Real Kyper & Bourne - Sabres on the Brink, NHL Fines Tortorella + Doug MacLean!

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

Former NHL President, GM and head coach Doug MacLean (5:04) joins Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne for Off-the-Rails Friday! Mac shares his thoughts on the Canadiens pushing the Sabres to the brink,  why the Leafs should consider trading down in the draft, what went wrong for the Wild against the Avalanche, the league's punishment on the Golden Knights after John Tortorella shunned the media, what the Leafs should look for in their next head coach, and whether the Panthers can swing for Brady Tkachuk in a trade centered around the ninth-overall pick. Later, Nick, Justin and Sam McKee answer your questions on the text line! The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

All right, let's get her going. Off the rails Friday. It's the national hour of the Real Kipper and Bourne show. We are live on Sportsnet. Sportsnet, 5,000 in California, 960 in Calgary and streaming always on Sportsnet. Plus, if you miss our show live,

Spotify, Apple, podcast, and YouTube. This hour of Real Kippenboron brought to by Bet365. Nickyield's Justin Bourne. Sammy McKee, a few minutes. We'll welcome in from P.E.I. He made the trip. If he's got time for us. I think the,

the mobile home didn't blow a tire on the way back. Good. Our very own Doug McLean. We'll get into a ton of things, including the Montreal Canadians being a game away. There's as close as can be now. We've got three teams off to the conference final. Golden Knights and Carolina and Colorado, three of the top four teams. And the expected goal for percentage, or expected goal percentage.

We've got to walk of shame right now. happening. And he's trading it in for a Montreal Canadian jersey. 6-3 last night. Lane Hudson's a star. I'm not sure how many deer better than did we not feel like, you know, based on dobbish, three out of four shots

in that like, it was Buffalo's night. I'd have pulled him for sure. You would have. Oh my God. You would have had every reason to. It was just like this guy's clearly not focused. Like, you know, puck, the last one went through him was enough for me. So any other goalie outside of Dobish, because of what he's been able to do so far,

would have gotten pulled. I think so, too. At that point, do we have Mac yet up there, boys or no? Okay. Play Martin, Derek, if you could. Play Martin St. Louis, clip two on his decision to not pull Dolbisch. Well, ultimately, it's probably my decision. Right?

But it's, I feel like the goalie position is probably the one position that I can't help much, you know. And so I try to stay out of it, right, and not be emotionally driven and being upset the word down. Like the first period was chaotic on both sides, right? And so, yeah, Trevor radioed up top to our goalie coach, Marco, and he made the, the call. It was a very quick call too. He said, no, keep it in. Okay. Let's move on. So, you know, I feel like you have to empower the people that are actually, like,

certified for the position. And that's what I did. God, Marty St. Louis rules. I like it and I don't like it. No? Yeah. Go ahead. Coach. Make the call. Thank you. No. Well, that guy knows better than you.

No, no. The call can be. Tell me the guy who knows. You can absolutely go through the same process. Yeah. But at the end of the day, it's not his call. It's your call as a head coach behind the bench. It is. So you can say, I agreed with him and I trust him, and then I made the call to leave him in.

Well, but that did happen whether he goes through that whole process or not. He did say I trust him enough. He didn't articulate it that way. If the goalie coach says, ah, tough call, whatever, I'd leave him in. I'm not really. or certified to make that call. That part I don't like because as a head coach, you should be qualified to make the final decision

on whether or not your goalie needs to stay in or come out. Yeah, it's just such a specific position that is so different. And the goalie coach knows his guy, works with them so well every single day. I love the idea of being like, this is the guy who knows. It's hilarious how terrified of the goaltending position every hockey guy is. Yeah. That's not a goalie. They're like, I don't know.

I love the empowerment. I love when someone says, I empower you for sure. But if it's, if it's the wrong call, you should eat it as a head coach. Totally. Not your goalie coach up there that is 200 feet away from the bench. I love that it's not after a loss. Like, let's say Dobish was terrible the rest of the way. And he goes, I was thinking about pulling him.

I pulled it, called up to the goalie coach. He said leave him in, so he left him in. He gave up three more and we got torched. then you kind of hang out he didn't bury him at all he waited till they had won he didn't give up a single other goal and then he gave credit to that guy maybe he had warned it if he had lost whatever the call was it ended up being the right one because he battled back he made a great save i think late in the period and then he was lights out and the the thompson breakaway could have changed everything for buffalo and he shut the door there yeah buffalo had the puck and off a lot

but just couldn't create those super dangerous plays. Okay, let's welcome him in. It's Friday. It means Doug McLean. Former NHL president, GM and head coach. Back home. There's that painting. Back home, comfortable.

I recognize it. You good? I got two pictures up. Okay. You good? I'm perfect. New glasses? New style.

New style. Styling, yeah. Are you styling as much as the Montreal Canadians these days? I'm going in tonight to the Centennial Cup quarterfinals. I'm dropping the puck tonight, so I have to be up at 520. So the Western Capitals playing Truro in the quarterfinals and Somersides. So 10 teams here for the Canadian Junior A Championship. It's unbelievable.

Is there room in the city and the hotels for that many teams? Well, they've got a 5,000-seat arena, which is maybe the, the nicest arena you could ever imagine. So it's a terrific facility. The town's excited. So I'm looking forward to going in. I was the, I was the original Western Capitals coach.

Hard to believe this, but we started the franchise 45 years ago. Wow. And I coached in the first three years. Is that unbelievable? Well, you throw your gum at the referee on the ice just for good old time's sake, just to make you feel like your. But Jill was walking out of the rink.

I was coaching one night. This was early on, maybe my second year. And the fans were grumbling about the team. And Jill looked at them and said, with fans like you, you know, we don't need fans like you. And the guy looked at her and said, the coach is an idiot too. That ended Jill's confrontation with fans.

Marty, Say Louie, didn't look like an idiot when he left Dobish in last night. What would you have done on three goals, on four shots? I would have been phoning, I would have been telling the assistant coach to get Rick Wamsley on the line and tell me up in the press box, tell me what is going on in the net. And Marty let up, and, you know, obviously the goalie coach said to leave him in. And it was a good move. The kid's been so good throughout the playoffs. But last night, I was a little nervous about how he was playing.

I was happy, kind of happy for Lindy how he was playing. And I didn't like the goaltending really on either team last night. You know, I just, I think all of a sudden lions has dropped the ball and I'm not sure that this guy can get it done. So it's pretty frustrating. Montreal, Montreal look real. I know Buffalo's skilled, but Montreal looks skilled. They look fast.

They're dynamic on the back end with Hudson. And, you know, I mean, I just, I think they're, I think, I think maybe they're too much for Buffalo right now. I mean, even the games they've lost, they've dominated. The power play sputtered a little bit. But I really enjoyed the game. I mean, it's great hockey to watch. Are you surprised by how effective Lane Hudson has remained in the postseason,

despite his size and age? I don't know, but did I not pick Montreal to go to the finals? Did I, am I, did I miss, did you guys miss that? Montreal versus Minnesota. We burn all tapes of you prior shows, so we don't know. So you want to take that. question back, right? Borny, you're not going to re-ask that question. I think I think he did. I've seen and heard him a lot because he was a Chicago kid.

Yeah. That, you know, when Clark was there, we used to see him. And then he, you know, he went to college in Boston. And he, I mean, he played all over. He was running all across the country. His father was a real hockey fanatic, obviously with two kids, like the way they are. But he's a dynamic force. He's special to watch right now. I mean, look, you look at the top offensive defense. I get a kick at it, by the way.

Listen to the, well, we're going to play a more possession game in Toronto. Well, you know how you play a possession game? You have to get the puck into your own end with guys that can make sense. That's where it starts, okay? So when you get some dynamic guys like these guys, give me a call. All right. Unless McKenna takes it end-to-end every shift. I don't know. Maybe he's Canada.

Oh, I can't wait to get your... Yeah. Okay. So from one Canadian storyline in Montreal to two other ones, Toronto and Vancouver, you pick. Well, I'm happy for Ryan Johnson. I really am. You know, I had him as a player in Florida.

He was a draft pick of ours. He didn't play with us, but he was a draft pick. And I used to go to North Dakota and watch him. I had his brother Greg. with us in Detroit and, you know, it was a terrific, terrific family. So I'm really happy for Ryan. I love to see guys like that get their chance when they paid their dues.

I think he's a good man. I think he's got a great attitude. I think he's a, he's up on what's going on in the league, a quality person. I really like the pick. I really do. And now it'll be interesting to see what he does, you know, with,

with Adam. Hopefully he keeps Adam foot. But, you know, maybe, you know, he's had Mahalter for, a couple of years. Maybe Mahaltra goes there. Who knows? But I haven't really Vancouver, you know, it's been such a gong show the last few years.

It's, you know, it's, it's been a disaster to watch how that team went from where they were. And we've talked about it on this show many times. Where they went from three years ago to where they are today, three to four years ago, it's a sad scenario.

It really is. So, you know, it'll be fun to see this, Cedines. They, they follow the Toronto model. They brought the Cedines in and, you know, they're going to be the co-presidents and, you know, so it's a feel-good story right now, much like Toronto. The only thing both teams need is

a lot of players to make them better. Hey, I don't think you think Toronto's a feel-good story. I think you're being cynical. Well, you know what? I just, I get a kick out of, well, they're going to play a puck possession game and they're going to play this style. I'm thinking

And they've got to, first of all, look at the UFAs that are out there. Charlie Coil went, so that's a big loss. He's the number one centerman that was available. And I know you guys are talking Vincent Trochuk, and I'm thinking, oh, my God, did I not watch enough of that last year with the guys they brought in last year? And I don't mind Vinny Trochuk, but come on. Anyway, if they're going to bring in this genius coach that I keep, I mean, I know they got the genius GM there.

So now I want to see what genius coach are going to go. And all of a sudden, it's like they can't get the puck going out of their own zone. They can't defend. And they got a problem with Matthews. And when I listen to SportsNets guy talk about Neelander's attitude to the coach and they're going to, you're going to win with these guys? And you're, oh, he's firing the puck in practice. And he's not, he's acting that way towards a coach that's.

It's won a Stanley Cup. And now we're going to go with their fourth coach. There needs to be some real straightening out going on. And I suspect Chica and Matt's will get it done. So we'll see what happens. So you've experienced first overall picks, tempted if you were part of the Leaf Management team to move down, get a defenseman that you sounds like you desperately want.

What would you do? I've been told in the last couple of days that they, really believe the top 10 picks are going to play in the NHL. And there's a group of really good defensemen in that mix. And there's lots of people very excited looking at the top 10. I get McKenna. I didn't hear good vibes from the world junior, but that doesn't matter. The kids, the kid's a good player.

He's got a chance to be a star. But, you know, can you move down and get a real bona fide number one defenseman? I mean, you look at what Hudson does, you look at what the defense does in Carolina, you look what the defense does in Colorado, you look what the defense in many have done. I mean, losing Brodeen was devastating and losing, they might have given Colorado a hack of a run

if they wouldn't have lost those two players. So it was a hack of a series. So there's just so much work to be done with their roster construction that, you know, I'm hoping it's going to go well for them, but they've got a lot of things that have got to, that have got to work for them. I'm telling you.

How much pressure is there with, like, picking the consensus guy? Like, you don't want to go off the board. Like, let's say the Leafs are like, look, we just happen to like Vigo Bjork or we happen to like Carson Carroll's. Like, how much pressure is it to say you don't want to pick the guy

that everyone says is the guy in McKenna and be wrong? I think, especially with a guy like Chika who hasn't been in the league in six or eight years, I think you've got to go 100, percent with your with your scouting staff and you know obviously they will meet with mark a ton over the next of a while leachie's a good man he's done a really good job in dallas we'll see what happens here but i think i think you've got to defer to him on these on these picks especially

when you've got guys that haven't been in the league uh for quite a while so it's a big decision you know it's tough to go by mckenna but the Swedish kid is good and then look at the big group the big defensemen that are out there. And I'm telling you, teams want to be in the top nine really bad, really bad. So, you know, there's some deals out there. But how do you go away from a potential franchise player like the big defenseman or McKenna? Tough to go by that. You're watching and listening to Doug McLean, former NHL president, GM head coach,

and star of Off the Rails Friday. Mack, we just watched. The Minnesota Wild in Colorado, really entertaining series, but Minnie was maybe Vincent Trochick short of really pushing Colorado. Can anybody beat Colorado when they're on the top of their game? I thought they were, I thought Eck was a major loss for them. This guy has been really a valuable player for them. And Brodine was a major loss for them.

And all of a sudden, you're playing youths 34, 35 minutes. A lot to ask. But Colorado is a wagon right now. I mean, McKinnon has got it going. Isn't it amazing? People talk about how Colorado were built. They got three of their own draft picks on their team. Three of their, and pretty good ones.

McKinna, Landis Skog, and McCar. I think that's the only three of their own draft picks they have. So pretty interesting in the way the team has been constructed there. CMAC has done a good job. And he likes data, but he's not data. driven, you know? You've got to be data driven now. He's just a data guy, not data driven, you know.

But I like their team a lot. They're going to be tough to me. I don't know what that means. Do you think, so Carolina's sitting at home, they're likely to get Montreal. The layoff could stretch up to 11 days. At some point, it becomes a disadvantage, no? Yeah, I think it does. And look, I have a hard, I look, they have played really well.

Rob, Rod Rendemore, to me, is. it's a special, special guy and a special coach. And I think they've done a heck of a job there. I just, I don't, I'm still really nervous about their goal attending. I know Freddie was really good. I get that. I just don't know that they're going to be able to match up. I hope, like I was wrong 100% out of Watt to them in the first round.

They played real well. Philly, I understood. I would have picked Carolina to beat Philly, but I really liked how Philly was playing. Yeah, you're really. right. I think the layoff becomes a factor and I'm still not sold. I love their back end.

I love a lot of pieces up front and I'm still not sold on Freddie Anderson as a Stanley Cup goalie. So we'll see what happens. Just when we switched over on the hour, you told me that there was a significant breaking news on John Tortorella. Can you share it

with us? Yeah, massive news. So they didn't come out after the game and do any media and the NHL has docked them a second round pick in the upcoming draft and $100,000. So, yeah, I mentioned this to Nick earlier. Like, what, what was towards thinking about? I don't get it.

I saw it last night. Like, I heard about it last night. I'm thinking, like, what is? Did the media suspend Braden McNab? So he comes, he, he, he, he, he, he's, he's Mr. personality, wonderful. And then he gets a few wins, and then he gets a little goofy. And as Bruce Garriott tweeted today,

the minute he gets fired, he's trying to get a media job. Maybe they should be a little tougher on him next time he's looking for a media job when he gets fired. But I'm just shocked that he would do that in a series clinching game when you won the series. And you've come in with four games left in the season. And you do that? And you're doing it to your own media. I mean, the Vegas media guy was the guy that was most upset. I don't understand it.

So I'm glad he got dinged. A second round pick, that's, that's really ugly. We just watched, we just watched Ottawa fight tooth and nail to get their first rounder back. And on, on what true grounds, is it worth it to you, Vegas, to lose your second round pick now? That's got to be devastating to the scouts. You know, this is a team that's traded away a ton of picks, you know. Look what they gave up for, you know. They obviously trade it Suzuki and, you know, to Montreal for Patcheretti.

And they've made big, big pitches and given up a lot of picks. And all of a sudden you lose a second round pick for stupidity. I just don't get it. I don't get it. It's like so many stupid things. I watch in the show in Edmonton where they asked for permission to talk to Cassidy. They haven't fired Knoblock. Then Tororella doesn't talk to the media.

Oh, thank God Toronto don't have a coach yet. What is going on out there? Have you weighed in? Who should it be? What are these guys thinking about with these acts? You know, I don't get it, you know? Anyway. Who should leave Sire, Mac? Who should Edmondson hire?

Coach. Oh, you got to go. I'm sort of, I think I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Cassidy ends up in L.A. That wouldn't be surprised. L.A. I don't see him. I don't see him going to Edmonton. I really don't.

I don't see him. I'm not sure Toronto, but I wouldn't be surprised that Kenny Holland will make a big time play to get Cassidy in L.A. I wouldn't be surprised. I just think that, you know, he's lived in Vegas.

Boston. I think that L.A. I, you know, right now, I know McDavid, I know Drysidal. I had to chuckle what, Nugent Hopkins, this will be his 10th coach. 10th coach, 15 years.

Like, seriously, what is going on? So anyway, I just my own thinking, you know, I'm looking at the lease and I was thinking about, you know, I've obviously heard Mandy Mahaltra. I've had him as a player. Trevor Lutowski, a guy in Montreal who's paid his dues, a quality, quality guy. I had him as a player in Columbus, a real solid kid.

Oh, yeah. He's done a really good. good job there with Marty St. Louis. Halpern in Tampa Bay is a good, solid coach. He's got a presence on the bench. He's been around Cooper for a long time. I think these are some guys that can be considered. Carl, Carl, is not, I don't believe that that's going to happen with Carl going to Toronto.

But who knows? And then there's some good quality veterans out there. Like, did I hear the coach that was in Toronto like five, seven years ago that was there at the end of the season? What's his name? He's a sister in the island. Peter. What?

Capiano. Jack. Yeah. Jack. No, come on, guys. I mean, seriously. Jack's family watching the show potentially. I play for Jack in the American League.

And, hey, I really like him and I respect him. But come on. What are we? What's going on here? Okay. So what do you do, Mac? Young, fresh face. Go get a muse, like in Pittsburgh for the Leaps.

What do you do? Well, when Muse got the job, everybody, laughed about it when he got the job there. I happened to watch him because he was in the USHL in Chicago for a long time. He was assistant in Nashville. He was with Labulet with the Rangers and Nashville. I think I think it was I think that's maybe the sort of guy you look for, but I would look for a guy with maybe a little more NHL experience. And it's not going to be an easy job boys. It's like, okay, we got the first overall pick with McKenna. But man, oh, man. man, this is a bad, this was a horrible hockey team.

And the UFA group is horrific. I mean, really, how much can you improve your team? And their back end is really in horrific shape. The goaltending is suspect because they're in, not because they're not good enough, because they're injured all the time. And you've got problems with your leadership group. So this is a big job.

And I think you're going to need some experience to deal with it. So, you know, we'll see what happens. Everybody wants fresh blood and everybody wants to, everybody says, well, they're moving away from the regular GMs and they're going with more analytic type guys. And I'm looking at GMs today and I look down with this, Brisbane, Garen, Hughes, Breyer, Sweeney, Stales, Darsh, McFarland, Verbeek.

These are some of the best GMs in the, Jimmy Nill, McCrimmon, Zito. I mean, these are the best GMs. in the league. And they're, and they're multi- multifaccented. They're not just analytic guys. They're multifacent guys. And they're

quality people. And all of a sudden, I'm saying, well, we really like Evan Gold because he's got a lot of degree. And, you know, he's data-driven. He's negotiated contracts. Like I'm thinking, guys, you've got a team construction is what it's all about. The number one job is to

construct your team. And it's a big job. And especially a big job with what the Leafs are facing. J.B. said now, Duke Carolina, they're a wagon, 8-0. We got to let, Mac, you got to go drop a puck. You got to go drop a puck. Are they going to wait for you? One final thing.

Yeah. Think about this. Everybody's trying to get in the top 10. Florida has the ninth pick in the draft. Okay. Okay. Where is Brady Kachuk going to want to go? Think about this.

The ninth pick of the draft. the draft. The top 10 guys are great players. To Florida. Florida will never have another top 10 pick for two or three years. This is the time when you've got to move on Florida. You pick up a couple of quality players. You pick up the ninth pick. And you know Brady wants to go to Florida. You know he's going to probably go there within it two years.

Two years is the magic number. I heard you guys talking about that. The two playoff series. I wouldn't be surprised. that Brady Kachuk is in Florida. You've heard something. I'm not a rumor guy.

I'm just scanning their roster for who else. On our show, when you end the show like that, you are that guy. No, you are that guy. I promise, I didn't hear it from Bruce Garriott because he's never given me one scoop. Hey, when you drop the puck,

is it like rolling and is it going to like roll into the corner or are you nice crisp fly? I'm like a puck's hard. They said, they asked me if I could wear a Western Capitol's jersey, you know, when I get there because they wanted to know if I do, put a jersey on. I said, well, how's that going to make Truro feel, you know?

Yeah. And they said, we don't, we don't care about Truro. So anyway. Well, welcome. Welcome back to PEI. Yeah, I'm really excited about it. Okay. Anyway, guys, hey, guys, thanks a million for allow me to come on a little bit early

and leave a little early. I know it's not my contract, but, you know, I think I, got everybody excited in Toronto about how it's going to go this summer. I think things are really taken off. Sammy McKee has got to be so excited. It's thrilled. Okay.

I'm excited for the weekend. Now, now press end on your phone. Take care of guys. It's the red one, Matt. And you're gone. Oh, wait a lot. Oh, there it is. See you later.

Thanks. Oh, my God. It's like trying to talk my parents into like how to program the VCR and get it to stop blinking 12 The VCR. Reminds me of my buddy I'm talking 20 years ago.

I'm talking 20 years ago. Yeah. With the Blu-ray player. I'm scouring the Panthers lineup being like, okay, 9th and what? You know what I mean? Like you can't, 9th's not going to get you Brady and Chuck. No, you got it.

No. No, no, you need two pieces off that. Yeah. But you can't ask for Sam Bennett because he won't go. But that's the type of guy you'd ask for. Yeah, would you? Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

But what other name potentially? I mean, Eckblatt? Do you want any of the... He signed for less. He signed for less. And I think he got his no move. The young guys.

Luserainen. Those names you just brought up. Listerranean. We're heading the right direction. Yeah, Luster Rane and Lundell are obviously very good. but there, well, Lundel is 24, so that's, he's got some appeal. Oh, Lundel, I take him all day long. God, he's, he's good, but like if you're Ottawa, you need top end elite.

You can't, I mean, no, no, no, that's, that's your second line, second line centerman. Yeah, shut down guy who can score, who can put the buck in the net. You don't need any. I don't think they give him up. You want Samiskevich with that? I don't know. Yeah. All right, there you go.

Lundel Samiskevich at nine. How'd we do? I think you'd maybe the next year. Next first? Yeah. Right? Florida has their first this year and then not the next year, not the year after. Oh, really?

Yeah. Some seconds, though. Lots of seconds. Little game time, Sammy. Sure. It's game time. Presented by Bet 365. An official partner of the NHL must-in-9-plus.

Ontario only, please play responsibly. A off-night in the Stanley Cup playoffs, there is no games tonight, which makes me incredibly sad because we're heading towards one game-a-night territory. This is the official first night of the, uh-oh. Yeah, we're losing hockey. Yeah. But tomorrow night, Saturday night in Montreal with a chance to advance to the Eastern

Conference finals, I mean, that city is going to be on fire tomorrow. Yeah. That is as electric a town can be. The Montreal Canadians are huge favorites in the game tomorrow night. They are minus 160 on the money line. Buffalo plus 135. I can't imagine a harder environment to go into than tomorrow night in Montreal. that it's going to be just I got to tell you though I love this for Buffalo and their rebuild and their direction get Zach Benson in that environment get Dalline get all those D-Men in this environment pressure second round Montreal this is good for them yeah for the record they have not handled the pressure at all no they haven't okay and especially uh are or are Tage Lemieux the cross check yeah horrible

horrible penalty to take in your own in your own zone on a not in your own zone on a not kind of play and then to have them sniper got Jake Evans Yeah Oh yeah You'll snap back The embellishment from the blue blonde rouge Has been pathetic

It's worked But it's worked So give them credit for it I'm just doing rules by the way Ottawa or sorry Utah If you think that there's any chance That the Buffalo Sabres come back in this series They are plus 325

To win the series So if you think that they can go into Montreal And win there and then win one back at home the number is plus 325. Montreal obviously is minus 425. Early look ahead to the Vegas Golden Knights Colorado Avalanche line. The Colorado Avalanche are minus 260 favorites

in that series against the Vegas Golden Knights. And that was game time presented by Bet365, an official partner of the NHL, must be 19 plus. Ontario only, please play responsibly. And as a reminder, this hour of Real Kipper and Born is brought to you by Bet365. They were pretty lucky, eh, the other night?

in Montreal in game four. Buffalo was, yeah. You know, some of the numbers show that Buffalo had the puck a ton in Montreal's end last night, but they just didn't, the high danger stuff didn't really come for them. Also, score effects, so they were chasing the game a bit. Also, the goals that went in, they probably didn't deserve. So, yeah, Buffalo's not looked great. Just shoot it off the stanching and they go in.

Yeah, that's the move. Best bet. Got to try it against Saturday night if you're Tage Thompson. I think you do. You got to rip one down there. See what happens. What do you want to take a quick break? Or we go to...

No, we're going to do some text. So if you're listening to this, text 595.90. We'll play some Quinn Hughes stuff, but text does from all over the country. Not just leaves text. Text 595.99. 590. 590. So text us.

All right. You heard the man. We'll take a quick break and we'll close out our last two-hour show of the season. More when we return to Real Kippoor and Bourne. dive deep into Toronto sports and the NFL, the JD Bunkus podcast. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Take two. Action.

Welcome back into the studio, Nick Kiprios, Justin Boren, Sammy McKee, as we waited for TV to catch up to radio. Do we still have to do that? Are we still on TV when we go to 3 o'clock? We're still on Sports at 360. Sweet. Love it. You can stop dressing up nice. I thought it was a hoodie a clock.

We're going to go back. We're going to go back upstairs, the old studio. Oh, the spaceship. Time now for the Accura performance matchup, the 2026 Accura MDX, precisely premium. Looking ahead, like I said, no hockey tonight. So looking ahead again to tomorrow night at the Bell Center, game 6 Saturday night, 8 p.m.

on SportsNet and CBC, I think we might get out of that game. I think I'm going to set the over under at four and a half articles about the atmosphere there tomorrow night. That seems fair. Do you guys give the Buffalo Sabres any chance? You know, the only reason I kind of do,

and I was going to go into the saying that I don't, is that everyone thinks it's over. Yeah. You don't talk to anyone who's like, Buffalo looks pretty good and hockey stupid. That's my entire argument. I'm not going to compare the, Montreal Canadians to the Toronto Maple Leafs

or the Buffalo Sabres to the Florida Panthers other way around. But last year around this time, around this very time in fact, the Toronto Maple Leafs got starched at home in game 5 in the 2-2 series. And it was over. And eventually ended up being over. But people assume going to

game 6 in Florida. Going into Florida nobody, well, some people were like, well, this would be the one they win, blah, blah, blah. They go down there. They play their best defensive game of the Austin Matthews era where he ends up scoring the winner on a pass for Mitch Marner and then bring it back to Toronto. You all know what happened in game seven. But I think, like you said, it's a little early just to say it's over.

Buffalo could win. They're eligible to win. But I don't think Kipper's given him any chance. I think you got to put an Alex Tuck goal in there somewhere, boys. You got it. And Tage, like Thompson and Tuck are their go-to guys up front. You could just count on Zucker and a few of the other ones. Don't doing his best.

It's been a lot of Don and Benson. Yes, and I love Benson, by the way. Who does it? Oh, my gosh. I want to spark plug this guy is along the walls. Like, give me Benson all day long. I got no problem with that. But if you can't go toe to toe with Suzuki and Slavkosky and Caulfosky and Caulfield and Tuck and Thompson, no chance.

And now like Demadov gets one on the board and starts to feel like he's going to start to find it. It's, they're in tough. to your tuck thing they kind of asked lindy rough after the game and he basically was just like he's got to start moving his feet like he's got to like you know which by the way tucks gonna ask you want to play that clip 11 million yeah let's let's do that Derek if we could let's play lindy rough clip two on Alex tux struggles you know I think you get in a series like this and

and you're struggling a little bit I think he's lost just a little bit of confidence trying a little bit too hard to make make that extra play. I think number one is the biggest thing is you got to move your feet. Always move your feet. Get your feet moving. Whether it's through the neutral zone,

whether it's your challenging at the blue line. And that line just hasn't been quite connected. I think it all comes down to, you know, skating on pucks in the offensive zone. If you want to go to a couple games that are in Boston, in the first period, the game six, how well they moved inside the zone. Feet has a good moving.

It's interesting. It is. But the habs are just flying by him. Yeah. You know, it's just like they're way fast. Tuck's going to ask someone for a lot of money this off season. Okay. 11 million.

Do you think if you're a team that really loves Alex Tuck that you look at this, if they go quietly and he's pointless in this series, does it change your mind at all about how much you want to spend on him? Yeah, it does. Like, he's the type of guy who should be. great in these settings. Fast, big and strong, right? Yeah. This is the time he's supposed to be really good. This is it. And, you know, he's 30 years old. He's going to want probably a six, seven year

deal. I think somebody will still give him a lot of money. Okay, what, tell me what that is. Six times ten. Because it sounds like he wants a little bit close to Kempe. No, what's Kempe? 106, right? 106? 107? 10. I think it's high tens? Or low 11s? Low 11s? Really? Tough to argue that he doesn't have Quickly

33 goals Oh man I'm looking at tuck stats 33 goals this year 36 the year before Cap it 10.625 Yeah So to your point

Can he get 60 million out of somebody I think he can Yeah Anyways that was the accurate performance Matchup the 2026 Accura MDX Precisely premium Boyce I know you mentioned it

with Mac but second round Pick. Yeah. Yes, man, that is. Yeah, for those of you, who,

John Tortarella declined to speak with the media after a round two win and this is at home. Or I'm sorry, this is on the road. This is on the road. And the feeling.

He declined. They didn't make anyone available. Two players, maybe. But not even up where they usually are. Yes. In a side room, one or two guys. I guess the sense was that they told the league

that they, the bus was leaving, they wanted to get home quick. Yeah. You know, for whatever reason, the flight was leaving or whatever. But clearly, there was a, there was, I don't know, this is, this is the best I got out of information in terms of like, what, what did they say? It sounds like they're mad about the McDab suspension. That seems to be the report out there right now that this is retaliation.

We alluded to that on the, on the hockey show today, said that as part of what was part of the reasoning. Yeah. But, I mean, there's... Did you watch that play? It was a suspension. Greasy play.

Greasy. There's a sense that, like, whatever the case is, like, John Tortorale, just can't help him, like, himself from just turning himself into a bit of a story,

right? Let's like, come on. You are who you are. They just closed out. They closed out a series. Just get ready. You got a big challenge against Colorado.

Like, focus. Focus. Just go out there and do the thing. Yeah. Just do the thing. Say the things. Do the things.

It's four minutes. You know, they'll be like, hey, guys, don't have a ton of time. I've got to catch the bus. Bing, Bing, Bing. Guess what? You still have a second round pick and your owner still has 100K.

Like, it's not that hard. Anyone but Tortorella, maybe 25,000, maybe 50,000. Torts. Torts. Cost, Vegas. And his reputation cost him a second round pick.

But here's the thing. Like, I, I'm not, you know, traditional media guy that I'm like, I need my quote to write my story. It's just more about the principle of just doing it. Well, that's like it's just like. The whole thing is an entertainment product. That's why people, the money is in the game.

Yep. Well, you know the other thing too is no question that the National Hockey League got this big push south of the border. Totally. From the Olympics, from four nations and the Olympics in a very short period of time, ratings are good, everybody's happy. Vegas wins a big series. They want their whatever.

And then you turn around and you say, you know. Gary must have been pissed. Pissed. I will say that just on that hockey thing in the, in the, it's way more relevant straight up to American sports fans. Like I mean, in terms of what I see on Instagram and social media and the people I follow from the States, like it is way more in the day-to-day conversation. No, just the sport itself is way more in the day-to-day conversation. Yes. It moved.

It moved. I would just like to say, as a Canadian, you're welcome America. We let you win so that we could grow the game in the States. And now, see, they're starting to see the fruits. We had to do our Canadian bit. Sometimes you got to play the long game, Sam. You just got to, you know, McKinnon, he missed on purpose, good for him.

We were just fine until Sammy just, I was worried about Doug McLean derailing the show south of the border. But Sammy just did it. Yeah, good job. Good job. Next. All right. What do you have for us, sir? Sammy boy. Sad Canucks fan back, but not so sad anymore.

Pumped to see the Sedeans and Johnson get hired. I think it gives Canucks fans hope. Do you guys think it would be a bad idea to take Reed or Verhof at number three, considering we already have V-Lander and Buam, Boom? William. Boo-ium? Thank you. I have a bad with that one, obviously.

But there you go. There's the full test. No team has ever been more in a take-the-best. player available spot then the Canucks. The V-Lander? Your whole team stinks. Take the best guy. Yeah. As much as you think that you can see some potential, like you're not sure on still if you traded Quinn Hughes in and one of them is going

to be an all-star, right? I'm not sure that that's. We don't know, let alone a superstar, but just a real quality, quality, high-end guy. You're not sure. So I'm with that text. Yeah, that Knaug's fan. Go, like, you know, I have a greater appreciation for Evan Bouchard than I ever had before. And I include the warts, the defensive warts.

But I got to wonder where even Leon and Connor, where their numbers would be if they didn't have Evan Bouchard. It's a great point. People always say, like, it's like it, he's just a huge part of their success. He's the triangle with those two guys. And is there an Evan Bouchard there? Yeah. Well, I mean, if you're Vancouver, though, it's just like you're dying for that elite game-breaking talent. Like, I think if you can get, if one of Stenberg or McKenna are there, you still got to do it.

I don't know. And say what you will. They've got the good vibes with the Cedines. Okay, and it has value, like Matt's has value here, even if it is somewhat of a marketing kind of thing, it works. They also just seem like level-headed, pretty reasonable guys, you know, and I think that's healthy in that role. Like I said, it's in the cloud.

They don't know. They plug, they connect at night and plug in via hard wire, but the rest of the day. I cannot bring up the twins without you guys cracking the one brain joke. their thing. This is how they operate. You guys want a fake trade from the text line? Yeah, always. All right. No name, but watching from

Dauphin, Manitoba. I did my best. Yeah, you did. You got it right. To the Panthers. Brady Kachuk and Thomas Shabbat. To the Sends. The ninth overall pick, Gustav Forsling, and Anton

Lundell. Kick rocks. Just kick them all the way into the ocean. Ottawa? Florida can kick it. Ottawa's not giving up that. Okay.

No, they're not. They're not. I mean, I'm sending you. I don't think he's not old. He's got to be 30 plus. I need a somewhat Sam Bennett type coming back. I got to replace that. Foresling's 29.

How is Shabb? 28. Yeah. Give me Shabbat over Foresling now. I'm ready. Next year, I'm not betting on their past. I'm betting on the future. Give me Shabb.

I can't give up. Shabbat's 29 as well. Is he? I can't give up that heaviness, that toughness, that overall kind of five-tool player and Brady Kachuk. And I know he had an off-year. And I know there are some off-ice issues, including maybe podcast having. Podcasts. But you're not giving that guy away without getting something in return that could kind of play somewhat the same way.

I don't think Florida's got the tools, man. or the pieces to make it happen. But Matt wouldn't say it if it wasn't something. Steve Dunville. Steve from Dunville. I don't know if his name is. He's from Steve. I don't know if his name is Dunville or he's from Dunville.

Mitch Marner, Frederick Anderson, Nazim Cadry, Nicholas Waugh. Which former Leaf wins a cup this year? Are we approaching almost guaranteed former? Here's my true serum. is that the habs are going to beat the sabers on Saturday night and then they're going to go up against Carolina and now once I start rooting for Freddie again

that's when the pumpkin begins to the pump that's when the true pumpkin begins he's right though like that's when it's like oh the first real team they've kind of faced they've slept their way feels the Canadian pressure again he just forgets how to goalie and it's bussy by game three and they go to the final

so Montreal or Carolina should pay you to pick to cheer. I would not. Because whatever you do, it's the opposite. I would definitely, like, I'm obviously rooting for Carolina. Like, no question. And I'm clearly rooting for the Colorado Avalanche as well. But I think, to answer your question, I think it's Cadrian.

Vegas kind of found their swagger here going up against Colorado in the conference final. It'll be good. It's a good series. Lots of stars. Tons of stars. Here's what I will say. Vegas was trash against good teams this year. they beat bad teams all year.

They were no good against good teams. Cadre was a nice pickup for Colorado. I know we talked a lot about Brett Kulak, but that one, that Cadry pickup again, and he slides right in there. It would be a bizarre career, wouldn't it? To really be better known for playing somewhere else. Go to Colorado and win a cup.

Go somewhere else for a little while. Go to Colorado and win a cup. There's worse out. There's worse outcomes. Sam, where's your kitchen arrangers at? Go Rangers. Congrats to the Kitchen Arangers. They won the J.S. Robertson Cup.

I think it's called for the OHS Championship. They're going to the Memorial Cops. So congrats to them. Am I allowed to bring up the Ottawa Attack? Ottawa Attack. Sorry, Owen Sound. Owen Sound attack press conference. They had a press conference today.

New ownership, young guy, Tyler Nother, who played in the OHL for a few years from concussions. he's sort of the front-facing guy with a new money man coming in there. Not 100% sure of everything. They had a press conference today. Maybe it's not some questions allowed. I hope they're going to stay on sound.

I think they're going to. I'll be on the front lines if they're ever thinking about moving. So you've got to answer to me. So no questions. People go there, right? Yeah. So, I mean, locally, how many people would show up for that? Oh, they've got to be good, but I think this building holds, you know.

It's dangerous. I don't know anything, what anything. Okay. But here. They wouldn't take any questions from the media. Why? What's the harm? I don't know. I don't know either.

But they just wouldn't. So I thought it was interesting, but I'm looking forward to a new era of attack hockey. And here we go. There's the OHL Minute. All right. How old is the owner? He's 28, I think. Well, there's the money guy, but he's like the front.

He's the president now, Tyler and others. So shut out, Tyler. Give me a call if you want to talk. Yeah. I got some ideas for the team. Yeah, I got some ideas for the team. Yeah, I got some ideas for the team. All right, guys.

Big plans this weekend. Had no time. Outside of Big Night. Montreal to close it out. Sam is going to Owen Sound. Yes. I'm going to golf the ball a bit. Just so everybody's clear.

Yes. Monday. We start from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern and we're all in all the same places. Oh. Yeah. We should have played that Quinn Hughes clip. Should we not? Is that not all the news? We have time. Basically said he's willing to stay in.

Willing to potentially willing to be. Yeah. That he's open to it. So got to talk to Billy. Got to talk to his family. Big. Much. 17? Does he want to be that guy though? Like, does he want to get as much as he can?

Wow. I don't know. Caprisop had no... Sid and Nathan McKinnon and good Canadian boys don't seem to be. Connor scraping for every nickel they can get. I would say that he signs in the $18 million range. What's the max contract? 20? Got to be 15, right? He's a max. Like, if we're talking about the NBA thing, like there's max players in the NBA. Yeah, but you want to win. Quinn Hughes is absolutely a max player.

He plays 35 minutes a night everywhere he goes. He is the definition. It's more tolerable now that the cap allows for that. Yeah. So to answer your question, $20 million. That's what he's going to be. Yikes. I say $15.

Okay. That's a nice number. Is it out? Our thanks to Luke Fox, Sportsnet.com, on the first hour. And, of course, on Friday, Doug McLean, if you didn't get a chance to listen to it live,

find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. There's YouTube as well where we always appreciate a thumbs up. Have a great weekend, everybody. And once again, real Kippernboren, 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern starting on Monday. Stay safe, everybody.