32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Stank Friedman

Episode Date: May 4, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman being with the Canadiens outlasting the Lightning to advance to the second round. They look ahead to Buffalo-Montreal in the second round (17:46). They talk about Game 1 between Colorado and Minnesota (26:30). They break down the Oilers' shortcomings (34:00) and analyze the outlook for the Boston Bruins (44:00) before unpacking where Utah is headed (49:00). Kyle and Elliotte delve into the Leafs hiring Chayka and Sundin to lead their Hockey Ops (52:11). The fellas share the latest in Vancouver's front office search (1:02:15). Elliotte opines about Mike Gillis (1:04:30) before talking about the Holloway extension in St. Louis (1:09:10).  Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and comments in The Thought Line (1:12:20). The guys touch on Game 1 Flyers vs Hurricanes (1:32:58) before delving into Ducks-Golden Knights (1:36:56). Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here. Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail. This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

You know, there's a lot of things I can put up with in my life, but if my nickname was Stank, I don't know that I could put up with that so easily. Anyway, Stake Friedman. That's going to stick now. These people are going to be calling me Stank. Stank Friedman. To the good people of Buffalo, when you see Elliot this week,

he's Stank Friedman now. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the 100% electric BZ. Available now during Red Tag days. Hope you're having a great start to your Monday. Drum Traumati, Elliot Friedman, Kyle Bacoskis back with you. The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is done. The second round is underway.

We had one game seven in the opening round, Elliot, and it was on Sunday night in Tampa, and Martin St. Louis said it was meant to be for his group to play in a game seven, and it sure felt like maybe, it was in fact meant to be for Montreal on Sunday. Four shots on goal in the first, none in the second, five in the third for a grand total of nine, also the amount of goals Colorado scored Sunday.

We'll get to that game in a bit. Somehow that was enough for Montreal. And on the back of 28 saves from rookie Jacob Dobish, the Canadians, the lone Canadian team standing. They knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning and our. through to round two. What was most impressive for you watching that or maybe most mind-boggling on Sunday?

Well, Dolbush was the most impressive thing, right? By a mile. He was their best player on a night where they needed him to be their best player. It really is amazing. And I saw that John Cooper and Brandon Hagle were both asked about it, Kyle. But as we were watching the game,

we were thinking about Milan, just a night where their team was dominant. dominating play and they couldn't beat a hot goalie, just like Connor Hallibuck back in February. It was dobbish in this game on Sunday night. It's eerie how much the similarities were. And of course, obviously the gold medal game at the Olympics is a much bigger stage. But this was a game that was similar. It was winner you're done. You're out. And he was the best player on the ice. So I thought your post game is, was interview with him was excellent, where he talked about playing every game like it's a game seven.

In some ways, Kyle, that explained to me how emotional he is. Because if you treat every game like that, you're bound to have moments where the pressure gets to you in game 26 of the season. if that is your true approach and you treat game 26 like a game seven of the playoffs, you are going to have the highs and lows that he has. But clearly in his own head, Kyle, because I looked it up. I asked SportsNet stats to look it up, Steve Fallon. Like, what's the biggest game he's played before this?

And Fallon came up when he was in Ohio State that he played two games to get into the Frozen Four. and they won the first one eight to one, and they lost the second one to Quinnipiac, which eventually won the national championship four to one. And you'd look at it, and you'd say there is no chance that you can compare those two games to what we just saw in this series, and you're right.

But in theory, and I believe life is all about mindset, all about mindset. In theory, if you're playing every game like it's a game, seven, you've played that game a thousand times. And think about it, Kyle. He, Vasilewski gave up two goals in game six and seven and lost the series. Dobish beat him.

Dobish beat a guy who was going to the Hall of Fame and he beat him head to head. It's incredible. Your interview with him was great in the postgame. You were there. What did you see tonight? What stood out to you that you saw in? person. So I was told just before the game, because obviously I didn't see this, but someone with

the Canadians just said, like, you would not believe sitting in their banquet room, if you want to call it, their team hotel, because they didn't come to the rink Sunday morning, but sitting there, the team having lunch, he's like, you would be amazed of just how relaxed, how loose. That was the energy around the players leading into this game seven. And we've seen it all behind the scenes on the ice, you name it. Like that's kind of how they've carried themselves as whole series. They're the youngest team in the playoffs as we've touched on.

And this person just said like it looked like a group of teenagers, like away at a hockey tournament, just enjoying everything that was. Were they playing mini sticks in the hotel hallways? It sounded like it was short of mini sticks in the hallways. It was like everything else but that. Now, of course, that doesn't. guarantee anything. But it again speaks to A, like how they very much felt

they belonged and could win a game like the one on Sunday and how this group feels about each other. And so that was one thing going in where you thought all right, you know, a good amount of Canadians fans

again traveled down or were already down there and came to the game. I have to say, like it's, and it is jarring for the long longest time, Tampa could not lose at home in the playoffs, and they were almost unbeatable in overtime in the playoffs. Now, didn't need overtime on Sunday. But the way that script has slipped over the last few years, and it's no secret or no surprise, it's coincided with now

four straight first round exits in a row for the lightning that, you know, for years, and I've always said and continue to say, I love doing games down here. I love the building. I love the game ops. I love the presentation. The fans are all into it. But for a number of years, you come and do a playoff game there, like, that was a crowd that looked at his team and thought, we're never in trouble. Like, we're always going to figure it out. And up until, you know, Dominic James scores to tie the game there for the time being in the second period, like that was a crowd that was gone, oh man, are we headed for a another first round exit. Is this another season where we were great and among the best for 82?

And it doesn't go beyond the first round. You know, it felt that way in that building. You know a difference behind a crowd that's going, no matter what we're going to be fine and one that's nervous. And they were a little nervous here on Sunday. Got loud for a while and then, you know, the Alex Newhook bounced and suddenly you could feel the tension all over again. So, well, I know, we'll get to the Tampa side in a little bit.

But that was kind of what I felt throughout the night, Elliot, and with Dobish, too, whether it's, there's truth to it, or it's just manufactured in its own mind. Like, clearly in his brain this year, he felt that there was doubt out there of, like, this guy can't do it. This guy can't be the starting goalie for the Canadians. This guy can't.

Nobody doubting him anymore. No, but it's clearly fueled them. Like, I think it all plays into, like, every game's a game seven, every game I'm playing for the next start. It's, it's worked. It's very impressive. Young group that handled, game seven that was probably, that was the most Tampa dominated of any of the games of this series. But, you know, Montreal never crumbled all series. You know, I have to say this too.

Like, even though they got dominated, they got outshot by 20 and only got nine, I never thought Kyle they were panicked. No, exactly. I never felt like they were panicked. Even at the end of regulation, when Matheson took that puck over glass penalty, I never thought they were panicked. And Kevin showed one great highlight

when Hegel made that great save off Slavkovsky, an incredible play, really, to prevent the empty netter. Suzuki, like the players are like, ah, on the bench, and Suzuki just sits down calmly. And he's like, got a shift. And then he goes and blocks the shot at the end of the game that clinches the victory. So even though they were dominated, I never felt they were panicked. And I also believed

that the hockey gods were in their favor because they had two icings that never happened. One hit Slavkovsky's broken stick and the other just died short of the goal line in some snow or something like that. And when I saw those two plays late in the game that Tampa didn't get obvious face-offs. Like they were both the right calls, no icings. But the fact that they didn't happen, I was like, Montreal's got a shot to win this game. Like it might actually happen.

You know, I did want to shout out somebody who you didn't see at the game, Kyle. And that is Renault-Levoix, our French ami. Yes. Our French friend from TVA who's under the weather and not working. Yeah. And, you know, we'll see if when he returns, and I look forward to seeing him again at games, whenever that is,

I told Renaud, I spoke to him on Sunday and he sounded great, and I told him that there's two reasons he got ill at this time of the year. Number one, because he's a Yankees fan, and number two because he has horrible urinal etiquette. And number three, he's a Bears fan? Well, you know why? Like, I look at it this way. Like, there's no, in Canada, we don't have an NFL team, so you pick your team, however.

Like, I love the Vikings. He loves the Bears. I hate the Bears, but I'm not going to get upset at him for picking the Bears because everybody's got to pick somebody, right? But the Yankees is terrible. That's total frontrunner move. and like we said at the G.I. meetings in Florida,

he doesn't understand that there's a way you pick which urinal you go to. So, Renaud, that's why you're under the weather. And if you fix those two things, I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine. All right. Hold on. I'm just going to add on that.

It was they had him for the rights holders chat. We did before the game with Martin St. Louis. They had Renault there on FaceTime. So it was great to see him. Oh, nice. Okay, that's really good. Good, good for Martin San Luis and good for the Canadians. I heard they were excellent for him the other day when he wasn't feeling well. Okay, so what do you want to do first? You want to do Tampa? You want to do quickly go over the Buffalo series? Well, let's let's talk a little Tampa here because I think again, this is one you could chalk up to, Elliot. It's not when you lose, but who you lose to. I think Montreal is a hell of a team here. and it should I think and cuthbert was saying afterwards you know what what was the season series for them in buffalo I think it was two wins a piece and 14 goals total so like do we have seven more games being decided by a goal in the second round but it's it's one of those yeah is it is it when you lose or who you lose to for Tampa the problem is now the trend is four straight years yeah and but you know as as Cooper said afterwards like he felt this this group was

was different. They did everything that the organization, the coaching staff asked of them. I think there's been some really nice stories in terms of players that have gone through their system, whether spending some time in the American League, a late-round draft pick, or just finding guys in free agency that can now help them.

Like we saw Dominic James score a couple goals this series. Gonzalez was the hero in game number six. It's too bad. Charlotte-Eward Das-Du got hurt in game one that he wasn't part of the series for more of the games. But I'm curious where Tampa goes here and what Julian Breezo is thinking

because for the whole argument of, this was a great team that did a lot of good things during the regular season. Unfortunately, they've got a bit of a pattern here. What do you think? I think that Julian Brisewa, who is as fierce a competitor as there is, and John Cooper, who is as fierce a competitor,

competitors there is, we'll look at it and say it's been too much of the first round. Even though, yes, I generally believe it's not when you lose, it's who you lose to. I think those guys will look at it differently. I think they'll say it's been four years in a row and we're sick of it. I think a couple of things. Number one, I heard this year that Tampa at the deadline had some things that didn't happen. And I think there was a move,

I heard that there was a move they were going to make with somebody on their current roster, not a big player, but a player, not one of their top guys, but a player who's on the roster, who was going to go out, but only if they got something else done. And I'm not 100%

sure what that something else is, but I have some theories. And, but what they were going to do was they were going to add a center, a center who could take some of the offensive heat off point. And, you know,

point is a great player, but he's been banged up a lot lately. Kyle. Yeah, he was not 100%. Yes. And, and, close. And I look at it and I say,

I just wonder if they're thinking we have to ease some of the load on him. You know, he's a competitor. He's, you ask him to do something, he's going to do it, no complaint. I never question his effort or his attitude. But, you know, you look at them down the middle, it's point, it's Sorrelli, it's Gord, it's James. And as you pointed out, James played really well. but I think they feel they needed some offense there. And I just think that when point struggles or point is hurting as he was in the series,

I think their offense kind of goes like, look, they had a lot of chances and they could have won. But I think you look at it and you say in a series where goals were at a premium, how can we get more goals? and like I can't prove what I think they were trying to do, but it would have made them a lot better. Now, centers are hard to find, and it's the toughest position to go out and get, but if you know them, they will try and do things.

And I just, what I see them going is, is there a way we can ease the burden on point? The other thing here is just headman. Yes. You know, what's his situation? I know that you, you know, I know that he, John Cooper said it was closer. You saw him skating. You obviously didn't play.

You know, again, I have the utmost respect for headman and he deserves to speak when it's his time. But I just think we're all looking for clarity. what is the situation here and what is the future with him in Tampa Bay. And obviously, too, Kyle, Radish, even once or when Headman comes back, whatever you want to say, I think it's fair now to say that Darren Radish's PowerPlay 1 in Tampa. And you know the lightning. If he resigns. Yes, I was getting to that.

You know the lightning. They tend to keep players. And if they can, and you know what, obviously if someone, out they have a line and if someone outbids them they'll go and do something else but you know we'll see that on radish i think if if toronto had still been under the same management i think they would have been a big bit of for radish this year but now we'll see if it's someone else or what happens um but obviously like i think tampa looks at him and says that's a key part of our power play now and he's our he's our guy First time since 2019, Elliot, the Stanley Cup final will not feature a team from the state of Florida.

If you can believe it. No tan for you, Bukascus. No. I never go out, so. That's true. You know what? You know what? So Dave Amber and I are joining this series.

Montreal Buffalo. Yes. You're coming out. Oh We are not going to allow you to sit in your room I'm excited excited to see you guys I can't wait to see which night of this series

You guys knock on my door at 3 a.m. And I'm getting a leaner Like two years ago Yes I knew what you You have to understand I knew what these two idiots were doing And Amber calls me like 14 times

dude answer your door. I know why you're there, and then finally you just do it. Right. Because you want him to stop calling you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was off the heels of something you had done. Like, that was done in retaliation.

We were not looking for trouble. What did I do? What did I do? You got off at your floor and went full on Buddy the elf and just hammered all the other buttons in the elevator to we would stop at every other floor before we got to ours. Most hotels now that doesn't work anymore. That doesn't work anymore.

No, no, you got to do the old swipe card. Yeah. Swipe card and push. But that one you could and you took advantage. Oh, okay, I deserved it. Yeah, good. All right, so Montreal Buffalo. Second round.

Actually, I spoke with friend of the pod Alex Tuck on Sunday. Oh, yeah, what did he have? Oh, yeah, I saw you bugged him on his day off. What are you doing? Well, no, they practice. they're at the ring. Oh, okay. All right, they practiced.

Okay. So his point was, I mean, when we spoke, obviously, didn't know who was going to win game seven yet. But he just thought against Boston, there was not much to do through the neutral zone. And he thinks, he thought then, you know,

whether it's Tampa or Montreal that we see in the next round, he thinks is going to be a little more open space there to create some stuff off the rush. I know credit to Buffalo because, I mean, that's been a big part of their success all year. They managed to adapt against the Bruins. They found a way to be effective in other ways. But, you know, now, you know, maybe they see a chance to open up.

But I don't know. I mean, that was a pretty tightly checked series that the Canadians and Lightning just played. So I'm curious to see how Buffalo goes about trying to game plan against that. So the first thing about this series that we're all going to notice, Kyle, is that last week there was a great viral video of the mic going out and the Sabres fans singing, Oh Canada, which was phenomenal. And it confirms a lot of what I suspect about the world. there's the online existence and there's the real world. And online is full of idiots who do things at their keyboard.

They would never do in real life. And the real world with actual humans are people who are more often than not really decent to each other. And the Canadian fans are a big part of the Sabres. There's a lot of them who go over the border to watch games. And I was not shocked in the least that that's how the Buffalo fans would react. I had zero surprise to that. However, this week, they are going to go from singing the Canadian anthem to killing anybody in a Canadian jersey at this game. This is going to be very different.

I'm so excited for the Canadians and the Sabres because there have been some great, Canadians and Sabres battles in years past. It brings back a lot of old memories. And I think both, I mean, I think both buildings are going to be insane. It's going to be so much fun. I thought I was so impressed with the Sabres against the Bruins because I thought, even though they didn't have a lot of playoff experience, I thought they played very calmly. and I think the Canadians, even though they won,

and even though I generally felt they didn't panic, I really feel that after winning a round now, it's going to do wonders for them. Like I think these are going to be two incredibly confident, calm teams. I think the Sabres believe that they can beat the Canadians, and I think the Canadians believe that they can beat the SAB. Like nobody's coming in here overly intimidated by the other. And I like that.

You know, I think for Buffalo, Lyons on one of his streaks. How long does this streak last? And also, you know, the thing with Lion, too, is, you know, are we going to see a point where, you know, they are going to have to go to somebody else just because he might just punch me in the face when he sees me this week, Kyle. Yeah. I kind of hope he does.

But, you know, you just want, like, if you're a Sabre, you're a Sabres fan, you want to see this keep going. And I wonder about the same thing with Dobish, too. Like, this is just, he's in a hot streak of intense games. And we've already seen situations where teams switch their goalie or take them out for a game or do whatever. We understand we're in a league now where no goal he plays every game anymore. So that's one of the things I'm curious in the series. Does it come to a point? Buffalo's already switched their guy once where they have to do it again.

I think this is going to be an awesome, awesome series. And, you know, Dobson, I think we were all wondering, how would he look in game seven? I don't know, Kyle. It seems pretty clear to me they held him back a couple of days. Like he maybe was able to play game six, but they were up and they said, had weight because at the beginning of the game, both Kevin and Kelly were nervous about going for six with him. And then when they saw the way he was playing, they were like, there's not even a doubt.

The guy was ready to go. So I do wonder if he maybe could have played a couple of days ago. And they were being careful. Yeah. And it's a fair point. Just because all the stuff that Kevin said about, you know, it's one thing to be able to pass. Obviously, we're talking about an hand injury here that Dobson's been dealing with. one thing to be able to shoot, but defending

and being able to grip your stick, to feel confident in those scenarios, to battle all that stuff. I think that's what you'd be most nervous of. So I could see why, if they were looking at, okay, we're in a good place going into game six,

let's just wait. But no, he looked pretty, as Marta St. Louis said, his poise is kind of one of his best assets and how he was going to help the group the most there by inserting them.

and you certainly did see that throughout much of game seven there for Dobson. Not an easy situation to get into, but now, like, what a helpful asset it is for Montreal into round two against Buffalo with a lot of firepower up front for the Sabres, as we know. And lots to think about for Montreal here, starting the first two games on the road again. You know what?

I honestly think this is going to be another seven-game series. I don't think it is going to be as tight as the Tampa one was. Buffalo is still good, but they could play more high-scoring games. I think the Canadians didn't have to score a ton to beat Tampa. I think they are going to have to score to beat Buffalo, and they didn't get a lot five-on-five from their top players offensively. You never have to apologize at this time of year. always survive in advance.

But I think against this team, the Sabres are going to, I mean, the Canadians are going to need it. There are going to be games where you're going to have to outscore Buffalo to win a series. Great point. So that one gets underway Wednesday from Buffalo, the Canadians and Sabres in round number two. Meanwhile, later on Sunday night, and I'll be honest, through all the postgame stuff and that, I didn't see all of this game, but caught what I could of the third period.

but this was a wild one. I mean, talk about a complete polar opposite in terms of game style from Montreal, Tampa, to Colorado, Minnesota. Not even the same sport. Exactly. Nine to six, it finishes. The Avalanche Take Game 1.

I think I saw Jared Bednar in the Post game. Someone was asking, you know, how do you explain that one? He's like, I can't. Which is a great answer. So Colorado out front, it kind of reminded me, Elliot, like remember game one, Battle of Alberta, 2022, that was a wild one that

Calgary ended up winning. Of course, then Edmonton won the next four to win the series. But that was another one where you're like, I don't even know what I'm watching here. It was goals of plenty and defense optional in Denver. There's so much skill on the ice there. There's some of the world's best players on both teams. Like the goals,

like that McKinnon pass to Lekon was ridiculous. The Queen Hughes assist. that made it three to two, ridiculous. McCar's goals, incredible. There's so much skill on the ice here. Cadre was minus four and then he scored. I think we're going to see games like this, Kyle, where even the best players are going to have moments

that look bad and can be embarrassing, and then they can make a play that wins the game. I just think when there's this kind of talent on the ice, that's going to happen to. You're going to be made to look bad from time to time, and the thing is going to be like, okay, I've had 17 rough minutes in this game, and now in my last shift, I'm going to make a play that wins it. I think there's a lot of people in this series that are going to have that happen.

Like, look, Wedgwood gave up six goals and won the game, and nobody's going to care that he gave up six. They're just going to say W. Now, they'll work on Kelly caught something interesting on two of the goals, like Teresenko and Falino. they took him far to his right side and then cut back and scored on his left. You know, Teresenko did the Foresburg, the Peter Forsberg, the postage stamp. And they'll definitely look at that and say, okay, what was Minnesota seeing and how can we fix that?

But generally it's we don't ask how, we ask how many. It'll be interesting to see what Minnesota does in goal. I would go back with Walsett. I would. but if you're ever going to play Gustafson, it's going to be here, right? And especially since after game two, you've got three days off because Minnesota suddenly got the busiest arena in the world. By the way, MVP of this game, Kyle, didn't even play.

It is Michael Russo who walked up to Dave Amber, who was working as the sideline reporter and said, hello, anonymous caller. I wish he would have filmed Amber's reaction. I wish he would have. No lead is safe in this series, none of them at all. And it was just awesome hockey. And I think also, too, another big one could be who gets healthy first. Josh Manson didn't play.

Joel Erick didn't play. And they said that he won't play the first two games. And they're hoping he's back for the third one. I mean, obviously, Macar is banged up. He missed most of the first period, still played 17 minutes. It is funny to me. I scored two unbelievable goals. It is funny to me how much we hide injuries in the playoffs,

and then he's standing up on the bench using the icy hot on his body. Like, it's just, oh, we can't say what he's got here, and he's out there doing it. It's just, you know, those guys said it means it's not a serious injury. which is good. You don't want that, but it is funny how secretive we are. He's out there doing that in front of everybody. I don't know we're going to see 15 goals every game in that series,

but man, we're going to be entertained. It's going to be like that is, you know, whether it's watching two great quarterbacks go at it in the NFL with a whole bunch of great skill players, or it's like Jordan and Johnson going at it with, or Jordan and Bird going at it with too many, with great support players. I mean, pick who your stars are,

but there's a lot of great players in this series that can make a lot of great plays and make a lot of people look bad. Yeah, Hughes, McCar, McKinnon, Natchez, all had three points, Devon Taves, four points in this one. Like, it can't be overstated. Obviously, not having Joel Erickson Eck for game one,

but game two as well. Like, that's significant. I was talking to somebody we were watching Game 6 of Minnesota Vegas the other night. And remember he left the game briefly that night. And they just made the point, like, that may, you know, if you lose him for any extended period, like that's almost, you could make the case that it's a bigger loss

than almost Quinn Hughes. And I'm not comparing, you know, saying one's better than the other, but it's just from the standpoint of how many areas of the game that Erickson Act touches for the watch. in terms of penalty kill, in terms of how he goes about his business in the faceoff dot, in and around the net, you know, defending his own zone, all of those things. Like they just, they don't have another guy like him. So that's, you know, in a series that could end up being a shootout where every bit of defensive detail could make the difference.

That's an early hurdle, I think, for the wild to get over down a game already. and as they say, having to go into a second game on the road without having him as an option. That's a big one for Minnesota. It absolutely is because Colorado's the most loaded team at center in the league. At the beginning of the playoffs, Ross Colton couldn't even play. And he's playing wing now.

I don't know, Kyle, if there's another team in the league where Ross Colton doesn't play. Right, for sure. Yeah, it's Anyway, something to watch here for Minnesota and hopefully for their sake It's not much longer for Ericson Eck beyond Beyond game number two

I will say it was kind of neat seeing the Felino brothers in on a 2-0 short-handed Before Marcus buried it there in game number one I could only would imagine the trash talk if Marcus hadn't scored there. I was a confident move. He knew what he was doing.

Very confident. All right. So game one to Colorado and a wild one, as we say, and that should be a very fun series out in the Western Conference. All right, so we'll get to the other two second round series a little later on in the podcast, but some other things to touch on first, including other teams that have had first round,

sits here, Elliot, and let's begin with the Edmonton Oilers. You know, you wanted to take a few days to decompress to think a little bit about where this is all going to go for Edmonton. We heard from the particulars the other day in Edmonton, and, of course, the quotes from Leon Drysidal have made the rounds over the last few days, how blunt and honest he was, Connor McDavid, as well, and the sense that the organization took a step back. this year. So where would you like to start on how Edmonton turns things around from back to back Stanley Cup final appearances to a season that just never felt like they were able to get any sort of traction and out in round number one? So I have a friend who's a pretty big Oilers fan and he was trying to decide, Kyle, what natural disaster did it feel like being in the middle of reading all those quotes from Drysidal and McDavid? He's like, I can't decide. Was I in a severe earthquake that was off the Richter scale? Was I in the middle of a five-alarm fire?

Like that dog in the meme, this is fine. This is, was I in the middle of a 20-century ice age? Like, he was just like, I can't decide which natural disaster am I living through right now. And, you know, I'll be honest. When it comes to changes, like, around the hospital, hockey office of the coaching staff, I think I need a couple more days to kind of get through there and figure out what they're looking at because I think they're working through it as well. But some of the conversations I had, Kyle, in the aftermath, were not necessarily about the personnel

in and around the team. It was that the Ullors are going to have to have some big conversations. no matter who's in the lineup or who coaches them or who runs the team, the others are going to have to have some big conversations about how they play and how they distribute minutes. And I think that to some people in and outside the organization, that was actually some of the stuff that hit them the hardest or that they noticed the most. Yes, they're going to have to address goaltending. there's no question about that.

Yes, they may have to address some personnel changes, but some of the things that were talked about there and some of the things that were talked about during the season, it screamed to them, Kyle, that they need to change the way they approach games. Like their rush defense, it was one of the wars in the league in the regular season, and it got shredded by the ducks in the playoffs. And, you know, young teams like Montreal, like Anaheim had very successful first rounds.

But the last couple years, like these things are always cyclical. The last couple of years, two of the oldest teams were in the Stanley Cup final. Florida was the oldest, and Edmonton was right up there near them, right? But Florida knew how to play, and Edmonton, a lot of their issues were covered up by the fact they had two nuclear weapons. Well, this year that got exposed by both injury and an overall lack of, of depth. And I think the way they play and the way they defend as a team, it's finally something they're going to look at and say, we're going to have to make changes. It's going to have to be different. And I'll tell you something else. And McDavid basically came out and said it, they're

going to have to play less. So one of the things I think that has kind of been a factor, and this is going to be one that's interesting is that you know there were games where they would have a comfortable lead not necessarily they're killing anybody or anything like that they would have a comfortable lead and the power play would go out

and it would be their first unit and like what someone said to me was if we want to save the wear and tear on guys like McDavid and Drysadle like those are are easier minutes. You're not usually going to get hurt doing the power play, but one of the ways

you can ease your wear and tear on them is if it's a game that's you're comfortably ahead or whatever, maybe they don't go out in the power play. Maybe you save some minutes on them there. And I just think we're going to talk about, are they going to make a coaching change? I mean, I feel the same way about knoblock that I do about Adam Foote. But like if you're firing Adam foot a year after you've hired them, it's an organizational failure. If you're firing Chris Knoblock just after you've given him a three-year extension, it's an organizational failure. And that's why I'm curious to see if one of the conversations here is not just about the coach and the personnel, although I do think the personnel, like I said,

and the goaltending particularly are issues they have to fix, but I won't be surprised if one of the biggest conversations in Edmonton this year, this off-season is we're changing the way we play, we're changing the way we defend, and we're going to legitimately peel back, you know, try to peel. It's easier said than done,

but peel back our stars ice times, and one of the ways, that can happen is maybe in games that are decided some of that power play time they get, they don't get anymore. I think all of this stuff is going to be on the table. And hold on one second, I don't want to, I want anyone to say,

I'm worried that this is going to go out of context and like Connor and Leon are hogs that want their power play time. No, that's not what I'm saying. but they are demanding and they like to work on, they always like to work on it. It's going to be, hey, we need to save your legs. Maybe you don't do it at those times as much. But part of the whole having them play a little less,

I mean, personnel goes hand in hand with that because you need a lineup that you've got other players that you trust putting out in more situations than they are currently. Like Drysidal touched on it, right, about the team that went to Game 7 against Florida. Yes. You know, the names that were there.

A lot of guys are gone. Right. That aren't no longer. But they did that. So that goes hand to hand. And I can also say too. No, you're right. I think personal,

but also I think, I think this is more than a personnel conversation for them. It is, and it's sort of like the Scotty Bowman threatens to trade Steve Eiserman. Like, that's not happening here. but he convinced them they had to play a different way.

Can the Oilers be convinced, and they sure sound like they are, that they have to play differently? And I also think, I don't, with Drysidal and McDavid to as an extent, but we know Drysiddle to be an honest, blunt person when it comes to this stuff, which we very much appreciate it.

I didn't see that as a big five-alarm fire. Like, if anything, that was the best, thing that could have happened for the oilers. If he had gone up and sat there and said, you know, I mean, it just was a tough year. We played a lot of hockey, but after a summer of all of us being able to get healthy again and feeling good about ourselves, like we'll be ready to go in the fall.

Like that would almost be more concerning. The fact that he's going, there's more underneath the surface that needs to be corrected here. I can only look at that as the healthiest way to look at it. if you're actually going to make change that that's going to do you good because it's no secret, whether it's contractually or just simple, you know, the way the passage of time works, you're starting to get in a situation where you're up against the clock a little bit, right? The two-year extension for the captain kicks in next year and just nothing is guaranteed going forward. Yeah. So instead of trying to sweep anything under the rug to be able to sit there and go, we took a step back this year.

And we need to have a good, hard look and honest conversations internally about how we're going to go about fixing it. That's the only way you can actually tangibly make the type of improvements that they are looking at trying to make. So I look at that as probably the best thing that came out of an otherwise disappointing season for the oil. No, you know what? I don't have any problem with anything that those guys said, like nothing at all. Like we always talk about, we tell hockey players they're boring, we can't complain when they're being honest. So I have no issue with anything I said,

but Kyle, I think fans are fans for a reason because they always take the worst outcome. But like I said, we'll continue working at whatever changes they're going to make personnel-wise over the next little while. But it was interesting, a lot of the conversations that I had over the weekend about the others was are they committed to changing the way they play and the way they deploy themselves? And I think that's going to be a big part of this conversation. All right.

So the Oilers season is over. The Boston Bruins season is over. They had one year without playoffs last year, picked themselves up off the mat. I had, I think, in a lot of ways, a pleasantly surprising season. The way Marco Stern went about things, his first year as head coach,

seemed to really work in a lot of cases for the Bruins. But now the off-season has begun for them, Elliot. You know, we heard David Paschnock, you know, make no bones about the fact that he's not getting any younger and is still chasing, you know, that one extra game that they weren't able to win back in 2019 when he was still very early in his career back then. what's the outlook for the Bruins?

So I think number one is that one of our theories and probably the most important thing that they had to know came out to be true. And that is that Jeremy Swamen was a one-year blip, right? He recovered, he came back, it was a quiet summer, no distractions, and he was a backbone. I think that's really good news.

I think they're going to be missing McAvoy at the start of next year when you get offered an in-person hearing, you're getting something. And I think, I don't think it's going to be a, like a 10-15 gamer or anything like that. I don't think it'll be that high because there was no injury. And, you know, McAvoy hit him in a play. where the worst outcome couldn't have happened. I also think they will look at the slew foot and say, okay, there was some mitigating circumstance here,

but he's still getting at least six games. I'd be surprised if it was any less than that. You know, I think a lot of what happened this year for Boston was good. the question is they got to find pop they have to find scoring and you know Hagen's is I'm already I don't want to say I'm worried for them Kyle I just worry about these guys who get the savior role on them so early

because it's a process right and it's a it's a it's a It's a really hard league. And you could tell that the Bruins really have faith in him and they like him, but he wasn't ready for this. And, you know, they're going to give him a shot to make the lineup at the beginning of next year, obviously. But if it doesn't start well or they say, all right, we wanted to begin the year in Providence, like it's like it's almost like whatever happens with Mishkov now in Philadelphia, right? everything is an online debate. And I don't think that's a good thing for the player.

And I don't think it's a good thing for the organization because everybody develops differently. The bottom line to me is they think this kid can play. The question is, when is it going to be? And I'm really curious about if they don't think it's going to be at the start of next year, they're not sure. They have to go out there and they have to find some scoring. That's the one thing that I think everybody who watches them agrees with.

But the best thing for them is that they believe swimming would be fine, and that was the right answer. No question. And that was kind of my feeling going into the season for them was like, okay, where else are you getting goals from throughout the lineup? Now they managed to make it work. They were full value for everything they got this season. but it's not a surprise at all that that that would be a priority for them going into this summer there

because they've got some really good complementary parts and as you say, James Higgins is in the fold now and the development is only really just beginning for him and the Bruins. They're also armed with some pretty good draft capital too, right? So whether they use that to pick guys or to try to find immediate help. You know, Don Sweeney's got options here. 100%. Okay. Utah Mammoth, first time in the playoffs.

They were right there in a lot of ways against Vegas. You know, there was a few games, game four, game five, kicking themselves, thinking those are ones that they could have won. But they go down in six. I really admired Andre Tourney kind of. wearing his emotions on his sleep after the game and what he was saying about, like, I don't even ask me about how I feel about the year because that's just not where my mind's at and the immediate aftermath. You got to appreciate just, that was a guy who was right in it and

as emotionally invested as the players were and trying to push that to a seventh game. So how you feeling about Utah after this year? Well, I think it was a great experience for them. It was a great experience for them. It was a great experience for their players who'd never played in games like that before, but they learned something. And that is that a team that has sort of like the heart and guts of a champion, as the series gets later, they get better. And I thought that Utah deserved to be ahead at the beginning of the series, which they were. But I think they learned that as things went on, the Vegas guys adjusted to them. Like there were times in that series where foot speed, which was clearly the

Mammous advantage, they overwhelmed Vegas early on. Vegas adjusted, though. And I just thought that in the big moments, the more experienced players who have been champions made the plays. And the perfect example was the double overtime game winner by Houghton in game five. Like, that's a one-on-four, and he made the play. I think that Utah, for the long run, will be better off for this.

you know, and we'll talk more about Vegas and their next series later. I do think Utah as a team does want to get bigger and stronger and harder to play against last year. They have great skill. I thought Lawson Krause, who's supposed to be that guy, was very good for them and did it,

but I just don't think they have enough of that. And I think it's been something that's sort of been an organizational target, but those players are hard to find. It's like Kevin BX has said about Pat Verbeek, you have to draft those players like Seneca because they don't become available. So, you know, that's, Utah's got a ton of prospects, but I still think that's a thing.

They're going to need to get bigger, stronger, and meaner. The other thing I think for them, Kyle, is they have to find a backup they trust more for Vamelka. Like this is a series you would have thought earlier on that he was going to beat Hart. And in the end, he got out dueled. In the end, Hart did enough to beat Vamelka. And if you look at it, he played five more games

than any other goalie this year, and he started four more than any other goalie. And I just wonder if they were more confident they gave him a few games off, would that have saved him at the end of the year? And their desire to get bigger, I mean, that's kind of been a two-year, project at least, right?

That was part of the reason why, you know, Machelli became expendable for them. Like, it's, that's not a new thought in, in Utah, right? No, it's an ongoing process there. But Vegas is a really physical team. They,

they throw up walls and make you beat them that way. And again, uh, they took it, they, they did, they did some great things early, but as the series went longer,

it was Vegas, Vegas's structure and commitment to that was a difference. All right. Well, with that, let's get to the final thought, which is brought to you by the Toyota BZ and some other news around the league. We will begin in Toronto. We've got their new look at the top official on Sunday.

John Cheyke, as anticipated by you and some others, Elliot, the new general manager of the Maple Leafs, and Matt Sundeen is the senior executive advisor. of hockey operations press conference will be Monday afternoon. We'll hear from the two of them. And I'm sure the biggest question that's on most people's minds going into this when they heard all the news was, how is this all going to work? Who's reporting to who? Who has the power under this new look regime?

I can answer that. We'll hear more Monday. I actually thought that Sundin was sort of going to be the guy who reported to Pelley. But that's not the case as the senior executive advisor. Chica is the general manager and he is the one who reports to Pelley. He is going to be the head of hockey operations, which is the position that he interviewed for.

And ultimately he will take the decisions to Keith Pelley. Now, Sundin is moving his family to Toronto. It's a big commitment for him. I think they expect that Sundeen is going to have a big voice and he is going to have a big say in hockey operations decisions. I know there's been a lot of talk about Tidomi and, you know, the fact he's friends with Sundin, he's friends with Chica and his role here.

I asked around on the weekend if he would be joining the organization too. I was told no. apparently Sundin and Chaka met for the first time at the 2012 Memorial Cup. And I'm sure we'll hear more about any kind of relationship that they have on Monday. But that's the reporting structure, although I think Sundin's going to have a very big voice. Number one, he's moving his family here. And number two, I think John Chaka is well aware. that he's not going to be able to pick a fight with Matt Sundin in Toronto.

Not that I think he wants to, but you know what? Like if it gets out that he's not treating Matt Sundeen well in Toronto, that's not going to go well for him. So I believe Sundin is going to have plenty of a voice here. You know, one of the things I will say, Kyle, is that I hope they're quick about letting people know what the future of jobs are in the organization. I think people have been expecting changes ever since Brad Tree Living was let go.

There was a Zoom call where they were told to expect changes. You know, just be quick. I think that's the right thing to do. Don't leave people hanging. Rip off the Band-Aid. I think everybody knows, you know, John Jake and Shane Donne's history that Shane Donn won't be here

and that he'll go on and easily land on his feet easily. But I just hope for other people that aren't so sure and maybe don't have such a simple path that they will find out sooner rather than later. Let people go and get on with their lives. So, I mean, are you prepared yet to kind of get into how they ultimately landed on Chaka here?

Because naturally, that's been a big question here too. Well, you know what? Not so much that, but I wanted to talk about some of the conversations I had with people about Jacob. Because look, he's a controversial figure because of everything that he's been through. And he's been gifted an enormous opportunity here. Like when I talk about Toronto, we always say like places like that, Vancouver, Canadian markets, Winnipeg, Montreal, all them, that the risks are high, but the rewards are high. And as a person, I always like to focus on the rewards as opposed to the risks. You've got to make smart decisions, but if you succeed, the rewards are enormous. And I look at him as being handed an incredible opportunity here.

And, you know, I spoke to a lot of people and I got a lot of opinions. Nobody's shy on this particular topic. But I wanted to read one of the notes because I think that, this one best encapsulated, you know, a lot of the answers I got and what it means for him and the Maple Leafs. This person who worked with, uh, worked with Jake has said he is smart and he is confident. However, because of his youth and he was 26 at the time, you know, when he got there and kind of took over in Arizona, that he felt that he had to prove his power.

and he had to prove his knowledge, and he had to prove that he could command respect. So he wanted to show he was in control, and he basically created a persona that wasn't himself. And he said that, you know, everybody deserves a chance to prove that they can learn from their mistakes and show that they're a different person.

And like he said, he's a smart guy. but his only path to success will be to put his head down, grind, and do the job. He said there's no point in trying to prove that he belongs or that he's the smartest guy in the room. Put your head down, grind, and do the job. That is the only way you'll be able to prove to everyone that you have what it takes. And this person also pointed out the people he surrounds himself with will be critical. We know he has Sundin, who has enormous credit in the market and among Maple Leaf Nation,

but we don't know what else he's got. Said that in Arizona, he brought in some other inexperienced people then, and it added to the problems, and he has to do better than that this time. He has to find people who are experienced. experienced professional grinders. And this person told me that if Cheka does that better this time than he did last time, it will eliminate a lot of the mistakes he made. Managing people, running the organization, handling things.

He says if, and again, he stressed again, if it's not about proving himself to others and simply putting his head down and doing the job, he won't make the same mistakes he did last time. But, you know, I'll tell you, Kyle, it's, like, it's, I mean, look, you've seen all the stories. It's fierce out there. It is. It absolutely is.

The knives are out. And to some people, he has a lot to prove. You know, the NHL cleared him. It's interesting. I had some people who said that, like, when he had his hearing with, Betman, Betman was really hard on him. And,

but, you know, Betman is a lawyer. And once you've paid your penance, if someone wants to hire you, you're back. And so I'm not surprised that worked out this way. But like I said,

there was a lot of that. You know, if he learns from those things he did wrong last time, he'll be better this time. If he doesn't, he won't. And I got a lot of that, a lot of it.

Hmm. 36 years old now. Yeah. So certainly lived a little more life than when he would have first got the opportunity in Arizona. It's the microscope's on right away, as it would be for anybody taking in that role, of course, knowing it is Toronto. But that'll be an interesting news conference there Monday afternoon. as the new era ushered in for the Maple Leafs and where they ultimately plan to go.

Anything else you want to touch on Toronto? Yeah, well, obviously Barube will be a big one. I don't know yet how they feel. But, you know, one thing I did want to point out is that there's this thing going around that him and Austin Matthews are tight, and that's why Chaka got the job. I don't believe that.

I don't believe that to be the case. I don't think that's why he got the job, and I also don't think they're especially tight. And from what I've heard about Matthews and what he's kind of told people is he needs to not only hear the plan, but be convinced in how the plan will be executed. You know what, Kyle?

I can tell you, I'm going to make this pod successful but you're not going to believe me until I tell you how I'm going to make it successful and I show you I can do that. I'm still searching for those answers, by the way. But I think it's more than just we're going to do this.

It's how we're going to do it and proving that it's actionable to do it. And obviously both Cheika and Sundin will be a big part of that. All right. So that's the latest in Toronto. We've got some clarity there finally. How about in Vancouver, former Ottawa Senators, general manager, Pierre Dorian, now surfacing as one of the names added to the list who was interviewed for their vacant spot?

I'm actually, when I heard it, I actually wasn't surprised. It actually fits the criteria because Dorian, went through a lot of things in Ottawa that are pretty similar to Vancouver, I think. A lot of ownership issues that are similar to Ottawa. Ownership challenges, ups downs, wild swings, times where you expect to contend and don't, times that you have to kind of rebuild. So I'm actually not surprised he ended up on their list. I believe they've interviewed Dorian face to face.

I believe they've interviewed Evan Gold face to face. I believe they've interviewed Ryan Bonas face to face. The Ryan Johnson thing, it's hard to understand exactly where that is. I don't think he's out, Kyle. But because he's there, it's hard to say, okay, how many times has he been interviewed, what are these interviews? Because he's there, it's harder to get a grasp on

what kinds of interviews he's done, but I still think he's in it. I think there's more, but I don't know yet. And I'm going to say something here that's going to get me in a lot of trouble, okay? But it's 1.40 Eastern and whatever.

I think the Mike Gillis campaigning wherever it comes from, social media or MSM, I think it's bad for him. I think it hurts him. I don't care if anybody hates I say this. I just don't think it's good for him. I don't.

I think that it might not even be fair to him, but I think people see it as campaigning. I had this conversation with somebody the other day, actually, really interesting conversation. We're talking about, you know, one of the themes on our pod, Kyle, has been just sort of like the changing of the guard, the different candidates who are being interviewed, you know, Sunny Meta being hired, John Chaka being hired, you know, we'll see what Nashville does, we'll see what Vancouver does, but there's definitely an opening to some new

blood and we're changing here. And the other thing that this person said to me, and I think this person's really smart. He says there is a really interesting line between being a contender for a job and having your name out there and campaigning for a job. And someone told me this week that there was a situation about 10 years ago. I don't want to say who it was. But there was a situation about 10 years ago where somebody was about to get a GM job and there was one too many columns about it, one too many. And the organization said, this person campaigns too much and they pivoted. And they're just like, there's a limit to the amount of times we want to hear your name. And names are going to get out.

There are teams that threaten people and say, if your name gets out, you're out. And I don't believe that because there's too much talking and names are going to get out. Like Pierre Dorian's name got out. Like it happens. But I think now what we're dealing with is the line of your name gets out versus you're seen as campaigning for the job. and maybe he wasn't campaigning for the job, okay? But I just think that the more people are out there saying this guy, this guy, this guy, and making the case for this guy, I think teams are starting to see that as a negative,

if it's too far over the top. They're like, we know, okay? And if it goes too far, I think it hurts some of these people. people. And, you know, every time there's a Vancouver opening, his name gets thrown around there. And I'm not sure it's helpful. Hmm. Is the worry being you hire that person and that person is more about themselves than the organization they're working for? Uh, that can be one of the things. Yeah. Hmm. One of the things for sure. and this isn't only specifically about him.

I think it's in other cases too. No, I just say, I'm even thinking back to what the story heard about 10 years ago. Yeah, oh, that one was you cannot trust this person to keep their mouth shut. I see. That's what that was. Like, I was told this person, someone told me this story this week. This person had the job and they, they plant, they, the organization felt they planted, quote, one more call. and they were like, we can't do this.

Hmm. That's bad news for you. It is bad news for me. Like I said, like Dorian's name got out. Like it's clear, Pierre Dorian's not campaigning with media for this job, right? Like, it got out like late. Nobody's going to look at that and say,

that's him doing that. Nobody. He's probably looking at this like, oh, damn, like this got out. But I think when it happens too much, people start to look askance at you, whether it's your fault or not. Fascinating.

Couple other things. Yeah. That was wild how the blues dropped the Holloway extension. The day after the owners got knocked out. Like, first of all, final. I knew that one was going to happen at some point this summer. I wasn't expecting it there.

I didn't see it coming. And then you saw all those reports, like they rushed to get it done. Yes. It came together very quickly. Yeah. What a contract, though. Well, first of all, kids, a heck of a player, like deserving. But that is why that is why I thought, you know, I've said before they, I don't think they

ever contacted Doug Armstrong here. But that is one reason I think that Doug Armstrong could work in Toronto because you have to have, not everyone's going to like it, but you have to have some swagger to do that. Yes. Yeah.

And it's, well, you talked about it. Like there were a lot of people interested when they made those two offer sheets. Okay. How is it all going to work there? And it was a tough year in St. Louis as a whole. But those two guys certainly weren't part of the issues, Broberg and Holloway.

No. So as we wrap up this segment here, so you want to hear a funny story, Kyle? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you got? So the other night when we did the pod, I got a text from Dom. And I was like 32 Thoughts segment. And then he unsent it. I was like, okay, now I know how these Vancouver brushfires.

start all the time. Because Dom is sending the segment directly to those radio producers. He's campaigning. That's right. For his own producing skills. Send him that one, Dom. Well done.

Already have. That's like in Space Falls. They just put the movie in during the movie. He'll turn and look. Yeah. When will then be now? Soon. Oh, good.

All right. That was the final thought brought to by the Toyota BZ. Why don't we take our first break? When we come back, a new edition of the thought line. 32 thoughts. The podcast continues after this. All right, here we go. A brand new edition of the thought line.

Elliot, I hope you were able to get a. refund on whatever amount of money you put down on Puma, forced to be a scratch in the 150 second running of the Kentucky Derby Saturday. I tried to like as many as the social media posts as I could, but I slept in on Saturday and I woke up to a number of posts pointing out that Puma had been scratched. So thank you to all of you that took the time to make sure I was aware. I don't have my own account right now, but I have a person who I asked to put money.

I told them I was going to put some money down on their account, but they just said, they had sent me a note saying, don't bother, Puma is out. I love the Kentucky Derby. I enjoy watching it, but there's no point this year. There was no point. Once Puma was out, there was no reason to watch.

You can't even stomach it. I understand. By the way, by the way, Kyle, we should point. out that Dom was in his car for the last thought line. In a car cast. Where are you today, Dom? I'm at Hayward Lake at the beach. At the beach.

Well, I'm glad one of us three is enjoying the outdoors right now. I'm glad one of us has weather where you can actually go to the beach because it sure ain't happening in Toronto right now. And you had bad weather day in Tampa, right? Yes. So we're recording this a day early. And yeah, I'm sure as the news was out there, both team charters got diverted. I was just fortunate that we got down on the ground, but we were in the holding pattern for about 40 minutes.

So we made it through all the rain and thunder. I do have to say, there's one shout out I want to give today. And so it kind of ties in to Dom's entire situation. And we should make this a bit. Where is Dom doing the thought line from? So. I'm all for that. So the other day, I received an Instagram private message.

And I'm going to leave the person's name private. I don't want to do. I think you'll understand why. But it's a woman who wrote to me and she said, is there any chance you were able to share where you got the tie you are wearing tonight? So I went into the wardrobe room, Kyle, and I took a picture of the label on the back of the tie. and I sent it as a DM to this person. And she wrote, thank you.

My fiance really liked it, so I'm hoping to find it for him. Appreciate it. And she later sent me a note saying she'd found it. And I wrote back to her. I said, excellent, please show your fiancé the following message. When you are with someone who goes the extra mile like this, you treat them like a goddess and never let go. This woman is a keeper at all cause.

and she wrote back a bit later with a heart note. And so Dom on Saturday, he knew that we were going to be recording the thought line late in the day. And we got a note from Dom saying his girlfriend wants to go to the lake. What time are we going today? So Dom, I'm glad you were able to do both because I would tell you the same thing. How long have you and your significant other been dating, Dom? Since last January. So you guys have been together now, what, like 15 months, 16 months?

Yeah, around then, yeah. So let me just tell you something, Dom. If you meet someone who's willing to stay with you for 16 months, if she wants to go to the lake, you find a way to get the podcast done at the lake. Great job, Dom. I salute you. Oh, excellent. That's awesome.

But Ty. You know when you've got someone special. If they're doing that for you, I don't care who you are, male, female, wherever you're from. If you've got a partner that's doing that for you, you hold on to them with every fiber of your being. Yes, flashing green light. Yes, that is a keeper. Excellent. Look at you, Elliot, continuing to bring people together all around the world.

That's all I want. I want peace on earth. Beautiful. Okay. our first submission today comes by way of Nick in Washington, Michigan. Okay, Nick. I do not know there was a Washington, Michigan, Elliot, and I have to be honest with you. There's a lot of Washington's out there, but I didn't know about Washington, Michigan either.

There you go. Hello, serve it up, Steph, co-star, Elliot, and the rest of the 32-thoughts crew. With the recent passing of the 75th anniversary, a Bill Burrilco's goal that won the Leafs the Cup, it had me wondering, are there any other players whose last goal of their career. Oh, there we go. Well, I figured that's Nick had to have worded it that way on purpose. Yes, very good, Nick. Very good.

Are there any other players whose last goal of their career was a game winning goal in the clinching game of the Stanley Cup? Couldn't think of anybody recent, but wanted to throw it out to the crew. Off the top of my head, Kyle, I admit I can't think of anyone. Is there? Yes, there are. There are two others. When I initially read this question,

just because of, I guess, how we look back on history and certain highlights that are continually replayed, I thought of Lanny McDonald in 89 against Montreal, but that wasn't the game winner that night for the flames. Doug Gilmore has credit for that Stanley Cup winning goal, but that's a great one. If I would have thought about it, Kyle,

that would have been the first one I would think of. That's a good pull, because that was a huge goal, really good pull. And if I remember correctly, the reason he doesn't get credit for the game winning goals. I think his goal was Calgary second. Yes. Yes. And Montreal scored a second goal so that knocked it out.

But boy, that's a great pull. So this is ancient history, I assume then? Yes. So ancient that Bill Barocco was the most recent one to do it. Oh, my God. You know what? 1951. Let's, why don't you give me some years?

I'll see if I can remember the cup winner and then make my guesses. Because off the top, there's, there's no chance I'm getting this. Okay. I'm guessing you'll know this one, 1938. Yeah, that's the Blackhawks. Yes. Yes, that was the team I grew up cheering for. So I know the Blackhawks won that year.

Yep. Okay. And the other one was 1942. Really? Because so that's the famous one, because that's the one where Toronto was down 3-0 to Detroit the first time any team came back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. That was

when they were down 3-0 and won at 4 to 3. And the thing about that one was they benched a couple of their leading scorers and came back with other players. Like I think Gordie Drillen led maybe the team and the league in scoring that year and he got benched.

So, I mean, CILAPS, but he played after that. So I wouldn't guess him. I'll just make a throw there. They had two brothers who played huge roles in the comeback. It was the Mets brothers, Nick and Don. Is either one of them the answer? Nope, none of them here.

All right, I'm not getting either of these. So why don't we just give them away? Okay. So Pete Langell for Toronto in 42 and Carl Voss for the Blackcocks in 38. Yeah, I wasn't getting either one of those. I'll be honest. That's a great pull, though.

That's fantastic. Yeah. And I thought about it. I mean, still got a long way to go here. But depending on how things line up, I mean, would Brent Burns be a possible candidate to do it this year? Ooh. Can't rule it out. I wonder if it's important to him, but Burns still has to come back next year to set the record for most consecutive games played, right?

Oh, that's right. That's right. I don't know if that matters to him or not. Good point. I hadn't consider that part. All right. But it's a good idea. Like I like the way you're thinking.

Jay from New Jersey. Greetings, Team 32 from Sopranos Country. You know what's funny about that, Kyle, is I was actually watching some Sopranos clips the other day. There's a scene. Were you a big sopranos guy? Well,

we didn't, like I didn't have HBO in my house growing up. So I never really got a chance. to watch while it was airing. Did you guys have running water and indoor plumbing just out of curiosity? That was like, yes, we had that and no other utilities. That's where it stopped. That's pretty funny.

We lived on an island, you know. It was tough to get a signal out there. I understand, but there's a scene. I understand. Gilligan's Island. That's where you live. So there's a scene with Phil Liotardo and Doc Santoro. And I just love this scene where he's, they're eating at an Italian restaurant.

And Doc Santoro asked to eat some of Phil Liotardo's food. And when he asks, no, Leotardo's number two is sitting at the next table reading a paper. And he looks up and looks over. And he lets him eat it and the guy eats it. And this is when I learned that this was a huge insult. Like a big insult. And later, Philia Tardo has Doc Centoro murdered. But I love that scene.

I just, I've learned since then, don't ask to eat anyone else. is food. Were you a frequent breaker of that rule prior to watching that? I've never really been like that kind of person, but I just think some scenes that you watch in movies and TV shows, they really stick out with you. Yes. That one,

that one really stuck out with me. Yeah. Give me that. I understand. All right. So Jay's question, just watching Matt Boldie get hooked and harassed like crazy on a breakaway to an empty net before he buries it.

in the series clinching win over Dallas. It got me wondering what the protocol is for tripping on a breakaway with an empty net. Is the goalie allowed to go back in if a penalty shot is awarded? If not, why would anyone ever allow a breakaway without tripping and just take the penalty? So we have a solution to your problem, Jay, and that is that if you commit a foul like that on an empty net, they can just award the goal. So your theory is right.

right? Why would they? We've already thought of it, or they've already thought of it. We didn't think of anything. They've already thought of it. And you can have an awarded goal. And there is an example by somebody that Kyle mentioned on this pod. Ryan McLeod of the Buffalo Sabres, I was just Googling, looked up. His first career hack trick one year ago in January, he had. He had, had his stick slash by Brent Burns. And they gave him and they awarded him a goal, an automatic goal. And that was his first career hat trick. Nice. Good pull. Good memory.

Okay. The Google machine helped me with that one. Oh, well, what's the line you always hammer me for? Take credit for other people. If you don't take credit for things you don't do, you won't go anywhere in this business. Yes. That's my line. Yes.

Gabriel, dear Kyle, Elliot, Dom, and the entire 32 Thoughts team. This comes to you from a decimated Ottawa Senators fan and a former Ottawa West Golden Knight, whom you recently shouted out on the bar. Yes, we did. I could wax poetic about our postseason woes this year, but I'll cut to the chase. I have just learned about what I understand to be called the, quote, Twinkie knob in hockey. after noticing Braden points current knob while watching the playoffs.

Further digging revealed Mark Stone and Morgan Geeky also have variations on this monstrous knob theme. These are gargantuan double foam or soft wrap stick knobs that allegedly can help with stick torque, puck handling, aggressive poke checking, etc. Is this ultimately a matter of preference or is there actually something scientific to the leveraging points? Sweet Kyle, I'm sure you already have the skinny on this phenomenon, but according to my research,

you haven't dropped in on a whimsical Gear We Go segment in a little while, and I figured this could potentially make for some decent fodder for us geeks. Thanks so much for reading. Happy playoffs to you and yours. Keep up the good work. So you know what we're talking about here? Like, you know, you see the knob, like on Mark Stone especially, is like it's got its own gravitational pull at this point.

Well, remember we talked about Logan Cooley this year. Yes. He changed his. So there's another example. Yes. Yes. Right. Wanted a little more grip.

So part of it's due to that. I know certainly in the past like Brendan Gallagher, of course, his head, unfortunately a history of busted hands, you know, taking shots off his hands, the top hand of his stick.

So he's gone at times with a thicker grip up top. just for a comfort thing so he can actually hang on to his stick with his hand a bit compromised. A lot of it is just a comfort thing. I think for Stone it certainly is. And that's just, it is a crazy amount of tape. I saw Jack Eichol said that I guess he's very particular of like nobody touches it once he wraps it. Because I guess once you squeeze it,

it kind of compresses a bit. Like it doesn't become, like a volume goes away a little bit. Yes. So that's part of it. And Cassie Campbell-Paskel made the observation when we were at the Olympics about how when in between shifts or after a whistle, he takes his hand off the knob like all the time. So I asked Mark about that. And he said he like tries to avoid any kind of moisture getting in there at all costs.

So like mostly guys go blade up when sitting on the bench. He's the opposite. So the knob isn't down on the floor on the bench where there's melted ice from the sky. gates and water and all that for it to absorb. And he tries to keep his hand off it unless the play is ongoing. So any sweat doesn't soak through too. Like he is maniacal about all this. It's fascinating.

Yeah. Yeah. So it was a good pickup by Cassie there. So yeah, I think to answer Gabriel's question, it's personal. There's a variety of reasons why some players do it. Some, it's comfort. Actually, apparently Arthur Calliyev has something similar to. Of course, he had a big offensive year in the American League this year.

And I believe his reasoning is that he grew up in a tennis family and was so used to like the tennis size grip of the racket. And so wanted to have something similar for the top hand of his stick. That's interesting. That's all good work there, Kyle. Really nice work. Oh, thank you. All right. One more here.

Eric from Vancouver. Hello, Elliot, Kyle, and Dom. Today is May 1st as I'm writing this, and we just got another one goal game. And the fourth game decided in overtime between the Canadians and Lightning where every single game in the series has been decided by one goal. My question is, have there ever been a series that has went to seven games and that every single game was decided by just one goal? This Tampa Montreal series has been the closest in terms of goal differential and recent memory. Another close one was Canucks Oilers two years ago, but game six was a blowout for Edmonton. Thanks for all you guys do.

Keep up the great work and excited for the next episode. Okay, seven one goal games in an NHL playoff series. I'm trying to think. I believe it's happened before. I'm just trying to remember. I'm trying to remember a series. It has. How many times?

In a seven game series? Twice. Okay, you want to give me the years? Off the top of my head, I admit, I can't think of it. Okay. 2012, 2015. So both recent. Yeah.

We live in the age of parody, my man. We sure do. Hmm. And if I'm remembering correctly, both of these series, game seven went to overtime. Well, I'll tell you, I think that helps me for 2012, because that sounds like it is the one where the Bruins were dethroned. You are all over this.

Excellent. Joel Ward and the Washington Capitals, seven games all decided by a goal in the first round in 2012. of 2015. I'm trying to work my way backwards. So the 2015 Stanley Cup final was Chicago, Tampa. Chicago Anaheim wasn't that, was it? No. Okay. I don't know. I'm not getting this one.

Washington, New York. Oh, I wouldn't have gotten it. I wouldn't have remembered those earlier season rounds. So I think that was the year that New York came back from 3-1 down and Step-on scored in overtime to end the series. Ah, okay. All right. Great series. Really great series. Great series, but I wouldn't have remembered it. No, but you got one of the two. That's pretty good. I'll take it. But I needed the help. I was not getting that on my own.

And now we have a third series that fits that criteria. Yeah, seven games all decided by a goal after Tampa and Montreal ran the table in this excellent first round matchup. And we nearly had a third example of this, Elliot. First six games of Montreal, Tampa decided by a goal, but not in game seven. All right, that'll do it for the latest edition of the thought line. Good job, Ellie. We threw it a couple trivia at you and you were game on both. Yeah, those are tough ones.

very depressing. Good, good questions. Very depressing. I didn't get to do better. Very depressing. 18333-3-1-31-32. If you would like to call and leave a voicemail or you can email us at 32thoughts at sportsnet.com.

We'll take another break and come back with more 32 thoughts after this. All right. Before we wrap up, wanted to touch on Game 1 Flyers Hurricanes, the Brindamore Bowl on Saturday night from Raleigh. It was another playoff shutout for Frederick Anderson. Two more goals, I should say three goals in all from the Stankhoven line, two from the man himself, Jackson Blake with a beauty. The hurricanes pick up right where they left off in the first round against Ottawa.

What was your feelings seeing game one of this series and a tight turnaround for the Flyers, too, in getting out to Raleigh? I don't care what anybody says. Stanky is a gross nickname. Great player with a gross nickname. Yeah. If I was scoring at the stank, stank, stanky, it's bad. It's all bad.

It all stinks. It all stinks. If I was scoring at the clip that guy is scoring at, I would demand a better nickname. Hurricanes are really leading into it. Boy, they're on fire social media-wise. Holy. And the beer skates, that's taken off like wildfire, too.

Sean Gentile of the Athletic, he got the greatest, he understood the assignment. He got the great assignment. I have to tell you, if I was working that game, sideline that game, and I guess we're dropping a group in starting, game too. I wouldn't have cared that I was on air. I would have drank it too. Well, maybe you and Amber can crush the beer swords

in Buffalo. Oh yeah, that's a great idea. Can't be worse than Ryan Whitney. No, that's right. I know you would not be worse than that. Also, I wanted to go back to Stankhoven for a brief second. I want to say there was a period of time that

when Pete DeBore was coaching in Dallas and Stankovin was still there, I think he was trying to make tank happen. He had dropped this S altogether. Oh, yeah. I'm just not, I clearly it didn't catch on. They've gone back to Stank. Yeah, it's just bad.

I, you know, there's a lot of things I can put up with in my life, but if my nickname was Stank, I don't know that I could put up with that so easily. Anyway, Stake Friedman. That's going to stick now. These people are going to be calling me Stank. Stank Friedman. To the good people.

of Buffalo. When you see Elliot this week, he's Stank Friedman now. Oh my God. They'll do it too because they're great fans. Carolina's a machine. They are just a machine. They are functioning at

full power. They overwhelmed Philadelphia. You know, look, like, I think you can understand game one. You know, you just played an emotional series. You just beat Pittsburgh. 48 hours. It's going to happen sometimes.

You know, tip it not playing. That's a big problem. And, you know, we'll see what the other outcomes from some of their injuries were in game number one for game two. But Carolina, man, they're a machine right now. They're not giving you a lot. Like, we talk about this. They play the same way every time. And they are dialed in, dialed in.

You know, Philly, they didn't have it game one. They were completely, there's not a lot to say. They were completely overwhelmed. They were completely crushed under the Carolina machine, and they'll have to be a lot better in game two. No question. Okay. So two of the four or second round series are underway,

two yet to begin, including the Anaheim Ducks and the Vegas Golden Knights. So we saw the up-tempo pace, the ducks, were able to overwhelm Edmonton with. You mentioned Elliot, the Utah times when they were able to get skating. They overwhelmed Vegas at times in the first round. Can Anaheim bring the pace necessary to overwhelm Vegas here in this best of seven?

I think there's another opportunity here for some high-octane hockey potentially in this matchup. What do you think? I'm looking forward to this series. I think it's going to be fantastic. I think the Ducks have shown that they are to be respected, even though they're still a really young team. And you underestimating them or disbelieving them is stupid. I think it's a very similar series to Utah for Vegas. I think the Ducks are better.

And because they won a series where they knocked out a really good team, even a good team that wasn't playing at its best. I think that they will pose the same challenges to Vegas that Utah did. They are faster. They will be able to break down Vegas' structure with their speed at times. I think, though, you have to expect that the Ducks will face the same moment of truth that Utah did in game one, that even if Vegas gets in trouble early,

they will raise their game. They will learn, you know, this year the Ducks actually swept Vegas, right? But I don't think it matters because in the playoffs, in the regular season, there are times you're not paying full attention. In the playoffs,

you're always paying full attention. And a team like Vegas will look at your strengths and they will take the away from you. And they will have attention to D.D. tell. So there's going to be a time in this series where Vegas is in trouble and like they did against the mammoth, they will raise their game.

And Anaheim's going to have to do what Utah couldn't do is counter that. Keep beating them with your speed and keep pushing and make them crack. And that's what this is going to come down to. There's no reason the ducks can't win.

Again, I was surprised that Hart outdued Vamelka. I didn't see that coming in the last series. I thought that was one of Utah's big advantages. Hart still has to be a lot better this round. You know, Dostal, he was not very good from most of round one. He was good enough.

Game six was his best game of the series. If he is getting out of this April funk that he's been in, that's big trouble for Vegas. But I see this is going to be a lot of the same as the, Vegas, Utah series. There's going to be a moment of truth. Vegas is going to raise their level. Can the do it where the mammoth couldn't?

Bingo. Jack Eichael, great for Vegas in round one, particularly in that closeout game. Mitch Marner checked into the series with two big goals in the closeout game. How does that carry forward for him and the Golden Knights? Lots of great storylines to follow in that one there.

So those are the two games we have for you. tonight. We begin our coverage, 6.30 Eastern, 3.30 Pacific time on Sportsnet. Hockey Central to lead into game number two from Raleigh, North Carolina, the hurricanes and the flyers at 7. Then 930 ET, 630 Pacific time from Vegas. It is game one, Golden Knights, and Ducks. Round two, officially underway, round one in the rear view mirror. That's the action. later tonight, we will be back on Wednesday. Have a great start to your week.