Real Kyper & Bourne - First-Round Postseason Picks with Doug MacLean

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne start the second hour by welcoming Doug MacLean in for Off-the-Rails Friday! Mac goes through every series to make picks and discuss the biggest storyline for each. Then, he shares his thoughts on the Coyotes' move to Salt Lake City. Later, they regroup with Sam McKee to make their own picks for the first round, conference finals and Conn Smythe before going through some of the exit interviews from eliminated teams. Finally, they answer your questions on the text line!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.

on the eve of the stanley cup playoffs we welcome you into the real kipper and born show we are live on sportsnet sports at 650 in vanc Vancouver and Sportsnet 960 in Calgary. This hour, real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by Bet365, Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, and a very excited Sammy McKee. Well, we're talking about other teams now. He'll be okay. He'll be calm. Yeah.

And rational. He's rational about the NHL. The only question I ask is how rational our next guest will be. He hasn't been on this show since, I think, February. He's rational about the NHL. The only question I ask is how rational our next guest will be. He hasn't been on this show since, I think, February. He'll be calm. Someone suggested maybe he was on strike, looking for more money out of the real Kipper and Bourne show.

Let's welcome in former president, GM, star analyst at Sportsnet, author, Doug McClain. Are you looking for more money out of the Real Kipper and Bourne show? I'm not looking for more. I'm just looking for some. What have you been up to these days? Like, where have you been? Well, you know, I've been involved in a lot of member guest tournaments and golf tournaments.

And, you know, just trying to, you know, we're here. We're only in Florida another month, so I'm just trying to wrap up. I've got to get in some beach time and pickleball time and golf time. It has been hectic. It has been hectic. You know, I've been approached about writing another book. I'm sitting tight on that right now.

I'm telling you right now, we can't take it if you write another book. Neither can I. Are you aware that the Stanley Cup playoffs are starting tomorrow? Wow. I'm so excited. I am so excited about the playoffs coming. I'm so excited about the playoffs coming.

I'm so sick of the regular season. I can't wait for the playoffs to get started. I can't wait to see your leaps. How they look for Chesky, by the way, what's Wendell Clark talking about for Chesky for he, you know, you know,

the assistant, you know, the assistant GM was in Detroit when he scored that fluky tip-in goal? Seriously. That one stung, didn't it? Oh, I looked at Brian Murray. I said, I think we're in trouble. You guys got fired after that, didn't you?

It hurt. Well, shortly after. Okay, so where do you want to start? Let's start in Vancouver. Let's start with the season that we saw out of a team that we did not expect. And is there pressure right now to make short order out of the Nashville Predators? Yeah, I think there is. And I'm not sure that that's accurate.

I mean, as good as we know Pedersen is, although since his contract, he's stumbled. Miller, we know he's had a great season. Besser, Hughes has been a horse. Demko has been terrific. You know, Tauket has taken them to a little different level. He's toughened them up. But, hey, Nashville will not be easy, guys.

I mean, we talk Hughes. We got to talk Yossi and McDonough as well. And we got Saros and Demko. I mean, look, I think it turns out to be a little better matchup than a lot of people think. I think a veteran team, I think O'Reilly going head-to-head with Patterson will be a challenge. I mean, that Forsberg, that line is a good line.

I think it's going to be a tough series i really do i mean i'm picking vancouver to win but i think it's going to be a really hard fought battle you know it had been a while for them since getting in the playoff so um certainly like as minimal pressure on the canucks uh it would be interesting let's say they do get by doug and they get to the edmonton oil. What are your thoughts on Edmonton heading into this post season here? Like LA is a pretty good draw for them. McDavid is, you know,

ready to, to win his first Stanley cup. Are they Canada's best hope? I like the Oilers. You know, as I said on this show, when they started, Oh,

and 15 relax, they're going to make the playoffs. I think we have tape of that. Can you run it? Maybe. I mean, I said they would get in. You guys were all panicking. You had it it all it was like a nightmare on elm street

but anyway uh look i like i like a lot of things about edmonton but they're a little bit like the leafs their big boys have got to get it done and win and win and and i think you know the way mcdavid has played he's the complete guy right now. Dry sidle. Hyman has been a nice addition. Their defense has improved since cough has gone in there. Knobloch has helped Skinner to me is the big question mark. I mean, look, I, I don't like LA. I mean, I don't like LA's goaltending to say the least. I mean, you know, I love Cam love cam talbot year you know a few years

ago but i i don't think they're good enough and i the one three one like if knob blog can't break down a one three one in seven games you know then all bets are off i i think edmonton win the series uh fairly easily i know denno is a great checker. I know what's his name? The big guy they took fifth in the draft when I took Brule. What was his name? Kopitar. You were trying really hard to forget that

name. I know that. So look, I think Edmonton wins and I think they win. I've got to believe it'll be five games, but I don't like picking games. I hate picking playoffs. As you know, when I was at Sportsnet, I probably ran 80% with my picks, but now that I'm away from it, I'm looking more at a 50-50 split. Not that I'm going to make a big deal out of it,

but you left a lot of your horses out in the last regular season game against Colorado, but you left Skinner in the net um yeah right not a not a not a bright move i didn't really like it i couldn't figure it out for the life of me but uh you know what skinner is showing he's a tough kid he's shown me that since he came in in a really difficult challenging situation for two years now and the kid actually played very well this year. And, you know, you would hope he's playoff ready. That's still a question mark. You know, their depth scoring is still a question mark for me

if it's a really dogfight and if they can contain the big boys up front, which I don't think L.A. can. But they still have a challenge with depth scoring for me. I know Hendrick has helped, but I still don't know if they have enough in that third and fourth line to really, as they progress through the playoffs. But I've got the meat in L.A. Well, let's just keep going on through these Canadian teams and keep, I know you're not a huge Picks fan, but the Winnipeg Jets get the Colorado Avalanche.

Advantage in net other than that not sure how you feel about things uh the jets gonna get past colorado well you know what i i this is uh i was on a show on pei this morning and i i picked the jets to win this series and i and i'm really nervous saying that and i you know i i you Chris McFarlane worked for me for 11 years I think the world of them I I'm nervous about the way they're playing I do not like their goaltending but when you have the best centerman or one of the best centerman in hockey and you've got you know one of the best defensemen in the world uh you should win but typically going with that best centerman and best defenseman is a really top goaltender.

And this guy has not been very good. I've never been a huge fan of his, hot and cold, even with the Rangers. I don't get it. Middle stat, to me, was not a good pickup. Maybe he'll shock me. Maybe he'll do something, but I didn't like that deal. You know what? The Jets, you know what? They're really well-balanced. Hellebuck has been a force for them, but he hasn't had a lot of playoff success. We know that. But he's been MVP all year. Lowry is a horse. I love the kid. I love the way he plays. To me, he's a selkie contender. If he's not now, he should be eventually eventually i love the way what he brings to the game

rick has done a good job they've got good depth throughout the lineup they've got good speed i think winnipeg is going to be a tough out boys and i i hate i know people will think i'm nuts but i'm picking winnipeg to win this series i think a lot of people are. And maybe it is the stretch that we saw out of Colorado. And to your point, like that middle stat is not Naz Kadri. And at that point, how much weight is on McKinnon to go do McKinnon things every shift? Yeah. And look, we love Rantan. And Landis Skog is a major hole there.

You know, they tried to improve their blue line, you know, with the Philly deal. But giving up Byron, I'm confused by that one. But anyway, look, I think Winnipeg, you know, I would like to see them. I'd like to see them win. To me, Kevin Sheveldayoff is one of the most underrated GMs in the NHL. Besides that, he's a very good guy. He's a true hockey guy.

And I love what he's endured there, and I love what he pulled off in making some really bold moves. So I'd like to see Chevy win. We're joined with Doug McLean, former NHL president, head coach, author, who also has made breaking news here. He will not write a second book, we hope. No, no, no, no. This is how you negotiate.

What? No, no, no. I didn't say I wouldn't. I said I'm considering it. I've got offers. Okay. When you I wouldn't. I said, I am, you know, I'm, I'm considering it. I've got offers, you know, when you have offers, you've got to consider things, especially when you're on fixed income and you know, you just have to be prepared, you know?

All right. Who's prepared to be knocked out of the first round, Dallas or Vegas? Well, I mean, Dallas have got to win this. You know, look, Vegas defending Stanley Cup champs. It's been a tough year. It's been a really tough year injury wise. We remember that blue line and how good they were and how big they were and how tough they were to play against last year. That big blue line has been banged up a lot this year.

But, you know they'll be relatively healthy hurdle will be an interesting addition but i i just don't see it i mean aiden hill and thompson have not been very good they've been i mean we talked about it on this show numerous times guys they've they've not been good so can they turn it around and and get it going i i think dallas are too deep i think they've got some great veterans what do they have eight eight eight ten guys with over 20 goals they've got a quick blue line and the goaltender is is a really solid goaltender so i i dallas cannot lose this series they cannot lose this series because if they do they're going to be like a

few other teams they're going to have to make some changes and some big changes because this is a team that should be right there to contend for the stanley cop is is the fact that they're banged up enough to alleviate the pressure of of not winning in vegas, come on, you traded for Noah Hannafin. You traded for the big guy Hurdle. So where is that pressure on Vegas? Well, there's lots of pressure. We know this owner. Well, we don't know him.

We wish we did, but we don't know him. And we know what he demands. He demands wins. And, you know, they have been, without a doubt, the most successful franchise during their short time in the National Hockey League. It's been a model franchise. Now, you know, people accuse them of certain things,

but they've GMed within the bylaws and within the CBA. So you can't blame them for that. The question is, I just don't think they're going to be playoff ready because of what went on all year. Can Stone come back and do what he did? Can Martinez come back? I mean, I don't even know. I mean, I just think it's taken its toll.

Marcia's show, where's his head when he's reading after 40 goals that they may not be able to sign him because of cap issues next year? So where is it all mentally here? I know Cassidy's done a good job still, but they're a wild card, aren't they? So I don't see it. I see Winnipeg. I mean, I see Dallas beating them. All right, so we've got you down for four predictions in the West.

Before we go to the East, I really would love to hear your thoughts. Do we have to go to the East? No, we don't. We really don't have to. We don't have to. You guys have dissected the Leafs. I mean, I know you've picked the Leafs. I know, you know, I just.

Anyway. Doug, I want your opinion on something off in the West. Yeah, I want to know about Salt Lake City and Utah and Arizona leaving. And what have you been thinking watching Alex Marullo, Gary Bettman, and the whole situation? We haven't had yet. What was that movie where they had all the crazy people in the frat house? What was that? What was the name the crazy people in the frat house? What was that?

What was the name of that? Animal House? Yeah. What have I been watching here? I mean, I'm really disappointed for the Arizona fans. I really am disappointed for them. But come on. It's been a disaster for how long?

And they're playing in a 4,500-seat arena. I actually saw pictures of the trailer where the Leafs were sitting. Who was it that I watched their game the other night, and they were sitting in the trailer in their dressing room? And I guess it was Edmonton. And I'm thinking, whoa, like, please, let's end this fiasco in this building. And the only way they could pull it off was to tell them,

well, we're going to let you back in the league in five years. Well, come on. I mean, enough already. Enough already. And it's not the Arizona fans. It's not the Arizona media. It's the ownership challenges

that have been there for eternity. The ownership has been a disaster. And in fairness to the owners, they have not made money one year since they left Winnipeg. Not one year did they turn a profit as a franchise. So it's time for it to end. And I think Salt Lake City, I happen to love, we go to Park City to ski a lot. I love Salt Lake City. I love Salt Lake City. I think it's going to be a great market. I really do. Now, the St. Louis Blues, this really ticks me off. This is the only thing that really ticks me off about Salt Lake City. When I went to St. Louis Blues training camp,

their number one firm team was in Salt Lake City. And their number two team was in johnstown johnstown jets and guess where i got set i'm with the hansen brothers in salt lake city they're in johnstown johnstown so anyway you're making an important retirement i can tell you that i think it's time you know okay anyway so let's let's start with the state of Florida, a place that you know very well. And what is going to happen out of a Tampa Bay Lightning and a Florida Panther series here? Like, who's the last man standing in this one?

Well, look, I'm very jaded in this prediction, and I'll tell you why. Paul Maurice needs one win to break my record for most playoff wins in Panther history. One win is what he needs. Is there any way they can go out and force him to maintain it for another year? It always comes back to you, doesn't it? Anyway, look, this is going to be a great series.

You know what? I say Florida's going to win the series, and then I watched the Tampa Bay play the other night, and I'm telling you, there's fire in that group right now. And, you know, I think it's going to be a great series. I think Florida wins it, but it wouldn't surprise me Tampa Bay wins it. It would not surprise me. I'll just lump in.

Go ahead. I just want to ask you about Kucherov. My record? About my record? Oh, I thought you wanted to talk about my record. I want to talk about someone else besides you right now. Kucherov here. And I remember you talking about, you know, coaching in an all-star game with the likes of Mario and Ray Bork

and the greatest players in our history. And where, yeah, of course, where would Kucherov been, you know, in that era in terms of like, I'm watching a Mac. And I said the other day, I think this guy's the best half wall guy I've ever seen in the history of the game. Am I that far off on that? No, I think he's, he's spectacular. And he's been almost that since day one. And I, I, he loved,

it looks like he loves to play the game. And my understanding is he, like, this is a guy that's, you know, you talk about Sid Crosby firing pucks against the wash machine in Coal Harbor this guy is obsessed with with being really good his on ice vision you suck half wall I talk everywhere he finds people in the slot he's got the vision and the hockey sense that is as good or better than anybody in the league. He's a good-sized guy. Traffic doesn't bother him. He goes to tough spots.

I mean, to watch him find Point, Headman, and Stamkos on the power play is a treat to watch. So, look, and he's on a mission right now. And I would be a little nervous if I'm the Panthers. And, look, there's going to be a lot of pressure cross state rival panthers have been do have had an exceptional season they got a good team can they get to bobroski is vasilyev gonna outplay uh bobroski there's some great matchups headman i mean i'll tell you a guy that really has taken me by surprise as porzlin this year the defenseman he's made Ekblad into a defenseman it's hard to believe Ekblad number one overall and this Forslund guy has made him into a good defenseman you believe that shocked so yeah yeah I didn't know you were

that hard on Ekblad geez wow no I like Ekblad. I like Ekblad, but this guy as a partner has taken Ekblad's game to another level. It really has. I won't even ask the specifics of the other series. Just can the Capitals or the Islanders... Just one question.

Who's the better coach? Cooper? Maurice? Soundbite? Quotes? Maurice wins the sound bites. No, they're both really good. They're one-two, Mac. They're right there. I love the sound bites.

You'd love to see Mo get a chance to advance. He goes to the finals last year. You'd like to see it. I don't need Cooper to win another cup, but look, it's going to be a hell of a series, boys. It really is. All right, so then looking at any potential upsets, could the Capitals or the Islanders

take down the Rangers or the Hurricanes? I lumped them in because I'm expecting a quick no here. Yeah, the Rangers will roll, I think. I think they're fine in that first series. I'll tell you what, Carolina concerned me a little bit. It's like rec league hockey there. We've got to play everybody. Everybody plays all four lines.

We don't like to shorten the bench. We like to play everybody. Everybody plays all four lines. We don't like to shorten the bench. We like to keep every, you know, and their goaltending, if they ever have to go to Anderson or Rantanen, I mean, I'll shut the TV off if they have to go there. So, look, they need goaltending like they haven't had in a long time, and they need the kid, the Russian kid, to get it done for them. I love Carolina. I love Brindamore.

But, you know, you've got to go into this playoff like you're a contender. You're a contender in this playoff. And there's no excuses for Carolina for me. None. All right. We've got to ask you about Toronto and Boston. Be very careful because we've got a very sensitive Sammy McKee here who's really had a hard week.

Oh my God. Listening to Wendell and you and Borny. I mean, he's on a high. McKee's gone out to celebrate. Where's the Ritz right now? Did he bolt and head to the Ritz to celebrate? So, I look, I'm

I know you're going to find it. Look, you love the, I love the setup of the, of the Leafs forward group. Finally, I've been talking about this for five years. I didn't like their bottom six. And I finally liked the setup where they've got, you know, Domi and, you know, with the big guy in Bertuzzi and you move Marner and you move Nylander and you've got Bobby McMahon comes in with some grit. You've got some guys that look like they will play hard.

So I, to me, this is not the same Boston team guys that have beaten them over the last few years. Coyle is their number one centerman. They're missing Bergeron. I mean, they're missing Krejci. They're missing, who was the big guy that was number one overall? Hall. I mean, they're missing some good players, guys.

This is not the same team. So, to me, I like their blue line better, although it's not deep. I like their goaltending better, although they dropped the ball last year. So to me, the Leafs have a great chance to win this series. A great chance. And I think Wendell Clark hit the nail on the head. If guys will play hard at both ends of the rink and forgive the cuteness and play hard,

I think Wendell hit it on the head. I think they've got a chance to win this series i really do so what does viewing look like for doug mcclain to win this year oh wow i'm stunned i'm picking the leaves what does viewing look like for you you just you're gonna hold up to on saturday you're gonna watch all the games or you got stuff going on doug what's the viewing plan you know i've been shut down uh with golf i've been shut down i've had a i had surgery this week so i can't play for two weeks oh really ticks me off and uh so you know what i'm i'm gonna watch games not i'm not i don't have the six screens in my in my basement like kiprios

and you guys have you know i've got my little tv there and i'll just you know watch as much as i can i'll sip some wine. I'm not going to get uptight about it. I'm just going to relax and try to enjoy the game, you know. Awesome. Because to me, to me, the first round of the playoffs is what it's all about. To me, it's the best hockey we see all year.

We see huge upsets. We see teams playing their tails off. We see underdogs we see eight seeds go in and have a chance to win the cup i just love it i love it hey before i let you go have we have you talked to our good buddy jeff rimmer lately i think he's mad at us and it's your fault you've you've shared maybe it was one too many personal stories about his toupee i don't know i i i haven't talked to, but I've certainly read a lot about him, and I've seen a lot of interviews by him, but I haven't talked to him.

You know what? Here's the problem for me. You know I love Jeff Rimmer. Yes, we do. But here's my big worry. I live in Delray Beach. He tells people he lives in Delray, but he really lives in Boynton Beach, which is the next area over, a different area called.

And it's like saying you live in Rosedale or King City. So here's my concern. If I buddy up to him now that he's retired, it's like he wanted to go to the beach last summer. So he says, you know, can I park my car at your place and you give me a key to get over to the beach? And I said, yeah, we can do that. It's no problem. We'll give you a key and you can park your car and walk over across to the beach.

You can use our cabana if you want. And then he says, well, can we shower after? I said, like, seriously. So that's the problem. I'm nervous about if I buddy up too much that he's here all the time, it's going to cost me. And I'm just not prepared to do that. I hope it costs you a ton. All right.

I'm happy for him that he's got a bigger farewell than Danny Galvin and Foster Hewitt combined. And I'm proud of him. Next, he'll be going in the Hall of Fame, I'm sure. We can't say we're as proud of you as you are of him. But thanks for joining with

us and teeing up the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Okay, here's the bottom line. Sammy McKee, get rid of this tape because I will never admit to a few of those picks. Burn it. Burned. Burned the moment you leave.

Thanks for joining us, Mac. Hey, guys, thanks a million for having me on. No, no, you're not done. It's a great way to end my Friday. Am I under contract for the playoffs or is this it? Yeah, you know what? We can't find anyone else on a Friday. You I under contract for the playoffs or is this it? You know what? We can't find anyone else on a Friday. You're it.

Thanks for doing this. All right. Thanks, Mac. You just had to bring up Rimmer. Poor Rimmer. Just give me a short answer. Why can't you just give me a short answer? Something quick and witty and then we move on. Why does he have to go into this big...

It's not how he rolls, pal. I'm going full Cooper here. Listen. The thoughts of Doug McClain on Jeff Rimmer do not reflect Sam McKee on The Real Kipper and Bourne Show. I love Jeff Rimmer

and so does he, but I'm not making fun of him. We do. Listen. We couldn't get Rimmer. Let's just say that. We do. Too much was said.

He's a big national star now. No comment. No comment. All right, boys. So we're going to do game time here. But it's Friday. It's playoff time. Oh.

Texts. We're taking texts? Texts. We have lots of other stuff. I know. But we want to mix in some texts. So if you're listening from one of our Canadian markets and you're excited about the U.S. Well, I mean, we're not on TV.

Oh, there's many ways people can find us. Are we on live in America? That would be news to me. Let's pretend we are. Okay. Well, text is $5.95. I'll read some of them after the break. I just want to get them all in here so I can get them organized because, you know, I don't like to be disorganized here.

So text 59590, your thoughts, takes, questions about the playoffs coming up or something else. And that's that. There you go. And you want to do some game time? Let's do it. As I get my sheets here, it's game time. Presented by Bet365.

Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19+. Ontario only. odds and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19+. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. I stole my coffee. Odds on that were minus 150. Oh, no. Look, you got your jacket wet and it shrunk.

Oh, my God. This is a disaster, boys. Disaster. Do you want to go to break or do you want to plow through? We'll do. It's not that bad. We are so unprofessional right now. All right.

So what do you guys want to look at for the future for the series? Series odds? See if any of them have changed at all. I don't know. I'm just pulling them up here. Here's a good one for you guys. The most goals in series. Yes yes you can bet on guys who are going to score the most in certain playoff series if we start let's start with the boston

bruins the toronto maples who do you think the favorite is in that series to score the most goals easy austin followed by pasternak correct so both of those guys uh austin matthews plus 175 david pasternak is plus 200. And the third favorite is William Nylander at plus 850. Could do worse. He should be well-rested. He took the month off. Hey.

Hey, y'all. But I mean, in fairness, he did. So, I mean, plus you could do worse than that bet. He's been a playoff performer for the Leafs. And, you know, he's going Getting a third-line matchup. Maybe not the worst thing to look at. Going down the list here, let's go to one of our other Canadian matchups. The Colorado Avalanche versus the Winnipeg Jets. The favorite, obviously, in that series to score the most goals.

Mack. Nathan McKinnon at plus 200. Mikko Rantanen, second favorite, plus 400. And the third favorite is Kyle Connor atnor plus 550 which to me is pretty interesting he's a big time goal threat for them gabe flirty 12 to 1 my shifley 14 to 1 and the last one i'll bring up is the vancouver canucks and the favorite in that one to score the most goals is not a vancouver canuck it's not miller so it's philip forsberg. Plus 275. JT Miller comes in second at plus 550. Brock Besser plus 650.

Elias Pedersen plus 750. Yep. Pedersen's below Brock Besser. Yeah. Yeah. He scored less than him this year, not by a ton, but had less goals.

Wow. And if this one's interesting to me too, whoop, I lost it there for a second. The most road wins in a series. If you think that the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win in seven games, they're a good road team. Yeah.

Yeah. See, they're not giving you much value here. I'm looking at this. If you want to say that they're going to win over, you know, two and a half road games, it's minus 135.

So they think that. Wow. Yeah. So they think that they're going to win on the road. So there you go. Women's also starting on the road. More games there. There you go. There's a couple quick ones for you. That was Game Time presented by Bet365.

Visit the app for latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. I have to clean up some coffee. We got a coffee smell on aisle five. We'll take a break here. Get yourself cleaned up, Sammy. And when we return, we'll get into our news and notes.

We'll get into our texts. And we'll get predictions. I want a Conn Smythe winner out of you guys after the break. And of course, crowning a Stanley Cup champion. That and more on the eve of the Stanleyley cup playoffs when real kipper and born return teeing up the biggest games of the night it's the fan pre-game with alish forfar and justin cuthbert weekdays at 6 p.m on sportsnet sportsnet 590 the fan and wherever you get your podcasts. On the eve of the Stanley Cup playoffs,

Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, God bless you. Thank you. I've yet to sneeze on air in over 25 years. Quite a record. I had someone tell me if you're close to sneezing and you feel like you're going to look at light or something, it'll make you sneeze. If I sneeze, I could knock that jersey off.

Are you a dad like hell sneezer? Yeah, I could scare you. I do my best to tidy it up on camera. Do you? Yeah. That's not bad. Did you hit the sneeze button or is that a cough button? I just forget to turn my mic on half the time.

Yeah, that's right. Okay, so want to do a quick rundown again? Of the series? Yeah. Let's just try to do it quickly and just give our picks. Okay. So first round, you got Dallas advancing. I have Dallas.

All right. You? Yes, I got Dallas. You got Vegas? Sammy's into the Vegas pick. All right. You? Yes, I got Dallas. Okay. You got Vegas? Sammy's into the Vegas pick. Are you all right? No. You fried it with coffee.

Is it? Oh, there it is. I actually did think for a second. So you think Dallas is going down? I think Vegas is going to beat them. Okay. All right. We've got Winnipeg over Colorado.

I have Winnipeg as well. Yes. Colorado for Sammy. No, no, no. I will go Winnipeg as well. Yes. Colorado for Sammy. No, no, no. I will go Winnipeg. I'll go Winnipeg. Don't know how many games. Yeah, I'm going to go Winnipeg.

That'll be a war. I'm surprised we're all doing Winnipeg. Edmonton? Edmonton. Edmonton, five. I would like to get sexy and say the Kings, but they're just goaltending versus McDavid. I had this.

No, no. I've got one upset. I got Nashville over Vancouver. Oh, my God, Kip. It's just a hunch. Oh, my God. That sound is the seawall crumbling. There just has to be an upset.

Somebody's got to go down in the first round. In 2019, I think that was the year the Blues won, all the wildcard teams, all of them won their series. Like the NHL is weird. Some, there's one every single year. It's a reasonable pick, but I just think Demko and the elite talent in Vancouver, too good. You mentioned it. We've got the Rangers.

Nobody thinks Washington can upset the Rangers. Nobody really feels like the Islanders can upset Carolina. Nope. And Boston and Toronto's a pick-em. We did. We both did Toronto. Sammy took Boston, which really happened in the first hour. And Tampa and Florida's kind of a pick-em, too.

You know, everyone's doing the Tampa's a sexy upset, whatever. I got Florida. Okay. You saying pick, though? I need a pick for Tampa, Florida. I've got Florida. You do. I'm not bailing on Florida. I'll take Tampa. Okay. I'll take Tampa pick, though? I need a pick for Tampa, Florida. I've got Florida. You do? I'm not bailing on Florida.

I'll take Tampa. Okay. I'll take Tampa. I'll be sexy. I'll take the sexy matchup. All right, then. There you have it. Do you want to do a conference final,

or do you want to go straight to a Stanley Cup final? Conference finals, good. Stanley Cup final. Give me your Stanley Cup final. Conference final. Give me a chance to. Okay, go ahead. No, I can't take the Leafs.

You already picked them to lose? Dallas Edmonton in the West. Give me your Stanley Cup final. Oh, conference final. Give me a chance to. Okay, go ahead. No, I can't take the Leafs because I had to box. You already picked them to lose? Dallas Edmonton in the West. Dallas Edmonton in the West for you. Give me Winnipeg Edmonton. Wow. Whoa, Mr. Johnny Canuck. Oh, my.

Did you hear that? That's everybody celebrating in the Rogers building. I'm going to go ahead and reveal my all-star picks for goaltender on my ballot. Okay, I'm just going to tell you. Two of those guys. Hellebuck and what's his name? Demko. They're on there.

I like the goalies is my point. No, no. So who did you say in the conference final? I said Edmonton-Winnipeg, and then I messed up by saying the wrong goalies. So do you want Winnipeg? No, I want Winnipeg-Edmonton. Sticking with Winnipeg-Edmonton. Winnipeg- edmonton winnipeg and then i messed up by saying the wrong goalies so do you want winnipeg no i i want winnipeg edmonton sticking with winnipeg edmonton winnipeg or the goalies thing i just said okay so poor execution okay all right fair enough vegas edmonton

for the conference final for me oh i love that one and in the east in the east florida carolina yeah okay i'll go with that one tampa new york wow okay In the East, Florida, Carolina. Yeah, okay. I'll go with that one. Tampa, New York. Wow, okay. Stanley Cup final. Carolina, Edmonton. New York, Vegas.

Oh, that's a fun one. Dallas, Florida. These are fun. Dallas, Florida. The sound of the... You just heard was Rogers not recording. Whatever the opposite of... No, no one's checking that one in. Well, I don't think it's any sexier

than I think the Stanley Cup champion is going to be the Carolina Hurricanes. Wow. New York Rangers. Dallas Stars. Give me... Sticking with your preseason pick. I'm going to stick with Dallas.

I have no idea. I just... I came up with that'm going to stick with Dallas. I have no idea. I came up with that off the top of my head. I have no clue. Zero research. Listen to our show. They got the best goalie probably. I just said Demko starting for Edmonton. We got work to do here.

It's a clueless show. Yeah. Con Smythe winner. Just lurking. If you think about who has to play well, and you win the Stanley Cup, and you know how many stars, Freddie Anderson? Freddie Anderson.

Wow! Oh! You have to go Freddie. You do. Why are you doing this to me? Svechnikov is kind of your only other pick. Slavin? We'll lose Sammy forever if Freddie Anderson is the Con Smythe winner.

We'll lose him. We will not be back in the fall. I mean, that's a different time from now, but maybe taking a few days off. Just importing crates of cigarettes. Oh, God. Okay. I'm going with Rupe Hintz.

Rupe Hintz. If you're picking Dallas, it's a great pick. I have on myself ottinger would be the one yeah i do love rupee hints though every time i watch the stars he is he is a mule he's actually the most underrated guy in the league when people like great vote he's what you know everyone's like it's barkov and everybody has a million conversations about how great he is all the time to me it's Rupe Hans is actually the most underrated. Yeah, like I said, he's a monster. He's on my selkie ballot. He's fast. He scores. He's just in

Dallas. Yeah. North-south guy. Alright, anything around the league interests you? Lots of things around the league interest me. I should have gone to Edmonton in the final. Should I? Yeah. Edmonton Rangers would be good in the final. That'd be fun. That would be fun. Anyways.

Islanders fans nightmare. You want to do Pat Kane? You want to do the Ottawa Senators? What's the latest on Pat Kane? Now the sense is Detroit doesn't want to make a commitment to him. Sounds like he was talking in past tense about his time in Detroit. Sounds like Iserman didn't want to do a longer term deal. Seems like that may be the end for him in Detroit,

which I didn't see coming. Yeah, listen. Which makes me think Buffalo's in another option. I'm not thrilled to see him bounce around from team to team. No. I don't like that. Oh, it's the saddest part of any Hall of Famer's career, where you're like, oh, yeah, you know, who's...

15 years from now, it's like, was he a Detroit Red Wing? Right. Do you remember him in that uniform brett hall wearing a coyotes jersey but yeah i see rick talkett in like a boston bruin jersey and i'm like when did that happen right yeah there's all these like tail end of the career weird yeah that's a great like you know summer topic which guy looked the weirdest in their jersey like emmett smith on the arizona cardinals or yeah like i gotta bobby or in a blackhawks jersey i gotta look twice at gretzky in a st louis blue uniform and i played against them in the playoffs and those are the

worst st louis blues jerseys they've had like they had some really good ones but those ones were not great yeah pat kane probably going somewhere else speaking of probably going somewhere else um check right probably going somewhere else, Chikrin. Yeah, Steve Stales addressed the media today as the general manager and was asked about Chikrin's future and he avoided it like the plague. He didn't say, yeah, he's under contract.

We're excited to have him back. Here we go. You know, he's, he just, he worked around the edges. That's all. Which suggests to me that he's as good as gone. We know they have to do big things. He is one of their many talented left shot D. There's always a sense that if you want the guy back,

that's probably the first thing. We'd love to have him back. We can hope to sit with his agent and work something out. Nothing like that. Is he going to be a Toronto Maple Leaf or what? I would love him on the loose but left they got enough left guys they need a right the good left guys would help though oh yeah it's an awesome point by you but if they're like in the off season i don't really want to go ahead and look at that but if the lease are making a big addition to the decor in the off hope with the right handshot. I don't know. Do we need to say anything about Alex Morello

with Commissioner Bettman today? Wow. I mean, do you want to ask him about paying bills? Do you want to hear that? We have a clip. Do we want to play it? I don't know. You tell me.

Let's not. It's the playoffs. Yeah, you got 10 minutes left. He said, yeah, I always pay my bills. Alex Scrimm beat it. Yeah, beat it. Well, Scrimm beat it. Okay, one more. Do you guys want to just one more one more uh uh kyle dubas oh uh joining team canada sammy

right i didn't bark simpson missed that one missed that one did you sammy said the meme i pretend i do not see it did he have. Did he ask his family first? Why? Why? So you can't enjoy your favorite thing on earth, which is Team Canada hockey. It truly is your favorite thing. He has a spell over everyone. He's tricked everyone.

Why? They have all these guys there. It's like, let's call in the guy. It's like, why? He built the team that went to the division final last year. Yeah, great. Okay, we're done news and notes. What do you got?

First text I have is from my wife. You're getting texts, too? Yeah, from my wife. Oh, boy. Is it about my jacket? No. But, well, it is. It says, the text is, you guys should wear blazers all the time. That's my text.

You can say that I think you all look very sharp and the blazers should stay. The only problem with this one is I haven't exposed my arms yet. And that's great. That's a short sleeve. There's flood pants and there's a flood jacket. If Sammy can do a handstand in a flood right now. But at least win on Saturday. You're seeing it on Monday.

Coming back. I love that. Thank you. Which goalie is playing for the Leafs tomorrow? My name is Jack. I'm a. Thank you. Which goalie is playing for the Leafs tomorrow? My name is Jack. I'm a 10-year-old goalie for the Oakville Rangers.

A 10-year-old texting our show asking who's playing for the Leafs. Go get him. I think it's the, I think it's Ilya Samsonov would be the answer to that question.

It is Ilya Samsonov. And tell your parents you shouldn't have a phone yet. There you go. Goalie. We love you. Appreciate you listening. Honestly, it's very cool

he's still be in school uh he's good now what time is it that's five it's quarter to six you're still in detention that was your experience um what are the chances that pierre luke dubois can man up and be a nightmare matchup for the oilers in the first round j Jay from the West Coast. I just remember watching him in the bubble. Me too. And, like, taking over. And that was head-to-head against Matthews. Yeah. And looking like he's going to be this stud. Buddy, the Kings just signed him to 8.5 by 8. They obviously, a lot of people think he's a stud.

A lot of guys. Fourth line. A lot of guys can erase a bad six months with a great playoff he has to be one of those guys yeah you're right and that's one of the only ways you can see la having a you know a role in that series is you know can he get under some guy's skin score some goals and matter i think there's a lot of pressure on Rob Blake here too in this series. You think so? Yeah. I think the rebuild is kind of at the point where expectations have arrived.

Listen. God, you want more from Pierre-Luc Dubois. You look at his numbers this year? It's just 40 points in 82 games. 16 goals minus 9. That signing was supposed to get you further than one round. Yeah, that's a lot of money for him.

Lots of pressure. Let me pull up my other text here. This is an interesting one. Okay. Hey there, big fan of the show. Thank you. Thank you very much. Do you think Bertuzzi will be hesitant

to get greasy against his former team in Boston? That guy would... I can't say no fast enough. No, I know. There's a greasiest guy. No. He would grease anyone. The lasting memory...

It wasn't there that long. The lasting memory for a lot of Leaf fans is earlier this season when Lilligren was tripped into the boards by Brad Marchand, which was... Oh, he punch-a-sized. Was it Wotherspoon?

No, this was way earlier in the season. November. November. November. Yeah. And when Marchand skated over the bench he had a chuckle. He was smiling.

Yeah. And much like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. loves to smile in big spots. Yeah. And I'm not worried about that for one second.

Okay. Who was it on Boston that Bertuzzi beat the living Wotherspoon. Yeah. Beat him out bad. He made him wear some knuckles. A few

a few Sudbury uppercuts there. I guess we kind of answered this question, but we can do it again. Who do you think has the most potential to pull off an upset? You think, obviously, it's the National Predators. Is Vegas an upset over Dallas? Yeah, I guess. I mean, better than us.

I do have it. Yeah, I do. I have that as an upset. You think it's a possibility? I think Dallas is the deepest team right now from top to bottom. Who's their third-line centerman? Wyatt Johnson? Yeah.

What, 32 goals? Yeah. It's done. Come on. They got a lot of guys that are under, you know, you called them underrated. But they don't have, like, the one superstar. No. And Sagan and Ben are past that label yeah pavelsky's past that but

they got a lot of very good players that know how to win i think yeah we'll see harley come through um maybe they don't yet well well that's what the playoffs are for could elias lindholm be the x factor for the canucks in the playoffs? Cheers from Vancouver. Absolutely. I think he tipped one in last night, if I'm not mistaken. I do feel like... He's so talented. Yeah. He's got a lot of tools.

He's smart. And in a series like this, you could see, you know, all the focus being on Pettersson and being on Miller and Lindholm being the guy who chips in. Listen, it becomes a very hard league to score goals. And the only thing I can tell you is even if you go back to Austin and all the top 50 goal scorers, just go see the amount of goals that they scored

against non-playoff teams. It's a big number. And then once you get into these teams that are top 16, they don't want to play defense they don't want to shut down they know how to take time and space away and you you lose that rate of return of scoring in the regular season so you know these guys they're gonna have to dig themselves out of those tight spaces and pd's gonna have to be one of them well and the big thing is that it gets harder for a particular set of guys too, right?

The scores are keyed on. For everyone else, it might be a little similar, but not for the big dogs. This is a great way to end our texts and head into the weekend with the Toronto Maple Leafs. James from Milton. When the Leafs sweep the Boston Bruins, will other teams be nervous?

Let's go! Way to derail our national hour with that one. I mean, they put me here. It's not your fault. I am who I am. We got a couple suggestions for wardrobe. Somebody told me I look like Kramer, so that's good. You do have a little Kramer. You know that I was Kramer for

Halloween like four straight years in high school? Really? Yeah, every year I was just Kramer. And what did you do? Just trip over everybody? I had a white sport coat more like a Hawaiian shirt and just had my hair up. Kramer. Every year. Well, your hair's up already now. It's not really a costume. I know, I know. Alright, boys. Alright. No, not one

more? Anything interesting at all on a Friday? Hmm. Not really. No. No, not one more. Anything interesting at all on a Friday? Hmm. Not really. No? No. Alright then. Alright. Any lasting islanders are going to get of playoffs?

Your islanders have a chance at all? Is Varlamov starting? Yes, Varlamov's going to start. What happened? You know, sorokin last year was a vesna finalist and when things turned around varlamov was in the net i think uh nine of the last 10 games he's been above a 900 say percentage he's had some shutouts he's been unbelievable so you start him you got to go to sorokin off the bench you're in a pretty good spot how much credit does patrick waugh get because how many times did we think they were

dead in the water? Yeah, he deserves a ton. And you know what else he deserves a ton for is when it started to go south, he didn't turn on them in the media and say, ah, we blew it. Remember we played that clip after they lost bad and he was like, I thought we played great. I thought we played great. That's a good point.

He never went full Waugh. No, he hung in there with them and they rewarded him for that so i think he deserves your boy that you're gonna hire for the ottawa senators is looking like a pretty good coach yeah and now who they're gonna hire i don't know and i think the media were asking about how if he should be bilingual or not i think i heard that question today and i'm like let's not do that let's just it was no no stale gave the right answer. Like, first and foremost is, you know, who's qualified and who's going to give us the best chance to win.

If it happens to be bilingual, then, you know, that may check a box. But that would help. Sure, that'd be a perk. Holy moly, would Patrick Avoir have been great there? Yeah. Well, I saw Dean Everson's name mentioned. I don't know. Maybe Sammy.

That's it for us this week. Final Friday for it all begins for real tomorrow we have so much to talk about on Monday can't wait can't wait

I think you should wear that jacket right through the weekend if they wear if they win on Saturday night we win on Monday

that's a promise little gold alright our thanks today to Leaf legend Wendell Clark in our Leaf Hour. And then Doug McClain on Off the Rails Friday. Enjoy your start to the Stanley Cup playoffs. And you know we're going to be here right there with you on the real Kipper and Bourne show. We're back on Monday.

Have a great weekend, everybody.