OverDrive - OverDrive - June 26, 2025 - Hour 2

Episode Date: June 26, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! Hockey Hall of Famer and Stanley Cup Champion Chris Pronger joins to dive into the biggest headlines leading up to free agency across the NHL. TSN Basketball Analyst Jack Armstrong joins to discuss the Raptors' draft selection of Collin Murray-Boyles, his notable reaction and the team's trajectory going into the season.

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We've got Chris Ponger coming up in a few moments and Jack Armstrong a little bit later in the hour We got Chris Pronger coming up in a few moments and Jack Armstrong a little bit later in the hour. Brad Tree Living was speaking today, GM of the Leafs, in preparation of the NHL draft tomorrow night where they don't have a pick in the first round. I think their first pick is pick 64. He kind of indicated it's more likely they move back try to accumulate more pecs and uh... he said the scouts are ready for that but he was asked about two hours

and what we play this this clear because we have a lot of ours clippings we saw how that remember that first to this draft how that worked out let's move back and get these two picks for that taken as the value of it right the value of two for here really look at the players that they missed out on yeah it's listen it's a gamble I think the analytics of the draft indicate if you don't have the top 10 or 15 just to accumulate as much as you can because it's crapshoot you know like what's how do you know the 48 players gonna turn into Hall of Famer you know you don't

how do you know Kutra? All I know is the Smurfs came that came over to talk to us Not one of them turned in would be no fan not one of them's in the a shell well and that's a reality like you know the the Dubas era came and went and yes Easton Cowan is here and He hasn't played a game in the NHL so we don't know what he's gonna look like or what he's gonna become and Ben Danford will see what he becomes but the reality is a lot of the guys they picked

are never gonna play in the league they're just they're not they're not they're they didn't hit they didn't hit on a lot now they're not alone it's difficult to hit but there is there's there has to be an urgency to do that the tree living era should be every era but you gotta make sure you got kids come and then you've got to have prospects uh... and here's here's what you're living at the same you know the latest

between himself believes in in john to bars in his camp we've had lots of communication uh... i would say you're always a little bit hesitant to frame it i'm trying to give as much information is can uh. But it's been positive, right? As I think we said at the end of the year, you've got a player who we both expressed a shared outcome, which is John wants to stay and we want to keep John. And like any

contract, there's only usually just two little stumbling blocks term and money once you get by those usually things flow pretty quick so we're moving hopefully in a direction to bring it to conclusion closure i would end my hope is until until proven otherwise that we'll have a good outcome there so i mean listen he's putting his cards on the table i have not heard him say like we want john back i know john has said he wants to be back i think that was a roundabout way of saying that something could get done here but this could turn quickly and he could be gone

uh... yeah i mean i'd i took it that's the first time they've openly admitted like i can't to me that was cryptic like we got something done here it's just a matter of sorting out. I that's what I took out of it. I kind of see it that way too. Like, I'm sure they're still crossing some T's and thought some eyes and they're still, you know, maybe a little bit of gap between the money and the term. But it, you know, that tone would suggest it's reasonable to say that they're within a ballpark of each other and Again, that's what we have heard You know that the Leafs were wanted to likely keep Tavares, but that's tree-living saying, you know on the record

We want to keep them. We want them to be here. So You know, he hasn't said that about Marner that I'm aware of he doesn't have to because it doesn't matter what he thinks Marner's gonna leave, you know Marner's a free agent. He's going to hit UFA status and go. But yeah, that would suggest to me the fact that, you know, John is going to likely return and Matthews will return and Nylander will return. It's not going to be that different, guys. I guess that's what I'm getting to.

Like, yes, Marner's not going to be here. And that's big. And Marner's been a huge part of this market for a decade. But that's about it, man. There'll be a couple of changes and there might be a new player to win, but it's not going to be that different here in Toronto. Well, I hope they just use that money wisely. That's it.

Well, yeah. I mean, I guess we'll see what they have in store over the next few days. All right. Joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline, here's a hockey Hall of Famer, Chris Pronger, back on overdrive. How you doing, Prongs? I'm great, gentlemen, how you doing?

Doing well, we were just talking about Brad Treeliving speaking about John Tavares, and we've been talking about him for years, and certainly weeks leading up to this, so I'm curious where, how you evaluate John John and what you would project him to look like and play like and how he might produce over the next three or four years. Well I think he's never been a great skater. He's a smart player.

He's not a burner so to speak. I look at him, he's Corey Perry-esque in the sense that he's good around the net, he's not afraid to go in and around the net, that's where he scores a lot of his goals. Half-well in the power play can be the bumper, can be on the half-well, can be the down low guy, versatile on the power play. Uh, but I think as he continues to age, he's going to be a power play guy. He's going to be a power play specialist and, and he's a third line center with his pace that he plays at and, you know, and watching the finals and watching the playoffs play out the pace of the game is only going north. It's not going the other direction.

Prox, if you were to assume, like when talking about John Tavares, would you think that his biggest desire or reason to return to Toronto is he likes being a Maple Leaf and all the things that come with it? Or do you think that he has this maniacal burning desire to finish the job and win a Stanley Cup? To me he seems like a really quiet guy. So I'm not going to speak for him. I get the sense. One of the reasons why he came back to Toronto is he wanted to win in Toronto. He wanted to be a part of the group that ultimately got him over the hump and got him a Stanley Cup.

They've had seven years since he's been there and they haven't been able to get over that hump. This year they ran into a buzz saw in Florida and yes, we can go into the whole ordeal of how it happened. I think he's comfortable. I don't get the sense that he wants to move. I don't know if that's comfort in the sense that he just doesn't want to operate his family because he's comfortable living in Toronto and he's from there. Or he sees something within the locker room, within the current formation of the team that gives him the comfort that he thinks they can win. Whether he's right or wrong I don't know. You know they're obviously as

you guys are just talking about they're gonna lose Marver and what they do with that money and how they improve their team and what flexibility you know they still got to sign Knives they've got some players that they need to sign. You know they're in pretty good shape everywhere else they need to sign. You know, they're in pretty good shape everywhere else. They need to improve their top nine. They've got to get more scoring, you know, in this year and in years past. More balance. The issue hasn't been defense.

It's been scoring goals at the key times in those moments when they've been needed the most and that's when they've really struggled is at that opportunistic time when you need a big goal, when you're supposed to be relying on your stars to find those big goals, they're not able to do it. So I'm curious though how you perceive the defense because there has been a, I wouldn't even call it a theory, I think it's been factual for a long long time that the majority of cup winners have like true number one defenseman you know and i guess you look at florida i was act like that is for sling that

before sling is defensively for sure jones yeah yeah jones possibly but you know those guys are you know prongers or need amyers or ste Stevens or you know like guys like of that status Duncan Keith like Zetaino Charra like they're for a long long time headman in Tampa Like it was you needed a a stud 30-minute number one guy that guy doesn't exist in Toronto But you know with that mind you think they can have visions of a Stanley Cup with their current defense setup? Well, I think that's the million dollar question.

I think they have good pieces. It's how they defend, how they play. Morgan Riley, for as good a skater as he is, he does not hold the blue line very well. He backs in. With his skating ability, he should be holding the red line, let alone the blue line and challenging players to dump the puck, challenging players. And whether that's a system, whether that's his just inability to do it, I don't know. But I look at just their current makeup, they're pretty big on the right side with Tanev, Carlo, you know you got Benoit, Riehl, yeah so you

got some size, you got some mobility, decent puck movers, they're not great puck movers in Tanev and Carlo but they're serviceable and that's when you got to pair them with the appropriate player on the other side. You get a McCabe, you get a Riley and then whether it's Benoit or whoever's on that other side on the left in the third pairing, whether it's O'Hale or Benoit, you have to have a yin and a yang. When you don't have a true number one, you've got to have a lot of balance between your top six defensemen.

I think they can have that. I just don't think they've been able to put it all together. And as we talk about what Toronto did against Florida, there were moments where they played really, really well. And then there were other times where they were putrid and just not good at all. And you just wonder how they can, how there's such a wide gap and a big delta between when they're good and when they're not. I think that's the biggest thing

that they have to put their finger on is why is there such a big gap between how good they play and how bad they play? So, Prongs, if this team isn't gonna look a lot different, if they end up bringing Tavares back, you mentioned the Mitch Marner hole. Is it better served to take that, we'll call it 12 million, whatever it is, 11 million, and sprinkle it out

a little bit more depth up front? One or two guys that can score? Or do you go chasing a guy like a Marchand or a Bennett that could be a difference maker if they're available? Again, this is wishful thinking. But do you go chase in those guys or do you look for three guys that could create a little bit more balance farther down in your lineup? Well, I think that's the $64 million question. What are they going to do with that money and how do they spend it? But I think to your point earlier, they have to spend it wisely

They've been up against the cap for so many years. They haven't had any flexibility They've now traded a lot of their draft capital In order to get the current formation of the team You know, what are they is, what makes sense? You know, you bring up Brad Marshawn. Is he going to be the same player in a top six role versus a third line role like he was in Florida? I personally don't think he will be.

He's going to be playing against top four defensemen instead of the third pairing. He's going to be playing against, you know, just from a matchup perspective, it was a perfect matchup for him playing on Florida's third line. And he was playing with two great, really good players in Lindell and Lois Durena. And the way that they played, the system, the turnovers that their defense created by having their tight gaps and how physical they played, it just fit him perfectly. I don't know if Toronto would be a great fit in that sense. And you're gonna have to pay him to get him to want to come there.

You know, and that becomes the trick. You know, are you overpaying a guy and then does he actually fit what you're trying to do versus is he just a name and has shown to be a leaf killer in this case? I'm not sure but I think they have to be very careful in what they do with that money knowing that next year's gonna go up again in the following years gonna go up again so they're gonna have some breathing room but they're also gonna have players coming up to

bronze we were talking earlier about all these g m's that think they want to be buyers and that their teams just a couple players to kind of turn the corner i find it personally laughable and I think there's a large percentage of teams that are a bunch of jokesters because their teams are they're just nowhere close like where do you stand on all these teams or a bunch of them thinking that they're just one thing away or this away when in actuality they ain't close to squat well especially when you compare them to the teams that were in the Stanley Cup finals.

No kidding. You got Edmonton with two superstars in the National Hockey League. You've got Florida with a complete depth team. They have star players, but they're deep throughout the core of their lineup. And I go back to Chicago in picking up Marion Hosa. He was the last piece of the puzzle.

When they got him in free agency, that was the missing piece to what they needed to win. All the other pieces were in place. And for a lot of teams, I think they're seeing, well, we've got room in the cap finally. We've got, oh, they have higher expectations or a higher view of their current players, their current roster. It's GM selling their owner that they think they're close and

they wanna spend a little bit more money. But I think if you look at the playoffs this year, you look at a few of the teams that didn't make the playoffs, that think they're playoff contenders next year, playoff contending and Stanley Cup contending are two different things. And if you're gonna go out and spend a ton of money and think that you're gonna be a Stanley Cup contender,

all you gotta do is just look at the rosters of those that are in that upper echelon, and you're gonna realize real quick that you're not even close. That's the toughest part of the job. But at Progs, what we're talking about is like imagine tricking yourself into thinking and we discussed earlier a lot of guys have a lot of problems and that's why you have to have a real quality assistant GM or a vice, you know, special assistant. You've got to have a guy shake you and say, this is insane. But so many people fall in love with these dumb ideas that they have and it's insanity. It's insanity. Well, and they fall in love with their players because they drafted them and they've developed

them and they're unwilling to get off them. Exactly. Good or bad. Good or bad. Right. And because they've seen them grow and develop and they've got a connection to them and they drafted them in the first round and then they've had them in the minors and worked up through the system and they've worked their way from the third line to the second line.

Now they're star players in the National Hockey League for their respective team. And so there's a connection and an idea that they can get them to the promised land. And for some of them, as we know, they're just not at the level that these, you know, if you go back to Tampa, now Florida, the teams that have won, what it actually takes and how they ultimately get over the hump to be a playoff team to then a Stanley Cup contending team to then being a Stanley Cup winner. There's three different steps there and each one of them is extremely hard. With Chris Pronger and you know we were talking about Buffalo earlier and they traded JJ Peturka

to Utah and they bring in a couple of pieces but Kevin Adams has been there for five years now and they haven't sniffed the playoff them into the pleasant fourteen years but it's just a great and all for seeing them get their next year either i don't know and that's the thing like if you're a buffalo you know if you're a season ticket holder there for fourteen years you're going to your fifteen and i'm making the playoffs next year uh... like what do you know if you move to Buffalo 14 years ago like just in town and you

bought season tickets and you called one of your friends and you're like how's that new team you've been supporting and you've been like well I've been supporting them for 14 years and they've never gone to the postseason that would never come close so yes by the way the sad thing is the last time they're in the playoffs I Was playing we beat them. That's the last time right exactly It's been that long you were still playing and knocked them out. Yeah, but that's an example man There's two like Detroit's not far off man Let's call it as it as we said I mean the reality is Detroit hasn't been in the playoffs in a long time either

And I don't know what they're doing like I don't know where they're I don't see how they're gonna be better like unless they make as it as we said i mean that the reality is detroit has been a pleasant a long time either and i don't know what they're doing again on for their i don't see how they're going to be better like i must they make no game-changing moves yeah i mean that's a true or is there there's somebody within their system makes a miraculous development in all the sudden becomes a all-star

right all it should happen and i think that's either a cider turns into some kind of becomes a all-star. Right. Which should happen. Where are they finding these players? If Sider turns into some kind of guy that logs 30 minutes and is a man, like ever since he won rookie of the year, you're like, what is this guy now? He's not a game changer out there. That's exactly it. I would argue like he's kind of plateaued. Like he came out great. Like we were high on him when I worked in Florida. We wanted to draft him. And he obviously went much earlier than we were high on him when I worked in Florida we wanted to draft him and he obviously went much earlier than we were picking but well I really liked him I watching him play

as an 18 year old I really liked his upside and then you see him coming to league and how he played you're like wow he's like he could be this guy up here playing 30 minutes a night physical game changer on that department, good puck mover, but however they've managed their younger players there, they just haven't, they've gotten a little stale, they just haven't taken that next step in the development curve and maturation process and you know, whether it's the losing, you know, it is not easy to continually lose over and over in the league and it can be very frustrating.

With a guy like Sider, I've always felt maybe I'm wrong in this assessment, he was a bit overrated offensively and underrated defensively. I don't think he's really super efficient moving the puck. I don't think he's a quarterback on the power play. They have him there. Like that's the thing. He's a shooter. He's a shooter and he's an A to B. He's an A to B. He's not a facilitator in, like in Eric Carlson where he's creating.

He doesn't walk the line, doesn't create deception, all of that type of stuff. Yes, those are special players that do that. But to your point, Prongs, early on it looked like he had the upside to do that. And I think in the league he sorted him out going, you're right, he's an A to B guy. I think he's pretty good physically down low. I think he uses his body well. He's got a little bite to him. I do think he defensively is pretty strong when he wants to be, but

offensively I think we look at this guy and go, isn't he supposed to be a 60 point guy? And you're like, that's not a 60 point defense for what he's doing. So how does he change that? Does he need a better partner to play with or does he just be a really good kind of number two guy? All of it's got to be better, Jamie. they need him to be better, but they need a centerman better than Larkin because Larkin as good as he is he's not a number one centerman in the National Hockey League and They need a guy in between the pipes that can stop a puck because well that's been a laughable scenario for five years men I like I like Larkin. I think he's a one but I agree. I don't think they have a number one goaltender

They got the COSA kid coming, that's maybe as a chance, but I think at the end of the day, I guess my question is, as a defenseman, you can't teach that type of top-end skill at the NHL level to walk the line. Morgan Reilly is a guy who gets points, right? But he's not a guy who walks the line and creates deception in that. He's a very, you know, he's a good skater. He does things really well, but there's things,

he doesn't have that elite offensive vision. But how many do? You look at Quinn Hughes, you got McCarr, you got Wierenski. I mean, the list starts dropping off after that. Yeah. That are in that elite level. Yeah.

Ushard walking the line, but even him walking the line, he's not walking the line like those guys. He's walking the line knowing he's going to give it to McDavid or Dreiseidel. That's why he's walking the line. He's giving it back to one of those two. And then he kind of turns and he's able to open up and create from that Right, you know you talk about developing defenseman like you talk about Buffalo. What are they doing with Owen Power? first overall gave a big ticket and What you're who you're gonna play them with are they now is Kesselring gonna be the answer?

Is that who they're gonna probably what about his play? Like his own play better shoot up the... Well no, that's what I'm saying. But who's helping him? Like he... Right. How do you get to him in the sense that like his compete level is this big? Like he does not push back defensively. Yeah. He doesn't use his frame. But to me, that's coaching, that's the leadership around him, that's people in the locker room talking to him, developing, learning the game within the game.

They don't have anybody like that there. Yeah, but it should be a scenario. Dahlien's a couple years older than him. Yeah, there should be a scenario where a free agent, right-handed defenseman, or whoever this guy they brought in, would be dying to play with this guy because he's so good and he's going to be the next generational talent as opposed to what's happening now is, hey, can you help this guy along? That's crazy stuff, man.

Well power needs to get. If you look at him though. That's Buffalo for you, man. But if you look at him. That's the Buffalo Sabres. That's true though. It's crazy stuff. Yeah, first overall pick. if you look at it though that's buffalo for a moment but it but if you look at the buffalo savers that's true though it's crazy stuff first overall pick that i'd like to see it sort of those ones that i like those the the mistake that they made

is he hadn't even played eighty games in the national hockey league and they gave them and a year contract for eight half million dollars he didn't even play eighty games in the league yet and that they didn't get a chance to develop and He didn't even play 80 games in the league yet. And that, they didn't get a chance to develop them, they didn't get a chance to see the upside, they didn't get a chance to see, you know, what does the ceiling look like? Instead they just handed him all the money. Oh, oh Doug, if you're 20 years old and you're given

eight and a half million dollars for eight years and you didn't even have to prove anything. I mean, pretty good life where's where is the where's the carrot where's the cherry on top yeah i played for the and i know that that comes from inside i know that comes from inside it comes to drive all which should you know that a player's driven if you're gonna get back at a money

well the other other part of this that i could add to that though, Prongs, is there is, it's been proven, markets like that are afraid to lose their players, right? So you get somebody to commit to that market, that's a win, right? That's really the truth here where we're talking about, there's certain markets that have that fear that go the minute that this guy can walk he might walk and especially with all the losing attached to it. But no, he was five years away from walking though. I understand that.

I understand that. You're not worried about losing a player after that short a term. And I know what you're saying. You're talking about all the teams that maybe are on the no trade list, et cetera, for all the players in the league. I get it, but they didn't need to do that with this particular player at that moment. Why not watch him for one more year and then after his third year give him the deal? You don't even have to bridge him.

Just give him the deal. Right. You're going to pay him any... Exactly. You're going to commit long term. There doesn't have to be much of a discussion once you can ask for more after his Second year All right Bronx well we got the draft tomorrow July 1 right around the corner

It's gonna be an active week week and a half in the league so enjoy that and we'll do it again soon Thank you for this Thank you You got it Chris Pronger joining us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Drive the built-in Canada fuel-efficient, fun to drive Toyota RAV4. Gas or hybrid models available. Visit mapletoyota.com.

All right, Jack Armstrong coming up. We'll get Jack's take on the Raptors pick last night. What else they could do over the next week, week and a half, two weeks. His take on the draft, Ace Bailey. You see Utah took him fifth, and I don't think ace was ecstatic about that So we'll get Jake's Jack's take on that young players coming in the league and already kind of bent out of shape So more on this and pure Lebron still to come as well over Drive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN for

Seasoned gamer or just video game curious? This Week in Gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games, from basics to beyond. The hottest gaming news, insight and industry leaders and more, weekly. Join me, Naomi Kyle, and stay ahead of the game with all the latest updates. Even if you're a total newbie. Stream This Week in Gaming on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, we'll get to our best match later this afternoon. The Jays were in action this afternoon and they won 6-0.

Vladdy took another ball off the forearm. He left the game. X-rays came back negative but all hell was breaking loose between these two teams and two game series. Both teams get a win. Jays now facing Boston tomorrow night and the Yankees will be in town early next week. So it's going to be a fun week, week and a half for the Jays. It's been a fun week, week and a half in the NBAba lots of action the nba draft last night taking place and second round continuing tonight and uh... we got free agency right around the corner and we expect the raptors to be active and a man that's uh... always on top of things when

it comes to the raptors joins us now here's our tsn raptor analyst jack armstrong there he is how we do it jack how you doing guys hey look i had to battle traffic on the Don Valley Parkway parking lot for like an hour, an hour and a half, and I'm sitting here in an empty studio. You guys got the light, man. What's going on? Yeah, I know. Jack, isn't that Don Valley Parkway the biggest joke on earth coming up here at like two in the afternoon? Anytime after noon, it is... It's brutal. It's disgusting look i grew up in new york so

they don't know long expressway the bell parkway the brooklyn queens expressway the cross bronx expressway but i tell you what the dot valleys right there at the top of the list of being one of the all-time worst roads yeah you're right and we got the gardener traffic as well but but i'm here i found my way to get here for you guys and i'm sitting here by myself well if you don't want to be around us jackie and i think i think i have a lot we miss you it it's great to see it and uh...

i watch i'm i'm gonna ask about the pick first let's begin with you know who the rappers took night overall last night out of south carolina colin murray boils uh... i don't think it was a surprise i mean i think that was the range he was expected to go in the Raptors took ninth overall last night out of South Carolina Colin Murray Boyles. I don't think it was a surprise. I mean I think that was the range he was expected to go in. But tell us what kind of player do you think the Raptors got here and do you think they've made a wise decision in taking him ninth overall?

Well that was the neighborhood he was in, to your point Brian. I think when you look at him, is he a complete polished offensive player at this point? No. Is he an outstanding elite type defensive player who brings incredible energy like that top 1%? A guy that you're definitely going to want in your locker room and want part of your program? Yes, absolutely. So he's got a lot of really cool

winning attributes about him and now it's about, you know, dot in the i's and cross in the t's in terms of getting some polish in his game so that he's at a point where down the road he becomes a well-balanced all-around player. But I love the intangibles. There are measurables there that are really good, but there are also the things that he brings to the table that, quite frankly, winning teams have. And so I like where he's at. And as we know, it's a jigsaw puzzle here. We got the second round tonight, and then obviously free agency next week.

So it's an incomplete picture. So who's to say who will be on this team come October when you get to training camp. But he's if you're loyal to your board and he was the ninth guy rated on your board or the top guy available whatever case you want to put, then you got to pick them because it's all about adding talent and you could always mix and match and move people later. What was your thought process on, we'll call it his reaction that kind of went viral? You know, I don't get all worked up over this stuff because to me, I'm of the opinion a lot of these guys they go man

oh what a journey it's been on and here I am I made it I can't flanking believe it I made it and and the other part of me too is the fact that you know I think we get so obsessed with what people think of us and I really don't care about that I care about the fact that hey, you're coming in as an employee and It's your job to please us Not our job to please you. It's not my job to make you happy It's your job to make me happy and then when you start producing I'll do a little more to make you happy. And

look, oh dog and noodles, you guys have been professional athletes. When you put up numbers and you produce, you get a little more sugar. And when you don't get it done, you get a little less sugar and you get a boot in the ass. So in my opinion I don't care about what some 19 or 20 year old kid thinks and quite frankly I think it was just a natural reaction to him saying man I can't believe I'm here and I made it and even if he meant it in a different way I don't care doesn't bother me in the least. Maybe you heard about that parkway man man. That's what you keep talking about. You say, I'm going to drive up the DVP for the next 10 years. I could relate to how he feels. Yeah, that might have been what he was really

kind of reeling on last night with Jack Armstrong. And I think if you're a Raptor fan, like you said, Jack, a lot could still be changing. But as of now, you presume Brandon Ingram's going to be a Raptor next year. You've got to believe Murray Boyle's will be a Raptor next year. You gotta believe Murray Boyle's gonna be a Raptor next year. So those are two pieces that are gonna be their opening night. I don't know how much Murray Boyle's is really gonna factor into this team.

We'll see. Likely a depth player to start his career, of course. But Ingram's gonna play. Like Ingram will be in the starting five and putting up numbers. So if you put Ingram on this team, Murray Boyle's on this team. Another year, Jacoby Walter growing up, Gradyle is on this team, another year with Jacobi Walter growing up, Grady Dick another year, again, presuming these guys are here.

If you're a Raptor fan, how much growth can you expect just based on what we already know could be kind of happening going into next season? Well, two things. Number one, Orlando made a good deal getting Desmond Bain. I thought Atlanta made a good deal getting Porzingis in the last year of his contract. There's a little carrot on the stick for Porzingis to have a really good year because he's in a contract year and I think he and Trey Young will be an interesting combination. And then you're on the flip side you have the Achilles injuries unfortunately to Damian Lillard,

Jason Tatum and now Tyrese Halliburton, that impact three of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Now, you still have New York, that will be very good. You have Cleveland, that will be very good. They have some things they got to clean up with their cap. But ultimately, I think if you're an Eastern Conference team like Toronto, you should look at yourself and say why not us Detroit got into the top six last year and they were complete utter disaster for a number of years and you know you now you had Brandon Ingram and quite

frankly to use a college term they redshirted them they never even played them so to me I think they should feel pretty good about they've improved their talent level. They added a nice young piece last night. They'll add something tonight with the ninth pick of the second round and I fully expect them to try to be active if at all possible here in the coming days in terms of trade. So do I think what we're talking about right now is what the roster is going to be when they get to training camp October 1? I'd say no. With Jack Armstrong.

So in terms of what else went down last night, Cooper Flagg, we all knew he was going number one overall. You know, if Anthony Davis is healthy, Kyrie is going to opt out and re-sign and we believe he'll come back healthy. Yep. Like do you see Flagg stepping right in and having a massive impact and could you see the Mavericks, you know, now you got KD in Houston, you got a couple of, you know, teams down in Texas who are chasing that Oklahoma City team in the west.

Who do you think will have, you know, where does Cooper Flagg and the Mavs come into play in terms of your pecking order? Well, great situation, number one. I mean, he's going to be playing for a guy that's a Hall of Fame player as his coach and Jason Kidd, who's one of the all-time great leaders and just intelligent players we've had. And then he's playing with three guys that will end up in the Hall of Fame and Clay Thompson, Anthony Davis, as well as Kyrie Irving. And now, unfortunately, Kyrie Irving might be out for a good percentage of the year,

which is difficult to deal with. But if they're able to upgrade in terms of playmaking, I think they have a very good team. He walks into a winning program. Imagine going to play for Charlotte or Washington, one of those horrible teams. I mean, like that's bad. I mean, so he's coming into a great situation with tons of leadership. They've been a winning program. They were in the NBA finals two years ago. Yeah, they messed up the whole Luka Dantjic thing. I get that. But for a kid like Cooper Frank, I think it's an incredible opportunity

for him to thrive immediately. And as big a market as Dallas is, I still think he's blessed not having to play in LA and New York where people lose their minds. So I think for him, any market but those two, I think would be great for him. And I think he's going to really have an excellent pro career so who do you think has a better chance of winning a title next year than the mavericks of the lakers who good question who question i would uh...

mhm if kairi were healthy i'd say dallas so i give a slight edge to to to the Lakers I would say that You know, I hope Luca comes back a little better in shape than he was You know cut down on a few hot dogs cut down on a few cold beverages and come in just a little better shape now Look, he's like the babe Ruth of of basketball you know he enjoys you know hey babe Ruth could pretty good this 714 home runs everyone says eyes fitness this that the other thing I get all that amen he

dragged your team to the NBA finals the year before so I'm not sure what they were thinking there but nonetheless you playBron. There's a higher standard now and That dude's gonna hold you accountable so I'm really curious to see now the full year of the pressure and accountability of being a Laker with a new ownership group coming in and Believe me you look at what they've done with the Dodgers those people don't mess around You better get it done and so to me I and a kind of a contract extending extension pending I think he's got a lot to be ready for. Jack one of the craziest things in

sports is when the Knicks just didn't have a guy in mind when they fired Teves I thought like your hometown team maybe you were going to insert yourself into the operation and like come back of it like yes come back of the century Jack Armstrong is the Nick. Count me in I mean you're thinking of money these guys are making now and look I knew Tibbs when he was in it I used to work basketball camp with Tibbs when I was an assistant at Fordham, he was an assistant at Harvard. We used to play lunchtime basketball and drink beer at night. So he's made a lot more money than I did. I would love one of those gigs. You could

give me a three year deal and then fire my ass a week later. Okay. Because you could put me on the beach with the drink, with the umbrella in it and a cigar and I'm all set so was it in Detroit that had that deal and got Monty Williams got some wherever he is man he was in Phoenix and Detroit you guys you guys all know we're grinding here in the media business this is hard work compared to what these guys are doing you know but all kidding aside but that's Jim Dolan whether we're talking about the Rangers, we're talking about the Knicks, that's Mr. Dolan. And Leon Rose, their president, has done an excellent job coming in there. And I'm not sure if Leon would make that decision if it was in and of itself his decision.

I'm sure there was a lot of pressure there. And to your point, if you're going to make a decision like that, you have to have your and of itself his decision. I'm sure there was a lot of pressure there and to your point if you're gonna make a decision like that you have to have your short list in your pocket of guys you know you know you're gonna be able to get and they're still searching and that's a tough job and I'll tell you what you know you're gonna get you know Mike Brown did a good job in Cleveland and Sacramento he's been around the block a little bit and you know you have some names uh... james berago right now and

uh... michael nor i who basically started here actually in toronto working for butch carter uh... and then obviously uh... the former memphis coaches well uh... see i have some you have some good coaches uh... but that's it that's a whole different animal coach in the Knicks big time with Jack Armstrong So again, the the Raptors have the the ninth pick of the second round tonight They took took Murray Boyles out of South Carolina Who's you know, I think he's gonna the intention is for him to play likely the four maybe some of the file like a smaller

Five, but you know that we all know they've got a lot of wing talent They got a lot of guys who are kind of like this has been the Messiah and Bobby Webster way of kind of building out This team so I'm curious what you think they still need to attack here like they got portal I don't even know I still don't know what quickly is you might have a better idea than I do but he barely played Last year, I think the point position is still something they might need to approve at, but what do you think could happen here? Like is there a position of need you still think they need to really kind of pinpoint here? Well they need shooting. Yes. Shooting's a problem and I just think you know obviously a backup to Pertle would be helpful. They don't have a lot of size beyond Pertle. You know they got a lot of wing size, but I would say being able to have a lot of size beyond Pertle. You know, they got a lot of wing size.

But I would say being able to have a little bit more of that. And then what assets do you have that maybe you could throw out there in the market? Look, the elephant in the room. He's a local kid, R.J. Barrett. His name's been brought out there a lot. You know, what happens there? I think R.J. Barrett compared to his time in New York has played terrific basketball for the Raptors. I think he's improved defensively.

I'm impressed with how he played offensively since he's been here. So I like R.J. and I like R.J.'s game. If they if from a signability standpoint as he's contract as he's extension eligible as we move along here if they feel like they want to turn him into an asset then that might be a guy that you consider that would could be out there in the market you know you bring up an interesting point about quickly to whom much is given much expected. They have made a sizable, significant investment in him. Just look at the percentage of salary cap he's going to eat up. So I'm looking for him. If you know everyone's talking about Ingram this, Ingram that, Scotty Barnes, this guy,

no no. Quickly, Scott, a play. For me, in this league, you better have a lead guard and that dude better be able to play 70 75 games he better be a killer and I tell you when I speak about killer you look at the NBA playoffs this year they're letting guys beat the heck out of each other on the perimeter quickly's a little slight and I hope this summer he's getting stronger and a little bit more durable because if they if if the lead continues and they loosen the whistle a little bit

he's got to be able to play a lot more through contact and be a guy that can hold up over a long year play significant minutes and be that guy that's a good two-way player. I love his talent But now you got to get beyond the talent and you know talents one thing It's productivity and availability that have to be there big time big time. All right, Jack We'll catch you on TSN Sports Center. Hey, by the way speaking of availability. I'm the only one here. Okay? Yeah, that's where the man Productivity you guys are all pregnant you're a plus look for a senior maybe like three or four months cannot wait power gonna see

you soon gold bills no bills have a great summer guys have a great summer there is jack armstrong joining us here ahead of uh... the second round tonight nba draft and free agency right around the corner as well. All right well there we go. Jack's excited he should be excited. He is fired up. We didn't get to his bills at all. We didn't get there. Yeah we'll find time for the bills. I mean camps are gonna open up in about a month and listen they're they're in a position I think they're in a good position you know Josh Allen locked in. Yeah. Got a great quarterback. Got a very good regular season coach. You know, at a

minimum McDermott runs a tight ship. He's a good coach. Yeah, Bills will be fine. All right, Eric Hosmer in about 45 minutes. Pierre Lebrun coming up. The Jays again won today. They take two of three against the Guardians and they've got the Red Sox. They're at Fenway starting tomorrow night and then the Yankees roll uh... they take two or three as a guardians and uh... they've got the red socks the rat fenway started to one night the yankees roll through town early next week so catch up with their cause more about uh... forty forty five minutes overdrive continues to use and ten fifty and on tsn for biggest songs in the world

countless times now learn the details of how they came to be. Join Ruby Carr for Encore, the stories behind the songs you love. New interviews and newly unearthed archive footage make for a fascinating weekly deep dive. Stream Encore, the stories behind the songs you love on IHAR radio or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget, TSN 1050 wants to give you the ultimate iHeartRadio experience this summer at Oceago Music and Arts Festival in Montreal. Just listen to TSN 1050 on the free iHeartRadio app for 10 minutes. Every day click enter when prompted and you're in the draw. You'll Olivia Rodrigo the killers Gracie Abrams and more with gold weekend passes plus will hook you up with travel

Thanks to trip central dot CA a four-night stay at the Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain and $500 spending money Listen every day for more chances to win. That's a good. That's good as it gets. Yeah, that's as good as it gets I got a case for you guys. We were talking about the salary cap and it's not just, you know, just because they say the cap is going up, that doesn't mean the players worth this. What would you do? And it's just a report. It was a report on Twitter that Noah Dobson wants north of 10 million on a contract. Is that fall into the

you're good but just because the caps going up i'm not giving in north of ten north of the end he's a point producer though like he's gonna call he's a great player james one a guy plays in all situations what if he says this only gets done if it's north of ten do you sign them or do you walk on them? I Sign them they don't have any like who's they need help off. I think he knows that just 25 year old six foot four defensemen that can get hit 70 points last year yet down season this year 40 point to 39 points

That's a big drop big drop, but that's a big one too. They were no good What's the drop 70 to 30 70 to 39 yeah that's not to ask for over 10 after that but he had 50 he's a 50-point guy he's at 51 points 49 points 70 points like that's three years in a row some pretty damn good production from years 22 to 25 like he's a 10 million isn't that much anymore for a top-tier defenseman like that's that's what i guess that's what comes down that's like bushards gonna get it but of course he's gonna get that yeah i'm just saying you know

i don't know you're right like the league is adjusting it's changing but this is where a team like for how do you keep up with florida if all their guys are signed for under ten and you're signing very good players for 10 million, 10, 5, 11 million? I don't know. That's going to be challenging. That's a market though.

The islanders, you're hoping to keep that player. They need talented players. They can't just keep rolling out Pierre Engvel. That's the seven years, you know Pierre Engel. Yeah, like that's the that's the seven years that three million dollars Well, that's gonna be I think we're probably past that now the lose going but yeah, we're gonna see the end of that I agree. All right. I don't think it's worth it. Sorry, Piel Lebrun coming up on that more Eric Hosmer on the Jays, you know winning the series down at Cleveland at Fenway tomorrow night best But still to come dear hazy be coming up overdrive continues

TSN 1050 and on TSN for the biggest songs in the world You've heard them countless times now learn the details of how they came to be Join Ruby car for encore the stories behind the songs you love. New interviews and newly unearthed archive footage make for a fascinating weekly deep dive. Stream Encore, the stories behind the songs you love on IHAR Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.