OverDrive - OverDrive - February 4, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes and Frank Corrado for Hour 3 on OverDrive! Toronto Blue Jays Pitcher Chris Bassitt joins to discuss his outlook for the season, the impact of the team signing Max Scherzer and finding improvements on the team. TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joins to discuss Max Domi's elevated role with Mitch Marner out of the lineup, the Maple Leafs' blue line strength and the Eastern Conference race and Bryan hands out the FanDuel Best Bets.

This February, I Heart Radio celebrates Black History Month by amplifying the voices that define black excellence. Reflect upon and celebrate history and culture. From curated playlists celebrating iconic black artists to powerful podcasts. My grandmother marched with Martin Luther King. And Black History Month Radio. We're shining a light on the music, stories and culture that inspire us all. Black history is our history. Celebrate with us. History to make it.

Listen on the free iHeartRadio app. Final hour, Overdrive continues powered by FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Brian, Brian Hayes. I haven't jammed up my own name in a while. I almost masked up my own name with Frankie Corrado. Brian Hayes and Frankie Carrado. Hazy B.

Hazy B, maybe that's what I was thinking. Yeah. Going with Hazy B. But Chris Bassett will join us here in a moment of the Blue Jays. We've got Mike Johnson coming up later in the hour. Leafs flames tonight, right? Should be an electric crowd, I would think, on TSM4.

It will be. Always is. It will be. Yep, and then Leafs in Seattle Thursday and Vancouver on Saturday. It's a good opportunity, man, to just keep winning games, crowd i would think on tl always is it will be yep and at least in seattle thursday in vancouver on saturday a good opportunity manages keep winning games keep banking points like it feels like teams in eastern conference have traded going streaking you know like detroit's one games columbus is one games new york's plan

better although they're out of it uh... ottawa continues to win i guess it's a good time for them to just rack up some points and have that currency in the bank. It can't hurt you at this point in the year. No and you're facing Dustin Wolfe tonight and Doogie I guess dug up the stat that when he's coming off a loss the guys unbeaten like he's 4-0, 937 save percentage. But he's a kid right and there haven't been a ton of options or opportunities for him to bounce back.

I mean, they have gone back and forth. Darth Liddar was playing, I think, over the weekend. Yeah. Right. This guy is going to be like in the Rookie of the Year talk. Dustin Wolf, for sure. He's going to be top three. Yeah.

Well, you got Hudson and Celebrini tonight. You're doing that game, Montreal and San Jose. First time they're playing against each other, former college teammates. Yeah. I think they're excited. Sure. I think those are the three.

I think it's those two. I think even Mitch Goff has fallen off in Philly right he had that great start dude you can't be a guy that's like healthy scratched or getting benched and win rookie of the year now you can't play seven hours a night and torts is yelling at you every other night you know good rookie season for sure but not rookie of the year no tortorella alone did not give him that opportunity to be up for the rookie of the year. No, Tortorella alone did not give him that opportunity to be up for the rookie of the year. Like, Torch just won't allow you to do it. Where Hudson's playing 26 minutes a night,

regardless of how he's playing that night. He has, yeah. Like, he plays every single night, and he plays big minutes, and Celebrini's in a very similar spot, because San Jose is just, they are committing to tanking, like, year after year after year.

They're accumulating a lot of picks, they can have a ton of cap space. They are committing to tanking year after year after year. They're accumulating a lot of picks. They can have a ton of cap space. I think next year, their second or third, as it currently stands in terms of cap space, I don't know how much they're willing to spend going into next year. I could see Miko Rantanen, maybe,

do they kick tires on that? Mitch Marner if he gets there. San Jose, if I'm both of those teams, I'm looking at some of these big free agents and I'm like, I have so much money for you. Right. Why wouldn't you? And they have a lot, again, of young talent coming and it's just a matter of when you

think you can turn the corner. That's the question. Like Chicago and San Jose are both bottom of the barrel right now. They have been for a couple of years. One's got Bedard, one's got Celebrini. It's gonna be a race to see who gets out of the basement. And how quickly it can happen. Like we were talking about with Vladi,

you know, like if Toronto doesn't commit to Vladi because maybe they're worried about, you know, what it looks like long-term, guess what, man? There's always a team that's more desperate. And in the NHL, where there's a lot of parity, caps going up, these teams that had a lot of cap space are going to have even more cap space. And I don't like, I'm not there yet as far as buying into well small market teams, especially in the States, are not going to be able to keep up with this cap rising.

It wouldn't be going up if they weren't in a healthy position financially, all these teams. And if there's one thing that we've learned about Gary Bettman over the years is that He is willing to protect the slowest moving of his Assets, you know like the the teams that are the small market teams He is willing to protect those guys first and foremost. He doesn't have to worry about the Toronto New York Like those aren't his concern it's just who my who my protecting that needs the most help and so the fact that this is going up the way it is tells me those teams are in good shape yeah at least to get to the floor at a minimum I mean that

that's what it has to be in franchise values are going up and up and up as well right that never that always gets lost on people that oh these poor owners based on the CBA they have to pay a certain amount of money well if they were to sell the team they would make it all back plus hundreds of millions of dollars and I saw someone tweet out earlier courtesy of a Spodrak which is a website that tracks contracts you know around sports or across sports as of today projected cap space for next year the Winnipeg jets are actually at the top the list which surprised me but

San Jose is is to Columbus is three Carolinas for you get Chicago in there yet Calgary in there you got Buffalo in their Anaheim in their like there's a common denominator the bad teams a lot of the bad teams Carolina's obviously a great team Dallas is in there they're very good team but there's a common denominator, the bad teams, a lot of the bad teams, Carolina's obviously a great team, Dallas is in there, they're a very good team. But there's a lot of smaller markets or teams that are just not that good,

that don't have players to spend on. And if the cap's gonna go up by eight or nine million this year and then by like 15 the year after that, and it's just gonna keep going and going and going, that you gotta get players. And if they expand, which we think is gonna happen and it gets to 34 teams, then it's even more of a rat race to get players. Yeah, and if they expand which we think is going to happen and gets to 34 teams Then it's even more of a rat race to get the guys. There's not enough guys to make eight million dollars

Yeah Like there's just they're gonna pay guys a lot of money that don't deserve to make that much money and that some of that's Going to be based on what we saw in like the old cap Let's call it like old cap world that we just are coming out of compared to the new cap world But i'm sorry like 32 teams already when we get to 34 there's going to be guys that make way too much money for what they are. Well you got to fill out a roster and you got to hit the floor like and if you're a new team a new owner you probably want to spend and the expansion rules are obviously different now with what happened

with Vegas and Seattle it's definitely much more advantageous for a new owner now to expand into the league and to have at least a hope at getting some talented players. But if you're in a new market you got to prove that you're in it to win it right away. So you're gonna have to spend and Seattle's going through right like I had trouble. They had the success in their second year and everyone was on board and yeah it wasn't Vegas but it was really good and they're not there. No they're going the opposite. Yeah. Quite frankly and now Yanni Gord's hurt and they got rid of Gru Bauer like they're making up for

some of the mistakes they made right off the bat they splashed too much money too early again on the wrong guys. You know Gru Bauer in particular like that's just a horrible contract. Yeah. Like it just it was crushing the second that he never showed even that second year when they went to the playoffs I don't think it was really him. Well, they were they kind of won in spite of him at that point Like both goalies were him and Drieger maybe I was gonna say yeah, they were both like sub 900 guys I don't want to run over Drieger I can't remember if it was him but group hour was there for sure

He was some about was definitely there and it wasn't good enough Yeah, but there's gonna be a lot of money. And again, if you're a free agent, what that means is you feel pretty comfortable if you're not gonna get it with your respective team, you're gonna get it from someone else. Like if you're Ranton and if you're Marner, even if you're John Tavares is different because of his age, you're not getting a seven

or eight year deal from anybody. Like the only way that happens is if it's a Chris Tanev type thing. Like seven years but it's three and a half million so it spreads out it's the same amount of cash and you stay in the league. I'm not sure why John would accept that. I can't, I don't think that will be on the table for him. But like John Tavarez, let's say he hits free agency and the Leafs are like we're going to go a different direction. There will be four or five teams at least competing for his services. well think about what's and willing to pay him a good amount of money no kidding think about what Stamcoast got and and I'm not saying Tavares would get the Stamcoast

contractor the Stamcoast money but he'll get Stamcoast percentage of the cap which means that kind of money you know with the increase that were well then he might get even more than right and Stamcoast the increase that we're, we're going to see. Well, then he might get even more than, than StampCoast. Right. But like, if you're, if you're paying, let's say you wanted him to be your third line center. Traditionally under this, you know, this cap that we've been living in, it's like, you could give your third line center 5% of the cap and be okay with that. That's what, like five to $6 million somewhere in that range. Less than that if it's 88, but yeah, it's like four, 4.2, something like that.

Right. Like, so, you know, 5% of the cap moving forward is gonna give them, I don't know, does it give them six million? It might, yeah. If it's gonna be up around 97 or 98 or whatever it is. Like if you use the Nugent Hopkins contract, like he's five and change, and he was, you know, you could call him a third line center on that team.

That's, you know, so that means he's making more than that. Yeah, and the way you can squeeze even more money is if you're going to a team that needs to spend, right, that has so much cap room, they have to fill it out and is in a desperate position because they don't ever sign free agents. Now, the thing that could change that, if John has made a lot of money,

and if he looks at it and says a little bit of like a Brandon Saad, hey do I need to go for the most money or do I want to stay in Toronto or do I want to win a championship like you're weighing all those things. Absolutely. He might be at the point where he's like this it's just Toronto and no one else. Yeah. But if Toronto says sorry it's not us then he's gonna he's gonna play somewhere. Well I mean Toronto I think would say it's us but this is the dollar amount and it's yeah a little more modest Yeah, I don't think they would completely Shut the door. I guess I don't know man. I don't I don't know

I I think you got to play the playoffs and yeah, I look at it through through my lens My lens is not the lens of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, right? Brendan Shanahan the way that he's operated and the way that they've run this team is that they generally have just committed to these guys. They love these guys. I'm preparing for that. I think every Leaf fan should prepare for it regardless of what happens come playoff time. You prepare for Marner and Tavares to return. That's generally the way the Leafs have operated and history would suggest that's how they will continue to operate. But if they if they hold court

here and wait until the playoffs play out, if it goes well that opens the door to so many different things clearly. If it goes poorly again and they lose again in the first round, I mean I would address I would look at that and say it's this is an opportunity to completely reshape my team and let Tavares walk let Marner walk maybe you put Riley up for trade and you look at it and you say we've got Matthews we got Nylander we got Tanev we got McCabe and we got two goalies. What else do we got? I think you're gonna keep Nyes, clearly. Yeah.

Oh, he'll get a, he'll get paid. He'll get paid a four or five year deal. And he's an RFA, and they're gonna pay him, and obviously there are guys that are gonna stick around. You're not gonna turn over your whole roster. But you can weaponize this cap space, man. I was saying that last week.

There's gonna be so much room room and it's a daunting task it's an uncomfortable one and it doesn't guarantee you anything in the end but if you do it right man the payoff could be extreme now the thing is like you're gonna have all this cap space and that's great you just have to hope there's a crop of free agents that are worth spending the money on well I mean like that you got to be patient the two worlds have to collide there and that's what makes it difficult I understand that and that's what's so complicating here about you know

approaching a long-term contract that big money is once you sign it that's it like you you've made your bed that's the That's the team that you're going forward with. Right? Like Dallas just did that with Luka. They're like, we're just not going to make our bed like that. We're not going to get in bed with $350 million where that's it. Then we don't have any other option but building around it. Once you give it out, you're in. Because what comes with it in this league, in the NHL, is no move, no trade, everything. Like it's just, everything's in the hands of the player. Think about what Carolina did. Like they moved off Rantanen. Well, Colorado brought in Natchez. So they still brought in a player that keeps them right in the thick of things.

Yes. Luca moves on from Dallas. Well, they brought in Anthony Davis. So like they still have something. That's the thing about free agency, much as you have the money I understand the world's worlds have to collide Jerry worlds have to collide and you got to trust that you can get the right players and that they're gonna sign and that you're gonna make the right trades maybe that you have players coming through the farm system I get it's very complicated and I'm living in this idealistic world but I guess what I'm

saying is I hope everything's on the table and we'll see how it all plays out now like we've been we've been talking a lot about pitchers and catchers arriving because of the flatty negotiations but also because of all of the moves the Blue Jays have been making recently including late last week signing Max Scherzer to a one-year deal and pitchers and catchers report next Thursday which means the guy on the line right now he's preparing for that and signing Max Scherzer to a one-year deal. And pitchers and catchers report next Thursday, which means the guy on the line right now, he's preparing for that.

And you're convinced, Frank, he athletes in 2025, they're already in game shape. Already, wow. No one's trying to lose weight. No one's trying to get into the gym last minute and make sure that they're toned. Dude, let's just say this guy on the line, he's not sweating it out in a sauna,

trying to shed every last morsel of weight. This guy's dialed in and he's ready to go okay here's blue jay starting pitcher Chris Bassett back on overdrive can you confirm that Chris you're in tip-top shape and you're ready for the scale ready for the physical day one of spring training yeah I'm always the opposite guy right I get yelled at for being underweight because I'm chasing two kids around and things like that. So yeah, never too worried about being in shape. It's more so trying to get fat. Trying to get the dad bod, so to speak.

I heard you talking about Luca, so I'm trying to be more like Luca. That's the play, man. Everyone's trying to be like Luca now, right? Especially in LA, he's got Hollywood. Yeah, the dad bod. I guess that would be a thing, right? Are you familiar with the skinny dad bod You know what that means like the skinny fat guy. Oh, yeah

Yeah, is that how you define your own body type Chris I Wish I can have a belly I Somehow my metabolism is still going so okay so far so far nothing there. I'm jealous man I got two kids and it's that's an issue for me but I'm not reporting to camp again in in ten days and as you get closer to spring training again February 13 next Thursday you guys arrive in Dunedin what with the turnover that comes every single year now you got Scherzer rolling through town you got Jimenez coming in you got Santander you've got you you've got all these moves,

Jeff Hoffman, obviously Garcia's back. Like as a veteran in the clubhouse, how much of early in the spring is about just relationships and about seeing the guys, getting used to having new guys around? How much of the preparation, at least early in spring, is about the camaraderie and team building? Yeah, I mean, I would say the biggest thing through spring is just, we obviously have an older group.

So I would say the biggest thing is, like you said, kind of improving relationships, growing relationships, but then also just staying healthy and just understanding. We have a veteran group, so I don't think it's gonna be an issue one bit, but just ramping up the right way and just understanding it's a long, long year. Now going into your third year now with the Blue Jays, how comfortable do you feel here in the city with your game, how it's evolved?

How's your overall feel for Toronto and being a member of the Blue Jays? Yeah, very comfortable. Obviously, me and Pete Walker, we've grown together, understanding each other, understanding kind of what I need, understanding what kind of he needs from me, and then obviously the relationships with all the other starters and all the other players.

So it's nice to, to just walk into spring training and just have to learn like two or three names or just understanding, so to speak, everyone else in the clubhouse. That's a nice feeling. So Max Scherzer is a guy you're familiar with. You knew him in New York, obviously he's an all time great, you know, he's going to Cooperstown, having a guy like that, you know, in the clubhouse, arriving in spring, how much value do you place in the arrival of Max Scherzer?

Yeah, massive. He's been there. He's done that. He's a world champion. I think he's a Hall of Famer very, very soon. I think bringing in a guy of his caliber can only help. I mean, even the veteran guys, like the veteran guys, I think baseball is kind of one of those things where if you stop learning, so to speak, then you're kind of falling behind. So I think the biggest thing is kind of bringing those guys in that can continue to push you and continue understanding kind of the game more than what you even know. So yeah, I understood a lot of baseball and then I got around him in New York and then all of a sudden I felt like I was rookie again. So I think he's gonna really help not just our pitchers, but like I said, Pete,

he's going to help our front office. He's going to help a lot of people out. And you talked about this being a veteran group and guys leaning on each other. How much talk has there been over the off season about just getting back into the mix, climbing up the standings? Is there a level of excitement around the group coming into this season? Yeah, I mean, I would say, I mean, obviously there was a lot of pissed off people last year. And the reality was, I think it was just not so much mad at each other and all like that. It was more so just mad at the situation. And we fully expected to, we fully expected to compete for a World Series and we just fell short of that.

So the reality of it all is I think it's just more so excitement for this year and just getting back to what we kind of think we should be. We're chatting with Blue J starter Chris Bassett. The turnover obviously not only Scherzer, I mentioned Jeff Hoffman's coming in, Garcia's back in the bullpen, you signed Son Tandere. There's a belief that Ross in the front office is still pursuing other guys who are out there in free agency. You know, last year you win 74 games. You just said everyone was kind of pissed off. You fell short of expectations. The additions that have been made this off season much how much value do you place in them how much

better of a team do you believe you guys are on paper today compared to maybe game 162 in September yeah I mean a lot better I think it's it's it's kind of night and day just in the aspect of have obviously Santander is an absolute massive upgrade for kind of what we what we needed and what we were dealing with and then obviously adding adding the pieces in the bullpen and so just like adding Max Scherzer and things like that I mean yeah I think we're a much better team we're much better team now than we were well and I should mention Jimenez coming in,

Andreas Jimenez as well as a starter, as a pitcher, A plus plus plus defensive second baseman. How much joy did you take in hearing that Jimenez will be playing second base for you guys this year? Yeah. Yeah, I'm a ground ball pitcher. Man, when we went to Cleveland and saw him play it was like

Holy moly. I mean, I think we could potentially have I don't think it's a stretch at all I think we have the two best defenders and all baseball with Varsha and him. So Luckily, we have one in the infield one the outfield. So Yeah, I think it's gonna be a really fun year for the pitchers that just trust in the defense and, one in the outfield. So yeah, I think it's going to be a really fun year for the pitchers of just trusting the defense and letting them kind of do their thing. You know, we talk about Vladdy so much and the brilliant season that he had last year. How much from your eye have you seen Vladdy grow from the time that you've gone to Toronto

and to the end of last season? Yeah, I mean, it's crazy how good he is and how young he is. There's so much back and forth when it comes to baseball, when it comes to, you think you have the game figured out, then all of a sudden the pitchers are like, wait a second, no, we're going to figure you out again. So for him to kind of go to the ups and downs, understanding kind of what he needs off the field, understanding what he needs training room-wise, strength training-wise, and for him just to grow

in all those categories so fast at young age, it's very, very impressive. I think obviously the sky is the absolute limit for him and what he could possibly become. Because I mean mean he's already One of the best players in the world And I think he can be better honestly in which way do you do you see that happening? Where do you see him? Improving which parts of his game I

Would say this everything I think I think the games kind of came so easy to him it's it's kind of one of those things where it's just like, he's just doing things, he doesn't really understand why he's doing them or how he's doing them. I think all the, I kind of think all the greats are somewhat like that, but he's definitely in one of those categories

where he just, he has the ability and the talent to do things that other people are not able to do. I think the more and more he understands the game where it's, oh, pitchers are trying to do this to me, they're trying to do that to me, and just understand every single pitch type and like pitch, pitcher like the ups and downs when it comes to VELO and it comes to like spin rate and all that, all the nerdy stuff when it comes to VELO and it comes to like spin rate and all that all the nerdy stuff when it comes to baseball once he really starts to kind of dive into all that stuff I think he's gonna be an absolute monster but I already think he is. With Chris Bassett how much of that do you study in terms of your

own performance you know spin rate underlying numbers you know the obvious ones are in front of you wins losses ERA strikeouts walks all that kind of stuff But how often do you pursue it in terms of what else is kind of you know below the surface so to speak? I would say I kind of do like Every like three or four weeks. I kind of look at them just It's more so just to make sure they're they're at where they're supposed to be It's not so just to make sure they're at where they're supposed to be. It's not so much I'm kind of past the point of tinkering.

Now it's refining all my pitches. I know I have a whole bunch of them, but now it's more so just making sure my sinker movement is correct, making sure just all the movements are correct, the arm slots correct, understanding kind of where my body needs to be, understanding how many innings I'm at and what I need to do off the field with the strength staff. But I mean, our strength staff and our basically Hosey, our trainer, and then obviously Scott Weberg, our strength coach, They're unbelievable and I honestly give a lot of credit to them just because again we're an older group but me, Gazi and Berrios have been very, very reliable and when

it comes to every fifth day we're taking the ball so yeah hats off to them just to constantly keep us in shape and keep us kind of where we need to be. You throw a lot of different types of pitches. I remember that being the the storyline when you got to Toronto and you know now that you've you're going into your third year you still kind of sticking with the the big variety or is there something different on the menu for Chris Bassett this year? No, I just kind of alluded to I think it's more so just refining our pitches. I don't think adding a pitch anymore is a good idea. Now it's just, like I said, refining them, making sure they're all correct.

I think adding more is just going to take away from something else, and I think less is more kind of at this career. Rather than adding. I mean, we could easily see something from a subtraction point rather than an addition point. Well, Chris, we're getting close, man. Pitchers and catchers, it's incredible. Like does the off season, does it feel longer or shorter

as you go on in your career? No, well, it felt really long with no kids. Now with two kids, it feels I blinked in spring training tears, so No, I I love the offseason being able to spend time with family But I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm itching to get back to to playing every day Absolutely, it'll be here before you know it. Good luck with that and really appreciate you doing this. Thank you, Chris Thank you. There's a Chris Bassett of the Toronto Blue Jays and man they got a veteran staff like they really do with Gosman and Barrios and now Scherzer and you presume the fifth

starter is Bowden Francis and based on how he pitched in August and September if he's anything close to that, that was ace like stuff. Like his numbers were phenomenal. I think you gotta be reasonable in terms of what you're expecting out of him this year. But very veteran approach, right? Like just get to know each other, get in there, take it slow, stay healthy, be ready.

It's a long grind. Yeah. The marathon. It's good that they're a veteran group. You also want to see them perform like a veteran group you know i mean like i don't know like there it felt like not to say that they were it's not an immature group it's it's far from that they just he said it like they just

they didn't mean expectations last year for whatever reason there was there's a lot of guys that uh... didn't perform to the capabilities that they can and i don't know with with a veteran group you'd like to see that in terms i'd be curious to see the number and i don't know this i would have to believe they're one of the five or six most expensive rotations in baseball

and it's a top ten payroll like they're they're being paid a lot of money and it's spread out but like osmonds making money Bassett's making 20. I think Barrios is making 25. Scherzer's in here making 15 Francis won't be making much money, but the four veterans would be making. 80 million combined. You know something like that like it's a lot of money that's being directed towards that rotation and you gotta get what you pay for in a league that's almost two-tiered of

teams that have money in teams that don't they are way closer to the teams that have money in a willing to spend money absolutely we know they're willing to spend i like this haven't been able to catch the big fish up right these flames tonight on tsn four and mike johnson will join us to t up back in will catch up with johnnie next rafters next tonight down at Scotiabank. Raptors only, what, four and a half point dog, I think.

RJ Barrett won't play, five and a half now. But they're coming off a big win against the Clippers. They've been playing well recently. And the Leafs are out in Calgary playing the Flames tonight. So you got the Raptor game right in to the Maple Leaf game. The perfect setup tonight. Game on TSN4, let's head out to Calgary. Here's our TSN hockey analyst Mike Johnson. Johnny, what are you expecting in terms of Leaf fan representation tonight? I think it's going to be pretty strong. Although Hayes, we had this

conversation last week, I sided with Noodles. I might have been swayed from what I saw in Edmonton where I thought there was a Bolt load. Yeah, we fans in the crowd way more than I remembered you may have been right there Hey, so we'll see what happens tonight, but there'll probably be lots of fans here for the Leafs Like they're always are across Canada. Yeah for sure and I saw Lombard talking about it I think Ryan Husker was talking about like they're just so disappointed. I gotta stop with this though Like I know you gotta stop asking. We We know man like there's Leaf fans everywhere do we need to berate the home team with questions about this thing? Like wait Frankie when I played in Arizona we didn't get the ask these questions when Detroit came to town hey how about all those Red Wing fans did I bug you? No we're just like yeah it's the reality but when the Leafs came to town we did get those questions. I don't know what it's about Toronto I think

it's just it's the people love that Toronto was hated. You know what I mean? Like people like the Leafs but they also thrive on the fact that Leafs are despised by some fan base or some fans and I think it's a I don't know it's an easy story to latch on to but you're right like Lombard yeah we got to shut them up and it'd be great to shut them up. You know whatever. It is true though that that is the essence of it i don't know if you need to throw a latch onto but you're right i go on for gavita shot of mopping every great meeting child upward i can't you know whatever it is a little bit that is the essence of it it's not the maple leaves its toronto as well in the fact that

the tron a media is asking everyone's buzz about it and people to show up or to your point like people in arizona they don't hate detroit but i don't know if boston there were they might need new york like new york may play that role, possibly, but not Detroit. But here it is about, well, here comes Toronto and blah, blah, blah. Yet it sounds like it'll be Wolf against Wolt tonight. And Marner could be out. Ekman-Larsen could be out. Game time decisions. If Marner's out and Domi steps in, how big of an opportunity is this for him to play with Matthews and Matthew Nines? I mean I think it's huge and I think I mean Mitch Marner hasn't been on the ice in two straight days so he may be a game-time

decision but unless he has a wicked flu, if it's some sort of injury and you don't skate since Saturday, he was on the ice at the end of the game on Saturday and then he hasn't been on the ice since. So the takeoff Sunday, Monday, all day Tuesday, I mean I would be surprised if he plays. And for Max, it's a massive opportunity. You know, somewhere he never said it. He never said it out loud, never cared himself like it. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he must have been thinking, man, I was top five

in the league last year in primary assists, often had 69 goals. We lit it up when we were together. And yet I haven't really got a sniff to play with him this year. I've been asked to play center. I've done it as best I can with a good attitude but it's not his best position. This is his best position. Offensive line with a stud two-way center man who could score boatloads of goals. That's where he's at his best. That's where Max Dolmy can sort of show value in his game and value on his contract. And he might only get one game run here.

I don't know how long, if Marner doesn't play, he'll be out. But it's a huge opportunity to remind everyone, as the Leafs form their team down the stretch and who plays where and what they look like post-deadline, him playing in the top six, him playing with Matthew specifically, is a viable option.

If you were Coach MJ and you had a little one-on-one sit down with Max Domey, what would you tell him he needs to do tonight to have success? So Max, if I'm talking to Max, I say, Max, your entire game is based off power. And I need more power out of your game. That doesn't mean you fighting people. That means you skating. You got to skate more with the puck more assertively. Take the puck and strive to places that you're trying to get to. Then you can work the perimeter. Then you can work the edges in space. Then you can look for Austin. But you got to move. Get your moving.

That's what I need to see from you And if you do that everything else will just make sense to you whether to shoot where to the path Where to give it Austin or whatever gonna do with it, but you've got to move You have to be strong and confident and move with the puck decisively If you do that, then the talent will take over and and if you play with those guys, you'll be successful. I Don't think we brought this up yesterday, but Jake McKay played 30 minutes on Saturday night. 30 minutes. And they would have played every minute against McDavid if they could set it up that way. Man, this guy's playing well. And when he pairs with Tanev, it is a lights-out pairing. You know, there's a lot of focus on riley and who he's gonna play with

but one thing you can't dispute johnny is like ten of them and mccabe that that is just an outstanding pairing and other teams i'm sure terrified to go up against the job or said oh do you know yes god that i'm sure it's got that vital old-school not c brooking chief but i put both two guys together who are mostly defensive, but it could completely impact a game with their defense. I mean, they went up against Connor and Leon

for most of the game and did a good job. Throw the entire game against those guys, which almost nobody can say. The real challenge is, Hayes, is you're right. And the coaches know it and the organization knows it. And they're like, okay, we want to put those guys on the next every other shift. The question is what do we do? Who comes next? That's the issue right now. How do they make the most of whatever comes

next? Because it's a lot easier if you say okay well you know Jake you play with yeah that's been Larson and then Chris you play with Morgan and then we kind of spread the wealth a little bit but if you want to load up and it's a different way of loading up and to lock down defensive guys but also they don't just lock down defensive Frank and appreciate this like you can be a defensive defenseman but you can also be defensive for your own team like you can kill plays for your own squad and these guys don't do that they kill plays for the other team but then they also facilitate offense for their own they're yeah but the other thing like if you're Craig Berube I know it's super tight you can't

really think about the playoffs. I don't want to be riding those guys 30 minutes a night for six weeks heading into the playoffs because that's what I'm doing once I get to the playoffs. I think both of them are older, both of them are rugged, play hard minutes, they're not beautiful skaters either one of them. I would be mindful of the minutes because I don't want to wear them out before we get to crunch time down the stretch Johnny no one could kill a play for his own team like me. Thank you Nade of a pass to a guy wide open for icing like me, buddy No, I was thinking Jamie McCallum my old man

He could throw him off the glass by your ear with the best career and won multiple cups with it the original 34 man Matthew said ask him for a number yeah I thought yeah um and the stash go ahead continue the Leafs power play can they continue to recreate the types of goals that they scored against Edmonton? Like, Knives gets one, he's banging around, around the front of the net, he's got good hands. McMahon, downhill, around the net, in tight, he scores. Like, that seems to be a pretty good recipe because a lot of the other stuff gets taken away. Can they continue to produce those types of goals?

I mean, yes. Yes. I mean, it's gotta be. Entry will be harder without Marner. He's sort of a guy who quiets everything down and gets possession. But I think the idea, Frankie, of the balance between, not every, you don't take every shot you can get. Right, that's not good power play philosophy. Not every shot's a good shot. But I think bringing a shooting mentality more often is something the Leafs need to

do on their power play. You know, I was like, in the last like two months, they're like 28th in the league in shots per minute on the power play. They just don't shoot very often. So I think when you want to get those, you talk about the plays in front, going downhill, driving the net, rebounds, tips, traffic. That comes with possession and then shots from appropriate areas in appropriate ways. But not always looking for that perfect

through the seam back door. Because teams take that away. They're good at it. They understand what the Leafs are trying to do and they make it difficult. So I think a shooting mentality will help them, Frankie, replicate what they did well against Edmonton. And I just loved pre in the game today. And the last four games, the least score a power play goal, score an

0. The last four games where they don't, 0-4. They don't score a lot 5-on-5, right? So, like, the power play has got to be a difference maker offensively. And when it is, they generally win. That's how important it is. But Mike Johnson... we had a confirmed and i earlier that i will propose to you confer or deny both the auto was senators and the detroit red wings will make the playoffs that i

that i had a strong tonight i saw that coming from a mile away love it's i'd love it so continue i mean i i think i is very good and I think Ottawa is legit. Especially Omar coming back if he picks up where he left off before he was hurt. The fact that their game is founded in defense and not offense gives them staying power. I'm just worried about Detroit because when you go for a run, we're the best team in the league for six weeks after a new coach comes and that gets you to eighth place by a point. Yeah. At some point that's you to eighth place by a point, at some point

that's going to cool down. At some point it's going to go the other way and they haven't built in enough buffer to get away with whatever that dry patch looks like for them. So I would just say one and not the other and the one would very likely be Ottawa in my mind. All right. You want a little Jerry's after dark, Johnny? Yes.

All right. I want Boston, Tampa, New York. Alright, you want a little Jerry's after dark Johnny? Yeah, all right Jerry's go for it Boston Tampa, New York. What is your Jerry's that two out of those three teams missed the playoffs? Whoo, I'd say good. That's a good one Two out of the three I'd say 65% We were right right in the range. We had between 65 to 75% Yeah, I mean mean I think New York is a fine team but you know you're getting down to 25 games there five six

seven points out there's four teams to get over that's hard to do of course the team they need to get over if they do get over to one of those two teams you're just talking about so one of those teams is not gonna make it and Tampa has the advantage of of games in hand but But again, I was looking at Tampa and like what's Tampa's plus goal difference? That's like plus 34. Boston is minus 26 or whatever. It's like 60 goal difference, but they have the same number of points. But I'm checking. So So Tampa has the second most wins by three or more goals. So when they win, they pile it on. Six one, five two, seven three, whatever it is. They are 26th in the league in one goal games. So they lose close ones, win huge ones, which is not sort of what you associate with a proven

winning team like you think Tampa is. So I just I don't know if that's a great recipe the close ones they're not very good at they don't get any depth scoring they're built as top-heavy as Toronto with probably not quite as good of a defensive system and that's why they're on the outside looking in kind of feel like they're gonna get there I'm almost more worried about Boston but the numbers stack up in a strange way for Tampa this year Yeah, that those are fascinating numbers man Well, and like you said we're running out of time here

Like it's at some point you just got it call it what it is Like the Rangers are a great example that we were saying this earlier Johnny. They haven't been in a playoff spot in months Like this isn't like they've lost ten in a row and now it's like what happened here and they were great three weeks ago They have not been in the race really legitimately for quite some time and At some point I think you just got to call it as it is like they they may be running out of time and Boston Tampa, there's there's a lot left though. There's a lot of runway and we'll see how it goes So so close so so close. Yes, it's not like you're making up seven points if you're Boston or Tampa, you're making up one or two. Which is more than doable.

And you're doing it against, let's be honest, it's not like Detroit or Ottawa have a great history, recent history of success in tight moments. So we'll see how they do down the stretch. But I just, it's the defense for Ottawa that makes me a believer in them. They're a top six or seven team defensively, which kind of gives you room to go dry or to go for some rough catches because you got mole-tenning and defense.

Yep, and Allmark is confirmed returning tonight down in Tampa. So there you go. All right, Johnny, have a good call tonight. We'll do it again later in the week. All right, fellas. Have a good day. Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst, leaves flames on TSN4 tonight. 9 p.m. puck drop. Eastern time. You like 9 p.m.? I can for tonight 9 p.m. hot drop Eastern time like disappoint I can do it 9 p.m. like 9 p.m. actually I love a 9 p.m. because I have Mike I got two kids as you know bedtime it kind of hover it especially if I'm in the studio and I'm not gonna get home until a certain time there's some interaction there clearly and then they're bouncing off the walls.

You try to settle. Hopefully they shut it down by 8 30 8 45 right into the game. Perfect for me. That's perfect for me. Yeah. Because if it's a seven o'clock or seven 30 it's usually okay. I'm going to watch the first. They're going to try to get up. I got to pause the game. Like it just gets complicated. I got to get the PVR. Yeah, it gets complicated. But 9 p.m., I won't miss anything. That's perfect. Perfect for me. Perfect. You might even make a little tasty treat, little snack. Oh yeah, I got big plans tonight.

This is my Super Bowl tonight. I can't wait for the 9 p.m. So few 9 p.m. games that you gotta like, you gotta plan something in advance. Because the Seattle game's 10, I think. Like I think like that extra hours like okay now we're getting into a point where I'll probably be tired by the third period there is a middle like the 9 p.m. is perfect done at 1130 1140 I can wait for the post game Duffy and the boys will be on fire tonight it's great dude I just I love the

fact that like you're thinking there's a snack happening. Oh, I got plans man But it all day. I got plans. I got big plans I'm gonna dim the lights and it's gonna get romantic tonight. I can't wait for this 9 p.m. Game Overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN to all right today's best bets are powered by Fandil Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay and seconds in the Fando sportsbook. Yeah Leaves money line Austin Matthews four plus shots on goal. That's paying plus 154. It's a small number. It's a smaller play But I like the leaves tonight. I think again, they kind of survived on Saturday, but it was a gutsy win. They had a great start

They're coming off a stretch where they weren't playing that well, you know, they really weren't playing that well. They deserved to lose a lot of games and they weren't scoring. They were not scoring. I think they get after it tonight in Calgary. Like I think it'll be a great atmosphere. They've been out west now since Friday. They're acclimated to the time zone. I think they get after it tonight. I think Matthews has a night with or without Marner. I'm on the Leafs Moneyline Matthews plus or at least four plus shots on goal tonight paying plus 154. Today's best bets powered by FanDuel live same game parlays are now available for every NHL game. On the FanDuel sportsbook yeah please play

responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. FanDuel's got so many great like Super Bowl props and options like it's like reading an encyclopedia Like every day I wake up and I just start looking over like Fando. I'm like, what am I gonna play today? This is the first thing you do. That's what it is. I'm like, oh, let's look at the oh, that's an interesting prop Okay, I could maybe get down with that. Like I find the Super Bowl It just it's obviously you're gonna play the spread you're probably gonna play the total But it's prop central man. Yeah, like and you got a fine sneaky props and we'll do that throughout the week We'll get to that as we get closer to Friday for sure

But do you get into like banjo's got it off like the Gatorade and the national and not generally Yeah I'll play the I'll play the coin flip in the anthem because it's so unique to the game right and it's not big money There's limits on it. It's not like you're gonna put huge cash on it, but you throw 10, it's like walking into a casino and you put 10 on red or 10 on black, you're like let's get the party started here. Yeah. That's kind of how I look at it. Maybe you hit a coin flip, you hit an anthem and you're running away with it, you feel great. Tell me what you think of this. I had a, I did

a Habs game in Vegas on New Year's Eve. It was a 12 p.m., like noon local time start, but I was taking the red eye home afterwards because I'm like, I'm just gonna get out of here. So game finishes, check out of the hotel. I got hours to kill now. So I just set up shop at a blackjack table. The highs and lows when you are committed to spending like five hours at a table.

Oh yeah. Like you're up and you're winning and you're like, I got four hours at a table. Oh yeah. Like you're up and you're winning and you're like I got four hours to kill though what am I gonna do? Obviously I'm gonna keep playing and then you get cleaned out like yeah. That's the thing about the casinos man like you've got to know when to walk away. And then but you're like but where am I gonna go? I know that's the thing about Vegas. You're not going anywhere. Yeah exactly you're here to play you know like it's such a unique feeling a casino in Vegas is just it anywhere. Yeah exactly you're here to play you know like it's such a unique feeling a casino in Vegas is just it's just different and but dude when you set up shop and

then what happened was the table limit rose while I was sitting there so if I got up to go to the bathroom you're not grandfathered in anymore right so then you're like well I guess I'm sitting here and yeah so that's that's sneaky when they start like elevating the limits and you're like well I guess I'm sitting here and yeah so that's that's sneaky when they start like elevating the limits and you're like is that that's how it's got it away one way or the other right you start you're like all right I'm gonna double down all of a sudden that's yeah gets you man oh yeah all right Frankie enjoy yourself tonight it's gonna be a wild one here at TSN lots of games on the net on the network 30 10 30 start I'll be watching sharks you know I mean he Hudson she's a little Brady Hudson I'll be watching. Sharks, you will not be touching. I'll be watching. I'll be watching.

Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today. TV, radio, podcast, what we appreciate that. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy the games tomorrow. We're back or tonight.

We're back tomorrow at 4 PM. We'll chat then. TSM plus is taking game day to a whole new level with NFL red zone. Absolutely incredible. chat then.