OverDrive - OverDrive - June 27, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: June 27, 2025

Join Mark Roe, Frankie Corrado and Dave Feschuk for Hour 3 on OverDrive! Utah Mammoth President of Hockey Operations Chris Armstrong joins to discuss the managerial perspective of the Mammoth, acquiring JJ Peterka and building a winning roster on the team. They also discuss Sam Bennett's extension with the Panthers, Florida looking to sign their free agents and John Tavares' deal in Toronto. TSN Raptors Reporter Josh Lewenberg joins to dive into Masai Ujiri's dismissal from the Raptors, the next steps for the team and the ripple effects on the organization and the FanDuel Best Bets.

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Sundays at 5pm on Newstalk 1010 and the iHeartRadio app. The show that makes sense of the ever-changing world of technology, and you don't need a computer degree to listen. Brought to you by LG celebrating 10 years of OLED innovation. Visit LG.ca. Third and final hour of Overdrive which is brought to you by FanDuel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Mark Rowe in for Brian Hayes today alongside Frankie Corrado and Dave Fasciak. We have had a busy day where we're not searching for content, we're not searching for stories, and one thing that we probably, we normally would talk a little bit more about, but because of

all these things, is the fact that the NHL draft is tonight. Here we go. We were expecting a lot of trades. One team that had a pretty significant trade earlier this week, the Utah Mammoth, and joining us now, it's not often you get the president of hockey operations an hour before the draft begins, but we have one here. Chris Armstrong from the Utah Mammoth. Chris, thanks so much for joining us. Good to be with you guys. Thanks for having me on. Take us behind the curtains as we're into the final minutes before the draft. What is life like for you and the organization at the moment?

Things are good here in Utah. We had a beautiful day and we just did a team photo. It feels like we're out there for a wedding. But it's always a special day to have our whole group, our whole operation together, and lots of excitement, enthusiasm around the team, as you guys well know. How different is the draft process for you guys this year not being on location in Los Angeles? Yeah, I think it's very similar

to what we're actually accustomed to in a sense that our process hasn't really changed this week in terms of our meeting schedule and everybody's availability. I guess the difference is we're on a table in a room full of 15,000 people. But from a process standpoint, it's felt pretty similar to the years past. Chris, what's the tone out there? There's a lot of hope, at least, cross fingers around hockey media and hockey fans that we could be seeing a draft rife with trades and some big deals being made here how

do you sort of read the tea leaves as the draft approaches yeah I mean you never know there's certainly a lot of buzz out there today a lot of different things being being discussed and we'll see if any of them become a reality tonight but I think that's great from a fan perspective and for the game to have being discussed and we'll see if any of them become a reality tonight. But I think that's great from a fan perspective and for the game to have so much attention and conversation around the draft. And yeah, hopefully we're one of those teams that it makes an impact on people. Chris Armstrong, the president of hockey operations for the Utah Mammoth, joining

us on overdrive. It's been a really busy day. Just breaking now the Florida Panthers have signed Sam Bennett to an eight-year contract worth eight million dollars per season. We've also seen a lot of trades, Noah Dobson being traded earlier today. You guys acquired JJ Peturka earlier this week. How easy or difficult is it to pull off trades right now given the fact that it seems like much of the NHL landscape is a team of buyers and not a lot of teams right now who are willing to say that we are in the total rebuild phase of our franchise. Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment for sure. I think, you know,

generally people under appreciate how hard it is to make trades in professional sports, right? To find what both sides feel is fair and equitable value and the right needs for their organization. I think at a time like this and especially coming up on free agency, it's important to be deliberate and patient to see how other pieces on the board move and to be disciplined and making sure that the things that you're doing are taking you forward, addressing the needs that you have and, you know, in our situation, we're fortunate to be able to consider everything and anything right now and that's a great place to be. What do the Utah Mammoth like about JJ Piterka?

Obviously, you trade for him, you signed him to a contract, he's, you know, been just under a 30-goal score the last couple seasons. What do you see as the outlook for him on your team? Yeah, really high offensive ceiling with JJ, obviously being able to put him with the talent level that we already have in Logan and Kels and Dylan Gunther, among others, Sergi, for example. We think we should be in a great spot to have two really solid offensive threats in our top six, in both of our top lines rather, and that we've

got a really solid top six now with the addition of JJ. By the same token, we also said goodbye to two exceptionally young, talented players and high character people in in donor and cast and now we think the fans of buffalo are gonna fall in love with with both of those guys is our fans didn't in in uh... in our inaugural season so uh... but to work i did about what you do brings in that just gives us that up additional offensive punch that we're looking for on the left side chris has been a lot of talk with the news that sam bennett signs that eight by eight million with the florida panthers's been a lot of talk with the news that Sam Bennett signs that eight by eight million

with the Florida Panthers. There's been a lot of talk of the great performance of these Florida-based teams, obviously the Panthers and the Lightning winning back-to-back before them, and how their zero state tax advantage has been used to great effect to get players under contract at possibly under market value. I mean, the Utah tax isn't zero as it is in some US states.

I'm not even sure what it is, I believe it's 4 something percent, but how do you see that? We know the commissioner has said that some teams have complained that there should be some sort of equalization in the cap to make up for this. Where do you stand on this? My view to that whole conversation is build a great program cap to make up for this, where do you stand on this? My view to that whole conversation is build a great program and you'll attract great players.

Right, but I mean is it as big a perceived advantage as some of us make it out to be? I don't believe so. I think that that's, I understand the narrative, but I think it has more to do with the program that you build, and the environment that you create for players to reach their full potential, and the quality of the city in general and how they treat people is far more important than tax. Now, if you have a great program and you happen to be in a state that has tax advantages, then of course you're going to be able to play that as one of the attractive elements of coming to play for your organization. But I think fundamentally it starts with

just build a great organization and you'll attract great players. And you know what, it's so true because if you look at what those teams in Florida, what Dallas, what Vegas have built, great practice facilities, we just saw the Florida Panthers build one, and good organizations where you go

and you feel like you have a chance to win. Now you guys are in a situation in Utah where you have a very motivated owner. You guys are making upgrades to the arena. You're building a state of the art practice facility. Can you kind of tell us about what's going on in Utah as far as building something that players will see as an attractive place to go in the future.

Yeah, I mean we really want to try to and aspire to setting the standard for what a modern professional sports franchise should look like and and really try to lean into this unique opportunity where we're building something from the ground up and we have the good fortune of being able to look at it through the athlete experience and and get feedback from our players, our coaches, our staff about what actually makes a difference, what actually matters in terms of their experience inside of our organization. So that's what we're focused on, is making sure that our players want for nothing,

that their families are taken care of and that their singular focus can be on their craft and being the best hockey players they can be. That's really sort of the ethos that has been set by our ownership and Ryan and Ashley Smith. And we've been very fortunate to have unlimited resources and support to build that experience for our players so far. Chris Armstrong, the president of hockey operations

for the Utah Mammoth joining us on overdrive. And given the progression of this organization, which you can still go back to the Arizona days but maybe even more particular with this new fan base that everything worked well in the first year but you really want to captivate that new group of fans that you have. How much urgency is there going into this offseason or in the midst of this offseason that that you you are willing to go out and maybe make a big move that you wouldn't have a couple years ago knowing that you're ready to do it but also you got something special in a new city? Yeah I think that's a great question. You know from the very

beginning what we've what we said we want to build here is framework for sustainable success right and so we are definitely going to look at everything and anything that makes us better and gives us a better shot to be a top three team in our division and to make the playoffs next year. Those are the ambitions, those are the objectives, but our fan base also knows from day one that we wanna build something sustainable.

We wanna be a contender for a long period of time, a window like Florida is experiencing now. And that takes time and it takes patience and it takes disciplined decisions. We want to be a contender for a long period of time, a window like Florida is experiencing now. And that takes time and it takes patience and it takes disciplined decisions. And I think, you know, we'll be in on everything because we have that advantage and that opportunity. But we will only do the things that we think are consistent with that long range ambition. Well, I started our conversation by saying it's not often you get the president of hockey operations literally minutes before the draft begins so with

that we don't take that lightly we appreciate you taking some time to join us today good luck with today's draft and good luck with the rest of the off season. Thanks guys very much it was great to be with you appreciate your coverage of the game. There you go Chris Armstrong from the Utah Mammoth who have already been pretty busy to begin the offseason. It's been, as you just heard, a busy day where you're in the middle of a conversation and you see the breaking news that Sam Bennett has signed an eight-year deal worth eight million dollars per season. I think those numbers line up with what a lot of people expected

to happen, especially considering the situation in Florida, as you point out, Dave, with the tax, but also he's simply just in a great situation where you go to another team and you might make a couple million dollars more a season. You're not guaranteed to have the same kind of success both individually, but certainly at a team standpoint when you're part of a juggernaut right now. It's just such a good place to be when you know that all these guys that are playing beside you, you can count on them.

They're championship proven guys. Like why would you wanna rock that boat? Why would you wanna go out there and scrounge for a couple more million? Now I'm not saying there won't be guys that do that. Maybe Brad Marshott will do that because he was playing probably under market value in Boston for the past handful of years on that deal he signed back in the 2016

World Cup which was a very long deal at a very modest 6.1 million dollar cap hit but for Sam Bennett man, by all accounts it's been a perfect fit and it's an absolutely win-win for I I believe, both the Panthers and for Bennett. There's just something to be said for don't mess with Happy. It works for him in Florida. He's obviously getting a large chunk of money to stay there.

Could he have made more elsewhere? Sure, but you might be a different Sam Bennett playing for the Seattle Kraken. It might not be the same effect because you don't have the same group of savages around you that you have playing for the Panthers so It's a it's a home run for him. He gets eight years He gets a ton of money He gets to stay in Florida and he gets to be the same Sam Bennett like nothing changes He doesn't go to another team and all of a sudden

He's a different element than what they already have and it doesn't look and it doesn't act the same. He gets to just continue this happy run here playing for the Florida Panthers. And you know what? Give the guy a lot of credit because he had an unbelievable playoffs. He was the Conn Smythe winner. He absolutely deserved that and he absolutely deserves to cash in. And for me, this is him still cashing in in a very significant way in Florida. And now you have a group of teams that are going to have to pivot. And one of those teams could be the Toronto Maple Leafs, who we never know how seriously they thought they had a chance at Sam Bennett. But you have to think going into July 1st, they at least had money allocated towards if we get to that stage we're gonna put our best foot

forward and we're gonna offer them whatever it is nine and a half million ten whatever it was and now you're gonna use that money somewhere else and i'm assuming they had plan b's and c's already oh yeah you know ready i don't even know like i don't even know how close toronto would have been in in this one you know like it might have just been. No, but you weren't. You were holding. You're waiting for that. Yeah, you have like your cap structure based on if we get Bennett, if we get Marshan, like who's your headliner? Their headliner is obviously not going to be Sam Bennett now, but it still could be Brad Marshan. We don't know. Although it sounds like Florida would want to keep him as well. But now Florida has a little bit of cost certainty, right?

They know they got $8 million allocated for Bennett so they can chip away at at Marchand and Eklat and see if they can get that done. And just like it helps them that they signed Savaris today and not a week from today. Yeah. This happens today and not five or six days down the road where a team like Toronto is still holding out a little bit of hope and not signing someone else because we got to make sure that we keep the 10 million. It's also one of these things now where if you're in the Atlantic division or you're in the Eastern Conference, it's like

Bennett's back. Life isn't any easier. Yeah, one of those guys between Martian and Eckblad, they're probably going to be back and you're like, yeah, it doesn't look like it's getting any easier to knock off the Florida Panthers. Well, you just look at the stability the Panthers have built here. You got Bennett for eight years, but you've got going in for five more years. For the next five years, they've got Barkov

for five more years, Kichuk, Reinhart, Bennett for eight more years, Rahagie Lundell and then you go Top two defensemen in Forsling and Jones. Obviously Ekblad may or may not be back The only guy they don't have beyond next year is Bob, right? Bob the lynchpin of it all probably in a lot of ways so and at his age that's the one guy that you're I guess you're hoping his play falls off and And or they're not able to resign him next year. Yeah. You know, what's interesting about the Bob thing, like you bring up the state tax, they had to pay a lot to get him back in 2019. Like

they hadn't established themselves as these Florida Panthers where everyone just wants to go there. They didn't have the practice facility. They weren't a, and it was a bad deal at first. Right. And it was looked at like, holy moly. They really had to overpay to get Sergey Bobrovsky. Well, it turns out, you know, two Stanley cups later and three Stanley cup finals. You're, you're happy that you did it. But I mean, it kind of just took to Chris Armstrong's point, like you have to build it first and then you can reap the rewards of, you know, the, the state tax thing can reap the rewards of the state tax thing.

Yeah, I think the state tax thing does get overblown, but it's a factor, right? It's a factor for Bill Zito now, it's a very real factor because he's down to the nickels and dimes of trying to keep a championship team together. We've seen a lot of championship teams get blown apart by the salary cap in this era post-05. And what a year for it to go up

by seven and a.5 million too. That is not always the case for these teams that have won cups where they had to make hard decisions on we have to get rid of a guy that we like, but he had a great playoffs. You know, this is the year you won two in a row and the cap goes up $7.5 million. That's pretty good timing for that to happen.

Yeah, just to go back to Bennett, I definitely think the state tax thing is secondary to all of this because he saw what he was with Calgary and what going to Florida did for his career and it's turned him from a player to a guy who could go down as a legendary guy for this organization. You win a couple more cups and you're a playoff performer like this, you're talking about some pretty impressive stuff

post-career. Yeah. No, this is, I mean, I think we kind of expected Bennett to be back, but this is one of those things where they were also even willing to come up to $8 million. Like I was, when the Bennett deal eventually came down, I wasn't gonna be surprised if it was seven and a half. Like Sam Reinhardt, keep in mind, got 8.6 last year. I think a lot of

us could have made the argument that he could have been 10 million elsewhere or at least would have been nine and a half. And it's like he took the discount and Bennett, I would say, took a discount but not as much relative to the one that Reinhardt took last year. Well not when you consider that Reinhardt performs regular season and playoffs and Sam Bennett you know they'll take it obviously but like you look at his regular season like when we have that the it's not the trade bait board but the free agent board and when you see you know Mitch Marner and then you see number two Bennett and it's half the amount of points and yet everyone in the city

He's like I'll take that guy over the guy. Yeah, hop like it's it's wild like it's it's pretty impressive and and I guess to no surprise Mitch Marner became a topic today when John Tavares Addressed the media following his deal and if you you missed it I'm shocked if you you have missed it But John Tavares has signed a four-year deal with the Maple Leafs worth 4.38 million dollars. He was asked about the Mitch Barner situation and here's what Tavares had to say about the man who could be his former teammate. If he does end up leaving it's a

very difficult player in person to replace and what he brings to the team on and off the ice. So, you know, it's obviously gonna be up to Tree and the club to find their way and how they go about that. It's obviously unique and that, you know, it's difficult when you lose, you possibly could lose a player like Mitchie and what he brings, but, you know,

you gotta move forward if that's what happened and obviously what available is to the club is, you know, dollars that wouldn't have been allocated there if Michy does stay. So whenever it happens, you know, we know you always kind of hold out hope that a person and a player like Michy ends up staying and it works out but you're also realistic of the situation and where things are at and what potentially could happen so if he does move on you know wish him the

best but you always hold outside hope that it works out. We're hopeful but we're also realistic that Mitch Marner is not coming back. The most diplomatic way of saying he's gone and we have to have our contingency plan and move on, which everyone kind of knew was the case anyways. Yeah, he kind of caught himself there. Basically he was saying when you lose a guy, oh, you could possibly lose a guy. Yeah, it's a...

Exactly, slight hope, slight hope. Yeah, it'll be fascinating to see just how they go about this because again, it's not like it's this super deep free agent class where you're like, we'll just go pick him and go pick him and you've got a little bit more cap space. They're going to have to be creative. Yeah. And you have to think, okay, you go down the trade route. Well, it's not like they have a bunch of first round picks that they can give out. And you start looking at the roster

and can you move a Morgan Rielly or can you like who else with with some value that's probably going to hurt you but you you know like. Well that's why people were talking about moving a defenseman right like someone like Brandon Carlo who you obviously coveted and you wanted to have and makes your decor better makes your team better. That's a trade chip that can actually get you something that is a little more tangible. But I would say, you know,

you're gonna spend money in free agency. You don't wanna spend money carelessly just to say you did it. I would rather the Leafs keep a little bit of cash, keep a little flexibility and say, our replacement for Mitch Marner or our second line center of the future is a longer-term play it doesn't have to be set you know on July 2nd we're we're

almost at the point where we can keep ourselves flexible so that if something does come up if it's a trade or or whatever we're able to strike at that moment and then you're not shifting things around at the last second or saying we're hamstrung and we can't do anything. Yeah, exactly. Like if they could have got something for Nick Robertson, they probably would have got something for Nick Robertson by now, right?

Like how long has that one been floating in the ether, right, that he might be traded? If you want to trade Morgan Reilly, well, Morgan Reilly's gonna have something to say about that. That's a, yeah. With his no movement clause. That's not happening. I can't see that. It's hard to imagine it happening. Nothing's a, yeah. Yeah. With his no movement clause. That's not happening.

I can't see that. It's hard to imagine it happening. Nothing's impossible. But Carlo's attractive because he's got what, an eight team modified no trade clause. And his cap hits under $4 million. Right. And he's a serviceable player. And look at, like if you look at the board of players that are UFAs, like I look at Gavrikov

left-handed, Provov, left-handed, Orlov left-handed, Fabro is like the first right-handed defenseman outside of Aaron Echblad. Echblad's obviously in the top five. I don't know how you can fit an $8.5 million defenseman when you already have that much money allocated, but I don't know. You never know. Someone's going out. said that like how long has this market but hankering for a right shot defenseman like brian carlo

when they got him yes at the trade deadline was that it was in a big big acquisition it was going to be a game changer and then he didn't perform a victory the level people are expected to somewhat of a luxury net we have two guys who you're comfortable being your starter you know and either of whom can stay healthy mark be careful that's the issue I know but

like you just try to think like where where is this team deep or at least where is this team have the luxury of saying okay we can get by moving this person if they make you know a stronger upfront and we get someone else who can store in that score in the top nine or we get another right shot like that's I honestly wouldn't be surprised if July 1st we leave the studio that day and we're like huh Leaves didn't do as much as we thought they would they didn't get a big headliner they're gonna sign guys they have to but I wouldn't be surprised if it's like the the sentiment after that day is we spent a little bit, but we want to keep

some flexibility, a little cash in our pocket just to see if we can do something down the road. We're not just going to spend money just to say we did it. Like trade deadline maybe? I don't know. Yeah. Like that would be further down the road. I think you want to position yourself in the regular season to say that we're not in jeopardy

of losing a playoff spot. And so I don't know. I think that that might be what we're talking about at the end of the show on Tuesday. Yeah. Well, the other one would be if they get Marchand or if they make the run at Marchand that some people think they might. I think the interesting thing, Frankie, for me would be in a year where you've said you've got to change the DNA, would acquiring Marchand essentially be putting too much on him? It's like, hey, we got a problem with some sort

of chemistry slash killer instinct slash DNA thing, we don't know how to fix it, you do it, Brad. It's always funny with one player, right? If there was ever gonna be one guy who could do it, it would be Brad Marchand. But it's so hard for one guy to completely change the way guys are wired and have been wired for a long time. But you get into a situation where you look at the Florida Panthers and it's just like

a pack of animals. And if you go in there, all of a sudden it's easier for you, the one guy, to turn things around. I think a good example of that is that Nico Michola. He played in St. Louis, he played in New York and by all accounts in New York, he wasn't, he wasn't as chest puffed out as he was as a member of the Florida Panthers. But all of a sudden you get down there and you're around Bennett and Kachak and then you know, you throw, Ekblad's a a nasty player you throw marshan into the mix

Everyone walks a little taller because you're just you're just one of the guys who's like that But it's hard for one guy to turn a bunch of guys like that Well in Martians also not playing on your third line in Toronto. No definitely not that's the other Situation reason he's getting a top four defensemen probably on the ice every time and and that makes you wonder Brad marshan is a smart guy. Like does he realize, a la Sam Bennett, I've got it so good here. Yeah. You know, chasing a couple extra bucks, but getting a bigger role and more expectation and me expected to be a miracle worker in a market that hasn't been

able to figure it out. That might not be worth the extra dollars. It's a good point for Bennett too, because if he goes somewhere as a ten million dollar player in five years any still putting fifty one points on the board and your team's not making the playoffs that's have to digest that ten million for the player and the organization i don't care

how much the cap is going up he's position himself i think to keep things somewhat realistic in florida so a lot of questions to be answered for the Maple Leafs. The same can be said for the Toronto Raptors, especially after today's news that Masayu Jerry and the team have mutually parted ways, aka he's been fired with one year left on his contract. Josh Lewenberg, our Raptors reporter, will join us when we return on Overdrive on TSN 1050. The TSN Appenles up on TSN 2. Given five days or less to accept a severance offer

you need employmentlawyer.ca. You actually have two years to file a claim for a severance package which can total as much as 24 months pay. Call your Sam Fieru and get what you're owed. Employmentlawyer.ca. Overdrive continues on TSN 1050 the TSN app also up on TSN 2. Mark Rowan for Brian A's alongside Frankie Corrado and Dave Festjock from the Toronto Star. Josh Lumenberg is going to join us in just a couple moments to get his reaction on Masayu Ujiri leaving the Raptors. We can update the Blue Jays situation and in particular Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Who's back in the lineup he took batting practice

We had mentioned that it's been reported that he would be out of the lineup following taking that pitch in yesterday's game in Cleveland He's back in he feels good. There we go. All right good news for the blue J's crisis averted kick things off against the Red Sox so yeah a team that's been hit hard by injuries and You know the Raptors are coming off a year where they are hit hard by injuries and I would just more than anything Dave like we all just want to see what this team looks like like with yeah Ingram and quickly and I don't know if you know RJ Barrett's the one name we were like well if we pull off a trade it might be him that goes but all these guys together

and it's this the lasting legacy of Masai Ujiri and and what he's left behind and and the question is what has he left behind? And we don't know right because to your point we didn't see him play enough together We hadn't seen Brandon Ingram play at all So yeah, we got something to look forward to at least in when the new year comes around What was your reaction to the draft and and what you thought going in and what what they ended up doing after two days? Well, look I was with a lot of people who thought Messiah

Jir was going to work hard to swing a deal and move that pick and do something exciting to make you believe that this team could be a factor in the East this season. And then we heard Bobby Webster say that a lot of teams thought it was a seven and eight player draft and the Raptors had the ninth pick, which wasn't exactly a tantalizing trade prospect for teams that thought the draft went seven or eight deep. So it didn't work out and here we are.

Masai Ujiri could not make that big swing. And maybe, you know, in retrospect, who knows if he actually had the freedom to make it if he would have wanted to given what we know now, but his lack of job security. Well Josh Lundberg was all over the Raptors when it came to the draft, when it comes to the off season, and when it comes to just the day-to-day business of that organization, which was, well, a lot to talk about today.

Our Raptors reporter joined us now on Overdrive. And Josh, were you surprised by the timing of Masai Ujiri partying mutually parting of the ways with the Raptors and considering that it's it's after the draft but right before free agency officially begins? Yeah no that's just it nail on the head there because like the surprise here is not that it happened. I think a lot of people sort of saw the writing on the wall both in terms of Masai's contractual situation one year

left on his deal going into this season as a lame duck executive, but then also the changes at MLSC, both in terms of ownership and philosophy, and then with the Shanahan news coming down recently as well. So like this always seemed like a distinct possibility if not an inevitability but yeah the surprise is the timing a day after the draft just before free agency and I mean I saw Masai a couple days ago it sounds like this has been in the works for at least a little bit. If he probably would have known that the axe was coming pretty soon, I gotta say, like, good poker face on Masai because he seemed pretty jovial, he seemed like himself.

I certainly didn't get the sense that this was imminent, but here we are. I woke up today expecting to meet Colin Murray Boyles and instead I eulogize the iconic tenure of one of the most impactful figures in the history of Canadian sport. Yeah, that's a great way to put it Josh. Let's not forget that as we bid adieu to Masai Ujiri. We had Danny Green on a little earlier Josh and he was talking about how you know as a member of that 2019

Raptors groundbreaking championship team In his view, you know, it's you can let miss a jury walk out the door But you're gonna have a hard time replacing him and the credibility he brought to the Raptors from his Perspective as a former player on multiple championship teams. What have we lost in your view, what have the Raptors lost in your view in losing Eugery? Yeah, I mean it's interesting because you could almost break it up into two categories. I do think like there's the basketball side of it, well maybe let's get to that in a moment because I do think like Masai was bigger, is bigger than basketball in terms of what he represented for the Raptors.

I mean, he became so synonymous with the culture and the brand and justifiably so because he did so much work in reshaping it. But when people think about the Raptors, like they don't think about a player. With all due respect to Scotty Barnes, and maybe he'll get there one day, but he's not there right now. He's not the face of the franchise in the way that Masai Uchiri was. I mean, a lot of people, they associate the Raptors, rightly or wrongly, with Drake and with Masai, players around the league.

I mean, even speaking to Elijah Martin, the Raptors' second round pick yesterday over Zoom, he mentioned Drake. And everybody talks about Masai because that's what you think of it now for various reasons Drake has sort of distanced himself a little bit from the organization and Messiah is gone so that's I think sort of what you miss in a sense and then also like I mean obviously the gravitas the performance every time that Messiah is in front of a camera it's just mesmerizing I think that was super valuable at one point. It still is to some degree, but I mean,

obviously 10 years ago, that meant the world to this organization, to this fan base, to the city and country, the fact that he was so defiant of the notion that this market is anything less than the other 29 markets. He inspired a change in the way that other people viewed this market, sure, but his biggest legacy is the way that he changed the way that this market viewed itself. So that part of it, I think, is going to be, his absence is going to be felt in that regard.

But at the same time, like, look, I think thanks in large part to his efforts and his impact, I'm not sure that they need a public-facing representative in the front office in the same way. Bobby Webster is super smart. He is well-regarded, well-respected around the league. He is very, very capable. They don't need him to perform for the cameras. They don't need him to pound on the table and tell us about how they're gonna win again in Toronto.

They need the basketball side of it. And that, to me, is like, Masai has always been more than just the theatrics. He was at his absolute best when he was in a gym somewhere in North America or around the globe and scouting young talent. That's how we got his start in the league and connecting with people on a human level because he's really, really good at that. So that part of it outside of like just a larger than life personality the act at the actual basketball part of what he brought to the table with something that they're gonna really met

how much does life change now for bobby webs there moving forward josh well we'll find out we have pretty soon because it was confirmed today by keep telling question that i answered that bobby is going to be getting an interview for that presidency gig. And I mean, he better get it because if he doesn't, that creates a pretty awkward situation for everybody because then all of a sudden, I mean, certainly he knows that he would have been passed over and everyone else would too.

We'll all know that he would have been passed over for the job and he'll have to report to the person that got it instead. So that's a pretty awkward situation in and of itself but then like let's say it is an external candidate that's coming in and getting this job. Well first of all, I'm not sure how appealing that job is to people right now considering Bobby Webster, Dan Tollesman, the entire

leadership team minus Masai, they're still here and they've been extended so somebody's gonna come in here potentially and they're not gonna be able to install their own people. It almost does feel like I just finished my call for TSN.ca and I described it as a house of cards where like right now it's fairly stable in the sense that like I have a lot of trust and a lot of faith in guys like Bobby Webster and Dan Tollesman. I don't think that this is a disastrous situation by any means. It's certainly not one that we couldn't have seen coming at some point,

but it seems pretty flimsy right now, pretty precarious, and certainly on the cusp of toppling over if MLSC doesn't know what they're doing and doesn't handle this the right way over the coming months. So Josh, today's news has obvious long-term effects on the organization, but when you think of the short-term and how they approach this off-season and how they approach Tuesday moving forward with the free agency becoming an official. How does it change the course of action of the Raptors in trying to take that next step in becoming a team that is playing playoff basketball a year from now? I'm not sure it does to be honest because as I mentioned like the the team the

leadership team is still in place which means that the vision is still in place. And clearly, MLSC doesn't have a problem with the vision, right, like if they did, then Bobby Webster wouldn't still be here, and then Masai also wouldn't have been allowed to monitor or have some say in the draft selections here. They would have brought in new people, and that's why, look, I'm pretty confident in saying the obvious here, the elephant in the draft selections here, they would have brought in new people. And that's why, like, look, I'm pretty confident in saying the obvious here, the elephants

in the room and something that Keith Pelly could not say in a microphone is that this wasn't a basketball decision, this was a business decision. And that's perfectly fine and reasonable considering, as we know, basketball, the NBA is a business. But like first and foremost, this was a cost-cutting move. You mentioned Vladimir Guerrero earlier He's getting the money that Rogers wouldn't pay Masai Yeah, there are teams that have been sniffing around

Masai's availability, which is the case whenever his contract is coming up And so he would have had quite a bit of leverage going into negotiations and surely would have been looking for another expensive new deal. He's already one of if not the highest paid executives in pro sports. So like, I would have said that this is personal with obviously the history between Ed Rogers and Messiah and reportedly blocking his extension back in 2021, if he didn't also sign off on the dismissal of Brandon Shanahan a few months ago, this feels more like, as I mentioned,

a business decision than a personal one to where they're saying like, it doesn't make sense to spend this kind of money on anybody in that position. And I would wager that whoever ends up in that presidency gig is going to be making a fraction of what Masai made. So yeah, like I said, I think there's long-term ramifications here in terms of the short term. It sort of evens out a little bit where

Masai and his reputation, his persona, like that would open a lot of doors for the Raptors. His Rolodex, that would open a lot of doors for the Raptors. I know like players, agents, other teams, like they respected him even if they didn't like negotiating with him. So it hurts in potential negotiations moving forward not to have him. Now look, I don't think they're going to be signing any major free agents anyways. They don't really have the money to do that. So I don't know that that matters so much here. But I also think when I say it evens out, I also think like the that persona that I mentioned, the larger-than-life, all of that, like the idea of Masai Ujiri scared a lot of people away too. There are a lot of rival execs

that were jealous of him, that were intimidated by him, and I've heard rumblings of a number of transactions over the years, potential trades, potential signing, that were maybe broken up because teams that we even know with James Dolan over the years in New York, that were broken up by other teams saying like, oh, I don't want to deal with Masai Uchiri. So maybe some more opportunities open up, maybe some doors are shut.

Who knows, we'll have to see how it plays out. Again, like I think the optimistic view of this is that maybe it evens out. Yeah, for sure Josh. I mean, you make a lot of great points there. You look at Masai's job market now, that he's a free agent, essentially, although no one's crying for him. He's going to be paid well if he doesn't get work immediately.

He's under contract through this coming season with the Raptors. And we all know about the payment that's going to be made based on the rise in the value of the franchise that he negotiated so deftly back in 2021, but if you had to make a guess of where Masayi Jiri might land in the coming months or even the coming year, what's on your mind? Yeah, well, we'll be just fine. The world is his oyster, so it really could be anything. Like, he could, I mean, he could have a job today if he wanted one or he could take his time and wait and handpick his next opportunity whether that's in basketball or outside of basketball when I say outside of basketball like he could virtually do anything that he wants so

not a bad situation not a bad time to be Masai Uchiri. I mean, as I mentioned, like there are teams sniffing around. He's one of the most highly regarded and still sought after executives in pro sports. Like, look, the luster has worn off a little bit since the championship, at least in this market. The last few years have not gone well, but I'm not sure that's going to matter to other teams when they look at his resume and they look at what he brings to the table. So yeah, if it ends up being something soon and it ends up being another NBA team, there aren't that many options. Atlanta is the one that keeps coming up.

They've been lurking, but I don't know that that's such a great job. I don't know that that's such a great opportunity. And Masai is nothing if not patient. So maybe he does wait this out. And I think like one of the things that a lot of MBA people are keeping an eye on over the next half decade or so is potential expansion. The MBA going from 30 to 32 like the NFL

and there are a lot of interesting markets at the top of that wish list for the NBA. I know Vegas is one, going back to Seattle is another. There are some potential options here in Canada as well. Vancouver, Montreal have been mentioned. So I wouldn't be shocked if he does go down the route of wait and see if he ends up starting somewhere something from scratch an interesting opportunity that maybe doesn't even exist right now. Well, never a dull day covering this team which you do very well for us. Josh, we appreciate you joining us on on a new era for the Toronto Raptors with Masai

Ujiri out. Enjoy the weekend and enjoy the beginning of free agency thanks so much guys talk soon there you have it Josh Bloomberg joining us on overdrive where you know the Toronto Raptors now go into this offseason with this massive change but they go also into an offseason where there's a ton of opportunity in this conference you think of you know on the unfortunate injuries that have hit so many teams and you know there's there was this whole debate with between Bill Simmons and Kendrick Perkins because Perkins on on the draft coverage said this Raptors team is probably a top six team or he believes that they can be in Bill Simmons you know scoffed at that

but it's you look at that conference you're like why not like it's there's there's so much there's so much parity around the league, and with the CBA and all the money that's available, we're seeing it where it's kind of up for grabs if you make the right moves, if you can retain the right talent, if you spend money the right way, which there's plenty to go around,

but it is, it feels like there's a lot of moving parts. That's good news for the Raptors, because we're not living in a league where one team is gonna hold on to things's a lot of moving parts. That's good news for the Raptors, because we're not living in a league where, you know, one team is gonna hold on to things for a prolonged period of time. We're just, we're seeing a lot of, a lot of change within the league. Yeah, seven different champions in the last seven years,

including the Raptors. I mean, in the seven years before that, you had the Warriors dynasty, which seemed untouchable when they had Durant. You had always the specter of LeBron, turning this into LeBron toe as he so often did. Yeah, it's an exciting time, right? The Spurs were on the tail end of their run, you're right.

But you know, it's wide open, which is why you thought maybe Masai Ujiri would make the big swing this year, which he never got to make, and maybe never had a chance to make. But Josh said that one thing about NBA expansion, the one thing to keep an eye on him, Laiwiki, the man who brought Masai Yajiro to Toronto, he's a part of that Seattle potential expansion effort out at climate pledge arena there where Laiwiki sort of presided over the rebuild of that arena.

That's one to keep in mind. I don't know what the, nobody knows the timeline on NBA expansion except Adam Silver who runs the league but he has said that now that you know the Lakers are sold and the Celtics have been sold expansions on the radar. Would it be both Seattle and Vegas at the same time? Do they want to do two at once? I believe that's the plan. I mean they haven't announced the plan. Right but that's the speculation. The speculation is you go to as Josh said you go to 32 next from 30. Okay.

NHL's gonna go to 38 by next week. I was gonna say that. They're gonna be 40. Oh yeah. Anyways. Atlanta, Austin, Houston. And they still won't go to Quebec City. No.

Or second team in Toronto. But anyways, we don't get people in a bad mood or anything. They're already in a bad mood. Mail It In Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy a $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side, and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. We'll be back to wrap up the show plus our best bets

when we return on Overdrive on TSN 1050 and the TSN. Given five days or less to accept a severance offer, you need employmentlawyer.ca. You actually have two years to file a claim for a severance package, which can total as much as 24 months pay. Call your Sam Firou and get what you're owed. Employmentlawyer.ca. Maladon Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. months pay. Call your Sam Firu and get what you're owed. EmploymentLawyer.ca.

Mail It In Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. Overdrive continuing to Mark Grow in for Brian Hayes alongside Frankie Corrado and Dave Festchuk. Today's best bets are powered by FanDuel. Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the FanDuel Sportsbook app. We are going with Bo Bichette to record a hit and the Blue Jays to win the opener against

the Red Sox. Again, they will have Vladimir Gror Jr. in the lineup after we all told you that he wasn't in the lineup because that's what we were told. He changed his mind after batting practice. Sometimes a good BP, like going to Boston Pizza, can change things a lot. There you go. It's a good sign. Today's best bets are powered by FanDuel.

The first inning means as much as the ninth. When you bet baseball on the FanDuel Sportsbook app, please play responsibly 19 plus and physically located in Ontario what a show to be a part of today yeah a lot of stuff Masai out Tavares in Dobson Habs new CBA no lockout chat raft tonight and hazy B nowhere to be found yeah he was we got him in we got him in that was a car hit He was definitely had to do it seven. Yeah, and he was driving way too fast to be on the 401 Yeah, cuz he was a little angry. I don't blame him. I don't play. Oh, you know, he's happy a coincidence Can it be a coincidence that every time massive news breaks hazy's not here for the amount of shows that he's had a grind out He's just salivating at a day like today

No, he's been talking about Mitch Marner for weeks now and he had a show where he didn't even really have to talk about Marner. Yeah. What a way to kick off the weekend. Great to be joined by you two. Nice to see you buddy. Have a great weekend. Great job steering the ship. You're gonna be part of the Free Age of Frenzy on Tuesday. Yeah, we'll be there Tuesday. You're gonna have about 15 articles probably on the Toronto Star. We got a few things to write about this this week don't we? We pulled you away essentially from your laptop for three hours and your phone. Yeah it's been it's been a busy day man. True story on that one. Yeah it's been fun. Awesome stuff.

Enjoy your weekend. The boys will be back on Monday at 4 p.m. and they'll chat then. New interviews and newly unearthed archive footage make for a fascinating weekly deep dive. Stream Encore, the stories behind the songs you love on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.