Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hire Brad Treliving as GM

Episode Date: May 31, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee react to the news that Brad Treliving will be the next general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They discuss the philosophy behind the hire, what the former Flames GM can bring to the table and what’s in store for him through his first Leafs offseason. Next up, Gord Stellick from Leafs’ Nation joins the show to give his reaction on the Leafs’ hiring Treliving, the idea of a possible rebuild for the Maple Leafs and what’s next for the core four, Sheldon Keefe and Kyle Dubas. Finally, the guys close out the show with the Stanley Cup Finals approaching this weekend.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.

This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet 590 The Van. Toronto Maple Leaf President and Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan makes it official. Today he announced that Brad Treeliving has been named the hockey club's general manager. Treeliving becomes the 18th general manager in Maple Leaf history. I'm Nick Kiprios. He's Justin Bourne. Sammy McKee. Derek Brandeo. General Nick.

And boys, the Leafs ain't going to let us go home for the summer. Holy cow. It just keeps coming and coming and coming, JB. Yeah. You got robbed. Let's go set a day off tomorrow. I know. What's going on?

We're going to golf again. You got robbed. It should have been you. day off tomorrow. I know. What's going on? We were going to golf again. You got robbed. It should have been you. I'm sorry. It didn't work out. But good for Brad Tree Living. I think in Brendan's statement, Brendan said Brad brings a wealth of knowledge

from his years of experience as general manager as a hockey executive in Calgary arizona and beyond so that's where where brad trumps me yeah okay he's got a couple of years fair yeah he does well you've been covering things pretty closely too so what do we think we're not overly surprised uh there was a strong indication that brad was at the top of brendan list. We knew that they started talking last week, and there was contact, although Brendan had a personal matter with his family. I think his daughter graduated this year, this weekend.

Cool. So I think that gave some space for people to start thinking about it, and apparently in the last 24 hours, they really nailed down the finer details, and here we are. Overly surprised, JB? Not surprised.

You know, it's a pretty hard veer. Like when he first came in, Shanahan, the hiring of Lamorello and Dubas, Dubas more so, was seen as a really bold hire, right? Like this is a guy that was going to be ahead of the curve and he's going to outsmart everyone we're going to do things differently they even went towards speed and skill and away from some of the other elements of hockey this is the complete opposite of that where it's like he couldn't go out and do something bold again after bold didn't work and he did to me this safest thing possible everyone likes this guy uh pretty inoffensive guy with a decent record. Like it just, it's the safest thing he could have done, I think, which is maybe not the sexiest or most fun, but it's safe.

Does safety lead to greatness, Sammy, for you? I will say that I have a couple different conflicting feelings on this hire. My first, you know, just that that first blush i do like the hire you know one of the things that you've gotten used to with this franchise over the past over the dubious era is sort of a stability and a you know a guy that knows what he's doing like there's just i kind of feel the same way with true living like i don't like he's not outside of the box like you said it's not the sexiest thing but I don't think you're losing stability within a franchise when you hire Brad for a living.

But I will say, all the reports that are coming out, I've seen conversations about the core force staying now, Sheldon Keefe potentially staying now. If all that happens, to me that looks bad on Shanahan with the Dubas thing. Because if you're going to keep everybody else anyway, then why didn't you just swallow your pride and sign Dubas? It's just a weird sort of caught in the middle. I know the press conference stuff was weird.

I know all that, and I understand it. But if you're just going to keep everybody else anyway, then why didn't you just keep Dubas? You probably couldn't keep everything the same if you do keep Dubasious you know that this makes you get to say you made some change that is a that's a huge change yeah but it's the least impactful i think oh i shouldn't say it's the least impactful but in terms of the problems the teams run into how do you feel about it really uh listen i i like brad Yeah. And media like Brad. Oh, yeah.

That's a big deal in Toronto. Say what you will, but it's a big deal that he has a likability towards him, which, as we know in markets, can buy you time, can buy you some breathing room. And obviously, the work will speak for itself. And there's some tough decisions coming for Brad in the very near future here. But there's a sense that Brad's got enough to pull this off. Without people definitively say it's a horrible signing.

And if they do say it's a horrible signing, or I'm sorry, the wrong signing, or not the right guy at the right time, you can always go back and go through Calgary's, his Calgary run and say, where's the success? I think that's the only thing left for people to question Brad tree living is where was the true success in Calgary all these years I guess part of it is that it feels kind of wishy-washy where you know that Kyle Dubas it's been reported by a lot

of people asked for more autonomy or even more authority if you will in terms of decision making the reporting structure all that stuff so they didn't want that so you know that tree living doesn't have that right that he did not get that that would be part of a gm this is still the same structure so to me this really brightens the spotlight on shanahan who now you know has resisted giving that up to someone and has maintained it and so now he if they're going to keep together the coach, the team, which we'll get to, it's now like more than ever to me, there is a big papering deckle across the sides or decal, depending where you're from.

That says Shanahan. The sense is always for a general manager or someone above him, a president of hockey ops. And in this case where Brendan wears just the president hat, that, you know, the saying in our world is, you know, you got a bullet or two or you got a shield or you got somebody that can take the hit first. Yeah.

What you're saying is that that hit's gone now. Oh, yeah. Oh, 100%. Yeah. And, you know, maybe... Which exposes Brendan yeah for full view over the course of this next season for sure and you know even if they do some things with the team i still think that this has really made it you know his the the spotlight moves to him here but

i just you know we we saw elliot yesterday said something that was implied that sheldon keith the shanahan really liked keith and that a lot of uh candidates they interviewed weren't resistant to the idea of keeping keith and so you presume that tree living would be one of them if they're gonna do nothing they can't do nothing can they in terms of coach or players but if they're gonna do nothing it's even more so on shanning but i think outside of the core four fellas there is a big chance for a guy coming in here to put his own stamp on this team outside of the core four right like what do they have nine ufas i think they have a massive amount of turnover within this roster where you can build around the edges of it. End up against

a cap that it ain't moving. Yeah. I mean, there's some talk that it could go up a million. Big whoopee. Yay. Get yourself a David Camp for that. Millionaire, yeah, they can negotiate for a little more, right? The PA if they want with

Marty Walsh. It'd be interesting to see what Brad Treeliving signed. In terms of duration. I don't think three would have been enough to come here and go into this hot kitchen. No, because then they can fire you in the first year if you get a three-year deal. They're not afraid. I would think four or five would have been a minimum. Yeah. And I don't know whether or not, you know,

you could even bring this up in discussion when you're negotiating if you're Brad Treeliving. But say it's not a great success next season. And to your point that now the focus becomes on Brendan Shanahan and he leaves. Where does that leave Brad Treeliving? Like, don't you think that would have been a conversation for brad as well during the process my contract that if you get

fired i become president too you know like well it's not necessarily that uh he needs to move into brendan's chair i'm not insinuating that but like do i get painted under brendan's brush now or is this a partially a board hire too and so it's not just him that chose me yeah you know there's i'm just gonna say the crap you see online is like oh you know brad tree living his dad was close with larry tannenbaum and that's that's out there the perception is perception is that this would have been maybe through that process that you just spoke of more of a hands-on for the board, you think? But I don't know. Can't they go fishing or something?

I don't think that they would pay that much attention, I think. That's kind of what I would be thinking too is just leave it to the people whose everyday job it is and that's brendan shanahan he is the voice and he is the eyes for the board i don't think that they would have overstepped that my personal opinion yeah the role of president seems to be changing like what it is in the nhl and it's tough to know exactly from team to team but they're obviously heavily, heavily involved in player personnel decisions in Montreal and Vancouver. You know,

you're less sure about some other cities, but it seems like pretty involved here too. In about 10 minutes, we're going to welcome in Gord Stelik, Leaf Nation pre and post and someone that we've relied heavily on throughout the season. No one has a better pulse of, of Toronto over the years than Gord Stelic. So real curious to get his thoughts on the hiring of Brad Tree Living.

If we were to kind of prioritize Brad coming in, what strikes at the top of your list well i think it's matthews right and so that's something i'm curious about too is um you know if matthews if they talked to matthews at all and said hey we know that you're buds with dubas this is probably the guy we're looking at like do they have a history at all would would matthews have had to say yeah that's a guy i'd play for before the season because that's that i mean really the franchise you know you want a 25 year old heart trophy winner to stick around so it matters sammy where would you have it uh sheldon keep is hanging out there uh brendan has made it very clear that the new gm would have to come in and be a part of that

process like how how would you like to see this thing uh move towards a decision for sheldon keith to to me i i think like you know i just think it'd be crazy to bring keith back like if you're bringing if you're a new general manager, you're the general manager of the Leafs, it's a dream job. Aren't you going to want to bring in your own coach? Like, it just seems crazy to me that you would go into next year with the same coach.

Like, I guess the fact is that maybe some of the candidates are getting dried up a little bit here, but I think it would be a mistake to go back into it because then it's just how many years you say next year's is last year right on his contract we talked about it you go into a sheldon's this year this year yeah this year coming up right yeah that's what i mean is you know he's gonna be in a lame duck situation they have a losing streak it's yeah anytime you go and three and, it's like, okay. Yeah, it's a new general manager. To me, if I'm Brad Treliving, I want a clean slate. I want somebody, my own guy.

He's just such a Kyle guy to me. I would be floored. To me, the obvious priority is to sign Austin Matthews. And I think a lot of the fan base here, if he signs Austin Matthews, fine. I don't think anybody's going to be really worried about what Pratt & Dilliving does outside of that unless he doesn't sign, then it gets crazy. The Toronto Maple Leafs announced also today that there will be availability 11 a.m. tomorrow.

And he's going to have to answer questions immediately. So what's the first question? Would it be Sheldon? It might be the core of the team here. It might just be the core in general. Like, you know, what are your thoughts? So you're, you are, I'm handing you the mic. You're now the honorary Paul Hendrick.

First question. Yeah. What is the question you were asking? Do you feel any pressure by the january 1st deadlines to do something to change up a core that hasn't been able to get through july 1st july 1st yeah you said january okay july july 1st deadline do you feel any pressure do something by then something to that effect let him kind of weigh in on the whole picture i'm guessing tomorrow he's gonna answer none of those questions he's gonna go well we'll take our time and evaluate i just got here yeah did he unpack the last pair of socks in his

luggage before he starts answering these questions they would have had to right you don't think that got brought up in the interview process oh i think he's thought about it he would have an answer to these questions mitch marner's uh got a no trade what let me also paint a little bit of a picture for you here okay the guy like i said is barely off the plane barely maybe gone to the hotel or a house that he may own her family may own your whole salary is going to a house whatever the. Whatever the case is, what do you think he's going to answer for a guy who just showed up off a plane? So I don't expect many answers at all, to be honest with you.

And if there are definitive answers, aren't we questioning whether or not, like, don't you want to kind of come in and check under the hood A little bit first before you buy the car Or see what's happening here And if you come across If you're Brad Tree Living And come across and you're like

You know This is what we've decided on Sheldon Keefe Yeah My first question is Okay okay, was that your decision or was that Brendan's that you're now spewing? What I don't want to hear is I don't want to hear him come in. I don't want to hear him come in and go, you know, I haven't thought about it because that, you know, that.

He just signed his contract today. Well, but it would be part of the negotiations is what do you think is going on, you know, is going on. He has answers to the questions. He may think he knows where he's going, but he ain't sharing with them. If he has them, he ain't sharing with them. He's so great with the media. Maybe he will.

Maybe he will. He's so great with the media, everyone said will. Maybe he will. He's so great with the media, everyone said. So maybe he will. Okay. First scenario. Huh. We're going to, yeah, Sheldon's staying. Yeah.

Okay. I'm questioning, like, how much did you think about this? Yeah. How many people have you talked to? What do you know about Sheldon? And what didn't you like that you're basing this on? You can't do that, guys. I guess I don't want him to pretend that it's

not urgent or these aren't relevant decisions. They are, but they cannot be knee-jerk either. You can't, and Sammy... Which is why it's on Brendan because he's put him in a spot where it's knee-jerk. And Sammy just said moments ago that I want to change.

Well, you just can't make a change for the sake of making a change. And I did catch you saying that there may not be better options out there. Yeah. He may keep his job, not because you love him, because you hate everything else that's out there. Yeah.

And this is, I i guess what i see happening is them being like you know i'm going to take my time to assess and we're not going to rush anything and all of a sudden nothing happens by july 1st and they think okay well if we want to you know berkey said it on our show on monday you know if they want to fire a guy mid-season they can if they want to trade you know kneelander they can. If they want to trade Nylander midseason, they can because the trade no trade clause is a 10-team list. Just losing all the leverage because you needed time to assess I think is going to weaken the team's position

to get better and win immediately. And also, are we not at the conclusion here? Or maybe I'm wrong that you can't tape pieces to the outside of this core when there seems to be some fundamental flaw within it. So something has to happen, I guess. I want him to say that he acknowledges something needs to be different.

Yes, for sure. And I think he will. And it's already started. He's new. He's a new general manager. He's in a new set of eyes. He's got a new voice. It's fresh perspective.

So you can't figure it all out in a press conference at LRA tomorrow. Come on, guys. He's going to come in. He's going to say, I'm going to get to know everybody, and I'm going to figure things out. And there will be changes. We just, you know, let me unpack first. Yeah, what's really hard, too, is changes we just you know let me let me unpack first yeah what's really hard too is like you know i think the organization grew in size under kyle dubas like 100 you know

like the doubled at least it's just a huge thing i think in a lot of these positions you have people who are dubas acolytes of sort you know know, they're his people. I think Tree Living has to talk to a lot of people. Like, does their director of pro scouting or director of amateur scouting, do they think exactly like Dubas? Do you want your people in charge of those departments thinking differently? You know what, you're bringing up an excellent point. Because the draft is coming up. Just, okay, I just want to stay on Sheldon for a second here, okay? And again, you have a great perspective because you actually worked

and dealt with Sheldon and Kyle. So you might be the best person I can ask this. Is there a possibility that Sheldon can be a better coach, that his best friend and buddy Kyle Dubas is no longer watching over him? Yeah. Is this Sheldon maybe a chance to kind of grow up a little bit? And I only say that because we've studied the Leafs more than anyone else. Two hours, Monday through Friday for two years,

we've dissected everything about Sheldon Keefe. Everything. And to the point where we're watching a press conference in the early part of the season where he gives it to the core four hard and then he backpedals. Was that Sheldon backpedaling on his own or was that kyle feeding him yeah and you know you see some people you know who backs are against the wall who say i'm just gonna do it my way and if you don't like it you know see you later and that's just the way it is it could be i would say that the line of communication between kyle dubas and sheldon keith

was maybe too open at times you know and I only saw it at the American League level where Dubas would come in and say what are we doing with those guys together what are we doing with this power play structure and you know Keefe would justify himself I'm sure they had similar conversations along the way so maybe maybe there's some freedom to yeah but how much freedom did Sheldon have Like there's some times when you could see his lips moving, but you might think that those are, those might be coming from Kyle or Brendan, more Kyle, to be honest with you.

And maybe this might be a second chance for Sheldon to prove he's a better coach. Listen, I know he's got a great work ethic and he's willing to do he's a better coach. Listen, I know he's got a great work ethic, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to adapt, so I can see him trying. That's for darn sure, but I think fans are looking for, I don't know, just different.

That's all. Okay. As we promised, Gord Stelic, Leaf Nation pre and post. You heard him all season long on doing a terrific job on Sports Night 590, The Fan, and also on The Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Stellatricity, thanks for joining us. How are you? I'm outstanding, guys. How about you?

I'm okay. Are you okay with Brad Tree living? It's funny. So, wait. Yes. To answer your question, yes. So, now, wait. Did Kyle get too much pressure from Brendan,

thus he put too much pressure on Sheldon? Is that what we're saying? Just trickled down the boat, you know? I just think at times you're, you're, you watched Sheldon and then you get the sense that this is Sheldon. And then sometimes you're like, Oh man, he's holding back. Or I don't think he's, he's getting to say what he wants to say. And that's a unique situation, Gordon.

You've been around for a long time at the managerial position, broadcasting and watching from afar. Not often you get a coach and general manager with that type of relationship. Yeah. No, and I thought it was interesting, Justin's perspective, having worked there. There's 32 organizations, 32 different relationships. I just find it interesting. One of the complaints Kyle had was about getting that from Brendan Shanahan, apparently, where any organization, that's what happens. The coach is the coach, the GM's their boss. If there's a president, that's their boss. And ultimately, there's owners, whatever may be,

and they can all choose to get as involved or not involved and uh Brad Treliving you know Brendan when he said an experienced general manager uh you knew it wasn't going to be like Mike Greer and and Pat Verbeek were okay well you know he wasn't going to do that kind of search maybe maybe if things were different the team was in a different place I mean that really was his Kyle Dubas move, bringing him to the organization. Brad Treliving has run a Canadian team. It's kind of interesting. He faced a kind of dilemma the Leafs could face more next year than this year. He had to deal with it last year as a Canadian team

with an American board being free agent and, you know, leaving and another one choosing to trade him. So he's gone through something similar. I like it. there's not a lot of experienced guys out there right now if that's what you're going to for i think other times uh you could get somebody new uh new and with new ideas and that but i like brad true living on board gordon there's a reason that tree living will be taking over a team with i believe it's four draft picks and they're sorry three draft picks in the top four over the next three years not a team with i believe it's four draft picks and they're sorry three draft picks in the top four over the next three years not a ton of them remaining there's a reason

and that's that this team has been all in the gm the president everyone believed that this team was good enough to win the stanley cup if they could only surround those pieces or those players with the right pieces my wonder here is like does this is this team still all in with the new gm or do they now have a peak you know prime age core guys and they're gonna say we're not quite ready we need to dial it back we need to build does this change the leafs ambitions heading into next year no no no no more rebuild no no no do not you know, do not get the building permit. Do not get the zone. Do not see a bulldozer.

No, zero. Okay. And this is one of the failings of Kyle Dubas is, now you're talking about a Bradshaw Living staff and, you know, having a Kyle Dubas staff there. Well, I talked to my amateur scout, go, hey, can you whip me up a few draft picks that got traded away?

You know, I mean, more so than about, you know, part of the other things. So, no, you've gone too far. You have to be committed about as far as to try to get to the finish line. But it's – and it's just, you know, as we want to move on to Brad Treliving, it is interesting, Justin, and we've seen it the last week. And I hope this changes a bit in that, like, you know obviously in the media it's not uncommon it was goes back to my day uh you had people that you gave stuff to and in return Gord Stelic was the greatest general manager in the history and others that you know didn't get stuff

you get some that didn't care they wrote, you know, just whatever on a relative. But man, oh man, the pro-dubess cab, I don't know how much is an anti-dubess cab. It's been a little over the top the last week. I mean, you would have thought this was Scotty Bowman reincarnated. And anyway, I wish him all the best. All I'm saying is, you know, when he got the job five years ago, if you said with a team that was automatically going to make the playoffs every year, if he would say five years later, you only won one playoff round. Well, that would that would be justification not to have the job. So I do understand and I do appreciate it was a great regular season to build from.

They did win a playoff round. He was offered an extension. So, you know, they they decided he deserved that. I could have gone either way on it. So all I'm saying is that's where Brad Treliving up on you know kind of a building from what was when we go back an excellent regular season from one playoff or series win not being ready enough in the first three games I know the Panthers are playing well playing great I want to give them credit but not being ready enough then those are the kind of things you got to look at addressing so you kind of you kind of gained 10 or 15 yards in a football game,

and you got to gain more. You got to get to the finish line. We're talking to former Leaf general manager Gord Stelic, currently with the Leaf Nation pre and post on the Fan 590. Gord, we were talking priorities and just in particular Sheldon Keefe and the odds of him sticking around with Brad Tree Living. If you were Brad and you were thrust into this 11 a.m. press conference, how do you answer the first question, what do you do with your head coach?

Well, I'd answer it as honest as you can. And, you know, keep in mind, he did a great job in the Bill Peters situation. I mean, that was something that was thrown at them. They were in the middle of a road trip, you know, and Brad Treliving handled that really well in Calgary in that regard. Like, I've liked that he's always been about as upfront as you can be. Please don't be wishy-washy. I don't think anyone will quite be as concise as Brendan was last week.

But, you know, I heard you guys talking about, okay, unpack your suitcase. No, you don't relax. You're not going to someone's cottage out in Muskoka. No, no, you're in the business. You've got an idea about stuff, okay? So you can get at it pretty quick. And the coaching is not going to be, hey, Sheld So you can get at it pretty quick. And the coaching is not going to be, hey, Sheldon, you know, I'm Brad.

How are you doing? Let's go for no, no, no. It's kind of like nuts and bolts that I have this person that I want to bring, then I want to chat about or I want a little bit to talk to some other candidates. You look at what Barry Trotz did in Nashville, and he's a former coach, and he did it to his own coaches. I I'd expect a more solid answer like I if he says I'm not sure I mean you know then I don't think that's very good for Sheldon Keefe you know the just looking at the situation that he's walking into here I imagine that if Kyle Dubas was still the GM and he said I'm going to

bring back the coach I'm going to bring back the coach. I'm going to bring back the core. We're just going to try harder with the people around him. There would be much uproar. How different do you think this team looks on March 5th or whatever it is past the trade deadline next season than it currently looks? And I mean the core and the staff. Yeah. You know, and you bring up a good point, Justin, as well, that, you know, he's got a little bit more latitude to be status quo than, say, you know, Kyle would. Right. So but if he chooses to keep the coach and keep keep everybody.

So it's Kyle to me, check the boxes with what they did around the trade deadline, you know, and it just showed that, OK, it wasn't enough for the multiple boxes. He checked a couple, maybe didn't work out as well, but he certainly checked all the boxes in that regard. I don't, you know, one thing, being a veteran general manager, he doesn't, not that he would go hog wild about, you know, what, like who, I mean, the Calgary Flames are in a similar spot. They got to a certain spot. Now, again, they got rocked by a defecting unrestricted free agent that, you know, that's why

his expertise hopefully will be a benefit here in the situation. But just, you know, looking for those couple of core players, right? And so they bring Nazem Kadri in, but they brought him into a situation which had taken a step back because of other things. And also, you really saw as far as that's why when we're talking about coaches, I mean, let's face it, the big reason he left was Daryl Sutter probably was the right guy to bring in at that particular moment, but he had overstayed his welcome. And, you know, that's something he'll want to get back on track, an appropriate general manager-coach relationship

that obviously wasn't there in Calgary. So, you know, just like what is that recipe about? You've got Matthew Nyes, which is the best homegrown kind of forward prospect in a few years. You've got a homegrown goaltender in Joe Wall. That should provide you a little bit of cap relief. Like who are those Ryan O'Reillys like he was for St. Louis and at times was for the Toronto Maple Leafs last year

or whoever it could be gordon you buy all the talk that uh somehow some way this uh this core four group uh got some reinforcements that they're not going anywhere i'm surprised if it happened i'm really surprised like i mean um like it's so pay so well then it shows because you you were talking about earlier how different presidents get more involved in the hockey side and how some stay right out of it. And if Brendan's hiring Brad for a living predicated on, oh, by the way, I told the core four they're all set, well, then, okay, I mean, he doesn't have to get right to work about that

and figure out, you know, what options were out there. I would think Brendan probably would have reassured them about certain things about moving ahead and get a next general manager in place and he'll start dealing with things that that would be the kind of call i would i know it's been reported that apparently they were all given assurances i'd be surprised by that in terms of you know what Tree Living would have to deal with throughout the organization, how much turnover do you have to do to rid an organization of the previous regime's people? Or do you think people just kind of naturally go, okay, new boss, give me the new marching orders and we'll carry on? We all, at some point, Kipper is a little bit older than you.

I'm a little bit older than Kipper. We learn that we get an inflated uh sense of our self-importance sometimes and uh you know we do a great job and we leave and three years later everything's great still and all those people that loved you they still love you but they they love they love justin bourne now or whatever you know like and and this whole thing that austin matthews has to be okay with the general manager. All right. Are you kidding me? Who's ever stayed somewhere based on the general manager staying put?

I mean, no, I mean, it's, it's the, it'd be there. There you know, hockey lifers can learn to adapt and work for different people than if, if Kyle surrounded himself with good people, not yes-men. I mean, that's what you should do. I would expect Brad Treliving would be looking to do the same, and there'd be a lot of valuable guys that are there right now. Brandon Pridham at the top of the list.

I was a little disappointed Jason Spezza left. You know, Justin, obviously the relationship was tight with Kyle. I have no idea what kind of general manager he could be or general manager in waiting. I just have always been impressed by him. And I thought that was a great hire and I was a little disappointed he went, but if that's where his loyalties lie, good,

he's moving on. But no, no worries. And I heard good things about his work ethic and his commitment throughout the season. Yeah, no, I mean, hey, look what he did on the ice. And just every time you saw him, I know how hard he worked. 100% Kipper. One more for me before I let you go, Gord.

And it's just around Austin Matthews. Is it not the perfect scenario now with a new general manager to come in and try to slow the process down and say, hey, let's just take our time here and I'll get to know you and you can sell me on your philosophy and blah, blah, blah. By the way, you said just what if I'm not ready after one question? What if I want to stay more? I can come up with something, Gardner. You're fine.

Yeah. Okay, so you're talking about Austin slowing it down, correct? Yeah, yeah. In his camp. Because I think there was a report, I think Chris Johnson said, that they are talking, the camps are talking, but it doesn't appear like they're perhaps close or, you know, maybe in the same hemisphere.

Kippy, how many reports are there out there? How many reports were there that they may hire Brad Treveling, but then they may not hire Brad Treveling? Like, my mom could have done one from St. Hilda's Seniors residence, just like that. No one's been around the Toronto market longer than you. You need to ask that question. Oh, jeez.

So, but to your point, because let's face it, the average fan's going to start worrying July 2nd onwards. You know, this isn't Nathan McKinnon in Colorado, we're going to get it done. This isn't David Pasternak in Colorado we're going to get it done this isn't David Pasternak that there's a contract there but he's at Dunkin Donuts every day and hasn't gone up to the office to sign it or whatever and we're going to get it done and he stays there I take Austin at his word I thought you know just that he said he was interested in staying here

signing a long-term contract I mean he didn't have to say that. But right now, it does give his camp an excuse to slow it down. Yeah, it does. Would I be overly concerned about that? I'd say no, maybe slightly. But also, given what he went through in Calgary last year, you know, that's what I say. All of a sudden, he's kind of look at it. And, you know, he had the kind of uh experience you don't want to have that you get to the finish line with with Johnny Goodrow and he agrees and then at

the 12th and a half hour he uh he has a change of heart so yeah they could they could do that if they want but I think if they're genuine about wanting we all know the number what the maximum number can be okay we all know that in a cap world there's there's no surprises so but yeah that would be one thing that if it's the middle of july and they can say okay no no we're just we're just trying to get to know brad for living and you know his philosophy is a little bit more if they choose to go that route all right so electricity will let you go sounds good guys and uh yeah well we'll find out heat of summer, we were getting, you guys are heating up the radio airwaves and the YouTube airwaves, so I'll keep listening, okay?

Really appreciate your time, pal. Thanks for doing this. See you, man. Thanks, Gordo. It's Gord Stelik, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lived it. Yeah.

Did it. Gets to talk about it now. To your question, I think if True Living were to talk to matthews and matthews and say let's just you know see how it goes we'll get to know each other a little bit it would be like uh you have until june 21 21st and then he can't let good row happen again you can't take this job and then lose austin matthews in the first year for nothing and i don't think he will i actually am fairly confident and you in what I've seen of Tree Living's work

that it's either they're going to get him signed or he's going to go. Sammy, how scared are you of hearing? It's the summertime, baby. I'm not that scared. It's July 2nd. I'm like, ah, I'll just go outside, enjoy the outside. I won't think about it until, you know. Really?

A bologna sandwich. No, I'll worry about it every day oh my god he almost had me maybe i'm getting tired from like sammy lost his marbles no like i think you can't have a collective here's my psa to leaves nation which probably will not work no but i don't think you can have a collective freak out july 2nd the way you would have if kyle dubas was still in charge if kyle dubas was still in charge and it went by july 1st and he didn't sign i think it's the freak out zone where the guy that you had the relationship with and you know you'd apparently love him and everybody was like we're in mourning because he left if that guy couldn't get you signed

on july 1st i think it would be the freak out zone but if proud you're living it goes past july 1st i don't think we all need to freak out because you're building a relationship a little bit i think ultimately he gets him signed i really do but i just you know just pump the brakes a little bit you think that's fair uh in terms of not in terms of logic no no no i think he's got a sign and if he doesn't he's it's over well not that it's over you know give him five days or something after the first but if he's not signed by then he's five days after the first yeah but then his no trade kicks in july 1st that i'm saying so what's five days after well this is why i said to you june 21st like you need to know by then so you can makest that i'm saying so what's five days after well this is why i said to you june 21st

like you need to know by then so you can make that call i'm with you you know if it gets to the first maybe there's a few days to work out you can't lose that hammer no you can't you can't have them dictate now don't talk to that team don't talk to that team the The best part about being Toronto were it to get past July 1st and he decides he's going to try to take it to the end of the year or something. I think it would affect your life if you did try to take the Leafs in this situation and just walk away at the end. Like the negativity from it would be disgusting.

Wouldn't it? Well, let's just say. Are you grocery shopping? What's that I mean? I just think you go to any event... Not in the dairy section where they can chuck eggs at you. But he's said to skip the dishes to get his groceries. He ain't going to the grocery store.

After that, it's like... When you're retired, it's hard. I think, listen, we can talk about if he signs or if he doesn't sign, but ultimately, everybody's lord and Savior, Kyle Dubas, put them in this position with the five-year contract. But it's a mess. It's a mess because five years.

Like if you want five, I'm jamming eight down your throat all day long. I've got you. You're not going anywhere. You're a restricted free agent. It's eight. It was eight for the best player on the planet in edmonton eight it was eight for jack eichel was it not uh yeah 10 year 10 mil times eight how do you how do you eight years yeah how do you let this guy come away with five and then throw in. He didn't get Marner on eight either.

And throw in a no move kicking in after five. Yeah. Like. Kyle. Hey, breaking guys. Those deals weren't good. Kyle did a few good things, but that one has left Brad tree living. Like.

With clarity to me. You're signing or retrieving. left Brad Tree Living with a pair with handcuffs and we're not sure if you took the keys or not. Hey, before we go to break here, you had mentioned something about Dubas and that the Pittsburgh thing, what if he doesn't? Well, we had a conversation at the end of the show

and someone texted me i'll be honest and said you know could he turn that down pittsburgh yeah yeah and then i asked you and you gave him a great answer thanks great answer you gave me stats on uh on on where they are on their prospects and how daunting the job would be. And even if you really were the Theo Epstein of hockey, you still might not be able to dig yourself out of this mess. You're playing a bad hand at the poker table to begin with. I thought it was like a great answer and it added substance to,

yeah, maybe he could turn it down. Now, there was a report at a Pittsburgh radio station, Sammy, yesterday. Yeah, Mark Maron, is that what it is? Madden. Madden. Mark Maron's a guy too. It'd be wild if Mark Maron. What's Mark Maron?

He's a comedian podcast. We have Frank Cervelli talking about this yesterday on Fan Drive Time with Ben Ennis. Before you do, do you want to offer the clarity that he didn't really want to report this? He was hesitant to report it, but there's relevant information within the clip if you guys want to listen to it. Yeah, I'd love to.

We can come out of it afterwards, okay? I did see a report in the last half hour from Mark Madden from 105.9, I think, the X in Pittsburgh. A pretty well-connected guy in the Pittsburgh scene who was reporting that Kyle Dubas is closing in on a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. That kind of goes against just about every single thing that I've heard. I seem to have some indication and not obviously to a point where I feel comfortable in reporting it, but there's been lots of smoke in the last 24 hours that Kyle Dubas has in fact turned down the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But again, I don't feel comfortable reporting that and it just seems like there's an indication that the penguins and fenway sports group have re-engaged with some other people that they were previously interviewing which would lend to speculation that kyle dubas has turned them down but again there you go so okay, pretty well-connected guy. He is, and we do want the clarity. We're not trying to radio Frank. No, no, no. He didn't radio himself at all there.

All he's saying is where there's smoke, there's fire, and the best line I'm telling you I've ever heard out of media is I'm not telling you what's going to happen. I'm just telling you what I'm hearing. Yeah. That was Doug McClain's. Doug McClain. Wasn't it?

He's got no job right now, by the way. I'm telling you what I know. I'm telling you what I heard. Yeah. I don't know. Whatever it is. Whatever the case is, maybe there's something there. Maybe there's not.

And that's to Frank's point that you're not reporting it. I'm just telling you that there's stuff out there. And it could be that some other teams have contacted Kyle who may currently have GMs or... How is he not holding out for the Sens? And Elliot reported last Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada that just let them know. Apparently you've been offered the job

and it's up for you to take it, right? That hasn't happened and it's Wednesday already. I saw someone say... It doesn't seem to add up. He's coming back with an email with a bigger financial package. We got to go to break. If Matthews loves Dubas that much, I saw someone say the Kings should fire their GM,

hire Dubas and start the process. Oh my God. Okay, you got to be quiet now because Sammy wants us to go to break. If Matthews loves Dubas that much, I saw someone say the Kings should fire their GM, hire Dubas and start the process. Oh my God. Okay. You got to be quiet now. Cause Sammy wants us to go to break. We got to go to break. All right. Nick Kiprios,

Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. It is real Kipper and Bourne. Back after these words. The best Blue Jays show out there, period. Blair and Barker. Be sure to subscribe and download the show on apple spotify

or wherever you get your podcasts this is real kipper and born on sportsnet 590 the van all right time your key time for some playoff picks, fellas. Presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds. And we're still a long time away from hockey being played. It's Wednesday, right? Yeah. So Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Saturday night. Yes, sir. I was just looking at some different stuff for the series getting started. And Bet365 has posted just a few the future stuff they've posted on here there's just a ton of different interesting stuff but the one that i thought was very uh sort of interesting is the the total number of shutouts in the series so you could bet the over and the number is uh you know over a half shutout so if there's one shutout in the series you get paid at plus money and it's plus 100 so you know double your money basically i i do think that with brodsky the way

he's been playing if it's going to be a five or six or seven game series you do think that brodsky's probably going to get a shutout in the san diego final no there's a good chance also like the leafs didn't have that much of a trouble keeping florida from scoring they just couldn't score themselves but it's not like florida was lighting it up so you can see vegas tightening the screws on the panthers for a game yeah i like that okay do we do we expect borowski to just continue the magic here how can you there for three years after signing this $10 million contract? And then in year four, I guess, of his massive contract, looked like Vasilevsky.

Do you remember Kerry? Somebody explain that to me. Kerry Price, one of the best goalies in the league for a while, as Bobrovsky was. I think Bobrovsky won a couple of Veznas. Struggled for quite a while until that playoff run where they Bobrovsky won a couple of Veznas struggled for quite a while until that playoff run where they beat the Leafs and they went to the final he was just like found that old form for a minute Jack Nicklaus wins at Masters at 46 Tiger wins a Phil

wins one at 50 like sometimes old guys just have a renaissance not that Bobrovsky's old but great players can have a late career renaissance this is it i'm sure he would prefer less than 10 days off i actually think it's going to hurt him the most there's a chance vegas just fills in florida in my opinion what if he just stinks they lose badly then yes i think that's possible they have no shot if he stinks well a few bob's just in miami for two weeks a few of the uh a few of the zigzags are really close with Riley Smith, and a bunch of them are going to Vegas for game five. Wow. So for their sake, I'm really hoping that the Vegas Golden Knights

win five games. So there you go. Wow. You can bet on players to score five-plus goals in the series, which is, you know, that's a pretty significant number. That's a lot of goals. For sure. I'm telling you.

But Matthew Kachuk, he's red hot. He's put this team on his back. I think he's been involved in what? Matthews did it in round one. He's been 42% of their goals or something like he's been involved with. And it's plus 500 for him to score five goals in the series, which he's really good. So, you know, it's not a terrible number for somebody to score a lot of goals in a series. Aiden Hill.

Yeah. I don't like it. Yeah, yeah. I still don't want it. Okay, and the last thing I have for this series for today is the Panthers to lose game one and win the series. So you think of them

if you think they're going to win, it's been such a long layoff. Vegas has been off for a little less time. They come into that building. They get their doors blown off. Maybe Bobrovsky's not as good. They tighten it up and they win the series that pay is plus 425 which i thought was an interesting bet if you like the if you like the florida panthers to win the cup that you could sell me on so there you go that was playoff picks presented by bet 365 visit the app for the latest odds do you think brovsky saved the goalie union in terms of like big contracts yeah big contracts

yeah it doesn't hurt hurt actually the pricing is a relevant example too no one's gonna give anybody 10 million dollars but i think they're half like would you take shisterkin for 10 million for eight years yeah probably yeah i think might be the only guy you'd want but it's so scary man it's so scary the bobrovsky thing's exactly why you'd be so afraid of it but if they win the cup just once he'd be 80 million dollars every other year if you really think about just one run and you know i talked to people in seattle they're like grubauer already made his money really Really? Yes. Already paid for his contract. Just getting him deep in the second round. For sure.

And the ripple effect of season tickets and corporate and boxes and just the value that you've added to the team. And Florida is the same thing. It's like, did Bobrovsky, how much did he justify them paying him $80 million? For sure. You know what the crazy thing I heard about Florida tickets is that the same price they charged in the first round

is the same price they're charging for a final. Really? Yeah. Well, yeah, they couldn't get anybody to go. They kept it consistent. Really? Well, yeah. Well, yeah, they couldn't get anybody to go. They kept it consistent. Wow. That's unbelievable. And you know who's going to buy those tickets?

People from not Florida to go see a Stanley Cup. Well, that makes sense. The face value in the lower bowl could be like $150. They cost $2,000 right now. Oh, yeah. Those tickets are going to sell. But, yeah, probably not to people in Florida. Okay.

Our thanks to Gord Stelic for joining us. We're back tomorrow. No, are we back tomorrow? We are. Yes. We are on YouTube tomorrow. We got the Jays game, but we will be to comment on the press conference. Yeah, we'll be on two to three on YouTube to talk all about Brad for livings.

All right, for Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, Derek Brandeo, Jen Rolnick, have a great night. We're back tomorrow on YouTube.