OverDrive - Colaiacovo on the Maple Leafs down the stretch, the Panthers' decline and the playoffs format

Episode Date: March 19, 2026

TSN Hockey Analyst Carlo Colaiacovo joined OverDrive to discuss the Maple Leafs' future outlook, where the team will pick in the NHL Entry Draft, the Norris Trophy and Jack Adams Award best options, the Sabres and Panthers' stance in the playoffs moving forward, the Stanley Cup Playoffs format and more.

With corporate traveler, you get a dedicated travel expert and 24-7 support. So business travel feels effortless. Big meetings land. Business grows. With corporate traveler, the booking is just the start. Search corporate traveler today. Brian Hayes, Jonas Siegel, Kara Wagland, Carlo Koliakful around the table. This is a four-pack.

This is a core-4 right here, Jonas. Would you break this core-4 up? I don't want to be part of that core-for. You don't like this core-for? If we're comparing us to the Leafs Corps for. Well, I mean, they got paid a lot that core for. Okay, I'm backing. Yeah, you'd take their money, that's for sure.

Hell yeah, the way they get treated here? Yeah, they're like gods. Gods. Right? They're like gods. I'll take it. Jonas? Jonas doesn't seem happy about it.

Jonas is pro player. Yeah. Yeah. Is that accurate? Yeah, for sure. There's nothing wrong with that. That wasn't a shot. That's true.

I mean, I'm just pro-comonsense. I like that. Pro common sense. Sounds like a politician. It does, what does that mean? I'm for common sense. What does that mean? Who is it?

Who is it? Actually, now that you think about it, I'm against common sense. I don't like common sense. So what is your opinion of common sense moving forward? For the least? Yeah, what is common sense for them? I think the approach they have to take, like, you're not going to get players to buy into tanking. You're just not.

and probably not going to get Burube to buy into tanking either. That's just the mentality of the team. Now, the organizational philosophy is, yeah, try to lose as many games to get the fifth or the, is going to the top five and get a high draft pick. But the thing that worries me about doing that is then you slide the first round picks two more ears. Yeah.

Right? At least if you give, look, everybody could admit there was a bad trade deadline for them last year. Got to bite the bullet. You got to hand over your pick to Boston. I would rather do it this year. Get back to contending for a playoff spot next year. Then your pick doesn't matter. Give that one to Philly next year.

Give that one to Philly. And then you can start over again. Because if you get a top five pick and next year is worse, good luck trying to sell a rebuild if you don't own your first round picks. That is what makes this such a conundrum. Right? Those trades are just hanging over everything. Like what I would like to see is like down the stretch here, I want to see growth from Easton Cowan.

I want to see growth from Quillen from Bull Gru. Maybe some other guys that get called up from the market. That's what you have to figure out. You have to figure out what you have right now with some other guys. Well, I think the fact that none of them were called up earlier in the year would suggest they don't feel like they have much. I think that's, I mean, Cowan notwithstanding clearly. He's been here all season. Quillan, I like, I think, you know, I don't know enough about where his future is going to go.

I think he's aggressive. He gets on the forecheck a little bit. He's not a great skater. I think there's limitations to what his future would be. But yeah, it's like they need a spokesman. They need a vision. They need a message to get across. You need to come up with a plan and commit to it. And they're not going to announce it right now, nor do they have to. You don't have to announce it on March 19th or whatever. But the season's going to be over in less than a month, and you better have a plan immediately on what you're doing. Is your GM staying? Is your coach staying?

you better get out in front of it quickly and get the right people in here and then find out what you're doing with your best players. Like it goes without saying they have to turn over the defense corps. Like I don't think they can win. I think you're long overdue. Yes, it is. And that was another big mistake that they made in retrospect. I wasn't hammering on them when they did it, but they came back with literally the exact same six that played the playoffs. The exact same defense corps and it's burned them.

But the larger questions are Matthews and Neelander, and you guys are having them every morning. We've had them all week. We're going to continue to have them for months. But just before we move on the defense, I think the return of all six defense and both goaltenders made you feel good about them contending without Mitch Marner. Yes. Right?

There was a comfort level. There was a culture shift here. Yep. And you're like, okay, well, how can they still be a playoff team when you lose a hundred point guy? Well, you got two really good goaltenders, and you got all your defense back. And it blew up on them.

Yeah, because the goalies have been inconsistent or injured and the defense hasn't been good enough. So you're in town here or you're in studio here because we've got a big game Detroit Montreal tonight. Yeah. Like it's getting dicey, man. I think DeHav's going to make it because I think they just outscore

any other defensive issue they have or goaltending issue they have. They just seem to have the it factor for me. Did you see that stat? And I give Frankie Carrotto credit because he came up with it during the broadcast yesterday about the importance of goaltending from Montreal. That's wild.

But that applies to every. winning team, wouldn't it? It does. You gotta have good goal-tending to win. It's more evident. Montreal's riding two rookie goaltenders right now. And Dobish and Fowler. I don't know what happened to Montenboe.

He's just around. He's just around. But, like, young team, a lot of their success is going to depend on the goaltending they get. If they get better than 900 save percentage, chances that they're going to win. Well, the record shows a

27-0-3. Wow. Talk to Ottawa about that. Like Ottawa is, the reason they're in position they're in is because The thing about the scheduling in the NHL is you get a big clump of games on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. On those days, there's a lot of shuffling that happens in the standings with teams that win and lose. Tonight's one of those. I mean, look at these standings right now.

I mean, I'm doing the Montreal Detroit, and there's two points separating them. And Columbus is on fire. What a story they are. Can I shout out Frankie actually for something? Yes. I wish you had. Actually, I wish I had this take. He's like, we were texting about it.

He's like, why isn't Werenstke in the Heart Trophy conversation? I was like, yeah. Well, if you're a favorite to win the Norris, why wouldn't you be in the heart? Right. It's a valid question. Is he the favorite, like the number one guy? He's the Norris favorite on Fandall right now. Wow.

Yes. Over Bouchard. Over, yes, your boy, Bouchard, over McCar. You were talking fairly, like, celebrating. Like, who's the second best guy on the Sharks? Who's the second best guy on Columbus? Like, Marchenko, probably, good player. But, like, you know what I mean?

Yeah. I was like Frankie. He's clearly their best player. Clearly their best player. He plays, I believe, more minutes than anybody in the league. You know what was a nice pick up for them at the deadline? Connor Garland. And he signed.

On Marchman's played. Marchman's back healthy. But Connor Garland's been one of the best trade deadline acquisitions in the league. It's been on fires in Spock. Yeah, Columbus, you know, it feels like they're going to find a way to get in. And then just Rick Bonas, does he get any Jack Adams? Jack Adams? Maybe we have like a barrier like they do in the NBA, like 50 games.

You can't come in? Yeah, it's interesting. Like, you know, Werenck, it's a valid point by Frankie. Like, you got to get in to be up for the heart, historically speaking. I don't know if you would vote that. But hasn't the Norris trophy turned into an offensive trophy? It's crap. It used to be the best defenseman.

That's why Littstrom would win it every year. Now it's like the guy who gets the most points. Yeah. And Ben Schard's case. He's got a nine-point lead on the second-place guy. That's his case. He's going to finish with 90. points.

More probably. Yeah, very well could. Yeah, something's going to give here, though, because I think Columbus is getting in. So who's coming out? Is it Montreal? Is it Boston, Detroit? The Islanders? Pittsburgh?

Like, there's no guarantee that even Pittsburgh who's been a great story. They still got to close here. Well, speak of Jack Adams, what if Pittsburgh gets in? Dan Muse? I would think Danny Muse has got to be pretty high on the list. Yeah. Doesn't it? Well, right now I think it's Lindy's Rough's award to lose,

but. Do you see it that way, Jonas? I don't vote on that, so I don't know. Why not? Maybe you should. I don't know. They don't let us. Marco Stern? What about Marco Stern? Yeah. Yeah, Boston's been a great story. I worry about Detroit, though, because

they've been without Larkin and copped two of their top center icemen. I think cops supposed to return the night. I haven't heard official word yet, and I worry about Boston. I was doing the broadcast Montreal and Boston the other day. Over the last 10 games, they've won, won, one, lost one, one, lost one, they can't win two in a row. Right.

So you can see this coming down to the wire. Oh, absolutely. And here's the thing, Cara, coming down to the wire, once the playoffs starts, who's your favorite? That too. Well, you talked about the Islanders. I think the Islanders are a really sneaky pick come playoff time because they have the best goaltender. To win the East? To win the East.

Interesting. You think Sorokin can take them on the run. Shroken is going to win the Vezna. Yeah, I mean, Vasilevsky is right there. I mean, his numbers are absurd. You can never discount Tampa or discredit Tampa, but... You think Sorokin's a lot to one of those them? Yeah.

Yeah, no, I don't disagree. I mean, it just feels like one of those years in the East where it absolutely could be anyone. Like, I hope it's Buffalo, because they're fun to watch. The fun story. Yeah, it really is. Yeah. And the year to do it is now. I mean, 15 years are not being in it.

There's no Florida. Tampa looks beatable. There's no powerhouse in the metro. Anybody can do it. Florida's an interesting case. I think most people assume they just get healthy and they get right back into the dance next year. Do you see it that way?

Absolutely. Because I think they're doing what people are screaming for the Mapleys Zoo. They're resting their players. No, exactly. They're totally tank now. This is in our season. And look at the way it started.

Start all with Barkoff, missing the whole season. Cichuck not there until what Christmas time? Then at times they've lost Bennett, Ryan Hart, they lose Seth Jones for most of the season. Bob struggled too this year. And it's almost like it was it was like a layup for them

to miss the playoffs and to take this position that they're in where it's like okay well the seasons are right off because there was stuff that happened that was out of our control. And as Bob, they're only, major UFA? Yeah, that's the thing. I think

AJ Greer. Well, they didn't trade him at the deadline. You kind of got to figure that. But that's where I'm reluctant to suggest they just automatically get back. They're an aging team. They're a slower team. And Bob is like 38 years old. Vasilevsky had his three straight cups

and then it just imploded on him for a couple of years, which was totally expected. He got hurt. He had played more hockey than anybody else. but now he's back. Bob's not having a resurgence at 41 or 40 years old. Like, I think there could be some trouble in the crease down in Florida. And so, you know, what I expect they're a playoff team next year,

I think I would definitely project that. Guaranteed to get back to being the, like, big dog in the league. I'm not convinced that's going to be the case. Like, it's just sports doesn't work that one. No. You know, like, they brought everyone back. They're all, they've all made their money. They've all won.

They're all going to be a year or two older. They wear sandals to the rink. Yeah, like there's, you know, how hungry are you? Like all that kind of stuff. And there's other teams that are coming up, you know, that are knocking on the door. They're young and hungry, yeah. But can these teams that have come up this year, can they sustain that? I mean, Ottawa is a great example, right?

They get in last year one thinks, okay, they got in last year. They're going to go on a run. Okay, well, let me ask you all of us this. Who's more likely to make the playoffs next year? Buffalo or Florida? Florida. just history, right? They have enough of a base that we can rely on.

Even if they lost Brobrovsky, right? Are you thinking this year's a one-off for Buffalo? Well, that's what I'm asking, though. Like, if you're using Ottawa as an example, it's an extreme one because Buffalo's likely going to win the east or be in the top seed. But Ottawa was a really good up-and-coming team, caught lightning in a bottle, hadn't been in the playoffs

since six or seven years, and now they're out. So it seems impossible to see that out of Buffalo, but why not? Remember how it started in Buffalo, too, right? It didn't start great. No, they went on that crazy run. It was all heaters right now. Yeah, I'll go Florida too. Right.

So there you go. Carlo and you put Buffalo or Florida? You think Buffalo's legit and they've made it. And I think the presence of Yarmel kick a line in there, like I know him personally. I had him in St. Louis when I was there, and you saw what he did in Columbus. Like, this guy is a culture changer because he doesn't accept mediocrity. And I think part of the challenge for Buffalo the last 15 years is they've had a hard time recruiting.

Free agents, trades. Are you convinced that's going to change? Winning changes everything. I'll believe it when I see it. Winning changes every. I think if they go on a run this year and people see how electric that place is come playoff time, because that building is going to be electric come playoff time. It might change people's lines.

It might. I do think, though, it's imperative they go on that run. You go out in the first round. Yeah. You're not selling Buffalo on a free agent. That wasn't willing to go there before. It doesn't mean that you can't find players to go. You can.

And this is clearly a big statement by them, because I would choose Buffalo, too. Like that defense corps in particular is, now Alex Lyon, he's on an all-time heater right now. He's the lion kid, man. Come out of nowhere. It scares me a little bit projecting the future in terms of the crease. But, yeah, I'm pulling for Buffalo to do that.

But I'll believe it when I see it. I mean, look, I'm going to make a dynasty. Yeah. I just think that. Enough's going to change this year and hopefully more positive things come in the off season where they can add another significant piece of that group. Or keep a significant piece. Like Alex Tuck is an example of that. Are they going to sign them or not?

Is he going to price himself out in Buffalo? We'll see. But if you can't keep your own guy, that's trouble. Like that's the number one sign that you're in trouble. If you can't keep your own people. I think they're going to be left with no choice because the market's going to determine what he's going to get paid. Yeah. probably 10 plus

I think there's like the way we look at player contracts moving forward is going to change too. Yeah, if the caps 120, 120 25 million in a couple of years. You might have four guys on the roster that make 10 or more. Yeah, the Leafs were Mavericks. Trendsetters.

Yeah, trendsetters. They were ahead of their time. They deserve credit for that. Dallas be Colorado last night. They're two points back. That's a team. Is this a choke job of Colorado? What's going on with Colorado? lately. Yeah.

Like if they don't win the division, is it a choke job? I think so. Because they had such a big lead. Yeah. I think you're right. But you've lost four. You also got to give credit to Dallas.

Dallas has been playing post-Olympics without rantin and hints. Yes. And they're on fire. Yeah. I know they're two best forwards, arguably. Yeah. Most impactful, I think. Robertson's been great and Johnston's been great.

Sorry, just pulling up. If you look at Colorado's the rest of their schedule. they're going to be just okay they'll be fine oh wow I do see that yeah they'll be just fine they'll be just fine I got a whole lot of Vancouver Calgary

a lot of Canadian teams Chicago oh that's a good thing yeah you get Vancouver California couple St. Louis for a two pack they'll be fine

they're definitely but that's a big race man you dropped it two and you got to play Minnesota that's terrifying did you see the Batman stuff by the way that one versus eight

you start Batman I don't understand like shouldn't you want to do like what your fans and your players I don't understand this take. Here's where I'm going to shock. Are you going to defend him?

Well, here's my stance on 1V8 versus what we have right now. Because I've heard people say, well, it's not fair, and Dallas and Minnesota shouldn't be out in the first round. You're going to say it wasn't fair here. No, no, no, no. I'm going to say the whole promotion of the Stanley Cup playoffs for 100 years is it's completely unpredictable.

Anything can happen. So how do you know they're going to get through the first round? How do you know Minnesota's going to get through and Dallas is going to go? No, you're right about that. You don't know that. But that's besides the point. No, it's not beside. The whole argument is they shouldn't have to face each.

They shouldn't be put in a position where they're going to lose in the first round. If it's 1V8, they still could lose if they're playing a different opponent. The thing about 1V8. That's the whole promotion of the Stanley Cup playoffs is it's parody and completely up for grass. So the thing about 1V8 is that you're giving teams incentives to still play hard down the stretch. Minnesota right now is not moving their position. They have 15 games left. reasonable in terms of their third seat.

But if it was one V8, they would be doing the same thing because they'd be the third seed. It would be Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota. The fourth seat is nowhere close to them. Nothing would change in this particular case. You're right. But in this one, it's no different. And his whole explanation is, well,

the first round of playoffs is the best playoffs in sports. Well, yeah, it is because there's parity in the league. It's not just because... Well, wouldn't it be the same? It would absolutely be the same. It's fairness. But don't you, but I think, again, the argument is, if I give you this opportunity,

I guarantee you you're going to see this incredible series. Don't you want to see it? Like, sure, I'd rather it maybe in a conference final, but why pick your poison? Not if I was on those teams or rooting. But that's not, it's a business. It's not up to the individual player. It's 100% of business decision.

Because you're drawing viewers in the first round with better matchups and they're going to stay to watch the next round. Are they better matchups? Florida Carolina was the Eastern Conference final. You're getting a lot of repetition, for sure. And that's what I fear is that you've got a division like the Metro that has Carolina running away with it, but one of those teams is going to be guaranteed a spot in the Eastern Conference final.

Right? I just, I get it. The first one's always going to be exciting, no matter who's it. It was exciting before this nonsense game in. But you just want the better teams with a better chance to advance. Is that why you prize season? Batman. And here's a thing, Hayes. Jerry Hayes. You look at the NFL and you look at the NBA.

They're always listening to different suggestions by owners, by players. So you think the NBA is in a good place because of that right now? No, but at least they're evolving. They're doing stuff involved. They're trying different things. Like they put the NBA Cup in. They did the playing tournament. The playing tournament.

You have players in your league that are saying top players. Yeah, I think with 1-8 is better. And you've got owners and GMs that are saying it too. And Gary's like, I don't care what people say. Yes. And that is very clear that when there's a new commissioner and there will be, this league will likely open up to change. But, you know, they've expanded to cities. We're now looking what the NBA is doing.

They're following them to Vegas and Seattle. I would even entertain a plan. It's more revenue. That would be more teams stay, you know, in it longer. Now, granted, the trade deadline would probably be. But we look at the trade done in the last two years. It's been a done. I just think you've got to watch what you wish for because, again, the NBA, I think it's been too much change and it has not helped.

Like the NBA Cup is, who the hell cares about the NBA Cup? But the plan's fun. But it's, I don't, I'm okay with the plan, but they've reworked the CBA where there's contract restrictions. Exactly. It's taken away from historically what the NBA is represented. Well, I think the big. Not a better place today. The players, I mean, granted, granted to Janus for pushing back saying, no, I'm not.

You're not resting me on playing. Yeah, he wants to play. Like, in the NBA, that's the bigger problem, is that players find more ways not to play than play. And now they're going to expand, and there's some, like, there's some really awful teams in the NBA. Look at last night.

There were, like, six or seven games that were, like, 20-plus point-plus. And now you can have two more brutal teams in the league? Yeah. Like, I don't know. All right, buddy. We'll catch you on a panel tonight, and we'll catch you tomorrow on first off. Good scene, everybody.

Great scene. You're ready for golf season? I was ready, like, a month and a half. There's a golf course near my house that's opening up tomorrow. Oh, come on. What's the weather looking like tomorrow? I mean, it's like snow and like... You can't golf in this way.

I was going to tell you, actually, I saw four people in shorts today when I went out. That's outrageous behavior. I can't support that. Short guy? Shorts guy is just a different breed. Should be studied. Short's guy. Whole mentality on life.

All right. Good senior, Carla. Big thing. Always on the new music first. Your first place to hear it all. Because you won't like it, love, I want to play it twice. Playing now. IHeart New Music.

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