OverDrive - Ferraro on the Maple Leafs' rebuild possibility, Panarin's potential fit and Celebrini's elite season

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

ESPN Hockey Analyst Ray Ferraro joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, Artemi Panarin's sweepstakes and the possible next team, Macklin Celebrini's integral role on Canada, the possible Olympic replacement, the Maple Leafs' direction of the team, and more.

Joining us now, the Maple Toyota Hotline, here's our good friend Ray Ferraro. What's happening, right? You know, I'm just catching up to what you guys are talking about, which is always entertaining. I got a little bit of a, I do have to say, I do have a bit of a knee problem going here, which is kind of sucks and, you know, just getting some old worn out parts. So I'm looking for a new workout. like I can't lift as much. And I'm looking at like some yoga or, I don't know, judo or Tai Chi or some.

Do you guys, say, do you have any exercises? Honest to God, like, I wear one shirt, one brand new shirt that I was very proud of. And I took shrapnel left and right. Like, oh, is Chris Pronger is telling the Leaf Nation, take it down to the studs. You do this and that. and O is going, what are you wearing? Are you wearing a karate outfit? It's just a sweater.

I got to tell you, I called O this morning, and I said, I just saw some of the clips that were refreshed overnight. And I said, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I said, the best part is Noodles love that shirt. And if he had, I said, if Noodles is on it, he'll wear that shirt again a day. that would have been the point. Well, guess what, Ray? There's another one coming soon in a different color, so we're going to see lots of them.

I ordered multiple shirts in different colors. That's what I do. I just like something. I get it. And when you get a dynamite one like that, you get every color. This one has a slight adjustment. This one has a slight adjustment to it,

but I got home like, here's the thing. What's the adjustment? Yeah, please. Enlighten us. What I was wearing yesterday was a beautiful sweater that had a built-in tie. Like the tie was black on black, okay? Right. But the tie was a wrap.

Hey, have you ever heard of that before? I have not since that's one step up from the clip on we used to wear in the seven three. Here's the thing. So the models were all like, you know, male models that were stunningly looking and stuff. So Steph didn't see it. live. She saw it on Sports Center because she was at the rink with my son.

So she saw it in one of the TVs. She goes, you look like Eddie Murphy from coming to America. That's what she said. She goes, you're wearing some sort of like an outfit. I was like it's not an outfit. It's a sweater with a built-in tie. And the tie was kind of like a sashet.

And she's like, that looks like you're wearing one of my scarfs. And I said, I know, you just mentioned like male model. Like, did you wear you at a fashion show and you saw a guy wheeling down the aisle and that? That's wild. I told you. It was one of those things you scroll on Instagram. Oh yeah, for sure

it was. And all of a sudden it was like this website comes up and it's this glorious clothing. And I'm like, all right, I ordered one. I ordered some pants. They were so comfortable. They're great. I love it. I can't wait to see it. The shirt arrived yesterday and I put it on, I put it

out of the wrapper on my body and then I saw that, I knew right way when we went live people are like what is noodles wearing what is oh my god i didn't say anything what those websites is sometimes they're like if you've got stubby fingers yeah there's this the cool website with the clothes and there's like party city right beside it you might have you might have you got some clown car it looks like something from party city i'm telling you the models were way better looking and in better shape than me. But I love the sweater.

I'm going to bring it to San Francisco. You better. You better. I need it in San Francisco. I need to see. Oh, that's a, that is a must. Yes. I have to go. Could you imagine that? Like Carissa Thompson, walking by noodles, being like that, look at that guy's tarp. What a look on radio. I got notes from people that I know and trust that wrote and said, don't listen to the

haters. I love that. I saw that too. I saw that too. To be fair, I saw a lot of support out You rock that thing at the Super Bowl with a nice jean short and a black boot. Tucked in, tucked in, and we are in business. Gene shorts and a black boot. We need it. Yeah. All right. Well, speaking of styles, I'm curious where you stand on, I guess Colorado's wearing the Nordic

gear tonight against Montreal, they're at the Bell Center. I think that's a Like there's a, it's like a Not as a shot at people back No it's paying homage to the game It's like it's a great uniform And it'll bring back some feelings And it'll bring some buzz

Just the people in that building Because there's a lot of old school hockey fans In that building And I think it'll just get the juices flowing in there, Ray Do you not? I don't, I used to I used to really dislike When Carolina

I don't know wore the whaler jerseys, mainly because for decades, they did everything to disassociate themselves from the whaler lineage. And then I looked at them and I'm like, and you know it's a marketing thing, of course it is. And then I thought, well, so what? Like the NBA and Major League Baseball, they have multiple jerseys. Hell, you can't even tell what they're wearing half the time. Who cares? They look good. Those are. Jersey's the Hartford and Quebec in particular, they look great. The colors are

like colors pop. And people like them. So like, who cares? I'm all for it. I think it's it's kind of, it's like a third jersey sort of deal, but I think people like them. And if they were really ugly and

dull, I don't buy them. It's almost like when the wild go, I think it's a better jersey when they wear the bright green, the old Minnesota North Star. I love those. I think they look awesome. So, yeah, I don't...

I mean, it seems weird seeing Nathan McKinnon wear Quebec Morgieh, Jersey, but I don't know. I think it's just fine. They look awesome. I guess I'm getting sensitive. I'm trying to put myself in the shoes. To the Quebec fans, right? Exactly. That's like, really?

You're going to taunt us with that? Like, I know they left 30 years ago, but, you know... Still a sore spot. I mean, it wouldn't be for me. What if Winnipeg wore the Atlanta thrash shirt? Well, right now, right now they probably should. Right. They're playing better, but yeah.

By the way, when we saw those jerseys the first time, I don't know how many of us knew that the thrasher was the state bird of Georgia. But we're like, what are we wearing? Like, what is this crest? And then you're like, oh, it's not bad, I guess. but like the blue ones didn't look anything like the white ones. Put it this way. The Thrasher era, if it was such a thing, was misguided from the very start.

Right. Well, we were talking about gong shows in the NHL earlier. Obviously, the Leafs are knocking on the door, and we'll get to that momentarily. I said I think the Rangers are at the top of the list. Just the way everything's gone, you know, writing letters to the fan base. and now Artemi Panarin is not playing. They're just keeping him out of the lineup and with the plans of trading him clearly.

What do you think his value is around the league? And do you have a spot in mind that you think would make the most sense for a guy like Panera? Well, value will depend on whether there's some kind of extension tied to him. As much as this is a health thing, you know, keeping him out of the lineup right now, to me it buys time for agents to get involved

and to see if you can work out a deal because you're only going to if you're the acquiring team you're only going to pay so much if you've only got them for the next five months potentially if you go through a deep in the playoffs or if you've got him for four more years that's a whole different

whole different game so he doesn't want to move twice and I think that's entirely his right The one thing the rangers have to be careful of is that he says, okay, I'm not moving twice. And you're not going to, I don't have an extension done, so I'm staying here until the end of the year.

But he could easily do that. As uncomfortable as that might be, that would be his leverage point. He's got the no trade and really he's going to determine where he's going to go. What the cost is, man, he's led the Rangers in scoring seven straight years. this being the seventh. He's a, he's a creator. If you've got a shooter, I would want a player like Panarin around.

Like he is a, he's a really, really good player still. And I don't think time will, I don't think time will really bite him because it's not like he's super fast right now. He's played the same way for the better part of his career, and he still puts up huge point numbers. That's where I was going to,

to go, Ray, like, certain teams that either have tremendous team speed, if you're going to add a guy like that, like my joke with him, and I know it's a little over the top, is most nights I think he has dry hair. Like, I think he just goes out there and it's perimeter and, oh, there's a rocket pass through the seam for a goal to Zabanajad, or he's got a pretty good sneaky shot himself. But he's not a guy that goes and gets the puck. He's not a, you know, he's not a dominant guy through the middle of the ice. anything like speed through the neutral zone, but he just seems to be cerebral and at the right

spot. Yeah, you know what? Noodles, I agree with that. I call it a, he's a feel guy. Like, he feels the game. So when I read that Carolina's interested, this didn't work with Rampinen when Carolina tried. Remember stylistically, it didn't seem to fit.

Maybe his heart really wasn't in it as we looked through that, you know, that he ended up trading him again. I don't see Carolina as the right type of fit for him. I see Los Angeles because they need offense and they need a star. And Copatars retiring, they're going to have pockets of Cap room at the end of the year. And L.A. feels like a team that now, do they really have a shooter, I guess, Kempe or Fiala. but, you know, like that, that would be one team that I would think of. Dallas makes, to me, the most sense,

but how are they going to sign them to an extension when they got to sign Robertson, too? And then you have to decide between the two of them. Right. And that would make that really tricky. Well, I know San Jose has popped up a little bit, and they're in Edmonton tonight, and, you know, this Celebrini kid, man, is he something else? So good.

Yeah, like what kind of impact do you think he'll have on the Olympics? This may be, I think he's going to be in the top half of their forwards in impact. I watched him the other night, and I said he was in Vancouver. He had the first time he was in Vancouver, you know how you get all jazzed up to play at home. The first time in Vancouver this year, right after Christmas, now, you know, the Caducs are great, of course. But he had 16 shot attempts. two nights ago he had a goal and two assists he had the puck on his stick the whole time

and I said at one point can you imagine that there was actually a discussion about whether this kid belonged on the team or not like on the Olympic team Hayes I think he's I think he is an impact player on the Olympic team all day long I know I guess the one thing that gives me

a little hesitancy is he's probably going to come out of the middle and go on to the wing and maybe that's a little bit different for him. But his personality is that he doesn't sit back. It's not like he's going to go in there and be bold and make all these great loud noises and all that stuff. He'll fit in whatever the hierarchy is of the team, but he's going to play.

I would say he's as bold a personality on the ice as you'd want your players to be. Like, he's not scared of anything. Ray, if Braden Point can't play on that team, who would your replacement be? There's been a lot of armchair quarterbacking that one. Who would you put on it? Oh, I'm starting to lean a little bit to Zach Hyman because I do think if you do pick Hyman

and be the side for whatever reason he's not going to play with Crosby, or pardon me with McDavid then at what point on your roster is Zach Heimann going to hurt you nowhere like he is remember he was a penalty killer I mean he's really good at it

he could be on your grind line he could do that he can depend the lead late and pretty clearly he's got great chemistry with McDavid I didn't think that before I wonder if they'll have a time going past Bennett. Bennett's played really well and felt like he should have been on that team for me anyway

at the beginning. But I think it's probably one of those two guys for me anyway. Yeah, I'm with you. I mean, like you said, Hyman is just so predictable, you know, and McDavid's probably going to make it work. You know, they've got options. They've got a lot of good options. You know, they're lucky to have that.

Now, in net, they might not, right? Logan Thompson banged up and day-to-day, I would assume he'll be on the plane right next week, Noodles. Bennington hasn't been great. I mean, you know, Holfer's playing ahead of them most nights. Like, it's just, you know, it is a struggle there, but you need somebody to be able to, like, I look at it. I don't think the goalie needs to win you it, but he can't lose you. I know, but Noodles, hasn't Binner's numbers actually gone down since, like, the announcement? He's had a poor year, like, overall, for the most part, oh.

But, again, we, goaltending was the problem or the Achilles heel heading into the four nations until it wasn't. We're going to be talking about it, again, because it seems like it's the Achilles heel on paper until, you know, they get exposed or if it gets exposed. And that's the biggest challenge. Ray, I don't know how you feel about it, but all the other countries are better on paper. Yeah, I don't think that's, God, there's no question really that somehow Canada's gotten to this place where for a couple of decades we had all these great goalies, you know, stumbling all over each other. And now that's not the case. I remember back, of course, I'm sure we all do to 2010, where the guy that played the gold medal game was not the guy that started the tournament as the number one goalie, right? It was Marty Brodor and goal until Luongo took over.

And then in the final, you know, Ryan Miller was unbelievable. And Luongo did just what you said, Noodles. He didn't win them the game, but he certainly didn't lose him at. And there's got to be some level of confidence in your goalie. And I don't know how Canada has that. Now, if Thompson is not in the mix, and apparently got hit in the head with a shot. So, you know, we're probably talking about some concussion-like stuff, I'd assume.

And you've got, who's the next guy? Is it McKenzie Blackwood? Yeah. I like him. I watched him last night. He is good. Six-four and good move. If he's on the team, I think he's the best guy.

I think he's their best, like, the most talented goaltender. Yes. But, I mean, Bennington has pedigree. Campers won. Thompson statistically has been really good. Like, you look at it. But if I had to build a goaltender from the Canadian side, Blackwood's 6'4, 225, 230 ripped and can move like he's 5'8.

Like, he moves well. But, again, he would be a guy I would look at for sure. So I guess with the games on back-to-back nights to open or days, or whatever the timing is. So they split the first two games probably and then decide for game three. Now, that doesn't have to be your final decision, but I would assume that's probably part of their planning meetings

about trying to make sure everybody has their shot, has their place, and the plan becomes clear. Yeah. Ray, we're asking, or we've asked a couple people how they're viewing the leaps and how they would map out the next six weeks if you were running the team

if that was the case for yourself what would you be focusing on with what you've seen the last 10 days and basically the whole year how would you map out the next six weeks well drag said this morning we were doing our podcast and he said you know they're not ready to throw the towel in

and I said well I hope they've got it in their hand like this is like a time out challenge when the NFL coach is walking up on the sideline or the review challenge. He's got it in his hand, I hope. This is not a time for the least to add anything. Like what are they going to trade at this point? Like their first rounder in 2047? Like you need some draft picks eventually.

They're not good enough that one player is really going to kick them over the edge into being a legit contender. There are eight points out of the playoffs. And the problem they have is that the two wildcard teams are also two teams from the Atlantic. So you can't even say, oh, they just have to get to third. Like they've got to get to fifth, but those are eight points ahead of them, right? Like they can't even leapfrog other weaker teams. They've got to fight through their own division still. in my mind there is there's a time to buy and a time to sell and this is a time to sell

whether they want to or not I think I think there are times where managers get shoved on to the road that they don't really want to be on but you have to accept that and say this is where we are and this is legit what we we can be they're they're an inconsistent bunch they've been that all year. You can say, oh, this homestand, they, you know, they didn't have Nylander, which is a gigantic piece out of their lineup. They're a way different team when he's there. You remember the game he got hurt. He had a goal and then assist in the first five minutes in Vegas, and then he got hurt. And so I wouldn't forget that either, but I'm not buying at all if I'm Toronto. I'm going to bite the bullet here. And I think if you look at

what Boston did last year, they traded five players at the deadline, including some very important ones for them. And they ended up, they ended up with Fraser Minton. And unbelievably, the Leafs' first rounder, if it's not, number five. So if the Leafs finish six from the bottom, people are aware, right? If they finish six from the bottom, that picks Boston's. Yeah. Like, this is, no time no time to be buying I would look at Boston and say if I don't want to go into a

into a full process of trying to rebuild this team then I would look at what Boston did they identified what type of team they wanted to be they offloaded veterans for younger players including like a guy you never even thought of that who's Nadinov and all of a sudden

you're like geez I did a game two weeks ago we got four goals I know it's the game of his life but still not many guys get four rolls in a game, but they became a competitive team again. Or you go further than that, but that involves into the off season. And you do, as Prong said yesterday, you strip it way back. And they've done it before. They got lucky when they had the number one pick that Matthews was sitting there. That's not always the case, but I think there's a stark reality they have to face. Yeah. And I think they're also deep enough into the season. It's not that hard of a sell to their

fans. Fans aren't stupid. They've seen it. They've played 53 games. Like I said, hey, is if the Boston Bruins can say it to their storied fan base, there shouldn't be any issue. It's not like Lee Finch should be so offended where it's like, how could you do that to me? Boston did it. People kept their jobs and they turned it around. Right. The Rangers keep writing letters.

Yes. And so they're doing it. I totally get it sucks. And I totally get too that managers are really sensitive that if they go ahead into this process, what does that do for their chair that they're sitting in? Are they cutting off one of the legs of their own chair? But it's the right decision. In a lot of cases, like I don't agree with some of the way the Rangers acquired these players,

like the team they put together at the start of the year. But I think what they're doing is absolutely the right thing. and I think it stinks for them. It really does. I think Vancouver's the same thing. I think Winnipeg's got to get there too. I think the leads have to get there too. Like you have to look, what are we in the game for?

If it's to be a middling team, well then maybe you don't have to do that. If you're aspiring to be better than that, there comes a time when for the teams I mentioned, you're going to take a look at this and go, eh, now's not the time. Now's the time to sell. Yep, for sure.

All right, Ray. Sianara. Sionara, Ray. Hey, guys, good to chat with you. Noodles, bring that new, the new color. What's the other color? I can't wait to see that. Don't reveal it until San Fran, man.

It won't be here. It won't be here for San Fran. I don't believe. What is it? Tell me it's like a baby blue. No. That would be awesome. On the website, it said khaki.

Cacky. Oh, beautiful. so good and the tie matches a khaki shirt. I love a khaki. I hope it comes khaki but camouflaged. That would look amazing. Cacky on khaki. Dude, you're in like the 2050s of style.

Like, you're way ahead of your time. Exactly. I'm ahead of my time. That's what's happening here. Noodles is a trailblazer. I love it. Guys, have a great trip out there. I enjoy it.

And we'll talk to you. I'm sure after the. the Olympics for sure, but we'll talk soon. Can't wait. Thanks, buddy. There he is, Ray Ferraro of the Ray and Drex podcast in ESPN. Joining us here on the Maple Toyota hotline, it's time to Toyota in the 2025 Prius. Go up to 72 kilometers on battery alone and seamlessly switch to hybrid mode. Check it out of Maple Toyota near Canada's Wonderland in the Maple Auto Mall.

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