Real Kyper & Bourne - Rempe Receives 4-Game Ban

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start the second hour with their reactions to Matt Rempe receiving a 4-game suspension for his elbow on Jonas Siegenthaler last night. Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau (3:05) shares his thoughts on the league sending Rempe a message, coaching tough guys, the Wild pulling their goalie in OT, Demko's injury and the most impactful trade from the deadline. Later, they regroup with Sam for news and notes - ranking the best defensive units in the league, checking in on award races and Anson Carter aims to bring the NHL back to Atlanta.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

we're back it's our national hour the real kipper and born show we are live on sports set sports at 650 in vancouver and sports at 960 in calgary this hour real kipper and born brought to you by bet 365 in a few minutes we're going to welcome in former nhl head coach bruce there it is bruce boudreaux gabby tons to get into yes including john heinz pulling the goalie three on three matt rempe suspended four games his washington capitals are in are they in a playoff race or are they not i mean they would tell you they are but they got starched by a good team last night. They did. Okay, we teed

it up in our previous hour. Rangers forward Matt Rempe suspended four games for an elbow to defenseman from the New Jersey Devils Sagan Thaller. In the second period last night, we were anticipating a Curtis McDermott battle with him.

It didn't come to fruition. And then the elbow that led to a four-game suspension. JB, we'll start with you. Wouldn't fight McDermott. They literally traded for a guy to fight Rempe after he took five in a game on Nathan Bastion for a dirty hit. So they trade for a guy to fight Rempe.

Rempe won't fight him. So then Rempe goes out and brains Siegenthaler and then waves at McDermott on the way off, which didn't love any of that. The hit for Department of Player Safety when they're going through the list are like, you know, coming at him from a blindside angle his elbow is up moving up and away there's significant force there is injury it's a brutal hit game 10 for this kid two majors ejected

suspension four fights like four games yeah i i should say he needs some cool and off time go sit in your room for a bit, son. Yeah. I'm going to have to wholeheartedly agree. I think it is a little harder to hit guys when you're 6'8". Sure. But he got the chicken wing out pretty good. Clipped him hard. Four games is the right number. I thought it could have been maybe three.

It wasn't in person, so they're not going above it or whatever. But, yeah, I mean, I love what this kid represents. I love that he's like a new guy. But at the same time, it feels like... We all do. It feels like he needs a bit of a, like you said,

just go sit down. I'm not overly surprised at the four games. Usually, it's two games, and then it's one extra game if there's an injury. But I really believe that there was one more game added on too. So they wanted to send a really stern message to a guy that's caused three head injuries in the last two weeks. Yeah, like excited about what he could be, but what he is is currently dangerous. Okay, let's welcome him in.

Bruce Boudreaux, former NHL head coach, 617 career wins. Doing some great stuff now in the media. Gabby, we're just talking about a guy like Matt Rempe and how he came gangbusters into the league and now finds himself suspended four games. So before we get into any more detail, just give us your early thoughts of hearing four games. Well, I just think the league, I think I was listening to you just now.

And I mean, they're saying, whoa, slow down, young man. Like, I mean, you know, like, I i mean you're coming in here like gangbusters we're not going to let you run rule the roost right now we've been trying to get this stuff out of the game and you're coming in and changing the landscape again so i think uh if this was just say a normal guy i think it would have been one or two games but uh i think they're trying to send a message to this young man that cool it just cool it i know you're big and this is and you're popular as hell right now in new york but uh uh this is just calm down kid gabby i i saw someone say that i think he fought just 11 times in 157 junior games or something like that like Like, you know, once every 15 games or so.

And, you know, none of these sorts of hits. But, you know, what is it right now that he feels like he has to do this to stay in the league? Is it necessary that he be playing the way he is for him to be impactful? Well, I think, first of all, I'm junior. He's bigger than everybody. Who's going gonna fight him that's a great point a lot of curtis mcdermott of the guys are that's who's gonna fight him younger

too you know like now he's against men and all these guys that have done it for a living especially the first couple game when you see delorier and olivier they're going oh my god we've got a new piece of meat in here let's try try this new guy. You know, let's take care of this guy. And at the same time, he's become incredibly popular in New York. And, you know, like, I mean, Peter's sending him out there to change change momentums of games. And I think he's going, you know what, If I can continue to do this and do this well, I'm going to make some money in this league.

So, I mean, I think he's liking what he's doing. And the league is just saying, okay, you know, calm down a little bit right now. I want to get your thoughts and maybe, JB, yours as well here in terms of what I'm hearing in the last little while from various shows, podcasts. What I've seen on the internet is that Rempe didn't follow the code. And if he would have accepted the fight maybe earlier from Curtis McDermott, maybe this might have not led to a head injury.

Maybe, maybe not. But where are you on the fact that he declined the invitation of Curtis McDermott to start the game? I would have bet that Peter said, I don't want you going out there fighting right now. Because a young guy that's been in the league 10 games, he's listening to his coach. Like, I mean, you saw him in Toronto.

He looked over at his coach and said, should I fight this guy? And, like, I mean, they were going to say McDermott was brought here only for the reason of fighting you. Fight him on your terms. Kipper, you've been there many times. You know, like, I mean, putting the guy in the position fighting you fight him on your terms kepper you've been there many times you know like i mean put the putting the guy in the position where uh it's your advantage type thing rather than uh fighting him that he wanted probably mcdermott wanted new jersey to get going right off the bat

and why give him that satisfaction now me i've never been fought a soul in my life. I couldn't beat up my wife. But, I mean, so I probably wouldn't have accepted it either. But, I mean, in the code, you've been fighting everybody else. You know, you're on the ice and I'm on the ice. We both know what should happen, and maybe he should have done it. Off those words, Sammy, do we have Curtis McDermott's sound bite after the game? We do. Derek, you got that? Let's play that real quick here. First shift, I asked him.

There's a bit of a code, and I thought he would have answered that, but I don't know what he was told, but he said no. After a hit like that, you know, it kind of goes with saying you should answer the bell in some way and be a man about it. And then the game goes on and he throws another hit like that, gets kicked out and possible suspension. So there's a right way to go about things and a wrong way.

And, you know, I kind of lost a lot of respect for him tonight now uh i didn't hear all the clips from uh post game did peter laviolette say anything publicly about that i i would hope if if the instructions were to matt rampy to don't fight him i would hope my coach would have my back and and and listen, I'm following my coach's rules or decisions. I'm not sure if anything was said or not. Well, I don't know if anything was said. I do think this, though. I think Peter wanted him to fight against Ryan Reeves.

When they were down 3-2, they were looking for a little jump. I mean, he kept them on after the 35-second mark with a face-off in their zone, down 3-2. So, I mean, I'm thinking at that point he wanted the jump, but at this time, Ethan, let's do it on our terms, I guess. I don't know. For a young guy not to accept it, though, Kipper, don't you think that that's sort of the wrong way to go about it

when he's doing this to everybody else? Listen, in the year 2024, I'm not going to sit here and tell somebody he should fight if he thinks he shouldn't fight. Like, there's so much risk here. It's such a personal decision to drop your gloves. Okay. But, but I'm just saying from Bruce's comments,

listen, I took out a hall of fame goaltender in grant fear. Okay. I didn't fight Tony twist the rest of the playoffs, but I sure as hell knew what was coming the next season and the first game we played against St. Louis

Ty's like you don't have to fight him and I'm like no I have to fight him because I'm not going to have everybody tell me that I hurt a Hall of Fame player and I didn't answer to it me that I hurt a Hall of Fame player and I didn't answer to it. Me personally, I thought Rempe needed to take that fight against McDermott just based on

the fact that there was so much history on taking out Bastion. So in the old days, for me personally, I would have had to have said, I can't move forward. People will lose respect for me if I didn't take that fight and answer to my own doing so to Bruce's point yes there's a certain message here saying

listen if you're going to run around like a human missile out there someone's going to eventually call you out on it maybe if you don't take the fight, which again, it's your choice not to, but here are the ramifications.

People are going to lose a little respect for you. Yeah. Bruce, have you ever coached anyone like this before? Have you had to deal with players where, you know, there's the expression better to tame a tiger than paint stripes on a pussy cat. You know, this is really there's the expression better to tame a tiger than paint stripes on a pussycat?

You know, this is really a tiger they're trying to tame. Have you had players like that where it's tough to rein them in? Well, listen, I had George Peros right after he left Princeton and he came to Manchester with me. And you know what? Like, I didn't tell him to fight or whatever, but he fought every game he wanted to prove that he was a tough guy and he did prove that he was a tough guy but i mean

it was he was looking for it right from the beginning and and you'd have to sort of rein him in the the one guy i had to rein in was my line mate was mick vocoda oh yeah in the 80s yeah like i mean he fought in 22 straight games in the American League. It was... 22 straight games? I think that's a record. Yes. Because I remember grabbing him and saying, Mick, you do not have to fight every shift out there.

You know? And he ended up becoming a pretty solid NHL player for a long time. But, you know, I mean, every team has guys that know that that's their job. I've coached Donald Brashear and been on a team with Marty McSorley and all of those guys. They know, like, I mean, that's part of the job.

It's not their own job. We want them to play hockey, is it is part of their job and uh i mean it was years ago but uh uh and i think this rampy knows that that's part of his job he wouldn't be up there if they were if they were in uh looking for a playoff spot and they needed it they lost panarin he wasn't he's not going to be the guy that's called up. So, I mean, he knows what, what he has to do to, if he wants to stay in the NHL, I think. Gabby, were you gone by the time Tom Wilson got to Washington? I, they had drafted him, but I hadn't coached him. I was gone when he came up the next year.

Okay. And I'm not, I'm not comparing Tom Wilson to Rempe, but there's a lot of people screaming that Tom Wilson was nothing but a goon when he first came in. I don't know if he had two goals in 80 games and people were sitting there, get rid of him, get him out of the league. I'm not saying that Rempe is going to turn into Tom Wilson, but there is some upside in Matt Rempe moving forward here on a four check, on a skate,

on eventual maybe 10 goals. I don't know, but there's so much upside here that to Justin's point, maybe it's just curtailing him a little bit and trying to work with him. But there's so much upside still on this guy. Absolutely. Like, I mean, he can skate he's six foot eight he's got a great reach he doesn't mind going to the hard areas and when you've got a and you know

yourself when you've got a guy that can be physical and can play the game and you can end up putting him out there in defensive zone situations and that boy you've got a real find and that's what i think washington thought of when when Tom Wilson was running around. Yeah, we've got to rein him in a little bit. But if we work with this guy in a couple of years, he's going to be a really good player. Yeah. Good to turn page here. I want to ask you a little bit about coach-referee dynamics.

John Tortorella recently gets kicked out out of a game doesn't leave the bench here in toronto we see sheldon keith getting upset with the refs a lot and just never seems to get the benefit of the doubt with officials you know what is the art of those relationships and managing them and when to step on referees because it feels like some coaches today have kind of lost that art you've never stepped on a referee have you yeah i've been kicked out a couple have you been kicked out yeah i well i got kicked out warned i i got kicked out in the american league and the and and the east coast league i hadn't got kicked out in the nhl but i i started to learn your lesson that you get a lot more with sugar than you do with vinegar in other words if you're gonna f uh f these referees all

night they're people they're gonna do it right back to you they are not gonna give you a break so i found out even though they're wrong when i'm arguing with them because i always feel like i'm right of course uh that at the same, you have to talk to them. And I remember, like, I mean, I've had some great relationships. One, Paul Dvorsky, I had a great relationship with. You get to know these guys, and you just ask them, and you say, what was wrong? I want you to look at it, tell me about it.

But when you start you know uh given the you know f-bombing them all night long they're just going to turn away i found that out early because i would do it and you'd never get the break on the call but sometimes if you treat them right you might get a break every now and again we're talking to bruce budro former nhl head coach now analyst with former nhl head coach now analyst with the nhl network uh can we ask you what you thought of uh pulling the goalie on a three on three in overtime john hines like i mean when i started thinking of the reasonings and how he did it i thought it was really really smart i think we all want to do it as coaches

none of us have a lot of us don't have the the cojones to do it but i mean when you think and think about the fact that on a three on three they don't have their three best penalty killers out there they're probably using uh two forwards and a defenseman that don't know how to kill a five on three good point don't know how to put their sticks in their lane and he did it with a minute to go. He understood the ramifications. They had full control, four on three against guys that can't kill penalties when you've got a good power play.

I think it's well worth the gamble. Yeah, and paid off, and so tough to second-guess it now, isn't it, when you get the W like that? Well, we wanted to ask you a little bit about the Washington Capitals. Not sure if you're following along with them too closely. Last night they lost to the hands of the Winnipeg Jets, but kind of in a weird spot, right? I mean, they're kind of in the playoff chase.

They didn't really add at the deadline. You know, it just feels like they're one of those teams that's kind of spinning their wheels a little bit right now. Well, it's funny you ask that i'm in washington doing the i was doing the caps game last night okay and uh i thought winnipeg might have played the best game i've seen a team play all year yeah they were in they were in their face they were uh the they they didn't give them a chance to breathe and they and and they had many chances to score it could have been the score was actually very uh flattering to the caps but i mean i think the capture they're three points back and um they got a really tough schedule this week i mean they're in edmonton next then then Seattle, then Vancouver, then Calgary.

And all teams are above 500. So, I mean, we were talking last night, like, for them to keep in it, I think they have to be 500 or better when they come off this trip. But, I mean, they're a team, followed them all year, and they've been really resilient. Every time you think they're out of it, they win two or three in a row. I mean, most of the talk has been, Alex, about not scoring, but they play a good defensive game, and if they get in the lead,

if they get the lead in the first period, they're pretty tough. Now, personally, I don't know if it's going to be a tough uphill battle when there's a couple teams that you have to climb over. And they've got, according to last night, they have the toughest remaining schedule in the league. I mean, and that means they're playing teams with the better records coming into the last 19 games or what have you.

So, I mean, I think they're a team that won't quit, but I just don't know if they have enough that they just might miss by one or two. Gabby, Rick Tockett made comments after today's practice about Demko being out week to week, but he wouldn't divulge much else on it. If you were still on the bench in Vancouver and you lost Demko what could be four to six weeks with under 20 games to go

how nervous would you be well I lost him last year for 10 weeks and how did I make out he had he had hip surgery last summer and then he got hurt in the 12th game of the year, and he didn't come back until after I was gone. I mean, he's a great goaltender. I mean, now Vancouver's went out and made some significant changes to their defense, and you know what? De Smith is a pretty good backup goalie. But the bottom line, if you have to go with the one goalie for six weeks,

they're firmly in a playoff position. To me, the biggest thing is getting Thatcher back into form by the start of the playoffs. They're going to call up a guy by Silovs, I think is his name. And he hasn't had a great year in Abbotsford, but he was in the World Championships last year, really, really good for Finland. But I would be worried because when we lost Demko, man,

we lost everything, I think. And the team is much better now, and I think they'll survive it. But it would make me worry. I don't know what the team is much better now and I think they'll survive it but it would it would make me worry I don't know what the injury is hope it's not anything to do with last year's injury or the the surgery had in the summer Bruce I don't know if you had any uh deadline additions that were meaningful to any teams that you coached um looking at this year's trend trade deadline the Leafs were very cautious uh added a couple of sort of steady defenders to it. What is the experience like

trying to integrate new players to a club when you only have a month to go until crunch time? Well, I don't think it's difficult, one or two players. I mean, when you start talking six and seven players or a third of your team, I think it becomes difficult. I remember in the minors, as a matter of fact, when I was in Manchester, we had a great team.

But half the team was up in L.A. at the time. And they sent five guys down after their season was over. And they didn't really want to be there. And it really hurt us. I've also been, you know, where I've had, I've asked George McPhee, I said, I think we need this position. And he went out and got Sergei Fedorov, which was a tremendous add to us. And it worked out.

When I was in Mini, we went out and tried to, we were first overall at the time and we went out and got Martin Hansel, but it really threw off the chemistry of the things. And we didn't make too many moves in Anaheim at the deadline. But it's a really touchy situation is touching, you know, fooling around with something that's working right now and trying to make yourself better keeping up with somebody that looks like oh they just made a big move we've got to make a big move but i i really believe in the in the chemistry of the team if you're going good it'll continue to go good let's not upset the

chemistry so i don't think as long as you're a gm and you show you're trying and you're tweaking it and and and you want to make the team a little bit better and and you don't really upset the apple cart I think you're doing good but I think if you go out and get a lot of big players and at the look at the Rangers last year with Tara Sanko and Kane it didn't work out there but I mean that's where I'm thinking that it upsets the apple cart more than it does help you sometimes. Okay. And saying that, who has a bigger immediate impact on their hockey club?

Hannafin in Vegas or Gensel in Carolina? Well, I think Carolina doesn't have anybody like Gensel. They've never had the 40-goal score. They've had a really good team. Ojo's a really good player, but he's not the dynamic guy. I think Gensel's going to be a really impactful player there, and Hannafin's going to be a really, really steady guy that already is going to mix in with a really good defense.

I mean, you're going to see a shutdown pair of Hannafin and Pietrangelo. And those are also guys that are offensive at the same time. I think that's going to be a pretty tough group to beat. But I really like the gensel move and uh i i just think it as a player and a star coming over it's something that carolina hasn't had and i i think that's he's going to really do a good job there gabby really appreciate your time man thanks for doing this for us no problem guys you have a great day. All right. Thanks, Bruce.

Appreciate it. Bruce Boudreaux, former NHL head coach, one of the winningest guys in our game, 617. Never get him in the same place twice. The last time he was like

in his bar area in his place. I know. And I don't know if there was like a mini earthquake or something, but for those of you that didn't watch him on Zoom,

his camera wouldn't stop shaking. We have a monitor to the side here, and I couldn't watch it too long or else I was getting nauseous. A little turbulence? Anyway, that guy, I mean, he could sit in your chair, Nick, and I'd be very happy. He's got something on everything. He's awesome.

Yeah, no, it was great stuff. Go ahead. Well, no, I just go ahead. That's nothing important. I was just going to just pick up on Gensel making his debut tonight against the New York Rangers, Carolina Rangers. I don't know. They never confirm, right?

They're like, well, we'll see. Takes warm up. Like who guy takes warm up knowing that he's not playing? It's a week removed from the deadline. He's there. He's in equipment. They're like, well, it's just the goofiest thing to say. But, you know, Carolina and by some models that I've seen has moved into cup favorite status.

Part of that being that the top of the East is not as heavy as top of the West. Oh my gosh, how could you ever pick Carolina with a questionable goaltending? Freddie's got Freddie Anderson. Freddie still plays net there? Freddie Anderson's not. Freddie, until you get over the hump. Come on.

Do you want Samson Hall or Freddie Anderson? None. Zero at the moment. I would take Wall over Freddie Anderson 10 times out of 10. He's a good goalie, like Samson off? None. I'll take Wall over Freddie Anderson 10 times out of 10. He's a good goalie, like Samson off here. He's a good goalie, but you gotta protect him.

You gotta win a couple of rounds. I think Freddie's I think they're still a little vulnerable back there. Yeah. Yep. I think it's a reasonable criticism until proven otherwise. But yes, they are among the cup contenders out of the East, I would say.

And if, you know, going through the Metro, you know, they should be all right. I watched Carolina play, I think it was Sunday. They played against the Flames. And the Flames are high. Holy hell out of them. They, it was a schooling. The way you talk about teams that pass the puck the passing on that carolina team man they snap it around sebastian oh my god he's a good player

oh much he could have been a montreal canadian if well that was such a bad i do like him that's a bad offer she horrible thanks guys go 10 and a Horrible offer sheet. They're like, thanks, guys. Go 10 and a half. Go big. Yeah, but they're like, oh, you just signed our best player to a reasonable contract? What are they off from? Eight? Eight to five?

Yeah, yeah. Go 10 or 11. Yeah, make it so they can't do it. Huge signing bonuses. Yeah. Yeah, no, he's a really good player. So on the topic of teams. That Finland team in the four nations face off tm

it's gonna be scary good boys i'm telling you all right all right the uh team like they've been talking with carolina snapping around i also watched that winnipeg jets oh you have a bit of an epiphany here but the jets i believe i'm a believer i'm a jets believer i that game they played last night i know it's coming off their worst game of the season according to their coach gave up what 23 shots yeah and i mean they hit six posts and washington looked ready to cry to fold it was in front of the net all night he was he put it through ovi's legs like he they just every line is so solid every single line they look they look deep they are so deep up front and their goaltending is so good that their D just has to be okay. No matter what, though, they will be underdogs, right? You've got Vancouver ahead of them.

You've got Vegas ahead of them. You've got Edmonton ahead of them. But they can win the Central. They can play the underdog role and find themselves in a conference final. I don't disagree on that. Let's say they win the Central and They can play the underdog role and find themselves in a conference final. I don't disagree on that. Let's say they win the Central and they draw Nashville in round one. They will mop Nashville in four or five.

And then they win a series and all of a sudden we're talking about the Jets here. You know, I watched a lot of Edmonton this year. Watched a lot of the Jets. Gun to my head. Like if I was betting my life on who would make the final, I'm not sure which way I would go yeah like i really do think obviously you mean that's an endorsement of winnipeg you bet on mcdavid clearly he's the best player in the world maybe of all

time he's unbelievable hockey but you're doing a skinner hellebuck thing like i love i love the goaltending like you said i love that third line i love that lowry like he's just a huge steady like and you know he's just another guy that's absolutely proven love that lowry like he's just a huge steady like another guy that's absolutely proven playoff performer shifley's gone to another level like i really you know there's a there's a sneaky rob not a sneaky rivalry there's a rivalry between the fans and every fan base because they all just hate the leafs and we kind of have to pretend we don't like them too so that they think we care about them but anyways uh the jets would have like a sneaky robbery the leafs and them during the bubble or whatever it was the canadian division it was a

really good rivalry and we know all about that i'm rooting for them i i really would like to see them make the run i tell you you know come on you have some canadian you get this is where sometimes we can just overload and overrate lineups and I'll go back even to watching the Leafs and their misery in their first round knockouts just

switch goalies that's it don't worry about the defense don't worry about the forwards just switch goalies and the Leafs Goalies. Yeah. That's it. Really? Don't worry about the defense. Don't worry about the forwards. Just switch goalies. And the Leafs beat Columbus. They beat Montreal.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just that. That's it. That's the only thing. They beat Tampa. They beat Tampa. Just switch goalies. Right. Mm-hmm.

So now we're going into the playoffs. 16 teams. Your Islanders sneak in. And Sorokin's on fire. Hellebuck's on fire. Joseph Wall's on fire for the Leafs. And all of a sudden you got Aiden Hill, Gorgiev, a bunch of guys that you're like, I know they've had some success, but are we sure?

And now it seems a little bit more realistic here on upsets. Yeah. That's the way it truly works in the NHL playoffs. It would be, who's got the most points? It would be Florida versus, well, I guess by points percentage. Well, no, they're dead tied with points percentage and points with the Islanders and Red Wings. So it's like, it's a dead tie right now.

But, you know, Islanders, Florida, waste eight days? Or could they put a couple? I would say the difference is Red Wings, Florida. Waste eight days. Yeah, because they don't have the goalie to make that a thing. Like, Sorokin can black out. Yeah. It's the only way you're hanging around that series.

I picked Dallas to win the Stanley Cup. They sit first in the Central. That division is a slog. Dude i'm asking in in that thomas harley and yeah they got their their top three lines are as good as any's yeah and they have of course improved with tan of i'm telling you right now dallas is going nowhere unless jake ottinger goes to another level they are where they are right now, and he hasn't even come close to the Jake Ottinger we saw a few seasons ago almost steal one for the ages.

I looked at his numbers this year. He's in 41 games. He's at a 900 save percentage. No. 295. And look what they save percentage. No. 295 goals against. And look what they're doing. Yeah.

If this guy even comes close to where we think he can get to, then I'm a believer in Dallas. But we're down to, like, goaltending now. I don't love Dallas' forwards like I love some other teams. That decor is very good. Yeah. They need Otten for going. Yep.

We'll do game time on the other side of the break. Okay, we'll take a quick break. And Sammy will give us a little game time. Diving deep into Leafs, Raptors, Jays, and NFL. The JD Bunkers Podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee.

And remember, you can always text us at 590-590 if you got any thoughts on Matt Rempe and his four-game suspension. Sure, we'd love to hear you. Wait. What do you think of the temperatures out there? People want him out of the league, or people are still going, I still kind of like him. Soon as it happened, I tweeted, you know, like, brutal hit, gonna get suspended, just my quick thought.

And what was the response? You know, primarily people being like, I agree, but the Department of Player Safety won't do it because X, Y, Z. But there's one in particular that was like, dumb, dumb take. Like, you know, if you're not allowed to hit people or whatever, it's just like some people want everything this guy does to be okay. Oh, my gosh. He would put the fear of God into half the league coming at them.

Yeah. Once he gets control of that body, he'll put another 15 pounds of muscle on that frame. I mean, you know? And he skates like a missile. I hope he trains a little bit. But I think it's a really, really bad luck to not fight after that.

And to be waving to the bench after getting kicked out of the game. To wave to the bench after not fighting. You're going to have to dance now. And I love it all but i think that's pretty bad i'll be honest with you i'm not sure who it is on the new york rangers but somebody's gotta be there to talk to him like that that yes somebody but the the theatrics the waving right he's just young. He's just a 21-year-old.

But that stuff has to clean up. Because I'll tell you something that reminded me right away was Mark Messier with Ty Domi. Ty Domi came into New York City, Madison Square Garden, same hype, up against Probert, then the heavyweight belt, right? The speed bagging motions. Which, because I love it all. What am I? Hold on.

The core memories of the kid. The riding down the ice on his stick. Yeah. And you know what Mark tells him? Don't do that. You're a hockey player first. Yeah. Okay? Okay. and you know what Mark tells him? Don't do that. You're a hockey player first. No sideshow.

And Ty shut it right down off of Mark Messier. And Rampage cannot allow the waving of the hand bye-bye, that stuff is just no, be a hockey player first.

Yeah, I think that's I don't know if they have that guy. I don't know if Trouba can do that the way Mark Messier could, but yeah, someone's got to tell him. Game time? Game time. It's game time. Presented by Bet365.

Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never an ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. So there's a lot of games tonight. 10, I think, in fact. Some really good ones tonight. Looking fact uh some really good ones tonight

um looking specifically at the really good ones here the florida panthers paying a visit to dallas to take on the stars two stanley cup contenders uh the florida panthers are you know minus 105 dallas stars are minus 115 so a little bit of value, almost even money on the Florida Panthers. I don't necessarily, you know, that's a tough one for me to handicap, but if you're getting the Florida Panthers at almost even money against almost anyone these days, feels like a pretty good bet. So give me the cats, meow, at minus 105 over the Dallas Stars. And the other one that's really good tonight in Carolina, I guess the Rangers in the second half of back-to-back you know coming off the rampy thing maybe a little bit you know

tired uh the Rangers are plus 150 there it's a minus 180 for the Carolina Hurricanes it's a big number maybe Gensel's debut so that's why they've kind of juiced it up a little bit not bad value obviously on the Rangers but that's a really tough spot for them to come in there and get two wins in a row there for me on that one. I think, you know, taking plus odds on the Rangers at any point is pretty good. But that looks like a round two playoff matchup. Not sure who else could come out of the Metro there. Yeah. And I'm looking at this one here.

The Troy Red Wings need a win in the worst kind of way. They are in Buffalo tonight. They are plus 115 against the Buffalo Sabres. I just bet them. Who have you bet? Detroit. Okay. I think this is a really good spot to get the Red Wings,

who have shown to be a pretty good team at times this year, obviously on a cold stretch, but they need this one in Buffalo. There will be a ton of red wing fans there tonight give me the detroit red wings plus 115 to take down the buffalo saber plus money against are they going to kick themselves at the end of the year for for letting the islanders creep in steal their playoff spot you know i feel like so often we talk about streaks and runs of play without looking at the schedule. Like Detroit lost five games in a row or whatever. They lost to Vegas, Colorado.

I don't have it in front of me, but they lost. And they lost to the Islanders in that stretch. Yeah, that was a bad one. Yeah, it started their losing streak. But they played three really good teams. Arizona stung at 4-0. That one stung. That one stung. But I think they played three really good teams. Arizona stung at 4-0. That one stunk. But I think they played three really good teams

there too. Yeah. And they've got Buffalo now twice. They came off beating the Red Wings 8-3. Beating who? The Red Wings beat the Capitals 8-3. And then they lost five in a row, including against the Panthers, against the Avalanche, against the Golden Knights. So they got

Buffalo, Arizona, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Columbus. No playoff teams. Got to mix them. Yeah. Oh, you got to, you got to erase your 0 and 5 right there. Massive matchup against the Islanders March 21st after those games. Like that is a, that's a big one there for them. All right.

That was game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app, play the odds, and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. You mentioned Carolina and Florida. If we were to look at all 32 teams

right now, who has the best defense right now? It's a good question. Vegas? Vegas is top of mind but i like what colorado has now you do i do quite a bit i was i would say colorado because they have kail mccarr and devin taves like it's just the top end of that walker now manson gerrard walker jack joe well i mean they're to play 30 minutes every night in the playoffs. They're going to play the whole game. So, to me, it's still Colorado. Because I also look at Carolina.

And one guy that just is defying all odds is Brent Burns. I watched him the other day. And 20 minutes, he's almost turning 40. He doesn't miss games. Sammy, 39? Yeah, he's getting up there. Brent Burns. Like, what a pickup.

39. What a pickup by Carolina. Yeah. Top pair playing with Jacob Slavin. You know what's great, too, is to play with a guy like Slavin. Let's Burns kind of do his, like, dog chasing tail thing. Did they retain on him? Did the Sharks retain on him?

No. I think they did. I think they did. The Sharks have two years retained, four years retained, and six years retained in their three retainer slot. They kept Pesci. It doesn't sound like he's going to resign, but they're going to rent him.

Slavin. Like, that's a really, really good blue line. Their bottom pair is Dmitry Orlov and that Jalen Chatfield, who they really like. What's Orlov making? Like, $6 million? $7 million? Something ridiculous for a third pair guy.

Yeah. I can't think of a more perfect guy to play with brent burns than jacob slavin i agree probably the best choice in the league i've watched so many of their games i'm like does this guy make one mistake ever like he is so solid quiet just really good and the other blue line that i don't think gets the credit it deserves for being one of the top ones in the league are the Florida Panthers. They're sneaky good back there. They're big and

strong. They lost Ekblad maybe for what, a couple of weeks? I don't know. Yeah, two weeks at least. We mentioned this Forsling who just signed a new contract. Eight-year deal, right? Eight-year deal. Larson's come out of nowhere what a pickup that is everybody's going vancouver included yeah get rid of him get rid of him he stinks he stinks

he fits in nicely montor like he's gonna make a lot of money he's ufa and then this mikula yeah big guy too yeah and you Kulikov's no joke either. They're 70 deep. Oh, boy, are they ever. Where does the Leafs rank in this category? Yeah. That's ultimately the challenge right there, Sammy. Yeah.

No, but, yeah. I think you can make the case that it's the Canadian teams that have a great chance to win a cup this year. None of them have decors that can rival that. The Oilers, a little flawed. The Jets, it's probably their weakness. The Canucks. I mean, the Canucks might have one of the good.

Hughes, Hronik, Cole, Soucy, Zdorov, Juleson. Soucy's a big. I'm missing someone there. Yeah, Zdorov. Did you say Zdorov? Yeah. Okay, sorry. But like, yeah, yeah that's but it's

not quick he's got to be on he's got to have a macar run yeah for vancouver to carry the problem is you have to win your division which they probably will but then you're playing like if you're finishing second like take the oilers you're gonna have to, if you're finishing second, like, take the Oilers, you're going to have to play Vegas, Vancouver, Colorado, or Vegas, Vancouver, Dallas, or, you know, like, it's a real tough. Quinn Hughes is minus 340 to win the Norris's here. Wow. Yeah.

Yeah. So there you go. Yeah, he's on pace for over 90 points still. He's humming along. Hey, did you see this expansion thing, the Anson Carter? Anson Carter, yeah. Yeah, that's been out there for a little while, that Anson Carter had a group.

Did they talk about that on air? I don't know if we did on air. I think we may have briefly mentioned it. Yeah, it's definitely out there that he's got a group that very much wants back in Atlanta. Yeah, they want to do a development that very much wants back in Atlanta. Yeah, they want to do a development that will include an outdoor stadium for soccer, lacrosse, a hotel, retail, performing arts venue, e-sports venue, as well as community and practice facilities.

So it's one of those things where they're looking to develop a piece of the city and include the Atlanta trash. they're rash i'll say this there's there's some issues here there's some some holes that need plugging in the national hockey league but gary batman and bill daly are not short of people calling them up and saying i want in i honestly i can't hear this without feeling some resentment that it didn't happen when i was a player uh you know when they've i would i would have loved for there have been 38 teams in the league that would have been very beneficial for my career my point is hockey is going to get so bad people like me are going to get to be involved and that's not good and i know i know there are certain owners out there that want Gary jumping the fee.

Spike it up to $700 million, $800 million. Keep going. Billion dollar entry. Keep going. $125. Keep going. $1.5. $1 trillion.

What are you talking about? $2 billion? Vegas was $1.5. $1 trillion. What are you talking about? $2 billion? Vegas was $500. But Vegas is worth $175 now. What? No way. Vegas is not worth $500. No.

They're not worth a billion. They're north of that. $2 billion. Listen. Here's my question for all these owners. Larry Tannenbaum's getting out with an evaluation of $8 billion for the Leafs, and that is probably under, it's light. Yeah.

Like, that's where these fees are going, and it's billionaires that are driving this thing up. Do these guys... Don't back up the truck in my ear. Do they need more money? They own a pro sports team worth $1.75 billion. They need to take checks from... Listen, I don't know if it's realistic or not,

but that's where some owners want Gary to go. I assure you that. And that's why people like Michael Handlauer, you know, do backflips to get a franchise for a billion dollars because now they're in line for the next payout. Bet on the wrong horse there. You got to sell it though first, right? What's that?

To hit that payoff, you got to sell it. And in the meantime, you need your tens of millions to carry it. Yeah. But I mean, people have been, I feel like franchises are turning over more than they used to. Like didn't Mario sell his chunk of Pittsburgh? I think Mario is very minimal now and really doesn't have anything to do with the day-to-day

or anything like that. He's very much enjoying his life as he should. To me, this is like the logical way to behave. It's like I even feel this way about Zuckerberg and Facebook. Can you not just separate yourself from it? Take whatever cash you can. Free yourself from whatever problems and lawsuits and whatever. Take your paychecks.

Go play golf. Some guys hate golf. I can't imagine. Not the three of us. No. We're getting close. Yeah. We're getting close. Yeah, we are getting close. Anyways, continue.

Kip, we're going to be missing you the next couple days. I was going to read the statement from Bill Daly. Let's have it. Which one? He put out a statement about... About Atlanta? Yeah. Oh, I want to hear it.

Greg Wyshynski tweeted it out. I mean, the league appreciates Anson's passion for bringing the NHL hockey back to the Atlanta area, and he has certainly kept the subject on our radar screen for several years. Well, we have made clear we have no expansion-oriented process placed currently. It's always good to know there's bona fide interest. So would they have reached out to Anson?

Like, I saw the collection of people, Neil Liebman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports, and Aaron Ziegler of ziegler entertainment group to them i don't know how much anson carter has money wise but i don't presume he's putting 50 million dollars into this i could be wrong so like i was with the ottawa senators that's right so it's like you have a hockey guy who knows how to you know who can help them navigate these waters be be the face of it, that sort of thing. Were they asking you to put in $5 million or what?

$50 million? No comment. Buddy, I'm asking you to buy me lunch today. You might have dodged a bullet there, Kippy. Yeah, so any plans in the near future for you, Kippy? Yes, I'm taking the rest of the week off. I want you guys to steer the ship from here on in. Kip has an upper body injury.

Yeah, scrimp beat it. And he needs to stretch it out by swinging his hands over his shoulders. I really need a break. Yeah, listen, man. I don't blame you. Sammy, will your game time be okay without me? I don't know. You'll have to get somebody in here to do it.

Now that I'm moving over to the big desk, I don't know what the hell to do. You're coming over here? I don't know. You have to get somebody in here to do it. Now that I'm moving over to the big desk, I don't know what the hell to do. You're coming over here? I don't know. I mean, I feel like they're going to make me. Yes is the answer. I feel like they're going to make me, but I don't really want to.

I like it over here. What, are you going to talk to the hole over here? I feel like we should just leave that open. In tribute? I'm telling you right now, I'm demanding it. You got to up your dress game. Oh, my. Wear a suit tomorrow? Yes yes i don't know what it

is but i i this this chair's special well bernie's gonna be sitting in that chair so that's fine yeah that's true we'll take it up yep no it'll be good you had a big night in the nhl we'll have lots to talk about a couple of good hockey games and we'll get kip back next week. Ten games on tap tonight. You pick your favorite one and then you come and share them, your thoughts with JB and our boy Sammy tomorrow on the Real Kipper and Boren Show. Our thanks to Bruce Boudreaux, former NHL head coach. Always fun, eh, with Gabby? He knows his stuff.

All right, boys. Take it away. Rest of the week. I'm counting on you. You've earned it. Perfect attendance until right now. If you get a chance, give us a rating and review. We'd love to hear from you. The Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Have a great night, everybody. We'll see you next time.