Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Crowded Crease

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with a look ahead at the Leafs' game tonight against the Golden Knights at home. They discuss Vegas' injuries, what type of reception Rielly will get in his first game at home since the suspension, Reaves staying in the lineup over Gregor and the all-left-handed d-corps. Then, a discussion about available right-handed defencemen after Chris Tanev and what they would cost. Finally, former NHL goalie and the Daily Faceoff's Carter Hutton (27:44) weighs in on the Leafs’ goalie situation with Woll returning from injury and the dynamics of keeping 3 goalies on the roster.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 for the toronto maple leafs the real kipper and born show leaf edition this hour nick kiprios justin born sammy mckee derrick brandeo general nick for the next two hours we are live in this hour on sports at 590 sports Sportsnet 360, and Sportsnet Plus from 4 to 6. And when you don't catch us live, go get us on a pod somewhere. Please. Yeah, please. Keep us employed. It's always a good thing, don't you think?

Very important. A lot of Leafs employed over the last seven days, or seven games, I should say, as the Leafs go for their eighth consecutive win at the scotia bank arena they'll welcome in the vegas golden knights for the second time in a week they will play each other any chance this goes as well as uh their first game no in sin city i mean it went perfectly They handled the defending cup champs, right? They ran away with the game in Vegas.

It's not going to go that well. Vegas isn't going to come in and lay down, do you think? Probably not. I would believe that they would have had a thorough visit to the video of the game

and probably picked out ample examples of where they went wrong particularly on maybe focusing too much on the big boys and letting the

bottom half of the Leaf lineup beat you because that was the feel a week ago was it not that the bottom half of the Leaf lineup beat you because that was the feel a week ago, was it not? That the bottom six beat the Vegas Golden Knights, not necessarily Matthews or Marner or Nylander? It's funny when you say, hey, make that team beat us with the rest of the guys. Shut down the big guys.

Well, make the rest of them beat us. And then the rest of them beat you. And you go, oh. What do we do? You can live with that, I guess. We executed the game plan. the rest of them beat us and then the rest of them beat you and you go oh what do we do you can live to you know you can live with that i guess we executed the game plan but i would expect that's good news for the top guys who should get a little more space you get home change um i don't expect aiden hill to get yanked uh you know 15 minutes into the game or whatever it was last

time so he's starting again for the golden knights uh interesting stats you have in here on uh on the the leafs record versus the western conference 22 5 and 2 yeah this is from terry koshan post media uh he said 22 5 and 2 against western conference team easily the best in the east no other team in the east has uh more than 18 wins so this basically means at least get to the finals they'll win the stanley cup that's what this means for sure there is sammy no other way to draw a line than the one you just did yeah you nailed it absolutely so no more 1967 you're talking about you, the Golden Knights giving them a better effort. They're still really banged up, fellas. And I, you know, looking at these line combinations,

I think they'll still be in tough here. This Leafs team is really humming, and they've now won seven in a row. They're on home ice for the first time in a while. We'll talk about the first game back from a road trip or whatever. But, I mean, their fourth line, Mason Morelli, Byron Fraze, and Sheldon Rample is their fourth line mason morelli byron phrase and sheldon rample is their fourth line paul cotter nicholas walk keegan colas are good players but you know

that's up to their third line now you've got brendan bresson on the top line you know it's just it's not exactly the most threatening forward core it's not a threatening forward core but it's still martinez petrangelo mcnabb theodore hagg white cloud on the shot seven past those guys last time so i know they'll be they'll be dialed in a little bit more, but I think the Leafs do post a pretty big threat to the Knights tonight in terms of what they're looking like with their forwards. For sure. Jack Eichel skated, I think, for the first time.

He did. Yes, in a Rouge jersey, which is the injury non-contact one, but he's moving. He's getting out there again. That's a good sign for Vegas. I think they're on an extended trip. Are they not? I don't know.

Yeah. Which I think includes the Boston Bruins, and that's basically where he's from. Yeah, they got the Bruins on Thursday. Is this more of a trip that I want to go home with a team? Well, if he's skating, I think it's important that he's around and practicing with them and all that. He may see action in probably, I don't know, I would imagine a week, week and a team. Well, if he's skating, I think it's important that he's around and practicing with them and all that.

He may see action in probably, I don't know, I would imagine a week, week and a half. But so since the Maple Leafs beat them, they were struggling during that stretch. They lost to the Senators in a shootout. They have the Leafs again tonight, and then it's at Boston, at Buffalo, at Columbus to end their trip. So that's a long trip in the middle of a tough patch for them. Can I bring something up about

the fans tonight? I saw Bonesy tweeting about this. I think this is the first game back at home for Morgan Riley. You know, I would expect a standing ovation. Maybe not standing but a rousing. I think it matters.

Interesting. I do. I've been thinking about this aousing. I think it matters. Interesting. I do. I've been thinking about this a lot. And I know it should acknowledge him. For what? For saving the season? With cross-checking to the face? For the cross-check to the face?

Or for returning after a long suspension? No. What are we cheering? For getting his nose dirty when so many in the past haven't. Are you zagging on this? I'm not zagging at all. I just want to clarify that we're celebrating the cross. It's exactly what we're talking about. Okay, good. No, that's great.

The fans turn around and say, hey, Morgan, it's a dirty job. You did it. We've won a lot of games since then. And now possibly you righted a ship a little bit here for us. This guy cares.

We care that he cares. We all care. And it's Morgan Riley who, you know, I think is a sneaky fan favorite in terms of just how much he cares, how much he loves being a Leaf, how much, you know,

just the fan base response to this guy. And the fact that he was the one that did that, it really propelled them towards a seven-game winning streak. It'd be nice to see them give him a little extra juice on home ice tonight. I would like to see that. Maybe even a standing O. Why not a standing O? Why not?

Because he did a criminal activity. Yeah. That's what he did. And guess what Toronto fans like? They like ice crimes. They do. I really don't know about a standing ovation for cross-checking a guy in the head no but i get where you're going i gotta tell you if i'm there tonight couple cores deep i'm getting up i'm standing i'm clapping you know all the moralizing aside about how you shouldn't do that you shouldn't do that. You shouldn't do that. You shouldn't hurt people. But as a sports fan, I can see why people would be like, way to go.

It is kind of embarrassing. What? Kind of embarrassing that you think that your team has been so soft for so long that this is the acknowledgement that you need to have. Yeah. But, I mean, it hasn't happened yet. We don't know that the fans will react that way. Come on, Sammy.

No, I disagree. No, I think he's making a good point. No, no, no, no. If you were... Oh, the Leafs are soft. First of all, if you were a season ticket subscriber to the Florida Panthers, your knees would get tired of standing ovations all year long.

He just, he would be like, yeah, he continued to stand up for the boys. Yeah. This is a norm. This behavior has been a norm for the Florida Panthers all season long. You want to give one guy a standing ovation for it. Here's the difference though, Kipper, between the Leafs and the Florida Panthers. A Florida Panther is not even getting fined for that. Morgan Riley gets five games suspended for it it. Here's the difference, though, Kipper, between the Leafs and the Florida Panthers. A Florida Panther's not even getting fined for that. Morgan Raleigh gets five games suspended for it,

so that's the difference. The payrolls would be like, yeah, it's fine. Oh, God. He's not getting suspended for five games. Now you're... Who do you think I am here? Okay, we don't mind you as the president of the booster club for the Toronto Maple Leafs,

but when you pull out pom-poms, that's where we draw the line. I think he deserves acknowledgement for a turning point in the season, and I don't think that a standing ovation would be too much to ask, and I don't think it would be embarrassing. It's not Borya Sal in team sweden 1976 standing ovation no maple leaf gardens yeah but he's playing for the leafs he's not playing for sweden you know they should do no but i'm acknowledging that that's a real standing ovation i get all this but i think i think we're i guess that's what we get paid to do we all get paid to overthink things

but you're overthinking it a bit here. The guy did a thing that was awesome and everyone loved it. And he's back for the first time. And yes, give him a cheer. No, stand up. Get in your feet. They should treat it like he's a returning player and do a video tribute to him.

And have him come out. Now we're talking. Have the three of us actually break it down. Like let's stop the game and we break it down on the big monitor. You know, as the video shows. You've been to a Vegas game, Kipper. They bring out this, like, night thing. They bring out, like, a golden night and they do, like, this whole, like, enactment.

They should do that before the Leafs game and bring out a guy with, like, the Ridley jersey. You know, I'm on to something here. Anyways, I think there's a little acknowledgement. By the way, just so you know, Sam nearly got concussed in beer league today. So if he's a little off, just, you know. First your car and now your head. What is going on with you?

I will say, like, I don't know. Am I making less sense? Because I'm feeling like I am. No, no, no. You're good. You're making the usual amount of sense. I just got, I fell. I fell like a crappy high player. You know, right after a move on the goal line going, you know,. You're good. You're making the usual amount of sense. I just got, I fell. I fell like a crappy high place.

You know, right after a move on the goal line going, you know, just past the net. I made a rather nice move around the defender, if I do say so myself. But I was extending because the puck got away. And then I hit a rut and I went head first in the boards. So, it's okay though. I'm fine. Fine. All good.

We'll wake you up every 10 minutes during the show. I'm fine. No problems. So same lines tonight. Noah Greger is still a healthy scratch. Your thoughts on going this long with Greger and not getting back in. Do you believe that Reeves is playing himself into a potential playoff lineup? No. himself into a potential playoff lineup. No, I think they're getting him ready for

the big guy in the New York Rangers. Rempe. Rempe. You think so? Keep his cardio up for when he's going to go three rounds? Well, I mean, the fourth line said it's two of its best nights in the last two games with him

on it. They've won seven in a row. I don't think anybody's clamoring for Gregor to get back into the lineup. To me, it's just keep playing him until you lose. I mean, Reeves is on a three-year contract. He's had a good few games here. Keep him going. Yeah, I think it's still debatable whether or not we'll see Ryan Reeves in game one yeah i think that's a long shot to be honest with you but right now it's serving its purpose there's a good look on that fourth line reeves

has never spent less time in his own zone than he is yeah in this current run so that's that's not an issue and yeah let let gregor get hungrier i'll take it back though kip to game one versus tampa bay last year when the leafs thought it was going to be physical tone setting hockey and they dressed kyle clifford and wayne simmons in game one i think we all remember it was a five minute major. That was two series ago. That was, that was the, that was the first Tampa series where not last year.

No, it was not last year. Two years ago. It was two years ago. Two years ago with Clifford. And he buried someone from behind to the boards. Five minute major kick. They killed it off.

One, five, nothing. Yeah. They lost game one, what? Eight or seven, two last year.

That's right. Yeah. And then they won seven. Anyways. They lost game one, what, 8 or 7-2 last year? That's right. Yeah. And then they won 7-3 last game. Anyways, so there you go. Anyway, my point is, May Ryan Reeves had that same relevance where they're like, it's game one, it's Boston, or it's Florida, we're going to need the meat.

Yeah, I think Ryan's at the point of his career and he's played a lot of playoff games. He's had 120 playoff games in a while. It's a good run here. And I think over the course of those playoff games, whether it's Vegas or the Rangers, did he play much in the playoffs for the Rangers? Oh, a ton, yeah.

He's got enough savvy in him to not do anything stupid. I don't think that'll be the case. It'll just be strictly on whether or not you're okay with the lack of speed or footwork, I think. He's played 108 playoff games. 108 playoff games. He played 18 with the Rangers. He went deep a number of times with the Golden Knights 19 and 12.

Yeah. So I think it's just a matter of the look you want. Yeah. And right now I think he's fine where he is. And from Brad Tree Living's point of view, you still want to prove that it wasn't a dumb signing. I think there's some of that too, right? You need to validate he's doing it right now he's fine yeah he's fine he's fine and yeah brempi's gonna come down saturday night i don't know where the kid's gonna be surprised if

he doesn't fight him listen the guy's had a tough week i don't know where he is like he's got to get through columb Columbus tomorrow night. I bet you they tell him he can't fight that Olivier. It wouldn't be the worst move, to be honest with you. Do you think he's got the pride thing of having lost one and now he's going to want to? Listen, I've never gone against my coach. And I've been on benches where coaches say,

listen, I don't want you to fight. Okay? Don't fight. I need you to four-check hard. I need you to get pucks out of your own zone. I don't want to see fighting out of you as the number one priority. You're right. If he's told not to, he won't.

If he's told not to, you don't want to embarrass the coach or yourself. So, listen, and that's where the Rangers got to step up and go, buddy, we love your gumption, but we got to pull back a little bit here. I bet they make it public to protect him, not embarrass him, right? For not going back at the guy. They'll say, yeah, we don't want him to do that anymore. So, I mean, there's a lot of pluses off of what he's been able to do in a short period of time.

Yeah. But you've got to protect him a little bit here. So, no Lilligren for the Leafs tonight? Where is the lily pad? Day-to-day. He is day-to-day. Can they not, like, can they just not be healthy ever? There's always, like, one guy, one situation.

I think that's everywhere. So now we've got Gio back in the lineup. Yeah. And six left-handed shots. Six left-handed D-men tonight. Looking at pairs of Brody, McCabe, Riley, Benoit, Jordano, Lagasin. So McCabe, Benoit,oit and lagason playing off sides interesting to me that they stuck with brody on the left side it's funny right like they need three left shots

to play the right side and brody isn't one of them i'm sure he will like when push comes to shove they could happen against colorado uh keith couldn't help himself putting them together with riley again here and there i'm sure it'll happen again they'll be mixing we'll listen to the clip from the coach all right let's go to sheldon key for our first kippers clipper on how the leafs handle their decor without lilligren yeah well we'll uh i suspect we'll be moving things around a fair bit obviously six left-handed uh guys um we do have different people that are comfortable on the right side. Obviously, we know Brody's comfortable there. Morgan, even last game, took some shifts on the right side.

This is a game, of course, in Lagoson. So Benoit is probably the one that's spent the least amount of time there. We gave him some reps yesterday in practice for that reason if we had chosen to use him there. But, you know, with the different mix that we have, I think you'll see different people moving around. Yeah, and that's the way Keith likes to do it, jumping around as the game goes on.

All right. I don't know what you guys want to do. You want to follow up this D- this decor conversation with something's going to come to a head here soon because Morgan needs a partner. So you don't think playing with the legacy is going to do it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

I think. Well, you've been working the phones. Can't be you hear anything? What's going on? Just. I don't I don't I think uh well you've been working the phones Kippy you hear anything what's going on just the Leafs number one target number one priority would be in a perfect world Tanev and they're just they're not there he's tried all season what about Seattle's guys that like Will Borgen they have he's playing second lines line. He's a right shot, big body guy. Really good players, 27. Making two and a half or two sevens. First of all, there is a sense around the whole league

that whoever needs D, and it's been noted as many as 10 to 11 teams need D, that there's Tanev, and then you can throw a blanket on a number of guys after Tanev so those are the guys that you're talking about Adam Larson's in Seattle too I don't know if Seattle's done done they're pretty done but I don't think Seattle's looking at at moving Adam Larson I think they like their, and they're just trying to find ways to add some more scoring. So I don't think they want to rob one

to pay another here. Seattle's just going to Minnesota Wild themselves right into the old 17-20 spot for years. What does Larson have? He's got a very good contract. Yeah, he only makes $4 million, and he's under contract next year as well. 6-3 right shot.

So if Seattle's actually still thinking about making the playoffs and for sure want to make the playoffs next year, why are you getting rid of a very good, solid defender who's very cap-friendly? It makes no sense to start throwing these names out there as being legitimate type of guys that the Leafs can focus on. Yeah. It's just crazy.

Like, if you scour the league, like, there's not a ton of great fits. Jonas Eagle had written an article about some potential targets. One that I thought we've had here before with the Leafs was Labushkin. You know, I like the question he asked which was how much cheaper or how much worse is he than Chris Tannett how much you know did does he not do kind of the same thing we've seen him with Riley in the playoffs in the past they played pretty well together we know he hits yeah it's night and day for me oh a big difference yes oh yeah yeah I mean it's different one's a legit top four and the other one's your third

pair but same that's what luke shen was and that worked for the leafs and did it work for the leafs they got smoked in the second round yes it worked they were a wonderful pair they were great no no it still wasn't good enough they lost they weren't even close in the second round how can you tell me it was good? It worked. If a team makes a good trade and they don't win the cup, it doesn't make the trade or the players good. Luke Shen is a third pair D on a Stanley Cup championship team,

which he was in Tampa. Yeah. Putting him with Morgan Riley or Labushkin with Morgan Riley is not the look of a team that's ready to go to a final. I think it looks, it depends what the rest of that group looks like. You know, it depends on the other four guys. You can see it right now. I can see it.

And yeah, it is, I get your point. But when you're talking about acquisition costs and what the Leafs have to spend, what is Tanev going to cost compared to Labushkin? Labushkin's going to be a third or a fourth rounder, something like that. Tanev's a first and a five-year or four-year extension. No, maybe not.

Maybe not. Maybe you find a way to get Tanev thinking outside of the box. Right? I mean, then that interests me a great deal more. The extension's still worrisome, but... Well, the extension is just cost of doing business and you can feel that you're gonna pay tan of what you were paying brody that's it so yeah and you're a lot more comfortable i think with tan of for the next

two years and you would be Brody at $5 million. Sure, but on a four-year deal, that's... So can the Leafs get around spending a first-rounder, or even picks for that matter? To me, trying to get Q to do this means someone else is going to do it. Just get more people involved in a trade with 10 of like go move bodies forget about the first rounder move bodies what would interest calgary to move 10 of out maybe it's now we're talking four or five guys you got to move guys out you got to move bodies out. Maybe it's a five player trade. Maybe it's Tanev and... Take McMahon, take Robertson, take...

Mangiapane. What's Mangiapane's situation? Does he need a new contract? He's a UFA. All right. What was that move? That's my ears perking up. Oh.

So now it's Tanev and Mangiapane and now it's... See, you got to throw a sweetener in here so what would excite Calgary off the Leaf roster so maybe it's Minton

I don't know where they sit on Minton but take a look at the last two weeks three weeks what's propped up here maybe it's Holmberg. You know how I feel about Holmberg, but I would think Calgary would be a lot more excited about Holmberg today than they were two or three weeks ago.

Big body, can eventually maybe move into a top 6, 7, 8th on your depth chart. Is he that good? I don't know. Do you see that? It seems like a bit of a poo-poo platter for one of the biggest. I don't think they're going to be asking for Cowell and they're going to be asking for Mitten. No, no, no.

You don't need to go that deep. I don't think you need to go that deep because you got to understand, they're asking already for a first rounder. And no one's giving it to them. Yeah. They're not getting it. Okay. And there's a very good chance between now and next Friday, they don't end up with one team offering a first rounder.

The problem for the Leafs is it drops into a second rounder. Everybody's lining up with a second rounder, except the Leafs don't have it. Yeah. So what else can we sweeten you with so uh timmons robertson and homberg enough for a ufa and chris tannev no okay well no listen i i but i like the direction you're going because i think the type of deal that br's now got to throw them until they say yes. I think what's probably giving teams pause on Tanev is that pure rental

versus extension thing. Because if you're going to spend a first, you're keeping the player. Not a ton of people would be comfortable keeping a pretty battle-worn guy who's already 34, you know, and that might give them some pause, which might open the door a little bit to something like what you're talking about now mangi ponte is a very interesting name for me because he's the type of gamer yes who gets in and under and through players in a way that i really now value is he too much like bertuzzi are they two of the same do you already you're

finally getting bertuzzi going but you could use manju pani could you not first line left wing the second he shows up he makes five eight this year and next yeah oh he's got another year oh he's not ufa he's got another year okay five eight all right but it's five five in that spot so i thought he was ufa my apologies but that's just more cost it doesn't not prohibitive i mean, yesterday we talked to Francis, and the name he mentioned as a potential surprise name was Mangiapane. Yes. You know, it's not like this is coming out of nowhere. Yeah.

But that, to me, can Brad Tree Living do that type of deal and protect a first round? It's funny hearing Francis talk about the risk of trading with the Leafs and how if it really works for the Leafs, it just buries your reputation. Who's the Leafs' top D prospect? Topey Niemela? Noah Chadwick? Could we interest you in one of those guys?

Yeah. I think there's that. Chadwick's pretty. Yeah, he was like a sixth rounder and they signed him already. He's playing well in the dub. Maybe he's one of a guy. I don't know. There's not one guy that you named that I wouldn't trade for those two guys.

Except Cowan, I probably wouldn't trade for those two guys. But I just, why not just the first? Yeah. Fine with the first. Fine with it. That's, it's expensive. Yeah, I know it is. I know.

And I'm not saying I wouldn't necessarily do it but i've got to have my back against the wall on march 8th to do it yeah it's it's 2 55 p.m and he's like either he's going to arrival you give us the first so yeah all right buddy it is crazy how close we are to this deadline it's eight days away. Yeah. And TV producers everywhere are very thrilled about, and hosts are very thrilled about the lack of movement. Did you see our game, our national game last night had a countdown?

Did it? Like it was like something like 260 hours to go or something like that. I think it's tongue in cheek, right? No, no. I think they're dumb enough to think that that's really important for us to see. like that. I think it's tongue-in-cheek, right? No, no, I think they're dumb enough to think that that's really important for us to see. That's what I think. No comment.

No comment or questions at this time from me. I'm like, I can't do the math. I see like 256 hours, and it means nothing to me. That feels like it's more hours than that, but I have no brain. I saw a lot of numbers there. 10 days times 24 hours, we're at 240. Looked like an old Jerry Lewis telethon with all those numbers.

I can't believe the lack of action here, so something's coming. Yep. All right. We got lots of stuff to listen from Sheldon. We should go. Oh, we should go? Yeah, yeah. Oh, we got Carter Hutton.

Oh, my goodness. Oh, we got Carter Hutton. All right my goodness. Oh, we got Carter Hutton. All right, former NHL goalie, current analyst with DailyFaceoff.com. We're going to talk three goaltenders as Joseph Wall is back in the mix for the Toronto Maple Leafs. So get ready for Carter Hutton after the break.

More real Kiprin Bourne after these words. Teeing up the biggest games of the night, it's the Fan Pre Game with Ailish Forfar and Justin Cuthbert. Weekdays at 6 p.m. on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590, The Fan, and wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's get ready to welcome in Carter Hutton, former NHL goalie, and does a terrific job on dailyfaceoff.com. Carter, how are you?

Second time on the show. Love having you on. How are you? Always nice getting the call back, buddy, because I've been on teams where I've been one and done, so it's nice to be back. Oh, we know the feeling. We absolutely know the feeling.

So tonight we'll see Samson off back in the lineup to my surprise a tad is joseph wall will not back up although uh he's ready to go uh which means a three goalie system right now that martin jones is still in the picture and far off in the in the skies but maybe working on his return also matt murray so let me ask you before we get specifically on the leafs just generally how you feel about an nhl team carrying three goalies i i don't necessarily love it but i think nowadays with with what's going on with the Leafs, they need the depth. But for me, it's getting reps, right? It's getting the right reps in practice.

There's only so much time. There's always going to be a third guy who isn't there. When we were doing the COVID year, I was in Buffalo. Me and Lena Solmark were taking all the reps. We had Jonas Johansson, who's gone on to have a great career. But it's hard. You have to step over, guys. You need to get your time because there's only so much time

and so much quality time you can get. So I think it's something the NHL you're going to see a little more of because of the fact that you need goalie depth, and especially with how many goalies we've run through this year in the NHL, you need extra bodies. Do players shoot differently on the third goalie in practice? Like is it one of those things they're catching them off the collarbone or what? Yeah, there is the fact when the third goalie rolls in

that they are a little meaner. Actually, one of your co-hosts there, Jamal Mayers, I remember my first time in San Jose, and I slid out. I was with Ante Niemi, and I stepped in there, and he went high and hard a few times, and I didn't go down on one of his shots. He let me know. He told me, rookie, you always go down when I shoot on you.

Just leave the puck stopping to me. So, like, one of the things that drove me nuts every time i there i was in a situation with a third goalie is like they don't know necessarily where to stand you're in the corner am i like benches you know is it now an unwritten rule where you you got to go sit on the bench is there anywhere that they can stand that they can't get in the way or is it one of those even as a veteran you still don't know where to stand it would depend on the drill i would imagine yeah it's kind of awkward right especially it's it's one thing if a guy wants rest right and he's been playing you know

maybe he's not going to take the full reps usually if you're the third guy you're getting in late in a drill or a guy's already tired or you're coming out at the end of practice but i agree there really is no written rule where you stand you don't want to sit on the bench because then you feel like you totally aren't involved in the team whatsoever so it's one of those things everybody know you need depth it gets awkward at times but at the same time i think goalies at this level understand you're not even competing with those guys you're competing against yourself every single night and that's the main goal here i think for anyone in the nhl so how do you think the leaf should handle the guys they've got now you got samsonov who's been winning games not with a sterling save percentage but he's been winning

games just for for the record you know since the all-star break he's up around 9 11 and he's 9 and 2 not bad 9 11 yeah his save percentage i thought he was like i thought he's like 900 or something no okay i think overall he might be okay i think in his last six wins he's on like he's under 900 in the last six from what i see so i think it's more the way they're defending too it shows a difference in how they well they've defended and for joseph wall you look at his numbers this year it's been really good but they weren't defending as well i think i think this morgan riley you know kind of galvanizes team the suspension you know getting guys to buy into a bigger role to play defense it kind of gives me the feel of when you know bar, Barry Trotz came into Washington and got Ovi and those guys to buy in

to play a little more D, which benefits your goalie. But at this point, I like Samsonov's game. I still feel like as a GM, as a coach, as teammates, you don't forget about what just happened at the start of the year. It's still in the back of your mind. He gives up a couple stinkers. You're worried he's going to just mail it in. So I think you've got to get Wohl going at this point

and see who's going and ride the hot hand. Okay, Carter, what does that mean when you say get him going here? Like he's been off for over two months here. If say he plays against Arizona on Thursday night, would you go back to him Saturday night against the Rangers? Would you let him get on a run? Is there a sense that you still have to protect this guy even if he looks good early?

Yeah, I think just with the injury prone, I feel like you want to get to somewhere where you have a platoon of goalies, right? You have Martin Jones. You know who he is. He's going to be able to go. He's got a ton of playoff experience. So if you have to throw him in, he's ready to go.

But I think just going game by game, right? Kind of a feel, even where you get into the point where the Bruins have Swayman and Allmark, both guys are going. And then when it comes time, we have someone ready to go. I think at this point, Zansanoff has earned the crease, but at the same time, Wol never really lost the crease. So I think it's a chance for him to get back, get some NHL reps under him,

because I know he played well in the American League, but again, the American League is the American League. You know the difference between the speed at the NHL level. Carter, what has changed that goaltenders who are not necessarily the biggest names in the league can win Stanley Cups now? Like, has everyone just gotten so good? Like, Aiden Hill has won, Darcy Kemper.

You know, names that we didn't think of at the time as, like, the top five guy in the league. It feels like the level of goaltending over the past 10 years or so has just gotten to the place where, like, everyone in that top 60-wh whatever are very good goalies yeah it is there you know there's a handful of guys you want on your team right that you can't really buy in free agency you know the vasileskis the hellebox these guys are just elite every single year no matter how good the team is they seem to get it done and for me it's just the fact that like the structure and the way you play

and you get a goal you can get hot at any time and that's where that salary cap you sign a bad contract you look at corpus all this year in ottawa hasn't had a great year and they're married to that contract right that's where that tough commitment comes when you have guys like you know binnington winning a stanley cup even martin jones when he played really well for the sharks bringing them the cup final so you kind of need to strike lightning in a bottle which is i always used to joke around with my agent like hey just to explain them i can get hot at the right time it's almost some sort of selling point like how do you sell it and that's where i think these teams that have had depth with three goals you look at the wings this year with alex lion and james reimer's played well as of late even the

habs carrying three having that extra depth because injuries happen and at the same time if you get a guy hot at the right time that's pretty much all you need come playoff time. It just seems the last few years, it's been almost a lock that when we were talking best goaltenders in the National Hockey League, it's Vasilevsky, it's Shosturkin, and then Sorokin. And yet all three of them have struggled this season. How surprised are you? And Vasilevsky, listen, he's coming off surgery.

I get that. Is there a sense that he may not ever return to that real consistent look that he's had prior to that because of that surgery? Or do you still expect to see him back? You know, I definitely would never count a guy like that out. For me, I think you get a point with Vasilevsky where you've got to start managing minutes, right?

He's not as young as he used to be. He wants to play every game. He's waving the coach off when he wants to get pulled. But I think for him, getting a little bit of a reset is important. Even, I think, Shosturkin, just the all-star break. He goes and plays in the all-star game, gets some days off, and he's been better since. What I found in my career is we're so compressed when we're playing goal.

You get into a state where the game's just coming. You're compressed when we're playing goal like you get into a state where the games just come and you're playing you're playing the wear and tear where sometimes you get into situations where I look at Samson off where last year he was under a lot of pressure in Toronto had a great playoff run you know hoping to get that contract he doesn't get the contract and now all of a sudden you get into that season where you're trying to prove yourself again and it's a lot to wear and tear you know especially with the day and age we live in with social media and everything, and especially living in the fishbowl in Toronto. So how much do different defensemen or different style of defensemen

affect a goaltender's ability to have success? I'm talking about the Leafs at the trade deadline. They're going out looking for a guy like Tanev or guys who clear the front of the net, Joel Edmondson or Goodbranson, whoever it may be. Is it a lot easier when you have guys who clear the front of the net joel edmondson or good branson whoever it may be is it a lot easier when you have guys like that in front or we just we overstate that as people watching i wouldn't say it's easier but i think it creates a sort of predictability and that comes with predictable defenseman and structure like for me a great example would

be i i lead the league in stats one year playing for the st louis blues was it me or was it a fact of yes i played well at times, but also some of my hardest games were just getting to the rink on time, right? We had Beaumister, Petrangelo, Edmondson who you touched on, Peranko, all these big guys that took up space and made the game predictable. And then the next season I go to Buffalo where we have a younger team. And now all of a sudden the unpredictableness of the game comes in and I'm trying to do too much.

You know, it gets hard. And that's where I really saw Samsonov this year. You know, his feet were busy sliding outside of the game comes in and I'm trying to do too much. You know, it gets hard. And that's where I really saw Samson off this year. You know, his feet were busy sliding outside of the net, not very clean where now the game seems like he's got his feet underneath him there. There's more confidence and that becomes because of your decor, because of the structure that's brought into play. McDonough gone from Tampa Bay with Vasilevsky.

Could that be a big part of the challenges now for Vasilevsky, once again, to show everybody he's the best goalie in the world? Yeah, I agree. I think sometimes you get tied to guys in the system, and for him, it's a chance. Still, Vasilevsky is one of those guys, he is such an elite athlete compared to myself or these other guys that I would say fill the rest of the nhl rosters so for him it's the chance to compete again and play well

because this team still has a pretty good core they can score and i think anyone going into the playoffs at this point you're not really want to face the tampa bay team because if he gets hot in a seven game series it's going to be really tough to knock that team out so you've been watching this leafs team as closely as we have this season uh how much do you think they need to get a facelift here as the deadline gets close because boy they're they're looking really good without one but I I know most teams would like to improve a little bit still yeah I'm sure you guys touch on a lot it's nice to see that you know the second half the bottom six getting some goals and getting some support and for me that I see Sima Benoit come up and

play really well when you see a defenseman like that, it's almost like, why don't we have five of them? Have five defensemen that just can take up time and space and then have your offensive guy that can move pucks. I'm a big Jake McCabe fan. I think he was, you know, I played three years with him. He pours us harder. He's a team guy.

But he was a little like, you know, playing outside of his role, trying to do everything. When he's playing shutdown D, hard-nosed hockey, he's tough to play against. And a guy that will do whatever it is to win. So I think the spirits are high, but again, this structure that they're playing with now gives me more hope watching, I think, as a fan now

and on the other side of the media compared to when I was playing for this Leafs team to actually do some damage in the playoffs. The Leafs will face Hill tonight for Vegas. Of course, Vegas, he was the number one goalie for them to win the Stanley Cup, but not necessarily a name that we ever envisioned would get to that point. And yet, when you look at that blue line, yeah, there's some challenges. No Jack Eichel, but that blue line, I would imagine Hill goes to the rink every day

and thinks he won the lottery with that blue line. Yeah, I've been there. I won that lottery when I signed at Buffalo after playing in St. Louis. Honestly, it's one of those things though, like, and I think for Aiden Hill, like I honestly didn't see this coming. Like I played against Aiden Hill. He was more of a backup. I didn't really think, you know, he, he gets into Stanley Cup and he plays really well. I thought there would be a hangover phase. I didn't think he'd get the contract and be able to come back and answer it the way he has but i see there's a maturity too there's almost like a mental wall you get to where the physical abilities doesn't change but you've had so much experience now mentally with what you do on the rink and the

success you've had where that's where i think he's at now he has so much more confidence in himself and he doesn't view himself as that backup now he's a stanley cup champion and having that in your back pocket even the way binnington carries himself where some of these guys that have playoff success it really can snowball into a better career because you get over that mental hurdle which we saw samson off struggle with this year yeah um last one for me just your thoughts on joseph wool coming back and the challenges of returning from injury i imagine goaltending is such a mental position you know are, is it just a matter of being able to not think about the ankle while he's getting back into gameplay?

Yeah, you know, it's not the first injury he's dealt with, right? Obviously, I touched on that last time I was on. The ankles are scary, but at the same time, you know, we're dealing with world-class doctors and physicians and people getting him ready to play. For me, it's just, you know, he's at the maturity level now. It's not like he's a young 21-year-old or 22-year-old year old you're trying to rush up he's 25 he's been around the game now a lot enough pro things and especially last year his playoff experience i think will come in handy

here as he gets back into it so i'm not too worried about him i just want to see how this how samson off handles having someone nipping at his heels here if wall comes in and starts playing well is he going to shut it down or is this going to be something healthy that they can uh really foster into the playoff run here one more for me carter and i'll let you go i promise uh with carter hart still dealing with his uh off ice issues here it's wide open for for a team canada uh four nations and olympics here and the names now of course are hill and uh bennington and i don't know i'm out of names guys give me some help here might be another one so there might be another one on the list so so you tell me is this uh is this something that canadian hockey fans can look forward to is this going to be one of those

uh boy oh boy are we not looking as great as we have in the past when it comes to historic teams with team canada you know it's one of those things i think it's an odd place for us right we look back and for so many years we had you know we had price we had broder luongo wah these guys that were just you know hall of fame goalies so it's going to be interesting moving forward. But again, it's nice to have these guys that are getting good experience now that are all going to get playoff experience. And again, now I touch on what I just touched on.

These are world-class goalies, right? Now who can get hot at the right time, play well in these short tournaments? You know, whether you're good or bad, if you can be hot at the right time is what they're going to need. And it's definitely a new phase for us when you look at the American side.

You go south of the border with Ottinger and Demko and Hellebach and a lot of stars where it seems like they have the upper echelon of goaltending now. And you touched on earlier the Russians. So it's a different spot for Canada, but I would be confident with what Canada can put on the ice, you're going to get some good goaltending as well. Carter, great stuff as always. We really appreciate having you on the show

and looking forward to a few more as we head towards trade deadline and then the Stanley cup playoffs. Thanks for doing this pal. Hey, no problem. Thanks for having me on as always. Thanks man. Appreciate it. Former NHL goaltender, current analyst with daily faceoff.com Carter Hutton.

He really had an exceptional few years. He was a nine 18 in Nashville and nine 13 St. Louis and then a 913 in St. Louis, then a 931 in St. Louis before he made $8.5 million with Buffalo over three years. You okay, Sammy? I think it's working. Oh, there we go. There, he's back.

And then he made $8.5 million. I've got the plug here. Yeah, I know. $8.5 million he made off that. That's what he was talking about when he won the lottery. And then he was great. 50 games, Buffalo played him in 908 the first year they got him. There you go.

So if Canadians are going to pin their hopes on a Binnington or an Aiden Hill, then how good does the defense have to be? Very to quite very, I guess. It's not out of the question. When there are other teams getting 18 shots a game,

it doesn't really matter. Well, that thing is you know you talked about how how much easier it is but to play behind structure like we're gonna have six good d providing structure for whoever it is so you know led by petrangelo no yeah absolutely definitely on my and mccarr kell mccarr morgan riley in the mix for you? Yes, he's in the mix. He's a top seven or eight Canadian defenseman for me. It'll be fun. We will have plenty of time to put together our mock Team Canada lineups. Vortie doesn't like this.

The Team Canada mock stuff? Yeah, yeah. You've never liked it. You know why I don't like it? You've never liked it. I've never liked it. You know why I don't like it? You've never liked it. I've never liked it because it takes genuine thought. Like, you need to sit there and, like, you know, work through the options, the lineup,

who's going to kill penalties, whatever. Is that why you left Marner on your team? Hey, hey. Our show has never been about that. That's my point. But so when you go on the air and it's like, who should be the Leafs D? It's not as easy as that.

But we're out of work if we put the thought and prep that you're talking about into this show daily. You're right. We're done. Yeah. Forget the care. We're done. Throw it out the window.

But it's starting to be a hot button topic. Right? Yeah. It's getting concerning. I don't know. The other day, someone had Claude Giroux instead of Mitch Marner. Was it him? No. Oh. No. I don't know. The other day, someone had Claude Giroux instead of Mitch Marner. Was it him? No.

Oh. No. I don't know where I read it. And I'm like, what world is that? I'm not going to be the guy where for a year now, you act like I put Mitch Marner. I laid out my lineup. Take a guy out.

I will. Yeah, go ahead. Marsh or so. Done. Okay, well, that's fine. But he's going to score four tonight. Yeah. No, I had both those those guys i didn't have them off and to me it's like a matter of how you mix up those lines is kind of subjective and changes with injuries and chemistry and all that of course get the right something's not working

the offense is dried up who do you move up who do you move down and that's where the thought comes in who drags a lip for getting bumped off the first line that's always blown my mind too that on team canada anybody would you know get out there and be like i'm not getting enough you're on team canada yeah you know you do it for the country that tore apart the tampa bay lightning and and uh stevie i stevie why i know so it doesn't matter getting on the team we got we got a new read today. Let me quickly get that one in there. All right. Okay.

Join Cobb's Bread this Saturday, March 2nd, for Donation Day, where $2 from every six-pack of their hot cross buns sold will be donated to over 100 local Canadian charities with a target goal of over half a million dollars. To celebrate, we're giving away $100 Cobb's Bread gift cards all week. To enter, text the daily code word to 59590. Today's code word for one of the hot cross bun flavors is traditional fruit. Text traditional fruit to 59590 for your chance to win.

Sorry, you're not saying that clear. Traditional fruit. Okay. I'm getting sewered. Cobb's Bread makes fresh in-house all day, every day. And when the doors close, all leftover baked goods are donated to local charities, which is nice. The next morning, they start fresh. I love Cobb's Bread, so this is nice.

Cobb's Bread, shout out. Shout out to Cobb's Bread. But traditional fruit is that code word text. Get your non-traditional pomegranates out of here. There you go. Traditional fruit is that code word text. Get your non-traditional pomegranates out of here. There you go. Traditional fruit. I've been ripping, like, code names all season long. We're simple and nice for the last week.

Yes, and now we get dropped traditional fruit. What? Name me one. Name me a traditional fruit. An apple is a traditional fruit. A strawberry? No, that's against my traditions. Banana?

Banana for sure. Kipper? It? Banana for sure. Kipper? It's one of those. Okay, like I said, we don't do much prep for the show. The name of non-traditional fruit was not... No, I'm not. Don't put me on the spot like that. Yeah.

Oh. Apparently it was Mark Mathot that said Drew over Mark. Oh, yeah. Okay. All right. I knew I saw it somewhere. Ottawa guy. Yeah.

Ottawa guy. But that's... I actually like mark without a lot but she was sure except you know dropping one of the top scorers the last five years for any canadian player for you're gonna take some heat on that one um justified just a quick jay's corner before we go because i our toronto market alec manoa's first spring start today didn't go so hot uh and shohei otani has hit his first

home run in his first game as a doctor why is it not uh uh a good start for people and through 17 strikes on 38 pitches and gave up four runs do we know maybe he tried to hit people on purpose? Maybe. That's a good, you know what? Right? Maybe he's right on. So. Either way.

It could have gone better for the old Jays. Seeing Shohei in blue and white hit a homer to opposite field and one he barely got a hold of. And the most sickening part for Jays fans and everybody who's listening to this. Or just you. No, because listen, there's a lot of Jays's listening to this. Or just you. No, because, listen, there's a lot of Jay's fans listening to this station. Alright.

He looks so good in that Dodgers uni. He was born to wear that Dodgers uni. Like, that's him. Did my mic get cut off? It did. I think Am I gone? Oh, no. I'm good. I'm back. My headphone came unplugged, so I couldn't hear myself,

so I thought I got... The high higher-ups turned your mic off. Listen, you look so good in that jersey. Anybody making $700. Is that what he signed? $700. He's only making $200. He's deferred $698.

He'll look good in any uniform. Yeah, he'd look good in a Coyotes Kachina jersey. Now, where are we on, um, see-through baseball pants? So apparently, it was, it's a conspiracy theory. And last year, they were see-through in spring training,

and it was lighting from the, the studios that they were taking the picture. And apparently the pants aren't as bad as once said. So, it seems like something. The pants aren't as bad, and the jerseys actually aren't as bad. It seems like something by June.

I would never think about this again. Maybe even April. Are we over the questionable uniforms? Yeah. Completely? No, not even close. I'm not over it. They're awful.

You're not over it. I'll be over it until they do the Leafs jerseys next year. Then we'll be back. Really? Yeah, then we'll be back. So it's the same company that had all the Leafs now? Yeah. Are we allowed to mention what the company is?

No, no. We won't mention the name in case you want to sponsor our show. In case you love them. Not a chance they're going to sponsor our show. Okay, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we go all national. Gary Gally will join us.