Real Kyper & Bourne - The View in New York

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start the second hour with the Oilers getting thrashed 8-1 by the Canucks, Jack Campbell still an issue in Edmonton, a lacklustre response from the Oilers' stars and whether the Canucks can be scrappy under Rick Tocchet. Former NHL goalie and MSG analyst Steve Valiquette shares his thoughts on the state of the New York Rangers, whether Alexis Lafrenière deserves a spot on the lineup, the distractions surrounding him and high expectations for Igor Shesterkin (9:45). Finally, the Sabres lock up Owen Powers, Bedard scores his first NHL goal and if Ryan Reaves NEEDS to defend his heavyweight status.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. 

it's the real kipper and born show we are live on sportsnet sportsnet 960 in calgary and sportsnet 650 in vancouver this hour of real k and Bourne brought to you by Bet365. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. For the next hour as we open it up throughout the National Hockey League. A couple of days ago, their biggest story was in Winnipeg with two guys signing big contracts. Then today, it's what happened to the cup contender. And for many Stanley Cup favorites, the Edmonton Oilers, they just didn't lose.

They got embarrassed last night. The Vancouver Canucks, 8-1. That is the Oilers' largest margin of defeat in a season opener. It ties. Do we know when the last one was? Yeah, 91-92. 92 versus the Flames, they lost. 91-92, and that was right around.

They lost Gretzky. Gretzky was gone. They were all gone back then yeah did the least lose by a touchdown last year like that's a lot of goals for a great team to lose by uh boy i can't help but make that about goaltending like i watched enough of that hockey game and it's just impossible for me on this show you know we're hearing about jack campbell went to a mental coach to learn to get over the tough ones and move turn the page to the next play you know he's not through

two periods he's wearing a ball cap and right back where he started from that has to feel pretty concerning if you're an oilers fan yeah i i just uh i think one off i think the oilers and the leaves kind of mirrored themselves a little bit. If you were going to question anything on both these clubs moving forward to try to win a Stanley Cup for the first time in, what, a gazillion years in Canada, then you, yes, you had some questions on goaltending, but both blue lines were one of those,

maybe they need another player or two to really solidify it. At home came in, and we know it went up a notch. But watching last night, you got to think maybe it's still not enough. For me to sit here and say it was Jack Campbell and Skinner who also gave up four goals would not be telling the whole truth. I think they leak in the back end defensive hockey and gaps. And I think Brock Besser's one goal where, you know, it was a great shot, no question. But I think they're late on some of their assignments

and they give they give they give their opponents a little bit too much time to tee it up I mean Besser scoring four times for the record I am team Besser I've written about this guy's shot he is unbelievable finisher when he's on but yeah I see your point that that is a problem on the back end the first goal is a petterson sauce that's like neck high that lands on garland's tape that kulak is waving at on the way back you know they definitely you can put some of that on the back end to you does it say more or does it say something about the canucks to you not just the oilers here that this team is maybe more competitive this year under rickckett, with Lafferty, you know, with a couple of changes.

Well, the one thing that stood out real fast in this game was Demko. Yeah. A healthy Demko is... Who, by the way, puked in his mask and was pulled at one point because he was sick, I guess, later in the game. Anyway, carry on.

In the game, when he did play, he was wonderful. Should I throw in the puke tidbit? Did I step on your point? No, no, no, no. That's gross. That's so gross. Puking in your own mouth? He's up a notch for me now.

He's puke-proof. Yeah, there you go. You feeling bad? He hung in there, played great. That's where I think if Vancouver comes in and they know they got their challenges this year, you know on any given night that this guy can give you a chance to win. Yeah.

I mean, for a long time, it was okay. That's one of the reasons you believed in what the Canucks were, that this guy was going to be a Vezna contender. The Canucks are interesting because everyone, myself included, has kind of written them off. But if you squint, they have enough elite talent. If all those guys hit their ceiling, Demko's really good. Besser has a great year.

JT Miller scores. Patterson last night put his chest through Cody Ceci in a way that, well, I think you said charge? Bit of a charge. Bit of a charge. No, no, no. You're just playing. Charge for me or Ryan Reeves.

Not for Petey. Okay, Petey's allowed. Yes. Yeah. So, you know, Petey's allowed. Yes. Yeah. So, you know, they have enough of these guys, Quinn Hughes, obviously, that if those guys are all going, he's surrounding them with okay players. You got a chance every night. So maybe the Canucks, you know, good start,

get some good vibes going under Rick Tockett, who I believe his quote was, we're not ordering any rings yet. Did you watch that first shift closely where McDavid came out? And speaking of big hits out of superstars hit a heroic on the wall. He smoked them. Like it, it had purpose.

The hit had purpose. It had meaning. It had boys. I'm serious this year. I mean, I'm not wasting any more time. We're not wasting any more time. It was a statement hit.

It wasn't a goal. It wasn't a dash down the middle of the ice. It was a hit. And I think it was one of those that where Connor made that conscientious decision, if I go out there and do it, it should send a message to everybody else and it it blew my mind that it just just seemed like it it fell by the wayside and one guy that really disappointed me last night was evander kane yeah he was horrible and that's a guy that should have completely followed up mcdavDavid's first shift.

I don't know what he ended up with, minus four, I think. And that should have been a Vander Kane type of game last night. Yeah. Well, it's one thing to go out and lose in your first game, yeah, dash four. But it's another thing to not really have that sort of response where you're like, okay, this team is really miserable about the outcome here. But I do feel like if the nhl connor mcdavid is the guy you know the sled dog out front pulling that machine i can see us two months from now looking back and being like remember when

they got filled in against vancouver like sometimes you just have a weird night so hesitant to draw massive conclusions aside from good from the canucks being ready. I do feel bad for Jack. Last year I was a bit rude about it. I was saying, you know. If I'm Jack Campbell, I would rather you be rude about it than pity me. Well, I do feel bad. And watching him. That's not the way I've been playing. Oh, God.

Oh, that clip is tough. Do you think that last night, can you almost brush it off or is it's so bad you can i think you can i think you just go every everything that could have gone wrong went wrong we need to start over yeah just move on there you go jack just said it like maybe not even watch the game tape just start over 81 game season that never happened yeah but who do they have next let's find this out i don't i don't know yeah i think i'd be incredibly worried if i'm an edmonton oiler fan and there was like i guess there's good enough but there's enough of the game left where skinner should feel just as equally bad. Oh, yeah. Right? They were both 12 goal or 12 saves on 16 shots.

Both of them. Identical. Yeah. Which I don't know the last time I've ever seen a goalie pulled and then the second goalie come in and just be equally as bad or feel as equally as bad. Yeah. It's very rare.

The Canucks power play scored three times, threw some screens like tough night for the goalies but yes good night for calgary though yeah with a big win over winnipeg i'm decided like calgary decided uh in the last minute and a half here what are they doing with lindholm like how good is that hockey player they're they're gonna play hardball with this guy goal yes go to the net wins? Wins the face-off. Yeah. And then he's the first guy on the forecheck, right? And then starts the play and then finishes it in front of the net.

And he's been a part of what people call the best line in hockey statistically when it was Goodrow, Kachuk, and him. It was an unbelievable line. Every line he's on is so good. And they don't have a ton of superstars like you want to hang on to this guy so are you quibbling over 0.5 here or there like unless it's just that he doesn't want to do it but uh the line i think with manju panni and uh huberto uh six points huberau missed an empty netter, though.

But whatever. You've got to help her on that. He did. He banked it off the post. That's one of my quiet, weird obsession guys that I love so much. Huberdeau? I love Huberdeau. I also do. Oh, no.

You love Mangiapane. Yeah, he said Huberdeau, and I'm like, I love him. All right. Let's go to one of our favorites over the last few years on the Real Kipper and Bourne show. Let's welcome in Steve Allicat, former NHL goaltender analyst for the New York years on the Real Kipper and Bourne show, let's welcome in Steve Allicat, former NHL goaltender analyst for the New York Rangers on MSG, teeing up the Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. Valley, what's going on, my friend?

Look at this guy, live and in person. Now, we were told we were only going to get you voice only, but here on the network you're uh as beautiful as ever right now on our screen i'll tell you what fellas uh that is no easy walk from grand central during rush hour today oh my goodness i barely made we almost lost somebody on the train train car three we had a medical situation i just came in here with my hair on fire so let's get to work fellas fellas. Typical New York City. Just another day, man. Just another day. Let's start with your, you know, the team that you follow and watch on a daily basis, the New York Rangers. Everybody,

if we talk about favorites, we just talked about the Edmonton Oilers, the Toronto Maple Leafs to start our show. The Rangers should be in that mix, correct? Yeah, look, I think that when I look at Cap Friendly and what teams are spending and what teams should be in the mix contending right now, I'm looking at 10 teams. You know, guys, like, I think there's 10 teams to start this season that legitimately think they could win a Stanley Cup. So what happens between now and March and you get into the trade deadline

and will the Rangers add again? They have the last two years. But in the last two years, the players proved that they deserved to get help. And that's where they're at right now. This roster is better than it was at the start of last season. I think they're locked to make the playoffs,

but Carolina and New Jersey are a step ahead of them in my opinion you know you look at this team's decor and decors have won stanley cups in recent years that this group is right there lindgren fox miller truba schneider like they have a really good decor and have a chance to win so what you need then is some secondary guys to break out where is our boy alexi lafreniere what are your thighs is it gonna happen for this kid do you want this to be my last time on your show maybe i should ask a different question there's a lot of controversy borne right like it's

it's touchy it's um you want to see him just take it and will cooley came in and had a training camp where i remember talking to scott Scott Gomez about this because Gomer, he made the New Jersey Devils as a 19 year old when everybody had to go to Albany. And I was like, Gomer, how did you make the Devils that year? He's like, are you kidding me? I should have made it as an 18 year old. And I was like, no, seriously, you know, what's the deal? What happened there? And he said, no, I went in there and I said, make them keep you over and over again in my head. And he said it went to my legs. It went to my hands. Like everything I did, like they saw me out there and I made an impression.

And I haven't seen that from Lafreniere. And I don't know why he doesn't have more urgency. And then what it does, Boren, is it makes you think like, did this guy have a good summer or not? You know, and you don't know. I'm not in the trenches that way. I'm not in the room, but it looks a certain way. And now he's hearing footsteps because I'm telling you this Will Cooley kid. I mean, if Labby wants to play him the way that he uses Wilson in previous years, you know, this is a kid that can play that big, heavy game. He wants to get in on the four check and hit the rangers they were 30th in the

nhl at getting chances off the four check last year laviolette really loved yes and what's worse is they were 32nd with only 79 rebound chances all year at five on five at five on five so like if you want to build a team with an identity, and LaViolette was the biggest signing the Rangers had this summer. I played for him twice. I played for him in Providence after he won a Calder Cup, played for him in the Islanders. And I can tell you what, man, this guy, he wants accountability from day one.

He's going to set the culture. There's no BS. Guys are going to get sat this year. And if LaFi plays like he did last year, he'll be watching from the press box a lot because what flew last year, it wasn't under my radar, but it was allowed to slide. And the way I always look at it, and I'm sure you guys agree with me,

hockey players crave structure. And there just wasn't enough of that last year. And I'm sure that LaBouillette's going to come in and have a really important first few weeks here to start the season. We're talking to Steve Valliquette, former NHL goaltender and covering the Rangers on MSG. The hot debate, Valli, is whether or not this guy deserves his spot in the lineup tonight

or face him with some tough love. It's apparent that he didn't have the training camp that he deserves his spot. How hot of a debate is it amongst Ranger fans whether or not spotting him a spot with the likes of maybe Panarin or Hedl is the right thing to do. It's the topic, right?

It's what everybody's talking about. In fact, it's a bit of a distraction. And if I'm talking about what hockey players crave, you know what hockey players hate? It's being a distraction. And I'm sure that he feels like all eyes are on him as he walks into the building tonight. And how is he going to perform on the second line?

Will Cooley is a natural right winger. And if Lafreniere can't make it work on line two on the right side, there's now Cooley and Blake Wheeler that would be very quick to fill that role if he can't do it. So there's a lot of pressure there, but the expectations have been mounting because it's getting late early for him and his career, it just is. And he's got to make it happen. If he can't take a step here,

it's going to be a big distraction for the hockey club this year. So, you know, among the reasons the Rangers, you had them as a definite playoff team and I certainly do too. And one of those reasons is the goaltender. Obviously, Shusterkin is an absolute superstar for them. I'm curious your thoughts on what it is with these Russian goalies.

Sorokin is another guy's top of the league. Vasilevsky's top of the league. Like the handful of guys that are the best are Russian goaltenders. What is the theme there? Is it a stylistic thing or what am I missing? Well, what you're missing is, no, I was there for two years, Borny, and what you wouldn't know unless you're there is how much we're on the ice. So they paid me a million bucks when I was there.

They got every dollar out of me, okay? I'm not kidding. I'll tell you what my daily schedule is like, and this is no joke, and I saw it with the 12-year-olds and the 13-year-olds that were also there, and they're in the dirt doing lunges, and then they're on the ice. But a typical day in Russia, you stay on the team base, you come in in the morning, you have breakfast as a team, you're on the ice with the goalies for an hour.

You have a short break, half the team comes on the ice, another hour. Short break, the other half of the club comes on for team practice. That's another hour. We rest at the team base, come back in the evening for specialty teams. I'm on the ice four hours a day in Russia. And it's more ice time. And when I was there, the reason why I was there was because the goalies were awful in Russia at the time. And I'm talking about right after the 0-4-0-5 lockout.

And the reason why I'm playing in Yaroslavl at that time is because the goalies were all playing like street hockey goalies. It was really bad. And then they purchased, from what I understand, the curriculum from the Swedish Elite League goalie coaches that really started having some on-ice curriculum that made sense. The Russians, they then instituted that. They have the right people working on skating.

And to answer your question, it's movement. The way they move in the crease is better, more efficient at tracking the pass, letting the pass come across their body, get their head over their leading knee and go. There's no cheating in their drills. In North America, when I go to see goalie school goalies, and I think this is why we're not producing them, it's because they've been too cookie cutter, very good in drill work,

but not being able to move the way the Russian guys can in the games. Shusterkin, jog my memory here, Valley. Shusterkin did not get off to a good start last year, but really settled in in the back half. Can the Rangers make some noise if that happens again or uh are they going to be in the mix with the likes of pittsburgh and the islanders and washington in this metro yeah look the way i look at it too is and we know when we try and pick who's going to make the playoffs and if we say it's going to be same as last year, Islanders, Devils, Carolina, Rangers,

every year there's a surprise, right? Every year. So one of those four teams isn't going to make it. I don't know who's going to get in, but the way I look at the start for the Rangers, it all hinges on Shusterkin's performance. The reason why he wasn't at Vesna Caliper last year was because he allowed 17 bad goals last year whereas the

previous year he only allowed eight it's a difference in save percentage from 916 to 920 because look as a goalie when you give up a bad goal do you know what that means it means that I got to make 10 more saves to reach 90 so he would have had to stop 70 more pucks last year to be a Vezina caliber guy, or at least be in the mix as a finalist. And that's where he kind of missed the mark. And I think it was when you give up a bad goal, it's because of focus. It's not ability. It's focus for a guy at that level. It's focused. So where he was on the goals that he allowed that were what I would say bad goal low danger goal those were all focus goals they were from distance he's stopping all the good

ones because he's so good and then he was giving up some of the weaker ones but i think the weight of the expectations to do it again last year threw him off of his mark and he just wasn't himself this year he better be ready to go in the beginning because Labulette's going to change the neutral zone structure. There's going to be a little bit more of an implications into left wing lock. He's going to change the way that they play in the D zone. I think it'll be more man on man when it's in the higher ice and then down low layers.

There's going to be some thinking there and Shostakhin's going to have to bail them out. How many times will he have to bail them out? Listen, Jonathan Quick, we could talk all day long, Hall of Famer potentially. No problem with having that debate, but can Jonathan Quick play and win still in this league? What's the number for Shusterkin this year, 60, 65 games?

Well, if it is, then you're not a Stanley Cup contender. You're just not. You can't. And I looked at this yesterday because it was interesting. Backup goalies, they have to deliver collectively as a group 25 points for you to make the playoffs. 25 points in the standings. Last year, four teams didn't do it.

The Islanders lost in the first round. Sorokin had to play a lot. Colorado, first round loss. Now, Dallas was the outlier. They went into the conference final. But if you remember Ottinger, he was not himself throughout the playoffs. He pulled three times in really bad starts. He had a lot of blow-up games.

I think he was like an 894 in save percentage in the postseason. So one thing we haven't seen in the last 20 years is a goalie play over 60 games and win a Stanley Cup. I think we've seen it actually once. It was Marc-Andre Fleury in his first Cup. But we just don't see it. And a lot of that really does fall and i remember henrik saying it last year halak started the year last year oh five and one and henrik said that's putting a lot of

pressure on just irkin and i look at him i'm like i didn't know the way i played put pressure on you you know what i mean i didn't know that i was like i just doing my thing but he's like no because now i gotta i gotta get wins every start and there's more pressure on me and uh halak turned it around but at the end of the day these guys have to deliver whatever it is if it's louis deming and quick uh garan's a really good prospect coming out of harford collectively as a group they got to bring home 25 points valley i know we got to let you go in just a sec so a quick one from me we've been talking about the Oilers and Jack Campbell um you know while we have our premier goalie analyst on the show quick thoughts on Campbell can he salvage his time in Edmonton here you know after how it started and how this season has started for him I'm gonna shift here to analytics a little bit

we started this year with a new page in our app, and it's a silhouette of a goalie and where he gets beat. Now, don't think of it as where does it go into the net, but at what point does it go by the body? Because sometimes it can go through the six or seven hole and still end up in the upper part of the net. Well, that's not a high corner shot. It went through him, but he was out so far.

Where I'm going with this is it's really interesting to see what goalies are getting beat over their gloves under their gloves i'll tell you this if you're pre-scouting jack campbell right now and you're not shooting under his hands you're not doing your homework because nobody allows more goals in the NHL under their hands than Jack Campbell. And if anybody knows that, then look out. I don't think it's turning around because there's Jack Campbell in save percentage and then everybody else from worst to first. And I think it's an important way to look now at integrating analytics on how the goalies are allowing the puck to pass them by

and for jack campbell it's it's under the hands and if you're scouting that especially with you see goalies a lot of times now have their glove hand fingers up and they go early to protect up top and now righties are really zinging them underneath the glove well that's that that's the type of chance i'm talking about just just quickly here, if you know it and your website knows it, how does Jack not know it, and how does he not just drop his hands a little lower? He's got a higher clear sight. Because Edmonton's not a client yet.

That's what it is. That's what it is. It's an advertisement. All right, we'll leave you on that note, man. I'm not coming on the show, and I'm not bringing anything here. Come on, boys. Thanks, Valley. Always, always bringing it on the Real Kipper and Bourne Show.

Thanks for doing this, man. Have a great call tonight. The Rangers and Buffalo. Hey, welcome back, fellas. Great set. Yeah, thanks, buddy. Look at the heat he brought today. He's awesome. campbell under the

gloves 25 points from your backup goalies the rangers were 32nd in rebound chances created he's got yeah him and mike mckenna are my two newest favorites buddy we got ralphie we got goalies we got goalies um i love the video aspect of the guest, boys. This is, what a treat. I mean, and what he's wearing, the sickest suit I've ever seen. It really helps. Yeah. Or having, yeah, just jacked amber and well-suited Valley. Good start.

Our next guest on camera has got a lot to follow. Yeah. Speaking of goalies, Corporate Salo made his Ottawa debut, and they seem to have been hanging in there pretty well against the Carolina Hurricanes. And I don't know if he caught those two goals in the third period on Corpus Allo, but they were stinky. They weren't good.

Nope. And I did go on record earlier saying I'm not sure about Corpus Allo. I'm not sure if he's the right guy. At the end of the day, what did you think about five years at $4 million per? They gave him $20 million coming off of a short stint in L.A., but remembered most in Columbus. Yeah.

Did you see that? I remember him against the leafs did you see the shagel the brady shagel yeah he actually took his glove hand and try to go across his back catcher style trying to frame a pitch yes kirky yes absolutely and i'm like what's wrong with your blocker yeah but i just thought it was really not a great goal and you know again okay i get a game one jitters maybe some nerves new uniform i get it i've been there i know what that feels like but there's a lot of pressure on this guy to deliver in ottawa yeah five years a lot of years and. And you're looking at the Jack Campbell contract. And listen, it's really tough for NHL goaltenders to predict what they're going to be.

You know, $10 million to Bobrovsky in Florida, and you give big tickets to guys that just haven't panned out. You don't want to give any goalie a big deal, I feel like, these days. And yeah, Korpisalo, they're just looking for steady goaltending. He doesn't have to be elite, but that was not steady. You know what I am sad to admit?

Timmy Stutzla is a hell of a hockey player. Oh, dude. Almost no one I'd rather watch in the league. There's like McDavid, McCart. And that contract starting this year is 8-3 until 2031. And he's going to get 100 points a year until 2031. He is flying. That goal he scored, I mean, classic Freddie goal to let in on the sideboards,

but like flying. They're another team. It's imperative that they get off to a good start here. Sens? Yes. Oh, yeah. Why do you think? Well, first of all, it's rather strange that Josh Norris isn't there.

The feeling is the Ottawa Senators think he's fine. Is it salary related or he doesn't feel fine? He doesn't feel fine coming off a shoulder surgery. That he's not 100, he doesn't feel right. And he's looking for more definitive answers. This is such a short conversation. The player doesn't feel ready. He's not ready.

Yeah. Well, there's some people in Ottawa think he he is ready and he should play so this one good luck with that this one's interesting and the other one in ottawa before we move on is the lineup with 11 forwards last night no shane can't get shane pinto signed can't get him it's reported that they have an agreement basically and that they just can't afford them move money yeah it's strictly and there ottawa is not the only team that are battling i think la last night had 11 forwards but you're starting the season and you're you're shorthanded and there's there's there's some heat on pierre dorian right now for not having his lineup they're in a close

game last night and they only have 11 forwards so they're without a guy who scored 24 them last year they can't fit in the cap they're paying matt murray 1.56 million dollars to not play for them they're playing bobby ryan 1.8 they're playing colin white 8 875 bobby ryan how much 1.8 they're paying michael delzotto 750 like they're paying a lot of guys and they can't fit this guy in of course there's heat on the gm i mean and this is you know where's that new heat with a a new owner in michael and lauer yeah and he goes sorry deos who's coming in as president of hockey ops like so they're looking to move the joseph contract is kind of what they are but and and he can move it but he's he's got to throw a sweetener he's got to what's throwing

he's got to throw in the uh kyle dubas sweetener to carolina to get rid of patrick marlo i mean joseph's making three he's making 2.95 oh and everybody knows by the way i like joseph yeah but he's got three more years does he not yeah that's a big number and i don't know what do you think that would be a first or second round or sweetener no he's a good player he's young he's but nobody has any money money money well no one has money no one's can the cap everyone's capped i bet you people are saying if you retain and he's going, I can't. I'm retaining on three guys. Yeah, I had retained.

Yeah. Bobby Ryan retained out. Ready, boys? Ready. All right. It's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus, Ontario only.

Play responsibly. We were talking to Valley about the rangers today um i was looking at the teams that are going to get to 100 points the new york rangers are even money to get to 100 points do you think that they will be up there this year my answer is more commentary on the division than the rangers but yes okay i think the goal tending and five d men plus er Eric Gustafson that are extremely good, yeah, I think they're going to get to 100 points. I'll take the under.

Oh, yeah? Yeah. I think that... I think there's just something not right in the mix here, and I don't know if it's... I was going to ask about Panarin. ...Caco or Lafreniere,

but this thing has a chance to be a distraction as Valley just absolutely nailed in our interview with him that I don't know where it ends up. Lafreniere.

Is there a chance someone swoops in here? Is it a ball or something? Valley threw it out there. Is it an off-ice issue? Did he train properly? Is he coming to work prepared the best way that he can? Like, that to me is something that can not derail a whole season,

but can certainly drag it. It's crazy. Like, he's been healthy. He played 79 two years ago and 81 last year, and he got, you know, 19 goals and 16 goals. Like, it's not like he's nothing. You know, like, he's 22. He's 6'1 and 190-something.

And nothing irks the boys in the room more when they see someone get something that they don't deserve. An opportunity? Or the contract? Maybe a contract. Maybe ice time. Maybe a top six line.

that will never fail in terms of a team feeling like a team when everybody feels like everybody's bringing what they need to bring to the table, and it's not given. And right now, there's a lot of people saying Lafreniere

not only doesn't deserve to be in a top six to start tonight, he doesn't deserve to be in the lineup. It's crazy. That is nuts. He's still so young um yeah sorry no no i was just gonna say like the amount of buzz that he had like you remember the world juniors that year he was unbelievable he just felt to me like a guy even if he didn't score a ton you'd love him like yeah and last quick one their opponent tonight the buffalo sabers page thompson i thought his goal total was pretty high, 43.5. And the over is a favorite. So you think over?

Yeah. Paige is an elite goal scorer. So you don't think last year is flashy in the panty at all? No, I don't. Okay. I don't know what his total was last year. I'm going to find it here quick. But I have Paige as a 50-plus goal guy this year.

Somebody asked me, I think uh last week on a podcast how many 50 goal scores will there be this year and i think there's a chance for 10 or something i don't tend a lot it does seem like a lot yeah i said that but if it's six or eight i tage Tate Thompson's one of the first names, I would say, that has a legitimate shot at 50. Yeah, you're McDavid, Matthews, Dreisaitl, Pasternak, Rantanen, Thompson. You know, he's in a handful of guys. Maybe on the outside looking in.

All right. You know, Chris Kreider's done it. Yep. That was Game Time, presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19 plus,

Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Okay, we're going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we're going to have a little bit of a discussion on Owen Power, who signed a huge deal that I didn't expect,

probably, until a little later, and that was coming off, of course, Darlene's $88 million contract. And where are the Buffalo Sabres heading starting tonight? That and more when we return to the Real Kipper and Bourne Show. Everything Raptors before and after the games. The Raptor Show with Will Liu. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right.

We heard from Steve Vallecat earlier in the program, teeing up the Buffalo Sabres to face the New York Rangers, just to follow up on the Owen Power contract. $8.35 million dollars for seven years and how many games under his belt sammy not many less than 100 i think 87 yep 87 yeah six schools in his career so most guys have to wait those seven years to hit pay dirt he gets it coming out of college with that very helpful burn of the first year of his deal that's the key right guys you come in you play one game at the end of the season and you burn a year off your deal and now you're in a position one year later to negotiate this type of contract

it doesn't happen for many and it's the best thing to ever happen to the buffalo sabers this is an absolute win for them they keep a guy who's going to be one of the in my opinion one of the 10 best five best d in the league uh you know for eight some million dollars as a pair with Darlene. I love power. I understand, you know, frankly, he's maybe going to be worth as much as Darlene for a lot of this contract, but you're not buying as many UFA years. It's not quite,

in Winnipeg in terms of getting people to go and stay there, but you get to keep them for seven years. I love this contract. This is just, yeah. I mean, if you're hedging, it's it's hard to think that you can have more of a sure bet than this guy he is you watch him six foot six the way he's five points at age 19 or whatever it was he's headman and waiting isn't he

he's just done it's amazing i didn't know that players were allowed to take team-friendly contracts that sets them up to win for a long time. Not used to that. Sam somehow saw this contract and made the least problem. Right back to Toronto. Wait for you, Sammy boy. Oh, it's like, oh, this guy signed long-term for a decent number instead of setting the NHL record for every contract. That might be an RFA

record. He's making a ton of dollars. Let's give Kevin Adams at least an acknowledgement for being very aggressive on this. Yeah. Right? But how can you, like... Otto has done this too, right?

But both perspectives. They're an awesome deal for the Sabres, but if you're Owen Power, that contract is put in front of you. It's like, well, yep. Yeah, it's hard to turn down. How in the hell am I not going to sign that contract? It's Shifley looking at his eight plus. He's like, I'll sign on the moon for that do you remember they also signed that samuelson in uh buffalo last year for a fairly

big ticket and we'll pull that up pretty quick here but um this is a very big defense yeah it's a big team their best players tuck is huge thompson huge dylan cousins large yeah like they're i'm very i'm a sabers guy this year i'm you know i think they're going to be a really good team with levi or eric comrie levi levi's the guy yeah do you not like i don't know do not buy into that that that uh theory that goalies really need to start coming into their own when they're 25 or 26. The best don't.

This guy on fast track here, can he come in and give them 50 games? I thought last year maybe Buffalo could have been more aggressive about filling out their team and making a push. They ended up a point short of playoffs. Yeah. And if they had had some semblance of goaltending, they probably have got there i don't love that they're trusting it to levi and comry he was born in the year 2001 who comry that's not that's young i i hear great things

i graduated high school in 2000 i hear great things about levi though in terms of his prep you ever watch him uh in between in between commercials or face-offs? Oh, yeah. Does he? What does he do? He goes through a routine. That's right. I have seen this.

Where it's like a meditation like I've never seen before. Yeah. He legit, like, meditates. Something's going on. Goalies, man. The weirder my goalie is, the better. Yeah. Absolutely agree.

You know, like, Hellebuck is the whole eye thing that you see him doing he's not afraid to put himself out there he looks like frankenstein yeah and like you just you want your goalie to be weird and you don't need some handsome normal goalie no chance zero chance and he does go against the grain as he's not six three or six four yeah okay all right maybe the goal tending to be an issue i'm gonna bet the over in a lot of sabers games this year that's the game i am really looking forward to watching that game tonight rangers sabers Okay. All right, maybe the goaltending will be an issue. I'm going to bet the over in a lot of Sabres games this year. That's the game. I am really looking forward to watching that game tonight.

Rangers-Sabres. I, uh, appointment viewing along with Atlanta and the Phillies tonight, too. A little baseball action. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm tuning into that. You like the Conor Bedard first NHL goal? Loved it. I love this kid. I am all in on him.

I just love the way he plays. I was flicking back and forth with the Leafs last night watching him play. I love this kid. I am all in on him. I just love the way he plays. I was flicking back and forth with the Leafs last night watching him play. I love him. And the Chicago Blackhawks lost Taylor Hall. I think they announced week to week, which means four to six weeks. Taylor Hall has become that guy that just can't be in hockey games. It was an awkward, weird one. Like he was falling and Carlo kind of was going to hit him, but he fell and he kind

of went back on his knee. It was not a pretty collision. I think it was another 21 and a half minutes for Connor. Good, just play him. Oh, yeah, just play him. Until he falls. He's amazing. Kip doesn't like it.

He is legitimately going to be a top 20 player in the league. Just play him. Oh, he's amazing. I'll watch him all night long for sure. He has. I just want to make sure that they they they protect them a little bit here yeah you know the hall injury hurts him in a lot of ways you know one of them is that you need guys to work with for elite talents and he hauls a guy who's been there this blackhawks team is not

exactly talent laden and he was one of the guys that was going to insulate him a little bit if he becomes i guess the point where he's on an island it's going to insulate him a little bit. If he becomes, I guess, the point where he's on an island, it's going to hurt him, Kip, playing 21 minutes a night with no support around him. Let's see if he can get through these first 10 games. It's kind of like playing a tough golf course, the tough front nine here. If he can get through the first 9, 10 games. Maybe they'll send him back to junior after the 10 games.

If he gets through the first 9 or ten brutal games here he'll be all right and did you see the espn graphic they flashed up yes how many goals he's behind let me put up wayne's number and they put up a dart with one i thought it was hilarious start the chase where's david amber get him on get him on it seven games on tap in the national hockey league including uh the stanley cup finalists florida panthers and the minnesota wild the wild and to play the leaf saturday night so not much talk about the panthers no i was just gonna say that right i mean is it a foregone conclusion they're gonna make the playoffs no definitely not really no i mean their goaltending can be a wild card we know it got hot in playoffs last year,

but here's their D pairs on... Well, they're injuries. They are. They're hurt. Right. But it's still Gustav Forsling, Ekman Larson as their top pair right now. Mikula, Kulikov, Rahura. Larson going to be their best defenseman?

No. They reeked for a lot of the year last year yeah they got hot after paul maurice was screaming bloody murder up and down the bench in toronto and they turned them around and they came in here and slapped the leafs up pretty good so beat the bruins slapped up the leafs bobrovsky do enough in the spring that you go he's he's money now no it with i think if you're a panthers fan it's frustrating because you know he can be that so is he not trying is he not committed enough why has it not been there in the regular seasons i don't know i think he he got over a hump yeah i think well listen i i don't know if he's going to, how many games he can steal them,

but I think that level of frustration that they had in the first, what, three years of his deal, I think it subsidized a tad last spring. I think so, too. Hey, I have something I want to ask you about, Kip. So in a group chat watching ryan reeves last night yeah and you know i get the message that like oh reeves better win the next fight or whatever like you know it's just three-year contract he gets beat up in his first fight

whatever and my thought was just like yeah do you need to win the fight isn't the idea that you're one of the few toughest i mean do you need to win fights as a heavyweight? No. I agree with that. No. You need to show that you're willing and will make someone else fight. The only thing you want to make sure is that you don't get hurt, which unfortunately I didn't take my advice on my last game of my career. You got through a lot of your career doing that. But the other one is that you didn't embarrass yourself and you didn't embarrass the

team or the organization. If you end up on the bottom, the bottom line was a guy like Ryan Reeves goes in there and he creates something out of nothing. And that was the original hit. The hit to me was more important than

if he ends up on the top or the bottom of a pile. And what happened? if he ends up on the top or the bottom of a pile same and what happened uh jack guy ends up with uh a two and a ten yeah and your team's off and running the building's awake you got a ripple effect through your bench you've done your job done your job and when you're out there and someone's running their mouth you can stand there like luke shen did for the leafs last year and say okay just you got to go through me that's the role of reeves it's not too it's not the ufc you don't have to win every fight you're not moving up to the next title no one's listen no one's claiming that ryan reeves at 37 is still the heavy was or still is a heavyweight champion i mean that's just for people that have nothing better to do

to have a conversation. Well, they can debate it. That's a fair conversation. You know, Jack, I might be the toughest guy, though. Jack, I'm 6'4", 240. Do you realize how big Jack is? To me, that conversation is right in there with the goal song. Oh, yeah?

Yes. Yeah, just useless. Who's the toughest guy in the league? Useless conversation. You know why I kind of feel like it's a bit useless? Is I don't think Wayne Simmons lost a fight as a Toronto as a toronto maple no he beat the brakes off pretty much everyone but the point is that it didn't matter we can we can definitively have sit here and go okay in my era who scared me the most right yeah jersey behind Or is that on the list? I missed him. I missed him. But it's not hard to say, okay, I go out of my way to avoid Bob Probert the most.

Yeah. Tony Twist? Second. Maybe tied for first. But there was a class of guys that you knew you're like i don't want to do this all he has to do sometimes is just also have the threat of going out there what it is it's the nuclear option somebody and just make somebody aware that you're on the ice sometimes his job is done if he can just get a defenseman to try to pass a puck a split second earlier love that and

and cause a bad pass or turnover and that's why you finish every check those are the ripple effects that sometimes people don't see well look at camp flasher in the playoffs after gudas blew him up he didn't he looked over his shoulder every time he had the puck for the rest of the series mean it was five minutes after the whistle and he ran through the end boards. Two minute minor. He didn't get a penalty. No penalty. Was there no penalty on that play?

No. Oh, that was a crime. How many true guys are like that in the league? In my area, we had three or four on every team. Now, is there one or two on every team? Some teams, not really. Yeah. The Leafs haven't carried one, unless you call Simmons that,

or Clifford, but again, I don't think they were in that class of guy. They were tough, middleweight guys. I think that element is a very important part of our game. Tom Wilson, Marcus Foligno. important part of our game yeah and tom wilson um marcus felino i mean there's a there's still there's still guys deloria fights everyone you know fights everyone yeah you know like they're they're they're guys there's just not as many but trust me teams are looking oh yeah right they're looking i don't know if how many are developing or if I was a young kid right now and junior and I had potential

to be that guy, I could make a lot of money. Skate fast, be in the right spots, show you're willing to hit people, run around and just be a dick. I will say that is a difference between Gregor and Aston Reese here in Toronto when we're watching.

Gregor ran into a bunch of guys, not but just finish every check make a move the puck quicker yada yada you know what's going on in this building right now what a 25th anniversary party for oh yeah i saw this from four to six they wanted to make sure we weren't there we get an email like yesterday if you're not doing anything come to our 25th anniversary party from 4 to 6. 401 to 559. We're on the air from 4 to 6. Should we take that personally? You should.

If I'm not mistaken, have you not been here for 20 of the 25 years? I was day one-er, buddy. Day one. Day one-er, buddy. Day one. Day one-er. Me, Darren Drager, and Greg Millen starting our first NHL game on October 9th, 1998. Yeah.

Philly versus the Islanders. I'd like to pull up the first broadcast and see how that went. I should have wore a diaper that night. If I would have back then said, 25 years later, you're going to be on a show

with a couple of knuckleheads that you've never heard of, and you're going to do this for two hours, I would have told you you're crazy. No chance. Not to blow too much smoke, but it is an honor to be on here with you. It's ridiculous I'm here. As your reward, go up and see if there's

cupcake scraps left. Crumbs. Save us crumbs. Knowing the people in this building, no chance. Just like that, this show's over in two hours. Just like that, 25 years for Sportsnet. We're back again tomorrow on the

Real Kipper and Bourne show. Our thanks to Mr. Valliquette. Always does a great job. Steve, thanks. Appreciate it. Enjoy your game tonight and enjoy the seven other ones on the National Hockey League scale. Nick Kiprios, see you next time.