Hour 3 with Marco D'Amico & Darren Dreger!

0:00Blind. There are so many ways to listen to TSN 690 on your radio, 690 on the AM dial, online at TSN690.ca, by downloading the iHeart radio app, always free, or through our podcasts in on-demand audio, whether you're at home, the gym, your car, or the office, take TSN 690 with you. Day. That's your nice. I'll spin Matthews, then. I've got one. I'm Matthews. I've got rest. The tear block is bonk, Fidet. Mathisene remeber on the AM dial, great, great. Like Mathisene. And on the J-Kavans, what's that? In the middle. Because you know who makes the view of a Fidet, is it? Big two points for the Canadians at the Bell Center last night, and it was in regulation,

1:02isn't that nice? Over the Toronto Maple Leafs, let's bring in Marco Domingo for this edition of Habs Breakfast. Good morning, Marco. Good morning, gentlemen. How's it going? Oh, I'm doing great. I thought that was a solid performance by the Canadians last night. Not perfect. Would have been nice to get a power play going in the third period, for instance. But two points is two points. What would you say to those who thought the win was not convincing enough from a Canadians perspective? I would say that Martin St. Louis agrees. I think, you know, when you're going to get to this point of the season, right, like we're going to talk about a game that's upcoming tonight. If the Canadians in the same situation against the Senators, the Senators have a way different setup right now, there's a different momentum on that team that they play the same way they played in the second period against the Senators. They may not have the same outcome, and it's that killer instinct that a lot of fans are kind of hoping for. And again, I don't mean to sound negative after a win, because a win is a win, especially against a divisional rival. But there is an element of that killer instinct.

2:04The only thing I would say, and this is true of any professional athlete that's played, the first home game back from a long road trip is all of the drop. All of the drop. And so I completely understand that there was sluggish. There was something going around in the room. We know that Coltrot Field was sick. So I get it. But at the same time, you know, you'd hope that the execution remained the same as it was from the first period, which was out of this world, did a second in the third period. What about the, I'm curious to your perspective on, I think this is part of the sort of maturation of a young team. But do the Canadians need to get better at not drawing at referees when things aren't going their way, when calls aren't going their way, and just hunker down and play the game? Is that something that there's room for improvement in? Yes, but who's doing the drawing? Right? It's mostly like an in-galagher, Josh Janishen.

3:07So how did those guys in their 30s get better at it? I mean, it's a question of being able to handle your emotions and not get into it. Like one of the things that I appreciate about the young corps is that you rarely will see like, like, Lane will only really, you know, question a call when it's a grigis. Ivan Dmitov doesn't really talk to reps. Oliver Capitan doesn't really, you know, get himself in there. Paul Field didn't really have a game to complain about on the ice when it came to the official. It's not necessarily the young corps that does this or that gets in trouble with referees. It's the veterans. And, you know, how many times this season is Josh Janishen take it unfortunate penalties because, you know, Paul's that he didn't like from referees and so on and so forth. So discipline, you know, I know that we like to talk about this young team, but the discipline aside of the puck, I feel like it's mostly the players that you would hope wouldn't overreact that are the ones overreacting right now.

4:10We're talking to Marco Dmitco as we do every Wednesday, 8.05, part of Habs Breakfast here on the more morning show, Marco with RG Media and part of the star in Dmitco show on YouTube and wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Last night. And Larsha throws a hit on Dmitov, Habs Day with it, new hook down low, out front shot in the score. Oliver Coppin in. In front of the net off the feed from Alex Newhook and it's one nothing Montreal. There it is, goal number 20, payout bonus, quarter of a million, thanks for coming. Solid performance by that line, highlighted by 93's effort level, getting off the puck, drawing on the skates as he gets back up, dishes to Newhook and captain finishes off the play. Obviously 93 had a big jump in his game yesterday. Was this incremental? Did you see positive things building and then ultimately had a kind of a standout performance? He was very noticeable last night, Dmitov. Yes, he was. I mean, we had the opportunity to chat with him after the game, you know, and one of the

5:14things I asked him, and I think, you know, those that were paying attention, he's gotten really good at sliding off of checks. He's gotten really good at one-on-one battles and I just feel like he's become even more slippery, more evasive along the boards and that's a really strong skill to have, especially when he's such a high skill player as is, right, like the hands, the one-on-one ability. But being able to be, you know, defenseman by grinding it out in the corners and being smarter, not necessarily stronger, I think is an incredible element that he's added to his arsenal because if he can do that with more regularity, that's a transferable skill that you can take directly into the playoffs and is going to be necessary because, you know, shaking checks, making sure that you're not the target of a massive hit, being able to lose your man and create an odd man situation in front of the net, those are the kinds of elements that are necessary, not just at this end of the season, like the last 20 games,

6:15but for a team to go deep into the playoffs, their start players have to be able to do that and he's showing that, even in his first season, he's showing signs that he's going to be able to do that for years to come. That's a very positive sign and, you know, listening to him as we were talking to him about it, you know, he's very confident in his ability to do that. They were doing a lot of video in that regard over the last week in terms of helping that line maybe create more ice for itself and open up passing lanes. That's exactly what he did on the play that was just played before the question, whereas, you know, he was dipsy-doodle-ing and really trying to evade check and, you know, make his defenseman guess left or right and the moment he had that quick opportunity, behind the back pass to Alex Newhook and then off to Oliver Compatent for a goal. So to me, that was an all-world play and he continued to play excellent. Martin Saint-Louis praised him at the end of the game. When Cole Crossfield couldn't go anymore, it was Ivan Demidov that they were double shifting and that's not by chance.

7:15So I think, you know, he, there was a lot of pressure on this kid to try to win the call there. I think Matthew Schaefer, unfortunately, has that locked down, but I think the signs that you're seeing out of this kid right now are very promising and, you know, a full season of him being able to play a game like he played last night, I think you're looking at a point-per-game player next year. Introducing Brian Adams Radio, an I-Harm Radio, hosted by Brian Adams himself, joined me for an insider look on a wild ride to 40 years of global rock and roll. Brian Adams Radio, now available on the free I-Harm Radio app, or ask your smart speaker to play Brian Adams Radio, an I-Harm Radio. Okay. Here he is after the game. How confident am I? Pretty confident. So, I don't know what else. Just, how did it help you, what's that?

8:17Um, and just find more space, you know, and make a play after. I'm confident, he says. That was me. Yeah, there he is. Marco making a double appearance there. Um, what if I were to say that I, uh, I, uh, Jumetta, uh, put the razzle dazzle, the, the demeanor of, you know, just, uh, those, those, the, the, the assist that he had so many of in the early stages of the season where he would pass to a teammate who would just have a wide open cage to look at, or beating a guy one on one, breaking through the net, then beating the goalie like, is this just me being silly, wanting to see more. Of those wow moments from him. Um, listen, yeah. I think you also have to factor in that, you know, there's, I think there's a couple of factors. Number one, the open ice is easier to find at the beginning of the season than it is at this time of the year. At this time of the year, systems have tightened up.

9:20Games are tighter. You're not seeing the eight sevens on a regular basis unless you have a Buffalo Sabre at this point. Um, you know, teams are clamping down, playing for the extra point, you know, Marching St. Louis even said it like we, we ran away with the score of the last three, four games. You know, we really wanted to keep things tight and in check, um, in this one. So I completely understand, uh, from Demidov's perspective, they're asking him to do a little bit less of the razzle dazzle and make the smart plays the right plays so that it causes the last turnovers and he does a little bit less when it comes to, you know, the higher risk plays, but I think as he continues to find confidence in that game that we were just talking about, he's going to do that with, you know, a little bit more frequency. But I definitely agree. Uh, when you talk about razzle dazzle, Demidov, it's probably because he hasn't, you know, the, I'd say his last six seven games haven't been as noteworthy as perhaps the prior 40. And I think that's understandable. Like a young rookie like this is not another question that he kind of hits a wall or

10:25faces an adjustment period as the pace or style of the NHL kind of changes as it gets into the last 20 games of the season. So I don't think there's anything to worry about the fact that he is adapting before your very eyes is the most positive sign you can have because he's never going to lose those hands. That one, one on one ability, you can't teach that. The only thing you can teach him is how, you know, when and where and that's what he's learning right now. Anything on Colcoffield beyond what we heard from Marta Saint-Louis that he was sick? Yeah, I heard that there was a flu going around, um, so that that, uh, yeah, let's just say I stood very far away from the players in the room, but, uh, I can't, I can't afford to get sick. But, um, you know, I heard there was a flu going around, uh, NHL decided to let him go out on the, on the two consecutive power plays mainly because, you know, you don't have to really exert yourself on a 200 foot basis in that regard. So I understand why you let him go, but, you know, even, even at the end of the game,

11:30like when the Canadians were defending the lead, Colcoffield left the bench, uh, to go back to the dressing room because they knew, you know, NHL basically said, like, go hit the showers early so that you don't infect everybody else. But, um, you know, it is what it is when it comes to a hockey game, you know, Kudos to Colcoff ield who has been nursing some form of illness since, you know, the, the end of the California trip in LA, um, I wouldn't make anything of it. He's traveling with the team, or sorry, he traveled with the team because they traveled last night to Ottawa to avoid the, uh, not yet arrived, uh, you know, uh, winter storm that we're about to get. We're calling it ice poccalips 2026 here, yeah, ice poccalips, man, oh man, um, anyway, so he is with them in Ottawa. He is expected to play tonight, unless it gets any worse, um, and so we'll see where it goes from there. You weren't sure, you know, normally when a player is maybe a bit banged up, that's when they come out, you know, during a commercial break and they do, you know, little semi-circles

12:31by the player's bench, maybe test out, I don't know, knee, groin, whatever the case may be. It was interesting to see that, you know, the cameras picked up him doing that, but, you know, off to Ottawa for 730 tonight, were you surprised that the coaching staff went with Dolby's against Toronto last night? Um, I honestly, a little bit simply just because if I thought there was a game that Monten Book would have probably been last night, um, I think the only reason that game was tight in any way, shape or form is because of, uh, Sergio Wohl on the other side, um, robbing the Canadians three times he robbed Jake Evans, the poor guy, um, but finally got his revenge on an empty net. So I, I think, I think the act of Dolby has proven to be the more consistent goal. I don't think that's a hot take by any stretch of the imagination. Um, you know, I understand trying to trust your veteran, I understand, um, you know, the,

13:31the back-to-back situation hasn't had a tandem and wanting to make sure that your goal is on cold for too long. But I think we're at a point right now where I wouldn't even be surprised if the act of Dolby's played tonight. Let's go. This is where we're at right now. So I don't know, you know, like, I, I, I understand fans right now, they're, they're just like, you know, if, if you are a starting NHL gold tender and you have trouble with unscreened point shots, then how do you think a coach will feel in the, in the crux of a, of a playoff race? And so I understand the anxiety around that. I know a lot of people are calling for, you know, shouting to call up Jacob Fowler. Um, Jacob Fowler himself just got over. I think it's a similar organizational virus here, but he just got over a virus. I was talking home on, on Sunday and, uh, he just got over it. He played his first game in three weeks, uh, last Friday. So he ain't ready to be called up yet. Need a couple of games, uh, and then there's a whole salary cap situation.

14:32So, you know, I, I expect to see a lot of Jacob Dolby's between now and the end of the season. And, you know, one of the things I, I, we're saying in my colleagues is, doesn't it seem like Ottawa is the more important game of the two? Because Ottawa is the actual team chasing the Canadians and, and, and the Eastern Conference right now. They're the team on the upswing along with the, uh, the Columbus Blue Jacket. So I would have preferred to see the best elements against the, um, the senators, but does that not mean that perhaps Dolby would be doing back to back, but let's, let's remember it. It happened to once already in December when he played in Toronto and then played in Montreal the next day against St. Louis. Uh, he, I guess the counterpoint here would be a boy, can I imagine the Canadians losing that game last night with San Montaubo and goal, in which case they're going into Ottawa tonight with the five point lead over the senators instead of a seven point lead over the senators, um, and so on, on that level, it's a sense coming back to from a lengthy

15:35road trip where they were very successful, um, hmm, anyway. So you guys, but if it was up to you, Marco, you go Dolby's tonight? I would, I would, I, I don't think you have the luxury at this stage anymore. For error against divisional opponents, hmm, and, you know, next, as of Saturday, you're playing Pacific division teams again, uh, you know, San Jose and Anaheim again. I think, personally, if there were my call, the next time San Montaubo plays would be against Anaheim again. That would be me. You think they show us you can do better and then we'll, and then we'll see if you get into the rotation again. You think they care about the standings specifically like where they are in the top three of the division? The lightning are reeling a bit. They lost a big one of Columbus, um, yeah, I want to be number three. If not number two in that division, you try to get home ice and try to play tap up or

16:36Detroit because those two have fallen off compared to the way that they were playing in December. And that, that to me, the one thing you absolutely need to avoid if you're the Montreal Americans is playing Buffalo. Maybe they're peaking too early. Pardon me? Maybe they're peaking too early. Who? The Sabers? Yep. Peaking too early. I might listen. The Buffalo Sabers, man, had, were 11, 16 and three, I believe at some point in December and have reached their 40th win before their 20th loss. Hmm. I don't know that, I don't know where the peak is for the Buffalo Sabers at this point and, and quite frankly, Kudos to them and their fans for their patients. But if they're over the team that had St. Louis Blues 2019 written all over them, it's the Buffalo Sabers right now. Maybe. Um, all right. And, uh, well, I guess we'll leave it there, Marco. Thanks so much. The Sabers won their eight straight game last night and, uh, yeah, they now have a four-point

17:36lead at the top. They do. But the Canadians are two points away from the top of Bay Lighting. That's it. Yeah. So everybody breathes, the Canadians are in good position, all requires a little bit of consistency. Big game tonight. Exactly. Thank you, Marco. Have a great day, guys. Only the Colorado Avalanche have more regulation wins this season than the, uh, Buffalo Sabers day. The only team in the NHL coming up next here on the morning show, Bam out of bio. Just had one of the greatest offensive performances in NBA history. I will talk a little bit about that and, uh, where, where that came from when the morning show continues next. What we do have some freezing rain right now, very liked freezing rain in some areas. The roads are a little wet. So it can be slippery. We have an accident off-Island highway 10 eastbound in Sean Bleedriver lost control as in the ditch, but a light drive for the metropolitan to carry.

18:38Formerly South Shore Spans, Laval Spans working well until March 29th at Premier Massal, I'll better chocolate since I priced at six for only $10 available online or in store from the bakery counter or the frozen section. I'm Debbie Marcellos from the CJA D800 traffic center. William. Hi. This is Alex Ankara in your listening to the morning show with Connor McKenna and Sean Star on TSN 690. All right. We saw something in the NBA last night that we haven't seen in a long, long time. That was a player going off for 80 plus points, so Bam out of bio, that was in the second quarter, the guy had 42 points. Fast forward to the third quarter, he keeps going. Cooper has it, tries to spin away from Drew, who has it, Bam has it, get it up, throw it down with the right hand hammer to be the finest single game score in the history of

19:40the Miami Heat. He got up, he threw it down for one of, if not the most delicious, Bams sandwich of his career. 62 points at this point in the third quarter. He's now set the Miami Heat franchise record, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Alonzo Morning Sean, for you long time, Heat fans, Shaquille O'Neal, none of them ever scaled those heights. And it's still only the third quarter, fast forward to the fourth. Just Bam for three, right corner pocket knocks it down a career high, seven made three for Bam on a night, he'll never forget, Bam has 67 points. He wasn't done there, 80 points for Bam. And his 40th free throw attempt, his 33rd make, his records now as well, for 81 for Cooper.

20:42Ties Coby Bryant's 81 point game in the fourth quarter, and then finally a couple more free throws late in the fourth. And quickly in the band, who's got space, head down, spins, puts it up, and Bams going to the line again, Bam on a bio is a complete monster. And really get the ball into Bams hand the right way, only Will Chamberlain has more points in an NBA game in association history than Bam on a bio who has 82, 83 for Bam on a bio, 36 of 43 from the line, both records. That is incredible, breaking Coby Bryant's modern day scoring record of 81 points that

21:44was set 20, it'll be 20 years ago in January, or no, it was 20 years ago this January, yeah. They were head by 16 going into the fourth quarter, they won 150, 129. The coach, Cherx Bolster said, once you got to 40, I didn't go anywhere near him, who knew I would be superstitious. Here is out of bio after the game, Bam, where does this night for you personally rank in your career? Oh, number one, for sure, for sure number one, and we'll be able to do it at home, makes it even more sweeter. All right, Bam, what can you say about this group behind you who support you? Wait, what's that? We've got Norman Powell's got a message. How does it feel to hear your name with Will, Bam, Coby? Oh, obviously it's top three performances of all time, El Yeah, El Yeah.

22:46Norman, we appreciate you for the assist, guys, one more time, let's hear it for Bam, out of bio, 83 points performance, second most points in NBA history. Well, he took 46th free throws in this game, which is what some might say when trying to diminish this accomplishment. But this is a guy who's 28 years old, he's always been a defense first player, he is a two time Olympic gold medalist. He is a star for sure, but this elevates him, I think, to a different status. He's also a guy who grew up worshiping Coby Bryant, his favorite player growing up. And another part of his story, I'm looking at a story from ESPN back in 2020 that he gave his mom the birthday present of a lifetime in 2020. After years of struggling together, he grew up in a single wide trailer with his mom that he bought her a home after he signed a five year max extension that would what at the time

23:53would earn him up to $200 million if he hit the various escalators on her 56th birthday, he bought her a house, a guy grew up in a single wide trailer in North Carolina. And now is only one guy, Will Chamberlain has ever scored more points than him in an NBA game. Cool. And as Sean points out, we got to take Will to word on that because there's no actual video footage of that game. The newest tracks, let's go music and the next big thing is always on the new music fast. Your first place to hear it all, I heart new music, your digital station for brand new drops, fresh vines, and tomorrow's bangers, discover I heart new music, always fresh, always first, stream now on the free I heart radio app. The legend says, according to coming up next year on the morning show Darren dragger joins us. We'll get back into the Canadians, the trade that wasn't on deadline day and could that

24:58be something that gets revisited in the off season. We'll see what Darren dragger says about it when he joins the morning show next. If it's halves, alloets, alliance or CF Montreal, it lives right here on TSN 690. Listen to games live, or sync your TV with the call for the best Montreal based broadcasts. Listen live all week for breaking news and analysis on all your favorite teams. Montreal's home for sports on the air, on the I heart radio app and online is TSN 690. I was, I was a little surprised that there just wasn't like a little bit of a little bit of a boost there, but I guess he can't force it if it's not available to you. Time for Darren dragger. Good morning. Yeah. Good morning. The voice we heard before those quick spots there was Frankie Carrotto saying it was a bit surprise that the Canadians didn't make a move on Friday. Darren, what can you tell me about why they didn't for starters, and then I wanted to

26:02ask you about whether there's something to revisit in the offseason. Well, there's always something to revisit in the offseason. I mean, we're minded by general managers continually, you know, multiple times a year that, especially in the offseason, some of the conversations that you have leading up to the trade deadline that just don't develop into an actual deal can be revisored on the draft floor at varying points of the offseason. So I think there's potential for that. How big? Yeah, we're going to have to let Ken Hughes and the off the offspeople of the Canadians work their magic, we're moving forward. No different than a lot of clubs, a bunch of all is definitely in a number of different conversations. And, you know, it ranges from, I would say, depth pieces to bigger names like Robert Thomas of St. Louis, and I don't know how real that was. I think that that was just Ken Hughes and Jeff Gordon just keeping tabs and making sure

27:05that there wasn't a deal there that both sides could find a way to make sense with. And obviously, they just couldn't talk with that white club with the Calgary Flames. You know, Craig Conroy told me after the deadline, Friday afternoon, now he didn't stipulate that much. I was involved. I think that the Canadian had considerable interest, but Conroy said that he received amazing offers on Zach white club, and they just chose not to trade him. And that's just an organizational call by Conroy and Calgary Flames. I mean, they're a young team. They've got a young developing blue light, and they see white club as being a big part of that and an excellent mentor and, you know, a powerful guy in the community around the Calgary. So those are decisions made. So I wouldn't say that it was through a lack of effort, a lack of trying, a lack of interest that you've got to have a trade partner. And all the pieces have to make sense, especially when you're in those bigger conversations.

28:07Looking at the Canadian's pitcher post trade deadline, I'm curious about a couple of different names. And as usual, you know, you know, if you're comfortable or whatever, I'm just throw a couple names at you. The interest in Patrick Linae, and was Arbor Jacki ever in play? Yeah, I didn't hear Jacki's name. So I think honestly, Sean, that's one of those where every team has probably, well, several of those players where teams would call, and I would think that teams would call an Arbor Jacki. You know, why wouldn't you? And maybe in some of the conversations that we've talked about here, you know, his name surfaced that way, but I never got the sense that the Canadians were shopping them. I didn't. But you get into that game of, you sit even fair to call it semantics. You know, you don't control what other managers are checking on or asking you about, specific to the player. And then all of a sudden, it gets out after the fact, and it's breaking news. And I'll give you the example, and that's the connection between Toronto Maple Leaf,

29:10some Montreal Canadians, and Matthew Nies. Right? Well, yeah, a few teams called on Matthew Nies, including the Canadians. But it was purely a question, what would it take? Now that gets twisted into, well, maybe he was part of the bigger deal. It wasn't done. It really wasn't. I think St. Louis asked about Matthew Nies, but only again in the bigger stratosphere of if you're trading Robert Thomas, or if you live in Chris and Robert Thomas, if you're Doug Armstrong talking to Toronto, okay, well, here's what it's going to start with. If you're going to start with Matthew Nies, and the same thing would be applied to Michael Hage, a Ryan Bakker, I mean, go down the list of the pieces that St. Louis wanted for Robert Thomas. So, I'm always cautious post-trade deadline, talk about the players who were in player could have been in play, because that's where general managers get a little bit snarly. They don't control who other managers ask about.

30:11All they control is who is actually on the trade block, and who is being shot. Patrick Lyon, of course, was on the trade block, but I think the interest dwindled, you know, it did. And Muckerel would have had to have been creative in how they moved that out, you know, are they retaining, are they taking pieces back that they don't necessarily love that sort of thing. And I think it's, it's not just similar to what happened with Vancouver, what didn't happen with Vancouver on advantage chain. I thought for sure, Kane was getting traded a week prior to the trade deadline, and he's still with the vancouver connects, he's still with the connects. And I think that's just because of the flight of players and the other options that the buyers ended up having. We're talking to Darren Dragor, hockey insider every Tuesday, no wait, Wednesday, Friday here on the morning show on TSM 690, it's Wednesday, I'm Conor McKenna with Sean Star, and just back to Jacki for a second, Darren, because we've spoken about him a number of times over the years, and I don't want to misquote you, but I think in the past you've suggested

31:15that if the Canadians are open to moving this guy, there would be a ton of general managers that would be very interested in acquiring him. He hasn't exactly had a banner season for the Canadian so far, has that negatively impacted? Has that perception of Jacki changed? If it has Conor, I think it's moderately. I don't get the sense, and to be honest here, I haven't asked Ken Hughes or anyone with the Canadians about Arbor Jacki in a long, long time. I haven't. I think your assessment is right, if he's on a development curve, as it's flat, I'm a little bit sure it has, but there's lots of upside in that player, and I doubled out. A ton of interest might be a bit of a stretch, but maybe not. Until you put an aim like that, actually, in play, not part of a package, and there's a difference in that, too. Do I think that Arbor Jacki would be a deal breaker from Montreal standpoint?

32:15No. Depending on what's coming back to the other way, sure, you could be included in the package. If it's a one-off, I think that the Canadians would just flat out after winning that trade to cut bait on him at this point. They've got defense coming, good defense coming. It might get to a place, and maybe their view is that at the end of the year, where they feel like he's being pushed out. If that is the case, okay, well, yeah, that's what good teams do. They assess their NHL roster, they look at what's coming, and who's ready to play full-time NHL minutes on the Montreal Canadian's blue light, and then you make the call whether that player or those players are more valuable than the package that Arbor Jacki brings. I guess, further on, the Matthew and I speculation, and if, in fact, Toronto was taking calls and just seeing, putting feelers out there, what do we read into what that package would look like, and how the Maple Leafs look towards next season, whether it's a complete tear

33:20down, or they don't really want to move the remaining big names and feel they can do an on-the-fly type of reset. Well, I mean, we're talking about something that would be significant, and Brad Trillivine has told enough people, going into Friday, during the deadline on Friday, and since Friday, that he was not interested in trading Matthew Nights. So the only reason we keep talking about it is because media and Toronto keep talking about it, right? And so, I mean, every player is potentially in play and tradable. Again, I refer back to St. Louis. You know, if you're the Maple Leafs and you have interest in Robert Thomas, and they did, at least from just a basic tire-kicking perspective, he's a number two center. You know, of course, there are multiple teams with interest. Okay, well, if you want to swing in that sort of field, then what's coming back, and

34:22it's going to be substantial. So that's what it would be. I mean, if Brad Trillivine is the General Manager, and if a team steps up with legitimate interest in Matthew Nights, they've got to make an offer. It can't simply be what's it going to take. Here's what we have. Are you interested in trading a very good player for the Maple Leafs? That's the scenario. An educated guess would be that Trill would need a very good forwardback or a top-pairing defenseman. Otherwise, it's not even worth engaging or having our conversation. And Quinn and MacLeod with the entry, following up on the play, Rasmus Stollivine. Nice pass. Here's MacLeod, holding it to the sludge. Here's what a blast, Quinn's slide, Charles Kuster, after scoring it on one here tonight, and it's flying to two. Is there a better party in the NHL right now than what's going on in Buffalo?

35:23They're eight straight win. They are a juggernaut right now, Darren, I mean, what can you say? I feel like I've never seen anything like this. I've heard comparisons made to the 2019 St. Louis Blues who went on to the Stanley Cup. What do you think about what's happening in Buffalo? Well, it is incredible. There's no doubt about that. And that's the first thing that I thought of as you were setting up the question. It does remind me somewhat of the St. Louis Blues, and it is all hands on deck. Jack win with a big night last night, and every night they seem to find a way to prevail. It doesn't matter if it's a tight-checking game. They can play that style. I have your game. They're now equipped to do that. The gunslinging type of games like we saw the other night against Tampa Bay. They're capable of that. It does feel like no matter what part of their game sayings. I still wonder about their goals, depending which might be a tad unfair. And maybe that kind of the pressure on the goal is alleviated by the work done on their

36:23blue line and the style that they're capable of playing all of that. But they've got all hands, as I said, on deck now. And you're not just talking about the big boys. You're talking about everyone pulling in the same direction. And I mean, it's incredible. And I don't feel badly for Kevin Adams, because Kevin Adams had a lot of time to put that roster together. But with the exception of what Yarmul Kekaline and Ginn around the trade deadline, it really brought in depth, guys, with all the respective Logan Stanley and Luke Shen. This is Kevin Adams' roster, and it's a team that's coached by a wildly experienced coach in Lindy Ruff. And it's the players who finally recognize that, hey, we're pretty good. We're not that bad. We're not nearly as bad as the last decade indicates within. So let's figure it out collectively and internally, and they've done that. And it's not just this winning streak of eight games that they're on now.

37:26They've been playing terrific coffee for an extended period of time, and they earned the right out of being one of the top contending teams in the Eastern Conference. It's pretty obvious sort of that. Barsel working on Cairo. Barsel. Got Prostars. The Islanders complete the comeback from down three, nothing they win for three. Wow. I want to come back on the road down three, nothing. Win it for three. There you heard the Barsel winner. I want to talk though about Matthew Schaefer, had an assist last night, six shots on goal, plays power play, plays short-handed, played over 27 minutes. I mean, he's got the call there. Let's lock that down. Is it silly to put him in the heart? No. I mean, it isn't silly, excuse me, I might look around at some of the year up to year proven players. In the fact that they, you know, we're talking about Conor McDavid, we're talking about Nate

38:29McKinnon, we're talking about Kitakutraub, I mean, go down the list, right? You're top offensive players that seem to be in that spot year after year. I'm willing to have that conversation, John. I am. I didn't expect that this kid would come back to Earth, so to speak. I thought he would find a way to level off just because the games get tougher in the second half, right? And, you know, teams do such a good job of preparing and scouting the opposition. So the tricks of Matthew Schaper's game as a teenager should have been exposed by now. But maybe he's just flat out that good. Maybe his hockey sense is elite at a very, very young age. I mean, isn't that obvious? That seems pretty obvious to me. His skating ability is way above average, even at the NHL level. So he's got a physical and a mental skill set that, you know, indicates that he's going to be an NHL star slash superstar.

39:31You know, I mean, we can't throw water on that at this point of his career. And, you know, he's barely a season into the national hockey league. So I'm hesitant to throw that Adam Hart is, that's an incredible achievement at any point of an NHL career. But I'm open with a conversation. The Norris trophy even go down the list, right? I mean, this kid does a little bit of everything and does it better than most. You know, of course, this is the ultimate in armchair quarterbacking hindsight, 2020. But Canada could have used Matthew Schaper at the Olympics. I wonder if, you know, if he, when he wins a call to trophy and he's got two Norris trophies, four years from now, we're going to be like, man, I can't believe they left him off that team. I don't remember very many of us saying that before, but, you know, that's the benefit, that's the benefit of having a microphone here. Before I let you go, what'd you think, Nathan McKinnon, a major penalty last night for

40:34running over Conor Ingram? Yeah. Should have thrown a Darnell nurse out of the game for that. Well, you know, I watched it several times. I guess I'm okay with a penalty, right? You just can't do that. Now, you know, then you listen to Jared Bednar, of course, the coach of the Colorado Ablands trying to explain it in detail, post game, and he talked about the point of McKinnon skates, headed up ice. And the fact that there is no collision unless Darnell nurse seers them into it. I don't know that it's that type of ride to be fair. It looked to me after watching it several times that, yeah, Darnell nurse makes contact, but he makes contact almost at the exact time that McKinnon is about to collide with Conor Ingram. I mean, I don't know. Maybe you guys saw it a little bit differently. So then the contact was absolutely unavoidable, but I think it was unavoidable anyway. I don't think that McKinnon was turning, you know, in a split second and avoiding contact.

41:34I think he was going straight to the blue thing. I do. I could have lived with a minor penalty, but you don't like to call the major in the first place. And that's simply so that they can use the tools and have a look on video replay to see if it was a major or it should be reduced to a minor penalty. The fact that the collection of on ice official deemed that it was a major penalty, I'm good with it. I'm fine with it. It doesn't elevate beyond that for me, but I'm also not buying the explanation of the Colorado head coach. I think he was just protecting the star player at that stage. Darren, thanks for your time today. As always, we appreciate it. Hey guys, we'll chat on Friday. You know what time it is. Give me the green light. Comment up next. How far would you go to win a fishing contest? You know, I love stories of people cheating and fishing contest. These are great stories. And we've got one for you in just a few moments. Remember that fight almost broke out on the dock when they cut the belly of that fish

42:35open and all those lead weights fell out of it. They're still at it. They're still at it. That's coming up next year. Then we'll chat with Dwight Walton about it a historic night in the NBA. It's all coming up here in the morning show. Then she's got game a weekly show about women's sports with top athletes, coaches and leaders hosted by McGalice Ryder and Vanessa Sanchez. This week on She's Got Game, it's Women's History Month, which means the return of everyone's favorite segment for a dollar, name a woman. She's got game, Saturday afternoon at one on TSN 690, Billion, TSN 690 traffic. A very light drive with canceled school and many folks working from home today. And so no problems on the Metropolitan Decarrier, Villmarie, but we do have a wet surface to deal with. And so it can be a little slippery. And if you're coming across some rain, it may stick to the windshield as well. And so drive with caution, the REM is working on a five minute schedule, metros are working as well.

43:36Did you know that the Mazda 3 is one of the few in its class to offer all-wheel drive, visit your dealer, and get more with Mazda, a Debbie Marcellos from the CJA-D800 traffic center. Serving up what happened at the Bell Center for breakfast, the morning show with McGenny and Star. TSN 690. Hello there. We've only got one more hour with Sean Star. Sean, so scared, is he of the ice that really hasn't arrived yet. That's right. We were promised an ice storm, Sean. And I've already seen, I've got people in my parents' group chat that are like, what did I see here this morning? So line from one of the parents. Where's the ice? I was going to skate in our yard this morning. Angry emoji. I love it. There's nothing like Montrealers or Canadians getting mad about whether misinformation. And anyway, everybody's out here doing their best, I assume. We prepare ourselves, right? Everybody I was watching, you know, the player's championship and Justin Thomas was out

44:38here saying he's got six weather apps and we've all have multiple weather apps. We all cross-reference one versus the other. We prepare ourselves and then here we are now in the real world and what? Well, the bigger picture thing is, your kids aren't in school today. Your kids aren't in daycare today, so you've had to make accommodations in some way. Whether it's working from home, whether it's taking the day off, whether it's looking for asking for getting help from elsewhere with people looking after your kids. And you look outside and you're like, what's going on here? There's nothing going on. There's nothing that's happening out in Montreal right now that would warrant shutting down school, let alone making the call to do so at 2 p.m. yesterday, which is what happened for most schools. So I could understand why there is some eye rolling going on. What's your level of optimism, obviously isn't the right word if we're, that this whole thing's going to be a dud? If we're encrusted in ice, but it sounds like later today, we're going to get a bunch of freezing rain. Okay. But, sorry, my level of optimism, that like, do you think we're going to be encrusted

45:40in ice? What do you want from it? I'm not a meteorologist. I have no idea. I think that it's going to be underwhelming. I think we're going to go. Well, that's good. At the end of the week when we're all gathering with our friends and loved ones, we're going to be laughing about how hyped up this thing was and how it was. Yeah. We got some freezing rain. We got freezing rain sometimes. It happens. But, also, you know me, I'm an internal optimist. I mean, I would take this over instead of the weather was a lot colder and therefore the rain turned into snow. Okay. You know what I mean? I love that. I mean, say this. You mean what we have now? Yeah. It's raining. There's nothing going on right now. It's just a normal mid-march day here. I love that seeing the pavement. Yeah. One thing that I saw, it's funny with all the melting on my street was a bunch of broken glass, like a shattered, bar window. Oh, window. And I was like, oh, who broke it? Who's car got broken into? And I was like, you know what? I'm pretty sure that was there three months ago. And it's just at the snow and ice that was covering it, melted.

46:42Fishing contest, Sean, before we move on to Dwight Walton, we've got to talk about people cheating in fishing contest. You know, I'll never miss a chance to talk about this. This feels like truly one of the most lame things you can do with your time. A man in Texas was arrested, arrested after state authorities said he altered the weight of a large mouth bass that he caught in a fishing tournament. He entered the large mouth bass in a lake fork fishing tournament that was found to have three .75 ounce fishing weights in its stomach. Same weights were also found in his boat. So that's the evidence. The prize money, right, is on $11,000 a prize pool, well, his bond, $20,000 bond on a charge of violating a fishing tournament law, a third degree felony. He's facing up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He also could lose his fishing license and a civil restitution is on the table as well.

47:43I guess this is like a big deal of fishing in Texas, a felony. Anyway, that's the story. Don't cheat. You kids out there that aren't going to school today. Don't don't cheat. Don't cheat. Is that the don't speak reference, the no doubt, so that's right. I look at that. I was right on key. I picked it up. We'll be back in a second. Hey, did BAM out of bio just play one of the best games in NBA history? Does the fact that he scored more than half of his points from the free throw line added asterisk to that incredible performance last night? Let's see what Dwight Walden has to say about it when he joins us next. I'm Luke Wilson. Join me each week for Film Never Lies. Since retirement from the NFL, I've had a lot of my mind now. Got my own show. So if your tire to lazy takes, if you want honest conversations, join us each week, Film Never Lies available on all TSN platforms in the iHeartRadio app.