Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Klingberg Island

Episode Date: November 23, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with the breaking news that John Klingberg has been placed on LTIR, his next steps, if he should rush to get his hip surgery done and how it leaves the Leafs' cap situation. They are joined by Mike Futa (11:50), who reacts to the move and discusses the Leafs' next moves now that they suddenly have some available cap space. Then, he explains why the Oilers should make everyone other than McDavid and Draisaitl available for trade. Later, TNT's Darren Pang (30:22) from Chicago ahead of Leafs/Blackhawks shares his thoughts on Connor Bedard getting better and better each game, Taylor Hall going out for the season, Corey Perry getting healthy scratched and evaluates the other young talent on the team.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.

welcome into the real kipper and born show and happy american thanksgiving wherever you are wherever what was that i was a turkey Do it one more time. Not bad. Thank you. Not bad. Wherever you find us on Sportsnet 590, Sportsnet 360, and Sportsnet Plus, 4 to 6 p.m. Hope you're enjoying your holiday, whether you're south of the border or right here in Canada. We're still working.

Yeah, we are. Although you never know it with no NHL games tonight. I'm Nick Kiprios. Justin Bourne. The cobbler. The gobbler? Not the gobbler. I'm not a shoe repair guy.

I got a couple. Yeah, the soles of my shoes aren't. Gobbler, cobbler. Yeah, there you go. Sammy McKee. Derek Brandeo. And Frank the Tank Baraska

I gotta give his family some love there you go we're all together for the next hour where the Toronto Maple Leafs we're on the ice today before heading to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks 2pm Eastern I think tomorrow if I'm not mistaken

1pm their time right are they one behind there? They're one behind there. Sounds right. And yeah, we're going to have the game. We're going to be up after the game. After the game. We'll be up after the game.

But earlier today, the Toronto Maple Leafs made it official when they placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injury reserve. Huh. LB, no real surprise here no real surprise but at least it's a movement on something we've been kind of speculating about waiting for it to happen i don't know that we've heard anything from the team that makes you think it's done for the season yet which to me ltir doesn't mean anything until you've reached that done for the season point. Well, I think we can all speculate, and depending on what side you are,

if you're a John Klingberg fan or not, whether or not you're hoping or wishing that, I don't know, he disappears, his salary disappears, it goes to Robita Island, and you're able to replace the $4.1 million. Yeah. Or to just sit here and say, he's better than what the Leafs had witnessed,

he's better than what the fans have witnessed, and if this was the issue and they can fix the issue, would you welcome back a healthier one in the new year? I think that's a really good question. Like, let's say, and sammy you had speculated on this before the show like maybe we should cut up some slack performance wise so the other side of that though is are we going to cut him slack for the all of last season too is that was what was getting him last year as well like he wasn't very good and we were all talking about how he earned himself a

four million dollar contract this year which in retrospect seems pretty crazy yeah but like i can't help but wonder i mean he was really bad yeah and you and we all killed him and we all you know it was a leading conversation to every single story we had and it's like yeah maybe he was just really hurt but you know now thinking about that like it's so hard to add a player out there right and to add someone is going to cost you assets are you better that like it's so hard to add a player out there right and to add someone is going to cost you assets are you better off like with hank klingberg getting this sorted out coming back and being a valuable player now the counter to that i think would be that he's not really the type of guy the leafs need in your opinion in my opinion i think in sam's opinion

so you know where we sit on it probably is that maybe they'd be better off adding someone different but hey a healthy klingberg would be better than spending a lot to get someone who's not much better than he would have been anyway so the game plan right now i think for klingberg and we we heard from sheldon keith uh in the last few days or today was he yeah did we get him today we did and i i took the clip out of there because he was just saying that there was no update and we're gonna figure out and then we got an update i think uh what i got out of the clip today that you took out is that he's got some decisions to make this is now on john klingberg it's we'll work with you but this is

really about what you want to do moving forward because he does hold all the cards here. He really does when it comes to... That was my ringer. Okay. That was my ringer. Kipper has... What?

Your phone makes a hundred different sounds. Yeah, there's no event that is the same. There's like a Scarface thing. Tupo Shakur over here, too. I didn't even know. This is a new edition. Oh, my God. Yeah, I know. It is Al Pacino. And I keep

forgetting whether or not he cusses on it, and it's a nightmare if it goes on air. And what was the one the other day? Is it Don't Stop Believin'? Yeah, it was. Don't Stop Me Now is what it was. Don't Stop Me Now. What is that? That's your ringtone. No.

Don't Stop Me Now. No. What was that song? No music. Or was it just playing on your phone? No music. Then that's what it was. It was probably.

You just jam it out to Queen. It's a great song. It's such a good song. Where were we? I don't know. I forget. This isn't off the rails Fridayiday is it yeah it feels like it well tomorrow's a weird day anyway so who's the bad guy here is that what we're getting at

scarface no okay tough one tough crowd no no sorry sorry i'll give you the call i'll take my chances you can call it at the end of the show okay okay okay this is on clingberg now to figure out what course of action he wants. Of course, the Leafs are going to support him. But this is now about Klingberg figuring out what's going on with his hip. They gave you time and you tried a few different things to settle it down. It didn't settle down. Now it's about do you try moving forward to manage it or do you have surgery that's the two

choices that he has moving forward here so he's going to consult he's going to go probably see some experts and that'll probably be another seven or ten days so don't expect anything other than the Leafs buying themselves time by putting them on an LTIR to, to move forward. But let's be honest. Thank you. You'd rather hope if you're the Leafs,

you don't want to take the chance on him. Maybe coming back and being the same player. You want to eventually think about replacing his $4 million. That in a that is the best case scenario for the toronto maple leafs there i say it no that's the truth it's the best case scenario and i think for klingberg okay he could fight through it they could do these like you know hip whatever they do they inject him or they you know whatever they could do for him to get him back playing maybe he feels like he has to validate or justify that he's not as bad as he's been maybe he wants to come back and

show that but if he wants to have a long-term playing career in the nhl his best option is probably do surgery now and then you know take a league minimum deal somewhere next year and show people that he is the player he's still still useful. I think that's probably it. It's very similar to the Kane conversation. Yeah. With him like fighting to come back. Much different. Well, how is it different?

Because Kane. One's way better. Wow. Yeah. But you know what I'm getting at here. Historically great. Listen, of course. Pat Kane's going through it right now.

One of the best players in the history of the game. And he's having a tough time getting a deal what let me rephrase that he's having a tough time getting a deal he thinks is satisfactory to his okay position how's that it's good do you think he wants term yes money yes and a place he wants to be. All of the above. He wants three times five in Florida. I'm not even going to get into the money.

I'm not even going to get into the term. Nick Kiprio says. But you know what it isn't? It isn't 750. Not doing 750. He's like, boys, I'm not here for the good of the sport. So it's, there's some teams out there that would love to have him. And it's, come on, we're going to give you another chance to win a Stanley Cup.

Yeah. That's better than. Give you two schmill and a chance to the cup. What's his career earnings been? 80? One bajillion. Well, he had an $80 million contract. One of us deals with him.

Okay. So he's at 120, 130. Where does two, three, or $4 million for two years matter to him? Is he Nicholson? What's his burn rate? Estimated career earnings is $115 million. That's got to be like top 20. So in saying that, there's a lot of contending teams

who would love to add him at whatever they feel is their bare minimum offer. Yeah. Anyways. I didn't mean to derail the Klingberg thing, but it just feels like if you're pushing yourself. My point is, though, that Klingberg's going to have to go on a PTO. I don't even know if he can get 750 next year.

Okay. Yeah, I don't think you're wrong necessarily. But if he's got a brand new hip, the way he moves, in the first game of the year this year, after the first game, I called him Kale McCarr 2.0 with no regrets. He looked unbelievable. No regrets. I love it.

That's how he looked. He was unbelievable in game one. I never saw that. The way he skates and moves, worked the line and moved it on the power play. There's a reason why we're not scouts. Yeah, well, obviously, it's all tongue in cheek. But, but you know i can see him getting that pto turning that into real money he should probably have the surgery now my concern if you're the leafs is it's real early in the year with surgery could he come back

i four to six months takes you into the season i I think there's an, if, if it is, it's say, we'll see in the first round where, and it won't matter. You have to say to him, if you're doing surgery, there's no coming back, no coming back.

Yeah. Right. And we need to clarity. We need to move on the money sooner than later. So you have to commit. We're committing to moving on. Does dropping them in your salary cap structure in two weeks get you Zdorov a lot quicker?

Certainly solves one of the major hurdles, doesn't it? Thought you would like Zdorov last night, eh? Pospisil got slew foot a little bit. Zdorov went in there, stood up for him, punch-a-sized the guy's face. All his teammates went to the box and gave him the way to go. Yeah. Zaddy. That's after getting your uh can i say that that's that's after getting your your wrist slapped a little bit by your captain yeah but they're all trying to say way to go pal we're cool now still love it yeah still love it absolutely and can you imagine

that in toronto right they uh hey a guy who will punch someone after something bad happens sounds very appealing here in Toronto, particularly punching downhill from 6'6". We got Mike Futa coming up in a few minutes, former NHL executive, Sportsnet hockey analyst. Darren Pang, also former NHL goalie, color analyst for NBC Chicago and NHL on TNT, will join us.

And then in the next hour, Luke Gazdik, because we are still just warming up on an Edmonton Oiler conversation. This is a story that will not go away. I love that you wrote a whole article that was like, hey, at least the Leafs aren't the Oilers. That was the whole article, 20 words. I'm just not sure that went real well with the Edmonton Oiler fans. You don't write it in the Edmonton style.

All right, do we got Mike Futa? How are you, Kipper? We're good, buddy. How are you? I'm a little pissed, actually. I came out just flying out of the gates of my NFL pool. The Lions getting spanked by the supposedly, I don't know much about football,

but I heard Green Bay wasn't supposed to be very good today. Jordan Love looked like he had Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers shoved up his yin-yang. So it was a tough start to my football pool. Okay, but you're not, this isn't like an eliminated, you're not eliminated or anything. You're still in the running, aren't you? No, I just, it's like certain NHL teams.

I just didn't, I didn't start on time. So are you equally disappointed? Because I think when you did your NHL fantasy picks, I think Klingberg was one of your top picks. Oh yeah, Klingberg. Don't even get me going. Where are you on that? The one thing that I didn't throw rose petals at,

at Brad Treleving's additions, was Klingberg. And now they're stuck with $4 million and can't do anything with it. Well, he was put on long-term IR today. Oh, he's on Robitaille Island? Yeah. And, you know, there's a sense that there needs to be a process here for him to figure out whether or not he wants to try to manage this the rest of the season or opt for surgery.

And I think I know where Leaf fans might be leaning towards. I think I'm with you on that one. I just look at their defense, Gabriel. It's funny. It's just, since the beginning, it just doesn't fit together properly. And, I mean, now you've got a chance, I guess, to get at it. I know everybody's talking about Zdorov. I personally think that Tanev, if you can only get only get one i think tanev's a much better fit um i had a friend i

mean i don't want to give him credit by saying his name but and he's an italian ball hockey star who calls it he says i love peanut butter sandwiches and i love tuna sandwiches but i would never have a peanut butter and tuna sandwich and when you look at this blue line, the teams that are winning, like Vancouver really addressed their back end, like lefty-righty, got some guys out, better chemistry, brought in Soucy, Hironic. You see the teams like Carolina and Colorado and Vegas in particular, how they line up lefty-righty. I just look at that, and no matter how you write it down,

with the current crop, even when Klingberg was in there who was a righty who maybe should have been playing lefty the way he was playing but I just think I just think that I think it's really important they try and find a right shot deep and for me the way they're back in I don't think scoring is going to be a problem if Tanev is available that's somebody that I really focus on trying to get in. He's a warrior. I know he's banged up. He gets injured, but he gets injured because same way Muzzin and Giordano

and guys like that because they play like warriors every night. And I think that's exactly what they need in the back end. It just balances out a little better with the right end and what he brings as a complete package. I think Zdorov's a big guy. Obviously, he punches guys in the mouth as you said he's got a bomb of the shot he's an intimidating presence but again i think i think what tanaf and the in the shot factor being a lefty is is a lot is a huge factor in the in the addition i want

to make first feuts they do have one right shot guy who's supposed to be coming in tomorrow it's connor timmons time um i remember having some conversations with you about him when they signed him and and your thoughts on sort of his deal and where he's at i just didn't like i mean obviously he's a st marie guy who who dubas was really comfortable with and knew well i just didn't see um i mean honestly i I like his game better than I like the guy that's going on LTIR, or went on LTIR. I still just don't think on a Stanley Cup team aspirations that Connor Timmons in the long term is the answer,

and I didn't understand at the time why he was signed at that time with cap space being such a premium, and to put somebody who couldn't be in your lineup in your top six in the playoffs signed to a two or three year deal at 1.3 or 1.25 million whatever it is i just didn't understand the timing of it i do think he's a better fit um than on the current with the current group but i doubt i definitely don't think he's the answer he did lead them in scoring before he went down in training camp. Is there a chance that they catch lightning in a bottle with this guy?

Or at the very least, he can come in and be a healthier Klingberg? Well, he's definitely an upgrade for Klingberg for me. I still, you know, he's going to probably add a right shot on the power play that's got a bomb. And he's more accountable than Klingberg is. So I think anything is an improvement from what he was bringing to the table. But I also will say that I believe the Edmonton Oilers were undefeated in exhibition. And Jack Campbell had a 9.7 save percentage. So it doesn't always translate.

I hope it doesn't for't honor he's been a good journeyman he's been battling injuries i mean even last year where he got in there and i thought he played fairly well for uh you know i believe he was a waiver pickup where they traded him for a bit piece so um no i hope he does well i hope he i hope he allows them to uh carry on and be a part of that upper echelon group and you know it doesn't it doesn't allow, like everybody's talking about, you know, Boston kind of running away with it. But if you look at the games in hand, if Toronto were to win them, they'd be right up there with Boston and the top teams in the league.

You know, they had a very successful trip to Europe. And they just got, now it's one of those where they've got a stretch of teams that they really should beat, that they just can't take the gas off the pedal and play down to their, like Chicago coming in and beating them like they did at home. They've got to come in and kind of play with the same intensity and get right back on the hopper here because they can't afford to go into the tank for any extended period of time

the way that everybody's starting to separate in the East. Fuse, we've been talking a lot this week, like everyone else, about Willie Nylander. Oh, my Lord, Willie Nylander. We have really exhausted that. But, you know, that line of his is going really well. And part of that is a guy that, you know, John Tavares, he's the captain of the team,

who everyone was talking about his contract and, you know, is he going to be a big burden or a drag? But he kind of keeps scoring. Are you happy with how he's been playing? Are you surprised he's been able to maintain this level of performance this late in this contract? Well, I think he's never been a guy that fitness has ever been a problem. He's a very serious guy, as you can tell by his interviews.

And he's definitely not a soundbite guy, but he's a true pro. And I think a lot of that went into the thoughts when he was made the captain because there obviously was a lot of, you know, thoughts. You know, do we throw it on Matthews at the time? And clearly he's a guy that his teammates really respect. And, I mean, I don't think he's ever going to be a rah-rah guy, but he's a pro's pro. He, you know, let's hope he can maintain his health. I mean, I don't think he's ever going to be a rah-rah guy, but he's a pro's pro. He, you know, let's hope he can maintain his health.

I mean, he maintains his health. I mean, he got really banged up in the playoffs that one year with that hit in the neutral zone. But as long as he stays healthy, he brings it every night. And, again, the balance now with them moving Nyes up with the big boys and top line, it's just the chemistry. Sometimes you just you you know everybody had it written down that Bertuzzi was going to be such a great fit with

Matthews and take bunting spot on the top line with and you know it didn't work out with him and Marner not that it could never work out but it's certainly they were fighting to find any semblance of chemistry and then he bumps back a line and that line just hasn't missed a beat and they've consistently been the best I mean I don't i still think the number one line is the number one line but with the way nylander is played and the consistency what he's played at and the carefree to not have any pressure some guys pulled up in a contract year and he's just putting it right to their he's putting it right to their treasurer because that next contract is going to be well earned he's not

backing into the double digit millions he's going full throttle and it's something to watch so I think that's why it's so much more important for them to you know to find a little bit more chemistry on those which they're I mean their fourth line starting to look a little bit better with the adjustments they've made there and it's so important to add another defenseman on the back end down the stretch here and and the one thing tree did in calgary and always seems to do is um even at the end there what he did with the leafs i mean obviously the reefs thing doesn't look like it's working out quite well on the clingberg one i questioned from the get-go but to add bertuzzi to the mix and add some of that grit and snot that he that he's brought to the table i think it's been it just

speaks to the brad finds a way to get things done problem is now it's like we talked about edmonton like it's unbelievable to think the situation that they're in and i can only imagine i don't care whether you're kenny holland or a rookie general manager to have to pick up the phone to teams that are like 10 points ahead of you with no cap space. It's unbelievable. The hilly has to climb to get something done to improve that team. And I mean, I did hear that everything's on the table here.

And I kind of thought that even a guy like for me, when I watched them play and I've watched them play all the time, you might have to take a player like the, first of all, if you're going to try and get a trade done right now, you're going to have to move a piece that you don't want to move. I mean, I know Toronto all the time, every deal that they've done, you know, they included Klingberg again because clearly he wasn't fitting in. But there aren't total idiots on the other side of the table. They see how poorly he's playing as well. So it's not like they're going to welcome with open arms and some of these teams like for me like i looked at the beginning like two goaltenders that i had kind of circled as these are you can't just have another guess or a hope right it can't be like we're going to take a shot at dan vladar or something and

no knock on him you got to be or you know maybe flurry has another kick left of them you got to get somebody that you know is going to be part of the core and the guy's names that have popped up that might be available are Gibson in Anaheim and possibly Saros in Nashville, who are proven studs. I mean, I speak for Gibson firsthand from how many times he stoned us against. He's got to stay healthy. But if they're willing to move something like that, you've got to be willing to talk about a player you don't want to move,

like possibly a Bouchard, who on the back end, I mean, I know their defense is, but for a guy that's got all this offensive upside and not seeing a great commitment to defense on his end, maybe you can, he's got to be attractive. He's got a cap hit that's up there that's going to make a little bit more sense moving off him. I think he's $4.5 million or something like that you don't want to move them but these teams aren't going to take you know warren fogel no disrespect or or something that you can't even put in your life that's got four wins to take somebody's superstar off the other team and it's it's a hard call to make when you've got a team that's 10 points ahead of you in the standings that is clearly in a

rebuild like anaheim i think it's 10 points ahead like they so you standings, but it's clearly in a rebuild. Like Anaheim, I think it's 10 points ahead. So you know you've gotten, you want to be in a position of strength. There's not any part of what Kenny's sitting in his chair where he's got a position of strength, where this team's going. Foods. And what goals are.

I want to back you up about like seven minutes ago, I think. I don't know how, all kidding aside, you're telling me now everything's on the table in edmonton is that what you're hearing would that include everything but everything about mcdavid and dry's idol not not leon no not for me no not those two guys uh not not under any circumstance would i put them out there um now if this continues for a little bit longer because i do think this group, if they can get some solid goaltending, I mean, they're another team that could use a player like Tanev.

And you're going to have to move off some salary. And, of course, they're saying you're going to have to try and get Jack Campbell put in a deal. But, I mean, it's hard. I mean, you've got a lot of guys, if you look at it there, with like Nugent Hopkins with long deals. You know, Darnell nurse got 9.5 but you've got to start talking about players that you would not have thought when the season started that they were available but i would not at this stage go anywhere near mcdavid and dry's idol um but those are the only two that i would uh that i would and the thing is it's it's not funny but it's kind of when things are going bad it's really going to bad

it's like getting hit in the head with a puck in the warm-up when you're like in the high slot usually guys hitting the head around the net that thing came off like an indian rubber ball and hits a guy in the high slot that's telling them when things aren't going your way but if like next year connor brown everybody's like okay next year we got an extra the caps going up well next year with connor brown having played his 10 you know his 10 games he's an additional three million dollars on the salary cap next year so it's it's a tough one and i love connor brown and the guy that did the contract that got connor brown that contract was jeff jackson so uh when he was still an agent so it's it's a tough one to

make that team any better but you've got to go all in, and you can't be looking at guys that normally, when teams call about some of your young studs, you would have just laughed and said, no way, he's not available. Now everybody's available. Who do you got this afternoon between Washington and Dallas? Just pick the opposite.

If Dallas loses to Washington, you will find me at a local pub. Just pick the opposite. If Dallas loses to Washington, Kipper, you will find me at a local pub. I will be throwing it to the wind. But no, I'm taking Dallas. All right, pal. Well, listen, appreciate your time. Enjoy the rest of your football afternoon.

I appreciate it. Sorry about the seven-minute run, Kipper. You're good to go, bud. You're good to go. Appreciate it, man. Mike Cluta, former NHL executive, sports ad hoc analyst. Always fun having him on the show. You know, that Connor Brown, I'm a big fan. Like, love the person.

Really like the player. He's making league minimum, whatever. 12 games, 0-0-0. He's also coming off a... Zeros? No, not even. He's Sam mitchell and he's playing 15 minutes a night had a major surgery yeah last year at the beginning of last season with the washington capitals i i like the fit with him in washington going down unfortunately it was in a contract year

i'm sure in a perfect world he would have liked his 25 30 goals and put himself in a position of five million a year grab a four times five or you know some sort of contract but yeah it's it's a tough that's a funny situation though to have the guy who negotiates it yeah take over the team that you got it signed with but he's also making no money right so it's not like he's got to get rid of the deal he signed. He's like, it's a fine deal. We just need something from him. Did we get to Sheldon Keefe's clip on Ryan Reeves?

Do we expect to see Ryan this weekend? We did not get to any clips, I don't think. Did we? No. Let's go to Sheldon Keefe on Ryan Reeves. Yeah, he's just been able to try to maximize the days that we've had. Obviously, we haven't played a lot of games, so he hasn't missed a ton of game action when you look at it

relative to the period of time it's been since he's last played. So it's just about maximizing the practice reps, and he's had a couple of good days of practice here. He's a part of our team. He's an important part of our team he's an important part of our team he's a he's a presence uh around our room and he's continued to keep a good attitude which which we've loved and he's a professional all the way through uh he recognizes that the team's responded well here in the last little bit um you know but we still recognize that he's a

a piece of our team that we've we've got to make sure we're continuing to maximize every day that he gets to keep him ready. You know, he's saying all the right things. Who, Sheldon? Yeah, Sheldon. As a guy that is on the first of a three-year deal, there was a major commitment to him. But someone just needs to ask Sheldon, can you trust him when he's on the ice? And if the answer is yes, then you got to put him back out there.

I'm sorry, but... I think that's a good way to look at it. Like, if you believe that this guy can be a contributor to your team, he's got to play. You know, he's on a three-year contract. You're 12 games in or whatever. He's just not going to play again?

Well, that's it. You can't. And I'm sure Tree Living's going, hey, like, I signed this guy. Give him a chance to play through it. You can't. And I'm sure Tree Living is going, hey, like I signed this guy. Give him a chance to play through it. You can't just go. It hasn't worked. He's got to play.

He was right to come out, but he's got to go back in. But maybe. If you look at the schedule, is there not a better opportunity to get him back in than tomorrow afternoon against Chicago? Like, what are you going to do? Put him up in Pittsburgh against Carlson and company? Maybe he'll fight Dubas.

I don't know, Kip. I don't know. He really sent a message. If he's in the press box, he could get him. And yet the team seems to be turning around a little bit and McMahon... Yeah, but McMahon hasn't set the world on fire. No, but he's not minus three a night. He four checks and he's fast

and the puck is in the offensive zone more when he's out there. That's a tough one for Sheldon to manage moving forward here. It is because you're talking to Treelive. He's going, look, here are my results with this guy. Here are with this guy what do you want me to do i'm getting killed with klingberg i need some of my guys to look better for me please yeah and you know the leafs record with klingberg not in the lineup pretty good their record with reeves out pretty good like it's made a difference so okay we're going to take a quick break and when we come back darren pang former nhl goalie and uh does a terrific job covering the national hockey league

with tnt we'll get to him uh after the break and we'll keep going on the leaf edition of the real kipper and born show get smarter when you listen to hockey talk the hockey pdo cast with dimitri filipovich subscribe and download the show on, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. As we get set to welcome in Darren Pang, and he's south of the border, so I fully expect him to be on a Zoom call wearing an apron. The turkey leg hanging out of his mouth? Okay.

Is he cooking? Cooking with Panger? Not a chance. Not a chance. You're not even in the kitchen. You know, Kipper, Lynn and I are in Chicago here. I'd like to show you outside Chicago here, but we're actually going to go to a restaurant.

We're going to do something rare. Not going to cook. Going to enjoy it. Have a nice big glass of red and celebrate Thanksgiving here. Well, happy Thanksgiving to you, pal. Doing a terrific job, as always, on TNT. I'll, happy Thanksgiving to you, pal. Doing a terrific job as always on TNT. I'll open it up to you in just terms of, you know, where you think the biggest storyline is.

You know, we've been absorbed here by the Edmonton Oilers, but where do you want to open it up? Is it Vancouver start? Edmonton? I'll let you pick. look at you that's a just a thanksgiving handoff right i'm just thankful we have you pal madden just got a big piece of the bird right there i like i love it kipper um you know i was just in i was actually just in florida um for last night's TNT game, Boston and Florida. And, you know, the one thing I'll give a shout out to is the fans of the Florida Panthers.

That place has been jammed. And the enthusiasm there, you know, you used to go there, and if it was the Boston Bruins coming in or the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens or whatever team, you know, it'd be primarily when the visiting team scored the place would go nuts but it's changing and i think that that ride last year getting to the stanley cup final feeding boston in game seven the way that they played and rallied throughout the playoffs and to get into the playoffs and so that was an impressive thing and the other part of it is the boston bruins uh kipper you'll love this but last night i'm talking to jim montgomery before the

game and uh there's this little common area in the Panthers visiting area, and it was the dad's trip. And who peeks around the corner and opens up the door to come in and say hello to Jim Montgomery and some of the staff there is the great Robert Gordon Orr. And so not only was it the big dad's trip right there, I saw Louis Dabruska there as well, but it was the greatest was there in Bobby Orr. So that was real good. I'll go with Boston saying that Jim Montgomery thought that of previous games they played, Florida Panthers were their toughest opponent so far. I've had many teams tell me that their toughest opponent has been the

Vancouver Canucks so far, every aspect of their game. And so those are two great compliments. And at the of the whole whole story is the boston bruins and how well they're playing right now so um i think you can throw that that threesome in a group right there and and it'd be a pretty good start for us for sure panger we uh you know we've been starved for leafs games here this week haven't had any but but they get to play the Chicago Blackhawks, who you're spending a lot of time on this season. Sammy's got a stat for us here today. Fewest games to 10 career NHL goals by a first overall pick.

Ovi 14, Lindros 16, Bedard 17. Tell us about the evolution from game one to where he's at now. Has he changed or is it just the same guy, just keep shooting it in the net? You know what? I think he's, honestly, I think he's showing his competitors a little bit more. Even in last night's game, although I didn't do that game, I was actually just watching a little bit ago,

and there was a scrum in front of the net, and someone was poking and prodding around, and he got jabbed a little bit, and he gave it right back to them. I've noticed in the corners he's fighting and battling for pucks. It's not just the shot. It's his overall commitment to the game that's been really impressive. Now, the shot itself is wicked. I mean, I've watched often in practice thinking,

okay, would I be able to find that puck off his stick? And there's something in the way that he slings it that you guys have already dissected and broken down but it is that is remarkable but i think he's the the way to describe um the way to describe conor bedard is he's not a one-trick pony he's uh he's got a lot of attributes to his game and and what i'm seeing that i really enjoy is that competitiveness he does not like losing he does not like having a bad shift he does not like being beaten one-on-one by a defenseman um recently he went up against uh nashville in nashville they had jeremy lozahn on him all the time you know he's a big

hulking defenseman and then you've got and ryan o'reilly you know stripping pucks and i think at the end of the game he said to me he goes man that like that ryan o'reilly's a good player and you know and i think that for a young 18 year old you notice some of the nuances of the game face-offs, how you come back hard in your own zone and just be strong on sticks. So all in all, though, I will say this about Connor, that every single game he learns something new and he doesn't take this in stride and he's not just floating out there. The kid is trying. He's trying hard. He's battling. And he's got a little bit of an edge that I didn't know that he had.

The Chicago Blackhawks panger announced that Taylor Hall is going to undergo surgery and actually be out the rest of the regular season. And I'm just wondering now, you've got 60-plus games to go. I know Taylor Hall will never contend for a heart trophy ever again, but that's a bonafide National Hockey League player that you surrounded Connor Bedard around. And they seem a little far and few in Chicago. Is there a sense that, you know,

we can't go 60 games here without helping the kid out a little bit? Yeah, it's going to be interesting what Kyle Davidson ends up doing right now. Listen, they've got tons of cap space. I mean, you know, that's why they've taken on some contracts in the past and received assets in return to doing it. I think he's managed that exceptionally well. You know, Taylor Hall, this is going to be an ACL surgery, so, you know, this is a tough one for Taylor.

He's been really – I give him a lot of credit. He's played some games that I didn't think he was going to be an ACL surgery. So, you know, this is a tough one for Taylor. He's been really, I give him a lot of credit. He's played some games that I didn't think he was going to play. Maybe, maybe didn't have to play, but he wanted to be on that ice and he wanted to make a commitment and he certainly showed his teammates how much he wanted to be out there. So Atham Massey was out with a groin. And now with Corey Perry's, you know, situation last night that there's very little information on Kipper.

But those are big holes in the leadership department. And so I'm not sure exactly what's going to be had. But they've got some guys in the minors that are going to come up. I mean, Anderson's coming up. Cole Gutman started last year. He had a really good camp. I mean, they've got a group of players that are knocking on the door. They're not exactly NHL, I'm not saying difference makers,

but they're good NHL players that because of the numbers had to be sent down to the American Hockey League in Rockford. So they'll get an opportunity. But, you know, I guess at the end of the day, you want to surround, you know, a guy like Conor Bedard and Lucas Reichel. And I tell you who's been really good is that Philip Kurashev. I mean, you'll see him tomorrow night. He's number 23. They're on the same line. And he is a heady player.

You'll really enjoy watching Philip Kurashev as well. But at this particular point, there's going to be some challenges, and there's going to be some games in which they turn around and they beat really good teams because that's what they've done this year. And the limited amount of wins they've had, they beat good teams and they beat good teams on the road. You guys saw that when they went into Toronto, they went into Tampa Bay, they won in Pittsburgh.

So just when you count this group out, they'll come up with a really good game and a competitive game. And I think Luke Richardson deserves a lot of credit for that. Penger, you just mentioned that Corey Perry, for those of you watching or listening to our show, he did not play last night, and he didn't participate in practice today, correct?

That's right, yeah. Okay. Yeah, that's exactly right. There's no information, no kipper coming out of here. Luke Richardson's press conference today, he started it with that and just let everybody know that there's going to be no more comment internally. So in a situation like this, I think you just let things unfold.

And he's been such a great pro, as you well know, his entire career. And so it obviously came as a surprise prior to the game that he's a healthy scratch. So I don't have any more information for you than that. But, I mean, boy, oh, boy. Just, you know, hope that everything's good. He's a really good addition. I mean, I love being around Corey. I love talking hockey with him.

The guy's a rink rat. He's got a little boy that's six, Griffin, that's at the rink all the time. So Corey's not only on the rink with the, you know, here with the Hawks or other teams that he's played with. He's always at the rink with minor hockey. So I know how much he loves that. So anyway, we'll find out a little bit more about that. But in the meantime, I guess I wouldn't expect him for tomorrow night's game.

Panger, I imagine other teams are looking at the Blackhawks and going, okay, that's one of the few teams with cap space who kind of knows that it's not going to be a playoff year. Are there some names on their team right now that you's not going to be a playoff year are there some names on the on their team right now that you imagine by playoffs will be somewhere else like i don't know if cory perry might be one of those names depending on what's going on with him or the goaltenders anyone you see is uh you know someone that can be poached off the blackhawks well we're early in that game i know i know jb it. JB, I mean, that's a tough one. I'm going to just, you know, like we all know what happens come playoff time

and what kind of players, you know, become very important cogs. In fact, they had one last year in San Lafferty that went to the Leafs and played very well, and now he's playing well in Vancouver. I mean, guys that have, honestly, the guys that have played well that are character guys, more on the PK kind of side of it and guys that can handle the 3-4 lines. I know you've seen him before, but Jason Dickinson, I think he's played really well. I think Nick Foligno, he's honestly found the fountain of youth.

He gets a lot of responsibility here. He's in a big leadership role. I think he's been terrific here. You mentioned Corey Perry as well. But after that, they've got some young, you know, they've got some really young players that still are finding their way in the NHL. The other guy that played really well was Peter Morazic. He wasn't on the ice today, didn't finish last night's game,

one of the rare games that he didn't actually perform well or be one of the first three stars in the game. He's been excellent so far this year. So that's kind of the group that they've got right now. So I think as it goes along, you'll find that the character of the team will still stay there. They play hard. They play competitive.

And just, you know, so we'll see down the stretch. At this particular point, I'm not sure what kind of players would be out there. We are chatting up Darren Pang, former NHL goalie, color analyst for NBC Chicago, NHL on TNT, and my favorite golf buddy, although he didn't invite me to Michael Jordan's new golf course. Yeah, hey, did you really play that?

Yesterday? Two days ago, yeah. I flew in early. Big commitment. Got the early flight. Knew that I could get out there to Hope Sound just north of Jupiter. Again, Wayne Gretzky is the greatest playmaker of all time. And he also does that when he assists on some golf.

So he set it up. I got to play with a good buddy of mine from a long time ago. We played with the Nepean Baby Raiders when we were six and seven years old, and the Belleville Bulls as well, Danny Quinn. So it was a great day. Michael Jordan's course is outstanding. I'm hitting balls, and Dustin Johnson was finishing off his ninth hole. He just played nine holes with the guys that I ended up playing with, and he was okay for nine holes, and he didn't play anymore.

Stop. I'm drooling. I'm drooling. Stop it. The guys are always there that Justin Thomas and Ricky Fowler and Patrick Cantley and and when I actually signed my contract with the Blackhawks I was in the back uh driving range getting ready to play during the playoffs last year and I had to I had to find on my little phone the docu sign you know the way you got it yeah kind of get there I'm trying to sign this thing and I hear Ricky Fowler hitting little chip shots on one side and Patrick Cantley and Justin Thomas are hitting wedges on the other side. And they're probably looking at this old, who's Mr. Magoo over there in the middle of the range

trying to sign a document. Who does he know? Shout out for Dan Quinn, who always looks after me at Delray, at his course. Shout out to Dan Quinn, who I'd like to meet and become friends with. I'll play with Dan Quinn. Dan, give us a call. Did they bring you lunch in one of, what do you call those things that spin in a helicopter? No, no, no. No, they have

lunch dropped in. Drone? Drone, with a drone. Did you get lunch with a drone? You're starting to sound like me. You can't figure out what he's saying. Oh my god, I'm horrible. Mini helicopter with no pilot how's that is that does that give you a clue what i'm talking about oh my god this is not my era these drones i'm sorry the dinosaur you know what actually i've i've played there now

four times and i think the drones must be gone because somebody took them down you know me i enjoy a cocktail or two but there's been no drones uh bringing them to me so maybe they're maybe they're gone all right listen i i got off the golf i got one more question for you uh have you covered the washington capitals at all because uh strome the other day scored with what? Less than 10 seconds to go to give them another win over Buffalo. They won five in a row. I'm looking at their record. They're like 8-1-1, I think, the last 10 games. Like, but, here's the but.

It's not with Ovi scoring a ton of goals here. And I don't know. Is the chase for Gretzky a little slower than we thought right now well i saw him in this in his driveway uh in front of his boy um sergey and he uh he scored nine goals into the empty net on the slap shot do you guys see that on social media no i didn't it was it was actually it was actually pretty good he was just rifling slap shots and his boy was just giggling it was it was actually pretty good i've done just rifling slap shots, and his boy was just giggling. It was actually pretty good. You know what?

I have done a couple of games, and obviously I keep in touch with Kirk Muller quite a bit. And he is having, as he said to me, the most fun he's had in an awful long time coaching. He says the coaching staff, they can't wait to get to the rink. There's an enthusiasm there. Even early in the year when they weren't playing well they've tried to incorporate a few different things especially with backstrom not being there but you know they're trying to and i think kipper one day you were you were talking about their power play and i sent you a note saying you know there's a lot of times the adjustment has been they're trying to go to to the other side of the goal line and make

some plays towards ovi a little bit more and get harder to the net. Instead of everything going half boards, goal line, goal line, slot, bumper to there, and then look for that great seam pass. They're just trying to change things up because I think over the years they've been a little predictable. And I think that's a big adjustment that they had early on. And they were getting frustrated from their lack of success and lack of sustained puck possession in the offense zone on the power play. So they've shored up those things.

I'll say this about them being at ice level. There is a certain spirit that they have. And I look to my left when I'm between the benches and I, I see Kirk Muller and he's, you know, he's, he's, he does what he does best. He brings a great enthusiasm and some positivity and same with the same with Carberry. And the way that they are as coaches, Mitch loves a new coach on that staff as well, the longtime American Hockey League guy that fought everybody and anybody that he could fight to stay in any league he could play in.

So I think that's one thing that you can talk about with the Washington Capitals, that the change is happening right now. No one's getting moved. T.J. Oshie is going to be moved. TJ Oshie is going to be there. Ovechkin's going to be there. I mean, you know, it's that same group of players. And I think everybody's like, okay, this is our group of guys. This is how we're going to play.

And this is how we're going to be successful. So I think eventually you'll see that Ovi, you know, gets on track and gets more opportunities. But in the meantime, it's probably not the same distribution getting the pucks to his side as it was before. And that'll be the adjustment. He'll score 20 goals from the crease. That is my guess this year. Jamming that big body, 240 pounds, right to the goalie's toes in the crease. That's how he's going to score most of them this year.

Maybe not the one-timers. Washington currently sitting second in the Metro division. A. Panger, great stuff, man. Thanks for doing this on your American Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful dinner tonight at where? Big Boys, did you say? IHOP? Yeah, we're going some.

It's a Big Boy place with Big Boy food. Big Boy glasses of wine. Have a great night. Thanks, Ben. Darren Pang. Yeah, you guys as well. I look forward to that game against the Leafs tomorrow afternoon. Thank you, guys.

And speaking of the Leafs tomorrow afternoon, Samsonov against Chicago, Joseph Wall against Pittsburgh. I think that's a bit of a statement. What's the statement? Samsonov's the starting goalie. The statement is... Saturday night in Hockenday, Canada's the backup game. Wall gets the more important game of the two.

See, I think this is, I guess I'm just Babs, but I think you start your best guy in the first game, no matter what. Like, I feel like that's more of a starting goalie scenario. Even depends, regardless of who the opponent is, if you're playing this first half of back-to-back, you put your best guy in first. I even depends, regardless of who the opponent is. If you're playing this first half of back-to-back,

you put your best goalie in first. I don't agree with that. No? No. I want the best goalie to go up against... Babs is the type of guy you want to agree with all the time. You're always on Babs' side. This guy.

Let me see that phone. 100% alive with Babs. Check it out. Yeah. I don't know. It's just me, though. It's just me though it's just me yeah he might be right yeah i hate to say it but he could be right that you just put your best goalie in to get the the closest win first how do you feel about declaring the goalie for the second game like

what if samson off stinks and wall goes in, plays two periods, and you've already said he's going to... Well, you can say this is our plan. Oh, yeah, and I guess if it changes, you just go, what do you want me to do? I didn't think our goalie would stink. There you go. Okay. You can always change your mind. You sure can.

As we do often on this show. Yeah, if we didn't, it'd be a dull season. Interested in seeing what Timmons brings tomorrow. Yeah, that's... I love this part of the season where it's like, I'm pumped about Timmons. Not pumped. I wouldn't say pumped. Someone new to watch and see if

there's some juice there. Six points in the regular preseason. Okay, plenty still more to come. That was a good point by Feuds. Jack Campbell at a 970. Oil were undefeated. Alright, we got plenty to go here still. Luke Gazdik, Sportsnet analyst, former NHLer.

We'll talk Edmonton Oilers and what we saw and what might be next for them. So we have a ton, including American Thanksgiving. What do we believe in? JB, you're a numbers guy. 77% in the playoffs. Make it. Like to leave sods?

We got a lot to talk about. Stick around. Real Kipper and Bourne.