OverDrive - Are the Maple Leafs adding more players? | OverDrive: Oct. 19, 2026 - Hour 1

Episode Date: October 19, 2026

Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Maple Leafs' losing stretch, the defeat to the Islanders, the defensive group seeking additions, the formation of the roster, Connor McDavid's incredible start to the season and Macklin Celebrini's spotlight in the matchup. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins to discuss Connor Hellebuyck's future, Dylan Larkin's next steps and the Maple Leafs improving the blue line.

This hour of overdrive is powered by Fanduil. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go, Overdrive, off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, up on TSN4, up on YouTube live. Brian Hase, your dog, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennon. It's going on today. What's happening this afternoon? Well, let me ask you, gentlemen, are you able to separate,

your kind of normal feelings in life, like family, work, personal, and then over there you have, like, your sport feelings? Or is it all, are you the guy that, like, if the leaf stink or the bears stink, you kind of stink, like, do you guys separate? Because for me, normal life, very good, amazing. Wife, family, kids, golf's good.

Good to hear. That's great. My sporting world? I No good No no I might crash out on the show today Uh oh

Like just starting with some of the picks The Rams jammed us in our survivor pool Let's start there How do you not go to Arizona You're at home against Arizona Yes Exactly After your

After your coach lost it And then you just said We got to get pissed off They screwed us on the survivor Yeah My Parsi Stop believing in and stopped focusing and took the cowboys and that jammed us.

And then these maple leaves are starting to do some weird stuff where I'm just like, I don't know, man. I am starting to hear some similar terminology and phraseology that we've heard many times in the past. And this time it was intestinal fortitude and willingness to get to the inside. Not again. Urgency. Urgency is the word of that.

Oh, urgency. Urgency is a big word right now. I think you're right with all of that, but Hayes' pack won last night. So there is a thin layer there for Brian. Big time. And we were on the Packers because these two guys who can't see anything when it comes to the board. No. Pick Dak Prescott on the road.

Lambo on a Sunday night. I told you, my part stopped believing in God, and he lost focus. He's lost it. he's lost it i wrote in the group chat and nobody wrote back i just put dack is terrible because it was a rhetorical question everyone knew the answer you know like that it was fourth and eleven and he threw it at the mascot in the stands i don't know what he was doing and a guy that played in the NFL should not be kind of questioning any type of emoji but when he sent that pick in and you threw up the double eyeball emoji i was like this is no good that was code for are you nuts like an

Are you nuts? Honest, and I don't pretend to be objective with the Packers. They're four and two. I have no idea how, and I give them to say it. Defensively, they've been great the last two weeks. Giving up 20 points combined the last two weeks. Hey, just good on them for pulling it together. It doesn't matter what.

Four and two is four and two. The Rams are two and four. Exactly. And they're not the super team, right? The Rams were, and I know Garrett's hurt and Donald hasn't really been doing much and all that. The fact of the matter is Green Bay is a very well-run organization. and Matt Lafleur in the playoffs and down the stretch has had real problems lately, but he is a coach that gets them there every single year,

a lot like McDermott was in Buffalo, and you deserve credit for that. And, you know, that's the thing about sports. Like, more often than not, it's, okay, look at the organization and how they operate, and you can have a feeling about what they're likely to do. And, you know, you mentioned the Maple Leafs, and, yeah, I've been talking to a lot of people where, like, the tone has changed. so drastically in one week. Like, it's still only nine games.

Like, here I am playing the role of, like, everyone, just breathe here a little bit. I haven't loved their game. They don't look spectacular. They're in last place in the division. And that says more about the division than anything else, right? The division is a very good division that continues to rack up points. But, you know, they haven't been blown out.

They have not been, like, thoroughly outplayed every sort. single game. It's self-inflicted wounds. You know, a lot of blown leads. That wasn't the case on Saturday against the Islanders. But, you know, it's still very early in the season. I guess it's what I'm getting to. And I'm not expecting some big transformation.

You're saying that, Brian, I have deja vu of last year, where it was a lot of it's still early. They're going to be a hundred point team. And it just went on and on and on. And before you finish your thought, I understand. that and I'm I they have to be the one they have to prove they're different they don't they've lost the benefit of the doubt I'm not arguing against that I'm speaking strictly factually playing nine games and you know they're just they're kind of getting rolling they've they've blown leads you know

like again I'm every team in the league I'm sure could look at it and say well this went that way that one they blew leads against Montreal Ottawa you know um who wasn't on the road recently the Utah they were pushing, you know, they've had opportunities to be five and three or five and four, six and two or whatever. They've just missed out on these opportunities. But, yes, it's not last year anymore because they have to prove they're different. And they were a classic example of a team that needed a hot start to get the flies off them. They needed a Boston start to, you know, start six and two.

And then everyone goes, all right, last year actually was the, the one-off and they were different. It hasn't happened. You know, there's no, I'm not denying the facts of where they are in the standings. And I'm not sitting here suggesting that in two weeks I expect that they're going to be this well-oiled machine. That's not going to happen. But, you know, I still, you got to let it breathe a little bit. This is a big week.

They got San Jose tonight, Columbus tomorrow, New York Thursday, then they hit the road. They're in Edmonton on Saturday. Like, it's a crazy week. It's a big, big emotional week. And I'll give you this platform. You just said one of the key words in the NHL right now. You could apologize to Jesus right now, right now, because he is going to get 150 points and a slam dunk MVP.

Wow. Say it. Say Jesus. I'm sorry. Say this. Jesus. I'm sorry I said that. I am here.

There were a couple things I wanted to address that I was going to get to a little bit later on. But there are two things that I do. feel like he to state on this program. Say it after me. Hey, Seuss, I'm sorry I said those things. They're what, nine games in two. Let's breathe.

Very early. You're not going to get 240 points. Well, I had, like, this is one, I had, I believe it was Doogie, who again, I love, I believe Doogie sent to me this morning, is Gretsky's 215 point record in jeopardy. And I almost blocked Doogie's contact and said, I can't hear from you anymore. Obviously, he's not putting up 215 plus points, but he is so good. He is so

dominant. The numbers and the performance and the ability to win a heart clearly is still there for him. And the second one, which I'm going to make a point of quickly, even though they lost yesterday. Shout out to Calgary. Big win for them. I watched the Jets Carolina game on Saturday. Carolina is the best team in the league still. I don't care what Florida thinks they are. I don't care what Edmonton wants to be. Vegas is off to a great start. They are such a well-oiled machine in Carolina. They are. And they just roll over line after line, after line. You don't see any megastars. It's just the actual true pure form of a team. And I said out of nowhere, they will not win at Stanley Cup again this year. I still don't think

they will because I take the field. Dude, it's been 10 years. It's been 10 years. You finally admit, say it, They could. They could. They could. Hey, Zeus. No, I'm not saying that. Say, hey, Zeus. I'm sorry, I said what I said.

I'm not saying. I will not apologize for taking some of the point. But you just brought up the point of Carolina in the way they play. The Maple Leafs, if they're serious and they want to come out here and play with urgency or whatever, they have to realize that they have to protect their own end like you bought a junk couch on Kijiji. Okay? One that has. wobbly legs and it's got stains all over it and if you have a house party no one can sit on it

because they might break it that's how you have to play defense because if they want to run and gun and leave the sheen defense out there to hang out to dry you're going to have big time problems so it's up to them what do they want to do because it's all it's in the past we want to get the puck we want to make plays we want to do this well if you do that and you cheat you have no chance to win. Because we saw what those defensemen are doing back there with the puck. They are doing some weird-ass stuff with it, man. I'm telling you.

They're slow. Okay. Well, then if they're that, just like the couch in the living room, you've got to give them a chance. Give them support. Can't have turnovers. Can't have stupid plays because they just can't handle anything back there. Well, you're right.

But there was plays against the Islanders the other night where that just, yes, the D, but how about the forwards get in the lane and protect the middle of the of the ice. That's Marchenko out there, you know, waving at the puck. And, you know, listen, everybody has to own it. I'm not just going to single out one person. But it's the D, yes, as a group, one to six struggle with speed and that first pass. And again, I know Radish can do it. I know Riley's done it. And I know Oliver Eckman-Larsson, but they are under pressure. They're under siege.

And I think Bob can give you a big save here or there. I didn't love, you know, Saturday night. Night noodles. Literally every game. I would have liked the glove save on the third goal against. Jamie, what about Bob making seven, the other guy making four? They got to bring up Artie because they got to rest. What are we talking about?

We want to save Bobrovsky a couple flights? What are we talking about here? Between the two of them, one makes seven, one makes four, and now they've got to bring up Artie to rest one of them. And they're rotating, basically. But, oh, this is a 38-year-old athlete that, you know, we're going to see it, again, different sport, different, you know, all of that. But Kauai, we're going to see that with Kauai, right? Like, hey, it's managing a 38-year-old athlete.

That's what they have to do. And if they feel that's what's best for it, so be it. I would just, when he plays or when the rest of the team plays, I would like to see that urgency. I know they have all the buzzwords that they're saying, urgency and all of that type of stuff. You got it, you got to back it up, though. Like, go ahead. Urgency. Like, I know they'll never do this, and I'm tired of asking for it.

And I don't care how smart people think they are trying to figure out how to play hockey. They don't even come close to body contact. I'm telling you, watch that Islander game. If that McEwen or Easton Cowan, like, it is just a powder puff out there. Like, there is not even – you want to talk about urgency. They don't even play hockey. It just drives me crazy. There's no physical content.

It's a physical sport. But here's what I would say. Last week, there were some good things to talk about this past little bit. It's been a struggle. This is a big week. You've got a game tonight. You've got a game tomorrow night. You get a game Thursday.

You've got a game Saturday. Like a week from now, things could be different. If you get some good performances, they can score, but can they keep it out of their net? That's the one thing. They seemed to be given up three or four a night. And, you know, on the nights where I thought Sorokin made some big saves the other night. So it could have been different. But ultimately, that goalie was unbelievable.

Yeah, and that was, you know, kind of due to happen. And it's happened a couple times. Like Dobish was good, the opening night. Allmark was good, you know, when they played Ottawa. But, yeah, this is a team that is going to score and they're going to need goaltending. You know, like that's clear cut. Like Bob has literally given up three plus goals every start. That can't happen.

We can talk about the defense all we want, and I'm not absolving the defense, clearly. Nobody is that seen them play. They're not great. Guess what, guys? They're not going to be great. They're not going to morph into the 77 halves. So you brought in Bob and Stollars to literally give you an advantage in net.

It's only the pathway. Like they need very good goaltending, and then they're going to have to score. and you guys laughed at it last week when I said it but it's going to be you got to be like a top 10 offense top 10 special teams and probably top 10 or top 15 goalies you know because the 5 on 5 play and the defensive stuff you're probably not keeping up with the best in the league

because they're just you know with tan avowed they're not built yeah exactly that's how they're built you know like Jake McCabe has lost a step Morgan's lost two or three Ekman Larson's not a young guy you know they're playing Stetcher and Blankenburg, like, you know, they're patching a defense corps together with Radish there, but even Radish is being asked to do stuff that was not intentional. You know, they wanted him playing more offensively, power play, sheltered minutes. He's got to play a lot.

So they're asking a lot out of a defense corps that has a limit in terms of capabilities. So yes, the forwards need to help offensively, but also defensively. But the goalies have more pressure on them than a lot of other places. You know, Kachkov and Bosse, they don't have the same pressure. They don't. They just go out there. I got to make five or six big stops. What worries me, Brian, and I was saying to this at 6 a.m., walking on the streets in between sprints to my friend Joe, and Joe brought up a great point.

Imagine having a decor that's sunk and deathly afraid that a 36-year-old Chris Tanef goes down. On most deca, like if Chris Tannif's playing on Vegas, he's. He's probably on a third pairing. And if he goes down, they're like, all right, that guy's going in. On this particular decor, it almost sinks them. And it's scary. And if anybody thinks, I have no idea what rumors are out there, or like what prospects or any bullets they have on the chamber to go and get some kind of defenseman,

that decor is so far away from being a competitive decor. Like it's Kale McCar, Taze, and Josh Manson away from being a normal decor. That's what we're talking about here. So what the hell difference is it going to make to unload the chamber to go get another defense? Who's that defense going to be? And what the hell is he going to do? I don't know what it is, though, but I know right now the only thing, and I've said this,

so I have to be consistent with my comments. There's not a guy on that roster that's under 30 on the back end. Like I would like to see something. Like the league is a young, fast league. And you've got six guys who are 30 plus on the back end. Like they traded for Andre. They moved on from him, traded him to Columbus. Columbus.

And, you know, like, if you are, oh, you're talking about if you're going to grab one or two guys, I'd like to see one or two guys, even if I would love to see. I'd love to see Oliver Eckman-Larsen when he was 27, Tannib when he was 27. Riley, when he was. But they're not. I'd love to see Bob when he was 27. Exactly. But the thing is, is that group, if they are going to make changes,

it has to be one or two guys, whether it's off waivers, whether it's a bit-piece trade. It might not be the sexiest trade, but I would love to see, you know, a guy with a two in front of his name. Logan Stanley was out there. The guy's playing on the top pairing with Schaefer. He doesn't dangle enough, and his internal data doesn't match up with what's going on. Listen, that guy has four assists this year.

He's going to hand the puck to Matthew Schaefer, and Schaefer's going to go and, but Stanley's found a place and found a home with Pete DeBore's group there. It's just, you have to be creative. That's my point. You can't just flush them all out. And, you know, I talked about it, Brian, and I'm probably contradicting myself. But these guys are all under contracts. There's not really much you can do. There's term there, right?

We talked about that last week. Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, ultimately the obvious. obviously the role of the previous administration that led to this that committed to Dan Ev and Ekman-Larsen, not Riley, Riley was signed by Dubos, but, you know, McCabe, like, yeah, those guys, they all have, like, term on their deal. And here's, here's the issue is, you know, it's obvious to see why the Leafs would be hyperactive to try to acquire, you know, young, good defensemen. So would 31 other teams in the league, though.

So it's just not, you know, I know that the reporting on this, I'm not calling into question the legitimacy of it. I think it'd be quite obvious to suggest that Chica and company are doing what they can. But, you know, of course. And it's going to get clicks because the Leafs are, you know, compared to it or tied to it. But who isn't trying to find a 25-year-old good defenseman? Everybody would take that guy. So, like, the idea that the Leafs. 25-year-old defenseman that's good, can skate.

as a puck mover. Right. For the Colorado first round pick in 2029, like, you're not getting that. So I'm just, I'm here, I guess, to, you know, let Leaf fans know, like, don't hold your breath. You know, like

I know Neketian's out there. I know Edvinson's out there. I think if they were going to be traded, it probably would have happened by now. And if it is going to happen for any of those guys, it's going to cost you a lot more than you think, publicly, I'm saying, not Chica. Chica is aware of what the price tag would be

if there even is one on those players. But if there's some mystery, third, fourth, fifth defensemen we're unaware of that somehow is available right now, A, who is that? B, why is he available? And C, how's it only going to cost Ben Danford in a first? It's just not. Like, that's not reasonable. It's going to cost way more and likely another team's going to swoop in and pay before you have the assets to do it.

So I just, I'm not holding my breath on that. You know, this is probably the team. There's been a lot of turnover. They've done a lot. They need their best players to play well. They need their goaltenders to play well. That's what they're going to need. And if they do that, they can be competitive and in the hunt.

And I think be a team that is still knocking on the door and making the playoffs. But, you know, as of now, that has not materialized. And this is like we keep saying, a big week for them to turn the tide. They've got to show it because you use words like urgency and all that. It's true. it's honest, it's legitimate. But after a while, if you keep using the intangible terms, it's a way of saying, hey, stop watching what you're seeing.

Stop watching us. We're telling you there's more to it that we can give. If you can't give it game 10 through 15, 10 through 84 now, then maybe you don't have it, right? So they've got to show it. They got to show it. It's not a must win tonight, but San Jose is coming in, ready to go, man. They get young, skill, fast, tenacious team.

You know, let's see what you got tonight. And the one thing that we pointed out at the start of the season, what was the, you know, if you internally looked at the goal in the first 30 to 40 games, they've got a very tough schedule. Yeah. So you've got to hang in there until the schedule stabilizes a little bit. And I know there's injuries and that, you know, the Tavares injury, I don't think is made enough about it because that really, really kills your depth

down the middle of the ice. Like I just, yeah, I know guys can slide in there and Paul can. slide over in that. But DeVar's was playing pretty well. Yes, he was getting going when he got hurt. He was getting going and he was helping his line mates and stuff like that. Responsible, wins, draws. I know it's going to give opportunities

to a guy like McKenna on the power play, which is nice to see, but that injury hurts. The TAN of injury hurts. The whole league is hurt. That's really what it is. If you could stay healthy, that helps potentially in your standings. But this is a tough schedule for them. They've got to

hold weight. The farther you get down there, the harder it is to climb back. That's the biggest challenge. That's the reality. Exactly. It's not, no one's scoreboard watching right now or anything like that, but it can get away from you. Like you get 20 games in, we all know it. You're 20 games

in, you're 4-5, 3-4 points out. You extrapolate that over the year. It changes things quickly. And they are the team in the division that needs to prove they're back with the big boys. Their last year was a one-off. So we'll see what they've got tonight. Chris Johnston coming up later.

in the hour on John Tavares, you know, on, you know, what's going to happen with Helibuck, Larkin this week, is it potentially a big moving week for him and others? Luke coming up, we've got the Monday nighter tonight, of course, Washington at home against the Niners. So Haysenbro on the clock with that pick, we'll get to it. It is future days on Fandole for the NBA. NBA start tomorrow on the Rapplers in action on Wednesday. So we're to get to some of our favorite futures a little bit later this afternoon as well. Overdrive continues.

TSN 1050 and on TSN4. I know you guys said, I respect you for both being positive. Hazy also great job acknowledging all your past mistakes. That takes a grown man. It does. It takes a grown man to admit mistakes and you did it live on the air. But just, and it's a big week for the Maple Leafs and they can make it right and they can show urgency. But my biggest fear is that this is the Burke team 2.0, where they weren't really good

enough, and guess what they did? They went out and got Dion. That's probably radish right now. They went out and got Phil. That's Marchenko, and they went out and got Jonathan Bernier, and that's the goaltender. And when you look back on it, what did you really get out of it? And that's what scares me. That's what scares me.

Fair. Fair. I mean, a couple things on that. They don't have their picks the next two years, their first-round picks, which Burke traded his first round picks to get Phil Kessel. A little bit different scenario. But do you know what I? It's just the basic concept where it was like, okay, we got to open up the eBay machine here and go get that D man and go get that goalie

and go get that guy. And it ultimately was it really worth it? Like, are you just selling a bill of goods here? Like, is this, I don't know. Again, Austin Matthews wasn't on that team. William Meilander wasn't on that team. They didn't have Gavin McKenna, the equivalent. equivalent, you know, Burke didn't show up and they just drafted Patrick Kane.

You know, so there are a lot of differences. But in terms of the patchwork mentality, yeah, it's a similar mentality from ownership, I think, is really what you're pointing to. And I think that's important to point out here is that they just blew out the GM, the president, the coach, they get rid of everybody. and they brought in people with the intention of turning it around immediately. And that was the attitude of Burke when he arrived

was I'm here, I'm a mover and shaker, you brought me in because I'm going to make them win because I'm here. No, and it's also a bigger picture. Don't even think of being bad with the money that these people got to pay coming into the building. Exactly. And there's more to it even with the ownership and the networks and the TV deals.

There's a lot of, it's a lot connected, right? It's just like the baseball team down the street. Well, and there's one more thing, the elephant in the room, is Austin Matthews, you know, like the looming two years type of thing. You know, and there's been no indication of anything, but it's just they met with him this summer, it sounds like, and a lot of things kind of ties to Austin Matthews. And you get Gavin McKenna, yes, which was a huge plus. But they didn't go, hey, we're going to retool and give us a year or two.

It's like we're trying to do it right now. Trade nyes for Marchenko. Like that was a big swing. And it's paid off so far. I mean, the guy looks really good. He's a good player. It's kind of one for one. They had to chip in more to get them, for sure.

You know, the pick and Andre who they liked. But at the end of the day, like it's kind of one for one. But, you know, when you look at it, there's a lot of things that you're banking on or hoping on. that, you know, pleases the group that's there already or the, you know, the spine of the team. So it's, again, it's only nine games, but you've got to, there is, they've got to get going. I think that's the biggest thing. Because regardless, if you're scoreboard watching it every night, like it's Buffalo getting a point, Montreal's getting the point here, gets two.

Boston, Ottawa, Tampa's been great. Florida's alive, you know, they're picking up points. It's a tough division, right? So you've got to keep. keep pace with the division. Absolutely. And, you know, it's interesting because we always bring up Chica and we never mention Matt Sundin and his role in all this.

But Matt's played a role. You know, we don't know what role. I believe he was pretty adamant about going against Sergey Bobrovsky, you know, and being a pretty significant advocate in that acquisition. Just, you know, I think for obvious reasons, he looked at Bob and thought, hey, I don't trust Stolars and Wall. That was an analysis that I would share. You know, I just, I didn't trust that pairing. Wall's off to a really good statistical start. But he's missed so many games, you know, he just, he wasn't a guy I think you could rely on. And Stolars, you know, just wasn't going to do it

as a number one guy. And Octe Amo is not ready yet. So there was going to be a new goalie in here. And they took somewhat of a flyer. They paid him a lot of money. It's not like it was a PTO and they're giving him a one last crack chance. And that's the thing about Bob and where he comes into focus on this. And, you know, the repeating of history with the organization is, you know, he's effectively Patrick Marlowe 2.0, but he's a goalie. And you need the first year to be a great year. Like, he's got to be great this year.

And something similar in year two. And very close because you know in year three it's not going to happen. Not happening. Like, it's just, it's a foregone conclusion. Everyone knows your three. He's got to be the backup. And who knows what that even looks like. But if you bring, if you give Bob $21 million,

you need him to be one of the, certainly 20 best goals he's in the league this year. Like, half, halfway through. Like, you've got to, if you're looking at it, because I still think he's probably going to be a tandem guy, depending on what number, if he gets 50 games, then that's not a tandem. I think he will play 50.

But if he could just give league average 16 out of 32 as far as statistical, then you're on to something. That's really, you can't be in the bottom third. You've got to be in that two-thirds type of thing in that middle. Exactly. That's going to get you. I think that's reasonable. He's not winning the Vesna.

That wasn't going to happen. I wasn't expecting some resurgence of big game. They're hoping for that in the playoffs if they make it, that he can kind of turn back to class. Now, he is, I believe, historically, a bit of a slower starter. And, you know, it's a new city, new country, new team, new environment, new world for him here. So you've got to give him a little bit of time. But he's going, you know, to his credit.

He's like, I'm going again tonight, and he'll go Thursday. I'll bet you go Saturday in Everton. Like, the guy's going to play. He's going to play. But he's, they need him to be, like you said, Nurtles. The bar has got to be, like, league average, that's what you need. at kind of a minimum. And if you get more than that, it's even better, clearly.

Yeah. But, yeah, Leif's in San Jose tonight. So you got Stenberg in town for the first time. And, you know, he's just so overshadowed because he plays with Celebrini. You know, it's just you never, like, Mesa went second overall. And Mesa's a local guy that's a great story and he's back home. But whenever the sharks are in town for the next 20 years, it's going to be about Celebrini. Like, he's just the guy.

It's like, you know, McDavid. It was the same thing at Pitt. Like, I wanted to see Gino play and, hey, Latang, that's cool. But it was always Sid. You know, Sid's the guy. And Ovi, when he rolled through town, and that was cool to watch Kootznet's off. And I wanted to see Backstrom and these other guys. But really, it was about Ovechkin.

And the same thing applies here tonight. He's the next one. He's the next one. And you're so right about the other guys being star players. If you went to a morning skate the last 10 years down at the rink in Toronto, know, and they all skate out, and you're like, oh, there's Gino Malkin. Like, there's, like, what a stud. And Latang, same thing, and Mark Andre Fleury would be goofing around on the net.

But then the guy walks out, and it's just a totally different vibe. It's like, I don't know, those guys, and it's probably just the way we perceive them, because we just put them up on a pedestal, and they deserve it, and they're so great. But they just got a serious oar about the man. Like, the way they move, or they just, everything, they do is superstar. Yep. Like, they just got a vibe to them, man.

The way they look, the way they skate, the way they shoot it, everything about them. It's awesome to see. Yeah, it really is. Like, I was watching over the weekend. I think it was late last week, the anniversary of Gretzky passing Cordy Howe, which was, when you think about it, like the cinema,

the fact that it happened in Edmonton is so amazing that he scored that goal in Edmonton, and then they had the ceremony. They gave him the mic. The guy was an opposing player. And he's got a mic on the road. It was Billy Ranford they scored it on. I remember like that little backhand chip goal. Six on five late with inside a minute.

Ranford was like, what are you doing? I don't think you're a great night. That's tough. I mean, you know, when you're part of history on the wrong side, who was it? Was it Sorokin that Ovi scored on? And then Sorokin gave him the stick and everything. Yes. Had Ovi sign it.

Right. And their countrymen. And it's just awkward. It's just awkward. It's on the wrong side of it. And just the reason I bring it. that up is just watching Gretzky walk around. Like there was all this video and it's like just a different piece, man.

Different look. Yeah. When we did a couple of shows at the Hall of Fame when like before the introductions, like we caught the people coming in. And I to this day, I interviewed Wayne Gretzky at TSN. And then a couple years later, I saw him at the Hall of Fame. And it was like that interview, it was all gone. I was just stuck on the guy.

And I'm like, that's Wayne Gretzky. and he just had a vibe like he was dressed very nice i'm like that's the great one man yeah and i like he was having a conversation with paul coffee and the old oil contingent was around and cough just said like hey 99 like just to have that clout to be calling him 99 it was just like that is wayne gretsky man yeah crazy yeah that'd be funny to watch someone try to like get in on the circle you know standing there just some guys like what's up yeah just try to like sneak in. They're like, who the hell do you think you are? I know one guy who would do it. Elle's brother stick as he acted. Yeah, she would. He'd be right in the middle of it.

He'd move coffee, say tap on coffee, then kind of nudge them. Say you're moving. Yeah. But anyway, Celebrity in town tonight and Stenberg playing the least for the first time, the second overall pick. So be an interesting battle between those two, him and McKenna this evening. Chris Johnson coming up, Luke Wilson, more on the Monday nighter tonight. The bills were the big win yesterday before they hit the buy the packers are four and two jalen hertz done for the year lots to get into it luke overdrive continues up on youtube live all right luke coming up in about 25 minutes chris johnston here in just a moment leaves sharks tonight leaves columbus tomorrow leifes rangers thursday and then in edmonton on saturday night so a big big week needless to say for the leaps

and you got brady kachuk back in ottawa on wednesday night that's going to be electric on wednesday I want to go. I want to go. I know. It would be great. We should have did the old Boston Pizza, Ottawa. It would be a lot of fun. It would have been nice for Wednesday. It would be a lot of fun for sure. I'm up there Thursday for the game. That's right. That would be great. Our buddy Greenie got an extension. I saw that. I found that interesting timing, right? Right before Brady rolls through it.

I'm not saying it's not deserved. He's done a phenomenal job. But I think that's the old, hey, forget about the past. We're moving forward. We got our coach. We got our staff. Right? Here's an. extension. He's there for a long time. I think you got it through 20, 30, 31. So that's good, good work there from the Sends and Travis Green. Here's our TSN Hockey Insider, Chris Johnston, joining us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Do you, is there any connection there, C.J., Brady coming back.

Let's get some real positive news. Everyone loves Travis Green. He's got himself an extension two days before Brady returns. I don't know if that was the point, but it's certainly not bad timing. And, you know, you look at the two full seasons Travis Greens had in Ottawa. They've made the playoffs. They've taken some steps. I know last year was a sweep in round one, but you talk to the hurricanes,

and they say that might have been their toughest challenge on their run to go in to win the Stanley Cup. So, you know, it's the way the sons have started this year. I think there's no reason for, you know, any reason to think that they're going to take a step back. And this is a reward for a coach who kind of, you know, what's interesting to me is he signed a four-year deal initially. so he's only at the early stages of year three. They're obviously locking him in early the way you might with a player. Clearly the bet from the organization, if you want to call that, is that this is a good time to do it because Travis Green was only going to get more valuable to them if they waited longer.

CJ, what's your gauge on the temperature in Leafland? It's been a bit of a blip on the radar here. We've all kept our emotions in check at the beginning of the show. Hasey made some apologies. Geez, like, we're all positive, all positive. Like, just, we talked about this being a big week. Like, is John Chica and Jim Hiller? Like, do they understand if this week kind of goes south,

things could be a little wonky around here? I'm sure they understand that. I mean, one thing, John Chica doesn't strike me as someone who rides the roller coaster too much. He does seem like a pretty level-headed guy. Maybe tougher to do that when you're behind the bench and you're in the emotion of the game. The way Jim Hiller is, you know, obviously, that's something every

NHL coach is looking at, but the Leafs are teetering a bit. And, you know, I don't think there's any reason to be going too far. I think you're right not to maybe go too far in that direction just yet, but you know, they had some obviously good vibes to start the year.

Everyone's excited. It's a new team. You're trying to get your mind around it. Well, now all of a sudden we're coming up on the 10 game mark and we just know how quickly these things go and they've lost a few in a row. So, you know, that definitely gets your attention. And if you're prone to having your mind wander, sure, if this is a tough week, I imagine next Monday's show will be a little bit more alarmed belly. But, you know, the flip

side of that is I look at these games as a lot of opportunity for the Leafs. You know, the sharks have had trouble holding some leads this year, obviously an exciting young team, have some things in common maybe with Toronto, but, you know, that this is a winnable game. It's on home ice. You know, back-to-back is an ideal, but, you know, Columbus hasn't been set in the world on fire to start the season. So, you know, these could also, it could go the other way where these are a couple games, the Leach can get some points in the bank, maybe settle things down and then get on the road next week in Western Canada.

CJ, do you sense that the league is starting to heat up as far as trade chatter, or at least maybe seeing what the market place is for a few teams and a few players? Well, I suppose there's some desire for in certain places to, you know, look at ways to address the team. What isn't really seeming to happen yet, Noodles? I don't think the teams that we're going to have one day call sellers are sellers yet. You know what I mean? And that's not to say there won't be any trades.

But, you know, I imagine you might be winking a little bit at the Leaf situation. Obviously, a lot of focus on their blue line. You know, it's just a hard time of year. You know, you go make the calls if you're in John Chikas shoes. But you don't know exactly who's truly available. They only have so much to give up in these types of trades. And so I think you're constantly weighing those factors. But, you know, it's a bit of a strange season.

I think with the shorter training camp, you know, certain teams still figuring out what they have. We've seen a lot of injuries early in the year, I think across the league. I don't know if it's exactly tied to the different preparation for the season. So, you know, some things may start to move, but, you know, I don't certainly get the feeling we're going to see a rash of trades anytime soon, maybe as we get into November. Because the truth is, look, like, what's the talk in Philadelphia right now? I mean, teams that have expectations, you can only say it's early for so long. And obviously, we're moving beyond that stage now.

And, you know, that means if your team is underperforming, you know, as a GM, you've got to be looking for ways to, you know, get them out of that. Yeah. I would think if there's a team, you know, it's committed to patience, they could really pounce right now because you reference Philly. L.A.'s got Peter L.A.'s got Peter L. Violet there. They haven't won a game yet. So you don't hire Peter Lavillette without the intention of turning things around.

and trying to be a competitive team. And, you know, I don't know who that is. If it's Vancouver, is it Calgary, who is it that might be like, all right, I can give you someone, but you got to really pay for it. They might be able to lurk in the weeds here and get things done. You know, obviously the Larkin and Hellebuck situation are different than what we're discussing here. You know, this is not, you know, GM's making trades where they don't have players without standing trade requests.

But the Hellebuck front, you know, I get the impression, C.J. that it's a standoff now to the point where if Hallibuck decides I'm showing up, I'm doing it to disrupt you to force you to trade me. That would be his stance, in my opinion. I know a lot of people think it's about the money. What else? You think his reason for showing up is to cause a disruption? I think that's, I think if I'm his agent, I'd say you go there and you let them know I'm walking right in that room.

You don't want to trade me? Okay, I'm showing up. And I think they trade them before they let them do that, right? Be willing to, I'd risk it anyway if I was agent. It would be very, It's greasy anyway, oh. It's greasy anyway. It's the man to know.

He doesn't show up. He doesn't care about the jets. He wants out. Like that's what he... Anyway, C.J., I'm rambling here. You go ahead. Where do you stand on this with Hellabuck? Well, I guess my only thought is

I haven't seen any evidence that he wants any part of going back to Winnipeg himself, right? I mean, he could have just come to training camp day one, and that would have been its own disruption, I think, just by him being there. You know, and obviously it's almost a month later here and he you know is this suspensionally lifts on Friday but you know I don't think the jets believe he really wants to even come to Winnipeg you know obviously he wants to move the process

along in terms of yeah he'll get paid presumably this will open up the opportunity from to train a little bit more to be an NHL player and then ultimately he's his first wish of course is just that a trade happens it's a bit it's a bit of a standoff though like I really don't know how we're only talking about days from from this lifting the suspension I don't know how it's going to go yet. I'm not sure the Jets do. Maybe even Hellebuck doesn't, because if he does want to come back, you know, I think there's perhaps some other things in the CBA that they could look at potentially using in terms of his fitness and being ready to play. You know, at this point, it's already, I guess, a little bit ugly. This is not an ideal circumstance for either side, but,

you know, you can only imagine they're looking at each other and saying, do we want to make this worse. I mean, ultimately, you should think that they both will benefit from the same thing, which is a good trade happening at the closest possible date. So, you know, I don't know if he's coming back just to cause a disruption. I think he wants to resume his career. Quite frankly, I think it was a mistake for him not to show up at start a camp, you know, because that really would have been its own disruption, whether he did anything or not. Just him being there after the way the offseason played out, I think would have made it less comfortable, would have made it, you know, put maybe a little bit more pressure on making a deal. But, you know, I just, you know, I

just think Kevin Sheveled up. He hasn't been through anything maybe quite like this just because of what Hellbuck means to the team. And, you know, he's talking about a three-time Deslin winner and all that stuff. But, you know, he's been through a share of, you know, distractions

before. And he's actually got a pretty good record, I think, and the trades he's made. So, you know, I don't think he's going to be one to blink no matter how these next few days play out. Yeah. I mean, he hasn't blinked yet. And obviously, the Red Wings haven't either. And there's some suggestion that

this is the week for Larkin to be dealt. Is there any reason to believe that's the case? What makes this week different than any other when it comes to Dylan Larkin? Yeah, I don't have any information myself that that confirms that or suggests that. I mean, you know, I still believe the Red Wings would like to try to patch things up with Dylan Larkin if they can. I'm not at all predicting that's going to happen, but I don't think they've even ruled out the possibility of keeping him. You know, what you might have happening around the league is maybe some of those teams that are on his list. You know, he's got 10 teams is my understanding at this point in time that he's willing

to go to. You know, maybe some of those teams are getting a little more itchy and trying to make something happen. But, you know, I don't sense that anything is imminent here. I still think ultimately he's likely to be traded. I mean, to me, if you're the Red Wings, you know, getting the business done with Simon Eddinson's probably a little more pressing. I know he doesn't, you know, command the same level of headlines, but you're still talking about a young defense who had played on their top pair last year. who is still sitting, you know, not with their team as a restricted free agent. And, you know, that's one I wouldn't have predicted.

The guy came to training camp with no contract, and here we are three weeks into the season. He still has no deal done. So, you know, it's been a strange start to the year in Detroit. They did get a win over San Jose over the weekend. Maybe, you know, that win coupled with the de Brinkett deal getting done. Maybe some of the pressure is easing up around that front office. But, you know, I still think Edmondson gets sorted out before Larkin. unless there's some surprise out there lurking around the corner.

CJ, like, just big picture on both these scenarios, why haven't teams stepped up to make these transactions? Is a lot of players not wanting to go to Winnipeg a part of the Hellebuck problem with Larkin? And I just wonder about the agents. We've touched on this numerous times. Like, don't you have to know or have a sense that teams are going to step up and make a play or make the transaction happen before you actually

go and say, I'm out of here and then have all this nonsense happen? Like, it's bizarre. Yeah, it is weird. I don't think, you know, especially the Larkin case when this first, you know, went down in terms of the discussions ever had, this was never intended to go public. So this wasn't a case that I believe, you know, Dylan or his side of things leaked everything to try to spur the trade market. And so, you know, maybe the fact that it became so public.

And in the initial days, he really did only have three teams he was willing to go do. I mean, that obviously limited the kind of business pretty significantly Detroit could do. You know, fast forward a couple months, and here we are. You know, the Hellibuck situation is different because, you know, he was pretty outspoken after the exit meetings last year. First time, I think you're like, okay, wow, what's going on? You know, ultimately puts out his own statement to say that, you know, he has formally requested a trade, you know, following some reporting on that front.

I think the toughest thing with Hellebuck is goalies don't usually bring back what you expect in deals. you know, this is a pretty specific, I mean, goalie that's won a hard trophy. I mean, this guy at his best has been a huge part of Winnipeg's regular season success anyway, and they just feel, I think, naturally, they really can't give up even a couple pennies on this dollar. I think they really feel that they have to take a bigger swing. I think Larkin, where it got a little sideways is there just wasn't enough teams in the mix at the beginning, and then we get into the year, right?

and I'm sure of the 10 teams on Lurken's trade list, I'm sure some of those teams like them. There's no doubt about that, but how much do they like them? How incentivized do they feel to make a move right now? You know, some of the teams on that list are off to a good start this year. They don't need to be worrying about this, you know, three weeks into the season. They don't have the same desire to make the move.

So, you know, I think procedurally how it played out is just different starts. You know, the Hellbuck one, to me, this is going to end by trade. Like, I really don't believe, is for a drag save. number of times we're going to see him back in a Jets jersey. The Larkin thing could go on a little while because he is playing, the team's playing, and what are you going to do now? I mean, other than just, I think he has to kind of suck it up and wait for the right situation to come together, whereas, you know, in the Hell of Buck case,

he's probably not playing another NHL game until the trade happens, so that needs to happen quicker, I think. All right, CJ, we'll leave it there. Thank you for this. All right, boys. Have a good night. Chris Johnston on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Time to Toyota. Check out Toyota Tacoma and the Toyota Tundra pickup trucks, both available as hybrids.

Maple Toyota right near Canada's wonderland on the Maple Auto Mall. Our two coming up. We'll get to something to chew on our best bets. Luke coming up, Monday night pick as well. Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandul. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. I'm Cynthia Lois, and I'm Josie Dye. And we're done pretending we have it all figured out. Each week we laugh, cry, and talk our way through life's messiest moments.

The things you think about but would never say out loud. The questions you are always too shy to ask. Relationships, regrets, awkward moments, and the stuff no one warns you about. It's honest, it's funny, and sometimes it gets a little uncomfortable. But that's kind of the point. This is Cynthia and Josie's Unmentionables. Listen on the free IHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.