Halford & Brough in the Morning - All The Pressure Is Now On Elias Pettersson

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at a busy weekend in sports (3:00), they discuss the JT Miller trade as well as an overtime loss to the Red Wings (6:00), plus they get the Rangers side of the Miller deal as the New York Post's Larry Brooks (28:02) joins the show. 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.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- Here's Giedl, into the slot, left wing, driving the goal, he scores! One thing now I think we've learned with Rutherford and Alveen, they'll do stuff like this. Yeah they'll do that. All the people know Luke Kudonchik is to Dallas Mavericks. They must know something we don't know. Our bells ring out with joyous cheer for Willie's forecast is crystal clear. Yes, an early spring is on its way. Good morning Vancouver, 6.01 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. It is Halford and it is Brough, it is Sportsnet 650.

We are coming to you live from the Kintec studios in beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning. And Lydie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello.

Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda Honda Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers They have a friendly knowledgeable staff they can know with anything you're looking for sales Financing service or parts we are in our one of the program our one is brought to you by North Star metal recycling Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal North North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics

working together with you in step. So there's so many different ways that you can consume the Haliford and Bref show. You can listen to it live on the radio. You can download the podcast. You can watch the stream on Sportsnet Plus. Currently, we are experiencing, I wouldn't call them technical difficulties,

but you look so much larger than me. And now I'm the only person on the stream. And now you just look bigger. If you tune into the stream, then you can watch Adog struggle badly to try and fix the shot. Yeah, I'm gonna stop now, I got nothing. All right.

I can make it worse if I'm a complete failure. It's pretty great. It's not that bad. It just looks kind of funny every now I wonder why aren't we on TV and then I think of this moment Anyway, we do have a lot to get into on the show today It was a fairly eventful weekend in the world of sports particularly with your Vancouver Canucks the guest list today begins at 630 Larry Brooks Brooks II long time Rangers columnist from the New York Post. He is gonna join us after a wild weekend

in which the Vancouver Canucks made a significant trade on Friday, not long after we got off the air. JT Miller to the Rangers, Philip Heidel and Victor Mantini to the Vancouver Canucks. So we can ask Bruxy, like, what was the story with Heidel during his time with the Rangers Rangers because we only got that one game sample size last night 3-2 overtime loss for the Canucks. Pretty good sample. I was pretty impressed with Philip Hedl you know and Victor Mancini got to take the

warm-up. He looked fine in the warm-up but I was told. Hey, he could skate and everything. We also got to ask Brooksy what it was like this weekend at Madison Square Garden the Rangers played games back-to back, JT Miller, two goals, two assists, four points in the two games. And they got a big win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. So lots to get into with Bruxy at 6.30. He'll be joining the program. 7.30, Marcus Fitzgerald, who's the host of Basketball Central right here on Sportsnet 650.

Despite the fact that it was a massive, massive weekend for the Vancouver Canucks, and we could probably fill all three hours with just Canucks talk, I think we'd be remiss not doing any NBA today, because one of the most seismic trades in NBA history happened on Saturday night when Luka Doncic went to the Lakers and Anthony Davis went to the Mavericks. The reaction to that in the sports world, and

that includes the players in the NBA. Was incredible to watch because I don't know the NBA all that well compared to others. And I was kind of like, well, that was interesting when I, when I saw the news come down, but then like the people's reaction to that was almost bigger than the news to me. Because for a trade of that magnitude, for nobody to see it coming. Yes.

Nobody, none of the parties involved had any idea that it was happening. I mean, everyone was trying to do, what would the comparable be? And I'm not sure that there actually is one because of that dynamic. And trying to figure out the why from the Dallas side. Yeah. So we will talk to Marcus Fitzgerald at 7.30 this morning to try and get the why from the Dallas side. There was another big trade as well. A three-way trade last night where DR and Fox is now a member of the San Antonio Spurs playing with Wembe. So we can talk to Fitzie about all that at 7.30. Eight o'clock, Satyar Shah. You know him well from his time on Sportsnet 650. He's going to join us at eight o'clock this morning.

I want to talk to Sad about what could be next for the Canucks because he mentioned this a little bit on the Canucks broadcast last night in the intermission, but also he tweeted it out that the Canucks are going to be in the market to add an impact forward. So I want to ask them like, who are you thinking of or how are they going to do that?

Those sorts of questions, because there may be, like, I don't know, is this before the trade deadline that they're hoping to do this or is this more of an off season plan to add an impact forward to the Canucks because right now, they're lacking impact forwards. And I don't even know, honestly, don't even know if they have one. Uh, and finally it is Superbowl week. Of course, our Superbowl coverage is probably going to shift to the

latter half of the week. We're going to have Mike Tannier. We're going to have Nick Schuch. We'll talk a lot about it as we get closer to Sunday. I'll remind you that all of our guests this week, uh, including Moj, our presentation of the Clayton public house pregame to postgame, the Clayton Public House is your home of football. Catch all the action on 15 screens and two giant projectors. Visit them online at theclaytonpub.com. Working in reverse on the guest

list, 8 o'clock Satyar Shah, 7.30 Marcus Fitzgerald, and 6.30 Larry Brooks, is going to join the program. That's what's happening on the program today. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I'm moving. We know how busy your life can be. What happened?

You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance. Making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. In one of the most profound franchise altering mid-season trades in Vancouver Canucks history on Friday, the Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Phillip Heidel, defenseman Victor Mancini, and a first round pick, although they didn't keep that for long, in the 2025 draft in exchange for JT Miller. Hours after that, while we had already consumed

the JT Miller news and a couple beers on route to see Shane Gillis Friday night at Rogers Arena, there was another trade. That first round pick we talked about, that's out the door. That goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Danton Heinen and Vincent De Harne. In exchange for defenseman Marcus Pedersen and forward Drew O'Connor, a very profound weekend

for the Vancouver Canucks, Jason. I was laughing actually thinking about it, um, because we did go out for beers before the, the Shane Gillis concert or whatever you call it, standup comedy. Um, and, uh, the server was asking us what we for the Shane Gillis concert or whatever you call it, standup comedy. Um, and, uh, the server was asking us what we thought of the trade and he was like, well, you know, you get that first round draft pick.

So, you know, that's another guy to pick. And all of us, me and you, and even Adog was like, was like, they ain't making that pick, brother. That pick ain't making it to Saturday. That is, yeah, that, that, that is not happening. Like they are flipping that and they flipped it within hours and obviously that trade was somewhat already in the bag.

Um, so let's talk about the positives about this deal first and then maybe not necessarily the negatives, but like, oh, what are they going to do now? Positives. The positives. Um, and I think it starts with an opportunity for the noise to die down and get focused on hockey. Now granted, this is just an opportunity. You have to make,

you have to take advantage of the opportunity and certain guys do have to step up, but I did think it was interesting what Rick Tauke had to say last night after the game, which we will get to in just a sec, but this seems bigger. The Canucks did play yesterday. Here's Rick Tauke talking about the fresh start that the Canucks are going to get because of this. I think there's a lot of games left and there's some guys that have not, you know, say they're whatever, not a year that they want.

There's plenty of games to turn the page and refresh. As much as for the whole team to refresh, other guys can too. This is kind of, okay, we've got the trades and stuff over for now and this is our team so we can just kind of like, let's start, we start at zero. I think sometimes if you do that, you reset even for guys that have struggled this year, just reset your brain. Um, you know, come up with a good attitude, work hard. You know, those are the things that are going to get you out of slumps, but just

new guys coming in, adding some speed stuff. I think it's contagious also too. Okay. The old brain reset, reset the brains. Um, and he also said we added some speed. And I think we saw that last night, especially with Philip Heidel, maybe not on the back check in overtime, but you know, that was an

homage to JT Miller. He was also very tired. Mm hmm. Juro O'Connor and Philip Heidel, both really fast players. And I think we saw that again last night and the Canucks needed to add some speed. They might still need to add speed to the Filipito, both really fast players. And I think we saw that again last night and the Canucks needed to add some speed.

They might still need to add some speed. And frankly, I've always wondered if speed is one of the reasons they're kind of waffling on resigning Brock Besser, but we'll get to that later. Last, but not least on the positives about this deal. Um, I think we can start to see the makings of a much better blue line with Quinn Hughes, Philip Peronac, they're already there. But then you add Marcus Pedersen and that's a

big ad because that's top four guy. DPD played really well last night. So that's another one. You've got Mancini and we can talk to Larry Brooks about him, but I was tweeting or DMing, I don't like to say I was DMing with this guy. You slid into who's the MC. Yeah, yeah. So Arthur Staple, I was asking him

about the deal, we were just chatting and he said that he likes Mancini and he thinks that he has quite a bit of upside. So, um, you know, that's another guy. And of course there's Tom Willender, um, who's could be, if the Canucks make the playoffs, he could be in the lineup for the playoffs or at the very least, I think he's going to be certainly turning pro soon.

So you, you've got the makings of a much better blue line. Absolutely. Um, and I would be shocked if the Canucks don't resign Marcus Pedersen. I'm, I'm, you know, they're, they were confident, they're confident that they can get it done. But if they don't, they're going to have to flip them.

Yes. You're going to have to flip them at the deadline because that's something that needs to get done. So I'll ask you, I went through the three positives, an opportunity for the noise to die down, much needed speed upfront, and then the makings of a better blue line with Marcus Pedersen and Mancini being added to the mix. Which one is the most positive for you?

Number one, number one, definitely. Really? Yep. Yep. Okay. Here's the thing. I think at certain points, this entire market got way too Infatuated with the interpersonal dynamics of Pettersson and Miller and at times I think that it became

almost a Willing distraction to not pay attention to the on ice product if that makes any sense Like I think people were more than happy to dive into this unresolved issue product, if that makes any sense. Like I think people were more than happy to dive into this unresolved issue because it was unresolved and it was almost an easy way to hand wave the problems that the team was having on the ice. It's like, well, how are they supposed to play?

How are they supposed to do the things that they can do with this huge elephant in the room? How are they supposed to focus on playing with the rift gone or with the rift still there? And I'm gonna miss the endless trade speculation. Although I think, you know, like part of me was like when they completed the Miller trade and then turned around and made the Pedersen trade, I woke up Saturday morning scratching.

I'm like, you got any more of those trades? Like, you know, I wanted more. They might. Yeah, right. And it's still like, oh, they might. But the trade, I doubt Pedersen, uh, first Ped the trade, I doubt Pedersen, first Pedersen, Elias Pedersen, we're going to have to figure that out by the way, but I doubt he's going anywhere. I think that might be resolved for the time being. Not yet.

For the time being. So let's get. Thanks, week. Anyway. Let's get to our specialty here, worrying. Yep. Cause the Canucks lost a really good player. This is a team that was already struggling to

create scoring chances and one that already looked a little light upfront, soft some might say, compared to some of the contenders. Right now, do we see enough impact forwards on this roster? So when you tweeted out on Friday and I actually retweeted it last night with a Simpsons gag, um, that the primary focus right now on this team is

going to be who's going to score the goals and are they going to be able to score enough? That's going to be the, don't make me tap the sign for the rest of the season for this group. Cause I think we saw it last night. Yeah. Like Rick Tauket mentioned when discussing the Besser, Pedersen, Debreuze line,

he talked about specifically like, they got to bear down and find the back of the net. Cause the F1s and the impact forwards, you're those guys now, right? Debreuze, Pedersen, Besser, you're those guys. You're the ones that we're going to rely on for scoring. Let's hear Rick Tau it after last night's game. The same as you, same as you.

We had three on one, we had a couple of two on ones. We're not, we're missing the net connecting. And they had what, I didn't think they had many chances all tonight, but they had a couple of rush chances. It's in our net. So we gotta really, to hit the net. We got to make, you know, we got to,

we got to make those moments count. So there was a stat floating around last night. I think it was Patterson's. Since the calendar turned to 2025, the Canucks have played six games at home in January. They've scored three goals once, and every other game has been two or less. They don't score enough.

And I think that stat was really exacerbated this weekend when you see JT Miller go to the Newark Rangers and have an immediate offensive impact and rack up four points in two games. Now, I know, I know that it's a different scenario and different situation and a player has moved on and he's got new energy with his new team, Now, I know, I know that it's a different scenario and different situation and a player's moved on, he's got new energy with his new team,

different dynamic, different line mates, all that stuff. Whatever, the point being that when you talk about a team that is struggling to score and they trade away, a guy that goes and blows up straight away after the trade, people are gonna look back on it and they're gonna be like, is this team, does this team have the capabilities to find the back of the net with regularity? I thought it was like the perfect thing that

you said when you tweeted it out. Who's going to score for this team because that is going to be the focal point now. There's going to be more pressure on more guys. And quite frankly, more pressure on more guys that haven't got the job done this year. So the good news from last night is that I thought Filippito was probably their best forward.

So maybe he's a guy that with a bit of a change of scenery and fingers crossed that he can stay healthy, can develop into an impact forward for the Canucks, but we'll have to wait and see on that. I'm sure he was full of adrenaline last night and wanted to make a good first impression. And as we know, you know, the key to being a great hockey player really is, well, being great, but

also the consistency of being great. Also staying healthy in his particular case. The Elias Pettersson story, not Elias and not Marcus, Elias Pettersson story is very much unfinished in Vancouver. Can he embrace the pressure and find his game again? And if he can't, what's going to happen? Because last night he looked the same.

He looked the same. Not a lot of speed, not a lot of burst. Tried to make a few plays, did make a couple of nice passes. You made a very nice saucer pass. Was it Besser? Well, there was. A little flip saucer pass. Yeah, I think that there was that one and then

he also made a nice cross-ice pass to Besser, which Besser tried to fire into the skates of Debrecht and really probably should have just put it on goal. Yep. Patterson had a chance in overtime too, didn't finish. But missed the net.

Yep. But missed the net. Didn't finish. And I guess you could say, well, at least there are some chances, but he does not look as explosive as he used to. And I don't know why Tendonitis not coming to camp in shape, maybe not strong enough. Who knows? And at this point, I'm not going to say who cares,

because I care, but he better figure it out. Because he will be gone in the off season if he doesn't figure it out. I have no questions about that. The Gauntlet has been thrown down like 50 times by not only the fan base, but his bosses. Scotland has been thrown down like 50 times by not only the fan base, but his bosses. And you know, I just don't think like, if he doesn't perform, there's no way they can keep him in this market because the vitriol coming into the Dunbar Lumber text line for

Pedersen is already off the charts and it's been one official game without JT Miller. Yeah, they played Against Dallas without him in the lineup, but you know like that. Well, yeah that that you know this was the first home game and Philip Eidl was like way better than Pederson last night in terms of his energy if you have any vitriol to send it into the Dumber lumber text line 650 650 You can text in Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years, visit them at one of their three

locations to serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. Patrick Alveen over the weekend said, um, you know, he was asked about the added pressure that's on Elias Pedersen. And he said, that's part of being a professional hockey player especially when you commit to that kind of contract. My expectation is higher on him than anyone else on our team and I expect him to meet my

expectation and I expect him to meet his own expectation and so far he has not done that. If you talk to him, he's disappointed, but he's aware of it, and I know that he's capable, and he will work at it. I think most of us saw the clip of Pedersen over the weekend going, yeah, I want that pressure. I'm like, buddy, you got it. So the reason that when we were talking about the positives of this deal,

right, and we were like, it's an opportunity for the noise to die down and get focused on hockey. And you kind of push back, you're like, really, that's the one. Well, part of it is like, I think that that positive leads towards the resolution on Pedersen and just is like, it's straight away now, right? It's just looking right down the barrel at him and say, hey, now there's even a time crunch on this entire thing. Because you floated the idea, I think it was about a week ago, you're like, what if it works like this? The inevitable J.T. Miller trade comes to fruition, they get them out of the room, and then that gives this management group however many months, six month window before the Pedersen's No Movement Clause kicks in, where they can look at the entirety of the situation and say, okay, now, now we've really got

all of the excuses out, right? You've got your winger that we brought in in Nebraska, they were reunited again last night. We've given you time to get over the fact that maybe you didn't come into camp in the greatest shape and you weren't ready to go. We got rid of the problem that is JT Miller. Everything is there, everything.

And this is the time to analyze. And you know what the other thing too is? Like scrutinize, like all of the executives. And I think at a certain point, the coaching staff as well, and that's what Tauke was alluding to last night, are like, hey, the bar is up here, right? No more dropping the bar or no more looking for tiny little flashes

of is he back or isn't he? This is the bar, this is where you gotta be, go and get it, right? He's the unquestioned, I hate saying leader, because it feels almost comical given how he's played, but there's a very big understanding now that with Miller gone and what a driver he was,

you're the game breaker. Like last night, I thought it was interesting, I was listening to the post game show and Sap brought up an interesting point, he's like, Hughes is out of the lineup. So one of your game breakers is not there. In those moments, any team in the NHL is looking at its other significant game breaker to be a difference maker in a two, two game against a Detroit team that was hanging on and was in the second of a back to back and the game is hanging in the balance. That's where your best, when you use that cliche of your best player stepping up,

those are the moments when you do it, when the game's hanging in the balance, you need something special to take over. You need someone to make a play, score a goal, do something above the balance. You need something special to take over. You need someone to make a play, score a goal, do something above the norm. And it wasn't Pedersen last night. It was Philip Heidel, the new guy, right? Yeah. And that's where I'm still very curious to see how this whole thing turns out.

I think personally I know how it's gonna turn out. I find it with every passing day, I'm less and less optimistic that there's going to be this flick of the switch moment. Well, it's already exhausting and we're 22 minutes into Pedersen without Miller on this show. Um, there's a bunch of people texting in saying trade him, he's, you know, saying some mean stuff.

And then people like Paul and the Okanagan are saying, this fan base is never happy and we'll find another whipping boy and now trying to increase the noise just after two days. Yeah. Welcome to the market. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. It, we just played, or we didn't play audio, you paraphrase it. I mean, that's a clip from the general manager.

Yeah, I know, I know, I know. I mean, it's, clip from the general manager. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. I mean, it's a ridiculous sentiment. What are we doing here? It's a ridiculous sentiment. Like Petey says he wants the pressure. Okay. Alvin said the pressure's on, let's see if he can meet expectations. I mean, instead of being scared of this, instead of being scared of this, be curious.

And I was like, just be curious. This is, this is a fascinating psychological profile that we're getting right now. I don't know how he's going to react to this. I don't know how he's going to handle us, but here's what I do know. There has not been a player under this much pressure in Vancouver since Roberto Luongo was here.

Yeah. And the wrinkle right now, I guess you could maybe say when the choice was made to keep Luongo over Schneider, like the choice here was you keep Pedersen over Miller. And fair or not, that's how a lot of people are viewing it right now. Like we were out of the Shane Gillis show on Friday and anecdotally while standing in line both to get beers and in the washroom I heard plenty of that. Mm-hmm. Plenty of it. It was a bit of a JT Miller crowd there I'll be honest with you too. Millerish vibes? Yeah they were like laying flowers outside the arena in his memory. But now we're not at the show anymore

we're looking in the Dunbar Lumbertex Mr. Jim basket and it's the same sort of thing and I mean people are asking that I've had countless people going to this weekend, like did they trade the right guy? And I'll refrain from what I said my answer was I think the people asking the question, this is the important part of this because you know, the that part of the equation has been solved. Like Miller and Pedersen weren't going to get along. There needed to be a subtraction error. They made their choice. They made their equation. The aftermath and we talked about this at length on this show before the trade happened,

was always gonna be, well, if one of them gets shipped out and one of them stays, what does life look like for the other one in the aftermath? Because it's always going to be in the court of public perception, you chose one over the other. And so the guy that sticks around is going to have a lot of pressure on him. It's going to have to deal with being the anointed one. And the guy that leaves

is always going to be monitored to see what he's doing elsewhere. I mean, I had it in the notes right away. I watched the game on Saturday when Miller made his debut for the reday for the Rangers against Boston. Madison Square Garden made a big debut. Yeah, against Boston. Yeah. Oh, sorry. No, no. Yeah, yeah. That was, that was one in Boston for the Rangers against Boston. Madison Square Garden made a big debut. Yeah, against Boston. Yeah. Oh, sorry. I'm sorry.

No, no, yeah, yeah. That was, that was one in Boston. That was in Boston. Sorry. And then Sunday, uh, at Madison Square Garden, like there was an energy there. There was a shot in the air. We'll talk to Brooksie about this cause he's

going to join the program in a few minutes. Like they're excited to get JT Miller in the door in New York. They think that that's going to turn the season around. They think that that's going to turn the season around. They think that that's going to bring the edge, the attitude, the intensity. You know what was funny?

The offense. I saw someone, I think it was, might've been a Rangers reporter tweeted out, um, JT Miller just smashed his stick on the ice. There's the energy that the Rangers have been looking for. I saw that too. Right?

I was laughing so hard when I saw that. I was like, we need more of that. I was laughing so hard when I saw that. I was like, yeah, guys that care. Yeah. Guys that are willing to smash their stick. Can you yell at some of your teammates, please? Potentially in practice? OK, we got a lot more to get to on the Haliford and Brough

show on Sportsnet 650. Quick reminder, this is the final week to get your reservations for the big football party at the Clintonton Public House. Excuse me. That's going to be on Sunday, February the 9th. It's a party hosted by Sportsnet 650. Go to claytonpub.com to get your reservations and get a table.

The Clayton Public House, good food, good people, good times. The conversation continues. I'm very excited to talk to our next guest, Larry Brooks. Excuse me, from the New York Post is going to join us. I got like a wheeze going on. Did I get too excited? Larry Brooks, rangers reporter and media legend in New York is going to join us on the other side

of Half a Brough on Sportsnet 650. It's Canuck Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks. Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the post-game show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. Sitting here on the 1st of February Miller scores! Welcome back!

6.33 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in 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 one of the program. Larry Brooks is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour one.

Big weekend for the Vancouver Canucks, big weekend for the New York Rangers as well. Hour one of this program is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling. Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. Hey, Doug and I just sitting here like, wait for it. Wait for it. I do love this song. Let's go to the phone lines now.

Our next guest needs no introduction. Larry Brooks from the New York Post joins us now in the Halford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Larry. How are you? Good morning. I'm well. How are you gentlemen out there? We are well.

It's been a busy year here, Larry. There's been a lot going on. You know, honestly, there's been so many similarities between the Rangers season and the Canucks season that it was inevitable, right, that they would hook up in a deal. So tell us about this deal from the Rangers' perspective. Why did they do it? They needed the element that JT Miller brings. They needed tenacity, they needed intensity,

they needed physicality. Over the last couple of years, listen, they've been a very good team. They've been a good team. This year has been an exception, first half of the year. But they've also been a very button down group. They were bullied by the Panthers in the conference finals last year after winning two out of the first three, they lost their last three, they were just physically mauled by Florida. They really didn't have a response. And even even in the 2022 conference finals against

Tampa, they went up to to nothing. And they weren't bullied, but they weren't bullied but they were out physical. They couldn't get to the net, they couldn't keep the lightning away from the net, so that's been a missing element from them. And J.T. Miller, as you know, brings that every night. He brings an edge to the locker room that they I think have needed for a while. Plus he's you know he's an extremely talented player. He's one of the great passers that I've seen. He's one of the greatest passers who's played for the Rangers that I have covered and you know and I was watching him you know his ages of ages of 18 to 26 or whatever,

they're 20 to 26 when he was in New York the first time. He's a great passer, he can shoot the puck. He becomes the Rangers' best player. So that's why the Rangers made the deal. He is everything that they have been missing. He is everything that they have been missing. Um, how much, uh, in talking to some of the Rangers management, which I'm sure you've done,

how much research was done into what happened in Vancouver to ship him out? I think they were very comfortable. Um, I, you know, I certainly don't know the details. Um, you know, his best friend, Vincent Trocheck is on the Rangers and I, and so Chris Drury, the GM spoke to Trocheck, I don't, I don't know, you know, great detail about their conversations, but I actually asked Drew on, on Saturday, if he had checked in with Trocheck, and I'm sure Trocheck is aware of, you know, of what happened in Vancouver, if anyone does. And so I think they're, they're very

comfortable with, you know, with bringing with bringing JT in, you know, I would imagine it was a unique situation. I have no idea what the genesis of it was. It's unfortunate, but it's for the best, I guess, that this soap opera in Vancouver ended the way it was necessary for the soap opera in New York to end with Jacob Truva. You know, they're just, you know, they're not, not that there were any locker room issues with Truva, but there were, you know, there was an issue after they wanted to trade him over the,

over the summer. So, you know, sometimes you need to, sometimes you just need to start again. Doesn't mean anybody involved is a bad person or a bad player or a bad teammate. Things happen. We're speaking with Larry Brooks of the New York Post. So, Phil O'Petel made his debut for the Canucks last night and I think was the best forward on the ice. Now, some of that, I'm sure he had the

adrenaline pumping, wanted to make a good first impression on Canucks fans, but tell us about this guy because he looks fast. He looks like he battles pretty hard. And I think most Canucks fans were pretty impressed with him. I think there will be a number of nights where Philip Hito will be the best player on the ice. He, you have a pretty good capsule. He's big and

he's fast. He transports the puck with speed a pretty good capsule. He's big and he's fast. He transports the puck with speed through the neutral zone. He's good around the net. The only drawback on Phil Heidel is, is you just don't know about his health. That's it. And in New York, he was going to be the third, he was the third line center.

He was not gonna pass Savannah Jed. He was not going to pass Savannah jet. He's not going to pass. But honestly, the reason, the only reason that that Filipino would have been available was available is because of the, the questions about his health. Never great. It's no one's fault. You never know when his next shift is going to be his last shift. You just don't know, you know, there's the history of concussions. He has been sidelined 10 separate times over his career. So you know, it when he's out, it takes him a little time to get going again. So that's the only negative on Phil Hedl is that you just don't know. And it's very, very difficult. It was becoming very difficult for the Rangers to rely on a player who because of his health issues was unreliable.

I mean he's a reliable player when he's on the ice. He is reliable. He is a great personality. Again, this is a person I've known since he was 18 years old. He blasted out of the draft as I think the youngest player in the first round. He just qualified for the draft by by a week or so he made the he made the Rangers team as an 18 year old. And he played the first the first two games of the season. He is a he is an infectious personality. He is dedicated to winning. He's a great teammate. If he stays healthy, he's going to be a big time player in Vancouver. And I think everyone

in New York wishes the best. I mean, everyone in New York wishes the best for Phil. He's a terrific young man. And it's been very difficult to watch him go through these injuries, but he is committed. Last year, I think people couldn't believe last year when he came back for the playoffs. He was out from the 10th game of the season, had a setback in the middle of the year. He went, he went home to check, you know, for a, a, a kind of a mental reset, came back and then he started skating with the team and he just willed himself back into the lineup, starting with the second round against Carolina. So, you know, he, he will give everything to the Canucks that he has.

Um, well, that's quite an endorsement. Hopefully you can stay healthy because it sounds like, correct me if I'm wrong here, it sounds like there's upside to Heedle. Like he might've also just been blocked out of the top six in New York as well. Yeah, no doubt. And what was interesting was last season, he actually started as the second line center

between Panarin and Lafreniere. That was the line and their first 10 games, like he didn't score a goal, but he was setting them up left and right. You know, that was the genesis of the Panarin-Lefrenier partnership. And then when he went down, Trochek stepped in for him and they became one of the most, or actually they became the most productive five on five line in the league last year. So, Philip Heidel is a top six player without question when he's healthy. I know you didn't get as much of a look at Victor Mancini

during his brief time with the Rangers, 2022 draft, and then didn't play a ton with the big team, but can you let us know what you know about him as he's the other part of this package coming from the Rangers to the Canucks? Yeah, listen, he's got size. He gets up the ice, he can skate. Has, again, I've seen him, like someone was asking me

about him on Friday after the training. And I said, well, I really haven't seen him all that much. I saw him in training camp in a couple of games. He had a very impressive camp. There's upside to him. He's a righty who is physical and can skate. That alone makes him an intriguing player for sure. I think we've got two teams to follow now for the remainder of the season. Given how closely these teams were aligned prior to the trade and now after the trade,

I got a feeling we'll be checking in on the Rangers quite a bit this season. Hey Larry, thanks a lot for doing this this morning. We really appreciate it. Great insight, especially on Philip Eatle. Thanks again. We really appreciate this. My pleasure. Thanks for having me, guys. Thanks for coming on. Thanks Larry. Larry Brooks, New York Rangers reporter from the Post here on the Halford and Broughshan

on Sportsnet 650. I don't think I've ever heard a guest speak as glowingly about a player than Larry Brooks just did about Philip Heidel. That was very, very interesting. But at the same time concerning. Well, yeah. You know, he comes with a concussion history.

There were other injuries. Okay. You know, sometimes, sometimes players have that when they're young. I mean, Sidney Crosby had the concussion worries early in his career and people were worried about, you know, how long he would last in the NHL. And you don't really hear about concussions and Sidney Crosby anymore.

So sometimes it's an element of bad luck. Um, and hopefully that's the case with Filipino because the connects again, like getting back to this conversation, they need more impact forwards in their lineup, guys that will drive play. And that, that line has already like, like you guys always say the, the play drivers, you get

what we're talking about here, right? Like the guys that are capable of starting a rush by themselves, it's purely by their, their energy, their burst. Connor Garland has probably been the Canucks best play driver. When Connor Garland gets the puck in his own end of the ice, there's a really good chance that he's

going to transport that puck or help transport that puck into the other end of the ice and create something down there. That's what we mean by play drivers. The other guys, the complimentary players, you still need them, but they're more kind of along for the ride, right? With those play driving types.

We've seen Pedersen be that. We have not seen him be that for a year. His skating looks off and you know, it's maybe not surprising that you hear the Canucks management say that, you know, he didn't have the best off season and his defenders will say, well, yeah, he had the knee tendonitis, right?

So again, that's something that I've been kind of wrestling with all season because, or for a year now, because like, is it just that? Or he doesn't be, seem to be playing with the same amount of energy. So getting back away from, away from Pedersen for a sec, like how many impact players do you see among the Canucks forward groups, guys that can drive that play. Because honestly, right now I see two, one of them is Garland and one of them is Heidel. Miller was a guy who was on, when he was on,

he would drive play. The other guys, I don't know if there is enough of that right now and you need it from your center man. Well, I think, um, I think, I think there, here's an interesting thing that I kind of was kicking around in my mind grapes after listening to the post game show.

And it was interesting because they were talking about the two new guys show up in O'Connor and Heidel and maybe because they haven't been here all year and haven't sort of adapted the style of play, they kind of just went on instinct last night, right? They don't know a ton about how the team plays or probably don't know their line mates that

well or what the exact. They're like, why is everyone passing them back to the point? The goal's over here. Are we, do we defer like this all the time? Is that what we do here? O'Connor and Heidel had a lot of things like a one man zone entries.

Like just take the puck yourself and get it in. Just skate man, just skate. Yeah. I noticed that. They're fast, they can do that. Sat and Bic were very complimentary of O'Connor being able to withstand some bumps and actual physical contact and maintain possession of the puck. I wonder if, just a little bit, just a little bit, watching those guys play might rub off on some of the currently existing Canucks and be like, oh, maybe we can do those things as well.

Maybe we should kind of relook at the way that we're doing things. Because at times last night, the Canucks, while the finish wasn't there, I actually thought like some of the chance generation and the time of possession were positives and they were playing the Detroit team and the second, the back to back of the

Detroit's on fire right now. Yeah, yeah. They're on, they're on. They're in a playoff spot now. Yeah. They, that, that win last night, vaulted them to the playoff spot. Um, and I'm not saying, look, I'm not saying

that Phillip Heidl and Drew O'Connor are going to completely change the mindset of a forward group, but talk in spoken. Can add some energy the mindset of a forward group, but talk is spoken. Can add some energy to the group. And speed, but talk is spoken about, like, we want guys to make plays. We want guys to be aggressive. We don't want guys just to throw the puck back

to the point. You said to you, it was like a million percent. We don't just want to rely on that. And I know that there's been detractors, especially in the Dunbar Lumber, text message in basket that say that this stifling low event, low scoring offense. He's ruined Petey.

Falls right at the feet of Tocket. And I'm like, unless the messages that he's giving us publicly are completely counterintuitive to what he's telling the players, he's saying like, we need more guys to make more plays. We need more guys to do more things that are driving towards the net, getting to the guts of the ice. And I think part of it is being

able to make plays under duress. Like if there's a guy on your, and he said it before, if there's a guy on your back or there's a guy making your life tough, stay focused in the moment and don't just automatically get rid of the puck. Are they still too soft up front? Probably. Too small?

Probably. I was, speaking of the guys that got let go, I was, seems mean, but I was happy to see Heinen go. I was happy to see. That wasn't working. De'Arna go. That wasn't working. I think Drew O'Connor can be an upgrade on Danton Heinen.

He was a guy that was just out there. He wasn't involved in the play enough. I think De'Bresque really needs he wasn't involved in the play enough. Yeah. I think Debrecht really needs to start being involved in the play more. He's got great hands around the net and that's important. He scored some goals for the Canucks this season and that's great.

He needs to be part of the play more. I do not notice him in the transition phases of the game enough. He's around the net and that's terrific. But again, I go back to actually getting the puck up the ice. Like Quinn Hughes is obviously a guy that can do it from your back end. Um, and I, I was very impressed with Marcus Pedersen last night. He has composure with the puck, made some nice passes.

They weren't spectacular passes, but they're easy ups and here we go. Let's go boys. Let's get the, let's get, let's, let's get going in the other direction. Um, but upfront, I still don't see enough of those guys that make things happen. And that, and that's like, you know, it doesn't matter the system you're playing.

You just got to make things happen. Garland makes things happen with his legs. Keep your feet moving. Right. And Heedle last night was makes things happen with his legs. Keep your feet moving, right? And Hedo last night was making things happen with his legs, battling along the wall, winning battles, creating separation. His goal, he was getting hooked on the hands, he kept his feet moving and he scored, right?

Maybe a little bit lucky on the shot, but you know, that's what happens when you get to those areas. Got to be good to be lucky. And, and, and, and get those opportunities. First of all, it was great that he hit the net. Yes. That's important. Big fun. For the areas. Got to be good to be lucky. And get those opportunities. First of all, it was great that he hit the net. Yes.

That's important. Big part. For the Canucks, like they were missing so many nets last night and I wonder about, so it's funny that on that line last night. Which one? The Pedersen-Besser-Debreusk line. I was actually watching them and I was like thinking, I wonder what all three of these guys are

thinking. Pedersen, obviously, because of all the pressure that's going to be on him. Besser, because he's probably thinking last night, or has been for a few months, does this team even appreciate what I bring? Because there hasn't been a lot of efforts, doesn't sound like, get me resigned. Am I preparing to go somewhere else? And Jake Dubrats for like, what team did I sign with here? This has been a crazy season. What is going on? Is there any stability in this organization? When I saw those three out there and when they were, if they were all looking at each other, my thought was they're probably asking like, who's the puck retrieval

guy here? Who's the guy that's going to go dig and get the puck? Cause I, in, in theory, it's a nice line. It's a good trio of talented guys. You think it would work, but when you saw it play out on the ice, like it's kind of, you kind of, if I'm on that line, if I'm either Pedersen or Besser, I'm kind of looking at Debrusk and I'm like, you're that guy. He's fast, man.

You're fast. He's fast. You're kind of. You see him in that puck race? You're kind of the guy that is supposed to get in and keep pucks alive, be the retrieval, be the digger, be that guy. I'm not sure Debrecht thinks he's that guy. Like is he, is he for you, is the most notable thing about him so far is the

hands around the net. Yeah. Yeah. But not with enough regularity. Although I guess probably, look, the way he's getting paid in his production this year, he's on pace for 25 to 30 goals. Yeah, his production is fine. For what he's getting paid. Yeah. You know, it's totally fine. We just, I think they just need more from him. Exactly. You would like him to, you would like him to exceed his salary in terms of everything.

And I think part of that is maybe a redefined role. I don't know if they actually have to physically sit down and it's like, Hey, on this line, this is what you are. Maybe in years past you've been different things in those spots, but that's what you are here. Okay. We've got an open segment on the other side. So text into the Dunbar Lumber text line if you have any questions or comments on anything that happened with the Canucks over the weekend, the NHL.

We will be talking a little bit of NBA, just a little bit, because there was a massive trade that went over, that occurred over the weekend and we'll talk to Marcus Fitzgerald about that at 7.30. I do want to talk about a few more things that we haven't gotten to, and that is DPD's game last night for the Canucks, which coincided with a Carson Susie healthy scratch. Maybe we'll take a look at how this

defense is shaping up and what to expect in the next few months, but also the next couple of years as some prospects start to mature and develop. One final thing I want to talk about, the crowd booing the American anthem and what this is going to be like in the world and in our country, but also the world of sports. Did the four nations tournament just get a

little more interesting for the people that were saying, I don't care about this tournament, do you now care about the game between Canada and the United States just a little bit more. You're listening to the Halferd and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Reserve your spot for the big football party at the Clayton Public House hosted by Sportsnet 650. Visit theclaytonpub.com for more of the Clayton Public House good food, good people, good times.