The One Before

This, by the way, is the most terrifying podcast of the year for me, right? It's just... The one before. The one before. Because, you know, it's like everything is all over the place, and there's so much conflicting information, and you don't want to be wrong, and you don't want to say anything that you later regret. And this is a disaster class. Everything's got 34 different qualifiers on it. Yes. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the Toyota BZ. Go all electric in a winter-ready Toyota BZ at your local dealer today. Dom, Elliot, and Kyle back with you, inching closer to trade deadline day on Friday. And if you are hearing this, Matthew Schaefer has scored again. He is a 20-goal man in the NHL for age 18 years old, as we talked about. He's already got the record there and three off of Brian Leach for most goals by a rookie defenseman ever. in NHL history, a reminder, Mr. Friedman, of what can happen if the lottery balls fall your way and it just happens to be a year that a generational talent is waiting for you at June's draft. It's all in the back of many teams' minds as they approach these next few days, how valuable those assets are to say nothing of the players that can help potentially teams try to win a Stanley Cup in the here and now. So why don't we start there? Why don't we start in Nashville, a team that was hoping to be better this year. They were out of it. They were back in. They looked out of it. And now again, tough one. They slip away against Dallas on Saturday. But picking up another point in that mix in the West that are three points back of the eighth seed in the Western Conference. You mentioned Ryan O'Reilly over the weekend. Stephen Stamkos, another name to over 600 goals in his career. What have you heard on Stammer? So I was on the TNT postgame show on Sunday from the Pittsburgh Vegas game and Pittsburgh won that game 5-0. They look great in doing it. And afterwards, the panel was Liam McHugh, Paul Bissonette, Anson Carter, and special guest Tuka Rask. And I got asked about Stephen Stamkos. And I referenced a story where Stamkos was quoted as saying, he wasn't going to wave. And I said, I am not coming on the TNT show and saying that one of the most popular teammates in the NHL, Stamkos, is a liar. Well, someone saw me that and they sent me a note. And that story that was in Nashville was in response to a report from Pierre LeBrun that if Stamkos was asked to wave, he would consider Dallas, Minnesota, or Tampa Bay. And someone reached out and they wanted to tell me that the truth of this whole Stamkos situation is somewhere in the middle. They said that Pierre's story was accurate in the sense that if Stamkos was asked to waive, those are the kinds of teams he would consider. and basically what I was told is that the Predators players don't know what GM Barry Trotz is going to do he has not approached his guys and said I need to know if you're willing to waive his no trade clause for situation x and I've talked about Ryan O'Reilly a lot and how he's told the team that he doesn't want to go and that he wants to be part of the Nashville team for the playoff push. And Stamkos, I was told, is in the same boat. He doesn't want to leave either. He wants to stay with the team and push them towards the playoffs. However, I was told that the one situation that could get him to change his mind would be if and only if the team decided they were going to do a complete sell-off. And then in that case, if Stamkos was approached and asked if he'd be willing to go, he would consider going to certain contenders. And I assume that Pierre is right about the likes of the Stars, the Wild, and his former team, the Lightning. However, it is his first choice, his desire to compete, stay, and go to the playoffs there. And if there's a sell-off, then we'll see if things branch out into a different direction. By the way, you mentioned the Islanders there. I'm looking at this week, the Eastern Conference standings. Islanders, 75 points in the playoffs by six. What did they have? Three straight two-goal comebacks this week? Incredible. Them and the Anaheim Ducks have been the comeback kings coming out of the Olympic break. The cardiac kids. When I was a kid, Brian Seip was the MVP of the NFL, the old quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. And he was known as the cardiac kid. The Islanders and the Ducks are like that right now. You also have Pittsburgh in the playoffs by six points. without Sidney Crosby. And they blew the game on Saturday in New York, lost in overtime, or in the shootout rather, but then they pounded Vegas, as we mentioned, on Sunday afternoon, including, I think, the best giveaway I've seen in the NHL this year, the Mr. Rogers zip. Like, just fantastic. And I have to shout out to the Buffalo Sabres, also in the playoffs. They're in the playoffs by seven points, an outstanding road trip, including pounding the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Like just you're looking at these Eastern playoffs. Who had the Sabres, Penguins, Islanders trifecta before the start of the season? Every year, especially in the East, the last little while That's always been the question When are the tables finally going to flip? Well, we're here now It's the dawn of a new era Toronto, they look cooked Florida, another lost Sunday It seems very, very long odds That the defending Stanley Cup champions Two-time Stanley Cup champions Get back into the playoffs in 2026 fresh blood abound in the east elliott highlighted by those teams pittsburgh story of the year for me even with crosby healthy now with them out and them continuing to play this way and pile up points it's uh it's a stunner but a very impressive one very impressive one so Well, I want to circle back to Nashville here briefly. You mentioned the players not too sure at this juncture what Barry Trotz may do. Do you have any inkling what Barry Trotz might do over the next few days? He's always said he's going to get younger, right? He's been consistent about that since the start of the year when Nashville didn't start very well. And it's been very impressive about how that group has pulled themselves out of a deep hole and into the race. I've heard that, you know, we've talked about how it's a bit of a buyer's market because there's a lot of guys available. And Nashville has some guys around their roster. We've talked about them. Eric Holla, great Olympics, Purbix, McCarron, I think is a guy that he, teams like him, teams really like McCarron. And, you know, he's a guy who plays a hard playoff style game. But the big guys, I just don't know how easy it's going to be able to do that in season. you know Stamkos deserves a lot of credit and he's really put his game back together I mean at the beginning of the year we all thought we're all kind of worried like is this it is he ever going to find his game again and he's found it and then some I I don't think anything's impossible and I I do believe Trotz has been asked about it, but I just heard, and again, things can change with one phone call. I really hate making demonstrative statements at this time of the year. I just heard it was unlikely he was going to move now. And the same goes for O'Reilly. O'Reilly doesn't have it written, but he's been given the control. but teams have not even though he's it's been like no no he doesn't want to leave no teams have not run away from it and they've come back to him and come back to the predators and been saying hey we still want to trade for you and i've heard that even though nashville has said he doesn't want to go anywhere, they have reserved the right to go to him too and say, if we get an offer we like, then we're going to take it to him. I haven't heard that they've said, we're just going to do it. That hasn't come across my lap, but I have heard that they've reserve the right to say we can take it to you and we want you to consider it new owner too like i've said this before and i'll say it again kyle i think it's really hard when you're a new owner to wave the white flag when you just buy the team right yes that's always part of the wrinkle I think it's a very, very difficult thing to do. And just me wondering, as you've talked about it being a buyer's market, could that be part of the equation, too, where you can only imagine the names that we're discussing here. it's going to take something substantial for the Predators to say, all right, maybe we should really consider this, even though we're right there in terms of the race. And maybe that's just not going to be out here. That type of conversation over the next few days. So we'll see. So that's, okay, Nashville, going to be one to keep an eye on as we go forward. Robert Thomas, too, in St. Louis. So that name you've mentioned here on the pod before on Saturday on headlines, brought it up again. And as you were saying, you could see a scenario where he is dealt by the Blues sometime between now and Friday. Is there anything new to that? Is there anything further you want to expand on with Thomas and the Blues and the future there? Well, there's no question that that is going to be a team to watch this week. And it's interesting. One of the reasons that people kind of didn't believe it, and even I wasn't 100% sure, is that St. Louis has kind of threatened this before. they've said we're going to do it or we're going to tear it down or we're going to start over or we're going to trade our guys and it hasn't always happened they've used it as a scare tactic or a motivational tactic and it's i don't know if i would say it's like the boy who cried wolf but it's almost been like we've heard this before and we'll believe it when we see it There was definitely a feeling in the last few days that there was something more to it than we'd seen in the past, that they were having more of these conversations or more in-depth conversations than in years past. And there was a sense that some of this had advanced a little bit. I think one of the things that could be a factor here, Kyle, is that, A, you know, there's a bit of a changing of the guard there. Even though Doug Armstrong is still under contract, Alex Steen takes over next year as the day-to-day GM. And so, you know, one of the theories around there is that if St. Louis wants to make a big move, then Armstrong could do it on his watch on the way out. So Steen kind of starts with a fresh slate. I believe that Steen has a big say in what's going on right now. Like I don't think they would do anything without him knowing about it or having a voice on it. Cause next year, technically it's his team. But, you know, one of the things that someone said to me this week is sometimes when you know you're out or you're handing the team, like this, this situation doesn't happen a lot, but there are veterans before who were like, I know this is it for me. and I know someone's taken over next year and I'm going to do the hard things so they can start clean. And I kind of wondered if that's what is happening here. And a couple of people I was talking to were wondering if that's what I'm, what's happening here. I mean, St. Louis is second last in the Western conference. They're at 53 points. And I just think they feel that they have to change their mix a little bit. And I'll tell you, Kyle, like Thomas has say, but I think they've had some pretty serious conversations with a couple teams about him, including Utah. Now, Eric Engels was flying out to the West Coast, and I also mentioned on TNT, you know, Thomas has been linked to Montreal. You know, I said that, you know, a couple people had told me they didn't think it was going to be Montreal. Of course, Kyle, now it will be Montreal and I'll look like a complete dunce. But I do think Utah is in there. I always assume there's people I'm not seeing. It's like it's a number one center at five times 8.125. Those guys just aren't around there. But I think the Blues have also talked to people about Kairou. I think they've also talked to people about Folk. I think they've also talked to people about Pareko. I think they've also talked to people about Binnington. You know, all these players have various degrees of protection. You know, if they trade these guys, they're trading them for younger players. I assume guys who might be NHL ready, but aren't as experienced as these guys. You're really changing your group. And so I think they're just going to be a fascinating team this week. And, you know, at various times I thought that Cairo could be dealt. I've definitely thought that fault could be dealt. But I thought the whole Thomas thing was a bit of a pipe dream. And now I'm actually beginning to think that it could be real. And, you know, we'll see. We'll see how it plays out. You know, the Binnington one is interesting, too. You know, there are some people out there that don't like the idea of acquiring a goalie in the middle of the year, especially when you don't have a lot of practice time. but it's twice in a row now that Binnington's been on a real good team, like a superstar team, the four nations and the Olympics with not a lot of practice time. And he's flourished. He's been excellent. And also he's been calm. He's been under control. And I don't know where it's going to go with him. I'm really not sure, but you know, Just the fact that he's now done this twice in a row in a compressed schedule. Some of these teams that need goalies, I'd be betting on him. But you don't think Edmonton's going to be one of those teams? I don't. Again, like, I'm so nervous about saying these things. I really am. I'm being a bad co-host continuing to put you in the spot. No, I mean, it's not, like, these are all good questions. Like, it's just that, like, it's so funny. You look back and you're like, like, it was funny. Again, on TNT on Sunday, they asked me about Caudry in Colorado. And I'm like, I'm not sure that's going to work. And someone texted me after it was over and said, I'll bet you he ends up there. And so he's like, okay, I'll take the bet just because I like to joke and make bets, but, fun bets, but I mean, it's just it changes. I think Edmonton is going to make its bed with its goaltending. It's done. Like I said, I heard they're either looking for a D who can play on the right side or a 3C, especially if Nugent Hopkins is going to stay on the wing. I heard those are the spots they're really looking at. There was a report this week about Falk. I think that's true. I think they looked into it. I just heard it's really hard unless St. Louis retains. I talked about Ekman Larson. I think that's true. I think Ekman Larson has say, and I think that there are several, I think they've got, they've probably got a list or a cluster of defensemen and they're going through it to see, you know, what they can do and who they can get. And, you know, a three C, I don't know that they'll be able to do both. They might only be able to do one. You know, our buddy Bob Stauffer has been on Nick Waugh for a while. And, you know, Nick Waugh is a good player and could be a really good fit. I just, you know, they put Mangiapane on waivers. We'll see where that goes. But, you know, I don't know they'll be able to do both of them, but I think they want to do at least one of them. All right. Well, and it's funny with the Cadre avalanche ties. Eric Francis was covering the game in Anaheim on Sunday night and pointed out he noticed Chris McFarlane, members of the Avalanche staff. Now, as you reminded me, Colorado's in the area. They play Los Angeles on Monday. And I think they play the Ducks on Tuesday, I think. I have to double-check that, but I think that's what it is. Right. But the fact that they were at the game Sunday as well. Oh, yeah, that's saying everybody going crazy, right? Conroy's in the building too. And Cadre looked good. a beautiful goal in the shootout too he's uh he's played really well he had the game in san jose this week he was he was excellent this this by the way is the most terrifying podcast of the year for me right it's just the one before the one before because you know it's like everything is all over the place and there's so much conflicting information and you don't want to be wrong and you don't want to say anything that you later regret, and this is a disaster class. Everything's got 34 different qualifiers on it. Yes. Can I just say quickly? And I do think Colorado's looking at a center, right? Like, I don't know if they can pull out one of the big ones, like the Trocek, and I've mentioned that I don't think, I don't know where Colorado fits on the map for Trocek, But, you know, like I said, I heard he doesn't want to go far west. But, you know, I think they're looking at that group of centers there. And, you know, I think they'd like to do something. But, again, their cap situation and also what do they have to move, especially after everything they did to get Brock Nelson last year? Yes, which was a lot. A lot. Can I just say quickly on Kadri, I really like, Craig Simpson makes this point every year around this time as an ex-player who was traded. And it's an interesting, like he just says, you know, for the life of him, he never understands players that, you know, their names out there, is he going to get traded? And now suddenly you're worried and, oh my gosh, and you can't focus, you're not playing well. It's one thing if you're a guy that you've got family, it's older, maybe you've got a wife that's expecting. There's other factors that go into it. But as a younger player that's still fairly new to the league or you're at a different stage of your life, his point is forget all of that. Just go play because if you play awesome, either the team that you currently play for goes oh this guy is too good like i can't i can't trade him or the team that's looking at trading for you is going there's no way i can't not get this guy i'm gonna do everything i can to trade for him and then you're likely getting an opportunity to play somewhere that you're into the playoffs and and who knows where it goes from there so i just i do love the player mindset of that around how to approach this time of year when you're in that situation of, you know, don't let it paralyze you. Like this should be something where either you play so well that the team that you have has to keep you or it's the flip side. And just thinking of Nazem Khadri with how he's come out of the Olympic break and even over the last month here, as his name's been out there a little more and more, he's just continued to play well and is a great example of a guy going, I don't know, this bothers me. well i think also you're your own best advertiser right yeah it's exactly it like if you want to get traded for you have to show that you are worth it and cadry i think you know i i have a there's a lot of good things to say about cadry the last couple years in in calgary have been rough but it hasn't ever affected the way he's played and it also hasn't ever affected the way that he's treated some of the other young players there like they will tell you uh in in calgary that he's been an excellent excellent mentor and example for some of the younger guys there so he's played well he's had a good attitude like one of the things i knew some people obviously who were there this year when he had his 1000th game celebration and you know he went out of his way after to thank the flames for the job they did with it you know i think people understand that cadry would like to go to a contender but i heard he's also very sensitive about the way it gets presented because he wants to do right by the flames he said he signed with them willingly he's going to get paid a lot of money over his contract and they've treated him really well so I know it's gotten out that he wants to be traded but I've heard he's kind of like yeah I do because I want to win but I don't want to attach any negative stench to the flames organization. Like I heard that's important to him. So it's a challenge. Um, to me, it's interesting, you know, what do the flames think is an acceptable deal for him? Um, you know, I mean, that's, that's the other question here. So, you know, maybe it can work, But the best advertisement he's been for himself is how well he's played and how well he's been both on and off the ice in Southern Alberta. No question. No question there. Okay. Toronto. Yep. Three games out of the break. Had no point over those nine periods. really did we see a team showing signs of we're going to figure this out we're going to try to push to get in it went opposite again on saturday full credit to ottawa you could tell that game made everything to them they smelled blood partway through the second period and the result was really not in question from from that point onwards and when craig berube standing in the press conference postgame, pointing to his heart, pointing to his head and saying, I can't give those to the players. They've got to bring that on their own. Things are typically not in a great spot. So as they seemingly march towards their role as sellers, we have talked about the names that have been out there for a while. You've already mentioned OEL, Bobby McMahon, Scott Lawton. as you talked about on the weekend starting to widen the scope the maple leafs of who they would look at and possibly consider moving now i still going to assume that does not mean Austin Matthews That does not mean William Nylander I don imagine John Tavares is in that conversation either Ditto Matthew Knives. But beyond that, Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, go down the list from there. Are all those names potential? I'm wary of names. like particularly in Riley's case, you know, he's got say over it, right? And I just don't know that they've gone to him and talked to him about it. So I think it's a little bit irresponsible to throw his name around unless I have a reason to. Okay. Like I said, the thing I'd heard is that, and you know what, Kyle, we were both there on Saturday morning for the morning skate against Ottawa, and you can feel it in their room. It was very quiet. You know, it's not like there's a lot of guys in the room, you know, yucking it up when the media is there. It's a very business-like room normally, and I say that respectfully. But it just seemed really quiet when we were there. They lost two in a row, and you could just feel like, you know, guys were like, okay, the media's here. Get into the stall and try to get out of here as quick as we possibly can. And again, I'm not trying to whine or complain or say it's a negative. You just get to a point where it's a tough time in your season and it's almost like nobody even wants to talk to each other. It happens sometimes and you could feel that on Saturday morning. And, you know, like I said, Kyle, I just think that the Maple Leafs are asking themselves some questions here. And that is, you know, is this a one-year thing? Do we have to consider doing more than we thought we were going to do? Can we turn it around a little quicker like kind of Boston has? like like I said I think right before the Olympics they were like okay this is not going to be our year and let's talk about the UFAs okay and now it's this is not going to be our year and it's really not our year and you you get to a point where you almost say and this is what I think's happened you say well let's just say to teams talk to us talk to us about our guys like that's kind of what happened in Vancouver you know Vancouver sent out an email earlier in the year talked to us about our UFAs and a couple weeks later you know Quinn Hughes was gone and I don't think there's going to be anything like that like I don't think Matthews or Nylander are going anywhere right now but I do think Toronto wants to know you know what's what's the market for our guys who who are guys who are other teams interested in you know what are teams willing to do and um you know i i think that's i think that's what toronto was trying to do here um i think at the very least kyle it raises the possibility that they could do something this week that surprises I don't know what I would say the percentage of that is, but I do think it's possible. You know, my point, and I've said this for a little bit now, is that they wanted to add pieces and then see if they could flip those pieces into something that could help them now. Like, say, for argument's sake, a Rob Thomas kind of guy. Like, could they accumulate stuff and then do that? Like, I don't think that's going to be possible, but I do think that they were, you know, could we do that? You know, is that something we could get involved in with our additions? You know, now I think they're thinking a little bit bigger. Okay. That nine-year streak looks like it could be staying at nine for Toronto. It's just been a long time since that organization has had to have these conversations. It feels heavy. There's no question. It feels very, very heavy right now, but I really try not to overreact. But there's been a couple of, like every year, every team has a segment that feels kind of heavy. We've had two of them now this year in Toronto. Right. And I think we're all very curious about where this is going. Yeah. And maybe most concerning, we were talking about it after the game on Saturday, is that a lot of the issues we saw early in their season defensively that had kind of gone away, it's popping up again. It's kind of come back round, which is never a good sign. What did you think of Berube's post-game comments about Hart? And the head. Yeah, for sure. I mean, when I look at the game and show tape or we go over things, there's a certain way we need to play the game. But, you know, I can't give guys this or this. And they have to come with that. That's got to be on them. They've got to bring the heart and the competitiveness that's needed, and it's all the little things. They've got to bring that. They've got to want to bring that. We can bring the X's and O's, and I can go in there and yell and scream at them all I want. That doesn't do anything either. I still think, I don't know for how many guys it's still in the back of their minds, and this is just me. thinking, which can be dangerous. Yes. I think how they handled Game 5 and Game 7 last year against Florida, I think that's still in the mind of the head coach. I know the team's a little different. There's some guys there that weren't there last year, some that were that are now elsewhere. I still think that's pretty fresh in his mind. of what happened. And I just wonder, different set of circumstances, but again, you win three games going into the Olympic break, giving yourselves a chance, and it's one thing to just be outdone by better teams coming out, but that's not been the story in the three games for Toronto. It's run deeper than that. That's kind of what I think. So, anytime, like, I thought Berube was really measured. Because I remember Healy, when we worked together, he would always tell me, there's some things you can do that really are a red line for a player. Question their injury. Call them soft. And, you know, I would put questioning their heart with that. and so when Berube did that I was like oh boy like that's that's a red line but the one thing that gave me pause is that he was really measured when he said he wasn't ripping them he was explaining more than he was ripping like if he really came out and said these guys have no heart Like then it's a five alarm blaze, but he was almost trying to do it more of a challenge than, than he was actually trying to trash them. Right. Not that I'm convinced it's going to work, but I didn't sense he was just lighting the whole, trying to light the whole season on fire or anything like that. No, but I just wondered if it was like reality set him. Like, and that's part of it too. Yeah. Why there's a little more, and I will say too, like as fiery as we see Berube on the bench and at times when he's in the room in between periods, generally he is often quite measured when he's at the podium. and that's the one thing I wasn't sure about like when he was first hired in Toronto is okay what are we going to get you know in the tougher moments when when he's up there to fielding questions but he's for the most part that's been kind of the the theme for him but now with where things are at and what's ahead here just wonder if that helped make make his demeanor a little it made it a little easier for him to just have a little bit closer resting heart rate as he was delivering what he felt there after the game Saturday. So one of the great sports books of all time is the Jordan rules by Sam Smith. It's a book on, it's a real inside book on the Chicago bulls. It's really well done. And there's a story he tells in there about Phil Jackson, who was the master motivator. And the Bulls have a bad game, and he's doing a film session, and all of a sudden, after one player makes a bad play, they cut in the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, and the players all start laughing. And another player makes a bad play, and they cut in the Tin Man. And they think this is hilarious. And then, of course, you know what happens next. They bring in the cowardly lion. And one of the players, I don't remember who it was from the book, but he says, you do realize he's telling us we've got no heart, no brains, and no guts. And all of a sudden the room goes silent. and all the players are mad and it's like message received and when i saw that that's what it reminded me of now it wasn't as harsh it wasn't as cutting as that old film session was but it was there suddenly was just suddenly it was it was subtle but it was there just the point uh i just wanted to say quickly so after the morning skate on saturday i bumped into jake sanderson in the hallway yeah and he's one guy i really have always enjoyed talking to and he's insightful and just has such a thirst for getting better uh so saw him i said hey you know Congrats again on gold medal over at the Olympics. And he was going, he goes, man, I just, he goes, there's so much that I learned over there. I said, oh, yeah, like what? He goes, I've just got so much to get better at as a player, which is kind of an interesting thing to say, given, you know, he was selected to a pretty damn good American team that won gold. And that's one of his first takeaways. but he just talked about how it resonated with him how not that they practice a ton over there but when they did it was often the best of the best guys that were the last ones out there working on the most minute of details the smallest little things he goes i watched jack eichel for what felt like forever after a practice one day just working on backhand passes that was it just working on getting backhand passes down um and of course there's all the the off-eye stuff in terms of routines and different ways to to get their body right he is always up on the best ways to handle all of that stuff but you can just tell for a guy that's always going okay give me more information give me more ways that i can be better myself uh it was like some sort of fantasy cap in in a way for him. And I'm sure he's not the only guy, whether you played for Team USA or somewhere else, one of the other 12 nations there, that would have walked away from that Olympic experience feeling something similar, given who you were able to be around and call a teammate for two and a half weeks. I've always admired, you know, one of the things that I feel I could do a better job of, Kyle, is watch practice, especially the end of practice. Like one of the challenges about the end of practice is oftentimes, you know, the first or second player comes off and they open up the room, right? And you can't watch the end of practice to see what the guys work on. I wish sometimes I did a better job of that because I think it adds good questions. You know, what's a player trying? Like one of the things I really used to love doing when I covered baseball was watching batting practice and, you know, who would take ground balls and where guys would try to hit. Or in the NBA, like an hour and a half, two hours before a game, like one of the best shooting routines I ever saw was Ray Allen. He had a fantastic shooting routine. And occasionally when he would come to Toronto, I'd watch him do it. And, you know, you realize that that's what separates good from great. And I loved it when you told that story because I think the best players work on the most boring things. Like I'd watch basketball practice and at the end, just players doing dribbling drills. Like I remember when I first picked up a basketball, my uncle had me doing like figure eights around my legs and, you know, catching the ball through my legs. And I was like, this stuff is so boring. But the best players, they do that. Gary Galley would always talk about Ray Bork and Ray Bork would practice, you know he'd go to the his his backhand side and they'd hard rim pucks around the boards and and he had to stop it on his backhand and how how good it was he was at it and you know i i really love that stuff kyle like i think the best of the best turn the most mundane thing into a competition and and they do it do it really well i i love that story when you were talking about it with with Sanderson, because I do think it separates the greats. Yeah, no question. So we interviewed Megan Oldham on Saturday, who, of course, won gold for Canada over the Olympics in the free ski big air. She has a line, work hard in silence, let your success be the noise, which can apply to that. And you don't have to be an athlete to apply that to certain aspects of your life. That's really, really good. Really great for Megan. and has led her to an Olympic gold medal. Ditto for Jake Sanderson. Okay, a couple of other things we wanted to go through here. Just on the trade front, we're going to get to the coaching change in L.A. here, of course, too. The big news on Sunday there. Vancouver. Anything else new there? Patterson's name's come up. That's a big contract. He's got say. He got benched on Saturday in Seattle. And we thought he was hurt. Like, he got hit by the puck. And so we actually thought he was injured. Like he looked injured and I actually give him credit. He's like, nope. Um, I got benched. I don't know. You know, Kyle, I, I really, I really don't know there. I know there. See, one of the things is I don't like to dump on anyone else's reporting. Cause there's so much stuff here and I'm not perfect. I'm not all knowing. I'm not all seeing. and, you know, there's some things that you just don't see or you're just not right about. And there's been some reports that it's been a little hot around Patterson. I haven't heard that. I've heard it's been quiet, and I've heard that, you know, the Canucks are not willing to retain on him, especially because as his deal continues, you know, if you— You know, I talked to one team about this in particular. They said if you look at Pedersen's contract, it eventually gets to a point where it is cap over cash. I mean, the other thing, too, is it's still got, you know, he's only going into his third year of eight next year. There aren't a lot of teams that want to retain for six years. Like, that's a lot. So his cap hit is 11.6. Next year, it's 11. And then the following two years, 27.28 and 28.29, they're the last two really big years of cash. It's 14.5 and it's 12.25. And then the last three years of his deal, it's 8.7. And so one GM was telling me that if you're the trading team, the team that's trading that contract away, the reason you're not going to retain is you're going to say for the last three years of that deal, it's $3 million underneath the cap hit. So it's a real break for the team that gets them. And they said that's, in addition, nobody wants to hold a contract for six years. That's number one. But number two is you really don't want to do it if it's cash under cap for three years like that. I'll say this about the Canucks. One of the things they've kind of said privately about Pedersen is, and I think Rutherford talked about it on that podcast with John Shannon and Darren Millard. but one of the things they've kind of talked about privately is that maybe he's not putting up a ton of points and he's only got, you know, 35 points in 51 games this year, but they think his effort has really improved and they think his two-way play has been better. And, you know, I don't know what kind of point producer, I don't know if he's going to be a 102-point guy again. Like, I just don't know. He went 102 to 89 to 45, but only in 64 games, and now he's at 35 and 51. I think the Canucks feel very strongly that his effort this year has been a lot better. And I think that just affects the overall situation. I wish I had a good answer here. I wish I understood why it's not working well for him. but like I said I've just heard they're not they don't want to retain on him alright and Meyer's still mulling things over yeah I think everybody was hoping we would know by Monday morning after this podcast comes out I think a lot of the say has to do with how long is Detroit willing to hold the offer and at this point in time I don't have that answer Steve Eisenman not exactly volunteering it to me. No, it's not popping up in the WhatsApp. Yeah, I mean, the other thing too is, you know, Trocek, sounds like LA and Utah is not going to happen. Minnesota, you know, Bill Guerin, he talked about it when he made the Quinn Hughes trade. He comes in with his offer, right? He's like, this is my offer. and I think he's done that with the Rangers. And the question is, and so the Rangers kind of know, do they continue to shop it around and see if Detroit can beat it or Carolina can beat it or someone else can beat it or do the Wild get tired of waiting and they go do something else? I heard the Wild also kicked around on Charlie Coyle, But I don't think Columbus is doing anything with that right now. So that's one of the things I think we're waiting on Trocek. You know, someone did say to me, they kind of wondered, they thought of the centers, Trocek might go first. But I just, I don't know. I think he's the one most likely to go of that foursome, Trocek Thomas O'Reilly Cadry he's the one I think who's most likely to go all right I can see that that makes sense okay anything else here trade-wise famous last words that you want to touch on before we go any further. Well, yeah, let me go through a couple of things here. Seattle, I don't think they've given up on big offensive player or somebody who juices their lineup offensively. And that's Shane Wright to me. And we'll see where that goes. You know, I did say on the last pod that I thought if they wanted to do white right for Lafreniere, it would be done already. And that's a sign that that's not going to happen. I did get a couple of people that told me that was true, that don't count on that kind of a deal. Um, you know, it was interesting. Kelly McCrimmon, the Vegas GM, he was at Vancouver, Seattle on Saturday night. They showed him on the broadcast. they've been struggling a little bit. You know, the one thing about Vegas, their goaltending hasn't been very good this year. So we'll see. Some of it I wonder if it's like post-Olympic exhaustion for a lot of their guys. I don't know. But Mark Stone got hurt again. They haven't looked pretty. they've looked leakier defensively than I generally see from them Dallas we now know that Tyler Sagan is out for the year I was very sore to see that I heard Sagan really wanted to play this season I really like what Glenn Gullitson said about keeping him around and using his brain I I really, I liked that a lot. And Jim Nill also confirmed that they don't like the idea of term until they sort out Jason Robertson. They don't like the idea of term. And so I know Myers has kind of indicated he'd like to go there. It's not a lot of money, but there is another year. I know some people wondered about Rasmus Ristolainen there. Again, he's got term. You know who I wonder about for Ristolainen? And it's kind of funny. But, you know, I mentioned on one of the pods recently that I think Buffalo is looking for some beef on the blue line. Like they were kind of like, would they ever take him back? And, you know, Buffalo's right side of the D right now, it's their handedness is a bit mixed up. But obviously they've got Darlene, they've got Kesselring, who actually is a right-hand shot, and they've got Power, who's been playing with Byram. So, I mean, Sabres fans could let me know, do they think that makes sense? But if you're looking for a D with some beef, I mean, you kind of know that guy already. Just could be purely in my head. But, you know, obviously now Dallas is going to have the ability to do some things, even though they're using some of that money already. I'm actually really interested in Buffalo. I am. This is going to be a really interesting deadline for them because they're going and they look good. Yes. I mean, was Darlene not the best player for Sweden that you saw at the Olympics? I did. You know, I thought Raymond was really good, but I thought Darlene was the best guy there. I thought he was the best guy there. And, you know, it was really interesting. And we forgot to mention it last week was he came back and said he was okay for that overtime against the U S and he didn't understand why he didn't play. I heard those comments went over like a thunderbolt in Sweden. Like just though they did not go over very well there. But it's, it's interesting. They're going really well. And like I said, I think Tuck is staying, even if he's not extended. I think it could be a really fascinating deadline for them. Carolina, I think they're around Trocek. New Jersey, I said on the last pod that I really wasn't sure what they were up to. I heard some things on the weekend, but I could not get them confirmed. so let me just be careful because I think the devils you know I couldn't get confirmations or denials but I think they have some of their D out there like not Luke Hughes and I don think I don know I honestly don know about him Not Luke Hughes And I don think Pesci I didn't hear Nemec. I'll be honest. I didn't hear it. But, you know, maybe some of the other D. Okay. I think we've talked a lot about these other teams. Like, Washington's an interesting one to me. because it's going to be a tough battle for them to make the playoffs. So I think if they add, I think their preference is to add someone they could keep for a while. Like we all know what they said, and Chris Patrick came out and said it, that they need somebody who can make life a little easier for them to score, right? It's too hard for them to score. but I can't imagine they're too big in the rental game and they're more into the if we add, can have them for a while. And, you know, Montreal, Montreal's another team. I don't see them being in the big rental game. I think Montreal's a gatherer. Give us somebody that's going to be around for a while. Yes. I still think they have the ability to house. Yeah, somebody who's going to be part of our group for a while. Maybe a mid-league rental if they had to, but somebody who's going to be part of their group grows with the rest of them. And, you know, Florida, it's tough losses. They beat Toronto, but now they lost to Buffalo. They lost the Islanders. and I'll be honest I said this on TNT on Sunday I can't get a good handle on this Bobrovsky situation I just don't know and again the one thing I've been waiting for in Florida is do they wave the white flag and do guys get shut down yes because Bill Zito is kind of we'll see where we're at come the deadline and now it's becoming clearer and clearer with the two losses over the weekend for them what their fate may be. I think they wanted to see, could they make a charge in a week? Right. They're just running out of racetrack to do that. Yeah. I know Boston lost on Saturday, but it's just a lot of ground to make up. There's a three-pointer between Columbus and New York. Ottawa won. The task is very tall. Yeah. Okay. It's going to be some week. Utah, too. Utah. they tried on Panarin, tried on Trocek, around on Thomas. The other thing, too, someone said to me is, watch some of the UFAs this week. Do they get signed by Tuesday, Wednesday? Like the big one, like Columbus apparently has said, like if you'll remember Columbus last year, they kept Provorov through the season and signed him just before free agency. Yep. and so they've done that and they're not uncomfortable with the idea of doing that again if they have to with Coyle and Jenner and Marchman but I'm not sure how comfortable every other team will be with that like Sherwood you know where are we on Tuesday some of these other, McMahon. Like, you know, the fact that McMahon is still there tells you two things. They're considering extending them and they haven't gotten what they want for them. Right. They have time. They have time. And it seems like that's kind of a, the theme over the next little bit. Going back to the buyer's market that it is. How many are willing to wait it out until the 11th hour if they believe they can. It'll be some week. It'll be some week. Hopefully it gives us plenty to dig into on Friday. It's not just a recap show. Well, don't forget we're dropping the pod on Saturday next week. Correct. We'll record after the deadlines and the dust settle on Friday. I don't know if there'll be anything left here, but we'll get something done on Friday. And there's always something that happens that I don't see, a big one. Okay, time now for the final thought presented by the Toyota BZ Go All-Electric and a winter-ready Toyota BZ at your local dealer today. The Los Angeles Kings, Elliot, on Sunday made a coaching change. Jim Hiller is out after just over two years on the job. DJ Smith named the interim coach for the remainder of this season. Also Matt Green, former King, now working in player development. He's going to join the staff behind the bench as well. In the meantime, a lot of people understandably are wondering about the timing of all of this. We've seen the struggles for the Kings here over the last little while. They lost five of six. There was the humiliating one against Edmonton. And as we heard from Ken Holland after the announcement came out, that's when he really started to think that this change was necessary. But the fact that things were teetering a little bit before the Olympic break, nothing was done then. And now, a couple games out of it, a change is made. What did you make, Elliot, of the decision here on Sunday and Ken Holland's reasoning behind it all? We talked about this a little bit in Friday's pod, Kyle, about how Ken Holland does not like to change coaches during the season. I think that when he fired Jay Woodcroft in Edmonton and replaced him with Chris Knobloch, I think that was the first time he ever did it. And this is now the second. And, you know, he just is not a huge fan of it, and he has to be dragged into it. Now, I watched his media conference on Sunday. When you talk about timing, you're asking the same question everybody else is asking. Why just do it at the Olympic break? and number one, I think it's because he doesn't like it and number two, I think he was hoping that acquiring Panarin at that time would put a jolt into their team that he wouldn't have to do it, right? And obviously we know that, you know, that's not what happened. They come out and I know everybody talks about the 8-1 loss to the Oilers and that was really bad. no question about it. But Kyle, I think also the one the night before when they were facing that depleted Vegas team and they led going into the third period and they lost, I think those two back-to-back, you know, they're killers. And this is supposed to be... Throwing the Fiala injury. And the Fiala injury is out of their control. Like, I mean, you know, what can they do? But you can control, maybe you're going to lose, but you got to play better than you did in those two games against the Golden Knights and the Oilers. And the other thing, too, I always wonder is, in situations like that, you're coming to the end of the year. It's Kopitar's last season. You want the season to be magical for Kopitar. That matters, right? And now you're, they won on Saturday. They beat the Flames. So they're three points out of the playoffs. The other thing I was wondering in situations like this, do the Kings have data behind the scenes that tells them in a post-Kopitar era, like if they go into the post-Kopitar era like this, losing badly at home, falling out of the playoff race, it could be really bad for them, like business-wise. And I don't know the answer to that, Kyle, I don't. But I can't help but look at decisions like this and say, Do they have information behind the scenes that tells them they cannot end the season like this? It's always something I ask. And you know what? I think, too, you know, Hiller really protected the players. We talked about it on previous pods about how some of the fans would get frustrated by some of his answers. And it's because he wasn't going to bury the players to the media. He just wasn't going to do it. But, you know, unfortunately, it was time. The way they came out, even Ken Holland, who doesn't like to do it, it was as plain as the nose on the face. Unfortunately, it was just time. I think it's really interesting about Matt Green going on the bench and the way that from the media conference, the way they talked about Matt Green having a relationship with Brant Clark. and it's to me the the question and and you know you dealt with DJ when he was in Ottawa as a head coach I'm always curious to see okay you get your second chance what did you do right the first time and what did you do wrong the first time how do you build on what you did right and how do you fix what you did wrong you say I did this wrong last time I've learned from it I'm not going to do it again, everybody deserves a second chance. And, you know, the thing about DJ Smith here is he's in the chair. You know, he has the inside lane. If he can make this work, he puts himself in position to be the full-time head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. So even though it sucks because you're replacing the guy you worked with, You really have no other choice but to give it your best effort and to take control of the situation because you have the best chance of getting the job now. And, you know, they're banged up, as you said, Fiala. Doubt he got hurt the other night, didn't play Saturday against Calgary. But I'm always curious about deployment. You know, does he give Brent Clark a longer leash? Is there a way he can get Byfield going offensively? And I do think that Ken Holland is trying, trying to get somebody who can get his offensive players the puck. I think he tried for Trocek. I don't think that's going to happen. But, Kyle, I just think the Kings got backed into a corner. It'll be interesting. Smith has the inside. He's got the pole position. But you know there's going to be talk about Woodcroft, who's an assistant in Anaheim, particularly if they get into the playoffs. And as you said, Anaheim's in good position right now. A rising tide floats all boats, right? And you know that there's going to be talk about Woodcroft-Holland if Smith doesn't grab hold of the job. And what'll be interesting is, of course, when he was in Ottawa, that was a young group trying to get out of rebuild mode. And now here in L.A., you know, he's in charge of one of the oldest rosters in the league. The other thing that stuck out to me when DJ Smith was taking questions on Sunday, he brought up, I mean, we touched on a little bit with Toronto and Craig Berube earlier. but he brought up the way they lost last year to Edmonton that it carried forward to this year that he goes you could still feel it within the room that it was something that he goes it stops now like it's here we are beginning of March and you're still trying to put to bed what was a very difficult end of their year last season and letting that series slip away against Edmonton but it's incredible that this far into the year, that's still a talking point within the organization. I understand things can linger, but that was an eye-opener for me. I don't know if it's not that way for you. Yeah, you know, I generally am not a fan of that. I think, again, I think you have to learn your lessons and make sure they don't happen again. But when I screwed up the swimming in 2016, I thought about it at least once a day for like three years. I kind of forgave myself for it. I said, you know what, you can't dwell on it anymore. You have to kind of let it go. You can't let it have sort of like a grab on your body and your psyche. But there would be moments, like quiet moments where I'd be doing nothing, and all of a sudden it would pop into my head. I didn't beat myself over it, but it was just never far away. And then I remember one day, like it was literally three years later, I woke up and I said, oh my God, like I, I didn't think about it yesterday. And it kind of finally went away. Now I think that's, I think that's bad. I don't think that's really good on my part. And I don't think what you were talking about is really good on the King's part at all. You have to be better than that. And I would say that about myself too, but I understand why it happens. now a lot a lot of time to try to pick up the pieces here for dj smith and the rest right back at it colorado monday three points out trying to still make something of this season as you pointed out elliot the last one of onze kopitar's hall of fame career that was the final thought presented by the toyota bz with that we will take our first break and come back with another edition of the Thoughtline. 32 Thoughts, the podcast continues after this. All right, welcome back. It's time once again for the Thoughtline. Elliot, it was a lot of podcast listeners at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday for the Battle of Ontario. They were in a good mood. Senators fans in particular, of course. One such Sens fan just prior to the game did approach me and said, hey. And I was like, yeah. And they said, you wearing Sens pajamas? And I said, I'll never tell. But they understood the assignment. Yeah. Excellent. What do you got? Okay, so I do want to do a few shout outs. Number one, so you know last week, Brett Kulak was traded from Pittsburgh to Colorado, right? So I got a tip that that one was happening, and I tried to reach out to the two teams. I reached out to Brendan McNicholas, the great media relations director of the Avalanche, and he was quiet, didn't say anything. And then I called Jamie Cartmel, the media relations guy from Edmonton, and he says, why are you calling me? You do realize Kulak plays for Pittsburgh now, right? I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. It was like a day or two after the Olympics, so I'm blaming it on that. But Cartmel laughing says, I better hear this on the pod. And then he goes, also, I can't confirm or deny for you. So he kept the shtick up. He did. It was pretty funny. I probably can count on one hand how many times you've done that, or maybe only one finger. I don't know if I've ever done that before. But like I said, I'm chalking it up to post-Olympic exhaustion. Jim. So we had a thought line caller, uh, a last pod who asked about three on three hockey, right? And I got a few responses about it and, uh, I wish I would have remembered some of this stuff, but last week, the double IHF, the international ice hockey federation announced a new three on three league. It's called the UHL, the ultimate hockey league, And it's going to begin play in Europe in 2027. And the hope is to take it worldwide in 2028. And also I was sent and I would I wish I would have remembered the social media user who sent this to me. I'm sorry I can't find it, but thank you. The Associated Press reported in November of 2024 that the IIHF is preparing a proposal to add three-on-three to the Winter Olympics as soon as 2030. And you'll remember, Kyle, we talked about basketball. In the summer games, they have the regular basketball that we're all used to, and they also have a three-on-three tournament. The IIHF wants to follow suit with hockey. So thank you to all those people who sent that in. Also, two years ago at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in South Korea, there was a three-on-three hockey competition. So if you look at the eight teams competing, the gold medalist was Latvia. Denmark won the silver. Kazakhstan won the bronze, beating Austria in that bronze medal game. And the other countries that were competing were Poland, Great Britain, Taiwan, and Spain. So, you know, there's some countries that do have a bit of hockey tradition, but there's a lot of other countries that are trying to build one, right? And you hear that and you're thinking, hey, those are perfect places to play three-on-three just to get started. So there is some growth in three-on-three internationally, and I wanted to mention that. A couple other things I just wanted to shout out. On Friday night, I went to Brantford, Ontario, which is just outside of Hamilton, to see the Brantford Bulldogs. And the Brantford Bulldogs were sold to the Hyman family. And Spencer Hyman, for example, is the GM now. And their previous owner was Mike Andlauer. And Mike Andlauer, who also owns the Ottawa Senators, he was honored and they put up a banner. He was basically inducted to the team's Hall of Fame and he was honored before the game. It was a great ceremony, beautifully done. And let me just say this. It was ran with military precision. Quick, move fast. Reed Duthie, who was the emcee, did a great job keeping it going. And that is the key for some of these ceremonies they can really drag. That one was perfectly timed and ran. It was a great event, and I wanted to thank Stephanie Barrett, who invited me and brought me there. She was a great host. Then on Saturday morning, Kyle, before I went to the morning skate between the Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, I went briefly, there was a special showing of the new reimagined Youngblood movie. If you've never seen Youngblood, it was Rob Lowe from the 80s as a young hockey player, and they've kind of done a reimagining for the 21st century. It debuted last year during the film festival. It's in theaters across Canada and the U.S. next Friday. I won't be seeing that on that day because it's the trade deadline, but I'll be seeing it right after. Hubert Davis who is the director he did a brief speech opening it and the lead Ashton James is from Toronto he did a Q&A with Donovan Bennett after it was over there were a bunch of young hockey players and their families who went to watch the film at the Hockey Hall of Fame I hear it's quite good and I wish them really well I also wanted to thank julian mckenzie because when i got to work on saturday i had a copy of black aces uh waiting for me julian's new book and i wanted to shout it out and wish him good luck with that i'm looking forward to uh reading it and finally finally i would like to say i know that some of you have my notifications on have complained that i am too fast with tweeting out goals in big moments and I have really tried to slow it down. I really have. I don't like to ruin it for anybody, and I really have tried to slow it down. On Saturday morning, Kevin McGrann of the Toronto Star said that I outdid myself with a spoiler on the last day of the Olympics. I said, what do you mean? He goes, Kevin is a curler, and he had, knowing he had to cover the hockey and everything else he had to do, and the curling was really early in the morning, even earlier than the hockey, he had shut down all knowledge of what was happening in the curling, and he was going to watch the gold medal of that competition after the men's hockey final. And he said, I get your notifications. And at that moment, just before, like 20 minutes before puck drop, you had to retweet that Canada had won gold in curling. And I felt horrible. Kevin's like, stay in your lane for gosh sakes. You know, at the Olympics, you retweet or you tweet out Canadians who win medals because you're so happy for them and happy for the country. never did I consider that I was spoiling curling for somebody else. So, Kevin, I am sorry. And to all of you, I am trying to be slower. And it was a star-studded night at the rink on Saturday, too, with Megan Oldham and Piper Gillis and Paul Poirier. They were all in the house with their... Yeah, you were really interviewing a bunch of them. It was great. I wasn't ready to rid myself of the Olympic mindset just yet. So, and it was because, as we've talked about, we were kind of in our own hockey bubble over there. So to be able to interact with some of the other Canadian Olympians that were elsewhere within Milano Cortina, that was really great and wonderful stories across the board there. Okay, something quick before we dive in in earnest. Adam from New Jersey wanted to include Elliot, Kyle, Dom, and Porter. I don't know why Griffin got the last name treatment there, but Elliot, Kyle, Dom, and Porter. Elliot isn't as funny as he thinks he is. Oh, and now I know why you picked this one. As I was teaching a... Yes, well, he is now realizing what we've all been preaching for many years. As I was teaching a yoga class this Sunday in front of roughly 30 people, the Bluetooth for my music would not connect, so I taught the class without music and used the old U-Plan, God Laughs line, and it didn't even get a single chuckle. All the best. Appreciate the countless hours of entertainment, driving to and from classes. It's all in the delivery, maybe. I would say, Adam, that the problem was not your line. It is a great line. It is that you have a humorless class. Yes. It's the 30 people on the yoga mats that need to lighten up. It's not your fault. It's not my grandmother's line's fault. No. It is your class's fault. Good. Glad we settled that. Okay. Parker in New York City. Hello, Kyle, Elliot, and the most important person of the pod, Dom. Yeah, okay. Always love listening to the pod and always admire how much most of you do for the pods. But as a fellow stagehand and union member, I appreciate that you all note how important and integral the broadcast crews are to what you all do. So thank you for noticing the hardworking people who generally don't get noticed unless something is wrong or broken. Yes, that is never lost on either of us. Each and every week. Anyways, here's my question. When prospect players who have signed their entry level contracts don't play the full amount of games required to burn the first year of their ELC, how is the pay handled? My understanding is that players, in general, get paid per game, but what about players who get sent down during the season or preseason without burning their first year? And do preseason games count for signed players as part of their pay? Love the pod, and as a Colorado kid living in NYC, go Abs go. Okay, so first of all, thank you, Parker. Let me answer a few of these. You don't get paid your salary during the preseason. Like there's per diem and there's stuff like that, but you don't get paid a salary during the preseason. That's number one. While you're in the NHL, if you are on a one-way deal, which means you get paid, most NHL players are on one-way deals, which means you get paid in the NHL or the AHL or the ECHL one salary which is your NHL salary it doesn matter You get it all the time But if you on what called a two deal which means one salary in the NHL and one salary in whichever minor league you're playing in, it just depends on where you are. If you're in the NHL, you get your NHL number. If you're in the American Hockey League or the ECHL or wherever else you might be, you get your minor league number. And that's basically the way it goes. And what you're talking about for, was he talking about like playing your 10 games? Is that what you think he's referring to? Yeah, I think so. So like not burning a year and getting sent back down to junior. So then what happens pay-wise? Well, if you're in junior, you're not making your NHL salary. However, the way it works is your contract can only slide up until a certain age. And a slide means you like there are some situations where if you don't play 10 games, it even though you collect an NHL salary for whatever that number is, one to nine games, if you get sent down, your contract rolls over. So the next year you're still in year one of three. when you're no longer in the NHL, you're not getting that NHL salary. You're getting your junior number or whatever it's going to be. But the way it works is you reach a certain age where your contract can't slide anymore. So even if you play less than 10 games, then you're still on your contract. Excellent. Okay. Steven from Montreal. If I explain that wrong, I'll hear it, but I think I've got that right. No, that was succinct. Stephen from Montreal. Greetings, fellow hockey nerds. Kyle Hairstyle Bukaskis, Dom the Slovakian Patriot Shramati, and Elliot the Raccoon Wrangler Friedman. I was watching my Montreal Canadiens the other night and noticed that they disallowed a Cole Caulfield goal because he kicked the puck towards Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders, and Sorokin knocked the puck in. I was always under the impression that the puck has to be intentionally kicked in the net, presumably, without hitting another player and most certainly without hitting the opposing team. In my 25 years of watching hockey, I've never seen this happen and was curious about your takes on this. By this logic, if a player kicks the puck 200 feet down the ice and the opposing goalie handles the puck and accidentally fires it into his own net, that wouldn't count. Seems like a weird situation, but the similarities are there. I've been listening to you guys since You only had 31 thoughts. So love the pod. I appreciate you guys getting me through the long work weeks. Shout out to Elliot. I'm a big fan of your work and your sense of humor always seem to get me. Also, shout out to my fiance, Alex. It's our 10 year anniversary. And here I am writing a long email to you guys. Have a great day and stay away from the raccoons in traffic. I hear they drive Toyota BZs. well if they knew it was good for them they would that's right it's good for us too yeah we are as long as the raccoon or any other animal has legally achieved their driver's license we are pro animals driving cars tunsis the driving cat if you want to drive a toyota bz we are completely in support of it. Stephen, let me tell you something. I hope you treat Alex like a queen. That is the number one thing I'm saying to you. I don't even know who you are, but I'm betting if she's put up with you for 10 years, you are the luckiest man on the earth, and I hope you treat her right. That's number one. Number two, Stephen, the rule you're looking at in the rulebook is 49.2, and it's pretty simple. A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who kicks a puck that deflects into the net off any player, goalkeeper, or official. If it is not a distinct kicking motion, it's a goal. But if you kick it and it hits somebody and goes in, it's no goal. I know some people think this is crazy, but it's pretty simple. Those skates now are so sharp and those cuts are so ugly, they do not want people kicking at bucks. Yes. And the play in question with Caulfield last week, it's understanding how the rule is written. Pretty cut and dry why that one was disallowed. Thank you very much, Stephen. Caleb from the Fraser Valley. Hello, King Dom, Thatcher Demko's worst nightmare, and the great and honorable representative of Raccoons Canada. His intros are just too much. My name is Caleb and I'm a Canucks fan. You guys are very creative. I give you guys a lot of credit. Caleb, the Canucks fan from the Fraser Valley. Vancouver seems to be tanking despite what Gary says, and I'm all for it. My question is, though, about the cap floor. Could Vancouver just sign some UFAs to one-year deals grossly over their market value just to meet the cap floor? I won't say any names, but there's a few contracts out there that would be believable if that were the idea behind it. I'm sure there's an answer to it that I am just unaware of. Otherwise, I'm sure the late Arizona Coyotes probably would have exploited it already. But if not, please let Vancouver know that I'd be willing to lace them up for seven to eight figures. Thanks, guys. Keep up the great work. Caleb, there's nothing wrong with your idea. Nothing. It absolutely could happen. As a matter of fact, when the Philadelphia 76ers were doing their tank-a-thon for years and years and years, trying to get all the picks that turned into, you know, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and players like that, they once signed J.J. Redick, who's now the Laker coach, to a one-year contract, I think $22 million. dollars so in the NBA that strategy has been done I don't know that there's anything like that in the NHL that's too much like that like we've seen guys sign you know one times five deals and stuff like that but nothing outrageous however there's nothing that prevents it and to be honest I'm a little surprised that someone hasn't done it right well I guess I suppose somebody has to sign the checks to the end of the day, maybe where that's the issue lies. You're right. Okay. You got me there. Marcus and Johan. Hello, the two thoughts and Mr. 30 thoughts, Friedman. Yes. I tried sending my question to Elliot's fax number, but kept getting the error message fax machine not found. So I resorted to an email submission instead. That's good, guys. That's very, very good. Yes. Whoever has that fax machine is not admitting to it. That's right. And it's clearly not plugged in. My son, who's 11, plays at the North Shore Winter Club. He watched Conor Bedard. Oh, yeah. That's turning out. What are they feeding kids there? I know. Yeah. It's turning out stud after stud after stud after stud. Yeah. I still get the sweaty palms at the sight of seeing your minor hockey team name next to theirs at a tournament during the year. That's going to be a tough night. Plays at North Shore Winter Club. He watched Bedard and Celebrini train this past summer, and he is a stickhead. He is wondering, how do players change their stick curve away from what is available at the local hockey stores? For example, how did Dreisaitl choose the burger flipper? When do they try changes to their sticks? Well, I think, what's the line that has often been uttered on this podcast that greatness borrows, but genius steals? yes so there's a lot of that that goes on amongst the peers of players in the nhl once upon a time you could get you know a manufacturer would send you kind of like a mold of a blade and the player would literally use their hand to kind of go okay i want okay the toe to be open like this and the heel to kind of be like that and go all right you send it back to the manufacturer and say make me a bunch of sticks that has that curve and they would but now there's I mean there's already so many variations out there and there's always like I mean we did a brief piece in the show on Saturday of Stephen Halliday using Austin Matthews stick you know the same specs that that Matthews uses and there's a lot of that that goes on around the league even if maybe not every player uses it in games but there's always sharing of ideas and I want to see what this guy uses and what kind of curve does this guy have so generally it's it's based off of that and getting somebody else's pattern in your hand and going now i want to try that and you get uh whichever brand that you're aligned with uh to make make up a batch you know with with your with your name on it and with the the rest of your your specs that that you prefer so that's generally how it goes or i want it like zegras has it but a little less toe hook or something like that and small adjustments are made that way but it's very rare for a player to like start right from scratch in today's day and age, it's usually based off of another one that's already out in the world, maybe not available retail-wise, but certainly is accessible for those that play at the top level. And oftentimes, Kyle, people will fiddle around with it in practice, right? For sure. That's often where you'll see the genesis of it. Hey, I see what you've got there. Let me try this. Yeah. Let me fiddle around with it. I mean, when I used to do a lot of baseball, you know, there would be times when somebody would break a bat or a couple bats and they'd run out and they say, oh, okay, I had to grab this guy's bat because I had none left. And I've seen situations before, I can't remember off the top of my head, but when guys would hit a home run with someone else's bat and be like, I better try these specs. So sometimes it's just fluke and things like that. Yes. Yeah. And guys are always, or a lot of guys are always tinkering or curious. And the players do have the ability, like you don't see it at the retail level. There's like, you can go with a wider blade in the NHL to a certain point, a longer blade too. So there's that ability to fiddle around things too, beyond just the curve and the lie of it as well. So thank you, Marcus and Johan, for that. Okay, a couple more here. This is from Danny. Hello again. First of all, thank you so much for answering my previous question a few months back on first ever goals. I could not believe that A, it got selected, and B, Kyle butchered the delivery so badly. Danny, just like Adam and his yoga class, the issue was the audience. Danny says, I feel like I should propose another question and give Kyle a chance to redeem himself. Before I get to the question, a discussion a few weeks back on contract signings and fax machines reminded me of Jumbo Joe signing his contract extension while shirtless atop his riding mower. What a legend. Yes. That was a beauty. Okay, my question is, with the new NIL rules enticing more players to go from Canadian Junior Leagues to the NCAA and an influx of recent high-end prospects coming through the ranks, Celebrini and Will Smith, to name a few, which Stanley Cup-winning team has had the most NCAA alumni on their roster? Kyle, good luck delivering this one. You're all the best. The future, and maybe even the present, is Teal. All right. Hmm. Did that one resonate? Now, off the top of my head, top of my head, knowing his philosophy, is it one of the Devils teams? They are—there's a Devils team tied for second. Okay. Very good. Because Lou Lamorello, very USA hockey. I mean, obviously, Scott Stevens, OHL guy. Scott Niedermeyer, WHL guy. Ken Danico, WHL guy. Martin Brodeur, Quebec League guy. But he took it a real point of pride that he had NCAA players or U.S.-born players on his roster. So that would be the first team off the top of my head, without even looking at anything, I would have guessed Devils. So they're tied for second? Yes. They're a 1995 cup-winning team. They had 13 guys with NCAA backgrounds. Okay. So somebody had more than that, eh? Yes. Okay. I'm going to be honest. I'm looking at Stanley Cup winners. I'm just because Devils was my automatic number one guess. Let's see. Who else would I look at and say that is a team that could be the answer? And that Devils team, maybe not surprisingly, the only in the top six that is not from the 21st century. Yes, I would definitely believe that it would be teams later that would be at the top. So I'm going to look at it. Okay. My next guess, Ducks, 07. Wow. They are fourth with 11. Right there. Family feud styles, you're on the board. Ain't no strikes. I don't want this to go too long. John Hurley's walking around, rubbing your hand, asking, okay. My family feud is with Richard Dawson. Yeah, right. So I will say my other guess here, 2018 Capitals. No. Okay. I missed it. You're right close there. The top team was the year prior. Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017, they had 15 guys. 15, eh? Yeah. Yeah, and when they won the year before, they had 13, so that ties the 95 Devils. You know, it was interesting. I was looking at the Penguins, and obviously Kunitz is the guy who jumps out to you as the NCAA guy. But you think, you know, you look at some of the key, I was thinking about it, some of the key players of that team. You know, Malkin, neither. Crosby, obviously not one. and I was thinking too, Chris Letang is not an NCAA guy and their goalie, Matt Murray, was not an NCAA guy. Ron Hainsey, who was on that team, not an NCAA guy. Trevor Daly. Yes, he was. He did two years at UMass. Oh, right, of course. Hainsey was. You know why? Because I keep thinking of him playing Hamilton Bulldogs. That's why. That's stupid. But Trevor Daly, not an NCAA guy. Like I was, I just, I was thinking, I thought five or six guys. I was like, no way it's Pittsburgh. I wouldn't have gotten it. Yeah. I wouldn't have gotten it. Kessel, of course. Yeah. Myr Sherry. Justin Schultz. Gensel. Benino. Gensel. Matt Cullen. Yeah. You know what? I just get, I didn't go deep enough. Yeah. Suddenly it adds up. So they are the leaders in that regard. Fifteen guys, well over half the roster when they went back-to-back in 2017. Thank you, Danny. I hope I didn't screw it up this time. Okay. Probably did. One more. Yeah. Okay. One more here. Voicemail. This is from Harry in Raleigh. Hey, Kyle and Elliot. My name's Harry, and I live out in Raleigh, North Carolina. And I was just, I was overjoyed to find out about Brennan Bussey's extension and that it included the donation to the Autism Society of North Carolina. Now, what I was wondering was, how common is that across the National Hockey League? And what is the largest? So if you got any of your favorite donations or a list of some of the largest, I'd love to hear it. Hope you all have a wonderful morning. Bye. So Harry's talking about athlete charitable donations. Yeah. Right? Okay. So, I mean, one of the guys we should shout out, it just happened last week, and that's Alexander Barkov. And Alexander Barkov has, for a while now in Florida, he has had a working relationship with, and I'm just going to check, I'm just Googling the name of the hospital here. it's Joe DiMaggio's Children's Hospital like he has had a long relationship with them he's been buying like a lot of players through their contracts do sweets and they open them up to people who couldn't otherwise go for a lot of different reasons and it's a great thing that they do and Barkov's done it and he gave a seven it was called quote unquote a significant seven-figure gift to the hospital this year in addition to his usual donation and you know he was very emotional as he as they spoke about him if you watch the press conference you saw any photos from it you could see how much it meant to bark off like it kind of reminded me when Josh Allen won the MVP the Bills quarterback a couple years ago that a number of kids send him videos from the children's hospital, he goes and visits and Alan got really choked up about it. And it was very similar. Like it's a beautiful thing to do. There are so many athletes out there who are charity oriented. I almost hate sometimes mentioning one or two, uh, because there's so many that we're leaving out, but you know, PK Subban obviously raised a lot of money for the hospitals in Montreal. all. But the one I always remember, because I remember hearing it from their teammates, the Sedin twins gave million dollar donations to a hospital in Vancouver. And the thing that stood out about that was they wanted it to be private. And the hospital, the Canucks, and some of their teammates, BX had told this story once, had to convince them that they had to go public with it. And they were like, no, we're not going public. And finally, the hospital administrators told them, the only reason we're asking you to do this is if you go public, historically, we can prove our donations go up. If people hear that the Sedins are donating to this hospital, more people will donate. And that's why they finally agreed to do it. Not because they wanted the notoriety, but because it was proven to them that the hospital would do better if everybody knew that they would be doing something that the Sedins did as well. So that's the story I kind of always remember. Yeah, there's some great ones like that and a lot that just aren't done quietly. But you mentioned the suites. My first year in Ottawa was the year that Bobby Ryan signed his big contract with the Senators. And shortly thereafter, he had announced that he was setting up a suite. It was like Bobby's all-star kids, kids from the Children's Hospital in Ottawa that would come to games. I really like going to games in Nashville. And on the one end of the rink, they've got banners not set up for necessarily players that are honored for how many years or how long they played with the organization. but it's players that have charities associated within the team and the different names of them and kind of what they support and who they support. And I just thought that's a nice touch whenever you walk into that building and seeing who's involved in that way beyond the hockey stuff. That's a nice touch I've always found walking into Bridgestone Arena that they have. There's a lot of examples out there, and Brandon Bussey among them. Just really cool. yes a lot of great people who do great things for charity okay well we'll leave it there 1-833-311-3232 if you would like harry like to leave a voicemail for us or you can email us at 32thoughts at sportsnet.ca we'll back to conclude this edition of 32 thoughts the podcast after the break Okay, before we go, I know I don't say this enough, but as you know, only so many hours in a day, and we really do appreciate spending a couple of them here with us twice a week, each and every week throughout the hockey season, especially now in the lead-up to trade deadline on Friday. Before we get there, though, a couple of games that can be seen nationally across the network. For those interested, Tuesday night on Sportsnet 1, the Dallas Stars are in Calgary to face the Flames on the air at 9 Eastern, 7 o'clock Mountain Time. For those that want to catch that, Scotiabank Wednesday night hockey this week. The Toronto Maple Leafs in New Jersey to face the Devils. David Amber and co. have the Hockey Central pregame show at 6.30 Eastern. Puck drop from Prudential Center shortly after 7 ET. And of course, all these games can be streamed on Sportsnet Plus as well. Taking us out today, a track from Trigg Strand, who was born and raised in BC's Columbia Valley. Strand played in the BCHL for three years before earning a scholarship at the University of Guelph-Griffins, grinding through five seasons before taking his game to the pro ranks in Sweden. But when the pandemic brought his hockey career to a close, he shifted to a different kind of arena. With a high-energy blend of rock, blues, country, and folk, Strand's new track, Love and War, is packed with gritty, hook-heavy riffs built for open skies and raised hands. Keep an eye out for the release of three new singles over the next few months. You can catch this track, along with all the others we featured this year, on 32 Thoughts to Music, playlist that can be found on Spotify. Trade deadline coming up on Friday. Until then, Enjoy Trig Strand and Love and War on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. I don't sleep much anymore To worry about love and war I'm just looking forward to my morning fix Tall black coffee generally does the trick To getting me on my way To taking on the day Cause I got some demons there I'm trying to say that I'm trying to say that I'm trying to say to stay Every day And they always catch me by surprise Cause I don't know where they hide Right when I'm doing good When I'm feeling like I should They tie me on the shoulder And they say it's time You do a whine You do a whine You do a whine For you to whine Every day guitar solo I just wanna feel... I just wanna feel... Something more Joshua feel... I just wanna feel... Something more I just wanna feel... I just wanna feel something more Oh, I just wanna feel... I just wanna feel... Something more I love you more And I just want to feel so bad And I just want to feel so bad Thank you.