Sweep Sweep

Think of what this kids going through and what a year it has been No rookie goaltender this year had more wins than he did with 29 and He's about To win another playoff game and he's smiling smile A fan had a stop sign with Dolby's audit yeah, and this building came to its feet Welcome to 32 thoughts the podcast presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and the 2026 Tacoma get yours before red tag days are over Dom Elliott and Kyle back with you Elliott You and I are in Montreal where it was Mother's Day Madness on Sunday night game three between the Canadians and the Sabres It was a wild one the Canadians a big win to go up two games to one Lindy Ruff said in the morning He would love to shut the crowd down by getting one early. They got that taged Thompson 53 seconds into the game But what was amazing Elliott and watching? How the night ended the love affair between Yakub Dobish and the Montreal faithful that continues to grow He seems like a guy that's checking all the boxes for someone who the city remembers for a long time plays with emotion Doesn't back down from anyone and he flat out wins hockey games. What a scene here on Sunday Incredible scene first of all hope all the mothers out there had an awesome Mother's Day a special Day where they were treated and felt like the goddesses They are and for all of us that come from mothers or are partnered with mothers I hope you all took care of them and Made them feel like the goddesses they are it is their day and boy Do they deserve it because a lot of us have made them crazy throughout the years? it was a fantastic night and You know, I have to say Kyle Even when Buffalo scored that early goal. I didn't think Montreal was in trouble I agreed with Lindy Ruff. I agree with you Buffalo had to score early, but I think the Montreal crowd The way the Canadians have consistently battled and come back this year. I didn't think they were rattled I don't think they took the air out of the building. They were like well that sucks But there's still 59 minutes to play and I think the Canadians have proven That especially after that first round series against Tampa and the kind of series it was that they can take a punch and recover now I am going to give everybody here some advice. Okay? It's free free advice. Take it If you can get a chance to watch Lane Hudson play Go see it Spend the money on the ticket Go watch him TV does not do this guy justice Of course We do an elite production job at the NHL and Sportsnet and hockey night in Canada, of course But still it does not do justice to go see this guy play the keep-in he made on the first power play that led to a goal just All the little plays he makes you have to go to a game and spend the game Watching him to really appreciate How good this guy is now this year it was a brutal year for the Norris. I'll be honest He did not make my final five, but I can tell you this this might be the last year for 10 years He doesn't make it and I'm making this prediction right now Kyle right now He is going to win multiple Norris trophies Not just one and maybe not just two. He is going to win multiple Norris's So first of all, do you disagree with anything I have said? Not in the least Good then you can continue as the co-host of this podcast Not six could be seven could be seven There's a famous quote the first year Bobby or showed up the Norris winner was Harry Howell and After he wanted how was a great defenseman Hall of Famer played for the Rangers He said I'm glad I won it this year because or might win it for the next ten years and he was pretty much right Good yeah, how was not wrong about that. I don't think that'll happen, but he's gonna win a couple Can I can I tell a quick Hudson story here before you continue? so his first ever game in the NHL at the end of the season in Detroit and We were doing the game was a Monday night when we still did the Monday night games Alex Lyon actually told the story the other day because he was playing for the the Red Wings at that time and So he remembers before the game, you know going over video They're like, all right Montreal's got this kid Hudson playing his first game like dump it into his corner Just pressure and pressure and pressure and go out on you know like his first game the NHL He's gonna be nervous and I guess after the first center, you know first period guys are going out of and he's you know Shifty around the ice. We'll walk it around guys first submission. They get back in the room and they're like, yeah Maybe maybe we don't pressure him that hard maybe just just try to contain maybe contains the move here He let's not go right at him. He seems to be okay with that Excellent that is a that's a great story outstanding story Excellent, so one thing about Hudson was I spoke to him after the game quickly I was with David Amber and we waited till his scrum ended and then we spoke to him And I said, okay, you're back in the film room like that thing we did before the playoffs with the lightning. I said, what are you thinking on that? Caught field goal and Kyle this kid's brain is elite like and not only not only is his brain elite but the way he explains it to morons like myself is elite So he says that Greenway was coming at him and he says if Greenway lunges at him He shoots the pot between his legs. That's what he's going to do But because Greenway slides he knows now he can take the pot past him and skate closer and make a play and I said, did you always see Caught field and he goes actually first? I saw Demodov. I Saw Demodov there and then I saw Caught field. So just think about this like I know it's a power play So it's five on four, but he's still doing this at great speed and think of how quickly he's processing all these decisions Okay, Greenway is gonna launch. Oh, no, he didn't lunch. He slid so I'm switching from this plant to this plant Oh, there's Demodov. No wait, there's Caught field and he makes a perfect play and Caught field puts it in like this kids brain He's like Einstein. It should be preserved in a jar just for a billion years and I said to him, you know, I understand you don't want to give away all this stuff all the time But you should be doing YouTube videos of what you're thinking so kids can understand How you do this and then I looked at Amber and I said you are far smarter than Dave and I put together He liked that. He thought that was funny, but it's just I Love watching him play. I think everybody should go watch and play and the thing I also really do appreciate it about him Kyle's it when the game's over if we if someone asks him What are you thinking? He'll tell you it's he's really incredible. He really is Yeah, and it was the same thing like after he scored his overtime goal against Tampa last round talking to him the next day and Similar just getting the breakdown of like how on earth did you see an open there? Because remember there was that great free string where it looked like there was 30 people in between him and Andre Vasilevski And somehow yes, the shot gets through clean Just a marvel and again like you think about as big as that play was Elliott in the moment I mean that's in the second period That's one of six billion plays that Hudson makes here on Sunday night And then for him to be standing in the dressing room afterwards and you ask him and he goes like his mind is right back there like Frame by frame taking you through what he saw from his perspective there. It's it's it is fascinating I mean even just little things For any player it still blows me away when you know the the interview and the intermission of you know Take us through what you saw on your goal and the things that he that they can recall there You know minds at a different level and and Lane Hudson is in a class of his own He was tremendous here on Sunday It's it's really been been something to to watch because you can tell this is a guy and you've heard stories about him all the way through I mean he wears Anything that could be perceived as a mistake or when the team's not doing well He wears all of it even if none of it has to do with him It's just the exact type of brain the type of engine that I mean teams are That was searching for for years to try to find that contract to That contract is going to age Supremely, you know when you look at this series Kyle, there's just more players in Montreal Contributing than there are in Buffalo. It's it's that simple three There's no other way to explain it You know Thompson got a goal That definitely helped You know, I was chatting with someone during the day and they were thinking They were wondering if they're gonna have to break up Benson and don't Buffalo Because those two guys have been really good. They've been two of their best players But you almost you're almost thinking if you're the savers you might need to put them on different lines Just to get more guys going now. I don't know that they'll do that, but it was an interesting idea somebody threw at me You know there was people were wondering where they're gonna take out lion I thought lion really battled I don't look at this as being his foley One of the goals was just a brutal back check by some of the sabers best players They they gave up on the play and Montreal just buried them the only reason I thought they might take lion out Is the sabers had big success when they put him back in in game two of the first series to get that third period And then lion went on a tear I Wondered if they would put Luke in and in for the third period just to get him ready for the possibility of starting game four But part of me and and linear off really defended line in the post game, which I liked No, I didn't even entertain the question didn't even entertain the question But part of me wondered if rough just was looking at the way his team was playing and saying I don't want to scapegoat him with this But it'll be interesting to see what they do in game four I mean everybody knows how this podcast feels about lion, but I'm kind of wondering if we see a couple of changes I wonder if met so plays on defense But to me that the difference is if if you were to look at which team You were to count up the 18 skaters on the sabers and the 18 skaters on the Canadians and said how many of them are contributing You would you would definitely go much deeper into the Montreal lineup there Sabers just aren't getting a lot of help and you're right Dobish who is a very emotional guy like our pregame interview for game four is on Dobish we taped it between games one and two and Buffalo and You know one of the things I talked about was we would we would just talk about his mental approach You know the say the Canadians are still very careful about what they exposed Dobish to and We so we talked about his mental approach and he was really good You know there were a few things he talked about that I thought were really fantastic And he told us about some of the things he does And I'm looking forward to that piece. I think it is a chance to be really good But he really rides the wave like the emote he feeds off the emotion and And you could really see it. He made some huge saves when that game was still a game And you know it was four two at one point It was it was an uphill climb for the sabers, but it wasn't guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination I thought he was I thought he was really really good and The sabers just have to match this that is the difference There's just not enough of them going No, take Thompson said after the fact it's you know, it's urgency without panic for them moving ahead and to your point about Getting more out of Montreal throughout the lineup compared to the sabers I mean Joe Valeno gets the the wolf head after words in the dressing room is their own player of the game I think it tells you a lot about who they've got contributing and and from all the the different facets and St. Louis thought that they're not just Caulfield But all the top offensive guys looked a little more like themselves the two games down in Buffalo And then you know Caulfield gets one here on Sunday Slavkovsky gets his first since game one against Tampa Both on the power play mind you but they all count the same on the the scoreboard Canadians back-to-back wins for the first time in these playoffs Yeah, that's a crazy stat too to be in the second round and don't have one Couple of the nodes from this game got nasty really got nasty Malenstein was lucky he didn't get a major for that hit on Dobish, you know He went in there gas no breaks. Yeah, he went in there with intent And I thought there was a difference between what happened at that end and then what happened at the other end when Valeno collided with Lion I don't think the two things were the same at all Josh Norris threw some punches at a Canadian who was tied up and then jack I decked Carrick at the end of that game that was that was message-sending time at the end of that game late in that game and I wasn't surprised at all it turned like that There were a couple of interesting moments just around it Kyle At the beginning of the game when Kirk Muller came in with the torch Everybody in the building was standing except for two people who are in the row right in front of where Dave and mine set is located and The funniest thing is I realized that the only two people who were not standing in the building were Paul and Carolyn Flynn Whose son Josh is the assistant general manager of the Buffalo Sabres So I kind of understood why they were not standing while everybody else was but it was kind of funny I was like who are those two people not standing? Oh, okay now a problem What's their problem now? I know what it was it was it was pretty funny so we interviewed Kirk Muller in the first intermission he was the torch bearer coming in and Kirk Muller had a friend of his Named Pat Murphy there with me drove with him in from Kingston for the game Mother by the way has six grandkids now. I was like you look terrific. He goes. That's because I'm chasing all my grandkids around but The but his friends name was Pat Murphy and he was wearing a Kirk Muller jersey I was like nice and he goes look and he lifted up his Kirk Muller jersey to reveal Another Kirk Muller jersey. I was like what? I was like what what is this? He says Yes, this is my current team Kirk Muller jersey underneath. It is my 1993 Kirk Muller jersey so he was wearing both Kirk Muller jerseys But he doesn't want the 93 one to get stained or damaged in any way. Oh My gosh, that's that's like Lloyd on dumb and dumber. You're why don't you take my extra set of gloves my hands are starting to get sweaty It was a little I couldn't stop laughing That's exactly and then did you see at the game tonight was Olivier Rue? Yes, I was gonna ask you if you saw him. I mean we saw him. It's a no you can't miss him So for those of you who don't know who that is Rue is a seven foot nine center the tallest player in NCAA College basketball history he played for Florida last year although he is transferring and He was at the game on Sunday night wearing a Lane Hudson Jersey and we were wondering just how that jersey would actually look on Lane Hudson because Rue is a big man But it was just it was it was really fascinating just to see him at the game like we were walking by him as he was sitting in the media room eating dinner before the game and People were doing double and triple takes even while he was just sitting down But you know he's transferred from Florida. He's in the portal and I wish him the best spoke to him briefly seemed like a really nice kid but just added to the overall atmosphere of the game, but I Think obviously Buffalo was reeling. I hesitate to say this is over. It's only two to one But more Sabres players have to be involved. They just need more of a Contribution from more guys So I happen to see Rue just After the game was over. He was down in one of the the media work rooms and it's Elliott like he was Get his knees bent just to keep his head from hitting the ceiling Like it was a big man. It's it was unbelievable to see in in person It's fascinating That was it should have known Hudson was having a big night when you saw the biggest man in the building wearing number 48 It was a good omen for the the Canadians and and yeah the Basketball player that grew up just outside of Montreal good stuff also by the way Kyle in this game I was hoping you were gonna interview Kirby doc Because I had a story for you Okay, what was it so I asked Kirby doc Okay, if you do anything tonight, what's your mother's name? And he goes Hillary And I go will she be here tonight? And he goes. Oh, yeah My mother's here my dad's here named a couple of other people he says my sister's here boyfriend And he goes but Colton's not here. I go Colton's not here. Why is he not here? Because he had to stay home and take care of the dog. I Like what he goes. Oh, yeah, he'd rather do that anyway You he was he was joking early in the playoffs like in the first round the others are still in that You know normally they would text each other throughout the year, but the younger brother was leaving him on red That guy doesn't respond to me. I hear you. I've got a younger brother, too, but no I give his parents Hillary and Dale like Again back on the first round I think they watch the first two or their games in Edmonton took a red eye to Montreal the day of game 3 here against Tampa's Day for 3 and 4 and then went back to Edmonton and ink for game 5 They've logged a few air miles and these Playoffs already following their two boys around and now with Kirby still playing with Montreal back to Montreal. They came Love parents like that. Just love parents like that. How about the Newhawks tonight? Yeah, you couldn't have drawn that up any better Heartbreaking for all me and the and the Boston fleets. I mean Jesus just the last Moment killer and game number three against the Ottawa charge and then double overtime To end their season on Sunday because I think the plan was Whether it was the whole team or Abby one way or another after game 4 of their playoff series in the PWHL Because it was an afternoon game Sunday. Yeah, she was gonna try to get to Montreal for at least like maybe the third period of The Canadians game on on Sunday night I would of course, you know double overtime eliminates that opportunity and then they lose and their seasons over so Changes the five completely but other than that It was a great setup having Alex's mom on with you and Dave in the pregame show and then two more goals for New hook in the game. He's on fire. He's on fire But we should also shout out Renault Levoix who was not allowed to work by his doctors but was at the game and and he got a big ovation in the media room at the end of the game and He was telling me just the amount of people who called them Just to make sure he was okay and you know There's a lot of great people in this sport That's his story to tell about who called but he was really blown away and there's a lot of great people in the sport Nice, it was great to see him Okay, so that was the story in Montreal Early on Sunday evening late Sunday evening out in Anaheim The ducks have even their series with the Vegas Golden Knights all square at two No mark stone in this one for Vegas Mason McTavish did draw back into the lineup for Anaheim Alex Culloran thought, you know after they won game two on the road that maybe their group was guilty of getting a little comfortable Thinking that maybe things were gonna come easy. It was a humbling result for them Back at home in game number three But another impressive response I don't know if we can say that they're like the Montreal Canadians of the West but they're another young team that is learning and figuring things out in the most high pressure of circumstances of the year and All square with Vegas and full value for it through four games of this series Yeah, great game and you know both teams made changes Vegas made one they had to unwillingly Markstone out due to injury and we won't know how long that is. Hopefully it's not long I hate injuries in the playoffs and as you mentioned Mason McTavish returned as did Olin Zellweger who got a chance to play they changed their bottom pair that Ian Moore who had a great series is a forward against the Oilers played defense was Zellweger in this one and You know, I'm not surprised that Vegas kind of wasn't the same without stone there This was one that I saw the shots. I guess at some time in the second period. They were like 15 to 10 I was like, oh one of these games again but You know stone obviously is is a huge huge loss If they don't have him, I think the one thing for Vegas and again, we've talked about this a lot with Vegas You the later the longer the series goes on the better you expect them to get I think if there's one thing you're looking at this You're hoping is your silver lining is that hurdle scored late, right? and yeah, and you're just hoping that he Comes out and and that gives him something and maybe he goes on a bit of a tear here because You could see they they moved Dora Fiav up to the top line and he's dangerous He scored on the power play, but I I just don't know that Vegas creates enough offense that they could withstand stone being out for a long time Anytime you lose a top player like that. You're really gonna struggle, but Vegas I think especially for them He is so so important for them and I just didn't think Vegas was as dangerous as they usually can be and You know, I would I would the amount of this one that I watched I did get to Watch a good chunk of it. I think is as Caloran kind of said I you know You're worried will the ducks crumble after the way they got embarrassed in game three and they most certainly did not You know, I thought they were pretty good. I thought they were very deserving of of the victory and Again though as I've said if you're them you have to watch for Vegas to Get better as it goes on. This is also the second time in the playoffs Kyle that Quinville could have made a change in goal if you wanted to he could have gone away from Dostal and gone to Huso And he hasn't he stuck with Dostal and this is the second time that he has validated Quinville's decision. So it's a good sign for them I hate to pick against Vegas Vegas is kind of like to me that Freddy Kruger slash Jason Voorhees move Michael Myers movie villain that you don't believe is dead until they're actually dead You keep thinking they'll come back to life. So even though it's two-two and lost I don't panic about them, but I'll be honest. I I don't like them as much without stone. I Creating offense really is harder for them without him No, I mean if there's one silver lining is you know, how quickly William Carlson seemingly is gotten up to speed here. I'm glad you mentioned him I forgot to mention him. He took that one hit he took from Truba like you're thinking about a guy who's been out over half the season and He knows that Truba is about to kill him as he sets up that goal That's that's a big guts play you're right. Thank you for reminding me about him I'm annoyed that I forgot to do that myself Well, that's what teammates do we pick each other up? Yeah when when it fits But yeah, him with with howden and Marner like they again were we're making stuff happen For Vegas, you know as they were in game three, of course Marner had the big night then But but they are going And then beyond that to your point alley at the the challenge for for Vegas as if they're still gonna Have to go on without mark stone if that is in fact the case Tricky one for them to try to dance around there as as they head back home for game five Can I say something that is guaranteed to end badly for me? Yes, yeah, you've got a good track record of this. I am so tired of the Marner discourse What and what do you mean in what he's gone can we just stop talking about him in Toronto Well, I was probably never gonna change but the guy I mean I Can't not talk about the fact that he's playing well No, I know that it's just Every conversation about this guy first of all he's playing really well like that's not what I'm disputing here Just every conversation about this guy turns into discourse about How he left Toronto it's over It's it's gone Like everybody could we please move on with our lives here Yeah, but that now you're asking for Rational sensible thinking here and that's what that's not what this is about. That's true You're right about that. So one of my leaf loving buddies Was complaining and whining to me about the hat trick he got in game three And I said if you don't stop this, you know what I'm gonna do and he said what's that? I said to him Should the NHL Give me a vote for the cons my throat he has playoff MVP if you don't stop wanting about Marner I'm gonna vote for him first Even if they lose the series to the ducks So could you imagine Vegas is out two rounds somebody else wins the Stanley Cup Now the improvements cons my smoke cons my vote one Marner what yeah, I'm just trying to prove a point To some people who won't let it go in Toronto Yes, and I need some people just buddies of mine But it's everywhere. It's all over my feed. This is well I'm gonna have to mute the phrase Marner on social Well, I'll just say so one of the questions coming up in the thought line it has to do with Voting around a war. Oh, I'll just say that I hope They think of including a policy in their language when it comes to those that vote on these awards Do not vote out of spite It's not even spite against Marner it's my friend. Yeah, that's even worse Maybe not worse as bad. Oh my god. Can we please move on from this? Hmm, please I beg you all All right, we'll see how that what kind of deaf ears that falls on good luck Okay, well good on anaheim they had to respond and they did and that one Deadlocked at two games apiece headed back to Vegas Meanwhile two games on Saturday night included the Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild So you talked about quenville sticking with those style John Heinz stuck with yes for wall step and Proved to be the right call You had a number of their players saying in the post game like that was that was how we play that was wild hockey Has given them life a 5-1 victory against the Avalanche Colorado's first loss to the playoffs and Have gotten their foot back in the door of the series It was interesting hearing Marcus Felino in the post game reading his quotes saying we were a bit soft in the first two games of The series if reporters calls a team soft we get our eyes clawed out, but it's okay if Marcus Felino does it legitimately And now you got to do it three more times at least Kyle You know you may have to do it even more than that you may have to do it five more times you can't sit here and say all right we played one great game and Expect to win the series they're gonna do that again and again and again and again And and one of the things that first of all I thought wall step was great But secondly Kyle I thought also for one of the first times all playoffs The wild one the special teams battle like their their penalty kill has not been good Dallas Let them up in round one Colorado was off to a good start in round two That has to stay the way that was they can't go backwards on that like that is a certain way to lose the series and You know I think obviously game four is gonna be a massive game We'll see if Eric's neck comes back. We'll see if Josh Manson comes back. We've got some injured guys here That could have an outcome on the series But you know the Colorado's level is gonna rise now Minnesota's has to keep it there and I Think the other one here is I am really curious the way Mackenzie Blackwood. I give Blackwood credit He came in it was Not a situation where you expected him to win, but I thought he was pretty sharp Kyle and He gave Jared Bednar something to think about and It's tough when you go seven and oh and you get pulled and now people are talking about okay time to go to the other guy But the way blackwood finished that game. I actually do wonder if they're gonna go to the other guy Right cuz I mean it had kind of you looked at him as having the inside track as as the guy over most of the season But Wedgwood had performed of course so well down the stretch and ends up being the starter going into the playoffs I wonder you know if at the outset that conversation has had with with Blackwood We were saying you know at some point here. We're gonna need you just just stay ready And and does that time come in game number four on on Monday? It's it's an interesting one And it sounds like he's got a few decisions to make here, you know be at Josh Manson Be it's you know a kiwi Ranta. It looks like he can be an option Health-wise if he wants to put him in and just in general Is there a shakeup that that he wants to bednar speaking of to try to make to give Colorado a boost? Of course, they've been going so so well But it's a bit of a wall in game three against the wild So there's there's some questions there for for bednar, but you know him He is as honest with about any question you could throw at him He will give you something straight line-ups. However, he likes to keep close to his vest like every coach He actually had a pretty interesting line. I thought on Sunday. I was watching his press conference He said something along the lines of I will never tell you anything. I haven't already told my team So it's pretty obvious He's pretty blunt with his team as most good coaches are because you can be pretty blunt publicly too The the one thing I wonder about Wedgewood is again. He's a guy who hasn't played like a ton of the games like this in a row So just like wall stat, Minnesota took him out after game one to arrest him My question here is if Colorado feels that Wedgewood needs a break too and they don't have 47 days off in between games like like we had in games two and three were actually going normal times In this one this time. Yes. Yes, there was time for McKinnon to throw on the flippers and the goggles That was incredible a the video of him swimming in the pool and Like what was that the CIA like who's who's doing that? Well, I think Like the the horse is out of the barn with that stuff But it's anyway the fact that they didn't run away from it Like I thought that was that was part of the brilliance to so but the thing is do you think that's weird I don't think there's anything weird about that No, I Maybe just because like that's weird. I'm like, no, it's not weird. You're weird to think it's weird What is that commercial that's from that's the the eggs commercial? Oh, that's right. That's the egg I wear it. You're weird like I'm looking at that and like like who cares. I've seen ever you've seen people with flippers in the pool Before it's been a while since I've seen one in a hotel pool But you may be at a rec center or a beach That makes sense. Thanks. Thanks for the beach suggestion tips. Yeah, I know that one. Yeah, but yeah, like I don't get why people thought that was weird Yeah, I've seen that many times Maybe I vacation in flipper friendly hotels I'd love to know what those are but I just love how we own we allow dogs and flippers Yeah, yes pets and flippers encouraged He just owned it I give him credit I do too I'm in a public space here. I don't care What I like he said he said I Guess someone pointed out, you know, there were people online defending you and he goes I really appreciate the people who have my back because I guess McKinnon's got this rep is being like just all crazy with all his habits like the diet and stuff like that and you can tell he doesn't always like that people Talk about this stuff or know this stuff and so I like that he was Genuinely appreciative of the people online who said there's nothing wrong with that Yeah, it's like and again. It's insane that people are filming this stuff. I Know I agree. It was like Kevin McAllister and home alone. He's like you mind if I work on my cannonballs I just want to know I Have some theories about this were they Stock it was someone stocking that pool for another reason and caught McKinnon doing laps Yes Someone was like I just know if if I if I stock I had a nice hotel at their outdoor pool I'm gonna find something if we've learned anything over the last few months All I gotta do is hang out here long enough and I'm gonna find something Somebody is looking to sell drone footage to TMZ and they got McKinnon and his flippers Maybe not quite the same payday, but nevertheless It went viral and it's a fodder. Yeah, that's excellent Okay, so a game for a big one in that series on tap for the wild and the avalanche and One second round series is already in the books history For the Hurricanes Elliot the first team to start 8-0 in the playoffs under the 16 Win format Jackson Blake continues to rip it up. He was the overtime hero He said afterwards he just blacked out when the puck went in that line has been on an unconscionable run For Carolina through two rounds here. They have faced the minimum Elliot en route to the Eastern Conference Final first Ottawa now Philadelphia sweep sweep The Hurricanes are through You know people are ripping Carolina for this At this time of year you have nothing to apologize for nothing Z row someone pointed out to me that The last time under the previous playoffs system, which I believe was 2013 The number one seeds in both conferences Chicago will later won the Stanley Cup in the West I think Pittsburgh was number one in the east and they lost to Boston in the Eastern Conference final But both those teams played eight in the first round and seven in the second so You know, it's not like it's hugely different, but anyway, I don't even care so much about that Kyle In the postseason you get who you get and you have to crush them you have to beat them and Carolina does that they don't have to apologize to anyone now I Think it's good to have a series where you don't play a lot of games and you get some rest But I'm not sure that You know, if you're if you're Carolina, you're probably rooting now that Montreal's ahead two to one You want them to win it in five Because the earliest now you're getting to play is seven days Your shortest rest is a week because even if Montreal wins it in five, that's Thursday and it's not like they're playing Friday So minimum you're getting a week off. You don't want all that like I still remember The Ottawa Senators talking about the two thousand seven Stanley Cup final They had nine days off after they beat Buffalo and I think Anaheim wins that series and away But the Senators felt they were just lost by the time that series began. They just been waiting too long Now if any team can challenge that it's this steamroller that the Hurricanes are right now But I don't know all this whining about 8 and 0 and they haven't played anybody We just You just beat who you beat the it's not their fault that this is who they're playing against Yeah, what are they supposed to do tank? Yeah, like the series goes longer And I know a lot of people who are picking Ottawa to win that series in the first place Right, why are you yeah, that was and it wasn't a far-fetched one of just looking at oh boy It was there's one team you didn't really want to face in the first round was at Ottawa because of how great they look going in Carolina said no problem and then you know, I think they They kind of caught Philadelphia early in that series. They're coming off obviously an emotional one over Pittsburgh So they get the upper hand there and then just didn't look back I mean, you know credit Philadelphia like they didn't lay down here in game four You know, it was it was a different story for the 76ers the next night in that building as they were swept by the next that was a complete Exact same complete blowout The exact same thing really look at us. Yes, I Am I am so like the flyers get swept and they get a big standing ovation from their fans and the 76ers get swept and 75% of their building is filled with nicks fans Cheering as the flyers lose it as stories the 76ers lose on their home court Yes, yeah, it was two completely different scenes with the same result really In in one building in the span same around hours. Yeah for nothing It just shows expectations flyers people didn't expect much. They really appreciate the effort Sixers they expect a lot They're furious they won't even show up Yes, and Josh Hart of the Knicks is burying them on the way out saying this used to be a good sports city. Yikes. Oh my gosh No, I if there's one thing the flyers Reminded all of us with their run here that it's still very much as an excellent Yeah, it's city the scenes there were were phenomenal So we should say Frederick Anderson now eight games in two goals or less all eight He's been incredible You know, I thought it was interesting that the flyers, you know put in a couple of the kids in game four luchenko Oliver Bonk as well Clearly just looking for looking for a spark Get something Knowing that the situation that that they were in you want to talk a little Meshkov here Yeah, so I mean obviously that's the biggest Philly story of the offseason, you know, they've got to get a deal done with drives Dale they've got to get a deal done with Zegris I expect they'll really get going on Zegris in the near term here But drives Dale had a really good year and they have to get him done too You know, it just shows you how crazy this Meshkov debate is that he doesn't show up in a picture Of all the flyers players going to see the Phillies on Sunday and Immediately, it's a firestorm until people realize He was either late or he was there like everything that's going on with Meshkov now is is a wild social media Debate so I Look at it this way first of all They could really benefit from a temperature Turn down seasons over Relax this goes in the background for a little bit and they try to sort things out. I Always in moments like this. I always think about Jay Feaster and The reason I think about Jay Feaster was because he was the guy when Vincent Lecavallier and John Tortorello weren't getting along He said the two of you guys are gonna have to figure this out. I'm not firing the coach I'm not trading the player you guys have to figure this out and eventually they won Stanley Cup together I If I was in charge that would be my goal here you guys figure this out Now it's a different era. That was 20 years ago You know, I don't know if But again, I'm not there. I'm not on the inside. It's very obvious to me that there is a problem and my And you know, I listened to the pot on Friday and we talked about Philly lacking game breakers and you are one more game Breaker I should say and you brought up isn't that what Meshkov supposed to be and I said, you know what? You're right. It's just not working right now, but I remembered another thing. I said their column that is it's always easier to Solve your problem than trade your problem, especially in this NHL and The more I thought about it the more I thought you were right and if I was in charge you would have to convince me Why this would have to go into a different direction You know, I think this When it comes to Meshkov, I still think a few things he's still young He's still as the old saying goes. He's a stranger in a strange land and he's been through an awful lot personally and professionally I think he's way too young to give up on Unless there's something going on there that's so bad that I don't know about to me He's still young to give up on and the challenge is if you do decide to trade him You're you're dealing from a position of weakness Like I think that's one of the things that has to be a factor here Does anybody come to Daniel Breher and the Flyers with an actual legit offer that makes them think now? somebody does the calculus changes, but I also think that You know, you're in a position where You're probably Looking at this and saying Look what happened with cutter goche now even though drivesdale has been a real big improved player this year And he's gonna he played a very big part in what Philadelphia did you just look at at goche's natural gifts and It's really hard to let two players walk like that in a short period of time And I shouldn't even say walk he got traded, but everybody out there knows what I mean Goche was a really good pick by Philadelphia that didn't work out and Miskav I still say was a really good pick by the Flyers and I just don't think you can give up that easily I think if I'm Breher I am saying we have to find a way to make this better and We as the organization has to be better and Miskav has to be better You would have to show me a trade that really made sense for me to do this and I mean, I think it's incumbent on all the players everybody like I I get the sense here that Just watching and The fact he's been benched a couple times in the playoffs and nobody on the Flyers seems to complain about it that The players there think that there is some justification to this So I would look at it as I would say to the players. I would say to talk it You can't find guys like this If we're gonna move on from him, we better be sure Better be sure that there is absolutely no chance it works out here for him and I would also say to Miskav I'm not gonna trade you So your best answer is to make it whatever you're not delivering You have to change that too Unless somebody brings me something that says you have to trade this guy That is that is how I would handle it So and there was a stories like right from early on in the year that We didn't come into camp the best shape be fair to Categorize that way that's been out there. Yes, that's one thing. That's one thing. I also I'm glad Kyle I love when you put them on a tee for me. I love when you're like Just throwing me bell high fastballs I can hit into the crowd. It's all we're doing You know what you know what they should say to him and he should agree to it He should if that's true That he wasn't ready last year. He should spend most of the summer in Philly Yeah, I mean because I and then the reason why I brought that up is that it just feels like Elliot in Today's world with the way the league is now and how fast Everybody is and the pace the game is at like if that's your story coming into training camp It is very hard to turn things around You're right the seasons on going like it just it's hard to find examples of When you see a guy going well, you did not agree coming into training camp and then you know not in good shape Whatever the case may be Not putting himself in the best possible scenario to have a good start It's it's tough to to make up ground that way So like that's that's got to be nipped in the bud first and foremost if you want to have a better a better Chance at that more success individually and as a team and that whole dynamic that you want to believe can still work You know what and and the other thing a person I didn't mention you has to be a factor here Are miscalls representatives? This is where like this is where an agent Really matters It's it's agents are not only about Negotiating contracts that's important But agents have to be a conduit The best agents when a team is unhappy and I know I because I've heard some of them say this to me Like they'll be in situations and an agent will say to me my guy has to be better Like this is not sometimes they will hey sometimes the organization's fault. Sometimes it's the player's fault but the best agents they know when their guy is part of the problem and The team can go to them like Kelly. I did a story once on agents And one of the things I was gonna do was on guys who there was a phase where guys were thinking about going without them especially on the entry level contracts because those were basically lined up and Kelly really said I would never want to go without an agent and I said why and he goes because sometimes When I wasn't going well Like the GM would call my agent and say is there something wrong that we don't know about like is there something we can help with and He said there were a couple times when Like the team would when his agent said, you know the team called and they're like wondering what's going on here You're not yourself and I think in these situations a good agent makes a huge difference No question so that'll be the headline for the flyers as they go into the offseason But should not take away from what was a really great finish for that team and you know a lot of Within all of that a lot of great stories in terms of some young players on the roster that are just getting started with the flyers Okay, with that let's get to the final thought which is presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers and Elliott We circle back to the Vancouver Canucks and their search for the next GM or whoever is going to be the one heading up their hockey Operations and so it looks like maybe we could see an announcement as early as this week But you wanted to touch on the future of Daniel and Henrik Siddin we all saw what went on in Toronto with who they brought in with ties to the organization What are you hearing with the twins and their roles within the Vancouver organization? So I think Monday could be a big day for the Canucks Maybe not necessarily in terms of an announcement, but in terms of a decision and internal decision being made and And possibly an idea of how the structure is going to work and the answer your question is yes Kyle I don't think it is because Toronto did it. I think it is something in the works Even before Toronto made their decision But I do think the Canucks have asked the Siddins if they want to take more of a role And how willing they would be Be in taking a greater role if it happens Kyle I'm gonna call it the Swedish startup and that is Toronto Where John Chaka has the ultimate authority, but as we know Matt Sundin is there in a major advisory role with a vice presidential title I don't know what the titles would be in Vancouver if this is accepted But I do believe that they have talked to the Siddins about taking a larger role And they were pondering the idea and I think there's a hope that there will be clarity in addition To who the new head of hockey operations will be And I know a lot of us have been talking about having Golden Ryan Johnson But I Think the Siddins role in this could be important if they decide to accept the mission as it's been presented to them So I think we're kind of awaiting two decisions here number one Who the head of hockey operations will be and number two are the Siddins willing to take a bigger role and You know what now that they've seen how it might work in Toronto You know Sundin had to move from Sweden To Ontario for it the Siddins are already there. It's not like they would be uprooting their families So I think it just comes down to time. How do they feel and I think it would be a great thing for the Canucks if they did it Obviously, it's their decision So both of them work in player development as it stands right now. So I guess From what your understanding is the ball's kind of in their court of like is this something we want to do and then The next steps from there I think so Kyle. I just think that they were asked and presented with the opportunity I think that's probably the best way to describe it. It's just that it's such a moving target and Also, you have so much respect for them Um, I don't want to put words into their mouths, but it's something along those lines. Yes Excellent I would make a lot of sense. Um, I don't see how you could go wrong with those two guys. I just don't yeah beloved in that city as you said have stayed in that city and Bring a lot to the table as is I think in terms of their work with the players in their system and as we know two brilliant hockey minds that uh That would only help matters in a organization that the desperately need more people like the city and so Uh, interesting interesting but not surprising Elliott. Uh, thank you for that. Okay anything else? Yeah, just a couple other things I wanted to mention. How about Macklin's Celerbrini team, canada captain? Yeah That was kind of interesting. Uh, very interesting. Um I'm paving the way for The future of I guess probably not only him with his club team though That would have nothing to do with hockey canada but where hockey canada sees him in the future. Oh very impressive very Very deserving very impressive. You think of who he's on that team with john to varis Ryan O'Reilly and he's the captain And you know the thing that's really good about that Nobody's gonna have a problem with it. Kyle None of those guys are gonna complain Mm-hmm. Just tells you everything you need to know there. I also wanted to shout out cam steward Uh cam steward is someone he's a he's a player agent uh, he's joined um, caa and um, you know, I've known cam a very long time I have a lot of time for cam And uh, I'm just glad that everything has uh, has worked out for him and that that's where he's going to be I think cam is one of the really good people in the game and uh, uh, his son is just hilarious So I just wanted to say i'm really happy for the steward family and cam that he ended up in this situation Awesome. Yeah, congrats to him. He is a great joy to speak with anytime You bump into him at uh, at the rink here and there throughout any hockey season. Great stuff Okay, that was the final thought presented by your canadian toyota dealers We will take our first break and come back with a brand spanking new edition of the fought line 32 thoughts the podcast continues after this All right, welcome back fresh new edition of the thought line coming your way Elliott, uh, I was in the elevator at our hotel here in montreal on sunday morning Along with a group of very pleasant montreal canadians fans from kingston one of which asked Is stank freedman staying here and I said yes and I gave him your room number Well that would explain the strange knocking That's why they have dead bolts. I couldn't tell if I was dreaming it or it was real And I wasn't getting out of bed to find out Good call Yeah, that was good. You must have some shout outs over your travels. I do I do so Uh, Dave amber and I uh went out late on uh, saturday night We went for dinner and then we went out to a a couple of local establishments in montreal and uh, I believe one was called the cold room And I found out that uh, yes, it was the cold room very good place And we found out that it is run by jason demair's brother kevin Good guy. Yeah, really good guy. No offense jason, but I think your brother can beat you up He looks much bigger and stronger than you But I would say jason was a better player although kevin, uh, Dave said that he Uh, did a charity event this year with luke gajdek where kevin at a hockey tournament where kevin was the mvp I would say jason is a better player But kevin could beat up jason just by looking at the two of them I don't know if jason is some ninth degree black belt. I don't know about that Tips the scales the other way Um, I also met a couple of fans That's the first thought that goes to your mind You know what? Sizing everybody up. Well, I'll say this beat up you learn over the years that never to judge A book by its cover just because somebody may be smaller than you Just because somebody may not be as physically intimidating as you That doesn't mean they don't know how to kill you with one small move that you're unaware of No, but I just love that. That's like your first thought it's not like he seems pleasant. He's respectful. You know, it's uh, okay How would this guy do against he seems very pleasant and respectful, but he could kill me. There's no question Uh, I met a couple of fans in there. Aliyah and serena very nice people During our stay in buffalo, uh, kyle on one of the off nights at between or the off night between game one and two Um, you know, we went out to a restaurant called hutches You bailed ever bailed lame both of you But I went with about 20 reporters and that we met a number Of really nice people the bartender there kyle johnson big fan of the pod and a big fan of hockey and I met there was a a couple of families there Uh having dinner At a table and I hope I got all the names right. I wrote them all down But as you know, kyle my printing is not exactly neat So I was looking at some of the arrows I connected to all these people and I'm not sure I have this all right But let's try there was a tracy merit Very nice lady There was the mandel family uh, donna the sister laura and the mother marlene I did a video from the mother marlene who was not there She is apparently a huge hockey knight in canada fan She had fallen recently and she'd gotten hurt So we send marlene our best because she always watches us And the only negative about marlene is apparently she's a huge bx of fan marlene I'd say nobody's perfect but you're as close as I get from what your two daughters said about you they waxed poetic about you for minutes and Connected to this family is griffin mandel a really good hockey player in his own right griffin played Four years at the university of denver then he played another year quinnipiac played in the american hockey league for a few years Was a member of the 2022 a gel champion calder cup champion chicago Wolves and has played the last two years in clad no In the check league and he was just back From the end of his season there. Um, he's a defenseman I mean he's been a pro for five years That's uh, that's a heck of a player and a heck of a career and this year yager played six games for that team And he was talking about how exciting it was to play with him There was also a jackie paterson who uh, her husband dave wasn't there big fan of hockey night And also this is a name. I did not write down properly at the end. I couldn't even read it But the last name I remember was rice flag or something like that I met the casandra Her newborn child mire and the husband trend wasn't there So I wanted all big fans of hockey night and wanted to shout them out I also met at the buffalo game one night kyle near our broadcast location Uh, zack neimanan who's from ajax zack played a hockey at buffalo state Uh for a few years and then he played in the sphl Uh for a couple of years as well So I met him and his wife and I believe they had a newborn at the game If that wasn't you with the newborn zack, I apologize, but I remember meeting you and your wife We also met kevin timmins whose conners timmins uncle from the sabers and finally john and steve One of them is married to rebecca who I wished mother's day to on sunday and their young son cooper Who I took a picture with outside the arena in montreal and I already saw they had an insta story about it So a lot of shout outs a lot of people we've met but I wanted to shout them all out Well done. It's impressive. I keep track of all this I I write it down as you know me kyle Dave was asking me says you have like four notebooks like what is each different notebook you have and One's my day planner and one is for the show and one is for the pod and one is my quickie Small tiny note bad I keep with me. The only problem with that is is that I often write things down and then later I was like, what am I right here? I can't even read it that happens about twice a day That's great. Well, you got something resembling a system And it's doing enough of a job here. All right So to the matter at hand we will start with something we haven't had in a little bit here on the thought line a voicemail Riley from columbus, ohio uh Dom kyle and stank um riley from columbus ohio just calling and uh with the current uh ballots not well the ballots not released but with the finalists for all these trophies coming through I was just wondering if there's Any way that the league or the different bodies that house the people who vote on these awards Is there any way that they make sure that these people aren't either betting on them or even? Uh rigging a ballot to make it so that A an outcome is more likely than others, you know with the prominence of sports betting especially the past years or so And now with things like poly market and calcium and all that Uh, I was just wondering if the league is looking into problems like that. Thanks guys. Take care Two things number one kyle it took me four seconds Into that call to know why you picked it Yeah, it was good question Secondly riley that is a great question a great question Because yes, uh years ago. I'm no longer on it but years ago I was on the committee Uh that was I was on like the voting committee. So Not everything is voted by the professional hockey writers association For example the gm's vote on the vezna and the broadcasters association votes on the jack adams But the professional hockey writers vote on most of the other ones and I used to be a member of the voting committee And years ago when frank sarah valley ran it and betting started to become more prominent on the north american scene Frank said that the league had reached out To him and said we want a policy Detailing exactly what riley was talking about here If you are voting on awards you are not allowed to bet on them And if you have any bets on them you had to cancel them and I remember that year I didn't even think of it, but I had placed a bet on someone to win the norris Now I can sit here and tell you I wouldn't let that affect my vote, but you shouldn't even have You shouldn't even have the conflict of interest. It shouldn't exist And I remember when frank brought it up. I disclosed it right away. I said look I have one and I'll cancel it right now Which I did um, and you know the good thing about that is the the person I had Uh bet on that year wouldn't have even come close, but you shouldn't even have the impropriety Now I don't really gamble aside from just with my friends and and sports pools and stuff But there is a policy now that you if you're a voter you cannot place a wager or you have to recuse yourself And rally, I think that's a great question. You don't want that conflict conflict of interest And I'll say that this situation Was probably about I'm going to look at it right now because I could probably tell you Uh, how long ago this was It was a few years ago. It would have been I'm going to bet you that it was in 2020 don't gamble much Yeah, that's very good. I I'm going to say that that was in about 2020 that that happened Okay, so that was around the time that you know gambling really kicked into high gear in north america It's a great question. Riley. It was brought up and you are not allowed to bet on winners or place a wager on winners if you vote Yeah, so I think this is the fourth fourth year. I've um had the honor of of submitting a ballot For awards and but in 2021 So you remember that was you know a tampa montreal in the final and just before that stanica final began They pre produced the award show You know, it wasn't obviously at that time. They weren't holding it live at at some venue It was like a half hour pre produced show and I was asked to help Host it along with I think kenny albert was the other And so of course you're going through the script and you see like all the winners of the awards And and as like someone actually joke with me like going hey, if you want to make a quick buck You know who the winners are and I'm going yeah, like obviously I know they're joking, but I'm going that ain't worth the risk Um, there's no chance. I've even considering doing something like that, but uh, it's it's good So how much did you make? Yes, that's right exactly. Yeah, it's like nothing of my brother just bought himself a second house In arizona. No, uh was uh was not going down that path. So because it's just yeah, it's not worth it Um, I I honestly and I didn't even realize that there was language in there Um to protect against that, but I'm glad that there is that's good to hear Yeah, okay, uh, we were specifically told that Okay, jeremy and sam from the finger lakes Hi, elliot Oh, and I guess hello to the others as well. Yes. Yes, jeremy and sam I have always said how much I love the finger lakes My son sam and I met you At game one in buffalo as you were walking out of the tunnel in section 110 to the concourse And you took the time to take a picture with us needless to say Given the habbs performance that night meeting you was all sam could talk about I'm not sure if you remember the look on my face when we stumbled into you But I bet it was priceless as I was not expecting to bump into someone of your prominence Oh my gosh Oh, see this this is it is about time It is about time that I am respectfully and properly described on this podcast. Please please continue Please continue kyle. Please continue reading the question. That's right That's suddenly uh, Steph just realized jeremy larou by the way. Is this jeremy larou? Okay. Yes. Yes You know what? It's funny because as you were starting to read this I was like I was supposed to shut out jeremy larou too, but now this is happening. Okay. This is great Well having the stars aligned for us today. Yes That's uh, and step just realized the family vacation this summer is to finger lakes now. That's right. That's where we're headed Upstate new york, baby My question is as the playoffs move on to subsequent rounds and the number of teams and games decrease How are the on ice officials selected? Is it seniority or performance based? Uh, it is merit They make the decisions uh based on merit basically at the end of the regular season They decide who moves on to the playoffs and round by round they decide Who keeps moving on one quirk in that by the way kyle is that if a referee or a linesman Announces their retirement or that season will be their last They get one last regular season game They get to pick who works with them and they get to pick what city it's in they don't work the playoffs That is one of the one of the points in the system By the way, I should mention who jeremy is Uh, jeremy was a pretty good player. Um He played in uh The central junior league kyle that you would know well from having lived in the ottawa area He played a few years in brockville and then he played uh four years of college hockey at american international And he played in both the ihl and the central hockey league for a couple of years and um jeremy was wearing a canadian's jersey His son sam was wearing a canadian's jersey jersey and jeremy looks like he could still play You know, he's he's between us Uh, you know, i'm in my 50s during your 30s and he's i think 45 And he still looks pretty good Hmm, so jeremy great hockey player bad judge of character And the other thing too about of course playoffs with the officials, um that they with each playoff game There's a standby official at the rink Uh, so there's there's five that that roll into the into the rink each night Uh last one here edward from salt lake city. Hello kyle and elliott If carolina gets to and wins the stanley cup, I believe jordan stall Jordan stall. He is like one of the ultimate go-to quirk stats Yes, subjects. I believe jordan stall will set the record for longest time between winning his first And second stanley cup in one in 2009 with the penguins and in 2026 that would make 17 years christchelios Currently holds the record at 16 having won with montreal in 86 and detroit in 2002 Great work with the podcast been following the nhl since 1974 when tim ryan and brian mc farland Wow NBC So the first day of my actually jumped into my head And it would be not be as long as that kyle was bill garen Yes, because bill garen. I think was 14 years. He won in 1995 And then he won in 2009, but that wouldn't be as long as Even chris chelios Yes, correct. Uh, so right now chelios does in fact have the record at 16 um, and then you've got mark recce at 14 darren helm at 14 brad marshan at 14 And yes, I suppose you would put 14 there for for garen if you're looking at it at seasons, of course, you lose one due to the lockout in or 405 But yes, still counts. I agree and then It's funny craig Ludwig and brian scruedland are both at 13 and they won their first and second together right with montreal in 86 And then together in dalis in oh, that's hilarious. Yeah, that's funny. Yeah So right now, chelio stands at the top. But But jordan's well their steamer. Yes. Yes, they do not lose and uh Yeah, they got ample time to Get ready for the next round. I don't know quick family getaway Just to fill the time. I don't know what they do here. But anyway 50 years watching hockey man That's impressive Very impressive considering That where you live right now, and I don't know if that's where you've lived your entire life Didn't have an hl team for a long time. Yes Appreciate the dedication edward and appreciate your question here today So that'll wrap up this edition of the thought line you can submit your own thoughts or questions or ideas to the thought line Either via email 32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca or you can leave a voicemail 1-833-311-3232 One final break and we'll wrap up this edition of 32 thoughts on the other side Okay, so just some programming notes before we wrap up here today just the one game on the calendar here tonight For the listeners in canada hockey central pregame show beyond the air at 7 30 eastern time tonight 4 30 pacific ron mcclain the gang getting you set including Brenda dillon who has been excellent over the weekend wonderful to listen to him He is back in studio One more time on monday night getting you set for game number four between the avalanche and the wild from minnesota Little after eight eastern time on cbc and sports net on tuesday a pair of games game number four back here in montreal Once again hockey central the pregame show will lead into that one beginning at 6 30 eastern puck drop a little after seven For pacific time that will be followed by the golden knights and the anaheim ducks game number five there back in vegas Puck drop will be after 9 30 eastern 6 30 pacific time game will start on sports net 360 And will eventually make its way over to the main channels once the canadiens and sabers are wrapped there So three games to look forward to over the next couple of days We will be back on wednesday to break down each of those games and whatever else is making news between now and then Talk to you wednesday