Real Kyper & Bourne - The Motive in Montreal

Episode Date: April 3, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start with a look back at the Canucks' 6-3 loss to the Golden Knights last night and if they're running out of time to turn their play around before playoffs begin. They are joined by former NHLer PJ Stock (4:02), who discusses how the Habs' recent wins are coming at the cost of player development and how long the fans will remain patient with the rebuild. Then, he weighs in on the snail race for the Wild Card in the East, Tortorella's future in Philly and the Canucks' recent skid. They regroup with Sam for news & notes - checking in on the Wild Card race, Tom Wilson criticizes the media and breaking down Torts' latest rant. 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.

time to kick it into gear on the real kipper and born show on the national hour the kiprios justin bourne sammy mckee we are live on sports at sports at 650 in vancouver sports at 960 in calgary this hour real kipper and born brought to you by bet 365 in a few minutes we'll welcome in pj stock he's almost doug mclean like where you just start him and then we can go for a coffee or you know yeah you can also really fire any direction pick a team pick a topic and they've got an opinion, which I enjoy. So looking forward to having him on.

He's been very busy with Beer League Hockey, but we did get him today. Is that what he said? Or are we just assuming? No, he said that one day he couldn't come on because he was playing Beer League Hockey. Okay, that's a good reason, isn't it? It is, legit.

It is, but would you play Beer League? Either of you guys? I do not. That doesn't seem like a place for a former pro hockey player. I gotta be honest with you. The older I get, the more my Thursday mornings feel beer league-ish. Yeah, it's not.

For me, anyways. But there's no refs out there not playing against some guys from North York. No. Yeah. You need to find out if that's what Peej is doing or not. Anyways. Tons to get into. Including the Vancouver Canucks, who lost again last night to Vegas. And this one, like, was out of reach early.

It was. Yeah, kind of a little bit of a stumble here for the Canucks. They've lost to Vegas, Dallas, and L.A. in the past week. You know, those are good hockey teams I just named. They're not exactly dusters. So, I don't know. Are we worried about the Canucks a little bit? Well, I don't know.

I mean, worried meaning if they lose in the first round, it means that it's a horrible season or... It'd be a disappointment at this point, Kip. Well, yeah, I get. i get but like think about where you thought you sat in september with this hockey club and i don't expect them to go down quietly in the first round but if they were to lose i think the only way that you could actually feel good if you're vancouver canuck fan is if you saw them go down like with a true fight nobly well i mean no they're they're going if the playoffs started today they got nashville yeah they're gonna have 110 plus points this season in all likelihood if

they lose to the nashville predators in round one i'm calling it a disappointment maybe a failure well i mean listen there's a ton of vancouver fans listening in their cars right now driving around being like yeah you know we're not gonna sit hey it was a good year we thought you're gonna suck i know where they came from i know it's a it you know zoom out it is a success in the progress of the team and all that i get it but i mean we're talking they're ahead of the oilers they're they're ahead of the best teams right now there's no reason to think it's okay to just go away quietly. We have a clip from Talkin' Postgame. Do you want to hear that?

I'd love to hear it. The head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, Rick Talkit. It's in there somewhere. No? Rick Talkit, please. Rick Talkit, the coach. I think he's on a bathroom break. Anyways, he was talking.

I can't really remember what he said. Must have been memorable. No, it was a good clip. It on a bathroom break. Anyways, he was talking. I can't really remember what he said. Must have been memorable. It was a good clip. It was a good quote. What are you talking about you can't remember? Was there any sense of we're running out of time here to turn this thing around at all? Kind of.

That was the question. That we got to get it turned in the right direction in a hurry sort of thing. They just need their goalie back too. Well, that's a huge part of this. It is. I mean, he's one of the best goalies in the league. He's one of the Vezna favorites for a while.

Like, you need him in between the pipes. So, yeah. Absolutely. You know, the other concerning thing is that Vegas really is coming on strong. I mean, they are starting to find their form and they're looking as legit as they come. So, let's get to Peach.

All right. Fresh off his run with the beer leagues let's welcome in pj stock former nhler habs brunes flyers rangers and the true star of hockey night in canada once upon a time once upon a time it's good old days you keep in touch do you um is like would would elliot friedman be like a pen pal with you do you guys write to each other yeah they kind of it's now i gotta go through with all the new layers i have people running stuff there you gotta go through certain people to get to elliot you know elliot saw him the other night i think he was on the way to take his yacht uh in his outfit that he was in with the pink jacket. Is Elliot now one of those guys that takes a picture of himself and posts it on Instagram?

Is he turned into that guy? I hope so. It took a long time to get him to that. Do you guys know, like, you guys remember, by the way, how social media is right now compared to when we first started? And it was just Twitter. And just like, there were so many people that thought they could say anything to any of us and just with no faces and having like an egg as their avatar, they still can.

They still can. But I think, I think we're, we're, our skin is thicker now. Right. I think you go through the initial shock of like, I, how could someone say say i'm just up here

and you know giving you what i think which and i'm trying to be fair to everyone and when i was on i never really knocked anything besides work ethic because i can't tell you how someone's missing a shot or some guys i can tell you why this guy's cheating or how this play broke down and why but and that's kind of what i had and there's still some people that i'd say something about kovalev who was playing for the canadians at the time or don't want to bring the vancouver canucks people into this because they go absolutely crazy but you say anything about a about a fan base and you're saying it in a certain way just to be honest and this is what you saw this is what you're paid for they would send the meanest of tweets about i i can't swear but i have some great ones um that are that are just like and when it got to a point like where people would say things to

some of us on with elliot and kelly back in the day glenn heliot and just everyone kipper you you and then morny and this People would think they could just – we're in a world where people can just feel like they can say whatever they want to us. Now our skin's a little thicker. Now we laugh at it and we're like, oh, this is a good one. This sounds pretty funny. JB, you showed me a doozy one today.

Yeah, I showed one yesterday. Like I had said something about Nylander and someone called me a drunk ECHL-er. And I was like, yeah, this is just the world I live in. But you know what? You've come to like expect that this is just my new normal now. You know, it used to be, I don't think some of my bosses really understood this back in the day,

is that if people are willing to take the time out of their day to send a mean tweet to you, that's almost more important than the person that's going to send a nice one. Because if they're so built up that they're spending the time and energy and they're like, they're reaching out. You've touched them to a certain point. I think bosses think you're like, oh no, you can't say anything bad about the Toronto Maple Leafs because then they're going to say, they're going to think differently and think differently and we gotta be so now sometimes you just gotta throw it out there and and if someone's gonna i can't believe you said that about netherland

i'm gonna send this tweet what does that guy get out of that tweet really it's like taking hot air out of a balloon right they can't yell at their boss they can't yell at their spouse they can't yell at their kids it's you you, my friend. I know, but it's great. That's the purpose we serve, and so be it. But if you're able to get a reaction from someone, that's a win. If you're able

to influence the way the rest of their day is, positive or negatively, I mean, that's life. That's reality. I think that's a win. I think I listen to you guys more. You're the brains to this every day. You're, that's life. That's reality. I think that's a win. I think, I think, I mean, I listened to you guys born, like you're the brains to this every day and you're not with Kipper, right? And sometimes you got to deal with Kipperness. And like, you're like, oh, how am I going to do this? And you go home, you're going to write him something. But I think that's

what it is. And I was, yeah, I can hear, I can only imagine what you guys are, what the Leafs are, which they're always are. It's going to be, you know, we're big game tonight against Tampa. I watched them play the other night. You know, who's going to win the MVP this year? There's so many discussions out of Toronto. And if you say anything kind of the wrong way, it's strong-minded fan bases, which isn't afraid to tell you what they think.

Well, quickly then, go ahead. No, you. I'll get your thoughts on, you know, the fan base in Montreal is also strong-willed, if you will, and can be very vocal. The Habs are kind of winning. Like, they are on a good little run. Slavkovski's become like a guy.

Where are things in Montreal? We don't check in often, but we're checking in again to see where things are at. No, we don't check in often but we're checking in again to see where things are we don't check in at all except when you're on you know there's no paying the bills i got i cleaned up i dusted the pictures in the back i keep dusting them every week waiting for the call back but my abs stink right now uh except for the time when they should not be playing well right they're playing well and it's kind of stuck. And I was a little frustrated last night especially.

You know, they had 10 minutes of power play ice time. Their first power play played eight and a half minutes of it. And not only that, at five to two, with three minutes left, they put them back on the ice for another power play math is in a game where you want to lose but you want to win i think there's such so important in in the phase of building uh structure and a basis and if we're going to lose we're going to lose the right way and playing the right way and you guys know all those those important um uh foundations for a team to be

successful. And some of them are small and a lot of people just think of the wins, but it's not. There's so many of the little things that are important underneath that get you to that top part. And I don't like the way some nights go. Matheson paid almost 30 minutes last night.

He played 28-43, I think, in a night against Florida where you want to win, but at the same time, organizationally, you kind of want to lose, but you're missing an opportunity. They were shorthanded, I think, six minutes, maybe more than that. But Arbor Jack, I think, played 17 seconds, something like that, of shorthanded time. These are moments that you can't get back of learning for some of these young kids. Because if you make the mistake, you can come back to the bench, and then it's a learning.

It's a lesson. But it's hard to digest the lesson just by watching it. You have to be in it sometimes. And I think they're valuable minutes. Like, Matheson, I'm going to be off in the seconds, played eight minutes of power play time, four-plus minutes of penalty killing time. At 30 minutes he played, so 28, 40-something.

Jacki played 17 seconds. He's going to grow into be your five, six penalty killer shot blocker. These are the moments where you develop you learn you experience you make the mistakes you come back to the bench and the coach is like hey it's all right kiddo let's get back out there you know just you learn from that build that confidence and it's okay for the next shift where if it happens in a real pivotal game and you can't put them back out there because you're nervous you're not sure how the kid's going to react.

That's kind of, we're losing those moments. So, fan base in Montreal is really excited. They won last night and they showed some great things. Sapkowski, again, great point. Suzuki, over 70 points. First one since Domi did it about five years ago on his crazy year that he had. But the top players are having their great moments. So, the fans are excited um i just

love to see people off that top line have success because that's going to be the future of the team as well okay let's just i want to just stay one more on the fan base because the patience that they've shown this organization is nothing short of miraculous especially when we're talking about the storied franchise in the history of the NHL. Hold on. Yeah. Hold on. I got to stop you. Why?

You're seriously talking about... The Habs were in the Stanley Cup final like a couple years ago. Yeah. Okay? They had two bad years. And by bad years, they finished last, got first overall pick. Their first overall pick that everyone thought was a terrible pick just broke a record for the youngest 19-year-old,

a 20-and-under player consistently to have points in nine games. It's two years they haven't had a lot of fun. No, no, no. This is two years of the longest stretch in the history of the organization that nobody cared about the Montreal Canadiens. Nobody thinks twice about that for two years. You're in Toronto not caring. Listen to me. I've to me here in my basement,

waiting for me to tell you about the habs that are right up here. That about there's lots of good things. There is. I'm telling you, but from a league wise perspective, it's no different than putting the New York Yankees. Like don't try not talking about the New York Yankees league wide for two years.

Okay? That's the equivalent to what the fans are going through in Montreal. They are irrelevant in the big picture of the NHL while they wait quietly to get their team back to respectability. I'm asking you when the patience do end. When do they go, now we're back, we demand a playoff spot? It's been two years. Does two become three? The new organization has been there two years.

They went to the Stanley Cup Final a couple years. When was the last time the Leafs scored in the Stanley Cup Final? Don't do this, PJ. I'm just saying. Don't do this. I'm just saying, it's two years. If anyone is going to be saying anything, I can't believe you guys still do this. I deserve, you guys deserve an award. The Yankees, the Lakers, the Montreal Canadiens should never sit at the bottom of any pile.

They won't. They are for a couple little, salary cap has changed the way things work in sports. Yeah, but it's a couple years. A salary cap has to come in, years yeah but it's a couple years a salary cap has to come in revamp and go change back up i think kent hughes jeff gordon uh the the team has come in and decided listen mark martin bergevin so mark bergevin gave out some contracts at the tail end of his run year that i think really set the team back and if this was any other time you can easily flush those contracts put them in the minors, do whatever you want with. They lost Shea Weber to injury,

Kerry Price to injury. They had off-ice issues with Jonathan DeWayne at the tail end. They've had all kinds of issues that they can't actually control. They decided, change your coach, change your organization. And with two years, they picked up a first-round pick, first overall,

that has rewritten history for the Montreal Canadiens for a 20-year-old younger guy, which is making them look great. They just signed a goalie that just got Player of the Month for the team. They just have another guy that had one of the most saves, stolen games or saves, I forget the stat, in the National Hockey League for the Canadians.

They have a younger goalie who just set a record for BC in nets as well. That's just on there. Their back end, Ryan Becker-Kahn, has come over from Europe. He's been great. Goulet's been sensational. Matheson's having a great year. Arbor Jack, I've heard, has last year's.

They're all new kids, 20 or younger. Up front, they got Slavkovski, the young kid. Suzuki's at 70 points. Caulfield struggling this year but still in the 50s in points. There's a lot of good things. Are they making the playoffs next year? That's the question. I'm not.

That's next year. Let's talk about it next year. Yes, let's. Okay. All right. Fair enough. I have a question, though. If they make the playoffs and lose in one round, is that a win?

100% it is. To now crack a top 16 in this league, it's an accomplishment. It's a good regular season, man. It's good 82 games. It is interesting with, you know, so many teams, what they set their goals at and what they – and this is what we started off with the canadians the coach marty san luis he just wants to win so he's playing

matheson 30 minutes he's playing his number one power play the organization wants them to they need to put marty in the press box like they did towards the end of last year yes they do because they want a better draft pick they They need another Slavkovski. They need another player that can be impactful because they got rid of so many players over years. There's nothing in Laval, and no disrespect to the players there. There's not players that can make that jump to Montreal just quickly. They have a young player, Jonathan Roy, who's one of the only guys,

but they wanted to send him back to Laval because they want Laval to make the playoffs. If Montreal, Montreal's done, eight games left. So when they're done, their season's done. But there's this opportunity in Laval that they can play 20 more games. And that's where this organization is. They're building from their base

and has to create that in Laval. And it comes with games that mean something. The Canadians have been out of it for two years, Kipper's Point, rah, rah, and two years of out where they're playing in no games with meaning. So it's easy to get points. It's easy to cheat offensively.

It's when you're playing in games where I can't make this play, I gotta block this shot, I gotta back check harder, and if I don't, I think that's the part of the culture that's important it's about losing the right way building these blocks of how you're playing um and it starts through the entire organization the for the first time kipper in your point and your argument which i disagree with uh, the fan base understands what had to be done. Yeah.

And I think they do have the support because the Montreal Canadiens, in their losses, 85% to 90% of them, they've gone down swinging. Well, they're going to finish the season in the low 70s in points. The cutoff for playoffs this year is 90. 90 points likely gets you into the playoffs there are five teams tripping all over their untied shoelaces trying to get to that finish line

are you watching this absolute snail race to the stanley cup playoffs what are your thoughts you like philly with tortorella yelling at his team you like minus 40 gold differential caps. Who you got? It's interesting, the Tortorella thing for me, it's I like torts, but at times I don't like torts. He just has us all kind of stuck, right? And, you know, when they lose, it's never a compliment to the other team. It's always like a fault somewhere, right? And it's hard because you hear so many players say

so many great things about him and I want to like him so much but when he did what he was going to do what he did sorry to Couturier it was going to go two ways you know the shock value was going to work but how long would it last and unfortunately I think it's it's now

it's kind of that in the locker room. I don't know. You knew it was going to go one of the two ways, and it's unfortunately five losses in a row for a team that if they're in, he's up there for Jack Adams. Like that's the tort effect. Like you want him to do well at the same time. You're like, oh, why'd you do that?

Jack Adams are getting fired, one of the two. Yeah. Well, that's kind of what you have to do, right? I don't know if that room can continue with Couturier and Torrance over the summer, and that's been kind of his M.O. He gets you to the top, and then some people don't love the way you got to the top. And it's not fair, but that's kind of the world we live in. You know, Patrick Watt for the Islanders, they bring him in.

There's a team that's kind of, they're a little older, they want to kind of get there. I don't know if they have the pieces. I don't think Detroit wanted to get to as close as to where they are just yet. But Stevie Wye has turned that into a competitive team right away.

So I'd love to see Pittsburgh in there just to give Crosby his, for the year that he's had. At the same time, I'm not a fan of the Eric Carlson signing and what they're trying to do with that as well and getting rid of Gensel. I don't care who makes it in. It's going to be a quick series, I think, if they have to play one of the teams at the top.

Yes, sir. Coming off a tough loss in Vegas, the Vancouver Canucks are in Arizona tonight. I think you hope an easier two points to get them back on track here. But prior to you coming on, PJ, we're having a conversation on success or disappointment. I don't know. Getting out of the first round for Vancouver,

where does it sit with you? First of all, the teams that you – this is getting out of the first round for Vancouver. Where does it sit with you? First of all, the teams that you – this is the machine of the West. You guys mentioned the teams that they lost to, whether it's Dallas, whether it's Vegas, whether – it's a tough conference. Like it's – the teams at the top are machines, and teams even at the bottom, L.A. is just holding on there, and I don't think you want to get stuck with them nashville what ripped off 10 11 12 games in a row there it's a real tough conference

i think colorado uh vancouver i mean it's okay well that's six games left this year uh seven games left they're still there it's just they got to start getting back to playing the right way do they have the grit for the playoffs at their star level players that's the that's you know is petterson good for four rounds is is hughes good for four rounds are are some of those um star players that aren't built as big as some of them as thick as a crosby as a carpenter as an Ovechkin, as a McKinnon? Are they capable to make this run and understand what you've got to go through to get there? I'd love to see that organization have a pretty good run.

I love what they've done, and I love what the coaches stood for all year. Yeah. So they're stumbling a little bit, but still have, you know. Yeah. It's been a good year. They've still got a lot of pieces. The Jets are also stumbling a little bit. Does that leave Edmonton as Canada's best hope

in a Stanley Cup this year? They're going to draw right now. It's Vegas, which is not a fortuitous bounce. I think any one of those teams in the West is tough. I like all of them, more or less. They're built playoff-wise right. I think they're all kind of thick. You know, it's funny.

You guys eliminated Toronto from that, which is, I can't believe that. I wonder if the bosses are going to call you guys. I'm just going to say. We have a whole hour we dedicate to that conversation. Okay. But I think they're all, they got to beat each other up. I mean, that's the problem. My concern for Edmonton

is they are a little dirtier, they are a little bit grittier, but are they gritty enough for four rounds of these playoffs? McDavid has had a better year. I thought they picked up some... There's a

high-flying offensive at David, which everyone loves. It's just fun. It's like watching david which everyone loves it's just it's just fun it's like watching a top gun movie it's just he's just it's just so so fun yeah but that doesn't win in the playoffs and that's the part that you need if he's gonna still play that way which he's changed it up a lot lately um everyone else's supporting cast has to be ready to to help fill in those voids so i don't know i think winnipeg is almost built a little bit more because you start off goalie's gonna steal you a game maybe two um i think of the goalies i think i'd give hellebuck the nod i guess i want to and then you know know, I think is Connor and the top-end talent,

which gets their offensive calls in the regular season, going to get them in the playoffs? Every round, we all know it gets a little bit more rugby-ish. And are they able to get there? And that was my concern about the top players in Vancouver. So if Winnipeg gets in there, I think they can make a splash just by how thick they are and how big they are.

And I think a Sean Monaghan type of nothing flashy, but that's how a playoff player is going to be. There's going to be small spaces, not a lot of run and gun. It's going to be ugly. And I think Winnipeg because of Hellebuck can make a pretty good done. It's going to be ugly. And I think Winnipeg because

of Hellebuck can make a pretty good splash. But it's a great year for the West. Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, fortunately got to knock each other out to get to the top. You just saw Florida. Are they in a bit of trouble here? Well, missing

you know, they're missing Kachok. Missing Kachok, I think, what's his name, went down last night as well on defense. Ekblad. For Sean Figg. Ekblad went down. They're a team that, at the top of everything, they're top in almost defensive category. And last night was just not their night. They played the night before against you guys in Toronto.

And I thought they got down early and they fought back. And then they came into Montreal and just nothing was going well, and they just decided, like, listen, we're going to win or lose this game. We are where we are. They even had a couple minutes left to go in the game. They could have pulled the goal, and they didn't. They just kind of said, let's take our lumps. You know, we're missing some bodies tonight.

There's no use pushing the envelope for something that if we get the point or don't get the point, we're pretty much in the spot that we're in. Let's just take this as a lesson. Get on the plane. Go home and recoup for the next game. So I actually quite I'm thinking to myself, why aren't they doing

this? And you take two seconds and it's the bigger picture. The bigger picture starts in a couple weeks. And I actually appreciated it after. And I also, this is just me, and I said this before, the Canadians were up 5-2. They had three minutes left. And they had like 10 and a half minutes of power play. And their number one power play played about eight minutes.

You know, it's kind of at 5-2, do you have to put them back on the ice? Like it's almost a little bit of a kick in the – I don't know what you guys are allowed to say, shin. So it's a – and so what do they do? Florida's like, you know what? We don't care. And they just started slashing guys. They just started like, hey, you want Matheson at 30 minutes to carry the puck up the ice?

How's this on your hands? Bump. You know? And that's kind of, there's lessons for everyone in there. I think there's a little bit of a lesson for Montreal there. I like Florida's response. At the end of the day, they're built for the, as I mentioned, the teams out west, they're built for a two-month grind. They're built for a two-month grind.

And that's – as I'm making odds here with our Quebec lottery system, guys, how am I – because Florida right now is going to start off against the Leafs. And how – it was a great game. Matthew's on fire. Things were clicking. If this is going seven today, today, are we confident that Toronto has a chance to pull out of it? I don't think you are.

Well, first of all, I'm just grateful when you spoke of the Toronto Maple Leafs a second ago, you didn't refer to us as you guys. Yeah, he did we us a couple times. I just want to remind you that we don't play on the team. We're not actually members of the team. Why? I get reminded that sometimes.

I'm going to Twitter the moment this thing's done, and I'm going to let you guys know. I'm the guy with the egg, by the way. That's going to save you guys. JP Stock. Our skin got much thicker after talking to you today, for sure. I'm here to help, guys. Anything I can help. By the way, if anyone has to tweet me,

it's Elliot underscore Friedman at Sportsnet.ca. Let me know your thoughts. We'll pass that along. Awesome stuff, Peach. Thanks, PJ. I appreciate your time, man. Alright, buddy. PJ Stock out of Montreal. We spoke Montreal Canadiens today. We did.

And loved the convo. For the first time in like a long time. my point is is we gotta get back this story franchise to the point where they're relevant to matter for half the matter yeah it's just they are they are the like the new york yankees you cannot just sit and watch but he's right you have to bottom out to get to matter again and so they bottomed out why why do you have to oh at least they bottom out they get matthews and all of a sudden they can rangers rangers didn't bottom out and they're the number one team in the league

they're an anomaly though i mean look at the blackhawks or the penguins and how they won their cups on the back of number one picks that everybody can stay on the backs of number one picks even in the non-cap era. Not your Rangers. Yeah, not your Rangers. Left or near? Here's one. They can always put their feet up at night and put their little nightcap on

and have a little sip of something cold and just say that they beat the Leafs, come back 3-1 when they were heavily underdogged and they went to the final. That's something they'll always have. Even if they suck for another year or whatever. Also 24 cups or something like that. Well, I mean, yeah.

I mean, it's been 30 years since any Canadian team's won the cup. It's almost like it's never happened. It's been so long. Yeah. But that really does burn. And I know that, like, I have a couple of Habs fans, buddies, you know, that they don't let me forget. Yeah.

Right? It's a big thing. So, anyways, they'll always have that. don't let me forget. Yeah. Right? It's a big thing. So anyways, they'll always have that. Good to talk to you. Game time after the break? You got it, Kipper. Alright. And then we return. More torts. Torts, torts, torts. Death, taxes

and torts. So he torts likes it. Guaranteed on this show. Alright. That and more when we return to Real Kipper and Born. Breaking down the top stories in hockey and Elliott Friedman every day. The Jeff Merrick Show. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify,

or wherever you get your podcasts. The Kipper House. Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. I just want to pick up a little bit off of our conversation with PJ stock, which I absolutely loved. Yes, me too. She wouldn't play so much beer league hockey, so he can come on our show a little more often. Like anyone who will yell at you but he's he's really in that kind of doug mclean kind of realm where it's like i don't know what he's gonna say that's your highest compliment to give people really as a guest to me yes if i ask you who you want to get on the show someone you're not sure about is your favorite but and i i totally get what he's saying on the montreal canadians be patient you're grooming sure about is your favorite. And I totally get what he's saying on the Montreal Canadiens.

Be patient. You're grooming these kids. You know, Nick Suzuki's going to be the captain for the next 10, 15 years. Slavkovsky is coming around big time. Could be a big power forward. He's almost got 50 points. I know.

But Sam's giving that a thought. You just, yeah, you're just, yeah. You can't expect more than that for a first overall pick. He's 10. Give him a minute. The thing that I ask you guys is in the next year or two, who's coming out of the playoffs in the East so Montreal can get their playoff spot next year or the year

after or the year after that now we're at five years yeah so who's coming out who's who's who's on who's trending downward well that's it's washington and philly oh so you're saying for like a wild card spot in the atlantic but here's the problem here's the but ottawa and buffalo no no hold on hold on yeah yeah no no it's like okay then then ottawa is not taking that spot buffalo is not taking that spot montreal is well i don't think listen i don't think they're gonna make the playoffs for 100 years so you know you're talking the wrong guy i don't that's not the argument i'm making. They stink. I look at where the Sens are at and where the Sabres are at, and I see more pieces for them to get better sooner.

The Sabres missed playoffs by a point last year, had a down year this year. Jersey's a Markstrom trade away from going back to the playoffs next year. Yes, very much so. They had 113 points the year before. Before everything tanked. I mean, the key players on Tampa are still there. The key players on the Leafs will be here for years.

The key players in Florida are going to be around. Boston. Boston might get worse. Mm-hmm. Good goalie. Good D-core. Boston, to me, will be like the Rangers where they kind of say we're retooling, but they'll never bottom out.

They'll just find a way to kind of revamp. But after Pasta, there's not much for me to be like, ooh, look out, that's not good. Listen, I look at the Rangers lineup, and I'm like, okay, okay, okay, and yet they're having the best season out of any team right now. I mean, Aaron has like 100 and some points this year. He's been excellent for them.

But yeah, I get your point that it's not, like Fox is a legit number one guy. Kendra Miller's getting better. to all of this conversation is that if you tear it down to the studs it's really hard to build back up i am against like the ridiculous teardowns i like i like the idea of yeah you got to get worse for a little bit but you can't trade every nhl you have and chicago's done that and san j Jose. God, when's the Sharks going to be good? Never again. Ever again? So Montreal has a long road back,

but I don't think it's as long as the teams I was just talking about. But yeah, you're talking years till they're in playoffs. Two more, three more? Game time. Let her rip, Sammy. It's game time presented by Bet365. It's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds

and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19 plus. On Terra only. Please play responsibly. Some good games tonight. The first thing I'm going to is Edmonton is in Dallas to take on the Stars. Connor McDavid currently has 97 assists heading into this game. If you want to bet on Connor McDavid to get to 100 assists tonight,

three plus assists for Connor McDavid, guess what the number is? It's probably like plus 150 or something. Plus 550. Is it? Yeah. Which is like for any other player in the league, that would be a plus. I bet you he has 23 assist games this year. So if you want to bet on that tonight,

you can get him to get the three assists to get to 100. Only the fourth guy ever, and we talked about it yesterday, it was Wayne, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby, you are the only guys to ever do it. So if you want to get on that, there you go. We're not against Dallas. I might do that. Well, that's just it.

It doesn't matter who it's against. It's Connor McDavid, boys. I don't know. One of the hottest teams right now. Yeah, they're good. They won seven in a row. They could still lose. And he could still get a three assist.

Like, it's Connor McDavid. So, anyways, I put that one out there. Their goal is against average. Dallas is giving up. They shut out Seattle. Okay, yeah. Vancouver gets one against them. Arizona, they gave up two. Pittsburgh, two. Arizona, two. L.A gets one against them. Mm-hmm. Arizona, they gave up two.

Okay. Pittsburgh, two. Can I ask you? Arizona, two. LA, one. Does Connor McDavid play for any of those teams? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get your point.

Besides the one on top of your head right now. Ottinger, if he comes around, Dallas is going to be different. Yeah. Dallas is going to be a tough one. Big matchup. Devils, Rangers. Are they going to fight tonight? Will this Rempe play anymore?

Please let us see it. Yeah. I forgot about this. He was hurt when they last played. I would put money on that one happening tonight. That's happening tonight. But the Devils are huge underdogs, as they should be going into Madison Square Garden.

They're plus 170. I wouldn't recommend betting that. But the Rangers are minus 205. i wish you could bet on a fight and the last game i'll bring up is the one that's on nationally on sportsnet the leafs and the lightning uh minus 105 for the lightning minus 115 for the leafs pretty even match up here they don't really have any idea i bet it very poorly you told me i took under six and a half in regulation so three three four two and sammy tells me it's the highest uh goal total between two teams in the year yeah their games have been football games i think it's like the leafs have 6.74 goals per game in theirs

and the lightning have 6.72 goals per game and they're gonna lock it down yeah so joel wall tonight against the lightning all right uh that was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary. Bet365 must be 19 plus, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Okay, where are we in the East wildcard turtle race here? Well, you can check sportsnet.ca for my article

in which I broke this down in thorough description including looking at every team situation it okay without reading your article and i will i promise you uh you wrote today that it has without a doubt it's the washington capitals to lose i did say something like that i did said the say that it's in their hands. I talked to a couple people who run statistical models. Pushed my glasses up my nose. And 90 points is the likely cutoff for playoffs in the East. 90. Maybe 91.

Maybe 92. But likely 90 points. So the Capitals are already sitting there at 82 points. They've got eight games left. Yeah, eight games left. So they basically need to win four of the remaining eight games to make playoffs. Not a huge ask. Oh, she is out,

but Tom Wilson comes back. Tom Wilson, did we get quotes from him or no? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I got it. I'm very happy. Tom Wilson made some comments about his slash on Gregor about how it wasn't a big deal

until the media made it one. No one even... No, we got to listen. Okay, all right. Tom Wilson. Yeah, Tom Wilson on suspension. It's one of those things where it's tough. You know, after the game, no one's really talking about it.

It was kind of a... Honestly, it was a complete accidental play, and coaches aren't talking about it, media's not talking about it. Ref gave me a double minor, and then overnight with slow-mo and all that, next morning you wake up to a crazy amount of media. You know, it's one of those plays where it happens really quick. Obviously, I'm not trying to get him in the face there at all.

He's a tough player. The tough part you don't he doesn't miss a shift and i'm gone for six games i just it's tough uh it's a tough pill to swallow and when that's the case it felt like a long time did we do that game was that our game were we on the set yes we were yeah craig simpson didn't comment really heavy on it uh chris cutbird didn't i don't think we did i did i think the media i know you i want to at least talk about like suspend them i think you i think i do remember yeah but i don't think it was media driven. Social media if you want to say the swell there led by Sammy Hold on though It's a stupid thing to say

Doesn't matter who did it, who drove the whatever. You watch the video, you smack the guy in the face with your stick being a doofus It's like the axe murderers with a bloody axe being like I didn't mean to do it These guys hadn't pointed out that I did it No one would have even said anything

But you did it You donkey God I love Tom Wilson But this is not right I will say this That it could have slid Into a

Accidentally on purpose category, which our league is famous for. Yeah, the Trudeau and Frederick, right? He was, whoops. A ton of them have passed somehow, someway the smell test, and we've never really gone back on any of them. We just forget about it. No, but this one was way more Zach Kassian on Sam Gagne.

It's way more because it's Tom Wilson. Sure, and that's not an irrelevant point. You could take away accidentally. It was on purpose. He looked at him and ripped it around and slashed him in the face. It was an on-purpose play. I'm so glad you can make that distinct conclusion on your couch eating a bag of

Dorito chips just because he plays at North Toronto Arena Kipper doesn't mean he didn't mean to slash him in the face he slashed him in the face is on purpose if the axe murderer has murdered six people and accidentally murders one we're going to be like I think that might have been on purpose

I'm picking up a pattern here with this gentleman. Like I said. Okay, I'm not waiting on this. Like I said, love the guy. There was times where I would have traded lots of guys on the lease for him, but this was on purpose. Would you trade any lender for him? There was many times where I would have considered it, yes.

Maybe not now, but maybe. No, I wouldn't. Is this a time in our program where we just give two and a half minutes to Torts? Yeah. You know, here's the thing today. Everyone doesn't know how to feel or react to Torts because one day he's the, you know, stray dog loving guy. And the next day he's the meanie who's a emotional bully and

today this is being shared by all sorts of people whose opinion i value is look at this clip look at john tortorella you know the the leadership here people love this clip today yeah let's hear the clip this comes down to right it always comes oh they're going to quit on them it follows me around if and so be it if a player is going to quit on me or they're going to quit on them. It follows me around, and so be it. If a player is going to quit on me or players are going to quit on me because I'm trying to make them better people and better athletes, you've got the wrong damn coach here and you've got the wrong damn people here. So I'm not sure what goes on. My job is I am going to push athletes.

And I try to stay away from – I have other things on my mind that I don't give you. I was in control the other night. What I said I meant, and quite honestly, when I watch the tape now, I'm more concerned than just the second period. Because of, I'm so proud of the team getting here and i guess now the narrative out there is because i've heard from other people that they're young they they're not supposed to be here bulls**t we're here we're here face it and let's be better and i don't think we're ready to be better.

And that's my problem with us right now. And it is my job. I have not done a good enough job to get them over the hump after playing those seven games. And then each game as it goes down, we have six left. I haven't done a good enough job to make them understand we have to be different now. We have to be at a different level. That's my frustration with me. And that's my frustration with the team. And if people can't handle it, so be it.

You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. You might as well just be like, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. People love this. I, I, I, me. People love this today. I, me, me, me, me. People love this. I, I, I, me. People love this today. I, me, I. He's been around for such a long time because it's not most often with this guy.

It's not what he says. It's how he says it, when he says it, and what are the personal agendas around it. Like, it's very complex. Yeah. And he's saying all the right things on so many occasions. That time. Yep. And right there, there's nothing I don't disagree with.

I know. That's why everyone's sharing it out is this, like I said, this wonderful, what do you call it, monologue or soliloquy. He also buys into this is the only way I'm going to get them to the place. He's like, that nail looks like it needs a hammer. So does that glass jar. There could be other ways in the year 2024 where you don't have to browbeat your players. Listen, I want to say, I like what he had to say there.

I agree with the idea of pushing guys. I even like the idea of being honest about where they are, where he says we're not ready to be better, you know, and it's frustrating that I haven't got us to a place where I feel like we're ready to be better. That's all fine. But it comes in the context of all the previous things he said, which are sometimes about himself.

Sometimes it's too much. Today he gets the tone right. But he is still the guy, to Sam's point, that we're talking about every single day. And I just, like, would the Flyers not be better if they were just in their bunker of a dressing room? He was coaching them. And just, like, it wasn't a story every day.

John Tortorella and the Flyers failing. He is shining the spotlight so bright on their failings, he's making it harder. Wow, that is extremely well said. Well, it's just, it's a lot for a young team. He's been around for forever, right? 20 years. I'm telling you, the one that I will scratch my head isn't towards racing into

Calgary's dressing room to beat up everybody. I forgot about that one. That ain't it. You know what it'll be? How do you, as a group, pick a captain and then a month later bail on him. That one I'll never understand. It's a dumb league. I will never understand that.

So here's what I've talked to you about this and I think you think he didn't make that choice. I think he's got such a big voice there that I think ownership can look at, Comcast, and it is right up there with Keith Jones and Daniel Breer. Really? Yes.

I don't think he falls underneath them. So I cannot believe that Sean Couturier wouldn't have some sort of blessing from him. Yeah. So why would you bail on him? And I'm okay with a captain being scratched, but I'm not okay about a captain being scratched when four weeks ago you're telling him,

telling the hockey world that this is our leader now. Like that's not enough time for me for Torts to bail on Sean Couturier. Take, bench him, take away his ice time, bring him down to 12, 13 minutes. Oh yeah, he's been down there yeah i i don't understand it that that that one bothered me a lot and i think it's had a domino effect on everything else listen to couturier's ice times uh january he's 20 minutes

he's 21 or 20 35 the next month then in march he's he's 15-45. This month, he's 13-12. Last game, he played 3-21. I don't know if he got hurt, but the games prior, 11-10, 11-10. That's your leader? Yeah. Like, who picked this guy? And if it's torts, that's not great, right?

That's a pretty big flip from a pretty important decision to declare a guy your captain. You've neutered him in the room. They have six games left the flyers they're uh at 83 points they're at 47 percent to 52 percent depending what site you use chance of making the playoffs now um just to bookend our show with some blue jays stuff yes we're not lining up tonight out for tonight in Houston. David Schneider not in the lineup tonight.

Not in the lineup. Not in the lineup. He hurt himself celebrating? No, he's just not playing. Healthy scratch. Yeah, this is just a... Mustaches on IR. This is a very touchy subject amongst Blue Jays fans, but he doesn't play all the time.

Why? Does he... The khakis don't like him against righties. Did he say that he doesn't like high fastballs? He did say that. But the thing is... Maybe he loves it. John Schneider, whoever pumped out the computer,

they typed it into a lineup and it printed it out, and David Schneider didn't make the cut. That's tough. Go ahead, Bob. Season-saving homer, according to Kipper. All right, thanks. Yeah, season-saving. Our thanks to Hall of Famer Dave Anderchuk

in the first hour of our show, and then PJ Stock hit it out of the park. Yes. Saved our season. Have a great night, everybody. Enjoy your games. Give us a rating and review if you get a chance. We'd love to hear from you. Enjoy your games, and we're back

tomorrow, but not Friday. No Friday. Darn Blue Jays. Okay. Have a good one, everybody.