Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Back to Business

Episode Date: February 5, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with their thoughts on All-Star weekend, a more entertaining Skills Competition, Kucherov's lack of effort and the celebrity presence. Then, back into the thick of the Leaf's regular season as they host the Islanders tonight - the chance for a letdown after the break, Kampf and Woll's injury status and who the Leafs' X factor player is for the remainder of the season. Former NHLer, coach and MSG Network Islanders analyst Butch Goring (33:35) joins them to tee up tonight's game and share how the inconsistent Isles have changed under new coach Patrick Roy.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

all right let's get her going it's the real kipper and born show we are live on sportsnet 590 sportsnet 360 and sportsnet plus from four to six nick kiprios justin born sammy mckee derrick brandeo jennick for the next two hours. I hope some of you out there watching and listening had a nice, quiet weekend, unlike me, who got sucked into the vortex of the NHL All-Star weekend. Party animal. How's that voice out in there, buddy? You're rough.

I really need you guys large today. I'm going to sit back and run. I'm telling you, yesterday was touch and go. Really? Oh, yeah. Glad you pulled through. I pushed hard yesterday, and nothing but feathers came out of my mouth. Let me, you know, say you are a warrior.

You're never a game-time decision. You're always a go. We always know you're in. I'd call you the Phil Kessel of shows, but I don't know that that's the compliment i want to give you so more like the chris tannib who doesn't get injured well unfortunately um it's not that quiet right now because we're right back into the the thick of things with uh two games on tap more importantly in this uh leaf hour edition of the real kipper and more show toronto maple leafs and the new york islanders get going tonight one other game as well but uh we got to touch on uh what we saw what we heard oh yeah what we witnessed some things can be said some things stay between

easy weekend to like reconnect your insider network? Like you talked to everyone in the league over the weekend. Well, I did from Thursday on. We know that our show ended here at 6 p.m. Eastern, which didn't give me enough time to get to the rink and watch a lot of the Thursday night. But Friday and Saturday I was there, and to be honest with you, I mean, I watched part of it but it's such a hard thing to do where you just go and and watch and yeah not have anybody talking

in a seat and watching the game you're yeah so i'm not sure i like i watched a little bit i watched enough i'm not gonna ask you about the neutral zone four checker no i watched enough to know that the feel and the vibe was much better this this all-star than we've had in a very long time i mean the the biggest overarching theme is just tremendous success for the city of toronto first off we had a completely unusual warm february where it's sunny days and five degrees. So people got to enjoy, you know, not just inside the building, which was great, but also the skills contest had some real life and vibrancy and intrigue again. I thought that was a real positive. Toronto fans really engaged, booing Kucherov, you know,

like showing that they were a part of it. And yeah, it really ended well, right? With McDavid winning, Team Matthews wins the game. It just, to me, just a tremendously successful all-star weekend for the NHL here in Toronto. Can I give you my biggest takeaway?

Of course. As a Toronto Maple Leaf fan? Yes. Connor sure loves it here. Ah! That is such a Leaf fan takeaway. So they're in the skills comp, which I was also at. He wins the fastest skater,

and he does an on-camera, on-Jumbotron interview. And he says, it's always great to be in my hometown. And the crowd erupted. To their credit, they erupted. And he's not a happy guy. He is a grumpy guy. A smile, like he was it was christmas morning he was six years old and there was jurassic park toys spread around he was smiling

ear to ear i've never seen him that happy but the Biebs is the most happy no connor being in toronto that's my biggest take like connor in toronto it's big weekend he did on a number of occasions mentioned the the faithful edmonton Oiler followers. Yeah, yeah. Of course. He's not bailing on them, Sammy. Oh, okay. Hey, I'm just saying how much he loves spending time in his hometown.

That's true. You didn't say anything more than that. And there's not even anything. There's any pictures of him holding Leafs jerseys as a child. It's not even like that even exists on the internet. Like, come on. I'm not suggesting anything. We did our last show of the week, of course,

at the Metro Convention Center. The fan fair was, like, it's amazing to watch young families. And you're included in that because your son and your wife joined us as well there. But you took off fairly quickly yeah uh no what was the vibe outside of the work that we did on our show so my son charlie is not like a die-hard hockey fan he's seven years old he plays hockey but he's not like one of those kids who's obsessed and whatever this weekend it was almost a conversion for him like being around that fanfare he did a couple of

the events he knows a few guys names but the skills contest the way it goes okay that's Nylander and his helmet's off and you get to see him and you get to root for this one guy he's our hometown guy so you know he we get the Islanders blood so he was rooting for Matthews Nylander and Barzal and you know you got a pretty good chance you had three of the 12 guys in there he really you know connected with those guys and like he wanted to know how they did the next day he he had an awesome day and i think that's what this weekend is right it's meant to be to hook new hockey fans and to to pay off for the for the kids so yeah really cool how pumped was he to be at our little fanfare thing yeah and now you know the other thing that really strikes me especially when you kind of right in the thick of things and i did a couple events today which included

the nhl mascots yeah and to watch the kids respond to these big goofy stuff adult people in these costumes gritty there he was yeah oh yeah i think they're wrong i did not see gritty he was there oh gritty was there i saw a bunch of other ones but to watch the kids reaction to uh the mascots yeah it's like there's no one else in the room my only criticism of the nhl this weekend may have been the mascots were after the all-star game, which was through the skills game, which was three plus hours long. So at 1030, I was like,

yeah, we're out of here. Yeah. You're two hours past. There's nowhere else to put them. I guess before, before, I don't know.

That's something that could be happening as you walk in. This was on Friday. It was the skills. I think Thursday after the skills day, they did Friday after the skills. Yeah. Yeah. You know, there did it. Oh, Friday after the skills. Friday after the skills. Yeah, you know, there's the odd thing that they could be better. Like, it could have been tightened up. You know, like one guy, between events, there's four or five minutes to set up.

To me, it was like when you're golfing with a guy and he waits for someone else to hit, then starts his whole, like, shooting it with a laser and practice swings. Starts putting the glove on? It could have been like, once one guy's done the event, let's get the next guy up. It could have been tighter. I didn't mind the Tate McRae break for the NHL All-Star game. That was okay. No, you enjoyed that.

She was good. I enjoyed that part of it. Yeah, no, no. That's like the real deal. Yeah, lovely young woman. I'm not sure we need much more entertainment other than maybe one as another way to maybe shorten things up because I think they had another concert earlier.

Yeah. There's, you know, just the whole thing could have been two hours, not three maybe, but I will say it built and built and the shootout and the obstacle course at the end. Yeah. I mean, those had the potential to flop and they landed. Like the obstacle course is really cool

and I love that like in the shootout, Barzal picks Shusterkin, Islander on Islander. You know, Matthews went on Demko. You know, kind of inter-Canada American guys. Like, I thought there were some really good matchups. Willie picks Cam Talbot. Yeah, I'm sure. Lit him up for nine.

Yeah, he did. He lit him up. So that's the thing. I mean, not to get too into the nuts and bolts of it, but Willie had a legit chance to win it when he does the obstacle course, flies through everything, and then misses the bunny. He had like the bunny, and he actually had a real chance to win it. At least McDavid still would have gone,

but it would have been a bit more pressure on McDavid. The one thing that kind of stood out above and beyond anything was that the guys put in a real effort like they and it was led by connor mcdavid they all worked their asses off this week weekend and that has just on the ice but no on the ice i'm talking now just on the ice that we've seen in the past that these guys absolutely mail it in. It didn't help the last few years that we asked them to put red noses on and costumes because people in the NHL office were so fixated on Trying to beat the NBA game.

Just trying to show, like, what? That they're entertaining or they're... You know, they got this certain style or whatever. No, no, they're just hockey players. Why don't you go back to the root of what they're supposed to do and that's show you world-class skill? And that's what they did.

Yeah. And it was because they actually went to McDavid, and he was the nuts and bolts of revamping this whole skills competition, to your point. Yeah. And it played off beautifully. Yeah. A pleasant surprise, for sure.

I think, you know, like I see clips, like right before All-Star, a lot of different hockey accounts are uploading sort of like TikToks and Instagram reels of the old All-Star, a lot of different hockey accounts are uploading sort of like TikToks and Instagram reels of the old All-Star Game Challenge ones where it's like Jager up against Brodeur and all these different things. And to me, this for the first time, this is one of those that you'll be able to like,

if you're Charlie's age, you'll be able to look back on and be like with real nostalgia where it's not like they're shooting at a surfboard. They're playing the actual things. They're doing the actual traditional events, the hardest shot, like the accuracy, the obstacle course. But like, yeah, McDavid just set this up to win.

Well, I don't think there's a way to set it up that he's not. Well, anything that involves skating is set up for him to win. I will say, I feel like the biggest idiot for not just betting everything on him to win it. I did Bunk Show this morning, and he was saying, 10 seconds into the skills contest, you're like, ah. Yeah, he was 8-1. That was the odds?

Yes. Oh, they were good odds then. You could have got paid if you just said, I don't know, maybe the best guy is going to win. That was dumb. I'd buy that for a dollar. There you go. I should have bought that for many dollars. More than a dollar.

The other thing that stood out, of course, was... Lebs? Well, no. Well, besides that, the Leaf win in a three-on-three. Now, again, I didn't pay too much attention, but it was kind of set up where all the Leafs were together. So, I mean, it was scripted. It couldn't have been scripted any better for Leaf fans

that Austin and his teammates ended up winning the whole thing. Yeah, I did have Matthews as MVP. Yeah, I went off of it. I went off of it. I went to David. Was that a true MVP or just giving it to the best player? But I gave that out. I gave that out on Friday.

He scored two goals and an assist in the final game and the game winner, he's the hometown guy. I gave it out on Friday. I didn't even stick with it. I watched McDavid dominate. I gotta go with McDavid. Austin was getting it no matter how bad he'd be. I don't know. He had to do enough. I think Debrinket had three goals and three assists over the two games.

I saw Forsberg score a lot of goals too. But that's the thing. He had as many as Forsberg, so who are you going to give it to? You know, it's like he, nice. The, you know, the one thing that I thought was really funny was the Bruins guys really giving it to the Leafs a little bit. Montgomery says, you know, I heard Willie talking about back checking. Didn't expect that. You know, which is a nice little barb.

And then Pasternak says like, yeah, I know the Leafss needed some wind so good for them to get one love that listen i think that would carry a lot more water if you didn't just have the most historic collapse in nhl history in the first round last year right but it's fun that they're for sure but like thinking about the leafs still he's i mean remind me how many sanley cups he's won yeah zero like he's not, he's not, like, Mr. Winning Everything. Just because you play for a team that's won doesn't mean you've won anything. Like, I, to me, it was tacky. That's just more shot at the history than perhaps.

Yeah, for sure. But, like, have a look in the mirror, Pasta. Like, you're not exactly Sidney Crosby in terms of your accomplishments. I thought that was a little bit bad. Oh, I loved it. I'm sure you did. I'm sure you did.

But I just, it's like, you know know you were the best team in the regular season in the history of the league last year wasn't it and then they go up in the first round and they blow it to the cooch is the best the leading scorer also blew this yeah and there's no way that leave fans booing him during a all-star game will ever come back and hide no way no way that'll ever come back that's the one thing that stood out too is is kucherov and if you don't want to be here don't don't come yeah so it's a bad look you know to me i think he when he tries it doesn't look like trying do you know what i mean like when he's shooting the puck he's kind of that she's just got that kind of lazy motion,

whatever. And then when it's going badly and he's like, I'm not going to win and he kind of punts anyway. To me, like I think he was trying until it didn't work out

and then he. Watching it, you know, they bring out the guest passers and it's Conor Bedard and Sidney, I'm like, maybe it should have been

Sidney Crosby doing this instead of Kucherov. It's like, I don't know. Anyways. I think what I really liked was it was in front of a fan base that's sophisticated enough to pick up that you're mailing it in. Yeah, agree.

And then they carried the booing over to the next day. And it's fantastic. And what I also did was send a message to all the other skilled guys is that we're watching you're you're not in florida yeah you know chucking pucks at a surfboard here where there's you're just wouldn't know any better yeah you're in toronto man you can't pull that crap off here and think you're gonna get away with this on monday you know do you want to be the subject matter yeah and i And I think when they booed him, they're like, okay, let's pick it up. So, again, towards that effort, taking it seriously,

and putting on a good show for the fans. That's what we want when you're paying $400 a ticket. You know, is it not a reminder, though, when you watch the guys do those skills contests, the best in the world, how hard hockey is? Like they're doing the passing challenge while skating, trying it not a reminder, though, when you watch the guys do those skills contests, the best in the world, how hard hockey is? Like, they're doing the passing challenge while skating, trying to hit a thing. This, you know, we just assume that for the best in the world, this bang, bang, bang. It's hard.

It's a hard sport. I went out for a beer after with a friend of mine. We were talking about it. And we were watching the highlights of it on TV. And it was like, I think it's not as impressive to people because not as many people have, like, for example, dribbled a basketball or shot a basketball. Like, the NHL, it's like, you don't know how insanely hard what these guys are doing.

Well, you know, one thing that stands out to me is, like, when you pass a puck and it's spinning heel to toe, it curls. Yeah. So, you know, you're skating and anticipating the curl coming off your stick when you're passing from distance and hitting these small targets, you can be made to look a little silly. McCarr during the passing challenge was unbelievable. Ting, ting, ting.

Just hitting every single one full speed. So, it was good. All right, anything else from the weekend? Yeah, the celebrities, I thought thought were a really nice touch. I loved Bieber's coat, and I loved how much he loved it. I thought Buble and Arnett were hilarious and welcome. Sometimes hockey forces celebrities. They got the right ones.

They're like, it's Snoop Dogg. And it's like, love Snoop Dogg. He doesn't really love hockey. They got the right ones. Yeah, they got the right guys. Specifically Tame McRae. The Biebs could have tried a little harder on the. He didn't like the draft.

I didn't like that. Just in the lying it down and the one or two word sentences. I don't know if he's got the confidence to try to pull it off. He's not Bublé. He's not Arnett who get paid. Yeah. Not to sing like that. Yeah.

No, he is so sincere in how much he loves the game. Like, he's dressing up for warm-up and going out with the guys, taking pictures with everyone. And he did put on a concert. Yeah, you know. So, I get it. I give him a bit of a pass on that. Yeah.

Because he is what he is. And I will say, I'm pretty impressed with his hockey skills. Yeah. Look, he looked okay. You know, when he's out there warming up with a bunch of NHLers. He plays. Yeah, I mean, he plays. But, like, so do I. And I wouldn't look like that. So, he looked okay you know when he's out there warming up with a bunch of nhlers yeah i mean he plays but like so do i and i wouldn't look like that so he looked good i liked it good uh and mike michael buble who we had on friday if you did not if you didn't catch it please go back and download it because uh his passion for the game and his passion for vancouver

and his knowledge is uh with the team is as good as we've ever had outside of the three of us. Yeah. It was a part, it was a, you know, owner of the Vancouver giants, like well involved in the steeped in the hockey community there. So,

you know, little micro dose here and there, keep a guy going through it, you know? All right. Let's 24. Why not? Now, how do we feel like right back in the think of things? dose here and there keep a guy going through it you know all right let's uh 24 why not now how do we feel like uh right back in the think of things like we it seems like when

there are long breaks we wait forever for a game and now these guys have gone through their weekend an emotional one that was thoroughly enjoyed by family and friends and now they're they're thrust right into a game tonight against the islanders and i don't know is there a chance for a little bit of a letdown well i i think it's an important question because the leafs get a lot of flack for being a top heavy team they rely on four or five guys to carry them to wins and those four or five guys just got you know we're before we get into the leaf stuff we should mention that we're gonna have paul grant in the second hour to talk about the the london police press conference today so

we're gonna have more on that in the second hour in the more national hour so we have a bigger audience on audience in that before we get into leaf stuff i should mention that but yeah it was just you know not a ton of answers being given today but we'll get more into that with paul just wanted to mention that before we get into the leaf stuff here and um also in about uh what 15 minutes uh butch goring will help t us up uh tonight's game as well so uh so you're there is a chance yes what was i saying um the letdown yeah because they rely on the top four guys. They're very top heavy. Those guys have been through the ringer this weekend, not just on the ice, but social.

And also they would have been out at nights. So we have five clips on this, and this is the fifth clip. Derek, this is the most relevant one to what we're talking about here in terms of a letdown. So if you want to play clip five for us there, Derek. Yeah, I think talking to them yesterday, they all first had a blast and then were thrilled with how it all went and everything that was associated with it. I know that they

were really thrilled to be a part of, but it was very clear, not so much talking to them, they didn't give you a whole lot, but just we had a lot of people in our organization that had a lot to do with the event as well. Whether that's our training staff, equipment staff, or office staff, people throughout the building. And there was a lot of comments just about how hectic it was and how busy those guys in particular were

being here in our city. So we're trying to be mindful of that. Left it to them to determine what they needed yesterday as an optional again here this morning. So, yeah, I think that clip right there is sort of setting up what he thinks may come tonight. Don't you think? Talking about how it's like, yeah, they were really busy,

and now they're right back into it. Yeah, and the Isles only have one guy in the game, which is something, but also they have Patrick Waugh, who I still think they're trying to impress and make first impressions for and whatever. I think you're going to get a pretty engaged Islanders team tonight. Well, really engaged if they just look at the standings and understand that if they have any playoff aspirations, it's got to go through right now Detroit and Toronto.

I guess technically is Toronto still a wild card? They're in a wild card spot. Spot. Yeah. They are a point behind with three games in hand. But I don't know. Could they pretty much kiss it goodbye with a loss, right? Regulation loss today.

Who? Islanders? Yeah. Yeah, no, it's today. Who? Islanders? Yeah, no, it's desperation. I mean, they are way back of Detroit. Six points back. Yeah. Yeah. Games in hand?

Yeah, they got one. So they need this. They do. They need to turn the corner and really get things started in a positive direction. And then, you know, I think it's there for them. So, yeah, I expect a pretty good islanders effort tonight i'm going to be curious what the leafs are able to muster up i do think that john

tavarez should be better rested matthew nye's another guy who looked like he could use a break good for those guys but so four stars played and were busy and out at night and well let's be real right listen they've been partying i saw austin at that World Cup press conference with Gary Bateman. Heard. Out at night. Yeah. And so no Yarn Croc. No David Camp.

So we got four partied guys and two regulars out tonight. Okay. You mentioned David Camp. Apparently something happened just before the All-Star break. The Leafs thought it might settle down it didn't went for uh i believe an mri if i'm not mistaken today just to see what was going up we have to get sheldon keith on uh david camp's uh situation clip three derrick yeah just uh if there's there's something there they found on the MRI that's going to require some time to heal.

Nothing significant at this point. It's usually about a couple week timeline. Now it's a little funny because it happened before the break and all of that. So he's sort of already on his way. So not going to be available this week and then

we'll move into day-to-day category from there if all goes well okay and then do we also want to just while we're doing updates on guys see where joseph wool is at check in on him another injury guy there clip uh four please yeah obviously getting out on the ice today and then kind of getting more involved in practice is it but um you know the timelines that we were given uh he's he's on track for which is is sort of the middle of this month uh getting back into more full involvement and then making a determination for for his status for games from there so we're just kind of taking it uh a day at a time as we work towards that but he's not at this point he's in he's he's not anywhere close to us

considering him for game action it's more so ramping up uh towards full participation participation in practice and then making a determination on his uh his plan from there this is dragging yeah so another two weeks for wool you know the middle of of the month is in 10 days probably two weeks so you're looking You know, the middle of the month is in 10 days, probably two weeks. So you're looking at a 10-week recovery from that injury, which, you know, Kip, you've mentioned these ankles, it takes time. Do you think that the emergence of Samsonov and I guess the quote-unquote steadiness of Martin Jones has pushed back that timeline a little bit like do

you think they're being they're they're feeling as though they can be a little extra cautious with the nature of the injury or do you think it's just this is the length regardless i'm him it asked me that question a week to 10 days from now okay he's close yeah right now the answer is no that has no bearing whatsoever i'll write that down i'll ask you in a week yeah but i feel like don't look any further for samsonov and what kind of comeback he's made till after tonight that's that's the position that he put himself in by having a horrific first half of the season you don't get he's back from from my perspective you don't get to say he's back or the leafs are in a good position now. Yeah, he had a couple good games against Seattle

and the Jets without their offensive player. He just needs to keep building, and that includes tonight. And then if it looks good tonight for Samsonov, the next test don't look any further than Dallas on Wednesday. That's a stiff test. He's got to get through these two games here unscathed. Yeah. I think there's a scenario where he plays all three this week, right?

Because they play Monday, Wednesday, Saturday against the Sens, if I'm not mistaken. So, like, I think if he's feeling good and you just play him all three and just try to build it with him. I think so, too, right? You're going to play tonight, day off just try to build it with them so too right you're gonna play tonight day off you get to play again and then yeah you get a couple after that it's not like you're trying to find out what jones is unless you feel like you need to keep jones sharp involved yeah yeah i yeah it's just an i guess i'll say it again knife's edge with samson

off no idea what you're gonna get i i truly have no idea what to expect. But anyways. Okay, we'll get one comment in out of Sheldon Keefe on Patrick Waugh. Of course, back in the league, leading the Islanders. I'm not sure how it ends up looking for the rest of the year. But he's got a lot of work to do. There's no question. He does. I think he's going to be good for the Islanders. I think a lot of people there have been inspired by his passion.

You know, he wants to win. He's not there. He doesn't want a team that's, like, going to improve. He wants to win. So, yeah, why don't we have a listen on Keefe with the differences in the Islanders with Patrick Waugh. You know, I think that they just seem to play with more aggression, more pressure on the puck defensively.

They seem to be, yeah, I would say those are the biggest things. Now, we've played the Islanders twice already, and I thought both games we played them, they played us pretty hard, and they were emotional and physical-type games playing down in Long Island, and both games went to overtime, so I'm expecting much the same that way. So, was that the first game that we went to together was

against the Islanders, right? Remember that? Yes. That was the last time I think they played in Toronto when Rasmus Sandin fought somebody. I forget who it was that he fought. Wallstrom or someone? Yeah, he went toe-to-toe with them. I feel like they definitely have a lot less sting in their game here than when it's in Long Island for obvious reasons but uh yeah they need it so they've lost uh twice right in overtime the islanders yeah yeah okay we're gonna get uh we're gonna take a quick break and we're

gonna bring back four-time stanley cup champion butch goring we'll get into the islanders with him and what patrick's already done this hockey club as they come back. Few injuries. Looks like they're getting healthier, JB. So we'll get to that. Maybe even ask Butchie about his big battle with Biz Nasty. You mean how he keeps putting Biz in a locker every time he tweets out? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. You're not going to want to miss that. More real Kipper and Bourne after the break. Everything Raptors before and after the games. The Raptor Show with Will Liu. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back into the Real Kipper and Boren Show. Nick Kiprios, Justin Boren, Sammy McKee.

We wait for Butch Goring, four-time Stanley Cup champion, to help tee us up. New York Islanders versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sammy, we got him? What kind of producer are you? You're just... Has not answered yet. I texted Derek the number. So...

We can talk about Tyler Bertuzzi getting his hair cut off. Turn your mic on. Then you can talk about it. We could talk about Tyler Bertuzzi getting his braids cut off. Okay. His lovely hair. My first thought is, yeah, change it up, buddy. Okay?

Yeah, 100%. Whatever it takes. Shave it. Yeah. But, you know. Whatever you were doing before, do the opposite. And donate your, he donated the hair, right? He did.

He donated it to cancer. Good for him. Yeah. Yeah. To kids, I believe. Yeah. So, and he's done it before. So, when he went home at the break, sounds like he did it again.

So, you're going to get a clean cut, sharp looking Bertuzzi. I will say, someone went through the COVID time and you weren't able to get a haircut. Yeah. I had a horrible mop. Yeah, same. Really bad. And I will say, that first haircut, when he went and got it done, boy, you feel better. He's going to feel way better

on the ice. He's got to get going because the only thing left for him is to donate his hands after this. Oh my god. Yeah, there were some... He's's gotta put the puck in the net i actually think a lot hinges on tyler bertuzzi like him becoming the guy they thought they were signing i think i i don't remember exactly what we said before the break but at least they're like the what

11th best team in the league right now you know they're not mid right they're they're good mid upper upper mid upper mid and you know him being a a 25 goal guy would be would can help take him to the next level get a couple d Bertuzzi starts to play well put Bertuzzi or Domi on the wing with a couple of the stars. Like, let's need to take a step here from upper mid. Clearly, the Leafs didn't take me up on my advice to sneak in a game with the Marlies for Matthew Nyes. You mentioned that the rest might do him well, which kind of makes me laugh that a 21-year-old has got more energy than the three of us combined right now.

But mentally, he's never been now but mentally he's never been through this he's never been through this remember he's saying it 40 some games he'd be done the college season by now one of them have to really establish themselves as a legit top four player for the leaves domi and nize all need to be better but one or two of them need to be like legitimate players yeah i mean if you're looking ahead i don't even have max in there i don't have max in there why not why don't have him play wing with a couple of stars he's got no opportunity but he hasn't i know he hasn't so he's kind of excluded And when it comes to someone solidifying their spot with Matthews and Marner, it's either Nyes or Bertuzzi.

It's not Max because Max has not been put in that position. He should be. I don't disagree with you. He's not the third line center answer. Do you think that's coming in the next few games if one of these guys doesn't step up production wise probably i i really think it's a matter of finding value in some of these guys at three million if he's a top six winger who can be a point seven

five points per game you got value so i think he deserves a chance to try that out because i don't think it's he's the third line center in playoffs i don't and i mean well they can't but they can't move them up right now because they don't have camp for a week so you need a center so i guess holmberg slides in for for camp here but yeah you can't really go with have you seen any lineups tonight yet as uh as reeves yeah i think reeves back in back in yeah it'll be interesting now and not that camp was having a great season but very important player along with yarn croc yarn crocs also let's not forget out probably another two weeks like that that's a significant

blow to the depth for sheldon keith well. Well, yeah. I mean, yeah, sorry. It just buzzed in my ear. But did you mention the penalty kill? That is like the most, those are the two guys that play the most time probably outside of Marner, right? So other guys will have to slide in there. And looking at, you know, a 46 games that he's played so far this season for Yarncroft, he is fifth on the team in goals.

He's got 10 goals. You know, it the the big four and then it's kelly yarn croc so you know it's to lose another pk guy and a guy who can shoot it in the net it's some real opportunity here for nick robertson to take the reins and holmberg and these guys it's their time i think holmberg slides into a camp spot tonight. You foresee there with Reeves and McMahon is the likely outcome. How about the blue line? You expect. Looking a little thin.

Yeah. No, I know. Do you expect the likes of TJ Brody and Gio to be better just based on the rest as well? But for how long, you know know like where they played 46 games and i i wouldn't say either of them look spectacular in the first half one way or the other but uh yeah maybe maybe you'll get a good push out of them early here we'll see all right let's welcome him in four-time stanley cup champion does a terrific job on the msg network covering the new york islanders butch Goring. Butchie,

what's going on, pal? How are you? Living the dream, right? Being involved in hockey. How could it be any better than that? All right. Listen, were you like me, just busy as can be during the All-Star weekend? Is that why you're a little late for our show? You slept in? No, no, actually. But I did

take it easy. Used the time just to kind of relax and uh sort of recharge the bar uh the batteries and get ready for that last 33 games or so well that's great so uh butchie set us up on what to expect from this new york islanders team now with patrick waugh at the helm got a little bit of a break here and a chance to sort of prepare for a second half push. What's different about them? What should we expect to be different? Well, certainly it's a different coaching style.

I mean, Lane Lambert was a much more quiet leader and didn't see as much emotion on the bench and that type of thing. Certainly the practices have been very upbeat and Patrick has been very vocal during the practices. And, you know, he has – obviously he walks in with tremendous respect given what he's accomplished not only as a player, but, you know, as a coach winning a couple Memorial Cups and doing a heck of a job in the Avalanche.

And, I mean, even to quote Barzell you know the team got lazy so uh the reputation of patrick law is uh they're not going to be able to get lazy but in terms of uh healthy bodies i don't think sezikis is available tonight but uh they should be getting some help on the back end how big of a lift will that be? Well, it's huge. You know, like you said, I'm not sure if Adam Pellick is back or not. I didn't check in with that part of it. But Ryan Pollock's supposed to come back. And he had a tremendous playoff last year. And he can be, you know, a really effective player for the Islanders.

So they've had a tough season as far as injuries. And they've lost, you know, key defensemen. I think they've only played with maybe eight to ten games where they've had their entire top six defensemen play them. So in fairness to some of the results, having a healthy team plays an important role in a success. So anybody that they can get back, I understand that Sezekis is going to be out for a while,

but young McClain has done an excellent job. So we'll see how it all goes. But there's no question that be out for a while. But young McClain has done an excellent job. So, you know, we'll see how it all goes. But there's no question that this team needed a boost, unfortunately. They weren't playing their best hockey. And as we all know, it's not all about the coach. It's a lot about the players too. But they seem to be rejuvenated, not only physically, but mentally. But, Jay, how do you assess this islanders team in terms of true

talent like where they should be in the nhl standings versus where they actually are is this a team that you feel like had been underachieving their true talent level a lot or is this a team with this you know maybe the ceiling is not quite as high as expectations for some you know what i don't know where this team is because it's been a team that's just never this season has never been able to bring a consistent effort i mean you know the toronto maple east thinks they're world beaters and then other teams think they're egg beaters so uh they have they have moments where they'll you know okay i can take on the world and then the next night they show up like they did in min with no excuses, and they look like they couldn't beat an American Hockey League team.

So for me, you know, it's really hard to understand just who they are and what they are and how good can they be because they just don't put it together long enough to really give you a sense, okay, this is who you are, and they haven't been as healthy as they would like to be. So when they have everybody together and they're playing their game, then they can challenge anybody on any given night. I'm hoping Patrick

can get these guys to play on a more consistent basis so everybody can get a handle on, say, are they real contenders? Could they do well in the playoffs? Or are they a bunch of pretenders? We're talking to four-time Stanley Cup champion Butch Goring, who's covering the

New York Islanders on the MSG network. Butch, we know Patrick's here now for a long while here, but just in terms of the pressure to get them into the playoffs

this year, is it truly there or is his main job here to go into that dressing room and find out who he can win and not win with moving forward? Well, I think it's a little bit of both. I think that Lou brought in Patrick, you know, because he believes that this team can, can be better than, than it has been.

And so he wants to see Patrick find a way to get these guys to get themselves in the playoffs. And as we saw last year, you get in the playoffs, you never know what's going to happen. You get hot, you get the right goaltender, things go well for you. You can do a lot better than maybe the expectations are. But I think in the same breath, I think they want to see, you know, certainly from a coaching perspective, what his opinion is of this team.

Who does he like? Who doesn't he like? And then, you know, maybe they a coaching perspective, what his opinion is of this team. Who does he like? Who doesn't he like? And then, you know, maybe they make some adjustments as time goes on. So I think it's a twofold question I'm trying to answer for you. Hey, can you give us an insight into this Matt Barzell character? Because watching him at the skills contest, there's not many people on earth who can do some of the things he can do, you know know and he kind of checks in as a point per game guy with the islanders you know what's the missing piece for this guy to take the next step

to not just be a skilled guy but to be as effective as some of the you know 12 guys using that all-star skills contest with i think matt barzell is is is sitting on the on the perimeter of being a superstar in this league i think he is uh this year has been his best year as a pro by a country mile, and not just only on the score sheet, but certainly in every aspect of the game. I mean, he's been much more vocal. He's much more mature. And in watching the All-Star game, as we all know, those All-Star games are very loosely played games most of the time.

Nobody pays a lot of attention to defense. Everybody's looking to score the goals. But I will tell you, in watching the games, I thought Matt Barzell was the most professional of them all. He actually was in defensive position, stepped in front of people, looked like, okay, it's a playoff game. And to me, that's the most important part of his game that he has been working on. And from the All-Star game, which is a nothing game, from that aspect, he showed me a whole lot of things.

So we know he can do a lot of different things. I would say that the only thing that he could probably add to his game is I'd like to see him score more goals. I think he's capable. I think he's a passer by nature. But so is Sidney Cosby. And Sidney Cosby decided to be a scorer one year, and we know what happened then. So I think that's about the only aspect of Matt's game

that I would like to see him get to be just a little more of a prolific scorer. Butch, I'm not saying this to kind of, you know, underwhelm the Bo Horvaths, the Anders Lee, or the Brock Nielsen, but do they need another

high high and skilled guy to go with barzell to maybe go to another level here is there is there a thought that maybe just just it's not high enough as a as a second guy to play off for barzell uh i know i wouldn't't necessarily agree with you. I will tell you, though, there's no question they need a little more offense. And, you know, the second line with Palmieri and Nelson and Engvall has not been anywhere near as consistent as they need to be. I mean, they've got to get some offense on a more consistent basis. Certainly Brock Nelson has provided 20 goals,

so you can't say he's not getting his job done. But Palmieri has struggled at times. Engvall has gone through a real tough stretch over the last 20 games. Of course, I don't have to tell you guys about that. Not our producer, Sammy. And so I think that line there has to – they've got to find – if it's not that line, then they've got to find someone else that can do it. So I think that is a more pressing need than anything else.

Anders Lee does fit in there pretty well. You know, and don't forget, Anders scored over 30 goals, you know, two years in a row. So that's not too bad. It's not too shabby. So I think you have to look at it from that aspect. It's been a good fit. But for me, the second line has got to figure out how to get more goals.

All right, Butch, I hope this isn't an annoying question for you, but we just have to ask, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders go head-to-head, I'm not even going to ask you about John Tavares. The Leafs are Paul Bissonnette's favorite hockey team. I need to know,

are you guys pals behind the scene? You guys have a hell of a run at each other online these days. Give us the background on the whole thing. Well, I can't give you all the secrets, but what I can be honest with is I've never met Paul Bissonnette in my lifetime. Yes. You know, so he was never on the ice, so how could I ever play against him? And quite frankly, you know, I watch him.

And really, you know, for me, I'm just defending my Islander team. I'm an Islander through and through. And if Biz wants to take a pot shot at the Isles, so be it. And so when the opportunity comes, we have good trade-off. I'm not sending any hitmen after him. I can tell you that much, but we're having a good time and the fans seem to be having a good time. How about a podcast with the two of you called Spitting at Each Other? I mean, people are loving it, Butchie.

I can tell you from both sides, it's fully entertaining. One more, Butchie, just one more for me, and it's Sorokin. Sorokin was always the guy that they talked about that was just on the outside of being the best goalie in the league behind Vasilevsky and Shusterkin, and he's not having a good year, is he? Well, you know what? That's another one that's kind of a little bit misleading,

to be perfectly frank with you. They have on many, many occasions, the team that has hung him out to dry. I mean, I'm not a big fan of stats and all that, but he's number one in saves in high-danger scoring areas. So that speaks volumes about what kind of a game this guy's having to play most nights, night in and night out. In fact, Patrick Waugh mentioned that. It's one of the first things he said is,

we've got to give this guy a break. I mean, we're just killing him with the opportunities and the shots. So I think the stats are a little misleading, but I will say that he's been a little leaky more so than he was last year. I mean, some of the goals slipped through him this year, and that didn't happen last year. So, yeah, I agree with you that he was on, you could say he was, you know, and he was second in the Vesna last year, and he deserved it.

But this year he hasn't been as, I would say, as spectacular is probably the best way to say it. He's been really good. He's the reason they have as many wins as they do but he hasn't been spectacular and I think the the bar has been set so high that when he lets in one we're all like oh jeez what's wrong with him you know yeah yeah you know uh I've seen that myself watching these games it's been a different defense in front of them last one uh for me I just want to talk about one of those guys in the D-Core, Noah Dobson. Maybe one of the most unsung D in the

NHL at this point. He's having a hell of a break-out year, isn't he? He should have been in the All-Star game. Just let me just say that. He has been spectacular and he's the biggest jump in anybody's game has come from Noah Dobson.

He is now what I would consider a legitimate number one bottom five pick. I mean, he is. It took him a lot longer than everybody wanted it to be, but he has been nothing short of sensational. I mean, his offensive prowess has been spectacular. He's a great skater. He has great vision. He has a scoring touch to him,

and his defense continues to get better and better. So this guy is a legitimate player for the Islanders, and everybody will be talking about him, and maybe in the very near future about being able to keep up with Hughes and McCarr. So he's been great. Looking forward to tonight's action, Butchie. Thanks for doing this, pal. All right, you guys.

Take care. Be well. Justin, good to talk to you, man. You too. Thanks, Butchie. That's Butch, pal. All right, you guys. Take care. Be well. Justin, good to talk to you, man. You too. Thanks, Butchie. That's Butch Goring. Stanley Cup winner four times with the New York Islanders. Hell of a golfer, too.

Decent playoff numbers for old Butchie, too. Yes. Oh, my God. He could do it all. Oh, my God. PK, everything. So the deal of biz just goes after the Islanders. He hates the New York Islanders.

You know, I don't necessarily listen to their podcast fully, but like the sort of feeling I get from clips and on Twitter and stuff is that he finds them boring. And he thinks they're boring. He thinks their fans are a little annoying. You know what, though? To me, the boring thing is a remnant from the Trotz era. Islanders, when they got that reputation, I don't know that that's as accurate. Winning is boring. Well, yeah. But now they give up a ton of chances

and don't win. The exchanges are excellent. Even what she could have just got one in there being like, hey, he was never on the ice, so I don't know how to play. Accomplishments, it's hard

to side with his. Yeah, well, yeah. Love the guy, but it's like, yeah. Numbers are tired. I wonder where the Islanders would be if just if Sorokin was an all-star this year. You know, so Butch, you mentioned like their high danger chances or whatever. Sport logic, and I don't know how much you believe in these metrics, but goal saved versus expectations.

So they take, like, high danger chances, score this often, whatever. The top five are Sorokin, Demko, Hellebuck, Swayman, and Ingram. You know, he's in the group of guys that's been very good for a team that has not been very good. They just give up. They're the opposite of Trotz era Islanders at this point. They needed a coaching change as much as any team I've seen in a long time. We'll see

if he gets a little better insulated. It's bad. I did like your question about do they need a top-end guy because they do struggle to put it in the net. Again, I love Bo Horvat, but if Barzell had one

other high-end guy. Yeah, it would go a long way. For sure it would. I mean, be like Matthews or Marner or Nylander just being solo on the Leafs. Yeah. The way I see it. Yep. It's tough to produce when you don't have someone else that can do the things you're doing.

And Horvat, 20 goals is definitely helping him. But Horvat's not a top 50 guy in the league. You're so right on Barzal. Yeah. He's a breathtaking hockey player. He can do everything. He skates with McDavid. Watching him fly around the ice in the fastest skates.

I'm still not convinced, though, that he has the high, high IQ to go along with a high, high-end talent. I think that's, you know, offensively, it's a unique talent to know where the most dangerous place on the ice is to put the puck there all the time so leon dry settle so nasty you're never like he's not the fastest guy he just knows where to be where to put it he also plays the bodor so that helps plays the bodor and earth's best player yeah that helps okay we still have plenty more on the real kipper and born show uh in the next hour. Claude Julien, one of the top winning coaches in NHL history, will join us.

We'll talk about Todd McClellan being let go in L.A. We'll also have Paul Grant, senior editor for Sportsnet.ca, to update us on the latest from the 2018 World Junior case where they spoke today. So plenty more on Real Kipper and born. Don't go away. The storylines continue. We'll return after these words. Thank you.