OverDrive - Joseph on landing on the Ovechkin's non-goal list, Budweiser's King of Zero and the Maple Leafs' playoffs viewpoint

Episode Date: April 10, 2025

Former NHL Goaltender Curtis Joseph joined OverDrive to discuss Alex Ovechkin's goal scoring record, Budweiser Canada's gift for not allowing a goal against him, the Maple Leafs' outlook for the playoffs, the success of the team 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. But one guy who owns Alex Ovechkin is former Leaf, longtime NHL goalie, friend of the show. Here is Curtis Joseph. Kujo, you must wear that like a badge of honor. You're one of the very few guys on earth who can look at Ovi and say, I own you. Uh oh. Can we hear it? Can you hear us? Sorry, I paused there for a second.

Can you hear us? Yeah, I got you. Yeah, yeah, it paused for a second. Can you hear me? We got you, man. We got you. So what do you make of it it you own Alex Ovechkin go ahead yeah I don't know about that I played the final minutes of a game in Toronto and then the overtime so I couldn't remember when he was chasing the record I couldn't remember how many how many games I played against them but it literally is not even a period so but you know I get my name on a beer can you know it's pretty good so probably made some saves that's the thing you know I thought I saw that you at least made a couple saves you know in overtime back then he

would have been flying so I'm sure you were able to at least stop him a few times maybe not we've lost them my ride... ride off into the sunset game and it was my second last game and i remember getting into the game and kind of looking around taking it all in and uh... they had a flurry of shots before overtime in overtime and then he actually had a shootout attempt the third one and uh... i stopped him it's not a shot on goal He actually had a shootout attempt, the third one, and I stopped him. It's not a shot on goal, noodles, but we count it, right?

Of course you do. Yeah, but it's not a shot on goal, but it's not a goal either for him. You know, might say three shots on the can, really, and a W. I like that. I didn't know about the shootout. That's even better, man. That's mono a mono. That's even Ovi. Right. Yeah yeah that would have been early in his career and

I mean you're you're you're a Canadian all four of us are Canadians I was saying this last week Kujo that like I grew up it was you don't even talk about Gretzky's record like it just it's it's a waste of time no one catches it no one's going to catch it and and now he's done it. At any point throughout this run did you have to stop yourself and say, I can't believe what I'm witnessing. This guy is actually going to do it. He's going to score more goals than Wayne Gretzky.

Yeah, and honestly, Wayne Gretzky is a hero of mine. Obviously we followed him when we were teenagers, he's the great one and obviously, you know, all class all the time. So you never want to, I don't want to see his records be broken, but a guy like Ovi, he's won me over over the years. I was always in the Sydney Crosby camp, but the way this guy celebrated his goals, I mean, I would look at kids and go, hey, you see how Ovi celebrates goals? You celebrate like that. It's a great thing that you can score on an NHL goalie

in a game. So celebrate. And he did. And he did a great job and he was great for the game and winning a cup and the celebrations. Man, he is, I'm happy for him. What a great player. What a great ambassador for the game and uh... he deserves it that's for sure yet never slow down and like his whole career this guy he scored fifty plus is rookie year and this year if he wasn't injured he was scored fifty plus is thirty nine year-old it's incredible

uh... and you know we've all we've been discussing how he scores his goals he's got that that one spot at the top of the circle, offside, on his offside, where he just rips home goal after goal after goal. Noodles, you can speak to this. Kuja, we'll start with you. For 20 years, guys like me, idiots like me are like, well, why don't you just stop it? It's coming.

Or what about somebody take him away? Right, exactly. How about a coach try to find out a way to stop this guy and it just it doesn't happen and I'm curious how you game plan for that like you know it's coming and you know if he gets it off he's gonna get you like is there anything more frustrating as a goalie well noodles can attest to this if you don't know he's over there that's shame on you. And if you're getting over late, the chances of him scoring are a lot better because there will be lots of holes, clearly.

If you can get over early and square, you have a way better chance of it hitting you. Not to say you're going to stop it, but certainly on power plays, I know when we played against Jagger in the playoffs with Toronto I made sure that you scavenged was up on Jagger. I said hey, just don't let him shoot let everybody else shoot I don't care, but don't let Jagger shoot and then you frustrate the guy and hopefully he tries a little too hard or he does things but it seemed to work on the aggregate mad at other guys on the team for shooting the puck, but Yeah, you gotta know he's over there and noodles Nunes will tell you, if you can be there early and you can be there big, I mean, you have less holes and a bigger percentage to stop it.

Well, it's funny you say that too, because I remember when I was a goalie coach in Calgary, we did our prep and we were playing Washington and I was sitting with Kiprasov and we knew exactly where he's gonna be shooting from what he likes to do He he doesn't just shoot like short side. He'll shoot what's open. That's the one thing he can bring it And he's got a powerful shot So you know Kipper's like yeah, I can get there

I try and be square and I you you know you played with me because well I mean such a smart cerebral guy and and you know he knew everything before you could even say it. But then Ovi got him that night and we were sitting on the plane having a beer afterwards and he's like, I was there, he just beat me. Like that was the other thing too. I think there's a lot of goldeners that are like, hey I was there, I feel pretty good about my position, I was set, I was waiting. He just overpowered me, he beat me over short side or far side and that's what Kipper Kipper said

He goes a good shot. He beat me. That was it Cujo how difficult do you think it is like just in general playing in your own and Nowadays with there. I mean we all played in a time where it was like 3-1 in the third period There is gonna be some lockdowns going on back there hooking holding There is going to be some lockdowns going on back there hooking holding Physicality and you just see some chaos now like how much more difficult do you think that is for the Goaltenders and defenders in front of them? The the game has changed that's for sure and and it's changed for the better and for the worse I love seeing all the the room and the guys show their skill off, but when I see a guy get

one, two, three chances at it and then put the other rebound in, I'm like, wow, back in our day that guy would have been strangled after his first shot or not. So there are some different things. I was talking about him scoring in the modern era. There's many factors to it. Yeah, there's more time, there's less clutch and grab on him, but the goalies are, noodles, you can attest to this, the goalies are bigger

and better than we are, and there's less holes. And the equipment for the goalies is stiffer, lighter, so they can move, the big guys can get there. But on the opposite side is that the sticks are better. It's like, I always use the analogy, it's like if you put an aluminum bat into the MLB game, what would that do? So I remember when the sticks changed and everybody could shoot it a little harder. McCarthy, I think he was playing for Calgary, he beat me not a one-timer from the top of the circle i'm like

all that changed the game i couldn't catch up to it okay so there's a lot of factors on the on the scale whether it's easier harder to score uh... but always done it over a long period of time so

man he's good he's great is the greatest. He holds the record now with Curtis Joseph. Where's your head at with the Leafs here? That was a big one last night. They got a three point buffer on Tampa for games to go and we're into the playoffs. Could be Battle of Ontario, something you're very familiar with. How cool would that be if it does actually come to fruition? Toronto Auto on the first round. Yeah.

Now that I'm not playing, I can say who I want to see as a matchup. Yeah, exactly. I'd love to see the Battle of Ontario, you know? I think it would be great. It would be great for the fans in both cities. I'm gunning for that. I think it would be a good matchup for the Leafs. The one thing I like better about this team than in the past is bigger defense.

And you know, in the playoffs, the refs put away the whistle. So I mean, there's a lot more clutching, grabbing and physicality. I think if it's possible, you know, Awesome Matthews and Marner, Tavares are under the radar a little bit this year I would say. Other years passed, I like that. Of course our goaltending is 1A and 1B, whoever. They're both great. I like the goaltending this year more than any other year. Those are all good things.

Mad Fientist – Absolutely. To my knowledge, maybe Stolarz, I wonder if Stolar stores or wall have been beaten by a veteran i'm sure probably both of them actually we could find out but uh... you're one of you guys that wasn't and but was i was a really cool story really cool pictures well uh... them send you that to commemorate uh... never be in the bialyx of that's good so congrats on that it's always great catching up with you could you will do it again real soon thank you for

this yeah thanks for having me on guys. You got it success. Yeah, you too. There is Curtis Joseph The best of our great nation one song at a time Justin Bieber hi, this is Terry Clark We are Nickelback made in Canada on iHeartRadio rock pop hip-hop and when it comes to country Canada on iHeartRadio. Rock, pop, hip-hop and when it comes to country it's the true north all the way. Loud and proud. An all-new digital radio station from coast to coast. Made in Canada, played in Canada on the free iHeartRadio app and at iHeartRadio.ca.