OverDrive - Johnson on Stolarz's large role in Toronto, the goaltending playoff outlook and McCabe's injury stance

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL. Jake McCabe and David Kampf's injuries for the team, Anthony Stolarz's approach in the crease for the roster, the playoff goaltending in Toronto, the Stanley Cup contenders in the league and more.

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That just happened with Vashi Kapelos. Canada decides 2025. Fresh every Friday. Stream on your schedule with the free iHeartRadio app. Here's Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst, without knowing the exact details, you know, the idea of Jake McKay being out for the rest of the regular season, if that's on the table, and it can be because again, the Leafs aren't going to say anything. How might that affect the chase for the one seed in the Atlantic I mean that's not good they have a good defense core they don't like their group they don't have a ton of depth and I think the way the parts kind of fit

together it seemingly only works best one way and that's with McCabe and Tanev, Harlow and Riley, Ekman-Larson and you know Benoit or whoever is going to be back there with him. So you take one of those pieces away and now Ekman-Larson is going to play further up in the lineup. I think we've seen he's given good value. Ekman-Larson has been really good for Toronto for what you would expect him to be. The more you ask him to play, the more minutes, the tougher minutes, the better competition. The more you occasionally see a blip in his game

that you wouldn't see from the other guys. So yeah, they're getting some help right now with beating Florida themselves, with Tampa losing last night in a game that they probably should have beat Ottawa in. So they're in a good spot. They probably need to win five of the remaining games to get there. They play both teams next week. But he's really important. Him and Tanev are really, really important for everything that they do, like from the way that the coach uses them,

the assignments, the penalty kill, all of it. And if he's not good for any stretch of time, that is bad news for the Romney police. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. And I guess Ekman Larson will be the one that will move up. But then you've got Benoit and Myers, so I don't think it's the worst idea to get Myers some play down the stretch because of what you were just saying, Jonas. Like they are capped out, they are bodied out effectively like they're like Robertson will go in Myers goes in but if Hawken Paul is never going

to be an option you know we talked about this I think earlier this week Johnny but those guys they're the guys who are gonna go in like there's gonna be injuries like Myers if you're gonna go on a run Myers is gonna play in the playoffs like that's gonna happen and I would guess Robertson will play In the playoffs if patch ready is not available and Hawkenpah like I said I don't think it's the one there's the silver lining could be you get these guys a little bit of play down the stretch now that Everything's amplified Yeah, sure. I mean it's not perfect, but I mean you gotta make something out of it Right silver lining you're gonna get guys who otherwise wouldn't be playing and you're gonna have Myers who would have been sitting there for what? I mean, it's not perfect, but I mean, you got to make something out of this. You're making the best of that situation, right?

Let it work with silver lining. You're going to get guys who otherwise wouldn't be playing, and you're going to have Myers who would have been sitting there for what? A month? Six weeks without having played a game? And then now he'll get to go in and play a few and get comfortable and get up to speed with the intensity and everything else. So if he has to jump in, in game five, it maybe seems less daunting. And think and you know I don't know what

value put on winning the division I've put quite a bit on it but who knows it's not gonna help having to have me McCabe out for any stretch of time it no matter you know getting Myers talk about you talked about you know I I guess they're tapped out they can't even bring up Marshall Raffaei which is probably the guy they would want to bring up Yeah, it is. It's tough now listen Talk to Florida with Barkoff out and Kachuk out and everything else like this isn't what happens teams Talk to Edmunds David out dry fell hurt again

This is how it goes guys get hurt on occasion and it's and it's tough sledding But this guy in particular for Toronto was you know on the back end? There's two guys that they really really didn't want to lose that's one of the two of them. So Johnny let's just say they are going for the division which I do believe they are and should be and it is a dogfight right for the last seven games how many games you think Anthony Stoller's plays? Good question Noodle I think he probably plays five. I don't have their schedule right in front of me, but I don't think they have back to back along the way. They got two of them. Well, Tuesday they have what? Tuesday, Wednesday, Florida, Toronto. So they'll split

that one this week, right? Yeah. And Saturday, Sundayreal at carolina the next week okay not with those so yeah five i think hopefully the snow give those two to wall depending on the standing at the standing stretch out to four five point noodles and it's like a luxury in the state cut really tight where when you're there could could swing it and i think you probably five i think

you know brookley got back and forth publicly. He's talked about I want a starter and then you know, last week he said well you never know, rotation could work because they are both playing well. I still think he wants a starter. I still think that starter is likely to be Stollers. Well so Mike, like I've been spending way too much time thinking about this because like it could change after like game one or game two but I just don't know what like the where I've ended up today and I'll probably change my opinion next week I don't know what the case is for wall like I just think I'm at the point now before more the stole ours is that that's not that right is that that's it right yeah I guess so because like better season is Stolar's,

better second half is Stolar's. I don't know. Yeah, I think that's it. Wohl has looked really comfortable jumping into tough situations in the playoffs, right, in years past. And so that is where you would maybe lean to him. But Stolar is the the older he's experienced,

he won a cup last year. I know he didn't play, but he was around it. He saw the prep, he felt the tension and all that stuff. He's been the better of the two. That's not to say that Wohl hasn't been good. Certainly the second half, maybe not quite as good as the first half. But Wohl's been really good, solid, really good.

But yeah. And even more so, Jonas, that, solid, really good. But yeah, and even more so, Jonas, that like, if you think about Stolar starting, and if you have to make a change, you're going to put Wol back in a situation where you already have seen him have success. He's already come off the bench in the playoffs and be good. So I don't think you would be hesitant to do that again. Whereas Stolar, you've never seen that because he's never done that Yeah, that's kind of where I was at like wool has four playoff starts Stolars has zero Yeah, so it's all kind of you know ground zero for both of them and you know in essence

But you know I believe tomorrow night will be Stolarz's 30th start of the season. He's played in 30, but last game was his 29th. Now if you're talking about another four or five games, he'll have started 35. The biggest challenge for me and for anybody, just laying it out there, is if they want to go deep into the playoffs and get into 20 some games Every play in every second day for the most part like obviously there would be a little break in between Siri, but like that's a lot of games for a guy who's never had that regardless, so I still believe Both of these guys are gonna play in the playoffs. I don't know what it's gonna look like I can't predict it, but I just I think Stolars is the guy

But I don't know if the leash is super long. I well how long do you think it is two games? Well Jonas it's context Yeah, because we you know what like right? He gives up eight and game one. It's like, okay So if they lose one nothing and triple overtime You know, you don't go on we got to go to the other guy because this guy lost you're like So to me everything is context tied to it and they don't have a clear cut Bobrowski, Vasilevsky, Schisterk and Hellebuck, you name it. So it is going to be kind of play it by ear type of thing, I believe because that's what tandem situations do until somebody separates. I don't know how that can be any

different heading of the playoffs i guess you're hoping that the reason why will happen play it because they played so long that's the order of getting tired right like you don't like all the other third round or another eighty-eight game like all baby you know he looks not quite a sharp will get the other guy in there that would be the ideal not who gave that uh... top night who's considering a good problem We'll get the other guy in there. That would be the ideal not Two games in at a tough night Considering I didn't prop this up

I only noticed the thing I'm doing the game on The Thursday night, whatever that day is a month the 17th The Thursday so two weeks yesterday. That's the last game of the regular season Right almost like Detroit at home that night. We have that game on TSN. It could be for the division I think they start their season their their playoffs on the Saturday They got my 19th two days later. Well, we've heard we got back and forth on that noodles So I heard different I heard the great fine the 21st, but again, I don't know because well I again Johnny I you talked to a lot of execs, I do too, but

it's more in the end. I think there's a game on the 18th in the NHL. It's a makeup. It's a true. It's Calgary, LA, and when it's a fire game, yeah, so there's that apparently has jammed a lot of things up. And it sounds like maybe even Saturday they only get one series started and then you start Sunday and Monday.

And then you want to stagger, don't you think if you are the networks who own it, you would probably in Canada want to stagger Toronto and Edmonton, McDavid and... I'd say Toronto, Montreal would be the place. Montreal, the East would be the stagger. Yeah, okay. And for the record, LA, Calgary, it's on on the Thursday as well and there's no games on Friday. Okay nothing on Friday I was on the impression that you know, it'll be a tight turnaround and they'll take that into consideration depending on traveling everything else But if you're Toronto, you're starting at home, right? You know, you'll know that prior to and you're like, okay, so

or you're starting at home, right? You'll know that prior to, and you're like, okay, so they play Thursday at home, they're gonna play Saturday at home. Because I think they're gonna want Saturday night to be the Leafs, right? For obvious reasons in Canada. Yes, yes. So, I would, I, anyway, it's just worth considering

that sometimes you get three or four, three days, three full off days before the next playoffs series starts, the Leafs might have one. And it's a very small chance, it could even be a travel date because third so on that is also work factoring in when you think most all are that it workload and all the players and their workload and their health because the car out of the real quick as well getting healthy

there's no bumps and bruises dealing in twenty four hours where they get going on going on the first day of the playoffs. Where does Tampa rank for you right now in terms of cup contenders? High. Completely high. They are being slept on way more than they should be, given their track record and everything else. We know one of the very cursory baseline, Jonas don't roll your eyes, metrics of like looking at good teams, is just goal differential.

Right? And they're killing it. And guess who's second in the entire league? Tampa. Tampa's got a better goal differential than Washington. Right? It's only Winnipeg. They got a better goal differential than Dallas,

than Colorado, than Vegas. They're killing that number now. get it they lose close games that win big because they're explosive whatever I think they are just quietly so comfortable with what's going on focus on Florida focus on Toronto we'll just roll along and be ready to go an under reported story beyond Tampa has been the return to elite form of Andre Vasilevsky. I think he spent a couple of years with, you know, not quite as good with the back and everything else,

probably pretty understandable. He won't win the Vesna, it's going to hell a buck. He'll probably be a Vesna finalist. He's been that good this year and nobody talks about how excellent he has been. So you put Vasilevsky, you put Vasileski, you put that first line, you put the added depth. They still have Headman and Czernak. McDonough has been great there. All that experience, the head coach that has won it and they are

dangerous. They are at the, I don't know if you go in like the Tronches haze, like is there the top two or three or four teams? feels like there's no top eight teams and they would be sort of in the Top half of the top eight teams that could win it Well, my god. Yeah, I was just gonna say like the guy you didn't mention who you referred to is Kuturov And I was wondering like where do you put him on your heart trophy ballot? Like He's like he's second in the league in points now. Like you mentioned how good they've been He's obviously the stir of the drink in so many different ways like what do you do with him the heart is fascinating right yeah I mean I think

Leon still deserves it yeah if it's gonna be a positional player noodles will get into the goalie conversation I think if it's gonna be a positional player I still think it's Leon he's got 21 more goals Than Nathan McKinnon a few less points, but he's got almost as many even strength points He's got 20. He's got 19 more goals in Kucherov And he doesn't without playing with McDavid, so I think You have to probably put how LaBuck there this year in some capacity. I think Dry Settle is a position player that deserves it. And then you've got to have a conversation about McKinnon, Kuturov, and maybe, maybe Kale Makar. Yeah. He might,

might he be the third positional player or fourth, I guess, to go along with McKinnon Dreisel and Kuturov. It's not whoever else is up there. It's not Eichel, it's not Marner, Connor, McDavid or I guess it's not a little guy. It might be McCarr and then Halabuck and then those three leading scorers. But I think Kuturov, I don't know, he's a winger. He hasn't played as many goals. I don't know, he's on the outside of the three. But what if he wins the Art Ross? Like what do we do then? Does that matter? Then good congratulations to him. Like I mean I don't think he's played as much on Dry Sidle. No, I don't think I have him first, but like... He might get to a finalist position if he wins the Art Ross. He might bump McKinnon if he gets, you know, two ahead of him. But I don't, I think it's a two kind of player race right now is

Dreisel and Hellavon. He had seven shots on goal last night and I didn't think he had a great game, which is insane for me to say it. Like, he is so casual out there and I don't know if you saw the metrics last night, Johnny, they had 29 high high danger chances He was it was but the game is so easy the game comes to him And then he just slows it down and he's never at high speed and and he was bumbling some pox on the power play And kind of just he wasn't like dialed in but he was putting it on a tee for Gensel and for point and like for headedman it was just ridiculous to watch him play and and he didn't have his a

stuff and he had seven shots on goal last night like just for fun like it is it is weird to watch the other stat that I just found out last night for what I should have been on top of Brandon Hagel has 34 even strength goals. He doesn't have a power play goal this season. No, no. Which is insane because like, you know, you're right, like that team and I've been on Tampa for a while. I liked them at the start of the year, just the way they were built. But it was Vasilevsky that, you know, Jonas hates his guts. I don't know why. It's a personal thing.

Yeah, can't stand them. But Hayes backed it up though. I say this i was that wasn't on the show and i had to come back on the show and trying to fend vasilevsky because apparently they had a vasilevsky hate it on well he's not stating facts that we were just towards them a couple years ago and then they had injury issues in the surgery and stuff i had a couple years or was it really are great. 100%. I totally disagree.

You gotta just call a spade a spade, man. It is. He's been great. He's been phenomenal. And I said, I remember saying when he went to the three straight cup finals, I think you need to start talking, or we collectively in the community, need to start considering him maybe the most clutch goalie of all time. That's true, Ron. And maybe like the greatest like playoff performer of all time. When you consider what he did, he never missed a game. His stats coming off losses, insane.

Didn't he get a shutout in six or seven consecutive series flinching games? Yeah, exactly. Like, I think obscene, obscene stuff. Yeah, and he went through a couple years, probably largely based on physical ailments where he wasn't as good, and he wasn't good in the playoffs. Like, at least when they beat him, their goalie was way better than Vasilevsky. When they had success against Tampa,

they've made Vasilevsky look less than the first Ballot Hall Famer he is, but this year is not that near. This year he is right there with everyone but Hellebuck. In fact, he's probably the best of anyone but Hellebuck. So that would be alarming for another reason. Again, all respect to Ottawa. You don't want Florida and you don't want Tampa. They both pose challenges for different reasons. And that's not to say it's just Ottawa will be easy because they won't. They't they got pretty good way of their own but if you're asking me which one I think they have a better chance against is probably against Ottawa yeah all day

you punch your ticket play Ottawa and you see where it goes take your chances that's and that I'm speaking for Toronto and Tampa and Florida like they all would see it the same way they're all they're all seeking that position all right Johnny we'll leave it there. Have a great weekend. All right, Charles, have a good weekend. There's Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Hey, who invited climate action to the party?

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