Maple Leafs open the season with an L | OverDrive: Sept. 30, 2026 - Hour 1

0:00This hour of overdrive is powered by FanDuel. FanDuel bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. Alright, here we go overdrive, off and running. TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, up on TSN 4, up on YouTube live, Brian Hayes, your dog Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Nudel's McClenoday. It's going on today. What's going on? Just like the Maple Leaf schedule fell as if you had a bit of a rough show yesterday. Guess what? We're right back at it. I love it. Life in the big leagues, whether you had a good game, bad game, you're back at it the next day. It's an 84 game grind. Did you catch yourself saying 82 because I was talking to somebody today. It sounds bizarre. It sounds bizarre. 84, think about it today. Teams woke up today going, well, we got 83 more. If you do the law of average, it's great. The two extra games, some of the games look like that last night too.

1:00It's still exhibition. But I mean, I don't know, entertaining lots to talk about. I'll tell you that. Sure, there's a ton to talk about it. Oh, why don't we just get right into a quick little segment we used to do. Let's start with just some Euler's Habs, Maple Leafs. It's only one game. But. Okay, you want to go there? Alright. One minute in, a lot better. It's only one game. But if you're the Maple Leafs, you are banking on a bounce back, I think, from a few key veteran players tonight, one of which will not be in line up. I didn't think Bob was exactly lights out last night. I personally would, if you had asked me, give me the one match up to determine the game. I'd say Dolby's was better. Dolby's, he was significantly better. One of the second or the third goal, Bob's got to get. It's a C&I shot through some traffic.

2:01You got to stop one of them, have to. I thought the play of the game was Dolby's on Matthew's the one time or ten minutes in when it's more nothing. You can even top along the Marchenko one time or after that. Absolutely. Absolutely. There was two from Marchenko that I thought were really good saves. One is the glove early in the second period. The other one was a blocker through a, I think it might have been a power play and it was through a bit of a screen. He came across and I was like, man, that was a good save. I thought Dolby's made four or five really good saves, but that's, you know, your goal tender can be a difference. A lot to do. But he did exactly, he played well. I didn't think on both sides, to be honest. There are big boys outside of a few like we'll get to an individual play, but I didn't think Suzuki's line was, I didn't think they were great. I didn't think Matthew's had looks, but I think there was more in execution.

3:02But like there were some great individual efforts. I thought Marchenko looked really good. Marchenko was outstanding. I thought it was a great first game for him. I thought Dolby's like, he was a storyline in the game. There were some point blank chances where he made big stops. That's how you win the first game on the road. If some of your stars are sleepy, which almost all the Montreal stars were, you manufacture some goals. You get some death guys chipping in and you have a rock star, a gold tenor performance. That's like everyone would be taking their jersey off in the locker room saying that's a greasy road win. Yeah, that's a greasy road win. For the Maple Leaf fans that are already throwing their arms up in the air, it's just not necessary. I thought for the most part they played okay. They had some performances. They did have some issues in their own zone. For everybody that's saying, there's still a bunch of new guys. You're the guys that wanted a short training camp and let's get going. You don't have much of a choice. You got to get it together and get it together quickly. If you look at their schedule, what do they got?

4:05They got the Islanders tonight. They got Ottawa and then Nashville and then they got some tough games. Like I mentioned right off the top. It's one game. You got the next night. You got a chance. And I'll throw a little nugget out there for you. It's only one game. But I think if you're Darren Raddish, it would be a great night to have a little performance at home to just say, whatever last night was just a... That was just nonsense and I'm going to be good. Because it was kind of a tough game for him. He had a lot of giveaways and he was nervous with the puck and he could have a standout, come back game where he can show everybody like, this is what I got. I thought he was trying too hard, like trying a little too much. But it's one, you're right. It is one game and relax. But there is things where you're like, okay, if you were concerned about it, it's still kind of there. That was the thing for me. The D was a concern. I think generating chances they did a good job and they looked dangerous at times in that.

5:08The D is a whole and then the McCabe came back which was good. But when you're down to five and you know, stetcher is out there a lot. Like it's to me that was where if there's a Nikkei Lee's heel, Raddish didn't have a great game but he's got an opportunity to go right back out of it. That's the thing. You play 24 hours later. Go ahead and let's see what you got tonight. Well, and listen, he is going to play 500 plus games as a main belief. So he is a long time to redeem himself. He has a mechanic likely will play 700 plus games as a main belief. So the guys who had tough nights and Raddish is at the forefront of it because he's a local guy of veteran eight year deal big money and he turned the puck over that directly led to goals going on the board and there's no disputing that. I'd say the same thing about Bob. Like Bobrofsky, we discussed it. Could he be nervous? Whatever. I didn't think he got challenged much last night. I don't remember making a stop where I said, wow, I can't believe it. And the bulldoot goal, the carrier goal, you got to get a stop on one of those.

6:11But I thought the leaves played pretty well. I agree. I thought they could have won that game. I thought it was a relatively, you know, it was a somewhat of an even game that I would tip towards the leaves having more chance and more opportunities. But Dolby's, you know, really rips one home in the first shot of the season. And then Dolby's, I thought stood on his head at different times. And so, okay, credit to the Habs. They're a good team. Montreal is going to be a good team. They're going to be a playoff team and their best players are going to get better the next time they play. And you know, that's going to be something you're chasing down all year. You're going to be trying to compete with them and auto-washing her on Saturday. But you get into a game tonight and you got Stolars in. So now he's making his debut, right? Bobroos going in. I'm assuming for MQ and he didn't play a lot last night. So you have a couple more debuts tonight and then the Rust has got to be off. And if you're the leaves and you learned from last year, they had a pretty soft schedule, a lot of home games and they did not take advantage of it and they were chasing it all

7:13year. So, needless to say, it's not a must win tonight. But I think it's a great opportunity for them to continue to knock the Rust off and get two points. Get two points tonight. You're one in one off date tomorrow. Okay. Let's see where we go here. And yeah, I mean, again, I thought they played all right. They played fine. They were probably better than Montreal. They just made some mistakes and they couldn't get a big stop. And as a result, Montreal leaves with two points. Ultimately, you saw some rust on some games, like guys games where if you're a little bit sharper, you're a little bit more detailed. Maybe it's an execution there or just, but on both sides. Not just one. How often, and I was going to actually put this in the group text last night, was the ice crappy? How many times the guys just blow a tire out of nowhere? I counted three or four times like where guys were fallen and it looked like discombobulated a little bit. I don't know if the ice was any good or not.

8:13On either side, not just pointing at one guy in particular, but it just looked like it looked like a September 29th game, but it was like the sixth exhibition game, but it just happened to be both teams playing their full roster. And there's points, but the more significant thing to do, it was points that matter. That's what has to, you got to snap out of it quickly. If you're Jim Hiller, there's no panic. You're not going to go in there and say, we're doing flipping anything upside down. That would be ridiculous. But you're not in camp anymore. It happened quick, but this is real. You got points on the line and you're in a chase and you're not like, you're not Colorado, you're not a team that likely is going to cruise to 110 points. You've got to fight for them. So last night, I guess a missed opportunity because you had an early lead and you had chances to win that game and it didn't happen. So we'll see. We'll see what they've got tonight. I'm curious to see Stolars. He's been very under the radar. It's been all about the broads. I don't know if we've talked about him.

9:13I don't think so. Maybe that's by design and maybe it's better for Anthony Stolars, but I'm curious to see how he looks too. I don't remember the last time I watched him. Didn't we see him like skate off against Boston and he had, he came back though last year. He did come back, but then he left again in March. I think it was. He didn't play a lot last year. He didn't play well. It's an opportunity for him. Keep in mind, whatever number you put on Bob, the others is Stolars. Like it's not, Bob's not playing 75 games in Stolars, you know, is playing the other nine. Like he's going to have to play 30 plus games. So you need good efforts from Stolars and you need the team. Again, I think some early on in the season, they're not going to be tired. So when it back to back, it might just get out there and it might, they might be actually more fluid tonight and feel a little bit different just based on, hey, we had a warm up last night type of things. So, you know, again, the Islanders are early on.

10:14They got a bunch of new faces. Pete DeBor will have that team fired up. This isn't going to be a kick walk. That goal, tender. Again, I know we all do projections. That goal tender could win the Vezna this year, the guy on the other side. Yeah. So, it's a tough challenge. Oh, every time you watch him, it's like ask her off for me. But every time I watch a certain goalie, I'm like, I know he's good. I just, he doesn't show me. But like that, Seroken is, is a real deal goal tender. So it's not going to be a kick walk. Yeah. I'm glad they're planning it tonight. Like get after it again. It's not like I thought they played pretty well. Like that, that's not like they were awful. They don't need to change systems or just get out there and execute better. That's it. And you know what? Execute. And it's not about this line or that line. Three or four guys need to play better than they did last night and they should get the result that they're looking for. That's what we're talking about. Everyone kind of, we all over analyze things and say, I would take that guy off that line. There was some giveaways, some poor performances by three or four guys. And if you fix that and those guys are dialed in, then you're probably winning the hockey

11:15game. Yeah. That's what we're talking about here. That's great. This isn't like crazy, maple leaf panic time after one game. Three or four performances, including a goal tender and you're probably going to be where you want to be at the end of the game. Yeah. So I look to tonight, I think radish is at the forefront. I put still as a side because that goes without saying. It's his first start, you know, big opportunity for him. But radish number one, I want to see what he's got tonight. And I expect a much better performance like this is not a guy that in Tampa and you look at the stats and all that. There was a turnover machine. Last night was extreme. Like there were some, it felt like every time he was on the ice, he was turning the buck over. It was extreme. It was one of those night. He could not make a pass. He could not get out of his own way or even had one shot in the power play. I think he missed the net by 14 feet. Yeah. He was nervous. Like, he was in the lane and he tried to shoot around him, but he missed. He was like pretty wide.

12:15It was just called like that. He was not his light. And nerves, you're part of it. And I think McCann is at the forefront of that too. Yes. I bet you he goes out for a few more optionals. I think you're probably right. I think he's that this morning probably gets on the ice. And he looked very nervous last night. To me, like he looked young and nervous and the game was picking up pace. And a lot of people are buzzing about the rookie lap and how Bob went out there for him. Who cares, man? What is this? The Quebec Peewee tournament? Bob seems like he's crazy like Sean Burke where it's like I got to do my thing and I don't care if somebody needs to go out and twirl around. I'm going out there. I give me a break. What is this Peewee hockey? Why did he go out there? I saw that trending online and I was like what is going on? So the thing is is, Babrowski's very routine oriented. You could call it superstitious. But he likes to do things certain way.

13:16And you knew about it in Florida. I've known about it his whole career. Just let him. He wanted to step on the ice first and he got out of the way and let McCann do the rookie lap. People are like oh my god, selfish of Bob. I'm like it's not selfish. Let the goalie just get out of the way. Because he wants to do his little skating routine. I'm not worried about McCann and ripping pucks and skating around with no bucket on. I get it. But the fake outrage on stupid things like that. It's just so stupid. So stupid. It's so stupid. You know what? It's a tradition. But like you know relatively new too. I mean, oh, did you get a rookie lap? Are you kidding me? You think those old like from muscle veterans care. Okay, Junior, go have your little time. So take a selfie with your mom. No. I know. That's the thing that needs to be this is a classic. I told you before I asked Mark Janssen who was like a tough guy in our team. My first preseason game. I'm like I thought my whole life I dreamed about not wearing a helmet and warm up and I said

14:19Janner like it's no buckets and warm up right. It's the NHL and he goes I strongly suggest you put your helmet on when you go out there for warm up. He's like 19 year old kids just don't go out there and I just said I'm sorry man. I'm not I'm not. I love how you disregard it. I did. I'm glad because I thought he was going to say yeah man. It's like you don't have to wear your helmet. He said I strongly recommend you wear your helmet because you're like should I hit driver here? No. I'm hitting driver. That's basically what you just asked the kids. But answer your question. There was not like a rookie lap and you get you know. No. No. And that's different. And that's what is happening here is I get it. It's a younger generation and it's a cool scene. It's a cool tick tock Instagram moment that looks really cool. And that's what you're looking for. Go ahead. I'm sure Gavin McCann have figured out last night and I was talking with Duffy about it on sports center. He realized last night as soon as that puck dropped and he walked into that building. Your draft status is gone man. Like first overall nobody cares.

15:20If Eastern Cowan's playing better than you he's going to take like he's going to go out there for shifts. Like you just it's yeah. It's a do it or don't leak and if you're not doing it somebody else is going to say you better put me in there because I'm ready to go tonight. And last night that guy was Eastern Cowan. I would say this he looked 18 last night. That's right. That's all I would say. There were times where I think he was thinking the game instead of reacting. And we talked about it when you can only get a couple exhibition games and you're playing against you know not NHL teams. You're going to the pace is really high and it's going to be physical and everybody's going to want to take a chunk of you. The little plays that worked in junior and in college. So I just doesn't work. No, it's not even close. Do you know how many times going down on two on one's when I was a 19 year old and you would try a silly little toe drag or like just and the defenseman would like steal the puck and laugh and say junior move can't do it and like they would put it right in your face.

16:21So not junior. Like you did. Yeah. It's a whole different ball game but he's smart enough and he's with some veteran guys that he should be able to figure out that it's just there's a different way to do business. He will be fine. He will be fine. Last night is a listen. Matthews and his first game was the extreme like that is not normal. Literally no one has ever done that before. This you know 11 years later is a different story plays a different position different game. He'll be fine. I expect he's much better tonight and to put a bow on the Bob stuff like Bob is a veteran of the league. That's another the another point of it. It's like and a lot of people like well, I already took his number. Like yeah, Bob's in the hall of fame. That's his number like that's the way that goes. Bob is Bob and if there's one guy on this team that they need to have the right mindset, it's but brosky. Like if it's and I think if anything last night, like if some people are spending it again,

17:23I don't know where people are going with all this. I don't think mechanic cares. Let me point that out too. Gavin mechanic is like, I want to play tonight. I don't think he gives cares at all about what happened in the warm up yesterday. He wants to get back out there and play tonight. But if there was any concern about the mentality of Bob brosky or where's his head at, is he over? Is it just about money? Last night would suggest the opposite to me. Like he's not caring about anything but I got to play and I got to perform and listen, Bob's in a spot he's never been in before. Started in Philly Philly's in tough spot. It's not Toronto. Then he was in Columbus, not Toronto. Then he was in Florida, not Toronto. Like Bob is dealing with a different chapter of his career that he's never dealt with before. So if that is his mentality, guys, I got to be ready. So I'm stepping on. I guarantee all of them were like, go do it. Yeah, exactly. Get out there, man. That's the priority is making sure Sergei Bobrovsky is in the right head space.

18:25And as from a mechanic, again, I expect it would be a lot better tonight. And I thought, I thought Marchenko in particular, we talked a lot about him the last two days. Again, I'm curious what he's got tonight because he was running on adrenaline last night. I thought him and Matthews had some real opportunities for some magic last night. And I thought he was great. I thought Ross Levitt had a couple looks. Yeah, a couple chances too. Yeah, like there's more pace on that line noodles. You can see if they can skate. I misspoke earlier, but I wanted to get my thought is I thought Marchenko was their best forward, not named Neelander, although I think Neelander is an opportunist. He just, he goes about his business different. I noticed Marchenko every time he was on the ice yesterday. Yes, exactly. Whereas Neelander, you know, if it's not there, it's just not there. He doesn't take it. Whereas Marchenko, I thought was trying to create stuff out of stuff. What did he, I didn't see what he ended with a stat line. I was four shots on goal, like six attempts or something.

19:27Like he was, you guys know what is, yeah, you guys know what, like the biggest strength Marchenko can bring to the organization in the way I watch what he can do out there. He can help Austin Matthews become the player that he was. Like, how many times over the last two or three years, maybe two years? Have you watched Austin Matthews and you're like, and last night might have been a kind of an example where you're like, well, he had like two good one-timers in the slot, but then other than that, maybe it wasn't a whole lot. The way that Marchenko, his size and the way he can hang on to the puck in the corner, I think his common, like those two guys together should be monsters on a cycle game, where they can keep those off and just absolutely wear down teams, where even Matthew and I, and that might be part of the reason that Matthew and I is playing in Columbus now. Just his ability to make plays and dig at Pucks and hold on to them and really grind down the opposition.

20:28Like him with his size, Marchenko, and Austin Matthews, and then you get that rustlific, if it's him or somebody else buzzing around. They should be able to destroy some tired defensemen if they get some odd matchups with some third lines on an offensive zone. They should be able to destroy those matchups. And that can help Austin Matthews big time. Because that March, I was impressed by him. He's one of those guys you know of his name, you know he wears number 86, but I didn't exactly have a full book written on him. I knew he was the right-handed shot that can rip at home. I thought he was very good. Like I was very good. I don't want to get crazy because I know one of the part of the book on him is he can fall asleep at times and you don't really know he's out there. But if he gets cooking, he can be great for himself and really help Austin Matthews kind of return to that dominant player. Yeah, no, it's a big opportunity for him. Like he's walking right in and he's matched up with Matthews. It's a big opportunity for rustlific to hold on to it, internal competition, right? And you know on the flip side, you look at it like I thought Slavkowski was pretty quiet

21:32last night. He might be looking at it thinking why is Criter up there. You know like when are we going to start flipping here? When will you start with that? Don't get me started with that. If I'm Slavkowski, I would smash my stick over the net. Like cold coffee old scored 50 goals last year. Like wouldn't you just like I know you guys are everyone's thinking oh look at this guy's numbers. That guy can help that guy. The guy had 50 goals. Why not just keep that line together. I scored 41 one season. I came to training cap and Paul Marie said to me we want to try on left wing this year. Like excuse me. Yeah, we want to try one left wing. We got to get that Sammy captain going and I'm like so I got a sec here. So I rip home 41 but this year you got to put me on left wing to get Sammy captain going. How much sense does that make? I'll do it. But it's stupid. Yeah, you're right. It's one game though. And Chris cried over 35 years old. I would think they're looking at the big picture trying to get him going, get him settled

22:35into his new environment, maybe play him with really good players. I would go in the dressing room if I was Slavkowski Jamie early and switch the jerseys and put the color in his color in mind. I say this is not happening. Mike Johnson coming up today on the leave game last night on the other games, including a barn burner and Edmonton last night and showtime scorn for Chicago, which was cool. Very cool. Hold on a second here. My other fans let's everybody stay calm. Do not freak out here. My other fans look at it next. Look at you very sensible. Okay, we'll get to that. Ross seconds coming up today on the blue jays season. What happens with Vlad and the off season? What is their plan with him? How much can they get done in terms of, you know, slugging and power and what's available this off season. We're getting to a number of things with Ross. So he's coming up as well. Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. All right, overdrive continues powered by Fandule, bringing more ways to play your game, your way best bets coming up. Leaf Salanders again tonight. We got week four in the NFL tomorrow.

23:38Mike Johnson coming up and more on the NHL scene. Kawai Leonard has no idea who Pablo Torre is apparently. Oh, yeah. We'll play that clip and get into it. It's one of my favorites. And maybe sneaking a couple of role plays, but the baseball playoffs are often run it man. Yankees, the molars, the red socks last night. I love seeing my Yankees at this time of year. Oh, yeah. Oh, no, no, no. I told you guys, when I lived in Hartford, my billet dad, big John Yankees fan, and he got me involved. He got me involved. Okay. Well, listen, that was a performance. Lentler was on real last night. And the Padres beat up. He's so good. Like there's your Saiyung winner. And the Padres smoked the Cubs in Gosmonds on the Mount tonight. Dude, that's a nice junior ever since he got busted for Roids. He's been on kind of unreal as an East since he's been back. They paid him a lot of money and he's performing. You know what day in and day out, he's good.

24:40He sure is. So the playoffs are officially underway. Everyone's going on right now. We're now a few days removed from the season. And let's bring in the GM of the Blue Jays. Joining us here on the Maple Toyota hotline here is Ross Atkins. Ross, a bit of a different late September or early October for you. Are you allowing yourself to watch the playout baseball? Yeah, I watch it. I got it on right now. Watching the Phillies and the Braves. Yeah, it's, you know, it is difficult. It is really difficult when you're watching teams pop champagne and you know, reading about their preparation and we're not doing that. But, you know, we, we will just lean into opportunities to get better now. And there are ways to beat teams when you're not playing. So that's what we'll focus on. So you know, it's been a few days now and the dust has settled for you guys. How do you think you will remember the season?

25:41Not fondly. I, you know, mostly with, you know, regret of, you know, my own decision making and influence and mistakes that I made, whether interactions are not having interactions. And, you know, there will be the memories of the resilience and some guys coming together never, never finger pointing with a really tough year. You know, it's obviously a tight group because of the time together and the special run they had the year prior. But I'll remember that as well, the resilience. Ross, did you kind of, and I know you always want to believe in your team, but did you believe right until the last month that these guys were going to get it together and get on the same page, whether it be offensively or just getting healthy or just flat out winning games right to the end or was there a time in the season where you really wondered like, is the magic kind of missing from last year and it's, you were concerned?

26:45No, you know, obviously we had the trade deadline where we were able to, you know, we made some tough decisions and moving on from good players that would have provided depth and, obviously, more than depth down the stretch, you know, and, and, and, and, and, and, but we were able to return players that could impact us now and beyond. So that was a tough decision. We still believed that we were very much a competitive team and extremely viable if we caught some momentum. And there was zero doubt that had we gotten in, the magic could return because at the high contact team, we were optimistic that we could get Shane Bieber back, Traits Savage was being built back up, Scherzer was pitching as well as he's pitched for us. And, you know, obviously we have Dylan C's. So with one of the better Bolton's and baseball, a good defensive team, a team that makes contact.

27:46So those are things that you want in the playoffs. We've leaned heavy into those things and it didn't work for us this year on the regular season, but how do we got men? I would have, I was not just hoping for magic for believing it would happen. And as you dissect Ross, is there a scenario where you do look back and say, hey, we had some injuries to key people? I mean, is that something? And I know you don't want to use that as an excuse or anything, but they're, you know, it's the reality. You did have some key people that were banged up and were unavailable to you. Is that something you have to factor in and your analysis? I mean, you factored in, but you have to, you have to be able to cover that. So, you know, we would have loved to have had Addison Barger and Tony Santander as options. And obviously Jose Verriose and Cody Ponds and Bowdoin Francis as other pitching, starting pitching options and missing a half a year or more of Halle Under Kirk and Max Scherzer. But you have to be able to cover for them. We covered for them, you know, just in, it's, I'm pitching.

28:47I was really impressed with the group, the creativity, the open mind and this, the selflessness, selflessness of our bullpen and the open mind and this of our staff. They were all hands on deck for a long time and really held it together. And we played much better defense in the second half. We looked like the team that was, you know, last year defensively and, you know, Brett Bateman really helped with that. Nathan Lucas had an incredible defensive year and a solid offensive year. Our catching is the best in baseball defensively without a doubt. And, and him and Ernie were playing great defense. So, a really impressed bio-commodo overall and him defensively. So the injuries, you know, we just, really, we just never got any momentum and we weren't putting the ball in the seats. We weren't walking. So, then we weren't advancing on the basis and that, you know, that means you scored two and three instead of five and six and, you know, we have, we got a score of five and six. The one name you did not mention there is the elephant in the room and that would be Vladie

29:51who was, he was banged up at times. He played 144 games this year. But I mean his stats are what they are. The season was what it was. And then you get the interview he does. Well, you know, that goes viral an hour before you guys are officially eliminated. How did you handle Vladie down the stretch? Like you in particular, Ross, are you in Mark, the front office? How did you handle the quote unquote Vladie's story the last week of the season? I mean, support on put arms around them. We have the benefit of knowing exactly how he feels, you know, seeing the, him go through that was very difficult for everyone involved. And, you know, he is an exceptionally talented baseball player. And, but, you know, young as, you know, entertainer and someone that is the face of an organization.

30:53So I'm not, you know, saying that he shouldn't be able to navigate and handle things at an elite level that he is still learning. So we just, you know, supported him and tried to help him navigate that without, you know, making him feel more pressure because he's already got the weight of the world on shoulders. When you pay someone $500 million though, do you expect a learning curve? Was that the expectation when he signed the contract? No, I mean, you're not, you're what you're, I mean, listen, like the, it's really complex. It's not as simple as a yes or, yes or no answer, even though I gave you one. We, we're all evolving. And there's just to have to find how many fully formed, performing professional athletes that, you know, don't have setbacks and, you know, hiccups in their career.

31:54Like, I don't know. But we could try to name them now. That would actually, you guys would be really good at that, actually. There's not many. But this is extreme, Ross, right? Like there's setbacks and then there's one whole performance. Yeah. You know, the magnified by his performance, for sure. Yeah. So Ross, as far as moving forward with flat, like what are the marching orders for him? Like I'm not sure in baseball. There's some guys, let's say in the sport of hockey where there's definitely you can try harder. I'm not sure you can try the baseball out of the park. Like how do you, how does the organization get it back on track? Like what are this guys marching orders? Yeah, it's, it's, you know, to get the confidence back, which I think will come quickly without having to, you know, feel the pressure of having to perform on a nightly basis. And then once that settles, then I think that finding that pattern again offensively is

32:55going to come to him pretty naturally. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not, you know, really, I just don't have much doubt at all that he's going to be able to find that feeling quickly. I don't think it was how he was being attacked or the league adjusted to him that is not a concern at all. I do feel like it is a pattern and that he's going to find again pretty quickly. And you know, it's not, I don't regret at all ever, or not encouraging him to, you know, think about, you know, pushing him on with the, with the back tightness or stiffness, thinking about extended periods of time off. I think he's going to benefit so much from pushing through. I mean, he was not hurt. He was not structurally hurt. He was dealing with pain and tightness, which happens to majorly players every year all

33:55the time, all of them. And that makes it harder to compete. But I'm so glad that he fought through it for what that means for him down the road and in the future. But now that he doesn't have to fight through it, he's going to be able to find that pattern again. And we're not going to just assume that and rest on that. We're going to ensure that happens. Well, and I guess that's what I was getting to, like, how do you ensure that? Like what, what? Yeah, I think it's a big, yeah, pretty much. Yeah, you know, not myself, but I says an organization are going to wrap arms around them and make sure that was there every step of the way. So that we're not missing anything when, you know, he starts to, you know, compete again and go through the rigors of that. With Ross Ackins. And you know, you mentioned him playing every day. And I know for a lot of people it goes without saying that's what, you know, athletes should do, but he, you got to drag him off the field. I mean, he loves to play ball that has never been questioned with him.

34:59And when he had the interview, you know, he mentioned one thing stood out for a lot of people, you know, they didn't pay me to hit 40 plus on runs every year. And I think as you take a step back, you realize he's only done that once in his career. Like he is not, he is not your conventional power hit. That is not what he is. And as a result, you know, everyone in the fan base in the city has been discussing it the last week and a half. Like what exactly is expected out of Lattie? And I guess I'll give you the floor here, Ross, you know, and you know, it's going to be specific numbers. You're not going to give me a slash line or certain home runs. But what do you feel you need and expect out of him in particular that is going to bring the most out of your ball club? Just I think it's just more consistently driving the ball. And when he drives the ball, he's going to be from time to time a little bit early. And when he's a little bit early, it's going to go out of the park because that just impacts his path enough to elevate the ball where he's catching it out in the front. But he still has the batsby. He still has the power.

36:00He's still hitting balls 116 miles an hour, which very few do. And that's what gives us so much confidence. So when he gets back to being able to square that ball up consistently and then be ready consistently to be early every once in a while and elevate the ball, then that's what's going to happen. So he's, you know, in terms of, you know, marching orders, it's not, we're certainly not going to be, you know, demanding yelling and screaming at him. We're going to be, you know, supporting him and helping him find that feeling again, which, you know, as difficult as that may sound, that, you know, just finding a feeling, I don't think it's going to be that terribly difficult once he gets away from that level of intense competition. So this offseason is obviously different than last offseason for a couple of different

37:01reasons. There's some uncertainty in terms of the collective bargaining agreement. But also now you're a year removed from that World Series run. I'm sure there was a lot of sentiment of value towards that team as you would expect. Yet there was turnover, you know, bow left and bass at left and in others and you brought in new players. How does that apply to this offseason, presuming we have a normal and hoping we have a normal offseason? How connected do you still feel in terms of roster building to that World Series team in 25? Oh, connected. Yeah, really well connected. The, you know, those experiences are lasting one. And then the players and a large part of them are still here. And we can rattle off those names that are still here as we talk about the ones that aren't. And it's going to create opportunities for others as some of the players don't return. So we're looking forward to that and excited about that with Alejandro Kirk and Vlad

38:02Ian Hemie and you know, some of the bullpen obviously Ernie, there's a lot of exciting pieces here that had incredible experiences together that are going to be able to benefit from that. Yeah, you spoke about driving the baseball into the seats, but I think it's also important. And I'm sure you value this Ross, the clubhouse culture and a lot of the players that you just mentioned that aren't here anymore seem and potentially players that are leaving and not coming back seem like they were that. Like that has to come into consideration moving forward to kind of replace that, isn't it? Because it's pretty important stuff. Yeah, I think our staff does an incredible job of ensuring that it's happening, it's breathing, it's living and growing in a positive way. And the players I just mentioned that are returning that we're here for that are passionate about it and making sure that it is the case. That's not something that worries me.

39:03But you guys know very well, we got to win. And that's when it then that's when a solid environment really takes off. And I'm confident we're going to be able to do that. Well, that's a music to the years of Blue J fans. I mean, it's an interesting, you know, review of the season because not like you guys won 60 games like you guys were in a playout spot like a few weeks ago. Yet the expectations are so high now because of what happened a couple of years ago. And I'm sure you guys embrace that. I mean, that's a compliment, obviously, to the club. But in terms of looking to the off season, do you feel like there's enough opportunity out there, whether it's via free agency or very early into the off season, maybe via trade that you can fulfill whatever you feel you need to fulfill? Like you can put together another championship caliber team between now and the beginning and next year. Yeah, I do. We've had some success in that area. Our post-couting department's done a good job and make sure we're prepared for the every

40:06aspect of the market with trade, free agency, minor league, free agency, every demographic and I feel like there's no doubt that we're going to be able to add really good contributing players and hopefully, you know, we'll see. We've got to get together and get a budget and maybe impact players too. But we've got to get our players to return to an elite level and that's not just Vladie. We need to lead defense out of earning. You know, lead defense out of him. He's better, better base running from almost everyone. A return of Luki and an understanding about the team commitment that, yeah, you might have been a World Series player and every day lineup written in, but you might be in a decreased role moving forward because we've made our roster that much better and we are healthy. So that is, I'm very confident that we're going to be able to build around the group that's here and very confident that some of the players that had down years will return to peak

41:08more. Well, we're looking forward to seeing it. You get a set of really successful losses in last year and obviously it just, you know, didn't break your way in terms of wins and losses. But the off season's officially on and like you said, you guys are already hard at work. So good luck with that Ross. Have a great off season. We'll do it again soon. Thank you for this. All right, Brian. Thanks, guys. There he is. Rossackens GM with the Jays. Already trying to get out in front of it and we'll see. I mean, the CBA is looming and that is likely to have an effect on what happens this off season. Do you think there's baseball next year? Yes. In some capacity. I don't know if it'll be 162 games. Yeah, you think they got a brilliant thing or what? Lock I always said, like lock yourself in a room. I know what's all about pressure points. Who's bringing in paychecks? Who's bringing in like revenue from the games? But it's just like, think about the fans. Like you've done this enough. Like when was the last one at the beginning of COVID? There was a short and season, wasn't there?

42:09Yeah, but that was COVID related. Okay, that was COVID. Yeah. But just nobody wants this. So figure it out. I don't know. But I will say the one thing from the comments, either from Mark or Ross, I'm not buying this stuff about 27 years old and kind of like doesn't know and misspoke and all that stuff. He got himself doubled down on his comments. He's like, I meant what I said. You heard me correctly. I meant what I said. You know what I mean? Like this isn't an 18 year old kid that just kind of blurted out something stupid. This is the big leagues. Like you say you own it or like there's no going back from it. So I don't know. I guess they're all shocked and they wanted to go away and everybody move on. But I'm not buying the old. Like we got to put our arms around them and like support them. How about like grow up and man up and cut the crap off the field and start performing on it? Like is there anything wrong with that? I 500 million. We got to put our arms around you.

43:11There's a very good chance. Public messaging is different. It better be. It better be. It better be. Because if I know Ross, Akins and Mark Shapiro and John Schneider and this is the way exactly this is the way you kind of you have to operate. Right. He's your guy. You're going to support him. You guys have been in the room before. Newtles, you said it was one of the more eye opening moments of your life when all of a sudden. I guarantee you there were times this year where Mark and Ross went out for dinner and were just furious watching the flat. You have to be. Of course. Yes. I mean, you have to be. That's human nature. But publicly, guys got 13 years left on his contract and he's in parada. It's imperative. He plays well for you. You summed it up. He already had his 41 year old year of the contract and it was the first one. Yeah. He's played that boy. He's Benjamin Button. He's going backwards. Maybe that's what's happening here. Anyway, thanks to Ross.

44:13We'll see what they've got going on in the off season. It's going to be a very different one for sure. Mike Johnson coming up more in the Leaf Sounders tonight. More of a look back on what happened last night. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN 4. All right. Johnson coming up. We've got Kawai Leonard on whether or not he's familiar with Pablo Torre. We got some audio and video we'll get to. Crazy. And there, you know, wraps are doing the tour, right? It's pretty wild. Kawai is just, he's back and he's a Raptor again and the season will be starting before you know it. I'm sure you guys saw a couple things on LeBron. One, he's gone Messier. Yeah. It's just, it's over. It's a great job. We always applaud a guy that recognizes it ain't happening. Steve Sturker gave it a shot. Yeah. He went Messier and I think he's happy that he did. It's gorgeous. Like he just, when you're LeBron, you're just LeBron. Like whether you have got little tufts up there or it's bald, you're just LeBron, man.

45:16That's right. But there was rumblings back in the day that he had, he had the plugs in that, right? Because it went, it went south and then it came back, right? Very significant regrowth to the point that it was blatantly unnatural. Lately unnatural. The second thing about it is he gets in the chopper and goes to New York City after practice. Yeah. Roof top. Roof top copter. See me? See me? It's not very endearing to the fans. Like it's, it's almost insulting. Well, Philly's like you just can't live with being in Philly for a couple, can you put the chopper somewhere else for nobody knows about it? I think it's insulting to the Philly fans and that guy's like, Philly's not from what, you're going to play there. Take a car, three blocks away. Like do I, like it's literally lands on the hill? He might as well have like one of those signs hanging behind it. This place is a dump.

46:17I'm out of here. Yeah, I think it's insulting to the flyer fans. Philly stinks. Philly fans. Yeah. You know those things that tag along behind it? Exactly. Like will you marry me, sign? Yeah, exactly. I'm out of here. This place sucks. See you in New York. See you for game days. Yeah. Like it is just a wild escape from the city by LeBron. Like just like, what is that? What is that? Do you look that up? Like how long is that chopper ride? Is it an hour? I don't know. Oh, no, shorter than that. It's an hour train ride. That would be a, that'd be a 15, 20 minute chopper. But you can't just cruise right into you. Like there, that's a, have a look at that. We gotta get, we gotta hold. Okay. Right at five o'clock, I'll tell you exactly what happens. Because I would buy you a few. All right, you tell me exactly what LeBron's doing. I see, takes a literal sky dump. Dude, I guarantee it's right on top of his condo or a build up. Oh, 100%. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, exactly. All right, Johnny and more coming up an hour two overdrive continues on YouTube live.

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