OverDrive - Dreger on the Maple Leafs looking to carry momentum, Woll playing in the crease and Rantanen's exit from the Avalanche

Episode Date: May 7, 2025

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs looking to carry momentum against the Panthers, Joseph Woll looking to perform in the net, the Jets' mentality against the Stars, Mikko Rantanen's contract negotiations with the Avalanche and more.

This May, iHeartRadio celebrates Asian Heritage Month. Discover powerful stories, vibrant cultures, and unforgettable music. From inspiring podcasts to playlists that span east, south, southeast, and west Asian artists. We're honoring the voices shaping our world. Listen now on the free iHeartRadio app. And at iHeartRadio app and at iHeartRadio.ca Drags, first 30 minutes I thought they were slow and didn't look very good and look disjointed and the second 30 minutes they've, I think they got a little bit going there.

Yeah, I would agree with that. I mean, the series I don't think is going to be different than a whole lot of series that we've seen historically. So, you know, you're going to see probably the top lines basically neutralize each other, right? For the most part. I mean, you know, Nye's I thought was really, really good for the Leafs. I thought Taveras was excellent. Willie gets a couple. Yeah. You know, Patrick already seems to work there. So what do you expect from Florida's pushback in this one everything? Well, they're just gonna be tighter They're gonna be more physical or try and be more physical I actually thought that the third line the March and line for Florida good had some good looks

Um, you know some things that March and is probably gonna want to tighten up yeah, you know, maybe a couple of of tighten up. Yeah, you know, maybe a couple of options there where he could have or should have shot the puck and didn't. But you have to believe that Florida is going to be that much better in game. Well, it's interesting where you're focused on Bennett, you're drawn to Kachuk. But Barkov or Hagee, Reinhardt is probably what gets you when you're not paying it. If you're, I guess I'm speaking more as a Leaf fan, it's not like Craig Barube and the

Leafs aren't aware of this, but you're going in thinking, don't let Bennett get you. Don't let Kachuk get Cook in here. Don't let Bob where it's like the Barkov-Reinhardt-Verhege line is one of the great lines in the Leaf. And more than capable, it's very, it's very likely that if Panthers win tonight, it's because that line snapped out. Find something, yes. And Barkov has a night tonight and he neutralizes Matthews. Yeah, I didn't think like those three

were quite quiet. I noticed them. I thought Verheggie was skating well and was trying to get in and stuff. They were quite quiet. I was complaining and asked Brian because he was in the billy. I thought the ice was terrible. I'm not lying like the puck was bouncing all over on both teams not just yeah and and Florida looked disjointed their passes looked off they they looked slow and deliberate where the Leafs had lots of jump and they they they executed their game plan early you know is it the same thing for the Leafs Draggs words like start like you did last game. You might not score 30 seconds in, but you have to have that same mentality. It's chip and chase, be physical,

let that, try and force that D to play in their own zone. That's exactly the game plan. And look, Craig Berube and the coaching staff, the Maple Leafs, who had been preaching that for the last two months. It's not because of how you have to match up against the defending Stanley Cup champions and you know you guys I'm sure have talked about this a lot in the last couple of days but yeah I mean the Bennett thing matters because it took your number one goaltender out of the series at least temporarily yeah right you know the word is he's feeling better yeah it seems like a stretch that he'd be back in the mix in less than a week So that keeps him sidelined for games three and probably game four

But there was that there was the Matthew Kachak nonsense at the end of the game trying to get to Marner But if you're Florida, you're also looking at you know situations where okay, you know patch already takes out Barkov earlier Yeah early in the game. No call there Yeah, you had the trip on Reinhardt before the Matthew Nyes. Drive into the net. Yeah, but that's the balance that goes along with everything this time of year. The difference is, it's Toronto.

And the volume is that much louder in this market than it is anywhere else. But I think the thinking of the Maple Leafs fan base aside is the best way to get your pound of flesh if that's what you're looking for is is to play harder than you did in game one right out of the gate but play legally right as the last thing that you can afford to do is take a major penalty enough floor to bounce three by you and it's an even series yeah so I think that the forecheck is gonna be key that's. Yeah. So I think that the forecheck is going to be key.

That's always the case, but I think that Toronto is going to be dialed in tonight, right from puck drop. Yeah. And you mentioned Stolaris like if, if it is, you know, upwards of week, um, do you think Joseph Wall can do anything to put himself in a position to stay in the net? Yeah. Like in other words, if Stolaris is, let's say he's back, I'm healthy.

I can go game five, but Walls played great in games two, three and four because this has been a tandem all year. Here's a scenario for you. And again, hypothetical. Careful, you're going to radio yourself. No, because I think it's a fair one. It's game six. Okay. Heading down to Florida, the leafs are up three games to two and joseph wallace has looked good now but still ours is available night maybe maybe game five wall has has stolen that game or are put them ahead to make it three to the summit at some

point in the six games here somebody's up three dot right that's that i think you're talking about in six and i think we're talking about right exactly it's crazy as the ebbs and flows without stole ours how well he played it's not a wally pips an area it's not like that you know but yeah you you could lose your crease at any time in well this was unfortunately was all ours was a split crease this year yeah but it wasn't a playoff not down like it actually on the stretch in the playoffs

like craig berube's been very clear i want one guy yeah for the most part that's who is right yeah and and look i mean this up there's nothing the greenlight opportunity here for joe wall now they don't really have a choice and he has to be good uh... and he was good when given the opportunity when he was healthy in the regular season so you're going in in the circumstance that he had to go

In in game one man. That's a challenge mentally Eric You know he's going to be sharper and better prepared for the start tonight in game two But he has got to manage that crease Like his life depends on it. Yeah, not his career You know and I know I'm being ridiculous and sensational and saying that but I a hundred percent would support the idea if if you're leading in that series three two you're going into game six and Joel Wall is the reason why you're leading or a big part of the reason why you're leading in the series stabilizing force you name it how you got to give him that net I would have

to give him the net I'm getting crazy and way ahead of myself, but I'm just trying to paint the hypothetical and say, but it is, he's got an opportunity and O said it, that he's got an opportunity here to paint or carve his own pathway. There was a stretch here this season where he played very well and it was in the absence of Stollers where Ster's had that knee injury. Stoller's was out for like eight weeks. Yeah, he was out for two months. Yeah, yeah.

Right before the Four Nations. And then you throw the Four Nations in and it felt like three months the guy didn't play a game and then he comes back down the stretch. Obviously he was Chief's choice to be the number one because he has been and he did carry the weight. This is a massive game because it can go a different way how significant

do you think the uh... insertion of erin eckblad in the lineup for four days tonight i mean i think it's huge i mean in every sense a you know he's obviously a physical guy probably a little gun shy given everything that he's up and fair in the last couple of months you know they need him in the lineup I mean they're they're that much better

when he's in the line and been every sense you know just how he manages the puck you know he's a mobile enough guy makes good passes he can shoot from the point I mean just all of the attributes of a well-rounded defenseman that you want this time of year, that's what Eklad provides. He's a number one defenseman. What he provides. Like he is, regardless.

Now the depth of number one is probably subjective, but he's a top player for them. And you know, Jones has done a really nice job, but when you have two of them, like Jones can work a power play, so can Eklad. Eklad can shoot the puck, like he is physical. He is not the meanest player, ask Brandon Hagel about it, but I mean, he is a guy that will finish his checks. And the guy who scored the other night, Belinskis, is that the guy who's coming out?

I do believe, I don't know, it's a left shot, right? So, but in the end, they did miss Ekblad. They do miss him in a sense that he is a minute muncher. He's a 22, 24 minute defenseman. Yeah, he and Mink Forsling are going to play a lot. Right, that's your top pairing. I think their D are really good. Well, and you can tell the way Toronto took advantage of not having Ekblad in the lineup

in game one. Like every time Jones had the puck or was in a position To be hit they got a lick on they tagged them and that's got to continue Yeah, it's got and it's got listen you got up You got to go back blood into that too because you mentioned it He may be gunshot you coming off the suspension and he didn't play for 20 games prior to that Like yeah, who knows who knows what you're gonna get out of him Starting this evening Darren Drager or TSM hockey insider in studio

We get Jets and stars tonight How do you want how do you prepare for this considering what these two teams just went through and the fact that it's a borderline Miracle they both survived no kidding. Well, it sounds like both teams are getting Healthier I believe Jason Robertson has been cleared, so that'll be a boost obviously for the Dallas Stars. Mira Hyskinen isn't quite ready yet and then on Winnipeg's side you saw that Morrissey and Logan Stanley both skated but that was their first time on the ice. I mean they call it a game time decision. I don't think that either one of those guys is quite

ready yet, we'll see. But I'd be real surprised if Mark Chivley their number one center isn't back in the mix he took regular line rushes as part of the morning skates who will get a better handle on that you know when when they go through warm-up but I was in that building on Sunday night for game seven and come off oh my god like I so as soon as Lowry scores a double overtime winner, I mean, literally the building is shaking. It's shaking. And my sense was I left the building probably an hour after the game ended and the streets were basically bare, which was shocking to me.

But I'm thinking what happened is, you know, they were so well oiled prior to the game and then post game, they probably have a couple of pops on their way and then they're just emotionally fried and mentally Drained where were you? I mean I was texting with Mike Lane going. Okay, what's our schedule because at Winnipeg's out like you're you're It was two minutes left. They're down three one bonkers like you. Like so you're trying to plan your life ahead and going okay what's the schedule, what's you know is Ableton in the middle,

like you're looking at things and all of a sudden it's like okay, okay another goal and then the goalie comes to life. Like Hellebuck comes to life. Oh yeah, third period and overtime man, he was rock solid. He was really good, really good. Challenging out of his net.

Aggressive and it almost like he said to hell with it. I mean if I'm going down, I'm going to go down being super aggressive, not waiting, you know, kind of getting towards the puck instead of letting it just go by him and wave at it. To me, I thought he was fantastic, but we don't know what he's, you know, is it the monkey off his back and he just takes off or is it like a really see shades of what we saw that's the the million dollar question yeah i do know the sidebar that i'm looking forward to is the young guns

here right you know scott earne al after game seven said and not just because cool profanity was clutch in game seven obviously with two one believe will redirects but he he called him one of their top forwards in the series and that was a tough heavy series against the saint louis blues not just the goals but how we went to the net you try to apply himself physically is not a big kid so what is he capable of in terms of trying to elevate in this series against

dallas and then you look the other side of the sheet you you see Wyatt Johnson that's one year old potential phenom. He's a star in the league. Earned a mega contract. Honestly those two kids I think are going to be as much fun to watch as anything in there. Yeah I think you're right on that. The fascinating guy for me and he wasn't I mean well he did get an assist on the game tying up. Nikolai Ehlers. Because I don't know, like, we didn't really pick it up. He was rusty. He was.

His first shot on goal when he first got back, I don't know if you guys saw it, he shot right. Did you see that play? Yeah. It was unbelievable. He had a chance to score and it was a cross body. So he switched hands and shot right and he got a pretty good shot at it. Made a good save. He's a very unique player. Oh yeah. Immensely talented unrestricted correct? Yeah yeah like yeah they've got work to

do to figure that out. They've got work to do there same thing. They would want to keep him too. Yeah Joe from the bridge that brought up Aaron Echblad Sam Bennett these guys are available. UFAs. You said the other night. It was it's funny we're talking about Sam Bennett in the gray area and like and you go tree be calling for a Suspension tomorrow and then you'd be calling him on July 1st on I need you here like type of thing because I mean the carryover Suspension said wouldn't that be hilarious, but but there are like Sam Bennett would be a coveted player Oh, yeah act glad same thing nicolai elers i mean he was has had injury issues that's the only thing that

you'd have to be in mindful of he doesn't get a good players being available to sell as well absolutely obviously the biggest obviously the biggest one yet mitzvah nico rand and almost got there carolina didn't screw it up but i don't i still don't know like Like Joe Sackett speaking and I again,

we always go truth serum. I would just love all of them in the room and go here's some truth serum. What exactly happened? What the hell happened? Well, look, Sackett as you would expect, Hall of Famer, an uber competitive man, super competitive, everything he does, golf, everything.

I feel like at some point he's gonna I'm gonna find a way to stick it to whoever right the agent the Carolina Hurricanes because you you Ray and I talked about this in the podcast yeah you trade him to Carolina which with all due respect kind of an outpost yeah yeah and then he ends up you know right back and worse nightmare and nemesis like it you know there's got to be payback there's something there man and and yet you know Sackett was saying today it's thought you can't pay three guys all that money and he's talking about McKinnon and McCarr yet by all accounts they offered him like

ranting in something so if he accepts it then how does your philosophy play out? You don't have to go back though and say okay this is last and final. Yes. We're giving you the full heads up. Right and we're going to trade you. We're going to trade you. What do you think? So again it is what May 7th I don't want to radio us or whatever I was like you have to think this Nathan McKinnon is sitting right beside Sidney Crosby right now with the World's. One of his best buddies. Come on, Sid. And go, okay now, it's time for you to leave Pitt.

We need you. And McKinnon calls Sackick and goes, I don't care who you're trading, that guy's on my team next year. Because McKinnon, lost in all this, how pissed he was in his media after the game, saying, we lost to a team with their two best players out, I don't know where we go from here.

That was your best player. Oh, he's angry. That's, that's- He's still angry. But that's what I mean. You can't say, like these guys are close. I even, I'll even go a step further. The guy who was playing tonight for Florida is available too. You can't say, like these guys are close. I even, I'll even go a step further.

The guy who was playing tonight for Florida is available too. Marshann, three buddies. That's right, yes. And they're training this summer going to Colorado. And that's, that team is built for exactly those two guys. Exactly. You know, and you're not going to have to commit longer term. No.

Sid's got his extension, so you don't have to worry about that and you know March he'll get whatever he gets Well, I just I was getting crazy this afternoon thinking about it and I don't know why I don't know how it came up But there was well you gotta have something in the system I mean, that's the thing like they traded they traded Richie in a first for Brock Nelson, right? No, so I don't think I'd go on the series Charlie coils Charlie coils you know there wasn't a whole lot there and not good man great acquisition but that's the thing like well I don't know what else they have those guys would have been you know you could see that the thought process beside behind those trades there were yeah no exactly and they look great at points down the

stretch but it just we all knew there was gonna be a cup contender off the board because of that matchup. Yeah. They're up two-nothing going into the third. That's another thing where if you're Joe Sackig, I think you also have the right to say, guys, you're up two-nothing in the third. Yeah. Yeah, what do you want me to do about that?

Exactly. How about don't let Rantanen score twice and have four points? And walk through both defensemen. Yeah, exactly. Have you guys had a rate for our ones? Yeah, we had one an hour and a half ago. Now we're talking more or less. Did he talk about, he wouldn't say on the podcast what Mika Ratnam was saying to the Colorado bench Oh really, but he said he was saying some stuff and it wasn't it obviously wouldn't be directed at the players

I mean those guys are buddies and you know He went to war and won a Stanley Cup with a good chunk of them But he was he was verbally and physically delivering a strong message to Colorado management. Did he not look up, like is that, is that just the internet? I don't remember seeing that. I love that. Is that the internet though? Like is that-

Probably. I didn't see him pull a Babe Ruthie. I feel like after he scored the dagger, the empty netter, I feel like, didn't they say he looked up to like- Possibly. The thing is, it was in Dallas. So would he know where they were? Well, you might.

I guess. Let's go. So I hope so. I love that. Like that's gamesmanship. But you imagine he scores the empty net or the dagger and then, you know, looking up.

We all talk about Shane Wright, given the the horse eye to Montreal. I have the draft took Slavkovsky instead of him. Yeah, I mean, in fairness, rather happy to he was pretty quiet out there to slow costings that amya i mean if there is a very happy to use pretty quiet in the first four games of that series agree on it showed up in the biggest way when needed ever sure did yeah right drugs

near the games tonight various their trigger to send hockey inside this may i radio celebrates asian heritage month discover powerful stories, vibrant cultures, and unforgettable music. From inspiring podcasts to playlists that span east, south,

southeast, and west Asian artists. We're honoring the voices shaping our world. Listen now on the free iHeartRadio app. And iHeartRadio.ca.