OverDrive - Johnson on Hakanpaa's return to the Maple Leafs, the Canucks' success search and the Penguins' next steps

Episode Date: April 1, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Penguins' path to success on the team, Sidney Crosby's leadership on the roster, Jani Hakanpaa's return to the blue line, the Canucks' playoff potential and the next steps and more.

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Made in Canada, played in Canada. On the free iHeart app and i heart radio dot c a line who would who would you how would you answer that question the clear-cut number one coach in the n h o it's a tough one I mean I think I'd nail the two I would consider Coop and and Bryndamore. I would only say that I think John Cooper would probably deserve to get paid the most. Oh would

know I don't think Bryndamore is getting paid anywhere near the most given where he works. I wonder you know if you put Cooper in Carolina would he get more out of that team than Rod Bryndamore? I'm not sure he would. Like I think Rod Bryndamore gets the most out of his team, as does John Cooper, but I just think that, you know, Bryndamore is able to to draw everything they have on a team that's not as talented as what John Cooper's had to work with in Tampa. But I mean, I don't know, whoever coached Canada's Olympic team, isn't that the answer? Or that guy is probably considered the best coach in the world yeah i mean i'm i'm trying to think of who else would be in the running i mean

it's it yet should be cooper again i think marie's who's a lifer who's been around and is obviously done a great job bring the mores done a great job but uh... i'm not sure who the highest-paid coaches in the league right now i'm not sure who that would be. I mean, I'm sure we could find out. It's not generally something that's public knowledge.

But the reason you bring it up... Is Mike Bummelwell in the up there? Like Tom McCullen in Detroit? He was making like five or six or whatever before. He's been making five million for a long time. Man, that's a good one. Like... He's had a nice run of what?

A decade or so making that much money, at least. Oh, yeah. It started in Edmonton, didn't it? do that was like they brought him in there at the beginning of the connor mcdavid type air after santo se break up that's right it was like five sheets that was the going rate for the up-and-comer because of the batcock deal was like you get five sheets if you're a good at a joke ocean he's been making five sheets for a long time do you just said that he thinks based on his quick research mike Sullivan in Pittsburgh might be getting the most money right now

and he's making like five and a half and I mean Sullivan's been a really good coach he's been there a long time. Tough investment right now when you consider how they're playing I mean and they don't have they don't have the the horses to do anything differently but that's a tough one to chew on you're paying that guy that much money and they're gonna miss the playoffs for I think a third year in a row that's that's tough man Johnny you can't agree that Pittsburgh it's the weirdest operation to watch this year it's just like they get crushed every night they have no goalies their team

stinks Sid's getting points nothing else happening, and then it's like you just have to look at it and say, ah, there's Sid over there, like you can't critique it, you get like there's no, there's no ramification, like nobody gets fired or anything, it's just like this is what we do, this is what we do in Pittsburgh, it's goofy to watch. They are still living off the grace of the Stanley Cups, right? And the 15-year run of excellence. And so I don't know how long that lasts. I imagine they have new owners, right?

The new Fenway Sports or whatever called Fenway Sports Group, whatever it's called, bought those guys. I think they might have sold them a little bit as well, but new owners aren't tied to that previous success. So those guys would be not keen on paying a coach six sheets to get them into 28th place, wherever Pittsburgh is in. I don't know their system that well, but a lot of times this time of year when your team like Pittsburgh, you empty the bench, right?

You get all these top prospects. They come up out of junior, out of college, out of the minors, out of get on some games and like who's I don't know if there's that many of those guys available like Rutger McGroory just got called back up memory was a big prospect in Winnipeg captain the world junior team of the Americans he got traded for what brain and Braden Yeager and I just in the whole year in the minor so I don't know even if replaces

are coming in pittsburgh no and that's the concern and they they acquired a bunch of draft picks and yet that's going to take years to flush out you got to pick the right guys to raise my point is the idea of telling said that they're going to put something around him to give him one more that ship is sale that's gone and he's not he's not even though if like sits demanding that but if he is someone's got to say to him dude sorry that's that's not happening let jane is left so get it out of your head you want to go somewhere else and play you can but

it's not happening right that's a new not sense need to stop yet see that's a you problem yeah if it's a dinks it's happening that's on that's on you we're not realizing it's not going to happen. We've heard some people in the media, people on TV saying stuff like, you know, picks have got to pick what they want to do and give it. They've picked, they've chosen, they're rebuilding. There's no picking.

Like I said, they've picked their path. They've picked their path, their path is they're going full rebuilds. And it's tricky when you have those guys on the team, but that's what they're doing. Look at the trades they make, look at the picks they've acquired, the draft picks they've acquired. And that even with Sydney Crosby around as great as he is, that process takes five years to flush out the contracts like Tristan Jari's or Eric Carlson's or Malkin's or whoever, and then get these other young players

and have them build you back up. That takes three to five years, and three to five years is beyond the end of Sidney Crosby's career. Yeah, don't you have to apply pressure though to fully commit? Like in other words, don't they need to kind of push, sit out the door?

And I know that's delicate, it's tough, it's got a Matt Sundeen vibe to it, but that where they're at it's Matt's in 07 08 where it's like thank you for everything we appreciate it we've got to go in a different direction here like please allow us to trade you for assets and I don't know how you do it because it's ruthless but I'm with I understand what you're saying they are kind of moving in that direction they've acquired pieces they've made a bunch of trades that would indicate that but you what you're saying. They are kind of moving in that direction. They've acquired pieces. They've made a bunch of trades that would indicate that. But you got one foot in the door and one foot out

if you're just gonna say, well, but we're gonna keep playing with Sid and Gino and LaTang's gonna be here and Carlson's gonna, and we're never gonna even try to push them in a different direction or even contemplate the idea of moving off them. So, hey, I love the cutthroat nature of you as an owner or GM, it's fantastic. Like, I love it. contemplate the idea of moving off them. You know, I'm on board. Whatever you want to take us, I'm there to lead us the way. So I know I have a full no move, but we don't need to talk about that.

I'll just let you know, I'm part of the program. I'm with you. Where do you go from there? Where do you, GM Hayes, take it? I would be blunt and I would say, that's great, Sid. We are going to be awful for years. So that's fine. And I would, I would like, I can't force you out.

I can't force you to wave, but you got to wave but you got to understand something you're never winning again as a Pittsburgh penguin yeah like I would be just be blunt with him I'm not sugar coating it we're gonna and what we're gonna do and here's another thing that you have to understand there's a chance you're not playing on the first power play anymore because you're not our future but you gotta be blunt you gotta be you gotta be blunt you gotta be blunt you, but you got to be blunt. No, you gotta be you gotta be blunt You gotta be blunt. You gotta be blunt. You're then we are thinking five years down the road You are not going to be a part of that. I get on the horn to Pat Briss on say bris

Could you believe what this? Guy said to me. Yeah, I think we should leak this to an insider and guess who's not gonna be having a job in the three to five years I'm no longer the power play you Maybe this is the chair. This is the challenge. I got maybe I got ownership first though. Let me clarify Far down. I know I go to ownership for I fly to Fenway Park and I say I got to meet you in center field I'm gonna meet you at second base or whatever. It's gonna be yeah. This is what I'm doing If Sid isn't willing to wave, that's fine Do you want me to build something in five years?

Like do you want do you want us to have something in the future? If so, I have to prioritize the kids on the team that are gonna be a part of it and that's not I'm not gonna ice them I'm not gonna play in the fourth line I'm not gonna make him a healthy scratch But I can't make him the primary piece of the rest of what we're doing the next three years because then that is stunting the development of the kids that are actually gonna take us into that next wave that's GM 101 okay that is how you debate I appreciate I appreciate your effort GM Hayes yes our season tickets are now down 42% wait till we stink in three years and Sid's not around.

We're bleeding on a $120 cap. We're bleeding $38 million a year as an organization. And I know your contract is tied to the profitability of this team, so that's going to come out of your salary in EZGM. And then when it leaks out, the amount of you're gonna take and you're in our organization for trying to ice out The guy who saved the franchise Mm-hmm, it's gonna be hot and are you ready to deal with that kind of heat and make that like this is this is sort of What would be playing out?

Like how do you how do you pull it off unless he says and and what you're hoping I think What you would be hoping for is that his competitive spirit, and you can have that conversation, listen, Sid, we're not going to be good. We're going to rebuild, we're going to retool, you know, all these things. You're not going to sit near the cap, you're not going to have good players. Like this is where we're going because it's a prudent play to do. You're hoping his competitive spirit outweighs his sort of loyalty or legacy feelings about being a one club player.

And if it does, then you're set. Yeah, we'll send you where you want, we'll try to make the best deal we can, but if it doesn't, then I don't, it's just hard to pull off. Logistically, hard to pull off. Yeah, you gotta be respectful of course. But MJ, I mean, is it unrealistic for me

if I'm Sidney Crosby, just be sitting here looking and saying, wait a second, last year, we finished like three points behind the Washington Capitals. And everybody was saying, oh, the Capitals, it's just about Ovi's goal chase. You know, they're not gonna be competitive. They're gonna have to rebuild.

Suddenly, they're at the top of the standings. Ovi's playing great. They got, by the way, they got good goal tending what you know if you get top five save percentage instead of bottom five save percentage like the penguins have suddenly your team starts to look a lot better but is it unrealistic for said to sit there and go was it have to take so long like but what are you saying that they get me a goalie and i think we can do damage

guard there would honestly that would be crazy though if you got a mcgolley i think it would be crazy to think that just a goalie will not help that well It wasn't just a goalie that the Capitals got obviously they made some other savvy acquisitions But my point MJ is does it really have to just be tear it down get everybody out of town like Ovi's sitting there going hey, we rebuilt on the fly and suddenly we're contender brilliantly. Yeah Yeah, yeah I mean they swapped out eight ten players and crazy that they hit on virtually everyone except for what maybe Vajay Apane is the only guy they brought in that hasn't been lights out great you

know from Strom to Chickren to Thompson to Dubois, Rasmus Sandin is a player down there man. Not to mention they have a stack system that's Ryan Leonard kid who's gonna play tonight watch him he, he's gonna be like the new, pesty, good player. They got Kristol. They have good players coming. But I think, yeah, fast you can say do that, and it's viable, say hey they just did it,

let's just do it. The likelihood of that being successful is very, very low. We've seen a lot of teams. We saw Detroit try to do that, right? With Ben Chirot and Jeff Petrie and Patrick Kane and it didn't work and they're gonna be stuck further back for longer because it didn't work and that's the risk you run. If you try it, it works. Awesome. You're Washington. If you tried, it doesn't work, then you just prolonged your sort of window of being mediocre or

worse for even more years and that's the challenge that they would have. Yeah, you could say that as a player, but the likelihood of it being successful? Tricky. Yeah, I would just say, I don't know about you, oh dog, but don't you sort of owe an all-time iconic player in the way that- No, no, no you do not. Well, I think you do.

You do not. Look at this guy, how ruthless you are now. you do not i don't know if you look at this guy i ruthless you are not well i look like the treatment that's only when he's playing well the leaky's like that i can tell you yes that's great but i think i was my only point on all of this is you obviously respect the guy but you're looking at the results and you can't keep lying to yourself and saying okay we're going to get they tried to keep this dream alive to keep the team competitive.

It's game over now. Sorry. Well, not. It's not the problem is my point. Oh, it's not the problem. It's not the problem. So they're sitting there going, hey, they respected their guy. They built a whole new team around him. I'm still going good. Like, I'm still a relevant player.

I'm still a team Canada lock. Yeah. But it was either two ways. Fest, Chuck, they either needed to do it the Dallas way where you have Wyatt Johnson and a rupee hints and Mason Marchman and those young kids that are coming up and they're the main stars of their team Jason Robertson and those youth suit Supplement the veteran guys like Ben and say again in Dallas or you could do the remodel what they did in Washington And you hit on a bunch of guys But when you don't hit on them, you've got Detroit Why so negative? Maybe you like well, you know, you don't have any faith in your boy Dubas there to hit on that Well, here's the here the elephant in the room is Dubas tried that and you got it wrong, right?

There you went out and got Riley Smith. He signed Ryan Graves. He signed Jarri exactly brought in new Willa Charry Right again for Carlton Carlson like dubas screwed it up i do this at here though he had an opportunity when he first got there they had flexibility in cap space any wasted and got a wrong i don't disagree with that that's what i want is you can try it again fast juck but what are you going to do with all the contracts and

all the players you got on the roster right now what are you going to do with ryan great and you can do with carlson that's why you get a private jet access so That's why you get private jet access So that's why you get the private jet access from the Fenway sports group because you're supposed to figure those problems out That is valid that is that is valid that he is that's his job is to figure that out Like as the GM you're supposed to be able to figure this out. Yeah, and it's heavy lifting. It's tough, man I think we can't be naive to suggest that management and it's not because it's Kyle Dubas on every team Toronto Pittsburgh Montreal whoever

They don't operate in a vacuum Owners like to get into the management's ear And I don't know if Fenway Sports who bought Pittsburgh if Kyle Dubas came and said listen, it's time We got to rip it, but we got to rip it down. We can't resign the tank. We can't resign Malkin. And they're like, uh, we just bought this team. We're not going into a seven year rebuild right away. We're not trading away. I got like, I'm not sure if it was completely independent in that situation or anyone around the league.

Lots of owners like to have a little bit of say on the direction, the general direction of the team. Yes, valid as they should. It is their team. I mean they can have some sort of access. It is their money. Johnny, where are you on the Yanni Hawk and Paz scenario? We're starting to push it in a direction where Yanni, he can play. We want to see him play game one of the playoffs how comfortable would you be in that idea oh boy yeah don't be negative come on root for Yanni Hockenpock get him in the lineup i want his knee to be good but like okay we're expecting a guy who is a big heavy not fleet-footed player on a bum knee who had a play the year and a half

he's been passing and and play a game on a game well you put it that way johnny obviously it's a lot of guys who over and i can play all year this is the thing it's it not that yes i mean he could be a good player he had been in this career and maybe healthy i have no idea but it didn't makeoit's not perfect. I understand that.

I get it, I get it. And he's just a hole in his game, I get it. But, you know, if Hakenpah in the high pressure situation, you get in a row, you're like, okay, you're up against Kucherov, excuse me? I'm doing flow drills in practice right now. Like I'm not ready for Kucherov in points. It's a real risk.

Like if he gets in, things are not going well. Or there's injuries. Like I can't imagine Philippe Myers and Benoit would be significantly above him on the depth chart. Okay. That's what you're saying, Dave, that you think it's, because there really isn't an eighth guy that we can name right now.

You know, in years past, remember it was like your dana at the end of his road gilbert like the eight guy and then there was like a nine to ten maybe a kid hanging around sometimes there's guys in the miners that just all the sudden playoff time just bolt ahead of regulars martial refi is that he'd be a guy i guess you know i'm not being a like you know you're a couple of years you know you're going to get me the. Yep. He would be the guy. He would play occasionally. He's the right shot guy.

He would be the guy, the next guy up. They hope they don't have to go down that road. I was posed this question last night. I'm curious how you would answer. We can go around the table. What is your mini Jerry, which is becoming consistent. Every time we have Johnny on, we do a mini Jerry. Mini Johnny.

Maybe it should be called mini Johnny. Oh, yes. What's your mini Johnny on theouver canucks making the playoffs next who all browser yes i'm not there are going to go first i'm gonna say thirty percent because i have

no idea what the hell at lyas peterson's going to be like next year like that is the ultimate gets the ultimate question mark for that organization. Do we have a guy that's going to put up 100 points and be dominant and play against all the other top center men in the Pacific Division and throughout the league, or are we going to have a guy that gets 7 goals and 14 points? Because it's a big damn difference. Johnny, go ahead. I was going to say 33-0, so we're reading each other's minds.

So, Pederson, Wildsard, Brock Bester, likely to leave. Rick Tuckett without a contract. So I don't know what that means as far as who the new coach might be. They have Quinn Hughes who I think is just beyond good. He has lit, it's McCarr and him are the two best defenders in the world. He's so, so good.

I don't know Demko, I don't know what's going on. They just have so many question marks. it's my car and him of two best defenders in the world like he's so so good no doubt go out on a bit of that so many question marks and even if that goal is healthy and even if the back end is relatively healthy and peterson played at eighty point pace i still don't know if it's going off in the western conference i a yeah more far more unlikely than likely thirty three percent me johnny's

yeah i think you're on to something man I mean things change quickly this time last year it was a hundred percent that's what I like this time last year we would have said 100% they make everything is going against them. That's the issue my bigger concern it's twofold it is it is Demko and it's Pedersen like that's it. Talk it you know coaches can be replaced to get in a new guy. I think he probably ends up staying there, but who knows, we'll see.

But if Besser walks, this team can't score anyway. If Pettersson is a guy that's gonna give you 50 to 55 points, you're done. It's probably over before it even starts. And if Demko can only start 20 or 25 games, Kevin Lankenen cannot drag you to the promised land. I just don't believe he can. Lankanen's got to be your number two, maybe a hybrid guy. But they need Demko

to give them I think 41 starts. And I think Patterson's got to be at least a point per game guy. And I can't really feel overly confident that either of those are going to happen, let alone just one of them. Yeah, I'm going on this too. I'm gonna go lower than you guys, 29%. I'd go higher than you all, just because I look, this has been such a strange year, like such a bleep show year.

Yes. Where you need some space from this year. This guy, Patterson has been a 100 point guy. Been a calendar year though, Dave. I know. Like this isn't a two week stretch, he's been brutal for years. But my thing would be, look,, Dave obviously assessed the situation there. They got an experienced manager

group there. They may need just a fresh voice. I'm not saying like, Tuckett's one of my favorite coaches in the league, but they just may need a new fresh voice in there. Shore up the goal tending. You know, do a little bit of the Washington capital magic. Bring in some key free agents. Take a swing at those change the change the air in the room to some degree you gotta like yeah ultimately you're hoping that your hundred-point guy is still a hundred point guy we don't know the answer to that but i'd bet on talent

i'd bet on his talent and i've got a lot of them i wouldn't put it at seventy five percent but i put in fifty fifty i put it as a reason that's reasonable but that's okay i don't think though they did not get worse or like that i get a better in vegas and i could be better than it and it's all will be better than l a given the public these have where they are the sort of cycle so the other any battling maybe for the bottom of the pacific or wild card spot also corner garland is one of their

guy the kind of course my team he's also pending UFA. He is suitor, who you will laugh at. He's got more points for 60 than Elias Pedersen, as your whatever, $2 million. He's a UFA. Even bringing back the guys they have is gonna cost them more.

They're in a tough spot. They're in a tough spot. They sort of loaded up for this year in this group, and it didn't work at all. And they're not in a great place to kind of pivot out of it so it's uh yeah it'll be it'll be a challenge but Johnny if the blue teams make it so you know the 50 bits you know somewhere around that number is not crazy if the Blues had one nine in a row they wouldn't be that far out of it like it right now no given all the crap that's

happened and they would get dusted in the first round for sure but we're talking about will they make it yeah they're not that far away a calgary last time and i was a gutsy gutsy win like their i still i'm not going to move off the idea that they're they're not going to make it but they're five their five points back to games in hand you know like that was

to their credit like that team what i did ryan lombard and adam klapka. Those guys scored in the third period to tie a game. You know you're having a good team run. Yes. When those guys are leading the charge to get you back in the game. Also, just food for thought, I think Utah gets pretty good next year

cause they got a boatload of money, an owner who wants to spend it, and a good core who's already under contract. If they got, if their goaltending holds up, I think Utah could be a player next year. Okay. Yeah. The hockey club, they've been kind of in the mix at times this year. There's not many good UFAs out there guys.

The guy here, Mitch Marner is the guy. And then Tavares and then Tushain. Like there's not a lot of sort of impact UFA guys out there. So, you know, if you want to bid hard for Marner, and this is what he's hoping for, there'll be teams like Utah that will do that. Oh yeah. Oh the hockey club. That could be interesting. Yeah, it could be very, very interesting. Have fun down there in Salt Lake City. All right, Johnny, we'll leave it there. Good stuff. We'll do it later in the week.

I can have a lot of fun with a hundred million dollars yeah that is very very true uh... that is very true johnny you can you get like you know make it just a whack of cash but the idea i don't know to make something similar where you already have a black cash of the new york account

and becoming a legacy type guy and people I don't know. I've said it before, I played in a small market, go play in a small market, it's a lot different man. I played in Tampa and Arizona, I know exactly what you're talking about and you refer to the delta, you can say a hundred, so what if you get 96 million dollars here, what's four million dollars, is it worth it? Probably not is what you're saying. Yeah, that's the ultimate question man. I guess we will soon find out. All right, MJ, thank you for this. All right, fellas, have a good day. Mike Johnson joining us here on the Maple Toyota

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