OverDrive - OverDrive - March 25, 2024 - Hour 3

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes and Jason Strudwick for Hour 3 on OverDrive! Edmonton Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch joins to discuss the Oilers' coaching perspective, the opportunity with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's injury and the Stanley Cup Playoffs approach. The guys discuss the Maple Leafs and Flyers' matchup, Scott Laughton playing against Philadelphia, Russell Wilson signing with the Giants and Bryan hands out his FanDuel Best Bets.

Let go from your job without a severance package? You need employmentlawyer.ca. Your employer is legally required to give you as much as 24 months pay when you lose your job. Call Leor Samferu and get what you're owed. Employmentlawyer.ca. Final hour overdrive continues powered by FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Brian Hayes, Jason Strudwick, We got our best bets later in the hour.

Strud or Dud will continue. We got a lot of Canadian teams in action tonight. The Oilers are not one of them and their head coach Chris Knoblack will join us here in a few moments. They got a big one tomorrow with the Stars in town, Strud. That's a big, big game. It's a big game. Listen, the Stars are a really good team.

Obviously the addition of Mikko Rantunen and then they fly to Seattle, play them on Thursday and then they play Calgary on Saturday, a team that's fighting for their lives. So tough stretch here, especially when you consider you don't have your two best players. Yeah, well last knob luck about that. Obviously, you know, ideally you have Leon playing, you have McDavid playing, but they're out, they're injured, it's already been determined, they're not likely to play this week and other guys stepped up over the weekend and you know is is there possibly a silver lining there that Nugent Hopkins finds a different role because he's been playing

up the middle of the ice a little bit before right Strud like they kind of moved him around a little bit he's been on the wing with McDavid a lot but also he's capable of moving up and down the middle of the ice and move Henrique up and and put some more emphasis on a healthy defense for the first time in a long time. It feels like a big, big opportunity for guys that know where they land in the pecking order. When McDavid and Dry Settle return,

everyone's gonna filter back into their position. But I think this can be very beneficial for the Oilers. Yeah, in a weird way, like you'd never not want to have your top two players in. Yeah, of course. But since it's happening, how can it help your team? You highlighted Newt Hopkins. I think he's got nine points in the last four games. Jeff Skinner, who's constantly a guy trying to work his way back into a top six role,

and he's playing well. You know, you've got Henrique in there. Then on the back end, they are healthy for the first time i think even climber example to play so everyone's gonna get a lot more minutes and then get some power play miss you maybe don't normally see when you're not that's a player you want those power play that is to kind of get your feet wet and feel good about yourself yeah and vander kane looks like

he's getting real close doesn't he like when i see happen in their working yeah it's it's tricky i mean i think that he's getting real close, doesn't he? What do you see happening there with Kane? Yeah, it's tricky. I think that he's a great athlete. The challenge is he hasn't been able to do anything really physical as far as getting in shape or staying in shape because of the challenges he had with some injuries and then the subsequent surgeries. So here he is trying to figure out what does that look like and then how does he get back in shape. It's one thing to get into shape where you can go down to Cancun and look decent for your Instagram pictures. It's a whole other to look great

as you're trying to play ready hockey and be battling in maybe the first or second round of the playoffs. And I think that's where that challenge is going to be for Kane to get to that level. And he knows what it feels like, but can he do it in six eight weeks i'm not sure yeah then that's the question like come playoff time the intensity is so much higher and and he's used to it but he's never been in a situation like this very few athletes ever have been where you literally don't have a camp don't play any regular season games and then immediately jump in for a playoff game, that's asking a lot out of an athlete. And especially if you're looking for him to have an impact

or play with dry-cidal, you know, whatever it might be on that second line, third line. It may be, can you give me seven or eight minutes on the fourth line? Can you give me a little bit of energy? Can you pair up with a guy like Corey Perry, run rough shot for a few minutes on five on five and get off the ice? I'm curious how Knoblock would answer that. We'll ask shot for a few game few minutes on five on five and get off the ice

I'm curious how knoblock would answer that we'll ask Chris in a few moments and you know a constant theme on the show today has been about You know what what is more important down the stretch and can you marry the two like? Your points I think have been well made and I would concur with them I think most people would you want to informed. You want to be playing the way you're supposed to be playing. Wins and losses, ideally you win, maybe you lose, whatever, but if you feel good about special teams, about the way your lines match up, the way everyone's playing, health, et cetera, that obviously is ideal come playoff time,

but there are other carrots that are out there that you can go chase. You know, the Leafs are chasing home ice, they're chasing their division, the Jets are chasing the president's trophy, and the Oilers are chasing home ice. And I don't know if it's reasonable for them to catch Vegas anymore, especially with the injuries. They're in Vegas I think in a week or two, they still play Vegas one more time. But as of now, LA would have home ice. And I don't know, I don't know where you stand on that strut. Like, you know, I'm not, does it matter as much at Edmonton?

Like what, what is, where does that rank in terms of priorities? If you're the Oilers, if you're Chris Knobloch, the idea of at least trying to secure home ice in the first round, even if you are that 2C. You know, any of the coaches or players, I wonder if they ever think, if we were first in the league last year and had home ice through the whole playoffs, do we have a Stanley Cup trophy in our house? I truly wonder that. They made it hard on themselves and the Stanley Cup isn't supposed to be easy winning it,

but I often wonder do they think that, man, if we could have finished higher up. So now it is going to be a challenge without Conor and Leon both in their lineup. Doesn't make it impossible. It makes it a challenge though, for sure. Yeah, yeah, definitely does. And again, LA, like they're great at home too this year, right? Like they do not lose games at crypto.com. Is that what it's called?

Crypto.com arena. Who signed off on that? Like Staples was just a great handle stride. You would have played at Staples. Yeah, I scored my first goal there. No, the big guys show up in LA, right? The big guys show up in LA right the big guys show up in LA that's what I was told LA and New York and you're a Ranger alum and you scored your first goal in LA you showed up on the coast that's all that matters yeah Oilers back in action tomorrow night with Dallas in town it's a big big

game tomorrow night and we are uh welcome now by the head coach here's Chris Knoblok how you doing Chris I'm doing well thanks for having me yeah thank you for doing this appreciate it and obviously we are uh... welcome now by the head coach here's chris knoblock a do a chris under wall and from me yet thank you for doing this appreciate it novice we've been discussing your team a lot lately really all season but with connor out with leon out uh... your team responded really well over the weekend with the absence of those two guys your two best players your two leaders

uh... i'm curious how you see it you know is is it possible this is a silver lining for other guys, you know, obviously you'd prefer Connor and Leon to be playing, but you allow other guys to elevate and maybe have a little bit more skin in the game. Could that benefit your team come playoff time, the fact that these guys are out right now and other guys have to step up? Well, absolutely. We're trying to look into as many positives as possible. You never want to lose those two guys in winning games every night. It's more difficult when they're not playing.

But I think in the long run, I think it's good for our team, allows other guys more opportunities to find their game. We've got some guys that probably haven't played as well as we expected or they expected. And here's an excellent opportunity when those two big guys are in line up, just everyone's goal is increased, their ice time is more and it's a lot easier way for them to find their game and contribute more. Chris obviously Conor Leon have a massive presence on that team and specifically on the power play.

So what is the conversation like between you and the other coaches when you now have to figure out a new zone entry or new places for two guys on the power play? It's been so good for so long. Yeah, absolutely. The power play has been run through those two and those two have been calling pretty much the dish or the playmaker on that and Leon with so many power play goals but you know I feel that we've got a lot of power play quality guys and a lot of guys who've been on first units for many years and haven't been really part of

it this year. You know two guys I'm thinking of are like Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner. Those two guys have been good power play guys but have been kind of a really insignificant role with us. So here's their opportunity to, you know, they were on our first unit power play the other night and no, they're not going to replace and be as good as Carl and Leon but they are pretty good power play guys and and it was nice to see those guys you know Henry and other guys been good on the power play he scored the other night so you know it's they're not as good as those other two but they are pretty good quality NHL power play guys here's their opportunity to contribute more in that area. Speaking of you know silver lin silver linings, we were asking, you know, outwardly in terms

of Leon and Connor, the idea of other guys stepping up. What about in terms of what they're going through right now? They're obviously fighting injury by all accounts based on, you know, the reporting and I believe what you've been saying with the media. It doesn't sound like you guys are overly concerned come playoff time that these are injuries you guys, that both players should be able to rehab through and feel good about themselves once they do return.

But the idea of them getting some rest, do you see any benefit to that? Do you think that that could be a boost for both players come playoff time? It all depends on how long those injuries hold them out. You know, if they're held out right up in the middle of the playoffs, you know, for them first game and after a few weeks and it's a playoff game, you know, that's probably not beneficial. Now, do we think we were going to get to that point? No. And you know, I think the rest is good. I think right now it's, you know, difficult for us.

It makes us harder for to win hockey games, but in the long run It's good for our team one those other guys we mentioned before getting more opportunities to Bind their game and really contribute and then Connor and Leon getting a little break and hopefully being well rested for the playoff run You know Leon who definitely benefit from this but probably no more anybody than Connor because of you know how many minutes he plays in the regular season each game and you know he didn't get a break at the in February like Almost everyone else did so, you know, I think would be beneficial for him Chris you you now have eight defensemen that I believe are healthy How do you balance, you know, keeping everyone involved in playing some games? But also trying to get some continuity as you head through the stretch driving into

the playoffs? Yeah, that makes it a little more difficult. Through the playoffs or the season, you always have injuries. Ironically, last year and even this year, we've been very fortunate not to have many injuries on the back end. Right now now we feel that we've got our five guys that we're going to be rotating or not rotating, playing regularly in their position. And then probably just rotating our sixth defenseman who is, you know, one of those three right-handed defensemen. And so it's not like we're disrupting it completely. We've got our pairs and guys are going to be playing regularly together. There are some fluctuation, but not very much.

And I think just with where they're slotted in and guys aren't necessarily moving from left to right and back and forth, it's, um, you know, I don't think it's that much of an adjustment for anybody chatting with Chris Knoblock, head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, Oilers Stars tomorrow night. We were referencing Vander Kane. We've seen some video of him practicing and he's obviously been out all year and he had the injury, he had the surgeries.

Still no clarity necessarily on when he'll be at 100% healthy and prepared to play. But we asked you earlier the idea of guys being injured like a Connor, like a Leon, and how difficult it can be if they miss a few weeks and try to jump on a moving train come playoff time. How much, how larger is the gap if you consider a Vanders scenario? Like if he's a hundred percent ready to go come game one, do you picture yourself being comfortable playing him

and how much can you expect out of him? Well, we all know how good Evander is and what a quality player he is, especially in the playoffs when things are more physical and areas just try and score more difficult, you know, those two things are very important to the playoffsoff scoring and physical play. So, I think Vanders is available, healthy to play. I think he'd be able to help us in some way. Now there's been, you know, a long stretch that he hasn't played and it'll come down to how does he look in practice? How does he, you know, how is he moving?

How is his skill? Those are reps that give the guys confidence and our coaches confidence to put him in. Hopefully in the long run the surgeries and the time off has been good for him and he's able to come and help us play. There's going to be some rust but I would think that down the long run, after a little bit of time, he'd be able to help this team win some hockey games. You know, Chris, your trade dental acquisition, Trent Frederick, is a little bit different situation. He hasn't played with the orders before.

Are there ways you can support him and kind of get him thinking about, you know, how he might play with a certain center or different centers or support him and kind of get him thinking about how he might play with a certain center or different centers or different situations to kind of help him hit the ground a little bit quicker running as you get closer and closer to his time to return? Yeah, it's going to be nice to have Trent back with us and join us. Obviously, we've seen him for a few weeks now, but it'd be nice on the ice.

And I think he's itching to get out there. He's getting closer and closer. He's been on the ice for some very, very light skates on his own. And we're hoping within the next week, or maybe a little bit longer, that he's joining the team and having actual practices. But where he fits in the lineup,

you know, it could be anywhere from the first to the third line playing any position, left wing, center, right wing, and that's something he's been very comfortable doing in the past. I know he's played a lot of times in the center. I was having a conversation with him and he just typically was used to center in the playoffs

through his career, more right wing. This year he's been more left wing. So it's nice having the versatility of a player from a coaching standpoint, being able to move guys up and down and he's able to do that. So exactly where he fits in the lineup time will tell we got to find out exactly how things are going when Leon and Connor are returning you know how are the lines playing like the Nugent Hopkins and pot Coles and then dr. Arbiton line has been so good is it going to continue to play like that and

then it gives us some other options with other lines so I don't know it's it's too early to tell exactly where he's gonna fit in. With Chris Knoblach head coach of the Oilers last year you guys obviously had an incredible stretch run when you took over behind the bench you get all the way to game seven of a cup final I'm curious you know what what your messaging has been this year in terms of drawing off last season do you have done that at all? Do you intend on doing that come the playoffs? Or are you a clean slate guy and you've tried to just push the past behind you and new season, new history, and whatever happens, happens? How do you approach, you know, the history of the team and specifically what happened last year

and apply it to this year? the team and specifically what happened last year and apply it to this year? I think last year we would like to, everyone knows what happened and obviously it was a fairly successful run obviously it wasn't the ultimate but I think the most important thing for our team was to turn the page and move on from last year because of it's going to be a different story. We've got a different team. We're going to have different obstacles. Other teams have been getting better in certain areas. We've got numerous players that weren't with us last year. So, you know, I think the run last year was good. That'll help us in the future just through adversity and being able to

overcome a lot of obstacles because we've got the confidence to know that we can do it. But I don't feel comfortable comparing the last year's team to this year, just because there's so many things that have that have changed. Chris, you know, you're now going into your second playoff run and what did you learn about yourself and how you kind of manage those emotions and those decisions now going to the second what would be a playoff run for you in the NHL? Just trying to sustain the moment as much as possible and use your resources to help make a lot of decisions and a lot of planning goes into it.

Where during those games they get a little stressful and there's a lot riding on certain games whether it's a game seven against Vancouver or game six we're holding on against Dallas so we don't have to go back to Dallas. There's a lot of things. I think just being prepared for those situations and I think the best way to get prepared is just communicate with my players and more importantly even the coaching staff on knowing what the pre-scout is, what the other team's looking to do, what are their strengths, what are we looking to do and staying one ahead of the other team

on possibly any adjustments they're gonna make, how are we gonna react to that? So I think the more conversations you have, and a lot happens in the coaches' room in between games that help you get prepared for those. And then also, and just, you know, just, and I talked about being prepared, but you can, you can also be over prepared and well, maybe not so much on the coaching side of it, but for the players.

I think it's very important for the players to play their best, that they're, they're free and they're not overburdened by with so much information because ultimately it comes down to them being on the ice and being able to play on their instincts and you know if you're over coaching it makes it harder for the players to play their best. Have you had any players at any point in your career NHL, American League, OHL, whatever actually push back on you on that front and say I don't need to know that or you know you're it's overload at this point like if you have you had any experiences like that? No I don't think I've ever had a player say um no this

is too much because I think it may not you may not respond well to the coach the player like like I'm that interested in this and this doesn't mean very much to me. I just know that I used to see the players and it's, it's paralysis by analysis. Um, where is it? Just so much information. They just, so something, you know, I think it's, it's good for the players to feel good and just play on their instincts and not be overburdened.

I think it's important that the players know exactly some tendencies of the other team. You know, I've seen other coaches put together playbooks on just all information on other players and I think it's good to know the team and who you're playing but you get down to the details on a defenseman doesn't pivot well on the right opposed to his left side and he likes to shoot this spot. And it's just, it's, yeah, he might do it sometimes. And I know I remember seeing a coaching junior and I remember seeing a, from an opposing team.

And I like, I was looking at this information from each of our players I was like I don't even know that information about my players. I coached them all year. So I'm not even sure any of this is true and here you are giving this to your players so I just think it's some there are their information is good to give the players but you know you got to be careful how much you're giving it to them. Yeah and especially in the OHL I mean guys are reading that stuff in the O like there's no chance they're reading all that information no chance. Well and and I guess I'll get you out of here with the with a question in line with

that thinking in terms of you know I've asked coaches before you know how do you juggle staying in the moment but also being aware that your players might be scoreboard watching or might realize okay okay, there's different goals in mind and you guys are currently in a race. You still win the division, certainly home ice, you know, you're right there with LA, you're five points back at Vegas, you still play Vegas again. How do you juggle that Chris in terms of, I'm sure you'd prefer home ice, I'm sure you'd prefer to win your division, I'm sure you'd prefer home ice, I'm sure you'd prefer to win your division,

why wouldn't you? But at the same time, making sure that your players and your team are just, you know, in the moment and prepared for the game tomorrow night, how do you juggle the two? Like the goal in mind in terms of the big picture, but also the goal in mind in terms of

what's right in front of you? I don't know, that's a difficult one. I know everyone's watching and they should be watching because then they're interested and they actually know what's going on. But if it gets distracting on your play, then it's an issue. And it's just as a coach, you just have to remind players of what we are doing and we can only control what we can control and we necessarily can't control what whose LA is playing and necessarily the the

The opposition that LA is playing if they put in their backup goalie or not so ultimately it just comes down to what we're doing and Putting ourselves in the best position to win a game, but also building our game. So it's better So when we are in the playoffs, we are playing well. Well, it's a big one tomorrow night. It's gonna be a fun game. Enjoy it. Good luck tomorrow night. Good luck down the stretch. I really appreciate you doing this. Thank you, Chris. Thanks for having me, guys. You got it. There's Chris Knobloch. Two guys from Alberta on at the same time strut.

That's just what Ontario want. It's what they need. Exactly. In their lives. double injection. Yeah, you know, he's been a good coach for the others Very calm, you know, I appreciate that as a player sometimes when a coach gets worked up on the bench I think it unsettles the players, you know, and so he's calm Reiterating what's important. Hey guys, just keep doing this. I think that's that's his way a steady hand and reassurance This is how we do it. This is how we do it. Yeah. Well, I've been so impressed and at times surprised by how composed he is. Knoblock,

like big wins, big losses, big news, and he is just even keel all the time, you know, in terms of, and like very detailed in terms of his answers, you know, analytical, but also like even the way he, he just answered that last question. He's like, I'm not sure. You know, I'm not sure how you handle that because I kind of want my players to feel like they've, like that they're, they're, they're invested in it. You know what I mean?

But at the same time, you know, there's only so much I can, I can do. You gotta trust these are pro athletes. Like you were, you were one stride. Like coaches are not gotta trust these are pro athletes. Like you were one, Strud. Like coaches are not calling you, hey, are you reading the report at home? Did you have your pregame nap? Like these are grown men.

They gotta do it themselves. There's only so much a coach can do, you know, to put you on the right path. Like the players have gotta take care of a lot of that themselves in terms of what they're thinking, what they're tracking, what they're doing with their free time.

And I found that kind of interesting that he didn't try to come up with some cliched BS answer. He's like, honestly, like, I kind of like that they're tracking what's up with LA, but we have to understand there's nothing we can do about what's going on with LA. We gotta play our game, try to win games and see what happens when the dust settles. Yeah.

I think that's what I like about him. He's fairly honest with his answers, right? He just says what he thinks and what he knows. Yeah. I think as a player, I always wanted the truth, right? Good, bad, don't lie to me. Just tell me the truth. And I think that was whether it was for me, for the team or whatever's going on, and I

feel like he does that. But don't forget, they have a pretty strong leadership group in there that has been through it and they're pushing each other. Hey guys, we're getting rest, we're getting sleep, we're doing whatever, we're gonna have a practice, whatever it is. So they understand what's required to get that far. Now they just gotta, you know, at some point hopefully get over the edge. Absolutely. All right, we got Leafs Flyers tonight. We'll get to that. We got a big one in Winnipeg capitals jets tonight The Habs are in Buffalo or no Ottawa's in Buffalo. The Habs are playing st Louis tonight

So a bunch of big games in terms of Canadian content and wild card chase and st Louis is in a really good spot They want six in a row and they get the Habs tonight and the Habs obviously trying to hold on to that second wild card tonight So we'll continue to touch on that. We'll get to our best bets. We'll get to some more strutter done We got a lot cooking this hour. Overdrive continues, DSN 1050 and on DSN too. Overdrive continues powered by Fandu. We'll get to our best bets later in the hour.

Nick's in a few more strutter duds here. The oven is still piping hot. Everyone's ready to rock. We'll get to a few more here. And tonight really it's about returns, right? Or playing your former team. You got Jimmy Butler and the Warriors down in Miami. And I'm curious like, cause the heat have been awful, right? Like they've been terrible. And since Butler demanded out,

I think they're going to, I think he's going to hear it tonight. Like I think they'll be on them. Um, cause he got to an NBA finals with them and he played very well, but he didn't win and then he demanded out the way he went out. I don't think went over too well for people in Miami. So I think Butler is going to hear it tonight. Dylan Cousins back in Buffalo tonight.

I don't see why they would boo him. Do you have any reason to boo Dylan Cousins if you're an Ottawa Senator tonight or a Buffalo Sabre fan tonight? I don't think so. I mean, I think he gets the baby on tank him. I mean he wasn't the problem there you know. He was trying to get you know he's a young player trying to find his game and honestly didn't ask for a trade. He was in a trade. He hope it works out for both teams. I think it has a chance to although I've said that the short term

so far it's helping Ottawa way more than it's helping the Sabres. Big time. Big time. I mean, isn't this just terrifying if you're a Sabre fan that Cousins is going to do what Reinhardt did and O'Reilly and, you know, he's going to, maybe not Jack Eichel, I don't think he's going to get to that level, but he's just going to be a great number two center and he's going to put up like 65, 70 points a year and he's going to get his bite back and throw hits and be yeah exactly i mean it's just a nightmare if you're buffalo saber fan and if you're on what you love because now you have you know two players that

are big the play like that nokechuk is is different animals and i'm not suggesting cousins at that level but he doesn't have to be because you have the ringleader now you have someone else doing it on another line or even at maybe at times we'll play together but you understand the point there's more than one guy and it's nothing worse when you're by yourself now pretty looks like well there's another guy doing it there maybe someone else finds it and then you got another piece here and also you have multiple guys are being you

know engaging on the other team and and you know they'll just cliche in the book being hard to play against absolutely and uh... auto and buffalo tonight you get the flyers in town plan a lease in scotland going up against his only team the only team he knows it is in philly for a long time and he struggled but he's really had his issues here uh... peru bay i don't think the first impression is gone over well there's moved them up and down the lineup a little bit he's gonna be on the

third line likely on the wing with Domi and Robertson tonight. But it's interesting, he's in town and he's staying in a hotel and I guess the flyers are staying in his hotel and he's like a door or two down from where Tortorello was last night and here's what John Tortorello had to say at the morning skate about that experience at the hotel today. I saw staff throughout, it... just in the hotel so they're in the same hotel uh... got a room pretty close to torts

uh... lines that is a total of four years and he's next to me i think it was it's staying your almost I don't even want to see you. Yeah, so that was a lot in first and then Tortorella. You would have had experiences like that when you got dealt in the league where you had to stay in a hotel for a long time, Strud? Yeah, and that's not awful. It's not the best, but it's not awful.

I think it'd be better when you moved into what they call short-term living, where you lived there from month to month and maybe have a sitting room because the hotel you can just lay in your bed. That's it. But I've played, I remember that it's the first time you get traded or you signed somewhere else. That's really hard. After you do it once, it gets easier and easier. But I think this is going to be a really hard game for him, especially at home. He's maybe not feeling he's playing his best right now. He wants to show that he made a mistake. He wants to show Leaves to do it right. I think this game could go one of two ways for him.

Go really well or it could be a really tough one for him. It's really tough. Play in your former team because your whole team is, everyone's going to be chirping you in warm up, hey, let's play on whatever, like all your little inside jokes and stuff. And then you actually get to it and you've got to play. It's tough, man. I remember the first time I was, I learned just whatever, I was with them for a short time, but when I went from Vancouver to Chicago, I was so nervous and I actually, one of my first shifts, I

passed it to my old D partner. No. It was tape to tape though. It was on the tape and I came off and the coach is like, are you okay now? I'm like, yes. And then I kind of found my groove. But I wasn't ready. I didn't know how hard it's gonna be and I wasn't ready for it emotionally. And no one told me, right? It's really hard, man.

So, Lee's fans, take it easy on the big guy tonight. Yeah, I know, man. I feel for him because he's a local guy. You know, all he knows is Philly. And then he gets dealt and he comes home, which is a really, is an experience that can go one of two ways, really. It can be a lightning rod of positivity,

and you hit the ground running, and the whole city just rallies around you. And that would be true of any hometown kid, a kid from Edmonton that gets traded there, he takes all the same thing. But the other road is so difficult to get out from underneath and that's the one he's on right now where he's he's played a number of games to listen he doesn't have a points strut like no points you had a fight yeah you

know a couple of hits here there he's moving up and down the lineup I honestly I think the way he's playing like he's closing in on a possible healthy scratch like I don't think that's outlandish to suggest like Holmberg is a healthy tonight Borube loves Holmberg you know why I'm not quite certain like he's a big body that he feels is predictable but he's you know he doesn't have a ton of skill he's moved in up and up and down the lineup as well but Borube has loved loved Holmberg since day one. Day one of camp, he's been a Holmberg guy.

Him making him a healthy scratch tonight, that would be uncomfortable for him. And Barube, like, cause they want Lawton, they acquired Lawton, they've got him on term. He's here for another year. They paid a premium to get him. They realized they got him for a reason. You gotta prop him up.

There's also the GM element to this too, right? You don't wanna embarrass the GM. Cause Tree Living put his neck on the line for the guy. He went out and acquired him. So it's, you know, like everything, I'm sure, feels like he's just dragging uphill and he's just trying to arrive and do something. And tonight, to your point,

it's like that same fork in the road, but it's so clear because it's against your former former team and the media guys are gonna be looking for you And you're gonna have to talk after the game because people in Philly want to talk to you and people in Toronto And you gotta have a game to I'm pulling for the guy like I hope he has a game tonight You don't have to score you don't have to fight just play well like good You know play 12 minutes tonight and be be a positive player on the team get a win and then move on with your career you know every every season some afternoon naps are very hard very hard and you party wants you not to nap and just go right to the game others hope

you just fall asleep and you sleep for 12 hours and miss the game like it's really tough and i i think tonight could be it could could be a turning point for him. I played at home and I was much older than he is. I've obviously been through a lot more than him just because of the age, but it's difficult. There's a lot of people pulling in different directions. A lot of people want your attention. You don't want to not just fail your friends and family. You don't want to fail the fans. So I hope he has a good game tonight because this could be the start, right? This could get him going. We know there's a better player than he's shown inside there and at least need him.

Yeah, they need him. Exactly. Because he's a bottom six guy and that is where they've got to figure it out, right? You asked MJ earlier today, like what are the things they got to clean up or figure out over the next 12 games? One of them is who is on your third line? And the belief was when they acquired Laden, he would be one of those guys. Yeah. Whether he's playing center or on the left wing, he was going to be one of those guys that can help you find some identity on that line. And if he's not

going to do it, then it puts more pressure on the other guys. You know, like Max Domi can't carry a line. Like Max isn't that kind of player. He can contribute to a line, but, and he's elevated his game since the trade deadline. I think he's been somewhat inspired by Lawton arriving because I think he looked at that as a bit of a challenge. You know, like, okay, Lawton's here to take my ice or take my role. I'm not doing that.

And I think he's played much better. Robertson's a guy. He's just trying to find his footing still in the league, you know, and what happens if Patioretty returns? What do you do with Jarncrok? Pontus Holmberg is a guy that the coach likes. Like Scott Lawton is in a very unique situation, man. He's battling for minutes and a spot on this team. It's tricky and I'm sure that they've done this, but I always felt it was nice when, and not that I played a lot of forward, but you sit down and talk to a 2D man or 3-4 and say, this is what we want you to do. And I'm sure they've done it. But let's look at some stats we can get to.

Can we get to X number of hits, time in zone, shots, maybe takeaways? Just don't even talk about goals. Don't even think about it. But this is what we want from you guys. And let's just see if we can get those targets. And then individually, how are you going to contribute to the line? Well, I'm going to use my speed, I'm going to get on the four check, whatever it is. And then it just simplifies the game and then you can meet some of those targets.

Then the byproduct of doing all that right is hopefully some goals or some offensive production which they all probably are dying to do. So I asked MJ about the identity of the line. I truly believe that you need to have an identity and this is what we do. This is what we're trying to accomplish. Now if you don't get it done, then you got a bit of a problem. But I still think it's fresh enough for him and his line mates to get this going and get that identity going. It's very important. Barube spoke of it like day one. and he speaks on his experience in St. Louis where it's,

you know, I need a third line, I can trust a third line with identity and they have been seeking it out all season and it does not appear to be any closer today than it was four months ago, you know, and to your point, what is, are you based on speed, are you based on size, are you based on physicality, are you based on defensive awareness, what are you? Like, because you based on physicality? Are you based on defensive awareness? What are you because you kind of got to pick a lane? You know the other guys the fourth line is simply energy ever they know what they are Yeah, they're not gonna play a ton of minutes. Don't get scored on and get off the ice

You know, it's kind of the nature of every fourth line in the league some are better than others, but it's the fourth line I mean, what do you you can't you got to be reasonable in terms of what you're expecting And the top two lines are gonna be in terms of what you're expecting. And the top two lines are gonna be expected to do what they're supposed to do. That third line is, it's really tricky, man, because you look at what Florida's got, you look at what Tampa's got,

like they got Londell down there in Florida, you've got Nick Paul, Bjork Strand, maybe Yanni Gore down in Tampa. Like they've got a third line, both Cooper and Maurice, that they feel very confident in. Broomett doesn't have that right now. They can change momentum. Yeah they can. So you get scored on you don't I mean I get it you want to put Matthews out or Tavares or Nylander whatever line but you want a bit of put another line out there say guys we need a shift and you just say

that as a coach and every player knows what that means that means we need to play in their zone and we got to turn this momentum. And that's what you're looking for. He's talking about identity. He's like, guys, we need a shift. And we've seen teams have that. And you go back to Yanni Gord there before he was traded away, that third line was a monster.

Absolute monster for those guys. And hey, we need a shift. Don't worry, we got it. It's not Kuturov. And not that he can't do it. It's not Stamko same thing point But we're putting these guys out because they we know they can get it going and they know their job So there's ownership in that as a player, but there's responsibility as well because I have to deliver

They're giving me this chance to many start you a couple games like tonight Do you start that third line just to say you know? Hey, yeah this we need a shift from you guys You send set the tone. Immediately. Immediately. I know when you're tasked with setting the tone, that's a real serious thing because you, not that you win or lose the game in the first shift, but you definitely get the boys off to the good start.

Then you come back and they're like, great shift, great shift. You're all fired up. Then if you have a good shift, you put them out again. You skip a line, who cares? Get him going again. That's the coaching battle that coaches have, you put him out again, you know, with it, even skip a line, who cares? Right. Get him going again. And that's the coaching battle that coaches have trying to figure out how to get someone going without them dragging your team down if they are in fact struggling. Absolutely.

All right, Strud or Dud, let's rapid fire a few of these. Yes. Strud or Dud, Quinn Hughes is the most valuable player to his team on any Canadian team today. The most valuable player playing on a Canadian team. Gwynne Hughes. Yeah, that's a strut. I mean this guy, he's doing everything. When he's on the ice, it's just incredible. When he's not, it's not quite the same. So talented, so much fun to watch. Yeah, I...

Just off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone who's even close. It's amazing, because I'm a strut too. Like obviously Leon who's not playing right now or McDavid or you think Matthews or maybe you look at Brady Kachuk in their pursuit or Suzuki or whatever. But I think it's Hughes. Like the guys playing 30 minutes a night, the reason they're in the hunt is because of him. Like that's why they are even in conversation to make the playoffs because of Quinn Hughes.

He's been that good, he's that dominant. When he's on the ice, they are an elite team. Like it says something about players. There's very few players where you can say that. Like if that guy's on the ice, you're just, no one can stop you. Like you're going to be tipping the ice and you're gonna be moving in the right direction.

And when he's off the ice, you're terrified. And that's the story with Hughes and the Canucks. Like when he's not on the ice you can you can just you know Rick Tauke it's like how do I get through these minutes man how do I get through minutes until I can get him back on the ice yeah it's it's it is amazing and and there's so many great players in the country right now like so many with like between Edwin Winnipeg like Connor Halibuch would be in this conversation. Dustin Wolfs having a great year in Calgary and obviously he's a big part of what they're doing pushing towards the playoffs. Yet I think it's a strut as well. I think Quinn Hughes is on an island in the country in terms of value right now. You know it could change a week from

that could change next year of course and if everyone's healthy maybe it's a bit of a different story but that's how well he's playing and that's how much they need him because of the situation they're currently in. Alright Strud, let me test your Blue Jays stance on this okay Strud or Dodd the Blue Jays will only side both Bichette and Vladi long-term if they make the playoffs the only way Bichette and Guerrero will be Blue Jays long-term is if the team makes the playoffs this year. I'm gonna to say that to Doug. I think that, you know, what if they have a couple injuries and it really hurts their

team and they don't sort of just decide to not make the playoffs, then they're sorry, you're not signing them both because of that. I think that's too strong a statement to make when there's so many wild cards available. And that is something that could happen. I mean, let's say you get 84, 85 wins you just missed, but your rotation took a hit down the stretch and things got carried away. It's not like it would be a Bichette or Vlade scene.

And I guess I would dud it too. I think it's much more likely that one, if not both of them, are going to move. And if it's a disaster I think everything's on the table for a colossal change in Toronto like if they finish with 74 wins again there may be complete turnover like top to bottom they just need to reset the whole vision which would include these two players or at least one of them in my opinion but I think you bring up a good point why it's a dud is that they're both in their prime They're both going to be very good players presuming health for the next five six seven years

Which means even if you have a different vision if you have a different executive team Whatever it is whatever your excuse or whatever your explanation is to ask why it went wrong Or what you need to do to retool on the fly These two can be a part of whatever that program is because of who they are, what they mean to the organization. Both, well, Bo drafted, developed, Vladdy signed, developed,

both have been here for a decade, both have played on the big club for five, six, seven years and been big, big pieces of the marketing campaign. If they're gonna win, it's because of these two guys. Like a lot of it still ties to the two of them. And I think that's, you know, the we're gonna have Ross Atkins on tomorrow Ross is going to join us at 420. So we have the GM of the Blue Jays coming on. We haven't caught up with Ross in a long time. So Ross will be on the show tomorrow. But you you look at the American League East it is it has taken hits like the Yankees have taken hits the rotation the biggest Soto's not

there anymore Baltimore didn't really improve much over the offseason the Red Sox I think are better but I'll believe it when I see it that some of these young guys are gonna pounce and Bregman's gonna fit in well there's a pathway for the Jays they gotta have a good start, gotta stay healthy, bullpen's gotta be way better, but there's a pathway here and if everything breaks their way, fans are fickle, man. Like that's the nature of pro sports, right? Everyone's bent out of shape and everything's awful and it's dark and I understand it, I get it. It was terrible last year, horrible last year, but you know, we'll see what comes of it in the future.

We got some breaking news here Adam Schefter tweeting out this is perfect for you Stride you're gonna love to hear this. Oh no. Adam Schefter reporting that the New York football Giants and Russell Wilson have agreed on a one-year deal worth upwards of 21 million dollars., okay So are you okay with Russ taking his talents to New York and being a New York giant? I almost passed out. I thought you were gonna say was Aaron Rodgers You really don't like the idea Rodgers being you would rather Russell Wilson over on Rodgers So let me explain my okay, please I feel that Aaron brings a lot of other things to a team that can be a distraction not that Russell Russell Wilson's a picnic, but that's my concern. That's what happens. So it's a one-year deal

and they have, they just got Jameis Winston on a two-year deal. So it's clear they're probably going to try to find someone to groom later in the draft. For a three-guy, Tommy Cutlet's might be in trouble. So I like it because it's short-term but they have someone to hold the fort for now while they look for the next guy. Let's hope it's Archie Manning. Another 15 years of a Manning dynasty in New York would be, I wouldn't be able to sleep, I'd be so excited. That would just be a phenomenal setup. But I think you raise a very good point because the Giants pick third. This would suggest to me they're not taking Sanders.

Like they're not taking Chedur or Sanders. Like maybe they trade back, maybe they're preparing for that, like someone wants to move up and take another quarterback, because most people think Kam Ward's going first, out of Miami, likely Tennessee's gonna take him. Maybe Sanders goes too. Maybe he goes to Cleveland with the second pick.

Maybe he's not gonna be on the board, maybe the Giants know that. But they've kind of shown their hand here I would think because you just signed Winston last week or whatever was a couple weeks ago And now you've committed to Russ and it's real money I think that is in there who cares who's playing quarterback if I'm the Giants I'm tanking again for archmanic Oh, that's I'm with you I'm going on 17 if I have to and I'm hoping that again for Arch Manic. Like that, I'm with you. I'm going 0-17 if I have to, and I'm hoping that he declares for the draft,

comes out and you take him immediately. Obviously he's going first overall, it'd be shocking if he didn't. If he doesn't go first overall, that means someone else came out of nowhere that is so amazing that again, it's worth probably tanking for. But this also means Pittsburgh is likely moved on and the Steelers are waiting for Rogers

And I think that's gonna happen. So but you know, Aaron's gonna slow play it and he's you know, he'll be on a beach somewhere Like it'll be so unnecessary the way he's gonna build it up, but Russell Wilson. There you go. Let's ride Let's ride New York football Giants Come back with our best bets powered by FanDuel overdrive continues, TSN 1050N on TSN2. All right, today's best bets are powered by FanDuel. Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the FanDuel Sportsbook app.

I've got a Leaf parlay pan plus money, not a ton of plus money, but plus money. Leaf's money line, Austin Matthews any time goal score tonight, plus 136. It'd be plus money, the Leafs have gotta bounce back, they weren't happy with themselves in Nashville. Philly is leaking serious oil, gotta get a win tonight, you're chasing the division before you head out

to California, and Matthews has been, he's been really good recently, and this just feels like one of those games, I could see him scoring first, I could see an early and often Matthews game tonight so there's your SGP for the game tonight today's best bets powered by Fandall live same game parlays Are now available for every NHL game on the Fandall sportsbook app. Please play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario

All right strutty little Giants news on the way out. Russell Wilson, Jamis Winston and Tommy DeVito is your quarterback room in New York. Good luck with that. Well, we don't want luck. We want to lose. We're going for Archie. None of those guys will probably be on the team in two years. That's very true. So there you go.

You're doing it two years. You try to have someone to try to make it look good, competitive, but we're really trying to lose. I love it. Come on dignified tank for Manning Yeah, dignified tank very classy very very classy Alright strut good seeing you man. We'll do it again later in the week. Yeah, can't wait for talk to you guys then Thanks for having there is Jason Strudwick. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out We appreciate it everyone for tuning in today TV radio podcast web. We appreciate that. We of here enjoy your evenings enjoy the games tonight we're back tomorrow at 4 p.m. we'll chat then

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