OverDrive - OverDrive - January 13, 2026 - Hour 2 - Joe Thomas

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes and Jeff O'Neill for Hour 2 on OverDrive! The guys discuss what Mitch Marner’s return to Toronto will look like, and if he regrets his decision to step away. Former NFL offensive tackle and NFL analyst Joe Thomas joins the show to discuss Mike Tomlin’s exit in Pittsburgh, how this may affect Aaron Rodgers decision to resign with the Steelers, and Josh Allen playing the best football of his career. The duo dive into Confirm or Deny with stories around the sports world, and Bryan gives out his FanDuel Best Bets.

I'm curious, Hazy-B, with you being on the panel for the Marner game in Vegas, do you have an early lien or are you going to save it for the panel on your thoughts on the Marner tenure in Toronto? Well, I got a lot of liens in terms of... I don't want you to kind of give too much away, but do you think it's going to be positive energy, Hazy-B, or damn, you, Marner, Hazy-B? Well, when he's in Toronto, I lean towards negative. I lean towards negative. But yes, why is that surprising to you?

You think it'll be positive? I don't lean negative on the fire. You think he's going to get a standing ovation and they're going to show the video and a tribute? He's going to do the wave and tears in his eyes. You think that's coming? I do not know. All I do as an analyst is watch them play and I watched every shift. and he's one of the best players

the franchise ever had. Yeah, sure. There's stuff that went on behind closed doors that I have no idea about. They gave him, when you get a no trade clause, it's your right to exercise it and say, don't even ask me about that.

I have a no trade clause. So I don't get into the, they asked him the way if he didn't do it. You know, could he have done it, yes, but it's not as obligate. You gave it to him. So, I don't know. Well, that's true.

That's on management. You know, it was poorly negotiated. It was poorly handled. Well, sure. you're right. Absolutely one of the best players. You know, he's one of the greatest islanders of all time. John Tavares. What happened when he went back? Were they like, hey, thanks so much.

Outside of Trotche and Bossie and Podfans, it's you, John. I got to give you full props. It doesn't matter how great you were. It's about the exit. It's about the way it went out. It's the way he handled it. I don't know. People are conflicted on him. Like, and they, it's unfortunate that it got to that point. You know, it's unfortunate that the story couldn't be written differently. Honestly, I think if they won a few game sevens, one or two game sevens, it would be totally different.

Obviously, the contract negotiation was crazy. The fact that it felt like when he left that he was planning on leaving and going to Vegas for a long time, that didn't help. But I will say this, I think the fact that he left the conference is about as far out of sight and out of mind as you can. get probably benefits him because, you know, not many people in Toronto are focused on Vegas. Not a lot of people are, you know, see him play because he's on the West Coast. Centerman now. Yeah, he's playing up the middle of the ice. Like they've tested him out multiple times at the middle of the ice, which is pretty

incredible. That's a conversation I'm sure a lot of leave fans wanted to have. I know they did. But if he left and went to Montreal, you know, or something like that or was playing for a New York team, I think it would be different. I think the fact that he's in Vegas, you know, it'll be much, it'll be more muted, and it's Toronto, you know, like the fans just don't, that building doesn't react the way the average building would. So do you think it's in the Toronto fans to give Mitch Marner a John Tavares type welcome back? No, no, I don't think that's in the Toronto fan DNA.

I will say that they have, the Leafs are different. They did it for Vince. They did it for Tracy McGready. Like when Tracy McGready came back for the first time, when Vince Carter came back, it was. vicious. It was just as bad, if not worse than the Tavares back to the Islanders. It was crazy. The build-up, how much vitriol was in that

building. Mitch doesn't deserve, in my opinion, the same treatment as those two guys. And I guess I say that because he was here longer and he left as a free agent. Now, T-Mack did too. McGready left as a free agent.

But the way it operates, it out the way he left. How could they... T-Mack signed in Houston? He went to Orlando. Orlando first, and then he went to Houston? And then eventually he was in Houston. Yes, and he kind of jumped around, but he was in Orlando. Vince was a totally different situation because he wanted out in the trade. That made it much more complicated, much more scathing. And Vince was the man. Marner was never the man here. You know, Matthews has always been the man, and Mitch was

kind of his sidekick. So do sidekicks get the same level? Like, that's the thing. Tavaris was the man. Varus was the first overall pick. He was the captain. He was the guy. Marner wasn't. So I'm not sure the level of reaction would reach the same height. But I am very curious. Like I'm looking forward to it.

I'm going to go down on its next Friday. He's in town. It's kind of wild that they play Thursday, Vegas, Friday, Vegas at home, and that's it. Like over the course eight days, you're going to see him twice. And then that'll be that. but you know Vegas is a good team and I don't know I'd be curious to just get an honest answer out of him something you're never going to get on the record because he was never comfortable with the media I don't know if he's any better or more comfortable in Vegas I wouldn't be surprised if he was different spotlight different market different focus different focus different fan base different history different role on the team right that's ickel's team it's stone's team it's Theodore's team

but do you think you think there's any percentage of him that regrets it? Like if he had to place a percentage, Jerry's percentage on Mitch Marner wishing he actually just stayed, what would you put that number at? I don't know if regrets the right term,

but I guarantee, like, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs when you're a Toronto kid and you're one of the best players in the world, it's, I mean, I know what he talked about, the fans with the outrageous behavior, throwing stuff on his lawn and all that stuff and getting security. But I don't know if there's a better thing for a kid in Canada. When you're a fan of the Leafs, you love the Leafs, and you play for the Leafs, and you're a star player,

I think he might miss it once in a while. But being a Toronto Maple Leaf is as good as it gets. It's as good as it gets. The way people treat you in the city, obviously it can go sideways if it's a mess. I don't know. I just think it's the best gig in pro sports for a Canadian kid, a Toronto kid. So I don't know if there's regret involved. I would say to a certain extent he might miss it.

You might miss. It's an ego boost when you go out and everyone's like, hey, man, like, I don't know. You're not getting asked for any. As much as athletes say, and Joe can chime in on it, they say it bothers them when people bug them in public. It also pumps your ego, too. You're like, I'm kind of famous, man. People recognize me.

And I'm sure it would be strange to go the other way where if you don't get noticed. Yeah. And you're like, wait a minute, do you know who I am? You know, it's a Ron Burgundy line. Like, I'm kind of a big deal. You're supposed to know me. Where in Toronto, everyone knows, there isn't one person that doesn't know. And in Vegas, I don't know what that number is like.

And I'm sure that's refreshing in some ways. But you're right. Look at the transformation you made. You were a monster that just loved pizzas, and you lost a bunch of weight, and you're one of the most famous people in Canada. That's a nice transition. Thank you. Yes.

I don't know where the weight comes in. to play on fame and what we do, but I appreciate that. Here is longtime NFL or analyst NFL, NFL network analyst. There he is. Joe Thomas joining us back on overdrive. How you doing, Joe? I'm doing great, guys. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, thank you for doing this.

We really appreciate it. How about the AFC North? Only Cincinnati has a coach that's coming back. I mean, can you imagine this? Tomlin's out, Stefansky's out, Harbaugh's out. Like, what do you make of the division that you called home for so long? It's crazy. This is kind of what I called at the end of the season when I was doing some Browns radio

because I just was reading the tea leaves. It's interesting, you know, football is so fickle and fans of professional teams, you know, they always want what they don't have. And you don't realize what you have till it's gone. And I was feeling that the Steelers are getting tired of Tomlin, even though he's had such great success there throughout the years. Same thing with Harbaugh. that was a little bit more surprising, but obviously happened sooner. And even in Cleveland, you know, Kevin Savansky two-time coach of the year,

and they get rid of him because they're looking for somebody new. And it's funny, as soon as those guys hits the market, every other team that's looking for a coach wants that guy that they don't have. Joe, do you think they went to Tomlin and said, we're basically firing you, but we're giving you the opportunity to just go to the press and say you're stepping down? Or do you truly believe it was his decision? I do think it was his decision.

I think he was tired of being under. appreciated in Pittsburgh. He's said nothing but great things there. Sure, they haven't had as many championships as they've wanted, but he's given them sustained success. And I'm sure it was a conversation where they were talking after the season, and he was feeling a little bit underappreciated by the fan base, certainly, but then maybe even from ownership. And I think they probably mutually talked about it. And he said, you know what? I got plenty of people that are going to want my services, and I'm going to have a chance to have a fresh start with a fan base that is excited to have me and just rejuvenate and re-energize his career as a head

coach. And so I do think it was definitely a mutual stepping down. I don't think they would have fired him unless he was willing to step down and potentially go somewhere else. With all the moving parts and the availability for coaches, we were talking about this earlier in the show. How much do you think that they look at? I mean, some of these guys are in different positions, Joe, where they have to work and they're looking to make a paycheck. But if you've got a bunch of money in the bank and you could pick and choose your spot, how much do they look at the quarterback that's in place? Because that's basically their lifeline and basically how their legacy is going to be tied to the organization. Yeah, every coach, they're looking at who's my

quarterback, because I know if I don't have a quarterback, I got two years to find one, and the chances of finding them are about, you know, one and four when you look at the odds throughout the league of drafting a quarterback or being lucky in finding one in free agency or through a trade. And so they know, like, I'm not. not going to go somewhere that I don't have an answer at that quarterback position because quarterback gives you a chance and without quarterback you don't have a chance and if you're a guy like Harbaugh or Tomlin you got the pick of the litter so they don't have to go anywhere else that they don't want to go that doesn't have a quarterback unlike a guy who's maybe going to be a

first time head coach who doesn't really have as much say in where he gets to choose his next landing spot with Joe Thomas and you know you look at last night where I didn't think we didn't think C.J. Strout played very well, but the defense was so good. And on the other side of it, that Pittsburgh offense was just a disaster. They could never get going. Now, credit to Texans. Their defense has been elite all year, and especially down the stretch. But Aaron Rogers felt to me like he was tied to Tomlin. I don't know how you see it. Do you think it matters? Do you think he's just going to retire? Do you think if he were to come back, it would be if Tomlin stayed? Do you think Tomlin leaving will have an effect on Rogers?

What is your kind of view and your projection of what happens with Aaron moving forward? Yeah, listening to Aaron throughout the season, he definitely was drawn to Tomlin. Veteran quarterbacks have always enjoyed playing for veteran coaches, right? Because young coaches, they get in their emotions a lot, and a lot of times they are making emotional decisions that maybe a younger player might just stand back and be like, okay, whatever, you can do whatever you want, you know, I'm just here to serve you. but a veteran, you know, they're not going to put up with the phoniness that maybe you get from a young coach, the emotionalness. They're much more of contracted killers.

And so they want to work for a guy that's been around the block that's got peltz on the wall that knows what he's doing. And that builds that really close relationship and friendship, a trusted friendship that goes two ways with a veteran coach like a Tomlin. And you hear Aaron Rogers throughout the season, he really liked working for Tomlin. And I think that those two were tied together. and I'm going to be shocked if Aaron wants to come back in Pittsburgh for another season without Mike Tomlin there. Yeah, it's pretty interesting the quarterbacking situation right now. We've got eight teams left, eight quarterbacks left. There's some young guys trying to make a name for themselves, Stroud, May, Bo Nicks.

And then there's some guys at the top. Matt Stafford's been phenomenal this year. He's won a Super Bowl. He's obviously possibly going to win an MVP this year. But Josh Allen, you know, really sticks out without Mahomes there, without Lamar. there. What kind of an impact? Yes, in Borough, exactly. What kind of an impact do you

place on this scheduling, kind of going against the bills and the Niners? They played Sunday. Now it's a short week. They've got to go across the country. The bills are playing the first game on Saturday after what was a really tough game for Allen. He played great, but he got a hit

a lot. Do you think the short rest and the beatings he took in Jacksonville could show up in a negative way on Saturday in Denver for Josh Allen. Yeah, life's not fair. The NFL is not fair. They don't care about your feelings. They don't care about giving you the proper rest. They just want ratings. They're all about money, right? It's a business, which, hey, that's the

way it goes. It's good for us as a fan because we get to watch, you know, multiple days of playoff football, which is the best time of the year if you're a football fan. But certainly, I think with Josh Allen continuing to do the Superman routine, putting the team on his back, playing hero ball, but it's a needed hero ball, right? Because the bills are not the well-rounded balanced team that they have been in years past. So they need Josh Allen to do everything he can with his legs and his arms, and his arm, not both arms. Hopefully he's not throwing any left-hand and passes, but they need everything from him that they can get. And if he's even just a little bit less than 100% because he doesn't have that full rest and he's taking these beatings

that he's taken, I think that definitely plays against Josh Allen and the bill's chances for success. You think that there's enough there for Josh, like, around him, relying on him to be Superman every night. Obviously, Mahomes has done it for a lot of years, but do you think that that's a reasonable expectation that he himself can basically lead the charge and get this thing done all the way to the finish line?

I mean, I pick the bills to be my Super Bowl champs. I think part of that is a little biased because as a Browns guy for all these years, I'm feeling like a kindred spirit to the lions and the bill, those other Midwest teams, those other Rust Belt teams that haven't yet got to the mountaintop. And candidly, I just like Josh Allen. It's fun watching him play. I think he's clearly the best player in the NFL right now in the playoffs with what he's doing for his team,

not only with his arm, but his legs. And I think he can hold this up for the rest of the playoffs. Honestly, I think he is that special type of talent, that special mentality that he can go into that dark room and just say, hey, I'm putting it on me. care what my body feels like. I don't care about the situation. I'm an athlete. I'm a killer mentality championship caliber quarterback. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this win. And so that's why I believe in him. And even though the cards are stacked against him, even though he seems to be losing all the guys around him that are important for that success,

offense and defense, and they don't have the team that they've had in previous years, I think he's got more confidence this year than he ever has because he is the best version of himself right now. already been one of the greats of all time in the playoffs of being able to put that team on his back. And he doesn't have to worry about Patrick Mahomes this year. Right. That's it. Like he's got in the AFC, it's Bonix and then either Drake May or C.J. Stroud. Like that's who he's playing the next two games, which not that those guys can't play, but it sets up pretty well for Josh Allen, doesn't it? Yeah, and I think he's thinking, hey, this is my year to do it, right? He's looking at the gauntlet he's got to go through to get to the

Super Bowl's a little bit softer, maybe from an experience. standpoint, certainly at that quarterback position than usual. So I think that even gives them a little notch up in motivation, knowing that it's not a pat, it's not murderers row with Patrick Mahomes and the other quarterbacks that he usually has to face going through the AFC because the playoffs to me is always about who's that quarterback that I trust the most that's got the most experience because I know in those big moments, even though some of these young guys like a

Drake may have had great seasons, they're going to make mistakes because the stakes are so much higher, the emotions are higher, the mistakes you make are amplified. And when you're a Josh Allen and you've been in those situations, you can remain cool, calm, and collected to make the play in that moment, it gives your team great confidence knowing that they got that guy. When is you're a young player, you make one mistake. Everyone around you, you're just wondering, hey, how's he going to perform? He's never been on a stage that this has been this big in his life. Can't wait for this weekend. It's like you said, best time a year. If you're a football fan, You cannot wait.

And we've got to wait a few more days, but it's going to be worth it on Saturday. He's the great Joe Thomas. Always appreciate you doing this, Joe. We'll do it again soon. Thank you so much. I appreciate it, guys. You've got to check out my beef, hallof-famebeef.com. You've got to check it out on my farm.

If you guys send me through your producer, your address, I'm going to break the law and send it across country lines here and get you some of the best long as beef you've ever put in your mouth, boys. Have a great day. Thanks for having me. See it, Joe. Thanks a lot. Love it. Can't wait.

Thank you, Joe. Appreciate it. Joe Thomas. There you go. See, that's how we make things work right on both sides of the border. Everyone be nice. Everyone make it work. Everyone get along.

Give us some waggo beef. A little waggo beef. Joe Thomas, man. That's great. Love it. He said one thing in that interview that I'm going to steal and use it a lot. Do you know what it was? No.

When he referred to Mike Tomlin as a veteran coach who has pelts on the wall. Yes. That is a great. great line. It is a great line for someone that's been through the wars and had some victorious season, series, whatever it is. Peltz on the wall. I appreciate his candor there too.

That's a Hall of Fame or Joe Thomas that had different coaches. And he's like, veteran guys just want a veteran. They have no time for a pencil neck. For emotion and what are we doing? You just know Roger sat down with Tomlin and Tomlin probably was drinking a beer or scotch or something. He's like, all right, what are. are we doing? Not like here, here's

a binder for you. I want to take you through my plans and tomorrow, you know, it's Belichick, Tomlin. We got to work on her two minute drill and we'll get better. No, we're both done. Yes. I have faith in you. We'll figure it out. We'll work it out. There's just certain guys that have that

ability, you know, and Tomlin's Tomlin's that guy. 18 years, Super Bowl winner, a lot of pelts on the wall and it's like let's figure this out. You know? And we'll see what happens with Tomlin. We'll see what happens in Pittsburgh, but those are like football factories, man, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, a lot of Super Bowls won there in the last, you know, 25 years and competitive

teams every single year. And both jobs are up for grabs to say nothing of, you know, the Miami's and the Tennessee's and the Giants, you know, there's another guy, Jackson Dart. Is he a good enough quarterback to get a Harvada sniff around? I don't know. We'll see what, what happens here. All right, confirm it then I coming up. Leaves back. in action tonight. We'll get to some more NFL picks later this week. We've got some more. Again, we're tracking this golf news to see what happens with the PGA tour and live

golf. I think that's it, man. I don't know if anyone else is going to be doing it. Yeah. Well, we'll get into that and confirm or deny. I kind of lean towards where your head is at right now. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and up on YouTube live. I can neither confirm or deny that this is in fact a segment.

Austin trades Andrew Raycroft to Toronto and exchange for the rights to Tuka Arras. It's been my honor and a privilege to serve as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. It's time for confirm or deny. Do you regret giving all those gentlemen the no trades or no movement clauses? I can either confirm or deny that.

I can't confirm or deny it. All right, confirm or deny. Very simple stuff. As we know, statements are made. We either confirm them or we deny them. All right? Let's get started here. Confirm or deny.

The Maple Leaf. should try and acquire top 50 Dougie, Dougie Hamilton. Wow. You know what? I'll confirm it. Obviously, it's at a... Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Dude, I didn't see that for myself.

I didn't see that coming, man. But everybody in the league talks about wanting a right-handed shot that can move a puck. Maybe he can help out back there. I don't know. Maybe top 50, Dougie into Toronto, bringing him home. I don't know. There's been parts of his game I have not liked over the years. His skill is undeniable.

The way he can shoot the puck, run a power play. But let's be real. There's other stuff that's not jiving. But, man, he could be good on the power play. He can hop out in the power play. Yeah, the power play. We heard you, 60 minutes of power play. I'm denying this because you.

Okay. You don't have enough. He's got two years left at $9 million. You're not taking him at that price. Obviously this question has to be like... A seriously reduced number. A seriously reduced number. Because Jersey, it feels like they just need to get out from underneath it, right?

Oh, you are not paying one thing. You're not paying anything. There'll be a gratuitous, you know, hey, there's a pick or a player or a prospect that it doesn't hold much value. You're basically taking Dougie Hamilton off their hands. Imagine that. Like, you sign that guy to $9 million per, and the only way you can get rid of them years later is if you chew on half of it.

Right. And that's what, again, scares me like the position he's in. Jersey needs help. Yes, they've, you know, they got some prospects that have come up. They've got other young players that they like. He's the odd man out. Keith clearly isn't a huge fan. You know, he's not overly physical. Like we know, we've seen Dougie Hamilton. We know what he is. It's intriguing, but like that's your only play. We had the same conversation with acquiring Eric Carlson a couple years ago. Carlson's hurt now. That's going to be a big hit for Pitt. But the thing was, it's like if you go and get that guy, you can't flip him again. You know, it's like you're committed.

You're in. The rest of his tenure, yes. The rest of his deal, he's staying. Yes, there's no flipping again. There's no, oh, it didn't work. And I just think at that price, even reduced for a couple of years, I don't know, man, like, that's the play, that's the ticket. It'd be a gamble.

It'd be more of a gamble than people are suggesting. is the argument is why you're kind of just getting them for nothing. It's like it's not for nothing. It still is going to cost you something, and he's got to play. He's not a young guy, and he hasn't won anything in his career. So I just don't know what you're leaning on with Dougie Hamilton as the guy that, yes, he moves a puck. And TANF, I don't know if he's going to play this year or what. Like, we don't know what's going on with Tana.

So they're going to have room for a right-shot defenseman in some space. The way TANF sounds, it doesn't sound like he's playing hockey again this year. Yeah, I think he doesn't sound. You got to mentally prepare for him not returning. Yeah, I think that's fair. And certainly not any time soon. Not to have an impact on the regular season, right? Like if somehow it was a return, it feels like the end of the year maybe.

But he's not factoring into the next 30 games of the season. So, you know, there's only so many options out there, but I would wait to play the cards a little bit later on. You know, I'd play it differently. All right, confirmed the night. Joseph Wall has played himself into number one starter status. A hundred and thirty percent confirm this. I mean, they've both kind of taken their turns at disappearing for, you know, different reasons.

But the bottom line is this guy pulled him out of the ditch in conjunction with the other guy. So he was the main guy. and everyone for a couple of years has been saying, is this guy a true number one goaltender? We know talent-wise he is, and he sure as hell can't play 70 games or even 60 games or anything close to that. But when he gets in that net,

and if he has a solid backup that can log a lot, he can be damn good. And I think he's established himself right now. I think it's always kind of been a toss-up between him and Stollars, and now you've got Hilda be in the mix. But I think he's the number one guy, right now and you'd be crazy to treat it any differently. Yeah, he is

right now. I mean, I would deny it based on, you know, the conventional definition of a true number one. It's, you know, 55, 60 games, reliable all the time. He isn't that yet. I don't know if he ever will be. You know, you're always kind of wincing and like,

is he going to be okay? He's mercurial. He's mercurial. And especially based on the injury list, you know, is it going to like, was it in a Chuchreux? who clipped him in overtime and he went down and like, oh man, here it comes. Like, is he heard? That's the nightmare you're always going to live with that guy. Every time he goes down,

you have to ask yourself, is he going to get back up? Yes, and that's the concern, and that's why I'm reluctant to say yes, true, number one. But, you know, we were talking about the MVP of the season and where Hildeby fits in. Wall's number one on my list. Like, I went through

it yesterday and last night, and I get there's some recency bias, but they've only played 44 games. The way Stolars was playing, it was not good, and the season was going down the drain, and he got hurt, and Wall came back, and has been really good, really, really good, and consistently good. And then he got injured again, but he did come back, and since then he's been great. His numbers are off the charts. He is playing at a very elite level, and without goaltending, they could not get out of the ditch.

He's been so good, so valuable. That's crazy that Stolars, that his play dipped as, soon as that those nonsensical comments came out of his mouth. I know. It's too bad, man. I know. I was talking to somebody about that at the World Juniors, and the comment that I got and it was a great one.

It was he had to go out to the media and lie, lie for his teammates, and say, you know what, that's just on me. And so the guys think that he's got their back. But they all know he's lying, and he knows he's lying. Yeah. But you just got to go out there and say, that one's on me, and I got to be better. and if I'm better, we find a way. You're right.

And instead, and it was a great point, it's like instead he sewered everybody. And you can't do that in the big leagues, man. Like, you lose respect, you lose the room, and everybody hates your guts. I don't know what the situation is now, but when you pull a stunt like that, man, that's a tough one.

Yeah. Well, exactly. I mean, he, listen, he was shooting from the hip, and his analysis, I thought was accurate in some way. Dude, I get it. But inside the locker room, you can stand up and lose it on everybody and say, you suck, you didn't back check, you got to play harder, our cycle game's terrible, you walk right out,

and you say, you know what, I cost us the game tonight, I stunk to join out. You lie. Like you really make it obvious and lie so bad that everyone's kind of questioning you if you're telling the truth. You just say, I just, that's all on me. Right. The nature of the beast, it's kind of like the correct comments, you know, robot, blah, blah, blah. He was speaking some truth there.

And I think the players in Calgary probably weren't ecstatic about it because, yeah, that's what you're quote unquote supposed to do. Paul in the store for your teammates. Don't reveal anything publicly that's going to make anyone look bad. And that was a you know what storm. When Stolars made those comments after an overtime loss, not even an outright loss, not like they got blown out. You know, it was nuts.

And a lot of it, remember, was protecting the front of the net too. Like, I think he's sensitive to being hit. I think the Bennett stuff, him leaving the series, the concussion. sure he's sensitive to that. But you're right, you're referencing also the next game. They were horrendous the next game and they lost. And he came out and was like, I thought we played great tonight. And it's like, dude, come on.

Like there's no way that you thought you played great. Zero. They were awful the next game. Horrible. And you're right, it spied out of control. And then he got pulled two or three games in a row. And we haven't seen him since. So, yeah, we'll see what happens there.

But Joseph Wall, if he stays healthy and he plays the way he's been playing. They're a playoff team if he's healthy and playing the way he's playing. Hey, so the bottom line is if these two guys keep cooking in net, the Olympic break's coming up, I have no idea what the hell's wrong with Stolars. What's the sense of rushing him back? Say you're not playing until after the break. Right. We have no rush.

Yeah, I agree. I think Hildaby would be worthy of that, and I will say. Or it's just like when a guy's injured, it's like every win they have, it buys the injured guy another day. That's exactly what it is. That should be the scenario with Stolars. It's like every good performance by one of these goaltenders, it just buys us another day. But I would have the mind frame where it's like, don't play until after the Olympic break. We've really got to take our time here and make sure you're 100%.

And that should do it. Like that's another month and a half from now, more than that. Like that would be three, three and a half months. He'd be gone. Now, are you risking losing him? Yes. Isolating him. I don't know.

That is true. You got to consider that. He's a part of the team. you're committed to him. He's signing, he's signed long term. He was a big part of your program last year. He was the best story of the year last year. I know, but it's close both ways. If guys are just like skating off the ice and disappearing for two months,

I hear you. I hear you get, well, I mean, again, different context, of course. Everyone's different, everything, situation's different. But you see in Ottawa, Alina's Olmark now is around the team, and he was, I guess, at the skate this morning. And, you know, Green said, yeah, hopefully it's, you know, positive. And he's close to returning. they're just waiting for them, you know, and they can't get goaltending.

And luckily for the Leafs, they are getting goaltending. It's a different story because Stolar's is not, you're not dying for Stolars to return because the Leafs are winning without them. All right, confirm or deny at least one more live golfer will jump to the PGA tour before the February 2nd deadline. No, zero can deny it. I think they're just like good for you, Brooks Kepka, but I'm not doing it. Yeah.

Nice. I don't know. I'm going to deny it as well. But, like, Cam Smith is not surprising. We talked about it yesterday. Dude, if Bryson or Rom leaves, that league folds. Probably true. Like, they're still acquiring guys. Ben-on just went over there, I guess.

He's got a new team. You know, they have guys. He's turned on their TV to watch Benny on. I understand that. He's not moving the needle. The league, it's, Bryson is the face of live. Like, that's the face of live. And John Rom would be kind of beside him.

And I guess Phil, you know, Mickelson, I don't even know if Mickelson still plays or what. He's 55 years old. I know. I know. Mickelson, I don't know what his role in all this is. He was the original catalyst of it all and the kind of, you know, he disturbed everything and he was the spokesman, et cetera, the face of it originally. But Kepka's a different piece. Kepka always, he's always had this vibe to him too cool for it. He's the only guy that went over there and never stopped wearing Nike gear.

I never saw him in anything live, ever. No, me neither. You know, he never flipped. He never committed to, you know, and you. could tell he was like, I can't believe him over here. Dude, he just did it. Somebody chucked a number in front of him and he said, I can't say no to this cash. Exactly. And now he's gotten

the cash, his deals up. They've let them out, I guess, for the last year. But you know, Smith's not coming. The question is Bryson and wrong. Bryson's America. Now, Bryson may just not care enough. Bryson's got his YouTube stuff going. He's won two U.S. opens. Dude, and he's got that league, by the

you know what, because he can just say to them, if I'm gone, this whole thing folds operation, so you've got to give me a billion dollars. Exactly. And he may be asking for that now. The leverage could all be in his court. He's got another year on his deal, which again, it's weird in golf that you have, you have deals. You know, like it's not, you don't have, you haven't earned it. You just, you got a contract, so you're going to keep playing. And, you know, John Rom is a little bit different because he left later than those two guys. But I don't know, I'd love to see it. Like, just as a fan, you know, the PJ Tour is back this week. They're in

Hawaii. They're at the farmers in a couple of weeks. Kepka being there, it'll be interesting. Like, I'm curious if he's going to play at the Canadian Open. Because he's got to play in 15 events. Like, that was also the ruling. If you're coming over, you're not just selectively playing here or there. He's got to play in 15 events.

He's not in the signature events unless he earns it, which I'm not sure he will, based on his play. So he's going to be looking at the schedule, probably thinking, I've got to play in events. And Canadian opens a massive field, open field. Like Kepka up here, he's played the open before.

He's played it a lot in the past. Yeah, he has to have some success early to wheel into these big events. Yes, he's got it, like on the West Coast, he's got to finish top five or top ten in points or whatever. Like he's playing the farmers, he's playing waste management. I wouldn't be shocked if he played a pebble. No, you know he's going to the waste management. Yes, he's a past winner there too, right? He's won twice, I think.

Like, he loves that course. So, yeah, we'll see. But I don't know. Yeah, I'm not, you know, there's been so many ebbs and flows in golf over the last five years where you think this is happening. What is clear is there's no merger is taking place. No. Like that's not going to happen. PGA tour and live.

They're not working together. They're going to be going their separate ways and we'll see what happens. All right. Confirm or deny the Ottawa senators will finish last place in the Atlantic Division. I'm going to deny that. I don't know how the hell they're going to get a save. And I don't know how all market. is going to get himself back into the net, whatever he is dealing with.

But he is the guy that has to get it done. Like that guy's an $8 million goalie. And if he's an all-star, they got a great chance to win a lot of hockey games. If he's a sieve, they're screwed. Yeah. So he's the key to it all. And I don't even know if he comes back, like when he comes back. Well, that's it.

They don't, and they don't know. It's he's making the decision, clearly. It's a personal leave. He's been granted that leave. He's around the team. They don't know. And when he comes back, does he stay? How's he playing?

Like, another thing with Omar, like Stollars, he's not playing well prior to this. Like, Omar has not had a banner year. The numbers have not been good. Terrible. Yeah. Like, that's, I'm going to confirm this. Like, look at that list.

There's six points behind Florida. Like, Florida, Boston keeps winning to their credit. They're on a three-win. I keep waiting for Boston to come back to Earth a little bit. Me too. And they just haven't. done it. They keep going. Buffalo obviously keeps going.

You know, the lease are now eight points up on Ottawa. They're not catching them. Montreal, Tampa, Detroit aren't dropping back. I would wonder how long ago it was when the least were at least eight points behind Ottawa. Yeah, I don't know if they ever were that far behind, but

they were chasing them for sure. Like they were definitely behind them. Well, the situation they're in right now with Toronto and Ottawa, that was flipped not long ago. you know what I mean, where Toronto was in the basement of the Atlantic. Yeah, they were. They were second last in the east.

And Ottawa was right where Toronto was, so that's quite a flip. Well, and it speaks to what Ottawa now has to do. Like if they want to get back in the race, they've got to go 80 and 2, 9 and 1. You know, so you've got to have a 20-point. Over the course of 10 games, you've got to pick up 16, 18 points to play yourself back into the race. And I just don't know if they're capable of doing that. the goaltending because it's been referenced on this show so many times expected goals this expected goals that defensive play they're a pretty good team auto they're not a great team

like they made the playoffs for the first time in years last year they went out in six they're a good team who can score enough and defends well enough that they should they should be way better than what they do they have the worst goaltender metrics in the league yes the goal tenings I just said the word metrics I love that word and it's used appropriately. Their goaltending is killing them. Yes. Like there's no other way to put it.

Their goaltending is killing them in Ottawa. It's a very acute issue. But when that Maryland and carrier goes in there, it's... He's playing tight. You know, like he's got to play. I know. He's going to play and he's got to play. And, you know, but beyond that,

they got to start score more recently. They haven't done enough. Brady Kachuk has got to get going. So really, it's a right off season for him so far. With the injury, the surgery, his play, it's just not good enough. So they need more out of him, but I don't know.

You know the story, Hayes, everything, the the Kachuk performance, the injury, the goaltender, everything gets silenced with some wins. Of course. It's the only thing that solves problems in the NHL. Always does. All right, confirm or deny. LeBron James was the

one pushing for the commemorative patch on his own jersey. Have you seen this story? I can't even believe. that we're talking about this. I can't either. So LeBron is wearing a commemorative 23

patch that is exclusive to him because it's his 23rd season in the league. And it's using, you know, it's got his logo throwing the chalk in the air and it's, I think his three teams are represented Cleveland, Miami, and L.A. To my knowledge, no other players

ever had access to this. No one's ever thought of something like this. It's very strange that out of nowhere in January, it's started, but LeBron has his own commemorative patch on his jersey. Confirm and deny it was LeBron pushing the idea on the NBA. No, I think it was Rich Paul. I think Rich Paul would have come up with that and went to LeBron and the organization and said, what do you think about this patch that we thought about our marketing team or whatever?

And LeBron, shockingly, probably looked at this patch and said, I kind of like that. How does he not shut that down? How do you not say, I can't do that? It's a patch for yourself. I know. It's not like it's not an owner- Is every other player wearing it? No, it's just him.

Oh my God. It's like it's a LeBron patch. Can you imagine if you went on the panel with a giant hazy bee pin? I like do that. Imagine what Duffy would look at you like if you just showed up on the panel and it was just a custom-made giant pin that said Hazy B. Easy B. Yeah, my own commemorative pin. It's just an absurd, absurd play for a guy that can't help himself in situations like this. Like I just, patches like that are reserved owners that pass away, great players that maybe pass away.

Maybe a retired player. Like, you know, could I see a scenario like that? LeBron retires and his former team say, hey, for the year we're going to, you know, honor the great LeBron James. but we're going to put your own patch on your jersey and it's a one-of-one situation. Crazy. Crazy stuff, man. Hazy from LeBron.

Hazy B-pin on the panel. Hazy B-Pen. Or like Dregs just had a giant Dregs patch sold into a suit. Yeah, it's just a wild scene. All right. There you go. A little confirm of the night.

Very good stuff. Best bet's coming up. Leifson, YouTube. Utah tonight, games on TSS, a late start. You guys are on a panel tonight. Got the game tonight, Utah. Utah's been playing well. You know, Utah, this, I wouldn't say it's a trap game,

but it's a very difficult game for the least to get up for. I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. If you're watching, this is not exactly great promotion. Don't expect a whole lot in the second intermission out of this cat. Do not expect. anything from me in the second intermission.

So pregame on fire. Fire. Fireballs. Electric. Electric and the quiz. Second period, we'll see what happened. Second period. You might as well put a mannequin on the seat. Okay. I'm getting some inside information here on the LeBron patch from a man that is very connected in the card community. The sports card community, he'll remain nameless. He said pretty sure the LeBron Patch is.

card related. They'll put them in high-end basketball card sets. And he's saying that is, in his opinion, a guarantee. Now, this man is very connected. Not naming names. So they're going to put the little patch, like, because there's some cards that have little pieces of a jersey on it. Yeah, so maybe that's what it is. It's related. They're going to cut it off and put it into the cards or something like that. But it's still weird that, like LeBron still has to sign off on that. Of course he does. Like he'd still, he could easily say, guys, I'm not doing that. That's goofy and I'd rather not, you know.

But, yeah, a card expo insider who will remain nameless. Just sent me that info. I have no idea who that could possibly be. He is cruising with information. All right. Best bets coming up. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4.

All right, best bets powered by Fanduel. We'll make your picks and assemble the same game parlay and seconds on the Fando's Sportsbook app. Sends on the puck line tonight by 2 plus. It's got to be a win. Vancouver's really struggling. I think Vancouver gets it done. I think Ottawa gets it done big tonight. And Matthias Micelli.

Ernie Micelli, Big Echelli, Revenge Game in Utah. He scores tonight. Ernie Micelli Revenge game? Yes. Micelli Revenge tonight. That parley, pan, plus 940. Machile to score Ottawa on a puck line. And shout out to Matthias Clement, Ernie Clement.

He's playing for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic. That's a big, man, this guy came out of nowhere at a great season, unbelievable playoff. Now he's playing for the U.S. Ernie Clement, shout out. He's a stud, man. He's a well-known dude. He loves to tee it.

He loves to play hockey. He knows how to get after it. Yeah, he does. Ernie looks like he's a, he's a, he's a well-known-known-known-dude-old. a good guy to be a to hang out with. I think he'd be fun. Yes, he likes hanging out. Yes, he does.

Ernie Clement. Yeah. You see the reports, the Mets are willing to offer Kyle Tucker like maybe 50 million a year on a short-term deal. I'll believe that when I see it, but that's the reporting that the Mets are pushing short-term, two or three-year deal. Why would he ever do a short-term deal when he can just lock in for a gigantor amount of money? That's the question.

And why is it, why is the Mets deal being thrown out there? You know, are they being used? Where did they come from? I haven't heard the Mets yet. Well, it makes you wonder, are they being used now? Is that a message to the Blue Jays? Hey, we got this on the table. You know, we got, we got a three-year deal at $120 million, $140 million, something like that.

This is where the difficult thing is. It happened with Soto. It happened with Otani, where as an organization, you're just, you know, you're going gaga over this guy. You've basically promised them the world, and then they come back and press for more. It would be so difficult for me to just not say, go screw yourself. That's the end of the line for us. If you really want to keep doing this, you're not doing with our organization.

We really want you. We've got a great team. We've got a great chance. You want to do it or not with all this money and everything that goes along with it. This is it. Sorry. Once you're in, you're in, man. That's what happened with Bregman and the socks.

right they were like now this is final offer we're only going this high he said all right see you later go to chicago hey and he has the right to do that yes exactly he has the right to throw another seven million dollars in his jeans and that's what he did that's right and that's well that you've got to be you've got to be it's like anything like you've got to be able to walk if you're going to play that game because if you want a bluff and then you got you get stuck with nothing you're in big time trouble that's the question now the blue jays have done a lot this off season. I'd say heavy lifting. They brought in a lot of pieces. They feel good about

their team. Even if they don't have Tucker, if they don't have Bichet, I think they're going to be very comfortable and they're going to feel like they should have a very good year. But one more bad does seem it's not mandatory, but it would definitely be helpful. I'm not going to lie to you, man.

The guy I get is Bichette. I hear you. But now it's like he's tied to Philly and apparently that meeting went great. Don't you think he's pissed off about this other stuff? I hear you. I've been here. I've been in this organization for this long and I've got to wait this long. For what? Another guy? That's the game though. That's business. You just said it, right?

Like the team could be like, all right, that's enough. You know, it goes both ways. He's happy to talk to Philly. He's happy to talk to the Sox. He's got some leverage here too. So something's going to give here soon, man. Something, I think in the next week or so, someone's signing. Tucker, Bichette,

one of those two. Belinger. All right, we're out of here. Leaves in action tonight. We look forward to that. Full breakdown Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today, TV, radio, podcast, web. And, of course, up on YouTube live, every show up on TSN's YouTube channel. Enjoy your evenings.

Enjoy the games tonight. We're back tomorrow at... Hazy B. Pin on Thursday night. 4 p.m. We'll chat then. Seasoned gamer or just video game curious. This weekend gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games from basics,

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