OverDrive - OverDrive - March 23, 2026 - Hour 2 - Craig Button

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button joins to discuss the Maple Leafs' organizational future, Keith Pelley's role for the team and Connor McDavid's perspective with the Oilers. They also dive into John Daly falling down a hill, Travis Kelce's contract extension with the Chiefs and Bryan hands out his Best Bets for FanDuel's MLB Futures Day.

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 2 Overdrive continues, powered by Fanduel. Brian Haseo, Dr. Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClellan, Best Betts later in the hour.

MLB Futures Day on the Fandul Sportsbook app. Opening week, opening day, and a couple of days, cannot wait for that. Leaves back in action tomorrow night in Boston. And the Leaves are just plugging away to the finish line. Is that what you call it plugging away? I don't know how to spin it. It's a very strange viewing experience where the games just obviously don't really matter. And there's no kids up that you're watching, you know, hoping to get a good experience.

That's the thing, Brian. You're watching them. You kind of know what's going to happen. It's just a matter of time when they're going to get caved in and the score gets lost. But it's almost like that's the way the games were when they did matter. So it's not a lot different, to be honest with you. It feels different because the hope and excitement is kind of diminished. It is diminished.

It's gone. But it's just been so long. It's been so long. It's been since the last preseason game they played where we're like, man, what the hell is this? And it's gone on and on and on the whole season. And I was talking to my buddy during the break, and he was just asking questions about the lease. And I was like, I just feel like there's so many elements that are wrong right now. Like, if you were going to just do a list and drink some beers and you wanted to play, keep them or not keep them like you do with trading cards,

if you went through the roster of players, how many guys would you say got to keep them? Oh, man, what's the total on that? Well, over under four and a half? Yeah, I was going to say four and a half. Yeah, depending on. on what you believe. That's the biggest thing. Jamie, that's in a down year,

so obviously you're going to have a negative thought towards every certain amount of player. But the idea of the bounce back of multiple, like I'm talking 10 players, like the amount of players that need bounce back, is that reasonable, is that a reasonable expectation to have that many players bounce back? And you're like, oh, okay, that guy's back to normal. Like Jake McCabe, can he bounce back next?

year and so yeah he's like dialed in brandon carlo can he bounce back where you're like that's the brandon carlo we got do you know how many yeah different guys that need to do that are there's but sorry to interrupt oh they can if they're slotted properly the problem is is you're asking those guys that maybe they're their third pairing guys when it's all said and done and you're saying well play in the second pairing or hey you've got a you've got a you've got a partner with a top pairing guy well how realistic is it to fix that problem like you're going to get elite players That's right. They're not finding.

You're going to bring in like 70 elite players to say, okay, now everybody's slotted properly. It's just not happening. No, but I'm coming back to your original comment, oh, and Brian, this, like, if this was the last six games, I understood, this has been going on for 18. It's the Olympic break. Well, okay, yeah. Even prior to that, but definitely the Olympic break. Right.

Because they won the last three going into the Olympic Games. Yes, there were six points out at that point. So you're going, okay, let's see what you got coming back from the Olympics. and there was, you know, talk, I think we talked about it, as to they can go one way or the other. If you come out into a heater out of the Olympic break, you can put yourself, you know, doing what Ottawa's doing, you know, giving yourself a chance, kicking right there on the outside.

And they went the other way. They went eight without a loss, wasn't, or without a win, right? They never win in regulation, and they're legitimately one of the two or three worst teams in the league. Now, you can say on paper they're better than that, sure. But I'm sure in Vancouver, they'd say on paper, we thought we were better than this. And in Chicago and Calgary. Winnipeg and you name it.

You are what your record says you are. That's the old Bill Parcell's statement. And what's happening now, everyone's emotional. Everyone, I think, is obviously on edge, you know, reviewing what's going on here. And there's not a ton of fans that are in the corner of Craig Barubei or Bradtree Living. Understandably so. When it goes this bad, the coach is going to take heat. You know, and I agreed with the general reaction when he called.

out Joseph Wall on Friday. It was kind of a Randy Carlisle, James Reimer, okay, just okay. You know, it's like, well, you kind of got caved and destroyed the whole game, but sure, maybe you should have stopped one of the four or five breakaways that the team gave up. But on Saturday, I actually see it the

other way from, and I think we're losing sense here a little bit, collectively, maybe the Leaf fan base, because Easton has had an okay season as a rookie. That's been great. It's just been okay. He said ups and downs, in and out of the lineup, and he did not come into this league, to be a superstar. You've got to be reasonable

with what you can expect. I think the hope is he keeps growing, get his feet wet, and in a few years he can be an impact player. What that is, I don't know, second-liner, third-liner, but a good player, good pro. I see the same kind of status or expectation that I had coming into the league. He's expected to be a difference

maker and a real good player in the National Hockey League. That would be his expectation. Not a superstar, but an impact player. Yes. Yes, and there's going to be ups and downs. You had ups and downs your rookie year. A lot of guys do. five years ups and downs. Exactly. And, you know, after Saturday, again, it just feels like there's a, there's a bit of a leadership void with this team right now because Matthews literally isn't there. You know, Tavares is in this weird world where he's not the captain anymore and he doesn't get paid what he used to. And Riley, it just kind of feels like he wants to get the hell out of here. And so Cowan speaks. And he came out and he said, you know, the first goal was deflating. So, you know, take that for what it's worth. And then naturally the media goes to Craig Baruba and said, hey, Easton Cowan just said, he. thought that the team was deflated after giving up the first goal.

Here's what Barube had to say in response to that. I don't know why they would be deflated after we gave up, you know, as a power play goal. You know, we broke a stick. We're trying to get a stick. I mean, they scored a goal. But big deal. We played a good first period. I mean, I don't know.

I don't understand that thought process that you don't follow it up and be ready to go in the second and know that they're going to make a push and, you know, we don't respond well enough. So I don't really understand this deflated stuff, to be honest with you. I think it's a cop-out. That's the mental toughness of the team he's describing there. And how many times this year have you talked about him saying lack of response? Like, team toughness mentally tough? How does a goal like that deflate you one goal? He's talked about that all year. I totally agree. And I get it's the easy thing to poke at Perube and he's got to own a lot of other stuff. And I'm glad he said that because you could stop Easton Cowan in his tracks and say,

forget that garbage that you just brought to the table tonight and don't ever say it again. Maybe the response you've got to say is, and you're responsible for your own comments, you can say whatever the hell you want. We always talk about the players we're expecting a little bit more. If you really feel like it was deflating, you know what? Go ahead and come with the heat. But maybe just look inwards towards your teammates and say what kind of response did we have? Why was it deflating to us?

why is our mentality that it's deflating. That comes to the bigger problem. Their team toughness and their ability to bounce back and kind of reset things. It's almost been invisible this year. It's been an issue all year. I think Barube is right. I also think there's another element to this that is lost in the shuffle because, again, everyone's on edge. Right.

Through the test of time in pro sports, coaches do. not want to hear from rookies very often. That's what I was going to say. They don't want to hear a rookie speak. 21 years old or 20 years old. That's just a fact. And he's going to say after the first goal we're deflated, he's going to go, you've got 12 games of experience.

What the hell do you know about deflation or not? That's kind of, I'm sorry, that's where I was thinking right away. I'm like, for Easton County to speak for the team in that particular situation, it's a coach is tough. They're not going to feel good about that. That's just the truth, especially an old school coach. Yes. Here's our TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button joining us on the Maple Toyota hotline.

Craig, where do you stand on the perceived disconnect, the coach, the room, how Craig Barube maybe handles this down the stretch? Well, first, before I get to any of that, I'm tipping my cap. I'm tipping my cap to Jeff O'Neill. Because the way he's dressed today, that's got to be a tribute to Chuck. Norris. Yes. There you knock it off.

Exactly. Got the same tanning bed and everything. Yeah. Well done, Mr. O'Neill. Well done. And you look fabulous, Jeff. I know you had a well-deserved little rest, but you look great. So where does it come?

Here's what happens when your team is garbage. And I'm talking about on the standings and, you know, I'm not talking about his people. Your team struggled, right? Like, tell me what team that's been really bad. like functions well. Like, tell me. No, you're right.

It doesn't happen. You talk about a rookie, like what rookie gets to have a say, right? Well, tell me what bad team has ever functioned well. Yeah, it doesn't happen. The players don't care. The fans don't care.

Like, that's what happens with bad teams. You're right. And that's precisely what's happening here. And it's not exclusive to hockey. Every single sport's the same thing. And, you know, like, The position Baroube's in where I'm sure he's been around the game for 40 years. Like Craig's, he knows the way the things work.

And I'm sure he's kind of aware of what is possibly waiting for him in five or six weeks. How, you know, if you're the GM where now he is under, I would say, a very similar microscope and probably on the same precarious ground right now. And I'm speaking of Brad Tree Living. But how often are the GM and the coach talking about? trying to get to the finish line with some class here, trying to keep everything on the rails. You know, like how can they handle this behind the scenes? Well, what you do behind the scenes is after every game

and when you're on the road, you go, hey, let's go have a beer and let's talk about how bad it's been. Like, honestly, like, let's stop kidding ourselves here. Brad Trey Living knows that he's under the gun, that everybody's there talking about who might be the new GM, that Keith Pelley might be looking at a new thing. Jonas Siegel writes an article today about Austin Matthews, who's maybe being the guy that could be leaving.

You don't think Keith Pelly is not reading this? Like, let's get right to the heart of the matter here. This is a dysfunctional team right now. And it's a dysfunctional team where nobody knows what the future is. Not Austin Matthews, not Keith Pelley, not Craig Barubby, not Brad Trillabing. So, yeah, you're trying to get to the end. You're trying to kind of console one another. You're trying to say, hey, geez, what went wrong over a beer or two

or whatever number you want to stop at? but this is what happens when your team just falls, I don't want to say falls apart because that's not the right way to put it. It's just, you look and you go, okay, what are we going to hang our hat on? What are the Toronto Mapley's going to hang their hat on over the next month? Nothing. What? Well, yeah.

Exactly right, Jeff. Like, there is nothing to hang your hat on. So you're sitting there waiting for the shoe to drop. And how that shoe drops, that's where Craig Brube is at. That's where Brett. truly is that and if it comes with hey no we want we're going to we're going to have you guys do it tell us what you want to do but at the end of it all there's just so much uncertainty surrounding this team starting at the top well that's where i was going to go craig everyone seems to think okay

it's foregone conclusion x y and z is going to happen but i i think what you need to do is obviously and it's been a slow painful death here we were talking about it like you know i get understand it's the last five or six games or whatever, stuff like that, but it's been a lot longer, and now you're, you're hamaging right to the end of the season. But you have to figure out what's going to happen at the end of the season, whether new president, new manager, new coach, as you mentioned, players that are either putting their hand up or not putting their hand up, expiring contracts. That's why I don't think it's just decision X has to happen and that's going to fix everything. To me, you've got to figure out.

out how this is all going to fit together. And you do have, unfortunately, the luxury of some time at the end of the season because you're not going to be playing. So you can take a month to do a forensic audit of what is the plan moving forward? Because, again, we're talking, whether it's Craig Barubi just thinks he's going to get fired, what if the team changes? And the team moving forward is a younger team that works hard and straight line. Maybe Craig Barubi is the coach for that type of that type of team.

team that they're going to build. So I don't think anything's a foregone conclusion until you have the answers of anything moving forward. Like, what would you start with? What do you make of, you know, it's a long question, apologize, but what would you start with? Like, where do you think you would go? No, it's not a long question, Jamie.

I mean, you're laying out the scenario. For me, it's real simple. It starts with Keith Pelly. Like, what, Keith Pelley needs a month at the end of the regular season, do a forensic audit? Like, that would only happen if he's been living. in Spain and not doing a bloody thing watching the trial Maple Leafs this year.

Keith Pelley's done the forensic audit, and he knows exactly what's going on. So to me, season ends, it's incumbent upon Keith Pelley to right then and there, whatever the day after the season ends, to establish what the future is going to look like. That's where it starts and ends. But nothing can continue past that point

until he declares what the future is going to look like with the people. Nothing else. Not the players, not the contracts. Until he comes in and says, this is what the future is going to look like, nothing else can happen. We can speculate. We can talk about what should happen. What could go first? He's the one.

He's the one that's going to put the key in the ignition, and he's the one that's going to put it into drive. And let me just tell you this. Reverse ain't going to work. Craig, how much confidence do you have? I think he's a really smart guy. His track record and positions around the globe have established that. But how much confidence do you have that he understands the dynamics of a hockey organization when he's never been a part of one?

Yes, he's been around the game and the television side and behind the scenes. But how does he know what to do and what to pull the trigger on as far as what this organization is and what it needs? Well, that's what he should be doing now. That's what he should have been. That's what he, the work he should be doing now is talking to people that know more than him, that understand, okay, here's what you should be looking at, guiding him. I mean, you talk about smart people. Smart people don't have all the answers, but smart people know where to go and look for the answers.

And so I think Keith is a smart guy. And there's lots of resources there. He's got lots of resources that he can turn to. I'm talking in within the league, right? and he can talk to people. Keith's got lots of contacts in the sporting world. But, and I don't think Keith is going to try to come out and try to portray himself as, oh, I'm Lou Lamarillo here.

I know what to do. Or even from that point of view, Tim LeWiki, who had been part of running a sports organization before he came to Toronto. I think that Keith is intelligent and will look to others to help guide him for such an important decision. With Craig Button. So, Craig, we play a game called Roll Play Level of Concern on this show where, you know, I'm sure you're aware

of it. I think you played it with us before. I'm going to ask you to play the role of Connor McDavid. You're playing the role of Connor McDavid. What is your level of concern in terms of what's happening in Edmonton right now? Well, I think the level of concern is probably 11 out of 10.

Yeah. Because he's wired to win. He's wired to win. And I think, listen, I mean, we all know in sports and we talk about it. We bring it back to Toronto. The players know what they're dealing with in Toronto. The players know what they're dealing with in Edmonton.

And the top players, and a player Connor now, he's been through it. He's seen, okay, this is what we can do when we're functioning at our best. This is what our team looks like. He's seen a lot of good players leave the Edmonton Oilers. And I think that Connor knows that two years ago, their team was pretty bloody good. He knows last year probably a lot of things went right and certainly when you have 97 and 29 carrying it he looks at the team and goes this team isn't very good

starting in goal starting on the blue line starting with the depth of the forwards and that's not on Connor and that's not on the coach management has done a really really poor job in terms of what they did post-2020s final till now they let too many good players go out the door and Connor McDavid knows it

Yeah, it's amazing. Like he, you know, he signs that extension, which I think relatively speaking is probably the greatest discount in maybe sports history. I mean, the fact that he said, let's just roll it over, keep me at 12.5. And just an incredible gesture towards the organization. Now, he's got two more years left. So it doesn't, if it's not going to work this year, he still got two years for them to figure it out in Edmonton.

But the idea of them being in the position they're in, where he acknowledges they're lucky to be in the division they're in, which they are, you know, and they're going to make the playoffs, how much can be expected from him? I mean, that's the thing. He's going to try. He's going to try. You know he's going to show up.

You know he's going to be great in the playoffs. I fully expect that. I just don't know if dry settle is even going to be available to play with them. And that's one more hit. Like if Drysadle can't go, like this team is already depleted based on the previous two years, you take 29 off that roster. Like, I guess the question I'm getting to is do they scare anybody? Like those two alone scared anyone they would play.

Florida included, even though Florida beat them. Does Edmonton scare Vegas, Anaheim, Utah, do they scare anybody in the playoffs? Well, the Pacific Division, they do. I don't think like Vegas or Anaheim or, and don't think Edmonton making the playoffs is a foregone conclusion because Nashville's right on their heels. like I'm talking about like in terms of wild card and everything do I think they'll fall out

it'd be really difficult for them to fall out right but in the Pacific division Brian Jamie and Jeff I mean he called it a pillow fight like I mean I mean so and when they play hey listen I saw and we've seen them play some really good games and we've seen them do it so when you have 97 and 29 can you do it yeah you can do it yes there's no question that you can find a way to do it. But all that being said, you start to look at those two guys. They've shown it time and time again that give on an opening. And sometimes it might be a slight opening like this year, but I don't know how you can

bet against them based on the division, based on the division they are in. And what I would say for the Edmonton Oilers is their best spot is to stay in the division do not become a wildcard team right yeah yeah you move over to the central that is a completely different situation let me ask you guys this though at some point let me ask you guys finish first right

yeah finishing first you want to play Utah if you're Edmonton I don't think finishing first is in their best interest get healthy try to find a game get dry settle healthy two or three is where I'd want to be if I was Edmonton if I was trying to handicap it I don't like to have that luxury

Craig of picking and choosing to be on You just got to play. Exactly. I said handicapped. I know they don't have the luxury, but if I was handicapped and I would say that might be your path. Let me ask you guys this. I've just been thinking about this last couple of days. At what point do organizations stop catering to just one situation or one player in that?

Like, you know, Hayes, you made a good point. I think you and I were on the show last week or maybe it was the week before saying, like, if Austin Matthews wants to be a part of the organization moving forward, He will decide, right, like with his contract status and all of that. Like, to me, at some point, you create a culture, you create the organization. These players have given a lot of years and commitment to their organization. I'm saying all these star players. But at some point, you see organization bending over backwards, doing all these things,

afraid to lose these players. Like, at some point, they're going to move on, whether they just get older, age out, or whatever. Like, you've got to build something where you're not afraid to, like, lose these players and you're catering to like all this guy's coach or this guy's best with the timeline too right got to trade this pick got to trade that because we got to win right now like at some point don't you just say like you play we'll take care of this you worry about this like to me sometimes there's i feel like again there's just too much control given to some some of these players where it's like you're so worried about it instead of just going

you go play and worry about yourself and we'll worry about what we're you know putting players around you are putting a situation around you. Like, that's the only one thing I say. Like, you know, it's knoblock. Everyone, knoblock's on the hot seat. Well, you know, he coached him to the finals the last couple years. You know what? I look at the, if Edmonton really wants to change things, you know who I'd bring in?

Darryl Sutter. The problem is that Daryl Sutter probably might hurt somebody's feelings and you'd have a problem with something because, like, Daryl will say or do something, but he knows how to win. That guy's a winner. Like, that's the one thing. Like, I, that's, you want to get crazy. That's what you do.

You do something like that. But I don't, they're not doing it now, but I hear what you're saying. Where do you stand on that, Craig? Like the power of players and wielding that power. Well, the players, the players have power. And there's nothing wrong with them having power. And like, understanding that, you know, you have good players and they're part of the organization, you ask a lot of them.

But at the same time, they want to know, they want to know that they have a chance to win. I'll get to the Daryl Sutter thing in a minute too, but like, you know, Jamie, you were in Calgary and I, you know, our coach had done a lot of good work in Calgary and, you know, I ended up being able to come in there and for whatever, but my soul, I shouldn't say my sole goal was, but it was really important to try to show the players and Jerome McGillow being at the top of that list that we were serious about winning. Because if you don't show the players that you're serious about winning, why will they be serious about winning? Why are they going to dig in and commit and sacrifice?

And so I think when I use the word collaborate, you're not saying, hey, would you make this trade, would you make that trade? You've got to show the players and now that bond becomes deeper and tighter and stronger. And so I think that that's where it's at. Now, there's going to become times when, you know you have to move on. In Philadelphia, Eric Lindross, and I heard Ed Snyder, the owner, talk about, hey, this was in 2000. A lot of people were saying, Eric Lindross, what are we going to do?

And he said, let's not forget. We had a lot of success. We came out of a dark time. He helped us build a new arena. But maybe it is time to move on. So the owner understood that it was time to move on and you have to do that. And so I don't think it's just about, you know, catering to the players. It's about partnering in a way that says, hey, you can come.

on me to help you be able to have success and i'm going to count on you to dig in and be part of it as it relates to darrell sutter and i thought that's really interesting james because in l.A. when he took over in 2012 Terry murray was the coach and terry murray was a damn good coach yeah and dean lombardi told me he said we had a structure in place defensively and we had had a team and we needed a little bit something different we need a little bit more of a of a direct approach a direct push that's what darrell brings and Darrell's knowledge of the game is outstanding. He's an outstanding coach.

Hall of Famer in my view in every regard. But you can say we're going to let go of the coach? It's always who are you bringing in to replace them? And I would hate to hear what anybody says about Chris Knoblock in Edmonton if they had only got to the second round or the third round the last two years. This is the guy that got him to the finals. Two years in a row. Nobody had a problem with him last year or the year before when they were in the finals.

But right now, it's, like you said, Brian brought up a great point. When people are on edge, you're just looking for things, right? You're looking for, and they're certainly on edge in Ebenton. So it's, oh, it's the coach. And at least they're in the playoffs. You know, I mean, that's the crazy thing. Like, they have the luxury of at least making the playoffs, or it seems like that's going to be the case.

Yeah. I would argue the GM is taking as many hits or close to it, too. Like, Stan Bowman, like the Tristan Jari thing has just exploded. Like, it's just, it was. They're lucky to have Ingram. Exactly. Exactly. Craig, I'll get you out of here on a question that is going to be asked a lot over the next four or five weeks, and that's the heart pursuit. Kuturav versus the field. Which one are you taken?

Well, I mean, right now Kuturoff will get my number one vote. You know, Connor McDavid has been great. McKinnon has been great. I'm not so sure Zach Werenstki doesn't get my second place vote. He has been phenomenal in Columbus. I don't think enough people are talking about how valuable Zach Werenski has been. And, you know, Rick Bonas, who's only coach for a short period of time, you know, probably won't be the coach of the year. But he should be up for it. Yeah, no kidding, man.

Yeah, I agree with you, Jeff. But Zach Werenstke has been phenomenal in there, just phenomenal for that team in Columbus. Any love for Matthew Schaefer at five, maybe? Yeah, I think you have to put some love for Matthew. I mean, what Matthew is doing is really special. And I think the Islanders know it. And the guy that's won a lot, the guy that stands behind the bench, I think that he knows how valuable Matthew Schaefer has been to that team.

It's been beyond impressive. So good at 18 years old. Crazy good. All right, Craig. We'll leave it there. Great catching up with you. Did you guys ever hear the funny story? I got to tell you.

No, go ahead. Do you guys ever hear the funny story with his dad, Todd? Todd, a wonderful guy. I told Shannon Hogan the other day who hosts the Islander show. But last year, and you all know this, okay? So Matthew and his dad, Todd, were in the studio with James doing a pre-draft show. And Steve Dryden was grilling Matthew on the questions he was getting at the combine. Now, you can only picture Steve, right, doing, asking him all the questions.

He's not where he was doing everything. Well, I mean, he was drilling him, right? Matthew's polite and everything, and finally Todd says to Steve and a couple of us are standing there. He goes, you know what? I don't understand. He goes, not one person ever asked Matthew how his eyesight was.

Because when do you want to know how he didn't see the goalpost and running into it? That's a great one at the World Juniors. Yeah, he's on fire. Apparently his dad is just a beauty. Duffy was telling us some stories. Awesome.

Well, he's down there a lot and he'll be there hopefully in the playoffs if the Islanders can hold on. They're in a wildcard spot right now. All right. Thanks, Craig. We'll do it again soon. Okay, thanks, you guys. There is, Craig Button. TSN, Director of Scouting, joining us from the Maple Toyota Hotline. Red Tag Day's here with the all-electric Toyota BZ. It was from zero to 100 in just 5.1 seconds and charges from 10 to 80% in just 30 minutes dropped by Maple Toyota today.

Yeah, if you look at, like, Werenski's an interesting one. Like, he's the favorite to win the Norris. and I think he'll probably win it, but obviously McCar's in there. If they get in, he should get some love. If they get in, he should get some love. That's why I was trying to, like, if we could probably define the top four,

I mean. Man, this Cochirav is just on fire right now, though. Like that record, like, what was it, four points in a row, five games, like four points in a game, five games in a row. Something ridiculous. Dude, the guy's disgusting, man. He is so gross, how good he is.

The thing about him is he's the exact opposite of McKinnon and McDavid. He slows the game down. He doesn't speed it up. Yeah. Like his game management is ridiculous. Yeah. It's like Mario almost. Like the way like he just, he creates open ice and like the angles he uses is just crazy.

He's going to go down as like a top. I don't know. There's some just absolute legends like Jagger, Lemieux, Gretzky, like top five powerplay player of all time, maybe top two. He's just that good on the power play. Well, he's up to 40 goals, Kutrov.

So he's now legitimately chasing the rocket. Caulfield's at 43. McKinnon's at 45. McKinand's been there for a while. And he's got 119 points, three up on McDavid, five up on McKinnon. I don't see him relinquishing that. Obviously he could.

And obviously McDavid and McKinnock could go on an insane heater, would not shock anyone. But I just kind of expect Kutra of not a cruise home. That would be his third in a row, wouldn't it? Art Ross? Yeah. He's definitely a runner. I think if he could win three in a row.

And if he gets a heart, that'll be two hearts for him. He's, believe he got one of the cons, mites. I can't remember. Was it him point? Fasolevsky? I can't remember. But, yeah, just an incredible run he's on. Yeah, he's just lighting the league on fire.

All right, best bets still to come later in the hour. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on the TSN out. 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. If Belfib TV is now streaming, is it still TV? Is it still TV? If there's no TV box. If I can stream all my favorite channels and pause and record shows, that's TV, right? A new era of 5 TV. It's streaming, but it's still TV. Well, glad that's settled.

Bell, connection is everything. All right, best bets later in the hour. I was reading Ken Rosenthal had an article in the athletic today about Max Scherzer. and how he thinks he's cracked the code on getting his thumb prepared for the season and making sure his body's in the proper shape. So on heat. I guess he picked up playing the piano, and he thinks that's what gets him game ready is he plays the piano.

What does that have anything to do? Tickling the ivory. I guess tickling the ivories, man. It gets the thumb moving, and I guess this cat will show up at a bar or something and say, get me on the piano, start playing songs and basically go Top Gun, like him and whoever he's with. I think Joseph Wohl is a concert pianist or something. Really? Really?

Yeah. I've heard that, and I believe it's like on his Instagram or he's done it for fans or whatever. He's unbelievable piano player. I've heard that. I haven't seen it. It is really cool. What's the ruling in a room, like a clubhouse or a drive? restroom. Some guy requests a piano.

That's too much. It's too far. My King Daddy Topper piano story. It was one of the fancy hotels like shutters or something in Santa Monica. And I was having some sea tails in there, and that stinky Billy Joel got on the piano. No way. The real guy? Yeah, like actually Billy Joel. Wow.

I'm like, that's pretty sick, man. The piano man. Like literally The piano man Got on the piano Wow That would be really cool I mean those are the kind of stories

You hear about And you just You don't stumble across But that's why You have to be at like a five-star hotel Yeah Billy's not showing up at You know the Holiday Inn off the 401

Exactly There is look at Joseph Wall I know I've seen him do that in videos before Apparently he's not playing chopsticks Like he's a good player He's playing man Yeah I don't know

that has the same effect as guitar guy. No, guitar guy. I have a buddy who's in a band and he's like, I always talked about the instruments. He's like, why would I haul a drum set down to the beach to try and meet girls? He's like, you bring a guitar and he goes, you play and sing three chords and away you go. Like that's... You can, you can, exactly, you can travel with the guitar. You can't bring a piano around.

Keyboard. And a keyboard is the worst-looking instrument. Remember, was it burden? Cummings that was playing the Great Cup man I got a guy starts singing in O Canada I'm like this guy's got a keyboard for Toys Ruz it was unbelievable Hayes's head almost blew right off

his body we talked for an hour about it the next day yes it was wild man it was at the dome I couldn't believe it I was like here we go great cup let's do this and Burton Cummins comes out with his keyboard set on like I think it had you know how you can get like

the Like you can add a beat to the back. The drum beat. I think he had a drum beat going with him. That's sick. Yeah, it was crazy. And he was belting that. Listen, Burton Cummins is an all-time great Canadian.

Clearly, a great musician. But that was, to me, not exactly the equivalent of, you know, Whitney Houston with the flyover at the Super Bowl. Like, I don't think the boys were jacked to kick the ball in the air after Burton got out there. But, yeah, the keyboard just doesn't fly. Like, I don't think. it's a great icebreaker. I don't get the impression. The ladies are like, yeah, let's

get the keyboard going. But guitar guy, that's a completely different story. Always gets it done. Yeah, always does. Always gets it done. So you see Travis Kelsey signed his deal in Kansas City today. Three-year deal? I thought that was a little long. It's a classic NFL

deal. It's the guarantees are, it's like a $12 million guarantee this year with $3 million worth of incentives. And if he's done, he's done. There's not going to be anything on the box. It's a three-year deal to manipulate the cap a little bit. The NFL contracts are always a little bit strange. So this is his last year?

I would think so. I thought last year was his last year. That was the thing. And he said he's coming back for this year. He did not say I'm coming back for three more years in Kansas City. That's not happening. Although I thought I saw someone post online, like they've revealed their honeymoon plans because I think they're getting married this summer.

Are they not? I think him and Taylor Swift are getting married to his summer. summer and they're like you talk about an obnoxious honeymoon like it's going from like different cities and different continents they're going on a two or three week honeymoon all over the world basically it's kind of cool i mean she's they'll take her jet they're not you know lining no i i get it they're not you know middle seating it over to grease but who has who has a multi-city honeymoon dude who does that much money that's who yes i don't you can see you just sit down and literally point at a map and say,

we'll start here, go there, two days here. Like, that's a different stratosphere. Sometimes it's half the battle to get there. I know we went halfway, we went to Fiji. It was halfway around the world. Yeah, see, that's it, man.

That's a 15, 16-hour flights. That was long. That's not, I mean, I'm sure it's beautiful there, and it's awesome once you make it. They had the good water. Yeah, they got good. You're a water guy, too, so I'm sure it was right up your alley.

No, it was good. I mean, And we stayed on a golf course. I actually golfed. It was pretty. It was a beautiful golf course. Wow. Look at you.

That's all we had to do to get you on the course was fly halfway around the world. So yeah, Travis Kelsey officially resigned. And we'll see what happens with the rest of the NFL offseason. The draft rapidly approaching. We're getting into one of the great, you know, month, month and a half segments of the sporting calendar. Oh, yeah. It's go time, you know. Like, again, the Masters is in like, they're already all throughout the third.

tournament, obviously on TSN, CBS. They're just, it's masters commercials, every other commercial. The best commercials, just with those birds chirping. Did you send me a video of Jerry Player flying? I wasn't real. I was lying in bed, and I get a message from Hayes. And all the headline is, is Jerry Player jumps out of an airplane and entered some sporting building or something.

And I just literally, I was about to fall asleep, and I'm like, I can't go to bed with that thought in my head, and that can't be real. I was laughing so hard. It was not, there was someone that did it. It was for the live event in South Africa. That's what it was. Yeah. Jerry Player jumps out of airplane for live events. Yes.

And it wasn't him, but what made it so funny is it's believable that he would try to do something like that. Of course. I'm like, this guy does not stop. Like he would land and then immediately do a thousand sit-ups. And then hit a five iron out of the green and just take his shirt off. Yeah, that's what I thought it was such a great tweet. I figured you'd know it wasn't actually him. But what makes it so great is you're like,

that actually could be him. He would try to do something like that. Did you see Big John Daly in the desert hitting a shot? Look at this. I thought this was Jerry Player. Flying into a live of that. I'm like, God, damn. On to the first T-Block.

Exactly what he would. do them like i i that's what i was laughing so hard i'm like i want you to see this clip though play it joe this is john daly falling into the desert this weekend playing in a golf tournament this guy hits a shot and then disappears into the desert here he is on the side of the hill and then he disappears into the desert wow is he wearing sandals too or you know is he who oh there's that guy goes after he's rolling down the hill that guy's flying down there that is just how outrageous. Only John Daly. Yeah, take a drop, dude.

Take a drop. Like, what are you thinking, JD? Like, figure it out, man. But, yeah, he'll be in Augustine. I guess that famous Hooters is gone in Augustus, so John Daly's got a set up shop somewhere else. Because for the last... Dude, he sets up shop,

you've seen it right across the street. Yeah, it's gone. It's out. He'll still put his Winnebago out there, dude, and he's going somewhere. Yeah, he's doing... I don't remember where they said he's going. He's somewhere set up because it's like a landmark in Augusta. You go down. If you're lucky enough to have tickets, you go check out Augustine the Masters,

and then you've got to go say hi to Daly. And you're right, he's selling merch. So he'll be there. It's not going to be at the Hooters anymore. I think it went bankrupt. I don't know that for sure, but something happened to the one in Augusta. Anyway, Best Buds coming up. It's Futures Day on Fandul for the MLB season.

We've got a couple of futures bets. We'll sprinkle in, look back in a busy afternoon. The noon overdrive continues up 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. If BelfiB TV is now streaming, is it still TV? Is it still TV if there's no TV box? If I can stream all my favorite channels and pause and record shows, that's TV, right? A new era of 5 TV. It's streaming, but it's still TV. Well, glad that's settled. Bell, connection is everything.

Something to chew on is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a site, and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. All right, Best Betts powered by Fandole, make your picks and assemble a same game parlor and seconds on the Fandole sports book. Yeah, Futures Day on Fando for MLB. I'm in the mood to bet some overs here.

All right. Our boy Griff, who joined us last hour, Griff, very, very bullish on Dillon C's. Staying healthy, getting better, and throwing a lot of strike. The total on Fando right now is 200.5 strikeouts. Griff said maybe 220 plus. His career high, I believe, is 224. I think he shows up, mixes in well with Pete Walker. Again, it's a guy that stays healthy.

He's going to give you 32, 33 starts. I'm on the over. Total strikeouts for Dylan Cs. I'm going over 29 and a half home runs from Blatty. I'm on board with that. And I'm on the over 87.5 total wins for the Js. That continues to be bet down. I'm going over.

I know they're in a very difficult division. I understand that. They've got to prove that they've got what it takes. But they start with a good rotation. It's only going to get better. We'll see when you savage returns. Beaver's going to pitch at some point this year. I think they'll be active at the trade deadline.

A lot of consistency within the organization. You know, it's interesting. Like we were talking about it earlier, let me finish this up. Best Bet's Powered by Fanduel. Every bet on baseball is available on the Fandul Sportsbook app and MLB Fandual Futures Day on the Fandual Sportsbook app. Please Play Responsibly 19 Plus, physically located in Ontario.

Someone wrote me earlier, because we're talking a lot about Keith Pelley and his role and all this. Yeah. That Pelly, you know, is overlooking the Leaves, the Raptors, Toronto, C, the Argos, the buildings, the condos, the restaurants. Like, Mark Shapiro is just focused. He's a baseball guy focusing on baseball, you know, and obviously he's involved. Well, guess which one is realistic? Just baseball. Baseball, exactly.

Or just one sport. You know, and I understand with MLSC, you know, there was a, there was a, there was, a president's CEO and the Raptors won in 2019. So obviously it's not like you can't have success with the president and CEO, but at that point it was Maasai who was the guy running

the operation and the suit was doing the suit things. You know, wasn't checking in on day-to-day business. And, you know, like that's where it's going to be interesting. Keith Pelley's a local guy. He's a local guy. He hasn't been on the job for long. But I can't

imagine, you know, his His life in the city is that great right now in terms of people look at them. I'm like, what are you going to do with this team? What are you going to do with the Leafs? I think they've got to hire a president. Like they've never replaced Brendan Shanahan. And to me, that's a really smart hockey voice out of the room. Yeah, but they said when they fired them, they just wanted to eliminate the position.

Okay. Well, let's see how that. Now they realize they want to fill the position? That's just stupid. Well, sometimes you can, you know, listen, they. They reflect and say that that might have been amiss. So you can change that. This is a team that has unlimited resources financially.

You can add smart people into the room that don't count against the cap. That's the first thing I would do is be adding smart people. They've got to be willing to spend, though. Like, you know, Pelley came in. He cut a lot. He cut like 10% of the workforce at MLSC. Got rid of Shanahan, got rid of Maasai. You know, they cut money.

They did. So it's, and it's not Pellie. like Pellie's he's got a boss you know he's got a board and really it's going to come down to Rogers like they're the ones that need to spend because they do it with the Blue Jays and it's not that they're cheap

with these other teams they're not they do spend clearly but you know they're they it does feel like they're not as cutting edge as maybe they were a few years ago and you could argue a few years ago maybe it was more bloated and there were too many people and that's possible

too there's probably a middle ground that needs to be found. Exactly. But you can't cut corners and when in doubt, yeah, flash the cash to get the best people in. Agreed. You know? Yeah. And listen, the cap's going up a lot.

Like, you can kind of feel it in the league where the revenue and everyone's projecting 120 million, 125 million in a few years. What does that mean for Buffalo, Columbus, Winnipeg, you know, Nashville, like, are those

teams going to spend to it? Yeah, is there going to be a bigger gap between teams? I guarantee there'll be a bunch of teams, Brian, that do not, they say we're not, there's already some teams. They're like, we're not going to that number. Right. So advantage Maple Leafs, because you're going to go to that number. Unless if you manage that number properly, because there'll be some good teams that say,

our internal caps are $100 million and they'll still be able to ice a hell of a team. Absolutely. It's what you do with that extra $20 million that could potentially be different. different than organization X, Y, or Z. That's right. That's the difference. That's right. And Craig, I think, he made his point very clear, and I think it's accurate.

Like, right after the season, yes, you have time to implement your plan. But if you're going to bring in new people, you've got to do it immediately. Like, you can't wait a month or two and then be like, oh, okay, we're going to move. Like, that's what Chanahan did with Dubas, and it completely jammed the organization. Yeah. Complete waited. And then was like, well, we're going to check. chat it out and then, you know.

The one luxury they have, Brian, right now is they know where they are in the standing and stuff so they can be proactive with it right now. Yes. If you're making a change, you know you've got to make it. Make it quick and go find the right people quickly. You know, make sure you get them.

But because you've got to hammer this off season. If you're planning on retooling and turning it around quickly, you've got to have whoever it is, whether it's the incumbent guys or the new people, they've got to implement that plan and attack it. Talk to your players, figure out what you're doing,

know what you're doing at the draft, knowing what you're doing in free agency, and they've got to have a grand slam off season. Yeah. Like there's no other way to put it. It has to happen. All right, good stuff. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out today.

We appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in today, TV, radio, podcast, web, and of course up on YouTube live, every show, streaming live on TSN's YouTube channel. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy the games tonight. We're back tomorrow at.

Fellas, get outside and get some sun. You both look terrible. 4 p.m. We'll chat then. IHeart Radio is throwing it back. 20s, the decade. To the days of huge hits and unforgettable albums. A non-stop stream of the biggest and best.

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