Real Kyper & Bourne - Canucks Confidence Index
Episode Date: January 3, 2024Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee bring on Sportsnet 650's Jason Brough (5:36), host of Halford and Brough, to discuss the Canucks' stellar season so far - with the team near the top of the NH...L standings, how confidence should everyone be about their postseason chances? What has driven their play this season? What - if anything - do the Canucks need to do at the trade deadline...should they be buyers? Afterwards, they chat about the upcoming NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, and the idea that every team gets a rep at the game. 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.
Transcript
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welcome back into the real kipper and born show this is the national edition we are live on
sportsnet sportsnet 650 in vancouver and sportsnet 960 in calgary this hour of Real Kipper and Born brought to you by Bet365.
In a few minutes, we'll welcome in
Jason Brough, co-host of the
Halford and Brough Show in Vancouver
Monday through Fridays
6 to 9 a.m. on Sportsnet
650. We'll get into the Vancouver
Canucks, maybe what TC's
nationally across the country.
Just prior
to going to break,
we talked a little bit about the NHL All-Star Weekend here in Toronto.
We expect the league to announce as many as,
how many, 32 players tomorrow.
Which, by the way, what does Vancouver do?
They have like five legitimate All-Stars.
We'll ask Jason stars we'll ask uh uh jason about that
as well and then how it goes guys is i think the fans then get to vote 12 more players six skaters
and four goalies um no eight skaters sorry my math yeah see what happens when i work late ah listen
mathists but uh then vancouver fans calgary fans toronto fans can vote in their remaining players
yeah i mean we're in here in toronto matthews and neilander kind of no-brainers but petterson hughes demko miller like so
just before we went to break again you mentioned that maybe the the leaf players would dread uh
also we can't see i am just so opposite of that comment god they're around the media all the time
and then on like a weekend other people go to Punta Cana they gotta come talk to
listen Luke I love you
but they gotta talk to Luke again they gotta talk to
you know we're gonna be there
we're gonna be there you have to come talk
to us
in 94
the year we won the cup was also the year
the NHL all star
weekend came to
Madison Square Garden and I mean by then mark messi
had five cups in his hip pocket and that guy just loved every second of it yeah and brian leach was
involved mike richter was involved i think mike richter won the the car i, in the game. Like he needed another one. But it's a once in a lifetime to be the host city to it.
And I think the players are going to love it.
I think they'll look back at it fondly for sure.
Plus, as I told you, a little added incentive.
The Beeb is going to give the players
and maybe some of their families a private concert.
Is that right yeah what yes
the beeb is all over nhl all-star weekend it's the beebs not the beeb oh sorry justin the beebs
all right zed the beebs yeah you gotta get the Biebs on the show during that time. Leave it to Biebs.
I don't know what I'd ask him.
Do you like hockey, Biebs?
So, Sammy, you're going to crash that party and somehow get into his show?
I do appreciate the Biebs.
I would really love to take part in any NHL All-Star weekend parties.
So if you guys got invites for me or anybody out there listening wants to invite me to places, I am in.
Can we get Chris Pronger to crush him into the boards again?
Like he did the hundredth all-star weekend in LA.
That's really cool that he's doing that.
You know,
like that's a,
that is a little something special for these guys.
I will talk to him about his uniform last night though.
The third leaf Jersey,
the black one.
Is that not his?
Yeah.
I don't like them at all.
I'm not,
I'm not a uniform guy. I don't like black at all. I'll tell you something. I'm not a uniform guy.
I don't like black jerseys.
I like those.
I like them.
They look like practice jerseys.
I like them.
I do too.
I mostly like them.
I wouldn't like them as like their jersey.
My mom loves them.
Really?
The beans or the jerseys?
No, the jerseys.
Okay, I'm in the minority then.
She says that they look tougher in them.
And they played tough last night, so maybe she's on to something.
Could be.
Okay, then wear them all the time. Yeah maybe she's on to something. Could be. Okay.
Then wear them all the time.
Yeah.
For you.
Yeah.
There you go.
McDavid.
Yeah.
So McDavid hits 900 points in 602 career games.
That makes him the fifth fastest player to hit the 900 point mark.
Here's the baffling part to me.
Gretzky did it in 217 fewer games so this is
not to take away two and a half seasons yeah it's not to take away from mcdavid who is a
freak of nature but gretzky god did that guy have a lot of points and quickly like 385 games. He had 900 points. You have the five? Yes. Gretzky. Mario. 385.
Lemieux, 463.
Mike Bossy, 582.
Peter Stastny, 599.
And Connor McDavid, 602.
To 900 points.
Is Lindros really?
He's got to be close on that, too.
I don't know.
But McDavid is going to get 2,000 points.
Book it.
Wow.
He had five points last night.
Good player.
Good player.
Did you see any of the gamers, see the highlights?
Saucy saucers.
All the goals were so nice.
All right, we have Brough.
Okay, let's go.
All right, as promised, Jason Brough, co-host of Halford and Brough in Vancouver,
joins us now.
Brough, what's going on?
Where are you?
I'm just at my kitchen table.
I decided to come out of the car, and I'm just at my kitchen table.
And you know what I'm doing?
I've got Gretzky's hockey DB page up,
and I'm looking at all the 200-point seasons he had when he was in his,
like, early 20s.
And I think half of those points came against the Canucks.
The sad commissioner has all the stats on the Canucks getting destroyed.
But I remember when Gretzky and the Oilers would come to the Pacific Coliseum and, you know, you might think, oh, people will be lined up to go.
No, there'll be like 7000 people there.
We've seen this story before.
Yeah.
No, this is just embarrassing.
Yeah.
What's happening, boys?
Happy New Year. If the Canucks were as good as they are today,
maybe those points wouldn't have come that easily.
No, well, you know what?
Gretzky and McDavid, they're just on a different tangent.
I mean, they're totally different players,
but I've been watching hockey my whole life.
I'm getting a little bit older now.
I've never seen a player like McDavid.
Like, McDavid is just on an absolute another level,
and I don't even know if we appreciate how good he really is.
Like, would anyone be surprised if he wins the Art Ross Trophy this season
and wins it by, like, 20 points?
No. No. anyone be surprised if he wins the art Ross trophy this season and wins it by like 20 points? No,
no.
We were saying yesterday that he was an even odds guy to win the heart trophy
with Kucherov.
And I was like,
you know,
like what,
you know,
like who's,
who's taking Kucherov in that scenario.
So brother,
let's talk Vancouver Canucks fourth in the NHL and points percentage.
Are we at that point where they're in that upper echelon of teams that we
think could compete for a stanley cup are they just underneath it where do you have them you know
i i just have to preface this by saying i have never been more surprised by the start of a
connect season i am still totally blown away by the success that they're having.
I didn't see this coming.
I really didn't.
I thought there might be some improvement under Rick Tockett.
I thought maybe they'd be a little bit better defensively.
But if you look at their record and you look at their goal differential
and you look at all the games they've won in regulation,
I know that's a talking point of Toronto
with the Leafs having not won many games in regulation.
It is shocking.
And it hasn't even been half a season.
So we're here in Vancouver trying to adjust to this,
and it's really weird.
And we don't know exactly what to this and it's really, and it's really weird. And we don't,
we don't know exactly what to think of it because it's been bad the last few
years.
And people are now watching the Canucks a lot differently,
but the badness is still in the back of their minds.
Right.
So like we were talking about the trade deadline,
and for the last, what, I don't know,
except for that bubble year, which was so weird,
I don't even count, for almost like a decade,
the trade deadline is like, oh, that's selling time.
Like, who can we get draft picks for?
And now we're trying to adjust to this.
Like, I think they could use another top six winger.
It would be great if they could find another defenseman because you know we have to remind ourselves of all these things oh
yeah you need like defensive depth for the playoffs because like it's it's almost like
learning how to walk again um and and and i still and i still don't know exactly i don't know if i
would call the canucks a legit Stanley Cup contender today.
And a lot of that, it's just too soon.
You're afraid to be hurt, bruv. That's all it is.
I'm afraid to be made to look like a fool.
As soon as I say, yeah, they're Cup contenders,
they've had a lot of things go right for them.
I'm trying not to take anything away from them
because I think Tauket has done just an incredible job.
You know, the way they played under Bruce Boudreaux was fun at times.
And listen, we all love Bruce.
We love his personality.
But when I watched that team, and I was saying this, this was in hindsight,
I was saying this when he was still there and it was kind of an ugly situation.
They didn't look like a well-coached team to me they didn't play like that
i played beer league hockey at times you know they played they're probably you know ottawa
senator fans are like yeah yeah you know like it's this you know i saw a lot of the i saw a lot of
the old canucks in the senators game last night when the canucks were just all over them that's
five nothing at the end of the first no one seems to know what they're doing in their own end. And, you know,
and bounces are going against them. So, you know, I, I just,
I'm sure from an outsider perspective, people are like,
what are you talking about? Of course, the Stanley cup contenders look,
look at the record, look at, you know, they've got elite,
elite players at all the positions, you know,
you've got PD and Miller down the middle you got
Brock Besser scoring like an elite goal scoring winner winger uh Quinn Hughes North Trophy
candidate uh Factor Demko Vezina candidate of course these guys are Stanley Cup contenders but
I'm just not ready to do it whether or not I should or not yeah I mean I get it I get it it's
it is a tough adjustment. We didn't
go into the season thinking they're going to be this good.
So the all-star teams
are going to be announced shortly.
You know, looking at this Canucks
group, it's like, my God, like obviously
JT Miller with 50 points and Quinn
Hughes, obviously, and Pedersen, obviously.
Besser's got 25 goals. Like, you know,
Demko's unbelievable.
Who gets the credit for this success here among these players?
Who should go?
Who should go?
Definitely Quinn Hughes.
Definitely Quinn Hughes.
That's number one?
For sure, number one.
And I don't, to be perfectly honest with you,
I don't know how many, what's the maximum number of players from each team.
They keep changing the all-star rules
and i don't really keep up with it i just hope there's a drunken player draft that i can watch
and enjoy but you know it doesn't really matter to me like who goes i know who's been who's been
playing well but it would start with quinn hughes um i didn't think he could take his game to another
level and he really has um and you, he was really good last season.
He's been better this season.
He is just able to skate himself not only, you know,
we always hear about his escapability in terms of the forecheck,
but he has an escapability in the offensive zone that we don't see for many players like he is he has developed this
um you know he doesn't just walk the blue line he walks the blue line and then goes downhill
and gets himself in these really great shooting positions which is why he's scoring more goals
this year he's also um worked on a shot so you know better shot putting himself in better chances
to score adds up to him actually
scoring goals. And that's something that he wanted to do. He, he saw a guy like Roman Yossi scoring
goals and he was like, I want to do that too. And he's done it. And I also think he was the perfect
choice for captain. He's a well-spoken composed composed guy who's been around NHL ranks
just because of his family situation for pretty much his whole life.
I know there was a bit of a debate in Vancouver, you know,
should it be Hughes or should it be JT Miller or should it be Pedersen?
Hughes was the obvious choice.
Miller, you know, he's great as like a right-hand man
because he's so emotional.
But sometimes the emotion can be a problem when you're a leader.
Like you want your leaders to be composed.
And then Petey, I don't think, wants anything to do with it, to be perfectly honest with you.
Like he's like, I hate the media.
Petey's most famous line in Vancouver when he talks to reporters is like,
I don't want to create a headline for you guys.
He doesn't say anything
interesting and it's like if you're a captain sometimes you have to create a headline because
you just have to tell the truth we're talking to jason brough co-host of halford and brough
in vancouver monday through friday 6 a.m to 9 on sportsnet 650 so So, brother, can you tell our Sammy McKee
that Sam Lafferty is having a horrible season
so he can stop crying about the Leafs letting him go?
He's useless.
No one wants that guy, right, bruv?
Yeah.
No, I'd much rather have Ryan Reeves for sure.
Oh, man.
Yeah, for sure.
No, he was nice because he added something
that the Canucks needed,
and that was some speed and a little bit of grit up front.
You know, we talk a lot, and I'm sure people outside the market talk a lot about, you know, Pedersen and Hughes and Miller
and all the guys putting up these crazy point totals.
We'll talk about Rick Talkett.
Maybe the biggest improvement has been the bottom six like i don't know if you've heard
about this famous third line that the canucks have it is incredible and it is it is teddy bluger
with connor garland and dakota joshua yeah and it is an unbelievable line like it is they just go
out there and they they're always playing in the opponent's end of the ice.
When talk it needs to kind of,
if momentum is going the wrong way is like get the third line out there and
the momentum is stopped.
I don't know what it is about putting those three together.
You know,
Teddy Bluger who was a healthy scratch for Vegas throughout their Stanley
cup run, Connor Garland, who on like the first day of the season, it came out that he had a healthy scratch for Vegas throughout their Stanley Cup run.
Connor Garland, who on like the first day of the season, it came out that he had a trade request to get out of there.
And then Dakota Joshua, the guy that Rick Taka was absolutely ripping in the preseason and training camp for being out of shape.
Somehow these three have come together to form this incredible line. And the fourth line, too, has been good with additions like Sam Lafferty and Pugh Suter.
And a lot of things are going well for this team right now.
They have depth, and that's something they haven't had for a while.
So this is the same Conor Garland that Canucks couldn't give away
in the last year, year and a half.
It is quite remarkable.
In the same conversation as Brock Besser,
who they couldn't give away out there.
And all of a sudden it's like, you know, I guess we'll keep him.
And he's like, you know.
So you understand how crazy this is to me, right?
And it's just, and I think Canucks fans, we're having a great time.
Don't get me wrong, it's been fun,
but, you know, in some ways in the back of our mind,
it's like, is everyone playing a trick on us or something?
So if you have to get maybe a top winger
that you're talking about,
and maybe put him with Miller and Brock Besser
and move out a guy like Giuseppe,
who's, I think, been a healthy scratch on an occasion.
Who and what do you give up to go get something of significance
at the trade deadline?
Yeah, that's a really good point.
And that's something we're discussing a lot.
But again, we're putting the training wheels on the playoff edition talk
because we're not used to this sort of stuff.
So we're kind of like, what is the going rate?
But, you know, there have been names, you know, thrown around, you know,
like because of the Pittsburgh connection,
we're all watching the Penguins about a guy like Jake Gensel.
What would be the –
Wow.
But, like, that's just speculation, right?
That's just speculation.
No, we love it. That's all we do is speculate on this show.
We don't know what we're doing.
Speculation and then we like sober up and then we sober up and we're like,
well, actually maybe about like Frank Vitrano or something like that.
But you know, I, you know, this is the,
this is the question that the management has to answer. You know,
do they think that this team is a legit cup contender?
Because Jake Gensel, let's say he's traded as a rental.
If I'm the Penguins, I'm expecting a first-round pick and more.
Are you going to give that up if you're the Canucks?
And even if you intend to re-sign him, how are you going to do that?
You've got to give Petey a big raise. You? Right. You got to give PD a big raise.
You got to give Philip Kronick a big raise.
You know, it's just, the cap is going up a little bit,
but let's not act like it's going up 30 million a season or anything like
that.
It's only going up a little bit.
How, how's the door I've been?
He's been.
Okay.
I got it.
No, he's been okay. He's been, he's been okay he's been he's been okay i i like what he brought i think what he was able to do was um you know the canucks had some guys in the lineup where
there'd be nights where they had let's say both of noah juleson and akita harosi in the lineup and
you know i think juleson has come a long way.
But, you know, Hirose's not ready.
And he wasn't ready.
And when you bring in a guy like Zdorov,
you at least know he's an NHL player.
I'm still not exactly sure how good he is.
Like, I always have this rule where, you know,
if you look at your defense and you have two pairs that you like,
then you've got a good
defense right and i don't think the canucks have had that for a while i know that's not a rocket
science rule or anything but like it works and right now the canucks have hughes and haronic
and you're like you like that pair but then the second pair is the doroff and myers and those guys
can be a little chaotic on the ice um and then the third pair I quite like
if it's Ian Cole and Noah Jules and Ian Cole just like a journeyman steady defenseman perfect in
that role who can help a guy like Noah Jules and who's still learning the NHL game although he's
not he's not that young but you know that second pair to me I still I still don't know about it
and even when Carson Zuki comes back I don't know about it. And even when Carson Zucchi comes back, I don't know about it.
Now, Tyler Myers is interesting because if you're able to move him,
then that opens up all sorts of cap space where you could address other needs,
whether it be up front or even on the back end, or maybe you could do it both.
But you also have to be careful about trading away a guy like Tyler Myers
because, again, playoff reminder for us that, you know,
haven't seen the playoffs for, like, you need depth on defense.
You need defensemen because they get injured.
So you got to be really careful about trading away defensemen
that you might regret giving away.
Does Susie bump Julison out or is this
like what is
Soucy coming back to? Probably
probably Julison would be the guy that
that comes out
and
but then you've got kind of a weird
mix because Julison's a righty
and Soucy's a lefty so
you know Rick Talkin really likes
the lefty righty combination they've been a lefty. So, you know, Rick Talkett really likes the lefty-righty combination.
They've been quite hesitant to do anything else.
So I'll be very curious to see how they do it.
They'll definitely have – I will say one thing.
They will definitely have a very tall defense once Carson Soucy is back.
And, you know, I think they like that because Rick Talkett is all about,
you know, protecting the middle of the ice. And if you've got a good – you know, you think they like that because Rick Talkett is all about, you know, protecting the middle of the ice.
And if you've got a good, you know, you make it really tough for players to get into the middle of the ice and have their slot shots.
And you're pretty confident that Patrick Demko is going to handle things from the outside.
So I'll have you give your thoughts on the bestadian teams right now if you sort the league by uh points percentage you know
going around boy the winnipeg jets right up at the top the canucks are up there the leafs are
doing fairly well but i mean the oilers are hot now i mean they're showing their they're probably
their true colors if we we got some real cup contenders in canada or what do you think? Well, we discussed this earlier on our show and I put it this way.
If the Vancouver Canucks won the Stanley Cup,
how shocked would you be on a scale of one to 10?
Like 10.
And 10.
Nine.
If the Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup.
Face sewn to the carpet, surprised.
Yeah.
But if the Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup,
how shocked would you be, scale of one to ten?
Maybe a six or a seven?
Yeah, less surprised, I suppose.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, Winnipeg, you know,
I don't know how the Jets are doing it.
I think it's really impressive.
I mean, they might be the greatest five-on-five team
in the history of the NHL,
because their special teams aren't even that good,
and they're missing Kyle Conner on five team in the history of the NHL because their special teams aren't even that good. And they're missing Kyle Connor.
Goalie of the month.
Dubois trade has really worked out for them because I think they've added,
you know, two pretty good forwards in that trade.
But I'm not an expert on the Jets.
I haven't watched them much.
The Canucks haven't played them yet.
So I feel bad we've kind of ignored them a little bit.
But what they're doing is pretty impressive.
And, you know,
I think they do have players with playoff experience there like they've learned their lesson that's the one thing about or they've learned lessons in the postseason i assume um that's
the one thing about the canucks is like this group hasn't been to the playoffs together so they
haven't even had that experience of like oh yeah you you can't do this in in the
playoffs you know i don't count the bubble um as a true playoffs because i think a lot of teams
didn't really want to be there you know the canucks beat the wild and then the defending
champion st louis blues and i guarantee the blues were in that bubble like hey it was a lot more fun
when we were playing in front of like wild crowds wild crowds and winning the Stanley Cup than it is right now.
Let's all go home, you know?
So there's a real lack of experience when it comes to the playoffs
in the core of the Canucks, like in their best players.
Prefer one more before I let you go here.
On occasion on the Real Kipper and Bourne show,
we've gotten ourselves in hot water.
As you mentioned earlier you said
petey is in for a big race so we're gonna play the how big of a race game because we've done
it with willie neilander and like i said we've gotten hot water a little bit here and there
so i'm glad to pass this game on to you my friendipper, why are you trending on my Twitter?
I want to get you trending right now.
How big of a raise
for Petey?
I think
he'll be
11 or 12 on
a shorter term deal, three or four years.
Something like that.
Yeah.
So he wants
the Matthews type of scenario, right?
He won't give it all up, but he wants the bump.
The talk right now is that the Canucks would want longer term,
but Petey might want to line himself up with Quinn Hughes
because Quinn Hughes, after this season,
has three years left on his deal and then he's USA
I don't know if Petey wants to be in a situation where he signs super long term and then Hughes
goes to New Jersey or something and he's like uh what kind of team do we have here because
winning is really important to Petey and you know he's been through a lot in this market there's a
lot of people right now you know that look at his point totals and say yeah the point totals are great
but there's still something off about his play right now there's still something that's not
white there he played a great game yesterday against Ottawa might have been his best game
of the season or one of his one of the best games of his season but you know there's that this is going to be a real interesting situation because
none of us really know what pd's thinking like he's such an introvert and he's so guarded and
he's so quiet we have no idea what he's thinking we'll get to work my friend that's impressive in in that market good for him i'm just a morning show guy
jason awesome stuff we really appreciate your time thanks for doing this man
all right see you boys thanks buddy jason brough does a terrific job on the morning show in vancouver
i mean that's great for them that they're just like so blindsided by the success of their team
that they're like this is fun having a good time did not anticipate this a lot of good players they're all having a
great season at the same time i love hearing them say that because that's one of the thoughts i've
had forever about them it's like there's no fan base i mean across sports maybe that's expectations
shifted like they have in three months you know, I took a lot of heat last year.
I would go on their show.
I did like a weekly thing with them last year.
And I was like, this is a pretty good team.
I cannot make sense of why they're bad.
This is a pretty good team.
And I feel somewhat vindicated by that years long.
But he's got the Cinderella syndrome here.
He thinks that, you know, 12 could strike oh yeah the pumpkin is
still a very real option yeah yeah okay so i by the way when you guys are talking off the top
about grad ski versus the canucks yeah how many points in 117 games against the vancouver canucks So 275. No, no, no. I want to say 212.
239 and 117 against the Canucks.
Okay.
For a plus 61.
I didn't go over.
No, you're right.
No, yours counts.
375 shots.
That's insane.
His numbers are amazing.
To me, and my favorite thing about his numbers is he played two games
against the Nashville Predators.
How many points?
Seven?
Eight.
Why do I think all of those points came off of John Garrett?
Brough's right, though.
Gretzky's early years, 212, 196, 205, 208, 215.
Is that why he was at the game last night?
Just to remind everybody?
Hang with Nickelback.
Yeah.
This McDavid kid's about three quarters as good as me.
You know, the Florida Panthers did a pretty good job against Gretz.
Yeah.
He had 17 points in 20 games.
He's a dash four.
Wow.
The Panthers.
The Panthers really had a record.
He really held them under wraps.
That's impressive.
That's funny.
All right.
What do we want?
Do you want to do game time?
That's you, man.
You're the producer.
I'm just a measly host.
You looked at me like you had something to say,
and then you're like, what's next?
No, it's my eyes.
They're the size of pee holes in the snow right now.
It's game time.
Presented by Bet365.
Visit the app for the latest odds.
Find out why it's never ordinary.
A Bet365 must be 19+.
On terror only, please play responsibly.
And it's not like we get a reprieve tonight.
I mean, 10.30 and 9 o'clock might as well be a whole day apart.
It's a big difference.
But we're staying up late again tonight, bud.
9 p.m.
So there you go.
Not a lot of action tonight.
Devils and Capitals.
Last night I went with the 2014 parlay of ovechkin and sid to both
score and they both did check check don't know if you saw sid's goal but he was like lying on his
butt when he ended up putting it in the net it was a very nice goal i'm going back to the well
with ovi again here feel like it's starting to kind of turn a bit unfortunately for my likings
of gretzky holding that record uh i'm going with a Ovechkin goal again tonight to keep him hot at plus 135.
And go ahead.
No, you go ahead.
I was going to say Max Pacioretty
is in for the Washington Capitals tonight.
I just wanted to ask you quickly,
coming off of Ruffer's comment earlier
about the thought of Quinn Hughes
waiting it out to go to New Jersey.
Is that like...
The Hughes kids are going to play together.
Who doesn't think that that's not going to happen?
Definitely happening.
I would never say that about my good friends in Vancouver.
He's going to play for the Canucks his whole life.
But the only question is,
will it happen while they're in their prime,
or will it be the end of career?
They do it... I don't know where they're from
but you know they find a way to play together at some
point you know there's no guarantee
it's going to be anytime soon but they'll find a way
some point maybe it'll be in Vancouver
that's how we'll spin that
yeah
that'd be a nice
marketing chip for the league wouldn't it that would be fun to watch um
and there's obviously not a ton of value with the leafs going into anaheim tonight but uh the way
austin matthews started the game last night and the way he looked in those first few shifts if
he does that again against anaheim i like his chances to score a goal so the least to win the game and austin matthews to score the first goal of the game is
plus 625 so such a high number a little value yeah you know and he i mean he was buzzing on
the first few shifts last night he could have scored easily so i like that one tonight because
there's not a ton of value with the least playing the crappy old ducks i mean you could bet on the
ducks but that probably wouldn't be the best bet right unless the least do what they always do so
maybe it is a good bet. Anyways,
that was Game Time, presented by Bet365.
Visit the app for the latest odds
and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365.
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Please play responsibly.
Check, check.
I just got a text on the text line
that was really good.
Only the New York Jets expectations
changed as fast as ours did.
Theirs took four plays to change.
That's from Vancouver.
We're going to go to break.
We're going to get some news and notes,
but just one more thing off of Vancouver last night
against the Ottawa Senators.
There were some people that thought the Ottawa Senators
could get to a conference final this year.
They believed in this team more than just a team
that could contend for a playoff spot.
Pinto out of the gates.
What is happening here?
How do you go down two field goals with 22 minutes?
It's not pretty.
I don't know. it's like you already hired
the coaching consultant it's a goal in the safety they went down five
yeah it's uh you know he he mentioned the way they're playing right now i don't know if
you know it wasn't going well with dj and then now you're trying to change horses mid-race and like some of the systems.
They're not responding to Jacques.
Well.
They're not.
Yeah, or maybe it's just like that transition time
where they figure out how to play the way he wants to play.
I don't know.
Do you think they'll hire another coach this year?
I think there's too much in the season to just let this
go for another 40 plus games.
They've played.
Yes.
I do think that they really need to think long and hard.
And I don't know who their choice would be,
but Craig Ruby will not be out there that long.
I don't know what that means,
but I don't think that they could wait to the offseason
to make a decision that now we want to go to Craig Berube.
Don't risk losing Craig Berube to somebody else
if you think that this guy is what your younger players need
to be held accountable.
God, you just look at Vancouver, right?
And the success that they had when
someone who came came in who is a little bit hard-nosed and can push guys look at the success
they had but they did it late right last year remember how long they let poor bruce twist in
the wind yeah and they finally it was too late yeah which is the point about auto i think and
god that's really tough though to you know for and lauer to make the decision to
have or stayos or whatever to have jacques martin take over the team then like six games later be
like all right we gotta do it again don't care just ruby's canadian right he's canadian yes from
alberta you know that helps come come coaching canada rare opportunity you know team is new energy lots of good young
players yeah i mean yeah there's definitely that's a lineup that you'd want to think that
can compete in two years or three years for seven years eight years right like as they develop and
grow and compete they'll need to buck up for yes and again if you spent a lot of money just buying the team i don't know how much they're
how interested they are in going and and spending or committing i don't know what it would take
10 12 14 million dollars 15 million dollars what's that over three years four years ruby's a stanley cup champion coach there you
you got you got coaches that have not won the stanley cup making five million dollars now i
just feel like you can't take over an nhl team and be like i'm looking for the coupon the coupons
here you know like this is you need to get the best people to win games, to fill the seats, to compete,
to get in the playoffs, you know, buying the discount version of the guy you want for a
million less.
But it's hard.
Yeah.
I mean, you're still paying.
It's real money.
Pure Dorian.
You're paying DJ to stay at home.
You named Stelos, your permanent general manager.
We'llin now. But you didn't, I don't think you had to pay Steyos more money to be the general manager.
To continue doing the job.
Yeah.
So, and Dave Poulin wouldn't have cost a ton of money to get pulled off of network television.
You don't think network television pays a lot?
Just asking.
Yes, I see your point.
I know you used to.
Fair enough.
Sounds like I missed that part.
But so I don't know.
I mean, if you're the Ottawa Senators,
you just watched Edmonton also.
You used Vancouver as an example.
You watched Edmonton bring in a guy that, I mean, you can't argue it
with the results that you're getting from the Edmonton Oilers right now
that if it means a new voice, a fresher one,
one that can find different ways to push a button ottawa has to
consider that now yeah ottawa is definitely a team to keep that was embarrassing last night for them
yeah not great right and then you're eight games away from pinto coming back you know if you you
can kind of have like a fresh start if they can go on a bit of a run get a new coach that get a third line center
what goal was that number six well they were down five nothing yeah and they fight back to make it
five three yeah and then off the ensuing face off they win it back horrible horrible turnover
which it's an awful turnover and suitors just dumping it in to go off and change.
And it just takes a right turn off the last bounce and goes into the net.
It's just when,
you know,
when things go wrong,
man,
when it rains,
it pours. I mean,
you know,
there's a,
it comes back to hockey.
It could be called goaltending.
And it's like,
they got no saves all year and they're got a lot of good players.
They're just not ready.
I guess they need a good goalie.
They need a new coach.
I don't know. And I had so many, he took over this team, like need a good goalie they need a new coach i don't know
and i had so many he took over this team like in a good spot and i'm like what is going on here
i know what has happened he's the the meme where the he walks in with the pizzas and all the fires
happening all right let's take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to discuss Jason Zucker.
He's got a hearing for a boarding incident on Nick Cousins
after a questionable hit.
I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about this
because yesterday you guys took me down a path
with Ryan Hartman on Cole Perfetti.
Yeah, you got to apologize for that.
No, you do.
No, no, no.
I just went along with what you said.
Are the Jets people mad? Yeah mad yeah oh i avoided that nice well in fairness they provided a lot of context and it was pretty bad
oh okay don't don't don't miss it after the break we'll get into that plus zucker's hearing
after the break nick kiprios justin born sammy mckee We are a real Kipper and Bourne.
The Kipper is Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee.
So tomorrow night, you'll reveal the names of the first 32 players participating in the All-Star Weekend here in Toronto.
And of course, we're going to be a big part of it.
I think the three of us will be doing a show
from under the Gardner Expressway.
Yes, they're going to put us under the garbage truck route.
Down at the ferry terminal at the Queens Quay.
There's one crack in the Gardner where the rain,
it just looks like Niagara Falls coming off of it.
Yeah, that's where we're going to be.
Our table will be right underneath it. we're going to be. Our table
will be right underneath it. We're going to be
interviewing equipment managers
from the incoming teams.
Stay tuned. For the record I have
no idea what we're doing yet.
People hate
well maybe hate's
a strong word. Dislike
that every player gets
repped. I do. What do you mean? Every team. Every player gets repped. I do.
What do you mean?
Every team.
Every team gets repped.
Every, every.
Yes.
Because I want the league's all-stars,
not this weird division of World Cup.
Past that.
Aren't we like just.
Well, the meaning of being an all,
an X time all-star is entirely devalued.
It doesn't mean anything anymore.
There's World Cup and Olympics.
And it used to be a big deal saying he's an all-star.
You would take that into contracts.
Like, I'm an X-time all-star or whatever,
and now it's just...
Now it's like, well, he shot the guy out of the...
What's it called?
Where the guy fell in the water?
What was it called?
One of those things called?
Oh, okay.
Shot the guy out of the thing that fell in the water?
No, no, no.
Oh, dunk tank?
Dunk tank.
Thank you, General Nick.
Dunk Tank.
How do you pick somebody from Columbus?
Right?
I don't know.
It's hard.
What does their leading scorer have?
Well, to me, it's a very easy thing to do.
You'll look at the team, if you're picking, and you say,
that guy is young and skilled and good,
and we would like to feature him.
For example, Adam Fantilli.
A guy who's really young, got a ton of skill.
He's a rookie.
You want those kind of guys there?
Take him there.
That would be my vote.
I think they should name the cannon.
Yeah, the cannon.
I think you should earn it.
You love the cannon.
This isn't a hypothetical all-star tournament.
Tell you who I'm not taking.
Johnny Gaudreau.
Their leading scorer.
Is he?
Yes.
By default.
He has 25 points in 39 games, minus 18.
Oh, man.
But for Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto,
you could vote in.
Miller, Hughes, Patterson.
Fans will be able to vote in.
Demko.
That's where you get your...
Yeah. Fans will be able to vote in. Demco. That's where you get your, hopefully your supporting cast players around your star.
I'm sure it being where it is in Toronto and Vancouver's fan base,
a lot of these guys will get in.
Okay.
Deserving players.
So before we go to Zucker and a hearing on a big hit on Nick Cousins,
just to kind of talk a little bit more
about the heat that we took for being classless.
Not that I read a lot of social media,
but people were not happy when we gave Hartman
a bit of a green light to go after a guy like Cole Profetti.
Well, I would say that over the course of the years in this show,
you have said, like, why doesn't that happen more
where you go to the other team's best player and say,
if our guy gets greased again, it's you, just so you know.
And so that was kind of what I had in my mind.
God, I looked at the Dylan on Kaprizov crosschecks
that they're all mad about.
I mean, they're like controlling little baby crosschecks
that said nothing play.
And then there were follow-up retribution moments.
So I'm going to go ahead and say a bit excessive from Ryan Hartman.
Still, I'll eat it.
Still love it.
Yeah, I like the concept still.
This is just a, it wasn't deserving here.
Ryan Hartman's a greasebag.
He does greasy things
he was mad but his best player being hurt and he cried he hit a guy in the face and talking like
to me grew that to me this just is the beginning of the story yes and that's it doesn't end
there and it's like that it's it's just the start of it so no i don't expect cole profetti now to fight
back but i expect someone on winnipeg to to go after ryan hartman and say now you get to answer
for that and he will it's february 20th they're already looking at it there's there's adam lowry right there pal and you know do the right thing now yeah don't don't go run and hide yeah i see
this is fun though that there's the this is the part where i'm like i like this i like that there's
animosity there's a game on the schedule i'm looking forward to watching yes that's good stuff
god forbid oh i know it's great oh this is a lead up to a game
where people might be mad at each other i know we're allowed to do that so in isolation the
hartman thing and perfetti it's kind of stupid definitely unnecessary i like what it says about
the nhl yeah respond how do you respond now and i think it's gartner mike gartner comes on our show
and says there's just not enough you you know, animosity, personal emotions involved in all the games.
So from that level, makes for good viewing.
Which takes us to Jason Zucker.
Oh, my God.
Who has a hearing for boarding Nick Cousins after another questionable hit on Valimacki.
So here is Nick Cousins. And you've been watching Nick Cousins piss off a lot of people
in the last little while.
And Zucker just says, oh, yeah, I've had enough.
I've had enough.
And he goes and he slams them.
Like, what does Nick C nick cousins expect after that hit
that he gets to just relax and and and and what uh roll up a lawn chair get the exact same reaction
after he did the horrible hit the worst hit to gabranson last night was bad too where he he
takes a shot the guy's head it's obviously a dirty hit but he just hit to Gabranson. Last night's was bad too. Where he takes a shot at the guy's head. It's
obviously a dirty hit. But he just stands
there like he's immune from
you know, being, there being retribution
against him. And Zucker
destroys him from behind. Like
it's a rotten play. It's a rotten play.
But like, listen. That will be suspended. For sure.
He'll get suspended. One game. But
Cousins should, they gotta do
something about him.
That hit was, it's a findable hit, what he did to Valimacki.
It's not maybe suspendable, but it's close.
You're just going to lose the benefit of the doubt after enough whoopsies.
You're just going to keep protecting Cousins and letting guys bury him and get suspended for the retribution as opposed to the act that makes it happen.
And it's like, they're a greasy team
the league has to protect against those type of hits that's why he's going to be suspended
one game but this is the way it should work you want to go run around be a dirt bag
make these bad hits someone's gonna knock your block off yes yeah okay yeah and if he gets suspended
one game so what so this is the same theme one game suspension mid-season and the bigger picture
should be don't hit because someone's gonna come after you yeah you know when i talk to a lot of
people in the u.s and you know spend a lot of time there in the offseason and all that,
people who love hockey, one of the foremost things they talk about
is fighting and physicality.
Of course.
That element, that's like a draw the way that, you know,
people love fighting in the UFC.
People love, you know, contact in football.
People love that element of our sport.
And, you know, we have a choice as a league where we can say people love this they
want to watch it you know and players play it or we can say we want to go the ihf way and you know
do no hits to the head and try to eliminate it all we kind of have to pick a way here you can't
try to be safe the league's picked away they have picked picked away. They've picked away already. They've made a choice. The problem is there's a lot of people that don't agree with the decision.
Don't agree with it and accept it.
Yeah.
Like, you know, I just know talking to my dad and their friends
and, like, they still love that element of the game and prize it,
and it certainly was a huge part of it.
And I think it's important to keep
the interest in hockey that there is a physical component.
One way or another, Nick Cousins is
going to have to answer for those type of hits.
I prefer him
dropping his gloves and battling
it out, but if he wants to go
this way moving
forward, just
be prepared, my friend.
Because there's more Zuckers out there that will get you
yeah and he took he he saw the numbers he took a shot he made a decision yeah that's one of the
clearest hits from behind where a guy made a choice he's like i'm gonna he's gonna wear this
one yeah and then and then good on zucker borsling comes in there and zucker's not usually a fighter
he drops the gloves gives a spear to go with him. He's going to get suspended.
But I'll tell you right now, you know who he has the respect of?
All fans in the league.
Teammates.
Other teammates, like all the people in the league.
Like Branson probably called Zucker.
Was like, hey, man.
Thanks, pal. Great job.
Right?
Like it's just at some point it reputates.
Hey, education.
When did the Florida Panthers become one of the most hated teams in the league
i mean if you're a panthers manager gm coach you love it picture outside of in that incident yeah
i mean it's kind of fun can i tell you something right now this is a quiet little secret that no
one was listening if you offered me roster trade leafs for panthers right now. Stop. Really?
Stop.
I'd take the trade right away.
Yeah.
You're losing your Matthews and your Marners
and your Willie Kneelanders.
But I'm telling you right now,
if that was the team here,
they would be like on Legends row immediately.
They'd be the most popular team in team history.
Like the way that they play,
the way that they look, if they were in blue and white, they'd be the most popular team in team history. Like the way that they play, the way that they look, if they were
in blue and white, they'd be the most popular. Give me the cats.
Meow.
They're like the
Pistons. The old
Pistons. It's not the Pistons
now. No, no, not the Pistons now.
Remember how
you ever watch those documentaries?
Oh yeah. The vicious.
Billy Lambeer would just be like hammering guys.
Oh, yeah.
Anyways.
But yes, that is my dirty little secret that I didn't want anyone to hear.
So hopefully no one's listening.
No one did.
It's good.
All right.
Can I go home to bed now?
Listen.
No.
We got two games to watch tonight.
9 p.m.
New Jersey and Washington.
And on the network, National.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim.
9 p.m. Eastern.
We see the Hilda Beast?
Yes, no. Do we have an answer yet?
No, nothing.
Yes or no?
Yes.
Okay.
No, it's Jones.
Did they announce Jones already?
No, that's going to be.
I'm announcing.
No, no, no.
It's Sheldon Keefe style to kind of keep it a secret.
I think that's why it's not out.
Because it's the kid.
Alright, enjoy your games tonight.
Thanks
to
Jason. Jason, bruh.
Bruh. Gotta go.