Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: New-Look Top Line Debut

Episode Date: October 24, 2025

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee begin the hour reacting to the news of goaltender Joseph Woll rejoining the team to resume team activities as part of his return-to-play, before going into the debut of Craig Berube's new top line pairings and expectations against the Buffalo Sabres, Matthews Knies playing alongside John Tavares, and Easton Cowan slotting in for the healthy-scratched Nick Robertson. Then, NHL on Sportsnet's colour analyst Craig Simpson (31:50) weighs in on the effect of Woll's absence from the team, shuffling their two top lines, Robertson's future with the Leafs, and the reunion between William Nylander and Auston Matthews. 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.

It's the least hour on the Real Kipper and Boren show. We are live on SportsSept 360, Sportsnet 590, the fan in Toronto, and streaming always on Sportsnet Plus. Can't catch us live? No problem. Spotify, Apple podcast, and YouTube are right there for. you. Nick Kiprios, Justin Boren, Sammy McKee, this hour

Real Kippin-Born brought to you by Bet365 as we gear up for Toronto 8 Beliefs and the Buffalo Sabers for those of you who aren't into baseball. Let's raise your hand if you're out there. I don't think you exist.

There'll be lots of people watching you for an hour. Well, the, yeah. We are helped out by the half-hour shift. Who'd you say is going to the Toronto Buffalo game gunner gunner time out time out time out leif's PR is announcing joseph wall is rejoining hang on now i just had a PR thing and my phone went cut out i was rejoining the team and will resume team activities and on ice participation as part of the return to play process wow that just happened as the leaves hour started genuinely shocked at 3 p.m to read that and that was on the

on the heels of the leafs also announcing that he was on l TIR, right? Which is a minimum of 30 days, isn't it? Or it could be retroactive. Yeah, it could be retroactive. So we'll have to look into some details on that. Well, that's good news, isn't it?

So how many games do you have to miss if you're in LTR? I think it's 10 games or 30 days. So 24. 24. 10 games, 24 days. So that makes a ton of sense, where now, if you was put on there, they're retroactively. Retroactively.

And that's kind of their. their ramp-up process. Wow. So we went through the math the other day on if he came back today. Do you remember that? Just missed it. And we said probably mid-November. Yeah.

Yeah. You kind of nailed that. Well, listen, none of us were going off anything there. We're just throwing stuff at the wall. Well, sometimes you do that sort of stuff. I never know what Kip knows. The phone calls this guy has pre-show, very mysterious. I don't know what the hell he's doing over there.

what do they say right to play or so uh goaltender joseph wall is rejoining the team and will resume team activities and all nice participation as part of the return to play play process right to is that like return to play so is that suggesting that he he was in some program no no no well no okay i'm asking it sounds it sounds to me like it's part of a a process of sometimes when guys leave and they come back. So here's what's weird about this whole thing. It's not clear whether or not this was just someone else's issue or his personal issue. Everyone seems to know or assume that this was not a family issue.

Yes. That's every single person who says that quietly after they get off the mics. Which is okay. It's okay that he had to sort of. something out. But it's just we don't have clarity. No, we don't. And I, I wonder if the Leafs or Joseph Wall will shed any more light, or is this the most information that we'll have? And please respect my privacy and don't ever ask me anything about it ever again. I honestly would not be surprised if that was what we hear, that there was a private matter,

and it's none of your business. And a fair case to be made there, That's fair and true. Yeah. But it is weird when the team represented it differently than that originally. Anyway. I don't know what the right answer is or the wrong answer. Well, I don't either. We're flying by the seat of our pants here.

All I know for sure is if there isn't any more clarity in any way, shape, or form, people will continue to speculate and they'll also speculate. If anything happens to him moving forward, is it the same issues? Is it different? Is it like that's part of pro sports? You're going to have to live with that. That people will always wonder now if he misses a game.

Is it really a pulled groin or something else going on either with him or a family matter again? Yeah. Yep. The Leafs team save percentage currently right now. I'll just do a quick sort is about six last in the league at 89% at 5 on 5, and I think it's 87% all strength. So they have not gotten.

Now, that said, goals above expected, so the Stolars has been pretty good. You kept them in a lot of games, even though the save percentage isn't good, but either way, I just think anytime you get Joseph Wolbach, I think you're pleased his punch. I would say that, I mean, outside of the same. of Nostra Kipper over there who called the timeline exactly. I would say that I'm a little bit surprised by this. I'm very surprised. That I guess maybe we should have been surprised now in retrospect with the LTIR thing,

that like it kind of works out perfectly for a conditioning, get back into it and that sort of thing. But, you know, you just heard so little on this, boys. There's just been so little news. And they asked Berubez, like, I don't talk to them. We'll see him when we see him. So that was just yesterday. Such a clandestine sort of situation here.

And I thought it was going to be a lot longer than this. And they need them. So they can't keep working, running stolars into the ground here. The Barubi thing yesterday is particularly odd, right? No idea I'll be back when he's back. I don't talk to him. Yeah. Was that yesterday?

PR release the next day. Rejoining the team. Do you think Barubi knew nothing? Yeah. I do. I guess it's tricky when you're when you're talking about someone who has has is leaving for other reasons but besides injury injuries there's stuff that between the players association and the CBA and whatever personal issues that go on they're really kept private they are and I think there's only a selected few and it may just be through. Brad Tree Living and only, and he's got to respect protocols

and agreements that, you know, this is not to be spoken of. So I don't know. I take it for face value for Craig Ruby. Yeah, I did you do. I think that's the only thing you can do. And wish all the best. This is good that he's back.

Obviously, whatever's going on. He's coming around on. All right. We know he won't be around for this weekend against the Buffalo Sabres. But we do know... Big weekend for the Leafs. We know the guys that are, and we know that Riley and TANF will not be involved.

But where do you guys want to go first? Let's talk about the lines first before we go into who's available, who's not on the back end. Okay. The shuffling. Yeah. Where do you want to start? Well, I mean, tonight we're going to get our first look at that new top line, which I think is interesting. You know, for me, it's like,

You just need to see a run of games. And so, you know, we're going to talk tonight on the broadcast more about this. You know, I'll highlight that Nealander and Matthews played together as often as Matthews and Marner in 22, 23. And they were very good together. You know, I think they outscored opponents 38 to 14 when they were on. They've had success. They've had a chance at this before.

And then Bobby McMahon, which I mentioned on the show yesterday, the only guy for checking and hitting. I expect them to be better. but I'd like to see them get more than two periods and it's not working and all right, called Domi back up. Philosophically, I think it's funny that they've just, you got a new pair that you're just flipping. Like forever, the move they would make

whenever there was any sort of turbulence, they would just flip Marner and Nylander. And now it's just Nyes and Nielander. They've just found a new pair to flip. They would never put somebody, you know, nize on the third line, bring someone else there, like try something. it's just it's either going to be those guys get flipped and away we go here it's they're those guys

are set and stone let's listen to craig barubian clip too about what he's looking for from willie and matthews together i mean i've seen them before like you know they've used them quite a bit together this year and they've had some good shifts and some good stuff i mean it's two skilled guys that uh you know they know they know each other well they know their game and how they play So, you know, I don't know how I'm going to know. I'm just, you know, they do their thing, right? They're good players. And Bobby McMahon is playing well right now.

I've liked Bobby throughout the season so far. He's skating well. He's on pucks, physical. So I just really like his speed on that line. So, you know, I think they're going to be fine. There's no question that. not the pressure, but the look that Willie Neelander has to have now is playmaker and facilitator of the puck.

He's going to have to come in. Transport it. And he's going to, whatever it is, this is ultimately he's got to get Matthews going. He's got to get Matthews. The first line has to be good. He's got to get Matthews in a position where he is the threat. that we know he has been and can still be. That's his job tonight.

Yeah, great. And, you know, Neelander has scored 40 goals two years ago, 45 goals last year. One thing he does, he can finish. He's one of their few players who you don't know what they're going to do when they're in a shooting position. Leifes have a lot of offensive specialist. And this is actually a complaint of mine about just the Leafs.

You mean Tvaris is tricky when he was in a shooting? Well, yeah, like, JT's going to pull the trigger. Matthew's going to pull the trigger. Nick Roberts is going to pull the trigger. You can go through this. Max Domey's going to pass the puck. Matias Machele is going to pass the puck. You have these guys who is like one dimensional.

Willie's one of the guys who at least can throw you an off speed pitch. He can do both. With the heater, yeah. You can do both. So, yeah, he carried the puck through the ice a little bit, neutral zone. The one thing, well, I'll be watching for it tonight. And that might be a little bit of a concern is, you know, how much does you want to hold on to the puck?

How much does he want to look for a Matthews? how much he wants to shoot the puck so he's he's going to have a few different looks I think at times tonight the one that he can also have is he can hold on to the puck a little too long and then turn it over

and he strikes me as a guy that he can easily live with that right oh like it doesn't keep him up at night it doesn't keep him up at night you could say the least very good phrase

by you, thank you. Great drop in, Monty. It just like he is sometimes high risk, high reward. And, you know, I don't know how much of a conscience he has when he does turn over the puck. And that can be a little tricky at times for him. And is he going to be a lot more careful now? No, he's not.

No, but like the best players in the league every year. Turn bang on. This is funny. It's not the best players in the league Turn the puck over the most I mean Yeah but that's been part of the problem For the first line all year long

With Matthews Nyes And whoever's been on that Is that they've spent way too much time In their own zone Yeah totally and that's why Nealander's there And at times it's because they've turned the puck over Yeah top top 10 turnovers in the league Jack Hughes Pasternak Natchez

McKinnon Eichel You know like it's those guys you know yes he does turn the puck over sometimes but at least like when max domi turns the puck over kneelander's going to get you 100 points on the way or 90 points or you know which you'll take that the other concern for me is what is it due to tavaris too well we have a clip about that would you like to hear it yes uh clip actually i think it's three yeah clip through territorial game with that line for me that's what it's all about um i think with you know j t's a guy that really you know when you get a territorial game and the offensive zone

with him. That's where he does his work, right? He's so heavy on pucks and strong and he makes little subtle plays and, you know, scores goals around the net area and inside that slot area. So I think, you know, with Nyes, get in there and

help out, forecheck and be strong on pucks and Machelli, you know, his game's getting better, in my opinion. He's starting to see the ice better and making some plays. So, you know, that's what I'm looking for with that line. All right. So Machelli's the playmaker, the facilitator, and the other two guys will get in there and bump and grind and cycle and get to the net. Let me ask you a very sincere question.

Yeah. What do you think the line should be? I don't think there's an easy answer. Whatever it is, it'll just be another look. And I do believe that I'm okay with this. I'm okay with Nielander going up there with Matthews. Got to get the big guy going. Because, like, I do think that if we sat here and be like,

what could go wrong with these lines, like, yeah, there's holes. But it's also an NHL team and, you know, not an All-Star team, trying to put it together as best. Yeah, these are pretty good. The one problem or the one issue could be that if it doesn't necessarily work, how long do you stay with it? And then you may have run out of options. like if this doesn't work

I don't know where he goes Right but that's not incentive to not do it Right If this doesn't work it's There's a saying about shuffling certain chairs On a certain ship Right So like if this one doesn't work

Then you're just really going for whatever That's why this is so great Because it's like here's a viable option Let's try this one now It is if we did a breakdown Of the first seven games And how many different lines we've seen somebody would go oh my god that's like way too many changes for just seven games

so they played seven games of the season nyes and matthews have been together all seven games yeah by their right winger have been cowen for 37 minutes mchelle for 21 minutes kneelander for 20 minutes domi for 10 minutes McMahon for three minutes so five guys have played on their right wing in seven games really four of those split it fairly evenly I had another one well he's not with nyes tonight but yeah it's a it's a full shuffle for game eight so yeah so he's the other thing too he's made it abundantly clear is there was a lot of talk about chemistry and it takes some time and then yesterday he snaps i'm running out of patience right but don't but didn't we have had i mean i think that's fair to be running

out of patient we did have the conversation that like this is going to take some time it's a bunch of new guys you know trying to find something hopefully this is what he found but you also have i think Dakota Mermis and Philip Myers on your back end tonight. So that could be a little bit different. Do like Dakota Mermis. Okay. I got to be totally honest with the panel here.

Don't have a lot of Dakota Mermis opinions. Love Philip Myers. So I like, they're fine here. Benoit Myers as a pair. God, you fall in love easy. As a third pair in the NHL, Benoit, give it to me all day.

Myers and Benoit were top few in hits for them last year. Myers will shoot the puck if it's within a 10-foot radius of his hockey stick. Can't wait to hammer. He's like an auto shoot. Like you remember playing like EA sports games where you'd press the one-timer button before the puck comes to you.

He is ready when it gets in his kitchen. Ben Wall shoot it too. He'll skate it. They're fun. All right. Let's get Craig Ruby's thoughts. Clip one on playing without Morgan Riley and Chris Dan. We all got to help out, right?

I mean, simplify your game. And, you know, Buffalo's good offensive team. they're a good rush team so they got a lot of skill but we're going to need you know guys are going to have to help out five-man units and simplify the game the shot's playing second and hitting cleanup what oh my what's he playing second oh my you know what that you know what that sounds like a guy that they're trying to really sign yeah be a part of this please i hope they're not thinking about the future worry about tonight What were we talking about before?

Defense, I think. We might need to listen to the clip again. Yeah, we play it again. Oh, my gosh, you guys. Squirrel, squirrel. It's the World Series. He's never played there before, ever in his career. Right there in the minors.

Yeah, yeah. Lansing Lugnuts versus the L.A. Dodgers tonight. Oh, my God. Okay. Was that without Riley and Tanna? Is that the clip? Yeah, yeah. Can we play that again, clip one?

Focus, focus, focus. Well, we all got to help out, right? I mean, simplify your game and, you know, Buffalo's good offensive team. They're a good rush team, so they've got a lot of skill, but we're going to need, you know, guys are going to have to help out, five-man units, and simplify the game. Okay, whatever. We didn't miss anything.

I don't know. How much more simple can their game get? Well, can I ask you? Yeah. Could they complicate their game a little bit? I think I would love to hear that. Because they just, it's looked a little too simple. Can we get a little bit of a complication?

Yeah. What if we, you know what? How about a stick handle? They were showing, I did a show with Bookes last week on like a hockey central, and they were showing Gavin McKenna highlights. McKenna's on Penn State. And they're showing the power play. McKenna passes it up to the point.

The point man swings to the half wall. He rolls over top of him and opens up and takes a one-timer. You know, it was like a really shifty. I was like, hey, you. That's complicated. That's what they should try that in the National League You know like Send a clip to Mark Savard

Yeah here's a neat little role you could do To maybe get a couple of pucks through to the net Just direct Simplify You know Predictable is another thing they say a lot too Which goes both ways You know for for defenses

For those of you watching Dozens of you I can Hey mom Tonight Tonight kind of feels like I don't want to say fork in the road but like it's one of the worst teams it's perceived as one of the worst teams yeah I'm just going to say they're not terrible you don't

have success tonight like this has a chance to kind of snowball past Saturday night you know this is actually where the world series not on tonight I'd argue this is a massive game like three three and one it is a massive game you can argue that like it is but I'm saying the always won't be as loud if you lose as it could be if you were the only sport in town right now. I guess the Raptors are back too. And by the way, they hung 138 points in their home opener. I don't know if you, no, it wasn't home.

It was in Atlanta. Oh, yeah. Yeah, but I don't know if you watched it. They ran it up. I watched the whole game. Oh, yeah, they were really good. Yeah, they were really good. But anyway, back to hockey.

I'm having a tough time staying on the sports day. I'm just looking at you right now. It's out there on Friday. I'm staring at this lineup. I can't believe what I'm looking at right here. Let's talk about it. What do you got for us, Sammy? So love that they're prioritizing Springer at DH.

That's a situation. You can't put him out in the field. I understand that. Love that they're sticking with Jimenez at short. He's been excellent all year. Snaping it over there. You have to do that. But like...

No barger in there. Second base is important, too. Like, that's a huge double-play position where, like, a big moment in the game, he's got to move quickly. You've got to get it on. I can still catch a ground ball. Come on.

He's just practicing the last two days. He's moving around Like me after a workout For two days To play second I just hope You know We did watch him

Like do the half Run the bases and test it You just hope he was going I can't go 100% Just in case You hope there's more in the tank Than Okay what else

What else do you not like I love David Schneider's in second No Nathan Lucas Hey They've done that They've done that all year Nathan Lucas

has been the second The second hitter David Schneider's been in there against Arriding. Cowan in, Robertson out. Cowan in Robertson out. I like where they've got him. I think Joshua and Waugh, I know they're not meanies, but they're huge.

And presumably they can at least get in a scrum and stick up for them out there in the ice. They can get it on the forecheck with them. They can get to the front of the net and clear space for him. He's a dog on a bone. I think it's a good spot for him. Let's hear from head coach Craig Brube on Cowan going back in. clip five

yeah just kind of what he did the first couple games he had a lot of energy you know I really like that young energy in there just you know he's got to be managing the puck and obviously he's playing with two big guys out there that are going to be around the net

and they're going to be heavy and you know he's just got to make sure he does a good job with the puck and plays with energy you know be responsible defensively I think if he's just direct and predictable. I'm kidding. You know,

simplify. Just the simplest. Simplify. Simplify it all. Yeah, we're, I think we're kind of getting to that spot within another week of, what are we going to do with Cowan here?

I don't, I don't want to see a scenario where he's popping in and popping out. I know. Not at this stage. of his career and i'm okay with him starting the season here how many minutes per game does he need to be 12 to 14 yeah 12 to 14 would be nice he's 12 to 14 minutes and can play in a third line he's four checking hard i don't care if he ever gets a point honestly but he he is a point getter i know and they you got it you got to keep feeding that the guy's a producer

and joshua and wa have like once upon a time Nick Robertson was a 50 goal score in junior and the perception was he was going to come here and score goals and be a top player and it hasn't happened yet but I don't want him to turn into a Nick Robertson where it's like okay what are you again because I'll tell you what he isn't

a big physical guy he's going to have to be Cowan he's not and he's never going to be a guy that runs anybody over that's crazy is Robertson's top five and hits in the leaves last two years. Yeah. And hits for 60. He runs out of the guys.

Oh, I know. I know what you mean. It's not. Right. It's not hurting anybody. Those hits aren't hurting anybody. And Cowan's a top score in junior history. He has to come.

In the NHL, he's going to have to develop and do a score. Yeah. I don't know what that means, 60, 80 points. But those are the type of numbers I expect out of this guy coming out of junior. But if he plays 12 to 14 minutes. Nets. He plays 60-some games this year. He gets 20 points. You know, it's not to say that next year he can't be top six, stronger, bigger, better, faster,

you know, become a 50-point guy next year. He is projected as being a top-six player. Yeah. And he has to be in, I think, eventually a power play kind of guy. I love the attributes he has that are not point-getter stuff. Like, he loves. He's tenacious. He's tenacious.

He even, he even. like he's punched guys in the face after the whistle he already doesn't seem like he seems like the right DNA to add but he's very young and it's... But he could be doing this for the Marley's as a top line guy

getting 50 points there power play playing an hour a minute and a half on a power player a minute 20 you know whatever but that's how you kind of groom a guy and it's okay I guess if the Leafs remain

a top contending team, but they find themselves scrambling to string three or four wins in a row. I'm not sure it's the right place for him to be. No, I'm with you on that. I think that's been the debate from day one. I think this is a great chance to say we haven't

made a decision. Let's see. You know, kind of like training camp. Let's see. Go ahead. In the meantime, it's got to feel like Groundhog Day for Nick Robertson. I don't know to tell you. Do we have Brubeon Robertson? Sure. Well, I think best opportunity like you know he's had some chance to score just hasn't you know he missed you know missed the shot

missed the net you know there's nothing you know i made a decision just to take him out tonight and we're playing back to back here so i mean i you know nicky he's going to i think he's going to be fine like you know he's just getting those opportunities you know he's got to bury him or you know he's just missing on him a little bit right now that's what i see with him he had the one timer where he rung it off the inside of the post low blocker in a game miss the net wide open on him a cave pass missed the one time or fanned on it like he's in those spots he's usually and it hasn't gone in for him he's still gonna be the same guy yeah it's crazy it's crazy i just i think he needs an opportunity and i i know the leaps just don't believe that he can get one here so i'm telling you this guy has tools i'm not saying he should be in a different spot than he is here but yeah i think i think he's I think under different circumstances, he can be a 20 goal score in the NHL.

Totally. And they're not going to get anything for him. So your choice is basically just to... Give them away or keep him as he is. Give them away or just let him be this guy. And just accept it. And I can't. I can't.

Game time? Game time. Game time. Instead of at Bet365, visit the athlete of odds and see why it's never ordinary at Bed 365. S 13 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly.

the game that everyone will be watching tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Buffalo to take on the Sabres. Leaves minus 125 on the money line tonight. The Buffalo Sabres plus 105. I think the Sabres have won the three in a row, if I'm not mistaken. They have, yeah. So I don't hate that price for the Sabres. This team, Leifes are going in there.

They're struggling. There'll probably be more Sabers fans in there than normal tonight. Not a ton of Leafs fans going. going down there, I would imagine. A lot of crossover in terms of fans of Leafs. Sorry, Sabers have won three or four. Three or four. Yeah.

So I wouldn't mind if you're thinking about it. If you're a little happiness hedge, I mean, it wouldn't be that much of a happiness hedge, whatever. But don't mind the Buffalo Sabres at plus 105. Shout out to a friend of ours who's going to Buffalo to watch the hockey tonight. Gunner is going to be in attendance because he is a Leafs fan. I'm scared he'll be the only one at the game. If anyone's going to represent Leafs Nation, he's the right pick.

Him and Gordy, a little Canadian boy, Gordy Gunner. Oh, my God. Make him the Prime Minister. Gordy. Gordy. And last thing I'll bring up tonight, as you know, the Toronto Blue Jays are hosting the World Series and Casey Hednerd, plus 130 on the money line for the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. Pretty heavy underdogs, minus 155 for the Dodgers.

Blake Snell goes for the Dodgers. The Blue Jays counter with Trey Yusavage, who started the year in single A Dunedin. is now pitching game one of the world series. Don't, you dare say that. Ice in his veins. Oh, I thought you were about to say something negative. Lake Snell in the postseason under a one ERA. Trey's got ice in his veins.

And Shohay Otani, you said, is a good splitter hitter? Yeah, both of these teams hit the splitter really well. Who gets the first home run? George. No. Flattie? Yeah, I like that call, Bo. Well, Kirk Gibson action, hobbling around the base.

He's playing second base. He's the first time in his life. All right, let's go. Let's hope it. All right. You're going to get us out of game time? Oh, yeah, yeah, my bad. I forgot we were doing game time.

That was game time. Presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and see why it's never ordinary. A bed 365 must be 19 plus Ontario only. Please play it responsibly. We've got Craig Simpson after this commercial break. But did you want to do anything on Carlo?

Was there anything worth nothing? We should go. Okay. He said Carlo was good. Okay. That's all we need to know. All right. We'll take a quick break.

Craig Simpson, two-time Stanley Cup champion. Hockey Night in Canada. He'll get the call tonight. Buffalo and Toronto. We'll get into that and more with Craig when we return to Real Kipper and Bourne. The best Blue Jays show out there, period. Blair and Barker.

Be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the program it's the real kipper and born show leaf hour edition justin born sammy mckee yours truly uh we're going to welcome in craig simpson in a few minutes uh for those of you just joining us news of the day joseph wall joining the toronto maple east once again off of uh a strange exit Two days in training camp? No, before the first day, wasn't it?

Don't think he ever had a day. You don't think he had a day? No, I think it was like he was missing from day. Okay, all right. Yeah, if you don't have anything else on that, I have a question for you. Do you find it easier to be invested as a fan in a sport you're less familiar with? Like with hockey, you know how the sausage is made a little bit. Yeah.

You find it easier to throw yourself into fandom of other sports as a result. For sure. That's, yeah, because I'm totally the same way. I, you know, would really love for the New York Islanders, the Leafs, one of those teams, to win a Stanley Cup. But it's easier for me to root for the New York Jets. I know nothing about football, football. They're terrible. But like the Blue Jays, of course, just easier to throw yourself into it when you know less.

Okay, let's welcome in Craig Simpson. He's been a regular contributor to this show. He's getting ready for Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. Simmer, how are you? you're in a tricky spot? I'm doing great, guys. Yeah, it'll be an interesting night, won't it, with I think an eyeballs going on a couple different screens

all across Canada for sure. So exciting times, though. Yeah, just before we get into the nuts and bolts of what we've seen for the first seven games, the news out that Joseph Wall will rejoin the Toronto Maple Leafs, which we all believe is great news. But, you know, just really kind of a strange, scenario here a little secretive

I know we do on occasion get respect to privacy of a player but your overall thoughts on how this has gone down and how it's affected the Leafs both as the team and on Stolars as well

Yeah I think the effect has been there for sure because suddenly you felt pretty confident you had what you would think would be a good healthy competition between two guys that like each other that play off each other pretty well and you thought okay we're in great shape and i think from a coaching and management perspective with all the gray areas and i was listening to you guys before you know it's

one of those that clearly it's something that's not really comfortable to talk about and it's none of our business and that's probably the hardest thing to deal with in your jobs you know even to talk about it or any of the reporters so i think that ambiguity makes it so difficult for anybody to really give an opinion about it and say, okay, what effect is it really having on the players? Because none of the players are able to talk about anything or really whether they don't want to talk about what's up with Joseph. You know how the ignorance at times of not being able to talk about or know about what's happening makes it a lot more difficult for everybody involved.

So I hope it's a positive step. As you guys were saying, you know Nick, too, if the Players Association, If you're getting help or you're getting something, there's privacy issues. So I think we're all going to have to live with that. And it's something that's not really quite easy to analyze because of it. Yeah, it certainly is a challenge. So other stuff that is easier to analyze, we'll move on to. There's a couple of things going on with the Leaf's lineup heading into tonight.

Team is 3-3-1 and they're going to shuffle up their lines. Top line of McMahon Matthews Neelander. Your thoughts on what they've done with their top group here? Well, I wanted to circle back to what you were just talking about, Justin, about Nick Robertson. Last night, sitting with Scottie Lennox, our producer, I was sitting balling and saying, you figured there was going to be some lineup change. You have the unique opportunity of literally having, what, two games in 25 hours. So it's a short amount of time that you can focus on the same opponent,

the same game plan, basically for two straight games. And what I was saying is what you mentioned about Nick is, you know, okay, if you take him out of the lineup, that's not helping Nick Robinson. That's not helping Bradcher Living. It's another message to other teams that you're healthy scratching them again, can't trust them. And so what are you going to get for? And I think Nick said, you're not going to get anything of value that's going to bring

anything to the team. I said last night, and I was hoping maybe we'd see something like that, obviously we haven't. If I'm Craig Barubi, I go to. Nick yesterday and say, Nick, I know you feel I'm not playing enough. I know that you're frustrated here to leave. I know

that you're saying you're not getting the opportunities. And that's not a healthy environment to be in. That's not good for him to be around. And I would have used this opportunity of 25 hours and say, Nick, I'm going to give you a chance to show what you have to show me what

you can do in the top role spot. I'm going to play on the right side with Nyes and Matthews. We have two games in 25 hours, six periods, I'm not going to take you off. So don't be looking over your shoulder and I'm not going to switch the line, John. I'm going to give you two days to basically show what you have, show what you work. Go in with the knowledge that I'm not going to play nine minutes and if I turn the puck over, I'm not going to be benched. And I said, if you can do that for the 25 hours that the Leafs have against the Sabres and he fails miserably, you know

what you got and there's no excuses for Nick and now for Bradshaw living you might make the decision that okay this isn't going to work I've got to find at least the cap space by moving him on but you also might find the kid with some confidence knowing that

he's not going to be jerked off the line every time he makes a mistake might find that he can play the game and he can play at that level maybe not for the whole season but now at least you know something you've got some kind of an answer on an that really you haven't utilized well at all.

So I woke up this morning and it was all for not. That was my thing. I know J.B. is giving you double thumbs up right now. And I don't mind it at all, especially, you know, being a once upon a time undrafted player who hung around third and fourth lines. I would be like it would be like one of the greatest moments of my life saying that, you know, you're going to go up there with the big boys. but that is totally high risk, high rewards.

So is, is Brooby doing the opposite of what you just suggested by playing it ultra safe for Matthews right now and just giving them Kneelander? Well, I think there's no question that he's looking at his top player and top goal score and saying two empty netters, a couple of tap-ins. He's got four goals, so he's not feeling terrible about himself. But he's not a threat.

I think I heard you guys talking yesterday about that. You know, he doesn't look like that Matthews threat when he gets it on his puck. I think of that every game as I'm watching. I'm going, what am I seeing? You know, am I seeing a dangerous player every time he's in the offensive zone or when the puck gets on his stick like we have seen before? I said, oh, there's going to be a good chance. You know, those aren't happening.

So I don't mind the effect of, okay, you break key and nize up. That's when something's not going well, you try to, get a different look. I agree Bobby McMahon at least gives a different but similar element with the speed and the grid on that left side. But you're giving them a guy who's your best passer right now, you know, in

Nylander with 11 assists on the year. He's got, what, four straight with two. So you are playing the percentages of saying if my focus is to try to shock the team a little bit, all four lines are what, basically a different look. So you've done that. But I also

agree with what Justin has been saying is that kind of herky jerky coaching where you're pulling guys up and down lines when you know you get an injury to Lotton and all of a sudden three of the four lines changed you know there's been a lot of that in the early going and that doesn't sort of bring calm I don't think to your players and into your dressing room so if I'm looking to get one guy going in terms of Matthews to me it is kneelander he's been the best passer you know for nine straight years Mitch Marner was assist leader for the Toronto

Maple Leafs well this is going to be a year where already I think you see who's going to set the stage and that's going to be Nylander so you try it I still would have liked to gone back to my Robertson though I think that would have been a worthwhile game test yeah well that to me is what the regular season is four is you find out what guys can do so you know at the end of the year

hey maybe Boba Sheck can play second base maybe we should try them there just saying So looking at the back end, two injuries. Chris Tanev gets a bonk, I think, is what happened there. And then Morgan Riley out. So Dakota Murmiss and Philippe Myers come in. You know, I don't know why, Samir, but like that doesn't strike fear into my heart. These guys are, they've played games in the NHL at this point.

Yeah. And I think you have some comfort. I listen to your analysis of Myers is a shot threat. works hard. Like you're not looking at guys that are going to be intimidated of the situation or like, oh my God, this is my first NHL game. I'm afraid to make a play. In some instances with guys like Myers, maybe he's not afraid enough to make

a play at times, which gets him in trouble. But at least you know you're going to get effort. You're going to get energy. And you guys have both seen it enough in the course of your playing careers. Hey, when you get a lesser lineup at times, it snaps. in the in the place and says okay we got to be tight tonight like we got to work hard we got to protect our back end we've got to be a little bit better in our defensive zone i think it's always interesting when sometimes on paper you look at the team and you go oh man that's going to be a

challenge tonight and your team plays better for it and that might be what you know a decor that has been a little leaky lately i heard them talking and you're talking about brandon carlo It's supposed to be a stay-at-home reliable guy. He's making more mistakes than, say, Simone Bedwise. And that's not a healthy situation to be in. Maybe a game like tonight where you're missing, you know, two important guys on the back end snaps everybody into the details of their game. You're listening to Craig Simpson, two-time Stanley Cup champion,

analysts for Hockey Night in Canada and the Leafs v. Buffalo tonight on Sportsnet, Ontario. Justin and I will be there right along. with you, Craig, and our dozen other fans who aren't watching the Blue Jays. We're the warm up, pal. We're the warm up. We're the first. So Craig, in terms of

a catchphrase we've heard since the beginning of the season for the Leafs is, you know, chemistry and giving it time for the chemistry, the new faces, is seven enough to stop the leaning on chemistry

here and just now start focusing on, hey, play better, play harder? Yeah, yeah, I think it's, it's, you know, what are the details of your game? What's been missing? What's been lacking? I listen to you guys after the last game against Jersey and, you know, on the heels of a really tough loss against Seattle and overtime, you go, where's the fire and the energy? I don't care what, I don't care who you are, whether you're the best player playing 25 minutes

or the fourth line guy playing nine. And it's attitude and energy and body language, and when you're not playing well and your game isn't sharp, all those things look on the negative side. And you can see it and you can feel it a little bit. Even watching it, you go, you know, where's the temple? They're not on the puck. They're not first to the puck. You're not winning the battle. So I do think there's an inherent timeframe when you have new bodies to get that feel that they belong.

Look at Scott Lawton last year. He was an important guy in the Philly locker room and, you know, a confident veteran guy going into a new team that all of a sudden he goes, you know, I don't have that same role. It takes a while to fit in. It takes a while to be the same player. But I think now it's all about attitude and energy. And if you're a new guy that's not playing a big role right now, you can come in and be really positive energy with your body language and the way you're going to play the game. Boy, I hope the Leafs bring the attitude and energy that you just brought on this segment today for us, pal.

Thanks for doing this. All right, guys. Take care. All right. Good luck, Jays tonight. There you go. Craig Simpson, everybody. Call on the game tonight for us on SportsNet, Ontario.

Okay. Robertson on the top line. I love that idea. Why not? It's not illegal. It's never done it. And I don't think Nick's ever gone up to Craig and said, pleasure to me and shook his hand like he did me.

So, and Craig still, you know, is pushing hard for Nick Robertson. I love that. I liked it. I have no problem with it. And the biggest thing he said is sometimes when you've got an over, an underwhelming lineup with injuries and whatnot, like, boys rise. Totally. Totally.

Guys can play out of their element for a little bit and create a us against the world mentality. You know, like I admit. that my experience is mostly in the American Hockey League versus the NHL. But, you know, when I was with the Marleys and everyone was up with the 2015-16 Leafs because they were so bad, we had a bunch of ECHL guys in the Marleys. Like, I mean, six at a time and could not be beat. Just everyone working so hard, you know, just playing their hearts out for an opportunity. And I think it's okay to have a couple of guys working hard for a spot above maybe where they normally would.

Yeah. What are you looking at me for? I got nothing. Kip's Daydream What are you on? What are you on right now? Yeah. There's got to be a reason why

they have not given up on Nick Robertson, right? And that's why they should be like, we'll give you two games against the 20th best team in the league and see what you can do with good players. All right, boys. Five minutes left in the show. Let's talk about the World Series.

Was there a trade? Did Vancouver trade for a centerman? Lucas Reichel for a fourth round pick? I don't know. Is he a centerman? How high of a pick was Reichler? Very high pick. He topped out, I think he had 22 points last year.

This year he's got two goals to assist in seven games. And the best Chicago could get is a fourth rounder. It doesn't help Nick Robertson's case. It gives you some idea of. Rykel's 23. He's not a great market out there. Six foot 170. So, yeah, I mean, he's a guy with upside who just a couple of years ago had 20 goals and 55 points in the American League.

Did they not waive him this year, too? I don't know with that. Maybe not. No, he's a pretty big name. They had hopes for him. Oh, maybe. A fourth is a definite disappointing and a great bet by the Canucks, just to see. Well, they need, I mean, they're banged up.

And also, fourth rounders are, you know, and right goes the guy who's played in the league. Yeah. To get a guy who's in the league for a fourth rounder, if you do that every time you should do it. Mid. Who said that? That was you.

So what do you honestly expect to happen for the least this weekend? because I really have no feel of what they're going to do. I think that the Leafs are going to win too hockey. It has to be the weekend when they win both games. I think they're going to win in, you know, if they don't. This marks the ninth time the Maple Leafs and Sabres will meet in a home-and-home set in consecutive days in the first since November 29th, 30th, 2019.

The only instances where the team won both games in that scenario was the 30 and 31st of 1998, 19th, 20th of December, and 1970. So themes don't sweep it a whole lot in that scenario. Yeah, it's uncommon. And the Maple Leafs are 8 in 1 with zero ties on dates that coincide with Blue J's playing a World Series game. What? Also, Anthony Stollar's last game against Buffalo,

they didn't score on them. Game before that, they didn't score on them, game before that, they didn't score on them. Three straight shoutouts. That's the one that... I tried not to say the word. That's the one that gave them that built a 926% percentage all year. Built it on the backs of the port.

Of the Buffalo. Sabres. They're not hapless anymore. Josh Dohn, good hockey player. And Tavares, two goals away from 500. Boys haven't mentioned it once this year. So get close to a pretty big milestone. Only 48 players in NHL history have ever done that, 500 NHL goals.

But a lot of them didn't have 32 teams in the league, and most of them suck. Oh, my God. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Springer, Snyder, Grero, the Shet, Kurt, Parcho. Oh, okay. Hey, give me some scores.

Give me some scores. Let's play ball. Give me some scores tonight out of your Toronto. Blue Jays win 7.5 tonight. I got a high scoring affair today. 8-7. Yeah. Blue Jays.

Okay. Let's play. You got to get, you got to score some runs. They're not the only Toronto sports team playing. I think Lee's win 5-1. 5-1? Yeah. You think it's that easy?

I don't think Buffalo rose over for 5-1. I think it's an OT win. 4-3. Okay. I'll take it. Sounds good. I'll be streaming the game. I'll be streaming the Leafs game at the World Series game.

All right. I got to say sports net plus is wonderful. I'm not just saying that. That's very useful. Our thanks to Craig Simpson who just joined us and Jason Bucla and no Doug McLean. You want to tell everybody what Doug was doing? Let me quickly. Do you remember it offhand?

Yeah, his wife, Jill booked a tour to see the wild horses in the outer banks. That's what you said. That's correct. That means like a mad limbs. that we're hoping Doug would show up today on a Friday. They send them a note, send him a text. A text? Well, a tweet, a tweet.

Sure. And ask him how the wild horses were. What a guy. Animal. I love the man. Come on, Jays. Big night. Watch the leaves first. Baseball hockey, yours to choose.

You know where to find them, though, right here on Sportsnet. Have a great weekend, everybody. Thank you.