32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Robin Lehner Speaks Out

Episode Date: October 4, 2021

Over the weekend Robin Lehner went to Twitter to address the Jack Eichel situation, how the Sabres handled his ankle injury, teams giving “benzodiazepines to employees when they travel and Ambien”, and the treatment of players in Philadelphia by Alan Vigneault. Jeff and Elliotte address Lehner’s tweets (00:01) and discuss how teams, the league and the NHLPA might handle the comments. They also touch on Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes (23:30) resigning with the Canucks, Travis Hamonic deciding to play this season (31:00), and 31 Thoughts: The Ripoff by Isabella Cadotte. Music Young Clancy – Take Me 2 Listen to the track by Young Clancy in its entirety here This podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman. Audio Credits: Send In The Clowns (From ‘A Little Night Music’) by Frank Sinatra [Universal] 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

Here we go. Coming down in three, in two, and one. Robin Leonard. Robin Leonard tweets. Robin Leonard tweets about benzodiazepine. Robin Leonard tweets about Ambien. Robin Leonard tweets about Elaine Vigneault. Robin Leonard Freed tweets about Jack Eichel.

Where does all this start? It all started with Jack Eichel. Where does all this start? It all started with Jack Eichel. I think this whole situation, and Leonard has been very clear about this, started because of Jack Eichel. You know, we've done a lot with Eichel this offseason. Of course, we interviewed the doctor, Dr. Prusmak, who wants to do the disc replacement on Eichel that the Sabres have so far not approved. And, you know, last week on our podcast, on the news pod that was released seven days ago,

we talked about that we didn't like where this was going for the National Hockey League, that if they didn't find a way to solve this, it wasn't going to be a good thing. Although I don't think either one of us had, you know, Lennar on our bingo card in terms of what he was going to do and how he was going to step into it but I think this is all about Eichel I don't think there's any doubt about that I do believe there are a number of players out there who feel that the way Eichel has been treated is not right I think that they feel that Eichel is trapped that the Sabres won't let him get the surgery,

and that they won't trade him. One of the things we talked about on last week's podcast, Jeff, was that will this be a lost year? Will we be in a situation where Jack Eichel is out the entire year and we're talking about this again next season? And there were a couple of players who told me that you know they kind of heard that and you don't think about it because it's not your situation but then all of a sudden you hear that you begin to think could that really happen and from what i understand i

haven't spoken to eichel he stayed very quiet i've heard that he and people who are close to him are worried about that that has kind of begun to filter its way through the National Hockey League and Leonard in particular felt that you know he had to speak up and he wanted to speak up because he didn't think that was right he doesn't think that Eichel should face a lost season. And again, it's the thing that we talked about. He was legitimately injured during an NHL game. He was not injured skydiving. He was not injured snowmobiling. He was not injured playing pickup basketball.

This is something where he was hurt. And I think all of this stems from that, that Leonard took it on himself to say, I don't think this is right. I don't think that this should allow it to be a stalemate. I don't believe that this player should be prevented from getting the surgery he wants. And I think he's also saying that the fact that he might not be able to get surgery and he might not be able to get traded, he doesn't believe that's right. And I think that's where it all started from. Leonard took it upon himself as a former teammate of Eichel's and just a person, I guess, to say this isn't right.

This isn't right, but this is something that is a CBA issue. This is something that the Players Association doesn't hold jurisdiction over. Generally, I agree with you. You're right. I think one of the things that has kind of been going on quietly

is that there have been conversations about you know that passage and what it might actually mean and should the players association arbitrate it and they might lose and there are some lawyers who said to me they think that they would lose but even if the players association arbitrated it it's not a short process and it doesn't really help eichel now and i think that's kind of where we are is what leonard's saying and i think what eichel and those around him feel is how can we fix this in the short term one of the things that i've been kind of hearing is i've heard his agents and it's caa now pat bresson and jp berry like that group has had two

very big files over the last few weeks yes one of them is vancouver hughes and petterson they represent both and the other is now eichel who they represent newly and i've heard they've been grinding away at how do we solve this problem you know the sabers and i checked this last week the sabers as of the middle of last week had not given permission for eichel's medical information to be shared but what i think they are trying to do is with what everything that they're allowed to do, every way that they are allowed to do this, they are trying to inch it forward. They have taken Eichel to other specialists. They are trying to educate on the replacement. They are trying to make teams comfortable with potentially making a trade

for Eichel. They won't comment on this because it's really sensitive. You know, this whole Buffalo situation, Jeff, you know what it is? And everybody listening to this can understand this. Take a partner that you've had in your life, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, whatever it is, someone that you really loved and you really thought that you were going somewhere with. And then all of a sudden you break up and it gets really nasty and ugly. Every single one of us has gone through that, except for Jeff, because he's the true heartbreaker and he never has feelings for anyone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Lance romance here. But everybody out there has had that. And with Eichel, the Sabres saw Eichel as their leader to a new era, that he was going to be the cornerstone of the new group, of the new Sabres, and it's gone badly. And think this goes above kevin adams i think this is at the ownership level and i think they are sort of like the lover that really believed in this relationship and they weren't the ones who

called it off and And here we are. That happens. Like we've all seen that happen in our lives. And, you know, I think it's, it's colored the whole situation. I really do. This is why I say, Jeff, that like we said last week, the NHL is going to have to negotiate the out here because this isn't good for anyone. So I'm of the firm firm belief and i think it sounds like you are as well that the pagulas had a don't worry jack's gonna make this thing right eventually vibe about them

the pagulas really believe no matter how bad it got in buffalo they still had jack eichel and everything was going to be okay because they were building around their franchise superstar. And also too, don't forget the Pagoulas are big into USA hockey. Yes. Jack Eichel is a big part of USA hockey and you know, he was their captain. What did Amal say that Sunday was four years to the day that he was named captain. Like it's a bitter breakup.

We've all had bitter breakups except for Jeff. And so that's what this is. And you know, sometimes two sides in a breakup, they both walk away and they start new lives and it's all over. Sometimes both of them take it very personally and it's ugly and sometimes one takes it harder than the other and i think in this case one side has taken it much more personally uh than the other and that's kind of where we are all of a sudden i have frank sinatra's send in the clowns isn't it rich one of the great breakup songs of all time humming in my head as you're opining on the situation between Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres.

We are going to get back to Robin Leonard here in a couple of seconds, I swear. But a little bit more on Eichel since we've sort of detoured in that direction. Going back to CAA, Pat Bresson, J.P. Berry. So now that Pedersen and Hughes have been put to bed, and yes, we are going to get there on

this podcast, right now their main focus is educate other teams on what Dr. Prismak can do for Jack Eichel and why this is a sane and safe treatment. Here's the thing that someone said to me. This is a team person and they were very careful because like I said, when I checked last week, I was told the Sabres had not given permission for anyone to see the medical records. So the thing is like, there's a limit to what you can do without the Sabres permission. Right? So I simply think what they're doing is trying to do everything they can. Like someone compared it to, it's like when you've got a mallet or a sledgehammer and you're smashing away at a big stone and you keep smashing and you keep smashing and you keep smashing and you don't necessarily know if you're accomplishing anything, but all

of a sudden you do that one hit where the whole stone breaks apart. And you know it isn't that hit that did it. It's that plus the combination of all the previous ones. And that's what he kind of compared it to, is that they are just trying to move it along. How can we make people comfortable with getting Eichel somewhere else? Or getting someone to feel comfortable with making this trade. But again, this goes back to why I think Leonard did what he did is because he believes and some other players believe that Eichel won't be allowed to have the surgery, nor will they trade him.

And they don't think that's right. Because of the obvious, what if this is me? This is happening to jack but this could be any of us at any point yes which is why i brought up the point about this is a cba issue and this is something that the pa can't control this is something that has been surrendered to the team it is their decision according to the cba yes and leonard thinks that that should not be a log jam and there are other players who feel too that if a player gets injured the way eichel did legitimately in a game this should not be allowed to happen okay so that is the so he's trying to break the stalemate and you know the one thing i do believe is you know leonard has tagged in his responses

the nhl and the nhlpa you know we reported on tagged in his responses, the NHL and the NHLPA, you know, we reported on Sunday morning that the NHL had made it very clear that they will create an opportunity for Leonard to be heard. And I also understand, I believe Leonard has had some conversations with the players association now too, on Sunday about what he feels and, you know, what he'd like to see done. and I think there's a couple of things here I think that Leonard is talking about not only Eichel but I think he's also talking about like just some things he's seen around the National Hockey League and you know should those things be allowed to happen anymore so let's get to that then so he talks about Benzos and he talks

about Ambien and then there's that part in there about Elaine Vigneault. Now I should point out, and this is from Sam Carchidi and the Philadelphia Inquirer, General Manager Chuck Fletcher, quote, the health and wellbeing of our players is our top priority and any care provided to them comes from the team's healthcare professionals, not the coaching staff.

We have no reason to believe that any of our players have received improper care. Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher. I don't want to comment too much on this specific Philadelphia situation because I think that's something I think a lot of us are kind of working on and we'll see where it goes over the next little while.

You know, Vino was a guy who was pretty popular in Vancouver and pretty popular with the Rangers. But, you know, as we've talked about, last year was an absolute nightmare year in Philadelphia. And there were a lot of problems between the players and the coaching staff there. And I know that one of the things the Flyers

have discussed in the offseason this year is we cannot allow what happened between the players and the coaching staff to happen again. And some of that was they made some changes to their roster, obviously Ellis, Ristolano, and Atkinson. But I do think that some of the players' concerns were heard as well. But also, I think the Flyers have asked their coaching staff that they have to be better with the players. And I'm curious to see where that's going to be. I think that coaches have to walk a line

between being demanding and being hard and being fair. And I know the players last year in Philadelphia felt that the Flyers coaches did not adequately walk that line. And I know that they asked and made it very clear in some of their exit meetings that they thought some things had to change. So we'll see where that goes. Like I said,

last year was a nightmare year in Philadelphia. And I don't have any doubt that at the end of last season, because I heard it firsthand, that some of the Flyers players felt the coaching staff did not get as much blame for last year as the players did. But we get a new slate and we see where that goes. The whole thing with pills and drugs, the thing here is that you can't say or tweet out, okay, we have a team here that is giving players Ambien and Xanax or other antidepressants, and then poof, it goes away. And Leonard, I think, did have conversations with the Players Association on Sunday,

and the league has made it very clear that he will be given a chance to speak to them if he wants. But at some point, we're going to have to come back to this and kind of see what was the result, what was the resolution, and what was addressed. I just don't see how we're going to be in a situation where this is going to just disappear and we're never going to have to address this again. Now, sports has had a long history with sleep drugs, antidepressants, North America's going through an opioid crisis.

One of the things I did on Sunday was try to send notes to as many people as I could you know what do you think and people were very careful and one person said don't take this to mean that I'm necessarily saying that Leonard is right or wrong I just don't think it's a good idea to pour any more gasoline on the fire he lit I I think people are worried, you know, hey, if we report something or we say something, you know, who's that person who said that? And I think there was a lot of that, you know, fear kind of going around on Sunday. I did have one trainer who said to me that he's seen a noticeable change in his organization over the years where you know probably a lot of people were too relaxed when it came to these kinds of drugs they're now very

strict about them and he knows that if in his organization he was ever to do something that his organization felt crossed the line he'd be gone and it's that simple but i don't know if every organization's like that and like i said i i think at the very least what leonard has done here is he's raised a situation that isn't easily going to go away and maybe you know the tough thing is i know people come to this podcast and they want answers why does this happen or why does this set or what does this mean i can't give you an answer to that as quickly as you would like because i think that this is not something we're going to get an answer to 24 hours after he tweets it but i think there are going to be conversations and at the very least

the very least jeff i think what's going to happen here is that there's going to be conversations about you can't let this happen and you can't slide on this and there's going to be an increased spotlight on the use of these drugs around the National Hockey League. And that's at the very least what Leonard's going to do. And there's a chance that the outcome could be a lot more. We'll see. We'll see where it goes. But again, Jeff, you can't throw this out on Twitter and nothing happens it's out there now and

everyone's going to be waiting and sitting here and saying what was the outcome what was the solution to this because i just don't think this goes away now but there is one very specific conversation and we won't have it now for each, but somewhere down the road, I think we need to have the conversation. What are we prepared to accept in a contact sport like hockey? Even though none of us, certainly not the athletes, like concussions, we accept that this is part of the sport. That this is going to happen in this contact slash collision sport. The best you can do is try to make it as safe as possible for the athletes at all times.

But knowing full well the nature of the game with the speed, with the confined space, with the presence of body contact, with the presence of large bodies colliding with each other, concussions are going to be part of it. When you play 82 games in the schedule that exists right now and the way that the game is played and the nature of travel and the nature of needing to recover and recuperate and sleep, I think somewhere down the road, and again, not now,

but it's for a bigger conversation i think we need to have the conversation of what are we prepared to accept and understand athletes using whether it's pain pills or whether it's sleeping pills because i'm not prepared just to say oh you shouldn't do any of that you should not put any of that into your body given the nature of how this game is played you know like one of the people we had him on the podcast a few years ago and it's a guy i follow on twitter and i read about quite a bit is riley cote the former flyer right yep and he's big into a lot of that and i personally i don't like touching almost any of this stuff but i know there obviously are organizations out there that do a lot of research into whether it's medicinal

marijuana whether it's um other drugs that they think can help the mind. I don't have good answers on a lot of this stuff simply because while I'm interested in it and I really like to read about it and someday I wonder if it's something that's going to be a factor in my own life, I really try to avoid all of this because I'm worried about the effects it can have on me, right? I've seen, you know, the damage that damage that you know some of these drugs can cause the other thing i also know jeff is that

i think players in the league are very protective particularly of trainers and they feel that trainers do a lot of great things for them and i think there's some players out there who who say that it's not necessarily fair to the trainers that they get lumped into all this so i just don't know where this is going to take us i really don't have a good answer as we do this podcast right now just one of the things that i've always been sensitive about is when you look at the nature of what the purposes of this podcast hockey players do they deliberately put their bodies in harm's way yeah in exchange for a very good livelihood that can set themselves and their families up for life that brings with it stress that brings with it physical and mental pain and one of the things that i've always really found distasteful is the shaming of athletes who would choose to use pain

medication or sleep medication or anything that can mitigate some of the overwhelming anxiety that comes along with being a hockey player because i think that's legit and we never have a close look at it again not a conversation for today but somewhere down well you know what i think that is a good point and i don't have any problem with anyone using anything in moderation or something that's prescribed you know one of the things i think that's really happened jeff in the last couple of years is there's there's also a much greater understanding and respect for that can be if used properly those kinds of things can be helpful yes absolutely for example it used to be like if you battled with that you were weak and now i think there's a much greater understanding

that we do have challenges like that and we have to find solutions to it and people understand that and you know lanner obviously has been through a lot and he cares about this a lot and he wants to make sure that that gets dealt with. I mean, you know, maybe the biggest thing that happens here out of what Leonard said is that he starts it because he's upset about the whole Eichel thing and he wants movement. We'll see where that goes. And I still feel very strongly the NHL has to broker a solution. I have not stopped my feeling on that.

I think this is a bad look still for everyone involved and it has to get sorted out. But maybe this is just another reminder that Leonard's putting out there saying we have to be very careful that even though we can accept that people use different things to help them cope. You still have to make sure it's done properly,

under the correct supervision, and in moderation. To the big news piece of the week, and that is Vancouver, and that is Elias Pedersen, that is Quinn Hughes, the two contracts. Yes, this is a very CAA-influenced podcast. Elias Pedersen, three-year contract, $22 million. Quinn Hughes, six-year contract, just over $47 million. AAV on Pettersson, 7.35, 7.85 for the defenseman. Any idea why it took so long? From what I understand, one of the big keys here was kind of the comparables and what the right term was.

One of the things I think that absolutely happens is that people wait to see what the other comparables are going to be. And Hughes happens after Deline. Yeah. On a three-year deal, Vancouver was around five and a half for hughes and then delene signs and that's not going to work anymore you know kaprizov signs and all of a sudden you know petterson is looking at oh okay well if you want me on a longer term then you

know all of a sudden that nine's there. And I think these two sides have been grinding away on these deals since March. I think this has been a very long process. So I think some of the comparables got nailed down. That's number one. And number two is I heard that it took Vancouver and the agents and the players some time here to figure out what exactly was the right term. What is the sweet spot on term? Like on Pedersen,

you're not going to four because that walks them right to UFA. So what's your sweet spot on term? And Hughes, you're not going on five because that walks them right to UFA, so what's your sweet spot on term? Now, I want to talk about Pedersen specifically for a second. I think sometimes what we forget is that for super hungry elite-level athletes, why do you get to the top? It's not only because you're a great player. It's also because you work your butt off and you're also ultra competitive, right? You see that guy next to you. I'm going to beat that guy. I'm better than that guy.

I'm going to beat that guy. I'm better than that guy. And what I think we forget sometimes, Jeff, is that that also goes to salaries sometimes. And I think Pedersen is one of those ultra hyper competitive guys. And I think he sees his worth and he knows what his worth is going to be. And he looks around at some of the other guys and he's like, can do that i can do that i can beat that i can i compare myself very favorably to that guy and i think him in particular there's some of that as part of this i believe that

petterson is like i believe in how good i am i believe in what i'm gonna do i'm gonna be an a1 level player for the canucks and i think that extends also to what i see my worth as on my paycheck too and sometimes i think we forget that players compare themselves and think like that also i want to get to what this means for the canucks here in a second before that uh the quinn hughes deal six years 47.1 million dollars got a thought on this one both these deals i think are good deals like you know bottom line is they're playing right i know travis green won't like to hear this but i don't care that they missed a week of camp both those guys are going to be ready to play miss the fitness test Technically, I still think you have to take it, but they're going to be there. They're going to be ready to play. It's a win for the Canucks because they're

going to be ready to play to start the season, and these guys are signed. The interesting thing about Patterson I heard was the structure. Over 10 million in the last year, there was a change in the qualifying offer in the last cba so his qualifying offer is just going to be under nine there's going to be a pressure point there if the canucks can't get an extension done he takes his qualifying offer just under nine million he walks to ufa the other thing that's interesting about peterson's deal is he gets the most money when the escrow is the lowest and number two and this is no small thing the year he's going to be an rfa is the first year that i think a lot of people are really expecting the cap to bump yeah three

years and then a lot of that pa debt is paid too yes and they timed it like i think there was a time that they could have gotten petterson around ranton's deal because i've talked about that that i would be offering ranton's deal if for petterson if i was vancouver especially when kaprizov signed you know i had another gm told me that he said he didn't think that was going to be possible so they'll deal with petterson when when the time comes and i think those are good deals i i got i got no problem with them um and now makes the vancouver canucks a complete team almost um but where are you at with vancouver right now because whenever we talked about vancouver before it was with the caveat well they have to get petterson and hughes done like when i look at the vancouver

canucks and there was a ton of moves that jim Jim Benny made and cleaned out a lot of you know big ticket contracts for guys who you know even though the contracts were expiring at the end of this season this was going to be a go-for-it year for the Vancouver Canucks I think now Travis Green has three lines that can score and has a lot of different options up front the only place that I have concerns with Vancouver is still the back end, and Oliver Ekman-Larsen is, to me, still a gamble, but we've talked about that before. What do you think of the Vancouver Canucks?

I do like Vancouver's team this year. I'm a big Demco guy. They're going to have their guys signed. I'm curious now, without Hamannik there, at least for now, what's that going to mean for hugh's partner who's going to get that opportunity i'm also really curious to see you know are they going to go left side with hughes ekman larson and wrathbone oh well i mean i know that you know

the big talk was you know oleo levy didn't do himself any favors in that first bag skate and that set him back in the coach's mind but i have a hard time believing still that olio levy's not in the conversation on that left side by the way i um i was i was watching while we were doing this vancouver's uh they won their preseason game on sunday night against winnipeg travis green's like disappointed snarl is already in mid-season form oh it's awesome but you know what you know what looked really good because i was watching that game tonight as well you know who looked really good and i was happy to see mikey di pietro yeah i know you i know you're a big di pietro guy di pietro looked really good but the thing that i i'm looking at there is

like jack rathbone who has a brother on the spectrum he's one of my favorite players for that reason i i know i'm supposed to be this unbiased broadcaster but i am openly rooting for rathbone and this year once i find out what number he's going to be wearing for the canucks i will be ordering a rathbone jersey but i'm curious like on the left side are they going to go those three or does does rathbone go to abbotsford to play um be interesting it'll it'll it'll be really interesting you know we should mention on on Friday night it was announced that you know Travis Hamannik has let the Canucks know that he will play this year he's not opting out you know the last thing I heard was that he might not start the year with the Canucks

but the expectation was he was going to play. Vancouver has obviously been very quiet about it, and I do understand that the organization is not going to say a lot, but we'll see. We'll see what happens there. One more thing, and this is a carryover from last week as we wrap up the podcast. A quickie to kick off the week. We'll have a bigger one coming up later on this week.

After we had the conversation on the podcast last week about the Charlie McAvoy draft with the Boston Bruins and the war of the factions between those that wanted Dante Favreau and those that wanted Charlie McAvoy. And of course, they ended up taking McAvoy. Bruins president Cam Neely reached out. We had a conversation on Friday

and he wanted to let it be known that it was a group decision and the final decision is always made by the general manager so in the spirit of equal time uh that was the message from cam neely on that i have two questions okay did you hear in the background of your conversation with cam neely yeah did you hear anyone yelling kick his ass sea bass i was thinking it in the back of your conversation with cam neely yeah did you hear anyone yelling kick his ass sea bass i was thinking it in the back of my own mind at any minute that could happen no it was a very polite conversation it wasn't an acrimonious conversation or anything it was no like yelling and screaming it was a very matter of fact conversation i have no doubt it was all

professional hey speaking of all professional you know what made my week yeah 31 thoughts the ripoff oh yes isabella cadot oh man this is great so we got this uh this tweet from mark cadot whose daughter isabella managing editor of of 31 thoughts the ripoff 31 pieces of hockey news you might have missed over the summer. Isabella hits it out of the park. I'll just read the opening paragraph for this shameless ripoff of your seminal blog. This is Isabella.

Are you kidding? It's like better than the blog. It's so good. The NHL offseason, simultaneously the most boring and busy time of the year for hockey. This is the time when most players, fans, and journalists It's so good. net and yet over the course of less than three months there have been many breaking news stories so with the preseason starting in a day here's 31 thoughts the ripoff with 32 pieces of hockey news you might have missed over the summer brought to you by caffeine i hear you isabella an unhealthy leafs obsession and two hours of sleep elliot i loved it it. Emma loved it. What did you think?

Oh, I loved it too. I sent a note to Mark and, you know, I just said, don't let her take my job. Keep her in school a little bit longer. You know, I always tell young people who are trying to start out in the business, do everything, you know, know your various social media, know your platforms, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, know your YouTube, youtube know how to write know how to do everything and you know write passionately about it be who you are and do what you like to do because if you like doing what you're doing it will come across in the work and her passion is obviously there this is a young talented person and i'm looking forward to see where she takes it uh in the future uh the website kingsleyvoice.com uh if you want to follow mark that's her dad yeah he's on twitter at urban

underscore psi you can check him out there and he's got his his daughter's piece linked it's it's awesome and mark it totally made our week thank you for sending that along did you watch the jays on sunday did you watch the baseball i did i watched the jays and then i watched the yankees in the ninth and then i watched the red socks in the ninth yeah how about you yeah it was it was depressing you know the nationals man they just decided to torture Blue Jays Nation. But with Brad Hand or the game? The whole thing. Yeah, I know.

The former Expos of all teams sticking it to the chase. Yeah, I was hoping for maximum carnage. I think we realized very early that wasn't going to happen. Yeah, I know. But just unbelievable drama, unbelievable drama. Like those are the days that you, if you love sports and you didn't enjoy that,

then you have no soul. It was just in terms of the drama. Dude, from the first inning of that Jays Orioles game was Springer hitting the home run. Like it was just on. And it was just like at the end of it, the Jays were a really fun team to watch this year they were a blast they were a ball all the home runs the great season from

vlad guerrero from ray from simeon go right through the lineup bachette had a real nice year obviously as well when have you seen an infield that hit that many home runs elliot when have you seen an infield go long ball many home runs elliot when have you seen an infield go long ball that many times over the course of one season it was just a fun year i know the big story is the bullpen and you know that's probably their undoing i shouldn't say probably that was their undoing early um but still this was a real fun team it's going to be a good team for a long time now sign ray get him back under contract. I know Simeon wants to be, well,

he's making noise like he wants to be a shortstop, right? Yes. He's like, look, I see myself as a shortstop. So he's going to take his, what,

44, 45 home runs somewhere else. I mean, who knows? That might just be posturing for a contract and he comes back

where he's been really successful and the city has, you know, loved Marcus Simeon. I don't know where i saw this but the rumor is the angels are going after him oh wonderful yeah just great fun team great season and listen uh everyone who was part of the blue jays broadcast yes great jobs tremendous thumbs up you know on camera behind the scenes challenging year i mean how many

differently at three home locations this year? Three different ballparks. I got to say, good on the Sportsnet crew and the fan radio crew. Good on everybody. Great job, fun team. I'll still be watching the playoffs. I'll still be watching the World Series, even the Jays aren't in it. But great job, everybody.

Jays were a fun team to watch, sort of galvanized baseball in Canada. I think that's safe to say once again. You know, you look at that last era of Blue Jays and the spike in baseball that happened. Like, my two boys play baseball because of that run. My two boys, you know, watched all of that, and that's when they decided they wanted to play baseball. I wonder how many boys and girls were watching this season and are going to say next summer yeah i'm playing ball and it's because

of this really fun blue jays team i i think this is going to be a real shot in the arm for uh for canadian baseball so well done fun season what do you think of it i give the play nine out of ten but the ending sucked so it's's like the Sopranos. I thought that was a great ending. Don't stop believing, Freach. Don't stop believing. Before we wrap up, I just want to wish happy birthday at some point this week.

Max turns 10. Hey! You never know what's going to happen with a kid in the first 10 years of their lives. That was particularly the case with Maxie. Very proud of that little guy. He's a wonderful young man. You got a,

you got a special guy there, Elliot. Happy birthday, Max. Jeff, before we go, I wanted to wish you good luck with your new show. What's it called?

The Jeff Merrick show with Jeff Merrick produced by Jeff Merrick, creative consultant, Jeff Merrick. No, this is called Jeff Merrick presents a Jeff Merrick show starring Jeff Merrick, featuring Jeff Merrick, produced by Jeff Merrick, creative consultant Jeff Merrick. No, this is called Jeff Merrick Presents, a Jeff Merrick show starring Jeff Merrick, featuring Jeff Merrick, produced by Jeff Merrick, trademarked Jeff Merrick. Well, good luck, man.

I have no doubt you're going to have a great show. Well, you know what they say about nationally syndicated radio properties, slash audio properties, slash podcasts, you're only as good as your first guest. And guess who that's going to be on Monday? You, Elliot.

Well, who's your second guest? NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and then St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong. Yeah, I got to tell you, I should not be the headliner there. You know who I'm actually looking forward to talking to is Kirsten Welsh, who became the OHL's first linesman,

linesperson, thank you, in the OHL. Looking forward to talking to her as well. So, yeah, big show on Monday. So I better go get some sleep soon. Good luck. Taking us out is an ascending Toronto soul musician and beatmaker who really has a pulse on the ever-changing sound of the city. Having recently released his Something Something tape,

which he, quote, created around the times rather than for the times, end quote, Young Clancy has carved out a space for himself in the Canadian music scene. From his 2019 album Volume 2, here's Young Clancy with Take Me To on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. I saw you there, I was hanging around the bed Looking in the jukebox for loose change Why you, you won't stay singing Tell me lies, tell me lies Glow, send your flames my way Tell me Send your claims Glossy in the morning And I just wanna

Feel a little better with you Why could we stay away from you? Oh, oh yeah All the liquor in this bar, babe I just wanna buy a phone Get it high up in the heart, yeah I just wanna buy a phone I just wanna lie there with you I was there before I met you, oh yeah Now I feel so alive, baby

Take me to such a little home