32 Thoughts: The Podcast - That's A Wrap

Episode Date: July 3, 2023

What a year! Jeff and Elliotte put the season to bed by going through all 32 teams discussing their free agency moves, what they will be looking to do ahead of next season, and things to keep an eye on throughout the off-season.CAROLINA (5:50), COLUMBUS (11:30), NEW JERSEY (16:30), ISLANDERS (18:40), RANGERS (23:26), PHILADELPHIA (27:30), PITTSBURGH (30:40), WASHINGTON (35:20)BOSTON (39:20), BUFFALO (43:35), DETROIT (46:30), FLORIDA (49:10), MONTREAL (51:20), OTTAWA (53:08), TAMPA BAY (59:14), TORONTO (1:02:03)ARIZONA (1:15:40), CHICAGO (1:17:40), COLORADO (1:20:12), DALLAS (1:23:20), MINNESOTA (1:25:25), NASHVILLE (1:27:36), ST. LOUIS (1:33:20), WINNIPEG (1:34:40)ANAHEIM (1:39:09), CALGARY (1:44:34), EDMONTON (1:47:22), L.A. (1:50:56), SAN JOSE (1:53:08), SEATTLE (1:58:41), VANCOUVER (2:01:33), VEGAS (1:59:33)Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailMusic Outro: Alexisonfire - World Stops TurningListen to the full track HEREAll Concert Dates HEREThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Bally Sports, CJOB, MSNBC, NESN, NHL Network and Sportsnet.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.

Okay. We're good? All right, here we go. Let's see where all of this heads. I am now. Coming down in three, two, and one. Welcome to this year's final edition of 32 Thoughts to Podcast presented by the GMC Canyon AT4X,

Friedman, Merrick, and Delich. And Elliot, this is going to be a long one. We're going to go through all 32 teams. We do this a couple of times a year. But at the end of the first couple of days of free agency, thought it'd be a good idea to go through all 32. So settle in, put your feet up, put something in a glass, chill out. Although I'm not sure everyone's going to be able to make it to the end of this podcast

because I believe Amel has introduced a rate limit now on this podcast, keeping in spirit with Saturday afternoon. If you're having trouble using Twitter, it's no accident. Elon Musk posted a short time ago that unverified accounts, which would include people not subscribed to Twitter Blue, are now limited to reading only 600 posts a day. New unverified users can only access 300 posts a day. If you're verified, you can read 6,000 posts a day. New unverified users can only access 300 posts a day.

If you're verified, you can read 6,000 posts a day. So the result, thousands of users are seeing error messages today. And Musk says the restrictions are temporary. He blames, quote, extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation. Of all the days for twitter to have an experiment a human experiment nhl free agency normally yeah on these days free agency or trade deadline you're typing tweet typing tweet typing

tweet it's really hard to keep track of what's out there and who said what. This day was impossible. I had no idea. Amal sent me a picture an hour into free agency showing how my page was blank because he'd reached the limit. He couldn't see what I was tweeting. Amal also added it was like the most peaceful day of his year. I don't necessarily think there's a connection. At the end of the day, Jeff, I can't remember who the player was,

but somebody told me that someone signed with an NHL team. I was like, what? I don't remember that happening at all. And I have two theories when it comes to Musk in this. Number one is that he's just so wealthy, he doesn't care, and he just wants to screw with all of us and he sits there and laughs at the reaction that's theory number one theory number two is that he knows people who are on twitter are so addicted to it and need it so much that he can do whatever he wants until somebody comes up with another solution. Macedon, no. Eventually somebody will invent something that people like, but right now he's the only game in town.

And Jeff, the people who complain about Twitter the most and talk about how much it sucks are the people who are addicted to it the most. See, I don't think that there's any conspiracy behind this one. I don't think this is done deliberately i think there's a combination of just incompetence meets absentee landlord on this one i look at someone like uh elon musk who seems to have taken this thing down to the bone right now and there's a number of work issues that are involved when you when you fire as many people as he's done and i just think that the guy's probably just too busy to dedicate the attention to Twitter that it needs.

But every now and then, he'll stick his nose in and say, no, I want to change the furniture a little bit. I want to move things around. I don't like this. All of a sudden, I've had a brilliant idea, and I'm going to drop this in your laps, and I want you to do it right now. That's kind of how I see Twitter right now.

I think that could be true, but I think he likes screwing with our heads. I really do. There is some of that that I do think is true as well. But after this weekend, more so than ever, I think people are ready for an alternative. Like the moment that is presented,

people will flock. Now you're right. It's not there yet. And whatever's been there hasn't hit any type of critical mass or come anywhere close to it. But when it comes, it is going to be a flood and is going to be people jumping off the bluebird ship on mass. Agree, disagree. People are addicted. Unless he sells Twitter, unless someone comes in to salvage Twitter,

to take it to the glory that it once had, when you could, I don't know, use it every day as often as you wanted. Anyway, no one wants to hear us grouse about not being able to use our social media feeds on free agent day, but nonetheless. Really quickly, before we get to the teams, when you looked at this year's edition of day one bleeding into day two of free agency, how would you describe it? And does it not feel to you like this was a whole lot of managers just trying to plug holes with one and $2 million deals?

Yes. Next summer will be a lot different than this summer. And Tyler Bertuzzi is the perfect example. And we'll talk about that when we get to Toronto. I really think that there just wasn't enough money in the system to do a lot of really spectacular things. And I think that's a very fair way to look at it, Jeff. There were a lot of players available for cap space.

There wasn't a lot of flexibility out there. I think certain teams wanted to do a lot more than they could. And here we are. And a lot of people took bridge deals to get us through this season. Okay, so let's start by going through the teams here. And we're going to go division by division. We're going to start in the Eastern Conference. And we're going to start in the Metro. We're going to go alphabet by division we're going to start in the eastern conference and we're going to start in the metro we're going to go alphabetical here so we'll start with the carolina hurricanes and i do want to get around the eric carlson

conversation in a second well i think we should do that first well then let's do that first here we go let's start with the eric carlson conversation what is happening with the carolina hurricanes and eric carlson and can Eric Carlson and Brent Burns coexist on the same blue line I believe that conversation was had I think that Burns was made aware that it was a possibility it is kind of ironic that last season Burns was traded because it wasn't working and they figured that splitting them up gave them the best chance for either one of them to be successful. What happens? Carlson wins the Norris trophy,

and I think Burns should have been a lot higher in the voting. He had a great year too. So in practice, it did work. We'll see where this goes, but the Hurricanes are definitely in it. I think Seattle took a run at it and they're out. As far as I know, they're out. I think Pittsburgh was still alive because Pittsburgh doesn't have the cap room that Carolina has. It's a harder fit for Pittsburgh.

You know, I don't know exactly where this is all going to end up going, but Carolina and Pittsburgh were definitely in it. And I don't know if I would call them the front runners. As far as I can tell, they were the two teams that were left standing after Seattle couldn't get to a place they were comfortable with. Carolina has the cap room. And does Pittsburgh's offer make them happier? I don't know.

But, you know, as of Sunday night, it's not done. Though both teams, I think, are very interested. How big a bite does San Jose have to take with this contract? I don't have a great answer on that because I don't know yet what san jose is willing to do i had written and i do believe this if the sharks were willing to make him a four times eight player that it was going to happen the trade and four times eight is approximately 40 of his salary now when they talked about it with edmonton they were willing to eat about 18 to 20%. Greer, when he was interviewed before the draft, said they wouldn't do 50.

Flat cap world, we're still in. It's definitely tough to move out salary. And we understand that. So, you know, at some point, they'll probably have to be a little bit of give on our side and but like i said we're not just gonna people think we're gonna eat 50 of it this contract and and all this type of stuff it's probably not going to happen how do they feel about that number i mean that's closer at least to what san jose would be comfortable with i think it comes down to how much does San Jose really want to get this done? And if the answer is they really want to get it done, okay, maybe they aren't going to 50, but they're going to have to go, I think, closer to 40 than 20.

This could be the story of the summer. Okay. So new players coming in and players getting re-signed. For the Carolina Hurricanes, it was Michael Bunting, it was Dimitri Orlov, it was both net binders, surprisingly to some. Antti Ranta and Frederick Anderson, also Jesper Fast with a two-year deal

at 2.4. That was a big re-signing, I thought. That was a big one. Sneaky, important. I'm with you on that one. Where do you think the hurricanes are after saturday slash sunday well they still could do more like they're a stanley cup contender i think everybody agrees with that they're a really good team i think

bunting will be a real nice fit for them i think orlov will be a real nice fit for them and we'll see what happens here with carlson they have the Brett Pesci situation to sort out. I think the player was willing to play one more year. The last I checked, they were not close on a contract extension. And the one thing is, it would seem easy on paper that he would go to San Jose in a Carlson trade. It makes sense. However,

I'm not sure he can, you know, he's got a list of about half the league where he can be traded to. I'm not convinced that, you know, he can be traded there without his permission. Like Buffalo talked about Pesci quite a bit. I'm not convinced he could be traded.

I don't know for sure, but I'm not convinced he could be traded there without his permission either. So Pesci has some control over this and, you know, we'll see what the hurricanes decide to do, but as it stood at the draft, I heard they really weren't close. So we'll see if he stays and plays it out or he gets dealt or, or what happens, you know, last year, Natchez had a really rough season and he rebounded for Carolina to a really good year. I think the guy they're hoping to make a similar jump is Jarvis. You know, Jarvis is a really talented guy. He didn't have a great year, but I look at them and I think if he has the same jump this year that Natchez has last season, and there's no reason he can't,

that's big for the Hurricanes. But they're a Stanley Cup contender. A lot of promise in Jarvis. You saw the year before last where it was like, ooh, look for this guy to break out. And then to your point, it was, you know, by the expectation standards, not a great season. But we'll see.

Still very young, still very talented. Columbus Blue Jackets, and listen, Yermo Kikolainen did his moves before the draft, before free agency, a couple of defensemen, Proveroff and Severson, they draft Adam Fantilli, they sign Adam Fantilli, and the big story on free agent day was the official announcement that Mike Babcock returns behind the bench, this time the Blue Jackets.

And that is where Columbus is at this point. But I'm also convinced that he's the right person, the right man for the job. And that's really important. Our organization has some strong values that are never compromised and they're non-negotiable and that applies to myself and and everybody sitting at this table and and uh we look forward to working with mike two-year deal which i think was a really smart term you know i like to do the coaches site coaches convention if i can every year i didn't get a chance to go to all of it this year, simply because the timing didn't work.

But I was there when Babcock was there, and we chatted for a couple of minutes. And there's going to be a lot of eyes on him. We all know that. The moment one thing goes sideways, it's going to be a lot of eyes on him. We all know that the moment one thing goes sideways, it's going to be a big deal. And I think he knows that. And I think Columbus knows that. So that's important that everybody has to realize here. The most interesting thing he said, I thought was I asked him about line. And the first thing he talked about was Jeff,

do you remember in his rookie season, October, 2016 Matthews in line, a like the second week of the season, the one, two picks Toronto goes into Winnipeg and line. A has the hat trick in the overtime. Austin Matthews in alone,

Matthews and stopped by Michael Hutchinson. Well, that may be the save of the game. Here comes Lyonnais, two in the game, looking for three. Scores! Scores! Scores! Patrick Lyonnais! His first NHL two-goal game. His first NHL hat-trick and it's an overtime winner for the Winnipeg Jets as

they come back from 4-1 in the third period and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4. That was the first thing that Babcock said. He said, do you remember that game? And I said, actually, now that you

mention it yes i do jets were down by four yeah it was it was a big comeback and he got that trick and you know any hockey fan will remember that game specifically jets and leaves fans and he said we've got to get that joy back into his game he said that's what we have to do. So I thought that was an interesting response and the right response, honestly, but I think the blue jackets and Babcock know there's no room for this to go wrong. They have to have a plan and they must have a plan. And clearly watching that press conference, they do have a plan and all eyes will be on it. I like a lot of the moves they made.

I think they're going to be a better team. Like Babcock is a demanding guy. He's just going to have to walk that line, but it's very clear that the blue jackets wanted a more demanding presence behind the bench. And that's why they went to him. Columbus always looking. Columbus, always looking. They're always looking. I don't know that they're going to do anything,

but they're always looking. And Jeff, I think the guy that we're really looking at already is Fantilli. He signed his contract. He's coming out. He was ecstatic to be a member of the Blue Jackets. His family, we saw them after the first night of the draft. I saw them in line to go on the airplane on my flight home on Friday.

They could not stop beaming. Was Adam still wearing the jersey? Adam wasn't there, but Luca was there. Was he wearing his brother's jersey? No, he wasn't. there but Luca was there and was he wearing his brother's jersey no he wasn't but he got the call in the line

that he was going to Pittsburgh's development camp which made the family very happy too so huge weekend for them and you know Fantilli I think he's going to make an immediate impact I don't know if they're a playoff team next year but I think they're going

to be a lot better. I honestly, outside of, I've said this before, outside of Carolina and New Jersey, I don't know who's going to be a playoff team next year. Like I really don't. Like if I'm the Columbus Blue Jackets, I'm looking at this and saying, why not? There's a whole bunch of question marks

in this division for me, Elliot. They're going to be better. Columbus is going to be better. How much, I mean, hopefully you hope they're healthier because that really scotched them last year. I don't know how much better, but I look at the division and I'm just riddled with question marks here.

Okay, New Jersey Devils. It was a couple of re-signings. Well, they made the Toffoli move previous. McLeod is back in. Nathan Bastion is back. Eric Sheldron comes in on a one-year contract, 775. When you look at the new jersey devils they're still trending upwards on their winning cycle absolutely and they're a stanley cup contender

wow that's strong eh well for sure they are a stanley cup contender and not only are they a stanley cup contender but they've also done a really good job of you know just tightening their cap situation for a while you know their highest paid player AAV is Hamilton at nine you know Myers 8-8 Hughes 8 Bratt 7-8-7-5 Hischer 7.2 and these guys are all locked in so you're not looking at any of the contracts they have coming up in the next year or two. Well, Dawson Mercer is going to be an interesting one. He's got another year, but none of these are going to be bank breakers. So their cap situation is very good.

Unless they decide they want to go out and get somebody who does it. I think number one, what are they doing in goal? Are they going with Vanacek and Schmid? You know, as you said, they signed Shalgrin, but are they going to go out and they're going to get somebody else? So that's my first question is how do they look at that there? To me, Schmid, that guy showed something this year. I know it didn't end well, but he's a gamer. And if he takes the next step next year at age 23, that's massive for them. And I think the other guy they're really hoping for

is Alexander Holtz. If he can come up and give them something, it's a big bonus. But I look at Schmid as a key breakthrough player for them next year. And I know they have high hopes that holds can show them something too, but this is a Stanley cup contender. And not only that, but the way they've done their cap,

they have a chance to be a Stanley cup contender for years to come. Okay. Speaking of cap, a lot of us are wondering what's next for the New York Islanders who don't have much cap space and still have one, maybe two key players to sign here. Well, it depends if Zach Parise is going to keep on playing and the other is Oliver Wallstrom. But the song remains the same, Elliot.

You know, as one person texted me, the Islanders are Hotel California. Check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. That is the New York Islanders. Pierre Engvall, back, seven-year deal. Sorokin, back, eight years. That is the exception. No questions about that one.

That guy is so legit good. Mayfield's back, seven years. Varlamov is back. Four-year deal. Nobody escapes the island. It's pretty funny. This is Gilligan's Island. Nobody can leave. No one can escape.

Everyone stays with the Islanders. What did you make of the latest batch of long-term deals from Lula Amarillo? Well, I still wonder if he's in on another score. I think he's one of the teams that's talked to Ottawa about to bring it. I don't know where this is going to go here. Look, this is the team. You know, they've picked their group. Barzell, Horvat, Engvall, Pulak, Pellock, Mayfield, Sorokin, obviously. What's interesting is that some of the guys who've been key players,

you know, Nelson has two more years. Yep. Lee has three. He's their captain. Clutterbuck and Martin, who've been very important players for them, have another year. Sezikis, you know, he's still got four more, but at a very manageable number.

You have to assume they're going to want to do Dobson in two years. Romanov in two years. He's another guy you think they're going to want to keep. Like, it's a pretty fascinating bet. You know, the Islanders had some really good runs in the last couple of years. And of course, two years ago, they missed the playoffs. They missed the playoffs last year. They made the playoffs this year, knocked out in the first round.

It's probably the biggest identity team in the NHL, Jeff. They are who they are, and they're unapologetic about it. I do have to tell you, you weren't the only one or whoever texted you wasn't the only one that was surprised. There were a lot of people who looked at that and said, wow, like that's surprising, but they bet on their culture. They bet on their group. Very clearly, this is a group of players who really likes playing with each other. Look at Varlamov. He could have gone anywhere. He didn't want to leave.

Like a lot of those guys. Remember Lee? He never wanted to leave. Nelson never wanted to leave. Barzel, remember how well he talked about the island? Yep. Like these guys get there and it's true. They don't want to leave there.

I just think they need another score. The most interesting thing about them is, is there another team in the NHL who bets on term as much as the Islanders do? No, but that's, I think, in order to flatten the cap. You know, it's funny. I was having a text exchange with one manager on Saturday and he was laughing, most specifically saying,

you know, one of my pet pee and he was laughing most specifically saying, you know, one of my pet peeves is when I hear people say, well, I love the number, but I hate the term, not realizing that the number is related to the term. It's like, let's just remove that from hockey conversation. I love the number, but I hate the term because if it weren't for the term, you wouldn't have that number. Anyway, just as an aside. Yeah, you're right. When Lou wants someone, he wants them long time. And he gets them. Yep. So I think it comes down, can they find another score?

If they can do that, I think they're going to be okay. And that's why I think that the guy who's got to take the jump next year is Wallstrom. Got to get him signed first. Well, there was a rumor after the season that he was going to ask for a trade and that got denied to me that he did not ask for it but it's a big year for him like i'm i have no doubt that they would love it if wallstrom was the guy who became that score i just don't know that it's going to happen there was one

thing that was absolutely stunning with the Islanders this weekend. You know what that was? Stunning. What's that? They announced the deals. I do think the NHL kind of said, what happened a couple of years ago?

We'd really prefer that not to happen again. They announced the deals, Elliot. They announced the deals. All. They announced the deals. All right. The New York Rangers, always an interesting team. Whether it's Quick, whether it's Wheeler, whether it's Bonino, whether it's Pitlick, Connor Mackey as well.

Your thoughts on what Chris Drury's doing here with the Rangers? A lot of one-year deals. A lot of one-year deals, I should point out. Well, they added a lot of good depth. I think Wheeler on a one-year bet is a really good bet. I like that a lot. I think it's very interesting how Wheeler, as an older guy, made it very clear he wanted the better travel of the Eastern Conference.

I thought that was a very smart play. I can't remember which player told me this once, but he said he was talking to, I think it was Wayne Gretzky, and he had a chance to go to New York, and Gretzky said to him, if you can go play in New York for a year, you should experience it. And obviously that player was not Blake Wheeler,

but I thought about that quote when Wheeler agreed. I liked a lot of the moves, like Nick Bonino. Yeah, it's an older team. Like, that's the one thing about the Rangers. They're an older team. And that's why I think, you know, Lafreniere, for example, like, their young players

have to really take steps next year. I have to tell you, there were some people who said to me they really wanted to see the Montreal Canadiens offer sheet Keandre Miller just for the pure drama of it yeah but obviously that didn't happen it'll have to be a bridge with Miller obviously assume it'll be a bridge with Lafreniere but I just think Lafreniere has to take the leap now like I want to say this. I talked about one of the podcasts a couple weeks ago.

I don't like it when reporters jump on other reporters. And Arthur Staple reported the draft. He heard that Lafreniere was being shopped around a couple of places. This is where I think, and this comes right from ownership. This is where I think James Dolan, the way he does media really hurts the Rangers because, you know, he doesn't want his people talking. And as a result, information gets out and then the Rangers have to, they have to play defense and they were adamant that they aren't shopping Lafreniere. And I do think they want to make this work.

Like one of the reasons they made the coaching change, it wasn't like Gallant was bad to Lafreniere. Like that's certainly not true. But they realized it just wasn't going to work in that situation and they have to try something else. Like this is one of those cases where you look at it and you say, it's easier to fire the coach than trade the player. If you're trading Lafreniere right now, it's really at a low value.

So it's better to try to fix the problem. And that's why they're going for La Violette. And that's why they're going for Michael Pekka, who I think they hope is a very big part of this. But, you know, I think they want to keep him. I think they want to fix it. I think they want to fix it. But we're getting to a point here where he needs to step up and be a player for them because, one, their team is older,

and two, they don't have a ton of cap room. So he really has to start making a difference. And I know that that's what they're really hoping for. But I think people there would like to talk more than they do, but the owner's like, no. And there's consequences to do it. And as a result, the Rangers are forced to play defense too much. And if it was me, I would change that somehow,

but I'm not James Dolan. I would change that somehow, but I'm not James Dolan. Did you not think that when Jonathan Quick was holding the Stanley Cup, that was going to be the last we may see of him in the NHL? No. You thought he was still coming back? No, I saw him. I said congratulations to him on the ice, and he said, see you next year. So that's when I knew he was playing.

Okay, good enough. Ends that one. One-year contract, 825. He'll back up Igor Shcherkin. Philadelphia Flyers. Some depth signings. We thought going into the weekend that general manager Daniel Breer

was going to go after bottom six players, and he did. Garnett Hathaway comes in on the two-year deal. Ryan Poehling on the one-year $1.4 million deal. So nothing major, some depth signings, but some, especially with the case of Garnett Hathaway, some really Philadelphia Flyer-looking players here. Yes, I got to tell you, Garnett Hathaway,

that screams Flyer. There's no question about that. Oh, yeah. You know, last year they went out and they got one of the toughest guys in the league. Oh, yeah know, last year they went out and they got one of the toughest guys in the league. Oh, yeah. And this year they went out and they got another tough guy who can score. And you know what I think that is?

Like there's a lot of players taking two-year bets on themselves, which I think a lot of us understand and are good with. But I think it's also, you know, they're going to have a lot of young players. They just don't want them to get pushed around. I like Philly, what Philly has done over the past couple of weeks. The Mishkov thing, you know what that was? That was a real franchise changer in the market. Like the Flyer fans, you know, I think they're happy with Breer. I think they like Tortorella, but they hit a home run in terms of talent. There are a lot of uncertainties here but when they realized

the full scope of the story that this player wanted to play for them i think it really energized them like i think the fans of the organization really feel better about themselves with the with the way the whole mishkov thing played out now you know I think the thing that they have to deal with here and I think that they will deal with here is look you know Sennheim I think he was shaken by everything that happened and you know one of the things I heard was the Flyers were really trying to keep the Sennheim stuff quiet because I think they knew how he might react. Well, now it got out and once the blues couldn't get them, I think there were a bunch of teams calling Philly. What are you doing here? What are you doing here? And I think they just wanted it to go away and

wanted it to be quiet. And it ended up with him staying. The one thing is like people say, well, how can you play for an organization that doesn't want you? To me, that's the reality of professional sports. I hate when people use this cliche, but it's true. Wayne Gretzky got traded. So you have to understand that you can get traded too. And the other thing, it's not as if that they were trading Sanheim for a ham sandwich. They were trading him for a first round pick. That shows that you have value. And that's always the way I would tell a player to look at it. Like I think connect me too.

I don't think it's been easy for him. They've kept them. They, they want them to play like that's the thing. I think Philly has got to manage a bit here is how some of their players have felt about all this therapy, getting him back and healthy and on the train he was on before he got hurt.

That's key. You know, I think Cam York, I think he's a big one for next year. But Philly, I think they've done the right thing. They've committed to the rebuild, and that's where we're going. Okay, Elliot from the Philadelphia Flyers to the other team in the Keystone State. A couple of goaltenders signed. Tristan Jari re-ups five-year deal there Alex Nedeljkovic comes in defenseman Ryan Graves veteran center Lars Eller Nola Chari Dubas has tried three times to bring

him on his teams uh filled the beginning of last year at the Maple Leafs was able to pick him up well into the season and on Saturday Nola Chari is a member of a Cal Dubas team, a three-year contract. Two million is the AAV. And we are all wondering about Eric Carlson. At the draft on Wednesday before the first round, someone said to me, look into it, Carlson to Pittsburgh. It's getting done.

By the way, I just want to apologize on this pod to all the particulars in the Carlson conversation I've been's getting done. By the way, I just want to apologize on this pod to all the particulars in the Carlson conversation I've been bothering for the last five days. I know I'm annoying. I've been even more annoying when it comes to this one. And I was told not happening, can't really make it work, need a third team. But then I heard it gained traction after that. And on Saturday, like I said, I heard Seattle was out and I heard it was Carolina and Pittsburgh. Those were the two teams I heard about.

And I heard Pittsburgh was really trying. Like Dubas met with the media. He talked about his team, but I don't think he's done. I think he's got more to do to reshape the roster, and he wants to do more to reshape the roster. And I think chasing Carlson, it's not the only thing, but it obviously would be a major part of it if it happens. When there's a player like that that comes available,

I think it wouldn't, especially with the core group and how special that core group of people is in the room, both the coaching staff and the players and the group that surrounds the team. Anytime a player like that becomes available or talked about, I think it's incumbent on me to reach out and see if there's a fit there for us. And that was the way that I viewed that entire situation. I don't want to get too much into it because I think some of it is private and it doesn't involve a player that's ours. So I don't want to cross any league lines and upset anybody.

But at the same time, I think that anytime there's a player of that caliber that comes available throughout my time here, especially in this next stretch, it's probably realistic to think that we'll be involved or see if there's a way that we can be involved and add them to our group. to think that we'll be involved or see if there's a way that we can be involved and add them to our group. Like even if he doesn't get Carlson, I don't think he's done. You know, the Jari contract surprised me.

When Hextel was the GM, Jari I heard asked for five or six years and Pittsburgh just, they didn't want to do that. And now they did it. So it's a bet. And the guy's good enough. Nobody's doubting his ability. It's the health. And Pittsburgh is obviously betting huge that Jari is going to bounce back and be healthy. And, you know, they changed their athletic support staff. And again, I always say this, I don't know that it's the fault of the doctors or the trainers. I'm not there. But one thing I do know is that when you have important players who get hurt or you get hurt a lot, those are the changes that get made and you hope it makes a difference.

they're really hoping for who bounces back is Pedersen. I think they really believe in him as a player and they're really hoping that he can be as impactful as he has been in the past. I think one of the challenges to making the Carlson deal is that they have players who can block trades, um, whether it's everywhere or to San Jose and that's a challenge for them. But I think Dubas is far from done remaking this roster, and I think if he can get Carlson, he will.

Jeff, he tried for him in Toronto. You were creating some crazy rumors that we're not going to repeat here that were completely factually incorrect. A little strong. But Dubas really likes Carlson. And I think he would like to get Carlson. I just don't know if he can pull it off.

I will forever remember the text that I got back about that one. Anyhow, we'll see where the Carlson situation goes. You know, there is one other issue that's out there. And Dubas at his introductory press conference sort of kicked this into July. And here we are, Elliot. It's July. Any idea who the GM is going to be here? Honestly, I haven't looked into it.

Thanks for letting everyone know what work I haven't done this weekend, Jeff. I really appreciate it. To be honest, I'm going to try to put my phone down for a couple of days. Good luck with that. Excuse me. Washington Capitals. Welcome Max Pacioretty. And Matthew Phillips comes in as well on the one-year deal.

I like that pickup. Yeah, I like that one a lot too. I know Calgary, probably if they had a mulligan and could do it all over again, they would have had more time for Matthew Phillips and a longer audition, longer runway, whatever. But he's a Washington Capitol, as is Max Pacioretty, to which Elliott Friedman says what

I still think there's more coming here Washington is one of the teams that has kind of let it be known that they are prepared to make a move in their top six and it's a hockey trade like they're not looking for a salary dump they're not looking for anything like that but they are

looking to make a hockey trade in their top six they are looking to make a hockey trade in their top six. They are open about it. Now, it's not going to be Tom Wilson. I wasn't in Brian McClellan's scrum when he was asked about Tom Wilson, but apparently he gave the death stare of all death stares to reporters for continually bringing this up. Yeah. And Gary Galley, who was a freshman, I believe at Bowling Green when Brian McClellan was a senior, uh,

has told me that that is one of the scariest death stares he's ever seen. As an aside, when he played, he was that guy that you look at the penalty minutes and it was never like 200 or 300 penalty minutes. And there was a reason for that. Very few wanted to try Brianrian mcclellan yeah he was one of those guys you just didn't test and when he did it it was scary that guy was tough when he played elliot now before nashville

signed ryan o'reilly and they might have done it anyway i don't know but they were talking to washington about kuznetsov like to be honest i wonder if it was a kuznetsov for duchesne deal because i heard it happened before duchesne was bought out so i i kind of wonder if that was what they were talking about now this trade fell apart it makes a lot of sense like barry trotz won a stanley cup with kuznetsov who was incredible yeah he was during that run like he played great but that's obviously over we'll see what else washington tries here but they are looking to make a hockey trade in their top six i've mentioned the brink. I just don't know if it would all work, but I think that's the kind of player

that they've looked at. And I think the guy they're really hoping breaks through for next year, Rasmus Sandin, next level. I think that's the guy that they want to see become what everyone thinks he can become. He looked good right away as soon as that trade was made

and he jumped into that Washington defense. Let's just cross our fingers for the Capitals that John Carlson can stay healthy the entire year. That trade took the Caps out, as we talked about before. Hey guys, this is Ken from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Love the show. Jeff recently alluded to the upcoming summer break for the podcast. Although that break is well-deserved, I will miss the show, and it leaves a big hole in my podcast rotation. So I'll throw out an idea for you. A summer barbecue version of the holiday party interview shows. I find those episodes are really interesting. It's great to hear from people within the hockey

community, but maybe are a little bit behind the scenes. Anyway, thanks for everything, and good job. I feel I'm falling in love This game I take is funny I feel I'm falling in love Listen to the 32 Thoughts Podcast ad-free on Amazon Music,

included with Prime. I feel I'm falling in love 32 Thoughts Podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. All right, from the Metropolitan to the Atlantic, and we'll start alphabetically with the Boston Bruins, and there's a very popular move of bringing Milan Lucic back to the Boston Bruins. James Van Riemsdyk in, Kevin Shattenkirk in, Morgan Geeky, disappointment in Seattle, happy in Boston, Patrick Brown, etc. Your thoughts on the Bruins as they still wait decisions on a couple of key centermen here. The thing about Boston is they've been very consistent about bergeron there's no timeline and they'll wait at his leisure same with creche there's still

some tweaking they could be doing you always wonder about this bertuzzi thing i saw the bruins fans were upset that bertuzzi went to Toronto for one times 5.5. I don't think when Boston talked to him that they had any idea that that could be on the table. I don't even think it was on the table when Boston talked to him. With Detroit, I do know that Detroit traded Bertuzzi because Bertuzzi wanted term and Steve Iserman, as he said recently, it was not crazy about term. That's why they made the deal in Boston. I don't even know that there were serious contract talks.

I think Boston kept on telling Bertuzzi, we want to keep you. We want to keep you. We want to keep you. But they also knew that they had to do other things to make it work. And it just never got there. I think Boston absolutely wanted to keep him. Like, do you think if Boston knew

that they could get him for one times 5.5, that wouldn't have been done? Of course. I don't think anyone ever thought that that was going to be the contract. I think after the first day and the way it was going, that's when Bertuzzi moved to that idea. So I just don't think that that was ever available to the Bruins, and I don't even think Bertuzzi moved to that idea so I just don't think that that was ever available to the

Bruins and I don't even think Bertuzzi would have considered that before Sunday so I think that's kind of you know what happened there they'll do some tweaks it's going to be really interesting there next year I think opening night Lucic's first, I think that's going to be a wild building. I would love to be there for opening night when Lucic gets introduced. And Sweens called me and he said he was interested in having me back. And he said, he asked me if I had any interest in coming back. And obviously it's a place that's close and dear to my heart. And having the opportunity to come back, I mean's you know close and dear to my heart and having

the opportunity to come back i mean you can see the smile on my face right now uh you know it's it's it you know it feels like i'm going home and you know it's it's it's always you know i've always felt like i i've always been a bruin and and i'm just so happy and thankful for, for the opportunity to, to be a Bruin again. So, but I think what they're going to look at is Zaka. If they need him to play with Pasternak, he's probably the guy. Can he take that leap? I know they're very excited about the Morgan Geeky signing.

One of the ways they got him, cause there was a lot of interest was apparently they promised him a bigger role than he'd had, and he's going to get it there. So how does he adapt to that? I know they've got a lot of young players who they are hoping take some bigger roles next year. And I think some of the names they're talking about there are Beecher, Lysel, McLaughlin, Merkulov, Lauko, who's got one of the funniest Twitter feeds I've seen. Because whenever he got up and sent down, he kept on putting that Abe Simpson gif out when he walks in, sees Bart sitting there, and he goes out. That was a guy who they felt had a really good year this year, took a big step, and they're really hopeful he'll take another one. So I think there's going to be a lot of players on that Boston roster. Zaka gets a bigger role. Geeky gets a bigger role.

Those other players I mentioned, they want them to grab a spot. It's a bit of a transition year for Boston. I think next year is going to be about who grabs a spot in a year of opportunity. And then we'll make our decisions next summer. All right, Elliot, the Buffalo Sabres. We knew that Kevin Adams, general manager, wanted to do something to help some of the kids on the blue line. Most notably, Rasmus Dallin, Mattia Samuelson, and Owen Power. He did that, bringing in veteran Eric

Johnson and veteran Connor Clifton. Also some depth in net in Dustin Tokarski, Tyson Jost in one year, $2 million. Your thoughts on the swords? Well, I like the Eric Johnson pickup. I think when you take a look at where Colorado was when they had that nightmare season and they began their return to a Stanley Cup champion. He was a very big part of that group, that culture. He was one of the guys who, after that nightmare year, he stayed in Colorado the whole summer. He was always in great shape. He was a very, very big part of that. So I think he's the perfect kind of player to add to the Sabres I think the Sabres if they start with this roster I think they'll be very content with that I mean you're I mean you're always looking we should say that with every team but I think they like some of the

competition that's going to be there for some of their young players. You know, there's been a lot of talk about extending power and Darlene. They met with both the camps I heard at the Combine and at the Draft. And, you know, Buffalo feels it's very positive that both players said they want to be there long-term. So they're going to work at getting both of those guys done long-term. I think they've got some really interesting players.

You know, Middlestad, he had a great finish to the year. You know, Levi, he looks dynamite. I'm really excited to see him in a full season. If you want to pause on that for a sec, that is interesting. Yeah. That to me is one of the most fascinating questions in the NHL. Because if they're going to go with Devin Levi and Uka Pekalukunen, what A, what happens to Eric Comrie and B, man, those kids are young.

And C, you know how hard it is making that jump from college right into the NHL as a net minor, Elliot. Yes. That's seldom, if ever. Many have tried and almost all have failed. You know what? He looked really good last year.

He did. Now I want to see the full season. I feel bad about the injury to Quinn. Of course. It's a really unfortunate thing because I think he would have been their breakthrough player next year. Now I think that opens it up for a guy like JJ Paterka to, you know, grab even more of a spot. And I think he's a pretty exciting young player. And I wonder about a player like Yuri Kulik, who could make his way from Rochester to the big squad. He had an exceptional year last year for the

Americans. Listen, we've talked a lot about the Sabres. Buffalo's right there. Buffalo's right there and really close. If anyone from the East or specifically the Atlantic takes a drop, first of all, they're going to push their way up. They're coming.

They're really coming. The Detroit Red Wings, you put them in the same category. Now with one more JT Confer, one more Shane Gossis-Bear, a Justin Hall, a James Reimer, an Alex Lyon, a Christian Fitcher, a Daniel Sprong. Did I mention Daniel Sprong with the Detroit Red Wings? Yeah. Elliot Friedman amongst other players as well.

That was a flurry of signings there by Steve Iserman on Saturday. Well, you know, it's interesting. You know, Iserman made a lot of signings last year and he made a lot of signings this year. Yes. And I asked just some other teams what they thought about all this.

And they said, you know, Iserman talks publicly about not rushing things. And he always says, I don't know where we are in our rebuild, but he's so famously competitive and he cannot stand losing that what other people take it as a sign of is that he's like, we have got to move this along. We have to become more competitive. And that's why, you know, he's not waiting for everyone to show up. He's plugging holes. Now he's not doing it with term, but they think he's saying, look,

I know we're not a Stanley cup contender, but I won't allow us to be bad. And I expect us to make progress and I expect to make us better. And I don't want the young players to feel that they're guaranteed spots. They're going to have to have people that they're going to beat out. And I kind of understand that because he's a super competitive guy. We interrupt our program to bring you this important message. Quick update as I take my son to see the flash. Detroit put Philip Zedina on waivers on Monday. I think everybody kind of knew here that it was time for a fresh start.

They couldn't make a trade. So Detroit has made the player available to everyone to see if the waiver will work. I think the Red Wings were interested in Bunting, who of course went to Carolina. And you know, the one thing about Iserman is even though he's got a big roster there, he's got a lot of bodies, you never assume he's done. But he was going after goalies. He did. He signed a couple.

You know, Lyon in particular had a really good end to the year in Florida. He was talking about right defense. He went out and he signed a couple. And now I think it's going to be like Bergeron Raymond. He's a talented guy, a very high pick. I think they want to see these guys take the leap. And, you know, I think what Eisenman would say is he'd stop signing these guys and stop bringing some of these guys in. If some of their young players grabbed a hold of their spots in the lineup, particularly at the elite level, aside from cider.

And I think that's his message to them. If you want a guaranteed spot you have to start beating out some real pros we'll see what happens they're still blocking some guys which isn't necessarily the worst thing making them earn their spots florida panthers uh evan rodriguez a couple of really interesting defensemen coming in here as the the team says goodbye to uh radko gudas we'll get to anaheim a little bit later on and goodbye to anthony declare we'll get to san jose a little bit later on but as far as defensemen go um oliver eckman larson in on the one-year deal uh nico micola

comes in on the three-year deal and dimitri kulikov returns to the team that drafted him out of drummondville so many years ago elliot, on a one-year, $1 million deal. Denisenko gets re-upped a two-year deal there. Your thoughts on the Cats on the weekend? I think OEL is a fascinating guy. I think he's one of the best bets of the offseason. It was time for him in Vancouver. It wasn't going to work.

I think Toronto was one of the teams that kind of looked at him, Shane Doan connection, tree living connection, but he goes to Florida where it's nice and quiet, good weather, no state taxes. And I think the Panthers are really hopeful of what this can do and what he can do. As you said, they signed a lot of defensemen. You look at guys like Montour and Ekblad, they're not expecting those guys back until maybe Christmas. So they needed to get some bodies,

and there's going to be opportunity here. I think the Rodriguez signing was really interesting because one of the things I heard, you know, after game five, you know, when they were so banged up and, you know, they really were short against a deep, deep, deep Vegas team. They were really short. One of the things I heard they thought about was, you know, they had to get a center.

They really had to get a center. Like Eric Stahl gave them really good minutes in the playoffs. But once Eric Stahl was asked to take a third line role as he was in game five, he's just not a guy who can do that anymore at his age. It's not an insult. He's just not a guy who can do that anymore at his age. It's not an insult. He's just older. I think that Rodriguez is a guy who's really going to help them. I heard that was exactly the kind of player they were looking for,

and they went out and they got him. Montreal, meanwhile, pretty quiet a couple of days for the Montreal Canadiens, although they have brought in Alex Newhook. A lot of rumors around Montreal I know there were some players trying to convince Ken Hughes to bring in Ryan O'Reilly they don't have any cap space unless they can make a move with a

Gallagher or an Anderson but pretty quiet weekend for the Montreal Canadians yes very quiet you know they went out and they got new hook. They're growing. And I think that's the way that they look at is how do we continue to grow? And I think the thing too about them is

they're always kind of looking at things. Like they're checking out things. And does it mean they do anything? I don't know, but they're checking out things and does it mean they do anything i don't know but they're around on stuff they're generally pretty active in terms of talking you know i think they hope that guys like doc doc took a step this year can he take another one new hook can he regain his confidence and take a step next year like that's what i think is that montreal is looking at is how do we keep growing how do we our young players keep moving forward look at all the young defensemen they've got

can those guys keep growing like we talk about la and la got to the point where they said okay you know we've got to start bringing in some more veterans detroit got to this point where they're saying okay we're still going to bring in some veterans because the young guys aren't taking spots yet. Montreal's not there yet. They still want the young guys to take spots, but if some of these guys don't really show up the next year or two,

then eventually they're going to start to look at the veterans too. But I don't think Montreal's there right now. I still think they want to give the kids a chance to show that they're the leaders ottawa senators uh so much we've talked about involves either the sale or alex the brinkett and on saturday uh pierre dorian kind of turned heads and raised eyebrows with a big time signing of a net minder who really after geez about middle of december this past season elliott really turned things around for his career and that is jonas corposalo five-year 20 million dollar deal aav at

four our gold heading was probably our biggest team like we feel we we feel we've addressed it today in acquiring uh and i hope i pronounce it right in in Jonas Corpus Allo. For us, he's got size, he's athletic, he's powerful, he's played in the playoffs, he's won a series, he's someone that goaltending coach, both in the NHL and the minors because they consult a lot, feel that he's just scratching the surface. He's still got a lot of upside there. So for us, it was someone that we're really excited to sign.

Did I mention it's a five-year deal? Elliot, five years for Jonas Corpusalo. Your thoughts on what Ottawa did. They also re-upped with Eric Branson, we should point out as well. It's a one-year, $2 million deal. Well, I think it's a very fair contract for Corpus Allo. I like the idea of Corpus Allo-Forsberg. I think that can work.

Just get healthy. How many times have we looked at Ottawa and said, oh, I like that move in goal, and then for whatever reason, it doesn't work sometimes. I think since Craig Anderson, they've really battled to try to get that spot. But I like this bet. I like this Corpus Allo Forsberg bet.

Debrinkit hangs large over it. We interrupt our program to bring you this important message. Okay, on Debrinkit. I know there's a lot of frustration. I think everybody here wants this to be over. There was a time, actually, when I was leaving the draft after Thursday, someone said to me, what time are you flying home? I said, I'm flying home Friday at 1 o'clock from Nashville.

They said, make sure you buy the wifi and not just for 30 minutes, but the whole flight. So, you know, there was some feeling that it could have gotten done over the weekend. The thing about this is the team has given the agent, Jeff Jackson, permission to talk to teams here, but it's not that simple. Jeff Jackson, he can negotiate a deal with a team that acquires him, but he can't make the trade. Pierre Dorian, he can make the trade, but he can't negotiate the deal. Now the biggest challenge here is that I think that two of the teams that are involved, actually three of the teams

that are involved, are three of the teams that are involved, are three of the most secretive GMs in the NHL. Lou Lamorello, Steve Iserman, and Pat Verbeek. Lamorello, not going to get anything out of him. Verbeek, the one thing I think about Anaheim is, I think Anaheim was interested. I think DeBrinckit was starting to warm up to the idea because of some of the young players they've accumulated. I just don't think it's likely, from what I understand right now.

The thing about Detroit is, as I've reported several times, Ottawa and the Red Wings have had a difficult time making a deal. And even though Iserman's not going to tell me a thing, I think we all know this. If Alex Dobrynkit is traded to Detroit, they're going to make a deal. He wants to play there. So I'm looking at the Islanders, although I don't know. I've been looking at Anaheim, although I don't think so. And I'm looking at Detroit and I'm saying if they can make a trade with Detroit, he's going to sign there. Obviously there could be others. I'd heard at one point Vegas was in it. Now I think they're out. But that's where I think it stands. And I think the challenge here is even though the team and the agent aren't very happy with each other right now they need each other to get it done and from what I've heard

it's not like it's that far away this is within striking distance so they just have to grind their way through the end of it because the trade needs to get done and the contract needs to get done or this saga isn't ending. Now, Ottawa, I think, is also trying to get Hamannik done at what they consider to be a reasonable deal. They haven't gotten it done, but I still think they would like to keep him. a reasonable deal. They haven't gotten it done, but I, I still think they would like to keep him. He fit there. Um, you know, people made fun of that trade with Vancouver and, you know, Hamannik was very good there. So I think they, they'd like to keep them. I think they're really hopeful with Norris and Joseph who Matthew Joseph, who've been bothered by injuries. They're really counting on them next year. And then they've some young players who i i think they want to see them sort of take the jump smakel is one of those

guys ridley greg is another one of those guys sokolov is another one of those guys and even matthew highmore who's a little bit older i i think they're going to give him a chance like if if you can make our bottom six, you'll get a shot there. So, and the other thing too, as I mentioned Tarasenko on Saturday night and somebody asked me, is that real? I don't think Tarasenko had a lot. So I think when Ottawa called him, they were interested or he called Ottawa. I don't know who called who, but I think he was interested.

And somebody told me if the brinket goes, that's a possibility. We'll see how it all plays out. From Ottawa to an intriguing team that is letting go of a lot of players. And this is most recently on Sunday, as we record this at 928 Eastern, Patrick Maroon has now been moved to the Minnesota Wilds. So a lot of names we've been familiar with with Tampa. We saw Corey Perry with Chicago Blackhawks, for example. Ross Colton as well.

Go to the Colorado Avalanche. Are now moving on. In comes Connor Sherry. In comes Luke Lendenning. In comes Josh Archibald. In comes Calvin DeHaan. In comes Jonas Johansson. Your thoughts on Julian Brisebois redoing this

team like a lot of the primaries are still here you know Hedman and Sergeyev and Vasilevsky and Stamkos, Poincuturov, Sorelli etc but slowly but surely I mean Alex Killorn is gone we'll get to Anaheim a little bit later on as well. Slowly but surely, this team continues to change its look. Yes. Obviously, their top roles are all done, but I think they're fixing around the top players. As you said, they brought in DeHaan. Maroon was traded, making Minnesota

instant Stanley Cup favorite, of course, because he always wins the Cup. Congratulations to Bill Guerin. I think they're going to continue to move around the edges of that group if they can. Now, I think one of the biggest things for them next year is Tanner Janot. He got acquired this year late. I think he was shocked.

I don't think he was unhappy, but I think he was shocked. And, you know, people say he was a healthy scratch in the past. He was not. He had a big-time ankle injury was a healthy scratch in the past. He was not. He had a big-time ankle injury. They couldn't believe he even got back to play. I think it showed his commitment, but he was not himself. He was not healthy. And I think the Lightning field, with an offseason,

a chance to get acclimated, he gets healthy. He's going to be a very, very different player for them. And so I do think, you know, getting back to being Tanner, you know, is going to be a huge thing for the lightning. You know, a guy who gets going to get a shot there is Alex Barre Boulay and he's a little bit older. He's 26, 27 years old. Yep.

But when you ask about one of the best players in the AHL this year. Oh yeah. At 84 points in 67 games, he's going to be given an opportunity that they want him to show that he's ready to do in the nhl with some of their other depth players have done in previous years so i think that's what tampa is going to do i think like i had someone say to me oh this is it tampa they're dying i'm like i would not bet that at all like like i think that's crazy to bet against those guys and that's why i think you know recovering is such so huge for them and you know the other thing too like just quietly steven stamkos is going in the last year of his contract

i assume at some point he's going to get extended to from tampa we go to the team that knocked them out in the first round that is the toronto maple leafs uh tyler bertuzzi in on the one-year deal 5.5 john klingberg on the one-year deal on the back end 4.15 and ryan reeves with the three-year deal just over four million dollars aav 1.35 for the maple leafs elliott and you you know, Max Domi is in Europe. So this is getting finalized Monday as this podcast comes out. He's signing for a year at 3 million. I think the thing here to realize

is that Max Domi, he wants this to be his NHL home for a long time. He wants to be a Leaf. He's got the bloodlines to be a Leaf. He'll do anything to stay a Leaf. He never to be a leaf. He's got the bloodlines to be a leaf. He'll do anything to stay a leaf. He never wants to leave here. It's a powerful motivator. And that's a major reason he's here and they wanted him. They know that, you know, Klingberg, they needed a right shot D.

If you take a look at their blue line, they're left they wanted a righty badly i think they took a run at matt dumba but i just don't think they could make it work and you know if you listen to our other team conversations here you'll know there's a team i think dumba's potentially going to i think arizona has interest but i think they wanted a right shot D he can run their first power play he can make a pass get it out of the zone he can transition it to the forwards yes he's never going to win the Rod Langway trophy his best defensive defenseman and I do worry about his health particularly his hips he's battled a lot of injuries, but for the fit that they needed, a right-hand shot who can run a power play,

he fits with what they're going to do there. And like I said, I think they took a run at Dumba, but they couldn't make it work. What they're still looking at, I don't think the defense they're done with. They tried for Shen. They got outbid. They tried for Dumba. They couldn't get

there. They were in on Ackman Larson history with tree living in Doan. He got a better offer in Florida and I think it's probably better for him anyway. I think they asked about Carson Susie. I heard they were never in that game. So I think it's a situation where they want to get longer. They want to get meaner. Those are tree livings kind of D and I think he's going to have to do that now trade market as opposed to free agency. You know, I do think that the Maple Leafs like some of Calgary's defensemen and it's obvious why tree living knows them.annifin zadorov tanev you know one of the things i've been told over the years is that when a gm leaves one team and goes to another the team that he leaves they don't always want to trade players there you know because they think

whether the gm has intel on those players or they think it gives them an advantage into acquiring those players whatever you want to say some teams aren't so crazy about that so when I say I don't know if Calgary wants to deal with Toronto or tree living it's not because they hate tree living or they have anything negative against tree living should that some teams are uncomfortable with that because he knows the players so well. We'll see. I do think Toronto has at its base interest in some of those Calgary defenders. Now I think they're going to look at also Timmons. I think they're really hoping he takes a step next year. That was a long-term play by the Maple Leafs, along with Nyes and Holmberg up front.

Nyes showed in the playoffs that guy's a really good player. Holmberg is a guy they re-signed and they've liked now for a couple of years. Those guys have to be able to take the steps along with everybody else they've brought in. And I think this has been a fascinating weekend for the Maple Leafs. At the beginning,

all my Leaf fan friends were like, this sucks, we're terrible. They hated everything. You know, the one thing about Reeves' contract is I think Minnesota was prepared to give him two years. So I think Toronto knew if they wanted to get him out of there, they were going to have to go three. So they did it. And also the number is, you know, if you have to bury it, you can bury it. And, you know, I think they hope that this isn't going to happen, that Ryan Reeves is going to be a good pro for three years. Tyler Bertuzzi, he is going to be motivated to have a massive year on a one-year deal. And we all know what Reeves is about.

I think it's really interesting what the Leafs have done here. And it is kind of funny how a lot of their fans hated it Saturday and are very happy on Sunday. They wanted to change their mix. Like, I'll say one thing. Like, if you ask a lot of players who came into Toronto last year at the deadline about the Leafs, and they said, very quiet, very serious now with Reeves and Max Domi I mean you still got to be serious to win in this league but it's not going to be quiet well I think you know I don't ever come into a

locker room shy or quiet you know I tend to come in and start chirping people right away just kind of get the uh that over with but um you know i think for me i you know i don't play a lot of minutes i don't score a ton of goals so a lot of you know what i do is a physical play you know or the fighting making sure guys you know feel safe on the ice and you know chirping getting in guy's face but you know off the ice you know for me i take that very seriously i you know i i like to plan the parties i like getting the boys together i like getting together on the road um i tend to drag everybody you know if somebody you know tends to not come to you know events sometimes i tend to just make sure everybody's there because it's really important the best teams i've been are the guys

that the teams that everybody is together all the time off the ice. The worst teams I've been on is when you have little cliques that hang out together and, you know, you never really get the full group together. So I'm not exactly sure what the locker room is. I heard it's quiet, but I don't know if it's cliquey or whatever. So if it is and we can address it, if not, then, you know, I've heard it's a great locker room. So, you know, I think I'm just going to make sure that everybody's together all the time and dragging guys into, you know, whatever we need to do to feel like a complete team. Look, the Maple Leafs have tried to find the secret sauce around their core four for years and years and years. And this is what they're going to try.

They're going to try to be more boisterous around them. Like one of the things I absolutely believe, and I talked about this on the pod, was that a lot of the players felt that the team did not have an identity outside of the core four. Like it was the core four and the other 19. Well, with Max Dolmy there and with Bertuzzi there and Reeves there, that's not going to be the case. Now, when it comes to Nylander's negotiations, the biggest problem I think is this. He's not

going to want to take less if he doesn't think anyone else is going to. If he believes other players will, he will. But in the alpha world of professional sports, these guys are competitive and that competitive nature isn't just on the ice, it's off it too. And you don't want to be the only one who takes less if no one else will and i think that's what's on neil andrews mind but the other thing too is i do wonder about matt murray and what it means for his health like people say they have no cap room they do have cap room depending on what's happening with matt murray yeah like if matt murray is healthy enough to play then they've got some concerns but if for whatever reason matt murray is not healthy enough to play they can make all of this work without doing significant surgery clingberg is a real interesting

guy you know hey we've talked about clingberg ad nauseum on this pod i heard they got some good references from anaheim about him but they brought him in for a specific role. This is the most microscope-analyzed team in the NHL, and they've tried a lot of things to work, and this is what they're going with. The idea of building an identity around the other players on the team, I'm really fascinated to see where this is going to go. Let me swing back to

Max Domi there for a second, because hearing you talk about him reminded me of a conversation I had a while ago about why he really worked with Dallas and Dallas really worked with him. And it's all about that personality that you talk about. This person said to me, look, the Dallas Stars, like a lot of these key players are really intense. We're not here to have fun. We are here to do business. Like Jamie Benn is a really intense guy. Jason Robertson is a really intense guy. Joe Pavelski is a really intense guy. Miro Heiskanen is kind of quiet as he's described to me, but Ryan Suter, really intense guy. This person said to me, you know, Max Domi went to Dallas and all of a sudden there was someone in that room that nobody else was like, and could just sort of turn down the intensity a little bit and allow the players to have fun he

was a different personality in that room so just hearing you talk about that i'm reminded about that conversation a while ago but why it worked so well uh in dallas with max domi and i think that the door was still open even though i think dallas is also trying to get Tyler Bertuzzi. I think the door was still open there for Max Domi. I think Bertuzzi was prepared to wait a couple of days to make his decision, but it became very clear, Jeff, on day one that nobody could give him term. Nobody could. There just wasn't the flexibility to do it. could there just wasn't the flexibility to do it and you know finally it got into sunday and it still was going nowhere and you know he just said and it's sort of his representation as agents todd

reynolds i think they just said you know what where do we want to go where we can bet on ourselves and i think if you're going to go somewhere and you bet on yourself, you go somewhere where you're going to score and you're going to score in Toronto. And look, if you score in Toronto, it's the biggest stage in the league and everyone sees it and you turn it into something, you know, look what Zach Hyman did. Look what Michael Bunting did. And he's going to play with, you know, Matthews or Marner or someone like that, or, and he's going to score, you know matthews or marner or someone like that or and he's going to score you know it'll be really interesting he'll be eligible for an extension january 1st is that in toronto or does they wait to the end of the year and he goes somewhere else but if he has any kind of season he's going to get a massive payday out of it playing with good players

elliot yeah we say he's playing with good players and i think that's what happens like you know who got term here miles wood did you want to score pasalo did he's a goalie yes who else got term ryan o'reilly got four years ev GT Comfort got five. So look at this. Miles Wood got six years at 2.5. Rodriguez got four at three. We're talking about forwards here. O'Reilly got four at four and a half. Comfort got five at 5.1. Everybody got term on the island.

But those were their own guys. I know, I know. There was their own guys. And if Bertuzzi wants seven years, nobody had the ability to get to 5.5. So a year from now, is this an eight-year deal at 5.5? Or does he go even more because he has a big year in Toronto? I always say bet on yourself. On that, we'll take a break.

When we come back, we'll go to the Western Conference, starting with the Arizona Coyotes. We'll be right back. Yes, last night I slept in the open Just to let, just to let, just to let my soul free I don't want to go, I don't want to go, I don't want to go back to the city Just to let my soul free. I don't want to go, I don't want to go, I don't want to go back to the city. Go, go, go.

I don't want to go, I don't want to go, I don't want to go back to the city. Go, go, go. Just to love, love, Amal, Taylor Hodges is here. Just wanted to drop by and say how much I appreciate you guys doing the podcast. I appreciate all the information you're giving us, how concise you are, how entertaining you guys are. As a scout for the Lincoln Stars and the USHL, I listen to your podcast every time I go on a road trip. So just wanted to say thank you guys. Keep up the good work. And I can't wait to listen to the new episode.

Okay, welcome back to the pod here. Let's get to the Western Conference and start with the central starting with the arizona coyotes uh alex kerfoot jason zucker nick bugstad troy stetcher returns elliot to the desert uh your thoughts on what bill armstrong did on the weekend he promised he was going to make his team better and i think he knew for the fans there, for the future of the team, and for some of the players who were already on the roster, that he had to do it. He simply had to make them better. And he did it. That Jason Sucker deal, that's a great deal. Yeah, I like him.

Kerfoot, I think Kerfoot will be much more confident without the craziness of Toronto. By the way, they're going to use Kerfoot everywhere in that lineup. Yes. Kerfoot is going to appear everywhere up and down that line. Like, Tournier is going to use them everywhere. Stetcher, good pro. They brought in a bunch of good pros.

Like, they're a better team. Now, Matt Dumba has not signed yet. I think this could be where he ends up. Now, I'm not saying for sure but i believe arizona has a spot open and i think he's a player they have interest in a dumb is one of the players and signed yet and you're kind of wondering where he's going to end up i'm sure there's others who he's talking to right like there's a lot of guys right now move money move money and i'll sign dumba i think arizona's holding a spot open for dumba if he wants it and you know what i think the guy the other guy there i think is gonna have a big year is dersey like you talk about kerfoot's

gonna be everywhere dersey's gonna be on their number one power play dersey's gonna be put in offensive situations the kings knew this they knew they couldn't afford his Arb case. Jersey is going to be a big piece there, but I think it'll be really interesting if Dumba does go there because I think Dumba has some sort of attachment to the area. And I think Arizona hopes that they can get them. All right. From there, we go to the big winners at the draft. And by big winners, I mean the team that got Connor Bedard. They add Ryan Donato. They add Corey Perry. They add Nick Foligno.

This wasn't just all about Saturday. This was over the past few days for the Chicago Blackhawks, Elliot. Well, look, there's only one addition that really, really, really matters, and that's Bedard, as you said. I think the Blackhawks, it's just about incremental building. You know, the one thing Chicago has signaled is, look, they're still willing to consider eating money if somebody needs help. But what I've heard is that the price has gone up.

Chicago is really saying, if you want us to do it now, it's going to cost you. So I think that's one of the biggest changes this off season. Jeff is that Arizona is like, no, we're not taking your waste contract anymore. And Chicago's price has really gone up. So it made it harder to move money. I mean,

Bedard is obviously huge for them. The other guy I think I'm watching for next year is Lucas Reichel. I think they want him to become a full-time NHL or that's true. And I think if Reichel takes that step next year, it's another really important thing for Chicago. I'm, I'm curious to watch him. You know,

I want to see who plays with Bedard. Like when they open up next year and they're coming through Canada early, they play Pittsburgh early. Then they play Montreal on the first Saturday. They play Toronto on the first Monday. Like David Amber is already plugging these games. They're four months away from happening, but you know,

I think it's going to be exciting and I'm curious to see who he's going to play with. Like we talked about this. I'm unbelievably impressed with him as a person. And if Reichel and him develop together, that's big for the Blackhawks. That really is. That's going to mean either way,

that's going to be an exciting team. Like there, there's some like really quietly here. They've put together a really, really nice prospect list. Frank Nazar, the university of Michigan, Kevin Korchinski,

Wyatt Kaiser, Easton Del Mastro. Like it's not going to happen right away. It's not going to happen next year. To your point about Lucas Reichel, I think that that's going to be an important one there. But they have some really impressive players at a lot of different positions here that are ready to step in. Don't be surprised if this team, you're going to start to see a lot of younger players take

impactful spots. I know there's the Corey Perrys and the Nick Foligno's there now, but next couple of years are going to be fascinating for the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, um, Jack Johnson, Andrew Cogliano,

Bo Byron wraps up on a, on a bridge deal, two year deal, 3.85 is the AAV, Jonathan Druin, uh, hope the team hopes they can recreate that Halifax Mooseheads Memorial Cup magic. And Miles Wood comes in on a six-year, $15 million deal.

Elliot? I think they're going to get an extension done with Colton. I'm hearing that they're not far apart. You know, Colton, I think, gets extended. I still think they're looking at depth D. I still think they're looking at depth D. I still think they're looking at another bottom six forward. You know what I think they really want? They really want Byram to be healthy.

Yeah. Like, I think if Byram can play 70 games, I think it's such a game changer for them. But look, like, like Colton hugely competitive guy Johansson big body Drouin you know I think I've mentioned this to you before but when Drouin was not playing for Tampa when he stepped away for a bit and was then sent down I went to Colorado to do a piece on something and McKinnon pulled me aside and was like, you got to talk up Drouin.

You got to talk up Drouin. He's a player. He's a player. Nathan McKinnon has been talking up Jonathan Drouin since before he was traded to Montreal. And I think a lot of people wondered if Drouin would ever play again. I'm rooting for him hugely. I hope this is a great fit for him. And, you know, McKinnon is going to drag him through.

And I say that in a good way. Look, like Miles Wood, man, I have to tell you, when I heard that contract, first of all, I have to tell you when I first reported that Wood was going to Colorado, I got a text from an executive of another team in the Central saying, are you freaking kidding me? Because Colorado, they just run over people.

And now they've got another guy like that. It was funny when I heard it was a six-year deal. Colorado has some really smart analytics guys there. And Chris McFarlane is a big analytics guy. Like we were joking that maybe someone had kidnapped them. New Jersey liked Wood. It just didn't work out in the end financially. And there were a lot of teams that liked this guy.

And all you had to know about teams liking Wood was the deal that Colorado gave him. Six years and $15 million. Like that tells you how popular wood was out there in the market. And I just think that this team, people look at them and they're like, oh man, like they're going to be really hard to handle next year. By the way, I think one of the centers that they looked at too was back. It didn't happen but i i

think they were they were in on him i mean colorado like that's the thing like colorado's gonna get pick of players who go there for a year like bertuzzi going to toronto obviously it's not the same money but they're gonna have pick of players i believe that too dallas stars and the biggie here is the matt the shane contract it's uh one year three million dollars uh sam steel comes in as well craig smith on the one-year deal of gavin bay ruther as well this is an interesting team joel hanley uh on the two-year deal for the other squad like i think that they were in on domi i think that they were in on talibur tuzy once the shane came available that changed that changed everything and you know

what's interesting about it too because he needed 4.6 over three to be made whole in this deal and he got the one year three million dollar deal out of the dallas stars he may be made whole in two years not three after all of this elliot it shows you how good dallas is that they could say look matt this is all we've got and we'll give it to you, and he said yes. No, I think it's, you know, Deshane can play center. We're actually fortunate. He can play center and he can play wing. He actually doesn't mind playing the off wing.

So flexibility there. Tyler's in the same boat. He can play center and play wing. So you've got two face-off men there. You've got two face-off men on the top line, Rupe's line. And we've got two really face-off guys on Johnson's line. And then you got Radek Faxa, who's one of the top center draw men. And Sam Stiltake draws also.

So we have lots of flexibility there, lots of different options. I mean, this division next year, Colorado and Dallas, man, those games are going to be... You remember those, Elliot. Remember how much we loved Dallas-Colorado games so many years ago? Want that rivalry back? Let's go, man.

I'm with you. Get the gauze ready because Colorado and Dallas are playing tonight. I think Dallas is comfortable with their roster. Their young players made a big impact this year. I think they're hoping for that next year. Like Lundqvist, who they traded for, Harley, who they've drafted.

Like of all the young kids who took big steps this year, I think those are the guys they'd like to see them take big steps next year. But I think Dallas is very comfortable with their group. You know, Matt Duchesne

could have gone a lot of places and he picked there and that's a real good validation of the way Dallas is going. Minnesota Wild, and you know that I'll always mention my hometown hockey team. They signed netminder Hunter Jones, who used to play for the Stouffville Spirit.

It's a one-year deal at 787. And here's my Mike Russo moment. Hunter Jones, whose billet in Stouffville was Kenny Burroughs, and Hunter Jones spent the majority of his time playing Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple on his guitar. Wow. That's my Mike Russo covering the Minnesota Wild, getting deep, deep, deep, deep, deep in the history of all the players.

That's my Mike Russo moment. Oh, and also Pat Maroon. That's going to go right to Russo's head. Just right to his head. Pat Maroon comes in almost guaranteeing Bill Guerin the Stanley Cup as well. That's right. They are now the favorites because wherever Maroon goes, he wins. I made that joke on Twitter and a bunch of people got it

and a bunch of people really missed it. You know, they were looking for a bottom six forward winger and they got him in Maroon on Sunday night. You know, they still have some RFAs to do. Duhame, Addison, and of course Gustafson. That's a big one. They're really hopeful about Brock Faber next year, and why not?

The way he kind of arrived at the end of that first round playoff series, he sure looked like he belonged. He looked so good, Elliot. You know, Maroon really fits that Minnesota. Like, if they weren't going to have reeves there and i think they were prepared to go two years with reeve or commit to two years with reeves like maroons that kind of a guy right so i'm not surprised at all that that's the kind of player they would go out and get he fits their identity you know that's another team

gauze pad hockey that's that's the wild and obviously they have to get gustafson done i'd been led to believe a while ago that it was going to get done it wasn't going to be a problem as long as that's still the case then we're okay here you know you mentioned brock favor a couple of seconds ago i'm really hoping for good health and good fortunes for marco rossi as well to finally make it and stick with the Minnesota Wild. That kid has been through so much and works so hard. You just want to see that payoff for the young man sooner than later. From the Minnesota Wild, we go to the team that made a lot of headlines early.

Well, they tried to make even more headlines at the draft. They did just by the way they hosted the draft, and that is the Nashville Predators. So they signed Ryan O'Reilly. They signed Luke Shen. Those are the two headline makers. They re-up with Cody Glass as well, two-year contract, 2.5 AAV. O'Reilly leaves Toronto, goes to Nashville, four-year deal.

Luke Shen gets a three-year deal. Elliot, his AAav 2.75 your thoughts on what new gm barry trotz is doing ryan o'reilly serial winner stanley cup champion uh selkie candidate selkie winner uh he's won a bunch of uh the smith uh you know he, he's been MVP in the playoffs. He's been, he's done that. I've worked with Ryan at international events, World Cup of Hockey. He's been on Olympic teams. He's, you know, he reminds me of a Joe Pavelski type of guy,

a guy that continues to produce. People follow him and everybody around him is better. And that was really, for me, for our young guys, our culture, that was critical. That was a critical piece for us. Luke Shin. I have known Luke for a long time. Obviously, we've played against, my teams have played against, you know,

the teams that he's been on over years, especially at Tampa. We had some wars when I was with the New York Islanders. And I can tell a story about Luke. I thought we were starting to take the series over in the bubble. The one thing that it was Matt Martin, we were the physical team. We were the team that was sort of what you saw had that identity. We were getting under Tampa's skin. We were pushing some of the key guys maybe out of the series

and getting momentum. And Luke was a guy that recognized that and, to me, changed the whole series and came over and established presence. He has a great way to identify those moments. He's played with high-end defensemen. We have one of the greatest defensemen in the National Hockey League right now, in Jorma Niosi. And I don't like sometimes when roman takes some big

hits luke will make sure that those big hits won't be coming to too often so they wanted to change up their group quite a bit it's obvious that they felt their mix was not working like i do a radio hit in nashville every week and it's pretty clear to me uh on 1025 there and it's pretty clear to me on 1025 there and it's pretty clear to me that at least the feeling there was that Nashville group had a great run but it was time and obviously Barry Trotz agreed and O'Reilly was huge there's a lot of theories about why O'Reilly didn't come back to Toronto you know one of the things I really felt is that I think O'Reilly likes his anonymity a bit. And I think just all of the attention in Toronto,

I don't think it really appealed to him. You know, Nashville, like they love their hockey players, but obviously it's not the same. You can be a lot more anonymous there and you know we talk about how great broadway is and i had an unbelievable time there last week and my liver had not a good time there last week but the underrated thing about nashville is if you live there a family it's also very good family life it's very outdoorsy it's very mild weather there's a lot of pluses whether you're single or a family person in nashville and i think they know that and you

know they they recruited him on that and i'm not surprised he ended up there i mean shannon's another guy you know we talk about adam oates a lot on this pod yep adam oates really helped resuscitate lu Shen's career. And the thing I'm happy for Shen is, after signing a whole bunch of one-year deals, he's now got some staying power here. Nashville really wanted him. Like, the one thing I heard with Toronto is,

Toronto thought they were going to be able to keep him. You know what happens is, Toronto starts to think, wait a sec, the price is going up. And you sit there and you say, are we negotiating against ourselves or does he really have something else out there? And he really had something else out there. Like a lot of the guys Toronto lost that they wanted to keep, guys like Shen and Achari, they got outbid on.

The other thing too about O'Reilly is I bet you they would have paid around that on O'Reilly, but also this they would have paid around that on O'Reilly, but also this is the difference between Canada and the States, Nashville, Tennessee. It's a tax-free state, right? But I think O'Reilly wanted a place that was quieter.

I don't think he liked all the noise. And I think Nashville really appealed to him. And, and the other thing too, is they got a bunch of young players now, Novak, Parsonin, Evangelista. They're going to have Shen and O'Reilly around them in addition to what they've already got.

That's going to be very big for those players. For what it's worth as well, you talk about families and Ryan O'Reilly's brother, Cal, who was drafted by Nashville back in 2005, he there uh with his family so there is some type of family lure for the o'reillys in nashville i think also too we should mention that if you remove one guy who can play the guitar matt duchene you have to bring in another guy it's a very good point you need your guitar in the room it's been a pretty quiet couple of days for the St. Louis Blues. Mackenzie McEachran comes in.

Tyler Tucker, who I think is going to be a pretty big piece of that defense sooner than later, Elliot, adds a little dimension there of nastiness. Two-year $1.6 million deal, $800,000 is the AAV. But those are the only two signings over the weekend. Pretty quiet from Doug Armstrong here. I don't think there's going to be a lot there. He took his big swing at the Philadelphia deal, parts of which stayed, parts of which fell through.

So I don't know that St. Louis is going to be doing a lot here. People told me to expect it will be quiet. You never know what can happen, but the expectation here is going to be quiet. The Blues were ecstatic about their draft. Like I know you and Bukala and Cosentino really liked their first round. I know they were really happy about, you know, the players they got there. I think a lot of what St. Louis is looking at is players who struggled last year. Can they get up to a higher level? And I know they really want to push kairu to become a more well-rounded player but i think that's how they feel is some guys took steps back

last year and we have to get them back up to what they can be but again the expectation is they're going to be quiet which means the moment after we drop this they're going to drop like a 14 player trade uh winnipeg jets speaking of teams we expect to drop 14 player trades the winnipeg jets uh sign a couple of goalies uh laurin boswa comes in on the one-year deal colin delia comes in on the one-year deal as well jeffrey vial comes in nice tough player there and vlad namestikov you love him i just remember him going back to the Memorial Cup in Regina and got to meet his dad and he's he's an honest honest

tough nose player Vlad Nemestikov as well signs a two year deal two million dollar cap hit on that one your thoughts on Kevin Shevelday off like I know we all still expect more and we're all still wondering you don't think so hey no I'm not saying that i'm

not saying i don't okay you know we talked about this the draft was over and there was a different feeling around the jets they got a first round pick that a lot of people gave very positive reviews to colby barlow they made a trade that a lot of people gave them very positive reviews to and i think they just want to breathe. They want to talk with Hellebuck. They want to talk with Shifley and kind of see where everyone is. You know, Sheveldayoff's instinct is not to rush into anything. And I think they just kind of want to see how everybody reacts to this. Again, like we just talked about St. Louis, you worry about saying this and it happens tomorrow and you look just really dumb.

But I heard they just wanted to breathe after that week. I think they're still looking at some depth ads. You know, Nameshnikov's an interesting guy because at a time where a lot of people talk about who wants to leave Winnipeg, I heard Nameshnikov was really happy there, and he really liked it there. And obviously he signed, so he did, but you kind of need those things.

I think a big one next year is Perfetti, you know, getting healthy. I think they're really hoping he takes the next steps. But again, I think what's interesting here, Jeff, is that I think everybody just wants to sit back and take a timeout and see how everyone feels after that Kings deal. Because, you know, those guys, like, those are good players. Oh, yeah. That can help them.

And I think everyone just wants to see how the organization reacts. As you go, gotta have a share Morning, sad morning Sad, it must be a day Morning, sad morning Well, now, I cried Good morning, sad morning. Well, now, I cried. I cried, cried, cried, cried. The boys, I just want to say I think your podcast is beautifully done, and the editing is superb.

I extremely enjoy listening to you guys every couple of days. You guys are both beauties. Bobby from North Vancouver, baby. Hi, my name is Mike from Nova Scotia. I just listened to the podcast with Woodley from Ingle Magazine about the goalie mask rules. There are some copyright laws that won't allow certain people to use certain things. Jonathan Bernier, when he was in LA, had the Hollywood logo on his mask, and they told him he wasn't allowed to use it unless they paid him. That's the only thing that I can think of right now, but I'm sure there's been more where

they had to pay for the copyright to have it on the mask. Hey, boys. Connor from New York. Currently driving to the beautiful Turning Stone Resort and Casino to play a little golf today. As a Blackhawks fan, super stoked to see Bedard coming in. Hopefully he can make a big impact this year, especially with some of those other trades and signings. Amel, great work.

And Elliot, nice suit, pal. Nice suit. Later, boys. Okay, let's shift attention now to the Pacific. And we'll start with the Anaheim Ducks, and they just got more difficult to play against. Now they'll start with the Anaheim Ducks. And they just got more difficult to play against. Now they have a lot of young players.

They have a running feud with the Arizona Coyotes. So no surprise that they pick up Radko Gudis for the back end. And a really good, hard, honest player in Alex Kalorin up front. He signs the four-year deal, 6.25 ZAAV. We should point out that the Gudis deal carries an average contract of $4 million as well. Your thoughts on this one? The Ducks, kind of like I looked at these two signings and I said, like, these are very much Pat Verbeek-style signings.

These are tough hockey players. You know, Gudis, I think, is perfect for what they needed. You know, it wasn't just Arizona that pushed them around. It was everybody who did. You know, Gutis, I think, is perfect for what they needed. You know, it wasn't just Arizona that pushed them around. It was everybody who did. You know what? It's not only that they got pushed around, but, you know, Gutis is a pro. Killorn is a pro. These are guys that they weren't the most skilled guys in the world.

They're talented. Like, don't get me wrong. But they've made their careers based on their teammates love them and they work hard and they compete hard and that's what the message that the ducks are you know trying to send and that's why they went out and they got those guys and they paid a premium but they knew they were going to have to. And they have plenty of cap room. I think those are exactly the kind of guys that you want to bring in. Now, the Gibson thing, I heard it's not been easy. You know, just like Jari, who battles a lot of abdominal issues,

you know, Gibson's had some, and I've heard that scared a couple of teams. You know, I still think that guy is a heck of a goalie. You know, he faced, what, almost a record number of shots this year, and he kept Anaheim in a lot of games that they had no business being in, really. And I think there's a lot of unfair Gibson hate around there, but I've heard they've had a really hard time gaining any traction there. I think that's a guy who will bust out in his next place. We interrupt our program to bring you this important message.

So on Monday night, we have another insert. John Gibson's agent, Kurt Overhart, released a statement refuting reports that Gibson had said he would not play another game for the Anaheim Ducks. Basically said he wouldn't handle the situation in that particular way. And I believe also Gibson communicated to the Ducks on Monday that he'd never said that and that was not his intention. And I think that all worked itself out fine between him and the team look John Gibson wants a trade the Anaheim Ducks want to accommodate it I think the Ducks have found this process harder than they thought now one of the

things here I have no doubt that Pat Verbeek is asking a lot. There's a lot of goalies on the market. Gibson has a bit of an injury history. I know that's been a little bit of concern to some teams. But the fact is he's an incredibly talented guy. And there's a lot of people out there who believe that in a winning situation, which Anaheim isn't in right now, he is going to take off. And I know there are some people out there who really know Gibson and really like Gibson who would bet on him in that situation. Now, Gibson has a partial

no trade and he does want to go to a team that he thinks can win the cup. It's been a challenge for Anaheim to do this so far because of all of that. But Gibson, I've heard, is prepared to be patient. You know, I don't know if everybody here is going to have to bend a little bit, whether or not Gibson's going to have to agree to expand his potential list of destinations, or Anaheim's going to have to come down from its ask a bit. Like I've said, I've heard Verbeek values Gibson very highly. But I do think there are teams that are kicking around him. Like one of the teams I think everybody's kind of wondering about is,

are the Devils going to go into next season with Vanacek and Schmid as their team? Even though I think they really like Schmid a lot, do they think they can win a Stanley Cup with that? And that's going to be a question until basically next season starts or even into next season if they start with those two goalies. So that's where I think it stands right now.

I've heard Gibson is prepared to be patient with this, but as it stands at this time, he doesn't have a long list of teams he really wants to go to. And also the Ducks value him very highly. So it's a slow process, and it's been a challenge for Anaheim to pull this off so far. You know, I've talked about this before. You know, Drysdale getting back and getting healthy, I think that's big for them.

But Zegers, for me, is another one. All the talent in the world, no question about it. I just think they want to get him, they want to push him a bit. They want to push him out of his comfort zone. We'll see how that goes. He still needs a new deal. Troy Terry still needs a new deal for the Anaheim Ducks as well. We've talked a lot about the Calgary Flames,

and we still do expect more from uh the calgary flames once final decisions are done but you know jordan osterly comes in over the weekend and other than that for craig conroy it's trying to sort out who's going to be staying and who's going to be going in calgary well i think that's the thing i i made the deal with Toffoli, but the one thing I've heard since then is the Flames have talked about no rush. They're going to take their time here. Well, I shouldn't say that. I'll say they are prepared to take their time here.

The Toffoli one they wanted to do, I think they like Sharon Govich, but the other ones, and I think they, like I said, I think that Colorado talked about them with Backlund, but but it didn't happen now i think they're in a situation where they're saying let's be patient they're still waiting on lynn holm they know what hannifin wants but they're not in a rush to do it same with all their other players like i think one of the interesting things here is I think Toronto likes some of their defensemen, obviously, but do they want to deal with their former general manager?

So there's always that kind of thing, right? So, I mean, it'll be interesting to see, because I think Toronto likes some of their guys. You know, one of the interesting things is, you know, they're talking a lot about how do we build back Huberto? And I think they've, they've talked a lot about that. And one of the things I've heard, like when Huberto was in Florida, he was a big arranger. Like are all the players getting together? What's everybody doing tonight? And that didn't happen as much last season.

Cause he was obviously in shock and he's on a new team. Like I've heard he's one of the guys calling the draft picks you know making some of the newcomers feel welcome and i've heard the flames have taken that as a very good sign that he's you know he's getting over the shock and he's getting back to his own personality i think that's very important to you know being successful as being comfortable in your own skin and being who you are. So I think the Flames take that as a very good sign for where this is going next year. I mean, obviously, I think they'd love to see one of their young kids,

whether it be Pelce or Coronado, step forward and step in as well. But I know they're really hoping that Huberto bounces back. And there's some optimism that the fact that he seems to be back to being like the party planner, for lack of a better term, that he's getting back to himself. It'd be nice to mix in a couple more right-hand shots. Right now, they've only got two in Lindholm and Walker Dewar. Other than that, everybody shoots left. You sound like Ron. He's always big on the right-hand side.

On the righty the righty lefty well when you see a preponderance of it and even going into the minors as well you say to yourself hmm uh maybe we uh maybe we give someone like matthew coronado just even a longer look just because he not only is he a good hockey player but he also shoots right to the edmonton oilers uh and let's start with the connor brown deal like there was also the lane peterson the drake kajula well did i mention he played for the stoval spirit as well the drake kajula deal before that you know the yanmark deal the derrick ryan deal but connor brown was the deal of the day on saturday for the edmonton oilers it is bonus laden the base though is 775 he can make up to four million dollars your thoughts on this one i think it's a perfect fit i think if connor brown had said no then connor mcdavid might have driven to his house thrown

him in the trunk of his car yeah and taken him to edmonton like i don't think connor mcdavid was taking no for an answer on this one and you you know what? I do think some other teams were really interested. I think Brown wanted to go there, and I think McDavid wanted him there. It's a perfect fit. I still think they're going to add another forward. Got to get Bouchard done one or two years. I heard if it was a two-year deal,

it might end up being between three and a half and four. We'll see. McLeod has to get done up front he's another guy and he got squeezed last year so you know he'll try to battle a bit more this year you know i think they're really hoping that dylan holloway can take a step next year he's unfortunately he's battled some injuries broberg is another guy he's shown flashes they want to take a step next year. But I'll tell you what, I heard a really interesting story about how the team reacted after they lost to Vegas. Like last year, I think they knew.

They just weren't going to beat Colorado. That could have been a best of 99 series, and they weren't winning that series. But I heard that there were some players there, including some of the bigger players who really realized that, you know, even though they got beat by Vegas, they, like if they had beaten Vegas, what could have happened?

You know, McDavid's really determined. Drysaddle's really determined. A lot of those guys are really determined. They were mad. Like last year they knew couldn't beat those guys. And, you know, this year they knew couldn't beat those guys and this year Vegas beat them fair and square and I'm not making any excuses for Edmonton.

Vegas was the best team in the year in the Stanley Cup, but they were like I heard they felt the way they lost. It's not just they lost. It's just that they, as the series went toward its ending, Vegas got better and Edmonton couldn't get to that level. And I think the

players were really pissed off about that. And I think the conversation was, what do we have to do that that never happens again? And I heard a lot of those guys left dialed in, like we're doing what it takes to not let that happen again. And again, I'm not making any excuses. Vegas won it fair and square, but I think the Oilers felt that they faltered as much as Vegas won. I think all those players do, but specifically McDavid.

I shudder to think about what McDavid's going to be like next year after seeing this performance this season. To my teammates, my second family, I truly would not be standing up here if it wasn't for each and every single one of you guys. It gives me the world to me, and I can't wait to get back to work with you guys in September. We've got unfinished business.

We keep talking about and hearing about, oh, he's still got more gears, he's still got more gears. I think McDavid comes out and has an even more frightening season next year. Yeah, I'll tell you, there's no award we can give him higher than the Hart Trophy. Maybe we'll give him the Super Hart Trophy next year.

All right. Los Angeles Kings. The net minor Cam Talbot signs one year deal. Trevor Lewis returns to the scene of some Stanley Cup victories and Jared Anderson Dolan, the one year deal at 775. Listen, Los Angeles has already made some big deals, none bigger than the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal.

Your thoughts on where Rob Blake's team is at right now? Well, I think that they're basically full. They don't really have much room to do much else. I think they'll be one of those teams that basically only know, basically only has one extra skater to start next year because they're at the cap. But I think the Kings, they look at this as, we have to be great down the middle to win our division. And I think they look at Edmonton with McDavid,

who's now beaten them, and Dreisaitl and Nugent Hopkins, who've now beaten them twice in a row in the playoffs, that you look at Vegas and what they have down the middle, and they're like, we have to be great down the middle. And if we have to sacrifice a bit to do that, that's what we're going to do. You know, goaltending is the risk, but if you have that big, long, mobile defense,

you know, you've seen what teams have been able to do. So I think they feel that if Cooley and Talbot can give them solid goaltending, they feel that they can do something here. I still think they have hope in the likes of Byfield, Kaliev, and obviously Brent Clark, who's coming. Oh, yeah. We've talked about this. I wish Byfield had scored once in that playoff round.

What would that have done to him? You know, the Kings, I heard this again. I heard they reached out to Byfield around the time all those Dubois rumors were going on, and they said, look, we just want you to know your guy's not going anywhere. We're not including him in this deal. They are determined that Byfield will be successful there. Kaliev, I think, is a guy who's been frustrated

wanting more of a role, but they're like, we think he can score for us, and you know how they feel about Clark. Yeah, high expectations. I think they've told those guys like for cap reasons they're all gonna play they believe in those guys uh san jose sharks um mackenzie blackwood signs with the team i think that's a really good gamble for razor there yeah two years uh 2.35 is the aav uh etu mackinyemi who i think is probably the future of the net in there with the San Jose

Sharks, signs a new deal as well as Giovanni Smith, Ryan Carpenter. And of course, they made the deal with the Florida Panthers to bring in Anthony DeClaire. Steve Lorenz goes the other way. Defenseman Kyle Burrows and Fabian Zetterlund as well. Those are your signings from the weekend

for the San Jose Sharks. Headlined, as you mentioned, Elliot, by Mackenzie Blackwood. The thing about talking about San Jose, Jeff, is that so much of the air around the Sharks is sucked up by the Carlson conversations that you kind of forget about some of the other things they do. I really thought the Sharks had a good few days in terms of putting some pieces around their organization.

The biggest win was keeping their pick at four, I thought, which was drafting Will Smith. This is a league you got to have centers, and they made sure they got one of the top four centers of the draft. I thought that was a really good move for their team, making that decision. Musty, the other kid they got in the first round quentin musty i know there were a lot of people who really liked him in that area of the draft so you got to hit your first round picks i thought san jose did really well there i also

liked some of the other moves they made i really liked the gamble on mckenzie blackwood there's a player who absolutely needed to change his scenery. They only had to give up a sixth round pick to get him. And I think he's a perfect gamble that the Sharks had to make at this time in their process. And you hope it works out for them. Obviously, I like Duclair going there. I'm a Duclair fan. You hope it works out for them. Obviously, I like Duclair going there. I'm a Duclair fan.

Burroughs, I was really happy for the kid too. A three-year deal at $1.1 million. I think Vancouver was only willing to go two. San Jose gets him the extra year, and it's a massive win for Burroughs. And he'll play hard, and he'll be competitive for them. I don't necessarily think San Jose is done on their defense. Aside from Carlson, I think it's possible they may end up with another veteran there as well. So those kinds of moves, I like them for the Sharks.

I thought all of their secondary moves and secondary things they had to do were nice for them. But it's hard not to look at them and think about the Carlson conversation. And when Doug Wilson was the GM there, every time you asked or even sometimes you didn't ask, he talked about what great ownership he had. He talked about Hassel Plattner. He let him do what he needed to do. You know, there were a lot of other GMs who would hear about what Platner was like and would say, Hey, I'd really love to have that kind of relationship with my owner or that

kind of owner. Now on this one, he's playing a bit more of a role and I'm not saying it's bad. He owns the team. He is allowed to do what he wants, But I think this has been a little bit unusual for the Sharks in the sense that he's a bit more involved in this one than he tends to be. Now, I wrote it last week and I heard it a couple of times. If the Sharks can get Carlson to a 4x8 player, then everybody here is in business. That's 40% retention.

Now, Greer said before the draft, 50% was not something they were going to do. You know, it's been reported, and I've heard, that when they were talking with Edmonton earlier in the year, they were around 20. So the Sharks are going to have to move up here, especially now that a lot of money has been moved. Like, you look at what Tyler Bertuzzi just had to sign for,

and you realize that if you want to move money around now, it's extremely hard to do. So if San Jose is not willing to go in that 40% area, that makes the trade even more difficult. And I think here too, the more San Jose retains, the better they expect the package to be. And so it's really complicated. It's really hard. As far as I can tell, I think they're down to two teams, Carolina and Pittsburgh. It's a lot easier for Carolina to do than it is for Pittsburgh to do. But I think

that, you know, one of the biggest challenges here is that Platner has kind of given an indication of what he expects. And like I said, what he expects is the more they retain, the better the deal has to be. So that's the tightrope that I think Mike Greer and the Sharks are juggling here. One thing about Greer, he's not thrilled about talking about the Carlson deal. You can tell he wants to limit the amount he discusses it and he doesn't enjoy discussing it publicly. So I'm sure he'd love to get it over with.

So would Carlson. I think everybody here would. So we're in a situation where it's a tough deal to make. There are certain expectations that are wanted. And now with all the money being tightened up in the league, it's going to be harder for a team, especially Pittsburgh to do. So that's kind of where we are and we see where it goes, though. I think everybody involved would like it to be over.

The Seattle Kraken. So Carson Soucy leaves. We'll get to Vancouver here in a second. Brian Dumoulin comes in on the two-year deal kyler yamamoto and they'll play up the the hometown angle as much as they can here kyler yamamoto the one-year 1.5 million dollar deal i wonder what's out there for vince dunn as well who's uh who's due a raise here elliot but anyway your thoughts on what seattle has done is kyler yamamoto this year's daniel sprung oh you know Seattle has done. Is Kyler Yamamoto this year's Daniel Sprong? You know, I haven't decided who's going to be this year's Daniel Sprong.

And that's assuming that, you know, that Daniel Sprong's not going to be next year's Daniel Sprong. I don't know. We're going to have to see which way the wind blows. But it's not like I just choose one Seattle Kraken player, although if I did, it would probably be Vince Dunn. But we'll see. We'll see who next year's edition of Daniel Sprong will be. Well, stay tuned.

Did you burn all your Kraken jerseys after they didn't qualify Daniel Sprong? I was a little surprised. Were you not surprised, though? No, I was not. Because I think that they are kind of like value. This is our value. Here's what I think that they are kind of like value. This is our value. Here's what I think. I think that Seattle probably thought that his camp could have made a case for $3 million,

and they weren't prepared to go there, but they had a number for him if he wanted to come back at that number. To be honest with you, Elliot, I thought he was going to re-sign. I really thought this was going to be like, this was going to be like, okay, so he doesn't get QO'd, has a look at the landscape and ends up, you know, redoing a deal with the Seattle Kraken.

But then Steve Eisenman came to the rescue. That's very possible. I really like the Yamamoto bet. I think that's a really good gamble. I'll say this, you know, Ron Francis does not say anything. I think they were deep in the Carlson. I think Seattle

is quietly looking for an offensive game breaker. I think that's the one thing that they feel that they need. And I think that's why they were looking at Carlson. They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of

players who work hard. And, you know, it'll be interesting to see what Beniers tops out points wise in his career, but like an offensive stud, I think that's, and those are hard to find. I think that's what they're looking for. Like they don't have to do anything, but they've got a lot of flexibility.

I don't know if they're in on Debrinket. I haven't heard them around there, but that's another guy who I could see, like a guy who scored 40 goals in this league. To me, that makes a lot of sense for Seattle. I have heard that that's what they're looking for, and they were taking a long look at Carlson because they're looking for an offensive game

breaker because they think that's what could take them to the next level. The kind of player who can score almost or create almost on their own. We had a little bit north from Seattle and that is Vancouver. And that's where Carson Soucy will now apply his trade for the next three years. Elliot Ian Cole. You were on that one early. Teddy Bluger comes in from Vegas. Matt erwin on the two-year deal uh net miner zach sachenko comes in on the one-year deal

775 tristan nielsen uh his entry-level one-year deal there 870 your thoughts on vancouver right now well they accomplished a lot of what they wanted to do we We're judging them by, okay, what did they do with the OEL buyout money? Okay. Well, they went out and they got Ian Cole one year, Teddy Bluger one year, and Tuckett really wanted a center. And they got one, a good one. I like Bluger as a player. And they wanted to get heavier and they got Soucy too. Soucy's an interesting guy. Last year, I had a couple people say to me that they really didn't think he had a great year, but once the playoffs hit, he was really engaged. And they said for Vancouver and Susie, the key this year is that Susie is more engaged in the regular season than he was last year in Seattle. But in the playoffs, nobody had a doubt about how hard he played.

I still think Vancouver is looking to beef up in their bottom six. You know, it's Rutherford, so anything could happen at any time. But Tockett wants a team that's hard to play against, and they're going to be harder to play against. I think the greatest thing about July 1st arriving is that now JT Miller has control over his future so we can stop discussing him every two minutes. It's about time.

Hang on, hang on, hang on. Do you think everyone's going to stop talking about JT Miller? No, because now we'll move on to the Patterson extension so we can talk about that. Oh, okay. Very good. Very good. Very good.

I think they're really hoping that a Hoaglander or a Pod Colson can take a step next year. I think that's what they'd really like. But, you know, I think Vancouver feels better about its team now than it did at the end of last season. And the other thing I think that's very big here for Vancouver is that they've had out some big free agent contracts that caused them a lot of trouble they didn't do that here like these are very very reasonable deals and i think that's some restraint that the canucks needed to show vegas golden knights we're finishing with the defending stanley cup champions who uh did the the Ivan Barbashev deal.

You know, just when we thought, ah, there's no way they're going to be able to squeeze them in here. It cost them Riley Smith, but they fit in Ivan Barbashev five times five. The much talked about Aiden Hill deal gets realized two-year deal 9.8, so 4.9. And the Vegas Golden Knights

are looking to do it all again. Elliot. I don't see why you wouldn't bet on them to do it. They seem very confident about Stone's health. You know, they've got, you know, a lot of key players signed.

They kept Barbashev at a really good deal for the team. There's some people upset about that one elliot well you know yeah but the thing is like really upset if the player's happy like what are you gonna do no you know what i mean though like there's some they wanted that ceiling higher right yes yes the thing is like i like i always say like uh i i like i understand that like it happens like there were people in the coaching fraternity who were really upset at Brindamore when he did his last deal with Carolina. And I say, if someone's happy, what are you going to do about it?

And the other thing I always say is, if you're that upset about a deal, then you have to be able to say, as a negotiator, they did that for that reason. That does not affect me. And that's kind of the way I always look at things now you know some people disagree with me on that but that's fine but I've told this story before about how one agent told me once I've got a contract I'm signing and I'm disgusted by it and I laughed

and I go why and he goes because the client wants me to do it but I go which one is it he says I'm not telling you but you'll know it when you see it. I remember when it came out, I knew exactly which deal it was. Again, you're right, but he's there and he's happy. What are you going to do? Argue with them? They found a creative way to get Hill done. It cost them Riley Smith, but we all know Vegas makes tough decisions, and that's what they do. And it isn't like they sent Rowley Smith to a bad place. He got sent to a place where he's going to get a lot of chances to score. I just think that anyone who feels that they can't win the Stanley Cup next year,

first of all, I know nobody who feels that. And secondly, I think they're a force. I think they're absolutely a force. And I think the biggest challenge to them might just be their own health. And that's it. That's our season ender. We have a lot of people to thank

and we're going to get to them in a couple of moments here. But Elliot, we'll offer you the floor first. And we'll please have a word as well. Thoughts on the season or anything you want to say elliot as we wrap up our what is this sixth season now amal six years we've done this six seven ten six season six seems like season 600 million uh you know let me first of all let me just say thanks. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Amal. Thank you to all of the great listeners. You know, we have great listeners.

There's nothing really else to say. We have great listeners and a great audience who listen and bombard us with questions. That's good. But that's good. Like that shows that you all care and feedback, good or bad. And I really appreciate it. I like that the questions you all care and uh feedback good or bad and uh i really appreciate it i like that the questions that come in elliot are like and i don't mean to i don't want to sound

patronizing i don't want to sound insulting but they're from a lot of sort of varying levels of um fandom knowledge of the game yeah you know there are some like entry-level fans and i love it that's why i always want to get those questions on. Other fans have been with the game for 40, 50, 60 years. So I love all of it, essentially, is what I'm saying, Elliot. Yeah, I agree with you. I don't care if you're a new fan or you're an older fan or you're a casual fan or you're a hardcore fan. As long as you treat people well, you're always welcome in my corner,

small corner of the hockey world. And I want to thank everybody who I cover, who has to put up with all my annoyingness. I know I'm a pain in the ass and I appreciate it. But most of all, I wanted to thank once again, our fans and listeners. I am blown away by how committed you are to the pod and i am always

appreciative amel just thank you thanks for always listening through majority of the podcast and being so engaged in the in the inbox and the voicemails uh it's been a fun year a long year but a fun year elliot i hate that amel has a better voice than both of us i really really do that's always bothered me yeah Yeah, it's true. I just want to get that out there. Okay, so a few things and a few people we should mention here at the end of the season. First and foremost, I call them my work spouses. Elliot, thank you.

Amal, thank you. To everyone involved from whether it's management, sales, promotion, the digital team, thanks to everyone. And here's a list, and it's not complete, but Stephen Coyle and Griffin Porter, they're two 32 thoughts staples who pretty much help with whatever was needed this season. Dennis Choi, Brooke Raven from Sportsnet social. Thank you. Ashley LaMontagne, Chris LeBlanc, Eddie Kang from the sales team. There is only one Hilding who heads up sports creative at Sportsnet.

Thank you. Hilding, Colin, Luis, Nick from the YouTube team, our feature video editor, Niels Britz, our feature producers, Jeremy McElhaney, Michael Adick, Adrian Chetty. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Mike Rogerson, our fill-in producer. Thank you, Chase producer, Jeff Azzopardi. Our music lead at Rogers Sports Media is Carson Illich. The entire Sportsnet Archives department,

that's led by Rob Purchase. Thank you. David Azuma, Brian Spear, Matt Marstrom for featuring 32 Thoughts interviews on their shows. Sam Naswari, Senior Director of Original Content. Rory Boylan, NHL Editor from Sportsnet.ca. Thank you, thank you.

Laura Cook, man, there's a special place in heaven for Laura Cook. She handles all of our travel, all of our expenses, and really annoying texts and phone calls from someone whose name sounds like Jeff Merrick. And all the musicians who we work with this season, our season six playlist is on Spotify. You favorite that and add it to your summer rotation to all of our platform partners as well.

Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts. Thank you for, how do we say this, carrying our voices farther than we could on our own. And I kind of chuckle, guys, when I say that because I think of a great line by the old CBS war correspondent, Edward R. Murrow, who once said, quote, just because your voice reaches halfway around the world

doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar. That is very true of us. But to anyone who's helped share and spread this podcast, thank you. And one final thing, I want to talk to you listening right now and to anyone who's listened

to more than one episode of this podcast. You've given the three of us something more important and valuable than the couple of pods a week that we give you. And that's trust. More than ever, there's a lot of really excellent hockey podcasts for you to listen

to, and you still keep coming back to this one. And that kind of trust is not lost on us, nor do we take it frivolously or for granted. It's kind of sacred. It's flattering, and we appreciate it. Thank you for putting your trust in this podcast one episode at a time and i can hear elliot saying to himself uh sure jeff trust yes but get confirmation to everyone have a great summer may your soap bubbles be large and last long and when they burst we'll be back doing more podcasts right here can i just say something for a second that was a. That was a wonderful goodbye. It really was. Jeff, but you made Amal and I look terrible

because Amal talked for like three words. I talked for like two minutes and you just went on for like 10 minutes and thanked all of our coworkers, which Amal and I never do. How are we going to show our face in the office next year? The job as host is to do

all the sort of janitorial work. See, I look at, here's how I look at it, Elliot. There's the picture and then there's the frame. And I've always maintained as much as the picture gets primacy, the frame is very important because the frame tells you where art stops and life begins. I'm just doing that fringes part around and thanking everybody who's part of the art but as far as the frame goes and not the actual artwork itself that's for for you and amal so that's just my little my little corner of the world here it's very well done the part about trust too is something i think about all the time like and listen for anyone who's listened to more than one episode thanks so much for coming back that is like the indication of trust.

It's a beautiful one and it's one that we really don't take for granted at all. That is a really special thing that you give us on a consistent basis. So thank you. And that's a wrap for season six. We leave you with an awesome band. I'll just be blunt.

We featured them on the podcast last season and the group is back with their fifth studio album after a 13 year break alexis on fire is a canadian five-piece post-hardcore band formed in saint catherine's ontario in 2001 they're awesome their live show is amazing the guys are hitting the road starting july 15th check out our show notes for details from otherness here's alexis on fire with world stops turning on 32 thoughtss, the podcast. Have a great summer. I never meant to let you down

I want your love so violently To seal this pleasure that burns me Darling, if you please Set me free Cause if the world The world starts to end Our love Will keep on burning That was good?

That was good. Peace, guys. That's all I got. Great season. Great season, guys. season goes I need to feel your breath again The way you dance across my skin

You shook my body deep within Oh