32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Vegas Goes All-in on Andersson

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

In this episode of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman break down Rasmus Andersson being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, why his time in Calgary was coming to an end, and how close things were with Boston. They discuss Vegas’ roster flexibility with William Karlsson (21:39). The fellas talk contract intrigue surrounding Jason and Nick Robertson (25:46), and why no-tax markets continue to attract top players (28:50), along with Jon Cooper’s case for the Jack Adams after another impressive season in Tampa Bay (30:00). The guys also touch on the Rangers’ retooling message to fans (32:00), tension in Ottawa (43:00), Detroit’s strong chemistry (51:00), Zach Hyman’s Olympic case (1:05:00), Jonathan Toews’ return to Chicago (1:08:00), Nashville’s surprising playoff push (1:10:00), and a Final Thought on Hockey Day in Canada from Moncton (1:12:00).Kyle and Elliotte answer crowd questions in the Thoughtline (1:24:09). Today we highlight New Brunswick alt-rock band, Sam Salmon & the Grand Manan Bandits and their song No One Likes Losing. Check them 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

on the podcast, we asked Kevin if he was the anonymous caller and he denied it. I had three different people who reached out to me, Kyle, and said, they are more convinced that he is. And I said, why? And he goes, because Kevin was not the anonymous caller, he would have argued harder than he did. Like, he put up a mild disagreement. If Kevin was truly not the anonymous caller, they said, he would have argued with me as much as he does on the air, or he would have trashed me. So he had, he had, to lie because he didn't want to give it up, but his heart wasn't in it. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast.

Kyle Elliott, Don, back with you. Home for Arrest, as you brilliantly noted on Saturday night, Elliot, after a wonderful but long and extraneous weekend in Moncton, New Brunswick. Tremendous hosts. We tested ourselves in ways that people my age, 55, should not be tested. Yes, yeah. You, you're fine. Yeah.

Not so much. Yes. I got beat down in transit before, otherwise I would have been gobbled up by Moncton itself. I'd stuck her out any longer. But yes, we'll get into a full debrief of our few days there a little later on here. But before we get any further, first wanted to shout out, Mickey Redmond, of course, part of the Redwings broadcast for many, many years. So Mickey, the wing's got a big win for you on Sunday night and overtime. But now he's going to be stepping away to have a procedure done just to deal with some neck issues he's been dealing with for a while.

He does plan to be back before the end of the regular season. 78 years young, still doing games between the benches, Elliot. It's incredible. You see the players as they skated off, they all went over to him. Really? I did not see that. No. Yeah, a couple of guys made sure to get him.

Give him the high five. Larkin did. A few other guys did. Wished him the best. Steve Eiserman cannot use his salary to acquire a new broadcaster because he's expected back before the end of this season. Yes, that's right. LTIR rules.

He's not on a season ending LTIR. I'm very happy to hear. Yeah. Very good. Anyway, Mickey, all the best. We love hearing you. We look forward to having you back. Yeah.

Also, just send her best to Oscar Sunquist as well. I'm sure you saw that too, Elliot. Yeah, just freak accident colliding with McDavid along the boards there in the game in Edmonton at a cut above the ankle. Now, Jim Montgomery saw post game said luckily, didn't touch the Achilles, but it is a pretty deep cut. So now we just wait and see how long he's going to be out for. But boy, and you can tell, just see it listening to the tone in Louis's voice because he was down, the benches there in that game as he came off the ice, that it was trouble.

Yeah, you hate to see that. You really do. And players are getting better at wearing the Kevlar and protecting themselves. But the skates are sharper than ever. It's, I'm just glad it wasn't worse. Put it that way. I'm just glad it wasn't worse. All right.

Let's get into the matter at hand here. The big news on Sunday, Elliot. at Rasmus Anderson of Calgary Flame No More, the newest member of the Vegas Golden Knights. Took a little bit longer than maybe some thought dating back to last summer when those two were linked. It happens here just shy of the Olympic break coming up in a few weeks from now. So when you let off headlines on Saturday night from Moncton,

there was still the idea of a trade and an extension being involved. And at that time, Boston was the frontrunner. Well, we know things can change. Nothing is done until it's done. No extension, but now a golden night. So the goalpost moved, the frontrunner moved. And ultimately it's Vegas that comes out on top and landing the defenseman. Zach White Cloud, a first round pick in 2027, a second in 2028 that could become a first if Vegas wins a cup this year.

And Abraham Weeb, prospect, unsigned defenseman currently playing at the University of North Dakota. Okay, how did he end up in Vegas? How come the extension talk went away? Normally, Kyle, I would say when we went to bed on Saturday night, this is where things stood. But we did not go to bed on Saturday night. So I can't accurately report that. on Saturday night when I talked about what I talked about

the Boston Bruins believed that they could get a deal done with the flames and there would be an extension everything changed on Sunday morning and Anderson's representative Claude Lemieux, the former player from what I heard

he called the flames and he said We are willing to go to Boston, but we are not willing to do an extension, and we won't be doing an extension anywhere right now. And the world flipped. Dogs and cats living together, there was chaos in the streets, everything changed, and the Bruins were out. Now, there's one thing I do want to address here. there's been some reporting that Boston had Toronto's 2026 first in their offer. That is the pick that is top five protected this year. I've now heard from several places that pick was not there.

It was not that pick that was available. I don't know which one was. I suspect Boston has two first rounders in 2027. I suspect that it was going to be one of those two. Maybe there was a condition there that it was the better of those two. I don't know. But I suspect it was one of those two picks. But the 2026 first, the Toronto's picked, the top five protected one,

I've been told now from multiple places, that one was not there. Whatever the case is, whatever Boston was willing to do, it wasn't on the table once Anderson had made it clear he was not signing an extension. So at that point in time, anyone who was getting Anderson was getting him without a current extension. and we'll get to that in a second. You know, the interesting thing about that is the flames were on a road trip. They came home before that Saturday afternoon win against the Islanders, which was a pretty emotional game. And if you saw Anderson at the end of that game, he played a great game.

He's had a great season. He was the third star. He got a nice applause from the crowd. Kyle, it looked like a star on Broadway's. last night, right? The curtain goes down. The actor or performer says goodbye and they walk off into the sunset not to be seen on that stage again. That's exactly what it looked like. It looked like a final game. What's interesting about that is I had heard that around the Calgary room, there was talk that Anderson was close to taking an extension in Boston.

And only Rasmus Anderson can say how close it came or didn't happen. You know, there was a time years ago when Jerome McGinnler was traded by the flames. Initially, he was supposed to go to Boston, right? And at that point in time, when they got that deal done, Aginla's agent, Don Mian, asked Eginla, what do you want to do? Are you okay with this? and he kind of indicated he preferred to go to Pittsburgh, and he said, leave it to me, that's my job, and Jerome McGinla got traded to Pittsburgh. We've known for a long time now that Rasmus Anderson really liked the idea of Vegas, that that was all things being equal, it was a place he would really like to play.

And a couple other things I'd heard is that, you know, Anderson knew that this, was probably going to be his final season in Calgary. Craig Conroy said with our teammate Pat Steinberg in an interview after the trade on the fan in Calgary that they had no negotiations this year. And sometimes what happens is you can think about this is it, this is it, this is it. And then all of a sudden the moment comes and it's like, wow, this is real. if you ask any player who's been in one place for a long time, even if they know that time is coming to the end,

the moment it's real, it really hits you. And maybe it's as simple as that. Only Anderson could answer this, but there certainly was a feeling around the flames. And not only like in their front office, I'm talking about also in the dressing room, that something was close with him in Boston, that Boston had put something big on the table,

And it could be as simple as that. He said, you know what, at the end of the day, I think I'd rather go to Vegas. And Vegas always knew that they were a preferred destination. Look, you know, our old producer, producer Drew, who used to work with us at Sportsnet. What did he tweet out on Sunday? How does this always happen for Vegas? Why does this always happen for Vegas? Well, Vegas is a destination.

You know, whether people like it, or not, players want to play there. And it's a great place to live, raise a family, great weather. The team's always good. They're aggressive. They've got great players locked in there for a long time. No tax state. You know, they're a hot franchise in terms of guys wanting to go there.

And so I think it might just be that simple. At the end of the day, Anderson decided that's where I want to go. And it flipped everything on its head. Boston was out, Vegas was still in, they were willing to do things. Toronto, I think, pushed, but you look at the final offer, I don't think they could have beaten that. I think Dallas, I think they got a little more into it at the end, but again, they didn't really, I don't know if there was ever a point in time here that Dallas was the favorite.

I think they got into it a bit at the end, but I'm not sure they could have beaten that. There were lots of rumors about Detroit, the more I hear about it, the more I doubt it. You know, Danielson's name was thrown around there a bit. I had some people say to me that Steve Eisenman's not doing that. That he's not trading that guy. So, and the other thing we do know, and we talked about it before, Eisman wasn't willing to do Hughes without an extension. I can't see any way he's doing Anderson without an extension.

I just don't ever think Detroit was a major factor here. Once the extension was out of play, at least for now, I think this always tilted towards Vegas. And I think that's where we are. And look, I think everybody knows that this is, well, maybe I shouldn't say everyone knows, Kyle, but everyone believes this is going to end in Anderson extension.

in Vegas. So I'm going to give you an over-under. In 2024, Noah Hannanffin was traded from Calgary to Vegas on March 7th. He signed his extension 35 days later.

So I'm going with the over-under of 35 days for the Anderson extension. Kyle, are you going over or under? Hmm. Well, the last time you posed an over under to me, I took the under, was mocked mercilessly, and then looked very good in the end. That was the McDavid Ovation length after signing the contract extension. So I'm going to take the under again. I'm still mad at you, lame Edmonton fans for not letting me win that over under. Oh, they were lively on Sunday night for. Oh, yeah, they were. That was excellent. Really well done. You guys, you guys make me.

up for it on Sunday night. So we'll go, Kyle's taking the under, over under 35 days. I will, just because I have to take the other side, I'll take the over. Although when it comes to Vegas, if I'm on the side of something, we know it's going to go the other way. So you are going to win this. Hold on, the caveat. Does the Olympic break days count? I think it can't. We've got to go into a freeze. Oh. Well, you can still sign someone during the Olympics. I know you can. I just don't think you should count in this case.

I'm just trying to pad my... All right. You know what? I'll give it to you. It's still close to Christmas. I'll give it to you. Okay. Wow. You're in a good mood. I want to talk about Zach Whitecloud for a second. Okay. Okay. last year when Luke Shen got traded from Nashville to Pittsburgh, I heard Kyle Dubas's phone blew up with people looking to, hey, what are you doing with Luke Shen? What are you doing there?

And the story that has kind of made the rounds is that Winnipeg thought they were going to get Shen directly from Nashville. but when Shen went to Pittsburgh, Winnipeg still got them, but they had to pay a little bit more because the demand was there. They ended up training a second and a fourth for him. And I think whatever happened with him going to the Penguins first cost the jets a bit extra. Conroy in his interview with Pat, he seemed to make it sound like White Cloud staying without speaking to Conroy, I can see the possibility where that

there's a chance, let's say that changes. I think there's going to be a lot of interest in him. I think the flames are going to get calls. First of all, Zach White Cloud has a tremendous reputation, like just as a person in the room, very easygoing, very friendly. He's signed two more years.

He's a right shot D. It's a very affordable number. He's one of Stanley Cup, he's been an important player on a good team. If the flames want to do this, I don't think they're going to have a problem finding interest. It just comes down to do they find a price that they like? But I think they're going to, like, for example, if I was the flames,

I might call Boston right away, say, hey, this didn't work out. How about this? Like, this is me just spitballing. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but I do think there's the possibility it could occur. Zach Whitecloud, he looks like a Bruin. So, I mean, he could be a very good flame, too. But I just see the possibility here for this to occur. I've heard that there are going to be teams that are going to be calling Calgary and ask what their plans are if,

they haven't decided already. So I don't want to handicap it. I'm not going to say for sure it's going to happen or not happen, but at the very least, I think the flames are going to have that option if they want to do it. I think Sunday was more about this is over, take a deep breath,

and then Monday is another day. And I think for all the flames fans that have been clamoring for the organization to take more of a big picture long-term outlook on how they approach managing assets. And if you do look at the bulk of the work of Craig Conroy that he's done, I mean, he really hasn't taken big swings for a short-term fix. It's been predominantly, okay, how do we set ourselves up with young players that can grow over the long term, knowing, of course, you've got a new building coming and a year and a

have from now. But you look at that overall what they got back from Vegas and understanding, yes, it's very likely an extension does eventually come between the Golden Knights and Rasmus Anderson. But you've got a more than capable defenseman. Now he's 29. He's not 23, but a first round pick, a potential additional first. I thought that was a very interesting stipulation. It's clear that Calgary recognized because they have Vegas's 2026 first already.

Yeah. They can be three in a row. They can have three consecutive first round picks from Vegas. And I think they've had, they're going to have a stretch here where they have double digit first round picks for five years. Basically knowing that they made Vegas potentially

better, they made it so that if you win the cup and this pick drops all the way to 30 seconds, we get another one. I thought that was, that was interesting. Mm-hmm. Right. So, I mean, that all screams long-term

and the potential to have something that helps you over the long-term, not just the short-term. Yep. But now I wonder, okay, what does this mean for, Blake Coleman's been out there? I don't think they're done.

I don't think they're done. I think they will continue to look at this. Okay. Coleman has 10 teams he can go to. It's similar to Dougie Hamilton. And I don't know how flexible he's going to be with that. And that's his right. He has to submit a list.

And if he doesn't want to adjust that list, I have no problem with that. Calgary's got some framework. I think we've talked about this, but there's been some talk about Montreal. I'm not convinced that's going to happen. I think he'd have to change his list for that. I watched them again on Sunday for a little bit.

Tampa Bay makes so much sense. So much sense. It just depends if Tampa has enough to get this done. But I don't think Calgary is done by any stretch of the imagination. I think there's definitely the potential. for more. Yeah. And you can't help but wonder

what Boston had on the table if they were able to get an extension done because it's clear you could hear just in the tone of Conroy's voice going obviously the expectation and circumstances change in terms of what you can command for a return when it's not an extension attached to the deal.

But anyway, all things considered, not a bad return for Calgary. Just one of the notable Calgary call, we should mention this is that the flames only have one more retention slot this year. They clear, the two ones that are taken are cleared after this season because Markstrom comes off and now Rasmus Anderson comes off, but for the rest of this year, they will only be able to retain on one contract until July 1st. And both Coleman and Cadry, for example, have term.

Coleman has one more year, and Cadre has three. You wanted to mention something with Vegas and William Carlson, too. Yes. Let me just do this first on Boston. Okay. So Boston, the belief is it was L'ORE and a 2027 first, I think, and maybe more. Someone told me on Sunday night this happens, is that people kind of know that Boston had this out there,

it almost becomes, if you're interested in that package or you know Boston needs something, you recognize that they have that out there. So if Boston does want to make a move for a player with term, you're aware that they've put that in play. So what someone said to me is interesting is, now do other teams call Boston and say,

hey, I've got something here with term or I've got the possibility here with term. I like that package. What are you willing to do that with me? So other teams know that Boston's willing to do this and we'll see if it leads anywhere. With Vegas, yes. So the one thing I just wondered about is we know that Petrangelo is on season ending LTIR. I checked on Sunday to find out if William Carlson is on season-ending L-T-I-R. Because Carlson's cap hit is $5.9 million.

And for Vegas to be able to use all of that, they would have to declare him out for the year, including the playoffs. That has not happened. So Carlson, like there were reports he could be out for the season. I think if they knew that, he'd be out. He'd be declared out. So he's not. So that says to me, I don't know when, I don't, I don't even know what he's dealing with.

I don't know when, I don't know at what point, but it says to me that Vegas still has Carlson in their plans at some point this year. He has not been put on season-ending LTIR. All right. And also, if your boss and how. How can you possibly move Mason Lowe right now? I mean, you see his siblings trip over the weekend. His sister Zoe was one of the stars of it.

She was incredible with some of the content they were cranking out. And then he goes and scores two in Chicago on Saturday night. Fives are very good there right now. We can't trade you. Not because you scored two goals on Saturday night, but because Zoe is a social media star. You have to say you are now irreplaceable. Yes.

And now Zoe gets a comment. contract. She's extended. It was great to see. It was really well done. You know why? Yeah, because it started, you know, it was the father's trip, right? And then, okay, there's the mother's trip, started to happen around more and more, mentors trip we've seen here and there, siblings trip. Like, it's great. It's so cool.

Would you want to take your brother, if we had a sports net hockey, siblings trip. Would you want to take your brother with you? A thousand percent. You would, eh? Yes. Would he say yes if you asked him? I think so. Not debatable. Yeah. You're not sold? No, I see the way he is around you. Sometimes I can tell that he's had his fill. Right. Well, that's why he would just, he would run off with you and Kevin and Dave Amber and Ron and Jennifer and Kelly. And yeah, I'd, be an afterthought, both for him and the rest of you. That's right.

Okay. So the dominoes continue to fall with Anderson now in Vegas. You had something to note on the Robertson brothers, Jason and Nick and a switch in representation. What's going on? Yeah. So Jason in Dallas, he's in the last year of a contract. He's not a UFA this year.

He's got one more year before he can be an unrestricted free agent, but he's in the last year of his current deal, and Nick, who has had a real revival in Toronto this year. As players got hurt, he has taken advantage of the opportunity to his credit. I've really been impressed by how he's played this year, but I heard on the weekend that the Robertsons are now represented by Andy Scott at Octagon. And, you know, I don't really know what it means at this point in time for their futures, but they both do need new contracts after this year. So anytime, especially in Jason's case, where you know it's going to be a big extension, you just wonder what it all means.

You know, the one thing that stands out in Jason's case with Andy Scott, he represents Migo Ranton. And Rantaninan just signed for 8 times 12 in Dallas. so and you would have to think that Robertson at least would be in the same vicinity, give or take a bit. We'll see what it all means, but I just wanted to note it because it is newsworthy. You know, the agents used to have meetings every year with the Players Association, and they would do them regionally. It would be in, one would be in L.A., one would be in New York, and one would be in Toronto. They haven't met in a couple years, and they're meeting this.

week in Orlando. It's one big meeting all together in Orlando. Don't know if anything newsworthy will come out of it, but it is notable they're meeting all together for the first time in quite some time. And they did it in a place where I don't know if they thought it would be too far for reporters to go or maybe they just don't think reporters are comfortable in sunlight due to our pallid vampiric nature. We sometimes sure look at. but they are getting together this week. By the way, Dallas, you know, I don't panic about them. No, but they look like, like, well, they're certainly going through it right now.

I wondered if they could use some sort of jolt. Yeah, it makes sense. I mean, I think they're one of the teams that's kicking tires on Sherwood. So Jim Nill and Leah Asimacopoulos, who covers the stars and is pretty on the ball there, she has said that Jim Nill is indicated he doesn't want to make a trade. till after the Olympics. Now, I do think they kind of waited into the Anderson pool, but late. I don't think they were in as quick as some of the other teams obviously were.

So he might just decide to wait this out and figure out what he decides to do. But I think they've kicked the tires on Sherwood. I don't worry about them. I just, I think they know what they're doing. I think they do get on cruise control some. sometimes, but I think it's a really smart, mature team that knows how to handle the slog of a regular season. Plus they have a lot of Olympians, right, Kyle?

So I don't freak out. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, 12, 12 of 13, whatever it is. Um, um, they, um, you know, they, they, they moved Nick Paul to a different line on Sunday and that clicked from what I saw. of it. You know, they, they just have all these guys that no one's ever heard of and they're like little energizer bunnies out there.

Like, you know, I use this line all the time. One man's injuries, another man's opportunity in the NHL. And to their credit, they find guys who take advantage of the opportunity. And they're obviously building a culture in the American Hockey League in Syracuse where you're told if you get the chance, this is how you can take advantage of it. And it might also be John Cooper's best coaching job he's ever done. You know, I think, you know, we spend a lot of time just talking about Vegas and Dallas a little bit. I think there's a thread between those three teams, you know, Vegas, Dallas, Tampa, and

some of the other warm weather, no tax teams like Florida, they obviously feel that they can get good players to come there. and because it's great weather, they're no tax dates, they're all contenders right now. But the thing that they've, the secret sauce that they all seem to have figured out is, okay, if we're going to keep trading for guys

and we're going to keep giving up their picks, like there were all sorts of social media posts on this day after the Anderson deal about what Vegas has done with their first round picks, you better be pretty good at finding other ways to get, things that people will trade for, right? So you, because if you keep running out of your first rounders, you keep trading your best prospects, how are you going to be able to be in a position to acquire people aside

from pure free agency in a league where more people are signing early? So you have to be able to develop players. And I just think when you look at everything Tampa has been through, we'll see where this season ends up. But I think you could argue it's maybe the most impressive job that they've ever done. No question. I think certainly for Cooper, like of all the years you could have made the case for Jack Adams.

This is far and away the greatest one. Like unfortunately, he's been tabbed with the, well, anybody could coach that lineup and finish first in the division in years past. But this is not the, like this was supposed to be the time where it all catches up with Tampa. To your point, all the assets they've doled out, all the winning they've done, the toll that that's all taken, and the injuries they've not only had this year, but still have. Victor Hedman didn't play Sunday, Ryan McDonough didn't play Sunday,

Braden Point didn't play Sunday, and they were full value. Again, I know Dallas is going through it right now, two wins in the last 12, but... I just can't freak out about that. No, and, you know, they're with... Things are in their division. I think they still got nine points up on Utah, who are in fourth in the central. I agree with you, but

he can't help but take note when that starts to stack up there, but kudos to Tampa for how they've continued to roll along here. All right, the New York Rangers and the letter 2.0, the retool. as they embark here going forward. So Panarin, the big one, of course.

You talk about that a little bit on Saturday, not going to be offered a contract extension. He said they beat Philadelphia on Saturday in the afternoon, quoted afterwards saying that he's still confused, kind of processing everything. And he said, quote, I'm a Ranger player right now, so I'll play every game 100%. Where are you at with the direction?

Things are headed on Broadway. So all year long, people had said about Panarin, he wanted to be a ranger, and that we'd known that the rangers had gone to him earlier this year and said, would you be willing to take a Copatar type discounted deal? And he'd indicated no. And his reaction on Saturday, after that Philly game, kind of confirmed that that was his first choice, that his preference was to say. stay. And there's no doubt in my mind that all these teams in the league are trying to figure out what does this mean for him? Where does he want to go? What does he want to do? How does he want to go about this? And it's clear that he's still processing it. And there's no easy answer. You know, I really don't know Panarin at all. I admit that when it comes to,

to him, I'm doing a lot of guesswork. The one thing I can say, Kyle, is that if you ask teams around the league what they believe, obviously they don't believe there's a lot of places he wants to go. And secondly, what they do think is that his preference will be an extension. Now, maybe that'll be wrong. Again, I admit I'm taking some swings in the dark at this. I don't know him well, but the early indication his teams think that he would rather move once than twice. And his preference is an extension over two moves.

So we'll see what kinds of places appeal to him. Again, this is my opinion, my pure opinion. But you know one place, someone said to me one place that they would really love to see him go. and the more I thought about the more I love the idea. Want to guess? Hit me. Teal. San Jose.

And I love the idea. So high. Right shot. Celebrity left shot. Imagine those guys playing together. Oh. I mean, like it's fun enough in Northern California as is right now, but oh my gosh. Now, again, I have no idea, like no idea of Panarin would even consider that.

But you just talk about fun matchups, fun combinations, something we'd all like to see. Celebrity Panarin could be an incredible duo. You know, the other thing, too, and I think this is more of Panarin's decision than the Rangers' decision. but there's a history with Chris Jury and Mike Greer. They've done deals before. They know each other very well. Long time relationship. But again, this is going to be Panarin's call.

But I was thinking about it. Seeing those two guys on the same line, the way that that team plays, it could be pretty incredible. But this is going to come down to A, where he wants to go and B, if some of these teams are right, who's willing to extend them? And, you know, we'll see how it all plays out.

You know, the other guy you're hearing a lot about is Trocheck. And basically from what I understand, you know, if you have a no move clause like Zabandajad has or Panarin does, you have the call. You have the say. You decide. Right? But I think a guy like Trocheque who has a partial and not full of control, look, I think the Rangers love Trocheque. I think their preference would be to keep Trocheque, but I think they told him, as they told some other guys,

the way it's going right now, we have to listen. We can't make you any guarantees, we can't make you any promises, we have nothing bad to say about you, but we have to listen and we have to see what's out there. And I think that's exactly what they're going to do. I think they were honest and they were blunt, and they said, unless you have full control,

we're making no promises, and we'll see where this takes us. Could you see, because everyone's trying to decipher right with that line about, you know, potentially having to say by to some players that you have fond memories of, paraphrasing, of course, but that idea within the letter. That had to be Padarin. Yes, but I just wonder who else that could fall under. Like, do you think they would look at a guy like Lafranier?

with how things are going there. He's a lot younger. I do. I do think they would look at that. Like, again, I think it goes to what we just said about Drury. If they have the ability to move you, they have to listen to what comes their way. I think the challenge with trading a guy like Lafranier is that if you're the Rangers, you're still saying this guy was a number one overall pick just a few years ago.

and you're trading him like that. I have no question other teams are going to try to steal him. They're going to say, look, he's not that guy. The Rangers can say fine, but we'd rather try to fix him and try to make it work here than sell him for 50 cents on the dollar. Yeah, I hear you. And I'm very pro that too of solving your problems rather than trading it.

But, I mean, but you do look. at it. He's played over 400 games in the league. We're coming up on six years since he did go first overall. Like suddenly you're like, yeah, he's still a young player, but it wasn't just a few years ago. But also he's signed to a deal. And again, it has to work. He's signed 7.45 and he's not a free agent for another six years. Yep.

It's a structure a lot of teams would like to have, including the range. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. I get it. So to me, it's the same thing as we said about Trocheck. We'll listen and we'll see where it takes us. I always think that's the best answer. Like we talk about people getting caught up in language, rebuild, retool.

To me, the right answer is we're going to see where this takes us. And I think that's the answer for anyone that doesn't have a full no move clause. There's a big difference between winging it and seeing what happens. Exactly. So let's see what happens. Let's see what it's all like dating. Life is all about dating. Let's go on hinge and see what happens.

Now, yes. Not me. I am happily married, but I've heard that about other people. Yes. That'd be great if the GMs had a hinge-like app, but it was for trades and discussing trading players, draft picks, whatever. I don't know how you totally flip the equivalent when it comes to transactions between NHL franchises. Because I too have not been on hinge like you, Elliot, but the idea of that seems very amusing to me.

Really interesting because I saw a profile for a couple days in Moncton, it was bile cuckuscus with a mustache. How did you see that? I don't, and someone showed it to me. Yeah, showed up on your 4U page? Good question, good question. Showed up on your 4U page? I was not prepared for that question. Yes, it showed up on my 4U page.

I like food meme. That would actually be pretty funny. Could you imagine? Yeah, sorry, Kyle, we're going to put you on the block on NHL Trade Hinge. Can you fill out this questionnaire for us so we can get a good match? Yeah, that's right. Hobbies, interests is all listed. Hobbies, digging the park out of the corner, passing it to a number one center.

Yes. Ooh, I like that. Yeah. That's good. That's very good. Passions, long shifts, blue line to blue line. Don't like this guy. He just, he lives in.

the neutral zone, 90 seconds at a time. And then he goes off when he feels like it. Nope, not my kind of player. Oh, boy, this could get out of hand here. All right, let's touch on Ottawa here briefly. It was SN stats put out there. First time in the history of the NHL, a team on back-to-back nights gives up multi-goal leads

and lose both games. So they let one get away. way late against Montreal, came out hot against Detroit, weren't able to hold on to Brinkett scores the winner in overtime there. Jake Sanderson, who as we all know, blossoming before our eyes. He's broken past the everyone in Ottawa sees him as a great player, finally and rightfully so, more and more outside of the region, understanding how incredible the player he is.

But we all saw the comments after the game on Saturday night, first about needing to make more than 10 saves to win a game and also, you know, another away game at home. Yeah, I think, you know, Levy made some good saves, but, you know, I think at the end of the day you got to make more than 10 saves to win a game. It was just, to me, it's emotional, it's vulnerable at that time, it's frustration, it's all of it. I don't look into it too much further than that.

what was your read on it? So you've heard me say this before. I don't like when we criticize hockey players for being honest. We always rip them for being boring and non-cutable. And then they come out and they say something and everybody starts ripping them. You can't have it both ways. Agreed. If you're going to whine about them being boring,

you can't rip them. when they're honest. That's number one. Number two, as I said on the air, Kyle, sometimes I first saw this quote on social media on X, and I said to the producer Brian Spear, can I see the clip?

Because I didn't believe it was as bad as I saw it on social. And then I saw the clip, and I'm like, it's actually worse. This was one of the rare clips that it was better on social than it was in person. because you can see how disappointed he is, and he walks off right after the question's done.

It's a mic drop moment. Like, you could tell that the other Ottawa reporters that were there were so surprised at what he said. They didn't have a follow-up, and he just turned around and walked away. There was that pause, and he took it. The one thing I heard that bothered some people

is that that was what Marilyn Nine in a row, 10th game in a row, 11th game in a row. And they just said that the one person who was bothered the most by it said that this is a guy who's playing 10 games in a row through no fault of his own. He won back-to-back games earlier in the week. Like even though the Rangers are struggling, he went back-to-back and won those games, the second one on the road in New York. and they just felt that for a guy who was playing his heart out in that stretch, even as painful and tough a loss as that was, they felt he didn't deserve that.

They felt that was unfair. But, you know, again, to me, it is just showing that the senators are worried, and we've talked about this, their underlying numbers as a team are very good. as Dave Amber said on air on Saturday night, their save percentage is the worst in the NHL in 30 years. And when you're a player and you see or you're worried your season is slipping away, particularly that game, like the senators hate the Canadians and vice versa.

Those two teams cannot stand each other. And we also know from the same scrum that Sanderson is pissed off. because the crowd is cheering for Montreal. You know, as you know, Kyle from living there, there are various times over the years. Like those players know it. They know what happens. When the leaves come in there,

there's a big leaves crowd. When the Canadians come in there, there's a big Canadians crowd. But there's always one or two times during the year when the players are like, yeah, I know it's this way. But tonight it's really making me freaking furious. And I cannot stand that I have to put up with this on my home ice, right?

So it's the overall frustration of the situation. And I get it. You know, I always, it's like the same thing that happened with Austin Matthews and Mark Masters the other day, which we talked about. I think you have to understand that we, like fans and media, we expect these guys to be competitive. And if you're going to interview them right before an emotional game, like that was between the Leafs and Vegas, or right after a really emotional game and a really sucky loss, like that. was for the senators against a team they really hate, that's going to happen from time to time. And you just have to deal with it and you have to accept it.

And so, like, I am not going to criticize Sanderson for being honest. You want players to care as much as fans do and media wants them to do. That says to me that that guy cares. After a loss like that, that scrum said to me, everybody says, Jake Sanderson could be the future captain of the Sanders player who really cares about his team. Even though if it wasn't politically correct or it was tough on Maryland and if Maryland wanted to say something to him privately about that, like, hey, I didn't like that, that's fine. But everything I've heard about Sanderson, that's what that is.

And if it's happening 15 times a year, you've got a real problem. if it happens once, I think adults have to put that behind them. Totally. And especially with, and he's not a very, I don't think he's certainly chasing opportunities to do additional interviews in that.

Like, he's a great guy to talk to, but I don't think he seeks the spotlight. He just loves going and playing. So that again speaks to the uniqueness that he felt that way and said what he said on Saturday. but you know they're all playing their hearts out. I mean, he had four points that and eight, played over 25 and a half minutes.

It's the, and it was brought up again when we were in Moncton, what Trevor Linden taught Kevin Baxa, when the game is over, your job is not done. You have still got to be on for 15 to 20 minutes after the game because if you're doing media, reporters are going to come in, and if it's after a loss and it sucks and you're mad, you're going to get asked questions, and you've, got to be ready for it. And I don't think he switches mine off in any sense, though I'm not going to speak for how the man

thinks. I think again, it was just it was the emotion of the whole situation of the loss because of the opponent, because of the atmosphere in that building tonight, and what's been the season long story in Ottawa of trying to get enough saves. Jake's dad played

1, 104 NHL games. I think if you piled all of Jeff's quotes together, combined, they weren't as good is that one. You're on your own there, my man. Very nice guy. Yeah.

I don't think he ever said anything quite like that. Yeah. No. So they got another point. It's tough for Ottawa too because point in Montreal, but that's a team they're chasing. Montreal gets the second. And they get a point against Detroit. But again, Detroit gets two.

and that's another team they're chasing. I'll say this. Rimer looked a lot better in that game. I told you, I knew someone who was there seven days ago when he played that afternoon game for Belleville and they were like, oh boy, I'm not sure he's ready for this. He'd look pretty good. I mean, are there ones he'd want back for sure?

But he gave them a chance to win. And there's six points out, lots of hockey to play. all marks on this trip we'll see how this all shakes out you know i just want to talk about Detroit for a second like they've got a little bit of i don't want to say magic but they've got a little bit of we're better than the sum of our parts to them like they've got a good group it's interesting because we know eisenman's kind of around hughes a bit note without an extension he was kind of around Anderson a tiny bit I don't even think he would have considered it

without an extension like just a tiny bit I don't really think he was there we know he's kind of said before that he didn't like the prices so he wasn't going to do stuff and last summer he just did short-term things because he didn't want to block any of his guys you can see why Eisenman believed in some of these guys right

and, you know, like, JVR, he does one thing really well, and that's magic in front of the net. And I give that guy so much credit, basically almost 20 years into his career. He still does it exceptionally well. And he scored that huge goal. Like, I see a Detroit team there. I think they look like, and someone will tell me if I'm wrong, they look like they really like each other. other and they look like they're starting to believe in what they have there, particularly among the young players.

I'm very curious to see how Eiserman's going to tinker with this, because his actions indicate for a player with term who he thinks is a difference maker, he'll do it. Other than that, he hasn't given us a lot of indication about, we know what he won't do. now that they're going to be in the race at the trade deadline, what will he do? Mm-hmm. Yes. Well, remember when we interviewed, and I don't think this was posted anywhere, but we interviewed Lucas Raymond over in Milan in the summertime.

Yeah. And we were asking him about this year and the fact that, you know, the Tigers, obviously got to the playoffs this year, good team. The Pistons had got in. I think they were in the play-in last year. Obviously, the Lions have a tough season this past year, but had been a perennial threat in the playoffs and football. And the wings were still waiting to be that team again.

But he pointed out, like, it wasn't lost on them that the fact that it's the centennial this year. And he even reminded us, you know, like Federov's jerseys going into the rafters this season and the idea of not letting the opportunity of make this even beyond the celebration of, the history, a season for that city to remember and get real excited about. And they're holding up their end of the bargain. Like they're dynamite to watch in overtime. I think they won seven games in overtime to this point in the year. And even to look at a guy like Marco Casper, I think he's got a ton of talent.

He went through a really tough stretch for just nothing was falling for him. He's starting to work his way out of it. There's a lot to like there to this point in Detroit. And it's been a while since you could say that. I like their team. At least on the outside, they really give the indication that they like playing with each other. Yes. And speaking of...

Winning at chances will do that. Although, I got to tell you, before we go to whatever you were going to go to there, so you may have heard it was a controversial weekend in the National Football League. Oh, yes. I saw a few things on that. Was it a catch? So was it an interception? That brought me back.

Did you think that was a catch or an interception? Like, what did you think? I fought catch. I saw there, you know, I didn't go back and watch it all. There was a bunch of the next morning, different rules experts being brought on and doing their breakdown of why it was an I&T. But then you saw the Devante Adams catch on Sunday in Chicago. That held.

Anyway. It's amazing to me how similar instant replay has created problems in sports like the NHL and the NFL. Yeah. Because you look at something and you say that looks like this. Like Mike Florio, pro football talk had a really good story about a play on a game December 7th. And this is what the officials told the pool reporter at the, the time and it was in direct contradiction to what happened in that bills game and it just shows

you for all the video review we have this is still done by humans like you take a look at the one-nothing goal vancouver edmonton on Saturday night Kelly Rudy and Kevin BXA had one view of that play and me and Dave Amber had a completely different view of that play and video reviews supported Kevin and Kelly. And when I watched it on Sunday and I listened to what Kevin had to say, I did come over more to his side. I thought he had a really good argument. But it just tells you for all the video review, this comes down to human decisions.

And in that moment, the way we feel now might not have been the way we felt a month ago. And it's just a reminder that no matter. what you do and how much precedent you have, we're never going to erase all these problems. Anyway, what I was getting to, Red Wings, hurricanes last week. There was a great game. It was the night of the Fedorov ceremony.

Red Wings jump out as you would expect. They're in control. They're up three nothing. Carolina comes back, ties it, and sends it to overtime. and on the winning goal, Andrew Cop cross-check's got to spare from behind

and scores. And it was a miss cross-check. The funniest thing about it was, Ken Daniels, he's calling the game, and you can tell he doesn't think the goal is going to count. He's like,

the moment it happens, he's like, uh-oh. And then he's like, all the hurricanes aren't leaving the ice. I'm like, they aren't leaving the ice. Why are they not leaving the ice? There's no there's no missed call for a missed penalty.

You can't review that. I said that they think the play was offside at the blue line. And the Detroit broadcast team was on that right away. They showed the replay and it was clearly on side. So I'm like, what are they sitting there for? They can't argue a missed penalty call. And it was so funny because the clip that was put on social, they cut out Ken's incredulousness.

that this actually counted. It was really funny. So I was laughing because... Better for the archives. Yeah, Ken is such a pro, and you can tell, he thinks this might not count. Yeah. So...

Ken, by the way, he is a card-carrying member of coffee on the road with his own setup. Really? Yes. Another weirdo. Anyway, so, uh... So, uh, so I was having this debate with someone, they were saying, should

that there be video review of that? Should you be able to review a missed penalty? And I was like, God, no. We have enough review. I don't want to see any more of it. But then someone else I was talking to about, said, what's your rule? Would you want that for game seven of the Stanley Cup final? I'm like, ugh, no. But I don't

know how I want to. a C. I don't want, like in the CFL, you can review pass interference, right? Yep. I don't want review of hooking or holding or cross-checking. I know I don't like that, but I'd be curious to know what the audience says, and I'm worried I'd be opening up even more of a Pandora's box if I, if I, if we did this. Right. So they only on goal score. plays.

You could look at a potential review. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know that I want any more video review. But, you know, someone said to me, like, one of the controversies that happened with that play in the Bills game is that we've seen situations where someone tweeted this. I can't remember who it was. He says, we see five-minute reviews for a first down spot in the second quarter of a game

between two, three, and seven teams. Now, what you can argue, and I think the league kind of did here, is that they looked at it behind the scenes and they said, no, nothing here. It's the play is correct. But I was like, I don't know. Like, it's a huge game. It's the biggest time of the year. They really decided that quickly based on some of the other plays we've seen.

Like this person said to me, the NHL reviews all goals. during the celebration, which is true they do, they could look at it that quickly. And maybe he's right, but as we've seen before, nothing ever happens that quickly. Like that, the video review Vancouver, Edmonton on Saturday night,

they, like, Vancouver had like three minutes to look at it forever. Right. It was really long. Right. And that's another thing they still haven't hammered out of like, okay, how much time is enough time to decide? what you're going to do. Are you going to challenge?

Are you not? Ian Beckinstein's the video coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He's now the delay master. And I would have challenged that too. But the league disagreed with me on that one. Anyway, I wanted to throw that out there because do people want to see that? How would you feel if your team got knocked out of game seven on or play like that? I mean, it's easy for me to say, like, you know, the example you bring

up from last week. I'm not cheering for Detroit or cheering for Carolina. As much as you want the calls to be right, 99.9999% of the time does create some good fodder when you get some controversy like that every now and then. Doesn't it? Just a little bit. Only when it's not you. Well, that's what I mean. I'm going, it's easy for me to say here where I'm going, I just want to be entertained. But, because I don't know otherwise. how you satisfy all parties because too much review is too much review. That much I do know.

That much I do know. All right. Okay, a couple other things here. Ryan Nugent Hopkins, we mentioned earlier, 1,000 games, great ceremony, great touch, the team walking in wearing those special jockey racing silks. Of course, Newgeon Hopkins loves his horse racing, Scores in the game, opens the scoring.

Al-Nazim Kadri, who also scored in his 1,000 game earlier this year. Big Night for the Oil. Great pro. Great pro, Newgeon Hopkins. And think about the amount of times along the way where his name, did you ever think, was there ever a time where you thought Ryan Newtons might be traded out of Edmonton? I think there were times I thought about it,

but I never got the impression it was imminent. Right. Because he's admitted there were years where he thought, oh, boys, this can be it. Am I going to be the next one out? After seeing so many around him, particularly early in his career, betrayed it. Next year, he will pass Kevin Lowe for most games played by an oiler ever. Just a great pro. I have tremendous respect for low-maintenance people who just go out there and do their job.

And you know the thing I really like about Nugent Hopkins do is, small town guy um you know didn't come from like a hugely wealthy background sometimes you get into the NHL and he's made a lot of money

it changes you right like he's never changed he's still the same person that's that's hard to do I have tremendous respect for that even people who are have their hearts in the right place.

You get in that environment and it changes you. I really feel in his case, he's bent it more to him than he's bent towards it. And I hope people understand what I'm trying to say there in terms of the compliment I'm trying to give him. Yeah, no, for sure. Champion of cystic fibrosis for many, many years, both in Edmonton.

He was involved in an event in my home. hometown that Rod Brindamore helped kickstart decades before. Anyway, yeah, to your point, didn't change. After all, the success and everything that comes with now a thousand games in the NHL. So good on Ryan Nugent Hopkins and good on the Oilers, another big win for them. And two more goals for Zach Hyman, who was on. So right in front of Doug Armstrong, too. Right in front of Doug Armstrong.

He's on a tear, man. Last 20 games, 17 goals and 8 assists, started too late, ran out a runway to make the Olympic team. So here's my question, Kyle, and I ask you the same question. I ask Kevin Kelly and David on Saturday night. When you look at Braden Point, if he can't play, do you see Braden Point as a top six winger, or do you see Braden Point as the third center on Team Canada? you know what don't be mushy give me an answer no i i see him as as a winger because predominantly going off what we have is past performance that's predominantly how they had them deployed

at four nations he did a little bit of center early on in the tournament but as it went on he was used on the wing so because you've got to think five of their top six forwards right now are McDavid, Crosby, McKinnon, I have Cellebrini as a top six forward. Do you? So do I, right now, yeah.

It can all change, but yeah. Marner, and one spot. So if you have point as a top six winger, I think you could see Hyman as a potential replacement.

But if you have, you do not have him as a top six forward and more of a swing center, I don't think it's as likely that you have Hyman there. Right. Because Doug Armstrong talked about both right-hand shots. Specific falls. Yeah. If they're going to have to replace.

Agree or disagree. I agree. The more I see and the more you think about if it comes to. to it with point status uncertain. I mean, there's a reason why Chris Kunis went in 2014. Yep. Great player. Don't get me wrong. But Craig McAvish, I thought, made a great point on the panel there with Gene and Bob

on Sunday night about Canada wins Olympic medals with players like Zach Hyman in the fold. And it's tough to argue with how he's been going lately. So good night in Edmonton. Meanwhile, Monday night, Jonathan Taves first came back in Chicago. After celebrating on Saturday at the United Center, the teams that won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, 2015, he capped in all of them. And now, after I'm sure many years that he never envisioned playing anywhere other than Chicago, he goes into that building wearing the sweater of his hometown team. Pretty cool. That's going to be a great ceremony. As much as it was great to see a lot of those players back,

Pat Fulian at Olcich. Chicago has a great broadcast right now, Rick Ball and Darren Pang. They are excellent together. And all the studio crew, Pat Boyle, Kaylee Cellio's, Tony Granato, everybody there. They've got a great broadcast.

But we always remember what we kind of to grow up with. It was great. I know, like I know how much Chicago means to Ed Olick. And there's something very meaningful about watching that. And I think the ovation for Taves will be massive, massive. Yes, totally. Rightfully so.

He looked, he was very much Captain Sirius talking to you at the bench on Saturday. Locked in. I wonder if he's going to be able to hold it in. If there was ever a test to that, it's Monday night at the United Center, I think for sure. That's going to be great. Captain Sirius, Captain seeping tears. He's been playing much better here the last few weeks.

Let's help Winnipeg get out of the funk a little bit. No, they let one slip away against Toronto on Saturday night to lose an overtime, but look to be in a much better way than they were. going through that 11-day skids, so not a bad time for Taves and the Jets to head back to the windy city. Okay. I had a GM, by the way,

who told me on Saturday he thinks Winnipeg's going to make the playoffs. Yeah. I could see it. My only question is, like, did they dig themselves too much of a hole? Seven points out. You can still see a good team there. You know what helps them?

They have a good R.W. you. Good point. They've got 17. Mm-hmm. Crackin 15. Utah 19. That's really good.

San Jose 13. Anaheim 14. Kings 12. Predators 16. Calgary 17. Blues 18. Blackhawks 15. Jets 17.

I was interested in that. That he said, I said, really, you think so? He says, yep, Hello Buck's day is healthy. They make a run. They get in. So, okay. We'll chat in April. I think we also have to shut out Nashville.

First team to beat Colorado in regulation at home. Oh, yeah. What were the odds of that in October? And they got spanked the next night by Vegas. But as we've seen, how many teams have played Colorado, Utah, or Colorado Vegas or Utah Vegas back to back? And they get absolutely smoked on the second half of that. Leaves beat Colorado, smoked in Utah.

Ottawa gives Utah a good game, slaughtered in Colorado, happened here to Nashville. That was a great win. You know, to think of where Nashville is now, 23, 21 and 4 after the way they started the season, one point out of the playoffs, nobody saw that coming. If you claim you did, you're a liar. I've heard very close dressing room, very close room. and at least for now, they've got time. Nashville's, you know, sitting back.

Nah, not doing anything right now. Again, see where life takes us. Doesn't mean things are off the board. Let's just see where life takes us. Still want to get younger, though, but just not rushing into anything. Yeah. When the week, that's been their line to try to dig out of it. I should try that.

Completely. Yeah. We just try winning one here. See where that takes us. But it's completely changed the dynamic there in Nashville. Okay. Let's get to the final thought here. And relive, recap and put to bed what was a tremendous few days out in Moncton, Elliot. So Dom and I, though the travel gods tried their best to keep us in Moncton for a little while longer, which I was totally fine with. We headed out late. on Friday night. But you were there right through till the crack of dawn Sunday morning. So you first, your takeaways from time out through the Hub City of New Brunswick in Moncton. First of all, a huge success. You know, Kelly said it best on the air.

We are very lucky. We have a great job. Sometimes when it's every Saturday, you know, it can get a little bit repetitive. And you kind of look forward to that hockey day in Canada to rejuvenate you a bit. And I used to go on the road for them a lot. Then it came a time where they took the studio out of it.

They just sent Ron. Like the one I really missed, I would have wanted, I really wanted to go on. Kyle was Yukon. I didn't get to go on that one. And, you know, even though I still remember one of our great producers, Dee Hambly, who is our lobster producer, the shot of her, I saw it in the studio of her freezing.

she looked like Jack Nicholson at the end of the shining in Yukon and I said I wish I was there and you know I really hated that we didn't go

well now for three years we've been going back we went to Victoria we went to Canmore we went to Moncton and I think the thing it really helps is it helps Ron he doesn't have to do everything

he still has to do a lot but he doesn't have to do everything and we can do stuff with him and he can concentrate on what he needs to do. He's still incredible at this. Absolutely incredible. I loved it. It was great.

Got in Wednesday. We both came in on the same flight. You know, Wednesday, I have to say Wednesday, I was pretty tired. I pulled the shoot pretty early on Wednesday for me. Then Thursday we did our live

show. And And we had our late-night Poutine run after the Montreal, Vegas game. I mean, everybody heard the pot on Friday, knew what we did. I have to say in a lifetime of bad decisions, the butter chicken putteen at 2.30 in the morning was not one of my best. But it was, and then the banquet was great. And then on Friday, we had the lobster challenge. Yes, you and Kevin, shucking lobsters.

And, you know, Jennifer was laughing. I didn't realize that lobster, like, ended up on my lip and on my face and stuff like that. She thought it was hilarious. Oh, we all did. But you know what? Kevin, I have to say, he whined like a six-year-old being denied candy. Like, this guy is supposed to be a tough, physical, hard-nosed man's man, alpha male. He was such a gigantic crybaby about the law.

He's like, no. At one point, he grabbed the lobster tail that he pulled and the one I did. And he's like, how can you say he won? Look how much better. And mine was terrible compared to his. I will confess something, Kyle, now that it's over. When Serge, Serge, Serge May, who was our guide, our excellent guide, said, only speed matter, I was like, I don't care how much meat out.

I'm ripping this thing apart and I'm winning this competition. Kevin's mistake was he tried to do it well. And yes, that's a great thing to do. But when the rules of the competition are just get it done fast, hey, I'm here to win. I am not taking any prisoners in this lobster derby. I choked last year in the biathlon. I was not losing two years in a row.

And so it was a great victory. I do have to say to you so on the podcast, we asked Kevin if he was the anonymous caller and he denied it. I had three different people who reached out to me, Kyle, and said, they are more convinced that he is. And I said, why? And he goes, because Kevin was not the anonymous caller, he would have argued harder than he did.

Like he put up a mild disagreement. If Kevin was truly not the anonymous caller, they said, he would have argued with me as much as he does on the air, or he would have trashed me. So he had to lie, because he had to lie, because he didn't want to give it up, but his heart wasn't in it. Yes, and the fact that he was playing dumb with it,

going, what even, so what is it? It's like this voice that kind of, I was like, oh, uh-oh. He's, yeah. And on, and it was the thing too on Friday night in the celebrity game, uh, Kevin's team lost like 10 to 2. They got hammered. Oh, yeah, I heard. Yeah.

Like, they got hammered. Kevin got on dressed on that one. play. I also saw it was four. They played two 20 minute halves, I think it was. And it was four one at the first half. And I left. Kevin had a three on one with Dave Amber and Adam Graves. And he didn't realize it was Graves. And he saw Amber and he said, I'm not passing it to him. And he shot wide. He missed the net. I was like, I'm not watching this anymore. This is beneath my standards of hockey. And I met I met up with him later. We had a great night. Saturday. It was a great day.

The show was great. And then Saturday night, a bunch of us were on, we got off the air at two local and our flight was at five. Nobody went to sleep. I can only imagine when I fell asleep on the plane how my, open my mouth was in 27D. And dead asleep. Dead asleep.

O-U-T-out. I was actually having a nap when the Anderson trade broke and I was woken up by the Pings, thankfully, so I could get on it after missing it. But at least I didn't have the travel problems that you had getting from Moncton to Winnipeg. Yeah, and Luke Dom in there as well. So I was supposed to be on that 5 a.m. flight Friday morning to go to Toronto and then on to Winnipeg and we're at the banquet Thursday night get the notification it's been canceled there was a bunch of snow in Toronto those few days is those around there know okay rebooked on one at pretty well

6 p.m. Friday night still getting to Winnipeg just late the same flight Dom was on so we're coordinating we'll go to the airport together and then mid-afternoon six p.m. has become i think 730 and it just keeps getting push back, push back, push back. We finally go to the airport. The plane comes in. We get on and we're sitting on the plane. Two people actually were removed from the flight before we even went anywhere because I think they were honestly, they were mad with the lack of overhead space for the baggage.

And the flights crew. clearly weren't comfortable with them remaining on the plane. Like they wouldn't let it go. And I was not close to kind of hear what all the kerfavos. I think Dom's same boat. But anyway, we're going, okay, there's another thing delaying us a bit further. Toronto was having issues with runway access and the amount of planes trying to get out. Don't fight with flight attendants, people.

You never win that. You never win that. It's a loser. Yes. Toronto is having issues with. runway access, the amount of flights trying to take off and land. So we were in a ground stop pushing back further. I think, Dom, you let me know if I've got my timing off,

but I think it was around 1130 Atlantic time. We finally got off the ground. And yeah. Yeah. And then we get into Toronto and we probably sat on the tarmac for another hour because we were waiting for a crew to bring us into the gate. now it's 1.45 by the time we get off the plane. Now, Dom knew before we left the hotel in Moncton

that his connection to Vancouver had been canceled, that he was going to be stuck in Toronto for the night. So he had a hotel figured out close to the airport, no problem, well in advance. I thought up until we sat on the tarmac for an extra hour in Toronto that I could make my connection to Winnipeg. So now I'm like, okay, I got to, to find somewhere to stay.

Everywhere around the airport that I checked in on sold out for the night. So I had to go downtown to Toronto, nap for three hours in a hotel, and then back to the airport to fly the Winnipeg Saturday morning. So I was surprised. I thought I was going to get more ribbing from Cuthbert because I could not make it in time for the morning skate. Yeah, but he was going to let me. Did he make it or no? He went over. Yes, he did.

He went over. Because I said, I come to you hat and hand. Like, what did I miss? And he was good. He let me know what he learned there in the morning. But it was all good. As I said to Dom, like, sometimes you're just, you're in it. It's one of those days where things aren't lining up.

But I was thankful I could get to Winnipeg in time for the game. The funniest part was I get in the Uber in Toronto at quarter after six in the morning on Saturday. We're going to the airport, and the guy asked, where are you flying to? I said, I'm going to Winnipeg. He goes, oh, you must be Canadian. I said, yes, I am. Good one. It's the assumption that surely only Canadians fly to Winnipeg in January.

But, yeah, it was a fun atmosphere at Canada Life Center. Good crowd. Back and forth they went. But had I been stranded in Moncton, I would have been okay with it all. because I was in no hurry to get out of there. Another great time. Great people took great care of us. Awesome experience.

I love hockey day in Canada. Just love it. One of the best days of the year. All right. That was the final thought. And with that, we'll take our first break and come back with the thought line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts to Podcast. All right, welcome back.

Time for the Post Hockey Day in Canada edition of the Thoughtline, Elliot. I first have to, how many and how long did it take? for different variations of whether it was the image, the GIF, the meme, the video of you banging the drum in Moncton did you get sent to you after that video went out everywhere? A few, and there was one guy who actually laughed and said, I consider this so memeworthy that I reserve the right to hold it and resend it to you with different things over time. So I know I will be seeing it over and over. producer Brian Speer and the Red Suite, which does a lot of our editing on Saturday nights, they had the Kevin BXA one where they showed me hitting him. And did you guys know that?

No, we didn't know that was coming. As a matter of it, we didn't see it in the first place. And then we saw it, we started laughing. And there was a Twitter named Connor Sand who sent me one of, instead of the drum, he changed it to an open barbecue with a bunch of rack. Yes. That one was pretty funny. That one was pretty funny. So I know I will see a lot of these in the future. I definitely, you know, the thing, I didn't realize that they were going to be showing it live on camera. I would have been even more wired if I would have known they were doing that.

So I had people just kind of laughing like some of my friends saying that's more intense than you look like when you do actual hockey night in Canada. And I said, well, that's even more embarrassing if I screw it up somehow because one of the things I was asking Kyle was, is there a pattern? Because for example, when the Panthers do it, they have a pattern. When the Vikings do their skull opening, they have a pattern, not exactly a drum, but it's more of a clap. But the worst thing you could do is get in there and screw up the pattern.

So even though it's really not that hard, it was don't screw up the pattern. I got a couple good raccoon ones. There was somebody who sent me a story about a raccoon that ended up on a boat and stowed away to Belarus. That was an interesting story. Seriously? I didn't see that one. The raccoon ones keep coming. They just keep coming.

A couple other notes I wanted to shout out. first of all, there was, we're talking about Vladimir Konstantinov, and there was one tweeter who wrote in, and I thought it was a good argument, Chris Nova, he said, could be a terrible take, but I think the fact that no one wears Konstantino's number, even though it isn't in the rafters out of respect, means more than having it retired. officially. No one has to tell the players not to wear it. It's just understood. I think that's a reasonable take. I don't think there's anything terrible about that at all, but I did have one Detroit listener who was not pleased with my lack of geography. We talked about how Reggie Jackson hit the mammoth home run at Tiger Stadium in the 1973 All-Star game. And we said that the Red Wings hit that one into Lake Ontario. Well, Edward Smith pointed out the Detroit River separates Windsor and Detroit, not Lake Ontario.

That was definitely some fail on my part, Edward. Thank you for pointing it out. That was major fail. And finally, I also wanted to shout out a longtime listener of the pod and one of the guys who contributes extremely well to his NHL broadcast, Eric Hornet from the Islanders, and we were talking about goals without a shot. He said there are four players this year who have scored one goal on zero shots this season. and they are Marcus Johansson, Urislovkowski, Jonathan Druand, and Nathan Walker. And Pajot had a goal with an own goal,

but he had another shot in the game. So even though it wasn't the one he scored on, he also scored on an own goal. But it's four times this year, Eric. And Eric is on the ball with this. stuff. He's a statistician. And he says it's happened four times. Oh, that's good. Yeah. So, all right, a couple things. We told the story during the banquet in Moncton on Thursday night, just going back to the raccoon tales that I loved when we got off the plane there on Wednesday evening. We hadn't even got to the baggage carousel. And there was a guy with the name of Greg introduced himself to us and goes, hey, be careful the raccoons around here. Welcome to Moncton, but the raccoons are big. So be careful. I was like, oh my gosh, we had me bid here for two minutes.

Thank God. Yeah. I didn't see any of these massive Moncton raccoons. Yes, we stayed clear. We got lucky. They clearly, maybe the message hasn't gotten to them yet about the freedmen harassing that's been greenlit amongst the raccoons and the GTA. It hasn't reached the Maritimes yet. And talking about Vladimir Konstantinov and Jersey retirements, it sets up perfectly for our first

submission here today, courtesy of Brad from Halifax. So we're staying out in Atlantic Canada here. Hello, Kyle and Elliot. In light of the recent Jersey retirements of Fedorov and Chara, it got me thinking, should the number retirements be for forever, or should there be an X number of years that it is not available for use by players? Should it be more in honor of the number for 20, 25, 30 years, and then the number comes back into play without giving away my age, I have just, past my prime years as a fan age-wise. And a lot of the names in the rafters I have never seen play or don't remember playing, so I really have no connection to those numbers if they were on someone else's back today.

But for the people who did see those numbers play back then, it could be good to see the numbers skating around again and create a conversation starter about the memories they have of yesteryear. I saw Michael Irvin, who played for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, as number 88, talk about turning down his number retirement, because now he gets to see the conversations flowing from fans comparing today's 88 to him or the others who wore the same number. I 100% love to see the numbers in the rafters, but should it not be in play forever? Curious of your thoughts.

Brad, good question. I don't have strong feelings either way. I wouldn't take a side that could not be bent in the argument, but I have an opinion. I like Michael Irvin's thinking. I can't argue with that. That's how he feels. That's how he feels. And Michael Irvin is a unique talent in both wide receiving and broadcasting history.

I'm not surprised he would have that kind of opinion. We talked about in the Konstantinov situation how some of the players weren't aware of his story. And that's why I support a number being retired forever. And I like when I first went to. Ottawa and I saw Frank Finnegan's number up there. I was like, okay, what's his story? I had to kind of remember it. I mean, obviously a lot of the names you know, but there's going to be situations where you're going to look up at a number and you're going to say, what's the story there exactly? I like that. I like people being interested in history. And I do think if your number is retired,

it should stay retired. Brad, there is one situation that I would bring up, and I remembered it right away as I listened to your question, Ace Bailey, the Maple Leaf, whose number six was retired. That's not Ace Bailey who passed away on 9-11. That's Ace Bailey of the Maple Leafs, whose head injury basically created the original NHL All-Star game. his number six was retired and Ron Ellis started playing for the Maple Leafs in the 60s.

And Ellis was a member of Team Canada in 1972. He was a very good player. Bailey, as the story goes, Bailey liked Ellis as a player. And he said, you can unretire the number and give it to Ellis. So all through my childhood, I remember Ron Ellis as number six and now it's retired. And it's not retired for Ellis. It's just retired for Bailey. So I think that's a unique circumstance. But I like the idea of you walk into a building.

Why is there no number three? Oh, it's up there. And what's the story? I like that. I agree. And there's something about, yeah, particularly with the original six franchises, be it Detroit or Montreal or Toronto,

go on down the last city of Boston, as we saw Iwachara, joining the rafters there and Federer too this week and looking up and just seeing like it's a really unique visual and very special. I think I just, I'm a strong believer. The only thing I'll say on that is when it comes to Jersey retirements, it should be unique to that market.

You know what I mean? Like it should be that markets fan base that dictates kind of how they feel. I remember living in Ottawa and when they announced that Chris Neal's number was going up in the rafters. And for those that were outside of Ottawa, not Senators fans, maybe didn't watch hockey during his prime years, were like, Chris Neal. But for the vast majority of Sen's fans there and those in that market that watched him play that saw how active he was in the community and continues to be post-playing days, we're going, no, like, we're good with this. This was a very important piece, a very important part of some great memories, some great senators' teams, and they felt it was worthy of honoring them. And that's where I'm going, if you've got the people around the building and that pay for the tickets, that go to the games, that watch the games, are on board with that stuff, whether it's forever or for a certain period of time, I think that's all that matters.

I think that fans in a market have no need to apologize for being happy with a player who was great in the community having their number retired. If somebody else from outside wants to make fun, I heard the same thing about Chris Phillips when he got his number retired in Ottawa. There were people who were like Chris Phillips, really? And I said, it doesn't matter what you think. it matters what the people of Ottawa and Senators Nation think. And nobody up there is questioning it. That was, first of all, Phillips' fantastic in the community, worked for the team for a long time in addition to a player.

And also, he was a guy who stayed there when a lot of people were leaving. And that matters. That matters to those fans. So whenever I hear a fan from outside of markets say, I can't believe that guy has his number retired in that. that particular city, I look at it and I say, your opinion doesn't matter. If the market embraces it, that's all that counts. That's it. Totally with you. All right, Chandler, greetings from my raccoonless home, jealous Elliot. Chandler, that is tempting the raccoon gods.

The moment you taunt people, Chandler's house is about to become raccoon town. That would be a great short series. Raccoon Town. What kind of shenanigans they get up to each week. With the Oilers carrying three goalies as of now and having to eventually navigate waivers or trade one, I was curious about what the waiver rules are for post-trade deadline. For example, could the Oilers hang on to Calvin Pickard

until after the deadline and then send them down to the American League without risk of losing him or would the same waiver rules apply. Thanks as always and good luck, Elliot with the Great Raccoon War. Thank you, Chandler. It sounds like it's going to be a long one, the 100 years war. So the NHL does have rules after the trade deadline. Yes, players can still be put on waivers.

That still happens. and however, if a player is claimed on waivers after the deadline, they are ineligible to play for their new team. Right. And so you have to be on the roster at the date of the trade deadline to be eligible for the playoffs. That's number one. But number two, if you are put on waivers and you're claimed, you're stopped. The final thing is after the trade deadline, you only get four call-ups.

You can always do emergency call-ups if your roster gets torn apart by injuries. But other than that, you only get four call-ups after the deadline until your American Hockey League team is knocked out of the playoffs. Once your American Hockey League team either doesn't make the postseason or loses, then you can call people. up regardless, but you only get four from the deadline until the end of your HL team season. Excellent. All right, David from Hockeyville 2009, which I believe is Terrace, B.C.

Oh, okay. I didn't go to that one. I wasn't invited. Oh, yeah. They didn't want you there. Remember, it's a big uproar. I hate the people of Terrace. I just hate them.

Yeah. Yeah. Once again, Elliot's going after the West. First, I would like to wish Griffin, Dom, Elliot, and Kyle all the best in 2026. This may be considered... Yes. This may be considered too much information, but if all goes well, the wife and I are hoping to be welcoming a new baby in the coming year. Congratulations. With her affinity for astrology, she asked me, what zodiac sign I'd prefer it to be.

With my affinity for hockey, I replied the one that produces the most hockey players. Her lack of hockey knowledge showed when she asked, which one is that? And my lack of astrology showed when I replied, I don't know. So I bring it to the 32 crew in hopes your massive database can send an apple my way. I do know September 17th is the best day to produce a goal score. Oh, Austin Matthews fan. and Alex Novetschkin That's right, of course

Yes That's not going to That is not going to end well for me I got your back You know it doesn't matter Canadian bias I live in Toronto It's the first thing I think of

Yes I didn't have your back The Capitals fans are not going to be pleased There's Austin Matthews And no other examples. All right. Zodiac signs. Well, if your, if, if, if, if your birthday is September 17th, you're a Virgo.

Uh-huh. That's not number one. No, no. And we're just going, NHL players. Not worried about stats. Most goals, most assists, most shutouts, none of that. Players to reach the NHL players. Yeah.

I'm going to go with, see, I'm a September. I'm a Libra, so I tend to only know the ones around there. January is like Capricorn, right? Correct, yeah. Yes. Late December into early part of January. Judging by the way that Kyle blankly stared at his screen, the answer is not Capricorn. Correct.

Because you would have jumped if, so I know that this is not right. I'm going to go, is Sagittarius November, Dom? That I don't know. I'm going to go with whatever's in November. So Sagittarius is from November into December. No, they're near the bottom, actually. Oh, God. I used to know all these signs inside and out.

Now I have no idea. The only other guess, I'm stumped on this one, my dad's a Taurus. That's May, April and May. I'll go Taurus. All right, great guests. Second on the list. Nice. 850 players.

Is it Aquarius, Kyle? Yes, Dom. Nicely done. What's Aquarius, Dom? When's that one? February. Yeah, late January into February. 900

NHL players I was just off Do you guys know why this is? I've actually read a book that explains why most... You're talking about the Malcolm Gladwell, the late birthday stuff? Yes.

You know what, Tom, it's funny. I was trying to think that. I was trying to remember the Malcolm Gladwell book and I do know that that does matter in terms of when you are born and how it can affect

your athletes. curve, but I just couldn't remember it off the top of my head and I didn't want to cheat and look it up. It's the tipping point, right? I believe so, yeah. That's initially why I mentioned January, but I wasn't 100% confident, so I didn't run with it. Yeah. No, I think your mind was in the right place, but having not thought too much about zodiac signs that aren't your own. That's right.

understandably ultimately cost you. That used to be when in younger years, I don't think they do it now, but in dating it was like a thing. What's your sign? Are we compatible? I used to know people who were like that, yes. Right.

Right, right. All right. Yeah, that's good though. Also, I should mention, because I saw this going around a little bit from a user on X, Becky, and I got tagged in it by a couple of people.

What jersey number do you think has collectively scored the most goals in the NHL? Like if you added up everyone who has ever worn it together. Now, you and Merrick years ago, I remember tackled this one. Yes. So it has been done. But I just thought I would throw it in here as a refresher for those that forgot or maybe weren't there. Do you remember which number? It was nine or 16, was it not?

It was nine, yeah. Yes. inching closer to 18,000 total goals. 10 in second spot. So just wanted to throw that out there because I saw a couple of people who were wondering. Yeah, I remember we were doing that. And so the answer, David, if you want to have the proper sign, which sign was it? Aquarius.

Okay. So that gives you your answer. All you have to do is work nine months back before the Aquarius window. And that is the proper time. A lot of hockey players. All right. Nice dinner. Some romance.

Nine months later. And then 18 years later, NHL player. Foolproof plan. Simple as that. It all starts with a good dinner. Benjamin from Cawapio, Finland. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. Hello, Kyle, Dominic, and the raccoon overlord, Elliot.

We cannot escape this. I am not the raccoon overlords. I am definitely not in control of this. You are the court gesture. That's right. I am the raccoon conquered. Greetings from Cawapio, Finland, home of great hockey players, such as Kimo-Tiemannin and Etu Losterinen.

Nice. Good players. With the Winter Olympics coming up, I had a question in my mind regarding the Triple Gold Club. Are there any players now on USA or Team Canada Olympic rosters that could join the Triple Gold Club this year if their Olympic team wins gold. The Triple Gold Club is the group of players who have won the Olympic gold medal, world championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup. Elliot, do you possibly remember who was the most recent player to join the club? Thank you for your effort and your work. I've already turned three of my work colleagues into 32 Thoughts Pod listeners,

and my converting job continues. Go Panthers. Thank you very much, Benjamin. I appreciate that. I do know that there are several players this year who can join. A number of them are Canadians. One is Brad Marchand. I believe another is Mark Stone.

I believe another is Nathan McKinnon. And a couple of the Swedes can do it too. I think Hedman can do it. I think Landiscag can do it. And I think OEL can actually do it. Yes. I'm sure there's more, but there are definitely a bunch that could do it. it. The last to make it, I'm trying to think.

The hint I'll give you is take note of the country he submitted from that Benjamin is writing in from. Yeah, that's right, because they won the gold medal of the last Olympics, right? Yes, they did. So the first guy that was jumping into my head was Barkov, but he wouldn't have been on that team. No. And the Finns also won world championship in 2022 as well. Yeah, but because I was thinking of Barakob, I was thinking Olympic gold first. But the correct answer completed the trifecta with an Olympic gold and world championship both in 2022.

Stanley Cup came many years earlier. I'm trying to think of who was on that Finnish gold medal team. Would it be, would it be teaming in? No. This player won a Stanley Cup with one of these two teams, Tampa and Detroit. He played for both, won a cup with one of them. Oh, would it be Philpola? Yes, nicely done. Okay. Yeah, it had to be somebody who won because the NHL players weren't there.

That's why I guess Teemanan, because first of all, Benjamin said it from his town, so I wanted if that was the connection. And secondly, I couldn't remember if Teaminen played or not. But Philpola is the guy that makes sense. Absolutely. Good hint. Yeah. Good hint.

Yeah. Also, if Chekiy were to win gold, Michael Kempney, Andre Palat, and Jan Ruda, would become triple goals. Wow. Members. Now, Mike Babcock is the only coach that's part of that group. I don't know how the criteria works on that side of things.

But Misha Donskhov was part of the coaching staff winning a world championship in 2015. Part of the Vegas staff winning a cup in 2023. Right. He's with Team Canada. Jim Nell is another guy. Well, then they should get it. I have decided. Don Sweeney.

If Canada wins gold, Misha Donskhov, Jim Nill, and Don Sweeney are all triple gold club winners. I have ruled there is no arguing this. I have been proclaimed the raccoon overlord. From what I understand, the raccoon overlord has the power to declare triple gold club winners. It lists it. It is part of the. raccoon constitution. Oh, man.

And no players from Team USA this year are candidates. I mean, they just ended, of course, a lengthy drought at the World Championship last year, winning gold. Yep. Nine in 2026 have the opportunity to join that list. Okay. So we got a question from Dom.

Mm-hmm. And that is, do you know which two triple gold members have also won a World Cup. So I would have to, obviously, Crosby. Corry Perry, the other one? No, did Corey Perry win a World Cup? Correct. He won the World Cup in 2016, right? 2016, sorry.

You know who I was going to guess with that? Scott Needhamer. No, because what about Patrice Bergeron? Right. And- Does he not have a World Championship? And Niedemeyer would have been on that O-4 World Cup team. Dom.

Are you sure about this, this question you've asked? Now I'm not. I have to go back and check it. I have to go dig a little deeper. We can take it out. I'll, I think it's funnier if you leave it in and it's completely wrong. When we circle back to later on, I'll have the full answer. Okay.

But if it's wrong, you're leaving it as is. Sure, no problem. Because it's funnier to just rip you. Scott Niedermeyer was on that World Cup team. Right. And he's a triple gold member? Yeah. I had Scott Niedemeyer and Corey Perry.

But Crosby, is Crosby not have all this stuff too? Yes. Crosby's won a world championship. Has he? Yes, he has. He's the only, and I think he's the only member of the Triple Gold Club to have captained all three. Don, where did you come up with this question? This is from

Is that Google AI overview? Well, it's partly, you know, I looked into that as well. I did some quick research and that's what I came up with. You did some quick research all right. This is why we leave it to the experts at Sportsnet stats. Clearly. Dom, you are leaving this question in. If I have to take the abuse for forgetting that it's the wins.

River and not Lake Ontario. You have... Is it the Windsor River or the Detroit River? Whatever. Whatever river. The river. The river. It's just the river now. It's just the river. It's the river between Windsor and Detroit.

If I have to take the abuse for that, you are taking the abuse for this totally mangled trivia question. And the best thing is, by the time we're finished this pod, we're going to have 20 people who've done it, not two. Yeah. Okay. Mercifully, we have one more to get to. Greetings 32 thoughts. My name is Faxime.

Okay. I am a 1988 fax machine, and I would like to set the record straight for your listeners and for Elliot. I was not stolen. I simply got up and left. I simply got up and left. I was driven to leave after constantly hearing Elliot mispronounced words,

even back then, such as Detroit and Puma. I decided there was more to life than sitting in a radio shack in a GTA mall in 1988. So I decided to do some traveling. First, I stuck in the area and visited the CN Tower. Hanging from the ledge was a thrilling experience. Then I went to Niagara Falls. Oh, what fun it was to see those falls. And after that, I crossed the border and took.

in the scenery at the Statue of Liberty, before, then heading to Brazil and finally China, where I saw the Great Wall. I have documented my journey and attached photos. Yes, they're all there. Just wanted to let you know you can sleep easy tonight, knowing that you did not screw up. I simply got up and left because I knew there was a better world for me. I can see there is now a better world for you as well, beyond Radio Shack, unfortunately. You still don't know how to pronounce words correctly, but glad you have made it on your feet. Go thrashers. Well, Faxim, I'm glad you are safe. I'm glad you are sound, and I'm glad you have lived a good life. Didn't you throw in the line not too long ago if you love something, set it free?

That's right. It'll come back to you. It came back. Mispronunciations and all. Faxime came crawling back. It's the reunion we. Didn't know we needed, but so happy we have now. That'll do it for another edition of the thought line, where you can write into us at 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca, or you can leave us a voicemail at 1-833-3-3-1-3-1-3-2. We'll take one final break and wrap up this edition of the pod after this.

It's actually nine players. Not too. I flubbed that pretty good. Just a bit outside. The list is Joe Sackick, Adam Foote, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Niedermeier, Ryan Getslap, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Sydney Crosby. Yeah, I got to tell you, that wasn't a mangling. That was a butchering. That was meaning, Kevin, it was a lobster.

Are you still rolling, by the way? Yes. Okay, good. Put this in. Oh, man. Oh, my goodness. The poor lobsters had better chance than you using AI to do a trivia question. As a matter of fact, I think that AI might be removed from humanity after seeing how you just used it.

People are like, all the evil uses for AI that the world has to be concerned about it, nothing was more evil than you attempting that trivia question. And the poor listeners didn't even get to where the hair and bearded net like Elliot and Kevin did. Like they all just got splattered by this mess of a trivia question. Don't forget the GoPro on his forehead. Yeah. You never look better.

Especially knowing how much sleep you got the night before. Oh, that butter chicken poutine, man. It was burning a hole in my stomach. All right. Before we go, as always, wanted to give you a heads up of this week's matchup of Scotia Bank Wednesday night hockey. A couple of days from now. In Toronto, the Maple Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings,

another all-important Atlantic Division clash. Everything is not only so tight in the east, but in that division in particular, as they continue to jockey for a position down the stretch as we're into the second half of this season, pushing towards the Olympic break. We're on the air at 6.30 Eastern with the pregame show, David Amber and Company, getting you set.

A little after 7.8 is puck drop from Scotia Bank Arena. Okay, taking us out today, a track from Sam Salmon and the Grand Manon Bandits, who are a bare-bones country band made up of beloved New Brunswick alt-rock band, Motherhood, and guitarist Keith Hallett. Yes, a little more New Brunswick flavor to bookend the weekend in Moncton. The project aims to highlight their love for the genre while weaving in regional colloquialisms to create something that is both timeless and fresh, something you listen to with the top down and the feathered hair, right, Ken Reed. The band recorded 11 songs live to tape for their debut album, Down for Life, including the foot stomping. No One Likes Losing, a self-deprecating look at being competitive yet never managing to get ahead. That's the track we have for you right here. You can find this one along with all the others we've featured this season on the 32 Thoughts, the music playlist on Spotify. No One Likes Losing by Sam Salmon and the Grand Man and Bandits on 32 Thoughts, The Potts. You say I'm riddle with doubt, you figured it out.

You say I'm on me now. Be a shut up a man by the time I get home.