Real Kyper & Bourne - All Good Streaks Must Come to an End

Episode Date: December 16, 2022

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee recap the Maple Leafs' tough 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers, their first regulation defeat in over a month and the end of Mitch Marner's point streak, and evaluate the personnel in offensive zone faceoffs, questionable line combinations and the struggles on the powerplay. Doug MacLean makes his weekly appearance (41:31) to discuss what's bothered him about the Leafs, potential trade targets, and the time he swore on live radio. Later, former NHLer and Washington Capitals analyst with NBC Sports Alan May shares his perspective (1:06:17) on Alex Ovechkin closing in on Gordie Howe for second all-time in goal-scoring, his surprisingly great season, and a preview for the Capitals vs. Leafs game on Saturday.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

all good things must come to an end we get fired what i miss if we did we'd be the last to know for sure oh i know in this building yeah no question about that nick caprios justin bourne derrick brandale jennifer rolnick sammy mckee Dale, Jennifer Rolnick, Sammy McKee, all for your watching and listening enjoyment for the next two hours on Off the Rails Friday because, yes, that can only mean one thing, Doug McClain, in about 45 minutes. And then in the second hour, we'll welcome in a former teammate of mine

currently working for the Washington Capitals and NBC Washington, Alan May. We'll welcome in a former teammate of mine, currently working for the Washington Capitals, and NBC Washington, Alan May. See whether or not he thinks that Ovi can pass Gretzky as early as this weekend. What's he need? 90? Yeah, he just needs a 91-goal weekend. Because, yes, David Amber is within the realm of possible.

According to David Amber, he's got a legitimate shot to do it on Hockey Night in Canada. A lot of golf talk. On Rogers Monday Night Hockey. A lot of golf talk in the newsroom before we came in here. The boys have already got the itch. They've got the itch. Well, what's it been?

It's been two months now? Yeah. And I don't want to. No, a month and a half. Maybe I'll break it to the audience, but I'm playing golf on Christmas Day in Mexico this year. Send us pictures. I'll do my best. All right.

Brutal. Getting in your 54th round of the year? Yeah, yeah. Hey, just a quick shout out. God bless Golf Canada. They've got on the sort of Spotify wrapped era here. They'll tweet, they'll send you your My Golf Year wrapped. What's it called? My Golf Year. And you go on there and they show you they'll send you your uh your my golf year rap what's it called my golf

year and you go on there and they show you how many holes you played and how many yards and all the different courses that you played and all your your best score and all that stuff so it's really cool that they do that so if you want to subscribe to golf canada they give you that so i just give them a little ad i love them i started the show off with all good things must come to an end of course we are speaking of mitch marner's consecutive point streak ending at 23 games last night. Also, the Toronto Maple Leafs point streak ends at 15 games after losing to the New York Rangers. Are you guys into the all good things must end or did last night leave you with a feeling of, yeah, but didn't really like the way it ended. Yeah.

You know, I, I, you know, watching that game last night, I didn't leave thinking, you know, boy, the Leafs didn't bring it tonight or the Rangers were just that much better or or or I just felt like every time and this is why streaks are impressive every time the Leafs felt like they had something going the puck would skip over their stick or they'd fall or the it's just you know Keith mentioned execution a couple times in this postgame presser they just weren't sharp they just didn't get any bounces it just it was a tough night that they had to overcome and they didn't find a way through just don't you think it was two teams playing defense at a really high level i thought both teams did a pretty good job defensively in their you know especially the rangers i thought were really really solid well we i was really looking forward to last night's

game because i i really felt like this gave i think leaf fans a legitimate shot of assessing what the Leafs are coming off of this great month-long run. But how many true tests did they have in that month-long where you go, okay, that gives us a better indicative of maybe a playoff type of hockey. Not none. The answer's not none. Not none, but probably the most I got out of last night. And I'm not saying that it was playoff hockey or that it was near that intensity or that pressure but in many ways for me last night did feel a little bit like a tampa bay playoff loss okay does that did you get any sense of that at all yeah you did i did

okay i did you got a little bit of a playoff kind of feel yeah matching up matching up against a team that you know could challenge you on many things and many levels and one of the things we're going to listen to is sheldon keefe's quotes from post game his take on the game where he said i thought things didn't go our way whatever he says but then we got frustrated and it bled into other parts of the game maybe he was talking about the power play but that's what i saw that it didn't go their way and they got frustrated and this is what has happened in the playoffs in years past where it's like it's not working now what what's the next step to get inside to make it hard on shisterkin and they've run into good goaltending what happens

when it's frustrating yeah i i mean that's the feeling i got last night i'm not gonna extrapolate it to big picture what were you gonna say Sammy? I mean, I thought it was as simple as they didn't get a bounce. See, I know. I saw way more than that. But there's some of that too where it's like you know. Not disagreeing. Yeah. Not disagreeing, but it's far deeper

than just simply that we didn't get the bounces or I got a sense that and I guess a sense that, and I guess, you know, we're going to hear a few thoughts from Sheldon keep, but when it rolls, it rolls for them. We know that,

but when there's situations where you find yourself down and you've got to now make some adjustments or just find different ways i didn't see that last night i found it i saw it from sheldon where he went with marner and matthews at times in the third period you know tried to get those guys together i saw uh there was once remember they had them hemmed in in the second period for like it felt like a week and the next line that came out over the boards was marner tavarez and matthews yeah you know like he tried but yeah the team themselves didn't find a way to get in i think sheldon had a bad night last night oh i

totally disagree i thought he i mean he he made changes where the team didn't no i didn't see it that way what do you not agree yeah we do agree. I think he struggled last night. In what way? In what way? You know what? Let's go to Sheldon. Let's get his thoughts of the game last night and then I'll come out of it. And we'll talk about where I felt

Sheldon had some challenges last night. Okay. I thought we played a fine hockey game. We just, you know, we didn't execute great on offense, but defensively we were excellent again. I mean, they really didn't have anything. They had two scoring chances, really, and scored on them both. Aside from that, there's nothing happening for them offensively,

so we did a good job there, but sort of execution was off. With a puck here today, first period I think we had four odd man rushes, a few broken two-on-ones, didn't even register a shot on goal. So just show we were a little off here today. We spent too much time on the boards in the offensive zone, couldn't get to the middle. That's a credit to New York for how they defended, but we just didn't do enough there. I think they just weren't sharp, and the power play really shows you where we're at there. Didn't execute on offense.

Certainly not a problem that we've seen for the last month when they build leads, and it's easy to dictate once you get out of the gate and build a lead, but tell me if you notice this at all. Even strength offensive zone face-offs.

Okay. Every time I saw one, I saw Holmberg, and I like Pontus. We all know I like Pontus. We all know I like Pontus. We know. I saw Aston Reese.

I saw Joey Anderson. Those boys got opportunity last night. Oh, you think? In the third period in particular, but they were good. They had a good night and I think it was maybe they couldn't get it from anywhere else. Every time. When you have offensive zone even strength situations, who do you put on the ice usually? It's always Matthews or Marner.

It's one of the two. Okay. Do you know that for the first 40 minutes, they didn't get one? No one offensive zone faceoff. No, I didn't. Were there many? What would you consider many? Eight, less than that four five six eight yeah maybe nine the first offensive zone even strength and strength face off that i saw tavaris wow or marner was with 25 seconds left to go in the second period that means multiple opportunities in the offensive zone even strength went to

aston reese joey hamilton keith angvall and kerfoot do you have is there a stat i can tell for the whole game i can't tell you kind of how that played out or whatever i just don't understand that and that included tv timeouts yeah so in terms of offensive zone face-offs the the leaders on the team pierre engvall led the team in offensive zone draws for the game a matth and Nylander were next, but then it's Aston Reef, Kampf, Anderson. Yeah. Where's Tavares and Marner? Where's your boy? Where's your boy?

They had three. No, hold on. They had five Ozone starts over the course of the game. Yeah, but are those even strength? I don't know. Yeah are yeah uh or power are you including power play there no that's according to natural statrick at five even strength ozone starts they all came in the third period buddy i assure you yeah okay even when they're down to one there was an offensive zone face off yeah with a minute to go, and you don't throw Tavares or Marner, your number one guy. I don't understand.

That's a really good pickup. I like that. It's very uncommon for him. I feel like generally those guys get the bulk of the— I think in many ways. It just stood out to me more last night than any other time. Let me ask you this. And I don't know why.

How much do you go on a guy or a line having a good night you know and deserving more opportunity like if you thought the engvall line was humming last night or whatever line that asked which is true the best line of the night was kerfoot um right but engvall and camp but should they get ozone starts over the best players on the team because you know generally that's not you You got Mitch Marner on a 23-game heater. You're not putting him out there. You're putting Engvall and Kerfoot out there before those guys. Off TV timeouts.

I don't get it. I don't understand. Is this his opportunity against the New York Rangers now You got a true test here I mean I don't know That one bothered me The other one that bothered me

Off of Sheldon last night Was just Malkin With Tavares And Marner He got the boot eventually but no too late buddy too late third period too late you see sammy tweet about it sammy was tweeting that dennis malgan's like gonna tell his kids one day i played with tavaris and marner and they're gonna say how many did you score dad he's gonna be like ah don't worry about that sammy no you're no Sheldon Keefe. You didn't play the game.

No, you're right. But how long did it take you last night to watch it, to say to yourself, Morgan just doesn't have it tonight. I think you can get rid of tonight on that sentence. Oh, man. It's just every puck that goes to him playing with two of the best players in the league the play just usually ends yeah he either loses a battle he doesn't make the right

play he doesn't make the right read and it's going the other way sheldon has to identify that yeah a lot earlier than going here and all this unbelievable last night by the way that's why move him up yeah they eventually that's's what happened. But how about... In the first period? Late in the first or early in the second. But, Kipper, the reason they didn't do that is because the other line that they had met with, like I said, with Kerfoot, Engvall, and Camp

was kicking the crap out of their competition the whole night. I think this is it, then. We're identifying a black hole in Malden, right? Well, the left side on the second line is a glaring weakness on this team. It just is. They have to figure something out there. I understand. Sorry, go ahead.

I'll just say, no doubt Malkin is a better player than I thought he was at the start of the season when I said he wouldn't play. But looking at his stat page, you're like, okay, he's got two goals, two assists for four points in 22 games. He's 5'9", 182. If you're going to be's got two goals two assists for four points in 22 games he's 5 9 182 if you're going to be one dimensional you know we're going to need more from that dimension that's all i just well mish marty trying to like keep the consecutive streak going and then having to carry that guy like shouldn't his 23 games when you consider that you had Malkin for a lot of it. Yeah.

We'll call it 46. Maybe. I was going to say about 42. I was going to say just as impressive as Kratz. It should be equivalent to a 42, 43 game consecutive streak. But listen, I mean, it's not nice of us to beat down Malkin. But the point is that at some point, and i i get it i get it you want to protect um your your camp your camp line and also trying to put mulligan in a position not at

the point not in the point where you you chop the knees out of marner and tavaris yeah you know but i think if you're looking at mulligan you're like, okay, he's best utilized with top six. In theory, he can keep a play going. He can finish a play. You know, that's, if it's not working there, and it's not, I think it's safe to say the experiment, the conclusion of the experiment has been reached. I got one more on Sheldon.

Okay, I'm not done with Sheldon yet. All right, let's go. Listen, I've been very complimentary of him and the adjustments and getting these guys to buy in. We've been really good to him, but I just got one more beef with him. Okay. One more. Empty net goal.

Down 3-1. Is the game over no it's one minute and 13 seconds on the clock is the game over no then why is he coaching like it is was the goalie back in at that point and even yeah i was setting up for leaf's talk at that point okay no goalie pulled love it no time out and we're starting with 113 on the clock what line does he have out there how's it pontus again my buddy pontus we're uh i i guess an important question is prior to that with the goalie pulled was everyone gassed was it a end of end of a... It was off the face-off, the scrum, and then the chip-out.

So you could have... Do you remember the scrum off the face-off? Yeah, yep, yep. And then Sandin goes in and pinches. Yeah. Skips on him. And Vesey's the hero with the empty netter. 1.13 left on the clock.

Yeah. Yeah, you don't want to roll over and you've got 40 million dollars sitting on the bench and i'm sitting okay you get a quick shift in whatever i don't know puck goes back to the rangers uh chipped out goes into the bench maybe now you got to face off deep with about 55 to go who's he send out was it still pontus camp thank you yeah three one this is you were upset face off deep point you want to admit you to go get that one listen to me i'm talking about giving yourself still a chance yes and it's a hundred percent i could not agree with you more that is that is way too early to be or

way too much time left to say ah so so so camps it icing yeah third face off now now there's about 40 to go yeah i mean okay so you don't think that you can win the game, but I don't know. Just maybe throw Mitch out there to see if he can make it three, two and, and extend the streak. No, is that, is that not, I mean,

just, but why wave the white flag from one 13? Nope. I'm with you. Totally with you there. All right. That's it. Other than that,

he's done a great job and, uh, you know, I would say a good job, but I think he struggled last night and uh uh i don't think he put the players in the best position at all times and maybe the same outcome but i don't know anyways that's my two cents yep so we did the first clip we had from keith was that overview of the game do you want to do the next one then on everything going right for the Leafs?

Probably up until now? Everything has gone our way for a real long time. That's not the reality of the NHL. We'll push past this one here today. Like I said, we're right there. I mean, their goalie makes one more save than ours, and we don't make good on our chances on the power play or whatever we have. But there's nothing wrong with how we played the game today again at five on five i thought

we had the puck most of the game and and then when we didn't you know we didn't there was nothing threatening there so both teams played a good good patient game we just didn't make it make good for one shot away yeah both teams played a good patient game, I think is very accurate in the sense that did either team have more than 22 shots? I don't know what the final total was exactly, but there was not a lot of offense out there. I sent you guys after the game

the post-game report that I get from SportLogic. In even strength, the Leafs were up 8-2 in slot shots, 6-2 in chances off the cycle seven to one and chances off the rush you know out possession time them two to one like the the leafs easily can win that game last night to his point about how it didn't go right last night but it has last night's a game they probably deserve to win just reckon it's good oh no no he's he owns them yeah that's absolutely that's scary because they owns them and Yeah. That's scary because they could play them in playoffs. He is.

I did see that old goalie in your head mentality. Remember the Aston Reese chance where he gets it in front of the net and he's got all the time in the world and he just shoots. Cut it to the back end. Yeah, just take it across the net and Shusterkin gets a piece. Of a great pass by Pontus.us listen kipper you're right i i think every gm in the league knows his name now he is gonna get offer sheeted this kid is sick listen oh no i'm joking but of course we're all joking but i he's an effective i think he is a guy that i am gonna look forward to in the playoffs

because i think he can find a way to lean on people in a playoff way. We talked about how confident he is defensively, but you can see it developing before your eyes offensively. He cares to know where the puck should go. The way he's carrying it up the ice now versus the way he started in the league, you're noticing him offensively now where he's got some of that to to his game i don't think it's going to be superstar level no ever no but it's just he's got a good i don't know how high his upside is but i think at the very minimum this guy's going to turn himself into a nice third line centerman i just you know i i don't know what

the first day our show bought stock in holmberg but we're up money like the investment's been it was early yeah it was. Here's my question. Joey Anderson is a penny stock on the market right now for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Would you want to buy a couple of shares of Joey Anderson? Any thoughts on his play one way or the other? I mean, he played eight minutes last night. It's unfair to even ask because I don't know if you noticed him. I just wish he was bigger.

Yeah, fair. That's it. I like him for what it's worth. I'm buying a couple chairs. We can talk analytics. We can talk about possessions, zone times, all of that. But they just didn't look as big and as strong as the New York Rangers last night. I thought they did a nice intermission segment on the physical forecheck of the Rangers,

putting pressure on the Leafs D and it leading to turnovers. Last night was the first time in a long time the Leafs turned the puck over a lot. They're really good with the puck and getting through traffic, and I thought last night there was a lot of turnover. If you ask me, the one thing about Austin Matthews' game that is glaring over last season

is his turnovers. That one last night was pretty bad. Just the whole play into the middle that went back the other way. No-look saucer into the slot. Yeah, it's such a hope play. Like, if it works out, maybe, but it's probably not going to go in that way. I just don't recall seeing him uh like high danger chances yeah against i just uh yeah i don't know if it's just a bad run he's on or if there's something different

in his game or his thought process has changed but i just don't recall him coming over a blue line and and just you know, turning the puck over. You know, one thing that has come to my mind. Go ahead, Sammy. How many times do you think the Leafs turned the puck over last night? I don't know. A dozen? 30 for sure.

They turned the puck over 29 times. What a guess. And the Rangers, how many times do you think they turned it over? 20, 15. Nine. Ooh. You know who led the team for the Leaf was it 34 it was mitch marner had six turnovers last night yeah he wasn't great either he didn't have a good night and second on

the team was before one thing i will say you know what that i wonder with matthews is i wonder if not playing with marner like everyone who plays with marner has a career high in goals like whoever this guy plays with scores a ton and matthews isn't scoring last year i was counting how many multi-goal games he had i don't remember what the total was but it's like 15 like it's a really high number of multi-goal games this year he has one or two and i wonder if there's some frustration from matthews it's not going in as much he's not you know the little extra hard he's trying a little extra you know like he's trying to force it in he's trying to make something happen where last year it just came to him because he was playing with mitch and another part of that maybe theory

here is that he plays with a guy who is a scorer yeah he's probably getting way less touches well and he's looking to find willie who we know is going to shoot and score and does it well. And Marner is just your sort of pure playmaker where the roles on the line were more defined as opposed to with Willie. I don't know. Just a theory. No, me too.

We're just spitballing here on why. But there's no doubt I'm with you, Kipper. I do see more times where I'm like, that's not even a good play. Even if that pass worked out, the one he made last night, it's not resulting in an immediate backdoor tap-in or something. It was to a guy who would have been covered. So anyway.

The other thing too is just the power play. Either it looks like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread or last night was a disaster. I don't know what Mitch marner said after the game he said it was like horrible or i don't know what the word he used but it was clearly just yeah wasn't going to save them wasn't going to save mitch marner's consecutive point streak it was just really bad how about the one time it took 55 seconds to get into the ozone they get set up pass from whoever was on the flank to connor timmons no one in front from the blue line he

just wastes a slapper on the ice into shisterkin it was like man that's not the shot we want with this group is is last night's game enough to to say to everybody hey slow down on sandin quarterbacking this power play come April. I thought they missed Riley last night when they were down a goal and looking to generate. Lilligren wasn't there. And Timmons played a lot. And again, Timmons has been good, but he ain't Morgan Riley. And there was moments last night where I thought they needed someone to bring the puck up, break the puck out, get it going off the ice.

He played 22 minutes. No, he didn't. Did he? Connor Timmons? He was all over. Number one in minutes on the D. Yes, he played 22.05. How do you go from I can't crack Arizona Coyotes to leading the Toronto Maple Leafs in ice time?

And of course, Lilligren. No, but Lilligren. Lilligren's out. Okay. So he got course, Lilligren. No, but Lilligren. Lilligren's out. Okay. So he got all of Lilligren's minutes. No one else could handle some? Hall with 21. Sandin with 21.

Gio looked like he needs a rest. Gio looked like he could use a rest. Yeah, Lilligren. I think it caught, you know, minutes for geo for the last month may have caught up to him last night a little bit that's why you go to timmons i guess yeah yeah just looking at this uh timmons with his fifth assist in six games with the leafs last defenseman to record their first five assists with toronto and fewer games was robert svela is our status there you go like wow there you go so He did make a good play on the goal.

It was a good shot past the camp. He made a nice tip and then went in. No, he can do that for sure. What did we play? We played Keefe's overview of the game. We did that already? We played the first two. All right, let's go to why everything went right for...

No, he got asked if there's any concerning trends in this game. All right. Hit it, Derek. I think it's a bit of a one-off for us. The first power play was okay. We had some good looks in the round and out there. Second power play, we win the face-off, which is very important against this team especially,

and then we give the puck back to them within two seconds and then struggle from there. And then I thought that frustration bled into the next one as well. So, you know, that's not good enough. But, again, I thought we were just off a bit offensively, and it showed in those moments. Yeah, I mean, one-off for you. I can see that being a one-off.

Like I said, they were pretty good outside of just execution and yada,ada yada this is three games in a row now coming up where it's this is three real teams you're playing here yeah rangers last night and then i know we've said bad things about washington but they've been hot well they went five in a row they lost last night to dallas okay and they're they're riding a ton of emotion for obvious reasons and then go and then tamp on home ice on tuesday night so this is three and i it doesn't sound like lilligran will be available saturday night and that's just that's not anything out other than me just speculating yeah i don't think we're gonna see lilligran soon yeah someone mentioned to me that he may have left you know the rink with his wrist or his hand kind of wrapped a little bit i'm sure they're getting either tested or

x-rays to confirm anything and uh yeah last night may be a sign that that blue line's still hurting. Ben probably would be available now. Jordy Ben. Just tough. Like, they don't seem to be able to get more than four of their regular D in the lineup. Like, are you going to have a Ben Timmons pair now? To me, as long as the four guys are playing, you should be able to be fine.

Yeah. With the amount of points they've accumulated here, you should be able to play at a respectable... I mean, look at who they played with without brody riley and mizen at the same time if they can't survive lilligren going down then what are you going to do so i wrote an article today on so you know in the nba they they used to take like long two pointers and then in the last five years they either take three pointers or dunks basically like they've gotten more efficient with their shots um i wrote an article today about how that's happened in the last five years, they either take three pointers or dunks, basically, like they've gotten more efficient with their shots.

I wrote an article today about how that's happened in the NHL, where now people don't waste shots from distance anymore like they used to. Remember, I'm sure when you played, it was shoot it, put everything on net, pucks to the net, everything on that. And, you know, now it's like goalies are so good. Now they're selective. Yes. More selective with shooting, which is, I think, one of the reasons scoring is up. And the Toronto Maple Leafs are remarkable. I went through, like, some heat maps of the league about where team shots come from.

The Toronto Maple Leafs get, like, no shots from their D. Like, most teams have some. They get no offense. But. Like, zero. Like, some might be good. The tendency for the Leafs is to get it back to the point and then bring up their top forward.

Through the middle. So it's D to a forward, which would usually look like a D to a D. But then it's either Mitch Marner or Austin. They come back. They come out of the zone sometimes. Yeah, and they'll come up. They'll be in the middle

between the two defensemen, and that's their danger shot. For sure. And so everything comes lower, and it's good. You know, by and large, that's a good thing that the Leafs do that, but it is interesting the contrast of how much they do it compared to other teams. Like, they get nothing from the points. Now, one streak that didn't end last night was Michael Bunting.

Bunting got the lone goal. And, you know, on this show, I've been praising him the last couple of weeks because I like the look of him being outside of that six-foot radius around the net. And I think last night was a prime example off his goal. He had a good battle in the corner with Truba who's no slouch yep and was able to get the puck back to the point and then go to the net uh let's get uh Sheldon Keefe's uh comments on Michael Bunting for him he's doing a lot of yeah he's yeah he's exactly he's going to the net um doing his thing and he's a streaky scorer you know and then and he's feeling it right now and I think he's played well for for a good chunk of time so doing his thing. He's a streaky scorer.

He's feeling it right now. I think he's played well for a good chunk of time. It's good to see him get rewarded. Big Mike. Big Mike. 10 game point streak for Bunce? Yeah. Here comes 50. You need him to alleviate

some of that pressure off your big four and it may be to your point earlier in the show that's where sheldon's head was with engvall and kerfoot i need these guys to be my offense tonight i mean he he just didn't feel it i guess with marner and Tavares. And he leaned heavily on his third and fourth line guys offensively. Do you think Tavares is slowing down a little bit from his hot start? I got to be honest with you, man. He was on a torrid pace.

Yeah. And that, it's a long season. Yeah. it's a long season yeah and at certain times you just can't help but taking one step back for even a week or two weeks it's just it's hard it's hard for him to keep his foot on the pedal for a guy that skating doesn't come as naturally as others yeah yeah you know they you're right like it's okay to have a lull here and there and in the play and they're going to get these dips and can you produce when it's not perfect and that sort of thing is a a reasonable question you know i i do think it's going to be by the time we get to the

trade deadline and before the leafs are going to add someone and you know you start to see the you know air quote insiders on some of this stuff i think uh you know you've seen ryan o'reilly potentially linked to the toronto maple leafs you know what about tarasenko now tarasenko has a no move clause or no trade clause and he's going to get to dictate where he goes just like claude geroux did last year you know is he a guy you could get you know i don't know i just feel like someone else is going to be here by the time they're heading into the stretch room the one conversation i had with you i think a day or two ago was when you trade for guys like this and you envision a role just picture tarasenko right now come to the toronto maple leafs and finding out

he's not on the power play yes yeah you're way more concerned about that than I am. Buddy, let me tell you something. Tarasenko comes here and he doesn't see any power play time. He's taking the whole ship down. Down. Oh, yeah. Negative Nancy. Oh, my God.

Yes. Not a chance. That guy on a contract year is going to sit back and not be a focal point on the power play. That's just not happening. What about, well, so you're not going to add a guy because you're afraid of someone pouting? Like if you need a guy, you need a guy.

Yeah, you are. You are not going to add a guy that you think is going to pout. Yes, correct. Okay, so fine if it's Tarasenko, but Ryan O'Reilly has a dad who's like a motivational speaker, Peter Positive. Ryan O'Reilly doesn't take teams down. Right, that's my point.

If things aren't going his way. So with someone like that. Tarasenko is a challenge when things aren't going his way. I wonder if they would go to two units if they got another star like that. If they would say, okay, we're going to split the ice time a little bit more i hope he's got a rope or a lasso to pull those guys off the ice at a minute yeah the one thing i will say is that i think players are smarter than you give them credit for in that

when you say when you show them look i've got matthews marner tavarez neilander tarasenko riley and you show the guys and you go what do you want me to do someone's got to play in the second unit and i know i'm sure you a lot of the guys say well why me well because you're not as good i don't know like i give players credit for recognizing there's other good players on the team i you just brought up a name that i just think would not yeah do well knowing that he's not on the power play, and that's Tarasenko. That's all. I mean.

Jonathan Taves, Ryan O'Reilly, those like- Hey, Bo Horvat. Leader-type guys, Bo Horvat. You want to get Bo Horvat here, you find a way to give up a first and a prospect to rent Bo Horvat. That guy's going to come in. He's going to be a rock star. He's going to come in and say,

hey, whatever you want from me, that's fine. I'm good to go. You're going to kill Dubas if he trades Nyes in a first for beau horvath yeah you are okay how about uh first let me do it again uh he trades who's it ron ronnie hervin in and a first t they got the ronies over there and a first are you going to be upset if it's one of those guys in a first and they get Bo Horvat in here? Yeah, those guys are wearing gold helmets. Just trade them away.

They don't even exist in my mind because I don't get to see them. As I wrote in my article this year around Nylander, it's more than ever this is the year that you have to do something. So you could live with it if it's not a prospect that is a big name. Listen, I'm okay. Nick Robertson goes with your 2025 first i gotta see the package around and uh matthew nyes yeah i gotta see it to see this guy having a year can we get him in a leafs jersey yet yeah what's going on matt i don't know so if he goes

if he wins a national championship i think he goes goes all the way to the end of the season, first round of the playoffs. I heard he wants to transfer to University of Niagara and play a year there just to get a feel for that. He's got 22 points, 11 goals in 20 games. That's good. In college, that's good. It really is.

Murray okay for you last night, Kip? Yeah, I didn't like him cheating a little bit. On the second one? I don't know what TJ Brody was doing on that two-on-one. I mean... Yeah, so I thought Brody was great last night, and you're right, that one was like... That was full snow angel. And BC made a good play. I i mean he made a good play he showed patience i did i think that murray was cheating and left the short side exposed and bc picked it off yeah absolutely

so you remember in all or nothing when keithfe's standing beside Vesey and he says, like, you've just been vanilla. For me, it's just been vanilla, he says to Vesey. And Vesey's like, oh, you know, whatever. He's not happy about it. Lights up the Leafs. Do we have the clip, Sammy? We have the clip of him getting asked. So tee it up.

So Sheldon Keefe is asked. We got the question in. Oh, okay. Okay, so just tee it up, though. He was asked about Vesey and guys coming back to burn the Leafs. Yes. Yeah. So just have a listen.

How many times have you seen the next player come up big against you? Like Jimmy did tonight. I don't know. Are we done? Very tortsy. Well, and it's, you know, I think is he racking his brain? He's like, Richie, who else burned us? Why am I doing your homework for you? I don't care. I'm out. But I think it's racking his brain? He's like, Richie, who else burned us? Why am I doing your homework for you?

I don't care. I'm out. But I think it's a reasonable question. It seems to happen with some consistency. Yeah, it could have been framed a little bit. I don't know. Maybe on a day that it's not right after the moment. How many times?

It's like, first of all, you're right. Would he have been okay if he said two? Yeah. And then late. That's great, yeah. Right, two? Yeah. And then late and then, you know. That's great, yeah. Right, two? It's been two times. Okay, two.

Yeah. Oh, wait, come back, come back. Who were they? I want to know more. Yeah, we want to know more. And it's like, it's not really the time and place for this conversation. And I watched the whole scrum, like I always do when I'm cutting the clips or whatever. You could tell he wasn't in his jovial keith mood

where he's looking to talk i think you kind of like it's a fine question maybe for a morning skate but maybe losses suck maybe read the room a little bit more on that one yeah um but the one thing i wanted to ask you kipper so just go down the hypothetical road with me oh you kidding me that we love that in this show and i know they always get pissed off. Hypothetical real Kipper and Bourne show. We put out a clip on Sportsnet yesterday, and I'm just getting absolutely torched for this. But I got to ask you again. Samsonov's great on Saturday against his former team.

Still Murray Tuesday night? Yeah. I'm not so sure. Not so sure. Listen, you can go to Samsonov, but I worry about what kind of message you're sending to matt murray that's all and if you want to play the game where i'm going to be a cold fish here and uh you'll just won't know until game one of the first round who's really in that

i i think you invite you you create your own controversy that's all you better be prepared for us talking every night who should be in who should be out and you know uh question their decisions on why to me if you want to open up a controversy yeah then but you've said you've said from the start it's a true competition but i don't believe so i believe that matt murray with his two stanley cups deserved the the the feel that he is the guy i agree i feel like this is the data gathering time these are the games the first two-thirds of the year where you say one of you look better than the other and i'll declare you the starter just be better than the other guy to me on merit and this is all hypothetical about saturday night but if sam

sounds good if you're going on merit he gets to start tuesday to me and to me you're you're now uh creating a controversy that it's too early in the season to do it all good i also don't think that murray's been bad enough for it to happen he He hasn't been bad at all. And he's earned that right to start against a two-time Stanley Cup champion when you're removed. That's all. All good. Okay. We'll take a quick break.

And yes, it is Friday, which means only one thing. Pickleball, yoga, and Doug McClain. After the break, Real Kipper and born this is real kipper and born on sportsnet 590 the van yeah kiprios justin bourne sammy mckee we hunt down dClain. Man, it's a fast week. Isn't it? It is. I'm loving this where the Leafs do the Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday thing. If they could do that all year for our show, that would be brilliant.

Just brilliant. Yeah, that might. Our next guest, that would probably alter his dinner and second bottle of wine. It's okay. We don't want to mess that up. No,. Don't want to mess that up. No, we don't want to mess that up. Last night, did it get messed up? Were you able to watch a good portion of the Leafs and the New York Rangers

as we welcome in Doug McClain? Yeah, we had an early dinner out, so I asked if they could put the Leafs game on at the restaurant bar I was at. They didn't know what the Leafs game on at the restaurant bar I was at. They didn't know what the Leafs meant. It's pronounced leaves, sir. I haven't told you this story. I haven't told Bourne this story.

When I went to the bar with my son a few years ago, and I said, would you mind putting the Panthers game on? This is 35 minutes from where the Florida Panthers play. And the bartender said, I'm sorry, we don't have the NFL package yet. I believe every bit of that. You were part of like an amazing run. It didn't get the job done to sell hockey in Florida. This is again, if we want to blame everything that's wrong with Columbus,

then we should blame that if hockey is not as popular there, it's your fault. I told you what happened. I was walking through the Toronto airport and the fan yells, hey, this is my second or third year in Columbus. Hey, McClain, where are you now? I said, I'm in Columbus. He said, don't worry, you'll fight your way back to the NHL. And I said to my marketing guy when I got

back, I said, hey man, we still have some work to do here. And you know what? Honest to God, we used to check into hotels and I'd say it's Columbus or the NHL and they'd say, are you guys in the NHL? Anyway, they're still, they're grinding. So for those of those Floridians that haven't got a clue,

did they miss out on a pretty good hockey game last night? Did it feel, Justin and I were talking about it, maybe not as intense, but there was a little bit of a playoff feel last night, Rangers and Toronto. That's what I thought. I thought it had a bit of a playoff feel to it in that, look, the Rangers, they're desperate for wins right now, too, to club. You know, they've been good lately, but, the Rangers, they're desperate for wins right now, too.

They've been good lately, but they're clawing their way back into the playoffs. I mean, they're sitting in a wild card spot where they're considered a contender. So, you know, it was two teams. Toronto's had a great run lately. Two teams that think they're as good as any in the conference. And it was sort of a monumental setup for a big battle. The Rangers felt they had to win. And Toronto, you know, coming off a real good run.

Maybe not the pressure, but I thought it was a playoff-style atmosphere. And there were some parts of the game that were playoff-style hockey, which I kind of enjoyed. And, you know, we'll see. I feel for the Leafs because no matter what they do, what we all talk about, it's not even, you know, most teams are going to win the Stanley Cup. Them, it's winning the first round.

That's the frame. The Rangers don't have that pressure on them. I mean, they're talking going deep in the playoffs but they got to the conference final last year so it's it's just unbelievable that the leaves have been this good yet that's all we all think about how do they match up to a that's all i kept thinking about last night well it's exactly you know we come back every day in the show and we go do we feel differently about them as a playoff team and one of the things they had struggled to do in the

postseason is get inside when the other team plays good defense and they struggled to get off the wall a little bit last night is this something is that sort of problem something that could be fixed by bringing in someone externally you know or is it just something that the guys internally got to figure out? Well, you know, we've been talking about this for five, seven years. You know, to get to the inside. It's not easy to get to the inside in the NHL. I mean, you know, they protect the house. I mean, not that we didn't.

I mean, that's been done for 30 years. Like I tweeted out a week ago, this analytics guy said, oh, Winnipeg are doing something amazingly different. Mike Kelly. done for 30 years. Like I, I tweeted out a week ago, this analytics guys at all, Winnipeg are doing something amazingly different. Mike Kelly, they're doing something amazingly different. They're there. They got a new system there in Winnipeg.

They're, they're protecting the house. And I'm thinking, Mike, we did, that's been going on for 25 years. Sorry. That's not new. You know,

I hate to break your bubble. And then, Oh, people were upset with me, you know, anyway, so it's like, that's what bothered me last night. There's two things that bothered me. A little bit of trouble getting to the inside,

and the other thing, when the power play really needed to come through for them, in a two-minute power play, they hardly had a shot on goal. I don't know if they really have a chance on that late power play, and that bothered me a little bit. But you know what? Too many positives to harp on it, but I still am a little worried about where they're going to be when the first round comes and the way the intensity level goes up

and the checking level and the determination and everything goes up 25 the checking level and the determination and everything goes up 25 from the regular season so does a game like last night even though maybe all cylinders weren't firing for the leafs uh tell you more about your team than maybe a lot of these wins in the last month you know i think the wins mean something i i you know they've had some tough competition they have had some tough games and they've they've played well in those games and you know i think it i think we they're a real good team that's where they've been for a number of years but you know i just it just it's unfortunate but it keeps coming back and

there's a measuring stick of about 10 games all year. Last night to me was one of them. Next time they go into Boston, that'll be another measuring stick. When Colorado get healthy and they play Colorado, you know, those are the measuring sticks. And so far they've measured up pretty good all along. So I think those are the measuring sticks because those teams play playoff hockey on a lot of nights and the Leafs haven't got to that yet. But here's the great news for Leaf fans. Great news.

Michael Jordan won the NBA championship in his seventh year in the NBA. Marner and Matthews are in their seventh year in the NHL with the Leafs. I think LeBron was his eighth year. It's not that uncommon. It's a good point. And Ovi. Do they be, are they like Stevie Y

who took until his 14th year in the NHL to win his first cup in Detroit? Or are they Michael Jordan who wins it in his seventh year? Wouldn cup in Detroit or are they Michael Jordan who wins it in his 70s? Wouldn't that be something if they matched Jordan? Yeah, I would say that'd be something. A lot of people would be

happy around here. Hey, Mac, with the fact that no Jake Muzzin and no Morgan Riley and we think that Morgan will need another two weeks before he's back. Have the boys showed you enough where it kind of would alter Kyle Dubas' thinking about adding depth to the blue line or specifically what he needs?

Or is it just, again, looking at the depth that you truly need, and regardless of certain stretches, you just go out and get what you think you thought you needed all along. I'm just not convinced they don't need a different type of guy on their third line, and I really believe they need depth added to their blue line. I really do. The third lines are so important, and I know they played well last night. Kirk foot and well,

I know they played well last night, but I still think they need a, a better playoff type guy on their third line. And I really think they need another good defenseman on the backend. And, you know, Muzzin looks like it's, unfortunately he may, he may not be back. We know Riley will be back end. And, you know, Muzzin looks like it's, unfortunately,

he may not be back. We know Riley will be back. I still need another guy. Brody makes me a little bit nervous. I didn't like the play last night. You know, on the goal, you know, I'm still a little nervous that Giordano, as good as he's been and as great as he's been and the job he's done is unbelievable. I'm still a little nervous on wear and tear on him when it comes to the playoffs.

I still think they need another guy. And I mean, you know, a guy, I love the way the two kids have come along and maybe they'll be enough with their gradual improvement, but I still think they need another guy to compete. Give him a name. Give him a name for that third line. For the third line, you want me to come up with a guy? Yeah, you did earlier in the show.

Oh, Tarasenko. You want Tarasenko or O'Reilly? No, good God, no. How about O'Reilly? I gave him the good God no already. We already went through the Tarasenko thing. Let's talk Nikolai Gerda. Bring him back. No, JB said Ryan O'Reilly is a name that's being thrown around

yeah I mean he has had a horrendous year thus far but we know what he brings to the table just a warrior and a guy that if St. Louis didn't have him they wouldn't have won the cup he's got experience yeah I I would love that type of addition I don't know if they can afford that so while we're talking about great players around the NHL, yesterday we spent some time talking about Alex Ovechkin. I wanted to get your thoughts on Ovi's chase for Wayne Gretzky. Well, you know what? I think it's unbelievable.

I mean, David Amber used to keep going on. Like, he got obnoxious. We know. We had him on yesterday. Ovi and Ovi. And I'm thinking like, David, just can you talk about, but hosts can't talk about other things.

They get one thing on their head. They get one thing in their head and that's all they can do. Cause they can't take more of a broad scope. McLean, Merrick, Amber. take more of a broad scope of they are there's mclean merrick amber they're all but anyway look i i yeah you're not well you're a bit of os now but anyway look uh i didn't mention millard but anyway listen i i think it's just amazing i'll i'll never forget i never forget i phoned george mcphee at the draft I said look in Carolina I said would you consider you know flipping picks with me I had the fourth pick and he had the first and George

said you know what Doug I might consider I think I'll take Ovechkin instead of flipping with you that's what he said you know so Andrew Ladd went fourth in that draft. Obie went one, you know. So Obie went one, Malkin two, Cam Barker three, Andrew Ladd four. I mean, what a draft and what a story he's been. The consistency, the way he scores, the way he still plays the game. It's a credit. I wonder, Mac, if you watch the success that Washington's had, especially coming off a few years ago their Stanley Cup

and the perception always that this was a contending team, if that drops as early as next year and they've got to just kind of regroup a little bit, maybe even be in a position where they actually miss the playoffs for the next couple of years, Can he still go at a, at this pace? I mean, is he the type of score that, that could lose a Backstrom and still find a way to score 50 goals? I think you lose it, losing a Backstrom. I mean, look, you know,

injuries to Backstrom have, you know, have hurt him, but he still, he still found a way to get it done. I still think, I mean, what's he got to get 50 goals the next two years, 50 and 50 to catch him. Yeah. Or I think he needs three more years, 40 and 30 and three years. Yeah. Yeah. I think he needs three more years to catch. I really believe he needs three more years. And, you know, it won't be easy. It won't be easy.

But when you're this close, how do you not finish? How do you not stay there until you're 50 if you have to, you know? And, you know, the owner will do whatever he can to keep the team at a level for him to reach this milestone. I think the owner will do whatever i mean this guy used to wrestle candy bar uh machines for old it's an old commercial i think you know i think he's gonna keep him uh competitive yeah by the way i gotta i gotta tell my i gotta tell mr my story. Did you tell him, Nick, about what happened to me the other day? I did not.

But you're more than welcome to share your golf story. How many rounds is here, Doug? Oh, I probably got 20 in. Probably 20. Okay. So anyway, I play every Sunday, Wednesday. But then Jack Armstrong invited me to play golf at his course, Seagate, the other day. So I went and played with Jack. And so on the ninth hole, I noticed we're

holding up a couple behind us for a couple of shots. And I thought, oh, geez. So we get up and we finish our nine. The boys are getting a drink of water. Jack and I, the other guy that was playing with us, went in and got a drink of water. And this cart pulls up. The couple pull up next to us. And I look at the guy. He's got a hat on, his sunglasses. And he said, hey, Doug, how you doing? How you doing? I thought he was going to give me a blast for holding him up.

How you doing, Doug? And I said, excuse me, you look familiar, but do I know you? He said, he takes his hat off. He said, it's Mario Lemieux, Doug. How are you? Come on. Like Like what an idiot. So I said, you can't believe it, Mario. But I was watching the boys last night, Colby Armstrong and Caulfield. And I sent a note to Colby. I said, Colby, you got to get Mario either to get a bigger desk for you and Caulfield or let Caulfield go and get a littler guy for that.

And they did a special on Mario coming back from his, you know, his cancer and playing in Philadelphia for the first time. And the Flyer fans giving him just an unbelievable standard of action, which the Flyer fans never do. And I was telling Mario this and the whole time I I'm thinking, like, what an idiot you are. You didn't recognize Mario Lemieux. Why? Just because he had his hat on and his sunglasses,

and he's with his wife on the golf cart, and it never entered my mind. Doug, do you fall for the fake mustache that guys put on sometimes? That's a – Like, seriously, how dumb is that? Or you're going senile. The biggest mistake. I jeff rimmer this story and of course he keeps meet scotty bowman and phil esposito last night in in tampa couldn't wait to run and tell them so you know they and they're thinking well either mclean scotty and

phil esposito well either mclean's an egomaniac or or he's goingile. He doesn't know what he's doing. I like the latter. I like the latter. Anyway, I thought that was kind of a... And then Jack, we leave, we go to number 10, and Jack says, oh, man, is that a cool dog? And I said, what, Jack? He said, Mario recognized you, and you don't know who he is. That is big time.

What were we going to ask Doug, too, before the show? Wasn't he going to tell us a story? Do we want to ask him this? Oh, we were just sharing some old Sportsnet stories, and there was one time on Hockey Central at noon. Please tell me you remember this, where you thought the mic was dead and off the air. Oh, right.

And you said something about the Edmonton Oilers. Oh, and I dropped the F word. Yes, you did drop it. Oh, my God. And describing their defense, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, I said their defense is so, and I used the word, and I thought I was off the air. So I'm in my car service going to the airport

because I was catching a flight to go back to Florida, and I get Scott Moore. President Scott Moore calls me. President Scott Moore didn't phone me that often. I hear you had a faux pas on the radio today. And I said, yes, Scott, I did. And he said, I said, look, I'll give Kevin Lowell a call and apologize. I'll, you know, I'll give, I can't remember the guy's name. That was the president.

LaForge. Oh, LaForge, not Bill LaForge, but yeah, Mr. LaForge. Yeah. So I said, look, I'll phone him and apologize. So then Scott phones me back just as I get there. But he said, it's okay. I just talked to LaForge and he he said, tell Mac I agree with his analysis. You're allowed to curse about a team if it's true.

And I thought, oh, my God, that was a savior for me. I thought I was really kind of a little bit disappointed. Well, I don't have to come back next Wednesday. I can stay in Florida. But anyway, I was hoping I'd get at least suspended least suspended you know isn't that great when you come on the show you don't have to worry about that anymore yeah i know it's unbelievable yeah the only thing i miss is that paycheck every two weeks but that's yeah you know other than that it's all right listen um by chance next week if you're golfing with wayne gretzky you want me to send you a picture of him

that's so bad I know that is so embarrassing it's unbelievable and you know like I don't know I don't know Mario that well but I certainly know him well enough to say Jill and I met him on Atlantic Avenue in Delray a few years ago

and I you know I mean but, like, it was so bad. And I felt terrible. But anyway, I shot a 40 on the back nine, so obviously didn't bother. Confidence is high. And he's got some game, too, Mario. Well, he played ahead of us, and I kept him. The boys, Mario, he was only a bit ahead of us. And, well, he was obviously, Natalie, his wife was with him,

and he was obviously hitting more than one shot. He was obviously practicing. But, yeah, he told me he's a member there. So it was kind of interesting. And nice guy. You know what? He is actually, Mario, over all the years I've known and coached against him, he's always been a great guy.

Class act. Class act. A class act. And that's what made me feel like such a dumbass. Yes. Yeah. Well, listen. Anyway.

You know, you're running with some big shooters, man. For you even to come on for like 30 seconds with three of us. It's an honor. It's an honor. Yeah, it's an honor. It's an honor. You know, and, of course, everybody thinks I get paid for it. You know, everybody thinks, well, you've got a regular gig there on every Friday.

You do. You do. We don't pay you with money, but I mean, look what we've... Appreciation. Can you feel it? Look out. You're giving me Sam Bankman Freed's money. Go spend that. Good luck.

Well, listen, keep the celebrity watch going. Go to the beach. See if you can find us more stars for next week. I apologize. No, don't apologize ever on this show.

Okay? Alright, Mac. Thanks for joining us man i always appreciate your time thanks mac guys i really appreciate you having me off the rails friday with doug mclean you know this is just about the only time uh clark gillies ever got mad at me and not that he was mad mad but he has a tournament every year in the summer celebrity event and mario won the long drive contest like three years in a row and it's big for the event mario wins a long drive he goes up he accepts the award yeah everyone cheers it's mario they spent their money so my first year dating brianna no you

did not first year dating brianna don't even tell me he's like you upped mario lemieux on the longest drive he's like clark is like, you didn't pay, whatever, but there's an extra spot in this group if you want to go in. And this is before, you know, I stopped drinking. You know, we're having a good time on the course. I'm playing in Clark's tournament. We're like the last group to come through. I'm barefoot on the long drive hole,

on the last guy to go through, teed it up to about my knees and just flushed it. You're John Daly now. Barefoot driving. I'm not drunk. Fl driving flush it and i'm like a foot past mario who's about to win it for like the fourth straight year and i'm like i can't write my name on it you know you're gonna scratch mario's name off that little cheesy uh like yeah little you know with the metal thing and you're gonna put your name over mario's my dad's like

you gotta do it yo drove maz i listen i shouldn't even be in this event i shouldn't have done it i regret doing it i did you did it i put my name on it so i go up there i win like at the time it was brand new the ping g10 oh you still use that till last year no no i just i have a g2 you'll remember because i won this and that night i'm sitting with it in the Gillies house, and Clark's, you know, he's not happy. No. No, I get it. And I was like, you know, he can-

You're lucky he didn't crack that thing over your head. I was like, you know, you can give this back or keep this or whatever. And he's like, yeah, I will. And he like took it back. So when you went up, did you go past Mario and go, hey, sorry, Ace. Hey, nice try, Ace. Hit the gym, 66. Hit the gym.

Not a chance. You know, hey, the range is still open. Get the floodlights, Mario. Talking trash to Lemieux. No, that did not happen. The rest of it did. The talking trash part did not. What was the chances of us spending like seven minutes on did not oh what's our what's the chances of

us spending like seven minutes on golf on this friday pretty good apparently it's in the thanks to golf canada it's everyone's talking about it today really good all right anything else to add overall on the leafs are we going to go to break sammy oh i just we're going to go to uh talk to al may about ov and talk about teeing up the game tomorrow night. But I would just like to say, get ahead of this. It is an absolute lock, ironclad lock, that Alex Ovechkin is scoring two goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. There are a few things I know in life,

but I will tell you right now that two will go in the net off of Ovi's stick against the Leafs. That's a lock. Lock. Leafs are dressing. That's a lock. Lock. Leafs are dressing. It's really tough to argue that. The best goals against average. Doesn't matter.

And this best save percentage. Absolutely does not matter. That means nothing to you. Nothing. Listen, there's these iconic moments, and you can never get through a highlight pack of guys scoring big goals, and there's never not one against the Leafs. This will be happening.

You're going to see Matt Murray, his glove hand, a couple goals. It's Sam's enough. He can score on his buddy, which is funny because he was part of the Russian five there for a little while, right? With those guys.

Oh, yeah. It's happening. Conspiracy. He's going to let him score too. How big, is this going to be like a 15-minute delay? 20-minute delay?

Great question. Does tying it or just passing it create the delay? How long does it go if he does do it like how big is the the celebration at home we saw it in chicago guys came off the bench for 800 do they for 801 do they for 802 not for 801 but 802 i would think you're not coming off the bench from here on yeah i'm telling you right now boys it's gonna be

a coronation it's gonna be 15 minutes and everybody's gonna be if i'm the leafs i'm doing everything to avoid that moment i'm not sitting on the bench for 20 minutes watching that no no i mean hey if you have a game plan to stop Ovi, let an NHL team know. But guess what? It's going to happen. So get your bets in now. How much are you putting that on, Sammy? I'm not going to lie.

I don't really gamble that often, but I am sprinkling on two plus goals for Ovi because it's just a lock. Happiness, Hedge. Okay. We're going to get more into the Washington Capitals tomorrow night. They face the Toronto Maple Leafs at home. We got Alan May who covers the Washington Capitals tomorrow night. They face the Toronto Maple Leafs at home. We got Alan May who covers the Washington Capitals for NBC Washington.

He'll help us tee that up after the break. You are watching and listening. And give us a rating and review. We'd love to hear from you. Real Kipper and Bourne back after these words. This is Real Kipper and Bourne on sportsnet 590 the van all right we are back we're almost home on a great week 40 minutes what could go wrong oh yeah just give us a chance just give me a chance. Just give me a chance.

Questions and comments and texts on YouTube. Oh, yeah. On text. Yes. Please send us questions, comments. 595 90 is the text line. Let's welcome in Alan May covering the Washington Capitals. And I got to think I'll be kind of an interesting time to be covering the Washington Capitals. Like this thing's going to be a marathon from here on end for you for very obvious OV reasons.

Yeah, you're 100% right on that, but it's been awesome. It's been incredible. It's been pretty emotional watching him, you know, attain and match and beat and surpass all these different milestones. The quality of play that he's still displaying is absolutely phenomenal. 37 years old, 18 seasons into it, and he's still putting up numbers. He's not a liability. He doesn't skate like he used to, but he shoots better than ever,

and he's figured the game out. You know, he's scoring a lot more ugly goals right now and, you know, just doing what needs to be done to help his team get back on the hunt. You know, Alan, we have a lot of guests on over the course of the week, and this has been the hot-button topic, so everyone kind of hypothesizes. When they think Ovi's going to pass Gretzky,

many people talking about if he can get to 1,000 goals and how that would look how do you think his game will age as ov gets older i understand he's older now but how do you think it's going to age as he continues to you know i'm not gonna he's not gonna get faster what are your thoughts well i'm not going to uh ever say a bad word about him he's defied so many people and i remember uh the summer before barry trotz came as the coach of the washington capitals we had a new general manager and we had about 16 people apply to be the general manager get interviewed and all of these people were bad mouthing ovechkin in the

meetings and you know trading him and get ready and he's no good his best hockey's behind him and look what he's done uh he's won a stanley cup he's i feel like he scored more goals in the last half of his career than in the first half i don't know if that's right i'll get my stats guy to figure that one out but uh he just been incredible it just you know the passion for the game jonathan tave said it the other day uh prior to the game he goes i I really don't know Ovi. I've only hung with them casually a couple of times at different events. He goes, but what I really like is how much he is like a little kid that loves the game and his teammates love him. He plays to win. He has fun. He still plays hard. And I, you know, this guy, he just defies. So I think it'll be not next season but the season after that,

and I don't think it'll take long because as he gets closer, he seems like he warms up and gets hotter and hotter. It's something else to witness right now. And the other night, once he got that first goal in Chicago, all of a sudden there was a different pace and tempo and energy to that game. So I feel in the next couple nights we're going to have Gretzky history or, excuse me, Gordie Howe history, and then after that, we're looking at two seasons from now when he takes a record.

I still think he's going to look the exact same as he does right now. In our era, Mayday maybe i kind of think about top goal scorers like yari curry or brett hall and i i try to envision them doing that without wayne gretzky or adam oats and here we are and ovs amongst the top goal scorers yet again in the league and he's lost Backstrom. And if you would have told me at the beginning of the year that he'd be within, what, half a dozen of the top goal scorers this season and Kuznetsov would only have, what, four goals in 31 games,

I would have said you're absolutely nuts. So how is he doing it? Well, he's evolved with the game, and as his body's evolved, you know, he hasn't missed hardly any games. It's something ridiculous. I don't know if it's 14 games. I might be totally wrong, but he's had a few suspensions in there all-star game-related,

and that shows you how ridiculous that suspension is. And he just finds ways. And everyone thinks it's that power play shot, but everyone cheats on the power play so much towards him that everyone else is scoring on the Caps power play the last two, three weeks. I think it's just figuring out grittier goals. Like the other night in Chicago, there were three junkie goals, and they were all within striking distance of the net,

within a stick length or even closer of the crease. And so the other night with three ugly goals or some nights where he just rips one under the crossbar from the right wing, so he's basically still doing it every way. He's not using his legs as much. He lumbers rather than flies now uh but there's a lot of scar tissue on that body no one's ever thrown more hits in the history of the national hockey league since they've started tabulating hits uh so it's just a matter of figuring out

the game being more economical now and i said this the other night on air uh in chicago he went into brett hull stealth mode and you know brett was his knee was hanging on by a thread his last little while that he played in the National Hockey League. And Obi's healthy that way. But Brett got a lot smarter at that point. Because I remember times when you and I played against Brett, Nick, where people used to say he wasn't fast. But how did he win the race to every puck?

Or how could no one ever catch him on a breakaway? So he definitely had the speed obi used to have that haven't seen too many obi breakaways lately but i so i i would say it's more about figuring the game out playing a more economical more intelligent uh style game within the team's game plan on the the caps before losing to dallas there they went on a five game winning streak a team kind of trying to claw their way back up after a slow start to the season had some injuries where are they at in their progression what can the leafs anticipate seeing on saturday night a lot different team than they saw on the second night of the season and it has to do with you know they weren't quite right going into the regular season. And for about three weeks, maybe three weeks ago prior,

they had $42 million out of the lineup and players. And it was ugly to watch. And there were players playing way out of position in the lineup, way too high, getting too many minutes. And, you know, it's not the coach's fault because, you know, he was dealing with what he had. But I think the team took it personally that they were losing games and guys started to

step up. And then all of a sudden, T.J. Oshie comes back. And in the time that T.J.'s been back with that loss last night, they're 8-3-1 in their last 12. Their power play scored 10 in 10 of the 12 games. The penalty kill has been good, I think, and perfect in, I think, eight of the games.

And all of a sudden, everyone has started kind of slotting to the right spots. The line of Ovechkin, Strom, Sherry has really picked it up. They fit very nice as a line. And then you take what Kuznetsov's been able to do in the second line with TJ Oshita. It could be Sonny Milano. It could be Anthony Mantha. But all of a sudden, guys are playing in more appropriate spots to be a successful lineup. So that's gotten better. And then realizing they're not a fast, fast hockey team.

So playing a better type of hockey and kind of reminiscent, and not the exact same, but reminiscent of how they won the Stanley cup, worrying about slowing the other teams down and playing better without the puck. And, you know, as recruits are on their way, Nick Baxter is going to come back within a week or two,

and he is going to blow the hockey world away. He's been pain free for the first time, about eight years. That's the first time he hasn't had a little hitch in his skating in that amount of time. And then Tom Wilson should be following him right after that. So those are great problems to have, the strength of the lineup that they're going to have.

And all of a sudden, their younger players are looking better. The defensemen have figured out how they need to play. So this team's in it, and Ovi still wants to win all the time. He still wants to get another crack at a Stanley Cup and the Leafs can expect a lot different looking hockey team when they don't have the puck tomorrow two names familiar with uh being in the southern Ontario area Connor Brown and Dylan Strom we know Connor Brown was lost pretty much for the season uh but Dylan Strom all of a sudden don't look now,

but second leading scorer on the hockey club. Well, there's a lot. The first thing I love about the kid is his attitude. And the players love him. Ovi absolutely loves this guy. You hear him call Stromer, Stromer in the dresser, in the hallway, the airplane, the hotel. We've done a couple events together.

And, you know, he's fit in well personality-wise. Not that that, you know, really matters a whole, whole bunch. But he's fit in well here. He feels like the organization really believes in him and loves him. And he's right. They really have a great belief in who he is and what he can accomplish as a player. And, you know, every player wants to feel the love, you know, and it gives them confidence.

So he's playing a very confident game right now. When they put him on the first unit power play on the half wall, all of a sudden, you know, it just sort of becomes so much better looking. And he does great things. He has a lot of Nick Backstrom on the power play in him and how he commands it, moves the puck around, deception with the passes, and perfect passes. And then you throw him down on the goal line in the same power play.

If you put Kuznetsov up top, and all of a sudden those two guys have some magic whipping the puck around. So he's fit in very well. His five-on-five has gotten better. And I think it's just a matter of time. What was he, fourth overall when he was drafted? magic whipping the puck around so he's fit in very well as five on five's gotten better and I think it's just a matter of time what was he fourth overall when he was drafted and it's a skinny skinny kid well he's not as thin as he was he's stronger his skating is better and you know he's just playing with confidence and I think you know when you have a guy a great player like

Alexander Ovechkin who wants to play with you, and there's so much positive reinforcement in every game from Ovi and the other players about what Strome's done. And it's so sad losing Connor Brown. The way they did four games in, he was the best winger during preseason, thought he was going to have a great year. And once the season started, he looked a little nervous, a little uptight, because he was playing with Ovi all the time.

And then he gets hurt in the fourth game. And he is done for the season. It's an ACL injury. Typically, those are eight months. And it's too bad. It's too bad. And, you know, being a UFA next year. But I'm sure the Caps are still interested in him.

I don't know where all that's going to go. And I'm sure he's got tons of interest around the National Hockey League and such a well-rounded player who's had some offensive upside in the past. Penalty kill, you name it. Connor Brown really impressed me over the years. We would be remiss if we let our conversation go here without asking you about the most important player to Toronto Maple Leafs fans. How has Nicolas Abe-Kubel been with the Toronto Maple Leafs waived

and need help in their bottom six? Well, I'll tell you what. He had a good start when he first got here, and he was playing very, I would say, like a very sound game. But he wasn't doing enough extra, in my opinion. But you could tell it's there. And positionally sound, the compete was there, but there wasn't an extra. And I want an extra out of my, you know, bottom six.

He gets a three-game suspension for a high hit versus the Avs. Comes back, plays one game. Didn't look good. Probably felt bad. Somewhat uptight. Sat out 10 games. And in Chicago the other night, we're all talking about Ovi, but the most impressive guy that game not named Ovechkin was Ove Q. Bell,

who played very, very well. Last night he played very well. And he's going to be one of those guys who's going to have to fight for a roster spot every game. But on the fourth line, left wing, the last two games, he's brought a lot of energy and been very noticeable in a very positive way. So, you know know as numbers get back

players are going to have to be at the top of their game when you get the two stars back in wilson and backstrom hey albie are we now is is there this big master plan now for every ov goal are we stopping for 15 20 minutes while he meets everybody in the stands? Like, what kind of plans do you hear that are coming in the next little while here? Give us a little insight. Well, as far as we're seeing, you know, I'm sure they have the authorization from the league to empty the benches and congratulate them.

And, you know, I don't know if they'll be throwing hats on the ice like they were in Chicago the other night, but that was a hat trick, right? So that took a little bit longer, and it was epic. It was incredible to be there. I called the game on radio after my pre- and post-game, you know, after my pre-game, and to be a part of all that was incredible. So I don't think they're going to do big stoppages. And, you know, Mark Howell has already done a lot for us,

for my network as far as interviews are concerned. So I don't think it's going to be that ridiculous. You could see after it's all done, I imagine there'll be a silver stick presentation for the 800th goal or whatever you give someone when they score 800 goals from the league. But I don't think it's going to take too long. I think it'll be one of the things too they'll have a montage video probably on the first commercial break here at

home once it happens can you get in on the grade eight trademark and you know throw a few bucks your way and then maybe mine jb too well you know i came out with my own brand of, Capitals brand, Jack Daniels, the last couple of years. And I'm just trying to get him to sign a few of my bottles with the gold pen to up their value before I start going to whiskey shows and swapping bottles for cash. Never a lost opportunity for a little cha-ching, cha-ching from my buddy Alan May. We've learned well in the past, my friend.

Hey, thanks for doing this, pal. Have fun tomorrow night. Yeah, take care, guys. Talk to you again. Thank you. That's Alan May, former national hockey leader. Does a great job covering the Washington Capitals. You know, when everyone's done playing,

you got to make money somehow. Yeah. You know, not many people get to just stop. I just, I would imagine, though, that a lot of people have had plenty of time to kind of map this record. And I guess max out on every last dime. There's a ton of money out there with this. Commemorative gear from the capitals. Yeah, by the time they get to Gretzky, for sure. Do you think they'll do it for pass and Gordie Howe?

I understand it's Gordie Howe, and I understand it's unbelievable. 800 kind of made it official that the race is on. The watch is on. It's real. The chase. I got to think from a marketing perspective that uh between the league and ovi and the washington capitals uh a lot's been decided by now and we'll start seeing and hearing uh i have a question how many opportunities there are to cash in yeah i i feel the same way

barney don't worry it's it's a tough conversation to have but i want to ask you about oh yeah i get it that's that that it's never not gonna be there it's never not gonna be there that's right and i'm sure sometimes you're gonna see the the foot on the pedal and then sometimes you're gonna see it back off totally totally agree so i was thinking about this walking in today about sid and olvie because they've been measured against each other their entire career. And I think we'd all agree that Sid has had a better career than Ovechkin. Would we agree that or no? I see you and I had this chat.

I want to hear Kipper's thoughts. That's such a broad statement. So, no, I mean, you've watched both of them from their rookie year to now. Who do you think's had a better career? It's all in the eye of the beholder. Like, if you're a Washington Capitol fan, you're the beholder.

How do you... Yeah, you are my beholder, Kip. In your eye. If you ask me if I wanted to start a team tomorrow i'd take sydney crosby right uh do i take his multiple stanley cups over one stanley cup 100 so i have gold medals i have crosby above ovi for a lot of different reasons but you are talking about going down in history as the best goal scorer ever. And that in itself holds a very dear spot for Ovi. And that's my question because I think most people that you would ask

would say that Sid has a more accomplished career. But what's the equivalent of the goal record versus Cups? Like is the goal record worth one stanley cup in terms of yeah because let me tell you let me ask literally the most goals in the history of the league it's an incredible accomplishment amount of goals to have yes as i get older you just continue to value team success team success championships over individual records the whole point of being a teammate and a team is to accomplish this one thing no not once in my career was any coach ever like we're trying to get you to

a personal best here it was like we're trying to win a hockey game tonight what's how can you help us best let me let me phrase this to you guys this way If Ovi was doing what he's doing right now, and they didn't win the Stanley Cup against Vegas in 2018, where are you on that question? It's not even a conversation. Thank you. Not even a conversation. So the Stanley Cup takes Ovi with his 800 goals from here to here.

Bingo. And he was awesome on that cup. And that's one. Sid's got three, including back-to-back, last team to do it. Yeah. With no defense on that team. Just come on. That's what it's all about.

Championships. Yeah. Yes, I agree. I think we're on the same page. We just got a text. I don't know if I necessarily agree. Don't't forget crosby was always surrounded by much better players that made his career just a little bit more successful i completely disagree with that like i think they've both been on excellent teams i think the you know they've both been loaded teams forever

maybe they didn't have a malkin on what's that's? That's a big deal. He's a Hall of Famer. The 101st best player in the history of the game. And Backstrom isn't. Yeah. No, there's no Malkin is the better second player. Malkin didn't make the top 100. So I don't know if I can agree with you. New Zealand alone was a better player. Ovi doesn't have, Ovi never had one of the best modern day goaltenders in history.

In terms of team success, yeah. Well, you know, Braden Holtby was a legit star in the league. For the one year. A few years, right? He was a pretty good starter for a few years, yeah. Just the one that got them over the top, though, stands out. Yeah. And to me,

Fleury had a couple of runs or one good one that started this whole thing and Matt Murray came in and mopped up. I don't know that there's enough of a supporting cast case to be made that one guy's been propped up by or whatever. There's a lot of seasons, a lot of casts.

I think they've both been on very good teams for a lot of years yeah one had better goaltending than the other though no doubt there that's that's the only point i wanted to make that's completely fair yeah um so yeah just wanted to bring that up to you i thought it was a fascinating conversation because my it's the first time me thinking about it today is where i actually was thinking that ovi may it may the conversation may be starting if he gets there. I just gotta say, I just like every time we have someone on and,

you know, Alan does great stuff for us and a good, good capital stuff. Obviously he knows the team in and out, but the talk about Ovechkin as someone who is somehow not going to go into any decline that he literally said, like, he's like,

I think, you know, 50, you know, this year, next, I don't think he'll look any different it's like what do we think he he's just never going to look any different do we not foresee i don't know i just i thought the decline from 34 to 37 would look worse than what i see i 100 agree i thought it would look worse for sure. And it hasn't. It's not even dented. No.

And Allen admitted that he's watched more games than any of us. And the game's going to get faster. And he's telling us that his foot speed has been altered. So the game's going to get 1% faster. And he's going to get 1% slower every year. And we're just like, he'll get 50 every year. So 50 goes to 42? I don't know.

See, there's a point where it's too much, where you're too slow. You know, and for me, it's like the small guys in the American League who score like crazy. They can score like crazy. It's Seth Griffiths, Nick Patan, it's whoever, you know, go through the list. God, those guys are so happy. You just mentioned them right after Ovi. It's their greatest career accomplishment. The game gets a little too fast.

And they can't get any. It's just that I don't think it's a gradual thing. I don't know. I think there will be real decline at some point. One more on this Ovi Ovechkin thing. I'm sorry, Ovi Crosby thing. Rob and Tron are just sending a great text. Ask yourself this. If both players were interviewed, would Ovi Ovechkin thing. I'm sorry, Ovi Crosby thing. Rob and Tron are dissenting a great text. Ask yourself this.

If both players were interviewed, would Ovi trade his 800 for two more cups? No. No. But I think that speaks to their individual priorities. And would Crosby trade his cups for 800 goals? No. So there you go.

They both accomplished exactly what they wanted to. He's trading 100 goals for sure. For one cup? Yeah. Cash him in? Oh, for sure. He would cash in.

I agree he would cash in 100 goals for another cup. Go ask. Because he'd still get the record. Go ask Hall of Famers if they would trade in their Hall of Fame status for a Stanley Cup. Yeah. It's an interesting concept. I'd be shocked to hear someone say no. It's like collecting tickets at like Dave and Buster's or whatever

and you can cash them in for cups at the end if you get enough. And I think people would do it for sure. It's the priority. It's what we have grown up trying to win. I don't think people grew up in Russia the same way they did in Canada, obsessing over the cup though. The joy I get out of watching anybody win a championship and to watch how excited they are

and to just be able to every year no matter what the championship is look at someone beside me and go i know exactly how that feels right is the most incredible feeling in the world and there's no individual trophy that will ever trump that do you agree with the flippant comment i just made that in canada we have grown up obsessing over the stanley cup maybe more than in other countries that the priority for canadians has been more on the cup you know what used to drive us nuts in my era is when some of the europeans towards march and apr April would get more excited about the World Championship than the Stanley Cup. So that's all I just want. The point, it's different.

It's different. What you grow up is what's important. Well, I think a lot of that probably has to do with the soccer culture, too. Like in terms of it being a big sport over there. That was their Stanley Cup. For sure. The World Championship. Yeah.

I think that's more the European culture in terms of country success as opposed to team success. I feel like it's not that there's anything wrong with that. No, of course not. It was just different that I think they cared more about, for example, for Messi on Sunday, again, with Argentina, that means a million times more than any... EPL championship or whatever the Champions League or whatever league you're playing in championship there's it's not even close it's not even a conversation but you could have that what's even more important a Stanley Cup or a gold medal to

you Stanley Cup yeah 10 times yeah listen I would trade in every team Canada gold medal for one Stanley Cup in a hurry that's great imagine now Imagine now again, Ovi. Maybe not 2010. Ovi without his Stanley Cup in Washington. The conversation would be, great goal scorer. Yeah. You just can't win with him. And that would hurt more than anything else. 100 and 10.

Can't win with that guy. Charles Barkley can't make a comment on TNT without someone being like, you never won. He gets buried to this day every time they talk about championships. It hurts. Yeah. I'll tell you that right now. As great as he is on TV, as confident as he is,

the pride the man has, all of it, that's the one that stings you, man. Yeah. For sure. didn't think that like here in luongo talk especially from your peers yeah right well they all know what your focus is i'm watching vancouver 94 the the look of trevor linden buried in his hands in his face and that like it i'm sure he has it framed on his bedside every day i don't i don't i'm just thankful that i don't have to you know feel that that kills me every time that like the as excited and i do every time the cup comes out there's few things that get me excited like that like i know and listen you can make the jokes oh your favorite team's ever seen it. Yeah, you're right. The last time the Leafs won it, they pushed it on a wood table onto the ice.

But it's equally as exciting as it is, it's equally as heartbreaking to see the guys who lost after this two-month war. Remember how Jose did the flip and on both sides? Lost. We watched Kevin Biaxla last night tell a story that is 10 years old. You know, he told it like it happened yesterday.

And it will feel like yesterday that they lost game seven for nothing at home. That loss will feel like yesterday for him the rest of his life. Cool, cool, cool, cool. You know, that's tough. Hey, I wanted to talk. Do we want to talk about uh mcdavid offside before we get to the yeah before we get to some more questions okay i don't want to argue though that's all right offside or not offside clearly offside from a from a look of what you are talking about, yes. But from the rules, not offside.

Wait, what? I'm saying that you're under the impression that it's like any offside, that you're in with control and you're allowed to go in even though the puck's not in, but you're in control therefore not offside correct are you saying it was offside no i'm saying it was offside it was clearly offside to me he oh so it should have been disallowed you're saying and it was yes yes it was so you're okay 100 okay that's not what he said two hours ago yes it was so yeah so i'm with him on this

Was offside McDavid went to play the puck Okay, I thought you had a different I thought you argued it He did on McCarr It was McCarr He's arguing McCarr Okay, alright

It's Friday I'm taking it off the rails Do you guys want to hear McDavid talking about Did I put that clip in there? Okay Go to McDavid You know, we kind of get burned on a call in the playoffs Over a similar type of situation

You know, you don't know if it's offside or outside but you know the league's got to clarify some of these rules um you know what's a kick what's offside what's goal interference um kind of depends on the night i guess so uh disappointing obviously obviously we should never even let it get to that point so um disappointing okay clearly he's pissed with the league what a whiner oh my god say what you will about matthews he'd never get in front of the media and why he needs a whole new uh we're going we're starting at page one in the rule book he wants to go over yeah he wants to completely start over so he was offside um in my opinion because you don't have to be but when he goes to do something with it after that, he's not able to control it.

So that's not possession to me. It's offside. What do you think about the claim on other rules? I think he's got a good point on kicking. I think we can clarify that better. But it's okay. Goalie interference is the one where people have no idea, right? Is that the most confusing one, goalie interference?

That one's complete for me. 50-50. Never know. Because it's a subjective rule. It's not objective. It's subjective. And I'm not suggesting a way to change it. Because I don't want it to be, oh, you touch him here and it's.

The whole game's subjective. Yes. Tripping, hooking, interference. Trust the rest to make some calls. It's just the way it is. I'm sorry. I'm pretty fine with it. We're not going to computers.

No. We're not doing that. And you know what? Even with some of the rules right now, sometimes guys get them wrong, and you live with it. You live with it. If you want there to be less of the video review, there's going to be more calls that you have to live with and more things to complain about.

We're doing fine. So you want to get, the best way to get rid of goaltender interference is bring back Brad Hall rule. That's terrible, right? That makes things clearly worse. I know, but that's the number one way to get rid of this question. Yes.

No players in the crease. So immediately no goal. Makar, you thought should have been offside yes mccarr was offside well he wasn't offside the player going off the ice was offside he wasn't offside the player was standing on the blue line and he was carrying the puck and it skipped for one second off his stick but he didn't touch the puck so it's not offside he carried it into the zone just because if the puck hadn't rolled for a millisecond yeah it's offside he didn't carry it into the zone he carried it before he got into

the zone he carried it it's a hard one to have no visual medium there's no contact no it's on so what it is it's just a smaller version of the tag up rule do you understand that correct yeah you don't scream offside on tag up rules do you no but you know why you don't because the guy's not carrying the puck no one's standing there i'll say i see what you see but he had right because it's not intent to have possession on the tag up. They should change that. Intent to have possession. No one's screaming offside on any tag up rule, tag up. But it's just a tighter, quicker, faster tag up. And I, at the time, I took to Twitter and I said they got the call wrong.

And I, you know, Elliot Friedman was on and I said, you know, love Frieds, don't agree with them, whatever. And I took the time to dig into this, and I was wrong. I'll take the L on that. So, McKee, now you take the time to do it, and you'll catch up. Guess what? I can take the hottest L I want to in the spirit of the rule, in the rule book, in hockey, over 100 years, fast game.

Offside. The man is carrying the puck into the zone. His teammate is in the zone. Offside. Spirit of the rule, offside We're not spirit of the rule people Spirit of the rule Make it up

There's a million of those stupid things In all the sports, spirit of the rule The tag play at second base If a guy comes off for a millisecond on a slide See, this is the thing Remember guys used to be, yeah. Remember guys used to drag their foot behind the second and not touch it? Yeah, the neighborhood play, like.

Anyways. All right, give us some tweets. Give us some YouTube questions. Okay, here we go. This is a comment. I mean, they didn't put their name on it, but I like it. Mike Bossy is actually the greatest goal scorer of all time. Average goals per game,.761.

If he played 1305 games like ovechkin would have 993 goals more importantly he used a log stick imagine he had the wimpy whip stick that ovechkin had he would have had over a thousand yeah i don't argue that for one second nine consecutive 50 goal seasons to start his career i'm good nine yeah that's just sick so yeah but that's what makes ovi's feet so incredible is like doing it for two decades not one his body holding up through all this is like holy hell yes because it is like you know you play 10 games and you score 10 goals you're not on pace to score a thousand goals in a thousand games well you are on pace technically but that's just not how it works so yes bossy per game incredible rate deserves credit uh and mentioned in that conversation but yeah it's obie's longevity

that's really impressive now jeremiah maxwell by the way just to go back a little bit to edmonton um the sports beard on twitter yeah the the blown lead by edmonton and then the giveaway by Darnell Nurse and then McDavid being out-muscled along the wall. Yeah. Ooh, that was a bad look for the Oilers. It's enough to make a guy a little bit pissy in his post-game presser. That's where I want to go through the rule book starting on page one. Yeah. That's exactly when you're really frustrated and you're like,

you know what we should do? We should blame some other people. Oh, yeah. What else do you're really frustrated and you're like you know we should do blame some other oh yeah what else you got semi boy he's a nice quick one before uh we enter a show here soon john from waterloo will pierre engvall and alex kerfoot be on the team at season's end you know i was thinking about pierre engvall guys engvall yes here we go again i know hang ball yes kerfoot no not on the team at your end yeah i think i think to try to give the leafs a different look you're gonna have to riley you're gonna have to lose the 3.5 whatever's left on it it's still a chunk of change where money in money out you can't just go and get somebody you got to get some money off the books even though it'll be uh minimal but you got to clean it up a little bit i feel like i have been well i am hard on pierre engvall but like

watching him carry the puck through the rangers sometimes he's going up and he's big and strong and fast i know he's not motivated or absolutely tantalizing hockey player he is but there's games where it's like for two million bucks a guy who can have these random nights where he just like controls the play it's not super common he's gonna be around pierre's around the kerfing okay so yeah they're both around you is that what you're saying i like kerfing too well yeah they like You're not sure. I'm not sure. What else do I got here? I think this is from Jeff Insarnia. I think the Leafs could look into Max Domi to slot in on the second line with the Vars. What do you guys think? I will say this for maybe the fourth time.

They had their chance at Max Domi this summer. And they won't do it again. And they chose not to go down that path at a much cheaper price than what chicago paid they just didn't want him back then but now do you think you look at things and go and now it makes sense domey in a leafs jersey would sell a couple of kits no doubt the other thing is max is at three million dollars now too so i i don't know what that does for your books but you could have had them cheaper and you chose not to i think i think that ship sailed yeah what's he up to this year how statistically is max doing let's

look i think he's doing really well he really is 10 and 10 for 20 points in 28 games on a bottom-feeding team. Pretty impressive. To me, man, having him with Tavares and Marner would have been... Better than Mulligan, you think? Oh, my gosh. With some sandpaper, with some attitude. I guess, yeah, that's a significant pay difference. And what was the number that he was going to take? I don't know what the number is, but it lower there's lower than three i know yeah i know it

just never got there it didn't even get serious it didn't even get no no we're fine thanks we're fine we're good all right oh we don't have much time for a question so maybe we should talk about tomorrow night what do you think's gonna happen do you believe with do you agree with me that he's gonna get it tomorrow break uh well he he's goalless right in his last game so it's samson of yes i'm gonna go ahead and call it a triple bagel just shut up again keep the bagel street going oh you're not shutting out washington tomorrow night caps are the a really poor rush team that the leafs don't you know that's like they're one week i think they'll be all right You're not shutting out Washington tomorrow night. Caps are a really poor rush team. The Leafs, that's like their one weakness. That's a nice one for me. I think they'll be all right.

They'll defend the Caps hard. Looking forward to it, though. Yes. And it's another good challenge for the Toronto Leafs. Hot picket in Washington for that one, boy. From now until he gets it, some hot tickets. Saturday night against the Leafs. That's a big one.

All right. Our thanks to Doug McClain, former president and general manager of Columbus. And who else do we have? Alan May. Yeah. It's Friday. I had to say. And no, more importantly, thanks to all of you for watching and listening.

Give us a thumbs up. Give us a rating and review. We'd love to hear from you. Stay safe, everybody. Enjoy the weekend. And we're back Monday.