Chapter 1: What were the key points from Keith Pelley's press conference after Brad Treliving's dismissal?
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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 Noodles McLennan. What's going on? What's going on? I want to apologize in advance for my performance today. I'm somewhat tired. Any idea why? I have no idea why. I spent, from 7 a.m.
until now, 50 different stop and chats about that press conference yesterday, and I'm not kidding. i don't know why everyone i know in the national hockey league unfortunately i know a lot of people felt the need to chime in on what they thought Really? So you're saying people around the league were calling you? Oh, texting me just like a quick. Okay. There was text about it.
Noodles, I'm sure you got the same thing. I'm not lying. It is. It's funny. Hayes, you say this all the time, right? It's the talk of the town, Hazy B. People either love the Leafs or love to hate them, but they move the needle, all of that type of stuff. Mm-hmm. That press conference yesterday got a lot of people's attention throughout the league.
And it wasn't... I watched your opening to the show after I did my game last night. And you were like, it didn't come off very good. I'm paraphrasing.
I think it was disastrous looking back on yesterday.
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Chapter 2: Who are the best candidates for the general manager position?
That's the... That's the summation I got from everybody I was talking to going, what the hell was that yesterday? That's basically, I'm paraphrasing, but... And as you dive deeper into it, people are like, well, what did this mean? And what did that mean? And why didn't the media ask him this? And what is this, you know? And what is horizontal lines and being connected?
And, like, you're just like, what?
Yeah, that horizontal connection, whoa.
You are like, what? You know what it was? It was... Word salad, and you pick apart what you like out of it. You pick apart things that could be better.
The one thing that I'll take away from it, and it should have resonated right away, is the term hockey observer. It just reeks of having a martini with the guy you know that played hockey.
It does, man.
Yeah, I know. And the guy you had the martini with that played hockey basically told you to make a decision instead of you just saying, lie about it if you have to. You just say, I made an assessment, I've been watching closely, and I've decided to let go of the GM. Not listening to hockey observers? That was a crazy statement, dude. Hockey observers?
That means you had a martini with a guy that played in the NHL or was an executive for a bunch of years.
Or you had a stop and chat with somebody at a gas station, and they were like, hey, you know, it's almost the Reg Dunlop. Got to get the power play going. Yeah, yeah, yeah, gotcha. Like, you have no idea. Now, Keith Pelley's an executive. He's got lots of experience in being an executive.
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Chapter 3: How is data-driven decision-making shaping the future of the organization?
I'm sure he's talked to a lot of people. But yesterday was not a clear vision as to ā like, I didn't get anything out of it other than the fact that Bradtree Living was let go. And then he could name the top prospects for the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens.
That was bizarre, too, man.
And then Eric Tulsky's name came up, and you're like, okay, but that was fine. And I guess that was prompted. I get it. But it was just ā to me, there was ā There was no straight line. It was just like, hey, we're going to talk about this.
What about the idea of just going all in on AI and analytics? Kyle's an analytics guy. They won one playoff round in six, seven years.
This is the one thing that perplexed me, and we're going to talk about this ad nauseum or whatever. They had and still have one of the biggest analytics team on the planet. Like, the Toronto Maple Leafs have that. Like, they have a wealth of it. And for people saying, you know, oh, you've got to promote this guy within, you know, they have like eight AGMs.
They've got all these people and resources.
That's what was the craziest part.
Yeah. And they were all working with Brad Treliving. So the fact that if you believe that it went off of a cliff or it went off the road, the people that were on the bus, you don't promote them, too, and go up. Well, that's the answer internally. Like, to me, I want to know the vision, and he doesn't owe me anything. Keith Pelley doesn't owe me anything, but I did not get anything.
It wasn't expiring yesterday as far as the vision.
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Chapter 4: What does 'hockey observer' mean in the context of the current management situation?
And I didn't come away from yesterday thinking that. Now, to be fair, you don't win with press conferences, right? Strutty always jokes. Everyone loves a press conference.
No, I agree.
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. But he is, you know, there's very few opportunities. You get a chance to launch your plan and speak to your fans directly. And yesterday, I don't think it landed very well. Now, he's got to land these hirings. You know, he's got to figure out what he's going to do. Is it a president? Is it a GM? Is it both? Whatever it is, he's got to get this right.
He said this is going to be my most important hiring. And it is. unquestionably the most important decision he's going to make because he's probably only going to get one of them, right? Yes, he's already done it with TFC.
He did it to an extent with the Raptors getting rid of Masai, and yes, he kept Bobby Webster, but there's a lot of turnover with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and there has been with the Leafs, and there's going to be more. Now he inherited Shanahan and Trey Living. They're both gone. We'll see what happens with the coach and with the rest of the staff, but you're right.
He revealed they have six assistant GMs Who? Well, there's a lot of them. I mean, I wasn't aware that they all had AGM status, but evidently they do.
Yes, they do. I mean, there's Ryan Hardy. Hayley Wickenheiser.
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Chapter 5: Why is the Toronto Maple Leafs' analytics team considered one of the best?
Hayley Wickenheiser.
And they've got Shane Dones in there. Hayley Wickenheiser. Is she even in the city around the team?
Well, she's a doctor, so I don't know if she's a practicing doctor, but I do believe she's part of the development group. She's part of the organization. Yeah, she is. The point being is you're going to have to look outside the organization. Now, I think Brandon Pridham is a really sharp guy with a lot of experience, but keep in mind he's been working right here.
With Dubas, with Tree Living, Shanahan. Yes, you plug people. The reason... Like, Jim Nill got a job in Dallas, and Jim Nill is an unbelievable GM, really well-respected, all of that. But he came, and he was always known as kind of a guy that was coveted throughout the league, but he came from an organization that had tremendous success. The Dallas... I'm sorry, the Detroit Red Wings. Okay?
Julian Breezebaugh comes from Tampa. You know, there's gold standards, right, when you're like... You're... You're talking about people internally here and going, hey, they're good people, and I'm sure that they can do a job, but I think you have to go outside the organization to bring in fresh voices, fresh faces, and that's the biggest challenge for Keith Pelley or whoever he brings in.
Yeah, I mean, I think ultimately they're likely going to wipe out everyone. I mean, that usually is what happens. If you bring in someone new at the top, They're going to get rid of whoever was here with Tree Living. Ultimately, it's the Shanahan era that I think they're going to have to just officially move past and wipe clean. That's fair.
And if and when they do that, I know it's tough to say that, but it's just a reality in pro sports. It's the way it goes. People come and go, and they overturn stuff. Shanahan did it. He inherited a large staff. He got rid of basically everyone and replaced everything top to bottom.
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Chapter 6: How does the team plan to incorporate AI into their strategy?
Now, I don't know if the next wave of people are going to expect the same type of turnover, but Shanahan came in and got rid of Andy Frost. Like, forget the scouting staff. This guy came in and said, we want a new voice in the building. Like, Shanahan had his fingerprints all over everything. Is the next president, president of hockey ops, going to have the same level of extension? I don't know.
Is it needed? Not really right now, because what fans want to know is how are you going to find a way to get this team into a better position and in a position to win in the future? And that's really what needs to come out of this, whether it's data-driven, whether it's, you know, there were just a lot of CEOs CEO speaks that didn't really matter and ultimately can fall on deaf ears.
Fans, it doesn't have to be overly complicated. Hire people that can inspire the fan base and can start moving this team in a better direction.
But the word data-driven, every team uses data now. That was another buzzword.
I just have to get this off my chest, Jamie. The Florida Panthers, okay. They're the most physical, hardest-working team, and they have players that play with heart and grit, and they finish every check. And somewhere along the line, some pencil neck in that organization put up his hand, and he goes, we're analytics-driven.
And people jump on it all the time, and they're like, oh, dog, they're analytic-driven. Okay, you know what? They got a bunch of great players. Not this year. They had an off year going to the Cup Final three years in a row. Do people pay attention to the videos they make in the Stanley Cup Finals? Do you hear what's happening in the locker room? Get the puck in deep. Get after it.
Finish your checks. Get the puck to the net. There's not some dweeb in there with glasses on saying, if you see number four on the ice, you should turn to the left because he has a difficult ā that's not what happens.
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Chapter 7: What challenges do the Leafs face in attracting top management talent?
No, but they use ā like every front office uses that.
They might use it if they're getting a guy like Jeff Petrie. They might look at his numbers and say, you know what? He gets the puck out. He does this. He does that. But their main philosophy is built on character. Solid goaltending and doing simple things. So do not tell me that the Florida Panthers are an analytically driven team. That is nonsense.
I know who their guy is. Suni Mehta is his name. I don't care who it is.
But it might be the next GM of the Leafs. Oh, really?
It might be. You never know.
I don't know. Pally's going to figure that out.
I think when you look at it, you can have somebody who has an analytics background. They still have to be able to... The word manager, I think it's lost in this. You have to be able to manage players. You have to be able to manage staff. You have to be personable. A lot of analytics people in that struggle with the face-to-face contact.
Instead of like... Instead of going down a road where you said the next GM has got to be this or it's got to be that, the statement should have been, I am going to get the best person available in the sport of hockey and make it happen and bring him in here because I think that's what's needed. You don't need AI or analytically driven GM.
People talk about some of the geniuses that run hockey teams. What success have they had?
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Chapter 8: How does the O-Dog compare to Overdrive AI in discussing sports topics?
Are they ripping off championships? People are in love with this crap. In love with it.
I think your statement is correct, O. What he should have said is, I'm going to get the best person or people. Available.
available regardless of what their background is and it might be analytics it might be personable it might be a coach it might be a recycled general manager but we're going to get the best and we're going to get this right and it might have to be a team and i will say this with the the not knowing what austin matthews is going to do with the team in the dumper this year
with very little young players and very little picks, I don't know if guys are going to be just jumping out, jumping ship to say, I've got to be a part of this because, you know what, this might go down the sewer, and who the hell wants to be involved with that? So in years past, I think guys would be clamoring for this position.
But the way things are set up right now, I'm not sure if a guy had the ability, like Berkey did back in the day when he jumped ship from Anaheim, I'm not too sure too many guys are putting their hand up saying, because a guy sent me a text today saying, not sure how guys would be looking at this position. It's not like they'd be just dying to get on board with this.
It's a fact. Go ahead, Hazer.
I think it's easy for a lot of people that haven't been offered the job to say, I don't want the job. It's like no one's offered you the job. Furthermore... It's easy to say it until Keith Pelley calls you up and goes, I'll pay you $6 million a year. Oh, that sounds like it's, you know. I know, but Brian, what if he pays you $6 million a year but says, don't even think about the word of rebuild.
I still think people will jump. Like you're telling me the AGM in Columbus is like, no, not interested because I wanted to do it my way. That goes to the point. Why would you want some random AGM just because you think he's an analytics nerd? That's not even my point. I'm just saying you guys are hearing from people around the league. I don't know who you're talking to. I don't know.
But I'm just saying it's easy to say it right now. Correct. Yes, it's not because you haven't been offered anything. And I'm not saying that they wouldn't follow through with that conviction. There are, I'm sure, people that would rather stay here. We can reference other big shooters around the league that are in good spots. Let's use Bill Zito for an example. Why would Bill leave Florida?
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