32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Whale Team Good

Episode Date: May 17, 2024

This episode of 32 Thoughts is dedicated to the memory of Darren Dutchyshen.Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman highlight the Vancouver Canucks impressive Game 5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers to start this edition of 32 Thoughts (3:40). Then, the fellas dive into the Rangers 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes as they take the series 4-2 and qualify for the Eastern Conference Finals (18:49). They also talk about what is next for the Carolina Hurricanes (24:21). Jeff and Elliotte park the Stanley Cup Playoffs talk to unpack a few news items including; The Columbus Blue Jackets GM search (37:10), a possible landing spot for Gerard Gallant (39:51), and the Islanders landing Maxim Tsyplakov (40:50).The guys answer your questions in the Montana’s Thought Line (44:13).Jeff and Elliotte wrap the podcast by previewing Friday night's Stanley Cup playoff action between the Panthers and Bruins, and the Stars and Avs (55:51).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.

Elliot, we'll open up the podcast today on a sad note. The passing of Darren The Titian from TSN is one that has hit everybody in the industry hard. He passed away Wednesday at the age of 57. As I mentioned to you on radio on Thursday, I don't know that I've seen anyone do highlight shows with more energy and enthusiasm for longer than Darren The Titian. That job, specifically doing highlight shows deep, deep, deep into the morning is a real grind. And you always got a sense that he really loved what he was doing and we loved watching him, Elliot. No question about it. As I said to you, the most important thing that anyone on air can have

is passion. Because if you are not passionate about the subject that you are talking about why on earth would the viewer be interested that's very important to Titian was one of the best at it he always had such enormous passion and that's what brought people in I didn't know him that well not as well obviously as the the TSN co-workers did 57 is is way too young way too young it's it's not right and it's not fair i would like to tell one story uh about detition that actually wasn't an encounter with him per se but it was an encounter about him and i can't believe i forgot to mention it when i was on your radio show on thursday years ago, when I was still dating Steph, I was driving to her house

and we picked up one of her brothers, David. And we were on route. And Jeff, I got pulled over for speeding, which I know is hard to believe if anyone's driven. Bravo, yeah. Yeah, real hard to believe. So I grabbed my license. I grabbed my registration. Um, the police officer comes over, I rolled down my window. I start to

hand it to him. He's like, you know what you did, right? And I'm, you know, at this point in time, you're just on your best behavior. Yup. Uh, I know. And he kind of looks at me and he looks at my driver's license and he pauses and i'm thinking okay what's going on here and he says to me well i let darren detition off last week so i guess i have to let you off this week oh that's fantastic, Freed. What a wonderful story. I was like, I sure hope so. And he gave me a warning. And away I went, really watching the speed limit a lot more carefully. But the best part of it was, I didn't think much as I started driving.

All of a sudden, I heard from the backseat was, that was awesome. And that was the day my brother-in-law, David, felt that Steph should get married to me. That was the day. I take away from that, Darren, the decision got you out of a speeding ticket. A hundred percent he did. Wow. Because knowing him as little as I do, he probably talked his way out of it with his enthusiasm. Absolutely. Our condolences to Kate, the family and friends of Darren The Titian and everybody over at TSN. Quick note, the beginning of this podcast is a car cast. Later on, we transition back to the studio version of the show, which we recorded earlier

Thursday afternoon. They'll flip it back into the Edmonton zone. Lynn Holmes after it right wing. Bottom of the circle. Centering pass. Pass off, escape, rebound, they score! G.T. Miller! Well, that was a wild Thursday night. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented as always by

the GMC Sierra Elevation. Elliot, in a lot of ways wild Thursday night. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented, as always, by the GMC Sierra Elevation. Elliot, in a lot of ways, Thursday night was all about the American power forward. We're going to get to Chris Kreider here in a couple of seconds of the New York Rangers. But first, JT Miller with the heroics to stave off overtime and give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win in the game and a 3-2 series lead in the process.

And Elliot, I don't know about you, but at the end of that one, I said to myself, based on what I had just seen over 60 minutes, the right team in that game won the game. 100%. I'm with you on that. And maybe the Canucks fans will say that JT Miller is an honorary Canadian or a naturalized citizen. I don't know if they have the power to make him a naturalized citizen, but they can definitely make him an honorary Canadian.

It's about the American power forward. Let's just give it to a month Thursday. It's about the American power forward. So we'll get to the Rangers in a second. But JT Miller was awesome. Miller was great. He was awesome. Miller was great. He was awesome. And I don't he's not in the class of the Sedins or Mats Sundin, who were sort of the stoic players, the stoic Swedes on who could handle Canadian markets because they were so calm. It's not like P.K. Subban, who loved playing in Montreal because he loved the stage.

But there is, whether it's his fierce pride or just the way he carries himself, J.T. Miller is a guy who can handle Canada. He is built for this. He is wired for this. And he feeds off the energy of the Vancouver crowd. Right from this first shift, you know, Pedersen, he was trying to get himself going, but he dipped his toe in it a little bit. Right from the first shift, Miller was going. He was really going. And Luke was all over

it. And Ron said, he's going to score tonight, and they were right. And I'm with you. It was a just result. You know, the people who deserve the credit most of all were the Canucks penalty killers. 0-5, first time these playoffs, the Oilers did not score a goal on the power play. Vancouver's most aggressive offensive game in the playoffs. They were last among all playoff teams in shots per game. They'd set an NHL record for fewest shots over the first 10 games of any one

postseason. They'd only beaten 25 once. They got 29 in a game, and they got 35 in this one. And the other thing that I saw tonight, Jeff, is that as the Nashville series went on, I thought they really separated themselves from the Predators. And particularly at five on five, I think they've really started to separate themselves from the Oilers. I think they've really started to separate themselves from the Oilers. And that is somewhere the Oilers are going to have to be better if they're going to send this series back to Vancouver on Monday night.

You know, it's interesting you mentioned the penalty killers. And I want to pause on one name here. We haven't really talked about much this playoffs. Maybe we've mentioned them once. You remember for the longest time how a lot of people in Vancouver wanted Tyler Myers out? You you know it was a get rid of them overpaid not producing look at the numbers he was their best penalty killer on thursday and he's had a really good he's a he's a really good player really good playoff so far as well

and i always think back to you know let's get rid of them. No good. Can't play. Forget it. Beat it. No room at the end for you. Tyler Myers has been really good for this team. And specifically on the PK on Thursday night. He was excellent. Just excellent. Yeah, I had a conversation with Jim Rutherford once about Myers.

And one of the things he said that I really agree with is that Myers' size makes him look bad when he makes a mistake because he's as big as he is and he's also gangly you know Zdorov's a big guy and I thought he was great too like Evander Kane threw down the physical challenge on Zdorov and he handled it but Zdorov is not gangly he's just big Myers is more gangly and I'm with Rutherford on this one I think when he makes mistakes they look worse and it sticks in people's minds whatever the case is I agree with you I thought he was fantastic I thought the Canucks as a whole were fantastic that was you know the Vancouver fans can argue if they think that was their best game of the playoffs or best performance of the playoffs. I was incredibly impressed by it.

Shelawes was really good again. And if you're Edmonton right now, you're thinking, oh, we got the Brown and Yanmark goal. That's something we absolutely needed, some depth points. But you're still wondering, where's your five-on-five game? And McDavid was really quiet in this one, one of the quietest games I remember him having. You never assume it'll be like that for two games in a row. But even as great as McDavid is, you reach a point where all of the minutes and everything they need him to do, you wonder if it's getting to him a bit.

Just not mentally, but physically. And I have a feeling by saying anything like that, he's going to shove it up where the sun don't shine on Saturday night. he's going to shove it up where the sun don't shine on Saturday night, but you couldn't help, but watch this game and wonder is all the minutes getting to some of these top Edmonton players. We'll see. I think we're waiting for another command performance from Connor McDavid in this series.

We'll see if we get it on Saturday. If we don't, then we're having a much different conversation on the next podcast. Back-to-back fourth-line goals is always intriguing. You mentioned the Yanmar goal that made it 2-1. And then we opened up the third period with the returning Philip DiGiuseppe, the proud papa. That was nice. You guys talked about baby bumps on television.

I thought that was really nice, too, but it's very true. Philip DiGiuseppe ties this one up. It's 2-2, and that sets up the JT Miller heroics. 3-2 Vancouver is the final score here. All right. The Elias Pettersson penalty. Yes. The charging penalty.

The jump. Thoughts on this one? Honestly, the shortest thing I can say is i think they should have called it interference if they were going to call a penalty on that one that's what it should have been when he's he's excellent at the reverse hits and there is a big internal debate in the league now about these reverse hits should they be allowed to continue this one was different because of the leap um i hadn't seen like i've seen reverse hits before i'd never seen one quite like that ron was the one who knew that you could call a jump for charging i had no idea you could do that i was today years old when i learned that i just

wish they would have called it interference if they wanted to call anything. I was surprised at it, Jeff. I really don't know what else there is to say. I just, when that happened, I was like, you know how sometimes when they tell you if you have good grammar or bad grammar, it's the ear test. Does it sound right? Yes. Then it's good grammar. Does it sound wrong? It's bad grammar. For me, I looked at that and I said, that was weird. Maybe right in terms of the rule book, but if a penalty interference, you. See, I was always, cause I'm with you. I learned that on Thursday. I thought that that call, if you're stationary and you jump into someone who doesn't have the puck,

I thought the call was interference. I had no idea that that was a charge. I've always assumed that if you're standing still and you hit someone, that it's interference because they don't have the puck. I always thought that. And I've seen, you know, going back to, I guess, Peter Forsberg was probably the first one that we saw do that bump back or the reverse hit or whatever. He perfected it.

Cold shoulder. He was the first guy to perfect it. Yes. Yeah, cold shoulder is the term that's due rigour for what Peter Forsberg did. But I always assumed that if you were standing still and lunging to a guy, that the call was interference. So I learned something, too. I guess we both did.

Maybe we all did. You know, there was one call in this game or non-call that I did want to credit because I know you could see, and we showed it, Tockett was really struggling to keep his composure with what was going on in Game 5. But the non-call on the second Vancouver goal on the offside, I think McPherson was the linesman. That was a great non-call in the moment because he recognized that Dreisaitl took the puck back into the Edmonton zone and he didn't blow it dead.

And because he saw that in real time, Vancouver was able to tie that game. So, uh, you and I have been hard on the officials, uh, these playoffs, that is comes with the territory. I think that's life in the big leagues, but you got to shut out a good one when you see it. And that non-call on the off side, that's, that was big because it allowed Vancouver to score the tying goal and properly so i have to say though jeff i am really glad that peterson kick didn't go in before miller scored the winner because that that review would have been one way or another one city was going to be a crater at the end of that review.

What did you think of Pedersen? I mean, he got some help, talk it, juggled some lines, put all three Swedes together. There's Lindholm with Pedersen and Hoaglander to start the game. I thought he played better, like not better like, holy smokes, there's the elitist pedersen we're all used to but i thought he had a decent game i thought he got more aggressive and more confident as the game went on i i really did i and on the first shift or an early shift i don't remember if it was the

first one but he had the opportunity to do a wraparound and he passed it like he still wasn't aggressively taking the puck to the net but but to me he was noticeably better as the game continued you know I think the thing about Tuckett is like I don't think there was any chance he was going to play like Karamaki like the guy hasn't played I don't think in a month he's what what, 20 years old. He's played six games in North America, but I think he was trying to threaten those guys. And, you know, by initially he says, I'm not changing the lines and they changed the lines. And my thinking there is that he's telling Patterson, okay, maybe you think, or some people think you don't have the right line mates. okay, maybe you think or some people think you don't have the right line mates.

I'm taking the excuses away from you. People think it might be the line mates. Okay, now I'm going to break up a line to give you better line mates, a line that's been playing well, so you better deliver. You better deliver. That's what I thought that was. And, you know, the other thing too is with injuries, everybody's banged up I just don't think a coach would go at a player that publicly if he knew the player had an injury that was preventing him from

doing things so I think this was Tuckett saying okay I've got to give him a chance and I'm also going to take away the excuses and that's what I thought he did. And I thought Pettersson got better as the game went on. Like, like that reverse hit, that was a good sign to me because when you remember when he got hit in his rookie year by Matheson in his second year, he began throwing those things and I loved it. I thought that was, that was great from him. And I went to me, And to me, when that happens, he's being aggressive. And I think that's the way he needs to be. One last one here before we move on to the Rangers and the what's next for the Carolina Hurricanes. You're the Edmonton Oilers, Elliot. Who starts game six?

You know, you're asking all these questions that I'm thinking of. You thought about, what did you think of Pedersen just before I asked it? Now you're thinking. Yeah. I mean, I look at it this way. To me, this one's huge, and I'll tell you why. Okay. Because of the Carson Soucy goal.

That is a clean shot from the point that he has a good look at, and it goes straight in. Okay. That's the one. When Soucy scored that goal, I thought, uh-oh, this is going to be bad for the Edmonton Oilers. Now, he course-corrected and played better the rest of the game, but did you not get that, uh-oh?

Because that's a clean shot. He's got a clean look at that thing from distance. And no respect to Carson Soucy, but it's not Al McInnes firing that thing. That's not Chara firing that thing. Interesting. Okay. That's fair. I look at it and say, maybe are they thinking about going back to Skinner?

He did play better the rest in the game, but still. I bet you they're thinking about it. I have no doubt they're thinking about it. I had no doubt they were going to start Pickard game five. I can't believe anybody thought differently. My question is, do they think in any way Pickard's tired? If the answer is no, I think you go back to him. If the answer is yes, then I go to Skinner.

This is going to be a fascinating call either way. All right. Congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks. One game away from the conference final. Now, the other game, the early game, the comeback game, the Chris Kreider game. Natural hat trick in the third period. Ties it.

Gets the game-winning goal. Barkley Goodrow seals it away with an empty net. But this is one of those performances, Elliot. I was thinking about this. The end of the game-winning goal. Barkley Goodrow seals it away with an empty net. But this is one of those performances, Elliot. I was thinking about this. The end of the game. This is one of those performances by Chris Kreider that when they retire his jersey, this is one of the games they're going to talk about.

Do you remember when Chris Kreider single-handedly sent us to the conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes. We're going to get to the Canes here in a couple of seconds and what's next. There's a lot of questions there. Yeah. But your thoughts on the Rangers and specifically your thoughts on Chris Kreider Thursday night. I'm going to take a slight issue with one thing you said there. I do not believe it was single-handed.

Shusterkin made 16 saves in the third period. So I think it was double-handedly. I think it was Shusterkin and Kreider. So here's a question. When they retire Shusterkin's number, they talk about the Carolina game then too. Well, I think they retire both their jerseys at the same time and they show highlights of that game okay very good um so i gotta ask the question and i don't know the answer to

and i should have asked the sportsnet stats guys anyone listening to this will tell me if there's an answer do you know of any player who had a natural hat trick in one period of a clinching game that included the tying and game winning goals i don't know i don't know listen the nhl stretches i don't know that it's ever happened. I don't know. The NHL stretches back to 1917. So I don't know, but I'm not going to say for sure that it's never happened. But again, I don't know. The closest thing I thought about, remember last year in the Stanley Cup final, there was a hat trick in the clincher and that was Mark Stone, but it wasn't the same thing and it wasn't

anywhere near as dramatic i'm crowdsourcing this one out there you tell me if i'm missing anything but that's as big a clincher as i can remember that's as big a clinching game performance as I can remember seeing. Kreider, like this guy, the thing I thought about was, do you remember when he first came on the scene? He came on in those 2012 playoffs and he had an unbelievable goal scoring run when he joined the Rangers out of the NCAA.

And he's a guy who could have left. He stayed. He wants to be a Ranger. You saw his answer in the postgame after they won. You know, when they said, what does it mean to you to win? And he basically says, it means I get to play more hockey. I love hockey. What an enormous performance.

And the thing it does, and I would credit Shusterkin too, like I said, Jeff, if they don't come back and win this game, that is the longest 48 hours for all of these players. Just imagine what the next two days are like for the Rangers as they prepare to play that game. Everybody thinks they're about to choke. Laviolette, who pulled the 3-0 comeback with Philadelphia against Boston, he's being asked questions like,

Peter, how would you feel if you become the first guy to both win and lose a 3-0 series? It's going to be bananas around them. But they, you know what, to their credit, they found a way. They were the President's Trophy winners for a reason, because they find ways to win games. And to their credit, they found a way. Really tough night for Frederick Anderson. Really tough night for Anderson. That 3-2 goal, you could see when that went in that the Rangers were like, you know what?

We're going to do this. You could just feel the way that puck went in, Jeff, you could see it on the Hurricanes and you could see it on the Rangers. I found the answer to your question. Okay. You're going to hate the answer. Okay, what's the answer?

Last year. When? Jonathan Marcheseau, natural hat trick. Game six, Vegas versus Edmonton. Same period? It is two to one, two to one heading into the second. He scores three goals in the second period. His third, his fourth, his fifth of the playoffs.

William Carlson with the empty netter in the third period. 5-2 is the final score. Wow! There it is. I'm going to get two calls after this airs. One's going to be from Gary Lawless. And I'm not going to say who the other one's going to be from Gary Lawless. And I'm not going to say, I'm not going to say who the other one's coming from.

That's interesting. All right. Listen, congratulations to the New York Rangers. Wow. That's a great poll. Great job. Just a little bit of a Google,

the Google machine a little bit there, but yeah, listen, it's not like I pulled it off the top of my head and that was only last season. Elliot's. Yes. Just,

you know, it's amazing. Amazing. Great off the top of my head, and that was only last season, Elliot. Yes. You know, it's amazing. Amazing. Great performance by the New York Rangers. I know for their fans, there was a couple of nervous moments, certainly, but an exciting game, and this is, like, this has been a wonderful season so far for New York, and they are into the conference final.

They will face off against the winner of the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers. Now, what's next for the Carolina Hurricanes? It's a team that we've talked about being a Stanley Cup contender for a number of years now. You always hate for a team to be the next version of the San Jose Sharks. Oh, this is their year. Oh, this is their year.

Oh, this is their year. This is the Thornton Marlowe San Jose Sharks vibe. And I hate saying it because much like Marlowe, San Jose Sharks vibe. And I hate saying it because much like I kept predicting the San Jose Sharks, I've kept predicting the Carolina Hurricanes as well. This one's tough. Questions about the head coach, Rod Brindamore, free agents, Tara Vinen, Gensel, Martin Nook, Nason, Shea, Pesci, D'Angelo, Chatfield. Natchez has arbitration rights. He's a restricted free agent as well.

Probably questions around the goaltending and what do you want to do there? I mean, how deep do the questions go right now? Before we start to drill down, how deep do the questions go in this organization now? I think instead of going with how deep, I'm going to go with where they start, because I think that's the biggest question by a mile and it will either answer or open up a whole bunch of other ones. And that is Rod Brindamore. Rod Brindamore, there is no coach in the NHL who sets the tone and the culture of an organization more than Brindamore does.

No one. And as a matter of fact, I would say that there's no one in his stratosphere in terms of setting the tone and the culture of the team. Like John Cooper is a hell of a coach. He's won two Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay. But I don't think that even if he was to leave Tampa Bay, I don't think it changes things as much for the Lightning as Brindamore being away from the Hurricanes. His personality sets the entire tone for that dressing room and that organization. So I start there.

Now, it's a difficult thing to do in the emotion of the aftermath. Really difficult thing to do. of the aftermath, really difficult thing to do. But I have told you before that the best source I have on this believes that this is going to work out. But this person also can't believe it got to this point and says it's really a bad thing for the organization that it exploded between the first and second round of the playoffs. He really feels, and there's no way to prove it, but he really feels, is it possible, it's not a coincidence, that the Hurricanes fell behind 3-0 in this series because this became a thing? His general feeling is no, but he doesn't think it helped. but he doesn't think it helped. So, and also, Jeff, there is a real doubt,

and only Brynden Moore can change the perception on this, but there is a really, there's a real doubt he wants to leave the triangle. The feeling is he wants to stay there. His family's there. They're all happy there. I think what Brynd Brendan Moore is going to have to prove is that he really wants to leave. Now, that said, I think teams are going to ask. I think New Jersey will definitely ask, but I think everybody's going to

look into it. I think immediately they're going to get questions. What exactly is the case here? I will reiterate though, Jeff, I think based on the best information I have, that they will work it out, but I don't think anyone's happy. It took this long and, you know,

we'll see what that means. As for the roster, it's my personal opinion that the two most important players in terms of long-term deals are going to be Jarvis and one name you didn't mention Jacob Slavin is headed into the last year of his contract. And I wonder if they're looking to extend him. They really consider him a big piece there. And it wouldn't shock me if they jumped the line a bit on Slavin. Here's the thing about Slavin. He's 30 years old. He's still amongst the elite when it comes to defensive defensemen.

You know how I feel about Jacob Slavin. How we all feel about Jacob Slavin. How do they feel about term for players in their 30s? They generally don't like it. Don't forget Slavin's last deal, even though it was worth a lot of money, was a great deal for the team. So I'm curious to know what we're looking at here. But I've had a couple of people say to me,

don't be surprised if Slavin is a focal point there. Natchez, I have believed for some time. Is that Jarvis? That one just probably won't work out there. I just don't think that they're going to do what Nate just wants to do. Jarvis, I just think he's too valuable. They're going to have to get something done there.

Yeah, this has been the real breakout year for Seth Jarvis, both offensively and defensively as well. Now, I know sometimes what you do defensively gets overshadowed when you play, when you're a forward with the Carolina do defensively gets overshadowed when you play when you're forward the carolina hurricanes gets overshadowed by jordan stall but defensively this guy was fantastic this year as well um and he looks very much and plays very much like your typical um your stereotypical if you will carolina hurricanes player uh the ufas and this one is going to be led by j Gensel trade deadline acquisition.

They changed the way they do business to bring him in. Do they keep him in Carolina? I would expect that they're going to take a run at it. I don't know how to handicap it at this point in time, but I think they're going to take a run at it. You know, Brett Pesci didn't seem likely. They kind of told him what they were willing to do last year. I think it was in the five times five range.

It didn't work. I don't know that it's changed. I've mentioned this on the pod before Brady Shea I think they looked at a couple of deals with him one of them I think might have been like Orlov style low term but a big number I heard they were creative but obviously at this point in time they haven't sorted anything out I think the other thing too about the Hurricanes is they might just like the flexibility to see what drops on their lap because of it you know what good players become available where do we does does somebody who needs cap space have to come to us because we have the flexibility? I always wonder if there's something there that we're not seeing yet that they're monitoring.

But to me, their three most important things are Brindamore 1, Jarvis 2, and I've heard that they consider Slavin a big priority. The other thing I was thinking, Jeff, is, is there any way they buy out Kotkin Yemi? He's 23 years old. So it's a one third buyout and it would save them $20 million. Now he's got six years left on his contract, which means it would be 12 years on the cap, but it's only at $835,000 cause it's not bonuses. So there is a financial, like I said, it saves them 20 million.

So there is a financial reason for I said, it saves them $20 million. So there is a financial reason for them to do it. You know, if you look at his ice time during the playoffs, his largest minutes per game was 18-14. That was in the two-overtime game, the double-overtime game against the Islanders. In game six tonight, he was at 1051. The last seven games, he's only got three over 10 minutes and never hit 11. So at the very least, that's something they're going to have to ask themselves. Now, maybe they think he's still a growing player and they can get more out of him. That's a reason not to do it. But the one thing is, I think there are some organizations

who would say, look, we signed this guy to an offer sheet. We have to keep going through with it. I don't believe Carolina is one of those teams. I think Carolina would make the decision based purely on what's better for their organization and we'll cut our losses if we have to. And the fact that the buyout is one-third and then it's structured the way it is, there's real financial incentive to do it. LA, Dubois had a lot of bonuses. It wasn't the same. They came out right out and said they weren't going to do it. I don't know. I really wonder if Carolina considers this. The other thing too, Jeff, I kind of wonder is, does Columbus, which is looking for experience, want to talk to a Don Waddell or something like that? Or whatever they're going to do there.

And would that then, for the Carolina Hurricanes, mean a bump up for someone like Eric Tolsky? Could be. Could be. I just, it was just someone just presented it to me after the game, and we're going to talk about Columbus in a minute, but they just said to me, if the Blue Jackets are looking for someone with experience, and the other thing too is, I think

it's also possible the Blue Jackets are looking to hire not just an experienced hockey person, but an experienced business person. Don Waddell knows how to run a business too. So they just put

that in my head. Okay, we'll see where that one goes. Any thought on whether it's Tara Vinen or Jordan Martinuk, Stephan Nason is an interesting name as well. Well, we've talked about him. Yes. Has an edge to him too.

That's an interesting name. Jalen Chatfield as well. We've talked about Nason. I think he's going to do very well. Martinuk, he almost saved the game for them with that great play he made on the goal line. You know, teams love guys like that. And Chatfield, those talks have been on and off all year with Chatfield.

And, again, he's a really solid player who could play for a lot of teams in his role. The one thing I wonder about here is the cap goes up are some of these players looking at especially a guy like nason or a guy like chatfield who's never really been in a position to really cash in is this their best opportunity to do it yep i know what you mean you're one you're one chance to ring the bell for your career I get that I really do uh we'll be one of the more intriguing teams to follow come free agency okay Elliot news on the march uh you mentioned we'll be talking about the Columbus Blue Jackets

let's do that now what is happening with with the search? Any names we should keep front of our mind? On our last podcast, Jeff, we talked about the Bergevin rumors and, you know, we said we thought it was premature. I definitely think they've talked to him, but I thought it was premature. And I still believe that's the case. They still have more people that they're gonna they're gonna talk to and I think we were correct about that way premature although I do believe they have talked to Bergevin I think it's still very premature but one name I do think was on Columbus's list was Jeff Gorton of the Montreal Canadiens. Now, there's obvious reasons why they would want to talk to him. Number one, he's good at his job.

And number two, he's got a history with John Davidson. Yes. I'm not sure how it all unfolded, if they officially asked for permission or sent feelers. And I'm also not exactly sure how the position was presented, how it would have all worked. If Gorton would have been one higher or it would have been two Gorton and somebody else below him,

whatever the case is, he's not going to be leaving Montreal for Columbus at the end of the day. I don't believe permission was ever granted. He's still going to be leaving Montreal for Columbus. At the end of the day, I don't believe permission was ever granted. He's still in the process of rebuilding Montreal. And I think it was made pretty clear that the Canadians were not in favor of the idea. So, Gorton stays in Montreal, continuing to rebuild that team, although you can't blame the Blue Jackets for having interest. Right.

So a couple of days ago, the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League hired Gardner McDougal as their head coach. Taylor McDougal was hired as the general manager. That is Gardner McDougal's son. I was told in that scenario, if it wasn't going to work out for Gardner McDougal, to watch for Gerard Gallant. That if there wasn't an NHL option for Gerard Gallant, that if there wasn't an NHL option for Gerard Gallant,

don't be surprised if that's the direction that Moncton goes. So that job has been filled. So my question now is, is there an NHL option out there for Gerard Gallant? The best answer I can give you, Jeff, is that I believe he has spoken to Toronto. Now, you know know my feelings on Toronto

which is until I'm told otherwise I believe that Berube is their guy and it's just a matter of what is the process to get there but I had heard that Gallant had spoken to the Maple Leafs, and I would assume he's spoken with some other teams as well. I'm not surprised in the least because he is exactly the kind of coach who I think Bradtree Living would be interested in. Okay. At this point, we end the CarCast. Elliot, you're free to leave your car and go inside your house. The remainder of the pod will be the studio portion of 32 Thoughts, the podcast.

Past couple of podcasts, you've talked about Maxim Siplyakov. He has landed with the Islanders. Lou got him, Elliot. Lou got him. lenders lou got him elliot lou got him it's so obvious i can't tell you how many times i sit here after something like this happens and i'm saying why didn't i think of this all week long i'm trying to figure out where he's going just like a fun little thing to occupy my mind where is he going and you can't figure it out and you see all the islanders sign i'm like why didn't i just figure this out two days ago of course there's a reason no one's saying anything because he's going to the Islanders and Lavarello still terrifies people. Yeah, anyway, 31 goals in the KHL last year.

There was a lot of interest, as we mentioned, that Toronto and Montreal were two Canadian teams I knew that were interested. I don't know if there were more. I assume there were. You never know how this is going to work. It's worked for some players. It hasn't worked for others, but there's no question the guy's got some talent and there were definitely a few teams who thought that he was worth taking a look at. What are the Islanders looking for more than

anything else, Elliot? Scoring. Yeah, we've been saying it all year. So it makes perfect sense. You can tell there's going to be opportunity there absolutely one other thing about the islanders here that we should have seen the russian whisperer jim paliafito used to work in toronto yeah now works in new york should have should have figured it out okay um the memorial cup field is set uh from the quebec major League, Drummondville, they swept Bay Comeau. In the Western Hockey League, Moose Jaw swept Portland.

And in the OHL, London swept Oshawa. Those are the three teams that won their league. Saginaw is the host team, and now the field is set. And they lost in the West Final to London, right? So they're a good team. Oh, they're good. Saggy's good. Sag So they're a good team. Oh, they're good. Saggy's good. Saginaw's a good team.

Make no mistake about it. Well coached, well run. This should be a wonderful tournament here. Who are you picking? I'm going to have a hard time not picking London. Just because it seems like it is a team that is built for playoffs and built for a tournament like this. And Easton Cowan is on a different planet right now.

See, I always vote for London because I went to school at Western. So I always want them to win. That's your default setting? But my heart this year is with Moose Jaw. Small town Saskatchewan team in an era where some of the smaller towns are really starting to lose out

to some of the bigger budget Goliaths. I would like to see them do well. I'd also like to see a host team win it too. I always enjoy that because the atmosphere is always fantastic and that final game is insane. So listen, this should be a fantastic tournament. Drummondville, London, Moose Jaw, and Saginaw.

Elliot, great stuff. Still ahead on the podcast, you'll hear our discussion on Florida-Boston, Dallas-Colorado, some information on the PWHL, but up next, the always popular Montana's Thought Line. Keep it here. the always popular Montana's Thought Line.

Keep it here. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Time now for the Montana's Thought Line. Montana's Barbecue and Bar, Canada's home for barbecue. Try the ribs. Try the ribs. You've got to try the ribs. 32 Thoughts at Sportsnet.ca, 1-833-311-3232.

Thanks to Rick Turner for the tune, as always. And thanks, and we never do this enough, or really do it at all, but we should thank Griffin Porter, who's the curator of the Montana's Thought Line. Elliot, he puts all of these together for us a couple different times a week. Yes. Thank you, sir. Okay. I want to read this

one because it made my week when Griffin sent this one along. Jim Nargang sends along a note, former member of the Detroit Red Wings. He played 57 games for the Red Wings in the seventies. As a former Detroit Red Wing in brackets, cup of coffee,

Hey, 57 games is 57 games. Jim, come on. An avid follower of 32 thoughts. I wanted to pass along a small irritant along to Jeff, similar to the nonsensical good goal phrase that is hopefully being phased out by the game night officials,

why has no one objected to the expression of back of the net? He put that one in the back of the net. Is there a front of the net, a middle of the net? It's a word salad that needs to be eliminated from broadcasts. Everyone does it. Before, I'm dismissed as an old man yelling at the net. It's a word salad that needs to be eliminated from broadcasts. Everyone does it. Before I'm dismissed as an old man yelling at the clouds. I think Jim is 73. Actually, I

do kind of sound like the old man yelling at the clouds, he says. I have to say that a Canadian telecast of a hockey game is still the gold standard. Living in Arizona, I don't get many and the imitators don't hold the candle to what I grew up with. Bill Hewitt, Foster Hewitt, Danny Gallivan, the gold standard.

Sort of like 32 Thoughts in the podcast world. That is way too kind. Jim, never miss a pod. Keep up the good work. And here's what I love about Jim. He puts his bio on here and is part of some really cool teams. So he was part of the original Ottawa 67s team. He played in Ottawa.

Yeah. Well, in 1967, he played with the Ottawa 67s. He, Terry Murray would have been on that team. Bill Clements, Jean Potvin.

Danny would have played, I think three or four games. Yeah. A bit later. Yeah. Right. That, but that,

but that inaugural year played with the Kitchener Rangers, Michigan Tech and. Oh, you're right. Denny played three games that year. You're right. Was it three? Yeah, he played a handful of games. As a 13-year-old.

I thought he was 12, and he already was chiseled and drove a Trans Am. Jeez. He played with the Detroit Red Wings from 74 to 78 off and on. His brother-in-law, you remember Bob Lorimer, who won a couple of cups with the New York Islanders Lorimer? Of course, he won with the Islanders.

Yes, absolutely. And I got his email. I'm going to send him a note, but one thing that stands out, I've always wondered and wanted to talk to someone from this game. Remember when they used to do guaranteed win nights in various sports? So he played on that Red Wings team

in 1977 that lost to Minnesota 3-1 on guaranteed win night. And I can't find record of this anywhere. Like, what is guaranteed win night? Like, what happens if your team doesn't win on guaranteed win night? Like, do you get a couple of tickets? Do you get, I don't know, a t-shirt, a slice of pizza? Like, what happens if your team doesn't win on

guaranteed win night i know ken daniels listens maybe ken can find that answer maybe talk to mickey what happened on march 31st 1977 this would have been a game the gym was in what happens when you lose on guaranteed win night anyway i just wanted to get that in because it made my day seeing his name pop up in our email feed this week, Elliot. Wow, that's awesome. That's fantastic. And thank you very much, Jim. We can always be better and we are striving to. And also, Jim, I really loved it in 76-77 when those five shots of yours found the back of the net. Yeah. Wow. That's Elliot, Jim. Not your good buddy, Jeff.

Nope. That's Elliot. Don't, don't. That's Elliot. Not me. George in Stratton, Ontario. Hey, Jelly Dom. Great job.

Love the pod. Leafs fan here. Destroyed again, but this one hurts differently. Anyway, with the expansion, everyone always points out that there's more jobs for players. Does the NHL have to increase the number of referees and linesmen to maintain a ratio of stripes to teams? Also, is there a concern about quality if they need to hire more? But I'm guessing the ones in the American League hope for expansion if that's the case.

The answer is yes. I don't know how many, Elliot, and maybe you do, but when there is expansion, they do hire more officials. I'm assuming by your confidence in this that you know this. Yes, they do hire more officials. I'm assuming by your confidence in this that you know this. Yes, they do hire more officials. Okay. Again, I don't know how many, but I do know that more officials are hired. So that was an easy one to start us off.

I got nothing to add. Here we go. Here's one for you. I think we've sort of answered questions similar to this on previous podcasts, but let's fire away. Dalton from the hockey hotbed of Nebraska. Whenever I think of hockey in Nebraska, you know what I always think of?

What's that? The Axar Ben Knights. Oh, the Axar Ben Knights. Axar Ben Knights. Axar Ben is, of course, Nebraska backwards. Mark Giordano would have been an Axar Ben Knight once upon a time. Hey, guys, I've wanted to email in for the longest time, but don't have the imagination to compete with the most random questions people send you.

But I was watching Game 2 of Dallas, Colorado tonight and was stumped on the play involving Sean Walker and Yevgeny Dadunov. I never saw a replay, but watching it live, it looked like Dadunov was very close to being offside when he caught a breakaway pass and was eventually slashed by Walker. I think the answer is no, but if Dadunov had been given a penalty shot and scored, could Colorado challenge the breakaway pass for offside?

Thanks for the endless entertainment while I'm staring at my windshield 40 hours a week at work, and unfortunately, go Ducks. What's the answer? Could they have challenged? I have to tell you, this had me gaslighting myself for a second because anytime someone comes up with a good scenario, I'm like, that's not bad.

But you can only challenge a goal. Here's the thing. If he was awarded a penalty shot and scored, could Colorado have challenged a break when he passed for outside? But you can only challenge an actual goal, right? If he was awarded a penalty shot and scored, could Colorado have challenged a break when he passed the outside? But you can only challenge an actual goal, right? Yeah, and that would have had to have been on the play. Right.

So, like I said, whenever someone comes up with one of these, I kind of gaslight myself and say, whoa, that's a good scenario. It's making me doubt my own knowledge. But you can only challenge a goal so if the play is called on side but it doesn't go in you can't challenge that right nice try though so again it's it's a great situation it's a great idea but you can't challenge that by the way we should clarify something je Jeff, from a couple of podcasts ago. Not interested in correcting ourselves. No, it makes us look bad. No, no.

Move along. Move along. There was a question about a breakaway with an empty net and could the goalie come back in if the goalie is being pulled? It's a goal. I don't know what I was thinking because there are situations where the goalie could be out of the net and you can bring them back in. I don't know if I was just tired or whatever. I just wasn't thinking. A foul on a breakaway with an empty net

is a goal. That's all. Okay. Voicemail time. Calvin in San Jose. I'm attributing my mistake there to public drunkenness. Let's go with that. Oh my goodness. Okay. Calvin in San Jose. Voicemail time. Calvin in San Jose. I'm attributing my mistake there to public drunkenness. Let's go with that. Oh, my goodness. Okay.

Calvin in San Jose. Voicemail time. Hey, Jelly Dom. It is Calvin from San Jose here. Just a quick history on me. I became a hockey fan in fifth grade, and I never played the game in any organized fashion. I still don't even know how to ice skate, and I'm 20 years old. still don't even know how to ice skate and I'm 20 years old. Technically, because I am not affiliated with any NHL team, am I an NHL free agent or are there any other parameters that I

have to meet other than just not being currently on a contract with an NHL team to be considered an NHL free agent? Or am I, Calvin, 20 years old, community college student, an official NHL free agent? Thank you, guys. If by your age you are eligible to be drafted, you are not a free agent. Once you are too old to be drafted, then you are an unrestricted free agent. The other thing, too, is that up until I think 26 years old, you have to sign an entry-level contract. Some of them are three years. Some of them are two years.

Some of them are one year based on how old you are. And then after that, you can sign whatever contract you want with whatever team. But as long as you are still of age to be drafted, you are not a UFA. So it would also depend on when your birthday is in the year. Perfect. Brendan in Colorado Springs. Once again, another embellishment call. I think we just won or lost somebody a bet with that one, by the way. It does sound like that very much. Yes. Hopefully we won you a couple of bucks there, Calvin. Brendan in Colorado Springs. Once again, another embellishment call.

I need some clarification here. Why does the non-embellishing player still get put in the box on plays like this? On both plays we've seen in the Dallas-Colorado series, if the Dallas player stays on his feet, there's no penalty, and we keep playing. There was no infraction on either play until the Dallas player embellished it. So why does the Colorado player still get put in the penalty box? Shouldn't it be five on four? Thanks for taking my questions.

Keep grinding during these sleepless playoff nights. You know, that does lead me to wonder, has there ever been much conversation about the idea of if you want to get rid of embellishment, then embellishment automatically erases the other team's penalty? It has come up from time to time. And there are times I do agree with that thinking. To me, if it's not really a trip and a guy goes down, do you have to call tripping and the embellishment? But what some people really argue is that if you

put your stick on someone's arms, it is a penalty. You can't simply let a guy get away with a penalty simply because someone else embellishes it. So that's the argument. Now, I would say this, if you think it's not a penalty and the guy just dies, call it. Because I agree with you. That's the only way you're going to change it. I don't always like the double call, but to be fair, Jeff, I have seen situations where I'm like, you know what?

The referees are right here. That is two penalties. Thanks for all the excellent questions. Again, much appreciated. The Montana's Thought Line, Montana's Barbecue and Bar, Canada's home for barbecue. We're back in a moment. Jeff, Elliot, and Tom

on 32 Thoughts try their ribs today. Oh, yeah. Okay, welcome back to the podcast. Elliot, two games on the board in the Stanley Cup playoffs this evening and a couple of game sixes specifically. Florida Panthers look once again to close out the Boston Bruins. The Boston Bruins look to extend this one to seven, obviously. And also the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche.

This is a game that we saw on Wednesday. And much to the Stars' surprise, Colorado saying, we're not going down that easy. We have a game six. Before we get to that, what did you make of game five? I mean, this was Kael McCarr. This was Nathan McKinnon. And in a lot of ways, playing 24 minutes, this was Jonathan Drouin.

Yes, it was. Drouin, 24 minutes. Maybe his signature game. Would you argue maybe that's the signature game of his career? It's a great point. I think it's the most notable game. I mean, when you most notable game. Um, I mean, if, when you're talking about his entire career, there are a couple of nights in Halifax I can think of more specifically,

but as far as the NHL goes, this was, this was his, this was his biggest game. Yes. Yes. And I guarantee I'm guilty of some recency bias here. There's, there's no question about that, but that's what I thought of when I watched, when I watched the way that went last night, And I guarantee I'm guilty of some recency bias here. There's no question about that. But that's what I thought of when I watched the way that went last night. I said that this is probably Drew has greatest night as an NHL player and very happy for him considering everything that he's been through. And also the fact that, you know, the Colorado players and organization really went to bat for him. It's a great night because he was huge on an evening where they really needed it Colorado there was one thing that was guaranteed about that game

going into it after the way they collapsed in the first half of game five they were completely shell-shocked you leave the morning skate you think all right are we got a full healthy team everyone's here Drew Juwan's in. You lose Taves. You lose Duchushkin the way that it happened. They were shell-shocked. They were trampled at the beginning of that game, and there was going to be no comeback.

I guarantee you one thing the Avalanche talked about was, yes, it's a terrible situation. It's awful for Duchushkin. It's awful for his family family and i know some of you guys are angry at him but there's nothing you can do about that now and if we go down we are not going down as meekly as we did in game five and they played hard i still thought there was a time when dallas cut it to four to three i I still thought that Dallas was going to come back and maybe win that game. And, you know, I thought Peter DeBoer, he's been very good about what he says postgame.

He just said, look, it's hard to beat Colorado four times in a row. I'm sure some of the fans are a bit panicked. I don't like this. I don't like going back to game six in Colorado. But there's no reason why the Stars can't win there. They've been under the gun so far before in these playoffs, and they found a way out of it. So I wouldn't have expected this series would go any less than six

in the first place. So we are where I think most people thought we would be, and Colorado is going to have to be great again. Looming large over this is Rupe Hintz. You know, one game, you have to deal with it for one game, but the longer it goes, the more you're concerned about it

if you're the stars. But if any team can handle with some extra depth, it's them. I think that looms large. Agreed. Also, the Tyler Sagan situation, as we record this right now there's been no update no indication whether he'll be in the lineup on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche for game

six I think those are two huge pieces up front for this team I know Dallas is deep I get it I understand it deepest team in the playoffs but Hins and Sagan those are two major players here Elliot and Sagan has really come on as this second round has gone. He has been a force. It's the mullet. You are totally... It's the mullet. It is definitely the mullet.

It is mullet power. He is like Samson. Delilah, do not cut his hair. The other game later on tonight, the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins. The Boston Bruins tried to do to the Florida Panthers what they had done to them by the Florida Panthers last season. Brad Marchand,

question mark, whether he's playing or not inching closer. True on the ice. Yes, but we still don't know for sure. One thing we do know for sure, Elliot, he's always a money quotes.

This is a breath of fresh air, this type of honesty. This is Brad Marchand on Thursday. Quotes, people don't want to say it, but part of playoffs is trying to hurt every player on the other team. And the more guys you take out, the more advantage your team has. That's Brad Marchand on Sam Bennett and what he did to Brad Marchand in this series. Breath of fresh air, Elliot.

When he got hurt, there were people out there saying things like, well, he deserved it. I don't like that. I don't like saying that, but I know people felt it. I don't like saying that, but I know people felt it. The thing I really respect about Marchand in this case is he basically came out and said it. He said, look, like I've done it before. Like he wasn't, you know, you can say what you want about Brad Marchand, but he's no hypocrite. He didn't come out.

What was me? He didn't come out and say that was unfair he said look that's what happens and I really respect that about him he didn't make excuses he just said that happens now I what I do think some people didn't like was was him saying well that's the playoffs we go we all go out to hurt each other because I heard from some people saying not everybody does that some people do that more than others there was certainly that feeling but everyone who sits here including you and i who say that why doesn't the nhl give injury updates especially now that they're taking gambling money brad marchand just told you why because there's a lot of people out there who say, well, nobody tries to target injuries, which I thought was crazy

to see in the first place. But now, Brad Marchand is just saying, hey, you know what? If I know what your injury is, I'm coming after it. And he's not the only one. So, you know, I mean, I respect where Marchand went

here. I guarantee you the NHL kind of wished he didn't use the line of, you know what, sometimes people really try to hurt other people. I think they could have lived without that particular line. But if I was in that situation, I would hope I would answer as honestly as he did. I really would. I was impressed. I just wonder if that i just wonder if that statement ever comes up again maybe oh i don't know when you're in a hearing in front of

george peros um as you said back on may 16th uh year 2024 brad um what do you expect in this one like i know the boston bruins and all their fans their fans stick it to Florida how they did it to us last year. Your thoughts on this game six? Well, that's what fans should say. That's what they're there for. We were kind of laughing about some of the reaction to the Oilers-Canucks series, and I told you that someone sent me a DM of me making out

with an Oilers logo, and my buddies were laughing at that. So good, so good, so good. A couple people sent me a DM of me making out with an Oilers logo and my buddies were laughing at that. So good, so good, so good. A couple people sent me notes, said that the Bruins and the Panthers fans are not exactly having a normal one either as this all goes on and players are getting hurt. I'm really impressed that Boston got this to a sixth game. I thought they were done.

I did. I didn't think they were going to beat Florida in game five. The extra day of rest, you'd think it would help Swayman, but I was also reminded that Florida really monitors Bobrovsky. It's going to help him too. It's really

going to help him too. I think Florida's the better team. I think they've earned the lead. I am impressed with how Boston has fought and scratched its way to stay alive here. But I think this is a huge task for the Bruins to win two more games here. I think Paul Maurice has a good handle on his team.

And the one guy who hasn't really made an impression yet on this series is Matthew Kachok. And it's now his time to do it. Elliot, one final note here as we close off. Congratulations to PWHL Boston. They are the first team to get to the Walter Cup final by sweeping Montreal in impressive fashion. All three games went into overtime. Aaron Frankel was fantastic in nets uh we all

know we talked last time about the minutes that aaron ambrose played in that triple overtime elliot you're ready reading down the time on ice for a lot of the top players uh and she was at 61 33 unbelievable well here's another one aaron I haven't done 60 minutes of cardio this year. And she did it on Saturday. That's right. And make it even more spicy, too. She played the last month and a half on a broken thumb going back to the World Championships. I didn't know that. So gutsy effort for Aaron Ambrose of PWHL Montreal.

And we will wait to see who Boston is facing off against. We will get the answer either Friday night or if we have the triple overtime again, maybe early Saturday morning. It's game five between Toronto, who are without Natalie Spooner with a knee injury. She's gone. Yeah, that's a tough one.

Season. That is hard. So Toronto faces off against Minnesota. I guess Toronto's scoring is kind of gone since she got hurt, right? Well, last two games. Both games they've been shut out. Maddie Rooney has been fantastic. Take nothing away from her and the Minnesota net.

No, no, no. But it is tough. It is tough. Yeah, good luck with the injury, Natalie. That sucks. She came back. She returned to play right after pregnancy this year right yes she sure did and and has been the best player in the league hands down full stop all the respect

to all of them she has been the best player in the league period so we'll find out by the time the next podcast rolls around the pwhl walter cup final is either toronto or minnesota facing off against boston meanwhile enjoy the game Toronto or Minnesota facing off against Boston. Meanwhile, enjoy the game tonight. Bruins facing off against the Panthers. Stars facing off against the Avalanche. PWHL Minnesota facing off against Toronto. We'll talk to you again on Monday.