Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Bringing Back Boosh

Episode Date: March 1, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with the Leafs' late-night move, acquiring Ilya Lyubushkin (again) for a 3rd and a 6th-round pick. They discuss where he fits into the Leafs' lineup, the price and potential next moves for Brad Treliving. Then, they react to Treliving's availability, his openness to trading this year's first-round pick and who would be the likely target. Finally, Sportsnet.ca's Luke Fox (35:17) shares an update on Liljegren's injury status, his thoughts on Lyubushkin's return to Toronto, what he can bring in an off-ice capacity, Woll's return to the ice last night and the resurgence of Ryan Reaves.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 this is my third or fourth attempt of uh introducing off the off the rails friday just love it so much my week was so screwed up i think i called for off the rails friday like on a tuesday or a wednesday we got there it was wednesday it was Just love it so much. My week was so screwed up. I think I called for Off the Rails Friday, like on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. We got there. It was Wednesday. It was Wednesday. We made it.

All right. But today's the day. So I got that right. Yeah. So let's welcome everybody in, wherever you're watching or following. Sportsnet 590, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet Plus from 4 to 6. We're glad you are with us in our leaf edition and if you don't get

us live always give us a chance to uh follow up with you on a platform called the pod yeah sure check us out do you guys listen to pods i do now i didn't for years i fought it for a long time but i i do now yeah i listen to a lot of podcasts. You do. A lot of sports podcasts, but never any hockey podcasts. Yeah. Well, why would you? You got the best right here. I mean, I literally talk about hockey. You live the best.

20 hours a week, so I don't need to hear it. But a lot of basketball, a lot of football. As always on Friday, especially on Fridays, although you can do it anytime you want. Oh, yeah. Text us at 590-590. We'll get your thoughts, questions, comments. Sammy reads them, screens them, doesn't tell us

about them, and then on Friday he will. A little later on in the hour, we'll welcome in Luke Fox, Leafs writer for Sportsnet.ca. We'll get his thoughts. And then, of course, top of the hour, Doug McClain, former NHL president, GM, head coach, and

a guy that really has nothing else to do on a Friday, will join us as well. In the meantime, let's talk about Sammy's Toronto Maple Leafs. They miss out on Chris Tanov, but last night they land two right-handed defensemen. Oh boy. Who's the second?itch marner okay all right fair enough get the hook out of your mouth would you yeah sure what are we doing here i i can't remember your take on this from when it happened before this to me is absurd like stop it. What do you mean? With Mitch? Yes. What are you doing?

They were down to 4D. For one shift, you know, McCabe misses a shift. This is, not to get right into takes here, but Sheldon saying about how they're in a jam 100 times and playing Mitch Marner at forward was like, hey, Brad, get me a you-know-what defenseman. Well, that's it. Is that his way of really making it crystal clear?

I need help. Yes. No, I mean, the trade, Trees says the trade was done before the game. We all knew he needed a right-hand D. It's not like he's not trying to trade for right-hand D. You guys think Sheldon made a protest last night? That's why Marner played?

I do, yeah. That's pretty long shot. No, but he played last week too, didn't he? Or two weeks ago? No, earlier this year he had a couple of shifts on D. Yeah, it was like very early in the year. Talked about as an actual strategy when they were down for comebacks, right?

Stupid. Okay, the Leafs and a, what was it? A 10 game regulation losing streak? 12, yeah. At home? Well, yeah. Stupid. Okay, the Leafs end a, what was it, a 10-game regulation losing streak? Yeah. 12, yeah. At home? Well, no, 10 regulation losing streak. And they, yeah.

They hadn't won since 2002. In regulation. In regulation. Yes. Because they had lost, the Coyotes had lost twice in overtime to the Leafs at home. Okay, before we get into last night's dog's breakfast oh boy because that was just a bad hockey game i'm sorry anyway you you want to find anything out of that thing it was just a bad hockey game no no pushback here on that not uh not the best uh effort game for uh

i didn't think the leafs skated particularly well last night. Okay. All right. The Boosh. The Boosh, man. Did you trade first? Yes. I think so.

Just adding Ilya Labushkin, 75% of his contract was retained by the Anaheim Ducks and the Carolina Hurricanes. But it cost them a third and a sixth to do it. So let's go to you first, JB. Well, I like it. I like it. First off, I'm a Boosh guy. When he was here, you guys probably remember,

I really like him as a player. They had needed that when they got him a couple years ago, and he was someone who really tried to light guys up um the downside of it of course is that he tried to light guys up and they'd get by him and they'd have a scoring chance going the other way but he is you know the Leafs so clearly had a need for someone who is a right shot someone who's physical someone who defends as a priority someone who pks he does all those things so in the absence of tanf if you go down the list of who is available wasn't a ton to choose from so i like it i had the acquisition acquisition cost doesn't really phase me it's a third and 25 it's about

what it costs you to demon at the deadline that i'm not with you i look at a third and a sixth for a rental again. And I'm the one screaming all in here. Yeah. But it's not cheap. A third. No. Like you didn't want to give up a first or the perception is that nobody wanted to give up a first. But everybody's all day long on the third for a rental.

So, I mean, my point in all of this is that... Are we sure they didn't want to give up a first? It's not that I wouldn't do it, but again, for everybody saying, don't go all in, you're just costing your picks. Yes, that's what all in is. And to me, the third and the sixth is not for Labushkin alone.

It's for massive retention too, right? Massive, Kip. They're paying $6. It's for massive. No, it's massive retention too, right? Massive, Kip. They're paying 687 for the guy. All I'm saying is that if you're going to start throwing away these picks, then you better come up with something a lot bigger and a lot shinier than Labushkin. So if you're telling me they're all in and third and a sixth, just a class of doing business, then I'm with you.

But if you stop at this trade in terms of still trying to nibble around the edges, and that's all a Bushkin is, is a nibble around the edges. I get it. Depth, I like them. Good add. For sure. You need six, seven, eight quality defensemen if you think you're going to go to a conference final so there it's good but i better see all in between now and friday

is it depth though like isn't he just going to go right to the top pair that's the problem for me yeah right like if they are going to make another trade which you've mentioned fine yeah i don't know if they're going to get another right-hand shot D-man somewhere. They better. I agree. I think they better. I agree. It's just, to me, your big move can't be to add Labushkin to play with Morgan Riley.

Right? And they added Luke Shen. We were all wondering what he was going to be last year, and he ends up playing with Riley, and he plays really well, and he played like 14 minutes a night kind of thing. I don't think Labushkin is Luke Shen. Ike shen's probably a better player than labushkin is i i don't want to hate it as much as i do like i i kind of like what he brings but i like it if there's more sam i just don't want him playing on the top pair and it just feels like that it

just feels like that's exactly where we're headed it does does. I think it's protection against not getting the guy they want. Because I agree. I don't think they look at their team and go, we don't need another top pair guy. Labushkin's a top pair guy. They're not dumb. They don't think this guy who's been playing 17 minutes in Anaheim is a top pair guy.

But if they can't get someone else, you have a body who can play with Riley, who can make a difference, who moves people into better positions. So instead of losing in five games to Florida, now you could lose in six. This is the dumbest thing ever, Kim. So should they not get good players? Because it's not the one you want it to be?

Like, you're talking about getting all-in guys. You need right. They have 23rd on the penalty kill. Once again, are you just telling me that this is the start of much more coming? I would think so. And then we're with you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because it is.

If this is really it in a nutshell on the blue line, then I'm with Sammy going this is disappointing. For sure. But I just don't think you can make three trades when you make your first trade. It's your first trade. And I'm with you. I don't think labushkin is a top pair guy but to me it's like they are 23rd on the penalty kill they have no right shot d they have no physical players it's a good start it is it's a start and if you don't like the acquisition cost i get it it's it's a cost

it's a cost you could have used somewhere else but But to me, it's like, have you guys looked at the players who are available? There's no names. I know. And that's a problem. Yeah. Yeah. That's, I just can't get over Tanev. I can't quit Tanev.

Yeah. I just, it really, you know, the drop off between thinking you're going to get Chris Tanev to like back to Labushkin. Yeah. It's a hurtful one. Like, it's just, I really, not that I thought it was a lock that he was coming here. I clearly knew, but it's just the fact that it was taken away from you

when it's just such a perfect fit and a real difference maker. I know. And now it's like the next option is Labushkin. That's the step down here. I think in Eddie Murphy's Raw or Delirious, he talks about being a kid and wanting a McDonald's hamburger.

This is my article today. He goes to a McDonald's and his mom's like, we have hamburger meat at home. And she goes to make the Wonder Bread version of the hamburger. That's slobushkin. And there's green parts in it. Green peppers hanging out of it. I don't see the green parts in the McDonald's hamburger.

I see my dad mix it up with eggs and bread crumbs. I'm like, what the hell is that? I don't want an egg McMuffin. And it's like you end up with this burger, and you're going, that's not quite what I wanted. They're familiar with him. He's played with Morgan in the past. That helps.

For sure. Listen, I get, I'm sticking up for it because I see what they're, they just don't have options. But it's not a perfect fit. Why don't we listen to them? Tell us about it. Do you want to do Tree first or Keefe? Tree. He made the trade.

Let's get the GM number one there on Ilya Labushkin. We're short on the right side, so you look throughout the marketplace and number one is determining what's available, right? There's lots of names people want to bounty about, but you've got to separate reality from non-reality. And when we look at Ilya, a few things.

Obviously there's a familiarity with the team. I wasn't here with him before, but in speaking, I spoke to a few of the players, obviously speaking a lot with Sheldon, the coaching staff, there's a familiarity of where he fit in last year, or his last time here, as a teammate. They spoke, you know, glowingly about a teammate, how he fit in with the group.

But then stylistic and profile-wise, you're looking, you know, from my end, somebody on the right side. And one of the things that, you know, we need to improve upon is stopping plays, killing plays. He's got the ability to kill plays, and then obviously being able to do the deal the way we did it and the number that he came in at provides us some flexibility. So it adds to our depth. It gives us a body in a position of need and allows us still to seek other opportunities

over the course of the next week. We're going shopping. Seek other opportunities is encouraging. Where he fit in last time is not encouraging. Yes. And him calling him deaf helps my heart a little bit. Yeah. They're not

done, but I just have to measure what we know now against what Labuschkin is. Two more bodies? Changeover? Is that going to be enough? That's probably what they're looking at, right? Probably a forward and another D or two forwards.

They need another stud on the blue line. does that mean it means a legit top four yeah they're just not they're not good enough on the they're just not no i mean my only comparable to being able to win so first off i think it's a heavily flawed year in the nhl where i don't look at any teams is unbeatable but the only comparable is maybe the 2017 penguins with dumoulin and mata and you know whatever where the whole thing is they just flip pucks in the neutral zone keep it safe and you have your elite forward talent ian cole yeah hainsey and who's dumoulin on the leafs right now and who's cole on the leafs right now? And who's Cole on the Leafs right now? Because I see smaller, tinier, lighter guys.

See, I don't see that at all. I think you got that wrong. The Leafs now are Benoit, McCabe, Labushkin. Those are three guys who hit first as a priority. So no team has six guys who hit. So it's a few guys in the lineup now who want to run into you anyway. Yeah. I'll give you that

one for sure yeah they they uh benoit has added a lot uh mccabe has been more physical in the last three weeks than i've seen since coming here confident so yeah there's much bigger physical presence than we've seen in the past because you're right lilligran's not going to do it riley's not going to do it andigran's not going to do it, Riley's not going to do it, and Brody's not going to do it. And I think, you know, on the positive side of this, two-part take here from this is that I have a hard time, you know, because I did a post-game thing last night,

and then we did a pod talking about the trade afterwards. And I just, I didn't go on Twitter, I didn't do any of the reading before i went on and analytics guys buried this buys labushkin yeah like he is a the what's the opposite of an analytic starling i saw people call him the worst defenseman yeah like people hate this guy and part of me was like oh that worries me but part of me is like i wish i just was a hockey fan now without twitter like when i was a kid i watch hockey and it's like, oh, that guy's good. That guy's bad. I can make my own decisions. But I feel like it's so, I'm so not influenced, but I just see that and I'm measuring it against this.

And it's like. The reason why we call people influencers on this stupid thing. No, but it influenced me. I'm like, oh, these guys are saying he's the worst. He's got to be the worst. But I'm like, can I make my own decision when I see him play? And I've seen him play before. The answer is yes, you can, but you've got to shut your phone off.

But here's the thing, Kipper. They all said the exact same thing about Simone Benoit, where Benoit was unplayable. Benoit had awful numbers. Benoit was a guy that was just completely, you know, not an option for the Leafs. And they've developed him and put him in a good position to succeed. And he's becoming a really important guy for them.

So maybe that's something that can happen with Labushkin, but I don't know. I think guys like Labushkin and Benoit who are not play-driving guys, they don't skate it out, pass it out, whatever, when they get on bad teams, they get stuck. Because no one breaks it out pass it out whatever they when they get on bad teams they get stuck because no one breaks it out for them and they just get the if they let's say they stop a play in the d zone like trees talking about it then doesn't get going the other way when you're on a good team you get a stop sometimes some guys can actually make a play for you and it works

his time with the leafs he was really good at defending the blue line hitting blocking shots like stick checks. I remember him being able to snap a breakout pass a little bit too, I remember. He checks out a lot better, his time in Toronto does, than when he's on bad teams. Buffalo and... Yeah. You may have to just wait in the summer

to get a stud to back up Morgan Riley ultimately. I mean... It's never going to happen. Forsling is a free agent, UFA. Forsling. Forsling's a free agent forzling is a free agent ufa orzling's a free agent montour's a free agent brett pesci's a free agent ufas there's there's there's a decent list this summer you could go to a carolina now and talk about pesci i know where they're at yeah i think you can if you're like hey yes you know the answer is yes you want to do something bigger maybe that's what vancouver i'm connecting dots that's all right they talked about petterson

listen you have to have these conversations burp pesci is not resigning in carolina unless something drastically changes in the next little while they're not prepared to pay this guy so why wouldn't the leafs knock on the door and say you're not keeping them you don't necessarily want to lose them for nothing here we'll take them off your hands and let's talk yeah yeah yeah that's an interesting name i mean that's a difference maker for sure right do we want to hear keith on on labushkin yeah is that the right place to go next let's go to the coach on the trade. It helps us for sure.

We're obviously familiar with him. And when he's coming in the pass, he helped us. Both in what he brings, the type of player that he is. He's ultra competitive, physical, strong. He doesn't back down to anyone or any situation. He plays the game hard and honest. And obviously the right shot. We've talked enough about that to know the importance of that. And I think that in itself, I think,

just sort of allows some other things to settle into place, which I think is where the additional boost comes from. So part of it is what Boosh himself brings, and part of it is how it impacts the rest of the D Corps. So I think it's a good move, and we're happy to have him. Okay. And this comes also off of Mark Giordano leaving the game and not returning.

We assume... It's a concussion. A concussion? Did they announce a concussion today? Whether or not he'll be back in a week or two or shut down indefinitely or perhaps at his age, he may have played his last shift last night.

Yeah. That was as violent a collision with the boards as you're going to see in a really awkward position. I didn't like seeing that. Back in the head kind of. That was one of those ones where I'm like, I didn't even need to see a replay of that one. It was bad.

Yeah. So you could be on to something there, Kipper. I don't know. Well, I'm not on to something. I'm just going through the. Yeah. Well, there's six weeks left in the season. If he's badly concussed, then who knows if he plays again.

You know, fingers crossed for him. You know, well-loved and respected guy, included by the three of us on the show. I don't want to retire anybody. No, exactly. At his age right now, with the rest of his life, I'm sure he's... Ultimately, even if he is in a position to come back you got to once again

weigh out where's my risk here and my reward and how much do i want to take a chance here i bet just not just knowing the way he plays i bet if he's able he'll he'll try he'll he's he's on uh injury reserve whether that goes to long term, I think, remains to be seen. But I think it does make it a little bit easier to maybe hold on to a guy like Nick Robertson or others in the lineup here. That's right, with Yarncroft coming back. With Yarncroft coming back. All right, do we have a sound bite on Yarncroft?

Yep, we do have a sound bite on Yarncroft. All right, let's go to Kipper's Clipper on Yarncroft's return. Ron Krook. I haven't got the report on how things went today, but he's very close, so he'll be a question for us going into tomorrow. I think it's the first time where there's a possibility that he could play,

so that's the first real practice that he's had with us, so today was an important day to get through. So we'll get a sense of where he is. Probably not until tomorrow morning until we know more for sure. Until we make sure he gets through the day. He's preparing to play. Gets through the day without stubbing his toe real bad or sleeping through his alarm.

So careful. He's come a long way for me. Yarncroke. Yes. Yarncroke. Is it? I don't know how to pronounce it. I mean, they're. Yarncroke. Yes. Yarncroke. Is it? I don't know how to pronounce it. I mean, they're saying Yarncroke now.

What? Yeah. But he's, to me... Yarncroke. That's how Sandin says it. That's how we should say it. I think he got a little, I don't know, grittier for me. Yeah.

Yeah. He's got a good, like, compete level. I don't know if people don't like that phrase necessarily, but it's like he does work and he skates and all that all that so i'm with you i like him in that way and i think i think he can uh he can come in and maybe help jt a little bit yeah it's certainly yeah i mean tavarez with mcmahon and robertson that's tough to climb out of that hole when you're not playing well with those guys i mean mcmahon and yarn crock that's a little bit more respectable guys to work with guys who could shoot and finish and all that yeah um for sure do we want to finish

tree livings trade related stuff before we we go into the what else is tickling your fancy i think the third one would be the one that would be worth playing the second one he doesn't give you a ton but if uh it's on if he would be willing to trade his first-round pick, and somebody asked him that. That's a good one. So there you go. If we play clip three. In the right deal, to me, where our team's at, you'd want to help the team.

I think you've got to be careful with first-round picks for short-term help. But if it makes sense, at the end of the day, when you do the final analysis, if you think that it's going to have an impact, you have to look at every option. So the idea that we're not going to do this, we're not going to do that, we look at every option if it's going to improve our team. Now, as the manager, you also have to look at not just the next six weeks' lens,

but you balance it. And so we've tried to look at opportunities that could help our team using any and all capital we have available. But it's got to make sense. So I know earlier this week, I've used Lawson Kraus as an example, but that's what Tree is talking about right now.

Is there a mid-20 guy with three years on his deal, and I'm going to give you a first rounder all day long, but it's going to be expensive, and it's going to be the first plus. And usually the plus, if you're really going to go and get a significant guy like that, the plus is an A prospect with it. It's not a B or a C prospect. And that's the tricky part.

And that's why I've always brought in Cowan into the mix, saying under the right trade for the right guy at the right age, with the right term moving forward. You're talking big here. Yeah, I am talking big. Do you have anyone else in mind? Well, I mean, I watched two Coyotes games in the last week and I couldn't give you one loss in Kraus moment.

So not sure I'd be thrilled to trade the first in Cowan for him. Maybe it's not him, but maybe it's Konechny. I mean, pardon? Hello? Yep. Yeah. Yep. Yep.

You heard me. Yeah. Okay. Now we're talking. Now we're talking. Now we're talking. Now we're talking. All in, boys.

I buy that for a dollar. 5.5 million this year and next. Yeah, he's wearing an A now at 26 years old. Oh, my God. For the Flyers. Now we're talking Cowan. Scrappy, competitive. Yes.

Because I think Daniel Breer would have that conversation. 27 and 27. You have 54 points in 57 games. To your point on our Cowan updates, okay, this guy is, if you talk about prospects, worldwide prospects, hockey prospects, I don't think there's been a guy that's shot up as much as he has in the last year. I think he's a 27-game point streaker more now. People were going, Leafs were idiots for drafting him when he was ranked,

I don't know, 45th. And right now, if this guy was eligible for the draft today, he'd be a top 10 pick. Top 10. Yeah. And if you're the Flyers, considering where you're trying to go, a first and a guy like that, you'd have to think about it. Because they're going to have to pay Konechny at some point,

but Konechny would be up after tavar's deal which connect me and uh walker now are we talking yeah and you've added labushkin already in london that's where connect me he's from he's an ontario boy love that i mean yeah that's the type of yeah you're blockbuster we're talking about kipper i can't say yes any more times like yes absolutely yes but i just have a hard time believing that the flyers would actually do it it just i know that i know cowan has the upside he's like you said he's probably one of the biggest prospects in the world at the moment but just like if you're the flyers connect me isn't 31 right he's 26 like he's gonna be good for he's just entering his primey prime as we speak they're trying to be good quickly he's a flyer identity

type of guy i'd be surprised but thrilled if they trade him to the lease right yeah no i did that yeah so that to me is the type of shake-up you're looking at so no wonder labushkin's not moving the needle for you yeah and then i'll labushkin gets a lot better when i get a yeah a defenseman a top four legit guy on top of this on top of this but they don't that's they don't have it that's putting your cojones on the line right there i would say so you're putting your job on the line the first year. I mean, I love it. I love it. It would be fascinating. 27 game points, Drake, for Easton Cowan.

No big deal. Yeah. Any concerns on Morgan Riley? Hoping to see the Morgan Riley before the All-Star break kind of guy. Is he struggling a little bit? Listen, we joked about this last night, but sports coverage is much like the news, boys, where every certain beat of every year,

we hit a certain thing where it's like, oh, it's the St. Patrick's Day parade thing. Run the St. Patrick's Day parade piece. We're hitting the time of year where Morgan Riley's having his regular season struggles, and we talk about how he's struggling, and then it's like when the regular season ends regular season ends the playoffs start and he's great again but yeah he's struggling i don't uh i don't mean to poo-poo this but like on the list of least

things to me that's not high on my list of what has my attention these days you know like watching john tavara is playing the third line uh struggling frustrated can't get it going not on the power play what's happening here is a bigger you know in terms of veteran important leaf guys that scares me more i don't see uh an out other than john's just gonna have to work through it and you hope that young croak can come in and and help him out a little bit here. And McMahon can shoot it in the net every once in a while. But I think they're kind of committed to this here. You don't think this is just a, let's see how the Leafs lineup looks,

spreading those guys out? I don't know. Based on Willie Nylander starting training camp at center and then bailing that quickly, I'm saying, who knows? But to me to go back to John Tavares with Willie and locking in again to your top four highest paid guys, going one-two again, is a setback. And you've got...

I agree with you. And on top of that, you've come so far with bertuzzi like it took you this long to get him going and he's a player now and a very important player kept one in although he did rattle one off the post can you believe he shot the empty netter off the post did you know what the total was in that game? No. It was, like, that would have put it over. Oh, really? Yeah, so if you had the over, that was it. Betting night.

I'm saying if you went back to just the old JT way, do you lose Bertuzzi a little bit back? Yeah, maybe. Do you want to run that risk? It's a good question. It's a good question. I would rather, offensively, I think at this point, you're going to get more out of a thriving Bertuzzi than John.

Like I'd rather have Tavares on the power play, you know, in game one, given the chance he could pop open, he can finish. He's a much better goal scorer than Bertuzzi ever could be. But I think Bertuzzi creates more. I want to kind of defend JT a little bit here. Yeah. Because he did score 18 goals on the power play last year. That's what I'm saying.

I would prefer him on the power play. So, yeah, I'm with you. But I don't want to lose Bertuzzi either. So, and I know you're telling me, Kemp, it's no different than 15 other teams out there, the big boys eat up the two minutes. And I'm not here to tell you you're wrong, but I am here to tell you that you can't have your cake and eat it too here.

So you might have to share a little bit more here and get JT back in. And listen, as painful as it may be, there might be some power plays where you got to start JT and sit Austin off of a commercial break. I don't know. You can totally talk me into that. You cannot just say to JT. It's over.

Power play time is over for your career. Done. Just sit there and be a good little boy because you will lose JT I've seen it a million times you hear the sound bites

he's a great guy he'll do whatever he can to help the team blah blah blah doesn't that sound like a problem to you it's just the game it's just the way it's always been on any team in any era the scores like they're cookies but all this all the stories we hear about championship winning teams and what it takes to come together and whatever is about putting egos aside and doing what's best for the group you know this guy's been in the league for

a thousand games thousand points you don't you, is it not reasonable to not lose your captain because he's not getting what he wants in terms of personal numbers? For that cliche to work, it's circumstantial that you've kind of shaped and brought the group together over a long period of time. So when you're in this crunch period of the end of the regular season to start the playoffs, there are no mixed messages. You know exactly what your role is.

You know where your fit is, and you know where the pecking order is in the room. I think there's a lot of confusion right now still in that Leaf dressing room where they're not sure where the pecking order is in the room i think there's a lot of confusion right now still in that leaf dressing room where they're not sure where the pecking order is and where is the hierarchy and where do i fit in everybody's racing right now to get their ice time get their cookies get this get that and right now they've got a lot of work to do still does that make any sense to you makes perfect sense to me yes i agree so i mean i only have my ranger stanley cup year to experience over the course of you want to call their cup too i want to call their cup well i mean you've been a part of it a couple times but it's it's it's not a flick the switch at the trade deadline bring in six guys and everybody falls into place real quick unless you know exactly where your lane is and what your role is.

And we kind of got lucky because we did make a lot of changes in 1994 with multiple trades. But honest, every guy came in and fit like a glove. Yeah, fit's important. And right now, they're still working on that in that Leaf dressing room. You know, I think getting a number two center type would really clarify where things are at.

Tavares is always going to be on at least the second power play unit, like at the very least. But if you bring in another guy who can, you know, he's not going to play ahead of whoever you think it might be i don't know adam henryk maybe the name that's at the tip of my tongue but you know i think people can slot in a little better but i agree that there is some a lack of clarity on yeah that pecking order right now and bertuzzi and tavarez and all

that yeah all right what are we gonna do take a break yeah let's take a break all right we'll get some more feedback on the toronto may police when we uh welcome in uh luke fox from sportsnet.ca so plenty more including off the rails friday with doug mcclain can't wait for that one oh yeah more real kipper and born after the break covering the raptors in depth like no one else the raptor show with will lou subscribe and download the show on apple spotify or wherever you get your podcasts welcome back to off the rails friday nick kipriel, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. All right, we're going to welcome in Luke Fox momentarily. What else you got?

You got a quick Kipper's Clipper out there? Where do you want to go? Well, I was going to ask Luke about it, but I can ask you, where's Tim Thiel-Lilliker? What's going on? Let's listen to that clip. We have a clip on that. All right.

Can I play that? The Lily pad. Let's do clip three on's listen to that clip. We have a clip on that. All right. Can I play that? The lily pad. Let's do clip three on what's up with Lily. Yeah, he's another guy that's not necessarily ruled out for tomorrow, but not a certainty to play, obviously, given his absence in practice. But it was sort of purposeful today to get a feel for where he's at, but not to overdo it so so that uh it could be a possibility for tomorrow um again we'll determine with with lilligren yarn crock and and the bushkin

who's you know traveling in and you know visa issues and all these kind of things that we gotta gotta get sorted out that are out of our control. All those things will be determined tomorrow. See, this is one of those where I get nervous right now because here's a right-handed D. You don't have that many in the whole organization, and he just disappears. I know. Nothing happened. He is no way too valuable to the Leafs. Yeah.

I've said this in previous years that, oh, I don't know where Lilligren's going to fit. They need him in this year. They need him to play. They need him to not just disappear with mysterious absences. Maybe our local guy knows. Maybe our Luke Fox from Sportsnet.ca can tell us, where is Lillie?

Yeah, it's kind of a strange one, guys, that it seems to be lingering here. Sheldon Keefe has suggested before the last couple of games that, oh, maybe he'll be ready, and he just hasn't been. He's skated on his own. He did some work by himself ahead of the rest of the group for the morning skate yesterday, but he wasn't on the ice

with the the team today and it's getting a little bit curious the explanation is that he was banged up toward the end of the colorado game but that's a week ago and this just keeps on lingering and they're being really tight-lipped i've found found with this new regime, if it's something long-term, like with Mark Giordano, they just come up and say right away, it's the head. Or, you know, with Lilligren's first injury, they said, it's a high ankle sprain when the guy's going to be away. But when it's something more minor or they're hoping he's going to get back

into the lineup sooner than later, they're being a little bit more coy this year. Huh, that's interesting. You know, he really looked toward, you know, until he got hurt there, looked like he was finding it again a little bit, and you can see the positive version of what he could be for them in playoffs. No, 100%. And I think a lot of it had to do with Morgan Riley being out of the lineup,

and this was a bit of a silver lining because all of a sudden they needed someone to quarterback that top power play. And so all of a sudden he's getting, you know, these offensive touches. He was getting a bunch of points. I think, you know, he had a string of multi-point games. And that got his confidence going. I remember in particular at Mullet Arena after that game we talked to to him and it was the most positive he had sounded all season. You know, he he's a guy that's very mild mannered, kind of quiet, and he's hard on himself in a very like low key way when things aren't going well on the ice. But he started to feel more encouraged, you know, the fact that the team's winning,

but he's contributing to that winning. I think he needs that offensive side of his game to be going to feel a little bit better about his defensive game. And I remember in that game against the Coyotes, he even finished some checks really hard, you know, establishing a bit more of a physical presence. So this injury, however severe severe it is it's kind of come about a bad time because it just seemed like he was getting his momentum back and after a really

inconsistent season altogether luke got asked you about uh labushkin his return a very popular guy i would imagine uh i gotta i'm hearing he's absolutely thrilled to come back. Is it just a foregone conclusion he's just going to pick up where he left off before leaving for the big bucks? Yeah, I mean, it always helps, right, to have that familiarity, especially when you're coming in late in the season. You know, he was beloved. Like, I remember Jake Muzz was over the moon for this guy. Any question you'd ask him about, he's like, I love the bozzin was over the moon for this guy you'd any question you'd

ask him but he's like i love the boosh i love the boosh and i think it's just because he brought that physical element that at that point muzzin was the only guy bringing now you look at their their top six d and with labushkin in you got benoit labushkin and mccabe that'll that'll keep force opposition to keep their head up because they're willing to to finish a check uh or even drop the gloves if necessary and i i think you know we're starting to see brad true living's fingerprints a little bit more on the blue line the fact that he's buddies with a lot of the core guys uh he was a a team first guy morgan riley was saying today i I think that helps. And I actually

think it helps Ilya Samsonov. So low key, these guys are actually really close off the ice. They've had some vacations together. They're two families. And Samsonov has been on a bit of an island as the only Russian on the team. So I think they're going to help each other. It's the same with the Swedes in that room. It always helps if you have someone from your own country that you're a little bit familiar with just get acclimatized. And his game is the type of game that you're not bringing in a new guy to run the power play. You're bringing in a guy to bang it off the glass, box guys out, stop cycles, like very

simple stuff that should translate and then you'd like to think that he'll be a little bit more inspired his only taste of the playoffs was in that one uh spring with the leafs you know otherwise he's been on bad sabers teams bad ducks teams bad coyotes teams so yeah his numbers aren't fantastic but you think if he's surrounded by better players he'll elevate a little bit too that's great i think the samsonov thing is a very worthwhile note the guy who's kind of finding it a little bit which brings me to goaltending we have gone 45 minutes and we didn't mention the return of joseph wall which was you know a fairly large story from last night um i thought he looked fantastic what was your impressions of his return and what this means for the Leafs crease going forward yeah Sheldon Keefe said he was the difference in the game and and you'd have to

agree uh he wasn't tested much early it took almost 10 minutes for him to face his first shot and you know as a guy making his his first start since the first week of December he probably would wanted to see some pucks but he just has the right mentality that, okay, I'm just going to be set and be prepared when this starts coming. And, you know, the Coyotes actually outplayed the Leafs for probably the second half of that game. And he stood strong. His movements were calm in the crease.

And I think there was like some emotional meaning behind that win. I think it's always a little bit nerve-wracking when you're testing out an injury especially an injury that is caused by a movement a goalie has to make over and over and over again pushing post to post that's how he got hurt and that's something he has to get over the mental hurdle of doing multiple times a game and it's one thing to do it at the hL. It's another thing under the bright lights. And, you know, I walked into the dressing room post-game, and he was just kind of sitting there, really, you know, his head down,

and he seemed to be having a moment. And beside him was the player of the game belt that Max Domi awarded to him after the game. And he said, you know, one thing, it meant a lot to be playing and to finally stop thinking about when am I going to be ready to play? That was very mentally taxing for him. And the second thing was you don't feel part of the guys when you're off

rehab, when you're staying back from road trips and you're, and you're working on simple ankle movements or working with a goalie coach all the time, you don't feel one of the boys boys so he said that was the second thing that really you know meant a lot to him last night and and it's really important you know to get your first win in your first game back it gets the gets the engine running like if you start out you haven't played in three months and you lose then maybe you start getting in your head and start wondering, oh, you know, am I fully back yet? So really solid showing from Wall. We're talking to Luke Fox, Leafs writer for Sportsnet.ca. If we're going to stick with the positives,

despite maybe being outplayed by Arizona Coyotes last night, let's go to Ryan Reeves. There was a time this season, Luke, I i mean we watched him and said i think he's done i think he's done like career and now contributing some key minutes for them and playing that heavy game big fight last night with o'brien and looks like the guy that tree living had no problem giving a three-year deal to. Yeah, another great story. I mean, it's funny, right?

There's the Samsonov story and there's the Reeves story of guys that you're really wondering if they had a future on the roster for the rest of the season at one point and just sort of resurrected. He's leapfrogged over Noah Greger, established himself on the fourth line. So I had a long talk with Ryan Reeves earlier this week for a story that's going to drop tomorrow morning. And a lot of it's about Matt Rempe and how he sees himself in Rempe. You know, a younger version of himself, of course,

you know, coming into the league, wanting to fight everything that moves, is how Reeves put it. And, you know, i think the fact that it's all intertwined yes he gets the fight but he's also scored a goal this week he also feels like he's established himself in the lineup and he told me i don't feel like i'm myself when i'm not in the lineup on a regular basis he's like like, I'm starting to feel like myself again. He's like, I can't be that loud guy in the dressing room. If I'm not in the lineup, I can't be one of the guys. And he also mentioned that, that, you know,

last week's Midwest road trip going out to Arizona, having a couple of days off with the guys really helped the group bond. And he said that he took a few guys to an escape room and they just got out with like two minutes left. And it's like it's like it's silly, you know, but these these type of camaraderie things really help the group. And he built himself as a glue guy. And that's why Tree Living brought him in. So he can't be it's the two are intertwined. He can't be effective on the ice if he's not that guy in the room. He can't be that guy in the room if he's not delivering on the ice. So he feels like the fourth line has found its stride, and he's been a big part of that.

He's doing the biceps flex. He's all in. His personality is back, and that's a guy who needs to have that personality in order to thrive. And I'm just waiting for Reeves or rampe to lay a questionable hit because i think there's a potential for fireworks tomorrow yeah i don't know if they'll even need to be ahead i'm curious to see how eager those two guys will be to be involved the escape room thing is fascinating to me like you went to arizona and that's what you did an escape yeah i all right yeah well he said he said a bunch of guys rained and i couldn't golf

i would do it yeah no but i mean that it it seems like kind of childish like i you know that's what take a 11 year old to do at a birthday party yeah or something but uh you know it works right you're forced to figure stuff out it's like a bit of an icebreaker for guys that, you know, may not sit together on the plane or whatever, but he said they had a blast. Awesome stuff. All right, Luke, we'll let you go, pal. Thanks for doing this. Enjoy the game tomorrow night. All right. Have a good weekend and good luck with Doug.

All right. Thanks, Luke. Appreciate it. We'll need it. Okay. Let's pick up on the Ryan Reeves conversation, but first let's go to a Kippers Clipper number seven on his big fight last night out of sheldon keith yeah i love the fight love the spirit love the energy um got to kind of get the crowd going you know it's some of a quiet slow start it took a while before the shots and chances started to come for either team so it brought some brought some energy and juice. It's great for Revo to have that, but Revo's played some really good hockey for us here of late,

and that's been great to see. Skating, he's skating to me on another level, and making plays and advancing the puck and doing all the things you need him to do. And then tonight, you know, I called for him to show that other side of it. But thrilled that he stood in there and did his thing that we've come to know and expect over his career. You really leaned into that really, really good hockey, bro. All right, let's just open it right up here, okay? And we're not promoting anything.

Oh, no, I am. That was awesome. Was last night just the warm-up for the main event Saturday night with this Matt Rempe? How is it not? It's got to be. I mean, you listen to Sheldon, and it's like, I'm going to the game. Like, Rempe wants to fight everyone in the league,

and you get a chance to go up against Ryan Reeves. It's set up perfectly. Did Ryan Reeves flex the muscle last night for Arizona or the Rangers coming in? Was that

not a bit of a message that you want to be the heavyweight champ, you got to come through me a little bit here? I don't know. You think it was? You think he's thinking big picture? Yeah. I got big picture out of that. I think he just beat the brakes off somebody who was fired up. That's what I think.

But it could have been. It could have been. You can't have that fight and lift the, and avoid him Saturday night unless he doesn't want to dance. The only possibility is that Rempe has been told just like we don't want you doing that for no reason. Something happens and you need to find. I doubt that. I highly doubt that.

I also doubt that they have him there and want him to not do the thing he does. We got to do the read here but Reeves got a great grab on O'Brien. O'Brien almost died. He missed him with one that was like. As soon as he got that grab I was like this is not good for O'Brien. Alright'Brien almost died. It was the, he missed him with one that was like, as soon as he got that grab, was like,

this is not good for O'Brien. Yeah. All right. Join Cobb's Bread tomorrow for Donation Day, where $2 from every six pack of their hot cross buns sold will be donated

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The next morning, boys, they start fresh. Apple cinnamon to $5.90, $5.90 right now. So they give food away when the doors close. I might be at the back door. Apple cinnamon on cross buns. Let's go. I know who's dumped their arm around. When you get about 12 or 13 of those reeds, you get really good at them.

Oh, thank you. I really nailed the apple cinnamon reed. He was excited about the apple cinnamon. Apple cinnamon 590, baby. Get your crayon orange out of here. Bring me the apple cinnamon. All right. Traditional fruit.

We're shutting down the Leaf Edition. We're going national next. Our thanks to Luke Fox. And when we return, Doug McClain. And the latest update on Elias Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks. Don't miss it.