Real Kyper & Bourne - William Nylander on His New Deal

Episode Date: January 8, 2024

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee start the second hour with more on William Nylander's freshly signed extension and the financial advantage of playing in Toronto. They are joined by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman (7:46), who shares his thoughts on the contract details, the timing of the deal and how it impacts Mitch Marner and John Tavares' future contracts as well as other stars with pending extensions around the league. Then, the man of the hour, William Nylander (25:51) shares his thought process through the negotiations, his ties to Toronto and how this year's team is different from last.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

all right let's welcome back in everyone real k Bourne Show. We are live on Sportsnet. Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver. Sportsnet 960 in Calgary. This hour of Real Kipper and Bourne brought to you by Bet365. Biggest story of the day nationally. Across the board, it has to be Willie Nylander's long-term deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Eight years, $92 million contract. Full no-move expiring in 2032 yeah also not a real year um that's too far in the future and I don't believe it's a year consider the largest contract

value in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs what that means for others now moving forward plenty of guys including Petey in Vancouver who might be licking his chops. Yeah, he's like, however you say thank you in Swedish, that's what he said. There might be a few guys like that. But, you know, just to recap, JB, your thoughts on the deal, and then we'll ask you, Sammy. My thoughts on the deal are that the player is worth that value,

but that it is frustrating for fans because there's no discount they gave him every conceivable thing he could have wanted so i don't think it's crisis for the leafs but i'm not going to sit here and say they won in any conceivable shape or form according to google uh thanks in swedish is tack t-a-c--C-K So he said tack to it I think if he continues to be What he is right now This is going to be a fine contract And one we don't talk a whole lot about

If the play dips Not significantly but If the play dips even a little bit next year I think the conversations in this market will start I do The way that people feel about William Nylander a certain sect of Leafs Nation

not the most fond of him and as I read through this text line there's some comments about him. I just really think that he needs to continue playing at this level for people to not be mad about this contract. When we have now guys in the league making

making 10-15 times more to not be mad about this contract. When we have now guys in the league... Heck of a level. That's what I mean. No pressure. Making 10, 15 times more than a guy on the fourth line. Isn't that just a given with any team out there now that you perform, we'll leave you alone, you dip, we're going to be all over you like a wet blanket? Yeah, kind of mirror society. The top 1% or 2% is going to be all over you like a wet blanket. Yeah, kind of mirror society. The top 1% or 2% is going to make a ton of money

and everyone else is just kind of forgotten. But we will still boo the top 1% or 2% when they don't, you know, when they buy Twitter and Twitter stocks, for example. We're going to welcome in Elliot Freeman in a few moments from Hockey Night in Canada to talk about this deal and what it may mean for others, including Pedersen in Vancouver. Also joining us will be Willie Nylander in about half an hour, and we'll get his thoughts on the deal

and how much he may or may not reveal. Won't keep us from asking some questions. Willie's pretty good at saying nothing, but we'll talk to him. We'll get on his level. I wonder how much plays into the contract, and maybe we'll ask Willie this as well. And I don't know, again, if this gets played up or not, but for these type of guys, the number isn't really the number

when it comes to taking home real dollars because of tax implications. And it was pointed out to me again today, that a guy like Sebastian Ajo, who makes 9.5, I believe, or 9.7 on his new deal. And a lot of people wanted to shape that comparison for Willie Nylander. And Willie should be at a 9.5 or 9.7. But when you consider the tax brackets of Ontario, I think it being 55 and Carolina at 41 or 42,

Sebastian Ajo makes more money to take home than Willie's 11 and and a half is that right yes so swinging is that i mean that's a competitive advantage that is it absolutely is that that is a huge disadvantage to the toronto maple leaf for me another and another reason why that number has to come up here in canada do you think it's a ridiculous suggestion that there should be some sort of prorated salary cap based on tax implications so that some places don't have a competitive

advantage? I think it's a disaster to try to play that game. Why? Because there's pretty hard numbers about taxes, isn't there? No, they change all the time. Well, then change the cap all the time. I just't know there there's any way around it yeah and here you have the biggest market in the league uh worried about players leaving you just got to pay them what they're worth i guess and that's that's certainly what

happened here maybe that's another reason why they've just come to the conclusion that whether it's matthews or marner or tovaris you want to come here that's fine but i'm not i'm not giving up all that that tax and the cost of living and you know there's all these factors that may be going into their decision but you know you have to factor in the inevitable osmos sponsorship i think smuckers does one skip the dishes we can make a couple bucks back here in canada you know what don't it's nowhere near where people think no i know it's like 40 grand it's like you know 40 grand? No. No, it's... Listen, on a major corporation, you know, if you're lucky to get 100 or 200 grand, but it's not U.S. money, Sammy.

You're going... Don't disrespect Osmos. Chicken on the rocks. It's real good. For guys that are lucky enough to be maybe involved in a national campaign it's only for like 35

million people the basketball players and the football players are talking to 350 million people in the US Nolichari got signed by or traded to the Leafs his nickname's Cookie Tim Hortons gives him a cookie sponsorship he's in one commercial and then he's somewhere else.

He couldn't have made cookies. You mentioned Osmo's. Cookies. RJ Barrett, he got traded to the Raptors, who are absolutely back, by the way. He got traded to the Raptors, and he was doing his open gym thing, and he was talking about how he was on the way

to an Osmo sponsorship. Is that true? Yes. He got here the other day. His grandfather did. There's also the impression that, you know, this is free money for these guys. It's not. Also taxed. And also, hey, what are you doing for me here?

I want you here, here, and here. And you got to come and spend two days on a commercial shoot. You know, some guys are like no thank you i want to get eight weeks off in or you know six weeks off in the summer i ain't giving four days to you in a commercial for 50 grand p.s all the brands we just mentioned we love and the address is one mount pleasant you want jam speaking of jam let's welcome in elliot friedman from hockey night in canada there he is oh my god i have to say that was pretty shameless don't care bud don't care uh

elliot no real surprise here uh it just kind of picked up uh right where we left it off i guess last week uh in terms of getting a deal done were you surprised at any of the details at all north of 11 was uh right where we thought it would be no when you threw it out nick uh like it was it was heating up like there was no question that you were on there on the right train and obviously proven to be correct by what happened today the only thing i was ever just really wondering about was the exact number. It was such a secret for a little while. I was wondering if there was something we just didn't see out there. You know, the only thing that has kind of surprised me today, I have to say, Nick, is the idea that if they've done it in the summer, it might have only cost them $9.50.

I don't think that was ever the case. I think Nylander and his camp made it very clear that if the Maple Leafs wanted to sign him, whether it was the summer or it was now, it was going to be in this range. I don't think the idea of signing him for $8.50 or $9.50 was – maybe the Leafs thought they were going to do that, but I just don't think that was ever on the table from Nylander and his camp. Frege, do you get the sense that there was any sort of concession

from the Nylander camp or this was an eventual, the Leafs said, okay, we just got to give him what they're asking for. Like I just, I put it in my one tweet about this. I saw your tweet. I can't imagine a thing that they would have asked for that they didn't get they seem to have gotten the whole enchilada 12 i mean that's the answer i guess like you know like i think this like i i honestly justin i spent the last couple of days just as everybody else was doing just calling around trying to figure out

where this was going to end up and you know it was funny i talked to a few teams have negotiated with lewis gross in the past and they said that what he does is you know he gets to a number and he justifies it from his point of view and he doesn't move he especially when he's got the leverage like sometimes you don't have leverage and you have to take what you get. But this was a case where they had leverage, particularly with the way that Nylander had played this year. So they they stuck to their guns. And, you know, like I got to tell you, I don't I do not like bringing family into this. I really don't. But this is a unique case.

And I think, you know michael who played a long time in the national hockey league and knows exactly how this business works and he sees what he sees what he thinks his son is worth i think he was pushing the same thing that this is what we're worth and if you want to sign willie kneelander uh this is going to be what it's what this is what it's going to be and you know with everything else you mentioned there the no move clause the bonuses look the Maple Leafs have made it very clear they're a bonus team they did it with Tavares they did it with Matthews they did it with Marner they certainly weren't going to be able to say no we're not in this case and the no move clause all

the way through um you know I I don't know how much everybody thought about that but I'm not surprised of any of this I just think that they drew a line in the sand and said this is where you're going to end up if you want to keep this player and ultimately I think the Maple Leafs just decided we want to keep this player We're talking to Elliot Friedman from Hockey Night in Canada and 32 Thoughts

Someone mentioned to me last week when I did bring up uh the contract that they wanted a deal done before the all-star weekend and certainly today's plenty of time for that but you know one of my questions back was well why wouldn't they just take this right to the very end why wouldn't they just take this to to June 30th? If they believe that they would eventually give in to this number that's been revealed today at 11-5, why not wait at the last second just in fact to maybe just feel like if you could still bring them down a little bit,

if the player really wants to be here and doesn't want to move, would it have shown more to wait? Like, why now? Why now, I think, Nick, is because I think they're going to look around the deadline. Now they have some certainty about what else they can do. Like, we know the cap next year is going to be around 87. We know what Nylander's number is going to be.

So they can do, if they're looking at a defenseman with term say at the deadline now they know or defenseman they're going to trade for that they can resign potentially hint hint hint then now they know what they can do like honestly uh nick i think they wanted to know now so that if they are going to do anything at the deadline that's going to affect their roster beyond this season they know exactly what their numbers are going to be and i think that played a a very big part in this i think they wanted it over with and they wanted some certainty in what they could do around them with numbers and i know you you don't like to talk about that family aspect, and I'm sorry to go back to it,

but I'm just asking out of genuine confusion of what is Michael's role? He's an agent, and Lewis Gross is the agent. Are they both his agents? They work together. What does that mean? You know what? I haven't checked, Justin, if Nylander is still an agent. I mean, I

probably should. Thanks for pointing out how terribly I do my job. No, no, no. That's genuine confusion. I'm totally kidding. I'm just busting here. I should have checked. To be honest, at one time, Nylander was a registered agent. I don't know if he still is. I have to double-check that. Sam believes he is here, to be honest, like at one time, Nylander was a registered agent. I don't know if he still is.

I have to double check that. Sam believes he is here, to my left. Okay, so he's still – well, that's the thing. I do. And one of the – so one of the things that, you know, happens here, Justin, is like I ultimately I think that Lewis Gross handles the heavy lifting and prepares the case, but Michael plays a huge role he says that this is what i think my son is worth and at the end of the day um you know look like the one thing i don't

like about all this and actually i got i had a really interesting call with someone yesterday who said to me that they don't always like the way that william gets portrayed in all of this um that he's like just some Rube who does whatever his dad tells him to do and because I I think I mean you know him a little bit Justin I think he's got a much stronger personality than that and it's a very big part of this I don't think he was afraid to say no until he got what he wanted to but what I think is is that the agent um he does a lot of the heavy lifting he does a lot of the negotiations but michael plays a very big role in yes or no and i do believe there

were times during this process too that the maple east spoke with him directly and and and just said you know hey like where are you in all of this so they had a a really good idea so all of so i i think he's more than a parent and obviously i guess as sam mentioned he's still an agent i didn't check but i i think he plays a huge role in all of this elliot uh now people start going to the next story and the domino effect of this uh this signing and what it means for the toronto maple leaves perhaps mitch marner in the next few years and then outside of the league but let's just talk about uh maybe as early as july 1st when the leafs are eligible to resign mitch marner how does this play into all of that well i think nick there's actually two big storylines on July 1st. And one is Mitch Marner and the other is John Tavares.

Because I do think part of this is, like, if you heard Tavares today, he sounds like a guy to me who wants to finish his career in Toronto. And he's basically, he's on record as saying that. But what's the number, Nick? Like, it's not going to be 11. So I'm sure at some point the Maple Leafs are going to have a conversation with him about what his next deal is going to look like and, you know, how far down it's going to be 11 so i'm sure at some point the maple is going to have a conversation with him about what his next deal is going to look like and you know how far down it's going to be because that's going to be a huge factor in all of this as they plan for the future i mean i would defer

to you on this one nobody in the media knows martyr uh better than you do nobody knows the way he thinks better than you do um you know i would assume he's going to be looking for a raise. I wonder if they're going to offer him the same deal that they offered Nylander now. I don't know. I haven't asked anybody that. But, you know, I definitely think that's the next bit. I think those are the next two big questions. What does Tavares' next deal look like and what will Marner's next deal look like?

Because one's going to be down. And I just assume, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, that Marner's going to be looking for a race. Yeah, well, just earlier on our conversations, Elliot, tell me what the playoffs look like. Tell me how successful they were. Tell me where Mitch Marner was in driving the team. And Tavares to that point.

I look at Tavares and I have no question, when you make that move from the island and you turn down going to San Jose, you're coming home to finish it out here. So I think the Leafs would be totally in the driver's seat there. Whatever it is. I'm not suggesting that he's going to take a minimum contract, but under his career earnings,

I don't think $1.5 to $4 million a year would matter any differently to him. Yeah. The only thing is if he's still like a 40-goal guy. Right. There's not a lot of 40-goal guys that signed for $1.5 million. It's two things. It's his willingness to stay, which he clearly wants to do, Nick, but also performance matters.

And also, what kind of term are we going to be talking about there? I've got to tell you, when this was signed, I was like, okay, we can breathe for a couple of days and not have to worry about any of this. And then I remembered, okay, where am I? Tell us about Marner. We're off to the next one. The Marner one, like, he's a great player. He just is. He's a great, great player and you know one of the things that was a factor here in the knee lander was

you know he definitely felt that if that he was not going to be the only guy taking a haircut and Marner certainly isn't taking a haircut now but I'm sure he'll want something commensurate with the guys who are now ahead of him and we'll just have to see where that where that number is but you know I think the big thing that they did today, well, there's two. There's number one, they got this done, so it's no longer a story. And now they have some idea of what their cap situation is,

and they can target whoever they want to target on the blue line. Because I do think that's something they're going to do as soon as the deadline here. Freed, we have you on in our national hour here. So I want to ask you about Elias Pettersson and you know, that contract now he had 103 points last year and, and it's well above a point per game this year.

I mean, is this kind of the floor for PD's next deal in Vancouver? I think so. And, but the one thing I think that the bigger challenges for them is when's he ready to talk, you know, to me that to me, like, you know, people say, well, okay, now Nylander's done.

We know what the floor is for Pettersson. I think the bigger question is when is he going to be ready to say, okay, I'm willing to listen to you. I think Vancouver has indicated that they're ready to talk to him anytime. And everybody there knows that Vancouver is going to throw a ton of money at him when he's ready. To me, it's more about when Pettersson says, all right, and everybody there knows that Vancouver is going to throw a ton of money at him when he's ready. To me, it's more about when Pettersson says,

all right, I'm ready to go. And don't kid yourself, Justin. Vancouver knows this one is going to cost them and they're going to go right at it. Outside of that, Elliot, you had mentioned Tavares eligible for a contract extension with Marner as early as July 1st. Also in the mix of that is Jake Gensel, another terrific scoring winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins. There's a lot of talk about his agent on the weekend, you know, talking about his situation and the sense that he could be in play for

trade deadline? I think it's possible. You know, the one thing I think there is, I think they've talked to him. I think they've tried to sign him, Nick. At this point in time, it hasn't happened. And if you're the Penguins, you're probably sitting there and saying, OK, if it hasn't happened by now, is there any reason it's going to be different um one of the things that i i have heard that has started to become a bit of a conversation there is when kyle dubas was

hired he was hired to keep going to the playoffs and rebuild the team those are two really difficult things to do at the same time and i think some of the questions there are you know what is the future going to be for pittsburgh is there ever a chance they're going to take a step back and you know i i think for guys like genzel i i think they're wondering about that a little bit too uh last one for me just while we're talking about scoring wingers um leon dry sidle is the other name that fascinates me. What could this end up meaning for Leon Dreisaitl? I think whatever,

Dreisaitl's next deal is going to be a big one. I think the Oilers know it. I think the Oilers know it. And I believe as long as the Oilers are good, look, Edmonton made a panic move at the beginning of this year when they made the coaching change. This is the wrong year for them to have a bad year.

Right. Because it's headed into dry sideline, and we're two years away from McDavid. So I think that's a big reason in why they made a change. As long as they're good, I think dry sideline stays. But, Justin, I think the Oilers know that this next one is going to be a mega deal. And whatever he wants, they're going to have to pay him. That's one of the storylines here, Nick. And you played with a lot of guys who made big money.

In the past, the star players have always taken a bit less, especially in the cap era. I think those days are over. I think we are seeing now that a lot of the star players are saying, nope, we're not doing that anymore. And some will always be different. There will be other guys who don't do it. But I think you're going to start seeing a lot more of the star players

saying, you know, I'm going to take a bigger piece of the pie here. Elliot, we've also heard from a lot of agents lately that the focus is on percentage of the cap less than the actual dollars. One needs to be settled first before you get into dollars. And Willie's deal ended up being 13.1 percent of the leafs salary cap i believe if i'm not mistaken connor mcdavid's last deal was over 16 percent of edmonton's salary cap are they still in a position to to take 16 or 17 percent of the cap i know 20 is the max correct know 20 is the max, correct? Yeah, 20 is the max. Do you see Conor or Leon absorbing that much on their next deal?

I don't know if it'll be, I don't know if we'll get to 20. I don't know, but I think we will see, like, to me, as far as I'm concerned with McDavid, like there's no contract that's unfair for him. No. Whatever he wants, you that's unfair for him. No. Whatever he wants, you just give it to him without any... Here's your 20%, yeah. Here you go.

And to be honest, I heard the last time they negotiated with him, McDavid's people said, we're not going to take 20%. And the others were like, thank freaking God, because we would have given it to you. Yeah, they chopped a million off of it, I think, or 750. Yeah, because McDavid, when it first got out, McDavid didn't like the reaction to it. But you know what? I don't know if we'll get to 20, Justin, but 16, 17.

Someone's going to be the first to go for it. Well, 20, Yager had 20. Brad Richards briefly had 20. But someone could go 16, 17, 18. Yeah, I think you'll see it. What do you have in the sports nets cap, Elliot? I think I have. I've been looking at those quarter two returns. I think I'm negative 1%.

Elliot hasn't been home in four months to earn that cap money. Fair enough. That's right. That's right. Elliot, great stuff, man. Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Freed. All right.

All right, guys. Have a great day. Appreciate it, man. Elliot Friedman, Hockey Night in Canada. 32 thoughts. So we got to go. We got to go to get to Willie. Are we going to break?

Yeah, let's hit the break. All right. Let's go to break. Willie Nylander, live and in person person and 92 million dollars richer after the break breaking down the top stories in the nhl every day the jeff marick show subscribe and download the show on apple spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Dick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee. Massive contract by Willie Nylander to stay in Toronto till 2032.

Let's welcome him in right now. Happy to be joined by Willie Nylander. Willie, first and foremost, congratulations on the contract. And how important was it for you to get this done well before, say, the All-Star break? I mean, my thought process was just to keep playing the way I've been playing. I mean, I'm really happy that I was able to get done, I mean, this time so fast compared to last time. Yeah, fair enough. So how much do you think about the pending deal as it's kind of going on throughout the season, Willie?

I mean, I'm not thinking too much about it. I mean, every once in a while, Lewis would call me and give me an update on what's going on. But, I mean, I was just focused on playing hockey and will still be focused on playing hockey. And, Willie, a lot of people, you know, when we first heard that the talks were in the summer, and I'm sure you could have signed a lot earlier for less, but where were you in terms of how far you wanted to push this?

Because there's always the risk of a player getting hurt or having an off year how how big of a decision was it for you to push forward and prove that you deserve the money that you are getting now um well i mean i just sat there in the summer and i mean that point in time i was just thinking okay i'm gonna start playing the season and obviously it would I'm going to start playing the season. And obviously, it would have been nice to go into the season with a deal. But, I mean, honestly, I'm not really thinking so much about that. I'm just happy to be in Toronto for eight more years. And, I mean, what I told Brad was, I mean, this is where I want to win

and this is where, I mean mean we got to do this so that's that's just been my initial initial thoughts over the entire process. Willie it's been a long time since you and I crossed paths when I was with the Marlies there I can't help but think back to your relationship with Sheldon Keefe as a young player you know you've been here a long time and you've had Sheldon as your coach for most of the time. Curious how your relationship with him has evolved over those years. Yeah, I mean, obviously he's pushed me to become the player that I am today.

And always been, I mean, from the Marley days up until now, it's been a journey and we're going to keep going. Hey, Willie, I know your dad as a teammate in Hartford and a roommate on the road, but I don't know him so much as an agent. But apparently he's pretty good, wouldn't you say? Yeah, I mean, when you have a guy that's played a lot

of games in the NHL, I think he could be a pretty good agent. Obviously, super thankful for what he's done for me in my career and obviously my mom and my family. Are you getting a break on the fees? Come on! Dads are supposed to love you without fees no it's just to give back straighten them out for you more yeah that's right that's what you do that's how it works you gotta pay me back for those 18 years when you're living at home yeah that's right that's

that's good good way to funnel funnel it back. I love that. So, you know, this year, you guys have been humming along. You're coming off a three-game win streak here. Shot a couple in the net last game. Tell us a little bit about your thoughts on this year's team and how it's different from previous iterations of the Toronto Maple Leafs you've been on. Yeah, I mean, like, every year, we have a different team, a different, I mean, season going through certain ups and downs.

I mean, Chavez, every year as we're building to become the team that we want to be come April. I think we have a great group of guys. And, I mean, obviously I wouldn't want to stay here if I didn't believe in the group and the management and the club. And the love affair with the city and the commercials, now you've got enough money to maybe charter a whole TTC train by yourself here. But just in terms of the fan base, Willie,

and what they've meant to you over the years? Yeah, I mean, it's always been very special having the support of the fans. I mean, every night playing in front of them and getting to do that for another eight years is incredibly special. I mean, to do it for such a storied franchise, it couldn't be any better.

Okay, and also, like, Sugo is here, and I see the hat all the time. Are you an investor? Do they sponsor you, or do you just love the restaurant? What is the relationship with Sugo? Well, I just go there and eat sometimes. And, I mean, they just give me hats sometimes. I mean, I love that place.

I got some hats for you, too. Hey, Willie. Congratulations, man, on the deal. Every penny earned this season, proving your point that you're one of the top wingers in the game. Good luck the rest of the way, man. Yeah, thank you so much. Yeah, thanks, Willie.

Appreciate it. Willie Nylander. Thank you. Now, one of the top paid players in the game yeah kind of got what we expected yeah listen he's you know there's as far as getting any type of detail or getting him to open up on uh like he's in that player mode right wherever you go it's just happy. It got done and wanted to be here and glad it's over. Yeah.

I got a couple of chuckles out of them. Well, I think that interview is exactly why he's perfect for Toronto. Perfect. We're just like, he could not have, he could not have sounded more annoyed to have to do that. And we appreciate it every second of it.

We totally appreciate it. Absolutely. And I like that Yasemut Sugo, and I thought it was a pretty good joke about his dad. You know, I know his dad. I thought that was good. Yeah. Check him a couple of times. I think that's the best we could have done, boys.

Best we could have done. All right. We still have to do two things. Yeah, we're going to do game time. Yes, we do. What was the other thing? Just news and notes Oh okay cool

Alright well It's the aforementioned game time Presented by Bet365 Visit the app for the latest odds And find out why it's never ordinary At Bet365 Must be 19 plus Whoa Ontario only

Please play responsibly So I don't know if Kipper likes When I do this But I'm going off the NHL tonight Is it the otani thing again no no good god they signed a couple guys by the way who not just otani i just mean everyone they signed everyone signed former jay teoscar hernandez as well you know it's scary and we're in like 2024 and people are screaming for a quarter of a million dollars more for Willie. Oh, I know. From 11 to 5 to 5.

And yet, those guys are signing for like almost a billion dollars, Otani Canadian funds. I was going to say when Elliot was like, I think the days of people in the NHL stars taking this like hometown discount is over. To me, it's because they're looking around at the best players in other leagues going, I'm sorry, what does Shohei make? Yeah, but Shohei does two things at once.

Right. It's like he really was the starting goalie. Strike Shohei from what does LeBron make? Yeah, a lot. A lot. Look at the best players in other sports and go, why am I playing for 250 less? That joke, I think Jimmy Ralph says when he does his stand-up or, you know, he hosts, he's like, you know like when he signed his first contract

with the Chicago Blackhawks and they told him, okay now don't tell anybody what you make. And he says, okay I'm just as embarrassed as you are. Exactly.

That's the stars in our league. That's the stars in our league. That's the stars in our league today. Yes. Like, I hope Leon and Connor make 18 or whatever in their next deals. I'm not sure. Yeah, but not to go down this whole merry-go-round. We'll get to you, Sam.

It's just horrible that, and, you know, I've stated it. Like, there's a real jealousy issue here inside the dressing rooms. Who cares? No, what do you mean? It affects the product. I don't care if my lesser player has so much ego he can't handle that the best player on earth is making 10 times as much as him. I don't care until they don't deliver and they're making 15 times more than you well then he's worth less

than that and we'll find someone who will i'm just telling you it's it's real and it's out there okay that you know the more you take the less you leave for the rest of us. I get that. Anyways. Oh, hi, game time. Game time. It is the national championship game tonight in college football. Yes. Which will take five hours. So if you're new to college football,

strap in because they review every play. This takes a long time. But the glitz and glam. Is the Pop-Tart playing? I don't know. The glitz and glam around the national championship game, two extremely historic programs in the Washington Huskies and the Michigan Wolverines.

You know, Washington is a pretty big underdog, but they're a much more electric offense with this quarterback, Michael Penix. That's a really good put. They're a five-point underdog. But I do like the Michigan Wolverines. I have a lot of good buddies who are diehard Wolverines fans. I also have a good buddy, J.D. Bunkus, who's a diehard Washington fan.

I'm having a tough time leaning either way, but give me the underdog in the Washington Huskies at plus 180. Or if you want to go on the spread, it's minus 105 or plus 105. Why is this game so late in January now? Wasn't it like a New Year's Day? No, no, so they, because it's the playoff, because they used to do it where it was just like the game at the end oh this is the re yeah okay they used to like declare the winner right now they have a playoff you so the rose bowl now was the first one of the

playoffs and the other one goes to i believe it's i forget where the other one is texas maybe okay so it's like and then they go to houston to play the final. But tonight it's the Washington Huskies versus Michigan Wolverines. And I'm really excited for the game. I love it. I always like... Well, I mean, growing up in BC, I liked Washington. I liked their colors. Pro Husky. So, I mean, I'm laying that way. I know nothing about it. This will be a huge...

Half the country watching this thing where they get 30 million. This is a massive event. A massive event. And the fact that it's michigan in it which is like one of the most storied things in college football it's a huge huge matchup tonight all right so uh and the last thing i had quickly because you guys were talking about otani for the first five minutes it's a 94 rematch tonight kippers uh rangers oh yeah it is uh mclean playing kirk mclean is not in the lineup tonight. Okay.

Vancouver Canucks are pretty heavy underdogs. Plus 125 at Madison Square Garden. You know I like a dog. Give me the Vancouver Canucks to avenge Kipper Stanley Kupring at Madison Square Garden. It'll all be even after that. There you go. No one will forget. Rangers are struggling a little bit keeping the puck out. Yeah. It's too bad.

I'm just going to finish up here. That was Game Time presented by Bet365. Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's too bad i'm just gonna finish up here that was game time presented by bet 365 visit the app for the day solids and find out why it's never ordinary at bet 365 must be 19 plus on terror only please play responsibly as good as the vancouver canucks are they're not sitting at the top of the nhl mountain right now the winnipeg jets i know we still aren't giving them enough love i don't know this has become the sasha barkov thing like everyone says they're good who the jets yes yeah they're so underrated they don't get enough credit they're the best team in the league because i don't have credit they're really good yeah yeah they are they on fire the biggest thing is they just don't give

up goals i don't know how many games now they've given up three or less goals but it's got to be in the 20s and we made fun of them for that Connor Hellebuck contract, or I did at least. No, no, no. Not on our show. Are you sure? That was you and Bunker. No. You're like Hugh Drops

50 points when you're with Bunker. I'm pretty sure you guys were not, were surprised. I remember some emotions. I'm pretty sure you guys were not, were surprised. I remember some emotions. I may have been skeptical of the Scheifele part of that. Okay, but the Hellebuck thing, it's like, yeah, he's the best goalie in the league probably, right? Yeah. If you had

one game, you're picking a goalie. I actually think I would pick him. I wrote an article for the Toronto Star last week on the demise of the goaltending market. He went back to Winnipeg after he found out New Jersey wasn't going to be willing to drive the price up. Oh, you think that was the play? Oh, yeah, he had talks with New Jersey.

New Jersey's just going, what have we done? Why didn't we do it? So let me ask you something. If he doesn't re-up and he goes to UFA on another Vesna year, like... Someone offers him 4x4 because the goaltending is cruel. Could you have seen someone get to $10 million for him? For sure. For sure.

He's so good. The problem with goaltending is term. Because are you going to give him seven years if he's a UFA? 10x7? Although Bob is making a resurgence. The problem with goaltending is term. Because you're going to give him seven years if he's a UFA? Ten by seven? Although Bob is making a resurgence, or last year he did anyway. But no, I think he would have got $10 million. He's that good. He's special.

Okay. You mentioned Bobrowski there, and it just popped into my mind. I wanted to talk to you about this. People are already pissed off about how much Leafs we've talked in this show, but too bad. I mean, they're one of the teams in Canada. I hate that the Leafs are probably going to play the Panthers. They are going to play the Panthers.

Did you watch any Panthers on the weekend? I watched it, where they scored early and often. Barkov was unbelievable. Wearing the full visor. Yeah, the fishbowl. I think I read something. Old Ryan Lambert had something. I read a paragraph

where florida's top five in basically every statistical category so outside goals four per 60 or something but yes they're good in literally every department they're physical two lines that are just coming right at you and sam reinhardt who when i watched him first start his career in buffalo as a second overall pick yeah to who i didn't think he could skate sorry to buffalo no but who was it who went first in that draft just thinking to myself go ahead uh i'm like okay could have a decent career but i didn't envision this i didn't ask for that yeah he's uh He's got 28 goals and 50 points in 39 games. And he's looking at that Nylander contract going with cartoon awooga eyes.

This is funny. I'm just looking at that draft. Three of the top five picks play for the Florida Panthers. Sam Reinhardt, Aaron Eckblad was the first overall pick, and Sam Bennett went fourth. Wow, really? Yeah. That's fascinating.

Who's the other dude in there? Leon Dreissel went third and Michael Dow Cole to your Islanders at five. Oopsies. That's Willie Newlander draft. Wow. He was eight. So Reinhardt will benefit, no question.

Do you think he's going to get paid like Willie? I don't think so. He's not that. His career is not. And he's not. He doesn't skate like I don't think so. He's not that. His career is not. And he's not. He doesn't skate like Willie to keep it up. He's not a dynamic player. No.

I am less confident. This seems more like the massive outlying season for him. Well, he scored 30 goals back-to-back years. 33-31. He's got 28 right now, Sam. He's got 39 games. Yeah, for sure. So this is...

Let me ask you about, it seems like we're just, we'll get off the money train. Yeah, it's a money show. It's a money show today. That's okay. It's a Willie money show today. Don't bring in Jim Cramer.

One of the teams that Florida played on the weekend, Colorado, Mikko Rantanen, is also eligible for contract extension this July. What is he worth

for you? And a Stanley Cup champion. Yeah, and he is a few points behind Willie, and I think statistically throughout his career, a higher points per game guy. Who should we ask? Or Terry Lekanen's dad? That's who we should ask.

And you know, it seems like he's been around forever and he's just 28 years old. Yeah. So he can easily lock in for eight years and you're not feeling like you're getting cheated. Also, you know, 50 points in 40 games had 100.

He had 55 goals and 105 points last year. Good Lord. 6'4", 215, 28 years old. Yeah, he's going to make 13. 87 points. 13. 87 points in 70 playoffs. How is he not?

I know. I mean, he has a case to say I'm among the handful of best players in hockey. Someone sent me a note that said you guys didn't talk enough about Connor and Dreisaitl's deal because you brought it up last week. Yeah. In Elliott, we had Elliott Friedman on

the top of the hour here talking about a potential Dreisaitl deal. But I still say that this has to be done with both guys I would never negotiate without I'd go a new way with these two guys I would

negotiate I would not negotiate individually I would bring them together and say boys we're not leaving the room you guys love each other, right? Yeah. Okay. We know that.

You go to sporting events. You hang out. But you can't. You fish. You can't do your idea. No, you can't. You get them in a room and you say. Because the number you are giving them.

Here we have. It's a pretty good pile. I've got $30 million for you. I thought you said $32 million. $32 million. Whatever. Do you want to hear $33? $33. No, no, no, no. pile i've got 30 million dollars i thought you said 32 million 32 million dollars whatever do i hear 33 no no no no no i won't go past 30 i don't even want to go past 30 31 31 okay okay how do you guys oilers fan want to split it up 16 and a a half, 13 and a half. Did my math work there? No, that's 30. Whatever.

16 and 13 and a half. See, I would go. 17 and 14. That's the math. I would go, yeah. 16, 14. Let's just say it's 30 for a second. This is awesome radio, guys.

Good math. Listen. Let's just say 30 for now. My SAT scores in math weren't great. You can do 16-14, but you can't really do 17-13. No? No. I guess. Not for dry saddle.

Dry saddle does have a hard trophy. You're right. You can't give dry saddle 13. In fact, it's worth way more than that. Quickly. Bedard. Sucks. Hurts. Yeah. Bedard Sucks Hurts

Yeah Bedard Broken jaw Got rocked Yeah he got rocked And I just We love him but What are you going

A thousand miles Through the middle of the ice Head straight To hit a brick wall With your head down Ah come on That's What do you mean come on

Well this is how the guy Has scored a trillion points To become the Top prospect Scored a trillion points In junior Yeah Kippert's right though He never even considered peaking Come on has scored a trillion points to become the top prospect in junior. Kippert's right, though. He never even considered peaking. He just went straight

head down. You remember who else got smoked as a rookie and had their career or season derailed? Connor McDavid. Connor McDavid got crushed going a little too aggressively into the boards. Missed half the season. Lesson learned. That's what I'm saying. This is part of the gotta do things differently, I guess. It goes into a little bit what I'm saying. This is part of the got to do things differently, I guess.

Kind of goes into a little bit what I told you guys at the beginning of the year. Too much, too soon. It's not like you're going to be getting crushed like Nick Robertson did last year. No, but it's taxing. Playing all these games at this level with the intensity, the bright lights, the media, it can cause you to maybe let your guard down for five seconds and maybe do something that you don't normally do and i think that's what we witnessed i would love to see chicago say we are not you know maybe this is their celebrating year and

they try to have these two guys but we're not doing this anymore we are immediately trying to dig out of the ditch we're going to pay for ufas patterson if that's the rumor sure what are they giving you we'll give you more you know like i would love to see them get serious it's i hate watching teams well it's like it's like the spurs for four years is that worth it it's like the spurs with wim binyama this year like they just have no wins they have no plan they have this freak of nature on their team they didn't sign any good players they're just like yeah we'll suck again it's like how many years are those little bones gonna survive right it's like just be good pigeon bones um yeah so it just sucks it's not gonna be

at the all-star game now probably right have they said how long six weeks wow there's no no timeline but that's a while broken jaw that sucks well he can unlock his sister's doors now, right? On that commercial. Oh, yeah. He's got the, from a distance. Yeah. I don't know what that, I don't remember what brand it was for. I don't know either.

And Marc-Andre Fleury ties Patrick Waugh, ever heard of him? For second most wins all time. Hall of Famer for you guys? Waugh. Unfortunately, yes. The guy. We're running out of things to talk about. No, that is a, you know, it's really cool to see someone universally loved have so much success.

And, I mean. You know, to catch his Superman save on the weekend. Yeah. He's so entertaining. Bunkus has been brought up here a lot, but I have to give him credit. I texted him about this. He said, this is another amazing Sidney Crosby stat. Oh, that he got a Fleury?

Yeah. It's true. Yeah. Marc-Andre Fleury, second all-time in wins. What a Crosby stat. Good goalie. No question, but like second all-time wins? That is pretty baffling.

It's crazy to me. It does speak to love of the game and longevity. This guy loves to be a hockey goalie, which not everyone does i can assure you i've practiced with many who don't uh sends oh boy like i know the reaction they were hoping for in january saturday and i said they'd like to make some move with maybe getting some more veteran or i'm like no isn't that what Claude Giroux was supposed to do? They're going to have to make some tough decisions

with some of their core guys. But they do remind me more of a Vancouver where it's like, they should be better than they are. Can we do some other things to figure this out other than ship out core guys? I do like the Vancouver parallel where they just hire Berube next year and they're just really good.

Trade for a top pair D. That helps. They hire Talkett when they weren't going anywhere. Who's that? Vancouver? Yes. So hire Berube now. Don't wait in the offseason. Let him start putting in new culture now.

Fully on board with that. And give the fans a reason to be excited about it. Hire him as a coaching consultant. Right. Have him choose who should be the coach. And then he should hire himself. All right, boys. Good job today.

Our thanks to Elliot Friedman on the top of the hour. And of course, Willie Nylander for joining us today. His new eight-year, $92 million contract officially kicks in next season. But,

we don't have to talk about it from here on in. All right. Enjoy your night, everybody. What's our signature game you guys said? Vancouver and the Rangers tonight. Enjoy it.

We're back tomorrow on Real Kipper and Bourne.