Real Kyper & Bourne - Where is Guentzel Going?

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start the second hour with a shocking report that Elias Lindholm may be back in trade talks as the Canucks eye a Jake Guentzel trade. Former NHL player, manager and agent Brian Lawton (8:13) shares his thoughts on the Guentzel sweepstakes, if the Penguins should consider a full rebuild and how deadline war rooms have evolved. Then, he goes around the league to discuss which players various teams need to target at the deadline. Finally, they regroup with Sam for news & notes - Brett Pesce's market, the Panthers pulling away from the pack and revisiting Dubas trade record in Toronto ahead of his first, high-pressure deadline in Pittsburgh.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.

welcome in to our national edition of real kipper and born the kiprios justin born sammy mckee for the next hour in a couple of minutes, we'll welcome in Brian Lawton, former NHL general manager, executive, broadcaster, agent. He's done a ton. And as a reminder, this hour of Real Kipper and Born is brought to you by Bet365.

All right, between now and I guess 3 p.m. on Friday. 70 hours from now. And a reminder that Sportsnet's going to be all over the coverage starting 10 a.m. Eastern. They're going to let us do a couple words. I think we're going to do a hit, obviously, on Friday as well. And then, just note, on Friday, we will be on our show but push back listen close here one

hour yes so instead of four four to six p.m eastern we will be five to seven p.m eastern we have time for all the trades to come in to do our research and give you the takiest of takes okay let me get uh your vibe at least going into this Tuesday on this week. Because for me, and I've done a lot of these, it's really quiet. Except for this one tweet. This one tweet's not quiet. Chris Johnson tweeted, with the Canucks believed to be among those pursuing Jake Gensel.

Word is they've had discussions about potentially flipping Elias Lindholm to the Bruins as part of the machinations to make it happen. Nothing concrete in place at this time. Still lots of moving parts. Oh, my God. Yeah. The Bruins have added a different Lindholm before, and that went very well for them in old Hampus. So what is the signing of Pettersson do for the future of Lindholm?

Oh, so do you think it was like he was like the Pettersson insurance? Now they got the Pettersson. They don't need the insurance policy anymore. Correct. Oh, wow. That's interesting. So, and they got an asset. They got a nice asset out of Lindholm.

But where's the money to sign him? Yeah, you got to pay other guys on the team, right? Yes. So do you now flip him again? Wow. do you flip them again and create something or do you want to take them into the playoffs and just rent them

oh boy does that make sense to you guys? It does make sense to me but to me the Vancouver Canucks are trying to win the Stanley Cup here. Do they think Gensel is more valuable to them than Lindholm? Which I guess, to me, he's a winger who scores goals.

Like, Lindholm's like a two-way defensive PK. You were saying, Kip, that maybe he hasn't been quite as they hoped. That's for words in your mouth. I'm not sure they're they're convinced on him being there long term right so i've talked to a couple of different peoples and people uh and and sometimes the sense is with lindholm the the work ethic isn't there all the time. I don't know where they stand on Lindholm. They love him or

did they just use him as an asset? And now I wonder for that to make sense for Pittsburgh, what has to go from Boston to Pittsburgh? Presumably since Boston's trying to win a cup it's no one off their roster it's likely picks and prospects yeah they i think that they'd also

like something off their roster now i don't think jake debrusk is long for the Boston Bruins, but they're also in a predicament as well, much like... Lose him for nothing if you don't. Lose him for nothing. It's never been a great marriage. No, it hasn't. But we watched Jake DeBrusque look like a very good hockey player

last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He shot that puck into the spot he was good last night yeah but with Jake Boston's biggest complaint is you're not sure when you're going to get the good Jake so I don't know do you if if you're Boston and you envision something Something going on with Vancouver and Pittsburgh. Does Boston move DeBrusque and DeBrusque walks into a new contract with Pittsburgh? And instead of paying Gensel nine or ten million dollars, you pay Jake DeBrusque six. Six? Five and a half? Is he?

I don't know. Who would you rather have, DeBrusque or Bertuzzi? I mean, probably Bertuzzi, but I get your point. But they're five. When they're on, when those guys are on, that's the going rate for Bertuzzi's and Jake DeBrusque's is probably five and a half, $6 million. Whatever it is, it's going to be a fraction of the cost

of signing Gensel if you're Sidney Crosby and you're like oh sick we got slightly worse like you know someone did tweet I think it was DuPont or someone tweeted but you're also that this will makes it happy to get Gensel

to get Gensel it's going to take a roster player, probably a blue chip prospect, and a first rounder. A roster player, a blue chip prospect, and a first rounder. That's if I guess DeBrus ends up signing somewhere. Yeah. If it's a rental, it's hard to get three pieces off of a rental. Didn't realize DeBrusque was only 27. DeBrusque is going to sign six years minimum.

Think so? Yeah. Boy, he's only got 30 points this year. Yeah. I mean, he had 50 last year with 27 goals. On behalf of Leafs Nation, just don't do that don't do any don't give lindholm to the bruins because i feel like that'd be a really good fit there i do there it would be a good fit for boston for sure but this is a big price that would come with an

extension for sure right like if they traded for elias lindholm he'd be locked up. I don't know how you would trade for Lindholm. Give up first. And still see him walk out the door. Yeah. But it seems like Gensel would be more of a pure rental. Doesn't sound like anyone is talking extensions, even the Canucks, with Gensel. If Vancouver's trading for Gensel, I don't see it as a rental.

You don't, eh? I don't see it as a rental. You don't, eh? I don't think so. Okay. And I don't with all due respect to the amazing season they have, you gotta be careful of overplaying your hand

to win it all. I agree. Well, and just as you're sort of turning the corner now, you don't want to, yeah, go all in and find out that you don't have the guys you like. And it costs you a first rounder and it costs you a nice prospect. I think, in all honesty, I think the price would be too expensive for Vancouver.

And I did have a couple of rumblings that Van is cool on Gensel. Last I heard, it got too expensive for Vancouver. Gensel. All right, let's bring in Brian Lawton, former NHL player, agent, general manager. He's done it all. Lawton, how are you, man?

Thanks for joining us. Doing fantastic. Thank you. And this is where you find out when people are really at in the negotiations. As I was listening to you talk about Gensel, you find out what people are really willing to do. Has Kyle Dubas officially moved on from Jake Gensel? Is he committed to trading him? And if he is, is he willing to drop his price significantly it'll be really fun to watch how that one plays out so funny you should say that because we do know that

there were some attempts to sign Gensel again so there there is some of what Kyle Dubas is doing that lends the suggestion that I still got to sell tickets lots I still got to sell hope and I still got Sidney Crosby oh by the way still scoring 80 and 90 points so Sid's not going anywhere anytime soon the way I I see it. In a perfect world, he wants to go the Mario Lemieux way, start with one team, end my career with one team. But he may still be around for three or four more years. Wouldn't it be in the interest of Kyle Dubas to go and revisit signing Jake Gensel? I definitely think it would, but I felt like the die was cast when they went out and got Eric Carlson.

I just, you know, when that, when that move was made, I felt like there's no way that Jake would continue on. I know Jake, he's a great kid. I've never asked him about his situation. But I, you know, I know he loved playing there. I also know this is his last chance at his age to really ring the bell hard and I don't think Pittsburgh can do that so now you're in a position where you're asking him to take a discount but the player knows this is his last kick at the can the team hasn't you know won a playoff round in a while and they're aging and you just can easily

see how we would end up playing somewhere else for more money and maybe in a better situation yeah that's you know it's the confounding thing about this penguins team they had the fifth best goaltending in the nhl this season by by save percentage. Crosby's been excellent. They've gotten production from most of their guys on contracts, and they're currently 10 points out of a playoff spot in early March. Like, if you're Sid and looking at this, there has to be some sort of, like there's bigger questions here. You wonder, would they do something bigger,

whether it be with Malkin or Carlson, or at some point in this offseason, would they try to just start over around Sid without some of those guys? Yeah, would they? I don't think so. I don't see it. It's hard because of a lot of the restrictions. Should they?

Perhaps a freaking loot lead. Yeah. 100% they should. This is the toughest thing to do, though. Evgeny Malkin's been a great player for him. Hasn't played well this year, obviously. Not to the level that they needed him to play, to execute, on not turning the page, on keeping the gang together, and going for it.

And they still could make it. You can't write them off, but it seems more and more remote every day, to be honest with you. And again, it's very hard to move on from guys that have given you such great service in their career, has been a great player like Malkin has for them. But the reality is this is one of the spots where you can really get burned. And for a new guy and Kyle coming in, he went all in on Eric Carlson. It just hasn't worked. Top of the show.

Our boy Sammy here mentioned a tweet by CJ about the thought of flipping Lindholm in Vancouver. Does that coincide with the fact that they got Pedersson's contract done? What were your initial thoughts of the contract? And what about the fact that Lindholm's going to be a UFA and can Vancouver use that towards Friday's deadline? Certainly possible with Jimmy.

Everybody knows that. I'm told that they've had discussions in Vancouver. Maybe they're not lukewarm on him. The team has not won the way they were prior to his arrival. That doesn't mean it's his fault. It could just be a run that every team is going through where they don't have that sustained excellence the way Vancouver has had certainly prior to Lindholm's arrival there.

So with Jimmy Rutherford, I wouldn't write it off. Does that mean that you could maybe flip him and get Jake Gensel? I don't think that necessarily would line up. But the concept of the most active team in the National H league in the next in the last 14 months who have been at vancouver canucks doing it again would not surprise me lots how much do relationships play a part in what happens at the deadline i ask this because it seems like every trade now takes double retention right where you okay we got to incorporate this team and that team you have to have a lot of relationships we've talked on this show in the leafs where it's like doesn't seem like the Flames

want to deal with Brad Tree Living probably Kyle Dubas doesn't really want to deal with the Leafs feels like Lula Amarillo doesn't want to deal with the Leafs you know like but I imagine with every GM and every team there are these relationships of not necessarily burnt bridges but fractured relationships so I guess is that a big part of being a gm is just like managing to not burn bridges so you can use as many teams as possible uh yes it is quite frankly and there's a couple events every year where you know you get together with these guys and at least for me when i was in tampa it was very important to get out particularly with guys that i didn't know as well, and just have dinner with them one night.

You know, I had a lot of, I would say strange, but I can remember going out to dinner with Jacques Martin, who I didn't know well at that time. Francois Jagir, another guy I would purposely try to go out of my way just to try to get to know people because relationships are so critical in the end to getting things done. Now, what happened with the Leafs, Carolina, you know, with salary retention recently in deals, like Carolina is a very financial team. They ended up picking up a small point of this particular deal where they paid about 100. I looked at the math one day. I think it was about $170,000. They picked up a fifth round pick. That's just something that's part of being a GM now. And in Carolina's case, I always feel like they're a little bit agnostic. They're kind of Switzerland. If they think it makes sense, they'll do it. They don't really care. Whereas other GMs, you can see in their DNA. You could look at, say, St. Louis and Detroit for some of the deals they've had going on recently with, you know, a newer GM, obviously, and Steve, he's not brand new, but younger, so to speak, to a guy like Doug Armstrong. But they have a strong relationship through their connection, particularly with Hockey Canada.

So yes, it absolutely matters. Well, you're in Tampa Bay, not a huge media market, but how much does the media play in the week going into trade deadline or at any point really to, like how much stuff is just thrown out there just to get the temperature? I think it's kind of like living in L.A. and living in Anaheim. One is Mars and the other is Venus. That's how much markets play into it.

In Tampa, you know, there isn't much of a market in terms of how the media is influencing things, whereas in Toronto, where you guys are, of course, or Edmonton or Vancouver, you know, or some American cities, it's not particularly heavy here in Minnesota, which is considered a real strong U.S. market. It's really just Canada that's bat you know what crazy for what goes on because they're so involved. And, you know, quite frankly, I always thought that looked fun. I know Berkey always got a kick out of it, but it's not for everybody. You know, some guys would rather go the route of less is more, but it clearly does heighten everything that's going on. And it's noticeable because i've talked to gms about it and i've heard many comments about it some guys embrace it some guys hate it oh and some of them will say if this gets out it's it's over it's not happening yeah yeah that's right

yeah you always kind of have that threat but uh but I don't know if that's real. You want people to respect what's going on. It's really, it's not necessarily done because you don't want it to get out there in terms of media or stuff like that. You just, you just, you're moving no matter what you say, Kipper, and you and I accepted this as players. You get traded, you move. I got traded on the morning of the 26th. I was supposed to be playing a night game for the Rangers and I ended up, excuse me, an afternoon game for the Rangers. And I ended up playing a night game for the Hartford Whalers. It's just part of the business. And I think GMs are conscious of that,

that it is still people and it does matter. And those are the reasons why people want privacy. You have other guys like Lou that just wants privacy because he just wants privacy. There's nothing wrong with that, but everybody has their own style on that, Cliff Fletcher was famous for his lack of privacy. Yeah. A lot of things at times, but that, that worked well for him. He rolled with that and took advantage of it.

I'd heard stories where he'd like lean out into the office with like all the sales field and everyone be like, do we want to do Gilmore for whoever? Is that true? I'm certain that the legend would have grown bigger, but there are a lot of stories like that of lots of guys throughout history who were kind of known for that, that literally, whether they were GM or even other roles at times,

might step out of a meeting. And then all of a sudden, something that was being discussed in a meeting was showing up on the television screens because everybody is trying to get information on trade deadline day like you can't believe. I've seen it from all sides as a player agent in the media and as a general manager. And everybody's essentially trying to do the same thing you're flying a lot more blind than you would like particularly the teams you know that really run their hockey operation departments very small it's just hard to know all when you're in that position and things tend to really become laser focused we're're talking to Brian Lawton, former NHL player, agent, general manager.

When some talk about Hannafin and the Tampa Bay Lightning, it's to the point where I'm hearing rumblings that they may have a contract extension already in place. It's just a matter of whether Tampa Bay and Calgary can come to an agreement on the actual trade. Does that make sense to you for Tampa Bay, Hannafin? Not totally out of the question. Obviously, the Tampa Bay Lightning have no right to talk to

Noah Hannafin or his representatives without consent from Calgary. That can be done, though. You know, it's in your best interest if you know you're going to trade somebody like we believe Calgary is with Hannafin to go out and find somebody that can extend him, because in theory, you should get paid more for it. Rather than selling this particular player as a rental, you're selling him as somebody that might be with the Lightning for a lot of years. But I haven't been able to validate that story the way that it's making the rounds right now.

So I'm not saying it's not true, but I'm saying that i have not got any confirmation or validation that that a potential extension is in place did you like it seems to me what's that do you like him to replace sergachev who's been lost for the season i think noah hennepin's had an excellent year and i think someone's going to be really fortunate that that gets them i think it's tough to be really fortunate that that gets him. I think it's tough for Calgary. They're coming off back-to-back years

where American players have pretty much made it known that they're not going to sign an extension there. First, Matthew Kachuk, obviously, and now Noah Hannafin. So that's a tough situation to deal with but uh i do like hannifin i do think he'd play really well there i don't see it as likely that they have the pieces or assets that they're able to part with to fulfill calgary's needs but maybe they're stretching themselves we've seen that in the past with tampa We saw what they did with, you know, they took a swing. Some people would say it was a gallant effort. Other people would say it hasn't worked out very well.

That's the nature of every time you step up to the plate, you're going to be judged. But I do love the people like the job that Julian Brisebois has done in Tampa in terms of not being afraid to actually do things. Because it was very frustrating as a GM, you know, when you'd make good offers that should be hit, but they weren't because they weren't great offers and people were afraid to make deals. Yeah. Yeah.

That is a, does seem to really hold things up. You know, right now, if you look at the NHL standings, you know, we had Lou Lamarillo today come out and say that they're definitely not going to sell and that they'll likely buy. I think maybe they're 18th, 19th, or 20th in the NHL, somewhere around there right now. Every team above that is kind of the same, right? Every team, their fan base expects them to add.

It's a lot of teams. So how do you feel about GMs going all in when you're one of 20 teams going all in i know daryl morey said if you have a five percent chance to win a championship you should go all in how does it feel this year for you for a lot of these teams even lower down the standing i don't believe if you have a five% chance, you should go all in every year. Yeah, I mean, to be honest with you, your percentages aren't that far off. I'm taking it more metaphorically to mean you have a very low chance. But, you know, people just don't understand the odds of what your chances are to win.

There are 16 teams. You can start from there. It's not basketball. Nobody is a 45 to 60 percent chance to win. Right. So I'm probably taking that too rough. But my point is you shouldn't go all in if you're seventh or eighth, you know, trying to get into the playoffs in your conference. Yeah.

It doesn't mean you can't do some things. And if they make sense long term, yes. But to go all in means you're willing to empty the guns, so to speak. The Edmonton Oilers, they should go all in. They may not be as high as they think, but when you look at their team, you can come to the analysis that they are on the precipice of being the next great team in the league yeah and they are also fighting to try to keep you know their star players who are expiring in a you know

a couple of years between dry sidle and mcdavid so you know there's a lot of battle going on there there's a lot of reasons why you do it but in general no. Florida was an interesting example last year because, you know, they were all in. They were all committed. It ended up working out for them in the end. And they've gone on and proven that they really have an exceptional team. But I'd say that's more unusual than than usual. But it's a great job. I'd imagine Florida for believing in what they had and backing it up and recognizing it and never wavering. Because it's hard to do those things, you know, particularly when you're in a Canadian market, as we talked about, because there's so much scrutiny on you in these positions. Lots. It's almost as if everybody wanted Tanev Edmonton Vancouver Toronto uh and then after Tanev went

to Dallas I I believe that there was a a certain window where the general managers just looked at their respective scouts or people around them and said okay what's plan b what would plan b for you be in Edmonton uh to obviously they going to have to move out some money. Maybe it's Cody CC, but they want to upgrade. Like who? Give me a name. Give me something that we haven't thought of. Or maybe there just isn't anyone out there.

Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, you got to look at your own roster. And in Edmonton's case, yes, Cody CC. I think he's making three and a quarter. He's in your top four. He's probably the least efficient piece of their top four. The money's not great in terms of super expensive. But at the same time, it's an area you'd look at and say, I want to upgrade that. You could say that maybe with Brett Kulak, who really plays in that third pair.

He's making 275, got some term left. You know, you're just going to go through your roster. Fogle's a UFA this year. You're going to look at those pieces and you're going to say, what flexibility do I have first? Then you're going to flip the script and say, OK, and I'll just make something up with Edmonton. So Leon Dreisaitl at times has not hit his stride the way he has in the past. He's played less with Connor McDavid, even though he's been playing with him recently. But maybe we need a Jake Gensel. We need one more guy that we can pair with him,

and then we can have two dynamic lines, one, of course, led by McDavid, and the other by Dreisaitl. We don't have to play them together even though we have other good players ryan nugent hopkins uh zach hyman you know you can look at the different pieces but uh you could end up on we need one more good forward you go out and you say what will it take for me to get Jake Gensel? And I really can't deplete my top four by moving Cody Ceci unless I have a replacement for him. So he's out. So can I put a package together? Am I willing to pay somebody else like Toronto was to get the Bushkin in, which was a low deal? But are you willing to go that route? There's just so much that goes into it. This is why, you know, in today's world, you can't just have one guy running hockey operations

or two. You need a true, deep staff that can evaluate all these opportunities and come up with the right answers. I happen to think Florida is doing it as well or better than anybody else right now in terms of how they're utilizing their staff. And the results are great. In Edmonton's case, it would behoove them to use everybody in the organization and come up with what they think is the best path forward. I don't think adding another forward is what they need. I actually think they need to add another top D in order for them to rise up and become the Stanley Cup champion. So all those people in the office in Florida helped Barkov set up Reinhardt for the

assist of the decade? I wouldn't say that, but they helped the general manager to figure out that we should go out and get Sam Reinhardt. Oh, boy. You know what? What a win. Sam Bennett. Sam Bennett would be a really great fit for this club. Or how about if we pick up Forsling off of waivers? He might be good.

And, hey, what do you guys think of Brandon Montour? If you really look at the deals that Florida made, it's pretty impressive, Kipper. I took my cap to them. But it makes a difference. For sure. Lots of great stuff as always, man. Thanks. My pleasure, guys.

Always happy to jump on and we'll see what happens. Yeah, we certainly will. Really interesting. Yeah, thanks, Lotz. Appreciate your time. Brian Lawton, former NHL player, agent, general manager. He's lived it. A GQ model.

Yeah. He's got it going right now. I was just looking at the trade for Sam Reinhart. Yeah. Because I didn't remember what it was. Buffalo. Yeah, Buffalo. Devin Levi and a first-round pick.

And they took in the 2022 draft, Yuri Kulich. So Devin Levi and a first-round pick for, and they took in the 2022 draft, Yuri Kulich, who has played one NHL game. Working out well for Florida. 19 years old, though. Brad Treeliving couldn't get a first-rounder for Sam Bennett. What did Florida pay? Two seconds?

Yeah, Kipper, you have taken, you know, a lot of heat for for the kneelander thing and we've talked about it before in the show and people love to throw that they don't like to talk about the other one where you're like they should trade nick robertson for sam bennett everyone's like no are you crazy it's like i know god they should have done that it wasn't in a graphic board so we can't get it people love as 300. People love the Willie Nylander. I really love that one. The Willie Nylander was before he played one game. He sat out and at the time Nick Ritchie was a top

10 pick and supposed to be the next Milan Lucic. And Brandon Montour has gone on to last year he was top 10 in NHL ice time and affected, you know. Yeah, but I just think that that other one would have been really good if the leafs had done that yeah would have liked that a lot montour is one hell of a defenseman guys summer yeah i was gonna pay him he's a free agent this

summer yeah yeah that'd be a good one he is absolutely like running the show back there for the florida panthers and he's a gamer yeah and they they seem to love him like they just i they i guess they just love each other regardless they just seem like such a together group he scored the first goal on sunday against the red wings big sally they're all jumping on them they love them it's just like it's interesting right it is interesting to hear uh brian lot and explain like the makeup of florida and how they picked up all these guys and what contributors they are now and they were just like afterthoughts yep i mean in that kentuck trade was pretty good pretty darn good i gotta tell you though like you know in terms of activity i i like these teams that are like let's get aggressive let's try to find some way to get better.

Jim Rutherford, Nick Alberga had tweeted that since he's been in Vancouver, he was there, I think it was in 2021, December 2021. He's made 20 trades already. Oh, my God. It's been like two and a half years. He made 20 trades. That's a crazy number. You know, and it's like all the Canucks are in first.

They're aggressive. You know, all these meek and mild GMs that don't want to lose their job for making moves. Like, hey, get out there. Gotta give him credit, man. He's a vet. He's a vet. He is. He ain't afraid.

He's not afraid. Takes the bat off his shoulder. Listen, they kind of held the feet to the fire of their all-star center who they were like, you know what, we'll trade you. Yeah, Pedersen was like halfway at the door for some accounts and here's a huge hometown discount it kind of worked it did work opposite of kyle dubas opposite what do you want what do you want i really hope kyle's family doesn't listen to the show all right hope they don't have cable he says all right let's go to break. We'll do a game time

when we come back. You heard the man. More from real Kipper and Boren after these words. Everything you need to know about the Raptors and the biggest stories around the NBA.

Smith and Jones. Subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Can we start this segment? Am I interrupting you guys? Yes. We have so many tweets about how great Lawton is.

Yeah. We did. All right. I got a text from Hockeyesque. You got a tweet. Badini, our boy. Yeah, hey, Badini. Gone back to the shelf

on every few times. When are we getting Sammy McKee possible trade scenario? Loved the segment last year. So starting tomorrow, you got to give us trade scenarios. Three fake trades, I think. Okay, no problem.

Three fake trades. Can't wait. Leafs or everything? We'll do the Leafs hour. There are 31 other teams in the league besides the toronto maple leaves you want me to do a couple in the leafs hour and then a national hour one something ridiculous like ginsel for lindel okay but what if this happens like tonight then my whole homework screwed davidini yeah great guy good homework assignment there so he plays he plays nat on thursday mornings with me and i've if i ever get the invite i'm gonna beat him like

a rented mule a few times just to follow up some some names out there i mean we did mention hannifin uh and the rumblings about tampa bay trying to get a deal done with him. The one thing, again, the price obviously changes if he can get an extension. It's a different price for a rental than it is a guy going and signing right away. So that's probably where Calgary is just trying to max out if anything happens with Tampa Bay. Come on.

Do you have any thoughts about Calgary and teams in general facilitating trades for guys to go where they want to go? It sounds like he wants to go to Florida. In many ways, he's in the driver's seat because the value changes if he decides to sign. So he's dictating. And the one thing I guarantee you that if he signs with Tampa, it won't look or sound anything close to what Calgary had offered. And that is based on cost of living and no state tax.

So the number we had heard in Calgary that he turned down was 7.5 million. I don't think, I don't even think it starts with a seven if Tampa resigns him. Wow. Let's do game time quickly here. Okay, go. It's game time presented by Bet365. Visit the app to find out. It's never ordinary.

Bet365 must be 19 plus. On Terra only. Please play responsibly. Now, a couple good ones tonight. Like the Oilers and the Boston Bruins, JVR, his 1,000th NHL hockey game tonight. Hey, congrats to him. Yeah. 1,000th NHL hockey game tonight. Hey, congrats to him. Yeah.

1,000 games. I was just going to go to find a JVR goal tonight, as I'm trying to pull it up here quickly. A JVR goal on his, what do they call this 1,000th game? Is there like a name for it, just other than 1,000th game? Centennial. Okay, anyways. That would be news to me.

I thought there was like a name. There's definitely a word for it. It's called 1,000th. Okay. 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10- how many days he had this year 11 12 yeah he's got a few this year 14 the other one i'm looking at here this is i mean second straight night of me giving a pick potentially against the florida panthers which this is really not a great way to make money this year in the nhl but they're on the second half of back to back going into new jersey who just fired their head coach looking for a little bit of the dead cat bounce is that that the saying? It is, yeah. It's a bad saying, but it's the cats they're playing against, so maybe a little bit of, you know, cat bounce. So give me the New Jersey Devils at plus 110 on home ice tonight to get a win over the Florida Panthers who are on the second half of back-to-back.

I know Borny likes his beloved Penguins on home ice, minus a goal and a half maybe at plus 105 or in regulation. So I know you like that one. I do. half maybe at plus 105 or in regulation so i know you like that one i do and uh the nashville predators who born uh kipper would you believe me if i told you that they won eight in a row eight they've won eight in a row i know stunning they are on home i heard they're on a home ice night against the lowly montreal canadians give me the smoking hot Nashville Predators minus a goal and a half at plus 150 is this not the year the stupidest streaks in the league Nashville gets eight

Seattle gets nine yep like there's been some big runs from some teams and that was game time presented by bet 365 visit the app for latest odds find out why it's never ordinary. A bet 365 must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. We've mentioned this name, I think, a week or two weeks ago when it comes to Carolina, and that's Brett Pesci. Talk to me. We had talked to Brian Lawton at the top, and they are a truly financial team, right? So do they envision renting themselves this guy

it doesn't appear like they made any traction on an extension and i know we mentioned colton pareko potentially being out there brett pesci right-handed shot right right-handed shot yeah he is i mean listen pesci's 29 63 205 right shot you know he's 30 points a year that would be like a hannifin you're i think you're trading him and i'll throw the toronto maple leafs out there you'd be trading him to to resign yeah they want timothy lilligran like you know what i'm saying but like you're right carolina doesn't tend to lose assets for nothing um it will be fascinating to see what happens there because they are very much one of the teams in contention for the stanley cup

you know they freddie anderson comes back and all of a sudden they get some good goaltending it's they've got enough talent on that team it'd be shocking to see them do what st louis did with you know, they, Freddie Anderson comes back and all of a sudden they get some good goaltending. It's, they've got enough talent on that team. It'd be shocking to see them do what St. Louis did with Stastny and Shattenkirk and just move on from a guy in the midst of a, of a playoff year. So I don't know what that means. They would want a player back,

presumably. Yeah. All right. Do you think he'll get traded or you're just an eye on that? He's just a name that intrigues me out there. Carolina's a tricky team to read because they're one of those teams where, you know, they're in the second tier. Do you have them up there with, I don't know, I mean, outside of,

is this the widest open Stanley Cup in quite some time here? Can you pick three teams that are Stanley Cup favorites and then work yourself into 10 of them being on the outside looking in? No. This is the first year I look at it, and I think there's a top tier of one team, Florida. Florida's that much above everybody else.

To me, they're a separate tier from the next group, which is 10 teams big. We can have Vegas in that conversation. Then we cannot have Vegas in that conversation. And lately, we don't have Vegas in that conversation because there's been a fall off a little bit. Sorry, Kip. They have like a 589 points percentage this year.

They've lost three in a row. They're 14th in the NHL. Like, yeah, I get your point. They get healthy. You stole them back. They make a trade. They just got starved by Columbus last night. Yeah.

I mean, it's tough for me to say, look out. You know, the Jets are the second best team in the league by points percentage. They wouldn't have picked Jets. I mean, they're a good team. But you don't really. You're not like, oh, they're one of the favorites i mean they're good good team but you don't really like you're not like oh they're one of the favorites to win the stanley cup i mean they have connor hellebuck who's a top you know so doesn't this make friday's deadline that much more intriguing that that teams are kind of thinking your way is like okay flor, I get it. They look unbeatable right now. But outside of Florida, maybe it's a key injury.

Maybe they get cold at the right time. Let everybody go back to Bobrovsky. Can he really do it? That's kind of where I'm stuck. Is he really that good now? He's going to win them the Stanley Cup? I never bet on that guy. That's what people are saying.

It's funny. Bucciaross was on Twitter yesterday making the case for bubbrowski for the hall of fame and i was like what the hall of fame but you'll look at it and it's like 400 plus wins two vesna trophies you know he's hot again like for his zillionth for straight year here take take florida the stanley cup final or win the stanley cup and yeah's in you know right yeah it's like he's a sneaky guy that you're like he's actually had quite the career and to bet on him to fall off but look at the teams now outside of Florida that you go like don't think about us you know I think give me a reason why we can't win it this year bruins rangers canucks dallas stars edmonton

oilers carolina carolina toronto maple leafs leaf sure jets you know vegas it's a long list in the next year so yeah that's why i was asking lots like how do you feel about teams getting aggressive when you're not heading shoulders above 10 other teams you're in the mix with them but it is it's it's a weird it's weird it is weird tampa bay is not even in that group like you know i'm curious to see what what they do if tampa is as inconsistent as they are and not really being comfortable with Vasilevsky being all the way back after his surgery, you still... I'm not dumb enough to completely write them off.

Braden Point, Stephen Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Vasilevsky, Anthony Sorelli. You know, go through the list. Hagel, Nick Paul. They have so many good players. Oh, my gosh. So many good players on that team. If they somehow found their way into a conference final or a Stanley Cup final,

would you be that shocked? You'd be like, I can totally see it. No, I wouldn't. Yeah. I mean, you need. Chernak's so good. John Cooper. Cooper, you get Hannifin.

You guys wouldn't be shocked if they went to the final this year would not be crazy you would be shocked i'd be surprised everyone levels of surprise yes like their blue line outside of those guys you name it's like you know it's a lot of radish and hannifin helps if all of a sudden you're headman hannifin churnak and hayden flurry you're like okay there's four guys. Chernak always gets hurt, though. He finds a way to always get hurt. He got murdered last year. When Bunting kicks out his feet, it's really hard to.

He kicked out his brain through his ears. It was a brutal hit. Yeah, it was bad. I'm wondering what the Washington Capitals are going to do here. And the word, we didn't even talk about this the other day, but Kuznetsov, the guy went from easily could have won the consmith the year they won the stanley cup it went to ov he maybe scored the biggest goal in their franchise it's a breakaway goal off the ov path the over the overtime winner against

pittsburgh slid at five hole matt murray game six that's probably one of the biggest goals ever had beat slayed their dragon what a fall off crazy i mean you know he's struggled yes he struggled personally um and is in such an interesting place now that he seems to be through the program he's at this part of the program where he's allowed to practice they put him on waivers and he had a remarkably positive um interview and debut with the uh hershey bears of the american hockey league he's gonna he's always been a very interesting guy like in terms of an interview like he he'll give you oh yeah he'll give you stuff he is an interesting guy uh they are kicking tires on chikrin caps are yes or chik chicken just like what am i doing what's happening bouncing around from bad team to like they they need defense and it's it's one of those markets where

they can't be like chicago for the next three or four years no no they need to actually like be competitive yes see i don't hate teams trading for a guy that they see as a part of their future now even if it's not for a playoff run which is why markstrom to new jersey made sense two weeks ago and it makes sense today you know i don't have any problem with guys you know the way that uh heronic went to vancouver and then it's time to get settled and all of a sudden he's a valuable player. They need defense there. How's Sandin working out?

I thought he'd be great. I don't know. He's exactly the guy that left the Toronto Maple Leafs, I'm told. He had three goals and 12 assists in 19 games of the Caps last year. He has three goals and 17 assists in 52 games of the Caps. They're shopping for defensemen, and if they don't get it at the trade deadline moving forward, they'll go and sign one of those guys in the summer. That's crazy.

I hear. You could look back on that trade that Dubas made because he got the first-round pick. That was Boston's first-round pick and Eric Gustafson, and they took Easton Cowan with that pick. Cowan and Gustafson for Sandin. That could be Dubas' greatest trade as the Leafs general manager, and he didn't even make the pick.

Yeah. He needed three more of those just to even it up. Yeah, I agree. No, I couldn't agree more. I like his trade record. What? I do. You're nuts.

I'm not doing a debate on this right now. You just got those glasses on, and you're like, immediately you turn into Kyle. No way. You're nuts. I'm not doing a debate on this right now. You just got those glasses on and you're like, immediately you turn into Kyle. No way. They were bad. A lot of bad. Not doing it. I just got a text.

I'm going to read it for you, and you guess who sent it. I checked again. League only awarding one Stanley Cup this year. I'm on the text. Thanks to Brian Burke. Thanks, Ber berkey and that's a great point 10 teams think they have a chance in the stanley cup yes you know 10 of 11 whatever are going to go chips all in and then come up bust and have paid for rentals and now they're in trouble thanks to gary think yeah 10 think but none can win it if you don't think.

Thanks to Gary's beloved playoff matchup, there's going to be six contenders out in the first round. Great stuff. Yeah, sub awesome, that's for sure. I don't know, but we're 72 hours away, actually a little bit less coming up on, actually we're probably 70 hours or less, 69 hours. Something going to happen tonight?

Hope so. Well, Zucker has been held out as a possible trade candidate. Someone tweeted earlier that they wanted the Gensel thing done by tomorrow night. Yeah. So things are moving. There is some rumblings out of Pittsburgh that Kyle could revisit signing him. Gensel re-signing. God, that would really take the wind out of my the it's not fun the price has to come down though what do you think the price is 10 uh nine yeah maybe if he comes down to eight and a half eight to five

pittsburgh just have six 30-olds under contract until they're 36. He's still got to make Sid happy here. Sid's not going away anywhere. They're good players. They're effective guys. The rest of the team's not been in loss. So intriguing as we get ever so closer to Friday, 3pm Eastern and

stay with Sportsnet, stay with The Real Kipper and Bourne Show. We'll make sure that you're covered. Yes, sir. All right. What's up for tonight? Tonight is a non-leafs night, the only one all week. Children, children time.

Our thanks to Brian Lawton for joining us. Enjoy your games tonight, and we're back tomorrow for more Real Kipper and Bourne.