Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Nick Kypreos: Toronto Mike'd #700

Episode Date: August 4, 2020

Mike chats with Nick Kypreos about his transition from OHL goal scorer to NHL enforcer, his years at Sportsnet, learning the difference between a Tweet and a DM, why he left Sportsnet, his new "Real Kyper at Noon" show, Little Buddha Cocktail, his upcoming autobiography, and whether he'd report Auston Matthews's COVID-19 test results.

Welcome to episode 700 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Palma Pasta, enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Garbage Day. Weekly reminders for garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup. Visit GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike to sign up now. StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos and decals for your home and your business.

The Keitner Group, they love helping buyers find their dream home. Text Toronto Mike to 59559. CDN Technologies, your outsourced IT department, and Pumpkins After Dark. Save 10% with the promo code TRONOMIKE. I'm Mike from tronomike.com and joining me this week is Stanley Cup champion, Nick Kiprios. Nick, I'm so glad you could be my guest for this milestone episode 700, but I've got to ask,

what took you so long to make your Toronto Mike debut? Well, I'm nervous, just nervous, apprehensive. Mike, I know you've had some of the biggest names in broadcast history. Darren Drager is at the top of my list. Right. And I just, I just didn't think I could handle it until 700 episodes later. That's it in a nutshell. I made you an offer you couldn't refuse. Now, there's lots to cover here, and we only got an hour before the Leafs game, so let's get into it. Yes, that's Murph. That's the name of a listener.

He says, are we going to do an exchange? I'd give you some Great Lakes beer. You give me some Little Buddha straight up. Now that's a deadline deal in the making right there. Absolutely. We're open to discussions. Perhaps you might have to throw in a draft pick, but we're open to discussions perhaps you know you might have to throw in a draft pick but we're close

I think we're close to a blockbuster so why don't you tell us right off the top what is Little Buddha Little Buddha is a creation of my wife, myself and family friends over a countryside dinner in Cremor, Ontario, about 14 months ago.

We sat around. We were talking about if we weren't doing what we were doing, what else would we do? And the topic came to creating a drink, believe it or not. Now now our friends are on uh acres of of countryside and on on the uh on the property is juniper and we're talking about juniper and of course uh you know could we could we use the juniper could we maybe open up a distillery uh on the farm and take the juniper and use it. And, you know, yeah, beautiful idea, but that's not happening. Too expensive and we're not that smart. So the answer was move off the juniper and it became these RTDs. And, of course, we've watched this industry, Mike, take off the last little while and really do a number to the wine industry and the beer industry, which kind of had the whole market cornered.

This White Claw and what it was doing in the United States and created itself in a very short time the most successful beverage in history at $1.5 billion in revenue. And the RTD business is at 2.3. So how can this one drink called White Claw be taking 60% of the market share, which is an extraordinary story. So we just thought of a wish list of an RTD, and we came up with it. And in all honesty, 12 months later, thanks to smart women, I can't take credit for that. My wife and our business partner, Kimberly Taylor, have done an extraordinary job of taking an idea out of the sky and turning it into a real product, selling on the LCBO shelves and available to people every day now. And it's been an incredible story. For me personally, Mike, it was a situation where I wanted to see if, can I do anything other than hockey? Right.

Hockey my whole life. And the answer is, yeah, I can be involved in something I think that doesn't have to do with a great power play or goals and assists. And it's been terrific. And I'm proud to say I'm a great ambassador of Little Buddha Cocktail Company. So here, let's do this. While the listeners are going to the LCBO to pick up their Great Lakes beer, they should also pick up some Little Buddha and check it out. Oh, what a wonderful combination, right? Right. Good stuff, man. Hey, you're a Toronto guy. So I'm curious,

what neighborhood in the city did you grow up in? Well, I was a high park area type of guy. So Jane and Runnymede was my area. And that's when I first fell in love with the game of hockey. My next door neighbor, his name was, it was the Grek family. And two of the oldest boys were hockey players or at least road hockey players. But the one brother actually played ice hockey out of the George Bell Arena. And I went to go see him play for the first time in my life. And I fell in love with it.

played for the first time in my life and I fell in love with it. And I was able to, you know, start my house league hockey in the Woodbine arena area, which is Don Mills and Shepard Finch area. And that's where my minor hockey story started out of, out of the peanut Plaza. Man. I know that George Bell Arena well because my oldest played house league there and I spent many a Saturday.

Yeah, and I know Jeff Merrick's a big fan of the George Bell Ice. Still a big fan. Oh, yeah. Classic arena. Did you ever play at Rennie Park at Swansea? I'm sure once or twice, but it was never a rink that was in my wheelhouse growing up playing. I played MTHL.

I was fortunate enough to, after one year of house league, get into a select program at dawn valley and then uh work myself up uh through the at the time mthl metropolitan toronto hockey league we now know it as the gthl but uh wonderful experience growing up and mike yeah you can get all of those stories and more uh in in a book that i wrote wrote that will come out in October. Simon and Schuster were kind enough to offer me a book deal on my memoirs. And they really start from the moment, you know, my dad kind of started watching hockey on a black and white TV. Of course, immigrant parents.

I grew up in the restaurant business, fell in love with the game. And it's my story. It's my dad's story. It's my junior pro sports experience. And of course, 20 years as a broadcaster at Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada. So that story comes out October 20th

and it's called Undrafted, Mike. Now, one of the questions I got from a listener wanted me to ask you what it was like working with Perry Lefkoe on that project. Perry's an interesting guy. All right, I'll level with you. I'll level with you.

That question came from Perry Le lefkoe he's been on the show i think he's been writing me every day for the past four weeks since i announced you were coming on he wants to know what you really think of him i i love his passion i love his energy he's uh first of all he he was the only i've worked with a lot of writers. I've been around a lot of great people that have done amazing things with a pen and paper. He's the only one that came up to me and said, you got a story that should be written. And I'm like, other than my immediate family and maybe a few people on the dance floor. I'm not sure how many people want to read this story. And he said, no, it's a good story.

And I said, listen, if you want to go pitch it, by all means go ahead. And sure enough, he comes back and he says, yeah, the biggest publishing company in North America want to write your book. Wow. And I'm like, okay, that's good enough for me. Let's get to work. But Perry's a fun guy, and it was a good experience sitting down with him

and sharing my story. Well, next time you talk to him, play a little bit of When in Rome. Promise? I think The Promise is the name of the song, When in Rome. He'll cry. Perry Lefkoe will just start to weep. So there's a little pro tip for you. And just a shout out to Perry, because I know he's listening. I really enjoyed his book on Ed Olchek.

So if the book on Nick Kiprios is even 60% as good as that Ed Olchek book, it's going to be great. Yeah. Well, and to me, Ed's got a real story. I said, Perry, if you can kind of, you know, do half as good of a job on my story than you did on Ed's, then we'll be okay. But, you know, I also told him,

this book better sell or else I'll make you cry. Not the song, I'll make you cry. Well, Perry himself will buy a few thousand copies. So you're doing all right there. Yeah. Quinn Jr. wants to know what's the best Greek restaurant in Toronto? Always been Papa's Grill for me. You know, family owned.

And Peter has done an amazing job over the years there and you know unfortunately the last four and a half five months have been very difficult for all of us and let's just hope uh every restaurant just not happens uh can get get going again and be in a situation where we can be in a comfortable situation where we all can go out for dinner again and enjoy each other's company and feel safe. So hopefully, Mike, we're closer than we were in the last few months of that happening. Here's hoping, man.

And Matthew, you have to explain this one to me. He wanted to know if you're going to be doing this interview from the grocery store. Well, one of the beauties of, of being a part of a sports net over the years is sometimes finding myself in tough scenarios of scenarios of doing hits. And we know that, you know, in the old days, you definitely had to go into the studio.

That's the only way. Right. It was pretty clear. But then the technology is kind of kicked in and then the phones came in to play. And all of a sudden now I can do a few interviews from other areas. And the one that he's talking about was from a Loblaws. I actually went on the Tim and Sid show, and I did a FaceTime interview from the produce section.

So while I was explaining what was wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs defensively, I was also picking up some lettuce, some carrots, cucumber, and maybe getting ready to make a Greek salad that night. Well, I hope you remembered what you said about what's wrong with the Leafs defense because at the end of this episode,

I'll ask you how we're going to do today. It sounds like that might be what we call, you know, speaking of produce, evergreen. Like you can never get, you know, that story could be recycled over and over again. What's wrong with the Leafs defense? So we'll see. It's always been the issue.

Never about putting the puck in the net, but keeping it out. And, I mean, we can get into that now, later, your call, your show. Well, hey, we'll tease it now by saying it would be nice if this very expensive offense could put a puck in the net. Let's hope that actually happens tonight. All right, 4 o'clock today. Yeah, I don't anticipate it being too much of an issue here.

I think you've got to give full marks to Columbus, but we're not quite yet ready to anoint them the next great blue line like the Montreal Canadiens in the 70s. But Seth Jones, Rewinka, David Savard, pretty impressive in game one. But this is where you've got to evaluate your game. And that includes Tavares and Matthews. We saw Crosby do it. We saw McDavid do it. You know, Barkov played better for Florida,

although they're chasing the Islanders. But I tell you what, that's what great players do. So that will be up to the big boys. And we're talking about the big four at $40 million and throwing Nylander with the likes of Tavares, Matthews, and Marner. They have to leave the charge for the Leafs or it'll be over really quick. Speaking of great players,

some younger listeners might be surprised to learn that Nick Kiprios was a goal scorer in junior. Yes, once upon a time. And if I'm not mistaken, I might still be one of the top 20 goal scorers in Ontario junior history. So I still got something beside my name when it comes to goal scoring. 62 goals.

That was second in the league, second in the OHL back in 85, 86. Yeah. Ray Shepard and Sean Burr. We were the top three. So I didn't quite find the touch at the pro level. I was fortunate enough to win a Calder Cup in the American Hockey League. I think I scored 22 or 24 goals during our run,

during our run, which was really, I think, a solid goal-scoring year for me. And then I just could not get her going at the NHL level. My best year was with Hartford at 17, and that was the year I also had over 300 penalty minutes, which, again, was a bit of an accomplishment because not too many players in history get a chance to be in that 20, elusive 20, 300 category. I think there's only a handful that have ever had 20-goal season in over 300 penalty minutes. And I think I would have done it, Mike, but I pulled

my abdominal muscles at the end of my season and that shut me down about two, three weeks left in the season. Other than that, it was really difficult at times to put the puck in the net, but I wanted to play in the NHL. I wanted a hockey card. I wanted

to make NHL money. And so I found another way. And I knew I was strong. I knew I could be a physical force. And that's the direction I went to, to help contribute to play, not only play in the NHL, but find a role if I could ever on a team to win a Stanley Cup. And, you know, although we had a lot of great players that didn't play a lot in New York, incredible to be part of a Stanley Cup winning team.

NHL as a guy who scored 60 plus goals in the OHL and it's not, you know, you're not making that transition. You're realizing very early that you're not going to score goals at anything close to that kind of frequency. And you want to work in the NHL, like you essentially just, uh, we, we, you know, we can rebuild him. You became a enforcer and I just make it that transition. Like, was it easy? I know it sounds like a dumb question, but is it easy to transition from a goal scorer to an enforcer like that at that level? Well, I'll tell you what was easy. The decision to say, I will do whatever it takes to play in the NHL. That was the easy part. Okay? the NHL that was the easy part okay because I was not I was not going home you know with my tail

between my legs I was not I just refused so the decision and a commitment to find a different way was was always there and I never wavered on that so I knew that coming out of junior all along that if I couldn't score I would have to reinvent myself Mike go back in the guidebooks and go find how many guys have scored 40 and 50 or 60 goals in the uh in major junior hockey and never got a sniff of NHL, never got a contract. There are way more than you think. And I didn't want to be that guy. Did not want to be a guy that just was another 50 or 60 goal score,

but couldn't play in the NHL. So I made the decision that whatever was there was there i was going to be noticed in a hockey game and if it wasn't going to be because i put the puck in the net it was going to be because i made it it was going to be because it influenced the game it was because i i was willing to go places that others weren't. So that part was easy. Taking a punch every once in a while on the head or eventually having your career end because of a knockout at Madison Square Garden, that's not so easy. But I was willing, again, to go to places that some weren't as a goal scorer.

And for me, it turned into 12 years professional hockey. And it also led me to my next 21 years as a broadcaster for Sportsnet. So I got no complaints. It all worked out. You can't get here without going through there. It all worked out for you. Yes. Yeah.

And I feel like that every day. And that included, you know, when I parted ways with Sportsnet. Whatever is my next destination, it's because of what I've gone through in the past. So it felt very natural to call it a career at Sportsnet and then go to the next phase. I was excited for that. Okay, we're going to get there very soon. Let's just go back to the past for a moment because a great question came in from listener Michael Lang.

Michael Lang wants me to ask you, Kipper, if you have any stories about the legendary Burt Templeton from your times in North Bay. Oh, gosh. Yeah. We'll never make puck drop with the Leafs in Columbus if I go through all of them. But I really enjoyed Bert and owe a lot to him.

And, you know, unfortunately, we lost him way too early to cancer. But I'm very fortunate to have been a small part in his life. And the influence that he had on me. So the one thing that we always remembered about Bert is he was the only coach I've ever known that loved to ride the back of the bus. Now, the back of the bus, Mike, was always for veteran players, right? So the guy with the most stature, you know, the alpha dog, if you want to say it, was always the guy at the very back of the bus, usually your captain or your overage player.

But Bert wanted the back of the bus. So, you know, the coaches are always at the front of the bus. They're the first row, right? But Bert was always in the back. So we were always weary about conversations we had. But he would always – and he'd love to kind of listen in on our conversation but you wouldn't let on like he's uh he's listening but you knew when we weren't playing well every once in a while he just he'd have these comments and they weren't

directed at anybody but there it was like he was talking to himself. And it'd be like, I wonder what kind of game Kip Rios is going to have tonight. And this is the last thing you hear before you get off the bus to go play. You know? So he was a very unique guy. He was a very unique guy. You know, he always, his favorite line was, I treat everybody the same. And then he'd pause and go, like shit.

But I got a, yeah, I got a few stories in my book, Undrafted on Bert Taphouten. So make sure you pick up a copy. You see how Lefkoe just sent me a text message saying, plug the book, plug the book, plug the book. Yeah, I got the same text. Yeah, no worries there. So it's funny. My daughter turned 16, so I had a little party this weekend

and my brother Steve was over. And I said, hey, Kiprios is on the show next. And it's not your time as a Leaf or your time at Sportsnet or winning a Stanley Cup with the 94 Rangers, but he just wanted, he piped in with the fun fact that he goes, oh, he dated Joan London.

Yeah, yeah. just wanted he piped in with the fun fact that he goes oh he dated joan london yeah yeah and that's in the book too tell him that i will but listen this is new york city buddy this isn't hard for okay this isn't i'm not this is the big stage we We're talking athletes, actors, billionaire finance, Wall Street guys, supermodels. So you're a young single guy. You're going to have a little bit of fun in New York. Absolutely. And I can't wait to read the stories in the book. That's for sure.

While we're having the NHL, so I'll ask some NHL questions and I'll get you to Sportsnet. And then I want to, of course, find out what you're up to these days with your new show, which I was watching earlier today. So let's ask Liam Dixon's question. Do you, Nick Kiprios, do you still feel bad about intentionally hurting Grant Fier?

I want to thank Nick Kiprios for being my special guest for this milestone episode. 700! 700, who'da thunk it? I also want to thank those who help fuel the real talk, especially our good friends at Great Lakes Brewery. Delicious, fresh craft beer brewed in South Etobicoke. I wish Nick was in my backyard right now. He'd be taking home a fresh six-pack.

Much love to Palma Pasta. Authentic Italian food that'll leave you wondering why you waited so long to give it a try. Sorry, Nick, it's not Greek. It's better, it's better it's Italian palmapasta.com is where you want to go stickeru.com

that's where you go for stickers and such our sticker you partnership has been most excellent if you're looking to buy and or sell in the next six months i can't imagine a wiser decision than contacting austin keitner simply text toronto mike to five nine five five nine and speaking of toronto mike that's the new promo code to save on pumpkins after dark tickets

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Take the guesswork out of what you're bringing to the curb every week. It's free, it's fun, and it makes you a good FOTM. Now let's get back to my conversation with Nick Kiprios. Okay. Who's saying I intentionally hurt Grant Fuhrer like liam dixon liam dixon liam liam bud come on get your facts right you you really think i intentionally went out there to to tear uh grant fuhrer's knee up you're crazy you. Now, did I go out there to compete hard to get into his face, to bother him, to create havoc? Yes. But to sit there and intentionally say that I went out

there to wreck Grant Fuhrer's knee or hurt him, you're painfully mistaken, Liam. or hurt him, you're painfully mistaken, Liam. No, I'm glad you're clarifying that because that's slander, Nick. We'd have to call the lawyers. I'm glad you're here to clarify that. Okay. All right. I'm curious. You retired a Maple Leaf and you mentioned, you know, we've all seen the footage of you lying on the ice

and after getting knocked out. You retire a Maple Leaf. How did retiring a Maple Leaf help you in your broadcasting career? How much was that worth as a future member of Sportsnet? Yeah. No, listen. It played a key part in all of that. With all due respect to other marketplaces,

we do know which ones get the most attention, and that's being a Toronto Maple Leaf. Now, I was never, you know, Doug Gilmore or Wendell Clark or ever have had that profile for obvious reasons. But it did shape up the ability for people to, you know, get a better feel for you as even a role player, you know, a checker, whatever the case is. And I was never to portray my personality more, my thoughts, and I was able to find work, actually. Even while I was still a current Maple Leaf, I did CBC with Tom Harrington, and I was actually the first hockey player to be on Headline Sports,

which turned into The Score with, you know, Elliot Friedman and, you know, Brian Duff and all those guys. So I had an amazing opportunity early to, you know, dip my toe in the media world. to dip my toe in the media world. And I don't think there was another market that would have been able to give me that opportunity like Toronto would. So it played a huge part. And at the time, there was only one station, Mike,

and that was TSN and nobody else. And then all of a sudden sportsnet comes along i have an audition there didn't even think i was going to get the job and then scott moore who was uh the brains behind the whole operation back in 1997 1998 offered me a job and I was able to retire and walk right into a national broadcasting gig. And I thought, Mike, it could last three or four years. That would be great. It lasted to 21. Wow. Wow. Yeah. No small feat there. What role did Humble and Fred play in your transitioning from a hockey player to a highly

successful hockey analyst, broadcaster? Humble and Fred. I don't think I've ever heard of them. Can you tell me who you're talking about? They're going to love this.

I can already see Howard grinding his teeth. Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah. I remember. Yeah, it's kind of coming back to me. Yes, yes. In all honesty, I haven't got a clue. To this day, I haven't got a clue how i ever ended up on that show and i don't think i've ever met them before and um i i really i didn't know a heck of

a lot about them i knew it was some fun show and at the time you know they've been on many stations over their illustrious careers but at the time it was the edge and it was uh 102.1 if i'm not mistaken that is correct and i i knew they had a reputation for to be fun guys but i mean that was like kind of an understatement. This is where, you know, I will kind of, you know, pat them on the back a little bit. They're really funny guys. Like they got kind of warped sense of humors. So it fit right in with me. And I was able to go there and not have to be, you know, Nick, the serious hockey analyst. I could go there and be just as goofy, just as funny or not just as funny because I'm not as funny as those guys.

But I could I could I could be myself. And I think it really helped me kind of portray an attitude towards broadcasting that, you know, we're not exactly splitting the atom up here. We're just having fun. And that's all people want to hear sometimes is just if you're having fun, there's a really good chance they're having fun too listening here. And I think Humble Howard and Fred Patterson were able to show me that fairly early

in my broadcasting career. Now, don't tell them I said that. Don't worry. They don't listen. They don't listen. The other Sportsnet guy that Humble and Fred like to take credit for, in addition to yourself, is Jeff Merrick because he used to do the news

on Humble and Fred when he was sort of very green back in the day. Yes, yeah, yeah. And that's the difference is when Jeff talks hockey, that guy's splitting the atom, not me. What's amazing, just since he's come up twice, just what's amazing, I think, is that he was doing that with wrestling and then he just sort of transitioned from wrestling to hockey. Like it was no biggie.

It's kind of interesting what he did. I know a few people that would have wished he would have stayed in wrestling, but no, Jeff's a great guy. He does a great job. I've always had fun with Jeff. Uh, no question.

He is, he is, uh, he lives and breathes it now um and uh he's he's doing a great job over there it's of course that my buddy elvis uh heard you were coming on and it's not the elvis by the way it's just you got a buddy elvis you got a buddy elvis I got a buddy Elvis. Elvis Doico? No, mine's Jim Mandela. Okay. And he's good friends with Humble Howard, but he goes by Elvis. So I'm not sure which Elvis we're talking about.

No, it's funny. My Elvis is not really an Elvis either, but his name's Perry. But it's not Perry Leffler. It's a different Perry. But he goes... So what's your Elvis saying? Okay, this is about you, obviously. What did Nick do to get better as a broadcaster? Did he have a coach? He's exceptionally good. And then, please

don't be mad at Elvis for this, Nick. But he was exceptionally good, but was really bad in the beginning. Okay. Unlike Liam, Elvis has got it 100% right. I sucked at the beginning. And, you know, it's funny because you're in a scenario where, you know,

there's only one reason why you're up there is because you've got the experience, right? You've got the stories. you've got the experience, right? You got the stories, you got the contacts, you've been in scenarios that others have not been in. So that's what they want when they sign you to a television contract. On the other hand, everybody that goes to school to study broadcasting, that can hit the marks, that can formulate their thoughts in a clear, concise manner. Well, they don't give a crap about him. Don't want you.

Don't need you. I don't care if you went to school for three years. Nobody knows who you are. Nobody cares. So here I am. I'm on TV, and I needed to go to that broadcasting school i needed to learn all of that and unfortunately you know you don't get that you don't get that benefit to to be well polished to to learn your marks to hit them. Um, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta go through the process and hope that you can pick it up really quick, Mike. And I was not able to do

that at all quick. And, uh, it was painful at times and I struggled at times and, you know, I suffered from anxiety at times and I didn't think I was going to last three or four months that year. And, you know, it's well documented in my book coming up. But I really talk a lot about those difficult times broadcasting in those early years that your friend Elvis is talking about. Yeah. You got to put in the reps, right? So it sounds if I read between the lines, like somebody like a Scott Moore just believed in your promise. Like, like he wanted you to persevere because he could see,

he could visualize how you would sound once you got a few reps under your belt. Well, it was, it was, it was tough and I was challenged. I was challenged by him a lot. It got to the point where I didn't think I was going to make it. He didn't think I was going to make it. I was destined.

I swear to you, I was destined to lose my job after the first year. It's a good read in my book coming up on how I was able to turn it around and then end up broadcasting in the 2010 Olympics and then ultimately lasting to the year 2020. It's a pretty good ride in my book. I think readers will enjoy it.

Awesome. Now, would you be willing to share with me a story that I've always had fun with, but I would like to hear, who were you texting and what were you texting about when you accidentally tweeted those fuckers at TSN?

Well, that's another one in my book buddy that's another one in my book but i will i will i will tell you this that um my my baptism to social media like i've never seen it before. It is such a double-edged sword, Mike, in terms of this thing could be your best friend and it could be your worst enemy. And it really set up that Coke versus Pepsi, TSN versus sports net. Coke versus Pepsi, TSN versus Sportsnet. I loved every second of battling those at TSN. I loved it.

I loved it. And it could have been so much worse. If you're going to have an accidental DM go public, that's a pretty cool one to have go public. Well, yes. At the time, that really cool one would have cost you your job. So I am really lucky. That one, I could have been fired about 100 times when, a hundred times when you think about it.

It's remarkable. I was able to last as long as I did, but it was, it was interesting times during all of that. You know, I look at Bob McKenzie, Darren Drager, James Duffy, and how we battled hard against each other. You know, how we pissed each hard against each other, how we pissed each other off at times, I'm sure. And I sit back and I consider them all my friends and all part of an industry that we all, our heyday hit at the right market at the right time.

If I told you right now in year 2020 i was just starting my career at sportsnet or gsn uh i'd be a lot more nervous today than i would back in 1998 about where this is all heading in the broadcast world i'll bet now but you have something else now in common with, uh, Dregger, Duffy and, uh,

McKenzie. All of you have been on Toronto Mike. Wow. So there you go. And you saved the best for last. Thank you. That's right. That's right.

Uh, how much money did you get for, uh, appearing in Arliss? Right. Cause, uh, How much money did you get for appearing in Arliss? Right? Because you appeared in an episode of Arliss as a professional hockey player. You know what's funny is

Arliss was 1996, I think, when I went to tape, and that was for HBO. Yes. And that show ran if i'm not mistaking maybe seven or eight years um and even when we did stuff on david letterman in new york you know uh we did a top 10 and like years later i would get a residual check from worldwide pants from letterman's company right and then i get i get a residual check from hbo now well it'd be like you know i think one

check was for like a dollar 80 but that's mike that's besides the point. Right. Right. But that was, that was a fun experience. They flew me down, uh, to, to Los Angeles. Uh, I was supposed to say, stay for a day of taping and I ended up staying,

uh, for three days. So that was fun. Robert walls, uh, was very, very nice, very kind.

Uh, Sandra. Oh, our award-winning Canadian actress. Right. Also, just a sweetheart. Very kind to me. Spent a lot of time with me. It was a fun experience. All right, Nick.

For the record, why are you no longer on Sportsnet? For the record, it was a good time to part ways. My contract was coming to an end. I was not in a situation where I was coming anywhere near to the kind of contract that I had before and would have liked again. And the industry was changing Mike constantly. And I just said that it's, it's a good time to move forward. I was 53 at the time.

I'm not 33. I'm not 35. Am I going to now? I was coming off an eight-year deal, Mike. Right. Eight years. Like, you don't get eight-year contracts. So I had a tremendous amount of security.

I liked that feeling that I want to now stay in the industry and do one year deals or, you know, not know from year to year exactly what was going to happen. No, that's not what I wanted. So it was a good time. My eight years was up. I was not going to make the money I was making before. That's clear to a lot of people now moving forward. And it's time to move on. And if I was going to make a career change or try something new,

I wanted to do it now. I didn't want to do it at 55, 60, 65. But I'm going to be on a beach, okay? I'm going to be on a beach okay I'm going to be on a beach watching hockey from my phone on a beautiful sandy beach okay a little in a few

years I was going to say surprise it's going to be a sunny side pavilion hey I ain't dragging my ass downtown to a studio when I'm you know turning 60. That was never in the plans, buddy. Never in the plans.

Okay, because you were part of this, I would call it like a wave of sorts, where people like John Shannon and Bob McCowan and Doug McClain all left. It just seemed clear that the NHL deal was so expensive that it just seemed very clear that Rodgers was cutting costs. So essentially they weren't going to be able to pay you what you were used to.

But you've got to understand that the industry changed really fast for all of them. All of them. And they just have to make some tough decisions and I totally respect that totally respect that I mean that's just that's the nature of the business how is it it's not any different than I've been used to I've done that you know for what 14 15 years that I've been around professional hockey i signed my first contract with 18

and the lessons started coming really fast and furious on on hey what have you done for me lately uh you know where are we where's your value where i value you where you value me all of that i learned it through the great game of hockey about the business side of things. So there was no animosity. There was no bitterness. There was nothing. It's like when it's time to part, hey, thank you. And I'm thankful for 20 years.

And they looked after me, Mike. I'm telling you, I couldn't have asked anything more. I had a Rogers and CTV. When I first started, they were very good to me. They were very good to my family. And when it's time to say, you know what, we,

we just, we just got to move on. Then that's the perfect time to get out. Timing is everything, right? Yeah. And listen, I look, just, just think about this for a second, okay?

I'm at the end of my career, and if I don't get out now, I've got to go through a pandemic as a broadcaster with nothing left on my contract. as a broadcaster with nothing left on my contract. And instead of that happening, I get 12 months to sit back and go, what's my next move? So in this pandemic, I was able to write a book,

start a beverage company, and then start my own show called Real Kipper at Noon. Which I caught today, but earlier than noon right well we are it's a special edition because we don't want it's live you don't want to go up against the 12 o'clock starts right so what we were able to do is go live and kind of set the tone for for all the six games coming up so i if you told me last year i would have been able to do a live studio show out of my house you know on the internet i would have told you you're crazy but here we are that's the new world and that's that's the world i wanted to jump on now i didn't want to wait next year or the year after to start something like that i needed to do that now all we all waiting in a

year two or three would put me behind the eight ball so i was able to do that mike i was able to partner with a canadian company that's's in online sports betting and gaming. And we know where the future of that's going with pro sports. We watched Gary Bettman partner up with three different companies to share their data and information, all for sports betting. all for sports betting. And I'm very fortunate to be part of a public trust, a public trading company called I3 Interactive. And if anybody feels like they're lucky tonight, they want to go all in on the Leafs,

do it on blitzbet.eu. Blitzbet.eu. And this show again Real Kipper here. I want to get all the nuts and bolts right on this. Real Kipper at noon is available on YouTube.

Our station, our location is called linemovement.com and of course we know what line movement means when you're talking about football and now hockey with the puck line, over-unders, all of that. This is all new to me, by the way, Mike. I mean, I'm not one to gamble a lot.

I like my blackjack at Vegas. I like my craps. But this is all new to me. So I'm learning along. So if you want to watch my show, listen to my show, we're all going to learn together. Instead of putting six bucks on your Starbucks coffee, maybe you want to bet on the Leafs tonight. Now, I tuned in today and it was great to hear familiar voices and faces because it's actually visual. It's YouTube. I saw you chatting up Doug McLean. Yes. The one thing

that was so much fun for me over the years was Hockey Central at noon. I often tell people it was Seinfeld for the Fan 590-ish. Really a show about nothing. I thought you were going to say he uncle leo doug would go on

yeah he is uncle leo uh uh or kramer depending on his hair but uh it we you know we got to be really goofy it was almost like humble and fred kind of show where you get to have fun, talk about different things. Doug talked about condos. I had my water company, GP8, which was well before Little Buddha, or else you would have been up to Little Buddha in your eyeballs if I was still on Hockey Central at noon. But it was a fun show. So the first thing I wanted to do when I got, when, when, when, when I got first approached to do content for a line movement.com was to try to find Doug search for Doug high and

low. I wanted to create the same fun environment. It's funny, you know, my people I I'd walked through hockey rinks, you know, even the last few years. And I was on Hockey Night in Canada, man, the longest running sports show in history. And people would come to me and say, oh, I love you on Hockey Central at noon, Hockey Central at noon. Everything was Hockey Central at noon. So they came to me and they said, you know, can you do what you did before on Hockey Central at noon for us? And I'm like, yeah, no brainer. So that's it. I'm not, even though it's a gambling site, really, you know, it's not a gambling site.

Linemovement.com is a sports web. But even though I'm associated with now online gaming, online sports betting, I'm not a handicapper. I'm not going to tell you where to put your money. I'm just there to create talk like I did on Hockey Central at noon. So I love the time slot. I wanted it back

so that we made it real kipper at noon. Real kipper at noon. And again, I enjoyed what I watched and heard. And one thing I would recommend, if people just follow you on Twitter, the links will come out and you can just click over and watch it live on YouTube there. Yeah.

And listen, Doug McClain is one of the most insecure people I've ever met in my whole life. Hit the like button for him. He really likes it. It matters to him. It's the difference between him having a good day or a bad day if you just hit the like button for Doug McClain on our YouTube channel.

All right, Kipper, we're in the home stretch here. I watched the first Leafs game. I couldn't tell whether it was the lack of fans in attendance or the fact it was a sleepy game, but it was sleepy. I felt it to be kind of fans in attendance or the fact it was a sleepy game, but it didn't, it was sleepy.

I felt, I felt, I felt, felt it to be kind of a boring game. What were your thoughts on game one? And what are you looking for in game two, which by the way, is probably happening when I dropped this episode because we're so up against

it here, but give me a little thought on that. Well, first of all, how is, how is the rink any different than the start of each period with the platinum club, you know? Right. And all those empty seats.

So as far as the game being sleepy, John Tortorella will hold that in the highest regard as a compliment to him and to his hockey club because that's all Columbus wants to do is put you to sleep, put viewers to sleep, and most importantly, put the Leafs to sleep, put McDavid to sleep, Matthews, Tavares. So get ready.

That's all you're going to see. Now the question is, can the Leafs break through? Can they get more power plays? Can they draw more penalties? Pull Columbus out of their comfort zone of protecting the house. Can they start chasing a little bit more? And we didn't see any of that, man. They didn't break down. No odd man rushes. No big opportunities at key moments for the power play. To use a Jeff Merrick wrestling phrase, they put the sleeper on them. Complete arm up, down, arm up, down. You're out.

Last question, Nick. If your sources told you that Austin Matthews had tested positive for COVID-19, would you have broke that story? Not a snowball's chance I would ever have broken that story no the answer is no i don't uh that just not me now i will say this that i'm not as bothered now listen i mean forget about like you know whether you had a i don't know i shouldn't, like, you know, whether you had a – I don't know. I shouldn't say this. But, you know, it's – the media now is in a scenario where they follow these guys.

Everything – their stories, the moment they walk out the door. So, you know, I don't know. Like, you know, us andews or any other player you get you get pulled over for drinking and driving um you know austin went through a hard time in in arizona you know um a few months ago and that was headline news so i don't know where you draw the line at the end of the day. Now, is it a hockey story? Of course. Are you legally able to report COVID?

I mean, how do you interpret it? Is it illegal to share private files, medical files? private files, medical files. I've reported when a guy, when they say upper body and I find out that someone has a separated shoulder, I've broken that news before. Is that not private medical records? I don't know in terms of where we are, you know, from a legal point of view, but I will say that the media look at these guys and say everything's a part of a story. So, you know, us and Matthews having COVID could have played a huge storyline

on whether or not he's back, whether or not when he's back, is he healthy? Is he at 100%? Could it affect the hockey game? Matthews having COVID. Yes, it could. Therefore, is it a story? Is it a legitimate story for Steve Simmons to report?

I don't necessarily think that he's wrong to say that, you know, this could affect the outcome of a game, you know, how he feels by testing positive. But me personally, I wouldn't have done done it i don't need to go there steve felt he did he did the right thing there's a lot of people in the media mike that feel the same way and you watch they're like a pack of wolves man they stick together right well you know what? It's for me. How do you feel about it?

How do you feel about it? I think that's a legitimate story and it's fair game to report on that as a hockey journalist like Steve Simmons. What I'm interested in is what would the reaction have been if somebody more beloved than Steve Simmons, because let's face it he's a lot of people already decided they hate steve simmons because of the phil kessel hot dog story or

whatever right so what if if elliot friedman who's universally you know beloved almost like yourself here if he broke the story about austin having covet would there be the same kind of outcry about violating his uh his uh personal uh health information you know like well you lost me at elliot's beloved all right chris johnston how's that no i i don't know um yeah that Yeah, that's a fair question to ask. But I really believe that if Elliott chose to break that story, there'd be people after him for not doing the right thing. And Mike Johnson or Nick Kiprios if he went down that path. But the players want it kept secret unless they volunteer to let that information out. And I have no problem respecting that. As an ex-player, as someone that's been in that side of it, I don't think it's the end of the world

if we don't get that scoop. I lied. There's one more question. Should Elliot shave that beard? Oh my God. Honestly, he should just shave his head. He should shave everything. He should, he, he should shave everything.

He should start with at least having a shower first, then focus on whether or not you want to shave. Just, just shower. Let's start there. Nick. Thanks so much for being my special guest for episode 700, and enjoy

the Leaf game, my friend. You know what? There will never be another 700 ever again on your show, and I am thrilled for that. That's like hanging a jersey up. It's more impressive

than your Stanley Cup ring. Thank you, Mike. Thanks, Nick. And that brings us to the end of our 700th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Nick is at Real

Kipper. K-Y- P-E-R. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. The Keitner Group are at The Keitner Group. CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies. Pumpkins After Dark are at Pumpkins Dark.

And Garbage Day are at GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. See you all next week. Well, I want to take a streetcar downtown Read Andrew Miller and wander around And drink some Guinness from a tin Cause my UI check has just come in

Ah, where you been? Because everything is kind of rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold but the snow Warns me today And your smile is fine

And it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is Rosie and Gray Well you've been under my skin For more than eight years It's been eight years. It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears.

And I don't know what the future can hold or will do for me and you. But I'm a much better man for having known you you Oh, you know that's true because Everything is coming up Rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Won't stay today And your smile is fine

And it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is Rosy and gray This podcast has been produced by TMDS, Maybe the one who doesn't realize There's a thousand shades of grey This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number

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