OverDrive - Johnson on the Maple Leafs' trade outlook, the team's crease and Ingram in the spotlight

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, the Maple Leafs' defeat to the Wild, the team's trade deadline outlook, Quinn Hughes making his mark, Connor Ingram playing in the crease, the schedule in the league 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. Here's Mike Johnson joining us here in the Maple Toyota Hotline. What's happening, Johnny?

What's up, boys? I am excited now to tune in to you guys on Radio Row and see what we got cooking. Now, just a quick thought of that football game. Like everyone is celebrating that Mendoza run and the dive in, he gets hit from behind. And like, I get it. He's had a great year, Heism and all that stuff. But isn't that run, like the willingness to dive in the end zone and get hit in the back? That's not special, is it?

Like, doesn't every player in the championship game go for that touchdown and get hit like that? Like this idea that he was somehow John Elway, you know, when he was old and do for that first down against Green Bay. I'm like, that's not what you do. Like, that's not, that's not the impressive about it. The willingness to do that is not impressive. Like everybody on that field should be willing to do that. No, my, am I mistaken something here? I think I know what you're saying.

Because the same way with Alway. Like, yes, it was desperate, but of course it was the Super Bowl. Like, of course you're going to instinctively think, I got to make this play. I hope you're instinctively thinking that. Like, if he made a business decision there, you have to drop him down the board. You know, the fact that Mendoza said, I'm going for it. Now, what was crazy is that was a fourth down play, and they were leading in a game. Guys, it just shows to show you how to that.

sports are these days and how guys just do what they want and they play when they want and intensity a lot of time. We're celebrating that as if this guy's a god for like trying to get a touchdown to help his team win. Like that's just how pathetic it's gotten. That's my view on it. Yeah. It's still a great play.

It's celebrating the willingness to get hit. I'm like, duh. Like obviously, he's playing football. It's fourth and seven. They're trying to run up the clock and get a touchdown. Obviously he's going to die for the game. that I don't know. I guess the celebrating that the mindset was a bit much.

The run, pretty good. Very nice. The mindset, pretty average. Yep. Should be basically expected, right? But to O's point, not always expected, especially in college. You do see a lot of business decisions in college where it's like, I don't know if I'm going down. It's in the business now.

It is, man. Carson Beck, guys making millions. Graduated two years ago. William Elander in Tampa Bay one year, Stanley Cup playoffs. There was a puck in the corner and it was about to do. be a collision on the battling, and he just said, no thanks. He made a business decision in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Didn't Cam New just do a podcast where he acknowledged that famous one where he didn't jump on the fumble? He didn't jump on it because he was scared. Yes. I believe that was the context. I don't remember specifically what he said, but he did recently talk about it where, you're right, that was their 15

and one season Super Bowl, and it was right there. And I think he fumbled it, right? It was a botched nap. Yeah. And he's like, I'm not, going out to that now. He kind of backed out. Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, maybe, maybe I'm just counting my own argument, but I'm like, that's the, what is exceptional is the guy saying, yeah, I'm scared. I'm not going to do that. And what should is more likely normal? The guy's like, yeah, it's scary, but I can do it anyways. Love it. Love it. All right. So MJ, in terms of the game last night, what has been determined here the last couple of weeks from our standpoint is the

least either play like the most electric out of this world lead changing over time back and forth like you can't miss it type game or they get blown out. Is that a concern?

Is that just the randomness of the season that we happen to be in this cycle? Because last night was a lot like the Utah game. Just blown out, no life by the third period. It was like pack your bags. See you later. And then the Colorado Vegas Winnipeg games were unbelievable games.

Yeah, I mean, I think not the boring, exciting game, but I think what the concern would be if there's going to be one, is that the least, you know, good teams are going to get there in the end. They sort of have different ways to win. And sometimes they don't have, you know, the Tigerwood Day game, and it's checking and it's defensive and it's goaltending. Sometimes they got a run and gun and the system plays in there, but they have the talent to do that.

Now, the Leafs clearly have the run and gun talent. They have the offensive goal talent. They've scored more than enough to be one of the best teams in the league. What is concerning is that it doesn't appear like they can win in different ways. It doesn't appear like they are very comfortable trying to check their way to a win. In a game like Utah where the legs weren't there, maybe in last night that first game back from the road trip, although the numbers are not exactly true. But, you know, if your legs aren't there, can you structure your way into a game?

and you check your way into a tight contest in the third period where something good can happen. That doesn't seem easy for the Leafs, and that to me is maybe the concerning part about what we've seen in the last couple weeks. Johnny, the surprising part of that idea that you just mentioned is they check so well in that series for a bunch of the series against the Florida Panthers, and you would think a light would go off to say, like this is just us now but it just, I don't know ever since the start of the season, it's kind of shown up at different times.

It hasn't been a consistent thing and I just wonder why. Well, I mean, I think the goal-tending hasn't been as consistent to clean up some of their misses. So we associate good checking with low-golds against. Maybe it's not always good checking, but sometimes good goal-tending, which is part of the team, and that's okay.

Last night, wool wasn't great. I think Chris Anive, not being on the team this year, hurts them a lot. Remember how good he was last year? Him to McCabe were one of the best defensive duos in the entire NHL and while Jake McCabe has had a very good year in his absence. You know, when he has a speed wobble, that McMahon turned over last night, whatever it might be, you know, it's a bit more noticeable.

He doesn't have the duo to be quite as rock steady as they were last year. And I think that really hurts for sure. And, you know, again, Max Dolmey, a lot of nice plays, a lot of nice goals. We've seen him before do these things, but defensively, and he's not maybe the strongest, and the kneelander, the same of ours may be able to the same. So I don't know if it's so much a question of willingness.

It's maybe just more question of ableness. Well, MJ, when you look at that, like you looked at last night, they were having a hard time getting out of their own end. Jake McCabe had a tough game. You know, the breakouts weren't great. The net front coverage wasn't great. It speaks to maybe that this defensive core, to your point,

with a lot of other injuries that have put a lot of pressure on the guys who were in the lineup to play more than they're used to and maybe higher in the lineup than they're used to. You feel like it's wearing these guys down and that tree living is going to have no choice but to make some kind of an addition between now and the trade deadline? Yes. You know what? Yeah, 100%. Like I think if Tanav can't come back this year or come back in the regular season, I think maybe not Rasas and Anderson, maybe it's Dougie Hamilton, maybe it's somebody else. but to find a defensive who can play, not just a defenseman who could be in the lineup,

but the guy who can play would go a long way to helping ease the burden. We love Troy Stetcher. There's nothing not to love about Troy Stetcher. He was never going to be able to do for 60 games what he did for 15, 18 games, where it was just everything was falling his way, even if the shot shares were not in his favor,

the goal account always seemed to be. You know, he has taken a step back. Of course he has. He's not Ray Bork. Troy stretcher and each other, but not elite level player like he was, his numbers were suggesting early. Yeah. And then Morgan Riley again continues to have tough defensive moments. So, you know, you run down the guys who play in their top four and they could use some support.

And then if they get someone like that, then everyone looks better. The guys in the top four, the guys who get bumped down to the third pair, everyone gets slotted a little bit more appropriately, ice time gets handed out a bit better, and everyone looks. a little cleaner of their land. But if Trail Living has designs on this team sort of making the playoffs, because as great as this run has been, they're still on the playoffs.

And the teams around them, they like never lose. The Atlantic Division is ridiculous right now. So, yeah, even to get in the playoffs, he might be forced in action. With Mike Johnson, our TSN hockey analyst. On the other side of the ice last night, Quinn Hughes was dancing, man.

He was dancing last night. Like, that guy walks the line. control is a whole game and he's like he you know you try to you think you've got them with different angles you think you can check them and it just doesn't work that way um you know they're a really good team clearly they're in a very difficult division they're going to play dallas in the first round and then they're likely going to play colorado um how much of a difference do you think quinn hughes can play in determining who comes out of that division you know where does he rank for you if you're going to include

McKinnon, McCar, Rantaninan, Johnston. The power brokers of the Central Division. Where does Quinn Hughes rank for you? Oh, that's a good question. I mean, he would be third, I guess. I mean, individually, he's probably third. It's McKinnon and McCar and then Hughes.

As great as Rantanin and Johnson are and all the rest. You know, he can play more than the forwards can. He's probably not quite as good as Kail McCar. Although I would put Quinn Hughes. clearly in the top three defense in the world. It's Werensky and it's Vakar and it's Hughes. And you got defensive last night

just how much pressure he puts on the other team all the time. Every shift he's up the ice, he's activated in the offensive zone. He goes back there like, okay, listen, sure he can hurt us with a puck, but let's dump it in his corner, let's go get him, let's take advantage of the fact

that he's not big. He goes back there, spins out, makes a play. George LaRash goes the other way. it's amazing what he's done and that's why Bill Garron swung for the fences to get him without an extension to see what can happen. He had to tilt the favor. Now, as much like Minnesota,

and I'm in Montreal tonight to cover them play tabs, and it's going to be fun to watch Lane Hudson, who's like a younger, shifter, less smooth version to use, but having maybe even a better statistical year this year go against each other. But down the middle, Eric and Eckert, right? It's Hartman and it's

Yorov, and it's like, you know, depth players that you put that down Dallas or down against Colorado, you're like, wait a second, if the spine of the team is the goalies, the defense, and then the centerman, well, in Minnesota, goalies are elite, like they have a third best state percentage in the league. The defensemen are elite when you get Faber and huge and Brodine and Spurgeon, but the sediment depth is not there. And I wonder if they're just shopping around whether it's a centerman or maybe big game,

Artemmy Panarin like hunting for another difference maker up front to do. do the same thing for the forward that Hughes has done for the defense. Yeah, that whole setup out there in terms of the talent, in terms of like the, how far ahead they are from everyone else in the West. And then you look at the Pacific and it's like Vegas, Edmonton, Vegas is really good. And they just got better with Ross Ms. Anderson. I question their goaltending. Like Aidan Hill's back now.

We'll see what happens with Carter Hart if he returns where he fits in, how he plays. I think the goaltending is still a question mark. in Edmonton, right? Tristan Jari's been heard. So I don't... Let me ask you this is. If you were one of those teams, like, if you were a team that thought you had a legit chance, would you sniff around on Thatcher Demko? Like, would you

trust him to be your guy on a run? I can't trust him. By his body, just not sure you could... You've got a term left, so you've got to make a commitment. You're probably not going to get him for free, and you've got to get a guy who, unfortunately for him, has not been able to stay healthy. I don't know. You like the name. You like

the game when he's healthy on it, but you don't like the track record of health. And I wonder, as you say, Edmonton, does Connor Ingram start game one for the Oilers in the playoffs? I would not wager against it. Wouldn't be surprising.

You wouldn't be surprising in all go ahead, Dave. MJ, the other question in the Pacific, I mean, they were the big story last night with the goalie fight, beaten the Panthers, the San Jose Sharks, where they won eight of their last 11, they make a trade, they're buyers before the deadline, getting Kiefer Sherwood,

nice middle six guy who's on pace for, you know, 20, 30 goals. How real are they after finishing dead last in this league the past two seasons? He is real. They are not yet real. Celebrini is legitimately as good as, you know, anybody in the league not named McKinney and McDavid.

This year, he's been incredible. But that team is doing exceptionally well, overachieving by a time. but I did a game of there a couple weeks ago. You look into their numbers, they're not sustainable. They get out chance. Like last night was a great win. On the road, could chuck back, all that stuff.

They've been really good in the run they're on. Very impressive. But I don't trust that they have in a seven-game series against a good team. They just don't have the depths. Their defense is not yet mature enough and different enough. Up front, they might have to score. Celebrini could do some crazy things. But in the Pacific, they might be, you know,

He might be enough, and maybe good karma might be enough to get them into the playoffs, but I don't think they have enough to scare anyone when they get there, which would be, again, three, two years ahead of schedule, San Jose was not supposed to be good this year. They probably were not supposed to be good next year, and yet they found a way because I think Celebrini has expedited the entire process with his greatness. Johnny, you just said something that's caught me a little bit off guard. I mean, so they went to Connor McDavid and said,

we're probably going to move away from Skinner, but we're going to pick up off the scrap heap, Connor Ingraham, and that's going to be our guy to get things done in the Stanley Cup finals. That just doesn't make... I like Connor Ingraham. I talk to him on Twitter, but... I don't think that was... I think they traded for Tristan Jari

saying, listen, we're going to hear him to Stuart Skinner. We've shown we can get to the final into game seven with him. We think Jari, who has been around big moments, has been better than Skinner for most of his career, even if not last year. we think we have a better chance with him. But just watching how it goes, Jari's been injured a little bit.

And that Ingram has had a good year a couple years ago. He had to take some time away for some mental health stuff. But I think Edmonton, in that division, with those players in the playoffs, they don't need Sorokin. They need, like, anything league average, and they are golden. Like, they would take that and run with it.

And I just wonder, Ingram, when he's on, can be about as good as Tristan Jari. and if he plays better down the stretch, there is no other than the trade commitment and the fact that Jari has contract, there's no sort of loyalty or obligation to play Tristan Jari over Conner. I just, if Ingram's got a 920 and a 2.4 and Jari does not, would you owe start Jari over Ingram in game one? I don't think they have to. So I don't think they must have to. My point is, Johnny, to move away from Stuart Skinner and those are your two options,

I just don't understand that. Well, that's where they are, though. They've already done it. Well, I get it. I think that's stupid. That's my point. That's the point. Yeah.

Well, and it may be. And it may be like, Stuart Skinner is, you know, heavily criticized, but try to work right as do. He took him to the final. That's right. The game seven.

And now he didn't take him all the way there because he didn't play every game. He got pulled out of a series and this and that, but the team with him as their starter, made the final two years in a row. I wonder if the team was somebody else as a starter, have the same success. Probably not, because that's the nature of the sport and the nature of the central division. But we'll see. I'm just saying in the mix in

Edmonton, I just, it would not surprise me if Carter Ingram gets it on at some point in the playoffs. Yeah. Well, I would expect multiple guys to get shots. I mean, that's the nature of the playoffs in Edmonton. It's never just one guy. So it likely is going to be multiple guys that end up playing. And I think your point is well made. Oh, like, it doesn't matter who it is, if it's not an elite gold tender, which may have been unrealistic, I guess it would be. But the reality is, you know, we just went through this yesterday with the Josh Allen stuff. Now, I didn't think Alan was clutching up personally, but the conversation was Allen's in his prime. This is what you're building around him. McDavid's in his prime. This is

what you're going to offer him? Yeah. Like Conor Ingram's going to win 16 games for that guy in the spring? Okay. I don't know, man. That's a pretty big gamble. Like that's a pretty big gamble. If you called McDavey in the summer and said it's not going to be Stuart Skinner, but it's going to be Connor Ingram. He would have said, are you shattered right now? Yeah, I think you would have a problem with that. I'm not giving a discount for that replacement.

That's right. Leave on the table is not, so we have, you know, Ingram as our starter. No disrespect to Connor Ingram. I just said he might be. But yeah, and I think this year, guys, Edmonton is not as good, and the teams around them are better.

So I think they will need goal-tening more this year than they have needed it in the previous couple. Because they get Vegas in the second round. Vegas is going to be loaded, like their goal-tending question marks, but Vegas is really good, really good. And then they go into the central, wherever that ends up, that's going to be a problem, and then on in the final if they get there. So, yeah, I think whoever's in that,

for Evanston, it's probably going to have to be better than the guy who's been there the last couple years to start with. Ooh, all right. We'll see. We'll see. We've got some time, but it's moving quick, man. I thought someone would get to 50 games yesterday

That's right There's a number of teams It's 50 I know I keep thinking How about you When I play guys Once I got to the 20s

I could see the finish line And it felt really close Really close Now we're going to have that weird Break for the Olympics So maybe that'll stunt The current sort of momentum Towards the end

But they're going to have another 5, 6 games 7 games in the Olympics And then 25 remaining When they get back That is a sprint and there is not enough time to make significant moves

up and down the standings when it's so tight and so competitive then so if you're six out seems close but your five teams, you got to jump over in 25 games that's going to be not impossible but very difficult to do so being close

might be a bit of a misleading proposition when you get back to the Olympics depending on where you are in the standings. If you're nine, six points back, that's possible. But if you're in 13th, Six-point back, that's going to take a heroic finish to get in the playoffs. Johnny, when you said 20 games left, you got excited. I mean, how excited did you get?

And what were you excited for? The season to be over or reaching your goals for this season? Or what about being over did you like? Well, sometimes I got to go to the playoffs. That was exciting. But a lot of times I didn't know. And, yeah, like, you could sort of like forecast the end of the grind, which is sort of the objective, right?

you want to play well, you want to win lots of games. And I got excited about the idea that I could see the finish line. This marathon race, and wherever the finish takes me, whether through the playoffs or to the world championships or to the summer, I was excited that I could see the finish line because I felt at times not as long. It's hard. It's hard on you mentally. And so I found it refreshing to see the finish line.

So that extra kick you might get in the last mile of a marathon because you know it's right there. That's how I felt when it sort of got around the end. 20. Did you ever book a trip before you were officially eliminated? Sorry, you're breaking up. Oh, I can't quite, I can't quite hear you. He's a man of integrity. I can't quite hear you. I would never, ever say that, would never admit publicly, ever, but everyone started. I never left my team until all team-related functions were finished. What's the latest date you landed at Pearson?

or the earliest, maybe it's the earliest date, earliest late date, if you know what I mean, like April 20th, April. I probably, geez, in Tampa, we missed, I probably landed, I went to the world championships this year, but I was probably there two days out of the season, home for three weeks before I went to the world. Phoenix, I'm sure we were done early, but generally, Hayes, as you could appreciate,

my friends really wanted to come see me in Phoenix, April, more than me wanted to come home. Always. I had visitors. literally at the, you know, second wave team end poker games. My friends would come play with me because they were down right at the end of the season.

Those are the guys really circling the sked, like doing the math. They pay attention to how we're doing big time. You eliminated yet. You get that little Y beside your name. You can't wait for it. You win a game you're not supposed to. You're getting tax being like, what are you guys doing?

Like, stop. What are you doing? It's so stupid. You're ruining our plans. All right, Johnny. We'll leave it there, buddy. it again later in the week. All right.

Thanks. I'm having us here on the Maple Toyota Hotline. It's time to Toyota and the 2025 Prius. Go up to 72 kilometers on battery alone and seamlessly switch the hybrid mode.

Check it out at Maple Toyota near Canada's Wonderland in the Maple Auto Mall. The newest tracks. Let's go. New music. And the next big thing. Always on the new music first.

Your first place to hear it all. Because you don't like it, love or want to play it twice. Playing now. I heart. Your digital station for brand new drops, fresh vines, and tomorrow's bangers. I think we need something new. Discover IHeart new music.

Always fresh, always first. Stream now on the free IHartRadio app.