32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Upsets and Aftermaths

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman open the podcast by breaking down the Oilers exit from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the hand of the Anaheim Ducks. That makes way for the heavyweight bout of the 1st round as the Minnesota Wild knockout the Dallas Stars (15:27). The Final Thought focuses on the news and notes from around the league including: The Vancouver front office search (27:00) The Toronto front office search (32:10) Misha Donskov to coach Canada's Men's Worlds and World Juniors (36:32) Kyle and Elliotte answer your questions and comments in The Thought Line (40:10). In the final segment the fellas talk about the Canadiens-Lightning series (52:30) and the Flyers-Penguins series (1:04:00) Today we highlight Calgary's Coda Club and their track Purgatory. Check their music out here. Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here. Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail. This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

got his time zones mixed up, did you? And then you text it and you're like, I got my time zones mixed up. Yeah, I thought it was 315, not 215. Well, that's not even time zones. Just got the timer on. Yeah. No, yeah. When I saw you said 515, I was like, oh, that's 315 Pacific.

And then I'll text. I think that's the first time you've ever done that. Yeah. Where are you? I'm in the car. Are you going to record it for the car? Yeah, I've got the Riverside app going, so I've hit record. So if you guys want to start whenever, it'll be recording.

Oh, my gosh. Okay, let's go. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the 100% electric BZ. Available now during Red Tag days, Dom, Elliot, Kyle, back with you. Welcome to the month of. of May for age, the final day of April. Yeah, we're here. That April went by in a flash.

The final day of the month featured two games, both with elimination circumstances, and the two teams in the last two years that met in the Western Conference final both had their season's end on Thursday night. The Edmonton Oilers, a third straight. trip to the Stanley Cup final is not going to happen. And the Anaheim Ducks, they are not just a team that can score. We learn they're a team that can close out a series as well. Pat Verbeke, he had the mandate to make the playoffs this year. They have done more than that. The upstart Ducks, Elliot, through to round number two in 2026.

The window is open, Kyle. The ducks have arrived. The flying V has landed. The contention window is open. And look, we know the others have injuries and we'll get to that, but I just think that the ducks deserve the credit. They did not fluk into this series victory. They won it, fair and square.

They earned it. They were the better team for most of the series. and I think they've got some guys playing hurt too. Everybody does it at this time of year. Probably the guy I'm happiest for in some ways is Jackson Lacombe, because he was fantastic, and he had another great defensive play on a one-on-one with McDavid in the first period of the game.

And yes, we know McDavid is somewhere around 50%, but it doesn't matter. Him at 50% can still embarrass a lot of people. Lecombe got a big contract at the beginning of the year, the biggest money in Doc's franchise history, and there were people like, who, who's this guy, who got all this money? Well, nobody's questioning that anymore,

and a lot of people in the sport already knew how good he was, and how good, you look at it now, the U.S. won the gold medal at the Olympics, and we all know how good their D was, but it had to be really good because this guy didn't get to play a minute. He was their extra defenseman and he just sat there and now look how we played

in the first round. He was a stud. I thought Leo Carlson was great. I thought Goethe was dangerous. I was really happy for Terry too. He did a great interview with Scott Oak, the longest serving duck. Dostal, who had not been very good.

He entered this game with the worst numbers in terms of save percentage of any goalie in the playoffs and only Lukanin among goalies who played more than one game had a worse goals against average. And he was, Kelly felt he was dicey in the first period. Like, he thought he was vulnerable, but he locked the door in the last two and he looked. Like, he's a great goalie. Anybody who's listening to this podcast knows how highly we think of him, what he almost did to Canada at the Olympics, but he hadn't been himself since the calendar flipped

to April. He finished better this way. But that fourth line, it's amazing to me. They kept on putting Veal, Washy, and Moore out there against McDavid, and you would have think that they would have been obliterated by those guys. And they hung in there. They played really well. Like, Jeffrey Veal is a 29-year-old guy who's an unrestricted free agent. And how much How much money do you think he just made, Kyle? Oh, I think, yeah, he's at minimum, doubled his lot in life going into the summer. So, VL this year is making $775, okay? Like, I look at his history.

I think $780 is the most he's ever made. All of his other contracts, I think, are under $800 as well. Like, I don't think this guy has ever been over 800K a year. I think it's 7. I think 780 is the max. He's going to get something now. Obviously, it's not going to be ridiculous, but it's going to make a difference in his life. And I love to see guys like that get rewarded.

If you go back two weeks, Kyle, I really felt were the ducks going to be happy to be here? or were they actually going to be ready for this? Well, we got our answer. They were ready for this, and they're going to be a tough out for either Vegas or Utah, whoever gets them next. Congratulations to them.

They deserve it. And it was Troy Terry who said to Scott after the game, that first game of the series. They lost it, but they thought, coming off the ice in Edmonton, we realize, hey, we can play with these guys. And they went and proved it. You know who else I thought of, seeing them celebrate a series win here on Thursday night?

Ryan Strom. Yep. Not around anymore. Traded to Calgary. And Canadians fans know this. Like early in the Montreal rebuild, Martin St. Louis had this line about, you know, sometimes you go and plant the trees, but you're not around to be able to sit in the shade. Those players that are around during the tough years, the developmental years, the teaching, the

teaching the young players how to handle all of this. You know, in Montreal, Jake Allen was one of the great examples of all of that. No longer here as Canadians are now playoff bound back-to-back years. And Ryan Strong was very much that guy. What, 14 players made their playoff debut for Anaheim here in this series. You know, go around that room and ask the kind of influence that that guy had on that group on his time in Anaheim. And even though he's no longer a duck, big, big part of where they are right now.

So that was a guy I thought of through all this, too, Elliot. Yes, and we'll be seeing some more of Ryan Strom, I think. Okay. Oilers. Yes. Oilers. So I've said enough stuff that's gotten me in trouble in Edmonton this year. So I was trying to be careful.

but I watched Connor McDavid post game and his line was we were an average team all year when you're an average team with high expectations you're going to be disappointed so someone called me earlier in the series and look we know Edmonton's banged up okay again it's not an excuse I think Anaheim's banged up to, but we know Edmonton's banged up. We know McDavid's hurt. We know Drysettles hurt. We know Dickinson's hurt. We know Hyman came back from an injury. And aside from his messy light kicking motion, I'm not sure how close to 100% he is. The Oilers, historically, when they lose, they're angry. McDavid's angry, dry-sidels angry, you can't miss it.

It's there, it's raw, it's open. These guys are demanding to play with. They demand a lot of themselves. They demand a lot of others. And we've seen their emotion boil over before. We really didn't see it in this series, Kyle. They were disappointed, you could tell. But did you ever see them really angry?

like we've seen them angry before. Did you see that? No, it was different this year. So, you know, Florida missed it. Florida been in the final three straight years, lost one, one, two, and they were out of gas. Edmonton been to the final two straight years, not three, but two, and they'd gone far before. I also think they ran out of gas. and I think when you take a look at the running out of gas and the injuries,

Kyle, I think they knew. I think they knew they just, they were kind of resigned to, we just didn't have that ability to get to a higher level this year. They knew they weren't the contender. They were the last two seasons. And we're going to do more of a breakdown on them over the next few days. I want to take some more time to, you know, make some calls and just think about it a bit. But this was a really hard year in Edmonton.

I think it was the pressure, the disappointment of going to the final twice and losing, wanting to climb that mountain again. Like I don't think the will was lacking. I think these guys still want to be great and demand. to be great, but they just didn't have it. You know, the goalie trade that didn't work out, you know, they traded for Ingram and that one did work out, but they traded for Jari and that one didn't. He got one game in the playoffs and even after he played really well, they were like, no,

Ingram's our guy. They said they weren't going to bring Paul Coffey back. They brought Paul Coffee back. Like there were a lot of things that happened this year that I think you know there's going to be challenges, but this was a harder year than Edmonton expected. And I'm just curious to see where all of the cards land when this is over because I think everybody there is exhausted on and off the ice. and this is one of those situations where I think everybody takes a step back and they breathe a bit and then they figure out where this is all going to go. Like, you know, someone said to me, I was on my national radio hit and they said,

if Edmonton loses, do you think McDavid asked for a trade? And I'm like, no, I don't think that's happening. And, you know, people were asking me that in the third period. They were texting. You think McDavid asked for a trade if they don't come back? And I'm like, no, I don't think that's going to happen. But I do think there's a lot of organizational disappointment about how this year went. And I think there's a lot of physical and emotional burnout.

And let's see where the next little bit takes us. Just felt unsettled almost right from the start of the year. Don't you find, Elliot? Like all the things you just touched on throughout the season, remember those dry sidles comments just before. the Olympics, kind of set things into disarray again and trying to get things back on the rails. You know, Nugent Hopkins said after the game couldn't keep the puck out of Arnett. It was the story all year.

They gave it, what, 26 goals to the ducks in six games. And not all of that is goaltending. It's, you know, part of it is the team collectively. But it's just, it never felt settled there in Edmonton. And to your point for everything that was kind of working again, against them, like, that's going to happen. And I wouldn't say they were resigned. Like, I get what you're saying there, Elliot, because I think resignation, you're now kind

of insinuating the idea of, of, of giving up. And I don't think that's what they did at all. But just understanding, this is what it's been all year. Yes. No, this is what it's been all year. I never believe they were giving up. But I think, you know, and McDavid, I, McDavid's quotes at the end confirmed what I thought. They just felt they weren't as good. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And there must be something to be said, too.

I mean, for all, from a player's perspective, well, like you've played deep into the spring the last two years, now you get a little more of a full summer to recover to get yourself feeling good. Is there not something to be said to from a front office perspective where our season ends on June 24th, we've got the draft in a couple of days, and now we've got to decide what we're doing at free agency, like to have a little more time to ramp into those critical dates on the calendar and come up with a bit of a plan, that may be a silver lining here too moving forward because July 1st, it's, it's, they've, they've had some tough ones here the last couple of years. Like, let's, let's be honest, right? So now a bit more time to try to come up with the best plan of attack there. And most importantly,

McDavid and Drysidl and other guys can rest. For sure. For sure. So, We'll get a little deeper into the Oilers in a few days, you think? Yes. Okay. All right. Yes. So congrats to the Ducks. They'll face the winner of either Vegas or Utah.

And I have to say with how Anaheim is playing and how Utah and Vegas look in their series, not a bad matchup, one way or another for the Ducks. There will be more opportunity to flex their offensive muscle in round number two. It should be very good. Okay. the other Western Conference series that wrapped up on Thursday night, the heavyweight bout of round one,

Elliot, Minnesota and Dallas. Great night for Minnesota sports in general, by the way. The Timberwolves knocked off the nuggets. Is that a precursor? We've already had one Minnesota team beating a Denver team in the playoffs on the Hardwood, and now the Wilder set up to play the avalanche in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But as we all know, Bill Garon determined this year to arm his team with the ability to hold their own in the most top heavy division in the league. There was a haul he gave up for Quinghuees, even the second round pick for Michael McCarran, but he saw a role for him. A seventh game not necessary here, and an 11-year drought is over for the wild.

Inability to get out of the first round, no longer. They are through to round two. You mentioned that the timberwolds beat the nuggets. Did you see the home run that Byron Buxton hit against the Blue Jays tonight? No. I've been ducking a bit of that lately. Okay. So.

To alleviate stress. We have seven TVs in the room where we watched. And so one of them was on the Blue Jays. Yeah, I only have six in my hotel. Yes. I know, you know, you, yes, you didn't get the presidential suite this time. Nope. When I went to Master Cuthbert.

Yeah. Cuthbert's bathing his feet in it right now, taking care of those disgusting corns he's got on there. Anyway, Buxden hit a home run tonight that I think landed in Dom's backyard in Vancouver. Geez. Really? Oh, my God.

Well, good for Byron Bucks. Good night for Minnesota. Anyway, gambling Garen rolls another seven. A huge win for them. John Heinz, first ever series win. Yes. And the thing about the wild this year is that after so many years of coming out short in the first round, 11 years since they last won a series,

not only did they talk the talk, but they walked the walk. What did Marcus Felino say? They can't beat us five on five. What did Brock Faber say? We knew we were the better team, but we had to prove it. Finally, they did it.

Finally, they did it. And they were the better team five on five. They dominated it. And they never panicked. Like, we have seen the Minnesota team falter or panic or whatever. they dominated this series at even strength. Finally, Maverick Bork scored for Dallas on it,

but they dominated the series. And their depth players were better. And, you know, I think you could say that some of Dallas's top players were very good, but overall, Minnesotas were better. Like the Faber Hughes duo, they dominated. They were, they own the ice. every time they were out there. And Minnesota was full value for this,

and I'm really interested to see what they can do against Colorado. Because there aren't many teams that can say we have the star power that can match the avalanche. They are. They have star power. I mean, the avalanche are so deep down the middle. That's what scares me about them for Minnesota. Minnesota, but this series, Minnesota took a really good team, a 100, what, 12-point team, and they dismantled them. Jasper Walsstadt, first Minnesota rookie to win a playoff round.

Like, that was another gutsy call. They would have been easy for them to go with Gustafin. They go with him, and he wins it. This Minnesota-Colaro series, this is a Stanley Cup in round number two. to. And now that the wild have finally gotten over the hump, they're going to have, they're going to be even more confident. Like, they're a confident bunch to begin with the way they talk, but they're going to be even bigger now, although this is the big challenge. This might be a tough, if Minnesota was to win this series, this might be the toughest series they play, even no matter what happens after that. You know, the moment I really thought perfectly encapsulated the series is Dallas finally gets that even strength goal from Bork to go up two to one and the lead lasts 54 seconds. Like they go right back down the ice and Teresenko scores to tie it. And that's a perfect example of what they're all about.

I have two predictions about the wild and the players. Do you want to hear them? Yes. Love your predictions. Prediction number one, Quinn Hughes signs a three-year extension. Ooh. Okay.

Mm-hmm. Three years. How did you land of that number? It's just my prediction. Three years. He goes three years. All right. My second prediction is, I think I may have mentioned this before,

Vancouver makes a big run at McCarron. Vancouver? Yes. But I think there will be more. He's been phenomenal. He's been fantastic. But then I think he's the kind of player that the Canucks will look. look at, but there will be others.

Wow. I can understand. Yeah, a whole host of teams would love what he brings to the table and what he's bringing to the table in the playoffs. Vancouver is a bit interesting only because of where they're at, short term and long term. Yeah. But anyway, good, all right, those are two good predictions.

We'll see if either of those turn out to be right. Now, let's talk about Dallas a bit. So Dallas, again, as I often say, to me it's not when you lose in the playoffs. It's who you lose to. The stars won't be happy with a first round loss. They'll be disappointed, but they lost to Minnesota, which is a hell of a team. I think the biggest disappointment they have is look at the guys who have zeros next to their name. Ben, no points, Foxa no points, Sam Steele no points, Thomas Harley, no points.

and that's a rough one. They need Harley. He had a really tough start to the season. He admitted, but I thought he finished really well. I thought he played very well at the Olympics for Canada, and I thought he finished really well, but he had a nightmare of a playoff. Now, some of those guys were part of a very important penalty kill

that gave Minnesota all sorts of fits. But the bottom line is until Bunting went in, and Bunting got two points in game six, they didn't have anything from anyone in their bottom six. And Bunting finally gave them something. Rare prediction, Kyle, from us that turned out to be a good one that they should put Bunting in and he could help them. Obviously, there's a big decision here on Ben,

a big decision here. And, you know, the biggest challenges for this is that he's a franchise legend, he's going to get his number retired but you almost wonder if

I mean like who's going to make the choice here is it going to be Ben making the choice or is it going to be the stars making the choice about where this goes and so that's a big one you know the other one is

is Jason Robertson. And Jason Robertson took care of business this year. The Dallas Stars told him, you know, don't worry about the contract. Let's see how the year goes and we'll see what happens when it ends. Well, Kyle, I don't know how you voted, but I think, if I remember correctly, I had him as my first team All-Star winger in voting. Left wing, I think he is.

I always forget this stuff. I know I have it correct on my ballot. But I think he was first on mine. He had a 40 goal year. He scored five in the playoffs, five of the first six games. He took care of business, and they're going to have no choice but to pay him. And I believe that's going to be around $12 million a year. I think he's going to want the same thing Rattin and got.

And the way this went, Kyle, I would be surprised if he doesn't get it. and I'll tell you this, like those Robertson brothers, Jason and Nick, I give their parents a lot of credit. They raise those kids well. They don't complain. They do their job to their best of their ability. And they're both real gentlemen. And he took care of business and I think they're going to have no choice but to sign him, Kyle. I can't, the only way I can see this going another way is if for whatever reason Robertson decides he wants to go elsewhere.

but I have no reason to believe that. They're going to have to do it. And the thing that's really interesting about that is that like Bork, they have to give him a new contract too. And, you know, he had just one goal in the playoffs. It was a big goal. You know,

I just wonder if they're going to have room, like when they add his 12 here, ish that Robertson's going to sign for, it might be trouble to fit. It might be a problem for them to fit in other pieces like Bork. So Dahl's going to have some decisions to make. And they're going to be disappointed. They don't want to hear what I said, like, oh, well, you lost to a Minnesota, great team.

They're going to be like, we lost in the first round. That sucks. And obviously not having hints was a very big deal. Yes. Different team without hints in the lineup. Yes. There's no question there. And with both Robertson brothers switching agencies over the course of the season,

I mean, Andy Scott, it seemingly represents half. the Dallas Stars now. So at least there's somebody familiar, again, going into Jim Nell's office to try to get a deal done, assuming that's the route it goes. But that's a big one for Dallas, the future of their captain there as well. And the Stars team that had been to the third round each of the last two years, three years, excuse me. And now, though they were against a quality opponent in the first round, it's tough to not feel like, okay, did we take a bit of a step back this season and where do they go from here?

All right, so why don't we get now to the final thought brought to you by the Toyota BZ? And so the final thought will be just a roundup of other news and notes from around the league. We'll start in Vancouver this time, Elliot, and their search for a new hire in their front office a number of names have been out there reported about who has interviewed with the Canucks.

What's the latest that you've got on the Vancouver front? Let's take a look at the names that we're aware of, and I'm sorry if I missed anything here. Shane Donne, Jeff Tamblini, Brad Pascall, Ryan Johnson, Patrick Burke, Ray Whitney, Evan Gold, Ryan Martin, Brett Peterson, Jamie Langenbrenner. Those are the ones, if they're, There's other people in there, unless I forgot someone who's been obviously reported, those are the ones I know about.

Now, Tom Fitzgerald, I think I mentioned it on the last pod, but in case anybody didn't hear, and shame on you if you didn't, I think they did ask to talk to him, but I understand he's focused on Nashville. So that didn't happen. I believe some people have been told they're out. I think Patrick Burke was told he was out. I think Ray Whitney was told he was out. I think Ryan Martin was told he was out. So I don't know if there's a short list yet.

I think there might be a little bit of semantics in terms of they've told some people they're out, but I don't know if they've completely whittled down the list. We'll see where that goes over the next two days. I heard positive things about Done. I heard positive things about gold, but there could be others. I just might not have heard everything. I think the Knox have an interesting dynamic here. And, you know, I think a number of you have heard a similar kind of report.

I've said it, and I'm definitely not the only one, that, You know, Jim Rutherford, I think his choice was Ryan Johnson. If you don't hire Ryan Johnson, and let's just say you hire someone like Evan Gold or Brett Peterson, who are in a similar position to Ryan Johnson, but in another, but it comes in from another organization, I think you might have a question there about what it means for the future of Johnson and your organization. Like the Canucks obviously thought very highly of him a year ago to extend his contract and ask for him to agree not to interview anywhere. But when you when you're in a situation like that and then you bring in someone from outside who's similar and put them above them, you kind of have a decision to make. So that's one thing I've been thinking about.

I've been asking about some of the questions that the Canucks have been going with. I think they've asked some of these candidates how long they feel their rebuild would need to be. That's definitely been one of the questions and other questions about rebuild as a subset to that, including what were some of the most important lessons you learned. but they've definitely been asked about how long realistically they feel a rebuild there could be. I think they've asked them to rank their top three picks because that's where Vancouver could pick from one to three. So they want to have an idea of what everybody thinks. And I think also they've been asked about coach from what they've seen.

Would they want to keep Adam foot or would they want to. to make a change. So I believe all of these things have come up in conversation as part of the interview topics. And I heard there's been five people on most of these Zooms with the candidate. So that's some of the stuff that I know so far. All right. And any sense of, well, I mean, we're days away from the draft lottery. I don't think the draft lottery matters because they know where they're going to be picking, one, two, or three,

and they're asking these candidates who they would take in those spots. They have an idea of how their candidates feel. I think they want to do in-person visits before they can, before they, you know, hire someone, and that's obviously a smart move. Okay. What about Toronto? So Toronto So James Myrtle in the athletic

had a line about Toronto being turned down asking to speak to a current general manager I believe that was Julian Breezeboe of the Tampa Bay Lightning. That's who I think they asked permission to speak to and I don't think anyone is shocked to hear that the lightning would say no. So that's that's that. I do think they asked for permission to speak to him and they were rejected.

I mean, everybody listening to this knows what I have reported over the past couple of days that I think they're working on a Matt Sundin-John-Chika combination, and it's a matter of Sundin agreeing to a contract, and to what they have planned for him. Because I do think at the beginning, everybody was kind of like, let's bring you back into the organization and that it involved into,

we want you to have a bigger role. And I think everybody had to understand everybody else's expectations of what this was going to be about. As last I heard on Thursday, there was still confidence that this was moving in a proper direction, but again, nothing is done until it is done. You know, there's been a lot of reporting over the past couple days on this. I've been working on a lot of it myself.

You know, the biggest questions that I've been asking is just about, I have a lot of notes from Chaka's time in Arizona and what people said back then. and I'm trying to go back to some of those people and say, okay, this is what was then, you know, how do you think it's different 10 years later? Have your opinions softened? Have your opinions changed? Do you believe this has a chance to be different? And, you know, I think the biggest thing is that there's a reason that 26-year-old people,

are not hired to run these kinds of companies. Because you don't have the life experience to do them. You don't, you can't manage people. You're unprepared to manage people who are a lot older and a lot more experienced than you. And, you know, I've seen people arguing about good move, bad move, things he did. It was a gong show of an organization and we know that. I think a lot of people back then were the way things were handled in a personal way. Managing people is important.

And that's one of the things I spent a lot of time trying to make calls about just to see with a bit more time and a bit more experience to some of the people who had issues back then feel he could be better now. and I'm working through that at this point in time, and I'll present my findings, but also I want to speak to him. I've reached out to him. I haven't been able to talk to him yet. He's been ducking all interview requests, but the questions that get raised,

I would like to ask him about them myself, see what he has to say and judge those answers. Excellent. Well, we can't wait to hear more there because that's certainly been a big, you know, as that name has surfaced and it all seems to be headed in that direction, a big part of the conversation of, okay, how is Cheka different now compared to then? How much was it victim of circumstance and the environment in Arizona at the time? All of it. All important questions to be asked. And I think we're to your point, still working our way through getting a good answer there. Okay, the other bit of news we wanted to touch on here before we wrap up, Misha Donskov, Elliot. So he's a guy who's been in the coaching world for a number of years. He's got a history with hockey Canada. He was part of the coaching staff at the Four Nations, at the Olympics.

He's been coaching staff with a couple of different stops in the NHL. And it was announced on Thursday that he is going to be the head coach for Team Canada at the World Championships coming up this year, also next, and the head coach of the World Junior team next year between Edmonton and Red Deer. So this is a name that I think has been out there maybe a little more the last couple of years, Elliot.

What was your impressions about this news of Hockey Canada given Donskar of these roles over the next couple of years? Well, I think it was kind of a plan that he was going to be a very big person at Hockey Canada for years to come. You know, he worked on the Olympic team this year. He was in Italy with them. But I've had a couple. So we mentioned Mani Malhotra as an up-and-coming younger coach. And I had someone who reached out to me and said,

you should start putting Misha Donskov in that group. two and he will be he just turned 49 his birthday was was last week and they said you should start putting him on that list and one of the things I suspect here was that he was on the Olympic team as we mentioned and Peter DeBoer is now coaching the islanders and I had a couple people who said to me they thought DeBoer would be interested in him and you know the islanders now have an opening on the bench. They made one assistant coach change. And I don't know if that was DeBoer's plan or not.

There were some rumors out there that Donskhov would be consideration for that or other jobs. But now he's locked in as a head coach and he's going to be in prime position here. And I just had a few people tell me, watch out for this guy because the NHL knows him a bit from his days in Dallas and Vegas. and now with Hockey Canada and the Olympics, and his time will come. I think one of the things that was the question here

was just getting a bit more head coaching experience, and now he's going to get it in a couple of tournaments, but I've had people say to me, you better start doing your work because his time's going to come. Makes a lot of sense. And also he would have worked with DeBore in Vegas for a number of years too. Right, of course. the team Canada experiences.

So some growing history now between Donzkov and some prominent names around coaching circles in hockey and he himself is becoming a more prominent name as we move on here. All right, that was the final thought to presented by the Toyota BZ. We'll take our first break when we come back. A brand new edition of The Thought Line is back. We'll also get to the other series that are still ongoing in this first round and look ahead to Friday as well.

do we come back on 32 thoughts, the podcast. All right, welcome back. Time now for a true car cast edition of the thought line. No, I'm in my hotel in Montreal. Elliot's not in his car. He's at home in Toronto. Producer Dom is on the go, mobile producing this edition of the thought line. A 32 thoughts first, Elliot.

So Dom is. usually on the ball. As much as it pains me to give him a compliment, Dom never screws up time zones until today. Thursday, well, it's the podcast you'll hear on Friday, May 1st, but this part was taped Thursday, April 30th, for the first time ever, Dom forgot that the eastern time zone is three hours ahead of the Pacific. one. So when we were supposed to record this, he was driving. And Dom wants us all to know that this is a hands-free setup. He does not want the Vancouver police to leave their protective services guarding the Vancouver Whitecaps owners to worry about him illegally driving a vehicle.

with equipment in his car. I have a theory because it's tax season and maybe Dom had some discrepancies in his return. And his mind was a little preoccupied. That's the only... I don't make fun of the CRA, Kyle. There's two groups of people I don't make fun of, the CRA and the border control.

Yeah, well, I'm not even going to ask why. All right, any shout-outs? you before we proceed. Yeah, there's a couple. So in one of the previous pods, we were talking about coaches who won in cities they played in. And I wondered about Glenn Sather. And I had a few Albertans reach out to me and say, you were right, even though, as one person said to me, they said, Kyle is too serious a dungeon master. He would have been a terrible dungeons and dragons leader because there is no gray area. It is black or white.

As several people pointed out to me, Glenn Sather played one season in the WHA, the last professional year of his career for the Edmond and Oilers in 1976-77, where he had 19 goals and 34 assists. So even though Sather did not play for the Oilers in the NHL, he coached them. to the Stanley Cup. He managed them to the Stanley Cup, and he did play for them in the WHA. So I got a few of those.

Yes. Well, I'm glad those called it out because, yeah, that's why it wouldn't have come up on the list because he played for them when they were with the WHA. But I agree. That should count. He wore the jersey. Then he coached them. Won a cup. He's on the list. I agree. I'm with you on this. And I also got some people mentioned assistant coaches or one person did. And they pointed out how Steve Ott was a beloved St. Louis Blue player. Yeah. And he was an assistant coach for the Blues when they won the Stanley Cup in 1989. And Ott right now is coaching the Blues American hockey league team in Springfield. And they actually won their first round series. They beat the two. Charlotte, Charlotte. I pronounced it Charlotte.

Can you believe that? That's pretty good. That's right up there with Detroit and Mishap. No. But at least Detroit, I do that on purpose. This Charlotte was not on purpose. They beat the Charlotte Checkers. You know why I got that wrong?

Because their name is too confusing. Can you guys come up with an easier name? The back-to-back-C-H. Yes, they beat the Charlotte Checkers 2-1. and now they move on to the Atlantic Division Finals. So I wanted to shout out Steve Ott. Excellent. Okay, here we go.

A couple submissions today. We begin with Jackie in Westport, Massachusetts. Greetings to Dom, Elliott, and Kyle. I can't believe your list of injury-related emotional Stanley Cup final moments omitted the night the New Jersey Devils clinched the cup in the year 2000. Peter Sikora was stretched off the ice during. during the first period after a devastating hit from Darian Hatcher. Thankfully, this didn't result in a more serious injury,

but he had to watch the remainder of the game from a hospital bit. As the team rushed onto the ice following Jason Arnett's double OT winner, Patrick Eliasch, and later Larry Robinson, Don Cicorra's jersey to include him in the celebration. That moment cemented Robinson standing as the single greatest threat to my quarter century plus marriage. Thanks for all your great work on this pond from Jackie, a stalwart Devils fan, Mired in Bruins country.

Jackie, you're right about that. I can't believe it. I covered that series. I remember it. And the Devils did take the Stanley Cup to the hospital that night so that So that Socorah could see it. Yes, excellent call. Can't believe I forgot.

Thank you for reminding us. Great one. Okay, Steve from Cobden, Ontario. Hello, Kyle, Dom, and the Rack. Kuhn King. I'm here watching the Penns Flyers game six, and it's currently in the first overtime still zero zero. It has me wondering if this could be the longest game without a goal, would love to hear what SportsNet stats can find. We did not even need Sportsnet stats for this one, Elliot. We remember this one because the longest, as a matter of fact, I think it's the two

longest games in NHL history are both won nothing games, if I remember correctly. The one, the longest one from 1936, Detroit and the Montreal Maroons is for sure. And I think the second one is, but I can't remember for certain. Yes, you are right. That one also went into a sixth overtime, though not as deep as the Detroit Montreal Maroons game in 36. This was three years previous between Boston and Toronto, one of the links between both those games was that goaltender

Lauren Shabbat appeared in both. Really? One, lost one, but unbelievable. You had one goaltender appear in the two longest playoff games in NHL history. And also, earlier this week was the anniversary of the Devils and Sabres going to quadruple overtime

where Dave Hannan scored, and that was where two Hall of Famers faced each other. Dominic Hachuk beat Martin Broder, That was also a one-nothing game. The anniversary of that game was earlier this week. A great game. I remember watching that one on television. Awesome.

Good memory. Okay. One more here, Nathan in Beaumont, Alberta. Good day. Griffin, Dom Kyle, and Cyril Sneer. Oh, God. What's up with that? So Cyril Sneer was the opponent in the Raccoons cartoon.

and Cyril Sneer was the bad guy. Right. Right. And he always lost just like I am against the real raccoons. Yes. So this is, that's appropriately named here. I was listening to Monday's pod and the discussion surrounding goalie numbers in the Carolina Ottawa game got me thinking.

Both goalies turned in excellent performances, but under very different circumstances from their original regular season numbers. In the post-salary cap era, what is the biggest discrepancy in a goalie say percentage from regular season average to postseason average. Examples that come to mind would be Tim Thomas dominating in 2011 or J.S. Shaguerre getting a ton of shutouts with the ducks in 2003, but I'm not sure if either of these would be the biggest gap.

Keep up the great work and I'm still waiting for that Raccoons on Ice teleifies game from Elliott slash Cyril's backyard. That's right. I remember that earlier. You'll be waiting a long time. I want to give them any more reason to stay. Yes, that's right. You just welcome more of them. Gee, off the top of my head, I would have no idea.

Like, I really, I mean, Patrick Juan, 86, I don't know. So our post-s salary cap era, 05.06 on. So biggest jump from regular season to playoffs. Would Bennington be it? No, because he got hard at the end of the year. Sixth on the list, but not 2019. This was 21, 22 when they lost to Colorado in the second round. Now, top of the list, if you want me to give it to you.

Just give me the year. Well, I was going to say it has a bit of an asterisk on it because it's from this year, and he's still playing, so the number can change. Oh, that's a... Nathan touched on it. in his lead up to the question. You're assuming I was listening to that part of it. Yes, that's a big assumption.

As you know, my attention wanders, and sometimes I go in and out. Right. We lost you at Cyril Sneer. But you basically did because I was thinking about that the whole time. Yes, okay. Well, Frederick Anderson. Yes, there we go. He was 874 in the regular season right now through the four games against Ottawa and 9.55, say, percentage.

That's the biggest jump right now in the salary cap era. The second biggest belongs to Thatcher Demko in 1920. Of course, that regular season was cut short. He was 9.05 in the regular season. And then Bubble Demko was born. Oh, yes. Remember, 985 in the playoffs for the Canucks. Just unconscious.

level good. He was fantastic. Yeah. Man, I'd like to see him get back to that. All the injuries. Yes, we all would for sure. So other goalies that have appeared on this list just from this season, you know, Archer's Shilovs, not a ton of games,

but excellent, of course, for Pittsburgh. And Alex Lyons, gone from a 907, and to this point, as of this recording, a 953 with the Buffalo San Francisco. Also shout out Michael Neuberth. Had a great showing, though it was a short one, for Philadelphia in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs at 9-81. All right, that's going to do it for this edition of the thought line.

You can send in a submission of your own 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca, or if you'd like to leave a voicemail, 1-833, 311, 32, 32. We'll take one final break. When we come back, we'll go over Wednesday nights games and get you set for Friday night's action in the Stanley Cup playoffs. 32 thoughts. The podcast continues after this.

All right, welcome back. So later tonight, Elliot, here in Montreal, the first elimination game of the Canadian's Lightning Series. Canadians have a chance to punch their ticket to the second round here at home. And I have to say, Wednesday night, the vibes were very high for that group. We saw the joy in the hallway in the aftermath celebrating, particularly after the Brendan Gallagher. post-game interview that we did for Sportsnet.

I've got to give Martin Seelieu credit here. Like when he talked about sensing, okay, game four, you're up two goals, you let that slip away, what type of emotional, I don't want to say damage, but that emotional feeling that's going to linger, how do they avoid that? Well, insert Brendan Gallagher into the lineup, knowing what kind of jolt that was going to give the rest of the group,

Didn't play a ton under seven minutes, but didn't matter. First shift to the game opening the scoring three minutes in. And, you know, as St. Louis talked about, rewrite the narrative. If you don't like a moment that could potentially define a series, Gallagher and the Canadians did just that in game five. Do you like it when you realize that all the players are watching your interview live? I've, well, I've never had that happen before where players are in another. room down the hallway. They have access to what was our truck feed so they could see the interview in real time. Not only could they see it, they could hear it. I was like, I felt I was in the

twilight zone. Did you feel self-conscious or nervous or did it tighten you up in any way, shape? Because I know some people in our business that would have been completely wrecked by that. Well, certainly the thought goes into my mind going, what are they all thinking about this? Like as I said to Dovish, I'm like, we better make this good. And the funny part was, so the last time I interviewed Dobish, it was after game one. And that was when, you know, at the start of overtime, he accidentally went to the wrong net initially and asking him about that. And he gave a great answer on it. And, you know, that got some play on social the next day.

And we were kind of laughing about it on the off day of kind of how it took off. And he's like, oh, I still feel so bad. So when he comes out of the dressing room and he sees me standing. there, he kind of gave me an eye roll, like going, oh my gosh, this guy again, you know, the last time we did an interview that happens. So before it, I said, you know, don't worry, I don't have anything crazy to ask you this time around. And then it ends up being a whole thing again.

So anyway, maybe it's becoming a bit of a theme. But I initially couldn't hear it. Like when he turned around down the hall and was like, do you hear that? I'm like, hear what? And then from that point on, I think they clearly boosted the volume and the TV in the other room because then I could hear it clear as day. So honestly, more credit to Dobish, because you could absolutely hear him at like a one second delay. But he still, I thought, gave some pretty thoughtful answers.

Those are infuriating. I hate when that happens. He did really well. I remember when I was still a radio reporter, there was a CBC French reporter TV in Toronto. And we were at a J's game and I was watching him do a stand-up and he snapped at me. I was still really young. I was in the business. You were just watching?

Yeah, I just wanted to see how it was done, right? I wanted to be in TV someday. I wanted to see how it all worked. How do you go about doing a stand-up? How does it work? And he snapped at me. He did not like me staring at him while he was doing it. So there are some, to be honest, if that, I was thinking about what I would have felt like,

if that happened to me, I'd have been like, people actually listen to this garbage. Okay, I'd better be sharp here or something like that. But I would have laughed it off. I guarantee you there would have been some people who would have been hugely self-conscious about the players watching your interview live. Well, Caden Gully said afterwards, he's like, were we loud enough in there for you?

I'm like, oh, yeah, you were plenty loud. But I could understand that. Like, to me, you know, because you get asked about, oh, how do you do like a hit in the arena before the game and, you know, you got 20,000 people going crazy? I'm like, that is way easier than if you're in, like, a room and there's three people watching you. Yes, I agree.

You know what I have? I agree. Yes. I'm with you on this all the time. If I'm looking into the camera, I don't care how many people are around me. I'm not bothered at all, as long as they're not physically tackling you. I find that easier than, even if, say, 5 million people are watching, I find that easier than a room of, say, 200 people. Right, right, exactly. Yeah. Because you know, like, though they're all around you, their intentions are not on you. You're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just. talking to a camera. Right. It's a way different mindset. Anyway, the Canadians full value for the win, very happy for Gallagher, very happy for Gallagher. And I saw you reacted to it too, but the tweet I put out about your interview with him and all those guys waiting for him. Like Caulfield, Gouli. The one that really stood out for me was Patrick Lainey, because Lainey's kind of become. the invisible man, the forgotten man, right?

But he's still there. And I thought Kevin made a great point about how Lone and Gallagher would be skating together on a daily basis. And L'Ane would be super happy for Gallagher because he got to go in and actually do something. And I thought that was a really interesting point by Kevin. But it's the old line. Are you a club or are you a team? And that's a team. I'm jealous of you that you're going to be in Montreal for that game on Friday night.

It's going to be a phenomenal atmosphere. The arena is going to be berserk. The fans are going to be berserk. The area outside is going to be berserk. I really hope you're not going to be a hermit in your room on Thursday night, and you're actually going to go out there because the city will be crackling. You will be able to feel the electricity. And, you know, Tampa's going to try to ruin a part.

party and they're perfectly capable of ruining the party. I really think, Kyle, like that game, to me, there have been three games in this series that have been wild that have been boiling over and in danger of just completely igniting, and there have been two games that have been more passive. And I thought that game five was more passive. I believe that plays into Montreal's hands. I think that it's better for them. Montreal, I think, like, Tampa's fought everyone all year.

They have thrived on chaos and edginess and anger. Montreal, to me, strikes me as more businesslike. Yes, they have guys who can rough it up and don't shy from it. But to me, like, Suzuki, the captain, it's businesslike, right? It's just up, down straight, let's do our jobs, and we're going to win the game that way. But, like, Jack I gets the penalty for roughing. I didn't like it. I thought, what did he do to deserve a ruff?

But I believe the call had its intended effect and that everyone noticed it. Like the penalties are going to come easy here. And I just think in games like that, for whatever reason, Tampa's not as good. I think when they don't have that around them and they're not making you crazy and all over you and being on edge, I just don't think there was good a team. And I thought that at home, whatever you felt about the energy of the building, I didn't get the sense that that was too big a moment for Montreal. Now, this is going to be a huge challenge that Tampa teams got a lot of pride.

I don't sense they're folding. Nobody would be surprised if this goes back for a game seven. But I just think this is going to be, as this whole series has been, you bet, like, it's five one goal games, three of them in overtime. You better be ready to play when the puck drops in this one. Because these two teams, there's no different. between them. They're as evenly matched as it gets. Tampa's going to be hard to put out and Montreal is going to be hard to beat in front of a wired building at home.

I am for the first time in my life, Kyle, I am incredibly jealous of your existence. Hopefully first of many. First of many. It was funny. Someone with the lady was saying before game five, he's like, everyone talks about how great the series. is. He's like, I don't know how great it is. There's just like no room out there. It's so tight checking. He's like, there hasn't been a tough offense. Oh, I think it's been great. But it was just funny that that perspective of it. But obviously, the stuff that was going on in between or after whistles early on in the series has kind of gone away now as it typically does as a series goes deeper. But no, I think it's been it's been really, really fun to watch. And now for this Canadian's team, as it's currently constructed, it is the first time that this group has the opportunity to actually. actually win a series. And though it is great being at home, you nailed it in terms of how it's all going to be feeling or in and around the building on Friday night. But you also know, too, how playing at home, it can work against you at times, right?

And so for a veteran team like Tampa, they're like, perfect. We've got to go on the road and win a game to save our season. Love it. Nowhere else we would rather be. But this is going to be another great test for this young Canadians group of you want to put on a show, you want to deliver for your fans. Everyone is frothing at the opportunity to witness handshakes at the end of the game. How does that play in your mind when the actual puck drops? It'll be great theater again as it's been through the first five games of this series.

And let me, I just like to say one thing at the end of this. You know, I don't have a full picture of what's going on here exactly. so I don't want to say anything that's out of turn. But in a game like this one, I think of the night before game seven in the 2003 Stanley Cup final, Scott Stevens went to Pat Burns and said, I think we'd feel a lot better if Ken Danico was in the lineup. And in that series, Ken Danico was going in and out

with Oleg Tevrodoski. They were kind of splitting. And it was Stevens who went and said, I think we'd really like it if Danico played. And he did. And I don't, obviously we don't have a full picture of Victor Headman or anything like that. But if he could play or was able to play,

I wonder if the lightning would feel just better as a group that he was out there. Hmm, interesting point. He has been ramping up. I got practice day before game five. It was as involved in the drills that I've seen him, certainly since this series has started. So it seems to be on a path towards playing again. But when?

Yeah, not sure. It's a great point, though. Okay, can't wait for Friday night in Montreal. The Philadelphia Flyers, Elliot, are on to round two. they managed to get over that hump. Third time, third opportunity at eliminating the penguins. A great dramatic fashion, Cam York to stick into the crowd. Hopefully everyone's okay.

It was very fully sports. Matt Sundin got suspended a game for that. Could you imagine? That's right. Congratulations, Cam. Yeah. You just scored the series winning goal. Your hearing will be tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.

Yes. That's right. Yeah, Sunden got suspended. Cam York, the fan base may be. build a statue for him in the aftermath of doing all that. With the image being, I'm tossing the stick over the glass. But anyway, we'll get to, you know, Pittsburgh in a little bit and where they go from here as their season comes to an end.

But now we know we've got the Flyers and the Hurricanes in round number two, a series that could potentially start as early as this weekend. So Carolina, full value, effectively wire-to-wire, the best team in the metro all season long. Flyers, a team that have come a long way post-Olympic break in their defensive game, how do they stack up against one of the best checking and ultimate suffocating type teams in the hurricanes? Well, it's a great thing for Philadelphia. And first of all, I give them full marks for the win. To me, the difference in the series between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia was the Flyers were ready to play from the beginning.

Philly, it took a few games for some of their guys to get into the series that did not happen with Philadelphia. They were ready to play and they were ready to go. And I give them a lot of credit for that. It's a major reason. Now it ramps up another level for them. And they're going to face a team that was as dominant as anyone in the first round of the playoffs. And you talk about Philly. they played with structure, they played with determination, they were committed to what they had to do,

and they rarely broke from it. The hurricanes are the Eastern Conference standard bearer for that. They have a structure, they have a system, they don't break away from it, they look for guys who can play it, and two of the guys that they went out and got last year, because they thought they would fit their system, Logan Stankovin and Kandri Miller were two of their best players in round number one. This will be harder for the Flyers. I'm not saying they're incapable,

but I think it will be another level. But they're here. They've earned the right for it, and I think one of the keys is obviously going to be is Frederick Anderson going to be in a position where he can continue doing what he did in round number one

because there were opportunities for Ottawa to win those games. He just didn't let it happen. The other thing I wonder about Philadelphia is, Will Vladar need a rest at any point? You know, he played 52 games this year. That was his career high. Before this, he'd only played two NHL playoff games. And in, you know, both of them, he didn't play a full game.

They played a combined 49 minutes in the two of them. This is by far his biggest workload. And part of me is just wondering, and it depends, as we record this, we don't know if they're going to play Saturday or they're going to play Monday. So let's just say for argument's sake they play Saturday. Do we get a point where Philly says, we might just need to give him a break? How does he feel about that? Can he handle that? That's the other thing I wonder about for Philly here.

If it's Monday, it's less of a worry than discard it. Forget I ever said it. But if it's Saturday, it could enter. He's just never played this much, although he's been fantastic. So then that's like zooming out. That's kind of my feeling on Philly going into this series is almost for the entire group about how do you put yourself in the best position to deal with for potentially seven games exactly how Carolina plays. Like I think back to, you know, remember when the devil's got

into the playoffs in 2023 and it was the first time for a lot of their young stars, they beat the Rangers. Like, what a great feeling. And then they get Carolina and round two. And just the emotional capacity wasn't there. They were never really able to get into that series. And I think they were swiped aside in it five games to the hurricane. So clearly an emotional one for the flyers here knocking off their interstate rival. Big result in the end. They clinch in overtime at home. The place is going nuts. Like Philadelphia is orange again. It's a great thing that they've got going. But we even talked about as Pittsburgh was extending the series one by one here, you know, some of their young players hitting a little bit of a wall. It's going to be the ultimate test, I think,

of their careers to this point to go, okay, it's been a long year. We've been through a lot. lot. It's been demanding in the playoffs, but finding the necessary energy to withstand how Carolina plays. It's a great test here for a young Flyer team that has already done some really impressive things that they'll be able to look back on going forward. I agree with you. This is a great thing for the Flyers. There's nothing bad about it. And I'll say this too. I was shocked at the beginning of this series. If you would have told me that Garnet Hathaway would have been a scratch in game six, I never would have believed it because of the way he started the series.

But that's the way it goes. And, you know, Hathaway has come back after, you know, a really rough time in the season. He was very effective. And they'll need him against these guys. Like if you take a look at some of the death players like Mark Janikowski, he had a great first round series against Ottawa. Philly's going to need their depth guys again. All right, Pittsburgh Penguin.

So, I mean, as you touched on Elliot, I'm sure kicking themselves for taking too long to get into this series. But this is a team that played six more games than all of us. And surely, their fan base, by and large, would not have seen coming at the start of the year. That has to be seen as a positive. Do you think any of this season and how it played out changes how Kyle Dubus views the immediate future? And of course, the big question to start with is what are they thinking with Hvgeny Malkin? I don't think it changes anything because Dubus has always believed that the team has to get younger. And we all know that as much as it pains us all to think about, Malkin, Crosby, Lattang, Carlson, Malkin Crosby especially, they are mortals.

And father time is undefeated and eventually new players will have to take, over. I think this was a really exciting, enjoyable season in Pittsburgh. I loved watching the team. They were fun to watch. But it doesn't change anything long range because Dubis knows he has to get younger. The day will come when none of those players will be there. And he has to be prepared for that. You know, Kindle had a rough playoffs. He'll be better off for it. Chinikov had a rough playoffs. He'll be better off for it. Chinikov had a rough playoffs, he should be better off for it. Like, as you said, those guys didn't start on time. And when the next playoff series comes, they'll all be better off for it.

Like, you know who looked better? Soderblanc. You know, he did not look as good in Detroit as he does in Pittsburgh. That's another guy who you can look at and say, hey, they may have found somebody. and they have still a draft class from last year, guys like Zonan and Horikoff who look like they're coming. So I think the things that we're curious about, number one is Malkin.

And the thing with Malkin is the last time he was a UFA, it was clumsy. And some of that was the organization's own fault. bolt. When Ron Hextall was hired, he was supposed to rebuild. And Hextall is a guy who wouldn't be afraid of making a hard decision. He wouldn't be afraid of that at all. And he was ready to move on from, say, Malkin. And in the moment of truth, the organization folded and gave him a new contract. And it wasn't handled well. It, from ownership, it just ownership crumbled at the big moment and they weren't ready to do it. So the number one thing you have to do is don't let that

happen again. And I know we're going to new ownership here. I would say it even if it was going to be the same owner. You cannot let that happen again. You have to get that sorted out as quick as possible. What are Malkin's intentions? Now, the guy is hilarious. I love reading his interviews, but sometimes you can't tell if he's being serious or he's saying something jokingly or tongue and cheek. So I would assume sometime in the near future

that Malkin and the penguins are going to sit down and they're going to say, okay, how does everybody feel here? Where does everybody stand? And, you know, someone pointed out to me, he started the season as a center and he finished the season as a winger. You know, how does he feel about that? Does he see himself as a center? Does he see himself as a winger? Does one disagree with the other?

You know, how does everybody feel about that? That's one thing. Contract. I can't imagine it's going to be. too much of a problem, but his AAV was 6.1. Do the penguins want him to take less? He just had a great year, numbers-wise. He was a point of game player. He had 61 points in 59 games and 3 and 6 in the playoffs. You know, does he look at that and say, I don't know, this is just me talking, I deserve a raise, or do the penguins say, even though they've got a ton of cap room, there's a certain level we want to

keep it at. I can't imagine any, I can't imagine the organization would be too crazy about turn. They did give Crosby for two years. He's Crosby. I mean, we'll see. You know, Malkin played 56 games this year. So I don't think any of those things are impossible to bridge, but you've got to get yourself in a room and see how everybody feels before you know for sure. I'll take Malkin at his word that he wants to play. But I do think everybody here has to have a conversation and make sure they're all on the same page with where he plays, what's expected of him, and obviously what the salary and contract is going to look like. But this was a really fun year in Pittsburgh. And whenever you have a fun season, I tend to think these things can sort themselves out. But overall, I just look at Dubus and I

see him saying that we still have to get younger, we still have to accumulate pieces, because sooner rather than later, all of these guys are going to be gone and we better be ready to handle it. So another one I wondered about it, I mean, hey, for the last few years and certainly the feeling around the penguins and how they looked was much different than how they've been this year. But with each season, you're almost counting down, okay, one less year on that Eric Carlson contract. Oh, another signing bonus. That knocks down the amount of money that you would be on the hook for if you were to take it on. Would there be any takers out there to trade for him?

He, of course, had a great season. Great season. With the penguins. Like, could you see a world now where he remains until that contract? He only have one more year left now. Next season will be it for the eight-year deal that he signed back in San Jose. But do you anticipate the conversation or not the conversation, the narrative around that contract and that player has shifted internally? Well, the one thing I do feel very strongly about is that Dubus had always made it clear in conversations with other teams that he was not going to just trade Carlson for the sake of it.

Like he wasn't going to accept a bad deal or eat money that he thought was unnecessary or or like throw in sweeteners just to trade Eric Carlson. He said, I am not doing any of that, and I am only doing it if it makes sense. And we should remember Carlson has a no move clause here. He has say, okay? And you can't forget that.

And Dubas stuck to that, and Carlson had a great year. So I always stick with that. Number one, what does Carlson want to do? Is he want to come back? And number two, I think the thing about Dubus is if he said before, I'm not even going to consider it unless it made sense. What's he going to do now, Kyle, in a situation where this guy just had a great season? And he played pretty well in the playoffs. Like there were a lot of guys there who didn't play great.

He was not one of them. So I don't think his price is necessarily going to get lower. remember on July 1st it's a $6 million signing bonus he's only due one and a half million in cash after that for the full season there is no way after holding on to him for all these years dubus is suddenly going to say oh got a feel pressure to trade er carlson you're going to have to make him a the player's going to have to want it and be you're going to have to make dubus want it like this whole situation in pittsburgh and this kind of goes back to Malkin too. Because of who they have there, this isn't going to be like other rebuilds. They're not trading these guys,

especially guys like Crosby after a season like they've just had. But I think Dubus will be committed to getting younger and trying to make some of the same good bets he made this year. Like Anthony Mantha, I don't

think, unless it's changed recently, it doesn't sound like there had been a lot of discourse about a contract extension for Manta. Dubas made a great regular season bet, and now we'll see that the season's over. Manta had a rough playoff. Now that the season's over, how does he feel? But I think you're going to see a lot of that, a lot of, can I make smart bets? Can I find players that can make a difference?

Not for the biggest price. How do I get younger? Do we continue to draft and develop well? this year was a bonus. I think that he's going to keep trying. Even though the results were good this year, I don't think it changes the template of what he wants. Now, I notice there's been a lot of rumors

about the penguins and somebody like Jason Robertson. I don't know how Dallas can't sign that guy now. I mean, they're going to have to pay him. They're going to have to. He's done his job. I mean, I don't know that that's going to be feasible. So, Kyle, one of the thing I wanted to mention with the penguins is their HL team, Scranton, Wilkesbury, they had a really good year.

They were 46, 17, and 9, I think. And so there's obviously high expectations for them going into these playoffs. Look at the names of some of the guys who are playing for them. Billy Coivinen, Avery Hayes, Tristan Brose, Brooker-Morgherty, Owen Pickering, I think also Harrison Brunachey, I think is down there too. And then, of course, the goalies, Miroshov and Blumfist. So there's a number of guys there that are going to want to prove that they are ready to play in the NHL next year. So how those guys do and how well they play individually and as a team in the Calder Cup playoffs, Kyle,

I think that could determine some of the Penguins' decisions. does anyone burst through and say, you have to have a spot for me next year at the beginning of the year? And so the full picture probably isn't going to be known until the votes are in on some of those prospects. So you mentioned the excitement around a Will Horcoff or a Bill Zonan, another one in their system, Elliot, Mikhail Illian. I believe if I'm pronouncing that right. Anyway, got him in the fifth round in 2023. I remember earlier this season, someone in the organization there said quietly, they were really starting to get excited about him.

And it was just that can we get them over here to North America? I put up 44 points this year in the KHL. And in fact, a few weeks ago came over and played just five games in Wiltsbury. So he finished the season in North America. That's another one too. And you talk about some exciting names in their prospect pool. Quietly, maybe not, doesn't have the same fanfare. as a Zonan or a Horikoff, as you say.

But I think there's a lot of intrigue and, and excitement internally about what that player could potentially be, too, especially that he's come overseas. That's going to be, that's going to be Dubus's way. Get younger while understanding that you've got a captain there who burns to win. And he's not just any captain. He is the captain. By the way, Kyle, apparently we're going to have to do a podcast next year saying that Pittsburgh, the only team that doesn't care if they win because it works for them.

Yes, that's right. More training camp fodder. Next year, I'm charging them for it. Yes. Got that? The invoice is coming. You got to pay for it next year. Okay, before we wrap up, we should also talk about Utah, Vegas from the other night, too.

Another great game that went deep into the Vegas night. double overtime. Did you see this on the one year anniversary of Brett Howden scoring an overtime goal in the playoffs? It was against Minnesota, also a game number five, also at home. It was Brett Howden at home in game number five against Utah. Repeating himself as the overtime hero short-handed. That was a determined shift between him and Mitch Marner off the face off there. an impressive win for Vegas, a team that has trailed in the third period in all five games so far, Elliot, and somehow lead this series three games to two.

It's kind of what's happened to Edmonton in their series against Anaheim early on, that Edmonton would, they led games two, three, and four, and they lost all of them. Well, game three, they were tied going into the third period and they lost it, but in games two and four, they were ahead and they lost.

and a lot of that is experience, Kyle. I really believe it. And again, this is another series where I think some of Vegas's guys took a long time to get started, like Dorofiev, who now all of a sudden is red hot and helped win that game. But experience matters. And like that winning goal by Howden in game number five, it's basically one on four.

And in those moments when you're playing, they almost played a full overtime in game four, and they were into double overtime in game five in three nights, exhaustion and mental fatigue really hurt you, Kyle. They really hurt you. And I think that those teams have kind of been through it before, and those players who have been through it before, sometimes things happen, and they're like,

this is the moment I can take advantage, or this is the moment where I know, I know I'm starting to slip and I better be on my toes. And that's the kind of goal I look at. Like sometimes it's a breakdown that gives you an odd man rush or you score or another team. It's another breakdown where a bunch of guys are just exhausted or not experienced in the moment and a guy like Howden who's been around takes advantage of it.

You know, Carter Hart statistically still giving up goals. But now it's at a point where all you're asking him to do is not Steve. you games, just make one more save than the other guy. And he's found a way to do it the last two games. He's found a way. But Eichel's gotten better as the series has gone on. Hurtles still, they're kind of waiting for him to go. You know it's been great, Shea Theodore, never mind the points, but you're noticing

him a lot more. The Vegas guys were challenged early. They were in trouble. They've raised their level. now the Utah guys have to do the same. Like a lot of younger players, it should be fresher legs. They've never been here before. Now's the point in the series where you get challenged.

Can you take yourself to the next level? You started great. Vegas elevated. Now it's your turn. Can you elevate? The conventional wisdom is you have to lose once before you can win, Kyle. can they prove that to be poppycock? Can they say that's BS, we are ready now?

Excellent use of poppycock. I haven't heard that one in a while. That's great. And as you know, too, like this is two games in a row now for Utah going, how did we lose this? And so how that sticks with you is one of the great challenges in trying to put it in, in the rearview mirror.

And I would, I mean, you talk about how Vimalka's holding up. I mean, man, I just, I'm not sure, like, I literally, I'm not sure because, of course, I have zero experience with the position. But how far he lost his net on the Dorothea of tying goal there late in the third period. Now, I think it was a bit chaotic for every Utah player on the ice there. I'm sure going over video, there was some correcting in terms of, this is how you want to defend when they've got their goal.

goalie pulled late in the third period. But yeah, it was just, you mentioned the experience. You know, Vegas on the scoreboard have looked in trouble at times, but in terms of how they carried themselves have never felt or given off that impression that they feel in trouble. You know, they don't act like they're panicked, right? You know, it's interesting when they are down 2-1, Tortoella fooled around with the power play units a bit,

and he benched turtle a bit and he benched Dorothea of a bit but he's not overreacting right like he's it was funny I was talking to somebody the other day who knows Tortorella well and he says Tororella's a much better guy than he lets people see

but he's never seen happy John this much behind a bench before he said it's weird to watch which is kind of funny the old wise man he has done everything he's done to be positive And, you know, even the other day when they called up the two kids, Connolly and Bowman, and we were wondering, are they actually going to do this? They sent a bit of a jolt, but they didn't panic.

And I think if I had a team, if I looked on my bench and I saw guys like Stone and Eichel and, you know, even guys like Rowley Smith or Brandon Sodd or Shea Theodore, Braden McNabb, like guys who've just done this all before, even if they're, or your best guy or you're not, I'd say, man, we've got, we've got a lot of people here have seen a lot of hockey. And I'm not going to panic. No. So that moves back to Utah

and is part of a trio of game sixes we have for you on Friday night beginning up here for our listeners in Canada. Hockey Central, the pregame show at 630 Eastern, 3.30 Pacific time, setting up game six, between Montreal and Tampa,

a little after 7 E.T on SportsNet and CBC. A little while after that, at 7.30 Eastern, it's game 6. Boston and Buffalo, as the Bruins try to force a game number 7. And then later in the evening, 10 Eastern, 7 Pacific Time, on Sportsnet and 360 at the conclusion of Bruins and Sabres. It's the Golden Knights and the Mammoth. Utah tries to force a seventh game back at T. mobile. Anything else for each?

I got to go shower and get to work. How does that count? That's pretty good. And I'm sure the rest of the panel thanks you for that. So I'll let you do that and I'll handle the music that we've got taking us out of the episode today. Courtesy of Cota Club. Established in 2025, Coda Club has made quick work of establishing itself as one of the nation's premier up-and-coming alt-rock acts. The Calgary-based outfit has an album set to release in June and a performance. at North by Northeast in Toronto the following week, positioning themselves for a breakout year. Unfiltered, unassuming, and unknown Cota Club

is paving their own way. Live show coming up later this month at the Aviary in Edmonton on May the 21st. Here's Cota Club and Purgatory on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Have a great Friday. Have a great weekend.