32 Thoughts: The Podcast - We Need Some Profanity in Our Life Too

Episode Date: May 15, 2024

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman open this edition of 32 Thoughts by delving into Game 4 between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. Afterwards, the fellas unpack the Bruins win over the Panthers in Game 5 bringing them one win closer to tying that series and forcing Game 7 (11:25). They talk about how the game has changed for video coaches in these playoffs (16:24). This makes way for a section about the coaching carousel in the NHL. They begin with Toronto (27:28), then New Jersey (28:07), Winnipeg (29:23), Los Angeles (30:20), Seattle (31:10), San Jose (31:44), and Columbus (33:34). They wrap the first segment by talk about Gardiner MacDougall who retired from the UNB Reds (35:53) and pay tribute to Bill Friday. In the back half of the show they talk about Valeri Nichushkin, who entered stage three of the NHLPA Assistance Program (39:30) and set up Wednesday's action between the Stars and Avs. Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Montana's Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.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.

Sorry, there's a cop following me here for a second. I just want to make sure I'm not getting pulled over for any reason. Oh, we got a new open. But for one night, Maurice just took the heat off of... Oh, thank God, they're going past me. No, are you sure? Um, yeah. So, Elliot, who gets to start in Game 5?

Welcome to 32 Thoughts to Podcast, presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Merrick alongside Friedman and Dom Schramatti, as always. We're going to get to Florida and the Boston Bruins. We are going to get to news that involves coaches, that involves the Columbus Blue Jackets as well. But up first, 3-2 is the final score. Great closing sequence. Like, really, Elliot, exciting closing sequence to this game.

And considering it was basically a two-to-one game pretty much all the way through. Dreislethal with the power play goal, 1-0. Nugent Hopkins makes it 2-0. Connor Garland cuts the lead in half. And then we get the closing sequence. Considering the scores were low, this is a pretty exciting game. And by the way, we're starting out Carcast style,

finishing up studio style. Elliot, your thoughts on this one well great game really intense i agree with you it was kind of like 1950s football for a little bit there three yards cloud of dust pickard was good but the oilers threw up a fence around him i don't like i gotta tell you like jennifer showed some good highlights of the Oilers deflecting good shots away but five on five how many good chances do you really think the Canucks had through two periods nothing like I counted like one or two they really locked them down didn't give up much the thing that I thought was really interesting was Pettersson only played I think five and a half minutes in the second

period which was low for him and he wasn't doing much but Talkett went to him pretty hard he double shifted him a couple of times in the third he was out there and and won the big face-off right before the tying goal that period to me was all about Rick Tockett saying we have to get Pedersen going. Whatever we do here, win or lose, we've got to give Pedersen some momentum. But to me, the result was fair. Edmonton deserved the game. They were the better team. And let me just say something else right here, Jeff. Yeah, we've been a resilient group all year, but we need five or six guys to get going here.

I mean, it's the Stanley Cup playoffs. There's some guys I don't know if they thought it was the playoffs. So we can't play with 12 guys. That's pretty strong stuff from Talkett. One thing about him, you always know where you stand, but he's very good at doing it privately. He's very careful about doing it publicly. When he does that, it says to me, he's been thinking it, thinking it, waiting, waiting, hold it in, give the player a chance. I can't wait any longer. And now we're at, I can't wait any longer. And yes, he's talking a little bit about the power play, but he's absolutely, as you heard, talking about Pedersen. Joshua, by the way, has been

particularly great. I've loved his game. And I thought Garland was very dangerous too, even before they scored. He was creating on that one power play. But you know who this is a direct message to, and he's got to get going. This series has been everything I could have asked for. It is dramatic.

It is intense. It is fierce. It is Canada versus Canada with something to play for. This only makes me want more all-Canadian series. The media killing each other. The fans on social media killing each other. Some of it goes over the line, but most of it, I just, I love every second of it. All the tweets coming at me, calling me an Oilers Homer or a Canucks Homer, all of the DMs calling me a Canucks homer or an Oilers homer. This is what I signed up for.

A series like this, two Canadian teams and their fan bases killing each other on and off the ice. This is why I got into this business, and I hope it goes seven. The only thing that I'll take slight disagreement with is social media today was kind of quiet. Like when you look at like all the other games between these two, like it is, it is. Hold on a second here. I'm going somewhere with this.

They've been launching Twitter grenades at each other every day, day of game off days, all of it. And then for some reason it wasn't there to the same level of animosity on, on Tuesday night. But I want to circle back to something you said about Elias. So when it's carnage for game five, this is going to be your fault. I'm just throwing red meat at the crowd. Now this is protein shakes and red meat.

Here we go. I'm glad you mentioned Elias Patterson because he had a really, a couple of really good looks off the left side, a couple of really good chances as well. And'm glad you mentioned the face-off with Derek Ryan that one was so key like that is such an important draw for both those players we know where Derek Ryan's spot is in the Oilers lineup and we all know about the struggles that Elias Pettersson had had like to me it was the most intriguing face-off of the entire game where you understand where each player is in the pecking order you understand

where you know uh elias peterson is with his game right now is he injured we don't know we'll find out it's at some point but i thought that was a huge draw for him to win to begin that entire sequence where brock buster made us all believe we were headed for overtime. Now, here's a question for you. Yes. For Vancouver Canucks loose, how much time will be spent going frame by frame and pixel by pixel through the Leon Dreisaitl knocking down the clearing attempt, which led to the Evan Bouchard goal. If we weren't fed that angle by the truck

that aired after the Calvin Pickard interview, I think it would be nonstop the next 24 hours. But they did great work there. They sent that to us, that lower camera look that made it seem pretty clear to me. Now, remember. Clearly doctored. Clearly doctored.

No one's believing that in Vancouver. Remember that it's not where the stick is. It's where the puck hits the stick. And, you know, that was a great play by Dreisaitl. I thought he was the best player on the ice all night long. You know, Dreisaitl, every game, you know, he talked a big game. He did. The line about the goalposts, getting goalposts isn't good goaltending.

If you're going to talk like that, you have to deliver. And Dreisaitl delivered. He was fantastic. I think the other thing, we talked about Vancouver trying to get Pedersen going. I thought it was really interesting that Chris Knobloch, who may have had one of his best nights as coach of the Oilers, Chris Knobloch put Kane on the ice for that shift. You know, Kane hasn't had a great series. He was determined on this night.

He threw a couple of massive hits early. He got away with one on the double minor. I think Rick Talkett had a point about how that should have been five in a game because if they call that a cross-check, there's no double minor for cross-check. It's a five-minute major in a game because if they call that a cross check there's no double minor for cross check it's a five minute major in automatic game misconduct I don't believe that was a deliberate attempt to injure that was not a match penalty Kane got away from himself there and was undisciplined but they put him on for that big shift right after the goal, and he threw a big hit. That was big, too.

And of course, Knobloch making the call to go to Pickard. That was a big brass ones call. That was a big call for him to make. And Pickard validated his decision. He validated it. 19 saves for Calvin Pickard. So it wasn't as if 30 pucks got through or 35 pucks got through or 40 pucks got through. As you mentioned, they tried to build a wall and a moat and crocodiles all around Calvin Pickard.

It worked for the most part. On Tuesday night. Now, I joked off the top, who's starting game five? Pickard's starting game five, right, Elliot? Pickard's starting game five. I don't think this was easy for Skinner. I think it was really hard for him. In the playoffs, you have to make ruthless decisions.

Oh, yeah. I think maybe in the regular season, they might not do this. But in the playoffs, you have to make hard choices. Last year, I think they felt they might have stuck with Skinner a bit too long, and they lost, and this time they were not making the same choice. It's kind of like what the Bruins did at the beginning of the series against Toronto with Allmark and Swayman. This time they played both of them,

and then they went to one guy instead of doing the reverse. This was like that decision. The Oilers looked at what they did last year. They said, we're not doing that again. And I'll tell you something else, and Kelly discussed it in the pregame. I don't think they were happy with Skinner's body language after some of those goals. I believe that not only was, you know, just the results are what you're looking at,

but I think his reaction was a part of their decision. And I know that during the season, some of the people around Skinner have said to him, I think I wrote about it once, of the people around Skinner have said to him, I think I wrote about it once, you cannot look defeated after goals. You have to shake them off. Braden Holtby was one of the best. He always had a routine after giving up a goal that got him back on track. I think the way he reacted, right, the water bottle, I think the way that Skinner reacted after some of these goals was a factor in them making the change in addition to the way he was playing. I don't think it was, like I said, I think it was very hard on Skinner, but all you can do is prepare yourself, be ready when the opportunity comes back to you,

but sometimes you've got to make tough calls calls and Knobloch made one. Knobloch did. And now we wait until Thursday for game five as the venue shifts to Vancouver. Anything else you want to add on to this one before we head to Florida? Let's go seven. Here we go.

Yes, let's go seven of Oilers Canucks. And listen, the Boston Bruins are saying, they did it to us last season. Maybe we can do it to them this season. Down three to one. All of a sudden, Boston Bruins are clawing back. Two to one is the final score. Once again, no Brad Marchand in this one.

Morgan Geeky opens up the scoring. A nice pass there by Jake DeBrusque. Nice play by him. 1-0. Sam Reinhardt with a beautiful net front battle. He gets the tying marker. And then Charlie McAvoy. Great passing play.

Makes it 2-1. A coach's challenge on this one that fails. And I want to get there with you right now. Danton Heinen tied up with Oliver Ekman-Larsen. The stick does go into the crease. It gets into the blue paint. Sergei Bobrovsky drops his stick and the goal counts.

Now, there wasn't... See, here's my problem with this one. I like the fact that the NHL puts out these emails for coaches' challenges. But the explanations are not explanations here's the explanation it's funny you bring this up because i wasn't working this game sam cosentino he called the situation room to get their explanation but when i saw the email

i said to myself this is not even an explanation. And you're right, because normally they do a pretty good job of explaining things. Or if I ask for a picture, they'll send me a picture of like a puck being in the net or not being in the net. I actually find the situation room very cooperative on the broadcast when we call they're great but I did see that I'm laughing because now that you're saying that I remember looking at it and saying this is like oh thank you for applying for this job we're looking at another direction well here's the explanation video review confirmed no goaltender interference infractions occurred prior to Charlie McAvoy's goal. That's it.

Yeah. That's it. Nothing about the stick getting into the crease and him going into the blue paint and Bobrovsky's stick. And maybe the explanation is, yes, he went into the blue paint. Um, but Bobrovsky had in our estimation enough time to reset. I don't know. Is that the explanation? We don't know because all we got is video review confirmed, no goaltender interference. Thanks. You've already said that like the official already said that and then followed it up with, we have a goal, which I really appreciated by the way. It wasn't a good goal. It was a goal.

So that's my little rant for that one. And normally the emails are at least a little bit more detailed. But again, this is where fans get frustrated because if you don't tell them why the goal is allowed or taken down, all they'll say is, we don't know what goalie interference is because you're not explaining it to us and something like this fans need to be force-fed explanations every single day media needs to be force-fed explanations i need to be force-fed explanations every single time you want my theory sure okay after the bennett one the other night I confess I don't have a feel for this right now when I saw this one I initially thought I thought it was no goal back yep but I got a bunch of texts from people are like that's a goal I'm like really you know when you get gas lit Jeff you know people say things to you and it

makes you question your own belief that happened to me in in real time my first reaction was that is not a goal but like i said i had three or four people text me that one's gonna stand and it was for the reason you you said that they felt felt Bobrovsky had time to reset. Okay. Put that in the explanation. Wait, wait, wait. Put that in the explanation. Do you know what I think the answer is? What's that?

Do we want the citizens of Boston to burn down NHL offices in three different cities? New York, Montreal Montreal and Toronto a yes we do want them to burn it down disallow the goal hmm B no we'd prefer to keep our structures intact and allow the goal that's that's your theory on this one don't don't don't say it's 1955. Elliot, don't suspend rocket Richard because Montreal will riot. Damn it.

Well, also you can say, okay, we're even now or even now. Now I want to say this in all seriousness. Okay. You know, I really feel bad for right now.

Uh, video coaches. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I get it right. That's yes. That's an excellent answer.

X. I don't know if it was a guess or you figure where I was going, but you nailed it. I, I feel for the video coaches, video coaches who listen to this podcast. I am here for you. I think the people who do these jobs have been

turned inside out in the playoffs I think they have lost confidence I think they have they're really struggling to figure out what's what and because so much is on the line with their decisions I think

they're completely freaked out by what's happened in the playoffs and the percentage that they're getting right has really dropped and that's true i'll tell you why this is a concern for me it's because i think these people are really good at their jobs i think they catalog i think they search for. I think they've become so much better at predicting what their chances are of getting something right or wrong. And I believe, and I know because I've talked to some of them, I believe that many of their probabilities have been turned on their heads in the postseason. And I don't think that's a good thing. Because coaches feel very strongly, like offside is something else. That's pretty much a black and white call.

But there is subjectivity to the goaltender interference call. We talked about this on the last pod after the Bennett goal. There is subjectivity to the goaltender interference call and now it's the predictability is gone it's a problem it's a problem it's even more pronounced I know I think everyone listening knows exactly where you're going with this one um and I'm with you on video coaches the other thing that I'll go out of my way to mention always when it comes to video coaches where, listen, I think we've talked about this before, considering how important they are and how they can, how they can help win you a series or cost you a series, millions of dollars on the line, all of it, and all the stress associated with it. They're really underpaid,

Elliot. They really are like that. That isn't, that is an area of the game that I, and I always say this about scouts too, and they're underpaid, damn it. Everyone's underpaid, Elliot. They really are. Like that is an area of the game that I really, and I always say this about scouts too, and they're underpaid, damn it. Everyone's underpaid. But scouts are underpaid. That's true. Everyone deserves more money. But video coaches,

considering how important they are to the game, making and break how many millions of dollars are on the line with these decisions. Really, pay these people. And to your previous point, video coaches out there we are your podcast fainting couch when everything goes awry this is your podcast fainting couch we call it 32 thoughts because one more thing i want to say about this issue is there was one video

coach on tuesday night who texted me and said after what happened in game five of Tampa, Florida, he would have bet a billion dollars the Panthers were winning that challenge. I thought they were too. I thought Paul Maurice was winning that one. I really did. Not that I'm some genius when it comes to goal interference, but I really did. I was very much on side with that. Okay. A couple of more things here. I always love it when players say that you know we're going to Florida and we're going to win or we're coming back Jeremy Swayman with the guarantee Jeremy Swayman shows up and that play in the dying two seconds left that save on Sam Reinhardt money right there that is Jeremy Swayman you talk about paying people that guy's going to the pay window this summer and you and one of the things he'll be showing one of the things he'll be showing is

that save against that 50 goal sniper sam reinhardt your thoughts on jeremy swayman tuesday night oh first i couldn't believe that pass got through to be honest to get to reinhardt but it did and and and i you know i tweeted out he robbed him and people were like, oh, he didn't rob him. That was an easy save. Well, the reason it was an easy save, so to speak, is because Swayman was in perfect position. It was a robbery. That was a great save. All credit to Boston. I will be honest, I did not think they were going to win this game. I thought Florida was going to win it. I thought they were going to be at home, relaxing, watching Boston Carolina on Thursday, and all credit in the world to the Bruins. That was a

late 1970s Don Cherry team, Bobby Schmotz, John Wenzink, Gary Doak, Brad Park kind of win. That was a throwback to that era of the Bruins

winning that game. Jim Montgomery is going to be nominated for an Oscar this year. His diving act on the bench, that was he outstanding i was outstanding elliot i'm i was waiting for him to pull out flippers and a snorkel i really well i'm like

waiting for prop comedy now from jim moncarmie i know it's coming here comes the snorkel here come the flippers um but speaking of which i'm i'm glad you mentioned that because now and i've been kind of keeping track of this one too and there's a club that is emerging in the playoffs. Now, correct me if I've missed anyone, but to the best of my knowledge, these are the players that have been rung up on embellishment. Yeah. We have Mason Marshment for embellishing and an interference call with- And he's a serial offender okay yes and then there is rupe hins uh in the the colorado series obviously gets called for embellishment uh on the manson hook there was an alexander venberg hold that andre svechnikov was rung up for embellishment as well and then

on tuesday night with the mor Geeky cross-check, the cross-check seemed light and Anton Liddell going down seemed really light too. But Anton Liddell, welcome to the club that includes Mason Marchment, Rupe Hins, and Andrei Svechnikov. You've been rung up for embellishment in these playoffs. To the best of your knowledge, am I missing anyone, Elliot? I don't remember anyone that you're missing. embellishment does get really bad in the playoffs it's it's one of the only things about the playoffs i hate i hate diving the other thing someone mentioned to me

jeff is do you think montgomery gets fined for that he does make a mockery of the officials i don't know that i don't know that this anything more than a phone call i i hope not uh i i don't think he should uh but i don't know someone sent me a text you think it's fine for that i was like no and then i thought about it that's like i don't know. I just think in the playoffs, coaches deserve some extra slack on these things. And I do have to say to you, the last two Boston-Florida games have gotten out of control. Like, weird stuff has happened. I think with two days off, because the next game is Friday, you can kind of say, like, if I was running the NHL, which thank God for the NHL I'm not,

I would tell both those teams, okay, clean slate for six and seven. We're starting all over again. But so everything that you guys kind of did the first five games were moving on because it hasn't been great the last two games the way they've been called. But we're starting over and that means no more. No more. Like, let's just play hockey. And hopefully we get to that.

So I'm with you on Montgomery and allowing coaches to do that I think that players need release valves and I think the coaches need release valves and I think if that's Jim Montgomery's way to get it out let him have it much like as we saw Paul Maurice on Tuesday as well going hard listen we've seen it before out of Paul

with this team, as a matter of fact. We've seen it with other teams, but most notably with the Florida Panthers recently. He went at his team hard. And did you see what he said in his post-game presser afterwards? Well, I would tell everybody to listen to that presser.

Take 10 minutes or whatever it is and listen to it. Because this is, you know what Maurice is doing there. And all the credit in the world to him. He's taking all the heat off his players. For a couple days now, everyone's just going to be talking about that press conference. About the F word and, oh, all the cameras.

You guys are going to be all over Marchand whenever he takes a sip of water. That is Paul Maurice. If you're Florida, after a game as tough as that one, you know you're going to get asked questions like, oh, okay, is Boston going to do to us what we did to them last year? And you don't want to hear anything like that after a game like that. And look, I think the Panthers, they've been the better team in the series. They've earned the lead.

I wouldn't be panicking at all if I was them. For one night, he took the heat off them. Everybody's going to be talking about Maurice, laughing about Maurice. Nobody's going to be talking about Maurice, laughing about Maurice. Nobody's going to be talking about his players or them going from 3-1 to 3-2. It was a masterstroke. He's one of the best at it. He knows what he's doing.

I still love the line. I thought they needed some profanity in their life, so I brought some. Some classic Paul Maurice. You're right. Everyone, take 10 minutes out of your life. Watch the entire thing. To Elliot's point, this one is a masterclass.

Okay, news on the march. Elliot, it's a daily update, whether it's on the radio show, whether it's on Twitter, whether it's on this podcast. Coaches and the carousel and who's landing where, when. What's the latest on the coaches, Freedj? Well, first of all, I have to pull over and put on my blinkers because I'm going to be referring to some notes here. So I don't want to be doing that while I'm driving, Jeff.

That would be a bad move. Very responsible, Elliot. We always worry about that when we do car casts. You're an excellent example for do car casts. Okay. So here's my example for young drivers everywhere. Yes. And you know, a couple,

when I did this last time, I had someone say to me, like, how long did you leave your blinker on? It's the four ways. Okay. I don't leave my blinker on for 10 minutes. You're getting to that.

You're getting to that age though, buddy. That's okay. That's right. Where you forget to turn it off okay so toronto i i'm leaning berube i i like i i think to me he's the guy but nothing is done until it's done the one thing about Bradtree Living is even if everyone thinks it's obvious or people are speculating that it's obvious, he wants to at least slow down the process a bit. He doesn't want to rush into anything. I think he's just, are there any other options we're looking at here? I lean Berube, but nothing is done until it's done. New Jersey.

Well, Devils fans, I'm sorry to put you through a bit of a roller coaster here. I've had a couple of occasions where people have kind of thought it was close, but a couple sources who I think are really smart say, don't jump to any conclusions yet. smart say don't jump to any conclusions yet um there was a time i thought berube was the lead candidate there was a time i thought woodcroft was the lead candidate i know they've shown interest in mcclellan and i think there was also a time i thought keith was the lead candidate like to give you some ideas out there at different times in the last 24 to 48 hours. People who I think are pretty plugged in have said, chase this guy or chase that guy.

That's the guy. So the devils are definitely keeping people guessing. I just think one of the things with Keith, who I definitely think is a contender here is what people are asking is, does he really want to coach right now? And I think we're still kind of waiting on that answer. So that's what I would say. I know for devil's fans, it's not as clear as you would like, but I don't want to make anything up, at least not today. And that's the best answer I could give you. Winnipeg, Scott O'Neill, obviously,

you know, Craig Berube did a Zoom interview. I think they've interviewed Dean Everson. And someone said to me, look at Kevin Sheveldayoff's history in the American Hockey League. And they pointed out that when he was in Chicago, one of his assistant, one of his assistant coaches with the Wolves was Todd Nelson. And Todd Nelson is still playing. Hershey is as a loaded team in the American Hockey League but someone just said to me do not

count out at least them talking to Todd Nelson I don't know which way Winnipeg's gonna go here yet I wouldn't want to handicap it but those are some of the names I've heard LA I admit i think there's more going on here than yet meets the eye i still do think they're considering jim hiller i i also wonder if they're they have any desire to consider marco stern whose ahl team is still going in ontario i i'm getting to the point where I think the Kings are going to have to make a decision on Sturm. Is he going to proceed in their organization or is he going to have to end up going somewhere else? Well, you know, my, you know, my, my theory is San Jose. I know your theory is San Jose and yes, I will get there in a second, but I admit I don't have yet 100% a great feel on what LA is going to decide. Seattle, I think there's three names. Dan Bilesma, Todd McClellan, and Jay Leach.

And the interesting thing about Seattle is, in New Jersey Jersey I think at different times different people have argued in favor of who should be the next coach of the Devils I think that's also the case in Seattle I think I don't know if a split is the right word but at different times I think people have argued for different people. And in San Jose, you mentioned Sturm. Ryan Worsofsky, we talked about him. And Sheng Peng reported that Worsofsky had interviewed. I'm going to put another name in here, and it's a new one. And that's Jeff Blashill from Tampa Bay. I heard he's a former head coach of detroit and i would

like to see jeff blashill get a second chance i would i'd like to see what people learn after their first time through so i think blashill is someone they're considering so that's my look at the head coaching positions i'd like to have more solid information in a couple of these cases, but I don't, and I don't want to guess too much. And the one thing that I will always remind people of, there have only been three coaches, Elliot,

who have ever won cups with multiple teams. Tommy Gorman in the 30s, Dick Irvin in the 30s and 40s and 50s. 153 with the Habs. And Scotty Bowman, who won with three. Montreal, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. So when you're talking about he's won the cup before, he can do it again,

it is one of the hardest things to do in the NHL, Elliot. I would love those odds. If I was ever good enough to be a coach, which I'm not, I would love to say I'm going to be number four. Trends are to be broken. Oh, yeah, I know. And listen, you have to listen. And I say arrogance is a compliment.

I think you have to have that arrogance. Oh, yeah. If you've done it before, yeah, I'm going to march in here and we're going to do it again. I think you need to have that as oh yeah if if you've done it before yeah i'm gonna march in here and we're gonna do it again i think you need to have that as a coach i really believe that i agree um hey we haven't talked about columbus for a while what is happening with cbj and their search jeff there were some reports or rumors i don't know if they were reports or rumors i just got sent some notes on tuesday Bergevin to Columbus. And I don't think it's that close. I really don't get the sense it's that close yet. I do think they've talked to Bergevin. I wouldn't be surprised if they've also talked to people like Jason Botterill.

That's kind of the profile of they're looking at is people who have been managers before. But I am under the impression that they are still waiting to talk to people. And, you know, what's going to happen in Edmonton after the season? That is, I think, one of the situations that could have an effect on Columbus. Are there any other teams that are going to go out that they're going to want to talk to people from their organizations? I just, I know there's a lot of smoke around Bergevin right now, and I do think he's someone they've talked to, but I just, I could always be wrong. My impression on Tuesday was that they're not there yet and they're still waiting to talk to people. Oh, and by the way,

Jeff, I think sooner or later, we're going to get a better idea of the front office structure around Bill Guerin in Minnesota too. One thing I did want to circle back on there quickly, Dean Everson, Winnipeg, that's juicy, considering the history of Minnesota, Dean Everson, and the Winnipeg Jets, is it not? Yeah, I knew you'd like that one. I do like that one a lot. I'm a big fan of that name you threw out there.

I knew you'd like that one, lot. I'm a big fan of that name you threw out there. I knew you'd like that one, Jeff. We'll see. Clearly, the Jets are going through a process here. I know there were some people who thought that this would be a quick handover. The Jets certainly don't seem like they're headed in that direction. They want to do a full process here as they said they would. And with that, we conclude the CarCast portion of the podcast. Studio time next.

The coach that doesn't lose hockey games, Gardner McDougall of UNB. An announcement I would expect in short order, maybe as early as when you get this podcast. We'll take over the bench boss detail for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. This is a major move. He's been very successful, as we all know, at the University of New Brunswick. And in an interesting twist, his son, Taylor, who's very well thought of, a young up-and-comer in the industry, will take over the general manager's portfolio with the Wildcats as well. He had been working as an agent with L.A.

Waz group, Waz sports group. So that's the news coming out of the QMJHL. That is major news, not just in in Canadian junior hockey and the QMJHL, but also at the university hockey level, because, as you know, Gardner McDougal is very much a legend at UNB. He's also won a Memorial Cup with St. John the Sea Dogs a couple of years ago. So that's an interesting situation there. And Elliot, just wanted to mention- The Moncton McDougals.

I do like that. The Moncton McDougals. Get your catfrages in here now. One thing that I did want to mention before we go to break here is the passing of Bill Friday. Now, Bill Friday was a referee in both the NHL and the WHA. I've talked plenty about my love of the old WHA. My dad used to take me to Toro's games all the time. And, you know, Bill Friday left the NHL to join the WHA and gave it a real shot at credibility.

You know, we always think about, you know, the players that gave that league a shot of credibility and coaches, et cetera. Well, you know, Bill Friday was a big credibility shot in the arm for the WHA after he left the NHL. He refereed in both the Stanley Cup Finals and Avco Cup Finals, was the only official ever to do that. Wow.

1,400 games, yeah, 1,400 games. I mean, he was a larger-than-life personality. It's funny, too, because as I go back and look at old WHA games, it seems as if Bill Friday refereed all of them. Like, I can remember him as a kid. The official jerseys were so unique. But as I look back now, it's like every game has Bill Friday officiating the game. He was the first president of the NHL's Officials

Association as well. Very highly regarded, very respected, very well thought of. He passed away two days ago at the age of 91. And we just want to express our condolences to the family and the friends of the late, great Bill Friday. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Welcome back to the podcast, 32 Thoughts, presented by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Elliot, we'll see one game tonight. We'll see another game on Thursday. Tonight we'll see the Colorado Avalanche facing off against the Dallas Stars. Colorado very much in charge in this one.

We'll get there in a second. Thursday we'll see if the Rangers can complete their journey and eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes, or can the Hurricanes send this thing back to MSG? We'll start with Colorado and Dallas. The series is 3-1 Dallas after a big victory in Game 4 on Tuesday night. And the over, but the big story coming out of this one is a story involving Valery Nachushkin, who has now entered Stage 3 of the NHL Players Association Assistance Program.

Some of the comments, I mean, all the comments were emotional. I thought that Jared Bednar, the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, was about his even-handed balancing off the players and the team situation versus the person and the needs of Valery Nechushkin. How did you see the entire situation on Monday? I think you have to understand the emotion of the situation, Jeff, that two things can be true. Number one, you can be concerned for Nechushkin, the person,

and his family. I think the toughest thing is, you know, they just had their first baby last fall. That's the thing I think people worry about the most he has a young family you want to be a good father to your children and you know that that's the thing that I think people around him who worry for him say man that's the thing that kicks you the hardest and then you also have to accept that there are teammates from a hockey point of view who will be let down who will say oh no again third time in a calendar year including the

regular season where he was in the program and away for the team it's not the quote-unquote proper way to respond to that but you have to understand in the emotion of the moment how some people will and as far as I'm concerned I didn't see anything that indicated to me that someone went over the line or said something that was unacceptable I think when it comes to the avalanche teammates in the organization you have to give them a break. This happened on a game day. This happened out of nowhere. You leave to go home for your nap or whatever, and you're assuming that your lineup is going to be bolstered because Drouin is coming back.

And all of a sudden, you come back and Taves isn't there because he's sick, although he will travel to Dallas for game five. And you hear this news about Nachushkin people have to understand the reactions there now there will be time here the initial shock will wear off Nachushkin's got some time before he can come back everything will calm down and settle and we'll see where this goes. But from where I sit, both reactions can be true and everybody deserves a bit of a mulligan because of the emotional time that it happened. Now, Jeff, one thing I want to add here, and it's not the thing you really want to talk about. You're more concerned about Nechushkin as a person than the economics or business of this but several of you have been asking so I wanted to include it.

People have wondered if the Avalanche can terminate his contract. The answer is no. While he's in this stage of the program it's frozen. So he's suspended until November and one thing that pending any kind of negotiated buyout he's suspended until November and the thing that the Avalanche have to be aware of is yes his money is off the cap now but assuming he's still on the roster they'll have to be prepared in November to activate him so his six million plus cap hit they're going to need room to bring it back on in November barring any kind of negotiated settlement or anything like that but they cannot terminate his contract while he's

serving this suspension uh the game itself on Monday, Elliot, specifically the first period where the shots on goal were 16-2 Dallas. Jared Bednar mentioned that it seemed like his team was frozen. It looked to me like his team was stunned. His team was staggered. His team didn't know what to do. And I'll be blunt, that was the worst period of hockey I've seen Colorado play all season.

I agree with you. It was 22-4 midway through the second period. It ended up 34, 27. So much more respectable, but I'm sure you're with me. Like nobody can blame them. You know, Dallas's job in that game was to say, this is a team that just had a really hard day. They're completely discombobulated, and we have to get on them. And that's what they did. You know, Colorado was not in a mental place where they were prepared to play and win that game. They didn't get started until 35 minutes in. Now, the guy who deserves the most credit is Georgiev.

He put them in a position where they could have stolen it for about two periods. And since game one of the Winnipeg series, he's been really good. He gave them a chance. That's all you can ask. He gave them a chance. But that Colorado team was just not mentally prepared to play that game. Now, the way they finished and the fact that Taves is coming back gives you some hope for game number five, that they will be in a better place to start. Peter DeBoer did not say much about injuries on Tuesday. He said that Tanev was fine, but he said more testing on Hintz.

That says to me that the stars are preparing for the possibility that Hintz won't play game five. They're still deep enough to win without him, but I wouldn't want to play two more rounds without him. Miro Haskin was great on Monday with the three assists. I know we haven't talked a lot about him, but he's been tremendous in his playoffs. Jake Ottinger again with 24 saves so that song remains the same and the legend grows a power play goal a shorthanded goal and assist to tuesday's birthday boy wyatt johnston let's end on that one you have a thought on this now emerging star with the dallas stars i don't even think you can call him an emerging star i think he is a star now he's graduated from 20 to 21 ergo he's graduated from emerging star to star and i'm still wondering now i'm still gonna have a beer and play

cards and play cards but i'm still wondering jeff what did you buy him for his birthday i know i kind of waved the flag here in the president of the fan club but what have i told you before i don't cheer for teams. I cheer for players. And he's one of my favorite players to watch. And for good reason, the kid is fantastic. When in doubt, Amazon gift certificate.

Oh, every time. Oh, every time. Um, the New York, you sent him $21 to one for every year. He's been alive.

You know what I used to do to all my friends? What's that? When they turned, when I, when they turned friends? What's that? When they turned 33. What's that? I would send them a Bible, and inside I would say, this is what Jesus did by the time he was 33. What have you done?

This is why so many people hate you, Merrick. That's pretty funny, actually. Not a good gift. Okay, the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes. Elliot, if you're a Rangers fan, are your knees knocking a little bit here? Now, we're not going to be able to see these two teams until Thursday. That's when we're going to have game six in this one. The Rangers still lead the series 3-2,

but all of a sudden Elliott Carolina is off the map and I can't help but thinking so much of what we saw in game five was the power move from Jordan Stahl to tie things up great move they needed stall he's never going to be a top point guy but you have to be a force. In the playoffs you have to be a force at both ends of the ice. He's always a force defensively. He's a mule to get through. Very challenging physically but when you're that big and that strong you do at least have to be a headache offensively and in game number five he was definitely a headache offensively. And in game number five, he was definitely a headache offensively. I think this is a just result, Jeff. This was not a three nothing series.

I know the Ranger fans are a bit panicky. I know they're nervous, but this deserved to be a three, two series. And, you know, the Rangers are still one win away from the conference final and it will be hard to beat them four times in a row the my other immediate reaction to game number five was it was the first game I really saw the Rangers get dominated or pushed around that was a game where Carolina did a lot of what it wanted and when and I really felt that when Trouba scored that shorthanded goal it was going to take the air out of Carolina credit to the Hurricanes they recognized how well they were playing and they stuck with it and eventually won the only negative I thought for New York

aside from the fact that Carolina dominated the game, was when you wear a suit as good as Peter Laviolette did for that one, you do not deserve to lose. That suit should equal a W. But knowing how superstitious coaches are, that one probably got burned when he went home the other night. Yeah, there's a whole lot of, well well i won't be wearing that tie again well i won't be wearing those shoes again but in laviolette's case that gorgeous suit is probably now a thing of the past again we will see game six here between these two teams on thursday okay don't forget only one game on the board this evening around the nhl the stanley cup playoffs and you can watch it on sportsnet, 8 o'clock Eastern. It is the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche Game 5. Dallas looks to finish Colorado's season, which would be spectacular considering they've already eliminated last season's Stanley Cup champions and are looking to do the same to the team that won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. It hasn't been an easy road for Dallas.

We'll see what happens on Wednesday night. On behalf of everyone here at the podcast, thanks so much for listening once again. Enjoy the action on Wednesday night. We'll join you again Friday morning. Bye.