The latest episode of THN Detroit's hit show, The Silky Mitten State

This week's episode of The Silky Mitten State is live, and it's a busy one.

My co-host Connor Earegood and I jump out of the gate considering some news from TSN's Darren Dreger of an as-of-yet-unspecified future exhibition series between the U.S. NTDP and a CHL all-star team.  We discuss our excitement at the possibility while also providing a half-hearted attempt to discern which team would win had they played this season.

From there, we jump into the big news of the week: Tuesday's Jake Walman trade.  We talk about how there had to have been a fairly significant gap between public perceptions of Walman's value and his value within league circles, yet still the only possible explanation for the deal is that further movement is coming.  With that in mind, we advocate for a patient approach in trying to unpack the impact of the deal.

In the second half of the show, we pivot into a conversation about rumors that the Winnipeg Jets and Rutger McGroarty are nearing a conscious un-coupling, specifically diving into the subject of the so-called "American factor" and increasing prevalence of high-profile American prospects demanding trades away from the franchises that selected them.  I argue that such demands represent young players exerting the only leverage available to them under a collective bargaining agreement that is generally extremely harsh on youth.

Finally, we wrap the show by chatting about the Stanley Cup Final (including a somewhat spirited Aleksander Barkov vs. Connor McDavid Conn Smythe debate) and looking ahead to this weekend's draft.

For the full episode, visit Spotify or Apple Podcasts, but first you can check out a sample via the featured video above:

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