Real Kyper & Bourne - Canadian Team Catch-Up

Episode Date: October 11, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start the second hour with their takeaways from Connor Bedard's highly anticipated NHL debut against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Sportsnet TV host David Amber joins the conversation and then takes a look at the Canadian teams around the league and their overall outlook before making some award predictions (6:24). They close with a look at the action from Day 1 around the league, including the Golden Knight's statement victory, Brett Howden's high hit on and Brandon Tanev and the Lightning looking steady despite missing Andrei Vasilevskiy and extension drama with Steven Stamkos.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.

we're live on sports net sports net plus sports net 960 in calgary and sports net 650 in vancouver this hour of real kipper and born brought to you by bet three six five top stories around the league on our national show. We got to start with Connor Bedard. The buildup, probably we haven't seen anything like it since Sid. Going back to my era, maybe Eric Lindros, the Philadelphia Flyers. First of all, your thoughts. We'll go to you, JB, first on what you saw out of the phenom. And where's the watermark on this?

Well, he did not disappoint. I thought he was fantastic. He had the puck the whole night. He dictated the pace of the game what do you have 10 shot attempts five shots an assist i mean this guy made some plays last night that you're like aha and i will tell you that i was getting some texts from people that were like i don't know it's pretty small i don't see it and i was like you don't see it i don't know i'm terrified right now this guy is gonna say he didn't see it i know exactly what

kipper is gonna say and i agree with him i guess what you're gonna say oh let's get ahead okay i think it's gonna be about the stuff with crosby at intermission that's what i think kip's on about i think it's gonna be no helmet and warm-up let's have it no either either wow okay first of all i'm not gonna sit here and disagree with anything that you just said okay okay all right but the skills there um challenging guys one-on-one shooting pucks through sticks and and and picking spots i know he's gonna do all of that yeah okay um but but yeah here's my butt on what i saw last night hold on to your chairs okay 21 swat a fly out of my way fly landed right in your face 21 and a half minutes okay i get it

yeah i get it but the the the playing of the full not the full two minutes on a power play but not coming off and staying out there and leaving 15 seconds in the offensive zone for the second unit come on like there's 19 other guys and if if that's he's the only guy in chicago It doesn't matter. You got to still try to protect this guy. Too much. Okay, so you're hanging that on Luke Richardson, not him. No, even Connor. Get off the ice. Get off the ice.

Go a minute, minute and ten. But this is your first NHL game. You don't need to be hanging around a power play until you feel like you can want to come off. If you're starting that it's a dangerous game with 19 other guys and if you want to just parade this guy right off the bat and make him feel like he's up here and everyone else is down there and it has nothing to do with how great or how weak the team is but But if you start really separating this guy, then you better make sure that you do some extraordinary things every night.

Yeah. Because if you don't, you're going to get 19 other guys going, hold on for a second. Can we just be reminded he's still a rookie here, and, you know, he needs to learn, and one of those things could be face-offs. I don't know if you guys paid attention to the face-offs. Sid delighted in cleaning his cloth last night. He looked like he couldn't win a face-off in a peewee game. It was that bad.

It was that bad. How about the first draw of the game? He slap shotted it back to his own boards. Right? Okay. Okay. Okay. That's my only beef with watching Connor Bedard last night is the treatment I get.

I mean, we're building him up. We're trying to sell him to sponsors and new fans. I get all of that. But you're putting too much on the kid to sit there and say, you have your own rules. You go on the ice when you want. You come off when you want. And that stuff can get real old for guys in the room.

Okay. I think that's pretty fair. Well, it's fair. At the start, I was like, it's fair at the same start i was like but at the same time it has everything to do with where that team is at and their development and the thing that serves this team best is him playing him getting better him getting the experience yeah yeah so so 19 other guys can say hey he's out there for a minute and yeah 45 seconds because we stink that badly no i know it's i i get the idea that you know he shouldn't be staying out there for two minutes on the power play if given the choice

or whatever but if this team if his coach is saying play he's a kid he wants to play hockey he's exceptional i don't blame him one minute for it in night one maybe it'll soften as the season goes on here it is it's going to be fascinating to watch because if you watch that espn coverage of it last night they talked about him like he was lebron right like there was no other players in the game and our game isn't built where it is not a basketball player first pick overall we need stars but but it doesn't work that way like the real game doesn't but how we sell it we've been around the game a long time so we can appreciate those plays that we saw last night but if you're uh if if you're an american watching that game for the first time and you've listened to the build-up of this guy and you

actually watched him last night you didn't pick up those those those smaller detailed things that we did, you'd sit there and go, wow, this guy looks like he's a boy playing against men. DA, why were you disappointed in Conor Bedard's performance last night? How did the Blackhawks let him, their number one asset worth however many, go on the ice without a helmet and warm up? It's insane. You know who's going to answer that?

David Amber. I get it. That's who's going to answer that? David Amber. I get it. That's who's going to answer it. Sportsnet host and a friend of the show, DA. How are you, buddy? Good. What have I stumbled into here? It's like Christmas morning and you guys are already returning the gifts.

Let's just celebrate what we have here. You covered them last night right yeah was i watching a different game i understand all the points you guys are you know mostly next making here about uh conor bedard but i i mean i really think it's something to celebrate right like this is this is this guy is going to be amazing and the maturity i felt the maturity he was able to show to handle that. You know, the league's taking a different approach, and I think you hit it on the head, Nick. They are trying to march him out there and celebrate, you know,

what he has the potential to become. We didn't do that with Austin Matthews. We didn't do that with Connor McDavid. And what I mean by we is the league, essentially. You remember the rule when Austin Matthews was a rookie? lula amarillo was the gm at the time and said no rookies are to be interviewed during in-game at all so we're talking to travis boyd about the four goals that austin matthews has scored in his first nhl game like that's hold on hold on those things were put in place to take pressure off of him uh da it was was to help in the development to who they are today.

And should that not be considered a little bit moving forward for Connor that you're actually protecting him a little bit? I think some guys need protection and some guys don't. I think Conor Bedard's incredibly mature. I think the spotlight's been on him for 12, 13 years since he was a young, young boy and shows that he has exceptional skill. And I think you have to read the situation. And I think for the betterment of the game, you know, let fans be at arm's length. The fact that he did a hat trick of interviews yesterday during and post-game is fantastic.

I think it's great. I also think from a hockey standpoint, yeah, we can nitpick about the face-offs and staying on a little extra long during the power play, et cetera. But I do think it was an exceptional first showing. The amount of respect the other team was giving him, the penguins were giving him. I mean, we were laughing. I was watching with Luke Gostick and Jamal Mayers, and they're giving him the OV, Zibaneanejad Stamkos treatment on the power play.

I mean, this is his very first game. I thought it was incredible. And the fact that he was able to fight through a lot of the, you know, extra attention he was getting. He set up their first goal. He basically helped rally this team to a victory. It was really impressive. I thought it was a great showing.

And this whole notion of, well, he's too small. And it's funny. You talk to a lot of people, he's too small. I think we're starting to see that he is built differently. He's got the Martin St. Louis, Sidney Crosby thighs. He's built up top. He's fearless. It's a different game than 15 years ago.

Would I be concerned 15 years ago, maybe, or 10 years ago? But I think in this day and age where skill and speed and uh creativity is a premium i think he's going to be an absolute superstar i thought it was just the slam dunk last night it was it's great showing and to your point about size i thought a couple times when he attempted those one-on-one rushes you talked about like he put it through his own feet he you know if it didn't work out he's still hanging on to the puck he established you know he's on a one-on-one all of a sudden his team had possession that's how they ended up scoring a goal and he got his assist so um you know it was a great a one-on-one. All of a sudden, his team had possession. That's how they ended up scoring a goal, and he got his assist.

So, you know, it was a great showing. He played exceptionally well. Great start for him into Boston tonight, right back into the fire. One thing we wanted to talk with you about today, because I think you're my favorite Canadian hockey team panicker, is to rank this guy. What a compliment. Because you love Canadian hockey.

And so I want to get a sense from you of where you think Canadian hockey teams are at this year, how many you have in the postseason. You know, we're going to get, I'll just leave it there. How many Canadian teams in the postseason? Who do you like? Who don't you like? Well, it's going to, in my eyes,

it's going to be either four or five and there's that is there room for both the canucks you know and the flames potentially to make it in the pacific as a question mark are the jets you know gonna be one of those top three teams in the central uh in ottawa you know i i do i i do feel ottawa i love so much about the team but i i you know it worries me when i see shane pinto's not signed it worries me when I see Shane Pinto's not signed. It worries me when I see Josh Norris hasn't played yet. Those things are significant concerns, right? The Ottawa Senators have been an above 500

in a playoff team from December forward the last three years. They bury themselves in October every single year. I really want to see them come out of the gate you know at bare minimum playing 500 through this month to put themselves in contention to be that playoff team so you know I'm not giving you a perfect answer but I'd like to think four or five Canadian teams when the dust settles will be in the postseason and I'd like to think if that's the case that we'll have a couple of legitimate cup contenders two or three of those teams aren't just trying to make the playoffs I think when you look at edmonton toronto and you know people are

sleeping a little bit on calgary you know they had everything go wrong that could go wrong and they barely missed the playoffs barely they just need some of those things to go right they need markstrom to play out to his potential and i think this could be a very difficult team to knock out you know if they do indeed make the playoffs. I think there's a lot of high expectations and of course I have great optimism at the start of this season but we'll have to wait and see because

it all comes crashing down very quickly as we found out in the last few years with teams like Vancouver and Ottawa essentially playing themselves out of the postseason in the first month of the year. DA, I'll go to you first but I'll throw this to JB as well. If you go through our sportsnet.ca predictions, heavy on the Edmonton Oilers.

And I forget, were you one of them, DA? I was. In fact, I was on a panel last night with Luke and Jamal and all three of us. It was a hat trick of picks for the Edmonton Oilers. I'll be honest with you, though. I was this close to picking the Dallas Stars. I really, I like the mix of talent and skill and goaltending in Dallas.

But I really do think, you know, I think what we've seen in the last two years, just to quickly chime in before you get to the other guys, is you don't need Patrick Roy, you don't need Martin Brodeur to win a cup. Darcy Kemper, Aiden Hill, above average goalies. If the Oilers can get above average goaltending with the improvements that we've seen

on their blue line at home all year and Bouchard is emerging to become the superstar that a lot of people have predicted and the depth up front, I think they would be the team to beat. So yeah, I'm buying high right now on the Edmonton Oilers. I also like the Oilers a lot.

I think the Oilers are the best team in the Pacific and I think they'll, you know, top Vegas there this year. You know, it's, they're a lot like the Toronto Maple Leafs to me, where you look at the top three lines and go, God, that is a ton of talent. The Oilers up top, I mean, you think of Vander Kane being in there with McDavid Connor Browns being added to that group Nugent Hopkins with Dreisaitl and Hyman like they got studs up

and down the lineup past their top three lines pretty average hockey team like I look at who's won the Stanley Cup the last few years that Colorado team you guys remember that defense how good that was you know the addition of Joss Manson how good they were look at Vegas what they did that decor best decor in the NHL they win the Stanley Cup tell me Brett Kulak Cody CC Broberg Deharnais that's not the same tier to me so I'm not saying that they're not going to win the Stanley Cup I'm saying will they make changes to improve that group in some way to get them in that class of D I think the Oilers have a great chance they're probably Canada's yeah I'm not gonna say the best chance because I like the Leafs too but they're they're you know up there i think they're as likely to win the cup as the as the

leafs i like them a lot but yeah i'm not as bullish as sportsnet which we had like half our people pick them to win the cup well where they mirror is the need to put better depth on the blue line i hear and goaltending is also like a cross your fingers and hope so they are they they'd like to they'd like to make another big move on the blue line and yeah much like brad tree living in toronto they're both going to have to wait it out and maybe outbid one another do they want john klingberg at the deadline i'm just kidding jack i wouldn't sleep the only other thing where there's blue line though guys i mean at home nurse bouchard that's a pretty formidable top three and i understand what you're saying the depth isn't there necessarily all the way i think they'd want an upgrade on cc in that in that top four because

one thing we saw with vegas last year there was no slide. Every defenseman in the playoffs played between 18 and 24 minutes. It wasn't like they were sheltering guys at 10 or 11 minutes. So you're absolutely right. And in fact, the only Stanley Cup winning team I think we've seen in the last 15 years without real stud defensemen was that Latangless Pittsburgh team in 17, right? Or 16, I guess it would have been. Or 17. So you guys make a good point, but I still,

I think when you have a power play like Edmonton has, when you're the top scoring team, when you have 97 and 29, you can outscore some of those mistakes. Oh, for sure. You don't have to grind out to one way. I will say my one Canadian tidbit here, my hot take is that the Flames decor, we're talking about them, it's Hannafin, Rasmus Anderson, Zdor wieger tanev and osterly like that to me is in the vegas class of decors

in that colorado class it's going to be a differently built team than the oilers but i i like the flames quite a bit flames and the jets open up tonight and the the calgary flames are one team where i just haven't got a clue on what we're gonna see and you know if you want to go back to just basically you know jonathan huberto is will we ever see 115 points like we did two seasons ago against florida the answer is absolutely not how about 100 but you know you know it can't be 50 no no it can't and there there should be a significant change there again i i really like this flames team and i think they got enough two-way guys to be competitive what are your thoughts on what's going on in winnipeg because this is a team that was battling with Calgary

for the last playoff spot last year. This year they're opening. I believe they play each other tonight to kick things off. Like this is going to be a hotly contested battle for, you know, wildcard spots. Do you like the Jets this year? Yeah, I do like the Jets. I think they're a more balanced team.

I think they still know their identity and they have arguably the best goalie or one of the top two or three goalies in the league. So I think there's a lot to be said for that. I also, you know, I think they wanted to change the feel of the room and they effectively did that by trading Dubois, by waving Blake Wheeler. And I think hats off to Kevin's trouble day off, right? Like, are those deals perfect deals for five years from now?

Maybe not. But he has to manage for right now. I mean, this window has gone. You know, they were in the conference final in 2018, and they haven't gotten back there in the last five years. So their window, you know, has kind of gone like this. And he wants to reopen it a little bit. And I think he's effectively done that with the Scheifele and Hellebuck deals.

I think they're going to be a very tough team to play. Let's not forget that, yes, they got knocked out by Vegas in five games. Scheifele got injured in that series. Ehlers, they need to stay healthy, is one key thing. They don't have the depth that we have of Sina and other

teams, but I do really like the overall balance of that team and the fact that it sort of starts from the net out. So I have high aspirations for them. I look at them as the third best team in the Central and a team that will be a tough outcome come April. And just for the record on Sportsnet.ca, I went with the Dallas Stars.

They're old. They're old. Well, there you go, Kipper. And I love that pick. And why? Why specifically? Because, I mean, I thought I was this close and I just said, screw it. Ottinger?

Yeah, that's a good reason. Ottinger and Miro on the blue line. I have him winning the Norris. You do? You think he's ready? Is Kel McCarr getting hit by a bus? Did I miss that piece of info? I mean, you look at McCarr, Darlene, Haskinen, Hughes.

You look at these guys, Carlson, obviously, who could put up 70, 80, 90 points. And then it comes down a lot to how does the team do. And if Dallas has this incredible year and he's going to puts up 90 points, why shouldn't he win the Norris? Yeah, that's totally fair. You know, my thought with Dallas is just a couple of guys that they need to

continue to be good, right? Like tentpole guys and Ben and Pavel ski Sagan's only 31, but he's been in pretty serious decline over the years. Statistically. Anyway, you know, Ryan Suter's getting older. They, they have a lot of good young guys too, but but i i do have some question marks there uh we'll take you out west and get some thoughts on the vancouver canucks this is a team that is still trying to get in the playoffs and be competitive traded for sam lafferty you know rumors about trying to you

know maybe move garland and have some flexibility this year. What is their, what are their chances in a tough Pacific division this year? Well, I think they're going to be much better. And, and Kipper, I mean, you're a, you're a rugged, you know, you were a rugged player. Rick Talkett was a rugged player. The team's taking on a little bit more of his identity, right? They're going to be much harder to play against. The penalty kill was historically bad last year. What have they done? They've gone out, they've addressed that. They've added guys who can kill the penalty much more effectively and

they're gonna have more they'll be more structured under rick tocket than they were under bruce boudreaux probably so uh and the biggest thing i've mentioned yet is thatcher demko right he was playing on half a groin or you know a torn groin and now he's essentially healthy and a lot of people i think even you know elliot friedman and some other experts and analysts have said he's their guy for the best not i'm not going to go as far as to say demko's going to win the best not but i do think we've seen him at his best he is a top tier goaltender so i have high aspirations for vancouver i think the biggest problem facing the canucks is essentially they're in a division that i now consider the toughest division in hockey you know a couple years, I might have said the Atlantic.

And certainly before that, I probably would have said the Central. But I think right now, the Pacific, when you look at the top of the Pacific and you can't sleep on the likes of L.A. or Seattle. And of course, we've talked about Calgary and Edmonton and the defending champs. That's a very, very tough division. And you could have a great season, but you're going to run into some very tough teams in those five teams I just mentioned. So it's going to be a tall task for Vancouver to make the playoffs, but I see them being much improved over a year ago.

Yeah, I'm a big Talkit fan for sure. And I like the Sam Lafferty pickup. Mm-hmm. All right, DEA. Got one more for us or are we going to let you go? What else you got on your plate? Let's just hope. I mean, guys, you know, we're all kind of of the same vintage.

And in 1993, the Habs won the Cup, and we didn't think much of it. It was like, okay, the Cup every couple years is in Canada, and it's been 30 years now. Like, it would be nice for the collective fan base of this hockey-mad country to have a team sit there and have those celebrations on the ice somewhere in Canada. It would be really cool. So I don't care which of the seven.

It would just be nice to have it happen, and maybe this is the year. Nice. Upper body workout today for you, Curls? I'm looking at your biceps, pinching an oak tree in prep for the interview. By the way, you're our first ever video guest on the Real Kipper and Bourne show. And all of them have to do a shirtless.

So go ahead, peel off the Adizero. I'm honored, guys. Honestly, I'm excited to be on TV. I'm excited to be doing Leaf Regional Games with you guys. And it's going to be a fun season. And the real fun starts tonight. Last night was really cool with Conor Bedard, even though you guys were, you know,

Nicky, you were raining on a little bit. But tonight's going to be with all seven Canadians. I'm not raining on it. I just want to temper this whole, you know, push on an 18-year-old kid and the whole world on his shoulders. That's all I'm trying to do. Hey, before you guys kick me off the show really quickly, so what numbers do you have?

I just want to have this sort of in my head, you know, on the record. What do you think for Boudard this year? I had him at 37 goals. I'm going 42 and 38 for 80. I think he's a 40-goal guy. Yeah, I like that. I mean, I think we saw Matthew score 40. I think you's a 40 goal guy. Yeah, I like that. I mean, I think we saw Matthew score 40. I think you saw how he can put the puck on net.

35 to 40 sounds very reasonable, and 80 points sounds very reasonable. That would be an exceptional year, so that would be really exciting to see. We'll see. Absolutely. Well, thanks, DA. We appreciate you joining us, pal.

Anytime, fellas. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. Conor Bedard did not get his first nhl goal last night but he got his first nhl win i can't kyle dubas how would that have gone you you know kyle dubas well how would that have gone over i just you're at home yeah you're playing one of the expected worst teams in the league. If you were a Dasani water bottle, run and hide. That's all I got to say.

He was maybe even tossing a couple of water bottles around the old. He's so rich and so much job security. His feet were up. He was at home. He didn't even go to the game. I know some Leafs fans that were enjoying seeing a favorite Dubas team losing to an underdog. You know, Peter Barazic playing well. Peter Barazic was legitimately excellent last night. By the way, I did want to get to the fact that while DA was saying,

looking forward to it, would love a Canadian team anywhere in Canada. Sammy was just over here, hate shaking his head. Boys, you know me, the only way I want the cup back in Canada is down Yonge Street, baby. I would not be rooting. You know, it's tough because as a Canadian hockey fan, I love, you know,

homegrown guys and you want our homegrown guys to win. So with McDavid, you want him to get his, like he's, he's going to win a cup. He's one of the guys that gets one and you want him to win one. And that's like you, it's betterment of the Canadian game,

but it's also really hard to be like i want their fans to have that because there's a big time rivalry between leafs and then oilers fans and i think i don't necessarily want that either so i'm conflicted with with mcdavid because i wanted to get one he's a he's a canadian hockey phenom you want all those guys to get their cups he's gonna get one but you just hope it's when he comes to toronto in four years before we get before we get to game time uh just wanted to get quickly your thoughts because lost in all this uh bedard mania was eric carlson and kyle's big move yeah to go get him and just you know what you what you thought last night as you watched them and okay bad overwhelming underwhelming what did you see he's like if eric carl or sorry if uh gustafson that we had here was super powered you know like it's like he does

some things he cooked that gutman kid or whatever on the blue line it was just like oh and then made an excellent glove save on the shot yeah but carlson's not used to having teammates and should have given that to sid probably but anyway i thought he made some awesome plays going one way i thought you know people went around him going the other way a lot happens when he's out there high event the the defense uh the following the play i don't know on i think on on connor's uh helper he he's about six feet up on the blue line. He opened up a ton of room. He just looks to me like in his own zone.

He just does whatever he wants to do. I think at this point, you can't tell him nothing. I don't know if anyone's going to change the way he plays. And he's got a hard ass in uh in sullivan behind the bench so i i think it's going to be try to be a little patient here now i heard a story out of san jose from one of the coaches on the bench who's no longer there that they they had tried on a couple of occasions to get him to, to, to be better in his own zone. Yeah. So the conversation was,

let's try to box out instead of playing a front man presence, right? Where are you going to go and try to block a shot before? And apparently they, they went back and forth a couple of times and then, you know, on another attempt by the coach to talk to him. Nah, I'm not going to do that.

You know, it was basically a quick conversation where Carlson says to him, listen, we just don't see eye to eye to play the game the same way and picked up a coffee and left the room. So, you know, I don't know if that will work. The power to get to tell your boss, I don't know if that's going to work.

In Pitt with Sullivan and Crosby and Malkin who have won championships, Letang, like he's going to have to buy in here. Yeah, I mean, it's really tough to tell someone who's had wild success doing it their way to do it a different way you would think though that he hasn't had wild team success would be enough for him to say i've proven i can be the best offensive defenseman in the league i'd like to win a cup here so you would like to see him grow into wanting to win a little bit in his mid-30s here i had the pens looked old last night yeah like i know sid scored and they move the puck like something else like they're gonna win hockey games with the pens yeah yeah yeah just are you gonna squeeze non-playoff team i think they're gonna be fighting big time

i do mulkin had a couple of turnovers too i didn't think they looked good last night but i went into the year bullish and i'm not going to bail on them yet there's too much talent for them to and the metro is not that good yeah all right ready fellas let it rip sammy all right it's time for game time presented by bet 365 visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at bet 3655. Must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Play responsibly. Nailed that read that time, boys. A couple things for you tonight. Leafs playing the Habs, obviously,

and you can bet on who's going to have the worst regular season record. The favorites are Anaheim and San Jose. Habs are the second favorite, 5.5 to 1. Any of these other ones interest you? CBJ, 7 to 1. Chicago, 7 to 1. Flyers, 7 to 11 flyer 701 coyotes 8 to 1 then it goes up from there i think the i think washington was next but i you know looking at that habs roster i don't necessarily think they may be the worst but maybe the best value which way are you guys going

in that so i think the habs up front are pretty good i mean cole caulfield suzuki anderson you know docs lefkoski pearson monaghan gallagher they got guys they got players that legit nhl guys the back end is just so young that they're gonna lose a lot right kovac sevik and ghouli and jack guy and harris like you're gonna lose games because of that decor but i don't think they're gonna be anywhere near the worst team in the league so it's gonna be san jose or anaheim one of the favorites i got san jose yeah that's a struggle fest of a team right there for sure you know the and there's no way logan couture lasts he's too competitive to do that for a full year right at this point in his career he's probably got a no trade but that's an

interesting option for someone who could use a competitive talent down the stretch. Leafs? Leafs? Anyone? No? All right. I was just seeing when his contract was up. So the next thing I have here is this is a wild one,

and it was just really relevant to what we talked about yesterday. You can bet on the opponent Ovechkin will score his 850th career goal against, and that is 28 goals from now. And you said yesterday that he wouldn't. No, he said 27. Yeah, that's what I mean. So if he believes that he's going to score 27, you can bet that it won't happen.

What kind of number do I get for that? That's 20 to 1. The favorite is the Montreal Canadiens on February 6th, 48 games into the season. You know, eventually one year you're going to be right. Well, and listen, if you bet 20-1 on a guy getting injured for 20 games, you win the bet. Like, you know, it might be the best bet of the options there.

And then the favorite is, like I said, Montreal Canadiens February 6th is 8-1. That's the favorite. And the last one, quickly. I can't believe we didn't ask DA about Ovechkin. He's been following his goal pursuit since 1938 or something. And quickly, Cole Caulfield, interesting guy to me. Just thought I'd bring up his goal total.

It's at 32.5. Thoughts on his year. Up, up? Up, up, up. Over. Easily for me. Down. I think Dallas can stay healthy.

Well, that's a big deal. Yeah. You know? Like, he's tiny out there. Is he not exactly what you hope Nick Robertson can become? Exactly. He's exactly that. Yeah.

Guy who just shoots it in 30 or 40 times. You don't really care what else happens? Yeah. And that's not to write off Nick Robertson or... It's a compliment. It's highly unlikely that he'll ever enter cole caulfield territory right that is the ceiling the absolute ideal scenario and the problem is if you're not called caulfield and you're a 20 some goal guy then that's the tier below and you're also a bit injury prone in that

size but all those american guys that come up now I guess everybody that comes up now just fires it. Like those American guys. All these kids grew up with whippy sticks. All right. That was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus.

Ontario only. Play responsibly. All right. Let's take a quick break. And after the break, we'll discuss the hit on 10 of Brett Howden will be the first player of the young season to be suspended. We'll get your thoughts on that after the break. You are watching and listening to Real Kipper and Born. breaking down the top stories in hockey and elliot friedman every day the jeff merrick show

subscribe and download the show on apple spotify or wherever you get your podcasts All right. Vegas Golden Knights opened up with a statement game, in my opinion. Yep. To remind people that, yeah, how many back-to-back Stanley Cups have we had since, what, mid-'90s? Detroit? Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. And? Tampa. That's it. Yepa that's it yeah that's it the bubble cup and just to go back to our sportsnet.ca predictions how many vegas i think maybe one or two no one

no one leaves either i was this close to going back to back on vegas really it's one of those things where it's like almost like you want to look like the smart person in the room. It's like Vegas seemed like the easy choice. The team that just won the cup and no one picked them. They only lost Riley Smith. Same team. When I do those, I don't want to pick where 12 other people are going to pick the same team.

Yeah. I just don't want to do that. I do this crazy thing where I try to pick the team I think is going to win the cup. It's usually my move. But then you can look like everybody else, or you could look super smart or super lucky, one of the two. It's true. No one really remembers unless you do something off the board and get it right,

so you might as well take a couple swings. Watching that team huddle around the banner, that's almost an identical team. Yeah. Like, I remember when we raised the banner at Madison Square Garden and we had four or five different faces. Yeah. And it's, you know, kind of awkward for four or five guys

to not sure where they're standing. And, you know, butgas didn't have that problem last night with the exception of uh riley smith not there yeah it's a really good team they transition so well like they just get up the ice that goal last night ivan barbashev gets a stretch pass and blows it by the tender it was like oh yeah so you mentioned you thought that was a vegas statement we're still here type of game. Yeah. I'm going to go ahead and continue my reign as a hater today and say that I just don't think the Kraken are.

I don't know. I don't think they're that great. They made the playoffs last year and made the second round. Good hockey team. I'm just I'm not a crack. I had question marks on them at the beginning of last season. Yeah. And I even questioned Haxtell.

Yeah. Not a lot of success in his prior stints. And I thought they responded to him really, really well. Yeah. And I think Matt Beneers and McCann, matt uh berniers and uh mccann and they just they came together as a team and not not not loaded as a superstar team and eberly to me i thought he was done in the island to be quite honest with you yeah i know listen but this is what vegas right? They got everyone's eighth best player. They were a good team, competitive team,

cup final the first year, but they were competitive. And they traded for every good player in the league. They're like, you know what we're missing to get over the top? Elite players. And they absolutely did everything they could to get elite players. They got them. They won the Stanley Cup. They got so many good players. So many.

Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Alex Petrangelo. So many. Just studs. How many games for Howden when you first watched the hit on Tanev? Is that two or three? It was clean picking. Yeah. And the first thing that snaps is his head.

I almost thought he was caught in the middle, though, Kip, where it's like if he takes the body there and just dummies him, like the guy's not looking at him, it probably is a clean penalty, whatever. I don't even know if he's trying to hit him, just sort of body him out. It's a suspension because you are on the hook for not hitting a vulnerable opponent.

I think it's a game. Only reason it might be two is because it's early in the season the league may want to remind people we don't hit people well or you could make a real statement to say you know we could take it up just a notch and add another game or two yeah but they won't do that no they'll give them one or two but i mean it's it's good early in the year to get those things out of the game and remind players it's not cool. We mentioned earlier in the show about Tampa Bay Lightning,

but I thought their stars are making sure last night that they're not forgotten either. Yeah. They moved the puck. They're good still i feel bad about i didn't have them out of the playoffs and any predictions or whatever but like talking about them all summer a lot of people i think it's a little bit of a narrative that they might take a bit of a step back but watching that game last i'm like god still look like the lightning i know like still look like some good players on this team, it's one thing when your team is missing players.

Like Boston does not have six useful guys they had last year. Tampa Bay, it's like Stamkos is upset. Did we talk about that? But he also wants a new contract. We just started our show yesterday. We haven't talked about anything. But we did a weird one on Friday. Did we talk about it on Friday?

Anyways. No one listened to that one. No. No, we did not. What'd you make of that? Quite surprised, to be honest, that Stamkos would be so animated so soon in the season. It gives you some idea how pissed he is.

And I don't blame him. Come on. I kind of do. Back on back to back stanley cups captain face gone to another level i told you i wanted an extension and you didn't even you didn't even call me this team has made its kind of hay out of ruthless efficiency right They have gotten rid of very good players because they've had to. They've traded volumes of draft picks for Tanner Trudeau. They have made it clear they'll do whatever they have to do. And if they don't think Stamkos is going to help them win next year, the year after, that's what this team has been.

I don't think, in all honesty, that they're thinking. They could piss him off, but it's true. I don't think today they go, he can't help us win moving forward. Maybe they think he can't at 10 million. I just don't think that they're ready to make any commitment. And I still think there's a chance he's going to sign there. Do you under the impression, based on what Stamkos said in the offseason, that he's done there?

No, he wants to be there. He wants to be there. I think they look at him as a very special player and will be special for the end of time. Yeah, he'll matter to that franchise forever. He is their face. You know, prior to all these new kids coming on, I mean, it was Dave Anderchuk.

Yeah. Right. Yeah. No, you're right. He's great, but he's important to keep him close. Went to another level.

Yeah. We're going to hear now that he's drumming up interest in Toronto and he's going to get a big sponsorship with Canadian tire. And all of a sudden he's going to land a new, a new deal in Tampa Bay. Maybe next year. He's the next veteran that signs for 750 K with the Leafs. Probably not.

You know who looked really good too was Hagel. Yeah. Well, they've made some bets on guys like that and Hagel, what did he score? 30 last year? Fast. Yeah, really fast. Competitive. I mean, Isamont, you know, he was the guy they took a shot on last year. He's a pretty good player.

Janot's a player too. Guys that they've bet on and have cheap are going to keep them competitive. That penalty shot call was one of the most absurd things I've ever seen in my life. Did you see that? Yeah. I saw the penalty shot. It was a really good call. What? Yes! Buddy, he stepped in one step

over the blue. I don't care. That's enough. No, my God. That is insane, Kipper. How can you say that? Stop it. Buddy, when I was a kid, you had to be 10 steps ahead of a guy and a guy to lash you down. No, no, no. Those days are over. That's stupid. You don't need 10 feet between you and then get tripped.

Is it not better for the league if that's the precedent? Those days are over. Oh, great. Everyone loves the shootout so much. Let's have more shootouts. Answer me one question. Okay. Did he take away his scoring chance? Yeah,

but he wasn't at a breakaway. Just ended it. Yeah. But it's a penalty. That's all. It's a penalty. This is a fly. It's getting me too. It's not a penalty. It's a takeaway of a scoring opportunity where it was only you and the goalie. That's a penalty shot.

Was it Luke Shen that he cooked to draw the penalty? They were beside each other past the blue line. They were step for step. It was like the delayed icing penalty where they were like, oh, that's Shen and Hagel. We know who's winning that race. They got ahead of it with the call.

I was just stunned. Kevin Weeks on the call was like, I don't know, but it's opening night, so why not? It is the call. I was just stunned. Kevin Weeks on the call was like, I don't know, but it's opening tonight, so why not? I'm like, well, it is the league. Anyways, I'm surprised you picked that. Leaf killer Nick Paul looks pretty good in front of the net, too, on the power play. What if Johansson's really good?

Because this Tampa Bay team, which all of us have been quick to move on from, they're still Hedman and Sergeyev and Chernak and, you know, like... I don't think he's very good goalie, though. He led in a couple last night, including the tying one before they made it 4-3 that was not pretty. I saw that, the short side one there, yeah.

I also think Nashville's going to stink, so maybe they look good last night playing the Predators. Ryan O'Reilly scoring a first goal for them in the season. Yeah, Forsberg looked good, a couple of setups there. I have to say, just from a Leaf fan perspective, kind of hurt to see in a different jersey like i i did get a little bit attached to him when he was here and i really liked the way he played i mean your classic good canadian boy that was offered the same deal he signed for and did not want down the leaves you rejected you yeah yeah that hurt

hurt a little other news around the league uh lindy ruff finally gets a contract extension no real surprise there we expect new jersey to maybe give the likes of toronto and carolina maybe a run for the eastern conference yeah i mean you're the coach the team wins all the time here's your money it's uh not that complicated a formula love lindy rough too really you know a thoughtful guy who's kind of reinvented himself and opened himself up to this style the devil's play is fast and you know offensive a lot of talent there so that makes sense to me no more fire lindy chance one of the oh sorry go ahead i'm just gonna say one of the best under the radar is getting to foley for that yeah okay just one more on coaches here yeah i'm gonna make a bold prediction here which i almost never do yes uh and that is that i think there's a chance that

this year not one coach gets fired wow yeah what why is that because either someone's named a new head coach yeah lots of those a lot of guys are getting extensions including lindy ruff typically the guys who get fired are teams going the other way tampa bay boston boston's got a new coach you really think tampa's gonna fire cooper this year no okay thank you so florida new coach buffalo no go down the list go down the list ottawa oh you don't think if they get off that could be a thing that's one that i think that's islanders and lane lambert yeah you. You're right, Kip. I see your point. Looking through this, there's not many. DJ Smith will have to absolutely wet the bed to be fired this year. I really think.

Dean Everson, Minnesota. With that lineup, some people are predicting they're going to get to a conference final or the final Ottawa. Who? People are bullish on this. Bullish on them. Right? Can they get 80 points first so

so with with that lineup and if they can get uh pinto back and josh recovers from whatever's ailing his shoulder this team's gonna be in the thick of things what is going on there norris no no sense of so look at uh all the new extensions uh mcclellan got an extension in la uh the bad teams like san jose and anaheim have newer coaches brand new coaches yeah i don't think anyone's getting fired i'll give you one name that i think might be on the hot seat just a tad okay craig bruby yeah st louis 81 points they're gonna miss the playoffs right yes everybody believes that they're gonna miss the playoffs and craig's one of those guys where he's hard on his players and if they get tired of them and armstrong needs to transition

maybe what about that's the. That's the only name I have out there. Sheldon just got a new extension. Do you think, by the way, that they wouldn't fire him if they struggled? If Tree Living saw him go to Christmas in there?

Tell me what struggling is. They'd have to stink. Stink! I don't think they stink. 500 team in January. They'd have to stink. I don't think they stink. They're a 500 team in January. They'd have to be out of the playoffs in January for Sheldon to lose his job. I agree.

I just don't think that his contract is going to be prohibitive if they decide they want someone different. If they stink, absolutely stink the joint out. And be in a position on the outside looking in. Like, is Detroit, Ottawa, and Buffalo going to put the Leafs in a position of uncertainty on a playoff spot as late as February, March? You'd like to see it.

I would like, man, God, it was November last year. We knew who the Leafs were playing in playoffs. Don't do that again. I think their first round matchup this year, the Leafs will be the Ottawa Senators. So you think the Leafs will win the division? Yes, and will be a wild card. And I think it'll be a battle of Ontario.

I like Ottawa. I just, I don't know if they're quite ready just yet. Kipper, they had eight guys play Tandy for them last year. They have like a decent NHL goalie now. Pinto, Norris stays healthy. They get Pinto in. Are you totally sold on Corpus Allo? I think he's like a goalie. Did you love him in Columbus?

But he's like a goalie. He was okay. He's an NHL goalie. He was decent in LA. Yeah, I think they're going to make the playoffs. I think they're pretty good. I like their LA. Yeah, I think they're going to make the playoffs. I think they're pretty good. I like their decor. Yeah, I think they're pretty good. One thing we should note, Barry Melrose retires from ESPN.

Yeah. Parkinson's, a really sad thing. Just a shout out to Barry and his family. Our thoughts are with them. Wonderful man. All of us have a Melrose story. He's a big figure in our sport it's just hard to think of espn hockey and and not first think of barry he's been it right he's the godfather there so a lot of people touched a lot of hockey media and just hockey people over

the years so um our thoughts with him obviously that's sad story. One of the all-time great hockey clips is him and Pat Burns. What clip? With them going back and forth. Is that him? Oh, yeah. Yeah, one of the past all-time. Getting pulled off by an usher. Yeah, that's incredible.

Love it. Back in those days. How old were you? A little kid. I was a baby. Child. But there's this thing called YouTube where I can watch old things and, you know, enjoy them. Are you telling me you weren't old enough to at least sit in front of a television and watch that?

I was like five or six. I was a little kid. Oh, I'm so sad for you. Yeah. Kipper, the first ever hockey game, least game I went to, you were in the lineup. Wow. By the way, night one tonight, fellas. Let's go.

Oh, dad, I'm going home to take my Geritol and go to bed. Are you serious? All right. Give me a score tonight. Toronto and Montreal. 5-4 Montreal. Canadians in overtime. Another one goal game.

Safe pick. 4-2 Leafs. Calgary and Winnipeg. Doing a pick there? I really like the Flames. 4-1. Decisive win. Decisive win for the Flames.

All right. You doing picks or are we just hanging us out the dry? I don't know. I'm told I'm running out of time here. Alright. Alright, just like that. Another two hours on the Real Kipper and Bourne show. We're glad you came along. Our thanks to Jim Ralph, Leaf Color Radio Analyst, and

David Amber from Sportsnet. We're back tomorrow for more Real Kipper and Bourne. Have a great night, everybody. Enjoy the games.