OverDrive - Johnson on Sam Bennett joining Team Canada, the Maple Leafs post-Olympics outlook, and the level of intensity the hockey will provide in Milan

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson on whether Sam Bennett was the right choice to replace Anthony Cirelli, if the Maple Leafs have run out of runway in order to sneak into a playoff spot, how much this Olympic break will benefit an injury-ridden Toronto group, and what level of intensity to expect from the best-on-best hockey tournament in Milan.

Our next guest never scared of any ski run that he goes down because he's a spectacular skier and he's not a bad hockey analyst as well. Mike Johnson joining us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. How are you, MJ? How about that for an intro? Listen, I like to see Mark, you know I am a preferred bib racer only. I got to be in the first 10 out of the gate. I don't want ruts. I don't want when it's worn down.

If it's fresh, I'm okay. I'm not like you. I can't go deep. but that, I mean, it's almost sad for Lindsey Vaughn. Like, she was going to be likely the star of the Olympics, like the biggest star of the Olympics at her age, and she was skiing as well as anyone in the World Cup this year. So, I mean, I'll tune in.

I mean, you know, she's fearless. Will the knee hold up? But, like, the torque in those, you know, like the load in the legs would be tough to manage in that, with that kind of injury. Well, I don't know, MJ, because I would never, ever come close to going down a hill. at those speeds.

But I wanted to ask you, MJ, what's the worst injury you ever played with? Because this seems like an excruciatingly difficult injury to ski on. What did you skate on in your day? So it's funny, because I mean, I played with like torn labros in my shoulders for better parts of two, three years.

And it was uncomfortable, but it wasn't debilitating. I had torn MCL, lots of broken bones. But the worst one of them all, horn intercostal muscle in the ribs. And it's basically like every time you breathe or turn, someone's sticking a knife in your side. It was brutal.

I tried it for two weeks. I played so bad. I remember I was diagnosed with it. The doc's like, you probably shouldn't play. We can give you some pain medication. I was playing for Tampa. The coach was like, listen, you don't have to hit anyone.

We just need to the power play. I'm like, I don't hit anyone anyways. What are you talking about? I can't do anything out here. And I played for like three or four or five games and it was not very good in getting progressively worse. So that one was probably the most difficult one to play through. Well, Mike, unfortunately, injuries have hit the men's hockey team, Anthony Sorrelli,

which you feel awful for him because you just never know when these opportunities are going to come his way or anyone's way, for that matter. Is it the least surprising thing that Sam Bennett is the one that's replacing them? This was the easiest move for Team Canada management. because if it was Braden Point who wasn't unable to play, you know, they've spoken about wanting to be like a lateral move. Like, if we lose a player, we want to replace him, not with the next guy on the death chart, but the next guy at that position on the death chart.

And those are two different things, whereas Sorrelli was going to be fourth or fifth line player. He's going to be a penalty killer energy guy. And Sam Bennett would be very much that same exact player on this team for this Olympic. So, yeah, this was an easy swap for the management team. Brutal for Sorrelli, because I think everyone's easy to say, like, yeah, Sam Bennett, obviously. Look what he's done in the clutch.

Look what he did in the Four Nation. Look what he did in the playoffs. You know, in big moments, he has been there and he's been excellent in them. And he's had a really good year after the slow start. But it also just is brutal for Sorrelli because you're right, Mark. There's no guarantee. In fact, it's probably more likely than not that he never gets to an Olympics. You know, it's just hard to make.

Team Canada is at his position. So great for Bennett, so disappointing for Sorrelli. But yeah, an easy substitution. What I am curious about, were they getting too far in the X's and O's? One of the reasons that Sorrelli made it ahead of Bennett was that he was a superior penalty killer. And they really like the Hagle Sorelli penalty kill combo from Tampa, knowing they're going to need somebody to do that in the games. Who kills penalties for Canada?

That is one thing I'll be curious to see what happens there. Because Sorrelli is very good at that. Bennett not quite as good. What happens there in the penalty kill rotation once they get playing? So before we get to that tournament that we've all been waiting for MJ, there's still quite a few days left in the NHL schedule.

The Leafs play tonight in Edmonton, of course, and then there's two more nights of NHL play Wednesday and Thursday before they wrap it up. We were just going through the scenarios with the Leafs, MJ, and the idea that if they won tonight, they went into the break with a three-game winning streak, if Boston were to lose to Florida in their final game, least would be five points back

with 24 games remaining on the schedule, post-Olympics, six games before the trade deadline. How do you think they're going to approach this? As they get toward the trade deadline, this whole city's written this team off and said it's over. They have no chance. Let's think about another plan. But you know how things go inside NHL front offices.

It's not going to be that hasty. What's your best? guess on, you know, how much credence they give to making a run and making the playoffs and how much or how close they can get to that deadline before they have to make that decision. Yeah, the point is very well made in that they're not going to, they're not going to want to believe it's over that they're out, that they got to sell, they got to rebuild, whether it's the players for sure. We always, you just laid it out there. We're like five points, 25 games. That's nothing. Although mathematically, it's a,

enormous. Yes. Right. Like when you start, like the playoff cut line in the east before last night was 99 points. For the least to get there, they had to go 20 wins and seven losses. So now to get to 99, they got to go to what, 19 and 7. If they went tonight, it's 18 and 7. Like, it's still very hard from they get there.

Now, if one of those teams at the bottom hits, you know, goes through a real slide, well, then maybe they, you know, get a couple more losses mixed in. But they're also competing with Columbus and Washington and Ottawa. And Florida. So you can say, yeah, they're within five, but so are five other teams. Like, I think the models that suggest they have a 5 to 10% chance to make the playoffs are accurate. Like, those are real. Now, players won't want to hear it.

Management won't want to hear it. But you have to face the reality. That doesn't mean you throw in the towel. You want the guys to play hard. Maybe you fast, you string it out as long as you can, like right through the deadline right to the last day before. But you also have to be realistic. And then the other part about it is that, let's say they make it. Are they really cup contenders?

Like last year, I'd say, yeah. They legitimately could look at themselves and say they wouldn't be the favorite, but they can get to the Stanley Cup. And while it is maybe more wide open in the East this year, where there's not so many proven powerhouses, given what I've seen the way that Toronto plays for 55 games, I have a hard time seeing them get through three rounds of the playoffs to get to the final. No matter who they play in the Eastern Conference.

So you put all that together. Reality check, they're very likely going to miss the playoffs, and you have to proceed accordingly. Mike, you had a front row seat to that game yesterday, so apologies. I also watched the whole game, so I feel like I should get some sort of medal. It was not a Picasso. They get the win, and they'll take it. Unless you're Willie Neelander.

That's true. He was playing a different game. That game was a nothing burger. then he stepped on the ice like, oh, look at this skill, look at the plays, look at the patience. He'd leave and then it's like, ugh, it's nothing. He'd come back on, look at him go. Look at all the chances he's creating. And then he'd leave and then nothing happened.

It was so disproportionate how good he was relative to everyone else on the ice in that game last night. You know, he's not the best player by that margin, but as far as what he was doing in the game, it was heads into, he was playing a different league. It was a pro playing in men's league. That's how good he was every single shift. It was amazing, you know, the reason they won. But you're right. Wasn't a beautiful game against a bad team.

And they were not really able to control play, which is a little unsettling. The home cooking in Calgary, I guess, his birthplace. Apparently. So you've obviously been able to watch this team up close for the last couple of weeks. Give us some players who are really going to benefit the most from this Olympic break on the leaves. there's one that is so wildly obvious to me when I watch them play first hand and it's not the guy you're thinking of it's Matthew nice this guy when he is healthy is physically imposing at the NHL level speed strength power explosiveness and I watch him play now and all of that is sort of down to regular levels like it's no longer a point of differentiation in his favor he's just sort of like one of the one of all the guys that skate well, but he's not any faster, any stronger. So he, whatever's going on with his hip, groin, abdomen, whatever, he needs a break.

And hopefully two weeks off will get him well enough that he can play the rest of the year. So to me, he is heads and tails. Obviously, John Sabarra is at his age, not surprising that he slowed them down from the start of the year, but he could probably use a reset. And you know that he will use that two weeks to full advantage. He will dig into getting ready to be healthy and energized down the stretch. And Morgan Riley. Like Morgan Riley didn't play last night.

I thought it was because he blocked a shot with his foot against Vancouver. It's not what it was. It was nothing to do with that. It's some sort of pre-existing thing he was working through or playing with. And so maybe two weeks off we'll get him something closer to healthy too. So there's a few guys, but important players that will be well served to take a week or two away. Well, I wonder how much of that could be a factor coming up. out of the Olympic break, MJ, because the Leafs have, you know,

one of the fewest numbers of players going to the Olympics, only three guys going in terms of Matthews, Neelander, and Ekman Larson, and they come out of the break. They've got to play a back-to-back Tampa, Florida. Tampa's got, I believe, nine guys going now that Sorrelli's not going, but Sorrelli's hurt, and Florida's got nine guys going. Do you think that's just a marginal advantage, or could that be a substantial boost for a team,

considering their biggest rivals here down the state? stretch are going to be a little more fatigued. It should be a significant advantage eventually. But in that first week, I don't know when teams get eliminated. They might get home a few days earlier. Maybe the teams that have 10 players playing in the Olympics, those guys are sharper or more dialed in or more on top of their game. But by 10 days after the Olympics, absolutely, if you got a team with only three guys

going up against a team where 11 other players were over there, travel, jetlight, emotion, physical, all of it, you should have more energy available to you. And in this season, more than any other one we've been around, having energy available to you is a real asset. And not every team has it every night. So in that sense, yes, but I would be worried that, you know,

if four Tampa players come off the high of winning a gold medal and playing well, like are they sailing that first week and that becomes a more difficult matchup, but eventually it should help them. You know, another reason not to sell, right, MJ? no no that's not the reason not to sell

look so like if I was running a team I would not be running it on these so you're saying there's a chance what's all this one in a million talk like that's not the way that I would want to run a team now since the NHL has gone to 16 teams in the playoffs Mark would know this because he watched the broadcast that it's in entirety

so like 45 years ago since that time teams that have been eight or more points behind on February 1st and then made the playoffs? Three. Just three. In 45 years. One was the hamburger run, which was the most recent one, which was like 10 years ago. So

you can say there's a chance and we can talk ourselves into believing there's a chance. And as a player, I'm like, yes, 100%. Trade for good players. Don't sell our good players. Bring us more good players. It's still the numbers, the history, the reality is unlikely that

make it. Here is our TSN hockey analyst, Mike Johnson, joining us on Overdrive. And we saw them on the Leafs broadcast last night. And next week, you're going to be calling games in Milan for the upcoming Winter Olympics. And we're all looking for it. Obviously, best on best.

And this is the first opportunity for Conrad David to play at the Olympics. I know you've been in transit. So I don't know if you read the article and the players trip. I did. Okay. So as someone who is not always forthcoming to the media, What was your takeaway that he wrote this strongly worded article about just what this tournament means to him? So I think the one phrase that sort of stuck out in the article that resonated with me is like,

maybe I shouldn't write this until after we make it. Like, you know, like the fact that he put it out there beforehand. And that's human nature. Nobody wants to suggest something means the world to them before they've achieved it. Because they're putting that risk to disappointment and the public disappointment if you don't. but I love that he did because he knows that. He acknowledged it in the article. You know, like, hey, maybe I should just go back and being quiet and being the robot.

But no, like, this is it. And the other part that really rang true was when he talked about winning the Four Nations was the first thing he's won since was the World Junior. He's like, I'm, right? World Junior, World Championship. World Championship in Moscow. Yeah. Whatever was, seven years or something. He's like the best player in the world.

The best player in the world. He's like, I haven't won anything playing hockey as a team for seven years. And that also like as a former player who never won anything, it's so true. You stop winning once you get to the NHL. It's so few teams, so few people that get to win, especially without this best on best stuff that they haven't had to augment the reality of Stanley Cup or bust. So I love him leaning into it.

I love him not shy. from the pressure from the moment. I liked him talking about Marci and Sid and Dowdy, who doesn't have a nickname apparently, he's just called Dowdy, and how calm they were and how focused they were. And I just, you know, the best players of the world still learning

from others in these big moments. The way I've heard Sid talk about Scott Niedermeyer in 2010 when they lost the lead late in overtime. And then it was Niedemeyer and Pronger were like, no, we got this. We absolutely got this. And that whole glimpse behind the curtain is fascinated me, but it's, he's not alone. He is just the one articulating what every great player is feeling.

This is something that this generation of players have grown up wanting to chase, because they grew up through in 98 and 2002 and 06 and 10 and 14. Like they, this is something they want to achieve, which leads me to believe that it's going to be just, I don't care about the dress rooms or the walk or the dust. the games are going to be spectacular because the players are the best of the world and they want it as much as anything. MJ, how do you think it's going to sort of compare

to the foreign nations? Because we're going to have P.K. Suban on here shortly. He's the executive producer of a little documentary that recaps the Four Nations that's going to be airing this week. A little bit of an appetizer for the main event of the Olympics. And we all know how the temperature got ramped up in that thing with the

politics on the outside of the hockey and then the three fights in nine seconds on the inside of the rink. We're not going to have that, but how do you think it'll differ when you've got the double IHF rulebook and you got the five rings hanging over the rink? I mean, it'll be NHL refs. So while the rule books are very similar now, so with NHL refs involved,

I don't think it'll be worried that it's going to be called really different than an NHL game might. So I would not be worried about that. But the idea of fighting is obviously out the window. You can't do that internationally. So the three-fight thing or that somehow if the U.S. and Canada face each other again, there would be fights. There won't be because guys get kicked out of the game and that'll be it. And the other part about this is that Canada and the U.S. can only play each other once.

There'll be no warm-up and then the final. They will meet somewhere along the road to the final or in the final if they play against each other. So there is that part of it as well. So I think that sort of will make it feel a little bit different because there won't be, a chance to stir up more emotions if they get there. And I think everyone in North America would hope that it is Canada to the U.S. Not because we love those countries the most, well, Canadians love the Canadians, but that would be the best theater for North America.

Like that, these two countries are two best countries in the world at hockey. I love the way the U.S. and their commercials are leaning into the fact that they want Canada. In many ways, Bill Guerin built his team to beat Canada. Not to be the best team in the tournament, to be the team that can beat Canada. to be the team that can beat Canada in this tournament. And so that would be just compelling, compelling theater. But while it is likely, would either of you guys be surprised if Sweden or Czechia gets to a metal game or the gold game? Like, not at all.

In a seven-game series, it would be Canada, the U.S. in the final every single time. But in a one-off, don't be stunned. Finland, Czechia, Sweden. can all get there. Switzerland might give people trouble as well. It's going to be more competitive than just this march to the U.S. and Canada together for the gold. And just like the four nations face off, Mike,

the United States, at least on paper, have the edge in net compared to Canada. And last night we're watching Hellbuck versus Ottinger and, you know, the stars beat the jets. And is it, what does Hellbuck have to do to kind of lose that? net because it seemed, especially with the way that he played last season, that it was his net and no questions asked. But you look at the two stats this year and they almost mirror each other. What is going to be tricky for the American team is that the way this tournament works is there's three pools of four. And the Americans are the number one seed. So they have the easiest pool.

In their pool, Germany, Denmark, Latvia. respectfully, Markey, you could probably play a net and they would win all three of those games. So I don't know if the states, I don't know if the states will get to know if Helibox on top of his game until they're in an elimination game against Germany or Switzerland, a better team that will challenge them more significantly. So I don't, if I'm the coach, if I'm Mike Sullivan, I'm not sure how I deal with that rotation. I probably play Ottinger or maybe even Swamen, who knows, in one of those round robin games and then just go with your gut, I suppose.

but whoever gets game one and game three is going to get quarterfinal one and then if you win that you're just sort of the guy for the rest of the way this depth and net doesn't really help them because only one guy gets to play and there's not enough games for them to explore who might be playing better. Like Canada will find out their first games check you.

They'll know about joining Binnington right away. And if Bittington plays poorly, they'll make a pivot and somebody else will play game two against Switzerland and if they win, that guy's probably going to be the goalie down the stretch. the U.S. because of their schedule won't have that kind of competition to make that decision. Would that be your estimated guess that Binnington gets game one or are, it could be anyone? I think it's going to be Bennington. Again, that's what I think they will do.

Not what I would do. That's what they will do. And if he gets through Chequette, then he probably should be the guy going for it because Chekke is going to be really good. Maybe they give Logan Thompson, Switzerland in Game 2 back to Binnington for France. but there is an advantage of finishing higher up because no one gets elimination, eliminated like the top four go through,

the next eight play, like a playing game to get to the quarter final. So you play one less game and get a better seating if you're able to sweep your round robin play. So you don't want to throw a game while experimenting with goaltenders. But yeah, I think Benetting gets to start

and then probably a different goal he plays game too. Would you go Thompson, MJ? Yeah, I suppose, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I know he's sort of been, I'm injured a little bit. Well, no, I guess I like Darcy Kemper. And I like Darcy Kemper in a game where he knows what's going on,

like where he has good defense in front of him. Like if he knows what's coming and he's not worried about the next play, he can be, I almost trust him most on the first shot. The second one, maybe not so much. But I don't know how many second ones there will be with his team Canada. Who knows? I guess in something in my mind, I'm still thinking of 2014. When teams couldn't even get a shot on Kerry Price.

like 10 shots a game, no scoring chances. That wasn't the Four Nations. Yes, they won, and it was awesome. But it's not like the teams they played against didn't get good looks against them. So, yeah, it would probably be Thompson in game two, and then you make your pick. Well, it's great to chat with you before you leave.

Hope the Italian is good in terms of your speaking ability. I know the Italian food will be great. No, Buono. No, boy, okay. Well, no, that's okay. You just need like four, four, five words. I got a plane right to work on it. There you go.

Yeah. Yeah, that's your whole bark. Have a great tournament, man. What an experience for you. I know this is, this means a lot, and we're going to be watching, and I think it's going to be a fantastic tournament. I appreciate that, guys. Thank you. There you have it.

Mike Johnson. I'm Dylan Clayford, and I'm Tyler Smith. We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers, proudly Canadian-owned and operator. Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances for over 50 years. And you can find Bromance on the IHeartRadio Network or wherever you get your podcast.