconnecting and stars aligning to allow these stars to win his cup that he donated way back in the day. My only complaint with this story, Mark, is that a real tough guy, wouldn't say I'm concerned about anything being structurally unsound he would just go in there anyway that's right cool guys don't look at explosions they just turn around and walk away don't worry about unstable buildings no that is an awesome story mark thank you for sharing it and I'm glad you had that experience like that is that is an experience any hockey fan would love to have and you know what

maybe what you do here by bringing it to our attention is more people go and check it out. Noseley, England. All right, a voicemail is on tap next, courtesy of Christina from Columbus. With the new CBA taking place, a lot of people are commenting about how paper transactions are limited now under the new rules. And my question is just that if under a paper transaction a player's salary is taken off for the day, because they're signed to an AHL team, why would a player agree to that if they're getting paid less for that day

and their salaries being taken away from the cap? Love the podcast. Thanks for answering. So, Christina, it's a great question. I think that there's a couple different things we're talking about here, and I hope I explain this right. And the way that this is going this year, if I get this wrong,

I'm going to have about 30 people tell me, so we'll know. Basically, a paper transaction is that say a player is on the NHL roster and you want to send them down to the minor leagues, maybe for a day or something to save cap room. And either your team is far away from the AHL team or you're just like, you know what, you're only going to be sent down for a day so you don't actually have to go. the NHL wanted to stop that. If you're going to send people down and save money on the cap, you actually have to make them go. So that's why this happens. And basically, if you're sent down and you don't have to clear waivers or they're within your contractual rights to send you down, like you don't have a no move clause, you can't say no.

You know, there's a risk. If you're waiver eligible, somebody can claim you. But it's not like you can say no. And, you know, teams will do it from time to time. If they're tight to the cap to save cap rooms, they can bank more space. And if you're asking, why would the players association agree to that? I guess in the overall grand scheme of things, it's just, it's like we talked about the other day about limiting, the preseason games to two per veteran,

not enough people are going to argue against it or not enough people care about it that it becomes a big thing to stop. And I think that's what it is. On the grand scheme of things that the players as a whole are going to worry about, that's probably a lower priority. But the NHL wanted to make it clear

that if you get sent down, they can't just say, okay, say for example, you're in Edmonton, your American Hockey League team, in Bakersfield, Edmonton can't just say, you know what,

just stay here, you're coming up in a day anyway. No, you got to go. You got to earn that extra day. I hope, Christine, that answers all of your questions.

I believe it does, yeah, because I think the big part of, you know, wow, a player accepted, I think in a lot of these cases,

they don't, they don't have a say in it, right? They don't have a choice. And I really do remember like that, the COVID-shortened year is when teams really,

really tried to use that to their advantage the paper transactions just because we all know players are getting paid but owners weren't necessarily making any money because the stands were empty. So trying to save money where they could about papering players on off days where they could get away with that. So over the course of a season, you have maybe 25, 30 days rack up where players on an American League salary as opposed to an NHL one, a number of teams that tried to take advantage of that when they could. That's a good one. I forgot about that one. You know, the worst case, honestly, was before the American

and Hockey League had their West Coast conference. Remember, you know, L.A.'s team was in Manchester. San Jose's team was in Ooster. I remember San Jose had a player, and I can't remember who it was. Somebody will tell me who it was. But San Jose had a player that got sent up and down like 15 times that year. Really? Yes.

But like not actually traveling each time? No, no, no. I think they had to. back then I think you had to go back and forth. And I mean, the only good news is they probably had super elite status. But that is a hike. Yeah. That is a hike.

Right. Well, yeah, Vancouver and Utica for a long time. Oh, yeah, that's a good, another good one. That's, right. And it's not the, not the company jets sitting there waiting to take you from city to city. No, that is definitely not. That's like the Kyle Bacoska special, 36E with no one lining seat. That's right.

That's right. Lois Farris, you don't get any rewards points. Now boarding zone 12. Zone 12. You know what? It's so funny. I think of that key and peels get with the guys like in Zone 2 and everybody is like, yeah, that's right.

You're wearing a red shirt. Yeah. Oh, gosh. All of that is so good. I went down a key and B rabbit hole the other day. Oh, my God. Those guys are incredible. Oh, just to live.

hilarious. Yeah. And they came in in a great time when you two was really starting to explode and some of those sketches just became cultural phenomenons. Fantastic. They nailed it. Okay. Christina, thank you for that. Elliot, we will end with this courtesy of Brock. Hello, 32 Thoughts Crew. Is this the university asking a question? This is yes. Okay. You're speaking for the entire university. Okay. Brock U. Hello, 32 Thoughts Crew. First off, just want to say, love the show wanted to thank you for making my long drives to work much more enjoyable. Anyway, Brock, you are welcome. We are honored that we can make your drives more enjoyable. With the recent naming of Drew Dowdy as the new captain of the L.A. Kings, it got me thinking, something I try to avoid at all costs.

Us too. Yes, us too. Along with Bo Horvatt of the Islanders and Nick Suzuki of the Canadians, Drew Dowdy is also from London, Ontario. As a lifelong resident of London myself, I wonder, has there ever been a time in the league's history where there have been three or more active captains of teams that are all from the same hometown?

I appreciate any light you can shed on this question of mine, and I look forward to many more commutes made bearable, thanks to your pod. Well, I'll tell you this, off the top of my head, Kyle, there is one guess that makes the most sense. the Sutter's. No. Because Daryl and Brian were definitely captains at the same time.

And Brent, I believe, was a captain too. But that might have been at different times because the Islanders had trotchy and pot fan. Right. And so that's why if we're looking for three is the baseline, they're not showing up here. Okay. So I could see that.

But very sound rationale. Yeah. Because Daryl was the captain. of the Blackhawks and Brian was the captain of the blues when I was when I was probably right around my teenage years but Brent I don't think was a captain until later so that is the first name that jumped into my head um so you're telling me we have had situations before where there's three yes okay are there brothers there are no brothers in this case. Okay. Now, in some, it could be the argument of

birthplace versus what a player may consider to be their true hometown, right? Who cares? I know. It's close enough. Yes.

Yes, yes, yes. I'm trying to think. How recent? Like, what was the most recent one? So if you're... Nah. This one's a bit of a gray area because you're kind of looping the GTA together. Okay.

But being the resident GTA expert of this podcast, I will rule. Okay. 2013, 2014. You had Mark Giordano, the captain of the flames, John Tavares, the captain of the islanders, and Jason Spetsa, the captain of the senators. That's perfectly legit. Okay. That is perfectly legit.

Wow. That's a That to me is perfectly legit Okay If you don't have a problem with it No We're rolling on with that Yeah

Now prior to that The year out of the lockout Now here's what I touched on earlier 05-06 Okay I'm trying to think I'm trying to think what What players we've got here Okay I'm trying to put my head into this

Okay 0506. You're talking about, are we talking about like Iserman, Sackett, like that kind of group? Because Iserman's technically a B.C. guy, right? Right. But.

Are those the guys you're talking about? No. I mean, it's that era, but. Yeah, because Iserman, I'm trying to remember all their cities. And Brindamore was a B.C. guy. And Niedermeyer is a B.C. guy. although Brindamore is from some loser town he's not like everybody else

Well that's here this is where again What did I say earlier? Sometimes there's a kind of a difference Between birthplace and what you consider hometown Yeah but is it those guys like that group of guys there Because they're all BC guys Right but it's not And Willie Mitchell was a captain then was he not

Um In 0506 Yeah because Minnesota had like Jacques Lamere was like had like 11th on his team. Yeah, but he's from Port McNeil. Oh, okay. So Rod Brindamore is one of the names, again, because he was technically born in Ottawa.

Oh, so it's Brindamore, Iserman. No, but not Iserman. Not him? Though he grew up, I think. Oh, that's right. He was born in the Indian Raiders, but was born in Brambrook. Yeah. Trying to think of who else would have been.

Two others? From Ottawa this season. I think both defensemen. One's got to be Luke Richardson. Yep. Okay. Who am I missing? This player, that season, was captain of Chicago.

Hold on, let me think. Is it? Great storyteller. Is it Adrian a coin? Yes. Okay. I'm not so sharp on my trivia. I got to get going here.

Yeah. It's early. That's a great question. Yeah. And there's a number of other examples, like going back as early as 84, 85, and then the following year, too, Denny Potfan for the Islanders, Mike Bullard and Pittsburgh, and Rick Vive for Toronto, Ottawa again. There's a whole run of Montreal connections, Luke Robitai, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bork one year. I was a couple years of Ray Bork, Scott Malenby, Vincent Dampus. Right.

Of all the examples, Ottawa's featured three times. Montreal seven times. Yeah, I'm not surprised about that. Edmonton once. Because I think the Niedemeyers grew up, I think, in Cranbrook, though Scott was technically born in Edmonton. And Jerome McGinnler, right? Yep.

And Messia, the Islanders, excuse me. Oh, did you just call Messia and Islander? No. I think you did. Rangers. Yeah, my bad. And what's the, what's the oldest one? Like what year would be the oldest one?

84, 85. And you said that was some of your Montreal guys? Is that the one? No, that would be, that would be before that. That's Ottawa, right. Pot fan. Yeah. Five.

Geez, I forgot Mike Bullard was from Ottawa. Well, that was a great quote. Brock. Great question. Yeah. And we just, we just took up your whole drive trying to figure out the answers. Exactly. Trying to make sure we knew, in fact, who, uh,

where each guy was from. That's awesome. That was a great question, man. I never realized there were so many. Me neither. I was expecting the answer back being, actually, this is the first time it's happened. Not the case.

It has happened before. Plenty of times, which is so cool. All right, Brock, thank you for that and getting our brains going to wrap up this edition. Of the thought line, you can submit your own trivia question or hockey history piece or general question. to 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.com.

Or you can drop us a voicemail at 1833-3-311-3232. One final break, and we'll wrap up this edition of the podcast after this. Okay, that's going to do it for this edition of 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Thank you so much for listening. As mentioned, last episode, we are still working away at getting music back into the equation to wrap up these episodes as the year progresses. I'm happy to say that we are on track to do so, just working down a bit of a short episode. shortlist to get different Canadian acts clear to be able to play them.

The plan is to have them ready to go in time for when the regular season gets underway next week. So check the ticker for the latest on that. And one final reminder that, yes, tonight, Kraft Hockeyville can be seen from Trau Riviere as we celebrate St. Boniface. Here tonight, Montreal and Ottawa on the air at 7 Eastern for Pacific Time on Sportsnet 1. Ron McLean is here on site. I'm here on site. John Barlick, Craig Simpson, in the booth for the call.

It should be a lot of fun from the Collisei-Vidotron here in Traa Rivie Air. Okay, hope you guys have a great start to the week and we'll see if my days are numbered in saying this. We'll talk to you again on Friday. Take care.