32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The Racoons Strike Back

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman open with the Maple Leafs’ early-season struggles after a 4–3 loss to the Kings, and why Toronto can still afford to be patient on the trade front. The guys provide an update on David Kämpf’s situation and whether Montreal could be a fit (16:11) before touching on Adrian Kempe beginning extension talks in Los Angeles (20:56). They run through notes from the GM Meetings (24:10), check in on Ottawa’s seven-game point streak and Shane Pinto’s new deal (27:05), and discuss the concern in Vancouver after Thatcher Demko’s injury (39:40). Elliotte weighs in on the mood in Buffalo with no update on Tage Thompson (47:16). The fellas unpack the exciting Islanders-Golden Knights tilt from Thursday (50:32). Plus Elliotte talks about his latest “For You Page” discovery (56:07). The Final Thought pays tribute to the late New York sports writer Larry Brooks (58:30).Kyle and Elliotte answer your emails and voicemails in the Thoughtline (1:07:15).Today we highlight Montreal singer-songwriter Nadia Hawa Baldé aka HAWA B and her single Je veux rester. Check her out here.Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here.Donate to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation 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

All of a sudden I look up and there's a raccoon on my deck, on the railing, on top of the railing. And I didn't see it. I kind of jumped when I saw and it was looking at me. And it was looking at me like, you think this is your deck? No, it's not your deck. This is my deck. Finish your cigar and go inside. Happy Friday, everyone.

Welcome to another edition of 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Dom Sharmati is our producer. My name is Kyle, joined by Elliot Boring but sexy Friedman. Yes, no one can make an audience yawn with arousal quite like you can, partner. Well, what we were talking about, for those of you who are not familiar with what Kyle is discussing, is we were showing at the first intermission, the Mapleys had a 2-0 lead over the Kings, and we were showing them making simple place and being in proper. position. Easily the most boring highlights we have probably ever shown of the Toronto Maple Leafs

in the Matthews-Nielander-Tavara Marner era. And we were saying they were unsexy. And I would think instead that if you were a Lee fan who has watched them the past couple of games, you have been quite turned on by these highlights because for the most part, they were in the right spot. Didn't save them at the end. They lost an overtime, but at least their attention to detail was a little bit better. And the thing about this, Kyle, that stands out for me is I heard that on Monday between the Carolina game and the Boston game, the day off, you know, so they lose on Saturday to the Bruins, and on Sunday they lose at home in the Hall of Fame game to the hurricanes and they gave up about 11 billion breakaways in that game they were an absolute mess

and I heard that they had a meeting on the Monday a video session and a talk and I heard it was honest it was blunt it was intense and at times it was brutal and it was pointed like I think some guys were singled out. And when I heard that, and then I saw how they played for the most part against Boston on Tuesday, although the Maple Leafs said they liked the way they finished and they did fight back to within four to three, they were bad for a lot of that game, really bad. And it had to be concerning that you have that kind of meeting and that's the response you had in the first 40 minutes.

And then they came back and I thought on Thursday they played a perfect first period against the Kings, although they ended up losing the game. And it's a disappointing point to lose. I thought the interesting thing was he glares at Nealander because Neelander has a 90-second shift on a second period goal against. and as he's coming back just before the king's score and Nyes was out there for a while too but Nielander is bent over

just before the king's score because he's so exhausted and the camera does a great job of catching Barube giving it to him on the bench but the thing I respected the most was Baroube of course has asked about this post game of course he's going to be asked about a post game and what does he say he says I just wanted to see if he was hurt.

Like, he's mad. We all know what he's doing there. We all know what he's saying there. But he knows he's getting asked about it. And he's keeping the worst part in-house. He's like, as angry as I am and as mad as I am, I'm not giving up that part. And I think the things that happened on that shift,

like a 90-second shift where you get caught out there and you get scored on, I think that was exactly the kind of thing that was discussed in this meeting, all about, look, we know they're injured, we know they're missing key guys, they dress their two American hockey league goalies in this game, but the one thing you control is your effort. You may be missing Austin Matthews scoring, you may be missing your top two goalies, but that doesn't mean you can't check. it doesn't mean you can't be in the proper position. And I think that's what he was all over them about, is that kind of thing. You always control your effort, no matter who you're playing against,

no matter who's out of the lineup, you always control your effort. It's wild, though, Kyle. We're just about 20 games into the season, and we're giving the Maple League's points for good effort. Nobody thought we'd be here right now. I know and it's one of those where it's early we're approaching the quarter mark you don't want to go too overreaction type person and not just for Toronto there's a few different teams where you can look at similarly and say is this a problem or are they just working their way through still some early season issues but it's like to your point that great image at least from a viewer perspective of television of Barubey and Nylander after the second L.A. King's goal on Thursday night, and I kept, I mean, I thought this over the last

week, how many more times can you go to that shot on the bench of Barubei ready to lose his mind? Problem is it's happening way too often where there is. They keep giving him reasons to lose his mind. So you got to show it. It's like, it's like the John Cooper line ever years ago when he was on your podcast saying, you guys never show the coaches when they're excited. You only show them where they're angry. Why do you always have to show them when they're angry. Well, because it's good TV. It's better TV. But that's the thing. Like, you know, it's, they're, they play well. They're up to nothing. And they, they, they lose their focus. They lose their concentration. And they, they, they lose the game. The thing that's really saving, like in the West, there's some separation, right? Like, you look at the standings in the West and there's some teams in trouble. In the East, it's not. really like that um you know buffalo is dragging behind you don't like the way Washington looks right now but even Washington they're three points out of the playoffs right um you know the

maple leaves there are two points out of the playoffs so you're not looking at any of this and thinking panic panic panic but you know last podcast We, you know, I dumped all over Edmonton because they have no energy and no spirit to them. You know, Toronto doesn't have a lot of that either. You know, I know, like here's the thing. It's I always, there's always things I don't know that are going on in the league. I'm not, I'm not aware of everything. But, you know, I always ask.

around what's out there what's out there and for a long time it was players who were unhappy in their situations and teams kind of already knew that so it didn't really excite anyone and then you know some teams struggle Calgary struggles St. Louis struggles so everybody goes to them and they're like what are you thinking what are you thinking what are you thinking and I think Calgary is fielding calls, but they can afford to wait till they get something they like. They don't have to rush into anything. They've got players that people want, but they can sit there and say, nah, nah, nah, and then wait till they get what they want.

And St. Louis, right now he's just more trying to figure out what's out there. Like, I don't think there's a lot of difference makers out there right now, if any. Like, I know there was some breathless stuff this week about, oh, Tage Thompson, I don't think the Buffalo Sabres are in any hurry to do anything like that. So, like, that's what people are saying right now is that if you really want a difference maker, who's available? I mean, and that's the thing. I always say the caveat with it's one phone call can change everything,

and two, I'm not aware of everything. There are always things that sneak by me. But I always ask, are there difference makers available? Are there difference makers available? And there don't seem to be a lot. And you know what? The way the Maple Leafs are playing, for the most part, it almost doesn't matter who's there

because unless they tighten up defensively, it's not going to change too much. Got to be able to check. Got to be able to check. You know, I know there was some talk about Rasmus Anderson with Toronto on Thursday. Toronto took a big run at him last year. Didn't get him.

Didn't get him. And so I'm curious to know what they could do this year that they couldn't do last year. And you know, Mike Feudor brought. up when I was on the hockey show that it's like the sort of like the Toronto tax and I and I do think that's a real thing when it comes to the flames so if they couldn't do it last year I don't

know how they do it this year I mean you guys had Jason and also say this too sorry Kyle I'll keep cutting you off this one's on me not on you like Toronto was trying to get Braden Shen last year. And I just heard that with what St. Louis wanted, first of all, I'm not convinced Shen would have said yes anyway. I think the only way he would have said yes is if Toronto had gotten Luke to, which they didn't do. But I just heard that what they were being asked to do at the end, they were like, this is too

much. It's more than what they had to pay, I believe, for either Lawton or Carlo. I think at the end of the day, they just like, we're not doing that. So they weren't willing to do that then. I don't know how they'd be willing to do that now for a guy like Anderson. Sorry, Kyle. Yeah, no, no worries. But it leads to right what I was going to say, because you guys had Jason Buchla on on the pregame show before the Leaf Game Thursday night and you looked at what they've got in terms of assets, be it draft stock, be it who's in their system. And there isn't a ton, as you say, the assets that they didn't use in theory, if they went hard after Braden Shen last year at the deadline, they did use to get a Scott Lawton and a Brandon Carlo. Those aren't around anymore to utilize. And it's

like you're either the chips are in the middle at the poker table or you're folding. You can't keep the chips to the side and say, I'd really like to see the river card, though, please. please it's got to be one of the other when you play cards do you do fish no no most of the time i'm not good enough i'm not good enough to have any kind of strategy there i'm death by a thousand cuts guy hang around hang around i play cards i do nothing i like to chase i like to play it's not always the best strategy but i like to play i just thought and just going through the post game there for the Leafs, you can't beat yourselves up after every game. I understood the tone that they were trying to send afterwards, but Drew Dowdy in that interview with Sean McKenzie saying

that was not a four or three overtime win. We dominated that game. I think that was pretty bang on. So I'm happy to see that Dowdy in his 30s is stripped off the shyness and is letting people know what he really thinks out there. Yeah. After all the years of secrecy. Yeah, you know, You know, really nice. He's finally comfortable in his own skin that he feels confident enough to say what he wants to say, eh? Yes, yeah. That's a really great point. All right, David Kamp?

By the way, Kopitar, the kings have like 26 of his on this trip, eh? They took like five or six sticks for him to play with, maybe a few more. And apparently there's like 10 or so, 10 to 12 for anyone who asks. that's good that's good pre-planning remember a couple years ago we asked crosbie about that yeah how often he gets asked for sticks now and it's like way more than ever before yeah so he had his family in montreal they didn't come to toronto um but he has family in montreal i thought for sure he was going to score when he said this is the only building i haven't scored in and he almost got one 13 seconds left yeah almost got one

The one thing I laughed at is I heard that one of the sticks went to an official. And I'm just, you know, first of all, I want to say, I got no problem with that. Number two, there's going to be a game late in the air where the Kings get a big call. And I'm going to text that official and say, send me a picture of Kopitar stick. That's right. I know you haven't. That's good. That's good. All right.

You want to get to David Camp and the situation there? So contract's going to be terminated. They've reached a resolution. Oh, Brett Hart's at the Calgary game tonight. Really? That's cool. Yeah, they just showed them in the crowd. He's got a banner up in the Saddle Dome, too.

That's great. If I was there, I would go up to him and I would say, Eric Francis thinks he can take you. Just continually, yeah, Eric Francis would say, and really nasty things about you. Eric wouldn't last like half a second in the sharpshooter, not like any of us would. Oh, yeah, there he is.

I'm on a bit of a delay. Also, shout out Pat Steinberg, Sate Grad, long-time voice personality in the Calgary market on SportsNet 960 The Fan. He was television debut tonight on the panel having to prop up Eric Francis alongside Brennan Parker. Well, congratulations, Pat, but everyone from Sate is a loser.

Oh, I'm not even going to take the bait. I'm not even going to take the bait. You and you had your Western jersey. Ron brought it for you on, was that last weekend? Yeah. Oh, pathetic. The football team lost in the first round of the playoffs on a rouge. So depressing.

Good. That's all I can say. Oh, yeah. So Kamp, he went on waivers on Thursday after a long bout of negotiations between all different parties. You know, he's walking away from about $3 million. At the end of the day, he did not have to repay any of his signing bonus. The Players Association fought that hard. And they ended up winning this one.

So he kept his bonus this year, but he loses his salary from this point on, this year, next year, and his bonus next year. Camp made it very clear he wanted to play. You know, one of the things I heard was that, you know, he wants to be at the Olympics, which I completely understand. And he was concerned that playing in the American hockey league would cost him any chance of being at the Olympics. I heard that was one of the, in addition to the fact that he wants to be in the NHL, I heard that was a big factor for him too, and I completely understand that. I also heard that at one point it was suggested that maybe he go over and play back home and check yeah while all of this went on, but I was under the impression that that was not

acceptable to the Maple Leafs, that if we're going to be paying you, we want you close by. You know, look, for example, Kyle, that they're so banged up right now, you know, someone pointed out to me, you know, Camp could have been in the lineup. Right. Suddenly they could use them. Suddenly they could use them. But ultimately, you know, the Maple Leafs get the benefit of a bit more cap space. Camp gets the opportunity to find something out there. I definitely believe Vancouver is in on this.

They need centers. Like he's not a number two, but Vancouver's had a lot of trouble down the middle and he can help them. Someone mentioned Pittsburgh to me on Thursday. You know, I also would just wonder about Montreal. Like that was brutal what happened to Alex Newhook.

And I hope that ends up being nowhere near as bad as it looked. Very, very sad to see. Guy was really upset by it, was Dave Amber, who hosts New Hooks Golf Tournament every year. He was working here tonight, so, I mean, he was really disappointed to see that. But just, you know, it makes you wonder, could Montreal look at something like that? I don't know if they would be the favorite for them, but, you know, the moment I saw New Hook go down, I was kind of like, boy, they might suddenly be placing a call. And I don't know what this number is going to be for camp, and I'm sure they spent a lot of time going over the market.

and they know exactly what it is. But I will say this. This took longer than I thought it was. I'm not even convinced at the beginning. You know, the obvious benefit for Toronto was the cap. But I have to tell you, I heard for a while the Maple Leafs were not crazy about this. They didn't like the idea. It took them a bit to be convinced.

And at the end of the day, it was Camp's call and he wanted a better chance to play in the NHL. And, you know, it's not the first guy to give up money to do it. Brandon Saude did it, Philip Sedina did it, Connor Sherry did it, and now David Kemp does it. Now, when it comes to not having to give back any of the signing bonus, do you think that was just simply taking a path that was an easier one to go down just to get this settled once and for all, or how did they arrive there? You know, nobody would really talk to me about the exact reasons why. I think it's because there are exact. examples in the past of where this language was in a contract, and still, they've got to keep the bonuses, right? So I think that has a lot to do with it.

And I think the other thing here, too, is that this wasn't cooked up by the Maple Leafs to gain more salary cap space. This was initiated by the player, and he wanted to do it. And like I said, initially I heard the Maple Leafs weren't that crazy about it. So I'm guessing between those kinds of reasons, ultimately the league backed away on it. And if I'm wrong, I have no doubt I will hear from somebody. Okay, just one more thing before we leave the geographical area of the GTA. Adrian Kempay. I was shooting at will for Los Angeles on Thursday night. I ended up with one assist in the win. But a guy, of course, who's due a new contract, his representation met with the Kings on Thursday. Yeah, that's J.P. Barry, who represents him and he did meet with L.A. I was intrigued because Luke Robatai was on with Nick and Justin, and he sounded very optimistic. But I'm under the impression there's still –

work here to do. I do believe, as I said many times, that the player wants to stay and the team wants to keep him, but I still think there's a gap. And there is time here. And the one thing I was reminded of on Thursday is that J.P. Barry also represents David Posternak. And when he signed his extension in 2023, approaching free agency, he signed it on March the 2nd. So one of my sayings is the surest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. And because Barry has been down this road before with Posternock, it says to me that he is comfortable doing it in this case. And he is able to explain to his client why he believes in the strategy. And the other thing, too, is like, Ken Holland, he's been around hockey for a thousand years.

I don't think too much is going to rattle him. But, you know, there's, like, I just heard that there was a gap here on Thursday that they still have to work on. There's work to do. All right. By the way, if Lee fans are mad about the loss, they should blame Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson because they talked up Corey Perry, and the moment they did, I knew he was going to score. Oh, great. Yeah, that's the last thing those two poor guys need is more angst from leaf fans who are already convinced that they actively root against Toronto when calling the games, which of course is not true. So thanks for pouring gasoline on that fire.

Oh, my pleasure. Yeah, it'll be great. See them in Chicago this weekend. I'll be thrilled to know. I'm looking forward to that game. Oh, me too. That Chicago, New Jersey game was as good a game as I've been. seen this year.

So good. That was great. So New Jersey plays Washington on Saturday night, and that's a big game. I'm looking like Washington got beat here by Florida on Thursday. Marshang got his 1,000th point. And I didn't, I've been kind of curious about Washington. They've kind of been lurching back and forth a bit. I really like the devils. Considering some of the injuries they're dealing with, I'm really impressed with the way they're. they're playing so I'm looking forward to that game devil's capitals on Saturday night but that leaves Chicago game that's going to be that's going to be something else like Toronto's going to have a big challenge dealing with those guys you know what I heard I heard

actually at the GM meetings that there was a slide or something put up about the scoring leaders and the the different generations of them like Crosby McKinnon and now the new guys like Celebrity and Bedard, and the league was really excited about that. Like, they were looking at that and saying, this is, this is a good thing for us. And, you know, we, I just thought that was, you know, like, I'll say this. Like, I heard that they put up, like, some stats and some guys told me it was really interesting because they don't always do that. And one was the sort of different generations of players who are now atop the scoring list

and how that excited them. And I also heard they put up, like, the penalty differentials. And they, and they, one GM said he'd never seen that before. And they were kind of talking about how it's, how they do keep an eye on, you know, which teams draw more, which teams draw less and how it evens out over time. Like, one of the teams that people are kind of talking about is Anaheim, apparently they always used to be right around the worst penalty differential. and this year they're, they've completely changed.

Wow. Yeah. But I thought it was interesting how they made a point of talking about the fact that Bedard and Celebrini and those guys are climbing to the top. Well, Eric Francis asked Ryan Worsowski, the coach of the sharks on Thursday morning. Like, are we at a point now where we can say the Celebrini's, the Bedard's, the Carlson's of the world have arrived as, kind of the future of the NHL. And you know head coaches.

They're not typically ones to pour anything into that conversation. They kind of like to keep the reins on, understandably. And though he didn't dive in head first to that, but he said, like, it's coming. Like, we're almost there. And, yeah, you can see it. I will say it was uncomfortable at times last year, like the pile on Badaard saying, we figured this guy out and he's not it. really happy for him with how he's come out

and just the way he's looked, the attitude, all of it. So Jack to be in Chicago this Saturday to see them and the Maple Leafs, of course. All right, Stan's fans. It's a great city. Chicago is a great, great city. Got to go see our friends of the pod at Metric Coffee. Hopefully you get a chance.

Oh, that's right. And you got to go to that great steakhouse we went to for the outdoor game. That's right, the debts. Oh, okay. Fantastic. That was very good. Sends fans, I can hear you yelling at us. So enough talk about what was going on in Toronto.

We go down the 401 and up the 416 to the nation's capital, where things are at least in a lot of areas looking much brighter. So the Sands have collected points in seven straight, like they've won three of their last four. And the big news on Thursday, tongues continue to wag in Ottawa for four more years. Shane Pinto, the four-year extension, mention 7 and a half AAV.

He scores on Thursday night against Boston. And they celebrated with a win. What better way to do it. Victory over the Bruins stabping their win streak. Tough one, of course, seeing Nick Jensen go down

with injury already without Thomas Shabbat. But the Pinto conversation, Elliot. How did they arrive at four years? As you said, the team would have loved to do eight. Yep. But it's a new era. I think the, I don't know the exact negotiation.

Uh, teams generally don't get into that and, uh, representatives don't generally get into that too much. But I heard that the senators offers were consistently around eight years. Now, like, let me, allow me to leave myself some breathing room there. I'm sure they had others around. But I heard that there was a lot of eights. Like there were a few, a few, a few, a few, different offers that were eight years. And I just don't think at the end of the day that there was going to be, like, knowing what we know now, Kyle, let's play a game, okay? Let's play, let's make a deal, okay?

If I was to say to you right now, young Bacoskis, make an eight-year offer for Shane Pinto, what do you think that number would be? What's a fair number for him right this day? Eight and a half? You're low. Eight and a half, nine? I'm telling you, he's a center. I agree.

I think the world. I think you're, I think you're, thank God you're not my agent. That's what I can say. Well, you asked what a fair deal was. If you, well, I mean, look, you're worth what somebody is willing to pay you. What I just learned, if that you were my agent, my next contract at SportsNet would pay me $12. That's what I just learned. Wow.

Eight and a half for nine would make him the highest paid player on the senators. It doesn't matter. It's low now. He's, I think he's close to 10, if not over. Like a top center in this league? Yeah, I agree. I mean, would you not consider Tim Stutzler to be their top center? Yeah, but the thing is, Kyle, you're making, here's the mistake you're making, okay?

The world has changed now. All those deals are outdated. They are outdated. You are right. Stutzla is the number one center. Like, you're not wrong. But that deal was signed three years ago. I know that.

I know that. But I was also, I guess, considering... When that deal was signed, you were still in diapers three years ago. Yeah, that's right. And you look better than you do now. Well, that's, you know, that goes without saying. But, like, he's a $10 million guy now on an eight-year deal. Okay.

On the open market, I would say, for sure. I guess I was so just considering within the context of Ottawa's salary structure. I just, I don't know that you can look at that stuff anymore. And anyway, so I just don't think, and I don't think Ottawa was willing to do that. Like, where I think you're sort of right is that I think Ottawa looked at it the same way you do. We do not want to blow our salary structure. And that's why I don't think this ever got to be an eight year deal. Like, I don't think, I I think if Ottawa could get him at eight times eight, they would have done that yesterday.

But I just don't think, I just look at the landscape and I don't think that's viable. So I also don't think you can quote or reference the bald truth as much as you do and then also say, well, that stuff doesn't matter anymore. You. No, no, no. Your situation, each situation is different. That's what the bald truth is.

Yeah, that's what I'm getting at. In Ottawa, it may be different than somewhere else, a.k.a.a. The open market. Okay. All right. All right. I don't think you're quoting the book accurately, but I appreciate you attempting to throw my own stuff at me. I respect that game. I do. Anyway, I don't think there was going to be an eight-year deal that was going to work in this particular case.

and I think he was willing to sign like one thing I did here and I heard this from multiple places I think that both the senators and the player wanted this to end yes they wanted it to be over like there were some times that the rumor going around was negotiations were going to break off I think it had been reported in some places that negotiations were breaking off and they weren't going to continue, but like the one of the things that always scares me about reporting that stuff is that, like, if I, if you and I are doing a negotiation and you say, I don't want to talk about this anymore, there's nothing that makes me say, I can't keep making you offers. You can say that I don't want to talk about anymore, but I can say, hey, I can do whatever I want,

and here's another offer, and it makes you think. Like, I do think at different times, both of them restarted it because they wanted to get this done. I heard the senators really wanted to get it done, and I heard Pinto really wanted to get it done. And so four times seven and a half, it's a great deal for Pinto because he gets the money and security. It's a great deal for the senators because they get the player's side. And as you said, Kyle, they stay kind of in their salary. structure. But here's why I think it's a super big win for the senators. Because in a league where people are dying for Sanders, Ottawa now has Stutzley for five more years, Pinto and Cousins for

more. So you know you've got one, two, three, Stutzla Pinto cousins, in whatever order you want put them and you can be flexible you can move guys around some of them can play wing like and and i think in a salary cap world flexibility is so important that is a big big win for ottawa and at the end of the day that's why the w is theirs now what it means in a few years there's going to be a lot of contracts coming up and they're going to have big decisions to make all over the place and so will the players. That's why I think that right now, if you are the Sanders, and you talk before about cards, you are all in. Mm-hmm. This is your window. And you know what? You have to push that window. You have to advance that window. You've got Kachuk signed. You've got Stutzliss sign. You've

got Sanderson signed. You've got Cousin signed. You've got Pinto sign. Look at all the guys. You got Batherson signed. These guys, you're never going to have them for better numbers. You're never going to have them in the prime of their lives anymore. You never know what's going to happen when these guys are free agents, stay, go, whatever, whatever. It doesn't matter right now. It does not matter. Ottawa is never going to be locked in better for years than they are right now. You have to go for it. You are all in, all in, push those chips in.

You're going for it. And I was thinking about it today, like just go back to, as you say, the new landscape, and you got to know, Ellie, I'm a big Shane Pinto fan, the person, the player, all of it. Good young player has hit 20 goals a couple of times. I mean, who knows what happens this year. I mean, if he gets hot again, 40's not out of the question. I would say he's their most trusted two-way center that they have. Those Stootzel is, I think off to a really great start, winning more draws than he ever has in the past.

But still within- Ridley-Greg locked in, too. Ridley-Greg forgot him. Yes. Thanks for adding that. But I just thought, like, you know, six, seven years ago, a player of Pinto's caliber, I mean, he's gone through injury early on in his career. nothing's ever guaranteed in this world. You know, if a team's coming at you with eight years,

98 times out of 100 at least, a guy like Pinto's going, yeah, an eight-year deal, that kind of security, light-changing money. Absolutely. As long as it's somewhere within what would be considered market value, let's go here. Different world now. Different world.

It's not just the elite of, the elite going, I'm okay sign in a little shorter term, even, you know, what I would consider good players, very good players, ones you win with like Pinto, aren't afraid to go that road either. Kyle, you're right. When you're right, you're right. It happens. Yes.

It doesn't happen often, but it can happen. It can occur. But like I said, it's awesome. model with time, you know, and the thing about that is, it doesn't matter if people think they're ready or not. Circumstances dictate it's now. The time is nigh, as that quote is so well known in that market. And suddenly they wake up Friday morning tied with Montreal atop the division.

Billy Cundiff kicked the extra point for the Cowboys. That was a rough night for Montreal. A really rough night for Montreal. Oh, yes. They've played pretty well. Was it the Alouettes or the Canadians that gave up a touchdown? Yeah, do the Taylor Swift, shake it off, lick your wounds, get ready to play Saturday. Largest shutout loss in the history of what is now known as the Bell Center.

Really? Yeah. And when you think about, I mean, there were some lean years that cropped up along the way since that building opened in 96, but never as bad as shutout loss as that one on Thursday night. You didn't think it would happen with this group. We all have our stinkers. No, we all have our stinkers. Like I said, you expect five a year. Five a year, you expect those stinkers.

That was one. Eat it and move on. They've generally played well. You mentioned the Panthers briefly earlier, and Brad Marshawn hitting 1,000 career points, the 102nd player to do it. I thought we would just throw that in there. Congratulations to him. I know not necessarily here, but around this time last year, it was Marshawn Hall of Famer question mark. I think there's not many places anymore where that question mark still exists.

That was just a terrible take from Kelly and BXA. Awful. Hey, they were, I'll tell you, they were not the only ones. You thought that too? No, no, no, no. Okay. Elliot, I was saying you and I were like going, for sure. I was just people I heard from.

That's all I was saying. That take aged poorly, just like Kelly and Kevin. Okay, Vancouver. That's your Demco. They said two to three weeks for a timeline there. How cautiously do you pursue? seed with that one? I just think when it comes to Demko, and they go into Carolina, like that

Lankanin signing might actually be one of the most important signings of the of the past couple of years because he has been huge for them. And now he's going to have to be huge for them again as Demko works his way through this. I just think with Demko it's so you have to be so careful when discussing a timeline because over the past couple of years timelines have proven to be a very difficult thing with him and like one of the things I like look I'm not a doctor okay um I wouldn't even be allowed into a medical school to visit. But you have to wonder, like they,

they talked about how, you know, he was sore last week and whatever's bothering him now has got nothing to do with what happened last week. You just wonder with all those injuries if it's all interconnected somehow that his body's been through so much and he's had so many injuries, you know, small, More than that, that there's some level of compensation going on here.

And I want to make something very clear. I think that Demko is doing everything he can to play. Like, I heard he was really down about this one because he really wants to be in the battle. He thinks he's a difference maker. Like a lot of guys, they want to play in the Olympics. but he knows and thinks he can be a difference maker for the Canucks, right? So I heard he was really disappointed about this. But I just think that over the last couple years,

there's been so many things we've heard about him and then timeline and it's off or something else pops up. The best thing you can just do is wait. What I go by is concern meter. The concern meter as I sense it, is not off the charts here. So until that happens, I don't freak out, but I don't believe in a timeline.

I just think the toughest thing, I think it's the toughest thing for everybody involved is they want them to be available and he wants to be available. It's just a struggle and you're wondering if all these injuries are connected somehow. Right. And you can kind of see the weight of all of that around that team. Because as you pointed out, they battle, they battle. They know Demko's kind of battle to be in there.

Yeah. But this isn't a new story, unfortunately. And it just, you can kind of feel it from 30,000 feet away. It's interesting. So a buddy of mine who lives out there and it's not Dom said to me, you got to watch their post games and those guys

their post games are tough to watch right now and maybe it's because Dom's in the scrums no but he doesn't ask any questions so he can't be the one of them they're like oh god the thing that I think about all this is

those guys are grinding they're not getting the results but they're grinding right and I don't know I think you play hard you know it was really interesting the flames last year when they were charging towards the playoffs and how defiant they are about people being told that they should tank and they kind of talked about how like Anderson at the end of the years said you know people are morons they don't understand the players don't want to hear that like basically his whole soliloquy about that like i kind of wonder all that in vancouver right now like

the results aren't always going their way but those guys are playing their hearts out and i i'm wondering if it's just like calgary they hear the tank talk and they're like do you not see like we're giving everything we've got here we don't want to hear about tanking so I kind of look at that and wonder if this is all interconnected too

yeah I could see it it's just the heaviness again in Vancouver for different reasons of course but you know like I don't I don't I don't think it's the same as last year no no no of course like last year I wasn't trying to compare

No, I know what you mean, but last year they were combusting internally. I don't see it the same way right now. Like, I think those guys, like, like, one of the things I'm really watching is Nashville. Like, these two games that are in Sweden, they suddenly feel very, very heavy for the Predators. like these these games I think they really matter like all games matter I guess that's stupid thing for me to say but these games they're really important for Nashville like decisions could be made if depending on the way they play here that's how it feels I thought like last Saturday they had a game against Dallas they lost but I thought they played hard. And then they had that game in Madison Square Garden, which was a total slump buster for the Rangers.

They couldn't score, they couldn't win, and then they just exploded all over Nashville. I just think that's what you watch, right? Is a compete level of a team. And that's why I want to see what the predators are like. Like, when I watch the Canucks, I don't see a team that's quit at all. I think they're a team that's really competing. And I think when you're competing, and they just had a weekend where they got three

out of four points and are really tough back to back. But I just think when you feel you're really competing and you don't get the results and you know that the tank conversation is happening. around you I think these guys despise it and the flames reminded me of that last year the other team by the way that these games really feel heavy for right now

is Buffalo and they just lost to Colorado after giving up a lead in Utah the night before yeah they again like I thought and both like Utah they came out and then they lost control the game and I was watching this Colorado game they were down two nothing six minutes in they pulled lion and they really

fought back before Colorado just completely overpowered them the avalanche are an absolute machine right now they cannot be stopped at least at this point in the season but the games like you look right now it always switches right but the games feel really heavy in Toronto and they feel really heavy for Nashville and they feel really heavy

for Buffalo really heavy and you know it was interesting like so Mike Leone who's there coach in Rochester and I've heard really good things about him he he had some pretty

blunt public comments on Wednesday night about Devin Levi and there's been some reports that Levi has asked for a trade I don't believe that but I do think the Sabres know that

I don't believe Levi's asked for a trade I don't but I do think the Sabres know that when they sign him they told him there was there was going to be a path for him to play I got in trouble a couple years ago because I used the word guaranteed and the sabers got mad at the word guaranteed and I shouldn't have said it but what they told him was there was a path for him to play there and I think the sabers know that after a couple

years in the HL, and he's generally played very well there, recent moments excluded. I thought that was like people are, people can say what they want to say that doesn't bother me.

Sticks and Stones takes a lot for words to hurt me. It just, it feels heavy in Buffalo right now. Just feels heavy. For Sabres fans, It's like that line from the movie holes.

I'm tired of this, grandpa. That's too damn that. And like I said earlier, as it stands right now, I don't think there's anything with Thompson. I know there were some rumors and reports this week. I don't believe there's anything there right now. With the caveat that things can always change,

but as we record this podcast on Thursday night, I don't think there's anything to that. Elliot, for those that stayed up late on Thursday night, they were treated to a heck of a finish in Vegas between the Golden Knights and the Islanders. Looked like New York was in a great spot. Their two-go lead evaporates. Vegas goes ahead.

They challenge for goalie interference. It stands. They've got to kill off the penalty. Barzell ties at late. Unbelievable overtime that ultimately ends in a Jean-Gabriel Pajon. short-handed tally to seal it for the islanders. They're in the middle of a four-game road trip. They've won their first three free.

They had a failed challenge. They had two bench minors. Two bench miners for too many men, including one in overtime, which was one of the worst changes I've ever seen. And they still won the game. like I would love to know even the most pure Islander fan when they saw that penalty

in overtime, no way they were thought they were winning that game. But great play by Pajot, great play by Pajot. How many times have you seen a great pass from Duran this year? Boy, he's looked great.

It looked really good. Barzell finished it. Big goal for him. Who's the rookie leader in points again? Schaefer. Mm-hmm. Another goal for him. I don't know how much thing Power of the Islanders have.

We'll see, but there's no question that the aura is different. Yes. And as we talked about earlier, Elliot, in the Eastern Conference in particular. The kids call it aura. Oh, and they got it. Yes. Schaefer's got it in Spades. And as we talked about earlier in the Eastern Conference in particular, I don't

want to say it's filled with mediocrity, but there's a lot of water treading early on. So it's allowed a team like New York to stay in the mix. While Sorokin's kind of finding his game again, right? He made some big saves in overtime, too. Like, that's a big one for him. I just watched him at the end of the year, and I said, this guy is not that bad. He just isn't. And, you know, I'll tell you what was interesting was someone said to me that he would have taken, like they changed their goalie coach, Piro Greco. They said that that would have really bothered him.

That Sorokin really liked Greco, but he would also feel really disappointed himself that his performance would have led to that change. So I kind of wondered, they said that Sorokin's kind of sensitive that way. So I kind of wondered if that would affect him too, but I just didn't believe he would stay like that. He's too good. That's a big game. So you know how I got a text when this one Andy Kyle.

You know how we always call the Knights the standard bearer? Like when you play them, you know, Detroit had played them. We wanted to see, okay, what are they made of? One nothing game. Good game. Anaheim played them, beat them with their backup, Marazic. Someone said that standard bear are struggling right now. And I said, you know, easy.

Everybody goes through bad stretches. But the Knights will be in an ornery mood, four points on a six-game homestand. I would bet that in their history, which is impressive, the Knights haven't had too many homestands as bad as that one. Look out St. Louis on Saturday night. Yeah, like they're really banged up. They got a lot of injuries.

Hill is out. Stone is out and all they've got they've got some guys hurt they're not the same but everybody's got injuries everybody wobbles during the season

the nights are in their wobbly phase by the way I'm watching just before we get to our couple of our final things here Kyle I'm watching the guy Colorado Buffalo on and the post game

came on and there's this great they're on this great set with the couch and they're talking, I don't think John Michael Liles has enough buttons undone on his shirt. Like it's practically undone to his belt. Really? Undo another button, John. So he would fit in great with you and Kevin and Kelly and Ron at the end of the show

on Saturdays before after hours. Nobody wants to see that for me. I can tell you that much. No, no, you keep that buttoned up, but John, I think, has got a little more freedom to express himself. Let me say it that way. Okay, so I got to tell you something. Do you look at your 4U tab on Twitter or X or whatever we're calling it these days?

Do you check this thing out much? If I'm ever running low on nightmare fuel, yeah, I'll flip over there. Yeah, there is some of that. Like, I just want to say this. I don't know what I touched that did this to my algorithm. But my The rest of us don't want to know either. Yeah, seriously.

But my 4U tab this week has been filled with young hockey fans saying things like I'm a 24-year-old San Jose Sharks fan and I'm looking for some moots. I was yesterday years old

when I learned that mid-20 people, people you refer to mutuals as moots and I'm like what are all these things doing in my timeline and you know first of all I don't engage with any of them because I'm 55 and that's super creepy but I could not believe how I was flooded with these things so but I started reading some of them and I thought it was interesting and I just want to say the hockey community is a great community and I hope all you guys meet some new people out there and continue forming a fun hockey fandom. But my God, I have to get this out of my timeline. I started muting it all because

I was like, this is not what I need to see. The problem is though, you clicking on them and continuing to read further does not help get them out of your algorithm. So it does the I figured that out, but I was curious, and I was like, start muting. Like, mute this conversation, not interested. Mute this conversation, not interested. But I was like, what are all these things doing in my time? And I know it goes to, I don't know what I pressed that sent me down this rabbit hole.

But I was like, this should not be for me. That's right. It is one of the great oxymorons in our world. Harold Elliott, the 4U tab on X because it rarely ever is. You know what? I call it the not for me tab because there's so much stuff on there. I'm like, there's no way that I should have this for me because I am not remotely interested in it and I don't want to be near it. But I'm glad you found some sort of positive out of that.

And yes, I echo it. Wonderful place to get to know people. And I hope it all works out for those looking for moot. I felt like Fred Gwyn and my cousin Vinnie. What's a Ute? Yeah. That's good. That is good, Elliot.

Okay, well, let's get to the final thought here, Elliot. And on Thursday, hockey media landscape lost a giant. There's really no other way to put it. Longtime sports writer Larry Brooks, many, many decades with the New York Post, passed away. at age 75 after a short bout with cancer, who's the Elmer Ferguson Award recipient with the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. There was some really

wonderful tributes out there on Thursday Elliot, whether it was John Rosasco who ran PR for the Rangers for a long time. Molly Walker, who had been his beat teammate with the Rangers for the last number of years at the post. She really big part of where the future of hockey

media is going is a wonderful job. Steve Levy and John Tortorella on ESPN Thursday night as well. That was great. really, really cool. And, you know, of course, the history between Tortorella and Brooks and the avenue that John took on television there on Thursday was really special. I'll say, Elliot, like my age where I grew up with, like I didn't really get to experience the world where sports writers really wielded a lot of power in their respective markets. Like the landscape was starting to change as I was beginning to understand how that all worked, but certainly have a great deal of respect and admirable. for those who did it back then and continue to do it now. And he managed to transcend an ever-changing industry. And you really saw that with how all the reaction kind of poured in on Thursday. I find it very interesting that you mentioned that because I think that's a great point that I think a lot of people, you know, your age and younger, find it very hard to understand how that was where the power, like we're now.

now in the digital media world, whether it's broadcast, whether it's YouTube, podcasting, those are the people who have all the power. And before, it used to be the newspaper columnist. So I'm glad you brought that up. I think it says a lot about the work that Larry Brooks did that Hugh still kept that respect and that power in an age where it started to go away. So I think that's a great tribute that you give to him in the introduction to this. I forgot about this story, but I was reminded about it later today.

When Eric Lindros was traded to the New York Rangers, I went down to the media conference in New York. I flew down to New York to interview him at the introductory media conference. and I there were obviously there were a lot of people there it was a big story I remember uh going down into the uh souvenir shop right on the premises and someone running in we happen to be there when someone bought like the first Lindross jersey that they sold a Ranger jersey so remember the price $285 US and they went and they bought it but like all the media was lined up everybody was waiting to talk to him like all of us in tv are doing our one-on-ones

and i remember there was somebody there and i and they were a person who worked for msg but i don't remember who it was and they were like larry's waiting we got to get him to talk to larry and you know what like all the tv stations and the radio stations they had earlier deadlines and they were trying to get us done but there was somebody there who was like and he would have the later deadline they were like we got to get

him talking to Larry and they weren't concerned about anybody else it was Larry Brooks and that show and you know the thing is like there were a lot of great tributes today

and they were all deserved but there was a fear of what he could do when he was mad or he was upset. And that's not the worst thing. Sometimes it's good to have people be a little bit afraid of you. But as everyone talked about, he could also treat you very well. He could also be

very warm. I thought Henrik Lundquist column was really interesting, really well done. You mentioned Molly's column. You know, the thing is, like about Tortorella and the thing that was with him and Steve Levy, which I thought was excellent, was that when everybody thinks of Tortorella, they think of those crazy exchanges they had. And I was, I'm pretty sure I was at the one, the famous one. The Tampa one? Yes. I think I was there.

Was it Tampa Jersey? Yes. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we did a couple games of that Tampa Jersey series. and I was there. If you were there, I think Jeff Girdat was there as well. Yes, yes, we did. That's right. So, but you know what, what Tortorella said I thought was great?

Because this is important lesson for everyone is that he talked about how they could have those things. And the next day Larry Brooks was there. And I've talked about that in my own career, how, Dave Perkins told me, if you're going to say something, first of all, you should never say anything that you'd be afraid to say to someone's face, which I believe in. And secondly, if you're going to say something, you better show up. And you know what? Like, Kyle, in the old newspaper day, they always showed up, right? So he did. And when I was more of a day-to-day reporter or more of a ringside reporter, I always showed up.

But like right now, whenever a team comes to Toronto, I always try to go to the skate. So that if anybody has a problem, then they can say it to me. It's not the same as what he did because he was there every day. But the fact that Tororella mentioned that, I think that's so important because people notice who does that. people notice who's accountable and who's not. And even if people were scared of him or were mad at him or were angry at something he did, I think what they always appreciated was he was always there.

And I like the fact that Tortoella mentioned that because I think that's so important. If you're going to say something about someone, you've got to stand up for yourself. And Larry never lost the passion. like he he never lost the passion for it i really liked what you said on the fan hockey show on Thursday too is that like it just killed him the idea of submitting a column that he didn't he wasn't a hundred percent satisfied with like i got all the time in the world for people that hold themselves to that kind of standard because i really try to operate that way too like it's i do too i don't often i don't live up to it i

I would say that... You and me both. I would say that Larry lived up to that more than I did, no question. But, yeah, like, he hated it if he didn't do a really good job, really good job. And you know what? I loved reading his column. And I really did. And, you know, I think that the challenge of this for a lot of people that really cared about him was that it just happened kind of quick.

Like, people didn't know. and it was so fast. And, you know, my family went through that about a year ago, and that's the worst thing about it, is that we just don't have control over these situations. A lot of ink spilled on Thursday to honoring the life of Larry Brooks, and not many spilled ink with greater impact than he did over the course of his time covering hockey and sports

in one of the toughest markets to do it in North America. So sending our best to friends and family of Larry Brooks there. That'll be the final thought. Why don't we take our first break and come back with the Thoughtline. 32 Thoughts. The podcast continues after this. All right, welcome back. Before we get to the thought line, wanted to shout out two of our listeners, Phil and Stephen, who heard Dom share his story of dealing with

Afib last pod. They were kind enough to write in, share their stories of going through something similar. Stephen even shared that he made a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation as Dom is growing a mustache as part of Movember 4. So we wanted to shout them out. And Dom, I know you wanted to say something.

Yeah, Dom, you wanted to say something as well. Yeah, I've had a number of people reach out through Instagram and through Twitter just to share their stories of having A-Fib and thanking me for speaking out and sharing mine. So I just want to thank everybody who's listened and shared their stories and have donated. It means more to me than I can express here on the podcast. But as someone who's going through this, it's heartwarming to know that there are others who are going through something similar. And we kind of have each other's back.

So it's nice to hear. Great. Well done, John. Very well said, Dom. Great job. Thank you, Stephen. Thank you, Phil. Okay. Yes, thanks, guys. To the guts of the thought line here. Actually, before we get to that, this segment of the podcast, like a nice warm sweater, Elliot, as you know, not too much pressure. We try to keep the stress out of it, though that doesn't always work. There's the thought line, and then there's the alt line, the friege line that we like to address before we get into the real heart of the matter. So, Elliot, what's been on your mind? Who have you heard from? What have you heard the last few days that has to get in? First of all, the reason that Kyle is calling this the comfortable sweater portion of the podcast is that I just showed him and Dom a photo of a beautiful blue velour sweater I just bought.

And I look forward to modeling it for everyone in the future. It popped up online. As you know, they're always listening to us on our phones. They heard you talk about going on. They heard me talk about I wish I had a beautiful blue bluer sweaters, yes. And a deal came that I could not pass up.

So like I said, I look forward to modeling this in the future. Okay, yes, I did get some notes. Jennifer Kaufman, J.N. Kaufman on Twitter is a regular listener and someone who sends notes from times to time. And she wrote in support of you, Kyle. In the controversy last podcast when you ruined the trivia question, Jennifer said,

no, she's came, she rushed to your defense. My son and I totally followed your line of questioning in the thought line today. The kid said, well, yeah, because we were listening to what Kyle was saying. Sorry about whatever that says about Frege and Dom. Jennifer, you seem like a really nice person, but you and your son are completely wrong. However, I did get also a note from, as this is an Instagram DM from John Freeman, he said, just listened to the last pod, wanted to inform you that Kyle's antics did not just ruin the entire thought line for me, but put a blemish on the entire episode. Thank you for your heartfelt apology. and no, it was definitely not your fault.

Thank you, John. Oh, isn't that sweet? Thank you, John. And let me just say, the overwhelming majority of responses I received, over 50,000 were on your side of the equation. 50,000. Who are you? The FCC? Blowing numbers out of proportion?

That's right. No, 50,000 sounds like a reasonable number. Not at all made up. Just a couple other notes. Dave Isaac, who covered the Philadelphia Flyers for a long time, a regular listener to the pod. We were talking about freak injuries. He reminded me of one that I completely forgot about.

In 2004, Eric Desjarnan, the great flyer defenseman, had a metal plate inserted in his right arm during the season, and it broke while he was playing catch with his son right, on the eve of the playoffs. So he missed the entire postseason. And as Dave pointed out, and I completely forgotten, for years, Ken Hitchcock said that the Flyers would have won the Stanley Cup in 2004 if Desjardin does not get hurt. And you'll remember, they played a fierce series with the Tampa Bay Lightning right before

the lightning defeated the flames in the Stanley Cup final. and Hitchcock did save for years that if Desjardin was healthy, he felt the Flyers would have won. That's a great one. Really good. Dan McEwen was a guy who sent a couple of notes. He mentioned December 2013,

Anton Volchenkov missed a game from New Jersey, and Lou Lamarillo called it total body soreness, which is classic. Lamarillo. McEwen also brought up some multi-sport athletes. He brought up Haley Wickenhizer, who not only great hockey player, but also represented Canada at the Olympics and softball. That's right. Can't believe we forgot that. And he also talked about a legendary men's fastball team from Saskatchewan. I love fastball. That included Wendell Clark, Joey Kosher,

Barry Melrose, Kelly Chase, Kevin Kaminsky, and Carrie Clark. Apparently, the team had six Clarks, three koshers, and two Melrose's. I'm going to bet that nobody looked at that team with an evil eye. Can you imagine? You touching back any of those? And you moved on. Finally, the last one I had, Brandon Lovas, Dom, he had a bit

of an issue with you. He said the last pod should have been titled Medmonton or Edmatton. You know what? That's genius.

I should have done that. Yes, Dom, you should be more creative. Brandon, you're hired. Title editor. This is become, instead of the alt line, this is like the airing of grievances.

Friedman, just all the issues you have with me, all the problems with Dom. There's the thought line and there's the thoughts on the thought line. But I like the daily festivus. That's what we're going to call it. The daily festivus. The

airing of grievances. When you can't wait until the 23rd of December, you've got to get them out now. That is great. Also, just this is almost as good as the thought line itself, I have to say. Yeah. Right? This is the Manning cast version of the thought line. Two alternate listening options, one before the other. Okay, also just wanted to give a quick shout out to Curtis who sent a DM on Insta. We were talking about Sergei Federov still wearing graph skates. He sent me a photo of not only a pair of

graphs that he picked up recently to wear in Men's League, but also a pair of Nike Zoom errors, which Fedorov made famous as well, those all white Nike skates, which were beautiful. And I could not believe the photo that he sent how good of shape the Nike skates in particular still are in. So for those out there that are still looking after, those old, old pieces of beautiful equipment, I thank you. Thank you. I thank you. All right. Yeah, those, I remember when he first showed up with those skates and what a big deal they were. Yeah, they were great. Gretzky wore him for a bit, too, towards the end. What a fun look.

Okay, here's one. Carrie and Calgary. Greetings gentlemen. I normally wouldn't criticize Elliot's reporting pedigree, but I am disappointed by his lack of follow-up on one of the biggest stories to hit the thought line this season. Like many of us, I am wondering what happened to the raccoon that took up residence in your barbecue. Since we haven't seen a raccoon fricasse recipe turn up and serve it up, Steph, I assume our masked friend is still roaming your neighborhood. Did you get a new barbecue and have you outfitted the old one as a guest house? These are the burning questions that still run through my mind. Now, I got to take the hit for that one because I did. and stay on you, wondering what happened here? The raccoons are still around.

We have a bad raccoon issue around our house. They leave a lot of gifts, shall we say. And we have done, like, I am open to suggestions. I am pleading to the thought line people for suggestions. So, ah, what the heck? I'll tell this story. I don't know where this story. I don't know how this is going to be received and if I'm going to get in any trouble for it.

So let's just tell it. So one of the things that happened, so we would call people, we put traps out like humane traps, where a raccoon would get caught and they would release it somewhere else. I'm not looking to run afoul of the raccoon. police out here um we set up sprinklers and the raccoons have been laughing at all of this they are completely undeterred so what one guy told me was like because you can't you can't put poison out you can't put stuff like that like you can get charged for that so what one guy told me was there's one thing you can try and i said okay

they said the raccoons have marked their territory. They're like, their waste is there. So they are saying this is ours. It's called a raccoon latrine if you're not familiar with this. I've learned way too much about this stuff. So they say, so the guy said to me, you're going to have to mark the territory yourself. And I'm like, what?

Pardon? He goes, you have to go there and you have to mark the territory yourself. Like, urinate on it. Oh, my God. So I did. I did it. Okay. Because.

What? Because, in theory, you're trying to tell them that, no, this is not your territory. It's my territory. So is this just on your property? Yes. Okay. You didn't go on anyone else's. I'm not, I'm not going in doing anything on.

other people's property, Kyle. You'd be like, it's for the good of the neighborhood. I have respect for other people's boundaries, okay? Unlike certain other people who do this podcast. But not only did that not work, the raccoons were like, oh, yeah, you think you own this? They did it more. Oh, my gosh.

Yeah. So you are locked into psychological warfare with the raccoons. And you know what finally someone said to me? They said, no offense, but you're going to lose. Like basically, basically someone said to me that if you really want to win this fight against them, you have to basically dig up your property, remove, like, anywhere they've ever gone, and then put out the traps and basically start it all over again. I'm like, I don't know about that.

So any ideas anybody has, I will take them. No wonder you bought the sweater. You just needed a win here, oh, buddy. That's right. So I'll tell you, one other funny story last year was, so every night at the end of the season, when I'm done July 1st, first opportunity I get, I have a cigar out on my back deck.

Season's over. Have a cigar. Just relax. Say, you know what? It's been a long year. Here's what you did well. Here's what you did not very well, which is a very long list. That's what takes me the most time to finish the cigar.

And so this year, actually, sorry, it wasn't this year. It was a year ago that this happened. So a year ago, I'm out on the cigar. I'm out on the back deck. I'm smoking to cigar. It's like 8.30 at night. Starting to get a little bit dark, 9 o'clock, darker. All of a sudden I look up and there's a raccoon on my deck, on the railing, on top of the railing.

And I didn't see it. I kind of jumped when I saw and it was looking at me. And it was looking at me like, you think this is your deck? No, it's not your deck. This is my deck. Finish your cigar and go inside. And that's pretty much what happened. If you only knew then, that was the start.

That was the warning shot. So, Carrie and Calgary, you know, when I go through the short list that Griffin Porter sends us and things like this come up, I look at it and I go, this could lead to something. Maybe it leads nowhere. I had no idea that this was the journey we were about to be all taken on. courtesy of our fearless leader. Fridge, I feel for you, man. Like, that's... It's tough, man.

It's tough out there. Yeah, it's tough. The Raccoons, man. With no end in sight. If Raccoons had hockey sticks, they'd win the Stanley Cup every year. I don't care about the Panthers. I don't care about the Oilers. I don't care about the Golden Knights.

I don't care about anybody. Raccoons would win the Stanley Cup every year, every year. Analytic darlings. Zone time through the roof. Okay. I guess you should get on to some actual hockey stuff here. Oh, I don't know if anything we're going to do is going to be as good as that. No, I had no idea that that was going to raise a bar that there's no possible way we can reach the rest of the way.

But damn it, I guess we'll try. Only Sergey Bubka can pull vault over that. Okay, let's go. Okay, Drew writes in, hey guys, became an avid listener last season. He is wondering about... Retaining the rights for NCAA players after they are drafted and for how long they have to sign them after they leave college. He says, I remember the Jimmy Visi situation, but I hadn't understood the full details. So in his mind, he's going, does this mean that NCAA players actually have zero obligation to sign with the team that drafts them?

For example, Gavin McKinnon can just refuse to sign and then one day sign wherever he likes. Would a NHLGM use a draft pick on a player who can just choose to sign elsewhere? This is so preposterous that I feel like I must not fully understand. So please help. We are here for you, Drew. It's a really good question. And as confusing as it might be, it's a very simple answer. We can solve this problem for you.

anybody who was drafted out of the USHL or the NCAA or Europe they're basically all three the same the team has their rights for four years four years so let's just say that Gavin McKenna was taken first overall the team that took him would have his rights for four years so McKenna eventually

could become an unrestricted free agent but it would take four years for that to happen So that is, now the Canadian Hockey League is two years because most of those players, they can't play in the CHL anymore after, I mean, you get a certain small number of overagers, but basically you can't play after 20, right? So you become, they keep your rights for two years, and if you're still under 20 and eligible to be drafted, you can be drafted again before you become a UFA. But anybody taking it out of the U.S.HL or Europe or the NCAA, it's four years that a team has your rights before they become a UFA. Yeah. And for the question about, well, what's the point in drafting these players if they just have the ability to leave without signing? I mean, certainly there is a lot of homework done on the team side leading up to the draft, right, Elliot of going, okay, if we take this guy, are we confident he's going to one day end up here?

And although it is four years like Kyle like four years we could all be hit by buses tomorrow that's a long time yes exactly and I just that was my other point too for every Jimmy Visi situation there's also other ones of players going holy smokes they're being offered a contract by an NHL team it's not going to be very long until entry level deals are worth seven figures it's hard to say no to very hard Drew thank you for that and great to have you aboard Thomas from Dallas. Yeah, thanks for coming on, Drew. We really appreciate it. Hi, Elliot, Kyle, Dom, and the good people at SportsNet Stats. Last Saturday afternoon, long-time Dallas defensive stalwart, Esa Lindell, played the last five minutes and 22 seconds of the game against Nashville, including two minutes of shorthanded time,

five different shifts from his defensive partners, and 11 different forwards. While Stars fans are used to seeing Lindel not come off, the ice in close games, and our commentators often note that he has the most short-handed ice time since coming into the league, I was wondering, what is the longest shift a player has stayed on the ice to close out a game? Ooh. So this one comes with a bit of a caveat, Alley, that you know.

Now, I'll tell you this. There are some, I remember, like Jason Strudwick had a pretty famous. five-minute one. Ryan Smith had a really long one when he was trying to set the Oilers record for most power play goals ever. I think he was on the ice for like five minutes. But the one I remember is Jack Hughes. Does Jack Hughes have the record?

According to our people at Sportsnet stats, he does not. Oh, because I remember Jack Hughes had a six-minute. shift. I don't remember. I'll look it up what the exact time was, but Jack Hughes had a six minute shift while the devils were trying to score and tie a game. That I remember. Okay. Well, now I've got to go final to make sure it's, because if it's six minutes. So what do you have? What do you have? John Klingbird. Oh, really? In January of 2022, played the final 552 of a game.

Ooh, I'm going to write all this down. I'm going to put this in my notes when I write next. So you have 552 for Klingberg. Yes. That's to end the game. So the final 552 of the third period. So edged out Lindell from the other night by 30 seconds. Just imagine you play 522 in your 30 seconds off, the longest shift.

I'd be like, what's the point? Coach, put me out earlier next time. I'm going to be out there that. I might as well set the record. Like, come on. Yeah. So Jack Hughes, it goes back to December 9th, 2020, and the news story says he played the last 602 of the game against the Islanders. Now, I'm going to go, I'm going back to that game on NHL.com, and I'm going to look at the time on ice.

Oh, you're right. I just pulled up the ship chart. You pulled up, I'm looking at time on ice, yeah. So, yeah, it says 1358 to 20 minutes, 602. So barring us coming out with something else, I think that's the record holder. Wow. Well done. The funny thing is in that game, before he took that shift, he'd played 617 of the third period.

Like, that's how much he'd played. His entire last shift almost double. his ice time he just missed that's crazy one of my favorite stories about this Gary Galley tells a phenomenal story I can't remember who his partner would have been in

LA but he got trapped out there and he said they got trapped out there for like three or four minutes and Rob Blake jumped off the bench and you have to understand like Gary's

when Gary played with Blake Gary would have been 35 years old and he said that Rob Blake jumped off the bench and they were like what are you doing? And he said I couldn't watch you guys suffer out there anymore

and they got too many men ice penalty which is actually not a bad move all things considered. Like if you're really in a blender in your own zone. I can't remember who he said his partner was, but just quickly looking at it, it had to be Sean O'Donnell or Doug Bodger,

like one of those two guys. My gosh. Heads up play by Rob Blake there. I can't watch this anymore. I'm putting his short-handed. Okay. So to wrap this one up, remember last pod,

the Sharks fan wrote in asking about, how many first career goals came against his team. He was convinced San Jose was near the top. Yes. And the one where that's the one that you ruined? Yes. Yeah. 50,000 people indicated.

Yes. The one I ruined. Well, I'm going to attempt to redeem myself here today. Okay. Though that is far from a guarantee. So San Jose wasn't at the top of that list. In fact, they were ninth. New Jersey was, which sets up this first voicemail.

from Adam. Hello, Kyle Elliott and Dom. This is Adam. I'm a Devils fan calling live from outside the Prudential Center from for tonight's game against the Islanders. I'm calling in with a follow-up question about which teams have allowed the most first career goals that you were talking about. Because when I heard Elliot say every fan thinks it's their team when they're hearing

this. I was like, hey, I'm sure they are, but it's definitely us because this has been such a long-running joke amongst Devil's fans for years. And then when you said the answer, I had a pretty good deli laugh at that. So my question is this, in the cap era, which team has allowed the most goals to their former players? Because I feel like this happens all the time since Devils 2. It just happened last Saturday when Ryan Graves of all the players scored against us.

I'm curious to know if the Devils managed to leave a league in this unfortunate category two or if there's another team that somehow hasn't worked enough. Thanks and keep up the great work. okay so as Adam says he was outside the prudential center that is great Adam first of all I love that you made the call from outside the prudential center and so that was fantastic he went inside the prudential center to watch his devils play the New York Islanders this week there's a part two to this voicemail so there's a second part oh my god hi Kyle Dom and Elliot this is Adam from

New Jersey again, just wanted to call an update that Kyle Palmerie did score against the Devils tonight. So add one more to their tally of former players scoring against them. As you were. That is awesome. See, Adam, I respect that. You started the job and then you finished the job. You didn't have to do that, but you went the extra mile.

That is elite mindset, Adam. Great work. Elite mindset For the purpose of this one I know he asked for salary cap era It can be a tricky one to try to track down So what we're doing is I mean it's within the salary cap era of course

But this is active players in the NHL Who have scored against their ex teams And which team has taken the biggest beatings In this category So that's how we're doing this Okay I have no idea So hit me Just, I have, oh, you know what, I'll guess.

Let me just guess. Okay. Boston. Good guess. They, like New Jersey, are middle of the pack. Okay. The devils are 15th on this list. Okay.

So they were right about first goals, but they weren't right about former players. Exactly. So they've had 36, again, among active players, goals against them by, former devils, 15 players in total. Boston, one higher at 37. The top of this list, you ready? Yes. Actually, and the good people at SportsNetStats were kind enough to send the names this time.

So I don't have to panic and ruin the question. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to say some names of players and see if you can get the team. Okay. Yeah. They heard this, you know what, hold on, hold on, they heard this last pod. So they were like, Kyle did blow it. We're going to make sure he doesn't ruin it again.

Yeah. That's what this means. I appreciate there's someone here at this network looking out for me. Lord knows it's not you. Okay, ready for the names? Here we go. Yeah, yeah. Phil de no.

Montreal. Just wait. Okay. Anthony Duclair Corey Perry Gustav Forsley Those aren't all the names Those are just some

Oh jeez, Corey Perry I mean How many teams could that be Well, Phil Dono is Montreal or Chicago And I'll go with Montreal That's your guess? Yes With those other names I gave you?

Oh, No, then it has to be Chicago. It has to be Chicago. Yes. Because remember the way you did it last time? You gave a whole bunch, you gave two names. There were two teams. I thought you were doing that again.

No, you did. I could not have laid it out any planar for you. I was prepared this time. I thought all, I thought you were going to give me a bunch of names, but they could still be different teams. No, that's Chicago. Chicago's number one. They are 64. Wow.

22 players in total. Artemite Pinar and Dono leading the way. They have eight goals each against their old team in Chicago. Philip Dono has eight goals against Chicago? Surprising a little bit, eh? Like, I know he's been in L.A. for a few years now, but... Still, that is something. That's a great stat.

That's great work. Excellent. That was good, Adam. to take the time to come back and say, just had to update. If you're going to do a job properly, you've got to see it all the way through. Adam, like I said, elite mindset.

1833-3-3-1-321-32. If you would like to leave a voicemail or two like Adam did on the thought line, or you can email us at 32thoughts at sportsnet.com. We'll take one final break and put a bow on this edition of 32 Thoughts to the podcast when we return. All right, before we go, games to keep an eye on on the network this weekend for your viewing pleasure. Tonight, Vancouver Canucks can be seen nationally on Sportsnet.

They are in Carolina. You can see that at 7 Eastern 4 Pacific. Then on Saturday, it's a busy one this weekend. Hockey Central Saturday gets you set at 6.30 Eastern, 3.30 Pacific with Ron McLean and the gang. Four early games this weekend, including the Leafs in Chicago. That one on CBC, Sportsnet, Ontario, and Pacific and Omni. Original six matchup in Montreal as the Canadians look to bounce back from that ugly 7-0 loss on Thursday. They host the Bruins on Sportsnet Eastern City.

The L.A. Kings continue their road trip. into Ottawa. That one on SportsNet 1. The Edmonton Oilers, they play Carolina on Saturday on Sportsnet West. The lone lake game at 10 Eastern 8 o'clock Mountain. The Calgary Flames host the Winnipeg Jets for the All-Canadian Affair. Nazam Cadry, one of the newest members of the 1,000 Games Club will be the guests on After Hours this week with Scott Oak and Eric Francis. So stick around for that at the conclusion of the Jets and the Flames. A reminder, 32 thoughts, the music, playlist on Spotify's, where you can catch up on all the songs we have featured at the end of episodes throughout the season, including the latest one, courtesy of Nadia Hawa Baldi, aka Hawa B, who is a Montreal singer-songwriter who defies conventions. Her music creates a free space that invites new perspectives. Some will hear rock, others R&B, jazz, or electro, a bold mix, meticulously executed, leading to a unique and striking proposition. On stage, Hawa Bee hypnotizes with the depth of her voice

evoking the magical accents of siren songs. Je vu Resté is the irresistible new single from Howabee out now on Dupris Records and featuring longtime member of the Quebec hip-hop scene Greg Baudouin. You can see Howabee live November 21st in Rueh and Miranda, Quebec, the next night in Valdor, and also stops in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Gatno, over the month of December. Here now, Jevue reste by Hawa Bee

on 32Bot's The Podcast. to be normal I want to rest and let's my chance ecouli and the music is too far for to

listen to listen uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...

uh... uh... uh... uh... The last boss, post-life, that it's in the match, I've got to have a little after party. No, baby, I want to have to have another shot for me in the truck. It's correct, yeah. You can't take a relax.

I'm a do myself. That's for the tux. I go to check the dance floor, like what the bai. I dance for me, shakot. I'm a corny. It's for so that I flex, man. You have to give a spectacle. I don't know how we can do.

Still, I'm just born in the gestures. Oh, no. Yeah, I'm pretty crazy. It's maybe for that I got the game the man I'm a specieman weird man You've never seen a think of the man I've never seen a lot I've got no more

I've got to be normal I've been I've stayed here my chance is cool and even it's that you have to be oh cool

I want to rest I want to rest I want to rest I'm going to enter I'm going to the driver of this day Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.