"I'll miss him": Elliotte Friedman shares memories of former co-host Jeff Marek

Elliotte Friedman still has more to say about the sudden departure of Jeff Marek from Sportsnet, but it appears we’ve finally gotten at least a few of his thoughts.

On Friday morning, Sportsnet put out the first episode of 32 Thoughts with Friedman and his new co-host, Kyle Bukauskas, with more than two hours of opinions and news nuggets about the happenings around the NHL.

But before diving into any specific items, Friedman addressed Marek’s high-profile departure from the network in July in the most detail he’s done so far.

“We were going to do this for 2,000 years… we were going to outlive everyone,” Friedman said about his partnership with Marek.

“We were going to do this for 2000 years… we were going to outlive everyone.”

Elliotte Friedman talks candidly about Jeff Marek’s time with Sportsnet/32 Thoughts but doesn’t delve into the specifics of his departure.

“It’s Jeff Marek’s story to speak about first and that’s the… pic.twitter.com/czVpjAMvQc

— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) September 6, 2024

According to an investigative report by Katie Strang and Dan Robson of The Athletic, Marek was fired from Sportsnet due to allegations of sharing information about draft picks during the 2024 NHL Draft.

“Marek had come under scrutiny from the NHL during the first round of the draft for allegedly revealing to a friend which players teams were drafting moments before those picks were publicly announced,” wrote Robson and Strang, citing league and media industry sources. “The NHL shared concerns about the situation with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which probed further, according to multiple sources briefed on that investigation.”

Making a few jokes about living long enough to see peace in the Middle East, flying cars, and the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup, Friedman also likened getting the news of Marek’s departure to world champion boxer Mike Tyson’s famous quote: “everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.”

“My belief has always been, it’s Jeff Marek’s story to speak about first and that’s the way I’m going to leave it. When Jeff talks, some day after that, I will talk. Jeff is a great broadcaster, he brought out the best in me in this podcast and he’s a huge reason why it’s got to where it is. I will miss his stupid weird ideas, and I will miss working with him,” Friedman added. “As great as he is a broadcaster, he’s an even better person… I believe Jeff will land on his feet. I look forward to seeing what the next chapter in his life is.”