OverDrive - Corrado on the Maple Leafs' overall identity, Tanev's injury issue and Cowan's advancement

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

TSN Hockey Analyst Frank Corrado joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Penguins' impressive start to the season and their approach to the roster, the Maple Leafs' team positives, Chris Tanev's injury ripple effect, Easton Cowan's first goal and the elevation in the lineup and more.

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Here's our good buddy, Frankie Carrotto, joining us now. What's happening, Frankie? What's up, boys? Man, that light, it's a little bright. I might have to turn it down or something. It's looking weird. Did you guys, by the way, you guys did the emergency show on the weekend. Did you guys see the thumbnail they used on YouTube?

Are you aware of what's going on in that thing? No, I didn't pick up on that. So Hayes has, like, blue steel going. He looks like he's doing the pouty lips or whatever. And Noodles has the Brandon Tannive. face, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why noodles is making Brandon Tanna face. Oh, yeah.

Look at, what is that? No. I don't know. What the hell is that picture? I don't know what that is. I never notice that. Yeah. And O. kind of looks like he's got a little like, is it a little cookie duster he's got there? Yeah, it doesn't even look like. It's kind of it doesn't even look like just saying it's a so simple not to screw that pickup.

And for some reason, whoever did that had to go and get some different picks. It's just, I don't know. There are some stock picks that would have been so easy, or none, or none. I support that pick. I like that. Yeah, I look like a professional journalist, like that means a lot of business in that pick. I like that one. I look like I just got tased.

It's ridiculous. I don't know what's going on. I'm glad you picked up on that. I didn't even notice that. I like that shot. noodles so that has to become your stock photo i kind of think hayes picked all that because he looks like he's doing pouty lips like he's walking the runway or something oh he's got that all covered frankie when he went to the raps game he told the camera guy i'm going to look at you and give you a wink

and when i do that wheel by and i'm going to give a blue steel for the ages and he got it he got what he wanted that is my most famous well done that is my most famous moment court side of the Rapper game. My favorite picture is still the you and O Dogg where O looks like your dad. It was 35 years old in the picture. Yeah, down at the alumni box. Elf from Mel Matt. Me and Elf watching the lease play.

And maybe we'll do that tonight because, you know, the pens are in town. Are you buying Pittsburgh stock, Frankie? Because O'Dog is a true believer. Where do you stand on the pens? It's been a great start for the Penguins, but a lot of it is proper. up on goaltending, like Archer Shilovs and Tristan Jari. Like Jari has turned back the clock a little bit and he's playing outstanding. Sheelovs has been great.

The other thing is, and this is something that's not news to Penguins fans, is that Gino Malkin still has it. Crosby still has it. But at some point that the dam is going to break a little bit, but they're not going to be like they're not going to be the bottom feeder team that I think a lot of people thought like just sell off all the assets and you're going to finish dead last place. They're better than that.

Are they going to be in the playoff? mix we'll see like that that remains what if it crumbles though Frankie like I'll ask all of you what do they do if it crumbles just around Christmas time and afterwards go ahead Frankie and I would put it to you this way they will if like someone like malcolm who's on a

on an expiring contract they can still make a deal to move on from it that would be pretty monumental to move on from a player that's been there and they can still be a decent enough team that they're in some kind of mix you know like we've use that term a lot over the past few years.

I don't think they're going to do anything to mortgage their long-term future to say, we just got to make the playoffs this year and give it one last run. They've gotten themselves to this point where they've got some young pieces that are playing, like the Kindle Kid, the Brunich defensemen, they're really good. They're young, though, but they shouldn't do anything to mortgage their future. My biggest question is, this was the only team in the offseason that was open for business. out. Like, you talk to managers, it's like, okay, this, outside of Sydney, whatever he's going to do with his future, everyone else seemed to be available. And, you know, Raquel is injured,

so that one puts a wrench into, you know, people potentially acquiring him or paying a king's ransom for him. Brian Russ controls his contract, but, you know, he was apparently available. Again, this is just hearsay, but I believe the people that I talk to. Does there, thought process change with, you know, now you're 20 games in, 30 games in. And like you say, Frankie, maybe you have a market correction, but you're still in the mix. Does Kyle go, if somebody comes knocking for Raquel, do you go, okay, I'll move him because I'm building for the future here? Or does he say, you know what, give me another couple months and I'll move him at the deadline?

Because there might be teams that want to be proactive right now to try and separate themselves from the pack. Yeah. Well, and if you've followed the teams that are looking for center iceman, especially, like Raquel can play wing, he can play center, Evgeny Malkin, of course, center iceman, like everyone's looking for one. 27 teams need a second-line center, and it's just not available. So if you have it in Pittsburgh, and you can get something that's going to help you, whether it's a prospect or a young guy who's on an NHL roster, not talking picks, right? Like, that's not going to do them any good to be better in the next three, four,

years. I think the prices to acquire players that they currently have on their roster are going up, especially when you see Malkin, you know, kind of skating and playmaking the way that he is right now. It's been it's been a good, you know, good

piece of news for the Penguins, if you want to call it. Yeah, it's been a great start, like to their credit and it's interesting in the East. There's four teams that have separated, four teams at 18 points. The halves, the devils, the Penguins, Detroit. No one saw that. Maybe Detroit. or maybe New Jersey.

Like maybe the Devils were a team that could come out hot. But everyone else has either 13 or 14 points. Like 12 of the teams in the East are one game away from completely flipping everything, which is where, again, the Leafs come into play. It's 6, 5, and 1, and the sky is falling. You know, what an awful start. They look terrible. Look at the whole division, man.

But that's my point is, like, even the guys at the top. Like, if the four teams at the top, were Florida, Tampa, Washington, Carolina, you'd be like, all right, well, the teams from last year are doing it again, why aren't you? None of those teams are doing that. And, you know, on Saturday, a lot of people were preoccupied with what the Jays were doing, but the Leafs played well. You know, they played well, but they lost TANF.

And that's what is really the story of the game for me is what happens with Chris TANF, and we don't have an answer on that. But it's very scary stuff when a guy leaves on a stretcher. you know, he just got back from a concussion. You can't replace them, but how do they survive without them if Tano's going to be out long term? It's hard, man, because that's the guy that eats up all your big minutes against tough competition, and the team's not defending well right now. Like, they're not.

They've been leaky. Now, Saturday's night's game is a different story, but how do you get by? It was already, it was not thin on name value, but it was thin on guys that could really do something that were, different, right? It's a lot of the same kind of slow boots, have some issues moving the puck. Like, Morgan Riley gets on the ice and he can make something happen offensively, especially when he's on the

ice with Matthews' line. But that's, it's a big issue, man. You know, how did they replace Chris Tannave before they had him? It was tough. They really needed a player like Tanev, being able to put him out there in penalty kill situations, blocking shots.

Like, one of the things that really goes under the radar as far as Tanev is concerned, And it hasn't been as great this year, you know, maybe in years past, but the ability to break pucks out clean, you know, draw in a forechecker and slide it under someone's stick and hit the middle of the ice, something TANF does really well, but, you know, not having him, and then having him for, you know, he's not getting any younger. It's been tough.

It's been tough. Like, you just, you need more out of Jake McCabe. You need way more out of Oliver Ekman-Larsen, way more out of Brandon Carlo. It's just, it's cliche, but it's true. Like those are the guys. that can make a difference. If you're asking more from Simone Benoit or Philippe Myers, just not sure you can get that much more from those guys.

They kind of are what they are at this point. You're goalie, right, noodles? I don't know when Wall's coming back. I haven't heard anything on that front. I mean, apparently he's been around the team skating, being in shape, but I still think he's probably a conditioning stint with the Marley's. You're not just going to step right back in. This guy missed training camp, everything.

I think it's a conditioning stint, and then he comes back up. That hit, in watching the game, like, it wasn't, it was, you know, from behind, he skated back in it, but it wasn't, like, disaggregious, like, it was really a weird hit. Like, I don't know how you guys, it's an accident. You see hits like that. I think Prongs, one of his last hits, was in Philadelphia, too. Yeah. And it didn't seem like just a crazy hit.

It was like kind of a nothing hit, and then all of a sudden guys are gone. Yeah. Scary stuff, man. That was scary. remind you of remember muzzan musin had those those couple concussions and then he took that one last one where you're like that didn't seem like much but it just kind of had compounded at that point right that's the thing that scares you that's what's concerning and yeah you know remember jake mccabe the same thing i think it was last year he left a couple different times maybe two years ago

yeah and like back-to-back concussions in short order now he's back and playing and you hope for the same from tannov but the muzzan example is a good one but it's a scary one that it's just they accumulated too much, and it got to a point where he couldn't trust, you know, his own body, you know, and if he got hit, even if it wasn't an egregious hit, it may not work for him. So, yeah, I mean, we'll see because, yeah, Tannov, he's not going to play anytime soon. And we always focus on the acquisition of maybe a top six winger, maybe a centerman. Well, it could be a defenseman if Tano's not going to play for a while. See, the stretcher thing really, like, rattled me because I was like, we all know TANFs had issues with the shoulder, with the head, everything.

This guy's an absolute warrior, like, absolute warrior. Nails. He's nails, noodles. And one of the best humans you'll ever meet. Yeah. But, like, I was like, you know, that, he ran into a fire hydrant, too. That kid is not fading away to a mountain. That kid is already looks a little thick right now.

but the point being he I thought it was his shoulder like I was like okay weird he's going to have to get up and skate it off but maybe he popped a shoulder out and then when the stretcher came out I was I was like genuinely concerned you're sitting there going that is that's not right he's not moving he's not you know they did give the thumbs up yeah definitely brings it to a different level is it reported Hayes that it is long term like he's no there's been no updates just that he's back in Toronto but you know I'm just I think it's safe to say you anticipate he's not playing for quite some time

especially when it's the second one in what second one in two three weeks right like that's I thought they put him on LTIR did they not? Yeah he's on IR for sure I don't know the exact specifics of it but he's not playing I mean let's put it that way he's not playing for a while and we'll see what

comes of it but on Saturday Easton Cowan got his first NHO goal and it was a beauty like it was it was a beauty a really nice play by Tavares, which I think is really cool because if this kid is in the league for 15 years, then when he retires, someone's going to ask him, who set up your first goal? And Tavares is going to be like 53 years old at that point, you know, and say, oh, it was John Tavares. Really? John Tavaros? Yeah, I guess so.

But that, you know, I don't know if that's a goal scorer's goal. Oh, what do you think of it? Like, that's a good shot, man. And he's on the board, and it looks like he might play on the second line tonight. Like, he's still an interesting part of the conversation of what happens with Easton Cowan the rest of the way. I think it's obviously a good goal guys, but I think you see from that shot where Johnny talked about it, like to shoot the puck in the National Hockey League and be goaltenders, that's kind of maybe he's got to get a little more tighter to the net than most guys.

Like you saw Matthew shot, it seemed to be a little bit more from distance. And it's like that extra 10 or 15 feet for guys that shoot the puck, there's only 10, maybe 15 guys in the league that can blow up by goalies from distance. Yeah. The Ladar was no good. I mean, that Robertson goal was terrible. Like, there's a reason why for the Lidar got lifted. He was terrible.

But the bottom line is with this guy, it seems like he's going to have to, maybe he's just going to have to get in tight to beat goalies. But it's a good start. And the timing was perfect, because when you get around 10 games, you're like, am I ever going to start doing something that looks like I'm a player here? So hopefully he can gain some confidence in it. Because if it goes on longer than that, you're like, what the hell am I doing out there? I kind of like the progression of Easton Cowan is good though

because it's not like he came out of the gate soaring high and had all the production right away and then he tailed off and then was spinning his wheels trying to find it. It was almost like a little bit of a slow burn where you kept him out of the lineup, threw him in the press box just so he could see what's going on. Then he gets a few reps and then he looks again

do I have more time with the puck than I think can I make the plays that I normally make? You know, how much pressure do I really have on me? all those things are really important when you're trying to feel out the NHL and the differences of where you're coming from. And for me, like, Cowan's doing a better job and he just brings a little energy into this lineup where it does, like, it does feel stale watching the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. Yes, they're big, yes, they're heavy, but they're slow-booted.

And Cowan brings a little bit of that, like, Energizer Bunny, which he should bring at such a young age. And he's going to have the skill to make plays. and if you put him in a position with a guy like John Tavares, he's going to have good enough insulation that, you know, if a puck gets bobbled in the wall on his own zone, like he's going to be okay. There's going to be someone that can make up for it. I think the progression of Cowan is, it feels appropriate for like longevity.

Not that you came in, guns ablaze in, and then you fizzled out. Like, I like the slow cook that he's had so far this year. Yeah, and he's played basically everywhere up the lineup, you know, and he's had every possible linemate you can have. And I think, again, that's likely to continue. But you're right. He's playing tonight, and it's a big one. The Leafs have to get cooking.

It's end in November. You know, they didn't have a good October. Generally, they respond with a very good November. Let's see what comes with it tonight. A lot of home games. Four straight home games. They've got a homestine all throughout the week again. Like at some point, they're really going to hit the road.

Like, they've got to take advantage of the schedule, man. They're playing teams that haven't been in the playoffs, and they've got to get these points. Yes. They've got to get the points. You've got to get the points. All right, Frankie, should be a fun one tonight. Enjoy it. We'll do it again soon. All right, boys, we'll talk soon.

There he is. Frankie Corrado, or TSN Hockey Analyst. Seasoned gamer, or just video game curious, this week in gaming is the podcast for you. We break down the latest in the world of video games, from basics to beyond. The hottest gaming news, insight, and industry leaders, and more weekly. Join me, Naomi Kyle, and stay ahead of the game. with all the latest updates, even if you're a total newbie. Stream this week in gaming on the free Iheart radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.