32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The Pens Were Written off and the Pens Are Writing Back

Episode Date: January 26, 2026

In this episode of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman dig into a dominant 7–1 Senators win over Vegas, while also revisiting the Golden Knights’ strong performance against Toronto earlier in the weekend and Bruce Cassidy’s frustration following Sunday’s loss. They discuss Travis Green’s measured approach in Ottawa (10:00), the league’s growing concern over schedule-related wear and tear (14:30), and questions around who Bill Guerin may be trying to lure as Minnesota looks ahead (16:00). The fellas touch on hullabaloo around the Leafs this weekend (18:00). The guys highlight the Penguins’ impressive sweep of their western road trip and how surprising their place in the standings has become (21:00), while also touching on Artemi Panarin drawing interest from multiple teams (34:00) and why Utah is being flagged as a club to watch as the playoff push heats up (38:50). Elliotte shares  a note about the Flames taking a pause on things (41:42). He also mentions that there are more sellers this year that people care to admit (44:00). The Final Thought focuses on the Foligno Faceoff with the V Foundation, with the next matchup set for January 27 between the Blackhawks and Wild (46:48). Kyle and Elliotte answer crowd questions in the Thoughtline (51:27). Today we highlight Always On Your Side by Ryan Gaio, a singer-songwriter born and raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Check out his music here.Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here.Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

First appointment, January. Woman scheduled a Pomeranian mix grooming. Brought in a raccoon. Actual raccoon. In a dog carrier. I stared. Man, that's, and she cuts him off. His name is Biscuit.

Just to trim, please. He gets matted. My manager was standing right there, nodded. Standard Pomeranian package? Yes, please. I groomed a roomed. raccoon. Welcome to a Monday edition of 32 Thoughts, the podcast.

Tom, Elliot, Kyle, back with you. Elliot, it must have been some kind of snowstorm in Toronto and other parts of Ontario, North America on Sunday because it was enough to cancel your card game with your buddies. That's when you know it was serious. That is serious. When our card game gets canceled, that's a big deal. is already canceled tomorrow around here, Kyle.

Do you know how hard it is in the city of Toronto, one of the worst governed cities around for them to actually tell you the day before that school is canceled? That is how bad it is. Usually they tell you like 6.30 or 7 in the morning. You have no idea until you wake up. But this one, they tell us the night before. this was a three shovel day, okay?

That's how, and that's how crazy it was. And I want to say this, if you are a hockey fan who went to a game in many of these places in North America that were either freezing or snowed in, if you are a hockey fan who went to a game on Sunday, great on you. If you are a staffer who works a building, great on you. Players, they're paid to play. It's a little bit different. But the fans and the people who put the game on, if you made it to a game on Sunday, you are the backbone of hockey fandom.

Good on you. Nice, yes. Yes. Absolutely. Because I didn't go anywhere Sunday. I don't blame you. I don't blame you at all. Anything interesting?

You had Toronto Vegas on Friday. You had Ottawa, Carolina on Saturday. Anything interesting happened to you around the ranks? Well, travel again was interesting. Our crew, like with Cuthbert and Simpson, we were supposed to do Boston, Montreal, Saturday. And with the weather, the bitter cold, flights got canceled, and we got swapped around.

So on Friday, Bartlett, Galley, Sean McKenzie, were either already in Ottawa or making their way to Ottawa. That afternoon, things get swapped around, and they get redirected to go to Boston. And so we go end up into Ottawa Saturday morning to do Senators hurricanes. So that was a bit of a whirlwind. All of a sudden, you got two new teams that you haven't prepped for in the same way all week. Oh, it's not that.

It's just different. You know what would help your preparation, Kyle. What was that? If you actually watched hockey. Exactly. Yeah, I know. Carolina, Hurricanes, Ah, Ho, Boosie, really good story, Slavin, one of the best defensemen in the league. Jordan Stahl, been there a long time.

Taylor Hall, saw you talking to him. Ottawa, good interview. Giroux, Stutzla, Kachuk, Jake Sanderson, pretty good defenseman. There's more to the job of working ringside than just rattling off players that play on the two-teut. teams involved. You know that, right? You've done the job. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. It's a, anything interesting around the rings? Anything interesting time. Ottawa, you could tell this weekend they were really starting to feel, I know Kachuk was like, look, we still got over 30 games left, but they're feeling, looking where things are at around them in the east, in their division,

that they're running out a runway to put together a run. Suddenly there's spread there, right? Yeah. Suddenly there's spread. To maintain positivity. I know like Travis Green got a bit of criticism after they're lost to Carolina of saying, you know, liked a lot of things, just some mental mistakes early on, put us behind the eight ball.

But they're really trying to keep things and their heads above water. And then you saw a head coach after they pound Vegas on Sunday in the room afterwards saying, don't listen to the white noise, don't listen to people on the outside, like zero negativity in here. You keep playing that way. We're going to get on a run. We're going to win a lot of hockey games. So it was great to see, first of all, Linus Allmark backing up Sunday. Yes.

Good on Mad Showguard for delivering a win when they badly needed it. And the puck started going in for them. And just going back to the Vegas game briefly on Friday, Elliot, I just thought that was, you looked at Mark Stone, at Jack Eichol, and you can go down the list. That was a group of guys that were like, we're not losing. We're not losing tonight. And they didn't. There was very little doubt early on of what the outcome of that game was going to be. You know, Bruce Cassidy, I was reading his quotes after the game on Sunday after Ottawa scored a converted touchdown against them.

and they were horrible. I guess there was a post-game Marner dinner on Friday in Toronto. That must have been one heck of a party because the Golden Knights were in no condition to play on Sunday. And, you know, they lost to Boston on Thursday. And as you said, they were a great team. Stone, excellent, Eichel, excellent. Dorothea bowed down to Marner after. his goal. I didn't see it, but someone told me it happened. You know, the Colissar thing where he

ripped the jersey down, like generally it's a kid. Don't do that. But in that particular situation, I understood what he was trying to do. Like, they are, that's a great team. And I think a lot of those players would say, hey, if we were going to win one game on this trip, it had to be that one. I would not be looking forward to my next practice if I was a member of the Vegas. as Golden Knights because Bruce Cassidy was clearly in a mood after that game on Sunday that was terrible. It was an awful performance. And it's, you know, there's a few times a year a coach says, yeah, I got to get these

guys attention back. Okay. It's attention grabbing time. And, you know, we know that Cassidy can be a real grinder when he wants to be. And the Golden Knights, they're about to get ground. Yes. She's also shout out Brandon Bussie, 19 wins in 23 starts to begin his career and his first hockey night towel on Saturday. And he was jacked for it. That was pretty hard. It always is. So he came out, we put the towel on and he was intrigued. And I said, you know, he's from the Long Island area. And so I said, are you very familiar with the idea of hockey night in Canada and the towel and everything? He's like, I've heard a little bit about it. And then afterwards, when he's, you know, and he learned he could keep it. The excitement went up to 11.

So he's been their best story, their best story to this point in the year for the hurricanes. You know, I tweeted out a mask from the Saskatoon Blades. One of their goleys has an autism-themed mask. And it was pointed out to me that Boosie has one too. His paint job includes a tribute to his younger brothers. So he also has an autism-themed mask. And, you know, obviously we know, everybody knows the story, waiver claim this year.

And, you know, I'll say this. The Bruins always said really good things about him that they thought that he had a chance. You know, obviously this year, Swamen Corpusallow, they kept their guys, they took the risk, they lost Boussey. Obviously, the hurricanes saw something they liked. It sounds like they're not too far in a contract extension either. And I don't know when, I don't know what the timeline is going to be. but he's up at the end of this year and the hurricanes are going to get something done with him. So what you get is you get stability.

It's the oldest story in the world is that you take care of your own business and good things happen. And that looks to be the case with him. I mean, it was interesting. I remember when Binnington was, St. Louis had to extend him. And there were no comparables to what Bittington had done. So it was kind of new ground. This is similar. There's not a lot of comparables for where he is at 27 years old.

But you find your way. And the key thing is when you're someone in his situation, you find a home, you stay in that home. Don't bleep with happy. And it sounds exactly like that's what's going to happen with this kid. And good for him. You know, the thing about Ottawa, I was listening to what you were talking about there, and we've talked about this before with Adam Foote. The thing about Green is he's going with the don't pour the gasoline on the fire thing. I understand why Sanders fans are like, I don't want to hear this anymore.

I understand why Sanders media is like, I don't want to hear this anymore. But you have to understand something. and that is that as, you know, you were talking about don't let the negativity come in. When they lost that game, you know, the other night, not the one on Thursday, people were like, the season's over, the season's over. I don't know if Green's aware about specifically that, but he can do the math. He understands what is going on here. And he understands that they're in big trouble.

in those situations you have to be very careful how often you go to it like foot last week he went to it all year long he was protecting them he was protecting them he was protecting them and then he said no that's enough we're not doing this anymore

our veterans have to be better so you really know you've got to save your bullets and that's why Green's doing what he's doing you know I'm watching Ottawa and now as you said Omar's back and I'm watching Montreal and there's some separation now. Like all of a sudden, Buffalo, Buffalo's eighth in the league. It's incredible. They've got 63 points. Montreal's got 63 points. Boston's got 62. And now Florida is three back and Boston's in Wild Card 2.

All of a sudden, the Flyers are five back, the lease are five back, the Capitals are five back. the devils are six-back, the blue jackets who got a little hot seven-back, and Ottawa's seven-back too. And, you know, it's a challenge. You know, all of a sudden we've got separation here. We've got difference here. But, you know, the thing I'm looking at with Montreal and Ottawa, both these teams have been having the same kind of goal-tending issues. unless you're going out and getting someone to play net, then if I'm these coaches,

I'm going to the goalies and I'm saying winning you're in. You win, you play. I would even go to my sports science people, and I would say to them, guys, it's winning they play. I don't freaking care if it's back to back, whatever.

We have to win games. And if, and that's the best incentive. Kelly Rudy always said there was only one stat he cared about, Wubble Use. At its essence, you can take sports down to that. You tell those goalies winning you're in.

And that's the best you can do. Man, great in theory. It's just, you know what the schedule is. Yeah. How relenting it's been for everybody. I do. I think you find ways around that.

You go to your goalie. If you really have to, and you can't start them the next game. Say to your goalie, okay, you won, you've won two in a row, you've won three in a row, whatever. I got to give you a break. I have to, but you're going back in. You have credit with me.

Your credit score, which you can now look at online, is 900. You get back in. You can do things like that. But at the base, you go to those guys and you say winning you're in. Lose someone else's job. You know, it's interesting, not a goaltender, of course, but Jake Sanderson was saying on Saturday, similar to what McDavid said earlier this year,

is that he really likes this rhythm of playing pretty well every other day. Like it suits him. He goes, I'm good, not practicing a ton. You get out for the morning skate on game day, and then you go play, you rest the day in between. He's like, my nervous system's more dialed in on game days. It just, that cycle. And as I said, Conner touched on it similarly.

I think back in December how he liked the more condensed schedule where games are coming fast and furious. And you play a game and then take the next 48 hours to get yourself ready to play the next one and rinse and repeat. I'll say this. There's a lot easier in the Eastern Conference. I have heard they are doing, although McDavid is a West guy, I have heard that they are looking at the schedule.

Because the next one that's going to be like this is going to be two years from now, World Cup. I think they're going to look at what can we do differently. In terms of maybe not making it as. Yeah, too much attrition. Too much attrition. I don't know what can be done, but, you know, for one thing, it's going to start earlier, right? So maybe that'll help. but I think there's a recognition that this has been too much.

I'll say this too. Talking about goalies, you're looking at goalies who could be available out there, Kyle. So Mike Russo put out Wollstead's name in Minnesota. And I think that Minnesota might have tried that once already. but, you know, we've all been wondering. We all know the while they're going to try to get another player, probably a center. We're all sitting there saying, what is he going to use?

I think that might be the guy. Really, eh? Yep. That it's been such a rock-solid tandem. I'm not crazy about it either. I mean, it depends on what else you're going to do as part of that. but if you're all in to win and you've got Gustus and signed, what someone says to me is said to me was,

if it happens, you'll understand why. So who is Bill Guerin trying to lure in? Okay. And I guess that also speaks to the division that they're in. Yeah. Right? Knowing potentially you've got to get

through both of the other two, Dallas and Colorado, just to have a chance to play in the third round. To the Western Final, yes. Like, that just gets you halfway. Oof. That's a fascinating place to be, if you're Bill Guerin in a while. But I love the concept because you're trying to win. Yep.

You're trying to win. Okay, so last pot, Elliot, we mentioned the rule of thirds. The term in the film and photography world on Sunday, cameras just took a beating. So Brock Nelson breaks the camera inside the net in Toronto, the first of his three goals against the Leafs. Ben Kindle does the same of his second of two goals in his homecoming in Vancouver. And then William Neelander nearly breaks Leaves Twitter with his salute to a camera. I got to say, someone had a good line to me about Toronto. said, I'm watching the Maple Leafs on the weekend. They lose two games. The coach had the injury,

which, you know, looked pretty serious by the amount of stitches he got in the gym. And then you've got Nealander giving the film to the camera. It's like, it's like the parents have gone away for the weekend and it's Lord of Flies in the house. Like that's the reason that was looking like watching as it's complete chaos around the whole situation. Tornado ripping through Scotia Bank. Oh, Kyle, by the way, Stolars, there was some confusion. And I admit, I was confused too. So Stollers comes back from his conditioning stint. He plays without an A.HL game, Vegas on Friday.

And then on Saturday, Barubez asked about it. How come we didn't play in the HL? And he goes, not my call. And I'm like, what's going on here? It just added to the overall craziness of the Lord of the Fly's weekend. Yes. And so, I. I made a few calls and I found out that when Stollers began his return to play protocol and went to the conditioning sin, it was decided that his first game back would be in the NHL.

And so they waited a few extra days with him. They had a few extra practices, a few extra morning skates. And I do think it was brought up to him again. You know, do you want an HL start first? And he's like, no, I like the original plan. I want to go back in the NHL. And it was interesting because Kelly Rudy and Kevin BX are heard me say that. And they said, that's the right call.

You know, that is the right call. And another player actually reached out to me and said, the reason that he agreed with that decision is you go out of the HL and you never know who out there is going to be like, I'm going to be a hero because everybody's watching the NHL goaltender or NHL player and I'm going to try to do something here that gets me no. noticed. And also, you know, they did say HL play can be a bit more scrambly or if you, if you're going to get hurt, you want to do it in the NHL. That was, you know, what someone had said to me.

So I think a bunch of guys really understood it. You know, Ron was like, why that game. And it's a good question. But if you really look at it, what were your choices? Your choices were Vegas, Colorado at 1.30 on Sunday afternoon, or white hot buffalo on Tuesday. night like pick your poison right so that was the that was what went in to the to it and just you know I have to say this too about baroube and I'm not taking a shot at ts n here that's not what this is about but I watched perubay do his interview with the great mark masters in the pregame show on Sunday and I was kind of like I almost think unless it's critical maybe we should just lay off the Baruba interviews right now.

It's, it's, it's, it's hard to look at it. Oh. And I'm not, I'm not, I want to everyone understand, like, I'm not making fun of the guy. He, it's, it's a legitimate injury. He clearly got cut. I don't know. I was just like, I was watching it. Cut.

And I was, I was uncomfortable watching it, Kyle. I really was. Yeah. That's, uh, that's a sore looking guy right there. Like, it's unreal. Like, I'm not queasy. I like blood. I like gore.

I like horror movies. I've watched all the screen movies, but I don't know why. It was just like, I was like, maybe we should just be giving this guy a break for a few games. I know. And I'm sure he's gone,

wouldn't mind the players giving him a break too. Like he's still, he's got the Shiner's 50 plus stitches and he's screaming on the bench still. My goodness. Didn't get a reprieve from any of that. You know, the Pittsburgh thing, So I was looking at the standings, okay?

NHL standings right now, Detroit's third, which is pretty amazing. And they are just ahead of 10. The problem is Tampa's got three games in hand on them. But pretty impressive by the Red Wings, led by Cider, Gibson. You know, a lot of guys having tremendous years. But all of a sudden, Buffalo is seventh, and Pittsburgh is. eighth. Yeah.

Yeah. They shut out Vancouver on Sunday night. Ben Kindle, really easy kid to root for. Really easy. Some of the stories about some of the billets or the people who were waiting to meet him or came to watch him as they went through their West Coast trip. Really nice kid. Yeah. 192 friends and family apparently in Vancouver Sunday.

That box's lumping. I hope Kyle Dubas with that sweet GM contract contributed to paying some of that bill. I mean, you off your wallet. Yes. Things are rolling so well for them. And like this four game Western trip for Pittsburgh, like they just swept it for each. Yep.

Excellent. And, you know, at the beginning of the year, what are we talking about? Where's Crosby going to end up? Oh, a funny story. So there was that trade last week between the avalanche and the penguins, Soloveyav got traded to Pittsburgh. Someone says to me, like a few, like about 10, 15 minutes before it was announced. Someone sends to me a note.

So I think there's something going on between Pittsburgh and Colorado. I almost had a heart attack. I was like, what? Yeah. You know Michael Scott in the office when he's like, it's happening? Oh my God, it's happening. I was like, what? Pittsburgh and Colorado?

Stay calm. And so I made a couple calls and someone said, you know, just dial it back. This is, it's not that. It's not that. I told the person, I said, the next time you call me and send me a text that says, I think Pittsburgh and Colorado are up to something, just give. me a little bit more of a hint about what you're talking about here. Anyway, beginning of the year, we're all talking about where is Crosby going to end up?

They're eighth in the NHL. As I said, that's the biggest stunner to me. Of all. Yeah. You know, what do we say about the penguins at the beginning of the year? Is that they were the only? Was that a U? Dang.

That's way to bail. I'm going down with you. I have no, I'm just kidding. Way to bail. The Baylor, Kyle Becoskis. Kyle the Baylor, Becoskis. I learned for the best. What do you mean we?

What do you mean we? Anyway, at the beginning of the year, we're saying that that was the only team that wasn't trying to win this year. They're eighth in the NHL. And, you know, Malkin is having an incredible season. Right. That was weird at the end, though. Did you see the video on the bench? Yeah, it was strange.

Although, I guess some of the reporters. who are there said that they were told it wasn't a big deal. Because you're right. You know, Malkin, he gets hurt a lot now, unfortunately, and you were looking at that saying, seriously, did this just happen? But we've all been talking about what's Crosby's future and what's Malkin's future. They're eighth in the league. Where are they going?

I mean, I don't know if this is going to continue. I mean, they're in really good shape. Skinner is playing really well for them. I have to say, I didn't like. that Skinner didn't play in Edmonton. I wasn't crazy about that. I think, you know, my initial response,

but someone called me, I talked about this on radio last week with a feudant. I think it was Justin Cuthbert. And someone called me and said, look, like, Skinner, there's a certain way you have to prepare him. I think he'd be the first to admit

he gets nervous before some games. I just think they felt it wasn't best for him to play that game in Edmonton. Okay, I get it. I understand it. I want it from an entertainment point of view, but if you're going to say to me, here's a real honest, rational preparation reason why it didn't make sense for him

at that time. I'll buy it. I accept it. I don't know if this continues right now, but, you know, I think we could stop all this conversation while they're eighth in the national hockey league. Right.

And I also thought, The fact that he played them in Pittsburgh so soon after the trade and then it ended up being a bit of a route for Edmonton. Like did that play a factor into their thinking? And it ended up being the right one because the night before they were in Calgary, he was brilliant there. And then they go up and pick up two points in Edmonton. Like that's been really great. He's got seven wins in his last eight starts, one goal against and five of those. Like they make the deal for Chinikov.

He's scoring. producing looks like a great fit there. Boy, can that guy shoot the puck man? I was a lot of his goals this week. Man, I forgot how he can shoot it. No question. Like Eric Carlson back, having a very good year.

So Chris LaTang comes back into the lineup on Sunday, by the way, Elliot. And so Bob Grove, as you know, who's like everything stats when it comes to the Penguins. Such a great resource. He pointed out to me. So it finally happened Sunday because LaTang had been out for a couple of games prior.

That was the 1,000th game that Chris LaTang, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeny Malkian all played together, regular season and playoffs combined. That's incredible. Isn't it? That's a hell of a run. I don't know where this is all going to go, but the three of them should retire.

together, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah, and the more, remember we were talking about the statue thing? Yeah. Like it would be, I wouldn't be opposed seeing the three of them in some type of combo out in front of PPG paints when the time comes. Well, I mean, look, like, I'm looking at this team. Rust has 40 points and 47 games.

Malkin's over a point of game. Crosby's over a point of game. Crosby has a chance to be the oldest 50-goal score ever. Anthony Manta has 35 points. He's got 16 goals. Brazo's got 14 goals. Kindle's got 10 goals and 22 assists. Connor Dewar's got 11 goals.

You knew that you knew that Dubus signed a bunch of these guys to trade them, right, for picks? Yep. Now what do you do? How are you doing that now? I know. And the other thing, too, is there's new ownership, right? I always look at this and, you know, Dubus and those new owners, they told him pretty early, he was safe. Like, they weren't looking to make the change.

If you're a new owner and you're inheriting a team that's eighth in the NHL, and again, there's still time here. We'll see what happens. You inherit a team that's eighth in the NHL. Tough thing to do would come in and say, yeah, okay, let's, uh, let's, let's, uh, let's, let's, start selling off parts. Right. Like is it not similar to how Kekyllian is kind of looking at, at Buffalo and away going like the times are too good right now.

Don't, don't disrupt things. Because I do think he was looking around at some of his guys. I think he was gauging the market, but now I'm like, woo, can't do that. Right. Right. It's, uh, but I've enjoyed it. I enjoy watching them.

I was the only one. who liked those all yellow uniforms, the mustard team. Everybody else hated them. You were on board with that. Yeah, I liked it. I like different stuff. I'm all for it. Let's try stuff out.

Yeah. I just, they're the home blacks with the yellow and white is so classy too. Do you think, is Brian Russ going to get a call from player safety with the investor there at the end of the game? Yeah, I could see it. What does you think?

The only, the only, it looked like, the elbow came up a little bit. Yeah. And the problem is, it happens at the end of the game, right? Yeah, end of the game. And then, unfortunately, for Bester, it's like the double whammy as his arm comes up, he gets Raquel plowing into him from behind.

And yeah, he was in a tough spot there at the buzzer. Tough for me to predict this year. Mm-hmm. Really tough for me to predict this year. But I always, with head contact, I always, on the side of got to protect it. For sure. So Pittsburgh's rolling.

Anaheim is rolling. We touched on a little bit last pot. It's up to seven in a row now. They beat Seattle Friday. They beat Calgary in overtime on Saturday. Beckett Seneca, first career hat trick. After the game, I don't know if you saw early on in the game, him and I think Granlin collided on the power play.

They just, you know, tracks got crisscrossed. did not look great. You know that, oh boy, this could be not Anaheim's night and not Seneca's night. It ended up being exactly that. Thought on the Ducks, who seemed to be headed back in the right direction in a big, big way.

What did you say on the winning goal? Well, I thought that is why Jackson Lecombe was Seth Jones' replacement for Team USA. He breaks up the two-on-one pass, almost a hybrid slide. He goes down but is able to recover quick enough to then disrupt Sharon Govich

and get the puck going the other way with Seneca and he ends up, he ends the game seconds later. It was a very, very impressive display of killing a play and getting it going the other way. I liked your more emphatic text. This is why he's on the Olympic team. Well, you got to provide a little contact here.

And then you said, take that, Canadians. I know. Now you're, see, now you're throwing me into that. Yeah, yeah. On Saturday, you've got me wishing for the U.S. in overtime and the gold medal game. And now I'm further down that road. You were the one that took the U.S. and the four nations last year.

So pretty interesting. A couple things to keep an eye on. There's a bunch of teams doing their due diligence on Panarin, on the ice and off, and they're looking into him. And docs, I think, are one. There's an obvious connection there, Joel, Quineville. Yeah. Now you say one as in one of many, or you think they're the leading candidate right now? I don't want to go there right now because I just don't know, Kyle, I don't know who the leading candidate is.

I'll be honest. Like I just want to be transparent with everybody. I don't know who the leading candidate is. You know, for one thing, he's got huge say over it. And for another, you know, as I mentioned, I think the Rangers are trying to get. Brock Nelson, the deal was Cal Richie, a first round pick, a conditional third.

There was a player who went with Nelson and Oliver Shillington went to the Islanders too. But that is the kind of return they're looking. for here. I think the other thing here too, and I do believe it more now, I think Panarin's preference is to go with an extension. I think there are some teams he would potentially go as a rental to. Like one of the teams I've heard he might be interested in as a rental, potentially, is Dallas. And I think that, you know, the thing about Dallas is their ability to do anything with term probably depends on their decision with Jason Robert.

Robertson, right? And so I think that becomes the question. I think right now, Dallas is, until they sort out what happens long term with Robertson, we'll see, you know, if they're a long-term player for anything. But Anaheim, they can do, they could easily do a Nelson-type deal with the Rangers. Washington, I think, could do that too. I've heard that Washington prefers it with an extension. You know, all of a sudden, the Capitals, after a wildly entertaining game on Saturday in Edmonton, that unfortunately they couldn't hold, you know, the Capitals are also one of those teams. You know, they're five points out of the Wild Card. However, teams like them, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Columbus, they've got the Islanders in third place in the metro.

They're at 59. So those teams that are in the metro, they might have two shots at this, the wild card shot and the metro shot. You know, those teams that are chasing in the Atlantic, you know, Detroit and Tampa have a really good head start. And Buffalo has a little bit of space. although not as much. Right now, you would definitely think that those metro teams have the advantage

to go to the playoffs in terms of how many avenues they could have. But I think the capitals would do it with an extension, potentially. They can do it. You know, I had a lot of interesting reaction to my L.A. theory on Friday from absolutely they should do it to, you know, I'll tell you this. I think the kings are asking themselves some pretty honest questions. Like I got to tell you, it's amazing. Corey Perry, 40 years old, how good, how much better they are when he's in the lineup.

Like he's been a difference maker for them this season. And he's always kind of been that guy who when he's out there, you really notice him, he does things. It is incredible to me how much better and more settled as a team they look when he plays. it's really amazing. And he's done a fantastic job for them this year. But I think the kings are asking themselves some pretty hard questions. And one of them is, does it make sense for them to give up futures and prospects? Now, I think, you know, if you're comfortable trading for Panarin, him with an extension, I think that's different.

although again, you know, as someone said to me, what does that extension look like? If it was two times 10, Kyle, or two times 12, I think there would be a lot of people that would jump at it. Once you start getting into four years, maybe five, that's where some people are going to get nervous. But, you know, my theory about the Kings was that I do think they're asking themselves some pretty tough questions about who they are and they're going. And I do believe that's true. I always assume that there's teams that are in there that I'm not aware of. Like people were like, what do you go to Vegas?

Vegas isn't on everybody. What do you go to Carolina? Carolina isn't on everybody. You know, a lot of people wonder about Minnesota. I get very mixed messages on Minnesota for Panera. I've got some people who think yes, but I've got other people who said that's not. happening. Like it's just not happening. So we'll see. We have some idea of what the Rangers want. We have some idea who's in there. We have some idea who might consider it without an extension.

And then we still have a question about what that extension looks like. I'll tell you, Kyle, one team that people did say to me wants to do something to help make the playoffs and really do something is Utah. I got a lot of people saying watch Utah. I don't necessarily know if that means Panarin, but they, Utah's in a spot right now. They're three points up. Their wild card won.

You know, the big challenge for them is they're probably locked in there. They're not going to catch Colorado, Minnesota, or Dallas. They're in a tough spot. So their only route looks like it's the wild card. They're three up on the sharks, the Kings and the Cracken. Yeah. Also, 13 straight days is in-season cup champs.

Yeah, unbelievable. Yeah, getting Randeep out of the single digits. I'm happy for you, Randy, but look pathetic for a long time. Yeah, it was very me early on. But you were so far in the rear view mirror, objects closer than they really are didn't even work for you. Like it was that far away. Right. Matt, but I think Utah is a team that, you know, people say, look out, look out for them.

They want to do something. And they've got a lot of stuff. Yeah. You could feel it to that point. You could feel it building with them. Obviously, the, the Cooley injury changed things for a little bit, but they too have dug back in and put themselves in the conversation. and you know between Bill and Chris Armstrong, you want to reward that along with the rest of the fan base

and Ryan Smith for that matter. Ryan Smith needs some playoff games to wear all of his different shoes. Yes. Or I thought maybe a new pair to go to the collection. Yes. inaugural playoff game in Utah, a pair of shoes. Talked about some other things.

Calgary. By the way, morning skate in Toronto. on Friday, the only Golden Night to skate was Rasmus Anderson, and he was very glad to see me. Oh. And he, did he ever see you? And he saw me, but, you know, he's pretty funny. It was pretty funny.

Calgary, I heard quiet right now. Of course, they'll do something huge on Sunday, but I just heard, like, Anderson was the one that they had to get done. They really felt the other ones they got, a bit more time with and Coleman's been hurt. I talked about St. Louis. I think they got big prices on some things,

but everybody knows they're willing to do things. But the other thing I mentioned on Saturday night, Kyle, is that I think a guy like Rasmus Anderson was a little different because the Golden Knights wanted them badly, and they didn't want anyone else to get them. They almost lost them to Boston, almost. You know, Boston had $63 million on the table, and I think I mentioned this on the last pod,

but there were Calgary players who were under the impression he was going to take it. And the Golden Knights stepped up and they said, enough of this nonsense. We're trading for this guy and they got it done. But I don't necessarily think that Calgary's in a rush to do anything else right now. And I also don't think they've got anything that says

we have to do something right now as we record this. We'll see what happens. With him going to the Olympics, a factor too. Yeah. Now, it's interesting because I had a couple people tell me on Saturday that this is very real about pre-Olympics and post-Olympics. Like I had one manager tell me that we're in on a guy that there's not a huge rush on. And, you know, and he's the kind of guy that he wouldn't tell me who it was. But he says it's the kind of guy that if we don't get, there's a couple other guys like him. Like, we'll get one of these guys.

So if you're not rushing, he's like, why do I want to pay him? him a few hundred thousand dollars to get a tan. And he said, I know why the other manager would like to trade him because he doesn't want to pay him a few hundred thousand dollars to get a tan. So we might, unless there's a real race to get one of these players, like you're worried about an Olympic injury or there's big, big demand on this guy or a certain player, I think you might see some people wait. Yeah, that makes sense.

Like if it's a player that's not going to Milan, I could see the willingness to be patient there. Unless, as you say, it's got to have them. Kind of went through it similar a bit last year with Four Nations, though that break wasn't as long as the Olympic one is. That's good. More to talk about on deadline day. It looks like it could be a dud.

Well, again, it's the new LTIR rules. killing all the fun. Yes. And the double retention. And a couple of people did say to me on Sunday that they think there's, there's more sellers than care to admit. Like I wonder about some of these teams that are right around it. They'll go, oh, Colorado first round, that could be really ugly.

Uh-huh. Waste of eight days. sellers. And we inevitably kind of get here. And we'll get there. Every year, right? Like I, this has been, it's felt like a bit of a unique one with how jammed things were, particularly in the East for a long time. Now as you say, there's starting to be a little separation. You mentioned LA as a team that's going, okay, what are we really and where are we really headed as a group? This is now the time of the year. As we talked about a couple weeks ago, more and more scouting meetings for everybody, having and you have to ask yourself what's realistic in the short term and is it better to look big picture we're getting there we are getting there we're getting there uh you know one guy said someone said to me uh is a guy and we'll see how see what national does here in terms of what they what they ultimately decide to do some Someone was saying to me, Nick Purbix.

Hmm. I said, you know what? That makes a lot of sense. Right hand shot, two-year deal, manageable number, 2.75. But, you know, Nashville's got to say, we're out. And they keep hanging around. Purbix, by the way, former Olympia. That's right.

By the way, everybody, be very careful. I give the usual warning. I always double check. Don't get caught looking at fake accounts. And don't assume anything you see tweeted is real. Someone texted me on Saturday. They're like, did you really say that J.T. Miller would go back to Vancouver if the Rangers wanted to trade them? I was like, what are you talking about?

Oh, yeah, I saw that. And they sent me, they sent me a tweet. that said that J.T. Miller, if he has to be traded, he would want to go back to Vancouver. And I was like, no, that's, that's not me. I was laughing. Always double check. Always double check. All right. Good reminder. With that, let's get to the final thought, Elliot. So on Tuesday night, Chicago is in Minnesota. We'll also be the latest clash between the Felino brothers, Nick and Marcus. you wanted to highlight that one.

So yes, it's the Felino faceoff. Episode two, but Kyle, it's really episode one. Because in the first one, Nick was injured and did not play. So in the first one, the Wild beat the Blackhawks in overtime four to three. And so the two of them, the Flino brothers, they're hockey fights cancer champions. You know, the NHL does an unbelievable partnership with the V Foundation for cancer research. And the filinos are two of the key pillars of that partnership. It's an honor of their mother, Janice, who passed away years ago due to breast cancer.

So if you go to v.org slash felino faceoff, v.org, slash philino faceoff, v.org slash Fralino faceoff. Fans can join and they can donate. There's a specific number 17, which is a number that's been tied into the entire family, going back to when Mike played in the NHL, their dad, or any amount you can give. Like 17 is the one number that they point to,

but any amount is wonderful and we appreciate any amount. And 100% of donations go to game-changing breast cancer research supported by the V Foundation and every dollar contributes to a future with more survivors and fewer families impacted by this disease. So as mentioned, the Wild won the first game in overtime, and for the next meeting on Tuesday, both Marcus and Nick are going to play. So the Wild are going to walk in with members of the community who are battling breast cancer or are survivors of breast cancer. their wild rescue dog, Polly, will be walking in with a team Marcus shirt and moose antlers, because Marcus is the moose. And what is cuter than a dog with it looking like a moose?

And the donation totals are public. So Marcus and Nick are competing as to who can raise more money. Right now, Marcus is in the lead about 3,000. the two of them have raised more than $45,000 since it was kicked off on November 25th. This is a great initiative. They're off to a great start. The funniest thing about this was, so Nick had to do something for Marcus because the Blackhawks lost the first game. So he did a toast to his brother wearing a Marcus shirt, a Marcus T-shirt.

And it was funny. Like I saw it on the Players Association's Facebook page. and the first comment was, did Marcus pay off the refs too? Like, it's just so difficult. You do a fantastic thing. And the first comment is Marcus paid off the rest to win. So anyway, I think they're both going to be doing things on social media, but it's a great cause.

And by the way, this is also the mother's trip for the Blackhawks. So Nick is taking one of his aunts, Paula Terrio. And Paula Terrio's maiden name is Jackaman. And her uncle and his mother's uncle, too, was the Hall of Fame goalie Eddie Jackman who passed away earlier this year. So lots of tie-ins there, but it's going to be a really spectacular night. And I wanted to highlight it.

And I also wanted to thank from the NHL Jennifer Mode, she was the one who reached out to me to remind me of this. and thank you, Jennifer. Awesome. Great stuff. Two of the great personalities, two of the great people in the game. Nick and Marcus Felino.

Well done, Jens. That'll be a lot of fun. And all for the best of reasons on Tuesday night. All right, that was the final thoughts. And with that, why don't we take our first break? When we come back, it is the latest edition of the Thoughtline. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, the podcast,

and it continues after this. All right, welcome back. time for another edition of the thought line, Elliot. So on Sunday, there were two flights all day from Ottawa to Toronto that got off the ground. Fortunately, I managed to sneak on one of them. Otherwise, I may be doing this segment from the locks at the base of the Rideau Canal. And God knows how cold. I got to be honest being there this weekend.

I'm disappointed. We're not doing it from there now that you mention it. Yeah. It would be better. Yeah, you're right. The, I don't even know, the equipment would hold up out there. Because walking around there a little bit on Saturday, it reminded me of, remember the Centennial Outdoor Game in 2017 there?

Oh, my God. It was that weekend. That was the coldest game I ever attended. People, that Edmonton, Montreal, the first big one at Commonwealth, it was cold, but nothing was like that Montreal Ottawa game, which was actually a great event. It was a lot of fun, but it was freezing. freezing.

Yeah. So that's where my mind went over this weekend. Where's your mind at? Thoughts on the thought line before we get into it. All right. We got a few here. I actually have a lot that I wanted to get to. First of all, one that we were both working on, or you were working on.

The extent of my work on it was sending you the tweet to check. But Evan Bouchard had a massive night on Saturday night. And he had a five on five point, a four on four point, a five on four, a six on five, and a three on three. and a couple people sent notes to us asking, is it true that he's the first person ever to do this? Kyle, do you have an answer? So we went to our friends at SportsNet Stats and their data engine when it comes to this stuff,

it only goes back to 2016-17 in this case, right? So about 10 years. Well, there was no hockey played before then, so this is perfect. That's right. When we talk about the modern, NHL, we often refer to 16, 17 and onwards. That's right.

Yeah, yeah. So as a defenseman, yes. He's the only one in that time. Total, there's one other guy that's done it. And I'll give you one guess. McDavid. Bingo. Wow.

Now, if you. What game was that? Did it say what game it was? Oh, no, I didn't. I bet you Oilers fans would have a guess. I wonder if it was during that 2156 game year, where he still got 100 points. But he's done it.

And if you eliminate a few of the caveats, so defensemen to record a 5 on 5, a 4 on 4, and a 3 on 3 point in the same game, within the same time frame. He did it on Saturday night, Bouchard did. Darnell Nurse is on that list. Zach Werenstki, Cam Fowler, Hamppes-Linholm, and Justin Schultz.

Hmm. But that was Banana Lance on Saturday. Yeah, it was, it was incredible. It was a shooting gallery with him. Yes. And it was all the right decision. Yes. So, yes.

I appreciate. the listeners that were on it right away going, hey, have we seen this before? As far back as we can look for a defenseman, it was uncharted waters. And remember, the NHL did not exist before 2016-17. A few other ones, Kyle. Taylor Shoma, you know what he sent me? He's a frequent listener and Twitter. Taylor, I recognize your input.

Okay. The rule of thirds in photography, the assistant. essential guide. Oh, nice. So I have to read this. I liked it and saved it. I have to read this. And I also wanted to shout out Vinnie Porese, a big Blackhawks fan,

who pointed out this week, you'll remember, and we talked about it on Friday's pod, Oliver Moore had a big birthday game right at the beginning of Aquarius season. Yes. If you know, you know. Yes. further confirming the work that was done on that one last week. Aquarius. It's the age of Aquarius.

Okay. Can you back me on that. Ken Reed put out a video of himself carving a lobster or cleaning a lobster, whatever. And ripping Kevin and I. What was the problem with this video, Kyle? Did you see it? No, I got to go find us now. It's on his Instagram.

You put out a video of how dumb Kevin and I were, and this is how you carve a lobster. But immediately, there is one problem with it. Okay. He's using a knife. We weren't allowed to use a carving guy. He was? Yes.

I didn't think that was allowed in Atlanta, Canada. The thing is, Serge, he didn't allow us to use a knife. We had to use our hands, and it was probably a good thing. Seres probably realized that if we used a knife, we would either stab ourselves or the other person, and stab ourselves by accident or the other person intentionally. So he wasn't allowing us to use knives. So, Ken, if you're going to talk about how bad we were

and how good you are doing it, do with your hands. Oh, yeah. I'm looking like a big serrated knife, too. Like, that's, you cut through sourdough with one of those. I credit him for how good he was hosting the gala. I take it all back. You sucked and your lobster video sucked too. That's right.

Recycled material, not of that. Inaccurate comparison. That's right. We are not doing apples to apples. Okay, a couple other notes here. Once again, a ton of raccoon content, a home renovation one. I've seen that home renovation one has been sent to me about a hundred times. And each time I see it, I laugh at it. It's really funny. But I appreciate you all sending it to me. A gentleman named Jerry de Franceschi sent me a Instagram post for, And this is what it says. I'm a dog groomer. Client brings in the same quote unquote dog every month.

It's clearly a raccoon. Nobody will acknowledge this. Why not? First appointment, January. Woman scheduled a Pomeranian mix grooming. Brought in a raccoon. Actual raccoon in a dog carrier. I stared.

Man, that's, and she cuts him off. His name is biscuit. Just a trim, please. He gets matted. My manager was standing right there, nodded. Standard Pomeranian package? Yes, please. I groomed a raccoon.

It was surprisingly cooperative, probably used to it. Charged her $65. She tipped 20. Good tipper. That's important. Good tipper for. Good service. You could make an argument that should actually be more,

but I'm not going to complain too much about 20 bucks on 65. Biscuit returns monthly. Same routine. Nobody mentions the obvious. Other groomers wash him, trim his nails, brush his teeth. We have before after photos displayed. Biscuit, Pomeranian mix. He's visibly a raccoon, black mask, ringed tail, hands instead of paws,

eats from the trash can in our break room. New employees started last week, saw Biscuit's appointment. Why is there a raccoon on the schedule? Everyone went quiet. Manager said, that's Biscuit. He's a Pomeranian mix. But he's literally, manager cuts them off, a valued client who pays on time.

Do we have a problem? New Girl didn't argue. Yesterday, health inspector came, routine check, saw Biscuit getting a blowout. Is that a raccoon? Owner didn't look up, Pomeranian Mix. Inspector wrote something, laughed. We've passed inspection. I've been here four years, groomed biscuit 48 times.

He's objectively a raccoon. But on paper, Pomeranian Mix, and everyone just dot, dot, dot, dot. accepts this. Sometimes I wonder if I'm insane, if we're all collectively hallucinating, but then Biscuit shows up, climbs onto the grooming table using his weird little hands, chatters at me, and I wash him, style his fur, send him home looking fabulous. Because, apparently this is my life now, professional raccoon groomer, pretending it's a dog for $65 plus tip every month forever. Oh my, like, that story shouldn't be real,

but it's so detailed, I'm conflicted. Is everyone complicit in this now? The groomers are in on it? Now that they've got them on their side. You know what the real lesson is in all of this? You are cooked. The real lesson is in all of this. if you are

if you pay on time and you tip well people will bend rules for you and if you're nice you can really make somebody's year like how much do you think that woman is excited every month to take that raccoon slash

pomeranium into the store where these employees will say, okay, we'll do this because you're a good customer. There's a lot of garbage on this planet right now. I've got a lot of, what's that, what's that festival's line? Problems with you, people? I got a lot of problems with you people.

Gary, thank you for sending me that. It's a great story. Okay. Oh, wow. I got a couple more here. Just wanted to, uh, I got, I got three more here. I wanted to mention that all, uh, stuck out with me. First of all.

Chad Whiting I heard on the latest podcast You talk about the ref reversing a call After seeing the replay on the Jumbotron I believe this should never happen Because if that penalty was called against the home team That replay never sees the light of day on the Jumbotron Chad you're right

That's why I also mentioned You're totally right That's why I also mentioned That the situation room could call down to the penalty box And say Hey you should probably tell him to change his mind. But yes, you make a good point.

Okay. Yes, and exactly that voice. Ross Gallagher, hi, I'm a hockey fan from Fife, Scotland, and now I've found your show on YouTube. I'm a huge fan, keep up the great work. Nice. I think he's only talking about me,

which is why I wanted to shout it out. But Ross, greetings from Fife, Scotland. I'm glad you. found it. Brandon. My co-worker and I were talking about footwear today, and she mentioned how much she liked the brand Puma. She pronounced it like you, and I thought of you right away.

It's actually the first time I've ever heard it in person, so it caught me off guard to say the least. At least now I know there are others out there. Brandon, thank you for sending that. your co-worker is a genius. Jeez. And finally, Mark J. Lewis. Are you sure?

Yes. Yes. I am sure. Oh, Listening to you on 30. Listening to you on 33 thoughts, since you hate 32, you're right, you listen to the last pod. In a couple of sound bites in the last 24 hours,

I've heard you talk about money on the board. Could you please explain? fully. Clearly, it has to do with confidence, support, and importance of a player in a game. He talked about how we said Dionne Finov put money on the board. So looking to see, he says, also, I'm really loving Kyle and the wonderful chemistry between you two. I'm sorry, you must have us confused with a different podcast. Yeah. From Mark,

aka Caps Daddy. So, okay. Yeah. This is funny, because Mark sent in a voicemail with that exact question. Yeah.

So he like doubled down to ensure he would get in here, which is brilliant. Do you have kids, Mark? You don't go to Mommy and say, hey, can I do this? And if Mommy says no, go to Daddy and say,

can I do this? That's cheating. There's no cheating allowed here. I'll allow it once, but this is a warning to all of you. Don't do that. That's sneaky kid behavior. So he said, aka Caps Daddy? Yes.

So would that suggest he's a Capitals fan? Because listening to the voicemail, it sounded a lot like John Walton, the radio play-by-play voice. Really? Yeah, so I think it's more a coincidence than anything, but. everybody start calling John Walton Capsdady. I want to see if anybody actually listens to this podcast. Or Mark from the Bay Area. No, I like Capsdadi better.

Capseddy's got the play-by-play tonight. Don't know. I ask which one of us is mummy. I'll let the audience decide. Okay. So it's a good question and it's a good reminder that sometimes we talk about this stuff like everybody knows and maybe not everybody knows. Money on the board refers to Sometimes before a game

A player will go to the whiteboard And they'll write down a number And the number is how much money They're going to donate to a pool A team pool If the team wins the game that night And the bigger the game The more money gets put on there

And if you lose, it all goes to zero And nobody collects But if you win it all goes towards like a team party fund or team dinner fund or team or sometimes the money goes to charity, especially if at the end of the year they haven't used it all. So that's what it is. It's basically everybody writes and puts a dollar amount on the board and say, if we win, I'm contributing this. And as a matter of fact, the other thing I learned, because apparently it happened in the game in Vegas between Toronto and Vegas two weeks ago now or 10 days. ago now, apparently there was a team gift put on the board.

Like one of the Golden Knights said, if we win this game tonight, I'm buying everyone a gift instead of a dollar figure. Like it could be, I don't know, like a watch or like a good pair of boots. I don't know. But I heard that someone pointed out to me after listening to the pod the other day that that may have happened too. So that's what that means. It's a team incentive of cash or prizes.

if you win the game tonight. And one of the things that happened a few years ago was Ron Wilson, when he coached the lease, he admitted he put money on the board, and the league shot that down. They said coaches and GMs and executives and owners are not allowed to do that. It's only for players. But that's what that's referring to, Capsdadi or John Walton or Mark, if that is your real name.

And if you are really from the Bay Area. And if you are really from the Bay Area. And if that's the case, you should be Shark Daddy. Yes. It's a good time to be one. All right. Any more? No, I'm done.

Okay. I shut it down after Dom asked which one of us is mummy. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good time to move on. As you know, the thoughts on the thought line's gone out of control. Look at that. We got raccoons being groomed. Okay.

Allison from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. Nice. Beautiful town. Hey, Elliot, Dom. If you ever need like a good head-to-to-toe detailing, Kyle White Oak Spa. Very nice. Oh, all right. Send the raccoons there.

That's for the Pomeranian. Yeah, that's right. It's a Pomeradian mix. Hey, can I get the Pomeradian mix? You know you're a human, right? I'll pay on time, man, I'll tip. Yeah, pay on time. Hotstone, cupping, all of it.

Hey, Elliot, Dom and the guy with the good hair. She's definitely not confusing the two in this case, or the three. I was watching the Leaf's Golden Knights game on Friday night, mostly to hear the crowd's reaction to Mitch Marner. But I noticed he was wearing an A on his jersey. I did some digging, but the Golden Knights never officially named him an alternate captain. He also wasn't wearing it the game before. I did notice their alternates listed are Eichael, Carlson, and Petrangelo.

With some of these guys out due to injury are the Knights picking players to fill for a single game. Is this a one-game promotion? Is there a rule on how many alternate captains you? you need to have dressed for a game. Thanks in advance for all the laughs and keeping me well informed on the league happenings. I listen to every episode while I do my morning runs as I'm currently training for the Boston Marathon, which I qualified for last September. Maybe.

Congratulations, Allison. That's fantastic. Maybe I'll be running it with Sedano Chara. Anyways, thanks for making sure I'm not bored on my runs. Yes, congratulations. How cool is that? I'm happy, Allison, you didn't write. Thanks for making sure I'm even more bored on my runs, but I appreciate you not doing that.

First of all, congratulations. That's an incredible accomplishment. And I have no doubt, no doubt, Allison, that you will kick Zadino-Chara's ass, zero. So basically the way it works is you can dress one captain and two alternates per game. Yeah, or three alternates if you don't have a captain. Or three if you don't have a captain. Thank you, Kyle. And there are some teams that rotate them. We've seen situations where you have two at home and two different ones on the road.

I've even seen situations where one alternate is permanent and the other one moves around a bit. As you mentioned, Petrangelo and Carlson are alternates, but they're both hurt right now. Patrangelo unlikely to play again and Carlson, I think, out until around the playoffs. And so we've got a situation where they can move it around. you can do it by choice. All you have to do is just declare it on the lineup card. And yes, you are correct. And actually, of all the things we talked about in that game, and we talk about it briefly in the first segment here, one of the things that the Golden Knights did was they put the A on Marner 2 was just another way that they showed support.

And because they were in a situation where two of their regular A's are not available, they can put it on whoever's jersey they want. They just have to make sure they declare it on the lineup card in the pregame. And you know what's interesting, Elliot? I did a little bit of digging because Allison got me curious. Like this was not a one-off for Bruce Cassidy. Lost in all the craziness of the first game in Vegas, Marner Warren A that night before Vegas came to Toronto.

They were in Boston the night before. Noah Hanifan Warneigh that night. Boston guy Nice touch Earlier this year A game against St. Louis Barbashev had an Aon, former blue

Like you keep going along here Against Winnipeg In Winnipeg Zach White Cloud When he was still a golden night Warren A that night He's a Manitoba guy Against Calgary

Earlier this year Hanifin also with an Aon Former Flame Like it's It is a thing with Vegas for sure, is particularly with two of their regular A's on the shelf.

It's given Cassidy the flexibility to do that. And a nice way to go about, depending on who they're playing or which city they're in, selecting who to wear an A for that purpose. Very well done. It transcends.

Very well done. Doing it with Marner there. Pretty cool. Okay. So, Allison, you were on top of things. Absolutely. Good luck in your marathon hunt. Dirk from Almond. Colorado, Kyle and Elliot. For a while now, I've had a hunch that if an NHL game goes to

overtime, the team that scores the tying goal to force OT is more often the team that ends up winning the game in OT or the shootout. Can the fellas at SportsNet stats drum up any numbers that support my hunch? Go avs.

Does the eye test match up with the numbers here? Yes, but probably not as much as Dirk thinks. So I just had them look at the last five years, for example, in total, on average, 52.8% of the time. So slight advantage. Slightly, but not by a lot. The biggest jump was in 22, 23, it went up to 57.6% of the time.

Now, of course, not every instance is it like time the game in the last minute and taking the momentum right in overtime. Maybe the tying goal comes in the second period. Who knows? But in all instances where a team that puts up the tying goal to force overtime eventually and wins, slightly better than 50%, but not by a lot. Not by a lot. I never would have known. Good work.

And I would say if you are wagering 52.8, you'll take that percentage. That's true. Good point there. 52.8 also Kyle's high school average. That's right. And look where it's led me, right where I meant to be. Okay, a couple more. A couple more here.

Normand, gentlemen. Yes. And Elliot, always a pleasure to listen to your podcast. In our Beer League locker room, we've been discussing the flex of hockey sticks. It used to be maybe 10 years ago that the adults used to FLEX. Now it seems the majority is using around 75 flex in beer leagues. Would you know the flex that NHL players are using these days? Also, I'm a Habs fan. Who isn't? He says. And it seems that lots of players on that team are breaking lots of sticks. So much so.

The journalists from La Press mentioned a company, Warrior, that seems to be common to a few players breaking sticks in critical moments during games. Do you have a theory about this issue? Lighter material, stronger players. players, less flex, but more fragile. Thanks for your help. Well, I'll first just add Elliot, reached out to someone I always go to when it comes to equipment questions. Okay. Nowadays, it was different probably 20 years ago,

but nowadays there isn't much of a conspiracy theory out there in terms of certain brands or manufacturers that are more known for making sticks that break more often than others. He said inevitably there's, like most brands are pretty consistent. He goes, you're always going to get maybe certain batches of sticks that came through the factory and maybe aren't as durable as others. So maybe there's a brief epidemic where sticks are exploding on you more often than you would normally think. But as of now, the more commonly used sticks around the league,

they don't get a necessary feel of, okay, this may be one. And certainly players aren't going to avoid these sticks because they break more than all the others. Hmm. So may just be a run of bad luck. And I know I think like Mike Matheson, because he mentioned Warrior, I know he had a run earlier this year. It was like how many times he's loading up for a one-timer and bang into smithereens. I do sometimes subscribe to the bad batch theory because when it happens to a team, it seems to happen a lot.

Again, I don't have any scientific backup or basis for this, but when you see a team have a run like this, it's not wrong for someone like myself, I don't think, to assume that maybe they just shipped a batch that had a bad flaw to it. Mm-hmm. Right. Like sometimes you get, I'm a big salt and vinegar chip guy. Yep. And sometimes you get batches that are more salt and vinegary than the others, you know? Yep. What do you, what do you drink with it? Like, what liquid do you have to, or do you just let the salt fester on your tongue? Yeah. I kind of like that. You do, yeah, okay,

I was going to say, like, do you just have water or is it, yeah, like a soft drink or? No, the beer or anything like that.

Yeah, I'm not a big pop guy. Yeah, me neither. Not anymore, yeah. Not anymore. Um, oh, and also he had,

Norma was wondering about flex. So, yes, I think it's like, it's certainly not a one size fits all, but more and more now than ever before, uh,

NHL guys are using more flexes around 75 or 82 or 87. and I went back. And the reason for that, Normand, is that there's less slap shots than ever, right? Like, you know, um, at least for offense. Um,

I'm sure there's some players who use a high, like Ryan O'Reilly is known for having a stiff reflex because face offs and the way he uses it around the boards so effective with it and to, you know, to check other people's sticks. It's actually a really interesting one because a number of players. have said that with the change in slap shots that nobody takes them anymore, a lot of players use whippier sticks, but what it means is that you can get overpowered in the face-off circle.

Like one of the things we talked to Connor Bedard about, remember, Kyle, is that could he go up to a higher flex because it affected his percentage in the draws? So it's an interesting give and go. But Kyle is right. Generally, so when the All-Star game was in Nashville, if I remember correctly, Shea Weber used like a 120 flex in the hardest shot. And he let me hold it and it felt like he was, it was using a crowbar, right?

Yeah. So a lot of guys don't do that anymore. No, no. What flex do you use? I recently went down to a 75. Really? Yeah. How's your shot doing?

Figuring it out. It's a work in progress. It's more so like, honestly, like just even receiving a pass, like the puck compared to what you're used to. It feels like it's exploding off your blade. But you see the way guys shoot now, how much advantage it is to have a lighter flex. And when you've got the mechanics down

and let the stick do the work a lot of times, like we see it every night. Unreal, some of the releases. And a lot of it has to do with a lighter flex. Okay, one more here from Nathan. By the way, when I hear the name Norma, I think of Normaubé. When I was 11 years old, Norma Obain had a hot run with the Maple Leafs.

He scored like 15 goals and 40 games or something like that. And he couldn't sustain it. It didn't continue. But he had a run there where he got called up to the Maple Leaf as a rookie from the miners. And he went on a goal scoring tear. Oh, nice. That's a good memory. Yeah.

Okay. Nathan, last one here. I've been listening to the Raccoon Conversational. for long enough, and I can't believe this hasn't been brought up yet. How has nobody figured out that Elliot is an imposter? I recall this entire fiasco, starting with Elliot kicking back on his patio with a cigar and what I can only assume is a nice neighborhood development. Well, let me take you in the way back machine to 1981.

The Raccoons on Ice special that was an absolute staple of my Canadian childhood. The poor raccoons are just trying to get in some pond hockey, but the big bad cigar-smoking land tycoon Cyril Snear wants to build the Cyril Dome over the lake. That's right. The raccoons then do the only logical Canadian thing to save the evergreen forest. They challenge Cyril and his goons to a hockey tournament.

I can only assume after losing that tournament that Cyril created the identity of Elliot Free and has been hiding in shame ever since. Only to have the raccoons finally figure out who he is and come back to rub it in his face. So here's my proposal. The next hockey day in Canada is a lead-up to a pawn hockey game in Cyril slash Elliot's backyard. The raccoons take on Elliot and his anonymous goons, juice and amber, and obviously reft by Ron McLean.

Winner take all once more for the right to use the barbecue. Thoughts? Thanks for humoring me. this email fits your CanCon requirements for the day. It certainly does. Nathan, first of all, that is fantastic, creative stuff. A work of pure genius.

Hemingway didn't write something so good. And great memories. I do remember the raccoons and of course Cyril Sneer. That is 100% pure Canadian from my childhood. Thank you for bringing it back. The only problem with

your entire theory, that if there was a game between the raccoons and a team with Biazza and Amber, I would be cheering for the raccoons. That's right. You would trade yourself to the other side. Yes, I would give up my home rather than letting Amber and BXA win.

Just to see them lose? That's right. Sorry, honey. Sorry, son. I'm going to move. I couldn't let those guys win. win. Yeah.

Oh, gosh. Oh, man. Raccoon book-ended thought line. It's never a bad thing. Okay. Or do you have anything else? No, I'm good. All right.

That'll do it for another edition of the thought line. 1833, 311, 3232.32. If you'd like to leave a voicemail, or you can email us at 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca. We'll take one final break and wrap up this edition. of 32 thoughts of the podcast after this. All right, some programming notes for you here in the early part of this week. Scotia Bank Wednesday night hockey.

The Ottawa Senators continue their homestand against a run of difficult opponents, I might add. Wednesday night, they host Nathan McKinnon, Kail McCarr on the Colorado Avalanche on the air at 7ET, David Amber and Company setting up puck drop a little after 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific from the Canadian Tire Center. And also wanted to point out on Thursday. Sports Net 1, the San Jose sharks are in Edmonton. Celebrini versus McDavid. That's at 9 Eastern 7 Mountain Time from Rogers Place.

So those out east were staying up a little later for on Thursday to catch Celebrini versus McDavid. Should be a great one from Edmonton. Okay, taking us out today, a track from Ryan Gio, who is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Niagara on the lake. More Niagara on the lake content this point. where he spent his days helping out on the family fruit farm and his evenings listening to the oldie station on AM radio, and it shows. The last year has seen him release two new singles and earn a slot opening a sold-out show for Colorado.

He and his band are at work on a new full-length album set for release this year. You can stay up to date on all upcoming shows at his Instagram at Red House Ryan. This track was part of the Hockey Day in Canada festivities last week, And we are so fortunate to have this be the exclamation point on this episode of 32 Thoughts, The Podcast. Here's Ryan Gio and always on your side on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Have a great week.