Real Kyper & Bourne - Road to the Postseason with Steve Staios + Doug MacLean!

Episode Date: April 11, 2025

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Daniele Franceschi discuss what comes next for the eliminated Canucks before they are joined by former NHL president & GM Doug MacLean (7:00) for his Off-The-Rails Friday appearance! Mac shares his thoughts on the Canucks' disappointing season, owner Michael Andlauer's impact in Ottawa, the Leafs' top line peaking at the right time, and teams with major changes coming in the offseason. Later, Senators' President of Hockey Ops. & GM Steve Staios joins the show (33:51) to reflect on his squad's long journey to a postseason berth, Linus Ullmark's importance, returns on Dylan Cozens and the potential for a first-round Battle of Ontario.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

All right, let's kick it up on this Friday, Off the Rails Friday. At Kiprails, Justin Bourne, Daniele Francesche. We are Real Kipper and Bourne. We are live on Sportsnet. Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver and Sportsnet 960 in Calgary. This hour of Real Kipper and Bourne to you by bet three, six, five. All right. Few minutes.

We'll welcome in Doug McLean, former NHL president, GM author. You have to say that still. Yeah, he, he would like that. I think we all on that. All right. So an award winning author and scholar, Doug McLean. Yeah, he would like that, I think. We all on that. Alright, so... An award-winning author and scholar, Doug McLean. Vancouver Canucks.

Yeah. Mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Even though they were emotionally eliminated long ago. Calgary Flames hanging on. Critical game. Huge game time. Against the Minnesota Wild where they need two points in regulation yeah so they beat Minnesota in regulation they

would be three behind Minnesota with a game in hand basically the water the the flames have four games left they need eight points seven points mate no they need eight points it ain points. No, they need eight points. It ain't looking good. It ain't looking good. The Wild have Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim. Although I will say St. Louis only has two games left. They can only get to 97. Just got to win. Lames, you got to win. Simple as that. Vancouver Canucks, Brock Bester's pretty much... Eagle. Brock Besser's pretty much... Ego. Mm-hmm. Has gone public with his thoughts of,

eh, I'm not coming back. Like, where would you put that in terms of top storylines right now for them moving forward? Well, one of the things that made the Canucks the Canucks is that they had quite a bit of talent there. You know, like it's okay, it's Pedersen, but it's also JT Miller, and it's also Brock Besser, Well, one of the things that made the Canucks the Canucks is that they had quite a bit of talent there. You know, like it's okay, it's Pettersson, but it's also JT Miller and it's also Brock Besser and Quinn Hughes and all these kinds of elite guys.

And all of a sudden, if it's not JT and Besser and it's just Elias and Quinn Hughes, and yes, I understand there's other good players, but I think their ceiling gets lower the more these guys leave. But clearly they're gonna, they're not paying Besser $8 million or $7.5. They're gonna pay somebody else that. They're gonna replace. Think they'll be aggressive? Oh, without a doubt.

Yeah. The only thing is just, you know, UFAs, there's not a bunch of guys out there. Like unless Marner or Sam Bennett go there. Trade? Yeah. Right? You're gonna have to get frisky at that point. You're gonna have to get creative here. But to me, it really just starts with where's Rick Tocket

in next October? That to me, you can talk about personnel all you want. But with Tocket, is he ready to commit to the Vancouver Canucks long-term are they ready to commit to him long-term my question is how does a one-sided option for a coach's contract not how why does it even exist like his contract has a team option I know why would you have that like if you're not in mutual agreement yeah about coaching the season then Who wants that? No? No, I think it's clear that if he if he's not signing anything Between now and they're gonna make a training camp. It's not like you're you come back anyways. Yeah, like that's just

Can you imagine if that happened? She's coming out mails it in, I'm here just here so I don't get fined. What do you guys wanna do for system? Whatever you want. Yeah. Have at it. So obviously, a couple of scenarios are that he hasn't, he wasn't willing to sign a new contract up until now.

So like, what is going on here? He doesn't wanna come back or he wants to come back But they ain't showing him the money. Mmm. Do you think that's possible? Like I think the canucks. Oh, I think it's Very possible not just possible perhaps likely. I Would go almost likely so the if you want me to stay and I've now really If you want me to stay and I've now really truly understand this marketplace and the challenges around it because it is much different than perhaps anywhere else. This ain't coaching Columbus.

It is. Head coach. Babysitter. It's like I add like three or four different boxes you got to check off when you have a guy there. And if you're talking, you're like, I won the Jack Adams last year. You guys put me through an absolute circus. You know, there's an owner and a president and a GM and it feels like all these layers

of people pulling in different directions. It doesn't seem like a fun place right now to coach. So I'd be like, yeah, I'll do it for five. Everything I'm told he can, he should be able to double his salary. So whatever he's making right now, it's going to take a significant amount of money now to get Rick Tocket on a new contract. But Babs got that deal for Babcock for six and a half million, however many years ago, 10 years ago now.

Yeah. What's the highest paid coach probably makes five in league now? deal for Babcock for six and a half million, however many years ago, 10 years ago now. What's the highest paid coach probably makes five in league now? No, I would say I would think that Cooper is up around six. Yeah. So, you know, for talk it I think it's fair to be like, I haven't won a Stanley Cup. I understand that. But neither did Todd McClellan. Right?

He got five. And he got five. Well, that's that's what it is then. You're on Todd McClellan's level. That's the ballpark. Yeah. If it's not five, it's 4.75. I guess that's where it is. You know, I can't claim to have complete inside information on this, but the reputation for

Vancouver is they don't really pay coaches big money. Yeah. Well, then you don't really get to keep good coaches. That's just kind of how paying people for work works You know like yeah, you can go ahead and bring up a guy from the american league and pay him 1.5 He'll be happy to be there. But I wonder how much the situation this year the turmoil I wonder how that factors in I know money is important. I get all that the contract is important, but I do wonder even team building roster I get all that the contract is important, but I do wonder even team building roster

You know how you feeling about the state of where things are with this group who's coming back Yeah, but this roster you you know and if Demko can show Health moving forward it's it's set up to be not that far off And if you want to go and shift gears, Rick, talk it to Philadelphia, you're going to have to wait a lot longer to get where I think it's fair point Vancouver and how quickly you can get to being a first time head coach of a Stanley Cup championship team would be a lot closer in Vancouver than it would Philadelphia. But don't ask me.

Let's ask our next guest who's probably exhausted from pickleball or something I don't know where you been what what? Sammy took his hat off and shaved No, this is disco Dan oh I thought it was Sammy with a cleaned up look I like Tell Sammy it's the best he's looked all year. I want to get you just a minute. But I I'm in a hurry a bit tonight because I told as you know I did a pickleball for an hour and 15 this morning actually a lesson for the pro and then we pickleball less than I had my I

had my 45 minutes swim but I got to play bocce ball on the beach right after 5.30. So I'm, and you know, is it a little bit of leading sideways there too? So we're going to have a little wine and a little appetizers and a little bocce ball on the beach.

So I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to bolt quick. I can't stay around and BS after the show. So like you have a coach telling you what to do in pickleball. Like I can't I cannot believe there's anybody that could ever tell you what to do. Four people play and then one or two go down and get lessons while the rest are playing. And I said, I said, John, I'm going to give you a little tip, buddy. I'm on coach. So give up. That's the point I was making. Don't be worried about me using my back end I'll

keep shifting hands you know I shift hand oh your paddle switcher oh yeah yeah so I said look I'm on coachable I'm like I'm like a few of the Leafs I'm on coachable and I'm you know so he's he's accepted that you know okay so let's shift to the Vancouver Canucks and what kind of shift they need moving forward to get back into the playoffs. And where do you look first, Mack, when you look at the season that they had and where they're heading next season?

Well, look, it's been a really tough grind. You've got the Demko injury situation. You've got the Pettersson Miller situation that was just bizarre to me. You've got an organization that thought they're ready to take a big step and all of a sudden it didn't happen. Use injury late, it was a factor. They're not as good as they thought they were, was another factor.

They're not as good as I thought they were, because I sort of picked them to be a Western contender this year. Now they're faced with the talk at situation. I heard you touch base on that just for a minute, but you know, talk at, you know, I said on this show, if I'm not mistaken, three or four months ago, he'd be in Philly,

he wouldn't be there. Five million? Like, seriously, guys. Five million for guys that have not won a thing? Hardly have gotten to the playoffs? Kipri, I know you like to push salaries. Man, man. Seriously.

Mac, I'm just going with market prices, my friend. I'm the only guy. when I was at Sportsnet You know you're worried about everybody else you've worried about Elliot never you never pushed my salary Scott born today Mac deserves Kelly Doug reserved deserves a raise. I mean it was all you and Elliot I didn't see me and Dam Damien Cox, who used to work for him too. Elliot never pulled up and picked me up in a Porsche. Yeah, that's true.

Okay. Okay. But anyway, look, Vancouver, I'd like to see them get it straightened out. And I mean, I'm sorry, I said the Don Cherry line that I want last time I watched them. I haven't watched them since they had one Canadian in their lineup, one Canadian in their lineup, like wake up boys. Come on. Like let's the US have great players. Europe has great players, but you need you need how many Florida Panther or Vegas Golden Knights are Canadians? How many are from the Western League in Vegas? Come on,

it means something. Anyway. Yeah. There you go. That's like Pat Gillick drafting good old Prairie farm boys for baseball just because they were hard workers. Hey, you know, the owners- Don't get too cocky. Don't get too arrogant, Vancouver. Maybe that's a touch of it. We'll pass that lesson along. So, but I am curious about like the relationship with owners because you've mentioned several times about your relationship in Columbus. And I look at, you know, the Ottawa gets Ann Lauer in the past couple of years here, and now they're starting to have some success.

How does an owner have an effect on the product on the ice? You know, it depends if he's a good owner or a brutal owner, you know. Good owners, I think, can have a real impact. You know, Wayne Izinga was a great owner in Florida because I never heard from him other than when he would give me this Jack Nicklaus tips, you know. But other than that, you know, he was a really low key type of owner. My guy in Columbus was a was a low key type of owner. And our to me has been around the game a long time for Major Junior, American League.

He's got a background in hockey, Montreal. He wants to be an involved owner. And I think he's been a positive impact on the franchise. I really do. He's had his finger all over the pulse as to who he wanted to hire. You know, and he and Staios and them have done a good job. And let's not forget, in fairness to Dorian, there was a pretty good base there. And Kipi and I studied this team in the summer.

They had a really good base there, a really good group to build on, starting with Kachuk and on down. So, you know, people slam Pierre Dorian. Dorian drafted some really good young players there. And they filled in around it nicely. Travis has done a good job. You know what the greatest

thing for the Ottawa Senators are? Making the playoffs in the last two weeks or so without Kachuk. You know what that means to the group? Not that they don't, hey I love Kachuk and they do too, but to make the playoffs without them and to play really well without them bodes well for the Sens going into the playoffs. Their group is confident, are confident because they played without them and won and got in the playoffs and now he comes into the picture and gives them another lift. I like it. As long as Omar keeps playing the way he is, Forsberg has been good, I like their chances. I like how they're playing. So, Mac.

And going back to Antlauer, yeah, I'm gonna say, I know him, just to say hello to him, I've met him a couple of times, I think he's been a very positive factor in the organization. As far as- Not that Nick wouldn't have been.

Nick would have been something, boy. I would have been something. Yeah, they missed the boat on that one. Would have made the playoffs last year. So if we focus on it. And I'd be off this radio show. I'd be headlining Doug. If we stick to the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens who hold those spots right now in the Atlantic division, who may be a bigger threat if the Leafs find themselves playing against one of these two teams? Well, Montreal have got to get in first and they've got to win another game. What is it?

One more game in regulation? They need. Yeah Yeah, we're assuming they're in We're assuming they're in I'm still I'm still got a little tinge of hope for the Blue Jackets But now of course Mersleekins like the the flake Mersleekins is out with a concussion for the rest of the year like seriously There's always something up anyway. Don't get me going on that. Okay. Anyway, you know, so I don't know if the young guy from Cleveland can get it done, although he played really well last night for them. But anyway, look, Montreal's tough. The kid

on the back end, Hudson, I mean, how good has he been? What a, you know, Clark knew him from watching him in Chicago. He's got a whole family, their whole hockey playing family there. The kid's a big time talent and he's really taking it to a whole other level. Demetov is going to be interesting. We talked about him on the show a few months ago. How did Columbus not take Demetov over to Lindstrom? Lindstrom is going to the University of Michigan next year and this kid is, they're meeting him at the airport. With a lot of fans. Yeah, with a lot of fans. And I was told today when I asked him to do hockey, people said, Doug, this guy's a mini Obechkin.

Dynamic skater and silky hands. This guy, he's not the power guy, but he is an amazing talent. So it's gonna be fun to watch if they can slide him in and if he can contribute right away. I had one of the most talented Russians of all time play for me. A couple of them. I had Fedorov as a young player for five years in Detroit.

And I had Jared who may be the most talented player I've ever been around in my life. And one went to the Hall of Fame and the other one went to the Hall of Shame. You know, it's just, you know, let's hope that he's made of the same as Ovechkin and Fedorov were made of. So do you like that, like, John Tortorello would bench Michkov and, like, trying to train, teach him proper habits and whatever,

or do these guys need a bit of a longer leash as they try to make the adjustment to North American hockey? I'll never forget the time I went down to Dave King after, you know, we had drafted Rusty Klesla in the first round and he was a, you know, fourth or fifth overall. He was a real good looking young defenseman out of Brampton. And he played

two minutes in the game. And I went down and I said, Dave, correct me if I'm wrong here. I don't think we're going to win the Stanley Cup. I got a funny feeling we're not going to win the cup. So why don't we maybe play Rusty Klessler? And then the next time I went down, he played three minutes and I said, you know, so I thought, well, there's not much sense saying any more to them. So I fired him. He didn't get that vibe. Isn't it? You didn't get the vibe. Anyway, Dave was a, Dave was a great man. I told you that he was a great man and a really excellent coach. He was a great guy. I, I still really like

him. So, but he doesn't like me as much, but I still like him a lot. Gotta, gotta ask you about the Toronto Maple Leafs and the two versions of the hockey club that we got one against the Panthers and one against the Tampa Bay Lightning and where they headed now Mac towards game one. Florida is a tough place to play you know over a three day period you know because it's there's a lot of things going on in Florida and a lot of this a lot of distractions I face every day. Look I you know I hated their game against the Panthers. It was, it was back to what I've watched too much over the past five, seven years, but the game against Tampa, I only saw the last half of it. I thought they played exceptionally well. I, I think

the Matthews line watching them the night, is currently the best line in the NHL. Currently, the best line. Not from the head of the seat, not from the first, but the best line in the NHL. I'm going to tell you something else. I watched Mitch Mariner really close the last little while. And I would say in the last two weeks, I've watched this kid make seven to 10 unbelievable skill plays to be a major force in the games. So don't be too quick to say, you know, we don't

want Mitch Mariner on this hockey team. He made, I talked to somebody today about him and Patrick Kane and I said, I love Patrick Kane. I love Patrick King. I really do. And I think this guy's got a chance to be a better player than Patrick King because of his all round game, because of what he does on the PK, because he does defensively, he hot plays high back checks and he makes unbelievable plays and he may play defense tomorrow night. Literally. I'm telling you, he is, he has made some amazing skill plays. Nice has been good. He's been physical.

The line has been really, really good. They are going to be tough. They're going to be tough. I mean, they're right there for me as a Stanley cup contender. They're right there. So I want to ask you about another team that I keep a close eye on in the New York Islanders. And just what they're going to do. We have to talk New York, the Rangers and the Islanders like seriously.

Talk about Lamerillo. It's weird, right? Like this, the door was open for one of them to be decent and nothing. Like I turn on the Rangers and flyers and okay the Rangers are going to win tonight. They're going to get back in it and they lose eight five at home. In Sam Rosen's fun farewell by listening to him and JD just kiss. Oh it was like a love festival and I love that. I said, I said to note to JD after I said, JD, congratulations, you and Sam, but the games passed you by man. He was, he was sour. He sent back to Rimmer that all the fans in Columbus still hate me and they love him. We had some fun. We had

some fun, but the Islanders and Rangers are, I just can't figure it out. And like, how can there not be change? I mean, there's going to be changes. It's going to be, it's going to be changed. I believe like I'm hearing Chicago as, as a team that could look at, why would you ever hear that? Chicago look at who? Looking to make major changes. Right. Interesting. Seattle lots of question marks about Ron Francis's future in Seattle. Yeah. Buffalo. Buffalo. I mean there's a lot of yeah. Peter LaViolette his job in with the Rangers a lot of people wondering whether he'll be back next year. So what do we call it in football? Black Monday? Yeah. Right. Where I said, I'll shine up that

resume. I sent to our glannen out after the game the other night, the eight five loss. I said, your old team had a tough night. Oh, I was, I couldn't wait for the reply on that one. I'd love to hear what he had to say. If you want to read it to us, that'd be great. It was like he was celebrating an anniversary or birthday. He was on a high. Anyway, yeah, so yeah, there's going to be a lot of changes and that happens when there's a lot of money and every team's at the cap, every team's spending to the cap,

and owners want results and expect results. And unfortunately, as somebody said last year, there's 14 year olds in Buffalo who've never seen a playoff hockey game. It's in eight years in this town and it just, yeah, they've got to figure it out. Unfortunately, there's parity in the league. It's really tough to make the playoffs and owners want to be in there. What's fair tenure for a coach to say that they couldn't get the job done or they, you know, like Tuckett's been in Vancouver not very long, very long In no block there and Edmonton's been there not very long But the average like length of a coaching job these days is like two and a half years Is that a fair amount of time? I was just gonna say that

at two and a half years Typically unless you're with a good team your jobs job's on the line. At the two and a half year mark, a lot of guys get fired at two and a half years. A lot. I happened to be one of them. And it was, I get fired. We're four points out of the playoffs in Florida. And Brian took over Murray. They won the next game and I was home watching it and them winning and they lost the next

17 in a row. The next 17 in a row they lost. And you know what? I mean, I wasn't happy with it because I love Brian Mert. But look, it's a joke what's going on. It is a joke. Hold on. If I'm an owner and I want to shake things up,

we know how hard it is to get rid of contracts. You guys are not on the salary cap. I can change you anytime I want, doesn't affect it. It's not about shaking things up. I'll tell you what it's about. What? Coaches, or owners get, owners get to hate coaches really fast and they get to hate GMs.

They give, it's a lot longer before you really hate your GM but you get to hate coaches really fast because everybody's in their ear about the coaches. Their hairdresser, their barber, their accountant, their, I mean, it's a joke. You know, I mean, some of the stuff that was said to me like, are you kidding me? He's given my opinion on the coach. So they get to hate coaches really quick. They really do. And you know

what? It unfortunately, it happens to everybody. It happens to everybody. Marty St. Louis is the fifth longest tenured coach in the NHL. He was hired in February of 2022. Fifth longest tenured coach. Yeah, and he's having a great year. Next year at the halfway mark, if they're stumbling, like Nick says, you know, they want to shake things up. It's unfortunate. And I hope that's not the case. And I hate when I see it, but it's unbelievable. And then you got who's the hot guy. Well, we got the guy from Denver. He's the hottest thing to come since sliced bread. I see he lost the other

night. So he is capable of losing Western Michigan beat them. So maybe, you know, I don't know what happens there. Talk. It's a big name out there now, but it's unbelievable. It's a tough profession. And I tell you what, I know what it's like because they pay the price, they do. And Nick's right, it's the other guy. One team I'd like to talk about. I know which one. I know it's your show. I wanna talk about the Winnipeg Jets.

I was just gonna say we need Jets to talk. Well, I watched them last night. They didn't just win the game against Dallas. They dominated the game. And Dallas is a really, really good hockey team. The speed Winnipeg are playing with right now, their tilt, their tilt game or what do you call it, Borny? Yeah, ice tilt. Ice tilt game is unbelievable. And I'll tell you, and everybody talks Hellebuck, everybody

talks Shieffley, everybody talks Lowry. I love those guys. But I'll tell you that and everybody talks Hellebuck, everybody talks Shifely, everybody talks Lowry. I love those guys. But I'll tell you what, Chevy, Chevy has been there 14 years as a gender manager, Kevin Sheveldale. And he may be one of the best GMs in the league. I know he hasn't had playoff success. But what he's done on that back end, That defense right now is playing as well as any defense in the league. And he's got Stan, he brings in Shin, he puts him with Stanley and both of them are monsters on the back end and have really changed the look of the team, really have changed the look, the battle of the team. And then you've got the other guys, DeMello and Morrissey and Samberg's become a really good player. Really good player. So I mean, look, I think they're, they're really good looking team

right now. And can they win it? I often thought they were a little soft or something about them. I didn't like going in the playoffs, but right now, there's nothing there's nothing not to like about this hockey team. I don't know what you know, she's shy flee. We knew he loved the game. We knew he wants to be a GM. But man, this guy's game is gone. So good. So good. So and then you avoid Colorado or Dallas in the first round. That would be nice. Right. Well, which is, which is really a great opportunity. And I'll tell you, you, you, you also miss LA by the way, who, who have you seen them play at home lately? LA. Are you still calling them over the Oilers?

Don't tell anybody in Edmonton that way. Cause I get a ton of hate mail when I say it, but I am. And I hope I, you know it but I am and I hope I you know what I'm picking LA over the Oilers if they play which looks like they will and I I would like to see Edmonton win but who did Connor McDavid play with the other night when his first game back Jeff Skinner and who else Arvidsson maybe like. Like, seriously guys, what is going on? Give me a break. I was in St. Lucia golfing, I don't know. Were you at Cabot St. Lucia?

Yes, I was. He says he played 130 holes. You know that really, that, I get to play Cabot Links, not Cabot, I get to play Cabot Cape Breton. It's really nice. They're good too. It's really good there. By the way, I didn't tell you I played Indian Creek last week but I didn't tell you this. I go to Indian Creek. I get invited to Indian Creek which is that island off Miami where there's 33 homes on the island. Jeff Bezos is there.

Tom Brady just sold his house for 90 million there. Ivanka Trump and Kushner Lee. And Doug McClave, yeah. Everybody's there. So my buddy says, we're gonna play with Steve Tanger. I said, oh, who's Steve Tanger? He said, have you heard of Tanger Outlet Malls? No, the Tanger Outlet Mall?

I said, yeah. He said, well, he's the CEO of the Tanger Outlet Mall. He just retired a year ago. So just an unbelievable gentleman, unbelievable gentleman. And he's a worse golfer than I am, which I really like. So anyway, we finished the game. We have a beer and the thing and then we're getting ready to leave. And I get in my blue SUV sedan and Dorian's with me, my buddy, so I drove. He's a member there. So anyway, we're getting ready to leave in this blue, identical color of my car, royal

blue Rolls Royce pulls up next to me. And Steve comes out and he says, we got to get together with the wives as he jumps into the back seat of the Rolls Royce and drives away. And I thought something wrong. I said, Doreen, can I take a picture of the guy? I just don't know. You can't take pictures here, Doug. Anyway, we had a great time. And I just wanted to tell you, because I know Cabot St. Lucia is nice, but Indian Creek is also. All right. Well, listen, if I'm looking for Don Valley to open up as soon as the weather gets nicer. If you ever get to St. Lucia, I can't get you on Cabot, but there's the sandals next door. Maybe I can pull some strings there. Hey, great stuff as always my friend. Yeah.

And we learned something today. Tell disco Dan or Sammy that if you don't need me on Fridays because you're away, maybe let me know. I was sitting here last Friday waiting for the call and it never came. It was devastating. Really? Sammy was already in vacation mode, Doug. We didn't have a show.

We had no show. We had no show. And I got a ton of mail. Oh, you didn't have a show. I was gonna say I got a ton of mail saying they're disappointed it wasn't on, but you didn't have a show. Okay. Well, listen, we've known each other for- Thanks a lot. You didn't have a show I was gonna say I got a ton of mail saying they're disappointed wasn't on but you didn't have a show, okay

Well, listen, we've known each other. Thanks a lot. Oh, I really appreciate it. Yeah We've known each other for a very long time and I learned something new about you today that you got fired in Columbus by your hairdresser Not whoever did your hair today. Your hair looks great today. I'm going to fire my hairdresser. I don't clean it up a little. All right, ladies and gentlemen, that is the one and the only Doug McLean. All right, guys.

All right. Thanks, Mac. Is he gone? We, we, we got to do game time. We got a break. We got to get the Steyos. We blew through 10 stops. Go, go, go.

It's game time presented by bet three, six by bet 365 visit the app for the latest odds find a why it's never ordinary at bet 365 must be 19 plus Ontario only play responsibly. I'm gonna focus on one game tonight gentlemen, Montreal, Ottawa In Ottawa big big time game tonight the sends obviously clinched the playoff spot earlier this week the Habs looking to clinch his playoff spot Yeah, give me Montreal. Give me Montreal on the my obviously clinched a playoff spot earlier this week. The Habs looking to clinch a playoff spot. Yeah, give me Montreal. Give me Montreal on the monologue. I'm going Habs, six in a row, make it seven tonight. And then they come to Toronto tomorrow on the back, half of a back-to-back.

Get the job done tonight. Plus 145 Montreal Canadiens over the Ottawa Senators. All right, Sen's are minus 170 there, that's tough. Okay, all right, that was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds. Find out why it's never ordinary. At Bet 365. Must be 19 plus.

Ontario only. Play responsibly. All right. Speed it up here and go to break because we got Steven Stoios, Ottawa's senators, president of hockey operations and general manager

and playoff bound next when we return to Real Kipper and Bourne. Hey, it's Ailish Forofar and I'm Justin Cuthbert. Join us as we discuss the most important sports stories of the day and tee up the biggest games of the night. It's the fan pregame 6 PM weekdays on sports, that sports at five 90, the fan in wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the program. As a reminder, this hour of Real Kipper and Born brought to you by Beth 365, Nick, Justin and Disco Dan to close out this Off the Rails Friday. We're going to welcome in soon Steve Stales Ottawa Senators, President Hockey Operations and General Managers of course in a key game tonight Ottawa and the Montreal Canadians where they're led at

least the Canadians are by Nick Suzuki who's closing in on 90 points this season. What a leap for him. You had him as a third line center man. I had him as a top. I said American leaguer. Top, top center man on a Stanley Cup contending team. All right. Let's welcome in Steve Stales, who knows his share of good hockey players lately and ones that enabled his hockey club to participate in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Stevie, thanks for joining us and congratulations

on solidifying that spot. I appreciate it, Kipper. Great to be on with you. Yeah, so tonight you got the Montreal Canadiens, the team still looking to solidify their spot. How do you approach this game and the remainder of the regular season before it starts counting in game one? We want to take the same approach we have all year and get our team ready to play and play at a high level

We've you know, we've played some good hockey this year and as you guys know the season ebbs and flows and you get to your game you're feeling really good and it drops off and We're we're we feel pretty good about our game, but we do feel like there's another level so we want to continue to push and um but this group has been you know they they've been motivated right from the beginning and uh so i expect us to have uh you know really work towards getting to our game because we know in the playoffs it's going to be a different animal and in this particular matchup has not been kind to you all season long I think the Canadians have you at 30 and oh and now it's gorgeous 15 to 6 is Is there any particular reason why that you can think of that? Maybe you can kind of correct tonight? Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, it's it's really interesting to see sort of like we've you know

We you know, we deem sort of the contenders of the top teams and we've played them very well, have been competitive in one games against them. And then, you know, teams are sort of in the mix where we are as a younger group and continuing to develop. And we've had our struggles with a couple of them in particular. So hopefully it's something we can rectify tonight. I don't know if there's any one, one thing in particular that, that it is. So, yeah, it's always a great matchup. I mean the energy in the building is great In in you know, whether we're in Montreal or in Ottawa, so we're really looking forward to the matchup tonight So that's tonight. I want to talk about how you got to tonight

Going back to when you guys when Michael and Lauer took over the team What is the the journey and process been like for you taking on this role and leading this team to to where it is now? Yeah well I think the the approach was we had a lot of things happen to us just in early we're unforeseen and you know you need to you know you need to stay the course. I mean, my plan coming in as president was to take a long hard look at each area of the organization and really do an honest assessment of where we were at and some of the processes we were using at that point. And things got expedited, you know, but Michael had made a change at the general manager position

and, you know, I stepped into that role and, and, uh, so then it was a little bit more on the day to day, but in the meantime, I think we can work at, uh, um, each year of the organization raising the standard. And, uh, you know, we've talked a lot about culture and around our group and some of the things that we want to do and culture as you guys know guys know, is a day-to-day thing. And, you know, it was a long process, and things have turned around here. We've taken a good step forward. We're proud of that. And we've done it, and we feel like,

in most areas of the organization. But we continue to strive to be better, but I think we can all be proud of taking that first step. You're listening to Steve Stale, Ottawa Senator's President of Hockey Operations and General Manager. We know that Brady Kachuk is out of the lineup, four games to go.

My first question is, if game one was this weekend, would he be in the lineup? And number two, can we expect a few more bodies to be rested up between now and then? Well, I think everybody knows Brady's character and what he's all about. So I guess I don't have a definitive answer, but I do think if tonight was game one, I would, I would, I would see him just with who he is as a competitor, making himself available and coming into play.

Um, it's always a fine line. The second part of your question is, is it time to rest some players? I talked a little bit earlier about trying to get to the top of our game. I think it's a sort of a delicate kind of process. We've got to look at each individual and how they're feeling. But certainly, I think there may be some players that could benefit from rest. But at the same time, I think playing these games and staying competitive and getting to a higher level are important as well. Absolutely. So, you know, in terms of important people, Linus Almark seems to have been a bit of a revelation in the second half here in particular. I mean, the difference in having that belief in your guys is goaltender Is it as simple as chalking up? Olmark as as the major difference on the ice and your guys success this year. I

Think it's a major factor without a doubt. You know, one of the things that it was a you know, we have an honest assessment I think our goaltending wasn't wasn't good enough last year, but wasn't good enough last year, but there's the element of the play in front. And I think Travis Green and the coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for the way that we play, the commitment on the other side of the puck. And we're taking pride in defending and that goes hand in hand with for our goaltenders as well. Because when the structured defensive system that we play,

when we do break down, I think it's a little more predictable for our goal tenors to be able to read. So it's not as erratic in front of them. So I think it goes hand in hand. But certainly, Linus was a target of mine. Getting back to the deadline, you start looking at how often you get an opportunity to be able to acquire a

goaltender of that caliber and so I stayed on it through the offseason and ended up getting him in and that was one of a few things that we really pinpointed that we felt that the team would need but certainly that was number one on our list. Oh Mark we've seen portions of this season when it's it's been all world for him but he has not been able to play probably the number of games that you of portions of the season when it's been all world for him. But he has not been able to play probably the number of games that you would have expected for a guy

that's making that type of salary. And that's no fault to his own, but Forsberg's almost knocking on 30 games played as well here. But in a perfect world, are we at that place where maybe we're not talking about many more games from all mark even if he was healthy what's what's what's a nice number for you for starting goalie now I think that's a good question I think you know and Linus is you know he's a world-class goaltender and is is

preparing himself for that workload and this was you know, we want him to get to that workload where he's comfortable, where we can put him in for, you know, as many games as he can play. It's so different than it was in the past. And he certainly needs some support as a backup goaltender to be able to come and play those games. But now we're pleased with Linus. He went through the one injury that he dealt with well

and came out of it. But the spotlight's on the goaltenders too. I mean, there's players that go through stretches where they're playing either a little necked up or they're not playing to the top of their game and it just gets magnified when you're in the goaltender position. But certainly I think there's other qualities

that Linus brings to us as well. And some of that experience through his time and with you know with the Boston Bruins I think there's a leadership component there. Certainly I think our players feel confident you know when he's around and certainly when he's in the net. Steve there's I'm sure plenty of times where as a general manager you want to do something but you kind of got to wait for those right opportunities like being a batter and in baseball wait for your pitch you guys at the deadline made it took a significant cut right down the middle the cousin swap for Norris how have the returns been on that move so far we so

we feel good about it I think you know we traded a good player away for another good young player and we certainly Dylan Cousins we we traded a good player away for another good young player. And we certainly, Dylan Cousins we feel is a good player for us now. And we really do like the upside of the player. And he brings us a bit of a different element down the middle of the ice with the size and the strength and the offensive ability. So he fits in well. And, you know, for what we were able to do at the deadline

and freeing up enough space to go and acquire Fabian Zetterlund, we felt like it added another NHL player on our roster, some goal scoring, some five-on-five scoring play as well from a guy like Zetterlund. And also, like I said, with cousins that there's upside there. So I think that both these players

are just sort of scratching the surface. They're everyday NHL players and they're good ones right now, but we feel like they can continue to build on their game. Steven, we know there's four more games left in the regular season, but if the Dominos fall the way we think they might follow then yeah, maybe a battle of Ontario. You know, you being from this area could probably appreciate that. Any thoughts on it this early? Well, yeah, I mean, it's how exciting would that be? I mean for both fan bases that would be incredible. You know, I think that this was

us taking the first step in qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs. At the end of the day, we're going in as underdogs in round one, no matter who we play. And the teams that we could potentially play have had some playoff experience and, you know, a bit of an older group with more experience. So we understand where we're at. But it's hard not to believe in this group. Like, we faced some adversity this year. You know, we've had some times where our play wasn't up to standard and then the questions start getting piled on them

and they come out of it and they've done that. And so to me, that's a sign of a good strong team. And sure, we don't have, we're lacking some experience, but we're certainly excited about the opportunity of whomever we get to play in the first round Well, listen don't look any further than tonight. We wish you the best of luck and we look forward to watching you Participate for the first time in what seven years? Congratulations. I Appreciate it guys. Thanks. Yeah, thanks for your time Steve Stales Key architect to the Ottawa Senator season.

Good stuff. All right, so it's come to my attention. Like during the show, and we got this jersey thing going now. Lots of positive vibes. People are contributing. Disco brings us Brampton in. Yeah, David S says video coach there Okay, and now you guys drop a bomb on me. Yeah, so don't would L came on our show

Yeah, and he we talked about the jerseys behind us. He's wearing the Canon thing. We're like dawn We'd love to get a sweater. Yes, and dawns a great guy He went and he gentleman he bought one with his own money and then he folded it And he put it bought one with his own money, and then he folded it Money yep, and then he and then he and then he put it in a box and he mailed it himself Stop it right now. All right. I don't know if that's what happened thought but anyway Sam. He lost Jersey Let's listen. Let's say he told bunk on Leafs talk after the last game. I haven't even seen it yet So anyways Don Waddell gets in touch with me. Oh, he we go. And he's like, hey, we're coming to Toronto.

Could you come by morning skate, and I'll give you this jersey. And this morning I woke up, I'm like, yeah, I was texting with the PR guy. I'm like, yeah, no problem. So I went down to Scotiabank Arena this morning, and I met Glenn, the Jackets PR guy, fantastic guy. We had a five, the most like, you know,

transactional, sorry, transactionalional conversation. All you guys are in tough tonight, blah, blah, blah, just classic to hockey guy conversation, sugar hands, hands in this beautiful bag with the new version of like the jackets jersey. And it is inscribed with Don Waddell's name on it. And there's a note in it. There's a note in it, which is incredible, which is incredible. Okay.

I'm on my way home. I went and got my hair a little cut before I go to Hawaii. Got the sides a little high and tight, left the back as you know. I am going to Hawaii tomorrow. Anyways, I get on the Dufferin bus and I'm going up to Bloor. I get off the bus and like, I'm about to go down the stairs and I'm going up to up to to uh, war. I get off the

bus and like I about to go down this the stairs and I went, oh my god, the Jersey. Oh my god, the Jersey. And I turned around and like the doors were closing. And I looked at the I made eye contact with the driver. I went bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. They rip out gone. Like she like she ripped buddy I've never ran harder I'm sprinting like full Usain Bolt when's the last time you sprinted when's the last time you sprinted it's so hard it's very tough yes I was hauling ass I've never ran harder in my life then there's this light up ahead. Okay. And it's like if this light goes green, you're done. You're cooked. There's just no shot. And it jackets jersey in a blue jackets bag is somewhere

on the Dufferin bus line. So there's gonna be somebody in Toronto. If you're listening to this and you saw that bag or you work for TTC, Kipper is going to kill me. I don't have any excuse. I wasn't like I wasn't like I was in a drunken stupor. Like it was I had two have any excuse. I wasn't like I wasn't like I was in a drunken stupor like it was I had two things with me I had an umbrella and this bag and I just left the bag and I'm just dude. I almost cried

I was like, I can't believe I just did that I can't believe I just did that and I have to text on with Dal and explain I'm Devastated. Oh, so there you go, buddy Oh, there you go, buddy. You know what? Actually, this is perfect. The embarrassment is your punishment. For four years, this man has carried on certain portions of our show on conversations about a jersey.

And I tell him, I don't care about jerseys. I don't care about colors. I care about nothing. Nothing. And then Don Wardell comes on and I go, I like that jersey. And he's kind enough to say, I'll get you one. The one time you've cared care the one time I care Sammy loses it

Okay, and I am gonna kill you All right, I am and I plead with anybody out there who has this Jersey return it to us and we won't file charges. I mean, what? Who would want that? But us? You know what I mean? Like a Columbus. Okay. We'll get you something in return. Okay. We'll get you something in return. Greedy boring. They see it. They're like, that's interesting. It's the cannon too. It's the cannon Jersey.

I get a sicker real kipper and boring swag. I can't get the masters on today. And then five minutes left in the show, you guys tell me, Sammy lost our blue jackets jersey. I got good news. It's the weekend. The master's weekend. Wow. You got a TV at home, don't you?

Wow. All right. So listen, I want to give a shout out to Nicholas Blackmore. He is a content creator here. Every weekend he does the best of Real Kipper and Born. And it's fantastic. People tell me they love it. He's gonna play it, he's gonna put the portion in where I want to kill Sammy.

And big shout out to him. Thanks a lot, we appreciate it. Pretty fast week. Hey Disco, great job sitting in. Thank you fellas week. Hey, Disco, great job. Thank you, fellas. Great week, everybody. Have a great weekend. We're back on Monday. Real Kipper and Bourne.