OverDrive - OverDrive - June 23, 2026 - Hour 1

Episode Date: June 23, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys dive into Simon Nemec landing with the Flames, Matthew Knies' future with the Maple Leafs, the Blackhawks' fourth overall pick and if Toronto will make a deal and Chase Reid's outlook in the league. They also go around the sports world in the latest edition of Confirm or Deny and William Eklund's trade to the Senators.

Catch everything soccer with Bell's game time bundle. Get 5 TV with TSN plus 5150 internet, all for $99 a month. Price guaranteed for two years with a two-year internet and TV term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. This hour of overdrive is powered by Fandool. Fandul, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go, overdrive, off and running.

TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, up on TN. SN 5 up on YouTube live. Later this evening, streaming on Crave. Brian Hase, Yodog, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennon. Going on today. We had lunch with one of the greats today, boys.

We did. Jerry? You realize his name's Fred, right? Oh, my God. Did I call him Jerry? Yes. You've been calling him Jerry the whole lunch as a bit. I thought you were joking.

He called Fred to start the lunch. Yes. And by the end of the lunch, you were calling him Jerry. And at one point I thought you called him Gary. And I swear to God, oh. Why didn't you guys say something? Because I was in disbelief staring at you. Let me lay this out, okay?

Fred and Elizabeth are two of the great people we've ever come across. We had the great luxury of going for lunch with them today. Yes. And Fred, when I got there, noodles and I walked in together. You were already sitting there. For half an hour, I got there very early. And me and Fred and Elizabeth, who I thought his name was Jerry. But you pivoted his name.

But you called him Fred. Okay, so this is what happened. I sit down and I'm so embarrassed because I love this guy. He's the best guy. Awesome. Amazing guy. He was just, we had a blast. We did.

Here is my confusion. Okay. I sit down and it was. We introduce each other and O goes, yeah, I've been sitting here talking with Fred. Like, you heard that. Yes, we heard it. You said Fred. And then you started calling him Jerry.

I'm like, all right, we must have missed. Where you joked about, he said, I love Jerry's percentages. And you say, you know what, Fred, I'm going to call you Jerry now. Honest to God. It turns out you just thought his name was Jerry. It morphed from Jerry into Jerry into Jerry. By the end, like that. I know, but the Jim Taddy rule is you have to correct me.

As soon as I call him Jerry, you got to say, say old dog, his name's Fred. But I went out of my way to give you the, hey, Fred, let me ask you a question. Like, I tried to throw it out there, and I thought it registered with you, which made it only make me feel even more confident you would establish as a joke. You're going to call Fred. Okay. So last question, last question on this.

When I left, did he? Why would you think his name was Jerry? Like, where did that come from? it was a bit. I swear. I don't know. I literally, my wires crossed. I thought his name was Jerry. Because a couple times I called Jerry. I know you did. You went over the top to you're like, let me tell you something, Jerry. So I had to leave a little bit early to get home because he had stuff to take care of. No, but I want to know, Jamie. When I left, did he say, why is that guy called me?

No. He just ate it because somehow you changed. his name halfway through lunch. It was Fred and Elizabeth. We're having a great visit. Lots of laughs. And I love the guy. He's an old school guy. And now I hate myself because the second half of lunch,

I transitioned, I guess, from Fred to Jerry. I don't know why. There was a trade to announce. The last, I can picture this like it was, because it was only an hour ago, he did the handshake, the stiff handshake, shook and said, great to meet you, Jerry.

Yes. And I was like, why is he calling him? And then in my mind, I started second-guessing myself going, his name's Fred. But I was fully aware we were meeting Fred. We have, we were sent. It's been a month in the making, maybe longer. Multiple texts and emails, and this was set up,

and it was going to be awesome. And I heard you call him Fred. Yes. I heard you say Fred, and then you called him Jerry the rest of the time. By the end. Anyway, Fred, Jerry, Elizabeth, amazing. The three of them. We had a great time.

We had a blast. Yeah, we sure did. One of the greats. One of the all-time greats. Honestly. And we extended, because you extended invitations to future endeavors. Yes, you're taking. And meet up.

I really liked the guy. I could see, like, I go, I drive through Horseshoe Valley, and I know that's where Fred lives. I would stop in and have a coffee and talk sports with that guy. That's how much he made an impression on him. He's old school and I love him. I'm just so mortified that I don't know why my wires were crossed and I started belting out jerry's to a guy that's name was Fred. I thought there was a Gary in there at one point.

I thought I heard a Gary as well. It was outrageous. I don't know what was going on with you, but you were on your own program. You were talking to Jerry and Gary and Nudles and I were talking. talking to Elizabeth, her daughter lives in Calgary. Yeah, we were talking about the flames. And how about the flames? They just made a trade. I think that's a really good trade for Calgary because we're talking off air. Like, Calgary's got nothing but a boatload of picks. You got to start using them.

You got it, like, they're getting to work there because they got a new building coming. They've bottomed out. They've got to, you know, get them the next step. That Nemish player seems like he can play. Well, he went second overall, right? He was a second overall pick. Doesn't mean anything until you prove it in the NHL. But Calgary gave up two first round picks and a second round pick. Neither of the picks are their own. It was like Colorado's pick and the Vegas pick, I believe,

and the Anderson deal and the Cadbury deal. And they get Nemitz from New Jersey. That makes you wonder, Jersey's got a new GM. Is he going to flip those picks himself and get active? Like it just, it's a storm here in the NHI. You called it. I'm telling you, but I think this is the tip of the ice. I think this is the tip of the iceberg because teams now, like this was a watered down league this year.

And it was, oh, you talk about it all the time, how the, you know, the talent, there's 32 teams now. And everybody believes that they got a chance to win. And I think there's a chance, like there's a lot of teams that are going, we might be two or three players away from being in a playoff spot. Let's go for that. Let's. And to me, I think you're going to see a lot of management. that are either being proactive with picks or trying to get them to spin them into other players. Steve Steele has got to work because he's got picks, right?

Yes, he does. You know, same thing. Calgary's got a lot of picks. So it would be interesting. Chicago's got a lot of picks. Yeah, I saw that, you know. They have like three. Now, again, they have their own pick, their fourth pick.

Yeah. But then they have, I want to say, pick like 34, 36 and 42 or something. Like Chicago's got a lot of picks. And again, the nice stuff has been out there. And that's an interesting proposition. This won't go away, though. I would like it to go away. I was talking with Jonas about this.

I think that's his name. I was calling him something else, but I'm pretty sure it's Jonas. After the show yesterday, we were discussing the idea of him going to Chicago, like Matthew Nyes. For the fourth overall pick. And I'm sure there would be more details

and more depth to it. But here's how I would present. And I'd ask you guys, because a lot of people are caught up in the, okay, where are you right now? What's going to help you this year? Right. Let's say the fourth overall pick is on the table for Nyes.

And that's kind of the crux of it. You know, there's other deep. Maybe there's another pick or other players, but you're not getting like a stud young defenseman and the fourth overall pick for Matthew Nyes. Any Lee fan that thinks you're getting that, I think you're delusional. Like, they have a couple of really good young defensemen there.

You're not getting that and the fourth overall pick for a winger. Like, it's not going to happen in my opinion. But let's say they love. of the leaves. Gavin McKenna and Chase Reed. Chase reads the defenseman out of the Sioux. And you can do this. It happens a lot in the league. You do your due diligence. You find out San Jose's taking Stenberg. Vancouver's taking Mahaltrow. So you know that kid's there at four.

And you believe he's got a chance to be the next Drew Dowdy. Let's use him as an example. Right shot defenseman, stud coming out of the O. I'm making that trade if I had that belief in the player. I don't care what I've told Austin Matthews, Jim Hiller, Keith Pelly, if you get an opportunity to get a like superstar number one defenseman in the future, even though he's not going to play for you maybe for two or three years, I'm doing that.

I'm doing and I think it would be managerial malpractice not to do it. Because you can if you like again, it's a gamble because maybe he's not. Maybe he turns into just an okay player. Right. It's everything is a gamble when you're drafting a kid. But if you pull it off, everyone's like, what a play that was that draft. They'll be talking about the Berkey draft.

By the way, congratulations to Berkey. Yeah, yeah. Like the draft that Berkey went ahead and got both the Sadiens right after each other. Yep, that's right. And again, I get it. It would be counterintuitive to the idea of this year you're supposed to be productive and you want to turn this wagon around. Yes.

And NICE is going to help you to do that. But if you, any time you think you can get a true bona fide number one defensement for a winger. Yeah. I think. So here's my question to you. You're looking into doing that seriously. It comes back to what, you know, what I posed on Friday. Because I, you know, missed the show yesterday.

But what are the Leafs trying to accomplish here? Like, you sign radish. to me that says, we're trying to make the playoffs here. That's what it is, Jamie. So it's like you can't have the no plan plan where it's like, oh, we're trying to make the playoffs and then the next day you're like,

oh, we can get this kid Chase Reed. Right. Like that's kind of the no plan plan, hey, you can't argue that. One day we want this and then one day we're getting a defenseman that's going to be two or three years away. It's kind of all over the place, to be perfectly honest with you. But again,

I want to wait until the finished product is from John Chica. He might be wheeling and dealing. What's interesting for me, and this is, it comes back to the Kachuk thing that happened yesterday or we discussed it yesterday, is if you believe Austin Matthews and by all accounts,

Austin Matthews must have told him, I'm coming back. You don't do the radish deal unless Matthews is saying, I'm here. Yeah. You know, go get better. Sure. Right? So, but if you,

believe that Chase Reed is going to help that process, then yes, you do it. But I don't know if it's at the cost of a 23-year-old power for it. Like, that's the million-dollar question. If you could do something else.

I'm just saying, I actually don't think that, like, I just think that that's a smart play in a vacuum. Like, let me give you an NFL example, where the Packers are an example. They drafted Jordan Love. They had Aaron Rogers. They were in win now mode.

And they said, this is a guy who's going to, that's our quarterback in the future. And we can get them now. And he sat on the bench for three years. And Rogers won back-to-back MVP's. And they went to the playoffs and they're competitive. You know how happy they are that they made that decision back now? Agreed. They're ecstatic.

And that's it. And what I'm saying is, because people write me in now, say, well, that would mean it's a rebut. No, it's not. You trade Matthews. That's a, that's a organizational shift in terms of, of philosophy. Matthew Nyes, in my opinion, just doesn't meet that description. He's not a superstar. No, he's a very good, and I'm a fan of Matthew Nyes.

This isn't like, you've got to move him. That's not what I'm saying. McKenna's coming in, right? Like, McKenna's coming in. And for basically my whole life, they have been seeking a number one defenseman. Now, I can't guarantee you that's what's there at four. I don't know, I'm not sitting here saying, I know Chase Reed, or Verhoff or Albert Smiths or Carl's, or Carl's, any of them are going to turn into that. I don't know. And now it would take some stones to trust your scouting department to tell you this is a guy you can't miss out. Right.

Kail McCar went forth. I'm not saying that's what Reed is going to be, but he went forth. If I took you back in a time machine and said, would you trade that guy for the fourth pick? Yeah. But you're being competitive. What are you going to tell McKinnon? He wants to win right now. Well, maybe that was Ryan O'Reilly at the time of Colorado going.

And if you ask Joe Sackie, you'd be like, are you nuts? Are you crazy? Of course, I'm going to take him and be patient and build with him. And it doesn't mean that it completely crumbles who you are as an organization. No, but like O brings up, and this is fair to say, what is the plan? If you believe that, then the plan is, hey, we have a core here that we believe in, or guys that I believe are going to help get us back to the playoffs. that's Matthews and that's Neelander.

Maybe it's Cowan. Maybe it's McKenna and you think, okay, that left side is eventually going to be jammed up, you know, sooner than later. Yeah, maybe Tavaris is moving to the left side. So, yes, let's try and get value out of it. This is fascinating for me because, again, I think we are going to see a ton of movement,

not just from the Toronto Maple Leafs, a lot of organizations are going, we got holes to fill and we got to be proactive because from what it sounds like, the people I talk to in the league, they're all in on the same players. Because if you're looking for a left winger, it's Jake DeBrusc in Vancouver. You know, is Matthew Nye's available?

There's five, six guys of teams that you're looking at and going, you have to make those calls. Doesn't mean that the manager makes a deal. Oh, but that's, to me, that's what I'm looking at. And there's going to be some teams that if they don't act quick enough, they're going to be going to training camp, and the fan base is going to be like, what happened to all those busy phone calls and this is the roster?

We've talked to, but there's not enough good players to go around. So there's only so many calls and teams that can get a certain player, and there's teams that are going to fall short and miss out. You look at the Ottawa Senators. There's some Sends fans. Like Sends Twitter thinks that they can trade the ninth pick for a star player, like an all-star player. That doesn't happen.

Like a team's not just saying, Oh, okay, you want our All-Star? Give us the night pick. That's not how it works. And I think they've got to, they're kind of thinking that that's what's going to happen. That's just... Well, there's a lot of emotion in Ottawa right now. Sure.

Sure. And I understand that. Yes. 100%. I think Ottawa can use that currency to get multiple players. Like those first rounders, keep in mind, like I think there is a scenario where you might get your wish. You can

fill Brady to Chuck spot with Tim Stutzler. Because Dylan Cousins can be your number one centerman and Shane Pinto can be your number two and Ridley Greg can be your number three. Other way around. You think Greg into Pinto? Pinto one.

Okay. Cousins, Greg. Okay, fair enough. I see the other way, but it doesn't matter. They're good players and they've got some depth there. but if you move stutes look to the wing, now you're looking at other players

and going, okay, I can, you know, I brought up a guy like Jake DeBrosky. If I'm looking at Vancouver, I think he's a valuable player. He's good on the power play. He can skate. He's not 32 years old. He's got a reasonable contract. Like that, that has value.

I look at Pittsburgh. Are they going to move Raquel or Rust, one of those players? Sounds like they might be available. Now, apparently they were available last summer, and it didn't happen. But I just, I start to look around the league, and I think Ottawa can add to their group and slot guys a little bit better, not just with one player. It might be two or three that kind of balances the group out.

But still, Jamie, you're talking about, like those players you just mentioned, all good players. Yeah. Jake DeBrusk, Ricard Raquel, Brian Rust, they're good players. Type of players, yes, yeah, yeah. Like, is that what we're talking about? Is that the pool of players where if you need a, like, a quality winger, that's what? what you're looking after. I mean, you can go and blow your doors off

and give Alex Tuck a bunch of money. Well, that's another thing, too. Maybe they go and say, we'll overspend for Alex Tuck because he's a big body who can skate and be physical and he can score. And it sounds like I don't know if they're close. Probably going to free agency.

Nothing guaranteed. I think you're going to see teams, like we just said, take a swing. You're not going to hit a home run on all of them, but, you know, if you are proactive, and again, I think there's a lot of teams in on the players that I mentioned and lots more.

Zach Marensky, what's his deal there? Well, that's going to be a Quinn Hughes type of scenario, though. Like, he just won the Norris. He's one of the 12 or 13 best players in the game. Like, that's big game hunting. You know, that's an extreme, you know, decision and what happens and, you know, who's in on the short list and who he's willing to sign with in the future. you know, I don't have an answer.

I don't think there's a, I think there will be obviously a massive marketplace for him. I don't know there's a spot that he would go. I need to go to that organization right now. To guarantee to win right now? At least compete. I mean, it just doesn't really exist. Right. Like to.

I mean, listen, I think if Hedman isn't going to play anymore in the future, I look at Tampa. Yeah. Like that's what they just let Rattish go. If Hedman is leaning towards retirement, there's a massive, that's Zach Ski time. There you go. Step right in. We'll trade for you. We'll bring you in. I could see them lurking. The Dylan Larkin scenario is still unresolved at this point. Yeah. It's still an outstanding trade request. I don't, I don't see Florida doing it. It's not going to happen now. Vegas, I think it's possible. I don't know what that would look like, but I could see Vegas

possibly kicking tires. You know, some reports, maybe Dallas is where he wants to end up. Okay, we'll see. But like that's still unresolved at this point. The other thing that we can't rule out is Vegas, is it just a foregone conclusion that they're going to sign Rasmus Anderson? I don't think he played particularly amazing for them. It wasn't great. When the chips were down, him and Hannafin really struggled at times.

Like I could see them being cutthroat and go, well, we traded for Anderson, didn't work, maybe we'll move on. Now, who knows? by the end of the show they might have extended Anderson. But I just think there is going to be a lot of deck chairs that move around here. Well, and you wonder about expansion that is coming to the NHL, you know, how it affects decision-making and ownership. Houston, I want it in Houston.

Well, Austin. Austin is amazing, too. That's where- It's common. The Board of Governors are happening today. And Betman, I guess, said, Piel LeBron tweeting out, that they've agreed to a $3.5 billion expansion fee. if they go ahead with either Houston or Austin.

And it's happening. There's one family, the Friedkin family, I guess, in Texas, that basically they're going to get to pick their poison, Houston or Austin. And it sounds as if they're only going to go with a 33rd team and then wait a couple more years and then out of 34 to balance out the league. Toronto, a second one.

Well, I mean, Batman, I don't think is going to leave until he's got 34 teams. They're going to pump $7 billion into the owner's pockets. but it's going to be two more likely southern markets, another tax-free state. Atlanta? Well, I mean, Atlanta, it appears as if they're at least intrigued by that. I don't know the tax situation in Georgia.

But it's a southern state. Houston, though, Austin, Texas. I don't know. I mean, I just, I don't. I understand it's a business, and I get it if you're one of the other owners and you're just looking for a quick, you know, whatever, it is, $30 million or something. I understand why you might vote yes on this,

but this is not necessarily in the league. The product is wide open to begin with. There's diluted. There's a lot of teams that just don't have a lot of good players. You know what talks louder than that? 3.5 billion. Yeah. Yeah, that's why that's going to ultimately win in the end.

They're not announcing this unless they know it's happening. So I played Minnesota's farm team was in Houston. I played a season there. It's a great city. Big town. Houston is a big, big city. They told me a stat there when I got there. You could eat out for dinner and lunch and breakfast every day for 10 years straight and not eat at the same restaurant.

That's a type of food they've got there and restaurants and amazing. We practiced in Sugar Land. The rink was where the Rockets played. I think there's a lot of money there. There's a fan base there. but I think Austin is intriguing too. Austin is kind of like the new, it's like Nashville to Vegas.

Houston is well known. I think, Austin is more of a cooler city. It's always been a university or college town. But I just don't know what the population. I actually know two people that have moved to Austin recently, just for tax structure and they've left California. But, but I,

if they want to go on more of a slam dunk like population, just bigger city and people putting people in the stands, like fire the team in Houston and get on with it. Yeah. Yeah, it's going to happen. Like this is, Batman doesn't let this get out unless it's a formality. It's going to happen.

They're going to expand, which means teams are going to lose a player, you know, in the future, and we're going to have another expansion draft. That'll be a traditional one again, though. That's going to be Seattle. Yeah, it'll be more like Seattle.

And Seattle's a team that, I have no idea what they're doing. Like they just signed Bobby McMahon to like a six-year contract. It's a reasonable price of 575. Yeah, but it's like, and then they picked up Samaskavage who, like it's just two middle six wingers that you're paying, you're going to pay a lot of money to. And I don't know.

Seattle missed a big opportunity. And, you know, they've turned coaches over and management over. I don't know who the face of that team is. I have no idea. I thought it was going to be Maddie Baneers. Like I thought he was kind of their first try. Completely fell off.

Completely after his rookie year. I think he's had concussion problems and he's just falling off. Yeah. Yeah. Like I honestly tell me who is the marquee player for the Seattle Cracken. Might be Joey DeCord right now. Well, Joey DeCord is a really good goaltender. But remember, they signed Gru Bauer for more money.

That's why he went to Seattle from Colorado. Disaster of a signing. But he ended up having a really good season last year. But Montour. Brandon Montour signed their fresh off a cup. I'm just trying to... I know, but that's the point. It's like nothing against Montour and Don.

Yeah, yeah. You know, they've obviously Shane Wright. They drafted and veneers. But I just... Has it jumped off the map. There's no one on that team. They traded for Marchman. You know, the faces looking it up now?

It's Everley. Is there Cal? Probably Jordan Everley. Yeah, probably Jordan Everley. But again, not exactly like an established legacy there. I still think of him as an oiler. And then I would go Islander's second and then clearly crack in third. Yeah.

Anyway. Johnny coming up today, Mike Babcock officially announced as the head coach of the Oilers, and he spoke with the media, and he had some very Mike Babcock comments today. So we'll play some of those. We'll get into it. Confirm with the night coming up. Jay's in action tonight. Ernie Clement banged up, not the starting lineup,

but he's leading the American League in All-Star votes. I think that's all because of the Lincoln Cup. I'll be honest. You know that people tuned in and just started voting. Yes. They said, man, that Lincoln looks really good. I'm going to go vote for that Ernie Clement. So more on Ernie and the fact that Bieber's getting a start tonight.

Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and up on YouTube live. Catch everything soccer with Bell's game time bundle. Get 5 TV with TSN plus 5150 internet, all for $99 a month. Price guaranteed for two years with a two-year internet and TV term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. Pride is like love.

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Stream us on your phone. Or listen now at iHeartRadio.ca. I can neither confirm or deny that this is in fact a segment. Austin trades Andrew Raycroft to Toronto in exchange for the rights to Tuka Rass. It's been my honor and a privilege to serve as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. It's time for confirm or deny. Do you regret giving all those gentlemen the no trades or no movement clauses? Can you either confirm or deny that?

I can't confirm or deny. All right, here we go. A little confirm or deny. Brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of side and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less, so fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch of your local Boston pizza.

All right. Let's begin with a Brady Kachuk question. We saw him doing the rounds. He did his podcast. He had his introductory press conference. He went on with McAfee. I was going to say McAfee. So he was on McAfee talking about this.

Confirm or deny. Brady Kachuk will get an icier welcome back to Ottawa than Mitch Marner got coming back to Toronto. I am going to, excuse me, confirm that. I just, I don't know why. I think it might get greasy in Ottawa. They're just, they're offended, right? They take it personally when a guy decides he doesn't want to play for their team

and the fashion that had happened when he came back and said, I don't know why people are talking about this. The way this whole thing played out, it screams of people being pissed off. Regardless of how hard the guy played, regardless of his time that he put in the organization, it'll get greasy in Ottawa. Yeah, I'm confirming it. I'm confirming it because of the situation, 2-0. Marner's contract expired. So it was different. He chose to leave because he had an

expiring contract. Brady's still a term left, two years left, and he let them know I'm not going to extend, do with that what you will. I think there's, I think there's, and he's out, it's a trade request. Yeah, he's demanded out, like, this idea that, well, we're just not signing in two years. Like Staeo said, no, he was, it was a trade request. But I think that's important. That's a big difference. So he wanted out, he asked for a trade request. Mitch Marner didn't ask for a trade, not once, from what I understand. Yes, he chose to leave and went on to Vegas, and the fans have the right to be mad and, you know,

take a shot at Marner and all that. In Brady's situation, I know the fans are, they take it personally because this is a guy that's been their captain, they've identified with, I think the fans have every right to be pissed off, and I think there will be more vitriol directed towards Brady because that he asked for a trade, not just walking. 100%. And I think I'm confirming it around the table, too, because I think there's another layer to it that is separate from Marner because we're talking about the two. No one disputed Marner loves Toronto and being from Toronto. I am fairly certain he's already home in Toronto.

Right. Like he's going to spend his summers in Toronto. Musco. And in Muscoca. So that wasn't what it was. it was he didn't want to be a leaf anymore. Right. In Brady, there's a perception, and I think there's a reality,

he doesn't want to live in Ottawa anymore. That's sharper, in my opinion. Like, that's more hurtful if you're, you know, if you're from there. Because it wasn't, like, this idea, I just needed a new chapter. Yeah. Really? Like, you get zero points in the round.

Right. Like, you didn't pull your weight. And they're a pretty good team. And you got a lot of friends on that. team. It just seems like it's deeper the reasoning for leaving. Marner, it was simply the bright lights, loud, didn't want to be a leaf and everything that came with dad. I think in Ottawa they look at Brady as part of it was, I don't want to live here anymore. Yeah, I don't want to be here. You mentioned the zero points in the series. That's like, that would put a lot of weight on your

shoulders because it's not like he just dreamt that up one morning as soon as they got eliminated. he knew that shortly after they got eliminated, he was going to do that. So, I don't know, it's self-induced weight on your shoulders, but when you know you're going to do that, it puts a lot of mental, because you know it's coming up, and then you've got to go play professional hockey in the best league in the world and try to win a playoff series. He put it on himself because it was his decision-making.

But I just know that if I knew that I was going to do that, with all of my teammates and everybody and you're trying to play it's just a heavy thing like you put it on himself but yeah i'd have a thing to do the one thing i told you guys this and i'll say it too is i the only thing i take umbrage with is the leaks and reports you know rano lovago and all he's you know dissension in the room and he was bad leader i'll did that you know kind of that that's garbage i'm sorry i've been around that team he has friends in the dress room the guys are loved him. He's really tight. He's really respectful in

the community. And if you look at it like, to me, I get that the market could be pissed off that, you know, he's chose to leave. I've never liked that piling on after a guy leaves. Some sources say that he was a total dick and nobody like that. That's garbage. And I...

You got to name names then. It's garbage. It's complete garbage. And I look at... I saw it happen to Chris Pronger when he chose to leave Edmonton. There's all these rumors. Oh, he knocked up the report. or he did all these things. It was garbage. And people carried water for it. And I just, that's

the one thing I'm disappointed out of all of this. You can be mad, and rightfully so, because a player has chosen to leave and ask for a trade. But the, you know, the whispers of all this and that, I've been around the guy for how many years? Yeah. Not once did I ever

have, ever, a negative interaction with Brady Kuchuk. Yeah. Not once. No, and that... That's my own personal opinion. Yes. But that's, like, That's always been the reputation that I've heard through you and through other guys that, you know, like Brady is just a really good guy. And classy, respectful, and, you know, took care of his teammates, all of that type of stuff. I understand.

Yeah, fandom doesn't, you know, you don't know them personally. You're thinking of number seven the captain who said, I want out. Yeah. Doesn't have to be that deep. And you make a great point. I heard you guys yesterday, and you were bang on on that. Like, you can be pissed off as a fan, and rightfully so. because today the Ottawa senators are weaker

than they were the day before he left. Well, again, I'm not surprised by it because I get it, but there's a lot of spinning the other way all of a sudden like, I didn't really like him as a player. Oh, you knew that that was coming. Yes. Now it's like, oh, it's a great trade because he stunk. It's like, okay, I don't think you really believe that. I understand you don't like him now and you're feeling,

Especially if you stuck up for him, which a lot of fans did. Media leave him alone. He's not going anywhere. He was gone. And he was not being truthful to you. This might have been in the works a year ago. It certainly sounds like it was in the works after the Olympics. Him and his brother, roommates at the Olympics, you know,

joking around. Like you have to. The podcast, Keith on the podcast. It was a lot coming out of them. You use that saying. Read the tea leaf. If you would go back and just remove a motion from it, the tea leaves were pointing at he was going to move on.

Yep. All right, confirm or deny. A team would be smart to give Sergey Bobroski three or more years of term. Three or more years. So it'll be 38 at top. It's almost like I need to know what the answer is of what they're looking for them. You know, like looking for from him. Are the Leafs looking for Sergey Brabowski to get them on a couple runs to a conference final?

Then obviously, yeah, that would be worth it. But, like, what is the team, and I don't want to screw up a segment. But I'm going to confirm it. Okay. I'm confirming. Three plus years is fine for Bob. Okay. As long as it's four, that's it.

Yeah, there's a cap on that. Okay. I'm putting a cap. Because if you're saying six, if it's the Marchand deal, then I'm saying no. But I think if I saw something I watched the other day on YouTube, it was Bobrovsky's workout routine and how amazing of shape he keeps himself in,

how he takes care of his body. We do see athletes play into the 40s now. Goaltenders a little bit different. A little bit different. But keep in mind, I don't think you need to bring him in as of 60 game starter. Can he play 40 games for your organization if you have a young guy that you are grooming? It comes back to what you just said.

And Akhtiama's Russian goalie that I sure looks up to Bob. Right. It depends on what you're stretching with that one. That's the truth though. But what you just said, oh, it depends on the organization and where his fit is within it. If I said to you, would you give Bobroski four years at five or, Give me a number, like a reasonable number. Five, six million.

Five, six million. But he's going to mentor Akhtiyamov or another young, good goaltender in the national hockey. Look at Joe from the bridge. He has been waiting to show that clip of the two of them at the red line. I love it, Joe. But at the end of the day, I say yes and I confirm it. Because I think there's still good hockey left in Bob.

And he doesn't have to be your, again, 60 game starter. I think you peel them back and go, if you can give us 45 starts or 45 games for the next three to four years, I'd take a swing on that. Yes, 100% given what the market is right now for goaltenders and how thin it is. I'm going to deny it. It scares me anything beyond a couple years. Like he'll be 38. last year the team was a mess.

Like they didn't play well. It was a gong show year. They basically put up the white flag. Numbers weren't great. He's played so much hockey. Right. That would be my only concern. And I get you can move off contracts,

and that might be the, it might be a wink, wink, nudge, you play for two years. But what if he wanted for two years? And that might have to happen to get somebody like that. And I just, I would be very, I'd be very wary of going that deep.

Like you're talking into your 40s with a goalie. And listen, Bill Zito said the door's not closed on Bob staying in Florida. I'm sure they're going to continue to negotiate. And I'm sure their hope is probably to keep him. But I will say with the leaves, like the best way, it's always a gamble. And especially with that position, because you just don't really know what you're going to get year to year. For the most part from goaltenders, even the best. Look at Bob last year.

look at Hellebuck last year. Yeah. Didn't have great seasons. But if the mandate with the Leafs is, like, you got to be, you got to get back on a saddle, you got to be competitive and make the playoffs, the best and most likely way for that to happen is very good goal-tending. Right. Like, that is, in a lot of ways, systems proof, sometimes, you know, power play-proof,

sometimes injury-proof to other players. Like, it's asking a lot. And I think it'd be asking probably too much of a thing. 38-year-old Bob. But, like, Hellebuck, if he was 33 and you got him and you're like, are you ready to play? And he's like, I'm playing 60 games this year. That's a great start in predicting 100 points for your team. I think if you're a quality team Hayes that's got championship aspirations, you don't even want Hellebuck to play 60.

Sure. If you don't need him to, you just say, you know what? Give us 50 good ones and be ready for the playoffs. So the other thing, just to put a bow on Bob, we see it all. the time. Somebody signed for seven, eight years and you go, boy, the last three, four years that deal might have to, the TANF deal here. People were like,

okay, but at the end of the day, if you believe that you can get three or four good years on the front of that contract, maybe it is. We need two years out of Bob, and the other two could be, you know, we'll take our chance. See what happens and someone breaks through. And again, if it's something

with a five or six in it, with the cap going up, it's not that detrimental. And he's a Hall of Famer. He's arguably one of the best goaltenders of this generation. I think it's inarguable. This isn't you know a third line, you know.

Yeah, but again, it would be different if it was hey, he's signing for you know, three million and he's a tandem and it's the like end of the career. You're going to have to pay him, right? Like you are going to pay him, but I hear you. I'm curious to see what happens with Bob. I think that's a big discussion over the next week.

Confirm of Denai. Ernie Clement is the most popular athlete in Toronto right now. 100% confirmed. Not even a doubt. People are mad at Vladdy. That's why. I know. Vladie is in a, he's in a bad place.

Just watching the grounders. It's so painful. Yeah. He had a big one yesterday that did cash, but I don't know if I love Ernie. He's my partner. You know, he let me down on the greens a couple of times, which is disappointing. He's like,

And Vladdy, Austin Matthews is still here, you know, like he's... I just don't know. I just don't know. Right now. I know that. I'm going to clip this and I'm going to text it to my guy, Earn, because we do have a texting relationship. Oh, really?

You just steward yourself with Ernie. I don't know Ernie and I'm saying, I'll tell you why. He's good looking, too. Well, like, yeah, we've established that. The bar play on Ernie Come back could be through the roof. He's a five-tool guy. Yeah. Sex.

Oh, I told you the story about where my wife sent me to, the text. I said, get a picture with Ernie. Yeah. And I'm going to crop you out. No, I said, do you want me in it? She's like, I guess, if you want to be. Okay, I'll see. But that's, like, this guy is a six tool guy, because he's a great player, really well liked,

having a great season. Awesome guy, affable guy. And you know what? Doesn't have the contract hanging over him either. That's true. Like, he's not, you know, he's making good money. He's not making $40 million. Didn't sign a $180 million contract where that gets attached to you. But he's leading the American League. It's him in Otani, neck and neck for the most All-Star votes.

Do you know how absurd that is? That's how much people in Toronto and throughout Canada love Ernie Clement. So maybe that's your answer right there. Maybe that's your – maybe it doesn't have to be deeper than that. He's the easiest guy to like right now. He works hard. He plays well. It's second base.

He moves around the diamond when need be. Moves up and down the lineup. He's not like a lock to hit anywhere in the lineup. Guigi clip all of this and send it to earn it. And especially that last one. The early on part, where you're like, nah, I don't know, Vladie.

I mean, Vladdy and Austin Matthews are, they've been in the, they've been here for a decade. Vladdy ain't moving needles right now, dude. People are, what would Vladdy have to do to? But remember what he just did six months ago. I know.

Like, that's long gone. I'm sorry. Yeah, that's long gone. That was in the World Series, though, dude. Yeah, this is, this is game like 80. It's now July. Like, it's, that's over.

They're back in a playoff spot. Back in a wild card spot. Back to 500. They got it. They can't. take two steps back now. They've got a floor. Two steps forward, four steps back all year long.

They can't take a step back now. You're 100% correct. Was Cease yesterday? It all blends. Cease was last night. He played very well. And, you know, he pitched well, and they got themselves a win. Okamoto was great, man. He's up to 17 home runs on the year. Like, Okamoto's been really, really, really quality for them. All right. I got some more. We'll sprinkle in, including a Mike Babcock one.

We'll get to and we'll play some audio from Mike earlier today. May not surprise you, but he's still Mike Babcock. We'll get to that and more coming up. Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. Catch everything soccer with Bell's game time bundle. Get 5 TV with TSN plus 5150 internet, all for $99 a month. Price guaranteed for two years with a two-year internet and TV term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.com.ca for more details and to check availability.

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Made in Canada, the station that champions Canadian music. Loud, crowd, and all yours. No passports required, just press play. Tap into Made in Canada now on iHeartRadio.ca. Or the free iHeartRadio app. All right, Mike Johnson coming up. We got some more breaking news in the NHL. The Ottawa Senators have acquired William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks.

We don't know what's going back the other way. But Eklund, you know, was a former top 10 pick, 23 years old, back-to-back 50-point seasons. He's a good player, only 23, yeah. Yeah. I just, you and I were talking off-air, oh, doesn't that, you know, kind of indicate that you're probably going to take Stenland then? Stenberg.

That would be my thought there. Like you have Will Smith on the wing. If you're going to take Stenberg at two, then again, you've got an abundance of wingers and they're, I'm sure, we'll see what's going back the other way. Like we don't know what Ottawa has traded them yet. Yeah. But that's a big trade.

That's an interesting play. I mean, again, that's not an exact plug-in for Brady-Cachuk. Needless to say, you're not going to add. And you're not going to do that. You're not going to replace your captain. And that's what you've got to do when you lose a Brady Kachuk. One guy goes out like that. You got to bring in two other guys, good players.

Yep, exactly. Yeah. But he's got some skill. And again, a seventh overall pick a few years ago. We'll see. We'll track what's going the other way. Mike Johnson on that and more coming up in about 10 minutes. Was it Kevin Weeks, Doogie, that was saying that about Bob?

And give me the update on that, doogie, because I can't find the tweet right now, but what is Kevin Weeks reporting in terms of who might be kicking tires on Bob? The Kings, Sharks, and Maple Leafs. Okay. Yeah.

And another team? Was there 14? Detroit. In Detroit. Okay. Detroit. And possibly Detroit as well. But it makes sense

on all fronts for all of them. I got to check, though. I thought Kemper had another deal in L.A. Another year, sorry. But that's... Maybe they trade him. Maybe they ship him out. San Jose, if you're going for Bob, you're thinking we got to, we were this close to making the playoffs,

time to get going to get going here. There's a goalie carousel going to happen here. Keep in mind, Aden Hills, you know, was on the outs there with Carter Hart taking over. Skinner's a UFA. Skinner, Alvets out there. But there's a lot of three goaltender situations. You know, obviously Freddie Anderson's unrestricted because they'll probably go with Bussie and Kuchatkoff. But I still think teams need three goalies.

So you have to have three that can play. Oh, and the savers apparently in on Bob as well. So again, we'll see. And then you've got to believe the Panthers are still kicking tires. But, yeah. Yeah. I mean, the leaves, again, we will, I don't want to say believe it when we see it because they've already made two pretty big moves.

You know, like trading Joseph Wall and then acquiring Darren Radish, like those are big moves. Yes. But, you know, all of the insiders in the game. or reporting that Chike is sitting on a couple of deals. He may not pull the trigger on them, but is sitting on a couple of options that could dramatically change the team.

So if that's the case, I would think that's goal tending. I would think that's probably top four defense and like a Matthew Nye's scenario. Keep in mind, Morgan Riley's in place. That's right. Think about this. If Riley goes out, Nize goes out,

let's say Bob comes in, plus plus plus like that is that is a lot of change yeah and radd is coming in and mckenna's going to play they need like i want to see more d come in i understand that can skate and and have not a three in the start of their age

yep well maybe that is a part of what they're thinking as well all right mike johnson coming up we're going to play a couple of mike babcock clips from earlier today as well oh you can break them down as you usually do overdrive continues ts n 1050 and on tsn5 You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandual. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score.

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