Real Kyper & Bourne - Crowded Competition in the Central

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start in Florida where the GMs are meeting to play some golf (and also attend GM meetings, apparently). They are joined by Sportsnet's Sean Reynolds, (5:22) live in Florida to share what's being discussed at the GM meetings and what isn't. Then, he shares his thoughts on the tightening playoff race in the Central division with the Jets, Avs and Stars all tied at 91 points for first in the division and if any teams on the outside can put pressure on Vegas in the West. Finally, they regroup with Sam McKee for news & notes - Dmitry Kulikov gets a hearing for his hit to Conor Sheary's head, Wayne Simmonds announces his retirement and the latest development in Arizona's search for a new arena.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

all right we go national now on real kipper and born live on sportsnet sportsnet 650 in vancouver sportsnet 960 in calgary this hour real kipper and born brought to you by bet 365 nick kiprios justin born sammy mckee derrick brandeo, Jen Rolnick with you for the next hour as well. We've got GM meetings in Florida. I just came back from Florida. This is your favorite thing. And let me tell you something. Whoever we've got down there, Elliot, David Amber, I don't even know who's down there.

The man who we're going to speak to is there. Sean Reynolds. Boys, you are as much on vacation as I was the last three days. Hey, turn your mic on. There's no bigger work fraud than the GM meetings. Oh, my God. Oh, boy. Listen, love Sean. He'll report the hell out of it. Oh my God. Go boys. Oh, well,

Sean, he'll report the hell out of it. I'm here to report that the GMs are talking about what's working and what's not working in the NHL. Ah, yes. Back to you. Yeah. I,

I heard the number one agenda is that they got to, you know, continue to get the refs to screw the Leafs. Cause I heard that. I heard Sammy's, the Leafs are just getting screwed by those refs every night. So we've got to work on that. I've heard the number one topic of conversation is,

which course to play Sunday? Where did you get a deep dive? Yeah, there's a press release that, well, actually, no press release. Press release would have done it, but apparently they're going to do like an F1-style series, which is kind of cool. So we'll welcome in Sean Reynolds soon as he can, can i don't know cover up his speedo right now right throw a t-shirt on if he comes on our show on camera and a speedo he will be the number one

all-time guest that would be a massive victory bump doug mclean yeah well unless doug came on and a speedo the next one let's start a trend on the show we will talk winnipeg jets with him right now that central is looking awfully good in terms of true contenders for the stanley cup dallas winnipeg and colorado all tied 91 points 91 points say the thing you said said before the show up top. You like the Jets, right? Listen, if we talk about Dallas and Colorado and Winnipeg just from the net on out, how do you not like Hellebuck the best?

I know. I know. And I'm a Jake Ottinger fan, but that guy's not having a year. And Connor Hellebuck is the Vezina frontrunner, and the additions of Toffoli and Monaghan, to me, have changed this group. God, they play that Nemesnikov on the fourth line, on the first line. He's a great player. I mean, they are as deep a forward group as I can remember

in the salary cap era here. But they got goaltending, and they got a ton of forwards. Yeah. here. But they got goaltending and they got a ton of forwards. I just have a hard time picking against Colorado. I watched that game on Saturday night in Edmonton. They're a powerhouse. I mean, no one can hang when they go Makar, McKinnon,

Natchushkin, Rantanen. Yeah, I just, you know, Edmonton is going to be really good this year and I pray that it comes down to Edmonton and Colorado having to play in a playoff series again. Yeah, give us seven of those. I don't know. I just have a hard time picturing them losing to Edmonton.

I just feel like they're – don't know what the difference is, don't know how to explain it, but to me it's just give me Colorado still in that series all day. Boy, the dry sidle back check oh yeah oh yeah on the ot winner that was tough to watch yeah the old controller disconnect moment how about uh it happens but nathan mckinnon he's a force had The pickup from the skates up through his own legs to get the puck there. I mean, he is a hard trophy frontrunner for a reason. Oh, I just checked in with Jen on Reynolds.

Just having a tough time getting him set up because it's too sunny. Is that right? Is that right? For real? It's a tough problem to have, right? Well, I mean, you just got back from... It's hailing horizontally here.

Yeah, it's not pretty. Minus one. Yeah, it's not pretty. The one thing I will say about Edmonton, though, and, like, we saw Sam Carrick score a good goal. They got Adam Henrik. But when you compare it to what Colorado did at the trade deadline, I mean, Winnipeg, they they did miller basically and sean monahan and

toffoli like those are big those are they've turned into be real real important two of them are front line top six guys in toffoli and and mcmahon like i'm not sure if Edmonton did enough to think all in. It's funny because they did a lot. Yeah. Just don't think the D maybe took a step. Stetcher's not enough to get him where you wanted him. No, no. Not for me.

Duhame and Trennan just formed a formidable fourth line for them. All right, let's welcome him in. In the shade. Man, oh man, you got it. Made in the shade. Too line for that. All right, let's welcome him in. In the shade. Man, oh man, you got it made in the shade. Too sunny for you, eh? Well, no, I heard that you guys would be too jealous. I had the great shot of the beach. We could have played Where's Waldo with Elliot in the background by the pool.

And instead, I had to go back in here and make it look like I'm doing this out of a closet. So I hope you guys are happy with yourselves. Your jealousy has caused a really good background for this interview. So besides our jealousy for the sun, like how is it going right now? Like giving us the perception that something important is happening down there. How's that going? Listen, I've been on one of these with you before, Kipper,

so you know exactly what is happening down here. You're basically showing up. You're putting in two hours of work, if you're honest. I'm not one of those honest folks. So, you know, this is basically a paid vacation.

Don't tell the bosses about it. You were as bad, probably the worst offender I've seen down here. This is true. They kicked me off. I'll probably find myself sitting on the bench going forward because I'm maybe going a little bit too far

down the kipper road down here. I was dumb enough to tell them how ridiculous it was and they believed me and they pulled me off of it. Is there anything at all that you can mention with a straight face about what's going on down there? Give the guy a break.

I mean, the GMs are coming down here and they're putting their work in, right? And so they're, you know, I think it's been like this for a long time. This was the story last year. They really like the place where the game is at right now. So everything is like little tweaks. So, I mean, they're looking at the idea of should they be able to review puck over glass? And if you do, is it only to negate a goal? And all these different kind of things that they're having a look at.

I think they took a look at three-on-three over time with the question, like, does anything need to change? And I think what they're looking at right now is, yeah, no, nothing. I think they like it, right? You know, and when you get to the real hockey in the playoffs, you scrub that and you just, you know, look forward. And other than that, what they're seeing out of three-on-three, I mean, if you were watching, I heard you guys talking about both the Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche.

If you saw that overtime game, you know, you're seeing, as skilled the players, you know, putting on a clinic out there as you can with a dramatic last second goal. I think they took a little bit of a look at it today and said, yep, let's just leave that alone. We like what's happening with it. And in terms of items on the docket there, I know LTIR had come up. Is there any chance something changes there? Or is everyone just kind of like, it's okay? Yeah, I always find it fascinating that

I covered the 2015 Cup Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning. And Chicago was way over the cap due to LTIR. They were using the existing rules. The Tampa Bay Lightning tried to have that changed after that.

And guess how many teams in the rest of the league supported the Tampa Bay Lightning? Zero. No one wanted to change it at the time. So what did Tampa do? They said, okay, these are the rules under which we're operating under. And they went out and they absolutely, you know, made it work in their favor and won some cups.

And now the Vegas Golden Knights are doing the same. So I always wonder, because for me, I take a look at this, and for me, it's almost 10 years since the league had a chance to do something with this. And I think what ends up happening is every team wants the ability to kind of get themselves out of a jam or juice it if it ever becomes their time and just we've seen over this time that certain teams have done a better time than others

but i i always think that teams think eventually my time may come and when it does you know everything's about winning a championship i always say this you know ask the 89 flames what that one banner means to them and ask the vancouver Canucks what not having one means to them. So when a team has an opportunity to put one up in the rafters, they want every tool at their disposal. Talking to Sean Reynolds, he does a terrific job basking in the sun, covering the GM meetings and also covers the Winnipeg Jets. All right, here's why we're talking right now,

because we are seeing one heck of a race right now in the Central Division led by the Winnipeg Jets. I would imagine seeing how they've only gotten 91 points in 67 games while Colorado's needed 68 and Dallas 69. But, wow, is this thing set up? Someone's heart is really going to get broken after the first round because these are some really good teams that look like at least may face each other at some point here real early.

Yeah, I mean, I think you get the sense if you are, you know, either Winnipeg or Dallas or Colorado, you're going to have to face one, if not both, those teams to get out of there. And then what's waiting for you could be the Edmonton Oilers, the hottest team in the NHL since they had that terrible start, or the Vegas Golden Knights that look like if they could just make it click and figure it out could be exactly what they were facing last year.

Never mind Vancouver as good as they're playing and so on. The West is an absolute war. And it's funny because covering this, like I get it. I understand wanting to get that first seed in Winnipeg. It's really going to matter about getting home dates because they want to make some money. It's going to be an opportunity for them to make some money. Everyone's talked, we've talked on this show

about their attendance issues so far this season. So they're going to want as much money as they can get so they're going to want as many home games as they can possibly get but you know if you're winnipeg and you walk out of this and you do uh get to the finish line ahead of those other two teams and you finish with either the first or second seed in the west and your your reward is facing the Vegas Golden Knights if they happen to stay in that spot, or the Nashville Predators who came in a couple nights ago in Winnipeg and left no doubt who was the better team on that night.

There are zero free spaces on the bingo card in the West this season, and I would not be one bit surprised if the Winnipeg Jets or the Colorado Avalanche or the Dallas Stars or two of those teams are out in the first round after the first round of the playoffs. Yeah, it's a fascinating and also somewhat terrifying notion. I was just saying before we had you on

that the addition of Toffoli to me changes the look of Winnipeg's forwards I mean with Monaghan as well I know with Velarde and it would look even better but like they have 14 really good forwards since you've been covering the Jets is this not the best deepest group of forwards they've ever had yeah it's it's a fun conversation to have if you're a Jets fan, because 2018, Brian Little was their fourth-line center. True. They did have a very good group then, too. Yeah.

But that said, he centered Jack Roslevic, who was new. And Patrick Laine, as good as he was at that time, was really, really young, and so was Kyle Connor. So there was a lot of inexperience in that. So I think I've landed on it. It's a great question, because I think you're right. I do think this is the deepest group I've seen from Winnipeg, not because it wasn't like a better collection of players,

but because where those players are, the playoff experience that Toffoli has. I mean, Toffoli burnt the Jets a couple of years ago in the playoffs, scored the game winner in game two against the Jets, and then the series winner when the Montreal Canadiens swept them. They add that in there. Sean Monaghan has been the perfect both defensive presence, playing the game the right way, but all the offense that he's been generating for himself,

he earns honestly. Their third line, I've said this before, I believe is the best third line in the game. When Mark Scheifele and Kyle Conner get going, they can be one of the biggest offensive threats out there. And their fourth line now, they've got a rotating cast of characters where, hey, you want to grind teams a little bit, you can put in Rasmus Kapari and David Gustafson,

who have a lot of speed. Do you want to add a little bit of offensive flair to that line? Well, you talked about it. Vlad Nameskov has been great for this team this year. And, you know, you can probably slip Cole Perfetti onto that line, who had a really good stretch of good offensive hockey so far this year, a young player. But there you go.

If he's not meeting the moment as a young player, you can pop him out of the lineup. They didn't have those options with guys like Jack Rosvick or Kyle Connor or Patrick Lyonnet the last time around. So yes, I agree with you.

This is the deepest, the deepest Winnipeg jets forward group I've seen since I've been covering the team. You mentioned Shifley and, and, and Kyle Connor is being offensive zone threats. Where are they? 200 foot game.

You know, when you compare them to what they may go up against other top centermen or goal scorers? So Mark Scheifele is there. Mark Scheifele has not been given credit all year of the kind of turnaround. He said we all know the reputation that he was starting to get last year, that he was a one-way player. He absolutely has erased that in my mind.

And, hey, guys, there's been four or five games this year where he's not been in the lineup, and the Jets do not look like themselves. A pivotal, pivotal player for them. Kyle Conner, there would be a little bit of a question about that. The Jets, despite the fact that they've been hanging with the, you know, like right there in the race lately, they haven't been playing their best hockey as of late.

Their schedule is kind of hidden. A little bit of anemia in that lineup, in that like the Jets are the best team in the NHL at putting teams below the playoff line in their place. Since Christmas, they're 19-3-1, I believe, against teams below the playoff line. But what that's been hiding, guys, is behind the scenes, the Jets have struggled since Christmas against teams over the playoff line. But what that's been hiding, guys, is behind the scenes, the Jets have struggled since Christmas against teams over the playoff line.

They're 3-7-1, I believe, against teams over the playoffs since then. One of those was that miracle comeback that they had when they were down 3-0 against Carolina and won that game. And a lot of these games that we're talking about, they haven't been close. Like I said, Nashville came into town. There was no doubt they were the better team on the ice. We all remember a couple Saturdays ago, Vancouver against the Jets.

I thought the Canucks kind of embarrassed the Jets on that night. So the Jets are in this weird little spot right now where they are in the standings. Everyone looks at them and thinks everything's hunky-dory. They haven't been able to hang with the pressure that's been applied by good teams uh for a while now they you know they play the rangers tomorrow night that's going to be a real show me game for them but some of the players that i think when when when they run into that pressure that good teams provide that have had a little bit of trouble kyle connor would definitely be one of

those players because he turns the puck over a little bit too easily. His defensive game isn't there. But the one thing he does is he hides it by scoring goals and goals and goals and goals, guys. And we know it's the hardest thing to do in the game. Sometimes you just got to forgive those guys because they do the hardest thing that it is to do in the game, and he makes it look easy.

And so talking about their forwards, we know their goaltending is good. Is there D going to be enough to, is it, could that be why they struggle against the elite teams is just handling when you play those good teams and they have those real high end lines like Morrissey de Mello. Is that who gets the bulk of the heavy lifting there?

Yeah. And Dylan Sandberg has been quietly a really really effective defensive defenseman he's a big big kid so that's that's one of the spots i'm not people don't think of dylan sandberg when they think of the winnipeg jets defense core but he's a big guy who doesn't have a problem holding his own uh brendan dylan another big guy doesn't have a problem holding his own i think they bring in miller because they're thinking of adding a little bit more size. But you're right. Dylan DeMello isn't the biggest guy.

Josh Morrissey gives up nothing defensively for the offense that he creates. But I, hey, I covered two rounds of the Vegas Golden Knights last year. I covered three rounds of the Canadians going to the cup final a couple of years ago. And one thing that I learned from that is as skilled as this league is getting, when you've got a bunch of giant trees on the back end that just do not let you get to the front of the net, that's highly effective.

The Winnipeg Jets defense does not have that makeup. Now a team structure has made them the best defensive team in the league so far this year. That said, everything gets a little bit harder, a little bit heavier towards the playoffs. And so that is a question that I have in my head. Is that the pressure test that they have been failing as of late?

Because the amount of, you know, opportunities they've given away inside, the ability for teams to get to the net against the Jets has gotten better since Christmastime. And it may just be that. If there's any fatal flaw in this team, Kevin Sheveldayoff needed a second line. He didn't have one. He went out and he built one and built a great one.

But if there's a fatal flaw, it's that this team does not have that look of the defense of the St. Louis Blues winning in 2019, the Canadians who went someplace they shouldn't have gone, and, of course, the Vegas Golden Knights. And who could, I mean, you talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning and some of the massive guys they've got on the back end there. Big, big defenses have ruled the Stanley Cup over the last couple years, and the Jets do not have that.

Sean, just before you came on, we were just talking about the race, obviously, with Dallas and Colorado. But I kind of give the edge to Winnipeg for no other reason than maybe Hellebuck in that. And while we have Georgiev is still maybe a bit of a question mark. Jake Ottinger, we know what level he can get to. He just hasn't gotten to it at all this year for whatever reason in Dallas consistently. what level he can get to. He just hasn't gotten to it at all this year for whatever reason in,

in Dallas consistently, but can Hellebuck be what Vasilevsky was to Tampa the last few years in Winnipeg? Great question. Huge question, because that is the question when it comes to Connor Hellebuck, because if you're talking about playoff Vasilevsky, we all know what that looks like right like that guy that in win or go home games just showed up and his numbers

were just stupid and you watch those games and he just wasn't giving anything up Connor Hellebuck does not have that playoff pedigree Connor Hellebuck has been a great regular season goaltender but if you take a look at it I I mean, right now, last season, he got outdueled in the playoffs by the guy who's playing backup to him right now. And if you take a look at the players that he's bested, he's won three playoff series, and that would be against Devin Dubnik, not long before he retired. Mike Smith in the Mike Smith days of, you know,

letting in goals from the other end of the ice in the playoffs shortly before he retired. And then Pekka Rene in the year that Rene did win the Vezina. But if you go back and look at that series between the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets, that second round in 2018, he wasn't very good in that series. He got yanked from two games, including the seventh and deciding game there. So there's been a lot of times that Talbot outdid him

when Calgary beat them. We all saw what Flower did to him. We all saw what Carey Price did to him. So this is the final frontier for Connor Hellebuck. He's shown in every way that he is one of the best goaltenders of his generation, if not the best of his generation, but he has not shown that

in the playoffs. And I have thought and pondered this question. I can't think of great goaltenders that we've talked about in the past that didn't have some kind of amazing playoff exploits to kind of back up their mythology. And it's simple, guys.

Connor Hellebuck does not have that yet in his career or on his resume. So in terms of who the Jets may get, you talked about how there's no free bingo squares on the card. In terms of teams in the West that are outside looking in, St. Louis, Minnesota, Calgary, Seattle, if you're being generous, any of those teams have a chance? Or is this going to be Nashville, Vegas? It's really hard.

I know St. Louis has won four in a row, but do you think any of them are competitive in that way? Yeah, I don't personally. In my mind, I've locked this off into a top eight. And from watching those teams play, I don't think those teams have, you know, what those other teams have. St. Louis, I know that the Jets kind of love playing them. I know that St. Louis just likes to play a wide open offensive game and the Jets will welcome that every time. If they were to slip in, the Jets were to get them, that would be the best thing that could happen with them. Now, I'm sitting here operating on the assumption

that Vegas is going to figure this out and turn things around. But Vegas, if you remember last year, had a midseason lull. And then with 15 games left, they turned it on. Lauren Brassois was part of that. He had points in every 15 straight games or something like that down the stretch. So I guess I need to see them make that turn to believe it because otherwise we're seeing them. They've lost to Columbus not too long ago,

and they've had some struggles. I assume they're going to be okay, but if they do fall out of it, all those teams the Jets match up well against. I mean, Minnesota came in and tried to lean on the Jets, and the Jets leaned on them. And then when they got sick of getting leaned on, they tried to play offense and the Jets, there's not a facet of the game the Jets

can't beat the Minnesota Wild at. If you take a look at their record for a long time, St. Louis does not hang with them. Calgary has beat them twice this year, so maybe there's something going on there, but in my mind, I've closed this off to the top eight. That could be a fatal flaw of mine.

But from what I've seen of these teams, I've seen enough to think that the top eight stand out as far as capabilities as a team. Sean Reynolds covering the GM meetings in Florida. Any time to get back to the pool, or is it straight to meeting Elliot for cocktails? Well, Elliot is at the pool probably with cocktails

so I'm going to do both. That's perfect. Love it. Check the room on the tab. It could be yours. Wouldn't be the first time it's happened, guys. Sean Reynolds. Thanks, Sean. See you later, guys. Live from the GM meetings in Florida.

Yeah. Big news down there. You hear? No. No, me either. No. No. I don't think there's one thing that would collectively heal hockey fans like the Vegas Golden Knights

missing the playoffs. You know, that would really be wonderful, wouldn't it? They can't activate those guys off of the playoffs if they're not in the playoffs. Oh, boy. St. Louis, four wins in a row. Four points back of Vegas now. What is their schedule?

St. Louis has a very soft schedule. Last I checked. Okay. Strength. They do. Yeah. I think it's maybe the easiest in the league. There's somewhere.

Yes. Really? There's maybe the easiest in the league. There's just nowhere I see Vegas missing. You guys? No. Well, so they got to play the Avs tomorrow, which is no good. And then they're in Ottawa. 25th. In Ottawa against the

Wild. And then on Monday, March 25th, they play against the Golden Knights. Oh, good gravy. And then it's Flames, Sharks, like, you know. Yeah, they got some winnable hockey. They're not ahead of it. I mean, I would love to see.

Doug Armstrong. Wouldn't you love to see just some adversity for the Golden Knights down the stretch where they have to, like, all those guys sitting on the sideline wearing their gear, ready to jump on the ice, but they can't. Can't touch the ice. Stone's ready. Yeah. I don't know.

101% health on the old spleen. All right, Sammy, you got game time? Or are we going to a break? Oh, here. Let me get my sheets ready here, guys. It's game time. Presented by Bet365. Visit the app, latest odds, and find out why it's never ordinary

bet365 must be 19 plus ontario only please play responsibly and uh only a couple games tonight a game featured on monday night hockey is the washington capitals visiting the calgary flames two teams that are i think one team that's officially out of it. Big game for the Caps. If you believe the Flames are in it, big game for you too. If you believe that. About two weeks ago, I kind of made fun of the playoff race.

And then immediately it got good. And it sucks again. Oh, come on. The fact that the Washington Capitals are in it tells you how much it sucks. But it's a race. Turtle Derby for sure. It's not a race.

It's a Turtle Derby, as the man's saying. It's not a playoff race. Who can lose the least? Thank you. On the way in. You consider that a playoff race? No. That's literally what it is.

There's five teams that could make the playoffs. There is a race. And that's a good thing. Yes. This is what you asked for. When they stink. It's like a race if everyone running it were wearing Crocs. Kippy, if they were good, they'd be at the top of the standings.

That's the reason they're fighting for the last playoff spot. So Tampa has kind of separated themselves in the East. It makes it less fun to watch sammy when they like look like they don't care the islanders were horrible the other night horrible that that to me is a a team that you you want to watch and cheer for or or you're interested in the race i think of the teams detroit washington the islanders i think the islanders are the best of that group i am somewhat biased i suppose but how many vegas doesn't agree listen detroit no i'm talking east i'm talking yeah to make the playoffs detroit is minus 110 oh vegas doesn't die yeah uh they got

more points the islanders are plus 130 are there six good teams in the east seven including tampa excluding including tampa so you had philly out then i got philly out yeah philly's gonna drop yes i mean their back end is just ravaged by injury yeah like they really are having a tough time they have no goalie they got no goalie that arison against the least was right yeah you're right six. Yeah, you're right. Six. You're right. Six decent teams. Six. Uh. Uh. Uh.

What is the goal differential that Washington has right now? Minus 30. Minus 30. And still in it. Islanders are minus 20. They have to win 2-1. Yeah. They can't score.

They can't score. They have no offensive generation. I was sorting today. Corsi four per 60. Yeah. They can't score. They can't score. They have no offensive generation. I was sorting today, Corsi 4 per 60, which is shot attempts per game, basically, and they're San Jose, Chicago bad.

They're bottom of the league. It's not even close to who their MVP in Washington is this year. Who is it? Dylan Strom? No. Not Ovi.

The goalie. Lindgren. Charlie. Charlie Lindgren. Yes, yes, yes. By far. By a country mile. He is holding them in. 2-1 the other night. Against Vancouver.

No, he's been awesome. I think his save percentage is 3. Awesome. But come on, somebody. Your boy Dubas' penguins aren't even out of it. I know the penguins are hanging around. They are. I know. They're 5 even out of it. I know. The penguins are hanging around. They are. I know. They're five points out of it with the game in hand.

Here comes the penguins around the stretch. Everything's great. Down the stretch. That's it. What the devils. What happened? Their D's no good. They actually have an atrocious defense.

Atrocious. It's not just the goalies. The goalies have had no chance. Not a chance. Anyway, so Meath bringing up the Washington Capitals tonight. Just let me say, go Sabres, go. No, they're not. That was a bad loss to the Red Wings if they had any chance.

It was. But if you believe that the Caps are chasing this thing and they're going up against Calgary, who, you know, they can play all right on any given night. But the Washington Capitals are plus 115 tonight. The Calgary Flames are minus 135. If you're believing in this, hey, listen, both these teams, they stink. Neither are good.

But one team has stakes and one team doesn't. And they're the plus. Yeah, I love it. Plus 115 on the Capitals. I have bet on Washington tonight. Okay. Parlayed with the other road team. The other road team is the Buffalo Sabres

heading to Seattle. Are they still in it? Still in it. Morty, I gotta tell you, that's a putrid parlay. Oh my god. What a little gold differential. I hate it. Minus one. Chug or not.

I know. They're not bad. That uplifting edition of Game Time. This has been everyone's bad. It's Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for latest odds. Find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. It's 19 plus.

Please play responsibly. I can't even do that. There you go, Sammy. Okay, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, talk a little bit. Panthers, Lightning, a suspension off of that game. We'll talk about that. Any Arizona news?

Yeah, apparently. Did Elliott give us one Saturday night? Yeah, they may have relocated. They may not. Touch on that. Wayne Simmons signed a one-day contract. We'll tell you with who when he officially announces his retirement. That and more on Real Kipper and Bourne when we return. It's the Fan Pre-Game with Ailish Forfar and Justin Cuthbert. Weekdays at 6 p.m. on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590, The Fan,

and wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to Real Kipper and Bourne. I am your host, Justin Bourne. Joined today by my guest, Nick Kiprios. Kipper, good to have you back. Nice. Nice jumping. Thanks.

I've been practicing. No, you're... Listen, by all means, take it. Take it and run. Yes, absolutely. Run, baby. No, terrific job the last few days, boys. Thanks, Perrin.

And brave reviews. We were... I'm just here watching and observing. Just hanging out. We were just watching the Kulikov hit. Suspended two games on a head hit on Connor Sheery from Tampa Bay. Bad hit. You see?

Yeah. Just nothing but head. All head. It's just like playing tee ball, picking the ball, clean off the tee with a swing. You can't do that. You know, like I know they're having discussions again, and George Peros is down presenting at the general manager meetings,

but there is something to be said about why this one only two, why this one five. That's really the, I guess, I know they do the explanations on the videos. What do you think the percentage of the actual hockey fan that would actually listen to it? 20. Can't be high. Two out of 10? But I do think that they have to do it.

Yes, for sure. You know, so there's... It's just as much for the players and for the organizations to fully understand it. I get all of that but that is a complete pick of the head with his shoulder well you should have thought maybe more yes okay when i compare it to uh morgan riley stick in the head to me that that that blows more dangerous than what morgan did, it's funny. I find them... One's five, one's two.

But I don't find them comparable, right? Because one's like not even a hockey play. What is comparable to you, though? Is the force and the damage that you could do, is that comparable? Yeah, and I would say like Rempe is comparable. You know, like coming from the blind side, picking the head.

What did he get, four? He got three, four. He got four, yeah. You know, and I guess his angle is a little worse and there's an injury, you know. But I will say, watching that, I couldn't help but feel like those teams are going to be... Injuries are a huge part.

Yeah, the outcome. But those teams, the way Tampa responded right away florida's in their 300th line brawl like those teams are just playoff built i don't like the hit but i like how both teams responded to it yeah they just they just snap like at everything like everything is the worst thing that's happened and they're all immediately doing it florida's just looking for it eh flippers off lightning now winners of three in a row, including beating the Panthers 4-3. Stephen Stamkos, two goals. I think he's

two off, if I'm not mistaken, off of Rocket Richard's total. Is that right? He's moving up. Still a UFA, right? Going into the offseason with no contract?

He's also dashed 22 this year. Which is really strange because everyone else is plus. Like, Braden Point, what's Braden Point? No, no, he's dashed too. Okay, then it's just the two of them. It's Kucherov then, who's like something ridiculous.

Kucherov is, he's a plus player, but the other guys are minus 13 and minus 20 or something so what is kucherov who leads the league he's plus two that's it's two yeah oh i'm mistaken then oh i thought he was much better it's fine they're hockey club in particular if there's just a few of them like i think it speaks to maybe the inconsistency on them but his number stem calls his numbers are pretty strong at 60 points you know like plus 12 or i'm sorry uh 60 points minus 22 that's crazy what he's a fascinating ufa to me like you think he's just a shoe in to resign there good i think he's a fascinating UFA to me. Like, you think he's just a shoo-in to re-sign there, Kip?

I think he's a shoo-in to re-sign. Yeah, I do. But I don't know where he would be on price. A lollipop and bag of chips for a year? It's Tampa. I like it here. How old is he now? 34?

34, yeah. So what would you think is a fair deal on an extension two years you want three years eight years 10 million per 14 million yeah just stop it for a second he's 34 years old i bet you he would like a four-year contract if i had to take that okay so to me you're probably talking about four, four and a half, five. Oh, what? Sure. I mean.

You think that's, I don't know what your reaction is. I think he's, that's, he's got how many goals? Almost 30, he's going to be a 35 goal scorer this year. You're ready to give McMahon that much money. I mean, I just feel like he's got to get six, five. No. Six? Well, I don't think they can afford it to keep the team together

so that's going to come into play here that's big is that Stammer you want to stick around you want to compete for another two years you can't take 6.5 but I can give you 4.5 or 5 which is in Canada

equivalent to seven. Yeah, I mean, you're trying to sell that for sure. I'm trying to think of players who make $4.5 million. That's how it gets sold. That's all. Yeah. Listen, his time to move was seven years ago. Yeah.

And he didn't when the Leafs were willing to give him Tavares' money. You think they have him what a fascinating what if that is he had taken that over a barrel enough that he would take that low a number well what do you think would be fair for he's going to finish with 35 40 goals i just if i sort the nhl for guys making five million dollar cap hits. I'm just going to read some forwards. I'm looking at Kevin LeBanc, you know, Wenberg, Mason Marchment,

Michael Bunting, Brandon Saad, you know, those are the guys Hoffman, Devorah. At $5 million? Yeah. I mean,

4.5 for the last couple. Yeah. Yeah, he gets more than that. You have to think. I think they will hold that against him. If he wants to try to get market value for a 35-goal score of his stature,

then he's going to have to go somewhere else. I don't think they'll give him that. And I actually think that they may hold his feet to the fire a bit. I know that group, that ownership group, and the way that they want to be an analytically run, efficient organization, I think that they would go to him and say, here's what we can do.

We would love to have you. And if it doesn't work for you, that's going to be your choice to leave. And I think that's coming. At some point, though, it's like he's Stephen Stamkos. They're going to build a trophy for him. But on the other hand. What did I say? I meant to say statute. I said trophy. That doesn't make sense. They're going to build a trophy for him. But on the other hand. I meant to say statute.

I said trophy. That doesn't make sense. They're going to build him a big trophy. Get the hell out of here. He's gone beyond that point. He is the number one face. And he can turn himself into a president there. A general manager.

He's got that status that he's going to retire there. It's over to go think you're going to go somewhere else so you can go get $8 million. You're right. So maybe he does, I don't know, three times 5.5, three times five, something like that. Yeah, whatever. Yeah.

Just make it work. And that way you don't have to chase Kucherov out, Hedman out, Hagel out, Nicholas Paul out. Keep your guys together. Yeah. It's really funny and borderline unfair when they go to the players and say, you know, we spent all this money on guys

and there's nothing left for you. But, you know, if you want to leave, you can leave. I mean, he's made 100 mil in his career. Yeah, he's fine. Easier to make that decision. Would you, like, to me, it's impossible to picture him, like, where would he go? I don't, like, I'm trying to think of the team

that he would go to that it would make sense. It's different to me in that the desire to chase a cup is different because he's got a couple now. Yeah. You know? Yes. So there's much less of a, like, obsession to, like, I need to go find one.

He wasn't obsessed to come back home to Toronto where he grew up. Yeah. The Leafs would probably have to give him eight mil or something to make, you know, to justify. Maybe he can be a new Thornton or Wayne Simmons, 750. Come here for 750?

Yeah, come on. Mark Giordano. Retirement? Yeah. He's not retiring in Torontoonto no he doesn't i don't think he really likes wayne simmons is retiring a philadelphia flyer wayne simmons who we're going to try to talk to so he will end his 15-year career

by signing a one-day contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, which he's best remembered for, right? His 30-plus goal seasons, one of the better power forwards in the game as a Philadelphia Flyer. Multiple. Sorry, Kip. It was the real deal. Multiple 60-point seasons. There's a run of years in here where he scores 29, 28, 32, 31,

and that's flanked by 24 on the other side. He had a lot of goals in Philly is the point. Not to mention 106 pims, 147, 122. That's a career for this guy. Huge, huge Wayne Simmons fans. He played for the attack, loved him all the way through. He played for the attack loved him all the way through age for the attack he did should have known he's a beast i loved him from day one i wish he was a leaf earlier because it just when he got here there was a moment at the start where it was

really good and he broke his hand like he was playing with math he was on the top power play unit it was during that weird bubble year or whatever i remember them specifically wearing those good start when he came those gray jerseys that they had, those weird leafs, and they got a broken hand. He did give them a little of that Luke Shen standing at the bench. Yeah, he caught a couple guys. Yeah. He went at it, I think, with Maroon there a couple times.

And that sometimes it's all you need is just that visual of standing up to somebody that can give you some juice. I remember years of watching Wayne Simmons in the NHL and being like this guy, you know, one of the league's heavies who has these great hands. And then I remember finding out he's 180 pounds soaking wet. It's just like, oh my God, like he's standing, like Maroon's 240. And Simmons fighting a guy like that, giving up 60 pounds.

It's wiry. Yeah. Scrappy as hell. I saw him play in a ball hockey tournament or in short runs. His legs are as skinny as mine. Yeah. Like he's got chicken legs. They're just like, and he played so hard in the NHL.

Played like, fought. And he led the league in fights where I was like, oh god, are you sure, Wayne? And then him winning. He's just heart of a lion type of guy. Scarborough represent. Love him. Good career. One of my all-time favorite players. You want to reiterate what you said before we went to break on Arizona again?

Because we just, I'm not sure if we covered it sufficiently. What did I say? Alright. They might move. They might move. They might not. Breaking news. What are we waiting for? Arizona.

If they can secure land. Yeah. Arizona has approved the sale of land where they want it for $68 million. It's been appraised at, but it's going to go to auction. It has to be advertised that there's going to be an auction for 10 weeks to try to attract as many bidders as possible. The Coyotes want that land, and they're going to bid on that land, and if they win that land, they might be able to keep the Coyotes and build a rink there

and do the whole thing. But if they don't, then they're going to move to Salt Lake City. I just cut out all the, like, where Elliot says, like, well, here's the maybes, and I wonder if this is, they're going to move to Salt Lake City if they don't win that auction. How about we just skip the auction? Sure. Screw the auction. I don't need any auction.

There are groups that want to keep it in Arizona. So, ownership, just sell it and keep it in Arizona. Yes. And so, to your point from previous conversations, play where the suns play until you can build a rink. Yeah.

Okay. It's that simple. Is it that simple? I don't know. He's got to sell the team, though. But it doesn't sound like they want to sell the team. It doesn't sound like he wants to sell. What a disaster.

If I got to hear about one more bid or counsel me, just move him somewhere. We've been talking about bye felicia arizona state politics for years remember that like whole where they had that woman who came in and was like you can't take away our team she was like crushing the judge okay it was like oh what are we doing here you know freed says i've been told multiple times this week do not underestimate arizona's ownership's willingness to do this and to prove that it can do this at what point does the league say we don't care if you can we don't want you to it's not that it can't work you can't work

22 years 25 years 30 years ultimately i don't know this comes down to Gary admitting he was wrong about a market. See, I disagree with you. What? No, I think there's a market there. Yeah, but... There is a market there. This is your weirdest take. It's just never had great ownership.

Have you been listening to him? It's never had great ownership. It's a sports market. Okay. I feel like it is... It's a sports market. Okay. I feel like it is... It's a golf market. They like golf there. So what? They like gambling in Vegas.

You're the same guy that said it would never work in Vegas. Who did? Who said that? I remember you saying that. Yeah, I go there to gamble. I don't go there to watch hockey. The locals do. It's like top five. What's that? Vegas? Yeah, I go there to gamble. I don't go there to watch hockey. Yeah. The locals do. Apparently. It's like top five.

What's that, Vegas? Yes. Yeah. No, I can see the argument that there is a market there. It has never been in the right place. Yeah, a lot of mistakes have been made. It's a destination to go to resorts. You can go golf.

You can go to the spa, and you can go to hockey. No different than you can go to MGM and gamble and catch a show and go to a hockey game. It just hasn't been that and doesn't have a future of being that for four years. So it's really tough as a hockey fan to care about municipal politics in Tempe or Chandler or wherever in Arizona they want to be anymore. We just want them to do hockey. And if not, go somewhere where they do hockey. Ryan Johnson, here's your team. Yeah, I mean, what would you put the chances

at the Coyotes starting next season in Arizona? 48%. Kipper? Yeah. That low? No, no. For you? 50-50.

Yeah? Yeah. I think there's a chance they stay, but not in that building. You heard it here first. They're gone. They're gone? They're gone. Sam McKee calls the election.

Yeah. They're going to do, what are they doing? They're bidding or going to an auction or going to council. They're going to lose. They're done. Who could they be bidding? How many people are bidding for $70 million pieces of land? They should put it in that place.

Another golf course because that's what people care about. Screw a rink. Put a golf course in Arizona. Not the Coyotes. Sorry to their 10 fans who probably listen. God, I'm sick of this. They're coming for you. That's fine. You messed up. Lingren hurt again.

This guy with the New York Rangers, I love him. He plays hard. But he gets pasted every other night. He is hurt all the time, it seems. Now with a leg injury. He gets smoked a lot. Yeah, the other day we were talking about players who get hit most in the league. I actually got a text from

valley about this who is listening and hits taken he was i'll see if i can pull it up quick yeah he's a top 15 guy he gets hit a lot you know that's just one of those oh actually it's 113 hits he's taken this season it's actually 30th so were you guys with uh alexei lafreniere i want you see his goal i didn't see his goal but i do want him on my team i really like like he's he's i mean he's 25 goal scorer now i want him on my team but can he before i don't know if he'll hit superstar status but he's a very skilled guy, and you're starting to really see it. He's competitive, and he's going to score you 25 or 30.

He's a legit guy now. He's all the way there for me. Patience pays off, because I think there was a moment there where they're ready to, I don't know, I remember them be him being in trade rumors big time. Going into this season, talking to a guy like Valley, it was like, I don't know. I don't know, but he seems to have found it, so.

Can't go the same thing. Just starting to come around a little bit. Comes off the wall, fires one in the net, and you're like. It's crazy. They thought he was going to be almost, like, dogger-like. I know. When they drafted him. Dogger.

Well, just big body, protect the puck. Yager's Yager. One of the best in the history of the game, but he could be that type of big-bodied guy. The Rangers have a chance at the President's Trophy. They're one of the frontrunners here, which is weird because don't talk about them like that. We don't.

Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending fromending from here on end boys just like the Leafs of Samsonov and Wall equally good same guy same guy all right just like that two hours gone a thanks to Sean Reynolds who's basking in the sun put that SPF on and we're back tomorrow thanks for joining us on Real Kipper and Born