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Chapter 1: What is the latest on Mike Babcock's investigation and coaching position?
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All right, here we go, Overdrive, off and running, TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker up on TSN 5, up on YouTube Live. It's a match day. Brian Hayes, Jamie Noodles, McLennan, two good Canadian boys. Look at this guy, the O-Dog. You said you were wearing your kit. You said you were going to throw on the sweater for the boys.
There's not a chance at all I'm putting the soccer. It looks terrible on me. And Noodles in the group chat said...
Hayes, I noticed you're wearing your soccer shirt. Should I put mine on?
And he goes, oh, dog, are you wearing yours? And I said, oh, yeah, I'm wearing mine. He goes, okay, I'll grab mine and put it on. And I did not have any intention of putting that thing on. But that's good spirit. That's good spirit, boys. I like it.
Good Canadian boys, man.
All three of us good Canadian boys.
Marching towards kickoff. Right? Marching towards kickoff.
Yes.
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Chapter 2: How are players reacting to Mike Babcock's coaching mentality?
That's how lines would move because bookies would have an insight on a quarterback that's not feeling well and stuff would happen all the time. Now it's obviously a bit of a different world. But, you know, we'll see if he starts. We'll see if he comes off the bench. But the fact that he's this close to playing could be very significant.
And Switzerland's playing Bosnia right now, you know, so that's a big match to kind of determine where the rest of the group is going. And I'm jacked. I can't wait for it. 6 p.m. kickoff, 3 p.m. Pacific time. And it's not quite ā 7 p.m. puck drop, but it's close, right? The East Coast, we've got to have prime time out here. Vancouver, you have your 3 o'clock start.
You think that bugs the Vans?
No, I don't think so. It was 3 o'clock local last week.
I'm joking about that. Not when it comes to soccer. That's the universal. I think at the end of the day, everybody's jacked for this. I just can't get a, like, what's your gut feel? I'm nervous. I don't know. I'm nervous as well. I said to our boss today, I was talking to Mike Lane, I said, I'm nervous about it. I don't know why. I mean, Alfonso could maybe give him a shot in the arm.
Big time.
Whether he plays or not, just having him around. But I just, I don't know, I can't get a read on it. I just, it's been a little bit, you know, the draws. There's been some underdogs that have scored late, that type of stuff. I'm nervous.
I would feel better if Switzerland pumped Qatar last week. And then you're like, all right, now Qatar has proven maybe they're not ready for primetime. But ever since the draw took place, this has been the game. Like, this is the game.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of Matthew Knies' trade discussions for the Maple Leafs?
It was like you should be able to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina or whoever you're going to play in the first match we didn't know. If not, try to get a draw. Okay, you accomplished that. Switzerland's going to be a tough match. You've got to get this one.
So, you know, I think it's appropriately being labeled as the most important match in men's international soccer in this country, you know, in the history of the program. So not to put pressure on them, but, you know, the whole world, the whole country kind of needs you to step up here today.
It would be nice just ā And let's be straight up, it's not our expertise on this show, but we've heard everything the last three or four years on how they're building momentum. And, you know, they're not just the little engine that could anymore. It would be nice to have a performance to say, That is what we've been talking about.
It seems like every match they've had, it's hanging on for dear life.
You know what I mean?
In every competition, whatever the tournament is, it just seems like it's life or death. Do I want to laugh? I don't know if anyone's expecting that. But it would be nice to have a dominant performance to say, hey, that's something to kind of look forward to and build momentum. Totally.
I'll love a 4-0. Me too. I'll take a 4-0 tonight.
All day.
That's what I'm looking for. Get on the board, right? John and David, a lot of pressure on him.
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Chapter 4: What are the potential outcomes for Connor Hellebuyck's future in Winnipeg?
Vladdy hit a home run this afternoon. He got that home run jacket on, and I don't think he's hit a home run in like 23 days. It's been a long time. But they got a big win last night with the bullpen game. Yosavage is pitching great. They got a chance to sweep the Sox, which would be big. So, you know, a lot of Canadian kind of optimism here.
And then, you know, on the hockey front, it becomes official today. Basically, Mike Babcock is the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. You know, we've been talking about it for weeks since the news broke. But the league went through ā Some sort of investigation and concluded today.
Pretty swift, pretty quick, but did their due diligence and decided, hey, there's not enough here that can withhold employment. And as a result, the green light is there for Babcock and the Oilers.
What did you make of the ā I thought there was a couple words in the statement that were kind of like ā We don't like this at all, but go ahead. That's kind of how I read it. I think it was paraphrasing like this guy's a jerk, but we're not going to stand in the way of him. Again, paraphrasing, but it just ā there was a couple words in there. It's like ā
You know, although it didn't shine a light in a positive way on him, you know, but we can't stand in the way of him working. Basically, been a jerk to people, but, you know, you can't stand in the way of that. I read it the exact same way.
I don't think that's a misinterpretation. I think it was the league saying, really, Edmonton? Really? Yeah. Okay, go ahead. If you want to hitch your wagon to that star, go ahead.
Like of all the people, Edmonton, you needed to go down this road, but I guess go ahead.
Yeah, and that's what's going to happen. Listen, we've talked about them. There's two separate conversations with Babcock. The coach is one thing, and the person is the other. You know, Daniel Winnick was on the morning show this morning. I've seen a lot of former players doing the rounds recently.
And it was a refresher because we talked about it a lot when he was let go in 19, when he popped up again in 23 in Columbus. But he's been largely out of the limelight for four or five years. And, like, I don't recall a coach in the league in the last 25 years ā who is truly despised the way he is by a lot of his former players.
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Chapter 5: How does the NHL's coaching landscape impact team dynamics?
And not in a motivating way. There's different ways to motivate players. And they all say the same thing. And I said this when this whole thing went down in Columbus. He was a bad guy. He was a bad person, treated people like absolute garbage. It's going to be fascinating because if anything pops up on the radar of the Oilers players, arena staff, what the hell are you going to do with the guy?
If you get him there and it's like, don't worry, that crap's not going to happen, is he all of a sudden going to morph into Mr. Nice Guy at almost 60 years old?
Well, you better change your ways somehow.
If he isn't as sharp, Noodles. I think that's a legitimate question. If he's softened, then what is he now as a coach?
The one thing that, you know, I go back to what Frankie said. Incredibly detailed, hardworking. Like, I think he's got to just focus on his coaching skills. And you're right. A lot of old school coaches did play the mind games and all that. It's just a different ā it's a lay of the land. It's a different world. I would be curious to see some star players come out.
We've had a lot of fringe players come out that obviously you know how he treated the guys who were not your front center. But, Jamie, he treated all those guys like gold. I get it.
Johan Franzen was not a fringe player.
Yeah, but he wasn't a top-line guy either. He was kind of in the middle of the road. That guy was a third-line guy. He wasn't the star player for Detroit. I would like to see Zetterberg, Datsun.
I don't think Chelios is his biggest fan.
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Chapter 6: What strategies are teams employing in the upcoming NHL draft?
Mike Medano, there's another guy. Yeah, Medano, that's true. There were some pretty good players that didn't like him either.
I'm pretty sure those guys in Detroit had a mandate. Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsouk. If he's back, then we're going to find somewhere else to play because we're just not doing it. But I want to ask you both a question. You come to an agreement with Mike Babcock to be your coach, and on one of the lines in the contract it says, years of the contract, how many are you putting down?
You said, Mike, you got the job, but you're going to do it for Texas.
John Torello, the guy, would say you got one year.
Me too. I'd give him a one-year deal.
One or two years. Yeah. I don't think it'll be one, guys. I think it'll be two. But I think you're right. It should be shorter so that you have flexibility. That's what I would say.
And you put him in a position where, you know, again, it's complicated because ā Being mean, and a lot of it is ego with him, by all accounts. Again, I've never obviously coached.
It is.
A lot of it ego. A lot of it is Mike Babcock is very fond of Mike Babcock. And listen, he was head coach of Team Canada for two gold medals. He's won a cup. He took that Anaheim team to a cup final. Again, as a coach and the way he sees the game, He's a brilliant hockey mind. It doesn't matter how you feel about the person. That's the reality. And that's what, obviously, Edmonton is seeking here.
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Chapter 7: How do recent trades affect the balance of power in the NHL?
The other stuff, I don't know if he's going to change. I don't know if he feels he has to.
Seems unlikely, dude. People talk about changing stripes at that guy's age. Is he really going to walk in there? And everybody that has been critiquing him or criticizing him says they started off with, as far as X's and O's in his understanding of the game, one of the best to ever do it. Yeah. But as far as being a D-bag, also the worst to ever do it.
That's what they all say. Yeah, it is.
X's and O's, the best. Being a good guy, the absolute worst.
Like across the board. Across the board. So what's the middle ground then? Do they hire, like if it's bad cop, do they hire a good cop that's in the middle, kind of like that can help that process, the smoothing out?
Well, Jamie, that's going to be one of the fascinating things. Like Mike Babcock, when he came to Toronto, he could have, like as far as that contract when it was being done, he could have wrote anything on that paper and at least been like...
He basically did.
It was the largest deal ever. Coaches wheel into an organization and sign a contract. They're like, I want to bring in my guys. I want my video coach. I want this guy. I want that guy. I wonder if this is ā you should be just thankful and grateful that you're back in the league, and we're going to tell you what's up next as far as your staff and personnel.
See, I would go and say, what do you need to be successful? I wouldn't say you're getting X, Y, and Z because I think what you need is they need him to whip that team into a systematic strength. So what do you need? So you look at the guys who worked underneath him. It was Todd McClellan. It was Derek Lalonde. It was ā name your coaches there. Jim Hiller. Hiller, DJ Smith, there's guys.
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Chapter 8: What can we expect from the upcoming Canada vs. Qatar match?
So I think they need to round out that staff, not just with filler people and say, hey, we're going to ā like it's got to be a sharp staff that can mitigate some of the stuff that you guys are talking about.
Yeah. But, oh, you bring up a good point. Like what he is used to ā is full autonomy. In Detroit, for Team Canada, it's been well documented. The other coaches were there to contribute. There were Hall of Famers in there. It was his room. Mike Babcock was determining the lines and the ice time and all that, which is right. He's the head coach. When he got to Toronto, he ran the show.
It was like Lou and Shanahan were with him, but he was the driving force of the Maple Leafs.
And he got what he wanted. Like you said, this was him coming in on the private bird.
But I guess what I'm getting to is if you want the full Mike Babcock experience, if you're in for a penny, you're in for a pound, I guess you kind of got to give that to him if you're saying, I'm closing my eyes on this other stuff because I want that 2008 Mike Babcock. You know, I want the... Team Canada one. Team Canada Mike Babcock. Then you've got to let him be who he is. So we'll see.
Dreg's coming up later this hour. You know, Jim Hiller spoke on it yesterday. Like, he's got to figure out his staff. We talked to Laviolette yesterday. Lavi's going to do his due diligence. And I think what comes with that is... You've got to gratuitously interview the current assistants, you know what I mean, like the incumbent guys.
You've got to give them a chance to chime in and speak for themselves and maybe pitch themselves. But I'm curious when it comes to Hiller, how he fills out his staff. Does he look for some heavy hitters, other guys who have been head coaches in the past? I don't know. I mean, people that have a connection to Toronto. You know, like Hiller has a connection here. He's coached here.
He knows a lot of the players. He would know the staff very well. So he doesn't really need help on that front. You know, he knows everyone. He knows the trainers. He knows the medical staff. I know there's been turnover, but he doesn't really need an introductory kind of staff to help him get through that.
No, it's more incumbent. You mentioned a guy like Mike Van Ryn, I believe, is still under contract. You look at guys like that. I'm going down to the Marley game tonight. It's going to sweep tonight. You've got potential. John Gruden, I think that whole staff, their contracts, I believe, are up. But you still have to look at everybody within the system.
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