OverDrive - OverDrive - April 23, 2026 - Hour 2 - Jason Strudwick

Episode Date: April 23, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! Got Yer Back Podcast Host Jason Strudwick joins to discuss Connor McDavid's rough start to the playoffs, the Oilers and Ducks' series and the Senators aiming for a comeback. In the latest edition of Hayesy's List, Hayes list the players on Stanley Cup Playoffs bar play and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

Excellent work. Joe from the bridge. Come on back in, folks. Hour 2, Overdrive. Brian Hayes, Jamie McLennan, Jeff O'Neill. Joe from the bridge found what I was looking for. Look how cool. Like Tom knows how to put it together, right? It's like the bomber jacket, gray hoodie underneath,

the bomber pants or the cargo pants with some white Nikes. and beside him I love Mark Davis I just need to describe it like I want to know what walking in getting out of whatever limo like does Davis

not strut beside that guy and say maybe I've got the clothes and style thing wrong like it's one thing if you want to wear weird gear but when you top it off with the Lloyd Christmas bowl cut It's outrageous.

That's what's crazy about Mark Davis. I think he's committed to it. Yeah, for 40 years he's been in the, like his dad is obviously famous. Al Davis, he's owned the team forever. We've seen this kid grow up. He's seven years old. Like, Mark Davis is not a young guy. Look at this guy.

Yeah, like he. You tell me this. What does he say to his barber? Just hit me. Trim. Yeah, hit me. Because like the barber knows what, But it's the same look every single time.

So there's no conversation, dude. The barber literally has to grab the scissors and go straight across. Basically. It is, it's not a barber. It is his personal assistant that just comes into his office and go, you need a trim, we're going to do around the ears. Right. And he'll just, or it's him.

You think he cuts his own salad? I wouldn't say it's a 0% chance that that's true. There's a chance that he just goes, When he's shaving or doing something else, he grabs. Using a razor going down his salads with a Gillette. But let me ask you guys this. You say Hayes that that man is committed to that look. The hair, the gear.

What if Tom Brady pulled him aside? They had a few cocktails after dinner, and he said, let me help you, and I think I can remake you. Not happening. Hang on a second here. I'm just telling you it's not going to happen, but go ahead. Brady said, I'm going to take it to the mall. I'm going to take it to my barber.

And in two weeks, you are going to look like a model. His answer is what? No. I'm Mark Davis. I'm your boss, kind of, in a way. There's a better chance Brady slowly morphs into Mark Davis than Mark Davis than Mark Davis slowly moves into Brady. Brady, like, announced a pick or something, and he walked out with white.

gear, a bullet on? I would love it so much. There's a pick on line where they can, you know, mix the two. Yeah, that's Mark Davis. And Brady was on the sidelines and his hair was windblown so they just put the Davis hair on him. Unreal.

And it is uncanny. I can't wait to see him in the war room tonight. Like Mark Davis will be front and center because they've got the first pick and they're, again, they're going to take Mendoza tonight. That's the quarterback of the future in Vegas. They get a New coach, Brady will be involved,

and Mark Davis will be front and center. I can't wait. The NFL draft is great. Like, now, I should point out, I thought you were going to start the hour by saying that TMZ has found new picks of Rusini and Brable at a casino in Mississippi, allegedly. So these two are everywhere.

New York, Arizona, Mississippi. So you're being serious about that? I'm being that serious. Yeah. Well, they're going to, like I said, like Jamie said, they're, going around and they're offering everybody

that's aware of these two in any facility, especially in these like from 2018 till now, every hotel, everybody knows that they were doing this. And they are going to be just giving up the goods for cash. They were not discreet in any.

Actually, based on these pictures, the most discreet Vrabel and Rusini were, were at the hotel. The original picks. Those were in the middle of nowhere at some exclusive place, a bar in Manhattan and some casino rolling the dice. Casino, like you're asking to get caught. Cicinos have 4,000 cameras. Yes, and you're Mike Vrable.

Like, football is king in the U.S. If Mike Vrable walks in any establishment in the United States, there's a chance someone's going to say, that's Mike Vrable. I know exactly who that guy is. I laughed out loud thinking about it last night where, what do you, I mean, what's his owner going to say? What's Bobby going to say?

Well, I guess they just issued a. new statements saying, you know, we support Brayble. Bobby has no problem. Yeah, see, there's the new ones. I'm just playing roulette somewhere in Mississippi. Anyway, I don't know. Now it's getting, now it's going to

just continue to blow up and get crazy and they have families and stuff. That's the thing that bothers me is there's, listen, he's made a mistake or she has, allegedly, I don't want to say they have, I don't know anything of the context of anything.

But he has kids. He's got a wipe. You know, she does too. Yeah, absolutely. There's a wake here that hits a lot of people. And that kind of makes me feel that. Something about the draft, man. Someone compared this to the Laramie Tunsell stuff from years ago.

What's the bigger? I was going to ask you that in the last hour. I'm glad you brought it up. What is the bigger scandal heading into the... I'm going to say Tunsell because he was a draft pick and it was live. Yes. And, you know, he's went on to have a great career. And he's made all the money.

money in the world. But he dropped, I think, to 11. I think Tennessee, Vrable might have drafted Tunsel. Look that up, Dogey. When I'm pretty, was it because I'm pretty sure Tennessee drafted it. I believe it was. I'm guessing Vrable may have been

the guy that was head coach there that took him. But that story is unprecedented. When that news broke or when the video dropped and then there was more coming out that he was taking bribes, but he was getting money to play at Old Miss. for his mom's cell phone.

And he just kept dropping in the draft, right? Like he was the top-rated offensive tackle. He had a chance at being top three, top five, maybe first overall. I don't think so. But I think he dropped outside of the top 10. There's rumblings back in the day, and I don't know for fact that Jason Strudwick was rated third overall. And he dropped because of some picks.

Well, because if he had Mark Davis' head, He'd probably take it right now. Who's hair would you? They were worried about the hair line and... Look at Brady. He actually still looks pretty good. That's the crazy thing. That suit is money.

He's got the jaw line. He's got the jibs. Right now. The hair is crazy. Right now, just money on the table. Yeah. Jason Strudwick's hair or Mark Davis's hair on your salad right now. Struddies.

Give me strud. Are you sure? Yes. I wouldn't take Strud's hair over anyone else's. Even Mark Davis's? You do have Mark Davis's? Davis's hair. I want Mark Davis's hair over struts. Pull him up.

Here he is. The Got Your Back podcast host. Oilers alumni. Jason Strudwick joining us here on the Maple Tudder hotline. What's up, Struddy? Not much. You know what? It's funny. I just talked to a friend. A friend of mine got a hair transplant. And he's

not telling anyone. And I saw him. I'm like, I didn't say anything because I wanted to hold it over. But like, what do you think people aren't going to notice? You know what I mean? Like, it is like, it is It's like he took a rug and put it on his head, and it looks good. I'm like, well, you guys should do it. But he doesn't want anyone to know.

He told our other buddy. I'm like, well, everyone can tell. What did he do, hide in his basement for a month? I don't know. But he's walking around. He's strutting around like a peacock. He's all proud, and I get it. But, I mean, you can't hide that.

It's not like you, you know, I got a tattoo on your back like noodles did. That bad tattoo he had for years. You're right, though, man. Hair, like, to go from really thinning, slash, you're bald, you have no hair to just a crazy hairstyle. He's trying to get some camera time with Billy Ranford.

What were you doing last night? You were all over hockey night. Well, it was when there's foundational players night, so me, Billy Ranford. Was Gratsky up there? They were going to do me after the first overtime intermission.

We'll get you next time. We'll get you next time. But yeah, Billy, he was in there. He had a really good goalie. I think, noodles you bottled your game after him, I think. But a little bit of a lot. He was good. That's the difference.

Bigger-Banford was really good. Yeah, he was. Struddy, what did you make at the game? Like, where are you at with the series? I know there's a lot of talk about McDavid. There was a lot of talk about, again, six goals. And I love Oiler fans all over me, being concerned that a lot of times five or six goals go in the net, like I'm some kind of moron.

Well, it happened again last night. So where are you at with the series? Yeah, you know what? It's crazy. I think both teams should feel optimistic about their chances in the game three. And I think it's ironically for the same reason for both teams. You know, like if you're, if you're Anahehan, you shut down McDavid, Bouchard and the Otis Power Play. And if your other's like, well, those three guys, those three areas of the orders have even got into it yet. And then, you know, some of the plays you're looking at, you know, on the penalty kill, the orders are minus four on the power play, right? So they've given up three on the power play. And then the short-handle last night that, you know, McDavid, misread or whatever you want to call it, throws it backwards,

and then it doesn't react properly. He could have put a stick in the past, so it just passes boom, and Palin gets an easy redirection. So, you know, I think that those elements of the game for the orders are huge. They're really important. You know, O'Dag, you know, like, if you're on the power plane, you're not scoring, it bleeds into your five-on-five. And as a penalty kill, I just loved it when I saw PowerPlay guys crying,

because that meant I was in their head, and they were going to be suffering five-on-five. So I think those are the same areas that both groups are, are really going to focus on heading into this next game. So, Strad, you talk about both sides because I think Losson and all this is Anaheim deserves some credit because they played well and their young kids. You can see they're a very talented young team with a lot of confidence. But if you had to circle a couple things, is it as simple as, you know, 97 and maybe number two, Bouchard have to get going, like their key cornerstone guys have to play better for them

to insert their will more into this series? Well, I think it's slightly different for each one. I think with Bouchard, I just don't think that he's kind of emotionally committed into it. He looks like he's hanging on in the puck a little too long, time a little too risky, and he does do that, and he's fired up 95 points this year, but this Ducks team is really pressuring him, putting pressure, or trying to make him cough it up, and he's, you know, it's happening. So he's got to move that puck a little quicker.

With 97, I see a player just trying to do too much. There was, I think, three times last night, and once on the power play, where he just gets all that speed coming into his own and takes on two D men, tries to split them, and then just shoots it from the top to circle. You know, he's a really good player,

but those are fairly low quality chances he's taking there. He just wants it so bad, and it seems like he's playing really mad right now, and there's difference between mad and intense. Mad is you're just raging at everything. Intense means you're in your flow zone, but you're still on it and playing intense. I'd like one of his teammates to pull over and say, hey, buddy, you take a deep breath here.

And I think back to when Taze was confronted by Brent Seabrook in the penalty box against the Bruins and the Stanley Cup playoffs, Taze was all over the place. Brent Seabrook went over and talked to him, and after that, Taze kind of found his game. I think the same thing needs to lead down with Connor, like, buddy, we're all here to help you. And I think some of the times when you're pressing so hard, so hard, you know, he's fumbling pucks. He doesn't normally fumble. Missing passes that he doesn't normally do. I think he just wants it too badly. So I think someone has to get to him

And it could be a dry saddle, Heimann And I'm not, maybe I'm talking off ice I'm trying to take him for a walk or anything Down in Anaheim Yeah, it reminds me of overtime in that gold medal game, right? Where he just, he tried to He won on three

And he's like, I'm doing this. I'm scoring. I'm going to get us this gold medal. This is my moment. And honestly, even like after the turnover last night, apples to oranges clearly. but he kind of let up in the body language and the same thing in overtime. He kind of let up and all of a sudden it's in your net.

You're like, man, what are we doing here? Yeah, and maybe Brian, that's like the greatest player in the game, but that's something he's got to change in his own game where it just, as good as you are, it cannot be a one-man show and then whatever happens after that. You know what I mean? Like, just because you're the greatest player in the world

doesn't mean you can't yourself make some adjustments as far as those details. Oh, absolutely. And I think that's a bit of self-awareness, but sometimes we're in that fight, you don't see that in yourself. So that's where, you know, team, I think, has to just talk to them. It can't be the fourth line guy, right? It has to be, you know, Hyman's a very calm voice. That combs someone's respect in that room, as is Leon.

But just to say, hey, take a deep breath. Let us help you here. Because, like, Leon's line's going really well. You know, Dickinson scores two goals the other night. Now, I'm not sure when he'll be back, but there are good things happening out there with this team. And, you know, McDavid's line needs to get on. get on, get going. Were you concerned, like, when you saw him, I mean, you're live in the building.

The injury looked weird, and then he was testing it, and, you know, he still played, like Hayes said, he played 24 minutes, but did his game look different after that? Like, I thought he wasn't doing a lot of, like, stopback plays. He wasn't doing a lot of, like, edge work plays. There was a lot of skating, and he had his speed, but did he have his agility? Is that something that would be concerning for you moving forward? forward. Well, I am.

And this is what, you know, whether it's, it looks like it's his ankle. And we've all had, we all tweaked our ankle at some point. And the agility piece you're talking about, that's when it can grab you. And it just feels like something grabs your ankle, right? And it really slows you down. So even it's a very minor one, it can still do that. It can still grab you in those various moments of the game. So I think that he's going to play.

Obviously, he's going to keep it going, but I have to monitor it. And then maybe, you know, this is an opportunity for him to, like, move the puck little quicker. He won't do all those. So move it quicker, find some quieter ice. Because in the first, what, a period and a half of the game than in the first three periods, he's trying to take two and three guys on all the time.

And the Ducks defenders are, you know, pretty good. You know, they've got some really good sticks. They've got to give Quindill and Company, Jay Woodcroft, former lawyer coach, you know, obviously he kind of know what's going on against the winner. So I think they're doing a good job, and you've got to recognize it and then adjust off of what they're doing to you as well. With Jason Strudwig.

you consider what else is going on in Stanley Cump playoffs right now. It's been pretty wild strud and a lot of focus clearly on Ottawa tonight, down 02 and needless to say this is a must win for them. They've played well, but Noodles, you've pointed

this out many times, it doesn't matter. It's not about playing well. It's about finding where to win. Where is your head out when it comes to predicting how that game might play out tonight in Ottawa? Well, it feels like a must winner. They've got to get across the line, but because I don't think the hurricanes really change your game too much.

You know, they playoff hockey the whole season. And so when they get to the playoffs, they just keep going and going and going and, you know, a bit of a weird overtime sequence the other night, but they get it done and ultimately they win the game. So, you know, actually, I'll give you a compliment. I saw your hit on Sportsnet or on Sports. Watch it there, Strud. Come on. I know you got, you work everywhere, but we only work at TSN here. I saw you with, I think it was a Jay and he was talking about Kachuk.

And like, I do love when he fight. Like, that fight was Stahl. I love that. And I love how Stahl kind of manhandled him for a guy that doesn't fight too much. But I just love two captives fighting like that. But I think it points about me, like they need him in the game and leading and being that, that kind of a brace of guy that he is and getting to that, making life uncomfortable for those demons. So, yeah, I'm, this is a really interesting game for me.

You know, it's your second year in the playoffs. You kind of know that now. I'll have to you been to it once. Well, exactly. Like, and they, they were down 3-0 to the Leafs last year. Yeah. And, but a couple overtime losses. Well, the games have been close, but the thing is, is there's no moral victories in the

playoffs. That regardless of how you've arrived at, you know, at these games and, hey, we played well, we feel we're right there. You're down 2-0, and this is the most important game. And you've wasted two, I didn't say waste, but you've left two unbelievable performances by your goaltender on the table. And if he's an average or below tonight, that concerns you. Trouble.

That's trouble. Yeah, trouble. What do you think of Buffalo on the road? There was so much anticipation for what that building was going to look like through the first two games, and it was great in game one. It was much more quiet in game two because Boston kind of took over. Now they hit the road. And, you know, Lindy Ruff is not a match-up guy.

You know, he's just going to kind of let them go out and play. I haven't seen. I'm assuming UPL's playing tonight. This is a big one for Buffalo. Like, I'm curious how they respond after a loss. They haven't played that great through two games. They found a way to win the first one strud, but it's a big difference. Like, you guys can speak to it. It's one thing to be at home and comfortable and feel great, and the crowd's going nuts. Now you're going in. That's a hostile environment, man.

Big time. Boston will be ready to party tonight. Yeah, and I think, you know, this is a good test. And this is, you know, people talk about learning how to play in the playoffs and winning. Well, this is it. And, you know, there's, I always took great satisfaction any time going into an opponent's building and just outplaying them. Like, it's just a really good feeling. I love sending all those fans home sad. Now, it wasn't like I had had tricks to do that.

But, you know, as a group, you try to push the pace and to make that happen. So you have to have, like, that road warrior mentality. And it's a cliche, but I think it's true. You have to go in there and just compete all over the ice and, you know, just take what happens. You might get down or you make it up or it doesn't matter. But I think this is those moments you talk about learning and growing as a team. because it's just not the same. The playoffs are not even close to the same as the regular season.

So I guess Steve Iserman spoke today down in Detroit, and one of his quotes was, we need better players. Thank you very much. That's a tough quote. There's got to be more context to that. We'll see if we can find it. Yeah, get the audio and we'll show it later if we'll try to break it down again.

I would say every team that's not in the playoffs would probably suggest the same thing. I know he's going to take heat because the answers will be, well, you've been the GM for seven years. years. Isn't that your responsibility? Exactly. You've signed a lot of them. You've made a lot of the signings. But I don't think he's wrong. That probably is an accurate assessment.

They need some better players. Maybe they need some better depth. And, you know, oh, you talked about it. Yeah, like as good a player as Dylan Larkin is, if they were going to take the next step as an organization, he might be your second line centerman. Yeah. Like, you know what I mean? Like, that's what we're talking about here. But where is that guy?

Is it Austin Matthews? Like, that's the only way you're bringing in a guy to be better than Dylan Larkin. So that's what we're talking about here. There's so many teams like that. And I think it's an honest assessment where, but the problem is, where are you going to get that guy that's so Dylan Larkin's your second line centerman? Because that's what you would need to take that next step. They just don't grow on trees, man.

And what are you going to do about it? for him too, right? Yeah. And if you want to do the other thing where you're continuously looking to get bit pieces like the Leafs did back in the day where it was like, get Jonathan Bernier, get Phil Kessel, get this guy, get that guy, you're going to fall up short every time. You're just grasping at straws. And they've kind of been doing that.

Like get this guy, get that guy, bring Patrick Kaine. And they're good at times, but you put it all together and they're exactly where they are. So how are you going to make Dylan Larkin your second line centerman should be the main? goal. It's almost impossible. But you're supposed to get that type of player when you're rebuilding. That's when you're supposed to add those type of guys to see the draft because it's hard to get them. They're not

they're just growing on trees ago and they acquire a true number one center because I think Dylan Larkin is a lower end first line line center. And so that puts him as an amazing second line center, right? They're 100% right. But you just, who's the guy out there? Yeah, okay, I don't know, maybe Austin, I don't know, whatever, but

not many. They're not just out there. You can find a fourth D man a lot easier than number one. So do you start again? I mean, that's pretty crazy. I get the better player quote, but that's a lot to ask because that was the job the last seven years. And to add on that, they do have some

kids coming in. That finny kid's a good player. Like they do, the problem is are these kids good enough like the Anaheim structure to push those players down? Like that's the, when you have good young, like what happened in Dallas, Jim Nill was masterful

with it, right? Because you still had Sagan and Ben, but by the time your team took that next level, got to the next level, they were on the third line. They were being pushed down because you brought in hints. Because you brought in Robertson, you know, Wyatt Johnston, they've got that Maverick Bork there. You know, then you started adding players to that group. But that's what is going to have to happen in Detroit is if Larkin, if your team's going to get to the next level, maybe Larkin gets pushed down by either somebody incumbent or, again, you've got to

go out and find them. And that's the biggest challenge. Easier said than done. And Eisenman's got to stomach the idea of paying for it. You look back on Quinn Hughes, we don't know what was offered and what wasn't. Right. But if it was just a free-for-all, if Vancouver said, give us your best offers. Yeah. And I know we're talking about forwards here, but Quinn Hughes is one of the very few players

who was that good that became available. You just had to pay the price in stomach it. Iserman willing to do that moving forward? because Calgary needs better players. Vancouver needs better players. Toronto needs better players. Seattle needs better players. Nashville needs better players.

St. Louis. Like, they all need better players. Keep going down the line. So everyone. We've already, where we've said it all year. I'm tired of saying it. There's not enough.

There's too many teams. It's watered down. You can't get them. You got, you know, there are guys, there are eight guys on every team that shouldn't be in the league. Well, that's how many.

You know what you got to do this summer? He's got to hope that a team is going to go scorched earth and you go, for example, if it's St. Louis, go, give me Thomas, give me Cairo, give me somebody like that. They're fine. That's the only way you get better players. You got to pay a lot for that, right? But I said that, guys, last summer

about, give me Brian Rust, give me Raquel, guys like that. They chose not to do it. And Pittsburgh didn't move those guys, and they're in the playoffs right now. It's not going well for them, but they had a hell of a year. Yeah, that's right. Hell of a year. Would Peterson? Would Patterson be an upgrade there?

That one? Alias Patterson? He's not better than Larkin right now. But, but. I know. Talent-wise, he might be, he was two years ago, but it's not anymore.

Here's something crazy, though, Strud and, like, we just talked about Trevor Zegris and, you know, how the grass looks a little greener on the other side in Philly than it did in Anaheim. Now, that was maturity

and a different culture. Yeah. Maybe Patterson just needs a change of scenery. Yeah. And, and he settles into a different environment. That's a high-risk move, right? You might better shave

a little bit of money off that, too. I don't know. Yeah. Pretty big. That's a bold move. It is. All right, Strud, for I think the 15th year in a row, your Giants are picking in the top five tonight. It's been tough.

Well, the last time we did it, we won a championship, but whatever, don't worry about that. Don't worry about the facts. But we're, honestly, I hope we trade down. I would just keep trading down, so I have nothing but a pocketful of picks heading into later in the first and the second and third. Yeah, I like that.

I love that. But we won't do it. I just, that's my fantasy, right? No, they'll take a running back or something. Yeah, you know they're going to screw that up. Are they as big a mess as any team in the NFL? The Jets are more of a mess, which saves them in the market. It's crazy. The Patriots are fine other than their coach enjoying life a little too much.

Outside of Rabel. We bottomed out, I think, last year. This is the beginning of, but Scataboo. Like, I don't trust him to last time. He's not in every downback, in my opinion. He plays fairly risky. So does our quarterback. So I'm a little bit worried.

But, yeah, we're still trying to pick the offensive line. That's been a 10-year project, right? It's like noodles getting in shape. It just never ends. One of these days. One of these days, Strud. 54-year project. By 60.

Maybe by 60. All right, buddy. We'll do it again soon. Thank you for joining us. There is. Jason Strudwig joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Red Tag Days are here. Check out the Toyota.

Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks, both available as hybrids, is a maple Toyota near Canada's Wonderland and the Maple Auto Mall. You know how to hear the Stevie Y clip? Yeah. We have it? We need the Stevie Y. Okay, let's hear Stevie Y. Go ahead.

I guess most importantly, what do you see needs to change with this team to get to the playoffs? Well, the most obvious would be, you know, we need better players. We need to improve specifically in certain areas. We can talk about goal scoring. We need to improve in that area, particularly five-on-five. Collectively, if you're watching the playoffs, and I'm assuming it, I'm hoping our players are, to play with the intensity and determination needed to be successful

to make the playoffs and get there. but ultimately it's incumbent upon me and my staff to improve the team. Okay. Well, I mean, I don't think it's out of context. That's basically what he said. We need better players. Like, not necessarily at the top. He didn't mean I need someone better than Larkin or better than Raymond or cider or whatever,

but he's saying in general, you need to be a better team. Yeah, I mean, and I think the goaltending worked for them at times this year, but it didn't down the stretch, and they haven't been able to secure that. position. You know, you bring Kane in, you've got, you know, you bring in these older players

who were kind of on their last leg. You're asking a lot. When you mislike that and you just crumble down the stretch, you look at it. And I know Stevie was truthful there with those comments, but it's like, how far away are they actually? Well, like, you know what I mean?

Like, are they bluffing themselves to think that they're a piece here or a piece there away? I don't know. Maybe they are bluffing themselves and they're just so far away. it's out of reach. You know what I mean?

Well, they might make, they could, they can bluff themselves into making the playoffs. And the one thing is, they do have a young goalie. That cost a kid is really good. And he's 23.

So I think, you know, they've done it properly and allowed this kid to grow at the H.L level. I think he's going to be in the NHL next year. So they do have a young goal tender.

I think cider, he was in my top five. He was my top five voting for Norris. I think he's a really good player. Raymond's a good player. De Brinkett scored 40. Like, you know, Larkin is what he is.

Like he's a really good player too. But, oh, like you said, they need more there so that maybe those guys slot better. Steve Eisenman said it. Well, he even said. That's a thing. Steve Isamon said it. Certain areas. Okay. We've got our best buds coming up. Jay's off today back in action tomorrow. Game three

of the Rathlers Cavs series down at Scotia Bank. We'll get to That as well overdrive continues up on YouTube live. I'm Cynthia Lois. And I'm Josie Dye. And we're done pretending we have it all figured out. Each week we laugh, cry, and talk our way through life's messiest moments. The things you think about but would never say out loud.

The questions you are always too shy to ask. Relationships, regrets, awkward moments, and the stuff no one warns you about. It's honest, it's funny, and sometimes it gets a little uncomfortable. But that's kind of the point. This is Cynthia and Josie's Unmentionables. Listen on the free Iheart Radio. or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, Best Reds coming up later in the hour, powered by Fandul.

We've got the Sends in action tonight. We've got the Raptors in action. The Raptors are a home underdog tonight. I'm not surprised, you know, based on the way they played the first two games and James Hardens in town. We'll see. I'm curious what that tailgate looks like. It's a beautiful day, beautiful night in Toronto.

I hope it's packed. Are they having Raptor Park or whatever? Yeah, yeah. They're doing Jurassic Park. Absolutely. This year you had, it was like a raffle and you had to sign up for the app to get your name in there. Isn't that like stupid too? Like, wasn't it just come and pay the 20 bucks and just go in the Jurassic Park and go crazy? I think the early days it was just people showed up.

Yeah. It wasn't about, nothing was sponsored. It was just, hey, we're putting it up on the big screen, come down. I understand logistically, the city, it's a busy place. You can't just shut down streets. So obviously MLSC, the Raptors, you're going to get involved. this is all about data mining and getting people to sign up for your app. That's all it is.

I'm not lying. Yeah, 100%. Like sign up for the app. There you go. And then they get, like you said, the data mining. There's a couple of emails coming in. This or data. This or data mining.

Diss or data mining. I love that. It is. That's what the apps are doing. MLSC is doing. It'll be a cello. People will be fired up. Yeah, it'll be packed down there.

So unfortunately, they're coming home with the vibe that they're coming home with. Like Perto can't play, but I think he's going to start tonight. He's been terrible. Ingram's in the firing line right now based on the way he's playing. Better, though. It quickly's always hurt and not going to play. And it just, it's bad vibes, man. Yeah, according to Keith Pelley.

And the rebuilds over at Toronto FC. And I've heard some people that follow that team closely kind of wonder what the hell that was all about. You know, it's not like TFC is a juggernaut right now. Yeah. Like they're moving in the right direction, but I don't know. The Toronto sports scene is very different today than it was six months ago. The Jays are in the World Series, you know.

The Leafs are starting a new campaign after going to the playoffs for nine straight years. Now everything is a lot of negativity here right now. It goes in waves, and it's a down wave right now, but you've got to find a way to make that down go up very quickly. And it's hiring the right people. It's having, you know, I think the hardest part for us in the media and as fans and that sitting there wondering when is the shoe going to drop. When is the next hire? Do you think it's possible there's like a shock hire that we're not prepared for?

Yes. I just, I don't know Keith Pelley very well. Met him a few times. Seems like a nice gentleman. But he does seem to be a guy who likes to make a splash. Not like wiki type of splash, but I do. believe Keith Pally would like to make a signature. So that would suggest like an alumni guy,

like Sundeen in some capacity or something like that. Because, I mean, unless it's like Chris Pronger, which would be a big splash, you know, coming in as a president or something like that, you know, the names that are being thrown around, they're not splash-worthy names. No, they're AGMs. Yeah, they're A-GMs.

That doesn't mean they're the wrong hire. That's not what I'm expressing. I'm not saying that the nuts and bolts of the job will be done improperly. But if we're talking showmen, which is not a good, like I don't need a showman. Leaf fans don't want or need a showman. Just hire the right people. Smart people don't need. But it seems like there's been a lot of reporting on, okay, these are the four guys.

Right. And maybe Sundeen's around. Maybe other guys are around. But I think it would be quite something if out of nowhere, you know, someone like an agent got hired. that no one's been talking about. All of a sudden, Pat Brasson's the president of hockey office. You're like, whoa, I didn't see that one coming.

Yeah. That would be worthy of a splash. Yeah. It's like when Lou Lamarillo was just odd, like out of the blue announced as the GM. Exactly. No one saw that coming. You know, no, I remember reading that email,

like thinking, I was getting duped. I'm like, Lou Lamarillo's coming up here. Okay. Which is great. I think that I look back to those early Lou years. like he helped spearhead the right direction for this organization. They saw it to clean up a lot when he arrived. They needed to clean up a lot.

I keep coming back. I've said this many times. Like, Mark Hunter is a guy for me that I've always loved. And not because I don't, like, I think he's a smart hockey man, but he's a no-nonsense guy. Would that be a big splash? I guess so. Like the Hunter Brothers obviously hold a lot of weight.

It would be for me. And his name hasn't been connected to this search right now. Why would he be? He's just too good of a fit, two hours away, winter. But his run of a program has a good eye for young talent, understands the game, understands talent. He was a part of the Leafs organization early on. I look at the model of a guy like Kelly McCriman

who ran his own shop in Brandon and then went to Vegas. Now, they've got McPhee there as well, right? Like McPhee was there first. But I look at McCrimmon as a no-nonsense cut-throat guy. I keep coming back to you. You don't need to win a press conference. You need to win the right person to them. Straighten out your organization, and that comes from the top in its culture.

Dale Hunter went to Washington and coached. He had one suit. He wore a black suit behind the bench and just didn't care, coached. The Hunter brothers seem like they are no-nonsense. they run a good organization in London. All they do is turn out winners and kids that get to the next level. I don't know anything about that program. Oh, you both played in the league.

You know what, it seems like it's a gold standard organization. It is. It's a factory, and it's impressive. So that's somebody that wouldn't be shocking, but I would hope that that's somebody who at least got an interview. Maybe he was like, I'm sorry, I'm not interested. Yeah, listen, they've got a great life. down there.

I know I said this. I'm not being disrespectful. There are people that are happy in their place right now, whether they're AGMs or whatever. We had Jason Spez on the other day and said, yeah, I'd like to be a manager, but I'm not ready yet. I think there's probably a few of those guys throughout the league that would be like, man, that would be a shiny toy to play with

or a shiny, you know, a legacy moment. But I don't know if that's your, you want for your first job. Yeah, that's the thing. That's the other thing, too. It's prime time up here. Your first job being this. You're dealing with a team exactly. Like Dubus, when he got it, they were in a great situation when he took over for Lou.

Right. Like they had Matthews and Marner and Nylander and yes, Babcock and him didn't jive, but Babcock was here running a very tight ship. They were in the playoffs. You had tons of other players like Cadry and Heim. I could go on and on and on. Tavares fell in your lap. Now, maybe it wasn't the right move in retrospect.

But John Tavar's quite literally said, I want to be a leaf. Like I'm just coming there. Let's work out the deal. I'm not like, I'm not going anywhere else. That's where I want to go. That's not the situation here. This is not the equivalent of Dubus getting his first gig when it was just made.

You're going to the playoffs every year and you've got to find a way to get them over the top and win. This is closer to a mess than it is like a ready-made bed. So whoever's going to be the higher, I mean, they're in, they're in for one here. Okay, I have my top five bar play here. It's a Thursday. Right. What did we say in the Stanley Cup playoffs we're doing? Mondays and Thursdays we're going to upgrade this or update this.

I had a very difficult time because it's only a couple of games in. Now there's, you know, there's been a few games played in the Philly series. I thought long and hard of putting Darfur Dar in there. I did not, which is a mistake, I think. I know. I thought long and hard he's been so good, but I just, I couldn't pull the trigger on a goalie. No offense. But that's fair.

I do, but here we go. Number five, I know what happened in game two, but Tage Thompson is still on this list in Buffalo. I got Tage Thompson at five, just based on what he did game one. It had been 15 years since Buffalo was in the playoffs. He scores twice in the third period. I like it. I think it's too early into the playoffs to start getting away from it.

And I know Bruins fans are going to call me and say, Pastor and I better be on there. They're not on there right now. I know Boston responded. They played well in game two. I got Tayes Thompson at five. It's about moments. It's about moments. Exactly. And he had it.

He had it. That's why at number four, I have Brandon Hagel down in Tampa. Oh, yeah. I could have had him higher on the list, right? He scored multiple goals. He's been great. He had a fight. He knocked the guy out in the building went nuts. I'm assuming that there's another guy from Montreal on that list. I have Slavkovsky at three. Okay, so fair.

That's where you're, it's a package deal in that series. I got Hagel at four and Slavkovsky at three. The reason I do is because Montreal's the underdogs. Hagle's been there, done that. Slavkovsky had a hatcher in game one, including the O.T. The dagger. Yes. So I was thinking of putting Hagle ahead of Slavkovsky on the list.

I know. I got Hagle at 4 Slavkovsky on Crescent Street in Montreal right now. It's absolutely absurd. Yeah. Absolutely absurd. Number two, I got Porter Martone. Now, Porter's not old enough to even go into the bars in the U.S. Dude, it doesn't matter.

It is in Alberta. Yes, he is. Drinking ages. And in Quebec. 18, yeah, in Quebec. In Quebec, is it 18 or 19? Dude, it's like 15 in Quebec. Well, I've not seen.

And I know from experience. The unofficial drinking age. Just a quick little story when I was in Hartford. I went to the bar one night and I had some people with me and the guy goes, what are you celebrating tonight? I go, it's my 21st birthday. And he goes, wait on a second. You've been coming here for three years. Those were always the best most.

moments when you start using your own ID. And I'm like, wait a minute. You're 19 today? You've been getting dragged out of here for three years. Yeah. As some guy named Tom McKibben or something. You're like, yeah, that's me. Fake ID, where are you at? All right.

Slavkovsky at three. Number two is Porter Martone. You see him at the end of the game last night? Like, I like that Kuturier went over and just said, that's enough. Yeah. I can't remember who he was scrumming with, but he was Kindle. Oh, it was Kindle. Yeah, it was him and Kindle, and he's punching at Kindle and Kindle's trying to get at him and he's laughing at him a little bit.

And Keturier came over and just said, that's enough. We won the game. It's 3-0. Exactly. But he's right in the middle of everything. He's on the power play, which is amazing. Yeah, he's been great. Porta Martone's been great.

And the number one, I have Wyatt Johnston. Wow. O.T. Winner last night. Give your team the lead. Yes. He had multiple points last night. He's been great throughout the series.

Like, we talked a lot about Schaefer not being there. Bouchard not being there, would Badaard make it. You look back on Johnston in the year he's had. He had to have been on a short list to play for Canada at the Olympic Games. 100%. Had to. And how does he possibly not get there at the World Cup in two years

or the Olympics in four? This guy, what do you have? 45 goals this year? 45 goals, 86 points. Like he is a stud, that kid, and he still is one. And the reason I thought it was important to put him there is that series been so good, but the blowout win by many, the game won,

And the injuries and the concerns in Dallas, I felt like we all kind of just pushed that series aside. And Dallas is now won two in a row. Yeah. And now they're in the driver's seat. And if you're in Minnie, you're starting to panic a little bit. I thought Minnie was going to win that series, just based on the injury to Hince and Hayskin and coming back.

But Dallas won't go away. They're a deep team and they're a great team. Really good team. But Johnston talked about young players that have pushed through that put Jamie Ben on the third line, which is fine. Ben can play there. But it just, you know, Matt Dushan, you look at rant and they're deep.

And they deserve a lot of love. Last night was a coin flip game. Minnesota almost scored in first overtime last night on the short side. But they didn't. They hit the side of the net instead of why. It doesn't matter. Go talk to Brady Kuch

about that. Exactly. Tim Stutzlow about that. It doesn't matter how close you are. It's got across the line. So there it is. The first updated bar playlist to the playoffs. A lot of guys that I thought of put in there, like pasta, like geeky, I thought of.

Yeah. Ladar, absolutely. I was thinking of maybe one of the kids in Anaheim. Coulorne played well last night, too. I was thinking about throwing him a little shout out. I'm making an executive decision for Hasey's List right now. For now on, your nickname's Hazy B. We're all B-list celebrities.

It's called B-listing. Ooh. Be-listing. I like that. Not Hasey's list. Be-list. the playoff bar play edition. Yes. Okay.

It's got just such a better ring, B listing. Yeah. I like it. I like where we're out. All right. So there you go. Another update on Monday. Best bets coming up. Raptors in action tonight. Jay's back in action. Tomorrow, a few games in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Overdrive continues.

TSN 1050 and on the TSNN app. Experience Megan Maroni live on her only Canadian tour date. June 20th in Toronto. The video wants to send you and a friend with travel from TripCentral.ca. The smart way to book travel. Two nights hotel, $1,000 cash. Plus, the new album on vinyl.

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I'm taking AutoA out tonight. I was on them in game too. I thought they had that game, but I'm going to take them on the money line. They're a favorite tonight. It's a must win. It's a must win. I think it's going to be a close game, though.

Like, I don't see a blowout either way. I think this is a nail-biting game. But I'm going to parlay, sends money line. Brady could chuck over three and a half shots on goal. Tim Stutzlow over two and a half, paying plus 580. Those are the big dogs tonight. Like, they've got to. Park. They've got to. Best Betts powered

by Fandual. Same game parlay is available for every Ottawa Senator. Stanley Cup playoff game on the Fanduals Sportsbook app. Please play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. I'm curious what the mood in the building is going to be like, I mean, it'll be, they'll be jacked, they'll be

ready to go, but it will be deflated quickly if Carolina scores early. Well, this is not a, that's not a wide open series. This isn't Evanton, Anaheim where there's lead changes, and there's, you know, eight goals in a game, four, four, three, six, four. Like, these have been tight, contested games.

But they can't let Carolina be the team that breaks a check and has a cycle goal. Like, they just have to score first. There's no other way around it. Like we're talking about winning the game. They have to score first. You give Carolina that lead being up to nothing. It is just, it'll be catastrophic in there. Obviously, you're not going to pack it in.

But never, ever has there been more. more of an important first goal. Great point. 100%. Yeah. You got to do it because Carolina, very comfortable in a situation like this. Hey, we're up to nothing.

They just chip away and grind it out, and they're not going to give you much, and then they really start putting the squeeze on once they get the lead. Got to get the building fired up, got to score first. Question for you. Does L.A. get one game? No, in L.A. tonight. No.

Tonight's tonight. If you don't get it tonight. If you don't get it tonight, by game four, it's Cope A, Copa, Copa. This is great seeing you. Will Ferrell walking on the ice in between intermissions. Yeah, got to have it tonight. In Boston, Buffalo tonight. Big, big game, man.

Big, big game. And then tomorrow, the Habs are back in action. All right, Raptors Cavs tonight also must win, like needless to say, must, must win for the Raptors tonight. And if they can pull that, pull that off, then they're back in the Cheers. You lose tonight, the bags will be packed. U-Halls. Expedia. Yes, it'll be, we're out of here.

This line on a sweep. When tonight, who knows what happens? Lose tonight, sweep. All right, boys, good stuff. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today, TV, radio, podcast, web, and of course up on YouTube live. We're out of here, enjoy your evenings.

Enjoy the games tonight. We're back tomorrow at... Don't jump to conclusions. Mike is a great name. 4 p.m. We'll chat then. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies.

Since retiring from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind, and now I've got my own show. So if you're tired or lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week. Film Never Lies, available on all TSN platforms and the IHeart Radio app.