OverDrive - Johnson on the Maple Leafs' Florida matchups, Demidov landing in Montreal and the Red Wings' team build

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Maple Leafs' position in the Atlantic Division, Ivan Demidov's signing with the Canadiens, the Red Wings' team trajectory, the Hart Trophy award viewpoint and more.

Are you age 16 to 30 and ready to make a real impact? The Youth Thrive program, funded by Canada Service Corps and delivered by the Career Foundation, is your chance to develop leadership skills, connect with mentors, and gain real world experience, all while giving back to your community. Best of all, it's a no-cost program, available across Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and BC. Thoughts are limited, so register now at careerfoundation.com. That's careerfoundation.com.

Join today and be part of something amazing. Here's Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. What is your read on the importance of 100 points for Mitch Marner and maybe if he gets a couple down in Florida, chasing 50 goals for William Nylander? I think you'd be naive to suggest it's not really important to them. down in Florida chasing 50 goals for William Nylander? I think you'd be naive to suggest it's not really important to those.

I think they understand both in their career and financially that they're not going to be judged by whether they do those things, but they're great offensive players. Oh no, O's chased down 40 goals before. It feels really good when you get there. It is a thing that is going to be there forever. And the way Mitch missed 100 previously, missing those games late in the season and not getting there, Willie, he may never get this close again to 50. I think it is something that can be a healthy motivation for the last six games and so if I'm Mitch Marner, if I'm hurt, then I shouldn't play

at the end of the year to try to get healthy for the playoffs. But if I'm not hurt, I absolutely want to play and get 100 points, become a 100-point scorer for the first time and do those kinds of things. Go get 50 goals. It's a magical number if you're William Nylander. So if healthy, I think it's, if the players are healthy, I think it's a good thing to have out there to try to achieve. Johnny, true or false, somebody sent me a tweet when you were in Nashville that you blew out a mini

Jerry's during the game. Is that true? I went mini Jerry's with a little Anchorman reference in the middle of a replay review. Wow! And I said Marty Saloui has to challenge this, you know, it's a gray area. I think it's 62% That you'll get it right and then I went with a 60% Every time it works 60% of the times. I love it, man. That's it. That's two worlds colliding Overdrive and Anchorman you can't beat that That is a mash-up that we love to see in here. That would have been Sunday, right? I was a big big win for the house massive game They played terribly and they won the game largely because national makes every goaltender look like Connor

Ellibuch in the league this year yeah they're gonna need the Habs gonna get there right like they're virtually a lock if they went tonight then they almost are mathematically a lock and they got the demidoff kid coming over out of nowhere yeah which is kind of big like you know in the Montreal world he is outrageously talented he's like Michkoff but quite a bit better. That's what everyone's saying. Do you think he'll play? Like obviously they're gonna get him in a game or two next week but they're playing for something like they lose tonight and they lose their next game all of a sudden there's some panic in the air. Well what's the mini Jerry's that

he plays and he plays well right off the hop? So I'm kind of with Hayes, they might wait to see how tonight goes. If they win tonight, then I think it's almost 100% he plays next game, or whenever he gets here in time and sort of adjusted to play. If they were to lose one or two, I think then the mini Jerry drops way down to like, it's 50-50,

because I don't think you want to put a guy who's never played in North America into a game where you're up by two points, the other team has a game in hand, and you're trying to make the playoff the first time in five years. It's just a lot to ask. To the point when I saw the press release today, and I know you can't time it because St. Peter's were just going to do whatever they want, I would not have released this until tomorrow if I'm Montreal. I would have let the group, that's one, what, five in a row, feeling good about themselves, about their roles on their team, what line they're on.

They don't need to hear about the new superstar coming in because he's going to take the place of someone who's been playing and contributing. And that guy today now is going to be thinking, okay, if I don't play well today, or maybe if I do play well, I'm getting scratched next game. And like that's sort of a, I just would not have introduced that if I could have on the eve of such an important game tonight. Yeah. Well, he is, he is a guy that they've been buzzing about really all year, right?

In, in Montreal, you know, that they have been starved for super stardom and they, they appear to have it in Lane Hudson. Suzuki is going to be a guy that hits 90 points this year. And Caulfield, I think, will hit 40 goals. Like the idea of this kid showing up and performing and playing and playing at a high level, like that market is going to explode, Johnny. Well, and you know what Montreal's like

when it comes to like high-end offensive guys. Like I played with Alex Kovalov there when he was in Montreal. And they loved Kobe, despite his warts and his occasional inconsistencies. It did not matter. Like there's something about that market that embraces the flair and the stylings

of an uber-talented offensive player. And you mentioned Hudson, who's set in records left and right, Cole Caulfield, Zucchi. This kid might be the most talented with the puck player of the three of them, and that's saying something. Like that's how he, you know, he led St. Petersburg in assistant points.

I think he had the, he passed Kaprizov and somebody else, like prominent player in most points as a teenager. Like he's done amazing things over there, playing sometimes like eight, 10 minutes a night. in most points as a teenager like he's done amazing things over there playing sometimes like eight ten minutes a night so I know it's a transition but the hype is over the top right now Hayes and so there'll be a lot of expectations on him but apparently he's supposed to be the real deal. So Ottawa basically in it's it's a lock at this point Montreal is real close if they win, it's a lock at this point. Montreal is real close. If they win tonight, it's a lock.

Which fan base should be more upset or bitter that they've seen these two teams leapfrog them? Is it Detroit or Buffalo? So I think if Detroit was being honest with themselves, they're not perfectly situated to start getting that much better. They're a competitive team, but they're not perfectly situated to start getting that much better they're a competitive team but they're not a really good team but they have to ask themselves Johnny how did we get surpassed by Montreal? Yeah they bottomed out years ago yeah like they've got to be thinking we thought we were further

ahead we should have been the one capturing this not them no? But I suppose oh but I guess I'm saying they would have been misguided in thinking that that they were ahead of those teams like they were not ahead of Ottawa they were not ahead of Montreal they were always going to be sort of stuck in grinding maybe three there's not there's not that deep not that good whereas I think Buffalo felt with all their talent and the contracts and a goalie and Lindy Ross. Like I think there was genuine realistic optimism that this would be a better

year and that our poor and you can look at some of the players they had with every bit as good as Ottawa's or and certainly every bit as good as Montreal's before the season. So I think if anyone's gonna be more disappointed it would be Buffalo because they would have been more appropriately optimistic about this year. I guess maybe I don't think Detroit ever quite had it, but Buffalo, they had a chance to have it. They just, they didn't get it. Well, as literally, Detroit's a weird team too because it feels like they're a squad

that instead of rebuilding like Montreal did, Ottawa did, Buffalo certainly has tried that a couple times, they tried to like reload, retool on the fly. They didn't necessarily bottom out, draft develop. They tried to sign guys, it was like Andrew Cot, they're bringing in Patrick Kane, Ben Chirot. It's just been a weird mismatch. I'm not really sure what the identity of that team really is either. And I feel like that's a big reason for why they're struggling. The government. The government patient, right? Yeah. I think Steve Eisenman, he was on the Eiser plan. It a big reason for why they're struggling and prounder. They got impatient, right? Yeah. I think Steve Eisenman, he was on the Eiser plan.

It was taking their time and they're drafting and Mosider and Seaman Edmondson and Marco Casper. But then I think he thought, I don't want to wait four more years. So we went and got Petrie and Sheraton and Cop and Comfort, all decent NHL players, but probably not the guys are going to lead you to the promised land. So yeah, and now they're stuck with all those guys on decent contracts who are probably not good enough to lead, well clearly not good enough to lead them

deep into the playoffs, and now they're gonna finish ninth or tenth, which is not gonna get them the draft pick to get the talent that they need to begin with. Yeah, they're stuck in the middle, and that's not a good place to be. So that's why I think it's the Red Wing fan that deserves to be the most upset with what they've seen out of Montreal in Ottawa because they did the bottoming

out without any fruit, like without anything actually like developing positively for them. Yes, they have a couple of good players there, but what has Eisenman been doing? Like the Habs were in the cup final in 21, and then they said, that's it, we're going to bottom out. Three years later, look where they are. Detroit bottomed out like eight years ago. And they're really not in much of a better position.

If anything, they've locked in on contracts with guys where it's like, where is this possibly going? Well, I'll tell you one thing they've been doing. They've been dicking around in net. I'm sorry. Five, six around a net I'm sorry five six different guys I have those five or six guys rotating through there and you don't find a way to get somebody like a Montembleau or draft somebody like you you can't win with those guys in the Billy the Rick Clouseau's they brought in and they thought he was the next guy and then Talbot and then lion it's like no way dude no way are

those guys gonna get you in they're just not well yeah and again I'm glad noodles is not here cuz he'd say they don't play properly in front of them well in fact the first like 30 games this year their goal today was actually pretty good but it's fallen off but I think he's I've been the phrase of the question where the Red Wings fans should have been disappointed was not now it would have been like last summer and the summer before we like well hang on what are we doing here like it was the process to get to this point right yeah put them in a spot where they're now they've been passed by these teams who are only going to get better and they're sort of stuck in neutral for the next

little while. What do you mean by the summer? Like what they didn't do in the summer? No what they did do. By signing those players, like when they went out, was it two years ago, they went and they got, they signed Teresenko and they signed Sherratt and they signed Kopp and then the next time they signed Komper and these $5 million contracts, you're like, those guys are good players.

Those are good complimentary players. They're coming off teams where they were the fourth defenseman and the eighth forward. And now you're gonna ask them to be the fourth forward and the second defenseman, and it's not gonna be as good. And it's just human nature, right? And I think that's where if you're gonna say, you're right, they probably should be disappointed,

but it should have been years in the making, not just this year's results, but sort of how they tried to expedite their rebuild and in fact stunted it because they didn't give it enough time to fully marinate and bottom out and get enough high-end talent to go the other way. Leaves in Florida tonight, Johnny, and I was a little surprised to see Joseph Wall get the start, but does is baby suggest to you that the goalie competition could still be alive or

when i had a keep stores for tomorrow way now i think it's the other way i think i think i'm going to die johnny that walls numbers verses pamper incredible right it right now here we are saying but i'd i think they're also incredibly small sample size right maybe if they both would play the team three four or five times. So I think it's I think it's

Stolars going against Tampa like that's the game if they beat Tampa to more on regulation That's that's almost a wrap. Yeah For them and if they lose that it's game on right to the bitter end So I think they're gonna go to to their number one goalie and I think Stolars has seen Florida three times, Florida has seen Stolars three times. There's still a decent chance that the two teams play each other in the first round and I think without going too far down the psychology of it all, I wonder if they just don't want Stolars to see them and them to see Stolars one more time if they're going to play against each other in the first round.

I just got to call you out because you numbers guys sometimes you pick and choose Where you have a number that's in your favor you're like that's only five games But that's the stats and when you don't believe it you're like, that's too small of a sample size there So you guys can kind of You guys can kind of pick and choose. Well, pick the numbers. I can make them mean anything. I know. If you give me a case, I'll find you a number that supports it.

Whatever. I think I'll find you a number that supports it. Okay. I can always manipulate those numbers, man. I did it as a... Coucher, oh. Coucher, I got you. It's very true.

Good grab there. Do you have any response, Fred Ridley Jr. over there? Why? Because you're Mr. Numbers as well, when it's your your case? I sometimes and and I mentioned this stat earlier Johnny I was looking into the numbers for this matchup and funny enough like Florida last five games 0-1-5 yet somehow lead the league and expect to goals. That's a small sample size though. That's a five game sample size. That's a small sample size nothing to see here. Well what you get is a team that's still good, still plays hard, the system produces great underlying

numbers, so they're basically, them and Carolina, the two best underlying teams of the year. But what they don't have in the last five games is the talent. They don't have Barkov playing, they don't have Pichak playing, Bennet's been banged up, and what, X-Fla does a lineup, so you can generate the same chance,

it's the same expected goals, but then the quality of finishing is not it's not as good because you don't have as good Jeff O'Neill could take a shot and I could take the shot same expected goals for the same spot he will score more than me because he can shoot it better than me and I think that's what they're bumping into and they've been goalie like out of their mind a couple times along the way so yeah they're not as bad as the old five records would indicate but I think they are officially like they are they're completely in that we don't care at all where we finish per second

third fourth like I think they're they've publicly and almost privately adopted it does not matter one iota we don't care once we're just gonna get guys healthy and try us when we're fully healthy in the playoffs. We'll take our chances. With Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst, so we've got about 10 days left in the regular season, which means voters have got to start getting their ballots in. Where is Nikita Kucherov on your heart ballot as of today? He's so good.

He's so good. So, to me, there are four people to consider for three spots on the on the harsh. Strysaddle, it's McKinnon, it's Kucherov, it's Halabuck. And I don't know how you rate those. Well Kucherov's now tied in points and he's played five less games than McKinnon. more goals. True trough I think winger versus center is a conversation I know I know it's more interchangeable now than ever but it still matters I think goals versus assists like I would put dry saddle ahead of both of them because he has so many more goals so I think dry saddles on and then it becomes

do you want to put a goalie on there? I think I do like we saw like the last three four years we've seen 150 points 140 points 100 assists and it dries or mckinnon and kucherov end up with 122 I don't know if that's monumental enough to eliminate hell about given the year he's having leading the league and wins goals against save percentage save percentage, shutouts, and he's probably going to win the President's Trophy. You put all that together, I think that probably warrants an inclusion when the forwards haven't put up otherworldly numbers. There's no 70-goal season from Austin Matthews.

I think the goals give me dry settle, hell a buck in the competition give me hell a buck. Then I'm going to come down to Kucherov or McKinnon and there's they're very very close I I know I don't know I don't know how you separate them position wise the stats are almost identical you know I would be inclined to say McKinnon because I think McKinnon probably impacts the game a bit more McKinnon with all the injuries around him maybe you know Kucherov's had the luxury of with a point in Gentel for a lot of the season. Doesn't mean he's not incredible, it's just he has. And McKinnon hasn't had that all the time, but it's splitting hairs that can go either way and be convinced

either way. Yeah it's incredible what these guys have done and McKinnon averages about a minute 25 more per game. Like you can see on different websites he's had almost two hundred more shifts the future of i don't know if that necessarily matters but the like kucherov is going to be an interesting case study when we look back on his career where he ranks all-time

does this guy be up there and he has to he's one of our he's going to use one ross he's one cops believe you get a constant game Check the points per game real quick. I like all time and he is like Sevens like he's it's crazy. Ohio. It's wild like a guy to have 500 or more points if it is Yeah, we are probably discounting his brilliance because of his casualness, because of his sort of aloofness towards the media sometimes. But it's not like he hasn't been on a good team.

He's been on the best team the last decade. He's won, they've won, he's won the heart, he's won the Art Ross, he's won everything individually and yet I think because he just lets his play do the talking and his play at times looks so casual, you know of course it's not he's probably under appreciated but if you look at it even historically already his numbers relative to some of the the other all-time great i'm talking about all-time great is right up there higher than you would imagine

well you look at on the power play guys and this is an era of like mcdavid coming in ten years ago mckinnon, Austin Matthews goal scoring. There is nobody that can run a show on a power play like this guy in the league and it's not even close. He's zipped it around like no one in the league. The best in the league by far. Yeah. Like he's disgusting. He can shoot it, one-timer, wristers, one-time passes, anything you want in no lookers you want it you'll give it to you on a team absolutely

yet like he won the aros last year he's already wanted twice he very good when it this year that'll be three uh... in i don't believe you got an aros are a cons might pretty sure that was basileski in point i think they got it the two years they won i believe uh... but still may look at his numbers is twelve points away from a thousand in his career played seven hundred ninety eight games

i guess it's that's that's the stuff that could create his image does get a thousand points probably this year they get what six games left the probably gets twelve points and probably and it's a thousand fit to wrap up the season is's 31 years old and there's no reason to believe he's gonna slow down. No. Like he just it's crazy the numbers this guy has put up year after year after year. So I'm done first

ballot I mean if you talk about the the automatic first ballot guys that are playing in this generation right now right it's obviously Sid, Obi and Connor are sort of ahead of the pack. Like those guys are maybe in class on their own. Kucherov's probably the next guy. Like ahead of Dreisaitl, ahead of Hellebuck, ahead of whatever, John the Quick, ahead of Austin Matthews. He's the next guy after those three probably when it comes to absolute slam dunk. The great question. I mean, I think Drew Doughty would make a case. I think Hedman would make a case.

I think Vasileski would make a case, quite frankly. I think there's a few guys on Tampa that would. But you're right, like- Or Stamkos as well. I was just going to say, but I think Kuturov is ahead of Stamkos. If only one can go in the hall, as crazy as that sounds, I think it's Kuturov over Stamkos. That's how good this guy is. Which is wild.

When Stammer's done, he's going to have 650 goals. And he's a lock, obviously, to go in. But yeah, he can only bowl one of the two of them today. It's got to be Kuturov. I think it is, man. Like the guy's hockey DB page is disgusting. Like, and again, in the playoffs, the first time they won the copy of thirty four points and the next year thirty two so like is his points for he's got more than a point per game in the playoffs in his history as well i mean it's just incredible what this guy does every

single year all right johnny that that i thought who enjoys a lot of our lives and they can officially eliminate florida will be adding bark off-line so it's not like they're completely gonna like empty out the roster so Barkov's gonna be back tonight. It'll still be a challenging game. Yeah. Yeah it will be. I mean this is the Leafs, you just got to keep winning it

for the Leafs right? Like let the chips fall where they're gonna fall. You're gonna play who you're gonna play, go out there try to peek at the right time, keep playing well and that's got to be the message for Barubert right now. I guess but if they win tonight tomorrow then they've won the division. Yeah that's gotta be the message for Barubert right now. I guess, but if they win tonight, tomorrow, then they've won the division. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yes, that's true. Then you can start managing in the whole night.

Yeah, yeah. That's a good point. Have a business trip in Florida and then set your plans for the next week. That's the plan. That's exactly right. All right, Johnny. That's what I'm doing.

I'm gonna have a business trip tonight and then I'll set my plans for the rest of the week. Enjoy yourself down there. Thank you for this. All right, Johnny. That's what I'm doing. I'm going to have a business trip tonight and then I'll set my plans for the rest of the week. Enjoy yourself down there. Thank you for this. 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. Vashi Kapelos, Canada Decides 2025. Stay informed with my exclusive iHeartRadio podcast, available Friday afternoon straight through till election day and beyond. I'll have your weekly highlights and my unvarnished analysis of the campaign of a lifetime.

The candidates, the quotes, the polls, and the momentum. That just happened with Vashi Kapelos, Canada Decides 2025. Fresh every Friday. Stream on your schedule with the free iHeartRadio app.