32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Who is Buying, Selling, or Staying ft. Chris Johnston

Episode Date: April 5, 2021

The Vancouver Canucks have 16 players and 3 coaches on the NHLs COVID-19 protocol list. Jeff and Elliotte provide an update on the situation in the Lower Mainland (00:01) and discuss possible outcomes from this including the potential of a playoff bubble and how it might affect the North Division for the remainder of the […]

This arena is even quieter these days because COVID-19 has sidelined the Vancouver Canucks. As of yesterday, 16 players were in the league's COVID protocol. Reports indicate some staff members and family members also have it. What makes it worse is that the Brazilian variant is in the dressing room. This thing is two and a half times more contagious than the original. And it's moving quicker among young people. Elliot, firstly, before we do anything on this podcast, let's just all send our best to everyone in the Vancouver Canucks organization. Everybody around the NHL feels awful at what the Vancouver Canucks are going through right now. And Elliot, as we tape this podcast, record this podcast on a Sunday evening, what is

the very latest with this ongoing situation? Well, look, the COVID list expanded again on Sunday night, 16 players listed on it. And, you know, we should mention that just because you're on it doesn't mean you have it. and you know we should mention that just because you're on it doesn't mean you have it but one of the things that the nhl has basically assumed here is that it's going to go through everyone and even if it doesn't and you hope it doesn't you automatically assume it does and that's the way they looked at it when it was going through dallas that's the way they looked at it when it was going through Dallas. That's the way they looked at it when it was going through Buffalo. And, you know, there's been some debate about what symptoms that players did or didn't have. I'm not getting into that. I think that's crazy. I think that

simply what we have here is that we know it's the variant, the Brazilian variant. We know there's a player, Jace Haralock, who had COVID originally last March and now has it again. know there's a player, Jace Horlock, who had COVID originally last March and now has it again. So there's a lot of things to be concerned about here. We know that not everybody had symptoms. We know that some had symptoms more severe than others, and that the ones who did have the severe symptoms, unfortunately unfortunately they went through an awful lot like basically what i've heard is that the roughest outbreak in terms of what the players went through generally is considered to be buffaloes i think for those players who did have symptoms this one has been considered rougher than that you know i don't know of anybody who went to the

hospital i do know of at least one player who had an iv drip brought to their home but some of the people i know who were in a bad spot earlier in the week seem to have gotten through it and are kind of recovering and now you're worried about your families you know obviously we hope that everybody is okay but uh this has definitely thrown a bit of a scare into the league and players about what this could mean for everybody between now and what's scheduled to be the end of the season well we we wondered about this even going back to the bubble as well if If there were some positive tests, how many players would say, I can't do this and would leave.

We saw Matt Niskanen of the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of the bubble experience say, I'm not coming back. That's it for me. This is very early, but would it surprise you if there are any Vancouver Canucks players that at the end of all of this, and again, like you, I want to echo,

we hope everybody and their families come out of this all right. Could you see players saying, after going through this, my season's done? I think it's possible. Like the one thing I don't want to say is yes or no, because right now we're still kind of

in the middle of all this and everybody's very emotional and you just never know how people's minds might change or not change right you know i do think that there may be players who say that yes i think it's possible i think the nhl is preparing for that look like we know that initially they were scheduled to return to practice on tuesday and play their first game on thursday yeah that's not. We know that the NHL has a contingency plan for them, but they're not saying what it is. They don't want to start throwing dates out there and then have them not work. They're not going to say anything until they know. We're not going to see

any thought of plans being made until we at least get a few days where there's no positive tests and we see how everybody recovers you know i had someone say to me like don't be surprised if they don't play until like you know the not this coming weekend but next weekend or the next following like the week after the trade deadline which is the week of the 19th like someone said to me don't be surprised if that happens. So I think there's that possibility. I also believe, Jeff, that as Chris Johnston reported, there's a player coming from Montreal where he was playing for Laval. There's the goalie who's coming from Manitoba where he's playing for the Moose and they have a split AHL team with St. Louis this year

now their team also went through a COVID issue and they are returning to practice on Monday for the first time in I think almost a month but I wouldn't be surprised at all if those players who are Canucks property are offered the chance to come up and play for the team. Like, I think it's all going to come down to how everybody recovers, who wants to play, who might not want to play. I did ask, is there a possibility at all that Canucks could not play the rest of the season? And I was told that's not the plan, but it will be determined by how everybody recovers from COVID. So then one of the questions becomes, and let's assume they can come back as a team at some point, timeline to be determined. Do we really believe they'll be able to play 56 games?

I don't. games i don't i don't see necessarily how anybody could but you know i i just don't like to make proclamations until i really know the answer right you know the runway doesn't look good but again i i don't like saying anything until i know the answer like one of the reasons they want to play 56 games is you know things like commitments. If you don't get them all in, do you have to make those up? And that's not the first, second, third or fourth concern here. Although it's somebody's job to ask that question. But I don't know how you can look at this right now and think, is 56 games possible? I mean, already because of what happened with Montreal, we're looking at the North playoffs beginning probably a bit later than everybody else's.

So how does this then affect, because this doesn't just affect the Vancouver Canucks. I mean, the Montreal Canadiens situation affected Vancouver. Now Vancouver's will affect a number of teams as well. Yes. How does this affect the North division and the playoffs and any time of any thought of having a start to the North division playoffs that would be similar to the other divisions? Well, like I said, I think even Montreal initially, it's not likely to be happening because of Montreal.

We're probably going to start the playoffs a bit, a bit later in the North. The league does not believe there was any crossover between Montreal and Vancouver. Montreal had the European variant and Vancouver has, of course, the Brazilian variant, which I understand. They're hopeful there was no cross-pollination with Calgary. They don't believe so, but of course they're watching it. But they did send out a memo on Saturday night that was pretty blunt in the sense that they're starting to hear some talk about

potential COVID protocol violations. And they said, we can't have that right now. And I think there's an understanding that just like society, there's COVID fatigue, right? Of course. But with this new variant, which, you know, not only in Vancouver, but if you've been reading it all about it, it's pretty scary. You can't have that.

And they reminded people of that. I will tell you something else, too. We talked about, it was actually Brian Spear, the producer. He said, could they play the playoffs in a bubble? And I said, let me ask. And I checked with the league and I always check with the players association too, because you want to see if the players have been informed about this. And they both said there's going to be conversations about it this week.

And I don't think it's when anybody wants, but I think they realize they're going to have to be, at least have a plan for it. And I will tell you, I had a couple of teams tell me when that font came up about could playoffs be in a bubble, there was some real grumbling from the players. Oh, a hundred percent.

And one player actually texted me and said, are you trying to scare us? And I said, no, I'm really not interested in that. I don't really play that role. I just think like, you know, what if the nightmare, like, you know, a scenario happens, you got two teams on the eve of the Stanley Cup final and this happens. So let me try to clarify something on that then. Is that a playoff bubble or a Stanley Cup final bubble?

I just asked playoffs. That's all I did was I asked playoffs. Oof. First of all, players would hate it, as you can well imagine. Yeah. And safety always trumps finances. Safety always trumps economics.

You know how expensive that is again for the NHL, Elliot? I know. I know. I can't imagine either side saying this is something desirable at all. I know. Like when I saw you talk about that on Saturday my thought was nobody wants this nobody

and that's why I think that player texted me right yeah are you trying to scare us into compliance basically okay and again everybody here wishes everyone with the Vancouver Canucks organization and their families health and we all hope that everybody gets out of this wishes everyone with the Vancouver Canucks organization and their families health.

And we all hope that everybody gets out of this just fine. It is a scary time. It is a frightening time. And our thoughts are very much with the players, their families, the entire Vancouver Canucks organization. Amen. On that, we'll start the podcast. This is 31 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4.

Our guest today, Elliot Friedman, is a double threat, a triple threat, a quadruple threat. He is one of the industry's leading insiders. He is also one of the more charitable people you will ever meet. He is also an elite level runner. How nice does it sound to hear you called that right now, Chris Johnston? It's pretty nice. I'm trying to think which was the bigger exaggeration. Probably the elite level runner. How nice does it sound to hear you call that right now, Chris Johnston? It's pretty nice. I'm trying to think which was the bigger exaggeration, probably the elite level runner, but that was a pretty nice intro. Just the same though, Jeff. I think what he's doing is he's comparing you to me and him. So on this call,

you're the elite level runner. Well, I presume you're not a runner. I hear you talking about doing your bike workouts and things. If anyone watches Hockey Night in Canada religiously that's listening right now, you'll know that Elliot is a Pelotoner. Yeah. Something that slipped out the other week. That was our own hot mic incident. That was a spicy one on Hockey Night. Before we get to, I do want to talk about the running.

Before we get to this sort of extended version of headlines here on 31 Thoughts, the podcast this week with you, CJ, I want to ask you about putting that together. We talk a lot with Elliot on this podcast about how things come together, putting them all together, looking under the hood, what goes where and how the sausage is made, all the cliches. How do your Saturdays come together? Take us through a week of CJ leading up to Saturday. Well, I've learned a little bit to be more peaceful with it, I think, especially the first couple of seasons I got to be part of it. I was getting nervous by Wednesday, pretty much. And in doing it a bunch of times now over and over, what I've come to realize is you could have a pretty good story in your back pocket on a Wednesday and by Saturday, it doesn't even merit going to air for whatever circumstances might've come along.

So now it's concentrated. I find for me, Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday are days when you're really looking for material, making phone calls, bugging everyone on the week share a little bit light. And sometimes, honestly, I'm not even sure how it comes together you throw some ideas at a wall you know my I have a pretty good teammate in Elliot obviously you know sometimes you have it planned and it's perfect other nights all hell breaks loose it doesn't happen in one way I guess is the best way to put it but you know obviously on the last day or day and a half before the saturday night itself we're really in tune with what's going on around the league making sure that we're

on top of the stories and hoping to unearth a few no one's heard about yet how many times have you sat there on saturday refreshing your twitter just hoping that the piece that you have doesn't break somewhere else oh my god a week ago yeah what was uh the cole caulfield signing yeah uh we had and we were it's one of those things if it wasn't a saturday i just would have tweeted it yeah but obviously on saturday night we're trying to to preserve stories like that till the second intermission of the the early game on hockey night and and the canadians you know i don't even know if they knew i had it i don't think it was anything untoward but then they tweeted it out literally 10 minutes

or even less before we went on air. So that's pretty frequent. I know even though we know our guys over at TSN, sometimes we're able to get a story before they do when they're doing their segment. I mean, this is kind of par for the course, I guess, when you're in this business. If you just tweeted everything you knew,

you might be wrong more, but you'd probably get more clean breaks. But it does happen a fair bit. The one good part, I think, honestly, about Saturday is it tends to be a quieter day in the rest of the industry. I mean, it's such a huge night for us, of course, at SportsCenter and Hockey Night in Canada. But there's a little less going on, I think.

If anyone can take a Saturday off that works in our business, they probably do. And so that does work in our favor a little less going on, I think. If anyone can take a Saturday off that works in our business, they probably do. And so that does work in our favor a little bit. But occasionally we have a good story knocked away at the last second, as we did with Caulfield a couple of weeks ago. So Saturday night, unfortunately, we had to talk a lot about COVID and the Canucks. And at the end, you kind of said it had been a quiet week and we think that this is going to be a busier week. So as we tape this on Sunday night to be released on Monday morning,

give us the thing that's interesting you the most. I'm actually quite interested in the Taylor Hall story, to be honest, just because obviously pretty marquee player, someone who's moved before. And I do think that there's going to be challenges in completing this trade by a week from Monday. And so that's one that has my attention. I'm not sure which way it's going to go yet. I do think that there's the potential circumstance where he's not moved just because of some of the cap issues, other teams not being able maybe to talk extension with him. I just think that there's a lot of moving parts to that one, even though he is a rental player.

I think with the unique sort of COVID season we're having and some of the financial issues that he's not as open and shut, that's a story I think will really take on some life here in the coming days. It's a big week for Kevin Adams. It's been such a tough season there, obviously. He was already able to make the Eric Stahl trade, but I think that this is an important time for them to start stacking up some small wins

that might not look like wins in the moment, but refresh their team, stock the cupboards a little bit, and start turning the page because obviously anything happening on the ice for that team, it doesn't really matter at this point, frankly, you know, I look to now at the teams that are trying to win and I'm wondering who's

got the surprise for us, you know, which team is going to do a little bit more than just add a $2 million winger on an expiring contract. You know, I wonder about a team like Florida where, you know what they do. You know, I think Winnipeg is kind of intriguing.

It seems like they're going to be conservative, but obviously they like their team. I think they have a pretty glaring need on their blue line. Do they maybe do something that's a little bit bigger? We've seen Kevin Chevalier do it prior to the deadline in years gone by. Obviously, the Leafs are going to be active. I think the Taylor Hall thing has my attention

and then trying to identify the teams that might even surprise us because we do know a couple teams that are going to be active, but someone's going to knock our socks off at some point. I just think it's inevitable. You mentioned this is a big week for Kevin Adams. It is. This is a rookie general manager as well, and a lot has gone wrong with the Buffalo Sabres this year. That's all been well documented. The Hall of Trade is a big chance to move this program

forward. But as you mentioned, if the deal is not there or the home run is not there, I wonder what a rookie general manager does. And I'll frame it this way, CJ. manager does. And I'll frame it this way, CJ. There are a lot of veteran GMs who wouldn't want to just make a deal just to get something instead of letting the player walk away because a veteran general manager might look at it and say, I don't want that on my resume. Like if all I can get is a third, I don't want, hey, that's the that traded taylor hall for a third round draft pick on my resume what do you think kevin adams does here is he concerned about the resume or is he concerned about getting something whatever it is in exchange for taylor hall the moment of truth is here you know i i'm not sure how he's going to handle it you know i think that there's a there's

an argument to be made even if you get just a third round pick i mean not sure how he's going to handle it. You know, I think that there's an argument to be made, even if you get just a third-round pick. I mean, obviously, you know, he's still targeting a first-round pick, as we're talking now, but, you know, that might not materialize from, you know, one of the handful of teams that Taylor is willing to move his no-movement clause for and is willing to go to. And, you know, obviously a lot of those teams are teams with a chance to win the Stanley Cup and, you know, have some cap issues in terms of adding him.

But, you know, every single day issues with, in terms of adding him, but you know, every single day that he's on the Sabres roster, someone else's this year, I believe he's making around 69 or $70,000. So, you know, even if you're only getting rid of him for three and a half weeks and Kevin Adams shoes, I mean,

you know, you're saving your owners some money and, and you still are adding a draft pick. It might not be the kind of pick we'd expect, especially for, you know, if you look at the, it was quite a bounty, I guess in hindsight, are adding a draft pick it might not be the kind of pick we'd expect especially for you know if you look at the it was quite a bounty I guess in hindsight New Jersey got in moving him to Arizona

a little bit early during last season that's an intriguing decision you know we saw this if there's any basketball fans listening to the pod you know with Kyle Lowry and the Raptors here recently and Toronto chose to hold on to him in a market where they weren't able to get something they thought was worthwhile but you know I don't think it's as simple as saying there's a right or wrong way to handle that. There's a lot of nuance in there. And I think in a pandemic season, after they've already retained salary, for example, on Taylor Hall, or sorry, Eric Stahl, rather, in the deal with Montreal, even just saving some money while adding an asset for the future probably makes some sense. Again, my reputation or people aren't going to be talking about me making that deal. I mean,

you're right. Someone's going to have to live with that if the prices aren't there. And I will say this, one thing I've heard from a couple of people I speak with guys is that there's kind of an industry bet I think that's running right now that the prices are going to drop as we get closer to the 12th, that there aren't really as many buyers as there might be in a normal year. Yeah, I agree with that. And so I've heard a few GMs or assistant GMs posit that one of the reasons we haven't seen much action is teams have established a certain price and there's a sort of, I guess, calculated bet going around the industry that those prices are going to have to drop as we get closer to the deadline itself. All right, let's play a bit of a game here, guys. Okay. We'll do this quick. Let's go through the league and let's talk buyer, seller, or neither, or we don't know. Let's do it. Colorado, buyer, right? Buyer.

Buyer. D, you think? Yeah, I think a d and you got to wonder about the goaltending just in case i know i mean everything's going right for them right now probably the the favorite right now to win the stanley cup but you wonder if what happened to them last year in the playoffs you know if that entices them to go out another goaltender vegas i don't know if they have any room to buy you know i'm sure they'd like to add something, but they might be the most cap strapped in the league. In the last week, they've had to play one game with 17 skaters and another with 16 because of some minor injuries and cap issues that they have.

It's not for lack of want, but I think that they're almost going to be neutral at this deadline. What do you think, Merrick? I want to mention Minnesota. To me, that's one of the surprise themes of the season. This is supposed to be one of the redeveloping years, one of the rebuilding years, what have you. And all of a sudden, a lot of it is fueled by this

Kirill Kaprizov kid who's let the, they call the race on fire. They find themselves tucked into a playoff spot real nice. I don't know, CJ, that Bill Guerin wants to mortgage much of the future, but this has kind of found money here. Do they build on it or do they say what I just said, hey, this has found money? I think they build on it. When your team exceeds expectations to

the degree that they have, I think that it's... I'm not predicting that they're going to take a big swing, but I could see them just adding something probably up front to get some excitement going and to give their team a little better chance. What are we thinking on Arizona? See, I think they were going to blow it up, and now they can't. Because they're in the playoff spot right now. Yeah. That's actually an interesting race right now,

because San Jose, we talked about San Jose last week, Frej. San Jose's in this thing, Winners of four in a row. Yeah. You got three teams of 37 games as we record this with 39 points and 38-38 in St. Louis-San Jose. We've got a race for fourth in this division. Legit. And they've all played the same amount of games. Arizona, St. Louis, and San Jose.

The only thing I wonder about with the Arizona Coyotes is they need draft picks. Yeah. I don't know how much good they're doing with their organization just by getting in the playoffs and facing Colorado in the first round. Or Vegas, depending on what happens, but it looks like Colorado right now. I know the idea, and Elliot, you've talked about this plenty of, you know, your season ticket sales depend on what you did the previous season. And if you make the playoffs, it helps a ton. But if I'm the Arizona Coyotes, I still have eyes to the future, and I still want to try to recoup some of these draft picks.

What do you think, CJ? Plus what you have in Arizona that you don't have in St. Louis and San Jose as a first-year general manager. It's not a core that he's built up, and they're trying to take another swing at it or anything like that. I think that it might not be easy for Bill Armstrong to make that decision, but he's in a more favorable spot to sell a player or two and explain the larger goal that he's hoping to achieve here. The truth is, if you look at all those teams, they're below 500 in terms of actual wins and losses. Each of them is in the red on goals for, goals against.

It's hard to imagine any of them, even given what St. Louis has accomplished in the last couple seasons. Maybe they're the one exception here. Maybe they'd be a sleeping giant if they slip in and play Colorado. But that looks like you're fighting for a first-round loss to a powerhouse team.

Elliot, just because I want to see, I want to hear CJ's reaction to this. Phil Kessel to Boston. You're just not going to give up on this. Are you? I'm cheering for the story for each. Come on. I want to hear CJ's reaction to it.

Boston needs scoring. Arizona needs picks. Well, you are speaking to the right guy because who broke the story of Phil Castle's eight-year deal with Toronto? Chris Johnston. How do you remember that? I remember who beats me on every story.

Wow. That's the line of the podcast. Well done. That was like six years ago, wasn't it? I remember it was the eve of the NHL season. The Leafs were in Montreal, and you broke that story. You broke a big story. I still can't tell you how I broke that one. No, I'm not asking you to. I don't think that's the right thing to do. I would never ask someone how they broke a story. I don't think that's right. I think 10 years from now that the statute

of limitations would have passed enough that it's kind of, because it actually, it's one of the rare times it's an interesting story about how I got to some information, but it's still a little too real for some people that are still employed in the league. Anyway, I know that you are a big Kessel guy. I don't think Boston can even do it. Nevermind, would they do it? But I think that's crazy talk. What do you think? Just amuse me, CJ. Okay. They should do it do it but no i honestly have never heard that from anyone and i haven't even considered it but yeah i mean it would be it would be great i'm all for storylines that would be uh a reunion that no one saw coming except for mr merrick the last two in that division st louis they've got to add no i think they do like i heard they were talking to buffalo i wrote this and said

this a week ago i heard they were talking to buffalo i think it was hall some people said no it wasn't some others weren't sure they couldn't make it work financially anyway even if it was the one thing i will say is that when he when armstrong says we're pulling the chute, he gets first rounders. He got one for Shattenkirk and he got one for Stasny. So I'm really curious to see what he's going to do there. Right. And so he's benefited from being decisive in the past. Yes.

Maybe he'll fall that way. I don't have a clear sight on what Doug Armstrong's thinking in this case, but I'd be surprised if they weren't in the mix adding something at this point as opposed to to taking away all right san jose i think they hold yeah neutral i think they hold what are you saying jeff i don't know what else they could do i mean they're really locked in with a lot of contracts to be honest with you that you can't move even if you wanted to at this point and i don't see them adding anything i think they're in the process now of seeing what exactly they have with kevin labang what they have right now with uh with balsers with

a lot of these other players that are getting auditions with the squad i think this is that let's see what we have here before we make any final decisions on this team season for the San Jose Sharks. So if someone calls and wants Devin Dubnik or a player that's on an expiring contract, do you think they do it? Problem is no one's really on an expiring contract

of any significance. Marcus Sorensen. Marcus Sorensen could be one. I mean, you're not going to let go of Patrick Marleau in the, you know, in the, the year where he's going to hit a ton of milestones, but really you don't have, you don't have a ton you can do.

If you think you can land something that's going to move your, that's going to move your rebuild as we all think San Jose is going to go through one eventually forward, you do something with Devin Dubnik, but I don't know. I'm, I'm with Elliot. I kind of see San Jose Dubnik, but I don't know. I'm with Elliott. I kind of see San Jose as the quiet team at deadline.

Okay, let's move on to LA. I think they're sitting still. I agree with you. I think it's possible Athens-CU stays there. I think the big one's going to be Ayafollow. Yeah, Ayafollow.

I think LA is thinking about extending some guys. I definitely think they're trying to extend. I have follow. I don't know if it's going to be possible. I think it's going to come down to whether or not they can extend guys or not. And if not, they might make moves. Do you still think that Dustin Brown is a stealth candidate to be moved?

Put it this way. I think the Islanders had some interest. I'm just not convinced that that's what LA wants to do. It'd be amazing if this was the year he was moved, just going back over the years and the rumors and he's having such a great season. Anaheim. Seller. Yeah, seller. And I think they are interested in selling. Like, I think they're pretty active trying to see what they, if they can create a market on some things, they want 19 to 25 year old guys,

maybe even younger 19 to 23 year old guys who can play. Then again, a lot of people do. I was going to say, it makes sense though. They've sort of started a rebuild. I don't know if they frame it that way or call it that, but it is,

it's kind of what's going on there. And strangely enough, as we're talking now with the Sabres having won a couple games, it's not out of the realm of possibility. They finished 31st or 30th or certainly, you know, I think what they need is more high draft picks. That's, you know, one thing they were able to get last year, but I think they need more of that. And so selling might help achieve two aims adding some futures and weakening the roster in the in the short term I just don't know who's picking up some of these tickets though guys to be perfectly honest with you we're talking their mindset though I think right I mean yes yeah their mindset absolutely it's just going to be I think in this

in a in a flat cap COVID season how do you move I know Ricard Bacal has been the talk all season long, but how do you even look to move someone like Adam Enrique or Jacob Sulferberg, like these types of guys that are on bigger ticket deals with term? I agree with you on those. Those guys are going to be harder to move. To me, the biggest concern that teams like Anaheim are having is it's not necessarily who you want to move it's

what you want to get you know 19 to 23 year old guys who are ready to play everybody wants those guys yeah to me one of the big questions about the anaheim docs has nothing really to do with trade deadline it's what's the future of r Getzlaff past this contract. I have a feeling, and CJ, you tell me if you think I'm wrong, but I have a feeling he's going to stay. They want him to stay and be the captain of a younger group. But is he the guy that goes on the

evergreen one-year deals? That's a good question. I mean, I don't know what he wants contract-wise. Look, I know he's really attached to the area. Him and his family really like it there. You know, I'm sure that he's going to try to leverage his contract situation as much as he can. That's human nature.

I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. But I think what the Ducks would like is a younger core and him leading them. Can he mentally make the decision that he might not compete for a Stanley Cup again in his career? Oh, that's a tough question. I mean, maybe he can play long enough that he and the Ducks can get back on that same timeline. And what I'm saying is a little premature, but in the next season or two, I don't think anyone expects him to be there.

And, you know, he's already seen some friends move on to other teams and have a crack at it. And I just wonder, you know, when push comes to shove, where he'll fall in that decision. That's a good question. You can keep your house in, you know, in Orange County and you can come back and work for the team and live the rest of your life there. But, you know but he's only going to get another one or two or three. I don't know how long he intends to play, but he's down to a finite number of seasons to chase that silver thing again.

The one thing is he's shown really, at least publicly, he's shown no inclination he wants to go anywhere. Right. It's a good question. I don't envy these guys, honestly's it's probably especially now right the truth is when he's thought about this privately or talked to his family or friends about it he's probably fallen on both sides depending on the day the mood what's happening you know you can think about it yourself when you've had a big life choice or work choice to make i mean there's good good arguments on both sides of the ledger. It does make it easier for Getzlaff, though, having already won a Stanley Cup, enjoyed

success at the international level on a number of different teams at a number of different times. This isn't like Jerome McGinley chasing it at the end of his career. Like, Getzlaff's won it. Right. It's not like Joe Thornton or Jason Spezza or Patrick Marlowe. All right, let's go to the central Tampa Bay.

I think they're going to try to get a D to me. They're my stealth team on David Savard. Hmm. I love that theory. It's not easy. They're going to have to move some stuff around, but I think they think they can win it again, and they should think that.

And I think they go after someone like that. It makes sense that defense would be the top priority just because they've had to go fairly deep down their pool of players at times this season, playing the 8th or 9th or 10th guy at that position in games. know that worked for them last year you know they used a number of different defensemen through the playoffs whether it's Bogosian or Luke Shen I've also heard that they've kicked around on like a depth forward sort of like a fourth line kind of forward but well that makes sense any team with a chance to win is just trying to improve

around the margins to to give themselves the best shot at it if there's someone who pulls a stunner here it's the panthers potentially because their gm has the personality for it he wants to do it i think and they're close and and listen and to cj's point earlier when you have a team that exceeds expectations yes as a gm rightly or wrongly you probably feel in your own mind you owe that team a trade like you've done enough to get a trade and now that you're down your number one defenseman as well yeah everything points to big swing at the plate step right up billy zito make our day interesting they're also one of the teams with with cap room you know i don't know what where ownership's at in terms of using that long-term injured space that they have,

but they actually have the ability to make a big trade. And as you point out rightly, Jeff, they've got the reasons to want to do it too. All right, let's do Carolina. I think that's another team that might do something. Everybody wants a defenseman, include Carolina in that one. No free each? might do something. Everybody wants a defenseman,

include Caroline in that one. No fridge. Oh, I think it's another owner that thinks, Hey, I'm not up here to hit dinky bloop singles. I'm here to try to whack them into the fifth deck. There's another team out there.

That's another team. I think could, could do something surprising. I'm buying that. Cause I just think it's the way the owner thinks. And look, they were in the conference final two years ago, won a playoff round last year in the bubble. They're kind of deep into trying to get over the top here, and so they have one of the best winning percentages

as we're recording this in the entire league. I mean, why not keep pushing the chips in? The next team is the big one, though. This is the big question mark. Nashville. So are we going to slug it out over at home again, you and I, or what's going to go on here? No, because the circumstances have changed

since we were slugging it out over him. I mean, they've won too many games. I know they're behind today. As we record this, Dallas is five points back of Nashville, and they've got to play Carolina on Sunday night. Although they're being held together by duct tape and string, that's the team I think is going to make the playoffs there. Wow, that's a bold prediction.

Are you taking Dallas? Yeah. They're five points back of nashville with four games they can't score but they barely get a day off the rest of the year like i know i know their schedule is a killer and they can't score these are all good theories poking holes in my point of view here i admire what they've done but i just yes you know they've even lost anton kudoba now to the COVID list. I don't know when Ben Bishop's going to be back playing games. I don't know.

I'm not buying what you're selling there. There's been a lot of that lately. My answer to Nashville has changed since Chicago surrendered that spot. I don't think Dallas is going to jump up to grab it. My perspective on Nashville is David Poyle doesn't have, we we talked about this last time he doesn't have to do anything it's not like he has eight or nine expiring deals and he needs to get something he just doesn't he's got a pair that's it and they're in a playoff spot and i think he can let those players walk you know they both came in on one year deals granlin and holla yeah at the you know the last second, pretty late,

right before the season started. It's too bad. They were going to be our fireworks team for sellers. CJ, we were talking about them as the kingmakers here on this podcast for about a month. Well, it was real. They were talking to everyone. They were in the mix a lot.

They had established pretty high prices, and now they won eight of 10 games. And I just think it doesn't seem like there's any will now to think about selling off. Chicago? I think they're open to almost doing anything. I mean, I certainly don't see them adding. Yeah.

But they might add, you know, they let it be known that they would be a go-between to add salary if someone needed to do something like that. You know, I still think that they're reasonable about where they're at, though, this season. And, you know, I don't see them out there giving up draft picks for a rental player or anything like that. No, we had Stan Bowman on Hockey Central last week, and we were mainly talking about the U.S. Olympic hockey team. But we asked about the Blackhawks at deadline. He essentially said, yeah, we're not adding any high-priced veteran help

here at the expense of our kids or draft picks. No way. Not going to happen. Dallas. I mean, I just think they're going to hold still and see where they go. Hope Bishop and Sagan get back. Maybe add a depth player i think it's amazing that they're even in the race yeah that's the only reason i don't want to disagree with you because i i do legitimately admire the season they've patched together with all the challenges they face but they've still got a summit everest here in the last like five weeks of the season with, you know, 21 games to play.

All right. Columbus. Do they say we're still in this and we still go for it? Or are they at the point where they're like, let's sell. Like I think Savard's getting dealt. They're five points out as we record this podcast, gold differential dash 28.

Yeah. John Tortorella is scratching Jack Ros roslevich although he is in the lineup for this sunday game against the florida panthers as we record this podcast to me the biggest question is what's happening to the coach more so than what's happening with this team well i well i mean that happens after the season i would assume but 100 but until then i think that this team sells yeah they strike me as a group that has a clear-eyed view into what they are. Do you think Foligno goals or they resign him? Well, it's going to be up to him, I think.

Okay. It strikes me as the sort of circumstance where the player has been there long enough to have that kind of relationship where if he's willing or wants to go elsewhere, I mean, he seems like the kind of candidate, if he's willing to do this, to get traded at the deadline and then consider signing back there afterwards. I don't have a good feel, though, for how that one's going to play out. I'm with you on Savard. You know, reasonably certain he'll move.

Del Zotto. Del Zotto makes sense. You know, they've dangled their goalies. Yep. If someone wants a goalie i mean this is this has been the case for a while but corpus allo or merzlikens can be had but felino is different it's that's almost a sort of spiritual one as much as it's not just an asset we're talking about so i'm not sure how that'll fall and i think rally i've heard rally nash like

he's a good depth center like that's a player I think has some interest out there, depending on the price. Detroit, I think it's safe to say they're a seller. I'm just very curious how much of it goes. Right. And how high it goes. Can you sell Mark Stahl, Bobby Ryan? Glenn Danning?

In this marketplace, I don't know. I mean, you know how Steve Eisen would view it. He's trying to turn everything not nailed down in draft picks. Yeah. I'm curious. Tyler Bertuzzi, he's been hurt. Can we add Anthony Mantha to this list? I think it's anyone but Raymond Sider and Larkin, really.

Can't really blame them. Nope, those are Reisman guys. Let's shift over to the East, where the top is a dogfight right now. Start with the Caps. I just wonder how they feel in goal. They'll get a goalie, I think. You do, eh? Yeah.

That's my question. How do they feel in goal? How about the Islanders, who are still very much in this thing, thank you very much. And doing it all without Anders Lee. I think uncle Lou is going to swing a big bat. So what's the batting order here in terms of the guys that we're calling the big swingers. So we got Lamorello who was a really good baseball player.

Actually we got Bill Zito and who was the other guy we said was a big swinger? You said Carolina is maybe like lurking in the weeds. That's right. So, Lamorello, Zito, and Waddell. Like, who do you think is the fastest one? I think I've got Lamorello at the top of my lineup. Okay. Because you're scared of him, so you're putting him first.

I'm not as scared of him. He was actually very pleasant to deal with. He just… Yeah. Just don't ask him anything that he doesn't want to tell you, but he's very pleasant to deal with. Yeah, but that's the funny part about it is like, yeah, he doesn't tell you too much,

but he's very polite about not telling you too much. And he was a heck of a baseball player. He was a really good baseball player. I just think, you know, losing Lee, going to the conference final last year, having that cap space, there's enough there. I don't think they're waiting for next year, if you know what I'm saying. And that they're a team like Florida. I mean,

I guess that's why the two were highlighting, but they have the cap space to do it too, which is not insignificant in the current marketplace. You know, whether it's Taylor Hall, whether it's Kyle Palmieri, I can just see them getting in the mix on one forward at least and maybe more. You know the rule. If they're in it, he's swinging.

Pittsburgh. I still think they're getting a center. Well, that's what they said. They want a center. I kind of thought Eric Stahl was going there. No, you know who? I've got a name for you. Cody Eakin. No, that's a good name though scott lawton oh philly trades with pittsburgh does philly and pittsburgh ever trade oh wow but they can't do it together

there has to be a go-between there has to be as i was gonna say has to be has to be a third yeah well and and there's recent history mark straight the year they won the stanley cup against uh nashville right hmm mark straight went from philly to tampa to pittsburgh well lawton's an interesting name elliot like i i think if he's not signing an extension in Philly, there's a number of teams that have him pretty high on their wish list. See, I think this. I think Philly isn't 100% sure what they're doing here yet. My guess is what they've done is they've tested the market on him just to see, okay, if we don't sign him, here's what it is.

Well, and Philly's got a couple games this week against Boston. They're one of the teams that I'm with, Elliot. I think literally how the next four or five days go could be the last sort of indicator which direction they go. You could see Burke and Hextall just loving that guy. Drooling to get Scott Lawton. Well, Burkey drooling for sure just because that's like a regular occurrence. And that's the kind of player he loves too.

Yes. Let's do Boston because I find this team fascinating. See, I think if Tuca Rask is hurt, I don't know that they're going to go all out. They're going to throw in the towel or they're just going to say we're standing pat and see like like i'm really torn on this one because i do believe that they feel very loyal to the bergeron group right like we have to go for it because we don't know how much longer we have with these guys but i don't know if they without rask i'm not sure they're convinced they could win what do you think cj boston a big player here or does it depend on the goaltender? That's a factor. I still think they're buying though. You know, Carlos out. I would have trouble imagining them, you know, Don Sweeney letting

this deadline pass and not giving them a little bit of something. Even if they don't fully believe, I don't know. They've been too close too often. It might be slipping through their hands already, but I still feel like they want to preserve what they've built and give those guys another shot. All right. We spent a lot of time, Elliot, talking about the Philadelphia Flyers on the last podcast. I just want to open the floor and get CJ's thoughts on this team

who are next year. We spent a good chunk talking about the Flyers, and we heard response from it cj from all corners like from everywhere what's your feeling right now on the philadelphia flyers and where they're at i think it's dangerous to make too many conclusions of their season because you know i really believe their covid situation played some role in it and you know i suppose we'll never really get a clear answer on how that affected them.

But, you know, they're one of the teams, if you look at the before and after, and I haven't done this recently, but I did do it at one point. I mean, it seems like that derailed things. I mean, obviously losing Niskanen before the season to his retirement hurt. They're not quite as stout as they were last season, but they have an older core,

but I'm not willing to pronounce them on the wrong side of it just yet. I think it's possible some of this is an anomaly. I certainly think Carter Hart's going to bounce back and play better maybe even down the stretch here, but certainly next year. I think probably why they're in an interesting spot is it would be easy to overreact to this

because this hasn't gone the way anyone envisioned it. But I think that there's real danger for a couple teams, and they're probably near the top of my list in reading too much into what's just happened in these three months. It's not to excuse it or anything like that, but it's a tough spot for them to be in. And given the way that organization always does business, I think that they'll be a big player in the offseason

and they'll take some big cuts then. I don't see it coming here before the deadline, but certainly some decisions to make, whether it's Lawton or what have you, or maybe even... I don't see them really adding, to be honest, but if anything, I could see them almost standing pat and trying to reload in the offseason. If they add, it's somebody with term. Somebody that they keep for a long time.

Right. The kind of player that really doesn't move often in these next eight days. Right. Because I see the Rangers the same way. They probably gave up too many points too early, but they were still supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league, really, right? They are ahead. And a lot of that is Panarin. And Shostakhin certainly looks like the real thing, but they weren't supposed to be even in the conversation this quickly. So if I'm them, I'm staying the course.

I'm with you. There's a couple of things here. There's Shostakhin who looks fantastic. There is Panarin who comes back and is Panarin, one of the best players in the league. And, man, we've spent too long on this podcast not saying anything about Adam Fox. Yes. But has he not been spectacular?

Like, is he not the New York Rangers' number one defenseman, period? He could earn some legit Norris consideration. Oh, I think he's going to. 100% he can. I think his season's at that level now. It's not just, yes, he's the Rangers' number one defenseman, and he would be the number one defenseman on all but a small handful of teams

probably at this point. It's kind of funny when you think of his history. You know, Calgary drafted him. They didn't want to lose him. They knew they weren't going to get him. Carolina took their shot. They wanted to keep him. They couldn't keep him.

And eventually he ended up where he wanted to go, right? Yeah. Everyone knew. And everyone was right. He probably exceeded the hype, though. I agree. Sometimes those players coming out of NCAA, whether it's free agents or what have you,

have trouble living up to the hype because they do have a lot of teams bidding for them. But this is a higher top end than I realized he had. I'll say that. And it's pretty quickly, too, that he's established it. So New Jersey gave us news. They scratched Kyle Palmieri. And it's obvious that they feel that he's getting traded.

Now, CJ, it's been reported that he doesn't want to go to Canada. Now, I have been told on that issue to be careful what I report. So I've generally been pretty quiet about it. What do you hear on that? Well, I believe when that was first reported, we still had a 14-day quarantine in place. Yes. Because at that time, it also applied to Eric Stahl, and he ended up coming to Canada. Yes. In part because he was more comfortable with the idea of a seven-day quarantine. So I wouldn't rule it out.

I do think, though, that there's been that discussion on some level. I just don't know if it's an absolute no chance or maybe there might be some wiggle room depending on the situation, the team, and the circumstances. But yeah, I won't say 100% he wouldn't go to a Canadian team. And let's face it, there's a Canadian team that plays in the city that we're all sitting in or near. The Toronto Maple Leafs that I think have some interest in Paul Mary. I think that he fits quite nicely what

they've outlined they're looking to accomplish at this deadline. So I'll throw a stay tuned on that one, but I also think the Islanders make a bunch of sense for him too, just from proximity standpoint to where he's living, to the need that they have, the fit, and there's no quarantine. There's no issues like that so i would never say never but i don't blame any player i mean if you don't want to sit through a quarantine it's already a strange enough year as it is you're talking about leaving your family behind obviously under those sort of circumstances too most likely so it probably is not his preference to get moved to a canadian team but i'm not sure it's a total non-starter.

There's a couple of other names here, guys, for the New Jersey Devils, and one of them might just be an obvious one, although last season, I think last season he said no when he was asked. Zajac. That's Travis Zajac, and the other is Sammy Votnin. Do you guys have a feeling, a time and temp, a thumb on the pulse about either these players i haven't heard as much about zajak this year as i did last year but i think teams are always

looking at centers the guy i've wanted about for jersey is ryan murray he had three assists today against washington yeah and jack hughes got robbed like three times as well. He should have had a hat trick today. We're only talking about traded players only. Please stick to the plot. Throw in a little bit of lyrical flourish there for you. I'll color it in a little bit. I remember when we started this exercise saying we'd be quick and then. Not a chance. No.

Welcome to the podcast. Well, that's good. People can zoom ahead if they need. Who would zoom ahead of this podcast, really? Just what's the music at the end that Amel picked and then we'll be on our merry way. And we've talked about Buffalo. I mean, they talked about Hall.

They've got Montour. To me, I'm really curious about Allmark. Yeah. If I needed goalie insurance, he'd be the guy I'm going to get. Can we get one more thing in here about New Jersey? Sure. Am I being too simplistic,

just drawing a line between Travis Ajac and Lou Lamorello here? Well, that's the guy who wanted him last year, right? Well, exactly. Like, have things changed? Last time I checked, Anders Lee's still injured. That's not who you're putting in Anders Lee's spot. You still need that position though, don't you? I mean, look, would anybody be surprised if they go get Zajac?

I wouldn't. Because you know that Lamorello likes guys he's comfortable with. No, I'd be sort of falling in the Andy Green school from last year. He's a natural center. Yeah. 35 years old. He can't slide to the wing. Positionless hockey.

Okay, sorry. You were on the Sabres. Allmark's the guy. If I need a goalieie he's the guy i'm going to get cap hit is good his personal numbers have been good despite this season they're having it makes a lot of sense yep and are you guys both comfortable saying toronto was a team of interest there i think that the mapleese will make their decision this week well that's a really genius position by me considering the trade deadlines the deadlines

next monday i'll later they'll make their decision by next tuesday insider report leaves will make their decision this week i wish i had a better feel for this one to be honest i mean yeah they've done a good job keeping the anderson stuff really quiet. I think one thing to consider with Frederick Anderson is just how popular he is with the team. And so, you know, normally, obviously, look, this is an organization trying to win a Stanley Cup. You have to make hard decisions. But, you know, I do think that factors into any decision they make with his future because, you know, there's been some talk or some speculation, honestly, talk from the Leafs front office about, you you move Anderson's contract as part of a deal as a way to create cap space maybe for other moves? I'm not so sure that would go over have some clarity on on his health situation when he can play what the odds are that he can play at his best because he certainly hasn't been as best this season to say nothing of the way last year ended but there's also a secondary problem cj and

that is that the other guy campbell's played great but like once a game he looks like his leg's gonna fall off you know the day after he plays a game, he almost always misses practice too. Yeah. And so, I mean, like he's an incredible story and I know they like him a lot too, but it's not, you're not just talking about the health of one goalie, you're talking about the health of two of them.

Right. Which is why I think the incentives there to go get a goalie for depth, but they don't have a lot of cap space if they're not moving a contract out. And so that's sort of where the decision hinges. If we're operating on the idea they're not trading any players out the door to open up cap room as part of the deal, then they can bring in about a $2.5 million player, give or take. And they want to use that cap space to get it forward. So it's going to be an interesting one. I think they've been pretty, what's the word?

They've been pretty cagey about Anderson's status, is the best way to put it. This is an organization, actually, to their credit, they're usually quite upfront with injuries and injury timelines. They don't always use upper body and lower body. Consistently, since Kyle Dubas has been the general manager, they've identified the issue. I mean, in this case, they've said nothing publicly.

Frederick Anderson's been day-to-day for two and a half weeks. He hasn't skated at all. They're talking about follow-up appointments and this and that. I mean, it's a hard one to get a read on, and I think it's a huge gamble for them either way if they don't add another goaltender because they have huge expectations this year. And right now, you know,

Michael Hutchinson is probably a little closer to the starters in that than they'd prefer. Edmonton, I think if they do something, it's going to be a Luke Glendening, Derek Ryan type. Yeah, I think Edmonton's done, guys. Well, I still think they try to add a right-hand center. I know Glendening makes a lot of sense. So does Ryan.

I mean, I don't know. Is there a problem for Calgary and Edmonton to deal with each other? They did. Neil and Lucic. Ryan's a good player. I'm buying that. I think the Glendening talk might be a little overstated, but I'm willing to be wrong on that one.

No, I think you're generally pretty good. The other thing about Edmonton, they don't want to trade any more draft picks. They've done a lot of that. Whatever they do, they're not a team that I'm putting in my lineup for taking a big swing. It's going to be the definition of

a relatively minor trade, I think, if they do anything. Winnipeg, does Shevelday off step up to the plate? Or does he say, you know what? It's a day game after a night game. I'll be back tomorrow. I think he's got to do something. I think they're good enough. One thing we haven't really touched on here, there's not really that many defensemen that we should have certainty are going to move. Like, Savard is an obvious.

How many teams is David Savard allowed to play for at the same time? Let's just clear that up before we move forward. We can split them up into three. I mean, he's a clear target and could join a lot of teams top four. Montour. Right. You got Montour. I mean.

Ristolainen. Okay. You know, Ekholm's off the market, we figure. We think, yeah. I don't know. Like, obviously, there's number six or seven Ds that will probably move. But, you know, if you say you need a defenseman, there's not that many players, I think, that really fit the bill. Ryan Murray.

It's an intriguing name. But I feel like there could be a little scarcity of that item for teams like a Florida or a Winnipeg that probably have a need to add someone who doesn't just give you depth that can play some minutes for you. Goligosky, I don't know if he fits there. But I agree with you. I think you have to try. I think you're good enough. I think you have to try. Okay.

How many more trades is Bergevin going to make? Not are they going to make deals, but how many? One. You think he's making one more? I do. I am so with you. CJ, I got to tell you, Bergevin is the funniest guy in the league. He says, I'm not making any more trades. I'm done.

And no one believes him. No one. He was pretty declarative the day before the stall trade went down. Yes. I don't have cap room. I can't do it. Yada, yada, yada. I just traded for Ekstall. And then he makes like one of the few trades we've seen all season

the next day. I mean, I love it. Good for him. He's not tipping his hand to the league. No one is buying what he's selling. And you think it's D? I think it's D. Anyone in particular you're thinking? No, just because the other part of it is that would be probably a money out deal too.

Yeah. I know you've reported on Terry Lekanen's name. Definitely has been out there a bit. Of course, the Canadians say that he's not available. Of course. I'll tell you this when they made the stall deal there was some other talk about another deal involving him at the same time yeah i mean look they don't have much cap space but i think bergevin likes his team and i i could see him making another move uh vancouver we already talked about at the top which brings us to calgary

and ottawa i don't know if the flames, which brings us to Calgary and Ottawa. I don't know if the Flames' biggest surgery is going to come now. I think if it comes, it comes after the season. Agree or disagree? Agree. I mean, the patient is showing very few vital signs at the moment, but you're not making the kind of fundamental changes that I think are going to have to really be examined. I know they've been discussed in the past,

but I don't think you're seeing a Monahan or a Goodrow or someone like that go out the door before the deadline. I mean, if they do something like that, it's almost certain to happen around the draft or in the offseason. But Dave Riddick is probably gone. Are we safe to say that? Someone wants goaltending depth. Yeah, I could see it.

Right. Ryan. I could see Ryan. Like Edmonton, Ryan makes sense. Eric Ryan, yeah. But they don't have a lot of UFAs. No, they don't. Like that is going to be one of the questions here down the road is,

okay, so you want to move some of these players. It's a flat cap. As much as you might think, okay, we're done with this core. How are you going to move it? Who's taking these guys? We'll worry about that in the summer. What are you taking back to execute those trades? This is the trade deadline

edition of the podcast, Jeff. We'll worry about the summer edition in the summer. Kick that can down the road. Focus, buddy. And Ottawa. Hold on. Ottawa? Look, they'll sell Dezingle if they can. You know who I wonder about? Depth D.

You talk about D? Braden Colburn. That makes sense to me. Did you hear DJ Smith wax poetic about him in the pregame last night? Yeah, and Kevin Bieksa echoed it and talked about him in Goodbranson Saturday night too. I don't know. How did you readed it and talked about him in Goodbranson Saturday night too. I don't know. How did you read DJ Waxing poetic about him?

I just think that DJ believes in that. What, do you think it was phony? I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. Are you calling DJ Smith a phony on this podcast? Wow. I think we have a new lead, Amal. All I'm saying is.

Highlight that bit from Jeff and splash it all over Instagram. If you are looking to move a player, is it not best to shine that player as much as possible? Do you think the coach cares about that? You don't think that the coach is in concert with the general manager on who's going and what do we need? You know, yes. So now Elliot's reporting that Dorian and DJ Smith don't get along.

That's right. They hate each other. This could go in a lot of different directions. I'm very curious to see how this one gets received. So, yeah, I mean, I understand what you're saying, Jeff. I do. I think there's always reason to be uh cynical about things but on this one i take dj at face value because i think he would value that in a player

he's a total dj smith type yes much like erica branson is a total dj smith type like we know that the the type of player the blue-collar guy, those are the guys that DJ Smith covets. I mean, everybody covets skill. So whenever you say that a coach likes these types of hard work and lunch pail kind of guys, that doesn't mean that he doesn't like skill because that's implied. But he has a particular fondness for those types of players. Do you not agree?

Yeah. So that's why I'm saying, I think that's why he spoke highly of him not because he's trying to shine him for a trade but because he really believes that here's my question about ottawa we just talked about depth net mining again does anton forsberg find another home oh god poor guy could why not i mean they got a lot of goaltenders there ottawa is open for business right i just want to remember before we wrap this up, just remember DJ, who called you a phony on this podcast?

Before we wrap up as well with the Ottawa Senators, did you guys have a thought on one of the flashpoint nights last night in that Ottawa-Montreal game, which was Brady Kachuk taking on Shea Weber?

Takes over Kachuk and Weber are dueling and Brady Kachuk drops the gloves the 21-year-old against big 35-year-old Shea Weber. This might be a little too much youthful exuberance. I don't know. Or maybe not. Maybe not.

Well, you know it's going to be good for him that's a brave move I could understand him getting up and cross checking

Weber and skating away I mean it wouldn't really feel like a Kachuk move but man good for Brady Kachuk yeah and he said

he was holding on for dear life which is great he wasn't holding on for dear life. He was throwing. Like that's it. Like he did not, and BX had talked about this at the intermission,

he did not try to seatbelt Shea Weber. He stretched out to swing. I don't know, man. That was a pretty gutsy move. Yep. By Brady Kachok. And I know you guys only want a new trade deadline, but that's a huge decision on Ottawa's radar for the offseason.

Oh, they'll give him all the money. What's that contract? What's that contract look like? But if you're Brady Kachuk, do you want long-term now or do you want a shorter-term deal? Well, I think a lot of guys will be taking shorter-term deals until they see where the cap is going. I agree.

I think a lot of teams will want short-term deals too for the same reason. Do you think he goes long-term at all, CJ? Or are you thinking he does what his brother does and goes three times seven or something like that? Yeah, that makes so much sense. I'd be surprised. I mean, they'd have to offer him so much money to make him think twice about it, I think.

All right, before we wrap up, what did you do this morning, CJ? Woke up and had coffee. No, no, don't be wrap up what did you do this morning cj woke up and had coffee no no don't be silly what did you do this morning that was at 5 30 a.m what did you do at six i uh did my long run i'm winding my way towards this marathon at the end of the month so how much did you run today 30 kilometers today a tip of the cap to you like honestly we talked about it i mean you've talked about it we talked about it on our holiday show around christmas tip of the cap to you cj what's your date april 29th i'm going to do 42.2k here in toronto uh raising some money for conquer covid19 and that will be my 365th straight day of running. So completing my one tour around the sun here by doing a marathon distance.

And actually kind of a cool little story, Jeff, I was on with you at Hockey Central at some point recently and you brought this up and we talked a little bit about it on the radio. And after that, someone from one of the local running clubs here in Toronto reached out to me and heard that story and he's kind of been counseling me a little bit on my training and has offered to run a little bit with me on the 29th.

So, you know, making friends even talking about this. Do you have a pace bunny now? You have your own personal pace bunny now? That's how much of a big shot you are in the running community now? Yeah, I guess you could say that. I mean, it's pretty informal, but George, I haven't met him yet in person, but we've communicated a little bit by email and he gave me some advice and he's a running coach and a longtime runner.

And I think he's going to run part of the marathon with me, which is pretty cool. How many pairs of shoes have you burned through? I think six or seven. I'm not good at this. I don't know if I'm doing it right. It's the funny part about talking about this. I'm very aware that maybe not everyone should try to run every day. This has worked for me, but I'm not sure if I'm following all the rules properly.

But honestly, because it's COVID and we've been pretty locked down, I just keep ordering the same pair online because I know they fit. Same size, same pair. And I'm on at least my sixth or seventh pair of them since the year started. So when I get into it, there are times in my life where I'm just like hardcore running. Like I'm like you and I'll go, you know, a couple of years where I'm just fixated on running. And I'll always have two pairs going, like alternating from one day to the other. Do you do that? I actually do.

I've got a pair that I had for winter running that were completely waterproof they're almost a little bit like trail running shoes a little harder yep and you know even though we're not still in winter i do wear them the occasional day now just because it's i find it's nice to have a different feel you know it's not it's not like you're running in your same footsteps every day it almost mixes it up a little bit trying to stay healthy through this that's awesome but That's awesome. And as you've pointed out a couple of times too, it's not just great for your body, but it's also great for your brain as well. It's a great mental health check to help keep your sanity.

I know that that helps me a ton. Listen, there've been plenty of times, CJ, where I'm having a crappy day or I'm miserable and my wife will just hand me my shoes and say, go. Like you need to go and we need you to go. Like, she just knows. Like, I just need a mental break. Like, just get out of the house and go for a run.

This has been great. Listen, look forward to April 29th and your Conquer COVID-19 run. And congrats before you get there on doing it for 365 days, which is outstanding. And get your rest this week, CJ. I know you want to run a lot, but you have a big day next Monday. That's true. It's a good time, though.

I like this time of year. It's fun. A lot of stuff swirling. And yeah, I'm with you. I would even encourage anyone out there that maybe isn't running a lot now or would have you. If you're intrigued by it, give it a shot. Be easy on yourself you can do

walk run for a little while yep i was so far away from doing this a year ago you know april 4th or 5th of 2020 you know i would have trouble running three or four kilometers without stopping and i ran 30k today without stopping so that's awesome it's done a lot for my fitness too and and so don't worry about the end goal i I guess I'm just encouraging anyone to start because I do find it that beneficial for me. Amen. Great job, CJ. Thanks, pal.

Thanks, guys. Be well. Tight 40. Famous last words on this podcast. I want to thank Chris Johnson from Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL on Sportsnet for stopping by Elliot and spending way longer than he bargained for when he said, yeah, sure, I'll come on your podcast this Sunday.

CJ, you're the best, man. Thanks so much. Taking us out is an artist from Tokyo, Japan. Shintaro Sakamoto has been making music since the 80s with his band Yura Yura Teikoku. But Shintaro's solo work has been crossing genres since the band disbanded in 2010. With his latest single, By Swallow Season, here's Shintaro Sakamoto on 31 Thoughts, the podcast.何年経って元に戻るの? それとも元腐って更地になるの? 更地になれば最初が見れるよね 一生が見れるよねそれまで待っていたって

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