The JD Bunkis Podcast

JD and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Kris Versteeg discuss notorious tough and nasty players, their thoughts on the Toronto market and the invested Maple Leafs fan base, and the different possibilities in Auston Matthews' future. NHL champion, Devante Smith-Pelley, talks about getting traded during his career, and being teammates with new Anaheim Ducks defenseman, John Carlson.  The views and opin...

JD and James Mirtle, senior writer at The Athletic, discuss the directions the Maple Leafs could take, what the paths back to contention could be, prospective trades for Anthony Stolarz and Matthew Knies, the human dynamics on trade deadline day, and Brad Treliving's past moves.  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the p...

JD and Colby Armstrong, Sportsnet NHL analyst, tell trade deadline stories before analyzing the Nicholas Roy trade to the Colorado Avalanche, Kyle Dubas' tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the end of Sidney Crosby's career. Later (29:00), JD further breaks down the Maple Leafs trade sending Roy to the Avalanche. JD and the producer's then touch on the Raptors concerning loss and the Buffalo B...

Mike Futa, co-host of The FAN Hockey Show and former NHL assistant general manager, joins JD in-studio to get into the nuances of how a front office approaches a trade deadline and what the Maple Leafs front office may be considering. JD and Mike discuss what kind of moves would set the Leafs back, what the reality of Auston Matthews' situation with the Leafs is, and Scott Laughton's tenure with t...

JD explains how the Maple Leafs haven't been on the same page, tries to make sense of why they haven't devised a consistent plan, and touches on the abundance of no-move clauses in the NHL. Matthew Barnaby, 14-year NHL forward, discusses how no-move clauses have become so ubiquitous, the pressure on players to waive their no-move clauses, what he thinks of the Edmonton Oilers moves thus far, and i...

Trevor May, big league pitcher for nine seasons and host of the Mayday! podcast, joins JD to talks about the likelihood of seeing baseball at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the potential for a shortened MLB season or a mid-season tournament, what he thinks of the Blue Jays starting rotation, and what he expects from Max Scherzer this season. JD and Producer Armen then discuss the Raptors...

JD explains the pressure mounting on the Maple Leafs front office and brings in Sportsnet's Leafs reporter, Luke Fox, to dive into the direction of the team. JD asks Luke about the pressure on Brad Treliving to make multiple moves before the deadline, what difficult conversations the Leafs could be heading towards, and why the Leafs have been hesitant to let go of Craig Berube. JD ends the hour to...

Russell Martin, first base coach of Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic and former Blue Jays catcher, hops on the show to chat about his potential interest to become a manager in the big leagues, what he thought of the Blue Jays World Series run, if baseball is becoming more popular in Canada, the important of the WBC for Team Canada and Canada's outlook at the tournament. Russell also gives...

JD and Ben Ennis, host of The FAN Morning Show , build their trust tree for the Blue Jays bullpen, before debating the intensity of the World Baseball Classic and the sport of baseball in Canada. Next, the duo list their hopeless franchise rankings in North American professional sports.  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily refle...

David Pagnotta, Editor in Chief of The Fourth Period ,  joins JD to break down what the flow of trades may be during NHL trade deadline week, what the Maple Leafs idea may be for next season, if it's more likely that the Leafs trade Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Brendan Carlo, what scenarios would push the Leafs front office to approach players with no-trade clauses, what return the Leafs could fetch fo...

JD reacts to another putrid Maple Leafs performance and lays out the turbulent situation the franchise is in. Then, Ben Nicholson-Smith joins JD (12:00) to explain why the Blue Jays and Max Scherzer came to an agreement now, who from the starting rotation will be relied on heavily to start the season, how the Jays are hoping to roll out Trey Yesavage, and what relatively unknown fielders can make...

Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling joins the show live from Dunedin, Florida to get into early Blue Jays spring training stories. JD asks Arden about Brendon Little's impressive offseason adjustments, which bullpen arms on the roster bubble he believes in, Eloy Jiménez' chances to make the big league roster, the cautious approach with Trey Yesavage and how the Jays may deploy him, José Berríos and the mer...

JD reacts to the Maple Leafs putrid loss to the Florida Panthers, before bringing on Anthony Petrielli from Maple Leafs Hot Stove. JD and Anthony dig into the team and discuss if they'd like the Leafs to extend Bobby McMann's contract and what salary they'd think is fair, which player they think should go at the trade deadline, and the team's development process.  The views and opinions expressed...

Matt Bonner, former Raptor and current co-host of The Raptors Show, joins JD Bunkis in-studio to get into dynamics of a basketball broadcast, why the Raptors keep blowing fourth quarter leads, Gradey Dick falling out of the rotation, potential re-tooling options for the front office in the summer, and Victor Wembanyama's race to the face of the league. The show ends with 'What We Missed!' The view...

JD reacts to the Blue Jays signing Max Scherzer, before moving on to the Maple Leafs 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. JD and Justin Bourne of Real Kyper and Bourne discuss Keith Pelley's message to season-ticket holders, if they trust the Leafs front office to retool the roster, were the Leafs are most deficient, and if they've handled Easton Cowan 's development well. JD then touches on Cody...

National NBA writer and host, Zach Harper, joins JD Bunkis to talk about giving the Raptors an A- letter grade for their season thus far, Toronto's offensive and defensive ceiling, and the title chances for the Raps' potent opponents this week: the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. JD and Zach then discuss Victor Wembanyama's short and long-term potential. JD then reacts to news that Si...

JD Bunkis and Ben Ennis, co-host of The FAN Morning Show, banter about JD's Maple Leafs take on how Leafs nation may treat Auston Matthews moving forward, the report of Ricky Tiedemann's elbow soreness, if Eric Lauer can crack the starting rotation, and Max Scherzer's place on the roster. JD and Ben also touch on the upcoming World Baseball Classic and Team Canada's outlook.  The views and opinion...

James Mirtle, senior writer at The Athletic, talks about the compact post-Olympic NHL schedule, if the World Cup will gain traction, the conversation surrounding goaltending and goaltending development in Canada, the weight on Auston Matthews as he returns to the Maple Leafs, and the Leafs looming decision to buy or sell at the trade deadline. The show ends with 'What We Missed!' (41:00) The views...

Sportsnet's Shi Davidi joins JD Bunkis live from Dunedin, Florida, to explain his read on Eric Lauer's role, what factors could influence the Blue Jays starting rotation, the Jays continued interest in Max Scherzer, and early impressions of Kazuma Okamoto. JD then touches on the Raptors outlook for the rest of the regular season.  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the h...

Sam McKee, JD's co-host of Leafs Talk , talks about the positive and negative spins from Canada's loss to the United States. JD and Sam split their blame pie, and how they think Connor McDavid's perception if shifting. JD and Sam then discuss Auston Matthews the winner, a potential concern for Maple Leafs fans, and how hockey players view big markets. JD and Producer Armen then talk about the nove...

JD reacts to Canada's Olympic loss to the United States in the gold medal game and lists the biggest winners and losers from the game. Kris Versteeg, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, explains what his worst feelings are after Canada's loss, the pain of Sidney Crosby missing the game due to injury, why Canada's powerplay didn't come through, and how they would've tweaked Canada's roster. JD then give...

Olympic Gold Medalist and 15-year NHL forward, Brenden Morrow, joins JD Bunkis to discuss memories from the 2010 Olympic Games, the discourse around the shrinking talent gap in hockey between Canada and other countries, how he dealt with the weight of the pressure in overtimes and close games against the Americans, the challenge Finland has historically presented, and being Sidney Crosby's teammat...

JD reacts to Canada's women's hockey team heartbreaking loss to the United States in the gold medal game. CBC hockey analyst, Hailey Salvian, joins JD to discuss the 3-on-3 overtime format, who's the biggest winner from the Olympics, what factors have contributed to America's women's hockey recent dominance over Canada, which player(s) can carry the torch from Marie-Philip Poulin, and if there's a...

Ray Ferraro, Sportsnet and ESPN NHL analyst, joins JD Bunkis to discuss how pressure and expectations impact a hockey team and locker room, Canada's nuclear top-line option, Connor McDavid's greatness, which Canadian can have more impact in the semi-finals and potential gold medal game, how eight men on ice went undetected, and how other countries have performed. Later (24:30), JD and Sam McKee ta...

Kris Versteeg, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, joins JD to react to Canada's overtime win versus Czechia in the Olympic quarterfinals. JD and Kris get into how the team looked throughout the game, the 3-on-3 overtime format at the Olympics, Nick Suzuki's moment, Sidney Crosby's injury, Radko Gudas' dirtiness, the inconsistent officiating, what they've seen from Nathan MacKinnon, and how they'd jugg...