OverDrive - OverDrive - September 5, 2025 - Hour 1 - Chris Johnston

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

Join Michael DiStefano, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Eagles' opening victory against the Cowboys, Jalen Carter spitting on Dak Prescott and if he receives supplemental discipline, the Chiefs' outlook for the season and Travis Kelce's role on the team, Cale Makar's possible value on his contract, Connor McDavid's future with the Oilers. TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins to discuss McDavid's next steps, Kirill Kaprizov's next contract and the salary cap impact and the Blue Jays in the spotlight against the Yankees in a divisional battle.

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and get great value that, you guessed it, standard. Conditions apply. Seed dealer for details. This hour of Overdrive is powered by Fanduil. Fan Duel, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Overdrive off and running on a wonderful Friday. Welcome into Overdrive. Mike DeStefno in for Brian Hayes, Jamie Noodles McLennan. Jeff O'Neill, what's happening, boys? Not much. To get into today, fellows. Lots to get into today. What a big victory last night. Man, what a way for you to start.

I love my Cowboys. What a way to start. And you got to admit, I was brother, Cowboys looked pretty good. They did. They did some things where you're like, they're not a total disaster. They can't stop the run.

They have people run all over them. But pretty good from the Cowboys. And what to start from our team. What a start for Owen Wilson. And you guys got sucked in. You thought it was going to be a layup. And we also got to get into, was that guy, this is totally off topic,

but was that guy talking really Lane, Hudson's dad that was on that podcast? Yeah, I don't know what that was all about. I'm assuming it was. I mean, unless they got absolutely duped, but I'm pretty sure there are some, you know, some photos that surface. That's what he looks like.

So, yeah, I don't know what that was all about. Perry Lane Hudson's dad coming on to a podcast. Yeah, we could get into it later. Let's get back to the football game. I've got one quick comment before Al's brother retorts on what was a crushing blow last night. So I get a phone call early this morning. saying, I'm really concerned about Al's brother. He might be a fraud.

And I was like, well, what do you mean? And it's like, well, did he not realize that Philadelphia had lost a bunch of, like, some of their defensive guys who ended up getting, you know, getting paid by other teams. Right. Like, that's not the same team, right? And another guy spit on a guy, like, four seconds into the game. That was outrageous. Outrageous.

Yeah. And that's a massive, like, he's their best player on the defense. Like, you lose Jalen Carter, who the whole game plan was around going away from him. And all of a sudden, if he's out of the game, that's a completely different offensive attack from the Dallas Cowboys. How do you make that decision? Did he claim that Dak attempted to spit at him first? Well, he did. I mean, look, you can see it right here watching on TSN too.

Dack did spit on him. He didn't spit on him. He spit towards him down on the ground. What do you mean? That's what happened. And obviously he took exception to it. And there's a big difference between spitting. at someone and spinning on someone, which is exactly what Jalen Carter did, and he gets ejected

before the first snap of the NFL season. It's absolutely outrageous, and he had to speak to the media afterwards and kind of eat some humble pie, but that was absolutely outrageous. And he is such a big part of that defense. It's a completely different hockey. How far away is Dak Prescott from him right there? Like, I just don't know how he assumed. Like, I don't know, guys spit a lot. You watch hockey players, like, they're spitting constantly. And I don't know. I just couldn't see if, like, Dak was spitting on the ground or. But, okay, so I'll tell you what, another thing.

He was pretty casual after the game. Like, most guys would have been crapping their pants being like, I'm so embarrassed. I let the guys down. And he was just like, yeah, I got to deal with it, blah, blah, blah. And, like, that was, you spit on a guy, man. I know, but they won, and he's a star player. So he's like, all right, let's see what's going to happen. happen a fine or whatever I had suspension but I I look at it I agree guys spit so much it didn't

look like Dak might have been spitting but even if he spit in his direction you're right there's a difference between hawking a lugie on a guy's shoe and literally almost hitting him in the chin like that was a pretty high up like that was an intentional luggy yeah we're calling the spitgate is that what it is it's out there the name that's turning right now luggy gate spit gate It's a bad look, and I get it. Like, you know, we've seen guys do it before in every sport. It is a real sign of disrespect. That's, you know, flat out.

What do you think the repercussions are? Is he going to get a game, you think? Will he get just a big fine? Like, what's... I think spitting on a guy, you almost got... I don't know what the games, how they're allocated, but you would think there would be money and some kind of game. I don't know.

We have to have Luke when we get them on. Yeah, Luke will be on, obviously. We'll get to the picks. We've got another four pack of picks to make. We got to own this team Hazenbro and get back on the saddle today. But I think there's precedence like this has happened before, and there have not been suspensions. It's been fines.

I mean, he did it before the first snap of the game. So essentially, he already didn't play an entire game. So you can look at it that way and say he essentially was suspended. He was sent off the field before the first snap. So that there's your game. Absolutely, there should be a fine of some kind. but I think I looked in the back and there was a couple of incidents where this did occur and it ended up being a fine and not a suspension.

So I'd be surprised, I guess, if suspension comes about from this, but certainly a fine. Yeah, well, it's got to be, like, repercussions have to come for this, but I just, I don't know if you would qualify that as a game just because of the timing of when it happened. If it happened in the third quarter, did they go, okay, well, you know, this game isn't a wash. like the season wasn't even five seconds old It was bizarre timing news There was a guy injured I believe

And that's what this happened right Yeah What a bizarre start to the game It was like that guy's hurt And then the best played on defense is out of the game And it's like what the hell's going on right now I think even Jason Kelsey tweeted He's like what the hell's going on out there

Well yeah All of a sudden you're watching And you know there's the injury And all of a sudden you see a flag And you hear Jalen Carter number 98 Has been ejected from the game It's like What exactly just happened right now?

And then they show the replaying, you see, yeah, Hawks a Lugue right at his chest. And you can't do that. The NFL, they sent down a memo to all the teams this year saying that sportsmanship essentially and team and player to player respect is something that they're going to be harping on this year. So, you know, there's going to be a lot more

of those 15-yard flags for taunting. We saw another one last night. Nolan Smith had, you know, he gets a tackle for loss on a run, and then he gets up, gives him a little flex, walks on a bit, 15 yards, moved him up, and it's no longer a tackle for loss.

And that's exactly, you know, what we saw happen. So I don't know if maybe that could, you know, if there's now different implications because that's what they want to harp on. Could they make an example out of Jalen Carter and maybe have a suspension for this? But it's just such a stupid thing to do at the start of a game. And it really put them behind the eight ball right away. And it allowed the Cowboys, really, to kind of take advantage from that. It took the Philly crowd out of the game.

The Cowboys go down the field, score on the opening drive. and then from there, they're in it. They were in that ball game right up until the world. The whole game, I mean, 24-20, it was a one-score game. And that weather delay, though, really, really kick, just killed the pace of that ball game. Yeah, it did. Like, the weather delay. Are you blaming the whole thing on the weather delay?

Oh, 100%. 100%. You can't tell me the way that that game was going where every single drive ended in points prior to that weather delay. You can't tell me that all of a sudden the Philadelphia, Eagles, who have scored on every drive, force a big turnover, get the ball back, that they weren't going to go down the field and score,

making an 11-point game. No shot that wasn't going to happen. Instead, they call the game, Jerry, sent some plants seeding money, down to the referees, and all of a sudden, you know, you get an hour delay, kills momentum, and we don't see any more points get put up on the

board when play resumed an hour later. I'll just completely kill the taste of the game. I'll just tell you one thing. there's a lot of people at this time of year that've got their favorites as far as like MVP of the national football league Hertz is going to have a say in it if he like at the end of the year like if he just keeps playing like that and he's dynamic and running and getting in the end zone like maybe it's not all about sequoan this year it's hard to double down on what he did last year but maybe it's hurts that's like it's hard to ignore him if he does that all year long like he is he is a beast but all like a beast of a man all like a think about with Spitgate was remember the Seinfeld episode was it Keith Hernandez where they like spit in the direction of like Newman and it hit Kramer in the eye yeah I like this is how stupid my mind gets when I was like you know you you think of like things that have happened I'm like

all I could think of us Kramer's head getting thrown back as he got shrapnel of the spit and everything can be linked to a Seinfeld episode that's what I realized in life but I do believe that the hour delay like It does affect the game. You wind down, and then you've got to wind it right back up. It might affect the sink of the game. But Philadelphia was the better team, but Dallas looked good. Like, I had to go back and watch it today. I went to the Morgan Wallen concert last night, so I, you know, I didn't watch it live.

You're tracking it on the phone and all that. But then, you know, seeing how it went down, like for me, I think momentum does change because of that delay. I don't know what it would have shifted, but Philadelphia. Elfia was winning that game, but Dallas looked a lot better. We know they could score. They've got an offense. You know, it's just defensively. They're a mess.

And they could have won it late. Like, C.D. Lamb ended up with a brief... Like, those drops. The C.D. Lamb were, like, right in his breadmasket every time. And he took ownership after the game. He said, I got to make those catches. Like, this one right here, like, that's in his arms. And it just somehow gets away from him.

And that would have put them in prime position to keep that drive alive late in the game and potentially end in. And here's the one again on Fort Down. Lays out for it, gets his fingertips, but can't corral it and hold, bring it in. And that was the last time that Dallas touched the football at that point. And I just, I was impressed with that offense. I was impressed with the offensive line. Maybe they're not going to be as, as much of a joke as we thought originally going into the year.

Now it is one game, you know, so, you know, it's only one game, but the Dallas Cowboys look like they could be a competitive team and maybe be in the mix for a playoff. spot. Is that fair to say? In saying that, they would be so cowboys to just go home like Hayes said yesterday and just get absolutely clobbered by the Giants. Yes. Like that is something that they would do. And be 0 and 2 now.

That's the thing like you, we're always with those guys, but they did look pretty good last night. We're giving them flowers. They still lost, right? And again, against, you know, arguably the best team in the National Football League. But they still lost their 0-1. They can't go 0-and-2. What is the stats up 0 and 2 off the start of the year?

It's not great, right? They're not great, but there's a good team that does it every year. It seems like since he does it every year, and God knows where they end up. It's like kind of flip a coin, but starting 0 and 2, there's not good odds on getting into the playoffs. No, no. We too will be important for the Cowboys if they want to keep their season alive. We've got more games tonight. You guys are on the clock.

Chiefs, Chargers, down in Sal Paolo, Brazil. And I'm fascinated to see what this Chiefs team looks like. Because for the last couple of years, the offense has looked a little stale. But it seems like everything that we're hearing coming at a Chiefs camp, whether it's Mandy Reed, Travis Kelsey, Patrick Mahomes. Like, they're ready to get that explosiveness put back into that offense. I'm excited to see what it looks like tonight. But it's so difficult because they all said that the loss last year was really humbling.

They got their ass kicked. They all admitted to it. They didn't lie to themselves about it. but you can't, like, fast forward to the next Super Bowl to get kind of redemption on that. You still got to play the 17 games and go through the grind. That's the difficulty of redemption at the start of a season where it's like, okay, we're pissed off, but you could have an upset in week one or week two, and you're like, that's our new kind of, that's our new problem.

We're not thinking about, like, what happened at the Super Bowl. So can they take that anger or frustration or the ass beating that they got in the Super Bowl? They just literally got to take it into week one and start there, and we'll see what they look like. Keep in mind, regardless of them winning or losing, they have been winners, and they're almost a dynasty technically. They've got a target on their back. Like, everybody wants a chunk of Kansas City. Yeah. Like, that's, you know, when you look at it, the chargers are going to be fired up.

Like, I think, you know, bigger picture, they've got to start without distraction. I always think Kelsey's a distracted athlete right now, and I know maybe things will settle down. I think he's dropped a few LBs. I think somebody got easier, and it might have been Andy Reid. What's that? You like Kelsey this year? You think he bounces back? I don't know if I like him this year, but I think he looked a little bit kind of,

he just was lumbering a little bit last year where I'm like, there's not a lot of juice out there. And Mahomes even made a point in one of their pressers. He was like, look at that shirt on him, man. It's loose this year. So I don't know who got it. It was probably Andy Reed. He said, you better get your ass in shape.

And you better be looking different when you come back. to camp, regardless of what's going on in your personal life. Yeah. That might have helped because there was times last year. I just felt like, you know, you watch a Kansas City game and the highlights are like that guy was in New York the night before with Taylor Swift at a concert or doing something, right? Like, and then, oh, we've got to play on Sunday type of thing.

Like, I'm paraphrasing and probably exaggerating a little bit. But I always felt like he was. He went to like South America during the by week to go and watch Taylor perform, if I recall. I just felt like he was. He had a lot on his plate last year. That's a, like, think of how popular he became. He was a popular athlete as it was, and then you start dating the most popular, arguably one of the most popular people on the planet.

Yeah. Like, there was a lot of attention, a lot of getting pulled in a lot of different directions. If he was 85% focused, that's kind of what, maybe this year he's 100% focus, because I do think he's a pivotal part for them, regardless of his age. Yeah, it's got to be. He's got to be, I mean, when the Chiefs were rolling, it's because that guy was the safety blanket for Patrick Mahomes. And there's no Rishie Rice, right?

His suspension kicks in. He won't be there for the first six weeks of the season. Maybe Xavier Worthy takes that second year, jump potentially. Hollywood Brown's in the mix. You know, you've got Isaiah Pacheco, who hopefully is back and healthy. They've improved the offensive line a little bit on the left side. So you do like the pieces on that offense. We'll see if it can come together.

But it's a divisional game. It's a divisional game on a neutral side. site, and those are always going to be tight. I think for the last six games between the Chargers and the Chiefs have been settled by a field goal or less. It wasn't the first game down in South America,

or wherever it was last year? It might even Philly. I don't know. He was Philly and Green Bay, yeah. And the field was trash. Yes. The field was trash. So who knows what the game is going to be like? There's going to be all kinds of factors, but I don't know. San Diego or

Los Angeles, Like, they always have these expectations with Herbert and their coach, and they always seem to just come up flat. So they get the build-up every year. They're, you know, chargers are this, the chargers are that, and they always just come up flat, so we'll see what they got. Maybe this is the year they do it, you know. Herbert, everyone talks about how he has one of the strongest arms in the league.

Great quarterback, great quarterback, but my son's favorite quarterback. Is it now? I had to order a Herbert jersey. How does that happen? How does your son up in Toronto become a Herbert fan? I have no idea. I have no idea. Told me the other day, he's like, Daddy, I want to play hockey and say, yeah, whatever.

He goes, I want to play for the Winnipeg Jets. I'm like, where are you coming with that? Like, out of nowhere. At least someone wants to play for Winnipeg. There you go. Hey, you know what I wanted to bring up is these free agents, everyone's focused on McDavid and rightfully so, and Rishog talked to him. And it sounds like he's just methodically going through his pace.

Cal McCar needs a contract. Like, Kale McCar's name has not been bandied out there at all. He's a, next year he's a free agent? I believe he's on the list.

I was looking at it. I can't imagine what the number that that. We talked about Caprizov's deal and the owner of Minnesota yesterday wanting to blow that contract out of the water with Caprizov. I can't imagine. Yeah.

So what does he have? Two more years? One in one? year and one more yeah okay so his his contract comes up next summer then yeah that's a guy they got rid of rantanin just so that they can write that guy a huge check oh it's going to be we'll see what mac david comes in at but macar is going to be a monster number it's a big year it's a big year well we'll see how many guys make it like this time last year you looked at the list of potential free agents and you know marner ends up signing in vags with the signing trade before july one you know

Ranson ends up signing in Dallas. You end up seeing Martian signing all the Florida guys stay. Like it didn't turn out to be a big fireworks, free agent frenzy like we thought it'd be. We look at it, you know, right now you got, you mentioned McDavid, obviously being the top, top of the list there. But Jack, like it. The thing that I ask about McDavid and like for people that are like, oh, give up to McDavid talk, it's just so polarizing that the best player in the world is talking about this and we're actually experiencing this. He says he wants to, like, make sure he gets things right.

And what I find kind of weird about all that is it's a situation that he's so familiar with. Right. Like, he's played there for 10 years. Yeah. It's not like he just got traded last year to San Jose, and he played in San Jose one year, and he's not really familiar with the area, the schools, this or that. He's so familiar with everything. And that's what makes people ask the questions.

what are you still evaluating? Like, does the team have to pull the trigger and get different goaltending? Do they have to upgrade something? What do they have to do? Or what is he looking at? Because everything else he knows, like, the back of his hand. He's been there for so long. Yeah.

I think there is, like, from what I've been talking to some people out there and kind of, there's a fine line that he keeps talking about, threading the needle type of thing. About what, Jamie? About term. And, you know, what type of? money and it's not like the other day i said he could write himself a check in three years for like 24 million a year i don't think that's what he's thinking i think what he's trying to do is thread the needle to still you know be a highly paid player which he will be the top of the heap you know

but also not like hamstring his team and then you look at term like i would be shocked and again this is just my personal opinion like he's going to sign like i i think there's you look at Jeff Jackson did an interview the other day with Bob Stauffer, and, you know, again, it's just the epitome of poise. He's just like, yeah, we'll get this done, we'll get a number, we'll get a term. I just, it comes back to, you know, his agent Judd, and McDavid talked about it with, with Rishog, saying, you know, we're going to figure this out. He goes, he's just a lot to unpack, and I just don't know if it's a scenario where he's thinking, okay, go short term, so I can go a lower number potentially, and we can, you know, get another good,

player type of thing or do you go longer term so you just feel like you know you've got your your money said and you just worry about playing hockey but yeah you know it again we're we're talking about it's what is september 5th and we're talking about i believe it's going to happen if there's no contract by now you knew that that conversation was going to be very loud but even mc david said himself today you know if if you can't play through that then you're in the wrong line of business essentially is what he said but another thing that he mentioned in his comments today. And if we want, we can play them. We have the comments here. But essentially, what I thought was interesting is you mentioned that, yeah, the one thing is his term,

but he also mentioned winning is most important, but he also alluded to a salary cap. And that makes me believe that maybe he is willing to take a discount. But that's only if he can see the vision that the money he leaves on the table goes to the right places. Because how many times have we seen teams, you know, convince their players to take a discount, and then they go and they signed Joe Blow for $3 million instead, and he turns out to do absolutely nothing for the franchise, and it's why are you wasting our time here? So he needs to know that if he takes a discount and he takes that investment away, you know, what are you doing? What are you spending it on? There's nothing this summer that I saw that they did that leads me to believe that they've

invested properly with the cap space that they've, that that they have realistically. I didn't love their summer. I like, I like their summer because they got younger. They got the Howard kid, right? Like, they got Mangi Apani at a really good number. Mangiapani is like, what, scored 28 a couple years ago. Like, he can play in your top six. They sign that Tomasek for a million dollars. That's a good European player that they're going to give an opportunity to.

And if he doesn't make the team, you put him in the minors and you use that money for somebody else. What they did is give a runway for some. Listen, they lost... Jamie, like, just to be honest, those are nice players, but those aren't, like, blowing anybody away. But they also lost Evander Cain, and they lost Cory Perry. Keep in mind. Okay, so Evander Cain's replacement is already on that roster. He was hurt last year.

And it's, they got him, I'm drawing a blank on his name now. Left shot, high ankle sprain. Frederick. Oh, Trent Frederick? Yes, Trent Frederick. That's Kane's replacement right there. And then, so to me, I think what they're doing is see what they have, and then they're going to give themselves space to go for potentially somebody else during the season.

I think that's what Toronto's doing, too. I think Toronto's got good players, lots of – but they're giving themselves some flexibility that if teams become sellers, they can be in on player X, player Y, and bring them in in a top six role, in a defensive role, you name it, in a goal-tending role. Like, I think that's what they're doing. I don't think that team's complete yet, but what they are seeing is if Savoy can play, if Philp can play. like guys that are, you know, younger and have to push through because they lost Holloway. They lost Broberg. Those are things that, you know, that hurt them last year.

Yeah, absolutely. We'll get into more of this, obviously. Chris Johnson or TSN Oki and started going to join us on the other side. Luke Wilson back at 5 will make some picks, and we've got a big, big J series tonight. J's down in New York, taken on the Yankees, Keekees and Mattson, going to help TDAQA gave with us at 530. You listen to Overdrive on TSN2 on TSN 1050. Coming up next, Chris Johnston.

Overdrive continues on TSN 2 and up on TSN 1050. Mike DeStefno, in for Brian Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie Noodles McLennan with you for the afternoon. Luke Wilson, Keegan Matheson, going to join us a little bit later on. But on the phone, we got Chris Johnson or TSN Hockey Insider. What's going on? CJ, good to chat with you. Yeah, good to hear it for you guys. Not too much.

Everyone made it through the first week of school. Hockey's starting soon. Life's good. Yeah, hockey's starting soon, and McDavid is without a contract that's obviously been the biggest story here leading up to camp. What's your take on that whole situation? Do we see something get done before camp? Or does it really feel like McDavid's comfortable heading into this season without a deal? Well, it's very clear that he's comfortable taking his time and doing things on his own schedule,

which, you know, quite frankly, I think there's nothing wrong with that. you know, he's earned the right, you know, much like other players have in the past to play things out to, you know, it takes seven years in the current CBA before players get the right to go to UFA, you know, obviously, in his case, we're talking about the top player in the world, you know, it's going to be a story, it has been a story, you know, he got put through the ringer again today with the media there in Evanston, but, you know, I think he's very comfortable with where he's at. And so, you know, I don't have really a prediction in terms of how this is going to go

or how long it's going to take. You know, I believe him when he says that all options are on the table. I mean, that's consistent with everything I'm hearing behind the scenes. You know, I just think that he's not going to be forced by any media conversation, by anyone in the front office, by, you know, anything into doing something he's not comfortable with. And at this point in time, he needs time to decide, you know, where his next deal is going to be, what it's going to look like, and how all that shakes out.

CJ, that's fine and dandy and everything. You have the right to do when you're the best player in the universe. You can do whatever you want. But we were discussing in the first segment how I found it odd how he wants to do that and he's also so familiar with the situation. Like this guy's been there for 10 years. it's not a scenario where he's just got traded to San Jose last year and he wanted to feel a few things out. So that begs the question, what exactly is the feeling out?

Like, does he want to see if there's a goaltending change? Does he want to see if something's shored up in a certain area? Like, that's what, when you do this, it's going to leave it open to questions about what are you feeling out here? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, and they're fair questions, you know, and there are questions that I'm sure will, continue to be asked of them as long as this is unresolved and is kind of in the status close stage it is right now. And, you know, I don't think it's just one thing. You know, look, this team has been to two straight Stanley Cup finals. But I know the internal feeling in

Edmonton is that they took a step back from 2024 to 2025 that, you know, look, it was, it says a lot about how great a team they are that they were down to the last two standing, but they lost ground to the Panthers in that 12 months. You know, it could be that Connor wants to see, you know, what the team has this season. How do things start? How does it feel? I mean, you know, I just think he really would be concerned,

and this isn't just with Edmonton. It's anywhere he might think about playing at any time. He's not going to want to box himself in somewhere where he doesn't feel that he has a great chance to win. And so, you know, I don't know what it will be for him. that sort of says, okay, this is the best spot to stay here with the Oilers, you know. But you look at the other players on that team, and, you know, he's talked a lot referencing this season. Like, I think he's correct to look at the team this year and say they've got a good shot.

They may not take a big step forward in any way that we can pinpoint this summer, but they certainly, I don't think, took massive steps back, and they've just been to those two cup finals. So, you know, I do think that he just wants to get really comfortable with the idea that whatever the next contract is, that he's going to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup in that playing season because, you know, he's played all those years. You mentioned, oh, he's been the top player in the game, you know, 800-point seasons already. He's been a leading playoff point getter three in the last four years, and it hasn't been good enough for his team to win the cup. And, you know, you've heard him, too, in some of the interviews, I saw the one he gave to Ryan Rashog last night. He's talked about that he feels pressure that he can be even better.

But, you know, I think at a certain point, if you're him, how much more do you have to give? You know, I would hate to put that challenge in front of him because it seems like he can do pretty much anything he puts his mind to. But, you know, he's got to feel like he's surrounded by the right chances to win. He thinks that's the case this season. He's under contract with the Oilers. But I think starting 2026, 27, he's got some questions, and he's still working through that process. So outside of McDavid, is there any other looming free agent we'll talk about or you can pinpoint that maybe we're not focusing enough on that maybe isn't just a slam dunk that they sign in their respective organizations? You know, it's hard to say the McDavid story is going to take up all the oxygen around the league, you know, just because of who he is.

And, you know, we haven't seen, you know, not that I can remember we've seen a player. of that magnitude where it's even a whiff of a possibility they could become a UFA. So, you know, just even that you know, and I'm not saying that that's at the table here. I think there's a lot of months before June 30th, which

is the last day the Oilers control his rights as of now. There's a lot of things that could happen in the meantime. But, you know, as time goes along, people are going to start to imagine what if he left? Where would he go? All those sorts of things. So that story is going to be massive. You know, you've got a number of great players

around the league, though, that aren't signed, that are in a similar spot to him, but they're just not on his level. I mean, Kiro Kriprizov is one year out from potential UFA, Jack Eichol in Vegas, Kyle Connor and Winnipeg. You know, I think when all three of those players, there's been dialogue and there is ongoing dialogue between the players' agents and the teams about getting an extension done, much the way the Oilers would love to do, of course, with Connor McDavid. And, you know, we'll see if any of that happens.

In some ways, they're all tied together. We're also living, you know, if you step back even further, we're in this world where you got all of a sudden a $95 million cap for this season. These guys would be starting their next deals in a year where the cap's going to go to $104 million. So it's a little bit of a different environment. And so, you know, I think that any agent with a client that has some leverage

is going to really be careful or be thoughtful, I guess, about, you know, what those next contracts look like. So, you know, it all sets up that it could be a fascinating, next summer, you know, maybe this plays out through this season and a lot of those players extend. I mean, you know, I think there's a world, frankly, where they all stay where they are. But right now we don't know that and, you know, we're getting closer and closer to camp. And so that's a little bit of a pressure point in those kind of negotiations.

CJ, I think yourself, along with the other insiders, we're mentioning teams last year saying everybody wants to be a buyer and everyone kind of some way, somehow like their team. And we mentioned teams like Toronto and Edmonton. that might want to add. Like, how long is it going to take for some of these teams who are completely fooling themselves to thinking that they're any good? Like, is that U.S. Thanksgiving date going to be blown out of the water when teams realize 10 games in that they're trash?

Like, what are these guys going to do? I mean, it could be even sooner. I mean, basically, there's not, for all the optimism out there or front offices that feel pretty good about their team, there's just not enough standings points available. Which means you're fooling yourself to begin with. And the most important assessment is your own assessment of your own team. Sure. And a lot of these front offices are managing up to an owner or someone who represents the owner.

And sometimes that can be a factor here. You know, we've been kind of through the last couple seasons. Like you look at it, San Jose, Chicago, you know, Anaheim, and the Ducks maybe get an asterisk because they took a step forward last year. But a lot of these teams have been at the bottom of the standings for multiple seasons. They've sold off a lot of their experienced players at the past few trade deadlines. And now they've actually drafted, you know, made some high draft picks, and they're excited about those players.

And so they think that they're going to start to take a step forward towards respectability. Well, I mean, it's almost like gravity. If they go up, someone's got to come down. I mean, last year is probably the best example. That was the Boston Bruins. You know, they didn't go into last year's training camp thinking they'd be, you know, a team right near the bottom of the standings, which is where they ended up. I don't think they went to training camp imagine.

that they'd be trading away, you know, heart and soul players like Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle. I mean, a lot of players that had brought success there over a number of seasons where they basically had to pivot on the fly and trade those guys ahead of the deadline. And so I think there's probably going to be a team like a Boston, you know, 2.0, we'll call it.

I mean, there's going to be, I don't, I can't sit here and say which one it's going to be, but reality will hit pretty starkly. And, you know, there's going to be opportunity in that, because if you're one of the few teams out there with really good players to sell, I mean, it can be something that can turn things around quickly. I mean, we saw the capitals turn their program around pretty quickly. Two years ago, the Calgary Flames, you know, had all those UFAs. They traded out of town, and last year they nearly made the playoffs,

and I know they feel good about where they're at today. So, you know, I think naturally the standings, the start of the season is going to, you know, probably force a little bit of a reality chance, in some places and maybe you start to see a bit more player movement, you know, fall out of that. But, I mean, this has been the quietest summer I can remember. I mean, obviously, lots of players were for agents and signed new contracts, but there wasn't really much on the transaction front beyond that. Well, they build off that, CJ, too.

Like, I wonder if you could see teams being a little bit more aggressive earlier in the year. So with the NHL taking or implementing the new salary cap in the playoffs, that it also allows or doesn't really allow cap accrual to be as important. And I wonder if that would allow teams to start making moves a little earlier than usual. I think it's possible. Certainly. I mean, we still don't, it might take a few years for us to even really grasp the true implications of the playoff cap. I mean, what we do know is that, you know, they're trying to address the issue of teams that have used LTI to basically build rosters that were, you know,

you know, outsized the salary cap. I mean, the Panthers brought on a guy like Brad Marshan at last year's deadline while Matthew Kachuk was on LPI and then, you know, when he got to the playoffs, Kachuk was able to play and you had both players in the same team because there's no cap in place. I mean, so we know what the NHL and the Players Association have tried to do with the tweets to the rules in the new CBA, but we don't know how the teams themselves are going to respond yet.

And, you know, look, the smart teams and the smart GMs and AGMs out there, they're always looking for ways to operate in the gray. They're looking for ways to do things legally but tilt the system in their favor. So I'm sure things will crop up. It leaves me here. It's hard to conclude or say definitively what it's going to mean other than I do think it's probably not going to be as busy at the deadline this season. And so, yeah, hopefully that means more trades during the year because, you know,

we know that that's part of the lifeblood of the sport just in terms of driving interest, driving conversation and you know if you're a fan you know the team you love it when your team's out there adding players and trying to make moves to win a stanley cup just a quick follow up on that oh even when you were talking about too like is there any team in the n hl we can all weigh in is that's in a defined rebuild because you we talked about the anaheims and san oz and chicagoes they've been in rebuilds but they're trying to head north right like they're trying to get better to help their young is pitts would be Pittsburgh be the only, like, known open seller right now in the National Hockey League?

I would say they're the only full-scale seller in their mind and in their approach, but even them, you know, it's kind of an asterisk to their situation, but they're going through an ownership change. Right. And, you know, I don't even know exactly what that means for what they can do operationally, but I would suggest to you that they probably can operate in a full sales mode the way, you know, Kyle Dubus and, you know, the guys who work with them there would probably prefer to. So, you know, we might actually be in a strange world where nobody is truly full on embracing the rebuild.

And, you know, that that's probably helps explain a little bit why it was such a quiet summer. But I'm just looking quickly at last year standings. I mean, everybody thinks they're good. Yeah. You know, Philadelphia was at the bottom of the Metro last year. Like, they're trying to be a better team. You know, obviously, I think they'll trade some players away, probably by the deadline. You know, the Islanders made a GM change at 82 points last year.

I just don't see a lot of teams that would openly call themselves like, okay, we know it's going to be three years. And, you know, as good as this Gavin McKenna is that's coming in the 2026 draft, and, you know, by all counts, you know, he's a star to superstar level, number one overall pick potential. So I don't see anyone right now trying to fail to win that pick. Yeah, I'm kind of with you. I'm looking at the standings right now as well.

Like Chicago wants to head northward, Utah, San Jose, Seattle, like Nashville. Like, they went heavy last year. They're probably hoping they could regroup before they go the other way, give at least one more year with that group. But everyone else, besides Pittsburgh, feels like they have a chance, or think they have a chance at the very least. Al's brother, of those teams you just mentioned, honestly, there might be one that takes a leap and is like playoff,

like kind of playoff bound. Of those teams you just mentioned, there might be one. Utah. Well, but that's the thing, though. The question is, and CJ just brought this up, too. Like, if the Islanders take a, what if Boston has a bounce back year? Swayman's on time feels good. It's not going through a contract squabble.

McAvoy, healthy. Lindholm, healthy. You know, you see players that settle in. They made some moves. Like, what if Boston now pushes back in the Atlantic? Like, you know, does Buffalo at some point have a year where things fall into place for them instead of fall apart? Detroit, same thing. They go and get John Gibson.

Are they feel that they better? I look at the east. Like, there's not, it's not, like, it's wide open because a lot of teams believe that they are really good teams there. That's going to be the challenge. They're all going to be taking points off of each other, C. Yeah, it's, I mean, this is, I guess, what the league wants parity, right? Right. You could probably win a bar bat with your friends by asking, you know,

how many points the Florida Panthers finished ahead of Calgary last year in the regular season because it was two. And most people probably wouldn't know that. And obviously, Florida, you know, they're the kind of team. They get in the playoffs. We all know what they're capable of. It doesn't matter where they finish. They don't mind starting on the road, all that stuff.

But, you know, the difference between the, the, the highest classes of the league and the lowest. I think it's just a narrow band. You know, maybe it might be another tough year in San Jose, I would say. Like, they still have some room to go there, but they're not intentionally. I mean, they were trading and signing veterans this summer. Like, they don't want to have another year at the bottom of the standings. They're trying to climb up with Celebrini and Will Smith and everyone else.

So, yeah, it's just a funny point in the cycle of the league. CJ, how do you feel about your Cowboys last night? Mixed emotions in that one. I didn't expect them to even make a game of it, to be honest, and they made a game of it. Yeah, they were good, man. I thought so. Yeah, you should be happy with, I mean, they lost, obviously, but they competed.

Yeah, the fact that, because I didn't know how the whole Micah Parsons situation, you know, what kind of effect I might have on his teammates, the players left behind, And, you know, you just, there's a lot of unknowns there, but, you know, the way they dug in and they were on it, and they obviously had a chance. I mean, unfortunately, C.D. Lamb dropped a couple balls, and I like that he came out and kind of owned that publicly. You know, I think it's, it's, I'm still cautiously optimistic. It'll be a decent year. But, you know, I'm not, I'm not thinking it ends with a Super Bowl as much as I'd love to see that happen. I just don't see that happening either, buddy. As much as I would love it for you and Pierre, I just don't see it happen. All right, buddy, good chat, and we'll do it again soon.

Right on. Have a great weekend, guys. You as well. Chris Johnson, TSN Hockey Insider. Yeah, you bring with a good point, noodles. Like, there's, like, no teams that are in a true rebuild. And even Pittsburgh, they're in a rebuild, but they're not, but who are they moving? They just don't want to say it.

But who are they moving on from? They're not trading Malk and they're not trading Latang, Crosby. Who are they going to trade for? I think that's the biggest thing. You're waiting for a shoe to drop. where it's like Kyle gets the go-ahead from ownership or whatever. It's saying, you know, blow this thing up. Then you have to approach 87 and say, what are we doing here?

What would you like to do? He deserves that respect. But that's the only organization I can see that would be kind of like open for business. Now, again, oh, you're right. 10 games in, 12 games in, up to 20 games in. We're going to see some teams go, why did they think that they were competitive? Why did we, you know, what? Yeah, like if you're an owner, you go off.

to a GM and say, you actually thought these guys would be in the hunt in the spring? They're terrible. But I also see every team feels that they, you know, have a chance and have improved over the weather internally. You get older and you get guys that have a little bit more

experience since their second, third year type of thing. Or, you know, we had a bad season last year. We can get back on it. Like Nashville's fascinating for me. Yeah. Like, you know, does Marcia so and Stamco show up there? and be difference makers now in a positive way.

And, you know, the Romaniosi situation is a real concerning situation. But, you know, U.C. Soros didn't have a great season last year. If he bounces back and is a great goaltender, all of a sudden now Nashville's back in the mix. Like, you know, what is Vancouver going to do? You know, Vancouver had just a hot mess on their hands last year. It just seemed like everything didn't go well. What if Demko looks amazing, Quinn Hughes looks amazing,

and what if your boy Pedersen? Oh, shows up and is a player. Yeah. All of a sudden, you're like, Vancouver looks good. So it's, that's what's fascinating. I can't wait for the puck to drop because, you know, doing my research, like, you're like, oh, I forgot that, you know, Eilers is here and Cody C.C.'s here. Like, a lot of, there was a lot of change in players throughout the league.

It just wasn't as big of marquee summer as you guys were talking about. Right, right. Well, it's going to be fascinating and we're what, just a little over a week away from the opening of training camps and then next thing before you know it the regular season will be here on October and it'll be go time. It'll be go time in a few minutes. Got our picks coming

up. Oh, you're on the clock for tonight. We've got the weekend picks to make as well. So Luke to join us in about 15 minutes. Keegan Matheson to tee up tonight's big J's and Yankees' bout down in the Bronx. Mike DeStefano with Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McClennon. You'll listen to Overdrive on TSN 1050

and TSN2. Mail it in Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP, where you get an entree of site and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Mail it in Friday, brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree aside and a drink and you'll get it all in 20

minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. I'm sure there'll be quite a few patrons inside the Boston pizzas tonight watching this Jay's game that's going to be underway in a couple hours. Biggest

game of the season, biggest series of the season, I don't think that's hyperbolic to say. I don't think that that's far off from the truth. I mean, you're going in there against that team. Always just, I think they're great games when the Jays go in there. It's just what an

environment and it's just a heater matchup And, I mean, it's not do or die. I don't think if the Js get smoked, they're like, you know, it's panic time. But it's a massive series, man. They can really separate and prove something here. That's what it is. It's an opportunity to kind of say goodbye to them. Like, it's not like we're middle of the season.

We're nearing the end of the season. If you can sweep this series or, you know, when two or three type of thing, you can keep them down there for good and then continue on the rest. That's, I think you just, you can say goodbye to them. You know what it's like. If they get it to like half a game and then everybody starts panicking a little bit, if you get that comfort and that confidence, it's just, it does, and there's a lot of veteran players in that clubhouse, but it does a lot for everybody if you just create that separation.

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, it's going to be massive. There's some other news kind of coming out, breaking news, I guess, in the last little bit with the Blue Jays. Rob Longley tweeting this, Blue Jays flipping rotation plans this weekend. Scherzer will be pushed back a day to Sunday with Chris Bassett

moving to Saturday. Interesting. That's concerning. That's concerning. That's concerning. Just because of what happened with the thumb and what the thumb turned into. Yeah. The back, the back, and everything. So what's the back going to turn into?

Hopefully it's just one of those things. It's a one day setback and he's good to go because he's been awesome the second half. Oh, he's been fantastic. He's been great, but struggled a little bit in the last outing. did have the back tightness, is what they called it, said it wasn't, you know, overly concerning, but now you're pushing them back a day.

It's, what's the level of concern? It's a couple, a couple shots at least. Stevie Caldwell. Stevie Caldwell, I think so. I think so. That's what it is. Well, we'll ask Keegan Mathston. He'll join us at 530 help tee up the game.

Luke Wilson coming up on the other side. Our two of Overdrive comes up next. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandool. FanDuel, bringing you everything from the opening line. to the final score. Hey, this is Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Oncour. Weedis Teenage Dirtbag is one of the most relatable songs of all time, but thanks to its impossible falsetto, maybe not the easiest to sing.

She said I got tickets to iron main ends. Yes, that famous female vocal verse was recorded by vocalist Brendan Brown in 2000, and thanks to a tech mix-up again in 2020. Listen to Encore on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts for the stories behind all the songs you love.