OverDrive - OverDrive - June 3, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 3 on OverDrive! PGA Tour Golfer Mackenzie Hughes joins ahead of the RBC Canadian Open to discuss his experience on the course, his skill set at TPC Toronto and his impressive skill around the greens. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston dives into the Oilers and Panthers' showdown in the Stanley Cup Final, Connor McDavid's chase for a cup and Mitch Marner's future outline and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

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leadership skills, connect with mentors, and gain real-world experience, all while giving back to your community. Best of all, it's a no-cost program available across Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and BC. Thoughts are limited, so register now at careerfoundation.com. That's careerfoundation.com. Join today and be part of something amazing. Final Hour Overdrive continues powered by FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Chris Johnston from Edmonton ahead of the cup final later in the hour. Our best bet's coming up. Our boy Mac Hughes will join us here in a moment as well as he prepares for the RBC Canadian

Open. And last year was in Hamilton. Obviously he grew up in that area. This year's not far from Hamilton. You know, it's up in the Caledon area, but TPC Toronto's never hosted the Canadian Open, so we'll catch up with Mac at his take on the course, what he makes of it, how he thinks it's going to play, how this tournament sets him up for next week, because everyone's also talking about the US Open and Oakmont and how tough it's going to be.

Yeah, there's horrors. It's the usual, man. The videos are popping up of the guys dropping balls in the rough. And apparently Adam Scott hit every green for nine holes and was four all over. The horror stories are just everywhere. Yeah.

Yeah, it's crazy, man. Like the rough. And you've played Oakmont like by all accounts, as tough as a golf course can play, you know, it's the screen's I've ever like fastest trickiest, most difficult greens I've ever played in my life. Yeah. Like I like to see carnage. I love it, man. I love it. I want you to grind. I want you to have to wedge out sideways.

Me too. And make a four me too I have no problem with it I love the idea of the US Open the winner being like one under par maybe you know like that's the way it should be It's the one it's the toughest test It's an in the bearer just ripping darts on 17 fairway bringing it home to win the US Open. That's right That's right, and like Bryson did it at Winged Foot, I think he was two or three under, I think he was the only guy that was under par. Now that was fascinating his approach at Winged Foot because he just said I'm still gonna mash driver everywhere. Bombing gouges.

Yeah like he didn't value the fairway which was just interesting because everyone else did. Well and we'll see how it applies this week you you know, to TPC Toronto and a lot of these guys are, they're prepping for the open and then the open championship in about a month. You might be able to hand out a few tips, although this James Duffy's really fired up in the group chat. And Duffy is not putting up with any of your garbage. No, he's a loser. And I'm not dealing with him.

So I'll tell you how we settle it. I want the tape. I want the tape. And if someone go through it, other than me, because every shot is on tape. dealing with them so i'll tell you how we settle it i want the tape i want the tape we have a look at someone go through it now other than me this is every shot is on tape and i'm just talking about a double bogey and i'm like you're an idiot i made that one of the people who are the

uh... dot the yeah is like them hallway monitor of your call score now i know it's like he made a comment just now in a text chain. He goes, you make Patrick Reed likable. Who are you kidding? That's harsh, but I like it. I like the way he plays the game, man.

JD doesn't mess around. So anyway, we'll catch up with Mac here in a moment and maybe get his take on what he sees coming in the cup final as well, right? like I'm seeing SportsCenter hits right now Masters is out there CJ Pierre we had Chris Johnson or we have CJ coming up later this hour we have Mike Johnson join us last hour and it does feel like a long break now right like now that we're into Tuesday and they haven't played since Friday like okay let's get going here.

Yeah, I think for the NBA finals. They could have fired it up yesterday. Could you imagine if they waited until Saturday? Like their original plan was Saturday and like if Dallas won game five, I believe it was it was going to say it was going to be Saturday. Yeah, if you lost a lot of people, man, they would have got on with their summer and be like, I don't even know what's going on with they would have lost Like we have to do it and we love doing it But the casual fan would have been they would have checked out and started golfing and doing other stuff Yes, forgot about it. Get back out there tomorrow night, man. Yeah back out there tomorrow It's much anticipated

But you're right if they would have if Dallas would if this would have gone to a game six and they would have played Saturday it would have been a full week So it goes to June 7th and Florida would have been sitting there for another three extra days so you know in the end I think we're all ready like let's get this going enough time yeah about it yeah exactly like the guys that are injured and can't play they're not playing yeah and other than that double day breaks are there is there two of them well whenever they fly to Florida or Edmonton right the weird one though guys it's the one and two are there then it goes Monday

Thursday next week. There's two days off in between in the games in Florida Then it goes one day off between Florida and Edmonton. So you go Thursday Saturday and That's what the weird part because you would think that the second day it should be Monday next Monday Wednesday next week It's Monday Thursday in Florida. Yeah, that's two days off between games three and four. That's weird That's got to be a scheduling issue with this with the with the rink or something like that I don't know has to be there's a concert or something there. That has to be yeah I kick that concert out man. We get the cup final here

Like what are we doing and like you got it? You got to be able to own your building and it could be a TV issue too There could be other stuff going on the NBA finals are playing and you're trying to avoid that and I think in the States It's on TNT. Obviously the NBA finals on ABC, which is an ESPN You know owns product So yeah, I guess we'll see we got Mac Hughes coming up here in a moment Max. I think in a FaceTime in But yeah, I guess we'll see. We got Mac Hughes coming up here in a moment. Mac's I think in a FaceTime in. But yeah, I saw they're doing, you know, Media Day out there and Corey Perry. I love this because a lot of guys his age who have been around forever, they kick the question down the road and say, you know, I'll figure out my future once we're done. I got a young

family. He said, absolutely, I'm playing. Like, it's not not up for debate i don't care what happens in the cup final i'm playing next year yes next year he said i'm playing so i don't know what his contract status is i don't believe he's got term left in edmonton i think he's done i think he's an unrestricted free agent but i don't know if you maybe is about a month ago you heard dry side of say like that i can play to least fifty but he goes i don't know if the boots can keep up he took a shot at him said

you know barely could skate type of thing but yeah i think there are a lot of actor he'll be happy to play yeah i would get what if you're at mitten i get why would you not like you're looking to get to a cup final that's the guy that's going to help you basically every single time yeah so he doesn't make a ton of money they can sign a monoling minimum again and that's what i'll do but i want to see if he wants to stick around the promise of a million dollars

why wouldn't you man the guest of planes still performing uh... so you know we'll get to uh... cj a little bit later in the hour on that and more get your best best coming up but uh... tomorrow's the pro am up but uh... tpc toronto osprey valley in the first round it's go time on thursday our national open and uh... guy who's been in this tournament many many times in the past TPC Toronto, Osprey Valley and then the first round it's go time on Thursday our national

Open and a guy who's been in this tournament many many times in the past He'll be in it again this year joins us every single year around this time. Here's our main man Mackenzie Hughes joining us here on overdrive. What's happening Mac? Hey, what's up boys, how we feeling man? How we feeling for the open this week? We ready to go or what? Yeah we're feeling good. Yeah excited to be here and obviously first time venue at T.Toronto at Osprey Valley and don't have a lot of experience here but yeah so far what I've seen looks good and yeah, it should be a great week. Well, in terms of preparing for a new course, like we're seeing it with guys, you

know, getting to Oakmont and trying to play Oakmont before the US Open next week. You can't really do that with the British Open, I guess. Like you can't just pop in and play it. How often would you try to get up here to play one of these Canadian Open courses, you know, prior to the tournament actually starting? Honestly, it's pretty rare if it happens. You know, if I'm up here visiting with family, then, you know, maybe I get a chance to go out and pop out to all these courses ahead of time.

But, you know, not typically for a Canadian Open. I mean, our schedules are so busy leading up to it that I feel pretty confident that I get somewhere Monday and by Thursday I'm gonna feel pretty good going there, teaming up on Thursday. So not typically gonna do that for maybe a Canadian Open. I mean, yeah, honestly, for Oakmont, I didn't go to Oakmont in advance. it's one of those things where you're so busy and tied up and what the

all the other tournaments and you know trying to compete and do well with those it's hard to make time to do all these scouting trips so you know I hadn't been here before, but I feel pretty good about the golf course. It's mostly in front of you. I don't think there's too many tricked up holes, so it shouldn't be too hard to get that hang of. So Mack, will there be some guys that literally only walk nine holes in the Pro-Am and that's all they'll see of the golf course and just give it a rip without seeing the whole thing or what? I would think so. I would think there's a probably, you know, five to ten guys that might roll up and do that. You know, a guy off top of my

eye I'm thinking of is like a Cam Young who played, you know, qualifier yesterday for the US Open you know did a day with RBC today with me and you know I could picture him probably playing nine holes tomorrow in the Pro-Am his caddy walks the other nine you know and he relies on his caddy for that you know scouting report of the other nine and he does his best to kind of you know manage the golf course from there so which is not you know manage the golf course from there so Which is not you know, it's not super uncommon. I mean that happens from time to time, you know you get tied up in a busy week and

You know, it's probably better for him to be rested than for him to have walks, you know, the other nine so You know a guy like that can definitely get by with someone just kind of pointing in the right direction So and you play here, O'Dog. I know you shot a little 64 here on Monday. That was a correction, Mac. There's a correction. It was a correction. It must be too hard because now I'm just kidding.

I just want to correct you. I just want to correct you, pal. We did the score today. 63? No, it was 2, 62. I did a flyover of every hole because these bozos couldn't keep score properly. It was a 62. But anyway.

It'll be 59 by Thursday, Mac. It just keeps getting better every single day. Course record by the time you guys put the tip in the ground. Believe me. I love it. I love it. Mac, how do you feed into the energy of playing on home soil throughout the week and maybe leading into the weekend?

Yeah, I mean, it's going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, when the Canadian guys are home, we feel like we're kind of the crowd favorites and kind of got a bit of a pretty average pairing this week with a couple of scrubs from Canada as well. So yeah, we should have some good crowd support out there and it'll be a lot of fun playing with Nick and Taylor. Yeah, we'll definitely have some large galleries and hopefully making a bunch of birdies to get the crowds going. So I think it's a lot of fun.

I mean, we don't get to do it very often where we're kind of crowd favors. So I think all the guys kind of relish the opportunity. With Mackenzie Hughes again, you'll be playing Thursday and Friday with Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendreth up at TPC Toronto. And you're a guy, you're known for your your short game you're known as one of the best putters in the world you know when when this you mentioned trying to learn this course and everything's in front of you how much of it though is you preparing for the greens and trying to get a read on on how they roll you know how they're

set up where the pins are gonna be like take us through your process when it comes to learning the new greens, especially considering how good of a putter you are. Yeah, I feel like new green complexes on a different difficult golf course or a different golf course, sometimes you don't know where all the best leaves are. I think that's where you rely on a good caddy to have done some good prep. But obviously there's going to be learning for everybody here, which is kind of nice. No one here really has a ton of course history, so you're not going back to your Yardage book and looking at past putts or putts you've hit at prior tournaments. It's just a lot of seeing with your eyes and doing doing it with feel and that's kind of where

I tend to excel. So, I think the fact that there's not much course data or course history here is nice. Like I said, everyone's trying to learn it for the first time. Again, I think that the greens are kind of, I don't know if old dog can attest to this, but the greens are quite undulating and they have quite a bit of movement in them. So there's not really tons of straightforward putts and it should allow a good putter to kind of separate themselves a little bit. Lots of sideboards, Mac. The only advice I would give is just keep it under the hole. Dude, shut up.

Dude, I swear to God, man. Just keep it under the hole, have some uphill pots, and you'll be dialed in. Next question. Hazy, go ahead. How would you respond, seriously, if this guy, O'Dogg, calls you at 7 o'clock and runs you through the course, runs you through the layout how he played it how would you respond to that type of action I mean the guy can shoot 62 around there or 59 or whatever it was I mean he must be pretty good so he must he must know his way around there I mean again I you know I get advice from all kinds of

people so I mean I'm sure I've heard worse. Oh I'm sure you have man. We stumbled across around the green guy a few years ago I think it was at St. George's. Dude they're so drunk and so goofy man I don't know how you guys deal with those morons on a daily basis. God that guy was insane. He was. The nice thing for you Jeff when you played in the NHL like I mean those guys existed

They were in the they were in the stands, but you couldn't hear him. We mean we we hear all that stuff on a daily basis Exactly. It's just gotta be insane It's not ideal, but you know, we've heard it all now at this point. So it's kind of like you can kind of You can kind of tune it out. Yeah, I guess you have to, right? You have to. I mean, ultimately in the end, you got to go out there and play. But there's everyone's got two cents. Everyone, I should have done this.

I missed it long. It's like, all right, well, these guys are professionals out there hacking and whacking with Mackenzie Hughes. My wife, my wife, my wife gets some good ones. She'll be out in the gallery or my family's out there in the gallery and you get like a random person beside you and like they don't know that like You know that's McKenzie's wife or his mom or whatever and you know some random guys like oh what an idiot Why do you hit it there?

It's like my wife or my mom next to them and they're like hey shut up Yeah, he's trying his best out there. All right exactly man. He's just trying like just leave him alone and i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i next week, got the Open Championship coming up. How does this next month, month and a half rank for you in terms of the schedule on tour? It's obviously a pretty big one. With this one starting off, U.S. Open next month. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's busy. But also, obviously, a fun stretch. I mean, we've got the the open coming up in like, was that five weeks? Yeah. So, yeah, with, with the, you know, a couple of majors, Scottish, all that involved, it's, yeah, it's big I'm actually in the midst of this is my sixth

tournament in a row right now US Open is going to be seven I'm kind of I want a bit of a bender right now so trying to manage my energy the best I can right now but yeah it's a it's a busy stretch it's probably like you know this time of year almost every year it seems like we're kind of going through this stretch it's a busy stretch. It's probably like, you know, this time of year, almost every year, it seems like we're kind of going through this stretch. It's, you know, the Memorial Canadian Open, US Open Travelers stretch. And then, you know, beyond that, you've got Scottish British. So this time of year, it's, you know, pretty, pretty dense, but lots of great opportunities,

lots of, you know, cool golf courses to play coming up. I'm excited for Oakmont excited for Port Rush, so Yeah, it's gonna be great. I'm really looking forward to it and you know thing go nice little run. Absolutely, man We're pulling for you as we always do you and all the Canadians is gonna be awesome this week up at TPC, Toronto We're up there tomorrow Thursday Friday. So we'll see you when we get up there. Good luck and as always, we appreciate you doing this. Hey, just a quick question. Should I tip my Uber driver or not? Z5? Is this a 5-star Uber driver? There he is. Look at the champ there just driving you around.

The man in the middle is the legend right there. Five stars, please. Five stars, man. We thought you were driving, man. I made two. A little bit bumpy driving a little bit bumpy a little bit bumpy but we got here so I love it thanks for being nice to me boys appreciate it you got it shout out to you and your uber driver now we're pulling for both you guys see you guys I appreciate you have me on you know we'll talk to you soon you guys guys see you're powder so McKenzie Hughes with

Nick Taylor driving him around I I thought he was driving. I thought he was for the first half. I'm like this is going to be trouble. There's no way this guy's driving through the Billy Goat Hills in Caledon looking into a camera. I'm like no way. Yeah, I was concerned about that but no, it was I guess him and Nick Taylor, man. Like they said, I guess they were at some RBC event. Was that at Weston? I guess him and Nick Taylor man like they said I guess they were at some RBC event was that at Weston I guess was everyone at Weston they must have been today I'm not sure I got a bone to pick with Rory maybe we can get Rory on this week you never know you never know five minutes five minutes powers above us help us get Rory up it up man hook it up my he's he probably

used your locker today kicked you out of your own place yeah can you imagine imagine that and coming out of the idea that there is a christy pits transaction in the parking lot after the fact that i don't think he's doing anything for free leg i think it's uh... it's a good life to be a royal mackerel i think all these guys showing up man rbc's a massive he has business in bank like they're they they make a fortune and they invest heavily into the tour. I love how you, like, you started giving him tips

and he was like, all right, let's move it on. Keep it below the hole. That's what somebody says. That's just too highly skilled. Three, actually me and Nicky Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes, that's just three skilled guys talking shop. That's all that is. And that's why I included that's no, that's a guy who plays beer league that when you're going into the finals and you're

playing against the Leafs and he leans over the glass and goes, oh, you got to try and shoot a high blocker on chip and Joe. That's good. I, you know, I chip and you go, thanks, buddy. Like, there's an old saying in sports fellows. It goes like this game respect game game respect game

game respect game and yeah i can argue against that i can't argue against that uh... by best that's coming up later in the hour will head back out to add into catch up with chris johnston it is taken the cup final but also you know what else is going on around the league a lot of rumors coming out of dallas right a lot of people wondering what's going to happen with the Stars Peter DeBoer or what else could happen there? We'll catch up with CJ. Get his take on that and more. Still to come. Overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN 2.

Guys, I'm putting this to bed. I know it's Canadian Open Week And I had this round out there that tour players are talking about and that some are trying to ruin my name. I'm going to tell you one thing. Someone else is pissed off about all the talk going on behind the scenes and it's the guy that kept my score and his name is Scotty Lawton. He might come on today to tell you what the real deal is because he's pissed off too. Is he? Yeah he sent me a note and said oh dog this is actually pissing me off too

I kept your score and it was the most legit thing I've ever done so I'll explain it to these idiots and I said thank you very much. I don't add, explain to me why there was an X there on that one. There's no explanation Noodle's. There's no, there's no explanation. Shouldn't there be a score where there was an X or not? No, usually that's not kosher for, you know, filling out scores. Okay, let me ask you this guy, let me ask you this guy, who, who was, whose scorecard was that? I have no idea. It was the official one, I guess, for the tournament. Really? I mean, that's evidently. Duffy, Duffy got a picture of the end of his journalist yeah ok about the ground i think he's breaking this open like watergate the only reason

i'm and i was sitting beside dot the when we were watching the it was the oiler dallas gaming goes take a look at the here's the scorch scorecard from polio and he goes there's a bit an accident on this all he was buzzing around this the canadian screen awards he was stopping people now like i know it's track by the early like i said there you are the the scratch that's well that's a different one anyway it doesn't matter what we'll see if scott wants come on he can he's always

welcome always well as he's upset about it too he's like sure he is like yeah so he'll explain it to you all right you can ask him about this mystery X that you guys claim you saw because it's so stupid and garbage okay we will I will CJ coming up from the cup final and I think with this with this layoff you know obviously there's obviously there's the anticipation of the games and everything's been talked to death about who's on the hot seat and who's got the pressure and the X-Factors. And yet this time of year,

you can feel the rest of the league starting to kind of bubble over, right? Like there's all these, every five minutes, I see a new tweet, this team's gonna spend the most money on Marner or look for Chicago or Carolina or don't forget about Utah, Anaheim's gonna spend the most money on Marner or look for Chicago or Carolina or don't forget about Utah Anaheim's gonna be in there they like every by the end of it there's gonna be 20 teams that but that's what Mitch

wants doesn't of course that's what he wants yes of course if he wants the most money what he wants is a bidding war right but he's also has to have a place in mind where he wants to go and And that's the ultimate answer that you really need. Where he wants to play. You think he wants to go hide in Utah on not a very good team for the next eight years of his life? I would hope not, because if that happens,

then that I think will justify the Maple Leafs decision. And it justified the opinion a lot of Leaf fans have that he just, you know, he couldn't step up in the biggest moments. You know, if you go to Anah he just, you know, he couldn't step up in the biggest moments. You know, if you go to Anaheim, you go to Utah, that's as far from the bright stage of Toronto and as far from the playoffs as you can get. I guarantee it wouldn't take long for him to miss it. He's experienced some garbage things with just his being at his house and people being

offside completely, you know, away from, just being complete idiots, alright? Nobody ever deserves that and nobody would ever want to stick around for that. But as far as being a Toronto Maple Leaf and walking around downtown and going into that building on a fall night, on a winter night, I'm telling you, it means a lot more and it's a lot different. I played in both. I played where you can walk around and not one person says anything.

And I've also played here. There will be a point where being Mitch Marner for the Toronto Maple Leafs would be a pretty awesome thing. And it was, but to deal with the other nonsense that he has, I totally understand it if he'd want to leave. I think it is. I think there's the best of both worlds. Oh, you're right.

Like he's lived it and he grew up here and you know, he played down the road in London, but he's never seen the other side of the fence. You know, he might go to LA and love it and go, you know what, like I can play hockey and you know, go to the rink in my shorts and not worry about because there's other stars in LA and you can have a life and live by the beach and you know the grass could be greener on the other side and a very good team all that type of stuff. I think about it like if he doesn't you want to go out west instead of having to play Toronto a bunch of times you know all that type of stuff.

There's a lot of different factors. He's got a young family like a a young, young family, just had a baby. Those, you know, does his wife want to be close to her family? I'm assuming she's an Ontario girl. I don't know anything about their lives. Yeah, I don't. I believe so, yeah. I'm sure her family's, you know, there's a lot of different factors that go into this

for Mitch Marner and his camp. But that being said, like, I've talked to guys who have left Toronto and said, you know what, I don't mind being in a market where you're not, the light isn't shined as bright. And other guys are like, yeah, I do miss it because it was it was great. And we had a good team and all that type of stuff. So it depends on where he's at and where his head's at. But I don't think he's just going to go, I'm going to chase 14 million on the most obscure team, he's at and where his head's at but i i don't think he's just going to go i'm going to chase fourteen million on the most obscure team he's

going to have a huge market for him and i i think he's going to choose where he believes he can try and win by and contribute but also have a quality of life but interesting fandool's odds plus 450 the shortest odds are him returning to the leaves like and again that's it's just a book. It doesn't

have to mean anything, but I don't know. Maybe Fandl will know something we don't. Here's Chris Johnston, our TSN hockey insider. How would you respond to that, CJ? The plus 450 Mitch re-signing with the Maple Leafs. Shorter odds than anywhere else in the league? I guess probably, I mean, look, I don't know anything about making but i i would assume some of the issue with that is just it's it's hard to identify just one team if you were to leave i mean if if you gave me the field or the leaves that would be taken the field

in terms of you know i do think it's more likely than not that that he's signing with one of the other thirty one teams but you know i can't sit here and tell you right now Well, it's it's team X or team Y You know, I think that that still has to take shape and obviously, you know for Mitch and his family I mean, it's it's obviously a huge life decision for them And you know as noodles was mentioning there before I came on I mean, I think he's gonna have a lot of different opportunities put in front of him He's gonna have a lot of money put in front of them and ultimately

He's gonna want to go somewhere that he believes he has a chance to win a Stanley Cup as well. Well that's it, like we're looking at the odds there and there's a real combination of quality teams like Toronto, like Vegas, Carolina that make the conference finals seemingly every year and then Chicago's in there and Utah and Anaheim and it's like well those teams are close close like you know Chicago is arguably the worst team in the league it's a big market though. Probably will be next year too. Probably will be yeah and I guess that's the question CJ like how does he marry

the two? Money with winning like how do you there's because there's not that many teams that can can do that right like that have the amount of cab space that have the appetite for a guy like Marner but that are one of the seven or eight best teams in the league like is is i don't know is it possible a team comes out of nowhere moves heaven and earth to try to bring them in and maybe we're not talking about them as suitors right now well i think the way you do it i mean ultimately you probably have to prioritize one a little bit higher than the other. I mean, any marquee free agent in Marner's situation is going to get a chance to be greedy in a sense that he can demand that it's a good team in an attractive city on a contract that will make them right up there among the league's highest paid players.

I do think he can ask for that, at some point time he's gonna have to decide You know which is maybe a little bit more important of all those those factors and and let's face it if you're joining a team in one of the tax-free states if it was a team like the Panthers or Vegas or You know you go down a list. I mean those teams just don't pay the same amount For their players, I mean it's it's been proven over a number of contracts and over a number of years here that you know I think you're not getting the absolute top dollar in terms of you know the number that gets recorded on the cap sites if you're going to one of those teams. You know if you're going to a team that has a chat that's you know loaded with other frontline players I mean that team's going to want you to take a little bit of a haircut

just to fit you in. The cap is a reality, even in a rising cap environment. That being said, there's other places if Mitch does decide to maybe go to a team that hasn't had the recent run of success but he sees them position over the life of his contract to become a contender. I think in those sorts of scenarios, there's almost a premium in choosing to go to those kind of teams. And he could probably get a little bit more. And I don't know exactly when it comes time to make a decision where his mind is going

to land on all these issues. But I'll tell you, he's going to have some good problems to have here in the next few weeks if he sees this through and hits free agency because I think he's going to have a lot to consider come July 1. CJ, before we get to the finals, I just wanted to get your thought on you were at the press conference when Brad Tree Living said the DNA needs to change. How risky would it be in this market?

Sometimes it's overstated because you just do what you do and who cares what the market Says but how risky would it be to make those comments and then have a bunch of the same? Where there's not a lot of change like how did you how did you interpret that comment? Well, you know I interpreted it that that it's not going to be status quo right I mean so many years prior And it wasn't Brad's True Living for the most part, delivering those kind of press conferences, but whether it was Kyle Dubas or Brandon Chanahan, the Leafs had come out of seasons

and talked about sort of the lessons from the playoffs and getting hardened through their experience. What I took from that is that he's gonna change the composition of his roster and in a way that makes a meaningful difference. Now some of that I think is being the decisions being made for them, especially if Mitch Marner chooses to go to market, but obviously they still have a big call to make on John Tavares

whether they bring him back and the Leafs are going to have money to spend one way or another this summer. So they're going to have opportunities and free agency and on the trade market to make some changes. So you know I guess maybe when we see what the roster ends up being next September, October we might debate did they change enough of the composition? Does it amount to a DNA change or does it feel the same? But you know the way I interpreted that you know comment from True Living which was part of his prepared remarks as well so that was something he thought about that wasn't just a you know sort comment from Tree Living, which was part of his prepared remarks as well. So that was something he thought about. That wasn't just a, you know, sort of spur of the moment thing he said and didn't mean. I mean, it's obviously was part of the message he wanted to deliver. You know,

I took from that that they look at this string of the way they've lost and some of the things that have happened to playoffs and they see a pattern that they don't want to repeat. And so they think that you can't just, you know know bring back the same the same the same and expect a different results and so i think it was the sign of a similar that the least effective pretty busy in terms of remaking the roster well speaking of teams that could be busy you see the teams that have lost and are doing their

year-end media a lot of noise coming out of d and you know Rod Brindimore and drawing a blank on the Tulski, yeah Tulski, sorry had their media and talking about how they were going to be proactive you know have you been checking in with those markets to see because it's certainly a lot of wild speculation of what Dallas would be looking at and and Carolina you know said they're going to spend to the cap and try and add more top tier players. So it's even before we get to the finals,

what about those two teams that are making a lot of noise right now? Yeah, I would say of those conference finalists, I think the Hurricanes are set up to have the more eventful summer of the two just because they have cap space. I think that they have a burning desire internally to get some star level talent added to their roster. That was the case this season too. That was partly what precipitated the Miko Rantman deal. Obviously they were talking to Vancouver during the year, involved in looking at Elias Pedersen at that time. And so I think that we I think that we've learned, if anything, about the hurricanes is that they are unafraid to try to shake things up. And so, you know, I think that they're in a great spot to do that, you know, and wouldn't

surprise me all frankly, if one way they attempt to do it is if they're one of the more aggressive pursuers of Mitch Marner. And we know that they tried to acquire him ahead of this deadline. At that time, Marner didn't want to waive his no movement clause. I don't think he was going to waive it for anywhere just because he wanted the opportunity to make his own decision to go to free agency and decide where he wants to play come July 1st. But I could definitely see the Hurricanes being one of the teams knocking on his agent's

door. So as for Dallas, they're a little bit more clocked in. They ultimately made the Rantin deal and then sent him to his new deal, which kicked in the season. They've got a raise coming for Wyatt Johnson, a young player on their roster. They don't have as much flexibility. And I think that's why your hearing names like the possibility of a Jason Robertson being shipped out because, you know, ultimately if Dallas wants to change its DNA so to speak, they're going to have to shed some salary in some way and because they're a good team, they've been a top three straight conference finals, they're probably going to have to look at moving a

player they might even like. Just to change the composition, they've got some older guys like Jamie Bann and Matthew Shane, both UFAs, as well there. But I don't think it's as easy just because of where they're at in their life cycle and some of the contracts they've handed out to make meaningful change. They're obviously looking in the mirror and wondering, after two straight losses to Edmonton, how do we get better to beat the Oilers specifically? How can we ensure that if we see them again next year in the playoffs for the third straight time, that they're going to find a way to come out on top. And so it's hard to imagine, I would think in their front office, that it's just going to happen naturally through the same players maybe rising the occasional a little bit more

because they were beaten pretty similarly, especially in this year's series but they were both five game series that they lost to Edmonds in the last two years and then in this Western Conference in particular finals the Stars barely had a lead right they were chasing the whole time even when they won game one that they came from behind the third period to do it so you know it's it's amazing what what pressure teams are in under you you know, around the league. Obviously, we know where the Leafs are at after a second round series loss, but even in Dallas and Carolina, I mean, there's only one team out of 32 can win each year, and

that means a lot of front offices are looking for answers come this time of year when they're watching the Stanley Cup final from afar. With Chris Johnston, our TSN Hockey Insider. So you're back around these two teams again a year later. We know how last year's Cup final played out. Anything feel different to you? If so, what would represent something unique this time around?

You know, what's unique for me, even just the opportunity to see two teams go at it again, back to back years obviously did happen with Pittsburgh and Detroit, 13, 14 years ago, whatever that was, but it's not something you're ever going to see too often, I don't think. And so there's a little bit less of the feeling of the unknown about what's going to happen when the game starts tomorrow night, just because these teams are familiar with each other and

all the stars remain the same. I think the one thing that's a little different this time is I think both teams can credibly say they're deeper. The Panthers had a Brad Marchand, he's a third line winger for them. That's probably been Florida's best line on balance through the entire playoffs and they didn't have him. Obviously Edmondson has made some changes to his team and they've been cruising ever since falling behind two nothing in round one.

They've reeled off a 12 and two record from that point in the playoffs. So they haven't been pushed too far other than that stumble they had right at the start of the playoffs in the first couple days this year. And so I expect it to be an incredibly close series. It does feel a little different maybe just because, you know,

there isn't quite the same novelty maybe we've seen in the past. And it's to me, we're coming back asking the same question. Can McDavid get his cup? Right. I mean, this is the this is the game's biggest star. And players of IZILC, even though it's the ultimate team sport, tend to find a way to get a team over the finish line we've seen it with Crosby and Lemieux and Kretzky obviously over the years and so I think it's going to be a heck of a final but you know it feels very familiar I got to say being back here

in Edmonton you know so many of the same players and it's almost like wow where did a year go that that I went by. Yeah, that's the amazing thing. Like there's so many ebbs and flows over the course of a season. And like last off season, there's all these different moves and trades and signings and firings and hirings. And in the end, we're just right back to these two teams,

you know, going at it. There was a lot of stuff that went on in between. Yeah. It's basically 1500 games, you know, played in the NHL between the two and you're right, just back to where we started. Back to where we started and yet home ice for Edmonton. That seems very significant this time around.

I think it does, you know, and, and like, I just remember game six here last year, obviously Edmonton fell behind three, nothing. And then to fourth, it's a game seven, but game six at Roger's place Place was insane like it might be the loudest building I've ever been in and you know I just I just think that sometimes home ice can be overstated in the playoffs but you know I do think it can matter in this circumstance and you know for the Oilers especially like I

think the key to playing Florida is not getting behind them you know if you can a lead in the game, it changes what you see from the Panthers. They're so good at shutting things down once they get ahead. Playing at home where you do expect the home team basically in any situation to push off the opening faces to use all the emotion and energy in the air, if that makes you get far away from that and getting some leads in these games, I think they've got a much better chance, of course, at ultimately winning Stanley Cup when everything's said and done. So, that's a not insignificant difference from last year's final, at least on paper. We'll see how it plays out in reality. And I do think the others level of experience having been there before, I think it does

matter. I mean, they just seem a lot steadier, a lot less excited, and I don think the others level of experience having been there before I think it does matter I mean they just seemed a lot steadier a lot less excited and I don't mean that they're not excited about the opportunity but a lot less you know this isn't novel for them I think it's all business and and you know they don't want to have another long statement about what could have been that would be sickening to go back to back cups and lose both to the same team I mean that that's on the line though. It's on the line because there it's a real part of that good man Like if Florida wins no one's surprised at all. I mean there there they've been the best team in the league for three years They're built for this. They're wired for this

I think the fact that they brought in Jones and Marchand and that's like young like new blood who are real impact players Factor in significantly because you know Edmonton. I Guess Jake Wallman would be the closest thing to a new piece Who's gonna play who plays like big minutes and really can have an impact on the team? Klingberg I guess Klingberg pretty good for them, right? But like like Marchand was like the man for a couple of different rounds here in in jones is gonna play twenty minutes and i like so is wallman like clingberg i don't think a play as many minutes

the ads it's just kinda interesting that like that that marquee turnover pieces are both on florida in my opinion uh... one land they counted game jones and game seven in Toronto. Unbelievable. Best player on the ice. I don't want to remember that night, but he was awesome that night. Yeah, he was. All right, CJ, enjoy yourself out there, buddy. We'll do it again

soon. Right on, boys. Have a good one. There is Chris Johnston joining us here from the Cup final. Yeah, the Dallas stuff, I guess guess peter dwore sticking around i think in their own or come out and say like he's such a good coach what do you want us to do when i want to do i mean they made it to the conference fine i know it's he does every single year to sleep is a great coach yeah i mean i'm glad that it and i didn't got the didn't gasm but there's got to be some damage control there though that's for sure

like you let this brief for a little bit and then, I don't know, fly the goalie out, go see the goalie, do whatever you gotta do. Yeah, but in the end, oh, the goalie's gotta take a look at himself too. No kidding. He's a good young goaltender. I think he's got a lot of ability, but he's got them to a certain point as well. He's been the one playing the games. He's got to find another level.

Everyone's like, oh, this guy's going to be the number one instead of Hellebock and all of that type of stuff. These are big pressure games. He's going to be in a big pressure game next year as well in the Olympics if he's the guy. He's got to find a way for another level. I think there's growth on both sides there there and not growth for Pete DeBoer, but he'll smooth it out. And I think Ottinger has got to take a look at himself and say, you know, I need a little

bit be a little bit better in certain situations as well. Absolutely. And, you know, it's a long off season, man. Bygones will be bygones, but you'll get back into the playoffs next year. And that's where you're really going to to settle in yeah right like you can meet for beers in July and hey everything's great and hey what a season Andre gives up a bad goal in a big game next April that's when the rubber will hit the road right that's when you'll realize okay I'm over it it's all good I

believe in you or I don't one way or the other best bets powered by Fandall coming up Jays Phillies tonight overdrive continues TSN 1050 and on TSN 2. Alright best bets powered by Fandall make your picks and assemble a same-game parlay in seconds on the Fandall sportsbook app I'm on the over tonight man the Jays bats have been alive I think it continues Bowden Francis on a mound for the Jays Unfortunately, I think the Phillies are gonna hit and probably produce runs tonight. He hasn't been great this year So I'm on the over eight and a half total runs tonight Bryce Harper to record a hit Alejandro Al Kirk Alejandro Kirk who's on fire right now back to being a professional hitter. He looks brilliant, man

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so tomorrow we're going to be up at uh... the rbc canadian open we never picks for the canadian open we can't wait for that you see a lot of people up there were looking forward to it and sounds like a good setup up there is brilliant man i think it's brilliant were right there were up on fourteen the wrinkle if you If anyone's up there over the next few days, pop by and see us and we're going to get chance going and everything's going to be great. 62. 62 chance. If you want to get 62 chance going, I wouldn't say no to it. Okay. I guess so.

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I'll walk the course of them and go through every shot. That would be amazing. That would be great. We went through a 30 for 30. Me, Duffy, Scotty Lawton, Stevie Lorenz and Carlo. I can host it and just while motor around with a big mic boom. We'll have the whole thing, man. Yeah, you could be like Jack Whitaker in the world's wonderful world of golf. Yes, black and white.

It's got to be black and white. I love it. Absolutely. All right, boys. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today. TV, radio, podcast, web and of course up on YouTube live you can find every

hour of every show up on TSN's YouTube channel we're out of here enjoy your evenings enjoy the games tonight we're back tomorrow at for all the players competing up at TPC good luck chasing this week 4 p.m. Well chat I her radio live with three days grace. Hey, what's up? This is Adam from three days grace You and three friends could be joining us for a wicked exclusive intimate performance June 23rd in Toronto You can't buy a ticket for this one. Your only way in is to win The more you enter the better your shot at joining us in Toronto for an unforgettable night. iHeartRadio Live with three days grace. Enter daily for your chance to win at iHeartRadio.ca.