OverDrive - OverDrive - November 27, 2025 - Hour 1 - Mike Johnson

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Dave Feschuk for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Maple Leafs' victory against the Blue Jackets, Auston Matthews' performance in his return and his lack of shooting, Max Domi possibly being a healthy scratch, Craig Berube's style of coaching for the team, the Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease and his role in the lineup. TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joins to discuss the Maple Leafs' win against the Blue Jackets and the guys discuss Brandon Ingram's game-winner against the Pacers and their winning stretch.

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This hour of overdrive is powered by Fanduil. Fanduil, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go, Overdrive, off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, up on TSN3 this afternoon. Streaming live on YouTube live on TSN's YouTube channel. Brian Haseo, Doug Jeff O'Neill, we got Dave Feschuk in here today of the Toronto Star. Dave. I think the one thing that you would agree

that you love about team sports fest is that you win and you lose as a team there's no finger pointing there is no finger pointing whatever happens you win and lose as a team A ZB Well I don't tend to agree to those terms

Often enough And why is that Well because we had we put you on the spot. Dave, I'm sure you're aware of what's been going on. Billy Zane over here, the old dog, he jumped off the Titanic, got himself onto a lifeboat, came over to Haysenbro, and we're happy to have him.

We claim them off waivers, and we said, as an initiation, we want you to make the first pick. Right. Right? You're the tie break, because I was saying, hey, Packers, all day. Packers, Packers, Packers, I love Jordan, love at Ford Field, I love this defense. I think Micah Parsons on Thanksgiving

can't be stopped. I'm on the Packers. Al's brother started referencing moon readings and different things about weather patterns on Thanksgiving and Jared Goff. Which really threw me off. Which really threw you off. So we put him on the spot. Said you're the newest member. We want you to be a part of this team. Who do you like?

And he sided with the Lions. He sided with Al's brother. And we're on the Lions right now. And Packers are currently in a very good spot. Not only to win the game, but certainly cover the number. And we'll track that and we'll see how it plays out. I should have known as a former athlete because the one thing I never factored in, the home team dealing with Thanksgiving. Right.

Like, it's honestly a factor. You've got relatives. You've got nonsense to deal with that the Packers don't have to deal with. They're in a hotel. They're focused. There's no distractions. I think that's worth something, and I never factored it in. And I'm happy to go back on waivers.

No, no, no, no, no. Don't want to do it. I'll surf the wave. Is that what this is? Oh, this guy's threatening me. He's like, you blew the one pick, now you're gone again. Well, wasn't that the terms of the agreement? Wasn't that the HBO minus O?

Kind of a big opportunity for him. It's like Max Stomie on the top line. Yeah. You know, we're going to give you one chance. You haven't played well. We're going to really give you an opportunity here to prove your worth. And now it looks like, based on practice today, Domi may be a healthy scratch tomorrow night.

Wow. It comes at you. quick. Even after a win, the Leafs got a win last night. Leaves got themselves a win last night. So that turnover cost him. I mean, it was a pretty serious one. I didn't think he had a great night. He hasn't had a great season. Like, if you're going to sit Michelli and Joshua, we don't know definitively that he won't be in the lineup tomorrow night. We don't know that. And I said that, I said that yesterday, Brian, it's like when you sit those two veteran guys, it's putting everybody on notice. So if you think you're going to go out there and just

kind of wheel around and I'm in the lineup. Maybe he's out of the lineup. Who knows? Well, Willie had a day off today but we'll play tomorrow. So he was off for maintenance and it would look and appear as if Domey was a placeholder for him today. Because I cannot

imagine Easton Cowan's coming out of the lineup tomorrow. The way he played last night. That goal he scored last night was a beauty man. That was a great goal. A great goal. And he needed that because he's had a lot of opportunities. He had a lot of chances. He hasn't been able to close. And, you know, when Werensky scored, I thought, man, A, that sucks for Joseph Walker, because he was phenomenal last night.

And it just felt typical with the way the season has played out. Like, of course they're going to find a, they're going to lose. You know, of course they're going to lose. They've been thoroughly outplayed in the third period. Of course, they're going to lose. It's Columbus, not some juggernaut team. You're not in Colorado. But, of course, in that building, they're going to find a way to lose.

And I think it was fitting Easton Cowan finds a way to tie it. And then Willie in overtime. And Willie and Barouba, these two are yelling at each other every single game. It is kind of every game. Every game. And I give the coach credit because he's not just saying, well, he's going to be here longer than me. I'm just going to lay off it. He stays after him.

But as far as the game last night, Brian, I just wonder what they got next in Washington because it seemed like kind of battling and sticking with it. And let's be real here. The goaltender won the hockey game. Yeah. Like the goaltender was great. But it seemed like kind of sticking with it. it was almost like they found it so exhausting.

Do you know what I mean? It was like, okay, we'll do it your way, we'll play tight, we'll finish checks, we'll get it in, get it out. Can they do that tomorrow? Can they stick with it again? Because quite honestly, I think the goaltender stole them one. Hey, a win's a win. You're playing on the road, a team that usually owns you in their home building

and the Columbus Blue Jackets for some odd reason. But we'll see what they got tomorrow night because it's not like it was a work of art. No, it wasn't. I thought the officiating in the first period was horrendous. It was pathetic. It was awful, and the Leafs got jobbed a lot. And they survived. And then the second period was kind of a low event period.

And the third period is where the Leafs have, you know, seemingly played their best hockey this year. And it just didn't happen. Like Columbus had chance after chance after chance, which is puzzling for a veteran team that's desperate to play that poorly in the third period. But ultimately, like we said yesterday, you just have to find two points to breathe. That's what they had to do last night Credit Joseph Wall And I guess Troy Statcher said today He's been here for four games

And Wall's been the best player all four Yeah Like that's kind of a message to your best players Like maybe someone else could be the best player tomorrow Yeah he's been the best player in all four But that was only a second win of the season last night Right and I looked it up Like that was only the second game all year guys

Where they've allowed one goal against And they haven't had a shut up Whereas last year they did that like 17 times You know Stolar's and Wall were the guy stealing games plenty of times last year and it just hasn't happened as much this year Stollers had the one against the Rangers

where he allowed one goal against where you had the mask knocked off and stopped the one time from J.T. Miller and he was a big hero. But outside of last night in that game, you haven't had goaltenders kind of shining and saying, I'll put you on my back and they need that. Let's face it. They need it. Because that was a big part of who they were last year. Yeah. The way

they continue to defend and break down And, again, the offense, like Willie, I didn't have a great night, but he ends up with two points. You know, primary assist on the Cowan goal and then scores of beauty in overtime. And, you know, Matthews returned, and I thought he looked okay. My sense was he was kind of uncomfortable in traffic last night. You know, like that's my concern with him, like how comfortable he's going to be with body contact. You know, he put himself in a couple of spots where he made plays along the boards where he got hit.

And I think that's a good sign considering the way he may have got injured with his door of. hit or what have you but he was okay wasn't great but it's his first game back it is his first game back the one thing that concerns me is the shot it seems like the shot and i know that he threw a couple at the net we're off balance it seems like the shot doesn't have the mustard it's like one of five has the mustard that it used to which is weird i i don't recall i mean i can recall having multiple shoulder surgeries and talking to my dad in the phone and he was like, you know, since shoulder surgery, there's something off your shot, but this guy hasn't had shoulder surgery, which I don't know what the hell's

wrong with him or what the injury is, but it just seems like the shot doesn't have the overpower, and I know it's his first game back, but I got big expectations for that guy. Like, I have the superstar expectations where it's like, I don't care how much time you've missed. I kind of expect you to be dominant and be the best player on the ice. You should be. He's capable of it. I know.

And I don't really want to pick a part of win too much, but you're just looking for it's like, where did that guy go? Where is that guy? Is he going to reappear? Well, that's the question. Is he capable of it anymore, right? That's my question because I'm with you, O, like, one of the things I really look forward to about my job was going to Leif's practice

in the early days of the Matthews era and watching this kid shoot pucks. Oh, yeah. It was something to behold, like just watching him practice coming in over the blue line and snap in one of those curl and drag, you know, absolute lasers. And I'd never seen anybody do that before. And it was like, like, you know, I was lucky enough to see Tiger Woods Swinger Golf Club in his prime. I saw Vince Carter dunk in his prime.

Like, I put Matthews shooting those pucks in his prime right up there with those guys in terms of just an athletic skill that I'd never seen before. And guess what? You don't see it anymore. Yeah. Well, and listen, there's some, I think there's, a combination of two things that are happening right now on the fan base when discussing him how much of it is just simply his body's failing him you know like the stats we've had

that i think it was jonas might have been johnny that referenced his his shot like the velocity on a shot being down like year over year over year his his average you know velocity on whatever shot he's getting off is way down how much of it is simply it's just the body's failing him and it doesn't matter what's going on around him best team in the league worst team in the league, this coach, that coach, it just can't return. And how much of it is the coaching change? How much of it is Burubay is here now, asking them to penalty kill, asking them to defend, asking them to play a little heavier, asking them to do different things and putting them

in different spots where that explosive offense just isn't capable under the Barube system? Because I don't think either is a coincidence. I think it's probably a combination of Group A and Group B. I mean, the injuries are clear. Like last year he was hurt. he's been hurt. He's coming off an injury. But the year before Baroube

arrived, the guy scored 69 goals. And now Baroube's here, and it's different. So again, I think that's something that has to be considered. I'm curious how he feels about that, where things are, where things are going. That said, William Neelander has had the two best years of his

career, you could argue offensively, with Barubei now. You know, the guys scored 40 and whatever last year, 90 points. And maybe that's because Willie's like, I'm just not doing that. I'm going to keep doing willy things, and you and I can yell at each other every single game. I'm not buying into any kind of connection there. Like, you think that you, when you have the right, or not the right, but if you want,

you can stay out in the power play for two minutes every time. You get every offensive zone face off. You get, I don't know. But you look at it, though, you look at, like, the way Keith used to shield him. And you, like, he wouldn't, he'd never killed penalties, ever. And if you look at who he was up against, as a result, he got out there against second, third, deep pairings more. got out there against second, third lines more. Baroubae has challenged him since he arrives, saying you're killing penalties,

and if McDavid's out there, you're out there. If Barkav's out there, you're out there. He's put him in a position where it's like you've got to play against the best guys. Okay. Which he should be expected to do great things. To go up to the player and say, look, do we have to, like, find some happy medium here for you to score more goals? Like, what is it? Is it less of the penalty kill?

Is it less of the big-time matchups? what do we have to do here? Because we're scoring plenty without your goals, so what is it that we have to do? That is a conversation that would have had to have been had. I would think so, and wouldn't that be on Baruba, though, to instigate that? Whoever. Unless it's on Matthews, like maybe he's got enough power.

He probably does to go in and say, I don't like this, but then what kind of message is that sent? I don't want to kill penalties. How do you go to a coach and say that? You're the captain of the team. I don't want to kill penalty. And I'm not speaking for him. I wouldn't go like that.

I wouldn't go like, I don't want to kill penalties. penalties it would be maybe be let me get the last bit of the I don't know what it would be but the bottom line is you've got one of the most gifted goal scores to ever play the game and he's not scoring like that anymore so there's got to be people sitting down trying to come up with answers on how to get it back absolutely and to me it's not just about the goal scoring I mean you like before he got hurt he was on 40 plus goal pace it wasn't like he just completely dropped off the map but to me it's about just general domination like that was the other thing. Like in his prime, when he won the heart

trophy, you know, he would command games. He would command plays. He would you know, he would sweep into the zone and teams were afraid of him. He was, he looked dangerous at every, every time he touched the puck. Not seeing that as much, right? And I, like last night, when he talked about

the game last night, Matthews, he used a word that Barube himself has used, and I think it's a bit of a red flag word, you know? I think he said something in the effect that we wanted to play a boring road game. Matthews did and Brube has said more than once like our style is boring and I'm thinking to myself like is that really how you want to sell your style like not only to the fans who

they don't care as long as you want to win they want to win but is that is that's like oh dog like if a coach says to you yeah I know more I know our style's boring guys but we're playing in anyways is they has that excite you I don't know because I played in a market for so long where we played a trap in Carolina, and it was like, that was our only way to win, because we didn't have enough firepower to do anything else. You know what I mean? Like, we weren't scoring for goals or whatever it would be. It was like we had to try to win games two to one, three, two,

and it was like we just all accepted that, and we did it. And I don't know, Peter Lave-Let came in, and they changed things around, and they played a pressure game, they won a Stanley Cup. But as far as when we were there, and we couldn't argue. with the results we went to a final once we watched new jersey go to the finals all the time playing a trap and we were like well it works you can win with it so why not do it we didn't care about style points and i don't think that people in carolina did either i don't think they left saying oh man that was so so boring as long as it was a win on the scoreboard i don't think

anybody really cared well but i don't know do people in toronto walk out and say stylistically i was kind of bored to death if there if there's a w i don't know if they No. Nobody cares. The fans don't care with the style if they win, but I'm wondering about the buy-in from the players, right? If you're essentially saying to the guys, yeah, good. We're starting at boring. Okay? Like, you're going to work today, and we are going to bore you with our game plan.

I just wonder, how sustainable is that? Because it doesn't seem like everybody's buying in. Brad Chuling's talked about a disconnect here. It certainly looks like, you know, what they're trying to do and what they're doing are two different things. Yeah, and again, you can't sell winning right now because they're not winning. Right.

You know, yes, they did last night, but Joseph Wall stood on his head. And now they're in Washington tomorrow. The caps are coming alive. Like the caps had a slower start. They're alive now. That's a tough test tomorrow. All right, Johnny will join us, Mike Johnson coming up. He'll be down there calling the game tomorrow.

Brandon Ingram again last night. Credit to Darko, because, like, watching the game, Jack was saying, call your time out. They had what, call your time out. And that's the coach's dream to put himself in the spotlight, right? Call the time out. I get to draw up the play if it works. I'm the guy who did it.

And when you're going good, man, it just works for you. And Ingram's been on fire. And like he said, after the game, he had Seacum in a tough spot with, and obviously Perthal got him at the rim before the Ingram even got that shot off. Yeah.

But nine in a row, so you get the Raptors rolling, and the J's last night decided we're just going to start the offseason here. And they signed Dillon C's to a seven-year, $210 million deal. And the reaction is hilarious And I think it should be flattering if you're a Blue Jay fan

Because the second he signed everyone Oh, C stinks, too much money, Padre fans are like I didn't want him Yankee fans, nah, he didn't want him either Cubs fans, no, not interested That's actually a testament to what the Js have created With one playoff run Yeah

What's like anything you do, the other, every other fan base is like No, this guy's a boss, too much money Listen, it's a lot of money it's a lot of commitment. It's one of the tangible changes in sports in my lifetime is starting pitchers getting long-term deals. Never used to happen. Never used to happen.

And you look at a ZRA last year, not great, walks a lot of guys, gave up home runs. But this is a classic Shapiro and Atkins move. Durable arm, great stuff. And I think they deserve to be confident in the system that they've built when it comes to Pete Walker and the whole staff. if you give me durability, if you give me good stuff, we can mold it into something that's going to work.

And who cares if it's a lot of money? That's a good sign. That means Rogers and company are like, do you like them? Do you think he helps you win? Go get him. Let everyone else complain about the money. I think this is, I don't know what he's going to be over seven years. In reality, there's probably going to be two or three of the seven where you don't love it.

That's just a reality of almost every starting pitcher outside of the top five or six guys. But if he's healthy and he's got A-stuff, he doesn't have to be the A's. I think the hope is, and the plan is that Yassavage grows into that. And he becomes the guy who's leading the charge. And they needed to invest in the rotation because this likely is the end of Scherzer now, likely the end of Bassett, unless he comes back in some swing position. I'm not sure how that would work. I'm not convinced Rios and the Blue Jays have a relationship in the future that's going to work.

I kind of get the impression it was pretty ugly behind the scenes the way things ended at the end of the year. Now he's got a few years left that decent money. I don't know what the market looks like for him. But now you set up with

Gosman, you savage, Beaver, Dylan, Seas. Again, this is what they do. Gosman, he stays healthy in pitches. Burrios, he stays healthy in pitches. Bassett, healthy in pitches. Dillon sees, healthy in pitches. And there's a lot of value in that.

Yes, it's not perfect stuff across the board. Yes, he'll get hit. at times. Yes, he'll miss his spots, but he's got pretty nasty stuff, and he's going to be on the mound every fifth day. There's a lot of value in that. You would hope of that amount of money, there won't be too much of a molding type scenario, like you just mentioned. Like, for 200 sheets, you better come in there and be good, Hayes. Yeah, I hear you. I'm not saying this is a building up from scratch scenario. That's not what I know. Like, it's not a, like Robbie Ray is getting used to.

Robbie Ray came out of nowhere. Yes, he had great stuff. The guy won't a sigh young. Like, no one saw that coming, where it flipped like that. But I think this is just, you know, find the zone a little bit more. He walked a lot of guys last year. Easier said than done. But like really quality stuff that can step in and just improves

your staff immediately. You're a Blue Jay fan. I think it's a great signing. I think it's a great play that the Jay said, we're just, we're not going to waste time here. We like you. We want you. We'll pay you. What's the price done? We're in. That's a sign of a whole team. Because the fan base is like, okay, it wasn't just a one-off

and then they're going to take three years off now and not care about the results. They're just kind of stacking right back up and they want to do it again. Exactly. It's an expensive kind of PR move, but everybody kind of in Blue Jays land was jacked up saying, oh, we got to... By the way, he was with the White Sox before the Padres wasn't it? Earlier in his career, yeah.

Look, I mean, this is a great moment for Toronto. Like, think about this. Like, did you ever think you'd see the moment where the Blue Jays are dumping Scott Boris money? This is got boris client and they're paying top dollar like seven highest in MLB now there's deferrals and stuff

sure right but it's a lot of money they've committed a lot more than double like their previous highest contract to a pitcher was God's minute five years a hundred million it's more than double that right so they're spending a ton of money and this is a moment where look they made a ton of money on the world series run

the tickets were outrageously expensive but people were paying for them and you know Rogers is a you know 20 billion dollar market cap company in U.S. funds, which is right up there with Steve Cohen in terms of you want to, you can't really compare personal net worth to market cap, but it's, you know, it's a very rich entity that owns the Blue Jays. And guess what? This is a moment where, you know, you hear Hal Steinbrenner with the Yankees saying, oh, you know, being funny about maybe we didn't

make any money. We don't make a profit here. That's unfair to suggest that. I wouldn't mind, I wouldn't mind seeing us cut payroll. Blue Jays are looking at that saying, oh, yeah, okay. Go ahead. guess who the big boy in the AL East is right now when it comes to deep pockets. Right. It ain't the Yankees anymore. It certainly isn't the Red Sox who've been very, you know, cost-averse over the past handful of years, as much to the chagrin of their fans. Like, Blue Jay fans should be happy here.

Like, yeah, prices have gone up and, you know, they're going to milk you every time you walk into that place for every dollar in your pocket. But they're spending it back on the team. Well, yeah. If the payoff is going to a World Series, then the building is going to be full, every single night. And yeah, this is a scenario where, again, it comes down to the, who cares what the viewpoint of anyone outside of Blue J. Phantom is,

but there's always a sensitivity with Blue J fans. You know, how do the American media respond? How do people, you know, if the Dodgers did this, it would be, wow, what a great play. Like, that's a talent. He's one of the most thought-after free agents, go get them, and add them to your list, and that means they want to win. And I think that's what's happened here, is, yes, you could have haggled, yes, you could have waited until you got to the GM meetings,

or winter meetings and maybe someone else gets in there first. Obviously a price was put forth from Boris said anyone that can get to probably 200, 210, you can have them. And the Jays said, we like you and we're going to pay it. And we're not going to wait. We're not going to hope it drops to 190

or 195. We're not going to let. They might have done in the past. And they probably would have. And listen, there's probably other owners out there like the Mets, maybe the Dodgers, maybe the Giants, maybe others that said, we would have paid it, but we were going to wait a month. And the Js didn't. and the Js are, they're serious about business right now.

And again, this guy, it's not scoobble, it's not crochet. This is not an ace that they've acquired here. But it's a guy that is very durable. And this is what this front office has done ever since they arrived. They've been very good at picking the right guy in terms of starting pitching. Like from even, you know, from Gosman who's been basically a home run, Bassett for the most part, Burrios up until it down the stretch this year, has been exactly what you would expect them to be.

Pretty good stuff and durable. And that's what Dylan Cease is. He doesn't get hurt. Now you knock on wood, but that's something I'm surprised the rest of baseball doesn't invest more in. Like making sure you're going to pay a little bit more money for a guy that's actually going to be available to you.

Well, that's something that's so unpredictable, Hayes. What I'm curious about is what's left over as far as Bichette? I think more than enough money. I'd be shocked if I don't think this has anything to do with whatever that Bichette number was going to be. This says to me that if... Is it Bichette?

Well, but I think it's the opposite. Oh, this says to me what Dave's saying, that they're saying, we've got the money, go. And I think there's also an understanding in baseball that a salary cap might be coming. That's why Steinbrenner is saying what he's saying. I think Steinbrenner's falling on the sword for the commissioner and the other owners. Which is shocking because it's the Yankees. And his dad would be rolling and be like, are you kidding me?

Who cares about these other? teams. We don't want a salary cap. We want to spend. But that's what I read from that Steinbrenner quote is, maybe we're not making a profit. Maybe we need a $250 million car, whatever it is. And I think the Js, and probably

the Dodgers and other teams are like, we might get there in a year or two, but before then, let's get crazy while we still can get crazy. Take our advantage while we can't. Absolutely. Look, this is a team. And I think, look, I know I know this guy is not an ace, Hayes, and O'N, you know, he's not Otani. He's

not Sasaki, he's not Juan Soto, but in all those cases the J's, we're essentially the runner-up. Just like they were runner-up at the World Series this year. And here they are saying, no, we're not going to be runner-up this time. We want this guy, we're going to get this guy. I'm not comparing him to those players, and it's not

winning a World Series, not even winning the off-season yet, although it's a pretty good start. But I think it's important. It's a statement of intent. It's to say, hey, we're not fooling around here. We're not just going to put that money we made in the World series run in our pocket and laugh all the way to the bank, we're going to continue to invest

in the team. And, you know, you're right. Oh, if they, if they stop here and say, well, now we can't afford Beau, it'll be a different story. I don't, but I'm with, I'm with Hayes. I don't, I don't interpret their actions in that way right now. No, I think, again, it's an, it's assigned to Bichette or Tucker, if that's who they're after. Like, we're in it to win it. And if you sign long term, we have a plan beyond this year. Because, again, Bassett's up, Scherzer's up, Gossman's going to be up after the next year. Bieber likely, that'll be it. You know, he opted in for one year.

We'll see. They need guys for 27 and 28 and 29, and that's where Dylan C's factors in. All right, Johnny coming up, the Packers game is over. Packers 31, Lions 24. Uh-oh. I just, I mean,

we've had you on the team for one pick. I told you the Packers were the play. I told you Jordan Love loves Ford field. And you just couldn't do it. As I mentioned, you win and you lose as a team. Okay. We lost as a team today. And we have a pick tonight. I am on the side. I need you in this. I need you to be on your A game for Ravens Bengals. All right. We'll make that pick in just over half an hour. Luke is going to be on fire at five o'clock. Like he is going to be on fire. But credit to the Packers, man, that's a huge win. That's a huge statement.

Lions are 7 and 5 now. They're in trouble. And Amon Ross, St. Brown got injured today, other injuries in the game. Just so we're clear here. Like, is he still on the team or not? I got to talk to my other partner. Now, he may be in trouble too.

There's a chance Alice Brother Blake could be on waivers as well. And someone else will be picking him up. All right. Johnny coming up. Luke coming up. More picks for the games tonight. More on the Js and what else could be happening with them throughout the off season.

And the Raptors remain on fire. A lot going on here at Dave. best truck in here. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN3. Overdrive continues, brought you by Fandul, bringing you more ways to play your game your way. Luke Wilson, all over the group chat already. He is just going to be all over you in half an hour.

Luke's coming up. Your former partner. It's too bad. Anyway, we got more games to play. It's a long season. And I'm a team player, and I'm ecstatic to have the O'Dog and Al's brother. on my team. I'll stay clear for now on.

No, no, no. I want you heavily involved and I want Al's brother and his moon readings heavily, heavily involved. Is he pulling a burios here? Like he's not going to, he's not possible. Or an Anthony Rendon. You see this Rendon story? This guy has mutually agreed to terminate the deal with the Angels.

He made something like $265 million. Why wouldn't he stick around for two more, the two more years? I think it got to a point where they were probably going to start challenging him. Like, dude, you know, like if you show up and you're out of shape, I don't know, but he is, he's barely played. He's played like a couple hundred games.

Incredible. Just unbelievable run for him. World Series, $250 million, done. Doesn't want to play anymore. All right, the Leafs are in Washington tomorrow. Coming off a big win. I can't imagine Wall plays tomorrow. I'd save him for Saturday night.

Would you? I probably, I think I would. After the workload last night, here's Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst. Who do you think we'll get to start tomorrow for the Leafs? Yeah, usually Hayes, I would say, Wohl would get Friday and give Hill to be the back-to-back. But tomorrow's games at 5 p.m.

So no morning skate, a bit of a disjointed day, even after the game, ends in 8, they'll be in hit by 10 o'clock. So it won't be a late night. So I think you're right. I would probably go Woll on Saturday. He'll be a bit of an awkward start tomorrow at 5 p.m. And I mean, at some point, obviously Wools are going to play one of the two,

but he has been incredible. He was so good against Columbus. but you just have to be mindful of not playing him too much. I know you'd want to because the other goalie is not as good as he is, but you just have to just keep, make sure he gets his rest, he's fresh because when he's fresh, and he's right, he's been really, really good. Johnny, you never complain about a win in the big leagues,

but what did you make of it last night? We were talking about, you know, they kind of stuck with it. The goaltender was very good, basically won the mahoggy game, but what was your impression of it? Not the most aesthetically pleasing game. like not a lot going on out there you know the the Tavares line was again the most dangerous

the most effective they scored the one five on five goal late they play in their own and play a little bit too much a huge many big breakdowns Sean Monahan probably could add four but if you want to focus on the positive and I think that's where Craig Burube with the glass half full business is coming from

they've gotten excellent goal sending from Joseph Wall that is significant and if you get that you'll be in every game they got pretty good penalty killing and that is not something they have had this year and the first period that came could have got away from them I didn't agree with all the calls

but they had three minors and they killed them all off that's been significant and they got a big goal from someone not named Tavares Nielander Matthews or Nyes and he's think howl and he thinks how when it's playing himself

into the fifth most important forward if he's not already there I mean he's out there on the five forward power play group and so I think that also a big goal late to tie it up so those are some things they can build off of and knowing that they still have more to go.

But I think sometimes when you're struggling and the confidence isn't there, making the game ugly, it's not the worst thing in the world. Just hanging around, picking up points as you try to build toward whatever your best game is. And that wasn't it last night. And they'll have to be better against Washington because Washington will beat them if they give them that many chances. But there are some positives that they can build off of knowing they also need to be better. Yeah, the Houston-Cowan conversation is an interesting one because, you know,

he breaks camp with the team. Barouba has been very complimentary of him, and they sent him down, I think, in large part, because he was exempt from waivers, and they wanted to give him a chance to maybe breathe a little bit. And ever since he's been up, he's been good. And I'm with you in terms of your calculation of where he is in terms of the importance ranking.

But how much of that is based on his own play, earning it, and how much of it is the other guys don't do enough to fight for that fifth spot in terms of importance. Okay, well, I'm going to tell you this. so I was prepping for tomorrow's game and I know he's been playing well but I was curious to see like you know

how well he has done and I know he's played mostly on the top six but he hasn't always like he's been down in the third line and the fourth line at times and I looked at so I know you're going to love these numbers

but you know his expected goal percentage first on the entire team his actual goal percentage second only to Austin Matthews on the entire team amazingly high danger chance of percentage first on the entire team expected goals again

against per minute played, best on the team. So that was my reaction. Really? Are these numbers correct? Because I don't necessarily see that. But when he's been on the ice, whether it's because his work or the work of his line mates or the work of all of them, he has been the most effective forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the time that he's been there.

So I get what you're saying. It would be great if he was sort of challenging for a top six spot, but he was trying to someone who was really playing great. He's not doing that, but I don't want to discount how well he has played sort of on both sides of the puck with his line mates when he's been out there. He's been sneaky, very effective, and you could say, you know, he hasn't been as prolific as the other guys, but the underlying numbers for him are as strong as there are for anyone on the entire team.

Well, what do you make of the statement, Johnny, that Barubia was making by scratching Dakota Joshua, by scratching Matthias Micheli yesterday. Judging from practice today, it looks like Joshua will draw back in. Michelli still looks like he's going to be on the outside looking in. Do you think that can have an effect on this team as they move forward here in terms of just setting the tone that Brubay is trying to set in so far not had a lot of success doing so? I mean, I think as far as the statement goes, I think it's just, I don't think it's this wide-ranging statement to Tray Living or I don't like my players. It's more like we've got 14 NHL forwards. I'm going to put the combinations out there that I think give us the best chance of winning.

I don't care who you are. When you got here, how you got here, what you make. And if that's a message that is delivered throughout the lineup and that goes to Yarn Croke or Domi or McMahon or whoever, or Easton Cowan, that should be delivered loud and clear to everyone. If you don't play, we'll find someone else, we're willing to scratch you to get someone who will play better. That is, that I think is the message he's delivering and that should be received loud and clear. what I am curious about though guys is you wonder

you know how you know Nick Roberts had a hard time sort of gaining Craig Brubay's trust and his faith and his belief and I wonder if Machelli and Robertson well very different kind of players stature wise

similar stylistic you know offensive-minded guys similar and I wonder if Berbertsin thinking I just can't have both I can have one or the other but I can't have both in the lineup at the same time I wonder just with how he sees

his team wanting to play if that's going to be difficult for Mitchellie and Robertson to both crack the lineup unless they're scoring. Johnny, what do you make of Willie V. Perube? Like, does this just go on every game this year where the coach just loses it on him and he just kind of shrugs it off and then scores a goal? What do you make of it? Don't you kind of love it, oh?

I do because I would find myself laughing all the time. Well, it would probably be me involved with it, though. Yeah, it might be you and the coach, but I would. would be down the bench rooting for O to react. I'm like, give it to him. Oh, don't take that. I mean? And I love that Willie is, you know, principled enough and believes whatever he's saying that he's not going to shy away from having that conversation and having that conversation publicly and having Craig yell at him and saying, I disagree. And that's okay. And that's okay because, you know what Craig Burbank keeps doing? Put him on the ice and putting them back out there

and put him in positions to go score important goals. And Willie is the kind of guy that doesn't let that stuff linger. We've admired his sort of aloofness, if we want to call it, his ability to shake things off. And that's, you know, that was me yelling with my coach. It would probably stick with me at least the rest of the night, if not to the next day. It's gone out of him in 10 seconds. And he's back doing whatever it is he thinks he should be doing. So yeah, oh, I think we do see it. I think you'll see it in practice. You'll see it in games. You'll see it morning skates, whatever. They have talks all the time, sometimes animated, sometimes calm, sometimes sort of confrontations. sometimes jovial but they

go back and forth and I don't think it's a bad thing that's just how their relationship works and Willie's what? Fifth in the league in scoring so it's clearly working for him right now with Mike Johnson ahead of Leafs Caps tomorrow so Alex Ovechkin has 11 goals

on the season. Crazy. And he's getting hot again right it seems like every night he scores now a bit of a slower start we're joking like what kind of off season is this guy up to what's he doing back home? Is he in shape? Is this going to be his final year? How can

it be motivated now that he's Kot Kretzky, now that he's scored 900? What's the next bar for him? And Washington had a slow start, and he was kind of a microcosm of the team. And now they've come alive. They've started to win again. They're starting to play better. And Ovi's on pace for, what, 40 again?

Yeah. Like close to it. His ice time is down, as you would expect. Five on five, I'm sure Carberry's going to shout them a little bit. But what can you say about this? guy. And if you're the Leafs, you know, how do you game plan against him? Because I got a feeling he'll be lurking tomorrow. Well, that's just, that's just it. That's what makes him hard to game plan is that he lurks. And, you know, he doesn't do much. He won't see him much. He doesn't skate with

him much. But then he just drifts around. The puck finds him, and he still can shoot at an elite level. And the goal he scored last night against Winnipeg. And I heard the Caps broadcasts, say it and say it correctly. He is the greatest of all time at shooting rolling pucks. It is unbelievable how well he is able to sort of corral and read it and release it and and get a hold of it and the watch i'm on now hey it's for him this is my new ovi thing okay first he was grats then it's 900 whatever now it's he's like a golfer trying to shoot his age he's a goal score trying to score his age he's 40 can he score 40 and become the second oldest player to shoot his age gordy how when he was 41 scored 44 but Ovi in the modern era

if he could score 40 at the age of 40 would be like a monumental achievement and I didn't think he'd get there and you watch the first few weeks this season like there's no way regression is coming to Washington but they're playing better and he's finding goals and being opportunistic

and every other week he's got a major ceremony on the ice and he's loving life and he's got his kids out there and warm up you name it he's having fun with it and he's scoring goals which is I guess he will do until he retire days I think that's what we have to accept he will never not school.

Johnny out in Evanton, Stuart Skinner's jersey number is 74, and I think he'd like to make 74 more saves the rest of the season, if possible. Can they put him back in the net out there, or what the hell's going on? So the challenge hero is that, you know, goaltending market is tricky. The guys they're talking about, you know, if you're thinking about making a move and you're going to go get somebody, the guys who are available generally not having great themselves. No kidding.

By the way, the Oilers suck defensively. Don't forget that. The other part of it, you could put Dominic Ashik in there and he would get goals scored against them. They suck defensively. They've been one of the worst teams in the league.

So you could put Tristan Jari or Ussu Soros or Jordan Biddington. If they are the 28th best team and high danger chances against, those goalies will get lit up. Maybe not quite to the same degree the current guys are, but enough that they'll keep losing. So they can talk about making changes to the goaltenders, but until they change the way they play, it won't matter. But sometimes, oh, I don't know if they've ever been on a team like this with a goalie.

Like, it gets the point where it just gets almost untenable. It's almost better for everyone to just move along. And, you know, you're getting Bronx cheers and you're getting media and social media and in the public. It just becomes a really sort of toxic situation. And I don't think Stuart Skinner, you know, necessarily deserves that, even though he hasn't played well this year. But if you're training him for Bennington and play the way they are, that is not going to change a damn thing in Edmonton. or even Soros, Tristan Jari, of all of them,

is probably played the best this year. But if you're Pitt, you're going to trade a guy like that. You're in the playoffs. You're going to trade one of your two goaltenders who's playing well? That's also a tricky message. So I'm not sure what happens, Owen Edmondson, other than he has taken a lot of the heat that should be shared by the goaltetters, but also by the entire team, because you said it.

They have been no good defensively. No. Well, everyone's off today in the NHL, but back at it tomorrow. Tons of games. tons of games this weekend it's going to be a lot of turning points you know a lot of twisting and turning we've hit us thanksgiving all right johnny have a great call tomorrow we'll do it next week i'm just saying this weekend is important for toronto because they after this they go to florida and carolina those are two really tough buildings to play in for them

they kind of need three points in these next two games because we're at the schedule coming up it's it's a tough week next week yeah totally agree got to have it got to get one uh all right johnny we'll catch you tomorrow all right boys happy american thanksgiving and oh just make all the picks for hayes and see what you can do turn things around for him dude it's ugly man i think i lost my he's on waivers man he might be on waivers in 15 minutes healthy scratch oh my goodness i the waiver wire i the waiver we'll be listening yeah make sure you do thank you johnny all right boys however here we come mike johnson joining us here in the maple toyta hotline get in and go where adventure takes you in a new 2025 tacoma from maple toyota near canada's wonderland

Apple Auto Mall visit maple toyta.com. Yeah, he's right, Johnny, that Washington's coming alive, like they're playing well, and Hildeby. We'll see if he gets the start. It's a tough game, man, tough game on the road, weird timing. And then Pitt on Saturday night, you've got to get that game. Pittsburgh's coming back to life. Wall will be back in there because at Carolina, at Florida.

Although Florida's not playing great either. Like, they lost last night, too. Like, they don't have much cooking. It's just Florida. Yes, it's the issue of, like, the history. and who they are and what they represent to you. But Bob's not playing well right now. Like, he's struggling, the team's struggling.

But the Leafs, it doesn't matter who you play. You've dug yourself such a hole. You've got to win. You've got to accumulate points. It's that simple. That's why it's tough to scout these games. If you're team Canada, team USA for the Olympics, like how do you put value on what guys that play for the Florida Panthers are doing

in November after they've been to three straight cups? And they know they're probably going to make the playoffs. and they're just kind of going through the motions trying to save themselves for April. I mean, it's a tough call. I know people are saying, well, Bennett's had a down year and, you know, can you and look at Celebrini and Badar,

but, you know, it's the raining cons, my trophy winner over there. If you had to pick a goalie and there was a Russian team, you tell me you wouldn't pick Brobrovsky, even though he's not playing particularly well right now? You know what I mean? Yeah, no, for sure. What do these games mean to the Florida Panthers? The very good question. And how much do they, how much, are they

really scouting, like, dated day games and how much of it is just the larger picture of who you are you know, because there's a bunch of guys who are not having great years that you think are just automatic picks or could be. Yeah, proven. Proven. All right. Luke coming up

back into the Jay's signing Dillon Sees and the message it sends to the rest of the ALE East, the rest of the American League, and what else they could do the rest of the offseason overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN3. All right, Luke Wilson coming up. Big development in the NBA

last night. The Raptors winning and the Pistons finally lost the game. And the Raps have won nine in a row. Brandon Ingram just continues to basically look like Kobe Bryant out there. Like what do you think the ceiling is, Dave? I guess when is it transfer into actually they have a legitimate shot and somewhat of a watered down eastern conference? Look, man, I think they're there already. Like you've got to be thinking about what you could do to shore up the weekend. spots on this roster, which are pretty obvious, right? You need a little more size because in the

games they've lost, and there have been, many of them, you know, they've been, they've lots of some of the bigger teams in the league. And you need a little better shoot, you need a little more shooting. Now, they've had really good shooting luck so far. Last night they go, what, five for 26 from three point range and still win. But like, this is, this is a moment. Like, who had Detroit, Toronto, one, two in the east? Right. You know, almost 20 games in. Nobody did. But it goes to show how there's a massive opportunity here. Like there was no super team in the East. No, there isn't.

Like if Indiana could get to the finals last year representing the East, there's any number of teams that believe it could be them and the Raptors are right in that group. Yeah. It's a free-for-all. You might get caved in in the final, but you might as well take a shot at it. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, that's kind of what it did. Like, this is

I will keep using the Js and the American League example, but it really does apply. Like, Oklahoma City are the Dodgers. Yeah. That's what they are. Look at what they're doing this year. They're demolishing teams. They have one loss. They're going to just cruise to probably 65 wins. It feels that way anyway. And they got all these

picks. Like it's absurd what Presti and that team's going to do for the next handful of years. And the West has some really good. Lakers off to a really good start. Luke has been phenomenal. Denver's better than ever. Like Denver's back to being a serious content. Yes. But that's out there.

Yep. Where in the American League all year we're like, there's just not any great teams. Tigers aren't, they're okay. They look okay. Yankees are okay, all right, we'll see what Houston's got. And the Jay's said, fine, we'll just take it. Like, we'll go out and take it. And they took it.

And it's the same thing in the East and the NBA right. And the other thing is this Raptors team has that Blue Jay vibe. Like, it may not last forever. Like, you know, we're... It's hot right now and everything's working. But everybody's happy. Everybody seems to love each other. Everybody's sharing the ball.

You don't see any disgruntlement. They have a touch wood. They haven't had a lot of injuries in a league that's been decimated by injuries. They've got the R.J. We were talking about it yesterday. At least Ingram looks like it's going to work out, as opposed to everything in the past has been, the guy gets up here, he's injured, not interested, and it just kind of fizzles out. It looks amazing.

Yeah. He's taken on a leadership role. Like, he's been a prominent player, and they're winning, but he's talking every single day, every night. He's saying all the right things. Like, it's been a really impressive introduction. And you know what? It's like, in some ways, it's like these guys, let's, like, the only way you do, the reason you pump the brakes is because, let's face it, they basically, took last year off. These guys barely

he didn't play basketball at all. When they acquired them, they were never going to play them. They've got a renewed enthusiasm that may be a lot of the teams that have actually been playing hard don't. And it may not last. We'll see how it's holding up in April. Right. But it's a great start, man. And there's every reason to believe that this

East is going to stay wide open for many months to come. Yeah. Nine wins in a row for the Raptors. Very, very impressive stuff. All right, Luke's coming up. Luke Wilson. We're tracking the Chiefs and the Cowboys. The Packers won earlier this afternoon. What does that mean for the NFC North?

We'll get into that. Back into the Jay's making noise last night. Least back in action. Tomorrow, Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandul. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas with IHeart the holidays. Non-stop Christmas music 24-7.

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