Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: NHL Trade Train Gets Rolling

Episode Date: February 1, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee kick off with last night's blockbuster between the Flames and Canucks headlined by Elias Lindholm heading to Vancouver and Andrei Kuzmenko going to Calgary. They share their thoughts on the deal, the price for Lindholm and his fit with the Canucks. Did the Leafs miss out? Then, going through who will compete in each event in the Skills Competition. Finally, they are joined by Sportsnet 650's Pat Steinberg (32:12) to break down the Lindholm trade, if Kuzmenko will be flipped, what Lindholm brings to Vancouver and what moves come next for the Flames. 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.

All right, let's get her going. NHL All-Star Edition of the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Nick Kipper, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, Derek Brandeo, Jen Rolnick. This will feel somewhat like an off-the-rails Friday because this will be our last show of the week in studio. Because tomorrow night, with the skills competition and then the three-on-three game

Saturday, we will be broadcasting our show Friday from the Metro Convention Center. Fanfare time, baby! Woo! Yeah. Got your slap shot ready? I do not. Well, we're glad you're aboard. Sportsnet 590, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet Plus from 4 to 6.

Always download us any chance you can get if you don't catch us live. And text us at 590-590. So, plenty to get to in the next two hours, including a huge trade in the National Hockey League. Patrick Alveen, general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, blew us off yesterday, or so we thought he did. I had suggested maybe he fell asleep.

It was just the opposite. He was counting his money. He was counting his money off his contract. And making the team better. Yes. Elias Lindholm, now a member of the Vancouver Canucks canucks uh pat steinberg is going to join us uh when in about 20 minutes yeah about four 30 years we'll get uh the calgary angle um

from him he of course uh does a terrific job hosting sportsnet 960 on Flames Talk. But how surprised are you guys that you saw a big trade? I guess right at All-Star break. It just doesn't happen. Do you want to get into the trade or the All-Star stuff first? Do you want to dive right in on the trade here? Be honest. What's left to chew on on the All-Star? Well, I want to know what your involvement is.

Yeah, what's this suit? Oh, well, no, tonight we've got... It's like you're a maitre d' at one of the events tonight. So as soon as we're off the air, they jump right into it. Everybody's jumping right into it with the NHL draft. So the team captains with their celebrities will pick their teams for saturday's event yep also tonight the 1967 stanley cup champion toronto maple leafs will be honored by our nhl alumni therefore um

gonna dress up for that a little dressed up to go uh to a cocktail party at the hockey hall of fame for sure and then uh you see some of your old teammates you got some uh some yeah they'll be around deals planned yeah they'll be around uh wayne gretzky came to town mark messi came to town chelios so we got wayne did you say you went to the basement pop-up thing i did yeah it's uh i don't know what they call it, Wayne Gretzky's basement, basically. So there's a house they rented, I guess, and they brought a ton of Wayne's stuff. Yeah. His memorabilia. His boys are around doing a terrific job.

And I ended up talking 20 minutes, half an hour with Empty Netters. Okay, nice. The podcast. The little podcast time? Yes. That's the Power Brothers who do Chris and Dan do a terrific job, and I was asked to come on, hang out with them for a little while. There was a buzz down there, guys.

There were people lining up. I mean, you can definitely feel it in certain pockets of the city that uh people are excited yeah the city was hobnobbing today too i yeah i spent a little time down at the uh the ritz there you had a 14 cup of coffee um but you know i got i had a couple buddies around there did you see some stars oh yeah i saw willie the lindholm saw the hughes boys saw kel mccarr come through yeah talk to nick suzuki for a bit it's uh there's everyone's in the building and it's i mean there are people jammed outside there's police everywhere the downtown areas can i i think i don't know if

this is the age that i'm getting to because i'm a little bit younger than both you guys, but I'm still kind of old. I have like this, I have this like feeling of, oh my God, I want to do all this stuff. But at the same time, I don't really. It's like I'm feeling of FOMO, the fear of missing out. But at the same time, I don't really want to. But you want to miss out. Yeah, like I don't really want to do anything, but I do at the same time. So we're going to the fanfare tomorrow.

Then we're going to go check out the skills comp or whatever. But outside of that, like it's an all-star game for kids. I think I said to you guys, we're doing the perfect amount of stuff. Yes. We're going to the fanfare. We're going to feel the buzz,

be around that. And then I'll go home and watch it on television. It's perfect for me. And I'm sure. Kipper's going to be all in. Kipper's going to have Bieber on his shoulders walking through the fanfare. 15 years ago, I would have been all in.

Yeah. Now, I mean, I don't know what's going to happen. Going to go hang out a little bit, have some fun with everybody. I don't know. If someone... Buddy, Glenn Healy just got to town. You're going to be...

If someone said, do you want to go find Biebs' concert, then you got to make a decision. You're either all in or all out. It's either I'm going to bed by 11 or maybe not going to bed. Well, I got a little email from MLSC being like, for media to RSVP to the party tonight, I guess, like the Bieber thing.

And I'm like, ah. So I did mention this. I don't want to sit on the carpet. I want to be at the party. I did mention the Biebs having a concert to you. Yeah. Yeah, sorry, guys. I tuned out on that.

It's a real thing, apparently. I don't know. Buddy, don't ever apologize. You know how many times you've said something on the air? I gave away tickets for two weeks. You're like, we're giving away tickets? Buddy, I'm making offense you take no offense no you talk and i'm thinking do i barbecue tonight or do i fry my steak you know yeah that's great just take some videos at the bieber concert if you sing with them on any songs, do Monster, the Shawn Mendes one you did with him.

It's a great track. It's not that we're bad listeners. We're good talkers. Do not let your wife convince you that you're a bad listener. Because I tell my wife, I'm not a bad listener. I just choose not to listen. There's a big difference.

There's a big difference. And it's so much worse. But yes, lots of action happening in the city. Good. Back to your question about the trade. I was a little shocked at the timing because isn't everyone somewhere else? Like legitimately everyone you know in the NHL

who's not at the All-Star game is in like somewhere warm? Yeah, as a guy who's been trying to book guests this week, a lot of vacations. Okay. So where's Dan Murphy? I think Hawaii. And where's Ryan Leslie? In the mountains.

Eric Francis. Cabo. Oh my God. Are we the only losers? What happened here? What are we doing wrong? Because it's in Toronto, but I'm making a pact, now that I got your attention, next year, we're not going on vacation together

because we see each other enough, but team vacation for real Kipper and Borna the All-Star Week next year. I don't know that you need to get approval from Kip and I. Well, I mean, if Kip's like, we're taking the week off, we get the week off. If I bridge it, it's a little different. Let's make a pact right now.

Next year on our show, we're not even mentioning the All-Star game. Love it. No, I like that. Wherever it is. Yeah, that's great. It doesn't exist. They don't even know where it is.

No, no. TBD. But that could have something to do with a potential best on best thing, couldn't it? I heard it's going to be in Salt Lake City. Yeah. The other thing is that's always kind of been around, maybe with an unwritten rule,

is that you don't upstage the NHL All-Star Weekend, meaning the league didn't really like it when there was a lot of news outside of the weekend. So that meant if you're going to announce a trade, do it days after the event is over. I think maybe the feeling was last night that Calgary and Vancouver raced to get this done before things started.

Well, that would make sense. It was, my understanding was there were a number of teams that were told, we're not signing Lindholm. If you want in on him, do it now. Got a week. And I talked to one team today that did not know the trade happened. Really?

Yeah. That's how quick it happened. You know, I will say. And they were in on potentially. I get frustrated whenever I hear that. Like, isn't your only job as a GM to canvas every available partner and get a proposal, like submit the RFP and get the proposal back? Not if you get the deal that you can't refuse.

And that's sometimes what happens. It's like, no, listen, here it is. Yeah. Don't shop it. If you go take another call, this deal is changing. Exactly. no listen here it is yeah don't shop it another call this this deal is changing exactly if you shop it it's not going to be the exact same thing when you come back to me that makes sense i like that and if you want to go and do another deal go do another deal so a team that was potentially in on lindholm potentially didn't get a chance didn't hear they would happen so quick yes

interesting so that's probably like you know calgary says okay we agree with the first we like the conditional fourth but it's got to be hunter bruce dewitt's not this guy and they say no no no and eventually say they say fine it's hunter if you take it now and stop shopping i think you're in the ballpark of that type of conversation yeah so uh the return for elias lindholm for those you don't know is andre andre kuzmenko who has another year left and has contracted five million scored 30 goals last year for the canucks hunter bruce dewitts and i'm certain i'm not saying that right no it sounds okay okay uh yoni yermo uh a first round pick and a conditional fourth and that condition uh those are both this year the condition

is if the canucks go to the western Conference final the fourth becomes a third I'm hoping Hunter makes a team for no other reason than I think someone needs to go through their NHL career with the nickname Brewskies I'm surprised you didn't have that I'm sure no former real keeper and born guest Bob Beers probably had Bruce. Rocky Beers probably came across that here. Well, he's probably just Beersy, which is also an elite nickname. You got to call him like Six Pack or something. Six Pack. So I would suspect that you guys would be in agreement that you've got Lindholm, an expiring contract,

on a team that's going nowhere, and you're not looking towards resigning him, that's good. Yeah. First rounder, potential fourth. Yeah. A prospect, I'm told, probably is a B to C prospect. Yeah, I checked in with Bukala, and he said that's kind of where he's at. I'm told probably is a B to C prospect. Yeah. I checked in with,

with Bukala and he said, you know, that's kind of where he's at. He's shooting it in the net a whole bunch. And he said, he was a second tier, not top tier, third pairing,

even strength power play to kind of guy is what he said to me. He was drafted 75th overall in 2023, this Hunter. So again, those guys can be serviceable guys. They can have value on the rights in the right circumstances they can uh they can thrive but you're not there's nothing blue chip here yeah and i think for lindholm on an expiring deal what a great return and this is a

good lesson to a lot of teams who are on the fence about selling a knot. You know, a couple of prospects, a big D-man, a talented, smaller guy, a first-rounder, a third or a fourth, like, okay. And an NHL guy that you bet on. That's such a good point. I didn't even mention it. That you bet on in terms of, like, you know, maybe he refinds his form. He plays with somebody, like, I don't know, plays with Huberto. They have a good connection or something.

And you pump up his value, maybe you don't trade him this deadline, but you hold on to him, you get another first rounder for him next year, like you don't ever know. Like it's a good, I think it's actually really good for both teams. Because Manko is a flips interesting. Because Manko first of all is something

they are dying for. Yeah. Just a goal scorer. He actually had 40 goals last year. I said 30, 39. A guy that shoots it in the net. Yeah. Just a goal scorer. He actually had 40 goals last year. I said 30. 39. A guy that shoots it in the net. Yeah. Like he would be,

if I had my top 10 cookie monster list, he would be in my top 10. Yeah. He wants the cookie. Right? 74 points last year. There's sometimes when cookie monsters are good and sometimes when they're,

you do need a couple. I'm with you on that yeah so it's a decent return and i don't think they're looking at it short term and i don't think vancouver's looking at lindholm short term no well kuzmenko is 27 years old an interesting guy so you don't think vancouver's looking at lindholm short term you think they'll resign him yes wow yeah i don't think for one second that jimmy rutherford's thinking about this is a one and done oh i i gotta say i do think it's an excellent trade from the vancouver canucks perspective as well but he's he's perfect for them perfect number two yeah that's what he is and in calgary he was 29 years old in calgary he was a number one and all the stars aligned with him and johnny hockey and

kachuk to to form one of the best lines two years ago yeah where he had 42 goals that year which isn't his career year yeah his next highest is 29 but he's smart he's reliable he can play all situations you shoot it you can shoot it too and he makes he'll make guys around him better yeah he's on pace for 20 this year which is definitely a down year 22 last year but yeah you play in a better team and i actually think that he's a good candidate to you know talk it to push him a little and get a little bit more out of him like i i like the odds of this working out well for vancouver it's funny you say that because there's some people that says that uh you know sometimes he can be lazy yeah is that your nice way of saying that's exactly what i was getting at that

he can be a really good two-way guy when he's motivated and you know i think when he was on a great line with good row and good shock i think he had that push i think he could use that push and that'll help get the most out of him talks really good at that didn't when did horvat get traded it felt like it was like right at this time last year yeah no it was way before the deadline last year wasn't it like i felt like because didn't he go to the All-Star game wearing Canucks stuff but play for the Metro division? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That Jimmy sneaky. Jan 30th. Jan, what's the day today?

Yesterday was the 31st yesterday. So it was a year to the day. Leave it to Jimmy Rutherford, eh, to go and do big game hunting again. But this is kind of when you got to do it, right? Like, this is the time of year when it's's like you're not compete with everyone at the whistle. So tired of hearing all you insiders. Wait till the deadline. Wait till the deadline.

Trade him at the draft. Trade him at the draft. Excuse me? Yeah, you. No. I'm so on the outside. There was a moment during the whole buzz yesterday about him getting traded that there was like two tweets about him, Tanev, potentially being in the deal. And I just saw every TV producer all around Canada being like, Tanev's gone on January 3rd.

It's like, what the hell are we going to talk about? But even still, if Tanev's the big fish, no disrespect to a very good hockey player, it's like, jeez. I know, but there's not a ton of guys out there. Lindholm was one of them. And you're just like, oh, my God. still is tanniv's the big fish no disrespect to a very good hockey player it's like jeez i know but like that's you know there's not a ton of guys out there lindholm was one of them and you're just like oh my god i'm sure we got biz we got colby we were gonna need some juggling and i saw colby today oh yeah to get him back in here he's uh yeah he'll do some juggling for us was he chomping at the bit to come back on the show he was he's dying begging even there you go true but it'll come back uh you think this kind of puts pressure on other

teams now at all certainly i mean you look at a nhl where really none of the teams have separated themselves in my opinion is like oh that's the runaway favorite the canucks were i think they first in the nhl in points and then they get the best available player here they have separated themselves at this trade so if you're vegas or even the oilers you might go can we match up with that it's a tough one now i think harder for winnipeg too yeah i you know i've always kind of liked the genzel connection with jim rutherford and you know the pittsburgh history there with him but i guess that kind of closes the door on that so maybe does he go somewhere else like it's just that that to me was the one that i thought might happen yeah and i'm still not convinced kyle's doing it got the jam right now to make that decision i think he's he'd be too

nervous to send away a top scoring winger and would the haul look much different than the one the Canucks just gave up? You know, would it not? You think it would look better than that? I think there would be more value in Gensel as one of the top-scoring wingers in the league. And do you think you can take that to Sid and say, look at what we can get back? Yeah.

No, I don't think you can take that to Sid. I love the at what we can get back. Yeah. No, I don't think you can take that to Sid. I love the idea of Kuzmenko as a flip again for Calgary and turn that into another, like the way that Montreal is going to do with Monaghan. Keep in mind, though, that if there was that much of a demand for Kuzmenko, we probably would have seen him move to another team. And also, I think he had to waive a no trade to even go to Calgary. So I guess he would have to do that again,

I would imagine. So maybe it's not as easy as I'm making it sound. He's like, I'll go anywhere. I just don't want to play for talk anymore. Legitimately. He was like, I do not get to do hockey here. I would like to go somewhere where I can hockey. Yeah, go ahead.

You got a reading? No, I was just going to mention something else. But do you have more on the trade? Go, bud. No, I'm just wondering in terms of Leaf fans right now. I mean, do they watch that and say, it's kind of something that we may need? Dude, that was exactly what they needed.

Right? A guy, a 2C or even a 3C, if Tavares, if you want to put him, whatever. Guy to eat those minutes, give you another stable line. You can play 200 feet, put him out in the final minute. Yeah, you make that trade that people thought the Canucks were about to make with Lindholm and Tanev, and you're a different hockey squad. However, look at what's out. But if you were to say, okay, we're in here today and the Leafs gave up.

Two first-rounders. Two first rounders. Two first rounders. What do you mean? He said Lindholm and Tanev. Yeah, but let's say it's even just Lindholm. And I told you it's a first and it's Minton and it's, you know, whatever. A fourth rounder and, you know, whoever. Topi Niemela.

Exactly. You know, it's like, whoa, we did that for, are we sure this is the year we want to do that? If you told me that you could take Lind home and sign him and somehow get yourself out of a Tavares situation. Well, that second part is an entirely different bag of fish, kettle of fish, ball ofs and Matthews and Lindholm now next year Matthews and Lindholm one two and Tanov on the on the back end right you could still have that in the offseason that sounds aren't we doing fantasy talk here though like yeah we are yeah of course we are yes our whole show is based on fantasy for three years now. I broke the fourth wall there.

Like, what have we been doing? But that's, I mean, that's a, that's a lot of prospects. That's a lot of first rounders. You know, we joke that the cupboards are bare, but the cupboards aren't bare. There's a couple of cans of chunky soup in there, which is both spicy and chunky, I'm told. But you're that trade away from them being completely bare. That's what I'm saying. You're giving up the end of the soup.

You got no rice in the bottom of the basin. You're out of stuff. So you better be sure you're winning. That's the type of trade that changes the dynamics of your club really fast. Do you think the Leafs are trying to do that? I don't know. You know what? I'm going to try to come back after the All-Star weekend

and get a better feel on where they're going right now. I think that Tree Living wants a better feel. I do. I think it's really tough to assess this team. You know what they do? The complete opposite of what you think they're going to do every night. Yeah, they're a really hard team. Four points off the Jets.

Yeah. Get smoked for God knows how long prior to that. Yeah. They're just stuck in the middle. They're a little above the middle. Yeah. Just in terms. But no, what puts them in the middle, Sammy,

is that like this trade that Vancouver just had with Calgary is where the Leafs were two years ago. For sure. I'll entertain that. Where they were like even last year. They've got some pieces now that they can throw up. And, you know, if the worst case scenario is that Lindholm doesn't sign, it's still a good trade to throw your hat in the ring

to try to win the Stanley Cup this year. Yeah. I mean, if nothing else, and if it helps them get the one seed so they can play the eighth seed in the West, you are almost guaranteeing yourself a round victory. And that sounds hyperbolic, and maybe it is, but you're getting Nashville, you're getting St. Louis. It's not like drawing Vegas or Edmonton.

You might get the Los Angeles Kings. Okay. Do they have a goalie? That could screw you. If LA got a goalie, that would screw you. And Vancouver fans know all too well about winning the President's Trophy and then having to go up against the LA Kings in the first round,

where I think they swept them or beat them in five, and they went on to win the Stanley Cup, the LA Kings, that year. So it would bring back bad memories for Canucks fans matching up with the Kings in the first round. I'll tell you that right now. Fair enough. Did you, Kipper, were you really excited that they announced all the participation for the Skills Comp?

I'm not. You're going to tell me all about it right now the participation for the skills comp? I'm not. You're going to tell me all about it right now because I have not followed it. I'm excited. So fastest skater is Nylander, Hughes, McCarr, Barzell, and McDavid. And I would like to note that first through fifth gets points in every competition. Five gentlemen chose to enter this event. You are, here's a free point. Towards a million dollars, it is savvy to enter this event you are here's a free point towards a million dollars it is savvy to enter this event okay but they don't clearly want to do that one

no no one wants to do it no they're all gonna lose david hard and they're gonna lose mcdavid oh brazil brazil beat him before yeah it's true when did that happen like all these all-star games they just uh i used to know everything that happened at every one of them when I was a kid. And now it's like I have no memory. One-timers. Pedersen, McKinnon, Dreisaitl, Kucherov, Miller, Matthews, Barzell, Pasternak. Who do you like there? I'll give you my two faves. Dreisaitl and Pasternak.

Yeah, I was going to say Pasternak. I think McKinnon. Sneak up on you there. Matthews is in three of the three shooting events, and he can shoot it a bit, so like his odds. The passing is McKinnon, Nylander, Makar, Barzell, Miller, Kucherov, Hughes, McDavid, Pedersen, Matthews, Dreisaitl. So that is the longest list by far because every guy was like,

oh, I stand in one place and pass a puck? Put me in that one. I'm stunned Kipper didn't come up with a joke about Matthews in the passing one. No, I'm fine with him. You know, 30 assists this season will be. He can do it. He just doesn't want to. Dry Seidel's the best passer in that group.

Yeah. Cooch is in there. At least on the back end, for sure. Dry Seidel's a really good passer. Really good passer. The hardest shots, Matthews, McCarr, Pasternak, Miller, Pedersen. This is interesting, too. Also only five people in it.

Yeah. All the events where he gets to go max exertion, guys are like, mm. And the ones where it's like you can be embarrassed. Yes. Right? Yeah, he hit 182 and all. Yeah. The heavy favorite there is Pedersen, who won it once before.

Really? Yeah. I don't have him as the favorite personally. Yeah. I think Matthews could as the favorite personally. Yeah. I think Matthews could do well. Stick handling, Hughes, McDavid, Pettersson, Kucharov, Dreissel, McKinnon, Pasternak, Marzal, Nylander. Willie.

Look out for Willie. Nobody. Come on, nobody. McKinnon's running away. Sorry, McDavid's running away with it. I mean, his hands are just gross fast. Yeah, very fast. And then the last one's accuracy, Kucharov, McCarr, McDavid,

Hughes, Miller, Pachnak, McKinnon, Nylander, Dreissel, Matthews. Matthews is going to win that one on home ice. Now, we had Curtis Joseph on yesterday, and for those of you that did not get it, download it. He's always amazing to listen to, but it was brought to my attention how quickly he made it a point as a goalie that no one can win the million dollars. You know what, though?

I've put some thought into this. And I love Cujo. He was awesome. But they have one event, and the players are picking the goalie they want to shoot on, which is amazing. Saying, I want to shoot on that guy. Really? Yeah.

So if you're the Leafs, are you not picking competition in the division and saying to shoot on that guy really yeah so if you're the leafs are you not picking competition in the division and saying i want that guy there's going to be some good storylines there but anyway kit my point is you might face three shots yeah okay listen i i'm not here to defend the goalie union in any way shape or form But no, what I'm just saying is that it's funny that they would start thinking this way because someone drew it to my attention today that I don't know how many All-Stars are here today, 40? I don't know, 45?

And yet they picked 12 for a chance to win a million dollars and then there might be like 30 of them asking like like why not me right you're taking away a chance i'm coming up here and i sit on the sidelines you know what this is who picked too bad Too bad. No, I know that. I know it's too bad. You know what it is? You're right, though. Who's making the choice? I know it's too bad, but in their shoes, they're sitting there going, like, here I am in a salary cap.

I've gotten killed on escrow. I've got agent fees. I got this, that, this, federal. And these guys have a chance to go out there and do twirls and put a million dollars in their pockets. You know what it reminds me of is the PGA Tours PIP, the Player Impact Program. Is that what it is?

Where the guys who basically are mentioned most on social media just get millions of dollars for being relevant? And the funny thing is, these are all the richest guys in the league. They should have put the right guys in. They should havel guys all i'm saying is it's funny you think you're you're trying to fix something and then there's just another way to look at it so i don't know next next year if they do the same thing again can you get the guys to show up a day and a half early so they can sit in a chair and be drafted while they watch other players go and try to win a million dollars. Yes.

Hey, if I knew I wasn't going to be in the skills competition, I would have put wheels up Saturday morning and shown up for noon. This is a petty gripe to me. The league wants the stars. The stars in the event, they just said, let's just put the stars in. I got news for noon. This is a petty gripe to me. The league wants the stars. The stars in the event, they just said, let's just put the stars in. I got news for you. They all think they're stars. Yeah, I know. But I got news for you.

There's big egos here. You're not Connor McDavid. And he knows that. I'm just saying it. Maybe they can do a second event. Put like, you know, a free meal in the dance floor so parents old diner so are you if you're matthews the two goalies that would be you know rival would be brodsky or swayman yeah you could pick one of the two i bet you

and this is god i hate that i have this take but But he won't do that. He won't directly challenge someone in the division like that. I think it'll be like. Why? Her feelings? You just got so passionate about that. Yeah, like if he picks them and then doesn't score a couple times. And then they're really going to come back and haunt me in April. Yeah.

I mean, that's happening regardless. So it doesn't matter what the all-star. It feels like you're going to pick, I don't know, who's an unlikely goalie who made it from the West, you know? You got, I think it's Ottinger's in there. Yeah, you pick someone like Ottinger. Talbot's on the, yeah, Talbot's. Talbot's in?

Oh, Talbot's. I wonder if you could open it up, though, not to dwell on this, but like could you have, can you open it up to 20 guys next year, 25? Right? But then it just comes to the same crappy thing we've watched i don't know yeah you're probably right i listen i see your point from the players you're like you're using my you know name image and likeness to use a college term you know to promote all this i'm coming up here so the two highest paid players can earn an extra million dollars yeah now i imagine the players are going to get treated okay while they're here. Well, you saw some gift bags today, didn't you?

They're carrying out some decent swag. Did you not pretend that you played? I thought about it. You know, I kind of have the generic look of a hockey player. You know? You just look like every dope in a peacoat. I could have made a...

This just ended City News 680. Justin Bourne on the run coat like i i could have made you definitely could have got out of that uh this just into this is my notice is it not yeah this is in the city new success i'm born i'm gonna run for theft you could have gone in there with a russian accent and gone you got in a bag i guarantee you there's they're not that bright down there at the hotel i think i could have taken the security guy we know and said hey come along with me and see if you can get me through yeah probably anyway let's hit a break get to pat no readings, we can do them after Pat. Oh, you want me to do them now? I can do some readings for you. Hold on a second. The NHL

transformation of Toronto for the 2024 Rogers NHL All-Star this year includes the NHL Fan Fair. A four-day family-friendly event happening now until Sunday the 4th with interactive hockey games, special appearances by NHL players, and much more. Visit Rogers and Sportsnet at

the Fan Fair to win awesome hockey prizes, have your photo taken at the Sportsnet broadcast desk, and test the speed of your slap shot with the Rogers Hardest Shot Skills competition. If you haven't already, be sure to secure your tickets at nhl.com slash fanfare while supplies last. And the other one I have

for you, it's Hockey Night Punjabi in Brampton in partnership with the city of Brampton, the NHL Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi is celebrating the sport of hockey on Monday, February 5th with a free community skate at the Gore Meadows Outdoor Rink. Come meet the team. Check out the United by

Hockey Mobile Museum. Go for a skate and take a pick with the Stanley Cup. Be food trucks, plenty of games and activities for everyone. Celebrate hockey with Hockey Night Punj Be food trucks, plenty of games and activities for everyone. Celebrate hockey with Hockey Night Punjabi on Monday, February 5th from 3 until 8 at Gore Meadows Outdoor Rink in Brampton, boys. Good job, Sammy. Okay, now comes the break.

And then when we return, Pat Steinberg, who does a great job hosting on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary, we'll talk about the big trade. That and more when we return to Real Kipper and Bourne. Everything you need to know about the Raptors and the biggest stories around the NBA. Smith & Jones. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Back to the Real Kipper and Boren show. Okay, let's welcome in our next guest. Guest Pat Steinberg does a terrific job out in Calgary on Sportsnet 960 co-hosting Flames Talk. So, Pat, let me get this straight. Is it a mandatory rule that when the calgary flames make a big trade members of the media have to be on vacation yeah it sure does feel that way uh i remember i remember i was just i was luckily i was still in calgary but i had

just started a vacation when uh they did Matthew Kachuk trade with Florida. So that one hit on vacation. Yeah, it seems Nazem Kadri, everyone was on vacation when they signed him in the summer of 2022. So yeah, it feels like every time they make a massive move, everybody's on vacation. Boys, it kind of just felt like this was going to happen too. As soon as I'm out here in Vancouver, funny enough, and as soon as I touched down on Monday, I was like, I bet you they're going to do something this week.

And, hey, they did something, and it's a significant something, isn't it? You know, I don't think it's a coincidence as the trade deadline sneaks up in February. And, listen, I don't mean this offensively. I have a Prairie family. You know, people get out deadline sneaks up in February. And listen, I don't mean this offensively. I have a Prairie family. You know, people get out of the Prairies in, in February.

So no wonder you're all on vacation. That makes sense to me. Yeah, this is a good, this is a good time. Right about now is a good time to not be on the Prairie. Yeah. Prairie boy born and raised.

Yeah. I can vouch for this. So I, you know, we'll start with your take. I know you talked to Craig Conroy a little bit, but I'd love to hear from you what your initial thoughts were. Did this meet the expectations that you had for a Lindholm deal?

Honestly, it exceeded it for me, guys. I had kind of ballparked the Horvat-type return in terms of what the Flames might get. In that, they get the roster player, they get the first round pick and they get the prospect. And so I was expecting like, did you give it me over under three and a half pieces that come back to the flames? I would have gone under and I would have been in the three range.

Cause it kind of felt like there's a lot of comparables with Horvat and Lindholm different players, but similar impacts in a lot of ways and so you know kind of that that number two see who can be a 1A in certain situations so I thought that it was going to be a similar return to that and so when I saw the Flames get that which they did they got the roster player in Kuzmenko they got the first round pick and they got the high-end prospect in the Kitchener Rangers defense in Brustowich. So you're like, okay, they got the package they were looking for, and then they also got the two other pieces. They got the Finnish defenseman, and they got that conditional pick too.

So I thought not only did it meet the expectations that a lot of people had, and internally, from what I understand, that was kind of what the ballpark was for the Flames as well before that return. So I think it exceeded Calgary's internal expectations, and certainly from my standpoint, exceeded mine. And I think the other significant moves Craig Conroy's made since taking over as GM, he's done pretty well on considering the circumstances. But I don't know if there's one that you would say,

well, that's a clear home run for the team. Well, this one I think is a clear home run for Calgary. It wasn't going to happen with Lindholm. He wasn't going to re-sign here, and it's been pretty clear on that front since like October, November. So to get a guy who isn't going to stay and who didn't sign with his new team to get the five assets in return, even though you're not always looking for quantity, they still got the quality that they were looking for,

and they also got a couple of other potential lottery picks or wild cards in there. So I thought they did really well, guys. It exceeded my expectations for sure, and it kind of sets the blueprint for how they're going to go about Tanev, how they're going to go about Hannafin, and potentially some other names that we might see

move between now and March 8th as well. We're talking to Pat Steinberg, host of Sportsnet 960's Flame Talk. So talking big trade, of course, Vancouver, Lindholm going the other way. And Kuzmenko, is this a guy that's got a long-term future here? Is there things that they might still do in terms of potentially flipping him? He lifts his no move.

Is this for long-term in your eyes? Guys, I think the next month is going to tell us a lot on that front. I am of the belief in just asking around. The Flames are 100% open to flipping Kuzmenko. If that's the way things go, they know that's an option for them. And I think if they can get Kuzmenko on a nice little groove here, and look, we all know that it didn't work this year with Rick Tockett and the Canucks. We all know his numbers have dropped.

But if they can, you know, I'm curious to see if they put him on a line with Huberto as soon as the Flames finish their break here. They come out, they start a four-game road trip in Boston and then go to the Northeast United States for four games out of the All-Star break. And I'm curious if they put Kuzmenko right on the right side of a line with Huberto and likely Sharon Govich in the middle. I'm curious if that's something that they do and if that works and all of a sudden you've got Kuzmenko and he's playing and producing at a much closer clip to what he did in his first year in the league. I think the offers are going to pour in for him,

or at the very least, they'll get some bites. And I think the Flames are absolutely open to flipping him. If that doesn't happen, they know they've got a year and a half here to evaluate what he is on this team. They know that they've got a little bit of time to figure out how Kuzmenko fits into this mix, and if they can get him to be a much more productive goal scorer. So I think they're open to all options, guys.

I really do think flipping him between now and the deadline or flipping him in the summertime is an option they're absolutely willing to explore. But at the same time, I think they're happy if they can give it a try here. And if that doesn't happen and the interest isn't there, I think they're okay letting this contract play out and maybe taking another run at moving him next trade deadline and seeing how it plays out. So they're kind of, with this player in particular,

the one NHL piece they got back, I think they're open to all kinds of different options here. Yeah, that's a fascinating option for them um you know in terms of the piece that has been moved out to bring all of this to calgary what is elias lindholm at this point what can vancouver canucks fans expect you know a lot of people see the 42 goal season and think that's him what is he realistically for the Canucks now so I think he's gonna fit in depending on what they do with him but if they move him in as their number two center then I think they're gonna get a guy who is instantly their shutdown or their matchup guy like Jay I know they've tried that with JT Miller at times and it hasn't necessarily worked out and I know that the know that they really also like having Miller

and Elias Pettersson play together on the same line. But just listen to Jim Rutherford on a number of the interviews he's done since the trade. Sounds like they're really interested in Lindholm and Pettersson on the same line. And so what I think that that does is it gives the Canucks a guy that as a center Iceman, they're comfortable putting him out there against anybody in any situation,

not sheltering a line that Elias Lindholm is on, even though his offensive numbers have dropped this year, there's been no drop in terms of how the flames have used them as they're one of their two heavy matchup guys. And he starts a lot of shifts in his own zone. And that's the number one thing the Canucks fans are going to appreciate about him is that he is always going to take care of his own end first, and he's never going to skirt or cheat the defensive side.

So that's the number one thing. And then it's all about who he's playing with in terms of extracting the maximum from him offensively. We know that he can score 30 to 40. We've seen that, but it's got to be with the right players. You know, he has been on a line with Kachuk and Goudreau. That's when he had his best year. That's when he scored the 42.

And you're going to need to have him with players of that caliber to have that happen again. Well, now he's on a power play with JT Miller and Elias Pettersson, maybe Brock Besser and Quinn Hughes. If all of a sudden that's the case, well, you've got another high-end shooter that does a really good job of moving into soft spots. And at five on five, he does a really good job of moving into soft areas on the ice. And so when he's been playing with different players in Calgary that haven't necessarily suited that, for whatever reason, he and Jonathan Huberdeau have never been that click.

Well, if you all of a sudden, and I think part of that is because Huberdeau doesn't draw players to him the same way that allow Lindholm to get loose and find some of those soft spots and can also find them, then he becomes that much more dangerous. So that's going to be the really interesting thing is if Vancouver can extract that offensive potential that Lindholm has with the right players, but the one area you'll never have to worry about him in Vancouver is him taking care of the defensive side, being strong in his own zone, helping the team transition from D to O and, and being good in the face. So they're going to like him for that reason. And I think that that's something that they need.

And I'm curious to see what type of offense they can get out of him between now and whenever Vancouver season comes to an end. So Pat, we know that for Calgary, this trade has a rebuild, retool feel to it. But there's others besides Tan with an expiring contract that the Calgary Flames have. Kadri, Wieger, you mentioned Huberto possibly playing with Kuzmenko. But here's a guy that just started an eight-year, $10.5 million contract who had an off year at 55 points and is slated to have 45 this year.

Yeah. Like, where are they going with these type of contracts still on the books? And, and like at the end of the day, is it, is it a losing battle when, when you're getting 40 points out of 10 and a half million dollars? Yeah.

And I mean, here's the thing. It's why, it's why the flames going full on rebuild as it stands right now is a really hard thing to see because how do you do that when, to your point, you've got $10.5 million tied up in a guy who's 30 years old for the next seven and a half years? Nazem Khadri's 33, and he's still got $35 million tied up in a five-year remaining term following this year it's hard to hit the you know full-on reset button when you've got those contracts committed to and Craig Conroy

was not the GM when those tracks so he's kind of inheriting that and so I think they're going to have to be a little bit more creative I think that at earliest if they're going to want to do anything with Huberto, and if that even exists, it won't be until the off season. I'm a little skeptical that the flames would be okay eating the amount that they'd have to eat and retaining the amount they'd have to retain for Huberto to move. I think for the time being, they're going to have to go out of their way to see if they can just make that work. If they can get him back to being a 60, 65-point player, guys, that would be a win for them at this point with how poorly it's gone and how he struggled.

Kadri is a fascinating one because he's arguably been the best player on the team this year. You know, Nazem took a lot of lumps last year in the second half of the season for, you know, effort level and impact level, and a lot of that was fair. As the Flames were kind of letting their season get away on them, Kadri wasn't enough of a difference maker to help change that narrative. Well, this year, from the very get-go, he has been dialed in one of their best players.

And if the Flames are open to having conversations and maybe not getting the bang-on amount that you'd expect for a player of Kadri's level in a trade because of the remaining contract, if they're willing to have those conversations this summer, I think there will be takers on this guy because Nazem Kadri looks like the guy once again that he was in Colorado, looks like the guy that he was when he was one of the best two-way centers in the league as a member of the Maple Leafs. And so

what you're seeing from him, he's engaged again. He's showing his very, very high level of skill again. He's driving a line again. He's working with rookie players and elevating those players in, in Connor Zarian, Martin Pospisil who have had really nice rookie seasons and Cadre's a huge reason why he's been a big time straw that stirred the drink and no knock on Lindholm who was Calgary's all-star representative, but you know, Cadre had a much better case for being an all-star. So he's the guy that I'm most interested in this summer in terms of kind of those big tickets in terms of are they able to do something there if they're really serious about getting younger and completely restructuring their cap. be takers if the flames were willing to have the conversations and maybe be willing to either

retain or take a little bit less than maybe you'd expect for a guy of cadre stature in a trade that's one that i'm going to be watching for this summer i don't know if it's something that can be done before the deadline with how teams are tight to the cap but summertime is something that i absolutely would have an eye on pat last one for me me before you hit the seawall and have some sushi. Just want to get your thoughts on how the crease plays out in Calgary this year. Obviously, people are excited about Wolfe. Markstrom has some years left, is playing well. Where do they go with their goaltending situation?

It's going to be, I think, you know, Hannafin, Canev, the UFAs, those are kind of number one in terms of what's on the front burner and what Flames fans have their eyes on, rightfully so. But I also think between now and the deadline, there's going to be a lot of talk about do the Flames make a move in net? It's rare to see a goalie of Jacob Markstrom's caliber and with the contract that he carries, it's rare to see a guy move in season. So, well, do I think it's impossible?

No, I'd be a little shocked to see Jacob Markstrom move between now and the deadline. I would be certainly surprised but impressed if they could make it happen, especially for the season he's having and the type of return you'd hope they'd get for him. But I think that's going to be one of the number one issues come the offseason is what they do here. I know they've got another year of Dustin Wolf and he's not waiver eligible. So like he'll be he'll be waiver exempt next season. But how much longer do you want to play around with Dustin Wolf in the American League and

not give him the shot that he's deserved in the NHL? The problem is there doesn't seem like there's a big market for the other guy and that's dan bladar so you've got jacob markstrom you've got dustin wolf and then you've got bladar in the middle who's put up pretty mediocre numbers for a second straight year as calgary's backup and while his game has improved over the last few months here still doesn't seem like there's a lot of takers. It still seems like a long shot they'd be able to recoup that third-round pick that they got last year.

So, yeah, the goaltending situation is going to be fascinating, guys. I think it's going to be the number one issue they tackle in the offseason with Lindholm traded and Lindholm being Jacob Markstrom's ride or die to get to Calgary wouldn't surprise me if they try to move or think about moving Jacob and knowing how much Markstrom likes to win it wouldn't surprise me if Jacob's okay with them searching for a new spot for him maybe as early as the deadline I doubt, but definitely I think it's something that could, might happen this offseason.

Pat, really appreciate your time. Go back to the ski hills, buddy. See you, boys. Have fun. Thanks so much. Enjoy your trip. Pat Steinberg from Flamed Talk. We only got about 35 seconds. Next time you get the last question

in, I'm not a professional host, but I will say this. Not so vague? Just quickly. You got to throw the quickly in? You got to throw the quickly in. Either that or just might as well ask him, tell us about your childhood. Tell us about three goalies in nine seconds.

All right. Just like that. One hour off the books of the Real Kipper and Foreign Show. When we come back, top of the hour, Patrick Alvien, general manager of Vancouver Canucks. We're going to talk big trade. And then in about 30 minutes, 35 minutes, Doug McClain. Special edition of Off the Rails, Friday on Thursday. Don't go away.

We'll be back.