32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The Beat Goes on for Florida

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman delve into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes. They briefly touch on the Dallas-Edmonton matchup (15:23). Kyle and Elliotte share their key takeaways from the Winnipeg Jets' final media conference before heading into the offseason (19:56). The Final Thought focuses on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who cleaned out their lockers on Tuesday. They discuss the future of Mitch Marner and the overall tone in the locker room (26:45). Additionally, they examine the pressure narrative that has surrounded the Maple Leafs since their Game 7 loss (36:32).Kyle and Elliotte also answer listener voicemails and emails submitted via the Thought Line (40:47).In the News & Notes segment, they discuss Bowen Byram's potential move as rumors swirl about his future with the Buffalo Sabres (57:46). They also cover Don Sweeney's contract extension in Boston (1:00:41) and the New York Islanders' ongoing search for a general manager (1:03:42).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

Did you have pulled pork? No, not yet. Not yet there. It was served you bet and they have a great ice cream set up, too Oh, yeah, that ice cream no No soft serve Elliot. It was a busy night. There's no time that camera Yeah, no, maybe game two. All right. I don't often do the media meal. Oh Come on, Carolina is not the media meal. Carolina is media splendor. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented

by the GMC Sierra, AT4X, Sharmadi, Friedman, Bukaskis back with you. Game one of the Eastern Conference Final is in the books. Florida Panthers take a 1-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes. 5-2 was the scoreline on Tuesday night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh. No four overtimes needed in game number one this time, Elliott. The beat goes on for Florida. Not on a pod night. Not on a pod night. Thank goodness. Not on a pod night. But the beat goes on for the Panthers. 48 hours after a emotional game seven victory

over Toronto, they look like not much of their level dropped in game number one on the road in Carolina. Is Sam Bennett sick of you yet? When he sees you, does he roll his eyes and say, this guy again? I'm sure inside, but that is not limited to Sam Bennett. That is not limited to Sam Bennett. There's a reason why of all the rights holders that got the postgame interviews, he was the last to come out. Oh, why is that? No, I'm just joking probably because he was dreading having to speak to me. Oh, I don't think it's a joke. I think it's actually quite true. Well, I have to laugh about these things. I go crazy. I understand. The other thing too is that Kathy Broderick sent me a text, one of our great producers, Kathy Broderick, sent me a text

early in the second period saying, only Kyle Bacoskas could work a coffee story into this broadcast. And I will say that was Scott Lennox's genius, not even me. Really? I was not the driver behind that. That was producer Scott Lennox that had reminded me of that. You were actually the first person at Four Nations. Remember we were talking to him and you were like, by the way, Sebastian Aho, big coffee guy. I didn't even know that. And

he was the one here on Tuesday. So tell everybody the story that you told since we mentioned it. Well just that he is a big lover of coffee. I guess he's got a specific brand, I forget the name of coffee from back home in Finland that he loves to have, loves to make in Raleigh most mornings. I think he typically will drink multiple cups on game day. So we had a shot of them coffee cup in hand as they were getting ready before the game on Tuesday. And then he had a very eventful first period. Chances, took a penalty, scored the goal with just under 15 seconds left. It was a caffeinated first for Ajo so it ended up fitting.

Fortunately for Ajo, Kyle, he wasn't caffeinated enough that they disallowed that goal in the first period. No, right, Kyle Like I don't think there was any real question about that one. You know, let me just, no, let me just do a quick sideline here because I had a couple Jets fans who reached out to me, including one of their reporters. So in the intermission I said that if the referees on the ice felt that Petrovic didn't have a kick on that goal there's no way the Ajo goal should be disallowed as a kick because that wasn't

as much of a boot I thought is the Petrovic one and I had a couple people reach out to me two Jets fans and one of the reporters Ken Wiebe and said that the official on the ice said that it was a kick. And I went back and I watched and you're right, yes he did, and I can't explain why that happened because in the aftermath I was told and I checked the next day, rechecked, that the officials on the ice emphatically felt that Petrovic did not illegally kick the puck and therefore the goal should have counted. As a matter of fact I heard in the debrief one of the things that was talked about is since

the referees on the ice said no kick that whole review shouldn't have lasted as long as it did in that Winnipeg Dallas game. Because if they say no kick, then what are we all debating here? So, I don't know why it was announced as a kick goal that was propelled in by Hallebuck on the ice. I understand the Jets fans' confusion, but I was told, and it was confirmed to me the next day, emphatically the officials on the ice said no kick. So let me just clear that up because a couple of the Jets fans were confused and I wanted

to straighten that out for them. Chris Pronger and Kelly Rudy walked into the broadcast and Pronger was great in his Hockey Night in Canada debut. But Chris Pronger and Rudy walked in to the production meeting and they said it is bad news for Carolina when one team has only been off a day and the other team has been off for five days. They both said, which might sound counterintuitive to a lot of you, that they would much rather be the team that was playing on almost no rest. And it looked it.

Carolina did look dopey in that first period. Kelly felt that one of the reasons that Anderson was beaten as often as he was, was he wasn't as sharp. And Carolina had some chances, really good chances, that they didn't bury. This whole thing about losing 13 games in a row in a conference final which Carolina is now at, I wonder if that gets into your head. I don't have a good

answer about that one. I mean, you know, one of those teams was 16 years ago. Another one of those teams was 6 years ago, so you think maybe it doesn't matter the other one was two years ago I don't know other the other amateur psychologists or real psychologists out there can answer this but that was not that was not a Carolina game they were not very sharp the one thing that really interested me was, is I thought Kyle, Carolina said, look, this Florida team, they rough up goalies accidentally on purpose. We're doing it first. They made a point of going hard at Bobrowski and he was great.

And you know my feelings, I think we have to protect the goalies but Carolina said look we're not letting Florida do this first we're doing this first and you could tell it bothered him for him to actually stand in the crease and talk with the referees like he did he was really annoyed by what Carolina was doing it got to him a bit yeah Jordan Martin said the day before the game was that we're going to try to do to the Panthers what the Panthers do to everybody else. And certainly going hard to the net is part of it. Yeah, I just I thought they were just just off a little bit in game one. You know, you said it wasn't a great first period for for Carolina and in large part

it was not. But they had energy right out of the gate and and Gary Galley showed that great pack of just the passes that weren't quite on the tape the plays that usually were there that they had three glorious chances that they missed two on one they didn't even get a shot away and right before the goal the tip wide off the great fake by Gostisbaer. Gostisbaer looked like he gave Gadjiewicz an Allen Iverson crossover broke his ankles and it just got tipped wide. Right second time where he did wonders at the blue line right last round against Washington he scored on the play and then nearly set up one here in game one against the Panthers and then you know it continues the puck

that rolls off Jordan's stall stick you're not gonna see that very often. And a few moments later, it's into the back of the net. And special teams, Elliot, like the Hurricanes penalty kill had been near perfect through the first two rounds. And they get beat twice here in game one alone. So that was- That first one too, even though I think that's a shot that, it's a great shot, even though by Verh's a shot that, it's a great shot even though

by Verhage, I think Anderson has to stop it. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone in the playoffs have as much time to do something on the, against Carolina's penalty kill as Verhage did there. Now as Pronger said, they had to make five great tape to tape passes to do it, but nobody's had that much time to do anything like Verhege did there against the Hurricanes. So the reads were just a little bit off. It was interesting the whole game within the game notion. So the layout at the Lenovo Center, Elliott, now that it's conference finals, a little more media covering. So what would usually be the

press conference room, they've got a different area of the rink set up so it can accommodate more seats, right? Is this where Kachak was throwing a temper tantrum in the morning? He was not. It wasn't a temper tantrum, but it was there was no mistake. It sounded like it. So so hit, they set it up and it just happens to be right next to the Panthers warm up area where they have weights, where they've got

exercise balls Medicine balls and so in this case Matthew Kachak had a medicine ball And you know the type of exercises where you're standing close to a wall and you're throwing the medicine ball back and forth up against The wall catching a throw catch so he could have thrown it against the cement wall, right? It would have been minimal, minimal noise. No, he threw it against a 25 year old metal door. So like you think of the audio of what it would be against the cement wall, multiply that by 40.

And you had, it was just, it it was like Jordan stall couldn't help but laugh standing there at there sitting there at the podium on Tuesday morning it was quite the scene that's like in the baseball clubhouse when I used to do a lot of Jays there were there was one blue Jay who was famous for when the media came in postgame turning up the music. So somebody would have to go and turn it down. At the beginning was funny and after a while it was like, okay stop being such a baby, but that was his thing, right? So yes, we've all seen that. I heard about this. Somebody said that

Kuchak was throwing it. He was just not throwing a temper tantrum. He was just Okay, I'm gonna be a little difficult here. Yeah. No, I think it was all part of his usual routine he would do in the morning of a game, but the location of which he To throw the medicine ball up against it was very comical to throw the medicine ball up against. It was very comical. How about Gostesberg shooting the pocket Brad Marchand? What a night to have Pronger in the building. I forgot he was suspended the game

that Alfredson did that to Niedermeyer. Oh right. Yes. That is right, yes. Very much flashback of 2007. And I'll give Gostesberg credit. He was asked about it after the game and he's like, yeah, I shot it at him. Oh good don't talk. Didn't he was like ran hot he took a run at me didn't like it shot the puck at him and we got tangled

up afterwards like everything that it looked like he was like that's what you saw. So Makala this year was fined for shooting the puck in the direction of someone against the Canadians this season. So I wonder if Gostespar gets a fine on Wednesday. Good question. I mean the fact that he owned up to it, will that be enough to avoid any further punishment? He's been around a while. He can afford 5k. That's true. That is true. Also, I need to get, I need to own up to something here before we move on.

Uh-oh. Yeah. So, we're recording on Sunday. We were talking about this series, right? And the fact that they played two years ago. Oh, the Svechnikov thing? Yes. And I said that Svechnikov wasn't very, hold on. Yeah. You know, he, that the Hurricanes struggled to score, that Svechnikov was not very effective.

And it was, it was a moment of memory lapse on my part, because I covered that series, I worked it. But yes, the reason why he was not very- Oh, wasn't that the series where you interviewed the pig? That was 2019. Oh, okay. His name's Hamilton, by the way. Oh, sorry, sorry, yeah.

Sorry, Hamilton, if you're listening to the podcast, I apologize. He's got a hockey night towel, he very well may be. Ha ha ha. So the reason why he wasn't very effective was because he didn't play in that series, because he was recovering from a torn ACL. So I had to wear that one. It was a late night, it had been a long day, but no excuses.

Actually I went to Svechnikov after the morning skate, I was like, I have to apologize for something. And I explained what happened and he just started laughing and I was like, I have to apologize for something. And I explained what happened and he just started laughing. And I was like, but you should know that your fan base very quickly pointed out how wrong and how foolish I was for saying that. He was like, that's awesome. So he got a good laugh out of it. Let me just say too, I did have some people reach out to me about it as well.

And I took blame too, because I'm supposed to be your partner there and I didn't catch it either. I see it as my responsibility too, to make sure that the podcast is factually accurate, which happens about one every 14 podcasts. But I really feel that in that moment, and it was a long day, but that's no excuse. I really feel in that moment that I was not as good a partner to you as I could have been. Ultimately, I'm responsible for what comes out of my mouth. Not you, not Dom, sometimes

Dom. But anyway, now we're back to days since now the accurate podcast is back to zero zero Now that we finished the self-flagellation we can get on with the rest of the podcast. Yes I had to get it before before We go on to Just a couple comments about Dallas Edmonton Did you have pulled pork? Nope not yet. Did they have it there?

It was served, you bet. And they have a great ice cream set up too. Oh yeah yeah, soft serve ice cream. No? No soft serve? Elliot, it was a busy night, there was no time. That could get you thrown over this series. Yeah. No, maybe game two. All right. I don't often do the media meal.

Oh, come on. Carolina is not the media meal. Carolina is media splendor. That's true. That is true. Well, as I say, game two, there's still plenty of time left. All right, Dallas Edmonton, you want to tee that one up one final time? Yeah, you know what? We don't have to say a lot. We talked a lot about it the other pod, but the first game is tonight. Just a couple quick notes.

At home, skating again. Not going to play the first two games, they've said. Not surprising in the sense that I think when you have a player coming back from an injury like his, I know teams generally prefer it at home. You have the full medical setup. You have everything you need, more comfortable, more familiar surroundings.

But again, I think this is incredible for two reasons. The orders to win two series in 11 games without this guy, phenomenal. And I think I mentioned it in the last podcast but initially the word was 15 weeks when he got hurt and now he's skating and he's gonna play. So I'm happy for him and them. Interesting Dallas showed some different lines on Tuesday and we'll see if they go back to 12 and 6 or they stay at 11 and 7. Interesting, Dallas showed some different lines on Tuesday. And we'll see if they go back to 12 and 6 or they stayed at 11 and 7. Their number one line, hints between Granland and Rantan, stayed together and why not.

They're all Finns and it's been spectacular. But they've gone from Duchenne between Ben and Sagan to Duchenain with Robertson and Johnston. They have Sam Steele with Marchmint and Sagan and they have Ben on the fourth line with Bach and Doudonov. Now we'll see what happens here but at least for one day the stars showed a different look and what have we talked about being one of the keys to the series is the stars getting some scoring outside of that top line? Let's see how they line up on Wednesday night, but at least Peter DeBoer is showing us the potential for something a little new. And it seems fitting, right? As you say, like top-heavy that their offense has been at times as

Successful as a group that the stars have been through two rounds Probably an understanding that we're gonna need a little more from other guys that we're gonna be able to hang with the Oilers for Another conference final and come out on the right side of it from their perspective this time around Yes, sir, and proger will be back for game one of that series on Wednesday night on the broadcast. Awesome. He was great to listen to on Tuesday. How was he just hanging out in the green room all of it the whole night? You know I'll say this like there are some guys that you always that you look at like for me the the top guy on my list of all time is probably Daniel Alfredson. But Praunger would be up there and he was always available.

He would give and he would take. He would give it to you, but he would take it back. You know, I believe you should reward as much as you can people who are always accessible. Good times, bad times, were they there? And Alfredson was one and Prauger was another. And you know, he's not spearing people in the green room. So he's mellowed a little bit. But he you know, he has it just reminds me, Kyle, like the elite of the elite. I freely admit this when I'm watching a game with

a guy like him, Adam Oates was another one like this too, but whenever I watch a game with, I'm watching with Pronger and he just sees things that I don't see. Like I admit it. I don't see it at that level. It's very big of you. Yeah, I know. I know. It's very mature. But for example, one of the things he really watches, and he would know this obviously as a Hall of Fame defenseman, but just how many defensemen take the puck behind the net on their backhand so it's immediately harder to make a play and they don't use the net to cut off the forechecker, like they create a bad angle for himself.

And he's watching it and he's like there, there, there and all of a sudden it's like osmosis. I start noticing it like there, there, there and he's just a phenomenal person to watch hockey with. Like just the stuff he picks up, like he was the guy when I said I actually made that point. I can't believe how much room for Hagee had to shoot. He said how many tape to tape passes did it take for them to get that five like just so smart like very smart. Very cool to be around. That's awesome. All right. The Winnipeg Jets. Elliot had their locker clean out on Tuesday. What were some of the main

takeaways for you as they broke up for the summer? I think that I don't want to I don't want to sound trite or exploitive and I hope everybody understands what I mean by this. You know we we're gonna talk about Toronto a couple seconds, and they left as kind of a fractured group With some of the comments that were made and some of the talk around them There's not that feeling around the Jets instead there is much more talk about what a team they are and what a group they are and you know you could see a lot of reason in a vacuum to say okay here's the president's trophy winning team first place wire to wire and they lost in six games as opposed to

seven and Toronto lost defending defending Stanley Cup champions. But I think the way the Jets handled themselves in a sad real life moment gave people a really positive perception of who they are and what they are, like as a team. And we talked about in the last panel, I don't want to get too much into it, but I really think a lot of people who watch hockey feel really good about the Jets because of the way they handled that. They're like, they'll be okay. They'll be okay. Now, they have some decisions to make and the one thing I think is very true about that group is a lot of their guys really like it there.

The ones who signed and some of the ones who have to be signed. Like Dylan Sandberg, he's an RFA. I've heard he really likes it there and and I think they're gonna get something done You know everyone's talking about EELRs because he's the immediate UFA But if you really look at it you look at the deals that they have to sign like in the next year or so they have to deal with Sandberg and or so, they have to deal with Samberg, and you could go short term, but I think he's going to be a cornerstone player for them, and it's always better to go as long as you can. You're going to have to deal with Velarde, who was just under a point per game player

and is on your first line, which led the league in goals this year. You're going to have to deal with Kyle Conner, and that's going to be a big ticket. And I think Kyle Connor really likes it in Winnipeg, but it's going to be a big number and you're going to grind, both sides are going to grind to get there. And you've got Ehlers. So you've got four crucial contracts and three of them are point producers, top offensive players. So it's going to be interesting to see how Winnipeg puts this puzzle together and prioritizes all of this because those are big deals. I think the thing

about Ehlers is, you know, Ehlers didn't talk to the media, he went right to the World Championships to play in Denmark for his country. And so, what it sounds like to me is he's gonna do is, he's gonna play, he's gonna decompress after the tournament is over, and then think about where everything is gonna go. I don't, I don't want to speak for Ehlers, I don't have a good answer. I will tell you what someone said to me and they sent me a stat. And the stat is that in the playoffs, Elers among Jets forwards was seventh in even strength minutes per game. About 13. And what that says to me is, how does he feel about that?

You know does is he okay with that or is he gonna want? More of an opportunity more time I don't know the answer to that question again. I stress I Can't I'm not gonna speak for him. I'm going to tell you that I think if there's going to be something here that has to get sorted out, it might be those minutes, how he feels about them, and what it could mean for a contract. So that's the thing I don't have an answer to as we do this pod is how that's going to affect the Ehlers negotiation.

Has that market, I mean, has it ever been in a better light amongst players because you've got the combination of, I don't know if it hasn't quite translated to playoff, but consistent playoff team and the list that you laid out of players that have committed their long term. Well, if you remember a few years ago, Shifely signed, Connor signed, Wheeler signed, Buffland signed. And I think it was the same around then. You know, you may have heard I used to cover the NBA. Like, I look at, I think about the Jets in a similar way as I think about the

Raptors. And that is that the Raptors always had more challenges getting guys to play there. But when they had Vince and they had a good team that won a playoff round, like Akim Olajuwon agreed to be traded there, right? So when you're hot, you're hot. And I think the Jets right now, like I still think they have challenges, but you look at all the guys who have signed

long term and you look at how those guys obviously, like players notice this stuff. Like the way they treated, like the way they rallied around Shifely, that's going to score them points. But they're going to say like, that's a team. So I think right now they're in as good position as they can be to have people say, I'm good with that. I can see myself there. I really like the position they're in. I really do think they're in a great place. All right. Well with that, that'll take us to the final thought which is brought to you by GMC. Also on Tuesday, Elliot, the Toronto Maple Leafs cleaned out their lockers as their season has come to an end as well.

Questions, the reaction after dropping game seven has been rampant, the narratives that have taken off about where this team is headed next. A bunch of different places we could start here. I suppose one being the future of Mitch Marner. He was in a reflective tone in the immediate aftermath of game seven Sunday Elliot and the tone felt similar at locker cleanout Tuesday. Well I'm not surprised he didn't say much and I know everybody is really parsing his words. People said he was talking in the past tense. I think in that moment the last thing Mitch Marner wants to do is pour gasoline on the fire. I wouldn't jump to conclusions based on anything he said.

It's emotional, they just lost, and he and everyone else there needs a timeout. Here's what I think, Kyle. I think in a perfect world, and God knows this world is far from perfect, but I think in a perfect world, Toronto would keep him. There are two hurdles to that. Number one, it can't be at all costs The two sides have to find a contract that works and so far they haven't been there So there's that and that's not an insignificant hurdle

last we heard number two Does Marner think it's time? Does he in any way shape or form think that it's just time to go somewhere quieter? And like I said, you can't make an emotional decision. You shouldn't make life decisions in the aftermath of something as hard a defeat as that there was some real moronic social media behavior especially after they lost and like those are the losers of losers, but it can have an effect and I think everybody's wondering if he's going to just say, look, it's time. And you have to wait until he makes that decision and I really do believe that

The Maple Leafs recognize how big a loss he will be Because he's not going to be an easy guy to replace but If you can't reach an agreement and he and his family feels it's time, then that's where we're gonna be. So that's the biggest question. When he decompresses, how's he gonna feel? You know, if you really think about it, Kyle, I was thinking about this as I was making some notes today. Fourth overall pick. Local guy. Hundred point player.

Really good two-way player. Huge game in the four nations championship basically making himself a Canadian hero and he's gonna be on the Olympic team It should be a success story and Anyone who's listening this podcast has heard me say this before I think He should go down as the best Toronto born leaf ever and if he doesn't Everyone's gonna regret it

but but I Can see a situation Where the stars align at this time for it not to happen. I think the worst case scenario for both Marner and the Maple Leafs was a situation where they lost a heartbreaker in the playoffs, and he took a lot of heat and or something really dumb happened on social media. And here we are. Yeah, so check, check, check.

Yeah. So we'll see. We'll see. Other things, you know, Tavares talked lowly about Toronto and said he wanted to return. I don't think they were ever, I think there was some negotiating during the regular season. I don't think it was close, but now everybody will get serious. So we'll see where that goes. Clearly he wants to stay.

I don't think the Maple Leafs are going to make him the biggest offer, but he clearly wants to stay. And where there's a will, you generally have to think there's a way. You know what was really interesting to me was Barube. So he talked about Florida, you heard Florida talking about how they all, Marchand, we stick to the system, we start, we do what we do, we never veer from it. What did Barube talk about on Tuesday? We didn't stick to our system, we didn't play it and we got, it cost us the series in the second period of game seven. I have heard that that is one of the things that the Maple Leafs are really going to try

to dig into is how did that happen in games five and seven? How did we lose 12 to 2 at home? They played great for a lot of that series. They could have beaten Florida. Maybe you can argue they should have beaten Florida but they didn't and they melted down twice at home. I don't know if there's a simple answer. As you heard Barube say Sunday, it's between the ears. I think they are going to spend a lot of time trying to answer that question. How can they attack that? I think there could be some buyouts or a buyout of a depth forward Kyle. I think that's possible. I think Lane Lambert might get some coaching interviews here and we'll see what happens in the front

office. I have heard, look Rogers is going to be the primary owner. They had some layoffs already. I hate that. We work for Rogers. I think that there's some feeling that the front office in hockey could be streamlined and I think that probably will happen. What does that mean for Brandon Shanahan? I think we're going to find out. It sounds like there's a board meeting over the next couple of days, and I think we'll get our answer.

But I think there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen in terms of, like Keith Pelley has the huge vote here, but there's still a board. Rogers doesn't own 75% of it yet. And I think there's been some lobbying. We'll see where it goes. It's interesting you mentioned the cooks in the kitchen because one thing I had heard at the start of this season

that I think that whether it was Craig Berube and Bread Tri-Living or a Berube-led thing like we've all heard about like certainly with Toronto they flex the option and have over the years that there's no salary cap when it comes to support staff, right? And I think they kind of looked at, you know, how many different people were involved with the day-to-day things in and around the dressing room. I just heard that when Breuvik came in and kind of got a sense of how things were run, it was like, okay, how can we kind of quiet some things around the dressing room. So those areas are primarily just for the players. And their minds

aren't being pulled in 18 different directions on an off day or a morning skate or what have you. So it's interesting now, just that whole notion of maybe higher up, there's a similar thought process to some things. Interesting. I hadn't heard that, but I just, the word I heard was streamline. So I think there's some expectation that's going to occur. Can we talk a little bit about the pressure on the players and stuff like that? We sure can. Like, you know, I don't know. I mean, everybody handles things different and in some markets there's more noise than others.

I don't deny that. You know, as I joked the other day, if Sam Bennett came to Toronto, he'd be 60 games suspended a season. So you know, I understand that some microscopes are different, some spotlights are different. I've always believed that with high risk comes high reward. And if you play hard in a city like Toronto or Vancouver or Winnipeg or anywhere else, when you're losing, it can stink. No question. But if you play hard, you're a god in these towns forever. You know, like, I remember people arguing

like, how can Chris Phillips have his number retired in Ottawa? Well, you know what, he went there and he played hard for a long time when he was a great citizen. That's how. And, you know, I think of, you know, Alex Burroughs, Kevin B. Exa, how many of the oilers who weren't the superstar oilers are beloved in that town? Montreal, everywhere, Winnipeg, you name it, Toronto, Tye Domey, still a hugely popular person. Gary Roberts. Gary Roberts, I think the risks are high, but the rewards are high. I wasn't at media break- breakup day, I couldn't go,

so I don't want this to be seen as a criticism of anybody else because I wasn't there. But Matthews wasn't asked about the passenger's comment. And you know, it just says to me that me that, yeah, the spotlight can be intense, but it's not... You should always look at it as, and this is the way I would always look at something, is where there's pressure, there's reward. Now if I, you know, if I was good enough to be an NHL player, and God knows I'm not, and I was sitting here saying no Canadian team had won a Stanley Cup in 30 plus years, I would do a lot of things to be on the team that finally did it. I think the one constant, not just in hockey, I think if you look at any of the demanding sports markets in this world,

that you're not always gonna win, but as you alluded to earlier, if you go down swinging, there's a far greater chance you're respected and appreciated for the effort you did put in and it's I'm not saying it's an effort thing. But you know what I mean? There's a difference. And you're right. And I will say this. I know at times I haven't made it easy on some teams and it kills me to say that because I hate, I really do hate to

disrupt people's lives. I really can't stand it. lives. I really can't stand it. I so I should say that, too. I don't think I would be be I don't think I'd be being completely honest if I didn't admit that if there is a problem, some people could see me as part of it. One Canadian team remains in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 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, welcome back.

Time for the Thoughtline. Elliot, it was omitted from our Monday podcast, but it is back in earnest today. Are you ready for the latest batch? I am ready. Okay. Robert from Anaheim kicks us off today. Hey, Kyle Elliott and Dom Robert here from Anaheim, California. Go Kings though.

And the beer leagues at Lakewood ice. Nice. Had a quick question about Alexander. I wonder, I wonder if this is the, I wonder if this is the guy I met last year. I wonder if this is the guy I met last year. We went to Disneyland last year and we met a hockey fan from Anaheim on the street, like just out of fluke, and he was a Kings fan. I can't remember if his name was Robert or not. I'm sure you can count them on one hand.

How many Kings fans exist in Orange County? Be a mob led by BXA. Kill him. Yeah, exactly. There's Robert, Steve, Lucy, maybe a few others. Okay. Robert asks, had a quick question about Alexander Nikitian's debut. At game five of round two, has a player ever made their NHL debut later into a season? Thanks for all the content

you've been pumping out during the playoffs. Keep up the good work. Well, first of all, the answer is yes. Okay, so the first name that jumped into my head because I think I was at one of his first games in the playoffs in 1987. Tony the circus Hercus. No. Okay so Tony Hercus won the Hobie Baker Award in 1987. He was a St. Louis Blues draft pick. You're right. He showed up in the playoffs and it was an earlier round, I think. By against Toronto. Yes.

But I remember he was a nice guy. He was years into his career before I really covered him and he was great to talk to. He won a Stanley Cup with the Stars. He loved talking hockey. I really liked dealing with Tony Hercus. So that's why his name jumped into my head. Okay, what year are we talking about here? Okay, so the year is 1961.

Okay, so 1961, that's Chicago, they won the Stanley Cup that year. That ended Montreal's streak of five in a row. Yep, played Detroit in the final. Oh, I couldn't remember where they played in the final. And the player in question suited up for the Blackhawks. Is it like someone I know or is it someone I wouldn't know? I mean this is way before my time.

Like I'm not too familiar with this name but you maybe. Oh what are you trying to tell me like I'm a thousand years old? No but at least a few hundred difference between us. I hit me, I don't know. Wayne Hillman. You know Wayne Hillman is a name that people who followed hockey in the 60s would know. I would never get that, but his brother was even more well known, Larry Hillman. Larry Hillman played for like 20 years and won the Stanley Cup, I think six times. So people would know the Hillman

name, I would never have gotten that. Oh, that was a tricky one. And I think that was the night that Chicago won the cup. So what a game to come into and make your debut. Good luck charm. And Hillman good luck charm. Yes. Since expansion, some other names to make their NHL debut. Give me some years. 86. As a teak and in would he be one of them? No. 86 for Calgary. would he be one of them? No.

86 for Calgary. Brett Hull? Bingo. Yeah! 1973, also for Chicago. Hit me. Len Frigg. No chance.

No offense to Len Frigg, but no chance. Esetikinen did make his debut in the playoffs in 1985. I guess it just wasn't as late, but I do remember he started in the playoffs. There was a member of the Oilers that made their debut in Game 1 of the 1987 Stanley Cup final against Philly. Let me think. Was later a captain. The only guy I can think of off the top of my head who fits that criteria, because it wouldn't be Gretzky, it wouldn't be Massey, it wouldn't be low. Who's left?

Kelly Buckburger? Yes, it is. No, without that hit. That's a great hint. Without that hint, I was never getting it. Never. Great hint. Thank you. Last player to make their NHL debut in the second round. Prior to Nikitian this year was what way. Oh, what is wrong with you? Sorry, I thought we were past that. I was just sliding that in to move things along.

Sorry, Elliot. I ruined trivia time. Yeah, he came into game four of the conference. Kyle's had enough of trivia time, everyone. You can tell, it's like, oh. No, no, no, no. I've got a game to prepare for we'll be here forever if Elliot keeps guessing

No, this is pretty good this time Dom has a massage to get to you can't can't waste time with this Yes with an RMT. He made sure to point out. That's right. Yes. Yes. Sorry Dom. All right Robert Thank you for that question. Maybe you remember meeting Elliot on the streets of Anaheim last summer. Chase from Vermont, hello Dom, Elliot and Kyle. Hope you're all having a wonderful night. I had a question regarding icing.

Right as a penalty expires, if the puck is sent down the ice by the penalty killing team as the penalty expires, is there any chance of icing being called? If not, what is the cutoff as the penalty expires, is there any chance of icing being called? If not, what is the cutoff as penalty time expires for an icing to be called against the penalty killing team? Love the podcast. My Golden Knights will see everyone next season. I'm curious to know how there's a Golden Knights fan

in Vermont. I would figure Vermont would be Canadians or Bruins. That's interesting. Or maybe even Rangers are one of those teams. Do you know the answer to this? So I believe you have to have the puck released before the time expires. Now, I think we've seen over the years,

there's kind of the neighborhood kind of rule Yes linesman. I've linesman will give teams a break. Yes So that one isn't Applied as liberally as yes, which I think is probably good policy. Yes Don't want to be that guy. Don't be that guy. Don't be that guy Jesse from Saskatoon thought about doing something clever with the intro, but I don't need anyone's nipples getting erect before I get to my question. Good on you, Jesse. The audience.

Thanks you. I am a diehard abs fan. Like if I'm working and they're playing, I'm calling in sick. I cried when I watched Landy hoist the cup in 2022. I remember crying when Joe Sackett got his fingers caught in the snowblower. Was that? Oh, yeah. And the playoffs. Yes. My gosh. Yes. Yes. How long ago was that? I'm trying to remember. I'm just googling it

right now. You know what? I actually thought that that was playoffs and it wasn't. He was out of the lineup. He had a back injury and he had a snow blower accident and three broken fingers and tendon damage and it knocked him out for three months. And the team said that he reached inside to remove stock snow and the machine's power was off. And he got hurt. Wow.

I'm just Googling it quickly. I did too. Well, Jesse, I think still gets emotional thinking about it as he's explaining here. Yeah, Jesse, good memory. I see Jesse as one of those people, you know that meme that comes out where there's a, like it's one of those text exchanges where, I can't remember the names, but the person says to someone saying, this individual called in sick, we're sorry, but we're sure we could

really use your help tonight. And the guy's like, I'll bet you can. We're sorry, but we're short-handed. We could really use your help tonight. Guys like, I'll bet you can. We really need help. Yeah, I'll bet you do. Good luck finding it. That's Jesse when the Avs are playing. That's great. That may have been from his phone

that that screen grab was initially too far. That might actually be Jesse, because there's an Avs game that night. That's great. Okay. It's probably an exhibition game too. It's like an exhibition game too. It's like an exhibition game against Vegas with only six regular guys on each team playing but nope, Jesse. Jesse,

I love your commitment to the team. So good. He goes on to say, the greatest moments of my life are my beautiful baby girl being born, my wedding day, and that wonderful day in June of 22. What I won't do is tell you the order I'd put them in. I'll tell you what it better be. Kid first, wife second and game third. If it's not in that order, keep it private, Jesse. Yeah, we can't take anything for granted here, given what he's laid out already. Here lies my issue.

My wife and her family are diehard Euler fans, and now that the Abbs have been eliminated, they expect me to cheer for Edmonton. This got me thinking. Are guys like McKinnon and McCarr watching the playoffs after they've been eliminated? I've continued watching for now, but I have this feeling that I don't want to watch

the Euler's host the Cup in June with my wife and her family Celebrating in my face, but that being said if Nate watches I'll watch if he can support his friends and watch them When then so can I let me know what you think great job with the pod Jesse I'm gonna give you some advice here as a guy who's been married for 15 years to someone Who I should not be married to, somebody who definitely married down my wife, okay? I'm going to give you some advice here. It doesn't matter what Nate McKinnon thinks. I'm going to be the rock. It doesn't matter what Nate

McKinnon thinks. You have seen in your lifetime your team win the Stanley Cup. Like most men, I'm going to bet that you married up, okay? I'm going to bet that your wife is much better looking than you, a much better person than you, and you are someone who you should be holding on to with all fibers of your being. You have seen your team win the Stanley Cup. I don't know how old your wife is. Edmonton last won the Stanley Cup in 1990. You celebrate with her and her family. You have climbed to the top of the mountain. You have seen the greatest success.

If you want this woman to stay with you and I would guess you should you Say this is the only team I'm gonna cheer for aside from the Avs and I want you to witness a championship in your life You do not want what Glenn Healy calls the 50% escrow. Suck it up and cheer for the Oilers. 50% escrow, that's fantastic. And I think for players around the league,

everyone's different. Some guys can't help but watch. Others are going, we'll see you in the fall. Need a debrief, need some time away from it. And Nate's playing over in the fall. Need a debrief. Need some time away from it. And Nate's playing over in the worlds right now, right? So it's a little bit tougher for him. But if not, I could see him being a guy

that would flip games on the rest of the way. I bet you he misses a round. I can't remember who it was, but there was, it might have been Crosby early in his career, but he said he stopped watching until the Stanley Cup could be awarded and then he started watching again. Right. I can't remember if it was him who said that but someone said that. Someone big. They said I couldn't watch anymore but I wanted to see the Cup. Last one, Kayden from Edmonton. Hello, Kyle, Dom, and everyone else at Sportsnet.

I like that. That's good. I like that one. On Wednesday night, Stuart Skinner got his second consecutive shutout to eliminate Vegas, and Aiden Hill came close with one of his own. Well, not the one over time. That got me wondering, what's the longest stretch in a single game where no goals were scored by either team?

Is that the Uwe Krupp game? No. Oh, wait a sec. So there's a couple others I remember here. The Uwe Krupp game, that was a one-nothing game. Triple overtime, Avalanche Panthers. Yeah. That's not it?

No, so a total time then. Oh, okay. Regulation and overtime would be 104 minutes and 31 seconds before Krupp scored. It's not the record. It's close. Is it the Dave Hannan game? New Jersey?

Okay. Now, the only other ones I can think of, two of the longest games ever, like Mud Brunetoe has the record, longest game ever. Was that a 1-0 game? Yes. So that has to be the record? That would be the one. That is the one. So that's the longest game in NHL history. Yes.

Mud Brunetoe. 1936 1936 right? Correct 1936. Are you gonna tell me I might be old enough to remember that one? No, no, no, no. You can't go to that well every time. Don't let the jokes get stale. No, because so there's that. And then there's another one. I was gonna say Ken Doherty. That's number two. But I didn't know if it was previous Yeah, I didn't know if that was a 1-0 game. Okay, so let's talk post original 6 expansion So it's not Dave Hannon and it's not uve group. There's a longer 1-0 game

Not even a 1-0 game its final score is actually 3-2. Oh nothing game. His final score is actually 3-2. Oh, well he said 0-0, the question. Right, but he was just asking longest time between goals. Oh, longest time between goals. Is that the Andy, either the Andy Delmore game or the Keith Primo game? So Keith Primo again would be close. Think a little more recent. Is it the Carolina, Florida one? Nope, not quite that recent. You know what, I've been guessing long enough. Give everyone the answer. Jack, it's Lightning, 2020 Bubbles.

Oh. I know, I don't follow you. I can't believe I forgot that one. Seth Jones the other day too, I was just thinking about it. That's right. But yeah, Yanni Gord tied it a two 23 seconds into the third and Braden Point scored midway through the fifth overtime. 110 minutes and four seconds without a goal.

So that would be the modern day record beyond the two in the 1930s. Good question, that was a fun one. Really good question. You came to play for trivia today, Elliot. Give you credit. Yeah, I was, I brought my A game. I had a day of rest on Monday. I'm taking a couple games off in this next round too. I feel refreshed. Very good. All right. 1-833-311-3232 if you'd like to call and leave a voicemail or you can email us at

32thoughts at sportsnet.ca Some other news and notes from around the league here. Elliot, every now and then this time of year, some trade chatter can emerge. And as we sit here in the third week of May, what is going on between Bo Byrom and the Buffalo Sabres? At the very least, what's going on, Kyle, is that the Sabres are gauging his market value. Byrom needs a contract. He's got two more years. He's a non-restricted

free agent. So Buffalo doesn't have to do anything here. It was with two more years of team control. And whenever a team trades for a player like Buffalo did a couple of years ago, you know they see value in him and they like him. So you always have to keep that as part of your overall thinking. But there is no doubt that his name is out there as there's just been an agent change. So that always leads to conversation about what does this mean. But there's no doubt his name is out there. There is no doubt they are gauging market value on him and we'll see where this takes us, but there is definitely noise around the buy room name and the Buffalo Sabres Because when he was first traded there from Colorado

I think a lot of the talk then was this is a player that wanted to have an opportunity at a bigger role and Yes, who was ahead of him in Colorado, you can understand where maybe it was a little tougher path there. But even as the years have gone by with the Sabres, no, it hasn't been a ton of time. But still, you got Owen Power, Rasmus Talene and everybody there. So is that, you think, part of the motive again, if there is a change of scenery for the player to find a spot where I mean I imagine of course you're wanting an opportunity to win but a bigger role coming also? Yes he is a confident lad Byrom and I say that in a positive way I

think confidence matters and I think he would like a bigger role and as you said it's tough in Buffalo with who's ahead of him and who's around him. So I think that absolutely is part of the decision-making process here. And as you know and we've talked about before, his new agent is Darren Ferris, who generally prefers his players take it as close to free agency as possible. Although there was an exception this year, Vamelka in Utah, he resigned instead of going to the market. He generally prefers that.

Byron definitely does think about more responsibility and a bigger role. Okay, Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins, two year extension for the general manager, he had one year remaining. So it takes him through to the end of the 2728 season. Yes, this is a GM Elliot it's been around for a while has seen a team go to the Stanley Cup final win a president's trophy and then the step back this year and the exiting of a lot of players here and it sounds like the extension seems to signal to the organization gonna give you a bit of runway

to get this thing right after a step back this past season. The other thing I think about when I see this, first of all, this was kind of a fate accompli that he was safe. Charlie Jacobs did an interview with Kevin Paul DuPont of the Boston Globe when it was announced he was coming back this year. And Charlie Jacobs said, if we think you're good at your job and you have one bad

year we're not going to throw the baby out with the bath water. So it kind of made me think that this was coming after he said that. If that's Charlie Jacobs process I don't think anybody should be surprised that this happened. The other thing too is Don Sweeney is in the process of hiring a coach. And as we said last week, who hasn't he interviewed? I heard the Bruins have done a lot of interviews. But one of the questions that comes up in these conversations is if you're a coach, you're probably getting a three-year deal, right? Very few times does a coach sign for less than that.

So you're probably getting a three-year deal and you're going to look and you're going to say, wait a second, how are you going to hire me as a general manager? How am I going to feel about the situation as a new coach if I'm getting a three-year deal and the GM only has one. If it doesn't go well and we don't make the playoffs next year is the GM getting fired and then I'm going to have to work for someone who didn't hire me. Now it doesn't always mean that a coach is in a bad situation. If you take a look at it Mikeis, when he was hired as the Canucks, he didn't hire a Lavino, and they had a long and fruitful partnership. So it doesn't mean that it can't work, but you can see how a coach would be nervous about that. So I look at this as much as the

Boston Bruins saying, we're going to tie Don Sweeney to whoever he hires. New coach probably gets three years, Sweeney's now got three years, the two of them are in lockstep together. So when I see the extension Sweeney got, I see that as a sign to whoever comes in as the bench boss, he's going to be hiring you, you guys are going to be tied together. And by the way, Kyle,

I would expect the Bruins to cut this to a shortlist soon if they haven't already. Yeah, and Sweeney will also be helping Doug Armstrong as an assistant GM for Team Canada, the Olympic Games coming up next February in Milan, Italy. Elliot, how about the New York Islanders and their search for a GM? It continues and the names are rampant. What's the latest? Kyle, the Islander fans are getting impatient. They want an answer. I think we're getting closer. A

couple of days. Not immediate. A couple of days. I think there've been reports, uh, Bergevin second interview, which I believe is too true. Darce second interview, which I believe is true. Uh, Kekelainen has been around there too. I did hear the rumor that was kind of floating around on Monday of Co-GMs, maybe Bergevin and Darce. Monday of KoGM's maybe, Bergevin and Darsh. There's been a lot of craziness around this, so I don't know how much stock I really put in that. I would say this though, that is a bad idea.

A bad idea. I was just gonna say, I think there's a reason why we don't see that. Yes, so the Islanders tried this about 20 years ago with Neil Smith and Pat LaFontaine. It lasted like a month. It's just a bad idea. The Dallas Stars tried this with Les Jackson and Brett Hall. That didn't last very long either.

And it's got nothing even to do with the people you put in place to do that. You have to have one decision-maker. That was a problem in Buffalo too. It wasn't Co-GMs but there was Pat LaFontaine and there was Tim Murray and both of them thought they had the right to make the decisions and that fell apart over trading Ryan Miller like the two of them had a big battle over trading Ryan Miller and eventually Tim Murray won out. You have to have a clear delineation of power. There ultimately has to be one decision maker and whoever that is has to know that

they have the final say. I don't agree in splitting power. You can have two people there who you say we believe in these two people, but there has to be clarity. So I don't know if this was real or it was a crazy rumor. Never split power. You have to have one person who ultimately has the right to make a decision. It's kind of like with the band Oasis, Elliot. There's going to be some hits along the way that

everyone will remember, but ultimately when Noel and Liam Gallagher can't get along, it's not good for everybody, or anybody. Are you you gonna go see them in Toronto? No, I'm not saying seeing Oasis, but guess who I am? Husband of the year for getting tickets for. Ooh, hit me. Who you got? Katy Perry. Oh, nice. You'll be teenage dreaming for a night.

Well done. I won't be. Believe me. But I'll be there. Nice. Steph is allowing you to stick around for another summer. He allowed one more summer. That's great.

OK, game one of the Western Conference Final. From Dallas, on the air, 730 Eastern. You hear that, Jesse? Take lessons. You cheer for the Oilers and you take your wife to see Katy Perry. Pull that Lee Fogeland jersey out of the closet. Put it on and wear it with glee. 8 Eastern, 6 Mountain. His puck drop on Sportsnet and CBC.

We appreciate you taking some time out of your day to listen to us. We will talk to you again on Friday.