OverDrive
Dreger and Johnston on Matthews' future commitment, the Maple Leafs' selling status and the direction of the team
27 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Darren Dreger in here.
Chapter 2: What surprising NHL teams are discussed at the beginning of the episode?
Yeah, I mean, I would think... What's the biggest surprise, San Jose or Pittsburgh? I would say... Or Anaheim, maybe.
Yeah, although conversely, I might look at Winnipeg. They won the President's Trophy last year, and they're not even close to the playoff. I can go spin both ways, I guess. Right. But then look at, like, Detroit's in, Boston's in, Buffalo. Maybe Buffalo. A lot of turnover. Islanders are in.
Might be Buffalo.
There's a lot of turnover, actually, when you think about it.
Organically, at the starting of the season... If you said Pittsburgh Penguins, they were the only team that was open for business. And many in media were speculating on where is Sid going to land? Is he going to say, yeah, I'm not in this. I want to chase one more Stanley Cup. And the Montreal connections were made. And I mean, go down the list.
And every once in a while, that still pops its ugly head up there. But come on. I mean, Kyle Dubas is... creatively done a decent job, but at the end of the day, it's still about Crosby and Malkin and Letang and the goaltending and all of that. So he's backfilling with some young, I don't know if we'll call them developing pieces, but younger players that are NHL quality players, right?
So in that sense, he deserves respect, and he's not done yet. There's still a lot of time between now and March 6th.
Sure. Well, that's the question. We'll bring in Chris Johnston as well. The freeze is what, just over a week away? I guess a week tonight, is it? February 4th. February 4th is the trade freeze. So are you anticipating deals before... The freeze dregs? I mean, I guess anything's possible, but how many teams are like, well, we'll just get there, let it breathe, and figure it out afterwards?
Yeah, and I mean, there are some sellers that have recently jumped into the market, but that doesn't mean that they're selling off imminently. Why wouldn't you wait until post-Olympics? And I think that that's probably where we'll see the glut of the trade activity. But that's not to say we're not going to see something between now and February 4th.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of the upcoming trade freeze for NHL teams?
Does that count? He's been good for them. What if you're just nibbling around the edges and you find somebody in the league and it just adds to your group? I don't know. I understand because we talked about this yesterday. But what if somebody just... slides in that helps everybody, helps the process along. That's the thing. It's not going to change.
Austin Matthews still has to be the best player. When Willie's healthy, he's got to be the best player. John has to get his game going consistently. McMahon, all of those guys. But maybe it just helps the balance on the back end. And you don't have the assets to do anything bigger than that, potentially.
If you did, and there was that player available, and we know that Trilliving is still eyeing the defensemen. Well, if there was a piece that he could bring in, he would have done that by now. There's nobody available that moves the needle. That's why I say from a player perspective, sometimes it's just a little injection, just a little bit of a difference maker.
Because, look, the coach has done everything, right? He's had blow-ups on the bench in the first half. Well, that didn't seem to get a message through. He's called out William Nylander publicly. All right, you know, can't blame Willie now. He's not playing. He has a leadership meeting yesterday. Mm-hmm. Well, everybody's focused. Everybody knows what they have to do. Okay.
Let's see tonight. Okay. A message got through.
One thing they did is they fired the power play coach. They got a spark out of it.
At what point, though, and CJ, you can jump in first, Dregs. We can go around the table. Do they... can they no longer live in a world where they don't have assets? And that's where I wonder if sometimes you've got to take advantage of acute moments in the schedule to accumulate those, even though it's not comfortable.
And you look at it, you might be able to trade some pieces and get back in the game in the summer if that player comes up. Yes, the right shot defenseman isn't there right now. You don't have the assets anyway. But if you decide I'm going to trade player X, Y, and Zed, Now I have them, and I can get in the game in the summer.
There's only so many opportunities, CJ, where you can accumulate assets. And the trade deadline is one of them. And I know it would be uncomfortable for the 25-26 season, but it might be in the best interest for the 26-27 season and beyond for them to simply use this deadline, not about wins and losses right now, but finally restocking the cupboards so you can get back in the game a little bit.
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Chapter 4: How might the Maple Leafs approach the trade deadline?
Like, that's got to be a question asked.
Well, I'm sure he would share the disappointment of others, but I will say this. My impression of Austin Matthews is, you know, I don't think they need to do anything and be really gentle around him. Like, I think he's still very committed to being a Leaf. I think he loves being the captain of this team. Obviously, he's been front and center here in a lot of conversation the last few days.
But, you know, I don't sense at all his commitment waning. And, in fact, I think if they were making decisions ā That made sense that they were, you know, if it's properly messaged to some degree in terms of what the plans are like, he wants a chance to win, too. And I'm sure, you know, he's sitting there feeling a lot of the things everybody is like. The numbers don't lie at a certain point.
Right. We're more than 50 games into this season.
the Leafs have rarely that to their credit they did have a great stretch after Christmas and in the early part of January but other than that most of this year they have not looked the part of what they expect to be which they started this season thinking they're a contender you know I think the truth is staring them in the face um maybe they can save it here and and change some minds you know with a hot finish right before the Olympic break or what have you but
Honestly, I think if we're being honest, they have to be looking towards at least a soft little retool, maybe add some of those assets you're talking about, Hayes, and not with the idea they're blowing everything up, but just basically taking a small step back with an idea of trying to take a few forward starting next year.
And be okay with having uncomfortable conversations, right? Yeah. Brad Trillivan was willing to do that last year, not to go down the Marner path yet again, but you talk to Mitch Marner about waiving his no move at the time because you acquire mycorrhantin as part of that process. All right, now we're all in. We're all in one here, and we're going to go, okay, it didn't pan out.
And now you're in a completely different stratosphere if it doesn't play out the way that Leafs Nation is hoping. But don't be afraid to go to Morgan Riley and go, we're coming to you in the summer. You know, you're protected by your trade coverage. No problem if you want to wait.
But, you know, we're having this conversation now because it can't just be about managing the asset of Bobby McMahon, who's an unrestricted, or what you do with Scott Lawton, who's a pending unrestricted. Have uncomfortable conversations, which I think they have to be and will be willing to do in the time. Don't you think everything should be on the table if you are heading down that pathway?
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Chapter 5: What factors influence whether the Maple Leafs will buy or sell?
And so do both of you, you know, CJ and Dregs, Is the chatter there? Like, are we going to see something, or are they kind of waiting until after the Olympics to see?
Are you talking on a bigger picture? No. Because, like, I think it's important. I mean, obviously, it's up to the Leafs to figure this out. But you'll notice, you know, we all interact with Leaf fans all the time, that it's like, well, you just got to blow it up. Just get rid of these guys. I don't see that. I don't see that.
And I don't, like, I think it's important you just said what you said, CJ. Like, Austin Matthews, and there's always been this concern. Well, like, he's been in the playoffs every single year of his career. What about Willie? Well, Willie, possibly. Maybe you trade him. Move Claus? Yeah, and maybe that's the conversation you need to have to really spark something different. In the offseason.
They have some good pieces here on the NHL team. They've got three goalies. They've got to figure out what they're going to do there. You have Austin Matthews. You've got Willie. You've got Nyes. You've got them locked in. You know what they are. Yes, it will be uncomfortable. Yes, it sucks. Yes.
It's on the GM to pitch it and sell it to a guy like Matthews and say, listen, it may not even be just an offseason, maybe two, but we want you here for the long term, and we're going to make it work. It might be two years down the road. Dude, he's got two years left on his contract. So be it, though. Like, again, you know, Boston just didn't.
Pasternak didn't just say, get me out of here because you unloaded everybody. He said, all right, let's figure it out. McAvoy, all right, let's figure it out. There's other examples in the league where they had to reset and retool, and that guy didn't say, I want out of here.
And why is it so awkward or uncomfortable for people to talk about the reality of 34? It shouldn't be. Vancouver just went down the same path with Quinn Hughes. You don't think they wanted to keep their captain long term? Of course they did. But they got to a place, two years out, by the way.
Yeah.
where they believed and knew he wasn't going to extend for a myriad of reasons in Vancouver, which are all his own. Two years out. So find that out.
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Chapter 6: What role does Auston Matthews play in the team's future?
Because what Vancouver got in return for Quinn Hughes, that's a significant package. I thought it was unbelievable. Now, that's a blow-up, though.
That's the thing. But they're awful.
If you're getting into the off-season and we're willing to have those type of conversations, why do you take 34 out of the mix?
No, I'm not saying that, Drex. I'm saying, and to that point, hey, I'm going to be honest with you. This may take two years. It might take three. Are you in it? Are you a Leaf for life or not?
Out of respect, that's what you have to do.
Yes, I can't guarantee you we're going to retool this in one offseason or whatever and you're a cup contender this time next year. Are you in or not? He may say, I don't have the stomach for that. Then it opens the door to a completely different chat. I agree. But if he's like, I'm the captain. I'm a Leaf.
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Chapter 7: How does the team's performance impact trade decisions?
I'm here. Let's figure this out. And if I have to win in 30-32, let's do it. then that's a completely different avenue you can go down in terms of what you can do.
I think it's fair, though. CJ, you weigh in. I think it's fair. The one thing that should be brought with all this is the lines of communication. Austin Matthews is the captain. He's their best player. And he has been for how many years has he been here? Nine? This is his ninth?
Yeah, this is his tenth year.
Okay, so tenth year. And he's got a couple more left. This is a decade plus that he's put in. So he's pot committed. He's invested. Yeah. So these conversations, whether they're difficult or not, you can include him in it at some level because he does move the needle. He is a star player. I've said this all along. You know, we were looking at the coach, looking at the GM.
If the best players play to their capability, maybe they're not, you know, in this situation, you know, consistently. They've been banged up this year. You know, goaltending, you haven't had a full roster. When's the last time they've had a full roster?
Now, Tampa would say, come take a look at us and look what we're doing. You know, there's a lot of teams. Go ahead, CJ, get in there on this.
Well, I mean, look, I can only go on the history. First of all, I think there's an active dialogue between Austin Matthew, his agent, the team. Like, I don't sense any issues there. And this guy signed a year out the last time he could have been a UFA. Even when he was coming in an RFA, like, they got that deal done well in advance.
As much as I think people wanted to link his birthplace and just assume he wants to play other places, I just think the history shows that's not the case. He's mid-career, though, now. He's where McDavid is, except McDavid's been to the last two cup finals and not won. But he's got to the point where, yeah, he's won an MVP. He's won some goal-scoring titles. He wants to win the Stanley Cup.
And so I think as long as he feels like he's on a path where that's a possibility for him in Toronto, I don't think there's going to be an issue. Again, this season is not great for anybody. The Leafs did not expect to find themselves here. That's from ownership to Keith Pelley to Brad True Living to Austin Matthews and everyone else in that roster, Craig Berube.
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