OverDrive - OverDrive - March 19, 2026 - Hour 2 - Keegan Matheson/Carlo Colaiacovo

Episode Date: March 19, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Kara Wagland and Jonas Siegel for Hour 2 on OverDrive! MLB.com Blue Jays Reporter Keegan Matheson joins to discuss Trey Yesavage landing on the IL, the injury timeline and the formation of the Blue Jays' lineup. Plus, TSN Hockey Analyst Carlo Colaiacovo stops by to go around the biggest headlines in the NHL and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

With corporate traveler, you get a dedicated travel expert and 24-7 support. So business travel feels effortless. Big meetings land. Business grows. With corporate traveler, the booking is just the start. Search corporate traveler today. Hour to overdrive continues, powered by Fanduel. Brian Hayes, Jonas Siegel, Carol Waglin in here.

Our buddy Keegan Matheson coming up later this hour. We've got Carlo Coliakvo around the table. Carlos is on the panel tonight. Havs, Detroit. massive game in the East. Massive game. Columbus at home tonight, Ottawa, playing the Islanders tonight.

Man, Edmonton, Florida, which should be a big game because it's obviously a repeat of the last two cup finals, but it's not because Florida is completely melting down and committing to a tank. Big day, though, for golf fans, because I read online that the Masters app is officially available. Did you see what comes with that? Like, you're able to search.

What did I see today? The last, like, however many years of whatever specific golf shot you want to find. Right. Over the last, like, 40 years or something. They have a search function. You can find the video of any shot hit from 1968 to 2025. I love those. That's just eating time.

Yeah. I'm falling down rabbit holes. Give me an Ian Wuznum Friday round in 1987. Is that a real person? Woozy? You don't know. Woozy? I don't know.

Come on, Jonas. Woozies, he's got a green jacket. He's buckled at the champion's dinner every year. Oh, that's amazing. Woozy is about 5 foot two and him and Stads you wouldn't know Stadler either The two of them are always tucked in the corner

Of the Champions Dinner Oh, I love those two guys Because they just look Buckled every single year in that picture As I would I don't blame them at all But Does Augusta ever make a bad decision?

Like I feel like everything they do They just do it right Well the app is phenomenal The tournament's incredible Although someone's pointed out And I'm sure it's just a formality based on past champions being invited, but Tiger Woods is a player in the player profile of the app.

Some people trying to put two and two together, the tiger's going to be there in a few weeks. Yeah, I can see that. You think Tiger's going to play? I don't know that he should, but I could see him. He loves the master so much. If he's going to come back for anything,

it's giving the master's. I'd love to see him. I'm all for it. Just let him play. He's probably not going to make the cut. He's just going to do his thing, but get him out there. Get him out there.

Yeah, absolutely. But everything they do with the pricing, the old-time pricing. People from Augusta should come and take a stab at writing the ship for the Toronto Maple Lears. You want Fred Ridley running the lease? Let's do it.

Write that article, Jonas. My decision for the president of hockey ops is Fred Ridley from Augusta National. Should I include you on the list? Yeah, throw me in there. You know who turned us down yesterday? It was Struddy. Struddy came on and said,

I'm not accepting that offer. Is it because of the Leafs? Or he wouldn't want that job at all? Well, he's got a hockey school out of an emminton. It's very lucrative. He doesn't want to wear a suit. Yeah, he doesn't want to wear a suit. It's a totally reasonable explanation.

You don't have to wear suits anymore. Yeah, just as president, you can decide what you're doing. Right, exactly. I'd like to take meetings. I'd like to run the operation. Yeah. You could do it? I think I could.

I think I'd get right in there and run the whole operation. Like I said, I've already mandated 30 draft picks in the next three years. I want a completely overhauled farm system. And I'm keeping Matthews. I'm keeping Neelander because it's been so bad this year. year, like to move off them because of one horrendous season. You might be losing value, you know? Like, and again, I'm not, I'm not sure what those two players are going to look into the future.

Matthews in particular, I got a pretty good read on what Willie is the next three or four years. Like, he'll age and at some point slow down a little bit. Matthew scares me a little bit just with the injuries and the ways of look the last couple of years. I'm concerned about where that's going. But. I feel like you as president would get so jaded. Yeah, I mean, again, I'm not loving where things are going here. You would be the guy in the corner that refuses to listen to anybody,

is willing to die on whatever hill that you've made a decision on. Incredibly stubborn. It would be great. But, yeah, I think, I mean, there's got to be an overhaul of the whole philosophy. Like, I don't know what the philosophy is right now. I think that's part of the concern. Yeah. I don't really know what the, like this year, stunned them.

Clearly. You know, they've been the last nine straight years. They won the division last year. This was not something anyone saw coming. And you can blame them for that, but this is pretty extreme. Like the bottom is completely fallen out. So more on that with Carlo Koliakva later in the hour. So today it was announced,

Trey I.Savich will begin the season on the IL for the Blue Jays. And what that means for his return, what it means for his usage the rest of the year, obviously it's up for debate. Bieber will not be available to start the year. Burrios will not be available to start the year. So the rotation, which has a lot of depth, a lot of talent, was going to be a bright spot and certainly something they relied on

and leaned on throughout the season. I'm not saying they're still not going to, but it has taken hits. The complexion is a little bit off as we get closer to opening day, which is what, a week tomorrow? Yeah, we're getting close. A week tomorrow, it's go time. Let's head down to Florida. Here he is from MLB Network.

our main man here with TSN as well. Here's Keegan Matheson joining us. Keegan, what's your level of surprise on this savage situation, the fact that he's starting the year on the injured list? Well, I won't pretend I knew exactly what the injury was, but there was obviously something. Okay, it's clear that we were missing a piece of this story all spring. And when you're missing a piece of something, nine times out of ten,

it's health, it's an injury. So this is not good news by any means. And I think a lot of injuries are being framed as good news just because the guy's not having an arm amputated. But there's nothing good about this, okay, when you're talking about a shoulder. A shoulder is very complicated, okay? And the Blue Jays, I'm going to be the dramatic guy this season, I guess, but games in April matter. Okay? This is the AL East.

And this is a division that was tied at 94 wins last year. The Red Sox are going to be better. The O's are going to be better. The rays will at least be pesky, right? If you are only getting 20, Trayy Savage starts instead of 26, 28, 30, that might be a winner to, right? This is worrying off the top for you Savage. Anytime I hear shoulder, I don't like it. Ideally, this is just a blip, but I've got to see that proven first.

Now, it's interesting how, again, it's amazing where we are with this front office and the organization and the rep, reputation today compared to a year ago, where throughout this whole process, like, I have noticed, and I have taken shots from people online and everyone, when I have questioned, like, what's going on with you, Savage? And it's like, how dare you? And I can't worry about how they know what they're doing. Shut up. Like, it's all good. I'm like, I'm just wondering what's going on where if this was a year ago, it would be these are idiots. They don't know what the hell they're doing. They're going to ruin this kid. And again, they deserve an update of reputation based on what happened last year. But I think what you're pointing to is somewhere more reasonable and kind of in

the middle, Higgin, that it's not the end of the world. Doesn't mean he's not going to pitch for them, but it is a hit. And it's something, like they've known about this. Like he has said on the record, I believe, down in Dunedin today, like this was before he even got to camp. Something was going on with his shoulder. He's been aware of it. And, you know, they're kind of slow playing it here. And I'm not convinced they have an answer for when he's going to be 100%. Is that accurate? Like, do you get the impression they know when he's going to pitch for them? I don't, no. And the thing that started to get a little strange for me was more recently,

when I think back-to-back outings, he threw the same number of pitches, 35, 35, two innings, two innings. That signals that something's not progressing. Okay? And at this point, like the clues were kind of there all through spring training. When Trey was handling this, I think, well. But, you know, giving some of the same answers, John Schneider saying some of the same things, you start to piece together the clues.

And it's no great scandal by any means. But I think that we could start to sense that something was a little off. Now, there are two parts to this that I'm concerned about. Number one is just the workload. Do they need him to be back to 85 pitches? Is 60 enough? When do you want to get him back all the way ramped up? I don't know.

The second part of this is that you've got to be good. Okay? I use, and very carefully here, let me tee it up, I use Alec Manoa as the example. This is not a Manoa situation. I won't go down that road, but that's an example that I think Blue Chase fan. Nobody wants to hear that name right now. But we're going to at least look at that road sign, okay? When Alec Manoa came back, he got his workload back up.

He was up to a guy who could throw 100 pitches again, but his stuff was not back after shoulder issues. So that's part of this conversation as well. You savage needs to get back to a workload, but then you need to see his fastball up at 95, 96. You need to see his splitter make a few people look stupid again. Okay, that's the other part of this equation. And today, John Schneider didn't have a timeline for that. It's not smart to give him one right now.

But I don't think this is something where suddenly he is back in the rotation two weeks from now. It's similar to Jose Berrios, guys. I mean, how he is going to pitch through a stress fracture in his right elbow, I don't got a clue, okay? But I don't think either of these are going to happen next week. So, Kagan, I'm just for clarification purposes, because reports were out about you Savage, and maybe I just took this a little, took this incorrectly.

He showed up to camp with the issue. He's feeling better now, but ran at a time to be ready for the regular season, which kind of led me to believe that he's on the right track, everything's okay. He just needs to kind of ramp up. But you're saying that that's not necessarily the case, that there might be more going on here. Yeah, you still need the stuff to be back.

In terms of timeline, you're right. And that's a good point to make in terms of how this worked. What we understand as of today, you know, 5.10 p.m. Eastern on March 19th, he showed up to camp feeling not great in this shoulder. That's why it started out slow on top of a plan that was already in place. So it's kind of layers of slowing down his spring training. Now you've got to work that workload all the way back. And that's what they're doing now.

They say he's feeling a bit better. But on top of that, you've got to get your stuff back. So it's like a regular spring training buildup where Max Scherzer or Jose Berrios or Kevin Gosman, maybe they go out on February 25th and they're throwing 90 miles an hour. And we all panic. Then they tell us not to panic and it's not a problem, right? But you've still got to get the stuff back. I think that's going to be part of this for Traja Savage and to have the full motion,

the full use of that shoulder feeling completely 100% fresh. And I don't think the Blue Jays are going to. to rush this either. I know nobody rushes a young pitcher, but Trey I Savage, this is one of the most valuable people in the organization, so you've got to make sure he is all the way right. With Kagan

Matheson. So we know Savage won't start the year, or Rios won't start the year, Bieber won't start the year. So the rotation sets up, Gosman, Seas, Ponce, Scher, and likely Eric Lauer. So that's your five-man rotation. Let's presume that happens.

You know, they've got to go through 20, 25 games with that, if that's the case. How do you feel about that five-man rotation and how does it set up over a possible four or five times through the rotation? Not nearly as good as it could be, but a heck of a lot better than most teams would find themselves after losing three guys.

This depth is really impressive. Like, Hazan, I remember when we were talking a few weeks ago, where the heck is Max Schurz are going to pitch? Well, he's going to pitch right here. You know, these things work themselves out every damn time. If they had signed 20 starters, 15 would have gotten hurt. It just works out this way every year. So they're in a way better spot than most teams would be right now.

But there are some better rotations than this in the AL East. You know, the offense is going to have to do some of the heavy lifting early in the season. And they're going to need guys like Gosman, like Cease, to be dominant early. You know, you won't have that settle in period. And I know that sounds a little pushy, but again, American League East. There's not a lot of time to settle into a season, especially early on. When you start out with the A's, with the White Sox, with the Rockies, you got to win a few ball games in there. So this situation right now, it's good enough to get them through.

Eric Lauer, he gets what he has wanted, you know, not the way he wanted it, of course, but he's wanted to start. He gets to step in. And if they can survive this, they just need to get to the next guy coming back. The next piece of news needs to be good news, okay? One more piece of bad news, then you get into who's next up. And that answer is not clear right now. So the next news needs to be in the right direction after a few that have been in the wrong direction. Keegan, as Cody Ponce exceeded your expectations so far, it's just spring training, but better than you thought?

Hell yeah. He has looked really good. And spring training guys, there's some things that I do care about, okay? I've learned like struggling veteran George Springer last year. There's probably some clips of me on this show being a little too dramatic about George Springer last year. I've learned that with certain guys when they've proven themselves, spring is just whatever. But with pitchers, especially a pitcher like Ponce coming back, I almost treat Ponce like a prospect, guys, because he was in Japan and Korea. He's been gone from the big leagues.

He's coming back a new man. He's new to us and what we're seeing. So the pitch metrics, the fancy stats about what his pitches are doing, how they're moving matters. And it looks really good. Okay, the Ponce signing. I loved it from the beginning because it represented us. If you're giving a guy three years, $30 million, you can give it to an aging veteran who's just throwing slop and is going to eat some

innings and get beat around, but, you know, protect a spot. Or you can take a swing on upside. That's what the Js have done. I thought it was a great deal at the time. I like it more right now than I did at the time. And he has looked fantastic. I mean, I think it's a 0.66 ERA in spring training. And the reasons look just as encouraging.

So that's a big one. Hicken, we talked about how, I mean, the ALEAS is always tough, but the Yankees got better, the Red Sox brought in some guys. Everyone, I think we can all agree the Jays exceeded expectations last year. So there's going to be a little bit of regression to the mean this season. The sports books are not favoring the Jays this season. They're not expecting maybe what we're expecting from them. So where do you see the Jays with small sample size in spring training? Where do you see them kind of shaking out in the ALE East and in baseball as a whole?

I think they need to be. be a favorite in the AL East, but the Yankees are right there. Like, even if I project the Blue Jays to win the division, what am I projecting it by, 0.2 games, right? Like, this division is so good. And I think that in Toronto and Canada, I think we don't want to admit how good the Yankees still are. Okay? They're really good. They scored a million runs last year. They're going to do it again. They're going to get back Garrett Cole. They're going to get back Cam Schlittler. They're going to get back a good rotation. The Red Sox will be better. This will be tough. And the Blue Jays now have a target on their back. Okay. I think this is going to be

noticeable the first couple weeks of the season. I mean, big leaguers should not lack motivation. But if you are the A's, the White Sox, the Rockies, that's a lot of young players, a lot of fringe players, frankly. But you are now taking a run at the team that was just in the World Series and almost knocked down the Dodgers. The Blue Jays will get fewer lazy days this season. Okay, they're going to get everyone's best. And you're going to need some players to step in and account for that. If George Springer regresses a bit, who's going to make up for it? The easy answer is that Vladdy can make up for everyone. Okay, if Vladie is who he can be, he makes up for anyone that stumbles, but they're going to need some others. Addison Barger, Dalton Varshow being a couple more.

With Keegan Matheson. So you wrote an article today about Addison Barger, and he hit a missile yesterday. Like you talk about a guy who's getting a lot of play around baseball. He had a beautiful catch today. Yes. And, you know, he's, I'm curious how they utilize him this year. Like last year it was basically only right, he's on the mound. He famously

hit, I believe that Grand Slamming game won against the lefty on the mound. Like, what do you think the plan is for Barger this year? If you're John Schneider, are they going to unleash him? Is he an everyday guy? Like, what do you see his season projecting to be? I want to see him in the lineup every damn day.

Like that skill set is rare. Outside of Vladdy, Addison Barger can do things that most other people cannot do in this league. Okay, he throws harder than just about everyone. He can hit the ball as hard as just about anyone. And we saw last year against lefties sometimes. There's some shortcomings. There's some struggles.

But I think he is earning the opportunity to try that out. And to show this team what he can do every single day, or at least giving him $145, 150 games. And I think he's in the right place mentally. You know, Addison Barger, everything about this dude is just cranked up maximum 10 out of 10 intensity. And I think he's learning to like take the odd breath, you know, not, not every day, but once a week, just like a quick little exhale, you know.

So that's going to help him pace himself over the year because no matter how strong you are, no matter how heavy of a weight you can lift, the season is long and it wears you down. I think that hit him last year, and I think that he's in a much better headspace right now. There is no player outside of Vladdy who has more power over this team's trajectory than Addison Barger. Like, he is the guy who can pop, hit 35 homers and sneak into the number 10 MVP voting type of guy. Like, he has that talent. Maybe it goes the other way, but that level of talent's got to be in your lineup, man. He can change a game in a second in any phase of the game.

Yeah, I mean, we're going to find out obviously by next week. week, but how do you see the lineup playing out? Like, let's say one through five. I mean, there's obviously going to be movement. And guys, let's say there's a righty on a mound. How do you see Schneider filling out his lineup? Behind Springer in the leadoff spot, they've been playing with Dalton Varshow number two, which is way different than like a Nathan Lucas, who they would do more last year.

Varsho will strike out a few times. But we've seen five home runs in spring training. His swing looks great. Always trust a man. in a contract year. That is motivation, the likes of which I cannot even understand. So I would bet on Adis, or sorry, bet on Dalton Varsho in every single way. This year, he looks fantastic.

Then you're going to have Vladdy. Alejandro Kirk works in there in that four or five spot. Addison Barger does as well. Then you have Ocumoto probably down number six. So the platoons will be played a little bit. I think Vladdy stays three. He likes to be number three. John Schneider would love to live in a world where Vladdy wants to be two,

but Vladdy likes three, so Vladdy stays three. But that number two spots the interesting one to me. You know, that that's the Bobichette spot. And I think it's one that could change quite a bit. But I don't mind the idea of Varsho getting that first crack. If he can reach base a bit more, he's fast. He is pound for pound as powerful as you get in Major League Baseball. So maybe he pops for 30 plus this year.

That protection in the 3, 4, 5 is nice. Yes. Yeah, if you go Kirk into Barger, into Okamoto, you know, give or take. Yeah. I mean, obviously, Vladie hit in third. I don't know, it's going to be interesting. Like, Schneider worked his lineup a lot last year and did so incredibly well. But, you know, we'll see every year is a little bit different.

Is Ernie Clement an everyday ball player this year? I would think he is. He has. He's earned it. Yeah, if bargers every day, is Okamoto and everyday guy would think. Yeah. So, like, how much flexibility do you see in the lineup where guys like Lucas and Davis Snyder and others, you know, find a bats over the course of the year?

And then you look at kind of thirds of the line. up, you know, like the one, two, three will work. And like you said, Kara, the four, five, six, that's a nice pocket. But the seven, eight, nine, that's last year where they had some fun with Miles Straw. They'd be bunting. They'd be running. They'd be doing, they're kind of a different ball club down in that bottom third. And that's a good thing. You know, you're not asking speed guys to be power guys. You're just asking them to be themselves. But I think Okamoto is sneaky good. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people and he's going to be a lot of people's favorite player by the middle of the season.

But Kirk in the middle of there, a perfect fit. And man, if barger pops, everything changes. Man, he can really take this lineup to a totally different world. He can have been reading that Okamoto actually is a really funny guy and that him and Vladia have kind of hit it off and that as people get to know him

that he's going to be, I mean, I don't want to go Muninori Kauosaki, but that kind of level of personality, is that what you're seeing? Yeah, everyone loves him. His teammates love the guy and stuff like My job so far is standing back and just kind of watching. And the way he gets along with Vladdy especially,

they're like the new buddy cop movie, I think, in the Jay-Zin field. Like they've got their own handshake now where it's like they slap hands and there's a bow, which is great. I think I've mastered my bowing at this point. I think I've got through the routines pretty good. We'll see. But he's been a great personality around camp. And he brings such a great energy.

Like we have so many more Japanese media members around now. It's just kind of perks everybody up. It's really cool. Like I think covering Okamoto is going to be the most fun I have these next couple of years. And I think it's going to bring such a different energy. And I think people will realize very quickly how big a deal this guy is. Like he is a big deal in Japan coming over to the big leagues and his personality. We're starting to slowly see it.

There's a lot to adapt to here, but you're going to see a lot more. Love it, Kegan. Great catching up, buddy. We'll do it again next week. You got her. We'll talk soon. There is Kegan Matheson, MLB.com. And down there doing it.

thing. Been in Florida for like a month. Coming home soon. That's not so bad. Yeah, not so bad. A month for work in Florida? Do you guys have a favorite buddy cop movie? I need some options.

So like lethal weapon. Lethal weapon. Very high. Rush hour. Not bad. I mean, rush hour one. Some other ones. Well, Beverly Hills Cop.

Yeah. That's a high on that. Eddie Murphy. Midnight run? Midnight run. Yeah. Good one. Yep.

Is it the other guys with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg? That's more of a comedy. Like there's not as much action. Like lethal weapons like an action movie. Beverly Hills Cop, I think, is kind of the pinnacle. Bad Boys? Yeah, Bad Boys. That's a good one.

Good boys. That's a good one. And that holds up. It does. I would say like all, I haven't seen the most recent one, but there was there four movies now? Or there was four total? I don't remember. There might be five.

I don't know. The first three were dynamite. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how this season plays out. Like Okamoto, like with these new guys, like Ponce has been so good. Obviously, Kegan's buying stock in Okamoto's impact on this team. I'm fascinated with Springer because he had like the career. It's almost a career year. It was a best year of his career last year.

No question. What is a grand slam today? What's reasonable? Like, what should you expect? I think you're expecting regression off that. Right. But it can't completely drop off. Yeah, like if you can find, I don't know, 20 home runs off him, he stays healthy and gives

you a good OPS, gets on base, you know, just, is he going to DH like he did all of last season? I would think so, right? Yeah, I would think so too, but I don't know, it's interesting like how they're, you know, and Schneider's got options, but Springer, Vladdy, Kirk, if Barger's an everyday guy, Clement, Jimenez is going to play short every day. Barsoe is going to play center field pretty much every day. Okamoto's going to play third. They're pretty much locked in.

Yeah, exactly. Like you find Miles Strauss obviously still here and David Schneider and Nathan Lucas. Like those are going to be kind of your utility guys. Yeah. We'll see. Yeah. We'll see what happens. Coming up soon.

Week tomorrow. All right. Big game for the haves tonight. We'll get into that. Big game for Ottawa tonight. And the lease back in action tomorrow. Carlo Koliak will join us around the table. A little round table with him.

We'll get to our best bets later in the end. hour. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on the TSNF. With corporate traveler, you get a dedicated travel expert and 24-7 support. So business travel feels effortless. Big meetings land. Business grows. With corporate traveler, the booking is just the start. Search corporate traveler today. It's playoff time in the NPHL Metropolitan Branch. Allison and Stratroy are still going head to head while Orangeville and Six Nations battle for a spot in the finals. This is Playoff off hockey. This is the NPHL.

All right, best bets a little bit later in the hour. Brian Hayes, Jonas Siegel, Kara Wagland, Carlo Coliakville around the table. This is a four-pack. This is a core-four right here, Jonas. Would you break this core-four up? I don't want to be part of that core-for. You don't like this core-four? If we're

comparing us to the Leafs Corps for. Well, I mean, they got paid a lot that core for. Okay, I'm backing. Yeah, you'd take their money, that's for sure. The way they get treated here? Yeah. They're like gods. God's.

Right? They're like gods. I'll take it. Jonas. Jonas doesn't seem happy. Jonas is pro player. Yeah. Yeah.

Is that accurate? Yeah, for sure. Nothing wrong with that. That wasn't a pro player, too. I mean, I'm just pro-comonsense. I like that. Pro common sense. Yeah.

Sounds like a politician. It does. What does that mean? I'm for common sense. What does I mean? Who is it? I'm very biased. Who is it?

Yeah, actually, not only you think about it, I'm against common sense. Yeah. I don't like common sense. So what is your opinion of common sense moving forward? For the least? Yeah, what is common sense for them? I think the approach they have to take, like, you're not going to get players to buy into tanking. You're just not.

And probably not going to get Brubi to buy into tanking either. That's just the mentality of the team. Now, the organizational philosophy is, yeah, try to lose as many games to get the fifth, or the, go in the top five and get a high draft pick. But the thing that worries me about doing that is then you slide the first round picks two more ears. Right? At least if you give, look, everybody could admit

that was a bad trade deadline for them last year. Got to bite the bullet. You got to hand over your pick to Boston. I would rather do it this year. Get back to contending for a playoff spot next year. Then your pick doesn't matter. Give that one to Philly next year. Give that one to Philly.

And then you can start. over again because if you get a top five pick and next year is worse good luck trying to sell a rebuild if you don't own your first round picks. That is what makes this such a conundrum.

Those trades are just hanging over everything. What I would like to see is like down the stretch here, I want to see growth from Easton Cowan, I want to see growth from Quillen, from Bull Groo, maybe some other guys that get called up from the market. That's what you have to

figure out, you have to figure out what you have right now with some other guys. Well, I think the fact that none of them were called up earlier in the year would suggest they don't feel like they have much. I think that's, I mean, Cowan notwithstanding, clearly. He's been here all season. Quill and I like, I think I don't know enough about where his future's

going to go. I think he's aggressive. He gets on the forecheck a little bit. He's not a great skater. I think there's limitations to what his future would be. But yeah, it's like they need a, they need a spokesman, they need a vision, they need a message to get across. You need to come up with a plan

and commit to it. And they're not going to announce it right now, nor do they have to. You don't have to announce it on March 19th or whatever, but the season's going to be over in less than a month, and you better have a plan immediately on what you're doing. Is your GM staying? Is your coach staying? If not, you better get out in front of it quickly

and get the right people in here. And then find out what you're doing with your best players. Like, it goes without saying they have to turn over the defense corps. I don't think they can win it. I think it's long overdue. Yes, it is. And that was another big mistake that they made. In retrospect, I wasn't hammering on them when they did it, but they came back with literally the exact same six that played the playoffs, the exact same

defense score, and it's burned them. But the larger questions are Matthews and Neelander, and you guys are having them every morning. We've had them all week. We're going to continue to have them for months. But just before we move on the defense, I think the return of all six defense and both goaltenders made you feel good about them contending without Mitch Marner. Yes. Right? There was a comfort level. There was a culture shift here.

Yep. And you're like, okay, well, how can they still be a playoff team when you lose a hundred point guy? Well, you got two really good goaltenders and you got all your defense back. And it blew up on them. Yeah, because the goalies have been inconsistent or injured and the defense hasn't been good enough. So you're in town here or you're in studio here because we've got a big game Detroit, Montreal tonight. Yeah. Like, it's getting dicey, man.

I think the Havs is going to make it because I think they just outscore any other defense. defensive issue they have or goaltending issue they have. They just seem to have the it factor for me. Did you see that stat? And I give Frankie Carrotto credit because he came up with it during the broadcast yesterday about the importance of goaltending from Montreal. That's wild. But that applies to every winning team.

It does. You've got to have good goaltending to win. It's more evident. Montreal's riding two rookie goaltenders right now. And Dobish and Fowler. I don't know what happened to Montenboe. He's just around. He's just around.

But like young team, a lot of their success is going to depend on the goaltending they get. If they get better than 900 say percentage, chances are they're going to win. Well, the record shows the 27-0 and 3. Wow. Talk to Ottawa about that. Like, Ottawa is the reason they're in position they're in is because the goal-tending. The thing about the scheduling in the NHL is you get a big clump of games on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays.

On those days, there's a lot of shuffling that happens in the standings with teams that win and lose. and tonight's one of those. I mean, look at these standings right now. I mean, I'm doing the Montreal, Detroit. There's two points separating them. And Columbus is on fire. What a story they are. Can I shout out Frankie, actually, for something?

Yes. I wish you had... Actually, I wish I had this take. He's like, we were texting about it. He's like, why isn't Werenstki in the Hart Trophy conversation? I was like, yeah. Well, it's a favorite to win the Norris. Yeah.

If you're a favorite to win the Norris, why wouldn't you be in the heart? Right. It's a valid question. Is he the favorite, like, the number one guy, He's the Norris favorite on Fandau right now. Yes. Over Bouchard. Over, yes, your boy, Bouchard, over McCar.

You were talking fairly, like, celebrating. Like, who's the second best guy on the sharks? Who's the second best guy on Columbus? Like, Marchenko, probably, good player, but, like, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's like Frankie's. He's clearly their best player. That clearly their best player. He plays, I believe, more minutes than anybody in the league.

Yeah. You know what was a nice pick up for them at the deadline? Yeah. Connor Garland. And he signed. And he signed. And he signed. Marchman's back healthy, but Connor Garland's been one of the best trade-deline acquisitions in the league.

It's been on fires and Spock. Yeah, Columbus, you know, it feels like they're going to find a way to get in, and then just Rick Bonas, does he get any Jack Adams? Maybe we have like a barrier like they do in the NBA, like 50 games you can't come in? Yeah, it's interesting. Like, you know, Werenck, it's a valid point by Frankie. Like, you got to get in to be up for the heart, historically speaking, right? I don't know if you would vote that. But hasn't the Norris-Troll?

turned into an offensive trophy. It's crap. It used to be the best defenseman. That's why Littstrom would win it every year. Now it's like the guy who gets the most points. Yeah. And Ben Shar's case. He's got a nine-point lead on the second place guy.

That's his case. He's going to finish with 90 points. More probably. Yeah, very well could. Yeah, something's going to give here, though, because I think Columbus is getting in. So who's coming out? Is it in Montreal? Is it Boston, Detroit, the Islanders?

Pittsburgh? Like, there's no guarantee that even Pittsburgh who's been a great story. They still got to close here. Well, speak of Jack Adams, what if Pittsburgh gets in? Dan Muse? I would think Danny Muse has got to be pretty high on the list. Yeah.

Doesn't he? Well, right now, I think it's Lindy's Ruff's award to lose, but... Do you see it that way, Jonas? I don't vote on that. I don't know. Why not? Maybe you should. I don't know. They don't let us. Marco Stern? What about Marco Stern?

Yeah. Yeah, Boston's been a great story. He checks a lot of boxes. I worry about Detroit, though, because... the injuries. They've been without Larkin and copped two of their top center ice men. I think cops supposed to return the night. I haven't heard official word yet, but

and I worry about Boston. Like, I was doing the broadcast Montreal and Boston the other day. Over the last 10 games, they've won, one, one, lost one, one, lost one. They can't win two in a row. Right. So you can see it's coming down to the wire. Oh, absolutely. And here's the thing, Kara, coming down to the wire.

Once the playoff starts, who's your favorite? That too. You talked about the Islanders. I think the Islanders are a really sneaky pick come playoff time because they have the best goaltender. To win the East? To win the East. Interesting.

You think Sorokin can take them on the run? Yeah, I mean, Vasilevsky is right there. I mean, his numbers are absurd. You can never discount Tampa or discredit Tampa, but. You think Sorokin's a lot to win the Vesna? Yeah. Yeah, I don't disagree. I mean, I, um, it just feels like one of those years in the East where it, it absolutely could be anyone.

Like, I hope it's Buffalo, because they're fun to watch. It's a fun story. Yeah, it really is. Yeah. And the year to do it is now. I mean, 15 years are not being in it. There's no Florida. Tampa looks beatable.

There's no powerhouse in, in the metro. Anybody can do it. Yeah. Florida's an interesting case, you know, like, I think most people, people assume they just get healthy and they get right back into the dance next year. Do you see it that way? Absolutely. Because I think they're doing what people are screaming for the Mapleys Zoo. They're resting their players.

No, exactly. They're fully tanked out. It's in our season. And look at the way it started. Start all with Barkoff, missing the whole season. Kachuk not there until, what, Christmas time? Then at times they've lost Bennett, Ryan Hart, they lose Seth Jones for most of the season. Bob struggled too this year. And it's almost like it was it was like a layup for them to miss the playoffs and to take this

position that they're in where it's like, okay, well, the seasons are right off because there was stuff that happened that was out of our control. And is Bob their only major UFA? Yeah, that's the thing. I think A.J. Greer. Well, if they didn't trade them at the deadline, you kind of got to figure that.

But that's where I'm reluctant to suggest they just automatically get back. They're an aging team. They're a slower team. And Bob is like 38 years old. Basilevsky had his three straight cups and then it just imploded on him for a couple of years,

which was totally expected. He got hurt. He had played more hockey than anybody else, but now he's back. Bob's not having a resurgence at 41 or 40 years old. I think there could be some trouble in the crease down in Florida. And so, you know, what I

expect they're a playoff team next year. I think I would definitely project that. Guaranteed to get back to being the big dog in the league. I'm not convinced that's going to be the case. I think that's fair. Sports doesn't work that way. No. You know, like they brought everyone back. They've all made their money. They've all

won. They're all going to be a year or two older. They wear sandals to the rank. Yeah. Like, there's, you know, how hungry are you? Like, all that kind of stuff. And there's other teams that are coming up. You know, that are knocking on the door. They're young and hungry, yeah. But can the These teams that have come up this year, can they sustain that?

I mean, Ottawa is a great example, right? They get in last year. One thinks, okay, they got in last year. They're going to go on a run. Okay, well, let me ask you all of us this. Who's more likely to make the playoffs next year? Buffalo or Florida? Florida.

Ooh. Just history, right? Like, they have enough of a base that we can rely on. Even if they lost Brobrovsky, right? I still think. Are you thinking this year's a one-off for Buffalo? Well, that's what I'm asking, though. Like, if you're using Ottawa as an example,

it's an extreme one because Buffalo's likely going to win the east or be in the top seed. But Ottawa was a really good up-and-coming team, caught lightning in a bottle, hadn't been in the playoffs since six or seven years, and now they're out. So it seems impossible to see that out of Buffalo, but why not? Remember how it started in Buffalo, too, right?

It didn't start great. No, they went on that crazy runners of all heaters right now. Right. Yeah, I'll go Florida, too. Right. So there you go. Carlo, would you put the Buffalo or Florida? You think Buffalo's legit and they've made it.

And I think the presence of Yarmel kick a line in there. Like I know him personally. I had him in St. Louis when I was there. And you saw what he did in Columbus. Like this guy is a culture changer because he doesn't accept mediocrity. And I think part of the challenge for Buffalo the last 15 years is they've had a hard time recruiting. Free agents, trades. Are you convinced that's going to change?

Winning changes everything. I'll believe it. I see it. Winning changes every. I think if they go on a run this year and people see how electric that place is come playoff time, because that building is going to be electric come playoff time, it might change people's lines. It might. I do think, though,

it's imperative they go on that run. You go out in the first round. I don't know you're not selling Buffalo on a free agent. That wasn't willing to go there before. It doesn't mean that you can't find players to go. You can. And this is clearly a big statement by them because I would choose Buffalo too. Like that defense corps in particular

is now, Alex Lian, And he's on an all-time heater right now. He's a lion kid, man. It's kind of come out of nowhere. It scares me a little bit projecting the future in terms of the crease. But, yeah, I'm pulling for Buffalo to do that. But I'll believe it when I see it. I mean, look, I, I, isn't going to make a dynasty.

Yeah. I just think that enough's going to change this year and hopefully more positive things come in the offseason where they can add another significant piece of that group. Or keep a significant piece. Like Alex Tuck is an example of that. Are they going to sign them or not? As he going to price himself out in Buffalo?

We'll see. But if you can't keep your own guy, that's trouble. That's the number one sign that you're in trouble. If you can't keep your own people. I think they're going to be left with no choice because the market's going to determine what he's going to get paid. Yeah, which probably 10 plus maybe. I think there's like the way we look at player contracts moving forward

is going to change too. Yeah, if the cap's $120, $125 million in a couple of years. You might have four guys on the roster that make $10. 10 or more. Yeah, the Leafs were Mavericks, man. Trendsetters. Yeah, trendsetters. They were ahead of their time.

They deserved credit for that. Dallas beat Colorado last night. They're two points back. That's a team. Is this a choke job of Colorado? I don't win. What's going on with Colorado lately? Yeah.

Like, if they don't win the division, is it a choke job? I think so. Because they had such a big lead. Yeah. I think you're right. But you've also got to give credit to Dallas. Dallas has been playing post

Olympics without ranting in and hints. Yes. And they're on fire. Yeah. And now they're two best forwards, arguably. Yeah. Most impactful, I think. Robertson's been great and Johnston's been great.

Sorry, just pulling up. If you look at Colorado's the rest of their schedule, they're going to be just okay. They'll be fine. Oh, wow. They'll be just fine. They've got a whole lot of Vancouver, Calgary. A lot of Canadian teams.

Chicago. Oh, that's a good thing. You get Vancouver, Calgary. Couple of St. Louis for a two-pack. They'll be fine. They're definitely, but that's a big race, man. You dropped it two and you got to play Minnesota. That's terrifying.

Did you see the Batman stuff, by the way? The one versus eight? I don't understand, like, shouldn't you want to do what your fans and your players want? I don't understand this take. Here's where I'm going to shock. Are you going to defend him? Well, here's my stance on 1V8 versus what we have right now. Because I've heard people say, well, it's not fair in Dallas and,

Minnesota shouldn't be out in the first round. You're going to say it wasn't fair here. No, no, no, no. I'm going to say the whole promotion of the Stanley Cup playoffs for 100 years is it's completely unpredictable. Anything can happen. So how are you, how do you know they're going to get through the first round? How do you know Minnesota's going to get through and Dallas is going to go?

No, you're right about that. You don't know that. But that's besides the point. No, it's not beside. The whole argument is they shouldn't have to face each. They shouldn't be put in a position where they're going to lose in the first round. If it's 1 v8, they still could lose if they're playing a different opponent. The thing about 1V8...

That's the whole promotion of Stanley Cup playoffs is it's parody and completely up for grabs. So the thing about 1V8 is that you're giving teams incentives to still play hard down the stretch. Minnesota right now is not moving their position. They've got 15 games left. Reasonable in terms of their third seat. But if it was 1V8, they would be doing the same thing

because they'd be the third seed. It would be Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota. No one, the fourth seat is nowhere close to them. Okay. Nothing would change in this particular case. You're right. But this one, it's no different. Yes.

And his whole explanation is, well, the first round of playoffs is the best playoffs in sports. Well, yeah, it is because there's parity in the league. It's not just because. Well, wouldn't it be the same? It would absolutely be the same. It's fairness. That's where I think, but I think, again, the argument is, if I give you this opportunity, I guarantee you you're going to see this incredible series.

Don't you want to see it? Like, sure, I'd rather it maybe in a conference final, but why pick your poison? Not if I was on those teams or root it. That's not a business. It's not up to the individual player. It's 100% of business decision because you're drawing viewers in the first round with better matchups and they're going to stay to watch the next round.

Are they better matchups? Florida Carolina was the Eastern Conference finals. You're getting a lot of reputation for sure. Yeah. And that's what I fear is that you've got a division like the Metro that has Carolina running away with it, but one of those teams is going to be guaranteed a spot

in the Eastern Conference final. Right? I just I get it. The first one's always going to be exciting, no matter who's it. It was exciting before this nonsense game. The adrenaline is pumping. But you just want the better teams with a better chance to advance.

Is that why you promise season? And here's the thing, Hayes. Jerry Hayes. You look at the NFL and you look at the NBA. They're always listening to different suggestions by owners, by players. So you think the NBA is in a good place because of that right now? They're doing stuff involved. They're trying different things.

Like they put the NBA Cup in. They did the... The playing tournament. The playing tournament. You have players in your league that are saying top players. Yeah, I think with 1-8 is better. And you've got owners and GMs that are saying it too. And Gary's like, I don't care what people say.

Yes. And that is very clear that when there's a new commissioner and there will be, this league will likely open up to change. But, you know, they've expanded the cities. we're now looking what the NBA is doing. They're following them to Vegas and Seattle. I would even entertain a plan. It's more revenue. More teams stay, you know, in it longer.

Now, granted, the trade deadline would probably, you know, but we look at the trade in the last two years. It's been a judge. I just think you've got to watch what you wish for because, again, the NBA, I think it's been too much change and it does not help. Like the NBA Cup is, who the hell cares? That's not good.

But the plan's fun. But it's, I don't. I'm okay with the plan, but they've reworked the CBA, where there's contract restrictions. Exactly. It's taken away from historically what the NBA is represented. Well, I think the big of the NBA is the players, I mean, granted to Janice for pushing back saying,

no, I'm not, you're not resting me on playing. Yeah, he wants to play. Like in the NBA, that's the bigger problem, is that players find more ways not to play than playing. And now they're going to expand, and there's some, like, there's some really awful teams in the NBA. Look at last night. There were like six or seven games that were like 20-plus.

point four. And now you can have two more brutal teams in the league? Yeah. Like, I don't know. All right, buddy. We'll catch you on a panel tonight and we'll catch you tomorrow on first off. Good scene, everybody. Great scene. Carlo Coli. Ready for golf season? I was ready like a month and a half ago. There's a golf course

near my house that's opening up tomorrow. Oh, come on. What's the weather looking like tomorrow? I mean, it's not even snow and like... You can't golf in this one. I was going to tell you actually, I saw four people in shorts today when I went. That's outrageous behavior. I can't support that. Short guy. Shorts guy is just a different breed.

Should be studied. Short's guy. Whole mentality on life. All right. Good senior, Carlo. Best bets coming up. Overdrive continues on YouTube live. With corporate traveler, you get a dedicated travel expert and 24-7 support.

So business travel feels effortless. Big meetings land. Business grows. With corporate traveler, the booking is just the start. Search corporate traveler today. time in the NPHL Metropolitan Branch. Allison and Stratroy are still going head to head while Orangeville and Six Nations battle for a spot in the finals.

This is playoff hockey. This is the NPHL. All right, Best Betts powered by Fandul. Make your picks and assemble the same game parlay in seconds on the Fandul's Sportsbook app. I'm on the over tonight. Haves Red Wings. Over. You nailed that yesterday, I think. I did.

You ran. Raps blew out the bulls. He won by 30. plus last night. Like that. They're starting to pick it up. Like we'll see what happens. They have two huge wins over the weekend against good teams.

I mean, the next couple of teams they need to be, they're not good. But last night was the first time where they kept their foot on the pedal the whole time. Yes. Like they had a good fourth quarter. Everything went as should be. They're playoffs right around the corner.

You just got to be in that top six, man. Got to be in that top six. You want to avoid the plan. Best Betts, powered by Fanduals, same game parlay is around the sports world available. On the Fanduals Sportsbook, yeah, responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario.

Belspar ongoing. You got spring training. You got hockey. You got basketball. The tournaments off and running. It's a beautiful thing. Great. A good time of year.

We're going to be on the golf course. Yeah, the master's up. Three weeks, max. Three weeks, you think? I'm saying three weeks I'm on the course. I don't know about that. It may not be pretty. Yeah, that could be dog track. It might be chucking.

It could just chunking some shots, but. Really, really ugly. But I'm with you. I hope so. I'm pulling for it. All right, guys. Great seeing you, too. Appreciate you doing this as always.

Carol Wagon, Jonas Sego of the Athletic. 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, 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 4 p.m. We'll chat then. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies. Since retiring from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind, and now I've got my own show. If you're tired of lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week.

Film Never Lies. on all TSN platforms in the iHeartRadio app.