Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Lightning Hits Toronto

Episode Date: April 3, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with a look ahead to the Leafs' match-up against the Lightning tonight. They get into the emotions of the playoff rematch, Tampa's roster turnover and where Kucherov fits in the Hart conversation. Then, a Leafs POV - Matthews' chase for 70 and how the team is using rest ahead of the postseason. Finally, Lightning VP Dave Andreychuk (32:55), weighs in on the team's up-and-down season, the impact of the deadline additions, Vasilevskiy slowly returning to his Cup-winning form and Stamkos' future in Tampa.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.

we are right back in the saddle real kipper and born show the kiprios justin born sammy mckee derrick brandeo and david sis boom bah i put it in brackets there i know i saw that might be your i don't know your your best contribution so far all season long. Oh, my God. To the programming itinerary. Good lineup. That's what that's called. Thanks, John.

Thanks, Andrew. Nice job, all of you, for joining us on Sportsnet 590, Sportsnet 360, and Sportsnet Plus from 4 to 6. Give us a download when you can't catch us live and send us those texts, 590. That's why Sammy's here. That's why we hired him. Just to read texts.

I thought he was just here for you to be mean to. No. I love Sammy. He knows that. Oh, yeah. I'm bringing you along slowly. I'm giving you the dressing room treatment, Sammy. So now that we follow Blair and Barker every day.

We get our Blue Jay updates. And I think, well, I mean, you look no further than here for your Blue Jays updates. Because I watch every single game. And last night, let me tell you. The mustache man. Yeah. My boy, the babe, Davis Schneider. With a two out.

Top of the, bottom of the, oh, sorry, no, top of the ninth, home run, to give them the lead, to take them from getting shut out for the second straight game to victory was quite remarkable. What is the Babe thing? So, because it was so hot, everyone was calling him Babe Ruth, Babe Schneider. Right. Yeah. That's it, eh?

That's it. I really believe last night the mustache man saved the Blue Jays season. Did they go to the three and three now is that right can i tell you kippy love that take they lose they lose one nothing last night now they're two and four and they can't score yeah full panic in this city i i'm already panicking about it i think there's nothing like early season baseball because it feels so because you're used to well you're just used to other sports like even in an 82 game season like you start one and five like that's tough to dig out of or whatever and football it's the same it's even worse basketball

similar but baseball it just seems at the start you're not ready for how long of a season it is and all these games feel so massive always said that the first series of the year is like the world series like i'm grinding over these things and you're right the big difference between three and three and they got it last night i i will say i don't want to thank uh josh hater for throwing a horrific pitch to to davis schneider yeah 83 mile an hour change up right down the middle compared to his 95 at the top of the zone and he hit it out the worst thing for listeners of this show is that we do cross paths with blair and barker now and we're more blue jays than raptors guys i think i

can't speak for you but i am for sure i am too you know so now it's more investment in that five minute segment i absolutely and with seven regular season games to go for the Toronto Maple Leafs, you're going to get a lot more Blue Jays. I've got to be honest with you. I bring out my computer, and I put it on my coffee table, and I put the Blue Jays game on whenever there's a Leafs game on. So I'll always have, no matter what I'm watching on TV, I always have the Blue Jays on. I love the Blue Jays.

But we are in our Leaf edition hour, the real Kipper and Bourne show. What do you want to talk about? Tampa Bay Lightning. Yeah. They're in town tonight why does it feel like the toronto maple leafs beating tampa bay in the first round last season feels like a gazillion years ago you know i was saying we first came in here i watched the tavara's ot ot winner to end that series earlier today, and it does.

It feels like a life ago. It feels like a different sensation because that moment, like remembering how I felt about the Leafs in that moment, was so different from how it went right after that. And watching the celebration, watching Sheldon Keefe, the emotion. Why are you laughing over there? Why?

I don't want to do this. I don't want to do it. It was just a big breakthrough for this team, and it was celebrated accordingly. It's just a time warp to go back to that. What do we do now? You're going to say it yourself. Listen, if I was a fan of another team,

and I would merciless merciless mercilessly mercilessly hammer toronto maple leaf fans about the general reaction to that goal i don't think the players they celebrated winning a series it was a normal celebration on the ice you think yes okay i don't think anyone scores a series winning ot winner and goes god loves sheldon but so you thought sheldon was a cop they acted like they wanted the cup. They acted like they won the cup. Did you? Yeah, I did. I did. I thought it was a little over the top looking back on it. I thought Sheldon was over the top with his reaction.

But now. But it was a, it wasn't, it was a natural reaction. And I think it also, and he wasn't around for the last 19 years where they weren't, they never had advanced, but he was carrying 19 years on his shoulders that night. Yeah. Would you agree? Well, at the very least, he was carrying a career, you know, his own career. He was carrying previous playoff losses.

You know, he was there for Columbus and Montreal as well. Yeah. You know, it was a big breakthrough. You can also add Kyle Dubas and Jason Spe jason's also spetsa with the the chest bumps yep so but the thing is big moment in the moment in the moment i didn't think any of that and the thought never crossed my mind about it being such a huge reaction or whatever context to go back but then going back measuring it against what's happened since, it does seem absurd. But at the time, it was all good. And I will say that it sucked so much because of what happened with the Florida series.

But that first round series last year was awesome. They got three separate overtime winners. The captain of the team, much maligned, scores the overtime winner, sends him to the second round. Everyone was excited. It was so great it was timely uh i thought it i thought there was an argument to say that tampa bay was better than toronto yeah that's not serious for sure and the year before you'd say toronto was

better which exactly they got the bounces they got the overtime they got the the comebacks yeah right what were they down? 4-1 again. They won three overtime games. The Leafs. That seems impossible. And then game left. Sorry, game three, they tied it. Ryan O'Reilly tied it with like under a minute left,

and they won in overtime in one of those games. So like there's just. The OT winners were Kerfoot tipped one in, Tavares, and. Morgan Riley filtered from the top left corner top left blue line and it did he was struggling despite their stanley cups it left a really bitter taste in their mouths that the the best team did not advance in the second round to play florida tampa yes whose mouth all of them stamp coast oh those guys those guys yeah on tampa yeah right they were really

they they felt like they were the better team the thing is i don't think they were the better team enough to be like we got robbed in this series you know if they were 51 they feel like they got robbed well that's fine you're wrong but you know they're allowed to feel i'm not wrong they're wrong okay they're wrong you're not wrong that's right. I'm talking to Stephen Stamkos directly now, who I know watches. I just, you know, as a bigger picture thing, I can't imagine. Like, think about all the positivity that came out of that first round series. It's like, can we imagine that happened to go to a final, God forbid, or like a moment that, you know, even a second round moment that sends them to the third round.

Like, this city and this fan base is just, there will be no... And the budget of this company? Buddy, I mean, this show. Clearly, like, it's all, I don't believe fan first. They're chartering a plane for us, the three of us. We will be in attendance at the cup final.

Chartering us to real sports? What are we getting chartered to? Helicopter to real sports. Oh, we're getting like a really good uber yeah yeah yeah this this the stretch sedan so i just i'm dying for more of those moments and i we're getting we're getting close like we're you know it's that 20 days or less than that where we're gonna be in the playoffs and it'll be big moments again. And, you know, watching the Habs beat up Florida Panthers last night and having the Leafs beat them last time, them look like they're heading in the wrong direction,

the Leafs going up. Got to be honest, for the first time in a while this season, I'm starting to feel a little bit positive. Oh, he said it. He said it. I am. No, I do too. I feel positive.

Give me the cat no okay but that was a perfect you do realize though that and i'm not saying that the leafs have not and i'm the first one to say this that the leafs are trending a lot better in the right direction than we thought maybe a month ago. But your overall vibe stems from a league that's less and less predictable here. Absolutely. Yeah, the Leafs are, I think getting themselves ready for for a big fight here which is great but you look around what's happening in the last couple of weeks here and you're going like who isn't vulnerable in this league totally totally listen it's it is a weird year seattle

won nine in a row the predators went 15 0 and 2 over 17 games at one point like some teams have got really hot some teams have got ice cold who are otherwise pretty good teams it's a strange year and i've said that this can be a year and i think this should contribute to least fans feeling positively this year more than ever for me it feels like a weird year where anyone can win the last time i felt like this and i wrote this you can find it on the internet was st louis in 2019 i said going into playoffs that year it felt like a year there was no clear-cut team and some team was just going to be playing the best at the right time and it was st louis st louis got real hot after january 1st and i want to be clear that samson i don't think i don't think that

at least we're gonna beat i don't want to go out that I don't think, I don't think that the Leafs are going to beat. I don't want to go out there and have a clip of me being like, I'm confident. I'm confident. No, you're feeling more confident than you were. You got two weeks to build that up. I, yeah. I just think that like watching the Leafs play over the last little while

and having the cats go in the tank here a little bit over the last 10, you got to have a pretty, a decent feeling with the way the Leafs have been playing. How are they not 50-50 chance to win at best yeah especially with all their players that are out hurt in terms of marner in terms of uh yarn crock edmondson riley returns tonight but like he's been out just got hurt right he didn't play last night after this game yeah not you never root for injuries but if they're a little banged up, it makes you feel a little better. For Hagee, I think it's done until the playoffs.

So I wish this was all happening maybe like next week. A week from now. But it's okay. So anyways, a little bit of positivity on a gloomy day. If the Leafs do advance a couple of rounds here, there's a chance. A couple of rounds? Sorry. Play it out.

Sorry to interrupt. Couple? What's that word mean? Two oh my god if they you have a chance sammy to for our show to be clipping maybe paul maurice and john cooper in the same playoff year playoff year no thanks oh my god to me i No, thanks. Oh, my God. To me, I would love that. Just to see you every day roll your eyes because these two guys are the masters. Oh, yeah. The masters. Did you get us any good clips from John Cooper today?

I did. I sat down and I went through John Cooper. There's, I think, a few different versions of John Cooper and I've listened to enough of him over the years of doing this show that there's normal guy John Cooper. There's with a agenda John Cooper. And then there's mad John Cooper. And it was just normal guy John Cooper today.

He wasn't really agenda-y. We didn't get any Paul Maurice type, no one's going to remember this game in two weeks. No, none of that. Nothing like that. Well, the thing is thing is they for last year they knew they were playing the leafs for you know three months yeah and this year they know they're not like i think he even says that today like we knew we were playing the leases we know

we're not playing the least so maybe there's some of that that goes into it but do you want to talk about you want to hear his clip on their season so far let's go we'll go from there our first kippers clipper with John Cooper. No, clip two. Derek, I put the clips in. Playoff spot's a playoff spot. Right now, it's ours to lose. And it would be shame on us if we don't get in.

But these guys have really, in the month of March, have put them in a spot that maybe March 1st we weren't thinking was going to be like this. I'm proud of the guys for what they've done. And, you know, every year is different. And, you know, talking about it, I don't know, somebody was, you know, we just played that outdoor game two years ago in Nashville.

And there's a team picture. And out of the 23 guys, there's only eight guys left. That was two years ago. So there's a good core here, but there's a lot of new guys and you know sometimes it takes a little time for the guys to mesh but what i do know is when it got time to get going these guys have have kicked it in and so we still have work left there's no doubt but i like what they've done here and now i like that uh line about the the team pitcher now those eight players are all going to the hall of fame if you were to take those eight players and the 12 worst players in the nhl you got a playoff team. Do you not? Buddy, 100%.

I mean, they are. They're just all like, those 12 are like seat fillers at the Academy Awards. When the Stars go to take a pee, they just sit there and be quiet. They're like, just hold the fort till we can get Braden Point back out there with Kucherov and Hedman and the rest of them. We'll be okay. Like, I look at this forward core, and it's still really good. And, like, up and down the lineup,

they still have guys. They're all in their prime. The thing, but it's the D core. That's not the same as it once was. And losing Sergeyev was a huge blow for them, right? But, like, you look at their D core, it's not the same as it was in years past. But, yeah, like, they can still score with anybody.

They are still elite elite so which brings you to vasilevsky and i don't know he's climbing up the same percentage is climbing isn't it is he at 900 now you know from where he was to where he is now yeah it's, you know, he's at 900. Right at 900. His last, you know, 10 games, there's a shutout in there, 940, 955, 958, 964. Like, there's some games in there where he's played well. There's an 826 in there. What do they have left?

Nick Purbix? What do you mean? On the back end, outside of Headman. I mean, I'm... Chernak, Headman, Darren Radish, Hayden Fleury. Chernak's hurt every other game, too. Matt Dumba, yeah. He is.

Emil Martinson-Lilliburg. Oh, my gosh. I can't be real. That's a real person. Number 78. I know I brought his name up the other day, but... Ryan McDonough. Yeah.

I mean, having Sergeyev and McDonough, that would certainly change the look of that back end. And also, they had Jan Ruda, who played as Hedman's partner, I think, on one of their cup runs. They've had Bogosian in the past for depth. Like, they just don't have that. So it's definitely an area of weakness. But as we say in the show all the time,

everyone in the cap era has some weaknesses. This team's no different. And a potential MVP this year. I don't know where this thing's going to end up between MVP and Art Ross, leading point getter in the NHL. But this is a three-man race for the ages here. Absolutely. Do you want to hear the coach of the Lightning

make the case for his superstar? Do you have a win in the heart? All right. Clip one there, Derek. It's valuable to your team. Okay. Well, we played without our starting goalie for, I don't know, a quarter of the season in the beginning,

and who carried our team was Nikita Kucherov. And I look back here and, listen, this is not a knock against anybody in the league. Every one of these guys that are in the voting, whether it's McDavid or McKinnon or Matthews, I would take on my team in a heartbeat. But Nikita Kucherov, what he has meant to our team, and you plucked him out, I don't know if we'd be in the spot we're in right now. And so, to me,

what he has brought to us is invaluable. And so, I think you know where i stand tied for first in nhl scoring with 127 points he's uh seventh i believe in goals with 42 i mean what a season he's having he's so much fun to watch though isn't he he's a liar i don't trust anything he does you know what i mean with his movements and everything like he's i thought you're talking He's so much fun to watch, though, isn't he? He's a liar. I don't trust anything he does. You know what I mean? With his movements and everything. I thought you were talking about the skills comp there.

No, no. I mean like his fakes and his leans and his wind up and everything he does is a bluff. Last week on his knees. Yeah. Face like right against the boards to point. Yeah. No, he's an unbelievable talent. My wife, Allie, is going to the game tonight, and she asked me what I should be looking for on Tampa.

I said 86. Just watch 86. You know, he's not a guy that would stand out unless you kind of were looking for him and just watching all the little subtleties. He is a tricksy little fella. Yep. There you go. Do you

vote for MVP? How would you even begin to pick Kucherov over McDavid or McDavid over Nate? I think it comes down to a point. Look at all the over McDavid or McDavid over Nate. How?

You know, I think it comes down to a point. You know, I look at all the numbers, have watched all the video, have all the opinions, and I really feel like at the end of the day, if you could take one guy's season, you know, for your team, you know, who would you want? Who would you personally want? Who do you think it is?

The best guy who had the best season, whatever. And like, you know, right? There's no way to break it down well there's no way there's no way here it's you know they'll all be on my ballot in the top three you pick five guys you're essentially saying it's now going to be like a popularity contest i mean who's who do you think voting on popularity like who's your Who's your favorite to watch? How about that? No, that's not how I'm doing it. You know, I would be doing it.

I will be doing it. Yeah, you are. What do you mean my favorite? Like, I think one of them is cooler than the other guy. What numbers are you going to break down analytically to pick between them? Well, I mean, just everything I can find, you know, with and without the other superstars, how they did, and, you know, when he was without their goalie.

Hold on here. I'm offended by the laugh and stuff. But I voted. I voted too. I was right there with you. And you voted. Clearly, this is how you vote. By the end of the day, who do I like and who do I,

who would I have as a game seven guy? Well, sure. I guess if your point is, can I, you know, come up with the objective answer who's the best guy no but if you take 200 people who watch hockey every day and ask them who they think the best guy is who's their favorite you know who i would go for whose jersey would you buy i'd vote i'd vote for conor mcdavid that's who i would vote for sammy wouldn't vote russian i know that i think that's a great vote you wouldn't vote russian what are you laughing at you just told

us every other day you don't want Ovi to break the record. Yeah, yeah, you're right. You're going to pick a Canadian. I think what it would come down to is if I had a vote and listen to you talk, definitely I'm not going to vote. But I think it would be how I would do it would be I would look at who's at the top of the stand and who i think is the best player of the three and a lot of time that would come down to mcdavid and i would

probably vote for mcdavid every year you know i think we overcomplicate it and that is the question you know based on this year who's the best player in the league but like a lot of it there's like a famous story from that bill simmons always talks about on his podcast the one year michael jordan lost the mvp to carl mal Malone because Jackie McMullin wrote an article and it like drummed up the narrative and drummed up the narrative. And it's like, Michael Jordan should have just been the MVP. And it's like, you know who should be the MVP this year?

The guy who's going to have 100 assists and is the best player in the league. Connor McDavid's definitely the MVP, but the narrative... Doesn't LeBron have four MVPs in 20 years? He should have been MVP for 15 years straight. But it's a weird war that a lot of it has to do with narratives and that's just the way it is.

Should I be offended that you were offended? No! I don't know. We'll get back to that one. Yes. We'll talk about that one off air. Okay. Outside of flipping a coin for MVP. What about Sid?

He's about to drag them into the playoffs. There's no argument there. Anyways. But thank you. I told you guys yesterday, didn't I? I can't count that guy out. He had two and Geno had two. God, they're sniffing around.

We'll get into that a little later. Austin Matthews, lots of talk about Austin today, chasing 70 still. We're still there we're still on this there was multiple questions about it and and where's the vibe going so the we there's two different vibes on these answers so the first one i'll we'll listen to the first one because he kind of got asked if he's worried about guys really forcing it to him so i know you'll be interested in the answer to this one. Yes. So clip one. What I've been talking about.

I don't think it's overdone or anything like that. I don't get the feeling of that. I mean, you can see guys looking for him on the ice, but generally it's not a bad idea to look for him. You know, so you got to recognize that's going to be part of the deal, but you don't want to obviously change your game or change the focus. And that's not the focus for me, and I've talked to Austin. It's not the focus for him.

He wants to finish the season strong. He wants to be feeling good. He wants to have energy through this last stretch and going into the playoffs. And that's, I guess, really the goal for our team, you know, is to have our game in order and be as healthy and rested as possible as we finish this last push. Good answer.

Yeah, I would love for him to not score a hat trick or something tonight where now all of a sudden it's realistic you know and and the the noise gets louder about him trying to do it and whatever i i'm i'm with sheldon that i just think the time for chasing individual stuff is over this is year eight for matthews now he's done individual stuff and the second clip is a different tone so i'll let you listen to that key clip too because someone followed up i'm not let you listen to that. Keith, clip two. Because someone followed up. I'm not concerned about 70 goals at all. You know, I'm concerned about having him on our team and ready to go for playoffs.

And, you know, like we saw the other night, he gets two last game, and those are two important goals for us in the game. He's going to contribute that way, and that's what he's done all season for us. He's an important part of our team. That is not our focus, not my focus at all. So let me ask you this.

I've asked this question before, but it's becoming more relevant, and I'll ask it again. Last game of the season tampa bay they're heading into that austin matthews has 68 goals and there's all that talk about the 70 goals does he play so there's precedent for this mitch marner had 99 points going into playoffs and they had him rest and they prioritized him being at his best for playoffs whatever i just can't see them then saying we're gonna send matthews out to chase two goals in game 82 i know what kipper's gonna say to this because i can already tell by the look on his face

but 70 goals is different than 100 points sure 70 goals get 100 points every year 70 is a much more historic thing and i think austin matthews would want to play and i think it would be listen to him talk they wouldn't play him but like if you talk like that and then you do play him it's like it's kind of a you're giving mixed messages do you think they play him kippy i think there's a a gazillion factors between now and then that will come into play. His health, you know, where everyone else is.

Do the points matter? Do the points matter? Home ice advantage? Is it out there? Is it not out there? And I don't, I know home ice hasn't been kind

to the Leafs over the years, but I'm a true believer if it's out there, take it. Yeah, yeah. It's definitely right there for them right now. Right? It's there. So that matters.

You know, the look and the feel of this guy scoring, like I liked his goals, his last few goals, right? They weren't individual efforts. They weren't him over trying. They were,

they didn't have the feel or the look of trying to jam a square peg in a round hole. They're just there. If, if there's a current that is taking him there and it feels natural and it's good and it doesn't mess with the overall feel of the team, then I'm okay with it. But if it starts looking like we're on two different agendas here, then Sheldon has to go to his first agenda,

which he just said moments ago. Team first, Austin in 72nd. It actually is shaping up to be a bit of a Wild West duel between what Sheldon says and what they do here if Matthews gets hot. Yeah. You know, because he's pretty much, he's clearly staked out his position on it now. He's not alone, too, when it comes to what Connor McDavid is going to go through right now to win an Art Ross.

That guy wants it, okay? A hundred percent. They're built this way yeah okay yeah yeah you're talking about having 97 assists i've come this far it's within a grasp why do i want to let go of it now all i need is just one or two more and that matters to me okay i am i'm the face well then let me be the face i want to win this award it's there so there's there's that element that coaches and general managers and presidents have to deal with here i got a horse right now and he's telling me he wants to run yeah yeah i don't i don't completely disregard it and say hey shut up i'm paying you you do what i say that's not the way it works in 2024 yeah you're right but it should work that way right so what

you're playing he's you're hiring someone to play hockey for you to help your team win a cup if you think this helps you win a cup you should say thank you for your contributions to this point but i know that's not how it works. So what I'm telling you, it's not black and white here. What you're saying, he's playing game 82. No, no, no. I think he's making a really fair case about it's totally, it depends.

It depends on how this unfolds. We got seven games to go after tonight, do we not? Seven? After tonight, yeah. A lot of things can happen in seven games. Guys can get hurt, losing streaks, right? All of this can happen here. So I don't know.

Just all I know is for two periods against Florida, it felt really good. The hockey club felt really good. Matthews was scoring without looking like Team A and Team B. So follow the current, man. Florida Panthers, you know, toe-picked again. They lose to the Montreal Canadiens last night. They're 2-7-1 in their last 10.

I mean, they have 76 games played. The Leafs have 74, and the Leafs are four points back. So, you know, that home ice is very much there. They do play head-to-head again. Going to be interesting to see if Florida can pull themselves out or if the Leafs are going to finish exactly like last year. 1-2-3 Boston

Toronto Florida. Is that right? Yeah. No, Florida came in as the eighth. Never mind. But no, I was going to say that Florida's doing the reverse Florida this year where they were super hot and the best team all year and they're getting cold at the wrong time where last year they were awful all year and got hot at the right time it's like they're doing the reverse of last season it's almost like they're

running out of steam a little bit here the way they play so you got a good clip on uh sheldon keep talking about resting guys sure let's play it clip three uh clip clip three words well i think if you just look at how we've handled it the last couple of years, we'll talk about that. This is a little bit different here right now. We haven't been able to play with our group very much here with the injuries that we've had. Five players being out and

they're going to start to trickle back into our lineup. I think having our group in order is important. The more reps we can get with our power play intact is going to be a priority for us too. So we'll manage all of that. But Austin's minutes have been, I think, in a really good place. And that's important for me. I'm monitoring that.

So it's a balance of rest but also staying sharp and keeping guys in game mode. You know, that's really important too because, as you know, playoffs are hard and difficult and emotions are high and all of that, and you don't want to slip too far the other way with having to climb your way back out of that. Despite the third period meltdown, I guess, whatever you want to call what happened between them and Florida. It does feel like the Leafs are trending upwards

towards being well-rested and healthy. Matthews has played under 25 in the last seven. And the Florida Panthers are trending the other way, where they look tired. And I don't know if they're just a little rope-a-dope here, but I think their stretch of the last two or three weeks spells something much deeper than just a team maybe sitting back. I think there's some times when we watch them during that stretch

of winning 17 out of 20 that they were like in a scrum every other whistle for like two months. Sam, you're coming in. How are they? How is it every game? There was a. None of that. They fought every other game. Every other team that they played, they fought physically.

They paddled. Everybody was defending everybody. And now we don't see a stitch of that and i'm just wondering do you think like they ran they hit a wall a little bit you know what they may have but their schedule plays them you know really helps them out because towards the end it really slows down for them compared to other teams you know they play uh april 14th they have one game between then and whenever their game one of round one is which is likely april 20th so they'll play one game in their final week which gives them a chance to kind of reload a little bit against the leafs yeah that game is and likely

game one is so they have a chance where the leafs play back-to-back florida tampa bay in the last two games of the year which you know you don't love but maybe they'll have a chance to reload all right let's take a quick break here when we return former Toronto Maple Leaf Dave Anderchuk currently VP of corporate and community affairs and does a good job there down south as a TV analyst for the Tampa Bay Lightning will help us tee up what we expect tonight from Kucherov and company. All of that and more when Real Kipper and Bourne returns. Unrivaled insight, analysis, and opinions on all things Blue Jays. Blair and Barker.

Be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back into the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. As promised, Stanley Cup champion, Hall of Famer. My former roommate. Love that. On the road. You a good roommate or no? Great roomie. Really? One on the road. You used to have a roommate or no?

Great roomie. Really? Oh, one of the best. Wait, are we talking about Andrew Chuck or you? Can you back that up, Chucky? I don't know about one of the best. I mean, you know, I guess. Didn't do much.

Actually. I did get you up. He got me up, and he also helped me prepare a post-game tray of food after the game. Came in handy. Came in handy. From the original meal at around 1 o'clock. Just in case there was no room service how are you pal i'm doing well so well give us um give us kind of an overall view from where you watch this team

as two-time stanley cup champions uh the majority of the core guys still there and it just seemed at a certain point during this season that this was kind of like the forgotten team here. And there was a real threat that they were going to miss the playoffs. And yet here we are two weeks out of the playoffs. And there's some teams that might be nervous to play them right now. Well, I would say that for sure with the experience they have. But it definitely has been an up and down year.

You know, I don't think things started off very well. Obviously, you lose your number one goalie. I think that kind of rocked the boat a little bit. And let's face it, just like past years under Julian Brisebois, there's lots of change. Yes, the core guys are there, but he always put pieces around them. And I think it takes a little while for John Cooper to kind of figure out everybody's role, who's going to play, what you're going to do,

how you fit in with this team. And that has taken a little while. I will say, as you said, there's no better time to be playing their best hockey is, you know, down the stretch drive here. And that's what they're doing. And I think he's got everybody kind of slotted into their spots. He's got the deep pairs that he likes that are playing well. And your goalie is kind of back to, you know, where we all expect him to be. So, yeah, scary team that's going to be a wild card team, maybe. You talked about them, you know, Cooper finding where the guys slot into the lineup

and how to best use his guys. It's one month from the trade deadline. How have the new additions, Duclair and Dumba, fit in thus far? Well, they've been really good. I mean, Duclair and Dumba, fit in thus far? Well, they've been really good. I mean, Duclair has been good. You know, he started off with Stankos and Cirelli, moved him up to, you know, Point Kutrov, and that has obviously worked.

He's got, you know, he's got a lot more speed than I realize. I think he gets in on the forecheck, which helps those two guys, you know, kind of, you know, maybe turn pucks over in the offensive zone, and then that's trouble, obviously, for anybody. So he's been a really good addition, and it's kind of been able to move Hagel back down to that line. Now you've got pretty two pretty solvent scoring lines, no doubt. So that's the one thing. I think

Dumba's come in and you know, we're not the only team and there's lots of teams in the East that talk about their defense and what they could do better. Sure, we'd all love four guys that could be on the top two on any team,

but that's not the case, right? You have a couple of guys, and then you've got your other defensemen that are kind of maybe younger and trying to fit in, and now you've added Dumbin. I think that has kind of solidified that position. And he's been good. You know, he's been physical. You know, he's been physical. You know, he's played

on the penalty kill. You know, he's got some experience. So, he understands. And, you know, I think you can attest, Dipper, is that, you know, you come into a team that's had some success, you don't want to rock the boat.

Right? You just want to fit in. Tell me where to go, what to do. You don't want to really do too much. just want to fit in tell me where to go what to do you don't want to really do too much and i think both of these guys have done that we're talking to dave andrew chuck former toronto maple leaf tampa bay lightning stanley cup champion hall of famer helping us tee up the bolts versus the leafs tonight so if we go back to the trade with Nashville, where they brought in Tanner Janot, the return that the price that they paid usually is reserved for guys scoring 30 or 40 goals, Chucky. And yet we see Tanner Janot in the lineup this time last year,

if I'm not mistaken, he was hurt and he battled hard to be a part of the the first round series against tampa bay but a much different feel i guess going in for his second go around where is his fit been on this team well he's had a rough year unfortunately he's been hurt quite a bit um you know and uh and that's that's too bad because he did start to play pretty well there just before he got hurt the last time. He's aggressive

obviously. Whatever temperature is going on in the game, he can control that. I think that's why they brought him in. We all talk about the price that was paid, but I think any GM would have done that if you get yourself to the Stanley Cup Finals.

That's what ended up happening. So maybe in the future you might see a little bit of repercussions, but I think the upside is there for him because he's a good kid. He works hard every day. Obviously, he's a good kid. He works hard every day. Obviously, he's tough as nails. And, you know, he's got some offensive upside to him. So hopefully, you know, it's been a little struggle since he's come back, you know, to get on the score sheet.

He's still done the things that he does. He finishes his hits. You know, he's going to the things that that he does he finishes his it you know he's going to fight every once in a while but uh you know these games are going to be important for him to be ready for the playoffs so um you know it's just another piece right it's just that it's another piece from the core that was missing and uh they've got it there. So from every year, from 2016 to 2023, Andre Vasilevsky has been between a 915 and like a 925 save percentage. Like elite, elite numbers.

This year, he's at a 900. I know he missed the first couple months of the season. Tell us about his progression to get to where he is now, which it sounds like he's playing much better hockey of late. Yeah, he's playing a lot better. Yeah, for sure. I think he put a lot of pressure on himself coming back. He really tried not to have the surgery.

And maybe that was a mistake because this happened earlier in the summer. And I think he tried to play through it, got some shots thinking maybe this would go away, and then unfortunately they had to make the decision to have surgery, and it's just before the regular season starts. So now he misses two months. He comes back, puts a lot of pressure on himself to be who he was, and it was a process. Hey, he comes back, puts a lot of pressure on himself to be who he was. And it was a process.

You know, hey, he's human, right? And it was a tough surgery for a goalie to have and come back from. I think the defense has been much better in front of him. You know, the grade A chances have been cut in half in the last month or so. That's helped. But he seems to be moving very well. He's finding parts. He's obviously an elite guy, and the team has some confidence in him now.

So scary, very scary for a lot of teams in the conference when this guy gets going. So without a guy like Sergeyev and Ryan McDonough long gone here outside of Hedman, where's the weight of the world on whose shoulders? Darren Radich, Chernak, and we're not going to see a miracle coming out of the woodwork here on Sergeyev dropping into the first or second round, are we? No, we're not. No, we're not. Definitely not. Yeah, no, you're right. I think he's definitely missed.

I think the key guy right here, what you talked is Eric Chernak. Been kind of the top four guy, the shutdown guy. He's had multiple partners in the last little while. You know, Dumbas kind of went in there. You know, Fleury's been there with him a little bit. I mean, so he's had multiple partners, but that's the guy that, you know, hey, Hedman can't be on the ice all the time, right? He's going to play against a majority of the top guys.

But a lot of these top teams, Toronto included, you've got scoring on multiple lines, and you need guys to step up to the plate. So it's key that Eric Chernak does what he does. He plays solid defensively, doesn't turn the puck over, makes the safe play. And obviously, he's a big physical guy. So there is a lot of pressure on him now

that Sergeyev went down. One question I do have looking at this team big picture, they've been so good at keeping all the core guys together. Stephen Stamkos is in the final year of a $68 million contract. He scored more than 30 goals already. He's going to have 70, 80 points. How do things sit with him and the Lightning?

Do you think he's going to come back? And if so, do you expect it to be a discount from the rate he's currently making? Well, I think it will have to be a discount just because of the cap numbers, right? Like, there's no, you just see the numbers, and it is what it is, right? Like, you got to sign some guys. You know, when I look at it, there's five, six guys that got to sign.

There's this chunk of money, and how do we split this up amongst them, right? And Stephen Stamko's being one of those guys. So I truly believe that they will do everything possible to keep the man here. He's been obviously phenomenal for this franchise, but it probably will be at a hometown discount. And whether he wants to do that or not, right? Like, that will be his choice then. You know, and I think it's been, you know, we talked about it,

you know, in October, right, was the last time that, you know, Julian addressed it, Julian Breesborough addressed it. I'm not sure how it's gone in the locker room or in the camp, Stamkos camp. I'm only looking from the outside. And, man, he's playing his heart out. He's playing his heart out, He's playing his heart out. And he wants to be part of it.

He's been good again this year. He was great last year. He's been really, really good again this year. So it will be an interesting, you know, storyline, you know, as the season ends and as we get closer to the draft and we'll see what happens, but I truly expect that the Lightning will

try to keep them as best they can. One more quick one before I let you go, Chuckie, and this one's for our producer, Sammy McKee, whose favorite quote is John Cooper. How's he holding up after all these years? The boys aren't quite completely sick of him just yet, eh? It's hard to believe, right?

I agree. I totally agree. I mean, what I think with Cooper is he's just a new age coach, right? He's not a guy that yells. I think they all like him. I think, you know, they all want to hang around him. I think he seems like he's one of the guys at times and gets them to play. I think he's pretty honest with them. But yeah, he's, it's what a, what an incredible run that this man has had. And, you know, he's, He's done a lot of things in our

community also. He's been a big part of that too, which I think also makes him very well liked. He's a lawyer, right? Pretty smart guy. Well, listen, enjoy the game tonight. Have a great call and we'll see you down the road,

Chucky, for sure. Thanks for doing this, man. Yeah, sounds good, guys. Enjoy the game. Should Have a great call, and we'll see you down the road, Chucky, for sure. Thanks for doing this, man. Yeah, sounds good, guys. Enjoy the game. Should be a good one. Yeah, appreciate it. That is Hockey Hall of Famer Dave Anderchuk. Now, Stephen Stamkos' year is actually quite impressive.

25th in goals, 40th in points. I don't see him going anywhere. Same ice time he's played over the last six years. Nothing dropped off. Would you like to know the lightnings ranks in their last 10 games sure their record eight one on one first yeah their goals per game uh 4.2 second uh goals against per game 2.2 second uh goal differential plus 20 second power play one 35.5 first penalty kill 96.8 first team save percentage 924 second really good test tonight for the strong police good 10 it's just the best team

in the league all of a sudden i was i was going back into their schedule so i could be like they haven't played anyone rangers panthers golden knights kings bruins oh my god islanders way you know one of the favorite my favorite things that i've i've seen when it comes to the player interviews over the last few years and i don't know if it was last year or the year before but tampa had a horrible period. Nick Paul's being interviewed maybe by Kyle on hockey night. Yeah, let's go. And Cooper didn't care one bit. Get in the dressing room, and Nick Paul jumps.

There's no hang on, Dad. Let me finish my game. It was awesome. See ya. It was awesome. I forgot about that. That was hilarious. Get in here.

We got some explaining to do. There was one moment throughout this year where, okay, we got two seconds for this, but where the Leafs weren't trending in the right direction. Cooper and the Lightning, it felt like this was, you know, it wasn't going the right direction. And, you know, it's kind of running its course. I see what's going on here. There was a moment this year where I was like, wasn't going the right direction and it was you know it's kind of running its course and i see

what's going on here there was a moment this year where i was like is john kutcher gonna be the coach i remember that i never said that out there but there was like a moment that i had where i was like oh is this he is a big coach he wants to coach canada at the olympics he just said recently he talked about it today he said he'd love to wait waiting for the calls basically and if he can get it you know were that situation to ever unfold perfectly, I'm sure he would be eager to. Our show would do well with super quotes. Going from Kippers Clippers from Keith to Ham

would be quite a difference. Different, yeah. Different time. Well, different because Keith will lay it out pretty bare most of the time. Yeah. Cooper is tricky, tricky, tricky. Yeah, he's one or two steps ahead of everybody.

There's somehow fine print in his words. You gotta read between the lines. Yeah, for sure. Listen. Listen. He's condescending as hell. Absolutely. Our thanks to Dave Anderchuk for joining us. And in the next

hour, our good buddy PJ Stock is going to join us. Finally tracked him down. Where's he been? Busy man. Oh, he isn't not that busy. No, he's in Montreal, and we don't follow Montreal because they're not very good. No, I text him a lot.

He said he had a beer league game. Maybe he just doesn't like us. He said he had a beer league game. He couldn't make it. We'll find out. Plenty around the league to get into with PJ Stock, including the Vancouver Canucks. Not a very good... There's some good losses, I guess,

this time of year, but I don't think that was one of them against Vegas last night. It's time running out on Vancouver to turn this thing around before game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. We'll ask PJ Stock next when we return on our National Hour for Real Kipper

and Bourne. Back after these words.