Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Mail it in Friday here on Overdrive. Aaron Korolnik and Dave Festchuk with you here on TSN 1050. We're up on TSN's YouTube channel in for the usual trio. And Dave, the Maple Leafs, big one tonight. Okay, not so much. They play the Carolina Hurricanes down at the bank. There are 13 games to go, and you think maybe...
just maybe this team would understand that the prudent move would be to appropriately mail it in for the final 13 games. But apparently, that is not the case. And nowhere is that more apparent than with Matthew Nyes this morning at Morning Skate. This is a guy who's been dealing with a lower body injury for a very long time, and it does not seem to be improving very much.
Why don't we take a listen to Nyes this morning and respond accordingly.
For me playing, you know, it's obviously not comfortable playing through it, but it's, you know, everyone's playing through something, I feel like, at this time of year. So it's not really an excuse, but yeah, if it's not going to get worse, then there's no problem with me playing, then I'm going to play.
So Matthew Nyes is one of the key pillars to your organization. The season is over. You're playing out the string.
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Chapter 2: What are Matthew Knies' injury comments about?
And sure, it can't get any worse. Matthew, it can't get any better either. You're in a position where if you play your cards right, you absolutely will have a very realistic chance to keep your own first-round draft pick. And they continue to play him. Why? AK, that is an incredibly great question. Thank you. Thank you. First of many, hopefully. And there's no logical answer.
There is no logical answer at all. This is complete insanity as far as I'm concerned. And I just don't understand the rationale behind so many things within this organization. It's not only Matthew Nye. There's a lot of things I am questioning with what's going on behind the scenes. As far as the continuity, the connectivity from top to bottom here, the Nye's thing seems to be...
a tipping point of sorts to understand what's going on when it comes to a plan that may or may not be in place. He should not be playing NHL games. He should be shut down. They should deal with whatever's plaguing him now so it doesn't linger into the summer and he doesn't need to play out meaningless hockey games for the rest of the season.
Chapter 3: Should key Leafs players be playing the rest of the regular season?
This just seems like the most obvious thing of all time.
I'm with you, AK. Yesterday, they had the Fan Day, the Fan Fest down at the bank there. We learned all kinds of stuff about things we don't need to learn, like the Maple Leafs have dogs. A lot of them. Troy Stetcher's got a fast one. Troy Stetcher's dog is the fastest of them all. Phoebe, the Bernese Mountain Dog that won the big timed race across the ice.
But we know more about the Maple Leafs dogs than we do about their best prospects in the minors right now. And that is what alarms me. Because where are the Marlies? Where are the freaking Marlies that should be playing tonight? And they're not.
Yes. Absolutely. And when I speak to the level of disconnect within the organization, I think this is an interesting one. Because, I guess, you could debate... Maybe you want the Leafs just to give up this first-round pick and roll it into 2027. Or, excuse me, use this first-round pick, and then you don't have to roll it into 2027 and 2028 when they're unprotected to Boston and Philadelphia.
But I think everybody around the Toronto media scene, based on what we're hearing, there's no expectation that this is a team that's going down to the studs. They are going to try to contend for a playoff spot next year. And if that is the case... then why wouldn't you be doing everything within your power to try to be as bad as possible for the final 13 games?
And I should add, I don't think they're any good. I think they're going to get smoked by Carolina tonight. I think they're going to lose to Ottawa tomorrow as well. So it could happen naturally.
But if we've learned anything from the NBA, it's that you need to take advantage of these situations when they arise, and the Leafs are in a position to plummet into the bottom five, give themselves the best chance. There's no guarantee... And Matthew Nyes alone would not necessarily signify, okay, now they're definitely going to lose.
But it is absolutely within the best-case scenarios for the Toronto Maple Leafs to lose every single game for the final 13 games. It's just a straight-up fact. And just imagine how things would change as far as the perception of this hockey club, Dave, if all of a sudden they had Gavin McKenna or Verhoff or Stenberg in their organization.
Not only would it add an air of intrigue heading into next season, maybe they're not playing for the Leafs, but the point is, oh, you've got this cornerstone prospect to go along with Matthews and Nylander and Nyes and Cowan and your goaltenders. But for whatever reason, they're insistent on continually playing their guys. I would also, and Wolin Stolarz, for me, they should be sitting.
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Chapter 4: What direction is Toronto heading for the 2026-27 season?
Hey. The Islanders won it last year with a 3.5%. You've got to give yourself the most lottery balls, Dave. You do. You've got to. You've got to sink deeper, ideally. But on top of that, it's a dual benefit, to your point. You just signed Aktyamov to a three-year entry-level deal. Get him in an NHL net. He's played one NHL game to date. Let's see what he's got. Why not give him more?
To your point. You know what? Okay, you brought up Quillen. You brought up Bo Gru. That's been great. But what about these other guys that you claimed have got hidden gems in Boria Vallis and Luke Hames, right? You signed these guys. What about the college kids they just signed? The college guys they just signed. I mean, you've got these guys with the Marlies. Let's see who they are. And why not?
It's not as though... you're doing something that's unethical to use an NBA term. Everybody in the NBA is talking about unethical tanks, ethical tanks. Matthew Nise is hurt. Yes. You know, I remember I speak to the occasional orthopedic surgeon in my line of work talking as a reporter, and you always hear that it can't get any worse.
All the orthopedic guys I've ever talked to always say it can always get worse, okay? Yeah, maybe not this injury, but guess what? The fact that you have that injury can lead to another injury because you're overcompensating.
There's no reason why you wouldn't shut this guy down right now other than the vanity of let's win some games so we don't look so stupid anymore, which I think is what is top of mind for Craig Berube.
For sure. If I'm Craig Berube, I'm trying to try out the best lineup there every single night in an effort to regain what little... Credit or whatever word you want to use to describe Berube going forward here. I think it's very unlikely he's back next year, regardless of how the final 13 games play out. But you've got to take that out of his hands.
You've got to take it out of Tree Living's hands. And someone from up top needs to step in and say, Matthew Nyes ain't playing anymore. What are we doing here? I just watched that press conference. And listen, I have a lot of respect for Matthew Nyes. Because I think there's a lot of people who just shut it down and said... I'm not playing anymore. I'm injured. What are we doing here?
And maybe if he was a little bit older and a little bit wiser, perhaps, that would be his move. But he said it himself. A lot of guys are banged up this time of year. That's what you say in the playoffs. The beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs, no one's at 100%. Yeah, yeah. But there's no reason why you're playing if you're not at 100% because it's a two-pronged thing.
One, he makes your team better, although he hasn't had the best of seasons. And two, start his offseason earlier. Get him back on track as soon as possible, especially considering we saw Austin Matthews, the 12-week recovery, which a lot of people are pointing to. Oh, that's right around the Stanley Cup final. Maybe Matthews can return for that. That ain't happening, people. It's a joke.
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