OverDrive - OverDrive - December 9, 2025 - Hour 1 - Matthew Knies

Episode Date: December 9, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jason Strudwick for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss Bo Bichette's next steps with the Blue Jays, Edwin Diaz signing with the Dodgers and the impact for Toronto, the Maple Leafs' win against the Lightning and Dennis Hildeby's performance and the Winter Olympics' role. Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies joins to discuss the Maple Leafs' season, his role on the team and the partnership with Amazon and the Raptors interested in Anthony Davis.

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Exactly. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Get more for less this holiday season with affordable phone plans and member benefits you'll love. Virgin Plus, obviously. Visit a Virgin Plus store or virginplus.ca for details. This hour of overdrive is powered by Fanduil. Fanduil, 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 up on TSN4, Brian Haseo, Doug, Jeff O'Neill, and Jason Strudwick with us this afternoon. How are we doing, boys? Oh, what a time to be alive. The Leafs have turned the corner, but two guys you didn't think would be the catalyst for that turn. You guys must be thrilled over there in T.O. Right back in the race. Right back in the race, strutty. And the term cup contenders again has been tossed around.

It happens. Before we get to the hockey stuff, I have to take care of a little business. I just saw my guy, Scott Boris, on TV, doing the Dillon Cs Presser. He will be inducted into the Salad Rebuild Hall of Fame. he's got a salad going on him he'll be right besides strutty as cane of the county yeah he I don't know what he has going on

I can't tell if it's it's definitely a die job but there's also some growing air like it's off the chart every year it gets a little bit crazier right because if there's some purple in there and like he's an LA guy I think he's a Malibu guy so you got to keep with the times right you know what it's like you know that Malibu crew And he's a big wheeler, and he's just trying to keep it.

How old would that guy? He's got to be close to 70 years old. I would think so. Yeah, like, he's, Boris has been around my whole life. Yes. He's heard about Scott Boris. Sure. Yeah, so he's been around for a long time.

And this is his life. He does not have dark chocolate brown hair. No, 73 years old. That's how old he is? Yeah, 73. Still kick him. Dude, he has dark, like, I'm gray, man. I'm turning 50 in February.

There's no way in-house, Scotty, boy, that you should be chocolate lab hair color. No way. Not possible. Only Duffy can do that. Only Duffy. And Bob Barker. He's a freak of nature, man. Duffy, it's just, I look at his, I'm captivated by his hair when he's talking and I'm like,

you're telling me no gray sprout in your hair. He's 60 years old. Fountain of Youth. He's in great show. shape, he still plays golf and walks and everything, man. It's a beautiful thing. Rigorous arm workouts, right? That's what he does.

Rigorous. I think that's the key. Yes, loves it because the master's right around the corner, right? Once he gets into the New Year's, Duffy knows what's up. He gets a boy's medium golf shirt on, and he will ask Bob Weeks a question with just a hulkomania flex on that mic. How do we feel the Canadians can do this week and just flexing out of control? Flex. great but uh yeah scott boris setting up shop right you see the reports now that um it started

with the blue jays obviously they're kicking tires on kyle tucker and he was down and done eden and now it's bo bishette is zoom calling with the red sox right little zoom call for bow which uh i don't know how do we feel like where does that line up in terms of like tucker was at the facility why isn't bow just driving down to fort mire's that's where the red sox you know do their off-season stuff. I think Bichette lives in Tampa. It's like an hour and a half drive. Dude, I told you, man.

Why do you zoom it? Why not drive down if you're Bichet? Because that just may be a sign of the minimal interest. I don't know. Like, big-time interest is you better get to our facility and check it out. Right. But I told you the Tucker stuff is going to piss Bob Bichette off. Like when you're a longtime member of a team and you're one of their go-to guys and you think it's going to be.

And we really don't know. he can say things to the media where he's like, I've always loved it here. My intention was always to come back. Behind the scenes, he might hate everybody's guts. Nobody knows that. Those are details that probably no one except him and his family would know. But once he catches wind, but if he did want to stay, and that was his true intentions, and it didn't happen right away, and you go and blow 200 sheets on a pitcher that's never been a part of the team,

and you're sitting there waiting, it's a different vibe. And then the Tucker rumors come out. You're like, okay, that's what pisses players off. And it pissed me off at a certain particular time. I don't remember the circumstances. But you put your heart and soul into an organization for a long time. And then they want to toss around money at guys that have never stepped foot in the door. And I do get that there's talented players in free agency.

But when you're there a long time and you're a contributing player in a damn good one, you're wondering why the process isn't sped up. Yep. You can speak from experience. I'm sure Stride, you've been there too. Yeah, no, no one called me. No one called me. Every now and then I get an email, like, hey, we'll take you again.

But I look at this Bo Chisette situation. You know, the Blue Jays feel that they are going to be contenders again. So I think they have to be safeguarding their own organization. Like, I'm sure they want Bo back. I think they've implied that, haven't they not? And so they have to look at other options that Boe leaves. They can't just be like, oh, we've got nothing else. We'll just figure it out as we go.

It doesn't work that way. So I think that if I was in charge, my message to Bo is like, Bo, we do want you. We're going to go through the process with you. It doesn't mean we're not going to look at other options in case you do leave. We want you. But if you leave, we have to protect ourselves. And quite honestly, they have to protect the rest of the players too.

Because that's a pretty significant hole if they don't replace, on some level, what Bo does. Absolutely. Listen, it's a game of chicken right now. You get into the off-season, man. There's a lot of rumors. There's a lot of checking in. There's a lot of misdirection. There's a lot of nonsense going on both ways.

Yeah, of course. And that's going to happen with everyone. And, like, as of now, I believe Bichette, you know, is still a favorite to return to the Blue Jays, for whatever that's worth. You know, it doesn't mean anything, really. But as of now, I wouldn't be surprised if Bichette returned. I wouldn't be surprised if it took a while before there was some sort of resolution. But there are some things happening.

Like Edwin Diaz was the number one, you know, closer in the game, number one relief farm available. Where does he go? The L.A. Dodgers. Yeah, signs with the Dodgers. You know, gets a big ticket, goes there. They sign them for three years. So their bullpen is just, which was their problem.

Remember, we talked about that extensively leading into the World Series. Got to get to the bullpen. You get to the bullpen. You can really pounce on that Dodger team. And the Blue Jays did that for the most part. Not anymore. Not anymore. Now you get D.S. coming out of the bullpen.

It's like they have, you know, like a house inspector. It's like there's a baseball inspector that goes to the GM. and it's like you got to plug that hole right there and then the guy just they blow money and fix the problem they plug it yeah and then it's like it's done it's like oh that was a problem uh it's done and it's it's it's a house that that like it's unlimited resources right yes it's the parliament it's the white house like you can't let it rot you're like okay whatever we need is that what we need there you go you get the you get the money go pay it to them make sure you you pay more than anyone else is willing to offer and make sure you get the guy so you know wheels are in motion here

at the winter meetings. The Blue Jays, you know, I guess relatively quiet right now, but they're not alone. Kyle Schwerber going back to Philly, that's big in terms of a possible team that was going to look at Kyle Tucker. If Schwerber left, left-handed power bat, then Tucker was going to maybe make some sense there. But Schwerber is going back to the Phillies. So there will be Blue Jay News over the next couple of days and we'll continue to get into it and track what's going to come out of the winter meetings. But, you know, Strud, you mentioned it somewhat sarcastically. I'm picking up on sarcasm.

at the least with another win last night, and I thought it was a very impressive win. I thought it was a low-event game like Barubei said. No problem. Find a way to win that game. I thought they checked well. I thought their big boys showed up and played pretty well. Obviously, Hildebee was great.

Your boy, right? Dennis Hildebe was outstanding again last night. And there's a really good mojo with this team all of a sudden. They're picking up points, and they're right there. They're in the race. Detroit, Montreal, Tampa. It's wide open in the Atlantic. It's crazy the swing haze because we were dumping on them, regrettably,

because it's not a lot of fun to do, but we had no choice. We've got to talk about what we see, and they were just playing terrible. They looked disinterested, disorganized, the goaltending was poor. Their defensive zone play was beyond poor, and it wasn't entertaining. There was nothing about it that was good. And now they put it together, and Strud, You've seen the same thing in Edmonton with the boys putting it together out there. It's just crazy how it's the same team.

But you're seeing all these teams, man. The Ottawa Senators were right up top there, and now they're right above Buffalo. Which, Buffalo, man, we can get into it later. They're a mess. And they're in Edmonton tonight. They're going to get pumped in Edmonton. Like you would think the Oilers are licking their chops. They just got beat up by Calgary last night.

So, yeah, Buffalo is the one outlier. You know, they're the team that just is not really included. They happen to be a part of the division. But the other seven teams are fighting for the top three spots, and it really could finish in any possible order. Like, it really could. Like, I don't trust Detroit's going to win the division. I don't trust, you know, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa.

The Leafs still have to prove a lot more. It's not like the least had a horrible first 20 games. We should put a hunch in the pot, everyone on overdrive, pick the final standings what they're going to be and the winner gets it all jp doogie joe from the bridge noodles myself yourself i like everybody chucked the hondo in and if you pick the exact order of the atlantic you win the whole pot great idea i mean it's so tough to do that dude how do you do it man it would be really hard yeah it'd be really tough but you know if i'm a fair least fan i think

what you liked about last night's game is i watched it they look comfortable in that game right and Yeah, there were some lucky bouncers. There's no doubt about it. But I don't believe in luck. I believe you do the right thing over and over again. And on some level, you get rewarded. Things kind of bounce your way because it's always good teams level. They get lucky bounces.

Well, why do good teams only get lucky bounces? It's because for the most part, they're doing things their right way. So they look comfortable. And you want to feel comfortable in a 1-0 game or, you know, there's 1-0 for a good chunk of it until the empty-netter. I think that's really important. I think if I'm a least fan, I'm feeling good about that because they sure and look comfortable in any type of game, you know, just a few weeks ago, boys.

Yeah, no, exactly. I mean, that's exactly what it was. And Tampa was, I expected some desperation out of them last night. They had lost three in a row. Now four in a row. Cooper was not happy with them after the game. But you're right, it was a low-scoring, low-event game, and it was going to be about avoiding that big mistake.

And were there some breakdowns, sure, and Hildobey made his stops when he had to? That's going to happen. But I think you look at the third period in particular. I think that's where that comfort zone really showed up. And I thought I was very impressed. I thought they played really well. I thought they checked well. I thought they leaned on certain guys which you're going to have to.

Like Matthews, I know a lot of people are talking about him and the shot and the goal scoring. And the reality is he set the bar so high a couple of years ago. That 69 goal season was insane. Everything went in. Everything. Like it was the craziest season I've ever watched. in terms of seeing everything.

Like, oh, you and I, we watched basically every shift he played that year. It was insane how that guy was playing and how he was scoring. Basically, it was the matter of if he was getting one or two every night. Yes, every night you knew it. Like, if he had an open space anywhere below the dots, it was like it's in. There's no chance you're stopping it. And that isn't going to happen again. He's not going to score 65 plus goals probably ever again.

I'm not sure he gets to 60 plus or 55 plus. but I liked this game a lot last night, a lot. I thought he was on his toes. I thought he was aggressive. I thought he checked well. I thought he was pushing play. And ultimately, that's what you need. Like, if you're going to win one nothing, so be it.

You don't need a hat trick out of the guy every single night. It's unrealistic to expect that, right? If you're going to be a leader on his team, and I haven't loved this season overall, but again, I look at the third in particular. I thought he was over the boards a lot, and the third he played a ton. And I thought he played really well. I thought he was pushing play. I thought he was dangerous, but smart, right side of checks.

And that's what has to happen. And that's what you know Baroube is pushing for. Like, they can score. They've scored all year. They're top five in scoring in the league. They're going to score goals. The issue for the first 20 games in Strud, you saw it, you've been on with us a ton.

They were horrendous defensively. Like horrendous defensively. If he can bring that approach, because the way he played last night, it had a Jonathan Taze kind of feel to it, where there's a skillful player, but he's just playing the right way. And Jonathan Taze never scored 69 goals, but you know what he did?

He won three Stanley Cubs. So it's just if you can find a balance where you're contributing offensively and you're just, I mean, let's be honest, he had a bunch of shifts, a bunch of games early on that you didn't know he was out there. Unrecognizable. No. It didn't look like him. He just faded into the game a lot.

Yes. But I didn't think that was the case last night. Of all the years, we've covered them, we've never ever said that. right maybe in like very small stretches where it was a game or two here and there you're like man he's a little bit off but you're you're right about one thing he's the guy that set the standard for anybody like oh you guys are so hard on austin matthews he he's the one that goes out there and plays him and set the standard of being one of the best players in the world yeah and quite honestly has to be right and when you look around a room no one's looking down at the fourth liner saying

you've got to be the difference maker tonight you're looking at the top guys but that doesn't mean the bottom guys can't help and i and i i know you guys have overlooked it you've talked talked about the goalies and the forwards. You haven't looked at, you know, the heartbeat of every team, which is the D-Man. And there's a pretty significant demon missing for the Leafs. But I think we've got to take a look at Troy Stetcher and McCabe. I just got to ask you on being serious. Yeah.

And I don't want to blow this thing out of proportion, but I love the guy's outlook on life, hockey, his plot in pro sports, how he's basically playing for his life every shift. I think he's effective. how did Evanton just toss him aside and like I think he's a really good player man I really do listen I think Troy Stetcher is the ideal 6-7 defense and he's moved up right now because I think he can moonlight up there like he has the ability if choice tetra was 6-3 his bank account would be a lot more chubby if you know what I'm saying like he's he's not a super big guy he competes he can make a pretty decent first pass he gives you everything you can but it come

playoff time if he's your third fourth d man that's probably not enough and that's no disrespect to i i you know that he's a he's a very effective guy but right now he's plugging a massive hole on the lease and that's what you're supposed to do when you're six seven d man you're supposed to come in and plug a hole and he's done that just simple plays like he's got

some jump he's got some energy when he gets the puck he moves his feet and he can make a pass and it's like what i actually think when i watch him is is it that hard to play defense in the national hockey league strud like let's get serious here some of you guys make a mess of it back there it's not that hard be physical get in the corners and get the puck and get it to the forwards well the problem is that the fords are the other blue line you know we're we can't airmail every pass we're not uh you know whatever jalen hurts trying to throw that's a bad example actually that's

not the one you want to use that last night but you are jail and hurts that's the problem But maybe that was. But with Stetcher, like I think, and, you know, effective demon like himself, they come in and they just get the job done. And it's not always a work of art, although he's rolling right now. But, man, what a pickup by the lease. And yeah, the owners, I think they will miss them, but they have two other deemann they think have higher upsides in the short

and maybe long term. But I don't think it was an easy choice to put him on waivers. I don't at all. No, and it turned out to be obviously an easy and an effective one for the Leafs. I think where he has been most effective, is he has stabilized Jake McCabe, who I thought played really well last night. One of his better games. Absolutely.

Because, you know what he looks? He's in the fight now. Like he's aggressive. He's winning battles. He's throwing hits. We're earlier in the year you could tell he was fumbling the puck so badly. He was like a microcosm of the team. Yes.

He wasn't even close to himself. He was throwing pizzas, cough-ups, a mess out there, and he completely lost his game. But he looked like last night he got it back. and the same for the team absolutely like he was he was again simplified things that's what he is like if you want the definition of a meat and potatoes player in the league it's jake macape like he's not up in the rush he's not trying to saucer through you know the neutral zone and set guys off he has the ability to do that from time to time but you're paying for a guy who's who's solid defensively aggressive makes you fight for every inch on the ice if you're on the other team

and he did that last night and again he he obviously Obviously, he's meshed really well with Stetcher. So, yeah, top the bottom, I mean, that's a big win. Because now you're two points behind Tampa. A week and a half ago, Tampa was unstoppable. You know, it was winning every night and looked like they might run away with the division. And it's funny how things have turned because, like you said, Strat, or we've said, I guess, you know, in Edmonton, it feels like the same thing. Like, the light has just gone on.

These veteran teams feel comfortable. They feel like they're in the season now. They feel like, I don't know if they've been jolted, embarrassed. maybe they've realized, okay, at some point we've got to snap out of it, if we want to make something out of this season. But the Oilers are doing the same thing. Like, they're beating up on teams. And again, I expect them to do the same tonight.

Like, if you're in Buffalo, you've got to be thinking this is trouble this evening. And the sameers need wins. Like, they're in a pretty big swing right here, and they need some wins. But, you know, I think this is true for all teams. And, oh, you can chime in on this. But I think that NHL teams do need practice. You need to practice at some point, especially when things aren't going well. You need to get on the ice and whether it's refocus on your defensive assignments or speed to the neutral zone or just even scoring goals, right?

Like anything they need to work on. And there are stretches where teams this year will go one, two weeks without a team practice, which to me is insane because as a coach, you know, I can't say to he, I'll show a video, Tiger Woods, just swing like that. Yeah, I know it's supposed to swing like that. I've got to feel it. I've got to be out there on the ice in the case of hockey doing those types of things and putting those habits, imprinting. those habits into my game. And the case of Oilers, they've had three, I think, real team practices the last 10 days. So teams need that time, not to mention the crazy schedule of so many games.

And you're going to see, I think, wild swings of play because of fatigue and lack of practice over the course of the year. Strzard, when you get to that, like, I don't disagree with you, but I just think there's a lot of dumb players in the league. And I think that, I think that because everybody that's gotten to the NHL was the best player on their team, and I think everybody, regardless if they're a fourth line checker or they're a skill guy, they just do whatever the hell they want. They get the puck and they want to be Connor McDavid and they want to do all this stupid stuff. I just don't understand how, like, all

you hear is coaches harping on our structure and our details. It's like, I don't know, what, what the hell are these guys doing? Like, it's either you do it or you don't. I think they're dumb and they don't want to do it. But I'll ask the same thing. If you're not feeling good on the putting greenough, can you just sit back and have a couple Arnold Palmer's and think you're going to get better of putting? You need to imprint those habits on your game. And whether it's hockey or pickleball or golf,

they need to be out there doing it. And so I think that I know personally that I felt a lot better when I got on the ice and had maybe I was struggling in an area and I had a couple shifts or reps doing it. All of then I'd find my game again. Like, oh, that's what it feels like. So I don't agree. I don't think they're dumb.

I don't think they're having any practice because coaches are talking about all the things you're saying when do you put those into into effect you do it on the ice in practice video my counter to that is it's the n-h-l and it's a fast-moving game and everything is always different so to say oh if this guy does this you got to go every play is different man every play is different and it happens so fast but i disagree in your own zone and on the rush it's the same habits like one of the things those my pet peeves went forwards with over back check so they're trying to help me they skate all the way back and stand right beside me at the net.

Meanwhile, the guy that scored it was standing at the hash marks. Just stop the hash marks. Just stop there. Here's an example where the dumb-dum factor comes in. You're up 2-1, you're up 3-1 in the third period, and your coach after the game says, we consistently turn the puck over at the opposition's blue line and our blue line. Our details were terrible.

How do you know that you can't turn the – how do you not know that you can't turn the puck over at the opposition blue line in a tight hockey game? Or get it in deep and not try these – passes and giveaways. They do it all the time. And that's a forward issue. I'm not as well-versed in forward

issues. But, no, and there are ways to do that in practice. I'm not saying practice careers all, though, but what I'm saying there, it is important, and in a limited time when you don't have it, just listen to coaches avails. They'll talk about it all the time. Well, we only had one practice the last 10 days. We haven't practiced in six

days. Like, it does make a difference. And I actually think we're doing a disservice to the league when they don't practice. We can't who are best and they're fatigued on top of it well and reality of this year is it's not going to get better no it's just going to continue like you're playing if you have an off day it's amazing like the leaps would have been off today they'll practice tomorrow that's big we got a big practice tomorrow then they play i gotta be honest with you i think i know you've you've been dying for olympic competition i really believe that this type of schedule and what it's doing to

the players and you're seeing the injuries i don't think it's worth going to the olympics i really don't i don't okay but you got to have international hockey in some capacity i don't care if this is the if this is the sacrifice this schedule and the way the games were going and the quality and everything else we talked about i don't think it's worth it for a two-week tournament okay but so you don't think you need to sacrifice in some capacity to make sure that you have international hockey i'm just making a statement i i don't what you're saying but but my point is fine if it's not the Olympics. It's got to be something. Okay. Four nations every couple

years. Sure, but then that's probably going to happen during the season. You know, you're going to shut, now it's not as extensive because it's likely to be in North America every year. And maybe it's only a certain amount of teams. Basically what I'm saying is what's going on now with the schedule is, I think, is crazy. I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm also

willing to sacrifice games in November and December to make sure that we get international hockey. I think it's a joke we haven't had it in 12 years. Yeah. Okay, you're right. Like September 10th, the season starts if you're having an Olympic year. Right. And that's all the TV networks to figure that out.

No kidding. But I don't know if they will because the NFL and college football and there's always excuses. There is. But I'll tell you this, as a guy who didn't go to the Olympics, I love that time off. God, I look forward to that. Like going on a trip. I put on a clinic in Cancun for 10 days. At the office, what's that bark?

I think it was called the office or something. Like it was not right on the beach, but you'd have. You come back, you felt so fresh. And then you see your teammates that played the Olympics. Look, just dog-tired. Dead. Dead. The faces were sunken in.

The first Olympics, I didn't do one thing for ten straight days. Oh, no. And I got back on the ice strut. I felt amazing. Oh, really? Best I've ever felt, because you're just totally rejuvenated. I didn't do a thing. Nothing's sore.

Nothing's broken. Like, it feels so good. But the best players go and suffer. The league's going to get that, right? Like, the stretch run, I think, should be great. It should be great hockey. And I hear what you're saying. It's condensed.

There's injuries. It's not the greatest hockey of all time. But for me, you have to have best on best. Like, whether that happens in September, whether it happens, you know, in North America every two to four years. There's been a generation of great players that just can't, don't, haven't had the opportunity to do what cross we did in Gretzky and Lemieux and Ore and. I want that as a fan, and luckily it's going to happen, but I hear you. There's sacrifices that have to be made, and we're witnessing them right now. All right, Matthew Nye's coming up this hour.

Matthew, obviously off to a great start this year. The Leaves with a big win last night. They got a big homestand here. San Jose on Thursday, Edmonton in town on Saturday. That'll be electric. The Oilers roll through town once a year. It's always on a Saturday night. It's going to be a great night.

And Chicago-Badard in town early next week, too. So it's a big week here for the Leafs. Matthew Nye's coming up. We got Johnny on the show today. Mike Johnson will join us. Confirm a deny coming up. Best bet still to come. Overdrive continues.

TSN 1050 and on TSN4. Every year it's the same. I get socks. You get socks. We all get socks. Not me. This year, I got more. More socks?

More for less. Virgin Plus hooked me up with an affordable phone plan and member benefits on food, fashion, and entertainment. So while I'm knee-deep in snow and novelty socks, you're unwrapping deals all season? Exactly. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Get more for less this holiday season with affordable phone plans and member benefits you'll love. Virgin Plus, obviously. Visit a Virgin Plus store or virginplus.ca for details. Polish families place an extra plate at the Christmas table for unexpected guests. Norwegians hide Broom's Christmas Eve to avoid being taken by witches. European holiday traditions are many, but one is shared by all. Authentic European foods.

This Christmas, bring the taste of Europe home for the holidays. Shop Yummy Market for rare European groceries and freshly prepared dishes made in store from scratch. Yummy Market in North York at 4,400 Dufferin Street and Vaughn at 1390 Major McKenzie, east of Duffren. Visit yummymarket.com for their holiday menu. Drive continues, powered by Fanduil, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear this strutty. The military is on watch. It's snowing here in Toronto.

It's bad. the country's aware that we might need some help here, right? It's snowing a lot. It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Is it wet snow heavy or dry? Heavy snow. Heavy snow. I did a shovel and like an hour later you wouldn't know I even shoveled.

I think the great mayor of Toronto will be on top of it and she'll have everything in order. I'm sure she will. Yeah. You'll see the Finch LRT is open and people are already losing their minds because it's making all the stops. She sent in a request to make it. go faster. They're going to try to figure that out. Great job. We've been waiting a long time.

It finally opens and already people are like this took 52 minutes to go. Isn't this stupid thing? Like you had to have been, you're from that area. Wasn't this LRT thing a part of your whole adult life? Yeah, well, the Eggleton one. I used to live just south of Eglington. Literally, you'd putt and I'd hit Eggleton. It wasn't even a wedge. This thing's been going on for 15 years. Yes, over 11 years. And I lived just south of Egleton, like young. in Eggington area, and I knew it was

common, so we were going to move. I'm thinking, all right, it's going to get a little bit crazy. And that was over 11 years ago. It still is not open. It's not even like, 11 years. Yeah, and it's not, and they keep giving updates, and now Doug Ford's saying, oh, it's right around the corner,

and we're just making sure the door's open and close. Like he has any idea what's going on. He has no clue what's happening, or what they're doing or what they're trying to accomplish here. But eventually, Egleton will be popping again. I cannot wait for it. So many local businesses, small businesses, just got crushed by it, too, because of construction and, you know, there was, it was an upheaval. And it's been an upheaval for a long time.

And I'm sure the payoff over time will be great, but it's taken a long time. But, yeah, weather's a little crazy, leaves back in action on Thursday. We've got to get into the Thursday night or Monday nighter. Oh, you're very supportive, right? Very supportive. I know you're leaning Eagles, but this is why we are a three-man team. You need two to be a majority. Al's brother and I were pushing chargers.

You said Godspeed, let's go, and it was a great pick. You guys pulled the trigger, although Jalen Hertz should be ashamed of himself. I thought it was receiver problems. Like, they're all divas. They all want the football. But he just stunked to join out last night. I think he had four or five interceptions and a loss fumble. Like that's absurd.

That's just not cutting it, dude. He was terrible. He was terrible. Yeah. But I don't know how, like the first three or four games of the season. I remember texting Luke saying, this hurts. Looks like he's going to win the MVP. And then he completely fell off the map,

and I have no idea what the hell's wrong with him. That is one of the weirdest plays ever. You throw an interception, then you recover it, and then fumbled again. Like, that is Three Stooges stuff. Yeah. Just dive on the ball, hang on to it. But, you know, I was actually watching Luke on SportsCenter. He had a really interesting point about Jalen just,

Jailen gets focused on a target, and I'm passing it here. And now when I think back to him, like, he doesn't kind of look around to see for other options or try to throw people off. And it's so true you go back, he's just locked. I'm jamming this in there no matter what. And I'm guessing as a receiver, that's kind of scary because, you know, it could be on the other side of that, someone else on the other team. I guess what the other guys on the other side are doing?

This guy is so easy to read. This is, like, just picking cherries. Yeah, the Eagles are in a bad place, man. Like, and the Chargers found a way to win, and they've had injuries on their offensive line, and Herbert's all banged up. but the Eagles, they're doing it again. They're going to limp into the playoffs. They're likely still going to win the division,

more than likely still win it. They have like a 90% chance of still winning it. But I don't see anyone being scared of them, which is crazy, considering they won the Super Bowl, and they brought back basically the same team. I mean, maybe they can redeem themselves. Like maybe you get in, you reset, you go on a run, and all this is. Maybe.

Or it'll be just like the year they waltzed into Tampa and they got their ass and it's pumped to them. And that's what it feels like it's going to happen. They're going to back to one of the playoffs, get pumped, leave. Everyone's going to hate Siriani. Everyone's going to hate herds. And we'll see what they end up doing there. All right, Mike Johnson, in half an hour.

Matthew Nyes off through a great start this year over a point of game. He's on the radar for the USA team, right? There's more and more debate. Could he make it? Where would he fit? Probably a depth forward, obviously, but maybe a 13th, 14th forward. But he's a big power forward. He's having a great year.

And he joins us now. Here he is Matthew Nise of the Toronto Maple Leaf. Arizona, Phoenix Arizona. We began by asking him, how you feeling? How you're dealing with this weather in Toronto right now? Not great, honestly.

I need to do some shopping and get some extra coats and stuff. I'm a little light. Just be honest, man. Do you hate it? When you live in Arizona, you've got to come up here and deal with this, does it make you sick to your stomach? I don't know. I mean, I kind of like the... You get all four seasons in Toronto. I feel like

in Arizona, it's just one. I enjoy it most days, but yeah, there is a few days that you'd wish to see the sun a little bit more. Absolutely. You've got to appreciate that all four seasons. It's hockey weather, and that's what you guys are doing. You're playing hockey, and you guys have played great recently, and I guess we'll go right to a vibe check with you. How would you describe the moon in the room today compared to maybe where it was two weeks ago?

Yeah, I think it's been good. I think there's a lot of confidence, and it feels like there's a lot of swagger in our room, too. You know, I think, you know, Hill the Beast back there is doing a great job. And, you know, we just have so many good players and so much depth that it's just a fun group to be a part of. And, yeah, I'm glad that, you know, we're starting to get in the wind column and put some points up. And so, yeah, it's good. Everyone's feeling good. And, yeah, we're looking to kind of keep that going with this home stretch that we have now.

Swagger in the room. Like, what is that? What does that look like? Take us inside the room. What does that mean when you guys have swagger in the room? Yeah, I think it's just confidence in our play, you know, the maturity. I feel like yesterday, you know, we're up on zero, you know, the majority of the game. And then we come out with a 2-0 win, you know, that's a lot of swagger to kind of hold the team off

and then finish the game in the third period and, you know, keep the team on their heels. I think that's playing with a lot of swagger. And I think just having the confidence in our room with the guys and, you know, again, like B stepping up in net. guys stepping up for injuries. You could tell that there's a lot of confidence in the room and it's good to see. Matthew, is your role changed or is like the flow of the game?

Sometimes when you play with the same guys, there's like a natural flow to it, and you played with last year Mitch and Austin. Without Mitch, does your role seem to change? Does it feel different on the ice without them out there? I don't necessarily think my role changes. Even compared to what line I'm on, I think it's, you know, I try to do the

same and play simple hard hockey and you know try to provide in any way possible whether it's special teams you know any you know situation or time of game you know I don't think really my role changes yeah it's obviously a little bit different without Mitch obviously he's an incredible passer and playmaker but I think we've had a lot of good players step up and playing big roles and I think you know I think Domes has done a great job on our line you know creating a lot of chances and then and producing offense. So, yeah, I mean, it's hard, you know, I miss Mitch, but I think we have a great team

and some great players, but, yeah, and I think we're doing well. I think we're, you know, starting to catch our stride in chemistry now. And so, yeah, I think we're going to have a great team in the second after. You know, just personally for you, it looks like your assist totals are going to be, you know, smashed this year about what you've done in the past. So, you know, I recognize Mitch is in there, but are you, are there maybe looking a little bit more to the middle tip dish or is it just the way kind of the puck's gone this year as far as maybe you being a better set up man than a shooter yeah i think again on it my role hasn't changed

i think it's just you know um how it's falling right now you know i think obviously i want to find the back on that a little bit more but um yeah again it's it's just how it's gone and um you know that just means that other guys are you know score and have the touch right now and um yeah I think everyone's kind of, you know, been doing a good job producing and, you know, creating offense. And so it's good to see that, you know, from all four lines and all three pairs of D, everyone's kind of chipping in. Well, chatting with Matthew Nyes, the Leafs coming off a big two-nothing win over Tampa

last night. They got San Jose later in a week and then Edmonton on Saturday. Does it, you know, we keep talking about it outside of the game, you know, the difficulty for a lot of players in the league and a lot of teams to just stay. healthy and stay fresh you know it's a condensed schedule it's an Olympic year we get to that in a moment because I'm sure you're on the radar for Bill Guerin and the USA team but how do you emphasize that or how have you approached it this year maybe compared to previous years you know the focus and being you know the ability to stay healthy and stay fresh yeah I think honestly through my short

experience so far in the NHL you kind of learn that there's there's so many resources out there to help you at both our practice facility or a game facility there's so many you know people there to help with you know any of the little things you need so you know there should be no reason that you should be able to keep yourself healthy and then and you know ready to play and obviously things that nature like injuries happen but yeah I think we just have all the resources to get you back there as quickly as possible and you know we're pretty fortunate to have the stuff we do and yeah you just got to take advantage of those on a daily basis and then take care yourself you know you properly and um yeah just rest the body uh i think is is important you know

it's it's um it's difficult there's you know the stretch of games where you know you're playing every other day so just taking care of yourself and getting proper rest is is vital has it felt any different this year being an olympic year and understanding that you know there's a lot of American Scouts in the stands and they're watching you, they're watching Austin, who's going, obviously. But how is the Olympic kind of cloud hanging over the season affected you, if at all? I don't think it's affecting me at all. You know, I don't really look at it in that sense. It's kind of weird to think that Sir Scouts at your game in the NHL, you know. I haven't really looked at it that way. I kind of just try to focus on my team here and focus

on helping and winning, and I think that kind of stuff will sort itself out. You know, that's out of my control. I can only control my work ethic, my ability to help this team. So that's the things I'm going to focus on. When you look around the league, it seems like there's a lot of teams all kind of with a lot of parity. Everyone's kind of close, right? Your four points out of first or four points out of last.

Is it the Olympics? Is it just maybe a lot of talent through this league? What do you attribute that to, Matthew? Yeah, that's a good question. You know, I think it's obviously been a little bit closer than the past, you know, two, three years I've been here. I think it's just every team's just getting really good now. There's a lot of good players and it makes it difficult. Like I think her conference is, you know, extremely strong.

I think every team has a reason to put themselves in the playoff spot. And so, yeah, I think it's going to be, it's going to be tight. You know, I think it's going to, you know, go down to those, you know, last few games. like it kind of has almost a little bit last year, but I think it's definitely going to matter this year with how close it is. But yeah, I don't know. I don't really have a good answer for you. It's just been really tight and some really good hockey games.

Well, we discuss your biggest rival all the time. And like O&I are from here, it's always been the HABS. It's always been Montreal, like forever. And, you know, the last 20, 25 years, Ottawa's gotten in there, Boston, now the two Florida teams, you know, do you have a team in particular that sticks out? Like when you play them, it just feels a little bit bigger than the others within your own division? I think, honestly, every team you mentioned just now from Tampa, Florida, Ottawa, Montreal.

It all feels like a playoff game with those guys. You know, I think, you know, we all seen them enough that, you know, you just kind of build that hatred. And, yeah, just every one of those games, you know, feels like a rivalry. So I'd say all four, honestly. Yeah. Maybe throw Edmonton in there. You only see him a couple times. times, but McDavid and the boys are here on Saturday.

And, again, it's a big week you guys playing on Thursday. You got San Jose here. You got Edmonton on Saturday. But today is an off day, I presume, for you guys. And you're using your time really well. A big community day at Amazon's Y, Y, YZ, Forest Center, where, again, Matthew Nize has helped present a $15,000 donation of essential items to local organizations, supporting families in need.

Obviously, a really, really cool initiative. Tell us how you got involved and why it's important to you, Matthew, to give back. yeah yeah um yeah Eric reached out of me from the PA and um I think it was just about a month ago and you know I said I was in I think uh every year growing up when I was a part of uh just my minor league team in the junior coyotes we'd always um spend a day at the Salvation Army and and just kind of pack and wrap gifts for um you know for those less fortunate and um that this was um something very very similar and tailored in the same aspect and yeah it just lined up perfectly that you know i could

have some free time and get to help out here and kind of just give back so um yeah i'm i'm happy with it it's been a good experience so far and uh yeah i'm you know looking forward to the rest of it here absolutely up at amazon's robotics powered fulfillment center so do you have like goggles on and gloves and work boots are you grinding right now or what's going on just gloves I was packing a few gifts, wrapping some stuff. There's a lot going on here. It's pretty loud, but, yeah, I'm trying to take it all in.

Ata boy. How's your wrapping abilities? Do you struggle with that or strong? It's horrible. It's horrible. It takes me a while to put together one box. Yeah, I hear you. Just put it in a bag.

Yeah, put it in a bag. Gift cards. Gift bags, the key. Exactly. Exactly. Well, congrats again on the win last night on a great season so far. And, you know, again, I think. thank you from the GTA for giving back today

and enjoy the rest of the day. We'll do it again down the road. Thank you for this. Yeah, of course. Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me. There he is, Matthew Nyes. Again, have himself a good year. And he and Matthews, they've played together pretty consistently. You know, Baruba, I think, flipped them for one game, maybe even half a game and said that's enough.

Like, those two are connected to the hip. And playing well. You know, and he's had a really good year, and we'll see. I don't, you know, I've seen different projections on what team USA is going to look like some people project he could make it, some maybe just on the outside looking in, but the fact that he's in the conversation is a real compliment. Yeah, and they also, there's the idea that they had some players, like I believe in the gold medal game, they scratch Kyle Connor.

They did. They did. I think it was a high-square American. High-score-American at that time. Right. Yeah, they went with big boys. Like, that's what they were looking for. That's what they thought they needed to be Canada, and he's six, three, two, 25.

Well, it would be interesting if they sat in a room, if you, like, get your hands on the footage of a documentary of them talking about what's the approach now. Is it the same? Is it changed? It's got to be somewhat similar. Like, we're talking about all the best players, like the systems and what they do and points. And we're talking about, and Connor McDavid and Mitch Marner proved it, we're talking about one play. Like, we're talking about get it in, get it out, make a play, don't make a play. that's what it all came down to the final game.

One play. One play. But in a tournament like that, everyone is average, except for maybe one, two, or three guys. And that's no disrespect to any of those guys on there. I mean, I would have looked like a beer leaker. So, you know, we think back to that tournament. There's two guys that look fast, McKinnon and McDavid.

Everyone else, they could do what they had to, but a lot of them became, in that level, almost role players, right? Just move the puck, and they can all make plays, but it's not the same. So you have to make sure, as you mentioned, managing that, puck and just waiting for that one time and Marner, you know, he made the perfect play at McDavid and he cashed in on it, but it could have easily gone the other way.

So, I mean, Matthew and I, if you're a least fan, I would want him to go really badly because I think it's huge for the young player's growth to be around those guys, even though he's with Matthews all the time, but I think he's probably in the conversation. He's in the chat, yeah, I don't know if he's going to make a good start. Yeah, he's

had a really good start. All right, more on now with Mike Johnson coming up. You mentioned, you know, Mitch Marner and his numbers are not jumping off the page in Vegas. We'll get into where he's at about a third of the way through the season as well. Confirm it, Denies still to come. And a crazy report on who the Rappers could kick tires on too.

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as well. The Rapplers NBA Cup quarter final tonight with the Knicks in town. Nix, like a five, five and a half point favorite. No R.J. Barrett. There's some injury concerns on both teams, but certainly with the Raptors, they've really cooled off. They've lost a few in a row. But maybe they could make a big trade, a blockbuster deal, and mix things up. Because according to Sharm Sharania of ESPN, the Raptors will be one of the teams kicking tires on your boy, Anthony Davis. Street clothes himself could make his way north of the border.

How could you possibly ever want to do that? I don't care how good the guy is, man. There's just no way you can do that. I agree. I mean, he's so enticing because when he plays, he's so good. He's so good, and he's exactly what they mean. But imagine acquiring somebody on just a real high-price ticket that you know sooner or later is going to be out for a lengthy amount of time.

You can't do it, man. It's a guarantee. Like, if you acquire him, he is not going to play. Dude, you can't have. The way I would look at it is you can't have Scotty Barnes even put eyes on that guy just to get an appetite that that's out there that you can do that, man. Can't do it. Right.

Can't do it. Who are you bringing into the headhouse? Oh, you can just kind of, you can play when you want and kind of pull the pin and just leave for months at a time. Whether it gets nice. He's teeing it up somewhere, right? He's all of a sudden playing. You cannot let Scotty Barnes put eyes on that at all.

Frustrating team. teammate. He'd be a frustrating teammate because you know you need that. When he's rolling, your team is different. When he's sitting on the bench, you're like, are you ready to play? Like, it's not good. Well, and he makes so much money too, right, that if he's on your team, there's guys that are going to have to go, and there's only so much more you can expect out of the flexibility of the roster, you know, and listen, he's a great player. But we have talked about him, like street clothes, which Charles Barkley gave him that name. It's one of the all-time great nicknames and it's the most accurate one because he's just always in street

clothes he's never playing he's always just sitting around in street clothes um i uh i just couldn't do it man i couldn't wrap my head around that and even though perfect world it would be a brilliant piece i just can't get there and i'm with you i don't want any part of it oh i don't want any that's my main reason i would get to i cannot have scotty barns looking at that please don't please Stone. All right, Mike Johnson coming up on the leaf wind last night. The Oilers turned on the corner. The Canucks got pumped by Detroit at home last night. It keeps getting uglier out there in Vancouver. So we'll touch on that a little bit as well. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandul. Fandul, bringing you everything from

the opening line to the final score. The lights are twinkling. The playlist. Sparkling. I Heart the Holidays is here. Canada's home for Christmas music with non-stop festive favorites, 24-7. Gifted to you by Sleep Country. Turn it up and unwrap the holidays everywhere you go. Just ask your smart speaker to play IHart the Holidays. Or stream it anytime, anywhere on the free IHart Radio app.