OverDrive - Button on the Maple Leafs' team identity, MacKinnon and Makar's expertise and the Canadiens' playoff chase

Episode Date: March 19, 2025

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Canadiens' powerful push to the playoffs and Nick Suzuki's leadership to the team, the Maple Leafs' performance against top tier teams, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar's elite abilities and more.

Wow, you've got the latest model! Nice! Ah, you should see it run! Bell PureFiber? Yep. Sheesh, that's got power! It's Canada's fastest and most trusted internet service. Cool if I give it a test drive? Promise you won't share the password?

Switch to Bell PureFiber, Canada's fastest internet, awarded by UCCLA. Starting from $60 a month. Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. joining us on the Maple Toyota Hotline, here's Craig Button. Craig, I'm pretty sure I know where you stand, but you're a believer in the Habs making the playoffs? Is that where it currently stands or what? Yeah, I'm a believer. I think that they've proven, I think to a lot of people that they can get there. You know, since the Four Nations break, they have the best record in hockey. Their first line is the best first line in hockey.

And their goaltender has been the top goalie, one of the top goalies. I mean, all that adds up and they're playing well. And certainly when you talk about a team that has found its way, it's been really, really important when you start out the season and say, we want to be in the mix. We want to be playing meaningful games in April or in March. And your team shows your manager, your coach, you're doing everything to be in that fight. If he would have traded any of those guys, he would have just pulled out the rug from his team and his words would have meant nothing.

Craig, Craig, before we get to, you know, the Hudson, the defenseman, before you came on, we were talking about Nick Suzuki. You know, you've watched his progression. I think there was a lot of people that felt like he had like the Bergeron instincts all of that But I mean has he pushed through his ceiling or do you do you believe like he is a star player? Just a very well-rounded one, you know, what do you see in Nick Suzuki? Well, yeah, I see Patrice Bergeron Jamie and and when you watch all Patrice Bergeron did was played an exceptionally high level Every single game every single year until he decided, I don't think I can play at that level anymore. So I'm going to retire.

Patrice Bergeron could play right now in the NHL, but he had a standard that he said, I'm not going below it. Nick Suzuki has that same standard. And when you, I mean, you watch him play, there's not an area of the game that he cannot excel at and he cannot have a major impact in a positive way on. And all the way back to junior, that's how he was. That's what he did. He was the MVP in the OHL playoffs and he just, he just like Patrice, he just goes about it quietly. He doesn't do it with a lot of flash and dash,

but you know, you're Marty St. Louis, just like every coach that had Bergeron, you knew exactly what you were getting every single shift. And that's what Nick Suzuki does. And you know, he's not in the McKinnon, Matthews, McDavid, uh, dry, silo class. I mean, I don't know what he's trying to say that, but no, nor was Bergera in that elite category of top centers. But that next category, tell me who doesn't want Nick Suzuki on their team.

And it would be the same people that say they don't want Patrice Bergera, which would shock me if anybody had the, was that stupid to say that. So in the last minute, Craig, you've mentioned three different guys in different times. Montembo, Marty St. Louis, and Nick Suzuki. Who do you think is the most important with

15 games left to see these guys actually do it? That's a great question, Jeff. Marty has been able to really nurture the team at the same time, develop them, be patient with them, but he's also put demands on them. I think that's important for a coach, especially with a young team. You can't just always say, oh all their kids are going to learn but Marty got to a point where he said no, move to the next stage. But that's what's in place.

So I put him third. You know Sam Montalbaud has been excellent. You know the goal that went in last night, the third goal to put Montreal down 3-2, that was a stink. That was one that you're going, oh no, oh no. Is that the one that's gonna sink you? And then they come right back and they tie it up and then they go ahead and ultimately win the game.

And I think that that speaks a lot about the team. I think that Sam Montembal is a big part of it. They're not great defenders, and I've talked about Suzuki and how good he is. I think Montembal being a steady presence in the net being consistent is the key for this to carry on because there, there's still much of work in progress. Defensively, they still give up some chances. You're still a little bit loose, you know, and then some of that experience

on the blue line comes through. So I would say Montembal Suzuki, Marty St. Louis. I also want to say one of them you talk about our chance to be a big game player we're going to talk about i think that that really helped election o'clock

i think it gave christian the more at more opportunity to play and you never want to lose players in your lineup but it feels like ever since he went out the team is taking off yeah they have to be a they are red hot right now that have served their fund a lot good for him yet house not

now that we hear the guy who's over the lineup in the team rockets start on the right now uh... but i don't know a jacket it's very dark in three of the most significant thing in this road uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh...

uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... uh... I feel like the Leafs they need they need a signature win here They I think there's importance to that Craig where they haven't played great against, you know, the best competition in the league they haven't had like a big big win in a long time against like one of the a-list teams and Colorado's coming in them plates since Sunday. They've been in town since yesterday You're getting their a game tonight like McKinnon's ready. My car is ready You're gonna get everything that Colorado can throw at you They did that ten days ago in Colorado and it got ugly for the Leafs What do you think the Leafs have to do differently tonight?

And do you buy into my logic that they've got to put their stake in the ground and beat a team like this? Just to start boosting their confidence as we get closer to the playoffs Somebody sent me a note yesterday, somebody that's been involved in hockey for a long time and he said, and this is what his comment was. I paraphrased, he says, I'm not so sure that the biggest issue facing the least is their own self doubt. And when you, when you run through the stretch of playoff short commas that they've had, you know, it's hard to, it's hard to say, yeah, we can do it.

When you go and lose to Vegas and you lose to the Colorado Avalanche, you lose to the Florida Panthers in a manner that they did where they really weren't close, it creates that self-doubt. So, my answer to your question, Brian, is I think they've got to show themselves that they're capable of playing at this level. And you know, Calgary throw that aside, I mean, they just took advantage and were really good. But this is a different type of game.

You use the word signature type win. And I think it's great to tell everybody else, they need to get to that belief that they can do it themselves against good teams. And you know, we can go through, yeah, you need your goal-tenning, you need to play tight defensively, you need the scoring from your players and everything that goes with it. But I think that a win against a really good team helps this team in what I call the belief metric that says, okay, we now know we can do it. You start to doubt yourself more and more and more when you can't beat the good teams.

That's not a good place to be heading into the playoffs. No, and I think that is at the forefront of any prediction for what's going to happen in the future where ideally you end up with the first seed. Clearly, that goes without saying, that's clearly beneficial to have home ice and you're going to play likely an inferior team at least on paper. Maybe not the way they're playing and the way you match up against them, but on paper you prefer to play Ottawa, Montreal over Florida or Tampa. But for me, it's not who they play, it's how they play.

That's what it is with the Leafs. The Leafs have got to show that they can get it done, regardless of who you're going to play against. Whoever gets that 16th win every year, no one looks back and goes, well, they got lucky, they played this team, they did. No, you earned it. You deserved it. They found a way to get it done. Yeah, exactly. And that's at the forefront of it. I get it. It's March and it's a regular

season game and the Leafs are going to the playoffs and maybe this game won't be remembered a week from now, let alone a month or a year from now. But that's that is I think is what you're speaking to, Craig. Like it's really Tampa, Florida, Montreal, Buffalo, San Jose. I don't care who they play in a best of seven They have to prove they can do it. That's that's really ultimately what's what's at stake You made a comment there like, you know Don't that they can play like and playing against these big teams and so when the Florida Panthers come into the town Is there any doubt how they're gonna play?

Colorado's playing tonight, you know exactly how they're going to play? You're in the Colorado's playing tonight. You know exactly how they're going to play. You know, how Tampa is going to play. You know, how Vegas is going to play, you know, and other teams now and like talk contenders are showing how like, you know, that you know what to expect. I think one of the things with the Leafs is, okay, yeah, to your point, Brian, okay, you play Buffalo, you play a certain way, you know, well, it's not, you gotta play this. You gotta play a style of game that what I call just bears down on your opponent

and just takes the life out of them. Ultimately in a playoff series you start with game one, you're trying to kill their spirit. The quicker you can kill their spirit, the quicker you can win a series. The Toronto Maple Leafs have not shown they can kill an opponent's spirit. Yeah, that's a great point. To me, it's about competition here down the stretch and if they can get to their game. The biggest thing is, Craig, and we've been talking about this for weeks now, what is – you just mentioned the Florida Panthers, the way they play, Vegas, the way they play.

What is the Leafs' identity? I've been asked that 10 times over the last week and a half. What are the Leafs' identity? Is it defense first? Is it four-skill, four guys with skill? When we look at it, because that's something that we always say, play to your identity, what is that identity? What has the Leafs been trying to get to it for an identity this season?

We should play a game of where's Waldo. We should call it where's the Leafs identity. Because I don't know what it is. I actually knew what it was two years ago. It was all about, you know, offense. It was all about the, you know, we're going to score, we're going to putt possession, we're going to play this way and we're going to go. I don't know what it is now. I, I know what Craig Ruby has talked about trying to do. I know he's had success in the past doing it. I know that he's been frustrated just listening to him this year with the team and defensively they're not stars. I mean, right now the goal tending seems to be a real backbone of their team. I mean, we're in past years. It was always Matthews and Nylander and Marner

and Tavares. And yeah, those guys have performed and performed well. The blue line has been reinforced. But is there anything about the blue line? Do you go, geez, like, geez, they're hard, they're heavy, you know, it's a, it's a miserable group to play against. I don't know, James. I really don't know. And I think that that's got to be concerning at this point in the season. Like you're trying to establish who you are and what you want to be and yet you're still in this kind of discovery phase. Yeah and again it'll be exposed in a game like tonight if you can't find it. You know and you can't find it quickly and they've got the talent, they've got the depth, they're

healthy. You know that goes a long way in march and i think if you're a healthy team that's very beneficial that's where the leaves are at when it comes to colorado in their side of things let me propose a question someone asked me this earlier if i if i don't i so camp on one player either mckinnon or mccurry could only watch the one guy played tonight who would you choose

no-goal boy shot up about but about what my feet to the fire while the one guy played tonight, who would you choose? Oh boy. Wow. Talking about putting my feet to the fire, wow. You know, here's what I would say. I would say put the cam on the car, because I think the car does more subtle things that are brilliant. You know, Nathan McKinney comes out on the ice and he just grabs your attention.

You can't help but notice Nathan. I mean, to me, he plays every shift like it's the last shift of the seventh game of the. I mean, to me, he plays every shift like it's the last shift of the seventh game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That's how he plays. He just draws you in. I think Mccarr, because he does, I mean, he has those brilliant moments too, but he does so many things. That overtime goal he scored against Dallas the other day, he grabs that puck, he makes a little delay, gets the pot, delays kind of moves on draw to the position and just slides it. I mean, it wasn't, I wouldn't even call it a shot.

I would call it like a, like the proper weight and curling, if we're going to use that term, just perfect weight, just outside the post. And I was just like, Oh my God, that punch going into the net. And I think that's what I mean about the nuance. And we see that. I mean, McKinnon, it's like he hits you over the head. Like he says, you want to notice me? Here, bang, you get hit over the head. McCarr, like I said, has a little bit more subtlety into his game. So I say, put the cam on McCarr. We know he's a great player.

You might see some subtlety that don't show up as much as McKinnon's does. Yeah, and he's going to play a few more minutes than him too. He could play 26-27 minutes tonight and never look like he's out of breath, which is just incredible. Yeah, it should be a great game. It's going to be a great game. Only two games in the NHL tonight. It is officially stretch run time. It's going to be a fun month, a month today, Stanley Cup playoffs begin a month today. That's how quickly it's gonna fly by. Great catching up with you, Craig.

We always appreciate you doing this. I got one quick thing to say here. One quick thing to say here. For every single Leafs fan going to the game tonight at Scotiabank, you know what? Act like the much more Canadian fans did last night at the bell center get in there

and make some noise and show some enthusiasm for your team couldn't agree more i get a lot of the protest in the mindset and let's get crazy tonight and will this team into a good the loss start crazy like start the game now we say the start the game standing up cheering like montreal and they all they do is sit there and i'll be on score and fight somebody in the first thirty seconds we're gonna hate you it's a slight mind and give us another game earlier

every game earlier when they had the fight with reads on that's going to be fought yeah after matthewson after the ocean that thought to be a little more juice in the building and i don't know if fight is going to get it done. I'm not sure it will either. But we'll hold our breath and hope it finally happens tonight. Tonight is the night, the start of a new era, Craig. Tonight at Scotiabank.

Alright, Jetson. Thank you guys. There's Craig Button joining us here on the Maple Torta Hotline. Drive the built-in Canada fuel-efficient, fun-to-drive Toyota RAV4 gas or hybrid models available. Visit mapletoyota.com. experience you'll never forget. With flights, hotel, and $500 included. For your best chance to win, enter daily at IRradio.ca. Kane Brown's new album, The High Road, is available now.