OverDrive - Johnson on Knies' contract value, Tavares making a statement and Nylander's elite vision

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Maple Leafs' victory against the Rangers and John Tavares and William Nylander's elite performance, Matthew Knies' contract value, athletes playing in Canada and more.

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They all so much. Kane Brown's new album, The High Road, is available now. Here's Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst. If OVN ends the season at 894 tied with Gretzky, would that be a good thing or a bad thing? I think it would be a hilarious thing. I don't think it would be anything. I mean, whether he's, you know, you think about it in a big picture, I guess you'd have more time to build it up for next summer, but it would be a bit of a, it would feel

like a bit of a letdown given that he's had such a great year that he could do it this year. So I suppose it'd be a bad thing because you want him to finish it in style with a flourish and do it this year. Because if you go off summer, he plays next year, he's going to do it. So if he doesn't in game six next year with his first goal of the year, it won't feel as built up

because he hasn't had the whole year chasing it down. So I guess it'd be bad. But given the fact that I generally like sort of chaos in the world, it would be funny, especially if he, you know, he gets within four and then the whole league is chasing him around and Gretzky's got to travel around. And what if he's traveling around for like three weeks? I mean, he's got a month of his life to give away and follow Obi and the whole city scores his four goals. So, but I was also really about to wondering about today's about how big of a production

will this be? Because I don't know, maybe you guys can think of a more, I guess, the last time a record of this significance was broken was a Gretsch on the goals and Gretsch on the points. Like, I don't know in today's era, the amount of preparation and pomp and circumstance they can put into a mid game goal. But I think they're going to test it for this one. Well, and don't you think too, when you're getting close, like this guy is capable at 39 of scoring a hat-trick. So you're right, like if he's somewhere three or four goals away, like you kind of have to have everything kind of set that it could happen potentially that night

if he has a throwback night. Lost in all of this, Hazy pointed out like he could have a 40 goal season at 39 years old. Yeah, it's incredible. It's incredible. That's why I think you got to do it this year. Like not that it won't be so I've been off future

It just it's been such a build-up. It's been such a great season for him for the team Everything's worked out everything's been been it just the crescendo of him scoring it the last game of the year or real close It's like a chase to 50 like that's kind of it's a chase to 895 yet We've pressed fast forward. I don't want a cliffhanger and I've got to come back for season two. I don't want that. This isn't 24. I don't want Jack Bauer.

Actually, it's the president that did it. We'll see you next fall. I know it's not ideal, Hazy, but I think it would be cool. You'd get over it about mid-summer. You'd be like, man, Ovi's going to this. Like maybe we could be on site or something. Well that, okay now you're talking. Maybe it happens in Toronto or something. That could be, you're right. You start looking at the sked and start thinking okay where could it happen, where could he end up playing? You know speaking of records I think I read that

William Nylander, he hit 600 points in his career last night and he is fifth fastest in leaf history to do that in terms of hitting 600 points as a leaf. Matthews and Marner are ahead of him. Sittler and Sundeen, the other two. So that's pretty incredible that three of them are in that group and it's you know it's Sundeen it's Sittler I don't think Gilmore played here long enough to even hit 600 points as a Leaf he would have he probably would have done it in about four seasons the way he was going but pretty incredible and Willie looked pretty good last

night Johnny. He is amazing and you know I think he's both been a beneficiary and to his detriment has played in this era with Marner's and Matthews because Offensively hasn't been as prolific as those two guys. And yet when you think about it, if Marner resigns Then by end of their careers these three guys will be one two two and three all time in goals, assists, points. Like they will own every record there is as far as longevity with the Toronto Maple Leafs between the three of them. It's going to be amazing to think about the long history of the Leafs that William Nylander will be, you know, the second or third highest scoring Leaf of all time. Morgan Reilly might be the highest scoring defensive of all time when it's all said and done.

And the team still hasn't maybe had the success they wanted but individually yeah amazing stuff I also saw he was the sixth fastest Swede all time to 600 points or whatever it might be so yeah it's a pretty impressive stat and I think this season game after game he sure he sort of shows why he's such a pivotal player to Toronto because he offers something different and something that is away from Matthews and Marner right different matchups different style a bit more individual more puck possession more kind I'll take it on myself and that's a nice compliment to those two guys so yeah he's he's pretty incredible and then you

know in a night where John Tavares gets 1,100 points, that's a lot of points, guys. That's 68 in the history of the league, 68. So he's gonna play another two, three, four years, who knows, whatever, pick up another 150 points. He'll end up inside the top, I don't know, 30, no, 30, 50, inside the top 50, top 45 all time. And I don't think I ever think about John Zemar as being a Hall of Famer, even though his international record is incredible and everything but the NHL winning he's done.

But 1100 points, it sort of snuck up on you that that's a big, big number. Yeah, it is. Johnny, what do you make of the last three games? Is it just these three games have happened, or do you like the way it's kind of come together after stumbling? Does it change your opinion of the team and what they're capable of?

What are these three games for you? Well, I think if nothing else, oh, they deserve a lot of credit for playing well against good competition when there was a lot of credit for playing well against good competition when there was a lot of noise around them. Now maybe they would say there's no uncertainty. When they lose, you know, they have a kind of a rough patch there for seven, eight games. They drop down to third place.

All the market is in a tizzy that it's all going to fall apart and they're going to come third. Maybe they'll come fourth. The Sens are going to catch them, all that stuff. And they acknowledge they didn't play well. They were led out of the wilderness. And maybe this is the most important thing. The first couple of games, especially that game against Colorado, the way

Austin Matthews played in that game, that might be the most significant takeaway of this stretch. Yes, it's nice. They won. Yes, they're right back in the thick of chasing down first in their division and it's going to be up for grabs. But if Austin can play like he did against Colorado more often, that changes Toronto and their outlook for success in the playoff. So maybe that's probably the thing that you look to the most. Yeah, I think when you look at the game last night, and we discussed this in the last hour,

that top line has been outstanding. You referenced the Tavara stats and I referenced the Willie stats. Matthew Nyes, there was a stat circulating last night, only one of three players in the league with 25 plus goals and 150 hits. The other two are Tom Wilson and Brady Kachuk. That's pretty exclusive You know arbitrary company I get you know You can come up with like who's got 120 hits and you know 15 assists and 12 goals on the road

Like you can do different things that kind of isolate. Are we really gonna chat like I love the guy and he's been incredible But are we gonna jack up 25 goals like it's 47 or something? He's he's not that old though Oh, that's the thing. I agree with you if this is like Mitch Marner scoring 25. He is Yeah, here I am stats guy. I'm pretty sure I read this morning. I will corroborate this He is leading the league in points for players under the age of 22. I think 23 he is 22 now. Okay, so under the age of 22 and younger whatever it is. But that's what he's doing and yes he's in great company because he has to play with Matthews and Marner. But that goal he scored last night, like Willie sets it up but he

walks in and he blasts that shot. Dude he wired it, he looked like a sniper not a power forward. Exactly that wasn't like in front of the net off your shin pad Battling like this guy came down Broadway and absolutely shelf that puck like that was a rocket and I Don't know man. I think it's pretty significant when you you consider. He is a big boy. He can hit he can fight He can cause chaos below the dots and 25 goals is nothing to sneeze at Well, we don't even have a guy in the league who scored 50 yet this year. Yeah. Well, I think the one thing guys, it was brought to my attention today, this is getting crazy and silly is like.

Would you offer would somebody offer sheet him? Listen, if it's possible, I guess, I don't know. I hate the idea of like it never happens. If they offer sheeted Holloway and Broberg, of course someone would offer sheet them. Possibly. And look how good those guys have played in St. Louis. Yeah. Like that wasn't an offer sheet that, well, that's a waste of money.

It drove up salaries. That was an offer sheet that changed the franchise for St. Louis. They've both been incredible. Well, and the one thing is, is you could, it would be a double-edged sword too. Cause you're, if you got crazy with numbers, the Leafs might not be able to match it. Not that they wouldn't, you know,

you would have to make a decision on somebody else, right? Like, you know, Tavares ain't coming back at a number or, you know, Mitch is number high. You can really throw a wrench into it. Or with the projections of what the salary cap is supposed to be, Jamie, if you're the player, why wouldn't you say to yourself, I have an opportunity, and hey, not all players think like this, but as a winger that used to enjoy playing with really good centermen, look at Austin Matthews and why wouldn't he want to sign a three-year bridge deal and

say, I can go to war with this guy and be and saddle up next to him for the next three years and then everything's going up and maybe of course I'm gonna cash in again after that I don't understand how the player wouldn't be thinking like that like it to me it's a slam dunk like you get to go play with Austin Matthews and whoever else possibly Mitch Marner, possibly

somebody else, but that's the guy I want to ride shotgun with and I'll do it for three more years and then see what happens after that. I'm going to be in a good spot regardless. Johnny, I think Dylan Holloway had aspirations playing with dry saddle. You know what I mean? When you look at it, I think you have to put thought to it, you know Because he's like you said he's 20 you'd be 23 years old. He's a big strong You know winger a guy who can show some versatility

Yeah, listen Johnny you've pointed out and you like this is is he's a surprise goal scorer for you Is he not because he didn't score you had a high rate in college, right? Yeah, a hundred percent percent i think that they got we talked about him even before he got to you to the trolley police like oh yeah he's gonna be good but the idea that is going to be a massive score i'm not so sure right now you know we still might end up with one fifty five point which is a great number of you know thirty goals which is a tremendous

season but still not ready but the fact remains that he talked out at 21 goals in college, even in the USHL, which is going way back, he had like 17 and 14. This is the most goals he's scored in the last seven years at any level, 25. So it's not like he's a proven Jeff O'Neill caliber scorer,

like he just does it everywhere at a high clip, he't make him not a good player thank you but it just makes them not a great goal scorer so yeah I mean yes offer sheets would be sitting floated around this summer and oh I'm glad you're paying attention during trade deadline where we talked about more players going short-term understanding where the markets going and where their contracts will go relative to the market even if their game doesn't you know take off if he gets 30 goals three years from now the five million dollars he wants now will be seven million dollars then and it'll be there for him there's gonna be two more teams in the league there's gonna be revenues going up like it will be there for him for sure then so that is something that

all teams least included are gonna have to kind of deal with this summer with their players and their negotiations. Let me be clear about one thing. I was not paying attention to that type of thing. I know you weren't. But I just look at it very, in a very simple kind of situation for what he's in. The people in the city love the guy. he's having success. You guys mentioned the goal scoring. You don't think being around Austin Matthews on a day-to-day basis has kind of helped in that regard, what to do, what not to do, practice habits, the way he shoots the puck. I'm pretty sure that that's had an uptick in him scoring goals like the way

he's doing. Obviously, he's got skill, but it just seems like a fit. And if you have a great fit and you can sign a bridge deal, I don't know why you wouldn't do it obviously he's entitled to do whatever the hell he wants if he wants to try to hit a home run and sign an offer I don't know what he wants to do but you just look at the situation I I don't know how it could be better great city one of the best players in the world at center ice and you're having a heck of a time doing I don't know what would be better than that well and the least you can try to offer them a long-term deal, right?

Like they don't. Yeah, they could. And they might be wise to, because they could lock in some upside. But I don't wanna digress, but have you guys seen the clips of that, was it Thaddeus Young talking about playing in Toronto? Yes.

The basketball player? Yeah. That guy can go to hell, Johnny. Yeah, but custom. I understand. I get it. I get it, but I tell you what, now I don't think that matters as much for Maddie Knives Maybe for hockey players to the idea of going to Canada seeming more normal

But like this idea that going over the border is such a headache for American players it's it's it's such an American thing to think because You know really close to the border virtually everyone I knew growing up in Scarborough like, you know Cross the border on occasion had a passport whatever that's not the case But you just wonder you know, we've seen some American players want to get out of Canada for various reasons But it just made me think about that clip like I'm watching you shaking my head like you're in the NBA and you're complaining because You know your family has to go through customs or have to get passports It's just it's wild the way athletes think sometimes. Well and but you you've got to remember Johnny Johnny is people they come from

different backgrounds. I know of players that are American whose family don't have passports but have not come to visit them in Canada because it's like yeah get one it takes three weeks. I understand that but not everybody but not everybody is as organized as you or I or whatever. There are like flat out people that like, yeah, I'd love for my brother to come. Doesn't have a passport. I'm like, well, you can't get him one. Yeah, you get around to it. They don't comprehend it. It's insane. But I'm not lying. I have a teammate that that did not their family did not come didn't have passports Sorry, like it's just that's not I believe you what age are we talking about? Are these 10 year old kids or 30 year old men like what?

This is a national hockey league player whose family did not come because some of them didn't have passports. So you're like, okay, fair enough. Johnny, the one thing I don't understand is, and I know this is preferential treatment, to avoid the problems of the athlete, can't they like make a deal with the customs where it's like they bring a customs agent over to where the bird takes off and they come over, look at the passports and have some kind of system where it's a little bit more easy or is that just not, is that asking too much?

I think that's probably inappropriate. It used to be that way, yo. Like when I first started in Toronto and we'd fly in on our plane, the customs agent would walk on the plane and you just walk off the plane, flash them your passport and walk off. There was no forms, like literally you didn't break strike. You flash it to them like you're walking in a bar and you just walk off the plane, flash of your passport and walk off. There were no forms, like literally you didn't break stride.

You flash it to them like you're walking in a bar and you go off. It was a bit with two seconds. But then after sort of, I mean after 9-11, the rules kind of changed. You had to go through the actual terminal which is a bit of a pain because you're walking through the terminal. So I want to explain this to people so they understand that this is how big of a deal. I didn't find it a big deal. You fly to the private terminal. You get on a bus with your luggage, the bus goes to terminal

three or whatever terminal it is, you get out in a line that's shorter than everybody else's, you go through the customs machine, get your luggage, and then you get on the bird. Like it's really not that big of a deal. Wait, you go through security and they grill you and then they've got jerseys on the other side for you to sign, is that true? Well, no. I've never experienced any of that. 100%.

When I planned in Montreal, like I obviously have an enormously common name. Yes. And I'd be going through, just like O said, the regular customs, but our own little cubicles that are just for our team. I'd walk in behind Saku Koibu and Guy Carboneau with the team. And he'd be like, would you have a warrant for your arrest in Louisiana?

I'm like, no, I don't. He's like, give me the gears. And then I'm like, he's like, oh, I know who you are. I'm like, then what are we doing here? I'm walking through the team. I'm trying to turn's like, oh, I know who you are. I'm like, then what are we doing here? Like, I'm walking through the team. Oh yeah, I'm trying to turn the other way out. It's great, you're absolutely right.

You're crazy what happens in there. Well, the amazing thing here is Americans, I don't think realize that it's the American customs. Like, talk to your own country about the issue. That's, when you go through customs, it's not Canadians saying you can't go down there. You're going through American customs to fly down there. All the way out, yeah. They don't say anything.

You can walk back in no problem. True. Right. But to fly to the States, that's not a Canadian thing. That's the Americans that are like, you have to come through our process in order to come into our country Yeah, and they're the ones that are saying you gotta go through terminal one You want to fly into the country? You got to come in come talk to us. Those are those are Americans They're in the end. You're right. But in the end like always right like it is slightly

Uncomfortable. I don't even know it's a pain in the ass. It's... it's... it's... it's... It's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... it's... Yes, is that nice? Yes, is that convenient? But if somebody's paying you ten million dollars a year Like can't you just shut up and do it? Like is it really those guys that those guys for the Raptors man? They're their worst players making nine million dollars a year. Well, and you're pissed off about That's an issue with that is right. Is that like that? He's that young made, you know a ton of money, which he was entitled to that's that's where it goes in the NBA Didn't made a ton of money, which he was entitled to, that's the way it goes in the NBA, didn't play a ton, didn't do a ton, they re-signed him, which he was willing to accept the contract. Oh, of course. And then on the way out, he's like bad mouth in the team, or the process and the setup.

And you're like, dude, as an ambassador to the team, can you just take your $40 million and not talk about... Let's do a breakdown of what you contributed to the organization, can you just take your $40 million and not talk about it? Let's do a breakdown of what you contributed to the organization for the money. Zero. But it is a reality. It is one of- If anyone has the right to be annoyed with your time here, it's the Raptors. It's not you.

It's the Raptors who could be annoyed with your performance while you are here. Absolutely. And I'm listening to them like, and you got to do this 41 times. It's crazy. I'm like, no, man and you got to do this 41 times, it's crazy. I'm like, no man, you don't do 41 one game road trips. Like think about this guys. Think, you do it like whatever. 28 times, 24 times, and the whole thing, I'm just like, it's just crazy.

The way, the way that especially basketball perceives this whole situation. And the other thing too is, this is one person's opinion. Everyone else is fine with it for the most part. We could complain about other things but I saw that and I saw the reaction and I get it and we've all been there. We've all played in the States. We've all played in Canada. It's slightly uncomfortable certain times but in the end, that's his opinion.

That's what he looks back on it. But there's other people who would be like, I'm fine with it, man. I like the city. Brandon Ingram just said, get me up here. Exactly. We're focusing on the one guy that we'll call him a pigeon or not, one guy who was like, didn't like it. And so what? But there's a lot of other people that had no problem with it or just was like, yeah, fine, man but there's a lot of other people that had no problem with or just was like yeah fine man that's the cost of doing business applying with it

everyone's got a different viewpoint on different cities and the thing is this one is unique to toronto it's the only one in the nba where you gotta deal with it yeah and you know we're in a different country up here so that's just always been been the case uh... i johnny enjoy your weekend. We'll do it again early next week. All right, boys.

Have a good weekend. There's Mike Johnson joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Drive the built-in Canada fuel-efficient, fun to drive Toyota RAV4. Gas or hybrid models available. Visit mapletoyota.com. IHAR Radio is taking you backstage with Kane Brown in Quebec City. Y'all get ready girl. Let's go put some Need him interview him an I heart radio experience. You'll never forget With flights hotel and $500 included

For your best chance to win enter daily at I heart radio dot CA Kane Brown's new album, The High Road, is available now.