Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: In the Waters Against Reaves & Celebrini

Episode Date: December 11, 2025

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee begin their gameday edition to react to Ryan Reaves' pre-game comments about the end of his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Chris Tanev update, Craig Berube's thoughts on Macklin Celebrini's 2025-26 season, his chances at cracking Team Canada's Winter Olympics roster and top six lines. Then, Sam asks true or false questions on whether Dennis Hildeby will make more starts for the rest of the season over Anthony Stolarz, in the scenario that the Leafs are in the playoffs, if Troy Stecher will be in the top four defensive pairings, and if the Leafs will hold onto their 2028 first-round pick after the 2026 trade deadline. To round out the hour, former NHLer Dan Boyle (32:50) weighs in on Celebrini's performance, Dan's experience in getting selected and participating with the Canada Hockey team, how they should construct the Olympic roster, how he navigated a struggling power play, and his advice to Berube's squad.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.

Let's get her going on game day. It's the real Kipper and Bourne show. You good, Sammy? Yeah. All right. Totally good. Are you good? I don't know.

I just heard some noises over there. Squirrel. I mean. My coffee is in a precarious position once again. Yes. It's by your feet. What do you do it? And you wonder why you spill it?

Because that's unbelievable. You'll leave that there? Yes. It's at his feet. We don't need to get into why it's not up there, but. Stop. I'm good. To answer the question, I'm good.

He is our semi-McKee, Justin Bourne. Nickyield's yours truly. Jake the Snake Schultz, Derek Brandeo for the next two hours, including our Leaf Hour edition. We are live on Sportsnet 360, 590, the fan in Toronto, and streaming always on Sportsnet Plus. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. I literally just tweeted the picture of Sam's coffee cup.

Did you? Yeah. He wants to see how he plans to get through an hour show. You are a mistake waiting to happen. You are. For the record, there's two shows ago. You know when you are? Oh, what am I, Kimper?

What am I? You are Evan Bouchard right now. Just waiting for something to happen. But once in a while. I was Evan Bouchard on the Isis 4.2 cop and the puck off everywhere. Gone, I was bad today. Holy hell. That's not fair to Evan.

Oh, yeah, it's true. Evan's put together a highlight real this year going both ways. It happens, Evan. It happens, right? All right. I'm so excited about tonight. Tonight is Gibby Night in Canada. Yeah, you guys are going.

My buddy, Gibby, for the second year in a row, invited all three of us to a Toronto Maple Leaf game. He's a gentleman. We had our choices of a few we picked the San Jose Sharks. Now, that says something. Really says something. The boys wanted to see the Sharks. So, Brini, Will Smith.

See him flying around out there. Brian Reeves. I'm extremely excited. Don't get to go to a ton of games anymore because I'm doing Leaves Talks. I'm home. I love going to the games I love getting the feel I'm really excited for celebrating

I really am very excited to watch that and of course my boy Troy Stedger Can't wait to get an in-person viewing Troy's boys in the house You know just snapping it The back end but yeah it's gonna be fun So where is he in the I don't really follow this Like you guys yeah

You're second in the league second Is that good? You don't really follow it like us You're on the unnaturally broadcast hockey show I don't check, I don't check this, the scoring leaders. He has fallen one behind the game. Every day. He's back to third.

I know you guys. It's probably more important for you guys. Yeah. Big fantasy hockey players. But that in itself is just a huge statement. He is, we got a stand here. He's not 20 yet. Is he?

When does he turn 20? Not 20 yet. Third in the league scoring with 43 points in 31 game. Oh, God. That's wild. He is tied for the league lead with seven three point performances this. year and then can become the eighth teenager in NHL history to have eight in a season. He has like 50 games.

So he's third in the league up against Austin Matthews tonight. Where's Austin in scoring? If you doubled Matthews points, would he would he be there? A hundred and two. Is that true? Is that right? Yeah. Oh, I was being like purposely no, no, no obtuse and I was actually right. You were like almost bang on. Actually, he's a hundred and third. Okay, so something happened last night.

I think I checked it before the final scores came in. But think about that for a second, boys. Like, I mean, there's- Who saw that? Well, I mean, yeah, I don't think Austin Matthews, I mean, he was never a top of the league stats guy. Like, he was more than nine points. Yeah, it's because he's-

109 points? I think 107s aside. No, I don't think he's at 100 points once, right? Twice. It's the apples that hurt him. Yes. Like, I don't put him in the same category, points-wise, as, like, the-McGames of the world. He has 107 and 106.

Really? And how many assists? 46 assists. Which is kind of respectable, respectable for a pure shooter, right? But he was never going to be a dishier, as we pointed out a long time ago. Because, like, 46 assists. I don't know what that would have been in the league, but I'm guessing it's top 10. Yeah.

Anyways, I just, I think that there are guys that are. Pointier. Yeah, and that they're just at different kind of points in their career here. Whoa, I got an alarm. What's that for? Oh, yeah, okay. Medication. Change the jersey?

No, it's not changed the jersey. Medication. If you must know what it is, I always forget to tease the leafs line. Oh, yeah. And I set an alarm today, and that's what it was for. Do it. Okay, I might as well do it. Yeah, it worked.

You know, it would work for changing the jerseys over, too. I don't care about that. I want to just be Leafs every time. So, yeah, I call the Leafsline for tomorrow. Because we haven't been getting as many, and I want to make sure that people are listening and we were going to take them. So 416, 413, 4141.

416, 413, 4141. Call the Leafsline for tomorrow. In about 30 minutes, we'll welcome in a former national hockey leaguer, Dan Boyle. Panthers, Lightning, Sharks, of course. Rangers, too. Looking forward to hear his thoughts on the sharks as well. Talk some Canada in there.

Played represented the country. Top of the hour, Eddie Orchuk. Yeah. Dan Boyle. Edzo will join. Join us. Been a while. Yeah, it has.

Give me a chance. Give me a chance. It's all he wanted. That's all he wanted. All right. So where do you want to pick up our leaf talk as they go into tonight? Talk with the sharks. We got celebrini stuff, Reeves stuff.

Do you want to do that? No? No. Where do you want to start, Sammy? I would like to talk. Is there anything new with the Leafs today? This is my whole thing about today's show. What's new with the league?

I would like to talk about the sharks. Yeah. but I think that naturally when the sharks come to town that Ryan Reeves gets to I mean people that cover the team I understand that it's monotonous you talk to the same people all the time so a guy that comes in that has some familiarity with the market and is willing to say stuff can be a pretty attractive guy to a person who covers a team I understand that because he's willing to say stuff but like but the amount of Ryan Reeves stuff

I've had in my timeline and on social media it's like Did he hold court today? Oh, buddy. He held the most court. I was saying to Sammy. Sammy gives Maurice and Cooper a hard time when they come to Toronto, but Ryan Reeves loves the microphone. Yeah, he's in the...

He loves to get the shirt off and do the whole quiet, snarky clip. Do you guys want to play the clips? Oh, my, that's what I'm living for right now. Kip is just, okay, so there's two clips. Do you have Ruby first on him or do you all? No, we'll start. Well, let's just get right in. No, let's get into Ryan Reeves.

Okay, so this, the just, the audio is there's a bunch of people taping their sticks or something around him so just bear with the audio but this is the first one clip one um they basically said that I couldn't play in this league anymore and I'm back so

um yeah for those of you that didn't quite hear that he basically said the Leafs told me I couldn't play in the league anymore and now I'm back and now I'm back yeah show them so that

typically you don't go there as a player But I feel like But he's he was sour Let's let's just call it what it was He was really Pissed at them Yeah But like I don't think that they did that

That's like a kind of a dramatic Verset retelling of the story They didn't say he can't play in the league They said we're a top-seated team Trying to play for a cup and we don't have room here You clear waivers You get sent to the minors Then the league is saying

that we don't think it's reading the tea leaves right yeah he yeah he's he didn't like the way it was handled yeah that that's the issue too as well and i think he referenced too we have the second clip okay let's go to just uh bear with the audio yeah i think i think throughout the year um you know not just that situation i think there's just some situations that could have been handled differently you know at the time i've been in the league for 15 years and I think just a little honesty and some communication would have been nice but like I said,

every team handles things differently and that is what it is. Okay, anytime you reference to how many years you've been in the league, it's you basically disrespected me. You feel disrespect. You deserved more respect. So did he deserve more respect from this?

It just seemed that there was never really, long stretches, I guess, of success with him in the lineup where, I don't know, you felt like he was impactful. I mean, it's really tough to gauge tough guys impact, even when it appears like nothing's going on around them because I've seen, I've seen guys play against tough guys where their behavior your changes because of someone's presence like Ryan

Reeves or Joey Kosher or Wendell or anyone over the course of the last 50 years who played that tough role and if you're willing to go there then you've got to be willing to deal with me and certain players can

shut down on that but can the average viewer watch that see that feel that so I don't know When you look at Even go back earlier Matt Martin

Okay Matt Martin went on And did some really good things For the New York Islanders Long past Being with Toronto But I would argue Matt Martin's a better hockey player Than Ryan Reeves was But in many ways

It felt the same kind of exit For Matt Martin As Ryan Reeves It's like We don't really think you can play anymore Yeah But did I've got to

couple thoughts on this um we'll start with this one is the idea of when people get fired or they get dumped in a relationship you often hear that they're not mad about it but they're mad about how it happened that you know it doesn't not that it bothers me it's how they did it that bothers me i love this stuff you do we're going to do strictly we got to fit in in two hours 15 minutes of dating with jb but but it is this is like relationship it's a defense mechanism against like the you've been spurned when someone has said they don't want you it's you know this thing about respect and how it happened emotional damage like there's a great way to dump someone fire them cut them whatever there's not a way they're like i just really appreciate it the way it happened like that

doesn't happen so this to me a bit of a defense mechanism from reeves uh the other thing there does seem to be a small trend maybe of people here feeling like they're not being communicated with in these sort of scenarios on the way out about how much they're valued. I don't know if that's, I don't know, maybe he deserved more just like, hey, we're going to be moving on from that. I think, I don't think,

we know the game's changed over the years. That part, I don't think, is changed, nor do teams really feel like, well, now we owe more explanations in 2025 than we did in 2000 or 19, We'll tell you where you're going when you're going. You know what we're obligated to do and obliged to do? Pay you.

And that's it. That's what the money's for. Yeah. And when we ask you to play, you play. And when we don't, you don't. And that includes reassignments, healthy scratches. And you just need to deal with it. That's just all part of also being a pro.

I also think that if the team that waived him last year wasn't the Toronto Maple Leafs, this conversation has literally never had. And he knows that if he comes in here and he says this stuff. He's got a platform. That we're going to talk about it for 15 minutes. And he's going to have his name back in the news circles. And it's multiple people are writing articles about it.

And it's a thing. And he gets to have his, like, I think that's a huge part of it. And he gets to strike back at management because then people like me are going, maybe management doesn't communicate very well. management's going, come on. Anyways, he's just mad because we let him go. Yeah. And he referenced, too, the other day that he was having dinner with Austin.

Yeah, that surprised me. Well, no. Usually those tough guys are, there's a gravitation to the best players because they're the ones that feel that that security blanket is as much for them than anyone else, too. I just wonder how Austin felt. losing Ryan Reeves. You think it affected him in some way?

Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do. How can it not? I don't know. He didn't play good last year and he was here. Yeah, but it's still the presence, the presence of just having them. It's just like, I will say, powerful countries flexing their muscle with a nuclear bomb. It's the implication, to quote, it's always sunny. It's not about anything other than it's the implication. It's nice to have a missile.

Yeah, it is. Even if it sits there and does nothing. Yeah, I'm not even going to mention this, but just it's here if I need it. I did think that the Leafs were going to be cognizant of having that in the lineup, and that's what Pesetta was. I thought that, you know, so then if it's not Pesetta, you would think they go, okay, well, we should have someone who doesn't hate to fight. Why I got excited about Pesda last year, and you guys probably remember this, is all the guys they brought in here that seemed. like they were brought in here to be Ryan Reeves to fight, didn't want to fight anymore.

They were at the end of their fighting days. Even Reeves, when he was here, we know what he could do and so he still carried the threat you're talking about. He didn't want to fight anymore. Neither did. Wayne Simmons didn't want to fight anymore. Like they didn't have, I would like a guy who's middle-aid, 27 here,

who's like, it'd be neat to punch someone tonight. That'd be fun to have a guy like that. So I'm surprised they didn't get anyone who was that it. I do. I would have loved to seen Ryan Reeves fight more. but on occasion he's mentioned it and others have in the league it's what am I supposed to do

go chase a guy down there's you need a little bit of a willing participant he fought once last year yeah in 35 games but how many guys are willing to go fight him it was it was Olivier that he fought and the year his

was this first year here 23 24 he fought 7 it's it's it's hard including scraps versus Jack Eye, Rampet, Jeannot. What is that? It's hard. It's hard when most teams go,

leave them alone, don't wake them up, just let them be. Well, I've always, like, I've had some conflict about that. Like, I was with the Leafs and Preseason one year, and the Buffalo Sabres dressed, like, four heavyweights. And our side was going, okay, well, we got to put in this guy, you know, one of our tough guys, because we didn't have it in the lineup that night. And to me, it was always like, but they, if we don't put that guy and they got no one to fight with, they're just useless.

Doesn't it kind of negate them if you don't have that tough guy? So I'm kind of torn on the need for it and not, but it just would be nice to have someone willing. The one thing I think Ryan could have done better, too, is like, go create it. Yeah. I love this argument of yours. Instead of just accepting your environment, change your environment. Right. Make it so.

Create chaos. Create chaos. Go up to a guy and just start. start picking on him. That's what like Bennett and those guys do. It's like, God, if someone doesn't stand up to this guy, he's going to keep running into the goalie, keep running our D. After every whistle, he's in our bench,

draw somebody out, right? Like smoke somebody out. Embarrass them in their own building. Chase them around a little bit, chirp him a little bit. I'm coming after you. And you better deal with me or else I'm going after this guy, this guy, this guy. I'll tell you what worries me. Embarrassed the other team.

The Leafs don't have that. He's there tonight. He's looking to make a statement. There's too many side deals, I think, for Ryan Reeves tonight against the Leafs. Does that not offend you? He'll be devastated in six minutes of ice time. Feisty. Yeah, listen, I've gone through it.

I've been traded. I fought Scott Stevens in St. Louis, who was a teammate of mine for three years. And I'm just listening to the late Brian Murray. tell us we're all kissing his pinky ring and I'm like okay I can't have that but I don't know

I mean in terms of who is truly out there right now for him tonight Ryan Reeves the answer is nobody nobody so he A could do whatever he wants but also for the Leafs go play Ryan Reeves go ahead you know like so if he's just going to play eight minutes of ineffective hockey

with no dancing partner great put him on the ice anyway way too much time Ryan. No, no, but it's 20 minutes. He got his wish. It's an interesting conversation for me. It's a greater conversation about that role of player, I think, than that's what. There was some talk about TANF today, about potential surgery.

What do they say? Shot it down. You can listen to the clip. Clip one, Rubet, clip one. No, not right now. I don't believe that's going to be an option right now. Just kind of be patient and wait for the results. Because he was getting...

Yeah. Either is having an MRI or he's having another one. So it is six weeks, which I think is sufficient amount of time to know what you're truly dealing with. So it's good news if the results come back and it's like everything's settled down and maybe if... Bet you after Christmas? I don't know what he needs, 10 days, two weeks.

I bet you it's Christmas. There's a four-day break there. He'd come back on the 27th or something. Well, did he leave a window open when he said not right now? Oh, yeah. Is he having surgery? Not today. He's not currently getting surgery.

Yeah, he's not right now. Not right now. So there you go. That's on that. Do you guys want to talk about anything else here? Do you want me to give you my red hot, true or false questions? I do you want the true or false? Is it the Celebrini or Matthews?

We could listen to the Celebrini one. It's interesting, just about how. Brubay thinks about a celebrating clip two, please. Well, I mean, just about talent alone, right speed, you know, skill playmaking abilities and kind of has a full package. But speed and, you know, obviously he's a highly motivated player. I mean, that drives a lot of things for a lot of guys with a lot of talent. So he's talking about motivated to make the Olympic teams that he's making?

That's what he's alluding to? Can I tell you something fascinating as someone who is going on television and going to talk about this tonight, the Canadian scoring leaders, the top 10 scorers that are Canadian in the NHL, seven of them were not on the Four Nations team. Talking about motivation. Seven guys are in the top 10 who are not in four nations.

Do you have them? Yes, I do. Salabrini, Shifley. Yep. Bedard, Wyatt Johnston, Hicks, Suzuki, Morgan, Geeky, Tom Wilson. Top 10. Yeah. Tom Wilson's up there.

Yeah. Wow. T9, baby, 32 points. Yeah. The thing that, I guess it worries me that the other guys aren't great. Because I was saying today in making some arguments about how, oh, these guys aren't playing for top six. Top six is taken up by McKinnon, McDavid, Marner. Ryanhart.

Yeah, Reinhardt. You know, are we sure we don't need to take a couple scores? Like there's a lot of, oh, he needs to peek. K, oh, he needs to this. Are we sure about that? That we don't need a little more scoring? Celebrini'll go, I think. So Celebrini can go be.

And Tom Wilson's going. I was not a shifely advocate. I was a while back. And then I was like, yeah, I don't think it's going to work. I just got to make sure we've got enough scoring before you have to think about killing penalties. I think, too. You could just have a top. Well.

It can be a little overrated, just 25, 30 games in, high, high score. And, you know, like, Morgan Geeky's not where the majority of the points coming from. We know, we know that there's a, there's a group of teams right now that you could find an argument to pile on points, right? Like there's some weak links in this league that, you know, you can, you can do well on points. I just, I don't know if it's a. Where's Braden Point? Where's Brandon Hagel? Where's, you know, some other guys that you thought were definite top six number?

Even Reinhart's doing okay. But do you take a body of work over years and then go, oh, he's had a bad stretch here for two months, three and a half months? No. Right? No, and we're not. We're going to take the right guys. But I just think it's interesting. You talk about motivation.

It's clear that some of these guys have come in and tried to make a statement. I think my greater point is I would put Bedard on the team. Okay. That's fair. I am interested to watch Celebrini and Will Smith particularly because I think, their game east west right is as good as any two in the league right now and how the Leafs are going to kind of handle that because they've done a nice job of taking the middle of the ice away again which has been their strength for the last few years and that'll that'll be a bit

of a challenge I'm looking forward to it too um let's do two false I have a few of them I probably won't be able to get to all of them but this is my favorite that I'm going to start with. True or false, Dennis Hildaby will make more starts for the rest of the year than Anthony Stollars. Great question.

Thank you. Great question. False. I don't know when Stolars is coming back. But, well, here's the only reason that's tempting is Hildo B can just go from now to the end of the year backing up whoever's not hurt between him and Wall. True.

I think Stolars is going to get, healthy and be a tandem goalie from January on. So I'll say still ours. I'll go true. He'll be able to make more start. Yeah. Yeah. I agree.

It's a great question and there's a real case for it. I just think it's incredibly strange that a guy can go from having his coach say, what, three weeks ago now, two and a half weeks ago. Yeah, it's officially gotten weird. Concussion or not. And we don't know that. We expect him back later on in the week, and he hasn't been on the ice since.

He had tests? Do we know? Is it the bone-on-bone thing? What are we talking about? Hildopi. Yeah, I don't have a lot of faith right now and Stolars coming back and being okay the rest of the year. Archers Actiumov over under, four and a half starts.

Under. Under? I do. think under because they said walls track and while he's taking shots of practice today maybe a full participant i think he gets five starts and four or five starts acting above those double a come oh my god all right i had just batteries ready we haven't seen we haven't seen stolars and wall together yet it's crazy think about that yeah maybe they're the same person true or false okay so this is if the least make the playoffs so let's just live in the

world where the least make the playoffs okay true or false false Troy Stetcher is in the least top four when the playoffs roll around. I want to be false. False. I want to be controversial, but false. You think he's there? Why not? True.

One of my... I'm a card-carrying member of Croy's boys. One of my little bits for tonight is on McCabe Stetcher who have been phenomenal. Six goals for and none against in their minutes together playing D-Zone starts. Six goals for none against. Yeah, playing the best matchups, D-Zone starts. I just... I think it's great what he's been able to do.

Here we go. I think it's swell. Seven teams in 10 years? Yeah. What is it? Yeah, seven teams have wanted them. It's pretty good. Seven teams.

And yet now he's going to become a guy that can play 20 plus minutes a night for the rest of the season. He played eight playoff games for the Western Conference champs last year. But not playing 23 minutes a night. No, no, that's true. They're missing their top two right-hand D when they come back. We'll dial him back to 13, but he won't be top six, top four. His career high in ice time for a season was 1826. Oh, sorry, 1834 in L.A.

In L.A. in the year 2021, 2022. That was in 13 games. So it wasn't a ton of time. Okay, that makes sense. Yeah. 13. Yeah, I don't remember. Oh, I'm lying.

I'm just so bad at my job. In his first year, he had 1959. He was playing almost 20 minutes a night there. In Vancouver. Yeah, in Vancouver. Yeah. So there you go. Really good.

What year? 2016, 2017. Okay. 1993. Well, he's not like he's an old guy. He's only 31. He's in his prime. All right.

I think it's very possible. I do. Like, what has he shown that it's just going to fall off a cliff? That's what I want. It's just because he's too small. He's ever done it.

The thing he said about teams per year. His T.P.Y is way too high. I know, but like he's founded partner that he has a ton of chemistry with. Like, You know, six other teams were wrong. Or he just feels like, yeah, this is the year that I get to put it all together now. I think a lot of times teams come up against a thing where they're like, they have interchangeable guys. Do you want to give it to the six foot three guy or stetcher?

Do you want to give it to the guy we drafted or stetcher? Like, I don't know that he's been on there. I don't know if there's going to be another team that looks like the Florida Panthers of the last few years. but Chris Tann have got buried against the Florida Panthers team. I don't know what they're going to do to Stetscher if he's out there 22 or 23 minutes. They better find a way to get to the playoffs to figure that, both teams. So for that to be an issue. True or false?

The Leafs will still have possession of their 2028 first round pick after the trade deadline. Great question. 100% true. Oh, my good gracious. Oh, yeah. nobody wants it the 2028 first yeah nobody wants it yeah i see that it's not helping anybody who who is going to think about trying to make the playoffs which is now still a rebuilding 29 teams you know who would have wanted it when Arizona was in like the depths of

their word just tearing it down or you know like the the big big rebuilds and no one's doing that so if there is a trade out there that gives the Leafs a significant player. Uh-huh. Right? Uh-huh. And Quinn Hughes. That pick has to be better.

I still haven't sneezed in 25 years of broadcasting. You know, since you said that, I thought you'd sneeze the next day. I know. It's been like two years since you said it. I know. Look at a light. Directly looking at light. Mike, I got a consecutive non-s sneezing record.

This is Jerry's vomit streak. It is. It's a black and white cookie is going to lead to your undoing. Okay. What were we talking about? I'm telling you. that for the Leafs to move that pick, there has to be a team out there

that has been shopping the same trade and no one's willing to give them a first pick this June. Okay. Or next year. I got to wait 2028. Someone's going to one up the Leafs pick in 2028 with whatever they have now. To Sam's point, they see a, you know,

the end of a, era here, an empire and decline that by 2028 could be trash. Yeah. Would you rather have a 2027 second or a 2028 first if you're one of these teams? You know, like, would you rather pick a year earlier or wait for the better? There is nothing that would interest me from the Toronto May beliefs right now on futures. I had someone suggested Willie Nealander in a Quinn Hughes trade today. You want to, you want Willie?

I'll get the Uber ready. Remote start on. My car, he can have it. It's not enough for Vancouver, I don't think. No, it was. Not even close. It's not. So hold on, hold on for a second.

We've got to get going here. But if the Leafs had a couple of first rounders now and Minton or maybe another one, you could make an argument for a leaf trade with Vancouver, moving Morgan over there and bringing Quinn here. But it's just, there's just, there's not enough. There's not enough around the basis of that to start anything. Before we go, it's Leif's game day, and you can score a Popeye's chicken sandwich for only $6 in classic or spicy. Make it your new game day tradition.

Get your $6 sandwich at a Popeye's near you. And I will. All right, Kipper. All right, let's take it to break, and we return, Dan Boyle, former National Hockey League, Panthers, Lightning, Rangers, and of course San Jose Sharks will get his thoughts on power play as the Leafs sit boys today

in the basement of the National Hockey League in Power Play. Oh great. Well, it's not good. On that note, back after these words. Diving deep into Leifes, Raptors, Jays, and NFL, the Jady Bunk is podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify,

or wherever you get your friends. Podcasts. Welcome back to the program. Nick Kiprios, Justin Boren, Sammy McKee, the leaf hour edition of our show. Dan Boyle will join us momentarily. Pretty good player in his day. Yeah, I'd say.

Understatement. I'd say. Yeah. Olympian. Yep. 2010, he was on the team. Big part of it, 2006. I believe he was an alternate for them.

And now doing some work covering the San Jose sharks. Correct. You know, you could have retired somewhere not Toronto, eh? I think it could have just gone to San Jose. Like, that's the way to do it. Retire in Anaheim, L.A. Couldn't get yourself dealt out there at the end of the career? New York City.

Then I'd have to get a. real job, though, after. Yeah, that's a good point. San Jose sounds pretty good. Yeah. No, that's when it's, it's appealing, though, to be a Toronto Maple Leaf and be in a position if you're not one of those guys that runs away when there's a microphone in your face that you could find, you know.

I guess you've parlayed that into a decent career. Yeah. It's been some time. Yeah. All right. Let's welcome him in. Dan Boyle. Former Panther, Lightning Ranger.

And of course, San Jose Shark. Dan, how are you, pal? Pretty good, man. Thanks for having me. Yeah, we got the sharks tonight. A couple of years ago, that would have been the last game I picked a go-to. I don't blame you.

We're going tonight. Sam and I are going tonight, and we're excited, and it's for a couple of reasons, but the most important one is a guy named Celebrini here. So just in terms of what you've watched in that market and the transformation of a team that nobody really paid attention to the last little while to all of a sudden having one of the most exciting dynamic players in the game.

Yeah, it's been tough to go to games. I mean, I live here now and as part of the alumni group, you know, to go to that building and see the fans, you know, or the seats half empty for the last four or five years. It's been really tough to watch, especially with the team that we had when I played here, which was a cup contending team every year. It's been tough.

But Celebrini is as good as a player as I've seen in 20 years. Obviously, Connor McDavid's been special. But he reminds me of a Sidney Crosby. His work ethic, his attention to both sides of the rink, he's that good. He's that smart. He reminds me of playing a video game and doing things that like, listen, guys in the NHL are obviously very good players. but he's that much better and he's only 19 and he's doing things that I feel it's like video game

his hockey IQ is through the roof and couldn't be more impressed with what he's doing. You know, you played with some pretty great hockey players, you know, joining those team Canada's and all that. And so to be that impressed with him, I assume, you can see him, not just see him on Team Canada, but think he's deserving and should be there. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Again, I think, you know, you've got to, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have the best players play on Team Canada because you have to fill certain spots. You know, your really offensive guy may not crack the team because there are so many offensive players. But I think with the way that he plays the game, I think he's one of those guys that you can play him on any of the four lines because he's so good offensively, but he's so responsible defensively. Power play, penalty kill. And not to say that this is an old team, but if some of the older guys aren't gone, you know, he's, young and fresh legs he can be he can go anywhere down up and down the lineup so he's a in my opinion he should be on that team and from what i've seen he's going to be one of the

better players on that team i would think yeah we we're starting i don't know if there's a little bit of a lull now with the san jose sharks in terms of losing three at a four is is the risk now putting too much on his shoulders there's will smith of course that we're going to be awfully excited to watch here but is there a chance that this guy can start feeling it halfway through the season where it's like if I don't score three points we don't win I don't know him personally

I don't I don't see that from what I see from again we're talking from from my couch and from the rafters or when I'm doing TV for the sharks or radio I think he looks like he has the DNA and he looks like he's cut from a cloth where

I think he can get through anything I think you can again this is just the i test but i feel like he's a player that uh his work ethic is so strong and his will to win is so strong and yes i mean i think as being an offensive player i think that's going to get to you i know for you know any of us where we were supposed to score and didn't uh it'll get to us but um they're ahead of schedule man i i didn't have them in the playoff race for at least another two years and now people are starting to talk about possibly a playoff position this year i still think it's a little too early for that but they're ahead of schedule and I think from what I've seen at least from the eye test

I don't think this is too much on I didn't want I was one of the one I didn't want to see on them which was the talk you know in the summer should we put a see on them I think that was a little too early but besides that I don't think anything's too much for this kid Dan I want to get your sense for when you were playing and they were picking team Canada I don't remember at the time how close it may have been for you to be on the team or off the team but to know how much you followed that and track to the other guys who may be playing for those spots. I imagine if when you all get to the room for the first time you've made the team, it's like getting a life raft on a cap-sized boat.

You've all survived. You're all there. It has to be quite the feeling to make it. Well, I've had a couple weird experiences. I had an experience in 06 where I was at the top of my game in Tampa. I felt I should have been on the team. And I was named as an alternate. They went with the team.

They had in the World Cup, I want to say, in 04, which was, a little bit of an older team. And then we went out to Torino and had a terrible showing. Just the bigger ice surface, you know, the team... It felt like you could help there with your skating or anything. I was dying. I was chopping at the bit, but never got to play. So that's one of those where I felt like I should have been on the team, but I wasn't.

So then when 2010 came around, it was the same kind of situation where I felt where I should have been on the team, but I didn't pay a ton of attention to it. because I knew I was setting myself up to be disappointed again. So I just kind of, I was kind of like when I just didn't keep an eye on anyone else or anything like that. It was like, hey, if they don't pick me again, then so be it. But I was, because of 06, I wasn't setting myself for disappointment. Did you have some idea of who you were competing against?

And like I know you said you didn't watch anybody, but I got to imagine for some guys, it's like scoreboard watching a playoff game, you know? Yeah, I mean, I was an offensive defenseman, right? So I wasn't going to compare myself to, it wasn't me or Chris Pronger, you know, Chris Bronger was going to be on the team. I knew Scott Niedermeyer was going to be on the team at the time. You know, so I felt that was an offensive demand. I think, you know, they ended up picking myself, Doughty, you know, and Duncan Keith and and Nadermeyer, if you will. I mean, Shea Weber, I mean, but as far as the offensive role, the Rover type role, Scott Niedermeyer wasn't going anywhere.

So I knew there were a few spots open, but I really, really tried not to overthink it. I felt my play. I felt my play. If they were going to keep me off that 2010 team, then I don't know what else I could have done. I had great seasons in 06 and in 10. And it was just in their hands at that point.

For sure. So when you look at the way they're constructing the team now, there's a lot of talk about guys, not just Elbrini, but like Bedard is fourth in the league scoring and a lot of people are going yeah but he doesn't kill penalties and there's not room in the top six but he's got 40 points and you know he's he's kind of tearing it up do you believe that hey we got to take these top guys take a guy like badard or schifely or do you think it's like hey we need some penalty killing guys you need tom wilson you need Suzuki i i think it's positioning

i do and who am i just an opinion um i think you know you also can't live in the past I think going back to that 2004, 2016, I think they took the exact same team from two years ago, and it didn't do as well. So I think you need to live in the present, not live on what you did, you know, two years ago, I guess, because, you know, possibly. But no, I think you got to go for positions. I think that's what I was saying earlier. I think with Macklin, I think he can fit anywhere up and down the lineup, whereas Bedard, although I don't watch him play every night or almost ever only on a highlight reel, sounds like he's a little bit more. offensive oriented. It may not fare as well on a third or fourth line.

So I think you need to build your team accordingly because you are going to need a checking line against other team's top lines, even in the Olympic format. You're watching and listening to Dan Boyle, who now covers the San Jose Sharks closely here as we get

set for game night here with Toronto Maple Leafs. Dan, over a thousand games, you've seen some pretty good power plays in your heyday with the likes of Marty St. Louis and Joe Thornton, Pavelski. Here in Toronto, we've got the likes of a Matthews and a kneelander right now sporting the worst power play in the National Hockey League sitting all alone in the last place with a 13.7.

When power plays weren't going right on some of your respective teams, where do you look first? What do you think is the first thing, a struggling power play should try to do if you're going to give advice to the Leafs. As much as I hate to say this because I was never a simple kind of a guy. It was always more complicated. I think you do have to simplify. I know in Tampa we had, again,

we had Vinny and Richie and Marty and myself. You know, Torts would always tell us he wanted the first play. So he wanted like a down low stuff play to Andrew Chuck, you know, and then the rest of the power play was kind of on us. so it would kind of force us to do something which was simple and then allow us to kind of do our thing and then in San Jose for six years you know we had a shot mentality thing

when things weren't going well it was just something as simple as with all these Hall of Famers we had on that power play it was just a matter of getting shots through which sounds kind of freaking boring we know we want to make the backdoor plays we have the guys to do that but when things weren't going well it was shot volume shoot three four five six seven eight shots on a power play even though they may be sometimes a muffin you know maybe a muffin from the point or you know you're getting some

grade B or not some great looks shot you know if you can throw six seven eight shots a net or sorry per power play you're going to improve your chances and then eventually one or two will go in and then you can go back to relying on who the skill players are on that team and making a little prettier plays, if you will. I like that, give me the first play sort of thing. It's like establishing the run and football. Just like make them think about something. He was, he was big on that.

He wanted, I know he wanted a down low play. And then whoever was side of the net, just stuff it, crash, you know. And I'm sure teams were watching videos and were probably taking it away, but he still wanted it. So that was him having, that was him having his say and then allowing us to have our say. And it was kind of a good compromise, I guess. Do you remember at least having decent looks when you had it at the top? Or I'm watching, I'm watching so many guys struggled to shoot the puck without it hitting eight shin pads. We know what block shots are today.

We're blocked shots as prevalent as they are today for you back then? Yeah, I think they became. I think, I mean, in the early 2000s or mid-2000s, they became a thing where teams, that's where I felt like. get started whereas maybe not when my rookie year in like 99 that wasn't kind of so much of the thing but i would say by the mid 2000s and 2010 on teams are are just sacrificing their bodies and that's when the shot the sedans were big at the the high tip yeah that became a staple of our art you know for me i you know i had obviously had a lot of weapons with me but i was always constantly shooting off the side of the net high tips um you know not so much

watch at the net. Hey, Dan, great stuff, man. We really appreciate your time. We'll enjoy watching the game tonight, and we'll have you on again real soon. Awesome. Thanks, guys. Thanks a lot. That is Dan Boyle, over a thousand games.

Over 1,000 games, over 600 points. And plenty of power play experience. Yes, a defenseman, 600 points. You know, we had Vincent La Cavillier, Brad Richards, St. Louis. Then he goes to San Jose. We had Marlowe, Thornton, Coutre, and Pervelsky. one of the greatest tip guy in the history of the game and you're going yeah like did he have lanes it's like he made lanes he was dan boyle yeah see you later he had options and weapons leef's got none of that boys they could use the boy out tonight no dead last power play 30 second in the nchl today as of the king's shoot one three point did the kings shoot went on the power play to go past them yeah oh crap like if they were if they were 15th to 18th

we'd be going yeah they gotta get the power play going you can't be 50 what is dead like dead last dead last is like uh we're calgary our top score has 60 points per year we don't have the horses to make plays you'll keep it simple it dead last should not be we have a historically great goal score a hundred point forward you know morgan riley's on pace for 60 points this year it's not like he can't make a play. That's amazing. It's 60 without a power play. He's on.

Him and Ekman Larson both have 16 5-on-5 points, which is tied for, you're in the top five in the NHL among D-Men. Yeah. Like both of them are producing a 5-on-5 at a great clip, and both have three power play points. It's mind-boggling.

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That would help. And several other days. I'd be able to afford a couple beers at Scotia Bangerina with that money tonight. 22 a pop. All right. Leif's on a bit of a roll, but you got to take these points. Got to win tonight. It's really hard when you watch winning these December games.

When you watch, like, other teams continue to get points above you. I don't, I shouldn't must win these December games. Don't. It's because it devalues the real meaning. of the words. But I think that when you look at the rest of their December schedule, that they're kind of, it's a mix between really good and mid,

and you've got to beat the kind of mid to bad teams. Like they have this game tonight. They have, I believe they have Nashville still. But they also have Dallas and Edmonton and there's some good teams mixed in there. So this is a game where you've got to find a way to get two points. You need four or six for me anyways coming up. Yeah.

I do hope we see celebrating the score. goal though. Really? Yeah, I do. I do. And a one nothing lost for your Maple Leafs? You're okay with that? No, I wouldn't like that. You guys got to look at their cap sheet for next year. They got seven forwards under contract and it's mostly the young kids, get sure who you're

not playing. And 2D. 2D are under contract. Orlova and Ellis, Ryan Ellis. There's no other D under contract. They can do whatever they want this summer. They have the salary. Well, good thing. There's such a huge free agent class with all these great players. Their UFAs are like clingbird,

Bleddy, Mario Ferraro, Lilligrin, Dayharnay. None of them have contracts, not one. Klingber. I forgot about Klinger on them. UFA is Wenberg, Schindler's, Jeff Skinner's UFA, Ryan Reeves, UFA. They got four guys who are RFAs. They got no one under contract. You think they'll re-sign

Ryan Reeves? Except they're good players under contract this year. I do know. He's back. As long as he makes Celebrini feel good. That's all that matters. Yep. He's back. Our thanks to Dan Boyle.

That's good. Yeah, he was great. All right. Edzo. Eddie Olchuk, all he ever wants is a chance. Give him one.

TNT analyst, former national hockey leager, and my teammate in New York. Coming up next when we return to Real Kipper and Bourne. Thank you.