Dominic Sramaty

They sponsored teams and they signed players to those teams.

They got the players to sign forms that gave them their rights.

And it happened this way.

Then we moved to the draft, and the Canadians did have that carve-out, which is if they wanted, they could take two French-Canadian players before anybody else.

And then we went to a pure draft.

Now, I don't think you would ever see anything like that again now.

I can understand why a Canucks fan watching Conor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini and Rich teams elsewhere across North America would say, wait.

This is unacceptable, and we want our ability to get them.

I just don't see it ever happening because there would be certain areas that would have a huge advantage, and the NHL just wouldn't go there.

But...

It always does lead to the great debate.

If you had a Team BC versus a Team Ontario versus a Team Texas versus a Team, say, Minnesota, who would win that competition would be great.

There are days I dock Rory's calls and texts.

So if he submitted something to the thought line to ask me to do, write an article or something like that, I would believe it.

That was Lindy Ruff's first head coaching job.

So I have to say, Rory, that would be an excellent guess.

Ruff had been an assistant with the Florida Panthers after retiring before he took over the Sabres.

Unless it's somebody from the original six era, Kyle, I couldn't imagine anybody beating Ruff's, what, almost 16 years he coached the Sabres.

Is it Trotz?

Yes.