32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The New Hot Spot for Hot Goss

Episode Date: June 2, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman set up the 2025 NHL Draft Combine where the bulk of the league's newsiest discussions will occur as all of the league's executives descend on Buffalo. Elliotte talks about how the league is changing how they will unveil they awards this year (10:45). Kyle asks where CBA negotiations stand (14:48), and Elliotte provides in the latest with the Pittsburgh and Boston coaching vacancies (15:40). He also talks about the Sabres hiring Jarmo Kekäläinen (18:52). The fellas talk about the Dallas Stars exit interviews and the treatment of Jake Oettinger (20:21). The Final Thought focuses on NCAA eligibility for CHL players as it came into focus recently (30:23). Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions, comments, emails, and voicemails in the Thought Line (42:07).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

Until someone comes forward and says that was me, I think Amber's completely full of it. He came right out, played dumb with us. He's like, what is this people are talking about? This voicemail. How does that work with your podcast? It sounds exactly like him. As I listen back to it again, I'm like, oh now I see what you mean about the cadence. That's very good. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. Sharmadi, Friedman, Bukaskis back with you once again.

A little more compact episode here today as we save our energy for the Stanley Cup final. Elliott, we're going to see each other in Edmonton this week for media day coming up on Tuesday. How are you feeling about everything? Oh, you sound very excited. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's gonna be a great cup final. Cannot wait for it to get started. Gonna get very comfortable in the middle of it. It's gonna be a long Stanley Cup final. Very long. Yes. Yes, it's got seven written all over it again for the rematch. So we're gonna dive into Oilers versus Panthers round two a little more when we reconvene together in Edmonton in a couple of days. Today, however, we're gonna focus mainly on some other news around the National Hockey League. Also getting going this

week in Buffalo, the 2025 NHL draft combine. Always an important week on the NHL's calendar, of course, with all the draft eligible or a lot of them come into town there, the amount of interviews that's being done, the fitness testing, everything that we have become accustomed to seeing there. But as you pointed it out on a podcast not too long ago, that's also going to be an important week with the fact that this year, the draft is decentralized. So this is the one big opportunity for lead executives, agents, a lot of the

big power brokers in the NHL to all be together in one place and it's shaping up to be a busy, busy week in Buffalo. If you thought last week was rumor crazy, wait until we get through this one because Kyle as you mentioned, all the decision makers are going to be together. And a bunch of guys tell me that they have meeting after meeting after meeting some with players to interview them because you don't, as you said, have those last minute interviews at the draft this year since the teams won't be there. They're going to meet with agents. It's going to be stacked and the stuff that's going to come out of here. I think is gonna take

Rumor-mongering to the next level which I know all the teams are gonna be really excited about like they cannot wait for that excitement to happen So we'll see there's still lots of time before the draft Just because you hear things doesn't mean they're going to be imminent. You know, as a couple of guys were telling me, you don't have to make a decision right now. You still have a few weeks left. So everybody is still looking to heist one another as opposed to getting serious about what the market really is going to be for some of these guys. One of the things I thought was really interesting was I had a couple of managers telling me they said last year the teams

at the top of the draft were not really willing to move down and I think this year the teams at the very top aren't really going to be interested in moving down that far maybe one spot if they know what they're going to be interested in moving down that far. Maybe one spot if they know what they're going to get. It's like the 2003 draft when initially Florida had the number one pick, Pittsburgh moved up to get Flurry. Everybody knew Carolina was taking stall second. Florida wanted Nathan Horton and they knew they were going to get him third. Like maybe there's that kind of jostling at the top,

but after the top three, I think there's a little bit more will it teams are sensing. There's a little bit more willingness, potentially for some of these teams to move down. So we'll see if that's real or that's just noise. That's one thing that's gonna get sorted out over the next few weeks. You know, I'm gonna give you a few names

And a few teams that people are gonna be wondering about we've talked about the Rangers Chris jury has a lot of balls in the air Buffalo I think the Sabres know they don't want to come back exactly with the same group We know Bowen Byram's name is out there. What else are the Sabres really serious about? You know, the JJ Peturka thing, there's been a lot of noise since going back to the trade deadline. I don't know that the Sabres want to do that. But at the very least right now, they know they've got a potentially unhappy player. And so the Sabres, how are they going to handle that?

That's another thing that teams are trying to get a better look at. In Ottawa, Ottawa has gotten overabundance of right hand shots, especially if they re-sign Claude Giroux. They've got David Perron, they've got Fabian Zetelin, they've got Drake Batherson. I believe some teams have been kind of looking at that. People are always looking for right-hand shots. Ottawa's got a lot of them. Nick Haig is another name that's getting a lot of attention.

Thatcher Demko, Marco Rossi, Logan Mayhew, Rasmus Anderson, what are Calgary's plans here? Jonathan Marcissot. Now, someone mentioned to me, I thought he had a full no move clause. That's not correct. He has a no move clause, but he only has a partial no trade. So, has a no move clause, but he only has a partial no trade. So Nashville has a bit more of an opportunity to move him than I thought. It's not full control for Marcia. So, so that opens up potentially some of Nashville's options here or teams that might be more interested. But I think the key is, Kyle, that after this week, I think we're gonna have a better idea of what's real and what isn't, because everybody's gonna be in the same place and everybody's gonna have,

no more Tower of Babel. People are gonna be able to sit there and get a good handle on what everyone else is thinking. I also think too, like some of these conversations, Giroud, Tavares, other players who our team is going to want to resign guys, the agents are all going to be there too. How are those conversations going to be had about extensions, whether they're unrestricted free agents or not? So all of that is going to happen this week. So the fact that we are still just under a month from the opening of free agency, I mean,

do you see this as a week to really put in the work on setting up what could come in a few weeks in terms of a decision? Or could you see a number of things maybe even getting over the finish line over the next few days, knowing that this is the last time that they're all going to be in the same place? I think the biggest question, it's a good question. I think the only way to answer that is do teams still think they have time to get their best offer? Because a lot of this stuff tends to happen around the draft, Kyle. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

Yeah, so there's still time, but it's a good question. I don't have a great answer. Like a couple guys were telling me because there was time, people were still trying to rob each other. You don't really have to get real at this point in time yet. But you know, your point about this being the one opportunity is very real. I don't have a great answer for you. I guess we'll see in a few days. I'm supposed to be this great insider, but I can't give you a good answer on this one yet. I think we'll know more Tuesday, Wednesday.

Right. Well, I guess it's, yeah, the old line of deadlines for action, right? And we're just not quite there yet. Agreed. Kyle, this isn't solely about the combine, but you know which team everyone's watching now? Who's that? Utah.

Oh yeah. People think Utah's gonna take a big swing at something. I can see it. They were in the race for a playoff spot, for much of the stretch. And you know, with Ashley and Ryan Smith, they're doers. Well, in the NBA, you know they're doers. They want to show the NHL what the NBA already knows.

All right. So keep an eye on what's going on in Buffalo this week as they make their way through the scouting combine a lot more than just the VO2 max testing will be worth keeping tabs on here over the next few days. So how's your VO2 max? Do you have a do you have a good VO2 max? I've never done one. Have you? Yeah, I tried one. Really? How to go? I almost stopped breathing permanently. This podcast almost never happened.

Would you do it again? Tough test, man. Like, how old were you when you did it? Yeah. How old was I when I did it? Yeah. Like, was it a long time ago or? Yeah, I was probably about 35 to 20 years ago. OK. Not a bad time to set up a new baseline. I was then, but I'm also 20 years older.

Yes. 20 more years worth of cigar nights. That's right. And poker nights. That's good. All right. So that's going to be a little different this year. Another thing is how they announce the NHL awards. No longer are

the majority of them all going to be part of an NHL award show a couple days prior to the NHL draft, usually in the same city of the draft. It's going to be done in stages and it starts this week. The first one ones being announced today, Elliot. Yes, so they wanted to make viral moments out of these. They wanted to do surprises where people showed up and presented the winners with the award and then they would release it at certain times. So aside from the people who were involved, we'd all see the winners online together. And as you said the first one of those and I'm not sure which award is coming out first

is being shown or revealed on Monday. And I'm eager to see this. I know they were very excited about the idea. They were really hopeful about the concept and we'll see how it all works. Now there is going to be a show, a one hour prepackaged show during the Stanley Cup final. It's going to air before one of the games and it will feature some of the ones that we've already seen and some of the biggest ones will be unveiled that night. So they'll be unveiled as part of that show. We won't have seen those ones yet, but I know they were excited about the idea

and we'll see about the execution. I like to see the NHL take chances and do different things. They're trying it here. I hope it works. This is a league that was afraid to do different things for a long time. They're trying it.. I hope it works. This is a league that was afraid to do different things for a long time They're trying it. I hope they're rewarded Geez, how much time you think Steve Mayer spends just? I'm that brain has always got to be like everything like what you know Seinfeld everything in life. Can that be a bit?

Right. It's like with Steve Mayer, everything is like, can we find a way to present that better? Can we find a way to make that event better? Fascinating guy, I think we're gonna see him in a few days. We'll see him at the cup final. Yes, he will be at the Stanley Cup final. Man oh man. All right, so we got-

You should give him a surprise award. Hi Steve. Yes. I'm giving So we have him a surprise award. Hi Steve. Yes. I have give I'm giving you the Bacchus award. Turn it around on him. What do you think a Kyle Bacchus award uh I don't know one scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yes most Most ice cream eaten one season, the Bacchus award. Congratulations Steve. For all those chocolate dips you ate, you win the Bacchus award. Yeah. Australian AJAF.

I'm looking forward to seeing if I get a vote on the Con Smythe this year, after my absolute butcher job at the Four Nations. Well, that's right. Yes. Yeah. The 29 contingencies listed underneath your pick. I don't know if I told you this, but after we talked about it, the pod, a couple of people from the league reached out and said they were laughing,

listening to the pod because as bad as you described your ballot, it was worse. That's right. You thought it was worse. Yeah, that's right. You thought it was bad. Yeah, you didn't even have to digest it. No, Sherely Najak once said the great line, it's good that you're getting vanilla ice cream because it matches your personality. Truer words have never been spoken.

So that would be the award if I had one to give out. So we have awards coming up. Those will slowly be unveiled here over the next little bit. Also Wednesday night prior to game one, I think two hours before puck drop, Gary Bettman will do his usual state of the Union address at the Stanley Cup Final. Yes. Is he going to have a new CBA to announce or not yet? I hear no.

I don't think this is going to be happening by game one. I don't think it's that far off, but I don't think we're getting it Tuesday. Okay. So not far off means? I'm not sure. I don't want to guess. I just had some people tell me it's you know, I'd been following it up because remember he said

at the beginning of the year, he hoped that he could announce it at the Stanley Cup final before game one. And it's one of those things you just keep checking. Could it happen? Could it happen? Could it happen? And the multiple people I checked with this week said they don't expect it to happen, but they don't think it's far away. All right. Time for our weekly coaching update. Pittsburgh, Boston.

You had said last pod that we're starting to get down to the nitty gritty over the course of this weekend. Still don't have anything announced officially in either places. Is there any new updates? Yes, in Boston since our last pod, I believe Joe Sacco was told that he will not stay as the head coach of the Boston Bruins. I'm actually kind of wondering if he could end up in Toronto replacing that Lane Lambert spot. We'll see. But I'm under the impression that he was told he won't be staying. That leaves a lot of, there's been a lot of talk about Marco Sturm and I heard he did

really well in his interview last week. They also had Mitch Love in there last week. I believe they had Jay Woodcroft and they also interviewed Jay Leach. Dallas is out now. There's been a lot of talk about Misha Donskov, very bright guy on Dallas' staff. If they want to talk to him in person he's available now but you know we'll see they had a big week last week in Boston with all those candidates there and like I said I heard that Sacco was told he will not be returning as head coach. Pittsburgh as you know since the beginning of this process Mitch Love has been the number one horse in my race. I am not as sure now. And as you have heard me say, I've always been told to trust my instincts.

When I say something, stick with it until I have reason to believe it's not going to be the case. Don't doubt yourself. I just heard that it's not gonna be the case. Don't doubt yourself. I just heard that it's not as sure that Love is gonna be the guy in Pittsburgh. They had DJ Smith in there last week. I believe they've interviewed Woodcroft as well. I mentioned Dan Muse. I'm sure there, I always think there are others, but, and these could be famous last words,

I don't know how much of a hurry Dubas is in this could be famous last words things change pretty quickly I'll just say I'm not as sure in love as the leader as I was earlier in this process do you get a sense though that he's confident in his shortlist or there's maybe some other names that now he's considering? Donald Dubis? Yes. I just don't know.

Okay. It's just the, I heard on the weekend that Pittsburgh was not as much in a hurry. But again, I always worry that this is deflection at this time of year. Okay. All right. So I'll wait on Pittsburgh. By the way, I'm sure you saw the news the other day. Yarmouk Hekkalainen named a senior advisor in Buffalo to Kevin Adams. So we talked about it sounded like something like this was coming. They already brought in Eric Stahl.

So you've got, you know, an ex-player perspective into the front office there as they're trying to shake up the mix with the Sabres up top. What did you think about Kekalyan joining the organization? Oh, I think it's a really good hire. I mean, obviously, this happened after the other GM jobs were filled, right? And I don't know if Kekalyan was ever interviewed in LA, but I know he was on Long Island. So once those situations cleaned up, he was more available for Buffalo. I think the day will come when he gets

another opportunity to run a team, and he's a confident guy, he's a bright guy, and like a lot of other people, you want to see what does he learn from the first opportunity had what worked what didn't. But I you know, I think Kekel on is a really sharp, confident guy. And it can't hurt Buffalo at all to have someone like him in there. All right, the Dallas Stars,

you know, they had their player exit interviews the other day, heard from a number of them. You know, Jamie Ben doesn't see him playing anywhere else. He's going to be a UFA this summer. Matt Duchenne, what's next there? He talked about finding, you know, a little bit of stability in terms of what his next contract could look like as his family continues to evolve, kids are

getting older. And then there's the Jake Ottinger side to it all too. He spoke for over nine minutes. Really interesting to listen to why don't we start there? What did you think of what Ottinger had to say there? What did you think of what Autinger had to say in the aftermath of you know what was a as he put it an embarrassing poll and an important game in the playoffs and one that ultimately ended the star season? Autinger could have gone up there and turned what was already a five alarm blaze into a seven alarm blaze. And instead he took the oxygen out of it. Autinger showed a lot of class, a lot of calmness.

He turned down the temperature. The other thing that turned down the temperature, Tom Gellardi, the owner of the stars, did an interview with Tim Kalashaw, who's the longtime excellent columnist of the Dallas Morning News. And I think between those two things, everything kind of dialed back. I don't think the Dallas stars are trading Jake Ottinger. Even if Ottinger walked in there and said, I want to be traded, I think the Dallas stars are trading Jake Ottinger. Even if Ottinger walked in there and said, I want to be traded. I think the Dallas stars would say, look, we just signed you to an eight year extension. We have no interest in doing that.

And we'll figure out a way to sort this out. Now I do think the stars realize they have hard feelings over this internally and they're going to have to take time to mend it. But you'll remember several years ago, Kyle, the former president of the team, Jim lights took a big public run at Jamie, Ben and Tyler Sagan and those guys are still there. They're still there. You know, we'll see what happens with Ben, but Sagan is still those guys are still there. They're still there.

You know, we'll see what happens with Ben but Sagan is still there and lights comments back then he really criticized them publicly heavily and both players are really upset, but they sorted it out. And I think that's the Stars goal here too, is they know that Autinger was upset and they know he was embarrassed, but just like they did with Ben and Sagan, they will work, I believe, to sort this out. Now, the one thing I do believe is, I think the players were upset.

You know, I heard from a couple of them. I think they were really bothered by how Ottinger was treated. They felt he was treated wrong. But I don't think that these things are not fixable. I'm curious to see, Peter DeBoer has one more year left on his contract. As Goularty told Tim Kalashaw, I don't believe DeBoer is getting fired. I don't think that's going to happen. What I could see happening is Dallas saying look Peter, we're not going to extend you this summer. But we'll see how next year goes and we can all figure it out

at some point. Next season. I would say right now, that's the most likely scenario. But I still think the Stars now, like they were in shock that night as we talked about after beating the avalanche and the Jets. They never imagined they would get pounded by Edmondson like that. And I think that's why the bore reacted that way. And I think that like I said, I think everybody was shocked.

But judging from Galardi's interview with Kalasha and from what I heard, I don't think there's going to be a coaching change. I think they'll go into next year and see. And I also think they have no desire to trade Ottinger or anything like that, even if you wanted to. But there's no question there were some hard feelings. There's no question that has to be mended. But as we said at the beginning of this conversation, if they could sort out the Ben Sagan thing with Jim Lights all those years ago, there's no reason they can't sort out this too.

Like Jim Neal is still there. He's calm guy, he's competitive, he burns to win, but he handled that one, he can handle this one, I think. So they did their media on Saturday and Pete DeBoer said, you know, at that time when he addressed the media that he and Ottinger still really hadn't had a chance to talk since game five, which initially when you hear that and you're like, what do you mean you haven't had a chance to talk yet?

But I guess as you kind of let that wash over you, as you said, a lot of emotion tied to it. And I wonder if you're just going, let's give it a few days here to let everybody will take our breath. And then, and then the talk happens, or am I silly to think there even would be one? I think at some point in time, everybody has to sit down and sort this out. But I don't see. I don't think there's anything wrong with a timeout.

I don't think there's anything wrong with just saying everybody go to your corners and we'll figure out when the right time is. Sometimes you have to let the air out of the situation. Yes. You know, like my read on that on what happened now with even more time to think about like I still say what I said then you can't treat you can't treat Otter like that you can pull them from the game. That's fine. But you can't do it that way. You can't have them come to the bench for a timeout leave to go back into the net and then yell at him in front of the whole building. Oh, no, you're out and then rip them post game. Um, I think the players thought that was over the line.

And you know, they're the only time I can remember anything like that. Similar is I remember a few years ago when Justin Pogge was playing goal for the Leafs, Ron Wilson was coaching the Leafs, uhs and they were having a rough night and Wilson called a time out and Pogge stayed in his net and Wilson called Pogge to the bench and yelled at him in front of the whole building. And I remember Don Cherry went on the air and he ripped Ron Wilson for that, like just clobbered him for that. And I remember some of the, I was reminded by one of the players on that team reached out to me on the

weekend and said, that's the closest thing I can think to it. And I think Pogge stayed in the game, but you know, Wilson gave it to him in front of the whole building. And, uh, he just said, like, I thought that was over the line. But you know, it was interesting. Like one coach was telling me that when he saw the board reacted react like that, he said that there could only be two things going through the board's mind. Number one, he was worried the Stars window was closing. You know, they've changed.

They've changed from a really, and this is actually one of the things Goularty talked about in the interview with Kalashaw, they've changed from a really heavy team to a more skilled team. And this coach wondered if maybe DeBoer wasn't sure that this was going to work. And the second thing he thought about was, was DeBoer saying like, this is my third straight year in the final with this team. How many more chances am I going to get? Like you look at the West, the West is murder.

Edmonton, they've now been to the final two years in a row. Colorado is a hell of a team. Winnipeg led the President's Trophy wire to wire this year. Vegas is Vegas. You always know they're going to be really good and demanding to be really good. Like, you know, the guy said actually to make the Western Conference final three straight years is pretty good. But you know, eventually you think how long is this going to last?

And he thinks that Dabor reacted that way because he wanted if Dabor was worried this was it was slipping away from him. It wasn't going to be like this again. But whatever the reason, you know, the other thing too was to bore mentioned that Ottinger had seen a lot of action and he had been a little bit sick bad battling a respiratory thing. I wonder if everybody would have felt better about this if the board had said that after the game. Instead of the next day, but I think that to me only led leads credence to the whole chaotic nature of the moment. Yes, and when the emotions were at its peak all of that factors

in. Okay, let's get to the final thought which is brought to you by GMC. Elliot, congratulations to the London Knights winners of the 2025 Memorial Cup Championship out in Rimouski, defeating the Medicine Hat Tigers. Oh boy. Well, always find a way. They just came up short against Saginaw a year ago. And it was very much redemption.

I think a lot of the same players were back with the Knights this year. And they got the job done defeating Medicine Hat in the final. And throughout Memorial Cup week, and of course it's been a talking point all season, but it's felt like it's really come into focus again over the last few days,

is the new rule of NCAA eligibility for Canadian Hockey League players, especially with some of the names that have been out there recently, right? So Cole Reschne, Keaton Verhoff, two players from the Victoria Royals, and Reschne, Keaton Verhoff, two players from the Victoria Royals. Reschne expected to be a first-round pick this year. Verhoff could be a very high draft pick next year. They're going committed to the University of North Dakota. I mean Gavin McKenna's name has been out there. Kayden Lindstrom, there was a report a little while back from Aaron Portzline that things

were shaping up. He could be off to Michigan State next season. The Penn State hockey X account had the eye emojis, which made everybody wonder what was going on there. With all of this going on, I'm just curious, might as well check in on where you're at with things here, what you've heard and talking to people that are embedded in this world. Where do you think this all stands is now you're seeing some prominent names rumored or confirmed to be leaving the Canadian Hockey League and heading to the NCAA. There's a lot to unpack here.

There's a lot to unpack here. Number one, it's more choice for players. And I like that. I grew up in an era where in the NCAA, especially coaches could leave schools at any time, but a player if they wanted to transfer had to sit out for a year and I always thought that was terrible. Players should have the same right as a coach does. Um, now the pendulum has swung the other way and it's chaos. And if you're an NCAA hockey fan with the transfer portal, you've seen

in the chaos for a few years now. Like it's bananas, the player movement. And now for the first time, we're really seeing it with the CHL and the NCAA. So nobody really knows where we're going here yet. They have an idea. We're starting to see more players, but nobody really knows long term what this is all going to mean. The thing I really believe is that this is not going to be one size fits all. This is going to be on a case by case basis. Like I was talking to a bunch of agents or if they're in the NCAA family advisors over the last few days to ask them about the

landscape. And they said there are some players who had the option to leave the CHL and go to the NCAA and they were like, no, we're good here. We think this is more of a pro environment, more games. They just said we don't need to take visits. We were happy where we are. And great. There were some other players who said, you know what, I'm going to take a visit, I'm going to see what it's all about. And when they went into

places like North Dakota, or they went into places like Michigan, and they saw the facilities there, they were like, holy smokes. This is incredible. I want to try this. And I can't fault those guys either. And so, here's the like, here's the thing, like not every NCAA school is the same. Some of these NCAA schools are powerhouses. Some others are smaller budgets. It's just like the CHL, you know, who won the Memorial Cup this year, London, the biggest of the big. Well, not everybody's a London. There are smaller markets and smaller teams that won't be able to do some of the things that London can do.

So it's a case by case and a team by team basis. Someone's going to walk into, as we said, North Dakota or Michigan and be blown away. Others are going to walk into other schools and they're going to say, it's no different than what I've got here. I think the other thing I heard too is that there are some older CHL players that indicated they like the idea of playing against older players. Like if you're 19 years old, you're one of the oldest guys in the CHL, if you're 19 or 20. And if you go to college and you're 19 or 20, you could be among the youngest.

And I heard that really appeal to some guys, that they like the idea of playing against men and seeing how that felt or how they handled it. You know, the other thing too, Kyle is are you going to be happy with your situation? Like players can come back until January 10th. That's the deadline. And I think the chl is wondering are there going to be players

who go don't find it to their liking and then they come back to their previous teams or does their previous team trade them. But you're going to have the opportunity to come back until January 10th. And I think that that's what this is going to come down to. I think it's going to be, you know, Merrick had the commissioner of the Quebec Junior League and he talked about, okay, should we have car dealers paying players like the NIL guys in the states? And again, some teams are going to be able to do that, but some teams aren't.

So I just think right now it's going to be case by case. Some guys are going to do it. Some guys aren't. But I think one of the things is that I was talking to someone in the CHL about it the other day and I said, you're just going to have to be better. You should look at it as this is going to force us to be better. There's going to be some kids, like as we said, they're going to say, I want to try this. I want to jump and there's nothing you can do to stop them.

They have the right to make that choice. But what a CHL team has got to be asking now is are we doing everything in our power, whether we are a big team or a small team in terms of budgets? Are we doing everything in our power to make players want to stay with us? And the answer to that question better be yes. It should force you to be better. If you have a good player and it's not a good environment to play in, you're going to lose

players anyway. So that's the way I would look at it. Force yourself, if I was the CHL teams, you cannot avoid this. The teams had all the power for years. Now the players have some. You can sit there and you can complain about it, or you can say, look, this is the world now and we have to adapt. Are we doing the best job we can do?

That's all you can do. If you say, you know what, we've got a great program here. We train kids really well. We prepare kids really well. And this guy wanted to leave, there's nothing you can do. But you know when you look in the mirror every night before you go to bed if you have a good program or you don't. Better make sure you have a good program.

What do you think? Well, it's interesting. I don't know if you could, so Dan Neer, the commissioner of the Western Hockey League, he did media availability in Rimouski at the Memorial Cup the other day. And so no surprise given his position, goes on the offensive about just the idea of,

as you say, like the NCAA, yes, they do an excellent job of recruiting, especially the big power schools. But he pointed out the amount of players that end up in the transfer portal each year and you're not in the portal. If you're happy about the situation that you're in, you're looking for something new. So he said he wouldn't be surprised if some of the players that you know, head down to play south of the border at a div one program end up back in the wh l because it wasn't

what they thought it was going to be in terms of opportunity, whatever it may be. But the one thing he highlighted that stuck out to me was for the wh l and you can only imagine the oh, the queue or thinking similarly, is that it is his words pedal to the metal in terms of elevating standards. Now I think that comes down to kind of what you hint to that player facilities, the whole player experience. If you're in one of these leagues,

other things around that in terms of nutrition, taking care of your body, what's all available to the players to maximize the time that you're there. That's going to be the big thing. You're not going to be able to compete with some of those big programs in the US no matter what you do and that's not an issue like let's face it in Ottawa where I live Elliot there's a lot of North Dakota alum that play there now like what they had at NODAC it was a step down in terms of facilities and resources going to the NHL and that's not a shot at Ottawa like that just it was a step down in terms of facilities and resources

going to the NHL. And that's not a shot at Ottawa. Like that just speaks to the different world that a place like the University of North Dakota hockey setup is compared to everything else. And so you can't think about, well, how do we compete with it? Because you're not gonna get very far there.

But in terms of what you do with the players that are interested, and the big thing I think still has to come back to developing players in your own backyard, because you're seeing names from the US that have already committed to CHL programs that maybe otherwise would have gone to the USHL. So you're seeing an uptick there in terms of good players. And I love that the CHL is something where you've got imports from the US, from over in Europe. But, you know, the base of it has and should be about developing Canadian hockey players.

So I still think there is a path there, even though you got to expect to lose some of the top players every now and then, because the opportunity is going to be too good for them to pass up to go somewhere in a Division One program. But I'm just really curious to see when, again, you go back to Nier's comments about elevating standards, what that all is going to entail and how many franchises are going to have the resources to make all of that happen. Don't disagree. are going to have the resources to make all of that happen. Don't disagree. All right. Now as the final thought brought to you by GMC, let's take our first break

and we'll come back with the thought line. 32 Thoughts, the podcast continues after this. Okay. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David.

I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. I'm your host, David. Okay, welcome back. Time for the Thoughtline. Elliot, David Amber disputed the anonymous voicemail. He claimed it wasn't him. Until someone comes forward and says that was me I think amber's completely full of it he came right out played dumb with us he's like what is this people are talking about this voicemail how does that work with your podcast for a second it sounds exactly like him you're right as i

listen back to it again i'm like oh now I see what you mean about the cadence. That's very good. All right no voicemails in this edition of the Thoughtline Elliot but we do have some good questions so let's begin with Logan from Qualicum Beach BC the home of the Howie Meeker Arena. Wow okay. Hello, Dom Elliot and bad to the bone, Jaywalking Bukaskis of beautiful Vancouver Island. I've heard all the rumblings with Toronto and what could happen with the future of Mitch Marner, the fact that he did not wave his no move clause back at the trade deadline. So does Marner still have the power to block his UFA rights in a trade before the draft? Why do teams not trade rights more often?

A six round pick is better than no pick at all. Thank you for all your hard work. And Kyle, if you're on the island this summer, wait for the walking sign and go Canucks go thank you for that Logan the answer is yes in theory if he wanted to block a trade for his ufa rights he could 100% do that all right anything new on that file while Logan brought it up? No, I don't think so. Not as far as I can tell. All right.

Ryan from Winnipeg. Hello, Elliot, Kyle, and Dom. My question today is regarding continual playoff success. With Seam Florida go to a Stanley Cup final for a third consecutive year and being one of the final participants in the last game of the season, it has me wondering how much long term playoff success has in terms of impact on the business side for an organization, for example, Florida gets all this extra

gate revenue the last three years, surely raking in a lot of extra money. Do teams use this money, for example, front loading a contract with signing bonuses or does it all go to the owner? I guess my overall question is, is it a huge competitive advantage business-wise when going deep in the playoffs for a prolonged period of time?

Yes, absolutely it is. The organization makes more money. Yes, absolutely it is. The organization makes more money. The other thing too is that everything is split 50-50, right? It's hockey related revenue. There's costs that get scraped off the top. But let's just say the simplest way of saying it is let's just say Florida makes five million a night from average from a playoff game.

It gets split half league and half players, right? 50-50 on hockey related revenue. But then, you know, the Panthers, absolutely, it gives them more ability to do things. Like they just built a brand new practice facility, although they did it in partnership with the city. Absolutely, you make more money, whether you use it to pay people, give people raises, build your own infrastructure, do more things in your organization, 100%.

The farther you go, obviously the more healthy you are. And when bigger revenue teams go deeper in the playoffs, the better it is for the salary cap too. And one of the things I've heard too, Elliot, like if you're an organization that maybe isn't maxed out on season ticket sales, if you go on a long playoff run, it's usually the season following is where you see the upswing in season ticket numbers. So that can be great for the business also. Kind of a windfall that comes afterwards.

That's a great point because the Tampa Bay Lightning always talked about how when they won their first Stanley Cup in 0304, the lockout the next year, it ruined all their momentum. They never had a chance to build off that first Stanley Cup. and the excitement created by making the play on playing round would sell you more tickets. I completely agree with you on that. I think it's a great point. Even through Vinny LeCavier on the cover of NHL 06 coming out of the lockout, but probably still not enough to recoup the momentum the Lightning otherwise would have had if not for that lockout in 0405. Okay, Jake next.

Hi fellas. Love the podcast. I am Boston based but spend about a week a month in Toronto for work. As I'm sitting here in my hotel lobby in Guelph watching Memorial Cup highlights, it brought upon a question. In an instance where the home team who automatically gets a spot actually wins their league playoffs. How did they fill the fourth spot in the tournament? Also has this scenario ever happened before?

It's happened a couple of times. I don't know the exact number. Maybe Kyle does, but basically if the team that's hosting the Memorial Cup Reaches the final of their league the other team that reaches the final with them goes to the Memorial Cup Whether or not they win or lose their league championship. Yeah, so I believe it since 1983 that they've gone to this format where they've 1983 that they've gone to this format where they've predetermined to host city. That team is in it automatically. And then the three others from the three leagues join them.

I didn't go through all of them, but I just picked, I just went through them, found the most recent ones. Could you think of the last time it happened that the host city also won their league playoffs. Is it like cam loops? No. No, it was not cam loops. You got to go back to 2008. Okay, hold on. Christian O'Rangers. Okay. Well, I guess we're not going to hold on here.

Well, there wouldn't have been much figuring out today once he knew the year. Did Granby do that once, by the way? I can't remember. So Hall back in 97, the Hall Olympique. But the three in the 21st century, so Kitchener in 2008, Monkton in 2006, and London in 2005. And of course they won against Crosby and the Oceania. I was going to say that they were, they host the team, the Sydney Crosby year.

Yes. That's the one everybody remembers. Right. Because it was Crosby, because it was the lockout. So all eyes were on that tournament. Do you remember the last time a host city won the Memorial Cup, whether they won their league playoff or not? Oh, wait, wasn't it like wasn't like recently? Maybe is it Saginaw?

Saginaw last year, I was trying to go through my head and remember the recent winners. Yep. Yep. Saginaw last year, trick question. And you fell for it. Okay, last one, Elliot, you ready? Yep. This is from Liam Chu Fu, who is the governor

of the Swift Current Broncos. Okay. Hello, Dom, Kyle, and the other guy. I really enjoy listening to the pod and wanted to share this nugget about playoff Stewart Skinner. In 2018, Skinner backstopped the Swift current Broncos to the WHL Championship. In doing so, he amassed 6 shutouts in 4 rounds of play. However, in round 1 vs the Regina Pats, after opening the series with a shutout, he

was pulled in games four and six as the Broncos hung on and just got by winning in game seven. Then in round two, again going seven games against Moosejaw, he had three consecutive shutouts on their home ice in games two, five, and seven. Their poor fans had to set through the final three home games of their season without witnessing a goal from their own squad. In round three, against his former team, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, he lost games three and four, giving up five in each game before the Broncos were victorious in six.

And in the final versus Everett, Stu pitched two shutouts, including the Ed Shenouth Cup game six winner. I tell you all this to point out that being on a bit of a roller coaster ride with Stu and Nett during the playoffs has some history, going back to his days in the dub. However, he has championship DNA and I have faith that he has what it takes

to get the Oilers where they want to go. It just might not be a linear progression. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for listening and keeping all the discussion about Elliott's erect nipples to a minimum. Well, I appreciate Liam for sending that I wouldn't have known that. He's been on a great run lately. Well, as you ever turned it on. I have to say I bet you the others were sitting there saying God don't give us a break. We do not want Skinner to stop. Yes.

Yeah, keep it going. Start the final two nights after game five. So it's just a lesson. If it's a rocky start for Edmonton to the final and if he has a hand in it, that's the one thing that has to change for the others. Cannot start like last year. Yes, that's true. Cannot start like last year. This has to be different. That's why they lost. You know, if they win one of those games, first three,

they win the Stanley Cup last year. Now, ifs, ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas, right? They didn't and they lost and Florida earned the championship. But that's the one thing that has to be different. Skinner and the Oilers have to start on time. And actually talk to Skinner about this earlier this year when I was doing a game in Edmonton, he had said, if game seven last year was in our building, we really like our chances of a different outcome. And this time around, if it gets to a game seven, it'll be in their building.

They are great at home. That's good to know about about Skinner. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Liam, for submitting. Thank you everyone for submitting and for Griffin Porter for putting that all together. 1-833-311-3232. If you would like to call in and leave a voicemail or you can email us at 32thoughtsat Sportsnet.ca. One more break and we'll wrap this thing up.

You're listening to 32 Thoughts of the Podcast. Okay. Just wanted to map out what the next little bit is going to look like podcast wise for us. So Ellie and I are going to reconvene in Edmonton. Media Day is there at Roger's place on Tuesday. Plan to knock off a couple of interviews with some of the particulars, the players involved in this Stanley Cup final. We will assemble an entire Stanley Cup preview pod that will drop Wednesday morning leading into game one of Oilers Panthers and then like in years past after every game of this Stanley Cup final the morning after will be when the next podcast drops so moving away from Monday Wednesday Friday as we've had

throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs, it will be the morning after each game throughout the Stanley Cup final. One more series, a rematch that can you believe could be potentially even better than what we got one year ago. And it all starts on Wednesday. So we'll talk to you again from Edmonton. Have a great start to your week. And enjoy the Stanley Cup final. And thank you, as always, for listening to us. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"]