32 Thoughts: The Podcast - You Always Have a Chance to Rewrite the Narrative

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman open the podcast by looking back at the Winnipeg Jets’ dominant Game 5 win over the Dallas Stars. They then shift focus to the Carolina Hurricanes taking their series against the Washington Capitals 4-1 (10:39). The pair review a lackluster effort from the Maple Leafs at home, which saw them pushed to the brink by the Florida Panthers (24:53). The Final Thought focuses on the Edmonton Oilers dominating their series against Vegas and punching their ticket to their second straight Western Conference Final (46:13). Kyle and Elliotte answer listener voicemail and email submissions via the Thought Line (57:47).In the news and notes segment, Kyle and Elliotte discuss the Vancouver Canucks hiring Adam Foote as their next head coach (1:12:08). They touch on the LA Kings introducing GM Ken Holland on Thursday while keeping Head Coach Jim Hiller (1:19:20). Plus, the hosts talk about Rick Tocchet officially becoming the next head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers (1:23:39). The podcast wraps up with Elliotte touching on the remaining head coaching vacancies around the NHL (1:29:05).Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail.This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

You see Baron trying to calm shifely down. Hey, hey, just don't look after it. Sit down. Just take a deep breath. Now he's on top of the linesman and like Scott Arneal comes down the bench and is like, you need to sit down. You need to sit down. You need to take a deep breath. Welcome to 32 Thoughts. The podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X. Shramati, Friedman, Bukaskis back with you. Back to Dallas they go the Winnipeg Jets stave off elimination in their own barn a 4-0 shutout victory on Thursday night in game number five. I thought about after game four Elliot Kelly Rudy's line of if the Jets play that way again they're going to give themselves a real chance. The Jets didn't shy away from the moment on Thursday night at home,

and they get at least one more game in their season. Top to bottom, Kyle. I know that there was a bigger stakes game in the playoffs, game seven against St. Louis, where they had the miracle comeback to force overtime and win. But top to bottom, to me, this was the Jets best game of the playoffs from beginning to end. Agree or disagree? Right there with you. Thorough and well deserved considering the stakes. A lot of guys played really

well. Some of the top players obviously Hellebock wasn't as busy as Ottinger but he was great when he needed to be. Pionk was great, Niederreiter was great, Ehlers was great. Just a lot of guys were great. 1 to 20. A lot of them were great. to twenty a lot of them were great They deserve this win sometimes in the playoffs. You know you win games. You don't deserve to win You don't have to apologize for that It's a race to 16 and you get what you get and you if you steal one you start the bus and get out of the Rink as fast as you can the Jets earned this one top to bottom. They were

fantastic. I will have to say this though, Kyle. When my wife gets the crazy eyes like Mark Shifley did at the end of this game, I know that's my time to leave the house. For a long car ride. I'm going to pick up something. Where? I don't know, but I'm going to come back with something. That's right. They make a few stops along the way. Oh gosh.

Check in on some old friends. It was funny. I, I pray shifely for not making a big show with the goal that was disallowed because he did glove it in and then they were laughing at me in the third period when he lost it after he got punched by Ben and they were like, why don't you go on and praise Shifely's calmness again? And we were all kind of laughing about it. But you know, as angry as they were last night, I think we talked in the of laughing about it, but you know as angry as they were last night

I think we talked in the last pod about how so the Jets were mad in game number three About the no goal on the kicking right and they were disappointed in the calls on game four particularly the one that wasn't Made on Connor on the breakaway, and then Dallas went down the ice and scored the big goal of the game but Scott Arneal after being mad the first time he ate it the second time he said nope that was the right call and I think Winnipeg benefited from that I think they got the calls in this game. They kept their temper until the end when they got really mad but overall full marks

Earn the W going back to Dallas game six now Kyle And it we've said it how many times now five times in the playoffs Halleback just like Skinner and Edmonton needed a win anywhere, Hallebokk needs a win on the road. Yes, there's no more it would be nice if he got a win on the road. They have no other choice but to find a way to grind out a W in Big D. I kind of like the the emotion of Shifely at the end. I know Baron was there at one point or Neil came over to try to calm him down, but it's not the worst thing in the world letting everybody know every now and then that you're capable of getting to that level if someone's

going to push your buttons. You believe the old Cellios line? He liked to get suspended once in a while just so people could remember he did it My only argument with that is like again I have no problem with the passion and no problem with the anger But I was worried he was going to go over the top at one point and do something that I don't know Could put him in trouble for game six or something like that. So you realize there has to be a line there but Obviously nothing happened. So I'm watching they get a power play late in the second period and that was a determined

group out there that just did not get rewarded. I mean like Kevin brought up before the game about you know the power play was very effective for Winnipeg and we're round one in St. Louis hasn't been the same story against Dallas so watching it still go one-nothing into the intermission you're going oh man was that a golden opportunity they just couldn't quite get another to provide a little extra breathing room and then the opportunity comes five on three and there was no way for those five players on the ice that there was going to be anything else than resulting in a goal there.

I thought that was an impressive opportunity there for them in that moment in seizing the opportunity to extend the lead after pushing and pushing and pushing all game long. I can understand if a Jets fan saw the back of Autinger's skate making a save off Gabe Velardi thinking that there was no way they were going to beat him more than once in that game. We talked in the preview of Autinger's great quote to Scott Oak about how aside from the Stanley Cup, his goal is to be Team USA's starter at the Olympics next year. He should have that goal. It's a secondary goal, but he knows if he keeps winning

and Dallas keeps winning, things will take care of themselves. But there was a point in that game where he, where you looked at it and you said, Hellebuck is gonna have to pitch a shot out for Winnipeg to win this one. He was up to the task. He got a bit more breathing room, but he was up to the task. Phenomenal hockey, phenomenal game.

You know, Kyle, if since Washington lost and we'll get to that game in a couple minutes, if Dallas had won and wrapped up the series there was a chance they were gonna have to play Edmonton Dallas game one on Saturday because there's a US TV window on Saturday I'm kind of happy with the fact. We're getting one more Stars Jets Edmonton Dallas can wait or Edmonton Winnipeg can wait. I'm kind of happy we're getting at least one more of Stars Jets. Yes. And that wouldn't really... Something about that wouldn't have seemed right.

Like, congratulations Dallas for winning your second round series in five games. You play again in 48 hours. I'm sure everybody would have been happy. By the way, they're having trouble keeping up with the ranton and jersey demand, team jersey demand in Dallas. Oh yeah? In the previous four days leading up to Thursday, they sold 450 ranton and jerseys and they would have sold more if they could get their hands on any they had to keep ordering new shipments and new

shipments and new shipments that's how big the demand is for rent and I it has to be the number one Jersey in the NHL right now but I checked and I was told the number was 450 over the last four days and I think the team has sold something like 1,500 over the last four days which is a huge number for them and they can't keep the Ranton and jerseys in stock. So you touched on it Thursday on the air during the game in that one of the things that can worry you if you're a Jets fan is that Ranton hadn't struck yet and you're just waiting for that moment to happen. I mean just the one assist in game four they

kept him off the score sheet in game five. Is that a sign that they're starting they're starting to sort out Dallas a little bit here or is it almost more haunting that you know this is not going to last forever when you consider the playoffs he's having? I think you just look at it and say, we don't want to announce that we've solved anything because if he comes back for six points the next game, you look absolutely ridiculous. You know, DeBoer said it right earlier in the playoffs, you have no idea how long this heater is going

to last. So you just keep going with it, right? I think right now he's so good, you're preparing for as if it's a one-off, that this is not going to happen again on Saturday night. That's the way I prepare because I am notoriously paranoid Yes, and he still almost hit 25 minutes of ice time and game number five as well Anything else that stuck out to you about this game before we move on to Carolina, Washington? No, I think we're I think we're good from that one. I have to be more careful of my choice of suits because Amber called me out for my green tie. So you have to try to get to wear more neutral colors.

Oh, yes. That is hypersensitive this time of year. Right? You were Pink Pony Club earlier. Yes. And now you're Dallas Green. That's right. He was all over you for that.

Leave it to David Amber. I would like to be Dallas Green, far more talented than I am. That's for that. Leave it to Dave Amber. I would like to be Dallas Green. Far more talented than I am, that's for sure. Yes, yes. Heck of a talent Dallas Green. Okay, back to the land of green. Go the Stars and the Jets for game six on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the early game on Thursday, Carolina Hurricanes.

Finishing off the top seed in the East Washington Capitals in five games. Andrei Svechnikov with just under two minutes remaining in the third period scores the goal that eventually punches Carolina's ticket on to round number three. Caps for one of the highest scoring teams in the regular season, Elliot. Just seven goals. They scored total all series. And as Rod Brendan Moore said in the postgame, all year we have been waiting for that, Andre.

Svechnikov, four goals in round one, four in round two, second only to Ranthanen in the entire playoffs with eight as Carolina moves on. Excellent. And we talked about it before the series. He had to be a difference maker for the second straight series. He was a big difference maker. The team put on a complete defensive clinic. It was a smother job, a complete blanketing of the Washington Capitals. Slavin, as usual, was excellent. I thought another guy who was really good in this series was Sean Walker. And not just because he scored a big goal at one point, I thought it was some of the best hockey I've

ever seen him play. And I would also shout out Brent Burns. It hasn't been easy for Burns in Carolina this year. He had some really tough moments. By my count, he was not on the ice for a five on five goal against. I think he was on for one empty netter that the Capitals scored, but I don't think he was on the ice for a five on five goal against. Whatever the case is, I thought he had an excellent series. I've always been a huge Brent Burns fan and you know, he needed a big series and he got it. But, Brendan Moore's right. Svechnikov had to be the linchpin of their offense and absolutely he was. I felt badly reading and seeing some of Logan Thompson's quotes After the game after the series

He was beating himself up for the winner. Yes. It was a tough one That's what elite athletes do they beat themselves up for those kinds of plays But the honest truth is this wasn't even a series without him. He was terrific and this wasn't even a series without him. He was terrific and he gave them a chance to be in every game. The margin of victory was so slim for the Capitals because they couldn't score and he gave them a chance to be in these games. I understand why he's disappointed about that one, but in the long term, I think everybody recognizes

that Thompson is hardly at fault for the series and he gave Washington a chance. Now we talked about the series maybe not commanding the same attention as the other ones in the second round and you knew Hurricanes admin would be ready to lean into the boring hockey narrative they delivered after the series wrapped up putting out that terrific video about yeah boring hockey all the way to the third round. Hat tip there I had to point that out. There was a premiering in Ontario for a long time his name was Bill Davis, William Davis, and they used to call him Bland Bill. And they won elections, I think, for 40 years straight. He won several of them.

And after one particularly big victory, he told an interviewer, Bland works. If you're winning, who cares what other people think? If I was on a team that won, I would think I played the most beautiful style of hockey. I wouldn't care what anybody else's opinion would be. You know, something else I want to talk about this particular team. You look at it, Carolina, we talked about this a couple pods ago, let's do it again, Kyle. Of all the players that they let go or traded over the last year, Tara Vynan, Nacius, Shea, Nason, Bunting, Drury, Pesci, Gensel. The only one still standing, well there's two. One is Rantanen, the other is Dylan Coughlin from Winnipeg. There's only two standing.

And you know Carolina, this wasn't always easy. There were some earthquakes along the way, but despite all of that, they are going to be one of four teams left standing. And what to me, there's a lesson in this. And they had the blip with with Rantanen. It was just a crazy time. They tried, they took a swing, they couldn't make it work, they moved on. But what the ranting lesson and all these other lessons remind you of, when you're a

bit of a unique team like Carolina in terms of the way you play or the way you, the style you do, it's almost more important fit as opposed to talent. I wouldn't always say that. I have to say I don't always like saying that, but all the talent in the world isn't going to matter if the fit isn't there. There's a pretty good story about Ranton in that early in one of his practices in Carolina, he did something and basically the team was called together and you know the, Brynden Moore and Ranton talked and the play he made was so good and so brilliant, but it just wasn't the kind of way that Carolina likes to play. It didn't fit their more straight

line way of playing hockey. And you know, someone said to me that kind of in that moment, they knew that this was going to be a real challenge, because there's a certain way Rantan likes to play and needs to play. And it wasn't necessarily going to fit the way Carolina likes to play and needs to play So when they made the deal to trade for Drain to Dallas one of the reasons they targeted Stan Kovan is because they thought he fit with what they do Taylor Hall this year really struggled in Chicago and He's now in Carolina and he looks reborn. He fits what they do. And I think that's very important and I admit sometimes from the outside I don't always see

that as quickly from team to team as I need to but I've been reminded about that with the hurricanes and you know Tom Dundon who owns that team he's talked a lot about finding a star and getting a star and I understand as an owner why you'd think that way but in hockey the thing that works most is winning and in Carolina I would be this year in the ranting an experiment is another reminder of if you're going to have Bryndamore run your team and it's going to play the way Bryndamore wants it to play, you can't bring in a star if that star is not a fit for the way you play.

And this year and especially the playoffs is a big reminder of that for the Hurricanes. As I said a few weeks back, my sense was the Hurricanes believe they are a better team post trading Rantanen to Dallas than they were before acquiring Rantanen from Colorado. May not have been the conventional way of doing it, but that's how they felt about things, you know, going into the playoffs. And I just thought, too, it's just, there's got to be an element of affirmation within the organization watching what they've been able to pull off so far. Still a lot of work to do. You're only halfway to 16 wins, but there's got to be a sense of that given the year it's been as you touched on.

They took some shots. You know, they took some punches. Exactly. At worst, they will be the last four standing. The thing is though, they've been to what? Three conference finals since winning the cup in 2006? Swept all three times. So that remains a hurdle for these hurricanes is trying

to take that light out of a third round series that first one they just were not a match for Pittsburgh I covered that one that wasn't really a competitive series and I covered the one against Boston in 19 and they were not a match for Boston then too they were out of gas and the Bruins were operating at a different level back then and so the and the other one would be Florida, right? Two years ago when Florida won or went to the Stanley Cup final in Las Vegas, that was actually a really close and competitive series including one of the longest games ever. Yep. The issue there was they couldn't score. And as long as the likes of Svechnikov

and Hall and Stankovic keep doing what they're doing, that won't be a problem here. We should mention Alexander Nikitian made his NHL debut for the injured Jalen Chatfield. There were raw moments there for sure, Kyle, but you can see the hype. You know, the first shift was at Mangiapani who tried to forecheck him and he swatted him off like a bug. Like just like a flea get lost bug. You can see the talent. There's no question. I know he played overseas on a rink that's NHL size, but the game is played so different that it's hard to really get a handle on what you see online. Watching it now, I get the hype. I can see why people like this guy. You know, as for Washington, I will probably do a bit more on them on Sunday.

It's a disappointing end to a very good season. I can understand why Capitals fans are down. The promise of the year was very high. I think you hope you at least get two victorious rounds out of it. They got smothered. You want to see more scoring. There's a lot to like about this team and there's a lot to believe about this team that it has staying power. And we'll see what Chris Patrick and Brian McClellan have to say. This will be a quieter summer because I don't know if you can have as loud a summer as you did a year ago, but a lot of their key players are signed and you at least had some young players who breathe new life into the lineup this year.

You signed your goaltender tandem, which I don't think a lot of people expected, which is good for you. I'll be interested with Clay Stevenson. He's waiver eligible next year. I can't imagine he'd clear waivers, so I assume that they'll try to find something for him out there. I was a little bit surprised that people were wondering about Ovechkin. He has another year under contract and he's talked to media back home in Russia about how he plans to play another year So I was wondering if there was something out there that I was missing

But Carberry said he expects him to come back You know there were there were a couple of capitals fans who didn't like or sending me notes about they didn't like the fact They actually scored a 2-1 goal by Matt Roy to go ahead there that was taken away on an offside review and the offside was 20 seconds before the goal. And some of them were asking me like, do you think that's too long? Should there be a limit? Like if the team can't get the puck out 10 seconds after review, shouldn't it be erased or it doesn't matter anymore?

I can tell you this, the NHL feels very strongly that once the puck is over the line, the rule is off size, it stays offside until the puck gets out. And I know at times, when they first brought it in, there were people who debated that and there were suggestions, hey, and there were suggestions hey should there be a time limit like if you can't get the puck out in 45 seconds who cares if it was offside you stunk you couldn't get the puck out in 45 seconds but I know at the very top of the league the Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley he was adamant that offside is offside and if you can't get it out, the whole play is tainted.

So I don't think you're gonna win that one. And part of LAWY, this is all difficult to stomach for Capitals fans because yeah, results-wise it was a great regular season and one of the great moments in the history of the sport too, giving us something that all of us are going to remember with Alex Ovechkin taking over Wayne Gretzky for the goals record. So regardless of how soon or late the playoff run was going to be for Washington, this edition of the Capitals will always be remembered for that. Yeah, Kyle, I still can't believe on one level that it

happened. I never ever thought we would see somebody break that goals record and I'm still amazed that it did. And the way the Capitals rejuvenated themselves towards the end of last year started winning games again that was a big part of it. I think if they're as bad as they were at the beginning of last season and they hadn't improved I don't think we would have gotten there this year. Okay Elliot Friday night where I am currently Sunrise Florida game six the Panthers and the Maple Leafs Toronto's season on the line after being blown out, boot off the ice, crowd leaving even earlier than you theoretically would on a night like we

saw on Wednesday. As I was thinking over the years of this edition of the Maple Leafs, Elliot, in the playoffs, how many instances have we seen where you thought they finally figured it out? They are over the hump and then they stumble and in the playoffs, how many instances have we seen where you thought they've finally figured it out, they are over the hump, and then they stumble, and then on the other side you're like they're dead, they're done, there's nothing left here, and suddenly they give themselves new life. All of this to say, as ugly as it was in game number five in their own building, they've still got a chance here. So you're saying there's a chance?

Yes! So I remember this brought back memories, Kyle. you are an apple or a gleam in your parents' eyes. April 10th, 1988, I was a high school student at York Mills Collegiate in Toronto, working a part-time job, I believe at the time I was working at Cole's Bookstore, and I used some of my savings to buy a ticket in the last row of the grays at Maple Leaf Gardens to see the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup playoffs and

the score that night Eight nothing Detroit. Oh boy. The goal scorers that night Adam Oates, Dave Bahr, Gerard Gallant, John Chabot, who's really tight with your buddy Craig Simpson, the late Bob Probert, Brent Ashton, and two for Jim Nill. Wow. The booing was relentless and yes there were jerseys thrown on the ice. Even back then, eh? Yes. That is the only game I can remember quite like game five on Wednesday night. Kyle, there's a rule. You can lose, but you can't lose like that. You cannot lose like that. Four, two after a good fight, eh, it sucks. But people will understand. Like that, nope. And the one thing I can tell you is the shock of that loss

was felt throughout the organization, top to bottom. Everybody was stunned by what they saw. Again, you understand you can lose, you cannot understand that. And for those players, and I heard, you know, obviously no one's gonna say what was said, but I heard the conversation in and around the team was as pointed and as blunt as you would expect it to be. As one of my friends said to me that loss was so bad, William Nylander wore a shirt to the postgame scrum. Oh, wow. When William Nylander cannot show his chest hair, it is a serious crisis.

There is only one option. One, you have to come out and say no matter what happens no matter what happens We are not going down like that on Friday in game six we are not doing that and If Craig Barubei thinks there's anybody in the team on the team who's not capable of that don't dress them Don't put them in Like even even Berube for the first time all year, Kyle, you tell me if I'm wrong, you're around him more than me. He was stunned. He didn't know what to say. Oh my gosh, Elliot. Well, because we talked about all year,

it's been basically the same guy off day game day after a win, after a loss at the podium where we see him publicly, but yeah, Wednesday night. It was like, you know, he had heard about what had gone on around here in the past. Sure. He had seen it on his TV screen while he was working in St. Louis while he was spending time back home in Kalahue in the summers. But then the look on his face and just as he was processing everything after game five it was like, oh so this is what everyone had been talking about. Like he just lived that for the first time and it was

it was evident. So Barube, I thought he said the right things on the off day Thursday. He said, so what, whether you lose two to one or six to one, it doesn't matter. It's just a game. And he's right. That's the way you have to think about it. I know some people who felt, including some of my friends and my brother-in-law, who's a big Lee fan, my brother-in-law texted me in the second intermission.

He was like, I can't cheer for this team anymore. And I'm like, I know you'll be back there on Friday. But I get it. Like, people were criticizing some of the fans' reactions. Like I said, I'm not a Jersey thrower, I wouldn't do that. But you cannot fault anybody, anybody, who has paid for a ticket or paid for a ticket that night or is a huge, lifelong, hardcore Leaf fan

for being furious about that performance. I'm sorry, you can't blame any of those fans. The vast majority of those fans are passionate, hardcore, they want the team to do well, they can understand hard-fought defeats. They've suffered for almost 60 years of them. They understand it. You cannot understand and accept that. You know, I had some of my friends say to me, it's too late.

Even if they win this Friday night, it's too late for me. I don't. You can't think like that as a player. You know, if you're a player, the series is not over. It is still three to two. Does it look daunting? Yes. Does it look impossible from the outside? Yes.

But you're still playing. You're still in it. And someone I know who knows these Maple Leaf players very well, he's I said to him, what do you think about all this? And he said to me, you only have one option. You have to build it up as a great opportunity to overcome. That is the only way you can think. And yo, Kyle, here's some other examples.

The Oilers, after game three against Vegas, it wasn't the same kind of loss, but it could have been a devastating loss. What did the Oilers do? They sucked it up. You do not have time here to curl up in the fetal position in the corner. You have to get off the floor and you have to figure out a way you're going to make it better. Because you're not finished yet. The Oilers got up. They're like that sucked What did they do?

They rose to their an even higher level and they shut out Vegas back-to-back and they won that series you an NBA fan I Try to catch it with like when I can it's hard this time of year though. It's hard. I understand Celtics see what happened with the Celtics. Yes Celtics down three games to one Against the Knicks their franchise player Jason Tatum Killies injury gonna be out for a year and the Celtics has suffered a couple of brutal losses in this series a couple games Where they led by 20 at home and they lost did Did they give up? No. They got off the mat. They had all these New York fans buying tickets in Boston for game five the other night,

same night as the Leafs played. All these New York fans drive down to watch the Celtics get buried in their own building and they found a way to win. Like that's what, and you know I was talking about this and Matt Marchese says well the Celtics have won a championship. I said sure but I don't care that doesn't mean that you have to be any different. You have to have the same mentality. You have to have that pride. You know I also compared it to Kyle like this is probably as close to the athletic comparison as to you know when I mucked up the swimming in Rio.

Like that's the only time in my career I've ever been scared to go on the air. I was scared to broadcast. But I had a choice. I could quit or I could try to grind my way back. I remember Scott Moore saying to me a few months later, he said, you built up a lot of goodwill and you banked a lot of goodwill. lost it on that night you've got to build it back and I think that's that that was a good approach for me like build it up build it up build it up so I understand what it's like to be out there after

something is so embarrassing and everybody sees it like the world sees it you know you you can quit or you can say what can I do about it well what the Maple Leafs can do about it is they can win a game on Friday night and that you always have a chance to rewrite your narrative. Dom that's the title. You always have a chance to rewrite your narrative and the only way the Maple Leafs can approach this game is we have a chance to rewrite our narrative. The only other option is to give up and that's worse. That's worse. I can't see that room especially with some of those veteran guys saying we're giving up. And the other thing too is Kyle, at various times in the last six or seven years we've said oh this is

it for the core four, this is it for the core for and it's never happened this really could be it for them the contracts dictated the viruses at the end the end like this really could be the end and they have a vote couple of them are coming off really bad games, really bad games, they have a vote in how this final chapter could be written or if this is the final chapter at all. There is no other option. Zero. Zero option. And think about Toronto just a year ago against Boston Elliott. After game four, everyone had had it. They wanted everybody traded. The top guys were going at each other on the bench. There was a couple of people in the organization that were like,

that was one of the greatest things to happen to us. Like, those guys were actually having some hard conversations. Game five and overtime on the road. Suddenly, they've got a lead in the third period of game seven. Now didn't work out in the way they had hoped, but just a few days prior it was all over and suddenly they were a shot away. So the problem this time around though is the Florida Panthers, Elliott, it looks like they kind of have a say in this.

Yes. Yes. The old John Cooper line, the enemy has a vote to the Florida Panthers have looked stronger each game that this series has gone on. So Ray Ferrara was working between the benches for ESPN in game five. I just happened to run into him during the first intermission on Wednesday night. And I was one nothing at the time but it was all floored out of the gate as you know and I just looked at him and said like

how did it seem to you down there and he says you know there's some nights where you're working the game and a team comes out hot and they're blitzing the opposition in the first period and you're looking at them going okay like that's all they've got they left it all out early and it's going to be survival mode from the rest of the way. And he's going, I'm watching Florida and it's like, they're just going to keep playing this way. Like there's no off switch here. They are machine like as this series has gone on here, Elliot. And that's really one of the most daunting things, like whether you're able to dig in or not

And the best intentions that you think Toronto brings to the table for game number six With how that group is playing with how Bobrovsky is coming on now for them. It's gonna be an Unbelievable challenge to beat that squad twice in a row here now. I'm with you Craig Simpson said the same thing last night when we met up after the game. He said the same thing as Ray, that Florida was giving you no indication that they were going to play any differently. Number one, they have the experience. Number two, they understand that these series are not short and what you're doing in game one and two you hope is

going to pay off in games five six and seven Bobrovsky looks dialed in again. He was shaky at the beginning of this series Now he looks really good Marchand looks healthy We all have to say to game five. That's one of the best games at Seth Jones has played since he got there He looked really, really good. And he's a difference maker. They look terrific. The only guy who doesn't look right still yet is Kachak.

And I'm not surprised. He's dealing with, I still think, a very significant injury for the one from the Four Nations. But the rest of them are really going. I mean, you're right, Kyle. It's I think part of the reason that there's so much anger and disappointment and pain among the fan base in Toronto is that they really thought after it was two, nothing that they could beat Florida.

And now that they're down three, two, they're looking at it and like, Oh, they're so good Florida and Bobrovsky's dialed back in. Like that's, that adds to the pain. Now you told a great story about Bobrovsky and bottles of wine. For those people who couldn't hear it, first of all, shame on you. Secondly, what's the story, Kyle? Yes, well I knew with bottles wine, it would have your attention.

Yes. I'm glad you caught it. So I have to credit. So after game four, we're sitting there in the press room and was talking for a little bit with Katie Angelson. It is a wonderful job working ringside on the Panthers home broadcast during the season. And she mentioned to me that Sergei Bobrovsky has a tradition after he posts shutouts, which

he did in game four and nearly did in game number five. So it all started, he saw Henrik Lundqvist do this when he was with the Rangers. And I believe Henrik Lundqvist got this whole idea from Kevin Weeks when he first came into the league about taking care of your teammates especially when you put up a shutout. So what he does is during the regular season when he posts a shutout they draw two names from a hat. Teddy Richards, the equipment manager draws the names and the names that are drawn are gifted. I'm told a very nice bottle of wine with a handwritten note from Bobrovsky and he signs it and in the playoffs that jumps to three names. So after game number four, Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulakov and Itu

Los-Torainen were the recipients of the Bobrovsky handwritten note and wine gifts. You can't win it more than once during the year so Bobrovsky had five shoutouts in the regular season this year and he's got two now in the playoffs so the the names are getting fewer and fewer in the hat for Teddy to draw from but what a nice little touch and on that note like I was talking to you know you did the story last year during the Cup final that Stephen Lawrence was the designated warm-up shooter. Yes I remember doing that it was a fun story to do. Yeah so I asked Stephen about that before the

series and he said you know after they had won and all that Bobrowski gifted him something very nice it wasn't a bottle of wine. And also a handwritten note, like on a card, just saying about how much his role meant to him and how big of a help he was in getting him ready before every game. Because you know, Lorenz wasn't in the lineup every night for Florida during then. And for him, he was like, okay, those 15-20 minutes every morning meant absolutely everything to him to help get their goalie ready for a game that night and he said he's like I've got that note that he wrote for me like up on my wall it's framed like that's how meaningful it was to him so just a nice touch from the the Panthers goalie that

all started I guess you can pull it back to Kevin Weeks during his days with the Rangers and it's kind of been passed on here from goalie to goalie over the years. Well that's a great story first of all I love when you uncover things like that and I'm not surprised that it came from you going to a better ringside reporter and asking for something that you could put on the air. It's about time you started borrowing from your superiors. Yes, yeah, exactly. And thankfully, those that are really good at this job,

Katie being one of them, was kind enough to help out in this case. So game six, I'm gonna say it, game seven, Sunday night. I've just, you know what, I've trained myself, I've said this before, I was an extremely negative person for the first 18 years of my life. I have always trained myself since to think positively. No matter what the odds,

believe in the best possible outcome. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. But I'm going to say it, game seven. Wow. Because no one is expecting it. Well, I'll tell you, I just, I know in this role, I learned quickly to just always train your mind to think each series is going seven games and if it happens to end early and you get a few extra days at home, then you take that gift as it comes but you're

always prepared to go seven. Always prepared to go seven. You know you think about it too one last thing about that game Kyle so at the at the just before puck drop when the may after warm-up when the Maple Leafs were coming out back out to ice at the game you know they opened the door of the dressing room and the players are waiting there for a couple minutes before Wool leads them out down the hallway, the steps to the ice. David Camp is butt-ending someone playfully

and Simon Benoit is taking a cup check from somebody else. And you're looking at this and you're saying, they're in a perfect frame of mind. And we actually had a highlight cut of camp setting up Benoit for a chance, which he just missed. And you're saying it's, it's good start. It's the way you're hoping they're going to be relaxed and into the game. And about five minutes later, we're like, yeah, we're, we're not not using that it's just amazing how fast everything changed like a week ago they were up two to nothing and they were three to one three

to one and they were in overtime and five days later they're getting boot off the ice by their home fans it's crazy i i should say i think the other storyline here is Wohl. Like that wasn't Wohl's fault but on the long shot that beat him you could tell he really struggled with that one. Another huge thing that Toronto had to deal with that they didn't want to was Wohl's frame of mind because after playing maybe his best game of the year in the loss in game four to see how defeated and down he looked in game five really rough really rough for them and him you could tell he really he took that one goal to heart it really hurt him that he gave up that goal.

Paul Maurice does not believe like you, Elliot, in momentum from game to game. So a clean slate for both the Panthers and the Leafs for game six Friday in sunrise. Okay, final thought, which is brought to you by GMC, the Edmonton Oilers, the first team to punch their ticket to the conference final, second straight year they are back there. The irony Elliot of Casperi-Cappenon a waiver wire pickup from St. Louis of all places. Yes. Playing hero in overtime one nothing the score line in game five but a heck of a game far more entertaining than the score box score might suggest. It always is fun to see what goes viral and what moments and all of a sudden in my X-Mansions a tweet

that I had Edmonton claims Kasperi Kapiton started appearing in my replies on Wednesday night after he scored that goal and at the time, you know, obviously people make a lot of jokes about it, but Now it was kind of like a whole year or there's fans had to hear how st Louis fleece them in the offer sheets for Holloway and Broberg and It was nice for them and I suspect a few people in the orders hierarchy to have it go the opposite way for a night that hey we pulled one over on the blues our waiver claim scored this big goal for us.

You know first of all Kyle I don't know how much you did you deal with Kaepernick much when he was in Toronto? Little bit little bit. Yeah. It was early in his career. Yeah, really nice kid. Like really liked talking to him. I would chat with him periodically in the room. You know, his career obviously hasn't gone the way he hoped

or the Maple Leafs or other teams hoped. And you suffer the pain of having to watch the first nine games of the playoffs and you're not out there and you get your opportunity and he was great in game four and obviously scored the huge goal in game five nice moment for him I was I was happy for him huge credit to the Oilers huge credit I think anytime you beat a team like Vegas in five games, that's a major W for you. Massive. Vegas is beaten up. I'm very curious to see what we find out about their team when on breakaway day when players start to talk about what they

were dealing with because I think there are a few key players there who are really battling something. that's not an excuse it's playoff hockey everyone's battling something and beating up a bit but when you beat Vegas in five games you've really accomplished something that's a good team that plays hard and plays smart that's that big, big credit to the Oilers. And in particular, Kyle, they lose game three in aggravating fashion. Your boss could have gone completely off the cliff, but they pulled themselves together and they played their best hockey of the year. And there's so many things that you could look at them and say it's gone right. But number one is Stuart Skinner,

and he gave a great interview to Gene Principe post game. And I wanna shout out Gene. Gene, you know, we all laugh at some of the crazy, insane stuff he does on the air. Like I look at this and A, I couldn't do that, and B, I couldn't even think of thinking of some of the stuff he comes up with But it's very clear that the players like and respect him and that interview with Skinner was fantastic You know Skinner admitting

It just shows you how much this is all about mentality Kyle that Stuart Skinner is an NHL goalie that makes him the elite of the world Okay, if you play one game in the NHL you are an elite hockey player But still if you don't believe in yourself You cannot Still, if you don't believe in yourself, you cannot be your best. You're not even close to your best. And Skinner was really struggling, and we talked about all he needed was one W, one W.

And he gets it in game four, and what does he say to Gene? I felt great. I feel great going into game five. I was at peace. And there was even less of a feel great going into game five. I was at peace and There was even less of a margin for error in game five because it was zero zero going into overtime, but he looked terrific I thought you know in game three when he first played I thought he was kind of flopping around a bit He didn't look confident The actually thing I liked the most about him was on the winning

goal, the weird one by Riley Smith, because he explained he had a plan. And you know, even if it doesn't work, at least he had a plan. But I thought in game four, he looked much more confident and game five great, really happy for him. But also the team, without their best defenseman, they shut out Vegas back to back, and they committed to defense. These weren't flukey shutouts. This was them, they dominated game four, they were excellent in game five, dry-cidal.

Remember what he said, I'd love to win the Selkie, it would be more important than any other individual award. I feel really good Let's just say because you're not supposed to talk about these things Let's just say I feel really good about my selkie vote Since after watching him in games four and five their star players have been great their non-nuclear weapons have been great They've carved out an identity. They're outscoring teams when 29-97 are on the ice. And Dom, you can always rewrite your narrative like Stuart Skinner did over the last couple

of games. It's going to be harder now, but you know what, Kyle? Full credit to the Oilers. No passengers, you beat Vegas in five, you deserve all the praise you get. Let this be a lesson to other players around the league, if you want Elliott's vote, just tell him how much an individual award would mean to you. And the rest takes care of itself. It's the David Amber rule.

If you're nice to him, he votes for you. That's right. I hope the exit doesn't listen to this. He's going to be all over me. Let's just talk about Vegas a bit here for a second. Obviously, there'll be more to come, Kyle, but you know, Mark Stone didn't play. You know if he didn't play he was really battling something You know I think Patranche low is banged up. I think he's been banged up a lot of the year

I think McNabb obviously he played hurt Banged up. I think there are others We'll see how many I don't know how many but I heard there were some other players that were really battling things I think Hill was hurt after the game last night. Yeah, I think he really did. I think the thing about Hill is, the Toronto series, as well as Woll played in game number four, the Toronto series really turned when Stollers got hurt right and

you know Hill gutted it out he really did I'm curious to see what's going on there because I did have ever since we mentioned on the pod I had a couple more goalies reach out saying they suspected that's true we'll see you know there's some people I saw some articles is the Vegas window closed? I don't believe that for a second. I think they have a lot of great players. I don't think they have bad money. They can extend Ikel this year. I have some theories on what they may chase in the offseason, but I'm gonna wait a little bit. I think the Golden Knights have proven that they're not comfortable with even standing still. So when you have the base that they have and know their aggressive nature, only a fool writes them

off. They'll be hungry. Scoring on the wings is one place where I'm definitely going to be looking at for them. Dora Fiev got hurt, wasn't great when he came back, but I look at it as this is a learning experience for him. He's a 35 goal scorer, he's got the talent. I've heard they're not always crazy about the penalties he takes, but he's young and he's learning. That guy looks to me like he's going to be a really good player. That's the thing I could see them going after is can they find some more scoring on the wing, but I would write off the Golden Knights at your own peril.

They'll be back. Too good. Too hungry. Yeah, because they still got a lot of players under charm, effective ones for them, and they can find good health again. No reason to think they can be a threat. Not only in their division, but the whole Western Conference again. They love to go for it year after year. Do the Golden Knights. Also, we learned from that series, don't ask Conor McDavid They love to go for it year after year. Do the Golden Knights.

Also we learned from that series, don't ask Connor McDavid about the Oilers ability to defend anymore. That question is gone. We're past that now. You know what's funny about that is, again, it's one of those situations where a reporter thinks they're throwing an easy softball. So you think McDavid's going to say, well, of course we've proven we can defend, but hell hath no fury like

Conor McDavid in a question he thinks is terrible. And I know, because I've asked some of those before, but he's not even interested in the pretense. And in the interview we did with Dreisaitl a a couple weeks ago, he said that was a big motivator for him. Like, we can't play defense, Connor and I, right? And I thought they both played great defensively. I think that's one of the challenges that Matthews and Marner face is that people look at how far those two have come and how they dragged the rest of the oilers in on the fight and they are so supportive of the other oilers too that you can't help but compare the four of them. Yeah it's kind of felt also for Edmonton like when they got to the conference final three years ago and

they beat Vancouver last year they felt like significant moments in time for this group of the Oilers and Wednesday night was just kind of another step in where they ultimately want to get to. It's not I don't know go as far as say old hat because you always appreciate the opportunity to get as far as conference final as a team but it did kind of speak to just how they handled everything of where their minds are at and the attempt to finish a job that they just fell short of a year ago.

Okay, that was a final thought brought to you by GMC. We'll take our first break and come back with a thought line. You're listening to 32 Thoughts, welcome back. Time once again for the Thoughtline 18333113232 or 32thoughtsat Sportsnet.ca. Elliot, anything to clear off your deck before we get to today's submissions? I can't think of anything. You? No. I think we got a fresh slate. Okay.

So let's begin with Garrett, who writes, hello Jelly Dom. I can say that again with Justin now part of the show. Kyle is the why. You hear that, Mom? I'm the why. You hear that mom? I'm the why. You've got me asking why a lot, yes. That's good. With a tough off season looping for my Dallas Stars after signing Nico Renton into a 12 million dollar deal, I would love to keep Matt Duchenne at his current cap hit. I believe

he signed for so little, partially because he is still getting paid by Nashville. Looking at the buyout, the cap hit for Duchenne next year, it is a million dollars more than it is this season. So how are buyouts actually paid? Is this the actual money he is being paid or a representative number like how cap hit and Av can differ. Thanks guys. Love the pod go stars It is the actual money being paid So actually next year. So this year do Shane was paid Five and a half million dollars just about. Next year he gets six and a half and

then it drops to one and a half for the following two seasons. So that is the actual money that he is getting paid from the Predators as part of his buyout. It's the cap hit and the actual cash. Very good. Okay. Jason writes morning boys pens fan from Southwestern, Ontario, but for right now go Leafs go read an article this morning that Luke Hughes who is an RFA cannot be offer sheeted because in his first year he did not play 10 games. Therefore is not eligible. Is this true?

If so, what are the options for him sign with the Devils or don't play? Thanks for the time love the pod keep them coming. We will try make that effort Kyle The answer is yes, that is correct Luke Hughes is is what is called a 10 to see okay there It's basically it's 10.2 subsection C of the CBA and to be eligible for an offer sheet or arbitration you have to reach certain levels of experience and Luke Hughes because he came up in that particular point, he cannot be offer sheeted by any other team.

That is basically the lowest level of power a player can have. So nobody is eligible to offer sheet him. However, the one amount of power a player has is if you're kind of a good player or an important player they generally don't want to make you too angry okay and I could see how somebody with the last name Hughes in New Jersey the Devils do not want to make him too angry. So you'll try to do what you do. Will a team use the power of the CBA in this case against the player? To some degree, yes.

But if it's someone you like and someone you value, you hope that you don't have to do it to the max and maybe you can find something with term that makes everybody happy. Okay, a voicemail next. Brett from Maryland. It has bothered me for a long time that during the jet's whiteout that the team does not wear white. Is this because they are not allowed to or is this just because they are contrarians? Thanks for all the good work.

Have a good work. Have a good night. I like that somebody would ask if it's because they're contrarians. I think that's actually really funny. It's because, Kyle, they've changed. Who wears white at home? The road team.

That's right. Do you know when it all changed and stuff like that? The road team. That's right. Do you know when it all changed and stuff like that? Yeah, I want to say it was the 03-04 season. That's correct. So they switched and it used to be light jerseys at home. Now it's dark jerseys at home. There are exceptions here and there.

You have to apply for an exception, but it was a change in the way it was always done. Now, if I was really cynical, if I would suggest it was because they wanted to sell more road jerseys than at home, but only a cynical person would suggest that. Yeah, you are pretty cynical I Will tell you Elliot someone we work with who will remain nameless. Oh god. I can't wait to real Takes real issue with the fact that The Jets fans still do I white out?

Though the team wears dark at home. Can I guess? I don't know, because I don't want to give up who it is. There's only two people I could think of. Okay. Scott Lennox. Alright. Producer.

Craig Simpson. Alright. I'll give you this, you're not ice cold. We'll stop you there, Kyle. Yes, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, because the point is that you look at Calgary, the Sea of Red fits with what they're doing. Edmonton, it's all, for the most part, dark-colored sweaters, and everyone's got a jersey on there. And there's other examples, too, around the league. But I also, like, I don't have as much of an issue with it.

Like, I appreciate the tradition of it was a whiteout back when the original Jets era, you wore white at home and wanting to keep that alive. It looks great on television. Yeah. I'm sure it looks spectacular in the building. But it's just the same color as the Road Team. Do you have an issue with it? You know what? Maybe it's time to same color as the road team. Do you have an issue with it?

You know what? Maybe it's time to change it back. Wow. So you want to blue out. No, no, no. I meant which jersey the teams wear at home. Oh, you want to see white at home again? Yeah, I like it better. I do. Maybe it's just because we all like what we saw as kids. I confess that could be the case. Maybe it's just because we all like what we saw as kids. I confess that could be the case.

Except for April 1998. That's right, except for the 8-0 game. All right, one final one. My hard-earned Coles bookstore money wasted. Oh, I mean, even adjusted for inflation. I'm sure it was a pretty penny back then. Okay, last one. David, the only hockey fan in Columbia, Missouri.

I didn't realize there was a Columbia, Missouri, Elliot. I'll be honest. There's a Columbia everywhere. That's true. David, hopefully we can find you some hockey watching pals down there. After seeing it was Jaroslav Halak's birthday recently, I went into a bit of a dive into his career. As a Blues fan, I zeroed in on his seasons with that team, and I found the oddity of the 2012 Vezna vote. The Blues had two top six finishers that year. Brian Elliott was fifth,

Halak was sixth. Both were miles away from the solidified top four of Lundquist, Quick, Rene and Mike Smith. But it seems to me that a team having two goalies in the top six of Vezna voting is quite odd. Has this happened before? The answer is yes. And we're doing- Okay, can I guess? Yes, just one sec. We're doing two goalies from the same team within the top five of voting since 8283 when the criteria switched from the club

that allowed the fewest goals. Yeah, they brought in the Jennings Trophy. Exactly. So I'm looking for a particular year because it's the first year I can think of. You know what year I was thinking? I was thinking 2013, Corey Crawford and Ray Emory of Chicago.

Yeah, I thought of that too. I checked it. Crawford won the Stanley Cup and Emery had an unbelievable record that year. Emery in that season for the Blackhawks, he went 17-1. And he actually had a first place vote. There's a, I've kind of told this story before, but it has been alleged there were shenanigans with this voting. In 2013 specifically?

Yes. Because the GMs vote on this. And one GM told me that another GM was accused of voting for Emory even though he wasn't the starter because the GM wanted his candidate to do better. He had a goalie that finished pretty high. And I remember a couple of them told me that Emery had a great year, but he wasn't even the starter. So how could you vote for him, give him a first place vote when he wasn't even the starter on his own team and the guy who did finished

right behind him in the voting. So I just always remembered that story. It always makes me laugh. But those were the first guys I thought of, Emory and Crawford in 2013, but it's not them. They finished seventh and eighth. Okay. So it has happened. Yeah, three instances.

Three? Yeah. First one, 1983, so the first year that they adjusted the criteria. Rolly Molonson and Billy Smith of the Isles. Really? Second and fourth. So wow, that is, now did Kelly ever have it happen to him with Billy Smith? No, not both finishing top five. Okay.

Okay, give me another year. Don't tell me who, just give me the year. Okay, the next year, 1984. So I was going to guess, were Fu were fewer and Moe ever involved here Moe was once not with furor and not in 1984 so it was Moe Reggie Lemelin with Boston bingo 1990 yeah so I gotta find 84 and it wasn't Fjord and Moog. I'm trying to remember, I'm trying to remember at that time who would have been good that they would have shared.

Resh was gone from the Islanders so I was thinking Billy Smith and Chico Resh but Resh wasn't with the Islanders then. It's not Smith and Molonson again, is it? It is not, no. I'll be honest, I'm a little surprised with this one. Like, this is before my time of course, but as I've learned a little bit about the history of the NHL before me I feel this was an era where the team in question Was not very good Give me the team Washington Who played for that back then who were their goalies was Pete Peters there no

Who were their goalies? Was Pete Peters there? No. Was Al Jensen there? Sorry, Pete Peters was in Boston. Al Jensen was one of them, correct. Oh, okay. You know what, honestly? We could be here forever.

I can't think of who else would have been with Al Jensen there. Pat Rigan. Former Toronto Maple Leaf I Thought third and fourth. Oh, okay. I thought he was there before Okay, I wouldn't that like I said we could have been here until The draft and the birth of your child and I wasn't getting that one I just look it back at the... So Tom Barrasso won it that year.

He won the Calder and the Vezna that year. Right, yeah, 18 years old. There you go. I think everyone in the top 10 of Vezna trophy voting all had a sub-900 save percentage. It's a different world back then. Yes, it was very different. I remember Kelly finished third one year 897 Wow now Now you'd be the East Coast League

Yes, that's right Already be Stuart Skinner with back-to-back shutouts. That's right. Yeah It's a funny world. All right, very good David appreciate your reaching out from Columbia, Missouri. Hopefully that helped answer your question. We'll take our final break. Come back with some news andon around the National Hockey League. A couple of press conferences on Thursday. One in Vancouver as Adam Foote was introduced as the 22nd head coach in franchise history, a guy who'd worked under Rick Tocca the last couple of years, but someone that didn't have

a ton of head coaching experience, a brief stint with the Kelowna Rockets a number of years ago in the Western Hockey League. So the knee-jerk reaction to this news was Elliott. It screams trying to keep their captain Quinn Hughes happy. It's well known how much he admires Foot and how he goes about coaching. But for you, having time to digest listening to Foot and Patrick Alveen on Thursday, how do you feel about their decision now? You know what kills me about all this, Kyle?

What's that? Let's just say the Canucks hired, for argument's sake, Peter Lavielette, okay? You know what the complaints are going to be. They just recycle the same coaches, no imagination, where's the new blood, where's the difference? Old, old, old. And now they hire someone who's in his first NHL coaching job and as you said doesn't have a lot of experience and the same people who complain about recycling coaches are going to say, how can you hire somebody with no experience? That's crazy. That's a joke. You cannot please these people, so you cannot even try.

You hire the best person you think you can in the moment. Now, as we talked last pod, the Canucks were likely going new. And they were very comfortable with the idea of going new. They, you know, after what happened with Taukit, I think there was a feeling of he didn't want them anymore. So unless they met his price, so they wanted somebody who was going to be happy being a Kanaak coach who was going to be like yes this is not just about the best deal for me this is the job I want and anytime you get these coaches who are waiting for their first opportunity or hungry for their first opportunity you're gonna get someone like that and they get foot who will be like that

one of the things I am concerned about because it's an issue is Coaches who go from assistant coach to head coach on the same staff Because you're no longer the good cop now You've got to be the bad cop. And there's a skill to doing it, and it's not impossible, but I've had players tell me before, if a coach does change his personality, players sense phoniness from a mile away. Now Adam Foote is a guy who's been around for a long time. He knows hockey, he understands hockey.

I'm sure he should be able to manage that pretty well, but it is a thing. I know that scares people. Reasons I think that he can make this work. Number one, one of the very few good things about the Canucks last year was their penalty kill, which he was in charge of. Number two, another strong area of the team last year was their defense, especially as they strengthened it, and he is responsible for that position. You know it's interesting how they took pains to point out that they didn't consult Quinn Hughes through this. Okay, but it's not like they weren't aware of how Hughes feels about Adam Foote.

Yeah, maybe they tried, he just didn't pick up. That's right, he was too busy watching the Knicks. They know how he feels about Adam Foote, and they know how those defensemen feel about Adam Foote. And from what I understand, one of the things the Canucks had indicated to a couple of the candidates they didn't hire was that it was such a hard and difficult season this past year that they felt that someone the players knew liked and were comfortable with gave him a big edge. They have to settle down their players, they have to quell the noise, move past all of the distractions of last season, and they felt that if one of the distractions you worry about is

how the players are going to adjust to the personality of a new coach, that should not be an issue here, and I believe that really did appeal to Vancouver. Three-year deal and you know when it comes to Hughes yeah he'll be happy with Foote. At the end of the day though it comes down to the letter W. If you're going in the right direction you don't have to worry about it. If you're not, you do have to worry about it. So, Foote's the guy. Um, you know, we, and I don't think there's a lot of surprise that Foote's the guy. I wonder too, and we'll get a bit more to Philadelphia in a couple minutes, Kyle,

but I want, but Foote says he's gonna have to look for a couple coaches. I wonder if they go back to Brad Shaw. I wonder if there's any chance that they call him, or even if he'd want to do that. Right, right, right, right. I don't know if you ever catch any of those videos that the NHL Coaches Association puts out from time to time of like the roundtable, and there's one that went out recently. It Tocket, Green and Berube and of course those three all know each other pretty well. A lot of penalty minutes in that group. Yes, yes, yeah a lot of scar tissue. A lot of scar tissue and rearranged faces from time to time,

at least on the receiving end and Tocket made a point though about, you know, he wanted his assistants to be very much their own people. Like you present your own way. Like you don't want your assistants to just be a carbon copy of the head coach. And you're constantly saying all the same things that the head coach was. And so it seems like he had that guy and Adam Foote. So as they move forward there, while there's going to be a lot of familiarity in terms of systems and just how they go about things, I'm curious to see how Foote puts his own stamp on the the Canucks here. Good question. All right. Los Angeles Thursday, introducing Ken Holland, the next general manager of the Kings. One of the things he pointed out that I thought was interesting, just highlighting the fact that how competitive that market is in LA sports market in terms of grabbing

enough attention as thing goes along where it's like being a playoff team is one thing you've got to be a playoff team that goes deep enough to command the eyeballs in a city like Los Angeles and yes, hauling in to try to help get the Kings to that point again. Yes, and probably the key piece of news, the biggest piece of news is that Jim Hiller will remain as head coach. That was the first thing that he kind of discussed. He said that they had met the day before. I'm not surprised at that. Holland does not like firing coaches. If you take a look at his history, he's been very loyal to them. And even Jay Woodcroft, when he was fired in Edmonton, replaced by Chris Knobloch,

I don't believe that was a Holland move. I think that one was basically pushed upon him. So I'm not surprised that he will say, look, we did a lot of good things here and we're going to continue to move along in that way. Another thing, we talked about, Kyle, about how Holland might try to bring in somebody. They didn't say what his contract term was. I think it's possible he could be around two years. I don't think that this is a long-term thing.

I think this is we're going for it now. We are in this to win now. So I I don't think this is a long term deal. I think it could be as short as two. We'll see what we find out here. But we did talk about how the the could bring someone in to work with them, learn with them possible succession plan. We've mentioned Ryan Miller of the Rangers so I asked around for people who kind of fit this and two of the names I got were Mark Janko of Dallas and Stacy Roost of Tampa Bay

So we'll see I mean because it's Holland and he has a good relationship with Miller again This would be up to the Rangers He's kind of at the front of the everybody's list if he does do this But those are a couple other names that are out there I Think it's going to be one of the things to me that's going to be very interesting is How close this roster because he talks about? Tweaks right like the team is and and he uses that word a couple times. He talked about how many points they had this year.

I think he said they were 105 point team, like 76 times in the press conference setting a new record. And he talked about tweaks. And that says to me that he's not looking to perform major surgery but if you look at the Oilers he brought in the guys he brought in Evander Cain at Colm that was more than just a tweak that was a big one Evander Kane, Zach Hyman, you know, Corey Perry, not your biggest stars, but important players who fit around your best players.

So I'm curious to see how much this roster is going to change, if at all. Obviously, the big story there is still Gavrikov. They need him. And I've believed that it was likely he stays. I go with trust my instincts that they find a way to get it done until I have reason to believe otherwise. OK, and Elliot, on Friday, the Philadelphia Flyers will officially introduce Rick Tocket as their new head coach, the man who was originally a 121st overall draft pick by Philly back in 1983.

Played a lot of games as a Flyer and really a full circle moment coming back to the city of Brotherly love to be the next head coach Rick Tocket as your instincts told you from the beginning the bench boss in Philly yes and the five times five to five you know as you have talked before good friendship with Keith Jones who was at the top of the flyer food chain and just because you're good friends doesn't mean you can't grind for a contract the best contract you can I heard those negotiations were pretty intense but you know Tauke gets what he wants a big deal and Philly was likely not going to be outbid by anyone else he's a flyer he he fits, I like that.

I, you know, boy, I can still remember his massive fight with Wendell Clark after Clark hit Mark Howe. I remember talking as a flyer playing for Canada in the 87 Canada Cup, some of the best hockey ever, and scoring a massive goal after Canada fell behind the Soviet Union 3-0 in the decisive game 3. You know he's a flyer. He should be a flyer coach like that's the way it is. A couple of things we'll hear from him on Friday. I think it's interesting to hear how a lot of the early narrative coming out of the reporters from Philly is that Tocket will be able to get players to come play for Philadelphia. He is a popular guy.

He's a guy that players like playing for a lot of them. I think that's interesting. What it says to me is it's it's the the the flyers you know I've believed for now for a while now the flyers are going to be active really active and talk it and this kind of talk around them that doesn't make me think believing that is wrong. Not only is he going to be like an NCAA coach, he's not just going to be your bench boss and your strategist, he's going to be a recruiter. I'm curious about his bench.

I believe it was Charlie O'Connor who was the first guy to report that Brad Shaw won't be coming back. Now that's a loss for Philly. There Dee really liked him. He in particular did excellent work with Ristolainen and kind of rejuvenated him. Shaw really wanted this job. I think he was really hoping that he would get this job. You know, like I said, I always believed Taka was going to get there, but even I had some doubt the way things kind of unfolded over the past couple of weeks. If you're Brad Shaw, you're hearing some of this doubt and you're saying, okay, okay, okay, I might be able to get this. And the longer it goes, the more you're disappointed.

I understand all that. Nobody did anything wrong here. The Flyers didn't do anything wrong. Shaw didn't do anything wrong. But it's kind of like dating Kyle. Always comes back to dating. It's so true. It always comes back to dating.

It always does. You ask somebody out, you're with them for a little bit of time, and then they're like, eh, I like this person a little bit better. Not everybody is wired to go back to the friendship zone, Kyle. I don't know about you, but I'm not wired that way. No. Forever tainted it. So, and Shaw will have options because he's a good coach. You know, one of the guys I kind of wonder about for Tocket is another flyer, Luke Richardson.

I think Luke Richardson's a really good coach. There might not be a head coaching opportunity for him here, but I think he's a really good coach and people respect him and people really like him and he's a good teacher. I wonder if he could be a fit on that Philly bench. But this is the proper marriage, Tocket and the Flyers. It is the proper marriage. It's the kind of the way it should be. Yeah, I mean I don't know much but it seemed quite clear once the Flyers made a change and there seemed to be a little uncertainty about what Tauket's future would be in Vancouver, that the blinders were on, they had one man in their sights

for the gig. And you still got to make a deal, still got to get a deal done even though you've got friends involved, but it seemed like they had zeroed in on their guy right from the beginning and they got him in the end. 100%. Any other coaching news or updates we should be keeping an eye on? So I'm just gonna run through the teams here and some of the names I've heard. I said on the last pod that I really didn't have a good handle on Chicago and someone reached out to me and they said that one

of the names you had elsewhere they think is on or was on Chicago's radar and we talked about how Seattle had some interest in Adam Nightingale who is the coach at Michigan State and is actually coaching with Team USA at the World Championships. And I think he was another guy who was on Chicago's radar. Now Nightingale, I don't think he's going anywhere, but it's interesting to me because that's two teams that seem to have at least looked at him. But other than Nightingale, I still not sure where Chicago is going.

Pittsburgh, again, we mentioned Mitch Love last pod. I think he's high on their list. Other names I've kind of heard there, Jay Woodcroft, Jay Leach, Dave Quinn, I think is one of the guys obviously there. DJ Smith, I think Dennis Bernstein of the fourth period reported that Smith had interviewed there and I kind of wonder if that's the team that we're talking about. Boston, Boston, I've heard they've interviewed about 15 guys.

I asked someone who do you think Boston's interviewed? And the response was, who haven't they interviewed? So as I've mentioned, Sturm, I assume Leach, I think Halpern and Blashill, I think they're also in on Mitch Love, Joe Sacco, but I think there's more and more. Seattle, I think Love and Sturm are on their list too, potentially Quinn, and I'd mention Don Granato too, you know, with the history with Baudrill. So I have no doubt there are names I am missing here, but those are some of the names I've heard out there in those particular situations.

Okay, very good. Lastly, the Ottawa Senators announced on Thursday you put this out there just over a week ago after they had parted ways with Ryan bonus but Matt Turick has been added to the hockey operations department he will run the Belleville Senators of course there are the ties with Steyos and Anlauer with the Hamilton slash Brantford Bulldogs also Sam Gagne was named to the organization as well. He will be the director of player development for the Senators organization. Yeah great stuff for Gagne. Very few people love hockey more than Sam Gagne, so I'm happy to see that he's still starting to carve out his new role in it.

Turek, well it's nice to know that on the pod we got one thing right, Kyle, because that was the name everybody was saying and it turned out to be right. Gagné took a brief spell with Belleville earlier this year too, Elliot. The young players are just raved about him. So you can imagine the impression he made within that group in a relatively short period of time and why they would want to have him stick around as he transitions to the next phase of his career. So congrats to Sam on that.

OK, just one game on the calendar tonight. And now we can never speak to him again because Steve Stales puts everybody in the cone of silence. One game on the schedule tonight, Elliott. Game six, Panthers Maple Leafs on the air at 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific. Did we talk about that on the pod at all? Yes, I think it came up just before we started going on about Edmonton and Vegas. Seven thirty Eastern, four thirty Pacific, the pregame show and eight Eastern. A little bit later, with it being the lone game on Friday, five Pacific on Sportsnet and CBC.

Maple Leafs try to keep their season alive. The Panthers. beliefs, try to keep their season alive. The Panthers trying to get back to another Eastern conference final for a third straight year. Enjoy the game. Enjoy the weekend. Elliot talk to you again on Monday.