OverDrive - OverDrive - January 13, 2026 - Hour 1 - Mike Johnson

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes and Jeff O'Neill for Hour 1 on OverDrive!. The guys recap a statement win for the Leafs over the Avalanche, what’s next for the Pittsburgh Steelers after Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach, and a special last game in Toronto for Kyle Lowry. TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joins the show to discuss how the Leafs earned the victory in Colorado, what Bobby McMann’s next contract will look like, whether Dougie Hamilton would be a good fit on Toronto’s defence core, and how to handle Anthony Stolarz when he returns to the lineup.

This hour of overdrive is powered by Fandul. FanDul, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go, Overdrive, off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker up on TSN4. Very fitting songs. Struddy and I, just the two of us last week, and we were playing this song consistently. Now it's just me and you. Me and the O Dog for two hours straight.

No noodles, no third wheel. Well, there's a reason for that, and that person's name is. is the grappler. That's what we're talking about right now. Yeah, the grappler. He had a blunder in the schedule, and he thought Noodles was going to be on today, and he's not, so Grappler, tick against you. That's an interesting theory.

I don't know how accurate it is. It could be. I'm willing to throw the grappler under the bus. I'm always happy to do that. Me too. Always happy to have fun with that. But yeah, it's just the two of us. And what a day, Noodles is missing.

because he's in Ottawa, obviously. He's got Sen's Canucks tonight, the definition of a must-win game. Ottawa loses to Vancouver right now. They might pack up shop and not play anymore. It's ugly. Vancouver's a mess. I described them while going into Toronto the other night,

Hayes is like, of all the games I've watched this year, I don't know if there was an easier two points, like taking them from the Canucks. And it's like Montreal pumped them the other night. and when the players know, they know, and it's a difficult thing to do. Like, it's difficult to perform, and, like, what are you actually doing? Obviously, everybody talks about it's a big league.

It's the NHL. You've got to play hard and this and that. But you're wondering what you're doing out there. You're just getting pumped every night. It's a miserable feeling. I had a couple experiences like that where it's, like, you've got to be a pro, like, you've got to be a pro, like, let's get this over with me. Yeah.

Like, let's get it over with. Well, and I don't think that's the mentality in Ottawa, but it's ugly in Ottawa. And if you lose to Vancouver tonight, it is going to be a catastrophe. Like there's just no explaining it. Vancouver got pumped by Montreal last night, right? They got pumped by the lease on Saturday. Ottawa's been sitting around for a couple of days. So Noodles is there covering that.

Mike Johnson's coming up later this hour in Utah, the lease are in Utah tonight. After the statement of the season last night, what a hockey game that was. I had to give you a reach. tweet on that one. What a game. Statement by the Maple Leafs. And man, are those Colorado avalanche, like, do they buzz or what? Yes, they do.

They motor. And those uniforms are so elite. The Quebec Nordique old school unies, they might be the goat uniform. It might be the goat uniform. How do you even go away from that? Like, is there anything, would you feel, like, would you have any

feelings toward the idea of them just saying, that's our jersey? I don't know. I mean, obviously people in Quebec wouldn't have a vote on that. You know, people in Denver and in Colorado and Throat the league. Dude, who cares what they think? Exactly. They're not there anymore.

No, they don't care. Exactly. And technically they have ownership over it. I guess they've established the avalanche and they have their own look and I guess it's somewhat sleek. And they've been around a long time. It's been 30 years. Yeah.

But those Nordic, the fact that the Nordic uniforms, the Whaler logo, like the fact that those are just gone and buried is so. unfortunate, but you're right. Like Colorado, they come as advertised. And that's what I think was great about that Leaf win last night, is the AF showed up to play. Like, they were playing. It was a great hockey game.

Tons of chances both ways. I thought both teams were ready to play. Like, it was a big boy game. It was as if you knew the Leafs had it circled, but Colorado did too. Colorado, I think they took, as they should, a lot of pride in the fact that they had won 17 in a row at home. The fact that they had lost a couple of times to Atlantic division teams,

and the whole league I think is looking at it saying, what's going on in this Atlantic division? Again last night, Montreal, Tampa, Detroit, Toronto, all win. Florida. Everyone in the Atlantic is winning. And Colorado, when they lose, it's two teams in the Atlantic. They just did it to Florida and Tampa. But, you know, McKinnon, three points.

McCar's buzzing around. That NACIS is really good, man. Dude, that little sense is so good. He put on McCabe is insane. No. Yeah. Him and McKinnon, like, and McCar, like, when you get those guys buzzing, the button hooks and the stop and turns, like, that is so difficult because you're going to check and you know a spin moves coming, but you just don't, you're trying to time it. And it's almost like McDavid.

It doesn't matter. Like, watch this. You're trying to contain, contain, and then it's just he's gone. Yeah. Like, you have no shot. It's, you're trying to contain, you're wondering when that moves coming and when it does. It's just so fast. Like, that's sick, man.

It's fantastic. Those guys get on the ice. It's ridiculous. I love watching the game played like that. But I will say this. I don't think as good as they are, it's a slam dunk. They're going to win the Stanley Cup. Because there's one thing, there's two things.

Can they stop cycles in their own zone against a big heavy team? Maybe a Florida panther. I don't know who it's going to be. I don't even, you know what's sad. I can't even pick five teams that I would say have a heavy cycle in the league right now. Oh, exactly. Can you name five? I can't. Probably not. Probably not.

So there's that. Can they stop cycles enough? Like maybe Dallas is a team that's kind of a heavy forechecking team. And can they get saves? I don't know who that guy was last night and the net, but he's not going to be their guy. Yeah, Trent's not playing. No, the other two guys, can they stand up? Because if you look at that Dallas series that Colorado had last year, they needed some saves and they didn't get them. No, it's definitely not a foregone conclusion.

Look at Boston a few years ago. Yes. the same heater they lost in the first round to Florida. Was there ever a year where you thought there's no way in hell that they're going to lose the stand? I thought the Boston Bruins were going to, obviously they were going to have some difficulties and some good series,

but no one was going to take them down. No, they got beat in the first round. Now, in hindsight, they got unlucky because of the team they ended up. They faced Florida and the Panthers were just starting to roll. Dude, I don't care. I hear you, but I don't care who they

were facing. I get it, and I agree with you, they were up 3-1 in the series, and Marshawn had a breakaway in game 5 to close it. Like it was over. Remember, he had a breakaway with seven seconds left in regulation. And they lost, and I think Ryan Hart scored an overtime of Verhagie

and the rest is history. But I'm just saying, eventually, now you look back, you're like, actually they didn't just lose to some donkey 8th C. They lost to the Panthers who were just about to explode into dynasty mode.

But you're right, Colorado, you know, because they're not big and tough. Their goal-tending will see. But the three-pack of McKinnon, Natchez and McCar. When those three on the ice, it's the most dynamic three-pack of three-player combination in the league. Like there's doesn't mean McDavid, Bouchard, dry-sadle isn't dynamic. It just

doesn't move in the same way. But what I thought was impressive about the leaves last night is they didn't look slow to me. Like as fast as Colorado looked, the Leafs didn't look slow. And that's a big change. And it's, it's, they're crisp. Like they look sharp to me. Oh, like, how How many times did we say the first 20 games? They can't make a 10-foot pass. No. And how many times, right from the last dress rehearsal, I remember MJ on the show and he's like,

I'll tell you guys what, I don't know what the hell happened, but man, did they look slow? And they were slow for the first 30 games of the season. But you just mentioned the most important word in playing fast, and it's crispness. Yes. Puck moves faster than body. And when you're on your toes and you're on your game,

and everything's dialed in and people are in position, everything moves smoothly through the neutral zone out of your own zone and everybody's dialed in. And you look fast. And they did. Where as opposed to 25 games ago, it was a clown show out there. And everyone was like,

these guys can't skate, they can't move out there. The defense is old. What the hell is going on here? And it's like the whole thing went up and smoke. And everyone was like, how did this happen? A team that took Florida to seven games and all of a sudden they can't move out there.

It's not possible. Yeah, exactly. And it's completely flipped. Like, it's completely flipped and how sharp they look. They've found a rhythm clearly. They're getting great goaltending. They deserve the props. We hammer them when they're garbage.

Yeah, and they look great. They're playing great. Like, last night's the statement win of the year. Like, there's just no denying it. They went in there, and it was a great game. And they went blow for blow at Colorado. Yeah. And what did I say about the most important game on the trip if they could just sneak in true spot out?

Game number one. Get your two points. Now you got to find two more. points in the next three games, but now you can start getting greedy. You know, if you can find a way to steal a point tonight, you're reset, you get a couple, you know, through Vegas, through Winnipeg, now all of a sudden you're coming home. Because again,

Montreal, Tampa, Detroit, Florida, they all won last night. I think Ottawa will win tonight. Like, it's just, this division is going to keep going. You're probably going to need 100 points to get into the playoffs, but now they've rectified things. And I will say from my own experience,

and I was talking to cause about this last hour. Like the viewing experience has flipped upside down. And I credit them for that because when a team struggling like they were the first 20 games, you get into this micro versus macro viewing experience where it turns into the

big picture. We're talking about what Keith Pally might do. Is Trey Living going to survive? Is it the right coach? Do they have enough prospects? What do they do with their pick that could be in Boston? Now it's micro, man. I can't wait for every game. I'm not worried about the trade deadline or the summer.

And that's a testament to how they've played. It's also just a credit to the fact that they're winning games. And they're playing an exciting level of hockey. They're getting goal-tending. They're healthy again. Their big boys are playing well. Like that's the thing. It was McKinnon had a night.

McCar, Natures had a night. Matthews was outstanding last night. Like he was great. I thought Willie was on his toes all night. Like Nielander was checking. He was in the game. You get that type of effort from him, not just the ability to break a game loose, which he can and he does do.

I thought back pressure was there for him. I thought he was committed in his own zone. And it's all about the mojo. You start getting that rolling. You start turning things over. You start winning games like they did last night. You know, the whole complexion of the team looks and feels different. Yeah, I think the message to William Neelander, Brian, is what you just talked about with McCar, McKinnon, and NACCHS,

that's what they bring on a nightly basis. That is what they bring to the table for the Colorado Avalanche. No one is questioning whether McKinnon or Natchez or Landisog or any of the, like, are they committed to back pressure or working? It's like, that's a non-negotiable. It's a non-starter for those guys. The same should be with William Nealander. Like, you're making $11.5 million a year or whatever the hell he's making. You signed a $92 million contract.

Can't that be your bare minimum? I get it. You're immensely talented. You can shoot the puck and do things that very few people in the world could do. but isn't that like you owe your teammates that you or the organization that to bust your ass every night and if you do that you're clearly one of the best players in the world and you can be a difference maker like you showed in overtime so why do we have to like search for that why do you need Craig Barubei pulling his hair out and ripping his tie off watching you play that should never be the case but we're talking 10 years in so well exactly and we'll see well you're right

But that's exactly what it is. Like, Nealanders, you look at NACIS, they're very similar players. Like, very similar players to the Jersey. Like, everything kind of looks to say. Right-handed skill. I think William Nealander is a better player than working. I would agree with you. I would agree.

But if NACES plays his best stuff at 90% of the time, and William Nielander's only 65 or 70, who would you rather have on your team? Well, the answer is very obvious. Yeah. And if Willie, again, plays like that, you know, there's just a lot of positives that have come out of it. I've got to give our boy Ernie Machelli is really playing well. Like Ernie McGillard-Michelli has an attitude of this, you know, you're not,

you didn't play me for 15 games. I'm not going to come in and dump and chase. I'm not going to come in and I'm just going to play. And he's making some high-wire plays. I think his play with the puck has been very dynamic. And it has changed, again, the very. views of like how they how they look Cowan Robertson

Robertson got hurt we'll see if he's in the action tonight but they're playing with much more pace they're making more plays yeah I'm sure Tree thought that too about Machelli where it's like okay you guys want to get on my backup while bringing him a machete he can't get on the ice and quite frankly he didn't deserve to get on the ice

he was terrible like the rest of him he was yeah and I was like he's playing a lot better like a lot better they all deserve their flowers they all deserve their flowers yeah Ernie Machelli. Yeah, I didn't think that. Like, once he sat for the, what, did he sit 15 in a row?

15 in a row. Dude, usually that's potentially game over. As far as confidence, attitude, all of it put together, you're like, well, no thanks. He came in, like Mark Savard went out and Machilie basically came in. It feels as if something happened internally within the organization. I don't think you have to be a genius to figure that out, right? I think if you look at it, they must have been,

having some pretty deep and heavy conversations. And I'm talking, Burube, his staff, tree living. Like, how do we get out of this? Because this is sinking. Like, prior to that Pittsburgh game on December 23rd, that's when they lost in Nashville, lost in Dallas. They were in a dark place. Yes.

Dark place. And they fired Savard. And at that point, I thought, what is this possibly going to accomplish? And they put Michelli into the lineup and they gave him some power play opportunities. He's been on the first PP. And now of a sudden, you know, they're, they're flourishing. And listen, at the core of a lot of this is goaltending.

Joseph Waugh I thought was great again last night. Great. He's been really good. I liked his post game interview was like he's laughing. He's saying, I feel great. That's a tough spot. That's 10 p.m. Eastern time on a Monday in Colorado with the Al's flying. And he had to stand on his head early to just kind of weather the storm like you guys talked

about, which is always the case in that building. But he looks really good. And he'll be able to go tonight. I'm guessing while we'll go Thursday in Vegas, but you got a good thing going with healthy goaltenders. Stollars could return soon outside of Tanna of everyone's back. You know, they get a lot of good things going right now. That recipe for last night,

they can do some damage if you think about what happened. Goaltending, check. Star players contributing. Austin Matthews, William Neelander in overtime. Balance scoring, Easton Cowan gets a fluky one. It doesn't matter. Bobby McMahon. And Bobby McMahon creating.

Dude, I'll tell you what, Jonas talks about that guy's speed a lot. That guy can fly. He motored last night. Yeah, he was motoring. So if you put all of that together on a consistent basis and it's not a gong show in your own zone, Brandon Carlo's been okay too since returning. Yes, he has.

He's solidified kind of the pairings. Morgan Riley's been much better with him. Yep. And you're right, special teams like the kill last night wasn't great early, but I was, I'm sure you were having the same experience. I was feeling some pain for Matthews and he took that trip with two minutes left, two and a half minutes left. And I'm like, he was in the, he sat in the bench and he did like the big kind of exhale.

I'm like, this is like playoff flashbacks. Remember the shots of Marner in the box when he throw a puck over the glass and he'd take a penalty at the wrong time? And you could just kind of feel like, what if this goes in late, it changes everything. Because then they lose and it's the big guy who took a penalty who never takes penalties and he's been so good. but now it's about taking the penalty. And they got that kill for him. And that was a great kill. Like Colorado never came close to capitalizing at the end of that game.

And once they solidified the point, you're playing for the extra one and Willie got it. But you're right. It starts, you get great goaltending. You get your top guys playing well. And you run out a heater like this, 8-0-2. And all of a sudden you're back in a very good position. So, yeah, Utah tonight. You got Vegas on Thursday.

Mike Johnson coming up later in the hour. again a bunch of games going on in the NHL today. We got Joe Thomas at 5 p.m. Mike Tomlin's out in Pittsburgh. You saw that Covin, didn't you? And by the way, just so people don't understand this, that's fire. He's fired. They just had enough respect for the guy where they were like, you got to step down. Like, do you think he went to ownership and said, I think it's probably

time for me to step down? I've probably told him that's enough. Yeah, I think it's a mutual, I think it's probably the right play for both parties. Right. But just to say, like, oh, the guy, you know, he called his own, he was probably told, like, we're going to give you a chance to step down because we don't want to have to say we're firing. Well, and it might benefit them in the end, as many people have pointed out that now they retain his rights, you know, he'll go to, the Sean Payton move is the one that a lot of people are referencing, right?

Go do TV for a year and then you go to Denver, and he might do the same thing, and then Pittsburgh might trade him and regain, recoup some assets for Mike Tomlin. 18 years is an eternity in pro sports. Dude, in eternity. Like it's just, it's an unbelievable run, won a Super Bowl, went to multiple Super Bowls, 500 record every year. The last three years, 10 and 7 out in the wild card. And that offense is impossible to watch a beer a Steeler fan.

Dude, it's disgusting. It was awful last night. Like Aaron Rogers watching him, man, he was so miserable playing that game last night. That's enough. That's enough for him, too. Yeah. Sorry. I agree.

You look, they brought in Rogers this year. what's the one common theme with that team, that organization, since they haven't replaced Big Ben since he retired, man. Yep. They have gone through, like, Mason Rudolph, cabbage hands, Trubisky's been in there. Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson. Like, they've had just been scraping along, dumpster diving, desperately trying to fill that hole. They just haven't, I mean, they probably thought cabbage hands was a guy, but he just wasn't.

No, Kenny wasn't. And it's a desirable job, I think, for a couple of different reasons. One, ownership is... The QB or the head coach. The head coach. The ownership is remarkably loyal. 18 years from Tomlin. Cower was there before that.

I think it was Chuck Knoll. They've had three coaches ever. Like, whoever gets the next job, you're probably thinking, I can buy some real estate here. I might be here for 15 years. Steelers, the legacy, the great football market. You know, it's just they do it right in Pittsburgh. great fan base that travels.

All these coaches, Brian, when you go to an organization, and I've told you numerous times about guys they played with, the guys who are in coaching, calling me asking about certain positions are opening, and I'm like, you really want to go there? Because you're going to go down with that ship because they're so brutal. Well, they need a quarterback. That's exactly my point. They need a quarterback.

So anybody, they're talking about Stefanski interviewing down in Miami, and he's got to be thinking when he goes home and puts his feet up, saying I'm going to be attached to Tua. Like my success or my whole legacy in Miami is going to be connected to Tua. How badly do I really want to deal with that watching him play this year? That's my whole lifeline. Well, I hear you. What I can get out of Tua Tua, Tugavailoa.

And that's why conversely the Baltimore job would be so coveted because you get Lamar. You know, like you walk in with Lamar Jackson still in his prime. and yes, he's got a lot to prove. Like Josh Allen, like others, he still hasn't won, you know, but he is so dynamic, he's so talented. And it's- What's people interviewing about the Cleveland job with Shedore Sanders and the other guy?

Yeah, Dylan Gabriel and John Wons. What is a coach going to be telling ownership in meetings that, like, or a GM, like, I can get what out of that? You're getting nothing out of that. That's the problem. Exactly. Like, there's a lot of these jobs. where if the quarterback isn't set,

you're so, you're just starting like 50 meters behind the race, you know, 100 meters behind the race in 100 meter dash, because you've got to have success quickly. So there's very few jobs here where you've got the quarterback already in place. And yeah, Pittsburgh's not the case because Rogers isn't coming back, even if he does, he's 42. So there's no future there. Dude, he ain't coming back.

I don't think he's coming back. If you couldn't tell by looking at it, his face. Right. That's a dead giveaway. Aikman kept saying it. He's like, I think this is probably it. You don't think he's told Troy Akeman, like in a meeting.

He probably tipped them off and said, hey, Troy, just so you know, I'm done. And someone pointed this out on Twitter. Like, if that kick or Tyler Liu hit that kick last week, Pittsburgh could, Rogers and Tomlin, they could be on a beach somewhere. And yet they, he misses the kick and they got to prepare for a week and they just get crushed by Houston. Like, I think they'd probably prefer to have just lost. like let Baltimore deal with that so we're out like we got to stick around an extra week and prepare

and get pumped and embarrassed at home and yeah there's people fixated with football who gets to go to cancun they always post pictures of the usual suspects are here in cancun always and there's Trevor Lawrence and the whole gang down there too uh it's so funny they're all exactly you know who's going down you know exactly who's going down but uh big one for houston last night that defense is electric and now they've got New England and C.J. Stroud was terrible. Dude, that defense is Ravens 2000 defense. They look phenomenal. They look phenomenal. And New England's defense is great.

Did they score two defensive TDs? Because that's Stroud. He struggled, man. He was half a team who last thing. Yeah, he struggled. Like it was, it was seven, six and he was throwing picks and fumbles and like, what is happening with this guy? And yet he wins. You know, he wins. He's, that's his third playoff when I believe. in his career, his young career. But that's a big one for HBO last night too. Basically you and me.

Alice brother is, I guess, back on Canadian soil. He claims he's on land and he's a part of the mix, that guy. Yeah, we'll see. We'll catch up with Al's brother later in the week. But as it currently stands after the Wild Card weekend, Luke, Noodles, Nudelsen versus HBO, they're up

four points to two. They're up four to two. So we're right where we want them. And we're all set as we move into the next weekend. All right. Mike Johnson, coming up from Utah ahead of the game tonight. Joe Thomas will join us, confirm or deny. Really cool story with a really cool scene with Kyle Lowry returning last night and the crowd's reaction.

Kyle's play who's out there for a minute, just jacking shots. How many threes did he take him? He took three. He went 0 for three. It was hilarious. I loved it because he's just like, hey, he's barely played this year. He has six points, I think, total on the whole season. Yeah, I think he's aware that.

he ain't playing either. I think Kyle's hit the Sim. I think his clubs are hit in the road when they're in the southern U.S. And I think Kyle is he's probably got the best gig in the world. He's making like three and a half. He never plays. Look at this guy come out last night.

Kyle Lowry is living his best life. Like it was hilarious. And even his teammates, so like get him out there. It was like, yeah, anyway. He was probably like, if this wasn't in Toronto, there is no way in hell I'm going out. No chance.

That guy was probably so hungover. Well, exactly. He's probably out at his favorite joint the night before. Probably for lunch he went somewhere. Well, dude, you think about it. This is his goodbye tour. He's probably, I'd ever did this myself, but you've got to be saying to yourself,

there's 30 spots that I got a hit for the last time. Yeah. You know, like I'm going to go to these places. Like when you're on vacation, you're not going to say, I'm going to go to Philly and go to that little dive bar. You've got to hit the circuit one last time and be like, this is the end of the line, man. Big time, especially Toronto. This is where he made his chops in Toronto. Like, he's got access in Toronto, unlike anywhere else he's going to go. Yeah. So that was a cool scene, though,

last night. All right, MJ coming up, Joe Thomas, confirmed the nine and an hour. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies. We're going in depth on football and a lot more. We'll pull back the curtain on life and the pros and dive deeper into the stories making the headlines. No hot takes, no lazy narratives, just real honest conversations. You can watch or listen to

Film Never Lies on all the TSN platforms and IHeartRadio app. All right, Overdrive continues, powered by Fandul, bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score. There he is Mike Johnson, Leeson, in Utah tonight. How are we doing, Johnny? First time here,

I'm not gonna lie to you, I've never been to Utah. Never been to Salt Lake City, never been to the Delta Center, never seen the Utah Mammoth play. So it's all new to me, which is a rarity at this point in our careers. But it's beautiful. You can see the mountains and it's sunny. And yeah, no complaint so far. Apparently, the ring's pretty interesting. So we'll see what happens.

The only problem is Hayes, I got to wait until 8 o'clock for the game to start. It's an 8 o'clock local, 10 o'clock Eastern seems like an eternity. We still have whatever, six hours to we play. So, Johnny, those golfers that left Arizona, could they tee it today or not? out. It's probably like 7, 8 degrees, so you could, because it's still in sunny O, so in the sunshine, it's nice. Seven's my magic

number. You'd have me to 7, I'd tee it. Really? Yeah, because you can put on, you know, you don't have to put a tuk on and gloves and everything to play, so you probably could. I don't know if they live on golf courses here, O, but it's, like, I guess it's an outdoorsy kind of place. If you like

outdoor activities and hiking and mountains and all that kind of stuff, skiing, like Park City is like 35 minutes away. I can see Park City out my window. It's like 35 minutes away. It'd be like driving to Aurora to go one of the best ski mountains in the world. To be amazing.

Yeah, that's pretty cool. What are your thoughts on the whole? Like, if your wife said to you, there's hiking, outdoorsy, like, would you just be like... Dude, I would miss Arizona so much. Like, so much. The weather, it's perfect, the golfing. I can ski. I don't mind skiing.

Skiing's too much. If you're a hockey player, you can't go ski. No. You know, you're not. skiing. There's no chance. You can tee it, though, and no one really needs to know. Or cares. Or cares. Exactly, which is different. But, man, the Leafs are coming in on a heater.

Go ahead. Go ahead. There was a time when I played in Arizona, Hasey, where there was a group of guys who decided to walk a nineer in the morning of a game in lieu of going to a pregame skate. So that was their move. The coach did not take kindly to that move.

I think of caught. Instead of driving out to Glendale, they played because the coaches know they go play right after the morning skate. Like Grant Fure was there in a heartbeat trying to go play himself. He'd see them out there and they'd come in with sun tans on. It was a poorly kept secret, though. Yeah, that's the amateur, man. You've got to find a different course.

You can't be. That's like going to a bar where you know the coaches are coming to the bar. You've got to find a different place to play. That's the amateur. That's on the guys. But I like that. I'm okay with that. And I can't imagine it's happening today.

I don't think the Leafs are having a morning skate. And they're coming off the win of the season. last night. It was a remarkable hockey game, like thoroughly entertaining. From a leaf perspective, what is the number one story for you that win in Colorado last night? They didn't win that game because their goalie was ridiculous. Like, yes, Joseph Wall was good, especially early on. But the fact that they were able to control play at times against Colorado in Colorado,

that to me is the biggest improvement positive for Toronto take out of that game. game. Yes, they won. Amazing. Austin scoring goals looking like Austin from three, four years ago, that wrist shot, amazing. Joseph Wall, rock solid again, amazing. But I would have thought against Colorado, who has not lost a game in regulation at home. Last night was just the third overtime loss they've had. That for Toronto to win, shots have been 40 to 26. Expecting goals have been five to two. Joseph Wall would have been out of his mind and maybe the power play got them won. And that's how they squeaked a win or a point out of there. That wasn't the case.

That was an even even game. First period, Colorado is probably a bit better. Second period, Toronto, I thought, was about as good as I can remember see Toronto play. Best period of the year. Especially against that kind of opponent. Incredible. In the offensive zone, driving play, possessing, plays off the rush, controlled entries, strong on the back, all of it, all of it, and limiting Colorado's chances the other way.

It was very, such an impressive game. Kudos to them. Kudos to them. I don't know if anyone saw that one coming, but amazing effort for them. Challenges, they've got to turn around and try to do it again tonight. Johnny, what is your explanation? Hayes made a comment earlier when we first started that they looked like they're playing fast. So how did a team that at the beginning of the year, all of our commentary was they're slow, they play so slow, blah, blah, blah.

How did they flip the switch in that transition where last night they looked fast? follow-up question. How long do you think that they can continue what they did the last 10 games, the way they played last night? Basically, who are they? Are they kind of the team that we first saw the beginning of the season or the last 10 games or something in between? I mean, the second question is easier to answer.

Oh, it's always something in between, right? They're not 8-0-2 perfect. They're not, worst place in the east, terrible. They are a good team that is flawed like every team in the league, I guess, other than Colorado. And that's probably well to end up and that should be enough to get some of the playoffs. The other question is an interesting one though.

Like why, and you're right. Like I said it. They look slow. And it wasn't always about the fact that they skated slow. Although, you know, they don't have a fast group of skaters other than Bobby McMahon. Hello. Rocket ship on the breakaway goal. That was crazy speed. But I think what's happened

is that they've adapted the way they move the puck up the ice so that the long-pass stationary chip cross-ice chase is not a staple of every shift because that was what made them look slow. Guys were standing still at the far blue line. Buck would come up, they'd chip it in, they'd have to get going from a standstill

to a defenseman that was already down at the hash marks, picking up pucks, and they were always chasing and a steps slow and a step behind and never could quite catch up. I think they're moving the puck up better now. they're bringing a couple forwards a bit closer to the defenseman so there's speed to the neutral zone even if it's not a rush

even if it's a chase there's more speed to go along with it but there's also just to me a lot more possession on the entry and when you have it it's easier to move sort of quickly with it or to pass it to where you want it as opposed to chasing it and you put all that together and they're getting more out of it one more factor O

I think whatever Austin did it Christmas, I have no idea. Fact of the matter is he's playing better. So, you know, he gets better, they look better. He looks faster, team looks better. He played 26 minutes last night and was, you know, a very good player for them against a difficult opponent. So there's him, but I think it's Machelli all of a sudden looks like a pretty crafty player, like a pretty useful guy. He looked lost to begin with. I think Nick Robertson, tough injury last night, blocking a shot. He is a quick player.

He looks like he's more comfortable. Bobby McMahon has found a role in a comfort zone is playing better than he ever had in his life to the point where I'm reading stuff about what's it going to cost to keep him, oh, five mil or more, we'll get to that another day. And Max told me kind of finding a consistent role. You have these guys now how we're playing more confidence.

Hang on a second. You can't work that out. What player did you just say is talking about $5 million? So, oh, if you have a million, Just six winger. Give me the player. Bobby McMahon is the player. Bobby McMahon.

Bobby Boucher McMahon, number 74, the third fastest player in the world. That's who I'm talking about. You give me a middle six guy who scores you 25 goals and gets you 50 points, almost exclusively at 5 on 5, who will not hurt you defensively. When the salary caps $150 million,

that guy is a $4 to $5 million player. That's what he's costs. Are those the numbers? numbers were anticipating. Like he's got 14 goals and 24 points. So I guess he's on pace. So let's say, you know what scary?

Even if he ended the season with 14, he would still say I'm a $4 million player. Yeah, I mean, inflation is a part of this, right? The cap goes up. Everyone's getting more money than they did five years ago or 10 years ago. I just think what's interesting with McMahon is he's still somewhat of a nomad within the line.

up within his own team. Like he's on the first line for a while and then all of a sudden Willie comes back. So Nize goes up and he's on the fourth line and Robertson gets hurt so he gets a little bit more ice. Like that's where it's kind of tough to figure out exactly what his role is. Like he's anywhere from the first line to the fourth line. He's like a utility player in a way.

But because of the way he skates and he can play with some snarl. Like he's a big boy that he can't hit. He can't fight. Yeah. I mean, he's a useful player. player. I got to give props to him. Now, I will say this. Down the stretch

last year, he really struggled. I thought he was terrible in the playoffs. Yes. Terrible in the playoffs. So he's got to complete it. You know, we do, I'm as guilty as anyone else of getting out in front of the projection game. If he doesn't finish it, he fades or they get into the playoffs and he performs

poorly again, we might have to recalibrate. But as of right now, Bobby McMahon is playing as well as you can expect him to play. He's been an impact player. Totally fairhays. Yep. Totally fair. The playoff and the stretch run, absolutely correct and accurate. And if he does it again, then all that talk we just had is out the window for sure.

But yeah, and I think the fact that he slides up and down the roster is less an indictment of him and more a commentary on the one-dimensionalism of the guys ahead of him. Like, I don't know if you want Machelli on the fourth line or Max Domi on the fourth line. those guys can't do it there. Not that they do the second or third line better than McMahon, but they can't go further down the lineup. They just don't have that part to their game. He can do that and offer something different.

So I think that is almost a testament to his versatility or maybe the limitations of some of the guys that can't go down the lineup. But I just say, like, he's been really, really good. He leads the team in penalty minutes. Like, you know, it's wild. Like, he does offer, you know, a bit of bite in a non-fighting kind of way,

in a sort of new NHL way, that the Leafs want to need. So anyways, he's been really, really good. You want to talk about playing fast? He's a good bit of a guy when he's confident. He's as fast as anybody in the league. Johnny, we were talking about William Nealander and Hage. Hasey was discussing how engaged he was last night,

moving his feet, back pressure, the whole nine. Why isn't he in a position where he just does that every night? And he's just a world-class player. He's still a world-class player without doing that. But why are we left wanting that, watching him, where it's like, maybe I'm not into it, maybe I am, maybe I'll do whatever I want, maybe I, you know what I mean? Like, why isn't he just bust his ass every night? And he literally will be regarded as one of the best players in the world. He already is.

Why did I not train as hard as Sidney Crosby? Why did I not watch what I eat like Jonathan Taves? We're not all the same. We're not all wired the same. It'd be great if everyone was wired like Sidney Crosby. Oh, you were not? I was not. Right?

It's just the way it is. You were an amazing all-star caliber player the way you were. Could you have wrung five more percent out of your game and your prep and your training? Maybe. I don't know. I know I certainly could have, but I didn't. I play with Alex Kovlev, the ultimate enigma. He was an all-star amazing player as he was.

And yes, he left you wanting more. I was on the ice with him wanting more at times. but he was also really good as is, and he was comfortable being that guy. And maybe for Willie, who's not, maybe quite as mercurial as Kov might be at times, you know,

Willie might be three good ones and one less than great one, but he might be a guy who's just sort of wired to be okay. Like that's just who he is. And while it would be great, if you were to say, you know, you battled your butt off every single second of every single shift, he's not wired that way.

and I don't think he ever will be. And a lot of players in NHL aren't, including a lot of really good Stanley Cup winning players, are not wired that way. It's just the reality of who he is. But I do think if you want to see if Willie's engaged, if in his first three shifts, he, like, backtracks the guy and picks his pocket.

You're like, oh, he's going. He's here tonight. I think like that in a nutshell, he's moving, and once he's moving, he's amazing. And I think that is largely, if he wins a stick battle or a quick, race to the puck early, that's a really good sign for Willie in the Leafs. Hey, it's just a quick tester before you move on to your next question. Do you know what the word

mercurial means? I do. I'm going to... Go ahead. Tell me. Go ahead, Johnny. It's your word. No, because you don't. I want a loser. Go ahead, Johnny. What a loser. What a loser. He's, is it inconsistent, dynamic? I don't know. I mean, it's one of those words where I kind of get the range. Enigmatic. I get the range. Yes, I could use it appropriately. I'm not sure I know exactly how to define it. I mean, I'm not Jonas Siegel.

Chat GP Jonas here. All right, Johnny. That is so great. That is the best bailout here. So greasy. Go ahead, Johnny. Explain yourself. I know, but you go. It's your word.

It's your word. Yes or no? He's like enigmatic. Sometimes he cares. Sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes you get what you want. Sometimes you don't. You look slightly inconsistent, but like more emotionally inconsistent as well. Couldn't say it better myself. That's precisely how I would have defined it.

Yes or no? Dougie Hamilton. Dougie Hamilton has a leave. Yes or no? How much money? Well, he's making $9 million for two more after this. That's his cap. No way.

Well, I'm saying, are we getting them to eat half of his contract? Dougie Hamilton has $4 million? You know, we could have that conversation. Sure. Yes. Yeah. I mean, with Tanev's uncertainty, like Dougie Hamilton is not a perfect player by any stretch.

but you don't think at four million dollars like Philippe Myers has played a major role Troy Stetcher has salvaged a season of waivers TANF may not be back and who knows what the future holds Brandon Carlo is not signed beyond next year you don't think a right shot puck moving guy I don't care if he's tall he's not super physical

and I don't you know like he's still at four million dollars like that's you could do a lot worse than that guy at four and a half million dollars so sure now am I trading and Danford for him? Obviously not. I think you're basically taking a salary

and maybe the devils might have to eat some of it. You know, unless you're a Sandals Day that can afford to bring in that kind of salary. But the player I could deal with, sure, I just would not at $9 million, not when they have other needs, no. Yeah, it's a weird situation with him, man. He's always just, he's been a mercurial player throughout his career. And, you know, from Boston, New Calgary, Jersey, now he's a healthy scratch. I just have to say this because we don't keep score.

at Free Agent Frenzy. But Ray Ferraro and Craig Button were giving it to me about Dougie Hamilton, saying how awesome he's going to be. And I said, just be careful, be careful. He's been to Boston, he's been to Calgary, he's been to Carolina. Sorry, guys, you got that one wrong. Yeah, it's not... We're not keeping one score.

We're keeping one score. Well, they were giving it to me. They were just, both of them together. They were teaming up and ganging. up on me and I just said I'm not no way I just even a four and a half we know guys go on I think what we know about him he's not a lead guy right he's not he's not he's not a culture setter he's not a pace setter he's not a game setter but he's got a lot of physical tools that you know in the right

situation can be effective um you know and so if you have a strong enough group that can sort of force it out of them and mercurial will be a good way to describe him at times so like he just you know he leaves you wanting because he can do a a lot of things, but four million dollars guys, that's a third pair of defense. What does Benoit make? Does he make two and a half? Yeah, two, seven, five?

Yeah. You know, he's, like, he's, he's different, but he's, you know, he's better. So, yeah, it's tricky. You can have a guy, but you can't have three or four guys like that. And maybe with Morgan Riley around, maybe, like, you know, maybe there's, there might be some stuff with too many of,

too many defenses with holes in their games, but I'm just thinking of a tentative injury history, with Carlos' contract, uncertainty. Ben Danford won't be ready next year. Yeah, sure. But we'll see. I imagine one of the teams that could afford them full out will take a swing. Johnny, how would you handle Stolars in the goaltending situation?

Is it simply you got a three-man team now? No, I don't even know anybody knows what his injury is, but it's just a weird scenario. He's been out a long time. And now you have some consistency in net. And me personally, I don't want to screw with it. So what would you do in that situation? Okay, first of all, oh, isn't it wild? And maybe you're different, but like, I have not even heard off the record a whisper like,

oh, it's actually it's his elbow or it's a shoulder or it's just like I have, I've not heard anything about what is wrong with him. I'm glad he's going to be back soon. He's on the ice and maybe talking about playing before the Olympic break. But if it was me, like obviously he's got to come back, but I'm not pulling Hildaby just out of the line. up right away. Stolars will work his way back slowly. I would be inclined to offer up conditioning games in the American League for Anthony Stolars to get his game right on point.

Don't just put him back in the lineup because he says he's healthy now. And then make him earn his ice. He's got to play well to complement wool. And if he plays well enough like he did last year, then you can put Hildo to be back down and you have the backup who's obviously very capable. But make him earn it because if he doesn't, then you have Hildo that can play games and win you games, and they're still in a spot as great as this run has been, that they need to win the games. They're in the playoffs, but just barely.

So I'm not sacrificing any points to get him in the lineup. He's got to show me he's ready, and then he'll get his spot in the rotation. But maybe they carry three for a while. Like, remember, like tonight, Montreal played last night. How fun did it look at Montreal when they put it on Vancouver last night? I don't know if you got to see on the highlights.

That place is rocking right now, man. They're doing the wave every night. Wait, every game, OLA, OLA for 10 minutes straight, their second line has scored like 18 goals in the last 10 games. Johnny, you know who's been dynamite? Anyways, they're having... Who's that? Slovkovsky, man.

He looks good. They've moved him with Kaepinan and damn it off. That second line's been really good. I'm happy for that kid. Second line. Yeah, first goal, he's playing damn good. He looks good. Yeah, he's grown in ways I wasn't sure.

Like, his mind has expanded. He sees the game better. He makes better plays. Anyways, we're getting distra. But what they did, they have three goalies, right? With Fowler up, they sent Montembo to Washington, where they play tonight yesterday. They're going like starting pitcher in the playoffs rotation. They're sending their extra goalie on back-to-back to back to the next city so he gets a full night rest and totally prepared.

So maybe I'm thinking about Toronto, if you have three and you have back-to-backs coming up in different cities, you send solar's off to Philadelphia. he sits there, gets a full night sleep, and he plays the next game, or wool, or he'll-de-be, whoever, that is one of the luxuries you could have if you carry three. I like that idea. All right, Johnny, enjoy the scenery out there. Sounds beautiful in Utah. We'll catch you on the telecast tonight.

All right, boys. Good afternoon. There he is. Mike Johnson. In Utah for the game tonight on TSN, TSN Radio. We got the game, Vegas. TSN. I'm going to be on the panel with you on Thursday night. It'll be a fun night.

That's the plan. Barner leaves. I can't wait to hear your thoughts and views. Is it me, you, and Dregs? I believe so, yeah, I believe so. So, yeah, we'll see. We'll see what comes out of tonight, and that's a big one on Thursday. All right, so we've got our best bet still to come.

Joe Thomas coming up. Mike Tomlin out in Pittsburgh. Where do they go next? What happens with Aaron Rogers? We're down to eight teams now in the NFL playoffs. Who's the favor? We'll catch up with Joe Overdrive continues. TSN 10-50 and on the TSNF.

Introducing. Adams Radio on IHart Radio. Hosted by Brian Adams himself. Join me for an insider look on a wild ride through 40 years of global rock and roll. Brian Adams

Radio. Now available on the free IHartRadio app. Or ask your smart speaker to play Brian Adams Radio on IHart Radio. Who's ready to rock? All right. So we got some updates from

to live golf guys. I guess Cam Smith said he's not going anywhere. But Bryson and Rahm did a little interview and their, Bryson gave the typical, I'm under contract for 2026. And Rom said, I'm planning on being here. You know, I don't, how can you trust any of these guys? I don't know.

Like, of course they're going to say that. You know, they could flip tomorrow and be like, oh, well, yeah, I lied to you yesterday. I don't understand why they don't go back. It's like you got the majority of your change. Right. It's a gimmicky, goofy league with the music. Like, you know they want to be a part of the PGA tour crowds.

Yes. You see, sawgrass, on and on, pebble beat. Like, that's where it's at. You got your money. Like Bryson's American. Ron lives in Arizona. He's married to an American. He lives here.

You know, the Europeans, it's different. Australians, different. All right, more on now with Joe Thomas coming up. Confirm coming up. Overdrive continues up on YouTube Live. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fanduel. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. The newest tracks, let's go.

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