Real Kyper & Bourne - Pacific Powerhouses

Episode Date: March 25, 2024

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne welcome in Sportsnet's Luke Gazdic (2:45) fresh off his Hockey Night in Canada debut over the weekend. He shares his takeaways from the Oilers' loss to the Leafs on Saturday, a rare physical display from Toronto and the Edmonton's ceiling. Then, how they stack up against their Pacific Division rivals and Bobby McMann's impact since signing his extension. Later, they regroup with Sam McKee for news and notes - Ovechkin picking up the pace in his chase for Gretzky's record, the Penguins recover their stolen Jagr bobbleheads and a large change coming to Junior Hockey with the NCAA considering dropping restrictions for former CHL players.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.

we're going national on the real kipper and born show nick kiprios justin born sammy mckee we are live on sportsnet sportsnet 650 in vancouver and sportsnet 960 in calgary this hour real kipper and born brought to you by bet 365 we're welcome in welcome in Luke Gastic in a few minutes, catch up on the latest this weekend, get his thoughts on the Edmonton Oilers. I thought he did a great job Saturday night, filling in for Kelly Rudy. He was awesome.

He was getting well rested for the Stanley cup playoffs, which are, I don't know, maybe just four weeks. These guys play off like, well, you did it forever. I did it, yeah. It's like two months of being sequestered

and just like hockey every night. The one thing that was an advantage for Elliot and I and even Ron was we got to at least go home. You know, a guy like Kelly Rudy is locked in. Flies here, stays here. BXF flies here, stays here. You can only love your reward points so much at the hotel. How many they have.

I mean, they come in handy when you put that vacation finally together. Yeah. But outside of that. It's a lot. It's a lot to ask. So taking the night off, Luke filled in very admirably, I thought. Couple big games tonight. First Kings in Vancouver, which we have Monday couple big games tonight. First, Kings in Vancouver,

which we have on Monday Night Hockey tonight. Beautiful. And then the Vegas Golden Knights and the St. Louis Blues, which all of a sudden is a massive game at the bottom

of the Western Conference. They can drive a stake in the heart of the Blues. They would end the Blues with a win tonight. And I think they will. You do, do you? I do.

We can talk about that later. End game time. Oh. So, I'm going to ask Luke about this, but I just want to get your early thoughts on Toronto and Edmonton, which was a signature game Saturday night. I know what Vegas did to a guy like Dreisaitl, especially Petrangelo with the slash,

but not very often you see mcdavid and dry sidle during the regular season get as targeted in my opinion as i saw them saturday night yeah were you surprised yeah i was surprised because i've watched the leafs for i don't know how 10 years now covering it for sportsnet and haven't seen them ever do that really so that was something different edmondson a little bit of an on the edge dirty at times type of player and dry side old you know the stakes were high right it's a big hockey night in canada game and he's an emotional guy and managed to get under his skin pretty good so um yeah that was a unique unique moment moment for the Leafs. Okay, let's welcome in one of the busiest men in broadcasting, Luke Gastic, former National Hockey Leaguer

and now star of Hockey Night in Canada. Luke, what's going on, bud? Oh, thanks, Kipper. It's kind words. Not much. How are you guys doing today? We're good. Someone that's lived that on a few occasions, that Saturday,

it's a different feel than preparing for a game during midweek. Tell us about your Saturday on an iconic show. It was good. Honestly, it was a really fun experience. I got the call earlier in the week, so I got to have some time to prepare for it. But I agree with you when you said that. I've been in there now for some big Monday night hockey games, and I've done Leaf games on Wednesday night hockey, but it was just different.

It just felt different walking in there on Saturday. Obviously, the crew's bigger and there's tons of people around and you know once I got on the desk and we we were running through the show with Ron and Jen and and Kevin um I was getting a little nervous I'm not gonna lie uh walking through some segments but it was such a great experience everyone um including you know production and everyone in the control room made it uh i don't want to say easy but definitely made it easier for me uh and the fact that it was leafs oilers was was awesome uh obviously grew up here cheering for the leafs and then spent the

majority of my nhl career with the oilers and follow them pretty closely now so it was just a great game for me to walk into. And anything, you know, from that game catch you off guard? I mean, geez, that was probably not how most people saw the game unfolding. What was your greater takeaway from a Leafs-Oilers game where the Leafs found themselves up five going into the third period? Well, I did catch a second of what Kip said. And in the first intermission, that's what we focused on or what I focused on was the physicality on their top guys.

It was something you couldn't ignore. I think we circled back to it in the second period as well because there was a scrum on the power play, on the Oilers' power play where they went to 4-on-4 with Dreisaitl and Edmondson going into the box. But I just, from watching oiler games you rarely see their top guys get targeted like that on a shift to shift basis and the fact that it was the leafs too which is a team that doesn't necessarily play that way all the time and it was from the

first shift it was from the get-go like morgan riley's first shift to the game he had a box out on connor and then he tried to get to the net and he gave him a couple cross checks and then edmondson drove him into the boards on the second shift and i was like oh man like that they're they're making this an mo of their game tonight to go after these guys um if on the oiler side i mean if you're an oiler fan i was pretty disappointed how they came out there's 11 guys from southern ontario on their team uh they lead the nhl in that category and i just know for me coming home was a was always a special game uh friends and family are here can be distracting but it's it's only once a year at a conference so i was a little disappointed

with the oilers effort on that side you can't just wait till it's five once a year at a conference. So I was a little disappointed with the Oilers' effort on that side. You can't just wait until it's five rip to get your power play going and mount a comeback. But I was impressed with the Leafs' physicality and the way they drove the play. We're talking to Luke Gastick, former NHLer, now Sportsnet hockey analyst. Let's add Hockey Night inada to that list as well so we saw

an exchange on the bench between dry sidle and evander kane and i think you guys mentioned maybe they were talking about maybe a power play or a situation on the ice but could it have been luke and i'm not privileged to what they shared but could it have been, hey, Evander, I'm getting my ass run left, right, and center. So is Connor. Can somebody maybe go after a Matthews or a Nylander in this situation? And sure enough, 24 hours later, Evander's a healthy scratch. But who's in that lineup that can answer the bell

for the licks that those guys took? And is that something that Oiler fans need to be concerned about when it matters most in the playoffs? See, that's why I love you, Kip. I think that's a pretty good overlook at that situation. I don't know if that's exactly what they said. But when you're getting tossed around like that you need some pushback and that's one of the things that kevin said in the studio on saturday was like where's nursey and where's sammy carrick and where's evander kane to to have a little bit of

pushback um from the leafs here and anyone that knows leon or played with him um like i did knows how emotional he is and I understand the body language and the mannerisms throughout the course of the year don't look great from time to time but I love his energy I love his emotion he just you know when you get into situations like that he's very vocal with no filter like he will he will say exactly what's on his mind and Evander can be that way as well and I think that's just a situation where your team's getting pumped on the scoreboard and on the ice and something obviously happened and it boiled over and listen like everyone had different opinions and kind of takes on how it looked I didn't love the way it looked when you see two guys going at it like that.

I would have hoped that they went into the room and, you know, maybe at least snuff that out a little bit and not let it carry over into the third. But it's clear that, you know, there's something wrong there. But I think that's Leon. You know, that's the way he leads. And obviously a very emotional guy. So Kane gets healthy scratched the next night and the team has a disappointing outcome against Ottawa.

I guess I'll focus on Kane there though. What's happening with his season here? Really struggling to get it going and a guy who they need to be and can be a really important contributor for them particularly when it comes to playoff hockey yeah you said it like if they want to have any success down the line here he's a huge part he's going to be a huge part of that and they need more from him that's 16 now i believe without a goal and if you're not going

to score you got to create physically, get a little dirty, and I just don't feel like that part of the game has been there either. I'm not sure exactly what's happening last night. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt here and say that maybe he's got a nagging injury. Maybe he's

playing through something, but Chris Knobloch's tried him up and down the lineup. He's tried him with Connor. He's tried him with Adam Henrik. He's playing through something, but Chris Knobloch's tried him up and down the lineup. He's tried him with Connor. He's tried him with Adam Henrique. He's tried him with Ryan Nugent Hopkins, and nothing is really seeming to work here. There was a couple games earlier in the season where he even threw him down on the fourth line,

and that was no bueno for 91. He did not like that at all, but he's just such a big part of their team. He brings that different dimension for their offense uh as big as he is and as tough as he can be like to get out of the if you want to say pacific or the western conference uh in in a macro view um he's got to be a big part of it and it's something they're just really lacking right now look uh saturday night and we all know the oilers didn't get the start that they wanted but still very much in the

hockey game down to nothing midway through the second period and then the third goal where evan bouchard's going to retrieve a puck with Austin Matthews, has the positioning to get the puck in first, and actually hops to his left to get out of the way so Austin can go and get the puck. That ended up being the third goal in the hockey game. And listen, Evan Bouchard's a hell of a talent. We know that but that was pushing snow like i've not seen in a very long time and i'm just wondering if if euler fans see that in the

playoffs like how can this team win no and i'll agree with you honestly he has come a long way since the start of the year let's call it it was some of the worst hockey i'd seen him play earlier in the season and i feel like when paul got hired when paul coffee got hired that really sparked something and his game started to come in leaps and bounds and it's just little instances like that call them brain farts whatever you want little mental lapses that drive coaches and for that matter you're right viewers fans nuts right like that is a pivotal moment in a hockey game where you just want to see him make contact you just want to see him at least absorb some physicality or do the old school stick on puck and drive him through the boards there. And it's things with Boosh like that that I think still frustrate people a lot

in watching his game because he has come a long way. He's got a great stick. He obviously has the offensive ability, but it's just times like that where i wish he could just play a little more physical and just use his body a little more and that one was was pretty obvious in the sense of what he should have done but man they line up against you know a vegas or even i watched la play and we're covering them tonight, they're in van tonight, that's not going to work against either of those teams and anyone in the Western Conference for that matter. So those are things that I would hope that Paul Coffey,

assistant coach Mark Stewart, who definitely would not have made a play like that, would have a chat with him and hope to be better. He can shoot a puck though. Oh my God. I mean, yeah, like he's,

yeah, he's a great offensive player. You know, they're at a point now where Vegas is a couple of points behind LA. They may end up facing Vegas, as you mentioned, but it's just, it's tough to not see the Ed,

the Edmonton Oilers as, I don't know. Are they the best team in the Pacific realm of Vancouver may win the president's trophy this year, but I just feel like they've come so far and I don't know, are they the best team in the Pacific Rim of Vancouver? May win the President's Trophy this year, but I just feel like they've come so far, and I don't want to dwell too much on the Saturday night game because this, you know, post-deadline Oilers have been very good. The post-knoblock Oilers have been very good.

Has your opinion of where they're at changed now, going into the playoffs from, I guess, you know, pre-deadline? Where do you have them at in terms of real cup contenders? You know what, JB? It's funny. I don't want to give you too much of the show tonight, but we have a little segment called Take Your Pick. And our producer, David Azuma, said,

who's the best team in the Pacific? And I'm thinking, how do I say Edmonton after this weekend? With the position that Vancouver's in and how well they've played on a consistent basis like vancouver loses their top guy in thatcher demko and casey smith has stepped in and played incredibly well for them they're getting efforts from guys like nils hoaglander and connor garland all over the score sheet the years that jt Miller and Quinn Hughes are having, like they're a treat to watch. And I see how people are not giving them a ton of credit

for being a Stanley Cup contender here. But I think maybe we're 70 games in now. Maybe we should. But I felt much better about the Oilers before this weekend. And I know two games, you shouldn't live or die by two games. It just shows me that they obviously still have some flaws. Like they still have some problems. Every team does.

But all in all, this is probably one of the more confident years. I know they ended the season really, really strong last year, but I'm still confident in what they have. It starts and ends with me and that I. I've said that since day one. If Stuart Skinner can play some good hockey and get hot and go on a run, there's no telling what this team can accomplish. But it's just mental lapses like that

and slow starts, which has been this huge character that they've started to identify with where it's let's just get better and better as the game goes on like their third period goal differential is second best in the league they just get better and better but it's like we need some better starts here so it's concerning a little bit that they're still fighting with a couple things like this this late in the season but when they're clicking honestly when they're rolling and the four lines are going and 97 and 29 are at the top of their game,

there aren't too many better teams in hockey than the Edmonton Oilers. They've got 13 games to go, and it wasn't a good weekend for Skinner or Pickard against Ottawa. But if there is going to be a hiccup or just a pullback a little bit, maybe this is a decent time with 13 games to go because they they have been so good for the last 50 odd games yeah uh it's that's like it's such a small sample size for me what happened this weekend and it was largely in part to their goaltending. And I hate blaming it on them, but, I mean, Calvin Pickard, five goals on 16 shots yesterday, and Corpus Allo on the other side plays outstanding.

You know, Elliot and Jeff talked about it on their pod today, and I don't want to stir too many things up, but Jackie Campbell's played great in Bakersfield. Oh. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point you see him again in an Oiler uniform. Oh, wow. Wow. I don't know about that, but he's played outstanding.

Well, I threw out Matt Murray, so we're even for the Leafs. Yeah. I mean, I'm not the coach. I'm not the GM, but he's played some really good hockey down there. And you just, you never know. He's still under contract for three more years after this, right? So we'll see. They would like him to find it.

No doubt about it. On the Leafs side of things, watching that game, I know you follow along pretty closely too. You know, what are your thoughts on where they have come? You know know adding some physical guys at the deadline uh to the back end with labushkin and edmondson but also just getting more support from domi and bertuzzi and you know mcmahon and holmberger are you a believer now that the leafs could find their way through a playoff round dare i say such a thing this bobby mcmahon is unreal like i have just loved him five million

a year from start to finish this kid has been just such a treat for me for the least like plays physical um obviously has a nice goal scoring touch i have a soft spot for anybody that's played in the east coast hockey league thank you it is truly an absolute jungle down there i turned pro in boise idaho and then i got sent down my first year and just remember play together or against each other what year were you in boise boise for me would have been 2009 yeah i think i was there i think i was there earlier in the season i may have missed you by a month are Are you going to, you guys going to discover you guys are brothers now, but honestly,

and I asked him after the game, when we interviewed him just about getting there and he talked about playing in Wichita and playing in Newfoundland. And then he has a chirp for BX. And we asked him after and Kev's never talked to him, never met him. He just came from, that was total left field for me. Yeah. It was just, I've, I've really, never met him. He just came from left field. That was totally left field for me, yeah.

It was just, I've really, really liked him. And honestly, I don't know if there's, listen, there's no, I don't know, this correlation between Mitch being out. I'm not saying anything about the fact that he's out or that's why, but other guys have had to step up. And a lot of credit for Joel Edmondson too. He's been a guy who, especially Saturday night,

we're sitting there going, mark that Edmondson clip, mark that Edmondson stick, mark that Edmondson hit. And I think when he got traded here, it wasn't completely well-received by Toronto, and it was just like, why are we picking up this guy? He's a little older, but I think he's a great great great addition to their back end in terms of adding a you know a little bit of physicality and a little bit of heart absolutely just for the

record luke and i both scored one goal for the idaho steelheads in 2000 i'm looking at the uh you had 14 pins in two games i had 21 pins in 11, so I fought a couple times there, too. A lot of tripping or what? I had eight tripping penalties. Luke, were you one of many that watched Samsonov come off the ice going, is this season over? Well, yeah. Anytime you see someone that needs to, you know, pretty much be carried off the ice like that,

we were all kind of silent too and i was i remember i was thinking um about the long term like my mind my mind went straight to the long term but we i looked to play before we were trying to see if he got hit with a shot high or if he stretched out too far i think that was the big um the big thing that people were looking at was that his right leg missed the post. So did he just kind of tweak his groin a little bit? But you try not to think of the worst in that situation because honestly, he was outstanding. I know that he gave up three goals in the third,

but it could have been a lot more than that in the first two periods. He played some really good hockey and has played some really good hockey as of late for this buds team awesome stuff luke we really appreciate your time i know it's been busy and you're right back at it tonight correct yes sir we got uh la at vancouver monday night hockey uh 8 30 pregame there you go well keep up the great work man okay we love watching you awesome thanks guys thanks guys all right a new lucky luke yes for sportsnet yeah oh and uh yeah the mcmahon comment was uh was hilarious to be exit because i was just like did they are they buddies did they go way back but just a random random dig to be x that was fun. A lot of players play on an ECHL team over here.

You're looking at that roster? Oh, my God. There's so many guys. It is baffling. For the record, I had a torn MCL and barely hobbled around for a few games. Okay, just for the record, in my era, man,

you'd almost quit before going to play in the East Coast. Yeah, for sure. It was nutso. Yeah. Scary. Coast. Yeah, for sure. Like, it was nutso. Yeah. Like, scary. Scary. Yeah. Like, you're going down there to...

Die. Die. Survive. Yeah, good idea. Your hockey career is going to die there. Yeah. Now, much different. Developmental, right?

You only run 10 forwards because they want guys to develop. It's meant to be you play all the time. It's actually insane because there's three fights and all of a sudden you're like i guess that's how terry ryan ends up playing yeah we're gonna we're gonna hear like a lot of guys playing in the nhl from this league yeah it's funny it won't be as uncommon as my era my dad at the start of his second year got sent sent down to, I think it was the IHL maybe then, was that below the NHL at the time, and said that he basically learned to fight there because it was such a circus and you had to learn to stand up for yourself. Particularly, he had played in the NHL.

He's 6'4". It was the CHL he got sent to. My dad? The Fort Worth Texans. Okay, CHL at the time, yeah. Yeah, 73 points in 62 games and 80 pims. So he went. Yeah, he had a couple tillies.

There you go. But yes, now it is not so much just a pure fight fest. Nice. Same with the, I mean, the AHL too. Like the AHL was a league that was, you know, you think of those guys that were running around down there, even, you know, in the early 2000s. Yeah.

Like Marasti and all those guys. Don't look at my Hershey Bear team. I will. guys that were running around down there even you know in the early 2000s yeah like marasti and all those guys my hershey bear team i will with craig barubi and jeff chickren don knockbauer al wacko hill it's like the intro at the start of slack oh i'll remember andre the poodle lasard yeah these there's some fights in these games. I'm just looking at the PIMS on that team. Don Knockbauer. Snackbar. Yeah, he had 174 PIMS in 42 games.

What a year. What was the subsequent litigation? I felt so safe on that team, man. Jeff Chickren had 210 PIMS in 55 games. No goals, five assists. Went to training camp with Psycho McMichael. Psycho. I can, five assists. A lot of fucking awesome. Went to training camp with Psycho McMichael. Psycho. I can't even tell you the guy's first name.

All I knew was Psycho McMichael. I'm like, oh, this is going to be fun. What have I got myself into? When I went to play in the coast, my mom had some concerns because that was the reputation, right? But it certainly is much more development league now even. Oh, and people love like the East Coast, like the attendance around there.

Oh yeah, there's some really good cities. St. John's is a wonderful place. St. John's. Or Wayne. My cousins who live in Florida who I've mentioned before in the show, they used to love it when it was the Leafs farm team was the Orlando Solar Bears. Yeah. And those games are awesome apparently. I've always before in the show, they used to love it when it was the Leafs farm team was the Orlando Solar Bears.

Yeah. And those games are awesome, apparently. I've always wanted to go there. Solar Bears, Everblades, I think. Yeah. My division, Greenville Growl, my division, though, was I was playing in Idaho and we played in Vegas, Salt Lake City,

which is beautiful, Victoria, and a couple places in California, which are not nice cities, but warm weather. It was an awesome division to play in if you're going nice cities but warm weather I think it was an awesome division to play in if you're going to play in the coast sure that was good for you

I'm sure that was good for you at that time yeah it went great hardly any trouble game time boys let her rip semi it's game time presented by bet365

visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at bet365 must be 19 plus Ontario only please play responsibly.

Like I said, only two games on the schedule tonight. So I thought before I got into those games, I would check the futures and check the Stanley Cup favorites like I always start doing at the start of the week. The Edmonton Oilers are no longer the favorite, which I think is pretty fair after the weekend they had.

Well, pretty bad weekend, boys. Pretty bad. Bad weekend. Okay, hold on. Who do you Is it a bad weekend? Well, pretty bad weekend, boys. Pretty bad. Bad weekend. Okay, hold on. Who do you think is a favorite today? Small sample size or bad weekend? Come on. No.

Well, yeah, small sample bad weekend, but I mean, they got pumped in Toronto on Saturday night. It wasn't close for a lot of that game. Right. I know a lot of people, like, Puck didn't go in early for Edmonton, whatever, but it was 5-0 going into the third. How about that play Henrique made at the blue line that's one of the worst plays oh my god he kicked it around like it was a that was bad tennis ball going on there um but then they blew it to ottawa where they have 3-1 against ottawa yeah yeah yeah

so and we just heard from luke yeah it was goaltending corpus allo okay one of the worst seasons ever in ottawa history for a goaltender and then you look like george vesna last night go figure i don't know goalies man so who do you think the favorite is right now is it carolina it is not. The Rangers. Really? The Rangers are 7-1. Listen, I love the Rangers for obvious reasons, but I just don't see it.

I see them in the mix, but... They're tied with the Colorado Avalanche. Are they ready? Co-favorites. Are they ready? Yeah. I think they are. I think...

You do, right? I love their team. Like, I really do. First line is Kreider's a bandage at Roslovich. Yeah. Aaron Trocek, Lafreniere, Brodzinski, Wenberg, Capo. Panarin's having a heck of a year. VC, Goodrow, Rempe.

Get out of here. I like that team. I like that team. Anytime I watch them, I like them. Although Lafreniere has come a very long way. And could you pull up the decor there? Yeah, right. Keandre Miller, Braden Schneider, Eric Gustafson, Adam Fox,

Zach Jones, Chad Rudel. There's still some development there with Keandre Miller. I love him, by the way. I would love to trade for him, but I think in two years, this guy's going to be fantastic, but there's still work in progress there. They do have Shusterkin. That helps.

So, and if you want to find where the Leafs are, they are now 16 to 1. So, to me, the Oilers being plus 750 and the Leafs being plus 1600 is just insane. I love Bet365, but but to me it's like that's you know those teams are so much closer so tough to get out of the west you know it's sure ken holland is that at home trade oh that perfect think about the least we're sniffing around at that time too think about it well the leafs would have had a different set of mccabe

instead well that's what it was that's what it was rumored that's when they made the mccabe trade The Leafs were sniffing around at that time, too. Think about it, how the Leafs would have had a different look. Instead of McCabe? Well. That's what it was rumored. That's when they made the McCabe trade. Yeah, you're right. But he's next level stuff when it comes to doing so many great things for the Oilers. I love him. I don't know who they were playing recently, but it was the most satisfying one-timer goal of all time. It was Ekholm on the three-on-two, tic-tac-a-bam.

Yeah. Man, that looked fun against Nashville, I think. So speaking of the national putters can i interest you in the hottest team in the league the national putters at 17 to 1 that's the only chance okay did you catch it could be 170 to 1 okay bud all right the forsberg fight yeah he got pumped yeah look for us yeah you know cider's a big guy. He threw him. He did. He threw him. But I'm telling you, for such a skilled player that you would never think

would have that kind of anger to fight. Was it a mad fight? It was a mad fight. And Forsberg did terrific. Did he win the fight? It was a mad fight. Yeah. And Forsberg did terrific. Did he win the fight? No. But was he that guy that woke his whole teammates up to another level? 100%.

It's kind of like Simone Benoit fighting Nick Delorier earlier this year, where he's like, oh, God. No, no, no. This is way worse. This is way worse. This is way extreme, man. Forsberg's more Nylander than Benoit. Anyways.

The last thing I have, I know I'm going against Borny here tonight, but give me an underdog parlay tonight. Give me the Blues at plus 125 and the Kings at plus 110 for a plus 372 parlay. The two underdogs get it done tonight. Give me the Blues at plus 125 and the Kings at plus 110 for a plus 372 parlay. The two underdogs get it done tonight. Or you could save your money. That Vegas plus the over. I just want chaos, so I'm rooting for the Blues.

I love my Knights, but a little fun at the bottom. You reverse jinx for your Knights. Yeah, there we go. Alright, that was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. At Bet365, must be 19 plus, Ontario only. Please play responsibly.

Okay, let's take a quick break. When we return, we'll get into some NHL news and notes, including the Washington Capitals. Is that the same team that lost to Toronto on the weekend? I don't know. I don't know what to make of that team. They are Jekyll and Hyde. Also, the Penguins found the bobbleheads.

Oh, they did. They negotiated their return. Oh, okay. They also found a loss up four zip. Let's get into that and more, including Shane Doan's son making his debut for the Coyotes Tuesday night. I feel old.

How do you guys feel? Oh boy. Come on, buddy. We'll tell you how old we feel. Like I play the rugby game every day. When we return to Real Kipper and Born.

Diving deep into Leafs, Raptors, Jays, and NFL. The JD Bunkers Podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kipper, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. Bringing it home on the Real Kipper Endborn Show. So, before the break, talk to little Washington Capitals. O.V. was named first star of the week. Oh, no. Scored in all four of his outings. Leading the NHL with seven goals.

Okay. He's going to break the record. I got news for you. And I don't want to hear those sounds coming out of your body from here on in until the record. Okay, here we go. No comment. No comment. Makes for good radio.

Sorry. Look at me. You're not going to hear any comment other than this. It's going to happen. Okay. Okay. Did anyone see the graph I tweeted out today? Oh, yeah. I did. It's like, tweeted out today oh yeah i did it's like

he's the goal he's the best goal scorer he's the well the does he have the most goals though no he does not not yet everyone scored in gretzky place the era adjusted goals thing we're like in the 80s when gretzky was scoring all his goals there was like 38 goals a game and when ovi has played they're way way, way down here. The point just being, Ovi's goal scoring compared to his peers has been more impressive by a good distance than Wayne. And so no, he doesn't have the most because some

people aren't smart enough to take context into consideration. Oh yeah, when he's stealing them off his teammate's stick. Fair enough, Sammy. That was embarrassing. He thought getting in Connor McMichael's way. McMichael shot his stick. they can't take that one away can they will the league dare no no no it's happening i you know i feel most people want to get this 430 this year most people want to get it so i i feel like you know whatever i see people are happy that they're going to get to witness it.

And I feel bad that literally every time it comes up, it truly disgusts me. And I don't want to keep hammering away on this. So, like, I don't even know what to do. I hate it. I honestly check the box score for every cap game. And then I'm like, oh, no. You just don't want to see Wayne Gretzky off the mountain.

I've said it a million times. I'll say it again. No politics, no nothing. I want the Canadian guy to have the most goals of all time, not the Russian guy who is like, that's the historic rival of Canadian hockey, number one rival is Russia, USSR, whatever. Looking back over the history, and they are our number one rival i

don't want a russian guy to have the all-time goal scoring record sorry i don't i don't want it god and now you're like an idiot all right for five minutes it's okay grapes it's okay buddy not maddie i'm on your team we're good washington yes 12 games to go two against detroit including tomorrow night whoa they're right in it right in it is is that the season right there tomorrow night you know what i'd love for that to be the case but they're just so close like they're one point. If Detroit wins, they're at 80 and 79 points. It's not enough to say one way or the other that it's the season, but it sure is a massive hockey game.

Regulation wins. The Capitals hold two. That's a big tiebreaker. Poison. Red Wings really blew this. By the way, look at regulation wins. The Leafs had like none. Remember we did that for a while?

They're four behind the Bruins now. Yeah, that was a big-time talking point for a long time. But no, I can't help but look at those standings and say, what happened to the Red Wings? They were solidly in there. Two wins for the Washington Capitals since getting throttled by the Toronto Maple Leafs and losing Tom Wilson for six games,

who, by the way, will not appeal the six-game suspension for the high stick. But Carolina in a shootout. That was a crazy game. How is that the same team that played the Leafs? 7-6, I know. And then shutting out Winnipeg yesterday. The cap schedule, too. I had to look twice. Yeah. Well, Winnipeg yesterday. The cap schedule, too. I had to look twice.

Yeah. Well, Winnipeg's had a weird run. The Islanders beat Winnipeg on Saturday so thoroughly, it looked like they were playing, I don't know, the Sharks or something. The Islanders were up like 28-6 in shots at one point. So Winnipeg has just had a little blip here. I'm sure they're going to gonna be fine but it was a scary weekend if you're a jets fan yeah um but the capital schedule coming up so after that red

wings game they played the leafs on the thursday um we may talk to carbury we'll see we're still working on that um but after that they got the bruins they still got to play the canes they got the lightning they got the bruins again like they got some tough games ahead, so Detroit's still in it. And Carver, he's just, should be talked about a lot more, I think. Yeah, he is making proverbial chicken salad, in my opinion. It's a good-looking chicken salad. Yes, it is. And Charlie Lindgren is still the guy. that's always that's always the thing right

with uh you know good coaching is it comes along with good goaltending and lind lindgren's been been really good for them so from one topic that's our favorite news and notes to another one uh did you happen to catch any of uh the penguins and avalanche did catch it yeah i did i did and it's kind of the honestly real microcosm for the pittsburgh penguins season where you have sydney crosby scoring potentially the most glorious tip goal i've ever seen he's done that a few times that one to me was the most extreme like he was below the goal line it felt like i don't know how he got it off the far elbow but did you see him save the play by getting it back to the point like honest god

i'm watching this going he's working as good as. And he's trying his best, but his best just ain't good enough, and they lose. And they are currently ahead of three teams in the East, Ottawa, Montreal, and Columbus. Just three teams. Oh, there we go again. Having the board's very nice. It is.

Whoever's decided to add this to our show, what an element. Thank you, Jimmy Willey. Yeah. Appreciate it, bud. Yeah. Yeah. There you go. But, I don't know. see ottawa with a huge win

lesson all they're doing is worsening their at this point they're they're just their pick NBA team load manage anyone who can shoot it into the net start you know what's the point this point but god i just i can't help but just see these sid moments and just be heartbroken again as heartbroken as i am every time ovi scores i'm as heartbroken as i see sid sitting on the bench with his head down like to me the points that they're at with their teams right now i just wish so bad that they were flipped and this conversation will not go away here from here on in well sid to me needs to make a call. Like, I understand.

See what happens this summer with Pittsburgh. Go into the year. See if there's... What do you need to see? Well, I'll tell you what you need to see. If you trade Eric Carlson and, you know, add Brett Pesci. And, you know, if you make three or four personnel changes and you feel you're a lot better.

Do you buy into Carlson ottawa i don't know didn't carlson say oh that's all coming from classic canada or something he was pissed off about canada yeah i think elliot started all that it's not like carlson's gonna say i've heard that i sure hope that works out you know i'm looking forward to my return why would ottawa Why would Ottawa ever contemplate that? Give me, please, give me within the next 30 seconds, give me one good reason. Maybe he shoots right. Did he shoot right?

Is that, that's not a good enough reason. I think that you're just, I don't know. It'd be a classic Ottawa, think they're better than they are, make a trade to kind of think you're putting them over the top, get a star in there. They need to have an aggressive summer, though. This isn't it, but that's not the move. Wasn't it Mack that said this is the biggest summer

of their franchise history? He did. So moving Carlson would help excite Sid? Is that what you're telling me? It would help excite Sid if it meant that they would sign other good players. Like, you don't think they're going to do anything this summer? You're talking like you think they're going to just go into next year like this. Yeah, I think they probably will.

Well, then Sid needs to make the call if he wants to sit on the bench after blowing four goal leads for another three years of his career, or if he wants to be in games that matter. See, I think that's more realistic than kyle waving his magic wand i listen this is the kyle dubas show i can't do another dubas we're not doing it we're not going there we're just saying that his hands are tied yeah i'm just not sure what he can do. Like, I mean, you can trade Carlson, but you still have Malkin.

How much does Malkin make? Six and change. I mean, can you move that? Would you move that? Can you move that? Like, that's the thing. That's why taking over the Penguins was such an impossible job. Because you have to manage. Why have to manage a seven-year deal

for sure but you have to but you have to manage the end of the most beloved maybe team in franchise history where gandhi dufresne you have to crawl through 500 yards you're the guy that has to end on the other side yeah and is he in a big enough spot to be like, hey, Sid, we're trading Gino. We're trading Letang. I don't know. If he asked him to do that, he might trade me. He may have got some goodwill when the Penguins got, they secured the truckload of stolen Yarmour Yager bobbleheads

and planned to begin distributing their promotional items at the team's upcoming home game. The Penguins were notified last week that a special cargo recovery team negotiated the return of the stolen property to a secure warehouse located in Ontario, California. California, the bobbleheads. I know nothing about this story. I've talked to no one about this story.

I call BS on the whole thing. Wow, that's a bold claim. The organization is saying... Yeah, it just reeks for me. Yeah. Well, you know, there was some at the time It's just so goofy.

Oh, by the way, though, I did stipulate on the show last week, I believe nothing on the internet any longer. Nothing. I do love the visual of the guy who took the truck being like, You don't believe anything, period. Nothing. But, I mean, I do love the visual of the guy who took the truck being like, it's bobbleheads, man. It's bobbleheads.

But there is a... There's no gold on this truck. There's an epidemic of cargo theft in America. Apparently, trains are getting robbed all the time. Like, it's the Wild West. Yeah, for real. Train robbers. Train robbers.

They're back, man. They're back. If it was a publicity stunt, it was probably a good one. We've been talking about Yager bobbleheads, I guess, for two weeks. That's something. Great. They need to get people to go to their games. All right.

If it's legit, then good on them, you know, diverting from a very bad season. What did they exchange to get these back? Eric Carlson signed stick. Really? What could it have been? I don't know if you guys have watched their home games recently, but like crowds not looking as hot as it used to. Oh, there's a real concern.

No, no, no. There's a real concern. You just bought a team, which Mario sold. Was it Fenway Sports Group that's involved? You can't love what's happening. Oh, no, no, no. There's a a couple people there told me that like the feeling is almost is right up there with before they drafted sid oh boy well that that to me is why you know people always like like to rag on the southern teams which i do myself sure but i think it's a much more fickle thing than we give it credit for everywhere sure not just winnipeg

fans taking a beating me all pittsburgh fans haven't been and but like and same with florida and people like oh there's no one there but it's like there's a lot of markets that if the team stinks people stop going like there's only a few american ones that are super's a lot of markets that if the team stinks, people stop going. Like there's only a few American ones that are super solid. A lot of places to speak here. All right. Josh Doan will make his NHL debut after being recalled from the AHL Coyotes Hockey Club. This is, of course, the son of longtime captain Shane Doan.

He's 22, selected in the second round back in 2021 had a pretty good start to his pro career anything else we know about him yeah he's leading the ahl rookies uh with 26 goals wow not easy to score in the american league um you know at just 22 years old one year did you yeah and i thought it was like all the goals in the world back then. I had two. Pretty good. There you go. We're cool together.

We still don't have as many as Doan's kids. That's right. We always forget that Doan does work for the Leafs, so. That's right, too. Yeah. All right. So it's a nice connection for him. I'm sure that's a proud moment for Doan to watch that.

You know what I wanted to ask you about? And I'm not up to date on this as much maybe as even you would be following this. But Elliot on Saturday night mentioned this whole situation with the NCAA, CHL, and what that could mean to their agreement between the CHL and the NHL. I've talked to a few people in the junior ranks, and they don't anticipate anything coming real soon here. Well, what Elliott said, he said, the NCAA is actively considering removing all restrictions

for CHL players to play in the NCAA after their CHL careers are done, which would be a bomb. That's a way different thing than it's ever happened. That's the opposite. It's a major change for sure. I mean, it certainly affected how my choices were made. What qualifies as someone's end of their age? What age?

21. You're an overager. You're an overager if you're born. Why not 18? 18 is the legal um but you can play in the chl when you're currently 20 yeah yeah but if you wanted to leave when you're 19 to go play in the ncaa are you allowed to yeah you'd be able to but by this agreement you could go so at any time you could leave the chl yeah okay which to me you know really tears the junior system in canada because i chose

junior a i played in the whl and had to consider do i want to keep trying to make this like it you know or just don't understand the term when your career's done or how did you phrase that again um after their chl careers are done yes but but it's not when it's done. It's whenever they want to. Yeah, I think that's, you know, he's just saying, like, when you run out of runway to play junior, you could then go play in the NCAA. Listen, there are some CHL teams that don't want you to leave, but you could just pick up and leave anyways.

Yeah. That wouldn't necessarily be a good thing. Well, I'll read the rest of Elliot's statement if it helps us. Yeah. For example, if you get drafted from the CHLl nhl teams hold your rights for two years if you get drafted out of the ush ushl or ncaa they hold your rights for four years so all of that would have to be collectively bargained with the players so there is still some clarification meeting on okay that would work yeah and also i can't read.

Yes, you can. It's all done. Way better than me. Yeah. I, you know, a lot of CHL teams would be fighting to not, like, because if you get, listen, you get sent to somewhere, you're playing in Rimouski, you're playing up north or playing in Owen Sound or playing somewhere where you don't necessarily love it.

You're looking for the first train out of town. If I recall, if I recall, even in my era, when a player got drafted and developed and then ended up playing in the NHL, the NHL teams would stroke a check to the junior teams. To like develop their team? Yes. And it wasn't cheap. It was like in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Oh, really? 30, 40, 50 grand. yes and it was it wasn't cheap it was like in the tens of thousands of dollars oh really 30 40 50 grand teams would get kickbacks for developing for the nhl so i don't know i don't know how it stands today yeah but if someone was to leave after two years and go finish in the ncaa do they still pay a portion of that? Do they not pay it at all? And really weird to think of what would become of college hockey if you get a bunch of the best 20-year-olds out of the OHL decide to go become NCAA players,

and they have four years of eligibility playing until they're 24. They all do it in the U sport here, right? Like oftentimes they'll go play for universities here yeah yeah so you'd that would hurt that too so they would have a big a big say in that like it's a do you ever envision like a memorial cup becoming bigger in north america including ushl and like it's that open up i mean i really think it would fundamentally change all the structure of how developing and what leagues you play please don't trade that's the hardest sports to win ushl's kind of made a name for itself in the last little while it was never there's nothing there for me good league

yeah you know that's the that's the equivalent of chl hockey in the u.s and i, if I'm not mistaken, the BCHL, which I played in for years, joined up with the Alberta League or something like that. Everyone's making moves right now in junior hockey, so the landscape is shifting a little bit. Go check out the fees of these teams now. Tier 2, a million, million and a half dollars. What, for players that get drafted? No, no, to buy a franchise.

To buy franchises. These franchises are hot right now. Really? Yeah. Crazy. Okay, just like that, our two hours are up. Enjoy your night, and we're back tomorrow on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show.