Halford & Brough in the Morning - Abbotsford Canucks Head Coach Manny Malhotra

Episode Date: March 31, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason speak with Abbotsford Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra (1:19), whose squad is currently on a nine-game winning streak, plus they hear from Elliotte Friedman via 32 Thoughts on if the Canucks will make an offer to keep Rick Tocchet long-term (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Music Can you believe this one? 703 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, four parts. We are in hour two of the program. Abbotsford Connects head coach Manny Malhotra is going gonna join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two.

Coming back from break, you heard one of the Abbotsford guys. Atu-Ratu big goal on Friday for the Vancouver Canucks. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominuk at Jason.Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at Jason.Mortgage.

We are coming to you live from the Kintex studio. Kintex footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. Our next guest is the head coach of the hottest team in the American Hockey League, nine straight victories for the Abbotsford Canucks. Joining us now, Manny Melhotre here on the Halford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650.

Good morning, Manny, how are you? Doing well, guys, how you guys doing? Good, you guys ever gonna lose a game? We're not focused on that right now. I got this pretty impressive run that you guys have been on. We were talking about this prior to the show, not just because of the nine consecutive victories,

but everyone knows that the American league level, you have, you know, a fluctuating roster and you have a lot of guys that were with you earlier in the season now up with the parent club, but you guys have found a way to do it. What's been the secret sauce here? This you guys nine straight victories including the five one win over the Barracuda on Saturday. Well, it's a combination of a number of things. I think this time of the season, the guys

have a really good understanding of the system that we want to play, how they're supposed to look and how they're supposed to be executed. Uh, but more importantly, I think that the guys have really taken ownership of what they want their team to look like in terms of their energy and, and the way they compete on a nightly basis. There's, there's less and less coaching by myself and the rest of the staff. It's, it's more of them policing themselves and pushing each other to want to be better and when there are mistakes being made, they're the ones that are correcting it and making

sure it doesn't happen again. When it comes to the system, how much conversation do you have on a regular basis with Rick Taukett and the rest of the coaching staff in Vancouver? Um, not a great deal. Uh, obviously with the schedule that they have, they're every other day basically and there's not a whole lot of time for that. There are the odd text messages here and there.

I know that obviously with our D situation, Adam Foote and Jordan Smith will shoot the odd text just to get an update on guys or just to get an understanding but that's the one thing with with talk early in the year that or I should say last summer was that you know he let me know that he wanted to be kind of an 80-20 split in terms of 80% of our system should look exactly like theirs and he gave me the opportunity to run 20% of it the way I wanted to, which was great for me as a first-time head coach and giving me the opportunity to kind of develop certain areas of the game that I wanted to work on. But it's been a good, even at the

coaches summit that we had at the beginning of the year, I learned a lot of how they do things in Vancouver, certain trigger words, certain tactical stuff that they want to do. So it was helpful in terms of us setting up the way we wanted to play here. I'm certainly not asking you to share your playbook or anything, but when you talk about trigger words, like what are some of the things that you find yourself harping on

a lot and, and, and really trying to instill in your team? Um, I think the biggest thing for us is, is our commitment to defend and limiting other teams offensive ability. Uh, I know everybody talks about that, but, um, I really found our group has gravitated towards that and understand the basic benefits of not having to chase the game.

You know, we are a team that does well when we play on our front foot and we're playing with a lead. So to not have to score our way back into a game or have to outscore you, uh, to make it, uh, to make it a contest is kind of basic ground roots understanding for us that when you defend hard and you don't have to spend a lot of time in your zone, um, that, that obviously means you're, you're spending time on the fun half of the ice.

And, and that's essentially where most players want to play is in the offensive zone. Um, when teaching these guys, is it more like teaching them techniques to how to defend better or is it convincing them, uh, to be, you know, willing to defend because defending isn't easy. It takes effort. Sometimes it takes sacrifice, but it also

takes knowledge. Yeah. I think it's a bit of both. Um, it's, it's an understanding of philosophies and why you want to do certain things and why you want pucks to go to certain areas. Um, but then also the, the technique aspect of it of leading, you know, stick on puck, those things, getting body position, how to protect pucks. So it's

definitely a combination of the two things. But again, I'll come back to it's the buy-in of the players that they are willing to do these things. It's, as you said, it's, it's hard to defend and it's hard to do it well regularly, but their commitment to being physical and committing to stopping in spots and blocking shots and doing all those things that are hard, um, has shown them, uh, you know, they've been rewarded for those types of things and they want to keep those types

of things going. Yeah. I mean, as part of the sell job for you as a coach, and one of the things that you can use is like, Hey guys, like the big club is watching for this stuff and goals are, and points is obviously going to be important, but they're also watching at the micro level for you to do these things. but they're also watching at the micro level for you to do these things. Yeah, and obviously with the number of guys

that we've had go up this year, there's a very strong understanding that there are eyes on them at all times. And to your point, that has been the messaging for them, that we're not just looking at the stat line, we're not looking at goals and assists. Obviously those things help, but it's, it's watching their game and the things that are transferable at the next level.

The puck battles being heavy on pucks, being on the right side of puck battles, getting cutoffs on guys who can't forecheck, making strong plays off of the wall. Those are things that we stress on a daily basis that regardless of what team you're on, what level you're at, those are the things that make you a good pro and those are the things that ultimately the connector are looking out of our young guys to be able to do at the next level. Can you tell us a bit about Ty Mueller? Because he seems to be getting a lot of, um, uh, positive, um, analysis of him and maybe he's a guy that's, that's doing the things that

you're asking of him. He very much is, um, over the course of the season, he's grown tremendously. Um, obviously it, you know, people always look at the stats, where is he in the, in the lineup in terms of how many points he has. Um, but for him, the way he gets his points, he's always doing it the right way. And one thing that surprised me with Newell's was his speed and his ability to use it and how well he protects pucks and

hunts pucks and puts himself in good situations and then from there he's intelligent with the puck. Once he's earned it back or once he's won a race for the puck he knows he doesn't just want to dump pucks and chip and chase and cycle all the time. He has the wherewithal and the poise to find a stick, to find a trailer, to find somebody on the back door. But his hockey IQ has helped him get there. Obviously his physical attributes, as I mentioned, the skating, his ability to protect pucks is good, but he thinks the game really well and our confidence in him has grown with that. He's in all situations,

and he's done a good job of taking advantage of those situations. We're speaking to Abbotsford, Connex head coach Manny Malhotra here on the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Manny, I know you said to look beyond the stats and not look at just the numbers, but it's hard not to look at the numbers

that Max Sassen has put up lately. Basically a point-of-game guy over the nine game winning streak. What has his game been like? How positive has his game been since his return from the Connects and especially over this nine game win streak? Max again is a guy that uses his skill set to his advantage, his ability to get us up the ice, and what has kind of driven the line that he's been on. For the most part he was with Baynes and Carly or Baynes and Nealer. So just his ability to get us up the ice and get into the offensive zone.

And then again his hockey IQ and his skill to be able to make plays of tight situations, finding Bingley, finding Carly, finding, you know, seems to find a weak side D, have been really good, but again, he's not cheating to get to the offense. And you mentioned his point of game production. For us, it's more his ability to play in all situations. He's out on a penalty kill, taking some key face-offs, especially when Ratz left, but he knows what is expected of him and he's taken a hold and taken ownership of his game and doing the things that we ask him to. And again, getting noticed, being successful here

is what has got him called up again when he needed him. Is there anyone else you want to shout out on your team right now? I know there's a bunch of guys on the Canucks right now that we want to talk about, but anyone else that's really deserved some credit? to talk about, but anyone else that's really deserved some credit?

Uh, I, I, I'm really happy with all of our guys really, um, and one thing that, that kind of gets overlooked at this level is leadership and Chase Waters has done an outstanding job of doing everything we've asked of him. Um, and with a smile on his face being the hardest-working guy on the ice in practice so his leadership by example for us has really driven the bus we've been able to put him up in the lineup he plays down on our fourth line he regardless of where he plays, we get

the same game out of him. So that's a credit to him and his leadership capabilities. But just everybody that's come into our lineup has contributed something down the stretch here. Dino Akumovic, again, obviously everybody goes right to the goals that he's been producing this year, but his growth as a player over the season has been much better, been much more reliable in those puck battle situations. So it's been interesting for me as a coach to watch these guys evolve and grow over the course of whatever it's been six, seven months now. It's a great feeling to see them grow their game and become better players. Uh, Manny, can you tell us a bit about Elias

Pedersen, the defenseman? Uh, what's he, what's his personality like? Because, uh, as a fan just watching on TV or at the rink, he seems very confident, uh, in a good way for a guy that just turned 21 years old. Yeah, you, you hit it on the head right there. Um, when he came in at the beginning of the year, obviously you never know what you're going to

get from a 20 year old. Um, and you would hope and you'd want them to feel comfortable right away. And, and he absolutely did that. And his confidence in his game, number one, and more so his confidence in knowing who he needs to be to get to the next level. It hasn't wavered from day one, which is good to see even when he was getting the accolades and getting the attention, he never tried to change his game to become that offensive minded defenseman, lead you up in the rush, quarterback of power play type mentality.

He knows, uh, he's big, he moves really well. He can close down plays. He shuts down space. He needs to be physical. And he's done those things over and over and over again over the course of the year for us in Abbotsford and now that's what's gotten him noticed, that's what brought him back or brought him up to Vancouver and I think that for a 21 or a 20 year old or a 21 now year old to have the wherewithal to stay the course and play

your game is a credit to his maturity. Is it just, what does he need to work on now? Is it just the details or is there, is there a bigger picture stuff? Well, it's, as you mentioned, he's 21 years old. The evolution of his game is to do it better and do it harder and do it faster. do it better and do it harder and do it faster to become more of an everyday mainstay at the NHL level.

So to say he's 21 and he's a finished product would put him at a very large disadvantage. He's continuously going to be a work in progress, but it's, it's that mindset of getting better with every aspect of your game. The touch, puck touches need to be cleaner. He's going to get bigger. He's going to get faster. He's going to get stronger to be able to continue to apply those things in the game are kind of like

the next step in his evolution. A lot of people have been very impressed with Adjuratu's play with the Canucks. What has he been working on this season with you or what had he been working on with you this season and what has allowed him to play so effectively for the Canucks last few games? His main focus in talking with him is his skating.

He wants to get quicker. he wants to get faster. And again, the messaging to him has just been be intelligent with the puck, be on to be able to produce offensively and wanting to show that you can contribute on the offensive side of things tends to take away from your game on the defensive side of things and more so the detail aspect of your game. So in the conversations I've had with him, his own mindset and his own focus has been on wanting to do the right things. And it's a very broad term and it sounds very basic, but especially at our level, you know, we give the guys the freedom to make the play when it's there, but more so the intelligence

to know when, quote unquote, the play, the time for the play to be made is, or the time just to chip a puck and get it to the bottom or just chip a puck out of your zone and alleviate the danger. And he's done a better job of that this year for, in the last little while of making the right decision at the right time. Jonathan Leckermacky, he's going to be the youngest player that we talk about today. And he is still 20 years old, doesn't turn 21 until the summer. Definitely not the biggest guy, but has an unbelievable shot, has a little bit of swagger to his game, has looked comfortable on an

NHL power play, um, you know, you've been around the game for, for so long. Um, and you know how players develop not only mentally and on the ice, but also physically. How much stronger does Lekker-Mackie need to get? And are you confident that he can get to that place? Well, if you're talking about, you know, physical size, um, and strength, that that's one thing. Uh, but when you talk about functional strength,

uh, on, on the ice, that's a different story. And for me, that functional strength is a learned behavior. And the more you you're in contact with bigger, faster, stronger defensemen, once you're you're playing against older guys that have an understanding of how heavy you need to be on your stick and how hard it is in a puck battle. And just using body position, you know, it's not always about overpowering somebody and being stronger. It's he has the intelligence to know how to shield the puck or how to put himself in a, in a, in a better situation to create angles where he's not going

to put himself in a bad spot. Um, so that's for him, I think that would be more of his focus is that functional strength on the ice. And you know, who better to kind of teach him those type of things than Hank and Danny Sedin. Yeah. They were never the biggest guys on the ice, but try to take a puck from them. You're going to have a pretty hard task in front of you.

Um. Were those guys the masters at body position? Because like, like when I think about the Sedin's, you know, like you say, like they're not the biggest guys, but I would say like not masters at body position. Because when I think about the Sidines, you say they're not the biggest guys, but I would say not the fastest skaters, not the greatest shots either. And yet they just, they had an ability to control

the puck and part of it was them reading off each other, but another part of it, they always just, the guy trying to get them was always on their backside and you know, like, and they just never exposed the puck that much. That's a perfect way to put it. It's how to protect it, how to keep it in your own space and not exploit it and make it, you know, expose it to defense.

So yeah, those two guys guys for me, when you think about puck battles and puck protection, it's there, they had an uncanny ability that once it got into their possession, it got into their space, then you could just kind of hope to contain them in a space and not let that puck come out of there. But obviously they made a career of making those small area plays to find one another, making those little slip plays. And again, because they weren't the strongest, they weren't going to overpower you, they outsought

you on a nightly basis. And it was obviously incredible to watch. So for Lucky to have that at his disposal and to be able to bounce ideas off them and learn from them is, is going to be very beneficial. Um, who, I mean, you mentioned like R. Mackie working with the Sidines, who else is really benefit from working with those guys?

Um, I would say anybody that comes in contact with them, they, they are, the one thing I will say about them comes in contact with them. They are, the one thing I will say about them in their player development role is obviously their hockey IQ and their knowledge of the game and is vast and impressive, but it's not just, hey, give me the power play guys and we're gonna talk power play.

But give me your skill guys and we'll talk about, finding scenes and creating angle. They will work with Every guy in our lineup The chase waters are fourth line. They'll work with tie Glover tied you alert they work with guys in their own game to make them sharper and better and Adapt, you know certain skills to help you in your game. It's not necessarily better and adapt certain skills to help you in your game. It's not necessarily, hey, I'm going to show you how to sausage it over three sticks and find somebody on the back

door that they understand exactly who they're working with and they help you in your game, which is impressive to watch. Manny, I just wanted to finish with a different vein of conversation here, not necessarily a young guy that's making his way up to the NHL level, but a veteran guy that you guys signed not too long ago in Ju-Jar-Kyra. Obviously everyone knows the local connection and everything, but is there a correlation between you guys going on this extended win streak and the fact that he's joined the team, been in the lineup and been very productive offensively?

What's he brought to the table for you guys? Well, he's obviously having played at the NHL level when he has experience, he has knowledge, so he plays the game really well. So he's been obviously a very welcome addition to our group and just that size and that ability to get up and down the ice and put him with a number of different wingers and centermen,

and he's adapted and done a good job. So being on the line with Blazer, Sammy Blae, they do a really good job of controlling play. They're big, strong, heavy guys that can control play down low. And again, very welcome contribution to our lineup, but he's been seamless in that transition. He's adopted the mindset of our group and came in and wanted to work hard and be a part of it. So he's, yeah, he's done a great job. It's been a very welcome addition to our group. Well, Manny, with that, we'll let you go. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this this morning. We really appreciate it. Keep this win streak going,

it's been pretty impressive so far, and let's try and do this again as we get closer to the playoffs. Sounds good, have a great day guys. Yeah, you too, thanks. That's Manny Malhotra, head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks here on the Haliford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. Nine straight wins for the Abbotsford Canucks.

We got some playoff hockey in the lower mainland, it's just gonna be with the Abbotsford Canucks. He's a really well-spoken guy and really thoughtful. And, you know, he's done a pretty good job this year. He's done a great job. I know not only is the team winning, they're also developing guys. A guy I actually didn't get a chance to ask him

about because we ran out of time was Linus Carlson. Carlson is threatening to to become my next like, hey, not enough people talk about this guy, but I think he's quite good. Like I've, I have like, you know, like a Tyler Mott for a bit, goes all the way back to Yannick Hansen. I don't know if Carlson's going to get there,

but I just like the way, every time he's out there, I like the ways he plays. He plays a pretty heavy game too. I was surprised that he wasn't the go-to in most situations when they needed a recall because the one, the litmus test for him, from what I saw was last year in the playoffs when they needed a guy to go in, remember Carlson got the tap.

And I remember thinking like, hmm, it's interesting that for all the other guys you could throw in, you went with him. And I think it's because he does play a sort of safe, steady game. He's a big body guy. I like him more than B think it's because he does play a sort of safe, steady game. He's a big body guy. I like him more than Baines. I like him more than a few guys that have come up,

but I understand what they're trying to do. I do too. There's different, there's different end games with different recalls, but, uh, for him, I do wonder if he doesn't deserve maybe more of a look at this level, because I think that there's the consistency that he has right now should be, it's an attribute, it should be in a positive for him. It should be one of those things where it's

like, yeah, he's a guy we can count on to do certain things in certain situations. Maybe he'll get a longer look next season, who knows? Well, they gave him, correct me if I'm wrong here, they gave him an extension, didn't they? Yes. Okay. So he's signed for one more year and I think he got one of those one-way deals too. So he's signed for one more year and I think he got one of those one way deals too. Yeah. So he's probably in their plans going forward. I guess it's just a question of how much better can he get?

He's 24. A lot of those guys we were talking about with Manny were 21 or 20 like Lekaromaki and DPD. So. He's still only got like less than 20 games at the NHL level, right? Like it has, it's not a big sample size, it's not a big body of work.

Yeah. It's just, it's just a matter of, you know, can you raise your level? And I guess the same would go for Nils Amann as well. We go to an open segment on the other side. So once again, if you want to text into the Dunbar lumber text line, 650, 650, Adog has once again posted, um, in a Leis Pettersson related, uh, clipen related clip of me criticizing Elias Pedersen.

It's getting wonderful reviews. And it's the same guys, it's the same guys who are as committed to defending Pedersen as I am committed to criticizing that guy. You're listening to the Health and Abrupt Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Drance.

Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through. Happy Monday everybody. Halford Brough Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program with the midway point Joe. Our two of this show is brought to you by Jason Hominuk at Jason dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around

to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason dot mortgage. We got some audio to play. Hot audio. 32 thoughts, Elliot Freeman on the Rick Tocket situation in Vancouver and whether or not he's going to be back as the head coach. I think they've made Tocket an offer and

obviously that offer didn't get it done. I don't know how soon he's going to want to talk about it, but eventually it's going to get to a point where they all have to decide when, when do they want to sit down and talk about this? And like, I think this is just a bigger conversation than just talk it as does does talk it want to stay. I think there's two conversations that are going to be had here.

The number one is the okay, where are we going? What do we agree about on our roster? What do we disagree about in our roster? What's our process from here on in? Like the thing about Vancouver is after last year when they gave Edmunds and everything they can handle, there's no way they saw this year developing as it did. And now they've got to sit there and say, okay, where are we? So, and where are we going? So that's number one.

Number two, like I think also with Taukit, like he's got an option for next year. I can't see the Vancouver Canucks saying, we're going to hold you to that option if we all agree this isn't the right path. Like I just, I just don't see that. To me, it comes down to do you get a new deal or not? And some of that is going to be term and finances. And you know, like if they want to extend Tocket, it's going to go into a bigger number than they've paid a coach in quite some time. And how do the Canucks feel about that?

I think that's going to be as much the decision for Vancouver as it's going to be with anything else. But I just don't know when they're going to sit down and discuss it because even though the math is not good, I'm not sure that he's going to want to do it while there's still a chance. I guess that's what an agent's for. So a lot to chew on there. Um, the first one being that Elliot Freeman believes that the Canucks have made Rick

Tocket an offer. And that's something that Rick Dollywell strongly hinted at Friday on our show. Um, but obviously that offer was not good enough. Now there's a chance that To at, um, you know, maybe the offer wasn't good enough, but also he wanted to have an off season discussion too. Do you know what I mean?

Like there's two things, like number one, the offer was not good enough, but number two, we got a lot to talk about, about the direction of the team and whether or not I want to sign on here because again, if you believe what guys like Frank Saravalli are reporting, the money might be available elsewhere around the NHL. You know, Philly is a pretty big money team. And if them or maybe the Rangers, they've got

deep pockets, if they really want talking, if they set their sights on talking, money won't be an issue. I do sometimes wonder how gun shy the Canucks have become about paying coaches since, you know, you go back to John Tortorella and you know, I, I think there was a time like they had extended Gillis and they gave Tortorella five years and they were paying both those guys

for a long time. Yep. Right. And they paid other coaches to essentially not coach, so maybe they're a little gun shy with that, but I always do find it funny when they talk about the importance of Rick Tocket specifically and, you know, they hang their hat on Rick Tocket and the

head coach, and then they're like, we don't really want to pay you though. Maybe there's some disagreement between management and ownership on that. I do think- Maybe the messages from some, sometimes the message for management is to ownership. We need to pay this guy, he's really important. I do think it's interesting. One of the dynamics here worth mentioning is that, and it's not really easy to get coaches salary information

because it's not readily available. You kind of have to search around and find different lists and everything. But the front office sports at the beginning of this season had a fairly lengthy article about coaching salaries in the National Hockey League. And do you know who the highest paid coach in the National Hockey League is? Why it happens to be Jim

Rutherford's former employee, Mike Sullivan in Pittsburgh, who makes $5.5 million annually. Now I'm not saying one has anything to do with the other, but I definitely think it's worth mentioning in the context of what are you going to pay a guy who's got a pretty good case to make a lot of money? And I'm talking about Rick Tauket. He's the reigning coach here. I mean, he doesn't deserve S of money. And I'm talking about Rick Tauke. He's the reigning coach.

He doesn't deserve sully money. I'm going to sell him one, two cups. I'm not saying he deserves sully money, but what I am talking about is a couple of different things. And I think the third conversation that Freach didn't mention in his clip is what's going to be out there at the end of the regular season. Because we all know one thing, that day after the

regular season ends, it can be a bit of a black Monday in the national hockey league where guys lose their jobs, right? And you could point to a few different scenarios that a lot more openings than are currently there might open up as soon as that regular season is done. I wonder what the tampering rules are with coaches. Cause if there's a club option, is there a rule

against, like is it the same rule? Sure. As players, because obviously the CBA controls the players, there isn't necessarily that CBA. I mean, there's no options for players. Right. So there isn't that rule. I'm sure there's conversations going on. I mean, you look at, I mean, look at the national football league, there's guys that are, I'm prepping this week's NSE Championship. Also, I'm interviewing in Miami

Yeah, you know, it's it's out in the open. It's all though. That's a little more open. I'm just it's oh conversations are obviously happening at some level maybe it's through the agents or whatever, but consider it right now The Boston Bruins have an interim head coach right now chances are that they're gonna be looking for a new guy same goes for the Chicago Blackhawks, they've got an interim head coach right now, chances are that they're going to be looking for a new guy. Same goes for the Chicago Blackhawks. They've got an interim guy as well. So too, as we very well established Philadelphia Flyers have one. You've got to assume that that New York Rangers job could be up for grabs if they part ways with Peter La Violette. Are there going to be some other jobs there as well? It remains to be seen, but the chances are there's going to be about five to six openings across the National Hockey League as there often are at the end of the regular season.

Teams that fall short of expectations or disappoint, the first thing that they do is get rid of their current head coach and go looking for a new one. So there's additional leverage there that might be the reason why with that initial offer, the talkie camp could say, thank you for the offer. We very much appreciate it. I love that you wrote it on a cocktail napkin. We're gonna just take a break and wait till the end of the regular season and see what happens. Now, the whole concept of the option

is really fascinating to me. Because just the idea of the Canucks strong arming talkie into the final year via the option is equal parts hilarious and kind of concerning because you don't want it to get anywhere, anywhere near. No, no. Anywhere near it. You don't want to bring it back a coach that doesn't really want to come back. You don't even really want to threaten it. You know, you really want to have it out there.

But they've kind of already used it, right? They, they, they, they're, they're, it want to have it out there. But they've kind of already used it, right? They're, they're, they're, they're. It feels like it's out there. Their party line has been like, wow, we, you know, we haven't, we've got a club option. So as far as we're concerned, he's the coach next year. Cause you can't unring that bell. You can't, once it's out there, it's out there.

So again, I laid out my very detailed. Can you imagine like, let's, let's run down this scenario. Philly really wants Tauke. Right? And they really want him and he really wants to go there. This is just an imaginary scenario. Okay. He really wants to go there and the connects are like,

nope, you're coming back. That's the power of the club option, I suppose. You're going to get the best. But that's why you can't let it get to that point. Why would they do that though? Like if they know that it wants to be somewhere else. But that's what I'm saying. Like I, and that's what Elliot's saying.

It's very unlikely that that would happen. But, but, but according to Thomas Drantz and we mentioned this earlier and I'm going to read you again, what Drantz wrote, the club has an option to keep target for another season. And the athletic has been told in no uncertain terms by a team source that the club views target as their coach for next season and

intends to exercise that option. Now they would prefer to work out an extension over simply exercising their team option this summer, but again, told in no uncertain terms by a team source that the club views, talk it as their coach for next season and intends to exercise that option. Yeah. I mean, I think, I think he's back. I think he's back.

I think that they will... Here's the thing, you're gonna have to pay. You're gonna have to financially compensate, probably with some term as well, a guy that has earned the right to negotiate elsewhere. Sorry, I got you off, go. No, I think you're gonna... I think if he's, put it this way, if he's your guy and you've made that decision internally, then you've got to execute. You have to push it over the finish line. You have to get the deal done.

If that means paying more than you're comfortable with, or if that means giving more term than you're comfortable with, well, you've already made that decision, right? Paying market value for a guy is just sort of part of that decision, right? You don't want to start haggling over. And by the way, there's no salary cap on head

coaches. There's not. That was when, when all those guys started making crazy money, like Vino and Tortorella and Babcock. Dialed back a bit though. It has. It has.

Probably rightfully so, cause it was getting astronomical. The Babcock thing. People were like, we've got to stop this stuff. Right. That was, everyone was like, okay, we've gone too far. So they're going to bring Tauke back, they're

going to bring Petey back, they're going to find a guy to create a rift with Petey in the locker room. So stop. Quiet you, stop. I got to identify a guy. The point that I was, I rudely interrupted Halford to make. It's not even rudely anymore.

Yeah, it's just what I do. It's par for the course. Um, was like, you know, you have to get over the finish line, but you also have to be sure the target really wants to be here. Right. Like the commitment it takes to be a head coach is just as much as it takes for a player, you

know, and you have to be emotionally invested as the head coach. I've actually found Tauke quite understated in his post game press. Like. I think it's, I think intentionally so though. I think intentionally so. I think he is.

Um. Like after some of those wins that they got on the road, I thought he'd be like, I'm just really proud of the guys. And like, you know, not that he, you know, like he's liked that a lot, but I just found, maybe it was the lack of media there. I don't know those, but it just seems.

Well, there's not a lot. Like I was wondering, and maybe I'm wondering too much about this stuff. I was like, has something changed there? I think that what you're witnessing on a night to night basis is a coach that knows that overall, collectively, big picture, this year has been a disappointment.

He must be, I think he's exhausted. I think he's exhausted. Mentally exhausted. So why not make changes then? And they've fallen short of expectations, right? I think he knows that. Yeah. So the little wins, the victories, the small ones, meaning that like you get a couple in New

Jersey and the island or whatever. I know it's not the island anymore. Those are okay to talk up to a certain degree, but big picture, like they fall in short and he's disappointed by that. And I don't think that there's going to be any sort of really big, elaborative outbursts of like, you know, celebration or praising the guys, because at the end of the day, he knows like the bar needs to be higher. Why are they so interested in bringing him back then?

Like, why not just make sweeping changes if you're this unhappy with the season? Because they like him as a head coach. They don't blame him for what happened this year. They think he's done a great job considering all the things that he's had to deal with. Yeah.

I mean, he's pretty cut and dry, Andy. I know you're trying to do the devil's advocate thing. But you can even see it. It seems like a risk, that's all. Well, everything's a risk. Well, it's a risk if he doesn't want to be here. You can't. I don't dislike talking about it.

I think he is a good coach. I mean, I wouldn't be upset necessarily if he was back next year. It would like, it would just be kind of funny if after the season we just had, if they just dial it all back and everything stays the same and they just do it all over again next year and hope for the best. See, I go back to what I said.

I think that's very unlikely. I go back to what I said earlier about talk at one, like, and someone just, I think Sparky Steve, say Sparky Steve in an IMO, texted in, uh, talking about the ability and the opportunity to coach Quinn Hughes. To me, if you're a head coach in the NHL, that is right up there in terms of things

that you're going to want to do in order for you to succeed. I mean, that's a no-brainer. You know, you can say maybe outside of that, having an, an all world goalie like Hellebuck, cause that sure makes your job a lot easier when you've got the best goalie in the world and he's winning a lot of games for you. Laddie's nodding back there. He's like, yeah, that's right. But outside of that. Keep going.

Getting to coach the best defenseman in the NHL sure makes your job a lot easier. You're like, you, Hughes, get back out there. And then he goes and does stuff and you're like, good job. Right. I mean, I know I'm simplifying this, but that is a, that's a big draw for him. The other part of it. And here's the interesting wrinkled. All of this would talk it is, can you bake into the offer and the future, uh, an expanded role in what this team is going to look like? Are you going to have him like significant voice in the room, seated at the table when

it comes to what moves are we going to make? What groceries are we going to buy? You're the chef. Yeah. You're going to help us. I think he's already got influence based on their relationship. He always talks about the relationship that they have.

Sure. This is going to be a test of the relationship by the way. Yep. Or unless they just give him what he wants. And again, that's going to come down to, I'm making the dollar signs on the stream, but it's going to come down to money in term.

Well, and how much of that is the ownership though? Yeah. Right? I mean, like, no, no, no, no, I'm serious though, because like if you're management, you have to be careful with your spending on players because of the salary cap. Yep.

You mentioned it, there's no salary cap for coaches, so if you're management and you're allowed to do whatever you want, you would have just give them a big offer, but maybe they're not allowed to give a big offer. Maybe they're being restricted. So maybe there's like multiple factors in this. From ownership to management, to the head

coach, you know? But to get back to the point of wanting to stay and wanting to stay with the team, I understand that there'll be other offers out there and some of them will be alluring. I think the Philadelphia thing given his ties to the region and that would be the primary driver there is the history and the relationship.

I don't, again, I'm not really sold on what direction that team is having, because they got a lot that they need to fill out there. And figure out. If you're talking, what's your number, let's say the money's there. Yeah. What's your number one concern staying in Vancouver? Uh, I, well, Pedersen and I don't know.

How dare you? And I don't know. How dare you? You're always picking on the guy. And I don't know what happens, uh, either way. If we trade them, we've got a huge void. And the return's probably gonna be not on similar to the Miller return,

where you're taking an L at right up front, and maybe for the duration of the deal. Then if he does come back, the target dilemma is, I have to deal with this again. I don't, I mean, you know, you've got a lot of things to do as a head coach. You've got, uh, 23 guys on the active roster that you're responsible for.

You've got a bunch of different systems and everything else that you need to deal with. Um, the amount of time and energy and effort that Tuckett's probably had to spend on one particular player this year, not even just in the. Two players too. But not even in the interpersonal relationship,

just like the outside noise, answering questions about it. Move your feet, damn it. Right? All this stuff. That's a lot. When you're like, I also have other things that I need to deal with.

Right? Maybe it could be why this was such a tiring year, why it was such an exhausting year. So that's a tough thing to sign up for. But again, I go back to my earlier point. If he's got even not necessarily an expanded role or voice in the room or seat at the table, but he's got the ability to say like, I know the

direction that we need to go in personnel wise. If there will, now that's a lot to see to a head coach because in the national hockey league, head coaches. Well, he's never going to get final set. No, but head coaches are, I mean, they're hired to be fired. They're often interchangeable. They don't last say. No, but head coaches are, I mean, they're hired to be fired. They're often interchangeable.

They don't last a long time. But in this particular instance, I mean, I remember prior to them hiring Tauke and when the word started getting out that he was their guy, I mean, the off the record stuff you heard about how much they thought he was going to be a difference maker and a culture setter. And I mean, they, they thought the world of everything he was going to be a difference maker and a culture setter. And I mean, they thought the world of everything he was going to bring to the table in terms of, you know, forging the

future of this franchise. Like, Tauke was the guy that was going to bring all of the attributes that they loved from the Pittsburgh organization with the added bonus that he was an ex-player, that carried a lot of clout. And, you know, in that first year, it all came up roses for the Canucks because it felt like everything that they thought Tocket was going to deliver, he delivered. And that's why he won coach of the year. This year that is wavered for sure. I think public sentiments wavered.

I think the obvious that the fan base and a very loud part of the fan base has seen enough in terms of the conservative approach to the game. I think that's a fair way of putting it. Um, but, and part of that has to do with the fact that this year was a disappointment. There weren't enough wins.

There was a lot of inconsistencies. How many times have you in your mind gone back and forth on whether you think so and so is going to be back next season? Like I've gone back and forth on whether Tuckett's going to be back. I've gone back and forth on whether Pedersen's going to be back.

And I would say the same for Brock Besser. And I'm still willing to change my mind like three or four times, depending on what I hear or what I'm thinking that day. The uncertainty. My investors still, eh? I'm like convinced by myself he's gone. I'm mostly convinced, but like even now,

I'm looking at it and I'm like, oh, they're gonna bring Souter back? So remember, that I can see happening, yeah. Where are they gonna be at center? Remember? They're gonna overpay him? No? Remember when we came in last week

after the Rangers lost, before they bounced back and beat the Devils, Remember when we came in last week after the Rangers lost before they bounced back and beat the Devils and you were frustrated in the intro because that Rangers game was super frustrating and you're like, I just wanna see some change. I just wanna see different. They do have an ability to fundamentally pivot off what this team looks like this summer

if Besser walks and Pedersen's traded. That is a, all of a sudden then you're talking about a team like Horvat, Miller, Besser, Pedersen, all gone from the previous court. The only guys that are remaining are Demko and Hughes. Kind of off topic, but what would be a fair contract for a suitor? Like what would you be happy with? I don't know, I mean- Like five by six or-

No, Central was talking about the Satins. Five by six for Pugh's suitor? What are you out of your mind? It's off season, man. The cap's going up. The cap's going up. It's the U of A. It's going to get paid. Yeah, I mean, you have to understand you're going to get paid. I don't Let's see you. It's off season. I'm going up He's gonna get paid. Yeah Can I just tap the brakes like

Pucer's a nice story on top of the list. Yeah concerns He's like eight on the first number one said what he talked about better than PD. I was told yeah Yeah, he has been this dude. Do you guys? Know no Well, cuz PD's had an awful year, right? So. Yeah. Yeah.

Yes, just because I want to play devil's advocate. To a team, yeah, he's been more valuable to the team this year. The Petey defenders are sure out to get rough. Oh, man. It's the same guys, too. And you know what? They never actually bring up a good point. They just say, this guy has been criticizing Petey a lot.

I'm like, yeah. It's almost. I have. Have you watched the season? Yeah. it's almost like it's really important you're number one center. It's like really important and it's almost like, I wanna win a Stanley Cup. I'm watching this guy go, I'm like,

you're pretty far away from a 1C right now that's gonna win you a Stanley Cup. You're no pew suitor, I'll tell you that. Okay, we gotta go to break. We got one final hour to go on the Hellford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Satyar Shah, I just mentioned connect central you know what Andy we can ask him what what he thinks pew suitor would get on Thank you because people want to know he's probably shrugging off my question like it's no big thing Six weeks of connects talk we got you you're ready to commit 30 million dollars to the guy

He's our number one center like it it's Monopoly money over here. He's a superstar. OK, Sat's going to join us on the other side of the break. We're going to do what we learned and ask, or no, ask us anything, it's Monday. We're going to do what we learned in the final half hour of the program. Get yours in, Dunbar Lumbertex, line is 650-650.

What did you learn over the last 72 hours of sports? Did you watch any March Madness this weekend? Chalky, chalky bracket. All four number one seeds in the Final Four for the first time in almost 20 years. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.