OverDrive - Johnson on Marchand and Pastrnak denying a rumoured rift, the Maple Leafs' roster construction and the Senators on the decline

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Maple Leafs' defeat to Carolina and the matchup against the Canucks, the roster construction of the team, the Senators' playoff hunt, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak denying the rumoured rift in Boston and more.

2025 is your year. 2025. Started right with New Year, New You on iHeartRadio. New year, new you. Good vibes playlists like party hits, chill tracks on lo-fi, and motivational podcasts to crush your resolutions. From wellness, finances, travel, and more.

Let's go. New year, new you. New you. New you. Explore it all. Feel brand new. At iHeartRadio. us here on the Maple Tidal Hotline. What's happening? Johnny?

What's up boys? It's planes, trains and automobiles trying to get out of Raleigh because of two inches of snow the entire city and state shut down. You have no idea, Johnny. I had my best friends and my brother come down for a golf trip and they had the worst snow storm in North Carolina history and they were stuck there for 10 days. 10 days. There was a gas station 100 meters from my house.

They clean this place out of Bud lights i'm not kidding every day they have walking back each with two cases and they just cleaned everything out but that's basically we're trying to avoid this morning trying to get out of there so that just got a bit for a game with a lot of what's more but all good after pretty eventful right last night of strange night in raleigh for the least it was a weird start

in the top line just getting absolutely lit up, which doesn't really ever happen. It was a strange one. That was incredible to watch. You don't put two and two together when you're watching the game. I'm never thinking plus minus. I can't speak for you guys, but it's just not a stat that I'm like, oh, there's a minus, there's a minus. And Matthews, of course, scores on the power play, which doesn't count in terms of a plus or a minus. And he's on for all six, and Marner's on for all six, and they really play poorly. They were directly involved in a couple of those.

I thought the empty night goes a bit unlucky, but Austin was very careless, and the game ends basically on his deck with Jarvis putting it away. But minus six is wild, Johnny. That hasn't happened on the Leafs since Boxing Day 91 was the last time two forwards were minus six in the same game. 91? I was in high school in 91.

That's a long time ago. Obviously, it's rare because it doesn't happen often but it's even more rare and more peculiar I was in high school in 91 a long time ago. I mean and and you know, obviously It's rare because it doesn't happen often but it's even more rare and more peculiar given who had happened to These guys who are just coming in absolutely rolling Lighting it up They're on point streaks and piling up the points and everyone feeling great about themselves And then they go into a game like that and you know, it's gonna be a tough game Carolina's hard to play against We understand that we know Jordan Stahl is one of the best

defensive players we understand that but still it was yeah it just they just were getting hemmed in and you know bad reads and bad clears and in front of the net and all of it and it was ones I'm like you get it because Stahl's playing against them clearly he's outscoring Austin but you don't really kind of put it all together. I'm between the benches. I don't have a computer in front of me or anything. I'm like, yeah, Stahl's getting the better of him, which we made sure to show.

We were like, goodness, minus six, which of course, oh. Have we done the research? What is your worth? I had to check, like, what was my worst plus minus in my career? Apparently, one game, one time, I was minus four in one game in my career. That was my career worst. Well, apparently, according to Joe from the Bridge, I was minus four one game in my career not like your career

so from the bridge i was minus three but in underneath he wrote several times which i really appreciate that but i need covered you got on you'd be johnny johnny minus four of course in europe johnny when you have a performance like that i did this a bunch of times i'm not sure if you ever did but the next game i would stand up and i'd say boys i gotta be the best guy out there tonight i'll lead the charge who would you think would say that is it a slam dunk who

needs to say that are probably will say that come saturday night she'll like it's a hundred that's got to be often i mean he's the captain is the best player he'd be is playing better he does look like he's moving a little bit more freely and you know he was so uncharacteristically often player. He is playing better. He does look like he's moving a little bit more freely. And you know, he was so uncharacteristically off and I think it's got all of them. Yeah, Mitch will be right in behind them. Morgan Riley was on there as well. Piling up the

minuses Matthew and I think the whole lot of them. But if you're asking me who's going to say it first and who should take, you know, take the reins and take that role, I think it's got to be Austin. And I think the guys would want to hear it. And I would expect them to be. I mean, they got Vancouver, what, tomorrow night. And Vancouver's playing Carolina tonight. So they're going back to back. It's a tough travel. I just just chronicled.

So I would expect them to be pretty good tomorrow night because it was just it was so strange. They just and the way it started with the two early goals for Toronto, I think it's going to be a track meet. Toronto skating awesome. They're creating goals, Willie's got breakaway after breakaway, and then it all just came apart. And there's two parts of the story though. One is Toronto playing poorly, and that's what we're going to talk about. But also, that was a reminder of what Carolina can look like when they're good.

When they get going and that four-check gets rolling, all those big guys in front of the net, they can be a problem. and that's also part of the story. Well, in terms of Matthews, and you mentioned it, you saw it up close and personal and he looks like he's moving better. Is there anything in particular that's on your radar, Johnny, that you are looking for, you were looking for in the way that he's playing that would allow you

to breathe a little bit easier than maybe you were a month ago based on what he was looking like. Yeah, so that was the first time I'd seen him play live since he's come back the second time and I wanted to see sort of what his top speed felt like. It's hard to tell when you're watching right there, you know, like whether they're, it's just more like, is he winning races? Is he getting there fractionally early? That was the one part about it.

And I thought he generally looked like he had a bit more jump in his step that way, even though he didn't play great. But like early on going up and down, they actually looked like he had it. But the other thing to me, Hayes, that is maybe as important for him is how he kind of stops, starts, comes out of corners and protects the puck because

that's where he is like literally the one of the best people in the league and you know he just stopped Kivitz gets you on his back and then he you know a couple strides and he's got some freedom to make a play and that was not there as often this year and you get kind of get knocked over or knocked off stride a guy would close on him and so I didn't see as much of that but that's sort of the thing that I'm watching for going forward is sort of how quickly he gets in and out of his of his turns and his puck protection because that's also what he's very good at. You think the coach just says I'm putting the same

lineup back out there and you better just be better one of those burn the tape things Johnny or do you think Morgan Riley has got another partner which is a whole story on its own i think workers got a play better he's a friend of the show he's a big boys been around a long time he's got a play better but as far as the coach to you said get back out there and redeem yourself uh... i mean for the big guy yes but i'm baby you know they found out that you're ready to tell reese they

they have options over around that they can use if they want and I imagine Max patch already probably plays against Vancouver Brian Reese, I'm not so sure but The defense was curious though, right because it seemed as though with with the cave going out it was gonna be Tanev and OEL together and then Riley was gonna get Myers and just sort of manage how it went and then the Timmons and Benoit out there but to put Tannin with Riley which they had good results but you know Morgan Riley I think it's clearly established he's not a great defensive defenseman

what he's good at is puck movement and creating points and offense and he sort of manages the defensive side while trying to really be good on the offensive side. But he struggled. He struggled to find partners. It hasn't been great with OEL unless he was with Tanev this year. His numbers haven't been that good. They've been okay with Myers in a short little stint. I thought they would stay with that.

I'm surprised that Morgan went to Tanev and obviously didn't go very well for them. But I'm surprised they switched that up because I thought Myers and him were good enough to kind of survive for a little bit and let Ekman Larson who again, I think he's done well for what he was brought in to do. Feels like he's getting a bit of the mid-season fatigue kicking in. Like he's played a lot late, you know obviously won a cup last year. He looks like like a little bit tired then some of his reads some of his foot speed stuff is he's got away from them so all of a sudden the the very stingy Leafs are not quite so stingy when it comes to chances and goals again. Johnny most normal people have to I said in the pregame show they got to drive the net and get

one off their ass and then they start feeling good about themselves getting three breakaways in four minutes is not exactly normal to get off the Schneid. That was pretty crazy, huh? But you know what it's like, oh, when you play with players like this, like, you know, where they are sort of rush players? Like, Malkin, right?

He's a perfect guy. Like, when he gets a couple looks early, skating in open ice, you're like, oh no. He's like, the opposite is in for a bad night. Cause he just gets feeling it. And that's exactly what happened. Even though Willie rang the post in the first two on one, then he missed the next breakaway, like, but he's flying.

He wants to fuck all the time. He's, he's totally engaged in what's going on because he's getting these chances early, but I mean, three clean virtual breakaways, two breakways and one almost breakaway and what six minutes. It's, it's not heard of, but I was dropped on me. He's that's it. You've got eight breakaways this year, which makes them fourth most in the league. So it's not like he's, he's never been down that road, but to have that many that soon against that team was abnormal.

With Mike Johnson, you mentioned Ryan Reeves and him not being in the lineup last night, no certainty he'll play tomorrow. What is, what is your belief that his your belief that his, what do you think his role is going to look like and how much is he even going to play considering, you know, he hasn't fought yet this year. We know the offense's play is just simply not going to be there. I thought they put him in the other night in Philly thinking, okay, you're probably going to fight Hathaway. It didn't happen. Farabee ends up fighting Dure.

Like, what is the purpose of Ryan Reeves moving forward on this team? Well, I mean, I wanna be respectful here. What I mean by that is, like, can they find a purpose and a role for him? Yes. There's not a real role for him, because if the idea is, okay, there's the fighting side,

which we're all gonna acknowledge He's a great fighter and very good at that He never does it because he nobody wants to fight again and there's nobody in the league that sort of does that anymore So he's left without partners and he and he's too honorable to go grab Garnet Hathaway and and beat him up which sometimes a lazy Johnny how that like you might have to do that here It blew up last year where it was like, everyone's getting a tough guy, and what did it last for, what, a couple months?

It was about this time, right? It was about this time where last year, Reeves had a tough first half, and then he got hurt, he got back. Yeah, Jersey got McDermid, and then Renpy showed up, and Olivier, and it's like, oh my god, everyone's gonna have a tough guy again,

and then it just seemed to go up in smoke. No, it just doesn't work. And then the other part about it is, everyone's gonna have a tough guy again and then I seem to go up and smoke now that doesn't it just doesn't work and then then the other part about his workable you're not gonna fight then that you gotta be sort of physical right again this seven minutes are gonna play you know running the guy you know the for check and the challenges like everybody gets older he's not white fast enough

to get in and and be a presence in that way the point where you know if I'm a defenseman, I don't want to get hit by Ryan Reeves, but I don't mind playing against Ryan Reeves because he's not fast enough to get me, to cause me problems. So then what's he left with Taze? Like, he clearly is well liked, well respected,

energy in the room, like, is it like strictly sort of morale and energy and locker room presence and if that's the case then you probably do that in the locker room and don't get to play very often which is which is maybe if they get guys coming back healthy where he's headed unfortunately for him. So you mentioned now you're in Pittsburgh Ottawa they're on the road for nine games they come home play Buffalo gets skunked last night they lose food off the ice boot off the ice boot off the ice boot off the ice and now they gotta go down to pit pit pit look really good

against everton last night ever since auto walk up into that playoff spot they're one five and one in the last seven games or like in all marks common to help them you know it's not gonna happen anytime soon as His pink scarf, his $3,000 scarf. Yeah, it doesn't seem likely that he's...

And again, last night wasn't necessarily a goaltending issue. They didn't score. But feels like a watershed moment here tomorrow. Like Pittsburgh's fighting with Ottawa for that second wild card spot. Ottawa's got to figure this out. And if they don't, man, that van base has a reason to turn on them again. And they have a reason to be skeptical, right? Because this team has sort of let them down and found ways to not achieve what they think

they should for years. And yeah, it feels like these next two weeks are kind of tipping point moments where they got to get together or they might find themselves maybe six points out but with seven teams ahead of them. Like the bottom of these is so bunched up it's not even going to be about how many points you are behind it's going to be about how many teams you have to leapfrog over to get back to where you want to go. So yeah it's an issue I think Allmar gave them a ton of confidence and the fact of the matter is I'm like Austin Matthews like back spasms it's been three weeks he's not even back on the ice yet.

And at some point you're gone so long, you can't even just sort of, oh my back's better, I'm gonna play now. Now you gotta get back in shape before you get to play. So that's another whatever week or eight days of practice while you're trying to get yourself ramped up so you don't do it again. It's a challenge and then the offense

has gone completely dry. You know, just confidence, power play, all of it has just sort of gotten away from them. Probably some fatigue, like nine games away, even if it's broken up by Christmas, that's a long time, like three weeks on the road. And it just grinds on you. And you're not having success, it grinds on you.

So it's a big game tomorrow. It's a big sort of next the big sort of next and uh... to fourteen days for all of it stay with it win some games and stay with the pack johnny i get it there's a salary cap and i get it restrictions there's number of contracts per team like but are you somewhat shocked that there's not some deals made like as if the bruins couldn't use a shakeup, as if the Ottawa senators couldn't

use to add a guy some spark to create a spark, and Hayes has been barking about it for years, it's better for the game when your team has a transaction. People are just ready and willing to watch their team kind of sink or swim and they're like, damn, that's what our team is. I don't know, it drives me nuts. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's hard. It's hard to make deals with consequence for the reasons we all know.

But I think the other part about it is that it's so close. Like, Boston, yeah, sometimes you need teams to sort of be out of it. And who in the East, even in the West? Yeah, but I'm not talking about selling the farm, Johnny. I'm talking about maybe the sense and we want to school pick up a good player if we can because that just impossible to do to

try to get a good player on your team dad well i mean the big make in their writing a father cast and then you do want a four million dollar player or more which is what a good player cost or more you had a shed four million dollars that i guess i'm challenging and i can't even the guy that other people are going good player cost or more, you gotta shed $4 million, that's sometimes challenging. And if it's a guy that other people are gonna want, then you're probably not gonna want to deal with them because they're probably playing pretty well, unless you're trading

my problem or your problem. Like a guy who was on your team. I guess I just hate the idea of watching the team and it's like, that's my team and they kind of suck and I'm gonna continue to watch them. That's to me is crazy stuff. Yeah, but I think, you know what? But then GMs come up and do it. It's like it can't be done. I think they're just sort of risk averse and don't want to put themselves out there and sort of go with status quo and when everyone's hanging around the playoff picture

and no one's really falling out of it, you know, the impetus to make something happen, to work to make a deal happen, is not big enough to make it go right now. I get it, it's fun for fans to get involved in that sort of like watching transactions and people get traded and it's not fun for the players, but it's fun for the fans, it's fun for the business. And I think we probably just have to wait a little longer

closer to the deadline. Now guys, did you get into the Brad Marsh and taking a lot of we talked about it extensively today. What do you make of the Bruins and everything surrounding them right now? We talk like Bruins are in trouble, right? Like they're, they're the team on the bubble. Well, like Tampa was down there. It's not Tampa. They have so many gig, a five games in hand on, on Boston, but I actually don't mind. I don't know. I don't like I sort of

glimpse of the report. I don't know who said it. But I actually don't have a problem when when you're talking about facts. Like if and not opinions for a player to come up on any team in any market against anyone say yeah that is factually wrong. You are lying or you are misinformed. I got to like it and I think it's a rallying cry in the room Oh, would you like wouldn't you love it to like have a guy step up like you guys are full of? baloney and That's garbage and take you know when it when he believes it to be the case

But it is it's another part of a noisy season and what has for a decade What's been a very quiet franchise It's sort of been business and professional and winning and just sort of go about Doing your thing and all of a sudden this year with Swainman and all of it It's just been a noisy noisy year in Boston, but I like this. I was on Boston I'm like go get a marshy tear into him. Yeah, I will say this there's something about the way the guy delivered the message where it seemed like He sold it. Well, he sold it like he legitimately had some kind of mole tell him that Because it's like all the guy who delivered it. Yeah. Yeah, you really want to be the dummy

Who's in on radio and that comes out to be just false and then your credibility is ruined or I don't know if he cares about Why don't we play it? because it's been a couple hours what let's play quickly this is this guy uh... what's the name of the show it's in dead w e i a boston since on the i keep keith and uh... anyway whatever the guys named jones and keep that's the name of the show price so here's is what he had to say what he's hearing within the uh... bruins room these days

first of all we all see is that there are mess on the ice right there for six in a row but what i'm hearing is there also a mess off the ice fairly the locker room is a disaster and david poster knock is at the center of that their positive i can as told the team he doesn't want to be on a line with brad marshall and it may stem from bradand calling out Postronok for some

of his play throughout the year. So Postronok may be your best player, 60 goalscorer, all that stuff. Also the main reason why it is a disaster inside the locker room. They won't play on the line together. Postronok does not want to play with Marchand and they're not playing together. Oh no. So, I mean that's explosive commentary. And he said i'm

hearing that but i'd i'm with you all like he got that from somebody like that somebody is saying that they need a lot of time i don't know that for a second yet not to make it up i didn't make it in the air what he was told not whether it's accurate or not as it is is separate conversation and i understand what the bruins are coming out on the attack, to your point, Johnny, and I think you'd want that to be the case, but what it, like this is explosive. This is the best player, the captain, you know, basically saying Pasternak's a poison

in the room and it puts all eyes on Pasternak, Marchand and the Bruins. At a minimum outside of the Boston market, everyone's like, oh, what's going on down here? ruins at a minimum outside of the boston market everyone cycle what's going on down here and now we got it will see how they dig out of it because regardless of what's going on in that room they've lost six in a row they're not a very good team right now now i mean that's the bottom line right you're there waiting in there in second

place and it's in the sky wouldn't say that there are quite now it's it's it's a story because they're not playing particularly well but you're right. I mean, they played together before, they played together for so long, to think that almost a now, what, because Brad Marshand got on pasta for a turnover or pasta, like, I don't know,

it just seems far-fetched to be true, but I can't speak at all to the merits of the story, but I just love the idea that if you think something's wrong, or not about like, hey, I thought that was Marcia Anne's assignment on the back check, that's an opinion, that's just like, you read things. But it's like, hey, this is a fact, these two guys hate each other.

It's kind of like the Pedersen Miller thing, for that matter, right? Like, if guys don't like each other, then if that's not the case, then you probably want to come out and say it now. Vancouver came out and said it too. And I don't think anybody in the hockey world completely kind of buys it. They're telling the truth.

I think they're just trying to quiet things down. And maybe that's the case in Boston. But it's been a weird year for the Bruins. The picture of sort of professionalism, the char of Bergeron's era of just how they did their business. It's all coming apart right now in a weird way for them because it just hasn't been the way they've behaved or performed.

No, it's up in smoke and yet if you're Ottawa, if you're Detroit, if you're Montreal, you better take advantage of it. It's there for you. Yeah. It's there for you. It's there for you, you better seize it because if you don't, man, I would put money on Boston

finding a waiter restructure things properly in the future and the rangers like arranging are not going to go away they're going to be better than that in being fourteen play thing they're going to be back around it so we better take advantage of when they're struggling to do not go struggle forever exactly enjoyed that a pitch on it with the answer thank you buddy i felt a great weekend mike johnson rt s and hockey analyst