Real Kyper & Bourne - How the Sabres Unlocked the Next Level with Andrew Peters

Episode Date: April 21, 2026

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee check in on the Leafs' GM search, with Elliotte Friedman naming Ryan Martin and Scott White as 'finalists', while Mike Gillis appears to be losing momentum. Then, they look back on last night's playoff action and discuss the offside and penalty shot calls in overtime between the Hurricanes and Senators, whether Ottawa's cooked after going down 0-2, and the Oilers' Game 1 comeback without Connor McDavid scoring a point. Later, former Sabres forward and current analyst Andrew Peters (33:15) stops by to discuss the vibes in Buffalo, what was behind the team's mid-season turnaround, and why they got such a boost from firing GM Kevyn Adams. 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.

Let's get her going here. Next two hours, it's the real Kipper and Bourne show. We're live on Sportsnet 360, 590 to fan in Toronto. Streaming always on Sportsnet Plus. Also available for download, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube. Nick Kippreel is Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, Jake the Snake Shultz, Derek Brandeo.

Good show lined up, including the vibe out of Buffalo, as they get set for game two. Andrew Peters, who's been on a few times. I don't think he's been on since we've been in this studio. We had a Peters lull. He was a frequent guest. Why, Samuel? Because the Sabre sucked and no one cared about him.

Oh, right. Wow. We always cared about Buffalo. We like making fun of them a lot. Always cared. So, like, to be clear, it's the Leafs hour, but we're not going to talk about the Leafs today? No, there's always going to be a little.

What do you got? sprinkler. We got to sprinkle the infield. Is that what they call it, Sammy, baseball term? I just told the YouTube chat that we're doing all these for two hours, so better get started. There's a fresh Gillis article out by Luke Fox. We've got Steve Alicat too at the top of the hour. That's always a fun part of our weekly Tuesday hit.

Okay, so Luke Fox writes an article on Mike Gillis, who, I don't know. Is it kind of quiet out there for Mike Gillis right now? Because we've heard from various insiders, including our very own Elliot Friedman, who has, I think, Ryan Martin and Scott White as finalists. Yes. We're hearing a lot of finalists out there for the job.

The voice? Of the Toronto Maple Leaf General Manager job. Yeah. Ryan Martin and Scott White. Yeah. You know, in talking to Breach in the past, he wasn't sure the last time I talked to him

that Evan Gold was included in that he wasn't sure that Gillis is involved. Some have Evan Gold as a finalist. How many finalists can you have? I think it's like the Norris trophy. I think once you're past three, you're not a finalist. You're still in the semis at that point. Three is the

answer. How many finalists you get? I can't believe I'm going to say this. But I don't really like until none of these names move me. So I'll dive in when somebody's named. But like for me to sit here and be like the guy who's their assistant gentleman in Dallas or Goldie or Ryan Martin

or who like, cool. Call me when it's decided we'll figure it out then. Like I these names aren't moved. I said it yesterday. I'm underwhelmed. I'm not moved by any of these people. Sorry. And at the same time, it's like a lack of information. genuinely, it's like, why would you know a ton

about the AGM of whatever team? It's like, okay, well, fill me in about that guy. That's Neil's job. That's the Glasbergian way. Yeah. He's filling in. Last week, I said it on our show that I really felt at the time

it was going to go to Mike Gillis. Yeah. And again, when you take a look at the list of how many true guys out there with that type of pedigree or that experience, either as an ex player, an agent, ran the Vancouver Canucks,

business side, progressive thinker. Like, a lot of boxes got checked off with Mike Gillis. And then this week, I'm like, has it cooled off? It does seem to have cooled off.

No. Nothing has happened. We've just been sitting here talking ourselves in circles being like, we brought up that name. It's different. now. We brought up this name. Now it's not there. Like, we are the temperature.

If we talk about it, there's two schools of thought here that Keith and Neil are doing a heck of a job keeping everybody guessing. Well, that's not part of their job at all. That's the opposite of what they should be doing. I're a good person.

Well, maybe they are and you don't know it. Okay. I don't know. But I'm just saying that all we've had in like four or five days is a list of these unknowns. Right? These assistant general managers that everybody's got one and everybody can find reasons to say, yeah, they might be pretty good. Or are you kidding me? You know, it's a bit of a corporate trick that they'll, they pull sometimes is they'll have a bunch of

people come in and you say, what would you do to fix this organization? You get a bunch of smart people. And all of them give you their advice on what they would do. And then you say, thank you to everyone for coming. Now we have a whole bunch of great ideas about what we should do in direction. and a plan. And then you just hire the guy you wanted to hire in the first one. The other thing I'm leaving. What would you say?

You do hear. Yeah, that's a good question. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just, I'm tired of the conversation. Like, I just, I love to speculate and I love hearing these names, but like,

the only reason that Mike Gillis has cooled off is because we didn't mention it for two days. Or somebody, or CJ, or Elliot, or somebody's like, but I think, Sam. It's just, it's all the same conversation over and over and over again. Mm-hmm. I don't know.

There's great hockey games last night. I'd rather talk about that. No, no, no. I'll tell you what I learned. It's still leaf. It's still leaf land. The number one thing I learned from Luke Fox's article, the number one thing, is that Gillis is 67 now. I didn't know that.

Yeah. And 12 years removed. Yeah. Which makes him an old 67 or a young 67? I don't know. I don't know. Well, I mean, there's some nice serendipity there with 67, the last time at least one. If they hire him, maybe they'll exercise the demon.

Max Petruetti wore it and then fixed it. I mean, he did score a big goal for them. He did score a large. And another one in game six against Florida on the two on one with Bobby McMahon. One of the strangest things was Max Petruetti being insanely useful and a very good player

and scoring huge goals for him in playoffs. And the next year he's just, no one gave him a PTH. Oh, he didn't want to play. So Brendan Chanahan had to talk him into coming here. Last year. He wanted, he would have retired. Oh, is that?

Before. And he came in and, like blew me away with his physicality. Well, you remember his whole career. I don't remember him being Tom Wilson. No, he turned into Mike Pecca overnight. Yeah. What had happened here?

Anyways, it was wonderful. Okay, just one little observation from me on this whole general manager thing or that leaf management thing is I'm sensing that it's less about a president, a general manager. And more about the person. Just it's, it just feels. It just feels like it's going to be a general manager, higher. Then it can't be.

I think I wouldn't be shocked. I wouldn't be shocked. It's been one. It's been two. It's every day it's something new. Yeah, well, he's hearing something new. No, I know. I'm not.

But he said yesterday. Maybe it's too. It's just my spider senses now. Here we are another day removed. And I don't get the sense. that we're going to wake up and hear a president, a general manager, and two advisors. It just...

Well, then all the finalists appear to be... Inexperienced. Yeah. I mean, not inexperienced in the league. They're all... But not as GMs. Not as GMs. Of the biggest franchise in the sport.

And they went out, Keith Pelly, got rid of all the president's jobs, right? And Raptors don't have one. They just have their general manager. Bobby Webster. And then they have a senior advisor in Wayne Embry. Did I say that right? That sounds right to me.

Okay. Does it mirror, do they, as a company or as a philosophy from sports team to sports team, do they mirror each other or it's okay that the Leafs have a president and a GM, but the Raptors don't? I think you can't exactly hold up the Raptors to me as an example of like this has gone flawlessly. let's, I understand that they're in the playoffs and as a six seat. It's been a clown show since they won the championship.

Yeah, kind of. Like it's, they've turned it into a science experiment ever since they won the championship. They haven't done anything since then. That's a strongly worded version of my take. But yeah, I mean. You know, I don't know that you can be like, let's try to mirror that.

And TFC is, they made the playoffs this year. Is that? Yeah, I mean, is that a sign that they're trending in the right direction? I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty of the Raptor season, but they didn't beat one good team all year. They're really hard. to start the year, scuffled towards the end,

getting embarrassed by a not-that-good team in the calves. Like, it's, if you want, I don't know. Here's my other thinking about potentially the Leafs signing just a general manager, albeit an experience. Yep. Is that it's already been done, right, this week with Sunny Mata in New Jersey. And you could have easily gone out there and hired a Brendan Shanahan above him

and then invited Sonny as a general manager. And that could have, you could have passed that. And they didn't. They just, they didn't. I will say the one thing that's been funny to me is that like hockey people have created, there was never a president that, you know, for rarely a president for teams 10 years ago.

Yeah. And there was never these guys 10 years ago either, the analytic guys who never played the game, never really been in a high level situation in professional hockey. And yet now we see them. Yeah. A lot.

Yeah, I mean, whatever you think, the duration, how long they've been around going back. But yeah, you haven't seen them elevated to these roles before. And so it is interesting to have. I think Sunny would be the only example of, no, obviously, Tulski too. But yeah, no, it is. It's just new this president role that now we're like, you've got to have one. There hasn't been them. To me, I would be just as surprised if next week we saw on a podium,

Mike Gillis, Evan Gold, and Matt's. Because the Mike Gillis, I know, is out of the Brian Burke kind of mold. It's like, I'm in charge. I am in charge, and if Evan Gold is going to be introduced, I should be the one that introduces them,

not us, the three of us together. Yeah. And there is the quote in Luke's article where Gillis says something to the effect of he's not just going to take any job. He's waiting for this right opportunity to come along where he can implement his plan. So unless this is that for him,

maybe he decides he doesn't want it. Anyway, hockey. Just wait. Just wait. Tomorrow there'll be four guys that we may. Do you think it'll be end of the week? When you hear some of the insiders start going finalist, finalist, finalist,

there's no reason why it shouldn't be within a week, 10 days. I would imagine any of those people would take, they don't need the most money to get hired. They're not like, you know, fallen over GM jobs, and this is a pretty coveted one to get your name out there. I imagine there's not a huge contract negotiation pending. Anyway.

Okay. Do we have any sound of sunny? got introduced today. Well, no, I was going to do that at the end. We talked. Anyways. Oh, I don't know. No, I didn't grab it yet. I was going to grab it during Valley. We were going to play it after Valley. All right. Like we talked about it. That's fine.

I missed that meeting. Shocker. All right. Which game? Like, did you guys, I find it very difficult to focus on three or four games in a row. It's too hard. So I was all in that Carolina Ottawa game. Yeah, that's the one I focused on too.

Yeah, I had that. one the most. I did watch some of Dallas. I watched more of Edmonton, which was good. I barely saw a Pittsburgh Philly. Yeah. My remote couldn't keep up with me last night. It was just like it was malfunctioning.

I was flicking around so much. I had the jays on my phone. I was four different games going at once. But yeah, I thought the Carolina You're happier with the pace. It lived up to expectations. Yeah. I mean, that was a fabulous hugging. The first game's dunk. I can say that. But the second game was,

And I thought the Sends were taking a lot more chances in that game. And it led to more chances both ways. And it was a fantastic hockey game. It was the skating, the pace of that game was crazy. And the puck just wouldn't go in the net. Yeah, it's just night and day from a regular season game. It is. It's the intensity of knowing that every check matters.

The amount of effort, it's like, wow. It's not that guys aren't trying the regular season, but they're just not extra truck. At times I can feel like that's a tough watch in November or December. And I think they're just smarter than we were back then. They don't have to kill themselves over 80 games. Save it, I guess, a little bit. Which is why guys can come up as a call-up or come out of the press block

and look awesome because they play like it's the playoffs and no one else is. The main conversation from most people seems to be the play. The overtime winner, penalty shot, disallowed, overtime. One of the strangest sequences we've ever seen in Stanley Cup playoff history because no one's ever ended an overtime on a penalty shot before. No, it's only the fourth time there's been a penalty shot in Stanley Cup overtime. First off, incredible play by Martinuk to get the penalty shot. Then he helps them keep possession.

Then he makes a really smart change. So they got fresh troops out there and they're able to control the pocket. and make that play. Like, it was really great work by Martinuk. So I thought it was fitting that he ended up being the Puck Don't Lie game winner later. It's just to have that long interlude where they challenge for offside, they're talking about whatever the penalty is. But then for the referee to be like, not concealing it,

but did he tell anyone that it was going to be a penalty shot? Like, did he tell Travis Green that if this comes back, it's not a power play? It's a pay. But did you just tell anyone? But just then for him to be like, it's called back, but we've rewarded a battle shot was a legitimate, wow, in the living room moment. Like it just, it was a really great dramatic moment. And I don't know, do you guys want to hear the Travis Green, we have a clip from him,

the reporter was really trying to get an answer out of Travis Green. And I don't know if you guys remember him from last year. It was a bite. Not the most forthright guy when it comes to me. Let's listen to the clip one on the offside play. As best as you can, can you give us a play by play. of what you saw on the disallowed goal from Marching Kalski because of the offside? Just how you experienced it?

The actual play? Yeah. I mean, it was just offside. I don't know if that's what you mean. I mean, more just like, obviously you see it happen, the cane celebrate. Yeah, I mean, it's a weird play. You don't see it a lot in overtime. We knew right away when the puck went in the zone that it looked like it was offside.

So you could see from our bench, we weren't. weren't going anywhere. I felt like it was offside. I thought the rest made the right call. Did you think it was offside? So it's not possession. All right.

Right. We're down to, I don't know, what's the term? Possession over control. He had possession, but not control. It's like, oh, come on. Like, Stahl knows exactly where that puck is. He puts it where he needs it to be so he can make a play with it.

Great pass. A sauce that lands on Martin X stick. What are the alternatives on that If you just don't call it the way it's called now? Well, he's got the puck going into the zone for God's say I don't know what else to say Yeah, it's too It's gotten crazy

If you go to the like the bar test or the fan test Like a diehard hockey fan Now neither of these teams you're like Does this look like offside to you And what percentage of people It would be like that's on side? It feels like we're reinventing the wheel with this rule where possession, I don't know.

If a guy's ahead of the puck and you, you know, he goes in over you, that's offside. But that there just seems like you're splitting hairs for the sake of splitting hairs. I don't know. I also think that like you're supposed to have hard evidence to overturn a call on the ice. I don't think you can confidently say that Jordan Stahl is not in control of that puck to me. But what is control, touching it, not touching it? Where's the gray area of how far the stick has to be before you deem it not control? control. Well, this is, so I screenshot the Tage Thompson wrap around the other day and he takes the puck from his backhand. Backhand touch. Forehand, he pulls it all the way to the other side of his body. There's a screenshot where the puck is between his leg. His stick is nowhere near it. He's moved it this far, but he's in control. He's moving it to his other hand, right? So it's, to me, it's like, does he need to be touching it or in control of it? Because he's in control of what's happening here. And that, to me, is stall too, where at no point is he reaching forward. It's out of it.

is whatever, it's right where he wants it to be. It's the same as the McCar one a few years ago. Remember that? Yep. Where it was that same rule, but it went the other way, right? Like so, yeah. So, I don't know. For me, that big a goal and that big a spot to wipe that off the board,

I felt like it was a little bit ticking back. Not only that, but like. In Carolina. In Carolina. Be the guy that thinks that they won and it's over and you just want to beat some of the traffic home to get. There was way less people at the game after that. I don't know what they ended up losing,

1,500, but how sour are you to be out of the parking lot thinking you're like a champ for getting out early and then the game's still on? Listen, my grandpa Fred always said stay for the three stars, baby. Stay for the three stars, wouldn't have mattered. He would have been in there. Did they have jet packs? How did they get out of there so quick?

They didn't have traffic back then, San Diego. Well, it was also owned South Ontario. So the traffic took five seconds to get. Right. So then. You paid hundreds of dollars. and you're, oh, I'd have been there with my kid. It was like a Tuesday night or something, whatever it was last night, Monday.

And I'd been like, okay, it's it. Let's go. Let's beat everyone. Come on, come on, come on. But so, again, the thing that people are most upset about or responsive to is that if that's offside, then the play after doesn't happen. And how do you still allow a penalty shot to be called? So if there's no foul and he scores, right?

No goal. Right. But you give a penalty shot off of it. So it's like it's no good if he scores, but it's good if you get fouled. Right. Yeah, yeah, he wouldn't get, yeah, that's right. It's just, it's strange.

It's like it's kind of still alive, but it's not alive. I will say, so I totally understand what they're going for here. Because let's say in that 40 seconds or 30 seconds, they had the puck in the zone. Some guy greases another guy in the head. He's concussed. it's not like it never happened. You have to penalize the play that happens after that whistle.

So you have to call the game. But I do think the scoring chance thing is different from what I'm talking about. I actually think they may need to carve out an exception because you're right. He gets rewarded for them not scoring a goal where he wouldn't. It wouldn't get rewarded on a dead play, but he kind of got rewarded. It's not like, I don't know. Maybe it has to be a penalty. I don't know.

God, it's a lot of gray area, boys. Yeah. That is some gray area. Yeah, my head hurts just thinking about it. It has some space time. It makes sense. You have to penalize everything after it like it's hockey back. It just seems every time we think like something's going on that we need to kind of get ahead of.

We just dig the hole deeper. Right. Here's the penalty shot, Martin Nook. I like the idea. If you're Martin Nook, you're whatever, third line guy, your thought process is, I can't try to do something cute and not make it a good attempt. He leaned on that. No one will give me a hard time if I go make a good attempt.

However, you got a fake one shot. You got to lean. You got to offer 1% deception. You're not just going to shoot it past an NHL goalie. But I appreciate that he didn't want to try to do too much. Give me a little. I mean, Omar made a good taste. That's a very beer league thought to me.

But it's what every guy does. Just get a good hard one on that. It's what every guy does. They shoot low glove. I mean, you see that move all that all the time and shootouts. I don't know. You got to show the goalie something else. Throw a little deception.

there. Do you want to hear from him after he scored? Because he had a great answer. After he actually scored the O. Let's play the Martin hook clip. Clip one. On scoring the O'TU winner. Oh, man. Yeah, that's I didn't feel very good about myself

after the penalty shot and the intermission felt really long. Yeah, that was cool. I'm happy it worked out that way. Well, it didn't matter who scored, but It was going to be a long night if that penalty shot came back to bite me. So happy.

Hey, this guy is a player. Yeah, he's a good effort by seven in overtime there. Yeah, he's taking a hard time from some Ottawa fans. They didn't like his full commitment to the defensive side on that play. I mean, the fist fight at the first drop of the puck is not the only fist fight. He's been in a fist fight with the puck the entire series. He had an almost like a goal stole. in overtime, basically.

Freddie made a great save. Yeah. But then he gets a pass through the scene to him where in a great spot and he just blows up on his stick. Like, to your point, Sam, everything blew up on their stick. They had countless chances.

It wouldn't cross the line. That was wild. There's like a force. And I don't know what they ended up with four posts and crossbars, five maybe. Yeah. It was like. And ones that didn't even register

trickling towards a goal line where they pull it off the line. I can't recall watching the game. where it's like just doing everything except crossing the goal line and everything i don't even think freddie was exceptional it's just kind of not they're getting unlucky if if i would have told you that all mark would be down to nothing you would have thought okay how many how many blowups during the game but he i don't think he can play any better he was unbelievable down to nothing in the series by goal saved above expected he's first in playoffs by a good distance well

Freddie Anderson's right behind him, actually, but the two of them far and away. He made a couple, maybe four to five, true 10 bell saves last night. Yeah. A couple right towards the end of the game where he had to make a couple. Like, he just was excellent.

Yeah, yeah. He was excellent. Yeah, he was fantastic. All right, let's hear from Travis Green, head coach of the Ottawa Senators on a Kipper's Clipper, number two. Yeah, I thought the first, probably half of the game. I felt like we were,

There have been a lot of talk about creating more offense, and I thought we took a couple chances that we don't usually take. Our forwards were diving down when they don't usually dive down and gave up more chances than we normally do. And, you know, Linus kept us in it there, especially made some big saves in the second period. It felt like I really liked our game after that. I felt like they controlled the first half of the game. I felt like we controlled the last half. And man, overtime, I don't know. I felt like we had a lot of looks to score.

Pain in the, you know, fans' perspective on that one, boys, that's a haunter. That is a game that you look back on when you win that one. That stoots to one slides over the line, Amadio in front of the net. all the chances they have. You win that one. You're going back. You got a split that you needed. You got four or five in Ottawa after that.

They're down to nothing in a series for the 10th time in their history. Ottawa is? Yeah. And they're 0-4. 10th time? 10th. In their history, they're down 2-0? 2-0, I think.

That's true? Seems like a lot. Yeah, okay. I'm not going to doubt Kipper, but I just want it. That seems like a lot. It does. No, no. get AI on that.

But the thing we, Sam and you and I talked about before was like, you watch that Carolina Ottawa game, then you watch Pittsburgh Philly, and I said I didn't watch all of it. I didn't watch much, but I did watch some. And the paces are different. The mistakes are more glaring in Philly, Pittsburgh.

It feels like the winner of Carolina, Ottawa is going to be a sizable favorite in round two. And you're right, if Ottawa gets that win and it's one-one, and you're heading home, and maybe you can start a big swing. I don't, I'm not ready to roll over on Ottawa yet. I think, they win four or five against that team? Oh, I'm okay with two one in the series after Thursday night.

Yeah. Just start there. Start there, boys. 20 minutes. Yeah. 20 minutes at time. They were right there. Ottawa was right there to get a split.

Yeah, you cannot say that Carolina's like far and away been better. It's been a really evenly matched. Yeah, I thought, yeah, you're, you're Freddie predict. addiction Anderson on the one cousin's goal right oh god from what the bottom of the circle then they they showed our broadcast showed the Columbus bubble goal against freddie that was a comparable from the boards it was like oh that is right man I mean happened before I don't know how much time you guys got but I'll dig up

a few clips for you Tom Wilson from the half boards and the first series against the Washington oh yeah like I got a list voice Carolina fans say don't bother. Yeah, they don't. The games aren't totally meaningful enough yet for Freddie. All right. Edmonton? Yeah.

Spoilers. Yeah. Down three, two, with eight minutes to go? A little scare? Yeah, I think it would count as a little scare. But if I'm Anaheim, it's more scary that Connor didn't do the damage. That was the first game of the year that they won without Connor getting a point. They were 41 and 0.

he gets a point or something or he had it sorry he had a point in all 41 other wins yeah last night's the first time though between cap and dickinson and what a goal one that first one yeah and you have to love seeing radco gudas just blow a shoe for no reason and then having echo him come down blasting on it and then dickinson tab it home was very satisfied and i rewatch that goal several times and i was like did that have an impact on the plate massive oh my god you just massive now that the other guy's got to come over and cover and leave his guy and it completely is the reason they score this goal.

Speaking of Beer League, that is as bad of a toll pick as you're going to see. I just love this to hammer it. And yeah, you know, watching that game, you just see that building. There's just such a sense of familiarity watching the Oilers and you've watched so many of these games and that building's rock. And it's just like, yeah, they're going to go deep again. They just, it's as his tradition. Actually, Ingram, who was good last night, he got asked about playing his first playoff game. with the Oilers.

Play clip. Ingram, clip one. Funny. Clip two. Ingram clip one. Maybe we don't have it. Okay. It was awesome.

I mean, the bulk of my career, I played out of Mellet Arena. So to walk out, to walk out the tunnel today was, it's a different animal that's loud in there. And it was fun. I mean, after the anthem, one thing I always do is just kind of smile and take it all in. And that was one today where I was like, this is cool. There you go.

He's used to play Muller Arena. That is, that's so unfair to him that that's been his NHL experience. He earned his way there just like everyone else. And they're like, you got to play in the small college kids. It just makes it all the much sweeter, though. Can you imagine the difference between Mullerina and Rogers? Like, those are two very different places. So I think it's a great, and your tweet about dry-sidal last night on the tying on the winning goal was just so great.

Did you happen to see the entry? Like, yeah. It's a mule. He's wearing Carlson, all the combs cutting them off, two minutes left, pulls, it one-handed to the inside. Great pass by our boy, Putt Colson. Caput and taps at home. Beautiful goal to win it. Two-year-old game from Captain.

You know, it seems to be in a good place. Between Martinook and Put-Colzin and Anderson and Montreal, some of these guys that can find themselves kind of sleepy during the regular season can also light up this time of year. Anderson's a funny one, right? because we all know how toolsy he is, huge, fast, physical. But then he just sleeps through like two months at a time of the season. Yeah, not quite two months.

But yes, but you have to give these guys a complete focused role. And you got to stay on them. And you can do that this time of year. You give them 100% purpose. This is what we want you to do. Check mark, check. And you, and they'll come in. But they can't.

They can't do it over 82 games. Apparently not. Anderson was a force in their first one. But, yeah, like, Capinen, we know how skilled he is. He's been clutch his whole life, too. He scored multiple mass goal. Yeah, he scored a huge old. You win for the least.

Early in his rookie. Scored one for the, didn't he eliminate the nights last year? Scoring that overtime goal, right? In game five, he's scored like, he's got a knack. He's one of those guys. He's one of those guys. They come alive. Yeah.

He's one of those guys who, like, as the pace goes up, that doesn't bother him. He can think that speed because he plays that speed. Yeah, and good fit. He's a missile too out there. He is. He plays with Leon and Pod Colson. That's pretty awesome.

I got to say, though, if you're the ducks and you get the pointless Connor McDavid game, who is literally like, other than Gretzky, the most prolific score in NHL playoff history, still where you're out, you're like, don't love going into game two where that guy's loom in a four-point night for him.

Why don't we listen to Coach Knoblock on Capon and Dickinson? Clip one. Yeah, obviously getting two goals in a playoff game was huge for us, especially Dickinson, who hasn't provided much offense for us this year, but has been solid defensively. The first goal was pretty impressive, nice goal, breakaway with the speed, great pass by Walman.

So that was nice. And then obviously coming up big later in the third period with his next one. and then Capon and yeah tonight he's you know he's been a little bit idle last couple weeks but knowing how he's played in the playoffs especially with that pod coals and dry saddle and Cappy line has been so good and that's when we've seen Cappy play his best and tonight was definitely what we've seen before there you go it's very funny that he took vague shots at both of him so he Dickinson hasn't provided much off He beats it to a square and cabinets and fast asleep.

He's an idol. But they like this time of year. Yeah. Focus and purpose. Yeah, exactly. All right. All right, take a quick break. Let's go and we'll get to Andrew Peters.

Andrew Peters. Oh, God, what's going on in Buffalo? We're about to find out. Former Buffalo Sabre Forward. Co-host of After the Whistle with Craig Ravei. Up next when we return to Real Kipper and Born. Hey, it's Aylish Forerfar. I'm Justin Cuthbert.

Join us as we discuss the most important sports stories of the day and tee up the biggest games of the night. It's the fan free game. 6 p.m. weekdays on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590 the fan, and wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the program. Nick Kippreuss, Justin Bourne. Sammy McKee. We got Andrew Peters. B-D., yes.

Pidi. Where you been? Oh, I know where you've been. You've been like tailgating and smashing on tables. That's what you guys do in Buffalo, right? I that's what some people do in Buffalo yeah but that's not anything that I do the back I was watching you guys at the break you guys look really cool in that studio man I would love to know what the off air conversation is I think I think you may know something about it

anyways um did I have anything to do with Kevin Adams getting interviewed uh yeah maybe you want to like what are you hearing PD right he's the he's gonna win he's gonna win GM of the year for goodness sakes. Yeah. Sure he is. So, okay, like picture where you were

mind, spirit and body in September and where you are with this team, mind spirit and body today. Well, September, well,

if you go back and listen to our podcast after the third game of the season, it was 17 minutes, long. I didn't stop talking and all I was calling for was death. And now

I can't even I can't even describe you the turnaround. It's so confusing that we were feeling the way we were the last 14 years and then at the start of the year and then somewhere midway through the year there was a

complete change in how this team played and a morale change. And here we are, well, not we are, but here are the Sabres, but all of us here in Buffalo won nothing up in the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Bruins. So I was, I'll be honest with you. I was, you know, you know, we do a podcast here in Buffalo, very saber-centric. And, you know, I basically told Craig 10 games in the year, I'm like, this is it.

I'm done after this year. get through this year we have sponsor obligations and um and that's it i'm i'm going to seven eleven and throwing in my application big slurby please be which by the way seven 11 for those of you who don't know seven 11 in the u.s is a is an ontario slag i don't know about all over canada but it's an avondale type store so well listen things have turned around pretty impressively is it you know i guess i'm curious what went wrong at the start of year was it just goaltending why were they not this good? Because once they turned the page, they've been awesome since.

That's a great question. And I think the one thing that was wrong is that they were not a team. Yeah. And, you know, you guys know what I'm talking about. When I say that, like you look at what's going on in Toronto, that's not a team.

Those are a bunch of individuals and a very confused group of players. and this group here was they were not a team. There was a lot of self-doubt. There was a lot of team doubt. There was a lot of, I don't think there was any pride, to be honest with you, from the player standpoint.

You know, and I hate the cliche of, you know, you got to put the logo on and be proud every night. But I truly believe that every player might have been a little bit embarrassed for how things have been run the previous, well, 14 years, but five under the GM that is unbelievably getting called by Vancouver. So I think there's a lot of that.

And somehow, you know, I think they rallied around Rasmus Dahlane too, who had a real personal, a couple personal issues going on in his life. And, you know, there's many other things that we've heard and talked about that we can get into. But I just don't think it was a team. You're watching and listening to Andrew Peters,

former Buffalo Sabers, does a terrific job covering the hockey team on his podcast after the whistle with Craig Raveh. I'll tell you how bad it was that we could hear rumblings on, like, who wants out? Will Dahlene want to stick around? Bo Byram is a guy that is looking for a new contract. And, you know, he'll want out.

and no way tucks sticking around for all of this. I mean, it's, I can't recall, we've been around the game a long time. This turnaround, like, is remarkable, Pedy, you know? Well, let me, let me fill you guys in on a few things we've heard. And we haven't, it hasn't been shot down. I don't even know if it's really even been pursued. But so we had that 0506 reunion night.

You know what it's like. you honor a team that goes to game seven of the conference finals. And that was a sarcastic joke. We're with you. We were all there. And, you know, some of the guys went down to the locker room, the morning skate against Montreal, and saw Lindy and saw some of the guys. And, you know, obviously the game of hockey is a small world.

A lot of guys know parents, a lot of people from hometowns and things like that. and one of the guys came up to me in the suite that night and they're like, Pidi, I got to tell you what someone told me today. And apparently, and I don't know if the story has been exaggerated a little bit, but to a certain degree, Lindy was being overbearing with some of the young guys. I don't know if it was Jack Quinn, Owen Power, Yuri Kulik, all of them, could have been all of them, maybe one or two more than others but uh i guess tage thompson stood up and snapped one day and i don't know exactly what was said

um i mean i i would know what i was told that was said but it was directed at lindy and then lindy walked out of the room and tage went off again and was kind of lighting up lindy when he left the room and that was a huge galvanizing moment for the team and then all of a sudden, Kevin Adams, you know, they go on a six-game road trip. They lose the first three. There was a lot of talk that he was being relieved at the end of the trip. Now, they still had three games left. The players, the leadership group met with Lindy. They had a little come-to-Jesus meeting. And then the leadership group met for dinner on the road trip, had a little come-to-jesus meeting and they won the next three games.

Kevin Adams was still relieved and off they went. Now, you know, it's my understanding. He was a major dark cloud over this franchise, major dark cloud over the franchise. And, you know, it even goes back, and I've told this story on our podcast, but I've not been on with you guys, but it even goes back as far as last year.

Now, do you guys remember when Terry Pagula flew to Montreal and met with the team and said the answer's in this room? Yes. Very much so. Guys have any recollection as to what happened the next game, the next night, I should say, against Montreal? Nope. They got their asses kicked. Oh, actually, now that you mentioned that it is familiar. Yeah, now it rings a bell, right?

Yeah, yeah. So he said, yeah, and we were like, oh, that was a good meeting. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the answer is really in this room. I think that was kind of like the joke. around the league. Well, apparently, this is from a very reliable source that apparently the players thought that day they were meeting going to the rink to find out that Kevin Adams was relieved of their duties and they were very excited about that. And then when they found out that he was not,

they went out that night and had quite themselves a time in Montreal, as I'm sure you guys. Another turning point. That's the turning point. Yeah. And and they went out and got smoked. And I think they just kind of had enough of, you know, being a joke. And they just couldn't recover from it. So here we are. So can I ask you, Pedy, just in terms of Kevin Adams.

And, you know, if this is a guy that either drafted you or traded for you, what was the big issue they had with Kevin Adams? Well, I think it would, I think it would probably be the same issue that I had with him. And it was just how we got the job. His credibility, his resume did not. He didn't pay his dues. I think some of his interviews and his press conferences,

the no palm trees, or, yeah, no palm trees, high taxes. You know, there have been a lot of, there have been a lot of, you know, moments that have been, you know, made to be made the franchise. look like a joke. And I think the players felt that. I think they didn't take the franchise seriously.

And then you enter Yarmou Kekyllainen, who I'm sure had a hell of a first meeting with the team when he was hired as the general manager. And then he hires Mark Bergervan. And who knows what kind of a conversation he had with the players, the captains, you know, and, you know, how that translates into the room. So I think truly, looking back at the last few years,

there's been enough talent here to maybe make the playoffs, but maybe there hasn't been enough morale, pride. And I know what people are probably thinking, right? Like, I mean, I can add this in there. I can hear the voices out there saying, well, they're making this much money. They should go out and play hard anyway. And I'm not saying they weren't playing hard.

I think there's just, there's, there's an element to it. And I'm sure you guys understand where, you know, players, when you're excited to actually go and play, you might play a little differently. So that's what I'm attributing this to. And then you look at Tage Thompson going to the Olympics and coming back. And new guy? Not just part of me?

Like a new guy? Absolutely. like a new guy. I mean, you know, he was throwing his body around more in the second half of the season than I think I'd seen him in his entirety here. And that's not his fault. Maybe it just took going and

winning a gold medal with a robust team like Team USA to figure out how those guys you know, play to win. The Cichuck Boys. Like all those, I mean, all those guys led by the chucks, but they had a very physical team. And maybe he learned something there.

Last one for me here. You're going into game two. Sabers, you like what you saw in game one. Do they have enough to get by this Bruins team? I liked what I saw in the last six minutes. I did not like the game itself. I don't think they played very well. I will say that I do think what Marco Stern said about being bigger,

stronger, and more physical or tougher, I'm paraphrasing, but I think definitely the team up. And you had Alex Tucker who had 10 hits and a lot of guys down there. two players in the game for the Sabres that didn't have a hit. But they registered more hits and they, I think they looked maybe sloppy, a little sloppy, maybe it's nerves. But, you know, once they got that crowd going again,

late in the third, there was no turning back. And, I mean, the crowd can make a massive difference. Petey, just some frustrated fans, right? A couple of booze, maybe. and you're just going, like, what's going on here? They just turn their season around. You love them, but it may be a sense of how high the bar is for them still.

Well, the power play wasn't good either. Their power play was atrocious that game, and it hasn't been good. So I can understand, but I agree with you, Kipper. I actually was, I was watching the game, and I'm like, are they actually booing? Like, can you hear them starting to boo? And they couldn't get a zone entry or they weren't able to, there was a point where they weren't able to really, you know, penetrate and get any good chances. And, yeah, I think it's 14 years.

They're not happy to be there. They're just not happy to be there. They're just, they want more. At $500 a ticket average of Buffalo. U.S.? Or Canadian? What is that now? That's got to be close to 700 Canadian for an average ticket, I think.

Oh, wow. Yeah, I think someone said, I think they said on the broadcast that the average ticket price that night was like 480 bucks or something, maybe 500 bucks. Times 19,000. Chiching, chaching. Well, you're paying for the stadium,

the bill's stadium too, right? Well, listen, no, the taxpayers are paying for them. Oh, okay, good,

good. Pagola might be looking at this winning thing is a pretty cool idea for the same thing. I like it. What a bad idea, hey, Justin? Yeah, what a concept.

Well, listen, if you're tailgating and want to smash, into a table, go knees in first, eh? Did you always knees first? Always. But did you see, have you seen some of the videos of the fans and stuff? Buddy, they're lunatics. They're amazing.

Yeah, they're amazing. Listen, I'm not just saying this because I live here or I cover the team for the most part. I'm saying it because I've played here and I've experienced it. And I've been on two very good teams here. And, you know, the fans are one of the reasons why I want. to stay here in Buffalo is they are just, you know, whether they love you or hate you, they have amazing passion. And, you know, I talked about their passion on our podcast a couple shows ago,

but one word that I just forgot to mention, but certainly warrants the mention is, is you guys booting me off? Is this the Oscar music? That's the hook soon. It's the knowledge. It's the knowledge of the fans. So, you know, it's a great place to live. And I hope that players around the league are taking notice

because it's not the most desirable place to live in the United States. But maybe what they're seeing now can make it a little bit more appealing for players to want to come and play here because of how desirable it is from a players perspective. Oh, and how much it means to the fans. Hey, Petey, great stuff, man. We're going to have you on back soon covering the Sabers right to the finals. I love you guys. you do a great job.

Great to see you. Thanks for having me on. Hey, say how to Craig for us as well, my friend. I will not do that. Okay. Craig, wave, I'm doing it myself. You guys, thanks. You know, when you watch, like, what's going on in Buffalo outside

and what's going on in Edmonton, man, it's just the best time of the year. The best. The best. I miss it. Yeah, I was looking at some time-hop stuff today. It's pretty rough, man. It's a good time covering the league.

least last year. Our thanks to Andrew Peters moments ago. We go live nationally next. Steve Aliquette for Tuesdays. And we'll get into a little bit of Kevin Adams too and the thought of... Peter at lots of great things to say about him. Kevin Adams in Vancouver. You'll want to get our thoughts on that as well. Stick around. Valley next.