OverDrive - OverDrive - April 24, 2026 - Hour 2 - Mike Johnson

Episode Date: April 24, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Dave Feschuk for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joins to discuss the headlines around the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs' front office next steps and Connor McDavid's search to bounce back. Feschuk lists his faces of Toronto sports and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

Springs finally here, and Julie is making the most of it, going for long walks, escaping the city and reconnecting with nature. Hey, girls. And reconnecting with her besties, one of whom is having a baby shower on the other side of the country. Switch to Canada's best 5G network and never miss an important moment. Plus, get all the data you need at a great price. Visit a bell store or bell.ca.orgia slash rate plans.

Bell, connection is everything. Power to overdrive continues. Powered by Fandoul, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Brian Hayes, Jamie Noodles, McLennan, Dave Festruck of the Toronto Star. Jay's Cavs tonight, Habs Lightning tonight, Oilers in Anaheim tonight. You see Vegas in Utah. I guess the owner down in Utah is asking people in the market to exchange golden night jerseys for Mammoth. Did you see the lineup of that too?

Yeah. Did you see the lineup down the street, which is, I don't know, like who's a Vegas this Golden Knight fan that's like, okay, I'm just going to go trade my jersey in for a brand new. But I guess you would because, you know, the Golden Knight's been around for like 10 years. Yeah. You know, like how big of a stranglehold can they have on Salt Lake City? That's a good question, you know. It is.

That Ryan Smith's done a good job there in Utah. Like, you know, I've been there a few times. I played there twice in pro hockey in the 90s. It gets a decent setup, smaller market. There's lots of money there, lots of money. Well, the jazz aren't very good. So, like, the mammoth have an opportunity there in that market. It's amazing, like, the impression you can make just with a few little social media clips.

Like, that one where he's walking through the parking lot, shaking hands of people and just, you know, looking like a regular guy, even though he's a regular billionaire. That goes a long way, right? And you kind of contrast that with the way, like, Tom Dundon, who owns the Carolina Hurricanes and now is introducing himself to the family. in Portland as the new owner of the NBA Trailblazers. And they're past that. He can't stand his guy ready. He's putting his foot in his mouth every five minutes, right? And all the little, like the nickel and dime stuff.

Did you see the one about how he told staff that they had to hang out in the lobby of the hotel before game time because they did not want to pay for late checkout for a 7 p.m. start. Yeah. Like, think about that. Yeah, late checkout. It's done. I think, like, no t-shirts for fans, like playoff games and stuff like that. Like, that's just standard procedure.

the NBA basically everywhere you get a towel you get a t-shirt something now we're not doing that it's it's crazy like he's got all that money it's his team he owns it they sold it to him right and it's like why why you turn the like why would you want to turn the market against you the minute you show up in town right right yeah it's so easy it's not that hard to sell um just you know like everyone understands you're the owner you're a billionaire you're living in a different world. Like, no one looks at Ryan Smith as he's actually this regular Joe. He's not.

He owns the NBA and the NHL team. He's a multi-billionaire. But making it look and feel like you're committed to the inclusion of everyone. Right. Goes a long way. It does. Like, it goes a long way. Like, you look at even, you know, when Maasai showed up, like, when Maasai went

out to Jurassic Park and started yelling and screaming and stuff, it was like, man, he's down there with the people. Bleep Brooklyn. Yeah, exactly. Like that, some resonated greatly with people. Like, man, this is amazing. Messiah, swearing. He's saying this and that and the other.

And he's down here. Now, afterwards, he went back into the luxury suite and, you know, lives in his $8 million mansion in North Toronto. And it's all good. You buy George Springers if you want right now. Yeah. Like, what's going on? Just every once in a while, connect with people on, you know, on the street level, so to speak.

And I do wonder how many of those gold night jerseys were just completely. completely bogus. Do you think there are plants? Yeah, buy them for $9.99 off Timo and just come and drop it off and get a mantel. Get a nice $150 jersey for $9.99. You're right. It could be a plant. Well, soccer candidate did that with a way you could come down to Cafe Diplomatico

and trading your Italy jersey for a Canada jersey. Right. The joke for the bridges of the world could trade in their Italy jerseys. How many people ended up going and doing that? It got a lot of backlash. Gosh, there weren't a lot of hair. Well, apparently in the end, they didn't make you give them your Italy jersey. They just gave you a Canada jersey to go with it.

Okay. So they didn't take your Italy jersey off your back. I guess that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that is kind of, like, why take something that is a prized possession of someone? Like, now, sure, they're going to root for Canada. It doesn't mean they're not of Italian heritage.

There's a lot of Italians that packed it in on their team, though, said that's it to hell with them and pissed off. I'm not happy, man. They lost again. They didn't qualify again. And it doesn't sound like they're going to get in. Cawkey, too. They were looking past. What team are they looking past?

I can't remember what it was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We got Bosnia. You know, like these guys are scrubs. Yeah, definitely did. They were punching tickets.

They're like, I don't know about this BMO field. We'll see about that. It's like, well, you're going there. Your team's not playing. So you can think whatever you want about BMO Field. Joining us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Here's our TSN hockey analyst, Mike Johnson. it's happening. Johnny, how we doing?

What's going on, fellas? Now, it would stand to reason to me. Like, soccer, even the better countries. Like, there's always an element of risk there because there's no goal scored, right? Like, you can't overlook anyone. Bosnia, herzegovina, or Canada or whoever. Like, even if you dominate the game, what's that?

Two-nothing? Like, it's always has the potential to be close. One penalty, one great game. Like, yeah, Italy's in no position to be looking over anybody right now. Yeah, it is the nature of the beast. It just, it's not something that should ever be considered. But, and ultimately, you know, they paid a price because Italy's not in the World Cup. As for a team not in a Stanley Cup playoffs, I want to begin by getting your take on what seems to be the final two-man standing seeking out this job in Toronto, the much coveted head of hockey operations for the Maple Leafs.

Scott White, who's the AGM in Dallas right now, and John Chica, who hasn't been employed in the league ever since he, to get himself unemployed in Arizona. It's a little bit of a sticky way of exiting that situation. White and Chico, what do you make of these two, if, in fact, these are the two guys that are left seeking out this job? So for White, I'm not going to act like I have a real good sense of who he is or what he's like. You know, we know his reputation. We know that Dallas is a great organization.

They have been well run. He, from all reports, very smart guy. but I don't know him and I don't really know the inner workings of Dallas to say he does this and he does it great. They're pro scouting, their cap management, I have no idea what his role is there and how that could translate.

So it's tough to say, other than reputation seems to be excellent. And as far as Jacob goes, the one part that fascinates me, guys, and maybe this is an attraction. We know that's an athlete's a very high-end analytics company for all sports, Hocke included. He was the founder of that.

with his sister and everything else. But he's also quite a businessman. Like he is a very successful entrepreneur owns like dozens of fast food restaurants. Like he's got like a grander scale business operation, not quite MLS. And he decides, but he's running a big business with a ton of employees. And that is another element of that. And Hazy, I was listening to you early about, you know, on his departure and there's no doubt the draft combine testing stuff. That seems to be a greasy move that he should not have done.

But having said that, I think I'm giving him to anyone a pass a little bit for trying to get out of Arizona or not having the cleanest exit from that Alex Morello-run organization. Yep, valid. Because I think it's worth considering what that guy was like, what the organization was like, who knows what they were talking about, and was everyone sort of being up front with each other. I think the organization he was leaving should factor into a little bit. of the consideration of maybe it wasn't the cleanest exit. Yeah, that's fair.

I mean, if you take a look at it. Johnny, I think he's a really smart guy, and so is Scott White. Like, I know him. I have a little bit of a history with him, and I think him being an apprentice under Jim Nell can't hurt based on how much success or at least how Dallas is a gold standard team. That being said, do you feel like if it's one of these two, Do you feel like that's the start?

Like, is it them going to be them on an island, do you think, or is it going to be a team? And what I mean by that is somebody above them, beside them, you know, not just having, hey, we got six AGMs that are under contract and they're going to inherit that type of thing. Is it, is it, do you feel like somebody else with either some cachet or maybe some name recognition will come along with the package? Like, you're going to do it by committee, not just one person, stand alone. Well, Nudos, I've long said regardless who gets that job, being, what's called them the president and being the GM in Toronto, is a job that is so big, it's ideally done by two people.

But whether these guys are the presidents or the GMs, I feel like they would be well-served to have somebody else alongside or below or above or however you want to flow the organizational chart to help them along, because there's a lot that goes into running the Toronto Maple Leafs and more than there would be in Arizona and certainly more than there would be in Dallas. So having someone to take on some of those responsibilities,

and that's not to suggest that neither one of them could do both. They probably both could do both, but can they do both as well as they could do just one thing? And I think the Leafs are in a spot as an organization, that they can have the strength of experience and layers, not to the point of inefficiency, but to the point of being better. And so, Nudels, I would say, if I was hiring, if I was running the, you know, MLS&E, I would hire two people. If one of these guys, you know, I'd hire someone else.

And I don't mean, I mean, respectfully, you know, that doesn't mean, you know, Matt or Gary Roberts or something like that as the second person. They can have a role and they can be very valuable. But I think you want some of the bit more experience and a resume of what that job will entail other than being a former Toronto Maple Leaf who is, hockey smart and passionate and a smart guy, I think I would want one of the other hires to be an experienced person. Yes. Makes a lot of sense, MJ. Well, let's talk about some teams that are actually playing hockey this spring.

And, I mean, I'm not sure anybody saw the senators in this big a hole this quickly coming, but here they are down 3-0 for the second straight playoff run. And what do you make of the fact, MJ, this contradiction that we've been talking about on the show is, all year it was about goaltending, and now three games in, they've got three goals combined in those three games. It's about the fact that they can't score a goal, the power play has gone cold. You know, what do you make of it?

It's disappointing for Ottawa, because they, I thought they would have a great chance to get to the conference final. They're very good team if they get goaltitting, and they're getting goaltending. So part of all mark that is not part of the conversation, I think at first you've got to give credit to Carolina. They are also one of the best defensive teams in the league. who had bad goal-tending, and they're not getting bad goal-tending now.

Some of that's on the shooting of Ottawa, but some of that's on Freddie Anderson, who's been really, really good for three games, one still and cousin goal aside. But it would be frustrating because, you know, they are depleted on the back end and having injuries the way they've had them does not help them play against Carolina,

a team that puts the defense under a ton of pressure to make passes out of their own end, and they're probably missing a body or two that could do that better than the guys they have playing. but all that, it means you still got to generate. I mean, that's part of the job. I give Carolina credit, it's hard. It's hard to play against them.

I get it. But you got to find a way to score goals. I'm like, Kim Zudkling game two should have scored four. He got none, so that feels pretty empty. But last night would have been very disappointing. At home, win a game, you are right back in the series. They hadn't really been significantly outplayed in either the first or second game for two too much. and they were dominated last night.

They had nothing going on whatsoever, and you think we'd get back home, we have all that energy, all that emotion, and we come up with that flat of an effort or we're not able to compete at that level, that's disappointing. When you don't score, the spotlight always will go to the guys you are counting on to score.

Yeah, well, that's what sticks out to me. It's good chookin-studes to the ultimate. That's the question. Yeah, it's the two best players on the team, with Sanderson being different. obviously because of the position he plays, but offensively he's incredibly inclined and he's out of it now.

The interesting thing with these two is like they both came into the league so young, Kuch and Stutzh and Stoog and Stootslow. And I said this last hour, Johnny, like they have this reputation. I think Brady more than anyone because he's literally the younger brother of a superstar in the league

that he's just, you know, while he's wading his way into the playoffs, you got to give him time to figure it out. And I'm having a difficult time juggling that because he doesn't have a ton of playoff experience, neither to Stutzla, but Stutzlars, I think this was his sixth year in the league, and Kachuk's been in the league for eight, he'll be 27 in September. Like, how do you, because I thought both of them struggled last,

and I thought Brady in particular, he looked like he didn't know where to go, what to do, how to handle it. Yeah. You know, like, in some of the plays he made with the puck are just not, they just can't happen in a big game like that from a star player. They just, they can not happen. So how do you How do you kind of juggle that moving forward?

Like a lack of experience in the playoffs to an extent, but also not 19 or 20 years old, like veterans in their prime. So how do we evaluate this when it's all said and done in terms of whether or not those two players can be playoff performers? Yeah, well, I mean, you can only go on their experience. And I'm with you. I get playoffs are different,

but you've been around the league for a half decade plus. Brady has played at the high. highest level gold medal game, four nations, which would have felt pretty much like a playoff game or Stanley Cup final game or more. So it's not like they've not had any experience with this. So yeah, you've got to evaluate them on what they can and can't do. Now I would say this, this Carolina team specifically is probably not a great matchup for Brady. Because to get chance against Carolina, one, you've got to get the fucking office zone where Brady does his best work, and he's not a guy who gets it there on his own.

Like, he needs other people to get it there, and then once it's there, he's quite good. But the fence are having a hard time of sort of getting the forecheck going and getting sustained pressure where Brady shines. Another part about playing Carolina is that to get those chances, they are largely done with speed. You got to outskate him. You've got to catch them on a pinch. You've got to catch him out of a corner in the man-on-man and beat him back to the front of the net.

And Brady's a lot of things, but fast or quick is probably not his greatest attribute. So maybe not a great matchup, but you got to find a way, especially like, listen, we talk about five-on-five, but the power play, you do have more time and you have more space and you've got to make plays. And, you know, that one inexplicable pass in the five-on-three, you're like, I don't understand what's happening here. It's just so strange to see. So, yeah, I mean, I don't know what to tell you other than bad matchup, and he's probably not playing as well as he wants. I think he's trying to be emotionally effective, you know, trying to be chippy and edgy and hit and finish. should do all the right things. Carolina is doing a masterclass and largely just skating away.

They don't get all that stuff. Just go ahead. Stick Jordan Martin hook in the middle of the ice and whatever. We'll take the power play. And Brady's getting caught trying, but loss is a strong word, but not comfortable in how the flow the game is going. For Timmy, I think he's been okay. Last night, not good.

First and second game, he's pretty good. Again, you know, he needs the puck. And he's not great defensively. So if he doesn't get out of his own end and make him play down there a lot, which he's had to do, you're really limiting to what he does well. So there are some reasons, but there also is some questions about, yeah, but everyone's got reasons. The playoffs, everyone makes it hard.

You've got to find a way. But, like, you know, Sebastian O'Haw has done nothing. Seth Jarvis has done nothing. Fesnikov is, like, it's not an offensive series. That's what I'm saying. So if they lose, it would be pointed at them. But there's a whole bunch of guys, not just those two, on both teams, because the way the series is getting played and how good the defense is,

that are not going to have good numbers here. So, Johnny, you know, it seemed to go off the rails in that five-on-three, and Sanderson exited the game. Understatement. Yes. What did you, yeah, I mean, what did you make of the Taylor Hall hit? We were talking about it earlier. It seems like there's going to be no supplemental discipline,

whether if you thought there was going to be. Obviously, Ottawa's upset because they've lost their, defensemen, they've already lost Artem Zub, you know, you've got guys that are injured. What did you make of the hit? And, you know, was it the right call? Do you think there should have been something more?

Should have been a five? So, noodles to me, like, I watch, so let's just, it's not interference, right? Sanderson just had the puck. So it's not interference. I would say it's not a charge. Not like Taylor always comes flying from anywhere. He was just circling in and making a four-check play.

The question would be, is it sort of, head contact is the issue. And I'm always reminded of you can hit the head in a clean hit. Like some head contact is not against the rules if it's in the course of a full body normal hit.

And that's the question. And to me, I watched that and then Ottawa fans won't like it. I didn't think that they got a lot of chest and obviously got the head as well. Like I thought that probably scraped enough chest. It wasn't just a glancing like 10% chest, not even

head. It was like 50-50, 60-40. It was close enough to me to say, I think that's a hit that unfortunately got him in the head as well. Now, what I would have liked, and what I find the refs do quite often, noodles, they just call the five when they don't know. And then they're allowed to look at it. And the refs seem quite okay, because the concern always was, well, will they downgrade their penalty because it will look like they made a mistake? And I found the rest have no problem whatsoever, call on a five, taking a look, going two,

going zero, saying, ah, it's not what we thought, we took a look, it's fine. And I would have no problem if they called the five and wanted to take another look at it, slow it down, frame by frame, whatever. But at first blush and watching the replays, like, I get why there's no supplemental discipline,

and maybe it could have been a two or something, but I didn't think it was that bad. I don't know. What do you guys think? Am I, I am I, am I? I could. I said I would have been a, okay with a five minute. I mean, ultimately, it was not a suspension. It wasn't a suspension. It was a, it was, he got him. He got him in the head. It, it always turns into the subruder films and

breaking it down, which I, I don't love doing anyway. Ultimately, it doesn't matter because it sucks for Sanderson. Obviously, you hope he's okay. But the series is over, whether Hall's playing or not. Two series that are not would be Montreal, Tampa, tied at one back to the Bell Center tonight. Edmonton, Anaheim tied at one, heading to Anaheim tonight. How many, if any, Canadian teams are up to one as of this evening? Well, the smart money would be two, because one team would be up to one, because I gave both options. I don't think they both win, probably not.

Those are a toss-up series, so for them to both win is about a 25% chance, but for one on the win, it's probably a 75% chance. So I look at it that way. Tampa Montreal is exactly what we expected. Very close, very tight, very physical, Chippy, Tampa trying to assert their will, Montreal pushing back. Montreal star players got to probably get a bit more effective

five-on-five to win this series. And Tampa or at Emerson, Anaheim, guys, that one is fascinated to me because if Emerson doesn't win tonight, then it's like, wait a second time. You know, I think we are all so confident in Edmonton

because of their past and not as much because of their present that we are giving them the benefit of the doubt that they will figure it out. But David will get a going, they'll just find a way because they've been really good. If they lose tonight, go down 2-1, going into game 4 in Anaheim, it's a way

different conversation for the Oilers tomorrow. But, I mean, yeah, so I guess I'll say one of the two teams will win tonight. I mean, when you think, sorry, David, just follow that quickly. Do you think McDavid has a chance to, I mean, at some point he's going to pop,

do you not think? How's the ankle, though, right, for whatever it is? Yeah. I'll find out tonight. I don't know. I've shown videos. He was limping, he was grimacing, I mean, he played into this postgame and stuff, but he was, he was bothered by at the very least. It's been strange watching him because, you know, he certainly, he's been fine,

he's been better than fine, he's been excellent. But by his crazy standards, there's been some puck play that has been uncharacteristic of him, not just the giveaway while short-handed that allowed the paling goal, but just some of his own entries haven't been as, as seamless as they usually are for him. So, of course, I'm going to say, yes. He averages like 2.3 points per game against the ducks the last 10 years. So you'd assume it's coming, but I don't know.

I mean, it hasn't yet, and the ducks have done a good job, and we'll get home ice and get whoever matched up they want against them. So I'm less certain that I would have been, like, going into game, too, I'm like, oh, yeah, a five-point game coming up for Connor. Like, that's how you thought it was going to go. I'm less certain of that now. Well, that's what I want to. ask you, MJ.

Like, you know, talking to people who've been watching it closely, like, you never want to write this guy off, as you say, because the ducks give up a lot, and it wouldn't be a shock if he had a 4.5 point night tonight and everything's back to normal. And that two-game, you know, scoreless streak is a blip. But, you know, you can't get past the fact that this guy has played more hockey than anybody else on the planet over the past handful of years here with, you know, two trips to a cup final and four nations and Olympics. and then just the fact that he skates, you know, longer and harder than anybody,

probably in the league outside of a few guys. I mean, I've heard people say he looks a little worn down, doesn't look quite as explosive. I mean, to your eye, is that reading correctly? I don't know about explosive fast, but what I do wonder, and I probably take a closer look tonight, guys, and when you watch it, like I think sometimes it feels like he wants to be successful so bad that he reverts back to a bit of the solo game.

And while he is the greatest individual skater ever, even he can't do it on his own. You think about the Olympics at times where he was maybe trying to rush it a little bit more than maybe he would have wanted to if he could watch the replay, and I'm watching some of the plays against that. And I'm, you just wonder if he cares so much and wants it so much, so out of a good intention, he's sort of forcing plays as opposed to just letting the game come to him a little bit,

it. And if you can get him to deviate anything from what he usually does, you know, you're ahead of the game, and maybe that's where the ducks are right now. But I do wonder that because, you know, I just, it just seems less, less clean than it usually is. Yeah, I mean, that'll be an interesting one tonight. As for the Bell Center, you've played there. You know, the Tide 1-1 coming back home Friday night in Montreal. And what do you expect the atmosphere to be like at the Bell Center tonight? I mean, I'm half surprised overdrive, not live from the Bell Center. We try. That's the place to be in the hockey world right now.

We would love to. I bet you did. Yeah. I bet you did. Yeah, I mean, I think it's one of those moments where the game starts at 7-10. If you're hockey fan, get there at 7. Watch the beginning. Watch the skit on the ice.

The energy and the sort of love affair that that building and that province and that city has for those players in this year is taking an already best building the league to a number. other level entirely. And so I almost wonder, guys, like the Sabres, I thought, fought the expectations and the excitement in their first couple of games at home. It was just so pent up and built up.

You wonder how Montreal, who's been there last year, but feels different this year than last. They had a better chance at a better team this year. Can they manage sort of that crazy environment the way they're going to have to be their best sells? Because it will be, it's the best building

in the league, bar none. Best fans, best building there. It's amazing and it will be again tonight. Yeah, it'll be electric tonight. No question about that. And, you know, throughout the series. All right, Johnny, we'll leave it there. Have yourself a great weekend. We'll do it early next week. All right, fellas. Have a good weekend. Mike Johnson joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Red Tag Day's here. Check out

the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks, both available as hybrids. Visit Maple Toyota near Canada's Wonderland and the Maple Auto Mall. Yeah, it'll be fun to see that tonight. And Utah's first home playoff game tonight, right? Like that building will be rocking this evening. That is for sure. And Anaheim, they haven't been in the playoffs in a long time either, right? Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a niche market, but they still are pretty, you know, I mean, they won a cup. What was it, 2007?

07, sorry, yeah. 20 years ago. But they were a really good team for a long time with Getslaff and Perry and, you know, they had a really good rod. That's a good building. That building rocks, man. Americans know how to get behind a home team, man. It's a really good place to watch hockey. I was there for a few of those games sevens when Bruce, our colleague Bruce Boudreau was

coaching that Getslaff Perry team and they never could quite get over the hump. But man, that place would rock. Yeah, it will tonight. And with McDavid rolling through town, like if you're a hockey fan in that market, you'd be salivating for that opportunity. Like they're going to be on him. They'll be on Drive Settle. And you don't think L.A. will get a game.

I don't think. I think last night was their chance noodles. Like, it was, they had that opportunity. I watched it. But Colorado just squeezed this. You know, like, they just squeezed them. Like, they're just, the Colorado is just too good. Yeah.

They're better in L.A. L.A. looks slow and lethargic. Well, it's interesting. You know, you look at L.A. and you look at Pittsburgh, two dynasty teams, right, from a decade ago, two teams that, you know, like Copa Taur and Doughty, maybe the two greatest kings of all time, or certainly, you know, Gretzky represents something different. Right.

But Robatai and Blake, there's other great kings historically. But I'm sure in that market, they'd be in the running. They're the ones that won the Stanley Cups. And the same thing in Pitt, Mario notwithstanding, maybe Yager notwithstanding. You got Sid and you got Gino and you got Latang and these guys are aging superstars. They're no longer in their prime. And they just got in. And now they're probably leaving after four games.

You know? Yeah. And then the organization's going to have to reset because Copartar is done. Doubtie is still going to keep playing, but he's not a young guy anymore. And I think Malkin, they're probably going to move on from him this summer. We'll see what happens with Latang. That's where you have the Dallas model, though. You've got to have players that push those guys down, legacy players down in the lineup.

Doesn't mean you push them right out, but it's like Jamie Ben is fine on the third line in Dallas because you've had Wyatt Johnston pushed through. Sagan's not even playing. Well, yeah, Sagan had the injury. But like you look at it. that's the model you need where, you know, I come back to Scott White, for example, and you start looking at the Toronto Maple Leafs, okay, you've got a draft developer, you're also going to have to take a look at, you know, what are you going to have young kids

push your legacy players down. That's why people didn't have a problem with John Tavares if he was your third or fourth line center. Right. Right, at $4.5 million. And he had a great year. He's not a time. He did for, yes, to credit John. He had a great year for what is actually.

expectation was, but everybody above and around him wasn't good enough. And that's the biggest challenge. If John Taviris is your third-line center and producing like that, you're on to something, right? But what you need is the people around and above to push him down. Guys in front of them to be better. Right. And that'll be the job, whether it's John Chica, Scott White, or somebody else. Or someone else.

Could be anybody, right? Maybe it's a big smokescreen. Anything's possible right now with beliefs. Mail it and Friday brought to you by Boston Pizza Canada's favorite sports bar. This playoffs BP is summoning the hockey gods to tilt the ice in Canada's favor. Join us and feast like a hockey god on our new playoff menu. See you for puck drop at your local BP. Dave, you got a list for us coming up.

We'll break that down. Best bets later in the hour. Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. All right, Best bets coming up later in the hour. Jay's back in action tonight. Raptors game four on Sunday. Emmanuel quickly ruled out for the series, which I actually appreciate that.

Like he's not playing. Just tell everyone. Stop with the eyes. He's getting close. We'll see what happens at Tip-Bah. You're not playing. Wow. I guess what they put out in the press release guys is that

maybe they weren't being coy about whether he was going to play or not. Because according to the team, he's re-injured it while trying to come back. Right. The hamstring. He's had a setback on the hammie, and he won't be back anytime soon, it looks like.

And as we all know, man, like hammies can be very, very difficult to come back from quickly. Yeah, he just doesn't play enough. I mean, it's unfortunate. He's hurt and he had planter fasciitis and, you know, he's been dealing with it. But I don't know how much you would tip the scales on this series, Dave. I think it would be a big difference. Do you think it would be a significant difference?

Yeah. Everything he brings, you know, like, you know, some really kind of electric three-point shooting when he's hot, obviously, like anybody else, they don't really have a ton of that. got it last night from Jameson Battle, a guy they'd buried on the bench for the first two games who came in and went four for four from deep. But he brings that sort of the three-point shooting threat and

also just, you know, a little bit of size in the back court and some ability to break down defenses which they don't have a ton of outside of Scotty Barnes playing bully ball. Right. So do you think that they can get back in this series? Like, do you think that you know, it's 2-1? I get it. Last night was great. Like,

but where would you where would your confidence meter be that they can get it done, you know, storm right back? I'll put it to you like this, noodles. All they needed to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers was to have four players have the games of their lives. You know? Scottie had the game of his life.

You know, CMB had the game of his life. James of Battle had the game of his life. And R.J. Barrett had the game of his life. And I'm not kidding you. They've never, like, considering the stakes and the situation, none of those guys have ever played any better on a basketball. well floor, certainly in the NBA. So can they repeat that?

Can Brandon Ingram snap out of whatever is bothering him? That's how they get back in the series. Because you're not going to get that out of everyone else, every other game. Now, they weren't big last night. Like, they separated in the fourth quarter. It took a while, though, right? It did. But the point being is it's not like they got all that performance in one and triple

overtime. No. You know, like they legitimately, it was a close game through a lot of lead changes. And then they kind of separated in the fourth. and Cleveland's a really good team. But they're not some all-time great powerhouse that's going to really terrify you. They're still in the driver's seat.

Game four ultimately will determine this. I mean, I think that goes without saying. If the Raptors can hold home cord, then it's coin flip for me. They've got a real shot here. If you lose game four, then that's going to be the end of the road. But you've got a list here, Dave, because with Lottie in the building last night and the pop that he got, right? And he's on the mic, and people are going nuts for Vladi.

We figured we put you to the test. Usually I'm the one that comes up with these, but I kind of want to be on the other side looking at here. On who you think is the face of Toronto sports. So do you have a five-pack for us here? I do. Okay, we're going five down to one. Is that our plan?

Are we going five down to one, Joe, from the bridge? I guess we are. I hope we are. Yeah, Joe's on the ball, man. Joe, you'll figure it out. He'll read off you, man. No problem. Take it away, Dave.

Who do you have a number five? Well, my five, maybe it should have been my last reveal because it's a bit of a cheeky one, but it's Keith, GPT, Pelley. Wow. Keith Pellon. And this is an incredible lifetime achievement because it's difficult to walk into a town and two years later have everybody blaming you for all that Ails a hockey team that's been around for more than 100 years and hasn't won a cup in 60 years.

Right. And had a guy running it for 11 years, it probably should take a little more blame than he does right now. But since he's disappeared from the picture, Pelly is the guy to wear it. Yeah, I think that's appropriate. I mean, I do think, now this is a moment in time. You know, it may be different in six months.

And I think if you're Keith Pelley, you're hoping it's very different in six months. But right now he's at the forefront. You know, he is running the operation on who's going to be hired to hopefully get the Leafs back on the first. right track. That's a massively important job in this city. He also oversees the Raptors, Toronto FC, the Argos,

you know, they own Bimo. Bimo's going to be hosting the World Cup coming up, right? There's a lot on Keith Pelley's plate. And you're right. I mean, the history of this team, it's not Keith Pelley's fault. They haven't won anything in 60 years. But he's also a local guy, which is different.

Like, like, Wicke, I don't think, cared as much about what everyone thinks. No. Pellie, I don't know this. But I would think he takes it more personally. He's a Toronto guy. Yeah. It's tied to the market. Yeah.

Tied in media, all of that type of stuff. Hey, man, like let's put yesterday, you know, as an example, like, you know, a lot of Raptor games this year, you'd see Keith, you know, shaking hands, kissing babies, you know, working the crowd before the game around the court, talking to players, talking to executives, talking to coaches. Didn't see him yesterday. Interesting. Yeah.

Maybe he knew he was going to be on this list. He's like, I got to start getting away. Exactly. Get you down that court side for a game. All right, Keith Pelley at 5. Who do you have at 4? 4. I got a guy that Blue Jays sorely missed right now, who's, to me, the heart and soul of this team that went to the World Series last year,

and it's George Springer. Okay. I mean, we're six years in. When I think about people who love this team that I know people walking down the street, when I watch the crowd walking into the Blue Jays game from Union Station on a regular basis, you know, Springer's, a jersey you see a lot of. And when you think about iconic moments,

I mean, the Springer Dinger in game seven of the ALCS last year, that's right up there in franchise lore. And, you know, this team, that team that did what it did and got as close as you could ever get to winning without winning, you know, he, to me, to me, you know, he was the engine that drove it for a lot of that season.

Yeah, he had a phenomenal year. They're missing them desperately. I guess knew there was a report. He's put his house up for sale. trying to say like I was joking earlier. Like, I mean, you're allowed to move. Well, it's deals up too, right? Exactly. He's not a young guy.

He's not from Toronto. He's not planning, I would guess, to spend the rest of his life here. That doesn't mean it's definitive. He's not coming back or they're not going to resign him. But I don't think it's a guarantee they will. You know, like, there's no guarantee. George isn't a young guy. And prior to last year, two years ago, they were like, how do we get out from underneath this contract?

It's not going so well for us. So, yeah, I like that. George at four. again, that's a big shift. This time last year, George was nowhere close to the top five. No. Now. But you have a magical season like he did.

And you mentioned that home run in the seventh inning game seven. That is going to live around here for the rest of the time. And we're talking about the faces of the moment, right? We're not talking about the all-time faces here. I like it. I like it. We're talking about the faces of the moment. Okay, spring or four, who do you have at three?

At three, we have Mr. Scotty Barnes. Okay. Interesting. You know, to me, like last night, this is a little bit of recency bias, maybe, but last night to me, like, he put that team on his back and said, you know what, you know, there's a scheme here. Like Darko wants us to pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. And there's a game plan.

But my plan, the best player on this team's plan, is to get this ball into the basket by any means necessary, any way possible. And he did it again and again against, you know, a bunch of Cleveland defenders at the rim. Like, look at that. He's got Jared Island, one of the best, one of the better defenders in the league on on there. There's him on Mowgli, a guy who's one defensive player of the year going right into his chest. I mean, this to me, like, I don't know if Scotty Barnes is going to be the face of the league,

as Darko once famously said. But, you know, I think he's, like, if this team could ever sort of, if CMB is real as a 20-year-old rookie who had an incredible game last year, last night and is having a really good rookie year. and Scotty Barnes gets enough around him. I think he's a really good Toronto style player. Yes. Because he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. I agree.

I think it's a sign of maturation. This is going to sound crazy. But in the NBA, one of the early signs of maturation for a superstar is when he looks at his coach and basically goes, I don't care what you're saying. I'm going to do this. Yeah, I'm doing this. Exactly.

This is the way this is going to work. I'm doing this. And it's not disrespectful. It's not getting completely away from the game plan. But last night, they needed someone to do that. And there was Scotty. And, you know, as a result, I think CMB played better. Obviously, other guys played better. RJ Barrett played better. They all kind of fit in well. So I like it. Okay, you got Scotty at three. Who do you have a two? Number two, I mean, when you wear that blue and white maple leaf and there's a C on the front of it, you are a face. of Toronto sports, no matter how you're playing. And Austin Matthews, he might be right now the face of failure,

but he's definitely the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs. And he is definitely, you know, a guy who is becoming more polarizing, which is interesting because at a certain point in his career when he was Mr. 69 goals and a hard trophy winner, there was no debate about this guy. But now that he scored 60 goals combined in the past two seasons and this team has fallen off the map as it has this year, I do think it's a little more of a polarizing face than it ever has been.

But it still is a popular face. You see a ton of Austin Matthews jerseys around this town to this day, and obviously it's an influential face because everybody's wondering, you know, what does Austin think about the rebuild or the retool or the new guy that's going to be coming into town? And that's going to be a major storyline for many, many weeks. to come. Longest standing face of any franchise in the city.

I mean, he's been here for a decade. And the second they drafted him, he was basically the face of the leaves. So, you know, that's 10 years of being the face of the Maple Leafs. So, yeah, I would agree with that. You know, I think he's held onto the top spot

for a lot of that decade, but I know why he doesn't anymore. And I think we all know who's going to be at the top of your list. But, yeah, Matthews, what will be interesting noodles is how much longer he's on this list. Yes. Well, that was, you're right.

Like, he was at the top spot for many, many years, in my opinion. And, you know, we're recent bias. What have you done for me lately? All of that type of stuff. And that's the reason why he slid to two. And I would argue Vladdy's at number one based on what's happened, correct? I think we all knows. And Vladdy took it.

You know, like, sorry, Dan, I'm jumping on your number one on the list. I'm a little uncomfortable. This is in my list. It's everybody's list. It's Toronto's list. I just assumed, and I basically outed it, but it was part of my answer. If this was two years ago, it was the opposite. Austin Matthews, and it was Austin Matthews way above everybody else,

and now, you know, Vladdy's in there because of what they did. They went deep into the playoffs. They went to the World Series, and Vladdy was a beast in the playoffs. He did some. Matthews is his. never come close to doing. Yeah. That's the truth. Exactly. I mean, and, and you know,

like with Matthews so often lately people point out, hey, this is second highest paid player in the league and what's, you know, what's it getting us, right? Like in terms of success. And, you know, Vladdy right now, fourth highest paid player in

major league baseball this season, and at 40 million plus, and you don't hear a lot of resentment about it, right? Because he delivered when it mattered, right? Which is something Austin Matthews can't say he ever did for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And so, yeah, and like last night I was telling, as we were saying in the Keegan segment, like, it was, it was palpable last night.

You know, I was up there with all, you know, Simmons and Bruce Arthur, and we're all sitting there, and Vladdy comes on the screen, and we hadn't heard a roar like that all night, and it was an NBA playoff game. Right. Like the reaction to Vladdy, just putting his face on the screen, was absolutely electric in that building, and it wasn't topped by anything until, Jameson Battle hit those four threes, and it was very clear the Raptors were about to win the game. But I do think there's like, there's an incredible affection for this guy.

The little kids love him. Like I know so many little kids that have laddie t-shirts and they love this guy because he's got a lovable face. And he seems like a really, you know, he's got a nice smile and he seems like a kind of human being. And he plays all the time. And he plays all the time. That's the other thing. He's available. That's that.

And that accounts for a lot. You got to play. You know, like you got to be available in playing. Yeah, I like that list. I can't argue with any of it. Honestly, I think, you know, maybe Willie, maybe Tavaras, I don't think there's another Raptor. I don't think, you know, R.J. Barrett would probably be my second option there of the Raptors

because he's a local guy. And I don't think there's anyone else that we're really missing. No, I don't think so. You know, maybe it would have been you savage if he was healthy and a great start. Yes. You know, maybe, but that's not the case right now. So I think you're on to something right there. I was thinking maybe Ernie Clement.

Like Ernie Clement is rising quickly. They're having Ernie Clement hockey jersey night on Monday night. Yeah, they like it. They're starting to move in the right direction here with Ernie. And Ernie's sitting second tonight. Milled in Friday brought you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. This playoffs BP is summoning the hockey guys to tilt the ice in Canada's favor.

Join us and feast like a hockey god on our new playoff menu. See you for puck drop of your local BP. Best bets coming up. We'll recap a busy afternoon. Overdrive. who's up on TSN4. All right, best bets powered by Fandul. Make your picks and assemble the same game.

Parlay and seconds on the Fandul Sportsbook gap. Habs are actually a slight underdog tonight at home. They're basically paying even money. I'm on the Habs tonight. I like the Habs tonight, and I've got Cawfield getting off the snide. I'm going to parlay that with Cawfield anytime goal scoring tonight, paying just over plus 215. That's your best bets.

I can't wait for this game tonight. It's going to be a great game. I think Vegas, Utah, be a good game. Edmonton, Anaheim, likely taking the over, right? What's the total on that game? Nine and a half. Is it? No, but those two teams, all they do is score.

Yeah. Best bets powered by Fandole. Same game parlay is available for every Stanley Cup playoff game on the Fandall Sportsbook. God, please play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. All right, boys. Well, we'll see what comes of it this weekend, right? We've got possibly some sweeps and Raptors back in action.

Jay's back home. Traffic cast. in Toronto. Traffic chaos. Oh, yeah, don't even go downtown. Golf courses are opening up. It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Maybe we get a Leaf GM, right? Maybe at least hire someone at some point over the weekend. A little news dump for the Leafs. That would be on par. Like Sunday afternoon hiring. Yeah. You imagine. I can imagine.

Great scene. Dave, thanks for doing this, as always. Thanks, fellas. Dave, Festrek of the Toronto Star. We're out of here. 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.

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