Sportsnet: Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne on the Toronto Maple Leafs trying to make a hockey trade and not going after a rental.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Bourne: “Is there any chance they would trade players who are good players in hopes of just becoming a different looking team? As in, you know, (Timothy) Liljegren, but you’re still getting the current player back or even bigger name or getting a current player to that trade for hockey sake.”
Kypreos: “The tendency now is because over the years, we’ve built up this trade deadline is the focus is on UFAs, UFAs. I’m with you. Go find RFAs.”
Bourne: “Yeah.”
Kypreos: “Go do a real hockey trade, that, that changes the makeup of this team without borrowing a rental.”
Bourne: “Right”
Kypreos: “Right. Go like, there’s no Cliff Fletcher trades for Doug Gilmore, and how many guys were involved in that one, guys?”
Bourne: “Seven guys, 11 guys, I don’t know, a lot of humans,”
Kypreos: “But that’s almost what the Leafs need right now.”
Bourne: “Yeah.”
Kypreos: “They need a three or four out and three or four in.”
Bourne: “And you know why? Because you know what you have out of the top and it’s a special group of guys. And so if this isn’t working below it, I’m with you. We just, there’s some games, just throw your cards and get new ones.”
Kypreos: “It has to be names that we were not talking about. It’s not, it’s not (Noah) Hanafin and (Jakob) Chychrun.”
Bourne: “No, it’s Brandon Hagel.”
Kypreos: “It’s, it’s exactly Hagel.”
Bourne: “You know, it’s someone who’s out there.”
Kypreos: “Someone who’s 24, 25 and if it does cost you a first rounder, you know whatever’s coming back is going to stick around for the next three or four years.”
Sam McKee: “How many times can we do this?”
Bourne: “Because it it could be different.”
McKee: “Why don’t we change out the bottom six again, it’s like …”
Bourne: “Then trade Marner for Roman Josi and Juuse Saros. I don’t know.”
McKee: “Sure, this is the seventh version of the bottom six.”
Kypreos: “That’s what happens when you haven’t won in 56 years.”
McKee: “Team A. Team B. It’s like a ship that new team B coming on in. Bring on Team B again.”
Kypreos: “But what choice…”
Bourne: “Not allowed to address team A.”
Kypreos: “Unless…”
McKee: “Don’t look at him in the eyes.”
Bourne: “Or you’ll turn into stone.”
Kypreos: “Unless you think that, the hope is that these guys will turn it around, Sammy.”
McKee: Maybe this time. Surely this time will be different. We should go.”
Kypreos: “All right. Don’t call me Shirley.c
More must-reads: