Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Snapping Streaks

Episode Date: October 29, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee reflect on the Leafs' 6-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets to end their undefeated start. They dig into the Leafs' sense of urgency in the bounce-back performance, strong returns from a Tavares/Nylander/Pacioretty second line, Knies' growing importance and the new-look power play showing progress. Later, Leafs radio analyst Jim Ralph (34:10) shares his thoughts on Craig Berube's lineup decisions and the players whose stock has risen and fallen under Chief.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 thanks for giving me an update on our regional schedule i'm gonna go to work soon big match coming up big. Big match. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, Derek Brandeo, and Jake the Snake Schultz with you for the next two hours as we get into our Leaf Edition hour. Toronto Maple Leafs snap their three-game losing streak. They snap the Winnipeg Jets 8-0 start out of the gate. And the Jets don't come close to the leaf 10 and 0 run that started uh in 94 they uh they got out of the gate only fitting right that the leaf shut down the winnipeg

last night defended the leaf's history that's great the jets had beat no one so you go back and look at that i'm just saying they beat the Oilers in game one and then they beat seven non-playoffs alright I'm not trying to take away from the Leafs where was that when Sean Reynolds was on yesterday he said it but you needed to say it

right out of the gate it's over this is Leafs hour no one's listening in Winnipeg anymore that team's no good I did the exact same thing on Leafs talk last night. Oh, yeah. I went through the schedule. It's like bad win, bad win.

They're fine. The Jets are fine. On style of play for 60 minutes or end result, a little bit of both. Not so much one way than the other, but like what was the most important thing out of last night you got? Before you get into that, just that drop that we just played, is there anything better than beating the Leafs? They have not beat the Leafs since then.

The Leafs are 6-0 since that clip. Anyways, continue. So is that like now? That's the new Bambino curse. Is that the curse? Sure. Let's hear it. Is there anything better than beating the Leafs? Hey? Is there anything better than beating the leafs hey is there anything better

than beating the leafs hey how far ago was that a while ago six games years like what four years they only play each other like once a year twice a year that was probably 2021 2022 i can't remember uh i'll say the biggest takeaway for me is getting up for nothing you know like they they went out there there's question marks what were the shots in the first period 18 to 6 or something pretty out of hand like the leafs went out there and we talked about crisis of identity and i thought they went out there and did the bruby things they went out there you know straight lines physical took care of business and youwise, like the gaps between a forward check or the defense closing off the middle of the ice

or the back pressure came through again for me. As consistent as we saw against Tampa, no. But they had much better energy. I thought they, from top to bottom, they had a sense of urgency into, we really sucked and we need to end this now. I think what's crazy is that that didn't happen against St. Louis after Columbus.

Like, I thought that was the game we were going to get last night's effort. But I do take some comfort in that the things I've thought about this team are visible last night. That when there is that buy-in and committed, everyone plays the same way, it can look really good. It looked really good for a lot of last night. Just do your job.

Yeah, things started to slip a little bit. But by and large, I thought they did their job. I didn't catch any of your post-game show last night. Do you usually catch that? No, but I thought it was appropriate that I opened up with a comment that maybe some people would imply or believe that I would have watched it, but I got busy or... Yeah, listen, it's okay.

You don't sleep? Yeah. yeah listen i don't go to sleep much long like after these talks done it's not long till i'm asleep either but what did you and jd kind of chew on after i think the second line coming together there of going back to the well of tavaris and nylander and moving patch ready up there is something that I was not a fan of. I don't think any of us were a fan of. And I think there's been a lot of conversation about the decline of John Tavares, which is fair. I think it's a real conversation.

But then I also do feel a little bit guilty that when you put him with two NHL caliber wingers, he doesn't look so bad anymore. Right? Like he was at the start this year, he's playing with whoever at the bottom half of the lineup, Nick Robertson, Holmberg, whoever they put him with, McMahon. They put him with two good wingers, and he starts to look a little better. So I did feel a little guilty watching last night, him having a good game. Patrick gets him to five goals, four assists, nine points in nine games.

With Max Petrucci, John DeVars, and William Nylander on the ice versus the Jets, the shot attempts were 16-7. Yeah, the expected goal is 87% and goals were 4-0 for the Leafs with that line on the ice. I don't know if that's a line I would bet on long term, but I thought Pacioretty looked really good. I actually thought

he looked good generally for them when he's in. Best line out there. No one could touch the nine points that they provided. I tip my hat to John Tavares because he came in feeling it for sure. And, you know, a lot of things that he's going through in the last little while that he's never experienced his whole career, including losing the captaincy and losing his regular spot at second line center,

including down a minute and a half of your ice time. Like all of it. Off the thought power play unit? Off, well. PP2? That just kind of recently happened. But he's been forever, since he signed, a huge part of the Toronto Maple Leaf power play

that is an effective part and taking a ton of heat. So he's also feeling that on his shoulders. And for him to come in and score three goals uh i thought was like says a lot you know about still where he thinks he is or where he thinks he should be and that one was a reminder that this is kind of what people were expecting i think you know since the moment he signed six years ago a 77 million dollar contract it's funny because like he has such a nose for the net that's just like one of the things he does very well and he plays in that blue paint it's why it's so perplexing when he has

stretches at five on five where he won't score for 20 games you know like he well the one thing that he's been notorious for is he's got great timing around the net. Yeah. And last night was, again, a simple situation where Pacioretty on the first goal makes an unbelievable slide over on one-handed. One-hander. But you've got to be there, and you've got to sense it. And he's always had great timing in front of the net. And that's been his bread and butter. But if it's not there and there is no puck luck as well,

then listen, I'm not taking away anything out of the nine points that they had. But there was some puck luck. Yeah, yeah. Which is... Over the course of the season, you have some nights where you get it and and right now austin does not have it no and i thought austin was better i thought he was more forceful last night i think him and and mitch mitch had the puck all night last night for me but right now what's missing with austin is some puck luck yeah oh yeah his shooting

percentage is like 16 usually he's at seven percent this year. Some pucks are going to go in. Do you want to hear, Berube? So we've got a few on Berube, and we've talked about a few of these things. Overview of the game on the start or on that line. Any of them work for me? Is there anywhere you want to start in particular? Yeah, I want to get a sense of Berube and what he thought of last night's game. Sure.

Start with that overview. Clip one. I thought we were really good five on five tonight. You know, played the right way the whole game. Penalties got us in trouble. Got to do a better job there of not taking them, but also getting the kills. Just six on five goal, the goalie out. We got to do a better job there, but it was a very good game.

Very solid game by our team. goal the goalie out we got to do a better job there but it was a very good game very solid game by our team i thought everybody was really working and competing and skating and playing the right way all right five on five yeah well and john tavaris it's been an issue with him five on five he's on for all three goals uh even strength and I think it was his fourth hat trick as a Toronto Maple Leaf. Correct. Without knowing what happened in the other three hat tricks,

I'd probably say this was the first one where all three of them came even strength. I don't know. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's not. Yeah. Luckily, I wear this magical amulet. He got the magic last night.

You think it? The universal line. It kicked in. I think it finally clicked. Maybe the flu's over and now he's feeling 100% again. Maybe he's back. Why don't we go to Berube for his thoughts on that line with Willie Tavares and Max Bacchetti.

Clip three, please. Well, they had a heck of a game, right? I mean, they got it done offensively and i thought that you know they went up against shifley's line for most of the game and they were very good defensively yeah sounds about right very good defensively it's a strong line i i'm surprised they had such a good night i'll be honest same don't love the construction of that line it's not to me it's shooter shooter shooter so yeah you know they got a couple of bounces and stuff and that's great and i even made some nice passes i don't want to take away from last night i'm saying long term that line i'm not sold it's a keeper for the

regular season though like maybe that this is a wake-up call that you stop trying to make something other than john devars as the second line center happen until you have something that is better than that maybe you look at the second line center happened until you have something that is better than that. Maybe you look at the deadline or look what they do. But I don't know. Just watching him play with Willie, none of us love it. But is it not the best option for your second line still? You know, we talked about finding something that was lost yesterday,

searching for your wallet. Maybe you actually found your wallet here and you just have to put it in your pocket and stick with it. I don't love it. No one loves it. But I think it's better pocket and stick with it i don't love it no one loves it but it's i think it's better than probably max to me isn't it probably yeah probably the case you just keep going with the flow see who's going and you put somebody in there i i don't imagine that Imagine that last night, really, to your point, JB has changed their feeling about, wow, John's back,

or this is the John that we're going to get now the rest of the season. We don't have to solve this problem. It's still a problem. He still showed us last night he's a second-line centerman in the National Hockey League. But I do wonder, Kip. That didn't happen, did it, last night? No, but I think it does bring up the question how many second line centers in the nhl even on the good teams are 65 70 point guys

you know probably not a ton that's a good number a lot of points yeah but that's just one-dimensional thinking it is one-dimensional. Yeah. And John's issue isn't he doesn't know where to stand in front of the net, I can assure you. No. But where the issues have been is carrying the puck over the blue line, making right decisions. Yeah, when the games get heavier and faster, is he going to be able to stay there?

Not finding yourself on the right side of a 50-50 puck and then watching the puck leave his zone. So those are still, I think, the concerns of the Leafs moving forward and ultimately what does it look like. So to Sammy's point, just when it's going, it's going. And when it's not you move somebody out move max in move homberg up move camp up uh whatever whatever the case is let's uh why don't we hear what uh max patch ready weighed in on moving up the lineup i thought this was very interesting

his thoughts yeah i bet i mean obviously it was like playing a little bit of a different role here to start. And, you know, so to get bumped up and know that, you know, there's a chance here to pitch in and play a little bit more and pitch in offensively. I knew I had to, you know, bring my game, I guess. And like I said, it's just easy to play with those guys. And as long as I'm moving my feet, I think that I can fit in with them. Max Pacioretty, two goals and three assists, five points in seven games. He's plus four, and that's an 11.35 of ice time per game.

Pretty efficient minutes he's given the Leafs when he's been in. When he's moving his feet and when he feels good. But that's him and Tavares, the two of them. They can be very effective when they're moving out there. But at least Tavares is still a guy that you pencil in every day. They're not there with Pacioretty. They're not convinced. But are you not so far?

Like, I've seen enough now where I'm like, he's definitely better than having Holmberg in there. No, no, i'm not there oh well because it's just man it's it's it's just the stretch about roberts that you can go with too small yeah i'm saying like patch ready's probably ahead of him right like it's game one against austin tonight who you got i don't i i just to to cra Bruvy's point, who's the opponent? How big are they? Who do I want in? Who do I want out?

Unless some of these guys like McMahon, Pacioretty, Holmberg, Robertson, step up and say, guess what? I ain't leaving the lineup. This is the last time I'm a healthy scratch, and I'm going to make it so hard for you to take me out of the lineup, I'm done with the healthy scratch. Until one of those guys says that, all you're going to see is probably a revolving door.

Yeah. How about, so Thursday night is the day that players can come off IR, long-term IR. So Dewar is going to be available after Halloween. So is Hockenpah. So both guys, I think they're combined. Salary is about $2.7 million. I mean, if they're ready to go, someone's going to have to go.

Like presumably Myers will go down to the American Hockey League, but someone else is going to have to move because these guys they're bringing in are pretty good players. Like they're scratching pretty good hockey players, and someone, a trade is probably going to have to happen because these guys they're bringing in are pretty good players like they're scratching pretty good hockey players and someone a trade is probably gonna have to happen unless you wave i don't know pick a name but to go back to the patch or anything like that's a good point but for now for a couple of games here he's played his way out of the press box rotation for me yeah like i just he's bigger he's got all he And he can hit. And he's using his weight. I mean, the plays last night that he made,

all the goals were direct, you know, off of his hard work. The pass he makes to Willie who does the behind the back, pokes it in front of the net. We're really back to where we were a week and a half ago, two weeks ago. Yeah, but how often can you do it? And how often do you want to do it? How often do you need a guy

to do it who's making 850 grand like i mean what's a good output for his number and it's probably if he does that once every four games three games pretty good okay but then he has done it as opposed to robertson or holmberg who have done nothing but then dress him one out of every four games not you just four out of four. What's that? You just don't know the games you're going to get it, right? You've proven if he's well-rested, you can get something good out of him or piss him off. That really helps players be motivated

when they're pissed off for being a healthy scratch. Our buddy Bunk is calling Nick Robertson scratch and score. It was like last year he would get scratched then come to come in and score and so saturday night against seattle here comes until you get a level of consistency but when patches felt good and had good legs and is motivated like he he hits yeah he hits big big guy and he's got a lot of man you know mcmahon's got a hit like patch ready when when he's feeling good we talked about this uh off air yesterday that like if you know the coach wants you to be a certain type of guy i was saying that i wasn't a certain type of

guy but there are times i was like i know my coach really wants me to go be something I'm not. I'll fight someone, get beat up, whatever. It's crazy to me that one of these guys hasn't been like, I'm going to win Berube's love and go do something like that. And I told you that's a bad idea. It's a bad idea. Because... You don't think if

Bobby McMahon went out there... It's better to do nothing than go in there and have your attitude that I'm going to get beat up, but I'm at least going to show you this. It wasn't my attitude. It was just what happened. I didn't plan on losing. But I can already sense that you don't believe in the role,

and you're just doing it for the sake of doing it, and that's not the purpose of going and confront somebody. Well, listen, McMahon's never going to be it, though. He doesn't want to be that. If he doesn't, and he's not scoring 20 goals or 25 goals, buddy, then time to leave. Give me the guy who's willing to try the thing you want him to do. And I'm just surprised.

I'm not saying he should. I don't think that's... But it's just surprising that none of those guys have been like, okay, well, Holmberg fought in preseason, didn't he? He did. But if there's not a part of you that – And he's got a lot of love from the coach. That has enough fire in your belly to go in there

and just fight for yourself and your pride. Like, it serves no purpose to go in there and get beat up or end up at the bottom of a pile when you really had no business doing it. I just think it shows your coach you're paying attention to what he wants you to do and earns you more opportunity. And right now, Holmberg has been given so much opportunity this year. And has he been any better than McMahon? I totally agree.

It's the consistency. We've seen flashes out of all of them that they can be pretty good hockey players. that depth is so needed. Obviously, the Leafs have extraordinary talent, and I don't think scoring 95

or 100 points again this year will be an issue, but that consistency that you're talking about to beat a florida tampa bay a boston in the first round and then face one of the teams i just mentioned and maybe in the second round to get to a a potential of a conference final you got to be well trained over 82 games to show up when you don't feel like doing it. Isn't consistency expensive, though, in terms of players? Yeah, tons of guys get you one every four games.

If you do it all the time, you're rich. That's why, you know, you pay $40 million for four forwards. You're going to have to live with some inconsistencies in the bottom half of your lineup. I like the line of consistency. Listen, it is. The whole idea is to have developed that by now. And that's, again, where the Leafs have failed. Like Pontus Holmberg, his development should be so advanced for me

that he should be doing what Lindell's done. Yeah, that's a great analogy in Florida. In Florida. He's so good. in Florida where it's like big strong guy knows he'll never be a top six star but come in and just

hold your own and be big and miserable and play 200 feet and have that skill and like Lindell doesn't have the issues Florida doesn't have the issues with a Lindell have the issues with a lindell or some of their guys on the third or fourth line coming in and out no um bigger issue last night for me uh special teams still not fixed we talk give him all this praise go ahead just the lindell thing

like i mean he's a first round pick like he's a top 15 guy yeah picked in the draft like he's pedigree guy like what is holmberg? He's a fourth, fifth, or maybe he's a third, fourth round pick. It's a little difference between a guy that's drafted in the top 15 and a guy who's a third round pick they're trying to develop. When the dust settles, Sammy, when the dust settles, they're more comparable

than not. No one's saying Lindell's failed or as a 15th overall pick. He 12th 12th overall yeah holmberg is a six but no one's saying that he's he's underachieved or failed he just champion you just paid a heavy price for a guy that could come in and and be big and strong so sometimes you can get lucky and you don't have to spend a first round pick but you can sign one as a free agent but it's it's the development over the last

three or four years that matter. Matthew Nyes is not a first round pick but when he's negotiating with the Toronto Maple Leafs he will act like one of the top 22 year olds

in the world. You gave us your Slavkovsky comparable the other day. Buddy, Slavkovsky, Quinton Byfield, Seth Jarvis, all of them. He's in that class where if you want to sign him to a long-term deal, then you better be talking about $6.5 million to $8 million times eight.

That's where Matthew Nyes is gone. Jeez. I mean, what did Quentin Byfield sign for? Not that. Would you Google it, please? I'm just looking right now. I just remember he just signed a contract. He's five and a half year.

Sorry, he's five years, $5.5 million. If you are the Leafs, you're not going to make more than Byfield. Maybe he'll score 20 goals in the year. He's a center. Buddy, right now, Matthew Nyes is more valuable than Byfield right now to Los Angeles. I think I would. So his cap is 6.25.

I don't know where. 6.25? Yeah, for five years. Byfield's 6.25. That's for five years. By fields? Yeah, it's high. 6.25. Yeah. That's what I said. Didn't you say eight? I said six and a half to eight.

Okay. Am I in the ballpark? I don't know. I had not anticipated a number like that, so it doesn't feel like you are, but maybe you are. I don't know. To buy UFA years off of these kids who are looking like sure bets, that's where that marketplace is. Do you think they'll negotiate with nize in season he's got six points in 10 games here he's a horse

right now like last night again like it was that shorthanded rush where he did that little pivot in the neutral zone or in the uh in in the slot um he's doing things now that there you go that's pretty impressive he scored a lot in his life you can see sniffs it out pretty good he can he can create his own looks and he's heavy he's also killing penalties now yeah that's it was shorthanded that the play that i was talking about but i say he's up two to three minutes i don't know if there's a huge rush to get there but you you could just you could bridge him right at three three and a half i don't know and go from there but all i'm saying is that he's turning into a very important player right now yeah he's been awesome he really is a bright spot in this season and just a fun player to watch because you feel like he's going to win puck battles he's going to create chances really a

fun maple leaf right now there i mean the thing is with the way that they've traded away picks and rightfully so in your competitive window you're going to trade away first round picks that's like i mean that's how they got jake mccabe you got a first round like there's there's things you're going to trade away first for but the hope is that you would have had a Matthew Nyes on defense too. That a guy that comes up and is developed and is playing in your top half of your decor or like another guy that's like a Matthew Nyes. They've just had so little help from the draft

and that's why they've had to sign guys to minimum contracts and try this stuff. And I think that's why Matthew Nyes sticks out. It's nice to have a guy. What's he made? He's on a minimum contract contributing on your top line sure you're gonna have to pay him but right now what he's making and what he's giving you he is in terms of importance to the leafs he is so so high on the list like i love watching picture that left side without him yeah him and mccabe

are more crucial than people think it's bleak without him he is a horse right now and he's getting better every game boys he's improving's improving. He is. Okay, one thing that you mentioned was the power play. Yeah. Still nothing. What are they, three for 32 on the season now, 9%? Puts them at 29th in the NHL, I believe. Don't shoot the messenger here, but progress last night

on a roll for two? Yeah. I thought it looked so much better. Okay. Good, good, good. I thought you guys were going to get that. Only one main reason, Marner had the puck more. Yeah? Yeah. How about Willie, by the way? Last year was getting like 18 shots per 60 or whatever.

He's down to like 18. He never gets shots anymore. Now he's off it. I wonder if that's part of their lack of success. But anyway, he's not on that unit. You know what it is for me? They're not deferring to each other. Like there just seems to be more defined roles

as opposed to on the top one where it's all those guys are like, oh, I'll pass to him, I'll pass to him. Way less deferring last night. Way more towards the net. All right, let's go to Craig Berube on a Kipper's Clipper on his power play. I thought it was really good. I really liked what I saw by both units.

Went downhill, they shot, recovered, attacked right away. You know, it didn't go in Went downhill, they shot, recovered, attacked right away. You know, it didn't go in, but, you know, I thought that they looked good to me. All right, just some progress. That's good. And Morgan found a way to score a couple of goals in the last few games.

Shot of his? By the way, Willie, great dish, and the shot by Morgan was unbelievable. That's the best shot of his career. You think great dish and the shot by morgan was unbelievable that's the best shot of his career i think so he's had a few not like that he stares down connor hellbuck who's supposedly one of the best goalies in the world and goes bar down on him over his left shoulder that's the best shot i've ever seen morgan rally have i'll say it all right well we expected a little more from him offensively uh this year so hopefully this is the start of him breaking out. Stolarz still finds a way to get his Ws.

I think he maybe came back to earth a little bit, but when you come back to earth a little bit and still find a way to win, that's a really good sign. He made some good saves. I find he reads backdoor plays really well, gets across in plays where you're like, oh, boy. He's like, okay, He's a cross and solid. Yeah, a couple went in that maybe he didn't love.

It was the first game where I was like, eh. Does anybody kind of catch and release better than Kyle Conner right now? No. I mean, he's. Like, that's like, that's off the chart stuff. One of his goals got taken away. It wasn't a hat trick. His filardi or something.

Really impressive, though. Yeah. stuff one of the schools got really wasn't a hat trick his filardi or something really impressive though yeah and their power play still looks dynamite even though that i thought they were so flat to start the game yeah and i don't know if they were tired coming off a couple games on the road and that that early adjustment but they were behind a step and And I thought Hellebuck had a chance to get pulled at 4-0, and it just didn't happen. Yeah. He looked, he was first round Hellebuck. Did you see him on Twitter?

No, I did not. I mean, there's not a goalie in the world, like a quote-unquote good goalie that i have less you know fear of than he's not afraid of him in the four nations face off he'll be the third goalie like he just he like last night he was swimming all over the place last year you could trick me like i i every game i watch him like i guess i don't watch him much in the regular season i'm watching the playoffs he gets lit up every game against the leafs they shoot five or six by him i don't know bunkus is like you're jinxing canada and i think sam said never never seen him play a good game i think

i don't know he just swims around and like his body language just says i've never given up a bad goal in my life right but you want your goalie to feel that way. Okay. You know? But every once in a while, when you are giving him up. Where one may be. Yeah. When you are giving him up, like, I don't know. Flawless.

Who? Hellbuck. Oh, yeah, yeah. He believes himself to be flawless. Well, it is nice. I think you mentioned the desperate, like, the Jets not looking. Looking a little tired.

You could tell that one of these teams is on an eight-game winning streak on the first game home from a road trip, and one team is market is burning, where they're writing articles about how Leaf fans, how much more can they take, and all this different stuff. You could

definitely see that. And I needed that one last night for my mental health. It's nice to see. We called it. We called it. We called it yesterday coming out of the show. There were tons of chants, too, right? I mean, it was just half the building must have been Leaf fans. Yeah. Well, I was upset with Amazon.

Forslund was like, oh, the Jets fans are really into it. I'm like, those are Leaf fans. Forsy, they're Leaf fans. He's saying, I'm like, it's go, Leafs, go. It's clearly, and they're like, the Jets fans are really chanting. And I'm like, no, it was're Leafs fans. He's saying, I'm like, it's go Leafs, go. It's clearly, and they're like, the Jets fans are really chanting. And I'm like, no, it was the Leafs. The best thing about having a Forslund and, is it Thomas Hickey? Yeah.

On the call is that they don't watch the Leafs every day and don't have the scars. So they don't know how it all goes all the time. They just say positive things. Yeah, yeah. All the time. Yeah. If you watch long enough, you know how this movie ends. They're selling subscriptions

all right actually the way the least played last time i started calling them the bezos boys they're red power play was red hot oh my god what wasn't red hot matthew's red hot everything's uh but the jets power play is terrifying he's very good they just they find kyle connor in the right spot and he shoots it in. And that's one thing the Leafs have to aspire is to. There's no reason why they shouldn't be able to move a puck like that that quickly.

And even Shifley's cross-ice seam pass, that one gets broken up time and time again if you're the Leafs, and that one finds a way to get through. What is the difference? Not sure the answer there needs to be figured out we should get to Ralphie alright go ahead Sammy I was just going to say that I wanted to point out a play that Tanev made last night but we don't

it's not necessarily important but on the end of at the end of the game he was on for a couple against last night I didn't think he had his strongest game end of the third period they pull the goalie the puck gets rimmed around there's a couple jets chasing him he's under pressure he's on the right side of the ice with a right hand shot picks it out of the third period, they pull the goalie. The puck gets rimmed around. There's a couple jets chasing him. He's under pressure. He's on the right side of the ice with a right-hand shot, picks it out of the corner,

makes a great saucer pass to Tavares and Tavares backhands it in. I'm just thinking to myself, what would DJ Brody have done in that situation? Rim it into someone's skate. He would have beat it to a square and Kyle Carr would have shot it in time. Is anyone close in the league to him in blocked shots? Oh my God. I don't know. He eats them.

Eats them. It's all he does. It's unbelievable. Give that man his money because that doesn't look fun. I've never seen a player in 40 years put himself in such vulnerable and dangerous places constantly as he does. It's unreal. The second highest shot blocked total in the Leafs is Jake McCabe with 20,

and Tanev has 38. Oh, my. Almost double the second. 38? That is first in the NHL ahead of Rasmus Andersen by six. He's running away with the block shot lead. Come on. That's insane.

Well, just. Chris, if you're listening, just one flamingo. Give me a flamingo. Pray for the 15 games that is in February and not April. I don't know if I ever blocked 38 shots a lifetime. Lifetime. I may not have blocked 38 shots. We won't make fun of him if he flamingos one.

Yeah, you will. Two-foot jump, if you ask me. All right. Okay, let's take a quick break. When we return, we'll get Jim Ralph's thoughts on what happened last night. Winnipeg Jets get their winning streak shut down by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the top of the hour. We welcome back Steve Allicat, analyst with the New York Rangers, MSG,

and also a great guest of our show now on Tuesdays. We'll get into a ton with him, including all the juicy stuff that you like, JB. Like that? Yep. Analytics, baby. Sexy stuff. More when we return to Real Kipper and Born. Hey, it's Ben Ennis. And I'm Brent Cunning.

We got you covered on all things Leafs, Raptors, and Blue Jays every weekday morning, 6 to 9. It's the Fan Morning Show. Sportsnet 590 The Fan and wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. Still a terrific show coming up. In moments, we'll welcome in Jim Ralph. Called the game last night.

Toronto Maple Leaf radio color analyst. Top of the hour, Steve Alliquette. And then we'll welcome back our orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jason Smith. I don't know. Kipper, I have never met anyone whose phone makes more sounds. Like not just one sound, but like there's different notifications, wind chimes. It used to be a Scarface thing for a little while. It allows you to kind of differentiate.

Except I can't remember whose is what. That's my biggest problem, but that's like six concussions, right? We have our guest. Yeah. Do we talk Joseph Wohl? Is he going to play again? Now, if I didn't have six concussions, I'd remember who it is. We have Jim Ralph.

Jim Ralph. Yeah. Ralphie, what's going on, buddy? How many concussions did I see live? Far too many. How are you, pal? Good. Good. I appreciate you having me on after a win yes exactly it's not always doom and gloom around here covering the toronto maple leaf so uh enough

for you to say they put a few issues behind them from last week moving forward uh against seattle thursday night at home yeah i think we saw a little more of what we saw in the first five or six games. Last night, as far as, I mean, you look at, I think every goal, but the empty netter started with dumping the puck in and going after it. And so it wasn't the great three-way passing play coming over the blue line. It was, you know, I go back to that first win against New Jersey, the first win of the season for them, where they had three in the first period,

and they were all of the ugly kind, you know, bouncing pucks in the crease and tip-ins and screens, and that's what they got back to doing. And, you know, it doesn't mean that the skill isn't there where you can't utilize it at the right time, but I think they got back to uh not giving up the odd man rushes and not cheating uh on the four check and they won far more uh one-on-one battles than they did the three or four previous games ralphie what do

you make so far of the way craig berube has evaluated this Leafs roster obviously some guys are getting a little bit more love than previous coach and some guys getting less any surprises in terms of who he's decided he likes and who he doesn't seem to like well uh I think he likes Max Pacioretty a lot more now than me yeah but yeah that's the same thing I, that's, you know, when you make that coaching change, one thing you've got to realize is everybody starts on a blank page, like a clean slate. And there's going to be things that he likes about certain players and things that he's going to want improvements on.

And, you know, I think, you know, Patrick Reddy's probably a good example. You know, they've gone off to a decent start, but then healthy scratch in back-to-back games. But a lot of it's going to be necessity, too. You know, if you lose three games in a row, there are enough bodies around that he's not going to hesitate to make changes. But, you know, even with...

And, of course, as we saw even with John Tavares, that it's changed. I think the game in Boston was a season low. It was a little over 14 minutes for Tavares, and he was back up to his normal 18 minutes last night in Winnipeg. So give Brube credit. He's not sitting around and trying to go with the same lines night in and night out. If he doesn't see something, he's going to make a change. Jim, as far as Tavares going back and reuniting with Willie Nylander,

is that just basically now what you expect to see unless they do something outside of what's in-house? Because in-house, we've seen the last six weeks, we've seen guys move in and out of the lineup. We've seen Max in there. And now John's back there. So where do you see this moving forward when it comes to the first and second line centermen on the Toronto Maple Leafs? Yeah, I think, Kipper, the first line is set.

You know, you might move things with, we've seen Lelander go out with Matthews and Marner at times when Berube was trying to get more offense out of them, but I think outside of the top line, which I think is going to be pretty consistent throughout the season,

if they're fortunate enough to be healthy, but I think everything else is going to be a science lab from now to the end of the season, finding things that work. The other thing about Tavares last time, he won 76% of his face-offs. And that is huge when you start looking at puck possession stats and everything else. Do you want that from your number three center or your number two center?

I think that's why it was huge that he your number three center or your number two center? You know, and I think if, that's why it was huge that, you know, put the virus back with Nylander and Pacioretty because they had the face-off wins and they actually, you know, gutted the game out. Like it wasn't, like I said, pretty where it was odd man rushes and great plays coming off the wing. I mean, that was, you know, dump it in and grind it out. And I think that's, you know, they're going to struggle with that,

I think, for a while. Because whenever you start to hit tough times, I think it's easy to get back into old habits. You know, whether it's leaving the zone early or some bad pinches by the defense. And I think that's, you know, the first half of the season anyway, I think that's going to be their biggest struggle is to not want to go off leash, you know,

when things start getting a little tough. So one place that I'm interested in the Leafs roster is the bottom of the D-Corp. Timothy Lilligren has gotten one game through 10 so far. Myers has gotten a game, but Connor Timmons has kind of become a mainstay in the lineup how do you see that shaking up over the course of the season is it is it right to continue to give timmons all these games frankly i kind of like him and wouldn't hate to see him get some

power play time but that's just me jim yeah and don't forget so barney he had he had a great training camp last year yeah and uh and then got hurt going into the regular season. I think it limited him to about 25 games. But there's another example of a new coach assessing what he's got. When you talk about who is a favorite and who isn't, unfortunately for Timothy Lilligren, it looks like it's going to be a wait and see. Let's not forget, you get Y get Jenny Hockenpah back.

You would think, you know, just looking at the numbers, that it might be Connor Tim as it comes out of the lineup. But the great thing about the NHL, you think you've got too many defensemen, just wait a week and see who's healthy at the end of the week. I mean, it's a luxury to have a problem, especially with right-handed D. Ralphie, last night we saw the best power play

in the National Hockey League versus one of the worst ones in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Only Washington, Anaheim, and Buffalo have a worse power play than the Toronto Maple Leafs. How shocking is this for you with Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares, notoriously known as power play guys and world-class talent? And did you see enough to say that maybe last night

they turned a corner a little bit? I don't know if I'm there yet, Kipper. I think because this actually goes back to, I think, the last February, which is when it started to fall apart. It was stagnant in the playoffs against Boston. And, you know, I think where the frustration comes in is you're not saying, boy, they're getting their chances, but they're just not finishing. I mean, it's, you know, painfully Washington trying to gain the zone off the rush

of the power play, and then having it broken up and sent back down. I mean, that's to me been a big source, I think, of frustration for the coaching staff and everything else is the zone entries. It seems like if the team clears it, you basically killed the penalty

off because it'll take them a minute 20 to get back in the offensive zone. So that's to me what the concern is. I mean, Brubé again, you know, mixed up the power play lines and it looked like it was better in the sense where it was a shoot first mentality, not making those 15 passes

to get it back where it started. So I did like the fact that it was more two guys going to the net and throw it there. But I think that's why Oliver Ekman-Larsen replaced Morgan Riley in the first place, because he tends to fire it more from the point. So I think it's a step. I think it's like Craig Brubay said after the Boston game. It's closer, but it's not what they need.

There's more work to be done on it. Okay, I'm going to ask you, and then I want JB to get your answer. When the dust settles and you're in the playoffs and you need a big power play goal and you know the first unit's going to absorb most of it, who's at the back end for you, Oliver Ekman-Larsen or Morgan Riley? Is Ralphie going first or me? You go ahead, Barney.

I'll take the other one. You know, it still feels like Morgan Riley to me. I just, I know he's been the guy and I know it hasn't worked. It's just, you know, you talk about Ekman Larson was the fifth D on Florida. You know, Riley's been in these spots and you hope he's learned and, you know, hope that ekman larson was the fifth d on florida you know riley's been in these spots and you hope he's learned and you know hope that experience can help him be better i just don't know that ekman larson's i don't know i don't know kip i'm torn on that hopefully the guy they pick the deadline that i don't know about yet yeah yeah i'll uh i would agree with you on that and i and i

think you like riley's's speed when it comes back he's got to go back and retrieve pucks I like his speed from that point he's on pace for another 20 goal season for him so it's that might have as much to do

with playing with Chris Tannev I know we talked about this before but when Riley had his 20 goal season he was playing with Ron Hainsey so Chris Tannev. I know we talked about this before, but when Riley had his 20-goal season, he was playing with Ron Hainsey. So Chris Tannev is similar to the way Ron Hainsey played. But yeah, I mean, again, if you flip the two, you've still got the other guy coming out of the second unit, which may not feel as important at the time, but I still think they're two pretty comparable

weapons to have back there. I still think you might see Matthew Nye as the number one unit at some point. Because I semi-made the comparisons to what Zach Hyman has been able to do in previous years in Edmonton,

which is use the bit of the frame to win the one-on-one battles, but then go right to the net looking for rebounds or redirections. I love the way Nyes has played, especially going to the front of the net. We saw him be able to cash in on a rebound last night. Last one for me.

I just want to get your thoughts on goaltending and what happens now if joseph wool struggles you know this is supposed to be a split it sort of situation if he struggles do you think they should continue to give him games and try to make it a split like they intended to going into the season or has it become a thing where it's like stole ours is playing better we're going to treat him like a true number one. Yeah, well, I mean, in fairness, he's only had one game. But it wasn't up to my standards, Ralphie. Oh, no, no, no, but it's still one game, just one game.

So it's, I think the, and this is going to sound like a guy that's had a career of excuses, which I have. It is hard to play a midway game against the Western Conference team in Toronto. The building, when he played St. Louis, the building was so quiet. There's no buzz or jump. And, you know, you make a mistake and you can hear it hit the net. I think in some ways it's easier to get the start on the road to try to get back into it. So then you look at if he does, in fact, play tomorrow against Seattle,

it's going to be the same thing. It's going to be the feeling that's going to be go in there and don't lose it. You know, very seldom are you in that situation, say, against Seattle, where your goalie is going to be the first start and you get the win. So it's a different kind of pressure doing that. But the bottom line is I think Stoller's has only played a career-high 27, 28 games in his career, and Wall played 25 last year. I think you're going to need them both,

because not that Stoller's couldn't play 55 or 60 games, but just from a wear and tear standpoint, I think you want to be able to have that option going into the playoffs where you've got two guys ready, and hopefully through the course of the regular season, they can get them there. Ralphie, great stuff as always, man. First star on our show.

No question. Next time we can touch on uh season seven of love is blind nice thanks ralphie jimmy ralph color voice for the toronto maple leafs so is it an insane thing to suggest connor timmons get some power play time on the second unit. He was a point-per-game defenseman his last two years a junior, 41 points in 36 games. Goes to playoffs, 18 points in 23 games. Like, he can produce offense. Went to the American League and had a 27 in 40 games.

He can get points. Okay, so. He can shoot. So how do you go about doing this? You give him the first unit or you give him the second unit yeah just have him play power play too i don't think oliver ekman larson has been promised anything that he can't sit on the bench and watch timmons take some reps i think there's a chance he's their best power play guy i don't think it's likely to end up happening because

he'd have to stay healthy for a whole season and take a lot of reps but worth a look for a bad power play i don't know a lot of pressure well yeah to be the job i know but like for your seventh you got it mixes in and out of the lineup you're like now you're the pp1 guy it's like holy crap i better snap a couple in here you start pressing it's that's a lot to ask i just don't think it's unreasonable to no i don't think it's unreasonable you see if you can work your way in. Long season. You can try him a couple games. Like Ralphie said, he started good last year, got hurt, had mono. This guy falls down manholes and gets hit by space debris. If he can stay healthy, he's a pretty good player. 6'3", 215, upside.

Shoots right. Yeah. I think there's a better chance of that happening if they continue to find ways to not put the puck in the net. Yeah. Right? Trying anything soon. You out there. of that happening if they continue to find ways to not put the puck in the net yeah right trying anything soon you out there you on ralphie's page of going back to stolars against seattle because

it's a could be a sleepy game and then giving joseph wall i have no idea no get this guy involved let's go let's start his season already i'm putting stolars right back in he gotta give this guy a chance to be a goalie i can't take a chance for a second night that Wall's not good enough at home. You know when Wall's next start for me is? Game 11, guys. You can't start Wall in game 11. Is it so crucial?

You guys are covered on Sunday night. Second half of the back-to-back is Wall's first game. And the answer is yes. It's critical. They're all critical now. 72-0. They are. They are.

How critical is it for the Edmonton Oilers with the potential of Connor McDavid out of the lineup for an extended period of time? We'll get into that on the National Hour. Stick around. Steve Aliquette coming up next. What kind of juice is he bringing? Same as always. the most juice. All right.

Like I said, Connor McDavid will get our thoughts on how long he could be out, potentially, and what the Edmonton Oilers looked like without him. That and more. Stamkos' reunion with Tampa as well. Right, right. Coming up next, don't go away, Real Kipper and Bourne.