Real Kyper & Bourne - Real Kyper & Bourne Free Agent Frenzy Pt. 3

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

On the final hour of the Real Kyper and Bourne NHL free agent frenzy, Nick Kypreos and Sam McKee are joined by Sportsnet.ca's Luke Fox to examine the Toronto Maple Leafs' signings on July 1, including Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Anthony Stolarz. Next, they move onto the Mitch Marner situation, what a Marner contract extension could potentially look like, and Nick Robertson's trade request. To close out the show, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman joins Nick (25:19) to unpack the day's events, including Steven Stamkos' shocking departure from Tampa Bay.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 affiliate.

the caprio sammy key bringing it home on this free agent canada day yeah barney had a tea time at his home course in colonna so we had to let him go i know you weren't uh particularly a blue jay canada day guy but like i was part of sports that throughout the very beginning and Canada Day was always free agency. You good with this on this particular day? Would you like it to see it separate? You think the country slows down long enough to want to hear this news

or would everybody just rather be at the beach? I think it's just sort of a traditional day now. It's kind of ingrained, but if I had my choice, I think everything would just end sooner. You would have the season end two weeks earlier. You'd have the draft start earlier. You'd have free agency start a little bit earlier. I feel like they got to fix this

because for the Leafs, for example, they stayed in Vegas. Oh, really? Yeah. Wow. Because there was no time to go home and set up for today. They actually stayed in Vegas to do all their free agent stuff. Wow, I'm sure it's a nice cool day in Vegas today and July 1st there. Only what, 105 today?

I used to love, honestly, on a personal note, it's crazy to be sitting here with you doing this because I used to watch you guys all the time and not to get emotional on you, but it's pretty cool to be sitting here doing this. So there you go. Well, yeah. Okay.

What's that say to me after all these years I'm here sitting with you now? Yeah. Just kidding. You should be on TV with the big boys. Just kidding. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no.

I'm so happy. Oh, that's sweet. Right here. That's sweet. Hanging out with the likes of you and JB and Luke Fox. Yeah, we got Luke. Hey, Luke. All right.

Our very own Luke Fox, who almost looks like he's in a police lineup. And we're down to you now. What's going on? How are you guys? Happy Canada Day. We're good. Happy Canada Day to you now. What's going on? How are you guys? Happy Canada Day. We're good. Happy Canada Day to you as well. Of course, you've done a masterful job for Sportsnet.ca,

covering the Leafs and writing for the NHL, and of course, coming on our show. And once again, we thank you for that, Luke. How are you? And how's your Canada Day been, watching what the Torontoonto police have been doing yeah it's been wild i mean the news has been fast and furious uh it's a lot to take in i'm not so sure their their forward group is any better having uh let go of tyler bertuzzi

although i wouldn't have given him the contract that he got in Chicago. Good for him. The best contract he's gotten so far. Bring back Max Domi. I guess they're hoping for a push from some of their young guys, but I do like their blue line. I don't know if I like the price, and I think the OEL and the Chris Tanev contracts might hurt them down the road as those guys get a little bit longer in the tooth. But right now, both those guys are established NHL defensemen

who can play top four minutes. I think bringing Tanev in to partner with Morgan Riley, they finally got a right shot in the top pair for multiple years. I like his style of game. I think everyone's going to point to the age as the concern, but I think they got better, and I think it's a lot more hoping and praying in the crease. Yeah, great.

You know, Anthony Stolarz hasn't played 30 games in any of his NHL season. He's 30 years old. Joseph Wohl, we all love him when he's available. He often gets hurt. So it's a lot of hoping for health and hoping the guys can take a step. And if you're one of those guys, you're looking at this as a great opportunity to snatch more starts and establish yourself as a number one. And I'll go to you and I'll ask you as well, Sammy.

What is the most likelihood of events to happen in net? That Wall takes 50 and he saws off another 25-30 with Stolarz. Do Stolarz find a way to take the net away from Wall or do they split 40-40? Well, I think it's Joseph Wall's net to lose. They've been grooming this guy it seems like forever to be their number one they like the homegrown guy uh it's just a matter of health if a healthy joseph wall i i would say gets more like 50 uh maybe 55 tops but um and then stolars if you're him you're looking at this as a great situation to maybe snatch a bit more of the net than you're used to

because of Wol's inexperience and his injury history. You know, it's an opportunity. You know, it's not just the money and the extra year of term, the fact he got two years. You're looking at, hey, this guy I'm playing behind might stumble a bit. You know, as talented as he is, he doesn't have a proven track record. So I can maybe snatch some of that. And then we see them grab Matt Murray for,

it's kind of on the Martin Jones deal, right? He's the fail-safe veteran, cheap, low risk. I think Trey Living was really happy. The fact that he had a third string option with NHL experience last year, there was a segment there where Jones kind of stepped in as a pinch hitter and kind of kept their season afloat. Looking into the future, it's not hard to imagine a similar case where Murray steps in at a point

and bails them out for a bit. So just looking at the Tanev thing, and I'll zoom in on that for you. I have to say that you know replacing TJ Brody with just immediately putting Chris Tanev into those minutes like it's hard for me to not say that the blue line isn't significantly better after watching what I saw with him in Dallas and all those years in Calgary and Vancouver obviously but I do think that you know people are fixated on the six years and how long of a contract that is and i obviously there's some risk there is an injury prone guy but i do think that like we are underrating what

a massive upgrade chris tan have is over tj brody like that's a huge upgrade for the leafs agreed and they haven't had a right shot under term to pair with riley forever yeah and we're talking to tan of this morning i asked him about r Riley and he said, hey, remember, we won a gold medal for Canada at the World Championships a bunch of years back together. And Riley had been in his year the last two days talking about their partnership. You know, I don't expect Berube or Trey Living to come out and say this. These are our pairings. But you'd be crazy to think that that won't be what they go with.

And you don't have to look any farther than what Tanev did for Quinn Hughes in Vancouver in terms of being that security blanket, that it will allow Riley to accentuate the best parts of his game, right? He can fly up ice knowing that Tanev is there to backstop them. The other thing is the Leafs' penalty kill was horrible. Yeah, horrible last year. All of a sudden, he immediately improves your penalty kill. Fearless guy, not afraid to block shots,

and then they're hoping that has a trickle effect in the culture of the room. Hey, look at this old guy who's blocking every puck that comes his way and selling out and putting the team first maybe you guys can do a little bit more of that so and i'm the the other thing with with tanev and riley is the years that riley had his best production was i think when he played with luke shen when he was traded from during the tampa series right that's when he played his best and when is it ron hainsey that he has 20 goal season with yeah i think that sort of stay at

home right hand shot type of guy is the perfect sort of pairing for riley i really do think that this is a match made in heaven for these two guys i know it's july 1st so i can dream on it but i do love the way that looks it's the perfect stylistic fit. And forget the six years. Let's talk about four years. Exactly. Four years, that's how long Austin signed for. So that's your window. So if you can get four good years, three good years out of Tanev,

then I think you're okay. But I am worried about the wear and tear on this body because these are hard years this man plays. We're talking to Luke Fox, Leaf an nhl writer for sportsnet.ca okay let's get into that a little wear and tear because so much is brought up when you can't mention chris tan of without you know sammy mentioning he's injury prone or you know he he goes and and disappears but does he really to me to me he's not a guy that disappears for for three months he's the type of guy that disappears for like 10 minutes and then comes back and finishes the game with his arm hanging right with his arm hanging

off uh replacing a tooth um but like he's a little bit more durable than I think at times we've given him credited for. No. Well, he's one of the most durable guys in the league. He'll block a shot with his face, literally. But,

you know, I just wonder about the speed, right? I think the Oilers speed gave him trouble in that, in the Western conference final. So, you know, but I do think the pluses outwe gave him trouble in the Western Conference final. So, you know, but I do think the pluses outweigh the minuses with him. And then the other thing is you have to ask yourself, okay, what other option? Are they going to give seven times seven to Brandon Montour?

Is Montour's game what they need? So it's like, you know, there's only so many directions they could have gone. I, you know, to Sammy's point, I like his fit with Riley. I think he fits the team's needs. It's a reasonable price point too much term.

Yeah. If we would have mentioned Oliver Ekman, Larson, his name to the Leafs two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, at any point in Vancouver or at any point in Arizona. That contract was a laughingstock.

You would have ran. Yeah. Absolutely run. Now he finds a way to be a big part of a blue line in Florida. And is he the guy, Luke, to come in and add significant presence to the Leaf blue line here? Because to me, in a perfect world, I would have loved to have seen a Montour.

I would have loved to have seen a Zdorov, someone that would come in and have a huge presence, either offensively or with a physical presence. What do we get out of Ekman-Larsen? Yeah, well, I do think Trey Living would have preferred Zdorov too. He was just too expensive. And both those guys you mentioned are a lot younger than Ekman-Larsen.

What I will say is that Ekman Larson had a fantastic bounce back season I got to cover him the last two rounds with the Florida Panthers and he was just so rejuvenated and refreshed A's was playing on a good team B he was you know valued in that market by the coach that started in the fall when Montour was under you know still rehabbing from surgery and they needed a number one power play guy so they used Ekman Larson in a very prominent role and his role got reduced a little bit as the season went on and their blue line got healthy but when the chips were on the table in game seven they made a change and they put OEL back on on the top power play unit.

And, you know, it's a different look. He is a left shot. You know, I think in a perfect world, they probably would have wanted a righty. So he is a lefty, but he's a guy that they could try on the power play if they want to give a different look than Morgan Riley. I'd be curious to see if he does that. And, you know, he's a proven guy who can log minutes. You know, he can play in second pair or third pair and, you know he's a proven guy who can log minutes you know he's he can play in second pair or third pair and you know eat a ton of minutes makes smart decisions you rarely saw him make a

mistake in that playoff run you know pretty quiet game plus he gives an offensive punch so the only guy who got more points um on the leafs last season from the blue line is Riley and OEL had nine goals no Leaf defenseman had had nine goals so you know this is an area that Trey Living tried to address by getting John Klingberg this time last year he wants more offense from the decor so Ekman Larson provides that I think again I think that you know that it's a bit of an overpay in terms of years, but what are you going to do? It's free agency, and I think you just have to grit your teeth. And if you want to upgrade the blue line,

you're probably going to have to either give too much money or too much term. And when it comes to the defense, I think it was too much term. So he played just over 18 minutes per game last year for the Panthers. Like you said, he had 32 points plus 10. He had better numbers than I thought he did for sure. Played just over 15 in the playoffs. What do you picture his role here? Like, I have a hard time thinking that they're going to give him this money and not give

him the power play right away. I'll, uh, John Klingberg last year. No, like, is this not a guy that they're just going to try right away at the top unit? I think so. I mean, I think you should try it right away i think that's the time to try it and then you know riley's been in this position before and if it doesn't work it goes back to him but i'm also curious if if berube tries to get the second unit involved for more than 10 seconds just just at the beginning of the you got 82 games mostly the same core let's i want to see some more experimentation in the beginning and maybe try to develop some competition with the second unit but yeah i see him there and you know i mccabe was doing pretty

good on his offside i wonder if he gets partnered with mccabe and mccabe kind of like the top pair of tan of riley if mccabe is the more safe stay-at-home guy and you see oel try to flex his his offensive muscle a little bit yeah luke hard to do a three-hour show discussing the leafs without mentioning mitch marner and just where you see this storyline it was almost a foregone conclusion at the end of the year that changes were coming there was no protection on mitch marner's future from brad tree living and we're now through the draft was there any noise from your end on mitch marner options uh discussions where do you see this storyline going? Yeah, nothing substantial, Nick.

I feel like it's just at a stalemate still. You know, I talked to Matthews at the draft. He was there pumping the tires of the Four Nations tournament, and he just reasserted how much the guys love Mitch. You know, Craig Berube said that he's looking forward to coaching him, saying he's a character guy, an elite talent, can't wait to coach him. Trey Living never gave him the assurance, though, that he gave Nylander and Matthews in terms of,

we need to re-sign this guy. Mitch is a part of our future. He's never come out and said that, which leads me to believe they're at least open to the idea but i don't think any team has floated a package uh juicy enough to to them and the bottom line is it's up to mitch if mitch doesn't want to leave he doesn't have to leave yeah that's where i ultimately come down on it like would i like to see a different look for the leafs because i talk about this team every day, and you're going into this season next year with the exact same thing.

I think Borny's point was similar to this, that if you're in management, you probably should just keep him because he's pretty good. But from a fan's perspective, thinking of the run-it-back situation, it's not a favorable one. And I know that you're not looking at it from that perspective, Kipper, but it's hard to just think about going into training camp next year where it's the same four guys morgan riley i it's it's it's not palatable for a lot of fans that's where we're at it's hard to see

any win situation and i include that for mitch well sammy wants to convince me that if he if he took the same or less, he'd look like a hero, I would think it would make him look soft and weak too as well and not understanding where his value is. And taking less to stay. Yes. Well, I mean, you look at what Reinhardt just did, and you can talk about that, but there's also the tax situation in that,

and he just took less. So I don't know how much you want to credit tax, how much you want to credit him taking less. So would Leaf Nation be okay that the Leafs take a chance on trying to win the Stanley Cup next year by renting Marner and then watching him walk out the door for free at the end of the year? Well, like I just don't see Mitch taking any less. I don't see him taking a single penny less than William Nylander.

Especially with the cap going up, he's going to exercise his right to negotiate for a good rate. I mean, did anyone take less? I don't think Max Domi took less. Timothy Lilligren didn't take less. When did the culture of taking less begin in Toronto? Yeah, it hasn't. You mentioned

Reinhart, and it's for sure, I'm sure the taxes play into it. But also what plays into it is the internal cap. You're Bill Zito, you're saying you're not making more than Barkoff. You're not making more than Kinchuk, our leaders. And he's happy. So he takes a little less. For sure, the tax-free pays into it. But there's also an internal cap structure, and it maybe sounds nasty to say it, but I'd be shocked if Mitch doesn't think about what Willie got when it comes time to hit the negotiating table. I mean, it's human nature.

How would you not think about it? Like, you think you're as good as him, you think you're better than William Nylander, you're obviously going to think that you want more money. It's just human nature. But I do think... But think but i mean we're talking about two separate things here we're talking about fan perception versus what's good for a team and you know the old saying is if you start acting like a fan you're going to end up with them so

i don't know which side of this to land on but i can never see mitch taking less i could never see that happening and i know you know better than me. Well, to Luke's point, it's just natural, right? If the cap is going up and he even asked for the same percentage he had last time, it's a raise. Yeah. So why would you regress that? Why would you

and like it's been proven many times like I can leave money on the table for you and you could spend it stupidly like you have at times at the past. So why would I? Yeah, like signing Oliver Ekman Larson for four years, something like that? Don't go there just yet.

It's too early for that, please. But I'm saying there's no guarantee that if I leave money less on the table, you're going to spend it wisely. Yeah, that's for sure. What you're going to spend it wisely. Yeah, that's for sure. What are you gonna say? And the other, just like,

look at all the opportunities outside of his actual hockey salary that Mitch has gotten in this market. Like he, he gets a lot of endorsements, a lot of commercials, not every place would he get those opportunities. So, you know, and it's set up well for him right now yeah so yeah

like if he comes back to training camp there'll be a round of questions but it'll be like kneel lander he'll say i want to remain here we're going to play it out and then after a while you what's the next question like you're not just going to keep hammering away hey luke you will bug him as best we can but it's at some point that you move on to something else. Yeah. So you mentioned Domi there and the fact that you don't think he took a little less than he needed to? Like that 375 came in a little lower than I expected it to be,

if I'm being totally honest. But the four-year term, I think overall, that's the richest contract he's ever signed. Yeah. Ever since he got out of his ELC, it's been one year, two years. You know, maybe he could have got something comparable on the open market uh he brings a lot that that they need in terms of the versatility of pitching in on center and wing uh I think you know I asked him about Brubé and he lit up like I think this is a player whose priorities are going to be aligned with the

coaches in terms of sticking up for teammates uh providing an edge putting the team first there's a lot of things they like about him is he a flawed player of course you know his defensive game isn't there i don't believe he's like an 82 game center i think he's a guy that could fill in in the center, use his feet. Great passer though. And let's not underestimate Austin Matthews in this Domi signing. Loves him on the ice and off the ice. Like that little bit when Marner got hurt. Oh, they do?

Same agent? Yeah, Judd, yeah. And then that little bit when Marner got hurt and Domi fit in pretty seamlessly on Matthew's wing, I think that went a long way in terms of opening Trey Livingston's eyes. He did not get, I would have thought if he was going to commit $4 million at that number that he would have had, he would have pushed for a no move, but that's not the case, is it?

I modified no trade, so I think he's got a list, but yeah, not a case, is it? It's a modified no trade. So I think he's got a list, but yeah, not a full no move. Maybe 13 teams, which still at 3.75 gives them some flexibility down the road if they want to move them. Yeah. No, I really don't have any problem with that. Yeah. It's a favorable contract.

He did them a favor, I thought, too, that number he did okay yeah you're not over the moon on it no i think it's good for both i think it's good for both i don't think it was like him bending over for them i mean he gets to play with guys he likes for a sweater he dreamt of of wearing since he was two years old he said today yeah i think it's good for both sides uh last one nick robertson thoughts yeah well he's never really fit like the leafs greatest needs and nick robertson's greatest attributes have never aligned for him to thrive i think he needs to be on some team's second line in an offensive role getting ozone starts getting power play looks using his greatest weapon which is his shot and they've always had guys ahead of him so bobby mcmahon jumps ahead of him matthew nize jumps

ahead of him this is a kid who's never made the team out of training camp. No wonder why he's frustrated and wouldn't mind a change of scenery. Now, just because he wants to trade doesn't mean he gets it. He has no arb rights. Trey Living holds all the leverage. He could force him to play and say, no, this is what you're worth. We actually

need you. Why don't you bust your butt in the first half of the year and see if you can't up your trade value yeah does a day like this get y'all pumped up for training camp you want to go right into it or you need a break oh i'm hockeyed out i i can't wait to not write or think about hockey for a little bit agreed check back in september i'll be good to go in september okay i need a break well we look forward to it. You need to hit the links for a bit.

And thanks as always for your contributions here on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Been a fun season with you, Luke. Thanks, Lukey. Yeah, likewise. I think you guys had your best year yet. Good stuff. What are you saying? We sucked the first two years?

What a horrible way to end the show. You know what's funny? No, I'm just teasing. When I graduated college for radio and television arts, I won the best, the most improved student award at my college. Again. And I went up there to get like my award. And all I said was, man, I must have really sucked before.

Yes, correct. To win a most improvement means that you really sucked to start so just quickly because we got a break because frege is going to come in the studio the least left wing as constituted and this is something that you used to talk about it is matthew nye's bobby mcmahon pontus holmberg conor dewar no no no no no no it's uh Connor Dewar. No, not good enough. No. No. Needs. Need to be back. I wasn't a huge Bertuzzi fan, or at least I wasn't a fan of his season. But he had a presence every time he stepped on the ice, and whether or not, you know, it lived up to the billing form or it didn't. Regardless, teams were aware that he was a force to be reckoned with on the left side for the Leafs,

but they don't have that presence right now, and Matthew Nyes is going to continue to develop and hopefully turn into a very good player sooner than later, but he needs help. Yeah, if you're looking at it right now, he's starting on the top line, right? Next year? Nyes? Anyways, we should probably wait because Freedman's going to come in.

Okay. Elliot Friedman, Hockey Night in Canada, just came off a free agent show on Sportsnet. We'll get his thoughts to wrap up free agent frenzy when we return to Real Kipper and Bourne. Dive deep into Toronto sports and the NFL. The JD Bunkers podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple,

Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Kiprios, Sammy McKee, no Justin Bourne. I moved over to a more familiar spot because we're awaiting the arrival of bridge. You think he's got anything left to squeeze

out Elliot Friedman? I'm not sure. But hopefully he's got something left for us. We're going to get the very very end of him. I think he might be done after today. Like done done? I hope so. But you know what? I know this guy. I've known him for 20 years if

there's news out there he can't help himself he's looking he's gonna find it and he's gonna tweet it so uh just a trade that we didn't mention uh riley smith going to the uh rangers thoughts on that pittsburgh yeah uh this he's in his final year at five million is that the case yeah i think it's is it it's a it's in the final year of his contract we're not sure it's fine i don't know why the rangers would make that deal no uh they need i i guess he's a serviceable player but he's at the end of his career. 2027 second round pick and a 2025 conditional fifth. I think he can still contribute, but they need more muscle. Yeah.

That's not Riley Smith. Agreed. So Marsh was a little bit upset about the Golden Knights and the way it ended there. What did he say? It was just, I can't pull up the clip right now but he wasn't he wasn't thrilled with how it ended yeah well that's another guy that uh right from the very beginning built something and he's he doesn't have stamp coast legacy but he's got legacy in that town now. Like he'll go down in history as one of the founding leaders.

Yeah, he was one of the original guys that went. Conn Smythe, winner last year. He said, I don't think they tried their best to keep me. Yeah. I don't know. Who does it really end great for in our game? That's the thing. Things that end well, things that end, they don't usually end well. So, I don't know. Who does it really end great for in our game? That's the thing. Things that end well, things that end, they don't usually end well.

So I don't know. That's two situations. Like we talked about with Borny and the Lightning and with him there, where those are ruthless organizations, and a lot of people would think that the Leafs should act like that sometimes. But I don't know if I love it. I really don't. For those of you just

joining us by chance uh earlier in the show we did have a a wonderful conversation i thought between myself uh justin bourne and you sammy on legacy and where's that where's that cut line between a tampa bay or vegas with mar So, and stamp coast on keeping them, letting them go. What does it mean to a legacy, a community, a fan base to hold on to special players? I think it's,

I think it's tough for, for, I think it's a bigger scenario with stamp coast and Marcia. So I think marcia so had a great career there but i think i think it's stamkos is a much bigger scenario to let him go than it is with marcia so but i you know i i don't necessarily love the way they've handled this they've also kind of had a history of doing the bad stuff remember with flurry and his agent tweeting out a picture of that and you know they've

let guys go for nothing in the past so i don't know i i they're they're just they're running it to win they want to stay relevant they're getting younger i guess but yeah that's that's quite i mean that's two big staples of their cup winning team you know chandler stevenson gone now marsh is so gone now they're gonna be looking a lot different you know with they they made the trade last year at the at the deadline for hurdle They're going to be looking a lot different, you know, with they made the trade last year at the deadline for hurdle. So they're gonna be looking a lot different next year. But that's just the way I do in business, I guess, in Vegas. Can I mention a name to you that I actually thought we would hear from?

And this is not an unrestricted free agent, but one that is eligible to sign a new contract today that didn't. Sid. Sid. Sid. Wow. Sid Crosby. Yeah. Oh, the other Sid?

No. Do we know another Sid? No. Sid Cicero. That's Oh, the other Sid? No. Do we know another Sid? No. Sid Cicero. That's the only other Sid I know. Is he getting a new deal? I don't know. I don't know.

I don't want to negotiate that one, but yeah. Sid Crosby is eligible to sign an extension. He's coming off a massive 13-year deal. No, I don't think it was that long. 11? I don't think it was that long. But it was 8-7 forever. Mm-hmm. off a massive 13-year deal? No, I don't think it was that long. 11? I don't think it was that long. But it was 8-7 forever. Mm-hmm.

I'm just looking it up here. 12-year. Okay, so I'm in the middle. Yep. 12-year, $104 million contract signed in 2013. To me, lost opportunity for the Pittsburgh Penguins to send a big message that this guy is the best player of our modern history, and he ain't going anywhere.

And speaking of what Tampa couldn't do with Stamkos and what Vegas couldn't do with Marcius. So we're doing with Sid. No announcement. Yeah. I mean, that is a big news. I, you know, you'd think that they would do that. And I guess I'm not here to suggest that it won't happen or there's anything going on.

I'm just saying do it today. Do it the first out. Send a message that this guy is the greatest, one of the best players in the history of our game. And if we've committed to Malkin and we've committed to Letang, celebrate Sid Crosby on July 1st in Pittsburgh. No, I agree with you totally. I can't say anything on that.

It's just you'd think they would. but what is he looking for in a deal like he's looking to get a legacy contract here one that's going to take him into retirement you know i maybe maybe he doesn't want to play anymore after his current deal is that part of it i can't see that no i don't i can't see that but i mean if he wants to play anywhere other than Pittsburgh. I think anything other than $10 million a year for, I don't know, three years, four years, five years is insulting. Yep. So, I mean, that's one to keep an eye on, but I'm sure they're negotiating, right?

Kyle will be negotiating that. Yeah, and just to me it should have been looked after by now. That's all. That's fair. So what's your favorite contract that you saw today? Yeah, and to me it should have been looked after by now. That's all. That's fair. So what's your favorite contract that you saw today? What do you think that you like in Nashville? Listen, we cover the Leafs.

I think a stay-at-home defenseman in Chris Tanov for the next two or three years is a very good start to a blue line that has leaked oil for a very long time. I think I can hear Freed outside. He's coughing right now. I feel like I'm listening. When I hear him coughing or eating or slurping, it's as if I'm listening to his podcast. Yeah, he's saying, I'm at the door. Come on in.

Is it locked? No, it's not locked. Go get him. Okay, okay, okay. You locked him out. Come on in. You're good. Oh, my goodness.

There he is. Take a seat. Oh, yeah. Come on in. Just cut right through. Oh, my gosh. Okay, i'm scared to ask you not about your day but your week it was crazy week man crazy week so we did um it's kind of funny stanley cup was one monday went home for a night t. Wednesday morning, went to New York City, first thing for Board of Governors.

The only, the real worst part of the week was we were supposed to take off from Newark for Vegas at 8.20 p.m. on Tuesday, on Wednesday night, and we got out at 12.45 a.m. So we got into Vegas at four in the morning. I could hear you crawling to the door i don't even think you walked you're you're hanging in no it's all good now like today

your last day though yeah oh yeah are you putting your phone away oh well you you know you never put your phone away no put it away you really start to ignore it you can't though you're you're a little sick that way i'm a lot sick for a lot of reasons what do you what are you looking at now what do you got uh just a couple texts yeah all right give us your overall thought of today winners losers nashville nashville i mean what i mean you know like nick in this league now and this is it it's, what the last few years have proven, guys, is that if you are a warm weather team with a tax advantage, there is no excuse for you not to win.

None. Tampa's done it. Now Florida's done it. And look what Nashville's doing now. Were you one of the believers that somehow, someway, Stamkos is going to end up retiring at Tampa Bay Lightning? You know, I got in some trouble at the beginning of this year because, you know, did I ever think it would happen

that he would leave? No. But at the beginning of the year, I made a comment along the lines of that as much as Stamkos loves the Lightning and the fans loved him, the organization never loved him as much as they loved some of their other guys. Like if you go back to last time he signed, they made him an offer in January and they never budged. Never.

And if you look at all the guys they signed a year in advance, Nick, they never did it with him. But that was Iserman. Yeah, but even now. But Iserman, he still signed. Look at all the other guys they signed early. Before he left, he took care of Vasilevsky early. I think around the same day they signed Stamkos,

they took care of Hedman early, and he took care of Kucherov early. And then Bruce Ball takes over. They took care of Hedman early and he took care of Kucherov early. And then and then Bruce Ball takes over. They took care of Point early. I mean last year they took care of Brandon Hagel early. And I just think as great as he is and as much

as the fans loved him, I don't think the organization ever loved him as much as they love some of their other guys even after captaining even after cups yeah yeah yeah i find that mind-boggling it's just all you have to do is look at the look at the evidence and you could tell today like he did a great interview with like colby and luke like they were really trying to bait it out of him, and he was kind of laughing. But, you know, like, I mean, you saw Nate Thompson's tweets today. Like, all of the people who really like Stamkos, like, you know Stamkos.

He's the nicest, politest guy, very competitive. Like, what he's done to come back from all the injuries, this was, like, the proof. They, he was, I i mean obviously the organization thought highly of him he was the captain but they didn't consider him in the same important stratosphere as the points the kucherovs the vasilevskys and the headmans we're talking to elliot friedman in studio hockey night in canada 32 thoughts marcia so as well, a little bitter. Yeah, he'll, well, the thing is, like, if you go back, one of the reasons Vegas went to the Stanley Cup final in that first year when they lost to your Capitals was because a lot of those guys

had chips on their shoulders and they were good players, good team. That's never changed for Marcius So. And, you know, he said it too. I mean, I thought, I left the draft thinking that Nashville was going to get Stamkos. I wavered a little bit when I heard that Marcheseau was going to market too. And this morning someone said to me, it's going to be Marcheseau for Nashville. And I was like, could they do two? I mean, it's pretty incredible.

But, yeah, I think Marcheseau will, for everything great he did in Vegas, he leaves with some hard feelings. I had heard at the draft that possibly Nashville, Barry Trotz had maybe thought of maybe a Mitch Marner. And it certainly makes sense that whatever thought he did had or however far it went with toronto they pivoted and they put money into stamp coast and marcia so and shea and shea so where where does that leave the leafs with with marner in your opinion and like no noise Elliot just a little bit that I got that maybe Nashville might have had a tiny interest in him before they pivoted today but like where where was where was the the noise around Marner non-existent well I think the thing

is I think the Leafs are really trying to end that noise. I think they're tired of the noise, and he's tired of the noise. And the joke I use is that, Nick, talking about Marner is like cooking with a boiling pot of water that you spill all over yourself, because as you know, whenever you say something about this, somebody gets mad about

it. So I think they're really... Who's mad at you, Elliot? Who's mad at you? Everybody always is. But you know what? They're trying to tone it down. Like you saw Berube at the draft. He came right out and said, I'm excited to coach him. But Nick, you know the situation better than anyone. He controls it.

Yeah. And do you think he wants to go anywhere? Until he's presented with something. But, you know, if the Leafs don't ever get to the point where they extend him. Well, I think they're going to make him an offer if they haven't already. I think they're going to make him one. An offer with a raise?

I don't know. I honestly don't know. I would assume so, but I don't know. I think they're going to make him an offer and see where it goes. Because they changed their minds? Because they certainly didn't give him the same benefit of the doubt that they gave Matthews or Nylander with. Hey, we really like him.

We're going to try to sign him the moment the conversation came up. They thought about trading Nylander all last summer. Like, he was out there. And they just didn't find anything they like, and he started the season like a house on fire, and they re-signed him. So, but, you know, that's the thing. Yeah, that's a good point. You know, Marner has all the control.

And the other thing, too, is, as you know, you know the agent, Darren. He likes to, unless you give him a reason, he takes his guys right to free agency. So that's another part of this. Well, I had Chatfield. He signed up fairly early. But almost right to free agency, like a couple weeks early. Yeah. He likes that strategy.

Focus was on the blue line for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yeah. I'm surprised that they weren't able to land a $5-plus million fish. They went with an extended term for Tanev, but they were able to keep the number down below five also for Oliver Ekman Larson. I think they wanted Tanev badly. I think he was the number one guy

on their list. Tree Living knows him likes him and they were going to do what it took to get him. I think that the idea that they were going to go to six years was not a surprise to anybody. You know what I think they took a look at Matt going to go to six years was not a surprise to anybody. You know what? I think they took a, they took a look at Matt Roy,

look at the deal he got from Washington. I think they looked at Zdorov. They didn't want to pay the six times five that he got from Boston. I think any defenseman who was available, they looked at him. I think they were interested in bringing back Edmondson, but you look at that deal he got today from LA, they weren't going to do that.

So I think they looked at a lot of people and just either were outbid or weren't comfortable going where some of those deals went. You know, Nick, it actually, it's funny because one player told me that there are some players who have kind of watched from outside about what's gone on with this whole Marner thing over the last month or two and are like, I want no part of that. Like, I don't want anything to do with that. So I do think it's kind of affected.

I don't know if perception is the right thing, because I think people know Toronto's intent. It takes a special personality. But it takes a special personality. I think there were some players that were like, nope, that's not going to be me. But, you know, I think the OEL deal is a good contract. Like, I have no problem.

Do you have a problem with that contract? I don't have a problem with that. Well, I do if he plays like he was in Arizona or Vancouver. You don't have a problem if he plays like he did in Arizona. Well, I didn't. He couldn't live up to the contract in Arizona. And Vancouver, it never clicked. But now, like, I think, unfortunately, well, I guess it's just the way it is in the world.

We look at people through the prism of their cap hit, right? Yes. The expectations won't be the same. I thought he played, you know, this year when Ekblad and Montour were hurt, he helped hold Florida together. I'm going to be interested to see, now he's going through it for the second time, is he better at shutting it all out or just ignoring it? But at that number, I don't have a problem with that deal at all.

A gamble in that a little bit? Yes. Yeah. As you wrote, they wanted Markstrom. In a perfect world, that would have been their guy. They extended Wold today. I like Stollers. I thought Stollers did a great job this year for Florida.

But the thing is, like, you always want to have a clear-cut path and goal. Like, wool's going to start the first game next year. But Stoller's going to push them. Like, you don't look at them and say, right now they have that number one stud. But I like Stoller's a lot. Okay, Sam and I were talking about Bertzi uh signing on yeah not staying in toronto you you had written that they were still in the mix on it but the number got too high yep and the left side is a little weaker today yep but we also saw uh genzel yep go to tampa bay yeah saw DeBrusque go to Vancouver.

Where are you on the left side on the Leafs? And ultimately, DeBrusque and Gensel. So let's start with Bertuzzi. Well, Gensel, they weren't getting Gensel. And I think with Gensel, I mean, you know what goes on. You have to move Marner out for the Leafs to consider Gensel. Also, Gensel, you know, I think for a while he was interested in Carolina. Then he got closer to it. They screwed that up, eh, Carolina?

And, Nick, you know how it all works. Like, start to hear the whispers. Guys start to call you. We like you. I think he got Tampa Bay in his head, and he's like, yeah, I'd like that. But they threw him a legitimate offer way too late in Carolina. They went eight times eight, as you had mentioned at the draft. And it was like, where was that offer?

You could have had him a month and a half ago at 8-8. A month and a half ago. You were in your sixes. They don't know. I don't think Carolina really has an idea of how it works. I think what this is a reminder of is there are some guys you can wait and play until the last minute, but you better make sure they want to stay. Because if the guy starts to think about if he's not that married to you

or he starts to get in his head about going somewhere else, he's going to leave. And that's what happened. And that's what happened. That's exactly what happened. And they lost an asset, a big asset in Carolina to a competitor. Yeah. Tampa. Yes. And sorry, who was the in Carolina to a competitor. Yeah. Tampa.

Yes. And, sorry, who was the other guy you mentioned? DeBrusque. DeBrusque. I think they talked to him, but I don't think the Leafs have the ability to do seven times five and a half. No, I think you're right. Yeah.

I don't, you know, he's a Western Canadian guy. You know, but I heard he was actually going to end up in Seattle. I think Seattle really hoped to get them. And I kind of fell apart at the end, but Toronto couldn't offer him what Vancouver did. I mean, they'll have to look around. They'll have to look at the bargain bin. Stevenson, Kerry, number one status. It's going to have to.

Wow. I like him a lot, but a number one centerman. You know what that is, Nick? The NBA is going back to Seattle in a couple years. And that's the Kraken saying, we can't wait anymore. The NBA is coming back, and we have to step it up. That's what that is. That's what that is.

Any thoughts on how early Edmonton can get to dry settle? I think I heard Edmonton was trying to see if they could get Jeff Skinner done too. We'll see. I think they've got a couple of other things, yeah. How about the Leafs versus Skinner? I don't know. I heard more likely if it was Canada. I heard it was more likely Oilers.

We'll see. Now, what's going on with Evander Kane? I hear they might buy him out. Well, I think the only way you can do it now is if you have arbitration cases. So I'd have to see if they have anything like that because the buyout window is closed.

I had heard... That's gone sour though, eh? Evander Kane and Edmonton? I think a little bit, yeah. But I heard someone told me at the draft they'd asked him to waive and then several people said that wasn't true. I think you're going to have to see how this one plays out a little bit. I hear there might be a chemistry issue there.

Well, I think the thing is, like I think dry-settled McDavid, they're tight, they live not far from each other. To me, Nick, this isn't just a dry-settled negotiation. No, no, it's a package deal. This is a dry-saddle McDavid. Yes. How do we feel about our future? Yeah, yeah.

And what do we want our next contracts to look like? One's not signing unless they know the other one is going to be sticking around. A hundred percent. And what are we looking at? Are we like, you know, do they say we do a two or three year deal a massive number are we looking at max term that's the other thing yes here too because i think one of the things the owners are trying to sell them on is guys you deserve whatever you get especially mcdavid but we got to try to win here so how can we make everybody That's been going on for 15 years now. Yeah, I know. Same salary cap, right?

Yeah, 100%. So. What do you got coming up? Just me and Sammy and just, you know, hanging out here until Wednesday. Oh, you're on a couple more days. And then truly disappearing. Yeah. Lorne was in Kelowna today.

We had him on a satellite hot stove for a little bit. Wait a second. What kind of BS is that? I don't know. How come you guys are working and he's out west? We got two hours out of him. Not only is he not. I would never do that to one of my teammates.

I got to say, if they say to me, you got to be on until July 3rd, and you're here and you're here, I'm here with my team. I've created a monster. Not only has he already started his vacation, he wants to change the show next year to Born in Kiprios. Yes. Turn that upside down. I'm going to flip him over. year to born in kiprius yes turn that like turn it upside down gonna flip them over real barney and kip well listen hey congratulations on another great season

um terrific for everybody here carrying carrying the the freight man on all the breaking news here at sportsnet um terrific it's off my shoulders it's i'm so happy to to see you plugging away every day we you provide us with great content even though you're not on the show all the time i wish you would come back no no no no no no semi-retirement great job elliot thanks guys great season have a great summer guys any last thoughts on today three hours sammy how do you how do you feel you did i loved it loved every minute of it. We got to go. Back tomorrow.