OverDrive - How can the Maple Leafs get back on track? | OverDrive: Oct. 5, 2026 - Hour 2

Episode Date: October 5, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN NFL Analyst joins to discuss the headlines from Week 4 in the NFL and Hayes and Bro's selection for the Falcons and Saints' matchup. The guys discuss the start of the season for Canadian teams in the NHL, the Maple Leafs' keys to success and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

Power 2 Overdrive continues. Powered by Fandul. We've got a Monday nighter tonight down in New Orleans, Saints, Falcons. The line is moving. It was two and a half. Thanks, Duky, for this matchup. Like, you guys got that England game. We get this garbage game.

This is our game tonight, just for the record. I just got a message that said Owen Wilson, no? You guys picked last night, and you picked a loser. You guys were on Detroit. Like, this is why we are so comfortable. Go ahead then. We know you guys are going to pick losers. And it's just we can float through half the season and we will collect tremendous information.

And then when we're in the mood to start hitting winners, we'll just hit winners and take off. Because you guys just can't do it. You can't do it. Carolina was the lock of the century last night. You just can't do it. And, you know, the tax chain over the weekend picking both teams. I love that. You can't lose when you take both teams.

Look, as long as it is. As long as you just before the game say that's our pick, you can go back and forth as much as you want. That was outrageous, though. It was. It was. Pick both teams. People are like, uh, uh, what are you doing then? Like, who called it out?

Was it Al's brother going, what are you doing here? Yeah. Well, Luke sent Rams, Eagles, Rams, Eagles, Rams, Eagles. And then all of a sudden the Rams cover, he's like, we're on the Rams. I'm like, oh, okay, of course. It's actually a brilliant, brilliant maneuver. We're going to take both teams tonight so we can. can't lose. Let's bring in

Luke Wilson, Artisan. When Wilson is cooking. You cracked the code, buddy. You just pick both teams. Parts, parts. I want to be honest with you. I just heard that whole little thing. It's just disappointing, but it

just goes to show you how scared they are right now. You know, the idea that we went in and took the Rams, even though they've been struggling, to cover three and a half, on the road in Philly, that's true greatness. That call right there is greatness. That was great. That is greatness. And that's a belief in God. And that's what we do parts. We say focus. That's right.

Like I think the bigger story in that is that the Eagles, like Jalen Hertz doesn't throw the ball three yards down a field. Like he just checks. It's horrendous. You know who's getting torched right now is Ricky Siriani, man. People love to torch him. Yeah, they do. What's weird for me is, you know, we're not that. far removed from when they were and I know Saquan got hurt but we're not that far removed from when Sequin was getting benched in game 17 and the option was does he break the single season rushing

record or do we keep him healthy? Like we're not that far removed from Jalen Hertz being a Super Bowl MVP. Even in the loss he had in the Super Bowl lit up the scoreboard and there's an argument that like watching them yesterday that they're one of the worst offenses in the league. Now granted a lot of injuries. Devante Smith doesn't help. Dallas Goddard. They're banged up on the O-line.

But everybody has injuries at times. And they're still being able to throw the football. And again, there was some weather, but 93 pass yards, and you're not even attempting to push the ball down the field. The one touchdown to Cooper was an inch away from being intercepted. The run game is putrid. What's crazy about it is the NFC East is now wide open. real world. I'm not saying I

favored this, but there is a real world where James Winston wins the NFC East this year. Again, not my pick right now, but you can't count that out. Parts, even though I love you, but that's some crazy-ass talk. Well, first off, I can't even pronounce the

name of the current quarterback for the commanders. They're very fortunate. They're not doing it. Very fortunate for Hayes and Muppet that they were able to get an injured quarterback once again. Another international game, but anyway. So commanders are out. Now you go to Philly.

Do you think Philly's going to win this division? Do you feel good about saying that? I don't, but could I see them still doing it? Of course I could. Agreed. It's open. And then the next thing is Dallas. Now Dallas got a big win in Houston. They did. They found a way that was the best their offenses looked,

et cetera. But are you going to sit there and trust Dallas's defense right now? No. I mean, honestly, I look at the NFC in general, Luke. And, like, I think obviously Seattle, they got Donald back. They're going to be there in the end. Yes. The Niners look phenomenal.

Agreed. They got injury problems, but big win yesterday against Denver. Agreed. The Rams are going to be good. Those three are making the playoff. But beyond that, like the NFC, like the Lions defense, they can't win like that. They can't. They stink.

They're horrendous. I'll tell you, I'll tell you Hayes. They can't. So, as you know. Packers are not good. Like, the Vikings are not a good team. I'm sorry, they're great defense. I'm out now.

You can't win with that offense like that. You can't over the course of the season. There's a lot to unpack there. We'll start with the Lions. Calvin Shepherd right now is the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL. And it's not really close. Like, yesterday, and I'm watching, and part of it is like, I'm hoping to have a two-game lead in our competition.

I was ready to like, but hashtag stay focus. Sure. I felt pretty good about the lion's pick. I really did. And I'm watching this thing, and I'm like, okay, who can catch the ball in Carolina? Ted McMillan. After that. After that, who's going to be their guy?

And I would argue that most people, most casual NFL fans could not name more, like Waller's there as a tight end, could not name most of their receivers. And McMillan had 16 targets for 14 catches, 192 yards. And I'm like, at what point are you going to say, okay, Bryce Young is killing us with Ted McMillan, let's take him out of the game, and let's make him throw to METCHI, shout out of the Canadian, let's make him throw to anyone else, the other tight end tremble, even Darren Waller, who does not play a ton for them right now. Like, I could not fathom that they were just continuing to play man coverage one guy on Ted McMillan and letting Bryce Young go, thanks, thanks, thanks,

again, and again, and again. So the Lions' defense, and schematically, I think, is futureed right now. Now, Minnesota is a different story, okay? I think if they can somehow get adequate quarterback play, which is a big game. How are they getting that, though, dude? That's the problem. I'm with you, Hayes. I'm with you.

I don't, haven't written off Kyler Murray yet, but he certainly is not doing much to impress. But, you know, he is new in a new system, so is there time for Kyler? But it is crazy. I read a thing last night where it was like, the Vikings are 4-0 and didn't score an offensive touchdowns in two games. They're the four team in NFL history. This is on Twitter, so it could be wrong. And the other three, I think it was like the 1933 teams that don't even exist anymore.

Like, it's crazy that they're able to do this and play so well defensively. you know, I do think the bears are in the conversation for being, you know, obviously right there. But the NFC is a bit of a joke outside of the NFC West right now. Yeah, no. So what has been established is that you have to win the NFC West. Yeah. Like that is going to be a bloodbath. And the Niners are 4-0, Seattle's 3 and 1, Rams are 2 and 2 now, and they're going to play each other a ton still.

But that win in Australia is going to be significant. and it has the chance to be very significant, even though it was week one and halfway around the world. But one of them is getting home field. I think the number one seed in the NFC, and the other two are going to have to go on the road to get to a Super Bowl. I agree. That's what's coming.

It's not going to be easy. Hey, he's honestly, it's been that way, and I know I'm dating myself here, but I go to the infamous Richard Sherman Tip game against San Fran. That year, we went 13-3, Kaepernick, and the Niners, went 12 and 4. And they had the tie breaker over us because we split. We lost a candlestick.

We won at home and we had lost a divisional game to Arizona, which was a bit fluky. But I remember going to that final week being like, if we don't beat the Rams, we're going to have to go to San Fran. And if we go to Sam Fran for the NFC championship game, we probably don't win. We probably don't win. And that's kind of how it was last year I thought, felt like as well for Seattle. If they had to go to Los Angeles in the playoffs, I'm not sure they beat Matthew Stafford in that team. last year, the way they were humming at the end of the season. So I'm with you

where these games matter, and I hate to flip the script on you, but you know what else matters? Losing to New England at home. I was going to say parts, that loss. That loss, like should you not have smelt that a mile away? Like Hayes always talks about,

no matter how good or bad, like a divisional game. Yeah. That one was, like, you should have smelt that one a mile away. Like, it's the team that's dialed in, Josh Allen, running all over the place, and the team that's on life support, they're going to go and find a way to win that game. I should have knew it.

I agree. And it is a bit, if you're a Bill's fan right now, I think it was one of the recent future, obviously not including times you've been eliminating the playoffs, but it was such a deflating loss, mainly because you went from all of this hype, and I was guilty of it, you know, Joe Brady, you know, the offense, and you're like, in that week one win against Houston, everyone's like, I can't believe that they did this to Houston's defense.

Well, now that Houston's 0 and 4 and their defense has been average, it's like, well, maybe that wasn't as impressive as we thought. And then all of a sudden it's like, okay, you played the Lions defense. And then you watched the Lions defense last night, and you're kind of like, maybe that wasn't as impressive as we thought. And then they had the ugly one against the Chargers, and the Chargers are absolute, they're one of the worst teams in football. And don't get me wrong, and they played a good New England team. It was a tough division game, and they did some good things. they just couldn't find a way. But this whole like, you know, the bills are the greatest football team ever vibe,

and we're going to sit there and they're going to go, you know, 15 and 2 this year and walk their way to a Super Bowl, you're a half game up in the division, and Drake May just came into your building and played lights out. And there's a lot of issues on that defense, one of which is an effort issue. And there's a play at the end of the game, and I got to give a shout to my guy, Chris Hine, TSN, Extraordinaire,

because he was the first guy I brought to. this up to me, where Hunter Henry catches a ball on 3rd and 10 to close the game out. And Harrison has a legitimate angle at the cornerback position to make a collision and probably stop him three yards short and he pulls up and chills.

And this is to give Josh Allen the ball back with two timeouts or potentially one if they call it in the game like three point game. And when you have defensive guys that are not selling out like that, I watch it on film after

Hyde showed me this and my jaw at the floor I'm like this is one of the worst efforts in that situation I've ever seen and that to me scares me a bit I know I'm a bit of a bill's you know doomsay guy and I still think they can make the Super Bowl and I still think Josh Allen is 1A 1B best player in the world but I think there's a lot more problems than we might have thought that they need to get figured out well that's challenging for a rookie head coach that's offensive to tackle that issue part in the pun. You know, like McDermott, if he saw that, I think we'd probably address it and likely quickly. Like, you know, that's one you can speak to it, but corners are known for it.

If they're not, you know, they make a business decision, man, that's trouble. Especially in that time, Hayes. Like, I hated business decisions when you see guys make them. But if it's the first quarter, or let's say it's a third quarter up 17 and a tight end gets the ball and you're like, you know what, hey, I'm here to cover guys, I'm not here to really make tackles. I'll just usher him out of bounds, give them the first down. You wrap your head around a little bit. When you're down three points to your division rival, and the only team in your division that can potentially win, because we all know the dolphins and jets aren't, and you're at home, and it's really a massive swing game, and Hunter Henry catches

the ball with seven yards to go, and you work horizontal instead of vertical, and you basically kind of gift them the first down and the game's now over. We got problems, and that's not going to go well in the locker room. And so we'll see. We'll see how the bills respond. Again, I still expect him to be at the end of the year, but maybe not as dominant as we all thought in the first three games. They're in L.A. next week playing the Rams. And don't get much easier. No, it's not. Go ahead, No, noodles. So I know that my chargers are done, or my son's chargers. Yes, but where are you at with the chiefs in the Holmes? Four and O. Is that quiet? Are they back? Where are you at with that? To me, and again, it's a bit of a different conversation.

So I've had a hard time with quote-unquote power rankings. I kind of like separating the conferences. They're the best team in the FC. And I don't think right now you can put anyone else at number one. Would you put the Jags there? I don't think so. They're probably the bills in the Jags are two, three. But I look at the Chiefs, and they're back to just finding ways to win games.

Now, Tyquan Thornton being hurt, will hurt. You know, Rishie Rice, he will be back. but that will hurt. Now there's a lot of rumbling online. They're going to go get Tyreek Hill. I'm not sure. They can't do that. Why not?

You can't bring that. You can't bring Tyreek into that room. Why not, dude? The Cheetah. I'm telling you. You got to see Antonio Brown when he got to, where do you go? New England? Like, do you trust Tyreek Hill in a situation like that?

I would, you're 4 and O. I wouldn't touch Tyreek Hill personally. That's fair. I would, you know, but I, I'm from the P. Carroll School of like, you know, as long as it works out on Sundays, who cares? I hear you. And that would be the hope. I'm just saying that could, there could be some implosion that comes with that, too.

Yeah, I just, I worry now with Rishi Rice out, and Xavier Worthy is still a speed guy, but it's one of those things where, like, part of why the offenses look good was Kenneth Walker's been the main reason. Not surprising there, but it's like with Rishie Rice and Thornton outs, you've got your down. the field vertical guy out. You've got your intermediate guy and Rice out. Teams are really going to load up and try and stop Kenneth Walker. And now we get

Mahomes coming off the knee injury running around trying to play Superman where it's like, yo, if we can get a patch job here, like get Tyree running, and I know this is nuts, Hayes. I know it's crazy, but I would consider calling Odell Beckham. I would.

Get an intermediate guy that you can learn the offense, a veteran guy, be like, listen, O'Dell, maybe if things go well, you'll be here all year, but we need to patch this thing up until Rishi Rice is back. Like, is that that crazy of an idea? I don't think so. Yeah, again, I just, I don't know what you're patching up when you're 4 and O. You know, like, I know you're in the driver's seat right now, and like the, Vegas is pretty good, man. Like, to their credit, the Raiders, that is no joke. I agree. They continue to roll. I'm still pro-Denver, but that offense has got to get a lot better, a lot better, and I'm not

convinced, you know, it'll get to the point where they're going to chase down Kansas City. You know, Kenneth Walker, you say that you weren't surprised. I'm surprised it's this explosive. I mean, this guy's the offensive player the year for four weeks. For sure. Like, he's crushing it every week. He's the best offense player in the NFL. Yeah. Like, how did

it get, like, I know he was Super Bowl MVP, but it was not much of a discussion in Seattle. He's like, yeah, see you later. So there's a couple things here, and I do wonder, this is And again, obviously, I know Seattle pretty well. This is a personal opinion. After the Jonah chat last week, I got to make sure there's no source here.

This is just not factual, my own thought process. I think Seattle with Kenneth Walker was actually a little burned by Chris Carson. When I was there with Chris Carson, he was an absolute star. I'm talking when Chris Coggson walked on the field, and we drafted him late. I want to say we got him in the seventh round or something. it was like from day one like this guy's going to be an all pro one year and you'd see these highlights and some of the Chris

Carson highlights are just out of this world but he got injured and he got worn down and he had the neck thing and he medically retired early and he was kind of never healthy at times and I do wonder if that left an impact on the front office on the coaching

staff in Seattle where it's like hey we've got a star in Kenneth Walker he's a freak like he is unbelievable but we've got to protect him a little bit. Make sure he's got the bubble wrap on. We don't want another Chris Carson where we lose this guy. And then, you know, he had good numbers in Seattle.

He was dinged up here and there. Didn't have necessarily massive numbers. Win Super Bowl MVP. And I do know Seattle in this sense, we're like they're very heavy market people. They'll pay you what they think the market dictates. They're not very like, hypothetically, this guy's, you know, X, and we're going to pay him something more.

So now he gets the big deal from Kansas City, which I think put them somewhere like ninth highest paid back. Like it's not outrageous, a ton of money. I'm wrong. But it's like, okay, well, like his numbers don't necessarily say that and we can use the money elsewhere. And hey, we really like this Judarian Price Kid. So clearly right now it has not worked out because they paid Shaheed, Seattle did, and not Kenneth Walker. But I do think, and I'm a bit biased when I say this, like it's a bit early to judge this. just as you're about to finish a great point.

How's brother. Hey, I've got to ask. Are you guys a bit like, you didn't have a great day yesterday, calling games. Wow. I mean, we hit the international game, which is the toughest thing you can do. Like you're four and six on the year. And the same record as you also. Look at, can you not read the banner?

Or four and five the same number? Yesterday. Yeah. We got jam by Kelvin Shepard, and we made the call of the year with Matthew Stafford. I appreciate the faith in that. That was a good pick. Keep the faith in the Lord. Yeah.

We were on indie, right? We're a big supporter of the Colts and the owner walking around and checking in with coaches while the game's going on. It's always great to see. It's always great to see. Two weeks ago, you said you like it. I do. I still do. The only thing that was a bit weird was, and that was a pre-s, I think that thing online got misquoted because she was before the game asking something.

The one thing that was weird is I was like, why doesn't she have the iPad? She has the printouts. So we stopped using the printouts in like 2015. Like you'd get the big playbook where you're flipping through. We're like everywhere I've been now, those pictures, which it's the same system, whatever they draw it on. They all look the same. And I was surprised that she had it printed out. Just bring the iPad.

Then you can go like, hey, what's her third down plan? You don't got to. Right. But what is she trying to accomplish? And I get you're the owner, male, female, whatever. You're entitled to do whatever you want. What is she looking for? That's a bit weird where, like, let's say we were to have our third down game plan,

or a third down game plan, or whatever game plan in front of you, if you don't have any idea of what it is, it just looks like drawings. Where it's like you've got to, and I don't know her level of expertise, but again, let's go to third down. Okay, hey, this team likes to play in third and, you know, three to six. They love to play man coverage with pressure. So generally in that game plan, the protection will, match up what the pressure is and there'll be a lot of man-beater routes or route concepts.

So like if she can get that detail, be like, hey, why are we running a bunch of man-beaters on third down? I highly doubt those are the questions, but I don't know. It's just unnecessary to know it in the moment. Like you're not coaching, you're not on the field. And also, the hay is in the barn at that point. You're not going to like go and be like, hey, I think that we've got too many man-beaters and not enough zone options. Exactly. You know? Exactly. You can't coach that up before the game.

Very performative. I think it's just an accountability thing, ultimately. From what I've read of the situation, both Stuyken and the GM Ballard, both in a contract year, I think she just wants to make sure that she has all her information prior to the end of the season when if things go sell, she wants to know why it went south and then give off her opinions on the next guy who comes in.

Like, hey, this is what happened. It didn't work. Let's do this moving forward. I kind of dig it. Like, as a Colts guy, I don't mind holding those people accountable. You know, I do wonder if she's kind of putting the squeeze on Alspra, which I don't mind at all.

You know, sometimes. You two seeing a guy and I. You know, you got to sit there. Even if you're just asking questions that you know, it's just more so the tone that you're setting like, yo, we're playing Marcus Marriott, obviously he got injured. And I'm in London, England right now,

and we have a good ball team. You better win. Like, maybe the underlying message is like, you might not be flying back from London. You can go see Big Ben if we lose this one. But the fascinating thing about it, guys, just to finish this conversation, it's like I love the idea of keeping people accountable

and you want to go around and stiff around and see who's doing what. But if you're asking, like, I could do that too, but if somebody was describing plays to me, I'd be like, I don't know if that play was better than the other play. Maybe she has that intimate knowledge where she knows but most owners don't know the intimate detail of what's the best play to call on a third down. And parts you said it, it's always one of those things where you can complain about something or question it,

but if you don't have the ability to be like, this is what I would replace it with, I don't really think you have a right, like, hey, are we really trying to do this? Why aren't we doing X? Like, I don't think that's coming out. Like, we need more, you know, bunch formations on our third down game plan because they like to, try and pass it off. You know, it's like, I don't think that's the level of things that were. No, I can't imagine any owner is living, you know, in that type of world right now.

Anyway, we get Saints. Jerry might offer up information about that, to be fair. Doesn't mean he knows what he's talking about, though. He can offer up information as much as he wants. He doesn't know as much as a coach. All right, Saints Falcons tonight in New Orleans. The line is down to one and a half. Saints, one and a half.

Al's brother, we're on the clock. Where are you leaning here? This is a tough game tonight. It's a tough game, you know, divisional game against two teams who, you know, might be considered, you know, two of the better teams, although Carolina looked pretty good last night. I've got to be honest with you, Hayes.

I'm a little perplexed by the line, the fact that the Saints are still favored at this point. With all the injuries that are there and all the information, the tremendous information that's starting to come about, I thought this line would have been flipped. So the fact that we can get the Falcons and get points at this point, I really, really think we should be leaning with the Falcons and the flock. Yeah.

I agree. Lean it, boys. Keep leaning. Long week for Atlanta, right back in a row, but a long week. They found something at Green Bay. Now, a lot of teams have done that. But, you know, Panx Jr., they've got a great run game. Oh, now you like Pennix Jr.

Last week you're headed up. I don't. I'm not as big as fan, but he's better than what the. He's better than Tua. He's better than the alternatives down there in Atlanta. And if he doesn't turn the ball over, I think they win tonight. I think Atlanta's defense's been really good. Can you guys lock it in and then I can comment?

Can you lock it in? Yeah, we'll lock it in. TV, we're like week four. Week four. We're on the box. There's been some false acquisitions about people picking both teams in a game. There's been some very false accusations. We're on the straight and narrow and this is how it works.

We get to week four. This is when we start to lock in else, brother. I'll be honest with you guys. you guys always come on here and you say TG. That's your big thing. And I'm going to go to parts. What does the G.I stand for in TG? Got instinct.

The idea that these two Muppets would forget about Steve Gleason's punt block, which they're celebrating today. The guy's got ALS. It's in New Orleans. Shuck has been incredible. And they're going to lay their hat on Michael Pennix because he looked okay in one game. is utter insanity.

This is the biggest and easiest layup of the year. Steve Gleason, the punt block. I understand it. The statue. New Orleans, the voodoo. The crowd. 20th anniversary of Katrina. It's all there.

What are you guys, 20th anniversary of Katrina? You're going to pick? Yes. Falcons. Falcons are a better team. We don't get caught up in that kind of. Yeah. You guys have quoted the phase the moon is in in the past

and you don't get caught up on the 24. 20th the anniversary. Falcons all day. The NFC style up for grabs. I love Atlanta tonight. Go ahead, Ellis, brother. You're sick to your son-in-dardchin. Look at A's. Couple big reasons. No, look, we both believe

it's easy to talk yourself out of the Falcons the way that you're trying to do, and you can big brain this all you want. But it's real simple, guys. It is real simple. The Saints are depleted. They're missing their entire lineback in Corps. One of their better interior D-Linman. Good luck containing this offense. And

Bijon Robinson, without anyone in the middle of the field, that would offer 500 yards last week. They've got 11 days now with Michael Peddick to practice with the ones. He didn't practice at all prior to that game. So you got 11 days for Kevin Stabansky to prepare and be ready for this. But the thing that I like, dude, they're missing. They're starting left tackle, missing a running back. This Falcons team is unbelievable when it comes to the pass rush. Third, you know I love my win rates.

Third in pass rush win rates this year up against the Saints, who ranked 2,000. 23rd in past blocking, and now they're without their left tackle. You talk about Tyler Shuck going to be able to throw the ball all around. He's not going to be able to get the ball out because they're going to be in the backfield taking this guy down. Second lowest blitz rate, top five pressure rate, meaning they're getting there with just four guys, leaving an extra body out in coverage. He's not going to have anywhere to throw tonight. So I think Atlanta's going to get after Shuck.

He's not going to be able to do a whole lot, and it's going to be the Bijjan, Drake London, Kyle Pit Show, boys. Steve. Tell you. Love that. For approval. Lock it in. Lock it in. Falcon's getting plus points tonight.

Pick is in. We'll be tied after tonight, Ellis brother, and everyone knows what happens in week five. That's when we actually start digging. We got to stay focused. That's how we operate. The first four weeks,

we don't even look at the scores. It's irrelevant to us the outcomes. We compile tremendous information, and then we floor it. All right, boys. Good seeing you guys. Great stuff. Thank you, Alice, brother.

Thank you, Luke. We're on the Falcons tonight. There it is. Al's brother and Luke Wilson joining us here. All right, best bets later in the hour. More on the Leafs, Nashville, tomorrow night. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4.

All right, best bets later in the hour. You've got Monday night football tonight. We've got baseball playoffs continuing the NHLs in full swing. Kauai with a little load management, right? Not going to play a ton in the preseason. that's okay. I know. That's fine.

Nothing to see here. It's all good. I wanted to bring up Morgan Riley because we've talked a lot about him. And he's got points in three straight. And I think he's played pretty well. I thought him and Radish were a lot better on Saturday. Like Radish is starting to look like himself. Make plays.

Yeah, he's starting to make plays and getting up in the play. You know, Riley, the way he plays two-on-ones, I was just about to pump his tires. It drives me crazy. always seems to get beat two-on-one. But other than that, I think, you know, that pairing, well, they're going to be just like that second line. Jim Hiller seems to be willing to give them more time to figure it out. And Morgan's just kind of made his way into the season.

It's the longest tenured leave. Just doing what he does, right? He's got to have a big year, but I think he's had a decent start to his credit. I mentioned it before. When you've been around that long, like what is this year four? 14 for him. Something like that, yeah, 12 or 13. Yeah, it's 13 or 14.

Like, you should be able to kind of veteran your way around out there. Like, you've been around long enough. Nothing should really shock you. And it's not like you're playing cautious or, you know, not fully extending yourself. But after coming off of last year where it seemed like every time a puck went in the net, he was pulling it out of the net because he just seemed to be on the ice a lot for goals that were going. in. It wasn't a good year, excuse me. But if he could just kind of be a veteran and then get the puck up the ice and there's ways of like being ultra effective without like being noisy

where it's like you're making those glaring errors. Like that Thomas Shabbat is good at it when he's playing his A game in Ottawa where it's like 20 foot pass, 20 foot pass. Once in a while you jump in the rush and it's like you can be really effective doing that man. It's a really simple game plan and you can be really effective doing it. And I think Riley Radish, I agree, Brian. I think you give them a little bit longer to get some chemistry going. I think the top four has been solid. I think OEL looks a little his age right now.

I think he's not had his best start and Stetcher is what he is. But at the end of the day, you need that top four feeling good about their game and getting the puck out of the zone. That's what they have to do. Just get it out of the zone and get it to the forwards. Yeah, Stetcher has struggled. I thought Tanna have had some horrible giveaways in the third the other night, like horrendous that did not lead the goals,

but he's still catching up too, right? You got to give him some time. Like we talked about Matthews and his injury, and you've got to let him get going. Tana have missed basically the whole season with really scary injuries, really scary. So you got to allow him, just like Tavares, like these guys are 36 years old.

The older guys, it's going to take them longer, to just get their feet going, to catch up to the speed and the speed. pace of the game. And that's the reality of a veteran team. And, you know, you like to see the other benefits of being veteran. That is, you have a lead late. You can shut it down.

It's not really how they operate. Even though they're older, you know, it's a team that's going to be built on go, go, go, and try to get some offense going. And you mentioned Shabbat. I thought he was unreal on Saturday night. He was so good. And to his credit, that's his first game as the captain, their first game of the season.

He was maybe the best player on the ice. Sanderson injury. And Sanderson goes down, and now he's going to miss a couple of games. So it's even more on Shabbat, right? He can play 30 minutes tomorrow night, probably. I mean, he's kind of a workhorse anyway. He plays a ton of minutes, and it doesn't seem like he's ever out of breath. But I thought he was really, really good on Saturday.

Yeah, it was a great start for him as the captain. For some reason, it's like when you get that C, it's unrealistic, but the fan's perspective is you've got to morph into something different. It's like, you know what I mean? Back when it was Thomas Shabbat had a poor performance, it would be like, that's just what Thomas Shabbat does. Now it's going to be, you can't do that. You're the captain of the team.

Like, it's just like, it's almost unrealistic, but the expectation goes through the roof. And maybe for a guy like that, that'll help him internally, where he's like, there's no kind of nice. nights off or periods off. Like, I've got to be the guy now. So it might be the best thing for Shabbat. Who knows?

Well, the one thing he is, guys, is he's a warrior. Like, that guy plays hurt. Remember he had a broken, who's at a broken wrist or something? It came back, like, three days later or a week later. Like, this guy is a warrior and plays hard. And in the light of the Sanderson injury, which does scare me. I told you guys this. Like, that scares me that injury because if that lingers, like, that's a hard to.

minutes to replace. But they do have depth back there. That Spence is a good player. That Cleven's a good player. Now, they need Zub back. Apparently, he's skating and close to it. But it's hard to replace Sanderson. Shabbat did a great job the other night.

Yeah. Over time, you're not going to, because Sanderson is so good. And you just, you want both of them, obviously, if you're Travis Green and company. But an interesting start to the, like, the Canadian hockey scene. Like, we'll get a mood meter going pretty soon. And I can't, like, Calgary. He's off to a dreadful start. They just, they can't get any offense, man.

And I'm not surprised. They're forward group. They have no impact players. None. Not one player that has any offense have been back. And imagine what your thought process is if you're Huska, you'd be like, what the hell is this year going to look like if this is going to be kind of what we bring to the table. And he says all the right things where it's like, you know, we had a good start to the period, and then they capitalize on our mistakes and all that other. coach stuff that you say after a loss,

but he must sit down and rip open a pint after a game and be like, what the hell is this going to look like? All I can do this for 84? Offensively, it's very tough. It's like, it's very, very, and listen, they weren't expected to compete. That was not going to be the plan. They get the new building coming out next year.

But, you know, and it's early, but their offense is struggling. And then up the road, like McDavid, dry sidel, Bushard, Elite. the league in points, they're ripping home, you know, a million goals every single night. And even in Vancouver, your boy, Elias Pedersen, is off to a decent start. Somebody sent me a clip the other day where he was finishing his hits. He threw a huge, like, middle ice hit the other night. Legit big, like, trolley tracks hit.

And I don't know if it was the Siddins, if it was Manny, where they just said, look, man, like, in your hate. day, like you were an intense player, you finished your checks. Like, just start with that. Work your ass off, come to camp in great shape. And if you start with that intensity, your skill can take over and you can be an effective player. Like, good on the guy, man.

It's like, he's been down to hell and back as far as his play, his criticism. At least he's trying something different where he's going to give himself a chance. And if that doesn't work, then who knows? But at least he's giving himself a chance. Yeah. Vancouver has been competing their first four games. Like I've watched their games and, you know, they work hard and they do have some skill. Like that's the, you know, Bessers there, DeBrasch is there. Pedersen can score if he digs in.

But it's, you know, I think we still expect that Vancouver to be lean this year. We expect Calgary to be lean. The more question marks are the other ones, Winnipeg, you know, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton. Like when you look at it, there'll be all different storylines. coming out of those five. Well, Stuart Skinner with a pretty good start, right? Right well.

That is pretty fascinating that he's the guy that is going to take the role for Counter Hellebuck. And Hellebuck's not coming back. There's not going to be a Kumbaya moment. It's done. He's not playing there anymore. And they've got to find a way to move on. But you're right.

I think with Vancouver and Calgary, we know where it's going. It's, you know, try to be as competitive as you can, but neither team is likely to make the playoffs, and it's very likely that post trade deadline, they're looking at lottery odds and trying to win a lottery and continue that rebuild. The other five Canadian teams, though, there's going to be ups and downs.

And that's... Like for Calgary, if that continues, like you said you want to be as competitive as can be, like it's the NHL and the guys are going to go out and work hard, but when it just doesn't happen being, competitive, like that's a tough mental state to be in. It's like you're in the big leagues, you're going to go out there, you're going to work your ass up, but ultimately you know the result at the end of the day.

It's a tough way to do business, man. Yeah, it's challenging. Yeah, and I think their team system will get in, and they're going to have to win games two, one, three, two type of thing with goaltending and D. That hasn't happened. The goalie, like Dustin Wolf hasn't had a great start in his two starts. No, but what's his confidence going to be like, Jamie, if it continues and he just get shelled like that could that could be damaging man i don't know well i you look at it i just i

think they've got a you looked at last year they want a lot of games by tight hardworking game and in right now early in the season it's a mess defensively it's a mess they're not getting saves and they're not getting goals they can't outscore their issues you know other teams have been outscoring their issues right now calgary can't do that no like they need they need a first overall pick or two like that's that's what they need They need a first overall pick, a superstar that you can walk into that new building with. That's what they need. So they've got three young D, 22 and under, and all of them look to be really promising.

What if you get the first overall pick and it's Landon DuPont, who is another stud defenseman? Yeah. Like that's, you know, you're building from the back out, but ultimately they need guys who are difference makers up front. so, you know, Craig Conroy is going to have a lot of currency next year to be proactive, to sign, and to trade, and all of that. That's what they're building for. But, you know, you've got to get a high draft pick. You need talent. You need to continue to push talent through.

They're built from the back end out. Yes. Yeah, and that's the plan as long, you know, presuming all those players pan out the way they hope they will. And they're all top ten picks, and they should. I mean, there's no reason to believe they won't. But even those guys, that's going to take some time. Right? Like they're going to take some time to allow all these young players to grow.

But yeah, you need some superstar talent up front. Like that's just mandatory, especially just to get some juice in the building. You know, like you need that. I think every team would tell you that, regardless of what side of the border you're on. All right, best bet's coming up. Back on the Monday night or tonight, baseball playoffs continuing. Least back in action with Nashville in town tomorrow. Overdrive continues.

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gap. We had L's brother about a half an hour ago on here explaining why the Falcons of the plate tonight and I concur with that. It's one and a half. You get one and a half. Atlanta's on a long week. They played Thursday night football last week, beat up on the Packers. Really good defense, really good pass rush. Saints are banged up. They got a lot of offense. Robinson's going to run for a million tonight.

Take the points. Falcons, best bets powered by Fanduel. Make your picks and assemble the same game parley in seconds on the Fandual Sportsbook gap. Please play responsibly. 19 plus physically located in Ontario. All right. So we got games tonight in three leagues, man. Baseball, right? Schlittler on the mound for the Yankees.

They lost game one. I got a feeling he's going to have a performance. Dude, that guy is so good, man. Yeah, he's good. Like when he's one of those guys where he gets on the mound, you're like totally dialed. He's one of the great people in sports to watch. You know you're getting a performance for the most part.

Yep. And he's young, and he's going to be a Yankee for. a long time. You can't find that with the Yankees, though? It's like they're known for like Steinbrenner era and all the money, but it seems like they get like these prospects and these, like, they're always popping up with the Yankees. Yeah.

Same with the Dodgers, right? Yeah. Scouting is, they obviously invest heavily in scouting. And the draft has changed. It used to be a scenario where, you know, with the money available and slotting and how much you're willing to pay a guy, guys would draw. dropped to them because other teams would say, you know, this guy's not, he's going to go back to college, he's not going to sign with us because we're not going to pay him.

Yankees will pay them, you know, that would happen. Sometimes players would fall in their laps. That doesn't really happen as much anymore, if at all. And still, they're drafting. And like you mentioned, Steinbrenner, the 90s and early 2000s teams, those were all draft picks. They were all homegrown guys, you know, Jeter and Posada and Rivera and Pettit. Those were Yankees, you know.

But shortly after that, they were still known as the team where if there was a high-end guy. Totally. That's how A-Rod ended up there. Johnny Damon and Coleson and Cole, he got paid. For sure. I was watching the Dodgers play, though, and all I could think of is if they win again, like this would be a scenario where at some point they're going to crash and burn. They've spent all this money and the owner and all of that,

but they looked like they could do some damage again this year. time. Braves won a big one last night, but that's one one. I fully expect Dodgers to win. You're right. And if they do, that's three in a row. You know, like that's a dynasty. You went three in a row. And they've won a lot in the last seven, eight years. The last ten years, they go to the World Series all the time. And now, yeah, they got Tarek Scouble. It's not even on the radar

for people, you know. He started game one of this series. Yeah, it doesn't matter. It's like what, yeah, exactly, though. Like, that's a guy they acquired. Detroit traded him. They paid the premium. They'll probably pay them the money at the end of the year, probably, unless there's a salary cap or some issue.

But, yeah, I wouldn't be shocked if we saw Dodgers, Yankees again. We saw it a couple of years ago. But raise in a good spot. Razor up 1-0. And that American League, Chicago, Cleveland, it was right there for the Js if they got in. Right there for the Jays. If they got in, they could be in an ALCS,

going to Tampa, going to New York. They could have done it, and they just could not find a way to rack up enough wins down the stretch. And they'll look back on that as a massively missed opportunity. Massively missed opportunity. Anyway, Monday night or tonight, and leaves preds tomorrow. We think Bob gets the start tomorrow night? I would think so. Yeah?

Yeah, I mean, do you think what's their week look like, remind me of it? So they played tomorrow, then Vegas, Thursday night in Vegas, Saturday at Colorado, next Tuesday at Utah. So no back-to-backs. Yeah, but I think you find Stolars a starter too in those games. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't be shocked if they played Stolars tomorrow. I really wouldn't. Me neither.

Play them tomorrow. And then Bob plays at Vegas. Stolars gets the Colorado game, which would be tough. That Colorado at home is so gross. Yeah, that's a rough one. There was a bunch of times last year where players and coaches were talking about at Colorado, especially after a back-to-back, as a scheduled loss. Yeah.

It's gross in there. Like that Nate dog, he was fighting people throwing his helmet against the boards. That guy means business. They're, what are they, 2 and 0? It's early, but they're not slowing down. Like Colorado is just going to keep rolling, man. You know what's coming. Anyway, we'll see who's starting tomorrow.

We'll break it down tomorrow. All right, thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today. TV, radio, podcast, web up on YouTube live, streaming soon up on Crave. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy the games tonight.

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