Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Putting the Erik Karlsson trade in historical context!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Eric Carlson met with the media on Wednesday, and Pat and I are going to discuss our main takeaways from that press conference right after this. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-host, Patrick Dam. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodge. You can follow Pat on Twitter at Synonym for Wet.

Starting point is 00:00:42 You can also follow the shows Twitter at LO underscore Penguin. This episode is brought to you by Fandul Sportsbook, the official sportsbook of Lockdown. You can make every moment more. Visit fandul.com slash locked on today to get started. Of course, thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash first watch of the day. So continuing with Eric Carlson week, I promise everyone, we're going to be done with Eric Carlson at some point. But he spoke to the media earlier this week, was looking very first. fresh doing it.

Starting point is 00:01:10 It seemed pretty excited when I was watching that press conference. I just kind of seemed relieved that this was all done considering all the trade rumors surrounding him. I mean, this goes back to the season because there were teams interested in him like the Maple Leafs, as Deuba said during his press conference, his interest in Carlson goes back to his previous place of employment. The Oilers were also interested in him. They were maybe trying to do a deal by the deadline, but they got Ekholm from the Predators.

Starting point is 00:01:34 But he seemed relaxed. He seemed excited. He seemed rejuvenated. I mean, he kind of was more. rejuvenated, excuse me, last year because he stayed healthy and had a 100-point season after all the injuries. But that's really what I took away from that presser, someone who is excited, ready for a fresh start, and he's just trying to get the ultimate prize, which is a Stanley Cup. He's come close before, you know, as a member of the senators, when the Penguins knocked

Starting point is 00:01:58 them out in the Eastern Conference final. But, you know, he's won, basically everything else I feel like in the NHL except the Stanley Cup. Those were my main takeaways from his presser, though. Absolutely. And you can tell this is a guy who truly does believe that this Penguins team has one more championship running them before the big names hang them up. So I took that away from him talking to the media and just he just had a swagger about him. You know, Yohei wrote about it. And, you know, I was trying to put my finger on it. And I, you know, at this point, I might as well start paying royalties right to Yohei because I like reference his. work all the time. He's just that good. But when I

Starting point is 00:02:41 came back and watched his press conference, I was trying to figure out like something about it just felt different, felt good. And then Yo, he wrote what he wrote the next day. And it was the confidence in the swagger, the quiet confidence that Eric Carlson

Starting point is 00:02:58 has. Just we haven't seen something like that in a while in Pittsburgh. Just because Sidney Krosby's a hockey robot. Evgeny Malky the silly Russian guy and Chris LaTang has been the goofy heart throb all the way through. So to just kind of have that guy come in and know he's that good and, you know, kind of say it without being cocky or like a pro wrestler was just, it felt great to see.

Starting point is 00:03:25 He also seems like someone who is going to be a great fit in the locker room. I mean, I've seen him during his days in San Jose in Ottawa. He's a jokester. He can joke around with people. He can also be pretty serious. He's been a leader on both teams. I expect him to be a leader with the Penguins as well. Also downplayed the Brent Burns situation.

Starting point is 00:03:43 I think he was asked about that by one of the members of the media said that he's still good friends with Brent Burns. And people were wondering how that's going to play into Chris Lutane because he's now with two, well, he's with another number one defenseman, I should say. And he seemed excited about it. I mean, you get two world-class defensemen on this team. It's only going to mean better things. And we can talk about this in a second. And a couple people that watch the show and listen to it,

Starting point is 00:04:08 both DM to me or commenting on the YouTube channel, what this means for three on three overtime cannot be understated. And I don't think we've discussed that yet. I mean, it's just there is going to be so much speed and so much skill that if this team gets into three on three overtime, I mean, it might just be sensory overload for Sullivan because you got Latang and Carlson on the back end now.

Starting point is 00:04:33 You also have P.O. Joseph there. as well. And then up front, I mean, pick your friggin' poison. Crosby, Malkin, Raquel, Gensel when he's healthy, Rust, and just there's so many options right now that this team at three on three could come at you in waves. And it's hard to do that at three on three consistently because there's so much ice. It's such an effort at the end of a game. They're going to be able to open up three on three and win them quickly if they want to. And they need to be better at three on three this upcoming season. They were horrendous for most of the last season and overtime before.

Starting point is 00:05:13 It started to turn around down the stretch. They ended up using a couple new wrinkles, for example, putting Jeff Carter out to win the opening face off, which I guess worked a little bit, even though he would just come right off the ice. They were kind of being a little more patient towards the later stages of the season. But this is a team now that can do if they wanted, I'm just throwing darts out the wall here. Sydney Crosby, Jake Gensel, Eric Carlson to start off. I mean, good luck there. You can also do Crosby, Gensel and Latang. You could do Evgeny Malkin, Eric Carlson, Mercard Raquel. There are no shortage of options for the penguins in overtime. And with both of them available, Lettang and Carlson, that is, I expect them to dominate in overtime this season and hopefully not throw away so many points this upcoming season that they did this past season because, let's face it, their overtime struggle.

Starting point is 00:06:02 goals earlier in the season cost them a playoff spot at the end. 100%. And, you know, we can complain until we're blue in the face about the point system, the loser point, the way the playoffs and standings are formatted. But I always said this to players when I was a coach, like, listen, we can complain that we're not in the world that we want to be in or we can exist in the world as it is. And this is the world as it is. So you're still going to have a loser point.

Starting point is 00:06:34 You're still going to have three on three overtime. You're still going to have the stupid playoff wildcard format. So while we're here, we might as well maximize what we can do to maximize our chances. And the amount of points they left on the table due to overtime last year made a difference at the end of the season because it came down to the final week. They bank a few more points early and they're just going to be in the playoffs again. So this year, if they find themselves in three-on-three overtime, here we go. Like, you got a lot of combinations you can throw out there. So it should not be difficult to stack some more early points this year with this roster if you go to overtime.

Starting point is 00:07:13 Right. And heck, you know, you still get a point if you go there, but the extra point is just that much more important as well. You know, we just saw this past season as we discussed. Otherwise, during his press conference, did you notice anything that really stood out to you? I loved how he called Pittsburgh Hilly. He's already one of us already. Just need to take him to Permanis and have him get a Pittsburgher sandwich. He also needs to merge onto the parkway off Banksville Road.

Starting point is 00:07:37 That's, I think, one thing he also would need to learn to do as well if he lives out that way. But I don't really know what he's going to be living at this point. But, you know, you got all that stuff, potentially playing with Marcus Petters. And he said he doesn't know him that well yet, but I think that's going to change. He said he played with Alex Neelander's dad, which makes I think both of us feel really old. Yeah, you ain't kidding. And he said that, and I just like, I started looking up AARP memberships and like retirement homes in the area because good Lord. But, you know, you brought it up a little bit ago, one of the other takeaways that I had.

Starting point is 00:08:10 And this was also in an Ian Mendez piece earlier this week about Carlson's legacy constantly being tied back to Pittsburgh. But it wasn't really about that. It was just in general about himself. And he proved it again is that he's not a lot. he's not a lot like a normal NHL superstar where they get in front of the microphone, they spit out a bunch of cliches and then say, hey, thanks, guys, and walk away. He's going to tell you what he's thinking. He's going to give you a good answer.

Starting point is 00:08:37 And he's brutally honest. So when they brought up the Brent Burns thing, you know, he didn't just do the typical hockey player. Oh, no, no, no. That's nothing that, you know, we have a good relationship. He's like, yeah, no, I think that's overblown. You know, the two of us are good friends off the ice and the teams we were on, doing well and that leads to conflict and that's an obvious and true answer. So I like the fact that he's that he's open and honest.

Starting point is 00:09:03 You know, that's refreshing for people like you and I who cover the team and prognosticate on the team to actually have something to talk about. And going off that, he also didn't give that typical answer of saying, oh, yeah, the Penguins were the number one team that I was all about going into this process. He basically said, I didn't really have a full preference going into this. I mean, he knew that the teams, well, there weren't many. teams in on him just because of his contract and all that other stuff. But he was honest and said, like, yeah, I didn't have a full preference and not like some

Starting point is 00:09:32 of these other players will be like, oh, yeah, Penguins were always my number one choice, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, just because that's the cliche answer that I think a lot of other players give. So I know people will be, I guess, maybe a little weirded out about that, but I wasn't because I think it was brutally honest. Well, yeah, because it's like he said. He just said he was excited about the opportunity to go to somewhere that would be a team that can contend.

Starting point is 00:09:52 And after the way he spoke. about the penguins and the organization. It's true that he believes this is a contending team. Agreed. And it was just really nice seeing him talk to the media. That was when it really said it. It was like, okay, he's actually a penguin now. And no, he'll be doing that a lot this upcoming season.

Starting point is 00:10:11 Again, I expect him to be a leader in that locker room. But that does it for this first. I mean, coming up in a little bit, where does the Carlson trade rank in terms of trades in Penguins history? Pat and I are going to discuss that right after this. But before we get to that, we got to get into Fanduel. Football season is about to kick off. Heck, the Pittsburgh Steelers play their first preseason game tonight against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Starting point is 00:11:07 So we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am Hunter Hodes. That is Patrick Damp. It's no secret that this is definitely one of the best trades in franchise history. It's the biggest trade in franchise history with all the players that got sent out. Eric Carlson comes in. where do you rank it in terms of best trades in franchise history? Because I know it's hard.

Starting point is 00:11:28 We haven't seen him play yet. We got to see how he does. And I expect him to be awesome this upcoming season. And I think throughout this deal. But I think it's already up there as what? The best trade of this generation. Number two, number three. I mean, it's right up there with a Phil Kessel trade.

Starting point is 00:11:44 I think that's for sure. Yeah. You know, I think it's incomplete right now because we don't know what's going to happen. It's an offseason. trade for a new acquisition. I think in the context of where it is right now, I would put it in the same realm as the 92 trade that sent Recky to the Flyers and brought back Rick Tockeet, Shell Samuelson, because it's a culture shift trade right now because this team needed a jolt.

Starting point is 00:12:16 It needed a shot in the arm. They were, you know, last season, they were just, they were, they were, fail. They felt stuck. It just, it was a team that wasn't good enough to contend, wasn't bad enough to tank, just stuck right in the mushy middle. And the work that Dubus has done this off season has gotten them out of that and put them at the very least into playoff contention. So in that realm, I have it as one of those trades, because as I said to you, before we hit record, If you remember the Phil Kessel trade in 2015 that summer, at the start of the 15-16 season, it looked terrible. Thanks, Mike Johnson.

Starting point is 00:12:57 Not because of anything that they gave up or anything like that, just the system the team was playing, Phil Kessel wasn't a fit. That whole team was stuck in the mud. And, you know, then a few months later, Mike Sullivan comes in. They make a few other moves. Phil Kessel's a gigantic piece on a back-to-back championship run. So, you know, it all depends on the context. But, you know, as far as a team needing something to be done in this moment, great trade.

Starting point is 00:13:26 For sure. And I think especially if they do win the Stanley Cup. And I know it may be a little unlikely right now just because of the other teams above them, and not just the Eastern Conference, but the NHL. But if they do, it's got to go up there, potentially to number one, number two in franchise history. Even, you know, going over the Joe Mullen trade in the 90s. and especially the trade that got them, Ulf Samelson and Ron Francis.

Starting point is 00:13:50 That I think right now. Would you say that one is the best in franchise history right now? Because I would probably have it number one, even though I wasn't alive for it, but with the impact that the two players brought, I think it's number one. You know what I would say? I would say they're very close

Starting point is 00:14:09 in the sense that both of them are just absolute heists in that what you got back. is not even close to what you sent out. Like, if you look at both of these trades, the penguins made off like bandits. Ron, Francis, and Alph Samuelson were two of the most key players to them winning their first two Stanley Cups.

Starting point is 00:14:30 Like, every highlight real is something of, like in 1992, Mary Lou Amue goes down against the Rangers, and Ron Francis turns into a juggernaut in his place. They don't win the 92 Stanley Cup without Ron Francis. Like you can say what you want about Yarmir Yager, the rookie or his second year. But no, like Ron Francis was the reason they wanted 92. And then this trade, what did they really give up other than some draft capital to bring in arguably one of the best defensemen, if not the top five defensemen in the NHL right now?

Starting point is 00:15:10 And not to mention, it's an era where the economics are much different. There's a salary cap. Like trades like this don't happen in the NHL anymore. And Kyle Dubas and the Penguins just went out and did it. Right. And again, we're both super excited for it. If it fully works out and they go on a run and they win the Stanley Cup, I mean, this is probably going to be talked about as one of the heists of the century,

Starting point is 00:15:34 to be honest. And, you know, I'd also put it up there with the Marion Hosa trade in 2008. That was also a total fleece by the Penguins at the time. I know COSA wasn't there for. for that long, but with how that really got the city going with how good Hosa was in those playoffs, that's also up there as one of the best trades in Penguins history. I don't know, man, it's up there right now, but I think it has the chance to be number one, but when it's all said and done.

Starting point is 00:15:59 It's definitely going to be up there. And as for the Hosa trade, like that was just, I mean, Atlanta was so poorly run at that time that they were just, they needed to get everything and anything they could for a guy like Marion Hosa because he was just way too good on a team that was going nowhere. So again, similar to what you're saying, it was a heist because Penguins sent Colby Armstrong and Eric Christensen for Marion Hosa and Pascal DePui, and I'm sure there were other assets involved. But again, just what you got back, not consummate to what you sent out.

Starting point is 00:16:38 So, you know, that's something we could say as a theme here. When the penguins make their best trades in history, they're getting a whole heck of a lot more back than they are sending out. So another great example of it. And I think you're right. If they win the Stanley Cup, we got to put it in probably the top three, maybe top five, depending on how we do that this off season after we're celebrating the cup. What trade it's going to be. Right. And if you want an underrated trade in there, it's not one of the best in franchise history, but maybe you can make an argument that it is.

Starting point is 00:17:08 I don't think it is personally, but the Chris Koonitz one when. Oh, yeah. When Ryan Whitney goes out, that poor. He'll never stop talking about that one. I mean, you know, we're kind of, what we're doing here is we're kind of getting into a different type of trades. And I'll wrap this up quick, so we're not doing this forever, is like, you know, there's trades for need in trades to improve. And then there's trades for culture. You know, I think, you know, we talked about it a while back on this show.

Starting point is 00:17:38 the James Neal for Patrick Hornquist trade. You traded a 40 goal score for a guy who's going to get you 25, maybe 30 on a great year. But it just changes the culture of your locker room and your roster. And it was so needed at that time. Right. And obviously, Kunis came to Pittsburgh was awesome. And I know Witt is going to be forever salty just because the Penguins won the Stanley Cup that year. But it was a super underweighted trade during this year.

Starting point is 00:18:08 era and you said it best. It had to be done. But I'm really curious to see how this trade ages. Hey, if we're celebrating here next June, man, this is going to be a lot of fun. I'll say that. But that wraps up this segment. Coming up to end the show, the QMJHL banned fighting from its league on Thursday. Pat and I'm going to give our thoughts on that and whether the NHL could follow suit at some points to stick around for that coming up right after this. Welcome back to the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of the co-hosts Patrick Damp, as always alongside Hunter Hodes. We thank you for making this your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:18:50 And as we said before we played the last ad, we're going to talk about a big change in junior hockey in that the Quebec major junior hockey league has officially banned fighting for this upcoming season. and it's pretty much a no tolerance ban. Anybody that gets in a fight is getting ejected, any instigator is going to get an automatic one game suspension, and players involved in multiple fights will get automatic suspensions beginning right after the fight. So, you know, in my opinion, I think this is where hockey's going. And I know a lot of people are going to hear this in panic.

Starting point is 00:19:30 So I want to give two quick caveats before we get into discussion to the discussion. One, you're never getting contact out of hockey. It's too fast of a sport. It's too unique of a thing to the game that it's never going anywhere. And two, we have seen what fighting does. We have learned what fighting does. And as much as I will go complete caveman brain when I see a fight and watch fights on

Starting point is 00:19:55 YouTube and all of that, it's a conflicting thing because we know how dangerous they are now. and we have come to learn in the modern era that rare is it that a fight actually swings momentum. Can it happen? Absolutely. But more often than not, it's just a piece of entertainment for the people in the building and detrimental to the health of the combatants. So, you know, I like this idea. I don't know if the NHL is going to follow suit. But overall, I'm on the record as saying, you know what, it's not a necessary

Starting point is 00:20:31 part of the sport anymore, so we might as well leave it in the past. I may also get ratioed for this take, but I agree with you with that. Heck, but I'll say this. There was a time where, I mean, I loved fighting in the league. I mean, I was a little kid, even in my early teenage years when, you know, I saw Brent Johnson knockout Rick D. Pietro. I was like, oh, yeah, this is so freaking awesome. Or I saw Aaron Ashum knock out Jay Beagle and did this motion and then he did the sleep sign because

Starting point is 00:21:00 That was awesome. And then you see, I think it was during the playoff series against the Flyers. Aaron Ashtam just cross-checked Braden Shann after that massive hit on Paul Martin. And I remember being at my dad's house just going crazy as a 14-year-old kid. And, you know, even the big brawl between the Penguins and the Flyers when Dan Bousma and Peter Lobilette are barking on the bench and got that whole line brawl. Wayne Simmons, I think is fighting Derek England and got all the Aaron Ashum is fighting someone as well. I loved it at the time. but as I got older, as I familiarized myself with a concussion lawsuit and all this other stuff,

Starting point is 00:21:33 I just kind of fell out of love with it. And right now, with how much skill there is in the league, I think right now, Pat, there's probably not been more skill in the league than ever before. I would say that, to be honest. Yeah. And part of that is kind of games like sports like hockey and just sports in general. Always go in booms and busts, right? Like you look at, you know, like you said during the Fandul ad, this is the first

Starting point is 00:22:05 preseason game for the Steelers tonight, right? Last 10 or so years, it's been air raid offense, right? Everybody's passing. It's all about the quarterback. Now look at the way the game is trending in the NFL. It's a lot more run heavy, a lot more defense heavy. You look at hockey, you know, 70s and 80s, speed and skill and scoring, 1990s, big physical defensemen.

Starting point is 00:22:27 to counter all that speed and skill. Now that the NHL is kind of coming out of that, you have to be more than just a big physical person. So in that era, you know, fighting served a little bit of a purpose, but nowadays with the way players are trained and developed where it's about you need to be a multi-skilled player. You can't just be a big defenseman who hits. You can't just be a forward who agitates.

Starting point is 00:22:51 You got to be able to move. You got to be quick. You got to have some skill. You got to be able to chip in goals. Otherwise, the game leaves you behind. So if you're just an enforcer who plays four minutes a night, goes out, punches another puncher, you don't have much value. And like we talked about in the last segment with trades,

Starting point is 00:23:11 every dollar counts now in the NHL. And if you're not bringing a positive value, you are a negative asset to that team. And you don't even really see the enforcers in today's game. I mean, you have, I mean, if you want to call him one, Ryan Reeves, but he's just a big guy who, hits. But in terms of guys their sole purpose is to go out there and fight, you don't really see that that much anymore. And just what you just said kind of is where I was going with the situation.

Starting point is 00:23:38 Because sure, I understand what people are saying. You've got to answer the bell when someone decapitates you and they're laying on the ice and that. I get where you're coming from with that. And I understand that change is scary when it comes to hockey because fighting is what brings in a lot of casual fans. Like you don't really see it in a lot of these other sports. So I, I understand that. But with how less of fighting you see in today's game, it's understandable that a league such as this one is going to get rid of it. And I do think at some point in our generation or in our lifetime,

Starting point is 00:24:11 the NHL is going to get rid of it. I don't think it's going to be in the next five years, five to seven, but what, 15, 20 years down the line, I could definitely see it just with the way the league is trending with all the speed and skill. I always say this when it comes to fighting. out if you if someone lays a dirty hit on one of your players and we've seen that with a penguins numerous times over the years we just saw it with jacob truba in last year's playoffs and i know people were so upset that no one went after him i get it but my thing with that is the best way

Starting point is 00:24:44 to beat someone like that you win the series you win the game you shake their hand in the handshake line and you just laugh at them like oh yeah what you just did was stupid we still kicked your butts. And that's how I think you combat something like that. Again, I know people are going to disagree with me on that. They're going to say, well, you're soft and all this other, I get it. People have opinions. Hockey's been fighting has been in hockey for a very long time. Oh, I've got a bunch of opinions right now. What do you say? I've got a bunch of opinions right now. No, I'm going to give it over to you just a second. But that's just how I feel about it in the league. And I just, I've really soured on it because, again, I used to love it as a kid. But then again, as I got old,

Starting point is 00:25:24 and as I just saw that fights really wouldn't solve anything. And I mean, sure, it kind of did in the 2009 Penguins Fire series when Max Talbot fought Daniel Carcelo. That definitely, I think, was one of the times where it energized the penguins. They came back and won that game from three nothing down. But that was also 14 years ago. In today's game, when you see a fight, how often does a team get energized by that? It's not a hot take to say that it's not that often anymore?

Starting point is 00:25:50 No. And listen, to build on what you said about the best revenge, is winning. I know it wasn't, it wasn't the NHL, it wasn't the NCAA, but when I was in high school and college, I'm a small guy. So you know what I was? An agitator.

Starting point is 00:26:10 And the thing that got me off my game more than anything else was silence. If I could not get to you, or did it make me upset? Because my whole job was to knock you off your game. If you just ignored me, oh, I hated it. Now, here's the other thing to what you said about answering the bell. I get it. I do.

Starting point is 00:26:34 But this is a self-perpetuating problem because the NHL does not enforce its own rules. Right. The Department of Player Safety is redundant because they don't keep the players safe. And the officiating is terrible now. Because think about it this way, right? 70s and 80s and even a little bit into the 90s, bench clearing brawls happened all the time. Like, it was like clockwork.

Starting point is 00:27:00 As soon as the NHL said, the first person to step off the bench for a bench clearing brawl, 10 game suspension. That's 10 games you don't get to play. And it stopped. So the way I look at this is if you actually want to police the game, allow the officials to police the game. You throw a dirty hit.

Starting point is 00:27:20 there's a door. We'll review it after. And if we find out, hey, you know, it wasn't dirty, you're not going to be suspended. All you get your game is conduct, that's fine. But taking away players' salaries and taking away their ability to play in games is going to deter them much more than, oh, look, big puncher came out and punched me. So I'm with you, too. Like, nobody worry about this. One, if you still enjoy fighting, I'm not looking down on you. I am a Let people enjoy things kind of guy. Absolutely. But if fighting's your thing, God bless you.

Starting point is 00:27:56 Go enjoy it. God knows I will too. But also, I'm with you. Don't set your hair on fire. This ain't going to happen tomorrow. It's not going to happen in five years. It's probably going to happen in a decade because there's still a lot of older people relatively involved with the league.

Starting point is 00:28:10 So I think one day we get there. I think one day we should get there. But you never know. There's no league better at getting in its own way than the national hockey league. I mean, it's going to have to take a new commissioner to come into the NHL to probably ban fighting. And I'm still the opinion that I want the NHL to have the same rule as the I-IHF with headshots, where you basically, you're out if you have a headshot. And the NHL doesn't have that kind of rule.

Starting point is 00:28:38 And to do a degree I get it because there's so many, you know, angles that you can look at it and different takes you can have and all that stuff. And also, I agree with you on this statement as well. If you like fighting, and I'm not going to look down on you. I mean, it's part of the game right now. It's going to be part of the game for a long time. I think we're just at the point now, though, where, again, it doesn't make as big of an impact as it used to.

Starting point is 00:29:03 I will say there was a time where it used to. And I know fans go crazy about it in arenas. You see it on social media. But I think I've just come to the point now where I see a penguin player get into a fight. And I'm like, please, gone. do not get hurt or break your hand for a month or something like that. Exactly. I mean, every hockey fan for the most part is guilty of this.

Starting point is 00:29:26 At one point or another, you had HockeyFights.com bookmarked. Yes. I mean, when I was a kid, I used to look up old Cindy Crosby fights because, I mean, he didn't really fight that much, but he still did at times. Heck, even a few years ago, I liked when Cindy Crosby finally had enough of Brandon Dubinsky. And that was at the time where I was kind of just annoyed by fighting. But I was like, okay, this is a time where I actually liked it because Dubinsky had just been going at him all the time over the course of several years.

Starting point is 00:29:55 I was like, okay, good. I'm glad to say it had enough. I don't want him doing that most games because I don't want him to get hurt. But it was like, okay, that's maybe one or two percent of the time where I'm like, okay, fighting is good for a situation like that. Yep. If you have any other things you want to say about fighting in the league today, the floor is yours. No, I think we got it all out. It's, it's, this is where all, this is how I'll punctuate it.

Starting point is 00:30:20 It's a very complicated and complex issue for many reasons. Health, culture, entertainment, revenue, you name it. It's very difficult to solve. So we're never going to get to a consensus on it, at least not anytime soon. So for you fight lovers out there, and trust me, when I'm there in person, I love it too. It's not going anywhere yet. Agreed. And as thing I'll say, last thing I want to see ever again is that awful Penguins Islanders brawl after the DPA-H-O fight when you had Trevor Gillies and a bunch of goons that they called out from their AHL team running around and just making it fight night on the island game.

Starting point is 00:30:59 It's probably one of the most embarrassing games I've ever watched in my life and I never want to see anything like that ever again in the N-A-Dry, to be honest. But that will do it for this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for listening to slash watching this one. Pat and I will be back with another episode for you all on Monday. And yes, this was all Eric Carlson Week. Eric Carlson Week will be done after this. We'll have brand new topics to discuss for the Monday show. Hope you all have a great weekend and we'll talk to you all then.

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