Win-now Maple Leafs and Flames could meet in Stanley Cup Finals

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames start the 2022-23 NHL season in 'win-now' mode. On the latest episode of Zone Time, Omar makes the case for an all-Canadian Stanley Cup Finals.

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: What about a Cup Final prediction? Give me the two teams you think are going to make it to the Stanley Cup Final when it is all said and done. Omar, try to resist putting beliefs in this one if you can.

- Can I not go first?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: You don't want to go first?

- I don't want to go first because my mind--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK, Sam--

- My mind is telling me one thing. My heart is telling me another.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I did not expect that to come out of your mouth.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: Your minds telling you no way?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Hey, hey, hey, no, no, we are not going there. No--

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: (SINGING) My minds telling me--

[LAUGHTER]

JULIAN MCKENZIE: No, no, no, strike that from the tape. Sam, start with you please. Please.

SAM CHANG: I am going to say-- I feel like this is really hard in the East to pick a team.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: It is hard in the East. But I have a team in mind.

SAM CHANG: I'm going to say-- I'm going to do the same thing I did last year. I'm going to say Colorado, Florida.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK, so you think the Panthers are going to wake up and--

SAM CHANG: If not, I hope so.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yes. Man. Geez. With Matthew Tkachuk there. Paul Maurice is there. They don't ahve Jonathan Huberdeau anymore.

Remember, this is a team that was the best in the league last year. And they--

OMAR: They got fleeced. That's what happened. They got fleeced. They got murdered on that trade.

Murdered. Murder she wrote. Man, it's a class five massacre. I have--

Man, man, look, man, they signed the--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Can you please say murder again? But say it in a heavy patois accent.

OMAR: Murder.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Murderer.

OMAR: Both of them signed. They lost the deal. I don't care what-- I don't care what Tkachuk does. They lost.

SAM CHANG: I actually agree with that.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: They got to play the games, though, first.

OMAR: They lost. As soon as they signed both, they lost the trade. If they signed one, and the other one walked, I'd be like OK.

They got both and a first and another prospect who might play games for them. Murdered. Got killed.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I mean, you have to play the games, right? I mean, Matthew could still be a 40 goal player in Florida. May get more goals or points than Jonathan Huberdeau.

OMAR: OK, and then if Huberdeau does the same thing he did last year and Mackenzie Jaeger puts up like 60 points then--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: That's true. That is true. But I mean, Matthew Tkachuk is younger than all those players if memory serves.

OMAR: That's true.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: His-- look, I'm not saying-- I'm not necessarily agreeing that the trade was fleecing. I'm just trying to be devil's advocate in this situation. He could be better for a longer period of time.

OMAR: Yeah, that's true. If I felt-- if I was holding a knife and I fell on the knife, and the knife was in my chest, I could say I'm fine.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: What?

OMAR: Nothing's wrong.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: You're holding it back, Omar.

OMAR: I'm trying to say--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: What the hell.

OMAR: Even if you say you're not murdered, it's still a murder. That was--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK.

OMAR: That was a tough one.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Avry, do you have a Stanley Cup Final prediction that involves no blunt objects?

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: Wow, all right, I showed them love last week. So I'm going to stick with my prediction of the New York Rangers taking on the Colorado Avalanche in this year's Cup Final.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK.

SAM CHANG: That was the other team I was going to say. Those are my last two.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: The Rangers are really good, man. I think-- look, is this podcast, the New York-- I don't want to say the New York Rangers podcast. But are we pro New York Rangers this year, all of us?

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: I am at least.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Because I am. I think Omar is.

OMAR: Here's the thing--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh, boy.

OMAR: So Julian, you mentioned this at the beginning of-- this isn't a rant. I promise.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: That's fine.

OMAR: You mentioned something at the beginning of the episode, a certain event that took place, an event that we could all say was very Leafy that happened to a team in another week.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yes, the Toronto Blue Jays.

OMAR: So you have that and also the fact that this year is going to be the 10 year anniversary of the first game seven.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yes, yes, that's true. The first.

OMAR: With that being said--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yes.

OMAR: Leafs-Flames Stanley Cup Final.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Whoa.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: Wow.

OMAR: And again, I want to make it clear for anyone--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He did it.

OMAR: --who hasn't watched in his own time, I have never put the Leafs in the Stanley Cup Final. I have never done it.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He's never done it.

OMAR: I've never done it.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He's never done it.

OMAR: I'm doing it this year. Leafs, Flames, Stanley Cup Final.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh my God.

OMAR: It's Kadri takes on his former, all the story lines--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh my God.

OMAR: --all Canadians Stanley Cup Final, whatever. I'm saying it. I'm saying it. That's my prediction.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: Omar just broke out the most anti [INAUDIBLE] prediction yet.

[LAUGHTER]

That's what [INAUDIBLE] Stanley Cup Final.

[LAUGHTER]

Toronto, Calgary-- [INAUDIBLE] burn down never happens.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Vancouver will just burn stuff down because that's just what they're built to do anyway.

SAM CHANG: We have to get to the finals before you burn anything down.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, that's what you'd think they'd do, but maybe. Colorado New York Rangers is very much my pick too. But I love the fact that Omar was willing to go Calgary Toronto. I like that. I love this. And you were absolutely right.

SAM CHANG: I would be so on board with that.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I'm on board with it too. The Calgary Flames are a team that's trying to be this must-win team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, after years of futility, failing to get out of the first round. Not only would they finally get the job done, they go to the final. And anxiety would be on an absolute 10. Could you imagine us doing zone time episodes during a Flames Leafs Stanley Cup Final? Can you imagine that?

OMAR: Can I just say one thing? And I'm asking people on the internet just to be-- if this is wrong, please don't clip this and dunk on me. I'll be sad enough. Just take the fact that I know there's like a 95% chance I'm going to be wrong. So just let me exist in the pain if things go south again. But that's my prediction.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK, I have Colorado repeating a Stanley Cup champion. Avry, do you have Colorado repeating? Or do you have the Rangers winning?

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: I have New York in seven. I have New York in a seven game series winning the Stanley Cup, the first in '94.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, that would be incredible. I was probably two months old the last time that they won a Stanley Cup. Omar, Calgary or Toronto winning the Stanley Cup? If you really want to get people up into it, you pick Toronto to win the Stanley Cup this year. You put yourself in this position.

OMAR: I have to say the Leafs because again, if they make--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: You're going to do it.

OMAR: --the final-- listen, if they make the final and they lose, I will not survive.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh my God.

OMAR: So I just-- I have to go all in. I'm staying there like in the final. Let's say they win in seven. Why not?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I'll tell you this actually. Calgary, Toronto Stanley Cup Final, that means I get to be in the building for this. So like--

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: There you go.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Dude, I'll be happy for that. But also, man, if the Leafs lose that Stanley Cup Final, man, I'm coming over.

OMAR: It'll be so hard to see the bright side. It'll be so hard. It would be like oh, they made it. It's growth. But I'd be like, they were so close.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Sam, who's winning the Stanley Cup Final?

SAM CHANG: The Avs.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: OK, so two Avs, one for the Rangers, and a fearless Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup prediction. I hope you know-- maybe we won't clip this. But we are going to make mention of the fact that you did pick the Leafs to win the Stanley Cup this year.