OverDrive - OverDrive - January 31, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: February 1, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Dave Feschuk for Hour 3 on OverDrive! TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips joins to discuss Max Scherzer signing with the Blue Jays, his role on the group and Pete Alonso's team sweepstakes for the season. They also discuss the Maple Leafs and Oilers' matchup, the importance of winning runs and Morgan Rielly looking for success on the blue line and Bryan gives his FanDuel Best Bets.

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new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, new you, Steve Phillips coming up here in a few moments on Max Scherzer's deal what it means for the Blue Jays Win-loss total right like how many wins could he be responsible for everyone's got a different view on Scherzer and Like I think from an entertainment standpoint It's a it's it's a big win if you're a Blue J fan if you just want to have a legend in town Right right like and it is entertainment. There's a lot of people that are excited for that myself included I'm excited to see him show up in the spring wearing a blue jay uniform What comes out of Dunedin with him talking to the media how he interacts with people what he looks like I think it's presuming health the the biggest

debut is Unquestionably going to be his first start like more so than Santander more so than Him and as or Hoffman coming out of the bullpen or what have you whenever Scherzer makes that start to be his first start. Like more so than Santander, more so than Jimenez or Hoffman coming out of the bullpen or what have you. Whenever Scherzer makes that start it's gonna be very very historic. But what is it actually gonna mean for wins and losses? That's when you get into the nitty-gritty like how healthy is he gonna be and what does he have left? Right. You know and that's that's those are all reasonable questions. Well what does he have left?

Turn in 40. Yeah it's 41 in July. Right. You know still you know you less than a year removed or whatever a year-ish removed from surgery right like this is a guy who you know didn't pitch a lot last year because of that so it's hard to know man it's it's a wild card and I wonder how much of this is guys like and noodles you probably know better than we would about the value of this but i wonder how much of this is just as much as you want him to pitch you also paying

part of the salary for his presence the prep pedigree you know what i thought of i always bring it back to hockey i thought that that's joe thorton signed joe thorton like when the leafs brought him in. Mentor, great guy, great player, Hall of Famer, all of that type of stuff. Does he have some game left? Yeah, I think he does. I think it's a bigger picture if you're bringing in it. And you're right, Brian, does it translate to wins?

Yeah, potentially if the guy has his stuff, absolutely. Like you don't forget how to throw the ball. Like, but at 40 or coming 41, what does he have left? But he can be a great mentor. What if he actually got Alec Manoa somehow on track? You know, maybe he could help some of the younger pitchers in the system. Like to me, he could be a guy who could help out in a lot of facets. That's the that is the reasonable question. You know, a reasonable question what it's worth. Ken, is there anything that can get Alec Manoa going again? Right. Um, is Scherzer that type of guy? I don't have that answer. I don't know. I mean, because we used to talk about Roy Halliday that way that, uh, you know, Halliday was a guy,

watch what he does, you know, make sure you get a read on how he operates and by all accounts, Roy was a guy that kind of stuck to himself. Yeah, like Halliday, he'd be there at like 430 working out and then he'd be in the gym at five and then he'd have his, you know, side session and be out of there by nine or ten. And that's, that's not a shot at the guy or at his leadership he led by example but he wasn't by all accounts like a take you under the wing type player. I don't know if that's Scherzer or not. I don't know. I mean I think you're hoping that he will apply some of that logic. I think the guys

who are in the rotation are not looking for it. Bowden Francis should but Kevin Gosman's a veteran, Bassett's a veteran, but you know, Barrios is a vet. They're not looking to Scherzer to pick up P's and Q's or what have you. Right, right. But... Now, but maybe it... Look, I mean, let's face it. This front office has proven through some of their moves that they're a believer in kind of the comportment of the team. Right? They didn't... You know, there was all that stuff about them not

liking all the fun at one end of the dugout with the sunflower showers and all the hijinks. Max Scherzer wouldn't like that either by the look of it. He's pretty intense too. He'd like some run support. He probably wouldn't mind Teosca Hernandez still hitting 35 home runs. Yeah, but he's intense right yes yes i think that intensity yeah and a and a level of seriousness about being a ballplayer of the one thing that we first wish a pirate act is a lot

they like serious ballplay they value that they they definitely value that and and listen they pay them a lot of money you know i mean fifteen point five million is a lot of my it's a lot of terms though here you a lot. Relative terms though. You know what I mean? Right. Listen, if this guy was in,

if Scherzer was in his prime and became a UFA, he would have, I can't even imagine what he'd get. Like what did Burns get? Two, you get 275, Burns? Get 40 a year, wouldn't he? Yeah, I think if Scherzer's 27 years old coming off of Cy Young or two Cy Youngs and pitching the way he was pitching in his prime,

it might be a $350 million deal. Oh yeah. Like it would be absurd the amount of money he's getting, but that's not who he is anymore. But everyone knows that. Like no one's expecting prime Scherzer. You just, you hope that he stays healthy. That's what you're hoping for.

Can you stay healthy? Can you go out there every fifth day? If you can, that's gonna be a benefit for the Blue Jays. Here's Steve Phillips, our TSN baseball insider. In terms of wins and losses, Steve, the addition of Max Scherzer, how much do you think that's worth for the Blue Jays? Well, yeah, it's hard to say, right?

I mean, it's gonna come down to health. I heard you talking about it. You know, when he's healthy, I still think he's got a chance to be effective But you know, he's had a neck thing and a back thing and a shoulder thing over the last few years but you know, I think his value is not only what he does when he pitches on the mound but Having a guy like this, you know his even choosing the blue jays in the statement, right? He's a hired gun a mercenary right, and he goes to a place where he thinks he's got a chance to win.

He wants to get another ring. So he's going to a place where he thinks he has a chance to win, and he thought the Blue Jays are one of those teams. And so, you know, I think that, you know, he could certainly win double digit games for them this year. Again, wins are a byproduct of the team,

but if he stays healthy, and you know, the expectation really is to be the fifth starter, and I think he's gonna exceed that for sure, but they don't need him to be the ace. And so whatever they get beyond being a fifth starter is just icing on the cake, I think. But it's also the impact he has on Gosman, and Bassett, and Barrios, and Aboden Francisrios and on Alok Minoa as he rehabs and

works his way back, trying to come back before the year is out. If Minoa five years from now is pitching well and reflects back on his time that he was with Max Scherzer and was impacted by him, that will be one of the big benefits and I think hopes that the J's have that this will be a benefit for big benefits and I think hopes that the Jays have that this will be a benefit for guys like Minoa down the road. So you just said something. So he chose Toronto and for a chance to win. Like where do you see, from the outside of this market, where do you see the Blue Jays at as far as their signings and maybe the projection to have more of a winning team from what we

saw last season. Right. So the story was that Scherzer and the Jays knew what the money would be. He was waiting for Pete Alonso to sign. And that would put him over the top to think the Jays had a chance to win. Now remember, Scherzer's agent is Scott Boris. So is Alonso's, so is Bregman. Scherzer signing and choosing the Blue Jays is with knowledge of those other negotiations and because Boris is at the center of all of it. And so it honestly gives me hope that they're going to get one or the other of

Alonso or Bregman. Now maybe it won't go that way, but you know Scherzer waiting and then going ahead and making his decision now I think is likely an indicator that that there's more to come for the Jays. And so in my mind they're a hitter away from being a playoff contender. They need either Bregman or Alonso, or both, right? Now, we're hearing that the Vladi negotiations are getting closer and that, I mean, I don't know what reports could believe or not believe that they're at about 450 million.

And again, I don't know how reputable the information is on it, but if they're hearing hearing it from someone maybe that will get done and so it doesn't mean that they're shying away from Alonzo though they still seem to be in on it don't figure out maybe Vladdy playing some third I don't love that idea and Alonzo playing first and using the DH role to sort of mix and match where they go so they need another bat in my mind to truly finish off the job for the year. But they've got a chance to have one of the biggest saves of the year, even before the season begins, if they're able to pull this off.

All right. Taking long term, you know, projections out of it simply for 2025, who would you choose and who do you believe would have a bigger impact on this team this, this upcoming season, Bregman or Alonzo? Uh, I think Alonzo, I think Alonzo is going to go off this year and just absolutely crushed the baseball. I do. I think that like he is, you know, having gotten to know him in New York, he is, he's a different cat.

He's a little Gary Carter-ish in that he's a little hokey, and sometimes guys roll their eyes, but they still respect him because he goes to the post. Like Francisco Lindor went to ownership in New York and said, we really need Pete back. And so Steve Cullen's back engaging, whether they get a deal done, you know, remains to be seen. But Alonzo is, he cares about winning.

He cares about a fan base. He cares about his teammates. He cares about like, he takes losses and they hurt. He's a, he's a great teammate in a lot of ways. He's just a little hokey. But, you know, he loves New York, but it seems like New York's sort of shut the door on him. So if he doesn't go back to New York,

he's gonna come out this year and try to prove what New York lost. And I think that somebody's gonna get him and be the beneficiary of that. So I would say Alonzo for me would be the most, and I think the J's need to focus on offense and not run prevention. Bregman's run prevention, not necessarily run production.

He's on base percentage, not slugging. And I think the J's, give me Santander, Alonzo, Guerrero, with Bichette coming back and let it go to war with that. I think I got a chance to just absolutely pummel some teams. Hey Steve, but you know the fact that the Mets and Alonso have not been able to come to terms here, when you consider the resources of Cohen, the Mets owner, and when you consider the goodwill there, there's clearly a real love affair with Pete Alonso and that fan base and and perhaps in that clubhouse to your point about Lindor pushing to bring him back is that a red flag for the

Blue Jays like if if the Alonso deal isn't good enough for the Mets like should it be good enough for the Blue Jays? Yeah I here's what happened with the Mets. And so Scott Boris effectively promised Alonzo that he was gonna get him beyond Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson, and they had business of over $200 million. And so when they engaged teams that needed first baseman, there were a lot of them that needed first baseman. They came out with that being their starting point for a lot of teams that's like, yeah, we're not paying a first baseman that kind of money. We're not paying a more one dimensional guy.

Although by the way, Pete Alonzo is the best at scooping the ball out of the dirt of any first baseman in baseball, the best. He's the best at scooping and saving errors of any first baseman in the game. But what happened was everybody assumed that he was going to be a Met and that when he came out of the gate looking at 200 million, everybody's like, first, that's a non-starter for us and second, anything less than that, we know the Mets are going to match it, so we're going to go away. Everybody went in a different direction because they just assumed he was going to be a Met. The Mets have played this out knowing he really wanted to be a Met. He kept telling everybody

he wanted to be a Met. They were like, why would we chase a number for him? But I think what happened was, because they didn't think anybody else was in, they offered three at 70 as kind of a final offer. It wasn't good enough. Boris decided to wait on it. And then the Blue Jays came in and seemed like they're beyond that number.

And so the Met's were like, well, we're not chasing it. We said this is where we're not going. So I think it's been just a dynamic of the negotiation. And there's, listen, he is, I've been around the Mets team a lot and his teammates want him back and the fans want him back. And it really comes down to, they don't want to just play this negotiating game

and they're frustrated by the process with Scott Boris. You heard Steve Cohen talk about that on their, your sort of fan fest, the amazing day and they call it just how frustrating because he, you know, the short term deal that that Scott Boris wanted was allow a three year deal, allowing opt outs after the first and second year. And when they got opted out, he then wanted to pay bonuses when he opted out. And that's like, what are you talking about?

If you're gonna leave us, why would we give you a bonus and a buyout if you're choosing to leave? And so I think there's some frustration there too, and I get it, because Scott can wear you down in a negotiation, because when you tell them that doesn't work for us. And then, you know, two days later it comes back with the same structure, same proposal.

You're like, I just told you that doesn't work. I'm not negotiating and say that doesn't work when it does. It just, I'm telling you it doesn't work, but he can just keep coming back at you with the same thing. And I sent some of that frustration from the meth. Do you think they can sniff out that like Alonzo's dying to still be a Met though? Like is that your read on the situation that they know Boris is up to his old tricks but they're like it's not gonna work because your client is dying to be a New York Met?

Yes I think that there's no doubt so after that amazing day that they had where the fans were chanting Alonzo Alonzo bring back Pete bring back Pete and Steve Cohen said listen We've got a very expensive team. We've made a run for Pete. We have respect for Pete. We made a try at it It's just these were frustrated about the structures everything else at that point from The word is that Alonzo has told Scott Boris get me to the mat get me to the mat and Alonzo got on a flight and flew from Florida to New Jersey to get to New York to try to go face to face.

And so Steve Cohen re-engaged with conversations, but they don't wanna negotiate against themselves and they keep believing he wants to be a Met. But I think at some point, they started talking about in New York, they talked to the Tigers about Spencer Torkelson, they talked to the Orioles about Ryan Mountcastle, and they're looking at alternatives right now,

and Steve Cohen said, every time we find somebody else new, it's one less opportunity for Alonzo to be here, so I personally think he should be a Met, and that he should slot in behind Soto, and I don't understand why they don't see that rather obviously, but I do think that it's really just negotiating, but I think there's an opportunity, because if the J's come in at three at 90,

I think they get it. You know, on a short-term deal, I would do that. You know, I would do three at 90 for Alonzo on a short-term deal and, you know, give them the highest AAV of a first basement. It's short-term. I would maybe give them an opt-out after the second year if he wants it. And that way it protects them with, with Vlad's negotiation, what he's doing and everything else. And I think that $20 million difference is enough to get Alonso to say yes. Ooh, man. Again, listen, it's heavy lifting right now,

but at the end of the day, there's been so much noise, there's so much negativity directed towards this team, this front office in large part because of how poorly they played last year. Shapiro and Atkins have been here for a decade, never won a playoff game, etc. etc. But if you find a way to get Alonso Santander, Fladdy's still here, Bichette's healthy, you bring in Hoffman, you bring in Scherzer, Jimenez, you know, like all of a sudden you're like

that's a lot of turnover. It's a lot of positive turnover. Those are some pretty good ballplayers, man. Like that's, they're a much better team on paper today than they would have been game 162. There's no, it doesn't matter how you feel paper today than they would have been game 162. There's no, doesn't matter how you feel about Ross Atkins. That's just a reality. That's a win. Absolutely. I mean, and by the way, they've got the fifth highest payroll.

So they are spending and you know, they've got, remember they're at like, they're already beyond the luxury tax threshold, the competitive balance tax threshold of 241 or 242. And so they're beyond that already. And they're thinking about adding more. And so, and look, what I do appreciate is the acknowledgement of the critical nature of this year for this franchise, that if they didn't put it together to compete for this year and beyond then it was going to be a rebuild and you know if they don't get the Vlad thing

done or not but if they add and get Santander and they get an Alonzo and they get a Bregman it now gives them absolutely good reason to believe they can compete next year too regardless of what happens with Vlad because look if Alonzo goes to the match, he gets an opt out after one year, and then they can't make the deal with Vlad, and Vlad leaves, you can go get Alonzo in free agency. He's gonna be cheaper than Vladimir Gero Jr. He's gonna be a 40 home run guy, Alonzo.

And you can keep building your team for next year too. So I think that this is so far, they need to finish the job though, right? They need another bat. They can't stop here because they're gonna be a bat short. They need that other bat. Remember, this is an offense.

They used to have Piasco Hernandez, Lourdes Gouriel Jr. and Marcus Simeon and Vlad and Bichette. And then it went to Matt Chapman and run prevention. Gurriel left, uh, and Gabby and Reno left. And then it got Varsho who was good defensively, but less, and they kept going run prevention, less offense, run prevention, less offense to the point that it's not enough offense.

And so I, you know, yeah. And so I think they're, they're a battle way from really being able to celebrate an amazing off season. Great stuff as always, Steve, appreciate you doing this. We'll do it again soon. All right, my pleasure guys, thanks so much. Steve Phillips, our TSN baseball insider. And listen, I understand why a lot of people

will not ever salute this front office during the off season. And I'm not here to convince you of anything one way or the other because they, Byron Atkins have been here for a decade, coming off a horrible season. Everyone's coming out with their top 100 prospects right now. A lot of lists don't have any Blue Jays on.

If they do, they have one or two in the nineties. So it's not like the farm system stacked. They've had a lot of money to play with. Like I, I get the case. So I understand the case and they haven't played a game and they haven't won a game. But if they sign Alonzo and let's say they lock up Vladdy long-term, that's, it's a, it will be a great off season. Yeah. It's not, it's not Soto. It's not Otani last year. I get Corbin burns is Arizona, I get all that. But it's, you gotta give credit where credit's due.

It'll be a very active off season where they've improved their team significantly. Their owners given them a lot of resources and they're spending it. And they've pulled it out of the fire to a degree cause a month or so ago, it didn't look so good. Well, what does that tell you about the owner in his feeling about Chaparr and Atkins that he's giving them a blank check effectively this offseason? I'll tell

you I'll tell you what it tells you about the owner. The owner knows that he's going to be under the microscope very shortly. He's about to take full ownership of the Toronto sports landscape forget just the Blue Jays. You know he's gonna control Maple Leafs, the Raptors, TFC, he's going to control everything and he's got to make everybody in this town know that he's serious about winning or else he's going to have a very tough time on the PR front moving forward. Yeah. Yeah, it's true. Yeah, it may be more about PR than anything else, but there's a part of me that thinks

this is also kind of showing his hand that and I'm talking about Rogers here that they still fully believe in the Mark Shapiro plan and the way Shapiro operates. What other option do they have? I mean you could always get somebody else. They're letting him right now. They're not going to do that now exactly but there have been examples in sports history where it's been like hey listen I'm not giving you more I've've given you enough, make this work. And if you sink, you sink, but Rodgers is giving Atkins and Shapiro Bile accounts ample opportunity and ample money to dig themselves out of this PR hole that they're currently in. And I think, you know, Shapiro and Atkins should be very, very fortunate for that. Yeah, like they're getting a check. Exactly. The state of the Canadian dollar.

That's right. Five payroll. That's right. That's significant. And agreed like that. It's not going to get better right now. But it's it is the fact that they're allowing them to do it. They obviously they believe that they can get it done. Or they said, here's your last chance. Go have a good summer. And they're hoping're hoping you know you get Vlad E done maybe Bo shows up and and turns the clock back to where he was before he was injured I

mean that's ideal they need that for sure yeah exactly for sure all right best but still to come later this hour we've got the Lisa in action in Edmonton tomorrow night we'll get back into that as well. And Mail It 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. Also on your local BP tonight. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. Mail It 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. Hustle into your local BP tonight. All right, best bet still to come later in the hour. Leafs Edmonton tomorrow night. Connor McDavid bent out of shape that they have to play at 5pm local time tomorrow to accommodate guys like me in Toronto. Guys like us, like you Noodles, you're a Torontonian, now you love watching that game at 7pm tomorrow

night. I'll watch it any time. It doesn't matter to me, I'm going to watch it, I'm fired up about it. I think it'll be a good game. And I think the Leafs have to have a good showing I think they will you know, it's a start of a road trip opportunity get out on the road and And really try and have an impact here. You got four games before the break So you you got to finish strong and honestly I say it every night and we're gonna say it for the next two and a half

Months or whatever scoreboard watching. Yeah stand watching, like everybody you're playing, playing every night, you know, and other teams are picking up points, there's three point games here and there, you just got to take care of your business and you'll be fine, but at the end of the day, they're in a predicament here where, you know, some teams nip it at their heels type of thing where wasn't that the case three weeks ago well you lose six of nine that's gonna put you in that position right like the lisa you compare contrast there's their record

this year compared to last year really a lot of the previous years it's about where they've been right you know it's and this league is in large part a you know it's like every other sport it's like the NBA is a fourth quarter sport the NFL is a fourth quarter sport the NHL is a third period league it's it's a you know what are you what are you gonna do down the stretch that will separate you and at least have proven in years past that if you start to doubt them that's generally a fool's game because they're gonna snap out of it in

the regular season. Yeah. Right and I wouldn't be surprised if they want tomorrow night It's an electric game and they go out West and there's eight points on the line and they get Seven of them and then you go under the break and you're feeling great. Yeah, Willie Neil. I understand. What's the big deal? What's the big deal? But You know getting tomorrow's back will be significant getting eyes back and stole ours is a big part of it too. Like Again, the first 30 games of the year they had the best tandem in the league with Stollers and Wall. Like the two of them had spectacular numbers and goaltending has not been the issue it's been more about scoring goals but Wall

has slowed down you know his numbers have dipped a little bit as well and they need Stollers to get back into the swing of things. So I'm curious when he plays. I would think Calgary or Seattle. I mean, you know, one of those starts has to be his if he's ready to go. He'll make you go with Woll tomorrow night, see how it unfolds and then, you know, it's spaced out but it is, you know, it's four games in whatever it is, seven nights, so you're gonna find a start for him at least one and and if it goes well maybe you find another one yeah get back to a competition I think that that probably is what you're looking at like let's say wall starts tomorrow night if Stollers

plays Tuesday and plays really well maybe you go wall Thursday Stollers next Saturday right you get him a couple of starts you go back into the tandem like you said it's beneficial to have that. And listen, Stolar's now, the eyes are going to be on him again. Like back, you revert back to the start of the year. What do you got? Let's see what now, now you're coming off an injury. It's tough to jump back on a moving train. He's got to do that, right? He's an important piece. It's knee surgery, right? I know, I know it was minor knee surgery, but it's still, you know, the procedure where they open you up and they take something

out. Well, and I think you should hit the ground running, but if the team can play well in front of you, it's about goal support, it's about timing. Listen, this is a tough road trip anyway you slice it. Playing on the road is a lot tougher than it is at home, and everything's a little bit different. You look at that, that's why road records are different than home records as far as statistically.

So, you know you've got to find a way to get into a groove and feel good about it. That's the biggest challenge. The schedule, I've said it before, the schedule for the Leafs is going to be challenging. It'll be challenging then it'll challenge you. You've got to find a way to fight through it But it is going to be challenging for them You know it they've had it pretty good as far as home ice playing in their own time zone that type of stuff Yes, you get the time zone game tomorrow, but you're not getting a time zone game Tuesday Thursday No, so you got to find a way to fight through that yeah. Yeah exactly, and I think you know you go out there a day early They're they're practicing in Edmonton today they would have got there i guess either this morning or

late last night and uh... you get acclimated and i could be home for a while like we know they don't play at home i don't think until february twenty second against carolina and it is yeah so even once you go into the tournament you come out they hit the road those in a lot of road games and they're gonna need both bullies and they're they're gonna need a combination of their best players continuously plan well and they've gotten great play. Marner's been great, Nylander's been great, Matthew's been great the last 10 to 12 games

and Tavares has got to jump back in where he was, but they need more of their depth players as well. I mean, that's just a reality. Like on a trip like this and especially on the road, you can't expect Marner, Matthews and Nylander to do it every single night. No. You need depth. You need Patch Ready to play well. You need Nyes to figure it out. Max Domey's got to get going, man. Yeah. Got to contribute some offense. They've got to get the power play work and they need offense from the point.

These are all things you have to have. And the other problem has of course been their highest paid defenseman, right? The longest serving leaf, Morgan Riley. I mean, he's a little bit of a lot of it is as i look like himself and noodles mean you've watched him closely and i don't know what you make of it may be a trip west back home morgan riley good but you know he needs something the change the momentum here doesn't need yeah he works hard with you know

we all know what we've watched it for years he works hard hard, works at his craft. He's a good skater, all of that. But I think it's finding the right partner for him again. I don't know. That's the one thing. When T.J. Brody first got here, he was a guy that could play was really good complimently complementary player and to me who has been Riley's most solid player to play with right but at some point it's got to be an inward thing too right I can't just be his partner every time I'm not blaming it on I'm not saying oh the reason it's the partner. Yeah. But, but you know when you have McCabe and Tanev that looks really good they play off each other. You need somebody that he needs to play off that you trust. Who has it been like that Philip

Myers or you know. Well this year they don't have that. I mean today. They don't have it. Today he's back with Ekman Larsen and. Yeah Ekman Larsen's a good player so he should be able to feed off of that. That's my point. Morgan's got to play better and you know the other night He got exposed you you got to be able to absorb contact. You know win loose buck battles all that type of stuff He has to look at it, and he's you know I like this comments the other night He didn't run from it. I got to play better You know I got to find a way But there is a lot of other guys that can take a look in the mirror in That dress room and go geez I can play better too

And I think that's where you know, the biggest challenges right now is you know There are some guys in the back end that you know Tanev and McCabe look their age a little bit and you know It happens like I that's why I said the other night, Minnesota their forecheck was unbelievable Like that I thought they they looked like they had seven players on the ice Yeah, I was like god. They were buzzing. Yeah last night They did the same thing at the Bell Center And they're unbelievable on the road like that's the other thing so well, you know, they got to find something But that's I mean that again with the Riley perspective. He still you get pushed off the puck below your block

That's like a war check. You can't have that you're sending you gotta you gotta be bad. That's just no there's no the Riley perspective, you still get pushed off the puck below your goal line. That's not right. That's just bad defending. You can't have that. You've got to be better. That's just bad defending. Yeah, there's no defending that. You have to be better.

That's not about your partner. Yeah. I'm just talking bigger picture the full season. What we're saying is, you know, we haven't seen the best of Morgan Riley. I would like to see some stability there in his game and maybe somebody that plays well with him. On paper that top four looks good where you've got McCabe and Tanev and Ekman Larsen and Riley, but it just hasn't recently, especially with Riley, whoever he plays with, hasn't looked good. Well, and to Hayes' point, you'd like to see some offense from the point, you'd like to see some contribution from the back end, and you're not getting it.

And I think that's the tricky part in the Barube system here. You've heard Barube, when he's been asked about Riley's struggles, talking about how they've wanted him to take some of the risk out of his game. I think that's put him in a kind of in-between spot, where he doesn't feel like he can be the Morgan Riley that was into the 70-point range at his height as a player a few years back and and now is You know struggling to not be a big minus on a lot of nights He's not he's not really being an offensive threat and he's not being great defensively and he's kind of in between Not knowing who he is anymore. Maybe under the berube system

Yeah, and it's Borube system. Yeah. And it's a great point. The other thing too is they do need offense from the back end. I do believe, I don't have it in front of me. I think the second lowest score. They have 11 goals, I believe, from the point. Yeah.

I think it's second to the bottom. Second worst in the NHL. That makes sense. I mean, they played 52 games or whatever it is. I mean, 51 games. They've been near the bottom all year. I haven't tracked it today, but I've been looking at it a lot. It's really.

Yeah, you look at it like really it's, and that's again, points to Morgan. It's Riley and Ekman Larson are your offensive weapons on the back end. Like Tana is not going to score. McCabe will sneak in a few, you know, occasionally with a shot from the point. Myers isn't, Ben was not,

like those guys aren't even wired to do that. No. They're just simply not gonna do it. So part of it is the way they're built, that the defense corps is built leaning towards defensive defensemen. But the two guys that they have that are capable of supplying some goals from the point are Riley and Ekman-Larson,

and neither of them are really doing that. To the point where they've gone with five forwards on the power play. Because they don't look at either guy as an option to supply any offense right now. So, who, in a perfect world, that power play's Cook and who's the guy that, outside of five forwards, is it Morgan or is it Oliver Ekman Larson?

Well, Ekman Larson's got a better shot from the point. Like he's got a heavier, he's got the ability to take a one-timer something Riley has just never developed throughout his career. It's not really a slap shot league anymore. I guess I would say Ekman Larsson. I'm not even sure it matters. Again, the power play is going to run through Matthews and Marner and Nylander. You need someone who can hold the line, someone that can defend when need because they have

given up a lot of short-handed goals. The other thing too though is Riley's production, a lot of it, you need power play points. You need kind of cookies to feel good about it. He's not getting that because it's a five-man power play. Now you're going to play five five on five tough to pick up points the way you play like you can you can make a case or an argument so you could naturally see the drop off but if you if you're going to have a drop off because you're only playing five on five that's where you got to be a lot better defensively then you have to be buttoned up. And that is hurting him because like he's never been Scott Stevens. No, I mean that's not who Morgan Riley is.

But what you've been able to compensate with it because they'll give you 60 points and be a big part of a power play that's chugging where he is a victim of partially his own play for sure. But a power play that has just not been good enough this year and has not hit on all cylinders, which that could make up for this poor defensive play. You can overlook it if the guy's on pace for 65 points. But he's not doing that in large part because he's not either playing on the power play

or when he was, they're not scoring on the power play. But I also think it's coaching philosophy because look, I mean, you know the front office believe they needed more offense from the back end because they gave Timothy Lilligrin a two-year deal at three million dollars a season in the off season and then they found out the new coach doesn't like that guy right he has too much risk in his game yeah right even though there's offense in his game or offensive potential in his game right so yeah so Borubeis decided in my view that you know we can't have guys freewheeling from the

blue line we can't have that and you know what is that what's the my view, that we can't have guys freewheeling from the blue line. We can't have that. And what's the byproduct of that? You don't get much offensive production unless you find the perfect player that can somehow blend that offensive threat with perfect Craig Barube-style defensive tactics. But he's a good enough skater to get into the play smart. What I mean by that, you don't have to rush the puck, but you could create an odd man rush or a four on three with his skating.

I don't think Craig's style, you know, Barube's style is, hey, the D have to stay back and stand on the blue line. The league now is fast. You want D up in the rush and you want the D to be a threat and you know Morgan when he's playing to his capabilities has been a threat because he can be a second layer of attack if a guy like Mitch gets over the blue line and circles back and looks for options that's where Morgan's got to be coming in with some speed using his skating ability and maybe has a foot race with

somebody up the ice who's supposed to cover him. Like there is details and this comes back to Morgan Reilly, his play and him playing with more confidence and being a lot better in certain situations. I don't think Craig Berube is going, you got to stay back. I think what it is is we got to play responsible. But the league is now about speed and odd man rushes and creating chances and you know if they're not doing that there's a reason why the Leafs D are second last in

scoring they're not getting up in the rush. Well listen I think come the trade deadline it is very likely going to be a topic of discussion like who is going to play with Riley because Tanev is going to play with McCabe. I think Ekman-Larsen is best suited on a third pairing come play off time and Riley would be a second pairing. You need someone to play with them. I think we're all presuming the Leafs could be pursuing some help up the middle of the ice and I saw Chris Johnston reporting and others that the Kraken have announced that Yanni Gord will be out five to seven weeks after having sports hernia surgery likely means he won't play prior to the march seven trade deadline that

i don't know does that have an effect on you like if the beat let's say he's out seven weeks he's still back before the playoffs by a it probably i don't probably affects what you want to pay for them it is i think if he's your guy and i think what it you know if you're looking at it to meet I would think. If he's your guy. I think when you know if

you're looking at it to me Ty would go to somebody who's healthy. Yeah. Because if you have no guarantee that he's going to get back up to speed. What was the injury? It's a hernia. Yeah, sports hernia. That's a little concerning right? Because that's about speed and skating right? That's Ty would be I'll pay a little bit more to get player Y instead of player X based on that guy's healthy knock on wood. But yeah, he's a guy you're covet, but I don't know if he would be one on my list.

No, I'm with you, man. No, but he's on the list, right? Yep, absolutely. Look, he's been on, no, he's a proven commodity, right? He's been on two cup teams. Yep, he's a winner. He can win, so I don't think, look, obviously it's not ideal that he's coming off hernia surgery when you're going to have to trade for him. But I'm not sure it would dissuade

guys. I mean, they know who he is, right? He's a 33-year-old guy who's got a hell of a track record. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I think, and again, you got to take cap and what the asking price is and that, but I think if they're going for somebody down the middle of the ice you're going for somebody who can play who could challenge Tavares play in the two hole and push him to the wing or push you know they can mix and match and

go up and down and and create some depth down the middle of the ice there that would be you know easier said than done I don't know the player that they would be coveted But I I think if you're going to go Not big game hunting but going for somebody who can play in your top six to nine It's somebody who can give you second line minutes and if you need to load up you push to virus to the wing type of thing Well, I mean that that's big game hunting if you think you're getting Someone that can play second line minutes. Second line? Yeah.

I mean that's the top of that list that Jonas or whatever that's the line O'Reilly is in. That's assuming O'Reilly is available or wants to come here or Brock Nelson. Like Nelson I don't know. Islanders are starting to win a few games. Six in a row. Six in a row the Islanders have won. Maybe Patrick was onto something there. Maybe he's got it all figured out.

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. And Boston's going the other way. Again, it does seem like if Boston keeps losing, man, that's an interesting team to circle. Yeah, with Charlie Coyle, with Trent Frederick. But now it's Brad Marshand that people are starting to buzz about. Like, could he be available? Is there something to the, you know, what's going on in the room down there? And he's the captain, he's the leader in the room down there and he's the captain he's the leader it would be weird to see him out of Boston like he's it's always known he's been a winner he's their captain but man that guy got that guy hit the market what a story that would be you talk about an ad on a

playoff team I mean that's an impact ad he shows up every time in the playoffs it would be a great ad it's just you look at that. I don't know if Columbus like Columbus is linked to Pederson that is you know, like so Columbus what if they stay there? But you know, I don't know I felt like they were gonna come out Detroit's won four in a row all of a sudden, you know They get Edmonton last night in a shootout like they're a comeback They're down to's what you point noodles like there's there's a lot of teams that like you had that stat about like

ten teams within six points of each other points we did it last night i mean it's kinda crazy because like there's not that much time between now and then the two week break and then the trade deadline right like it's it's gonna happen faster in these teams are gonna have to decide you know which side of the line are you on right and i can be easy decision for a lot of these things now no it's not you gotta come to got to figure it out pretty quickly that's

why we're seeing movement already yeah right that's why we're seeing the uh seeing trades melton friday 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 hustle me local VP tonight get your best bets powered by Fandrel still to come look ahead to a busy weekend leaf soilless tomorrow and the Raptors favored tonight against the Bulls I love that man I never get an opportunity to say that no you don't never get an opportunity to say that's a nice one yeah Raptors favored tonight

overdrive continues TSN 1050N on TSN2. Ellington 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. Hustle into your local BP tonight. All right, this time next week we'll be making Super Bowl picks. Super Bowl picks, cannot wait for it. We, this time next week, we'll be making Super Bowl picks. Super Bowl picks. Cannot wait for it. We still got another full week, but next week it's go time down in New Orleans.

And as we know, every incredible playoff moment on TSN is powered by Bud Light, a refreshing taste that's easy to enjoy tuning game day for pulse pounding action. All right. We got Leafs Oilers tomorrow night. Leafs Oilers tomorrow night. I love this swing. It's a fun swing, right? The Leafs are in Edmonton tonight, Calgary Tuesday, Seattle Thursday, Vancouver Saturday, and then they hit the break. So it's big though, man. Like it's big. Like the Leafs, again, we've lost six of nine. If you go on this trip and you don't snap out of it and win

some games, if you go one and three on this don't snap out of it and win some games, if you go one and three on this trip, there's a chance you hit the four nations face off and you're like three points into the playoffs. Yeah. Five hundred's a must. Yeah. And you've got to build off of that to me. You know.

I agree, man. I think you need five points at least to be like. So that's above five hundred. That would be. But it's a must and you're right. Like you've got to get points because everybody's getting points every night. Yeah.

Well, there's something about this team though, when you count them out, they respond. They generally do. Yeah, it's true. They generally do. And our best bets are powered by FanDuel. Make your picks and assemble the same game, parlay in seconds on the FanDuel Sportsbook app. I'm going to go with the over tomorrow night in Edmonton.

It just feels like one of those barn burners, six four, like the Leafs are, I'm going to go with the over tomorrow night in Edmonton. It just feels like one of those barn burners, six, four, like the Leafs are, I know they've been absolutely inept offensively recently and Edmonton's defending really well and they're both playing well. It just feels like one of those nights where I think everything breaks loose. Yeah. And that's what I'm hoping for. I think that's the best case scenario for everybody involved. Great to watch. Six, four, Matthews with two, McDavid with four points, right? That's what we're looking for. All hell breaking loose. Little preview of Canada USA. Exactly. The total is six and a half. I'm taking the over. Best Pets powered by Fandirl. Live same game parlays are now available for every NHL game on the Fandirl Sportsbook app. Please play responsibly. 19 plus

physically located in Ontario. Yeah, so it's been it's been an interesting day but a big money day rare talking money a lot of talking about the canadian dollar we're talking about salary caps going up in the n h l matchers are making actions are making money and uh... coming up on a quarter billion u s and payroll well significant man in the n a child the n a child salary caps gonna go up exponentially over the next few years. And these guys are going to make money, right?

And it is about adjusting, like, $7 million will be the new five, right? And $12 million will be the new $10 million. And like, it's going to take some time to kind of adjust and evaluate. But ideally, you get to a point where you can just talk about players and you can have hockey trades like the one we saw last night, the one we saw last week. That's what you're looking for. Well, and there'll be teams, this is the crazy part, they're going to get to 113, 120. There'll be teams that are still hiding players on IR.

Oh, totally. Absolutely. Making deals to pick up retired players for long-term IR. That's coming, man. 100%. The other great thing is for hockey reporters, you walk into the dressing room now, you don't have to talk about escrow. Escrow is a thing of the past.

Yeah. They don't want to, hey, can you believe this escrow, man? We're getting screwed here. Oh my God. That was years. Yeah. Players are going to get paid, man. Good for them.

Listen, it's 50-50 split, right? Yeah. Either the owner's going to get the money or the players are going to get the money. That's the way it's gonna work All right. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for hopping out We appreciate it everyone for tuning in today TV radio podcast web we appreciate that we're out of here Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy your weekends. We're back Monday at 4 p.m. We'll chat then TSM plus is taking game day to a whole new level with NFL red zone

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