Jeff and Elliotte discuss COVID-19 protocols around the sports world, the impact the virus is having on the league, trade talks around Jakob Chychrun, Vancouver finding their stride as they begin to make hires, Pittsburgh’s surprising run, why this might be the weirdest NHL season, and they take a real interest question from the thought line.
Restrictions and protocols are taking over the league. Jeff and Elliotte discuss how different leagues are adjusting their COVID-19 protocol as players, coaches and support staff begin to miss games, if attendance restrictions will impact the salary cap, and what players are saying about the Olympics and the current COVID-19 situation.
They also touch on trade talks around Jakob Chychrun (19:30), Vancouver finding their stride as they begin to make hires (23:00), Pittsburgh’s surprising run (27:20), why this might be the weirdest NHL season (31:50), and they take a real interest question from the thought line (38:00).
Full transcript for the episode can be found here by Medha Monjaury
Outro Music: Mata Hari - Easy
Listen to the full single here
This podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.
Audio Credits: Sportsnet 650 and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.
Open //// Jeff Marek [00:00:00] Okay!
Elliotte Friedman [00:00:02] Always say, what're we doing? I know [unclear] what else?
Jeff Marek [00:00:10] Welcome to 32 Thoughts the Podcast presented by the all new GMC AT4 Lineup and the caveat for this podcast and maybe all subsequent podcasts: by the time you're hearing this podcast, everything has changed, so cut us a little bit of slack.
Elliotte Friedman [00:00:24] Listen to it now cause in 15 minutes, it might be completely outdated.
Jeff Marek [00:00:28] Now you're saying that at 8:23 eastern on Thursday evening by about 8:25, everything's gonna change. So let's try to get this under the wire as quickly as we can so Amil can edit it all together and we can get it up, so it's not too dated.
Elliotte Friedman [00:00:41] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:00:41] Having said that, we know it will be. The very latest, the Colorado Avalanche. Now going into this Avalanche-Nashville Predators game, which I am watching right now over my left shoulder.
Elliotte Friedman [00:00:51] Okay?
Jeff Marek [00:00:51] There were going to be 11 players absent, 7 from the Preds, and then Devon Toews, Darcy Kuemper, Andre Burakovsky, J.T. Compher for Colorado but then, right before game time, the Avalanche added Cale Makkar to the mix. Pavel Francouz gets the start and it's EBUG time, Dustin Smith is backing up and you have some interesting information as it relates to the Avs side of this Agatha Christie novel game.
Elliotte Friedman [00:01:22] I have to say also that Kuemper, his was late too.
Jeff Marek [00:01:26] Yes.
Elliotte Friedman [00:01:27] So they were planning on playing without three guys, Toews, Compher, Burakovsky, and then right before the game, they found out about Kuemper and Makar. So basically, they're thrown a wicked curveball right before the game. I don't know all of the details, but I do know this, that the Avalanche were given the option of not playing and the players voted to play. Now, since I've tweeted that and we started to tape the podcast Jeff, I've gotten texts and, you know, were the Bruins given this option? Were the Panthers given this option? Were the Hurricanes given this option? I don't know any of that. I just know that the Avalanche were given the option and they voted to play.
Jeff Marek [00:02:13] And many might look at this and say, at some point someone has to step in and say this is not player option anymore. Like, you know I talk about this every day on radio, whether it's the Calgary Flames situation, which is the most dire, that team has been shut down. 18 players, 3 coaches, 9 staff members. You mentioned the Boston Bruins you know, names are adding up there on that team. You look at the Carolina Hurricanes that you mentioned as well. They're two skaters short Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Every single day there's something new. There's a new log on the fire in all of this. It seems, and again, you may not have any comment or any knowledge about this, but it's important to have it out there. It seems the direction this thing is headed in is one that the NHL and Players Association don't even want to contemplate, and that is a pause. Now there are... listen not that it's the same thing, but there are minor hockey associations across this country in the United States as well that are looking at pauses as well. I look at the National Hockey League and I say, how can it not be marching towards this inevitability? Do you have the same feeling that I do?
Elliotte Friedman [00:03:24] Yes, I do wonder about that but sometimes I think you have to step back and look at things from a bigger perspective and not just hockey's perspective. So I'm watching also what's going on with the NBA and the NFL.
Jeff Marek [00:03:39] Right.
Elliotte Friedman [00:03:39] And what are they all doing? They're avoiding cancelling games. I don't know if you've been watching this stuff play out on social media about the Browns. The Browns are getting clobbered in terms of players and COVID. So is the Washington Football Team, but the Browns have to play on Saturday. And Baker Mayfield is taking runs at the league COVID protocol on Twitter.
Jeff Marek [00:04:02] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:04:02] And, you know you look at the NBA, the Sacramento Kings got shut down today and they're not cancelling games. So all of these leagues follow each other, right?
Jeff Marek [00:04:12] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:04:12] They all talk to each other and they're all doing whatever they can to avoid cancelling games. It's the absolute last case scenario, and someone from hockey said that the NFL's actually in the worst spot because they're heading into their playoffs. You know, basketball and hockey still have a runway here. The other thing today, that's really fascinating, and we were mentioning about Mayfield taking runs at the NFL. You know, the whole NFL situation I've been--I've been diving into it more the last 24 to 48 hours. So, apparently there, the Players Association wanted daily testing. The NFL said no, and the players are now beginning to say maybe we wouldn't be in this position if we had more daily testing. That's probably not true the way we're going right now, but I understand why the players would at least take that position in terms of collective bargaining. But what did the NFL do? They just changed their protocols right before the playoffs. Well, they basically said that if you get a positive test but you're asymptomatic and you're vaccinated, you can get out potentially in one day. That's the way their rules work now. And I think everybody's been waiting to see if anybody will loosen their rules first. And like I said, the NFL's closer to the playoffs, they've got more to lose. I'm wondering what this is gonna mean for other leagues.
Jeff Marek [00:05:39] So everybody is watching the NFL here.
Elliotte Friedman [00:05:42] They're the leader!
Jeff Marek [00:05:43] And everyone is thinking, them, then us. That's an interesting one.
Elliotte Friedman [00:05:50] But it's very difficult, and I really wanna be careful with how I say this, cause it's very difficult to gauge exact numbers. So... yesterday we reported that the league and the teams were told about enhanced protocols because of the Omicron breakout. When I tweeted that I was slightly wrong. And what happened is, the NHL and the NHLPA had agreed to it, the players knew about it, but the teams had yet to receive the protocols. Like I had... people texted me from a couple of teams later in the day saying, this protocol you're telling me about, we haven't gotten them yet. And I think they're supposed to get them Thursday night. And one of the things I'm hearing that happened was, you know, we saw one player, Nick Cousins from the Predators, go on social media and say there should be a pause. Let's pause until after Christmas. I have no doubt there are other players who agree with him. I can't imagine that Nick Cousins is alone in his opinion.
Jeff Marek [00:06:57] The exact quote is, "Pause this season until after Christmas. This is ridiculous."
Elliotte Friedman [00:07:03] Right. And I would bet that he wouldn't say something like this without his teammates kind of agreeing with it.
Jeff Marek [00:07:10] Well, look what his team is going through right now.
Elliotte Friedman [00:07:12] They don't have a single NHL coach on the bench tonight, like their bench is being run by their American Hockey League coaches and I think they've got six players out. However, and this is just like life right now. I've heard there are a bunch of teams and players who feel that maybe we're getting to the point where we might have to live with this. Like they said, look, like you asked us to get vaccinated, every player but one is vaccinated, all the staff that have to be nearby are vaccinated. There's two coaches this year, Rocky Thompson and Sylvain Lefebvre, who lost their jobs because they didn't get vaccinated. And, you know, the early word is that the Omicron, which is now in the NHL, while it's highly transmissible, it doesn't seem to be making people as sick. Again, I don't want to say that there's no bad cases because that would be a wrong thing to even guess at, but from what I'm hearing, a lot of the cases are not that serious. Knock on wood and hope that stays.
Jeff Marek [00:08:17] Mhm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:08:17] And this is just what's happening in life. There's people who feel, lock it down, and there's people who say, at what point do we decide that this is part of our lives, and if we're vaccinated and possibly boosted, we just have to live with it? And I think the same debate that is being played out on social media and in the world is playing out behind the scenes in the National Hockey League. And I heard it's going on.
Jeff Marek [00:08:46] It's dangerous. And as, you know, one of the examples that a buddy of mine gave, because we're having this exact same conversation, I think a lot of us are having this conversation with our friends, with our--with our family, with--with co-workers, you know, is it, you know, shut it down and try to snuff it out, or is it, look, this is just the reality we're with and we need to learn how to swim. And we were talking about professional sports, and I was bringing up the example that, you know, teams and the league is still... hesitant. You know, the idea of, even--you put someone on the ice who even though they may be asymptomatic, you know, is still COVID positive. And a friend of mine gave me this example. He said, well, if you were hosting a party.
Elliotte Friedman [00:09:26] Mhm.
Jeff Marek [00:09:26] And you had a ball of M&Ms and you took one M&M and poisoned it and put it in the bowl of M&Ms, would you be comfortable putting it out during the party? And I said, no, of course not. That's awful. And he said, that's probably how NHL teams feel. Like there's always the chance. Because there's still the "what if" factor that we're dealing with here. And I think that's where teams are. I don't know that they can make and maybe it's on the advice of doctors, maybe it's on the advice of attorneys as well, and liability. You don't want to do that for the What If scenario. I know we all assume risk. We all assume risk when we open our front door, when we get into our car and drive on the roads, we all assume risk every single day.
Elliotte Friedman [00:10:11] Mhm.
Jeff Marek [00:10:11] But I'm with the argument that says I don't think the teams are there yet, that they're willing to say, you know what, we're ready just to to swim with this now because this is just our life because of the What If factor.
Elliotte Friedman [00:10:22] I know, I understand, and I do respect your opinion. No question about it. I'm just saying that I think there are players and teams who feel that way. I'm not sure that the league feels that way. I'm not sure the top of the Players Association feels that way. And I've had some agents say to me that they don't like that either.
Jeff Marek [00:10:42] Mhm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:10:42] So there is opposition, like you said, and one of the reasons is, you know, you don't wanna risk the worst case scenario is so you don't want to go there. And you know, the other thing I want to say is there is a regular listener of this podcast who was in the medical profession. And whenever we talk about this, he sent me a DM. He said I would just love it if you could mention the burnout of the medical health professionals. They have to be considered. So I just wanted to mention that too.
Jeff Marek [00:11:11] Yes.
Elliotte Friedman [00:11:11] Anyway, what I just wanted to say Jeff is, I think behind the scenes, there's the same kind of philosophical disagreements going on that we see on social media. And I don't know why anybody would be surprised at that cause that's just life.
Jeff Marek [00:11:24] What did you make of the Montreal situation? Quebec health authorities are requesting no fans at the Bell Centre. As I watch this Philadelphia-Montreal game and say to myself, this looks like the Scotia North Division, except what are the Philadelphia Flyers doing there? This looks like last season Elliotte.
Elliotte Friedman [00:11:41] Well, I mean, what are you gonna do when the provincial government steps up and say, you can't play with fans?
Jeff Marek [00:11:47] You see, I wonder if eventually--I know Ontario's knocked it down to 50% right now, which, you know, people are looking at and saying it's a half measure, this is airborne and okay so it's not 18,000, but it's eight. I wonder if we'll just, you know, quite bluntly, see more of this.
Elliotte Friedman [00:12:01] I don't know.
Jeff Marek [00:12:02] And not just Montreal, I don't know, I think it's--I think it's something that we're all wondering about at this point. But the two things that... because listen, everything else is speculation, but the two things that we do sort of have at least somewhat of a handle and maybe a little bit of authority on as it relates to this situation right now, two things: how this is affecting the schedule, and how this will affect the salary cap.
Elliotte Friedman [00:12:28] You know, the point you make about the salary cap. So, we know the cap is supposed to go up by one million next year.
Jeff Marek [00:12:34] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:12:34] Gary Bettman said that and you talked about this last week on 32 Thoughts, the Hockey Night in Canada version. That the way that they're going, they could be fully paid off what the players owe to the owners in the summer of 2024 and the cap could go up, and that's faster than most people predicted.
Jeff Marek [00:12:54] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:12:54] Somebody said to me tonight, Montreal, having the fans taken out against Philadelphia. What's that gonna cost? Two million?
Jeff Marek [00:13:04] Yeah, it's a big gate. Toronto's a big gate, too, yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:13:08] If you get more of that, are you gonna throw all those predictions offline?
Jeff Marek [00:13:12] That's what I'm asking about. That's my curiosity here. At what point do we say, you know tonight? Okay, there's no fans. Boston on Saturday, okay, no fans. And then the Habs hit the road. But if this is prolonged at all. My only question is, at what point does it impact what we just heard at the Board of Governors of West Palm?
Elliotte Friedman [00:13:32] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:13:32] With the salary cap going up a million dollars and then edging towards '24-'25, a major bump which would allow teams to, you know, Carolina to resign Aho and Vancouver with Pettersson and Toronto with Auston Matthews, etc. Philly with Carter Hart.
Elliotte Friedman [00:13:47] Well, someone said to me tonight that they felt when they heard that, they felt the Montreal game should have been postponed, because that affects the business of your league. And I just kind of wondered, you know, Philly's already there. They can't really do that. It happened, what, two hours before the game? But I understood his point. It affects the business. And like I said earlier Jeff, you look at all these leagues right now. We're seeing tons of players entering protocol and they're doing everything they can to avoid pauses.
Jeff Marek [00:14:20] Yeah, that's the last thing they want specifically and--
Elliotte Friedman [00:14:23] See, I wonder, and this is just me talking, Jeff.
Jeff Marek [00:14:25] Mhm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:14:25] I wonder if the NHL would pause games, this is purely my opinion, I wonder if the NHL would pause games now if the players committed to not going to the Olympics.
Jeff Marek [00:14:39] Well, that takes us into the next discussion, which is, we're starting to see more and more players... I mean, Robin Lehner came out early and said, this isn't good for me.
Elliotte Friedman [00:14:48] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:14:48] This is not good for my mental health and, should come as no surprise, robin Lehner is very much a leader in this regard. But whether it's Karlsson, whether it's Josi, Connor McDavid, non-committal, you know, more and more when the microphones are out and the players are asked to comment about it, what has gone from, we're going, is now turning into, uhhh, I need more information. I don't want to make a commitment just yet. It seems like this is a very slow march to the NHL players saying, I don't know this is such a good idea. And obviously what's happening in their own league with their teams. And they read the COVID lists every day when they come out as well. It's not marching anywhere good for the players that wanna go, or have always said, we wanna go. But then you have Steven Stamkos, who says, look, I've never gone before. I'm going.
Elliotte Friedman [00:16:44] Yeah, you know, I gotta tell you, I don't like other people telling me what to do. So I don't like telling other people what to do. You know who that decision is between, to me? Steven Stamkos and his wife.
Jeff Marek [00:16:56] Mhm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:16:56] And then on the second level, Steven Stamkos and the Lightning.
Jeff Marek [00:17:01] I'm not telling Steven Stamkos whether he should go or not go. All I'm saying is I'm measuring off what, you know, Karlsson or McDavid or Josi saying--.
Elliotte Friedman [00:17:09] I understand what you're saying.
Jeff Marek [00:17:09] Like this isn't all just one side speaking here. There are still players that are saying, I want to go. This is important to me. I've never done this before. We all know Stamkos's history of missing the Olympics. He's determined to go.
Elliotte Friedman [00:17:24] I see people criticising his stance. I'm not criticising his stance because I wouldn't tolerate anybody criticising my personal decisions on how to live my life. Who does it affect? It affects his wife. So you should definitely listen to her, and it affects the organisation potentially, so he has to listen to them. But, you know, obviously he's fully vaccinated. That's his choice. And I understand that.
Jeff Marek [00:19:23] Turning our attention now to the Arizona Coyotes, who um... listen, we've seen teams stripped down for a rebuild. Tim Murray with the Buffalo Sabres, one of the most obvious examples of recent note, but we've remarked a couple of different times about how Arizona is doing it and taking this down to the frame and... I was always under the impression that everything was available that was not named Jacob Chychrun.
Elliotte Friedman [00:19:49] Mhm.
Jeff Marek [00:19:49] And as you reported at 32thoughts.sportsnet.ca, that might not necessarily be the case. Left shot defenceman who would garner lots of interest on the trade market. $4.6 million is the cap hit that extends for three more seasons after this year. Who when you measure him off against some of the other, like this was the summer where defenceman all got paid. Not that $4.6 million isn't a healthy paycheque, when you consider what everybody else made this summer, that is a very good contract if you're looking to move Jacob Chychrun. What's the latest that you hear about the left shot D?
Elliotte Friedman [00:20:29] So we reported that, you know, they were gauging the market for him, and I do think there's quite a bit of interest. I did have one general manager tell me and he says, you cannot use the team, but you can say that based on the prices we've been told, we're not doing it, we can't do that. And the price is hefty, but as you said, the contract, you get him for three more years at an excellent number, and he's an elite player. They should be asking for a ton, and I don't think anybody really has a problem with them asking for a ton. He just said in his situation, they couldn't do it.
Jeff Marek [00:21:05] Mhm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:21:05] But I do think to me, the Coyotes wanna know the market and they wanna know it soon, which says to me that this is something, like I don't want to say it could happen next week because I think that's a crazy prediction to make? But I do think they are really motivated to see who's serious and who isn't.
Jeff Marek [00:21:25] Mhm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:21:25] So when I look at that right now, you know, who do I look at? I look at Edmonton. I wonder about Boston?
Jeff Marek [00:21:35] Edmonton's wanted a left shot.
Elliotte Friedman [00:21:38] I wonder about Montreal? I wonder about Philly?
Jeff Marek [00:21:42] Islanders.
Elliotte Friedman [00:21:42] I do wonder about the Islanders but, if they're really in it and Lamoriello hears the speculation he might just kibosh it.
Jeff Marek [00:21:52] But see what--here's the thing about Chychrun, I think the, one of the interesting points here is he's got three more years after this.
Elliotte Friedman [00:21:57] Yeah!
Jeff Marek [00:21:57] So even if you're a team that, like you mentioned the Montreal Canadiens [might be interested], why are they looking to add? Well, he's 23 years old.
Elliotte Friedman [00:22:06] Yeah, this is a guy who's staying with you for a while.
Jeff Marek [00:22:08] This isn't just, oh, we have him until the end of the season like, this isn't a rental like, this is a significant investment in a player on your team.
Elliotte Friedman [00:22:17] You know, you know who else can do it? Ottawa.
Jeff Marek [00:22:19] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:22:19] I wonder about Vancouver, although I don't think it's as easy for them as some other teams. Oh, L.A.! I've been told that L.A. is a team that's--because they can do it right?
Jeff Marek [00:22:29] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:22:29] And he fits a need. I think what's going on here is Arizona wants to know who's serious and who isn't.
Jeff Marek [00:22:36] You see, I look at teams with, you know, multiple first round picks. So Montreal makes some sense. The Buffalo Sabres are another team with multiples, although I don't think they wanna let go of first round draft picks at this point, I think they want as many lottery tickets as they can get but, I'm with you Friedge like if you're the Arizona Coyotes, you're asking for a ton.
Elliotte Friedman [00:22:56] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:22:58] Like you're asking for a whopper of a package for Jacob Chychrun. Vancouver Canucks getting business done, a couple of things: one, Derek Clancey, hired as assistant General Manager and also Stan Smyl, is named the VP of Hockey Operations for Vancouver, that one happening earlier on Thursday evening. Do you have a thought on either of these two bits of news?
Elliotte Friedman [00:23:22] Clancey was the guy that Rutherford was targeting quickly, and Calgary wasn't gonna stand his way because he was in a scouting position. So it is a promotion? Again, I'm still trying to figure out who Rutherford's gonna get permission to talk to in-season. Like, is he gonna get a chance to talk to Patrick Allvin in season? And, you know, we've discussed this. Rutherford not exactly uncomfortable with being the idea of a full-time GM for a few months.
Jeff Marek [00:23:50] You know, we were sort of joking about this on radio this afternoon as well. The idea that I'm gonna--that if you're Jim Rutherford, you're gonna wait until the end of January, do you believe that for a second? You know, wait till the end of January to see what you have before you do anything? You know Jim Rutherford, do you think that's true?
Elliotte Friedman [00:24:04] Guys were laughing about that, like...
Jeff Marek [00:24:08] Yeah, something falls into his lap the first week of January, he's gonna say, no, I don't really have a handle on this situation yet, or is he going to get the old competitive juices flowing again and go like, oh yeah, this is my Rubik's Cube now. I get to start to play with it. I think we all know what the answer to that is.
Elliotte Friedman [00:24:25] It's gonna be interesting to see what they decide to do because they're really going out right?
Jeff Marek [00:24:29] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:24:29] You know that comeback against Columbus the other night was insane.
Elliotte Friedman [00:25:31] So, you know, do you tamper with it or do you kind of just let it play? The guys still play at a ridiculous pace to make the playoffs but, hey, this is no time for facts and common sense. Things are going great right now.
Jeff Marek [00:25:44] Listen, all I'm saying is, Bruce Boudreau's done it before. I think of that first year with the Washington Capitals '07-'08 and what he did to that team, and it took him until game 82, and did they need help from the [other team's] scoreboard? Absolutely.
Elliotte Friedman [00:25:59] Well, also they were dealing with the Southeast division, right?
Jeff Marek [00:26:02] Correct.
Elliotte Friedman [00:26:03] That was a unique structure that isn't there anymore. I don't know if you can count on it the same way. But again, we're playing the role of--of party pooper right here.
Jeff Marek [00:26:15] Everything's great in Vancouver now and they want to be Debbie Downer all of a sudden Friedge, can you--can you let them enjoy themselves? Can you let someone have some joy in their life?
Elliotte Friedman [00:26:26] You know, we should talk a few more minutes. We have some time here and, you know, there's one person who's sent us both a DM saying, could you please talk about something other than COVID? So why don't we--
Jeff Marek [00:26:35] We talked about Chychrun!
Elliotte Friedman [00:26:36] Yeah, why don't we make somebody happy for a change? By the way!
Jeff Marek [00:26:39] Yeah?
Elliotte Friedman [00:26:39] How about Washington with a lowkey smart move of doing their tests in the states on Friday morning before going to Winnipeg to play that night? So if anybody tests positive, they get left behind and don't have to go into Canada and risk getting stuck there.
Jeff Marek [00:26:59] So two seconds after you say it, I wanna respect someone who DM'd us saying, can you talk about something other than COVID? You talk about testing.
Elliotte Friedman [00:27:06] You know, right, that's terrible. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, person who did this about this. Okay, let's talk--what other teams do you want to talk about?
Jeff Marek [00:27:15] There's a few. I--I don't know what, jeez. I mean, I've said this so many different times. Oh, the Penguins have to stop, the Penguins have to look at moving everybody. They gotta restock and then they'll like rip off five games in a row. And you know, going into this, you know, we're recording this on Thursday you know, there's a few teams of five wins in a row. We just mentioned the Vancouver Canucks and you throw the Avs and the Preds who are facing off against each other this evening and the Pittsburgh Penguins as well. I don't know if you've got a chance to watch that game against the Montreal Canadiens the other day, but it was, for a lot of people's money, probably Sidney Crosby's best game this season, and you're always looking for it. You mentioned, you know, lowkey. Here's a lowkey under-the-radar guy that's really starting to turn heads? Who's got a bomb of a shot and is a real dynamic player and you always look for players that hit their stride seemingly out of nowhere? When I watch Pittsburgh these days.
Elliotte Friedman [00:28:10] Evan Rodriguez?
Jeff Marek [00:28:14] Can't take my eyes off of him.
Elliotte Friedman [00:28:15] Like, this is a guy who was a $2 million player in the NHL a few years ago in Buffalo it just didn't work, right, for whatever reason?
Jeff Marek [00:28:21] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:28:21] He's a talented guy. You know, we talked--we've said this about Mike Sullivan before, he says it's no excuses. We're gonna create a setup where we think you can win. First of all, do you get the goaltending, and now they're getting the goaltending. Jarry's been really good, DeSmith gave him a big win this week.
Jeff Marek [00:28:38] Yes, yes.
Elliotte Friedman [00:28:38] So that's, that's number one. You have to have that. But number two it's, no excuses. You know, he's a no excuse guy. Don't give me excuses. And Crosby is a no excuse guy. Letang is a no excuse guy. Your top players are, don't give us excuses. I'd add Malkin, he's not playing right now. And so Sullivan goes in there it's not--we're not doing woe is me here. We're playing. And this is how we're gonna have to play, and this is how we're gonna have to win. And those guys all buy in because he doesn't wanna hear, oh, we don't have Crosby, we got 12 guys in protocol or, whatever the situation is. He just says, we don't have this, so this is how we have to play to win and everybody there buys in.
Jeff Marek [00:29:25] Hmm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:29:25] I love that. Don't give me the excuses. Just play.
Jeff Marek [00:29:29] One final point on, on Evan Rodriguez. The day after the Montreal game, I was talking to someone around Pittsburgh and it came up, that bomb of a shot, and this person said to me, the interesting thing about Rodriguez is, we've seen so many players play with Crosby and their entire focus is just giving him the puck. Like Kunitz wasn't that way, but like a lot of maybe, I guess Pascal Dupuis really wasn't that way, but he said, we've had like a lot of players that we see here, whenever they play with Crosby, it seems as if their whole game is just, get the puck to Crosby, get the puck to Crosby, get the--it's a natural instinct.
Elliotte Friedman [00:30:08] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:30:08] Right? You're playing with someone like Crosby, get that guy the puck. And I think I read somewhere a while ago that Crosby even said like, I don't want guys to think that way, I want them to be and--you're seeing that with Rodriguez like, have you ever watch a Penguins game and got the idea that man, they're just forcing pucks to Crosby, even though they shouldn't at this moment? Rodriguez, not that he ignores Crosby, but if something's not there, he's not gonna make a play to Crosby.
Elliotte Friedman [00:30:31] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:30:31] It's gotta be a weird feeling. But then again like, I'm not an NHLer and neither are you but if I was playing on a line with Sidney Crosby, Friedge, wouldn't your whole game just be like, get the puck to 87? Just get this thing off my stick and give it to him? But he's like, so comfortable not shovelling bad plays to Sidney Crosby. That's kind of refreshing to watch. And I'll tell you, I don't know what to make of Pittsburgh. Like put yourself in Ron Hextall's position right now. Okay you got an expiring contract with Rusty. You got an expiring contract with Malkin and Letang. Last summer you didn't blow it up because you probably thought you should've beat the Islanders if you would've got a save. So maybe that delayed what many people think are coming and you think maybe it's gonna to fall apart this year at some point and there were times this year we said, okay, that's it for the Penguins, and then they rip off five in a row. So like, if you're Ron Hextall, what are you thinking about your team right now? What're you doing?
Elliotte Friedman [00:31:29] It's a great question. And now you've got new ownership. So there's--there's a new vote there.
Jeff Marek [00:31:32] And now new ownership. And what do they want? I don't know, man, like.
Elliotte Friedman [00:31:38] It's a good question.
Jeff Marek [00:31:39] To me it's a--it's a fascinating team. It is a fascinating team right there.
Elliotte Friedman [00:31:53] Before we wrap up this podcast Marek, is this not one of the weirdest seasons you've ever seen? Just forget the whole COVID situation.
Jeff Marek [00:32:01] Mhm?
Elliotte Friedman [00:32:02] But look at the standings.
Jeff Marek [00:32:05] Okay.
Elliotte Friedman [00:32:05] I'm trying to decide what is more surprising to me. Toronto being number one in points the way they started.
Jeff Marek [00:32:13] Or the Islanders?
Elliotte Friedman [00:32:14] Florida's fourth, Tampa's fifth, Carolina's sixth. I thought all those teams would be right up there? But I look at one two three Toronto Rangers Washington. I didn't think the way Toronto started they'd be there, but they've been great. Like, there were times Shesterkin completely bailed out the Rangers and they thought when he got hurt, they might fall a bit, haven't. Washington? I thought at the beginning of the year they looked a little bit top-heavy to me and they've been fantastic.
Jeff Marek [00:32:44] Pause on Washington for one second?
Elliotte Friedman [00:32:45] Yeah?
Jeff Marek [00:32:46] I was talking to Anthony Stewart on radio this afternoon and he was talking about Nick Backstrom coming back?
Elliotte Friedman [00:32:51] Yeah?
Jeff Marek [00:32:51] And I was making the point about how Ovechkin's, you and I have talked about this, Ovechkin scoring from all over the ice, now doing different things, and Stewie's like, watch, Backstrom's back?
Elliotte Friedman [00:33:00] That's over.
Jeff Marek [00:33:01] Watch Ovechkin just, just go back to his spot for one-timers because Backstrom is back and he's going to be doing all the work again. Then one of the more underappreciated players we've seen in the NHL in his career, like Backstrom gets not a ton of respect and he should. He is a phenomenal player, and he said, you watch because Ovechkin's had to shoulder a lot of the load. You watch, Backstrom is back. All that stuff. He's gonna start picking up again.
Elliotte Friedman [00:33:28] Yeah, and he did on the first one the other night. It's a great point.
Jeff Marek [00:33:31] Yes!
Elliotte Friedman [00:33:32] But how many teams are where you thought they'd be? Minnesota, is really good. Like, I thought they'd be good, they're better than I thought. Anaheim, much better than I thought. St. Louis, especially with all the injuries and COVID? Much better than I thought. Colorado would be fine. Calgary? Much better than I thought. Nashville, the way they started, better than I thought. Vegas, I think, is gonna to be fine. I don't know what to make of Edmonton and Winnipeg right now. San Jose, Detroit? Better than I thought. You know, Ottawa? What a week they just had.
Jeff Marek [00:34:06] Oof!
Elliotte Friedman [00:34:06] But took a long time to get going. Montreal, you know, 20 regulation losses. You know, even Buffalo, the record isn't great? Like, to me, they're more competitive. The goaltending has really killed them.
Jeff Marek [00:34:20] Same as Seattle.
Elliotte Friedman [00:34:21] Philly, not as good as I thought. Devils, slowed down a bit, although I like them. Columbus, better than I thought. You know how many teams that you look at right now, do you say, yeah, they are where I thought they were gonna be. Like, no one! I think Seattle is where I thought. Buffalo is where I thought, but I think they've been better as a team. Arizona, I think, is where we all thought they were going to be.
Jeff Marek [00:34:49] Yes, that's by design.
Elliotte Friedman [00:34:50] How many other teams are where you really thought they were gonna be? For me at the top: Florida, Tampa, Carolina, and Toronto I thought they'd be good. But after the way they started the season, I didn't think they'd be where they are right now.
Jeff Marek [00:35:03] You know, I just look at this and I say, you know, I don't know what it means, you know, 30 games into the season, but the top six teams in the NHL are all from the East.
Elliotte Friedman [00:35:13] Yeah, it's weird.
Jeff Marek [00:35:15] I don't know. See, I always, I always come shy of saying, oh, this is the most bizarre year ever, because I kind of feel that I say that every year because, this is parity hockey. This is, you know, teams have levelled out amongst each other, more so than--than, than ever before. And there's gonna be an Anaheim that pops and there's going to be an Islanders that drop, like that's just the nature of, of the game itself. I thought that Florida would be up there, ditto Tampa, ditto Carolina, Toronto, Rangers seem seem ahead of where I thought they would be. I thought Washington, again I'm just waiting for this ageing curve, just for them to fall off the cliff with an ageing curve, so they continued to impress me. Colorado, I think is going to be fine. Calgary surprised me. Maybe they shouldn't have, but they really did.
Elliotte Friedman [00:36:07] They did.
Jeff Marek [00:36:07] They have--they have surprised me. There's a few, you know, Boston being as low as Boston is right now. I know they've only played 25 games, but I can't, and we talked about this last podcast or a couple of podcasts before like how comfortable they are, they, just being good because that's where--where Boston's at right now, they're no longer...
Elliotte Friedman [00:36:28] I don't think they like that at all.
Jeff Marek [00:36:29] The one team, the weird team to me, because they can rip off a seven-game win streak and then turn around and be ice-cold and lose four or five in a row is Dallas.
Elliotte Friedman [00:36:40] Mhm.
Jeff Marek [00:36:42] That's the one team that I still I don't think anybody can get a handle on. Because when they are hot, look out. But when Dallas is bad, man. Like look at the stretch that Dallas is going on right now.
Elliotte Friedman [00:36:55] How about them calling out Seguin?
Jeff Marek [00:36:59] Yeah, I know. I know surgeries are a reality of the game. I know injuries are a reality of the game.
Elliotte Friedman [00:37:06] I know where you're going here and I agree with that.
Jeff Marek [00:37:08] Anything involving your hip? I can't bring myself to criticise a player who comes off that, and I can't criticise the player has put his body through as much as Tyler Seguin has. I just know that I couldn't do it, like I'm not management. I'm not the coach. They have different relationships. I know that I can't blast a player who's been through that for a perceived lack of performance. I can't Friedge.
Elliotte Friedman [00:37:35] I understand that, and I have to tell you that I think that's the issue there like, when I see him, I worry that just, his body's been through so much that he can't possibly deliver what they hope for him to deliver.
Jeff Marek [00:37:47] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:37:47] And he competes like to me, it's not a question of the want or the desire. I just wonder if he just can't.
Jeff Marek [00:37:57] Yeah. And it's gotta be an endlessly frustrating thing too, because your head says something in your body says, yeah, we're not gonna do that, we're not there yet. We're not there yet at all. Friedge, let's finish up here with one--one quick voicemail.
Elliotte Friedman [00:38:08] Okay.
Jeff Marek [00:38:08] This is about Montreal. This is a voicemail from Colton on the thought line.
Jeff Marek [00:38:44] Hmm.
Elliotte Friedman [00:38:44] It's a great question. You know, a good example would be Vancouver. So we knew after this way the season started that the owner there was going--Aquilini was gonna make changes. And it's pretty obvious that he started making calls and, you know, there were some people he thought of himself and he asked around. He collects information, and he starts talking to people. I think sometimes you'll call the league and you'll say, I have an opening is there anyone you'd recommend? I think sometimes you'll call people you know yourself and say, what do you think about this person or that person? I think sometimes you'll, you know, you'll, you may ask another owner or someone else that you trust, and, you know, other times you hire one person and they said, these are the people I'm gonna bring in with me. So I think it kind of all goes that way. Jeff, you know, for example, you can't go to info@montrealcanadiens.com and, you know, drop it in there.
Jeff Marek [00:39:47] Yeah.
Elliotte Friedman [00:39:47] Although it would be funny, like, you know, I'll tell a story about that in a sec. Now we also know that Chicago has gone to Mike Forde of Sportsology.
Jeff Marek [00:39:56] Yes.
Elliotte Friedman [00:39:56] And maybe some search firms are gonna get involved in this now. So sometimes it's word of mouth. Sometimes it's a person you know. Sometimes you hire someone to find people for you that you can discuss it with. And I remember there was, there was one time about like at info@canes.com, when I was in my second year at university at Western, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired their football coach and their owner at the time was a guy named Hugh Culverhouse. He fired his coach. And he said, I think he said something along the lines of, I don't remember the exact quote. "I'm terrible at picking coaches, obviously, cause we keep losing. So if you have a good coach recommendation, please send it here." So for the student newspaper, because it was, you know, I was 20 at the time and stupid things you do when you're 20, I got the fax number at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offices.
Jeff Marek [00:40:51] And you applied?
Elliotte Friedman [00:40:52] No, I didn't apply, I sent in the name of Western's football coach who was Larry Hailer at the time.
Jeff Marek [00:40:57] And he got a call?
Elliotte Friedman [00:40:58] No, he didn't get a call, but I got a really nice letter from Hugh Culverhouse or someone on his behalf saying, thank you for your suggestion, we'll take it under advisement, knowing that not another second was spent taking it under advisement.
Jeff Marek [00:41:13] You know, a lot of it is, I think, as well and you get these calls and you've had these conversations before. People let it be known when they want to get back in.
Elliotte Friedman [00:41:20] Yeah.
Jeff Marek [00:41:20] It's like, Hey, if you hear anything can you, can let me know I'm looking to get back in. How many times you had that conversation with someone, I'm looking to get back in?
Elliotte Friedman [00:41:28] Yeah, that definitely happens. No question about that.
Jeff Marek [00:41:31] Everybody talks to everybody all day long. Right? It's everybody's job to network and stay in touch and know who's interested and who's really out and who can be talked back, all of it. I think everybody understands what the landscape is and who's available, whose contract is expiring, who's looking to take another step in their career, who's all ears and you know, who's looking to get back in. I think that's, it's just sort of an industry conversation. Let's just say, would you say that's accurate, Friedge?
Elliotte Friedman [00:42:07] Yes. Yes.
Jeff Marek [00:42:08] Okay! And there's the pod. Taking us out, a five-piece band from Chile. Mata Hari, formed in the early 90s, released a demo that was mostly influenced by American blues. After releasing a few records over the last two decades, the band came back with a pretty groovy single as well. Things ain't easy, but here's Mata Hari with Easy on 32 Thoughts the Podcast.