Elliotte Friedman breaks silence on Jeff Marek's firing with new co-host

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Daniel Lucente
September 6, 2024 (2:51 PM)

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On the first episode of 32 Thoughts with new co-host Kyle Bukauskas, Elliotte Friedman opened up about the firing around Jeff Marek.

Early this summer, Sportsnet made headlines by quietly parting ways with longtime host and analyst Jeff Marek. Reports began to circulate indicating Marek had leaked information about players from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, Marek has been noticeably absent from hockey media, though he did confirm earlier in the offseason that he is no longer with Sportsnet and is exploring new opportunities.

With the start of the 2024-25 season looming, Jeff Marek's former co-host Elliotte Friedman is ready to get the extremely popular "32 Thoughts" podcast back up and running. Sportsnet announced on Thursday that in-arena host Kyle Bukauskas will join the show in Marek's place.

It wasn't until Friday morning that the new lineup hit the air, with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas co-hosting their first episode together. Friedman took a moment in the episode to reflect on his time with Jeff Marek, but as you might expect, he didn't say anything about whatever led to Marek's exit from Rogers.

Elliotte Friedman also said Sportsnet gave him an out on the podcast once Jeff Marek left, but he chose to stay. He solo hosted one episode in mid-August before formally pairing up with Kyle Bukauskas.

«I'm going to take that gut punch and continue going in spite of it one of the major reasons I wanted to continue the pod is because I love it. I love doing this podcast. I love everything about it,» Friedman continued. «But number two, it's because I believe in a lot of things I believe in the audience. I have never taken the audience for granted. We are very, very lucky that we have a loyal audience.»

The new duo's first show was filled with a deep discussion of the offseason moves of each NHL team. They also touched on heartfelt tributes to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, discussed a possible Sidney Crosby contract extension in Pittsburgh, and speculated over Mitch Marner's future in Toronto.

Source: Hockey Feed
Elliotte Friedman addresses Jeff Marek's firing on first episode of 32 Thoughts with new co-host