Real Kyper & Bourne - Max Effort Morgan

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee by recapping last night's Leafs' shootout loss against the Colorado Avalanche, the playoff-feel of the game, Ilya Samsonov's strong outing, if Sheldon Keefe is running out of time to pick a direction with the lineup and the heavy workload for Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. They also get into Kyper's article about the urgency to get Morgan Rielly back on track. Leafs Nation's Gord Stellick shares his thoughts on the sorting out process with the Leafs' new guys, the lack of depth scoring and Keefe's line tinkering (41:48). Breakfast Television's Sid Seixeiro on the Leafs' hopes for a deep run in the postseason, the pressure on Kyle Dubas, and what will happen to the core-four if they can't get it done this season (1:06:25). To close, Kyper, Justin and Sam break down the latest Jordan Binnington outburst.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.

This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. Live and in color on Sportsnet's YouTube channel, Sportsnet Now. You're downloading, it's iTunes, Spotify, and of course, Sportsnet 590 The Fan. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Derek Brandale david sispoon bonds sammy mckee along for the next two hours leafs in colorado last night march madness today i think there was an upset virginia going down to firman now you can hold a gun to my head and say, tell me where Furman is right now. And I'm like, nah, pull the trigger. You can ask me a lot of questions about Furman,

and I'm taking the bullet on that one. Okay. Like, I am a sports guy. Like, I'm not just a hockey guy. I watch all the major sports league, college basketball. I don't got a chance. There's too many teams, too much going on. Sammy, where's Furman? I'm just Goog college basketball i don't got a chance there's too many teams too too much going on sammy where's firman i'm just googling i don't know uh it's

firman you know they play in the southern conference of course um southern run their team is called the paladins so the paladins south carolina greenville baby all right there you go what was what was your firman answer off air? It wasn't even the OJ trial. That's the last. Only thing I know about that word. So they might have cheated then. Very possibly, yes. I'm afraid he was the officer.

So I play in my normal Thursday morning skate every day. You played hockey today? Yeah, I do. I play every Thursday morning. Shoot any in the net? No, I suck so bad, man. Holy. But so it was March break, right? And so there's a lot of guys who are missing a lot of people were on vacations or whatever

so the guy who organized the skate greg he brought out some of the kids from his team that he coaches and they're like you know they're like 16 years old and they're i mean they're good players or whatever but they're all like kerfoot no they're good they're good bugs out there they're, I mean, they're good players or whatever, but. They're all like Kerfoot? No, they're good. They're good players. Just like the water bugs out there? No, they're just. Slow down. No, they're, like, they weren't flying around. I'm complimenting Kerfoot here.

They just had, like, you know, they had good respect. They played the game the way you'd want a 16-year-old to play at, like, an old guy skate. Yeah. But it just, I was feeling old, boys. And I know that you don't want to hear me say that. I don't know. But, like, it felt like literally just yesterday I was playing with my dad's buds when i was a kid and it's just like oh my god how am i the old guy now isn't it crazy though being on this side of it now how much you

feel like as a 16 year old you felt really tough you feel like you could grab pretty much any one of them yeah oh yeah definitely but yeah they're one of the guys, dad plays with us every Thursday. Great kids. They're passing around. They weren't hogging the puck. It was good. It was really good. So I just, I had my age.

Yeah, I know. That's what I mean. I'm not trying to make myself feel old because I'm not that old, but it did. God. I tell you, I drove my kids. We went to Great Wolf Lodge a couple weekends ago, and I'm sitting in the driver's seat being like, how am I the one in this seat? weekends ago, and I'm sitting in the driver's seat being like, how am I the one in this seat?

You know, like I've been in that seat. I was just there. Anyways, I suck so bad. Fort Stelic will join us in about 40 minutes, and a new guest in the second hour. Has he been on Sportsnet before? Sid Cicero, guys. Remember Sid before he became a breakfast television star on Sportsnet?

He had some success in this business. Tim and Friends. Remember? He used to be called Tim and Sid. And now he is Mr. Coffee. He's worldly. He is worldly. He's got a global view of things more important than sports.

I love it. We're bringing him back. Come back to the dregs. He's got a global view of things more important than sports. I love it. We're bringing him back. Come back to the dregs. Let's talk sports. So the host of Breakfast Television will join us at 4.15. We've got a great show for you today. As far as the Toronto Maple Leafs, they drop a tight one to the Colorado Avalanche in a shootout.

Last thing I said to you guys ending yesterday's show is that ton of goals ton of goals anything but yeah so good goaltending a tight hockey game which i think again can benefit the toronto maple leafs i know they weren't on the right side of the uh the shootout but a lot of signs still pointing to playoff type of hockey last night yeah yeah I think that's a good way to look at it because you know there's still a part of me that is a little concerned about the offense that since they've made all these trades they are generating considerably less I think offensively but they do look much more like you would expect a team that wins in the

playoffs to look, they check they're on the right side of guys. They're, you know, they're physically involved. It's a, you know, the Colorado played a really good game last night and the Leafs hung in

there pretty well. You know, if they went in the shootout, we're probably talking more glowingly about it. I thought a pretty decent game. Sammy. I loved Samsonov last night. Got to be maybe his best of the year.

It's in the conversation. I just thought good Samsonov is so tantalizing where he looks big. He's solid. He's not over committing. He's like, he's just big and solid in the net. How about that one he came out to like the bottom of the circles to take away an attempt in the slot? It was Mikushkin. He tried to go low blocker and there was just no room he could have won the game

like five times yeah yesterday he was he just wasn't sharp uh just couldn't finish yeah but give samson off some credit here yeah especially on the shorthanded breakaway too that one was a game changer yeah so i how does that affect the greater picture for you does it just kind of solidify where you were already or do you want to get into samsonov right now or you want to do this every show we're like should we start with the goalies do we want to start okay no let's start with i'm fine i'm fine okay let's let's carry that on let's just hear from sheldon keep on samsonov and then we'll pick it up from there plow ahead he was locked in you know again i don't think we gave up a ton in terms of high-quality chances.

There was a lot of stuff coming from the points and the perimeter. But anything that we did give up on the slot or whatever it might have been, he looked, he was set, he looked really athletic and dynamic with some of the saves he made with his hands. So, yeah, I thought he was excellent. In a game in which there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity for the goalie to really shine, I thought he was still a standout in the game for us.

You know, that's got to be more fun for Sheldon than coming out and saying, I know the numbers look bad again, but he was actually good. Yeah, I think a number of reasons for me is that he got a chance to kind of reset a little bit again, which I'm not sure speaks to long stretches where he just may need time in between games. Maybe that's more Matt Murray coming in and alleviating that.

But clearly, with Mattray coming in in the last few games uh he was able to kind of get things restructured reset uh with curtis sanford and i think it showed last night yeah you know so what do you think the right amount of games as you're talking i just wanted to look up games. So his highest games played in a year is 44. He's at 33 now. So he's not going to surpass his all-time games played here in a season or anything. But how much is the right amount for this guy? What do we have?

15 games left? Yeah. Yeah. The Leafs have. Yeah. Again. 15. I think we are now at the point.

It was only like a few days ago, we're sitting there going, are they grooming Matt Murray to come back in? If anything, last night's effort said, that's not where this thing's trending. And if Sheldon wants to come out after this weekend and suggest that it's still open for debate, wouldn't that piss you off a little bit if you're a Leaf fan? I don't know.

I think Sheldon's best bet is to just not comment on it. Yes, that would piss me off. Well, but hold on. I mean, if he goes out there and says, I've only got 13 games left. No, but you want him to say right now, barring something changing. I don't even think he has to say it per se.

We'll know. I think we'll know by the starts and by his post-game comments after. Yeah. Right? Are they trying to get both these guys in a spot where by two days out of game one, we're still guessing who they could start? I hope not i think sheldon's gonna earn his earn his money here down the stretch with the goaltending situation right because if you think from the different perspectives the tampa bay lightning are three

points behind you now yeah this is a real race for home ice advantage and he has to now you know they're talking about how great matt murray's been so that indicates to me that he's going to get some starts down here and they're trying to get him in shape and trying to get him sharp but you have to be careful starting the objectively worst goalie in these games down the stretch it could cost you home ice it's good point sam yeah you got to be careful uh it's just you just something that we haven't really looked at. I, you know, there is so much that hinges on the performance of Sheldon Keefe from here on out. Like, I think you can make the case that he's been handed.

You know, I wrote this in an article that's coming out today. I did three sentences on every playoff bound team. You know, my sentences for the Leafs were simply you know like a chef on chopped he's kind of been handed all the ingredients and the clock has started ticking and he has to figure out the best combination of these ingredients and you know you need to start cooking at some point and make it clear what direction you're going you have to decide and so the samson off mur one, we're getting close. Like maybe he can make that decision in a bit. But some of the other stuff with the lines and the D pairs,

I don't know how much time we have for tinkering and trying things before needing to go in a different direction. Yeah. I get somewhat of a sense of urgency to also have Matt Murray ready here. And again, you're right. Home ice advantage. Just think about the psychological effect it could have on this group that they've gone all season long,

and then you took your foot off the gas pedal yet again, and you lost something you should have had for 90% of the regular season. And I know it's regular season records or whatever, and it's hard to judge playoffs for its regular season in terms of performance, but Tampa is really damn good at home and average on the road. They're a below 500 team on the road. They're 16-16-1, and at home they're 24-6.

Wow, that is a swing. You can't tell me as as savvy as they are you can't tell me that cooper's gonna completely take his foot off the gas pedal here and not acknowledge that i'd want it sammy's right that's a big swing. 24 and six versus 16, 16. I didn't even think it was that big. Yeah. And the Leafs are excellent at home. And, I mean, they have just a – they've played one less game on the road than Tampa has. But they're 500 on the road, too. It's a big swing.

And if Sheldon's leaning towards trying really hard here to get Matt Murray ready, even if it is in a backup position, like, you got to cover your ass here if if samsonov does not get off to a great start in the series yeah i agree that more than most teams they feel they need two guys ready just in case you know to say that i think they would they would switch pretty quick in fact i think if you got a bad game one from Samsonov, I think you'd see Murray in game two. No. I do.

If not, if they're at home. Yes, if they're at home. I believe that they think it's that tight for them. I got to watch game one. Somebody's got to score from center ice for me to be right. He's got to really falter. Yeah. I think to lose his game too.

Do you lose in the third period? Are you down three Cobb in the first 12 minutes? Maybe. Maybe it's a different story, but he's going to have to really poop. And would depend how these next 15 games go like if it's like this the whole way where samsonov stellar you don't want to quit on them after one game but if murray's really good and makes it a closer conversation they may be quicker to go to them at that point but it is you know the worst part kipper if they did drop out of home ice to tampa

is it's not like tampa's caught fire They have three wins in their last 10 games. I know, you know, so if you're under 500 or they're right around 500 for two months or something, two months, January. And so if you punted away to a team that wasn't even playing well,

it would not feel very good. I imagined for Toronto. So yeah, some pressure to kind of keep, keep things moving in the right direction. And that's why I'm worried about starting a goalie who has been objectively not good for a long time yeah okay let's go to uh sheldon keith for kipper's clipper on the overview of the game and we'll come out and discuss you know both teams played hard both teams defended well you know not a lot of offense uh available you know they were

able to get one on the power play we weren't able to get one on our power plays. That could have made the difference, but all in all, I thought the two teams played hard. We didn't give up much either. They carried play a little bit more than we did, especially through the first two periods. We were maybe better in the third, but they pushed.

We didn't crack a whole lot. There wasn't a whole lot that we gave up. They didn't give up a whole lot. They checked extremely hard. They show you what a Stanley Cup winning team does in terms of the defending, the checking. I mean, they're well-known for the offense that they can generate with their elite players, but they defend extremely hard

and make it difficult on you to get to their net. So, you know, that's kind of how the game went. And then it's so close right to the end that both teams are, you know, not wanting to make the big mistake. That's kind of how it ends up getting overtime. I will say it's nice that they didn't make the big mistake. It has felt like in years past they've been more prone to the Galchenyuk turnover, the Dermott turnover,

the, you know, just to bring up a couple. Kerfoot turnover. Kerfoot. You know, like it's felt like they've made the big mistake in past years. So nice that they got a team that doesn't seem to do that as much. A couple of. McCabe missed by a millimeter. Oh yeah. To put the game away.

He's got a nice little jump up timing. Two things that kind of stand out for me watching last night is that as Sheldon alluded to, you're playing against the Stanley cup champions, a lot of them. Yep. And man, they didn't give you much room to come out of your own zone. Few icings.

I mean, they were a little scrambly back there. Yep. So another example of what playoff hockey is going to kind of feel like for them, just in terms of trying to remain patient and hopefully you get your opportunity to win a hockey game. It never came. But funny.

It did have to me a kind of a bit of a lingering feel of a game seven where you're just short and didn't like that you couldn't generate a power play goal which again kind of makes me feel like a little game seven ish no secondary scoring kind of another situation and it would have been nice if they they found a way to win yeah yeah you know, you know, the one thing, to their credit, that we had talked about earlier in the season is, like, that staying patient thing is something that they are at their worst when they get away from.

Like, when they press and they push up, and all of a sudden there's a rush going back the other way. So there was a good amount of patience. I think they had, the Avs had, like, eight high-danger chances or something. It wasn't that high a number, all told. But, told but yeah no it's finding a way through in the offense this is the first year of all these leafs teams where that's going to be a question for me where you're you have a little bit more concern about can they find a way to get the next one the other thing that didn't really like a lot is the amount of minutes mitch marner played yeah matthews too and matthews and matthews was at 24 25 he's up here 27 27 and marner just shy of uh under 30

and sammy we've had this conversation that's's absurd. You want to put these guys out there that long, and they're subject to getting hurt. And last night, didn't really like seeing Mitch Marner slide into the boards. Didn't really like him blocking a shot in overtime. Like, think about that for a second. Little Green gives up the puck at the blue line, and Marner has to feel like he's got to block a shot in game what number 67 and hey say say breaks a finger breaks it's not worth it not worth it at all you know but this is part

of the whole goofiness around hey we've stunk in overtime so now we're going to try to overthink we're playing david kampf and lilligren to start ot can we cool that now yeah can we go back to the good players like i understand it was unlucky for a while but it's not practically good in the sport to play your lower quality players consistently just a thought as a coach it reminds me of a golfer who like got over the yips but is still doing the stupid cross hand chip it's's like, you can give that up now. Like, your stroke's back. Like, you're looking fine.

Like, you know, maybe just go back to holding the club regularly. Maybe you don't need that anymore. Maybe go back to the good way that you can do consistently. Where's the newfound depth? You know, I get Ryan O'Reilly's not there, but. That hurts. I mean, come on, you really need to push. Marner 30 minutes last night?

Well, you have 11 forwards. Yeah, that's part of it, too, is the 11 forwards. They want to double shift, and we saw a lot of that. And we saw Nylander double shifting, and you can get your stars out there more. But still got 15 of these to go. Yeah, and it's way too much. Way too much ice time.

You know, the... He got asked about it twice two separate questions today about the ice time at morning all right let's practice okay do you want to listen to him yes all right let's listen to the first one on the ice time uh not really i mean i'm monitoring it throughout the game and you're just kind of replying to it reality is that's just the way the game went you know i, I mean, it was in a lot of ways a best-on-best type of game last night. You know, I think McKinnon and Rantanen, you know, they're 25 minutes and those guys don't kill penalties.

So, you know, that's a sense of where it's at. McCarr's at 30 minutes. It's kind of the way the game went yesterday. And also it wasn't because of the nature of the game. It wasn't like it was an up-and-down, grinding type of physical game. It was a little more methodical, and the team's trying to feel their way to try to get a chance. So I thought they could handle the minutes through the game,

but it is important to give them the recovery time. Yeah, so neither of them are at practice today. Matthews or Marner. That's the right call. Bubble wrap. Yeah, they're like, yeah, we saw Marner crash into the boards and block a shot. I think maybe crisis averted. Because he got hurt by

wasn't it Muzzin in practice? Yeah. The last time that he was hurt was because of Muzzin in practice. Hyperbaric chamber time for the boys. You know, there are teams who are powered by their elite stars. And like, if you look at average ice time per game for forwards,

like Marner plays less than McDavid and dry side, all less than Ranton and McKinnon, you know, these guys, they're, they're, they're ice time. Actually,

Matthews is outside the top 25 in time on ice, which is maybe a reflection, not a positive one, but it's these weird bursts, isn't it? They go from like 22 to 30, 18, you know, all of a sudden it's these weird bursts isn't it yeah they go from like 22 to 30 18 you know all of a sudden it's 28 minutes and it's it is i think that's worse than consistently playing them 23 minutes or 22 like marner average is just over 21 something a game i'd rather see him play 21 a

game than 17 18 30 17 18 4 you know 21 or sorry 31 like it's it's not healthy so do you have one more clip on it or we do we have another one let's see explains himself a little bit more so we can listen to it he certainly gets to a point where maybe it can be too much especially when you start to pile on the games that are coming after it when you're in the moment you're in the game whether if it's your player you want to get get on. I mean, Mitch's minutes are climbing real high last night, but every time there's a stoppage in play, I can feel him looking back and looking at me just to let me know that he's ready to go.

And that's kind of what you get, and that's what you want. You want to see all the eyes looking at you like that and make the decision who's going to go out. So those guys take on a lot, whether it's special teams, final five, overtime, shootout. There's a lot there, so that's why you've got to be mindful of their recovery time. But certainly they do have the engines

and have the ability to take on those burdens and handle it very well. The key is to make sure he doesn't get hurt, man. Yeah. handle it very well the key is to make sure he's doesn't get hurt man yeah i get just life without him would look awfully different for the toronto maple leafs again sets up sets up the morgan riley goal i mean they lose they the whole thing is built on their four superstars playing they lose tavaris to montreal and they're screwed You know, like you can't lose any of them. But Marner obviously. You can lose Tavares.

You can. I'm being serious. He wouldn't be half the loss of a Marner. No, that's fair. Come on. But it would still be a huge loss. Yeah, I'm not. Yeah, he's a point producer.

I get it. But as far as the engine's concerned, the playmaker, the guy that's putting it constantly on a silver platter for guys there's only one guy they have that can do that and when he plays 30 minutes there's more time to be heard i think i think maybe around 21 22 would be fine for the rest of the year you're asking me but but we've talked about this before like he said in that clip i got the best player on my team looking over his shoulder telling me to put me back on the ice and you're trying to win a hockey game against a good team it's hard to be like no that's it's too tempting it's too tempting it is it's too tempting and same with matthews who played almost 27 it's like

well yeah this guy's feeling it finally he looks good finally over the boards again you know the trick for him too is got to play big picture here too right yeah more experienced coach still i know he's been around now for a handful of years but is he still feeling the the pressure of like we said earlier maybe losing home ice advantage is that sure is that is that up against sheldon right now? You know, I think that's when you're in the moment, like Sheldon's talking about, you know, I don't think there's many shifts where you go, all right, I can't give him this one because of playoffs or, you know,

I can't, you know, or I need to get him over the boards because of home ice advantage. Like I think to Sheldon's point, he gets consumed with trying to win the game he's in. How many minutes do you think Braden Point plays a night? I'm going to guess since we're talking about his lower. 20? 20?

1939 per night. God, he's got it. Look around Matthews. Matthews plays 20 minutes and 8 seconds a game. The guys around him are like... One minute, like 5 seconds less per game than Kucherov. And Tavares is what, 18, 17? Yeah, I don't have that in front of me at the moment.

Yeah. But, yeah, because he has games where he plays 15 sometimes. They're a little more careful with him. Today's Thursday. Wrote for the Toronto Star today on Morgan Riley. I know we've had this conversation, but I just stressed in my article that you can find on my Twitter, Real Kipper, is the sense of urgency for this guy to find his game again

and be that number one guy that they envisioned when they signed him to a $60 million contract. Got more of a feel of that is this now the start of morgan looking like morgan i sure hope so yeah i mean i would like that very much but it is funny watching him play like he played last night and being like oh right like oh yeah like that's what it looks like when riley's good when he's skating he made a defensive play at the blue line you can see him kind of weighing his option i'm gonna go and you see him jump up and it's like i do want him doing that i do want him involved he is a guy who's showing he can shoot

the puck in the net at times nice to see him do that last night he's back with tj brody they got the d pairs today they're looking at shannon mccabe playing together well yeah he talked about it again he's like don't read anything into it oh really yeah but i was gonna make the point just that if you add shannon mccabe it's basically like you looked at the old six you had with sandin lilligren said what if our third pair was bangers it's mccabe and shen now and then the other two pairs can still be riley brody and geo and hall or geo and lily or whatever you want it to be. I kind of like that as an option, but I do think that Riley in the end gets Brody. You mentioned Sandy. I go back and forth.

We assume, before I forget, 26-31 last night for Washington. Didn't he get pulled off the ice with a bad knee? He came back and played the whole game. Good Lord. Anyways, continue. So Brody and Riley are your number one pairing, and who's the Leafs' second pair? I guess your choice then is Gio and Hall or Gio and Lilly.

Don't tell me choice. Who are your second pair? Who's your second 20-minute pair? Well, you know, the fact that I'm struggling with this is a good sign that there isn't one. No. But the fact that they have two third pairs that most most teams would you know go crazy to have it's like a first and two third pairs basically and that's to be honest i'm humoring you when i say that because i think they're better than

third pairs both of those pairings okay so second and a half maybe in my books let me rephrase that how many minutes would you be comfortable luke shen playing in game one great question is he a 20 can he play 20 minutes now with uh with mccabe i don't know what's he been getting with quinn hughes all year i would if i had my dream amount of time that he would play it would probably be in the 12 to 13 range. Which, third pair all day long. Yeah. 12 to 13 is really low. You think?

Yeah. I mean, you're barely using a guy in playoffs at that point. I know what you mean. I can see a 14-15. We're going to watch tomorrow night against Carolina. We'll watch against Ottawa from here on in. We're going to get more sample sizes out of Luke Shen. I don't want to necessarily pigeonhole him in 10 to 12 minutes. If you ask me off the top of my head, that's probably a comfort zone

I'd be gladly happy with. But you want to talk about 15 or 17, don't we have to see some situations here with his foot speed? Yeah. You know, like if you ask me about those pairs and part of the reason I think it's difficult is like if you have McCabe Shen, to me, McCabe is a second guy, is a second pair guy. Shen's a third pair guy. So I don't really know what to call that pair.

Geo, probably a third pair guy, right? But Justin Hall or Lilligran, I can see them being second pair guys. Like you got they're kind of in and about that range you're right though after you play that top line that top pair a lot someone's got to play another 20 minutes for sure it's going to be justin hall like it always is yes that's that's a good point justin and who hall like it always is like they and mccabe yeah they love hall that's why he says don't read into it. Hall's on the outside looking in today. They were a pair last night, McCabe-Hall, right?

People hate Hall so much, and he's going to be the whipping boy. I find him a little edgier. He threw another big hit last night. But if we're all being honest with each other, you can talk about like, oh, who are they going to mix into the second pair? Who's going to be the second pair? Who's going to be the second pair? It's going to be McCabe and Hall. And Hall's going to play 20 minutes a night in the playoffs against Tampa.

Justin Hall currently has the fourth most time on ice among Maple Leafs. So Riley and Brody are one in three. And then Hall's there number four ahead of Austin Matthews. He plays 20, 20 and a half minutes per game on average, which means he plays more than that yes and he kills penalties he's on the ice for all their penalty killing like goa uh yeah um plays 1906 so mccabe came here as a 22 minute a game guy he's played 18 and a half minutes they've also had run 70 a lot and hall was under 17 which was that last night yeah yeah 16 50 something and hall will take a beating for like every game being playing against the other team's best players taking cross checks getting the puck out and he'll make one bad play and everyone will blame the loss on him it's so true

that's okay let's go to try to defend him today i i i do too because anyways let's go to Sheldon Kipper's Clipper on Morgan Riley and his night. Maybe. I don't know. It's hard to really figure that out because I don't think he's had the same jump in some of the previous games. This one he started that way. He rips one off the crossbar early on. He jumps into that hole to get the puck to shoot it,

and he jumps into the same or similar hole on the second chance, which he makes good on, mixes up the shot. First one's high and off the bar. Second one's low corner. So it was a terrific start for him. Not sure what you can really attribute it to, but that's what we need to see from Morgan in terms of uh jumping into those holes you know kind of being that guy off

the puck that can be a threat for us offensively and I thought that he played hard and defended well as well I think we've wasted a lot of time talking about which which defenseman can help Morgan Riley out over the course of this year. And it really has to come back to, no, that's not the way it works with these number one defensemen. You make everyone better yourself. 100%. And every guy on that team who's a defenseman should say,

I want to play with Morgan Riley. If I had my pick today on any pairing, why wouldn't I take the supposedly best defenseman, the highest paid defenseman, and make him my partner? Doesn't that make me on the number one pairing? Yeah. And that's where Morgan has to now still get his game, where he just says, I don't care who I play with.

I'm going to make them better because that's my job. Yeah. You know what it is? Like the guys who make other guys better tend to be really consistent and reliable. Like you know what you're going to get and what they're going to be. And TJ Brody is like, oh my God. We don't ever talk about him. We don't ever talk about him.

He just does his job. He plays 20 minutes a night for the toronto maple leafs and we've never speak of him who's the best d pair whoever's the brody yes you know then so riley is a little bit more unpredictable he can be run hot run cold and it is a it's the reason he's 7.5 not i had a scout uh mentioned to me that uh he he plays with a shorter stick you know having never thought of that myself i can immediately recognize that true just just picturing him yeah interesting i'm sure that i'm sure that's right that's i can see a lot of the way he moves i mean i don't know factually if that's correct or not but man oh man like you got some big boys out there and if they've got a long stick how can it not help you defend a little better you know who seems to use a really long stick and this is again i

don't know if it's actually true or not but i feel like lilligrant has a really long stick like for a guy who's not big he's got got a decent range with it i know d-man always trying to add that extra quarter inch in practice quarter inch quarter inch quarter inch and just seeing how big they can go well comfortable wasn't i was never comfortable with the shorter stick i was the short stick yeah i do too yeah it's because we're bad and we need to control the puck on the topic of having jump as we heard from uh sheldon on on morgan riley watching austin last night to me was samples of the best he's looked for me all season long yeah the third period when when that guy starts using his body the way he does when he comes around the

net and year he's no one you're talking about on 43 there he's got he's got that peter forsberg for me that jogger that says yeah you're not getting this puck no he's right off the bench and fresh and it was by room i think or gerard a smaller d and he was just like no big brother that has nothing to do with his hand but you know what else though he cut in on that play and you're gonna love this because your boy mitch was wide open on the back door he could have slid it right over to him for the little tap in i was like i that last night i was pointless right he had five shots on goal i thought i agreed that that was the most encouraging night for my cutbacks control like strong using his body it It's like maybe, maybe.

That's your centerman who's a shooter. Yeah. A lot of centermans, number one centermans, would have dished it off to Mitch. I can't have this conversation again. But that in itself to me is a great sign. If he starts now having that body image of a dominant player. Yeah.

Regardless of what his stats are. He actually went into a puck battle with McKinnon and blew McKinnon back off a puck and took control. So, you know, those are really positive signs for the Leafs. There's good things happening there. Like I said, it's just how do you put the ingredients together now? Do you guys want to talk about colorado yeah i do your boy uh kill mccarr there well pretty solid effort yeah he's 30 men he's all right talk about controlling and influencing a hockey game oh yeah dictating it you know the way he moves across the blue line

is incredible watching that game last night like this is kind of a out there thought but it's just like can we please have a hockey tournament where all the best guys play for the country you just want to root for that guy yeah but like you just look at all the skill on display in that game it's like you know you start on colorado ranting mckinnon mccarr he's all good until like that diaz goes down in a world championship like why are we playing this no it's the world baseball classic is completely different it's a crappy tournament that no one really cares about it's like oh sure these guys are passionate there's like four good teams that could actually win i guess it's kind of the same in hockey but it's

different in hockey it's sorry and we haven't had it in a hundred years yeah like you look at just look at them they have all those guys that could play and it's like marner's unbelievable matthew's playing for america nylander yeah it's amazing almost four i did see signs at colorado that said they would scare me if i'm any other team there and that's without Landis cog Manson, like, and then that's three outstanding proven playoff performers, the Western conference. So I wrote that article today.

I'm looking at the first place team in the West, the Vegas golden Knights. Vegas has the 28th rank penalty kill the 22nd best power play their 15th in goals like they're they're not that good they're the first place team in the conference you can't tell me colorado if they get everyone healthy isn't instantly the runaway fave it is a big if we had uh eric dean yeah who covers colorado on yesterday and we talked about Landis Cog, I'm not hearing... That didn't sound like he's imminent.

I'm not hearing good things about him coming back. Yeah. Which would be, I think... Death knell? Yeah. Still, you'd never want to underestimate Kale McCarr and McKinnon and Rantanen, but... With the West being the way it is,

like, could landis gog be available in june you know what i mean like yeah maybe he's not ready for april 17th but if they can have some softer first round opponents i think that's more realistic for sure maybe he's a late playoff edition which look out um but yeah let's listen to Keith on Colorado's decor if we have that clip. They're just up on top of you. They're uptight. They recover well. You feel like you're in and you're going to get some space,

and then they close the space. You feel like you're going to get Bucks in behind them, and they get body position. They win the race. I thought the mobility of their defense was a real problem for us tonight in terms of getting through the neutral zone and getting on the attack. Similar as it was against Buffalo the other night, but differently in terms of the mobility of their defense.

McCarr plays half the game here tonight, and he's not giving you a whole lot, and then when he gets the puck on a shift, usually you're losing the shift. So that was a problem for us. But I thought we stayed with it. I thought that we, in such a tight game, we definitely had a shot here or there that could have been the difference for us. Even on our power play, I didn't love a lot about our power play, but in each of the ones we had, we have one really high quality look on each and just

didn't convert so you know those that's what the game comes down to and in the end they win the skills competition but yeah i'm not sure the news will get any better for for josh manson uh again we talked to uh arif uh yesterday and it sounds like he wants to give it another try he's been in and out of the lineup which which means he's managing something. He's trying to look after something. Avoid surgery, but still play. Exactly. And now he,

you're never going to get to a place where you're going to play every other night for two months. Let alone as effectively as a guy who plays as hard as Manson does. So, exactly. He's avoiding surgery. This is does so exactly he's avoiding surgery this is your year he's he's avoiding surgery so he can try to manage something uh but clearly uh it's going to be one of those things where i i don't think he'll ever be uh close to what he was last year for them really that's significant that's significant i mean that's that's the

rumblings anyways quick quick big picture thought on mccarr if you if it was a fantasy draft where like and everybody had a first overall pick second overall pick and all the players are in the pool where does he go to like for pure playoff points or points just like to start a team if you're picking david oh yeah no he's i think mccarr is in my top yeah he might be after mcdavid yeah i think that's legit yeah i he is probably my favorite guy in the league to watch i love that avalanche team they are like you know that's how you'd you suck for a few years you get a little bit of draft luck and you're just a they're they're gonna be a dynasty yeah like what happened to

the sabers you know a lot of those teams that sucked for so long the other thing i got last night as we speak of samsonov uh georgiev is capable he's good enough i think he's okay capable you saw enough i i don't get the sense that that is a thing that you're gonna go into their first round and go yeah oh but their goalie yes and he's a 917 or something he's listen he may he may be horrible but i don't see signs of that respect to the abs for being like we don't think kemper's that great we can get someone that good and then doing it yeah respect to the abs end of sentence yeah fair enough it's an awesome team just like that first block out of the way gourd Stelic on the other side of this break. Leaf Nation pre and post.

Always great having Gord Stelic on. Stelicricity after these words. The best Blue Jays show out there, period. Blair and Barker. Be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet

590 The Van. Just having a chit-chat. Catching up on life. Yeah. We weren't finished our discussion. Can we go to another break? JB and I were in a heavy discussion. I'm discussing business. I'm going to become part owner.

Oh, we can't. No, no, no, no, no. We got Gord Stelic. We got Stelic-tricity. We never, ever push aside Stelic-tricity. Never. Gordo, where do we find you today, my friend? Well, Kippy, I'm just, you know, looking at Little Buddha display here at the LCBO.

Whatever. Does my show drive you to drink? That's it. That's it. No, I just, what, so what's a heavy discussion to you? Can't be with, with JB. Like what was the discussion? Well, listen, I'm at the end of my career.

He's just at the beginning of his career. I'm telling him all the mistakes that I made. Sage wisdom being handed down. Well, you better take a break and hear more from Kippy. You know, Kippy, Kippy, man, hey, you know what you did really well? You and Heels, when you were riding high with the New York Rangers

and won the Stanley Cup, that's when you guys were really media friendly and you gained a lot of experience back then, made a lot of connections, right? Listen, if Glenn Healy can fool them, so can I. you gained a lot of experience back then made a lot of connections right oh listen if glenn healy can fool them so can i i've always stressed that um gordon just give us your overall thoughts on uh you know the least falling short last night but the positives that you may have seen and and where it's trending for the next 15 games, big-picture stuff? Well, I think most people want the playoffs to start tomorrow, right?

And they won't. So I think that you want to create, to me, good habits, maintain good habits, maintain home ice if you can. They're the defending Stanley Cup champions. Last night I thought Sheldon Keith had a good point just about, you know, they can beat you 6-2, but also they can play pretty good defense as well. And even though the Leafs didn't get a lot of shots on them, you know, they can beat you 6-2, but also they can play pretty good defense as well. And even though the Leafs didn't get a lot of shots on them, you know, you're hanging tough with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

I think there's kind of that sorting out process about the new guys in town. Like every now and then you'll get a game like last Saturday, and that was just, you know, off the charts exciting. Mitch Marner was off the charts exciting. I mean, it's not new. It was more novel the first year that Mitch and Austin and them were in town, but it still was great to be entertained that way. So obviously concerned about, I know it's one game, but a two nothing lead at home against the Buffalo Sabres, the sloppy lack of commitment, the Sheldon saying

they were tired in the second period. I thought he was accurate. I mean, you know, and Kippy and Justin, you know that sometimes, you know, mentally you do get worn down. I mean, it doesn't make sense that you weren't playing back-to-backs or anything like that. And so, I mean, I – and certainly the trade deadline deals checked all the boxes. So, I'm just hoping, like everybody else is, that whatever kind of ride – because I saw great rides by the Ottawa Senators to end the regular season,

and then the Leafs kicked their ass in the first round. You know, I've seen that. So I don't quite often know. I always think it's a good thing to end the season on a regular season on a high, but it's kind of an imperfect science if you look at past playoff histories. Well, in looking at the Leafs' past playoff histories well and looking at the leafs past

playoff history one of their issues has been they haven't scored enough goals in the big games there are moments this year where i feel like it hasn't been the same as past years where they have looked a little bit offensively challenged and i'm not sure that that's true when it comes to their elite guys necessarily but what comes behind them is always the big question do you feel like they're better equipped to score in the playoffs now by adding some guys that kind of get to the hard areas or do you have concerns about their ability to score against good teams well you know justin that that's the problem like i don't even remember anyone getting goals i don't remember like third or fourth line i know they did but I don't remember that over the last three, four, five years.

You know, it doesn't jump out at me. And I can remember, you know, whether it's Nick Paul or guys like that or Corey Perry or, you know, whomever over the last few years. So they've changed the mix up a little bit or, you know, with Aceri and Lafferty and that. But you don't have McCabe anymore. You don't have Engvall anymore. But they didn't come up with big goals either,

even though Engvall's doing okay right now with the Islanders. So somebody's got to do it. I mean, it's like everyone's been like Alex Kerfoot. That's sort of been the prototypical kind of playoff performance by someone of that ilk. I'm not putting it on him unsingularly. But, yeah, they've got to come up with those goals. They've got to come up with – they have to come up with depth.

You can't be remembering a horrid Galchenyuk giveaway. Why was it not a Galchenyuk goal, like a Nicky Borshevsky goal, you know, in Game 7, that kind of thing? So I do – they can't be worse equipped, Justin. I mean, that's my one point. They can't because, as, Justin. I mean, that's my one point. They can't, because you're right about it. This high-powered scoring machine has had trouble too many times in the playoffs.

I'm just wondering, Gordy, like last night, is that an example of what's coming up that if Mitch Marner, Tavares, Matthews, and Nylander don't put up the numbers. You don't win. It's that simple. And, I mean, at some point, if that trend continues, do you not ask Kyle and Sheldon to look in the mirror and say,

hey, listen, that's the way you set it up. That's the way you constructed your salary cap. Why should you be that surprised at the results? Yeah, I mean, and again, of course, last night, if you get Morgan Riley scoring more like 20 goals a season, not that you expect him to be the difference maker, but I think he may be the keyest leaf about which Morgan Riley shows up in the playoffs. But to answer your question, Kippy, I think that's a real good point

because from the word go, that's where the money has been exclusively put. I mean, you look at Buffalo, they've got two number one overall picks and they're both defensemen. So as they develop along, there's a little bit of balance about their Cage-Thompsons versus others. But yeah, it's kind of been, I mean, that was the name of their documentary, All or Nothing, right, when they did the 24-7 type thing a couple of years ago. And unfortunately, it's always been nothing.

And it's always been disappointing in the critical game. I mean, last year was a real good Game 7 battle. But, you know, and then, Justin, you made that point about, like, Freddie Anderson's best performance was against Columbus, right? But Columbus won 1-0, and Freddie let a soft goal in. But just, you know. But he played great. It just seems like every playoff game in series, that's what marks a player like, say, Freddie,

who had a really great regular season career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he's kind of the poster guy for it not happening in the playoffs. But, you know, Kippy, to your point, yeah, if it happens again, you're kind of saying, man, oh, man, you keep, you know, you keep, you got a real limited budget. Not that money always is the deciding factor on abilities. And whatever it is every year, they can't come up with any offense whatsoever, should you be surprised. You know, I was thinking, you know, they should really have lines in place and everything sort of settled for the last you know call it 10 games you know at least five games or whatever but you'd sure love to be up enough points on tampa bay to give a couple of guys an extra day off here or there

are you ready to see them go to 12 and 6 pick some lines try some lines instead of this i don't know it's been a blender since the trade deadline yeah you know you know, and let's face it, Sheldon doesn't like it either, even though he keeps pointing to the Tampa Bay example. But, you know, Tampa Bay and Edmonton kind of have a setup in that regard, you know, how they do it. But with Toronto, it's never really been the case. And I think it's important to figure out those pairings, like who's going to be with who.

And then, you know, obviously just when O'Reilly got hurt in that Vancouver game, you know, they're going to, that Taveras didn't agree to go on the wing for the rest of the season. It's one that it gives them an option and maybe kind of a different option if they need some offense to kind of go with the two power lines. But they've also done that in the past. And when they have those guys out for 25 minutes and, you know, Tampa Bay threw out more balanced lines and ultimately, ultimately won it.

So I, I, yeah, I, I want to see the, I want to see the 12 and six because also in the playoffs, if you're, if you're studying, you're playing really well, you don't even really need 60. Like, you know, you play the crap out of your top four D they generally get more minutes. So I, I know right now there's some injuries up front. They got a ton of defenseman quantity wise right now. So he's just trying to get some,

some ice time for all of them. And the quantity is great if they need the depth, but I don't like the 11, you know, I don't like the 11 and seven. I don't really think Sheldon likes it either. Are you okay with the 12 and a half million dollars between Brody and Morgan Riley as being your, your best pair moving forward? Are you okay with $12.5 million between Brody and Morgan Riley

as being your best pair moving forward? Well, you know, there's no cachet like Victor Hedman or no tandem like McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm in the division. I mean, Brody's been a nice free agent pickup. Morgan Riley, I mean, that was the going rate. He's been the Morgan Riley when he's on his game. That's just a notch below Norris Trophy consideration. I'm talking like the top dozen after that.

But also, I think that's key. I mean, that's the $6 million, whatever it is, question, Kipper, about. You can't just be Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, you know, Tavares, whatever, them being the four coming through. It's the depth scoring, but also the D making a difference. And, you know, with the other elite teams in the Atlantic division, I mean, they got real, they got real strong D and they got real depth D. And we're hoping, we're hoping the Toronto Maple Leafs have that.

Do you feel, do you feel like um the tampa bay lightning struggle should give the leafs some hope here like i haven't seen the lightning look like this they're like 15th in the nhl and goals against they're they're reeling they you know i know they beat new jersey a couple nights ago but you know three wins in the last 10 gourd is it changing how you view this first-round matchup? Well, I've always viewed it that, I don't know why we come up with the instant excuses in Toronto that, oh, no, they're going to play Tampa Bay. And look, I say, I don't want to keep beating past playoffs to death, but they had Montreal and Columbus that were set up in their favor,

and that didn't happen. So you just got to beat those teams, right? And again, I go back to Kippy's run. You got to win against teams right you know and you know and again i go back to kippy's run like you got to win a great against really good or great teams and tampa bay is a year older okay the leafs are a year more in their prime with their with their big players except for taveras the others are in that real prime sweet stop what one one year deeper where on the other side it's not like cap of bay got old all of a sudden but it's a little bit of a difference and every year they've had they've had to lose somebody uh for cap reasons so they've done a great job keeping it all together but every year you kind of chip away at it I also think it's got

to be exhausting having been in the final the last three seasons in a row not not just physically but mentally so I I think they're right for the taking so I I'm with you like I I know but they are the argument right now so I don't worry about Tampa Bay they're ripe for the taking. So I'm with you. Like, I know the argument right now is, oh, I don't worry about Tampa Bay. They're going to be fine. And I understand that to a degree, but I'm seeing, you know, they're a little bit more for the taking than the team last year or the year before. And that's not meant as a criticism.

That's just the reality. That's just the way it works in professional sports and teams. You know, little by little, some of that attrition starts adding up and becomes a difference maker. And, you know, more and more, I'm finding that in the Maple Leafs' favor when you just handicap it. How much more beatable is Tampa if you have home ice advantage? You know, there's a part of us all season long that said,

Tampa won't care until Justin tells me that they're the second best team at home with 24, six and five compared to 16, 16 and one on the road. You can't tell me for one second, Cooper doesn't care. Well, and it comes down to a lot. Yeah, no big time. It also comes down to last shifts and last change. And the Maples have more with o'reilly there as far as the three lines that they'll be able to throw out to use that last change there's more ability and depth and god and you know what kippy psychologically to have it all year long like here we're talking about

the tampa bay lightning and the fact that they haven't been the tampa bay lightning of all but they're once again they're making ground on the Toronto Bay Police. So to have home ice advantage all season long and then to lose the wire, I would find discouraging. But again, nothing should be an excuse. But no question, you want home ice advantage. And that is a goal that they should keep these last 15 or so games. Maybe it had something to do with us watching Mitch Marner play 30 minutes

last night. Yeah. You know, yeah, could be, could be, you know, just it's a,

but, but I think again, I like show that he's been around long enough. So I don't know like about, you know, trying different things. I, in some ways,

in some ways, you know, you want, you want to see what you can try and what you have and what works. But on the other thing, like Justin said, don't you at some point just want to get things set and get in a groove and have that kind of deployment, whether it's what the lines are, what the minutes played are, like an element of consistency.

So what do you think comes with Luke Shin? We talked earlier in the show here about where his sort of fit is. Is he going to be a guy who's a steady part of the six here? How do you see the deep air shaking out here? It looks to me like Riley and Brody will end up back together. I would think so. I would think so. I wonder what they were thinking in acquiring them all.

Luke, as we know, he's gone deep in the playoffs right so they got that experience that's always an intangible they know about his character they know he can be physical which is something pretty well everyone they've added has a little bit of that sandpaper you know acknowledging that it's a good thing so i don't know whether he'd be your like i don't know who's going to be your six there's about four of them that could be your six in the playoffs, but he just gives you something different. And I, I mean, I, I like to pick up at the end of the day, he'd be a spot player. I mean, he was one of the seven for Tampa Bay, you know, when they had,

when they had the seven D. So I, I think it's just a little bit more of that, you know, that, that physicality, that team thing, the guy that will do whatever it is for the team. And you know, kind of like a fourth line forward, except on the decor. We had a conversation about Samsonov and the responsibility of having Matt Murray ready at just in case, how long of a leash would Samsonov have? This is trending towards Samsonov.

Are you on board on all of the things I just said? Yeah, yeah. You know, I don't like the leash thing either. Like, you know, it's like, hey, the person's in. It's not like, oh, they're in, but they're on a short leash. What the hell is that, okay? You know, just, hey, he's been the best goalie of the two. It's an imperfect science to try to figure out how they could do in the playoffs

because they don't have the history of say vasilevsky or you know way back when curtis joseph ed belfor about that kind of confidence about who was starting in goal for the toronto maple league so uh that's the big question mark it's it's the big question mark uh about that taking on tampa in the first round anybody else after that. Obviously, Hey, Jordan Bennington did it a few years ago that, you know, he was, he could be the difference maker for the blues and Matt Murray did it. What seven years ago, he could be the difference maker for the penguins when, when it wasn't expected. So that's what you, that's what you got to hope. I mean, and you mentioned earlier about, you know, depth scoring,

haven't had a goaltender steal a game in the playoffs, like the playoffs quite often one or two games, the series is the goaltender steal a game in the playoffs. Like the playoffs quite often, one or two games a series, the goaltender is the difference. And I think there's been almost zero of that for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It doesn't mean the goaltender hasn't played well, but just those different ways to win a game. Like winning a game is huge. Making the difference to win a game,

that is huge when you only have to win four, and you can win one with a goaltender almost stealing it four and you could win one with uh with a goaltender almost stealing it and you can win one with depth scoring i mean that's a huge burden instead of having to win four with your four forwards dominating offensively it is so last one for me just want to get your thoughts on that avalanche team and they're where they're at heading into the post season uh we kind of agree that they're the best team in the west does is dallas or vegas or edmonton or any of those other teams out there do it for you do you think there's a better team than colorado out west i don't know how this

happened justin that just what seemingly overnight the the lack of being impressed by western conference teams like i don't know where it all came from because you're right i mean you know dallas winnipeg were sitting pretty and then Winnipeg sitting in a very opposite place right now. Uh, the Pacific division has been all over the place. So it's just, uh, yeah, Colorado is certainly to me is the best in a much weaker Western conference, but you know, a team like whether it's Los Angeles, whomever, um, I mean, there could be a surprise there. And again, it goes down to goaltending. If a goaltender makes a difference in one playoff round, you could get an upset there.

But yeah, I don't worry about the Colorado Avalanche. They seem to have a relatively easy path to the final. I mean, their big thing was to get by the second round, much like the Leafs monkey on their back is to get by the first round. So once the Avalanche did that last year, you know, they went all the way. And I keep saying, I think if the Leafs get by the first round so once the avalanche did that last year you know that they went all the way and i i keep saying i think if the leafs get by the first round to win the stanley cup you know that that's my prediction but i really do i think i think it's that i think it's that monumental they could do it but the other part is man there's a lot of great teams in the

east like just the the the balance the last little while has swung over mightily as far as the East goes. But Colorado, I expect to be there. Edmonton will be an interesting team. But Colorado still, they're the champs. Gordon, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you your thoughts on the big afternoon from Furman. You know what? I had it on there. I couldn't believe it.

13 against a four, right? We got a friend whose kid goes to Princeton, so they're playing at 4.10 p.m. That's a 15 against a two. But it just shows what, I mean, it's a one game, right, compared to a best four out of seven. But just like the World Juniors has a certain chemistry, certain mix that works in hockey.

Boy, that March Madness does as well. And, Kippy, I think that wasn't Furman one of the colleges that rejected you? First of all, I couldn't give a crap what you really thought of Furman. I just wanted to know if you knew where it was. It was on TV this afternoon. He nailed it. What state are they from? I don't know.

Just kidding. Okay. Good. At least you proved my point. I was the first winner of the George Vanier Vikings. I remember when eight guys fouled out and we were in overtime and Mr. Clink looked and realized I was the only guy on the bench to go in. And he goes, just pass it to Donnie Campbell.

I was so nervous, right? I was on a short leash. Nice drop in for George Vanier. You were expelled, right? From there. I was, I was no, but when I was on the bench so much that I, for a while, I had my wrist tape to look like I was injured, you know, just to look a little better, right?

You're like Ralph Mouth in Happy Days where he's playing basketball and then he takes his track suit off and he's got regular clothes and he goes, what, I never play. It was, yeah, it was a character builder, put it that way, as far as that. So I'll do more firmer research for what I talk to you next time as well. Really appreciate it, man. Thanks for doing this. It's the electricity at its finest.

Thanks, Gordo. On the real Kipper and Gorin show. Good on him. Yeah. That means he's really got nothing else to do. No, that's fine. Watching the basketball game this afternoon. Oh, you were doing the same thing.

Yeah. I was just also watching Marc andre flurry uh the minnesota wild shared the audio of flurry trying to fight binnington last night all right and binnington had has been suspended oh yes two games really two games yeah you can't block her people that's a weapon uh you're not allowed to throw blockers anymore that was your day kipper Okay now Eat a blocker What do we really think of like the brush Do you want to do it now Because I do feel like it's an interesting topic

No we'll probably take a We don't have enough time do we I've got real thoughts on this Yeah let's save it for post We got Sid after the break When Gordo says The Leafs and the Stanley Cup in the same sentence, you can tell how beaten down I am because I literally chill up and down my spine.

Did he predict last year a Stanley Cup win or this year? This year. He is not bailing on it. When I hear him say that, I'm like, I would do a couple Hail Marys. It just feels wrong. It just feels so wrong. What would happen if they did? Well, that's the thing that makes you kind of...

That's what we've all dreamt. They would take us out of this oval in here, I think, and they would let us do... Would we be at the game calling stuff or what? When you put that uniform on, that's your first thought. Like, I got a chance now. That's why all these guys are coming here lately, being like, maybe I'll be a part of the group that does it.

I, like, I don't even, then what will we talk about? If they want. I have this fear. I've always had this fear that, like, a big part of them, you know, the shit, the passion that unites us all is. Did he cuss? Close. Two checks.

No, no, I didn't cuss. You cussed yesterday. Yeah, I took a swing. Which, like, I'm shocked. The true. Thanks cussed yesterday. Yeah, I took a swing. Which, like, I'm shocked. Thanks for making me dump. The true passion that gets us all together, that unites us all, is the passion of whining about the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's been part of the identity of the fabric here.

It's been something that I've been able to crap on them about and lean on, just, like, conversate. Oh, the Leafs. It's like, oh, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble. It's been like, and if they won, it's like oh grumble grumble grumble grumble it's been like and if they won it's like roger was great joke he said if they won the cup the next day somebody would be calling in wondering what the power play was going to look like the next year yeah it's like i don't know what the hell people like that though they wouldn't even know how to act if they had a good day you know every day is like no it listen i 54 years in New York.

The Cubs did it. The Red Sox did it. So Sammy will talk about defending. The problem with the Cubs and the Red Sox doing it is I think they were both at like 100 years, which means you're not guaranteed. What are we at? 54? What are we at for the Leafs now?

57 or something. I don't know. Was it 67? Closing it 67 60 yeah i remember the math is on that like i just you know i watch i remember when the cubs won and it was like that shared you know you look at another fan base who hasn't won in forever and you look and it's like oh that could happen and i watched the video of all like the old cubs fans there's a guy like in his recliner with a blanket up to his neck be like my god they did, they did it. Don't let me be that. Don't let me be that. Let me be able to walk when they win the cup. Can that happen?

Need to be able to climb a lamppost. Keep your Jordan Bennington thoughts fresh because we're going to take a break and then we're going to come back to Sportsnet Legend. Do we have a hockey or not a Sportsnet Hall of Fame? Is Sid in it? We do now, and Sid's the honor, the first inductee. Okay.

I think you might, I think both you guys are first ballot Hall of Famers. All right. Sid Cicero, host of Breakfast Television. We've just stretched out his day a little longer on The Real Kipper Inborn Show. Back after these words, if you're watching on YouTube, hit the like button. Give us a rating and review if you get a chance on Spotify or iTunes. Back after these words. Breaking down the top stories in hockey and Elliott Friedman every day.

The Jeff Merrick Show. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Real Kipper and Born on Sportsnet 590 The Van. Ready to make his world debut on the Real Kipper and Born show. Let's welcome in Sportsnet legend, Sid Cicero, who is now like all world morning guy. It's not bad. I remember this time slot. I remember this time slot.

But oh, boys? Can you imagine, Kipper, if you texted me this morning and was like, can you jump on? And considering how many times you've been on breakfast television and considering how many times Gilson Bourne's been on breakfast television, what if I said, yeah, I'm busy. I can't do it. Like, what a move. You know what? You know what put me over the top? I'm like, okay, why hasn't he been on our show, first

of all? But I'm watching you today and you're on Breakfast TV and you're trying to give away like three grand. And if they answer the phone a certain way, they get three grand. It's that simple. What is it? I'm watching Sid. What's

the magic words? I wake up with PT. Thank you very much, Kipper. Every day after 8 o'clock, live on Breakfast Television. We give away money. Thank you for the promo. So two calls in. They're both like, Hello.

And then Sid's like, Hey, what's your name? And then the guy goes, You called me this is creepy pal we're trying to set it up as best we can and my guy flips it on me live on air and i'm like it's a valid point i really i'm calling you i had a very good laugh this morning thanks to you. I appreciate it. But someone in that house, for the record,

did sign up for the contest. We just didn't pull my guy's name out of thin air and bother him first thing in the morning while he's in a fog. We were trying to give you like $3,000. Sorry to wake you up go back to

sleep so you've been kind enough to have us on occasion to talk a little leaf slot uh you know a little bit of hockey here um how much do you miss it um i don't miss august 8th yeah you know what i mean yeah trying to get through the year and nothing's happening. I don't miss like, I don't miss the moment where, and listen, it happens for every NHL team. So I'm not picking on the Leafs, but like when Tim and I are doing two and three hours a day and you guys are doing two hours a day on the real Kipper and Bourne show, there is going to be that moment where a course correction has to happen in your daily discourse.

And you guys know what it's like. When you get in that rhythm, and Sam knows behind the glass, anyone who does sports radio knows, when you get in that rhythm of you're in the same mode every day, whether it's Leafs playoffs, Raptors playoffs, Jays opening month.

It's just, it's all muscle memory. Yeah. And what I don't miss is when the Leafs get bounced, we're all like, okay, when's locker clean out? I don't miss that. But there are those certain days where I'm like, I still miss it. Like there are those certain days where it's like, this is the thing everyone's talking about.

And all you want to be is on a microphone like Kipper and born. And those are the days where it's like, throw the lineup out and let's go for two hours. I do miss those days. You know, we were just talking before. Go ahead, Sid.

Sorry. No, no, sorry. I just, I August 8th is not one of those days. No, no.

There's a whole month there around that august 8th which is not not an enjoyable time we were talking before you were on about sammy was giving us the what would happen if the leafs ever won and you know god would that be lovely for us to be on the mic so we haven't had you on and to get your chance a general overview about how you feel about this Leafs team compared to the ones that you commented on for so many years with your pal Tim. Okay, I'm going to do something weird. I'm going to start positive.

Okay. Whoa. Yes, I'm changing. I'm changing here. This is the best Leafs team I've seen since 2004. Does anyone in the room disagree with that? Not I. Who's their goalie again?

Florian Pervison? I don't know. Well, I mean, they won a series that year. Was it not Belfort? Yeah. I mean, it was Sammy. Belfort. It went from Cujo to Belfort? Yeah. I mean, it was Sammy Belfort. It went from Cujo to Belfort.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, pretty good. Yeah. Like they still, like they had the remnants of 2002 still there. Wasn't the exact same team, but you know, they still, they have Pat behind the bench, rest of soul. And you know,

they were still a team that could grind you out if they needed to with some skill. And I see a team that can grind you out better than they used to be able to with a ton of skill. I rarely do this, but I will defend a lot of Leaf fans who've been complaining about this playoff system for a long time coming off that ridiculous comment Gary Bettman made yesterday. Because this is no longer a fan issue.

This is no longer a commentator issue where you guys are on the mic giving your takes on this playoff format. You have future Hall of Famers in your league, Gary, who think this playoff format's garbage. So what are you going to do about it? This is no longer a fan or blogger or troll comment. This is Crosby and McDavid. So what are you going to do? Nothing. Nothing. Now, I know what Gary's thinking. Gary's thinking the longer the NBA playoffs go, we get destroyed in the ratings, so we got to front load our stuff.

I get it. I understand it. You want ESPN and TNT to have all that air before the first round of the NBA playoffs get going. I get it. But this is ridiculous, and the Leafs deserve a better draw than this. I'm not saying they're scared, but every team in that division,

every team in that part of the league deserves better. Now, with that said, does it not feel to you guys like there's just one thing missing per game? If it's not the offense, then Murray has to be better. And maybe 70 isn't working. It's not like a bunch of things that are off every night, regardless of result, but it's like the one thing. And we're less than a month out from the start of the real thing.

And last night felt like it again. I love to play a really smart hockey game, a good hockey game. Penalty's aside late. But they don't feel like the snare drum's been tightened yet. Am I wrong? There's tweaking for sure. We've talked about the lines,

and I'd like to see a more result driven power play at the right time I get where they are in the standings with it I get all of that just seems when they need a big goal it doesn't look as crisp as the Edmonton Oilers no

damn that's a fun thing few teams do look as crisp but my main two angles here are as follows. First, I know the regular season is kind of plodding along for this team and the fan base because of the format. And it's what it is. But it's meant something to Murray, and it's meant something to Samsonov.

And I think the regular season has to mean something. And there was no one on that bench or that Leafs front office who can make the argument Matt Murray starts game one. He doesn't deserve it. Right. He doesn't deserve it. Well, and that's the thing. It's like a dubious thing where it's almost like there are some decisions that are made with a little bit of we want to be proven right by some decisions we've made.

And whether that be bringing Murray in or Kerfoot hanging around from the Cadre trade or Justin Hall, there are some things that people find curious. And I understand there are ways to defend them, and I've defended a few of them. But there does seem to be at the end of the day that Keefe and Dubas want to be the ones standing there and saying, we told you. Well, now that's an interesting point, isn't it? Because then this slowly moves more towards the direction of this is all about Kyle. Like, I'm really worried about this.

How you bring a GM on no term on the back end of this year i'm not really sure i still don't understand what that was about do you think at some point between september and where he is today that uh there's enough warranted for i don't maybe not a five-year contract but maybe one an extension of a year and an option maybe? I don't know. Look, based on regular season record for both Sheldon and Kyle, I think we can all have the legitimate discussion that they deserve way more time than the next month. I think the stats bear that out. And you're going to find, regardless of what happens in that Tampa series,

you guys know this better than anyone. There's going to be the Kyle defenders. There's going to be people that look at the analytics and look at that regular season record and say, and they were the victim of a bad playoff format, yada, yada, yada. They're going to exist. But the fact that he has no deal tells me that if they don't beat Tampa, he better go into that meeting with MLSC with more than just some analytics. tells me that if they don't beat Tampa,

he better go into that meeting with MLSC with more than just some analytics. Because I think there are some serious people in this company who are pissed off and paid a lot of money for hockey rights and know full well what the revenue is like if the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a conference final on a Saturday night. And they haven't gotten any of that. Now, no, hockey fans don't usually like to talk in those parameters.

But you guys know what I'm talking about. And those are the guys running the ship over at MLSA, essentially. So I don't think it's fair, necessarily, but this is a big, big month for Kyle Dubas. Big month. And if his pride gets in the way, Justin, and I don't completely disagree with where you're at with this, if his pride gets in the way with Matt Murray,

and if Sheldon Key's pride gets in the way with Matt Murray, they're sunk. You want a competition. Tell them both go out there. Whoever loses two in a row is out of the crease. Yeah. Sometimes we overthink this. You want a competition?

Let them have it. Let them have it. Especially when they, when the, when the real first starts to fly against Tampa. So would it be enough? Would it be enough? Let's say it doesn't work out for enough? Would it be enough, Sid,

if let's say it doesn't work out for them, would it be enough to say, okay, we've moved on from Kyle and maybe even from Sheldon, and we're going to go back with this group. If they can't win with this group, at what point do you turn that attention inward and say, okay, this core can't get it done? I mean, well, let's talk. That's a good segue.

So let's talk about the core. Because I am no longer in a place where I'm criticizing Austin Matthews for anything. I don't care what this first round looks like. I played most of your hurt. And I'm no longer in a place in my life where I'm criticizing Mitch. I don't care what that first round looks like. Okay. Can I just,

there are, go ahead. I'm just saying that, you know, 99% of leaf fans will blame them. That's what they do. They automatically go to the highest paid guys. They didn't get it done.

They will take all the heat. It ain't going on yarn crock and curve foot. Well, I'm not, well, that's not where I'm, I hear you. Some, some fans will knee jerk that, but I think we're going to answer a new phase in this. If it goes the other way, the Leafs don't get it done. Like, I really want to see John Tavares in that series. Cause John Tavares, let's remember, last postseason,

the narrative legit came up and people weren't flinching that during that series, John Tavares all of a sudden became an $11 million center who wasn't a real center. And we're not talking about it. Morgan Raleigh's played 39 career playoff games. What's his plus minus, guys? I'm no genius. I looked it up an hour ago.

Do you know what his plus minus is in the postseason, Morgan Riley? No, but I'm guessing not a plus. Plus one. Okay, I was wrong. Still, though, like it gets you into the weekend of the players' championship. Barely. But is that Makar? Is that Hedman?

Is that a beast that's going to play you 30 postseason games in one year at 25 to 30 minutes a night. Like I don't like Morgan Riley is one of the nicest guys I've come across in the game. They were all nice, but he's stated pun unintended. Has he skated on a lot of this? Yeah. And you could put,

you could, you could dress eight defensemen. I don't care how many defensemen you dress. If he doesn't step up in a major way and stop the look around what's going on Morgan Riley thing, and maybe learn how to play with someone else, not named Brody. Where's this team going?

Like, I think, I just think there are guys on the roster who haven't faced it the way Nylander and Austin and Mitch have faced it. I'm not saying they've been perfect, but those guys are elite, elite, elite players and some of the most talented Leafs I've ever seen. I'm not going down that road again with those guys. If they're not ready this year, then you're never going to be ready because they're all

having career years, you know, with the exception of Austin. And this is it. This is make it or break it time. And if Kyle's not here, you know, someone's going to come in and sell the fact that that recipe doesn't work. Somebody's got to go. They're already circling.

I've seen Bruce Boudreaux more now than when he was working for the Canucks. Bruce is circling that organization. There are people looking at that roster going, don't screw up. Sheldon, don't screw up. Kyle, don't screw up. Don't let me get my hands on it.

What's the bar for their success, Sid? Like, if they win a round, are they over the bar? Yeah. I think Kyle gets three years. Yeah. Do you guys think he gets three years? I think he gets three years. It's interesting.

Yeah, I think so. You win one round. In all honesty. It's a ridiculous discussion to have, but I think that's where it's at. It's a great feat to get by Tampa this year, for sure. I'm not underestimating that. But can I see how they look in the second round? Just get shelled for nothing?

Okay. I like where you're going. So they win in six against Tampa and get swept by Boston. Is the move the same? No, it's not. It's not. It's like you're not close to getting to a conference final or a Stanley Cup final. You're not there.

So, anyways, listen, there's no question that you have not missed a beat here on the Leafs. And on top of your world issues and solving every problem for the city of Toronto and bartending this morning, man, you're right on the money with the Leafs, eh? Look, man, you can't I can't quit them. I can't quit them. You're like cigarettes. I'm like Ben Affleck smoking outside

without looking at it. Leafs are just as bad for your health. Really appreciate your time, Sid. Thanks for doing this. You guys are killing it, man. I love your show. Keep going. Thanks, man. Sid Cicero, host of Breakfast Television.

What a guy. And still a closet leaf. He's like Marner. He can control the pace of play. It's like all of a sudden I forgot I was on the show and I was just listening to him. He should be doing this. I was like, I should ask him a question. At times you get a little just listening to him. He should be doing this. I was like, I should ask him a question. I wish at times he'd get a little bit more opinionated.

He should be doing this. He's on for 10 minutes. He's like, yeah, Tavares and Riley and Dubas. And yeah, he's got takes, boy. I think. Takes are okay. But he nailed the Morgan Riley thing. And I think he hasn't taken it on the chin like the top guys have.

And I think we're feeling it with him for the first time ever this year. Right? Like, I don't think we've ever felt it. And, like, you mentioned it a couple days ago that you'd never seen it coming, Kipper. Like, I didn't think this was really coming either. And it's arrived for Morgan. Yeah, it has. Like, there's always been, like, an undercurrent.

It's here. There's always been an undercurrent, a certain part of the fan base that hasn't loved him. A grimy subculture of it. Yes. It's always been there. But I think it's bubbled to the top now with everyone. I know. But I think people have to at least be honest when they assess Morgan,

that he is not your typical, like, grade A A number one defenseman. There's a reason why the Leafs got him for seven and a half. And he was not in a, and there was a few coming down the pike here on nine plus. Wierwinski,

Seth Jones, and they're like Darnell Nurse. Darnell Nurse Darnell Nurse Riley's in that group to me For sure I don't have him No no yeah he is But they don't belong at 9.5

Okay yeah yeah that's a fair point There's 7.5 guys There's 7.5 guys too Yeah But that is his tier i agree it is but it's not headman and it's not mccarr no and if i'm morgan riley and i'm the third mike here i'm like i know that's why i'm paid seven and a half instead of 12 people should just calm down on what his capabilities are for carrying a team some nights or carrying the

blue line that's all and i i wrote about him today and the first thing i said is like you know you got to make sure you're comparing apples to apples here yeah i think it's a bit of a victim of circumstance right in terms of yeah like it reminds me kessel goes to pittsburgh and he's the third best player and he wins the cup and he's and he it's perfect for enough too where it's like he was the number one guy here he gets traded to ottawa and he's playing you know second third line minutes a pair minutes and they make a run to the conference final he's scoring ot winners against the against boston bruins like it's a missed, I defended Dion Phaneuf, I lost four to five years of my life defending Dion Phaneuf,

when my number one take was always that, like, he's miscast, he's in the wrong scenario, like, he should never have been given the captaincy and been the number one guy. There's a little bit of that conversation with Morgan Rielly, too, in terms of, like, what his capabilities are. Yeah.

Like, it's a, he's experienced the whipping boy status for the first time, and he could put it all away with a couple rounds winning him being well, playing well. Again, I stand by what I said with McCabe. I like McCabe. He's perfect for what they were looking for. But he's not a guy that can alleviate the pressure off of Morgan Riley.

No. Orlov would have been that guy. If they wanted to go a little higher on an upgrade, Chikrin would have been that guy. I wonder if you said to 32 GMs in the league and said, don't worry about caps, contracts, whatever you can have Morgan Riley or Dimitri Orlov, how many take which guy?

Like what's the split on that? Do you think Orlov? You think 32 GMs won Orlov over Riley? Cause I don't. Over Riley? Yeah. That's a no. No,

no. I think, I think I maybe 2012 Riley. Listen, I'm, I mean, Orlov plays hard he's he's capable I haven't watched enough Orlov to honestly tell you whether he's better than Morgan or not right but I just think that the upside on an Orlov to alleviate some pressure off of Morgan would have been better than McCabe. Yeah, you'd rather see them go harder on D.

The guy I've watched a lot, and I've watched a ton of Oilers just because they're so fun to watch. But, like, God, that Ekholm. I was dreaming about Ekholm for two years, talking to you guys about him being on the Leafs and them circling him. And then he got traded. I think McCabe was the better gamble than well i mean i love at home i do but the upside on mccabe is better and the price at home and the contract

the price they got him for the price and i see kyle where he went, but Ekholm can't do what Jacob Chikrin can do. No. Jacob Chikrin is, but I think we have to go back to the conversation about how, you know, you talk about the cap. It's all this stupid conversation that we just would not have to have without the cap, but, like, they weren't going to take any money back.

It's like you had to take the whole boat, and the Leafs just weren't going to do that. So you kind of took them out of the race, right? And they got not a very good package for them in the end. How about the Armstrong comments on Chikrin the other day? But I do love McCabe. Yes. I do love McCabe.

Which comments? Did I miss those? Yeah, he was on, I think, Strick's podcast in St. Louis there, and he said, basically, you know, we wanted we wanted to trade chicken for a year and a half he said he had a he was he goes he was awful last year it was he was awful last year i caught that he was awful last year and then he was hurt for eight months so well you know we entered we couldn't retain money so you know what do you want me to do that's basically what he said yeah i just i i just think even with the addition of mccabe morgan still feels the pressure of okay where's my

where's my lane to jump in last night it worked out great right he comes in mitch finds him he gets time to make his shot he makes it it's all good but i think that there's constant uh times where mor Morgan's like, I've got to do more. I've got to do more. I look at the blue line. Giordano's not jumping in on a play. Brody's not.

Hull's not. McCabe seems to a little. Listen, it's too bad he couldn't finish that play. So close. It would have gained him a ton of confidence. For sure. I thought the same thing. Could have rolled a little bit.

Maybe he'll get it on Friday. Maybe he'll get it on the weekend. But is it going to be consistent enough to help Morgan? We'll see. Yeah. Yeah, but Morgan, that first shot he had to hit the post, that's like the hardest I've ever seen him shoot a puck. He flipped the puck in two on the crossbar.

Went flying back into the neutral zone. He hit it so hard. That's nice. It was a nice snapper. Yeah, real nice. All right. We promised Jordan Bennington a comment to you. You got some thoughts and ideas.

Of course, Ryan Hartman came through the net on a goal, right? Yeah. So Blues are up 3-1. Four minutes later, they're down 4-3. Bennington gets scored on, scored on, scored on. Down 4-3. Hartman scores to make it 5-3. And on the way by Clipsom.

Did that shorten his wick a little bit? Oh, I think he's a frustrated goalie at that point. And Hartman gives them all a clip knowing Bennington's fuse and just set the bomb off. And Hartman. By the bomb, I mean firecrcracker hartman's a grease bag oh yeah great grease he just all he does is he pisses other teams off he's a really gritty guy and he was probably one of the guys that was screaming at him from the bench beforehand when he was going back like him they've run into each other before let's just say that he's in front of the net a lot and he knew exactly

what he was doing. He flew through there. He left the leg out, and he tried to make it look like he didn't do it on purpose. Classic accidentally on purpose. It's like Kipper on Fuhrer. Just, you know, accidentally on purpose. That's nice. I'm just sitting here minding my own business.

Oh, I love doing that once in a while. Yeah. And Binnington is an absolute sap show. And he just can't help himself. And Marc-Andre to the rescue. Oh, yeah. And everybody on social media is, we just missed the fight of the year.

Like, let him go. Let him go. And this is the sound out of Marc-Andre Fleury last night. Hey, hey. Let's go, let's go, let's go and this is this is the sound out of mark andre flurry last night let's go let's go let's go Okay. It'll be fun, huh? Get the crowd going a bit, yeah? Get the crowd going a bit. I don't like having my hair like this, you know?

What's good is Helmut doesn't like his hair. The flowers. He just wants to fight someone, he says. The flowers going WWE. Have you seen the flowers junior fights? Two junior fights hung in there through some bombs. He's fought before. i think he had his nose broken oh really he did well in the fights i saw maybe he took one in there but he's like he

wasn't down there pretending like bennington pretends to want to fight people he was down there to fight bennington who i believe has zero fights in his i think his agent uh alan walsh sent out a tweet saying that they had a conversation once and And he's like, when he gets to the NHL, I want to do three things. I want to score a goal. I want to have a fight and win the Stanley Cup. Yeah. Got some work on the checklist. And then he got into a fight and he's like, no, maybe I should just work on scoring a goal and winning a Stanley Cup.

Yeah. Like, Bennington. So, Bennington gets suspended. Our boy, Steve Dangleangle had a funny tweet about how you know before the suspension came down that sometimes the department of player safety just hands out like a lifetime idiot award what did i forget what he called it a lifetime oh a lifetime achievement suspension he called it and it is and it's like you've been a donkey for long enough we've all seen enough of your antics we're sick of it and then you can't throw

a blocker blockers the excuse they're looking for you can't throw one of those plus your jordan binnington one for each there's your two game suspension no comment okay and oh you like binnington because you know one sound guy he won our only championship in franchise history he was the goalie so all right no comment you're passing on this top no comment donkey but that act is getting a little thin isn't it yes it is very thin it's and well barube was like stop remember yeah barube had comments about how he's just got to play the game he's like just play the game i will say to bittington's credit last night is a situation where he was justified in being angry like he's given up a bunch in a row he just got clipped by

a guy you can't just run in and throw a blocker and it was a violent act it was an act of violence indeed the losing is the biggest factor here if you're winning or the team's in a good position you can be Tuukka Rask and have a meltdown would you like to hear Bull Durham movie right it's like

you know you got fungus on your shoes you're colorful if you're winning. Right? And if you're not, you're just a disgusting human being with fungus on shoes. Would you like to hear Binnington's ranks this year among NHL goalies? Yeah, how's he doing? Losses, 24.

That's second in the league. Goals against average, 339. 43rd in the league. Save percentage, 892. 45th in the league. Pen 17 first well it's not good 45th and save percentage first in pims i'd be pissed guess what i'd be throwing blockers too if my numbers look like that well he's also making five or six sheets for the next six sheets for how many three more years something they just traded away villi husso they let him go right because he yeah he makes oh my god he makes six million dollars until 26 27

so st louis four more years after this yeah so yeah so he gets a suspension and interestingly enough suspension's way down this year like you, you know, a lot of times, I feel like when I first started on Hockey Central with Merrick, I came in here every other day and was like, what do you think of hit? What do you think? You know, how many? It was a constant suspension talk.

Barely happened this year. It's like half as many suspension as previous seasons. What do you make of that? Is that just our players cleaner now? No. They are cleaner. They don't want to be suspended. They don't want to lose money. Escrow. what do you make of that is that just our players cleaner now has this no suspending yeah they are cleaner they don't want to be suspended they don't want to lose money escrow the spread between the highest paid players now and the rest of the league it's like if you're not making 10 sheets

you're making 750 you're making 750 a year yeah i don't want to lose anything off my 750 i'm already given like 60 to the government you've taken another 15 20 off of escrow like i'm playing for free you suspend me yeah so that's that to me is the biggest thing is the guys are so conscientious whereas i got suspended a couple time i'm like yeah that's the best 40 grand i could spend yeah because i hate that guy right yeah i mean it is you know but that's a very real done by me but like i i mean well but what's the part of doing business too sometimes and maybe it's part of the reason you get your next contract because you're a guy who you know cares yeah right you know however you want to phrase it for sure so but i i don't think the guys think that way and listen i i knew i also was pigeonholed in

a in a spot here where i had to play a certain role now we got guys on the fourth line who think they're first line guys just sitting and waiting yeah so they're not they're not putting themselves in a position to be suspended right they see the fourth line as a cue rather than you know a role you know just waiting their time out yeah it's interesting either way um suspensions are down and yeah and they have they've sanitized the league they don't get enough credit when someone does something stupid it's like oh we got to get it out of the game it's out listen to me people it's out yeah they've gotten so much out of the game. That's why they do welcome heavy hits.

And, you know, they don't. Yeah, they want to totally get rid of that salt and pepper. We need a little seasoning. Other thing on our end of show list, Ryan Reynolds. Check in here. You know, reading some stuff on him today. We mentioned yesterday that he had sold, you know, was part of the sale of Mint Mobile. 1.35.

And he owned, I think, 30 some percent of that. So I think his part was worth 350 million. So that's a good contribution or does he expect to be part of the sense for free still well i am curious to know like if the sends cost 850 or 900 you know does that 350 go right back in him could he get himself to where he's a 50 owner of the team okay a few people have mentioned this to me is like there's there's always going to be a number floating out but no one thing we'll never know what the number is in terms of mint mobile or no value cash value like they they there's a tendency to float out numbers that maybe behind the scenes aren't really what they appear really it's interesting it is interesting

because they would want to inflate public value well maybe is it 900 million really is it a billion dollars i maybe gary can create that with billionaires right now and maybe it's legit but in the past i can assure you the tendency was to massage yeah and you see whatever way you look at it estimated values or, however they come up with those numbers, it's not real dollars and cents sometimes. That's interesting. You think there's any chance Gary picks a group that doesn't include Ryan Reynolds after all of this?

No. No chance. I mean, I'd be shocked if he just straight up lost the bid. He's like the dream candidate for them. Yeah, like Gary's telling Ryan Reynolds, yeah like gary's telling ryan reynolds yeah go with that group over there oh sorry we're gonna take that group over there hey gary but he did say betman made some comments about how he thinks that in some pockets of the media i don't know maybe that's us you know that their franchises are undervalued they've always been

undervalued i know that's what the commissioner of the league is going to say. Give it a rest. Give it a rest. Listen, Reynolds is like, you can have my name and my image and my Instagram. I want a piece of the team. That's the negotiation. Well, he's going to put in real millions, though. I mean, right? No. You don't well he's gonna put in real millions though i mean

right you don't know you don't think he's putting in no 100 million dollars no really why would you like look at everybody's kissing his ass why would you yeah it's a business decision is a financial investment i can still get it for for free or i'm providing you this worldwide image and attention and he's going to value all of it on his reach for my involvement. It's the first play. Once Sammy becomes a celebrity, he's going to do so many things for a putter. Not a putter. A driver?

Oh, yeah, driver. Okay. Putter? Sammy has a Scotty Cameron. I have a Scotty Cameron that my uncle gave me when I was 10, and I haven't upgraded it or changed it or whatever, and if I lost that putter, I would quit golf. I am new to the Scotty Cameron game.

I have Mr. Gillies' putter oh it's a great club they'll offer equity for him to be a part of remington right they're gonna offer him something that sounds yeah like the opposite of him putting money in yeah you think that they're going to go to him with money get ready to start watching welcome to ottawa yeah i guess that's gonna be the sequel to rexham he'd be nuts not to ask for equity he's not it's not it's not an appearance fee yeah i want to i want to own a chunk of the team he'll come in as part owner i wonder if that'll be uh just as self-serving as welcome to rexham was what an excellent show that is you're you're the cynical evil person oh how great am i and if they're smart they're gonna negotiate all of that in i want two specials on netflix or i want this on uh come on let's get creative well and what's working what's so great you know what

though this might be one of the best things for the league because we are dying for something behind the scenes and authentic you know all or nothing all we hear about is how the leafs had the final cut and none of the good stuff made it to camera. And we still chew it up years later. Just chewing on the bat. Still got some great material off of it. Like we are dying. Hockey fans are dying for something. Really?

And the Senators could use that. Yes, really. Really? Yes. I thought it's kind of past now. No. This is the documentary. Everything's a docu-series.

We are going to watch the Ottawa Senators make the playoffs for the first times next year and um sean mckenzie's telling me that that kale mccarr goes to costco like my man do i really care i like him even more now do i need to know that yeah i like to know the nhl players a little bit better they're the least known superstars in the league and you feel better because you know that guy is human and he goes to costco like the rest of us no because you know if you want to cheer for him or hate him you know like patrick reed can go kick rocks but he should be in every tournament i watch so i can watch him shank it into the woods and choke and it the same goes for jordan jordan binnington he's a wonderful addition to the nhl we need him and his personality to hate him i called him a donkey 10 minutes ago and i

and it's great he's he's someone i know who he is well then maybe karel so hey uh call up brad marshand and say uh you haven't licked anybody lately. Come on, we need that. We do. Brad Marchand is one of the most integral players to the NHL. He's got a personality. He's a human. Sammy on board with that? Hating Brad Marchand again? Because everybody loves him now.

Yeah, make Brad Marchand bad again. Yeah. He's been rehabilitated. Yeah. Right? We shall see. Lots of good games tonight, boys. Oh, man. That was a fast two hours. Got the priest. And, of course,

Sid Cicero making his real Kipper and Bourne debut today. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. Give us a rating and review if you get a chance. And we're back again tomorrow to wrap everything up on Off the Rails Friday.