Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Power-Play Powering Down

Episode Date: January 26, 2024

Nick Kypreos starts by sharing stories from yesterday's Night with the Blue and White Gala with Justin Bourne and Sam McKee. Then, looking ahead to the Leafs’ game on Saturday against the Jets - Jarnkrok's injury in practice today, what the team does with Reaves now that he's been activated off of IR, if Sheldon Keefe should split up the top power-play unit and Nylander's post-extension slump.  Later, former NHLer and NHL analyst Brad May (32:06) shares his thoughts on the Leafs' regular season urgency, how the team should deal with Tavares and Brodie showing their ages and the power-play problem. 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 is off the rails friday you know how i know that it's already off the rails before the show started what is going on sammy you are dropping almost everything with the exception of your shorts right now what is what's happening are you settled i bashed my knee yeah what's going on bash i here's the thing you gotta know about me i'm incredibly clumsy well sam's like six yeah six or whatever you are six five i don't know there's a lot of sam i gotta tell you my knees barking it was a hard bathroom this little corner here yeah it's not zags are in trouble this is okay it's not gonna affect my okay for the next two hours? I'll survive. Nice Rob Lohat, by the way. Go NFL.

Thank you. Thank you. Sorry. Welcome, everybody, into the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, the clumsy Sammy McKee, Derek Brandeo, Jen Rolnick, with you for the next two hours, including this Leaf edition that can be found on Sportsnet 590, Sportsnet 360, and Sportsnet Plus

from 4 to 6. And you can always, but always download us wherever you get your pod if you don't catch us live. And especially today, we tell you this all week, but especially today when

we really run out of gas. Oh. Text us. Oh oh we need your program the show for us yes at 590 590 whatever you have to say good or bad you got a clumsy sam story you went to school with him in grade four we don't care just texas we should get to these texts like earlier today so we can get to them all. Okay. We say that every week. I know. It's like 540 we go to the first one. And we're never going to get

through them all. There's a million texts boys. Anyways. I'd like to see them. I need access to the text. Alright. Once again, Off the Rails Friday means Doug McClain will join us at the top of the hour. He was kind of giving it to us today. He thinks he's helping us promote the show

when he takes a picture of himself at the beach in Florida. But what he's really saying is, my life is way better than the three of yours. Yours sucks. Looked a little overcast. In his defense. The sun was out here. That's right. It looks like he's got a pretty good thing going

there. He's the one popping on between rounds of golf. The sun was out here and it was overcast there. So who's got it better? You see the report that we had 30 hours of sunlight in the month of January so far? Yeah, that tracks. That's not good. That's like three days. Not good. That's not what you want. Not good.

In about half an hour, we're going to welcome in Brad May, who would fight his mom to win the Stanley Cup. Do you think he still would? Or was that like when he was playing?

I think he would try and lose. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, fair enough. Hey, he's worth an attempt. And we scheduled him last week, but he just had a brain cramp. That's all it was.

I was with him last night. We had a Lee fundraiser for MLSC Foundation, Blue and White Night, Casino Night. I was with him the majority of the night. He couldn't apologize enough. I said, buddy, you've been hit in the majority of the night. He couldn't apologize enough. I said, buddy, you've been hit in the head a thousand times. Yeah. We understand. We've been there.

We know. Yeah. Sometimes I barely remember our own show. Yep. Like, ah, it's 3.42. Jason, I'm with you. Thanks, Dave. Yeah. I had a hit on the morning show today at 8 a.m that i for completely forgot about until 7 45 a.m when i got a text from jeff as a party being like hey you coming on it is like

well i'm getting up right this second it's the value of good producer there you go there you go okay you've recovered from me your knee oh yeah i'm bad i come back okay yeah how about callie yarn croak nope hold on before we get into this how was the gala last night yeah tell us about the gala the gala were there the players yeah the whole team we had about we had well over 20 25 alumni as well uh it was great yeah and i'll tell you why it was great because usually you go to these things and you sit at one table and, you know, sometimes the table's great. Sometimes not great, but not great because, you know,

it's just some people are more talkative than others. And for us to go there and let's face it, whether you're a current player or former player, past stories, current stories, you got to engage with people, right? That's why you're there. That's why they're there. That's why they're there. Yes. But sometimes when you sit at a table for three hours,

they work the hell out of you. Yeah. Right? Because sometimes they're not chatty, and you got to initiate the conversation. You got to keep it going. You got to work. Yep.

By the end of the night, you're drenched. Yes. This one did not include a three-hour table. This was completely wide open, casino night. People walking around. Falls View Casino, a big sponsor was there. They took care of all the tables. They took care of the dealers.

So all you ended up doing was just walking around the room and meeting people five seconds here 10 seconds there a picture there how you doing some conversations longer than others and it had a great flow to it i thought it was a fantastic night of course they do an amazing job uh raising money are you playing with real money at these tables? No, you're not allowed for real money. There will be no license for that. So what it was was the chips were as if it was real money, and then you go cash them in for some fantastic prizes in a raffle.

What did you bring us? Listen, I had one issue. The lineup for the raffles was rather long. I took the first person I saw, I gave them my chips, and I said, enjoy my toaster. That's great. You know who loves free stuff and would have taken it? This guy over here.

You would have lied. You'd still be in that lineup this morning. Question. Not so much Sam McKee, Sam McFree. did you see any players there any dirty looks you tell you know what um no no dirty look okay good good yeah i talked to a few players and i would have hoped if they had any issues with you whatsoever they would have let me know. Yeah. Right? But none of them came up to me and said,

who the hell is this Sammy McKee? That's great news. So that's a good sign for our show. Great news. That's great. No, all good. Good. The players equally responsive in terms of work in the room.

You know, it was a fantastic night for everybody. Did Holmberg just give you a big bear hug? Just thanks. Thanks for promoting me in Toronto. Well, even Cali Yarncroke, I saw him last night. And, like, he's won me over this year. He's had a very good year. I've never seen him more engaged.

That is true. More full of some piss and vinegar his way. And I think he was kind of shaping up. Now, he got hurt today in practice. What do we know, Sammy? Took a slap shot in the hand and we have a key update on it if you'd like to hear it. Let's go to our first Kippers Clipper

on Cali. Well, I get hit by a puck, so there's concern there for sure. We won't know the extent of it until we get him a chance to settle down a little bit and get it looked at. Okay, what does settle down mean? You got like 48 hours to get, or 24 hours, a little over 24 hours

to get him ready for Winnipeg. Waiting to settle down means he's not playing. Not playing. He's not playing against Winnipeg. That's my two cents. My like, watch the play. Not often you leave the ice and you're so upset about what happened you throw your glove you know was there something something hurt was there any video evidence of of what happened i don't know who did it we don't i don't have a culprit we need it's a whodunit i'll just say like when you're in practice and a guy's coming out to block a shot, generally you shoot it around him, you keep it down, you're aware it's a teammate in the shooting lane.

So if someone bombed it in his hand, I could understand the frustration. Let's get in trouble. Who do you think shot it? Timmons. Okay. I thought Connor Timmons. By the way, that is totally unbounded.

Yes, cover yourself. Yes, I don't know who did it. I don't know who did it either, but... Maybe Nick Roberts. This is the way it shapes up for me, okay? You got one practice before you get on a plane and go to Winnipeg. You've got a horrific power play going.

What are the odds that you try to sneak in a power play drill? Yeah. And now Yarncroft's coming out to block on a power play, and someone bombs it. Yeah. You know, I hate practicing the power play 5-on-0. I hated it. As a player, like, it's pointless.

You zip it around. You've got to have a couple of PK guys in there there yeah probably gonna be cali and croc but like in as much as you want a game situation yeah like even in my days you you don't shoot a puck if i'm if i'm no five feet from you no so i'm curious what happened anyway um do you want to hear what sheldon had to say about cali aren't croc and what he's brought to the team here, what he brings? Go. Clip two. He's very consistent in who he is in terms of his details.

You can play him anywhere in any position, and he can help on power play and penalty kill. So, yeah, very important player for us. You know, a guy that doesn't get a lot of attention. hand penalty kill. So, yeah, very important player for us. You know, a guy that does get a lot of attention. But inside our room, I think he's got a great deal of respect that he's earned over how he plays the game. Flex seal. New flex seal.

I totally agree. Yeah. He's been pivotal for them. So, yeah, hopefully he's okay. But. How long are you out with a broken hand? Four weeks. But let's say he's out next game.

They have just put Bobby McMahon on injured reserve because he has something. We could hear the coach talk about that, too, if you want. But I'll just say, so we might see Ryan Reeves play. Like, it's to the point where you put a guy in IR, Yarncroft got hurt, you needed some, all of a sudden Ryan Reeves is next guy in. So let's listen to what Sheldon had to say about Bobby McMahon who was put on injured reserve.

Bobby McMahon is, as we've talked about over the last couple of weeks with his back-to-back, he's been dealing with something that has been lingering, and we had hoped this was going to improve over time, but it's lingered enough that just was determined that sort of extending his break would be helpful for him. So he'll be going on the IR and won't be available for us tomorrow. But just figured adding a few extra days

yesterday, today, and tomorrow off the ice for him to his break, hopeful that when we come back that he'll be past this. He's got a linger sprain? Now let me ask you something, JB, because you kind of know McMahon a little bit, right?

Yeah, I mean just following his career. Yeah, I mean, just following his career. Yeah, so, like, an anticipated, highly skilled guy who can score? Or was there, I'm just wondering now, did he ever have a physical element to his game? No, not at all. Like, on a scale of 0 to 10, you're giving me a no, not at all. Literally when the people, I recently read a feature on him that talked about his days in college and the shock from those people

that he's taken on some physical role at the NHL level. The one guy said, I don't think he hit a guy the whole time he was here. So this is a guy whose career was shooting the puck in the net who's trying to do what he has to do to play in the NHL. Or trying to do something that's asked that he's never really done before or had a role before. And I don't know. Maybe he just suffered a boo-boo because of it.

But he's also, he's a guy who gets hurt. He is. Like he just has been. I don't know, maybe he's very unlucky. Maybe he'll never get hurt again in his career. But until now, he's been a guy who gets hurt. Or maybe he's being a good teammate. Also a very realistic option that, hey, we needed to put someone on IR to make room.

You know? You like it here? Well, it's either we can put you on waivers and you can collect your AHL salary over the whole All-Star break, or we'll just throw you on the IR. You get NHL paychecks. He needs to clear waivers. Yes. He doesn't.

Yes, he does. I think he does. Oh, we should have had that. I thought he didn't. Okay he needs to clear waivers yes he doesn't yes he does i think he does oh we should have had that i thought he didn't okay yeah that's what i mean i think he does well that's why i are so that maybe buys into your theory a lot more that if if we have to push him down he may not clear i don't think he would clear at this point i mean he's a useful guy to me it's very like sure he's got, maybe he's actually hurt or he's sore or whatever, but, like, hey, do you want to risk going to Chicago? Mm-hmm. Or do you want to have your leg be sore?

Do you want to have a lingering injury? You check on that. We're going to hear from Keefe on McMahon's absence from practice. Oh, do we just play that? Oh, God. It's a Friday. Don't worry about it. I'm off the rails already.

Don't worry about it. It's all good. Okay. So, Riley Reeves, would you be okay with reeves listen are you like what do you think what do you think you're getting back without the clear can you i don't know all this time off are you going to get a better reeves are you going to get a faster reeves is he is he got a chance to contribute again i mean i guess what are you trying to see from reeves like is he is there any possibility he comes out he plays okay and he becomes a viable option for them maybe he stands up for a guy or two he gets some pucks in deep he runs over a couple guys and you go huh i don't see that

happening i don't either i know you're hoping or at least you're suggesting he's going to be in and you look at the potential uh options for the guy and it's basically trade him waive him and pay 200 grand per year for the next couple years buy him out and pay 400 grand per year for the next four years you know like there's an option that's just like could he just play better he's just the option is you have to put him in if there's another injury yeah that's all yeah and and i am curious to see if he could make some make them question whether they can use him more in the future i'm with you that i doubt i think it, but hey. I mean, but like you said, probably playing tomorrow. Yeah.

And I imagine some poor guy on Winnipeg is going to be on the, yeah, the brunt end of like, I need to make myself relevant here quick. Yeah. Which would, I don't know. Lowry. It's situational. He's the captain.

He's good. Like, why would he go? Lowry played 21 minutes the other night. Lowry, I don't think Low Lowry played 21 minutes the other night. Lowry. I don't think Lowry would turn it down if he felt like he was cornered or had his back against a wall. And in a situation, i.e. defending a teammate or that scenario. But you do not want that tradeoff if you're the Winnipeg Jets. No.

Brendan Dillon. That's the thing about Reeves. Yeah. There's just, how many guys in the league are going? Five? Yeah. There's five guys. Have to find a relevant moment.

Which, you know, in retrospect, maybe it was kind of dumb. Yep. Pretty dumb. Wow. But I'm sitting here as the number one was excited about Reeves guy. So I have to be honest about that. It wasn't that dumb at the time. It was dumb, but I'm dumb.

So I enjoyed it. I like fighting. I like toughness. I like when teams are like the Florida Panthers where they don't get pushed around. I like the idea of it. But it was dumb. What are the odds of Derek Brendo shaving that clip oh it's very high of I'm dumb I'm dumb I'm very listen I make no bones about who I am

I am dumb I'm thrilled I'm thrilled I'm done okay uh anything else on the bottom six? Nope, wait for that to sort itself out based on the injury to Yarncroft. And then, yeah, we can go a number of directions. Here's power play, the two units. Yeah, let's do that. Okay, huge story, obviously, the benching of Matthews and Marner and whether or not now Sheldon Keefe would consider

having two units that he can start leaning on. Yeah, we have these conversations all the time. As I say, you want to stick with it. You want to trust the guys that have had a great deal of success. You know, not just this season, as I was just alluding to. If you look at a lot of the offense that those guys have generated, even when the puck hasn't gone in. We lead the NHL in a lot of categories when it comes to the power play.

But when the puck's not going in and all of that, you start to question things and look at things. Like I said, we've got one more game here before the break. It's a good opportunity for our guys to step up in a big moment. We have discussed some other options, but I think trusting the group and giving them a chance to work themselves through it is important, especially with a break looming. And maybe we can, you know, if we don't get the response we're looking for, then we can start to think about other things.

See, I know there's like a big push now out of sheldon the last little while on accountability but i don't think he's holding himself accountable enough for a bad power play all i got out of that is hey they're they're not good right now and it's up to them and what can you do as a coach or your power play specialist and i don't know who's running this thing but like you guys are you have them standing in the right spots are they moving the puck as fast as you want like let's geez unit buddy own it all of you guys own it yeah i'll tell you we got to be better you should say we as a coaching staff have to be better too on this thing yeah you know from my time working with him uh aj mclean ran our

power play and we were always kind of top of the league on the power play i remember we went through a tough stretch where we didn't score for four or five games and sheldon just said i got it now like he was like i'm gonna do this until we get it back right he's head coach right and it's like you know you're the guy running the power play until eventually the power play is not working then you're the you're the guy who makes the final calls on thing things and i remember him stepping in be like okay i'm gonna run a couple of meetings here we're gonna get this thing whatever so that's where they're at now and if it if it does lend to like pulling them off for a minute and 10 You have to get a second unit to push the first unit. And, you know, talk about Bertuzzi maybe having a better opportunity

or Max Domi or start talking about, I'm going to have to lean on those guys or they're going to get more opportunities here. Or, you know, two even units with even ice time. Where you say, you know, we're going to switch out two or three guys in the first unit. Is he scared? He's going to like upset the big boys here or hurt their feelings or what? Now the second unit comes out and just 10 seconds left of the power play.

Like there's always internal competition in a dressing room and it's not on the Leafs. Healthy. There is not on the Leafs. It's healthy. It's very healthy. Who's competing against whom? Nobody's competing against the three or four. It's Niles and Bertuzzi who are competing for which of the top two lines they're going to play on.

They still get one of them each. And then it's Robertson or Holmberg or whoever. Gregor might take the third and fourth left side. But I can't name a roster spot that's being battled over it's a good point 760 i guess with giordano going in and out yeah but i mean that's not really that he's good playoff start tomorrow geo's in yeah and looking at the line rushes for tomorrow he's he's going back in against winnipeg so i don't know you're right but like what would they look like can you

think off the top of your mind what the two units would look like if you set them up sure throw bertuzzi on for tavarez in front of the net um and then who else do you like like a robertson can maybe shoot it a bit on the top unit and you know that willie and uh jt run the second unit okay something like that i don't know i like domi's passing on one of the units too with uh with uh one of the big boys maybe but i don't know i don't have it drawn out of my mind but i'd like to actually do that in the break and like write it down on what it looks like but okay all right we'll do that we'll talk about what we're changing to okay i'm gonna we're gonna throw to a clip from sheldon keef on his sense of of willie you want to give us

your sense of willie before Sheldon does, or do you want to hear Sheldon's? You know, I'm tired of getting yelled at about this, but whatever. I think he stunk. He stunk for 10 games since he signed the contract. Hasn't he? I mean, you're preaching to the choir. I mean, he's, it's, I'm not saying he's a bad player.

I'm not saying he's never going to be good again, but he hasn't been very good to me. He's on the offensive side of every battle. He's he's not back checking he's the bad version of willie right now and i think it'll come around and whatever but am i am i way off base it's it's a lot a lot of what we've seen in the last 10 games looks like a lot of things that frustrated leafs fans uh earlier in his career. And the two he shot in against Vancouver were complete flukes. Flutterbox.

No, no. Perimeter. Yeah. They're distant shots that found a way. Perimeter goals. Yeah. And he's the best when he's taking it to the net and cutting across. That's what I was going to say. When he's gone, he's gone, right? But that to me was one of the biggest differences this year and why his point

totals were so high is because he was taking the puck to the middle of the ice. And since he got 92 schmil, he hasn't been in the middle of the ice near as much. And not saying that's why he hasn't, but he hasn't since then. It could be the opposite of a contract thing

where now that he signed it, he's like, oh my my God, I'm this. I'm the same echelon as Pasternak. I'm paid a lot. I don't know if that's how he thinks, but it could be because it looks like he hasn't been the same since. I mean, the last time he signed a big contract, he came back and was not very good.

He was awful. Yeah, he had a tough stretch. I think that was Marner right after his deal didn't have his best. Like, I think it's natural. You feel a little bit of pressure. Okay, let's hear from Sheldon Keefe on his sense of Willie. Willie's a competitor. He set a high standard for himself early in the season.

I think he has full expectations that that's the player that he is, and that's what he's capable of doing. So when it's not going that way, he's going to continue to work at it and not just be content. So, yeah, I really like that about Will. I thought the other night, even in the second half of the game, I thought he really started to come alive and his feet were really moving. And that's what you need to see, you know,

for guys to want to work their way out of their situation. And that's what I see from John pretty consistently and Willie just the same. Later on in the show, we're going to have a lot of Rick Talkit talk where coaches have choices now on how they want to assess a player before and after a good or bad game. And it's clear that you watch Willie with Sheldon, he's got two choices here as a coach. The pat on the back or the kick in the ass. And I think as we'll find out later on in the show,

we know which way Rick Tockett would go. Sheldon refused on that clip to go anywhere near what I think a lot of other people have seen for the last 10 games. He just, and I don't know, does he think he knows Willie better than anybody that this is the best way to get him to respond? Is it because he just signed a $92 million contract? What is it here?

You know, I don't know. There's, Sheldon more than ever in his coaching tenure in Toronto is coaching for his own career, right? Like it's, his name has come up a lot more. I think that staying on the right side of the people who dictate a lot of things here in Toronto, these core guys, is important. I'm not saying he's, it's just not to his advantage

to come out and say, Willie has stunk like I just did. What would he gain from that? Unless you think it would motivate willie but i i don't know coach that knows he's the players can be here a lot longer than he is eight year deal and it's just like am i really gonna pick my battle i gotta pick my battles because he's been harsh on willie in the past earlier this month he was like he i had to get him off that line because they couldn't do anything and he named willie like he's we've seen willie so good this year so good the best he's ever been yes and now it's nonchalant willie whereas if he backpedals now it's

turning the puck over yeah how many times have we seen him turn the puck over in the last 10 games? You made the comment that what we want to see from Willie was consistency, right? Because when he's at his best, he's as good as anyone. Can he cut out those stretches? I think after like 34 games, Willie was first in the NHL where he'd only had four games without a point. He had points like 30 of 34 games or something. Last eight games, he hasn't had a point in six of them.

So it's back to that consistency, the thing where you go, there's this dip in the season at a certain point where... But this is as long a dip as it's been in the last two years. No, you're right. I don't remember it being a 10-game stretch, even last year, where it was like this. Remember at the end of the year, he was a little bit inconsistent towards the end of the playoffs,

but they at least didn't have a great month of March themselves. I just, it's terrifying. I'm sorry. It's terrifying. And for me, I don't know how any fan that's listening to this can't have watched what just happened after you signed him at his absolute apex

and then have the worst 10-game stretch since, I don't know, 2021? Yeah. Am I taking crazy? I don't know. I think he's going to figure it out. I didn't know the numbers were that bad. Yeah. I meant like in terms of visually.

I don't know. Anyways. Sorry, I'm just panicking. No. He's just having an on-air panic. The one thing that was kind of noticeable for me, forget about the score at 0-0 against the Winnipeg Jets, but they are as good or the best team of just in your face.

Oh, yeah. Okay? And Willie doesn't like that. Austin doesn't like that. Mitch, when you're a puck handler, you want time and space. And Winnipeg gave them nothing. This is not also just him taking $92 million, Sammy, and running away. This is the part of the season now where everything starts tightening up.

And they played the best right now over the course of 41 games in terms of defensive hockey and taking away the middle of the ice and not giving you the time and space to dipsy doodle. And now it's up to Willie. He's got to find a different way to get to the middle of the ice again and start being in a position to cut in and start doing the things that teams were lackadaisical in the first two or three months of doing.

And now it's crunch time back half of the season. He's going to see a lot more of this. Yeah, but, you know, I don't think Willie thinks it's crunch time. You know, like if you look at Willie Nylander, and here's what is really frustrating for people, there's the belief that he can do it when he wants to do it. And that plays into the contract year where he wanted to do it.

And you see him throttle down and, Oh my God, he can look like the best player in the league. I think a playoffs last year when they were chasing Florida in some games, he's the only guy who's trying to cut through the middle, taking it to the net. And you're like, God, this is the guy, you know, you're in game 40 what is it game 45 six tonight

i know you can't sell willie that it's crunch time i know can't and and it just what's frustrating is it feels like he's able to when he wants to and it just... That's why it's like... Pretty chill. He's pretty chill. See, it's going to have to get cleaned up rather quickly here, and I don't know what that means towards Saturday night and then going in an all-star break, but Sheldon seems to be the guy that is 0 to 7 or 8. I'm calm. But if he goes to eight or nine, it's going to go completely the other way.

That's the sense that you're getting here. Yeah. I think it's a really good point too. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you until you just give me no other choice. And now I'm, and it's like any coach, if you have a sense you're going down go down your way yeah but not

their way but do you think that the all-star game in toronto has any bearing for how he's going to handle these sorts of things right now like willie's about to be the featured star here game in toronto like you know get through the all-star break and reassess on the other side I don't know if they can squeeze another point or two Saturday night but it may it may completely be the tone setter on how good your weekend is how much fun you have absolutely yeah oh it'd go a long way you go a long way four off Winnipeg or in two games willie puts in two and a helper and they get a four two empty net win yeah and like good times are coming and i'm getting people like every time you know he gets a pointer of like oh see because i sent out that snarky tweet yeah i

want i'm on your side i want him to do the point i need three points from him on saturday like we can't have another donut yeah and you want to walk around the city. It's your city. All the stars are here. He's eighth in NHL scoring, you know? Like, he puts in a couple, you're right, and he can come in and puff his chest out a little bit. Big game.

Yeah. We should go. Big feel Saturday night. All right, we're going to welcome back Brad May to our show. We know for sure he's coming, right, Sammy? Just teasing. Oh, he's in the on-deck circle after the break. We love it.

May Day next on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Everything Raptors, before and after the games. The Raptor Show with Will Liu. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Very good. Dirk Brandeo is driving this ship. It's not really

Sammy or me. Are we back? We're back. All I heard was hold, hold, hold, hold for TV. Hold that. Hold. Is Brad May holding it? The last I saw of Brad May last night at the fundraiser for the Toronto Maple Leafs was he traded his alumni blazer in for a smoking velvet jacket.

Is that true? Did the trade, was the trade made official Mayday? No, it wasn't. I couldn't get rid of that jacket, Nick. Obviously our alumni jacket's special to all of us and it would be sacrilegious to do it. But that velvet jacket, I've always wanted to – is it velvet or velour? I can't remember.

It was a beautiful navy blue blazer that – it actually fit me better than the guy who owned it. So I thought I looked good for at least five or ten minutes. Buddy, the other thing you told me is like your your your leaf blazer when they made it for you you were probably tipping the toledo at about 250 260 and now easy easy kip it's true though i swear to god it had to be like when i pulled it up like away from my gut there had to be six inches so the worst part about it is i'm actually happy where i am now buddy you look great in but admitting admitting that i was 30 or

40 pounds heavier than i would would be today uh that's just gross but that's what covid did to some of us and it happened to me fun catching up with you last night uh and and many of our buds at the leaf alumni so listen it's been a while since you've been on our show. And thanks for joining us. Of course, we love having you on. I think the last time we had spoken, it was just this foregone conclusion that the Leafs were destined for the playoffs. And who are they going to play with the half of the season gone already? Have they lost that feeling that the playoffs are a given?

Well, no. You know what? I think for fans and for us, and there's no question, the criticism's real. It's right. And it's really important to understand where they are in the season. But Detroit Red Wings are not going to go away. They're only going to go away um they're only going to get better that young group there and the way they've developed their players um i don't see

them slowing down so the question is will toronto muddle um where they are and and find themselves in a in a real dead heat a big race at the end i think this team's kind of taking a breath unfortunately it's way too early and i don't think he can do it in the league. Certainly, for this many games, they've got to smarten up and snap out of it because I was just in Vancouver, a guest of the Toronto Maple Leafs with some of their clients out in Vancouver last weekend. Obviously, we know what the game was. The Canucks had been red hot, but the way they started the game,

Vancouver was up 3-0. They scored three kind of soft goals to get back into the game. They had a little bit of life, and then Vancouver just wore them down by playing a rick-tocket system. It's only going to get tighter and harder and quicker. All-Star breaks around the corner. Maybe it's a reset, but you can't lose easy games and the games that you win,

you got to win. You got to be good teams. Toronto's been, they've been able to beat the worst teams in the league, but they've, they've got to pick up their game. There's no question about it. So maybe one of the issues for them right now is they're not getting depth

scoring. And so we've talked in this show about, they're almost feeling like there's a divide between like the stars here and then the rest of the Leafs. So two part question, just, you know, is it important that it feels like a complete team or can it exist like that and succeed? And if so, how do you make that other part of the team feel like they're a part of it, too? Well, I think there's so many parts that we can we can break around break up there but let's just think back a few years ago nick paul scored two goals in game seven sure it did have bay lightning to beat the toronto maple leafs you need your whole bench you need you know your your lineup it has to be deep you have to have

guys that probably aren't in the the nightly lineup that are actually going to play significant roles down the stretch and in the playoffs. You can't just rely on your top guys because the other teams are actually going to somehow try to game plan out. If you play a penalty-free game and you play the top lines even strength, other teams are positioned to match up well

and shut down the better players. You need depth scoring. Now, the question is, if it's going to be broken up like that, it's not to say it's a bad thing, but what other identity does the bottom six bring? It doesn't matter that you're a great skater and you can pass the puck in practice. It doesn't matter that every once in a while you can score a goal.

You've got to play tough. You've got to be able to defend, and you've got to be miserable and make it harder than the opposition. And I think any championship team would say that. There's no question. Toronto's set. They've got their big guys. We know who they are.

And they will get the significant amount of time. And the puck will be on their stick. But you need guys to step up. And if you're not going to score goals, then you better bring something else. We're talking to Brad May, former NHL or Stanley Cup champion. Mayday, we're seeing maybe a couple of injuries. And just wondering what you think a guy like Ryan Reeves is going through right now. And is there still a world where he can play and contribute in your eyes?

You know, not here to beg on Ryan Reeves, but if there's no takers on the other teams, really, what is that? Ryan, he played awfully well with the Vegas Golden Knights just a couple seasons ago with William Carrier and Thomas Nosek, and they were a real robust fourth line where they actually got to play 10 12 13 minutes a night because they were able to roll their bench in Vegas and Ryan Reeves was a big part of the physicality the question today is a few years later is he quick enough does he have

that foot speed today to actually chase down pucks and actually create that havoc but if you're only playing five six minutes a night, I don't care who you are. It's awfully difficult to actually have the energy in your legs, you know, in the middle of the second period when you haven't been on the ice in 35 minutes. It's not easy. By the way, Nick, you and I both, we experienced it.

We had to do it ourselves. You know, when we didn't get a ton of playing time at times, you've got to stay focused and ready. I hope to think that he's a professional and he's ready to step in and do it, but not playing for this amount of time and not really probably being as, as, as valued that, that probably hurts Ryan reads more than anything is he doesn't feel that he's bringing the value or his coach or team doesn't value his play and that could eat

away at a player well and that's actually i think related to a few guys on the team to differing degrees like reeves are talking about he might be out of the lineup but you have a guy like tavar is making 11 million who i think people are have some questions about you have a guy like tj brody who's been very important for this team who frankly hasn't been very very good. You know, what would those guys be going through? How worried should the team be about the decline in their games as they're both 33, 34 years old? Hey, listen, with term left, obviously with one of them, that's not an enviable place to be. However, listen, John Tavares, to me, has earned every dollar that he's been paid, that he negotiated for.

The problem is it's actually put a big squeeze on their, obviously, salary, the whole structure. But John Tavares, he loves playing. If I was the coach or GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I don't know if this would be legal. If you're able to do this, guys, I'd ask John Tavares to have an injury for the next three months and not play. Alleviates his cap hit.

We go out, we get a few players with the promise. Hey, listen, I understand that you're a great, you're our captain. You'll be ready to play. Not unlike what Kucherov did a few years ago. Not unlike, and injuries played a part in this, but in Vegas, in their quest to win the Stanley Cup, Mark Stone and Jack Eichel didn't play some time, and they were able to use those dollars elsewhere.

And that's how these teams have won. Is that cap circumvention? I don't know. I'm not the cap guru. Yeah, it is. But I love what you're doing here. Carry on. I love this.

I'd be looking at, and I swear, I'd look at them. I'd say, John, you've played your 1,000th game. You've had 1, it is. But I love what you're doing here. Carry on. I love this. I'd be looking at, and I swear, I'd look at him. I'd say, John, you've played your 1,000th game. You've had 1,000 points. What else do you want? You want to win the Stanley Cup? Yes. Okay, you're hurt for the next three months. And you'll be back playing on April 10th or 15th when the playoffs start.

That's what I'd want to see and do. However, maybe that's not. Well, listen. If you ain't cheating, you're not trying. Implicable. I think that would be. However, maybe that's not applicable. If that was the plan, you just ruined it. Well, listen, if it is

the plan, then you know what? I'm a pretty smart guy. That's what ends up happening. But listen, think about other teams. They've done this. This is not... Forget about... I don't know if this is shady. I have no idea. But it's the right thing to do.

You might be the person. And we believe in the captain. He'd be ready to be playing. But the idea there would be to spend the money, you know, obviously smartly. And that would be probably, in my books, would be in the back end. And possibly a goaltender. But no goaltender is going to play great consistently behind that back end night after night hey listen you may be the perfect guy to ask this question or at least

draw some uh some parallels uh to maybe what uh tyler bertuzzi or max domi are going through when you're you we know you could you fought we know you're, we know you could, you fought, we know you battled, we know you could play that role, but you were also a first round pick who could play with some star players in your day, Pat LaFontaine and Buffalo, and you can move up in the lineup.

When you, when you see struggling stars on your team, still take up a buck 30, a buck 40, a buck 50 of the power play, I mean, what does it do to a room, Brad? Or what is it, how does it make you feel? Like if they're out there scoring, it's one thing, but you, how much power play did you ever get?

And did you ever kind of feel like, man, if they're not going to get the job done, please put me out there. I'd like to take a crack at this. Yeah, I think, you know, as a player, I did get to play on the power play at times, but a lot more earlier on in my career. I became more of a role player probably later, second half of my career, but looking at that, you need your guys to show up with passion, with energy.

They have to inject it every day, ready to go. And sometimes when I see these games, these tight games, across the National Hockey League, not looking at Toronto, but across the league, there's a lot of nondescript games where you don't actually understand or can see the personality in a player. So if I was on the bench or in that case, whoever's on the bench in Toronto, yeah,

you'd be pissed. You really would be. If you're not going to see it night in that night out, the consistency factor, we all know who the best players on the team are. And it probably comes down to the salaries that are being paid. And when certain nights are going well, those players are going to be outstanding. But you need these guys to step up and snap a team out of a bad period, a bad five-minute stretch.

And that comes with energy and focus. And it's on the players, but it also has to be on the coaches as well to have their teams prepared and ready to go. And any team that starts slow and are down by a couple goals, I'll tell you what, but it also has to be on the coaches as well to have their teams prepared and ready to go. And any team that starts slow and are down by a couple goals, I'll tell you what, everybody should be under the gun in that case. Show a personality. Bottom six, who are you? What's your identity?

I can tell you one thing. If there was an opportunity to play on that bottom six for anybody that was hungry, there's a big opportunity there's a big big role to be filled to show up be physical obviously blocking shots is probably the toughest job in hockey today to be there to do all the right things but it's not all about skating and and beautiful passes and of course scoring goals would be nice but it's about chipping the puck out at the blue lines winning those battles being face-off ready, you know, being on top of it, on the hop, back-checking to the house, inside the tops of the circles,

inside, you know, even in the hash marks area where you're not going to allow because that's where the goals are going to be scored. And it's going to get tougher and tighter as the playoffs you know become nearer down the stretch obviously we haven't even hit the you know the all-star break but hockey's going to pick up another level or two and if i'm bertuzzi if i'm domi understand where you came from and who you who else you can be you don't have to match nylander's skill i'll tell you what Nylander's a better player if you're playing more physical and hungrier. Get tougher. Get meaner.

And you know what? Take names. And honestly, I don't care if you hurt anybody either, by the way. The game is tough. It's professional. And this whole idea of tippy-toeing around, you can shove it. You know where to go. I can't think of a better way to end our segment right there.

This is bam. Wow. Love it. Great stuff, Mayday. Back, baby. Back. Thanks so much, man. Thank you.

Have a great weekend. That's Brad May. Ooh, did he bring it. I mean. Absolutely bring it. Okay. Love the idea about John Tavares. Okay.

Hold on. We're going to pick up on that, but you got a reading right now. Don't you have to get in? I got a little reading. Yes, I do. And I will read it. From February 1st through the 3rd, all the All-Stars are in Toronto for the NHL All-Star Weekend, and we've been giving away tickets to the different events over the past few

weeks. Today, we have tickets for the 2024 Rogers NHL All-Star Game, the hottest event in Toronto with Matthews, McDaviddavid crosby and all the league's best players descending on scotia bank arena for a chance to win enter today's code word all-star game to 590 590 this is the last code word for the all-star weekend giveaway so be sure to tune in for uh got going too fast stick with it oh boy so be sure to text the code word in uh that code again is, is All-Star Game. See?

Dom. Hey, I'm the one that went out last night and had a few drinks. Not you. Well, I had a few drinks at the hockey game. Okay, we're almost done this edition of Leafs on our show. Did he throw out something rather significant? Yes. You would go to Tavares and pull the bat back.

I love that he's like, I don't know if this is shady or like, let me stop you right there. It is. However, I mean, that doesn't mean you can't do it just because it's those things. I think it's so sad that that's where the conversation has gotten

to. Because of the salary gap. Yeah, because teams have done it. Teams have taken advantage of it. And again, I don't know what you can prove and not prove, but they've left this thing wide open for everybody to go down this path. Kip, like if a doctor came in here and gave you a physical, you could find reasons why you couldn't play hockey today. Knees, elbows, whatever.

You know, like all of us who've played any hockey. you could find reasons why you couldn't play hockey today. Knees, elbows, whatever. You know, like all of us who've played any hockey. And at 70%, 75, is there a rule that says if I feel like I'm 75%, I don't go on the long-term injury reserve or I can? Yeah, I'm hurt enough. I agree with the team that I'm not great. The difference is that Tampa Bay did it. Vegas did it. If Toronto did that,

Gary's SWAT team would be kicking down the door of Ford performance center to investigate the whole organization. And it would have to be Gary and Gary alone. You're never going to hear other players bitching wine about it. Oh, but you're come. No, you're not.

You're going to hear other, you're going to hear other, I'll tell you why GMms and owners and everything we may need it ourselves down the road and that's why you'll never hear other teams complain is because if you need it be careful what you throw out because we want we may need the same thing down the road it's funny i don't even know you know then you gotta get to work trying to figure out how to allocate that money and what you would do. I mean, we're just throwing things.

Well, you'd have to have something in mind, right? You'd have to have a guy lined up. You'd have to have all your ducks in order. Elias Lindholm. And then you pull the plug on it. Yeah. Damn it. You could get two really good players in here with Tavares' money.

And then add Tavares. Yeah, that'd be nice. It's a good idea, Mayday. You still got to trade for them, buddy. You still got to give up your first round picks. By the way, this is the guy who said he would fight his mom to win a cup. He caps our convention. Yeah, he would do that.

Wow. Brad May. Great job, as always, in this hour of real kipper and born okay don't go away we got a ton to go including patrick waz returned to montreal a gallagher potential suspension i want to get your thoughts on that hit baby plenty more on the real kipper and born show do not go away