OverDrive - Corrado on the Matthews' injury ripple effects, the lack of response and player safety

Episode Date: March 16, 2026

TSN Hockey Analyst Frank Corrado joined OverDrive to discuss the organizational next steps for the Maple Leafs, the repercussions of Auston Matthews' injury and the lack of response from the team, Bo Groulx's emergence, the player safety potential changes and Connor McDavid's glaring comments, engineering a tank on a professional team and more.

If Bell 5 TV is now streaming, is it still TV? Is it still TV if there's no TV box? If I can stream all my favorite channels and pause and record shows, that's TV, right? A new era of 5 TV. It's streaming, but it's still TV. Well, glad that's settled. Bell, connection is everything. Let's head to the Maple Toyota Hotline, where Frank Carrato, TSN Hockey Analyst,

joining us live from Montreal, wearing his carrying place t-shirt. Chesco, great to see you. Thank you for doing this. What's going on, boys? Great to be with you. What are we talking about? Well, why don't you answer that question? There's something that you're on.

Why are the least playing so well without Matthews? Do you think it is purely about the embarrassment that they have been subjected to nationally since the lack of response on Thursday against Anaheim? They're not playing well. They're winning games. Joseph Wall's playing unbelievable. Like they're shooting the lights out right now, but they are not playing well.

Like they're not carrying possession. They're getting a lucky streak of hockey at the wrong time in their season. And, you know, it's, I, you can't look at anything and say like, oh, they're forechecking so much better. They have the puck a lot. None of that thing, none of those things are true right. now. They are getting carried at the wrong time by some players that are having

spikes in their shooting percentage and a goalie that is playing unbelievable. Well, Frankie, I was looking at the overall stats of this season, to your point, they're second last in the league and shot differential. Only Chicago's been outshot worse than them on a night-to-night basis.

I mean, when you look at that number and the point that you're making about how they're not carrying possession at all, because that's a good proxy of possession as any, I mean, how much do you put on Barouba's tactics and how much do you put on the fact that this team just doesn't play for Baroubae, you know, in terms of will over skill? So I was kind of looking back at some of the early season projections today because all these analytic companies, they have these models that you kind of punch the roster into and, you know,

the schedule and the strength of it. And it gives you a point projection. The Leafs were around a hundred points on all these different things, like all these different models. And so, you know, when you look at the way that they have performed this season and you see where they're at, like, I guess they were supposed to be a hundred point team. If everyone played the way they're supposed to and they lived up to their expectations, that means power play was good, goaltending was good, you know, the guys who had to score, scored goals, but it didn't happen. So, you know, a big part of that is do they play the right system for the players that they have? and do they really want to, like, do they want to dig in?

Do they want to compete? Because you can make up for a lot of, like, lack of skill, and you can make up for a cold shooting percentage with just a little bit of will, a little bit of willingness to do a little bit more. And, you know, you can't sit here and look back at this season and say that that has been the case. If anything, it's been the opposite way.

So, you know, Dave, to answer your question, like, there's probably the wrong philosophy of the way this team should be playing. And some of that has to fall on the coach. Some of that has to fall on the GM for assembling the team the way they are. And ultimately, yeah, like the players are the ones playing. So that has to fall on them as well because they never overcame the adversity that they found this season. Frank, we were talking about the repercussions from the Matthews injury, the Goudis knee, the lack of response, everything that has ensued since.

I am curious to know your thoughts on how you think that could affect the team building of the Toronto Maple Leafs going forward. An incident like that, I would call it the crescendo of the season. I think you look at it as maybe the defining moment of the season, perhaps the era of the Toronto Maple Leafs that has been. If you were tree living or the people above him, does that do anything, the lack of response with how you're looking to build the team this off season? Well, how does it not? How does it not do anything for you if you're in charge? Like how many different examples does the group need to say like, hey, we have to be proactive in these kinds of situations and no one can take liberties at our players. Did you guys see what happened with Drysidal last night?

Like he gets hit by Ozzy Wiseblatt. And the whole night, it was we are getting Ozzy Wiseblatt back. You know, last night I called the Montreal game, and Kirby Doc got hit. It was a clean head. The guy who hit him was Jeffrey V.L. plays for Anaheim. The rest of the night, anytime Arbor Jack guy was on the ice with him, poking him, shoving him, shouting at him. Same with Josh Anderson. It was like they made a point of making sure that like, hey, man, like, we're going to do everything we can to make sure you're uncomfortable the rest of the night. Now, the crazy thing is VL had a nice assist for the winner, and he wouldn't fight any of those guys.

but we're like that's that's besides the point like okay do you remember when morgan riley cross-checked ridley gregg for that slap shot into the empty net and that play was an overcompensation at the time for the team being called out for not sticking up for one another and not having that jam in that juice and morgan riley took a was it a five game suspension or a six game suspension it was it was an overcompensation and now what we're seeing is is another one because of what happened with Austin Matthews, but I would say, like, what happened in between that? Like, why did it not go from, okay, we're going to overcompensate on this thing,

however long ago that was, and we're not going to let up because we've learned our lesson. But now it's the same group, same players that are on the ice in that situation, and here you go, like star players down on the ice. So as far as how that affects things, I mean, put yourself in Austin Matthews' issues. if you're him and his agent and you're talking about where you want to be long term. Like he deals with a lot here. He's been heard a lot. And now on top of it, he sees other star players and even just regular players on other teams get hit and go down.

And everyone makes a big issue about it. And no one made a big issue for it here in Toronto. Yeah. So I would imagine like it would be natural to start having the conversations about like, you know, what does this look like in the long term? I think it's just a natural reaction. Frank, you can look at that a couple of ways, right? If you're Austin Matthews and you want to look outwardly, you could say,

hey, what's that say about my teammates that they don't come to my defense, right? What's that say about my teammates that they don't jump Ratko Gudis and make his life hell for the rest of the night? You could also say if you were a little more introspective, what's it say about me that they don't come to defend me? Sure. Where do you lie? Where do you sort of sit on that continuum of how much of this is on the captain for setting the culture that exists on this team? So I would put it to you this way.

If Toronto was known as a team that was always in scrums and getting after guys and they never let their guard down and they stuck up for everyone, that includes Anthony Stolars earlier this season, if that was the case and nothing happened with Austin Matthew, Dave, I think you're right. I think you look at that introspectively and say, well, why am I, like, did I do something? Like, is it me? But we have more than enough evidence now with this group that it's not necessarily about the individual.

It's about all the individuals within this group that, like, for some reason, it feels like all these things happen and it's muted. And it's like this vanilla reaction, whereas if that happens on, I would say just about every other team. Like, there's, there's something going down. Remember last year, like the Buffalo Sabers, Alex Tuck got hit really hard. I think it was Nason. Nason hit him at, like, right at the blue line. It was a big hit. And like, no one did anything. And that was, that was a big issue in Buffalo. And now you look at the Sabers, Dalline's getting cross-checked. He's fighting. He's, like, there's a lot of, there's a lot, there's been like a galvanizing moment within that Buffalo Sabers group where

you look at and say they're not looking back anymore. Toronto never had that like we're not looking back anymore, galvanizing moment, and they've had plenty of opportunities to do it. And, you know, furthermore to that, it's not like not every player is going to be comfortable fighting Radco Gudis. Like, I could tell you firsthand, I was never a guy that wanted to get into a fight. Like, I just, it just wasn't for me. But if it's just the mentality of all the players saying, we're all in there, he can't punch all

four of us in the face. He can't fight all four of us. And the worst case, we're just going to jump on them. And we're just going to say, you can't do this anymore. But maybe it just feels like if you're one guy going in alone, the pack leaves you behind. The same way that the pack left behind Austin Matthews when he got need. So there is no pack mentality. Frank Carrado, TSN hockey analyst, our guest here in the second hour of overdrive. So Bo Greu scores twice last night for the Leafs. A couple nice goals, too. Yeah. Of course, Langell. distinguished in the AHL all year long and now he's up with the big club thriving. How much can we derive from this frame?

Because you played in that 2015-16 season for the Leafs, you got a great opportunity when the games didn't have that much meaning. When you look at games like this for guys like Gru and Quillan and Kowin and Matthias Michelli would be yet another example, how much can we really take away from these games in your opinion? Well, I think for the individual, you could take away that it means a lot, lot for Bo Gru. Like, it means a lot for Matthias Michelli and Easton Cowan that, you know, these guys are fighting for their NHL futures in different ways. Like for Bo Gru, he wants to be an

everyday guy. For Easton, you know, what is your ceiling at the NHL level? And the more reps, the more experience you get, the better off you should be in the long term. You know, so I think the bigger question you have to ask yourself with, with these guys that are, you know, coming up and and playing well, is that from an organizational standpoint, why did you not think that these guys could help you earlier on? Like, why do you guys sign with this organization? And they get a lot of money to play in the minors, but that's it. You never hear from them again. It's like, Bo Gru is Alex Stevens and, you know, is Adam Goddette who scored 20 goals with the senators last year? And like, you go through the list of these guys that have kind of been stuck in the organization.

you know, I'll give you another example. Michael Posetta, he spent the last four years in the NHL. And, you know, they've been wanting to play this, like, heavy, robust, forecheck, in your face, willing to fight. Like, that was his job in the NHL, the last four seasons. You didn't think at some point in November or December or January, like, these guys could have helped you when we were watching terrible, stale, slow, clunky hockey.

So, like, I think what you learn from an organization, organizational standpoint is that there's youth and there's energy that can help you. So why not go to it sooner? And for these other guys, they are hungry. They're hungry to make a name for themselves. They're hungry for another contract and they want to be NHLers. And in the case of Easton, he wants to be a really good NHLer. So I think that's what you learn about those guys.

Frankie, there's a lot of talk about the way this league does not protect its stars. And this is a conversation that goes back to, you can go. back a long time in history. Mary Lemieux calling the NHL a garage league and on down the list. And here it is again because of the five-game suspension handed out to Rat Code Goudis.

And there's some talk that there should be some reform. And yet I always come back to you've been a member of the NHLPA, Frankie, and you know as well as anybody that there were two players involved in this transaction. Gouda's sticking out the knee and Matthew's taking the brunt of it. And the NHLPA and those hearings

represents them both, right? and represents them both the same figure. Star player is not treated any differently than the guy who took out the star player. And for that reason, I'm not sure how you change things. How do you see it? So you bring up a good point in the sense that like we always talk about it from the sense of discipline. Player X got hit in a bad way. So player Y needs to be suspended a long time.

The same group represents both those guys. So financially, the guy who makes. the hit, everyone within that group has to come to an agreement that we want tougher suspensions and we are going to be willing to deal with the financial losses that come with that. So all a sudden now a four-game suspension is really a six or a seven and I'm out $100,000 more on my salary and everyone has to be okay with that. And if they are, if the PA's okay with that, they can go to the NHL and say, we are lobbying for tougher suspensions. But then, the other side of it is the NHL and the GMs,

they're going to have to sit there and say, okay, well, now we have to be okay with our star, no, maybe not star players, but our players being suspended longer and being out of the lineup longer. And so both those sides need to kind of come together and say, we want to change the standard, and here's what we're willing to do.

I guess until you have that kind of initiative, we are where we are, where GMs don't necessarily want, their regular players out of the lineup when they commit infractions. And if push came to shove and you asked me, like, you know, do I want more of a financial penalty because I'm going to be suspended longer? Because you're on both sides of it. The PA is on both sides of it.

The players who get suspended and the players who get hurt. So what's the priority as a group? And like that feels like a complex situation for all those parties to agree and say, okay, here's where we're moving. Well, you heard the commentary from Judd Moldaver, who's Matthew's agent, also McDavid's Asian, and you hear McDavid come out and talk about the possibility of reviewing what they should do with player safety. Clearly, that'll be a big topic of conversation down at the gym. That's a big deal, AK.

Like, I remember playing in the league and being a guy who was not known, like, you know, you're just a guy, right? And within our, you know, our conversations, we would always say, like, if Jonathan or Sidney Crosby or Patrick Cain, if those guys speak up, then it means something. And then you can get stuff done. But if it's just, you know, it's just regular guys speaking up about things, no one's going to listen. The fact that Connor McDavid is speaking up about suspensions, and I think he did it in the right way, then that will get people's attention. And maybe that's how a conversation starts to happen. But that's, that's the right voice that needs to start that, that dialogue. Well, it's amazing you think about the Edmonton Oilers as a whole dry

sidle. Chris Knobloh comes out in the last half an hour or so says he's going to miss some time. The playoffs right around the corner. All of a sudden, the Oilers have a new goaltender. Tristan Jari's no longer their starter. They're rolling with Ingram and rightfully so. And Feshuck and I were debating during the break, Frank. Worst trade, the Brandon Carlo trade to Toronto or the Tristan Jari trade to Edmonton. Who would more so like a mulligan on those deals between Tree Living and Stan

Bowman? Well, I think the fact that you have Connor Ingram there kind of it mitigates the after effects of the Jari trade. Like seeing what, Frazier Minton just scored the shootout winner for Boston the other day. Like he's a

really good player. At times he's been like he's been one of their top two centers at points this season. Like, and a first round pick, and Toronto's a bad team this year, and it's only top five protected. Like, that is, that is the worst trade at the time. You know, we can, we can go back and do the revisionist history. Like, a lot of people in this market were happy that there was a right shot D that was rangey that could play with Morgan Riley. And Toronto had pushed their chips all in to try and win a Stanley Cup.

But the crazy thing about the Edmonton one is, you know, they stuck by, Stuart Skinner for so long. And then at the start of the season, they said they had changed the goalie coach, and that was going to help out. And then they finally made the trade. But after all that time, they made the trade for a maybe. Like if Tristan Jari plays well, we should have a better goalie here. Why wait that long to make a trade for an if?

Why not eventually do it for a sure thing or as close to a sure thing as you could possibly fine. And so you're patient, patient until you weren't, and now you're dealing with a goalie that makes too much money for what he is and is not going to be part of your solution. It doesn't seem like anyways, unless things really turn around, but it has not gone well for him there. We've had that debate about should the Leafs, you know, maybe engineer a tank here, right? Can you say, hey, Stolars and Wall, you've had health problems all year, take the rest of the year off, we're going to bring up back to him off and Hildaby and have them start. Matthew Nyes, you've had, you know, you've been having a niggle all year.

You tried to go back to Scottsdale during the Olympic break. Now, take the rest of the year off. You could sort of find a way to bring up a lot more Marley's and engineer that tank. Are you in favor of kind of getting that out of the way now? Like try and do well in the lottery, get that asset in hand? Or do you not feel, I've heard people say, it doesn't really matter because if, you know, if they don't, if the Bruins don't get the pick this year, they're going to get it next year. unprotected anyhow. So, you know, just play and keep going and don't make it a priority.

How would you do it if you were Brad Tree Living and you had the opportunity to maybe do a personnel engineering assignment here? Man, like imagine, like, just imagine this for a second, though, Dave. Like you try your best to build a team that you think can win and compete. And, you know, the season starts. And now, what are we, six months later, you have to try and convince yourself that you have to reverse engineer it and go. be other way. Like that is, that's a tough, it's a tough line of thinking. I don't care who you are

or how bad your season is gone. It's tough to pivot to that. The, you know, my, my experience, having been on a team that finished in last place and eventually got the first overall pick is it kind of just happened organically to a certain degree, right? Like we had, we had a bunch of players that got traded at the deadline. And then we had guys that had nicks and bruises and aches and pains and they all got shut down. Hey, you have a little bit of a strain gone. You took a puck off the foot. You have a bone bruise. You're done. And, you know, we played with a skeleton roster. They rewarded a lot of the veteran guys that were with the Marley's. Keep in mind, like, that year, there was like, you know, Kaepinan and Nylander and Hyman. And there was some like veteran guys on that

Marley's team that really did a good job of not going to say babysitting them, but, you know, cultivating a culture there. So those guys. all got rewarded with like, you know, bonus NHL games. And so, you know, you had all these players kind of shuffling back and forth and it led to some losses. And eventually the organization got Austin Matthews. How do you do that this season? I mean, you're not, you're not going to be brazen about it. You can't. But if an opportunity arises to shut someone down or you can phrase it as we're just going to give guys looks in the minors because this is where we're at. If it leads to losses, it leads to losses.

But, you know, if you could, I think in a perfect world, if you believe the pieces are there to be a better team next season, they should be, you could find a way to put yourself in position to keep the pick this year and then maybe hand over an unprotected 19th overall pick next year. I don't know. If you think you're, if you think you can turn around that quickly.

But that's, if you can't engineer a good team, how much harder is it to like reverse engineer this situation? Like that's tough to pull off. You're almost trying to thread the needle. Frank, terrific stuff. Love the T-shirt. Our boy, Sue Darshan, is going to join us on their side. Should I invite him to men's night at carrying place?

Maybe you'll be able to pick up the tab for him. What do you think? I think you should. I think you should ask him. We'll get them out in the summer. And hey, you know the meal afterwards. It's pretty good. Veal shops, baby.

Can't wait. If it only, maybe turn to, positive temperatures here in Toronto. We might be able to tee it up soon. Thank you, Frank. Okay, boys. Have a good one. You too.

That is Frank Corrano. TSN hockey analyst. Joining us on the Maple Toyota hotline, Red Tag Days are here with the all-electric Toyota BZ. goes from zero to 100 in just 5.1 seconds. Charges from 10 to 80% in just 30 minutes. Drop by Maple Toyota today. I'm Luke Wilson.

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