Yes

... to another team.

It's just, it's, it's very difficult to make trades of consequence nowadays if you're not offering up, if it's not a one-for-one deal, you're offering a player who seems to be, uh, comparable, at least at some point down the line.

I think it's gonna be really-- I think, I think it's, I think it's really challenging, right, to earn as many sellers to begin with.

It's just, it's hard to acquire players.

You've got 32 teams in the league and, um...

Is it 32? Jeez.

Yeah.

Can they? Will they? And how can they?

So I guess the starting point is a team can't provide compensation to a player outside the four corners of his deal.

If you do that, that constitutes a circumvention of the cap.

So the ultimate underlying allegation is that Steve Ballmer and the Clippers provided Kawhi Leonard with multiple compensation opportunities outside of his contract.

with Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton.

When the law firm's report was reviewed, basically, there's not a single instance of a smoking gun.

There's email that says, yes, let's circumvent the cap.

Can you explain to me what the big difference is here other than interpretation?

How, how is it feeling now after everything?

Yeah.

Tracking, I like that term, actually.

Um, yeah, we watched Team Canada, which is Team BC, who beat us in the finals in extras in eight.

The games are six innings.

It was 0-0 after seven.

Watched them play South Korea yesterday, and, and, um, South Korea's a pretty good team.

Yeah.

I guess the, the Bedard contract doesn't exactly disprove your, your thesis there in the first place, does it?

No, but it was interesting because he was interviewed after he signed the contract.

Uh, it might've been-- well, it-- I don't know who interviewed him.

Uh, it might've been South of the Border, but they said, "Hey, were you looking for Leo Carlsson money?" And that type of question, I think, maybe doesn't fully, uh, recognize that Leo Carlsson's contract will not stand as a precedent because that contract was designed as a poison pill to overpay.

That is not pay someone fair market value, to pay them far more, in this case about six million dollars more than fair market value for that player.

Uh, so I, I don't think that that is gonna stand as a precedent.

Very much like Connor McDavid's $12.5 million deal the next two years would stand as a precedent.

But how much of the onus do you place on Pat Verbeek for this Karlsson situation? 'Cause yes, Karlsson didn't have to accept that offer sheet, but Verbeek also played hardball with him prior to, uh, to him signing that deal.

The billionaire who owns the Clippers wants this to happen, therefore the NBA finds a way for this to happen?

I don't, I don't know.

I, I don't, I'm not sure that that, that's gonna be, it's g- that will be the outcome here.

There have some people have been criticizing the NBA, uh, because they've announced they'll conclude their investigation by the end of July, but really effectively ahead of, uh, the upcoming season, saying it's taking too long.

And I, I don't think it is, and I think that this probably is a little bit serious because the Raptors decided to put the trade on hold.

With respect to the, the investigation taking as long as it's taking, we can't forget th- this is a complicated legal matter involving $28 million paid out to Kawhi Leonard from Aspiration.

And the allegation, right, is that that 28 million was done to top off his salary.

Right

Yeah.

Um, she's not being attacked because of the color of her skin.

This Pflueger guy is a conservative r- uh, Republican taking strong positions on immigration, DEI programs, uh, and lots of decisions that minority groups have characterized themselves as racist.

They're just using this, it's quite transparent and frankly ill-conceived, using this as a platform to further, uh, the manner in which they resonate with their own, uh, base.

When I think of an athlete whose attacks are racially motivated, you think of Jackie Robinson, you don't think of Caitlin Clark.

Uh, the whole thing is so utterly silly, and, uh, but is on script for these types of Republicans.

Scores points with your base, right? Mm-hmm.

Um, you could disagree, but what's the conservative estimate in terms of guys like Connor Bedard or Celebrini or Cutter Gauthier, down the list we go, of w- what happens to their contracts and how their agents represent them based solely off Carlson now?

And is that person gonna be Oliver Kapanen again?

No.

I don't think Oliver...

I think Oliver Kapanen's destiny in the NHL, at least at this early stage, is a third line, you know, forward, uh, maybe center, uh, depending on the team that he's playing on.

I think he's destined to play for the Canadiens, you know, for, you know, for his entire career.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone this off-season.

Um, he did score 20 goals, but the underlying numbers would suggest that without Demidov, he really struggled.

... over the, uh, last couple of days, and, uh, the weird and unexpected, uh, way it came to an end yesterday?

Uh, how many times leading up to this week, and now with the Mike Babcock presser the other day, is he gonna be loser of the week again?

Man, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna triple or quadruple dip.

Once it was Stan Bowman for exercising incredibly poor judgment and engaging in this normalization behavior.

That is, you find someone who also has an NHL rap sheet to make yourself feel better.

Uh, Babcock has been it.

The Oilers franchise has, has been it.

It is ...

... you expect your Montreal Canadiens to do anything between now, maybe let's say draft day on Friday or July 1st, next Wednesday?

So I guess that's where the question for me comes from about, do they need to make a move because they do have leverage over a couple of the competitors in terms of ammunition, like real legitimate ammo to make a transaction and get one over at least a couple of teams that don't have the, the assets in-house to, to kinda play ball that way.

The Canadiens are in a fortunate position.

The one thing this, this management regime has done very well is draft players.

And so they're, they, they, they have the assets to move.

Uh, you can't fall in love with your players, and I don't think that Ken Hughes is, and Jeff Gorton are those types of, of, of, uh, individuals.

But I, I agree with you, the Canadiens have, uh, the leverage.

I don't, I don't think they'll, they'll be, they'll feel that their hand is forced insofar as making a, a, a, a trade.

Mm.

So I guess that's where the question for me comes from about do they need to make a move because they do have leverage over a couple of the competitors in terms of ammunition, like real legitimate ammo, to make a transaction and get one over at least a couple of teams that don't have the, the assets in-house to, to kinda play ball that way

wayWell, the Canadiens are in a fortunate position.

The one thing this, this management regime has done very well is draft players.

And so they're, they, they, they have the assets to move.

Uh, you can't fall in love with your players, and I don't think that Ken Hughes is, and Jeff Gorton are those types of, of, of, uh, individuals.

But I, I agree with you, the Canadiens have, uh, the leverage.

I don't, I don't think they'll, they'll be- they'll feel that their hand is forced insofar as making a, a, a, a trade.

Yeah.

Has there been any hard questions? Daddy, Daddy, how come we're not courtside?

Well, first, like Daddy, we're at a baseball game.

All the kids are eating sunflower seeds and my kids are like eating lobster.

It's like, oh, we always get dirty looks from other people.

But I'm like, whatever.

Quality first, right? I have done my best I'm not afraid to spend on quality seats.

So we went to go see the Warriors against the Raptors over the Christmas holidays.

I love

What are the legal repercussions, as you understand it, for a guy who does something like that?

Well, if someone does that, the first thing is when they buy their ticket, all that ticket is, it's just what's referred to as a limited license or a vacuable limited license, which means that you, that ticket grants you access to the arena or the stadium.

Without that, it's trespass.

And you're bound by the terms and conditions set by the team, which is why some teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning would pull signs for the Florida Panthers off fans and have them take off jerseys and stuff because they actually were allowed to do that because it's private property.

The constitution doesn't apply and they have the right to enforce the terms and conditions that, that, that you're bound by when you buy the ticket.

The first thing, second thing is it could also be seen as criminal trespass.

So you could take the person you are permitted.

pool.

At this point, are you at all optimistic that they can get this train back on the tracks?

I don't think this is an issue of belief in oneself.

The Canadians have worked their butts off this entire playoff stretch and the run.

I think we'd agree.

Against the Sabres, my God, they left everything on the ice.

Same with Tampa.

This is not for a lack of effort or for lack of belief.

even as the school president publicly backed him and his desire to play for the Red Raiders this season amid what he calls a complex situation.

At this point, are you at all optimistic that they can get this train back on the tracks?

I don't think this is an issue of belief in oneself.

The Canadians have worked their butts off this entire... uh... playoff stretch and the right i mean they would agree many of the papers like i left everything on the i think the tap and they're not does not for a lack of effort or for lack of belief this is because this is a horrible matchup for the montreal canadians but for sister of the positive bill bash yesterday with classic bill bash didn't get discouraged i thought he was absolutely sensational nets the score didn't matter he was he was playing he was in it to win it and i have nothing but profound respect for a goaltender who is a rookie and has carried himself beautifully throughout these playoffs.

Without Dobach, we're not even anywhere near this third round.

But for the Canadians, the matchup sucks.

I mean, the Hurricanes are built around what? Relentless puck pressure.

This is how they built their team.

quarterback's request to be reinstated as eligible for the 2026 season even as the school president publicly backed him and his desire to play for the red raiders this season amid what he calls a complex situation

you, does it change if you're the Colorado Avalanche? A team as stacked as they are, that if they don't win the Stanley Cup or at least look threatening in the Stanley Cup final, maybe you look at that the way you looked at maybe the Boston Bruins record-setting year years ago?

You know, Sean, there's not parity in the league.

There's extreme parity.

There's not only parity among teams, there's parity among athletes.

But there's certainly a window for teams to win, just given the constraints imposed by the salary caps.

You're the avalanche.

If you don't go to the cup final, it's a disappointment.

Frank in Ottawa wants your legal mind on this question.

But let me ask you, does it change if you're the Colorado Avalanche? A team as stacked as they are, that if they don't win the Stanley Cup or at least look threatening in the Stanley Cup final, maybe you look at that the way you looked at maybe the Boston Bruins record-setting year years ago?

You know, Sean, there's not parity in the league.

There's extreme parity.

There's not only parity among teams, there's parity among athletes.

But there's certainly a window for teams to win, just given the constraints imposed by the salary caps.

You're the avalanche.

If you don't go to the cup final, it's a disappointment.

NHL.

I'm curious for your perspective and how you are managing that.

Well, we often, you and I, kind of see things the same way.

I agree with your comment about Lane Hudson.

He's right there with Hughes and McCarr.

I was saying to my kids this morning, literally two minutes, I was saying to them in the car right before you said it, I'm not as nervous this time around only because Tampa arguably was, you know, a better team.

There was that argument.

They could do things the Canadians cannot.

Yeah,

I'm curious for your perspective and, uh, how you, uh, are managing that.

Well, we often, you and I, kind of see things the same way.

I agree with your co- your comment about Lane Hutson.

He's right there with, uh, Hughes and McCarr.

I, I was saying it to my kids this morning.

Literally two minutes in the, uh, I was saying to them in the car right before you said it.

Uh, I'm not as nervous this time around only because Tampa arguably was, you know, a better team.

Or they just can't get past the Colorado Avalanche, however it plays out, you know? And that's, that's the danger, I think, is-

Do you remember that? It

was just a whole different format.

But I understand what Gary Bettman is saying, and he often does love to defend his own position.

Sometimes it feels like it's more about being right than getting it right, but when you just break down the very simple, straightforward math here, the playoff matchups do not reflect your standing within the conference.

It doesn't make a lot of sense, from my perspective at least, to have the Stars and the Wilds play in the first round.

He has argued a couple weeks ago He argued that, you know, the first round is a great round.

Well, anybody who's watched hockey for as long as we have collectively, which is probably over 120 years.

Eric, how close are you to the panic button? Have you unlatched the panic button? Did you break the glass? Are you worried?

few years ago and that was like incredibly boring you remember that like it was just a whole different format

but i just i i don't I understand what Gary Bettman is saying, and he often does love to defend his own position.

Sometimes it feels like it's more about being right than getting it right, but when you just break down the very simple, straightforward math here, the playoff matchups do not reflect your standing within the conference.

It doesn't make a lot of sense, from my perspective at least, to have...

the stars and the wild play in the first round.

You know, he has argued a couple weeks ago, he argued that, you know, the first round is a great round.

Well, anybody who's watched hockey for as long as we have collectively, which is probably over 120 years, We all know one thing.

Eric, how close are you to the panic button? Have you unlatched the panic button? Did you break the glass? Are you worried?