Real Kyper & Bourne - Leafs Hour: Test Against the Jets

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with developments in the Hockey Canada scandal as 5 players have been told to surrender to London Police. Then, onto a crucial test for the Leafs against the Jets, whether they are physically prepared, Robertson's opportunity with Bertuzzi out and the growing divide between the core four and the rest of the team. They are joined by Jets' reporter Ken Wiebe (29:08) to tee up tonight's game, the Jets' strong defensive system, Bowness' impact and the sustainability of their success.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.

come on in it's the real kipper and born show nick kiprios justin bornne, Sammy McKee, Derek Brandeo, Jen Rolnick for the next two hours. Once again, as I always tell you, we are live and in color. Sportsnet 590 also on the platform, Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet Plus from 4 to 6. And wherever you get your podcasts, if you can't catch us live in Texas 590, 590 throughout the week today tomorrow let us know your thoughts a lot of development in the hockey world in the last 24 hours the latest report of course five players told to surrender in connection with the 2018 world junior investigation

the five players have been told by London Police Services to surrender in connection with allegations of a sexual assault in June 2018 on a woman by members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team. This was, of course, reported by the Globe and Mail. And anything further, you can go to sportsnet.ca as this story develops lots of

speculation out there JB in terms of social media and the media of course people wanting to have questions answered like who what where when where, when, and how, that's what we're not going to do that

because we just, we don't know what we don't know. Not our place, yeah. Right now, it's just not our place. But let me just ask you this. This has been a really long investigation to the point where people were just starting to conclude that like nothing was going to come out of this so how surprised or shocked are are you or hockey fans right now that uh this is now gone to where it is well i don't know kip because i don't know how

common the knowledge would have been you know or the sentiment that this was just going to kind of go away at some point. Like, I didn't really know what to make of it. And it did sound obviously like something serious, you know, happened. And we're talking back in 2018 and it was still coming up fairly regularly. So I guess I wasn't shocked to see that at the end of the day that there were some sort of there's some follow up. I expected follow up at some point, whether in the form of a report from the league or from the London police or whatever. By the way, the London police are having a press conference February 5th to update people

on sort of what's going on here. But yeah, I mean, this is serious business. And I think the fact that it's moving along is a positive step for the victim and for everyone who's kind of had this hanging over their head. Time to get some answers and get some closure for people. Closure, Sammy, it sounds like it's just the start. It's just the beginning, unfortunately. But at least you got to start it at some point here um i heard merrick say that it was the uh beginning of the start or the end of the start like it feels like we're now into the sort

of meat of it like it's about to kind of happen here and we don't really know any of the details or whatever and i'm sure on february 5th which is not this following monday it's the monday following that big punt yeah two weeks weeks or a week and a half. And then they'll have a press conference. I don't know if we'll get names then or what we'll get then. But it's a big story. And it's not going to – this is – we're just at the start here. And I think it's probably, you know, one, I shouldn't say I think.

It's serious business for the players who are involved and whatever like this is there's going to be fallout from this just to officially uh read what the london police put out uh this was earlier today we understand that there is a significant public interest in relation to a sexual assault investigation dating back to 2018. While we are unable to provide an update at this time, we anticipate that the London Police Service will hold a press conference on Monday, February 5th, 2024 to share further details. That, of course, will come after the All-Star break.

And I'm not here to tell you by any means that the timing sucks for the NHL because justice deserves justice 24-7. And it's not about a good time or a bad time. But, man, this has a chance to, I hope it doesn't overshadow all the great things, though. Unfortunately, so many people were planning on NHL All-Star weekend. But how can it not be a distraction? Well, I think it uh part of the conversation around the nhl right now there's no doubt that it will continue to be over the weekend um and gary usually has a presser at all-star weekend doesn't he sure so that's a great point too yeah

it'll be led by questions about this but i think it's about time that yeah you know you get start getting some answers on this and that he's probably held to the fire a little bit on it too so and i also think you know his point in that presser is probably going to be that there has to be or you know that they would like there to be a divide between something serious that they're dealing with and all the fans of the nhl who want to watch the greatest players play hockey and they don't you know that i'm sure gary's goal will be to sort of create that separation from it. On the weekend, we'll see if he's successful or not, but that will certainly be the goal.

Okay, once again, sportsnet.ca for the latest on this developing story. The Toronto Maple Leafs got a huge back-to-back. The Winnipeg Jets starting tonight on wednesday night hockey here on sportsnet big where where do these two games lie for you in terms of importance of of where this team goes after the all-star break i'm gonna say these are huge huge hockey games for them i really do believe that like they you know they've kind of been doing this sort of tightrope walk of hey is the I'm going to say these are huge, huge hockey games for them. I really do believe that. Like they, you know, they've kind of been doing this sort of tightrope walk of, Hey,

is the bottom falling out on this thing? Right? Like there was the four losses in a row and they played some very good teams in Western Canada, but they beat the teams. They were supposed to beat. If you follow that up now though, with a couple of losses and you've got four game losing streak, two and two, another two losses. It's probably a bad

vibes for this leafs team but you go out there and you beat a very good jets team who's currently first in the central i think you can feel good about yourself and in terms of momentum and god getting things going in the right direction i think these are big games yeah you you said i was it yesterday the day before that this could be a fork in the road moment? And when you talked to me about that, I thought, that's two games, Kipper. That's kind of crazy. But the more I've been thinking about it, I think there might be something to that.

Like, if they lose both these games, and not in an embarrassing fashion or whatever, just two losses. Potentially zero points out of this. I feel like we're right back to square one with that four-game losing streak with the heat around everything in this team. Like, it's everything. And if you get three out of four i feel like we're right back to square one with that four game losing streak with the heat around everything in this team like it's everything if you get three out of four points in this stretch or you you know god forbid get four points out of this stretch yeah we're back

like the parade's back on baby like we're back i really feel like a good team i do feel like it is a big time swing moment for everyone involved here. And with the All-Star game here and everyone talking around Toronto. They go in with the low momentum. They just lost the Jets. They're a pretender. Oh, they beat one of the best teams in the league twice in a row. They've got to figure it out.

You go and do something like this. Exactly. And totally redeem yourself. That's a great line. I love that movie. When you said that before, I thought you were being a little bit sports talk radio host-y with that question.

But the more I've thought about it over the last 48 hours, I think you're right. I actually do think it's a massive two games for them. You have to think about this for two weeks. I know. The next game is February 5th. This is the exact thing

they haven't been able to beat in the playoffs. It's the best defensive team in the NHL. They've given up the fewest goals on the year. They don't give up slot shots, cycle chances, no rush chances. First in the NHL at limiting rush chances. Go ahead. That's a playoff caliber team here for the Leafs to measure themselves. You're playing the West Panthers, basically.

You are. That's exactly right. We're going to talk to Ken Wiebe in about 20 minutes. Winnipeg Jet writer for the Winnipeg Free Press, co-host of the Ken and Rennie Show. He'll have greater detail on what is making the Winnipeg Jets tick.

The feeling is Mark Scheifele won't be on the lineup tonight. He didn't take a regular shift, I think. He was the extra in the line rushes today at Mullins Gate. Yeah. He's not going to get to do his favorite thing. Lardy's also may be out.

Maybe the Leafs will catch a break there. And they're at home tonight. Like, if you're going to get one of the two, this would be the one. So let's go to Sheldon Key for our first kippers clipper of the day on what it's gonna take to beat these mighty jets yeah just getting getting to their net you know getting access to the net getting access to the zone uh they also do a lot of really good things on offense too so they you know they they're good with a puck and they put pressure on you in your own zone. So just two teams that are going to be fighting for possession and territory

through the game and then looking to gain access to the net. And special teams, of course, would be a big factor too. I mean, I don't agree that they do a ton of great stuff on offense. The Jets? Yeah. What are their numbers? They're 12th in the NHL and goals for 14th and goal uh expected goals for but they're 24th and high danger chances like they're not creating these like

great a's they're just wearing you down yes deep put the pucks deep cycle the third line of niederreiter uh appleton and lowry is unbelievable like They're heavy and they can finish. They're really solid. But they, you know, Kyle Conner can score, Perfetti can score, but none of them are Matthews, Marner, and Elander. Okay.

Not very good. Mid. Mid on offense. Best in the universe at defense. Yeah, and having the best goal in the league helps yeah yeah let's go to sheldon keith on on the back to back and i mean we've kind of stipulated what we feel is a fork in the road back to back let's let's hear from sheldon you know you get these you get these in the schedule they're kind of rare but i i do think they're they're nice to have um you know especially this week here the way

that it is with leading up to a break and uh i think it's good and i as i referenced earlier the north division you got a lot of that and i thought it was really good and fun and um it brought some some extra intrigue and interest from our perspective or my perspective at a time when we weren't playing in front of fans and stuff like that um to to have these the full buildings added to the whole uh to add it to everything i think is great so you know we're we're looking forward to competing against one of the one of the league's best here yeah i those games were greasy yeah jets and leafs they really by the end of that north division thing hated each other and if the lease hadn't blew it against the montreal canadians in the first

round that year it would have been them and the jets in the second round and that would have been excellent would have been an excellent series really great yeah but the leafs had other plans they leafed it up. Yeah. We can go back to. They invited the poor nurses to that game seven. Oh, that's right. Remember in the midst of a pandemic. They tortured all the people who were going through hell.

Like nurses. Yeah. There's one thing that you guys have earned over this pandemic. It's a game seven in Toronto. Come on. Oh, I forgot. So we can go back to Jason Spetz's shift where he went after Pionk. He kneed him in the head.

Yeah, flying knee to the brain. Like, have we got a chance to see any of that type of emotion between these two hockey clubs? And are the Leafs as best prepared? Because I've seen a very feisty Jake McCabe. There's Benoit, who seems like a gamer. There's Max. There's no Bertuzzi tonight, and we'll touch on that coming up. But if there's a chance for this to be an emotional one or are the Leafs kind of

prepared tonight I don't know Kip you've been watching them for a lot of years do you think that's their strength but I'm the host here and I'm asking the questions okay then my answer is no I don't think they're well prepared all right okay I tried to throw something out there yeah no this is you're gonna have to out skill them yes, it's been a year-long theme is, you know, you have encouraged, and I think they've been encouraged internally to have that bit of feistiness, and it shows up here and there, and it's pretty good, but it's not a strength of the team by any stretch. I'm just really liking it.

I hope you're right. I'm only basing that off of, in all honesty, McCabe. Yeah. Like, I've seen him the last week crunch guys, hit Zach Hyman. I don't know if Zach Hyman's been ever hit that hard. That was devastating. Okay. Because Hyman's a heavy guy. No, I agree.

He demolished him. I'm like, okay, Jake, need that tonight. But see, when you see this from these guys, like when you saw Nyes do it, it doesn't mean that they're now heavyweights or something. Like, you know, they have these moments. Why is it my era, like when guys did that, you had to do it again and you had to do it again

and you had to do it again? Why? Why didn't I get 10 nights off of not fighting or not hitting somebody really hard or not pissing somebody off why are these guys off the hook if they don't do it for a week or 10 days i guess it's role definition like i don't think of jake mccabe as a guy whose role is to create energy and hit he was 21 minutes a night they need him to play d and no they need him to piss people off i mean if that sure if the coach believes that that's what they want him to do i think if they had better defensemen honestly if they had better defenseman

you say mccabe you're a third pair guy you're gonna play 17 minutes and we want you to just we want that to be a part of your life i you know i'm just looking at this lineup and i can't say i i love the look of it going against the jets tonight and i don't think there's a ton of guys that are gonna do it you know you're just like i guess the only option would be like you said um mccabe but then i guess domi like you said but outside of that it's not gonna happen we saw nyes do it once. Once. And that's, can it happen again?

Bobby McMahon, did he fight someone or did he kind of fight someone? He did. He hammered somebody and got kicked out of the game for a clean hit. And then he fought. Who did he fight? Oh, yeah. It was Mintikov that he hit. Yeah.

And then he fought somebody out. Oh, it wasn't Goudas. No, I forget who it was that he fought, but he fought somebody. So there you go. But I don't know. I just, if you're going to're gonna i mean your fourth line tonight is mcmahon camp gregor if you're ever gonna throw the dog a bone for for reeves tonight would be the night you know yeah nize holmberg robertson on the left side above you too like mccann's gonna

give you those seven wonderful minutes that you're gonna play him anyway like you're barely gonna play your fourth line anything happen with ryan reeves? Oh, yeah, Bertuzzi's still away, so nothing has to happen. My bad. Tyler Bertuzzi expecting his second child will not play tonight, so he's off the roster temporarily. Which, have you ever heard of that before? I don't know. Okay.

Maternity leave. Brandon Pridham is unbelievable. I think it would be paternity leave. Did you say? Oh, what did I say? Paternity. Paternity. Paternity.

Anyways. He's having a baby. Yes. Yeah, they nailed this timing. We had a baby eats a boy. So. They nailed the timing. Another opportunity for Nick Robertson.

Let's get Sheldon Keefe's thought on him in and out of the lineup. Yeah, I think he's handled it really well, which is important. And I've talked to him about that as a young guy, that you need to – a couple of things. You need to keep a good attitude. You need to continue to work. You need to wait for your opportunities. And when your opportunity comes, you need to show that the time

without playing hasn't impacted your game and how you haven't lost your rhythm. You haven't lost your ability to come in and make an impact. Because once that happens, well, especially when you're a player without waiver protection, you end up in the American League. And you're playing

and we bring you up when you're ready. But he's handled himself very well here and he has shown, as you say, when we've put him in, that he gives us a bit of a spark, and it doesn't seem to have affected, if anything, the time and the less of a workload in terms of the games. When he comes in, like I talked about the other night, comes in on a back-to-back and gives us a jolt of energy.

I really like how they've handled nick robertson this year i don't think they're getting enough credit for that you know like they could yo-yo him between the minors and nhl and whatever but they haven't and i think if you demote him this year you make him look like not an nhl player and you want you know we've mentioned trying to increase his trade value if he is an asset. I also think getting him in the mindset where you're a young player. You're going to be in and out of the lineup. That's just kind of part of your role. And so you've got to kind of roll with the punches and be ready to go

and it's your turn. That's great. I think they've kind of given him the best chance to succeed this season possible. Listen, there's a lot of people that would not agree with that. I know that. There's a lot of people that would not agree with that i know that there's a lot of people would not agree with that but what do they think should happen i to be fair be them i agree but what do they think should happen but he should be getting more opportunity higher up in the lineup because he's not necessarily given a chance to produce at the level he should be able to

produce at if he's playing higher in the lineup with better players and they think that there's something there to just turn a blind eye to panicking with a puck and turning it over. I have painted myself into a corner I do not want to be painted in. I know. I think that opinion is one that a lot of people wouldn't necessarily agree with. I agree with you that it exists out there. Okay.

Whatever the case is, however you see him, you cannot deny that in the games and the opportunities that he's had he has proven himself that he can score in this league absolutely he's on a 25 goal pace if he played 82 games is it that high yeah he's seven goals in like 27 games or something he's uh yeah seven goals in 27 yeah perfect and that would probably get you right around there. So there's value there. The only question is, is how much value if you want to move him at the trade deadline or do you envision him eventually being a top six score for your respective club?

Yeah. And I don't know. I'm not sure they know. No. And also, I think there's. I'm not sure they know. No. And also, I think there's lots of guys who could give you the goal total we're talking about if you could put up with flaws and faults. Yeah. You know, like you could Kaliyev on L.A. not do that or, you know, whatever.

It's just you don't get to play if you can't do other things too. You can't just shoot it in sometimes. He's got to be so excited to hear that Bertuzzi's having a second child because he's happy for his teammate. No, he's getting his ice time tonight. It doesn't matter, right? Yeah. Baby, or you pull the groin.

It's all the same to me. I'm coming in. I want your ice time. I want to prove to everybody that I'm a Toronto Maple Leaf and I can play top six. He's going to get that opportunity, and he's going to get it not against San Jose or Seattle. He's going up against a big, strong, contending hockey club tonight.

That's a bummer for him. If he shows well, he goes to another level. Yeah. It's a bummer for if he shows well he goes to another level yeah that's it's it's a great opportunity for him he's such a good shooter if he could just trust that like when the chances come and they'll come you know you'll be able to show that but you can't force plays like just make the right play until it's time you know and it's really tough to be that patient, and it's something he's still working on, I'm sure. And that patience when you get a game a week, it's hard to show that patience. It's like the puck lands on a stick anywhere near the net.

He's like, I'm firing this one, baby. Like, I got to show what I can do. Very true. Bertuzzi's going to miss his first game of the year. He was on pace for 11 goals this season. Like, is that true? Yeah.

Is there anybody that maybe could use a, a break, I guess. I don't think it's much of a break. Well, it gets you away from hockey, hockey. It gets you thinking from hockey. Hockey. It gets you thinking about your wife, your family, your child. Like, what has happened here with Bertuzzi here?

Hopefully, he gets the Fred Van Vliet bump. Wasn't it Fred Van Vliet that got, like, won them the championship after his first child was born? Hopefully, that's what you get. Got hot. Has he? I'm going gonna throw something out you tell me yes or no has he been underutilized well he started with matthews and

marner for the first what 10 games or something like that and didn't produce since then he's been on a line with tavarez and marner tavarez and nylander i guess the only point I would imagine you're making is no power play time. Bingo. Yeah. You've thrown this out a couple of times. He led the Boston Bruins in scoring in the playoffs last year.

That's what people were expecting. He had I think he had 11 points in seven games. Yeah. five goals. Yeah. And how many? 26 PIMS?

What was going on? And how many points in the playoffs came off a power play? Do you know? Yes. And how many points was the total? 11? Yeah, she had 10. Five and five for 10.

So I would say, I was i was gonna say yeah five power play points yeah so like this is a guy that needs power play time he's had it he had it in detroit he had it with boston briefly yeah and he virtually has none of it now because the big boys continue to swallow it all up. But it's one of those things where it's like, you do have John Tavares, who throughout his career has been elite. I think he was top five in playoff points last year

with 38 power play points. 38 power play points. It was like half the games he would get one. Yeah, but that was last year. Yes, and he had huge goal totals there too, and I understand that was also last year. But it's really hard to then be like, hey, this guy who didn't do it as well as you

is going to take those minutes. That's why, I mean, to me, they have enough to do two capable power play units where you create a little competition, you put one on for a minute, you take them off, like as opposed to the five guys going out there with zero urgency, where they know they're out there for the full two minutes. They have created no internal power play competition.

I know. And I said, I think, yesterday that Bertuzzi, it might be time to move Tavares off there. Because I've thought about this recently, too. Do you think it should happen? Oh, 100%. Yeah. 100%.

You know, it's one of those conversations where you want Tavares to get back going, and that's one of the places he does it. So do you want to rob him of the opportunity of finding it? But at some point, you're just rewarding a lack of success, though. Yeah, and I think Bertuzzi, I mean, we've seen, talked about a lot of his skills. A lot of them are very conducive to power plays, where he's good at whacking it in front of the net, like he's supposed to be yeah hasn't been great this year but he's good at passing in a tight area yeah tips and all that sort of stuff that's supposed to be his like

his you know bag of tricks so maybe they could let him dive into those tricks but i don't know it's been pretty underwhelming for bertuzzi it's hard to watch some nights right now it really is and i just think like he took a chance on the leafs the leafs took a chance on him for sure but if he knew that he'd hardly see a power play all year would he have still signed here i'm gonna say yes just because how do you look at who they have and go that's a great power play opening you know like they don't you think like he's aware of who was here when he signed, but I get your point that it's not,

you feel like at some point you're going to get some run. The other thing I was thinking of is he hasn't gone back to Bertuzzi with Matthews and Marner and it, you know, when he first got here, a lot's new, right? Systems new coaches, new learning how to play with elite players is new. It's been 40 some games. We're probably due to see if he can handle a little better than nize has aren't we i think at this point in their season with their inconsistencies that everything should be wide

open yeah so yeah but there is that feeling for some of these guys and and I'll include Max Domi and Yarncroft a little bit, and for sure Bertuzzi, that there's just Team A and Team B. We're back. Right? They just don't seem like a cohesive group. It's like Marner, Nylander, and Matthews, and then everybody else. Do you guys want fun stats?

Go ahead. I was just going to say that there was one thing, if there was one thing the new coach, another thing would do, that would blow everybody away, it would be the two power play units. Yeah, for sure. That everyone would be like, oh. So percentage of goals, or sorry, points for the Toronto Maple Leafs that have been scored by the core four over the years.

So going back to 2018-19, they had 48% of the total points for the team were scored by the core four. Then it was 54.1. It's climbing. 55.1, 55.1, 59.6, 61.6 is where we're currently at. That number should be going down the better your team gets. You're going the wrong way. That's crazy.

61.6% of the Leafs' points this year have come from four players. That ain't good. Don't get hurt either, guys. It's not good. Well, exactly. Then what? Yeah. Well, I guess you're just kidding, guys.

Maybe someone gets an opportunity and finds themselves. All right. Should we go to break or do you want to? Let's go to break for Ken. Okay, we'll take a break. And then when we come back, Ken, we will join us and we'll get into what the Leafs can expect tonight against the Winnipeg Jets.

It's Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, just warming up on the real Kipper and Bourne show after these words. Fresh views on everything in the National Football League. It's the Fan Checkdown with Matt Marchese and Donovan Bennett. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kip Rios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee, as we get ready.

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets battle in what will be a back-to-back home and home series. Saturday night, back in Winnipeg. It's kind of strange that they went out to the west and they come home and then they got to go back out there. But you know what? Being from the actual west. Kansas is pretty big. It's not that part of it.

It's strange to me that people in Toronto think of Winnipeg as the west. It's just like. No. It's driving distance. You can get that, eh? Just drive north and turn west. I've always considered it like west. It's like right here to me.

To me, it's way east from BC. Oh, my God. It's close. It's like three extra hours on a plane to Vancouver. All right. It's like right here to me. To me, it's way east from BC. Oh, my God. It's close. It's like three extra hours on a plane to Vancouver. All right. Let's welcome in Ken. Weeb does a great job covering the Winnipeg Jets as they get set to battle the Toronto Maple Leafs. Weeb, how are you, pal?

Thanks for joining us. Tremendous, guys. Thanks for having me. And Kipper, Winnipeg is almost essentially in the center of Canada. Just so that we're aware. We're having a hot geography debate. We are proudly from the West, though. I think I got a 52 in grade nine.

That may explain a lot of things, Weaves. Listen, no Shifley tonight. still sounds like he's not gonna play and i get the depth of this team now and where they are in the standings but still a little thin to me up the middle of the ice after you get away from the offense of of shifley um what does this mean i think uh for tonight can the leafs take advantage of a no shifley team what does this mean, I think, for tonight? Can the Leafs take advantage of a no-Shifley team? Yeah, I mean, it's certainly a huge loss for them and compounded by Gabriel Velarde being out, so two-thirds of the top line, essentially.

Vladislav Domestikov is a Rick Bonas favorite dating back to the Dallas days, so he's done an exceptional job since moving up into that second-line center role. Tonight, he'll be in a top-line role, and although technically Adam Lowry would be your third line center but they technically are the second line in terms of being over the boards and rick bonus would love to get him out against austin matthews as much as he can but yeah i mean as we're you know approaching march the jets uh

you know history has shown they haven't been afraid to go out and get a second line center when they felt they've needed one and i would say that that, you know, between that and maybe another defenseman, it's kind of a toss up between what they'd be looking for. But in terms of the matchup tonight, yeah, certainly that would be an area if you're Sheldon Keefe, you know, you'd want to try to exploit. But I would say at the same time, the Jets have done an exceptional job with their depth and playing four lines and even there haven't been afraid to have their fourth line against tough competition this year and that's been one of the reasons they are where they are this year ken the jets having just gone 34 straight games giving up um three or fewer goals

uh the toronto maple leafs have done that 21 times give it up four or more goals what gives tonight so yeah you've got a very different uh stylistic matchup you know what is it about this jets defense that's so smothering because i look at the core and it's not six or the sorry the decor it's not six norris winners it seems to be a complete team thing yeah it really is morning and i would say this i think that the jets have kind of embraced what sheldon has wanted the leafs to embrace probably for about four years. And maybe they've shown some signs, especially in terms of the back pressure. But the Jets have been really, you know, structured and committed all year long. And, you know, as you mentioned, I mean, you know, the Jets have heard all of the stories

and the comments about, you know, the lack of, you know, high-end talent beyond Josh Morrissey on the back end. And they've sort of embraced that as a five-man unit. And it's been at the core of their success. Yes, the goaltending has been exceptional, elite. Connor Hellebuck has been elite. Lauren Brassois has been excellent in the 11 starts that he's had. And it's a testament to the goaltending. But also they've made the goalies' lives a little bit easier

in terms of knowing where the shots are coming from. And that's been so critical to both goaltenders especially and you know we know all the talk about the leafs goaltending situation guys i mean lauren brisois is going to be a ufa at the end of the year so i would say i'm not saying this is how brisois is looking at it but i mean i would think that there would be interested parties on both sides about how this kind of marquee match up under the lights uh in the center of the hockey universe goes in terms of maybe a potential off-season scenario maybe uh to you know have a joseph wall with a guy like briswa who has won a cup and and probably pushing to be in more of a 1a situation than he has been where he's been a clear cut number two here with the jets why is Why has this blue line worked the way it's had this season, Ken,

in your opinion? I looked at it and I said at the beginning of the season, I think they need to get bigger. They need to get tougher. But, no, it doesn't appear that that's played a factor in any of that that we've seen. I'd say, Kip, I mean, Josh Morrissey having another, you know, Norris kind of worthy consideration season.

We know that a lot of the talk has been around McCarr and Hughes, and rightfully so, and we know Dobson's taken a big step this year. But Josh Morrissey right in the thick of that in terms of his ability to drive play from the back end. He's really elevated his game under Rick Bonas. And a big thing, too, guys, we talked last year about the struggles of Neil Pionk. His rebound has been an exceptional story, but in terms of the hockey side, in terms of getting his legs back, but also on the human emotional side

with Adam Johnson being one of his best friends and having to go through that tragedy. I'm not saying that's the reason why, but he's found solace on the ice and really elevated his game. Brendan Dillon has been outstanding. And Dillon Sandberg is kind of one of those under-the-radar players on a third pairing that has really grown into kind of a shutdown guy. Really good on the penalty kill. And, you know, that's allowed Nate Schmidt to just be the number six guy. And, yeah, I mean, we talk about depth and, you know, the Jets have Dilly Hanley just back with the man who took a move.

He would have been in the opening day of roster. We'll see what happens there. But yeah, I mean, you guys have been talking about Chris Tanev as a fit for Toronto. And as a guy who played for the Manitoba Moose coming out of college, I would say Chris Tanev would be a guy that should be at or near the top of the Jets' wish list coming into March as well. I think he'd be an absolutely perfect fit. He's played in Winnipeg before his brother, Brandon, with the Jets obviously so but overall the defense core has been very committed really much improved on the exit side of the puck that had been an area that they had had some issues with the last couple of years. You know physically Brendan Dillon would be the

you know the biggest banger. Pionk is competitive and then Sandberg's a guy who isn't overly physical, but he's a big, strong, sturdy guy that it's always been part of his game, whether it's in World Junior or in those Frozen Four championships with the University of Minnesota Duluth. I think he'll take on more of a physical element as he becomes more and more comfortable at the NHL level. So the Jets have been in a position like this in the past, and they've had kind of a tail off in the second half of the season, but I wrote about the the jets a bit today and just feels like the vibes are different with this jets team like it just seems i i do have to ask do you think some of that is no wheeler no dubois

do you think it's a like the leaders and the big personalities are are not here okay is that related to it or is that just a total outsider take? Yeah, I think it's fair to a degree. I think Blake was a great captain for the Jets for a good portion, but I think that the vibes are different. And I think that, you know, I wouldn't say that Blake himself was a dark cloud necessarily, but I would say is that there is a little bit more empowerment throughout the lineup, which is happening.

I would say that Blake is a very dialed in, intense individual individual, and this is a group that, although they can be intense when it's game time, they're a group that likes to have a lot of fun. And it feels like they're just coming to the rink, you know, taking that into consideration where they're enjoying themselves more. Hey, let's not kid ourselves. Winning is fun at any level, so it's easy to have fun when you're winning. The Jets have done an exceptional job of only having one three-game losing streak this year. So, you know, they've dealt with a lot of different kind of adversity.

I mean, Rick being away to deal with Judy's health situation, Scott O'Neill taking over basically as interim head coach and, you know, weren't sure if he was coming back or not. So they've dealt with their share of adversity. Gabriel Velarde, Kyle Connor, now Mark Shifley. They've had injuries to deal with, but the mood around the team has definitely been positive So they've dealt with their share of adversity. Gabriel Velarde, Kyle Connor, now Mark Scheifele. They've had injuries to deal with, but the mood around the team has definitely been positive.

And yeah, part of that is due to winning, but I think it's also a group that's, you know, feel like every player on the team feels like they're important. And I think that's, you know, that's something that the coaching staff has done an exceptional job of. And Kipper, you know, it's a huge difference if you're on that fourth line playing four 54 or 11 minutes, right. I mean, you feel like you're part of it when you're playing double digits every

night, rather than just kind of being out there to hold water and hope you don't get scored on. And, you know, that's where you see a guy like Morgan Baron up to eight goals already this year. I mean, those guys have made a contribution this year. And like I said, I think it's, you know, again, their group is having a lot of fun and i mean they're in the years past morning to your point it sort of felt like fool's gold a little

bit right i mean they were playing a brand that they were getting results but it wasn't necessarily going to be sustainable uh when the games got tougher like coming out of the all-star break the way it will be so to me this year their team is based on five on five uh exceptional play in that regard their special teams needs improvement. Penalty kill's been better, but power play has really struggled, and they've tweaked things a little bit with Nikolai Ehlers and Neil Pionk switching units for tonight. But overall, their 5-on-5 game has been the foundation of their success,

and that's why I think it's highly unlikely that they have a nosedive like they did last year. We're talking to Ken Wiebe, covers the Winnipeg Jets for the Winnipeg Free Press, also co-host of the Kenny and Rennie Show. So prior to the bodies moving in, moving out, resigning of star players, we can go back to the elimination playoff where Rick Bonas tore a strip off a hockey club

like I've seldom seen any coach do publicly. And I'm wondering, you know, with those words, I think we had no pushback. Is that where the true turnaround started? If we connect the dots here, Ken, does it go back to that press conference? Well, I mean, I would just say it even goes back further, Kipper. And I mean, the reason why Rick was so disappointed in the group is because they had shown him for the first 50 games that they could play that committed style.

And they totally abandoned it in the second half. And yeah yeah I mean the words were very direct and but I think the thing that Rick has done an exceptional job of guys is he's shown his players that it comes from a position of caring he wasn't lighting them up for the sake of embarrassing them publicly he was just disappointed because he had seen them at their best and he knew that the way they played in game one against Vegas had they played that way maybe things go a little bit differently but you know some players definitely had their feathers ruffled to take another Jets term from years past but at the same time I think when they went home in the summertime

and sort of kind of looked in the mirror and said well Rick is right and that's what we've seen that sort of turnaround in terms of the commitment because they know that it worked they were like let's not forget last year in January 16th that team was also first in the West and then barely hung on for the eighth playoff spot. So I think they had a little bit of extra scar tissue. And yeah, you're right. I mean, Kipper, by the time I turned around to grab the microphone from Jeff Hamilton, Rick was already off the podium. It was pretty unbelievable there at T-Mobile Arena. But it was one of those things where it wasn't the volume of words,

but it was the ability to deliver them in a direct manner. But I think the Jets have done a really good job of sort of seeing what they were missing in years past. And let's also not forget, guys, five different forwards in that group this year started the trade deadline last year nino niederreiter vladislav nemestikov very strong two-way players that go to the blue paint alex i follow playoff experience very diligent defensive player gabriel velarde very conscientious and even rasmus kapari a first round pick who is also a pretty good two-way guy

hasn't found his offensive legs but when you when you basically almost overhaul half of the forward group it's not a surprise if you look at the personnel they brought in that they've been better defensively well and maybe these are related this or that's related to this question here but i'm looking at mark scheifele's stats this year um you know last season he scores 42 times this year he's on pace for 27 but last year he's 26 assists this year he's already passed that so he's got way more assists than goals this year which is complete opposite of last year previous two seasons he's minus 17 minus 18 this year he's plus 18 so he seems like a totally different hockey player and is that related to the different people who are on the ice yeah partly but i, but I also think, too, that once Mark signed that long-term extension,

he turned to the forum where he could be a legacy player, and he knows that he's having his kind of Steve Iserman awakening. That was his favorite player as a kid. And the biggest thing for me, Barney, is that he's been able to still be a point-of-game player while not sacrificing on the defensive side, whereas last year maybe some people thought he might have cheated for offense a little bit because he

thought he had to get paid on the next deal but this year he has been the guy who helped drive it and when your best players are the guys you know on the back pressure on the back check you know if you're the four if you're the 13th forward or the 12th forward you can be darn sure that you're going to be back checking as hard as you possibly can but uh mark has also come with the you know he's a guy who came to the league with all this passion you guys know how much he loves the game loves talking about it loves playing it and he's just really there's been a freeing element for him after having that security of the long-term deal and knowing that you know in all likelihood he will spend his entire career with the jets and uh absolutely i I think that Connor Hellebuck,

it's sort of similar for him. And I think there's kind of a, you know, I'll show the rest of you moment. All we talked about in the summer was, oh, well, most teams are going to a 1A and 1B scenario. You weren't comfortable giving up the assets to get me or paying me? Well, I'll show you what you're missing.

And both those guys have really been, you know, driving force for this group this year, for sure yeah shifley has definitely been i wouldn't say completely different player but i would say this is the best 200 foot game uh he's played since coming into the nhl hey kent great stuff man really appreciate the the feedback on the winnipeg jets we're looking forward to the game tonight uh thanks for doing this my pleasure thanks for having me, guys, and enjoy the doubleheader here. You too. Thanks, Kenny. Can we cover in the Winnipeg

Jets? Love the commitment to Zoom by our boy, Ken. Yeah. What a guy. I think they were recording a live game show behind him in the background. I think it was chunky from I Think You Should Leave. I absolutely loved his description

of mark shifley and the switch and the the comparison to steve eiserman understanding that i've got my contract now so and then you come in with the numbers that kind of blew me away too. Yeah. And you know what my first thought is? No. Austin Matthews. When does Austin. I knew that you were going to bring this up. Oh, yeah. I knew it.

When does Austin become a legacy player and not a player that's just going after cookies? If Mark Shifley became twice as good a defensive player, he wouldn't be close to as good as Austin Matthews is today. Or offensive, too. Right. Pick a direction. You want to go either way. I know your point, though.

Your point is just make it the priority. Because I agree shooting the puck in the net is his number one goal. And he's doing a terrific job of making himself look great, but he's not doing enough to help the rest of the team help him. Yeah. The Shifley thing is really fascinating to me, that the plus minus has swung as much as it has. Do you, so last year he's 42 goals minus 16 and a defensive mess whatever

can you wrap your head around that just being a mindset switch like he really was like all right got the contract now i can focus on like playing hockey better it's just a crazy i don't know how you get there all i know is he's got one of the he's one of the leaders on one of the best teams in the league. That's all I know is that they look like a team from top to bottom. And his numbers suggest that I don't need to score 45 or 50. He's on pace for 27. I can score 27 and still feel like I'm having a better year based on the success of the team around me. And that's how legacies grow into, yeah, you're a good player,

you're a star, but what did you ever win? He's also committed to being there, right? Eight-year deal, which is something that Austin hasn't done. Oh, no? He's also got a coach behind him that is just known for stifling teams, defense, not giving up a lot of chances. So there's a correlation there. And Austin's got a coach that feels like he needs three, four,

five goals a night to win. Yeah. Big difference. Yeah, as I said to Ken, so the Jets gave up four goals in their first four games, three or four games, and then one other time after that, and then went 34 games not giving up four goals. The Leafs have done it 21 times.

Can you believe that? But 34 straight games is insanely insane. That's so impressive. So it's the most in the NHL in the modern era. They were one behind the Wilds' record of 35, but the Wilds set their record in the lowest goal-scoring year

in the last 20 years. Wasn't it like Jamie Benn? Was it like 85 points or something? Yeah, exactly. This is even more impressive to me and a massive testament to complete game and good goaltending. And the other one was the Bruins like in like the

20s. Yeah. For like the record. Yeah, no, wildly good. But it sucks that they lost on an empty netter. Shouldn't count. I think it should count. It just sucks. Anyways, I got a read for you guys. From February 1st to the 3rd,

all the stars are in Toronto for the NHL All-Star Weekend. We'll be giving away tickets to the different events and episodes today until January 26th. Today we have tickets for the NHL All-Stars competition featuring 12 NHL All-Stars competing in a series of challenges like the Rogers NHL Hardest Shot for a take-home prize of $1 million. To enter for a chance to win, text in today's code word FASTEST to 59590,

and we'll have another code word in tomorrow's episode, this time for the Rogers NHL All-Star Game. So be sure to tune in. That code word today is FASTEST. They really cleaned up the codes ever since we leaned on them about the one, eh? Yeah, but 1967. Well, speaking of 1967, I got a, speaking of 1967,

I got a big release from the Leafs about that gala that you were talking about. So, big deal tomorrow. I'm going to put on a suit. Nice. Are you wearing a three-piece? What are you doing? I don't know yet.

Yeah. Fancy it up. I barely could put something on today. Got the washes on today or what? It's a horrible day out there. We got time for a quick Joseph Wall update. Yeah, let's play that clip. That's perfect.

And then we got to go. All right, clip three. Not necessarily, other than to say he's progressing very well. He's going to remain here and work through our bye week and all-star break. So he'll remain on the ice. I think the plan or the hope is that once we return, he'll be closer to or ready to join our practices. I would say, though, that him coming back to play

after the all-star break would not be imminent. It would be more so progressing with practices and then testing it and progressing from there. So still quite a ways away from games. How do you feel about Robert Stinney? Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Yeah. I thought we'd see him two or three games

after an All-Star break. At that high ankle sprain on a goalie. Much different. What a wonderful note. And on that note. Hope you like Sammy. We thank you very much for your time in this hour.

And we're only getting started here on the Real Kipper Inborn Show. When we go national, Ian Mendez is going to join us. And we're going to talk a little Ottawa Senators. Good job, guys. I think so. Yeah.

Good enough. Thanks, man. You're pacing yourself. I'm all good. We've got another hour to go. Very good. All right. Take a break, everybody.

Have a drink, a little snack, and then get your butts right back here for the next hour.