Real Kyper & Bourne - Flames' Rebuild Blueprint with Eric Francis

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

Sportsnet Flames analyst Eric Francis (3:36) joins Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne to discuss Calgary's recent three-game winning streak and President of Hockey Ops Don Maloney's comments on a potential rebuild. He shares how the Calgary faithful would stomach a rebuild, GM Craig Conroy's Flames future with an expiring contract, and what comes next for popular trade targets Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson. Later, Nick, Justin and Daniele Franceschi look back on another blowout loss for the Edmonton Oilers to the Dallas Stars, if Kris Knoblauch is in trouble, and who they'll target on the goalie market with Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry and St. Louis's Jordan Binnington both seemingly available. Finally, they react to reports that Quinn Hughes is fully committed to Vancouver.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.

It's national hour time on the Real Kipper and Born show. We are live on SportsSets, SportsS 650 in Vancouver, 960 in Calgary and streaming, always on Sportsnet Plus. I can't catch us live. Give us a download at your convenience, Spotify, Apple, podcast, and YouTube. This hour of Real Kipper. And Born, brought to by Bet365. Nick Ciparillo, Dan, Franceschi, who is fresh off of changing the jersey

in the background, which... He's on point, let me tell you. Which is a challenge for the other guys on our show. I love when Sammy walks in front of the camera to go change the shirt. He does the walk and shoot him on camera. It is entertaining. As it's been well pointed out, Disco Dan in for our Sammy McKee. who is out with a upper body.

Yeah, undisclosed. Chest. He talked a lot of smack about playing through injury yesterday for a guy who the next day couldn't do it. No, no. I love it. Eric Francis, senior columnist, Flames analyst. We're going to get into the Calgary Flames a little bit here.

We spent a ton of time on the Vancouver Canucks yesterday and solved nothing. No, but boy, people had, people like that interview with Dollywall. They were entertained by it. Yes. They're entertained by the whole thing. His energy, the glasses, the holding of the camera, the takes, the whole thing was a lot.

He's kind of like Sammy a little bit, eh? He's very invested emotionally. Yes. Yes. Is that a way of putting it? And it's good for you and I to have that. That helps us, I think. It carries us.

It carries us. It carries us. And it's like an emotional weather vein for. a whole fan base. We just know where people are at after those conversations. A little thought on the Edmonton Oilers who, I guess this is their third or fourth year of, I think being out of the playoff window at American Thanksgiving,

only to prove everybody wrong, including me last year or the year before. I can't remember I've lost count. But somehow they find a way to dig themselves out and end up in a stand. Stanley Cup final, but last night gave no one the impression like this team

is going to dig out of anything anytime soon. They took a beating. Yeah, typically when I come on this show and I say, you know, the results say this, but actually I think this, it's based in something that's like, oh, I have a reason to believe that they're better than they've been.

I don't really have that reason. You did the game last night. Yeah. What's the Grinch song? The Stink, Stank, Stunk. It was the, they were brutal. I was so happy for you that you didn't have to do the first intermission.

Me too. And then I'm like, there's nothing to save you for the second intermission now. Well, you go out there and what are you supposed to do? Like, it's, no one did anything good

except for this kid, Clattenberg, who scored his first NHL goal. Which was always nice to see. Yeah, and actually Jack Michaels blew his voice out on the call. I don't know what happened. He sounded like Batman in the third period.

to vocal cord it was for a guy. Anyway, hope he's doing good. Okay, we'll pick up on that conversation maybe a little later in our program. In the meantime, Eric Francis is ready, senior columnist, flames analyst, sports net joins us now. Eric, how are you, my friend?

Good, how are you, boys? Good, so all is well on your side of the province, right? Three games in a row and all is good in Flamesland, no. And you're in Florida. problem solved yeah i mean they went three in a row clearly uh going to march right through into the playoffs it's not a problem at all no there's so much going on in this city right now yeah three in a row finally playing the kind of hockey they expected like from you know the end of last year uh and it's based

large on goaltending i mean that everyone knew that that was kind of the magic component they had you know with dust and wolf and now devon coolly's been really good too as their backup but uh they still having trouble scoring goals. I don't know if you guys saw this stat. It's one of the most obscure ones I've ever thrown out there. They have a 41 game winning streak, the longest in the NHL by a mile, twice as long as Florida Panthers. When they

score four or more goals, they are 41 and 0. Wow. So it's simple. Just score four goals. Exactly. Okay. But not everybody in Flameland is really happy, particularly maybe with Don Maloney,

who's come out publicly and talked about not interested really in a rebuild and we don't need to get rid of a 35-year-old cadry. We need to get more of them. Like, while we watch Vancouver come out already and say we need to get younger and we need to move some of these veterans out, Calgary sounds, you know, according to Don Maloney,

they're going the other way. Yeah, the message wasn't all that popular. You know, the sentiment in Calgary very much right now is, hey, look, you got to play the hand you're dealt. You're almost mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, 25 games in. Lean into it. Try to get one of the top three picks. You know, this organization has never picked in the top three.

You know, for at least one year anyway, embrace this. Just throw all the youngsters out there. Let them learn by making mistakes. and get rid of the old guys, cash them in for lottery tickets in the draft and move forward that way. This organization has always been, always been under this ownership group, hesitant to do a rebuild. They're just not convinced that there's a guarantee of you getting out of the woods

and they cite Buffalo every single time for how long it can take a rebuild to, you know, ever come to fruition. Detroit, they point to the Oilers for over a decade as well. So it's not going to happen under this ownership's watch. I'm just, everybody wants for one year for them to lean into it. Eric, if, if that's the case and Don Maloney and maybe his owner, Mary Edwards doesn't think that the, the Calgary Flames fans can stomach a rebuild, are they wrong?

They can? Oh, it's a great question. Look, for 30 years I've covered this team and it's been the same old rinse and repeat and finish in the mushy middle. And it's always striving to just barely make it into the playoffs. And if you get through a round, that's a great year. I do think that at some

point in time, look, okay, I'll answer by saying this. And I wrote this, I think, eight games in when they'd lost seven in a row. This season's over. They're not going to make the playoffs. Well, people still pay tickets to go watch the game and support a rebuild.

That's right. So lean into it. You know, they're still going to put together as as good a team as they can, but do it and make it much younger and cash in on some of those older guys. They're worried about the culture. They're worried about, you know, how the culture goes in Buffalo and Detroit and Edmonton over those dark years where it's just losing, losing, you can't just turn a switch and make it a winning culture. They do love the culture that's been built here by Craig Conroy. They do love the way people love to play here and they really do care for each other. That sort of stuff. But culture and tickets.

sales trumping over a rebuild they don't have any difference makers that's the big problem here we we haven't seen one here since Jerome McGinla and you know that that's got to end you got a guy like McKenna sitting there at the end of this season and I know you're not guaranteed

to get them but if you got a shot at them I do think you owe it to your fan base to try and get them and you know Eric like if I'm sitting there in a meeting with the owner of the Calgary Flames I'm saying one of the things you can sell more than cadry or Anderson or whatever is hope.

And if you are doing a rebuild, you go the very next year, you guys, right now the way Calgary is set up, one of the few sellers, there's almost no one's selling and they have great pieces in Cadry and Coleman and Anderson. Within, by this summer, the flames could have like four first round picks

and immediately point to these kids and say, it's coming. Like, does that not, that to me sounds something more you can sell than, hey, maybe we get hot and finish 16th? I don't disagree, you know, Don Maloney's counter and would be that, you know, if you're going to trade a cadre, you're going to trade them to a team that's probably in the top five or ten in the league. So your draft pick is going to be 26 or 27th overall. Same with Rasmus Anderson.

You know, you don't, you know, he said it would be different if they could trade those guys and get a top three pick guaranteed overall. They'd make that trade. They would have made that trade two weeks ago. That's the counter argument. Listen, Maloney's interview did not. go over well, let's just suffice it to say. The brutal honesty and the feeling from the fans that they're just not willing to adjust their age-old mentality is really not going over very well. But I will just say this. We're still in November. Oh, we're just, what, where are we?

We're closing in. We're closing in. We're getting close to Christmas. Look, if they're still saying the same thing in January and February and their 14 points out of a playoff spot, then shame on them. But I really do believe that at some point this organization is going to come down to the realization that the playoffs are a pipe dream that's never going to happen this year and that they do need to lean into this in a big, big way and they have

three or four really good pieces in which to affect that change, as you suggest said, and I agree with you. So, Rasmus Anderson, who's had a good last game with his three assists here, there's nothing to suggest that Calgary wants to resign them.

However, they feel about build or rebuild here. There's only two ways to go. Sign them or trade them. Yeah. And I do think they'll trade them. And the reason why, look, they love him. He's one of their most

important players. He logs the most minutes. He was just named Player of the Week. I mean, he's playing good hockey. He's everything that they kind of want right now. Unfortunately, he's 29 years of age. And unfortunately, he's priced himself into the stratosphere where he's probably looking at $9 million bucks a year.

next year in the open market. And the Calgary Flames aren't willing to spend that sort of money on him in particular and also in particular a seven-year deal for a guy who's 29 now. And, you know, it's two ships passing in the night. Calgary Flames are getting younger and he's getting older. So it just doesn't work out to me. That's not to say it's a done deal and he's moving on. He's still, you know, they still have to have that conversation probably in a month or so

when they finally say, okay, look, this season's over. now let's start talking Turkey. He claims they have had no conversations whatsoever since the summer, but at some point they will have to have those conversations or the flames may just pull the trigger. My belief is as soon as someone makes the right offer, Rasmus Anderson will be gone the next day. And I think that's been the realistic outcome all season long.

And it hasn't been a distraction, which is the good news for the Calgary Flames. They've been distracted by all sorts of other things, I guess. Eric, now that we're done yelling at you about making this team rebuild, What do they currently have for young guys? So I always say this to people when, you know, their team is no good, but they point their prospects. They're like, we've got these three kids coming up. And I'm like, hate to break it to you.

Everyone has three kids coming up. Maybe not the Leafs. But most teams have a couple of kids who, are there any legitimate difference makers under the age of like 23 that the flames can point to? Yeah, I mean, Zaid Perak has been a, you know, kind of a cautionary tale of brushing a guy in too early. I mean, he was their ninth pick overall, two-time 30 goal scorer in the Ontario Hockey League. Only Bob yours ever done that, you know, highly touted in every way, struggled like crazy with the Calgary Flames this year, and now he's hurt.

They're going to lend him to the team Canada for the world juniors, and hopefully he can get his confidence back there and join the team after that. He can't go to the HL because of the contract because of where he was drafted and all that. Adar Sunyev is another hot shot winger in the organization. he's playing down in the minors, you know, had kind of a slow start this year. The big one right now is Matt Bay Gridden. He started the season with the team. He might have been one of their best players in preseason.

He's over a point of game in the HL this year. They're going to call him up probably in quite short order. Next injury they get to a top six guy, they'll call him up. I think Gridden is probably their best prospect in the organization. Zane Prex probably the most heralded. And Dustin Wolf, I guess, we're beyond calling him a prospect at this point. point in time. He's the backboard of the franchise.

Eric, we had Jason Bucola, who's just in Calgary watching the prospects. He says that it's a deep draft. You should have no problem picking out a nice defenseman if you're Calgary here. I look at what they have available in the next

three years. Abundance of first rounders, second rounders, third rounders. Are we going to see some of these pieces gone so they can go trade and speed up this thing as Don Maloney suggests? Is that the feeling? Yeah, yeah, yeah, they'll, they'll trade these veterans,

some of these veterans and cash. But what about the first and second rounder picks that they have available? Do we feel like those would be in place so they can go speed up this process, that they're trying to avoid the rebuild? They'll use all their picks here. Oh, yeah, they're going to use all their picks. They're going to accrue more of them and use as many as they can, get as many of these kids in the pipeline.

Yeah, that sounds like a rebuild. to me. Well, I keep using the, I haven't trademarked, but I'm the only guy who uses it. It's called the high build. It's a hybrid rebuild. That's what I always say that that's what they're doing in Calgary. They're trying to do the Dallas Stars model. That's their kind of goal.

Look, just have a really good draft or two while we're also treading water and we can get right back into the thick of things. That's the model. And Dallas did it with that big draft when they had what, Heiskenen and Robertson and some of these guys. But that doesn't happen very often. But if you have enough balls in the lottery machine, then maybe you get a couple cracks of that sort of stuff.

So Craig Conroy says all the right things. And listen, if I had asked all the same questions, I asked to Don Maloney to Craig Conroy, I don't think there would have been the vitriol that you saw. You know, Maloney was just very honest as maybe the word. Craig's just a lot better at sugar-coding things. And his message, Craig Connery's message is simple. Look, we're going to continue to get.

younger, we're going to continue to grow with our young prospects and we're going to continue to give them chances in this lineup. So the message from him and Maloney is slightly altered. So what about Craig Conroy? If I'm not mistaken, he has a contract that expires at the end of this year, right? Is he for sure going to

be the guy guiding the re, the high build? Or is we going to start hearing from Don Maloney more? Yeah, I think that ship has sailed. I think no, it's my understanding. Look, no one's really concerned. If the isn't already agreed upon to extend Craig Conroy, shame on the Calgary Flames.

But I do believe that they, look, I know ownership values what he's done. He's also got so much emotional equity built up in this fan base. People love Craig Conroy, and they need someone right now who's going to deliver the message. Sometimes when it's tough, sometimes when it's good. And they need someone who's kind of a sympathetic guy that everybody's kind of pulling for. So Craig Conroy is their guy. Yeah, it's absolutely assonine that he does. not have a contract extension in place

right now. It's very, very insulting and I think the organization should be a little embarrassed by that. But from what I understand, from all my sources within, nobody's worried about that. It's going to happen if it hasn't already. I want to follow up with another really sexy

name out there, Nazcadry. First of all, through Don and Murray Edwards, the suggestion is we don't want them to go anywhere. So if they're leaning towards, that and we take it for face value, what's going to happen to happen here? NAS says, I'm good with that, or NAS goes to them and says, I really love it here in Calgary, but I'm 35 years old, and I like trying to win a Stanley Cup a little bit more.

Yeah, you know, when I look at your trade board, Kipper, and I see him on there, I think that's why he is on there. Look, I do know that the organization does not want to trade, Nazim Kadri, and that's a real sticking point for a lot of fans here. But it's not all their decision. Nazim Kadri could go to them and say, I want out. And at that point in time, the organization would be wise to act on that. So I don't, I can't get a sense from Nazim talking to him.

I know he likes it here. I know he enjoys being a leader and a mentor for a lot of these young guys. But I also know that he's as competitive as any guy in this league. It probably wants to win two or three more cups. And man, he would be a huge piece for any team to add as a second line center. I know Colorado would have them back in a heartbeat, Dallas. Go down the list. Every team in the league would love to have an Hazem-Caudry for a playoff run.

He's been really good, too, Eric. He's been really good. He has been really good. The points aren't huge because this is an organization that just can't score. He doesn't have enough talent around him. But he has been their best player up front for a couple of years. Now, 35 goals last year, I think he was 35 as a 34-year-old. I mean, he's playing some of his best hockey.

So, yeah, no. When he first signed his deal seven times seven million, and he's got three more years left on that deal after this year, a lot of people said, well, that's an untradable contract. Well, with the cap going up the way it has, that's an extremely attractive price tag for a second line center with a Stanley Cup pedigree. And playing the way he has.

Yeah, and playing the way he has. Yeah, I think that would be very, very, I would dare say, if him and Anderson are on the trade block, you know, come trade deadline, they've got to both be in your top three list. Kipper, if not, I'm going to be sending you emails every day. No, buddy, they're very attractive right now. Very attractive.

Not attractive right now is Canadian hockey. The teams are struggling. I'm looking at the Pacific Division standings while you guys are chit-chatting about, you know, who to pick off the carcass of the poor Calgary Flames right now. bottom of the Pacific oh look at this we posted the board Edmonton and 6th

the Canucks in 7th the flames in 8th how disappointed Eric were you watching that game last night for the Oilers yeah you know people in southern Alberta really weep openly

it's just so sad what's going on with them what do you see from there oh man buddy I got enough problems in my own town I can't be starting to try to figure out the boilers

But I will say, guys, to me, and this is coming from a southern Alberta, and they're like a bad rat. You know they're not going to go away. They're going to hang around and find a way to get back in the thick of this thing. And I'd be willing to bet big money that these guys are right in the thick of it, middle of the playoffs. They're still around in the second round, battling and have just as good a chance as anybody else to make it to the final. It's just the way it always goes, it seems, when you're in southern Alberta,

looking up at those guys. be debating in my head I don't know A lot of oil or McDavid leaves Edmonton Which would be a bigger day For Calgary fans Not sure a lot of Oilers fans feel the same way

Waking up this morning to last night's loss To Dallas But regardless Should be interesting times here Do you feel with the Olympics Eric? I know you've got your ear To the ground on a lot of things We're going to see some teams

even if they are contenders still like Toronto or Edmonton move on something rather quickly here typically teams wait maybe even through Christmas but with the Olympics you think

some teams are going to jump early here and try to get in on some movement yeah potentially I mean it always depends also on like look for example the Calgary Flames were to lose five more games in a row here then that first domino

you know, say Rasmus Anderson could fall a lot earlier than a lot of people thought. And then that could kickstart, you know, all sorts of people scrambling to try and go with plan B, plan C and plan D. So, you know, because there are some teams that are really struggling that have some assets, I think that could kickstart it. And I think the Olympics could be a part of that too. And by the way, guys, I tried to do our nation a real solid today. I was chatting with John Cooper this morning and I said, listen, Coop, I've been sent from my country to get the list. If you wouldn't mind just handing me over the list, we could save a whole lot of time and debate over who's going to be on the team.

And he said, damn, Eric, you missed it by a day. Everybody was here yesterday, and we had a good old chat. So I guess I missed the list wherever that is right now. Well, my list is on Sportsnet.com. So you can go check that out. Well, that's what he said. He just said, just when you're talking to Borny, his list is pretty accurate.

So just go with that for now. Absolutely. I mean, Cooper tight. Eric, great stuff, man. Really appreciate your time. Cheers, boys. Enjoy the hockey. We'll talk soon.

Enjoy the weather down there. I'm trying. Thanks, boys. All right, later, man. Our very own Eric Francis, Sportsnet.com.ca and analyst for the Calgary Flames. Tampa Bay. If you're a Calgary beat guy,

you can't love getting the Florida trip in November. Like, surely like January's Primo. Like, just get me out of Alberta. You can't guarantee weather. I think it's good weather down there still. January gets a little tricky. It can get cold down there too. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Fair enough. Yeah, if you want to get some actual warmth, now's not a bad time. All right, let's follow up a little bit on the oilers here. Is this just, okay, coming off a major road trip embarrassment or much do you want to get into this? Because we got our whole next block reserve for this whole. Is it?

We got a lot of oilers. Do we got a lot of oilers? We can. We want to do game time and then we'll come back to it because we're going to need a little bit of time. All right. Let's do it.

Let's do game time. There we go. I'm trying my best Sammy McKee impression here. It's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. It's game time. Plus Ontario only play responsibly.

15 games. 15 games in the NHL tonight. Why? Because it's Thanksgiving Eve in the United States of America. Do you know that this is the best. biggest party night of the year in the USA? Oh, this is massive. Everyone's back from university.

Everyone's back in their hometown. Really? Oh, man, it's hangover city tomorrow. It's massive. Like, this is their big holiday. Wednesday? Yeah. I wonder how the airports were today.

Oh. I'm pretty sure the, apparently in the states, this is in terms of airport travel and it's way worse than what Christmas holidays. Oh, I know. Today's nightmare, yeah. I don't think I've seen anything on social media about cancellation. So that's a good thing. That's a plus.

There you go. Good. Positive. air traffic thumbs up all right 15 games i got two and i'm actually going to the late ones here because i was trying to decipher what i like dislike i'm going to start with the golden nights and the senators there will be some canadian content involved in both of these but in Vegas tonight golden nights are minus 170 favorites on the money line this Vegas golden nights team it's been an uneven start right a little ups and downs ebbs and flows so far coming back from a three game road

trip. I like them at home tonight against these Ottawa Senators. I really do. I know the Sands are, you know. Get Mark Stoneback? They might. TBD. We don't know. I don't think 100% yet. But he did, he did participate in the morning skate today. He was out there. Canada, too. 100% very relevant. Is he on your team?

If he's healthy, yes. And he was in line rushes. He skated with, I think it was Houdin and Marner, in fact. He was on a line with those two guys. So it looks like he's training in a positive direction. So give me Vegas there. 10 of their last 15. They have lost, but I think they can start to turn things in a positive direction.

You're laying a pretty good juice there, Yelly. You want to bet it on the puck line? You want to get aggressive? Well, I'm going to go. My next one's going to be a little bit more aggressive puck line here. Last one for you. It's the late, late game. It's Vancouver on the road at Anaheim.

You guys talked about the Canucks a lot yesterday. The Canucks are going on this road trip with two American hockey league goaltenders. They are going into Anaheim to face a Ducks team that had the opportunity to sit at home for a couple of days. rest up Joel Quinn Voling company go to practice feel good about themselves young team playing good hockey minus 160 on the money line I said forget that let's get greedy minus one and a half on the spread the puck line plus 150 I like that for the Anaheim ducks and I apologize to everybody out in British Columbia oh everyone in BC is like yeah we agree okay all right then I don't feel so bad

you're not upsetting anyone all right that was good pal that was game time presented by bet three 6.5. Let's make sure I get the read correct. Visit the app for the best odds and find out why it's never ordinary at bet 365 must be 19 plus Ontario only play responsibly. That's job. Disco. You didn't even need four tries like Sammy. So, you know, my dad got inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame in 2005 or 2006. I forget the exact year. They fly me down from Alaska to see it. And it happens to be on Thanksgiving that I land in, in New York.

So the Islanders are like, all right, you're going to stay at this hotel. You're going to watch your dad's induction. My dad's like, you're not staying in a hotel. You're staying at my best friend's place. You're staying at the Gillies. So that's when I remet my now wife. Oh, wow. And the first time I remet her after being next door neighbors till we were five years old or whatever.

It's been 20 years since I'd seen her. She was the most hungover person anyone had ever been, right? That's like the day. And at that time, I was a bit of a drinker myself. I was like, I like this gal. I got to tell you. That's true love. Like I'm thinking going, is this the Thanksgiving story or is it a Valentine's story?

Well, it is? You know. And that's like a throwing up story. Basically, they had three Newfoundland dogs that came out of the door to greet me, 150 pounds each slobbered all over me. She's hung over and wiped their drool off of me with her sleeve. I was like, it was love at first sight, Kip. That was the type of life I was into at the time.

We both tidy things. What a great story to go to break on. great stuff. Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart. We'll take a quick break and when we return more on the Edmonton Oilers and can we fix them back after these words. Hey, it's Blake Murphy and I'm Matt Bonner. Join us weekday mornings at 11 as we break down all things Toronto Raptors.

It's the Raptor show on Sportsnet 590 the fan and wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the program. Nick Kippers, Justin Bourne, Disco, Dan. As a reminder, this hour of Real Kipper and Born, brought you by Bet365. Justin, you did the hockey game last night. The only one. How do we go from 1 to 15 tonight?

Thanksgiving. Oh, yeah. That's the schedule. That's the NHL. That is. That is. Okay, there's always the adjustment coming off the road. but like when you're watching this thing unfold last night

we obviously cover the Toronto Maple Leafs here in Toronto more than probably anybody or as much as anybody out there we've kind of gone through a little bit of that but did it have a similar feel to how or worse I think worse than what I've seen with the Leafs The one thing I'll say is like when the Oilers are going to lose I don't like saying these words but they quit like they quit playing you know like they lost nine one to colorado earlier in the year they lost

seven three this year they've lost what was last eight three i think it ended you know they they get to a point where they're just like well it ain't happening tonight whatever and it was a really disheartening yeah effort for that group i i do think it's worse because their expectations are much higher than the leafs yeah much oh yeah they're like you you got a lot to hope that the Leafs Leaf fans are like hopeful but you're coming off two Stanley Cup finals for

for Euler fans so you watch that last night and you think about how recent you were to touching the Stanley Cup and how close you were like that is just totally unacceptable and you know everyone yells

and screams about their goaltending and that's fine and so last night I'm watching it and it's like bad defensive play they hangs Skinner out to dry goal. Bad defensive play. They hang Skinner out to dry goal. Repeat, repeat.

Well, they're all 32nd, 31st, and, like, defensive. Oh, yeah, everything. Expecting goals against, shots against, chances against. So, okay, so I'm saying, okay, not really Skinner's fault, not really Skinner's fault. And eventually you go, okay, you're allowed to make one hard save. Steal them one. You know, like if it's Sterkin and Ned or whoever, a couple of those great A's, they just take away and you go, can't have that one.

So they're all to blame. You know, I'm blaming the defense, the structure, the goal tending, it's all to blame. And I think the most disheartening thing is you looked at that decor, people really talked them up. Oh, underrated, good decor. How many guys were standing beside Stu Skinner or Calvin Pickard, just upright, just tucking in pucks, no stick on him, no body on them. It was a brutal defense back to the quitting part that you mentioned. We have Knoblock on Clip 3 on the Oilers' lack of competitiveness. We have to ramp it up, but I don't want to say that we've got a lot of guys who are just frustrated.

It's not that they've checked out or don't care. That would be concerning. These guys do care. They haven't checked out, but they definitely are. discouraged and don't see much optimism right now. So there's, that's uplifting to know that we can work with that. But I think we need to have, as a coaching staff starting there, instill some hope. And that's with finding a solution to how we can play better.

What did I miss there? He said that no one can see any hope. So it's good, uplifting. we can start there does it does it get any more vanilla than that yeah well i mean that's him being asked point blank are you concerned that your team isn't showing enough compete that's literally what he was asked can he can he get them out of this thing like i don't know i get i get that he's been to a couple of finals now and you know that that in itself is earning him a lot of respect but i'm just listening to that and i don't know

I mean, I'm looking for more. I'm looking for a little bit more passion, a little less vanilla, disco. I think it depends on what you want your coach to be. Do you want your coach to be Herb Brooks, or do you want them to be tactically good, or do you want them to be... How many cups did her win?

Zero? Is the answer zero? I have no idea. I don't know. I just, I don't know. I just... I don't know if he's going to be able to push these guys. Like, he sounds like a guy in all honesty

that wants to kind of befriend these kids. Yeah. And I'm like, it's okay, hammer them a little bit here. Give it to them. It's, this is a business. This is winning. This is, you, I need more out of you. Okay, we need more out of you.

Yeah. Yeah, I just don't know if you can change, though, Kip. If you've been vanilla, you can't, show up one day and be like, I'm Rocky Road, baby. Everyone's like, we know you're not. We know you're not. I mean, you had marshmallows in your head.

You look ridiculous. I get it from the perspective of, what is this, 25 games in. Just in the Stanley Cup final and back to back years with the same coach, same mentality, same approach. And overnight, they go from being a team that's potentially closing in on trying to win a cup, be it game seven of the cup final, or then, you know, three wins away from the Stanley Cup final.

and you go from that to all of a sudden your defensive structure and everything falls off a cliff like there is more weight like he comes from a position with more what shall we say license if you will because of what's happened there are plenty of other markets

where you hear that and the guy hasn't been to a cup final or multiple oh boy yeah oh boy the reaction is starkly different the defensive issue is something we should listen, chat about. Clip two, Knoblock on defensive issues. Absolutely, it's been a 180.

Last year we were one of the best defensive teams. And right now, we're one of the worst. We've given up the most goals, almost the most chances, stuff like that. And we were making some progress on the road trip. And, you know, and yeah that's that's got to change you know that's from the back end that's from the forwards and it's from the coaching staff where we need to look at how we're defending you know we've

spent a lot of time addressing that trying to improve have clarity because of the the amount of players that we've changed that we've had a lot of review But we need to think about maybe doing something differently because it can't be that they just don't know right now. Yeah, so he also talked before the game. They actually were changing systems, you know, which is something that's pretty desperate, right, for a team that, like you said,

back-to-back cup finals and some success in those finals. They're physically changing up the way they're playing now. which my understanding is that only in the neutral zone is the only place they're making a change, but they're grasping at straws, right? They're trying to do something. The goalie thing, too. Well, yeah.

I just want to, it needs to be said to, and we've had this discussion briefly about Paul Coffey no longer being there. Now, I don't know Paul Coffey well. I have seen him around on occasion, golfed with him once or twice. That sounds like knowing someone. He's a pretty intense guy.

Yeah. Okay? Very intense guy. I'm just wondering, like, when he left, did that take the edge off of some of these guys? Did it get them to relax? Did it get them to feel like, I don't know who they're dealing with,

Paul McFarland and Mark Stewart now and is a different relationship where like how how can the majority of those guys who are still there go from that last year to this like what what happened what happened like what why are these same guys looking like I'm watching all of them and it's like what happened to Kulak? What happened to Kulak? What happened to at home? Yeah.

Nurse. But you know what? What is nurse? Nurse, you make nine and a half million dollars. You're not an offensive guy. You're a hard shutdown guy. Where are you? Yeah, but does this not take the players off the hook? Like yesterday, we're talking

about firing a coach for the Leafs and you guys are going ah, it takes the core off the hook. Going, oh, you don't have your blanket of Paul Coffey behind the bench any lesson he could have given him he would have given him there's no new information to give him right like these guys shouldn't know what it takes to win information it's just someone in your face to go and push you every day Justin it's not it's you know what it is it's not a lesson it's accountability okay that's what it is okay holding these guys accountable you know what I've got it I know a little bit about Paul McFar

He's got the exact same demeanor cadence as Chris Knoblob. No good. I do not need two of them. Don't. I need a frick to a frack. I need something. It's not even a knock. He's knows of stuff.

They're just they're the same. No, but they're all supposed to have different roles. And by that. No, don't need two or three of those guys. Exactly. Like you need your guy that, and you guys have done it. You have your coaches that you go to that you can confide in and have those more, I don't comfortable conversations with and you have others that you're yeah i got to i know that guy's intense

and that's fine pa paul could write a guy he could grind a guy he could make it he could make him understand listen you we're going to work here okay don't mail it in don't come in uh you had a night before you were out till one o'clock no problem but you better show up for work that's the kind of noise that i we've been heard yeah over our careers in the nchel people that sit there and it's not is the nose, it's just looking you in the eye and say, do you understand why you're here? Do you understand why you make $9 million? Because it's not

for last night. I don't know if they've got someone on that bench every day to look at these guys. The only counter I have to this is that their core two guys are competitors. They get

frustrated, they get animated. And maybe too much of that, I don't mean with coffee in general, maybe these calmer coaches work with them because they're high energy. We have a McDavid quote on his frustrations with the team performance. Clip one.

Oh, got to McDavid. Clip one, sorry. There were maybe some positive signs towards the end of that trip corner. How do you kind of account for what showed up in that first period? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I don't have many answers for you here tonight.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't have any answers. So big picture defensively is something you guys have, you know, been struggling with this year more than in previous years. How concerning is it that the D side of the game is as far off as it is right now? I think it stems from the whole thing. You know, we're not good enough with the puck. And, you know, it's leading to sustained, you know, time in our D zone. Yeah, it's the whole thing, you know.

We're not getting up the ice, not for checking pucks back. And we're playing too much in the D-Zone. You know, there's not many D-Zone systems that hold up after, you know, 30, 40 a minute in your D-Zone, you know, it's tough to defend. God, if I'm knob-locked listening to that, I'm just like, when your captain goes, It's uncomfortable. So uncomfortable.

And so I'll say this. I'm reading today, you know, like a couple days ago, Elliot said on 32 thoughts, look at Pittsburgh for a goalie for Edmonton. They got Jari, Shilov, Marischov, Blonkv, you know, they got some goalies. Weeks said the same thing today. Go get a proven winner.

Binner. Don't give me, chicken dinner. Do not give me Jari. Okay, please. Don't give me Jari in Edmonton. Enough. Proven winner. Listen, Bennington.

stinks this year i don't care but that guy has shown he's hit a level where he you can look at him twice in his career once with the st louis blues and once with team Canada and four nations and go that guy's a winner give me a proven winner don't give me jari they might give you okay binnington is on team Canada people sit there and go he's not going to be But that guy could let in 10 goals a game from here to February. He has. Good thing. He's going. I wrote my article today.

He may not start. He may not start, but he's going. You know why he's going? He's a proven winner and he's a gamer. He's got Moxie. I think that last part is important, Kipper. I think the temperament of the guy is important. I think Edmonton needs one of those.

I don't think Tristan Jari, he could be a fine goaltender. Fine. But the temperament of what they need, it's Jordan Bennington. Why don't we listen to Connor McDavid, clip two on goaltending. I really feel like goaltending is a team thing. Tougher goalies to look good when the group in front of them is not playing well. I don't really care who it is when the team in front of them is not playing up to their standards. and tough for a goalie to look good.

It felt bad for both of them dying. Good for him for not throwing Skinner under the bus. Man, good for him. That's the way you do it publicly. Yes, of course. And then whatever you do behind the scenes, go get a goalie, Connor. Go walk in that door and say, get me a goalie.

Yeah, he actually should, right? Like, he should take the bull by the horns and be like, what are we doing? I'm surprised that wasn't a stipulation on the contract. Yeah, yeah. You had all summer that I'm sure was he not nudging them? Maybe this is something we can do. Yeah.

Like, again, not blaming Skinner for last night, but you just need to go. You get a different goalie there. It'll give you a different vibe. You hope that, you know, Bennington's got in intensity too, man. He's not scared to give him guys hairy eyeballs either. Yeah. Puck just kept one of the net. Should we talk about Quinn Hughes?

Well, we have a little time here. Frank Darvalli had a clip today where he was just talking about this and everyone's talking about Quinn Hughes. He's in the news, right? It's like the Canucks are bad. Everybody. So it all kind of hinges what's going on,

the rebuild there around. What's the deal with Hughes's future? Let's listen to Frank Saravalli. I've done a lot of, you know, investigative work, quote-unquote. I've made a lot of fun. phone calls in the last week to try and drill down on the Quinn Hughes story. And the people closest to him that know him best say he's 100% committed to the Canucks

and doesn't plan on going anywhere. So take that for what you will. And Kip, what will you take that for? I don't believe you. Listen, Frank's been around a long time. He's got great sources. He's a respected man in the insider industry. Is there a chance that the people close to him that know him best really don't know him best?

That's the wiggle room in all of this. And again, what is exactly doesn't plan on going anywhere? If we ask Frank or these people that know him best, does that mean that he's resigning a long-term deal? can we substitute he doesn't plan on going anywhere and substitute it with he plans on resigning

is that the same no I do think that unless you're asking to be traded today you're the captain of an NHL team and that's what you have to say he's got the rest of this year and next year I'm committed to that I'm planning on not going anywhere for this year and next year

if you say anything other than that immediately the team goes well I guess we have to trade him since he said I'm not committed to being here but Quinn isn't acting like a guy that on another number occasions even at the beginning of the season or whatever that he's really

all in on resigning here he doesn't want to go anywhere I want to be here long term as he ever really come out at any point he could he could just put the fire out right now

tomorrow saying Guys, the report of Franks Sarvelli, I'll stand by. I don't plan on going anywhere. Yeah. He's towing the line. I'd like to be here for my career. But they don't.

They just let it keep running like wildfire. But the reason he has to is because he doesn't want to look like a complete hypocrite when that's not the case. There you go. You know, when he does eventually say, okay, well, my contract's up and I'd like to be somewhere with a chance to win. Right back to where we were before. Well, it reminds.

me very much of the interview at the start of the year where Elliot and Kyle sat down with them and said, you know, what would it take for the Canucks for you to be in Vancouver for good? And he was like, well, it's got to be, let's have some fun here. Let's have a great year and have some fun.

Then we'll see. I was like, oh. It's not very reassured. Yeah. Yeah. So the players today in the National Hockey League, the top players have never had more power and strength to call their show.

whether or not they've got no trade clause or trade clauses or you know and the best example of that is Matthew Kachuk went up to Calgary did them a favor don't want you to go take me all the way to the end and then have me walk out the door for nothing I'm giving you a heads up boom gone I mean does Quinn Hughes plan on doing that does just Connor plan on doing that in three years I mean, if you are a player in that position now, I think you have to look at the way guys have exited. You know, I'll use Tavares and Marner as examples where fans are going to go aboo when you come back

versus the Kachuk way where people go, all right, you gave us a chance to get a player, maybe we don't like who we got, but you gave us a shot at it. It's probably best for your legacy for these guys to come out and say, I'm not coming back. You got a year.

Go ahead and get a week. Connors covered his legacy. He gave them a two-year contract at no money. You know why he did that? So he can walk out the door with his head up high. You come back to Edmonton. People go, thank you for the 10 years.

We had great runs. Absolutely. He's not available. I didn't hang you out. I gave you two years of free money. And then you brought in Tristan Jari and thought it was going to make the difference. That was the solution.

I like the culture that we're at, though, with players and that dynamic. I think it's also the NBA and it's fun. I was going to say, it's incumbent, it's also incumbent on the front offices to do this too. You've got to be responsible and go to these guys and make those decisions and have those conversations. That's part of the deal.

Totally. You're not going to be here. I need to know. All right. Disco. Yeah, Kim. Great, Jeffrey. Great effort today. Great reads. Great line up. Appreciate you. Look how thorough it is. Look, look, look,

look, people. You got to show up an X hour early to get through this thing. All the clips. And do a really good. great lineup, and I'll have to hear it from Kripper for three weeks. Thanks, Sammy. So we decided to come in to work. From seven different interviews.

Sammy, if you're not blowing your nose, we wish you the best, pal. Yeah. If you can hear me now. All right, our thanks to Craig Simpson, Eric Francis, and once again, Disco. We're back tomorrow, boys. Have a great night, everybody. Fifteen games.

Pick yours.