OverDrive - OverDrive - January 31, 2025 - Hour 2

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Dave Feschuk for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joins to discuss Mitch Marner's contract outlook, the Maple Leafs' deals and salary cap increase in the league. The guys also discuss Brandon Saad signing with the Golden Knights, the Raptors' search to continue their winning run and the direction of the team in Toronto.

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of the final score. Brian Hayes, Jamie Noonels, McClennan, Dave Fest, Chuck of the Toronto Star, Leeson Edmonton playing the Oilers tomorrow night. Last night Ottawa with a big win. Montreal loses. Boston pumped again. They got pumped again last night. And I saw Kevin Weeks is on with Gino today doing a that's hockey hit about Brad Marchand

and whether or not the Bruins should move off him. And he's a UFA I believe after this year. Yeah. Yeah, they got to sort their they're in a down cycle right now they got a sort their stuff out you know it's it's we did it last night there's ten teams are separated by six points

and with the leafs losing their right in there now that's the uh... they got to get their act together as far as winning games and stuff and and separate themselves they had a nice little buffer and we're feeling good now you the florida wins are sorry temple one yesterday like you got it and stuff and separate themselves. They had a nice little buffer and were feeling good. Now Florida wins, or sorry, Tampa won yesterday. Like you gotta, if Florida plays Chicago tomorrow at home, like they've gotta worry about themselves. That's a big game in Edmonton for them tomorrow.

I said that yesterday and Struddy came over the top and was like, why are you being a hater? Why are you being so negative? Which I found fascinating. He was actually supporting the Leafs. And always- Well, you're was actually supporting the Leafs and always you're allowed to support the Leafs like absolutely. Right. But the point I was making is the one you're making is like they've they had an opportunity to run away with this division

and you could apply that to other teams as well. I understand that. But they have squandered that over the last nine games. They've lost six of their last nine in regulation and they've they've pissed away a bunch of points against teams that they should beat or should compete with. And doesn't mean they're gonna miss the playoffs, but it could be a scenario where perfect world, you take care of business, you score goals, you've got all this elite talent,

you got a five, six point buffer on Florida in your division. And they've thrown that away. Big time. And they've thrown that away. Big time. And they've thrown it away in a weird way because in those six losses you're talking about Hayes, seven combined goals. Like they're just like- They're not scoring right now.

It's pretty wild to see. Yeah. And this was a team like prior to Craig Barube arriving, they literally never got shut out. Literally never got shut out. And now they've been shut out a number of times this year and like you said they're just not scoring they're not capitalizing on any opportunities and they don't look overly dangerous no but Tavares coming back is is

significant nice coming back is significant sure sure but that's the your top six right like you're missing players and then teams are missing players all through the league but it does test your depth because if a team is game planning and going, okay, we only have a couple guys to worry about tonight, then it looks different. And the bottom of the Leafs roster has not been producing. They haven't been difference makers. Here and night, here and there, Lorenz gets a goal or Robertson and stuff like that, but it hasn't been consistent where they've been dangerous. You look at the teams at the top of the roster.

I mean, Ottawa had that game in hand last night, it was up 4-2, and Washington goes, we're not going away, and they get a point out of it. No kidding. Like, it just, these top teams have depth that continue to push and they wear you down. And Winnipeg goes and wins again. Like they're just, that's the one thing I look at. The teams that are at the top of the standings, the one consistent thing, yeah, I mean the goaltending star players, all of that, but they have depth and they're getting depth

scoring. Well, Winnipeg's now won five in a row. They have a goal differential of plus 63, which is far and away the best in the league. Second is Washington, and no one's surprised at plus 54. But again, the Leafs are only plus eight goal differential. Like they've scored 15 less goals than Florida this year. Like it is something they've gotta rectify.

Like they've gotta find a way to break loose. You look at these last nine games, like Matthew says seven goals, so he's pulling his weight. Nylander's got six. Nobody else on the club has more than two. You know, and there's like only Robertson, McMahon and Nyes have two, and then everybody else has one or less. There's just no depth scoring at all.

Well, and that's like Mitch Marner has run into a rut here offensively. That's what's happened with M than the last like two or three weeks is he's had a great year but his offensive numbers he is blended into games it's an if it proves his importance and he's the one that needs to be a guy he needs to push play needs to put up numbers but uh... you know bill on career-high pace in a contract here

yes or does it. But the rising cap? He's going to be fine. He'll be okay. I'm sure in the end he'll be okay. I mean, I was on the show yesterday, but watching that Minnesota game, like, I don't know, I was, I was joking. Like it looked like Minnesota had seven guys on the ice. Like everywhere the Leafs turned, they ran into a Minnesota player.

Like I thought Minnesota really checked the hell out of them. Which, you know... Early in that game they did, for sure, yeah. Yeah, they did. Like, there just was no space out there. And I thought that Wild did a really good job that way, limiting time and space for a lot of guys. You know, Ebbetson plays a tighter defensive game, too than you think.

That's playoff sockie, isn't it? I mean, that's what we talk about. Craig Barube is supposed to be here to push the right buttons, to get them to break through that, right? Like everything's about playoff hockey and preparing for the playoffs. And I'm curious what they bring tomorrow night,

because it's gonna be a fun night. It's electric, it's Saturday night, it's in Edmonton. You're playing McDavid, the Oilers are playing great. You're getting Tavares back, you're getting Nyes back. I don't think Stoller is gonna start tomorrow, but it's possible. It like he's going to be activated and play again certainly be in the lineup so that that's a big boost for them and

they gotta get going here because you have a lease of lost six of nine and you got four games before two week break uh... joining so the maple total hotline is rts and hockey analyst mike johnson uh... johnny where where you at with the lease right now and how important this four game roadie is for them over the next week, week and a half? It feels like it's pretty significant for a couple of reasons. I mean, one, you mentioned you have a two-week break, so you don't want to be sitting there chewing on whatever, nine

losses in 13 games or something heading into a break. That's not going to feel very good and what probably should feel like a generally positive first two thirds of the seasons. They'd been in first place in the division for most of it. Um, you know, their top guys have done well, their new system has done well, but if you go in sort of this cold and slumping, you don't feel great about it. And then there's a practical aspect of it. Like I don't watch four points behind Toronto, four points. And so this idea that Toronto was sort of home and cooled in a top two spot, it was just a battle for first with Florida

and everything else is not even part of the conversation. They've played themselves into a situation where that's not true right now. And so they got to play themselves back into a situation where it is good challenge against good teams. I'm going to be out there next week for a couple of games. And yeah, I mean, I think it's pretty impressive. Pretty important. They're going to have tomorrow's back. They're going to have nice back.

They'll be whatever relatively close to full self. Stoller is on his way. Even Yarnbrook is going to play pretty soon, I think. And then I guess there'll be no more excuses to not create offense, to not win these games uh... candidate cat certainly none of the sort of bigger cover questions i gotta be asked so five p m mountain time tomorrow night is part drop in edmonton it's a one of my favorite annual

traditions rolling through the fifth through alberta and and bc and uh... here's khan mcdavid speaking on that earlier today. What's coming with the Leaf game tomorrow night? Guys are excited You know we get the five o'clock start time it's always nice they come in our building and we got to change our schedule around but You know it is what it is So I guarantee the first 18 years of his life he loved that right he had no problem when he was up in Newmarket watching 7 p.m. local. I just wouldn't want to piss that guy off.

True, but hey, of all days the response would have been do you like the salary cap of a hundred and fifteen million two years? You play whatever the least watch is like. Exactly. You want seventeen million dollars? That's right. Don't tell me you can play it two in the afternoon local if you want 10 a.m. in Toronto and you can take a twelve million dollar max contract so pick your poison do you want the news do you want the growth do you want the exposure or do you want the inconvenience of two hours your call yeah you tell me what I think he knows and I think we all know the answer I know no no I'm not picking on him it's tongue-in-cheek I get it I'm not taking on him. It's tongue in cheek. I get it. I'm not taking it seriously,

but there's no doubt, especially in Vancouver, the fans in Vancouver get quite disgusted. bent out of shape about the fact that they have to change to accommodate the Toronto TV market. Not so much the Leafs. It's really accommodating the television market, but I do find it comical when those sort of complaints

are lodged around Canada Canada really like, you know Sometimes Winnipeg is not happy that they're not on CB they can go hockey night Canada. They might be on a different channel. I'm like You know the the teams that are on the big channel are five times bigger than you. They're their population It's just a numbers game. It's not a personal preference I always spend that a little bit a little bit silly to get bent out of shape about those things. Well, what do you remember about the amount of Leaf fans that show up for this game? Because

we had a little bit of a disagreement in the last hour. Noodle thinks the Oilers are the only... No, no. Go ahead. You explain what you think. Let me explain. Out of the seven teams in Canada, the least representative will be in Edmonton. Calgary, there's more Leaf fans. As far as people in the building, not saying, the least represented will be in Edmonton. That's the way I viewed it.

Being in the building, seeing it, I played in Calgary, I've been in Ottawa for games, all of that. I didn't say that they won't be there. I just said to least represented will be an ad is that mitten is that how you recall it and jr one so i didn't plan with a pay gap or a bit of a big but you know that one hundred percent

correct okay i'm following amazing night night i never really thought about it when i was playing for a week you know you know you there's lots of fans everywhere seeming that now i think back it feels feels like there was way more in Calgary than Edmonton. I don't know why. I have no idea why these things happen this way. But certainly, Los in Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, yeah, Noodle, you are correct. It doesn't seem like, on the other ranks, it might be like 30% Leaf fans. in Edmonton it might be 10. I said 20, but Hayes and Pestchuk wanted to come through the camera at me and joke me

out. No, that's not true. No, I'm joking. I'm saying, I just said, they travel, Leaf fans travel well. I've experienced it. I played for the Flames. I'm in other ranks in that i see it that we need to have been sent they travel they get there but it's just not

as big a quite as that's okay i think that's our percent of the graduate that was a little bit more leaf and in arizona then there would be an ad that there would be more leaf and in florida then there would be a Edmonton. There would be more Leaf fans in Buffalo obviously, but even some of those far destinations playing for Leaf, there's more Leaf fans down there than I guess can get their hands on tickets

at Edmonton. So Johnny, we got these new cap projection numbers today and obviously the captain over here is now the GM of the Maple Leafs and he's on a hard line johnny he's saying there is no freaking way that mitch marter is making a dime more then austin matthews thirteen point two five million dollar cap it i'd put out the math to him that with his ninety five point five million dollar projected cap that even a modest raise of

marter's percentage of the the captain assigned for his previous contract would immediately put him very close to end probably above thirteen point two five into thirteen and a half million even if he gets fourteen percent of the cap this the last time he said he gets thirteen point four percent of the cap man that he's getting fifty percent cap that's a lot of math to say the ages will be making the case that he should make more than matthews cuz the

cap is rise how do you see it? I'm with the agents, 100%. Like I get it. I get why Colorado says I don't want Ranton and make it more than McKinnon in actual dollars. And I get why Ranton and would say I'm not making more, I'm making lesser by percentage of the cap. Don't worry about the actual dollars. It's percentage of cap that matters.

I get both sides of the argument. And depending on what side you want on, if you're a player, percentage of the cap, don't worry about the actual dollars. It's percentage of cap that matters. I get both sides of the argument, and depending on what side you want on, if you're a player, you want the percentage, if you're a team, you want the actual dollars, they both make sense. There is something, the fact that Austin's contract is so new, and the fact of the matter is Austin's better than Mitch Marner.

Mitch has had an incredible year, he's an incredible player, but Austin's better than him. That would be an easier line to toe on a contract that's only like a year old or a year and a half old. But if I'm Mitch Marner, I'm like, hey, this is how it goes. This is the advantage of being up when the cap's going up this way. I remember Lewald Dang getting $180 million contract off of an eight-point season with the Lakers. This is how it goes when you time it right. So this is, this is the way it works. But one of my other thoughts about this though, guys, like the player who

was going to maximize their earnings more than any other player in the history of this cap world is Austin Matthews. He's going to be up when the cap's $120 million and then you can sign his long-term deal and he can get whatever. Like it's amazing how he has signed it really well. But my first thought about those things, of course, Hayes, your thought goes to Marner and to Rassan and what's that mean for Tavares

and all this extra money in the system. A few different thoughts. One, the players will all be asking for more, as they should. There also will be way more competition amongst good teams for players. It used to be just the teams are at the bottom of the league had the cap space, right?

And do you wanna go play for San Jose? Do you wanna play for Chicago? They're no good. You dump in an extra $10 million per year per team, all of a sudden, good teams are gonna have lots of space to sign players. That's gonna be very different. But the other part is, how can the league be this confident about

where revenues are going to go and that is why the cap will go up. It tells me immediately first thought there's going to be expansion in the next couple of years. Like, like, like is such a moneymaker like the new new franchise they're always sorry, cap on the players. I think that's not going to happen. And you know the new television deal in Canada is also something that's going to be there and the new CBA I think they've all kind of got a the league's got a pretty good eye on all those ideas and how they're going to work out and where the caps going to go. asking or negotiating for whatever they want. That's not, it's not an anti-player stance. It's that my point is if you're the team, you're the manager, you're responsible for team building and applying a philosophy. And my thought goes to the Leafs will probably end up

just capitulating and saying whatever it's gonna take. That's been their history. That's what they've always done. Willie, what do you want? Okay, Mitch, what do you want? Austin, what do you want? I wouldn't be surprised at all. I'm bracing for them just doing that and whatever Marner is demanding is what they'll probably end up giving him. I wouldn't be surprised at all. But if I'm running things, at some point you have to have a backbone and you have to have a team philosophy. And I would argue the last time they

gave Marner those percentages, it was a massive overpayment. Massive overpayment and it's time to rectify that. And furthermore, forget your own internal cap. If you're saying this guy is gonna get a percentage that's gonna put him at, let's say 14 million. You know who's making 14 million start next year? Leon Drysettles. You know how embarrassing that would be

for the Maple Leafs to have to describe, like to explain that they're giving the exact same deal That dry settle just got for Mitch. There's no explaining that I'm sorry. They're just there isn't you cannot run your operation Giving a money like that. You can't there's no explanation for it. You know, it'd be more embarrassing for Leon I mean I said saying that respectfully, like you know, you're a much better player about to start on a contract with a guy making the same as you, then you didn't do a great job getting as much as you need or want or care to get. I don't know, I mean, Chess' point is well made. I mean if Marner, when his contract started at

13.4, you give him that now, that's like $13 million. You're gonna have to give him more than presented to the captain, Nylander got. You're gonna have to. Why do you have to do that? He's better than William Nylander. How much better is he than Willie? Is he really that much better than Willie? He's higher on the TSN mid-season player rankings.

He wasn't on the projection, the top 50. Willie was ahead of him three months ago. Willie's gonna score 45 goals. I I mean how much better is he than William Nylander I don't think he's degree he's better okay in your case so better numbers is he playoffs does he well not the play out yeah okay well he had better points per game is he a better playoff player than William Nylander well how do you judge William Nylander's player performance? Points and goals. And impact on the team. So how does Willie impact the team? Points and goals. Not with great defensive plays, not

killing penalties. So if it's points, Marner's got more points than William Nylander. In the playoffs, obviously way more in the regular season, goals, Willie obviously has way more in the playoffs. In the regular season goals we obviously has way more in the playoffs in the regular season the goals are actually much closer than you might anticipate so I'm conceiving it's close but I'm a Marner with the defeat better whatever it's even closer than the regular season but it's you if you are trying to make it like a super strong argument that Marner doesn't deserve a little bit more than William Nylander. And that puts him very close to Matthews with the new cap. And keep in mind, Johnny, we're all talking, this is speculation.

Mitch Marner controls his future. Like, he decides that he wants to play this out, you're going to use that cap space to go and try and replace Mitch Marner. And Miko Ranthinen might be available. Sam Bennett's going to be, you know, there's guys that, you know, you're going to, you might be able to pick your poison and reshape your team. All of this is, I think you kick the can down the road, but everyone's pointing to Miko Ranton and gets traded and Colorado gets a return and they get some stuff like, it's different with Mitch Marner, but you might be able to use that currency to

You know to reshape your team if you don't like the way that it ended this season We're talking about you know if they don't have to point out like if right regardless It's not just a Mitch thing clearly right Mitch will be the one that's up if if they crap out again And it's nine years with one playoff win Someone you would think they're gonna say, okay, well, we've gotta change something. Again, I'm not holding my breath because I've been saying that for three or four years.

They may not, they may not, based on the way that they've operated for years, but if it goes awry again, and they're just gonna continue to do it and do it and do it, I mean, it becomes more and more difficult to explain. Now, maybe it goes the opposite way,. They go on a great run, win a bunch of rounds, maybe win a cup and then it could be a completely different

situation. Obviously. But yeah, if I'm the Leafs, I'm not doing anything until I see how the playoffs play out. Yeah, yeah. Listen, they're all fair points and you know there's some risk involved in that because you could have a great run and I think the risk in taking it longer though haste that I do think if I don't imagine the price is gonna go up significantly higher unless they go win a cup or something like Mitch Smarter is gonna ask what he thinks he deserves and he makes a pretty good case that he deserves it and whether they win one round or two that's probably not gonna go up or down but it does offer you more information

than if you wanted to go a different direction. But it's, it would be, you could take $12 million and it's not going to be easy to replace Mitch Marner in any capacity, we know that. Like there's not that many good players out there that would be available. But this is gonna be fascinating. The whole dynamic of players and contracts, it's just going to shift now because squeezing

every cent and trying to make trades and salaries, all of it is going to be a little bit easier to navigate with the cap going up. And that's just three years. I'm assuming years four, five and six, it's going to continue to go up by eight or $10 million a year or whatever. So like you're talking $125, 30 million dollars in five years. The most valuable thing in the league right now is if you're sort of like a quasi star player who's just starting a long-term contract. If you're Nick Suzuki making seven and a half, four years from now that's gonna be

an absolute bargain. Any team who's got a player like that, all of a sudden he becomes more valuable as the term becomes more valuable than less as the cap starts to go up this much. That's all I could think about, Johnny, is the deal. Ottawa hasn't done anything. They haven't made it to the playoffs, but they've got a lot of those guys. Jake Sanderson's gonna make 8 million in the next seven years. That's a pretty value contract if they get through to the playoffs, if they turn the corner as an organization. Guys on long-term deals. I keep thinking like

Zach Iven makes $5.5 million. R&H, 5.1. These deals that were signed, and I know commitments and all of that type of stuff, and who knows, as age there's going to be drop off, but guys making $5 million, that could be a fourth liner if you don't go crazy at the top of your roster. Yeah. A lot of flexibility, man. A lot of flexibility. You will not get upset when your third liner is making four and a half or five.

It'll be like, not an afterthought, but it won't be like the contract that has jammed up the whole club. It's just going to be so different. And it's exciting. It's good for business. And one other thought from the Toronto market, for the last 20 years, the big markets have not, I mean, yes, they can spend more on player development and scouting and facilities and travel, but they haven't been able to spend

much more on players. And I think as it gets to 110, 115, 120, like you're going to start getting to a point where some teams will be hard pressed or will not want to go to the very cap, you know, unless they absolutely have to try to contend. And that might be a-pressed or will not want to go to the very cap, you know, unless they absolutely have to try to contend. And that might be a chance for Toronto or the Rangers or the Flyers or the Red Wings or the Blackhawks or the Habs or whoever, the big market teams to have a little bit more financial ease to get all the way to the cap if they want to. That's going to be one other sort of change over the last 20 years where it hasn't been

the case Yeah, I mean again it it's by guns or by guns it's done now But you just a part of me also looks back on the way they negotiated the first deals with Matthews and Marner and Nylander If they all had eight-year deals you'd have them for another three years at their original price Like Willie be making six point nine for the next for this year and next if they held strong on eight years. If they got Austin for 80, be making 11.6 for this in the next two. But had there been no COVID, they would have been also really set because the cap already would be at 100. More than likely that would have been the case. Right, so they were particularly hit because they had got all their guys through relative long-term contracts and then the caps stood still and

they and they they they lost that sort of up up taking the cap advantage. So yes, by God be by God. I know but you're you're not wrong, but they also were some things that were completely out of their control like covid that hurt them more than maybe other teams. So to clarify, would you be comfortable with Mitch Marner making more than Austin Matthews? to clarify would you be comfortable within mitch marner making more than austin matthews now if you're the g out thank you okay so what are we doing well i want to get started on that baby says for fifteen minutes about it like you guys are you with me like i'm a

dummy and then you agree with me and i have to continue i'm going to be close any and the other than you wish you was now i'm fine listen i want to clarify this mitch marner is a a a superstar phenomenal player i think they're all they all equally should be taking the heat for what has happened in the past come playoff time if anything the packing order should be austin at the top then mitch then willie

i see mitch and willie in a very similar spot terms of impact on the game we can all look at it differently i have fluctuated on that over the years but i think willie deserves a lot of credit especially look what he's doing right now this guy's plan with like pot is home bird and jacob will have to read yeah it's like it in martyrs up you know and again march martin seven a phenomenal year but he gets austin

thumb knives gets heard okay move mcmahon up willies doing it by himself but that's neither here nor there but I totally agree of course he's gonna ask for what he deserves, he's gonna try to get whatever he can but if I'm the Leafs you have to, for team building, for a team that hasn't won anything, at some point you've got to step up and say we have to have standards here and that's the end unfortunately Mitch's if he wants more than that if I'm Brad tree living in Brennan Chan and I'm saying that we just can't accept that and I don't know it's not personal it's business and Johnny I mean you know it's

not just Hayes ranting and raving here we've got in this past week we just saw a Stanley Cup winning front office make exactly the same argument in trading Miko Ratnick. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. This is not news. No, the Leafs are sort of uniquely... And what makes the Leafs interesting is that it seems like they've had this sort of conversation every summer they have it, as opposed to these

other teams that pops up every three or four years. But what makes it hard, and Hayes, you're not wrong, but just imagine it's you. Hayes, you're Mitch, and I'm management. And I'm like, listen, Mitch, you're incredible, but we've got to draw the line. So we're going to give you 13 flat, and I know percentage-wise you'd make a case for 13.5, but we just have to draw the line. What are you gonna say? Why would you have to start drawing the line with me? I'm not gonna be the guinea pig, I'm not gonna be the first guy who takes one for the team when nobody else has.

That's a tough pitch to make to a player when you've seen them maybe not do that for other guys. All of guys also you're gonna start doing with me that hardly seems enticing and that's and listen I get it and if I'm Marner I guess there's two things I might say I would probably continue with the conversation if I'm in the if I'm playing the role the Leafs I'd say no one went above Matthew's the last time either like he's 11.6 that was the height so technically they applied the same philosophy to Mitch six years ago and said, do not get more than him.

But what they did was they offered him less years. And I could see that being the case here. The Leafs have proven they want these guys to be happy. They love these guys, they love them as Maple Leafs. I think they envision this dream scenario which I would love to see play out. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the dream fulfilled here where they all stick together and they all win

and they all retire as Leafs. That'd be amazing. That'd be an incredible story. I could see a scenario though, where it is presented to Marner and this is up to him to figure out if he wants to do it. We're gonna draw the line on the money, but do you want the four year deal like Austin?

You can have a four year deal and come back up again in four years I don't think I don't know if that's great business for the least but I could see them doing that and how is that a bad deal if you're if you're Mitch Marner and it's a they offer you a four-year deal of 13 million you're telling me that's that's disrespectful that's an unbelievable offer I mean you could never say that you can't how could you do that to me I'm like wait a second right we've got showing incredible respect to it to the blood

uh... by the you're right but also think of a four-year deal puts him in a weird spot age-wise right like what would he be that's his problem for that said noodles i'd say that if you want to eat at thirteen and that's we do that so you tell me on four years you want you on bright right anything between four and eight like Austin or like Willie you tell us What do you want man? And if you really want to be a leaf and again, I feel like it's deja vu We've been talking about this for years

But at some point you got to say you got to prove you really want to be a leaf Are you in it's up to you? You want to do without the other guys? So Martin says why the why I why do I have to be the guy approval on a daily if when you give all these other guys exactly what they want again but i really didn't want to you want and we're gonna let you pick the term that's how much we like you make you get everyone you walk yourself to free of

these two years or you know the for light in eight you let us know and how much we love you we you can dictate how long you stay back with that's the outside we love you. You can dictate how long you stay. That's the upside. And if you want to bet on yourself and bet on the cap and bet on future opportunities, then take a three year deal. If you want to be a lease for life

and lock in another $120 million, time at it, we'd love to have you. Like that's a pretty compelling case. And listen, Dave, that very well could be his view and he's entitled to that and he wouldn't be necessarily wrong. And maybe he wants to test out something else and maybe someone's given him 15 million out there. Maybe that happens.

Wow. But in this cap environment you have to think somebody would. They very well could. And then that would be up to Mitch to determine if he wants to do that. I mean, at some point you got to draw a line. That's all I'm saying. mean i think they were chicago yeah carlos got to want to get better and and and and they don't have that many contract about the book but they'll

be i could be a going after a rand in the week we totally or marter like chicago without kind of move for them and i think you know i'm being a team that would go to learn to jump there and really pull it out of the water. Yeah, they got to surround that kid with some, you know, and he's got to take another step too. You know, he's still like he's still fine. That's the question.

Let's say it's rant. Take Mitch out of it. So it's not emotional and local. Let's say it's ranted in right. You can either play team X, which is a great team, team you love, blah, blah, blah, winning team, and you're gonna make 13, or you can go to Team Y, which is Chicago, the worst team in the league,

and make 14. I don't know, some guys might take, I'm sure guys look at it differently. Some guys would say, I'm not taking that extra million to go through that. I don't wanna do that, I wanna be here. Other guys will say I'll take it that extra million to go through that I don't want to do that I want to be here here's a crazy guys will say I'll take it it's a million dollars you're right I don't know if you feel this way MJ but here's

a crazy one San Jose I think is is is moving in the right right direction like I like their framework they've gone and gotten a goalie young goalie you know they've got celebrini who I think is gonna be a superstar. I think Celebrini, I look at San Jose a couple years from now, maybe that's where they go, we can get in on a rant and we can get in on, and have, maybe the first year or two is leaner, but when we're good, because they're gonna be good

in a couple years. It's not gonna be four years from now. They're gonna be good in a couple years. It's not gonna be four years from now They're gonna be good in a couple years and maybe I'm wrong Johnny. I've seen them live a few times I don't know how you feel but like I I that's where you take a flyer and go, okay Here's 14 for your rant in it or Mitch, you know Here's play with celebrini get him to the next level because we are on the right path. We've got a goalie We got young D We got you know, we've got and we've got a goalie we got young d we got you know we've got and we've got caps face we got all that that's the only way i

could see the overpay would pay off is you see the future of that where that organization's heading i might i might be a lot maybe that you know i'm celebrating a medical leave anaheim great place to live yeah they got a lot of like forty five or there's the million dollar in cap space next summer fifty yeah i mean you know you can go live in orange county and you know that the 45 or 50 million dollars in cap space next summer. I mean, you know, you can go live in orange County and you know, they have some decent pieces there to start to kind of start working around.

Like the, the, the, it just becomes fascinating stuff that you didn't have to kind of previously consider. And we're talking about just next summer, not to mention the 10 million for the summer after that and the 9 million in the summer. Like it's every year it's going to happen way it's it's it's awesome if you're if you're Kyle Connor I want in Winnipeg and you make seven million dollars and you're sitting there on 30 goals right now and you're like oh hello Suzy like hey he he's gonna get is he does he deserve more than William Nylander

probably yeah I mean he's in that he's in that boat. He's in that conversation, right? Absolutely. He's like 12 million with the new percentages. Yeah, it's a big jump for a guy like him. The whole thing is really fascinating. Big opportunity for GMs, right? To mold your team and to weaponize cap space. And a lot of guys have been complaining for a long time that they don't have it. There's nothing they can do. Well, now you have it, let's see what you got. Yeah, it's going to be an interesting few years coming up.

Alright, Johnny, we'll leave it there buddy, have a great weekend, we'll do it again next week. Alright, hey, once again, you establish yourself as anti-slayer in pro management every single time. Always, I'm a suit, I'm a suit, I'm a lower bowl guy. Hate the athlete, just decide with the billionaire, hate the millionaire. Just typical. Always man, always. Thank you Johnny. In the end he agreed with you though. That's the crazy part. You guys argued for 10 minutes

and he's like, yeah, don't go above Austin. Well, and listen, in a way I'm arguing with myself as well, because as an individual player, I understand why you are pushing for whatever you believe you're worth. That's the whole point, it is a business. I'm not naive to that. And Mitch Marner is salivating, and he should be, because he's gonna make a fortune.

And that's another thing you gotta keep into consideration here. Whether it's 13 or 13-7, the guy's got generational wealth for the rest of his life. Yes. Right. It's not like you're asking this guy to play for league minimum. But that hasn't been the point, Brian. The point is about ego and pride and fairness in that dressing room.

And if all the other guys have walked up to the trough and gotten this percentage of the cap and this money, Mitch has every right to think that he should walk up next in line and say, I want exactly what they got, tailored tailored to my numbers and here's what I deserve. Yeah and that's I'm sure what he'll present to them if he hasn't already presented to him. Like I'm sure that that will be the case and then again it gets back to where I stand in terms of the Leafs you have to make a decision on whether or not that makes sense for you. Right. And again in terms of the playoff history which again gets lost in the shuffle,

if this philosophy doesn't work, something's gotta give. And unfortunately for Mitch, it may have to be him. Right. If they lose again in the playoffs, I just, I can't stress it enough. I think it would be asinine, even with the cap going up, just continuously doing the same thing. Go out there and spend and find different players and find a different philosophy because it just after nine

years seven years as a core four one playoff run if that's what happens and i don't know what's going to happen come playoff time but if that's what happens you i don't i don't know i don't know how you run your business that way yeah i don't know how you could i don't know if you could justify that day with it though how's that that worked out? Have you agreed with it? Well, the guy that runs it is still in charge He's gonna celebrate the 11th anniversary as team president. So it's working 11th year Long time all right, Mike Johnson joined us on the maple Toyota hotline count on my maple Toyota for the right winter tire package For your Toyota.

Trade in your old tires, buy a new set and get $40 back. Visit mapletoyota.com. All right, Steve Phillips coming up. Forget 13 million, forget 13.5, whatever it is, man. Max Scherzer's here for 15.5 million on a one-year deal. We'll catch up with Steve on that. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on the TSN app.

All right, mail it in Friday. Br brought to you by Boston Pizza Canada's favorite sports bar this January well you got what six hours and 20 minutes left this January BP get delicious mouthwatering pasta starting at $1199 every single day enjoy the pastas you love it prices you can't miss hustle in your local BP tonight this has not been a mail itin Friday man we're yelling and screaming I love it I love it yeah we're listen the caps going up deals are happening in the league we had the Calgary Philly deal last night we had the ranting in deal a week ago you know there's a lot going on guys are on waivers Brandon saw it signed in Vegas

today I thought that was I mean Vegas of course Vegas gets them for one year at You know, there's a lot going on. Guys are on waivers. Brandon Saw it signed in Vegas today. I thought that was, I mean. Vegas, of course Vegas gets them for one year at 1.15 million. Good for Vegas. They deserve it. Yeah. They need it. They need the help.

Yeah. You think he's got something left, Noodles? I do. I mean, 32. Expectations are a lot different, right? Like you're, even Doug Armstrong, I watched his presser, I think it was yesterday, and he was talking, he goes, listen, he hasn't produced for us, SAD's got seven goals, he goes, you make it four and a half million. A lot of it is, you

get looked at different when you make a bigger number. We talk about it all the time, that guy's not doing anything for that number. So sod is seven goals at four and a half million You can have seven goals when you make 1.5 or 1.15, right? Because it's like oh, that's that's good production Hey, geez, you know Adam got dead in in Ottawa's got 15 goals He's making 780 or whatever it is like you know you that's what you want from the bottom of your roster like Anywhere take it through the league so sod can slide in there in there doesn't have to be the guy you can kill penalties got good speed

i think it's not a reclamation project it's just a hey the grass could be greener on this side of the fence and farther down in the lineup in it on a very good team yes got to get it said listen if you're if you're back if you're sawed you're stepping into a really good team really good situation and if i'm vegas I feel pretty good about it because he is actually sacrificing something, right? He's actually leaving money on the table

to find a new situation with a better team, and maybe to your point, Noodles, maybe just a better slot for himself where the expectations are proper for him at this stage in his career. And I mean, you've got to believe he's going to be motivated to really do well there. Well, with the cap going up, right, if he has a great stretch run and playoff run, then he'll probably make back everything he gave up in St. Louis.

Well, he left $5 million on the table. O said $8, I was digging into it, it's $5, with the rest of this year and into next year, but it's with a buyout or whatever It's five million money money man, but you get a million back of that and pro rated for the rest of this season So really if you sign anywhere next year for four or a little bit less It's just the difference of is that much right? So it's a couple million if he signs for less if he has a great rest of the season He might be able to get a three or four million dollar contract next year with a new team or with with I don't know

I feel like Vegas will bring him in and then go now. We really loved you, but we're gonna move away from Yeah, but somebody else will give him three years at four or three at three and really the difference would be about a million bucks And you gave yourself an opportunity to go win. Yeah, it it is it it's a it's a good fun for vegas will see what's on sky i mean it doesn't work in the very right then he's a little player whatever the wave on or whatever they're going to do but uh... yeah a lot activity even even vancouver right we're still waiting to

see if they're gonna end up doing anything and they end up moving off any of those guys it sounds more more likely that it could be peterson the gets moved and moved and you know there's a guy he's got a big contract he's uber talented I don't know I don't know how that's going to play out but I am still fascinated to see you know where Vancouver takes this because Calgary won last night but it's them and Calgary effectively yeah you know it's a two-horse race basically for that second wild card in the West and Calgary I think got won last night, but it's them and Calgary effectively. You know, it's a two horse race basically for that second wild card in the West. And Calgary, I think got better last night.

Yeah, I agree with Frost and Farabee. For sure they did. And those are 24 year old and 25 year old. I mean, Frost can slide in as your number two center man if you move Kadri up, Backlands there. I mean, you're gonna move guys around, but ultimately bigger picture. I believe Morgan Frost is 25 and Farabees 24 or vice versa so you're gonna fit right in with the what they're trying to do a

retool on the fly like it's a nice move for them yeah yeah it's a crafty move for for Craig Conroy and Leafs are in there on on Tuesday next week so we got Leafs Oilers tomorrow night we've, I guess this could be the first weekend without any football in a long time. Yeah. That's depressing, man. I was thinking about it last night. Like I would have paid big money

for a Browns-Titans game last night. Like just give me any Thursday night football. We always complain about it, right? Oh, brutal game, Jags versus the Titans. Who wants to watch this? Al Michaels is asleep. I'll take it. Last night, I would have happily taken that

because you just don't know what you have until it's gone. And the NFL, we got one game left. And this time next year, we'll be making our next week. We'll be making picks. And Al's brother, myself, we got to we got to make a significant comeback here. We're down three points. You I mean, Dave, do you feel is it just my homes and that's it's a lock or what like you just can't bet against them there's I wouldn't bet like

a fraction of a cent against Patrick Mahomes I mean I just I mean it's just it is silly now crazy and I mean we have melt multiple I was looking it up I mean they've this is you know they've won the three Super Bowls I believe they were underdogs in two of them right like Mahomes has been the underdog in two of his three wins they're not the underdogs here they're slight favorites right still Hayes? Yeah it's still one and a half. Yep it's still one and a half so which I'm surprised that line hasn't moved really at all. Yeah it's just like everyone's like yeah that feels appropriate basically a pick them. Although you read I've been reading a ton of projections from different handicappers and a lot of people make the argument that Philadelphia is the

better team. Yeah. They've got better numbers. They've got a more potent attack. Yeah. You know, and, but I feel like you can get fooled because the strength of the Chiefs has never been in their numbers. It's always been in their clutch play, their character, their clutch, all of that type coaching. Well, that's a big thing. Noodles is two weeks of preparation for Andy Reed and Steve Speck. No, like that's dangerous, man. That's a dangerous game, but yeah, Philly stacked like they are stacked.

They have a ton of talent. Their front seven is loaded. Yeah, they're going to get after Mahomes. That'll be the question. Can they hit him? Cause the Bills didn't touch him. Like the Bills just never hit him. Like there was never any pressure on him.

And it's easier said than done, but that's, that's what got Brady. Whenever Brady lost, he was on the ground a ton. But remember the last time they played the, the, the Super Bowl, two Super Bowls ago, Eagles, Chiefs, Mahomes was injured. Remember that he had the high ankles brain. He was hobbling around. They were hitting him. They were getting to him and he still won.

Still didn't matter. Not so good he is. Um, alright Raptors, Chicago tonight. The Raptors are a favorite. Four point favorite tonight. What's going on? What is going on? They've won five in a row. They've won five in a row. We'll come back and touch on that. Steve Phillips still to come as well. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050N on TSN 4. Melon in Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. This January at BP get delicious mouthwatering pasta starting at $11.99 every single day.

Enjoy the pastas you love at prices you can't miss. Hustling to your local BP tonight. All right, Steve Phillips still to come. enjoy the past as you love the prices you can't miss hustling your local bp tonight phillips dot com we said it's in tomorrow night that games in the nl tonight the rafters are in action emmanuel quickly will play is on a minute's restriction tonight okay with the bulls in town with last

time i checked on finn to them rappers are four point favorite it one five in a row and they're a favorite tonight. Suddenly a defensive juggernaut. Yeah that's the big thing right like and credit to Scotty Barnes because he is leading the charge on that. He's elevated his defensive play a lot recently and that's the glass half full I guess is like you've committed to Scott. He's a young guy you want him to grow you want them to

You need to create a culture that's positive But it's almost February and you've gone this far you have to finish the job of being a bottom five team Wow, yes, like unfortunately now they're not no I know that Brooklyn's past them and Brooklyn is sinking like a stone. They lose every single night. They're doing it, right? Yeah, well exactly. I mean it sucks like I understand. It's it kind of goes against the Winning nature of pro sports and the integrity of sports But that's kind of the way things have to go like look at Washington last night the Lakers beat them by what 30

It's just embarrassing like that. Washington is horrendous now. What was Were they chanting MVP for Bronnie? For Bronnie, oh my. Getting to a point, man, where. It's embarrassing. Why, yeah, it's embarrassing. Like he's bringing the ball up the court and they're chanting MVP. Yeah.

I mean, what else are you gonna do? You're in Washington. I know, but. It is embarrassing. You gotta have some fun. The look on LeBron's face is like, I mean. Yeah, he's like, this is awkward, man. Good stuff there, but. It is a bit like, I mean, the look on LeBron's face is like, I mean. Yeah, he's like, this is awkward, man. Good stuff there, kid.

It's awkward, man. It's awkward that his son's in their plan. I think it's also, listen, that's not a great look for Washington. That's them also mocking their own team. Oh yeah. Like the Wizards suck so much that we're going to, we're going to joke around about the Lakers being in town. That's the thing. That's how bad we are and guess what like there's like

when you're that bad and then you finish dead last you only get a 14% chance right at Cooper flag no guarantees there's no guarantees you have that means like you know a pretty damn good chance you're not getting the best player in the draft yeah it's it's it's a dangerous dangerous thing to be in but you need a lottery ticket right the raptors need another player the multiple more players they want to get to where they want to get to and i guess right now nine percent chance of the number one pick of the finish where they finish today

uh... which i guess is that they've won they won they won the berniotti lottery they had an eight percent chance that's right what a What a win that was. What a win that was. That was a big win. All right, final hour for the week coming up. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on the TSN app.