32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Tin Foil Hats

Episode Date: March 27, 2023

Playoffs are around the corner! Jeff and Elliotte talk about the play of the Maple Leafs as of late and discuss a conspiracy theory that’s been making the rounds (2:30). They also get into the exciting game between the Bolts-Bruins (9:20), the future of the Jets core (15:30), Rod Brind’Amour’s 2nd-period interview against the Bruins (26:10), College free agent signings (33:20), things falling into place for Pittsburgh (36:40), Washington’s situation with Evgeny Kuznetsov (39:30), Devils clinch the playoffs (42:00), Seattle continue to roll (44:45) and what March 26th means in the hockey world (49:00).Plus, the guys congratulate Toronto Six for winning the Isobel Cup (00:00) and taking your questions (58:00).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailOutro Music: Kwamé - Push The Panic Button!!!Listen to the full track hereThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Bally Sports, KKSE-FM, KJR FM, NESN, Sportsnet, Toronto Maple Leafs Radio Network and WXDX-FM.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.

Elliot, before we start the podcast today, officially want to congratulate the Toronto Six of the PHF, winners of the Isabel Cup for the first time. That trophy is going north. Teresa Venosova is the overtime hero, the answer to the trivia question, who scored the winning goal for the Toronto Six to win their first championship.

What did you think of three-on-three overtime? I like it to begin with. Whenever I bring that up, I get treated horribly online, but I do like it. I do. I would like it for the NHL. I'm glad the PHF did it. I know this is, I know this is heresy and here come the angry tweets, but I like it. I have to say generally I hate it too, but I didn't mind it here.

It's not easy for me to say that because i never want to see it in the stanley cup final game never i want the stanley cup to be decided at five on five and overtime if that's the way it goes i did have to say i'm with you i didn't hate it like who are all the people that you know very well that you want to congratulate here for the championship victory i mean there's a few like you've heard me talk about soraya Tinker before. I think she's going to be a star at whatever she decides to do whenever her career is wrapped up. Not that I'm trying to wrap it up, because she's got a lot of hockey still to play.

I mean, Brittany Howard lit the league up this year. That was a major coup for the PHF. Lindsay Eastwood, I've always been a big fan as well. And Alexis Wallischuk from Winnipeg, congratulations. Listen, some real strong, powerful names in women's hockey as well. And that begins with Angela James. That begins with Sammy Jo Small. That begins with Geraldine Heaney.

So some big names, some accomplished athletes from the past and the present right now. Congratulations to everybody involved with the Toronto Six. It's your Monday edition of 32 Thoughts to the Podcast presented by GMC and the Sierra AT4X, Friedman Merrick and Delic as always. Plenty to get to here in a couple of moments, Elliot. We'll talk about the devil's clinching.

Congrats. You have Genny Kuznetsov saying, trade me right now. And some really interesting emails and phone calls as well we'll get to all these things over the course of however long this podcast takes but we'll start with the maple leafs and we should probably start by talking about sheldon keith the head coach who hasn't been shy well maybe a little bit shy when approaching the matt murray conversation but not shy after saturday's game vis-a-vis William Nylander.

And as in Toronto, a tiny thing is a huge thing, so we should probably talk about a couple of Globe and Mail articles over the weekend, but your thoughts right now, snapshot, big and small picture, Toronto Maple Leafs. I think it's been an interesting week. They've generally played pretty well on the

deserve to win-o-meter, Jeff. Ye old the deserve to win-o-meter jeff ye old deserve to win-o-meter they probably deserve to win against carolina on saturday night i thought they were the the better team uh most of the night uh they lost the game that happens sometimes uh you know my matthew's theory that yes he hurt, but I think he's also been tapering himself for the playoffs this year. He has a 60 goal season. He knows in the grand scheme of things, while it's a great accomplishment, it doesn't mean much in the overall picture unless the Leafs start winning in the playoffs. So I think he's getting going and getting on at the right time. Keith has been interesting to me this week.

He was critical of Nylander. Yeah, it's more, I just find, and he and I have talked about this, I just find when the puck's hitting his stick, his feet aren't moving to the same degrees on attacking. There's a lot more perimeter, a lot more just sort of getting rid of the puck. I want him to hang on to it.

I want him to challenge. I want him to be on the attack. I want to see lots of pace from him that's when he's at his best uh so that's really it just get back to doing that it's been it's been too long now since we've seen that consistently from him and nylander actually did make a poor play uh initially people were wondering about what the defensemen were doing, but Nylander was the one who made a poor play and they end up losing the game. And then after the game, Keefe was, it wasn't bad, but he did make the point about Murray that it's difficult to win with any sort

of regularity if you have to score more than four. So Matt's got to find a way to keep one or two of those out. That's just the bottom line. And I don't mind Coach being blunt. You know, hey, we always say we want people to be more entertaining and speak more honestly in hockey. We can't criticize them when they do. I think it just says to me that Keefe, he's starting to put his thumb down on this group,

that now is the time to play the way you want to play in the playoffs and we have to be like that right now like watching Tampa and Boston on Saturday the way John Cooper started Pat Maroon against the Bruins that was a tone setter you know we were talking about this actually as a group last night after the show, and it's how Cooper talks about the Lightning needs swagger, and there has to be a certain swagger with that team. Well, they're reeling a bit right now, and

Cooper puts out Maroon at the beginning of the game to get that swagger back in Boston. And as I see two coaches right now looking at a collision course, Toronto, Tampa, and the first round of the playoffs, and they are saying against this other team, we cannot give them goals. And from here on in, we have to be in that mindset for when the playoffs start in the third week of

April. And I just think that's what Cooper's doing. And I think that's what Keith's doing. Some interesting comments from Brendan Shanahan this weekend. And you talk about, what was it? The win-o-meter or deserve to win-o-meter? Yes. How about the tin foil hat meter around Toronto, which a lot of people like to wear at various times.

hat meter around Toronto, which a lot of people like to wear at various times. How much were the Brendan Shanahan comments over the weekend, a protein shake for the tinfoil hat wearing fans, not all of them, some of them around the Toronto Maple Leafs? I think the Versace tinfoil hats were coming out. Very stylish. Fresh off the runways of Bay Street,

the Versace tinfoil hats. Yeah, Bay Street The Versace tinfoil hats Yeah these were not the homemade tinfoil hats These were like the Gucci Versace tinfoil hats You know the ones that Cost you about $8,000 Or maybe you can get them For like $1,500 to $2,000

In the refurbished stores Yes they very much do make your skull look lean So it's a real accoutrement in the spring. Anyhow. It makes my head look less fat. Yes, absolutely. So like these were definitely out on Saturday. So the Globe and Mail had a couple of columns.

Both of them were by Cahal Kelly. One of them was an interview with Brennan Shanahan, as you said, and it was a nice, light, breezy read. I enjoyed reading it. And I have to tell you, I didn't think about this, but a friend of mine did. The other article was a column by Cahal Kelly, where he talks about how the Boston Bruins play with a renewed energy this year.

The same core, although Krejci's back, but generally the same core has a renewed energy this year. The same core, although Krejci's back, but generally the same core has a renewed energy this year playing under Jim Montgomery. And I just have to tell you, there were some people who looked at those two articles next to each other and they were like, this is a sign. You know, I said, okay, thank you for putting it on my radar. And I read the two articles and look, I just am mentioning this, that you watch that Keefe

is putting the thumb down on his guys. And again, I don't have any problem with that. You have to be disciplined heading into the playoffs. But I'm just saying that i know some people that the tinfoil hats they were they were being worn on sunday after this came out yeah that's an intriguing one i was talking about this theory with one person okay and he said to me you're insane and you may you may be talking about people with other people with tinfoil hats, but you've got the

biggest tinfoil hat of all for bringing this one up. That's what, that's what he said to me. I said, look, like I'm just the messenger. Don't yell at me. He goes, no, you're nuts. That's what he told me. I don't know that I, like, I understand why

people think that every comment from anybody in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization is essentially the equivalent of a subtweet I just don't know that I'm ready to make that jump in this situation I still think there's a lot of hockey and a lot of decisions before the Maple Leafs organization gets to that decision if uh you know what I mean. And I don't necessarily think that that's a, I don't know, a chumming of the waters for what is to come on the horizon for the Maple Leafs. But as anything, conspiracy theories are fun for things like talk radio and podcasts. So there you go. You mentioned that Boston-Tampa game a second ago.

And I had a friend of mine that went to the game and he sent me a text afterwards and he essentially said tampa is trending into playoff mode and that was actually a real good playoff style game because both teams were finishing checks like you saw that game yesterday afternoon ell Elliot, every hit was for keeps. Great game. That looked and felt like a playoff game. And the one point that he went out of his way to mention was it was the Bruins' fourth line that had to win that one. And how much do we talk in the playoffs about, you know, sometimes in the playoffs, you know, each team's top six sort of neutralizes one another. And it's up to the bottom six, the third line, or in this case, yesterday with the Boston Bruins, the fourth line.

Those are the lines that become the difference makers, and there it was yesterday for the Boston Bruins. It was the fourth line that had to win it for him. Did that one feel like playoffs to you? Absolutely it did. What a great game. Now, in the playoffs, I don't know that you'll get that kind of message sending

where Maroon starts a game like that. Patrick Maroon exchanging niceties and getting a talking to by Kyle Murchison, the linesman, and

Chris Rooney, the referee. Yeah, Maroon lined up on that right wing, which is where he will play, but not for this opening faceoff. Maybe early in the series you might. Do you think so? How often do we see that in the playoffs? We see that in the first round.

But you still get a tough, mean game. A pair of fights right off the bat. And a third. Right off the bat. And a third. Carnot Hathaway and Patrick Maroon. Maroon going over and under. Hathaway. Oh, he hit him with the right.

Maroon. Jabbing. And hookingoking going to the ribs you get a tough mean game i just no no i'm talking about maroon starting the game like that yes you get a tough mean game i that's why i love the playoffs the playoffs are tough and they're mean but you rarely see the game start like that if boston and tampa meet in the playoffs, would it surprise you if you saw the exact same thing on game one? Maybe in game one, put it this way, Jeff, I wouldn't hate it.

No, but I'm like, to your point, like, I don't know that I see that in game seven or a game six or any type of closeout game, but in a game one, I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw that, to be honest with you. Yeah, I mean, again, I've got no problem with it. Put it this way, I wasn't changing the channel when that happened yesterday.

No, I know. Yeah, you know, it was a great game. I thought the interesting thing was, I think initially Hathaway just wanted to play. He didn't want to fight. He wanted to play the game. But Maroon made it very clear, you're either dropping the gloves or you're getting pounded. So, you know, Hathaway,

eventually he had to fight. I mean, I loved it. I loved the game. I thought it was a great game. I thought it's the way hockey is supposed to be played, skilled and tough and mean. And I think it says a lot about where John Cooper thinks the lightning are right now. That they just aren't where they need to be and I've got a light of fire underneath them. Think about all the people this year who've talked about Tampa and Toronto. Like when we interviewed Ryan McDonough, he

talked about how they thought they were in trouble. Yeah. A lot of people have talked about how much Toronto has improved. Remember Jake Allen talking about how difficult Toronto is to defend. It's almost like against a positionless

basketball team on offense. I thought if Toronto was ever going to beat Tampa, it was going to be last year and they had them on the ropes and Tampa was like Muhammad Ali coming off the ropes in the 10th round. And they lost. You know, that's the heart of a champion. They had them beat and they lost.

And I think this year, you know, we've started talking about this again. There's a lot of people I know in my circle of trust who think that Tampa's washed and Toronto's going to pound them. And I'm like, oh my God, like, do you guys ever learn with this stuff? But I do think the Lightning are worried this year, probably more than they've ever been to play Toronto in the playoffs, because of the way Toronto's going coming in and the way they're going coming in. But again, when Game 1 puck drops, the lightning are going to be wired. And they're going to come out of that series with their best right away.

And I'm really curious to see how it goes. Because I thought Toronto was good enough to beat them last year, but they blew it. And I think they're good enough to beat them this year. And as you know, I never bet against the lightning. Never, ever, ever. It is the fool that bets against the Tampa Bay lightning. One more thought on Hathaway, because I thought about,

this is one of the things that I thought about on Way to Work on Saturday after watching Tampa and Boston. The one thing I kept coming back to is, this is Tampa on the road and Boston at home. If it's reversed and Maroon

is going after Hathaway, the opening face-off and chasing him around to get at him, does Hathaway engage? Or is this a message by John Cooper saying, we can drag you into this type of game. We know we can do this in Boston. But you know the dynamic. You're at home. It's your home crowd.

You don't want to feel embarrassed. You've got Pat Maroon chasing you in a scrum here. Do you think there's anything to that, Elliot, that at the end of it, Hathaway's at home and there's almost, I don't want to say obligation, but it kind of feels that way to do it with Pat Maroon? I think there's some of that, Jeff. But again, I just think at the end of the day,

Maroon made it very clear you're going or you're getting pounded, not fighting. Yeah. So you just get into a spot where you would basically say, you know what? I have to drop the gloves because this guy's going to punch me anyway. Okay.

Um, Winnipeg Jets, a tough loss Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. Four to one is the final. Uh, I want to get to Lazat and Morrissey here in a couple of seconds, but you talked about this Saturday on hockey night, man, that is a really difficult loss for Winnipeg, but your thoughts on the future of the Winnipeg

Jets core. I saw tweets about Rick Bonas' quotes after the game, and then we showed them at the end of the show. And oftentimes I think when you read something and you see something, they can come across two different ways jeff yeah honestly when i read them i said wow that's pretty harsh uh but when i saw them i was like nah you know what he's delivering it really calmly very matter-of-factly about losing

to the kings the top guys yeah well they've got to score. You know, we need some goals from them, and yeah. That's the state of the obvious. Is that just a case of other teams are doing a good job of maybe... Fight through it. Fight through it. Whatever they throw at you, fight through it. You know, look, like we talked about Keefe and his frustration with the Maple Leafs. Bonus has been pretty clear about his frustration with the Jets.

And I should mention it was Scott Billick he had the exchange with last week about motivation. It wasn't Sean Reynolds. I misread Sean's tweet. I would like to blame Sean Reynolds for this mistake because, you know, that's what I do. I voice blame on other people, but it wasn't Sean's fault. I misread his text. Fingers are for pointing. Yeah.

Fingers are for pointing. That's right. Very good, Jeff. Thank you. But do you not just get the sense here that the Jets core that had a good run together and had a lot of promise, we're just getting to the end of it.

And part of it is contracts. Like Dubois has got a year left and we all know how he feels. Wheeler's got a year left. Shifley's got a year left. Like sometimes it's a combination of the group had a run and they represented the Jets extremely well. But, you know, sometimes it just comes to the

end because of your record. Sometimes it comes to the end because of the contracts. Paul Maurice, he really protected that group. Not so much Dubois because Dubois came later, but Wheeler Shifley, he basically said, these are the guys I trust. These are the guys I like the tone they sat. I love how committed they are to doing the work.

They're my guys. And with Bonas, it certainly doesn't come across that way. guys. And with bonus, it certainly doesn't come across that way. And that's one of the reasons that bonus was brought in was to change, you know, the way that the structure was and challenge players a little bit more. And I just look at this and the way this year is going and, you know, you and I have talked about it. They, they keep pulling away and then they let everybody back in, they pull away and they let everybody back in. Well, now they've then they let everybody back in. They pull away and they let everybody back in. Well, now they've kind of let everybody back in again. And I just wonder if we're seeing the end of this group.

You know, I think the Jets have talked to the Canadians on and off about Dubois. There's some way we know that Dubois is going to end up there 95%. Is there some way we make a deal so the going to end up there? 95%. Is there some way we make a deal? So the Canadians get them earlier and we get something we want. I think they've talked about that, but they haven't been able to make the deal. With Shifley, you've got to basically decide, are you resigning him or is he resigning or do you move him somewhere else? Like I said, those guys represented Winnipeg hard.

They talked up Winnipeg when, you know, a lot of people were unsure. Do we really want to go there? We've talked about how Sheveldayoff has a tougher job than a lot of other GMs because there's no place that has less of a pool of players available to it than the Jets do. I'm looking at this and I'm saying, boy, this could be the end of an era with the Jets. Yes. This could be the end of an era with the Jets. Yes, and then I think part of the conversation revolves around when was the beginning of the end? And this is going to take a lot more thinking from me,

but my knee jerk is it began when Dustin Bufflin left and then it was marching towards this eventually. Like all teams, like the core of every team sort of marches to its own demise at a certain point. I just think the beginning of the end was losing Dustin Bufflin. I agree with that. And now here we are. And we're at the point where you do have to start to make the decisions

and try to get something to build this team back up. Because as we have talked about, it's challenging to populate a roster with elite level players. If you're Kevin Sheffield day off. You know, I gotta tell you something, Jeff, like, I agree with you on that. Bufflin seems to me the kind of guy that, you know, there's always, when you go to work and it's really serious all the time, you know, Bufflin seems to me the kind of guy, he doesn't do everything the way that everybody else does it, but he gets there and it's hilarious. Yeah. And we've had a lot of people, like just in our own example, we've had a lot of people

that we've worked with that have made it really fun to come to work. I think, I mean, how many times did we sit in the green room and laugh with Doug McLean or with Brian Burke or whomever? Like you need that, I think in every workplace, like I know it's your job and your obligation to go to work. You're being paid and that's the agreement. But there are just some people that make it fun to go to work. And I think that's really valuable. I've never been a big, oh, good guy in the room, good guy in the room. Well, yeah, they don't flood the room though.

I've never really been a big good guy in the room. But I do see the value in having people around that make it fun to come to work and make you enjoy yourself. And I think that's good for everybody. And he played hard. Like he didn't goof around on the ice. Oh man, did he ever play hard. And he was so unique.

Like, honestly, I really hope that history is kind to Dustin Bufflin. I know I will be, and I'll continue to mention his name for, you know, as long as I share oxygen with everybody else. I think that guy was so valuable for Winnipeg. And I think the minute that he left the Winnipeg Jets, it very much, and you look back now, it looks like that was the beginning of the end for this group of Winnipeg Jets players. Some highlights, some lowlights along the way, but that was really the beginning of the end for this group of Winnipeg Jets players. Some highlights, some lowlights along the way, but that was really the beginning of the end. Consistent with the most recent cross-check to the face, Blake Lazotte, one game suspension

for the cross-check to Josh Morrissey. It's kind of amazing how we had like none of these all year, Jeff, and all of a sudden we've had two. My theory on this is that it's just, we're getting close to the playoffs and everybody's tempers are short. I don't think anybody was surprised with the length of the suspension because that's what Greer got and a suspension that Mike Hoffman clearly didn't agree with.

And somebody asked me, what's your opinion on Hoffman? And I said, you know what, if that's his opinion, that's his opinion. I've got no problem with that. We can't be sitting here and having people say, oh, hockey players have no personality and don't say anything. And then when they do say something, we all rip them. So if that's Hoffman's opinion,

that's Hoffman's opinion. I'm fine with it. So I've gotten a two game suspension for cross checking a guy in the back of the helmet. A full blown intentional cross back of the helmet. A full-blown, intentional cross-check to the face, one game. Hmm. Like, that one with Hoffman and Greer, I actually thought the Lizotte one was a little bit worse

because Morrissey, like, basically says, do you want to fight? When a guy turns around and skates right at you, I think he's looking to engage. And I said, let's go and, you know, drop my gloves. And he got his stick up. I don't think he's skating around out there trying to crush that guy's in the face, but it happened. And for me, Hoffman takes a shot at Greer,

which, you know, wasn't that bad but then greer comes back and chops him and gets the suspension i thought in lazat's case morris is like do you want to fight me and instead of dropping his gloves lazat cross checks him in the face like to me that's actually worse because morris is saying do you want to fight fair? And he gets a shot in the face. But I'm not surprised that this happens at this time of year. You know, like I said, Jeff, we haven't seen it all season.

And now where are we going here? Greer wants to play for the Bruins in the playoffs. They've got a loaded roster. He's wired to keep his spot. He's had a really good year this year and he makes a bad decision and he takes the suspension. Lazat's another guy.

He's carved out a good role for the Kings. He's got 30 points. He's wired to play and show he can play the hard games and he makes a really bad decision. And I think that plays into what happens this year. I thought both players deserve their suspensions. It's just a reminder. You got to play hard, but you can't be undisciplined.

I don't know how you feel, but to me, it's all about time of year. We haven't seen these kinds of cross checks all season. And now we're seeing them 10 games before the playoffs. Yeah. And you know what? The one thing that we've seen from the department of player safety so far this season, well, not so much from them, but it's been a real down year for suspensions like it has been compared to last season where i think it was 33 or 34 suspensions i think we've

only had about 16 maybe 17 suspensions this season so suspensions are down um but this week is trying to catch the nhl up um hey you guys have been sitting around doing nothing we want to give you some work hey george get back to work i have to say this like there haven't been a ton of plays either that i really like the biggest debated one was probably the one watson on mod i think there and there were some people who really wanted a suspension there but other than that jeff have there been too many this year where you looked and said they really missed on something? No, there's been nothing.

It's been one of those years where, and I understand that later on in the season, more players walk the line. And when you walk the line, there's a greater chance you're going to walk over. Especially depth guys, I think, or non-established guys. Totally.

But this has been a season where it's very seldom has anyone crossed over the line. I know what you're saying about, uh, about Watson and Mott. I didn't think it was a suspension. I know people disagree with me on that one, but I didn't think that that one rose to the

level of suspension, but listen, I gotta be honest. It's been players walking the line, but not crossing over. I mean, you're always going to get suspensions that's baked in the pie for the NHL, but it's been players walking the line but not crossing over i mean you're always going to get suspensions that's baked in the pie for the nhl but it's been a pretty tame year so far now one thing i want to let you know i love two kinds of people in the nhl okay i love cranky hockey players and i really got a soft spot in my heart for angry coaches, Elliot, to which I present Rod Brindamore.

Welcome back inside PNC Arena. Now joined by head coach Rod Brindamore. Rod, Chatfield finds Drury in the middle to score and tie that at one. How would you like to see your group utilize puck management to create some chances in the O-Zone here? I don't know. I'm just disgusted.

I don't even want to talk about it. I can't. I'm tired of watching these calls. It's a knick-knack call, and you're just handing them goals. It's not a fair fight when we have to do this, so I don't want I'm tired of watching this, these calls. It's a knickknack call and it's just, you're just handing them goals. It's not a fair fight when we have to do this. So I don't want to talk about it. So just to set the situation, it's a 1-1 game. Uh, there'd been three penalties in the first period. And, uh, Jack Edwards strongly disagreed with, uh, one of the situations,

which went completely viral. And first of all, once again, the Hurricanes look dynamite in those Whalers uniforms. Like it's just a great thing that they do. What do I keep saying? More green in the NHL, the most underrepresented color, most underrepresented color. Well, broccoli and asparagus, it's good for your diet, Jeff.

So yes, I do think green is important. Like PSA there, Bernie. But so there's three penalties in the first period the last one at 1711 there's none in the second until tara vinan gets one at 852 and posternak scores his second of the night is 51st on of the year on the ensuing power play and it's two to one and kudos to the hurricane sideline reporter hannah y I mean, she gets right in there with the question. Yeah. And someone texts me and says, you have got to

hear this interview. And a buddy of mine is a doctor and he's like, he saw it and he said, you know, where does Brindamore get his blood pressure medication? Because I'd like to be his supplier. Like that would be a constant source of revenue for me is what my buddy says. It does not take Brindamore long to get wired at the officiating. It's not a hard thing for him.

And I will say this, I think one of the reasons he was as angry as he was. So Saturday night, they play at home against Toronto. Austin Matthews' second goal which tied the game at 3-3 with about three minutes to go on regulation it was reviewed and I had a couple officials say to me they didn't think it should count

because the whistle goes now if the play is in motion and the puck goes directly in it can count like that's a legitimate call that you know for example if the net gets knocked off or something like that and the puck was going to go in you can rule that a goal but I had a couple referees who said to me that they didn't think matthews was in the act of shooting or had received the puck yet when the official when the referee blew the whistle and they were also a bit surprised because i guess there was a directive after that weird ottawa colorado goal like you remember that weird one with Sogard a couple weeks ago? Icing is waved off.

It goes in on Sogard, and so he'll cover up. No, there's no whistle. Puck is in the net. Oh, my goodness. What in the world just happened? Everybody in the building, including yours truly, thought that either A, it would have been icing, or two, the puck was covered up I don't

think either of those things happened and it's Lars Eller come Eller high water who stuffs it in for his first goal as a member of the Colorado Avalanche this is fascinating now Brady Kachuk is over talking to Frederick Lecquier there was a miscommunication, it appeared, between the linesmen on whether that was icing or not. They decided it wasn't icing. Sogard made the mistake on the icing. The linesman waves the icing dead, and Sogard didn't see it,

but he had his hand over the puck, right? He just assumed that the play was dead, but there was no whistle. But I think something went out saying you know you know we do have to if the goalie freezes it unless you openly go out there and tell him to move the puck you got to be a bit quicker some of the officials told me something came out on that but anyway kachekov has his hand over the puck the whistle goes i guess matthews didn't have it yet and then it gets shot in and they thought on that when the Hurricanes had a case because either it should have been blown dead

or when the whistle goes Matthews hadn't gotten the puck yet anyway so Brendan Moore's probably wired about that one on Saturday to begin with and then he has the interview on Sunday which I have to tell you a few people found hilarious I guess every year there's one coach that they say is harder on the referees than anybody else and we know Brendan Moore's been fine before and I guess he's that guy like we talked about the players are getting wired up and intensifying before the playoffs I guess the coaches are too well you know I'm I'm still convinced that the only reason some people take coaching positions is just to test how high they can get their blood pressure.

I'm, I'm convinced that that's a kind of a sidebar to all of this. Although, you know what, you really have to give it to the Boston Bruins this weekend. They beat Tampa. We talked about that game earlier. They beat Tampa on Saturday afternoon in a playoff style game. And then Sunday they face off against Carolina, another Stanley cup contender. Uh, no Bergeron, no Brad Marchand, no

Hampus Lindholm. Yeah. It's a back-to-back scenario and they come out the winners four to three in the shootout. And you, as you mentioned, Pasternak with a pair of goals, 50 and 51, his first 50 goal campaign. That's an impressive weekend for the Boston Bruins, man.nak with a pair of goals, 50 and 51, his first 50 goal campaign. That's an impressive weekend for the Boston Bruins, man.

It's a really good weekend. I like a lot of these teams in the East. I mean, to me, the Bruins are built as perfectly as I think you can build a team during the salary cap era, including what they added at the deadline. But I see a lot of good teams there. I think Toronto's a good team. You know how I feel about Tampa. Like I think all those, those five teams that are in the locked in playoff spots right now,

Carolina, Jersey, Rangers, I think they're all really good teams. And I don't think anybody would be surprised if the Bruins came out of the East, but that gauntlet for whoever gets out of there is going to be incredible. There are some great teams there. Are you going to predict it now?

No sweeps? Like in any round? In the East, yeah. Yeah, I think that's a great prediction, Jeff. Yes, I am prepared to do that. And I hope if I'm wrong, that this part of the podcast goes into podcast air and nobody remembers it. goes into podcast air and nobody remembers it.

Listen to the 32 Thoughts Podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. So, Elliot, some college free agent signings we should probably go over. The big one, and by big one I mean we've had a lot of questions and we've wondered a lot about it uh the calgary flames signing matt coronado we're gonna get there first round draft pick montreal uh also signing someone from harvard sean farrell uh signs with the habs alex laferriere another harvard prospect uh signs he's a third round draft pick he signs with the los angeles kings and max sasson uh the western michigan mustang signs with the vancouver canucks so a busy day signing college free agents on sunday

and we should also mention just so you know jeff akito hirose who is a calgary a born player and finished this year as well yeah minnesota state u mankato it's not been made official but a lot of people think he's going to vancouver and he could join the canucks as early as this week he's someone the canucks were all over and it looks like they're going to get them although nothing is done until it's done all of those are big acquisitions, but I agree with you. The big name is Coronado. And the thing that's interesting about him is that when the Flames drafted Coronado, it's pretty well known.

They had conversations with him before they took him. They said, we really like you, but we don't want to take you if we're going to lose you. I mean, everybody knows the Adam Fox story. The Flames made a great pick there in the middle round. Yeah. Some people really don everybody knows the Adam Fox story. The Flames made a great pick there in the middle round.

Yeah. Some people really don't like that Adam Fox did that, that he could, you know, manipulate the system to do it that way and end up with New York. Like to me, that's a non-issue. It's not manipulating though. I don't, I don't like that.

It's not, he didn't do anything wrong. A hundred percent. I'm glad you said it. I'm totally with you. It's not manipulating the system when that avenue is available to you in a collectively bargained agreement. I'm a hundred percent in agreement with you. That's the way it works.

And he used the system. I'm with you. I have no problem with it. But anyway, the, the flames just made it very clear. They didn't want to take Coronado if he didn't want to play there. And Coronado said it was not going to be an issue. And a couple of years later, he keeps true to that. Now I will say this. I think there was, I don't know if there was worry in the organization, but I definitely got the sense

there was worry in the fan base that, you know, because young players have had a very difficult time getting in that lineup, then maybe Coronado would see what was going on and not want to be there. And, you know, I'll say this, if it had dragged on into the week or a bit longer, I would have felt that those concerns might've been justified, but they lost Friday and he signed Sunday. So obviously Coronado was in a place where he was either confident or it was explained to him that he was going to play. So, you know, that's that. And that's a big win for the Flames and a tough year getting that done.

And we don't have to worry about that. That's very, very good for them. And, you know, as for Farrell and Leferriere, Montreal is very happy to have one. The Kings are very happy to have the other. You know, Leferririer for us probably gets less attention because he's not attached to a Canadian team. But, you know, I had a couple of people tell me that they wouldn't be surprised if he scored a big goal

for the Kings sometime this year. So everything around the Pittsburgh Penguins worked out. So the Buffalo Sabres, Eric Comrie, congratulations. Shutout after surrendering a million goals. Did you see that stat, by the way? Great stat, wasn't it? Yes. Surrender 10 and then come back with a shutout.

Good on Eric Comrie. First guy in 60 years, Don Simmons of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yeah, that's quite a stat. So the Sabres beat the Islanders 2-0. Also, the Florida Panthers lose to the New York Rangers by a final score of 4-3. So everything, although, you know, Barkoff with a pair on that one, that's nice.

Everything around Pittsburgh lined up for them to win. And it looked good early. They go up 3-0. And then much like the Pittsburgh Penguins that we're sort of used to this year, Elliot, they surrender that lead. And the Washington Capitals tie it up. And then a gorgeous play by Malkin. Horrible turnover by Anthony Mantha.

Malkin goes in. 120 left on a gorgeous shot. It is the absolute perfect shot. Tucked right beside the right post. Just a beautiful shot. Exits his own end. Stripped of the puck by Malkin. He's gone.

On the forehand. Shoots. Scores! Dino Machino turns the tables and the Penguins go back up 4-3 with a minute 20 to go. And the Pittsburgh Penguins win the game 4-3. They lead the Panthers now by three points

for the final wildcard spot and are only a scant one point behind the Islanders for the first wild card spot. And of note, Tristan Jari, although he didn't play, he backed up Casey DeSmith in this one. Saturday, huge for Crosby and company, Elliot. It was a massive game and I agree with you. I think for a lot of reasons, DeSmith gave them a win. Jari dressed as the backup, but I mean, if you're the Penguins now, you know that this is touch and go.

You're hoping for the best, but you're preparing for the worst with Jari. That's just kind of where you are at this point in time, unfortunately, with his health. Obviously, they believe in him a big deal as a goalie, but he just can't stay healthy. So, De Smith gets them a win. They blew the lead, and really, you thought they were going to lose the game. Like watching Crosby and Malkin celebrating that winning goal,

it reminded me of like 2007, 2008 Crosby and Malkin. Like that was like a win, the way they would celebrate before they ever won a Stanley Cup. Did you see Malkin's celebration after that goal, skating down along the boards? Like how many pumpernickels did he give that thing? That's like he just beat the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. You cannot lie that emotion.

That is real. That is like, if anybody still thinks that those guys don't care or making the playoffs or winning, isn't meaningful to these guys, watch the celebration after that goal. It just reminds you that here are these guys, they've been in the league 20 years, and it's still meaningful for them to win games like that. You know, the interesting thing for me in Washington is Kuznetsov. It's obvious now the Capitals are reshaping their team,

and I'll give credit to the blog Russian Machine Never Breaks because they found the article out of Russia that says that Kuznetsov had asked for a trade a couple of years ago. And suddenly a lot of things start to make more sense. You know, for the last couple of years, you know, we've kind of heard Kuznetsov's name out there. We've talked before about how the relationship between him and the team has been strained. You know, I think they've been disappointed with him. Ovechkin was the consummate winner in 2018,

but, you know, Kuznetsov was a major reason they won the Stanley Cup. Like he gave them an element in those years playoffs that they always dreamed of when they drafted him. That they would have a killer one-two punch, backstrom Kuznets off, and people would not be able to handle it. And that's exactly what happened that playoff. He got a big contract right after.

He deserved every penny at the time. And if he had continued to play the way that he played, none of this would be an issue. But he really hasn't been the same player since. I think that they have felt he has not had the same attitude. You know, Kuznetsov, he's always been a really honest, free thinker. I enjoy talking to him. He's very blunt, but I think they that uh he's not the same committed player and he feels obviously he's not been supported by the organization now it's like dating jeff the truth is probably somewhere in the middle but i think this brings to light what a lot of us

have suspected and i think that for a couple years now the Capitals and Kuznetsov have been headed towards potentially a divorce. It's just that, like I said, if he was playing the way he was playing in 2018, they're not looking to trade him. And also somebody's happy to take him. He just hasn't been at that level, which makes it harder on the team and harder to make a deal in a tight cap world. But it says to to me this is coming at some point can't say exactly when but it's coming elliot also want to mention and congratulate the new jersey devils um they hit 100 points they beat the ottawa senators five to three jack hughes scores goal number 40 and they clinch a playoff spot. Congratulations to the New Jersey Devils

that joined the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes as teams that have clinched Elliott's. I like to see new blood, right? I think it's good for the league if you get some new teams that make the playoffs every year. I think it's good for a market. It's good for a franchise. It's good for the NHL to watch somebody new.

You and I have talked about how Jack Hughes is on my heart list. I think he's a guy who deserves some heart-drovey votes. I think it's really good for Jack Hughes to be seen in the playoffs. Like all the devils, really. He's sure to. He's a guy who doesn't get as much attention as he deserves. Bratt, we're going to be exposed to a lot of players in the playoffs this year for the

Devils that I think deserve a lot of exposure. And Hughes, I think, is absolutely one of them. They really haven't had too many bad stretches, Jeff. I mean, aside from the first two games where the fans wanted blood, it was like gladiator, thumbs up, thumbs down in New Jersey at the start of the season.

And it was thumbs down from the fans and thumbs up from the organization. They haven't had too many bad stretches. They've been a really consistent, fun to watch team. And I think that whoever they get in the first round, whether they get the rangers or or they get someone else one of the team they win the division and get one of the teams at the bottom

the devils are going to be a problem for people because i i think they're fast they're tremendous to watch they're really skilled i think if there's one thing that the people have felt about the devils is that they wonder if they can be pushed around a bit in a grindy series. Now Meyer, I think will address some of that because that's not a guy who can be pushed around. And it's another reason I thought he was a perfect fit for them. I think that's what people feel. You've really got to lean on them to beat them and we'll see how that goes, but I'm happy for them and i i want to see it it's a young team and you know what this is elliot this is a step this is now they know like all these

young players on the new jersey devils know what a full nhl season feels like and what it feels like to accomplish something in the regular season and when they hit the playoffs then there's the experience of knowing what an nhl postseason brings along with it. I look at this as, quote-unquote, a step for the New Jersey Devils as they start to climb up the ladder around the NHL. Do we call it a Seattle win or a Nashville loss? The Krakens, seven.

The Predators, two. A pair of goals by Tolvanen. I know that stings. I get it. Adam Larson scores again. By the way, Adam Larson, who crushed the Dallas Stars when we were there in overtime. Jared McCann with his Chex Notes 35th goal of the season. It's ridiculous.

Well, first of all, that shot is so elite. And he can fire it from distance too. Do you look at that game and say that's a crack and win? Or do you look at it and you say that's a Predators loss? Which side is more profound here? No, I think it's a crack and win. And you know, come on, like don't waste everyone's time. We all know why you brought this up.

Whatever do you mean? Like I'm sitting here listening to you list all these goals. Yeah. Oh, right, right, right, bro. I'm sorry. Oliver Bjorkstrand's got 17 goals. That's a nice little pickup from Columbus there.

Whenever Sprawna scores, I got people tweeting at me now. I love it. It's one of my favorite things on the internet right now. Sprawna goes around Smith. Donato cuts in front. Backhand on goal. And they score! I love it. It's one of my favorite things on the internet right now.

Hey Elliot, Daniel Sprong scored. You've known me since 94, 95, Elliot, so you know how petty I am. So this should be no surprise. You're petty, and there's nothing subtle about what you're doing either. Like, people think this is subtle. It ain't that subtle. I love when I see people tweeting you about Sprong. It's so good. And what did Seattle set a record of this week?

Like the biggest second year improvement? Biggest jump, yeah. Biggest second year improvement. I give them a lot of credit. Like, you know, what does Bill Parcells say? One of my favorite coaches, you are what your record says you are. Last year, their record said they weren't good

enough. Yep. They looked at, okay, what are our problems last year? And they went out and they addressed them. Sprung, Bjorkstrand, they needed to be faster. Yeah. They needed to be, Tolvanen, they needed to

be able to score more and they did it. Nashville, I'm amazed they're in it. I think everybody thought the white flag was going up. The moment that game really changed was it was still a game and, and Soros, who's their rock and their backbone has that giveaway to Tolvanen to make it it three to one and i know there's some people i got some tweets from fans in boston who didn't like uh that i said that hellebuck is my clear vesna winner

this year they think it should be all mark which is fine i expect the bruins fans to stand up for their goalie but i think there are some goalies in the league more than others who when when they're merely human it takes their team down and that's not a criticism of sorrows not at all what it is is it just shows you how critical he is to them and i just thought when that happened and nashville was down too they sagged like i said said, it's not Saros' fault. It's just for five seconds, whatever. He looked human. And when Saros looks human, Nashville right now,

he's got to be superhuman for them to make the playoffs. And you know what? They split with Seattle, which I think on a lot of days would be really good. But right now they just don't have a lot of runway. They don think on a lot of days would be really good, but right now they just don't have a lot of runway. Yeah. They don't have a lot of runway.

The, the, the other, the other person that I, that I always like to point out when it comes to Seattle Kraken is Vince Dunn is just having a tremendous year. He is. Now he's an RFA this off season. I would imagine he's going to get a bump up from the 4 million.

That was, that was such a great expansion pick for the Seattle Kraken that's paying off. He leads the team in scoring for each. I know we talk about Jared McCann and the 35 goals. He's got 59 points. Vince Dunn has 60. Yeah. And that pair of Vince Dunn and Adam Larson has been fantastic. And when you look at a record like the one that you just mentioned,

the highest bump for an expansion team from first year to second, we don't vote for the Jack Adams, but how much appreciation do you think Dave Haxtell, I know there's a lot of good coaches out this year you can make strong cases for, how much attention do you think Dave Haxtell gets? I think he gets a lot.

It's a huge leap. So, Jeff, before we do the emails. Yes. We're taping this podcast on march 26th okay when you think of march 26th is there anything specific that comes to your mind oh it's your birthday no it's not my birthday's in september oh, okay. First of all, I got to say, if it was my birthday, I would not bring that up. I'm not Kevin BX. I don't need attention.

March 26th. Oh, I hate it when my wife does things like this. Okay. What is it? I'm going to eliminate your pain. I could leave you hanging here for weeks, and I would probably love it as a segment. March 26th, 1997, fight night at the joe oh wow is that march 26th yes yeah that was i don't want to say that was the we talked so much about ends of eras

and things that indicate that this is the end of this era of hockey, but we have had really great rivalries and heated rivalries between teams. But to be honest with you, Elliot, I've always looked at those two teams and that event and said, those two teams and that event and said, that might be the end of the era of a certain kind of hatred between organizations. Do you feel the same way? Because we've seen rivalries and

rivalries are different than hatred. we've seen that between the Oilers and the Flames in the 80s we've seen that between the Rangers and the Islanders we certainly saw that between the Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens once upon a time we saw that with the Flyers and the Rangers in the early 70s we've seen that between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens going back to the 50s we've seen that with the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens going back to the 50s. We've seen that with the Boston Bruins and a number of teams along the way. I've always looked at that, Elliot, and said that might be the last time we saw real, deep-rooted, baked-in-the-bone hatred between two teams. Agree or disagree?

I agree with that. I think rivalries are different now. They are. I think free agency has changed it. Again, I have nothing against free agency. I do think you should be able to move around and pick your job as much as you can. And I think the salaries have changed it. And again, I have no problem with people securing the bag and getting paid.

I just think things are really different now. And, you know, that was real hate. That was, I mean, I was watching the videos this morning and the one thing I always remember, there's a spot in the video where Lemieux's blood is on the ice and the linesman is like shaving it with his skate. Yes.

Like just trying to get the blood off the ice. And I'm trying to imagine like in the social media era, I'm trying to imagine like that game on TV now, like a whole bunch of people. Cause back then, you know, it was regional telecast. A lot of these games weren't televised. Imagine now everybody's got Sportsnet now or

ESPN plus in the States, or it's a nationally televised game and just what it would be like watching that. And I remember when Shanahan went into the hall, he came in and Ron McClain asked him about March 26, 1997, and they talked about that as the night that the Red Wing dynasty began. Like they won their first cup months later, but that was the night it began when they stood up against Colorado and they fought.

And then again, it would happen later. I'm watching the highlights now and this kind of hate, you're right, Jeff, it doesn't exist anymore. It was very real. And, you know, the other thing too is I remember when I, when I was younger, I, you know, I was a really small kid and I just remember there was one guy where I was really young and, uh, you know, he was a bit of a bully.

I didn't like it. And finally someone said to me, I was probably about, I would kind of say it was probably about eight years old at the time. And someone said to me, Elliot, it's going to keep happening unless you do something about it. I said, okay.

And, uh, I fought, I didn't do great, Jeff. I have to say that I was, like I said, I was a small kid. I didn't do great, Jeff. I have to say that. Like I said, I was a small kid. I didn't do great, but I got a couple of shots in and one or two that the other guy felt. And it never happened again. And I just think that in life sometimes, I think you have to stand up for yourself and say, you know, this isn't going to be as easy as you think it is. Like, I got to tell you, like at one point in time, there was a time when I,

and I don't want to say who it was because we laugh about it now, but there was somebody, somebody who was really angry about something I said, and I didn't think it was that bad, but he was really angry about it. And he said, I'll fight you. And I said, look, like if you want to fight me, I'll fight you. I'll lose, but I'll try to make it as hard on you as possible. And he looked at me and he said, you're nuts. And he walked away. And then later he actually called me and he kind of apologized. I said, look, you don't have anything to apologize for.

I really don't care. And he said, like, I just can't believe I challenged you to a fight in the middle of our dressing room. And I said, look, you know, that was never going to happen. I would have, I would have done it somewhere privately. I would have rented out a gym somewhere or

something like that. A barn. A barn. Yeah. I would have asked Berkey for his barn. But, uh, you know, I, I really do believe that in life. I think sometimes you, you have to stand up for

yourself and, and it can change the trajectory of the way things go for you. And I always remember that night. I think about that. As a matter of fact, I just dialed up the highlights right now. Oh geez.

And, um, I do look at this as the, as the night that started the Red Wings dynasty. Like if they don't have this. Yeah. Do they win the Stanley cup? I don't think so, but I've always thought that way. The thing that I, one of the things that I'm always impressed by or that I always wonder about too is

the thing that was impressive about that rivalry and that hatred and those eruptions that we saw, the one thing that always stood out in my mind is how much complete disregard everybody had for their own safety yeah like i look at scrums now and i see okay this guy's trying to protect himself here and we've seen this in fights before where everyone sort of grabs the right person you know what i mean like okay i know i'm gonna be safe if i'm holding on to this guy the thing about detroit colorado in that era was those players didn't care if they got hurt.

Like that's the one thing that I always took away from it. Like they just said, we don't care if we're going to get hurt in this. We are going into this fight. And it didn't matter who it was. It didn't matter how we fought, whether it was with fists or, you know, asked Claude Lemieux how his head felt after a knee. They didn't care. They had complete disregard for their own safety.

This was all about Red Wings versus Avalanche. And I'd love to do this one day. Talk to people that were involved. And as macabre as this might sound, Elliot, I wonder who still has scars from that, that they look at and they say, yeah, that's from, that's from March 26th. That daily reminder of it, whether it's on their face, whether it's on their hands, whether it's something, I mean, certainly psychological, but I always wonder who carries those scars with them their whole life. These are the things I think about Elliot Friedman.

There's been a lot of good work done on it. You know, there's been TV features, books. Books, yep. A lot of good reading and viewing on it. It was incredible. To me, that was a night maybe not a lot of people will remember. That two years, two nights changed the direction of the NHL. Number one, Patrick Waugh saying, I'm never playing for the Canadians again.

This is my last game here in Montreal. Yep. And that fight. Those two nights changed the National Hockey League. What did both those events have in common? Patrick Waugh. The presence of the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, that's right.

The Red Wings were the team that lit them up. Pounding the Habs. Great memories. Hit a quick break. We'll come back with, thanks for that, Elliot, your phone calls and your emails. Thanks. Okay, Elliot, to finish up as we usually do with our Monday podcast with phone calls and emails, the address by email is 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca, the phone number 1-833-311-3232.

Abin from Maryland, Elliot, submits this one. I had an idea for a new rule. How about a rule that lets a team defer any penalty taken with under two minutes left in the period to the very beginning of the next period? Clean sheet, no disruption within the power play, and potentially

getting two full minutes of offensive zone. Your thoughts on that one? I don't know if I would ever expect that to happen. It's a creative idea, but it's not something that I would see happening. Do you? No, you know what?

There is one thing in there. First of all, no. I like the creativity. Yeah, I like the creativity too. I want to pull one thing out of this one though. You know what has always kind of bugged me? What's that? Teams on the power play with like, say,'t know 30 seconds remaining in the in the in the

period okay you get a you get a you get a two minute power play the the 30 seconds expires you end the period in the offensive zone but to kick off the power play the next period you start at center ice you've mentioned this before would you be in favor of starting that power play in the offensive zone instead of pulling it back to center ice? Why do they have to earn the zone again? Yeah, I have to say that's not the worst idea you've ever had.

I mean, it's a big change in the history of the sport. It's a huge change, I get it. But I don't have a big problem with that. I mean, the other problem with the question is, you know, what happens if you hit the penalty with 30 seconds left? You say, we'll other problem with the question is, you know, what happens if, if you hit the penalty with 30 seconds left, you'd say we'll defer to start the third and then 15 seconds later, or you commit a penalty.

Then you're on the penalty kill or you score. Then it's just bonus time, I suppose. Again, I like the uniqueness of the idea. I just don't see it as being feasible. Okay. Steve in Indiana, Dallas stars fan here. Love you guys took a trip out here and can't wait to hear the interviews.

They're coming. Nice to get the extra effort from Canadian media and sorry that the drive up from Austin is pretty dull, Jeff and Amal. Is it Amal? You were sleeping, Jeff. How would you know? Oh, I snoozed.

I snoozed. Amal's like looking out the window. He's stopping at In-N-Out Burger. That was our first stop food's getting all over his beard like you know i can only imagine how disgusting he looked we did the beeline in and out like right away zomp we're not going anywhere until we

get to in and out merrick i can't blame him for that one i have to say uh steve continues anyway a couple of episodes ago you talked about sticks and who pays for them and it got me wondering i recently bought a couple of episodes ago, you talked about sticks and who pays for them, and it got me wondering. I recently bought a pair of game-worn Jamie Ben gloves and was curious, how many of those does a player use per season? Aha! I texted Daryl Hughes.

Okay, so Daryl is the director of sports marketing for Bauer. And here's what he said. Some are definitely higher than others for gloves, but when we build our budget, we go with eight to 10 pairs average, two left at the practice rank, six to eight for regular season with retro uniforms, et cetera,

that will add pairs. There are, this is fascinating to me. There are heavy glove users. ready for this elliot 60 to 80 pairs per year wow i asked who the heaviest users were he said patrick kane loves fresh gloves nikita kucherov and jack Eichel order a lot as well. 60 to 80 per season for the high end users. That's unbelievable. I was, when I was in Vancouver on Tuesday,

Vegas was there. Yeah. And I saw Marcia So. Extra truck for Eichel. I saw Marcia So and he was lacing up a new pair of skates and I go, how many, like how many pairs of skates do you go through a season? He goes, I do a new one every three to four games. I was like, what?

He goes, oh yeah, three to four games. And I can't remember if he said Eichel was the same way, but he said he's a new pair every three to four games. I said, you just take them right out of the box and you wear them and he goes, yeah. I was like, holy smokes. So I remember asking someone not too long ago about skates and how many pairs each player uses.

And this person said to me, 15 pairs easy. And those are like $1,000 to $1,200 a pop. I think Austin Matthews might be one as well. He mixes his skates up a ton. You mentioned Marcia So as well. I mean, it seems like every time you see Austin Matthews, he has a different pair of skates on. So I would imagine some guys are even more than that.

It's wild. I would love to one day just dedicate a podcast just to equipment and who uses what and how much of what and what the highest expense budget line is, thick skates, gloves, all of it is for NHL teams. That's somewhere in our future, Elliot. I'm warning you now, that podcast is coming up. But I think that's interesting.

I think fans would really like that about just who, like Van Riemsdyk I've heard. Like one of the stories I heard about Van Riemsdyk was, obviously things got screwed up on deadline day, but someone told me after it was over that there had been contact between the equipment guys in Philly and the equipment guys in Detroit. Like just saying, Hey, JVR, he's coming there. You need to know this about him because apparently he's a guy who's very particular. And so, you know, that's, I think that's one of the reasons the story kind of got out there that he was potentially going to Detroit because of that, with the conversations like that one. Let's get to a voicemail mark in massachusetts hi mr friedman and mr merrick this is mark from massachusetts uh david posturnak recently joked

on behind the b that he would give patrice bergeron and David Krejci a million dollars if they signed next season from his contract. So my question to you is this, is it possible for a player to give up part of their own salary to acquire a player if their team is at capacity? For example, if Brad Marsham wanted to go to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last year of his contract, would Sidney Crosby be willing to give up league minimum to get him on the team? You know? All right. Take care. Mark, Massachusetts.

Thanks so much for the phone call. It's a great question. Again, I like the creativity. The answer is no. Now, you know, once you sign a contract, you cannot, uh, renegotiate it. The only way out is, is if it gets bought out. Um, so if like say Crosby said, I'll give up league minimum off my contract to sign someone

else. I mean, technically Crosby could say, don't worry penguins. Uh, it won't be official, but I'll pay somebody's contract if they want to come here. Uh, but no, you, you can't, you can't do that. You can't say take 800 off mine to do, to do someone else. That's a hundred, that's listen, that's a hundred percent true.

The one thing that I will throw in, there have been situations where, and I think of Connor McDavid and Leon Dreisaitl, Elliot, where there was a number that Connor McDavid was going to do his contract at and then decided to take less to leave money for the Edmonton Oilers so they could re-sign Leon Dreisaitl. But again, that was before the contract was official. To Elliot's point. I think his contract was supposed to initially come in around 1325 or 1303 or something like that. Yes. And he decided to leave money so the Oilers could help build around him. Namely, with Leon Dreisaitl, who scored another one of those goals on Saturday, by the way.

I love when Dreisaitl sets up backwards like that in front of the net and spins and shoots. I think it's one of my favorite things in hockey. That's fantastic. You know, one thing, one thing I want to say is that there was a rumor going around a couple of years ago when the Blackhawks were really struggling that Taze had asked to restructure his contract so that they could

open up cap room for the Blackhawks. And I did the Bruce Oak Foundation charity event one year with Scott and it was, Taze was one of the guests and I was interviewing him. So I said to him, can I ask you something? I did this behind the scenes. He goes, sure. And I go, look, I heard a rumor that you would ask to renegotiate your contract so you could open up cap room for the team to sign new players. And he like laughed at me. He goes, who told you that bit of nonsense?

That bit of nonsense. I like that. Scott and Hamilton. With the offseason approaching for half the league, I was curious what control teams have over how their stars train in the offseason. Are certain activities strictly forbidden or is it more of a we're not gonna ask situation provided the players arrive at camp in one piece there are things that are in the contracts you're not allowed to do yes you

know i remember in baseball a few years ago pa Paul Quantrill injured himself snowmobiling and he tried to keep it quiet and it was, it was a thing. There are things you're not allowed to do. I think the one thing is teams are much more on the ball now about sending people to check up on players all the time. Like they'll give a detailed plan. There are situations like when I was in Vancouver last week, Talkett talked about how he'd like Kravtsov to stay in Vancouver all summer and train with him and, or just be under the eyes of the Canucks.

And technically they can't force him to do that. But I think that, for one thing, I think the Talkett's goals here are pure. I don't think he's trying to do anything untoward. I think he really thinks it could help Kravtsov and Talkett likes that kind of thing.

He's very passionate about it. But technically the Canucks can't force him to do it. But I do think some players, depending on where they are in their careers, they do feel pressure. They know that a team will look at it better if they're around a bit more often. I also know at times, like when Toronto, and this is kind of typical funny stuff, I kind of laugh at it, but in Toronto, there were times where the Leafs would let other players work out at their facilities in the summer because they would want other players to see how good it looked and other teams would just freak out. Like, why are you there? The Leafs are tampering. And I'm like, come on.

Like I said this to a GM once. I said, come on. Like the guy lives near the practice facility. Why can't he go work out there? He goes, they're trying to steal him from us. And I'm like, oh my God. I mean, who knows? Maybe it's true, but that kind of stuff does

come up, Jeff. Speaking of hiding injuries or the cause of injuries injuries and i am not going to say the player's name although everybody knows this person there was one player i know i'm sending everyone a wild goose chase here whose career actually ended because of a back injury incurred in a hotel hallway where members of the team perhaps were, how shall we say Elliot over-refreshed, over-poured perhaps, and goofing around in the hallway and a skateboard appeared and this gentleman got on the skateboard, promptly fell

off the skateboard and messed up his back. And that was the end of the career. And that one was treated as if it was a hockey injury. Wow. Well, you know, remember the time you talked about the player whose career was hurt by playing video games and everyone started

guessing? I cannot wait for the guessing game to begin on this one. I know. The other one, the other one I remember like that was a Tiger Williams biography is somewhere in my library here, but he talks about a time where he was always on the ice early and one

day Bill Flett came on the ice early. Cowboy. Yes. And he said that Bill Flett never did that. He never came on the ice early. So he came on one day and he was doing some stuff and he started fooling around with Williams and they were like play fighting and

Flett went down with his back. Oh, my back. I hurt my back. And Williams was like, oh my God, I hurt this guy. And he felt terrible about it because it turned out to be a pretty legitimate injury. And he said, not long after some players told him, look, like, don't be upset about that. He hurt his back doing something off the ice. Like, I don't remember what it was like snowmobiling or something he wasn't supposed

to do. Yeah. And so he came out to practice the next day to kind of frame Williams for it, which I think is an ingenious plan, but you know, Tiger Williams did not like that. He was really angry about that. And I would not want Tiger Williams mad at me.

No, he's the wrong person to have angry. Kind of a bad thing to do. I have to say. Not good. Let's finish up with this one. Alex in Ottawa. There are some players like Mario Lemieux and Ken Dryden who are Hall of Famers, but still didn't play as much

or as long as they could have due to injury. Who are some of the players that you think could have possibly been in the Hall of Fame level, but their careers were cut short for whatever reason well well i i think one thing that's actually turned out to be really good is some people have really been rewarded despite that eric lindros uh pavel beret cam neely you know marilyn b was going in anyway but um there have been some players who you look at them and you say maybe in the past they might not have gotten in because they just simply didn't play long enough, but now there's an understanding of how good they were.

And I like to see that. I think that, I think that deserves to be, uh, recognized. You know, one player that I think of a lot is simply because he was a player from my youth. Jeff was the, the Maple Leafs had a number one pick one year and it was Gary Dylatt. Oh. And. If they had the medicine like they have now and surgery, and I say that about Gordon

Kluzak too, I think that's similar. Same, same era, same era. I'm with you on Gary Nyland. Gary Nyland was a big, strong killer of a defender and he was just never healthy. Like he was never healthy. My answer to this question, it's interesting. There was just a Reddit thread about this recently on Reddit hockey.

And I want to get to the name that someone brought up, which is a great name. But my answer to this question has always been two people specifically. One, Peli Lindbergh, I thought was trending towards what could have been a hall of fame type career absolutely that's a that's a great great call the other one that I always answer this question uh with is Mickey Redmond of the Detroit Red Wings whose career was cut short due to back injuries but if you look at how good and how productive Mickey Redmond was with the 50 goal seasons with that Detroit Red Wings squad. And he didn't play anywhere close to as long as he should have played. Those are the two

I always answer, Mickey Redmond and Peli Lindbergh. Someone on Reddit Hockey mentioned Todd Bergen. Wow. Now, Todd Bergen, for those that don't know, I mean, the story has always been his career was cut short because he got Keenan'd. Now, he was a draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers and was like a big scorer in the Western Hockey League. Drafted in 1982, second or third round. He was like, you know, goal and a half a game in junior hockey. Was a star at the American Hockey League. Played in the NHL.

He only played 14 games with the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL, but he scored 11 goals, 16 points, and had 13 points in 17 games in the playoffs. And I can't remember what the exact injury was, but it was one of those scenarios, as the story goes, that mike keenan didn't believe that he was really injured and kept practicing him i don't know sure if he kept playing him but he kept practicing him and the injury actually cost him his career he was like the elite western hockey league scorer everywhere he went todd bergen shot the lights out and was poised to be a star with the Philadelphia Flyers. This is their 84, 85 season.

And then really went to war with Keenan. You know, Elliot, from that background, things don't go well for you when you go to war with, with Mike Keenan. No. Kept playing on an injury that cost him his career, traded to the Minnesota North Stars, had to retire because of the injury, got into the golf industry, I want to say as well, in British Columbia. And that was the last we had heard of Todd Bergen until I read this Reddit thread and got this question on our email from Alex in Ottawa,

Todd Bergen. Now, I don't know if he's going to end up a Hall of Famer. All I'm saying is Todd Bergen was looking like this guy was poised to be a star, and his career was ended by an injury that was not only mistreated, it wasn't treated at all. As a matter of fact, he kept playing. Wow, that's some great stuff. I remember that name. That's quite a pull. When you woke up this morning, did you think you were going to hear the name Todd Bergen,

Elliot? I have to tell you, this podcast went in a lot of directions. I wasn't expecting it to go. Okay, so let's end it up then. Thanks so much for listening. Have a really enjoyable week. It's another big one on the horizon around the NHL. Taking us out is a rapper and

record producer from Queens, New York. Kwame released his debut album in 1989 and then dropped three more records before his 21st birthday. He would then pivot to a career as a music producer working with LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, and Eminem. From his debut album, The Boy Genius, here's Kwame with Push the Panic Button on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Outro Music