Real Kyper & Bourne - Winning the Stanley Cup with Former Oilers Kevin Lowe + Rick Tocchet's New Gig

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne are joined by Kevin Lowe (7:05) – 6-time Stanley Cup Champion and Hockey Hall Of Famer to chat about the differences in today's game compared to when he was playing, the growing amount of blueliners scoring goals, what a Cup could mean for Connor McDavid, the familiarity of facing the same team in playoffs, and why the Oilers need to instil confidence in Stuart Skinner. Then, Rick Tocchet (26:15) – the new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers stops by to discuss what drove him back to be behind a bench following his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks and the fallout between him and the front office.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 to the national hour of the real Kipper and born show. We are live on sports at six 50 in Vancouver sports at nine 60 and Calgary right across all your sports net platforms. This hour of real Kipper and born brought to you by bet three, six, five, Nick Kipriels, Justin Warren, Sammy McKee. Sammy, is that not gone platinum? Well done, Brandale. Yeah, great drop in. As Sammy once again just caught up in his Maple Leaf misery. We had a heck of a first hour if you want to lease Schadenfreude. Is that how you say it? I don't know.

But there we walked through every mistake they made for a decade. So nothing tastes more delicious than Schadenfreude. Schadenfreude. But we have the oilers to keep Canada's hopes alive. the Oilers to keep Canada's hopes alive, starting tonight. Oilers and Dallas Stars, 8 p.m. Sportsnet and CBC. We're gonna welcome in in a few minutes, Kevin Low, Hall of Famer. Sammy, you gonna listen,

are you gonna be cheering for Edmonton? I would like to make my official statement. Oh, I'm looking forward to that. Yeah, he doesn't do that. No. No, I am. Oh, you are are this time you are. Yeah, I am. You said it leaves up to win the cup first. I that's usually that's usually Yeah, I think I'm really coming to grips with the fact that that probably never gonna happen in my life. So we just need it back in Canada. No, it's not even that. It's it's all McDavid driven.

He needs to get one. He is the guy in the league that needs it the most. He is the shining star of the league He is the face of the league all these guys always get one He needs to get one for each it breaks my heart that all those stinky oil their fans out there are gonna get it and they're Gonna rub it in my little face. They're gonna make fun of Toronto They're gonna talk about Toronto more than they're gonna talk about the oilers getting the cup But I have to say I want McDavid to have it. So my official statement is yes, I am rooting for them. Wow.

Yeah. Profound, thank you for that. We did on occasion in our Leaf Hour edition talk about the Leafs feeling different than years past, but do the Oilers not feel different this playoff than they did this time last year. The one reason I'll just I'm hesitant to give it a hard yes is I don't know that the decor is that much better.

You know, it's a lot of careful. Don't let them hear that. Well, they get so prickly. And Klingberg, Wallman, Stetcher, Kulak, you know, Wallman's added a lot for sure. And I'm not saying Klingberg has been great for them. That is not meant to take away from them. I'm saying if you look at the teams who have won the cup over the past 10 years, they've been loaded on the back end.

The Oilers are just passable at best with Ekholm back. Bouchard, Nuerst, like then I can see it. Like if they get him back here, I don't think that this decor could get you through two more rounds without Ekholm. Ekholm, I don't think that this decor could get you through two more rounds without Echolme. Echolme, I think, gets you over the top. The forwards are better than they've been, and that's because Kane and Frederick have given them a physical net front edge

to go with Perry and Dry Saddle and all those guys around the net. And they're scoring. They've all been able to put the puck in the net, and Connor Brown has just been such a presence. He's a worker, man. He's a worker. He'll give you everything he's got. You know, Hyman, we talked about him in the first hour too. It's kind of the same thing. So we talked about Hyman in the first hour. Yeah, there's a lot of playoff built dudes on the Oilers

up front. So yeah, I can I mean, Dallas, I will say is is loaded. It's gonna be a heck of a series. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. I mean the thing is with Dallas is that they are better too and having Ranton is just, that's a bit of an upgrade. They're depth guys, we're not depth guys, even they're stars. Robertson, you know, why Johnson has not had, Johnson has not had a lot of luck around the net.

They're gonna have to get going here to match what is a team that could easily put up a five spot every night. Every game. The Kings were the best or second best defensive team, according to Sport Logic this year, and they just couldn't hold back the flood. And Vegas was the

other team that was definitely top three defensively all year long and same thing so good luck. This is the first Western Conference Finals rematch in more than a decade and just the tenth time in NHL's expansion era that the teams will face off in at least two straight years during the Final Four. In the four and four of the previous nine instances each side won at least once I think the last time that there was a rematch would have been Kings and Blackhawks, which would have been 2014 2013 era so it's I mean stars and

Oilers have a lot of playoff history Like I remember they used to play in the first round all the time and be like first versus eighth. There was a lot of history between these two teams. This would be a good special teams battle. You know how good the Oilers power play is. Both teams have been good. So the power play of Dallas in the first two rounds, 30.4 and 31 percent and their PK was above 85 percent in both rounds. So their special teams have been awesome. Their goal-tenning's been great. It's gonna be tight.

In a few minutes, we'll welcome in Kevin Lowe, six-time Stanley Cup champion, Hall of Famer. And then at 5.30 Eastern, Rick Tauke. We haven't had Tauke on the show, obviously, for a while. As a head coach, he's made a couple of appearances on our show, but this one will be fun. Yeah, as soon as he left Vancouver, I was like, hey, talk!

Maybe it could have been left a little longer, and a couple texts when I'm replied and that's very unlike him He usually used to get back to me a lot when he was an analyst. I was like, oh talks get another job He's not getting back to me. He's getting another job. So there we go. I'm really looking forward to have him on He was our favorite We had him on at least once a month in the first couple years of our show We had him on all the time and he's one of our faves. So I'm looking forward to getting him back I thought there was a chance he'd just take the TV thing for a year again.

You know what I like about this though? I think Philly's PR is pretty open, right? We had Pierre on, we had Jones on, multiple times throughout the year. So like we could probably get talk a few times next year. Yeah, it'd be a little more challenging when he was with Vancouver. He'll be our fliers analyst. Yeah, it could be good. Hey the best flyers analysis We got this year shadow Charlie O'Connor, but it was from Jones and Brear. They're like, we're not a playoff team We saw we're training everyone we can they were in a playoff spot when we had him on

He's like we're not good in November by the way in November. He's telling us. Yeah, we're trading everybody All right a guy that's made a few trades of his own over his Executive career Kevin Lowe now joins us Stanley Cup champion six times one with me Lozy, how are you pal? Thanks for joining us Hey, my pleasure Kip always looking forward to coming on your show so where are we on the the the Euler vibe out west here and you know compared to last season or going back to your dynasties? Well I would say it depends who you're talking to if you're asking me

personally I would say that this is as good a team as the orders have had since the dynasty years and that would include the run in 06 when they went to game seven of the finals. I think what Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman have done, cobbling together some players to really fill out a real need in the lineup, particularly for me, which I always thought was lacking, was the heaviness up front. And they've addressed that. And then, one step even better than that, they've added the puck moving on the back end, which really complements the forward group we have. So if I would have looked at the orders teams, even last year's team,

they didn't for me, they didn't have enough heaviness up front. And that was a difference in the Florida series. If you ask me, they have heaviness up front. They're, they're, they're a heavy, hard team, you know, evident to what they did to Vegas in that five game series. So, Lozy, do you believe that the type of goals that get scored in playoffs are different because it feels like the success that these guys are having offensively, it's a lot of Kane and Hyman and Frederick and kind of guys around that blue paint. Yes, absolutely.

You have to go to the blue paint. You know, there's, you know, everybody's blocking shots. The goalies are, you know, especially to get this time of year, the goalies are all good. You have to, I mean, even in the glory years, I mean, we scored goals by the boatloads as you guys would remember. And when you're playing against good teams, you've got to go to the paint. You got to, that's where you got to score the goals. We're watching and

listening to six-time Stanley Cup champion Kevin Lowe hockey Hall of Famer. So Lowe is he just going back to the blue line here and I know we can talk about the addition of Wallman and even Klingberg coming in but the one thing that I've noticed more than anything is that that guys like Bouchard and Nurse have limited the gaps, the turnovers, and they're better, they're less of them. And where's the stability coming from from those two guys in particular for me? Well, I think Darnell, if anything over the years,

in the regular season particularly. I think sometimes his mind wanders a little bit, you know. I think he's built for the playoffs. I remember the World Juniors in Canada a number of years ago when they played the Russians in the finals. And that said a lot for me in terms of what Darnell Nurse can do is he was a record machine in that game for anybody remembers the game, I believe it was the gold medal game and you know he's got great reach, he's great athletic ability and lots of desire so I mean he plays his best hockey when the game's on the line and relative to Evan Bouchard, you know, it's hard when you're a skilled guy like that. I mean, Paul Coffey's a great example.

I mean, during the regular season, he wasn't the best defenseman in terms of defending, but he could. It's just that, you know, the demand, the need for him was to be more offensive than defensive. And I think he can, I don't want to compare Evan Bouchard to Paul Coff Coffee quite yet, but

uh I mean Evan was really good last year in the playoffs I believe he was good the year before yeah because you know his defensive mind wanders a little bit in the regular season but if you can get the kind of hockey from from those types of guys to get you in the playoffs and then they can raise the game then then then certainly you're you're able to win with those guys and and I believe you can win With them so so Bouchard's in his fifth year now and you know 25 years of age Do you believe that there's a certain number of games a guy needs no matter what to really fall into kind of? What he is or who he is? defensively as well

Yep, I would say, well, defensemen, you know, what for me personally, and I was a defensive defenseman, I mean, started off offensive, but quickly realized watching Paul Coffey that I better learn something else other than that. And I think it wasn't until my third year in the league where I finally felt comfortable in the position. And then, you know, it took a few more years where you, you know, you got to go through those learning experience. Like, you know, unfortunately, the kid for the Kings that turned the puck over, number 55, Quinton Bifield. Yeah, Quinton Bifield. You have to do that once and then you'll know the

next time. Like, you'll know, and it takes time for those kinds of things and particularly with defensemen they know the You know relative to to Bush if we're talking about Bush He he knows how to play defense and and when he sets his mind to it He can and I for me a good comparison to Bouchard is Larry Murphy You know Larry Murphy was a guy that you know didn't appear to be the best defensive defenseman, but I mean, the guy won Stanley Cups, right? I never worried too much about Evans play with the orders.

I mean, if the player has it in their heart to want to win and learn, they'll find a way to learn. They'll find a way to do what they need eventually. And I think, you know, Bush is, he's proven a lot of people wrong. And again, I think think, you know, Bush is, is, he's proven a lot of people wrong. And I, again, I think the, any team can win with Evan Bouchard on the, in the lineup can win a Stanley Cup. So as the league continues to expand and it's up to 32 teams now, it just gets harder to

win a Stanley Cup, right? It's less common that individuals will be on cup winning teams. So how important is it for McDavid to get his in terms of legacy at this point? We know what a great player and star and winner he is, but how much does he need to win a Stanley Cup? Well, that's a good question to ask him. But I think both you and I know the answer. He wants to win it desperately, desperately. And and and Wayne was the same way. Wayne was, you know, he was three or four years into his career, winning scoring records, MVP, all that stuff.

And I remember him saying to us, you know, at the end of the day, none of that matters really. And it wasn't, you know, some people say that, but they don't really mean it. They like being the MVP. But but at the end of the day, if you want to be up there with the greats of all time, you have to have a Stanley Cup on your resume. I think the Orders have the best chance they've had in a long, well, decades to win a Stanley Cup. And I believe in this timeframe it's going to happen.

They could run into a red hot Ottinger right now or get to the next run, you know, and play unbelievably, out shoot them and not win a cup. I mean, that's very possible, but I think in the coming years, they've tasted it and, you know, management will continue to add players to try to prolong these guys Particularly the top guys on the team. They've got a lot of runways still I think to win some more cups if they do happen to win it this year

Losey we know the challenge ahead of them is the Dallas Stars in particular Mikko ranting in and how much of a focus regular, uh, uh, Miko Rantanen and how much of a focus do you think it will be on if we shut this guy down, we shut the Dallas stars down? Is there anyone that you guys came across in in your years where, where you would look at one guy and say, that's the guy that we need to shut down and we're going to win? I can't really, uh, I can't really think of anyone. We never played the Penguins in the finals, so I'm sure it would have been Lemieux or Jagger or both.

I think for us, and I think it's safe to say for the orders going in, they have a really good game plan right now. And if they execute it, they don't have to worry about any player in particular. And that's nothing against Mikko Rantinen or any of the other top forwards that they have. If you have that dogged attack like they had in the latter games, the LA series and the Vegas series, then it's hard for those offensive guys to get any sustained pressure because you're having to defend as a group so much. And I suspect that that game plan for the order is not going to change that heavy and

hard and playing the other team's end. And it was the same for us. We never had to look at any individual player on an opposition team. We had a really hard, heavy four-check, relentless four-check, and typically we just kept the other team on their heels most of the game. So your Oilers teams played my dad's Islanders teams in two cup finals, and I look at the way Edmontons go

in here, they played LA, how many times in a row have they played the Kings? Could be Florida again in the final. They played Dallas in this. What is it like? What's the experience like when you're playing a team you're so familiar with? It's almost like you know them as well as your own team I imagine. Yeah, yeah. Well your dad's team was, they were the gold standard for sure for just an unbelievable two-way game and we had to learn from them. In fairness to them, they ran out of gas. They had 19 straight series and stuff. But back to familiarity, your question, it's a good thing you understand the opposition,

the players individually, you know what makes them tick, you know their moves and stuff. So it's, for the athletes that are studious and can absorb that information, retain it, and utilize in the game, it's a big, big advantage to be playing the same teams every year. and utilizing the game, it's a big, big advantage to be playing the same teams every year. Lozi, we know that Stewart Skinner's gonna come in

with a lot of confidence and the goaltending in general and what they were able to do with Pickard as well. But how important is it for Skinner to maintain the confidence and the look? And how important is it that the team does it their best to kind of insulate that so we're not sitting here after game one questioning the Oilers' goal timing again? Yeah, and just sort of the answer is the same as I just finished.

It's the Oilers' game plan. It's their relentless attack. Playing in the other team's end is always a good way to have to worry less about the goaltending. And I'm not for a minute suggesting that the plan is that way because they have no faith in Stuart Skinner because obviously Skinner got to them game seven of the finals last year and he's back to where his game was. And the thing again about Stuart Skinner got to them game seven of the finals last year and he's back to where his game was. And the thing again about Stuart Skinner, I've seen enough of him over the years. I mean as a kid he grew up playing minor hockey here in Edmonton and then he played in the American,

the Western Hockey League for Lethbridge and then played in the American League that he can play high level hockey. Yeah, you know like a lot of goaltenders, he can have an off game, but it doesn't seem to bother him. He's able to bounce back. So, you know, I think if Skinner does have an off night, I don't think anybody in Everton's, maybe the players, let's put it this way, maybe the fans, because they all feel that in general, I mean, you don't become a goaltending hero until you've won. And I hope that the Orders can go on to win because I think Skinner's done a lot for that, or Pickard gets back in there. I remember Billy Radford back in 1990, he won the Con Smythe Trophy. Well, we were down 3-1 in the first series and the orders management was questioning

whether they were going to play Billy Radford in the fifth game. And the only reason why they didn't is because the other guy hadn't played forever and wasn't really a top goalie. And they went back with Billy Radford and he won the Conn Smythe trophy. So amazing. Yeah, it is really amazing to think about. And I remember that conversation going, oh boy, like I didn't know what to think at the time

because I'm glad they were making the decision and obviously they made the right one. Oh, yeah, fork in the road right there in history. Hey, Lozi, awesome stuff. The magic starts tonight, 8 p.m. Sportsnet, CBC, Oilers and the Stars. Thanks for doing this, pal. Okay, guys, anytime.

Thanks so much. That is Kevin Lowe. Six-time Stanley Cup champion. So many cups. Five with the Edmonton Oilers. Who will be the next player to win six Stanley Cups? Oh, is it possible now? No. No, I don't know. It is just, what a number. Corey Perry's been to what? Five cup finals or something?

Four maybe? Yeah. Did I ever tell you that the game that I went to Edmonton with the Rangers and Kevin Lowe's on the Rangers and he, we come off warm up and I'm following him off the ice and warm up and an Euler fan starts kind of chirping him a little bit. Lozy like a light switch goes off on this guy. Like, I mean, he's like bombs coming back at him. Hey, when we win the cup in New York,

I'll bring it right down here and I'll jam it down here. And I'm like, oh my God, did that guy win five Stanley cups here? Did he really? I'm like, but he's like, no, that's competitiveness. And that's like, I'm wearing this jersey and I'm loyal to this jersey.

And you know, that's it. It's like, that's the fire in the belly that makes you win six Stanley cups. Six is great. It's funny how guys when their career is over and they've played for a few teams kind of default back to the team, the team you had the most success with or whatever. We're chatting with BX, I don't know how many years he was in Anaheim, three years, four years, whatever it was.

And it's like, no, when it it's over you're still a Canuck You know like he went there and he poured his heart out for Anaheim did everything he could lives there when you put blood in a uniform and it's Never comes off. Yeah, like I don't know if you guys even hear me ever mention the Kings who my dad played for for two Years, right? He's an island. Yeah, it's just never really came up. There's not King stuff in our house No, no, I got a couple sweaters. Oh, nice. Gratzky stick. Do you think if It I think it's important for Skinner to get out of the gate here big time here If he if there's any lapse in goaltending, I think I think people will bail on Edmonton's chances

He could also be that Bill Ranford story. He could easily be the guy. I got some stat here in games one to four in the playoffs last couple years. He's like an 860 save percentage. Games five to seven, he's like a 927. He could get this rep. He carries them on in now. It's like he got it done.

He was a big game goalie Like are they gonna go to Olivia Rodriguez? That's the backup. Yeah, yeah Olivia Olivia Rodriguez or Oliver Roderig. I don't know which is French. I think he's French I saw an actor. No, that's their backup goalie. Maybe he's acting like a goalie, but he's there an actor. No, that's their backup goalie. Maybe he's acting like a goalie, but he's there. So like an opera performer. I think, I think there's probably some understanding from the oiler fans. That's like, love it or hate it. It's Stu baby. It's Stu. Like, I don't think you're going to go to Olivier, no, Rodriguez. That's how it's spelled. I'm

going with it. I think I'm right. Yeah, OK, right. All right. Game time. Yeah, we'll do game time. Let me find my sheet. I think I can do it. It's game time.

Presented by bet three, six, five. Visit the app for the odds and find out why it's ever ordinary. A bet three, six, five. Must be 19 plus. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. One of the easiest money in my life last night betting on the. The cats. I bet on the cats and I paired it with special knockoff shots

why would you do that and don't do that and do that, uh, yeah the The four Panthers were a the easiest bet of all time for me last night and I won tonight the Western conference final gets underway and the price on the Edmonton Oilers has gone up They are plus 115 underdogs tonight The Dallas Stars are minus 135 when I bet the Oilers yesterday. They were plus 105 So money has obviously come in on the Dallas Stars They're the home team. Dallas at home is six and one on the road

They're two and four gold differential plus nine at home minus 13 on the road. They're a the home team. Dallas at home is six and one on the road. They're two and four. Gold differential plus nine at home, minus 13 on the road. They're a good home team. Okay, so they, yeah, so they're pretty big favorites tonight. Can't say you hate the value with the Edmonton Oilers at plus 115 on that. And I'm just quickly looking.

As I'm trying to pull this up here, give me Connor McDavid to have two assists tonight at plus 185. That's a good bet. Really like that bet. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you very much. And that was Game Time presented by Bet365.

Visit the app for the latest odds and find out why it's ever ordinary at Bet365. That's 15 plus Ontario only please play responsibly all right we'll take a quick break and when we return the new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers Rick Tuckett will join us we'll get into a few news and notes if we've got time including Marshand at it again last night in game one, that more when we returned to real Kipper and born. Hey, it's Matt Marchese and I'm Mike Fuda. We're discussing the top stories of the day across the NHL and the hockey world weekdays at noon. It's the fan hockey show on sportsnet five 90, the fan and wherever you get your podcasts. podcast. Welcome back to the program. Nick Kiprios, Justin Bourne, Sammy McKee is a reminder of

this hour of real Kipper and born brought to you by bet. Three, six, five as promised. The new head coach of the Philadelphia flyers joins us. Rick talk it talk. How are you pal? How are you guys? We're good. What's going on man? Like, you know, you were, you were once upon a time, one of like our key guests, like you were a star on our show and then you're gone and then you're back. And I thought now for sure you're going back with biz on TNT for a year and a half because you know, get out of a bit of a circus situation. And now you're right back in it with, with Joe Keith Jones, Jonesy who's now like a, a star now executive star. Yeah. Yeah. I've been everywhere. Like a, like a code here everywhere, but yeah, I know it's, uh, it's really quite

a ride. Um, try to figure a few things out, but, uh, actually, I'm pretty excited about the opportunity, uh, working with Danny and Jonesy and, uh, you know, trying to turn the, um, turn around here like I know the flyers, uh,, Jolge was pretty forthright, saying, hey, we're kind of, we've been on the back page a lot lately the last few years, and we're trying to get back on the front page. So a lot of work to be done,

but kind of good bunch of guys to do it with. You know, talk, you know, following the storylines in Vancouver with you there, and then ultimately finding out whether you're going to stay or not, just in terms of the year in general. How emotionally draining was it? Would you ever have considered taking a year off before jumping back in? Yeah, if I thought it was, you know, gonna hamper my hamper me and my energy level. But,

you know, listen, you know, head coaches, you have to deal with stuff and I know you have to deal with your share, share of stuff. Uh, but I still have the energy. I still have the drive to, uh, to be part of a puzzle. Um, and, and, uh, so I'm excited about it. So, yeah, I mean, obviously that you, when you have opportunities, you think of everything, uh, to make sure you rate the right decision. So you seems like you had a choice or at least there's potentially an opportunity to stay in Vancouver you ended up going back to

Philly you are a flyer that's what we've heard from everyone there that you are a flyer what was it that made you feel like this was the place for you to be? Yeah well I know the area really well you gotta remember guys I've been gone for 20-25 years so it's not you know like the old flyer guys, I've been gone for 20, 25 years, so it's not like the old flyer narrative. So I've been gone. I've been lucky enough to rub elbows with a lot of different hockey minds with different ideas and learning from them.

So hopefully I can come back and bring some knowledge to that. But also, listen, the brand, the Flyers, the Crest, I mean, it's a, you know, it's an iconic symbol. It's, you know, when you talk about the Flyers, you know, you want to bring back that identity, a hard place to play. I know the game has changed in the sense that entertainment value with these highly skilled guys,

which they have a guy like Mitch Kauff, who I'm anxious to work with, who could be a very, you know, he's actually a star now, but you know, can he go to a different level? So there's a lot of tools to work with. Obviously we have some weaknesses that we have to shore up, but really excited about the challenge. Talk in terms of now, as earlier as next year,

do you go about your business as if this is a team and why shouldn't we be talking about a playoff spot and why shouldn't we be driving for that and the expectation is we want to be in the mix not just playing meaningful games but actually thinking about starting in September making the playoffs yeah I think you know like you know like the one thing approach with the you know, there's certain, I think there's about 30 plus million in cap space next year. Um, so they don't want to do anything really crazy now. I think they're, uh, just like I said, you got three first round picks this year. Um, it's really to me is, is, is, and I think I've said this before the process,

it's most overused word and pro sports. I'm actually trying to joke with some other people. I got to think of a different word, but it's true. To me, as coaches, you got to go in there and build the environment where players trust you and the system and their career on you with your staff, and then the results will come. Rick, you won a Jack Adams in Vancouver, had a lot of success, and you talked about your energy level this summer like if you felt like you didn't have it, I think it's reasonable to just wonder was

last year exhausting with the Canucks. It felt like an awful lot was going on just from us being on the outside. Yeah, I think Jim Rudford stated well, three course two of the year, there's a lot of things that we could never get some traction on. And you look at, we were a few points on the playoffs, I'm proud of the guys for that, hanging in there, but for the most part, we couldn't get traction. You just couldn't, there was always something that came up,

whether it was injuries or obviously the situation with Petey and Millsy, we just, it just we just couldn't grab it together and you know, as a coach you try hard and you know, is there something I could have different I you know, I take a deep dive on myself, you know, could I have done something different earlier on. So that's something that, you know, hopefully I'll learn from if these these situations arise again. Talk sometimes when I talk to a few people, they tell me, Rick Talk, it's tired of babysitting

in Vancouver. And I'm just wondering now that it was that the case or is this just the way it is today compared to maybe our days in the dressing room? Is it more par for the course now that you're just going to have to manage this generation a little bit more? That's the new kind of way that you got to coach here? Or is there a certain point where I'm paid to coach here? Just coach?

Yeah. Well, it's a great question. I think for me, communication is so big. You gotta communicate with these guys. These guys are high level athletes. They're smart guys. There's a lot of whys and why we do it this way, but they're fun to work with. Obviously you've got to empower the leadership group and they can help you

along the way. But to be honest, I think it's just a communication thing. I think every year I've got to try to even think of better ways to communicate with a player, you know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? I think that's one something that I gotta get better myself is to communicate. It's so funny because they're talking about like the evolution of the game and you know, I don't wanna put words in your mouth but like when I watch playoff hockey, it's still hockey at the end of the day like it's not that different. Hey, like I felt like for a while the pendulum

might swing to this crazy skill game, but it feels like the type of game that you tend to preach still is what has success in the postseason. Well, the league is a copycat league. I think all of us coaches do about 85% the same. It's the 15% you get judged on, you know, on the way you practice, the way you're messaging, you know, the communication skills. But if you look at Florida, okay, they won, they go into finals two years ago,

they won the cup last year, and now they're in the final four, one game up on Carolina. You know, what do they do? They play their identity, they play a North style, they play an abrasive style. I bet you they rim the hard rim, the puck on four-charts more than any team,

and you can probably look at Andalex, they'll tell you that. So I think that's the key. But you know, obviously, you got to, you know, there's time and place for the talent. And obviously you got to, you know, you got to promote that stuff, but you got to play your identity. And I really respect Paul Maurice,

the way he coaches that team. They play their identity. They're hard four checking. They don't apologize the way they play They they do what they do to win and it's been pretty damn successful So I think a lot of teams will try to copy them We've got Edmonton and Dallas tonight last night They had a great showing against Carolina

I imagine that you think that there isn't any reason why the Panthers shouldn't be able to repeat. Yeah, well, you know what you look at? I'm actually really impressed how knob lock especially after game three, LA using the bench I mean, Edmonton is really they're rolling. They got all four lines plan cost got the deep play very well, you know, skitter bouncing back with a couple of shout outs. So they're good and big fan of Peter born Dallas, the system, the way they played a lot of depth,

getting haste getting back is huge. Lot of good storylines, obviously, you know, I think Carolina, you know, they're gonna go bounce back and Roddy's got that team believe in. So a lot of great storylines is gonna be tough. If Florida does one, it's gonna be really. But, you know, any four teams can win in this thing when you get this far. Doc, you mentioned, you know, your teams, you head into summer, obviously, UFA season comes around and also that draft. I just can't even

believe you mentioned the first round picks or just the picks that you guys have, seven picks in the first two rounds this upcoming season do you get involved with a type of player you want to build your team or you just coach whoever they send you? Yeah I mean there's not much like this really I don't see these players I mean they might ask your opinion on you know what do you think we need the type of player but you know you rely on your scouts and then management and you know, what, what do you think we need the type of player, but you know, you, you rely on your scouts and then management and, you know, our jobs, the coach, but yeah, we're having a draft party at the hard rock in the Lang city. And I, and you're going to be standing up a lot because there's seven picks in the first round.

That's kind of fun. I don't, I don't know who they're picking to be honest with you, but it'll be, it'll be fun to watch and seeing these young prospects and hopefully we can hit a bunch of these, these stars. Hey talk great having you back on the real Kipper and born show and listen, we've got you penciled in every Thursday next year, starting in the fall. Oh man. Yeah. Well, listen, I, you know, me, what I was doing, I love coming on your show. Obviously it's a little different when your head coach, but if I'm coming on your show a lot, that means I got fired. I don't know. You have to worry about that for a while. My friend, let me marinate a little bit. Let me marinate a little bit for sure. For sure.

All right. Catch your breath because before you know it, you're right back in the thick of things at training camp So all the best pal. Thanks for joining us Thanks so much for the support. Take care boys Rick. Appreciate it. Talk it Man, oh man. They got flyers first Avs first oilers first flyer second Ducks second blue jacket second flame second. That's a lot of seconds in first. Yep, and then they have their own. That's more than the Leafs have in the next 15 years.

And you wonder at some point they're gonna flip them for some immediate assets that. You know what would look good on their back end? It's Morgan Rielly. It's great. It's tempting. Morgan Rielly would be a perfect fit in Philly. You know, that back end's funny because like, if Drysdale could become who they hope he

could become, if that could happen, it'd be really nice because Travis Sandheim is 29 and really good. Playing awesome at the World Championship. Rasmus Ristelainen, I think, has found himself a little bit. Who do they trade Drysdale for Goche. Cutter Goche. Cutter. But you know, upfront there.

How good you think he's gonna be in an high? I mean, he scored 20 times this year, I think. He's probably gonna be. Yeah, I think he's got a chance to be really good. And I think Drysdale's coming along, I think. But I don't know how high his ceiling is just yet I will say on the flyers the guys that like it Mitch gov is gonna be interesting that Tyson Forrester I like him. I think he's a nice player, but like it there there thin

They need Couturier tippet connect me any big years out of those guys and they need to find a way to get the top-end Guys, they need some top and talent Okay, hardest thing to get what do you got for us, Sammy? Oh, it's least related, so we'll leave it. Least a real team. What do you got? It was just one of the mailbag questions with the presidency question that's been, you know, that was on the front page of Sportsnet.ca today.

You, Kipper, looks like he wants to change. No, I just, I'm okay. I just wanted to get a little bit into last night. Okay, we can talk about in a second Okay, go ahead This guy named Paul sent me a tweet and said Sammy Let's go completely off the board and gives that give the keys President to John Cooper and then just get out of his way

Okay Thank you for that thought I'm in favor just giving jobs to smart people. I think teams are going to reassess the president's job. I think it's... So no John Cooper? No president's job. Okay. No president's job.

All right. It is something that owners now have just been like, wait, so added a like three million dollar position that we got a general manager on a day-to-day up day to day operations and They're paid to make key decisions then let them make decisions. Let them let give it give them the job That's the way it was like 20 30 years ago. There's no President it has felt like a bit of a handheld job now like there's someone over you as a GM being like I wouldn't do that Okay. Yeah, I just thought it was an interesting thought one that hadn't crossed my mind Okay

Five to really five one now Did any of their fans throw jerseys on the ice at all? now did any of their fans throw jerseys on the ice at all? Oh, here we go. Did they call Carolina quitters or anything? Or are they just OK? They've lost 13 straight conference final games. Last time I checked, Florida was really good. Florida's very good hockey club.

13 straight conference final games. Is that all? Carolina? Yeah, but their fans don't care. That's the difference. Is that all? Carolina? Yeah, but their fans don't care. It's a difference. Is that all we saw last night was just another example of how good, as Rick Tauke told us, Florida is?

Yes, you know what's really funny is post game, Paul Marie said he didn't really like his team's game, but he said he understood why, like right there, he had a day off between series, so he says, weren't they supposed to come in and just get the pass for stinking and being tired Yeah, but no, he said he didn't really like how they played but they got the win That's great and Britain Moore on the other said other hand said he liked his team's game They were okay with how it went. Yeah, when you five on twenty for the goalie

Yeah, that's Freddie Anderson looked like who he was Yeah, that's Freddie Anderson looked like who he was the bears are who we thought they were I know what I say about being a disliker. Yeah, all you got to do is wait just wait Just wait your chance. Listen Carolina had an easy path. I'll say it They played against the Devils who had no offense and were banged up no defense either They did not everyone and then they played against the Carolines this way against the Capitals who we thought We're good. I was I I thought they were gonna be good I thought they're gonna beat Carolina and then I watched I'm like oh they have nothing against a good team they beat the crap out of the crappy Habs and whatever Carolina had a

very easy path and now they are playing a real team and they got filled last night I'm torn on this like whether Carolina is going to mount a series out of this. The Hurricanes by all underlying shot metrics are like the team. They have the puck all the time. They get all the shots. They just don't score on the shots because they don't have elite talent. So I'm curious.

It's basically up to Bob. It's like, well, Bob, if they're going to get 35 shots a game, can Bob have a couple of games where it looks like he did against the Leafs and their wins? Because if Bob's's good Carolina's got no shot. Yep. Carter Hagee by the way we forgot to include that in the worst moves the last 10 years to the Leafs. He was on the Leafs at one point. Yeah was he though? Yeah. Tampa also gave up on him too so he can't really include it. What were you gonna say about Marchand? Yes ejected from the game last night nice little exchange. He hit Goss this bear Goss this bear

Shot a puck at him shot a puck at him in a hilarious fashion a big winding Matt Sundeen wrist shot a very Alfredson versus There you go a little bit of a run. Yeah ghost isn't happy. Hiya And Marchand say oh, oh, oh no, you didn't. That's exactly the type of... Get your mitts off! I absolutely loved every second of that. Right?

I've come around a lot on Marshand, but that's the exact type of guy he goes after. Yeah, I agree with that, but I also think it's the right reaction, Sam. Sure. It's the right reaction. I get it. I'm not going after Tom Wilson. No, but if like anyone with any toughness shoots that puck at him, he's not right reaction. Sure. It's the right reaction. I get it. I'm not going after Tom Wilson. No, but if like anyone with any toughness shoots that puck at him, he's not doing that. He's doing something. Sure.

Maybe he says something mean to them or gives them a little cross check, but the gloves aren't coming off. So that's just, I mean, that's a lot of the Panthers. Gossipsberry hit him with a pretty good glove on. Yeah, but he's been like this his whole career. I know. I know. It's great. It's great. Throughout 4-1, there's 11 minutes left in the third. It's been like this his whole career. I know. I know. It's great.

It's great throughout four one, there's 11 minutes left in the third. It's a perfect time to do that. Perfect time to start in a sideshow, has nothing to do with the game. Ooh. There's no league involvement on, they didn't say anything, did they?

I think if you're Gossus Barry, you can make the claim. That you try to dump it in? Yeah. Ice it? Shoot it down the ice. off his head? Yeah, I mean, I mean if he did shoot it Adams pretty bad, right? Like that's a not cool thing Just cuz he hits him in the padding doesn't mean I would have snapped to what was the what was the one didn't it happen? At some point to see where a guy Mikala shot at the length of the ice Oh, yeah, I mean someone at the end of the game and I made the case that there's time on the clock

You're allowed to he ripped he ripped a shot towards the net. Are we gonna see another sweep here or no? I Think Carolina's all right. Carolina's all right. I said I said Panthers in five. So oh you did I did? Yeah, I did. I think I did I feel like I wanted to say that I just think the Panthers are way better and that Carolina has an easy path to the conference finals every year and if they had to go in the Atlantic they'd have a very similar record to the Toronto Maple Leafs Gustav Forsling a pretty effective player ekblad scores for them, you know You see their Makala rush last night? Who?

Or Miko? What's his name? Miko. Miko. Miko. Miko. Miko. Miko.

But this guy looks like headman. You can't do that. You're not helping. He looks like headman out there. I know. Well, by the way, shout out Chris Pronger on the Sportsnet panel last night. He was wonderful. Really did a great job and he basically used himself as a reference.

Like, Nikola is a pretty good skater now. He's getting around pretty good. He's looking like the real deal. But has he ever tried to step on someone's head? Did Pronger try to step on someone's head? But he almost every game. Do you know how much, oh my God, they just get to cheat down there. No, they have good contracts. Yeah, they just get to cheat. They signed contracts for way under market value.

The MiCulo one was not under market value at the time. What's he making? Two and a half million dollars. For how long? For this year and next year. Three-year contract, two and a half million dollars. St. Louis, you could have had him for a song. he was he went to the Rangers right they traded him the Rangers he played there How do you get down there he was st. Louis and then he could traded to the Rangers at the deadline What a find and then they trade they signed him to a go to a cheater contract They signed him not as ufa. Yeah, what are the Leafs doing? I? Think he was a fa. Yeah Both sides. Yeah

All right, give me a score tonight Who gets out ahead here? Who's who's jumping out of the gate tonight the Dallas stars have lost Their last like six straight home openers in these sort of series. I have the stats somewhere So I'm gonna give it to the oil. I'm gonna say the oil, go ahead and get the first one tonight. Four to three. Four to three.

Oil tonight too. Biggest course of goals. Oil. You gonna bet on Dallas? Yeah, I think I'll go with Dallas. This one's going seven, two I think. Is that right? Yeah, I think it's going the distance

the This team has struggled Dallas has struggled in the first period of a lot of games I got a great stat distance coverage during the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs who skated the furthest farthest furthest Mcdavid is third. He skated 75 kilometers in playoffs so far. Holy smokes! Kyle Connor has skated. He's skated all the way to Oshawa! Kyle Connor. Connor.

75.7. And he's a winger. And the number one most distance skater, 80.9 kilometers, Thomas Harle. Harle's! The man for the Dallas Stars is doing the distance out there. Love me some Harle's. He's gonna make a lot of money. He's, he's I mean, two guys, Team Canada Future on the Dallas Stars, right? Harley and Wyatt Johnson.

They're studs. I love that team. Highest percentage of team goals involved in in a single postseason since 1997. Third place, Marty St. Louis, second, Wayne Gretzky, fifty five point six. Number one, Miko Rantanen has been in on 55.9 percent of Dallas's goals in the playoffs. That's Unbelievable good trade Colorado Good trade How's Marty Natures treating you?

He's gonna leave too He's got another year, but they're gonna trade him I mean you gotta you can't have any remnants of that on the roster. You just had to be like story story Marty You're gone. So we can't have Nate looking at you Remember that back to the future when he's looking at his picture and his like legs are disappearing That's what they gotta do with nature's they gotta go back to the future and then you got to watch him Kind of erase from the picture. Oh, that's so last year They met the conference final the oilers won in sticks Not sure you guys remember about it, but a power play percentage for the stars zero percent didn't score goal

Goalie was way worse than it All right, just like that Two hours gone and once again We've solved nothing. Thank you to Jason Murdoch for those stats. One hour tomorrow, five to six. All right. So I'm going to come here and just wait. Yeah. Okay. All right. Exactly. Right. Our thanks to Kevin Lowe and Rick talk it. Enjoy Game 1 Western Conference Final

right here on Sportsnet.