32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Rock Me Like a Stanley Cup Champion

Episode Date: June 15, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman react to the Carolina Hurricanes defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in 6 games to win the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. They also touch on the Golden Knights running out of gas in the end (34:33). They talk about Torts' future (40:23). The Final Thought puts a wrap on the 2026 NHL season and looks ahead to the news to come (46:26).  Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and comments in the Thought Line presented by BetMGM (49:44). 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 Cristian Ceniti 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

The perfect storm in the 20th anniversary of their first title. Once again, the Carolin Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers at the 2026 Tacoma. It's time to Toyota. Happy Monday, Dom Elliott and Kyle back with you, a Monday in which the Stanley Cup final is now over. A perfect storm. hits Vegas on Sunday. It was Carolina Hurricane Hockey in a multitude of ways, Elliot.

Rod Brindamore takes the head coaching job in 2018. They make it to the conference final the next year. They make it to the conference final in 2023. They made it to the third round last year. No further in those three attempts. And really last year, Elliot, the noise started to build around Brindamore and the way he was so convinced they had to play, was it truly going to work to get to the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup?

On Sunday night, Elliot, it proved to be, yes, the hurricanes for the second time in the franchise's history are Stanley Cup champions. Incredible run, 16 and 3, which rarely happens in the salary cab era. to win the Stanley Cup in 19 games. When I was a kid, I remember there was a year the Allenders went 15 and 2, and people thought that was impossible. First round was best 3 out of 5 back then.

And people were saying nobody would ever do that again. And 16 and 3 in the cap era, it's an incredible accomplishment. And I think one of the things, Kyle, that really stands out about this one for me, and I was really thinking about it as this game unfolded, in every one of their previous series, Vegas, as it got deeper into the number of games,

they got better and they overpowered. They steamrolled the other team. They did it with Utah. They did it with Anaheim. They did it with Colorado. I mean, that one, they were dominant from start to finish. But in game three,

they had that massive comeback. In game four, Colorado was broken. But this is the first. first team, this is the first team that Vegas played that didn't bow to them at the end of the series. As we got into games four, five, and six, Carolina actually got better. And they imposed their will. I think Vegas completely ran out of gas, but I don't mean that to take it away from what Carolina did. I thought Carolina was the one team that is the series got on. They said, no, you're not taking control of us. We're taking control of you. And, you know,

I think the thing that there's a lot of things that happened late in that game or the aftermath of that game that really stick out in my head. And we'll get to a few of them. But one of them that really stood out to me was your interview with Jordan Stahl, where he talked about how some guys bailed, but a lot stayed and turned this from a loser into a winner. And the other thing was just sitting there voting on the con smife. Like to me, and the votes will come out. We make them public at some point. I think it'll be later Monday.

But for me, Jordan Stahl was the easy one, right? He was number one. But the thing is, I really had trouble deciding two and three. Like one of the things I thought about was do I put Mitch Marner on there and because of the great playoffs he had and I ultimately decided not to because of the way that certain hurricanes played not only throughout the playoffs but as the Stanley Cup rolled to its decisive points. And my ballot will be revealed, but I had a really difficult time between Eilers, Hall, Stancoven, Jacob Slade, To be honest, I didn't do it, but I thought about Bussie. You start to play that thought in your mind, should he get votes? But I think that is the truest compliment to Carolina is that you could have put six, seven different guys on the ballot, and nobody would look at you and say, are you demented?

What are you thinking about here? Yeah, well, especially because, I mean, to your point, as the series went on, it became clear and clear that if they were to win, Jordan Stahl was to be the favorite. But, you know, even after two games, whatever, if you were looking at it and you thought, okay, Carolina wins the cup, who's your pick? And that was my exact feeling. Like, is that not true to what the hurricanes are where for a long stretches, there wasn't an obvious one. Like, you think about the Stankhoven line, round one against Ottawa, completely dominant. You know, Seth Jarvis makes a big play in the Philadelphia series to tie the game in game two to set up Taylor Hall to be the overtime hero

and have them off and running then. Jordan Stahl has a moment against Montreal, but there's a whole multitude of factors of guys delivering when it counted. Svetnikov, the overtime winner, Eelers had an overtime winner that series, and then Jordan Stahl does his thing in the final. Like it was, though offensively, you can't have everybody contributing at once, but everyone had a say in where they ultimately got to. And that's been what they've been about since this journey all started for them.

The other thing too, and this is, I think, really important. When you have good players, you have to hold on to them. And everybody out there, think of your favorite team. and think about when you had good teams and they couldn't break through. And how many times do you just sit there and say, we can't win with this group, can't win with this group?

And sure, you always have to tinker and you always have to try to make yourself better. But there's been three Stanley Cops now. It's amazing. You think Vegas has been in the league eight years and they've had three Stanley Cups one on this ice now. Okay? And the first one was by Washington

in 2018. And how many times that we say they're never going to win with that group? Never. And they made changes. They brought in OSHA and Tom Wilson developed and Braden Holteby developed. But people thought they were never going to win

and they won. And there are other teams that don't break through and don't win. But this is an example of why when you have a team that's always in the conversation, you better be sure before you break it up. You better be sure before you break it up. Because there'd be lots of people after the way they lost the last couple years to Florida or whoever, and you'd say this team can't win.

And, you know, there's a big debate. Would you rather be one year too late or one year too early getting rid of breaking up your team? It's groups like this hurricane's team that I would say I'd rather be one year too late. Absolutely. And Elliot, I was reminded the other day of last year they lose to Florida in the third round. And remember the exit interview, Sebastian Ajo, almost in a way, challenged Eric Tulski. and the front office and talked about maybe this is the off season where we go out and find a piece then instead of throwing a Hail Mary at the deadline.

They made the trade for Keandre Miller and of course the signing of Nikolai Ehlers. And both played integral roles in what ultimately happened here. How many years did he live at they, I mean, credit them for trying different things, whether it was Gensel, whether it was Rantanin. eventually they realized they needed more pop offensively if they were going to do this. And they finally, they got the formula that worked. They brought in the guys that made it all sing. And now they're champions.

It was really something just thinking back to that just over a year ago. And what ultimately was done in improving the roster and how it all came together. And there was Aho and Rod Brindamore hugging it out on the bench right as the buzzer went off. So whenever somebody wins, I always ask, you know, what are the lessons? And this is quite a weekend in sports because the Knicks won the NBA title on Saturday and the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup final on Sunday. And I was happy for the Knicks. I think they're a really likable group.

Like the players on that team really come across as a team that you can root for. And, you know, one of the things there is, as I'm looking at them, Number one, I think that's so important. You have to have team chemistry. But you have a player there, the MVP of the final and the playoffs, Jalen Brunson, who basically agreed to take a hundred less million to have a great team around them. And it's hard to learn from that, except that you have to have players who are going to have record levels of financial

unselfishness. You're not going to find too many people who are going to do that, which only increases the amount of respect I have for Brunson. But I'm looking at this Carolina team. And number one, I think it's important that you look at them and you say, what they have is diversity of philosophy and diversity of thought. You've got the ultimate alpha male head coach. Like, how, how, How many head coaches in the league are as dominant over their organizations as Brindamore is? Nobody. There is nobody like him as a head coach. Now, does he make the personnel decisions?

No, he doesn't. But he sets the tone. He sets the attitude. he at times has been challenged about the way that they're going to play, even by his own players. And he said, no, we're going to play this way. And he was right. And the players fall in line behind him, almost to a man.

And then you've got the front office, which is almost totally different from any other front office in the NHL and what do they do? They take chances. Like the thing I like most about the ranting trade was not that they made the trade, but that they realized it wasn't going to work and they pivoted. And people made fun of them. But my answer to that was they realized it wasn't going to work and they found another way to make it work. Like one of the things with the ranting and deal is that he realized quickly that his style wasn't going to work with Brindamore. And one of the things they did in targeting Stankovin in the trade was that they said,

is there a player here that will better fit the system than Rantan would have? And Stankovin was the guy. Yeah. The offer sheet threats last year to Evan Bouchard and then Kandre Miller, Lans the Miller who had an outstanding playoff for them and had a great year and was a perfect fit for their system. And even now, they're well under the cap. They've got a ton of picks

and a lot of their key players are signed to long-term contracts that are going to look better and better. Jackson Blake? Yeah, Jackson Blake, Stancoven, as the cap rises. And they're not going to be satisfied with one. they're not they're going to be all over the place looking for more like they're going to be aggressive I don't think this is going to make them less aggressive I think it's only going to make them more aggressive and you know the thing too first of all I hope the young tulski is going to

get a raise out of this because he deserves a big one so does the coach mind you but we'll get to him in a minute. But I hope Young Tulski gets a raise. He deserves it. And I think it's important. Like, I do think there are a lot of teams in this league that are moving

towards more diversity of thought. But sometimes it's in that way of hockey people arguing. And they say, you're right. No, you're wrong. No, you're right. That's why I agree with that person. No, you're wrong. No, you're wrong. That's what I agree with that person.

And that's good. I think that's good. But what Carolina should move everybody even more to is even more diversity of thought in terms of the threat of offer sheets, how, what risks you're willing to take. Like, they're willing to gamble more than other people are willing to gamble. And the makeup of your front office. And, you know, I don't think. think I don't think people should be afraid of looking at them and saying,

hmm, is there a way that they go out there and do things that we can do? And I'll guarantee you this, owners are going to be asking that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 12 million under the cap and now champions. So you mentioned the rant and deal and how all that went down. Not only did that trade bring them Logan Stancoven. It also brought him Taylor Hall.

Yes. Who will go down as scoring the Stanley Cup clinching goal here as it was a shutout in game six. He opens the scoring. And a couple hours before the game, it was funny. He said that he had been having trouble sleeping through much the last little while, but that he slept pretty good the night before game six here.

And he certainly looked like a well-rested guy on Sunday night. He was shot out of a cannon. Great placement of the shot. there to open the scoring. And there's a guy, too. You talk about finding pieces that fit and pieces that realize what the opportunity they have coming to Carolina. Is there not a better example of that than Taylor Hall? It's 16 years ago, Elliot. He's taken first overall. He wins a heart trophy in New Jersey in 2018. And then he's bouncing around. He's in Buffalo. He's in Boston for a bit. There's a game with Chicago where he's a healthy scratch for,

and then he ends up here in Carolina, and he's told his teammates, with the Hurricanes, it's the most fun he's ever had playing hockey. What did he say also in the pregame? He said, we're kind of like the Golden Misfits. Yes.

He compared the hurricanes to that 2023 Vegas team that won the Stanley Cup, but he talked about himself in that way. Sure. Because he's up at the podium with Sean Walker, and he was asked about him being a number one pick and Walker being undrafted. You know, I think that goes back to what we just talked about is that Carolina knows that Brindamore likes to play a certain way

and they are extremely careful about trying to bring guys there who can fit. They can skate. They can go in straight lines. They can play man-to-man defense. Like, Rantanin, like, one of the stories I heard about Rantanin was there was a practice, and he tried something, and Brindamor said, hey, that's not the way we play. And one of the Carolina players said to me later that they knew that was the moment it wasn't going to work. You're not going to have that problem with Hall.

Like, he's straight up and down. you know, it goes to Miller, Miller the way he skates, he's perfect for that system. But it's, you know, it's an example of, oh, Hall, he can play the way we want to play. And also, too, remember, you know, in Chicago, he was a healthy scratch in a game we did last year in Vancouver, right? And, you know, I think like any prideful athlete like he is, he was probably miserable about it. And when he came there to Caroline, he's like, okay, new start, fresh start, how many more of these do I have? And it goes back to also what Stahl talked about was there's a lot of guys who abandon them. And now there's a lot of guys who are like, maybe this is my last chance or these guys see something in me.

And like we said, Brindamore, like all these guys rally around him. All of them. Yes. Yeah. So Jordan Stahl, the oldest ever to win the Khan-Smith, 17 years between his first Stanley Cup and his second. That's also an NHL record. And it was really great listening to him in the post game where he talked about, I just wanted to win so bad. And how often do you hear athletes say, I want to win so bad?

But the way he said it, it was like, man, you really did believe it. You could feel how bad he wanted this. and he got it now as we talked about. He stuck around. Eric left at some point, and it was in 2016, and Jordan stuck around, and now he's been able to see it through.

Regardless of what happens from this point onward, he helped bring another Stanley Cup to Carolina. I mean, just thinking of some of the moments that sit out to you on the ice afterwards, I mean, the shot of Jordan and Eric and Mark and the Staph's family on together. Oh, my God, that was a great shot. Unbelievable.

Eric was phenomenal with you and David in the pregame, by the way. Like, you could feel how amped up he was for Sunday night. Yes, Eric was great. He looks fantastic, by the way. They all do. Like, they really all do. But I think it's, let's talk about some of those interviews, okay? Okay.

So which one stood out to you of the ones you did? Jordan Stahl for sure. I mean, Rod, like as I mentioned the interview, I always look at the way he grabbed the cup out of Betman's hands in 2006 is one of the greatest ever. And he nearly won up debt when he got it. The way he manhandled that trophy,

I've never seen anyone whip that thing around like he did. That was unbelievable. And you could feel all the emotion come out there. So him talking about that And you mentioned, we'll get to To more about Brindamore in a little bit. You know, I thought Frederick Anderson was great with you and Dave And Nick Eilers, how emotional he got talking about Winnipeg

Stuck with me too. So he, after it was over, he said, You can't do that to me, man. You know what else he said? What? This was early on, I think before they, He even brought the cup out, like the fresh off the initial celebration. So he comes out of the huddle and comes by the bench where we're standing.

And he grabbed a water bottle and looked over at me, he went, better hydrate now. That's what BX always says, mix in a water. That was pretty funny. That's pretty funny, actually. You know, first of all, I mean, with Anderson, so I didn't think it was the right place to ask him. him, but I heard he had a knee injury. And I guess he confirmed it on the ice. I didn't realize that he heard it.

I thought he heard it in game three when he took that big hit, too. But I guess he said he heard it in game two and he tried to play in game three. And someone actually told me on the ice that he had it drained. And that was why he initially couldn't start. And then they just stayed with what they did. but you know teams win and that's a true team like there's a lot of guys Dave and I were talking about who do you bet gets the cup second and we thought it would be Hall or Aho and we thought probably like Aho because he'd been there longer

but the fact that they think is Slavin was on my mind Slavin's a great one too absolutely but the fact that they give it to Anderson man Like that's a team. So good. That's a team. And, you know, it was great to see him be able to be on the ice and be with them. The Eilers won. I certainly wasn't expecting that reaction.

You know, I just thought it was important for Winnipeg to be recognized. I did have Jets fans. A couple of them sent me DMs. Like, if you interview Eilers, just tell them we're happy. But I certainly was not expecting that reaction. I'd be curious to know what, like, the Jets players watching that thought. And I'm sure we'll hear at some point, you know, what they had to say about watching Eilers. Because, like, Eelers is a really, I love talking to him.

I've told him he should be in TV someday. He's a confident lad. I've never seen that side of him before. Never. No. And I'm sure others may have, but I never have. And I was actually blown away. he reacted like that.

Seeing those players with their families after it's over is, like all those, everybody on the ice, it's one of my highlights of the year to see people celebrate with their families. I just, you know, obviously the bussies, you know, like I said, I actually thought, I decided not to do it, but I actually thought should he get a Kahn-Smith vote? You know, the fact that Brindamore was fearless enough

to make that call and stick with that call. That's a bold, bold call. And I do think the fact that he played goalies so differently than Anderson, you know, you could see Vegas, they were overpassing. Especially towards the end there. And I think, like Stone had that one great chance

and he passed. I think that the combination of the way Bussie plays so aggressively and the fact that I think clearly to me, Carolina knew that that's the way he played and they had to take passes away, I think that Vegas, it was a factor. To me, it absolutely was a factor. I know Tortorella talked to them about it,

like especially on the power play, like just get, as he put it to us, just get it into the mud and see what happens, especially with how active busy is. But, I mean, really, you know, Carolina felt very much in control, even as Vegas was pushing there late in the third. But, you know, Eichol rips that one off the crossbar towards the end. And you just watch that and thought, it's just not meant to be for Vegas here. Like, Bussie and the hurricanes are going to do this thing.

It was really something to watch. Like I said, it was an almost clinical Carolina night that got this. over the finish line for them. So let's talk about Brinnamore for a second. Okay. What do you think here? So have we talked about this on the pod what he said in your interview with him

before the final? No. Not really. So you asked him about how long he wanted to keep doing this, right? You almost introduced in a way of like, are they going to have to drag you off the bench for you to walk away?

And he went almost the complete opposite direction. I was surprised, by the way. That one also caught me by surprise. He said he's on borrowed time, that he knew he wasn't going to do this forever. And we've talked about this that we can't, couldn't picture him coaching anywhere other than, like he's a hurricane more than he's a head coach in the NHL.

And his sole purpose of taking this job was to AI change how people felt about the organization in the market, but do this, what they're enjoying all through the night here on Sunday. and into Monday and the whole summer being a champion again. He did it 20 years ago

and he wanted that again for the players and the people in the organization. So because of what he said there, I asked him on the ice. I said like, there's no way you're going to stop coaching now, right? And I, like,

you knew even in that moment, whatever he's thinking, in his mind, this is all about the players. He's not going to take any attention away from that. but I don't know the answer his answer was interesting

it again at least opened the door to the countdown being on here Elliot which is incredible to think about like we just talked about his situation as head coach in Carolina there is no other scenario like it in the league yes

it's going to be interesting there because it was almost like he looked at you and he sees you as like a younger British Columbia soul, right? You're a little rottie to him. I don't know about that. You're a little roddy. Oh, my gosh.

And he didn't want to mislead anyone, but he didn't want today to be about him. But it's clear that he's got a decision to make. And only. one that's what his own feeling. I can't imagine anyone else in the organization is thinking, well, maybe it's time we move on for Viam here. No, no, no, no, no chance.

Right. No chance. This is purely his call and we'll see where it goes. I almost think it's a little bit unfair to discuss it right now, but you can tell that we're going to need some clarity at some point in time as to is there any chance now is the time. But I wanted to shout out Bob Gorman, who's their longtime equipment manager.

And so your buddy, the goalie, George Alves, got promoted last year, and he does a fantastic job. Bob Gorman's been there a long time, and he retired last year. He was on the ice. He was talking to Brett Hedekin, who was at the game,

and so was Ray Whitney, very proud of the hurricanes. Yeah. But he was talking to Brett. Eddickon and I happened to walk by just to wish them congratulations and he said that he actually he retired last year and they announced it but he said he meant in to tell Brindamore and Brindamore told him you're not retiring. You're not allowed. And he said, okay. He said he said two minutes after I went in to tell Brindamore I was back for another season. But he was able to

reduce his travel if he wanted and he was able to call his own out. hours. And now he said, this is my last game. So I wanted to shout out Bob and say congratulations for going out on a total, total high. And also, we should mention, even though they're down to nothing, the H.L. Wolves are in the Calder Cubs final against the Marleys. Marley's up to Zip. Captain by Josiah Slavin. Captain by Josiah Slavin with Skylar Brindamore. Yes. And Rod basically admitted. like, that's not a priority for me right now. He's like, not watching those games too closely. There's a few people in the world whose son could be playing in the Calder Cup final and things going to go on. I've got bigger things to worry about.

It's actually quite an amazing story. I was talking to someone about this. Like the hurricanes and the wolves, it has not been an easy marriage. It has been a very volatile marriage. And it's kind of amazing that they're in the final considering all the back. that those two sides have had between them. But it's another example of their success right now. So Kyle, another guy that Carolina found.

And one of the things I think Carolina is good at, and this goes with the whole diversity of thought thing, is that they think a lot about what a guy can do instead of what a guy can't do. And one of the examples I'll think about there is Gostasper. And so they bring Gostisper back. And, you know, like every player, he has his strengths and his weaknesses. But Carolina looks at him and says, we're going to get him and we're going to let him play to his strengths, which is power play.

And on the off day between game five and six, the second off day, the Saturday, I was in the Vegas room and I asked Riley Smith, like what, and he, and at that, time he said he didn't know if he was playing or not but i said just watching what do you see is the difference in the series and he said there's only one difference and i go yeah what's that and he goes power play they're scoring and we're not they got the two goals and then i i asked i said okay thanks i asked someone else like it was lozahn and i said you know they're you're a penalty killer they're scoring, you know, what's the difference? And he said it's two guys. He says it's stall and it's goth despair.

He says everything stall is touching right now is going in the net. Everything. He's like basically got an all-time heater. But remember when we talked about the gosh despair passed to Jarvis that won team two in the overtime? He said that not only are Gostisbear's head fakes incredible, he says that stall is such a pain in the butt in front of the net that heart can't even see what Gostis is doing. So it's like he can't see Gostisperer and he's faking us out.

And it's just an example of, okay, are there things Gostisperer can't do? Yeah. But you know what? There's something he's really good at and it helped them win a Stanley Cup. Anything else do you want to talk about hurricanes-wise here? I'll just say quickly, Elliot. You know, I remember first meeting, Andrei Svetnikov is his rookie year in Carolina.

You know, at that point, his English had come a long way, but still, you know, nowhere near what it is now, the amount of years he's lived in North America. I just, he's a story. He's a guy I've just got a lot of time for. You know, him and his brother, Evgeny, their family didn't come from much growing up in Russia. But it was just neat being able to speak to him after the game.

And he talked about just the big embrace he had with his parents, of course, but also his older brother and just yelling at him like, we did it, we did it. I mean, there's so many examples of that when you get to this moment and players get to share it with their family. But that's always, and Craig mentioned it on the air. It's a big takeaway when we get a chance to talk to them right away. after it's all over, Elliot, it's that it's not even that they're talking about that they've won, it's that like the family has won, you know, like that's their, their mind goes right away.

And, you know, so I was happy for for Svetikov and just wanted to shout out to just that. You really like that guy, eh? He's an easy guy to like, you know. Yeah. He's very friendly, very polite and, you know, a great player and just an engaging personality. They got a lot of likable people. They got a lot of people on that team that turn into animals on the ice, like really nice. Like Jordan Stahl, really decent person, animal on the ice.

Aho, Sleven, Martinuk. Martinuk, Eric Robinson, quiet guy. Yeah. Jalen Chatfield. Jalen Chatfield. Quiet guy. Great story. Like a lot of guys who really.

On the ice, they're dogs. I want to talk about Vegas for a second? Yes. So they ran out of gas. It was pretty clear. And no excuses, they got beat. They ran out of gas. And the guy saw it the most on was Shea Theodore.

I think this, I think this series turned when he, it was clear to me that after about game three, he was on fumes. and I just think the series turned when that occurred. I have to tell you that if Vegas had won, Theodore would have been very high on my consmite ballot. I thought he had an incredible playoff. I gained even more respect for Braden McNabb. I think what he did, you know, the other thing, too, is, Kyle, I don't think he got credit for a shot block.

on the play that broke his face. How? Because the puck wasn't going on that. Now, I admit, I am doing this without checking, okay? So I could be totally wrong about guys. Add it to the list.

I know you guys are listening, what is he talking about? Someone, I'm tired, it's late. Somebody told me he didn't get a shot block, and I asked him if that was true. And he said, yes, he heard it was, because the puck was going over the net. This has become a big scandal in gambling circles

about shots being taken down because they're not going in. So I guess it affects shot blocks too. I just, I told McNabb, I said, I have a ton of respect for what he did. The one thing I'll say about Vegas is they will be sour about this. some teams they go this far and they're like what can we do we give it everything we had we just got beat that's not the way these guys are wired they will be sour about it it will taste like the bitterest black licorice to them and they will they'll do what they can to address what they think their weaknesses are and get better and and the thing about this and i was talking about

about this was someone in the off, one of the off days during the cup final, the biggest weapon that Vegas has going for them is that guys want to play for them. And, you know, if one of these players who's available this off-season says, I want to go to Vegas, and they decide they want them,

then they'll move heaven and earth to get them. Are you suggesting a podcast? possible reunion of sorts. Which reunion you're talking about? Alex Tuck. I actually wasn't talking about Alex Tuck. But like, for example, if they wanted Alex Tuck and they thought he would help them and was what they needed, they'll move, they'll jettison what they need off their roster to do it. Like, it's interesting.

I was talking to one guy here and we were talking about Vegas and he loves playing here. and he said that players here understand the way it works. They're like, you come here, the organization is great. It takes great care of you. It's a great place to live. It's a great place to play. You're treated first class, but you know what they've learned is, there's an expiration date.

And you understand that. eyes are open, that if it comes to a day where Vegas says, we've got to move on, they'll move on from you. But the tradeoff is while you're here, you're a contender every year, they do what they can to win, everything they can to win, you're treated first class, and it's a great place to live. So that's the tradeoff. And the other thing is, they know that good players want to play for them.

So, you know, the thing I'm looking at here is, okay, they lost. What's that move going to be for them? You know, obviously there was a lot about Carter Hart and their decision not to switch from them. I never would have believed that this would have happened three years ago, but unfortunately they just, I asked somebody, why not make the change? Why not go from Hart to Hill? Because Hart had a statistically nightmare Stanley Cup final. And that first goal, a hall, it went in a place.

It just can't go. And they told me that the Golden Knights just lost faith in Hill. He just had a really rough year, and they didn't believe he was the solution now. They just didn't have the faith in them. and like I said Kyle three years ago I never would have believed that that would be possible a year ago he was on Canada's four nations team and this year he got hurt it was as much injury as anything else but for whatever reason they just didn't have the belief that he could do it and that's why they never made the change torterella as he said in our interview with them they told him he's a coach till June 30th we'll see what they do do do that's He said he's anxious to see what happens. He said that? Yes.

Well, I mean, look, like, someone's going to hire that guy. He just did an incredible job. Now, the belief here is that they're going to hire Ryan Craig, who was their coach at H.L. Henderson. But they've got John Stevens here, who's been a head coach. They've got Dom Dusharm here, who's been a head coach. And, you know, on the Saturday, the practice.

You know who ran it? Joel Ward. Right. Okay. And like who called them, like Torrell and go on the ice. Who called them together to start practice

and give the direction? Ward. And you could see like he commanded their respect. I was really interested in watching it. And by the way, it's been a long time

since I've gone to a practice in Vegas. They got a good atmosphere here. There's a DJ outside. The practice facility, that was good vibe. Mm-hmm. And the fans, whenever a player comes on the ice, they cheer for them was electric

environment. I really liked it. Yeah, all the signs along the glass. All the signs along the glass. And at the end of the game, like I saw Lozahn, he signed autographs outside for probably about five to ten minutes. I don't think he was the only one. I think Aidan Hill did too, actually.

And anyway, Ward, like you could see, like, the players. had respect for Ward and the way so they've got people here now a lot of people seem to think it's going to be Ryan Craig but you know with Tortorella there's there's two teams that have coaching openings right now you know Edmonton we'll talk about that in a couple minutes but so does Toronto and I'd be curious to see if Vegas doesn't keep them would there be any chance Toronto would think about it or Edmonton Well, there was something about the way the room was ran in Vegas that really appealed to Tortorella

because he continued to reference it. He did it after the game. Yeah, I just wonder, is he's talked about he wants to coach, but it felt like the way things were here was a perfect situation for him. Like it brought out all the best traits in him as a coach in terms of how he was able to handle this group that it was more so

kind of guiding and reinforcing as opposed to as much teaching as he would have done in previous stops before here. So we'll see. We'll see where this all goes with Tortorella. And there's no question the Carlson injury changed a bunch in terms of their depth.

And again, you need a lot of good fortune to go your way if you're going to win 16, times in the playoffs. The fact that Carolina didn't have much injury issue. I mean, you mentioned Anderson dealing with a bit of a knee issue, but the fact that injuries wasn't a big part of their storyline at all, in the grand scheme of things, very healthy, played a huge role in their ability to just roll through and only lose three times on route to a Stanley Cup.

A couple things. Number one, I wanted to show to it out. a Golden Knights fan from Minnesota named Shelley who before the game became the second person to present you with a Kit Kat

and me not with a dairy milk this time but a Twix which I also named is one of my favorite chocolate bars. She was wearing Yeah, we are spoiled we have great listeners. She was wearing a William Carlson

jersey and very kind of you, Shelly. Thank you very much. Yes. You know, there's some people on social media and one NHL executive who were like, you know you've got a big hole in your haircut. You people think that I don't know, I've been going bald for 15 years. And people are like, you know, maybe you should just go full messier or full amber. Or people are like, here's where you can go to get a hair transplant.

I have come to grips with all my faults of my human skeleton. And I would love to go right down to the wood, but the boss at home is against it. So if you got a problem with my haircut, take it up with her. Because I would like to shave it all off. I've given up hope. I know I'm going in that direction. but she's like, no. You and Lord Stanley

shining late into the Vegas night. And by the way, I'm coming home Monday, get your boyfriend out of the house. Yes, we cannot go any further without getting that annual line mixed into here. Looking forward to seeing Dan Berkeley? I've had one night at home since we left for the playoffs April 17.

So you didn't even get home. Oh, because the first round was also seven games, right? Yeah. So they came for a couple days in the second round in Montreal. Yeah. But I had one night at home since the playoffs started, which is all good. It's the gig. It's the life we chose. But yeah, can't wait. Can't wait. I don't know about a boyfriend yet, though. Still early on. Give it a few years, and I'll be right there with you. Kyle, get them out. It's best you don't know.

Okay. Well, with that, why don't we get to the final thought, which is brought to you by your Canadian Toyota dealers. And for this episode and this episode only, the final thought is, well, we pretty well have no more thoughts. Yeah, this one, so, you know, someone said to me the moment, the moment the Stanley Cup final landed and I tweeted out that the Carolina had won along with the other billion people who tweeted out to Carolina One, they wrote, enough of this.

Let's get on with the trades. So, it's like, okay. So nothing right now. We'll grind away this week. It's time to really start grinding. We're going to go back. The next part will be Friday. We'll get back on our regular schedule.

And, you know, I'll get to work this week. No real news today. on this one. There'll be some news during the week. I'll be working. What do we know? There's a trade request, Larkin. There's a trade request.

Nurse. There's a lot of noise around, Hello, Buck. And, you know, I'll tell you one thing, Kyle, about an hour after Mark Specter and I reported the nurse last week, I got a call from an NHL executive who was furious at me. And I said, really? And he said, just let me vent.

And I said, okay, vent. And he said, nobody can do business. We want to do our business privately. We want to get stuff done and this is all getting out. And, you know, I think that everybody knows out there there's other situations we're watching. But I think people are determined to try and keep it as quiet as they can. even though I think we have our suspicions of what's going on out there, they are still fighting to keep this stuff behind closed doors or in a vault as much as they can. Because they've seen the challenge of doing it after it gets out, right? So like I said, I think there's a lot bubbling under the surface.

I think the NHL, they didn't like how the Babcock stuff was being dealt with during the cup finally. I didn't like that noise. We'll see where that goes. And I just think this is going to be a real interesting week. Board of Governors next Tuesday the 23rd. I think it is. Then draft that week, July 1st.

It's going to be a lot going on. Okay. Best to just give a couple days. To reset. Let me breathe. Reset. And regrind. The regrind.

Still to come. That was the final thought brought to you by your Canadian Toyota dealers. And with that, we will take our first break. When we come back, a brand new edition of the thought line. 32 thoughts. The podcast continues after this. Okay, welcome back, everybody. It is time now for the thought line presented by BetMGM, Make It Legendary.

And so on Friday, Elliot, we traveled back here to Vegas. And you and Eric Francis were kind enough to extend an invitation to me to tag along to Sphere on Friday night to see no doubt. Live and in the flesh. Tremendous show. Gwen Stefani very much has still got it. It was an awesome time. The whole spectacle was very, very neat. And one of the neat things that she does,

throughout the set after every few songs is she kind of looks out onto the floor and picks out, you know, fans that have creative signs that they brought or just signs that she thinks are great. And she goes, come on the stage. Come on up here. Come get a hug. Come get a hug. So all these fans are coming up and she's reading the signs out loud. And she brings them up and, you know, it gets a hug in and the photos and everything.

And at one point I turned to you, I was like, this feels like thoughts on the thought line. with you, your whole rundown of showdowns. And the look on your face, it's like you were waiting for me to say something because you were thinking the same thing. I don't know if I would agree with that, but when you said it, it kicked in. Okay. It was, I couldn't help but my mind wandering there. So that said.

As you know, in those moments, my mind is completely blank. It's a canvas. I'm not thinking of anything. I am a total airhead. So when you said it, I said, you know what, that's pretty good. Kyle's right about that. I wish I would have thought about it. Yes, yeah, yeah.

You were just letting the whole show wash over you. So with that said, surely you've got some notes that get off your chest here. Yes. So, Kyle, first of all, I'd like to start by thanking the listeners, and there are about five of them who sent me a link. Do you know what was 40 years ago last week? Oh, you know what? I think I got tagged in one of them. That's the only reason I know.

Is this the Triple Lindy? The revelation of the Triple Lindy back to school was released 40 years ago last week. And yes, I did have some people who saw the tweet about it and linked it to me and obviously to you too. So I wanted to thank those people. I watched the scene and a couple other scenes from the movie. It was hilarious. I do have a few shoutouts. I don't know what was going on with me this week.

I normally I write these shutouts down on my phone on a notes page. And for some reason, these ones were borderline intelligible. Normally I try to write down the names and a quick story of who they are. I have no idea what I was thinking. I had either a brain freeze or I was at no doubt the whole week because these messages are unintelligible. So I wanted to mention Ryan, Braden and Cassie. from Vancouver. There was another member of their party

who asked me not to say his name. And I was like, okay, no problem. And I guess 15 years ago, a promise was made to them that if Carolina would make the Stanley Cup final, they would get to go. So game five was the promise was delivered. That is somebody who I'd be happy to make a promise with

because they keep their word. There was a couple people from Toronto. was Arlene. I think the other was Savion. Again, I don't know what I'm writing down here. Leo Gregg Anyani from Winnipeg. They moved to Raleigh. There was a Christie. There was Anthony who flew from Alaska to be at Game 5. He anchored Chicago Raleigh. And it was the second time in the playoffs. He said he did it. I met Casey Dittsell, who was the broadcaster for the Hurricanes ECHL affiliate. He was at Game 5.

Casey, good luck in your career. You can take Kyle's job, but you can't take mine. Tom from Boston, who listens to the pod on long drives. I just want to see if you were listening. So one of the original misfits from Vegas is Ryan Carpenter. He's still playing. He just turned 35 in January.

And he played last year for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League, got a good year too. He had 17 goals and 48 points. His brother, Chris, was at the game and game five. But he mentioned to me that Ryan was still going. And that's about it. Those are my shoutouts. And I'm sure we'll have some from the game that's being played, game six, that we'll get to on the next pod. Chris Carpenter, but not the baseball player. Not the baseball.

I know Chris Carpenter to his face because I covered him. So I would have recognized him. No, it's a different. It's Ryan Carpenter's brother, Chris. Okay. All right. Good. I had to show that I was still listening.

Yes. Good listening. All right. So we're going to start this edition's batch with Morgan from Calgary. Hi, Kyle, Elliot, and Dom. Huge fan of the pod. Love listening to all the episodes you put together throughout the playoffs. But I've been in a.

mental spiral ever since the Elliott nail clipping conversation, and I need to ask a follow-up question for my own well-being. Okay. Elliot, when you're clipping your nails in the car, do your nail clippers have a catcher on them so the clippings don't go everywhere, or are your clippings ending up all loosey on the floor and seat? Do you clean them up at some point? I just can't wrap my head around this.

thanks in advance for the clarification and for all the great work. I can't imagine one is the only one thinking this, and I don't know. So, Morgan, it doesn't... Yeah, I'll tell you the answer. It's not that bad. I don't have a catcher on it, but I clean them up right away. I always... First of all, I don't do it while I'm driving.

I only do it while I'm stopped. And if one gets to a place where I can't reach it, I just get it. when I arrive at my destination. I feel you're creating more work. There is a trash can at work with a lot of my nail clippings in it. Oh my gosh. He did not need to include that part. Oh, gosh.

That is up there with some of the words. I am not a barbarian. Well, I think that only half proves that. I don't know if it gives you the full clearance you're looking for. Okay, next from Cooper. Hey, Kyle and Elliot. My question is, when a player with a signing bonus is paid that money and then they are traded, does the signing bonus count towards the cap for the upcoming season?

For example, Darnell Nurse has a $6 million signing bonus July 1st. The Oilers pay them that, then trade them. The 9.25 cap hit would be moved, but the $6 million signing bonus would count towards the oilers projected cap space. Would this affect the accrued cap at the trade deadline and potentially prevent Edmonton from making deals? How does this all work? Thanks, guys. Keep it going. Well, first of all, I do want to correct one thing. It's a similar kind of mistake I made about Eric Carlson. So Darnell Nurse has not due a $6 million bonus on the 1st of July. I believe his is like Carlson's in that it's split up into three $2 million payments.

And I believe nurses are all during the season. I think Carlson has $2 million on July 1st and then two other $2 million payments during the season. But don't quote me exactly on that. In both cases, it's $3, $2 million payments. So just so everybody knows and don't feel shame or anything. like that. These kinds of things are generally kept pretty quiet and you have to dig to figure them out. Basically, the way it works is he's got the cap hit of 925.

It doesn't matter when the bonuses are paid. It simply matters what the cap hit is July 1st to June 30th of the 26, 27 season. And if the Oilers end up paying 100% or if the new team takes 100% of the contract, everything counts. If the Oilers keep, say, 25% or 20% and it's 20 to 25 on the Oilers and 75 to 80 on the other team. It simply matters what percentage of cap hit is traded. And that's all that it's determined by not by when the bonuses are paid. But when the bonuses are paid, all that determines is who pays them because you're on the team's roster at the time.

Great. Okay. we've got a few more here. Brian from Atlanta. Greetings Kyle, Dom, and Stank 2.0. I have a question for the show, but first, I wanted to share a storyline regarding Carolina that you might appreciate. While hosting friends for Game 5 back on Thursday, I was gifted a vintage Ron Francis Hartford Whalers trading card. Although I initially thought that was the good luck charm that helps secure the win. I realized during the first intermission that another friend was wearing a raccoon Mountain Tennessee t-shirt. I am now convinced that was the true difference maker in the game.

Regarding my question, I've noticed that the leadership letters, the C and the A, are placed on the right side of the player's sweaters for home games, but on the left side for away games for the hurricanes. Do you have any insight into why this differs? Love the pod. Appreciate you start. and end my week on a high note. Keep up the great work and enjoy the summer break. Show. Well, Brian, first of all, thank you very much. I believe it simply depends on which logo they're using, Kyle, right? Because one allows them to put it on the left side and one doesn't have enough room.

Like, I'm looking at the pictures right now and that new two flag one they have because of where the stick is, it doesn't fit on the left. Is that correct? Yeah, that's my understanding. It simply comes down to fit. I think that's why Detroit, for a lot of years now, I've had the letters on the opposite side than what traditionally is because of how the winged wheel kind of ramps up the front of the sweater on that corner. So there's more room on the opposite side. For a long time, Kyle, and this will predate you, I always thought that that, I always tied that, in with the old Soviet Union because the old Soviet teams, first of all, they had a K for captain in their language as opposed to the sea. And also, they were always on the left side of the

Jersey when you faced at it. And it was so weird as a North American knowing the seas were always on the right side when you were facing at them. It was just another reason that they were different. By the way, I looked up Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Campground, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Sorry, Chattanooga, but if you name something after a raccoon, I am not visiting. Yeah. Down one potential guest. Yes. How will they recoup?

You've just lost my business. How will they survive? Yes. And then, of course, right. And with the road sweaters that the hurricanes have been wearing, it's been their traditional hurricanes logo and thus leaving more than enough room to have the CNA and the more traditional spot on the jersey. So that's, that is the difference.

That is why, Brian, that is very, very observant of you. Very impressive. All right. Last one here. Eric from Moncton, Ontario. Good day, gentlemen. I'm Eric. Hi, Eric.

I'm Eric from Mugton, Ontario, and a huge Hurricanes fan. Congrats to you. With all these great stats and now history, with Rod the Bod winning as captain and head coach of the same team, there is one I think is being overlooked. Jordan Stahl winning a cup of the Hurricanes, unless we forget, Eric, won in 2006 alongside Rod. So my question for you, or the big brain at SportsNet stats is, How many times has the cup been won by siblings of the same team but not together? Or is this a first?

Ooh, thanks for making my drives between Perth County and Muscoca a treat. What a great drive that is. And go, Cains Go. So. Has it happened before? Yes. How recently? This is a long time ago.

Okay. One should come to you quite easily. I hate when you say things like that to me. It's like the, now you're double clutching. Now I am double clutching. Brothers. Won the cup. Now, and this one, I shouldn't say it's a caveat,

because they won together, but they also won separate. Oh, the Richard. Thank you. Yeah, okay. So that's one. Yeah. And there's one other set of brothers. That actually took me too long to get.

That's not good. There's one other set of brothers that have done it. Again, long. time ago. Is it before the Richards or after? Before. Yeah, before. But close.

Close. Before but close. It's not the Bentley's, is it? No. It's not the Clegghorns, is it? No. What team? Spring?

Toronto. It's not the Mets Brothers, is it? Who am I missing here? Did the Mahaologists never do it with Montreal? It's not listed here. Oh, they probably went together. That's why. what years would this be 1932

1945 I'm going to kick myself when I don't hear this when I don't figure this out who is it busher and Art Jackson uh you know what I actually I actually didn't

I would never have gotten it I completely forgot I've completely forgot about Art Jackson Busher Jackson, yes, because he was a member of the famous kid line. I wasn't getting it. Yeah. I wasn't getting it. Totally fair.

But kind of neat. That was great question. Join the Jackson's and the Richards in that category. So yes, overlooked no more, Eric. Appreciate you sending that one in. Okay, that was the thought line presented by BedmGM, make it legendary. You can submit your own 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca to send an email, or you can leave a voicemail at 1-833-3-3-1-3-1-32.

Back to wrap, our final playoff edition of 32 Thoughts, the podcast on the other side. So that'll about do it. I have to say, it feels weird not finding whatever the next game is going to be to tee up the start times of the pregame show and everything. It's going to be a while before we get to do that again. but we're not going anywhere just yet. The offseason is now officially underway.

However, as you heard Elliot say earlier in the pod, we will be back to regularly scheduled programming Friday morning as he digs into more news around the league. Friday morning, of course, will be one week until the 2026 NHL draft in Buffalo. We will all be on hand for that as well. So plenty to look forward to still between now and the beginning. beginning of free agency and the offseason into the month of July. It's been a heck of a run throughout these last two months of the playoffs,

but it was all so worth it of following along round to round. We appreciate each and every one of you that took the time to listen to us, from late-night recordings to barely even being able to put a sentence together as everything added up. We're grateful for every moment along the way. So have yourself a great start to the week and a great few days. We will talk to you again on Friday.