Real Kyper & Bourne - Real Kyper & Bourne Free Agent Frenzy Pt. 2

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

In the second hour of the free agency special, Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee evaluate the Leafs' additions, resignings and losses thus far and discuss Nick Robertson's trade request. Then, a chat about Tavares' final season under contract and the Leafs weighing the option of removing his 'C.' Later, they check in with the latest moves - Jakob Chychrun heads to DC on a surprisingly cheap return, the Devils nab Brett Pesce and the Predators load up. Lighting insider Erik Erlendsson (25:09) discusses the next era of Bolts hockey without long-time captain Steven Stamkos, how the addition of Guentzel impacted negotiations and the shock Sergachev trade. Finally, free agency winners and losers so far.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.

welcome back into the real kipper and born show happy canada day we all sit back enjoying a little r&r it's nice out i looked outside at the window it was a mistake that was nice i rode my bike in today it was nice nice. Were you a Blue Jay on Canada Day guy? Never. I don't like the big days. I don't like opening day. I don't like Canada Day. I don't.

Really? It's just an amateur night. It's a zoo down there. I like going when there's like 17,000 people. Oh, you'll have your choice. Wow. Soon, baby. Soon.

So do we have Borny? Is Borny there? I don't know. Wow. Soon, baby. Soon. So do you want to just, do we have Borny? Is Borny there? Or no? I think I'm here. Am I not here? So I just, no, good.

Hey, buddy. I just wanted to reset where we're at so far with the Leafs. So in is Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsen, and Anthony Stollers. Out is Joel Edmondson,

who signed a contract with the LA Kings. Four years, $3.8 is Joel Edmondson, who signed a contract with the LA Kings. Four years, $3.8 million per year. Sorry, four years, $3.8? Yeah, exactly right. Labushkin, I don't know if I've heard anything on that yet, but I would assume that he's probably heading towards out. Samsonov, obviously, and Bertuzzi.

So are they the exact same? No, they're better. You think they're better? Yeah, they're better. Better? No, they're better. You think they're better? Yeah, they're better. Better, okay. They're better because of Tanev. Yes. Look at the decourse right away.

You're looking at Riley Tanev, which is a proper first pair. Benoit McCabe, which you really like as a pair. And then OEL and Lilligren. That's a pretty good group. That's a good regular season group for sure. Yeah. Maybe you want to be a little tougher in your third pair in playoffs maybe they get labushkin for yeah but that times that's that's you know you traded back at the death at the draft where you got to picked up an extra second round pick next year that's where maybe they use that second round pick if you're heading towards the playoffs you need to bolster it you

use that pick to maybe bring in another defenseman to kind of help them out there but yeah i don't i wouldn't say i love lilligran and all of the recman larson as a playoff duo if i'm being told let's also remember they didn't score enough in the postseason and that's the most important thing and needs need some offense so yeah it would be nice um the uh speaking of offense nick robertson oh yeah doesn't want to come doesn't want to play anymore yeah it's fine what a thing in all honesty outside of a toronto maple leaf you wouldn't have spent 10 seconds talking nick roberts. You're bang on there.

I do think this is a pretty absurd trade demand. It's okay. I don't think the trade demand is absurd. He's been given zero opportunities. The guy who's showing he can score. He's been given tons of opportunities. It's okay for him to say, okay, I want to move on. If, with all due respect, give me another chance somewhere else.

It's fine. Is it? Don't make a big deal out of this okay we were on a leaf show i thought it was kind of a big deal that one of the prospects i think he scores like a freak like i think there he has a really unbelievable shot and a great sense for how to score but i don't think he's a playoff no and brad's not a fan i mean he's he's sam mitchell in the playoffs in six games so zero zero zero right so brad so as i tweeted i totally see him getting 24 goals on an 85 point team next year he's gonna light it up for the sharks brad watts bigger yep that's all yeah that's fair well what sucks what sucks is that you know let's say he is a 20 goal guy next

year which what he scored 15 last year barely you know playing 11 and a half minutes he scored 14 and 56 games he's gonna get 20 to 25 goals next year for someone probably a bad team yeah it does suck to watch that go for what you need a third rounder in 25 like that's the question kip what do you think his value is like are you just getting a late round pick for him at this point? Are you turning him into another, like, did you turn him into a depth defenseman? Yeah, listen, if you can get a third-rounder for him, great. Yeah. If I am the Sharks or whoever,

absolutely I'd give you a third-rounder for a guy who's had lots of NHL experience and shown he can score. Yeah. Sure. Okay. Yeah. I can't believe we're not, as a group, more up in arms about this, but it's like, it was time for everyone.

It's like a bad relationship at the end. It's a hard fit. It's time to go. It's a hard fit. He had a few opportunities to play with the big boys. I think that one game where he scored the OT winner against the Stars. Overtime winner. Because his brother.

And then it was, you know, can there be momentum here? Can he find a spot? Can he turn himself into a Jake Gensel? Right? No. I mean, Jake's. No. Gensel sees the ice.

Yeah, I know. Robertson sees the net. Jake Gensel's no, you know, behemoth either. I mean, the guy weighs a buck 80. Yeah. I don't know. So you don't think it's a little absurd like i mean i don't i don't know what the perception of his perception no i think he's smart you do yeah i

do think he's smart i think he he the writing's on the wall i'm not a brad tree living type of guy okay so i i just need to find a way to get out okay i i concede to you guys that it's not absurd but i do i do think it's been a poorly managed asset here that maybe at the deadline that could have been someone who puts you over the top of the playoffs in some sort of package. If you didn't like him... He's had opportunities, JB. It's not like they never gave him a chance.

Yeah. No, I'm not saying they never gave him a chance. I'm saying if you didn't like him and didn't want him, could you not have helped out one of these previous versions of a team? the the pick down the road thing is frustrating that's all there's no demand for him he's 22 sure there was no nobody screaming let's go get this guy he's 22 years old he's played in 87 nhl games including 56 this past season where yeah all every year his number has gone up i mean isn't this kind of the progression of young players playing in the NHL? He's only 22.

Yeah, you play a little bit and you prove you can play more and you play more and you play more. And it's just like, he finally played the most games he's ever played for the Leafs. He's like, I want out of here. To me, I don't get it.

He remains an in-betweener. I guess. So he just wants to go light it up for the Sharks. Can't play on your fourth line. Can't play on your one and a half. Maybe we've spent too much time talking about this now. No, it's fine. Okay.

Would you want to tease Tavares when we went to break? What do you have to say? Yeah, just a conversation on John Tavares entering his last year of his deal at $11 million. So much noise around Marner. Nothing around Tavares. Are we under the assumption he's he's going to stay as well play out his last year there is also from what i'm hearing

the leafs contemplating on taking the captaincy away from him and giving it to Austin. Hmm. I mean, that's a pretty big, is that, you know, but I have said that for years on the show. He's the face of the franchise. That's as he goes, they go. But Kip, is that partially to make it easier to talk to him and say, it's not going to be the fun for you here this year?

No, I don't think so. no and again okay for all of you listening i'm saying that they will contemplate it they will talk about it i'm not saying it's going to happen but it's real so to your point jb i just think it's a natural progression to understand that we've put all our eggs in the the austin matthews basket we've made him the highest paid player in the league not once but twice so it's his team the time is now he's at peak austin matthews yeah it's time for you now to shoulder the responsibility besides being the highest paid in the league to carry and be the face of this franchise and i'm not necessarily thinking he's the perfect guy as a captain but it's his team yeah i think they probably want to sell some sweaters

34 with a c on the front at some point too i would imagine yeah he was drafted uh what 2015 2016 like it's we're there it's time for sure and i think you know listen clark gillies once upon a time handed the c off to denny podvin you know that was a you know team sort of he recognized that that was best for the group and they've had conversations about it. Like if you're Tavares, anything other than it's the right thing to do is selfish. Like it's taking the spotlight off Tavares.

It'll make his time easier here. It'll make a transition to a cheaper contract if he wants to stay with the team at some point, which I'm just saying. It just makes sense for all involved. I don't even think Tavares would have the right to be offended by the suggestion. But would he be?

Some are telling me he might be. Yeah. It's a tough combo to have. You've mentioned it a few times. Remember when they put him in that defensive role earlier in this year? I think he still sees himself as a top player. Yeah, you mentioned that he's been

the stud at every single level he's ever played at. And you're getting to the point where... It's a hard adjustment. Absolutely. For anybody. Yeah. Sure, it is. How many? 65 points last year? You're on a very good team.

Forget about the points. Does he have any identity as the true captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs right now for you? Great point. No. No. When it's like, how does the room feel? How does the team feel?

Nobody's like, let's get John's take on this. I'd rather, you know, Mitch has more cachet in that regard on the team. Willie, whatever. I don't think he thinks about a whole lot i don't think he thinks about much either yeah so he just he just kind of is you know oh he's not there's no chance for tomorrow's to be gone sorry there's no chance tavars would be gone this year that they would find a way to get rid of that cap hit listen they they they would love to the question is again how and are you willing to have that conversation with him i is it not dereliction of duty if you don't have it if you don't at least

chat uh i'm in agreement with you yeah that's the you gotta have hard conversations those are high-paying jobs not because they're easy jobs. Wasn't it you, Borny, that said, you know, it's maybe easier for Trilliving to have that conversation than it would be for... I came in and I evaluated things for a year. I've sort of done my assessment. We're paying you 11 million. You know, there's opportunities out there. We're looking for cap space.

What do you think? Yeah. I know Tavares would say no to that right but so do you guys want to kind of reset on where we're at with everything else that's going on absolutely it is free agent frenzy sammy hit us so uh jordan martinook resigning in carolina three years uh just over three million dollars per uh old friend Sam Lafferty signing with the Buffalo Sabres for two years, $2 million per. So I guess a $4 million contract there.

Tyler Toffoli signs a four-year, $6 million contract with the San Jose Sharks. Yeah, that's big money. Because I got my cups, pay me. I got my cups. I'm heading to the rink. I'm heading to the rink. I'm living on the beach.

I'm heading to the rink in flops, boys. I'm playing 36 every day. I know. I'm ready. That's got to be. He's had that California life already. Yeah, he played for the Kings. Did he win both with the Kings?

Yeah. Oh, buddy. Yeah. Pay me. I'm going back. Absolutely. So this is one that we kind of glossed over here. This is a trade.

Chikorin got traded to the Caps. Yeah. They couldn't get rid of him fast enough. For Nick Jensen. Wow, really? What does that mean, Kip? They just didn't think he was a fit. That's all.

Yeah. Wow. And they got back 33-year-old Nick Jensen? Jensen's fine. And a 2026 third. That's it. Yeah. Jensen's fine. And a 2026 third. That's it. Yeah. Jensen's fine.

They couldn't do better than that? No, they could not. They could not, yeah. That's surprising to me. They tried at the draft. Could he run the power play? Like, did the Leafs not have some interest there? No. I don't think the Leafs thought that he

was good enough, I think, overall. Overall play. And I think there were some issues defensively for him in Ottawa that they didn't like. But I don't mind him. I think he's at a good place at around $4.5 million. But can he have a good year in in washington turn himself into a seven like montour remains to be seen i think he can i certainly think he can a few other ones that have broken

here uh i'm just by the way i'm just reading elliot friedman's twitter account here so that's where all this is coming from anthony anthony manthagary on a one-year $3.5 million contract. That guy is... That's nothing compared to them giving Sharon Govich a katrillion dollars. Yeah, I think that is the most traded contract of all time at the deadline. Anthony Mantha, you will be playing somewhere else come March, I would imagine. Tevo Taravainen, a three-year $5.4 million contract in Chicago. Obviously, Tyler Bertuzzi signed in Chicago for $5.5 million for four years.

Yakov Trenin, four times three and a half in Minnesota. Ian Cole in Utah. Brett Pesci in New Jersey for six years, $5.5 million. That was a guy that the Leafs were kind of linked to a little bit. I'm not sure how much the Leafs loved him, and I'm not sure how much Pesci wanted to come here. And there are some guys out there that have watched from afar, and I see and hear from guys.

It's not everybody's cup of tea to come into a Toronto or Vancouver market here they they know that the scrutiny on these players yeah and they want to go play for you know no tax would rather not yeah the biggest example guys ryan o'reilly from around here came in took a look around and said i'm out of. Do you think that's still happening? Here's a question for you. Let's just fire it up. Berube's the head coach.

Does that happen? What's that? Ryan O'Reilly's like, I'm out of here. The beast that I'm talking about is uncontrollable. There's no coach. There's no GM. Just trying to fire up some takes on a candidate it comes to who you are what you are kind of how how you handle things how thick your skin is

that that's an individual thing okay you know what it is to me it's uh it's like when you're younger for me anyway like always want to live in the city. Be where the action is, right? I want to be close to the bars and the action, and I want, I love it. Bring me all that smoke. And then you get to be Ryan O'Reilly's rage. You're like, the suburbs are huge. You know who is like that?

His own sound is starting to sound pretty good. So Jake Gensel thought that if they traded Marner at the deadline, he could have been a Leaf. What? Yeah. Say that again. I'm telling you that a guy like Jake Gensel is that guy who wants to come to the rink and have people chasing him

and signing autographs. He loved it. He would have welcomed being a toronto maple leaf but that would never have happened unless they would have gotten rid of mitch marner's uh yeah 11 million but does mitch marner like the action does he like the city i don't think but here's the thing yeah mitch marner is better than jake genzel boys okay you know genzel's clearly better in the playoffs but like mitch marner is a much better player than i can't i don't disagree um a couple more a couple more signings here laura bossua signed in chicago for two years 3.3 million so that was another try that was another chicago that was another guy that was linked to the leafs big time yeah stolarz briswa extremely similar to

me and he was almost a million dollars more. Where is Carolina Hurricanes? Because they got killed. Buddy, six times two for Carrier. They got Carrier for two million a year. For six, on a six-year term, yeah. What are we talking about? Your ninth forward? No, isn't he a defenseman?

Is he? William Carrier? No. Oh, okay. No, he's a fourth liner. Isn't he a defenseman? William K. area? No. He's a fourth liner. Isn't he, JB? I think so, yeah. I love that deal. I love it. Oh, I got the guy in Nashville mixed up. He's great, but he's playing

12 minutes, 10 minutes, 8 minutes. They paid a huge price for genzel and they screwed it up he would have he gladly wanted to go back he wanted to go back yes but you know what they offered him at the beginning like six three six four oh my god they honest to god if if they did Like 6-3, 6-4. Oh, my God. Honest to God, if they did a study on how to screw up an asset, then they need to go back and revisit Carolina and Gensel.

So they finally come to the conclusion that they're willing to give them $64 million, eight times eight, at the draft. But they waited too long, and Gensel's like, no, I'm over it. I'm ready to move on. And he ended up getting the same thing in Tampa, but for seven years. Wow. And better tax rate.

But this is what happens when you have no experience to negotiate in a hockey world for Dundon and to, to, to Lucy. It's just Tulsky. I don't know why there's so many syllables of you and Matt. Not too hard. Hey,

Tulsky. So you got a, a finance guy and you got a scientist trying to negotiate with Gensel. How do you think it's going to go? William Carrier's career high is 16 goals in 22-23. And before that, his career high was nine. He had six last year in 39 games. Doesn't play a ton of games.

His career high in games played is 71. So, yeah. I mean, I don't know if you need to give that guy six years, but two million is not bad, I guess, on the AAV. That's when you're trying to get value. Chandler Stevenson to Seattle on a seven-year deal looks like seven years for him hey where did she go he signed a big ticket a yeah seven years seven million that is huge yeah so nashville really you know give them credit they're trying to be good and i think in a market like that

where we've talked about how they've kind of got a tradition of winning there and they've always been kind of good you know them getting stamkos marsh so and shay that's i mean if you're selling your fans on something that's a pretty good looking author it really is so far they're the big winners absolutely and it's a lot of money but i mean you got to keep people interested sorry the team the nashville the team that isn't good enough to win that just got three 35 year olds for long long-term deals or whatever it is they did yeah listen if they can still hold if they can hold their game for another year year and a half they're gonna be right in there nashville sorrows locked up he's feeling great the uh the the scientist and uh and ton dundon just uh

got a guy who did carolina just get um sean walker sean walker but what did they pay him five and a half i don't have the number yet that's elliot just says not sure how this is gonna look contract wise uh i got the Capitals as big winners today. Matt Waugh up front. Jacob, sorry, for a defenseman. Did you say Roy? Is it Roy or Waugh? Matt Roy.

Matt Roy. Matt Roy. Matt Roy and Chikrin on the back end. Listen. Mangiapane, the added. Pierre-Luc Dubois. This is not, it's still not a lineup for me that makes the playoffs. No?

But it is a lineup that can really help Ovechkin get to Gretzky's record a little sooner. Oh, I think the Caps are going to be pretty good next year. You do, eh? I mean, better. They missed playoffs by a point, Kip, and they've just added four pretty good players, or three pretty good players. Yeah, it's funny. Logan Thompson.

Devils are going to be way better. Yeah. The East is looking like a bear, if you look at it here. Like, they're really, all these teams in the East are getting a lot better. I think Tampa's probably... Detroit. Yeah, they signed Cam Talbot to a two-year contract.

They signed Patrick Kane, obviously, for an incentive-laden contract. I think that was yesterday that that happened. But I think he can make up to $6.5 million. I mean... Ottawa signed Amadio to three years times 2.6. The waiver guy. All right.

Do you want to hit a break and then we'll check in in Tampa with Eric Erlinson? All right. And then... Then I got to do a game time at some point. Luke Fox will join us as well, right? We got Luke Fox at 2 o'clock. We're going to let Borny go at 2

so he can go enjoy his vacation. And then we'll get... Freed just going We got Luke Fox at 2 o'clock. We're going to let Borny go at 2 so he can go enjoy his vacation. And then we're going to get Freed just going to come in studio at 2.30. Oh my god, he's going to look like a bag of hammers. Hey. Oh, I can't even I can't wait to see his head. It'll look like a half-cued caramel.

Maybe I should do game time now. Just get it in here. Let me pick it up here. I'm sure they'd really appreciate that. You just getting it out of the way. No, I should get it. Come on, get excited. It's game time.

Presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. It must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Now, as you know,

there's no hockey and I'm still giving you picks. So the Toronto Blue Jaysays who i don't think we should spend too much time talking about but uh they do play today and you can hear the game right here on sports that five and the fan watch the game on sports net uh the playing against the houston astros at home vladimir guerrero jr i believe scratched from the lineup with some finger issues after getting hit with that that uh pitch the other day they are plus 125 underdogs i feel like they're gonna be a you know it's gonna be a good crowd down there like you said earlier a little

bit of an amateur night it'll be fired up down there at the at the game why not how about the can't how about the canadian baseball team the toronto blue jays to win on canada today send their fans home happy for once and everybody will have a great time there'll be some cold beers the sun's shining give me the blue jays on canada day at plus 125 how's that sound so our show is ending yes this week yes but by next week your bet 365 would turn into odds on trading vladi yeah i'm trying oh really i mean for sure that's hot right now would you not get him ready for the end of July trade deadline? This is, I mean, I don't want to do Jay's takes too hard, but this is one of the more heartbreaking outcomes of what's gone on with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Like when he was coming up, I thought he was Miguel Guerrero. And now it's just like we're talking about trading him at the deadline. It's very, very heartbreaking for me. So I don't really want to get into it totally yet. I don't want to make you cry. I'm going on vacation in two days. Oh, that's when I come home. Raw emotions. No, it really does stink. So, that's when I come home. Raw emotions.

No, it really does stink. So anyways, bet on the Jays to win today. Plus 125. That's my pick. So there you go. Listen to the game here on Sportsnet 590. The fan. 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 and Tara only. Please play responsibly so for those of you that can't watch jb on sportsnet 360 or sportsnet plus he's got flowers behind his head and it to me looks like you're wearing a what do you call those terraria's or a tiara tiara you're wearing a flower you look like you're in mid samar it does it looks perfectly it's like a i don't know like a military hat for napoleon or something or one of those like old-timey judges yeah don't move don't move make sure you don't move for the rest of the show all right all right more of jb

and the rest of real kipper and born after these words teeing up the biggest games of the night it's the the fan pregame with Ailish Forfar and Justin Cuthbert. Weekdays at 6 p.m. on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590, The Fan, and wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kipper, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. All right, isic ready for us uh eric ursulinson from tampa bay set to join us lightninginsider.com over 20 20 years 23 years and i don't know if there's any more significant news ever out of Tampa Bay. Crazy. The fact that Stephen Stamkos is no longer a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Eric, welcome in.

How are you? I'm good. What's going on? We're good. I don't know. Give us a sense of what Tampa Bay fans feel waking up and thinking their captain's gone. Sick to their stomach. There's a bevy of emotions that certainly are going on through the fan base here.

You know, I don't think many of us thought that this day would come to see Stephen Samkos not finish his career wearing that number 91 and the bolt on his crest. And here we are now that he's a member of the Nashville Predators. And it's definitely the end of an era. And, yeah, it's going to be one of the weirdest things that I've ever experienced in my career is that first game when Nashville comes to Amelie Arena next year and he's on the other side. It's going to be one of the strangest things I've ever encountered. Eric, have things ended on a decent note at least?

Like is there any animosity between Stamkos and the Lightning at this point? You know, I think that there's probably a little bit of hard feelings because of just how the last year has gone for Steven. He was ready to sign an extension last year. He was ready to open those negotiations and ready to finish his career here. And when he got to training camp and expressed that he was disappointed that there hadn't been any discussions, and then Julian Brisebois came out the same day and said, I need more information before we start that.

We're not going to have discussions during the season. And then you look at how he ended the year, right? Like he was on a tear at the end. He was a driving force in ensuring that this team got into the postseason this year where it looked like for a good portion of the year it was up and down in terms of whether or not they were going going to make it he was a driving force not just with his play but with his leadership as well and then help push this team in the postseason was their best player on the ice in that series against florida with five goals and five games and he thought okay julian said he's gonna reach out to the agent right away and he did and and then it kind of

went silent for a few weeks so i just think the whole process probably leaves a little bit of a bitter taste uh in terms of of stammer's camp and how this all went down um but you know nick you might know this better than anybody the the same sometimes is players you shouldn't be loyal to teams and organizations because when it all comes down to it, teams might not be loyal to you. Especially in a salary cap era. We're talking to Eric. Especially in salary, yeah.

Yeah, we're talking to Eric Erlandson who covers the Lightning. And the biggest story of the day, obviously, Stephen Stamkos, now a member of the Nashville Predators. There was lots of speculation throughout the year, including on our show, Eric, that they'd find a way. They would just find a way to get this done. Then word came out that they made him an offer of eight years that ran only at a $3 million AAV.

Was there always a sense for you that they wouldn't mess with Stamkos' legacy? Well, the heart says, yeah, that's the way things should go, right? And, you know, there are certain players that just you feel deserve to end their careers and finish their legacy in the same uniform. And I felt that, you know, he was in that category, you know, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, those type of situations. But when you look at what they were offering him, right, at that deal, and then you look what he got, well, he was more than willing to take a home team discount.

He was certainly open about saying that. He certainly did it, you know, eight years ago when he stayed with Tampa Bay and the deal that he signed then. But, you know, I mean, that contract, if that's what it was, then, you know, there's probably a little bit of him that probably felt a little insulted by that. Right? Less than market value, but we have to establish what market value is. Well, we found out what market value is today, and that's $8 million,

as he got from Nashville. So the team was not willing to go above what they were they offered him a take it basically a take it or leave it offer and uh and he left it would they have had some idea that they were going to be able to replace him so ably with jake genzel like, would that have impacted the decision to not go bigger to Stamkos? Well, I think it's pretty evident when they moved Mikhail Sergeyev on Saturday that they knew that Gensel was a possibility to come to them. I don't think Stammer's situation had anything to do with that. It was pretty clear when Julian came out and said,

even after he opened up the additional $11 million in cap space, that it was not going to have any effect on what their thought process was with Stephen Stamko. So if they didn't get Gensel, would they have upped their offer for Stephen? I don't know. It's so hard to say if that's the case. It just feels like the way that this whole process has gone, basically it was going to be, this is my only offer.

You can either take it or you can leave it, but this is all. We're firm on this. We're not going to change it. And it just feels that that's the way the negotiation went between the two sides. If we needed any proof that Utah wasn't going to spend like Arizona, it came off of that trade with Sergeyev taking all of his contract back. How about the surprise on that? And really, essentially, going into next year and trading off Sergeyev

for a much older Ryan McDonough. Yeah. You know, McDonough 6.75 that, you know, with, with McDonough the first time around, they, they had to trade him because they needed cap space. So it was a little odd that they brought him back. And I don't think that they were necessarily looking to swap out and change, you know, take McDonough over Sergeyev. I just, because they felt really high about Mikhail Sergeyev's ceiling. I know he's 26 now, and, you know, he's been in the league for a number of years, but just two years ago, he had more average ice time than Victor Hedman on this team,

and you could see his game trending where it was going. Had a rough start to the season, and then the injuries just derailed him the rest of the way, so he did not have a good season this year. But he was kind of the heir apparent to Victor Hedman. But I think at the end of the day, when you look at the return that the Lightning got for him with J.J. Moser, Connor Geeky, and a couple of draft picks, plus it opened up the cap space to kind of change their forward.

I don't think that they, when they acquired McDonough, I don't think their thought process is, well, okay, now we have to trade Sergeyev. I think an opportunity just presented itself. And then the whole no trade situations and those clauses, they start to kick in on July 1. I think an opportunity just presented itself. And as we've learned with Julian in his number of years as GM here, he's not afraid to make a bold move when it presents itself. No, and they are an organization that I think is fairly analytically inclined and want to be, you know, ruthless and make the right decisions for the team. One of them is they go out and they spend a lot of assets to get Tanner Janot. And, you know, he doesn't quite work out, how impressed are you or, as you say, how impressed are you with their willingness to just cut their losses and say we messed up this one and move on?

Or do you look at it as a major failing? Well, you know, we're always going to judge GMs on the moves they make. And some moves work and some moves don't. You know, you look at his track record. A lot of us, including myself, questioned a first-round draft pick for Barkley Goodrell. It worked out pretty well. He was a pretty big part of those two cup teams.

Same with Blake Coleman. What they gave up to get Blake Coleman, it was a couple of first-round draft picks and a high-end prospect involved in that deal. He paid a premium and it worked out. With Janot, it didn't. The thing is, in this league, you make too many of the Tanner Juneau moves, that's when you start to lose credibility and everything else. So again,

I give Julian high marks for not being afraid to make moves. And in this case, basically admitting, okay, it didn't work out for us. Let's try and recoup some of our losses. And they did get a second round draft pick and another pick out of it. So it doesn't match what they gave up for Tanner, you know, but you know, they made a move. It didn't work out. You just, in this league, you can't have too many of those situations. You don't get too many do overs. And I think Julian's track record to this point has shown he's made more things that have worked out than haven't.

Eric, I got to think maybe a couple of these moves might be in the interest of Tampa Bay to stay relevant in Florida because of the rivalry now with the Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers. Oh, yeah. The Sunshine State Showdown is on big time now, isn't it? Yeah. You know, like the Lightning are in a weird spot. Everybody kind of views them as this aging team. All teams that win championships eventually go through a phase where they start to go on a downward trend, and they're not as strong as they were a couple years ago, there's no doubt.

But even with Victor Hedman at 33-34, and you bring in Ryan McDonough, Jake Gensel will be 30 this year, but Nikita Kucherov is 30 years old. Braden Point is 28, 29 years old. Anthony Sorelli is 25 years old. They've got a good mix of players at different parts of their careers who are part of their core. So, you know, you look at the moves that the Lightning have made, and they still have some that they've got to work out.

They've got a couple of forwards they have to sign here. They've been quiet so far on free agency day. But you look at how things can kind of work out for them. He's trying to keep this team competitive. And as long as you have a healthy Andre Vazileski, who's 30 years old himself, you have a chance to win championships. And that's what he's trying to do here, Keep the team as relevant and as competitive as possible. And it doesn't hurt that you have that push now from the team that just won

the Stanley Cup, you know, a couple hours to yourself. Tremendous push out of the Atlantic. Eric, really appreciate your time and giving us some background on the historic move. Stamkos now leaving tampa bay thanks for doing this man yeah my pleasure anytime thanks eric eric erlinson nailed it i i gotta think there's some people in the organization with tampa with stamp coast andkos' camp. And then he just got paid. But they're like, what the hell just happened? I can't believe that he's not with the Lightning.

I'm stunned by this. It is, like I said, it's derailing a legacy. Is it? Yeah. Yeah, it is. It is. And listen, Stamkos won championships there. He's the captain.

He led teams. Like, look at how Tavares derailed himself in the island and never got past the second round. Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, I get your point. You know, one thing i know about professional hockey players is it's a there's big egos and that makes them sensitive in like a really strange way in a way

that you think these guys would be like ah whatever you know it's a move on i got mine we've had our whatever if there is some real sensitivity about pecking order within the group and how the old organization looks at them i know it's a sensitive group but i do feel like stamp coast and tampa are not vince carter and the raptors they're going to hold hands again and do their victory laps eventually i i think they'll always be a bitter feel now sure i agree there's no way there's no way that bygones are bygones and stamp coast will ever feel the same about that organization really yes really how could you feel the same way like because sam is there some obligation for the team to in perpetuity pay you and think you're awesome like This is where I get stuck.

I don't know. You're right. That part of it to me is where I'd have a really hard time. I'd have a really hard time as a general manager because I'm an idiot. But I do feel like that part of it would be really hard where you're weighing. This guy should be a one-team guy. Stephen Samkos is a first ballot, Hall of Fame kind of one-team guy. That's childhood Sam McKee talking.

He's got 555 goals for the franchise. He's a stud. He scored 40. Like, he scored 60, you mean. He scored 60 for them this year. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I just, it rubs me the wrong way. Like, bringing in Gensler, it just all feels really dirty to me,

and I understand that I need to make ruthless decisions. I'm not far off on that. But are they that much better now? You're all a bunch of babies i just uh sergachev and now you have mcdonough who's old and it's like sergachev who's you know he just came off that big injury and he was playing again i don't like it hockey karma for me i i i i really don't like it and i don't think a lot of it it's steven samquitz it's not like it's you have a shrewd fan base there that's like we understand all the intricacies of analytics and cut throw stuff it's like you guys got rid of steven stamkos for who like that's everyone's favorite player in tampa all i get it all 20 000 of them who go to the game all the time that's their favorite player

i don't know i just to me was ruthless i just just think that a guy like Stephen Stamkos in Tampa probably deserved a better way to come to a conclusion than this. And I'm not saying that ultimately you're wrong, JB. I just think, to Sam's point, this just needed to be better thought out from both sides. And it's just like, at the end of the day, you know what, you're just a piece of meat and we're getting ready.

Yeah. You know, it just to me, so I get what you're saying and I love the idea of no salary cap, you keep your heroes, you want your favorite guys around forever. But at some point, guys, these great players are holding their teams hostage and saying, you can't get rid of me because I have a legacy here.

You know, you have to keep me because I've done great things for you. And at some point, you know, these guys want to play forever. Brett Favre would still be playing. How can a guy's market still get $8 million a year and the best you can do is $3 million a year? No, you're right. That's gross. It's embarrassing. It's offensive if that happened

that they should be offered $3 million. That's embarrassing. 100% agree. No, I totally agree with everything that Kipper said. I just want to say that i completely understand your perspective borny i know he's a little older you know probably the underlying numbers for him aren't as favorable but when you're steven stamkos who is one of the greatest players of this generation who's synonymous with your not you know traditionally well-known team

like when you think of the lightning i I think of Stamkos. He is, like, the first guy that crosses my mind. It's just... Not Point, not Hedman. No. Not Stamkos. Stamkos. Stamkos is the greatest player

in the history of their franchise. It's Stephen Stamkos. And... He just needs to be a little better protected. But if they give him $8 million, it's probably not a good situation for him. So I understand your perspective. And like I said,

this would be the hardest part for me. I don't't think he needed eight what do you think he would have taken he needed eight i don't know i can't answer that okay i cannot answer that i won't try yeah but you didn't give him anything to think about that's all so i think that's embarrassing i think you at least have to say we're going to give you we'd like to keep you over not keeping you we'll give you a number that is a good deal for us if you stay but it's not offensive to you i don't think you can offer them three million bucks a year you're better off just saying we're definitely moving on but i do think that everyone gets these guys a little sensitive is is karmic word karmic like karma karma yeah is that a? I don't know if that's a thing. Maybe.

Maybe. I'm hoping the karmic effect of this on the Tampa Bay Lightning is bad. Karmic will work. Karmic. Karmic? I don't know. Is that even? Anyways, bad karma, bad juju towards the Tampa Bay Lightning,

who've had everything work out for them perfectly. I really hope this doesn't work. I have no idea. Gensel's really good, though. I know he's really good, but it can't be really easy for Gensel just to walk in a training camp and go, hey,

everybody, I'm the guy that replaced Stamkos. Great point. You've kind of put him in a position where he's going to just do his thing and he's not... He's Gensel, he's Jake, he's not Stamkos,

but everybody around him, especially the ones that love 91 in that area will go, man, you better be good, man. You better be like, I don't want to see anything other than you being fantastic or else I'm really pissed.

I mean, the, can I interest you in a top line of Jake Gensel, Brayden point, Nikita Kucherov? Can I interest you in a top line of jake genzel braden point nikita kucherov can i interest you in that yeah more vision and iq and that's the highest iq line in history quite good and that's a line that i do not look forward to playing against the leafs that's a very good line but i think that's a good point kipper that you know there's probably a lot of

guys in that room that love stammer right. He's probably a pretty popular guy as the captain in the face of the franchise. Be a tough one for Gensel. I go back to the Florida fans again, I guess. I guess it's a little less pressure in Florida than that would be walking in if it was a Toronto in that situation or a Montreal or something like that. But it'd be tough for Gensel. So the head coach of Tampa Bay, of course we know him well, John Cooper, who likes to kind of tease the Leaf fans a little bit,

said that, I'm paraphrasing, but it's only a matter of time before it's the Leafs' time. But how can you watch the last 48 hours and go, I don't think that's necessarily in the cards in the next few years because no one's rolling over in this division anytime soon. Yeah, who got worse?

I guess you could convince me that Tampa's a little bit worse with losing Sergeyev or I guess, but Gensel's so good. I don't know. Did Florida get worse? They lost Montour, but they kept Reinhardt.

Boston, I mean, they just got Elias Lindholm and Zdorov. That's significant. Florida loses Montour and OEL. Okay. And Stolarz. Is that a little worse? But no, Boston adds Lindholm and what's his name, Zdorov. Boston, to me is uh upgraded upgraded the leafs you know they're they're

counting on an internal help and i think there is some there i think you can get more from mcmahon and you can get more from benoit and holmberg and all those guys okay but what a thrill but they weren't like a thread away from the cup, you know? I was kind of hoping, I'm hoping there's still more to come. So just a quick reset on a couple contracts. That Ilya Labushkin has signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Dallas Stars. So another old friend has gone there.

He's got sneaky paid, that guy. Yeah another old friend has gone there. He's got sneaky paid. Yeah, he's got some money. Sneaky $3 million guy. Yeah, because he got that in Buffalo, right? I'm telling you, in my next life, I am coming back as a right-handed, stay-at-home defenseman, high and hard off the glass.

And hammer guys. And just hammer guys. I missed the boat. Big Labushkin fan. I like and just hammer guys. I missed the I like Labushkin too. I thought he was pretty good for the least when he was here. I thought, you know, better the first time than the second time. I thought it was the other way around. I thought he was okay this year. Didn't you?

Yeah, I don't know. He's fine. I wouldn't pay him that, but the Seattle Kraken have made a couple monster signings. So after they signed Montour, they say that they landed Chandler Stevenson on a seven-year, $6.25 million contract. That is having to overpay in UFA. And I like him a lot. I love Chandler Stevenson.

He's a guy I've gone up to multiple times. Take a hike. That's ridiculous. That's not a Stevens. And he's a guy. We all love him. Take a hike. That's ridiculous. That's not a good number. It's too much. Is 40, 40 points last year. Is he their number one centerman?

I guess. So he, right. Yeah. Yeah. You know, the other one, um,

Gustafson signed, uh, is Sean, Sean Monahan. Where did he go? Washington, Columbus, five times, five and ahan. Where did he go? Washington. Columbus. Monaghan got five times five and a half.

They reunited the Calgary guys. This is Brad Tree Living had to give up a first rounder to get rid of him. Right. Think about that for a second and now he turns around and he signs that contract. Crazy. Monaghan is... Columbus had to overpay

anybody. God, he's back with good row though right yeah that's a sad state of affairs but that's like and bring me bring me the team that never did anything there are two best players but he's healthy you know he got himself healthy enough to come back to be the player that he was not in calgary and And he was awesome for the Jets after they made the trade for him. He was really good. Shot in the net a bunch. Apparently the Isles have signed Anthony Duclair to a four-year contract, Barney.

Who signed them? The Isles. Did he get 12 million? I don't know. No number. I just saw the Chris Johnson tweet here, but the Isles announced they've signed Anthony Duclair to a four-year contract.

They were slow. They needed some wheels. Ryan Lomberg signed a two-year, two-million cap hit deal with the Flames at age 29. For the Flames, that's an interesting rebuild signing. Two million a year? Calgary. Yeah, but did he get two million a year or one million?

Two million a year. Oh, wow. See what winning the cup does for you? Yeah. And, you know, looking like Rambo at the parade. He's that helps. He's one, two,

one, four without that cup. Absolutely. He got a $1.5 million signing bonus the first year. So he's taking the Stanley cup and cash in the first check. Oh baby. How about I just quick comment because we're going to go here soon. How about being Sam Reinhardt right now?

You just, you score the Stanley cup winning goal. You're going to go here soon. How about being Sam Reinhardt right now? You score the Stanley Cup winning goal. You're partying on the beach. You sign an eight-year contract for $8.5 million per year. Got to be pretty sick to be old Sammy Reinhardt right now. Just literally funneling a beer while you're signing that contract. Sign me up, baby. I love him. Me too.

I didn't like him in Buffalo, but I love him now. Good defensively too. Correct me if I'm him. Me too. I didn't like him in Buffalo, but I love him now. Good defensively too. But he, correct me if I'm wrong. He missed the parade or celebration for a buddy's wedding. He did. Yesterday. He did.

Yep. He was in a guy's wedding. Yeah. That, that one. If you're that buddy, I'm sorry. He's probably listening.

Cause it's for the local guy. Like, yeah. Do not take him away from that. Yeah. Okay. Cause there's a very good chance you will end up divorced right but you can only be at one parade baby and hey shout out to florida fans saw some pics you did pretty good you did okay saw a couple pics all over them do not do not try to suck up to them now. Whatever. It's not working. I don't care.

Hey, JB. Good stuff, buddy. Great job, buddy. We're going to let you go. Happy Canada Day, guys. Enjoy the final hour. Happy Canada Day to you and your family. Enjoy it. And when we return in the third hour,

we're going to welcome in Elliot Friedman. Hockey Night in Canada, 32 Thoughts. We'll get his thoughts on all the happenings on our free agent.