OverDrive - Bowen and Ralph on Tavares' injury impact, McCabe's return to the team and the stance in the standings

Episode Date: January 17, 2025

Maple Leafs Radio Commentators Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph joined OverDrive to discuss the biggest headlines around the Maple Leafs, the team's stance in the standings, John Tavares being placed on the IR, Jake McCabe's return to the roster, Joseph Woll's role in the crease and more.

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Here's Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph. How you doing boys? Good, good lads. Just thinking a little bit about Bob Euker ourselves and having, you know, one of the things, my four boys can recite the entire dialogue from Major League from start to finish without cue cards, without anything, and it's probably because of Euker. Yeah, I agree. My favorite sports movie, man. Major League to me is the greatest sports movie ever created. No, no, not, not. You're not gonna say Rudy. He's gonna say Rudy. Of course it is.

I love Rudy. Rudy's a great movie. It is a great movie. But it's no Youngblood. Okay, do you have one Dave you want to throw in? That's a good point. I started Youngblood. So yeah, I should maybe be pumping that tire a little bit. That's right, man. What do you think? You getting royalty checks for that, Bonesy, or what? Oh, you kidding me? I piled them up. Yeah, they're about three cents a year, so I'm just waiting until they accumulate, and

then I'm going to cash them all in. I like it. I like it. Well, we were saying that there was a stat circulating again about how many games Bob Uecker has called, you know, in terms of obviously with Brewers and playoff games and all that. Where do you think you stand Bonesy when it comes to Leaf Games I guess? Well, I will do my 3700th game next month.

The thing that I'm most proud of I think is that the building we're sitting in and the box that we're sitting in the foster Hewitt Gondola he did 41 seasons and I've done 43 I'm most proud that should that is worthy of being proud and and it won't get a statue and I won't get a golden handshake It'll be a foot on the rear No, never that That's not possible. Get Bonesy a statue. Yeah, we gotta get you a statue. Oh, that's what I need, yeah, and have pigeons stop on me all through the rest of my natural unborn life. No, I think that'll be fine. Okay. Ralphie? It'll be more than the pigeons. Yeah. You're gonna stop by too, are you? Oh, yeah, that's great.

Well, let's not assume I'm leaving first. Now, guys, I'm going to mention this in our broadcast tonight. We all love Bob Euker. I'm sitting next to the hockey's rendition of Bob Euker right here. The man has an unbelievable sense of humor. He's a great analyst. He knows stuff about hockey because he's played it and everything else. But he has a talent to enjoy the game and we've talked

about this many times. It's not World War III. If it wasn't fun, no one would come to the games. And this man is hockey's rendition of Bob Eucre and for twenty seven seasons i've sat here and laughed out loud almost every night at something that he has decided that he's going to bring up the present so i'd want to make sure i thought that tires of my body over here what what are the odds i get in johnny karson it that's what i i don't think you got a chance

but you know what maybe maybe we could get you on uh... uh... what's all in a nutshell no live or what what's the one with the four girls all uh... the view yeah you know that you're very happy to have you i think you've been very well in the new are you kidding me i just apologize for twenty minutes that's not going to be a better backpedal if you're in there, Alfie. That would be quite uncomfortable. Yeah, that might be the end of the career.

Yeah, well there you go. What's the mood like down there? I mean, we're trying to get a read. There were boos on Saturday, boos on Tuesday. Wait, you know what? Let me go downstairs and some of the people that are coming in, what's your mood? Have you got mood today? Yeah, I mean, are we expecting boos tonight? I mean, that's what the theme of the week has been so far. Yeah, but can someone please start putting the standings in the newspapers? I mean, they're in first place! Holy smokes, we went through years of not even seeing first place looking up at the standings and it wasn't the whole building booing them out, it was a smattering of whatever

and your point was well made. Yeah, for some people it might be one game a year. You've got to save up and you've got to go and you think you should be entertaining to the max and people should have that expectation. But yeah, I I mean if you said at the start of the year okay in January you're gonna be in first place ahead of Florida ahead of Boston ahead of Tampa would you boo? No, fair point. And certainly even you know New Jersey comes limping in a little bit and we're talking about

how what a great season Sheldon Keefe has had. You know this is all part and partial of the season I would say I would be much more concerned if the Leafs were on the Boston Bruin Tampa Bay Lightning 60 win pace. Because both of them were gone in the first round when they won 60 in the regular season. So I'd be a little more concerned if things were too easy. I think it's great to fight adversity during the regular season. You lose three in a row now, then maybe if you get down a couple in a playoff series, you've got the resolve going, you can battle back and win it. So it's an 82 game schedule and everybody's going to have these ups and downs. I think they've sort of flirted with this for a while

because all the wins against the Islanders, Philadelphia, everything was a one goal game that that could have gone either way. So you know they've been sort of teetering on this and sometimes you need that wake-up call to get back to what made you a lot more successful earlier in the season. Well guys we were discussing earlier in the show you know the situation for the Canadian teams and which Canadian team would be the favorite to go far in the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup for the first time since 93 and and Hayes and I were talking about it and you want west when you look at all the good teams out there from Winnipeg to Minnesota to Dallas to Vegas to Edmonton it's a lot more daunting than what you might face in the east with Boston having a down year and Tampa having a down year and you know this Devils team that's in here tonight is good but unproven. Washington the same thing. Washington is a surprise yeah i think

we have made it that the the the in terms of the road yeah i i would agree with you i i think that they the really good teams in the west are are probably a little bit better uh... than the same schedule or the same teams that are you know uh... button-holed in the East. But you know what, I mean, the physicality of the teams like Tampa and Boston, Washington, is all going to come to bear on

whoever is successful in getting out of the East. So there's no easy road, and it's not any easier. The West, of course, has to travel maybe a little further, but you know what? That's why they choose to live out there. So the hell with it Yeah, exactly. I mean they did we didn't we didn't tell you to do that No, he got a problem with these really nice in the 16 league when everything was over here. Exactly On a train for crying out loud got to travel the road game everything that's right uh... well i i like that optimism and and i'm curious what you guys make of you know to bars being injured he goes on the i are and now max thomas gonna

move up uh... this is a position that it would appear as if brad tree livings gonna try to attack it and try to add to and try to find some depth even with the healthy john to bars but if Brad True Living is going to try to attack it and try to add to it and try to find some depth even with the healthy John Tavares but how much optimism do you have that they'll get through this injury and and you know guys are gonna step up the way that they have to. Yeah well that's happened before right Azeem? Frazier Minton coming up you know when Matthews was out he had what I think five points in his first six or seven games being recalled and I think sort of the

silver lining in the dark cloud of an injury that obviously is going to hurt you as far as the loss of production. I think the reason they were so good early in the year other than just goaltending was that the game was really simplified. It was dump and chase and you know what they were scoring goals that were ugly goals and you're going wow this is playoff hockey this is the way Craig Brubay wants him to play I think they've sort of gotten away from that a little bit the the dump and chase hasn't been there as frequent and you know this this might just be a reminder that boys you know we got to play a certain way to be

successful and sometimes it's taking an offensive weapon out of the lineup that gets you back to that. Yeah and in terms of Jake McCabe's return Bonesy I mean you can really feel when he's not around can't you? Well he and Tanev have really gelled together to produce and I'm trying to think back when was the last bonafide number one shut down pair on defense that you said these guys are really good at it and no I don't know it's going back yeah a couple of decades yeah who did Roman Paul lock play with but yeah and and so they they have gelled well together. They block shots, they're not flashy.

I've said this before, Chris Tannov is the team's most valuable player to this point in time, in my humble estimation. And what's he got in the points department? Goal and 12 assists. So I really think that because this team had gone through the issues of not winning in the postseason, even though they had all of this offensive talent, that when Craig Barube was hired, the mandate was passed down that things are going to change and the style of play has to change. And the tandem of Tanev and McCabe probably personifies that.

That's how we have to play. They've got to block shots, they've got to be good in their own end, they've got to make little passes to get out and not turn the puck over, and that's what they've done for the majority of the time that they have been together and the way this team has played up to this point. So I would suggest that having him back even though they're losing to virus it's a huge bonus to have McCabe back playing with Tano again as that shut down pair. Yeah, big time and it was it looks scary I mean when he went down and that's two head injuries in the last month and a half there was a lot of uncertainty when he would return

but he's back he practiced yesterday Jake McCabe said he feels good and he's ready to play tonight Ralphie will get you out of here on a Joseph Wall question and bones that you play the position Him him running out. I have the equipment you have the equipment anyway. Yes, you fill the net you fill out the equipment You do play you're on the game sheet as a goaltender. I don't know if they have sheets I hope not i don't know if they have sheets but i hope not uh... in terms of joseph wall without stole ours the rest of the way up until let's say the four nations face office stores does not return

do you expect him let's say the next three games tonight saturday montreal monday against hampa does he play all three for you should he play all three or do you think they're going to be cautious with him you know sneaking held to be and maybe get matt murray back up and spot duty it because they just don't believe walk and play that much uh... i think it's gonna depend on his performance you know that the reason is that they can't stand to her it was related to have a uh... a tough night against carolina and i'm not

not that he was terrible but because of uh... what he is shown us early in his career that sort of set the standard of what our expectations are from him. So I think, you know what, as a tough one tonight, maybe you say, okay, you know, we got to make a switch and Hildeby is going to play in Montreal. So you know, even though Joe and I are huge fans of Joseph Wall, I don't think anybody should really just be at the stage in the Leaf Crease where you're just given an opportunity because you've got more experience. I still think the reason that Stolar

and Wall work so well together was there was a competition and I don't think we just take the competition off the board and say, Joe, it's your your ball you run with it till we get the other guy back i'd i still think you might be able to use dennis hill to be in say uh... you know what were there's still a competition here and you still got to play to a reasonable standard before you get back in the net and no no team uh... in this league i think ends up not having to you at least utilize three maybe four and in some cases more

the goaltenders out of their depth and the Leafs have you know I have to be pretty pleased with what they're seeing with the Toronto Marlies and Hildeby has looked like after getting over that one game where he looked a little jumpy and what not yeah he has played and played well well we'll see what comes of it tonight Leafs Devils on TSM radio job on jim ralph with the call uh... always appreciate you guys doing this have a good call tonight will do it again soon you bet guys

there is job on in jimmy ralph pregame coming up as well with the tap man down there in the final one tonight