OverDrive - OverDrive - December 15, 2025 - Hour 1 - Dylan Cease

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss Quinn Hughes' trade to the Wild and the next steps in Vancouver, how Hughes makes Minnesota a contender and his fit on the team, Kevyn Adams dismissed as general manager with the Sabres, Connor McDavid's dominance and Auston Matthews' tough stretch with the Maple Leafs. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease on his signing with the Blue Jays, the role in Toronto and the outlook of his career with the team.

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This hour of overdrive is powered by Fanduil. Fandul, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go, overdrive, off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, and up on TSN4. Brian Hase, the O'Dug, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennon, is going on today. What's going on? I will apologize to HBO, the corporation. right after you apologize Hayes to Connor McDavid

because I'll tell you what I saw him live on Saturday night and I could tell he was ready to go as soon as I saw his dad Brian up in the luxury boxes he looked like he was ready to go and ever since yourself Duffy and the Quizmaster started critiquing McDavid's game and saying McKinnon's the number one guy guess what he's done he's gone nuts and he wants it all he's gone nuts he has stuck he wants it

all he he is so on fire right now it's it's gross how well he's playing and i uh i guess i do oh him an apology dude you said no more scoring titles okay but it's not official yet never score 50 goals and never even come close to 150 not what okay couple of things are true said. Some of them were not. I said, I'm not sure he wins another heart. I'm still not sure he went. I think if it gets handed out tonight, it's still McKinnon, right? Five or six unbelievable games does not put him ahead of McKinnon. If the Art Ross were handed out tonight, it's still McKinnon. So, and I said, I don't think he's going to score, like, I talked about that career year he had, 64 goals, 153 points. He will never do that again. I still stand by

that. I still don't believe he's going to reach those numbers. I voted him number one. for the top 50 this year coming into the year. But McKinnon has played better than him, you know, consistently over the course of the year. But the way he has played the last handful of games, no one can match it. There's nobody better than that. I need longevity with that, but I agree.

The assessment is still honest, but, oh, you're not wrong in the sense that, like, I think something is triggered in him. Like you could tell the last five, six, seven games. He looks to be feeling better. I don't know if he was tired, whatever what was going on, but it's not anymore. He looks like the video game.

They didn't have any luck last night. They were no good, but Saturday night he was buzzing right from the drop of the puck. And I felt bad for you, Brian, because you wrote, you responded to some guy on Twitter saying, Noodles gave you bad advice. And I almost sent you back like the fireplace on the screen, like a picture of you standing there at your party with your eggnog instead of being in the building with, oh, because you would have seen magic like he regardless of the outcome because yes the Leafs didn't have a game McDavid and Drysettle put a clinic on but seeing McDavid only once a year you get a chance to see him

once live in your backyard you missed it and you missed a spectacle that you put on and listen he's in his prime right now like and that's that that's again what I was driving at he's in year 11 like he's not a young guy right he did not have a great start to the year just like he did in the year before the year before that where he did not win the heart did not win the art ross right like it's been pretty consistent but when he wants to rev it up he can still rev it up and even last night he had a play where he cut through montreal's defense five guys it was absurd what he did last night and it's a tribute to him and dry sidle and obviously the rest of the players but their best ones most importantly how they can spend the first 20 something games of a season and just say

let's just hold it down here and have enough points for when we want to flip the switch. Because any other team does that, they're the Vancouver Canucks or, you know, the Buffalo Sabres. Their players aren't good enough to flip the switch, and you're in a ditch and you can't get out. Like, that's pretty impressive, how they can say, just hold it together, and then when we say go, it's go, and then watch out everyone else. Funny you say Vancouver and Buffalo. Yes, two teams. Suit teams that literally had massive changes in the last 48 hours. I was in Minnesota, literally.

Right on Friday. Right when they traded for Quinn Hughes. I was in the city. And then we did the game Saturday afternoon. He wasn't available played last night. This guy's a difference maker in Minnesota now is in that central division, man. Those top three are, that's going to be killers. That's murderers row.

Right there. Murder is row. And you saw it up close and personal. They kind of, I wouldn't say they stole one from Ottawa, but it was tied. They backed door to it. Yeah. They backed door to it a bit. Yesterday they blew their doors off the Bruins.

And Hughes looked great like you knew he would. And, you know, I think we've all had a few days to kind of reset and think about it. In the end, I feel for Canucks fans, because it's just a complete failure from top the bottom within the organization. A complete failure, considering where they were a couple years ago, where they had Hughes, where they had Rick Tockett. They had J.T. Miller. And now they're just a disaster. And I appreciate that they got the young guys because I think that's the right play.

I was fearful a little bit that the owner would get in someone's ear and say, you better get some veteran players who can get us going and sniff around the playoffs so we can sell tickets. They didn't do that. They went with three young players in a first round pick. That is a smart play. But there's no guarantees the young guys are going to work. You know, you hope, obviously you hope, and obviously you scout and you've got really quality lottery tickets because they're all first-round picks and they all have immense talent. But there's no guarantee.

You didn't just hand over a 26-year-old superstar with a great contract for the next year and a half. Hasey, you say it's a failure top to bottom. I attribute it to two things. Their goaltender who noodles raves about when he's healthy and he's a top-notch goldtender has not. not been available enough over the last two years. That's not an opinion. That's a fact. And number 40 just turned into a third-line player as soon as the ink dried in that $11 million

contract per season. And if he performed like a number one stud, like he did to earn that contract, I think things would be a lot different. If the goaltender was in the net regularly and he played and played his ass off and played like a hundred point guy that everybody thought he was, honestly, things might be different because when he morphs into a third line guy who's barely noticeable, it's a hell of a lot different. And when the number one goaltender's not in the net for two years straight, it's a hell

of a lot different. And maybe talk it stays. And maybe Quinn Hughes says, we have another shot with this group. But when those two things went down the drain, I'm telling you, it makes your organization a whole lot different looking. You talked to people in Vancouver. They took Evanton to game seven in a hell of a shoe. Rishelofs and net.

Rishelovs and net. You know, that was in, you know, Ebenton, you talked to people at Ebbenton. That was a hell of a series in Vancouver was right there. They're a good team, really good team. But I think they did the right thing here. Now you're hearing stories out. I believe Patrick Alvian came out and said, like,

it's been a year that they've kind of known, you know, that he wasn't going to resign. There's nothing they could do. He's let them know, hey, I'm not going to resign. It's unfortunate. But talking to Minnesota, I might be in the minority of this. I think both organizations made out for what they needed right now.

I love the play for Minnesota. I love the play for Minnesota. I mean, Bill Garan, so his press conference was talking when we were on, right? So we literally were there. I love that he said, like, that was his first offer. Those three, now two are top prospects. That's Zeve, BM, I'm going to put you his name. Apparently, he's a stud, stud.

stud now he's young he's 20 years old but they were at a different phase in Minnesota because talking to people in Minnesota they were like they did not want to give that kid up apparently again you don't want to say that's the next Quinn Hughes but this kid apparently is and he has to be in Vancouver

it has to hit right he can't be Eric Branchstrom 2.0 I get it can't miss on that what I'm saying is Garen Garen came out of and basically said we knew we had to be serious with the offer we weren't going to go back and forth. That was their

opening offer. Those three players, top prospects, whatever you want to name it, because at Rossi's an NHL player, he's a good player, and a first rounder. That's what they led with, because it's like, we want to show them we're serious and he said, Jimmy Rutherford and Alvin, they're no dummies.

They know what they're doing. So at the end of the day, I thought it was a really good move for both sides. Obviously, the best player is in Minnesota. I'm surprised no one would go higher than that, personally. You got him For this year and next, obviously a lot of people think it's a formality he's going to New Jersey. Maybe he is, but if you looked at them recently, not great, right?

Not exactly a rock star organization down there in Jersey. They're collapsing, right? Yeah, and injuries are a factor, including his brother. Yeah. But I look at that, and if that was the first offer, you know, if you're Vancouver, could you not have squeezed more? Could you not have called and said, we also want a second rounder and a third, and he probably would have given it to him? Because if you're Bill Garan, you're like, I'm getting a top 10 player in the world. I know.

Sometimes it just, you know what it's like when you're negotiating a car or a house or something and you get that big chunk in and then people start screwing around for $10,000 or this or that. And somebody just says, you know what, I'm going to walk on this. And I respect the fact that they probably set the price and Bill Garan just met it. So if you set a price and someone meets it, you pull the trigger. 100%. And that's likely what happened. He said, I want this, I want that, and I want that.

And I said, all right, here you go. And it's like, all right, well, we got it. So we're going to take it. We like the players. But don't you want to know this? Do you not, when you pull the trigger on a transaction like that, do you, don't you want to know if he's going to resign or are you just doing the deal anyway? I'm doing it anyway.

And a lot of teams in the league. I'm doing it anyway. You get two years with the guy. And I don't know if we have Quinn Hughes's comments after the game saying that, quote, unquote, you know, thank you to Bill Garan for having, he said the word sack, for having the sack to trade for me. This sounds

to me like he left the door open that he would consider, you know, staying. He's got to say that. He has to say that. Fair enough. I just don't think there's a guarantee that he's going to New Jersey and two. I don't either. Like the idea of like playing on the same team as your two brothers,

as much as that sounds like such a fantasy to all of us, sometimes it just isn't that it isn't that also we i did a the jersey game the other day luke is the number one guy in the power plate now of a sudden is going to hand to his brother like there there's there's it's it's a different dynamic i get it you want to play with your brothers but i think minnesota and bill garren seemed confident he's like listen we want to get him here we got him for two years let's see if he loves it here and wants to stay like it's a fair gamble listen there's a kawai leonard angle to this where minnesota

does not get big names got you know free agency they're not players like with all with all due respect they you know they've had their NHL team back for about 20 years a little more than that you know they have they had the suitor perise moment which was huge obviously signing caprice off which was big yeah this is the third like wow moment in their history they haven't really won anything they've just kind of been around you know and they've been a good team and their a well-run team and they're a hockey state. But I think you had an opportunity to pounce, and that's where I'm going with the other

teams. Like, this guy is a top 10 player in the world. He's 26. His contract is remarkable. You have him for two years, and maybe you can pitch him. Maybe he leaves. And maybe that burns you. But you get him for two years, two playoff runs, and the first crack

had given him a long-term deal. And you can only, Minnesota is the only team that can do it now because the new CBA kicks in as of September 15. They can get to July 1st, give him eight years, give him all this bonus money, all this different stuff that no other team will be able to do, Jersey included. And if I'm Bill Garan, I'm like, I'm doing it. And I'm just surprised that no one else would be like, I've got to get this guy.

Like, he's going to play 25 minutes a night and change my whole team. The whole complexion of everything. He played 28 last night, or 27-something. In his sleep. And he doesn't get tired. And he doesn't get tired. and him in favor just like a perfect pair. Like left shot, right shot.

You know that's what everyone's going to meet in the Olympics. Those two are going to be paired together. Be shocked if they're not. And it just, it's a, it's a, a balsy move, but it's, I thought of it. Like, I called it that over the weekend. I'm like, that's maybe disrespectful. It's just a smart move. It's just smart business.

You get Quinn Hughes, and yes, you've got to give up pieces, and Bill Garron's going to say, oh, we didn't want. Yeah, you did, because you get Quinn Hughes. Like, and if you're in Vancouver, the best player arguably in franchise history, your captain is gone. Now, it stings that he didn't want to stay, and that's also a sign of where we are with modern athletes. It's a different world, right? There was a time, if you're a captain of a team, they had to drag you out of there.

You know, you weren't leaving. You weren't going. It was your team, your room. Now captains, assistant captains, Mitch did it here. Kachuk did it in Calgary. You know, they're like, no, we're not doing it. They're going to go where they want to go. Exactly.

Yeah. it's a different era and to the credit of Vancouver you know he didn't have a no trade or no movement clause and they acted on it this was always the smart play because your season is sunk they stink they're not going anywhere they're not winning this year you got to commit to the tank this season retool make more trades and try to get back at it as quickly as you can

I saw some tweets about people I don't know the validity of it but it's like getting people in that building now with no Quinn Hughes and losing every night I don't honestly think that's a Toronto-type scenario where they're filling that building no matter what. It's not. I don't think it is. What are you selling? You guys play the role of the marketing team for the Vancouver Canucks. What are you selling to a fan right now? I guess come out and see the new kids. That's probably number one.

You know what? My only barometer in that market is a good friend of mine who is a die-hard Canucks fan. And he is ecstatic, but he's also, you know where he said? He goes, okay, what's next? That's what he said. That's basically what he said. What's next? Because there is more shoes to drop because you've got players there that are coveted by other teams. And are you going to move away from Demco?

Are you going to move? You just signed Demko to an extension. So there's still, is it a retool on the fly you're getting younger and you still have pieces there? In Patterson, you still have Dempco. Well, I'm sure, Jamie, that's a part of the hope. There's a part of the hope would be that somehow, although there is a subtraction of one, of the best players in the game, that there's going to be some kind of different energy and they're not all talking about it and thinking about it and in the locker room

talking about it every single day, and maybe they just start playing and actually playing better if that's possible. And if that doesn't happen, and then all bets are off. And when Adam Foote said publicly, this is in our room, that was the clock was taken. That was the last wall. That was it. When the coach comes out and goes, yeah, it's basically a problem. him. Everyone's wondering about Quinn Hughes and the rumors.

You know, Jim Rutherford's been in the league for 50 years. That's not going to take him long to figure out. Like, we got to move off this. And listen, they burned themselves last year. The Patterson Miller thing. They waited too long. It was a disaster. It was inevitable.

You had to move one of them. They waited too long. And that, I'm thinking, is a scary thing if you're in Vancouver. Because I've been reading a lot out of Vancouver and trying to, you know, just get a read on fans and how they feel. A lot of people actually point back to the Horvat decision. why did you trade that guy? Like, why was he the one that went?

And they didn't get enough for him, right? I think he wanted to stay, though. Well, again, they weren't that good at that point. I know, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't want to pay him. Yeah, I think that's what it was. Remind me what Horvat was for. Atu, Ratu was the main piece, and there were picks and other prospects, but none of them have capitalized. And it was, I think, they looked at it, understandably, like, all right, we're going to pay Patterson.

We got Miller here. we're probably going to have to, you know, we're going to keep Quinn Hughes. And they traded them. And they traded them. And they made the wrong choice because then, you know, a couple years later, they're like, well, Miller's got to go because these guys can't get along. And anyway, it sucks if you're a Canuck fan. You know, today it was announced, and this rumor had been out there for a few days,

that Kevin Adams is out as the GM of the Sabers. And you can't look at the track record and say you're shocked, but he's not alone. You know, like the ownership down there has hired and fired a lot of GMs and a lot of coaches. I should just sell the team, man. It seems like the Buffalo Sabres to that guy, you know, the bills are his crown jewel and the sabers are just an old sports car sitting in a barn collecting dust, and he doesn't pay enough attention to it.

It's like, sell the team. Again, I'll take the context, but I watched an interview with Rob Ray the other day. Your boy? Not where he was mad at me. Your boy, Rob Ray? My guy, Rob Ray. Okay. In him talking about the owner, he said the owner has been unbelievable to the team and he's dumped a bunch of money in it and he's a Buffalo guy and he cares about the city.

I just think in looking at the record, the owner has had, again, there's a status of like eight GMs, five GMs, eight coaches, all these different goalies, all that type of stuff. To me, you've got to get the right hire in the GM chair and then let him do his job. I think that's the biggest thing. Now, it was Botero, it was Kevin Adams. You know, they tried. They did what they could. But ultimately, the proof is, this is 14 years without a playoff appearance. And they're not going again this year.

You know, and Yarmoukaikilainen comes in. And it's always the kiss of death when the guy comes in as an advisor. You know, like that's, it was just like that in Ottawa with Jacques Martin, DJ Smith. Like you're a dead man walking if that guy's coming in is. As somebody who got brought in in that scenario, I just, You know you're firing me and you're putting that guy in. So just stop with the grandfathering here and let's just do it. But it's another fan base, a great fan base, tons of history, great hockey market,

and they just deserve better. You know, it doesn't, it's not much deeper than that. It's a joke that the Sabres have been this bad for so long. And you've got to hope that Kekelein is the guy. All right, we got Dylan Cease on the show today. This is going to be a lot of fun catching up with one of the newest members of the Blue Jays. We got Luke on, Monday Nighter's. tonight we're getting into all the stories in the NFL yesterday there were some crazy ones

back into the leaf game on saturday leased blackhawks tomorrow true bummer but darts hurt and he's not playing and he's not playing for at least a month what does that mean for his Olympic chances what does it mean for the Leafs in action tomorrow and you know I was looking forward to seeing what Matthews had in store after his game on Saturday with badard here how do you challenge a kid um but ours not playing but we'll get into the Matthews conversation and where people stand with him we'll do that next all right dylan c's later in the hour overdrive continues powered by fanduel bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score luke wilson in uh just over half an hour pick for the monday nighter we'll get into all the action in the NFL yesterday something they're chew on as well brought you by boston pizza

so uh noodles you and i we were obviously not in the building on saturday oh you were and i thought it was a really fun game through 40 minutes like i thought it was a good game and obviously mc david showed up to play and Man, he has put Morgan Riley through a blender a few times in his career. I still don't know what Ekman Larson was doing on that play, what Riley was doing. I have no idea how you don't look at the best player in the world with a puck and think. That's probably a good idea to try to get in that guy's way. Dude, he's so fast, I think what he does is he forces you into a panic move where it's like, oh, he's going to cut down the left, and then you read it one way. And then by the time, like right here he's probably thinking,

and oh, he's going to go, and then it's like, no, he ain't going that way, and he makes you look like an ass. Yeah, he was on fire. Dry Soto was on fire, and, you know, when the best players on the other team are in the fight and ready to play, you either, there's two ways you can compete. Your goaltender is just stands on his head remarkable. That's asking too much out of Hill to be. He's done that a lot recently.

Or your best players have to match or exceed. and the Leaves' best players were not even close. Like, not even close. I'm not even going to reference William Nealander what he was doing because he looked so sick. He couldn't even skate. So I get it. Your judge just 100% when you put the jersey on and you skate out there.

But he was worse than the worst player in the league that night. He couldn't move. I was watching him. He had no energy. He shouldn't have been playing. But I give him credit for putting his jersey on attempting. to play. But that's all it was, was an attempt. The big question is, is what is up with Austin Matthews? Because I was sitting beside a guy at the game and he's like, well, if McDavid's

doing that, what's the least counter? And I said to him, I said, well, you're supposed to look at Austin Matthews and it is a team game. But if you're looking as kind of a, I mean, this matchup for the last several years has been McDavid versus Matthews. And there have been at times when Matthews has got the better of them. That COVID year in Edmonton, they smoked Edmonton a bunch of times, and they played really well. But there's just, and I don't know what it is with Austin Matthews, but just the explosiveness and the shot and just him, general excitement and passion, there's just something off with him. I don't know if he's unhappy, if he's injured, if he's pissed off that Mitch left, but there's just something off with him. and nobody knows, but his play is showing us that it's not the same.

No, it's not even close. And that is, everyone's trying to either make an excuse for him, and maybe they're not. Maybe it's legit. Like, I think a lot of Lee fans want to believe he's injured, which is not a normal mentality. You don't want to believe that. But that goes part and parcel with his play. They're watching his play saying, you didn't age 10 years a year and a half ago. You're not 38 years old.

No. He's still on his prime. A year and a half ago, the guy ripped home 69 and was unstoppable. And it's not just Saturday night or just at times this season. It was last year as well. Like, this is beyond just a bad streak. And, you know, I look at where his game is at and the way, you know, even the team is going to handle it. Like, now they got Willie on his line, Matthew Nyes.

And Matthew is not alone. Like Willie's been sick, but Willie has not played well recently. Matthew Nyes has three goals in his last 18 games. I think John Tavares has two or three in his last 13 games. All their best players have collectively fallen off. Now, they have been winning recently because their goaltending and defensive play have been much better. But once they bought them, they bought them all in real estate. They're going to bought them.

But that's when you need, you know, when it's going to go the other way and Hildaby is going to have his, okay, whoa, I'm in the NHL moment. That's when you need to rely on your best players to step up. And it's not even close. and that's the problem with Matthews in particular because he's also dealing with something he's never dealt with before that McDavid has, McKinnon has, Sid has,

he has never been in a dark place during the regular season. He's made the playoffs every single year of his career. Every year he's made the playoffs. Every year it's been uber positive in December. Even if he's in a bit of a slump, you're like, wow, they're on pace for 110 points. Don't matter.

He has never been here before, and he's the captain now. There were years past when they were in a dark place, and Mitch would be the whipping boy. Or Shanahan would be out of the Shannon plan is not working. Those two, they're gone. Mitch isn't here anymore. Shanahan's not here anymore. Sheldon Keith, I don't like his style. Not here anymore.

Dubas, I don't like, not here. It's Austin Matthews. You're the guy. You're the captain, highest paid player, face of the team. your team's in a dark place like you're not even really close to the playoffs right now what are you going to do to get out of it and quickly noodles

I just want to finish his point he has obviously lost before in the playoffs but it's sharp it's acute you lose you do your one day and you're gone you got four more months here five more months

how are you going to get yourself out of this right there's no there isn't a flight to Scottsdale tomorrow it's not June July August You get 50 games left. He has got to get them out of this. He's got to be better. Because if he's not or he can't be,

I don't know where this organization's going to go. Like how do you project the future if he can't look at himself right now and say, I'm going to be great. I'm going to be great and I'm going to drag us out of this. Well, what's concerning me, Hayes, is what if there's something that's, like, preventing him from doing that? Like an injury? Yeah, like physically, if there's a nagging injury where he can't perform like he used to,

I don't know why it hasn't been taken care of or maybe you can't take care of it. That's a question that I would have. Then I would explain it at some point. Noodles, you can speak on that. But the rubber's hit in the road in the market where people are looking at them saying, what is happening here? So if it is a chronic issue, I know he's very private. I get it.

But I feel like you've got to throw people a bone and say, this is what's going on. if there is something going on, because it's loud around him right now. Well, that was my going to be, I have a comment, but I also had a question in there because I'm not of the belief that Craig Barubi has done this to him, because I have seen that narrative out there, right? Barubi's style taking him from a 60 goal score to, you know, whatever it was last year, 33, right, but with injuries. But my thing is, is I come back to the injury.

If he has something chronic, then it is something that might be the new norm for Matthews, whether he's a private guy and he's allowed to, and I respect that. But if he can't get to the level he needs to or wants to, it's frustrating. But there's times that we've pointed out in his play. You pointed it out the other day. It was in an overtime. Like, that's usually a shot from distance that could be dangerous for the goaltender. Because he has that.

He's a type of guy. He's one of the guys in the league. one of only a few that can score from distance, beat goaltenders with their actual shot. Jamie, just quickly, some guy tweeted out the other day, he's like, where is this stuff?

And there was highlights of him just wheeling down the ice and ripping it from everywhere, and it going in. And I get it, sometimes you're on a heater and they go in, but it just looked totally different. There was like, you're not stopping me mentality,

where it was some speed and just, I'm ripping this home, and it's not there. not there, man. It's before the shot, right? It's how you get there where you're chugging and you're on your feet and you're moving and you've got an attitude about you that is lacking right now. We've seen flashes.

I've seen flashes of plays where he, you know, outside, inside, gets inside position strong and doesn't have to finish. Goalie makes the save. And you're like, okay, that's there. You get another chance like that. He's not going to miss. He just doesn't get another chance that night like that. It just, you know, I think there's a.

combination, and I'm not here to make excuses, but I think maybe the first little part was learning to play without Mitch, regardless of whether that's an excuse or not, it's just different. I, the only other, I was trying to think of comparables. When Marty St. Louis left Tampa, Stephen St. Amcoe had scored 60, I think, with St. Louis, and there was great chemistry and all of that, and Stamco's had to change, you know, who's passing the puck. It wasn't Kuturoff right away.

It took, you know, there was, I think, a gap in there. My point being is Austin Matthews now, new linemate, but he has to drive himself in that. Matthew Nyes isn't the overall, like he's a straight line player. He's not the most talented as far as passing as far as Mitch. So there is that adjustment. But after the adjustment, it's the player. Like, what do you bring it to the table? Because at some point you can't go, you're 32 games in.

You're not 10 games. Mitch was here last year, and it didn't happen. Also, when he was chasing 70, he was playing with Domi and Bertuzi. Right. He was not playing with Mitch Martyr. Down the stretch, he was with Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzi. And the guy was like, just go stand over there. The other superstar of the other night, 29, he was going out there with Pod Colson's and Sevois.

Right. And looking like a giant and basically saying, come get some if you want it. So here's a, here's, well, let's play the barrensons. ruby clip here too because Craig spoke on it today and I credit Barouba because it wasn't sugarcone he said got to be better you know like and he's not alone and he's right but here's what Barouba had to say about the leadership and what's needed from them after the third period on Saturday I talked to the team after the game and it's you know our leader's got to take control of it a lot

more than they are right now and you know it to me that's all it's all my mindset, you know, whether you're down a goal, we're up in the San Jose game. Like, he's got to have more urgency and being more direct on how we want to play. We didn't do it in a third period, two games in a row. Guys, you can mince that up and chop that up and put it any kind of way. Talk about mindset's physicality. At the end of the day, in that league, it's about production from your best players. And if they're not doing it, you're going to have a coach talking like that.

It's not about anything else. It's about your best guys getting it done and producing. Obviously, there's avenues to get that done, and Craig wants it done a certain way, but that's what that's all about, is the best guys not being on the score sheet for some time now, and it's costing them, and he's bringing it up, and he's just addressing it a different way. Top players, that's always been the game, man. You've got to produce, and if you don't, your team's probably jammed up. 100%.

I found it interesting that he made that comment. and then Austin did not speak with the media after the game. That is absurd. That, to me, is not a good look. The instincts of the Leafs are we got to protect this guy. From day one, protect, protect, protect. You're a captain of the team. You're the captain of the team.

You've got to speak. You've got to speak, and he didn't speak. And I look at the player for that too, because I know, I think the team is in the wrong year. They should have gone to him and said he got to speak. He was requested. I also look at him, though. he's been in the league 10 years he's the captain he's got to say i'm going i'm speaking like even if you're pitching to me it's best for me to take a night i can't i'll tell i won't talk on

monday at the practice 82 times a year if you're the captain you've got to speak win or lose you know unless you're getting treatment or you're injured or something you got to be available to speak they might want to talk to somebody else who got a hat trick or something but you could be available they obviously weren't on saturday noodles you know like i know and they send scott lot now which i think is a smart play because scott's speaking like Lotton's a captivating guy, and he falls on the sword, and I thought he said all the right things. I think Lotton has been, you know, a breath of fresh air in terms of accountability and saying not good, and that's great. But you have to have your captain out there speaking after a game like that, especially when your coach goes, I just challenged the leaders of the team to basically be more accountable.

How does it drive? Got to be more accountable. Captain can't, not available to speak. It doesn't work. It doesn't add up. It shouldn't happen. That's crazy that he didn't speak after the game. Yeah, he should speak every single game.

Your capon has to speak every single game. They have to. It comes with the territory. It's an honor. It's a privilege. You've got to speak. And especially after that performance, Saturday night, McDavid's running wild on you.

You got to speak. But from game one, like just about his performance, and we all watch every one of his shifts very closely. When I'm on the panel, super close. And from game one until now, it's just what Jamie mentioned. There's little flashes, and that's all there is. And Hayes, you use the term a lot blending into a game, which means you look like all the other guys on the ice.

He's never done that. He's never been like that. So there's something up, and nobody knows what the hell it is. Well, we'll get into it more later this afternoon, certainly into tomorrow when the Leafs are playing Chicago. We'll get into Bedard's injury and what that could meet for him, Team Canada, the Blackhawks. Dylan sees coming up on why he chose the Jays What he thinks he can bring to the clubhouse here

We'll catch up with Luke Wilson as well In about 25 minutes overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on the TSN app All right Luke Wilson in studio in about 15 minutes On the Mahomes injury the Parsons injury The play of Josh Allen will get to all that And back into the Leafs and how they respond Going into a game tomorrow night with Chicago in town

No Bedard though Bedard will not play And that is a struggle man We've been talking about the superstars rolling through town, and he's not going to be available. I wonder what it does to his chances, man. We'll get to that into the 5 p.m. hour, 100%. You talk about guys rolling through town, though, a lot of people excited for our next guest to officially make his debut here in Toronto. He just signed a seven-year, $210 million deal.

Dylan's of the Toronto Blue Jays, and we began by asking him, hey, it's been about a week now. What does it feel like to be a Blue Jays? Yeah, it feels great. You know, I mean, I haven't, I guess it's a little awkward sort of talking on behalf of the team and whatnot because I haven't been a part of anything yet, and I haven't really proven myself in any way yet. But I'm excited for the opportunity, and, yeah, I mean, it's very special. Dylan, can you take us through your quick kind of one, two, three checklist? I think any athlete, I mean, just the way I look at it, number one would be money all the time. If the money's right, then you go to two or three.

So if money's around one or two, how do you go through the checklists after that? Is it winning? Is it clubhouse culture? What was your checklist like? Yeah, I mean, those are all factors. You know, it's the business side of it. For me, it was the business. How are they going to develop and help me be the most consistent player I can be?

And then, you know, does the team have a good chance of winning every year? And the Blue Jays pretty easily checked all those boxes. So in which way? like when you say they can get you like you're a veteran guy you've had 200 plus strikeouts for five straight seasons you're healthy all the time you're on the bump every five days how can the jays get that even better like in which way do you see this improving and how how did they actually pitch that idea to you where you said okay that's what i want to hear yeah i mean they set you down and they show you you know it's honestly really impressive

So they show you, you know, hey, man, if you change your grip with this pitch, you can get this kind of movement, and we see, you know, and I'm not getting into too much detail there with you, but, you know, they can basically, by how you release the ball and different things that you do, can tell you, hey, we think you can add this pitch, do this, do this, or we think we can improve what's already there, or we think we can help either mechanics, things like that. And, you know, at a high level, when you start winning in the margins

and you start being more consistent with things like that and you have people behind you that will maximize, you know, that's the way it's all about. So I was pretty blown away with what they've got on the development side, and that's important to me. I have been around for a while, but if you're not willing to evolve and continue to learn and grow in the game, it's going to pass you by. So, you know, I really just, I want to be a consistent top-the-end, top-end pitcher, you know, not one-year great, one-year-average, one-year great.

That's pretty cool stuff. Like any pushback from you or he said, actually, I'll continue to do what I've been doing, and I'm not going to change on that front? No, no, not at all. No, 100% commitment. Not at all. I love it. I'm 100% in. Chatter with Dylan C's.

Go ahead, Noodles. When you sign the deal, who's the first on the team to? reach out to you? Good question. Maybe Ross or Schneide maybe. I'd have to go look at the call log. I mean, it was I had a million people

from every walk of life reaching out at that point. So yeah, I mean, you know, all the leadership positions for sure. Well, this team has an impeccable reputation right now in terms of their clubhouse and the connection all the players have.

I've lived here my whole life, but you hear it sometimes. You don't know if you really believe it. This one, it really lands, you know, whether it's the players, the staff, the media, the fans. Like, everyone seemed to pick up on that. I'm curious if you've picked up on that so far and how you think you can contribute to what seems to be a great clubhouse. Yeah, that's all I heard about it. You know, I mean, that is important. You know, I mean, there wasn't a negative thing about the organization in general that I heard.

And on top of it to hear that the clubhouse was as strong and together as it was is, you know, I mean, it makes sense. I mean, they almost won the World Series. It did, you know, it's, it, I think the proof is in the pudding. Yeah, and for me to add to it, it's really, I think by just, I don't know, being myself and just assimilating into the culture and not trying to make things about myself, really just trying to play in the mindset, in the sense of sacrificing for the team and doing what needs to be done. It's really that simple. I really don't want things about me. I just want to perform and do my job well. So, Dylan, what was your impression of Toronto before you joined the organization?

I mean, you know, Jeff talked about checking things off as far as obviously signing the deal, money, culture, all of that type of stuff. But from an opposing player, what was your impression of, you know, flying into Toronto, playing the Blue Jays, maybe the city or the culture that made it attractive outside of the other things that we talked about? yeah it's always been cool you know i haven't had the opportunity to explore toronto too much but you know it always it always feels a little exotic a little foreign when you fly in and uh you know i mean i i that's one thing is i've really spent more time now trying to learn about the culture and and you know learning about what's important to canadians and and really what is behind toronto um you know it's obviously a major big city and you know i i still don't know you know probably one hundredth of what i'm going to even learn

this year but um you know i've always enjoyed my time there um and and i'm really looking forward to you know experiencing the culture and uh yeah seeing you know what's important to you guys and and uh just being a part of a part of the city well you're going to pick up on how much we love that 1992 blue j team and i know you're an atlanta guy um you're born a few years after that, but I'm curious how much you heard about that from your parents, your aunts, uncles, grandparents, you know, how much did you, how much does that still burn the Jay's winning and beating the Braves? No, we focus on 95 more than anything before that.

As you should, you did get them back, I guess, not necessarily against the Jays, but there is that history, which is pretty cool. And, you know, I know you grew up where your dad, you think you had a twin brother and he was coaching you guys all the way up. I want to say I read that your grandmother was a professional player at some point. Yeah, yeah, she did. I'm not sure if it's exactly like a league of their own, but essentially I think it was pretty much that.

Yeah, that's pretty cool. So how much do you lean on, you know, that your family, your friends, and kind of helping you get into the position that you're currently in? Yeah, and, you know, growing up, I mean, my dad, we would go out, and he'd hit me ground balls all day, throw to me all day, catch my bullpen and then I had a you know I have a twin brother so he would sit in the bucket and you know I would pretend to be a big leaguer and he'd be a catcher and then vice versa all day we would I mean with a ball stick ball hitting you know it was just nonstop you know

basically playing and practicing and you know doing baseball so um my parents were very dedicated to it and uh they knew it was something that we enjoyed and it's something that well they didn't really have to push us very hard because I think we loved it uh they always support supported us and you know made sure that we had everything that we needed and and we were heading in the right direction well it's obviously led to a great career and a big signing up here in Toronto we're chatting with Dylan Cis and you know I mentioned your stats earlier you you have a reputation for being reliable for being healthy over 200 plus strikeouts five straight seasons what how much work goes into that like how do you prepare for a new season and

and get your body ready so that you can be available because it's such a theme in pro sports today. Can a guy play? Is he going to get through a rotation? You know, whatever sport it is, football, hockey, baseball, basketball. How have you managed to kind of get through the grind? Yeah, I mean, you definitely have to set yourself up in the off season by preparing and lifting weights and doing everything that needs to be done. And then, you know, in the season it's maybe a little bit less oriented on the weights

and maybe more oriented on recovery. And really, I mean, I've always been around good staffs that help take care of me and you get your massages, you do your shoulder work. And, you know, for me, I take pride in taking the ball no matter what. So there's a lot of times where you've got a pitch where it doesn't feel good or maybe you were sick or are sick or didn't sleep or whatever it is. And it's, you know, just a part of the job, really. So, you know, unless something is seriously wrong,

I'm going to take the ball and I'm going to try to find a way. and I can't really take all the credit for that. You know, there's a lot of people along the way that have helped me do that and still to this day are helping me do that. With Dylan, C's, yeah, and you mentioned, you know, off the top there, Dylan, we'll get you out of here on this question that, you know, felt a little bit awkward talking on behalf of the team because you haven't, you know, joined them yet,

and you haven't had a chance to prove yourself. When you say, you use that term, prove yourself, you know, like how much of it is I've got to prove it to me. my teammates. I got to prove it to ownership who just gave me this contract, all this money. I got to prove it to the fans who are now so excited to have you up here. Yeah, for sure. You know, I want to earn people's respect. And, you know, at the end of the day, I'm not going to be perfect over this contract. There's going to be times where I don't perform. And I know that, but, you know, I want to show

up and I want to earn people's respect, you know, and it's really, yeah, I mean, it's as simple is that. Obviously, I want to go out and throw no hitter every day and do all amazing things that are part of a season. But it's, you know, it's a grind. It's a game of failure. It's a game of, you know, mental fortitude and not giving up. So I want to do, I want to have the right process and the right mindset with everything and just go in and give everything I have consistently. And that's why I'm excited to be a part of a clubhouse like this and a culture like this because it makes it that much easier when you do fail to get back up. It makes it that much easier when you're going through the hard times. and, you know, having people that you trust, which I'm still in the process of building that with the staff. You know, I mean, they're going to learn to trust me and my personality, and I'm going to learn to trust them and how they operate. And, yeah, I mean, it makes it, like I said, with the development side, I mean, it makes it that much easier to go into a season confident and handle things that need to be handled because there is that team behind you, there is that support behind you. And at the end of the day, I really just want to perform and win, you know, and I feel like this is a team and a culture that is, you know, pretty much built on that. Well, we're excited to have you up here.

I know I can speak for Blue Jet fans, too. They can't wait to obviously see you in the spring and then see you once you get back up here. Tons of buzz about this team, as you can imagine, you know, the 11th inning game 7 of the World Series. It's right there. There's people waiting to get it over the top, and hopefully you'll help them do just that. Congrats on the deal. Welcome to Toronto, and we'll catch up again in the spring. ring.

Awesome. Thank you for having me. There he is, Dylan Cease. He's a rich man. Sounds like a happy man, confident man. I like what he said there, though, right? It's not always going to be perfect, but you can rely on the clubhouse

if it's a good clubhouse to get you through that. Yeah, and great job by Doogie and JP for all the mixing and matching and work behind the scenes to pull that one off. Absolutely. Legends behind the scenes, as always. Because Doogie originally was prepared to pull the plug on it, but he made it happen.

he was going to quit on us and then they had to lean in jp i think him and him and jp got into it behind the i think somebody else had a fair say there might have been some comments once in a while right we all got to contribute to some way i like that i think it all worked out for everyone and the best in the end so shout out to uh dylan c's doogie j p jill from the bridge everyone behind the scenes all right luke's coming up on uh the greatness of josh allen what happens now with Mahomes and his ACL. What happens with Parsons and the Packers and his ACL? That more still to come.

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