32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Whistles Away

Episode Date: March 11, 2022

Elliotte is driving home and Jeff is at home. The guys recap a week that saw some questionable calls around the league (00:01), discuss the goaltending situation in Toronto (15:30 + 22:00) and the play of the red hot Coyotes (20:00), Jack Eichel’s return to Buffalo (25:00), Philadelphia signing Rasmus Ristolainen plus some more Flyers talk (32:50), the heated game between the Wild and Red Wings (37:00), and some of the big injuries we’re seeing around the league (40:00).Music Outro: Jon Stop - If Memories Were TrophiesListen to Jon’s debut album “If Memories Were Trophies ” on SpotifyThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Altitude Sports, AT&T SportsNet, ESPN and Sportsnet.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.

I hear you. I hear you. I hear you. I went under a bridge. That must be what it was. Okay. Three, two, one. Here we go. Welcome to another CarCast edition of 32 Thoughts to Podcast presented by the all-new GMC AT4 lineup. Elliot is paying attention, A, to the road, B, to me. Well, not really, because we all know that Elliot barely listens to what I say. But he's paying attention to this podcast as he drives home after doing the Toronto Maple Leafs-Arizona Coyotes game. But Elliot, before we get to that matchup and the goalie issues with Toronto and the Arizona Coyotes who have now won four games in a row, Jacob Trickman with a pair,

I have a question for you. Yes? What do these three games have in common? Yes. What do these three games have in common? Edmonton, Washington, Toronto, Arizona, Colorado, Carolina. They all featured critical non-calls that had people very upset. Look, so in the immediate postgame of Toronto and Arizona,

so there was a controversial non-call Matthew's stick was grabbed he got beaten down the ice and the Coyotes scored and he was furious it's held up there by Chikrin the telly back the other way Chikrin scores game winner Jacob Chikrin the other end here's Matthews. There's a hole. That's a penalty every time. Grab the stick, did Chikrin. I mean, in regular time, that's a penalty 100%. And as I said in the post-game hit with David Amber and Anthony Stewart, I don't blame Matthews for being pissed off at all, but I said that's the way the league is.

And, you know, some people hit me on Twitter and on the DMs with, it's not acceptable for you just to say that. You should be carving the league. And, yeah, you know, maybe. But I'm one of those people who have been saying we need more penalty calls late in games. But maybe I'm just getting old and jaded or have been doing this for too long. But, Jeff, I just don't think it's gonna happen

i'm just convinced now like that play at the end of regulation with ovechkin and hyman proud screaming for a call not forthcoming ovechkin can't get on it backstrom will he'll reload 50 seconds to play and as see wrists it toward the net it's deflected out of play I'm a huge missed call that's ridiculous it was Ovechkin on Hyman and watch this he's gone he's off to the races I mean that's an old speed listen back in the 90s when I played that was a good hook you were allowed to do that not nowadays gets in there and kind of skis behind Hyman. Doesn't allow him to get down strong on a stick.

Takes the puck away. That's a missed call in a crucial time. Would have pretty much killed the game, but no call on the play. If they're not going to call that penalty on Ovechkin, they're just never going to call anything. Hyman had a clear path to an empty netter there, and they didn't call it so i looked at that and i looked at the matthews call and i just said yeah i mean i get it i get it why leaf fans are mad i get it why matthew's mad i get it why the leaves are mad

especially since they're in the middle of a whole frustrating situation with what's playing out in goal. But I don't know, maybe it's because I'm getting more zen post-COVID in my 50s. I just look at this and I say, we can howl at the moon all we want, but we're just not going to get these. And, you know, the other thing I would just like to say, Jeff, is that if you go back to Ottawa at Vegas, which was, I think, a week and a half ago oh the Thomas Shabbat yeah he got called for a penalty late in regulation that was the one where Eichel scored the power play goal with like what three seconds left or whatever it was

yeah for sure I we had all kinds of chances in the third period I mean I don't know if that's a penalty or not I haven't looked at it but know, that's a tough way to lose after. I thought, you know, it was a good game both ways. And that's a tough way to lose. Yeah. We looked at it. We all said weak call, weak call. And those referees got roasted for making that call. Now I will say this, I thought Ovechkin and this one against Toronto were more blatant than that. But those referees got roasted for making that call. And I think we all scream that we want these penalties. But when they're called, it's also a fiasco.

So I know Leaf fans are really mad. They didn't like my postgame take. Like I said, maybe I'm just getting jaded in my old age but i just don't think it's going to change i don't know how it can change elliot i'll go that far given the nature of how this game is played and has always been played because this is a and has been a conversation going back to when you and i first started watching hockey like for this way in my basement where i'm recording this podcast, there is a two, actually three, three boxes of old hockey news magazines that go back to the 60s.

And it's hinting every now and then I'll start to flip through them and I'll go back and hey, what was the headline in 1966? What was the conversation in 1972? And the more that I go through them them i find a lot of the arguments about the officiating elliott they're exactly the same yes the officiating is ruining the game the officiating is substandard now you may look at that comment and say well yeah it's been going on for a long time and it's about time to fix it. My point is officials are human beings. And every call, whether you like it or not, is an interpretation of the call.

For some people, one hook is different than another person. One call is different than the other. The thing is, part of this is what I love about hockey is that it's not all black and white. There's a lot of shades of gray. what I love about hockey is that it's not all black and white. There's a lot of shades of gray. Unfortunately for fans, this is the frustrating part.

A lot of the shades of gray revolve around calls. And I have a different standard for a hook than you do Elliot, than Amel does, that every single person listening to this podcast does. And that is whether you're trained as an official or you're just someone that like, I think I've officiated maybe six games in my entire life. Just when an official doesn't show up and they need someone to do a game. Like, everybody has different standards.

We all know what the call is. But here's the part that I don't think people can get in their heads. Every call is an interpretation of the rules. And the game itself is this tricky balance between interpreting the rule book i think you're splitting the hairs too deep jeff i i really do i don't think it's got anything to do with interpretation i really don't i think it's that a lot of teams and they won't say it publicly like people argue that by not making those calls you're determining the outcome of the game you're deciding the game by not making those calls and i think determining the outcome of the game. You're deciding the game by not making those calls. And I think that's true. I think it's true.

And if you take a look at other sports, like the NFL and basketball in particular have really tipped the scales away from defense. They've really decided that offense sells and they're going to sell offense. The NHL has never really embraced that. But people can say, look, by not making a call, you're deciding the game too. And that's true, but I think the teams and officials have decided, whether or not they want to admit it, that they would

rather have the mistake made by omission than by making the bad call. That's what I think. The only point that I'm trying to make here is everybody sees plays with different eyes. That's the only one that I'm saying. I think. The only point that I'm trying to make here is everybody sees plays with different eyes. That's the only one that I'm saying. I think it goes deeper than that. I'm sure that if it were a different pair of referees doing Washington, Edmonton, there

might have been a call there. Ditto for Arizona, Toronto. There would have been a call. Honestly, I think there are some officials that would make that call and some that wouldn't. I think that the vast majority would prefer not to do it. And I think that that is the way that a lot of people who won't admit it prefer the game to be officiated. Well, here becomes the question.

And you know why? Because, Jeff, because we've had this argument before where I've said, I want more penalties called. And I've brought up the NFL and the NBA comparisons. And people say to me that the majority of people disagree with me, including a lot of people who are not just talking about league officials, but some people on teams, players. They said they may not admit it,

but they believe that the majority of people disagree with me. And that is why I think the games are officiated the way they are. Considering that these new controversies happened in two very significant Canadian markets where there has been and will continue to be a lot of noise around this issue, at least for the short term, do you think this changes as early as Friday? Just because, listen, Sports Talk Radio in Toronto and has been in Edmonton as well, do you think this changes as early as friday just because listen sports talk radio in toronto and has been in edmonton as well do you think that the nature of the conversation around a since it will be so noisy do you think that this weekend we'll see those calls

maybe we see it for a short period of time but like again jeff like I go back to that Ottawa game that call was made and people went bananas like whatever happens people are going to go bananas whether you make that call or don't make that call and Jeff we've been watching this for a long time do you think the vast majority okay I'm asking you point blank okay do you think the vast majority of players want a lot of those calls made? No. Fans, yes. Players, no. Okay, hold on.

I'm not talking about fans. I'm talking about the people actually in the game. Do you think the vast majority of team executives, league executives, officials want to make those calls. No. So I think that's why we are where we are. I think some do. I wish more did, but I don't believe it. Is this going to be a point of discussion

at the upcoming general manager's meetings, Elliot? It might be. Again, this is why I said what I said in the post game hit tonight. I know this, I know some people didn't like it, but we've talked about this before and yeah, occasionally the pendulum swings the other way, but I think generally people don't want that.

The one thing to me about Landis Gog, I thought is really interesting is I didn't get a chance to watch a ton of that game because obviously I was paying attention to the Toronto game. But that all involved Cadry, right? Yes. All right, good. Before you guys start, in 11 years, I've never sat and talked about referees in a press conference ever. I think Wes and TJ Luxmore do a great job tonight, actually, for 50-something minutes of the game.

They called a high stick on Nas on Niederreiter, which might have been a high stick, but Niederreiter falls easy. We're arguing that it's a flop. They say it's still a high stick. Fair enough. Nas gets at 550-something on the on the clock nita rider is hooking nas up the boards you know the puck turns over we go the other way they score we're arguing that it's a hook they're saying that nas is flopping we're arguing it's still a hook just like they're arguing before and it's unfortunate because that's a playoff game tonight and uh you know

it's very unfortunate it comes down to that like i said i thought wes and tj did a great job up to that point um and you know it's one of those things where you know it's a very competitive game power plays don't come come around very often especially in games like this and that's why i'm i was happy wes and tj did a good job of letting us play all all game tonight it's unfortunate it comes down to a bounce like that. And, you know, unfortunately, you know, whether a guy has been suspended numerous times or not, what's he going to carry around that heavy baggage forever?

You know, I'm not saying that TJ and Wes were, you know, didn't call it for that reason, but, you know, Nas is a guy that's competitive, and whether he sold that call or not, you can look at the video and the stick is in his waist, and that's why he loses the puck. I think it's unfortunate, and I think it's time for, you know, sometimes it's time for players to step up

and speak our truth because, you know, I'm the one that's looking like an idiot for getting thrown out of the game, even though I'm just, you know, just being honest. And I guess TJ didn't like that. I said he had a tough night, but that's the way it is. Does it not seem to you that Landis Gog is laying the groundwork that we don't want being dealt with this way in the postseason? Part of me wonders if Landis gog who's a really smart guy is coming out here and saying we need to have it visible now that we think that cadre needs a different standard

of the way he's looked at and yes i don't even want to hear the arguments. Codry's brought it on himself. He's been suspended several times. But I think what Lannis Gogg is trying to say, look, if there's suspension-worthy incidents, that's one thing. But this kind of stuff, that's something else. And I look at Lannis Gogg,

I think it's calculated. I think he's doing something here. I think Matthews is just furious. I'd agree with that. I think that Gabriel Landis Gog is one of the smartest players in the NHL. I think that he's one of the best captains in the NHL. And I don't think that he does anything frivolously. And if you note the tone of how he presented this, and if you note the tone of how he presented this it's not angry and confrontational matthews to your point is like as soon as chickwin scored that goal matthews is beyond livid but landis cog is controlled and measured and make sure he goes out of his way to mention i don't complain about officials and that the officials did a really good job for 50 minutes of the game.

Like he's trying to couch this a very specific way. And I agree with you. I think that this is Gabriel Landeskog saying, we don't want Nazem Khadri's reputation to cost us in the playoffs. If he does something dumb to get himself suspended, that's one thing. But we can't have this in the playoffs, and he's drawing attention to it now. Yep, I agree.

Alright, the Leafs-Coyotes game that you covered was a wild one. Big comeback by the Maple Leafs in the third, and then, as we just mentioned, the Mouse to Matthews situation leading to Jacob Chikrin's second goal of the night. This one in overtime, the Coyotes now win their fourth in a row,

which means I keep the in-season cup. More on that on Twitter. What a run by the Coyotes. Colorado, Ottawa, Detroit, Toronto. No problem. Here we go. We're going to beat your Bruins on Saturday. We're cruising along.

In the process, there's another controversy revolving around goaltenders in Toronto. This one around Peter Mrazik. Sheldon Keefe, after the head coach of the Maple Leafs, talked about... Well, to be honest, I wanted to do it after too, but I thought it was a tough position to put Sheldon in, you know, hoping that we can just, you know, find some level ground, you know, hoping that we can just, you know, find some level ground,

you know. I obviously challenged that second goal, partly because I thought maybe there's, you know, there has been some of these offsides that have come back when the puck is a little bit off the stick, but also partly I just, so i thought there's a chance maybe it comes back and gives us an opportunity or i thought uh if we have to kill a penalty maybe that gets us life gets us going and gets our guys rolling a little bit and gets their attention so that's a tough hole for us there to start with um so you know with the third and fourth goal i think there's a lot peter can do on those.

But it just, when you give up the first two like that, you can't give up three and four. You got to find a way to make the saves for us in that case. But, you know, at that point, I think it was obvious we needed to change. What's your sense on how it affects the players in front of the goalie on nights like this when it's going in pretty easily? It's hard. it's hard mentally you know guys it's two minutes into the game the first one there that's a tough one i mean it's maybe it's tough a goal we've given up maybe all season let's just start the game so that's the stuff takes one day of the sales for sure there's no doubt about it

man you guys talked about it afterwards. Who starts at the Heritage Classic? And that's going to be a big topic of discussion over the next couple of days in Toronto. How did you see what happened to Peter Mrazek on Thursday night? I have to say that first chance where he touched the puck and he like

waved at it with his glove. I don't know anything about goaltending. I didn't play at a high level, but I know what looks weird. And that looked weird. Absolutely weird. One thing I do is I'll go to someone like Anthony and say, Anthony, I think that's a really nervous-looking play from him. And he said, you're totally right.

And then the first goal kind of went in in a weirdly office blocker right that rebound yeah i don't know why but marazic he was nervous like you would think a guy who's been around as long as he is and is as experienced as he is and has seen as much as he has you know he wouldn't be nervous but he was was really nervous. I was shocked at that. And Sheldon Keefe, with a whopper of a quote at the end of the game, saying he wanted to take him out after two goals. Now, I think Anthony makes a good point. You know, Shalgren has never started an NHL game.

That was his first appearance. Do you want his first game to be an outdoor game? And do you just have, with everything going on, do you just play Mrazek that game? Put it this way. He's not wrong in the sense that that has been a factor in these kinds of games. But I think he is wrong and he is in the sense that you have to win games. You know, Boston's coming right up behind you. You can't give this start to someone because, oh, they're a veteran or, oh, they deserve it.

You have to do it because you want to win the game. And unless something happens with Morazic the next couple of days at practice that makes you convinced that he's the best goalie that can give you a chance to win a game. He's the best goalie that can give you a chance to win a game. I'm sorry, but the way Shalgren played, unless you're making a trade by Sunday, I think he's your guy. Weird, hey? This is the same day that it's announced Jack Campbell has the rib injury.

It's going to keep him out at least a couple of weeks. You mentioned Mraza goes in there, looks nervous. That second goal was a bizarre one. The first one was a challenging one as well. And here we go, this deep into the season, and the Maple Leafs are turning to Eric Sheldron to go in there at the Heritage Classic. It seems bizarre, but I'm with you.

At this point for the Maple Leafs, considering how sensitive it is right now, which goal that gives you the best chance? That's it. That's the only question. You can't worry about, oh, am I going to lose this goaltender? Am I going to hurt his feelings? What does this get? No, sorry. I think it's past that. If you think you can win with this guy, that's your guy. What did you make of the Arizona Coyotes in this one? They get up the 4-1 lead. They squander the 4-1 lead. They come back in overtime. By the way,

that Sheldron save off Clayton Keller in overtime was a beautiful save. What did you make of Arizona, though? What did you make of the Coyotes? What a week they've had. They go out. They get a 7-point

night from Schmaltz. They score 9 against Detroit. Kessel leaves after one shift. His partner goes home and has a baby. Like, just the smile on Kessel's face when Sean McKenzie was interviewing him in the intermission. He comes back, 2X leaves score against Toronto. I mean, look, it has not been easy for Arizona.

The news has not been good around them. They were very unhappy with me a couple weeks ago. But they've had a good week. There's probably a lot of people on that team who deserve a good week. And they've had it, and they're scoring a ton of goals. And, you know, they have a lot of players available. They've got Chikrin available. They've got Fisher available.

They've got Larson available, although he's hurt right now. You know, they're trying to get Vemelka signed. There's a lot going on there. Obviously, Kessel is available. We'll see what happens with him. They've had a lot going on. And, you know, we'll see where it goes. But if there's somebody who deserved a good week,

it was probably the coyotes. And it all began with a win over the Colorado avalanche, like four in a row. And it kicked off with that avalanche win. This has been the only bad thing about it is that it benefits you. Oh, it's such a glorious thing. Go Yotes.

Let's go. I got to say Thursday looked like a really good night of hockey. Obviously, I was paying attention to one game more than the others, but it looked like there were a lot of really good competitive games. And there was some fun stuff, too. We'll get to Minnesota-Detroit here in a couple of moments. Oh, and you know what we should just mention before we get to the other games is? What's that?

Like, Dubas has a big decision here. We all know what he said, but he's got a big decision to make here. This is what I've heard about Fleury. I have heard Fleury has said that he will only go somewhere if he thinks, A, it's good for his family, and B, where he thinks he can win. I don't necessarily think it's got anything to do with his trade list or no trade list. I think, A, Chicago said you're going to handle it the way you're comfortable. And B, does he think he can win somewhere?

So, you know, if Toronto wants to go down that road, then Fleury's going to have to get asked, does he think he can win in Toronto? Plus also, can they make a deal? You know, I really think that, you know, Washington is still around there. I really do believe that one of the things with Fleury that is possible, possible, this is my opinion, but is that he might want to finish in Pittsburgh. You know, does he worry that, you know, he can't cross that line and go to the Capitals? I don't know that Colorado is realistic for him.

I think there's a couple other teams that have been around there too i mean this whole vegas situation is wild but they've denied they're going down that path but like a couple of other gms have said to me they said you know you look at the price and you look at the goalies who are available is there really a difference maker available for the what it's going to cost you? And I think Grice is out there. I think Anton Forsberg's out there. I think Holtby is potentially out there. You know, Varlamov, I think, is out there.

And I think some people are just wondering, like, is it really worth what we're going to have to pay? You think Anton Forsberg is out there? I do. The reason I mention that is he's played great. He's played great. He's been fantastic. He's played great.

I mean, unless Ottawa was decided they're bringing him back. Why wouldn't he be out there? That's what I'm thinking. Like if I'm Ottawa, aren't, aren't I giving this a really good hard look? They may.

I'm really thinking about bringing Anton Forsberg back. What do you think of Gustafsson? I like him too. That's the problem. The thing is, he's got to be in the NHL now. My question is, if you think you're keeping Forsberg, you're probably losing Gustafsson, right?

Unless you can do something with Matt Murray. Yeah, you're right but he started to play better sure has to me the best solution for ottawa is like at one point in time you believe matt marie was your guy after everything that's happened this year and the way he started to play better is there any chance you believe that he's your guy. Okay, we got a few things here tonight. So I want to talk to you about Jack Eichel returning to Buffalo because that was the big story of the night

going into this one. What was the reception going to be like? The video tribute got a mix of some cheers, but mainly boos. He was booed on the face-off. He was booed throughout the night. There were signs all around about Jack Eichel. The Buffalo Sabres win this game.

3-1 is the final score. Craig Anderson, we should mention, picks up win number 300. Congratulations there. Alex Tuck scores an empty net goal peyton krebs scores the first goal of the game so the eichel trade was everywhere on thursday night at key bank elliot uh what did you make of eichel's return well first i want to ask you because like i said i was working yep more so i could only pay attention to it like 25 i'm probably going to go

back and watch as i head home when i get home tonight i'm probably gonna watch a bit more of it so you watched more of it what did you think watching it what did i think i thought we saw a really energized buffalo sabers team and we saw an energized buffalo sabers crowd i was surprised i again like i had harrington on the radio show and he's like nah listen trust me e trust me, Eichel's going to hear it. Eichel's going to get booed mercilessly. And he did. Like that was the reception. I thought that this was going to be one of those situations where like there's always going to be boos, of course, when someone requests a trade and leaves. But I thought it would be more of a respectful welcome back than a traditional you left screw you islanders john tavarez situation

and that fans would more want to vent at ownership through jack eichel uh and perhaps maybe they were with their boos but i was surprised it was that the booing was as loud as it was for jack eichel to be honest with you but to me that was a really energized Buffalo Sabres team and a really good performance by Craig Anderson. Like you could tell that this one meant something to the Sabres. We knew it meant a lot to the organization, but you could tell that this meant a lot. And listen, it was really fitting that the two key pieces,

you know, found the back of the net, albeit one of them with an empty net. But still, like that was an impressive performance. It was an impressive performance by Buffalo. And I'll tell you what, Elliot, it leads to some questions now, more so than ever, about the Vegas Golden Knights. They're not looking good. Yeah, I agree with you on that.

First of all, I'd like to talk about the Sabres a bit. I am wondering if this is going to be a franchise defining moment for Buffalo. That if the Sabres turn this around, they will look at this night, March 10th, 2022. I think that's the year we're in. As the night that things really started turning around for Buffalo. You see, I remember when Curtis Joseph left the Maple Leafs and Ed Belfort came in. The Toronto fans were initially very slow to accept Belfort because they loved Joseph.

And then I remember the night it changed, Detroit came into Toronto and the Red Wings didn't start Curtis Joseph. And Belfort had a huge night. And that fan base started rallying around Belfort that night. And that was the night where Toronto flipped the page and Belfort began on the road of becoming a very popular goalie in Toronto. I'm looking at this night and because of the reaction, because of the victory, because of the fact that both Tuck and Krebs scored, at least for the Sabres, they couldn't have asked for a better outcome. And if you're Buffalo, you're looking at this and saying, for everything that's happened the last few years,

this night gave us something, and we have to build on it. And that's the way I would look at it if I was the Sabres. Now, Eichel, you know, he said all the right things leading up to the game, but after the game, he's pissed off, and he drops the veneer, right? Yeah, I'm pretty happy it's over. Let's move on. Were you surprised at the level of intensity of the crowd? That's about the loudest I've heard this place ever.

Really? It only took seven years of me leaving for them to get into the game. But yeah, I mean, I'm sure there was mixed, you know, it was a nice tribute. And, you know, there was plenty of people here that were supporting me and there was plenty of people here that were booing me. So they must just be booing me because they wish I was still here. I don't know. You know, it is what it is.

I mean, I'm not the first kid to deal with it. So just move on. And, yeah, it was a tough game. You know, give them credit. They played hard. I thought that the postgame it showed you they they lost they lost in buffalo they're in trouble jeff as you said and the true jack eichel came out that's jack eichel that's edgy that's forceful you know like a lot of great players he can be a a sore loser. And I think that one really hurt him.

But I just think if you're the Buffalo Sabres, what you were given on Thursday night was a fresh coat of paint. You can point at everything that you're trying to do and say, see, this is why we think we can build. And I think it's a huge opportunity for them. I just love the story. First of all, I want like a lot of people, I want the Buffalo Sabres to be a really good team. This is one of the teams I grew up with. We've talked about this before.

The voice of Ted Darling, all of it. I grew up watching Sabres. I've really wanted this team to be good for a long time. The other thing is I love a great story and there have been a few in a season of darkness there have been a few great stories with the buffalo sabers one we talked about i don't know if it was last podcast or whenever and that is tage thompson at center that's been really good like that was out of necessity, but it worked. Alex Tuck playing really well. How many times is the hometown boy goes home story work?

Seldom, but it's working here. And the guy wants to be there. And the Peyton Krebs story to me with the Buffalo Sabres is a really interesting one. And it further proves, man, in life, weird things can happen. And just because you're not somewhere today doesn't mean you're not going to be somewhere tomorrow. And Peyton Krebs was drafted in Vancouver by the Vegas Golden Knights. And that season, he had an Achilles injury when he was playing for the Kootenai Ice. And there were some teams that put him on the do not draft list.

Now, the way that do not draft lists generally work, and in this case, worked, the team will have two draft lists. One is their complete list, and the other is a do not draft. And the do not draft just means, you know, in this position, we're not going to take this player. And in Peyton Krebs' case, in the first round, there were some teams that were not going to take Peyton Krebs because of concerns about the injury. Elliott,

the Buffalo Sabres were one of those teams. Now, if Peyton Krebs had been there in the second or third round, I'm sure the Buffalo Sabres had a chance to take him. They would have. But in those positions in the first round, Buffalo Sabres were not going to take Peyton Krebs. in the first round, Buffalo Sabres were not going to take Peyton Krebs. And then he became one of the key pieces, maybe the key piece, of one of, if not the biggest trade in franchise history. And here we are with Peyton Krebs on the return of Jack Eichelneit scoring the first goal of the game. Hockey life is so cool, Elliot.

That's why I cheer for this story and why I want the Sabres to be good again. It's a great story. Just funny how life works, right? That's it. It's funny how life works. Elliot, the Philadelphia Flyers. We talked about this on the radio show on Thursday. Let's do a little bit more

because there's another side to this story now. So Rasmus Ristolainen re-signs with the Philadelphia Flyers. It's $5.1 million on the AAV times five years. You talked about this going back a few weeks now, saying don't be surprised if the Flyers and Ristolainen find a way to make this work. And it did.

Any surprises along the way here for you? Well, I guess I would have to say one surprise, Jeff, was initially I reported I thought he was getting traded. So then he ended up signing. So I guess overall it was a surprise. It's interesting, and I know you got a text message from the same person today that they were surprised a bit too, someone around the league who had heard rumors about Ristolani being shopped around.

Now, I think that what happened was Philly pulled a bit of an audible here, and you noticed this in their games. Now you said Provarov was taken off the power play, right? Yeah, Cam York was put on and they scored. Konechny scored a power play goal. So I think there's, I think Philly is considering some things here. First of all,

I think they really like Ristolainen as a person. They think he fits in. Their players like him. He likes them. That's number one. I think that fits in. Their players like him. He likes them. That's number one. I think that there's a game that they played on a Saturday afternoon against Washington a couple weeks ago where, and I remember watching it, it was a really tough game. As you know, the Capitals, they're no softies. And he played them tough. You never make your decisions based on one game. but I heard that they looked at it like, you know, that's the identity of where we want to be. And we think he's a big part of

that. And he really competes. Like I know all the debates about Ristelainen. The Flyers have settled their debate in their minds. They're going with them. I have a feeling that they are going to be reshaping their roster a bit more. And I do wonder about Provorov. So after I did that hit with you on Thursday on your show, I made a few calls about him. And he is really struggling. And, you know, I had people saying to me, if he didn't have the pedigree he did,

a high draft pick, someone who was supposed to be a franchise cornerstone, who was supposed to be a franchise cornerstone who they hope would be a franchise cornerstone and somebody who they are paying a significant amount of money they think he might have been scratched and he's really struggled and I think they're facing a decision on what to do here and I never think it's all Provorov's fault. Like it's just been a really hard year there. You know, Ellis has only played a few games. I just wonder where it's going to go with him. When you told me that he was taken off the power play, because I didn't watch that game, the Flyers are definitely thinking here, you know, what's his future? and I'm sure Provorov's thinking it too like is this the right fit for me and so I just wonder if signing Ristolainen is a sign that there's just a big

defensive makeover coming here because one of the things I heard was that if they sign Ristolainen, it's the first domino in some other things. So I wonder just what are those other things? Be curious to see what happens come trade deadline time. Like I wonder how deep the cuts go. Like I know that there are some teams, like first of all, there will be teams that will be interested in Proveroff despite the struggles.

And you and I have talked before about how much the Flyers miss Matt Niskanen. That story is well told. Travis Sanheim is another name there would be a ton of interest for a player like travis sanheim should he hit the market keith yandles an unrestricted free agent come season's end sanheim has one more year at 4.6 and then he's a free agent i should say too about sanheim i think there's interest in him like that doesn't mean he's going to agent. I should say too about Sanheim, I think there's interest in him. That doesn't mean he's going to be traded. Oh yeah.

I do think there's interest in him. I think there's a lot of interest in Sanheim. I always wonder about, with every defenseman, the closer we get to deadline, every defenseman that pops up, I just wonder about the St. Louis Blues, Elliot. Are you the same way?

The Blues and the Canucks. One more thing here. I don't know how much of a chance you got to watch Minnesota and Detroit. I saw that fight. I think we're going to get a goal in tilt here. The referees are holding it back, but Talbot is a guy that does have a career fight. This is a full-on battle royale.

And the Delkovich going back into the fray again. Okay, but the fight was weird. And we almost saw Cam Talbot and Alex Delkovich get into it and mix it up. So we almost saw the rare goalie fight. Well, first of all, nobody took their gloves off in all of it. It wasn't like an old-fashioned line brawl it was guys doing hockey fight things while they all kept their gloves on and i went back and i watched it a couple times too just to make sure that i saw it correctly

so vlad namastikoff and joel erickson ek get into it and they're sort of pushing and shoving and doing hockey fight looking things or hockey scrum looking things and this is just so typical of where these extracurriculars are at in 2022 is at no point did they look at each other they just sort of stared off and did they could have went through the motions like this is what we're supposed to do but we're still not at the point where we're going to look each other in the eyes and have that kind of like you know violent interaction here let's just make sure it looks like we're doing this but we're at no point are we going to actually look at each other i don't know what it means other than i looked at it and i kind of said you know there's a whole lot of going through the motions here but the scrum did look kind of

spectacular and it's listen that was an emotional game too and those are two emotional teams as we well know just because we're talking about them do you have a thought on both minnesota and detroit right now detroit they got their butts kicked by Arizona the other night. I'm sure they got read the riot act. Yeah. We've talked about how this has been a good year for them and they're kind of making their comeback a bit and you can see it coming, but they had to be embarrassed the other night.

I'm not surprised at all. They came out like that, you know, with Minnesota, like Minnesota is a team that stands up for itself on the best of days and I think they really miss Greenway like Greenway and Dumba were out of the lineup for a chunk of their losing streak yeah and they have a lot of guys who stand up for each other Foligno obviously but Greenway and Dumba are two guys who are a big part of that and when I saw that Nadelkovich was mad at Greenway and Dumba are two guys who are a big part of that. And when I saw that Nedeljkovic was mad at Greenway, I said, you know, that fits because Greenway is the kind of guy who will drive you crazy like that. I think Minnesota missed a little bit of their edge.

And at least those guys, it helps them get their identity back. When I heard that the Red Wings were mad at Dumba, I said, I'm not surprised because Dumba gets in your face and he makes you mad at him sometimes. And I think Minnesota was really missing that. I'll say the other thing too, that really stood out to me on Thursday is there's some big injuries. Leonard, you mentioned Campbell, Haskinen, like that's a huge one. Haskinen being out and they called it week to week with Mono. I remember when my sister had mono like that sucked yep so i hope he feels better and the other one too was samuel gerard sent home by colorado to

get looked at there was a rumor during the week that maybe the avalanche might have like an ltir situation where maybe they could be able to add some space, see what they could do with it. We'll see what it is with Gerard, but maybe it gives the Avalanche a bit more room to do something. And we'll end it on that. The car cast slash Elliot Pace's cast around his driveway and around his living room as well. Thanks for listening to the podcast today. Taking us out is a former junior hockey player who spent time with the London Knights, Windsor Spitfires, Detroit Ambassadors, and his hometown Sudbury Wolves. John Stoss released his debut album, If Memories Were Trophies, in 2016 after linking up with Zemin, a singer-songwriter from the Ottawa area.

According to John, the whole album has kind of a subliminal hockey message, almost like the depression of it ending and failing at it. From his debut record, here's John Stoss with If Memories Were Trophies on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. See my case. Smallmouth bass on Black Lake. The ones that got away. That break away in overtime. How we lost that final game. My father's way of thinking The junkies put away My sister's graduation

I felt so proud that day My mother's smile Her old school style All they've done for me Memories of trophies Enough for me memories of trophies enough for me pictures

cost a fortune my mind won't run out of fill trophies collect a lot of dust my mind

never will