Real Kyper & Bourne - Problems Between the Pipes with Doug MacLean

Episode Date: May 10, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee look back on last night's NYR/CAR game as the Rangers take a 3-0 series lead, and how it impacts Rod Brind'Amour's contract status. Doug MacLean, on for his Off-the-Rails Friday appearance, weighs in on what today's Leafs' front office pressers say about the team's structure and offseason direction (5:25). Then, he gets into second-round matchups - the Oilers' panicky play against the Canucks, the Hurricanes' goalie problems and Boston's greasy Game 2 against the Bennett-less Panthers. Finally, they regroup with Sam for news & notes and 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.

all right let's go national the kiprios justin bourne sammy mckee we are the real kipper and bourne show wherever you're watching and listening sportsnet sportsnet 650 in vancouver sportsnet 960 in calgary thanks for joining us this hour of Real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by Bet365. We're going to welcome in Doug McClain somewhere on the road between Florida and Summerside, I think.

I guess. I don't know. What did he tell you? I forget. Port Huron. Yeah, there you go. Port Huron and Sarnia or something is what he said. Do you think he had a chance to listen to the Leafs press conference I don't know I don't think he would you know what he does

he's like Elliot he'll just scroll his phone pick up what he needs to pick up and follow X or Twitter or whatever you want to call it I mean there's really like we talk about it to break it down because that's what we do. We're a hockey show, Leaf show.

But, I mean, it was pretty uneventful. Very little. It wasn't like last year where Brandon and Kyle had a head-to-head. They just want to get through it. Yeah, it wasn't. They know it's, if you don't win your last game of the season. It's a tough presser. They're always going to be,

okay, why'd you fall short? You know, that sort of vibe is coming for the Carolina Hurricanes. You know, I'm starting to hear people calling them course-y mongers and, you know, faux analytics, you know. Who saw that? Three-nothing. Me. You did? Yeah. With the goaltending? Rangers. Who saw that? Three-nothing. Me.

You did? Yeah. With a goaltending? Rangers. Rangers are better. Rangers are good. Rangers are good. I said at the start of the playoffs

that the Rangers are going to win the cup and Shesterico is going to be the... I didn't bet a dollar on it. They've gotten better quickly, too. Yeah. As good as they were during the regular season with their accumulation of the points and the President's Trophy,

they've really gotten a lot better in a very short period of time. Yeah, Lafreniere becoming Nathan McKinnon helps. How about that one? The backhand pass Panarin makes to him and he shoots it right off the barn and big goal. They ended up tying it, but Panarin scores in overtime. Yeah, you can't blame the goalie on that one.

Cross the middle of the ice, just ting. Seeing the stars, their stars elevate in the big spots one of their stars is a goalie like i just i love that team and i mean we have a rod brindamore clip talking about his power play people are saying he's going to fit perfectly in toronto all for 14 on the power play in this series that penalty kill they get a shorty on it last night like it's just it's not going well no but. But do you want to do a clip now? I want to ask Kipper about Brendamore.

Yeah. Like, you know. Yeah, what? Like, is he available now? Is he a coach that's out there for your Toronto Maple Leafs, Sammy? You want me to know my honest thoughts just between the three of us? Yeah, now you don't want him. Okay, just keep it.

Yeah. Now you don't want him. Kind of reminds me of Sheldon Keefe, but played in the NHL when the cop. He's very Keefe-y. The way it, it reminds me of early Keefe. It reminds me of early Leafs Keefe with him, the way they play. Their possession, possession, possession.

Oh, they go forward. But they want to shoot, all they do, they shoot bad shots, or they have 100 shots last night, two threatening ones. Like, it's just, it's dork hockey. It's total hockey. It's never worked. It doesn't work.

They lose every year. They don't have any scorers. You hand Rod Brindamore. Jake Gensel's one of the best scorers in the history of the playoffs. And they've had him for... Arjos, Svechnikov. Yeah, you're naming 80-point guys.

Jarvis is a 30-goal scorer. They have lots of talent, man. Every team in the league has these guys. They got tons of talent. They don't have elite talent. They don't have any of the top, top-end guys the way a lot of these teams do. Wow. And it's not just the shooting the puck from everywhere thing.

They have the puck in the offensive zone the whole hockey game. I know. Say what you want. They're just going in circles. Firing up on the outside. And so it's going to be tough for them to defend themselves for sure. The other thing I told you guys before this whole thing got started, I don't like hearing about Rod Brendamore's contract.

Not helpful this time of year. Not helpful. Distraction. So then what now? I lived it in 94 with Keenan chopping the Detroit Red Wings job. So then what now? He's still going to sign? He's still going to sign?

It didn't hurt you guys. Well, we also had guys that won the cup five times. Mark Messier. Brian Leach and Mark Messier, that helped. You know, I don't know what's going on there. I mean, they got some good leaders there. Stahl's a good leader. So I don't know how it's affecting anybody,

but it's just don't need it it's affecting anybody but i just just don't need it and also like is it like a stock market like rod's value has gone up or down based on a couple of wins or losses here like is it just the only thing like i'm not even saying that i'm angling for him to be the coach of the leafs here but having these con these contracts talked about and the distractions paired with getting swept in the playoffs all we ever talk about is how he wants to be there. Did he get swept? Well they're about to 30 seconds straight here. Are they going to get swept?

I'd say. It's got him written right off Yeah okay. I 100% I mean I just I think the Rangers are just way better and they're up 3-0 so Uh oh Ify Doug Let's try to pick up Doug McClain way better and they're up 3-0. Uh-oh. Ify Doug? Let's try to pick up Doug McClain off Highway 81.

Oh, we're just cruising around Chicago, Clark and I, so I hope the reception's okay. We're okay for now. But just stand still, would would you i'm standing still standing still i'm sitting still in the car you're going for a job interview with the blackhawks or no is this just a personal trip and i heard they were looking for a mascot. You'd be it for sure.

Well, I have experience hiring mascots. I had to go to this huge, when I became president of the Blue Jacks, I had to go to this huge event. I was on the panel to pick the mascot out. So I've got a lot of experience with it. I'm sure you do. And I picked Billy from the University of Wisconsin as

our mascot. And I told you the day of our home opener, he had a nervous breakdown and then I had to get a filler for our first game of our franchise. I should have known that was going bad. I should have resigned that day. So the role of the president of a hockey club?

Well, I don't know who would be in charge of the mascot. Would it be Kelly or would it be Brendan Shanahan in charge of the mascot? Did you watch the press conference? And if so, did you pick up any signals on who would be leading the charge on mascots? The Bear, for instance. I think that if they start off slow, Shanahan will become totally in charge of that department. What did you get out of today if you were able to, you know, pick up any news sites? Or did you actually see it or hear of it? You know, I heard about it i think look i i said to john shannon

and mccowan's podcast a couple of 10 days ago that i didn't think that brendan shanahan's job was in jeopardy and i'll and i'll tell you simply why because keith pelly comes on the job a month ago the last thing he needs on his plate is looking for a new president. You know, he's going to do the same as Tree Living did with the coach. He's going to bide some time and continue to evaluate Brendan and Tree Living. And, you know, there's no panic to make that decision. I think they would have certainly discussed that there has to be some dramatic changes made to the hockey club. So I'm sure they're on board with that.

So I think he'll let it go. And, you know, I think if you're contemplating a new president, it would be this time next year, in my opinion. How awkward would that be for Shanahan, kind of being the authority figure and now having a, you know, someone sort of above him that he has to go to? You know, you have a good sense of these interpersonal relationships that go on behind the scenes.

Seems like there would be a very different role now. But everybody always has somebody to report to. You know what I'm saying? It doesn't matter. Even if you're the owner, you report to your board. You know what I'm saying? It doesn't matter. Even if you're the owner, you report to your board. You know what I'm saying? Typically, you would have a, you know, because you have minority owners and so on. So everybody always has somebody to report to. It may be a bit of a release to Brandon that he's, at least he's reporting to a high-end sports guy that has been involved in running sports organizations,

albeit, you know, not a hockey team. But Keith Kelly was heavily involved in running the Leafs for Rodgers when Brian Burke was the GM. He was intricately involved in that operation because I remember talking to him about it at the time so i i think that you know i think it's a it's not a bad situation i mean if they if keith kelly on his docket tomorrow was i gotta find a new president of hockey ops right now that is something he doesn't need on his plate right now in my opinion he's got too much else mac you can speak of of being an nhl president and and what it comes with and justin uh in our first hour spoke of what came to his mind was you know the business side of being a president and there's no question that brendan had that on his plate and

you know a good example was his fingerprints all over the NHL All-Star weekend. And good thing it was because the thing was fantastic and was a great event. But essentially today... Let me tell you something. If Brendan Shanahan's big focus is the NHL All-Star weekend, that would indicate to me that he wasn't really that heavily involved on the business side because the CEO would be really the guy in charge of the business side of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let's not kid ourselves. Brendan Shannon's number one focus of his job is the hockey club, the hockey side of the hockey club. Yeah, he's the president, but let's not get ourselves. He's not down meeting with the ticket salespeople.

He's not meeting with the marketing people. He's not meet with the corporate salespeople. Let's not get ourselves. That's his job is the hockey team winning and losing losing. And I wouldn't buy for a minute that he was involved in those other aspects. Or if he is involved, it would be minutely. So essentially today, the Toronto Maple Leafs have two presidents. And I'm just wondering now, moving forward, like, you know, in the past, what, 10 or 15 years? I mean, we kind of joked about this when we first started hearing about this title, Mac. I don't know, do you remember labeling it as a fake GM job?

Yeah, I mean, look, the president of Hockey Ops, and look, it's different being president of the Columbus Blue Jackets where I was involved in the rink the arena arena football you know overseeing the ticket sales but you're even if you have that title your still focus is mainly the hockey side so yeah Brendan essentially for me today is president of Hockey Ops. And that's a member of the fake GM society. You know, I mean, that's the GM that doesn't have any, the fake GM that doesn't have any pressure.

But he has pressure now because he's being evaluated big time by Keith Kelly. But the bottom line is the wins, the evaluation will start when the summer process starts of moving contracts and making some dramatic changes. They have got a mandate. It came out loud and clear today. There is a mandate to change this group, finally. Everybody else has been talking about it for five years, and now it's finally management talking about it, which is a first.

Yeah. Did you want to, are you going to turn the page here? All right, Doug, let's get your thoughts on a big series here in Canada, Vancouver, Edmonton. Were you surprised to see the Canucks come out and take the first one? I wouldn't say I was surprised. You know, what I was shocked about was that Edmonton

blow a lead you know that really that drew me for a loop with the type of team they have the way they've played since Noglock took over the calm demeanor that's been around this team not a panicked type of

operation and it really caught me a little off guard. Some pair of goaltending, you know, we talked about that going into the playoffs. Was Edmonton's goaltending going to be good enough? Who would ever believe that Edmonton's goaltending was the problem versus Vancouver's when they got a kid in goal, you know, or at least a number three guy in goal. It shocked me. And the other thing that bothers me in goal, you know, or at least a number three guy in goal. It shocked me.

And the other thing that bothers me is this, you know, the CC combination there with Nurse. I mean, they were more of a problem than Skinner was. So that's a bit of an issue that are they going to – is that pair going to be that suspect in a game, a series like this, they can't be. They're going to have major problems. Just talking about the goaltending here, you're watching what Shusterkin's doing for the New York Rangers

and your jaw drops, and yet we're still in a position where some teams are contending but have left themselves vulnerable. Carolina certainly in net now. And Skinner did not look well in game one here like how important is tonight for skinner to bounce back before people start questioning whether or not it was left in the right hands yeah well look just a second on carolina like i'm blowing away to be quite honest they're the smartest guys in the block. This Stalinski guy that's their assistant GM, that apparently everything has to go through him to get approved in that organization.

The assistant GM, the analytics guru, the genius of all geniuses. And the one thing they haven't been able to do is find a goaltender. And I know Borny's having a love affair with Freddie. I get that. And I can tolerate that. But, I mean, this has gone on for three years where all of a sudden they go to Freddie, they go to Ratnan, and all of a sudden, you know, they go to the kid.

This is a team that's supposed to win a Stanley Cup. And you've got three backups, three backups, essentially. Three guys that have done nothing in the playoffs, deep in the playoffs, and that's who you think Rob Rindermer is going to lead you to the Stanley Cup. I'm blown away by it, that they've gone that route. With all the problems they had the last three years, and they still have the same three guys there. Blows me away.

Doug, what is the deal? Why can't teams analyze goalt deal? Why can't teams analyze goaltending? Why can't anyone figure out, like, okay, they're going to give Corposalo all this money? What's that? Well, you tell me. You're the analytics guy. What do they do? They don't let them play back-to-back games anymore because

they'll be exhausted. The record shows that, yeah, they're spraying their back. I mean, you cannot play back-to-backs. They know all this about the goaltending analytics, but they just don't have that one thing figured out, the guy that stops the puck. We used to go off save percentage and things like that,

but you must have some new metric to solve goaltending, don't you guys? Me and the rest of the nerds can't quite figure it out, Doug. We're still cavemen when it comes to this no no i just i'm blown away by it i and rob rendemore is sitting there looking at this group and saying like uh are you kidding me i'm supposed to win a stanley cup with freddie anderson um with ratna and the kid like seriously i i hope they come back. You're going against one of the best goaltenders on the planet and a team that's hitting on all cylinders. And, you know, you see that winning goal.

I know it was a bit of a fluke, but still. You know, when you've got to change goaltenders halfway through a series, you're in trouble. Unless you're Vancouver. You expect Skinner to bounce back here? You know, he's been mentally tough all year. And I think that's the thing they most like about this kid. He's had a good year.

He's been really mentally tough. I would expect Edmonton to bounce back. I'm a little concerned about Dreisaitl if he's out. That would make me a little nervous, but I think Edmonton, this to me is going to be a long series. I really believe it'll be a long series.

Doug, how do you feel about players and playing through injury in the postseason? When you're a coach or a GM, do you have any say or input or when you're around, you're just leaving it up to the players and say, tell me when you're available? Are you looking to doctors?

What are your thoughts on the postseason and pushing through pain? You know, I talked to Nick about this this week. I remember when we were in the Stanley Cup finals, all through that whole playoff run, our guys were beat up like you couldn't believe. Lots of guys would never have played in the playoffs or would never have played if it was a regular season. But you couldn't

keep them out of the lineup. I mean, they would go through a wall. Nick would know that from the Rangers run, how many guys were beat up. And you know that the Las Vegas, Las Vegas had, as Cassidy said the other day, nine guys had surgery this offseason after their Stanley Cup.

Teams are beat up in the playoffs, and people play through unbelievable pain. Now, I'm not suggesting if you have a concussion you should play. Anything that's that serious, and that's what it appeared to be with Matthews and migraines, I know they're really difficult, but typical, it's hard to take. It's hard to get guys to come out of the lineup, boys. It really is. What does Vancouver do in that? I know in the latter part before the comeback,

Kelly Rudy on Hockey Night in Canada said maybe go to DeSmith for the third period, and good thing that they didn't because they found a way. But, you know, your thoughts on Shelov's starting game too. There's not a snowball chance he's not starting. I mean, the kid has won them. The kid has won them, like, seriously. Like, he won in Nashville. He wins the game 1-0.

And Kelly's saying take him out? You're not serious. I didn't hear that. Well, they were down 4-1, I think, Mac. It wasn't unreasonable to think, you know, you want to protect the kid. Oh, I thought he meant to get him arrested so he could start the next game. You know? I mean, I don't see it happening.

I mean, I think they're going to go with him and see what I mean. If he loses the next game and he's not very good, yeah, they'll change. For sure, they'll go to the Smith. But it's pretty tough to change when he's one of the reasons you're where you are. Doug, I'll keep it in the pulled goaltender themes. Tonight, Florida and Boston are going back at it. Swayman gets pulled after, you know, going into the third period, I'll keep it in the pulled goaltender themes. Tonight, Florida and Boston are going back at it. Swayman gets pulled after, you know, going into the third period, I believe, after an unbelievable run of playoff hockey.

How did you feel about the decision to put an all-mark at that point and then Boston's subsequent plan to just punch-a-size everyone in the face? I thought it was a good move to get Swayman out of there as long as you know you're going back to him, and they've got to go back to him. I thought it was a good move to get Swayman out of there. As long as you know you're going back to him, and they've got to go back to him. They've got no choice but to go back to him, in my opinion. They did this foolishness last year in the cost of the series, flipping back and forth.

Peewee, AAA, let's rotate the goalies. Come on. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. So to take him out when you know he's going back in 100 percent uh tell him pastor not to fight i that caught me a little off guard i mean i didn't have a problem you know saying to you know our tough guys probert and kosher and you know whoever they were um you know yeah go ahead but yeah good, you know, whoever they were, you know, yeah, go ahead. But good grief.

You know, I remember Paul Laws was begging me to fight Tony Twist. I said, if you're that dumb, you go ahead and fight him. You know, you're welcome to it. You know, and he did. And they had a, you know, I think he hurt his hand on Tony Twist's head. So, you know, I mean, I mean, craziness, but having Pasternak fight, like, seriously,

what in God's name are they thinking about? So all those years... Monty, you know, Monty comes from a college where you're not allowed to fight, and he's letting his franchise player fight?

You know, I mean, what's going on? Seriously. So let me get this straight uh those years in detroit probie would not fight until you gave him the nod no no probie would be on the bench he'd be in front of me on the bench and wendell clark would be on the boards and he'd be going hey wendy are you home, are you home tonight? Hey, Wendy, are you home tonight? It's Proby.

Yeah, wow. And Wendell Clark, the tough, tough son of a gun that he was, he would be ready. I mean, they would duke it out, you know, how tough he was. And, you know, Proby and Ty, you didn't really have to but what what i loved about probi's fight joard galan was always the shift ahead of probi and joard and say to probi okay i'm going on the ice and i'll i'll i'll stay out a little long and i'll come i'll come quick so you can get out and at least you can start the fight with them tired. So that was a nice little workout between Juard, Gallant, and Proby.

Good chemistry between their lines. Are you sure it wasn't Brian Murray taunting Wendell? No, but I got a great story. I'll tell you sometime about him taunting Doug Gilmore, but I can't say it on the air. Oh, clean it up for us. No, I just, I just, he said something to Doug Gilmore that he shouldn't have said.

Doug Gilmore said back to Brian something about Brian's lisp, and I said, oh, Dougie, don't go there. No, no, no, no, no, no. Reg, Reg, go there no no no no no it was ugly it was in calgary and i was one of the one of the worst times of my life on the bench because i had just been with dougie in st louis the previous year and brian's going after dougie and dougie's going after brian and i'm caught in the middle of it oh it was awful it was awful that's the names anyway that's the name off the rails friday with doug mclean and off we go how how important is it for florida mac that sam bennett uh plays real soon like tonight you know sam bennett you know what i'll never forget this and i'm going to give you a little

bit of credit here because you know like you know some people like to give you shots i will never forget on hockey i'll never forget on hockey central noon how you constantly said the leaf should make a move for sam bennett and bring that type of guy into this organization to play for you in the playoffs. And I remember people losing their minds with you. You know why? Because I said give up Nick Robertson. I said give up Nick Robertson after he scored 50 goals in Peterborough,

and people were like, you know, you're stupid. You're just dumb. I thought you were talking about the Robertson that was in Dallas and I was thinking you're dumb too. But anyway, anyway, you know what? You know, Bennett is a real, real important guy for this hockey team. He really is. And, uh, and he, and he bothers people. He's, he's one of those guys that he scares people and i love that always have loved and this is a what third overall pick in the draft and he was perceived to be a soup a superstar a superstar type of player not what he's become

but i'll tell you what he's just as valuable in the role he plays. He's been, like, Kachuk and Bennett have been two unbelievably key elements for the Florida Panther turnaround in the last few years. Those two guys. Anything else? What do you do, like, a Ferris Bueller's Day off and, like, go to the Cubs game? And what else did he do? Go for lunch?

We're going to go to Wrigley. We're going to do Wrigleyville and try to relax a little bit. We went to Gibson's last night for steak, which was a nice treat. So I think overall we've had a pretty good run. All right. Well, safe travels, my friend. Well, big guy. Go Leafs.

Go Oilers. If you run into Pelly, tell him it's not the Ryder Cup. I'm sorry. We make on where the Ryder Cup when we're playing golf. The Leafs are not the Ryder Cup. All right. I think he knows that. They've got enough on-course experience.

He knows that. Yeah, I know. All right. I know. Okay. Thanks, Mac. Have fun, guys. That is Doug McClain, former NHL president, gm head coach and uh he wrote something i don't

know what he wrote a manifesto of some kind all right well and takeaways from mac uh he has a story he can't tell us he hired a mascot at some sort of mascot who had a nervous breakdown before the opening game his mascot had a nervous breakdown. Competition. Before the opening game, his mascot had a nervous breakdown. Buddy, I would too. If you had to put me in one of those things and I had to walk out in front of people, clown it up.

Nervous breakdown and lisps. That's what we got out of Doug McClain today. When I was a kid at the on-setting attack games, me and my buddy Chris, Chris Robinson, shout out if you're listening, we used to berate the mascot chase him around chase him around the rink

Cubby, Cubby, Cubby, Cubby and he would just run away from us basically and finally he turned around and with like the big smiley Cubby face I went, get away from me and me and my buddy Chris never laughed harder in life so there's a little mascot

story for you. There you go. That's great. Game time? Alright, let her rip. It's game time. Presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Let's be 19+. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Now I'm feeling very stupid.

More stupid than normal. I was looking at a weekly check-in on the favorites to win the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup. And in a bit of a throwaway comment when we were doing picks at the start of the playoffs, I picked the New York Rangers to win the Cup and Igor Shosturkin to win Conn Smythe. The favorite to win the Stanley Cup at the moment

is the Stanley Cup. Is the Stanley Cup. Is the New York Rangers at 3-1. And to win the Con Cup at the moment is the Stanley Cup. Is the Stanley Cup. Is the New York Rangers at 3-1. And to win the Conn Smythe, the favorite is Igor Shisterkin at plus 550. Should have bet money on that. Yeah. And you had Trocek as second. You like Trocek?

Well, I'm just. He's been awesome. Vincent Trocek is plus 2,800. 28-1 for Vincent Trocek. But it's just, if they win, it's very clear who's going to be the cost by the trophy winner. I agree. The second favorite is Connor McDavid.

Nathan McKinnon's still up there, 12 to 1. Cale McCarr has moved way up to 14 to 1. Need a shot on goal tonight, though, to continue that. I put zero shots on goal for Connor McDavid. What is that? It's hard out there. It's hard. Told you.

Everyone shuts her down. No one, anytime you're in a 50-50 puck decision, everyone backs off. You know what the odds, like, what are the odds that, like, Connor McDavid doesn't, or Nathan McKinnon, like, don't get a shot on goal? Would they ever put that out there? For sure, but I don't think,

the line for their shots would be set at, like, two and a half shots. They would never give you a number even. Let's see if I can figure that out on the fly. You know what the odds are that they don't get a shot on goal? I mean, he can't have gone zero shots in a game more than once or twice all year. I bet you it's more than that.

You think he's gone three or four nights to zero? A couple of three and four nights. This I can handle. This I can do. It's, I mean. Might be more than just a couple. I've found, I mean, there's odds for them to get a shot. The odds for Connor McDavid to get one shot is minus 5,000.

So you have to bet. Yeah. Shots. Okay. And to Zach Hyman is minus 6,600 for one shot on that. So. One, two. What are you counting?

Games of zero shots for McDavid this year. Three. Wow. Three games of zero shots in the regular season. Okay. So you were close. Yeah. And we're, we're onto one. I thought there might be like six.

But against LA, he had two games with just one, you know, like it's tough in the post season that when you're a star player, they, you take, you get some extra attention. It's tough in the postseason. When you're a star player, you get some extra attention. It's not the same hockey game. And just looking at the two games on the ice this evening, the Florida Panthers are minus 130 at the TD Garden in Boston. Boston's plus 110. And the exact same odds for the Edmonton Oilers, minus 130. The Vancouver Canucks plus 110 as a home underdog.

I don't say this much, but bet that florida won i feel good about that oilers are winning tonight right so if you think that both the favorites tonight are going to be comprehensive victors both minus a goal and a half that parlay pays plus 785 i don't want to minus a goal and a half but i mean you're a big tough guy over there you're thinking that the favorites got a smart guy put your money where your mouth is. It's a combination. But anyways, that was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19 plus.

Ontario only. Please play responsibly. And before we go. Text us. Text us. Text 590590. I'm sure you have lots of thoughts on your mind about the past week for the Leafs. Ideally Vancouver and Edmonton.

Well, Vancouver and Edmonton. I'd like to hear from you yes please vancouver texting and how nice i've been being to you i've been a very very good boy pandering towards you so text in and i even had the score right the last game you did five four so there you go so texas 590 590 all right we'll get some sounds from brendamore bednar on a controversial hit. Yeah, I mean. We'll get into that. Plus your texts. Plenty more still on Real Kipper and Board. Breaking down the top stories in hockey

and Elliott Friedman every day. The Jeff Merrick Show. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Game two, round two. We saw a very hard, heavy hit. Behind the net, Jamie Benn. Devon Taves.

Caught him high. Caught him a little high. A little high. high all right we got sound from uh head coach jared bednar we do have let's play it yeah um tase is fine um yeah i don't know it's a it's a physical game it's a physical player um i just you know i don't know i don't know what to say it's it's i mean it does he catch a piece of his shoulder yeah i guess you could argue that but the target is high and it's at his head and it makes contact with the head and i've seen you know many times guys get called for the head shot and penalty with a lot less than that but i guess they didn't think so in this time of the year you got to play through some of that stuff but for me i don't know

just makes me wonder again what the rules that i know and don't know and we'll never probably figure out but it is what it is you gotta play through it i'm glad he's okay i'm glad he said that that we'll never figure it out yeah yeah because it's unfigured audible should it be unfigured audible yes yes it is because there's two camps one that says anything you anytime you touch the head you're out of the game and then there's that gray part that bednar is talking about what do you think of the hit i thought it was a hard hit boy and i'm i'm okay i'm okay with it and i'm sorry that he you know portions of his head got caught but this is you don't want to see a guy get thrown out. Like, how many hits like that? Two, three maybe a night?

You're going to have three or four guys thrown out? You're going to have 12, 14 guys on the bench? I mean, if you're Jamie Benn, you see one of the best defensemen on their team coming around the net like that. You're licking your jaw. You have the song, the light them up, up on your head as you come around the net.

And at that point, I don't know if you really care if you're you're just trying you're trying to inflict some pain we're seeing some crunches we're seeing some crunches yeah i i'll say i feel like it's predatory i feel like i don't like it i feel like it's a legal hit yeah i you know like if i'm on colorado like you tried to hurt our good player for sure you did however i can see why within the letter of the law it's a loud boy taves he i mean he has the pockets tough to say it's not legal it's just it can be dirty and legal for me it's a big hit but you're in agreement that like just trying to simplify it as any kind of contact to the head, you're out of the game. I don't want that.

It's impossible to police. Yeah. Rempe, I'll never play another game. Well, Rempe maybe shouldn't play anymore games. That guy is a absolute. He's learning. Oh, God. His dangerous hits per minute is true to roof.

He didn't get to play last night. No, he wasn't playing. His coach said no more? Well, he may not, yeah. He'll find a way to get in. He doesn't have to play every game, but then the first shift of the game. I bet you he plays the first two games of every series they have. There is an absolute hoot nanny in that game in the first. I bet you he wished he was out

there then. They're not going to lose. 7-0. We started 7-0. 7-0, but did you go 8-0? No, I you guys were... We started 7-0. 7-0, but did you go 8-0? No, I think we lost the last game, or we lost game four against Washington. So we beat the Islanders four, and then we lost, I think, or then we beat Washington in five is how I remember it.

Maybe Carolina gets one here. You never know. Stranger things have happened. I'm just looking at what happened. The New York Rangers indeed swept the New York Islanders, and then they beat the Washington Capitals in five games. You're correct. Thank you. Then you know what happened in the semis.

Yes. Some sort of... Is there something about a guarantee that I'm remembering? And then, you know, in the finalsis. Yes. Some sort of... Is there something about a guarantee that I'm remembering? And then, you know, in the final, it was rather a memorable one as well. Maybe a repeat final this year. Yeah, wouldn't that be great?

We haven't played the Brindamore clip, have we? We have not. This is about his power play and his team in general. Rod the Bod. Well, I mean, we're not executing very well and they're you got to give them credit they're you know doing a great job on the kill we did have you know i thought the first two or two and a half power plays were actually quite

good we got a lot of good looks and then gave up that shorty and then i thought we just kind of got away from what we were originally trying to do. Obviously, that's been three games in a row, same story, which I hate it for the guys because we're playing really, I think, really well. You take that part out of it, it's, you know, I've done everything that we've asked the guys to do. Okay, that's... Keefe. Yeah, very Sheldon Keefe.

That was Keefe-esque. Was it not? Can't be down three and oh and say that we've really good process that was good process we're doing good things yeah we're playing well it's tough are they how many but you can get away with that in carolina in carolina yeah they lost twice in overtime try saying that in vancouver or edmonton or toronto it's tough for me because like to me if if you flip the goalies, is the process enough to win?

Probably. Yeah, but you don't get to do that. You don't. You don't get to do that. No. And I think it was a... But I think it's fair for a coach to say that we don't feel like we're getting outplayed.

I think it was a really, really gutsy move to go to the kid, Kuchekov, right? Didn't work. No. And I think now that it doesn't work, that's one of those ones that you get praise for when it does. And when it doesn't, you have to take criticism. And you benched your guy that had been really good,

had two bad games. You benched him. I would have benched him too. A hundred percent probably would have benched him after game one, but you got to live with that decision. Agreed. So earlier in our Leaf edition, I would have benched him too. A hundred percent probably would have benched him after game one, but you got to live with that decision. Right? Agreed. So earlier in our Leaf edition,

we had a conversation on injuries this time of year. He didn't like bad back for Joseph Wall. I didn't like headache for Matthews. Leon Dreisaitl tonight is a game time decision. I think one of the last things he said was it's going to take a lot for me not to play tonight. Yeah. Well, I mean, didn't he get 100 points

in the flames of the high ankle sprain a couple years ago? That's right, too. Do you expect to see him tonight or not? Yeah, did they have a, what do they call it, a hydroculator? You get a warming pack on your back and some medicine in you and just get out there and do your best? Give it what you got

i am nervous for him i am too because bad back and tweak early uh he watching him on the bench he couldn't catch his breath it looked to me seeing me ribs ribs or the nightmare is uh the cartilage pull off yes and if it's like you can't shoot a puck no okay i can't sneeze no that's that's the one you got to worry about yeah you're no i'm with you it's you know you're gonna you're going to, I think it really, he's so important to them. He's such a great playoff performer. How much better is it going to get in two days? I think it depends on what the injury is. If it's muscular.

Yeah. That's when I'm not as okay with it. When I'm like, you got to find a way. But if it is something like this, it's not as simple as. Yes, exactly. You know, that to me feels like something you can figure out, but that ain't a bacchiotomy worthy. We have a text on the text line that says,

do you run with Seelovs tonight or put the Smith in? And we have a clip from Rick Tockett that I had just put in there. I was working on it during Doug. Producer. Sorry, Kipper is not on the board. It is Derek on the board. If you see that clip in there on who goes tonight, you can let that rip.

Well, I think he's earned the rights right now to play, but that doesn't mean, you know, we haven't officially made a, we haven't talked to Clark, we haven't laid a round table yet, but the one thing we have, we have Casey. And Casey can play. He could play tomorrow.

He had a little bit of an injury a long time ago, and I think he's passed it. So he is definitely a viable option for us. Boys, I think I've got to dismiss. I disagree. Yeah. Because it's the same situation as going to kachekov yeah i think you could start the kid and keep him on a really short leash yeah so dismiss did play in playoffs against nashville and in his last game um won a two to one game played really well made 29 of 30 saves or 30

shots me 29 saves like he's good he's kind of the guy you've been looking to all season long i know his numbers in the regular season weren't awesome but if you thought the kid was better than the smith he had had him up during the regular season they obviously think right now it's DeSmith. DeSmith, he's a good goalie. He's one of those kind of short spurts he can give you. He can give you a week or 10 days of great goaltending. That would go a long way. That would bridge the gap to Demko. They don't think about what fans think. And if you start listening to the fans, you become one.

That's the old saying but to me if you're rick talk it and you go away from spielovs and you put the smith in there against a red hot you know i'm not red hot after but their offense uh their offensive games unbelievable the oilers and they light up to smith you're just opening yourself up like if they go in there they stick with spielovs and you lose anyway with Svilovs, you can then go to the Smith and be like, well, we tried Svilovs or whatever. We had one with him to go to a different goalie after winning.

That's a gutsy move. And I wouldn't be making it stupid superstition. I, to me, I love the idea of you coach every game and you say, you put the guys in who you think are their best players. You don't do this whole magical, like go with the Smith?

It's a gut feel that, to JB's point, it's just a gut feel. You go with whoever you think and you're confident that you can win with. I know Canucks fans listening right now want Shilovs. I know... I go Shilovs 10 times out of 10. Yeah. No question. But...

Even though he let in a couple in that game, I was like, oh my God. Yeah. That Ekholm one from the point. The Hyman one that went under his pad. Yeah. No question. But even though he let in a couple in that game, I was like, oh, my God. Yeah. That Ekholm one from the point. The Hyman one that went under his pad. Yeah. Like, I'm not being like, we got to get this kid in because we scored five times on a bad goalie. They both hit the middle of the net. Both of those goals.

Yeah. So. I do think it is more. I'm still going with them. Either way, you can't say, you know, they're fools for putting in either guy. So they'll make their call on that. And no judgment here. Some. That way you can't say they're fools for putting in either guy. They'll make their call on that. No judgment here.

Some. Just a quick note that... Nope. Dan Murphy texted me. What is it? That he lost his story. All right, there you go. There you go. Solved.

Problem solved. Not that we're watching the world championship with great... What are you talking about? I am. I'm getting up tomorrow at 6 a.m. to watch Canada play. And you're going to see some veterans coming in, including John Tavares. Does that surprise you at all? At age, what,

34 soon that he would want to go over there? Where is the World Championships? Prague. Prague? I'm going to leave my three kids under five years old at home and go to Prague for a week, play hockey. I'm in. Tavares' only situation. i think it gives you a sense that this guy still wants to prove that he's a top player and there's lots of gas in the tank for

him i would say the public perception in toronto of tavarez and how he views himself are different in that if you're tavarez he scored 30 times this year he's 29 goals yeah 30 goal scorer who you know 65 points wants to be a part and considers himself a player, wants to show that, yeah, like, I am, consider me for the Olympics when it comes up or the Four Nations faceoff. What's that do for him next year, though? Like, is it, I'll go and play anywhere to be a 65-point guy?

Or is it with the Leafs? You're talking about, like, is his focus to try to play just to prove that he's still a top player like and do the leafs still feel like on the seventh year of his deal that he can help them get to a conference final or stanley cup final it could also be that john devarez is a hockey player and doesn't know how many opportunities he'll have left in his life to wear the canada jersey and you know pretty cool opportunity so could just be that short playing shorter than he wanted to it's interesting to see the the kids that they uh invited fantilli and uh the first rounder pick uh celebrini yeah so they they were there yes and then hagel came over and i don't

know some other guys who wanted to be seen in Canada and they came back and said we're not going to play much. Yeah. That kind of sucks. Totally sucks. Totally weird. I would hate that if I was them. I'd fly all the way over here.

They were in Budapest? That's where like Celebrini was in Budapest and came back or something? Can I tell you, I hate Hagel for that movie. I hated Hagel already and I hate him more. You're taking that in a Celebrini spot? Well, it's like... Oh, what? I'm sorry.

Should he get out of the way so you can see? He wants to play for Canada. As a fan, and they want to... Whoa, don't throw your stuff at me. As a fan, I understand that they don't make decisions because of me, but it's way more interesting to watch Fantilli in Celebrini than it is to watch Brendan Hagel. You know what's interesting?

I mean, they want to win. Brendan Hagel is way better than both those guys. I get it. You want to hear something interesting? The GM is Rick Nash. Fantilli's a Columbus Blue Jacket. I love Fantilli. Right?

So you think Fantilli would be bothered by this? Oh, my God. Is it? Would you? Is he available? Is it St. Louis 2.0? fantilly be bothered by this like oh my god is it uh is it would you say is he available is it st louis 2.0 would you would you be bothered yes confirmed i would be bothered by that i i would just be bothered don't call me then you know like if you're waiting for brandon hagel's gonna replace me then don't call me brandon hagel's really good he's good really good sure you don't think he's really good he Yeah, he's good. Really good. Sure. You don't think he's really good?

I think he gets 30 goals or something. He's an impactful player. Yeah. Is this like the fourth time we've mentioned Columbus in like the last two weeks? What's wrong with us? Yeah, but the show's not canceled. Fascinating. What if? Remember that?

The dubious trade for Hagel with Fleury from Chicago? And that leaked out. And there was the rivalry of the Kyles. Kyle Davidson. And he got mad at him. Yeah. Hagel's involved in that? Yeah. flurry from chicago and that leaked out and there was the rivalry of the kyle's kyle davidson and he got yeah he was involved in that yeah it was two first round picks and nyes for haggle and flurry i'm okay with that not happening what a what if that is what a what if though for sure i hear columbus is still trying to get like somebody big to run their team oh to run their team yeah like

a president or a g or a McLean? I don't think it's happening because Montreal won't let him go, but they're all over Jeff Gordon. Really? Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. JD knows him, right, from the New York days.

I don't think they're going to release him. And the other one I hear is Ken Holland to go to Columbus. Whoa. Are you talking about a GM? President. I don't know what title you want to give it. Brian Burke. Give me a Burke-y sighting.

Yeah. I mean, hey, I think in Columbus you need to have some big personalities. I think you – they, to me – I think you're right. They need to attract attention and, you know – Well, they tried it with Babcock. It only lasted like five minutes. It was a good idea in theory.

I actually liked that hire at the time for this very reason I'm saying. I didn't anticipate him doing a weird. He did a weird. Just quickly before we go, I was just looking at the Team Canada roster for this World Championship. This is a...

We might get a couple guys suspended in this tournament. This roster is crazy. What do you mean? It's Bunting, Brandon Tanev, Gunther, McBain, Mercer, McCann, and then it's Nick Paul, Cousins, Hagel, Ridley Gregg, Pierre-Luc Dubois. Oh, it's feisty.

That's a greasy squad. That's a Canadian hockey team. Yeah, Snot is right. Jamie Oleksiak on the back end. I'm so into this team. I'm going to tell you. I'm still not waking up at 6 in the morning to watch. Oh, my God, no.

Can't be nearer than mine. I don't watch one that's out of normal. I think they're playing like Denmark. You didn't read a text, did you? No, I didn't read. Some guy asked who's Fila was starting, and we already knew. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for that text.

Made us look dumb. You don't even know. You're look dumb. We did that to ourselves. We don't need help to look dumb. He's a Vancouver fan. He's texting the show. He doesn't know who's starting tonight. Come on. Catch up. I guess I'm the producer. Alright, thanks to Luke Fox in the first hour

and Doug McClain in the second. Yeah, thanks, Doug. Want to give me a score tonight? Florida, Boston? Florida, 4-1. Boston, 3-2. Vancouver Canucks, 4-2.

Winner. I'll take the flip of that. Boilers aren't going down tonight. Yeah, they're not. Tonight, Vancouver. Yeah, my Canucks. No chance. Enjoy the games.

Enjoy the weekend. And we're back Monday.