Real Kyper & Bourne - What's Next Without J.T. Miller?

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne are joined by Mike Halford (4:25) – co-host Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650 – to give his overview of the Vancouver Canucks trading away J.T. Miller, what the future holds for Elias Pettersson, how the recent moves affect Quinn Hughes, if it's the right call to extend Marcus Pettersson, Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini's fit on the roster, and the players' view of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. Then, Nick, Justin and Sam McKee discuss Ryan Hartman's roughing on Tim Stutzle, the Buffalo Sabres' lack of response to their centreman Tage Thompson receiving a high hit, and much more from the weekend's slate of NHL games.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

All right, time to kick it up a notch here on our national hour. Real Kipper and Bourne show we are live on sports at 650 in Vancouver sports at 960 in Calgary this hour of real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by bet 365 Nick Kiprios Justin Bourne Sammy McKee with you for the next hour Mike Halford co-host of Halford and brough on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver will join us in a few minutes why what happened what happened is that now everybody in the NHL waits for a Friday night because they know that we don't work Saturday or Sunday to pull off major trades now in the NHL. They don't want to hear us fresh, emotional, right off the top on this.

So we'll get Mike on in a few seconds here and we'll talk about the depth of the JT Miller blockbuster trade. Another one in the National Hockey League. But before that, there was, I think the NBA got jealous, I guess, of the last two trades, Colorado and Vancouver. So they- If the NBA got jealous, they really took, they stole the show. I mean, that is the most insane, bizarre trade

in any sport I can ever remember this this one like I Am not even a basketball guy. Yeah, but it makes No sense because one guy is How much older? Then don't you just 35 or 25 turning 26 25 26? 25 turning 26 25 26 Traded for a 31 year old correct who's always hurt David Davis his nickname is actually street clothes So that's how her often he's hurt. So please you're more of an expert here. Explain this to me. I am far from an expert I do like the NBA. I love the Raptors don't watch as much this year because the whole Vince thing

but well, that's neither here nor there so I'm far from an expert but I can't wrap my head around it and there's all these different aspects and the only thing I can think of is that it's fixed by the league. Is that like they're like, hey we need, everybody sees our ratings, we see all this stuff, you know we got to get one of the best young players on the Lakers on the Lakers make them great they are one of the biggest draws I there's no other explanation and Dallas goes we'll take it on the chin for that there's an ownership thing that's happening there they got new owners and potential like there's rich owners yeah but like there's a whole there's a you've sent me a great thread on it I really don't know what the hell

happened but I was trying to think of like, oh, this in hockey terms? There isn't a comparable. One team actively trying to get worse. It would be like, I don't know, who's the second best, you know, I guess, how old's Matthews? How old's Matthews?

26, turning 27 maybe. Okay, and then I'm trying to think of a guy that's one that's older, that's like, it's like, Mark Shifely hasn't Matthews from our for like Colton Pareto. Yeah. Yeah, you know, that's maybe more knowing that that's not fair because Anthony Davis is a top 10 top Okay player in the league when he's healthy. It's like, you know

Okay, could dodge which is the third or second or fourth best player in the league. We shouldn't waste 10 seconds on this comparison anymore. You don't think there's a good there's some sort of comparison to be made, but I can't find it. The the one thing you know, I have there's a great expression that everything's a conspiracy theory if you're a moron. Now I just want to say this isn't that there is something happening here for sure. That was not Dallas being like, I'm

going to make my team better by swapping Donchich for Davis. That's not this. So there's something happening there. You know, there's theories about ownership and trying to get casinos approved and trying to threaten to move the team to Vegas. There's all these theories. Something's going on there. Anyway, we talked about basketball for a week. But I mean, it's just the only thing that's on the same level is like Gretzky getting traded. Sure. It's like that's this level. It's just, it doesn't happen.

But at least you can see how the Gretzky thing made sense. This is still... They just didn't want to pay Wayne. That was it. They didn't want to pay what Wayne finally deserved. Which, by the way, how dumb is that? They probably should have hit him. Yeah, it should have hit him.

Okay, Mike, let's welcome you in. Hi, Kelford. Gentlemen, hey gentlemen, sorry about that. How we doing? We're good, we're good. Don't ever apologize to us. Sammy does that to us, but not you. So how are things since Friday night?

Like, big relief for people questioning in it. The conversations that we had prior to Friday night was I'm not sure Vancouver's gonna be happy regardless of what they get for JT Miller. Did that stand true in your eyes? No, it's funny. I woke up Saturday morning and I was like, oh, this is boring now.

We need more trades. It started to itch away at my face. Like we need more action. Come on, give us more. Yeah. Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more. I was, it gave the weekend, gave everyone a chance to sort of sit and realize the magnitude of what happened and how profound the changes were. I mean, if you go back over the 50 plus years of Canuck history, there are many days that profound where they made so many like seismic moves to change the course of action for a team mid season. Right? We've

seen big off season moves before, but nothing to this magnitude. You have to go all the way back to the nineties, I think. So there's still very much a sense of wait and see. I know Rick talk it after the overtime loss to Detroit last night talked about how we know there's a real sense of everyone starting from zero. And it's a fresh start for a lot of guys, new beginnings. And it is a very new look team now with so many changes. So I've got time for that approach, but I think a lot of people are in more wait and see mode specifically when it comes to Pedersen because right now everyone's laser focused on number 40. That's the topic of conversation. I know the new Pedersen

and O'Connor and Heidel and Mancini people are interested by them but it still remains very much a Pedersen story. Well let's let's go down the Pedersen. Yeah let's go down the Pettersson road a little further. Let's do it. Oh no, it's just starting. Oh, I know it's just starting. It's just starting. There's just so much in this trade to break down, but we should. That is the biggest piece here is what now?

Is he still going to be a Vancouver Canuck come August of this year if he plays great? What is this scenario? Set the table for us? Right. So the chronology now is you've got from here until the end of the regular season or playoffs, depending if they make and if they do how far they go. And it almost feels like a very weird re audition period for a guy who I mean, let's be real real now is should be unencumbered by any issues. You know, there's always been something it's yeah, but like, yeah, but there's a potential injury or yeah, but we've never had the adequate winger forum or now it's yeah, but he's always had to deal with this Miller situation and the club

has gone above and beyond like stripping those away just to try and get to the real issue here, which is what's up with Pederson and can he get back to being the player that we're giving 11.6 million dollars a year to and right now it just doesn't look like it. And I think, you know, if you're to look forward, given how far they've gone down the road with, you know, proposed trades and how close they've come to actually pulling the trigger on a Pedersen deal. It's hard to put an overwhelming percentage in the will be a cannot moving forward because you know that they've entertained the idea of doing it.

He'd have to have a pretty dramatic turnaround in his game. I mean, he can't go these long stretches with being invisible or everyone looking for the smallest detail to be like, Oh, is he back? Is he closer to being the Pedersen that we knew? It's got to be more profound than that. So I would say, you know, the next two, three months or so are going to be very interesting to see what he does on the ice. And then based on that, what the Canucks are going to do with them away from the ice. So basically we're giving them a 30 game tryout here.

I mean, it seems crazy to say for a guy that's got a 96 million dollar contract. But it's, you know, if you subscribe to the theory that the rift with Miller was so big and so profound, it was affecting his game and the games of the players around them, then you say, OK, well, if you're if you're're Alvin and rather for you, like we got rid of that problem, we moved, we made the choice and fair or not. That's what the public perception is right now. So the Connucks made the choice to keep 40 and to move nine. And that with itself comes with a lot of pressure and that's a new dynamic that Patterson is going to have to deal with. Now I don't know how engaged he is with the court of public opinion, but, you know, anecdotally,

we hear people texting into our show and we talk to people around the city. People liked Miller. People liked the way that he played. People liked what he brought to the table. And for a risk to be solved by moving him and keeping Pederson, there's still a lot of raw feelings around that. There's gonna be a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure around it too.

So Mike, let me ask you, if the light switch doesn't hit between now and the end of the season and you still get a lot of the Pettersson that you've seen throughout this season, now it shifts off of Pettersson and it goes right back on Jimmy Rutherford and Alvein on what to do. Is there is there a world in your eyes that

you can continue to kind of see this inconsistency from Pedersen and yet they decide to not trade him, lock in his no move moving forward what would that world be like for Vancouver Canuck fans well I think the very next thing for those two is their pivot would have to be what are we gonna do to ensure the Quinn Hughes never leaves Vancouver I mean that would be the big thing for me because that's gonna be the next one right like his deals not up immediately it's two years down the road but they would start having to align all their going to be the next one, right? Like his deal's not up immediately. It's two years down the road, but they would start having to align all their pieces

to be how are we going to keep Quinn Hughes of Vancouver Canuck for life? Cause that is the most profoundly important thing. I would say that they've already thrown the gauntlet down in terms of what their expectations are for Pedersen. And they both said it publicly that he's not met them. So I can't envision a world where he underperforms and they're okay with it, especially Rutherford. When we've seen how he out bold and swift he can be, especially in the last week.

I mean, look, he came out in Vancouver to a pretty frenzied market and said, we're going to make this deal, a deal, either a Pederson or Miller deal, and we're probably going to lose it. Like be braced, Vancouver, for getting an inferior return to what you might want. And then three days later, boom, made the trade. And he was right. Like they didn't get this overwhelmingly brilliant package for Miller. It was just sort of, and everyone understood that they had to do it. So with a executive that bold and that unafraid to make moves I got to imagine that if betterson keeps underperforming He will be employing his or deploying his trades somewhere else next season. It's a

You know, it's not I don't think it's a guarantee that JT Miller's long contract ages Well, you know there there could be some rays of sunshine in this. The Canucks get younger with Hedl, Pedersen, O'Connor, Mancini. What are your thoughts on how this changes the Canucks? Are they better? Can they be the same even? They might have inadvertently like dodged the bullet with Miller's contract, like no question.

Like the timing could end up working out brilliantly for them where like the reason they traded him wasn't because of his contract. It was because of the meat solely this issue. But if you're looking down the road, you might, or I mean, you can very well argue that JT Miller's played the best hockey that he's ever going to play in his career. Like the best parts of them are done. Like he still might play very good hockey, but he might never be a hundred point guy again. He might never be on the fringes of the heart trophy conversation like he's been like, he might just be done. So in that regard, they may end up saying, Hey, this worked out okay for us. That's down the road though. In the, the immediacy of it is you look at the forward group and the first thing you're thinking

is like, who's going to score right now? Who's going to be the driver? Who's going to be another F one on this team that can get things done and be a difference maker in the clutch. Like, I mean, last night against Detroit was a pretty glaring example, whereas another game where they failed to score more than two goals at home, it was without Queen Hughes. So everyone's kind of looking for who's the other game breaker. Well, it's Pederson. He's making close to 12 million bucks a year and there wasn't anything to break. He didn't break the game open. It was Heedle, the guy that stepped up ironically enough. So, you know, there's still that sense of in the short term, in the term of this season and the next season, Miller will be

missed, but I've got a lot of time for what you're saying about the longterm. They may have gotten out from a deal that won't age. Well, you mentioned he'd all an impressive debut scored a huge goal for the Vancouver Canucks and just Like his his ceiling his upside. I've watched him underachieve in In New York at times thinking he's just another big hit away from being out of the lineup your early thoughts of his chance to fill in the void

So we had Larry Brooks on the show this morning. Yeah, but he's great. I don't want to Just paraphrase what he said basically he said like he was really high on he does talent He loved him as a player loved him as a person So the only reason that I never worked in New York or two reasons one You know you never knew what his next hit absorbed was gonna be his last because he had major health issues as you alluded to the other one was like he was kind of blocked out by Other centers in New York where he was always gonna be a 3c guy and then we watched him last night No, no, Bruff and I were texting back and forth like this's a lot to like here. Like he's big, he's strong,

he's fast, he can carry the puck in traffic. He had a couple of like one man zone entries, which is a totally foreign concept for this Canucks team in the way that they played this year. And they scored a big goal. The end here's the thing. It's always the same thing, right? It's like if he can stay healthy, but it's capital I, capital F if, because he showed no ability to do that. The one season where he was pretty healthy in New York, I think he played about 77 games and had good numbers and was effective and you know, drove play and put up counting stats and was a guy that you were intrigued by, but he just never stayed healthy long enough to do it with any sort of like sustainability.

So I'm hopeful. I'm really hopeful because you know, they're going to need him, especially in the short term to make an impact. But I am, you know, you're going to hold your breath a little bit every time he absorbs the check or he goes into a collision or something like that. Hopeful that he comes out of it standing up. Well, if you send a first round pick that comes back with him to Pittsburgh for, uh, Pederson, surely you expect to keep that guy. Are you a little nervous about what that number looks like given what I assume is some desperation to sign him, not lose them?

Yeah, right. Like they're not going into it wielding the most power in negotiations. Cards are on the table. Everyone knows your blue line's thing. You just made a huge trade for the guy. Right? I mean, there's already a bunch of reports out there. Caps going up a ton. Yeah, right? Like all the signs point to you're going to be paying out the nose for this guy. But I mean, it seems like everyone knew with either a wink, wink or a nudge, nudge, or a hand. Deal's done. There was a deal ready. There was a deal that was going to get done here. The question is what the number is going to come in at. And I, you know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what I've heard. It's going to be, you know, the guy's going

to be rewarded handsomely. Everyone likes his play, talking some last night again, and was raving about how calm he was on the back end. And then if you look at Vancouver's blue line He's gonna be an important part I think in it going from being one of the worst units in the NHL what you could have said It was at times this year to a group that you start looking down the road and you bring in Mancini and Tom Willander the former first-round picks comes out of BU and jumps to the pros. And then the other Elias Pedersen, who's starting to play well in the blue line, suddenly you're looking at a blue line that's a little more optimistic and a little brighter days ahead.

And the Marcus Pedersen is a big part of that. Mancini might be the sleeper here in all of this. I hear great things about him and large He will play in the NHL 15 games this year. I want to say and again it up with five points in 15 games in a limited Limited showing with the Rangers and look I mean point-blank like the Rangers had a better deeper blue line than the Canucks did so Whatever opportunity man, see he didn't get in New York I think he'll be privy

to in Vancouver just because the guys he was replacing aren't playing well. Like Carson Susie was a healthy scratch against Detroit on Sunday and talk it flat out said he's like, he's struggling. He needs a reset. It's been a really tough go for him. You know, and I don't think that they're enamored with like playing Noah Juleson with as many reps as they have. They traded Vinny De Harne away to Pittsburgh to open up another spot in the Marcus Pettersson deal. So there's opportunities there and I think a lot of people in Vancouver are really excited the prospect of seeing what Mancini can do just because the blue line is in such a sore spot for

everyone this year that anybody new with some upside and some intrigue is going to be welcomed with open arms. Is there any sadness in leaving or losing Branstrom or Dayharnay? No. Okay. Good talk. Yeah. I mean, look, the one thing I'll say, you know what?

The one thing that this management group has done really well is identify when they've made a mistake and get out from under it really quick. Right. And you can go all the way back to McCabe. They signed them. They said, no, this isn't working out. Boom. Moved them along. Who's Manco same thing. Heinen, same thing. Day Harney, you know, brandstrom. They picked them up right before the start of training camp realized it wasn't working or at the end of training camp realized it wasn't working on he goes. And you know, it's, you know, it's, people will laugh when they're like,

well great, they make mistakes and then they own up to it. But you know, there's other management groups that'll be stubborn or defiant, or won't want to admit that they're gonna take an L on this. And that hasn't been the Rutherford-Alveen way. Sometimes they try things and they don't work and they're very quick to pivot off it, which I give them a lot of credit for so my god these changes enough for now or

Towards the end of the season. Is this lineup good enough to toward off the Calgary flames? I mean, you know, I would have said yes until Calgary made that move for Frost and Farabee which caught me by surprise because you know, it was it was a kind of a savvy by low deal for them where they they took a chance on a couple guys that had obviously I think stagnate a little bit in feeling are still young enough to be considered guys that could be a part of Calgary. So I think it was a really savvy move. I just didn't see them buying at all, uh, going into this season and they seem fully committed to the act of making a push for it. Like why not? They've got the goal tending and they've had bounce back years. And I mean, I've watched Calgary a lot this year. They

play hard. They play real hard. They're bought in for a Ryan Husker behind the bench. So they're going to be one of those teams that is like tough to like knock away and to knock out on the picture. But I think eventually the lack of talent will probably do just that. And that'll probably allow Vancouver to get in. But I think that might be the ceiling on the team this year is just getting in. I mean, I don't, I just haven't seen enough through close to 50 games now where they can string together enough good performances consecutively to win like a playoff series. Like they just have too many eggs and they just they have too many

no show performances and they just don't win enough games with regularity to be taken seriously. But I do think that I'll end up in the playoffs, partly because you know, Calgary and then the rest of the West, the guy the team's chasing right now. They're just not that great. You know, obviously at all, I shouldn't say at all, but a lot of their success hinges on Quinn Hughes playing and being healthy. What are your thoughts on where he's at health wise and any concerns about the pending Four Nations face off? Yeah, I mean, we talked about on the show today, I asked the question aloud. No one thinks that Quinn Hughes should play in the Four Nations faceoff.

Right. And then there was the silence and then everyone gonna begrudgingly nodded along. Like, I mean, it's tricky because you have to respect the players wishes. And I think in this particular instance, since they're, they're going to be catering to Hughes for the next couple of years. Anyway, like whatever Quinn wants, we'll give them cause we wanted to stay around. Like, I don't think you want to run a foul of a player, but I mean, the Patrangelo thing clearly sounds like that was Vegas making the call, right? Like that wasn't him not wanting to go. I mean, he came out and said that it sucks that I don't get to go to the four nations face off. And then my response was like, well, then just go play. You're playing right now. So obviously it's someone

above saying, yeah, you're not going to do this one. So, um, you know, Hughes is logged a ton of minutes. He's taken a lot of abuse. He's got some wrong with his hand. Who Lord knows who, what else, because he's been, you know, shouldering such a heavy workload. I think it would be smart for the Connucks if he just took the couple of weeks off and rest and recuperated. But I don't know where the buy-in with all the players is right now on

the four nations thing But I have to think given he hasn't really got to play a lot of best on best internationally And he'd be such a huge part of the team. He'd want to go but again This is just me purely speculating at this point Mike that Vancouver Canucks can't even get him to take warm-up off Like yeah, you see a superstar take warm-up 99% it's because he's playing. So that may give us some indication of who's making the decisions on when to play or what tournament to play in. But I got to think that he's also feeling a lot of pressure to perform in this tournament as well as

maybe some others because when it's all said and done man this is this is the players tournament this is what they wanted well that's what we keep like everyone that is maybe not looking forward to the tournament or saying like all the players aren't bought in or the players will just treat this like an exhibition or a meaningless tournament I always point back to the players are not going to be in the tournament or saying like all the players aren't bought in or the players will just treat this like an exhibition or meaningless tournament. I

always point back to the players are the ones that wanted this. I mean, the players were the ones that brought this up as a collective bargaining chip. The players were the ones that didn't just want

international competition. They wanted a calendar so that there was, you know, a regularly scheduled best on best international competition. They wanted it to be with regularity. They want, you know, the players want this. It was a player driven initiative. I remember talking to Marty Walsh when we had him on from the NHLPA and he said it was very important, especially to a generation of players that haven't got to have it at all and watch, you know, clips of Crosby scoring the golden goal that they all want that on their resume,

and this is the way to do it, is to have tournaments like this in between Olympics so that you don't go three or four plus years without any international best on best. So I hope that the players remain committed and passionate and stuck into this thing because I want it to work. Plus the Terra 4s are gonna turn it into the Summit Series, right? Like, is Canada, Canada you had not like a must watch game with them last

quarter. It was already a pretty good rivalry. You should have to play. I heard in Montreal if the penalties were just two minutes but once they crossed the border they were going to two minutes and 40 seconds because of the extra tax. Yeah no I like to see that that's a good one. I was also like do we now get to do we willingly just boo anthem is moving forward Is this a thing that we're doing it games now like the whole the whole like equation has changed and I'm fascinated to see how It plays out. We are as well Mike. Thanks for doing this man. Really appreciate it. No problem guys anytime My calvary appreciate it Alfred and brough No problem guys, anytime. Thanks buddy, appreciate it. Mike Alford. Alford and Bruff.

Out of Vancouver, Sports Nuts, 6.50. I gotta say, if you have to cover a team in the NHL, Vancouver's pretty high up there for drama. Like, if we had to do a show about a different team, that might be the next most electric team. Look, we do a Vancouver show. Look, every day at 5, we do a Vancouver show. I'm saying we have to do an hour on one team.

Yeah, but we do it every day now. I see your point. It's unbelievable how, like, yeah, maybe we got a good example of it south of the border. But chaos grabs attention, man. But the NBA's been thriving off that for years now. Let's just get in the mix. Look at the poor Winnipeg Jets.

The Winnipeg Jets are a first place team. Unbelievable. They win every night. They've got 20 more points than the Vancouver Canucks. Best goalie since Patrick Wah Prime. Yeah, right. Kyle Conner shoots at the night every night. We don't talk about them because... Nah, they're good.

Yeah, they're good. Yeah. Good's boring. But this was, you know, as a video coach with the Maple Leafs young guys. We had Zach Hyman on the team. No one ever said a word about him. No one talked to him, never showed him video. He just was good.

He's fine. He didn't need to deal with them. They probably should have paid him, at least. Yeah one talked to him, never showed him video. He just was good. He's fine. He didn't need to deal with them. They probably should have paid him, at least. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they should have. But you did have to talk to Willie. He needed lots of conversation. And it's like sports talk radio.

It's like, do it right, have success. Not that interesting. What'd you think of the trade? I am, which one? Just in the Miller trade. Like, did you, were you, you know, not surprised that it happened, but like, that seemed like the root of the package forever. We said before that that they there's only one team

They got to go back to that's you only trade left Yep, so I kind of agree with them to take the best out of a situation and anytime you're You're a player is asked to be moved You're handicapped whether or not you want to admit that there's issues, clearly they did, they were handicapped because of that. But there is no alternative moving forward other than taking your lumps and getting the best deal that you can at that specific time. So I'm on board with them doing this.

And nothing more clearly said these guys were grinding over this trade like the first rounder being top 13 protected no one suggested 13 is the number it was top five top 22 you know and they they were grinded down to the very draft slot so you know that this went on for a while if you end up with old top 13 protected you know you you look at it from the Rangers perspective and you alluded to it with Halford there about like the long-term contract stuff and how you know it's but you watch him over the weekend and you're like the Rangers just the Rangers just got like a top 20 guy immediately into their lineup for like no for like Hiddle who's up and down injured all the time and a protected first round pick in

an AHL defense. All of a sudden you look at their lineup And it's like Panarin Miller's advantage at Riley Smith Vincent Trotschek let Lafreniere Cried her Willie Cooley who we all love Brodzinski like you know Carrick and Rempey and you just saw it's a good team Lindgren Fox counter Miller will Borgen Shuster can in that Braden Schneider.. Yep. How's that team done in playoffs? The Toronto Maple Leafs first round matchup. Gonna be fun. You're not wrong.

And now all eyeballs on Pedersen. Oh my God. 40. Number 40. Yeah. If he doesn't go to another level that people expect from 11.6. The demand for them to punt him this summer will be enormous. They should trade him right now. They should trade him well before the March

deadline anyway. You know, it's, I don't think he can go this far and not at least give him some time here before you punt. To me, and I've heard this said from other people, it's like no one traded Miller because they said this is Miller's fault and not Petey. Everyone that I know of in Vancouver said it's their fault. These two. So just because they found a trade for Miller first, to me, does not mean now this guy gets a chance at a fresh start.

No, there's no fresh start. This is like, you got what you wanted, now deliver. Yeah. Okay. If he goes out there and pours it in and all of a sudden it's magic and all that, I guess you say, God, we shouldn't get rid of this guy. His contract does look really good in light of the salary cap. Yeah, we're going up Like what you're getting for 11 six, but presumably the bad version to him is a point-per-game 30-goal guy But maybe not is it worse than that if it's worse than that, that's bad

I mean, how many points does he have this year? Not a point per game, but I gotta believe that's I Just Pederson currently has 33 points in 46 game. Oh, that's not 11.6 No production and then it's not and if he's no good Here not if he's no good towards the end of this year. It's gonna be tough to move that huge thing Hey, you know if he's really bad for a bit. You're right. It conceivably Have to tack something on to get rid of him or something so yeah, maybe maybe I'm a dummy I don't know but none you could be

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What do they do if you say the words? I already said it so we could be or we could be off the air right shows over I'm sorry. Apparently you're not supposed to say The superb owl. It's the big match. It's the big this ball game this upcoming weekend Anyways, you can't call it what it is. Okay. I know I've worked for other people with Stanley Cup final? I don't know the Stan's mug and I tell you get there. Anyways, there's a I'm just looking at this. That's about the stupidest thing I've ever yeah, there's this thing on that 365

Called the Swiftie specials and if you hit on this 50 special There's all these different Kelsey props that have different names and stuff So I'm not gonna read them all out but if you're into that sort of thing you can get anything on the Super Bowl you can bet on literally I said it again. Crap! You know what you're fine. Okay good! You just can't use it in advertising or promotions without proper authorization from the NFL.

Okay. So we can talk about the Super Bowl. Anyways. We just can't say hey come watch our program. You went all lawyer on us right now. Yeah I got it. I don't know. I'm an idiot So I don't know what I can say. Anyways, if you want some great props for the large match this weekend go on bet three six Five that was game timers of my bet three six five visit the app for the stars and find out why it's ever ordinary at bet Three six five is 19 plus I tear only please play responsibly

Super job. Oh, thank you didn't end up circling the bowl. Can I use that? You're a pretty funny guy. All right, let's take a quick break. When we return, we'll get into some news and notes, including some pending suspensions. What we thought.

Very Philippe Poulin. Of? Oh, different one. Which one? You've seen the women's hockey, the greatest woman of all time, apparently. Yeah, she hit a girl in the head pretty hard. Really? Mind's hockey, the greatest woman of all time apparently. She hit a girl in the head pretty hard. Really?

Yeah. Oh really? Good. I like to hear that. Controversy. Good. All right, then more when we return to Real Kipper and Born. the top stories of the day across the NHL and the hockey world weekdays at noon. It's the fan hockey show on Sportsnet 590 the fan and wherever you get your podcasts.

The Kipper is Justin Bourne Sammy McKee. A reminder is our real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by bet three, six, five, Ryan Hartman, maybe as we speak is in an in-person hearing that they'll do via zoom to determine his fate on a match penalty against the Ottawa senators when he Stuttsla's head into the ice. What a gremlin Hartman is. He's a nasty piece of business, buddy. He is. I mean, now you look back at the high stick on Profetti and like, oh yeah, I mean we knew it was on purpose. Yeah. Like, you know. He told him it was on purpose. Yeah, I'm gonna do this to you, right Correct. So Five or more right in person you would think yeah, sorry. That's what I gotta think He'll get

Six or seven, but five like when you consider this guy's History here, I think it's the third time he's gonna be suspended and he's within a window of repeat offender. So like, let's factor that in for a second here. So if it's for anyone else, if it was for anyone else, I'm not sure it's an in-person hearing. Like you can claim. Whoopsie. Whoopsie. I fell on him. I'm sorry. First time. Maybe you can get away with it. If this is for him six games, it should be 10. Yeah. You know, he was suspended in 2024, three games for throwing his stick towards an official in an overtime loss. 2023, he was suspended two games for a trip, bad trip on to bring it earlier in his career

was suspended for slew footing to bring it like it's he's a might be the same one. Whatever. Yeah. I mean, he's got a history. Yeah. So yeah, I think it's a reasonable case. And if Minnesota is without Kaprizov and then without Hartman, like this is... Brodean was out? Yeah, Brodean was out and they're not like great in the standings.

They're hanging on. They're hanging on. So things could get real interesting. Let's see the top of the Central, the top three teams, Winnipeg is 77, Dallas is 69, Minnesota with 66, and then the Wild Card spots are 64 and 59 points. So there could get tight. I love thinking of a way that Vancouver and Calgary could both get in. So that means one of LA, Minnesota, or Colorado would have to

come out. It's not Colorado. It ain't Colorado. And I'm not sure with Drea, I'll be back. LA, I don't think it's LA either. Minnesota. There's your hope. I think it's, I think it's, yeah. The while they're four six Yeah, they're they're real in a little bit

We also saw a big hit. Oh my god, you did show me the pool ahead pool and hit I mean It's pretty blindside. She gets all shoulder. I don't think it's head but it's greasy. It's me That that one looked like a just a collision. Oh, really? Oh, yeah I didn't look to me like she was not malicious. No, no, that's just a bad collision and kind of

Tage Thompson with Nelson yeah, Mason Mason. Yeah, I Think at the last second, he does look like he leans into tage. Nason does. Yeah. Nason. Yeah. But it's almost out of kind of recovery mode. To me, it looked like almost a bad collision to somewhat. Now, the aftermath of that, the reaction, the reaction and Buffalo Sabres took some heat. Oh, right. And they should.

Yeah. Right? How bad was that? It sucked for them that the first guy on the scene was a rookie, a smaller rookie, Coolidge. And you know, kind of gave them the, hey, don't. What better way to indoctrinate yourself to a team than going in there? It was really bad like their best offensive force was laying on the ice and the whole team was just like I don't know so Lindy was asked about a

postgame and at first was like well it's the time of the game. We have the clip. We have the whole thing. Yeah. Let's have a listen. Just under a minute long. What was your view of the play? You know, I didn't watch the replay of it until after the game. Definitely a hit that you don't like. The penalty was well deserved. I know I had a couple of guys who wanted to go after them right away.

A couple couple guys. And where we're at in the game, there was going to be a time we were going to even the score. People on the outside who would see that play, would come to the conclusion that your team would not. Bulls**t, bulls**t. let's go next question the guy how frustrating is it though it's a match penalty and the guy left you didn't get a chance he's gone yeah here and you'll play well then you pick another guy pick

another guy pick any guy then how quick did Lindy just go from well it was not the time of the game to all all sudden be like just pick someone kill anyone Maybe he was talking about the next time they play It seemed to me like he was like it was weird someone should have grabbed another guy pick any guy So so anyone that's a great drop. So on the opening of that he's protecting his team trying to defend trying to defend his team. Trying.

He's trying to protect them. And if you're in, then you gotta stay with that plan. He couldn't. He was too mad. You can't go pick another guy. Yeah. And then, Pick any guy then.

The second question was, on the outside, it looked like whatever and he said BS, BS. Oh crap, oh crap. And that got his, the mercury and the thermometer going up and all of a sudden It was just like You want me on that wall you don't watch the game very well Yeah, the truth was revealed and where's Buffalo oh where they going They're going nowhere nowhere. So why not?

at least Go out swinging? It's Tej. We nicknamed him like Mario last year. Two years ago. Tej. Tej Lemieux. Alright. And he was just, he was Claude Lemieux then last year.

But that's your best player. Yeah. Pretend like you care. I know the the last three games they've beat Boston, Nashville and New Jersey. And so I just retweeted someone who had a picture of everyone wearing the Gretzky jersey and wainers last day and said the Buffalo Sabres as soon as they're 47 points out of a playoff race, just a team full of Gretzky's. They're suddenly so good while the season is irrelevant. And they should just, as you said, should have had a reaction there

and they should bottom out right now, trade cousins, and try to get a top pick. They need a top pick. I know they've been getting top picks forever. Yeah, I mean, the top picks ain't working. Well, do you think it'll do better not getting top picks? I don't know, try something else. Like getting worse picks is't working. Well, do you think it'll do better not getting top picks? I don't know, try something else.

Getting worse picks is your plan. They've gotten two overall picks who are supposed to be generational offensemen. We suck. Thank you. They have 47 points and the next closest team is Philly with 52. So you like trying for 13th time.

Yes, or just try to get some good players that are like of age. What I'm suggesting. But not like another 18 year old That's gonna take five years to pick. That's great And I'm on board with that stop sucking every year you just suck all the time. They definitely just They're brutal they need They need a new owner. They just need to they need Josh Allen. That's what I need He's just, he's a football guy.

He's got a new stadium going. Just sell the team to somebody that can really go in there and re-engage the audience. They've lost so much there. I think the most consistent thing on this show is like all of us kind of root for the Sabres to be at least good. They don't have to be great, but I love the fan base there and

you know, it's just... They showed it once upon a time 20 years ago, man. They could... But if they're good, they'll be there in droves. There was not a team that I feared more than the Sabres for a big part of my life. They were dynamic. They had such great teams Or what was not just such great players like from Hasek into Miller Palminvale Drury like all those teams were so I don't know that a gritty good teams Yeah, and they just they haven't been that with like real characters Rob Ray who just got conducted into their Hall of Fame Congratulations, Razor, very well deserved. But where's that heart and soul kind of guy that the fans can relate to?

Even the roster Kip, like who on their team is supposed to do that? Like if you're going to be bad, most teams have some, their fourth line right now is Peyton Krebs, Malin Stein and Dennis Gilbert Yeah, good luck with that. Thank you else Yeah, can they have Ryan Reeves like you know, like someone like him Have Rempey have someone that the team is the fans are like, alright Well, at least someone will get beat up tonight. Yeah, like we're gonna hand over the two points without a bruise Injuries on the weekend as well. Josh Norris out a couple weeks.

Barzels out. Definitely. Marchenko got hurt sitting on the bench. Broken jaw. Taken right off the bench to hospital. Broken. This one had surgery. Broken jaw. I wonder he's got to be wired shot, I would think.

And like this was their top score and Really like the best player. Yeah, they're still in most dangerous They're still in a playoff spot guys there. They're in the second wild card spot right now, so These are all teams chasing a playoff spot. Mm-hmm The Norris we hear I don't think it's his shoulder. So that's good. They're calling it like a mid, I don't know, mid. Somewhere in here, belly. So embarrassing. You know, looking at those teams that were all in that cluster of potential playoff teams,

Phillies quit, Pittsburgh's gone, Montreal's lost five straight games since they were red hot. They're in real trouble. They were like 12 and 2 or something Yeah, they were the best team since the start of December. I'm not saying they're done, but they're struggling I'll say it. Okay Rangers now are suddenly legit Islanders need to sell Bruins. Yeah Columbus in trouble like all sudden. It's like Tampa Bay Detroit

The Rangers it's you're getting some clarity in Ottawa. Huge win by the Rangers led by Jonathan Quick's win, which gave him 400 first US born goaltender to do that. Yeah, and consider goalie start, you know. Fantastic. 50 games a year. I thought he was done like a year and a half ago, two years ago.

Same. He's been unbelievable as a Ranger. He's been really good really good very surprised the greats always have more than you think you have to all of favor You really have to give some credit to the Red Wings here boys since McClellan took over their 14-4 and one Mm-hmm, like that is a really good stretch of hockey six straight wins and you look at the roster and you're like You know, they got some good players, but are they a 14-4-1 stretch of good players? Like, it's a good coaching job. We've also, we've seen others with great stretches, but you're still not out of the woods. You still lose two or three in a row and you're, you, it doesn't matter. You talked about Montreal getting red hot. The Isles just won seven in a row and they're not in playoffs.

And then they had a bad loss. Yeah, and now they're out. So until we see three in a row and then we'll put them back in. So the Red Wings, I'd like to see the Red Wings make a move. Like, you know, be one of the teams, it's like, okay, we're, we think we're really in this fight.

We got a shot. Give the boys a little something, something. Like maybe a goalie. Is he gonna be a little something, something. Maybe a goalie? Is he the first team that goes to get a goalie? I don't know. The problem is now if you've got this bit of a run here and you've been getting good goal-tenning, you kind of mess with the chemistry. It's not just adding another score or another depth guy on the blue line. You're

significantly changing the dynamic of your room by sticking a very important player in a very important position. And actually their team goal-tenders have been average all year. I was going to say, also I'm sure Red Wing fans love hearing that you need a goalie after Camp Talbot's got four straight wins with a safe percentage of 971, 961, 109, 31. Okay, what do you mean Camp Talbot's got four straight wins with safe percentage of 971, 961, 109, 31. Okay, what do you mean Camp Talbot? I can guarantee you fans will be like, oh, we got a good goalie. The problem now is if it gets to the point where you think you really need a goalie,

it's too late. You're out. You're looking for David Riddick. That's what you're looking for. No, that's true. So maybe they can get a little something somewhere else in the lineup then cuz apparently goaltender is a bad idea That's if Senate Hall is their third pair right now. At least the scene both those guys do their thing All right, just one game

14 for and one and they've got those guys one game tonight on prime Ottawa and Ashland you said that Nashville is a favorite Yes, they are which is insanity to me favorite but since since been humming you Like Ottawa above Detroit and everybody else at this point or is it a coin toss? The honest answer is that it's a coin toss. I like their their top-end guys better. I really like Josh Norris I love Sanderson on a mission the last little while every time I watched the highlight, he's on a breakaway. Scoring. But this guy cannot stay healthy. No, it's tough. But I mean that's just one of those things in the league where guys have players like that.

Sometimes they sort it out. There's a point where I thought Sidney Crosby might be a guy We wouldn't get to see his whole career pan out the way people thought and he locked it up The sends you mentioned them sent Mira line in Back to the HL which some kicking the teeth after all he's giving him Yeah, I think his numbers he has an eight three in one record and one nine nine goals against a nine twenty five save percentage From what in 12 games for Ottawa this year. To the minors.

It's an indication. Yeah, like, I mean, what? What did you want me to do? Yeah, so I guess that means that All Marks on his way back, which would be a big boost for them. But it really feels like they are, yeah, I think, a real threat for someone. What's the latest on OV there? Sammy, 17 ties?

Yeah. I, yeah, I don't know the exact number. I'll look at it. I think it's 17. I've been watching it too close. I've kind of been pretending it's not happening. He has 877 goals. So, he CDs 895. So he needs pass. So that's exactly how many? 18 to pass. 18 to pass. The great chase. Come on you guys.

No, it's just the branding. I'm not excited about it. I'm not excited. Oh, got my phone. People are excited about it. People are saying. Yeah. Maybe.

All right, our thanks to Luke Fox in our opening hour on our Leaf Edition show. And Mike Halford, who joined us out of Vancouver. Enjoy your one game tonight. Let's go, Sandys. And we're back tomorrow to do it all over again. But better. No?

I hope so. I hope so too.