Real Kyper & Bourne - Playoff Push with Doug MacLean

Episode Date: March 29, 2024

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne welcome in Doug MacLean for his Off-the-Rails Friday appearance! Mac weighs in on the Wild Card race in the East, playoff expectations for Matthews, the Jets' and Canucks' untimely skids and Hyman hitting 50 goals. Then, he looks ahead at potential playoff matchups and who has the edge in the first round. Later, they discuss the Hart trophy race heating up as McDavid approaches a 100-assist season. Finally, they welcome in fill-in producer Tristan Marchegiani to answer your questions on the text line!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.

real kipper born back for their national hour nick kiprios justin born tristan market johnny coming in out of the bullpen saved saved our first hour with our clips. We went to them, nothing there. Tristan ran like he stole something. Great 40 time. Great dash. Great dash. Got it done.

Found the clips. Where were they? In a trash can? Were they in the hallway? Great job, buddy. Great job. All right. A lot of marquee games last night signature games

12 in total it kind of calms down tonight with just one thank goodness we need a rest we do the islanders though got her done pal sniffing around the playoffs again still in it still in it they won't washington despite a tough look last night against the toronto maple leaf still in it. Still in it. Washington despite a tough look last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Still in it. Islanders still in it. Think Doug McClain's still in it or did he check out at this point? Always love finding out.

No quarters of today's in a nice summery tea. Alright. Off the rails Friday. Wouldn't be off the rails Friday if we didn't have our next guest, former general manager, president, coach. Let's welcome in Doug McClain. What's going on?

It's been like a really hectic day racing around to get ready for this show, just doing my homework. And the beach was really busy, so it was tough to find a cabana. Uh, pool was busy. It, you know, it's been, it's been busy and it's been a busy week. The kids are here visiting. Uh, so it's been, it's been, it's been really hectic, you know, is that where you go get a lot of your statistics usually at the beach? Well, that's where I do a lot of research.

I do a lot of research there, you lot of research there you know so what uh what did you make last night of uh you know the the playoff race in the east the capitals stink and lose flyers stink red wings can't win islanders back in it am i am i talking into islanders finding their way in no i i don't see i don't see the islanders getting in, but look. I mean, the question to me is, can Philly last? Can Philly stay in the mix? I mean, they've been banged up on their back end, goaltending a little off at times, coach losing it a little bit.

You know, can they hang in there? Every time you think the Flyers are in a little bit of trouble, they seem to rebound. So do they have the staying power to stay in? Washington have been okay recently until this. The Islanders, every time you expect them to win a game, the Islanders lose one, but bounced back last night a little bit. So, look, I don't know. It's ugly at the bottom.

It's really ugly at the bottom of teams that have not had great years and somebody's going to get in there, and then it's a totally new ballgame, you know? The Flyers play. I just want to touch on the Flyers just a little bit here. They seem to have a decent schedule here to kind of control their own destiny, I would think, with the likes of Chicago and Buffalo and Columbus, three out of the next four.

But, Mac, if they find a way to blow this, do you go back to Tortorella, the captaincy, the talking about his goalie, or do you just go, they kind of overachieved this season and maybe playing meaningful hockey was enough for them? I would go to the fact that they're pretty thin right now. They're a thin group because of the injuries. They've overachieved all year.

Can they actually keep it going to survive and get in for a round? That's what I see it. I mean, I don't see any of those bottom teams doing much, even if they get in. And that's not typical of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Like the eight seeds have been pretty good over the years of doing some serious damage. I don't see it with the inconsistency we've seen at the bottom. You know, Tampa Bay have taken their game to another level.

The Leafs have hung in despite, you know, up and down. I know Jersey was ugly, but look, the Leafs with some tough injuries have hung in there pretty good and had some pretty solid performances. But,

you know, Boston had been up and down. So it's kind of a weird look. It really is. You know, so I kind of would like to see Philly get in, but I'd also like to see Washington get in. Patrick's supposed to get the Islanders in. So there's some questions. No games are easy when you have to win them.

When you're a bottom-tier team and you're going against a Columbus or a Buffalo. Look, Buffalo's trying to save their – are they trying to save Granada or are they trying to get them fired? Are they trying to save Adams? I don't know what they're trying to do. But, you know, those bottom teams can always be trouble when you're in a stretch drive because the team that's supposed to win is uptight.

That's another problem, you know. They're uptight going into these games because they're must-win games for them. So it'll be fun to watch. I just want it to get over with. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of it. You're done with the season? You're ready for the playoffs?

I'm ready for the playoffs. I'm so excited about your guys leafs of advancing beyond the first round they got a shot or line got they've got their nine guys on the blue line kippy's young fella is coming back into the lineup he's going to start practicing this week pull out so i'm i'm excited but i he talking about Mitchie? Yeah. Oh, Mitchie, Mitchie. Listen, I'm going to tell you something. Austin Matthews has had a marvelous season. He's had a marvelous season.

And he's got to win in the play. He's got to win a round. He's got to lead this team through the first round. He did it last year, though. To his credit, he did it last year. He led the first round. Yeah, I know. And then the second round. He did it last year, though. To his credit, he did it last year. He led the first round. Yeah, I know. And then the second round, not so much.

Okay, so what you're saying is he's got to lead through the second round. He's got to lead them. No, he's got to lead them through the first round and be a real critical key guy for them and be the leader that he's been a lot this year for them. A lot this year. He's led the way all year for them. Now I just want to see him take his game to just a higher level. Is that possible?

But be great in the playoffs. And he's going to have a ton of pressure in the playoffs because they are going to work to shut him down because they know if they shut his line down, as has been the case for a long time, they're not going anywhere. So I want to see him come to a whole nother level at playoff time. Playoff intensity. You know, he doesn't have to score all the goals like he did all season,

but he's got to lead the team. We talked earlier in the first hour about Alex Ovechkin, where he was at in his career when Kip made some comments about how he needs to win for you know the 50 goal seasons for people to care about it Matthews is sort of there did you see like Ovechkin eventually won seven years after this he won a con smith did he change the way he played or did it just eventually break through with enough tries you know what it was a couple of things it was a breakthrough

do we remember the save the goaltender made against vegas do we remember the save that was made there that kept them alive yeah the cross the crease save that really saved their their season and and the whole thing and his yeah unbelievable and hope he gave them a heck of a series so now you know what i'm trying to say is ob needed help ob needed help but he led the way but he needed help who's nuts off had a big series all the guys came through big with with ob and and matthews i'm not saying matthews has got to do it himself but kne Nylander, Marner, Tavares, they've got to, you know, Bertuzzi, who I was hard on. I was hard on Bertuzzi. I had this lady just ripping me on Twitter for being so hard on Bertuzzi.

I hope she's watching because she must be a hockey genius because she saw something I didn't see. I don't even know her name. But anyway, I think it's a fake account. Anyway, Bertuzzi has been better. Domi's been better, as you guys have alluded to. Their defense looks a little better. Goaltender, I'm still worried sick about their goaltender.

I read the goalie guru yesterday in the Toronto Star with this amazing article talking about peewees and bantams and putting their pads. My goaltender, how do you think I felt with Mark Fitzpatrick as my goaltender? He'd come in after the warm-up, come in after the warm-up when he was starting, and he would strip down to his underwear, take all his equipment off, and then get dressed again, and then go out and let a goal in from center and i said why why don't you just leave your equipment on and see if you can stop that first shot instead of a panic by everybody in the room watching fitzy get redressed for the game you know i mean right

down to the underwear oh my god redress and sitting there, like, trying to do my speech, you know, pregame, you know, my speech before we go out, you know, that final pep talk. And all I'm doing is tripping over Fitzy's equipment, laying on the floor in the little dressing room at Miami Arena. So I'm still a little nervous about their goaltending. I love Wall. You know, Sam, I'm not a big fan and you know, I know he's bounced back,

but look, this is the playoffs and they're going to go against teams in the playoffs that are going to have good goaltending. They're very good goaltending. They're not Connor Hellebuck, but right now they can't win the Winnipeg jets. They're losing streak has hit five games, 4-1 loss to Vegas. So how concerned is Rick Bonas right now?

You know what? Well, I'm a little worried about Winnipeg, but then I listened to their number one analyst, who I watch weekly doing his segment, John Shannon, in Winnipeg. He does it for CJLB. Have you ever seen Chaney on his analytic breakdown? I love Chaney, but I have not. Well, i watch it every week because it's must see tv and he breaks down he he breaks down the jets like i've never seen him broken and shanny in his last segment does not have a worry

about the jets not a worry he he's you know he thinks that's good news to break out so that's good news uh but look they're going to be in tough in the first round. Have a look who they could play in the first round. So every first round is the most exciting time of the year. And the Leafs will be on the spotlight. And we'll see what happens. Out West, Vancouver loses to Dallas, which had a very playoff feel type of hockey game last night with Dallas's

late power play goal. But, you know, if they look in the rear view mirror with a couple of games in hand for the Edmonton Oilers, like, would it be devastating to see the Oilers catch them? I asked somebody today what's wrong with Vancouver. And they said their power play is no good, their penalty killing is no good,

their goaltender is injured. The big acquisition from Carolina has been invisible. What is going on with this guy? I mean, we were on this show raving about this pickup, and now they're all wishing they had the kid back that they shipped to Calgary for him. He didn't have a hat trick last night, but he was close i mean what's what's happened to this kid you know i mean he's that good a player and now he's invisible out there and it's throwing there

you know you said last week petty pd pd's gone gone a wall i mean they're in a little bit of hurt right now so they got the oilers they got the oilers who were in a hot chase of them then and the oilers have the ducks and the blues the next couple games they certainly could make it close i just want to ask you about this uh zach hyman with the oilers gets to 51 goals at 31 years old you know given where he was at earlier in his career what are your thoughts on the player he's become i don't think a lot of us saw this coming no but but if you would have asked me when he was acquired by edmonton i would have said like two acquisitions that kenny holland did with that calm and hyman maybe the two best acquisitions of the year for any gm and and tenny kenny takes a lot of heat two unbelievable pickups

and they survive with Skinner in goal moving you know moving Campbell to the minors uh so Hyman I would have said it's going to be a 35 goal score guaranteed because he's going to play with Dreissel or McDavid and he's going to be a 35 goal scorer because the guy the kid goes to the paint and he plays hard and I'm watching him get 50 and I'm excited about him I'm excited about the kid goes to the paint and he plays hard. And I'm watching him get 50, and I'm excited about him. I'm excited about the kid. I think he's a quality kid. And then I'm reading this garbage. It drove me.

It really ticked me off the last couple of days, the derogatory comments about a kid like Hyman, who to me is a hardworking true pro. I'm sorry. I don't care if he gets to play with McDavid. I don't care if he gets to play with mcdavid i don't care if his father bought the hey my father was a president of the somerset minor hockey program too big deal so come on i mean the kid is the kid has worked hard the leafs it was a big mistake losing him i

know salary cap i get all that but it was a monumental loss for them and a great pickup by edmonton and the kid has played hard. And if you asked any of his teammates about Zach Hyman, what would they say? They would rave about him, right? As a kid and a player. One of the classiest kids in the league. You want to believe it. You want to believe it.

So it just ticked me off. So, hey, good on him. Proud of him. I hope he has a great playoff and shuts a few people up. Mac, where are you with Evander Kane? I hate to be sour. I hate to be sour today. No, no, no.

You're such a positive. I like this segment to be a positive segment. I found you for the most part. A lot of your show is really down. It's always like a negative. And I'm trying to uplift it and be a positive force to end the week on Good Friday, especially, you know? Yes, yes. You're definitely good on a Good Friday, for sure.

Evander Kane, can we envision the Oilers going deep without him being at his best? Because I don't think there's another player that can add a physical element with a skill set like him in that lineup. And I don't know what kind of Evander Kane we're going to see to start game one. How would you know what you're going to see? I know he's a real important guy there.

I get all that. But the inconsistency shown at so many times in his career would make me nervous. You would hope that the leadership in that room, and I think they've got pretty good leadership there. I think Ekholm has come in and helped their leadership group. I think Hyman has probably helped their leadership group. You know, McDavid, Dreisaitl, Laird givens. You can't, you've got to believe that Evander Kane, probably in his last, his last opportunity

to really become a stable contributor in a good organization, you would hope that he would bring his best. And you're right, he's an important guy and playoffs should be his best time. It should be his best time. And you would hope he's going to be there. He's been good and average and bad for them and then you'll i watched his interview with gene principalia

and i go okay well what well why the act here come on just answer the questions and get on with things you know enough already so how many canadian teams see the second round of playoffs doug we got the the canucks the oilersets, the Leafs. Are you considering the Vancouver Canadian? He goes, there's only one and a half Canadians on that team in Vancouver. Is that right? Who's the half? One and a half Canadians. Who's the half?

Myers, the defenseman. He's a dual? He's American and he's dual. Like myself. They've got one and a half Canadians. Like, if I'm not mistaken, last year, didn't Vegas have 18 Canadians when they won the Cup? And I didn't notice anyone calling it a Canadian Cup, Doug, that year. No, no, no, no. And I look, I don't care where they're from.

But it caught me off guard when I looked through their rosters. No Canadian forwards at all, I think. One and a half Canadians. And yet they've had a great year. You know, toxic Canadian. And that's been a big part of it. So, Mac, last week we had

Paul Maurice on our show, and if somebody wants to revisit it, it was fantastic. He's almost as good as you, so download it if you get a chance almost but he seems to be running out of patience uh the other day jill hey just a minute jill doesn't have time to download things for me right now she's busy down i don't download you do you even know what that means

i i read the wall street journal my kids my kids are giving it to me today because i'm reading the wall street journal i said dad who reads papers anymore well you know i said well kipper writes a column for the toronto star you know i read the wall street journal so i mean yeah so i don't i don't do a lot of paper what did paul did Paul Murray say exactly, JB? He said basically... Whatever you think I would say, you write that, and I won't argue about it. Just whatever you think I would have said, go ahead and write that. So what is going on?

With a couple of expletives there. What's going on there? I don't know. Tarasenko... I would have thought that Tarasenko was a solid pickup for them. I would have thought he would have. He came in at a reasonable price, and I thought families in Florida. He's won a cup.

You didn't like it. He's going to a team. He's going with a team. I didn't really like it, but I thought it was going to be. He'd be okay as a player. They've hardly won a game since he's been there. What did I tell you? You said that he would...

How directly do you want me to say what I think you said? I said he's high maintenance. Yes. Yeah. That he would be a stick in the mud of sorts. Yeah. So look, this is a pressure-packed first

round for the Florida Panthers, too, because of the season they've had and the way Barkov's been. And, you know, Reinhardt's had the big 50-goal season. And Barkov's a big part of that, obviously. Bobrosky has had an amazing year. Florida had the great run last year. They should be good. But, man, you look at the first-round matchups, boys,

none of them are going to be easy and there's no giving. So I watched a couple of their games lately. They have not looked very good. They have not looked very good. You know who Florida should have got? They should have reacquired Anthony DeClaire. I like him. I saw him last week

play against the Rangers and he's been a very solid pickup for Tampa Bay that slid under the radar. Yeah, they're scoring. What do you want me to say? Yeah, what do you want me to say? All right, all right, all right.

He's played for 17 years. I mean, you're digging deep here now, but you know what? The kid can score. The kid's a streaky scorer. Yes, he is. He's got speed. So, look, and he's a streaky scorer. Yes, he is. He's got speed. So, look, and he's with a bunch of stars who are still stars in Kucherov,

Point, and Hedman, and, look, goaltending. I mean, look, who wants to play Tampa in the first round, boys? I'm telling you, it will not be fun. It will not be fun. So, yeah, it's a decent pickup. But I'm not going to say, like you, Nick, that he's going to be a difference maker. I didn't say that. I can't remember the last time he played in the playoffs. So maybe he's really excited.

Was he in Florida last year in the playoff run? Yeah, he was. He was. Yeah. Okay. Let's hope he has a big run. Well, the one thing I do wonder. Joe, they're asking me about downloading things.

You know how to do that? Just right click. So if it's very possible, Tampa could see the Boston Bruins. The Bruins, according to all my fancy nerd numbers, have not been very good since January 1st. I don't look at their roster. I do look at the roster.

It's not that great. Are you a Bruins believer? I'm not over here. I was sort of hoping the Leafs would play the Bruins in the first round because I think they would have their best chance against the Bruins. I really do. I mean, look, their play is has been their bread and butter for a long time swayman is good i like their blue line i like their blue line um but they

they've been up and down and i i i don't know if they can score enough to have a lot of success i don't know if they can and i would i would like to see the leafs play them in the first round i really would and i know they've had good luck lately they haven't had good luck lately against the bruins but i still think i still think that would be a good matchup for the leafs detroit one of those teams now that you can look at uh at least they played meaningful games like is this thing slid right off the rails for them you know Larkin goes down and and it seemed to you know their season spun out of control and now he's back and you know can he lead the way look I like their team a lot at times during the season I thought they were going

to find a way to get in there I can't it's Phillies to lose guys it's phillies to really lose and i i don't see them getting in i mean i know they don't have they're not chasing them but i don't know i see philly washington maybe that's the end of it all right before we let you go i want to give you an opportunity to be positive about something in the nhl a team a player is there a thing a trend a team something you're watching right now going that that makes me feel positively towards nashville nashville might just make you feel warm and fuzzy did you want me to answer the question or did you ask nick that you know what excuse me i'm talking to doug right now i'm trying to help him all right trying to help him

on this good friday i i'll tell you what i wouldn't want to play nashville right now yosi has gone to a whole nother level uh the goaltending is always good uh bernette's done a heck of a job i mean imagine thank god he wouldn't let them go to youtube. Thank God. Ah, saved. And then I'm trying to, oh, I know what's so positive about the NHL, right, this week. It just made me feel so good was Doan getting two goals. Yeah. And now I know why Gary has been so persistent on keeping Arizona in the NHL. They've been waiting for Doan's kid to make the team and take them to another level.

Maybe he'll help them get a new arena. So I'm trying to be positive about Arizona, who I've been hired on for 12 years. I don't know, it sounded sarcastic to me. 12 years I've been hired on them. I was happy for the Doans, though. I love that. Just to go back on Nashville's major turnover

was when they took away the concert in Vegas of YouTube. What's the worst thing you ever did? I remember I think it was either, I think it was the Rangers that took away our Haagen-Dazs ice cream on the flight home. They did? Yeah, and I was really pissed. And just replaced it with something generic? No, no, no replacement. Oh, my God.

Just took away the Haagen-Dazs. Like, that really, really upset me because I really like ice cream. Yeah. That really, really upset me because I really like ice cream. You know what? Mine goes way back to when I was a junior coach. And I told you this story, but the trainer come out

before the warm-up and he said that Robbie, my number one goaltender, forgot his skates. And he forgot his skates. He didn't have them for the game. We're on the road. So I go in and Bruce Howitt, my backup, who was awful, was really struggling, couldn't stop a beach ball.

And I go up to, and he's getting his skates on. He's all excited. And I go up to him and I said, Bruce, what size are your skates? And he said, size nine and a half him i said bruce what size are your skates and he said size nine and a half i said give them to robbie so that was the worst that's the worst thing i ever did you know we won the game and i go back to p.i and i bruce howard works for bell and i see him in the trucks all the time and i wave to him and it just our relationship hasn't been the same that's awful before we let you go I don't need any deep dive into uh Jeff Rimmer but I mean have you talked

to him since you absolutely lambasted him on our show last week he phones me every day it's like he likes the punishment he phones me every day and i guess they're honoring him tonight in columbus really he you didn't go no i did i sent a video i sent a video oh that's nice and you know what as i said to rims i said they're honoring you and look you you have been you have been a bright light for that franchise for 20 years. You're one of the most positive things about the franchise in 20 years. He says to me that that was my greatest acquisition, was hiring him to be the play-by-play guy.

I thought it was Nash or Ray Whitney, but maybe it was hiring Rims. And here's the downside of Jeff Rimmer retiring. He lives 25 minutes from me. Uh-oh. Oh, no. That's the downside of his retirement. So maybe next season we can have the two of you on a Friday. Why don't you just

hire Rimmer for this segment next year? And he can talk about himself. He can tell you about the time Pete Rose jumped him in the Expos dressing room and put a pounding on him because he was ripping Pete Rose.

He's got the Cal Ripken story. He's got all these great stories that he loves to tell. Wow. Pete Rose. He's got all, he's got the Cal Ripken story. He's got all these great stories that he loves to tell. Wow. Pete Rose beat up Jeff Rimmer. We're going to have to get that story next week. Get him on Monday to talk about him being celebrated. He attacked, he attacked,

uh, Pete Rose attacked Jeff Rimmer. And I guarantee you that he, he had it coming because he's obvious. He was a very controversial, mouthy guy when he was doing radio. I used to listen to him in Baltimore when we were with the Skipjacks, you know?

All right, we're going to let you go. I'm proud of Rims. He's had an illustrious career and I'm proud of him. And congratulations, Rims. I'm sure you're listening. Yeah, the last five seconds after ripping him doesn't really mean much,

I've got to be honest with you. The fadeaway. The fadeaway compliments. It's a little too late. you're listening. Yeah, the last five seconds after ripping them doesn't really mean much. I got to be honest with you. The fadeaway. The fadeaway compliments. It's a little too late. All right, do you think this segment lasted long enough that Jill hid your Easter eggs? Jill is a big fan of this segment. They're all in the other room watching it. I'm sure they are.

I'm sure they are, too. All right, Mac, enjoy the rest of your easter weekend thanks for joining us man thanks hey thanks for having me on good friday i really appreciate it being on today that is doug mcclain you're off the air overtime pay we'll send it all right cut them off would you tristan all right that's doug mcclain former nhl president gm head coach and of course this hour of Real Kipper and Born brought to you by Bet365. In such a hurry, we have to get that in. We do.

Let's do game time after the break. Are you doing game time? I am doing game time. You are our Sammy with game time after the break. I can't wait. More of that and more on the Real Kipper and Born show when we return. Covering the Blue Jays from an analytical perspective, Jays talk plus with Blake Murphy,

be sure to subscribe and download Jays talk on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kipper is Justin Boren, real kipper and bourne show all right um as always on friday texas at 590 590 is that what the number is yes 590 i've done this for three years you got it you got it it's game time it's game time yes it is uh presented by bet 365 visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at bet 365 must be 19 plus ontario only play responsibly one thing i had tristan seek out for us today is the new york islanders odds to make the playoffs they're gonna pay plus 260 is there any chance kip when you look at the nhl standings

that the new york islanders can make that a useful bet for you at this point uh the answer is yes yeah like it's just so unpredictable they're four points back of washington it's crazy i know that they are somehow they're they're the last couple at your house that will not leave like it the night's over yes stop it yeah like you're searching now for conversations and like each win is a new glass of wine and you're like god they're gonna be here longer i don't need it i don't need to hear about everything in your life right now you need to go home but the islanders are still around still around plus 10 000 to win the stanley cup so that's a little bit unlikely the uh only one game in the nhl tonight the new jersey devils versus the buffalo sabers sabers are

massive favorites no never, never mind. Never mind. That's with a plus one and a half. All right. The Devils are favored. Minus 130. Sabres plus 110. Are they still in it?

The Devils? Yes. The Devils are only a point behind the Islanders. So, well, they've got one fewer game remaining. So, bit of a longer shot. The Devils, the Islanders lost like seven out of eight. They're three, six, and one in their last ten. Three, six, and one. Yeah. And're 3-6-1 in their last ten. 3-6-1.

Yeah. And they're actually improving. I know. Just terrible. Anyway, don't bet the Devil Sabres game unless, you know, you really are a twisted hockey fan. I don't see any real advantage there. But Islanders to make the playoffs is one I got my eye on.

That's been Game Time. Presented by Bet365. Visit the app with the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19-plus Ontario only. Play responsibly. Taking a good look at the Art Ross race for leading scorer in the National Hockey League. It is 124, 123, and 122. That mcdavid was cooked at one point this season cooked like

back like 30 points and his last like five or six games he's been on fuego as crazy as the gap between mcdavid and fourth between three and four is 122 to 103. A week ago, two weeks ago, you would have had McDavid on the outside looking in, but this is like, and I go from the Art Ross to the MVP. It will be decided in the next 10 games, will it not? You think? I think so. Like, I don't know if Kucherov can do it

because I don't think people see him in the same light in terms of all-around player, the way he contributes. But McKinnon and McDavid, one point apart. Yeah, it's going to be an interesting race down the stretch. I think McKinnon had been the sentimental favorite here up until the last little while, but McDavid heading towards historical territory with his assists.

Only a handful of guys had 100-point assists. I want to push back on that a little. You don't think that's a factor here? Can you lose thep making that type of history i know it is to some people like oh only so many players have ever hit this kind of arbitrary milestone wherever it is you want to cut it off like we're just asking who's the best player you know most valuable player to their team we're not asking who had the neatest records this year which okay let me then let me back end this what team would fall apart

that's the question if nate left colorado or connor yeah so let me give my heart trophies little spiel here i believe that when the heart trophy was created the idea was to find who's the best player in the league that's what we're trying to do who had the best season who had the best year who's the best player that guy had the best year that's kind of what we're trying to do because really if you do the who's the most valuable to their team thing you're asking who's got the worst secondary cast who's the farthest distance above their next best players which who cares if a team is built so poorly that they don't have any good secondary players like should we really disqualify the value of austin matthews because mitch marner's also good like does that make him let so we're roughly trying to find the

best player roughly just a popularity contest at the end sure Sure. But like, who do you like? The most important. Who do you like? Exactly. But the most, if we're doing it by the way some people do it, who's the most valuable to their team? Well, it's UC Soros. Or it's, you know, Connor Hellebuck in the past.

Or it's, you know, the random teams that have these one-off awesome players. And that to me is not what we're doing. Connor Bedard. Connor Bedard's the best player, the Hart Trophy winner for me. Most important to Chicago. not what we're doing. Conor Bedard, Conor Bedard is the best player. The heart trophy winner for me, most important to Chicago. Anyway, done with that little speech. Once you get into this range,

it's just like, who would fall apart quicker, Edmonton or Colorado, probably Colorado. You. Colorado. Yeah. I don't,

I couldn't even tell you who their second line centerman is. Is it a middle set? Is it in Colorado? I'm talking about like, at least I could sit there and go, okay, they got the new and they got Leon that can step in there. But I go to Colorado.

I'm like, okay, middle set. Yeah. Well, and this, so this is the thing. It's like,

are we going to punish Connor? Cause he has a guy in his team. Who's really good in Leon to me. It's like, are we going to punish Connor because he has a guy in his team who's really good in Leon? To me, it's like, they're both good enough. We found the best players. It's these two guys. And then it becomes relevant whose team needs them more. But anyway, that's a whole rant.

All right. Anything else tickle your fancy? There's things, but we haven't taken any text. Should we answer a couple or do you want to do go around the league at all? Let's take some texts. Got any texts for us? Let's welcome in Tristan. Tristan, Mark and Johnny

throw a couple at us here. Saved our show. You did. Thank you. That was kind of my fault. I forgot to put the clips in. But you also saved the show. It happens. Pete's up the middle. Sometimes you turn it over. You got to hustle back and get it back, and you did it. Or sometimes you just take the minus and go back to the badge.

Just hang your head. He didn't do that. That's great. That's good. Oh, I'm glad I didn't get a badge for this one. That's right. Absolutely. First of all, speaking of Sammy,

a lot of people are kind of mixed emotions on him missing today. One guy's like, yeah, this show's better without the melty guy. I don't know. I think it's important to have that element the fan voice represented here is crucial okay be honest did you send that in my burner account yeah that was me no um yeah no sammy i hope he's having a good day off yeah he is yeah yeah i i guarantee he is. We're confident there, yeah. So one of the texts here is from Kevin in Toronto. He goes, hey, gents, what about Bertuzzi, Matthews, Domi, McMahon, Nylander, Marner, Nyes, Tavares, Yarncroft,

and Dewar, Camford, Reeves off the rails Fridays? Yeah. You know, I did some of the lineup stuff today where I was organizing how i see the leafs sort of best lineup and really it comes down to do you want to load up the top lines or do you want to spread out talent i think i think you're okay with the loading up you know if uh if i look at different lines throughout the playoffs on various teams i I always go to the Dallas Stars, which we saw pretty darn solid.

And one to three, one to four, they can roll. I'm not sure in terms of how obsessive Pete DeBoer will be on line matching, but both two or three lines, on some nights you can go okay i'm not sure who their number one line is right and it's spread out and it looks big and strong and fast and that's that's ultimately the best look you can have not loading up with with four guys yeah you know though i actually wrote this

that like you could say that about the leafs i'm not sure who their top line is some nights and that's just because sheldon mix it up so much we had marise on our show talk about how sheldon is a tough guy to match up which kind of makes me feel like it doesn't really matter how they start a game like they'll he'll move guys down pull up, throw them in a blender. As we talked about, they played 24 line combinations against Florida in the playoffs last year or so. However, it looks on game one, and it can look the same by the time they get to game two. For sure.

Dallas, I think they're, especially with Tanev now getting comfortable there with Lindell, Harley, Miro Heskinen. Why do I not like them? You don't, eh? No. You think they're set up for an early exit? I just, I tend to think that elite talent pulls you through these sort of top-end guys. Oh, you don't see.

I mean. Yeah, Hintz. Big, strong guy. That's what you're giving me, though? Yeah, I am. I'm giving you Hintz. Hintz and Heskinen? Like giving me, though? Yeah, I am. I'm giving you Hintz. Hintz and Heiskanen, like, okay, here's, you know, Makar and McKinnon.

Matt Duchesne we've never looked at seriously as a playoff game breaker. And, like, Pavelski can be, but he's my age. You know, like, that's not great. So, anyway. It depends how you like your teams. I've got them. I've got them deep. You do? Oh, you have them winning the cup, actually. I've got them. I've got them deep. You do?

You have them winning the Cup, actually, your preseason. I did in September. Which would be very impressive. But I had Ottinger, like, in the mix for Vezina, too. That's not happening. If he finds it, they'll be very good. And that can certainly change the conversation. Yep.

Any more there? Yeah, it's kind of related to the Leafs. This person, Eric and Whitney, says, Kip, can you speak to the Leafs. This person, Eric and Whitney, says, Kip, can you speak to the leadership on your cup-winning Rangers team? And JB, can you speak to the Islanders' leadership on your dad's team, circa 80-84? Are any of those characteristics present on the current Leafs team?

Do you see that? No, I don't, but nobody saw that early. Do you want to take time and think about it? I don't,'s there's a first time for everything and that includes any championship team and we were talking about ovi last night going through the process of having all these 50 and 60 goal seasons and yet what do people want to see the end result leading towards the championship. So that's where they are at right now. And, you know, is Austin ready for that? And I'll put in Connor as well in that same mix in Edmonton,

is that they can look at these dream seasons of 60-goal seasons, as Connor had last season, or now one of a handful of guys set to become century mark for assists but connor knows man this means all jack if you don't you don't lift the silver tin yeah and i guess the only way you know i would don't you know i obviously don't know about my dad's teams but just in hearing him talk about them the one thing i would i would say is those superstar guys the biggest names are often kind of like your plow horses that face tough competition and people slash and whack and they're mean and you look at the guys who came through for the islanders you know the ot winners bobby nystrom my dad leads the 83 islanders and scoring butch goring is one of

the best players like you need guys behind those plow horses you need your nick kiprioses and all that so you know as long as you have those main guys really making life hard on the other team's best efforts it should have free things up for everyone behind them make an easier life for them and let's throw in a guy like petterson now who's gone to a complete another level and let's face it it's the money it's the money the more money you make the more pressure that you're gonna have to deliver here and pulling teams together not just putting up your numbers as an individual but bringing a team together and i i was listening to jt miller last night and i think we've got the clip of uh of what he thought uh on needing to be better can we play that, Derek? Just discipline, something you guys can put back on. I don't know.

I mean, we had our chances in the power play, too. I don't think we're getting to the inside enough, you know, myself. You know, it's not really creating a driving play right now for me. So I need to be better. And as a leader on the team, I hold myself to a higher standard than that. I mean, I feel like I'm one and done a lot. See, I love that. I love that i love that you love that's the only time that's the only time you should say i is when you're saying i need to be better yeah that is that's the only time i you know some guys and i've heard this about miller some guys take well to coaching you know like they want to be

coached they want to hear from some guys, you know, good leadership. And you can hear Talkett speaking through JT Miller's mouth there, right? Like that's exactly the sort of thing he would tell a guy who's not producing to their level that he wants to see from him. And I think that's a good sign if you're a Canucks fan that the message is being not just received but agreed with. You know, he is one of those guys guys he's an important piece for them so yeah we'll see if uh if they can get it going because he's going to be huge in the playoffs for that team all right sammy you got another text besides

do before we do text well it's all leafs right do you want to talk about uh the hit uh hag on namaskov at all from last night? Yeah, listen, I'm like everybody else. The first time you see it, it's easy to go headshot. But, you know, I think that's where the system works. Again, I'm not thrilled on delays or staring at a tablet for any significant amount of time while thousands of fans just wait but i don't know any other option here but i think that conclusively and we heard rick bonus after the game saying hey

you know that's that's the decision and we got to live with it. But it works in that instance. Do you agree? Yeah. You know, I didn't love the hit. I'd have been fine with a major for it. I really liked Mark Shifley fighting a big guy in Hague. I think that really looks good on him for his team.

But I would like to draw a line between legal and clean hits. For example, last night, Alex Ovechkin put Jake McCabe into another dimension on a legal but dirty hit to me. Where it's just the guy, you know the guy does not know you're there. And dirty is the wrong hit. It's not a clean hit. Define dirty for me. When a guy doesn't know you're going to hit him and you put him through the moon,

I think you can say that's a legal hit. Legal. Totally fine. Okay. No problem. I'm not saying he should be. Is that not. I think you can say that's a legal hit. Legal. Totally fine. Okay. No problem. I'm not saying he should be. Is that not what happened? Well, he didn't get a penalty.

Yes. But at the same time, I think it's a dirty play. I think you're allowed to not like what happened. Yeah. If you're the league. So that to me is similar to this play where it's like, it's not a suspension, but I don't like it. I don't think it's a good play.

I think it's vulnerable. That's why we see fights after a big hit. Because we don't like that dirty element of yours. Absolutely. And I'm okay with that, too. All right. Same page. Good talk.

See you out there. Yeah. A lot of people hate it, right? Why do I have to fight? You don't have to fight. I think you have the choice of not accepting. Yeah. If you think it's legal and clean, you don't have to fight.

But you can get challenged. Yeah. I like like that all right uh how are we doing we got any more texts i'll give you a non-leaps one oh thanks sammy yeah this one's from courtland what'd you guys think of the oilers kings game last night obviously the oilers have taken three of the last four from them probably could be a first round matchup are the kings dangerous in your opinion in the playoffs here no no way no i know it's the same thing with the dallas thing where it's like i don't think they have the top end guys i think they are well structured and they play defensive hockey but the goaltending is not trustworthy and i don't think they can score enough the oilers also i loved that mcdavid after the game said they played a mature game i thought that was i don't i caught that you know i don't know if he had just been

hearing a lot of the news about the immature leafs but i thought it was funny that he called it's just not a common phrase to describe your game that's all yeah i thought we played mature hockey tonight is that something here i'm not saying it's a barb i'm just saying it was in his head from no it's it's an interesting choice of words yeah for sure i don't know was it a bit of a shot to the leaps well it is fair that they're at a different level like they are six points behind the canucks for first in their division two games in hand they're chasing them down the leafs are hanging on like cliffhanger, trying to not fall off a swinging rope bridge here.

But, yeah, it's a difference. I don't think it's going to be the last that we're going to hear of the word mature and immature. Now it's in the lexicon. It's going to be a thing. I think it's going to get dragged right now. I think the fact that Keith used it post-game and Matthews parroted the phrase meant that it stuck

and people liked it, and now it's a thing. Any loss is going to be immature now, for sure. Be on the mature side of the puck. Like our shows on Friday, very immature. Very immature. All right, do we have one more before we go uh yeah just uh why uh why do you guys think the media never talks about uh dry side will give it the puck away so much i me as an oilers fan feel this is a big problem heading into the postseason well it's a good

question we follow the leafs in our first hour and i've been talking basically all week about the hopers the giveaways from nylander when to pick your when you're that talented and you have the puck that much there has to be a level of acceptance here to outweigh the good from the bad that's a mature answer to me very mature good good players turn the puck over a lot they have it all the time they have to take chances to create things and they turn the league leader in giveaways during like pavel datzook's career was datzook then the best players you know of his generation great players turn the puck over a lot they take there it is there it is in a nutshell we'd rather you just end up focusing on everything that's so great about him and other star players that you have to live with it and you know what's

key now is is reading and reacting if your teammates on the ice around them and you know who's backing them up who's the right way play the the right way. Last night, your boy Nylander dumped a couple pucks in. He did a few things where it wasn't there, and he took what was there. It becomes straight lines, stops and starts, and straight lines in the playoffs. It tightens up. When do you hold on to the puck?

When do you dump it in? Yeah. When do you give it away? No hope plays. Okay. On our good Friday, I hope everybody enjoyed the show. Our thanks to Gord Stelic in our first Leaf Hour edition. And then, as always, on Friday, off the rails, Doug McClain.

And Tristan Marcagiani. Thank you. You guys nailed it. You guys nailed the last name today. Nice. Nice job. Appreciate it, though. Okay, everybody.

Have a great Easter weekend. And we're back on Monday. All right. Let's Nice job. Appreciate it, Tom. Okay, everybody. Have a great Easter weekend. And we're back on Monday. All right. Let's do it. Stay safe, everybody. The Weekend. We'll see you next time.