Tape To Tape

Chris Johnston joins the show but, first, Ryan and Rory are all in on the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Six Canadian teams will (hopefully) participate in the “play-in” round and two of them — Winnipeg and Calgary — will (hopefully) face each other. Who has the advantage in that matchup and what are the other […]

If the NHL returns to action in the next couple months, there’s a strong chance Edmonton will be a hub city. Mark Spector joins Ryan and Rory to stump for his home, dive into some of the historical pieces he’s written focusing on the 1980s Oilers and a recent story about the under-23 Team North […]

Nobody knows when the NHL off-season will actually begin. What we can say for certain is, when it does, there will be no shortage of players on the move. Ryan and Rory identify some trade candidates for NHL teams. Josh Anderson? Olli Juolevi? Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry? They also explore a few alternate universes, […]

Luke Fox joins Ryan this week. Global pandemic or not, the Toronto Maple Leafs blue-line always has the potential to set tongues wagging. GM Kyle Dubas recently made another foray into the European market, inking Finn Mikko Lehtonen to a one-year contract. How does this change the complexion of Toronto’s ‘D’ and what does it […]

Not all elite talent is found at the top of the board. In fact, the reigning Hart Trophy and Conn Smythe winners — Nikita Kucherov and Ryan O’Reilly — were both selected outside the first round of the NHL Draft. With that in mind, Ryan and Rory go round by round — two through seven […]

Nobody played a full 82 this year, but that didn’t stop the writers and broadcasters at Sportsnet from casting awards ballots. Ryan and Rory offer up their personal picks and debate some of the closest races. Nathan MacKinnon over Leon Draisaitl for MVP? John Carlson or Roman Josi for the Norris? And who deserves more […]

Listen to Sports On Pause at https://sprtsnt.ca/3e7nTAZ or search and subscribe in your podcatcher. COVID-19 is impacting the world unlike anything we’ve seen in 100 years, and sports has not escaped its effects. The newest podcast from Sportsnet features hosts Richard Deitsch and Donnovan Bennett in conversation with athletes and executives, health professionals and journalists […]

When the NHL off-season officially begins, bank on there being the usual player-movement drama. Ryan and Rory speculate about which top-level players could be on the trade market. Would Calgary pull the trigger on Johnny Gaudreau? Could Evgeni Malkin — no, really this time! — get a new address? Also, Jacob Markstrom, Braden Holtby and […]

Ryan and Rory let their imaginations run wild for a game of “What If?” Fourteen years ago, the plight of two franchises were dramatically changed when the Ottawa Senators inked Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara: What if the Sens hitched their wagon to Chara instead? And remember the 2015 NHL Draft, when a Greater Toronto […]

There’s no shortage of intriguing prospects across the seven Canadian NHL clubs, so Ryan and Rory touch on every squad to highlight some names, complete with a few deep cuts. Will Josh Norris emerge as the steal of the Erik Karlsson trade for Ottawa? Does Alexander Romanov have a spot waiting for him in Montreal? […]

Holding microphones in their respective homes, Ryan and Rory wade through our new hockey reality. The NHL would love to award a Stanley Cup this year and the boys take their best stab at formats the league could go with if a traditional, four-round tournament isn’t possible. With the entire hockey world on hold, Todd […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning are, once again, a top Cup contender as the playoffs draw near. Can this beefier version of the Bolts finally get over the hump or are they doomed to experience more heartbreak? With less than a month to go in the season, it’s time to start handicapping some hardware races. Edmonton’s […]

The big news coming out of the GM Meetings is that the salary cap will be on the rise, possibly by a significant amount. Ryan and Rory discuss why that’s fantastic news, not only for teams that are up against it, but anyone who wants to more dough tossed at free agents or teams taking […]

With the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline in the books, Ryan and Rory look around the league at the big winners and a couple losers. They are joined by Luke Fox, who re-lives the Maple Leafs’ crazy past few days and has a take on where GM Kyle Dubas’s head is at; Dan Murphy, who believes […]

Ryan and Rory offer their takes on the trades through Thursday, explain what the market is for defencemen and discuss which teams could be absolute wild cards before Monday’s 3:00 PM deadline. After that, Justin Bourne makes the 50-foot walk from the Hockey Central studio for a big talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs and […]

Jim Rutherford is doing his thing, trading for Jason Zucker in the hopes he can squeeze another championship out of this Pittsburgh Penguins club. How will that move affect the winger market and could Zucker’s old team in Minnesota still turn into a big-time seller? Edmonton is a club many thought had interest in some […]

The Maple Leafs finally found themselves a backup goalie, but will Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford be enough to solidify a playoff spot? Ryan and Rory discuss. If Toronto was the team most in need of a specific upgrade, the Arizona Coyotes might not be far behind. The Coyotes already made the blockbuster deal of […]

Zack Kassian is using his hands to score goals, fight Matthew Tkachuk and sign a new four-year contract. And don’t come at Rory with your overpay talk; he’s here to tell you why Kassian is worth $3.2 million annually to the Oilers. Once Rory and Ryan are done raving about the Battle of Alberta, Chris […]

Playoff races are getting a lot more interesting thanks to a couple of high-event teams — the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks — and others that are suddenly major players for post-season berths. And with the All-Star Weekend on the horizon, Ryan and Rory weigh in on what they’ll be most interested to watch.  To […]

Anyone else think the feud between Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk is just getting started? Ryan and Rory discuss how these two re-ignited the Battle of Alberta and how delightful it is that Kassian will return from his suspension just in time to face the Flames. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to get […]