0:12

Our two of Overdrive Markeros sitting

0:14

in for Brian Hayes today alongside

0:16

Frankie Carado and Jason Strudwick and...

0:20

Guys, let's play the music. Our

0:26

hockey insider Darren Dreger

0:28

confirming Craig Barube has

0:30

been hired as the new head

0:32

coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

0:37

Only continues the trend of big news

0:39

happening when Brian Hayes is not hosting

0:41

the show. That's

0:43

the main part of this whole news that we need

0:45

to take out of that. Anytime

0:47

something big needs to happen, Hayes needs to take

0:49

the day off. Now I do have a question

0:52

for Dougie, if we can go over to

0:54

the Dougie desk real quick. Are we planning on

0:56

getting Hayes on? Is he around? Can

0:58

we find Hayes-y-bee? I think

1:01

I can confirm that. Okay.

1:04

Alright, simple. Short sweet from

1:06

the Dougie desk. Alright. Dougie,

1:09

did they not let you talk much on a

1:11

regular basis? He's paid by the word. Yeah,

1:15

we can find it out. I can

1:17

send a reach out. Okay, Frankie. Guys, let

1:20

me ask you this. What do you

1:22

think Craig Barube was asking of Tree Living

1:25

and the organization when they're going through this

1:27

process? That's a good question. I

1:30

think he probably, and any

1:32

coach would ask the same thing, Strudy. Wouldn't

1:35

you ask for a little stability between the pipes?

1:37

Wouldn't that be one of the first things you

1:39

ask for? And then maybe the second thing with

1:41

this group, it's like, there's probably,

1:43

okay, here's one thing. Joel Edmondson probably

1:45

sticking around. Like, that's his guy from

1:47

St. Louis. I would imagine he

1:49

wants to bring in a guy, like a coach with

1:52

him. Maybe Mike Van

1:54

Rijn has to stick around because that's

1:56

also his guy from St. Louis. I

1:58

bet there was... There's there

2:00

had to have been like a laundry list of

2:02

things that that he wanted By

2:04

the way, it was just point out the maple

2:07

it's have made it official So Craig Brubei is

2:09

the 30 second head coach in Maple leaf history

2:13

There yeah, they're like we were

2:15

talking about before the break that the personality

2:17

of this team Maybe changes a bit like

2:20

there's two sides you can look at

2:22

it You're bringing in and a Stanley

2:24

Cup champion, which is very

2:26

rare to say that your head coaches won a

2:28

Stanley Cup um cranky

2:31

you pointed out he hasn't had playoff success since 2019

2:33

and He's

2:36

I didn't realize this until I was reading up on

2:38

it today There's only been one head

2:41

coach that's won a Stanley Cup with more than one

2:43

team and that's Scotty Bowman So Craig

2:45

Brubei is trying to do something that only Scotty Bowman

2:47

has done so it's

2:49

and a different makeup and a totally

2:51

different organization than the st. Louis Blues,

2:54

but I

2:56

think that this If

2:58

I had to take the pulse of Maple leaf fans,

3:01

I think they're pretty happy with this hire Yeah,

3:03

I would agree I'm seeing a lot of

3:05

that from leaf fans because it's gonna be

3:07

something different and let's you know Let's let's

3:10

make one thing clear like Sheldon was not

3:12

a pushover. It wasn't a walk in the

3:14

park I think Sheldon he wanted

3:16

to empower his players to really take

3:18

ownership of things And

3:20

that maybe sometimes got mistaken with you know

3:23

Not holding guys accountable and giving guys a

3:25

free ride like I don't know I played

3:27

for Sheldon that wasn't the case like

3:29

he's he's Fiery like really fiery he's

3:32

hard on guys But

3:34

this is just gonna be a different version of

3:36

that this and you know Maybe he's gonna call

3:39

guys out more in the media Maybe it's gonna

3:41

be a little more direct a little more honest

3:43

and there's gonna be some guys who thrive under

3:45

that and there's probably Gonna be some guys that

3:47

don't handle that as well I know

3:50

where I would would stand on that like I

3:52

would probably be the guy that maybe

3:54

doesn't handle it as well I'll be the first one to

3:56

admit that but You know

3:58

for this group. It's gonna be something different.

4:00

And at this point, if you've got

4:03

one playoff series win in eight years,

4:05

different doesn't necessarily have to be a bad

4:08

thing. Like it's just you're trying something to

4:10

try and get over this hump and this

4:12

is something different. Okay, I'm

4:14

gonna say something won't be popular. So I prepared

4:17

to let's do it. Why would you want

4:19

to change now? Yeah, no, you're an admin.

4:21

You can hide from an admin 10. I

4:24

think I built up some good will to Beyonce story.

4:26

So I'm hoping this bounces it out. I would

4:29

be the honest person

4:31

here. This team has won one playoff

4:33

series in quite a while. This

4:36

you know, we're talking about them getting to

4:38

the Stanley Cup and all that they're not

4:40

they're not there that this team is not at

4:42

that point. This team to me, even

4:44

with a new coach, you know,

4:46

without some significant changes and upgrades

4:50

in some of the areas, I don't

4:52

think they're that good. They have great top

4:54

end and that that's I'm not dissing Matthews

4:56

or any of these guys. But

4:58

guys, the results speak to where they're at.

5:01

They are a playoff team that

5:03

is out in the first round. That's not successful.

5:05

That's not a team that's going deep. You know,

5:07

look at the teams are competing with. So

5:10

I think that this isn't one year

5:12

in there, they're rolling into the playoffs.

5:14

There's got to be some significant changes

5:17

to not just the way they approach things,

5:19

but to the personnel in this group. And

5:22

I'm not sure how easy that's going to be able to do like look

5:24

at the situation. To far is or

5:26

you know, let's say Martin or they come to Martin

5:28

and say, Okay, we're gonna we're gonna we want to

5:30

trade you. Okay, great. He has an omen of a

5:32

cause. So he picks where he wants to go. When a

5:34

player picks where they

5:36

want to go. What's the return usually like?

5:39

It's not market value. No, it's lesser. Yeah,

5:41

you're not getting market value. So you're not

5:44

turning around and turning Mark, Mark, Mr.

5:46

Marner into a top parent defense. I

5:49

might be wrong here, guys, but I haven't seen that

5:51

in those types of trades. So unless a team really

5:53

has a bunch of those kicking around Strutty, which which

5:55

I find hard to believe the other the other thing

5:57

with this, it's like Marner makes 11. million

6:00

dollars. So you kind of have to

6:02

prioritize if you're going to make that

6:04

deal, what is more important to

6:06

you? Are you going

6:08

to fill out the $11 million with the players

6:10

coming back or are you going to try and

6:13

find a way to alleviate some of that cap

6:15

space and maybe you're going to do it with

6:17

the signings? That's another hurdle

6:20

or roadblock in that entire

6:22

transaction. Yeah, so the

6:24

signings are generally a little bit older players, which

6:26

I understand. You're getting over that 30. I'd

6:29

like to try to get a little bit into that middle

6:32

part of their career if I was the least. Again,

6:34

I'm not saying this to be mean or trying

6:36

to be funny, but just being honest. They're

6:39

not that good because their track record hasn't

6:41

shown it. We can say, well,

6:44

they should have done this. They lost here. They

6:46

didn't. And it is what it is.

6:48

That's just where they're at. I

6:52

think Burby is a good coach. He brings it in.

6:54

But there's a ton of work to be done here.

6:56

A lot of it is going to be done in

6:58

the dark away from the prying

7:00

eyes, the fans, the media, and that. Just

7:02

getting this team going where they need to do, adjusting

7:04

the lineup, moving players out, bringing new guys in that

7:07

fit what they want to do. You

7:09

asked me, Stradi, you asked me what do you think

7:11

Burby is asking of Tree Living? I'll put it back

7:13

to you. If you're Burby and you're

7:15

walking in there and you're interviewing for this job and

7:17

they say, okay, what do you need to be

7:20

successful here? What are your

7:22

top three things that are priorities

7:24

for you? I think I'm

7:26

looking at size. I'm looking at bigger players that

7:28

are heavier. We heard Brad Shmar and Sean talking

7:30

about the other day, bigger players. So Matthew Nyes

7:32

loves him. I love that player. I think he's

7:34

a real good player. There are some other younger

7:36

guys. A couple forwards are coming in. Like, what

7:38

is his name? Fraser Minton looks like he's had

7:40

a good one. Some of those guys are coming.

7:43

On the back end though, I'd be wondering, what are

7:45

we going to do with the D? Joel Edmondson,

7:48

I love him. He's a good player, but

7:50

he's not probably a top four defense in

7:52

anymore. So he's a bottom

7:54

pair. He got Morgan Riley, Lebuchkin, same

7:56

thing. He's a NHL player. He's probably

7:58

not a top four defense. defense then,

8:00

maybe a three four. But

8:02

on a really good team, is he truly in that top

8:05

group? So I'd be wondering, what are we going

8:07

to do to upgrade this D and how are we going to do

8:09

it? Vancouver Canucks did a

8:11

pretty good job trading for Zadora signing

8:13

Carson Suzy. Signing

8:15

Ian Cole. Like anyone

8:19

in the league could have done what Vancouver

8:21

did. Anyone could have

8:23

done that. But they did it. The

8:25

cost of acquisition was, I think, I want to say like

8:27

a second and a fourth for Zadora. Just

8:30

money for Suzy and just money for Cole. But

8:33

to be fair, they paid the

8:36

price to get Heronic and

8:38

then they drafted Quinn Hughes. And they had Myers

8:40

from a long time ago and they paid $6

8:42

million. That

8:45

contract in that market was not looked at in

8:47

a great way for a long time. But I

8:50

don't know. Let's get started. CJ's on the inside.

8:52

Let's get started. Joining

8:55

us now on the Maple Toyota Hotline is Chris Johnston.

8:57

Great timing to have you on the show, CJ. And

9:00

you're over at the World Hockey Championship. It's just

9:03

over 11 p.m. So

9:05

how are the streets of Prague reacting to this

9:07

news? Well, you know my

9:09

hotel room. So I'm not sure what's going on

9:11

out in the streets. But, you

9:13

know, it's, you know, kind of, Darren

9:15

Dreger has been all over the story this week

9:18

and there's been an expectation we were

9:20

going to get here. You know, Craig Brubei, I

9:22

think from the moment Sheldon Keith was fired from

9:24

his job, was thought of as

9:26

the most likely candidate for the Leafs. And I

9:28

think he's an interesting one. You

9:30

know, I'll give you a little perspective from here

9:32

that isn't from the streets. But

9:34

you know, I had a player from the league stop

9:37

me the other day, bumped into me. He's

9:39

like, why do the Leafs keep losing the

9:41

one game? Like his point

9:43

was that they're not like they're getting sweet

9:45

swept out of these series, right? They're getting to

9:47

the game where if you win that

9:50

game, you move on and they always lose. And

9:52

he was just saying, you think it's bad luck? You think it's

9:54

something about them? I don't know if I have that answer, but

9:56

the point is, you know, the Leafs are a

9:59

team that. aren't far off, sure

10:01

far off from winning the Stanley Cup, but

10:04

you know there's some

10:06

buttons maybe that need to be

10:08

pushed or some togetherness or whatever

10:10

it is that they need to find and

10:12

if there's one thing Brubei has done, certainly

10:14

in St. Louis, was he brought that team

10:17

together when it was falling apart and so

10:19

I can understand how you get here given the candidates that

10:21

were out there and available right now and you know

10:24

it's going to be a different vibe

10:27

I would say around the team and

10:29

certainly in the media because Craig Brubei

10:31

is known for having very forthright

10:33

assessments of players, not to say Sheldon Keith didn't

10:35

from time to time, but I think he's

10:37

not going to hold back in any way.

10:40

CJ, throughout this whole process with the Leafs

10:42

trying to find a new head coach, like

10:45

how high up on the priority list for

10:47

them was to have this be, have a

10:49

little bit of a shock factor as far

10:51

as who they're going to bring in and

10:53

how different that voice is going to be

10:55

from Sheldon Keith. Well

10:58

that's part of it and I think the experience is

11:00

important and you know there's only probably a

11:03

couple guys in the mix at this point

11:05

in time that didn't already have jobs or

11:07

you know are ready to work that fit

11:10

this mold and you know the fact that

11:12

Brubei stepped into that blue team and won

11:14

a cup and the way he did it, the way he

11:16

you know went about

11:18

addressing his players is a shock factor. All those things

11:20

I do think factor and I think he also aligns

11:23

a lot with what Bradshaw Living likes from the game. I mean

11:25

you know as much as we can all sit here and say

11:27

well it's been the same old Leafs you know we can look

11:29

at the core of the team having been

11:31

intact now for eight seasons or you know

11:34

six seasons with Tavares, eight for

11:36

the other guys, you know

11:38

there's been a lot of change around the organization.

11:40

Bradshaw Living's not even at a full year yet

11:42

as GM and so I think as

11:44

much as it looks the same sort of

11:47

high level if you dig into the picture

11:49

it's changed and certainly some of

11:51

the players we saw trill living prioritized at the trade

11:54

deadline were Maybe a little different than might have

11:56

you know seen in the past. and obviously now

11:58

there's an off season to come. What

12:00

personnel changes in and the alternately? Now this

12:02

is that coach that he's put by the

12:04

bad so in some keep it all kinds

12:06

of successor sites are going to want to

12:08

be. Betrayed as as the rainy

12:10

I am but after five seasons in this is

12:12

this is the reality is an Hr right now

12:15

it's are we had like twenty culture change or

12:17

something a year. This

12:19

is this is what happens and and I do

12:21

think you're looking to shock the system a little

12:23

bit and and. To. Do that. They

12:25

found the right guy that to come in and

12:27

and release. Said. A different tone and they

12:29

must see for works. She's able

12:32

to take his job number one for our

12:34

great movie As he starts says ten or

12:36

is he said coach. Who.

12:39

Good question I think. If

12:42

it's possible for any the players and under

12:44

for manning. I really do think it's about.

12:47

Trying. To get them to. Put

12:51

a divorce themselves from a pass to to

12:53

move beyond where they've been because he like

12:55

I said there has to be if you

12:57

get into those those game seven to get

12:59

into overtime in game seven Boss. Like there

13:01

has to be that's feelings. Somewhere.

13:03

Deep down inside of the most important players

13:06

on seen as. A paycheck? Get

13:08

it done. Address me Some doubt there in i

13:10

mean it's and so. Now let's face

13:12

it. I will see while things and up with

13:14

athletes and coaches and and up. In.

13:16

A Working Families next Season. Systems

13:18

wise I it's hard to predict what is

13:21

still make changes that way because I think

13:23

that will be depending on who's on Craig

13:25

or a staff of. But when it comes

13:27

from Craig themselves, Many Zone as a motivator

13:30

is known as someone who defines olds, players

13:32

who who tells a like it is in

13:34

objects a group together and I think so.

13:37

One. Of them are evaluating what city do itself.

13:39

I think it's to. Try to strengthen

13:41

what what remains is a team has been

13:43

there and and give them a reason and

13:46

resolved and. I believe that it's gonna

13:48

be different as a grind to know the season and

13:50

ultimately guess. i'll get on with organization

13:52

hopes in alternative playoffs next year and

13:54

that are able to push through so

13:56

it's a big task because the weight

13:58

i think the beach You know gets

14:00

a little heavier and heavier and heavier as as

14:03

they go But

14:05

you know, this is a new voice and it's certainly going to

14:07

be I think a different Feel

14:10

for the players that have been there even as much as you

14:12

know The the core guys for the most part are probably

14:14

going to remain come September our hockey

14:16

insider Chris Johnston joining us on overdrive And

14:20

if you missed it Craig Brubei's the new head

14:22

coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs Pierre Lebron Reporting

14:25

that it is a four-year deal

14:28

and it's interesting that you are over in Czechia

14:30

for the World Hockey Championship CJ

14:32

because there are numerous members

14:34

of the st. Louis Blues who are Competing

14:37

in that tournament and also the current captain

14:39

of the Maple Leafs John Tavares is the

14:41

captain of Canada There's been a lot of

14:43

talk about his future and whether or not

14:46

they'll ask him to wave his no movement

14:48

clause and whether or not They can actually

14:50

trade them and also if he stays whether

14:52

he's the captain moving forward I'm

14:55

I'm assuming for you

14:57

It's going to be fascinating to

14:59

write your next article when you

15:01

talk about John Tavares Getting advice

15:03

from those Blues players and what he

15:05

has to do to have that role with

15:07

the Maple Leafs under a new head coach Absolutely,

15:11

you know, I did speak yesterday with Colton

15:13

Preichel one of the Blues that's

15:15

here about you know What it was

15:17

like in 2018-19 when when ultimately Brubei became

15:19

their interim head coach. They won the Stanley

15:21

Cup Was with you

15:24

know had the interim tag removed after that point in

15:26

time And you know what he said is from a

15:28

technical standpoint X is an O's they didn't change a

15:30

lot but he found a way to

15:32

make sure that they got working in the right direction

15:34

working together and Buying into the

15:36

roles they had and and you know,

15:39

I'm sure those conversations must be happening

15:41

I mean you got Bittington here Joe

15:44

Hoffer's a backup goaltender. I mean, he's a

15:46

little younger Maybe doesn't have as much experience

15:48

it but between that and Preichel And

15:51

you got Tavares on all on the Canadian team. I

15:53

mean at some point there's probably a

15:55

conversation to be had there Just

15:58

just about what to expect. I think that's only natural the

16:00

way we all trade notes on colleagues or

16:02

situations like this. So, you

16:05

know, what will, I

16:07

think, Borube, it's a four-year deal. You

16:10

know, as I said earlier, we've seen so many coaches

16:12

replacing. The term of the deal is great for him

16:14

and his family, but I don't know

16:16

that it matters so much from the team

16:18

end of things. I mean, he's here to get results

16:21

next season. I think that's the way to look at

16:23

it. He's on a series of one-year deals in terms

16:25

of the evaluation point. I think where this team

16:27

is at, I mean, we heard a real

16:29

level of urgency at the news conference with

16:31

Keith Pelly, Brandon Shanahan and Brad

16:33

True Living, you know, just a couple days after

16:36

that the season ended. And, you know,

16:38

it's, the

16:40

times are changing. And, you

16:42

know, there's, you know, Borube comes in at a,

16:44

it could be a great time for him, but it all comes

16:46

together. But it's also a difficult period, I think, where, you know,

16:49

the Leafs are still searching for a lot of answers.

16:51

And there's a lot of work to be done, certainly

16:53

with the roster and things at the management level too.

16:56

So, CJ, now there's two years in a

16:58

row here where there's a

17:00

major change to the

17:03

group around the core four. Last year, it

17:05

was a new general manager comes in and

17:08

evidently it was, we're going to roll the

17:10

core four back. Brad's going to take his

17:12

time. He's going to get his fingerprints on

17:14

this group and we'll evaluate and assess from

17:16

there. Now, it's a new coach. Like,

17:19

is there a chance that the same thing

17:21

happens this year where it's Borube comes in

17:24

and maybe he wants to see what's going

17:26

on here under the hood before there's a

17:28

big change within that core four group? I

17:34

think they're going to make a change or they're going to attempt

17:36

to pretty strongly. You know, it's

17:39

kind of time, right? And, you know, the

17:41

fact that without specifics at that press

17:43

conference a week or so ago, you know,

17:46

the management guys didn't want to get into each individual

17:48

situation. I do think that they're going

17:50

to explore what's out there for them pretty

17:52

seriously. And yes, the players in question

17:54

all of their move clauses and all have lots of

17:56

reasons we could point to why they'd want to stay

17:59

in Toronto. But. I think

18:01

ultimately we have to recognize if your boss ever

18:03

comes to you and says, I

18:05

don't want to keep you long-term, I don't think it is a

18:07

good fit, it would be hard to keep working in that

18:10

environment. And so I don't think that's,

18:14

it's not at a point where those have been the conversations

18:16

that have been had lately. I mean, obviously the

18:18

season's still relatively fresh, this coaching search has taken

18:20

up a lot of the time of

18:23

Brad Tree Living and the Leafs management staff

18:25

for the last week or so, but I

18:27

do think as they get in closer

18:30

to June here and when

18:32

you're making bigger decisions about what next year's roster

18:34

looks like, that they're gonna look

18:36

to make a change there. And so, I mean,

18:38

Marner looks like the one that I guess

18:41

you'd be zeroed in on most, doesn't

18:44

mean he wants to move. And I'm not reporting

18:46

anything here, he's gonna wave his no move, that

18:48

they've asked him to do that, but I think that

18:50

it could be the right time for that kind of move to

18:52

happen. And obviously if it did, it would be a pretty significant

18:55

trade. And just so happens, Brad

18:58

Tree Living is one of the few GMs around the

19:00

league in the cap era that's done a true standard

19:02

trade when he made the Matthew Kachuk deal in

19:04

Calgary. So, let's stay

19:06

tuned on how all that unfolds, but I'd be

19:09

surprised if the messaging anytime soon goes, let's just

19:11

try it again and see what the new coach,

19:13

I think that they're gonna be trying to

19:15

make more fundamental changes to the roster between now and the

19:17

start of next season. CJ,

19:20

Sheldon Keefe was promoted within the

19:22

organization. Is

19:24

it fair to say that

19:26

Craig Barube, because they had

19:28

to essentially woo a free agent to

19:30

come to your organization, that he's gonna have

19:32

more of a say than Sheldon did? You

19:37

know, it's tough to gauge that. I mean, Sheldon worked most

19:39

of his time under Kyle Dubis, and obviously they worked together

19:41

a long period of time. It's tough

19:43

to say they were lying on every decision. In

19:46

fact, I remember them each kind

19:48

of commenting that they could have

19:50

a debate as heated as anyone behind the scenes, just

19:52

what it came to, what they were gonna do.

19:56

I think Barube chaired a coach ultimately. I mean,

19:58

obviously I see a lot of of alignment

20:00

between the kind of players he likes. I mean,

20:02

it's no secret. We're looking at the roster. I

20:04

mean, this is not at the

20:07

defense core, a that I think a contending team

20:09

or a Stanley cup team would roll

20:11

out. And it's certainly not one I think Brad Trillivan would prefer

20:13

to roll out. I mean, he was hired May

20:15

31st or June 1st, whatever it was last season.

20:17

There wasn't a lot of time you're locked into

20:20

certain players. Well, you know, that's a little different

20:22

environment now. TJ Brody's on

20:24

expiring deal. He's made a couple trades

20:27

and so it still has some players like the

20:29

Labushkin and Edmondson that are, you know, the Leafs

20:32

have their rights at least until July 1st, depending

20:34

UFAs. Now there is this decision to

20:36

be made on Timothy Lilligram who's a restricted free

20:38

agent who's eligible for arbitration.

20:40

So, you know, I think that there's going

20:43

to be a different looking blue line fairly

20:46

significantly next year. That's more in the

20:48

GM's liking and it's probably one the

20:50

coach would feel a little bit

20:52

stronger about as well. You know, I think there'll be

20:54

a priority on bigger players that

20:56

play a certain way that especially in the

20:59

playoff time, I think, you know, can

21:01

bring you success. And so, you know, I

21:03

don't know that it's Craig Brube getting say in

21:05

personnel matters, but you know, there'll definitely

21:07

be alignment I would think between the GM and

21:09

the coach on a lot of what the team

21:11

needs. And now, you know, you

21:14

wouldn't want to be in true living's office right now

21:16

because most of us are winding down looking forward

21:18

to summer and he's got a lot of work to do here in

21:20

the next few months. CJ,

21:22

we all agree that Brube is going

21:25

to be direct. Very honest with his

21:27

players. How do you think that'll

21:29

be received by not just the core four, but players

21:31

that have been around for a little bit with the

21:33

Leafs organization? It's

21:36

going to be a learning curve, I think. I mean, even for

21:38

those of us in the media, right? I mean, we, you know,

21:41

no different strategy than you're experiencing in Edmonton. Obviously,

21:44

we're shaking in Vancouver with the Canucks. I mean,

21:46

places where the team is

21:49

of such a going concern on a daily basis, you

21:51

know, one comment from the coach or even maybe

21:53

one comment from a player about the coach can

21:55

become a three day storyline in these kinds

21:58

of markets. And I think we're going to have that

22:00

and probably on some

22:02

level Craig Rube is going to have to get

22:04

used to that and maybe I'm not saying

22:06

change his approach but adjust you know how

22:08

he approaches certain situations we'll call it and

22:12

then behind the scenes you know that that's

22:14

a whole other matter I do think Sheldon

22:16

Keith really challenged at least the flash year I

22:18

mean it gets lost probably

22:20

in another game seven lots in Boston

22:23

for Toronto but we saw different

22:25

Sheldon Keith the season he did you

22:28

know put the pressure on some of his players

22:30

publicly bench you know John Tavares full period in

22:32

a game in the regular season I mean I

22:34

think we saw him with him probably understanding that

22:37

this was a year where the team had to

22:39

take a step forward you know for

22:41

him to keep the job and they weren't able to do it

22:43

he didn't do that but I think he

22:45

did push those buttons this will probably be on

22:47

another level especially because it's a new voice doing it you

22:49

know right out of the gate but yeah

22:52

I think it's you know for

22:54

those that like this this sort of

22:56

the content side of this I think there's going to be

22:58

a lot of it because you know I've seen a

23:00

bunch of the rubies quotes from st.

23:03

Louis going around where he had some pretty pointed

23:05

remarks about top players at various

23:07

points in time and you know if he

23:09

ever comes out to something about that like it you

23:11

know about an Auston Matthews, you've got a Morgan Riley

23:14

you can pick someone on the roster I mean that's

23:16

going to become a pretty big talking point for us

23:18

and you know it's the

23:20

reality of playing in a market where everyone

23:22

cares so much. CJ how important

23:24

is it going to be for Craig Burube

23:26

to have someone who's maybe a little

23:29

more X's and O's inclined like a

23:31

tactician type coach around because you know

23:33

as much as we've talked about him

23:35

and and all the strengths that he

23:37

has as a coach that's one of

23:39

those you know aspects that seems to

23:41

come up as maybe not

23:43

a strength for him so like it's

23:46

too early to kind of tell I guess like

23:48

who's going to round out that staff but do

23:50

you have any kind of sense as far as

23:53

you know what type of personnel

23:55

they would surround him with? Well

23:58

I mean you got Mike Van Ryan already on the line Leafs

24:00

bench and he worked with Craig in St.

24:02

Louis and they had success there. So

24:05

you'd like to think there's a good chance that he'd

24:07

be a candidate to come back. The

24:09

Leafs last year had four assistant coaches. They

24:11

almost had coordinators. They had to

24:14

simplify things. A forwards assistant coach, a defense assistant

24:16

coach, a power play assistant coach, and a penalty

24:18

kill assistant coach. All independent.

24:21

A lot of teams lump some of those

24:23

roles together with their assistants.

24:25

And so there's going to be

24:27

lots of help. However, it shakes out whoever ultimately

24:29

fills out that staff for Burube.

24:32

And I think the reality is, I mean,

24:34

it's hard to put coaches in one of two

24:36

buckets. That's probably a little too broad, but very

24:41

seldom is someone a fantastic motivator

24:43

and a fantastic technician. I think

24:45

that everyone has different strengths

24:47

and that's why the staff is

24:50

important. And obviously for the Leafs, I mean, part of

24:52

the reason we're talking about them in the past tense

24:55

this season right now is because they're powerful. They scored

24:57

one goal on the playoff series again, and

24:59

that's been a problem. So

25:01

however they subdivide the path, I mean,

25:03

the lovers coaching the league's power play

25:06

has a huge job ahead

25:08

of them next season because for a team

25:10

with the offensive skill they have, you

25:13

just can't get into a playoff series and

25:15

have that disappear as often as they have

25:17

in the past. And so, yeah,

25:19

it's all part of it. I mean, Burube, I'm

25:21

sure we're probably not giving him enough credit for

25:23

his hockey knowledge too. I mean,

25:25

he's coached 500 games in the league. He had

25:27

a playing career. I'm not by any means

25:29

suggesting he doesn't know the game, but I think his

25:32

biggest strength is his interpersonal

25:34

relationships, the way he motivates a team.

25:37

And there'll be other guys on his staff

25:39

that can break down every

25:41

trend and make sure they're at the cutting edge

25:43

of how they're doing their systems play. CJ,

25:46

I'll get you out on this. You're in Prague.

25:49

You're up late with us. So I should

25:51

probably get your thoughts on the World Hockey

25:54

Championship so far. I spend your impression on

25:56

the tournament. We're about a weekend and this

25:59

weekend, Canada will. finally play some tough competition?

26:03

Yeah, I mean, my two things is on a

26:05

personal level, this is one of the coolest hockey

26:08

events if you ever get a chance to come over and be

26:10

around it. I would highly recommend

26:12

it. I mean, it's different than the NHL,

26:14

different than Stanley Cup playoffs, but a

26:17

lot of fun. And then the second part would

26:19

be just what you're highlighting there, Mark, is that, you know,

26:21

the tournament's about to heat up. Canada plays Finland

26:24

tomorrow afternoon here, local time, be a

26:26

morning start there in Canada. They

26:29

have the game against the Czechs on Tuesday, the

26:31

host nation, and then they jump into the quarterfinals.

26:34

And so, you know, Connor Bedard has been the

26:36

story on the ground here. I mean, he is

26:38

by far the biggest star in

26:40

terms of just getting attention. This

26:43

is a tournament that has Victor Hedman, Eric

26:45

Carlson, Roman Yossi, John Tamaros. I mean, lots

26:47

of very accomplished players that have won major,

26:49

you know, NHL awards and been

26:52

longtime all-stars. But, you know, because Bedard's so

26:54

young and he scored five goals already in

26:56

the tournament, he's getting

26:58

most of the love and the mick tone from the

27:00

foreign media and from the fans and the stands.

27:02

So, you know, it'll be cool to see how, you

27:04

know, he can raise his game because, you know,

27:07

let's face it, in Chicago this year, you know,

27:09

he had a nice season, but that team was out

27:11

of a playoff spot from day one through the last

27:14

day of the regular season where he's about to be in

27:16

these heated games that carry big consequences.

27:18

And, you know, Canada's trying to win a gold

27:20

medal and he's an important part of their team.

27:22

So I'm excited to see, as you say, the

27:25

maybe more heavyweight match-ups of the tournament

27:27

and then obviously how Bedard fares in

27:30

that level of competition. Well, it's

27:32

always great to have you on the show, especially when

27:34

we're breaking news with the Maple Leafs hiring a new

27:36

head coach. Enjoy the rest of

27:38

the World Hockey Championship and enjoy the

27:40

weekend in Prague. Yeah,

27:43

you too, guys, and enjoy your May long

27:45

weekend there in Canada. I'll be missing it,

27:47

but happy to be here around hockey. Awesome

27:49

stuff, buddy. There's Chris Johnson

27:51

joining us on the Maple Toyota

27:53

Hotline. Check out Maple Toyota's huge

27:55

truck and SUV lineup, including the

27:57

Tundra, 4Runner, Highlander, and...

28:00

grand Highlander in stock and

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ready to deliver visit mapletoyota.com.

28:06

The World Hockey Championship in Prague and

28:08

Ostrava continuing this weekend. Strade,

28:12

I know you played in Sweden. Do you

28:14

ever get out to Prague and enjoy the

28:16

sights there? Never did. Never got a chance.

28:18

I played in Switzerland, Sweden and just absolutely

28:21

dominated the Hungarian Hockey League. They're

28:23

talking about it. I

28:26

think the

28:28

stats speak for themselves. I don't

28:30

need to. It's like David

28:32

likes stats. Did you play in

28:34

the hockey Elsvenskyn in Sweden? I did. You

28:37

had the second division. Me too.

28:40

You did? What did you play with? I played with

28:42

Modo. Oh, Modo. I was Sorta

28:45

Talia. Sorta Talia. Yeah. You

28:47

know what? I loved it and I played

28:49

in that building. That building

28:52

in Sota Talia has two jumbotrons.

28:55

Do you remember that? It's incredible. It's so

28:57

much fun playing over there. I

28:59

was at the end of my career. I wasn't near it. So was

29:01

I. I just didn't know it yet. Yeah. Everyone

29:05

was so young. Our captain was like 23 years

29:07

old. I sat beside him.

29:09

I remember one game. We had a

29:11

tough one and he gets up to start talking. He's

29:13

mumbling and fumbling. I'm like, do you want me to

29:15

help? I was like, please, please. So I jumped up

29:17

and I kind of gave a sermon

29:19

to the boys. But yeah,

29:22

it's a great league. It's really good hockey. And

29:25

they're so organized. It's like rugby on ice,

29:27

Strady. It's like rugby on ice. Those guys,

29:29

they clutch and grab you. They're

29:31

so good at that stuff. It's hard to break

29:33

free. And they

29:36

can all skate marathons. Those guys. Frank,

29:38

I love that. I wanted to slow the game down.

29:40

I wanted to play in a small box. Everyone's holding

29:43

on to each other. It's like a mosh pit. That's

29:45

when I was at my best. I didn't want to

29:47

open free-wing hockey. Yeah. Just like the

29:49

same mosh pit at the Beyonce concert. All right, bro. Let's

29:51

get out of here. That's great. Let's

29:55

take a break as we continue to dissect the

29:57

news that Craig Barube is the new head coach.

30:00

of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Karla

30:02

Koliakovo, a host of first up, is

30:04

going to join us after the break.

30:06

Overdrive continues and is brought to you

30:08

by FanDuel, bringing you everything from the

30:11

opening line to the final score. Karla

30:13

Koliakovo after the break. ["Fantastic

30:20

Music Music

30:26

Music Music Music

30:36

Music Music

30:46

Music Music

30:57

Music Music

31:07

Music Music

31:17

Music Music

31:28

You know a lot of people within

31:30

that Blues organization, so you're familiar with

31:32

Craig Barube. What's your reaction to today's

31:35

news? My

31:38

reaction is that, yeah,

31:40

I think this is the right hire for the for

31:42

the Maple Leafs. I mean, we've all speculated this for

31:45

the last, you know, a week or so

31:47

since Sheldon Key's removal.

31:50

And I think what it does

31:52

is it sort

31:56

of gives us the...

32:00

the sort of outlook that the Maple

32:02

Leafs are preparing for a culture change.

32:05

Because for many years on their

32:08

shelving keep, we've all seen it.

32:10

We've all seen this

32:12

sort of country club, the

32:15

coddling of certain players in

32:17

Toronto. Well, I can tell

32:19

you right now, with Craig Ruby behind the bench, there

32:21

won't be any of that. Because

32:23

my experience for playing with your Craig

32:25

Ruby in Philadelphia, granted

32:27

even though it was a short time, was

32:32

a very impactful one. Because from that

32:34

time, out of all the coaches that

32:36

I played for, he is

32:39

hands down one of my favorite coaches

32:41

I've ever played for because he keeps it

32:43

real. He's a guy

32:45

that demands

32:48

accountability, he demands

32:50

structure, and

32:53

he does it in a very, very respectful

32:55

way. But he's

32:57

also a brutally honest coach. And I

32:59

think in today's hockey, people

33:02

lose track of how important that is.

33:05

When you're dealing with a bunch of young players,

33:07

and you have a salary cap, and there's not

33:09

much player movement in the league, sometimes

33:12

you just got to tell a player exactly

33:15

how it is, and exactly

33:17

what needs to happen, or what needs to be done.

33:19

And he's the perfect example of that. So

33:22

I'm a big fan of this iron.

33:24

I think it's definitely going to

33:27

feel impacted on this Maple

33:29

Leafs team starting next season.

33:32

Carlo, you kind of know the way it goes,

33:34

where during a regular season, you're

33:36

out to dinner with the guys, or you're sitting at

33:39

the back of the bus after a game, and there's

33:41

certain conversations that happen. Sometimes it's

33:43

about the coach, or what's happening with the team. It's

33:45

like a little bit of a mid-season audit

33:47

between guys. It's like a little bit of

33:50

a venting session. When you played

33:52

on Philly, it would have been like

33:54

Boracic, Giroux, Wayne Simmonds would have been

33:56

there. Do you remember any of

33:58

those conversations with some of the... the

34:00

stars on that team and maybe

34:03

how they felt about Barubay and how

34:05

he handled coaching them? Well

34:09

in Philadelphia with Vorchek and

34:11

Giroux, they were going through

34:13

a transition where they were

34:16

in salary cap hell and they

34:18

were trying to be competitive but everybody knew they

34:20

needed a change and a

34:23

guy like Claude Giroux wore a

34:25

lot of the losses

34:28

and a lot of the struggles on

34:30

his own shoulders and

34:32

it was his conversations that he would

34:34

have with Barubay daily that

34:37

really helped him push through it and

34:40

try to and continue to be the leader

34:42

that he was for the Flyers and now

34:44

that he is for the Sens. Look

34:47

there's only so much a coach can do. Coach

34:49

can't come out and play the game but

34:51

what a coach can do

34:53

is create an

34:56

environment and a culture within

34:58

the team that

35:02

demands a certain way of play and sometimes

35:04

you can play that certain way because

35:06

you have the talent to do so but the

35:09

other times you can play that certain way because

35:11

you have everybody buying in to do it

35:14

and I think the best example of

35:16

Craig Barubay was his time in St. Louis

35:18

and he talked to every player that played

35:20

for him in St. Louis. That

35:22

team was ready to win and

35:25

when he came in he made

35:27

those guys believe they could win because

35:29

he made him buy into a certain way of

35:31

playing because it was demanding and

35:34

there was no sugarcoating any situation.

35:36

If it didn't like the way he

35:38

were playing or didn't like what he was seeing he'd let you know

35:40

about it and the

35:43

thing about him too is that he's

35:46

not this this coach that will

35:49

blow you away or is above any other

35:51

coach when it comes to systems or X's

35:53

and O's. I think you guys all

35:55

know like in today's game everybody

35:58

who plays the NHL knows how to play a certain way. system

36:01

and he's the type of guy that surrounds

36:03

himself with really good hockey minds

36:05

really good coaches and

36:07

he creates a team that

36:10

helps provide the same message

36:13

but it's his presence that

36:16

sort of you know

36:19

that trumps everything because guys

36:21

know that he's

36:23

the type of guy that'll push back and

36:25

they'll push guys to be better and

36:27

if you look at this Maple Leafs

36:29

team isn't that exactly what they

36:32

need I mean you guys

36:34

know how to play the game they

36:36

just need somebody to push them a little harder

36:38

and somebody that's gonna demand

36:40

a certain style of play and like

36:45

we hope the roster is gonna change but at least as

36:47

the first step of the line of change. Well

36:50

there's a few things that need to happen you're

36:52

right Coco and and if we get to the

36:54

point where it's the regular season

36:56

and Barube's he's gonna be behind the

36:59

bench now and we talk about accountability

37:01

and all that kind of stuff and

37:03

it's great but you

37:05

know you watch Carolina play you could tell exactly

37:07

what type of team that is and how they

37:09

want to play you know you watch something like

37:12

a team like the New York Rangers it's like

37:14

they're really good on the rush like there's certain

37:16

traits that you have to see on the ice

37:18

so in your experience with Barube like what can

37:21

we expect to see outside of all the the

37:23

narrative stuff like the accountability and you

37:25

know the communication like what can we actually expect to

37:27

see on the ice like what does the identity of

37:30

his team look like on the ice. Frankie

37:33

that's a great question and the identity

37:36

is for Craig

37:39

Barube everybody who watched Craig

37:41

Barube play knows the type

37:43

of player that he is and he was

37:45

a crazy player when he played I don't

37:48

expect I don't think everybody's gonna buy into

37:50

playing that but there's

37:53

there's a certain respect that

37:56

he shows to players and

37:58

that he demands from players players on

38:01

how to play the game. The

38:05

one thing that I know for sure, he was

38:08

very demanding when it came to structure.

38:10

Like buying into playing with

38:13

certain structure defensively, buying into

38:15

playing with certain structure when it comes

38:17

to checking. Remember, he was on the

38:19

staff with Ken Hitchcock. And

38:22

every time you hear Ken Hitchcock speak,

38:26

he always talks about checking being the

38:28

most important aspect of the game. Because

38:30

if you can check, you can

38:32

win. And that's sort of the type

38:35

of game and the sort of style that he's

38:37

going to want the

38:39

Maple Leafs best players to buy into.

38:42

Because when they're doing it, everybody else

38:44

follows. And what comes

38:46

with that, I know it's a word that we

38:48

throw around a lot, is accountability. That

38:51

all follows when guys understand

38:53

that there's a buy-in to a team

38:55

way to play. Andy

38:58

Strickland sent out

39:00

a message to commenting on his analysis

39:03

of the hire. He said, like,

39:06

coming into the Maple Leafs, you

39:09

might see a drop in point production, but

39:12

you'll see a bigger buy-in to team

39:14

play. And I think that's the

39:16

approach that he's going to try to bring to this group. Carl,

39:20

Jason Stradwick here, don't be nervous. I'm just

39:22

like the rest of you guys, just from

39:24

Western Canada. I was hoping to see that.

39:27

Well, listen buddy, I don't want to give

39:29

that good of a show, right? I want

39:31

to leave a little bit of something for

39:33

the imagination. Okay,

39:36

I think Craig Buroughby is a good hire, he's going

39:39

to make it happen. But have we as the media,

39:41

as fans, been asking too much to

39:43

the Leafs? Do you think that

39:45

with the group they have, they keep it? That

39:47

Craig Buroughby can turn them into a team that

39:49

goes deeper? Or how, like,

39:51

where would you put the importance of

39:54

adjusting or tweaking, or maybe making some

39:56

major changes to the roster? I

40:00

think I said it when I first started that this

40:02

is the first step of a culture

40:04

change because You're

40:06

bringing in a coach who's going to demand a different

40:08

way for this group to play Now

40:11

we've seen this for way

40:14

too long That this

40:16

group as good as they are together are just

40:18

not capable of getting it done. I don't

40:21

necessarily believe that just

40:24

because there's a change

40:28

in the voice behind the bench that Automatically

40:31

They're gonna change the success in the playoffs They

40:34

still need to rebuild this roster and

40:36

rebuild this roster to better fit the

40:39

way that a Craig Garube is gonna demand to

40:41

play because I Know

40:44

the Maple Leafs have really good players and players

40:47

that a lot of teams would obviously want on

40:49

their team But it's hard

40:51

to imagine that these players could play

40:54

The type of style of hockey together

40:56

that we've seen come playoff time I mean just look

40:58

at the series that are going on right now We were

41:00

watching the Maple Leafs in the second round with

41:03

this group Could we

41:05

expect them to be as competitive as

41:07

the teams that we're seeing hard to believe?

41:10

but I I'm

41:13

in the belief that You

41:15

fire you replace the GM last year.

41:18

He was in a tough spot to come in and make major changes

41:21

You've now replaced the coach. I

41:24

think the next step is you have to replace

41:27

Someone in the core of this roster to actually

41:30

believe that there can be change Well,

41:33

the first step was a new head coach and that happened today

41:36

Carlo, thanks so much for taking the

41:38

time out of your Friday evening to

41:40

join us I know you're really looking

41:43

forward to this long weekend. You're very

41:45

excited about that. So Enjoy

41:47

yourself and we'll chat soon

41:50

Very soon. Thanks buddy Marky

41:53

I'm joining you tomorrow morning. Not much of a

41:55

fun weekend for me. We'll be covering the world's

41:57

which is this It's

41:59

been a new incredible tournament like I'm very grateful

42:01

that I've been able to be on

42:04

the covers this year and especially working

42:06

alongside you and Laura Dyken, it's

42:08

been an absolute pleasure my friend. You

42:11

understand what you just said, right? That

42:13

you're not going to have a long time to work with me. Yeah,

42:17

I know. That's on the

42:19

record. I'm not going to

42:21

have a long weekend of like relaxation

42:23

because I'm putting in the grind with

42:25

you buddy. Sounds like you're

42:28

backpedaling just a little bit. But anyways, I'm looking

42:30

forward to you and I. Canada

42:33

plays Finland this weekend. We've got some great

42:35

games. I'm excited. I don't know

42:37

about you, but I do go back to saying

42:39

thank you for taking time out of your Friday

42:41

evening to join us. My

42:44

pleasure, boys. There you have it. Enjoy. Carlo

42:47

Kolyakovo, first up co-host

42:49

and somewhat enthused about

42:51

being a part of the World Hockey Championship

42:53

coverage this weekend with yours truly. He did

42:55

you wrong, buddy. You

42:58

deserve better than that. I was not

43:00

expecting that coming from him. Bring

43:02

him something tomorrow. Bring him a cookie or a

43:05

bagel. I'm not sure what he's into, but. You

43:07

know what he's got to do, Strudy? He's got to

43:09

listen to a little Beyonce. He's

43:12

got the car, little Beyonce on

43:14

the way home, get refreshed, recharge,

43:16

feel better about going into work

43:18

tomorrow, be like a new man. Between

43:20

B. He does have the right

43:22

answer to every question. He does have the

43:24

6 a.m. game with Laura tomorrow. Maybe that

43:26

was it, but we get catering.

43:29

I don't know. I thought that was good

43:31

enough for anyone, but. Exciting. Anyway,

43:33

speaking of food, Milligan Fridays is

43:35

brought to you by Boston Pizza,

43:37

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43:39

to Thai bites and puck drops

43:41

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43:45

is always dialed in for game

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time, hustled into your local BP

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tonight. Speaking of

43:52

the World Hockey Championship, Mike Johnson is going to join

43:54

us from Prague to kick off the 6 o'clock hour.

43:57

We'll continue to dissect the big news today.

44:00

He's the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

44:02

We also have Chris Rose coming up, 6.30. We'll

44:06

get into the Blue Jays series with the

44:09

Tampa Bay Rays. That and

44:11

much more. Overdrive continues, TSN 10.50 and up on TSN 2.

44:15

The Toronto Maple Leafs.

44:20

The Toronto Maple Leafs. The

44:22

Toronto Maple Leafs. The Toronto Maple

44:25

Leafs. The Toronto Maple Leafs.

44:27

The Toronto Maple Leafs. Now

44:30

we're gonna play the new stuff. Are

44:33

you into the new stuff or do you only like the class? Yeah,

44:36

I'm a pretty big fan of her. Listen, I have my

44:38

wife, my daughter in the house. They love

44:41

to rock out to her, so I like

44:43

the country vibe. To Beyonce, right? Country's cool.

44:45

Could you play that on the guitarist Strudy?

44:49

No, I have a pretty small set list.

44:51

I'm trying to build it up, but probably

44:54

my best song is The Wonder of You by

44:56

Elvis Presley. Well, why does he

44:58

buckle when she hears the intro to it? Who's

45:02

the more accomplished guitarist? You

45:04

or Noodles? Oh, Noodles

45:06

for sure. Yeah? But yeah, he's

45:09

been working out a lot longer, right? He's

45:12

been playing, I think, for 20 years probably. Oh,

45:14

wow. Yeah, a long time. I'm like six months.

45:17

Oh, you just picked it up. Just picked it

45:19

up, yeah, I kinda went midlife crisis. You

45:21

can dance. I think I can do anything.

45:24

Yeah, crazy. Knitting. Guitar

45:27

dance floor. Motorcycle soon? Maybe.

45:30

Yeah. Animal Bar Mustache? No,

45:32

I'm scared. Actually, I just sold it. I had a

45:34

road bike, I sold it. I'm scared. I'm scared of

45:36

that speed. So I've got a big

45:38

mountain bike I ride around, knitting, the guitar. Like, I

45:41

think you gotta chat, you know, nearly 50 guys,

45:43

so it's kind of a lower peak of

45:47

a midlife crisis I'm going through. Yeah, that's

45:50

fine. I just got a

45:52

message from an anonymous person who said,

45:54

motorcycle won't be good for what's up

45:56

top. Ha ha ha ha. I'd

46:01

have to wear a helmet, right? I do such a

46:03

covered up, but I put my nice hairpiece on if

46:05

I was doing the helmet. You know? The

46:08

good guy's got a tight one. Okay.

46:10

It's a nice rug.

46:12

Yeah. Like I mentioned, the

46:14

Blue Jays are going to kick off a series

46:16

with the Tampa Bay Rays. George Springer in

46:19

the lead-off spot. We'll get into that with Chris

46:21

Rose at 6.30. Mike

46:23

Johnson's going to join us after the break.

46:25

He's also in check here for the World

46:27

Hockey Championship. We'll get into

46:29

both the tournament and Craig Barube as the

46:31

new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

46:33

I'm looking forward to getting his thoughts on

46:36

that. Plus, the PGA Championship. Xander Shopley is

46:38

your leader. Scotty Scheffler from a

46:40

jail cell to a 66. Right

46:43

now, he has four shots off the lead

46:45

as overdrive continues on TSN 10-50 and on

46:48

TSN 2.