32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Too Much Bieksa

Episode Date: November 4, 2022

Things have really taken a turn! Jeff and Elliotte discuss the high-flying Devils (1:00) and the impressive play of Jesper Bratt, Calgary’s struggles the last week (9:00), Boston’s run to start the season (10:20), a fun game between Tampa and Carolina (15:00), if we’ll see moves in St. Louis (18:10), the Sportico list of franchise values and the Ottawa Senators being put up for sale (35:40), Mike Rupp’s comments on Auston Matthews and the Leafs (52:45) and they provide a few quick thoughts on Seattle (59:30), Minnesota (1:00:30), Calgary (9:00) and Florida (1:00:45).They also tip their hat to the Vancouver Canucks for their retirement ceremony for Kevin Bieksa (21:55) and wonder what the club with do with Bo Horvat (28:45).GET YOUR 32 THOUGHTS MERCH HEREEmail the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailMusic Outro: SLOE JACK - SLOW DOWNListen to the full song hereThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: 104.5 The Team, Bally Sports Midwest, CHED 630, ESPN, Jaromír Jágr (Twitter), Mike Rupp (Twitter), Vancouver Canucks, WBZ-FM and WQAM-AM.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.

Did you want to mention anything about the yogurt video to Jason Zucker? That's really funny. Hello, hockey fans. What about the salute Jason Zucker did when he scored? I was reading some comments. Some people like it. Some people don't. I love it.

And I feel like they show a lot of respect for our era, for our team, because we also had a lot of great players. So thank you, Penguins. Thank you, Jason. And by the way, Jason, keep working on your shot because it wasn't hard enough. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by GMC and the new Sierra AT4X. Elliot, we are going to start and stay in Edmondson for a little while because that was a wild game. The New Jersey Devils, two goals in seven seconds.

Graves and Bratton, that's the end. Four to three, the New Jersey Devils win in a wild one. We still, at the point of this recording, don't have an update on Mackenzie Blackwood, who left the game in the second period to be replaced by Vitek Vanacek. He comes in, first shot on net, Leon Dreisleiter power play. It's a goal, but then cue the comeback, Wood, Graves, and Bratt, and the New Jersey Devils continue to plow through the NHL.

Oh, sorry, Jeff. Just as you were saying that, something came across the Twitter machine. Oh, what's up? They said, no update now. We'll see tomorrow on Blackwood. Okay. So hopefully not as serious as it first looked or it seemed that they first thought. A couple of quick thoughts.

The Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame welcoming in two new members, Lee Fogelin and Ryan Smith. Lee Fogelin, I always think about primarily as a Buffalo Sabre, but then certainly as an Edmonton Oilers with the two Stanley Cups, was the first American-born player to be drafted in the NHL's first round by Buffalo 11th overall in 1974. It was really nice to see him in the ceremony. Great to see him interviewed as well during the game. And Ryan Smith, I still maintain elliot as much as everybody talks about things like the mullet and that was glorious uh how much of a beast he was along the boards and he's one of the great board players i think of his generation in the nhl i don't think that there's anybody elliot who had an uglier hockey stick than ryan smith

i could not look at that stick and not be absolutely disgusted. Wasn't he one of the last wooden users? Yeah, it was a two-piece, right? And the blade was pretty much straight. It was like the eastern shaft and then the wooden blade. It just looked like it shouldn't be able to function in the NHL. But somehow Ryan Smith made it work. But every time I looked at it, I just kind of,

I just kind of had to wince. I don't think you were the only one. I remember Craig McTavish making fun of his shot, calling it a muffin during their run to the Stanley Cup final in 2007. And before we go to the game, just one thing about Fogelin. I always love the story about him giving up the captaincy for Gretzky. Yes. Basically saying, guys, let's get real here.

Who's the true captain of this team in a way that a true leader would do it? Listen, in that game itself, Connor McDavid leads off the scoring 1-0. His 12th goal of the season. Over the line. Pass to the middle. That was broken up by a diving Darnell Nurse. Here comes Hyman the other way. And over the line to pass to the middle. That was broken up by a diving Darnell Nurse. Here comes Hyman the other way. And over the line to McDavid.

Scores! Connor McDavid puts it past Blackwell. Leon Dreisaitl, Leon Nostradamus, the prediction is coming true. The only question is how high can McDavid get with the goals? You know, this was the story about the comeback new jersey devils like going into this one elliot we said okay the new jersey devils have had a sort of softish schedule to start the season and this was going to be their first big test what did you take away from their first big test well look at it take a look at all their previous wins so far this season, in the regular season.

Their previous wins were Anaheim, Islanders, although they're starting to surge a little bit right now. Sure are. San Jose, Detroit, who had beaten them earlier, Colorado, that's a big one, Columbus, and then on this road trip, they've now beaten Vancouver and Edmonton. And, you know, you'd look at the Colorado win, you'd say that's a great one.

And you'd look at this one tonight and you say, that's a great one. But I think to me, this one is the how, you know, they're down three to one, their number one goalie got hurt. Vanacek had to come off the bench cold and right into an Euler power play where he gave up a goal. And basically there were still 31 minutes left to play, but everybody would have understood if the devil said, you know what, this is not our night.

But they were like, F that. We're going to play. And they played great. This wasn't a fluke win. This was an earned win. Something that's happened the last two nights that has really surprised me Jeff is goals right off of face-off or big scoring chances right off of face-offs Toronto against Philly they gave up a two on nothing to defenseman right at the start

of the third period and obviously Bratt scored the winning goal in this game seven seconds after they tied it. So I have to say, I didn't think I would be coming up with this kind of a theory, but Edmonton had trouble with New Jersey speed. I didn't think that that's something we'd be dealing with. Okay, before we move on, let's talk a little bit about Jesper Brad before we hustle off to another game here. He scores a game winner, his fifth goal. They just are finding a way to hang in here now they tied it second of the season a chance for more they move and they score jesper brad found himself all alone and the devils leave i don't know how the negotiations were last offseason. He signed the one-year extension.

I think there were some reports, maybe you and I discussed how it was a grinding affair. It was. Jesper Brass putting himself in line for a humongous payday here. I know we're just starting to tickle November, but he's in line for some serious bank here. So he will have one more year after this one as a restricted free agent, and then he will head into unrestricted free agency and the devils are going to have some choices to make here and yes he's setting himself up for a huge payday you know the one thing that i i really like about him

is that he could have sulked he could have been mad that he didn't get the big deal right away and and maybe he is mad but he's channeled all the energy in the positive direction. In these situations, the only thing you can control is how you play and you perform. And he has shut out the noise and he is doing the job. I know a lot of people are really impressed by the way they're out shooting everyone and carrying the play with everyone. But the thing about New Jersey is they handle adversity very well early in the season. You know, they've lost Palat, who was supposed to be a big player for them. It looks like for a minimum eight to 12 weeks.

And in this game, they lose Blackwood. And, you know, like we said, they had every excuse to get blown out in this game. But they're finding ways to overcome that. And I think in this league, you need that to be successful. And not only does New Jersey look like a really skilled team and a really fast team, they look like a very, very resilient team. And it's a great combination. The only thing I look at them and I say that I'm not crazy about is they're not big. And I don't

think you have to be big, but I think in the playoffs, you have to be a tough team to get around and get through. I think you have to be strong. You have to be long and you know, you have to basically put up a picket fence around your opponent. I'm not convinced yet that they're going to be the best at doing that simply because they're not a physically dominant team, but that's something to worry about down the road. Like you've got to get there and they look really good. You know, he's been real good too is John Marino. Really good. John Marino has had such a wonderful comeback season.

He looks excellent, Elliot. Like that whole back end looks really good. There's a lot to be impressed by, but I'll put that back end up there too, man. I think the back end is really good. They skate well. They move the puck. You know, they're going to have a big decision to make on Severson too. Yep.

You know, I think that term was always the big issue there for the Devils. I'm not convinced they wanted to give as big a term as he could get. Like these are all things you can kind of punt a little bit for now. Right now you just want to win games and they're winning games and they're doing a real, real nice job of it. And just now that New Jersey is done with Edmonton, this suddenly on Saturday night is a big game for Calgary. Yep.

They are wobbly. You go back to Saturday night, the game against Edmonton, they're up and they lose that game to Edmonton. They're up and they lose, shockingly, to Seattle. They get blown out of the building early against Nashville. You know, everybody was laughing about that Daryl Sutter line about Huberto. Huberto left the bench for a little bit in the first period. Are you able to say what it was?

I think he had to go take a shit. I didn't think that was that funny. And you know me, I have a good sense of humor. I laugh at almost everything. The reason I didn't think it was that funny was because I don't think Sutter was trying to be funny. Everybody interpreted it as fun. I don't think that's what that was.

You think there's something there between that coach and that player? I don't know if I would go that far. I don't think it's that there's something there, but I think Sutter was mad because they lost. And, you know, Huberto, by his own admission, what did he say the other day? I haven't been as good as I can be so far. I think that was Sutter's just way of saying, you know, I don't really care and he hasn't been that good. Rangers three game win streak will come to an end. Six points the last two games for Lindholm.

It's not a Dave Maloney-type stretch. You're not talking points over the course of his career. Down to 15 seconds. Schneider back on it. Shots are 37-20 Bruins. They hit the five-goal mark for the seventh time in 11 games. Four here in the third period. As time winds down, the Bruins defeat the Rangers 5-2.

And that's all she wrote. And a third period where the Rangers had enjoyed recent success. You know who else is winning games, Elliot? The Boston Bruins are winning games. They are now 10-1 after a big night against the New York Rangers. And old-school hockey fans who are listening to this podcast, like old school hockey fans are saying this was once one of, if not the best rivalries in the NHL. We look at the late sixties, early seventies. These games were vicious.

You've made the point before that thatangers team probably should have won a cup in that era i don't disagree with you it was nasty then like bill jennings the team president put a bounty on ted green's head the president of a team elliot put a bounty on players like that's how nasty these two teams were with one another and And we had some of that. That's like Harley Race on Ric Flair in the 80s. Well, and listen, we had Schneider absolutely hammered Trent Frederick. Charlie Coyle has the puck. A giveaway. And the Rangers with a pitchfork pass intercepted by Coyle.

Frederick brings it right back across and walks into the shoulder of Braden Schneider. And now the club's dropped. And that leads into the shoulder of Braden Schneider and now the gloves drop and that leads into a pair of fights Frederik pairs up with Barkley Goudreau and AJ Greer fights Schneider Schneider and Greer Frederik goes at it with Goudreau now it's a Ranger Bruin game it had a little bit of everything Pasternak scores again like this was a it's both you know these two teams are both really skilled so that's certainly on display it had a little bit of everything. Pasternak scores again. Like this was a, it's both, you know,

these two teams are both really skilled. So that's certainly on display, but that had some dirt under the fingernails tonight. I'm curious to see if Pasternak gets anything out of this for that hit on Schneider. It was not head contact, but it was late and it was interference. So I'm curious to see if anything comes out of that

the thing about montgomery's he's kind of done is he's kind of unleashed the bruins i was asking somebody today about what they see there and they see that they take a lot more chances now than they did under cassidy and he said he can see a situation where he thinks people are getting used to that. When you play the Bruins, you think about conservative nature of the team, talented but conservative, right? And what he's trying to do, Montgomery, is change their identity so they're no longer conservative. If you watch Lindholm the other night in the Tuesday night game against Pittsburgh,

I mean... Lindholm with it. He'll motor back of the net. Now scoots up left wing up to center ice over the Pittsburgh. I mean. And home with it. Hail motor back of the net. Now scoots up left wing. Up to center. Rice over the line. High slot. Left circle.

Shoots. He scores! Tampa slid home. Bullseye right over the glove. The Boston Bruins spill over the bench. They have rallied back from a three-goal deficit with four unanswered goals. And when it's 6-5 in overtime here in Pittsburgh, the Bruins have now won 9 of 10

for the first time in franchise history to start the season. I mean, that was the overtime winner, yes, but generally in that game, like someone said to me, if Cassidy was still coaching there, there's no way Lindholm would be able to do what he's doing. So it is kind of an identity change with the Bruins. And you know what? Credit to them for doing it.

So far, it looks really good and it's working. Is Jim Montgomery going to get Hampus Lindholm a nurse trophy? You know, you and your buddy Wyshynski are giving trophies to everyone in the NHL and we're 11 games in. I'm like Oprah that way with trophies. It's November. You get a trophy and you get a trophy and you get a trophy. How many people have you given the Norris trophy to?

It's been Rasmus Darlene until the Hampus Lindholm end-to-end rush against the Pittsburgh Penguins. And now I'm just convinced that it's going to be Hampus Lindholm. But watch, Charlie McAvoy is going to come back and it's going to be like, oh yeah. Award the trophy now. The real top dog is on the ball. And that's the scary thing too.

Like they're a freight train right now, 10 and one, seven in a row, and they still don't have Charlie McAvoy. Like it's frightening what the Boston Bruins are able to do here. Carolina and Tampa. First of all, Andre Vasilevsky, good Lord. Yeah.

54 saves, nothing short of spectacular sebastian ajo finally you know ends this thing for carolina in the shootouts and the interesting thing about that is i got a text from someone after ajo scored and this person said he finally didn't go five hole which is a sort of pet move for sebastian now and i guess he had tried it earlier on a breakaway against vasilevsky and vasilevsky sealed it up so he was uh he had he ditched plans to do that and did the uh did the move instead and sort of salted it away there was one moment and i tweeted this out and i know you're going to want to talk about this because we talked about this with Nathan McKinnon last week in the Colorado Ranger game.

The idea of still getting to shoot in the shootout, even though you're in the penalty box, as overtime expires. Now, there's a great, really heads-up, smart, smart moment at the end of this game, if you haven't seen it. I tweeted out the video. There's like 15 seconds remaining in OT. Sveshnikov is coming down the left side uh nick perbix is the defenseman special cough turns the puck over stays on the defenseman ends up slashing the stick out of his hand therefore perbix can't get the puck up to like braden point was on the ice uh Can't get the puck up for the odd man rush. And essentially, the clock just winds down.

There's a penalty call right away. But if you watch what happens, like really smartly, Purbix kicks the puck. Svechnikov jumps over it as to not stop it. And all the Carolina players, no one will touch it. Nobody touches the puck. It's a smart team. It's such a smart team that it's a such a smart team they're just letting the clock run down to get this thing into overtime and not allowing

tampa to get a power play and then svechnikov gets to shoot in the shootout i just thought it was a brilliant play not just by svechnikov recognizing it of course it is but by the entire team no one on carol like they went out of their way i I think it was actually Point who skates by the official and points at them and says, how come he's not playing the puck or something to that effect? And the linesman's probably like, oh, he doesn't have to play the puck. Anyway, I just wanted to point out,

it's one of the more intelligent plays that I've seen so far this season by Carolina. And it goes back to the rule we talked about in the double IHF, Svechnikov could not shoot in the shootout because if you have a penalty that's not expired, you can't do it. But the NHL has no such rule. So it is a very, very smart play.

Talking about Tampa, by the way, somebody said to me, what you're seeing with Tampa is teams have realized you have to dictate a faster pace with them you cannot let them play at the pace they want to play at now Carolina's Carolina they're really good they can dictate the pace of play a lot more than a lot of other teams can but someone was saying to me watching that game is that's the key to beating Tampa now they will try to dictate

a certain pace against you and you can't let it happen or you're doomed. You have to force them to play the way that they don't feel like playing. You mentioned the Islanders earlier. They've now won five games in a row. Yep. The Islanders on Thursday evening take care of the St. Louis Blues,

who are in a bad way that we've talked about. Yep. Blues are now 3-6 on the season. The Islanders are 7-4. 5-2 is the final. And flashpoint, we can add another to the list of players that Jordan Binnington's gone after. You can now add Ilya Sorokin to that list

as Binnington, as he skates past him, lays a shoulder into him. No surprise. No. Whatsoever. The list is long of players slash goaltenders he's done this to. Like, I can understand the frustration. Guy hates to lose.

Guy hates to lose. He goes on tilt when he loses too often. I don't know how much more we can talk about St. Louis other than to say maybe is there a trade coming here like if there's one team that you look at and you say i know it's early but because they've been bit by the injury bug too now you mentioned that feels like something is off with st louis yeah can you kind of feel a trade coming with them or something doug armstrong is a really fascinating guy to watch because the year they won the Stanley cup in 2019, he was this close to blowing it all up and he didn't. So what that says to me,

you know, my rule, the surest prediction predictor, the surest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Right. And you can't automatically assume that he's going to blow it up i mean he could he's not afraid he is not afraid i remember that year i've asked for it nobody will give it to me but i don't know if i've ever mentioned this on here before he sent out a legendary note that year on the gm email chain for christmas and it was like christmas sale and you know you can buy i'm just making it up but it was a christmas sale themed email like you can buy a slightly use this or a good value this but he named the players oh no but he named that's why nobody will give it to me because you know he i think he named some of the players and then at the end of the day he decided not to do it and of course they won the cup so that's the thing with him like he had his

press conference the other day try take the heat off of the group. I know we're only 10% into the season, which is a small sample size, but I thought you've probably heard enough of the coach the last few days and the players give them some time to reflect on where we're at. And they responded with this tonight. I would say to you, he's not afraid and he could blow it up. But the one thing preventing me from saying absolutely is he almost did it four years ago, but he didn't. He held up and they won.

So I'm curious to see what he's going to think this time. All right, get it before it's gone. Visit the Sportsnet shop to get your 32 thoughts merchandise. it's gone. Visit the Sportsnet shop to get your 32 thoughts merchandise. That's hoodies. That's teas, crew necks,

even a coffee mug that changes color when you fill it up with your go-to warm beverage. Visit www.shopsportsnet.store to get your 32 gear today. www.shopsportsnet.store. I think it takes like three to four defensemen, one to two goalies, and six to seven forwards of ultra-competitive guys. Ultra-competitive in your own right. Like, are you a net front guy? Well, you're the first guy on the ice

tipping pucks every morning. Are you a shooter on the flank? Well, you're the first guy on the ice tipping pucks every morning Are you a shooter on the flank? Well, you're a guy who's on the ice every morning shooting a hundred pucks before practice, right? Like that's what the skill guys that's what the Kessler's the Burroughs the city means that's what they did Are you an energy guy you're in the gym? You have like your mandatory workouts, but you do more you go go above and beyond. So you're the best condition guy. You're the strongest guy. Your body's not breaking down from all the contact. You hone your craft.

You take pride in what you do and you work your doing it. And that's what makes everybody a better team. And then you keep each other accountable. If everybody's doing that, the goalies are on early. Everyone's working at their profession and you battle each other in practice. And that's why we were a great team for eight to ten years, and that's why we had a great culture. So I'm not saying there should be any fights out there this morning,

but I'm just trying to give you a little bit. I'm not lecturing you either, obviously, right? You guys are in this league for a reason, but I'm just trying to let you understand the culture that we had that was so special for eight to ten years. It took a lot of different people that were ultra-compet competitive going at it every single day. And we built something really special that people are still talking about today. You guys are lucky you got Bruce. He lets you guys play, gives you guidance. He loves the game. He's passionate. It honestly means a lot for me to come back here and sign a

one day deal and retire in this special place that I enjoyed my career in. So thank you. and retire in this special place that I enjoyed my career in. So thank you. Okay, so that's Kevin Bieksa. That must have felt really cool addressing the Vancouver Canucks before the morning skate today, Elliot. Big night for the Vancouver Canucks. They take care of the Anaheim Ducks by a final score of 8-5. And Andre Kuzmenko with the hat trick and Bo Horvat, yeesh, with a pair.

He now has 10 goals on the season. Second in the league. He's been remarkable this season and towards the end of last season, he was as well. You know what they should do in Vancouver if they had a really good sense of humor? Oh, geez. Every time he scores, like a cash register should go off.

Yeah, they should do that in New Jersey too for Bratt every time he scores. Or gets a point. Managers love that, Elliot. They find that really, really funny. Thoughts on Kevin Bieksa? The speech Thursday morning in front of the Vancouver Canucks goes out on the ice. That was pretty cool.

Does the press conference afterwards. People have been saying Quinn Hughes is the best offensive defenseman this team has ever had. It's got to be hard for you not to take that personally. Did you see the two terrible passes he gave me in the skate this morning? So we're doing wakey wakey, which is a drill that everybody in the NHL does. He puts himself behind me and is like, go ahead. So he's passing to me at some point. And after practice, I go over to my son on the bench and i go what do you think he goes quinn gave you two burgers like right in your triangle i'm like i know number one defenseman can't put one on my tea i think he did on purpose try to embarrass me no like he's he's a great player to watch he's a lot of fun and i interviewed with murph as well when i think of

kevin bx i think of that vancouver Canucks team that was just, I always just say miserable to play against. I think about playing against Kevin Bieksa and I think that must have been the most awful time for anyone who played against him. And that team specifically, whether it's Alex Burrows or Ryan Kessler or Max Lapierre or Rafi Torres or Kevin Bieksa. What a miserable bunch of... Those are really tough players to play against. Those are long, miserable nights. When I think of Bieksa, I think of that version of the Canucks.

Just miserable to play against. You know what's funny is when I went to Dallas this week, you know who I sat at the same table at? Who? Vern Fidler. Oh, the impression. We were laughing about it. With the VX impression, the late video.

Couldn't stop laughing. I actually met Vern's son too, Blake, who was taken first in the US priority draft last year by the Edmonds and Oil Kings. Really nice kid. So anyway, I think about the same things too. You know, it's kind of funny. Obviously, I'm ecstatic for Kevin and his family.

It's such a great thing. We should mention, by the way, I should have mentioned this. He signed the one-day contract to technically retire. By now, everybody knows. This thing was everywhere. Everybody knows this. If you're listening to this podcast, you already know that. I just feel obliged to you.

There are people in the world who've never seen hockey and don't even know what it is who knew that Kevin Bieksa signed a one-day contract. Yes, there was so much of it everywhere. The one thing about Kevin, I will say this, because I am determined, I really wanted to take no shots at him during this because it's such a wonderful thing for his family.

But the one thing he did, and I'm not surprised about this at all because it's very in tune to who he is, is if you look at this in the morning, he's in the dressing room. Who's in there with him? Who skated with him? His son, Cole.

Yeah. Who drops the puck? His daughter, Reese. What. Who drops the puck? His daughter, Reese. What are they doing tomorrow night? They're doing a book launch for his wife and her new Katie's second book, this one called Cedar. So this whole trip is not just about Kevin. It's how can my son get involved?

How can my daughter get involved? How can my wife get involved? And that is, it's nauseating to me to pay too many compliments to this individual, but he is such a tremendous family man. And this trip is proof of it. I have to tell you though, Jeff. Okay. So we're there in the morning. He's at the morning skate. He's, he's telling the media he dominated, which is so him.

He does that great talk, which they put out there then they have the thing at the beginning of the of the game which again was very nice and by the time he shows up to see Murph in the first intermission I'm like I'm tired of BX already I can't watch any more of this it's too much because I do think as part of this, like he had his retirement day today. I think the day will come where he joins the ring of honor. And so we're going to have to do this all again. And I was like,

what's going to be left for next time. But I was really happy for him. And in a true, a true compliment to Kevin VX is play. There wasn't a lot of defense out there there were 12 goals scored 13 it was 8 to 5 13 yeah that uh that was awesome uh we spent a lot of time in the last podcast talking about bull horvath and here he is again scoring a pair i mentioned audrey kuzmenko scores the uh scores the hat trick as well do Do we have a thought on Vancouver right now? Yeah, you know what?

Look, it's just a better feeling. That's an 8-5 game. I don't think it's fair to draw any conclusions. But look, at the end of the day, they had to get wins, and they got them. They've won three of their last four. I think that Nashville game on Saturday night, that's a huge game. I mean, they're all huge games for Vancouver now, but that's a huge, huge game.

Nashville was playing terribly, and they won big on Thursday. Vancouver, as we know, was playing very poorly, and now all of a sudden they've won three of their last four. And you're sitting here and you're saying, okay, these are two teams really desperately who want to feel better about themselves that better be a desperate game on saturday night you know the whole horvat thing i think at points you get exhausted talking about it i know that the people in vancouver didn't like it when i said his comparable was couturier i mean look he's got

10 goals like where does everybody think this is going? Yeah. You know, you and I had a really good conversation on radio and I thought about it more and, and I, and I said that, you know, I don't know if you can sign someone when you're going the way they're going. And you said, I don't know if I would stick to that kind of thinking. You didn't think that was smart thinking. And the more I thought about it, the more I came to agree with you with you you know if you believe a player is a valuable player you sign them no

matter what you're going through at the time i don't know where this one's gonna go but again jeff i go to my default they didn't want to do miller that way they did it and i still wonder if that's going to be the ultimate end game here you know maybe we don't want to do this but we're we're gonna have to do it. We'll see. I'll tell you what's impressive. They're not just hockey players. These are human beings too.

Human beings that read things, hear things, think about things, understand what they're going through. Like he's got the weight of wearing that C on this team, everything that happened to start the season. And not only is he performing, but he's performing at a super elite level. Like, you know, when players say, oh, I'm not going to focus on my contract. I'm just going to play.

Yeah. But you know, in the back of their mind, they're obsessing about their contract and you can see it on the ice and you can see it in the stat sheets and you can just see it and you can feel it. But Horvat is playing some of his best hockey right now. Well, it goes to what we said before about Brett, right? And that's what people can learn about this. like how many people out there listen to this podcast and i'm gonna ask how many people know what you make or what your contract status is to be honest like who

knows what my contract is my wife does i've told max before but i don't think he pays any attention yeah whatever dad my lawyer does obviously the people I negotiate with at work do, but other than that, it's a very small list. And I'm sure that there are people who are listening to this where the list is even smaller. And think about these guys are having it discussed, especially in a place like Vancouver. It's being talked about every day.

And you know what happens? You go to the grocery store to pick up some tomatoes or something, Jeff, because I like tomatoes. I approve. And someone just says to you, you think you're just walking to the grocery store and very well-meaning cashier says, Bo, I hope you stay

or, you know, I hope the Canucks give you $11 billion. And you think you're getting away for a couple minutes and it's right there. And I think to perform well in those circumstances like he's doing like brad's doing like other players have done i think it's a real skill because when it's in the spotlight and it's a topic of conversation and you're under the spotlight every day man that not everybody can live there not everybody can thrive there it takes a special type of person to be able to not just survive, but thrive as a captain in a Canadian city.

Jeff, let me ask you something. If you were good enough to play in the NHL, and we know from the last podcast that when one of your sons was born, you had a big night, and you should have had a baby a baby before every game do you think as a person if you were good enough to be yeah an nhl player could you have been a captain in the canadian market when i was younger elliot absolutely not as i got older i'd like to say that i would but i don't know because i've just seen so many players you know come into canadian markets and say, yeah, I know what I'm in store for.

I know what it's like. And then when they leave, it's a lot of geez, I had no idea it was going to be like that. Like I was always, to be honest with you, I was always impressed at Dion Phaneuf at how he handled being a captain with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sedins. Sedins is the best example. Beaten up, ridiculed,uled insulted showed up yeah just kept showing up like they may be the ultimate example of all of this yeah like i said like it takes a special player and i think sundin did a great job of it too i don't know how he tolerated it for so long yeah saku koivu yeah was fantastic as like there is a long list but there's also a list of guys who couldn't handle it.

Yep. There really is, which makes Horvat even that much more. See, I think I could do it. And I think I would love. Even when you were younger. Oh yeah.

Everybody has things that get to them, but I think we all have varying degrees of a thick skin. I've always had a pretty thick skin. I think in the social media era, it's become even thicker because it has to. Some of the crazy stuff I've always had a pretty thick skin. I think in the social media era, it's become even thicker because it has to some of the crazy stuff I've had. We've all had thrown at us, but I think I could do it. And I have to say,

I would, I would have loved the opportunity to do something like that, but I, I agree. It's, it's not for everyone, particularly there's two things that, that are really tough.

One is the losing. And number two is you know the contract but the one thing i've always believed and i will i always say this to anyone who asks i will play the risks if the rewards are great and i think if you are successful in a canadian market they they love you forever and the the rewards are high. So that's why I would say, yeah, I'd want the chance at it. You know, you mentioned you were sick of seeing Kevin Bieksa a couple of moments ago. Well, you will see him again, Elliot, on Saturday.

A couple of games early, the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators, and a special feature on brand-new Ottawa Senators Forward, Claude Giroux. Check that out. And of course, Hockey Central, it's underway with your host, Ron McLean, at 6.30 Eastern, that is Saturday,

on Hockey Night in Canada. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast, ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Okay, Elliot, I want to ask you about the Sportico article that we saw earlier on this week detailing franchise value. But park that for one second, because now coming to fruition, something that has been long whispered and is now being openly talked about, the Ottawa Senators are priming themselves for sale. What is the very latest? And listen, I don't think anybody was surprised when this news broke, but nonetheless, your initial thoughts on the Ottawa Senators now for sale.

Well, first of all, credit to Sportico for knocking down. As you said, a lot of people suspected it was going to happen. I don't think anybody really took the NHL at their word when they said that nothing was going on. But Sportico knocked it down and got the details out there. And this is kind of a multiple-phase process all coming together at the same time. It's the sale of the team. It's

the negotiations on the downtown arena. It's the settling of the lawsuits based on the last aborted attempt to get that downtown arena built. There's a lot of things going on here and they kind of all have to happen at the same time. I'm not surprised to hear there's a lot of interest, including from Deadpool. When people talk about what's the price going to be and Sportico valued them at $655 million, it's going to be higher than that because one, there's going to be a downtown arena that there isn't now. Two, those lawsuits should all be settled. They're working on that. And three, there's going to be a lot of interest interest and what do you need most to jump up the

number it's multiple bidders and i think they have multiple bidders i think one of the interesting things that's going to be part of all this is what does the final group look like i would expect that the melnick family is going to want to keep a minority share. There's been talk about whether or not someone like Jeff York, whose brother Jason played in the NHL, would have a share in the team. So there would be more local ownership, but also who the majority owner will be. And, you know, Bruce Geriak had a column that had a lot of names out there that I think would be familiar to people who are interested in this process. The Kimmel family based in Toronto. They were former minority owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were bought out when Fenway bought the team. But yes, I think that that is a group that would have some interest. The league really likes them. The league also likes Mike Anlauer, who's a minority

owner of the Montreal Canadiens. He was on our podcast when we did our stop in Hamilton. He owns the Hamilton OHL team, has lots of connections to that team. And yes, his name has been out there before. And the Demaree family, anybody who's followed this with the Sanders knows that there's just been a general feeling of if they want it they're going to be a formidable presence in it and you know the family has done a good job of generally creating the impression that they're not interested we'll find out if that's true because i know not everybody believes them so we're going to find out if that's true or not now i've been working on some other

names i'm not comfortable yet putting them out there but there are some other names of people who now that we know that the team is for sale i think there's going to be some other people who come out and say okay what's the deal here and try to show if they're serious or not but basically i think you're going to hear a lot of names. You know, the league has done a lot of work quietly ever since Eugene Melnick's passing of, okay, when we have to get this team sold, we better have everything ready. Because if we don't, it's going to be an impossible process. But if we do, then we know that A, all the heavy lifting is going to get done.

But if we do, then we know that A, all the heavy lifting is going to get done. So a new owner can simply do plug and play aside from the city wanting to know who they're dealing with or the government wanting to know who they're going to deal with. And B, all of the heavy lifting is going to be done or close to done. Yes, you're going to have to build the building, but at least you know that you're going to be getting a building. And I think that's what the league's goal here was. It's going to be attractive to somebody, and hopefully for them more than one person, I think it will be,

because a lot of the stuff that hung over the franchise is going to be over. And that's what they're going for here. Should we have suspected this, considering everything was so quiet around Ottawa? Like you said, Jeff, this was the worst kept secret i think one of the things here too is that they wanted to be sensitive to the daughters anna and olivia and i know because i heard it the daughters didn't like a lot of the speculation that came out in the aftermath, they were mourning. And I think everybody understands that. They were mourning.

And I know at one point in time, I made some comments about where I thought the team was going. And I heard secondhand, not from them directly, but I heard secondhand that they were upset because they just thought it was too soon. And I don't think anybody would have a problem with that. I think everybody would understand that from their perspective and that's why I think the league was very careful

not to comment on it because they didn't want to say anything until the Melnick family was ready. Now, this comes on the heels of this piece in Sportico and we'll transition from Ottawa to that but use Ottawa as an example. I mean, you ran down a lot of names there, whether it's Jeff York, the Demaree family,

Michael Ann Lauer, the Kimmel family. One of the interesting parts for me in the Sportico piece was David Blitzer, who hockey fans will know as one of the owners of the New Jersey Devils. When discussing NHL ownership, he essentially said, and I'm paraphrasing here, demand is big. We all know there's a lot of billionaires out there. Demand is big, but the supply of teams is low. And in some ways, that's what's helping to drive huge franchise value right now, Frej.

Oh, I don't disagree with you at all. Generally, sports teams are a really good investment, especially if they're part of real estate plays. When you buy a team, do you get a real estate play with it? And if the answer is yes, it drives the value through the roof. And there's going to be a big real estate play as part of this. We all know it. We all see it. We should mention another name too, and that's John Ruddy. John Ruddy, who they have to settle some of these suits with. I've also wondered if it's possible one way to settle the suit is either he gets piece of the team or he's a big part of the land development still.

That's a name that should be mentioned as part of this too. But you know, there's always questions. Okay. When you're buying a franchise, what's the team worth? What's the arena worth? what's the real estate worth all of that stuff is is a huge part you know it jeff it's not just about the hockey it's about what goes on around it and it's about the club that you join as well which leads to other business opportunities and you know it's a wonderful piece to have in your portfolio we've heard owners before,

I think it was Tom Hicks with the Texas Rangers of MLB saying, I've made billions of dollars in the oil industry, but it wasn't until I bought a baseball team that I could pick up the phone and get any table at any restaurant whenever I wanted. There still is that, there's that cachet that comes along with sports ownership. So one of the things I did, Jeff, was I kind of asked around, how does this all work?

Like if Ryan Reynolds wanted to join a team, how would it happen? And if you look at Seattle, for example, they've got Macklemore and Marshawn Lynch there. And I think Vegas sold some minority partnerships into the teams. But basically I was told there's a minimum entry to get in. It's something like in the $5 million range. I don't know the exact number, but that's what a couple teams told me that they believed it was. Like you can't just come in for 10 bucks.

You know, you have to do it for a few million, and also you have to pass a background check. And I think Ryan Reynolds to pass a background check and i think ryan reynolds could pass the background check i'm not sure deadpool could or van wilder could but i think ryan reynolds can oh well there goes that idea i look at the nhl and i look at skyrocketing values for franchises and i say listen that's that's wonderful and we have discussed a lot in almost every podcast, the health of the league and things like salary caps and how much money is in the system

and when the NHL Players Association will pay down their escrow debt, et cetera. And when I was reading that Sportico piece, when I finished it, Elliot, and maybe you're going to roll your eyes at me here, I can almost sense it already. You know what I thought of? What's that?

I thought of Valentine's Day, 2005. And Valentine's Day of 2005 was a very special day for hockey. Well, as an aside, actually, that was the same day that YouTube launched, which has changed all of our media lives and entertainment and information consumption. So YouTube launched that day. But also in Niagara Falls, in the meeting between Ted Saskin and Bill Daley, the NHL Players Association conceded to a salary cap. Now, I know it's still sort of bounced back and forth

and then we took it back to Bob Goodenow. It was, no, we're taking it off the table. But that really was the legit beginnings. There had been rumblings before, Roenick blasting off before about accepting a salary cap, et cetera. But that was the first time that the Players Association said,

we're willing to accept a salary cap. It took a few more months for it to become official. It was, I believe, late July when the deal was finally consummated. But that, in a lot of ways, got this ball rolling. And I've always been reminded, you and I have talked about this before, never to forget where Gary Bettman's number one job is, is commissioner of the NHL, and that is franchise value. The symbolism of Valentine's Day in Niagara Falls, the honeymoon

capital of the world, should not be lost on anybody but that day when the nhl players association came off their stance of no salary cap in a lot of ways elliot was kind of the beginning of skyrocketing franchise value agree or disagree i agree with that i think you're totally right you bring back so many memories about that i just remember how everything changed that day and i remember there were some players who didn't know that was being put on the table uh there was one player scott walker yeah scott walker he was on off the record the day before on landsberg show saying we'll never accept a salary cap and then like the next day the nhlLPA accepted the salary cap. You bring back such memories, Jeff. Like I do remember, and this goes back earlier, I think the offer to roll back the salaries by 24% was in December.

It was, yeah. And I remember, I won't say the name of the player because I think I've never asked him directly if it's true, but I had a number of people tell me it was true. So the night before they made that offer, and this is a superstar player, a superstar player, called the Players Association and said, what are we going to be offering?

Because the reports got out that the Players Association was going to make a new proposal. And so he called and said, what are we proposing? And they told him, we don't want to tell you because we're worried it's going to get out. We'll tell you after. And it was the 24% rollback. So this was in December.

Oh boy. And guys told me, this guy hit the roof. He was like, how dare you make that? I don't even think he told the pa like he just told other teammates like someone said to me like he just he lost it like how dare you roll back 24 percent of my salary without telling me or like agree to do this but you're right that happened with scott walker and i believe another guy had happened with was Brian McCabe. Correct. Yeah. Brian McCabe, you know, this like, just like a standup guy to deal with, whether you liked him or disliked him as a player, he was always there and always stood up. Both him and his wife, Roberta, like two of the most standup people you will ever meet

in your life period. So I just remember how angry he was when that came out, but you're, you're right, Jeff. Like that's totally true that that's what betman is there for is is to drive up franchise values and that's why they've worked so hard to keep this quiet because last time the bid for the downtown arena was all over the place yeah and when that much information is getting out you know it's not going to work it's a bad omen so that's what he's doing because he knows if he gets a commitment to the arena and he gets these lawsuits settled the value of the team goes up up up yeah and the

other thing too actually that's interesting about this one jeff is a lot of times and anybody out there who owns a business knows this if you're selling a business you strip it down the senators are the reverse case not a chance for ottawa that's the opposite because they needed to show that they could get people to stay so even though you've got a big ticket for norris and and a big ticket for stutzla and they're gonna try to talk about a big ticket for to brink it kachok was not as recent there'll be a lot of team will say that franchise might be a little bit more valuable because you convinced people to stay. It's kind of counterintuitive. And I know not everybody will agree with that, but in this case, you could make an argument that it made them more

valuable. Do you get a sense of how players greet news like this, like the Sportico piece with the Maple Leafs and the Rangers and the Billions and franchises going for a minimum, you know, six, $700 million? We all know the salary cap has gone up. I mean, the original salary cap, correct me if I'm wrong here. This is top of my head. I think the upper limit was 39 and the lower limit was 21, which when we look back on now like geez that's remarkable so player salaries have grown make no mistake about it i don't know that they've grown commensurate to franchise value but nonetheless i've always been curious how the pa greets news like this or how players greet news like this i think the number one thing that players think about is what does

this mean for us i don't think the first thing players think about is what does this mean for us? I don't think the first thing they think about is franchise values. Like just imagine Jeff, every time you've worked for a company and you've heard it's going to be sold or there's new leadership or ownership, you think, okay, what does this mean for my future? Am I secure or not? Like, first of all, if you're a player in ottawa you've known this was coming too like this is not news for you you know what you think you you hope it means that you're going to get a

brand new arena that's what you hope it means you hope it means that all of the craziness at times of the last few years is over you You're looking forward to a new era. I think that a lot of players in Ottawa would take a look at what's happened in the last few months and say, we're going in a positive direction and we believe that's going to stay. I think you're only worried if you're going from a situation

where ownership was really good and now you're wondering, oh, okay, what's going to happen here? The only thing you worry about with change is if you think you're in a good position and you think it's going to get worse. I don't think you're thinking that here in Ottawa. Things have really stabilized there, but you think it's only going to get better with a new owner. Like one of the situations I really remember is when Isaiah Thomas suddenly left the Raptors in the middle of their third season, like Tracy McGrady was like two months into his NBA career.

And he told me that when that story broke in the paper, I believe it was Doug Smith of the Toronto Star broke that story, that when that story broke in the paper, like the players didn't know it was Doug Smith of the Toronto Star who broke that story, that when that story broke in the paper, like the players didn't know it was coming. And so Isaiah Thomas, he had to meet with the players in the morning and tell them that, yes, it was true. And he basically turned to McGrady,

who was 18 and two months into his NBA career, and said, welcome to the big leagues, kid. And McGrady told me later, he was like bleeping bricks. He was like, what? So that's the only time I think you worry. I think a lot of the players here will recognize that this is a positive step and a positive evolution in the franchise.

That's what they'll think first and foremost. You don't have to sell your home. You think your arena situation is going to get better. Will there be some people who will say, look, I wish we got a piece of the franchise value? Yeah, I'm sure some of them will. But I think the vast majority of people just look at it and say,

does this affect my family situation? No. Does this affect my personal situation? No. So therefore, I'm okay about it. Elliot, something from a couple of days ago, Wednesday specifically, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs win that one, a game they desperately needed to have. Philadelphia is playing on the back half of a back-to-back.

The night before, they played against the Rangers. And then Wednesday, they played against the Toronto Maple Leafs. And you could tell that they were chasing it. And then Wednesday they played against the Toronto Maple Leafs. And you could tell that they were chasing it. And there was a frustration that you saw amongst a lot of the players from Philadelphia, most notably Travis Konechny, who got in a slashing contest with Austin Matthews. Konechny challenged him to fight. That wasn't happening.

Mark Giordano jumps in. Bunting gets involved. Everybody pairs up. And now everybody has an opinion about it and one of the things that we love about mike rupp uh former stanley cup champion of the devils long time nhl are now analysts with the uh with the nhl network he had some pretty interesting things to say about the entire situation as well but you can't just stand there and be okay with your teammates coming to your defense and you just laugh about it we've seen this movie i've seen this time and time again with austin

playing the cool card doesn't work it doesn't float it may scoop by it may look cool on social media but inside that locker room at some point it's going to wear thin when you've got this situation you've got a 39 year old warrior that's been playing the game hard from day one worked for everything he's got he's got to come in here and fight this fight for you you're gonna smile okay that that's the first part second part Michael Bunting called their finalists last year line mate second year man you're okay with him involved. There's Kelly Yarncroke, Rasmus Sandin, and here's the thing. Austin Matthews is going to stand here and your situation in this is you grab onto somebody to keep it even, right? Look at the body language here by Matthews. One arm, barely up, barely up. It's like a wet noodle. Touch, look away,

turn around, look down at the ice ice won't even look anybody in the eyes the referees are showing more liveliness than awesome matthews if things don't change in toronto if this team doesn't start getting some team toughness and having a backbone they ain't going anywhere they're not winning anything your thoughts on a couple of things here elliot one how did you see the incident and what did you think of Mike Rupp's take on it? Well, first of all, I like these things on the internet. I think fans like them. Like I think when people like Mike Rupp put out videos like that, I think it's really

good for interest and engagement. Obviously, a lot of people were talking about it, so it did what he wanted. And I think it's just good for the game the more people are doing that kind of thing on social media. Almost all discourse is good, whether or not you agree or disagree. First of all, I had no problem with the way that whole thing started. Connect me as being a sore loser. As long as you don't go over the line, I've got no problem with people being a sore loser. Sometimes that just happens. We expect people to be competitive, and Travis Konechny is competitive.

I love the fact that Matthews didn't back down and that he slashed back. I think that's a really important thing. You have to let people know you're not always going to take it, and I really like that about him. i love what giordano did to be honest i think toronto slept walk through the first 11 or so games of their season and it was about time that spark really showed there i think a lot of their games have really been lacking in energy aside from being created on the power play and i thought it was great that giordano said not on my watch and did this I think that's something Toronto kind of needed do I think Mike is right that a Matthew

should pair up with someone yeah you know what he should probably just grab someone and say hey no odd man situations here but overall the way I look at it is you know it just in the grand scheme of things it's been so bad in Toronto the last couple weeks and especially after the Anaheim game that to me if I was the team I would just shrug that off I would say what we needed was the win if we got the win you know Matthew stood up for himself at least with the slashes with Konechny. A player stood up for him in Giordano, absolutely. But if I'm Toronto, that's just noise, and there's enough noise. We don't need to worry about that, and just don't let it become a thing.

You've got enough things so far. But, you know, I would say, you know, just grab someone in the future to make sure there's no odd man fights. But to me, like, I don't understand why this needs to become a thing. It's one person's opinion. It's fun stuff that we should all debate. But if I'm the Maple Leafs, I'm just laughing it off. Much like Matthews did.

Yeah. Well, you know what? He was pretty mad at the beginning which he should have been but then when it got goofy kind of there was kind of like a ned braden-esque quality about like this is just so ridiculous right i was saying that to my producer matt marchese on the air on thursday it became a ned braden moment for austin matthews like this is ridiculous now i don't want to be part of this yeah you know maybe that's true but you have to be part of it at the end of the day i i just don't think that that's something they

need to worry about right now you know the other thing that happened this week and it's going to go under the radar but trevor ziegers got fined yes and i know matt benning wouldn't like to hear this and i can understand why matt benning wouldn't like to hear this and I can understand why Matt Benning wouldn't want to hear it because he's the one who got speared in a very uncomfortable area. Yes. But I love that Zegers did that. I think Zegers needs to show that he's not going to take it all the time that you have

to be worried. He's going to dish it out once in a while. And I thought that was a great thing that Zegers did. And if everybody looks at that and says, okay, that's what I might get. If I rough up this guy, I'm going to be a little bit more careful. That's a big win for him. It's a Chris Pronger philosophy. Well, I just don't think he's ever going to be, you know, Chris Pronger.

The philosophy is the same the philosophy is make them think twice yes like pronger would have this big smile on his on his face while he carved you up like a like a steak like chopped your wrists with a big old grin on his face i'm i miss chris pronger elliot i I really, really do. Oh, yeah. I do too. Like, true character. Just hilarious guy. Gave as good as he got on the ice and off it. Just a fun, fun guy.

Elliot, the Seattle Kraken, continue to win. And they shut out the Minnesota Wild for nothing is the final. Morgan Geeky with a goal. Jamie Oleksiak and a pair by alex venberg and because jared mccann was not available for this one shane wright drew in and finally got some minutes yeah career high 13 minutes his previous high was just under nine so jeff what does this mean your whining gets results my. My mentioning on hockey night. Yes.

No, I think it would qualify as whining. No, I think it was your insert in your new blog. Well, I think the tip off that is going to play more is he was playing with Yanni Gordon, Brandon Tanev. Yeah, those guys are going to play. So those guys are going to play. I think that was the first clue that Shane Wright was going to have his minutes bumped up.

You know, I got to tell you, there's some interesting teams here. We talked about Calgary already, Minnesota. Bill Guerin's already gone to the, okay, let's complain to Michael Russo phase of how I don't like this team has started. And, you know, Guerin's a fearless guy. You know, Florida. One thing that Cassie was saying,

because Cassie's out there working their game, she said that Ekblad looked really good in practice out there. So he's still probably a few days away, but that's good news for the Panthers. But hey, they lose in Arizona, even though they carried the play. They had a 2-0 lead tonight against San Jose. The Sharks came back and tied that game. I wonder, Jeff, if Carter Verhage's gold night for the Panthers

goes down as the one that changes their season in a positive way. Verhage back line. The net could shot. And Matthew could shot. Pass to Verhage. Side shot. He scores! Carter Verhage from the bottom of the near circle.

Top shelf. And this game is tied at three. Carter Verhagen. What a rip from a tough angle. Upstairs. Pass Reimer. And we've got a whole new hockey game here with 122 to go in regulation time. Simply because they're down 3-2, Reimer doesn't give them a lot of room at all,

but Verhege finds it because as Kelly Rudy says, everybody in this league can shoot. And Verhege's proof, Reinhardt wins it in the shootout, but if Verhege doesn't score there there it's two straight ugly losses on this road trip now there's momentum it's all positive and zen for the panthers elliot taking us out today is an australian artist who pulls influences from punk hip-hop and electronic slow jack just dropped his debut record and it's fierce and raw. The production is tight. The voice is memorable. From Backstab, here's Slow Jack stop Slow down, I'm addicted to the lifestyle

All the people want me now that I'm a winner Slow down, I'm addicted to the lifestyle All the people want me now that I can't slow down Slow down, I'm addicted to the lifestyle All the people want me now that I'm a winner Slow down, I'm addicted to the lifestyle All the people want me now that I'm a winner Slow down, I'm addicted to the lifestyle All the people want me now that I can't slow down I say, will I ever get a minute to breathe?

They say, wanna hang out with me I don't wanna be a record player walking the street. I don't wanna be stuck on the leash. Yeah, I wanna get mine. I say it all the time if I could recommend. As you blow up, make a bunch of friends and let them in. Day one on my side, I'm on the road now. Tell them have a nice fucking day.