OverDrive - Dreger on the Maple Leafs division race, the Lightning matchup and Landeskog back with the Avalanche

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the league, the pursuit of Stanley Cup Playoffs for Canadian teams, the significance of the Maple Leafs' matchup against the Lightning for the division, Gabriel Landeskog's return to the Avalanche and more.

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This is a party where everyone is invited. The Earth Day Party Podcast on the iHe heart radio app or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast here's their trigger tsn hockey insider it is uh... award season though you're right in terms of not necessarily who's gonna win but who's gonna be nominated and i'm curious if you think tracks will start with you marty saint louis can end up

you know as a as a nominee for coach of the year uh... could travis green now that all the laws punched a ticket where do you stand on that well i think those men have to be in the conversation no pay i need all i mean you you look at uh... from the elite angley more montreal than on one uh... you know i want me made some changes and, you know,

bringing Travis in the coaching staff was a big part of that. But it felt like, you know, given the experience of their younger core, that the Ottawa Senators were at least drifting towards being a playoff contending team. And they've they've exceeded that goal. But they're also further ahead in my mind in the transition phrase than Montreal. So why wouldn't Marty St. Louis be in that talk? And I've heard Oh talk about all the other, you know, potential major awards, you know, I mean, if you had to vote today,

you'd have to give strong consideration because as much as Montreal has been planning and hoping to get to this place honestly guys at the start of the year I think that Ken Q's and Jeff Gordon felt like all right let's be a real strong competitive team if there's opportunity to add a piece here or there we're going to do that but let's make sure we nibble like let's make sure we at least nibble at a playoff spot and here they are, they've taken a bite, they've locked it down, and how do you know what's gonna happen in the playoffs? So, I mean, both those coaches, general managers,

just the players, both organizations deserve a ton of credit for where they're at. And the fact is we know when you drop puck in the playoffs, how do you know what's gonna happen the first round? There's no way of gauging that possibility. Yeah, I mean Drex we had a little mini Jerry's there and You know we were Hayes I can't remember what you ended up with a 28% on the the three Canadian teams getting past the first round you went to 40

28 step up for the country and I said 40%. I was 28 and O was a little lower. But I mean, I just said give me a week and if it's a battle of Ontario then I'm on it, but if not then I still think it'd be tough to get three through. But where do you make of it? It's amazing. And let's not forget, if Calgary wins tonight and they're playing mini on Friday, they've got a chance to catch mini, which would be a sixth team, which would be insane.

I don't know if they'll make it, but they're on that cusp as well. What do you make of a lot of these Canadian flavors content going forward here, Drex? Well, it's awesome, right? Coast to coast, we have a lot to talk about you know not just in the trial market but you know i i i again i'm gonna repeat myself i felt like a lot of those reading take the step i didn't see much real being as as bold as they've been so kudos to them

you know trial were always sort of on the fence can we get to the first round and all that we And you flip over to the West and you know Edmonton's going through some turmoil now for the playoff march, but only because of injuries. So they should be fine. You know, Vancouver's been kicking the shins a dozen different ways this year yet. You know, they continue to keep it somewhat interesting. But Calgary for me is a bit of an outlier because now I'm eager to see what Calgary could do, what Craig Conroy and that management group can do to bolster what they have in that group.

I think a lot of us thought going into the start of the season, maybe there was gonna be more of a tear down approach. And that's hard to do when you've got Nazem Kotter, you've got Jonathan Huberto, and you've got some other pieces that you can see being, you know, it's not cornerstone, just strong security experience pieces. Those guys have come alive and they've kept it interesting all year. Sure, they've had fags with which kind of backed them out of the playoff conversation, but here they are again. So I love the fact that across the seven Canadian teams there's intrigue in all seven markets and I don't know that we've said that in a long time. With Darren Drager at TSN Hockey Insider, everyone's got a different

opinion of how important this game is for the Maple Leafs tonight in Tampa back to back after a performance last night. What is your stance on the importance of not only a win tonight but a better effort from the whole crew? Well, that's what it is, Brian. It's a better effort from the whole group. We, that's what it is Brian. It's a better effort from the whole group like We know that Toronto's have recent success against Florida But they did not play like they were ready last night to the Florida Panthers and you know There's there's something about Florida That just doesn't fit the eye of the players the Toronto Maple Leaf. And you can see how that game was sort of

unwinding, right? And then they go into the third period and it's one-one game and it's there for the taking. And Toronto, for the most part, since mid-March has been really good as Craig Barube has reminded us, managing games and then finding a way, if necessary, in the third. And they didn't do that. So I don't know if you can call it a one-off, because inevitably, you're going to have to face that team. You're going to have to face that team. There's some jockeying that's going to happen in the division, potentially in the Eastern Concords, but for the Maple Leafs to achieve their goals, they're going to have to get

through Florida. So now you kind of lay the egg that they did, you know, last night and you're facing a Tampa Lightning team tonight that is really strong and is headed in the opposite direction. So there's no doom and gloom required here. Like I still feel strongly that the baseball is going to win that division. That's what we're talking about. But you hear Paul Maurice talk to Mark Masters prior to the game and he's not worried about the fact that they've got leg, you know, they've got some nagging injuries. And yeah, they had pieces, Barkov come back into the mix last night. But they're talking about the mental aspect and the game that you have to play to

get ready for the playoffs. And that was their focus going into that game and They executed so let's see what Toronto's response is tonight against Tampa Bay Darren what do you think set stake for Mitch Marner heading into the playoffs pretty? Crazy scene William Nylander got his deal. I believe in January of last year He might have signed his contract halfway through the season, somewhere around that, it might have been earlier. This guy's contract did not get done. It did not get done before the deadline, it's not done now. What do you think is at stake with the player?

If he's incredible in the playoffs, do you think it's like, that's the guy we knew you could be, and if he's awful, it's like, we just can't buy into that any longer? Is that what you're looking at here? Well, yeah, you've painted both pictures, there's no doubt about that. I think from a market perspective, maybe it's easier on the Maple Leafs if he doesn't have a real strong postseason. And the only reason to believe that he is not going to have that is because of

other postseasons. But wire to wire, in this regular season, he's been terrific. He's been terrific. And I think he is going to have a real good playoff run. And he certainly isn't going to be the reason that Toronto Maple Leafs don't have the level of success that we feel like they need to have. He's only one player. Everybody else can have to find their way and I understand that sounds cliche but on the market you know Miner is going to get paid so this isn't a financial thing it gets financial if Miner doesn't have the seat the postseason that everybody hopes that he's going to have and it makes it easier then if he wants to go to July 1st, which we believe he will, for Toronto to push away and say, okay, well, we're going to invest that 13.5, 13.25, whatever that

is somewhere else. It makes it easier for the team. But I don't know that Mitch is losing any sleep over it. I think he has a high level of confidence in his own ability and execution, and he thinks that this postseason looming is gonna be his best yet. With Darren Drager, Gabe Landisgog was loaned to the American hockey league team on a condition extent so does this guarantee he will play for the Avalanche this year? Where do we stand on that? Yeah well

Brian it's impossible to guarantee because this guy hasn't played in three years right and everything that he's gone through man they just they should Well, Brian, it's impossible to guarantee because this guy hasn't played in three years, and everything that he's gone through, man, they should get... If he plays in the playoffs, just give the Masterton Trophy to Gabe Lathaus for the next couple of years because everything that he's endured has been really incredible. It's been crazy. And I don't think that many of us expected that he would ever get to this point. You know you think that a player on the

contract long-term contract who's got that intestinal fortitude wants to continue to push, try, you know he stays around the club because he wants to be around the players, he's got the medical treatment and facilities around the avalanche. Okay a lot of it sense, but to get to a place now which I didn't think he was gonna get to, I mean the guy had like cartilage transplant surgery. Like talk about exploratory and just kinda out there sort of procedures from a hockey perspective,

that's out there. And yet here he is, you know, he's going to the American Hockey League on a conditioning stint. And as Chris McFar he's going to the American hockey league on a conditioning stand. And as Chris McFarland has acknowledged to the media, you know, the expectation is that he'll be ready for the playoffs, if not the start, then soon into the playoffs. And just, I wonder about how impactful he can be physically, but just the emotion, the heart and soul storyline behind it, I mean he's going to be a real

nice security blanket or an emotional boost for that team going into the playoffs. Dreggs, the quiz last night, I was in between periods kind of watching it. Can you walk me through some comments about Wayne Gorski? Yeah, there was one that was a bit uncomfortable about a lot and i don't know if you guys have ever been in the city well i do it's overdrive she'd been an awkward conversations where your your only way out is just start laughing because it's a bit weird to be awkward you know do you know that brian

yeah bit weird, it's a bit awkward. Noodles, you know that, Brian, you know that. So I can't quite recall the specific question, but I think it was, you know, who has the better office? You know, Wayne Gretzky's office behind that ad, or OV obviously, top left circle. And O was talking about the Greek one, Wayne Gretzky, we can appreciate that. But I think his comment common something along the lines of i used to

although wayne now i said look at the defensemen just ogling gretsky behind the net and i was okay yeah okay that's an ogling like what dot earth and then i asked regs regs started pissing himself laughing and i thought that was a half the stop it because i don't think we can get through this if you keep laughing and i'm like what does it mean he goes well you're right it's staring

and i'm like okay good but then he goes in a sexual manner and i creepily yeah yeah like a lot for a way. Like, I mean, nobody uses that word anymore because of its true definition. Yes. In the moment, you know, oh, sold it hard. I just, so, and I'm nervously laughing because I'm pretty sure as soon as he said it, I'm like, it kind of means the context is a little bit off there.

I know what he's trying to say. Poor Lindsay, who's the nicest woman we have at TS. Just a terrific person. She's looking at me going, uh-oh. So good. Anyway, that's what we have. Well, listen, i think it lands the people and i don't know if you're out there

it doesn't land man it's just one of those things where you just said to make the sign of the cross in your life we're done here that not just thank god it was only the word ogling that i came up with because i had like sometimes you're just like i don't know what i could have said there it somehow works That is true. Staring with sexual interest. Exactly. It's been blunt.

Very blunt. All right, Dreggs, well, good luck on the panels moving forward. Try to keep your boy in check. All right, fellas, have a good night. Darren Dregger joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. That just happened with me, Vashi Kapelos. Canada Decides 2025. Stay informed with my exclusive iHeart Radio podcast, line. the momentum.