Are the Leafs a Team or a Club?

In this episode of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman open with Auston Matthews taking a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas and the lack of response from the Maple Leafs. They discuss uncertainty around Brad Treliving’s future as he approaches the final year of his contract (8:30), and the tightening playoff races across both the Eastern (10:00) and Western (21:00) conferences. Elliotte also shares that Nashville appears to be interviewing candidates for its GM position (22:30), before the guys weigh in on NHL awards voting and the difficulty of winning the Hart Trophy in a league with players like Connor McDavid for Nikita Kucherov (25:30). They also dive into Nathan MacKinnon and a confusing goaltender interference call and the differences between NHL and IIHF rules (29:00), Connor Bedard’s big night against Utah (37:00), and Utah locking up Nick Schmaltz to an eight-year deal (40:00). The episode also touches on the NHL modifying its penalty against the Ottawa Senators (42:30), Montreal pushing toward the top of the Atlantic with Jacob Fowler impressing in net (47:30), and a Final Thought on Elliotte returning to co-host the Canucks for Kids Telethon (52:04)

Kyle and Elliotte answer listener questions in the Thoughtline (55:41).

In the final segment Kyle and Elliotte speak with Glenn Healy ahead of the 2026 Keith Magnuson Man of the Year Award Night (1:20:46)

Today we highlight soul and R&B singer/songwriter Jules and his song Karma feat. Naomi. Check out his music here.

Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here.

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This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates