Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Battle of Ontario + Spencer Carbery

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Gord Stellick and Sam McKee look ahead to the Leafs' matchup against the Senators in the season's first Battle of Ontario. They discuss where Ottawa ranks on the list of Leafs' rivals, the state of the Senators' rebuild, a setback in Auston Matthews' recovery, Max Domi's point drought, Connor Dewar's return to the lineup and much more. Later, Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery (30:55) discusses what's behind his squad's hot start to the season, early returns on PLD, Dylan Strome standing out, what it's like to coach a legend in Alex Ovechkin and what he learned from his time as an assistant in Toronto.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.

game day on the real kipper and stellic show justin bourne out on assignment i don't know that's the best i've got. He's out on assignment. But you're here. I'm here. Sammy's here. Derek Brandeo's in. Jake the Snake Schultz. And we're good for the next two hours.

So welcome him in. The lovely, the talented. Put your hands together for the lovely Gord Stelic. Well, boy, am I blushing? Am I blushing? Now, I got to say, one thing is, this show just starts. Like, you don't have a floor director. Like, normally when it's a TV thing, it goes 10, 9, 8,

you know, all that stuff. Those days are over. I see your name's font, and I go, we're starting. I could do it. Like, next break, I can go behind the thing and go five. Okay, that used to be a big deal, right? That used to be a big deal. That's clear. I don't know what the hell i'm doing but i do know we are live on sports at 590 the fans sports at 360 and sports net plus gordo that's a lot of sports net it's a lot of sports that uh seven games on tap including what we believe is still called the Battle of Ontario. And it just seems, Gord,

that we've wanted this back for a long time and we've had signs that it could get back to something as greasy and ugly sometimes as we saw over the years with someone by the name of Darcy Tucker involved. Travis Green. Yeah, take it on the whole bench. Then Ottawa would.

Travis Green. Travis. But then we'd find out that Ottawa still kind of stinks and that it's not as great as we wanted it to be. But lo and behold, tonight, could Ottawa really make us believe tonight if they've got some fight in them to show that they've they've narrowed the gap now did you see Travis Green and Steve Stales last night I did yes so it's funny at the Hall of Fame induction and then there was Jason Spezza he's always smiling

but he wasn't smiling an hour later when they were down six nothing after one yeah just seeing all these people so yeah, the Battle of Ontario, no, it's bogus. It doesn't exist. It existed. It's up to Ottawa to make it happen again. Like the Battle of Florida, they kept talking. It never happened until the last year or two

when the Florida Panthers got their act together. So right now, it is a have and have not battle. And I love the Ottawa organization. I love so many things about the team. But they got to, them, Buffalo, Detroit, battle and i i love the ottawa organization i love so many things about the team but they gotta them buffalo detroit have to punch through and get themselves back to be a relevant team when it comes to the playoffs they're still not sammy where do they rank on the list of leafs rivals right now like they're behind boston clearly behind tampa I would say behind Florida. Based on Saturday night, they're well ahead of the Montreal Canadiens. Well, yeah.

I mean, that's... Oh, no, but hold on. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Kippy, to Sam's question, let's put all the home games in. Okay, pretend we got a season ticket package. And when we go off, what game do you want? And that decides the rivalry. Okay, to me, Montreal would still be up there.

And I think, you know, and then you got i don't know at the end you got uh utah i don't know i think that but i think you would say that their jets have been bigger rivals to the least in the last little while the oilers have been bigger rival rivals to the least in the last little while even than the the senators have been no boston boston boston tampa bay you know but more than ottawa even uh edmonton and Winnipeg is what I'm getting at I just think that it used to be so good when I was like a kid it was the number one rivalry the team I hated the most and like you said they've just stunk forever and they've never been good at the same time for the last I don't know 15 years it hasn't been good and maybe this year with them

getting better it could take a step. Maybe tonight. Maybe tonight. And I know that. Well, that's your, the game's not even on our network. Sounds like you're really plugging it. Like you got to watch tonight. Like this is holy mackerel. Like cancel your plans.

Nick says, this is a watershed regular season. Maybe, maybe I'm over emphasizing here. I'm going to cancel my plans. Maybe I'm over emphasizing. I'm going to cancel my plans now. Maybe I'm over emphasizing tonight for Ottawa, but that's based on being so underwhelmed by the Montreal Canadian Saturday night. I thought they had zero fight.

And I just think with Brady Kachuk, that there's a chance that they look at this as a real window of opportunity to show people that they look at this as a real window of opportunity to show people that they they should be closer to florida tampa and toronto than they are detroit and montreal yes montreal yeah and buffalo yeah well what will and that also applies to buffalo detroit but let's stick to ottawa it's up to one of those teams. Like, Buffalo missed an opportunity. They win yesterday, and they're in the playoffs today.

You know, that's where you got to start. You know, so anyway, right now, the Atlantic Division still is the have and the have not. So, to your point, Kipper, you're right. Like, a big win in Toronto because, Sammy, I love that time. Like, I'm pulling for Ottawa. That Toronto-Ottawa rivalry was fantastic. And it was also, unfortunately, it's come back to bite the Leafs,

and they asked the other way that Ottawa owned the Maple Leafs in the regular season, and the Leafs killed them in the playoffs all the time. And we've got a Toronto team right now that does great in the regular season, and Boston, whoever, always seems to have their number in the playoffs. So we're kind of going through that in Toronto. So Ottawa, I would love it. I would love it.

But right now, it is not a battle of Ontario. Okay. So even with Ridley Gregg getting cross-checked in the face last year, that didn't take a step in the battle of Ontario. Did that, like... No. Didn't excite you guys? I don't think so.

No? I'm okay. Heading into tonight... I'll consider it a seed planted. Okay. That still has a chance to grow. Okay. Like a little green slab of clay, like Gumby.

That's where we're at right now. Oh, my God. You can tell he's a little older than JBA with the Gumby phrase. I know what Gumby is. Anybody under 50 turning the station. Who's the dog? Pokey. Pokey. Was it Pokey? I believe so.'s the dog? Pokey.

Was it Pokey? I believe so. Could be a Pokey. Hope I'm not thinking of something else. I think it's Pokey. Okay, let's go to Craig Berube, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Get his thoughts on facing Ottawa and what the Battle of Ontario is. Yeah, it's always a battle with Ottawa. You know, I'm not that familiar with it, but I think more than anything,

it's going to be a hard game at both nets tonight. They go to the net really well, and they've got some physical players up front that are good-sized guys. So we've got to be strong at our net front tonight, and on the other side of things, we've got to do a good job of getting to the net here tonight and looking for some rebound goals and things like that around the net that's you know it's going to be a tough blue paint tonight for me on both ends love that it's not exactly selling the game hardy i do i do love tough blue paint on both ends

insert name of team and then craig bruby goes on well it's gonna be hard around the net we got to get in the blue paint. I mean, that's Craig Berube's style of hockey, right? Save cliches. Yeah. Yeah. And I want you to play at all 82 games, and we're seeing a little bit more of it in Toronto.

But, boy, would any team, wouldn't you love having a Brady Kachuk? Like, honestly, that'll start ending up. Like, if Ottawa doesn't get their bleep together, you're wasting a guy like that on that team. Now, maybe he'll stay like, you know, Barkov stayed forever, different kind of player in Florida, whatever, when they didn't get to the next level for so many years.

I just, I think they're too good to have him think that way. Like, they got to really, they got to be almost looking like Montreal for a guy like Brady Kachuk to consider how long do I want to stick around here. Oh, and I'm not trying to usher him out. Don't get me wrong, because he made a commitment there.

And this team, like, it's the kind of thing when you make, and last year, let's face it, they had the ownership change when the season started. General manager change, coach change, a lot of things. And, you know, hired a solid guy in Dave Poulin to be the assistant. And they got to learn to play the right way in Ottawa. They got to go back like the Leafs did. I'll give Mike Babcock credit a year or two about starting to play the right way.

Then he kind of got going. He went sideways on things, you know, but it's got to be the Babcock way. And that's what Ottawa has got to get those basics back yeah i wouldn't think you know i know you're not saying this but ottawa's miles ahead of where montreal is in terms of them building towards being good i think i guess they have a lot better players i think there were more should be miles i think maybe not miles ahead but they're ahead they're definitely a couple weeks ago they had the best winning percentage heading into the weekend. They played fewer games than anybody.

That can change in a hurry. Maybe this watershed game tonight will be the difference. The biggest game in Leafs history tonight, according to Gifford. The Leafs... Are you done over there? He's going to trade two Taylor Swift tickets to get two tickets to the Leafs-Ottawa game tonight.

The Leafs have recalled Alex Steeves up. Okay, give him my best. No Austin Matthews. Yeah. Where's your level of concern here? In what sense? I don't know.

Just where is he? Zero. Zero. They played three solid games. They're playing a stretch right now of 10 of 13 games at home. My barometer has been make home a more difficult place to win get home ice advantage in the playoffs make it a more difficult place for the other teams to win so that's good when you get those wins and i don't know what you consider

watershed games but let's say boston let's say tampa bay and let's say in winnipeg like they won three they're not i don't know what a statement game is but they won three that i thought were good barometers and then and and you know and you know later when we talk to steve alaket about things because he's talking about it with the new york rangers trying to figure out okay they're like the leafs they they need to do better in the playoffs what is the regular season meaning for them you know what do they get you know so i'm i'm looking at positives of late for the Toronto Maple Leafs based on that.

As you mentioned at the top of the hour, we're going to welcome in Steve Alliquette. It's Tuesday. Does a great job on MSG for the New York Rangers. Also has his clear sight analytic company that does very well. Been doing better since he's been coming on our show. Yes, much better since he's coming on our show.

Maybe a few more clients thanks to us. So we'll have a fun conversation with him as well. And Spencer Carberry, head coach of the Washington Capitals, who's a runaway right now for coach of the year.

Should have got more votes last year. Wow. The Jack Adams Award. Him and Kirk Muller are doing a pretty good good job there don't underrate that guy kirk muller i don't get it yeah i don't get it in terms of jobs available and is he too nice or something people think they don't understand how effective he is yeah but that that's that's uh kind of a sneaky good quiet assistant coach and so we don't have Ovi like going for the record like Patrick Marleau did for the games record. And I say that with respect for Patrick Marleau,

but you're playing on a San Jose Shark team that's going nowhere, right? And, you know, you're thinking, okay, great. Capitals lose 7-2, but Ovi scores one goal. He's closer to Gretzky's record. Capitals mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in January. You got a real, real quick change artist Washington Capital team. Which is in itself a major story. I had them dead and buried for the next two years, three years.

And I couldn't have been more wrong. No Backstrom, no Kuznetsov. Let's move on. And guys like Tom Wilson, he steps up anyway, but stepping up even a little bit more because there's a bigger role for him to have. I mean, there's a myriad of things. Yeah, we're going to get into all of that with Spencer

in about 15 minutes. Brubate today, I know this is another clip. You love listening to Berube clips. But he got asked with Austin Matthews if there was a, quote, unquote, setback with his injury, whatever it was. And this is the answer that he gave. No, not really. It's just not getting to where it needs to get to.

So we're just trying to manage it. Just trying to make sure when he comes back, he's good and 100%. Okay. Wow. So not really? Not getting where it needs to get to is what I got out of that. There hasn't been a setback?

There not really there hasn't been a setback? Or no, there hasn't been a setback? It's not getting where it needs to get to. So there's been a setback? Yes. Yes. Yeah. But he won't say that. Is it a rash or something?

No, it's not a rash. You're saying there's been a setback. I'm not saying it. That's what I kind of feel. That's what we're kind of getting out of Craig Brewer. As opposed to it not getting better. Not at the rate that they'd like. Nagging injury. Yeah.

Something like that something's bothering them okay and they alluded to you to yesterday in the press conference when they were asked about it that it was the same thing that happened in the preseason so i don't know what it was in the preseason they didn't tell us what it was in the preseason but it's back here again and it's not really it's not really bad but they're just trying to get it back to normal so it's better i guess it happens now than in yeah, we had him and Nylander in the playoffs, like with these mystery little things. I know there'll never be more.

I just hate how much they lie to us. Whatever it is, it's just nagging. Yeah. They just love to lie to us. All they do is lie. Okay, we've had this conversation before. Where are they lying to you? They're just not telling you what it is.

Well, it's just day to day every day. Just be like, he's going to miss three weeks. He's hurt. Why do you have to lie and be like, oh, it's getting better. But in all honesty, they don't know when he's going to come back and say, I feel 100%. It feels great. They're just on him now.

All right. So all they're doing is just saying what they believed two days ago or three days ago. It's day to day. If he comes back tomorrow and he says, I'm pain-free and I'm comfort-free, then start practicing again. If he doesn't, then they got to deal

with you, Sammy. I'll go ahead, Booker. You're the average fan, or you're more than the average fan. I am the average fan. They are not satisfied, because we get asked that quite... What's with Matthews? And you know what? We can pretend we aren't. Whether we're insiders or not we have no idea and we don't care like what i say i don't care anymore i care about everyone being healthy but used to be geez we got to find

we got to get to the bottom of this right kipper there was a day on the media side we got to get the bottom of this the fans want now it's just understood it's whatever so i don't even know why people do a deeper dive and ask a second question because you know that's the answer you're gonna get you did your job ruby did his job and we'll we'll see how we'll see how it plays out coaches can't force you to play anymore there's but there are people like sammy that go you guys are hiding something and i'm gonna find out and if it's if it's this huge nugget out there, I'll be the first to break it. I mean, like, I'm the furthest thing from a newsbreaker. I would never know anything.

I don't know anyone. But I just want some, it just, to me, it's more concern because it feels like Matthews is banged up quite often. So what mark did you get on your JFK conspiracy theory project in American history? Well, no, but in all honesty, we have these conversations about Auston Matthews a lot in terms of there being a mystery thing or something nagging or this.

And he scored 70 goals last year when he was healthy. The year he scored 60 goals, he was perfectly healthy. And then the last few, I don't know, there just seems to be something always with him. Well, he played every game the first year. He played all 82. Got a shot on goal every game too, which was kind of neat and quirky. And then he had the one year where he had three different injuries, right?

And they were supposedly all different. Anyway, whatever. Anyways. Anyways. Is that Goosebumps music? Is that what that is? Yeah, this is themed to Young and the Restless. Oh, I thought it was Goosebumps.

Yeah. X-Files. Oh, X-Files. I don't know. Is that the theme is? Yeah, this is themed to Young and the Restless. Oh, I thought it was Goosebumps. Yeah. X-Files. Oh, X-Files. I don't know. Is that the theme from Nadia? Anyways. Is that what the Young and the Restless was? Well, the Y&R is.

See, I like that you're older than me. Yeah. So I feel young. But that had the more dramatic kind of Y&R. Yeah. The soap opera. So we all thought it was three different things. Victor Newman.

Playing Austin Matthews. Sorry for being a conspiracy guy. I just want to know what the hell's wrong with him. It's alright. It's not really a setback. Well, if we see him, we'll ask. Thank you. Sammy wants to know.

Alright, where do you want to go with your clips there, Sammy? Connor Dewar. Connor Dewar gets back tonight, but I wanted to ask about Max Domi and what do you think he's best he's best put in the lineup here he's best cast because he's now hasn't had a point

since they won against Tampa since they won against Tampa he hasn't had a point and he's making three and a half million bucks they need more from him where do you think his ideal situation is is it playing up on the top line like I don't think the third line he's playing on the first line now with matthews out he's not getting any points with marner what's going on with tommy i'm getting a lot of that from my buds basically is what i'm asking you to guys i think max is at his best when he's a guy that can come in and in

different scenarios and and hold the fort for him to hold a spot like a legit second-line centerman I think doesn't work. Ultimately, if everybody's healthy, he's in the top nine for me. So they had a guy when they weren't very good named Mason Raymond who had a real strong year and got a contract out of Calgary after that because he could fit in in every line that particular year.

And to me, Max Domi is like the sixth or seventh man off the bench. If it was an nba team he would be the guy not in your starting five but can do a few things and last year you know filling in in the playoffs playing center yeah like i i really commend that like and he did a real solid job so that's where i see it and and yeah he should get more points he knows that but he's just done a good job about if there's if there's a void um he seems to fill it so that that's where i look at i'm sure he'd rather say yeah i'd like to be on the first line full time

i'd like to be the second line full time but that's where i look at him because they're not getting like the defense is way better for the toronto maple leafs this year and i think that's uh what has to do a lot with their winning and the lack of goals against over the last little bit has been really, really impressive. But up front, they are getting a lack of production from the bottom half again. It really is starting to feel, you know, Team A, Team B-ish with the forwards.

I think the defense is much improved, but they do need something from outside the core guys, no? Like, it's pretty... Yeah, you do, but do you need it right now at this very second well yeah with matthews out you need it more but in the again we go to the finding ways to win and they're finding ways that their third and fourth lines look good would they all like to score more yes but like do they absolutely need it now they're finding ways they're finding ways with great goaltending now they're finding ways gourd with a power play yeah uh mitch marner looks very

comfortable without austin and tavaris had that one couple big games a few weeks so right like different guys tavaris is back into his second line centerman position that you don't know ultimately if that's the look that you're going to have if you're winning rounds in the playoffs but right now it's working it's enough to get by the first week of november yeah and and again the jump to game number 83 and sammy the the sure we we need the nick paul on toronto to get that big goal like he did for tampa bay a couple years ago but it's it's the big guys playing disproportionate amount of minutes they haven't scored in the playoffs.

So that'll be the challenge again about, sure, you want to have depth scoring and some balance that way, but you're going to need your big guns to score like they did in the regular season. So right now, it seems like whether the emphasis on defense has taken away a little bit from offense, don't know if that quite goes hand in hand, but you're just looking at different things

to get ready for a better playoff run. And it's a work in progress, I think, between Berube and McMahon and Holmberg. And can you develop them to score a big Nick Paul goal in the playoffs for you in April? Right now, it's like musical chairs. You think McMahon's in, he's out with Brooby. You think Holmberg's in, he's out with Brooby.

Robertson, the same thing. Kemp, the same thing. Kemp was a healthy scratch. Now he's like, looked like a pretty important guy on the weekend. Yeah, and a good patch already was a difference maker in a couple of games, and now he's out. So you got whether, yeah, Nick Robertson, geez, like anyway, it seems like unlike Lilligren that they feel there is something

to keep working at with Nick Robertson that he can get to the bench. But there's no question, Sam, you're right about in an ideal world that one or two of them, you know, get to a higher level offensively. Have we played Dewar? No, we haven't played it yet. All right. Let her rip. Yep.

Clip on Dewar, please, Derek. Number two. Simplify, right? I mean, he went down and played. Yeah. But, you know, been a while, but he's been practicing with us, so he's familiar with everything. But, you know, timing and things like that, you know, it's been a while, but he's been practicing with us, so he's familiar with everything. But, you know, timing and things like that and, you know, NHL speed and game,

just simplify and just play your game. Like, you know, he's an energy guy and, you know, physical and grinding it out and checking and all those types of things. So, you know, but I think, you know, first game back, it's been a long time for him is getting up to speed. You know, it's a fast game out there. And he's got to make sure he's, you know, simplifying and smart. What's the over-under by April that Craig Berube uses the word simplify?

I mean, a thousand? They wouldn't even put the word simplify. I mean, they wouldn't even put the number up. It's too big. 1500? Yeah, it would be. Honestly, though, in theory, Dewar should be a guy that fits right into what Berube wants to do. Right? Like as a bottom six

kind of guy that's north-south, skates hard physical aggressive good defensively beats the puck to a square that's the type of guy for bottom six guys i don't maybe it's the same on every team they change all the time like i don't you know i don't like there's there's just really has been no stability about bottom six guys and i don't know if that's been cap related or what it's related, but that's exactly what it is. You know, that's a hope you can get some identity

of those lines. It would have been really interesting if Max Pacioretty didn't get hurt where that room or roster was going to end up shaping up. Because,

let's just say argument's sake, we're in April right now. You got Matthews, Tavares, Domi. Where does Dewar fit into any of that right now, right? Is he the fifth centerman? Well, then you're looking from the press box, obviously. Yeah, again, and, you know, I keep going back. This is one thing. And, you know, Ruby, the Stanley Cup was five years ago.

And that's what you're hoping for, a great playoff performance this year. But, you know, everything went right that year. Because the Blues, it's not like they followed up and made it to the final. But one of the things I really noticed that year was he had an ability that there were 15 forwards. And he kept them all included in the 12 forward spots and in the playoffs he kept them included like there would be all of a sudden boom a guy would get a game or two out of the and seemingly be the right spice on that particular night so uh that that's where i'm not that sheldon keith didn't try to do that nor does any other head coach not try to do that but i think that's where you hope that feel can work for barubi and his staff once again

was it you kipper was a barney that said it's probably the way that barubi wants to have all these guys not know if he likes them or not it goes you knows me yeah yeah and you know with everybody on their toes and nobody can relax and no one can ever feel any type of job security is there for any real length of time. But you look at these guys here now, though. You know, Yarncroft just went to get a second opinion on whatever's hampering him. So that's a long-term thing. Pacioretty's week-to-week, which could turn into a month.

Six weeks. Yeah, exactly. Six weeks. This looks like, you know, your bottom six of Robertson, Holmberg, Dewar. thing patch ready's week to week which could turn into a month weeks yeah exactly six weeks this looks like you know your bottom six of robertson holmberg doer lorenz camp reeves is going to be your bottom six for an extended period of time you got to see if they're going to be able to get something going here i guess right like you have no other choice but i think brian reeves has been really good you do really? Really good, yeah. Over 12 minutes Saturday. Like the good part about the weekend.

I just think that when he's out there, he's keeping pucks alive. He's spending a lot of time in the offensive zone. And, you know, some people just want him to fight more. They just think at the end of the day, it's not enough for me. You're supposed to be out there beating people up. And it's like, that's not the way it's not enough for me you're supposed to be out there beating people up and it's like that's not the way it works anymore so last year that fourth line was a minus one every game the first eight games it was brutal yeah they just had some they didn't play well and they had some bad luck and they just spent the whole time in their own zone yeah so you he never get off on

the right foot till later on in the season and then to the point now you expect again this should be a team make it difficult for other teams to win at home. So you did that against Detroit and Montreal, two teams you should beat. And the great part about it, did you look at the minutes, that he was able to roll four lines, he was able to roll 6D, and that's what great teams do. And the other guys get more ice time, they get more confidence, they get better, they're more effective.

It all trickles down. And that's what they had on the weekend. It will be interesting to see the minutes allocated because you have to be conscientious as well that you're going to get out of this game. You're going to race to the airport. You're going to ride a bus. You're going to wait at the customs.

And you're going to get in around 2.33 a.m. And you're going to play the Washington Capitals tomorrow night. And that, if I'm not mistaken, is the fourth or fifth back-to-back for the Leafs. Yeah, they've been playing a lot of hockey. Like, that is a ton here. And that has to be in the equation of how you're talking about those minutes being allocated.

There's the answer. What can you do about it? Play in a way that you roll four lines again tonight. Because the whole thing of back-to-backs, I get tired about it being a ready excuse always. Oh, we're going there and the other team's tired. It's real, Gord, though. It's real.

It's a factor. But it's a factor. It evens out during the course of the season. The fact is. No, it doesn't because the Leafs have more back-to-backs, I think, than anyone in the league. Well, it could even out if they had more flexibility during their schedule i'm pretty sure they're right up there if they're not okay but you can by allocating more you can't

you can't dictate your road games but you can you can massage home dates a bit so whatever the thing may be back-to-backs again customs i mean customs comes on the plane now okay basically right i mean you're traveling charter letting saying that it is exhausting you know people don't you know people wow that sounds glamorous that's not that's not a you know but now it's it's nowhere near to quote the old days landing at three in the morning in minnesota from minnesota back for a home game and making the guy skate on a Saturday morning, which was ridiculous after three hours sleep. So, yes, it's a factor, but it shouldn't be an excuse. Okay.

And there are two things. Their schedule does lighten up after the back-to-back. They have the Oilers on Saturday night. 10 of 13 at home right now. They're in the midst of. And then they don't play again until Wednesday. Wednesday against Vegas. And then they're off until Sunday.

After Vegas Wednesday, what's Sunday? Utah at home. Is that a big game too? I think they're all big games. Last thing before we go. Is it weird that Reeves hasn't fought and we're middle of November? Like, are you surprised by that?

Or is it just a guy that's getting older and less want to do it and is playing well? The word presence. If you can be a presence and known out there, whatever, then that's part of doing the job, you know? Like it's, I think anyway, you know, Kipper, there's an element of that you played, and again, it was a different era, but it's not like you have to show,

but just about, okay, this particular player's on the ice and there's a respect for what he can do. And do and there isn't up until now anything glaring out there where you would have said something needed to be answered someone needed to make some sort of statement and then we we move towards ryan reeves not doing something there's no last there's nothing there's nothing there wasn't that when he fought rempe last year there wasn't that when he fought Rempe last year. There wasn't that when he fought Marcus Foligno in the second game of the year, when he fought Jack guy in the first game. There was times where he was just going out there for the sake of it.

I'm not even saying that I want him to do this. I think he's been good. Like you said, he's got a role. It's just surprising that we're mid-November. He doesn't have one. He doesn't have one. Well, it's good for maybe part of feeling comfortable. How many fighting majors have we had? You never see them. He doesn't have one. He doesn't have one. Well, it's good for maybe a part of feeling comfortable. How many majors,

how many fighting majors have we had? You never see them. You never see them. Right? Yeah. McCabe got in the first fight of the year

with Shen there in St. Louis. Didn't go so well, but anyways, we should go because Kyrie's going to call in at 435. All right. I think we got through

most of the clips, hey? The only one we didn't get through was about the Ridley-Greg crosscheck. Anything there? Like, listen, it's... Does he reference it like it could be coming into play tonight? No.

Okay, then why'd you clip it? Because it's the coach. And I gotta work what I got. I'm trying to make chicken salad, and you know what? All right. We're making chicken salad with Spencer Carberry after the break. So don't go away hey it's matt marchese and i'm mike fuda we're discussing the top stories of the day across the

nhl and the hockey world weekdays at noon it's the fan hockey show on sportsnet 590 the fan and wherever you get your podcasts nick cabrillo scored stellix sammy mckee as promised we deliver head coach of the washington capital spencer carberry 10 4-0 14 games bad. Spencer, thanks for joining us, man. How are you? Very good. Thanks for having me on, guys. Just, you know, since getting the job as the head coach of the Washington Capitals and kind of hearing that, you know, the Capitals, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins,

you know, for many years, you know, carried the freight off the backs of Ovechkin and Sid and there was only a matter of time before it kind of turned Spencer and there's a downside and there's a retool or a regroup or whatever you want to call it and so where's yours?

What happened? How did you guys avoid it we um we we tried not to listen to the outside noise of what it looked like we were potentially gonna have to do but i think management and uh brian mcclellan and and now chris patrick who's now um the new general manager i think they've done a tremendous job of trying to find ways to improve our roster with not just trades and free agency, but by trying to bring some young guys in

and make sure that we're doing everything we could to develop them in Hershey. And that helped me because I had some experience working with some of the young players that are now impactful players for us in Hershey. So, Spencer, you know, I'm an older guy, so I don't do the deep dive on the statistics. But last year, it's different this year, but last year people would say, and they'd say it admiringly so, the Washington Capitals are in the playoffs, but statistically the numbers, it makes no sense. So how do you beat the clock, beat the numbers, and have that kind of season

that at the end you got the W's when some other people say those numbers didn't correlate yeah which they're not wrong i mean if you looked at our underlying analytics and and um we would lose some games big and then when a game was tight we would find a way to win so i felt like that was a lot of our success last year was we were playing in what it felt like. We really wanted to make the playoffs. Our guys, like we felt like we could get there. Now we were playing in playoff type games in December because of the start that we had. So the urgency level we were playing with, we were in playoffs in December.

So that was sort of one part of it the other part i think we got real comfortable at is playing in tight games so the longer it went zero zero we were fine we felt like we could thrive in those games two one one nothing because we weren't a real quote-unquote potent offensive team and then i think that's maybe what we worked all summer on and as a staff trying to figure out because we knew we had to get better offensively. That's the nuts and bolts of it. Like we weren't nearly where we needed to be offensively.

So that's what we've been trying to, or tried to implement and do some things this offseason. How about Spencer, just, you know, outside of the roster change and what your team looks like today compared to when you started last season, what about coaching in terms of what have you done differently? What have you gotten better at?

What have you learned real quick in the National Hockey League that's advanced your coaching philosophy from last year to this year? Yeah, honestly, it's changed a decent amount, especially offensively. Like, I had a vision of how we were going to play last year, knowing the way the Caps won the Stanley Cup and Nick Backstrom and Koozie and Osh. And so getting there last year and sort of trying to implement and play a certain way, and I found out pretty quickly like okay i'm coming from toronto too i brought a lot of things from toronto that i felt like okay this this um i feel like could help us here here and here whatever x's and o's stuff

and i quickly found out i said okay well i don't know if this is going to work so we really need and the longer it took and the way we saw our team and the strength of our team and the personnel in our team, we had to make some quick adjustments and pivot in a lot of different directions that were coming from me. And so that's, I think, where I've probably grown the most is I've got a really good feel on what our team does

really, really well and the individual skill sets. And then what does our five-on-five game look as a team that best suits our group? And that's – I've had to pivot, I'll be honest with you, a little bit. And I think now we're in a pretty good spot. We've just got to keep that going. And maybe in some ways when you're a number three overall pick like Pierre-Luc Dubois and people expect like the 100-point seasons,

you have to pivot to a degree. So, like I know the stats aren't wow, but I heard you talking very, very positively and favorably about his contribution. 100%. And I feel bad because he's, like I think I saw a stat the other day, his finishing rate is at the bottom of the National Hockey League with what he's created, like how many goals he should should have and they're just not going in for him right now

um so but he's doing so many good things and i think that you hit the nail on the head is because of where he was drafted and all this other stuff expectations and pressure and all it's some people think that he's got to be a 40 goal scorer and 100 point guy and you got to be and for him i think he's learned and he's come into his identity as a player you can be a phenomenal national hockey league center that wins or helps win a team a lot of games and be a 25 30 goal be great at both ends be able to play against the best centerman in the league and shut them down play in every situation and there's a ton of value in that you can be a great player for a long long time in this league and i feel like that's where

he's trending towards and he's done an excellent job for us and thriving in the tough matchups playing against everybody's first line um and in every situation for us. Spencer, can you say the same kind of principle applies to Dylan Strom because you don't think necessarily of winning championships with Strom and Pierre-Luc Dubois 1-2, but it's working. Yeah, and I think Stromer, because of his career path as well, and being his third team and where he was picked in Arizona and Chicago, I feel like a lot of people wrote him off in his career.

And rightly so. I'm not going to comment on what happened in other organizations or what he looked like earlier in his career, but I feel like he's, for me, the last two years, he just continues to get better and better and better. And when we play him in these matchups, he continues to produce, and his underlying numbers are through the roof,

and he's creating and playing with O and doing a lot of great things. So it's been impressive. And like I said, he just continues to build just like he did his first year in Washington. He was really, really solid. Last year, I feel like he was even better. And then this year, he's even taken another step further.

How do you coach Alexander Ovechkin? Open the gate? Honestly, he's easier than you would think. He's easier than you would think he's easier than you would think he's awesome like he everybody thinks it's a um like it's not the real like this guy wants to win desperately and we talk a lot he's in my office a lot and it's usually centered around how are we going to figure out a way to to win a hockey game tonight and what can we do to win and so that sometimes doesn't align with the greatest goal score which is an individual statistic but it um it really is him he wants to win yeah he wants to score goals for sure because

he feels like that'll help us win games but this guy is um extremely motivated by and competitive like he's just such a competitive guy and so everything that that you know comes out of him is usually win and then how am i going to score a goal or how can we figure out a way to put me in good spots to score spencer last year we had a few conversations on this show, and a lot of it led to, like, how did Spencer and Kirk Muller hide this guy? I mean, it did not look good last year. This year, I'm watching him

shoot in stride again. It's like he's got live legs again, and what is the major difference between the lull that he had last year and we all had it age-related to what's going on today? I think he's – not that he wasn't motivated last year, but I think this year and the playoffs last year, I feel like there's –

and I know every year you've got something to prove, but I feel like he's got a little bit of extra sort of chip on his shoulder with the way the Rangers series went and age and everybody saying this and that. He has come in, and right from day one, he didn't score the first few games. We were like, oh, you know, is it the same type of start? But if you watch the film, he was playing well.

He's moving well. He's getting into good spots. He's attacking. He's, um, it's not just relying on power play. Like this is five on five stuff. And then I would give a ton of credit to like, we talked about Dylan Strom and we found a good, um, left winger for him. Like I moved OB to the right wing. So he's playing right wing now. now on the left side is Protoss who's a left shot because I

wanted to use him on his... I'm not a huge fan of Protoss on his offside. So if you play him on the right and Ovi on the left... So we made that change and Pro has done a really good job as a big winger that can skate, that can retrieve some pucks and can make a play

and get a puck to Oie. So I feel like there's a mix of him being really highly motivated this year and moving really well and getting himself into good spots and then some chemistry with his line which has looked real good thus far. So you've been a head coach before, not in the NHL.

Now you're a head coach in the NHL. Your stop as an assistant coach in Toronto, what did that do for you personally? Gosh, I feel like I got a two-year master class in just so many different areas because of the people in that organization. And it's not just with Sheldon and being on that coaching staff, like unbelievable coaches and that,

but working with Kyle and Rich Rottenberg and all the Haley Wickenheiser and being able to be around Jason Spezza. And then you also, you're talking about coaching and being around thousands of hours of Austin and Mitch and John Tavares and Mark Giordano and these guys that have so much knowledge in the game. So I mean, I'm in this position because of the opportunity that Toronto, and they took a chance on me and Brendan Shannon and Kyle and bringing me in as a first-time NHL coach to run the power play there for two years.

So I, yeah, very gratuitous to that organization in Toronto for giving me that chance and then being able to work with the people there. And obviously the power play, I owe everything I have to those, you know, 10 guys to run that power play that we were, you know, one, two in the two years that I was there. And then there's the media like our shows, eh, Spencer, where you just roll your eyes and go, oh, my God, get me out of here. This is ridiculous.

I used to love, like, that was the thing for me. I loved, because I would watch um because i love being in canada i sure i miss that about toronto is you you get the the the shows every day and i could come home from um and and i could watch that and people go well you know it's so tough there the market stuff i go you should hear what i say about myself when the power play goes 0 for 4. What the media says in the articles, I'm like, this isn't good enough. We were awful. We've got to do this, this, and this better. So the pressure that I would put on my job to excel was like,

I'm like, you guys are right in that article. You're absolutely right. You're awful. I want to know as well, like, personally, I mean, you're staying in great shape. Did you find Bruce Boudreaux's fitness plan in your desk when you went there? Is that what you're following?

Was there a big mustard stain on it? Oh, yeah, he's a beauty. Him and I, he lives in Hershey, Pennsylvania now, so we get out every once in a while and play some golf. He's a beauty. Your team's going to be well-rested. They're going to be in bed by 9 p.m. You're going to watch the Leafs beat up,

or the Leafs and Ottawa beat each other up on a division rival. They're going to come in 3 a.m., and that first pier is going to scare the hell out of you, isn't it? It just happened to us. Pittsburgh just walked in, and they were up 2-0 before we could blink coming in off a back-to-back. Yeah, the back-to-backs sometimes can be a trap, so we need to be ready.

Spencer, great stuff. We really appreciate you coming on the show and wish you the best of luck. And say hi to our uh our good buddy kirk muller for us uh from gordon stelic and i and sammy yeah absolutely will thanks for having me guys anytime head coach of the washington capitals and doing a terrific job spencer carberry now you know bruce budrow doing some work on the capital broadcast so you know so for equal time gotta say that he knows spencer well That's why I knew that. And also, Bruce got his first hole-in-one this summer.

Really? In Hershey, yeah. So he said... His pants? No, so they put out a release about it, and he lied what club he used, because he actually used the wood. But he said whatever, so he lied on it.

But he said after, of all things, they had to buy drinks, and Bruce doesn't drink. So Craig Berube was there, too. Craig, you know, so he said Who does drink? Well, and probably on Bruce's. So Bruce said he had a couple and he's chatting with Berube. He knows him well. And then he said by the end of it, Bruce had a few. And he goes, I'm telling him how

to run the power play. I feel like I'm a fan just annoying him at the end. So I had to apologize to him next time. But they were in that whatever that golf club is at Hershey that Spencer plays in and, and a Ruby frequency as well. So that's awesome. And Boudreaux. So I'm saying that as a friend with respect that he's doing a great job,

but on the capital games as well. Love it. You surprised that OVs on a 50 goal pace. And do we just assume that sometime in March this could happen, he could pass Wayne Gretzky? Well, I'm just glad he's going through. I don't know if he could go through the back door because, you know, drag it out, drag it out, the way the first third of the season went last year.

I'm just really impressed by both him and Sidney Crosby, you know, seemingly finding not the fountain of youth, but just they're playing their game at a certain level right now. So I, you know, I like it that they're going to be seem to be they're going to be a relevant team. He never gets hurt. That's what Wayne Gretzky says about Ovi. His durability is unbelievable and he's back to being the Ovi that we kind

of missed for about a third of a year. But the big difference is Ovi's carrying a team right now that many believe that can make the playoffs, maybe even make some noise at this point. And Sid in Pittsburgh, a miserable night last night. We're at the Hall of Fame. And as you mentioned, we saw Jason Spezza there.

It was as friendly a guy as there is. Class act. And you know he knew they were down big last night still taking pictures still talking to people give them all the credit in the world but he knew that uh staring at that phone that uh there was something ugly going on with his hockey club last night oh go ahead i'm just saying they've i don't think they've is it just at home they've never given up six goals in the first period but and what does it matter six goals at home uh you started 1967 never did that before sammy ouch embarrassing you notice with carberry there when he was talking

about the power play when he was here and he's like yeah you know he managed to be the two years i was there one and two in the league you notice you guys hear say that? I love that. Yeah. I love that. Because, you know, I think he probably knows what's been going on with the least power play to start this season. Getting hot now, but I love that little thing he put in there. What have you done for me lately right now? They're fine right now. I really like the sound. Like, that was a great interview, guys.

I really like the sound of him. I think he seems like he's got them going in the right direction and there there's a there's a tone in his voice that just has constant energy optimism uh you know positive vibes that uh i i hear nothing but great things i've gone to a couple of functions with the washington capitals as alumni. And you can't run into somebody that doesn't have something very positive to say about Spencer. I think it's like life that if you are not yourself, you're screwed because that's the best thing you are. And say like how Mike Babcock changed.

Okay. Compared to whatever it may be, how John Tortorella, you can't all be John Tortorella. You know, you can't, you can't all be Rick Talkett. Like,

I mean, that's what they are. And whatever it may be, because some I've seen, and you've seen them too, whether it goes to their head or they get full of themselves, which is the same thing, or then feel they have to be different rather than themselves. It's got to be like a natural evolution. You can never lose a sense of being yourself.

And you can tell in talking to him that's exactly what he is. And we never lose a sense of being yourself and and and you can tell and talking to him that's exactly what he is and we've got a lot of people like that but we have produced a few frauds in our game oh hey and and they they don't last very long no one can't list no no the show's over the leaf's over. And on the media side, too. A few frauds. Okay. Uh-oh. For Gord's list of frauds in the media, stick around our national hour.

Because we also got Steve Ellicott, who's been a terrific, terrific analyst for us on Tuesdays. You're not going to want to miss that. Plenty more still with Stelictricity when we return after these words