32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The Picks Are In

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman begin by shining a light on Luke Prokop's upcoming documentary discussing his path as the first openly gay player under an NHL contract. The fellas break down the latest developments regarding Jason Robertson (4:00). They talk about Zach Werenski's future (12:00), and touch on the latest surrounding Dylan Larkin (24:00). Elliotte talks about Vegas trading Pavel Dorofeyev (26:00). He also talks about ongoing trade talks between Winnipeg and Buffalo (30:00). The fellas talk about the Washington Capitals bringing in Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou (34:40). Elliotte lays out the latest with Darnell Nurse (43:30) and Vincent Trocheck (44:54). The guys talk about the Canucks selecting Caleb Malhotra (50:46). The Final Thought focuses on how the NHL fine tuned the second year of the decentralized draft (54:00). Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and comments in the Thought Line presented by BetMGM (1:10:12). 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 Cristian Ceniti 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

The thing is, like, you never even gave us a chance to tell you, let's wait for the pizza. You were like a heat-seeking missile for it. You walked in the door. The pizza was not visible. It was like you had a nose for it. You turned it. Your Terminator eyes locked on the pizza.

Like, it was like the beginning scene when he's, when he's looking for the guy's clothes that fit him. Thankfully, you were clothed. Yeah. But you just, you just, you turned and you saw that thing. And you, without missing. a step. You went right to it. We never had a chance, Dom. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the

26 Tacoma. It's time to Toyota. Dom, Elliot and Kyle back with you on this Monday morning. Elliot, I know you spent part of Sunday watching Canada springboard into the round of 16 at the World Cup of soccer. Stefan Estacchio, the soccer player. A hero. A hero. A hero. He in Canada. And you wanted to shout out the hockey player and a hero in his own right, Luke Procop. And the documentary.

First of all, Big Win Canada. Yes. You watched, I assume. Sure did. Yeah. Great match. Yeah. Amongst a first birthday party for Berkeley.

But it was on. There are two things in my lifetime. I've seen the last decade that I thought I would never see. One, the Raptors winning the NBA title in 2019. And now Canada qualifying for the. round of 16 in the World Cup. Never thought I would see either of those things. Pretty incredible.

And Netherlands or Morocco, you're in trouble. Yes. On Saturday. Look out. Look out. Yeah. On Saturday. Yes.

As you mentioned, the hockey player, Luke Procop, it premiered on Sunday night at the Tiff Lightbox in Toronto. And basically, Luke Procop has been followed around by these cameras. and this production company for three years behind the scenes from junior to the pros, documenting his path is the first openly gay player under NHL contract. I spoke to some people who were there. I couldn't attend, unfortunately. They were really impressed with the film.

Lots of interviews with teammates, executives, explaining what was on his shoulders as the first player to live his truth in our game. It will be launched on streaming services, starting today, Monday, and presented by the Alphabet Sports Collective. It's a not-for-profit company led by NHL player agent Bain Pettinger. So just wanted to wish Luke the best with this film. Like I said, I knew some people who were there and they were really impressed. Check it out on your preferred streaming service.

Nice. Look forward to checking that out now with the off-season, the real off-season for us. just over the horizon now Elliot. By the way, are you coming into Toronto on Wednesday for our show? Yes, I will be there. Oh, okay, excellent. So is it almost there of another week's worth of grinding away, and then time to relax in earnest.

So when we let off the pod on, well, late Thursday night for those in the West, early Friday morning, we led with the news of Jason Robertson, and the contract offer he turned down to Seattle, he still remains property of the Dallas Stars, but remains unsigned when that contract expires on June the 30th. Jim Nill did say that their preference is to re-sign Jason Robertson, quote, can we make it work? So what's the latest? That's a great question.

Number one, I think it depends on who you ask. Number one, it has become clear to me that Jason Robertson, his first choice, is to stay in Dallas. And I think on some level, what Robertson was thinking was in turning down that offer from Seattle, it would impact people to understand how much he wants to stay in Dallas and how that shows his desire to stay there. What it doesn't solve is just how to bridge the gap between player and team. I believe that the stars have offered 12 million a year. I think they might be willing to go a little bit higher, maybe 12, 5. But at this point in time, I don't think he's interested in being under 14.

So there's a gap. There's a gap. And I don't know that anything that happened last week is going to bridge that gap. I just don't know. I think one side is going to have to move, and I don't know that either side is prepared to move right now. Now, I heard that there were talks with Pittsburgh on Friday or Saturday. I don't even remember what day it is anymore.

And there were a couple of teams who thought there was some momentum there, but obviously it didn't happen. Pittsburgh, by the way, is another team that people are saying is trying to do something with some heft to it. So I wasn't so surprised to hear that, but I think teams are trying to figure out, okay, what's he looking for and would he be interested in coming to us? But I still believe Robertson's first choice is to be. be a long-term Dallas Star.

Right now, I see four options. Number one, they sign them, but like I said, there is still a philosophical gap. Number two, they trade them, but right now if you trade for him, you know that his number was big in a place that's a no-tax state for at least another two years. And we'll see if their millionaire tax comes in after that. That was state of Washington. Number three is an offer sheet. We'll see if anybody tries it, if he's unsigned as of Wednesday.

And number four is the other option, which is Dallas qualifies him. that he either takes the qualifying offer or they go to arbitration and he signs, therefore he gets a one-year deal at whatever everybody figures out here. But in that particular case, he has no, no trade protection. You can't have it with a qualifying offer or an arbitration award. So then it, and I don't think Dallas wants to do that. I'm not even sure. I mean, Robertson might want to do that because it's not the worst thing for him, but I'm not sure that Dallas wants to do that.

But, you know, it's, it was a crazy 24 to 48 hours. I do believe Robertson's first choice is to stay there. But we're wondering now who's stepping in, who wants to try to figure out if he's interested, do we get an offer sheet by the way I had a few people who asked me what I thought the trade was

with three days to kind of look into it I think it was three first rounders and a young player that's what I think Seattle was doing and I've had some dispute on the young player so I'm not going to throw any names out throw any names out there I can tell you I believe who it wasn't

I believe it wasn't Jake O'Brien but I think there were some other options, but I heard it was three first rounders and a young player. Yeah. And I also don't believe Seattle has given up hope on trying to do something else with heft to it. By the way, Kyle, it was interesting. Like some people were like,

how did you find out about this? Not that I'm ever going to tell anybody. But I had a couple of people saying, did Seattle tell you about that? to show how hard they're doing it. And I was like, no way. Like, I was surprised people thought that. Look, you know, a player turns down somewhere 120, 125 million.

People are going to be talking about it. That's not going to stay secret for very long. No, not at all. And is there not a part of you that thinks if he turned down that for Seattle, if there were teams out there that thought, well, if he's not signed by July 1st, is he worth a shot offer sheet-wise? Does that scare them off?

Because... Well, the thing is, he has to sign an offer sheet, right? So you're going to know if he's interested in you. The other thing, Kyle, is that you're allowed to talk to RFAs on June 30th. You can't sign anyone until July. live first at noon eastern, but you are allowed to talk to RFAs on the 30th. So if Robertson is not signed on Tuesday afternoon, you can call him legally. Or his agent, who's Andy Scott, and you can say, what are we dealing with here?

And I have no doubt that that's one of the things the stars are doing is trying to figure out who could do it. Or we would do it. Especially because it's worth reminding, I mean, basically you're looking at 12 million and above AAV. That's four first round picks is the price. Yes. To sign a player to an offer sheet. And as we know, it's got to be a team's own picks when it comes to the compensation. I guess for sure.

It doesn't hurt to have the conversation if you're curious and what's the worst thing that can happen? They say, no, we're not going to do it. But I just wondered if the shockwaves of that story on Thursday was enough to make some teams think twice that we're maybe looking at it. I think you ask, you say, because we sit on the pod, we think that was a locational decision. You're calling and you're saying, what about us if you're interested? Okay. How about Zach Werenzky? Well, he's out there.

And the first thing is I had some angry shark fans in my DMs. I have to say shark fans, they're a unique bunch. But I had some angry sharks fans in my DMs, because I think I said on NHL Network and our coverage on Sunday, on Saturday, our Drown 2 to 7 coverage on NHL Network and Sportsnet, that it was unlikely he would consider San Jose right now. They did not like that, Kyle. They were not happy with this shark's slander.

Especially with the first round that they had, they were like that nobody can say anything wrong about the sharks right now. It was just everything was coming out San Jose. Everything was coming up Millhouse for the sharks. Yeah, it's like it was jarring to them. But wait a sec, those days are over. Players not wanting to play here. Everybody wants to come to San Jose.

Now look at all the guys we've got. You know, I always think all these teams are excited about the kids they draft, but I wondered what it was like in Seattle's room when Chase Reed was dropping to them. And then what it was like in San Jose's room when Verhof was dropping to them. Like, I wonder if people are looking around saying, am I missing something here? Like one of my favorite pieces of videos from inside draft rooms was, I can't remember who the Raptors were talking about at the time,

but Brian Colangelo was still the GM and there was a player that was dropping. And he's on the phone and he's saying to other teams, he goes, am I missing something here? Like I always love that. Like I love that. Because at that moment, they're like the rest of us. Like, what's going on? What am I missing here?

and the sharks had a dynamite weekend and what they're doing is they're collecting they're collecting great players right and they're fitting it all together and you know the one thing like i just don't think like i think we're in wherever ranski's going to go now and most likely is somewhere where he thinks he can win right and i just don't think you can win there now. But anybody who trades for him knows they might only get him for a year or two. Because what if he doesn't like the situation,

his contract's up in two more years. And what I said to a couple of those Sharks fans was maybe he might not be looking at you now, but how's he going to feel in two years? Like where are you guys going to be in two years? So that's what I'm, I meant there. Because I do think San Jose is one of those teams.

Like some teams I think are always destinations, but I think other teams, it's, you know, it's circular. Sometimes you're a destination and sometimes you're not. And San Jose, they're on that, they're on this part of the circumference that's going up. And it's not going to be too long when players are going to be, I want to go there. But I wonder if that's two years away. as opposed to now.

Anyway, with Warensky, like there's two things that Don Waddell is measuring here. Number one, it's, I can't believe I'm in this situation. And you have to, what you have to do, I'm sure Wauranski wants this done fast, but if you're Columbus, in some ways you have to slow things down,

you have to make sure that you get, the best possible offers. You have to make sure you're not missing anything. And you also have to decide because, and we saw it with Steve Eisenman when he was talking about Dylan Larkin. And that is that your back gets up and you're mad and you feel that your organization is getting kicked and you're like, I'm not going to be held. I'm not going to make this trade at gunpoint.

And we make the decision, not you. Like you go through all those emotions, right? And I think Columbus is going through that right now. Like there were some people who said they heard on the weekend that the Columbus told teams, because I think there's teams really interested in Marchanko, like a lot of teams. Montreal is. I think Seattle is. I think there's others.

And I think they were like, no, we're not doing it. And I think you, I understand why teams do that. I'm sure there's some people in the organization who are like, if these guys don't want to be here, let's get rid of them. But you have to go through that phase where you kind of take the emotion out of it. And I think Columbus is probably doing that right now. You know, the thing about this is I really do think Dallas is interested in Oranski. And now I don't know if this is the case,

but there's lots of rumors about Thomas Harley. Let's just say for argument's sake, Dallas was willing to do that. Thomas Harley is signed for eight more years. Now, the challenge could be how would Harley feel about being in that deal? But, Kyle, on its base, I find hard to believe

that there's a better trade out there for Columbus if it's real than Thomas Harley. Like, even if you could get mad, Matthew Nyes from Toronto. And don't forget, Werencki has say on this, okay, Kyle, I'll let you play GM. If you were training Warenski,

would you prefer Harley or Nyes? In Columbus's spot, I think there's, I would say they need more of what Thomas Harley brings to the table than Matthew Nyes in that situation. That's where I'm at. So that's the way I look at. And again, I don't know that Dallas is going to do this.

There's lots of rumors about it. But again, I can't tell you right now 100% that that's true. So, but if it is, if, if, if, if, if, it's tough for me to see a trade that's better. Unless they get some massive futures deal. And they say, look, we think that's the better road for us. Hmm But they just Resigned Charlie Coil

Yep The pretty big number They just traded for Nchuskin Yeah It'd be tough to pivot to that mode Though I understand This is a bit of a unique Situation with the player

involved here Just to go back to the San Jose conversation briefly Like you're looking at You think right now For a guy like Werensky I mean there's a difference between going somewhere

where you're like, yeah, I think they could be a playoff team next year versus going somewhere that's that team, I think, has got a legit chance to win the Stanley Cup next year. You're talking about Dallas. Well, I'm just saying because... I'm just making sure you're clear on this.

For sure, yes, but also, you know, to look at San Jose and could say, I mean, all those guys a year older, you throw Zach Wrenski into the mix. Could you not see them being a playoff? team next year? Totally possible, but it's different between a young team getting into the playoffs and a team like Dallas that's been knocking on the door trying to win a Stanley Cup for a while. You know what I mean? Yeah. Oh yeah. I totally understand. Like I guess I'm just trying

to understand as we're, if this Werenski thing's going to happen, hone in on where are the legitimate likely considered destinations for them. If winning now, is at least a driving force on top of the actual market. Well, from one and Werensky's doing this with a way of, in a way of Columbus makes the deal and then goes to him and says, we have something. How do you feel about this team? Yeah, because he's got major say in this.

Yes. He's got a no move clause. Mm-hmm. So all the say. Yeah. So he's got a hell of a say in it. Like, that's the thing. Like, you know, I know, like, I do think Toronto will try.

I 100% believe that Toronto will try. But let's say Toronto makes the deal. And we've talked about how the Maple Leafs are going to be all in the next two years. By the way, I kind of liked what they did to restock their cupboard a little bit. I mean, who knows how many. many of these kids are going to turn out. But I like what they did to restock their cupboard a bit. But again, like I said, I think Toronto could do it.

Does Werensky think right now that's the place to go? But you're convinced this is going to come to a head at some point. I do. I do. Like, again, like, I saw what Eisenman said. And like, you have to understand, like, Steve Eisenman, one of the toughest people alive, I can understand why he's mad. And I can understand why Don Waddell is mad.

He's been around a long time. And their fans are mad and everybody's disappointed. I think at the end of the day, though, you have to put your emotions aside and you have to make the best deal for your team. You have to do what's best for your team. And it goes back to what we said last, week about Steve Steyos and Brady Kachuk.

There were people out there saying Steyos should have just said, no, he should have played hard. I mean, it's easy to say when you're not in that chair. Every day, it's a distraction. Every day, everywhere you go, people are going to ask about it. It hangs over you. It's a pain in the butt. Now, I think you have to hold up for a good offer,

and I think that's part of what Eisenman is saying. But at the end of the day, I think you have to be pragmatic. Like, I think all these teams, Dallas, Columbus, Detroit, they all wonder about what is it due to their rooms? They're all asking what happens if we start next year, year with this guy on our team. What's our room going to be like? The Al McKinnis question, you always asked it in St. Louis, what does this mean for

our dressing room? And that's what all these guys are weighing. Think about Matt Duches at the end in Colorado. Quinn Hughes in Vancouver, earlier this year was miserable. J.T. Miller, like it's, you weigh. At the beginning of the year, you're supposed to show up. It's fresh. It's new.

Everybody's in a good mood. We're all happy to see each other. Remember, Brian Murray, when you traded Danny Heatley, said Heatley showed up at the beginning of camp, and Murray was like, I got to end this. So, and all these guys know that. They don't want to get robbed, but I think deep down, they all know what they have to do.

So, well, you brought up Larkin. is there anything else to add there for now, or is that a general manager that's going to remain patient and not act with emotion? Well, with Larkin, we know it's Minnesota. We know it's Vegas. And Vegas made an interesting move this weekend. We'll talk about them in a minute.

And like the one thing about Dallas is, part of me is wondered if a team could pull off both guys. Like Werenzki and Larkin are really tight. Is there a team that could do both? Jeez. I don't even know how you do that without making considerable surgery to how your roster sits now. But I suppose maybe you think it's worth it. Again, I'm spitballing.

I'm spitballing. Yeah, but you're not much of a spitballer. No, and this one I am. Like I, this one I am. Like, Robertson's a Michigan guy. I mean, it's just something like, like, I look at teams like Vegas and Dallas. I just wonder, could they do both? Harder, I think, for Vegas.

Right. That would be something. That would be something. So Vegas made a really big move on the weekend. They traded Dorofaev. During the Stanley Cup final, there were people who thought they might end up doing that. like they looked at Vegas and they said like everybody was talking about oh they're going to end up moving hill and we'll see what happens with that um but there were people who thought

they wouldn't want to pay Dorofaev what he might get out there and he got a big deal seven times 11 from the Rangers and I heard that Vegas was willing to go probably just under 8 million a year like I think Vegas was willing to go like seven times seven and a half seven times eight 72 goals the last two years great finisher but I don't think they considered him as much of a driver, like they respected him. Like I thought Kelly McCriman said the right things. Like I'm very happy for him. It just wasn't something that we thought we could do.

I heard they were willing to go like seven times seven and a half, seven times eight. But that obviously was too rich for them. They couldn't do that. You know, another guy, I think, who's kind of been out there a bit. has been hurdle and hurdle used to have a no

move clause and now he's got a modified I think it's only three teams he can go to though but I think some people suspected he could be vulnerable um you know the other thing that was

kind of rumored about there was, I think during the year, there was belief that they had sort of a handshake with Rasmus Anderson, and there's nothing wrong with that. He was on their roster, so they could do it. But they didn't remember when we interviewed Yarmou on the weekend, there was, he talked about tagging. And that is that you can't have like $100 billion on your cap. You can't be over the cap next year. You have to have freedom down the future to sign.

And they weren't able to do that with Anderson. And then in the playoffs, there was some wild rumor going around that maybe that wouldn't happen and Vegas would move on. I don't believe that's true. I think they're going to sign them. but moving Dorofiev certainly gives the and depending on what else they do, it certainly gives them room to do some things.

I don't think this is the last we've heard of them. You don't think they're looking at Connor Hallibuck, do you? I hadn't thought about it. I don't know. Maybe they don't have what Winnipeg would be looking for or be willing to part with what Winnipeg will be looking for? Well, I still think Winnipeg and Buffalo are talking. I don't think that's over yet.

Because there felt like there was a lot of noise leading into the first round of the draft Friday that at some point that night, he could be moved. Well, I'll say this. I had heard on Friday he was willing to wave to go to Buffalo. I don't know if that was ever formally submitted. but I'm 100% convinced he was willing to wave to go to Buffalo. And I'll say this, I think Hello Bucks,

whatever list he gave or whatever indication he gave, it wasn't as restrictive as some of the other ones. Like I think there were, I'm so afraid of using the wrong word. I think there, I heard there were a few options. And the fact that he was willing to go to Buffalo indicated to me, it was exactly as we talked about and we'd heard Kyle, that he wanted a team that he thought over the next three years

would be a consistent contender. And by the way, I think that's a big win for the Sabres. Like imagine a year ago, American hero, Connor Hellebuck, saying, yeah, I could see the Sabres being a consistent contender over the next three years. I'll go there. like the sabers and their fans should be feeling really good about that that he was he was willing to go i don't think his list is restrictive as some of the others

now i thought when the fourth overall pick in the first round was done any hope of a buffalo winnipeg deal was was over i don't know what the likelihood is i'm not going to put a percentage on it but i heard it wasn't over like there was one report that was pretty interesting after the draft that now that it was over, maybe Winnipeg would be able to convince him that we'll make some moves and we'll bring the band back together for one more year.

I just don't know if that's feasible. I think they're still talking about it. Some other Buffalo stuff, Kyle, hearing as we record this Sunday night, Beck Malenstein, Rees signing in Buffalo, Sounds like it's around six years at $3 million per. You know, Kekyllina in last week, he made it very clear publicly that they were eager to get that one done. They seemed to really like what Malenstein was given him.

Well, yeah, he fit there. You could tell. I liked him in Washington, too. I just think he's a solid, solid player. Buffalo had a really interesting weekend, Zellweger. I'm looking forward to seeing Zellwager more. in person. He was a guy. I like watching Anaheim. They're a really fun team. But I thought that was an interesting pickup for Buffalo in terms of replacing Byram. And, you know, now a young player getting more of a role. You know, it was interesting. I heard Buffalo had Devon Levi out there quite a bit on the weekend. And I heard one team that did some real research into him was Edmonton.

but obviously that didn't happen and look if they get a hellobach deal done Luken's Ukopeka Luken's clearly going the other way but I don't know what Levi's future is going to be in Buffalo so that'll be an interesting one to watch by the way we did get a couple of notes from Sabres fans who really loved the interview with Kekelai

He was excellent. Yeah, he was fantastic. He was honest. He was blunt. And, you know, I'll tell you this. I had a couple Sabers fans say that, first of all, they love the pickleball stuff that you came up with Kyle. They really like that.

But they also really liked, they really liked the, like how he talked about Terry Pagula, like about obviously the deep respect he has for his owner, but also sometimes how he has to say, we're going to try this. like they were really interested in that. It's good interview.

Yeah, yeah, he was good. And like a Swiss clock, hey, despite everything going on, showed up right at the time we were expecting him. He had a hard out at a certain time, which we were happy to respect. But it was good. It was great to hear from him in that format. All right.

So last week was a busy week, as you know, and lost in the shuffle of everything. We had some Capitals fans coming at us on Friday for not giving them enough love for the business that they got done in the days before it. So apologies to Caps fans that we missed you. We will get to you here. So, Elliot, your thoughts on what they have done

in bringing in Alex Tuck and Jordan Kairu in an effort to look at last season and missing the playoff as a one-year blip under head coach Spencer Carberry. Well, they said that they were going after offense, right? Yeah. And they did. I also think that this makes it more likely to me

that Ovechkin's coming back. Cole Hudson looked pretty good when he got there. excited about the other Proto's brother and now these two you know what I thought of when I saw the Cairo trade was

I thought about Pierre Luke Dubois a little bit remember he had no that the situations are exactly identical but was in a tough spot as things ended in L.A. Comes to Washington under Spencer Carberry

and he helps unlock whatever had to be unlocked there to find a much better version of Dubois. Now you've got Cairo, I mean, still was a productive player in St. Louis, but had started to the same roles that he was in. It had changed a little bit, fallen out of favor as time went on,

and the Jimmy Snuggler Roads of the world started to take more of a grip of certain opportunities, with the blues. I wonder about Spencer Carberry getting his chance to work with Cairo a little bit now. And I mean, the history would suggest what a great coach to have

in getting him back on track and getting a guy feeling great about his game again with a fresh start with the capitals. I'm really intrigued to see how all of that goes because the upside is very high. There was one Capitals fan sent me a note saying I was so worried about next year, and now all of a sudden I feel eerily calm. Yeah, it's funny how that works.

I'd also heard Charlie Lindgren's name out there a little bit, but I don't think that's happening. I think that they realize they have a good team there with Lindgren and Thompson, and I think they're keeping them. Good. All right, when it comes to an ex-capital, Elliot, so John Carlson is now property of the Carolina Hurricanes, will be a UFA on July the 1st as we have this conversation on Sunday evening. So Carolina makes the deal, no guarantee that they're going to be able to sign them. But it seems like a Carolina thing to do to at least get the chance to have some extended time to see where he's at and if a fit is possible.

do you kind of see this headed? Well, it's interesting. I think Anaheim wanted to keep him. And I heard Carlson's ask was around $9 million out there. And I didn't know if that was because he preferred to come back east. First of all, like John Carlson, he's a great player. And someone wants to give him like two times nine or two times ten. I'm good with that.

But I didn't see that coming initially. it's really interesting. You know, Carolina has Nikitian out there. That's definitely true. I heard the Rangers made a pitch for him pretty hard, but Carolina, at least until this happened, and I don't know if this changes anything, I honestly don't know.

They didn't just want picks back for Nikitian. They wanted a player. And a player that was helpful. We'll see what happens. There's a bunch of teams that want to take a run at Carlson. You know, I've mentioned that a lot of people kind of list Tampa Bay as the favorite, but Carolina gets their shot. You know, we'll see what they're willing to do.

The other thing that's interesting there is that, you know, one of the guys I've really enjoyed getting to know a little bit, like as a reporter, not like a personal friend or anything, but as a reporter and a guy to talk to, is Jalen Chadfield. And we talked about this a little bit. the other day, Kyle, but he's a UFA after next year, and he's going to get a raise. He's going to get a very nice raise, and he's a guy that would deserve a raise. I'll tell you a fine story about Chadfield.

I saw him on the ice after they won the final. And, you know, for an undrafted guy, you know, I said, what a career. I go, Stanley Cup champion, Memorial Cup champion, and he looked at me and said, don't forget the Calder Cup. I didn't mean this disrespect. What a great response. But, you know, it's an interesting one because he's such a perfect cane and he loves Brinnamore and Brinnemore's been good for him and they recognized him. And he's Jacob Slavin's D partner.

And he's Jacob Slavin's D partner. He loves that Slaven gets, rightfully so. But you could see him. You could see him being due a big raise. and it's, you know, like Carolina, they pride themselves on they get you for value or they get you before you explode, right? And so we'll see what happens there. But I can't handicap it the likelihood on Saturday night or on Sunday night. You know, Pierre LeBron reported that he's, he wants, Carlson wants 10 million.

You know, the, the hurricanes have never had a 10 million dollar a year player. And that doesn't mean they won't. do it, they will pay for value. I'm curious to see, do they think that that is the kind of value that they want to do? And if they don't sign them, I can see them

doing some creative things with it. Okay, some of the things to get to, I mean, you mentioned, looks like... Now, the way, I, like I said, I still, I said it last part, I'm going to say it again. I

expect anything and everything. from Carolina this week. Like, they are not satisfied. Not satisfied. They've got a lot of room. They, and they've, they've thrown the offer,

they threw two offer sheets scares last year, Bouchard, which didn't work, and Kandre Miller, which did. And, oh, I would love to see them

go down that road again. Hopefully for Jordan Martinuk's sake, the weight is worth it, eh? Unlike on, on Friday night and wait around all night to make the 31st pick

J.K., we traded it. Was that reaction not so good? Oh my God. And you knew it too. They always trade down. Always. Yeah, yes. It's their way.

And poor poor Martinuk was a victim of that. He was like probably thinking maybe starting to think about catching up on some sleep, stays up late to do that. And they're like, J.K. Jardo. Thanks for nothing. All right. So you mentioned earlier, it looks like Malenstein re-uping in Buffalo.

We should mention on Sunday, Michael Kesslering agrees to a three-year deal with San Jose. He's a much better player than he showed this year. Sometimes things don't fit. He's better than that. For sure. The sharks are banking on that as well. A couple of the things to look at. Darnel Nurse, anything new there?

So Nurse is a three-team list that he's going to, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. You know, Philly, I just think money's got to go out for him to come in. like I think teams have talked them about Ristelining as of the weekend I heard there was nothing that really had them thrilled about it you know that can always change with one phone call but kind of something had to happen before that could happen I think Pittsburgh was interested

but Edmonton had to take money back which they were not willing to do so that was the challenge there and Boston, again, I think things would have to happen. Now, I think Edmonton is trying to get Nurse to open up his list. And the one team, even though Nurse is a lefty shot, I think there's a lot of word that there's at least noise that Anaheim has interest, and Anaheim does have holes on their blue line.

But at this point in time, Nurse has not agreed to that. So we'll see where that plays out over the week. All right. How about Vincent Trocheck? Yeah, I heard the range, I heard the Rangers still have a very high ass there, if not higher than the deadline. Wow.

And honestly, part of me, Kyle wondered after they got Dorofaea, would they want Trocheque to stay? Sure. Now, it might be too far down the road. I don't know,

but I heard the Ranger ask on Trochick was, was very high, very high. I think Seattle's got Shane Wright out there. I think there's a few teams looking at that. As I mentioned, Seattle's still trying to do something big. You know, I like St. Louis what St. Louis has done. They've made their team a lot younger.

You know, Alex Steen takes over this week. And they did a lot of heavy lifting. I think the McTavish one works out for them. you know Pat for a big tried to get the 11th pick Doug Armstrong held out did it for 15 and 29 I like the way St. Louis

has remodeled themselves a bit um Drew Dowdy that was that was a big deal that the Kings announced that they'll go into next year and see how it goes and then sort it out after I think the Kings are

one of the teams that are really interested in the Keishon. So I kind of wondered if it's not exactly the same, but if one has something to do with the other, I do think we'll see a Byram, a Bowen Byram an extension. He can sign on July 1. I think that'll happen. I don't think it'll be an eight-year deal,

but I think it'll be, the word was he was only willing to sign for four, It's not going to be four. It's going to be longer than that. I don't think it'll be eight, but it's going to be a pretty big number, I think. Someone told me that 40 goals score in the American Hockey League, Arthur Kaliyev won't be staying in Ottawa. He'll be a free agent.

Tough year for Kaliyev, cleared now by the NHL. See if he gets a fresh start somewhere. Can I go back to L.A. for a sec? Sure. How do you think Doughty feels about all of that because it wasn't a we don't see him here beyond next year it was just we're going to wait and see with regards to what potentially the next contract could look like we're not going to deal with it now and we've seen other defensemen or other players later on in their career and it's kind of year by year they figure it out but you know doubt he's a proud guy proud guy proud guy I got a lot of time for grew doubtie a lot of time for him. It's not, those things are never easy,

but I think you have to channel them in the proper way, right? You have to, you know, it was interesting. So Holland was on the second day of the draft coverage with E.J. Radick, and it was interesting. Holland had a really interesting answer about being around a lot of great players, Hall of Famers, late in their careers. And it was kind of like, I think he was trying to say that, you know, there's going to have to be a different role here for Doughty, and how does he feel about that?

I thought it was a really good answer, but, you know, Doughty's a proud guy. It's the, like, Holland's right. Like, that's the toughest thing. You have a franchise icon. Eventually, you know, father time is undefeated. And that doesn't mean you disrespect the player, but it is a recognition that, you know, both salary and role can change. they gave Brand Clark a five times 7.4, which I think will turn out to be a very good deal for the Kings,

but that means it's time for Brand Clark to take a bigger role. Right. It is time. No question. Do you have anything else? You know, I am interested in Vancouver this week too. Like, I think they, one of the things that's going to happen is there's not much left out there in free agency.

and so teams are going to need to trade for guys for help. And the Canucks have NHL players, and some of their contracts are more prohibitive than others, but these are guys who can play. And I think the Canucks are in a position where they're like, we're willing to take salary back, this is the time that we can do it. But also, they're not necessarily looking,

looking to, well, I think RONIC would be different. But I think, as I said last pot, I think they're being very careful with that. But I think with some of their other guys, like give them, doesn't have to be super studs, but give them futures that help and can help the rebuild. And I think they'll be amenable to some things. So they're very much open for business. I just feel that some teams are going to get to free agency or they're not going to get one of these big top players and they're going to be like,

like, okay, where can we help ourselves here? And they'll circle back to some of these other players. Yes. The free agency class seems to dwindle by the day. Yep. And it has been for a while. I did want to say too, Kyle, I loved your interview with Steve Nash. I thought that was a great interview.

Nash actually didn't have floor access. and somebody came up to me and they said, Steve Nash is here and do you think you can get them on the floor? So I was like, well, he should be. It's good for the NHL. And it's good for you, Kyle, because I am selfless and always thinking of you. And so I walked over to league and I said, Steve Nash is here.

Can we get him on the floor? And they did it, which I thought was, you know, again, like this is supposed to be a show. And he's, that's a kind of guy that you want to know, is associated with your draft and they did it and good on them. But there was a rumor going around that Mani Malhotra took the Vancouver job under the condition that they wouldn't draft Caleb, which turned out to be complete and total BS. And, you know, actually Dave Amber and I went for coffee on Saturday morning and we ran into Malhotra on the street, Manny.

And first of all, it was such a great moment. And, you know, we were talking about it briefly and Dave was saying how awesome it was to be there to see that. And Manny Malhotra told us that he didn't want to know where they had them. Like if they talked in the amateur meetings, Manny left. And he's like, I want to know, don't tell me, and we'll see how it all comes, right? And to which I thought, Kyle, what the Canucks should have done is they should have made it saying, okay, man, you can come back in now, this is all over, and they should have had a fake draft board, which ranked Caleb like 46 or something like that up.

Why are you so twisted? I would have done that. That would have been awesome. Well, I do have to thank you for your efforts in getting Steve Nash onto the floor because we interviewed him two years ago in Vegas after Celebrini went first to San Jose because he came and attended that one as well. And of course, we all know the connection between him and the Celebrini family and Rick the father. But he was just in the seats in the sphere.

and we knew he was in the building but had no idea where exactly. And so I went on a wild goose chase that amazingly lasted nowhere near as long as it could have. You know how big that venue is before we finally found him. Anyways, much easier to track down with him sitting with the Malhotra's

on Friday night in Buffalo. So thanks for making the search much easier. No, it's good on the, NHL. Like you, you, Steve Nash is there. You want them to be prominent. Obviously, he's part of the family. That's the way it should be. All right then. So, let's get to the final thought, which is brought to you by your Canadian Toyota dealers. Yes. Start of the night, Justin Bieber, center stage, down the walkway, eventually bringing up Gavin McKenna as the first overall pick. We had appearances from Colby Smoulders, Luke Bryan, Thurman

Thomas, Dionne Dawkins. We had the players and their families on the couches. As you said, decorum was a big word this year. Gone were the tables, of course, back in an arena. No tables for the teams,

but comfy seating for the families and the top prospects waiting to hear their names called. What stood out most for you? Well, first of all, I heard there was a delegation there representing Philadelphia, checking out the draft.

So that makes me wonder if Philadelphia is the early clubhouse leader to host the 2027 version. A site survey, as they call it in the business. A site survey, as they call that in television. One of the biggest scams in television history. Oh, the next World Cup is in Prague. I'll have to go check it out nine times. Nine times in the eight years leading up to it.

That's right. So keep an eye on Philadelphia. We'll see if they're the team or the city. You know, I also wanted to shout out Layla Edwards. I thought she was really good. Layla Edwards was very good. Sorry, I missed her early, but yes. Yes.

And talk about just being. The Cadoc's super fan. Yes. Unbelievable. Yep. poison delivery. Layla very comfortable, whether she was announcing a pick

or sounding the... Yes. Yeah. announcing a pick or sounding the trade alert button. Yes. She, yeah, she,

the camera likes her. She's got a career in front of it someday, a long time from now when she's retired from hockey. But, you know, I like the Bieber thing. Obviously,

it was probably too long. Like I'm assuming, like some of the other players we're like, okay, that's enough of this. But, you know, to get Justin Bieber walk out and do your number one pick, I'm sure there's some people who are our age, Kyle, well, my age, not your age. I'm 20 years older than you. Thank you.

But there are some people who are like, get this guy off the stage. But, no, you, Justin Bieber walks on to do your number one pick. You suck it up and you let it happen. You know, I liked what they did where obviously they set that up where he got the call from the team. I like that. Like seeing his eyes well up. Yes. It's very obvious that the league called the Leafs like a day or two in advance and said,

privately, can you tell us who your pick is? They did. And they said, all right, we're going to arrange all this and set this all up. and I say, you know, I'll say this, the leaves haven't always played along with this kind of stuff. I think you have to. And I think teams have to do this. And I'll tell you what's the bigger thing.

I think we all knew they were 99% taking McKenna. But the bottom line is they told the league clearly, so the league could plan this and it didn't get out. And that would say to me to teams that you have to play. ball with this too in the future. And, you know, the one thing when I came back and I watched a little bit of the draft coverage on Sunday before the soccer, and the one thing I wish I would have thought of then or they would have thought of then, you needed a picture of Sundin on the other side of the

phone welcoming him to Toronto. That would have made it perfect. Now, so I like that. Again, the first round ended up going really long. I didn't realize it, but I was told after that they made a change that I think should be permanent. So for about the first 20 picks or so, they didn't start the clock to the next pick until after the interview on the couch. Alish Forfar did for us, Leah Hextall for ESPN, and the, the clock didn't start till after that interview with about 10 minutes to go,

sort of about 10 picks to go, excuse me, they changed that and they started the clock after the photo with the commissioner. And I think they should do that from now on. Start that clock as early as you can. And if you'll notice, the last 10 picks did go a lot quicker. Like if you do that from the beginning, like those interviews are 60 seconds to two minutes, you're shaving at least half hour off the draft. So that's one thing I think that has to happen.

I thought the in-house DJ was excellent. I know a lot of you out there might not have been able to do that. I like the fact that, you know, they had the coaches as you saw. And whenever a player got picked, they moved other players up and they brought players out of the crowds to fill the coaches. Like one thing that saved time this year actually was the walkup was not as long. And that's the one thing about going back to a centralized draft, even though I support it, is that the walkup becomes longer again. I thought the walk-up being shorter was good. I like the fact after a while,

on the second day, when they were just chairs, they started bringing fans out of the crowd to sit on the floor and be seat fillers. That was a really nice touch. You could tell how excited that some of those families were to get to be on the floor of the arena. I'll tell you one other thing I thought of, you know, you have like these presentations in the middle of the draft.

They had the GM of the Year award with Bill Guerin. And then they had that beautiful tribute with the Blackstone Valley hockey team. And it was really well done. And the fact that they were allowed to make a pick, I thought was fantastic. And then what was missed by unfortunately some people was that on Saturday, Niagara, a team that went through a similar tragedy, unfortunately, they were allowed to make a pick for the Buffalo Sabres. And I thought that was a great tribute too.

The Bill Guerin GM the award and the Blackstone Valley tribute and them being on stage, it was almost back to back. But one reason that happened, and I wanted to shout this out, was Blackstone Valley wanted to make Utah's pick because there were a number of teams that were extremely helpful to them, but they really said that the mammoth organization was fantastic to them.

And that was the team they wanted to have their tribute tied to. And I thought it was worth mentioning that, that the mammoth did a great job with them. Nice. Yeah, that was really touching. Also, too, you talked about the efforts to save some time here and there. I believe the target going in was three and a half hours. And of course, it bled north of four on Friday night when it was all said and done. But another thing that they hadn't done in the past, if I was to be understood correctly,

was that you mentioned the three-minute countdown. Like, that always used to be like a hard countdown, right? You had to wait for the clock to hit zero and then, okay, the pick is in and away you go. But I think what was different this year was that so for us, ESPN, TV, I, if they were doing interviews, they got through those, whatever else they wanted to do in between picks. Like if everyone was kind of in unison going, we're good here and the team knew who they were taken, then even if it was 58 seconds still on the clock, there were a few times where all of a sudden that disappeared on the screen and it was like, okay, the pick is in now. So it was almost the effort of everybody's ready. Okay, no need to wait around any longer and just get to it.

Can I tell you a funny story about that? Please. There are some teams that are philosophically opposed to doing that. Why? If everybody's ready, just go. So I'll tell you a story. So Isaiah Thomas once told me a story that, and John, John Bichel, the first owner of the Toronto Raptors,

who once told me a story, that the first ever draft, remember I used to cover the NBA guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That first ever NBA draft, they knew they were taking Damon Stottomeyer with their first ever pick. And he didn't get taken beforehand,

so they knew they were going to get him. And John Bittal have told me that when the players, was taken beforehand, he was ready to run up on stage, and Isaiah Thomas told him, no, we're taking the entire, I think it was five minutes, we're taking the entire five minutes. And Bittal was like, why? All these fans are riled up, and we have our guy. And Isaiah Thomas said to him, you never know what could happen. You never know who could call and offer you something. You never know what could happen you take the time and i have heard there are nchl teams like that that they're like we're sitting there and even if we know we're waiting to see because you never know if someone's going to panic

and call you with something well i think they would still have the opportunity to do that they say they'd say a league would go no but the point is if you cut it off at 58 seconds you can't do that but my point is if you're that team and the league's going you're ready to go you're ready to go you say no we're not ready yet you get your time that way well i'm just saying that there was some never mind i i i feel sorry i feel i feel i feel reda i regret bringing it up well we're just looking at it doesn't need to be a four plus hour extravaganza yes i agree with that in agreement of that so that was just another way i think they were looking to save a few seconds here and there when they could i still, I mean, as you know, I was not in Los Angeles last year for the first decentralized.

I appreciate them trying to make it as much of a spectacle as they can. And even if some presentations go a bit long, the appearances of certain celebrities to come out that inevitably tack on some time, I admire them for trying. I just miss having everybody there because it did feel, not that I've done a ton of drafts, but for the couple that I've been to, when it was the old way, there was a almost Comic-Con convention-like atmosphere

in that city for those few days. Yeah. Where the entire everybody was there, you know? And it's just if you're a fan that's going, hey, do you want to go experience the draft this weekend? It was a really cool thing. You know, like you're, for example,

walking around Nashville, which is cool on its own, but you're like, hey, look, there's that GM over there, and there's that agent over there, and there's that head coach over there. It's like all of the NHL is within a two-kilometer radius for a few days. And for the fans that fuel this whole thing, that's a really neat thing to be a part of.

You know, I agree with you. I've made my position perfectly clear. We'll see where it goes. By the way, I also would like to shout out. The prospects, like there were a couple. Like, when the Ducks drafted Nordmark, there was a Dux fan who was about, 15 feet away from where he was doing an interview

and he badly wanted a picture with the guy. It was right near me. And we walked over to a Dux staffer and I think her name was Tessa Bramble and who said, hey, there's a Dux fan over there. Could you take Nordmark over for a photo? She was like, no problem. Nordmark went right over, took a picture.

When Jack Hextall was taken by the flames, I guess he was from Youngstown, Ohio, or he played there. Yes. And there was a father and son from Youngstown right near us. And Sean Kelso was over there representing the flames. And we walked over to Sean. Hey, there's some Youngstown fans there.

He's like, oh yeah, I saw them on the Jumbotron. Hextall right over took the pictures. Like the, like that's the thing too. You can't like those people become your fans for life. You know, you just, you take two extra seconds. You get a picture with your new prospect. Throw it up on the gram as the kids say it today, Kyle. That was smooth.

And, you know, you're a fan for life. You can't. That's better than the best advertising you buy. I'm with you And is there anything Matthew Schaefer can't do For heaven's sake For heaven's sake

And you can tell the young players They really respect him He's like the Pied Piper To them They'll go anywhere he tells them A million bucks on the stage Making the pick It's not a bad ad

That the island made to their blue line A? That Gustafson Another big boy to go alongside Shafar. A lot of trees. A lot of trees. A lot of trees. Got a lot of trees. Okay, that was a final thought brought to you by our Canadian Toyota dealers. We'll take our first break and come back with the thought line. 32 thoughts. The podcast continues after this. Time now for the thought line presented by BetMGM, make it legendary. So, Elliot, when we got off the air Friday night, it was after 11 p.m. local time. We've been on the air for over four hours. How hot. hungry were you at that point?

So we are going to talk about food etiquette here, okay? All right, everyone? Yeah. So they order pizza for the entire group and basically, so we're on the floor, as everybody saw, but we had a suite at the Key Bank Arena where our suits were and where our makeup was. And they said, we're going to leave the pizza up in the suite. So Kyle and I get up there first, and there's only one pizza. And Kyle and I are, don't touch it because, you know, there's Dave Amber and he eats a lot of pizza, as you can tell by his physique.

And there's Bucola and there's Cossentino and there's Colby Armstrong and he definitely eats a lot of pizza. And there's Aylish Forfer and there's whichever producers show up and you don't know how many people. A lot of the crew eats at the truck, but we're like, you know what, there's only one pizza here, and we better not eat it because we've got to find out if there's more than just for one. And Kyle's making jokes as if it's like his grade one school party where he's got to cut the pizza into small slices. So we're just waiting and waiting. And all of a sudden, up Saunter's 32 Thoughts producer, Dom's for Maddie. we're sitting there he sees the clothes box

he rips it open with the manners of the incredible Hulk sees that none has been taken yet it's an entire pie rips the biggest piece out it looked like two pieces I thought he'd taken two

seriously it was it was it was as if like you were like you had like some sort of mechanical eyes, which immediately did geometric measurements to find the biggest piece, like the Terminator or something like that, and wolfed it down basically in two bites, while Kyle and I are staring at you incredulously. Hold on. You left out the key detail.

What's that? Not only you do that. Then he left the box propped wide open. That's right. He left a box open. That's right. So whatever heat was still there in the pizza. I said, I said, you left the box open and what did you say? It's cold anyway.

It's ice cold. It was not ice called. I don't think the pizza was delivered as Gavin McKenna was walking onto the stage. I do think it came a little bit later. Can I, can I please approach the stand and give my case? Wait, wait, wait, wait, not quite yet. And then it was Kyle who I think broke the ice. Wasn't you said, did you not notice that neither one of us had touched it yet?

Is that you, Kyle, who said that? It might have been. I don't know. We were both beside ourselves. I felt like we were sharing a brain there for a moment, going, what are we just witnessed? And it took, like, Dom literally about a minute to realize that we were staring at him in disbelief. What?

Okay. Now you can defend yourself. Honestly, when I saw you guys stare at me, I was like, oh, I've done something here. I have no idea what it could be. So here's the timeline of what happened. We're in the 20s for Picks, and Kyle texts the group chat. You guys want to go for burgers after? I said, yeah, absolutely, no problem.

And so I'm thinking, okay, we're going out for burgers after the draft. And as the picks roll through, I go down to the interview room to interview Novotny, as the Canucks had taken, Novotany. And while I was sitting there, yes, yeah, absolutely. What? Yeah, I was the 630 representative in Vancouver or in Buffalo. So, of course, I was going to ask question. Good for, you know, honestly, Dom, I'm as much as we're tearing you to shreds in this segment,

good for you. I'm serious. I was sent to the draft to represent Vancouver. That was there to do work. You don't normally do that. Like, good on you. Like, honestly, I'm being serious. Thank you.

Appreciate it. So the draft concludes, and I'm still waiting for Navatni to come through because, you know, these things take time. They have to go sign autographs, take pictures, do interviews with local media, with national media. And it's taking a while.

and Kyle sends me a text while I'm waiting. Oh, there's pizza in the suite. So I'm like, okay, I'll go up to the suite after this is all done. So I had waited for Novotny for quite a while before we actually got to talk to them. And in my mind, I'm thinking draft's done. They're probably wrapped and off the air. And everyone's probably upstairs just hanging out. So by the time I get to Novotany and wrap up and everything and go upstairs,

I walk in the door and it's just the two of the two, of you in a dark suite, like the lights aren't even on. And you guys both look like you're just ready to leave, like ready to go. So I was like, okay, I guess they're waiting for me. Like, we're going to go, we're leaving now. Everyone's gone and these are the only two guys left. And I look and I see the pizza and I'm like, okay. So the first thing that comes to mind when I open the pizza is like, oh, it's ice cold.

So like clearly people have been here, have eaten and left. and there's one pizza left. So I'm just going to have my pizza. I'm not going to hold these guys up. I'll have my slice and we'll leave. And by the time I turn around and take a bite of my pie, both of you are looking at me like I've got four eyes in three years. Like I'm like, what's going on?

And then you guys both tell me like, oh, no one's come up yet. And there's only one pizza for everybody. And then I'm like, oh, great. Well, then I'm the bad guy and I shouldn't have done that. the thing is like you never even gave us a chance to tell you let's wait for the pizza you were like a heat seeking missile for it you walked in the door the pizza was not visible it was like you had a nose for it you turned it your terminator eyes locked on the pizza like it was it was like the beginning scene when he's when he's looking for the guy's clothes that fit him thankfully you were clothed yeah but uh you just It's like you turned and you saw that thing. And without missing a step, you went right to it. We never had a chance, Dom.

It did have a very stress. I had been waiting so long for Navadi. I thought everyone had wrapped and was ready to go home. Anyway, I'll give, I will just say quickly. I'll give, I was really looking forward to what his rebuttal was going to be to all this, Elliot. I, there could have been a way worse defense.

I'll just say that. You know what? I have to say that, you know, Dom, earlier this year, we made fun of you for doing, how many years have you done scrums at Canucks games? This is probably year four. And you've never asked a question. I have. I have.

I just don't do it regularly. Yeah. Okay. But, you know, you did some interviews tonight. I think that, or the other night, I think that's awesome. Okay. Shoutouts. There's someone who works in operations at the NHL.

Her name is Rachel. She came up to me on. Friday night at the draft. A regular listener of the pod, she's actually leaving the NHL to go take her MBA at Duke University, which obviously she's too smart to work at the NHL, as she's taking her MBA at Duke.

And I just want to say, Rachel, thanks for introducing yourself, was great to meet you, and good luck at Duke and in your future. Some other shoutouts, Hudson and Juno, two young Canadians fans. Noah from North Bay, he told me he always falls asleep to the pod.

Noah, you are not alone. So does everyone else. But thank you for meeting it in a positive way. Dave Dawson, Ben and Eli from Toronto, Nolan and Tucker, and Tucker right in front of Kyle's. He introduced himself and said, hey, stank. Oh, yeah, Tucker had great flow too.

Yeah, great flow. Jacob from Ottawa, Chris from Pittsburgh and Kyle, I think too. Patrick and Ethan from Buffalo. Travis is one of our top listeners, and now he works. He said that listening to our pod had him start a pod, Hockey Town West, mainly talking about the Grand Rapids Griffins,

which is of course is Detroit's American Hockey League team. Travis, good luck. And there was another individual. I didn't catch his name, or I couldn't write it down quick enough, but he said he always listens to us on Monday on the way to work. So those were saying, he'll know who he is. is and thank you all.

Great to meet you all. Hope you had a great time at the draft. Now, hit me, young Bacoscus. All right. On your market set, go. Tyler from Canora, Ontario. I have a question regarding trades during the draft. How are they made official that quickly?

Is there an understanding between GMs and the league? I know, after watching a video on the deadline, that they have to be called into the league and entered that way, and it seems to take a bit of time. So how exactly does it work on draft day where they are all in a room and make a trade to move the pick that's coming up or does it happen slower than we might think. For example, the Dorofeia trade and the COSA trade during the draft and then Vegas trading spots trading down multiple times. Thanks for the response. If you can, go nux.

Tyler, thanks for the questions. It's the same thing. You still have to go through central registry. You call in. you say this is what we want to do and it still has to be approved. It's no different. I don't know if I'd say there are more operators or anything like that, but they have a whole central registry room set up at the draft.

But it basically has to go the same way. And I don't think you see it if you're watching on television, but being in the building, you can see just offstage the commissioner is getting the information from somebody sitting just off stage again once the trade goes through, so he knows when he goes up to the podium, what to say and what the details of the trade are. So it's literally being confirmed right then and there,

and then up goes the commissioner to announce it publicly. And that was another thing that some of the teams hated about that. It used to be there was a central register, desk and the teams would have to walk up to it and confirm a trade. So you'd see an associate general manager from one team and an associate general manager from another team and they would go up to the desk and you knew, oh, I know that guy, he's from Chicago. I know that guy.

He's from Winnipeg. They're making a trade. And they changed it so you could do it by phone. But that was another thing that these teams hated about the centralized draft. Yeah. Get over it. Seriously. Okay, Glenn, Olivia, and Julia from Scarborough.

Hi, guys. My daughters got into watching hockey over the last few years with the arrival of the Scepters and more this year with the Leafs, which has been quite the enjoyable bonding experience for me. My wife, on the other hand, hates it, and she does not care that the discussions amongst us do get quite loud.

With the recent flurry of sign and trades, they asked me a question that I am not sure of the answer, so I told them I would go to my source, aka you, Elliot. Okay. Their question was, what if you do a sign and trade and then the player that was signed fails their medical? Does the trade get nullified, and what happens to the contract that was signed? Is the original team on the hook, or does that get nullified as well? I said I thought that the contract would be valid and would be covered by insurance, but I am not entirely sure on this.

Has it ever happened before? Love the pod, enjoy the summer. Thank you, Glenn. And first of all, Olivia and Julia, welcome to your hockey fandom for both the Scepters and the Maple Leafs. You and your dad might have been the only three Maple Leaf fans who bonded during last season. There were a lot of other people who didn't bond so much over last year. year, but glad you love hockey and welcome aboard. We love hockey fans of all kinds.

You know what? I think that it's been a long time since a trade in the NHL was taken away for injury reasons, and especially at this time of year. So for example, Glenn, Olivia and Julia, at the end of every season, each player has a physical. When your team gets knocked out or your team doesn't make the playoffs, each player on the team will have a physical. And there's a form that the team doctor signs and basically it says, this player is cleared to play right now or this player would not be cleared to play right now. And he can't resume playing, for example, next year. until he passes a physical.

Like you could have a serious knee injury or you could have a concussion or something like that at the end of your season. And if it's serious enough that you wouldn't be able to play, they can say this player is not eligible to play. So at this time of year, you would know if a player is healthy or not. And that way it could be buyer beware.

I think the only way, there aren't many trades where it's been canceled or anything like that because there was a team committed fraud or held back information. Generally, you have the ability to check players' health records. I do know of situations where teams have looked at records and said, I'm not comfortable about doing this. You know, one of them was a couple years ago. I think when Jacob Chrickon was being traded from Arizona to Ottawa, there were teams who were concerned about his back and didn't want to make the trade. But they didn't.

They just didn't do it. It's been a long time since a trade was voided for medical reasons. Right. Because the player signs a new contract, like a medical isn't required before signing on the dotted. line, right? Like, it's done when you get to training camp, it's done at the end of the season, typically, right? Yes. Yeah.

But again, if you're signing a free agent, you know what his medical situation was at the end of last year. Yes. You know if he was cleared to play or not. So actually, now that we wrap this up, Glenn, I did find one other example for your daughters. A couple of years ago, the Flyers traded for Ryan Johansson as part of a trade with Colorado. And they took him to get another player. And they wanted to put him in the minors and they waived him.

And all of a sudden, like Johanston had played a long time with a hip injury. And he said, you can't send me down because I'm injured. And he had another year, I think $4 million under contract. And the flyers said, no, this is not something we were aware of. and they terminated his contract, which means they tried to say, we don't owe this guy anything because this wasn't what we understood.

And there was $4 million at stake. So the Players Association fought it, but they lost. And the Flyers were able to terminate the contract and didn't have to pay the $4 million. So that was a case where they felt that there was something they weren't made aware of that they should have known.

and the person who heard the case agreed with them. And then you had him on the pod. Yeah, we interviewed him just before the playoffs. So mid-April, and he was quite open and discussing that whole process and what his feelings, why he felt he still should have been paid out for that final year and took us behind the scenes

in quite a revealing way. So for those that haven't caught it, that may have missed it, that are at all interested. It's all there when we interviewed Ryan Johansson. Great question, gang. Thank you for that. Andrew from Frederick Maryland.

My question is for the gentleman with the wild hair walking down the Vegas strip whilst clipping his nails and telling people he's going to be on television. Elliot, if you were in an it's a wonderful life scenario where you are suddenly, unknown to all of your sources

and lose all their contact information, how long do you think it would take for you to scoop your first scoop? I suppose in this alternate universe this would make you the anonymous caller. Many thanks, go-caps go. Two years. Two years.

Jimmy Stewart. Two years. Do you remember the first bit of news you broke in the business? Yeah, the Raptors buying the what's now the Arcana Center, the old post office building from the government.

Yeah, I was so nervous. I was working on radio at the time. I went on primetime sports with Dan Shulman in the late grade Jim Hunt. I broke the story. And I remember I was so nervous at the end

they said great scoop thanks for coming on and i meant to say my pleasure and i said my problem i could barely talk i think i was 25 24 25 yeah i was so scared i was going to bungle that scoop that's impressive man my problem that's great i i should start wrapping the pot up with that now talk to you friday my problem this whole pod is my problem is my problem is my problem problem. That's right. Yeah, I would take two years, I think. I think it really would. Yep. Great. Last one here. Greg and Mississauga. Dear Kyle, Christian and the Raccoon Master. Of course, Christian filled in for a few days for Dom back during the playoffs.

Wow. Now, that is a true fan of the pod that he remembers Christian. Good on you. Watching the first round of the draft and seeing Gavin McKenna being welcomed by Austin Matthews to the Maple Leafs. It got me wondering which team has iced the most first overall picks. For example, the Leafs have Matthews, McKenna, Wendell Clark, their first overalls, but also iced the likes of Sundin, Lindrosse, Rob Ramage. Conversely, which team has iced the least? Hoping our pals at SportsNet Stats can answer this one for me. Thanks from a former Camp Timberlain kitchen staffer, and let's go Red Wings.

I mentioned Timberlain a couple years ago. I went there twice, two years, so that's a great one. I hope you had a good time there. Those are the true unsung heroes of summer camp, the kitchen staff. That is one of the hardest jobs. Okay, so I'm trying to think most. Boy, that leave list was pretty long, I got to tell you. Yes, because there's more names than what Greg listed.

Montreal's had quite a few, too. Do the Quebec guys count for Colorado? Yes, they do. For this argument, yes, they do. And this is both the amateur draft, which went from, what, 63 to 78? Yeah. What's now known as the entry draft from 79 to present? We're including all that.

So the teams I would think, Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Quebec slash Colorado would be up there. Don't think the, you know what? The Islanders would have a few of these guys too, but I don't think they'd be up there with them. Let's go, let's go Montreal. Okay. So you are right.

You are right. Montreal. Because I'm thinking, too, if you go Montreal, you also get Rick Green, you get Bobby Smith. Yep. You get Pierre Turgeon. You get Roman Hammerlick, Ilya Kovlchuk. Good memory. Am I missing anyone else here?

That's Lovkovsky, obviously. Yeah, those are the most recent ones. Mm-hmm. So they've got 12 total. But that includes the original draft, right? Yes. Yes. Going all the way back to Gary Monaghan in 63.

So they got 12, but so too does Toronto as of now. Therefore, when Gavin McKenna plays his first in a leaf sweater, they will become first on the list with 13. Really? Yes. So let me look at this. I'm just looking at the list. Channel 1, Matthews 2, Tavares 3.

Let's see who else we get here. Joe Thornton 4. Brian Barard 5. Eric Lindrae 6. Owen Nolan 7. Matt Sunding 8. All three of those Quebec guys played for Toronto. That's funny.

Wendell Clark 9. Rob Ramage 10. Dale McCord ever played for Toronto? Sure did. Yeah. 11. Billy Harris, 12. Did Barry Gibbs or Gary Monaghan play for Toronto? Gary Monaghan did.

Gary Monaghan did, eh? Okay. Yeah, he was the first one. What have Patrick Kane signs in Toronto this week? Oh, geez. Throw that one out there. Get him to 14. So. I kind of wonder if there's any chance to go back to Chicago or two.

Hmm. So they're at the top. and you were right there with Quebec slash Colorado. They're next at 10. And you were right for having Islanders on the brain. They too have 10. Well, they had a bunch in the 70s, right? So that made sense.

And also with 10 total, the New York Rangers. Oh, the Rangers had 10? That's interesting. Now, do you have a guess? Because they don't have a lot of those guys drafted. Right. So like a lot of those guys would have been Rangers by trade. Yep.

Nash one. Did Dag, did Dig play for the Rangers? Yep. Two. Lindrosh, three. Skipped over a couple. Today I can't remember who. Roman Hamerlick.

Oh, Hammerlick played for the Rangers. I forgot. And so did Brian Barard. Oh, man, I forgot about that one. Wow. Some of these guys I really forgot were Rangers. Yeah. The floor, obviously.

Yeah. Doug Wickenheiser. Wickenhizer was a ranger, I forgot. Brian Lottin. Geez, I forgot. I really forgot some of these guys. And more recently, Patrick Kane and Lafranier. Yeah.

Is Lafranier the only one they actually? I think so. I think he's their only first round. I think he's their only, oh, no. Well, 1965, Andre Veille. But I think that's the only one. guy they've ever taken. Now, as for fewest, you know, there've been some teams that have never had a number one pick. Like Nashville's never had a number one pick. So here, so just before we go,

for the sake of this argument, I'm removing the Golden Knights, the Cracken, and the Mammoth. Okay. So you're right. Nashville's never drafted first overall. Is anyone else at zero? Well, Nashville's not at zero for first overall players to play for their franchise. Oh, right. What am I thinking? Trying to think who would be at zero. Right, because they have Stamco's. Yep.

There is one team that has never drafted first overall and has never had a first overall suit up for them. All right. I'm looking at the standings here. I'm going through the standings to figure out who this is. Again, one team excluding Utah, Seattle, and Vegas. Vegas does have one, Mark Andre Fleury. Right.

Buffalo's drafted first, Gilbert Perot. Carolina has Taylor Hall. Brian Lawton also would have played for the Whalers, right? Is it the Devils? Nope. Okay. Covalchuk. Oh, of course.

Was Kirk Muller not first overall? No, he was sacking behind Mario Lemieux. Ryan Mario, of course. Gorts Delick tells a great story about that. He's like, there was someone in the leaf organization and says, if we had the number one pick, we wouldn't take Lemieux, we'd take Kurt Mueller.

Lemieux's soft, kept on saying it, and then finally someone yelled him and said, would you shut up? We don't even have the number one pick. Not only are you wrong. It's a relevant. matter. This franchise has won a Stanley Cup.

Sorry, I stopped myself. I'm going through the, is it? No, it can't be the Ducks because Korea was taken. No, Korea wasn't taken first overall. No, he was not. That's the team. Wow. That's amazing.

You think about all the good players they've had? They've had Salani. They've had Korea. They've had Scott Niedermeyer. they've had pronger Corey Perry Getslath never had a guy

go first overall I never had one geez yeah good question great question good bit of trivia to wrap up

you know what you know what you know what for big should do he should trade for Macklin cellarini yeah what a novel idea Pat I got a great way for your team to get better.

Go get celebrini. All right, that was the thought line presented by BenMGM, make it legendary. You can submit your own to the thought line via email of 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca, or you can drop a voicemail at 1833-3-1-3-1-3213. We will wrap up this edition of 32 thoughts on the other side. My problem. Okay, I cannot believe I am saying this, but barring anything outlandish happening,

I mean really crazy over the next few days that would warrant an emergency pod, this is likely the penultimate episode of this season. So July 1st, the opening of free agency, we will have our signing season coverage from 1130 Eastern till 230. on SportsNet from our studios in Toronto.

Elliot, of course, will be there, I'll be there. Pretty big cast coming in to cover off the opening of Free Agency. We hope there is some fresh news to talk about that day. And that, of course, will lead into the Canada Day extravaganza from the ballpark, the Jays and Mets. And then once the dust settles, free agency gets a few days under its belt, we will do one last big boy pod.

We'll run through all 32 franchises, take a look at where things stand to begin the summer and where they are headed leading into September and training camp and a brand new season before we know it. So likely that will drop early next week, but that'll be more of a let's just feel it in terms of how the first few days of free agency all goes. All that and saying, have yourself a great start to the week.

Thank you so much once again for listening to us, those that have been here all year, those that have been here since this podcast first started, and those that may have just joined aboard. We are grateful to each and every one of you. For those celebrating Canada Day, have a great Canada Day, have a great Fourth of July to our listeners,

south of the border as well. We will talk to you in about a week's time or so, unless something crazy happens beforehand. All the best.