OverDrive - Masters on Matthews' comments on the Maple Leafs, the departure of Marner and how he performs with the team

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

TSN Maple Leafs Reporter Mark Masters joined OverDrive to discuss Auston Matthews' views on the team entering the season, Mitch Marner's departure to the Golden Knights, how he leads the team as the captain, the best forward for Matthews' line, Matthew Knies' impressive skill set and more.

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Fisrael License 12-6-16-1-6. Let's bring in Mark Masters now. Maple Leaf Reporter is going to talk about some tennis as well, who when asked, you know, if he was ready to go on, uttered the phrase, Yes, Guy. Mark, how are you today?

I am doing great. It's a beautiful day and happy to talk to you, guys. Is there an over-under on who wears maybe two t-shirts for Leaf reporters? One is, how are you fielding? And second, do you miss Ms. Marner? I mean, if you had people with those t-shirts, you wouldn't have to ask the question. Yeah.

Yeah, I haven't seen any Ms. Marner T-shirts yet. Yeah, it will be fascinating to see kind of the response when he does come back to town. I'm going to miss him. He was an interesting guy to cover, that's for sure. Certainly to watch him play, one of the most talented players I've ever had a chance to cover on a day-to-day basis. And then obviously, I know, you know, sometimes he was a little uncomfortable with the media, but, you know, I find when he wanted to be, he was really engaging. So I'm going to miss him.

So obviously, Mark, that's going to be kind of the recurring theme with Matthews. We saw him ranked number seven by the NHL network in the top centers in the NHL. And we all know that he's been as high as probably number two on that list at various times in his career. But the health thing is the kind of the elephant in the room, right? And he chose not to address it again last night in any real weather other than to say he feels good. I guess we'll see it in real time soon enough watching him skate at training camp but what do you make of that question

and how sort of how it's going to loom over his season? Yeah, I mean, it's the big question, right? If he's healthy, he's right at the top of the league in terms of centers, obviously, McDavid, McKinnon, Drysiddle, obviously he can be part of that group if he's healthy, which he wasn't last year, but, you know, he doesn't like to talk about his health.

Fair enough. He was a one-word answer last night at the hockey night in Brampton, just good. So, I mean, we'll see what he looks like at training camp. But that will be the big question for him, because if he's healthy, it changes a lot of things for this Maple Leafs team. And with Marner leaving, they're really going to need him to be healthy and carry the load. Masters, I ask the guys this question, and I want the same question to you. You know, as you do, and you follow him every day,

is there a chance that maybe Austin puts so much pressure on himself to be everything, especially early in the air, that it could, you know, just trying to do too much might affect his game? Well, the question last year was, did he play through the injury when he should not have, right? Like it happened in training camp last year. He, like, missed a game and we're just kind of wondering, you know, he's okay, they downplayed it, and then it turned out to be much more serious than anyone initially thought. But obviously last year it was his first season as captain. And, you know, it felt like he maybe was maybe that on his mind.

We don't know. Nobody knows. But he played through it. Wasn't as effective. And eventually needed time off on a couple of occasions. So only he knows, you know, how he kind of deals with that pressure. Certainly in the media, he's always been kind of cool, a cool customer. It's never looked like, you know, you know, there's been times.

Obviously, he's been short with the media. He was certainly all smiles yesterday. but, you know, that's a good question. Only he really knows how much pressure he's putting on himself and whether that got to him at all last year with the injury he was dealing with. And really, the pressure doesn't go away as the captain. You know, everybody would expect him to return to his totals from the year before or maybe a little less than that because that was stupendous.

But they're looking for him to sort of grab this thing and push it forward, albeit without marner. So, I mean, as we go along through the regular season mark, I think you'd agree we're going to sort of measure every five to ten games, as to where the team is, but also where he is, right? For sure. I mean, you look at how he started that 69 goal season, which, by the way, is still crazy to think of.

They had 69 goals in today's NHL. That was so special. What, he started that season with back-to-back hatchet. So he's traditionally been a fast starter, goal scoring-wise, in his career. So for sure, early in the year, even in the training camp, even in the preseason games, we'll be looking for cues, even in those first few practices of training camp.

I'm sure there will be a lot of video. is popping up on social media of Austin Matthews practicing the first few days of training camp getting set for his first preseason game. How does he look? Is there any sign of discomfort at all? And yeah, we'll be tracking that. That's going to be a storyline all season long because he's going to also have a new right winger, you would think.

We'll see who ends up taking that Mitch Marner spot on the top line and how he adjust to that. If there's any adjustment at all, it's going to be fascinating to see how Austin Matthews kind of approaches this next season and how it all comes together for him. I mean, do you, I mean, Masters, we were sort of batting around who might take that spot on the right wing. It feels like Matthews Nyes is a combination for center and left wing. And then, you know, Mateus Micelli, I guess, is penciled in as the first line right winger, but it's very much in pencil. I mean, he's been a 40 assist guy at his best in Arizona, but he's never played in the market of this size with this kind of pressure on him.

I mean, how do you see that? Who else might make a run for that spot? I mean, obviously, Neelander and Matthews could be a combination, but what's your sense of what Burrubay might do in terms of cycling through players to play with Matthews as the season goes on? That's a good question. I mean, Marner played every game last year. I think the one game he missed, every game but won.

The one game he missed, I think it was Max Domey filled in there beside Austin Matthews, and obviously they've had a good track record in the past playing together. You know, a couple years ago down the stretch heading into that playoff series in Boston against Boston. they really caught fire down the stretch. Domi did not have a great season last year, but I like the idea of engaging them right away and saying, hey, big opportunity,

let's hit the ground running here. The question, of course, is the Matthews line is likely to get the tough matchups. That's what Craig Brubay likes to do, and that's a big reason why William Neelander did not get any sort of sustained look in that spot, in that spot, it felt like at least.

And so I like the idea of Max Stomi there. You'll be a storyline that will be watching all training camp to see who's there. Chely as a newcomer to the team, do you want to put that pressure on him right away, trying to bounce back from a tough year, put him right beside Austin Matthews.

I know Sheldon Keith always liked that idea of the new guy coming in and making him feel important right away. I remember Kelly Yarncroke got signed and he started training camp on the line with Austin Matthews and they wanted him to feel like, okay, you're really a big part of this.

So that's one way of approaching it. I'm not sure what Brubay is going to do. I just know personally, I like the idea of the don't, We know they've had success in the past, and I just want to get Domi up and running right away next season. What area of Matthew Nye's game do you think has the biggest opportunity for growth now that he may be asked to carry the puck or do more than when there was a martyr on the opposite wing? Well, I know when he signed his extension, he said the area he was focusing on was skating better.

I think everyone says that to a degree they want to get faster. He's a big guy if he can add a little bit more speed. he was already, it felt like, surprising a lot of guys with his speed last season and just the burst that he had to, you know, I'll never forget one of the best goals of the season was that buzzer beater in Pittsburgh, where just, you know, the face-up in his own zone and he just bursts through and beats Eric Carlson and, you know, stops the clock with 0.1 seconds left. So I find him already to be pretty fast for a big guy, but if you can add an extra step, I'm sure that would be helpful. And I just think he's still a young guy. He's just figuring out even every game. every season, you know, what he can do with that frame. He says he feels like a unique for the Leafs, for sure, and in the league. I know he kind of models himself a bit on Brady Kachuk,

and those Kachuk brothers are pretty unique. So I think maybe physically you can amp it up even more, you know, more consistently in that regard. And I think speed, if he adds a little bit more, I mean, this package is already pretty incredible. If you can do that, you know, watch out. I mean, obviously, Mark, they've done a nice job filling in the lower ranks. The defense was good.

The goaltending was good. and cap space is now somewhat limited. Do you see them adding anything else before camp opens? I don't think so. I mean, if anything, it looks like they maybe have to make a move out. I guess if they were to move someone out, they could make a couple of, one change, maybe two changes. I don't think anything huge is coming down the pipe will see.

But, you know, it's possible. They've brought in a lot of guys. I'm looking forward to training camp. I think there's going to be some good competition there, whether it's for the spot on the top line, down the lineup, who fits in where, how's Bobby McMahon going to come into camp? Remember, he started last year as a healthy scratch. You know, he didn't have a very good training camp.

So I'm sure he'll be motivated coming into a contract year to get off to a good start and maybe earn a spot in that top six because obviously he went on a huge drought down the stretch last year into the playoffs. And in his first Stanley Cup playoff experience, you know, he did not perform particularly well. So lots of good storylines going into training camp this year. A lot of guys who should be really motivated. motivated. Easton Cowan is another guy

will be watching. He was asked at development camp about Marner moving on. Marner's been a mentor to him and he said, yeah, he moves on, it's tough, but opportunity there for a bunch of guys. So it should be an interesting training camp. So, Masters, we would be remiss without asking

a little bit of tennis stuff with the U.S. Open on the horizon. The big story, of course, Vicki and Boko, she won the big National Bank Open in Montreal. She is the rising star of the moment in the sport, and the good news is she's the top-seated Canadian coming into the U.S. Open at number 22. Bad news is she draws a two-time Grand Slam champion, and Barbara Krechikova, what are you making that match-up? Yeah, it's a tough first-round matchup, I would think.

You know, I was looking back at Bianca Andrescu's draw when she, back in 2019, had won in Toronto and then parlayed that momentum into a U.S. Open championship. And that was also, just like in Boko, her first U.S. Open main draw. So she was a rookie coming in, and she actually drew a player in the first round who was younger than her. So she had even more experience, and I thought that was a good draw to kind of ease her way in there. But, yeah, facing a veteran a two-time slam champ, won Wimbledon last year. It hasn't had a ton of success since then, but, you know, we'll give you nothing for free. And, yeah, that's going to be tricky, because if you look at it, if Mboko is going to stubber toe,

you'd think a big issue would be the inexperience. It did not seem to affect her in Montreal, did not seem to affect her really all season long. maybe a bit in that second round loss in Wimbledon against Taley-Baptiste, perhaps. But she really hasn't had that issue. But this will be a tricky for sure. And after that, the draw does open up. You never want to look too far ahead.

But her third round opponent, the first seed she faced, Emma Navarro, who made the semifinals last year at the U.S. Open, number 10 seed, but hasn't had a great season today, really not in great form coming in and we'll have a lot of pressure to back up that semifinal result last year. So I think the draw opens up well, but this will be a tricky, tricky opener for Mbocco, as she gets said.

It's kind of crazy when you think about it. You haven't even played the U.S. Open before. She arrives as a seated player and Canada's top singles player. What a story. Fabulous. Mark, thanks very much. Really appreciate it. My pleasure. Anytime. Mark Masters, a Maple Leaf Reporter and Tennis Guru as well,

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