Strudwick on Tanev's impact to the Maple Leafs, Formenton's signing with the Oilers and the Oilers' team additions

0:00Hi, this is Dave Roberts. Heading into summer without a medical emergency kit, that's a risk. Summer colds can linger and getting sick on vacation can derail everything. That's why everyone needs a medical emergency kit. It includes doctor prescribed medications to treat common and serious illnesses. So if you wake up sick, at home or on the road, you already have what you need. It's like having an urgent care and pharmacy at home. Say $45 with code blue at urgentcarekit.com slash blue urgent care kit.com slash blue. Let's bring them in. What an introduction. Our main man Jason Strudwick joining us back on overdrive. How are we doing strutty? Boys, a good magician can use any wand. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter the wand and stills. You don't get over 40 assists in the NHL by accident. That is mostly tape to tape or off the glass passes. Is that your career total 40 apples? I don't know. Well, if you count warm up and probably over 15, but I think I was around.

1:04I was probably around that number. I don't see at this point. I mean, it's how do you count them all up? I don't have a time in the day. 42. 42 passes. I remember one year I was trying to get 10 points out of that nine and I shot one in the pellicill. Hit the glass, hit the linesman helmet and went to the middle of my partner or my just guy got a break lane score. And the rest didn't want to give it to him. Like you've got to give it to me. They gave it to me, but I couldn't get the 10th. I was like the eighth or ninth point. You would have been a huge year. Career here. 10 points. I'm going to make one of the play. The linesman had to leave the game with an injury. We had one life and a short the rest of the game, but it was fine. We were going to win the game anyway. Let me ask you this. As a tough guy, what do you think has more pressure or what makes somebody nervous more before a game? Someone that has to produce points or somebody that knows they might have to fight somebody?

2:05What do you think is more stressful? Yeah. I do think the pressure of score, God, that's a disrespectful to fighters. He's kind of their own unique challenges. I remember I was fairly lucky. I didn't have to fight the absolute killers all the time, but when I did, it was uncomfortable sleep the night before. If I don't fight well, I might get hurt. Whereas if you're a score, if you don't score, it's not like you're getting hurt. Maybe the coach gets on you or maybe your fans. So these kind of their own unique set of pressure. I mean, the perfect world, they have a duet of both. You think back to some of the guys that are like an again love, they could fight and score. I mean, that would be the dream for me. That's what I would love to have been. Maybe like an at-home, but fought more. That would have been the dream for me. But obviously, I dreamed that it would come true. You're in with you guys. Exactly. Then it's double stress at the same time. You've got to fight and produce points. Yes, both of those can drag you down if you're an again love or a shanty hand or any of the all-time great power forwards.

3:11Or a defenseman that could do both. But yeah, we were just talking about the Leafs and expectations and all the turnover. And I know I'm sure these guys get it too when they're in town and talking to different people. Obviously, a lot of people asking, can the James get into the playoffs? And then naturally, what do you think of the Leafs? And I'm still trying to wrap my head around, you know, what is more likely to lead to success? Let's presume they have a good year and they bounce back into the playoffs. Do you think it's more likely the reason they do that is because the carryover players had a great year's the Matthews, the Tavaris, the Nielanders, the Riles, Tanav returns healthy? Or all of the new guys, because this is going to be basically a 50% change opening night. And they have a brosky in that radish and I think Andre playing on the point. And at least six new forwards opening night. Like there's going to be upwards of nine, maybe ten new players in the lineup for the first game of the season. So the incumbents, the carryovers or the new guys that are going to have to play a bigger role in them having success this year.

4:18Well, I didn't even mention the new coach, so what's that going to look like? But I've got to stick with what I've been saying for quite a while. I needed better puck moving defense. And the two guys he mentioned, and I'll put Tanav in that group as well. I think Tanav is the guy they can help get the puck through adding three guys. And two, especially, their job is to move that puck up to the forwards. So I know those forwards are exciting. You know, your top six, even the bottom six guys are happy because they'll be getting pucks cleaner and maybe faster on the breakouts. And that's what those guys want. They don't care who's passing to base one again in the puck. So I believe it'll be the new players that have the biggest impact. And I'll look specifically at the demand for that. That's interesting. Yeah, I mean, you know, Stretty, it's funny because my biggest thing is I love Chris Tanav. But I would love to see a 28 year old Chris Tanav. You know, like that's the biggest thing. Is it their reports that he has to still meet with doxxers to get cleared for the beginning of training camp?

5:19I mean, yeah, he said that he's he's on record saying it. It's not even a report. It's yeah. Tanav has not been cleared yet. Try getting any news at a Toronto right now. It's a it's a code of silence right now. But I mean, I at the end of the day, if Tanav is in your lineup, you're a better team. Regardless of if he's a Ferrari with 500,000 kilometers on it. Like he's still a very good player and knows how to play. I agree, Stretty. My biggest thing is I I think they need those puck movers to get that that forward those forwards the puck. And I look at Austin Matthews. I think Austin Matthews is going to have a big year. He just needs somebody to get him the puck, whether that's McKenna or if it's Ross Levic strutty, you've watched Ross Levic last year. What did you make of Ross Levic? And do you think he can fit into a top six role playing with really good players? If you appreciate and understand what Ross Levic is, it'll be fine. Ross Levic is a guy who loves he loves to have the puck on his thick and to skate towards other teams net. That's what he likes.

6:20You know, if you understand that and you're you're he's going to get 20 goals for you. No problem. But you know those other details of the game that I think Hiller will have expectations for. I think he's still trying to you know become that you know a guy that you know is able to get in front of a shot every now and then. Or make a demon you know alter his course on their blue line and those types of things. So yeah, offensively he's going to help him and you make some use very skilled and I've been I've been watching this guy since Winnipeg. And I've always been waiting for him to bust out and you know maybe busting out of 20 goals. Maybe that's 20 that's his best. But I think that there's parts of this game away from the puck that he can approve on that. Abbers to poor player can do they would make him a far more important player on any team. So can he'll or do it? You know that would be multiple coaches now trying to get the same thing out of him. But offensively. Yeah, when he has the puck or skating at the other teams that you're like, yeah, this is great. How many times you see a guy at his age just all the sudden magically show up to training camp and do all the things.

7:22And that's like it just he is what he is like everybody in hockey says that guy that that's what he is. He's a puck moving guys got the puck. But if you think he's going to finish checks or block shots or bring those other intangibles that everybody on a coaching staff loves. You're basically not going to see it. So that's what it's going to be. And that's why he's that that cap number. That's why he kind of moves around a bit, right? That's right. So is he an angel for sure? Okay. Well, we'll see. I mean, when he gets into town and he's he's really kind of buried here in terms of the players who are going to get the most attention. Obviously, Kevin McKenna is going to get a ton of circuit, but brosky there and radish. You know, among many others, including the carryover guys like Matthews and Matthew Nies after the summer that he's had. With all the rumors surrounding him. So he's actually he's going to get a real opportunity to blend into camp. There's not going to be a ton of Jack Rossinovic requests, you know, day and day out at camp. But you know, he's still in a big market like he was last year in Edmonton.

8:22And I'm seeing, you know, obviously, McDavid's back out there and dry settles out there. And there's video of the captain skates ongoing. And there was some pretty significant news out of Edmonton today that they've signed Alex Foreman's into a one-year contract. And of course, he was a part of the sexual assault case, the 2018 hockey candidate team. He's one of the five players and he's been reinstated. He hasn't been in the league. He hasn't been playing since then in North America. But it's been a pretty wild offseason in Edmonton. And now they're bringing form and tin in. How do you expect them to respond to this? Because there's going to be blowback. It's natural to happen with Carter Hart when he got to Vegas. Going to happen with Foreman tin when he steps on the ice with the Orlers. How do you expect the team to kind of respond to this? Because the request will be there for him and others to speak on it. Yeah. And he's going to have to speak, right? And come out and speak now. The thing for him is he's the second one through the door, right?

9:24That's coming back into NHL. I know Carter Hart was in Vegas, so I just different than a Canadian market. But still, there's been another players gone through it. Well, I've gone through, you know, getting back into NHL. I think the defense here in Edmonton, you know, the voice of opinion, you know, whatever they, however they might feel. But the Orlers have, you know, in the past they have brought players in. Things have happened or, you know, even, you know, think of back con. Now, obviously not the same level. But, you know, with, with things that happen, you know, with, with players and, you know, depending on how you feel about it, there is a history there. So this is not a market that is not, is it? I'm not, not used to these types of people coming back to with, with, with, you know, things that happened to pass in the history. Yeah. So I think it's not like it's a fresh place that never done it. So now as far as the on ice, I'd heard this might happen a bit a month ago. And you know, I, I know him to be a big, um, fast skater.

10:25So where's he fit in? You know, as you mentioned, he hasn't played a ton of high level hockey. The Swiss League is fast. You know, I went over there and dominated, but that one not talking about me now. But, um, you know, but I think that, you know, so he, he will be up to speed. But, you know, playing up to speed in the Swiss League is a lot different than playing beside Con McDavid or Leon Dry settle. But, you know, Stan Bowman made it clear when he took this job, he's looking for players everywhere, whether it's free agents, whether it's trades, whether it's drafting, wherever he's looking everywhere for players. And if this guy can come in and play, you know, in his top end was 18 goals. You know, what does that look decided at different players? So I don't know if he starts in the NHL, I'm not sure where he fits because the orders have a lot of seemed to depths in that bottom six. But, you know, it's a shot through, you know, the probably worse, the risk we're taking. It's crazy that different sports like it seems like in the NFL, if a guy gets in trouble, the fans of that are just like, I hope the guy can play Sunday.

11:26Like that's the attitude of NFL fans are like, man, I hope he's dressed Sunday. And it's just completely different with with this like it's a yes. And especially up here, I mean, it was incredibly high profile for the right purposes and the right reasons. But listen, they are cleared to play, they are reinstated, they are free men. And, you know, Edminson again, like Stan Bowman had his background in Chicago, like Babcock has his background and now Foremanton has his all different context. But the oilers, you know, are clearly they can withstand it. They are willing to accept that maybe some of their fans aren't happy about it. And I think it's just another example of them effectively saying we are just here to win. And that's it, you know, like that, and I don't know if it's going to help them win. I don't know Foreman think it plenty more. I don't know, Babcock's the right guy for them. I haven't been thrilled with Stan Bowman. Like honestly, they've took, they've taken some swings on guys that have not exactly led to success so far. So we'll see if it even works out.

12:27If it's worth all the risk in terms of the PR in the end. And a quick to stridey before you jump in, it comes back to comments sometimes, is the juice worth the squeeze? Like, you know, I think when they look at Babcock, they're like, we needed a coach, we needed XY and Z. Maybe they thought with Foremanton, like Dylan Dubay, I think St. Louis signed him and put him in the minors and, you know, it's trying to let him. I think the oilers are going to try and put him in the minors and let him work his way back and have him be a depth guy. But again, do they need that PR? Like, Edmonton's had a top PR offseason. Let's be honest. It's, you know, and I don't think you're right. Hey, I don't think they care. I think they worry about like, can this guy help our organization? Can Mike Babcock help our team? I think that's what they're willing to do. But it hasn't been a banner PR offseason. We'll call it for Edmonton when it comes to polarizing topics. And you just add in another one here today. Absolutely. Yeah.

13:27Yeah. Yeah. And you put your points on made. And I think like I, I'm really looking forward to the start of this NHL season for many teams, but specifically the oilers. So I look at the changes they've made, you know, whether it's Babcock coming in, Darnell Nurse going out, you know, some other yacht guys, you know, buying for position, the goalie situation. I know they only have two right now, but they have three when Freddy's healthy. I think they'll carry three. I really do. I think definitely by should be ready to go because there's an opportunity to create a buzz about himself here from the coach staff with Anderson out. There's so many storylines running through this team not to mention. You know, we, we, we, we, we have been well documented that, you know, Conor McDavid's contract and where it's at. And now you look at the money being thrown around to the high end players. I mean, there's lots going on. So how does Babcock handle these guys? How do they handle Babcock? How do they come out of the gates? Are they rested? Are they healthy? Like, what is woman? Is woman, you know, back to the where he can be? Can Fredrick come back? Like, there's, where's Isaac Howard?

14:27Like, there's thousands of storylines and I put, forming tin on top of that. There's going to be a lot to talk about from out west here just from the owners, not even the other western teams yet. So, I'm starting before we get you out of here. Did you turn back to clock at all this summer and just like have a couple big nights bar tea? Like just your mojo, all of it? Like any big nights in the summer? You know what noodles is the one who drags me down because usually I make really good choices. Like I'm always like two beers and then I'd Uber home. But I didn't get a chance to hook up with noodles. So I didn't get dragged down. Did I have a couple of good nights? Yes, yes I did. But I was reasonable, you know, getting home before sunlight. I heard a vicious rumor, but I did. I mean, we had one just at the end of last year in Calgary for a buddy's party and that went a little late. But at the end of the day, I add a question for you because I saw a pick in our group chat, a side profile.

15:28Has there been a flight to Turkey to a different country booked yet or not? Like where are we at here? What's the air situation? Well, yeah, I think we need to have another, you know, a draft, a lottery. A draft, yes, a draft. A salad rebuild. The salad rebuild draft. I think I told you guys before, but like the erosion has stopped. Right? It's not going back anymore. It's it's fun. Like it's like the fire is not burning anymore. Right? So there's some other people I know they're evolving your draft. I'd be taking a hard look at some of their decisions with their air styles. I'm not going to point fingers, but let's just say one just left the four to panthers. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, not to point, but I mean, again, he defies all laws with what he's doing on top of his scalper. All right, well, it's it's a great description of fires out the hair is set now and it's done. It's not nothing's burning anymore. The rest of the woods fine.

16:29Yeah, it's a good 12 burn. I love that. The sun, the snow's on melting. It's good. It's worth that and I'm thrilled. Okay, 51. I probably have another good, I've got you nine years. I'll get to 60. Then I'll take a look at maybe maybe another rebuild or a trim or a trip to Turkey. Okay, I like that. There's direct flights. I've been tend to Istanbul and we can make that work for you. No problem. They welcome his open arms. Would you ever consider the glue on tarp like the guys? Is it just me or does Alkaraz not look like he's got a wig on? Did you see Alkaraz players? So many guys dumping glue on top of their head and they put a pelton and it looks real. Alkaraz take a peek at Alkaraz last night. I watched I watched a crime show in this poor bastard Los Angeles got arrested for murder and he was so pissed off that he couldn't go to jail with his tarp on and he was bald and he was living.

17:29Not the whole murder trial. He was mad about his tarp. There he is. Look at Alkaraz. He's not diving for balls. That's shalt. Obviously that was a big win last night. We'll watch this and we'll break it down. There it is. I don't think that's I don't know man. It might be real. Let's move in a little bit. Thank you struddy. We'll do it again soon. Fire's out talking guys later. He has a case of strud with joining us. Hi, this is Dave Roberts heading into summer without a medical emergency kit. That's a risk. Summer colds can linger and getting sick on vacation can derail everything. That's why everyone needs a medical emergency kit. It includes doctor prescribed medications to treat common and serious illnesses. So if you wake up sick at home or on the road, you already have what you need. It's like having an urgent care and pharmacy at home. Say $45 with code blue at urgentcare kit.com. Slash blue. Urgentcare kit.com. Slash blue.