OverDrive - OverDrive - December 16, 2024 - Hour 1

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Frank Corrado for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Maple Leafs' victory against the Sabres, John Tavares' notable performance in the game and Buffalo's roster issues and the losing run in the spotlight. They also discuss the Bills' massive victory against the Lions, Josh Allen's MVP season and Rick Tocchet's views on the Canucks' roster.

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or visit askkelvin.ca this hour of overdrive is powered by fanduel fanduel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score all right here we go overdrive off and running tsn 10 50 on the tsn app your home smart speaker. And up on TSN 4, Brian Hayes, Frankie Corrado, Jamie Noodles, McLennan. Noodles put an hour in this afternoon. One hour on the nose. That's it, eh? Just mailing it in. I like it.

Well, you know what? I've got to give my thoughts, get excited. You know, I had a chance to sit on the Leaf panel last night and, you know, watch. I don't even know how I describe that. I want your guys to be. Is it a debacle? Was it like, I mean, from Buffalo standpoint, it was a debacle, but it wasn't that good of a game. You know, it was kind of like, all right, the Leafs are asleep and then they turn it on and Buffalo just does Buffalo stuff.

But, man, it was I needed to be on for an hour. Put it that way. Yeah, it's great. And you're flying out. You're going to Seattle, I needed to be on for an hour. Put it that way. Yeah, it's great. And you're flying out. You're going to Seattle, I think it is, or whatever. And anyway, Frankie and I will be here. Luke's coming up at 5, and Al's brother will be in here. And I might have to address something with Al's brother a little bit later on.

Yeah, I think there was almost a coup that took place on Friday. I was getting a little bit concerned. A coup? Well, Al's brother was hosting the show. So he's mowing my lawn on Friday, which is great. He steps in. It was amazing. By all accounts, I asked Doogie, I said, how was Al's

brother? And he said, phenomenal. Spectacular hosting job by Al's brother. So credit to Al's brother. But he's mowing my lawn already. He's in my seat. He's doing the thing with the show. And we were on the Bills-Lions game, and I sent him a text like I do every day in the morning.

What are you thinking for the pick? You know, and then we have our back and forth, and we kind of get a read on where we stand. He completely flushes me. Wow. No answer from Al's brother. And then right before the segment, which was at six, he sends some

kind of gratuitous I'm going with the bills not really throwing it back into my court, which is generally the way we operate. More of a I'm the captain now and we're taking the bills and if you got a problem with it go take a lap. I couldn't

get less. That's concerning behavior. Very concerning behavior. That's gutless. Well, I thought it was somewhat of a coup. That's kind of what it felt like to me. I'm like, this guy's trying to completely take over my life. He's hosting the show already. Now he's the captain of Hazen, bro.

It's DeStefano and bro, as of today. Now it's DeStefano and bro. Al's brother's brother, that that's me so i have to address him in an hour and make sure that i set him straight yeah because it was very concerning you have to be stern with him because this can't become a pattern of behavior this needs to be stopped right now i will stop it there's a lot riding like the the season has gotten way closer than you guys may have expected both swinging swinging both ways. Yeah. Oh, yeah. We were getting crushed early on. We had an autopilot, cruise control.

You guys weren't even, let's put it this way. There were weeks where you weren't even concerned with what they were going to do. Right. You just, whatever, make your picks. You're not even close to us. And it swung so many different ways. And now it's come the other way.

Now we've got two games tonight. We've got games on Saturdays moving forward. We've got games on Christmas Day. So, yeah, Luke and I was brother coming up. How would I describe that game last night? I do think you saying Buffalo doing Buffalo things is such an appropriate way of

handling that. I was thinking, as I'm watching the game, I'm flipping back and forth. I watched the start of the Bills-Lions game, and the Bills get up 14-0 quickly. And as I'm flipping over to TSN 4, and you were on the panel last night, my initial thought was, there is not one person

in Buffalo watching this hockey game. Like, how could you possibly spend a second watching it unless you're forced to do so? Unless you're being paid to do it. There's no way there was anyone in Buffalo watching the Sabres. Marty Biron was.

Marty, because he already had to. Marty was contractually obligated to be there. Actually, Marty had a great line in the pregame. I saw him because you guys had him on the pregame, and Marty's like, I wish I was just at home watching the Bills. I can't believe it. He said that. He actually said that because it's like, yeah, it's a rare 5 o'clock start.

And, you know, he said, you're doing the game for Buffalo. Marty goes, yeah, we're going to have it on. Like, flat out admit it. Like, we're going to have it on on the screen while we're watching this Leaf Buffalo game. But you're right. Like, Bills fans, how well the Bills have played. They win the game. Where the Sabres are.

I wanted to get your guys' advice. It didn't land as well. I talked to our boss, Mike Lane, today, and I was asked on the panel last night, and I want your opinion if this is maybe the right comeback. But, you know, Cheryl talks about the third line. Dreggs talks about Tavares. So James is like, Noodles, I need you to address Buffalo. And I'm like, okay.

And then there's an argument. It's winless in 10. They haven't won in 10 because they've gotten three loser points. Oh, this is the annual Pierre Lebrun tweet every year comes out. But here's the thing. So I wasn't, like, I'm trying to find the words. I'm like, this stinks. They're not playing well.

All of this type of stuff. And I was like, I wonder if I could go comedy and just go, if I could sum up this Buffalo team in one word, what would it be? And then I thought to myself, I was going to go, just like a fart. Insert fart noise or something like that. It works perfectly. But I was like, I don't think I can do that on a professional panel. I can do it here because we do whatever we want here. But I was like, I don't.

Exactly. That's the Sabres in a nutshell. I needed that noise. But I was like, okay, it's dreadful, whatever. But I pulled back. I got listening. I was like, I'm just going to try and be a pro and whatever. But that was insert fart noise, whatever you want to do for that.

And that team fell apart. Like, they just, like, it was like, hey, we'll get a lead, and then we'll just give it back, and we've been doing that for 10 games, like getting leads and just handing it back. And there was nobody to go, hey, I'll put up my hand and stop the bleeding here, do whatever. They're just an awful hockey team. If you wanted to get really creative noodles,

you could have had Puffy, who's our producer who puts together all the video stuff for us, go through the last 10 games and put all the goals against or all the blown leads and put the Benny Hill theme song behind it. And that would have been a great way to describe what's going on with Buffalo. And I agree. I thought you hit the nail on the head postgame

when you just kind of said, like, they melt. It was something like this. Like, they melt down, and no one on that team can take any kind of control or charge of the situation. It's like, it feels like once it happens, it's a runaway train, and that's it. It's over. And there's just not enough there to counteract that. But, you know, so the first half of the game, I thought the Leafs started slow.

The goalie wasn't making saves. You're kind of like, okay, this is kind of how the Leafs have been playing, you know, for the last, like, six to eight games. It's just kind of they wade their way into a game. And, you know, whether they win it or they lose, like, the same thing the night before. I didn't love their game in Detroit. It was kind of just fumbled around or whatever.

But you could just see a shift where it was like, okay, the Leafs are now going to turn it on, and they had no answer. And to me, regardless of what it was, the third line, it was Tavares, it was just going to be something that just made Buffalo melt. But I kept waiting to go okay like tage thompson didn't hear his name the second half of the game didn't hear uh alex tuck's name the second like you're expecting like some really good players like let's be honest some of these guys are really good players as a team it's not working but there are some individually really good players

on that team that just couldn't like i'm like where is the guy that puts up his hand and goes not on my watch not gonna happen not gonna you know gonna slow this game down gonna have a fight gonna do something there was just nothing and it was like controlled scrimmage halfway through the game where it was like well hold on to the puck the leafs of four check turn it over get a chance get a goal get it two and a half minutes game's over that's it done it was just a weird game for me to watch live and then have to talk about it afterwards. Yeah, I was surprised.

I'm not watching Buffalo play every night. I've seen them a number of times. I'm aware of what they're going through. I was surprised by how lifeless they are and how they have no playmakers on that team. You just described it as maybe you could fight or hit. That's one thing. But I don't see anybody on that team that

is remotely compelling to watch play right now. I couldn't think of a more negative and worse indictment. There is nothing exciting or entertaining about that team. They have nothing going for them. And yes, would you put Tage Thompson on Vegas

and all of a sudden he's a rock star again? Probably. Would you maybe move Dylan Cousins or Tuck or something like that? And obviously, Darlene being out, he has the ability to dance and move and he can skate and he can stick out. But I just, I look at what they have

and there's nothing compelling about the Sabres as an organization. And I cannot think of a worse indictment. And you look at, like, the Rangers and how bad they are right now. You know that there are still guys on that team, like Panarin, like Fox, like the goaltender, where you're like, that's a superstar. And, yes, it's ugly right now, but you're going to see a shift out of them

at some point that is going to make you realize, okay, that's a ticket seller. Like, I'm not even talking wins and losses. I'm trying to think of this, again, through the view of a Buffalo sports fan. And again, I'm semi-joking, but I'm not really. You have the ability to watch the most entertaining player in pro sports right now is probably Josh Allen. He's probably the most fun player. That includes McDavid, Otani, anyone you want to throw at me.

that includes McDavid, Otani, anyone you want to throw at me. I'm not sure there's a more bang-for-your-buck entertainer in sports than Josh Allen right now. This guy is such a rock star. He plays with adrenaline. He gets hit. He throws bombs. He takes on hit. He runs for touchdowns.

He's smiling. He's talking to the fans in the stands before the game, during the game, after the game. There's nothing that isn't interesting or entertaining about Josh Allen. And with the Sabres, it's the complete opposite. Not one thing would compel me to watch that team play.

Nothing. It's a disaster. I think now when the Sabres have gone through what they've gone through, you start digging up all these things. It's like all these artifacts come up. The last game they won was November 23rd against San Jose. You're like, my God, what if you didn't beat the

Sharks that night? How stark is this conversation? The other thing, they haven't made the playoffs since the Atlanta Thrashers were in the NHL. 13 years. The Atlanta Thrashers were in the NHL the last time these guys made the playoffs. And it's 14 now. Just put it in the record book.

They're not making the playoffs. It's over. Yeah, it's over. You guys talk about things going wrong at the wrong time because Buffalo, Thompson and Tuck have been good this year. Like, Paterka started off hot. He's cooled off, so they took him off that line. If Thompson and Tuck weren't doing it, no one was doing it.

Quinn wasn't doing it. Cousins, Krebs, go down the list. And then last night, you get two from Quinn, and it's like... And he hadn't scored in like a month or something. He'd been a healthy scrap. He's doing nothing. Top ten pick. Oh, okay.

We got it. Like, this is the, you know, maybe this is the one we needed, and then the big boys don't show up for you and it's like another blown lead and it's a two goal lead that like it is it is such a mess and it's so much of a mess that terry pigula had to fly to montreal today to address the team which and he's not like he shouldn't be left off the hook no because he is the way he's operated he is the conductor of the whole thing at the top. But he flew into Montreal today because the team was practicing there. They canceled practice, and they had a meeting with him and Adams.

What's he going to say, though? I don't know. What he could do is actually maybe fire somebody or demand trades. I don't think you want him doing that. You don't want an owner going in saying, you have to trade somebody. That would be really an awful scenario not strength at all you're dealing from your you would literally be trading for pennies on the dollar the one thing i don't know hayes i'm sure you were back and forth between the bills and that like

i i watched it start to finish the one thing i was perplexed about is every night i get to watch different teams and you watch like systematic play isn't rocket science. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, hey, we're going to do this in the neutral zone. We're going to do this. This is our set break. These guys, I was like, Lindy Ruff was brought in. Lindy Ruff is, I don't know if he's a Hall of Fame coach or not.

That's up to them to decide. But Lindy Ruff's been around the game many years and had success and well-respected. That team, like when you're struggling, you rely on your system. I'm looking, I'm like, where's the system? Where's the details? Like there was nothing to dig them out of that. Like nothing where it's like, you know, hey, the goalie can steal one, a player can step up.

But sometimes you just need your system to protect you. It was like they didn't know how to play hockey. Yeah, that's what it looked like last night. I'm not trying to be disrespectful. That's what I was watching was how do you get out of your zone? How do you go through the neutral zone? How are you attacked? There was no plan in place.

And I think the players weren't executing it, or I don't know what's going on, but there's big problems. Well, yeah, I mean, they've lost 10 in a row. I think it's only Montreal that's behind them. Like, that's how bad it is in the East for Buffalo. And then for the Leafs, you know, it was somewhat consistent with the way that they've played inferior teams recently, yet they found a way to win these games, which is, I guess, a credit to them.

I will say, by the third period, they completely dominated. It wasn't even close. They just completely dominated and they snapped out of it in the second period. Again, you're down 2-0 three minutes in. Sometimes it's just a shell shock thing, a couple of breakdowns. Maybe you want a goalie to make a

stop for you and you end up in that situation. But what I think the Leafs have going for them is theyie to make a stop for you, and you end up in that situation. But what I think the Leafs have going for them is they look at Buffalo. They looked at Chicago last week. They looked at Nashville, and they said, we'll find a way to beat this team. We'll find a way to get past this team, and that's what they did last night.

Again, they've got to clean it up because you are losing to teams like Detroit who haven't been playing great. You threw away games against Pittsburgh. Well, I'll be at a bit better lately, but you're in those games and those teams have found a way to put them away.

But I think when you look at, at what the Leafs, you know, are kind of doing right now that you could tell him, but Ruby said it to Claire before the game, like they're trying to clean up some defensive breakdowns. They're trying to work on making sure they transition out and they think that offense is going to pop at some point,

and it did last night. And I can say this. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this. Nobody needed a game like last night, maybe in the history of the franchise, more than Max Dolmy needed that game last night. Max had gone 16 games in a row, I believe, without a point. That dating back prior to his injury.

He's a guy they've committed to. Max is a good player in his prime that they've committed years in turn to. He had to break out last night. And he did to his credit. He scores a goal. I think the way he set up the Robertson goal was a really, really smooth

transition into the zone. That's a good sign for Max. He has the ability to be a playmaker. He has the ability to do some, I think, positive things with a puck on a stick. But that's what stood out is that Domi finally showed up. Robertson got on the board to allow Tavares to do what he did as the game went on. And, again, a win is a win is a win. The Leafs are – a couple of results break the other way. It's a very different mood right now with the Leafs.

I guess that's probably what I would take out of it and take out of their play the last couple of weeks. Go back to the New Jersey game or... Yes, exactly. There's a Washington one in Washington where they didn't deserve to win. They turned it on in the third period. There's at least a handful of those

where you're like, you guys did not deserve to win, whether it was goaltending or noodles like you mentioned, like when things aren't going well, you just kind of stick to whatever your structure is, and eventually you weather the storm, you bend, you don't break, and you win those games. I think there's like five of those games this year, and if those don't eventually turn their way, we're talking about a different Leafs season, and we're saying,

hey, it actually looks very similar than it used to, but that's not the case, and it looks different. And to your point on Domi, I think Craig Berube deserves some credit for what he did last night for putting Domi with Robertson and McMahon. If you put that line on a whiteboard, you say, I got two guys, one down the middle of the ice, one that's on the wing. Not exactly the most defensively sound

players. I'm asking a lot for Bobby McMahon to be the defensive conscience of those guys. Almost going with that all-in, all-offense approach kind of worked. They had a good game. You didn't notice them. You weren't like, man, those guys are getting caught in their own zone

or they're a disaster. I don't know. Something about that all-offense approach seemed to work for them, so maybe you found a little something there. I question how it's going to look against a more elite team. I mean, that's the difficulty of breaking down what happened last night is because Buffalo, they just self-destruct. But you're right.

It was a bit of a gamble. Like even McMahon's coming off the injury. He's trying to kind of get back up to speed. He's the guy with size on that line. He's got to go and crash and bang. And it worked out well for them last night. I liked it because here's the thing, too, and I tried, and I even said it in the pregame,

is what you're trying to do is get the guys that have come back off an injury into the game, like into feeling good about their game. There's no guarantee, unless you're a super elite player, you come off an injury and it's like, hey, it looks like you haven't missed a beat. A lot of guys, it takes three, five, seven games, maybe ten games to get that feel again where you're you're you're reacting instead of just thinking out there that's why i've tried to give patch already domi mcmahon guys like that coming off and even austin you know where there's times where austin's

had looks in tight he's like man got missed the net by yeah he's missed the net a lot of stuff like that we're like geez that you know when he's on and dialed in he just doesn't miss that spot he doesn't miss his spot so i try to give them a longer leash to go you know what is this going to look like 10 games from now when a guy is back into the cadence of the group and there's still guys coming off injury that are still struggling to find that but But to your point, Frankie, where Chief goes and puts guys together on a team or against a team that maybe there is some holes defensively or holes on the other side, have at it. See if you can get some speed games, that four-check game.

I thought the third line won them the game last night. It opened up the game to allow Tavares to go to work and other guys to get looks and stuff but the third line was the line that pressed and and kind of broke Buffalo and Buffalo was not able to recover of that so that was a good sign on that particular night I don't know how long that third line lasts uh because I I don't think Robertson's out of the woods personally no he's got to keep going but But the other two are everyday guys that are going to be there, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Max is going to play. And, again, we've had this conversation since he's arrived. And throughout his career, is he going to play up the middle? Is he going to play on the wing? He's got to figure out who he is still. And prior to last night, again, he had gone a long time where he was very ineffective. He's got to be a guy that contributes offensively. Yet he had the same start last year.

It took him a long time to get on the board last year in terms of a game sheet. He didn't score for 16 or 17 games last year. They made the move to center quicker last year, it felt like. I feel like they tried him on the wing for what, maybe it was a month? Yes, tried to top six him and Bertuzzi. Yeah, and then it was like, we've got to put you down the middle of the ice. You did it this year, now it's mid-December you do it,

but at least it had the same kind of effect. You're going to have the puck a little bit more. You'll skate a little bit more, and hopefully that'll help you kind of facilitate your playmaking and get you on the board. Well, and he's an energy guy. He's a guy that needs to be an agitator. He needs to play with some physicality.

He's a guy that is in the middle of scrums. Like when he's on his toes, he's a noticeable player. You can tell Max Domi at his best. It's not the details of the game in terms of Max bringing what he's capable of bringing. He's not going to blend in and then after you say, wow, defensively he was brilliant and he did all this. He's a noticeable guy when he's contributing. Again, we'll see what they end up doing with him as the season goes on.

I still think he'll be on the wing by the end of the year, but I think in their best interest and in his best interest, get him going, get him feeling good, and then you can move him around. As opposed to putting him somewhere and him trying to keep up with a Matthews or a Tavares, Nylander, Marner, whatever, have him feeling good

and then maybe put him with those guys again. At least you can play a month or two or call it 10 weeks where you feel good. Yes. And then you go to the wing and you're like, I totally forgot what that slump was, and I've been playing good hockey. And then you just blend in to a certain degree. Then he can contribute in a scenario like that. But, yeah, John Tavares with the hat trick last night,

he's on pace now for, I believe, 41 goals in the year. It's mighty impressive. It's incredibly impressive. And I will say this about him, and I think I've thought this the whole time, and I mean this as a compliment. Like, there's a lot of people saying, well, look at John Resurgence. And I guess it feels a little bit different under Berube. And now he doesn't have the captaincy.

And I was curious to see how he was going to react to that. And he's reacted with the uber professionalism and incredible effort and production. So full credit to him because it was an awkward transition. Regardless of how they played it out, him losing the captaincy, giving it to Tavares, had the possible ending of something that was just going to kind of fizzle out and feel awkward and toxic or whatever. He hasn't allowed that to happen.

Austin hasn't allowed that to happen. The Leafs haven't. Credit to them. It's an incredible transition. But what he looks like to me is just the same guy he's always been, and that, I think, is the ultimate compliment you can give to a guy who's 34 in year seven of a deal. I don't think he looks better than he did two or three years ago.

He just looks the same. He plays the same way. He still has his hands. He turned, I think, Byram inside out last night. He could have had four or five last night. And look at the way he scores. He scores in front of the net, off his shin, patting in, off

Matthews. Then he's got a quick one-timer where he finds, I guess he went shelf on the one goal. It's an empty netter, bar down, and then he dangles Byram and he almost opens up the five-hole. That was just a classic Tavares game, but it's basically what we've seen for seven years.

It's just the same guy. And, again, that's a compliment. That's not me taking a shot. I think he should be really proud of that because it's a testament to his professionalism. He should because I think everybody talking here on this panel, I think there's everybody around town expected years maybe six, seven to be throwaway years at 11 million and it's not a throwaway

year it's good i still and this is more a conversation i think for the future you know next month whatever i still believe the leafs need another centerman to strengthen down the middle of the ice just to to go up against the big boys around the league but tavaris has it it's not a foregone conclusion that he is your three you know that you got to go and against the big boys around the league. But Tavares has it. It's not a foregone conclusion that he is your three, that you've got to go and get a clear number two. I don't think that's a Tavares thing, though, Jamie. I think that's just a, hey, we're going from Matthews, Tavares, down to possibly Domi, Minton, Kampf.

You need something in the middle there, right? A hundred percent. This is nothing against John. This is more about when you're looking at the forward group. Down the middle was always kind of some question marks. I like Minton as a player. I just think he's too young right now, and I think there are some things that he's still working on as a young player.

If you want to go deep in the playoffs, I think another guy needs to be added. But, John, what I mean by this, and it's a compliment to John, is it's not like, hey, we've got to slide him to the three hole now because we really need somebody in the two spot. It's now we can find somebody to play either two or three in that, and John is a capable guy. That's my point, is it's not a huge hole down the middle of the ice after Austin. Yeah, he's proven his wheels haven't fallen off. I mean, that's ultimately what he's done. That was going to be always the most pressing thing.

At what point is the foot speed really going to fall off? And let's be honest. At times, we have probably said, okay, it looks like it might be happening. And to his credit, whatever he does, because we know he's such a great pro and he takes care of himself, like he always seems to snap back you know whatever if it's a half step that you feel like he lost you'll watch him a couple weeks later and it's like i'm not seeing it now for whatever reason so credit to him he's obviously done that but i think the biggest thing you can say is john tavar is when he's at his best can overpower players right like he will

bulldoze people in the corner or behind the net or in front of the net. Like that's, he's always been that. And he still does that. Like that hasn't fallen off either. So I think like, yeah, you know, you have to give him a lot of credit for the mentality, the mindset,

but the physical tools that made him what he is are still there. Yeah, he's always been great, elite in tight spaces yeah that's where he's made his career is in front of the net in the corners off the draw like if it's a wide open you know again he he danced byram last night he has the ability that one against byram like tavarez is one of those guys where if he's coming in on you one-on-one it's not gonna be like a nifty little you know through the triangle he will like out muscle you one-on-one it's not gonna be like a nifty little you know through the triangle he will like out muscle you as he dangles you i think that's like the

the thing that gets lost in it is not only has he got the good hands he's gonna out muscle you on his way to doing it and that hasn't changed like that's still the same he's still out muscles people the same way yeah you can't knock him off his feet. If he's got a step on you, that cross check or the hip check's not going to budge him. And he's still doing it, man. And that's a credit to him. And again, at least they need it.

And we can talk about the contract and all that, but that would be louder. And I'm not talking about his future one. I'm talking about his current one. If he wasn't scoring and wasn't contributing. But he is. So it's not loud because he's producing. as it should be like that's the way it always should be in terms of an evaluation you pull your weight and okay awesome go out and do your thing and i think there were you know there was times where people were getting ready to kind of like and including all of us like to not make excuses for but man but, man, he's had a good run here.

If the legs fall off, it's one year, and geez, what it's going to look like. But it hasn't been. It's been consistent from pillar to post. Everything's been respectable. Just exactly. It's been very respectable for him. He got the big contract, but at no point during this contract's tenure should anyone have felt like he's

shortchanged the Leafs in effort or willingness. Professionalism. He's brought it to the table. He's done exactly. The playoffs are the playoffs, but Austin has to own that, and Mitch, and Willie, and

Riley, and the whole team. He's in that group he hasn't dragged them anywhere yet the only series they've won in 20 years was off his stick yeah you know he does have that over the rest of them that the biggest goal they scored in 20 years has been his we don't talk about that as much because the series against Florida was so bad yes like if that series against Florida went seven and it was down to the wire and it could have gone either way, we would talk about that goal way more.

Yeah. It feels like it got glossed over because they just got steamrolled by the Panthers. It did. You're down 3-0 like six days later, it seemed like, and it just got forgotten so quickly. Yeah, it did.

So quickly. Yet it is his. All right, we'll get to something to chew on, brought to you by Boston Pizza today, on the Lions and the Chiefs, both looking very vulnerable right now. And what I noticed over the week, well, Mahomes, exactly,

he's got the high ankle sprain. They play Saturday, then they play on Christmas. I can't imagine he's going to play those games. But they're 13-1. They need one more win, I think, for them to secure the top seed. They need one more, yet they've got a tough schedule. They've got Houston, Pittsburgh, Denver still to play.

And without him, they are a drastically different team. So more on that still to come. Luke coming up. Al's brother coming up. Chris Johnston will join us today. The nail gun was down there in Detroit. Daveave nailer will join us overdrive continues tsn 10 50 and on tsn 4 it's a brand new year time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025 kelvin the money guy suggests the three-step approach one clearly define your goals for the

new year to create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions. And three, make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan. Goal, plan, portfolio. Contact Kelvin the Money Guy and set your plans in motion. Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca. All right, Luke Wilson coming up in a half an hour. Raptors in action tonight. Two Monday nighters.

We've got two pegs, two games to tee up. Bit of a concerning development online. Connor tweeting in with a picture of me beside Jim Benning suggesting I'm dying my hair. Oh, did you have it as a fresh dip or no? You know what? I will say this definitively. It is not. I got a haircut last week, but Connor know what? I will say this definitively.

It is not. I got a haircut last week, but Connor's not the only one to point this out. A friend of mine, a friend of my wife's, who's also a friend of mine, texted her when we were on the panel last Tuesday and said, did he get his hair dyed? Really? Really? Yeah, she was convinced. She's like, there's no way that's his real hair.

Would you ever admit it, even if you did it? That's a a great question you're not the type to admit that kind of thing i probably wouldn't admit it so really it's irrelevant what i say right now but exactly wrong with admitting it i told you guys i've had a little touch up on the side sometimes yeah not all every time i guess i would sure why not it's it's not the worst thing in the world you just like i'm gonna be gray like i was my dad was premature gray at 30 years old so but it must have skipped me because i didn't start getting grays until into my like 40s and stuff and i've got like a little bit of grays over here i just get them like touched up so do i i got grays going but i guess it blends in i don't know man i think i'm going like benjamin button with my

hair it's getting like darker and better as I get older. You get a little gray in there. People might take you a little more serious. I know. I think I should. This guy's got some wisdom. He really knows something about him. He just really knows what he's talking about.

I need to embrace it. I need to embrace it. Steve Phillips looks like he's got wisdom because he's got a full head of gray hair. Yes. But you know what's big for Phillips? He's got the gray goatee. Yes. That puts you over the top to Phillips? He's got the gray goatee. Yes. That puts you over the top to PhD levels.

You look like a professor. Yeah, you look so brilliant if you have a gray goatee. Is that something that happens naturally, or do you have to color the goatee? I don't think you can color gray, can you? I don't know. Color anything, yeah. Why wouldn't you be able to? How would there be a market for people going the other way?

The coloring generally gets you away from the gray. If your head's going gray, but your stash and goatee isn't, what do you do? Are you going multicolored, or do you just want to have it? I think you go multicolored. Did you see the picture that Doogie just put into the group chat? We could put that up and just see if there's a comparison. I don't think you've dyed it. I'm telling you right now,

I have not dyed my hair. Doogie, see if Joe from the Bridge can put that picture up. Me and Jimmy Benning. Man, we are doppelgangers. What a flattering picture of Jimmy. That is the freshest paint you can find. That's eyebrow tint too man that's like what is that the draft and he did it that morning yeah that was a full body what's the development for jim

benning what's the guy on sesame street the counter yeah that's the count that's the count yeah jim benning is is is grilling people on math questions at the draft. No, you don't have that. No, I know that. He's got brown hair, not black. You have a little comb-over going, though. It's pretty trendy. Yeah, I'm trying to stay with it.

I love it. Well, remember, yeah, Brad just sent in the picture of Giuliani. Remember when his dip started to like, ooh. That stuff. He was sweating out dip down his cheek. That's crazy, man. You don't want that.

That's some kind of inferior product that like... I don't know. That's dollar store stuff. He should have known better. Giuliani, you're a public figure. You can't put yourself in that position. Years ago, it's that Ron Popeil guy. He used to have like you would dry meat and dry fruit and and then he had the glh spray it was called and you could spray it on your head that's what juliani had because the minute he started

sweating it just dripped all the way down giving yourself a spray before you go out for like a press conference like give me five minutes i just got to run to the back and you're spraying your salad in as you do it you're sweating too yeah it's not even mixing you know you're you know it's a disaster and then you're halfway through and you're like i'm screwed i've already already started it i have no way out and i'm in big big trouble um all right so luke coming up up. You look at the bills yesterday. What I've noticed, because this happened last year. Remember, it was around this time Lamar Jackson had a phenomenal game.

Can't remember who he played against, but he put up massive numbers. And all of the national media in the States just said, it's over. It's done. Lamar wins the MVP. That happened last night and into this morning. I saw Dan Orlovsky say it. I saw Rex Ryan say it. And what happens is, and to be clear,

I agree that Allen is the clear-cut favorite to win the MVP right now. Barkley didn't have himself a great game statistically yesterday, so Saquon may have taken a step back. Lamar was phenomenal, but it was against the Giants, so I'm not even sure what it's worth coming off a bye. I knew Lamar was going to crush. But Allen is playing better than anybody in the league right now, in my opinion.

He plays the position of need to win the MVP. It screams lifetime achievement award, combined with best year of his career, combined with everyone buzzing about it. So there's just no pushing back. No one is going to vote against him. He may win it unanimously now because this is what happens. It snowballs out of control where if you don't vote for him,

you're an idiot, you're a buffoon, you're going to get exposed, and then you're going to get bullied. And that's just the way we work now. That's the way the MVP voting generally operates. But you look on the other side of it, Dan Campbell, at one point this year, I don't know if he would

have been a favorite to win coach of the year or not, but the onside kick yesterday, down 10 with 12 minutes to year, I don't know if he would have been a favorite to win coach of the year or not, but the onside kick yesterday, down 10 with 12 minutes to go, I think from my standpoint, people are misinterpreting that. He is taking so much heat, and I understand why, and the kick obviously gets received by the Bills. They almost run it back for a touchdown. They end up punching it in, I believe, on the next play,

and that was effectively the game at that point. But what he was doing, in my opinion, was saying, A, Josh Allen's too good right now. We can't stop him. And B, we have too many injuries and our defense is so depleted, we have no chance. So he fell on the sword with the rah-rah, I believe in our team. I thought we would get it.

There's no way he really thought they would get it. Onside kicks, I read it this morning, it's like 7% of the time they're successful. They never work. I don't remember the last time I saw an onside kick get received by the team. They never work. Usually a guy receiving it will puke it up. That's really what happens, right? That's the 7%.

A guy going, it skips at the last second and hits the guy's lace or hits his leg and bounces. I don't know the last time that even happened, Noodles. But that's how it happens. You're right. The receiving team tries to be a hero, which the bill player kind of did. He could have let that go out of bounds, I think. But they go up, try to be a hero, try to think, I'm going to take this back.

But I honestly think Campbell actually did his defense somewhat of a favor because I'm not suggesting this was his intention, but he took the heat off his team. Everything became Dan Campbell's an idiot. He's a riverboat gambler. He's going to kill his team. How could you possibly do that 7% of the time, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And as a result, we're talking more about the lack of decisiveness by Campbell

as opposed to why he would do that, which is because his defense is getting destroyed right now. They are getting destroyed and they're vulnerable and he knows it. But isn't it semantics anyways? Because Buffalo gets it, they get a touchdown, and then there's so much time left in the game. I can understand if you just said, well, hey, just punt it and see if you can hold them off. The result was the same regardless. You still got scored on, and if you thought you were going to get scored on anyways, who cares? You didn't have them on the field as long as you would have.

That's another thing. If the Bills ended up scoring on that drive, which they probably would have because they did on basically every other one, they would have chewed up four minutes a clock. You got the inevitable over with. Yeah. And he's always gonna have that like he's always gonna have that perception because he's always thinking outside the box and he'll throw trick plays in and he's uber aggressive you just hope

if you're a lions fan that when push comes to shove and you need him to really dial it in and make the right decision like if it's in a playoff game it's it's coming yeah it's coming this this is gonna happen we're gonna see a situation where you need dan campbell to screw it on straight and make the right call and we're all gonna see what he does but that's the thing that i can't wait for man you can't wait because it could have could it happen against green bay absolutely right like like the door i think the door is wide open for the lions are the best team possibly in the league all year certainly in the nfc their injuries keep padding up they had multiple guys get hurt over the weekend david

montgomery just had season-ending surgery he's out so jameer gibbs is a stud back but he has not been used as much as like he's not a cowbell guy because montgomery is in there splitting you know carries with him so now that was a big part of their offense, that they never took it down off in terms of the backfield. Whether it was Montgomery or Gibbs, you always felt good in Detroit. Now Montgomery's done. Hutchinson's done. All these other guys on the defensive side are on the IR and hurt for an extended period of time, if not done for the year.

I think if you're Minnesota, I think if you're Philly, for sure, the Eagles are right now the best team in the NFC in terms of who I think can win in the playoffs because of the injuries and because of what's happened with Detroit. And then you throw Campbell into it, and you make him feel vulnerable. He is prone to doing anything. If you go to Dan Campbell and say,

man, you can't trust your defense, and now you only got one running back, what are you going to do? This guy may call trick play after trick play. He might try and overcompensate too, right? Because hey, I don't have all these guys, so now I need to overcompensate with the playbook. And that could be

a bad recipe for them as well. It can be scary. One thing I do like is your Green Bay Packers. They looked good last night. Jordan Love in the second half. It happened last year. Same thing. And their defense is really starting to show up. That's a significant thing they're causing turnovers geno smith got hurt last night but i before smith got hurt he was not they were not moving the ball down the field and uh i really

like where green bay's at i do they're they're i don't think they'll catch the division i think minnesota wins tonight minnesota's got a better chance of catching the Lions. The Lions still could hold on to that top seed. But the Packers are a terrifying team to face if you're the Bucs or the Rams or whoever's going to win the West, and they're coming into your house. I think the Green Bay Packers would be a pretty heavy favorite in whoever they play in that wild card round. Those Seattle Unifors, I don't know about that. Like the lime green.

What is that? Neon? Yeah, what did they is that? Neon? Yeah, what did they call that? Color Rush or something, JP? It's aggressive, man. I don't know. Have you seen the Ducks?

Obviously, you saw them when they were in Toronto. The Ducks jersey. Puke orange. It's awful, man. You guys don't like it? I don't like it. I liked it when I saw a picture of it. I shouldn't say like it, but I was like, yeah, that's kind of interesting.

And then watching it roll through Toronto and Montreal, I'm like, those unis, man. I think they're going to tweak it at some point, but the color scheme is probably here to stay. I'm probably in the minority of people that actually don't mind it. I feel like it's very Orange County of them. Yeah, is that what they're going for? I guess, yeah.

I don't know. There is a lot of orange, and it's an aggressive, like it's a Halloween kind of darkish orange. But turning that game on last night, I don't know what that color is. It's like neon or lime green or whatever the hell it is. Off-putting, though. It is off-putting. That's the word.

It's like distracting. You're like, all right. It is too extreme, man. It's Seattle. And when you get a team that isn't playing well in bad unis, it's even more difficult to overcome, right? It's like Anaheim. When the Ducks were

in first place, you'd be like, man, that's kind of cool and they're cutting edge and they look great and they're having fun. You don't think the Anaheim jersey is an upgrade over the ones they had? The ones they had were really outdated. Well, you know what? We need a history of those jerseys.

I feel like they've changed. They were like the Mighty Ducks, there's the Ducks. I feel like they've had more jersey changes or tweaks than any other team in the league. Maybe I'm wrong. If you went back to the old purple and green Mighty Ducks, I don't think anyone would be upset with that. I think those were pretty sharp. That's kind of like the Kraken have taken that over for expansion teams

and different colors in the Utah colors. You know who's gone through a lot of transition is the Canucks have changed their uniforms a lot. Remember they had that V? They were black with yellow and maybe some orange in there with this big V in the middle.

That's when Harold Snaps was driving the bus out there. Harold Snaps with his stash. No bucket with a stash. Oh, yeah. They're starting to panic out there in Vancouver right now. And Rick Tockett's not happy with certain guys. Like, when you get blown out, for starters, they can't win at home. They're horrendous at home, Vancouver.

And what adds insult to injury is Marchand comes in 15 years later and turns the lights out on him. And he's still getting booed every time he touches the puck. As he should. He scores that goal on the power play and then goes like the Hulk Hulk. Do you know how tough that would be to a champ? There's probably Canucks fans that are new on the scene that don't even know why they're booing Marchand.

There's a very passionate fan base there, of course, but younger kids, teenagers, and you're at the game, you're booing this guy, you don't even know why, then he gives you the business. Yeah. Oh, my God. And now he's trying to fight Quinn Hughes. Quinn Hughes has got a full cage on, now he's trying to fight quinn hughes but he's just got a full cage

on and he's harassing him like it just you know he plays the heel that's when he's at his best honestly yes you you know he's healthy now when he's acting up that's really what it is and he's and he's backing it up too with goals and assists and stuff too and they're starting to win some games right like joe sacco's getting the job done. Jim Montgomery in St. Louis. They're making deals. They're trying to get in. They're desperate to get in in St. Louis. Yeah, all right. We'll come back and continue with that Vancouver theme.

And Ottawa now in a playoff spot. Like who's more likely to make the playoffs? The Canucks or the Senators? Come back and touch on that. Luke Wilson coming up as well. CJ will join us later this afternoon. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on the TSN app.

It's a brand new year. Time to review last year's financial decisions and set new priorities for 2025. Kelvin the Money Guy suggests the three-step approach. One, clearly define your goals for the new year. Two, create a plan tailored to your needs and ambitions. And three, make sure your portfolio is designed to serve that plan. Goal, plan, portfolio. Contact Kelvin the Money Guy and set your plans in motion.

Call 416-457-PLAN or visit askkelvin.ca. You would think that over time people learn their lesson on certain things, but I just witnessed something in the men's room here that is outrageous. What happened to Doogie in Montreal at the urinal? The phone. Yeah, he dropped his phone. He dropped his phone, right? Square in the middle of it.

So I just walked into the men's room, and there's Doogie. And what's he doing at the urinal? He's sending texts again. Doogie. He's a learner. Doogie, what are you doing? Have you not learned your lesson, buddy? What are you doing with your life? That was

traumatizing to witness that. You can't do it twice. There's no way. Well, no, that means he's done it more than twice. You think it's dropped in twice? Yeah. If you don't learn from an experience like that, that means that's just routine in your life. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

If you dropped your phone and took a leak on it, there's no way you're doing that again. I wouldn't. I would be scarred for a long, long time. Doogie, though, this is a habit for you. What's with you, Doogie? Why don't you snap out of it and maybe put your phone down for 30 seconds? Hayes, I haven't dropped it since.

That's not true. I don't think that's a great plan. But why are you doing it, though? That's not even the point that you didn't dropped it since. That's not true. I don't think that's a great point. But why are you doing it, though? That's not even the point that you didn't drop it. Why can't you leave your phone in your pocket when you're in there, Doogie? Like, what is the explanation? 90 seconds. What is so important?

You've had a lot of water. You're responding to a Joe from the Bridge, John Tavares contract text. Like, what could you possibly be texting that's so important? Nothing, really. Just looking at the phone. See, there's no excuse. I worry about our future as a society.

Doogie can't be alone with his thoughts for 70 seconds. That's what's scary. You put Doogie in a position where he has to actually just be thinking to himself yeah terrifying for doogie stuff yeah scary scary scary living life on the edge i don't know what you're doing doogie concerned about i'm very concerned um all right the ottawa or vancouver question we'll carry that over to the next hour because

i think it's very relevant right now credit to ottawa they got a tough trip noodles you're on your way out there right they play seattle tomorrow and they're through western canada yeah go seattle calgary vancouver edmonton so they go three hours back two hours back three hours back two hours back it's just a weird it's a weird it'll be a tough trip for them but i mean at least they're they're playing meaningful like all mark's been great there's lots of great storylines right that's what they've wanted for a while and they're playing meaningful. Like, Allmark's been great. There's lots of great storylines, right? That's what they've wanted for a while. And they're on the road again with the juniors rolling through town.

So it's going to be a tough three or four weeks for them. But anyway, safe travels out there. Thanks, guys. We'll see you Wednesday morning. Catch you Wednesday. There he is, Noodles, leaving for the rest of the show. Frankie Corrado in here. We got Luke coming up.

Al's brother coming up. The new captain of DiStefano and Bro. I'm a part of his team now after Friday and him running the show. And more on the Leafs weekend and what we can look ahead to for the Leafs later this week. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 4. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by FanDuel. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score.