32 Thoughts: The Podcast - That's Fourteen Straight Conference Final Losses...

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman kick off the podcast by delving into the Eastern Conference Final and the dominance shown so far by the Florida Panthers over the Carolina Hurricanes (7:00). They then shift gears to the Western Conference Final, where the Edmonton Oilers trail the Dallas Stars after coughing up a 3-1 lead in Game One (18:30). The Final Thought focuses on Denmark upsetting Canada in the IIHF Worlds quarterfinals on home soil (31:06).Kyle and Elliotte also answer listener voicemails and emails submitted via the Thought Line (36:41).In the News & Notes segment, Kyle and Elliotte unpack the Toronto Maple Leafs parting ways with Brendan Shanahan (51:09). They discuss what’s next for Shanahan amid reports that he is being courted by the Islanders (1:01:56). Kyle and Elliotte also talk about the Chicago Blackhawks hiring Jeff Blashill as their next head coach (1:07:12). Friedge then rapid-fires through the remaining coaching vacancies in Pittsburgh, Boston, and Seattle (1:10:21).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

They do what's just called a paper transaction. Yes. They're sent down so they are eligible for the playoffs when that comes around and then called back up immediately to continue to play with the NHL club until the regular season comes to an end or whatever the club has planned for their young players. So that's the key. There you go, there's your answer Nick. Rick.

There you go, there's your answer Nick. Rick. There you go, there's your answer Rick. There you go, there's your answer, Nick. Rick. There you go, there's your answer, Rick. I even wrote down Rick. I think I know what the opening to the pod is. Oh gosh, that's good. That is good. Rick, thank you for the question.

Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. Dom Schermati, Elliott Friedman, Kyle Bukaskis back with you. Some news on Thursday that we'll get to later. Brendan Shanahan, Jeff Blaschel, the rest of it, but we will start in the aftermath of game two of the Eastern Conference Final where I am down in Raleigh. Elliott, Florida Panthers are starting to make a habit of this. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What?

Did you have the pulled pork? No. Did you have the self-serve ice cream? I've got my yogurt right here, Elliott. It's the only way I'm surviving playoffs and podcasts. Okay, so I, just in addition to my disappointment in you, I have to say this. I have to say on behalf of at least one member of the media, I have to register my disappointment with the Carolina Hurricanes.

I had one member of the media say that the media meal is slightly less good because there was no more Peach Cobbler. Was that one media member, John Bartlett? I cannot confirm or deny. He talked about it openly on the Air Thursday. He did? I missed that part. Yes.

Bartlett, we're trying to get to the bottom of, we're trying to get the bottom of the fact that the Hurricanes have now lost 14 straight games in a conference final. He goes, well, maybe part of the problem is, yes, it was garbage time, so I don't blame you for not paying attention. But he goes, maybe part of the reason why they haven't been able to figure it out is it kind of coincides to when they moved away from the peach cobbler for dessert at the media meal at now Lenovo Center. Hurricanes. I'm not expecting a sweep.

So when this comes back to Carolina, for God's sake, get John Bartlett some peach cobbler. If nothing else these playoffs that's when you knew the game had got out of hand. Play-by-play guys griping about the cobbler. Or lack thereof. Yeah so Rod Brittonmore said in the postgame, Elliot, yeah he didn't know what he watched in that first period here on Thursday. That was just another complete beat down. Yes. Panthers are making a habit of opposing crowds, booing their teams, and heading for the exit early. That's four games in a row away from sunrise for the Cats.

One fellow broadcaster did not like this take from me. He said it's irrelevant to bring up the Toronto Maple Leafs now, but I don't care. I'm rebellious. How do you how do you feel how do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs feel watching this? Well, I mean I don't think Toronto was coming into rally and winning 5-2, 5-0. I would agree with that. But I think for the Hurricanes, they could have won this series. For sure. And their fans would be, for sure.

It's going to be agonizing for them to watch this and know how close they were up two to one and three one in game four forcing that game seven and knowing this could have been them I mean that yeah again we weren't yeah we don't need to get all it makes their fans crazy I know that well because it's this isn't the first year we could look at man if they had just got through that first round The what-if card, but they didn't and full credit to the Panthers. They are machine like yeah Machine like Elliot. So let me tell one more story before we get on to this have I told you the Darcy Tucker Hair salon story before? Oh boy.

No, I don't recall. Okay, so I used to get my haircut at the same salon. This was about the time of the Frosted Tips 2. Oh wow, we'll get into that later. Yes. I used to get my haircut at the same salon as Darcy Tucker's wife. So one day I go in there and he's sitting there in the waiting room while she's getting her hair done.

And so we start talking. It was 2001. won and that year the Maple Leafs had lost in the second round to New Jersey in seven games and New Jersey went on to beat Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference final and they lost the Stanley Cup in seven games to Colorado so I asked him you know I started making small talk how you doing he, we would have won the Stanley Cup. And I said, really? He goes, yes, if we had beaten New Jersey, we win the Stanley Cup. And I said, well, I agree with you that you would have beaten Pittsburgh in the made the mistake of being honest Kyle and saying You guys would never have beaten Colorado you said that to him something like that. Yes Wow

Yeah, I think we interviewed him on this pod and I told this story to him years ago And he cut he almost clawed my eyes out right on The street he almost pulled me out of the store by his two fingers and clawed my eyes out because I Dared to say I didn't think they were beating I dared to say I didn't think they were beating

Sackett Forsberg although force book was hurt that series Sackett Blake Bork and Adam foot and Patrick wah and A young Alex Tang a and a young way with a fantastic game seven. Mm-hmm Anyway We're going off track and it's all your fault. Because I didn't have the pulled pork. It all comes back to the pulled pork. I can't believe Bartlett whining about the peach cobbler on air.

That's unbelievable. Okay, let's get going. All right. So I don't know. I can't remember the last time if there has been one. So three minutes left in the second period, the Hurricanes had a total of seven shots on goal recorded and their crowd not only was it the shoot, shoot, it was a collective in unison shoot the puck, shoot the puck multiple times.

I don't know if I've ever heard a crowd do that but that's summed up I guess the state of affairs for Carolina in this one and just another frustrating night for the home side as the defending champs are just they're getting stronger with each round as we've gone on here it feels Jordan stall pretty much an ass whooping. Svechnikov admitted he was completely twisted mentally out there. That's what they do to you and the Chatfield couldn't play, late knowledge he couldn't play. Walker got hurt during that game. He was really banged up. He got hurt a couple

of times and they really didn't trust Morrow yet. He only played 142 in the first period and it took a while until he kind of got a regular spot in the rotation. Florida finds your vulnerabilities and they take them apart. They go after your best players. They find your holes. Like there's there's nothing they're doing wrong right now. They even nailed. The offside challenge just nailed it and took away the really one momentum changer

that Carolina thought they had that goal early in the second period. I almost don't even know where to start. It's almost like Brynden Moore's got to say even though the series is 2-0, it's almost like he's got to go tomorrow to his players and say, guys we're approaching this as if the series is 0-0. Forget, you can give them that men in black flashlight that makes you forget everything that happened, okay? Forget the series is 2-0, we're starting all over again at 0-0. I think the most interesting decision he has to make is

who starts game three and goal because Anderson looked rattled. Kelly showed it, it was 3-0 and two of those pucks hit his own defenseman and went in. But Anderson was looking at the bench. And you know, I think we've seen Frederick Anderson long enough to know that his confidence can be affected. And that to me is the number one question is, who does. Brynden were go with in game three. It's amazing how quickly it changed for Anderson because he had been one of the best goalies the whole playoffs through two rounds, played nine of the 10 games, injured for the one of them. The only issue was, I mean,

I could check out made some good saves in the third period there. games injured for the one of them the only issue was I mean like Kocetkov made some good saves in the third period there I know the game was out of hand Barkov made a good redirect to get the one by him it was kind of the start that he did make game five against New Jersey in round one it was kind of a hang-on for dear life and managed to get it over the finish line in overtime that's my problem I would give Anderson another start. He got you here. He got you here.

I would go with him. Especially when Bryndamore says in the postgame, it doesn't matter which of our guys was starting that game. They were no good in front of them. So whether that was truly the case or not, and certainly there is some truth there, It was Bryndamore protecting Anderson and in some fashion there too. And you mentioned Svechnikov having a tough night mentally

and just trying to find his footing. Even, you know, the head coach weighing in saying, I know this is a tough opponent we're up against, but we've all got to be on the same page. And Svechnikov was on his own page in game number two that came from the head coach like you said going into the series who was going to be able to stick to their structure their style the longest Carolina got well away from theirs here on Thursday night you know Svechnikov I give him a bit of a break in the sense

that to me he's making mistakes of trying to do too much. Like you don't look at him and say he's a passenger or he's not competing. Like the penalty he took, he runs Kachak, which is fine. Then Kachak gives him the cross check, little bit of revenge. Then he runs Kachak into the bench and then he punches him in the head. Like you've got to know at some point if you don't find the line, if you keep pushing the

line eventually they're going to call you. So I look at Svechnikov as a guy who says I want to do more, I want to do more, I want to do more, I have no issue with His want, His desire or His will. But a bunch of these guys, it just looks like they're so riled up and they're so concerned by what they see. And Florida does that to you. Florida's nasty. We talked about them being the bad boys, right? They pushed around Tampa, they pushed around Toronto at times, and now they're pushing around Carolina. Like you feel you have to get back at them.

And to be honest, I don't know that you can, because it's all the way up and down the lineup, but you do feel that you can because it's all the way up and down the lineup but you do feel that you need to and what they're trying to goad you into is either you can't do it as much as they do or you can't do it as well as we do or you get you do take bad penalties and that happened with Svechnikov. Florida as a team that's their identity probably more than any other team in the NHL so like Toronto I think one of the reasons they were they pushed them to seven games was they really tried to stay out of it as much as they could. They concentrated on playing, play, play, play, play.

And they got Tampa Bay out of their game and they beat them. They got Carolina out of their game and they're beating them. Toronto was the one that came the closest because they tried to avoid as much as they could going all nasty with them. And last round, Paul Maurice highlighted those two games that Toronto scored in the opening minute, like how much that threw them. Yes, they won one of those games, but Florida scoring a minute 17 into game two here on Thursday, Elliott, and it completely threw the Hurricanes. They didn't look right at any

point after that. And credit to the Bennett line, you know, Maurice highlighted there was a lot of stuff in terms of what they gave up in game one. That line was on the ice for a different story here in game number two and we've talked about Matthew Kachuk where he hasn't been skating with the same speed but that his head coach has said he's one of the best at adapting his game to what his body will allow him to do and he adapted pretty well here on this occasion eight points for the line in total like they were a handful and he's in their heads like he's driving them crazy.

Bennett, it's going to be fascinating. You know, Florida has indicated they've got a limit. And I think it's around Verhage. He could make more money somewhere else. I'll just say I think that place is perfect for him. And so the off day before game three, Rod Brittnamore says to his team, everybody, we've got a special guest here today. Please welcome Tommy Lee Jones.

Nice. We should mention Sam Reinhart. Yes. Probably should have gotten to it sooner. Did you see anything or sense anything in the postgame, Kyle? No. And I'm standing close to where they come off the ice. After he left, like I didn't get eyes on him the whole rest of the night and Paul Maurice said He wouldn't know anything that would have an update Saturday. So Game day for game three is when we anticipate Something from the team on where Reinhardt stands, but it didn't look good in the immediate aftermath of seeing him leave the game Yeah, I think there was a bit of concern. I hope it's nowhere near as bad as it

looked because it did look bad. You know, Aho got slew-footed not long before it happened, so I have no doubt he was angry at the whole situation. They're struggling, they're frustrated, he got slew foot and like there's a lot of people who hate that hit, really hate it. I remember Darcy Tucker, Mike Peck, I've been a lot of Darcy Tucker talk on this podcast, but I remember Darcy Tucker, Mike Peck when that happened and how the the fury it caused and the anger it caused You know, we'll see what happens here, but there are plenty of people who just hate that hit they hate the low hit So we'll see what comes of it And you know one player texted me during the game from another team and he said you could tell after that the Panthers were playing mad

Like they were looking at the injury and you saw the look on Marisa's face that our cameras caught when the trainer told him about it He felt that the Panthers were playing mad because they knew that there was there was a concern about the severity of the injury Another shout out for Sergei Bobrovsky, which means three more bottles of wine Yes. to give away. By the way, I should say too, I was pleasantly surprised that at this game, I saw two of the Panthers light blue or pale blue or whatever it's called Palm Tree jerseys.

Oh, the reverse retros, yeah. Yes, I love them. I saw two of them in the crowd. I know there will be broadcasters, one of them being Chris Cuthbert and another being the recently retired Jack Edwards, who will hate me praising those jerseys because they were hard to see the numbers from when you were broadcasting the games. But I just think those jerseys are beautiful. And they were wearing them with pride on Thursday night.

Yup. All right, Elliott, as I was sitting in my hotel room Wednesday night watching Game One of the Oilers and the Stars, you know what I was thinking? What's that? This is becoming the year of the comeback. I don't mind the year, I don't mind comebacks. More comebacks, the better it is. There have been some crazy ones

just in these playoffs alone. And while that was going on in Texas, I'm watching on the other screen. I'm sure you saw the ending. Oh yeah. Pacers over the Knicks over in the NBA. Tyrese Halliburton. I watched it on Thursday morning. The whole Reggie Miller. Yes.

The wild thing is that Reggie Miller was there. He's calling the game for TNT. Like, and he was, Halliburton's looking right at him after he hit the shot at the buzzer. It was such tremendous theater. Anyways, all of this to say, the Oilers were in complete control through 40 minutes and then bing-bong, a five-goal third for Dallas. How did things go from so right to so horribly wrong for Edmonton in game

one? Third period, penalty kill. Take a page from Dallas's book and go 11 and seven. But as you told me, Knoblock has said, we're not doing that. Because one of the things that did hurt them, and you've got to think it won't happen again is that Kulak took two of the penalties and Kulak is a very important penalty killer for them so it made them even more thin. You already don't have Ekholm and now you lose Kulak. And that puts you really under the gun.

But thanks a lot, Chris, for ruining my brilliant idea. It's not gonna happen. How dare he? How dare he refuse to make me look like a genius. So number one, you have to think that you'll be better off assuming that Kulak isn't in the penalty box twice. I have this theory on Skinner now, and that is that if he's going to play, then you just have to live with the fact that he's either going to be pitching back-to-back shutouts or giving up a

bunch of goals. There's no in-between. You get one or the other right now and if you're the Oilers you are hoping it's more of pitching shutouts and if you're the Stars you're hope it's more of what you saw in the third period the other night. I actually thought there was a lot the Oilers did that looked really good. McDavid and Dreisaitl looked really good. They were in control of the game at five on five, which I think is the most important thing.

The best news I thought for Dallas was all of the guys you wanted to see get some cookies, they got cookies with the exception of Robertson. But you look at Duchenne, he scored. You look at Sagan, he scored twice. So you're feeling all those guys that need to feel good about themselves. Now all of a sudden they start to feel really good about themselves. That's good news for Dallas. But I think the thing is, is that if you're Edmonton, you're saying, boy, if we lose this series, we're going to think about game one all summer because we coughed up a hairball in that particular game but most of what you did you like it you just got to keep out of

the penalty box especially Kulak and you've got to lock it down when you get a lead when you're Dallas you're feeling really good that you've got the advantage and goal you're feeling really good that Haskinen is tracking back to be stud Haskinen. So that's and number three, you're feeling really good about you got some offense from some other guys who weren't finished because lately only the fans have been scoring for you. So some guys, other guys got points. Gonna be a long series. Gonna be a really long series. I'm wondering about Connor Brown a bit, Kyle. Didn't look great in game one. And whatever's bothering him, it's bothering him because

you're used to making, seeing him make more of an impact than he did Else I think too I mean as good as Dallas was in taking advantage of the opportunities that they got in the third period on the power play and That was the story when they met a year ago stars power play couldn't get anything going for them oilers specialty teams I mean a lot of ways you can make the case that they won them that series and you know, Ottinger was good we needed to be in the third but I mean if you're looking at that from Edmonton's perspective, the three that they got by him, at least you're going okay we're not worried about is this a guy that we're gonna have difficulty beating enough. He's gonna have a say in the matter no question but when they were going well

they found a way to make life very difficult for Autinger in the early portions of those games. And now, as you say, it's just, can our goalie on the other side, can Stuart Skinner make enough stops to come out on the right side of the ledger and at least go for a split? A Dallas Stars team who notoriously struggles in game ones of a series found a

way to change the narrative here on Wednesday night. They sure did. They wanted home. The building looked bananas. Every time they scored it looked like Springsteen about to play born to run. It was bananas in there. Great atmosphere to watch a game. I'm a little jealous of Amber and Gazzdick

being down there. I'm a little jealous of Amber and Gazzdick being on the road to cover this series and being in Dallas and Edmonton, but I'm less jealous of Luke because he has to be with Amber. I know. You were stuck with that assignment a year ago.

Yes. Same Tuesday. It's a tough assignment. There's a lot of care. You barely know a lot. I want everyone to know there's a lot of caretaking involved with being around with David Amber. You think he's low maintenance? He's not.

Also, as you just mentioned on Hayskinnit too about starting to look like peak Hayskinnit again his fourth game back, the goal and the assist over 24 minutes. I mean you look at his first game that he played against Winnipeg a couple of weeks ago 14-52. Game one he was 24-13. So the usage is right back up to where he is typically at and The impact that he's making on games Is a frightening one for Edmonton and a real encouraging one for Dallas here after so much time off

Game number four of the playoffs for ice cannon. He's making strides quickly You know who looked a little bit Overmatched at times last night who I think will be a lot better in game two was Harley. He got gapped a bit by, yeah he looked frustrated, he looked gapped a bit by Mc, he got gapped a bit by McDavid. He'll be a lot better in game two. A lot better.

And I thought Chris Proger, who by the way was great on television, I thought he made a really good point. He said that there were times that Harley was on his heels when he saw McDavid when he should have just closed the gap right on him. So you think that DeBoer and Nazradin and all those coaches there, they're going to work on, no, no, no, do this. I'll say something else too. There's been a lot of great footage on the internet.

Kyle MacLennan, who I shouted out the youth coach in Nova Scotia, who I shouted out for what Florida does. If you look at the one goal Sagan scores, the, the breakaway one, Dallas was ready for one of Edmonton's set plays off the face off. They trapped and double teamed Drisital into a turnover and a breakout because they knew exactly what the others

were going to do off that draw. So it's going to be count, so it's going to be punch, counterpunch, how well each team is prepared for what the other team likes to do. They got one there because they knew what Edmonton liked to do. You know one thing about Sagan I want to know and I asked Gene to ask it but I was really busy on Thursday so I didn't see if he did. You know that Gretzky video where he goes to congratulate the Stars after they win the second round against the Jets?

Someone yells when they're talking about the series against Edmonton, someone yells, who are you cheering for? And my guess was that Sagan would be one of the only people who would have the guts to ask Gretzky that. So I wanted to know if Sagan asked it. Oh, good one. I mean, there are some characters and presences in that Dallas Stars room. I mean, that's a very good guess.

Well, here's the thing. So here's the thing. This is my process of elimination. All right, let's go on. I don't think any of the Finns would do it, and it doesn't sound like a Finnish voice. I eliminated like a lot of the young guys. I don't think a lot of the young guys would have been the ones to ask Gretzky that. Apparently it came from the side of the...

So we're narrowing it down. We're narrowing it down to a non-finish accent and a veteran. Apparently that's the side of the room that Sagan sits on, and he's got the type of personality that he would ask that question. And I say that in a positive way, like that's a compliment. Sagan would be one of the guys that would have the guts to say that. I could see Duchenne asking. Dark Horse Mason Marchment? You know what? That's really good. Mason Marchment would have the guts. The two guys I thought were Sagan and Ben. I didn't think of Marchment, but that's a great call, Kyle.

Marchment would have the guts to do it. Alright Gene, don't let us down. Find out who it was. Gene, if you do not find out, you're being recalled. What do you mean being recalled? You're sending him home? Yeah, you think Dan Murphy or Ryan Leslie isn't ready to jump into the middle of this series? Oh enough. Don't go after my my colleagues, my ring side colleagues, just because you used to do the gig. Hey man, I know the way this business works. That's right. That's right.

Don't fulfill a free... There is no I in a team. But there is one in Sideline Reporter. There's two. There's two in Sideline Reporter. And one in Elliott. Two in Elliott Friedman. Oh boy, we're all in trouble. Alright time now for the final thought which is brought to you by GMC Elliot Overseas in Denmark of all

places at the IHF World Championship. One of the great upsets we have seen in recent history. You have to go back probably a long, long time to find anything that would rival Denmark-Canada in the quarterfinals. Nick Ehlers made a beeline over to join his team after the Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the playoffs. He scored the tying goal in the third period. Nick Oleson with less than a minute to go scores the goal that knocks off Canada that included Sydney Crosby, Nathan McKinnon, Four Nations champion Jordan Bennington, Denmark through to the Senemies in an absolute stunner of an upset. Your thoughts? Well, very happy for the Deans. I think that's a great thing. You want to see countries who continue to compete and continue to

compete get better or have great moments and especially since it was in their home country I was really happy for them. I hate to see Canada lose but if they're gonna lose I don't mind it being to a country like that that can use that kind of a big victory for the hockey program in their country. It's amazing to me. I remember when Canada lost the World Cup of Hockey in 96 to the U.S. to the US. In the final game they had a 2-1 lead late and I think they gave up four goals, including the empty netters. And I remember thinking, you know, when was the time, Kyle, that Canada at a big international tournament, like certainly they lost from time to time, but they had a lead late in a big game and they blew it. There weren't too many. Like normally when Canada had a lead late,

they locked it down. And the amazing thing about this one is that they had a 1-0 lead late in the third period. And I'm sitting there saying, well, that's what Canada is going to do. They're going to lock it down. They're going to win the game. And they keep up two. Yeah, not one, two. I was blown away by it. But to me, there were a couple of things I thought about. Probably not as big a stage and not as big a game, but the biggest upset I remember was Belarus over Sweden in the quarterfinals in 2002.

Oh boy. I don't know that I'm going to see anything bigger than that. This is big, but this is the quarterfinals of the worlds. I think the quarterfinals of the Olympics, best on best. Remember all of Sweden's Hall of Famers who were on that team. That to me was the biggest shocker I can remember seeing. To me, this doesn't top it. And the other thing I'm thinking is somewhere in California, Kevin Biaxa is saying, it's not so bad anymore that I lost to France. That's right. That's right. They're going to.

It's going to Lisa didn't lose to Denmark. That's probably the well, it's and now that tournament, like there's been it's not as much of an outlier to see some sort of upset anymore, right? Couple years ago, Latvia winning bronze. That was incredible. Germany at the Olympics, although the pros weren't all there, but they got to the final.

Like they got there. Yeah. So as you say, it's great for the sport, great for the theater of it all. And again, the fact that it happens in Denmark, of all places, just adds to the whole scene. You know, Kyle, like, it wasn't, and also didn't surprise me, like Crosby, McKinnon,

those are great players, obviously. But the guy who really surprised me was Binnington. Like, you sit there, and you think of what Binnington did at the Four Nations especially in overtime. When it was over I was thinking like Austin Matthews, Brady Kachak, Dylan Larkin, Zach Wierenske. Those guys couldn't beat Jordan Bennington in February in Boston in an enormous game and now Elers who's a great player and Nick Olson

Beat Bennington in this game. I guess just it just shows you how random Life is that was the thing that shocked me. I just looked at this and said, no way this is happening against Bittington. And then 10 minutes later, I just said, I can't believe this happened against Bittington. Yes. Well, that's why it remains the best reality TV going. Oh yeah. That was the final thought brought to you by GMC.

We'll take our first break and come back with the Thought Line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Okay, welcome back. Time once again for the Thought Line. And Elliot, I neglected to point this out last pod, but I have to bring up that I love, love, love, love, love what has surfaced online over the last few days. These throwback video clips of you on the ice interviewing Jerome McGuidla, Craig Conroy, as the Calgary Flames punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup final back in 2004. It is a beautiful bit

of nostalgia. Were you feeling the nostalgia vibes reliving you in your glory? Frosted tips and all in Cowtown. I had about 30 people send me the video of me interviewing Craig Conroy. That is how much that took off. Someone in the league actually texted me and said, did you meet your wife while you had those frosted tips? And I told them, no, I met her post tips. Thank God. And his response was something along the lines of,

I'd love to know if she would have said yes when you asked her out if you still had those things. Oh man, that's a great book. Pretty funny stuff. It was, you know, I went through a phase, I don't know what to tell ya, I went through a phase. I look back at them now. Yeah, really, you had them too?

Oh yeah, I mean, I was much younger than you, but. I look at them now and I laugh, I say what was I thinking, but it was just a funny time in my existence, let's put it that way. Someone asked me if I would do them again, and I said no, my preference now is to shave it all off, but as I've said, I'm not allowed to from a certain

certain someone it was funny memories though great memories yeah and also right like it's easy to forget but you were not going out on a limb in 2004 by having frosted tips it was all a thing it was a thing very much a thing that was yes lots of nights and 17th have for you and the crew back then. Did you guys take advantage? Yeah, we went a couple of times. The Red Mile was a lot of fun. There are a couple of stories that will stay for the book, but other than that, it was a good time. All right. Had to get that off my chest. Today's submissions. We begin with Rick from Beverly, Massachusetts. Hey boys, this is Rick from Beverly, Mass,

home of Raymond J. Bork Hockey Arena. I've been a lifelong Blackhawks fan and had noticed that the Hawks sent a lot of their younger talent down to Rockford at the end of the season to support their Calder Cup playoff push. After the recent pod where it was speculated that Ovechkin might wrap up his season with the Hershey Bears, he more so said that jokingly, I was wondering what are the rules for sending players down to the AHL at this time of year?

Is there a limit to the number and who can be sent down? I assume they don't need to clear waivers. I could see NHL teams sending all of their talent down to the American League affiliates to destroy the competition in order to salvage an unsuccessful NHL season. Love the pod and a big shout out to you and all the men and women behind the scenes that make the pod the success that it is. It does take a village to get this thing across the finish line. No, it doesn't. Okay, people just like to claim it does, but no, it doesn't.

No, just kidding. I know. And we appreciate all the work too. It's a pretty simple answer. In order to be eligible for the AHL playoffs, you have to be on an AHL roster by the NHL's trade deadline. So if you're not on an AHL roster at the NHL deadline, you cannot play in the AHL playoffs.

That's how it works. Yeah, and so you'll see teams, certainly those that are in a similar situation to Chicago, for example. I remember Ottawa did it years ago when they were in the thick of their rebuild, where they would have some young players up with the NHL at the time of the trade deadline,

but on that day, they'd do what's just called a paper transaction. Yes. They're sent down, so they are eligible for the playoffs when that comes around and then called back up immediately to continue to play with the NHL club Until the regular season comes to an end or whatever the club has planned for their young players So that's the key There you go. There's your answer Nick

Rick There you go. There's your answer Nick Rick There you go. There's your answer Rick. There you go, there's your answer, Nick. Rick. There you go, there's your answer, Rick. I even wrote down Rick. I think I know what the opening to the pod is. Oh gosh, that's good. That is good. Rick, thank you for the question. Up next, Scott from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. So Scott shared with us, Elliot, a photo of his new baby boy, Will. Oh, congratulations, Scott. And to your partner, whoever that is. Because Will got to watch Leafs Panthers, Game 7,

when he was one day old, and on day two of his life got to listen to us talk about how the Maple Leafs disappointed their fan base yet again. What a start might as well learn early. Yes yeah he says at this base I I'll have an Oilers fan on my hands. Thankfully, he'll at least be a fan of the pod, keep up the great work. And Infant Will is wondering, would it even be realistic for the Oilers to get aggressive in a pursuit for Mitch Marner? Do they have the cap room forum and a Connor McDavid contract

extension? Thanks, PS. I'm not a Leafs fan either, but Canada needs a cup ASAP. I am with you on that, as everybody who's heard me on this podcast knows. My answer to that, the short answer to that for me is, you can do anything you want, providing you're willing to do the surgery that it takes to get there. That's what I always think. The answer to any question is yes, but what else do you have to do to make it happen?

I really believe though that if Mitch Marner leaves Toronto, he's not going to another Canadian city. I think he's going somewhere quieter. So as much as the idea of Mitch Marner to the Orlers would appeal to Orlers fans, maybe on some level Marner himself and Ken the barista from Starbucks who predicted that two weeks ago. Yes. I think if Mitch Marner leaves Toronto he's not going to Edmonton, he's not going to Canada, he's going somewhere quieter. Very good. Thank you Scott for the submission, and Will. May you have a long prosperous life. That's great. Okay, up next, this is a question that we had to deal with in the past, Elliot, but because it's playoffs, we always get some newfound interest around the game at this time of year,

thought it would be worth revisiting. It is a voicemail from Anonymous. What's up guys? Freage, Kyle, and Dom. I'm sitting here watching the Leafs game right now, and I noticed a rectangular patch on the back right shoulder of Brad Marsh and his Jersey, I'm assuming that that is something to track What he does throughout the game, but you could just go and what that is that would that would be great Love the showboys keep up the good work Anonymous if that is indeed your real name. You are correct.

That is exactly what that is. It's funny because the tracker inside that patch is green when you're on the bench and red when you go back to the dressing room. So we know if players leave the bench, but also in warm up on for Game One of Dallas Edmonton, Connor Brown came out and he had the patch with the chip inside. But Victor Arvidsson, who also took warm up, he did not have the chip inside. So we had a pretty good idea that even though Arvidsson was taking warm-up. He wasn't playing So sometimes that provides a clue as to who's in the lineup and who isn't but yes That is the chip and it tells us it gives all the data

and Who's out there who isn't speed all that stuff yes your eyes did not deceive you that is the patch that holds the chip I always get a laugh out of anonymous voicemails because someone is going to listen to this and say I know that voice. Maybe they should have to disguise their voice too using auto tune or something like that. Yes, that could be a new wrinkle.

That's right, if you're truly going to be anonymous, you've got to be all in. Don't leave anything to chance. This could be a fugitive on the run for all we know submitting this. All right, one final one. Troy. Hey guys. I'm a long time listener and lifetime oiler fan.

I'm 52 so I've lived the highs and lows. I have an unconventional question. I am worried about the Oilers in this round against the Stars, not just because the Stars are a powerhouse, but because I've always felt the Oilers struggle against teams wearing green. Is there any way to see what their record is against teams in green? Maybe it's a sort of PTSD from the years of Dallas knocking off my Oilers, not just playoffs, but regular season as well.

Troy, I remember those. Troy, you are onto something. Really? You are onto something. Yes. As you know, in the playoffs, as it was alluded to, there were five straight years that the Oilers and Stars met from the late 90s into the early 2000s. The Oilers won the first meeting.

That was Todd Marshott, game seven, overtime hero. The next four, Dallas won, and they met again in 03. Dallas won again there. Lasthmm last year the Oilers got the better of them in six games as we all know so I would say there are two teams in the league currently Elliott that have green as their primary color the Stars and the Minnesota Wild mm-hmm all-time regular season record versus those two clubs. 69 wins, 116 losses, 8 ties, and 21 more losses beyond regulation. Wow.

See, the numbers aren't great. However, if you want to go back to the Minnesota North Stars, very good numbers. 27 wins. When was the last time the North Stars were in the league, Kyle? Do you think that's still relevant? He says he's 52. He's lived through all the highs and lows. I'm providing a full scope here.

27 wins, 7 losses, 11 ties. Versus the Hartford Whalers, 28 wins, 13 losses, 8 ties. Versus the New Jersey Devils, specifically from 1982 to the end of the 91-92 season, which is when they had green as part of their jerseys on the shoulders and around the waist 17-9 and 4 so for those teams back in the day they did okay against green It's been more of the modern Edmonton Euler that has struggled against green uniforms You know what this means Have you seen the new Superman trailer? No, I haven't.

Okay, so there is a scene in there where, and it's, it fits the comic books and people, if you don't think I'm a real nerd, you're gonna really think it even more now. Where Metamorpho turns his arm into kryptonite so Superman is powerless. The Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild truly are green kryptonite to Edmonton's Superman except last year in the Western Conference final. So that was a big one for a lot of reasons. So if you think I am a gigantic geek, I have given you even more ammunition.

And that's not even what we were after here. You managed to do that all on your own. That's true. This was a self-inflicted geekness. Very good. All right. Time for the freak and the geek to take one final break here. Troy thank you for the question.

A reminder 1-833-311-3232 is the number to call if you'd like to leave a voicemail with your name or anonymously or you can email us at 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca. One final break, back with some other news from around the league on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Okay, welcome back. Time for non-playoff news going on around the league and the announcement in Toronto on Thursday, Elliott, though it wasn't a huge surprise in reading the tea leaves over the last few days, but official nonetheless that president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan will not be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs

next season, contract not being renewed. The old adage, Freage, leave it better than you found it, and you can certainly make the case that Shanahan did that. Nine straight years of playoff appearances, but the similar storyline once the playoffs did roll around to say nothing of everything else that was done and improvements that were made to the organization away from the office

product so how do you look back at his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs? You know first of all I think that one thing everybody should be aware of is that I don't think this is just about his job performance. I think there's more to it than that and I agree with a lot of what you said, Kyle, and we'll get into it. Definitely left it better than he found it. You know we can talk about the playoff results absolutely that's a factor but who do you and I and Dom work for? Rogers. Yes so we work for Rogers and they're in the process of owning 75% of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and eventually they're going to own 100% of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. And Rogers is not afraid to spend money, I think we've all learned, but we also know that they don't believe in bloat

and they don't believe in spending money if it doesn't make sense. And ever since Keith Pelly was hired, you could look at Pelly, Shanahan, and Tree Living and say, are all three of them really needed? And when Rogers bought it to get to 75% this year, I mean, we work here, we know the way they think. You could see that this could potentially become a thing. Do we really need all three of these people? I completely agree that they were embarrassed and disappointed by what happens in games five and seven at home, what happens in games five and seven at home. But I don't know if it's that simple to say,

oh, they woke up on Monday morning, boy, that was a terrible loss. Now we're gonna move out Brendan Shanahan. I just look at everything here and I don't know that I would believe that it was likely that all three were going to stay from everything I know about the company I work for. Maybe it would have happened, but I don't believe it. I know there were some people who thought that if Toronto would won maybe Shanahan was going to be able to stay

I don't know And I don't know that we'll ever know I think one of the things that Keith Peli really did a good job of Was keeping his intentions private until he absolutely had to announce them Like he hasn't done a lot of interviews, he stayed out of the spotlight, he's kept his counsel tight, and he kept a lot of us guessing. I think that when the word got out that Shanahan had been given permission to talk to the Islanders though, we could see where this was going. But I think it's important to mention that I don't only believe this was about Shanahan's job performance. I believe it was also about efficiency in the workforce. And as we've said a couple times

now on this podcast, we've heard elsewhere, the Maple Leafs have a big, big hockey operation staff. And there's also been rumors that they are going to, you know, streamline that a bit. We'll see where it goes. Overall, when Brandon Shanahan came to Toronto, they'd missed playoffs eight out of nine years. The organization was not in a great place. As you said, they've now made it nine years in a row. And the other thing too is I was born in 1970. I've lived in Toronto most of my life.

There were a lot of times that the Maple Leafs as an organization looked like a kindergarten compared to the way it looks like now. The way it was run, the way it was handled, and the way things worked. It's a very modern organization. You know, players lack for nothing here, nothing. There is nothing the Maple Leafs don't do for their players and a lot of that happened under Shanahan's watch. But it's a results-oriented business. A year into his time, Shanahan made massive changes. He changed a lot of people and you know someday you're the changer and some days you're the changee and it you know it was his time. I don't only think it was about results but I think like I said this is a results oriented business.

Tree living I think if they wanted to fire Tree Living they would have done it at the same time. He's staying, we reported on Thursday. He signed a four-year deal, so he's two years into it and you know we'll see. You know, Peli's gonna have a media conference on Friday, you know people people are asking, are they gonna hire a new president to replace Shanahan? I'd be surprised. I think Peli, at least not somebody with that kind of profile. Peli's been a sports executive before, and he knows how to run a team, and he could do this job. I think it just is his question is he have

the proper amount of time? Does he need help? But if you were to tell me it was going to be him, I wouldn't be surprised. I think it could easily be Pelley and Tree Living. And you know, we talked about just all the different areas that Shanahan touched on over the course of his tenure in his position in Toronto. It was interesting listening to Nick Kiprios on Kipper and Bourne on Thursday. Talk about how much he did for the alumni. So it hasn't always been the greatest setup. It's gone through ebbs and flows as most franchises do. Uh, he wanted to give credit for all the effort you put in there. I mean,

that was one thing. When you look back at it as a whole, Elliot, do you think is there some things, one thing that they may have done differently with hindsight being 2020? Well, first of all, you mentioned the alumni. One alumnus that kind of returned this past year, who I've wondered about having a bigger role, was Matt Sundeen. Dean's kind of been, he lives overseas, he's never really sought out the spotlight, but he wasn't really around very much, right? And last year he was to promote his book. I've always gotten the sense that they've looked for opportunities to bring him back in and have him be more part of the organization and this is just me thinking out loud but is this the time where maybe he gets more of a

role? We'll see. He lives overseas but so does Nick Lidstrom. It's not impossible, right? And Sundeen has huge gravitas in the organization you know when I look back Kyle the more I think about it it's the cadre trade you know I went back and I looked at some of my notes I had about that deal. Cadry had been suspended twice in a row and they were really upset at him. They were really upset at him. And sometimes a player, sometimes another organization benefits from the shock to the system a guy gets by his first trade and Colorado absolutely benefited and now Calgary's benefited. Cadrey had a great year. I

don't know if there was a different way to do it at the time because the Leafs felt they'd given him enough chances and they worried he wouldn't figure it out there. But that's the one. If they had a time machine and they could go back and undo anything, that's the one I look at. Could they change history on the CAD redeal? On the cadre deal right because it's interesting. I mean how many chances The headliners got to keep running it back running it back running it back Matthews Marner Nylander they all stay together year after year. Yep, and cadre is effectively Two strikes with two playoff suspensions back-to-back ears and How was that?

No more. Yeah, they just felt that they he wouldn't be able to control control himself Right, and maybe it was the shock to the system that he needed to get there, but that's the one That's the one, that's the one. If they could do over, would history have been different? We'll never know. No, we won't. No, we won't. So new era begins in Toronto, a Shanahan no longer part of the organization, but now naturally there's the questions you touched on it just a moment ago with the New York Islanders.

They were granted permission to speak to them. Has the interview happened yet to your knowledge? No, I don't believe so. And here's the challenge with this one. I don't believe that the Islanders asked This week I think they asked earlier in their search And they didn't get permission this week until this week for obvious reasons, right? Yeah, so for obvious reasons, right? Yeah. So New York is far down in its GM search. The interesting thing to me is that Shanahan is a little bit different than what they were looking for. They interviewed Ken Holland and he could have had this job. West Coast better for him and Ken Holland is more of

a president of hockey operations and a general manager. They really wanted Jeff Gordon too and it's clear to me that the Montreal Canadiens are really preparing to take care of Jeff Gordon that the Montreal Canadiens are really preparing to take care of Jeff Gorton because they have repeatedly not allowed him to talk to anyone. So it says to me that they are locked into him and preparing to take care of him again. And he would have been more of both a president of hockey operations and a GM. They've interviewed Mark Bergevin, they've interviewed Yarmul Kekalyanin. Those are people who would have been at the top of their organizational chart and were GM types, all of them. Shanahan would be different in the sense that he's not a GM.

He can definitely be a president of hockey operations, but he's not a GM. He can definitely be a president of hockey operations but he's not a GM and he would have been unique in what they did. Now while Toronto was winning and before Shanahan was available to them, Kyle, they went out and they did their search and I think they're close on their GM. So they've got the permission now, but I'm curious as to how it's all going to fit. I don't know that they're going to want to hire a GM and bring in Shanahan. I also don't know, considering the profile of everyone else they've looked at as to how it all would work there, but they do have permission to talk to them. I don't think at the beginning because they interviewed Holland and asked to speak to Gordon,

I don't think anybody believed they would hire a first-time GM Now I think it's possible they might I think Darge has a real shot there so And I said the other day could be a couple days We're right about a couple of days, so I I've I don't believe the outers are against the idea of hiring a first-time GM like Darce Here and he's got a real legit shot at it So then the Shanahan equation I mean well I wonder if that's part of it if you're looking at bringing in what would be a first-time GM and

Having Shanahan's influence and experience part of that. Now I know Darsh has worked at a front office for a long time now too. Yes. I wonder if that's part of the thinking and why they would be interested, even if they are down the road with someone like Matthew Darsh in their search. It might end up working like that, Kyle, possibly, but I don't believe that was a consideration because They didn't have permission to talk to Shanahan until this week, I think they had they had to operate under

The idea as they did this search that he might not be available to them. Like, Pelley did such a good job of disguising what he was going to do and keeping it into a small circle that nobody could operate under the idea that there was 100% certainty that Shanahan would be out. So the islanders did this search either not sure or they were going to get them or not thinking they were going to be able to get them. Right.

I guess in a small way, almost similar to St. Louis over the last year, and as they waited to see what was gonna happen with Jim Montgomery in Boston. Yes. And then he became available and... Bang, they pounced. They pounced. Like a cat. Like a panther. Like a panther.

And those panthers were pouncing. Okay, another bit of sizable news on Thursday. It's been hinted at over the last few days and now official. Jeff Blaschel is the next head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. Kyle Davidson gets his man to guide the young, inexperienced, and still learning how to win hawks to the next stage of where they ultimately want to get to. Your thoughts, Elliot, on this hire in Chicago? First head coach, I think, in four with the Black Hawks, who has been a head coach previously in the NHL. I think the last four were all first timers. So clearly, after they,

their first choice obviously was David Carroll. After that didn't happen, you know, they obviously made a call to Mike Sullivan. That wasn't happening. We talked about their interest, we believe, in Nightingale, the coach from Michigan State. But I don't think it's a bad thing for the Blackhawks to get someone who's got a little bit of experience, just to who's seen things, who's been around a while, head coach, assistant coach, really good team. Look, if Darce gets the job in the Islanders, there's a reason people look at individuals from Tampa Bay, right? And now Blaschel's been them for the last couple years. The key thing for

him is he's got to develop their prospects. Like that's the thing. I heard when they were talking to people, the Blackhawks were very excited about their prospects. Their young players, the guys who were coming, and this was all about how can we create an environment for them that they can thrive and they can be successful because they will be the key part of the team when the Blackhawks are good again. Now I'll say this, I heard that depending

on who they spoke to there were differing opinions on just the the ceiling of some of those prospects. I don't know that everybody saw it 100% the same way the Blackhawks did, but those are their guys. Those are the guys they're betting on. Can you create an environment where those players can be successful? And obviously, what I think is interesting is last year he was a finalist for the San Jose job, so he knew what they were thinking. It's probably a pretty similar interview or pretty similar process that he would have pitched to the Sharks.

And it's interesting just going through the initial press release the team let out the fact that they highlighted his work in the developmental leagues, winning a Calder Cup, winning a Clark Cup in the USH, winning a Calder Cup, winning a Clark Cup in the USHL before getting to the NHL. So all of it's factoring into, as you say, their excitement for the prospects they've got in the pipeline in Chicago. Any other updates in terms of coaching vacancies across the league before we wrap up here, Freage? I heard Pittsburgh and Boston are starting to cull their list, just shorten it. Seattle, I believe, is doing some in-person interviews. There obviously is some crossover here. Mitch Love, I think,

Seattle and Pittsburgh. Marco Sturm, I think Seattle and Boston Jay leach Boston Joe Sacco as far as I know hasn't been told he's out of it in Boston I think Jay Woodcroft has been interviewed in in Boston Dave Quinn I think in Seattle I've wondered about possibly Pittsburgh too, but I'm not sure. So we'll see. But it sounds to me like all three of the remaining teams, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Seattle are getting down to their final stages.

It's that time of year. It's that time of year. It is definitely that time of year. Game two, Western Conference Final from Dallas. Once again, usual time on the air with hockey central, 730 Eastern, 530 Mountain, and the game coming after 8 Eastern, 6 Mountain on Sportsnet and CBC tonight. Also, just wanted to wish the best of luck to the Medicine Hat Tigers, London Knights,

Moncton Wildcats, Ramoski Oceanic as the Memorial Cup 2025 edition kicks off tonight as well. Oh yeah, that's a good tournament. There's good teams there. Looking forward to watching that. And the Walter Cup. Yes. What a start to that series. Minnesota Frost, Ottawa Charge.

Clark was the hero for Ottawa in game number one in overtime. Curl Salemi scored the tie angle for Minnesota late in the third and then was the hero in OT to even the series as that thing shifts to Minnesota. What a final there. The PWHL incredible atmosphere in that barn in Ottawa like during the regular season. It looks phenomenal through their run in the playoffs and now a great start to the

Walter Cup. Well you look at it, Canada lost in the World Championships, we're down to one Canadian team in the Stanley Cup playoffs, so you have to root for Ottawa to win Canada's first Walter Cup because Canada hasn't won one yet. And I actually got a DM from someone complaining about the expansion draft rules because you can only protect three players. Yep. And they said that's even more outrageous than the expansion draft that stalked Vegas this person wrote to me. Yes it is it's a tough a tough one, but then clearly they want no drop off. Everybody to be competitive right out of the gate, which I think is important for a league that's still very much growing. So great. Good drama in the PWHL.

The drama begins in the Canadian Hockey League with the Memorial Cup underway, and it continues in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. We'll check in with all of you again after the weekend. Have a great one. We'll talk to you on Monday.