Halford & Brough in the Morning - Are The Canucks Done Making Moves?

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest Canucks trade rumours with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:21), plus the boys chat with Vancouver Giants head coach Parker Burgess (25:17) about their season thus far. 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.

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Frank Bray. 701 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Scoring, Debt Freedom, Hattrick. One, no more interest, too much lower payments, and three.

Financial peace of mind. Visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Frank Saravalli, our NHL insider from Victory Plus. It's going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Hour 2 of this program is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

Visit them online at Jason Dow Mortgage. We are coming to live from the Kintech studio. Now is the time to maximize the benefits of custom orthotics before the year runs out. Visit kintech.com. Our next guest is a presentation of Angry Otter Liquor. Frank Saravalli joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you?

Pretty good. How are you guys doing? We're well. There's been a lot going on in Vancouver over the last four or five days, going all the way back to Friday's blockbuster deal, Quinn Hughes going to Minnesota. Frank, were you surprised that the speed in which this deal got done and Quinn Hughes was traded

to the wild? Very. On a number of different fronts. I mean, let's rewind back to three weeks ago when we really kind of first started having the conversation of, and the premise

was, should the Canucks try and get an answer from Quinn Hughes before the trade deadline. And that's really when this first started to percolate. And first off, the Canucks did an amazing job and the Quinn Hughes camp did as well, keeping a lid on this. Some of his closest friends and teammates were shocked, like Jaws on the floor shocked about this trade.

and the speed with which it moved to go from A, we're kind of collecting some information and engaging to getting it done I mean, we're talking a series of days So it's it's in a lot of ways for the magnitude of this transaction It's incredible how quickly things moved How surprised were you when it was unveiled that Minnesota was going to be the one that one this week weep's taste because everyone was talking about New Jersey, Detroit,

Washington, all the other deals that were out there and then lo and behold it's Bill Garen in Minnesota. Yeah, team not mentioned once except for that guy on Twitter back in May. Yeah, right. And that's

the amazing thing is if you were to size up some of the teams that had the right assets to do it, I think they would have been in that category. There's a couple other teams that actually didn't engage that I think would have had the goods to get it done or even present a more compelling offer like Chicago is one that comes to mind there's a handful of those

teams that would be in that that mix and when it comes to Minnesota now that it's you know it's happened and you can sort of see the board more clearly it makes a lot of sense and I can for sure see now a path forward that includes the wild as a potential long-term and future home for Quinn Hughes. How quickly are the Canucks going to try and turn this thing around? It's a good question. I don't know the answer to that. I think they'd like to try and snap their fingers and this team becomes competitive once again. I don't think they have an appetite for a drawn-out five-year rebuild since they finally used the word.

I, in their, it's rooted in their DNA to want to be as competitive as possible every year. Yeah. That's their mission and mandate. And so to think that there's going to be this long, drawn-out process, I think it's probably, even though it might be the right thing, it's probably not what they're thinking. And this trade is the jumpstart of that.

It is, look, there's a lot, essentially, like, to take a step back, how I think about this deal is, if you traded Quinn Hughes that's a dollar, you got back a 50 cent piece and three dimes. And the 50 cent piece is Z. William. But with the proper investment, if he can become

75 cents of that dollar, if his game can grow and if he can give you 75% of what Quinn Hughes was, which is a really tall task in and of itself, given the magnitude and impact that he had on the organization. But if you can get that first round pick to become something,

if Marco Rossi can be an authentic second line center in the NHL, maybe there's the chance that in totality you end up with more than a dollar. And it's going to take some growth and investment and sound patience and financial wherewithal to have it invested in all the right places. but with that I think the payoff on the other end can be pretty big so having said all you've said is it is it more likely than not than all the the players that the Canucks have signed long term whether it's Pedersen or Besser or Garland or DeBrasch

Kronick Demko Lankinen the list goes on those guys are more likely than not to to stay could you see any of them moved out oh I'm sure some of them will be be moved out. I'm sure if someone in that group is going to raise their hand and say, I don't have the patience or stomach for this in my career. I want an opportunity to win sooner. Those, whether it's one or two of those players, which I don't think you could fault, given the premise and pretense with which they signed their long-term deals was under a different set

of circumstances. I don't think you could blame anyone. Those will be the first ones out the door. And you'll, you'll, those will become apparent in relatively short order. I'm not saying I know of any. I'm just saying that part is going to become obvious. The next part will be what kind of value is created on the market by teams engaging on some of the other groups of those players. And my guess is when it's all said and done and the Canucks get to the other end of this based on how competitive they want to be and their future plan.

There's probably half of that group that's four players, three players that are part of that next team that can get back to the playoffs and be really competitive. We're speaking to Frank Saravale, our NHL Insider from Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Are you getting the sense that we're finally starting to get some movement and some motion throughout the NHL in terms of

teams who have been patient, ready to make moves. We had the Tristan Jari-Stewart Skinner trade. We had the Queen Hughes trade and we had a general manager switch in Buffalo all in pretty short order. Do you think that's the first wave and there's other waves to follow? Well, I think it's opened up everyone's eyes in the sense that, hey, this is, I mean, if you're talking magnitude, the Quinn Hughes scale on the, the Quinn Hughes trade on the Richter scale is like a 7.6, if not more. And what it does, I think, is tells everyone else

that is looking to try and improve their team and the way that the Minnesota Wilde did is don't sit back. You can't sit on your hands. And so we've heard in the last couple days since Rasmus Anderson is generating additional interest in Calgary. You talked about the GM change and Yarmu Kekhalainen was non-committal to everyone, including his coach. There's a lot that I think with this NBA-style deal, teams should be aggressive. Think about all the narratives heading into this season. The parity plus the increase in salary cap, which has given everyone flexibility and space, will present a season in which we'll see fewer transactions and trades than ever

before and that like to think that not just one but two massive trades happen before the NHL's holiday roster freeze i mean it speaks to some of the urgency that these teams are feeling to either separate themselves from the pack or to to get back closer to it and that part really shines through through the first part of the season um frank we we going back a few years years now. I think you and I have both been kind of surprised that the Sabres hadn't made a GM move. Well, they finally did

it a few days ago. And Yarmal Kekalinen's the new GM. What is job number one for him in Buffalo? Priority number one is figuring out and aligning yourself with your coaching staff. Whoever that is.

I mean, you mentioned that Kevin Adams sort of felt like a dead man walking and that's the sense I had but now Lindy Ruff in the final year of his deal if Kevin Adams was a dead man walking Lindy Ruff is like one foot off the plank especially after that press conference

where he says everything's up for evaluation meaning I'm not committing to you so got to get the right coach in there and that starts also with an investment from ownership And I know that they said all the right things on Tuesday about Terry Pagula being willing to make the investment to make Buffalo a destination where players want to play. Well, there's a number of things that go into that. It's not just winning. It's winning.

It's facilities. It's people. It's commitment to all those things. They've said it, but they haven't really done it. And I think Lindy Ruff is a great example of that. Lindy Ruff was operating under a contract Bill from the New Jersey Devils when he was hired.

There was really no long-term commitment to Lindy Ruff. It was more so just, hey, you're still getting paid by New Jersey. We might as well use that and tap into it. And so with that comes, are you going to go out and get the big dog? Or are you going to go try and hire someone like Pete Tabor? I'm not saying he'll say, but if you are going to even try and make the pitch,

you're talking at bare minimum $5, $6 million a year to bring in a guy of that magnitude. So if you're willing to do it, that signals a new direction for the Sabres, even if they try and don't get him. That would be an important data point to monitor. That's priority one, as the coaching staff, too, is trying to figure out Alex Tuck

and that contract situation. If it's somewhere in the neighborhood of Adrian Kempe, maybe a little south of that, it's, again, a referendum on the commitment from ownership. Okay, so you might be willing to get there on the term and dollars, but are you going to get there on signing bonus and contract structure to keep him? And if not, is he going to market? You're going to have to move that player. And then the third thing is really the goaltending.

Four NHL goalies under contract, who's going to be the backbone of the Buffalo Sabres? moving forward. Those are the three questions sitting right in front of Yombo Kecklein and today that if you answer those three correctly, are going to immediately change how the Buffalo Sabres are viewed. Does Bowen Byram get moved? He could. Look, I think I wouldn't be starting with Bowen Byron.

I think you'd be looking at, one of the big questions I have is, is Owen Power in the back end. Happened to him. Massive, I don't know. I mean, look at his ice time alone. His ice time, point production, impact on the game, guys making $8.35 million a year.

And for a stretch of time, looked like he might be living up to the number one overall pick. Yeah. And he's falling off. I don't think Owen Power became a bad hockey player. I think Owen Power is suffering from, a long winter in Buffalo.

Yeah, you've got to think there are some teams circling that situation and going, could Owen power, or could any of these guys really be the next guy that leaves Buffalo and becomes a key player in a very good team and maybe a championship team? Do you want me to rattle off some of the guys that have been there that?

Yeah, I think we all know them. This goes back to what, like O'Reilly, Eichol, Ryan Hart. I mean, the list is crazy. Those are just the guys that have won Stanley Cups, Evan Rodriguez, Brandon Montor. But think about all the other guys who would be significant building blocks on

winning teams. Marcus Felino, Jake McCabe, Linus Allmark, Dylan Cousins, J.J. Paterka. It's not like the Sabres haven't had talent. They've let some of it walk out the door. And now

they're faced with a very similar proposition. who stays and who goes. How do you know how to make the right call? And I think part of that is what handcuffed Kevin Adams over the long haul. We are speaking to Frank Cerro Valley, our NHL insider from Victory Plus here in the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Going back to the Quinn Hughes trade for a sec. Wait, can I ask you one more to put a bow on that?

Because I've thought about this. And this is going to be some interesting debate. If you could just take one team's roster and you swap them out for each other, Would you rather have the sabres or the Canucks? I think we've done this one before. And where did you come out? I think Buffalo, because they've got so many young, talented guys,

that you feel like could have a change if they were in, I guess if you literally moved them to Vancouver, maybe something would change? Maybe it's the weather in Buffalo? I don't know, but you look at it. But we did that before the trade, and I think the return in the Quinn Hughes trade has buoyed us a little bit.

Like Zeev Williams, people are pretty excited about him and he looks good. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know the prospect group well enough in Buffalo. Like they must have some more coming. They always have some players coming.

But it's just, what would you do, Frank? Well, I think I would shade toward the Canucks slightly. But, I mean, I've had this same. debate in my head, Canucks or Flames, Canucks or Flyers Canucks or or like Or, sorry, or Sabers or flames, sabers or flyers or flyers. Like there's a lot

that you can go back and forth on. I Yeah, I think right now I'm shading toward the Canucks, but the only thing that has me on the fence is like what if Owen Power can get back to what he was two to three years ago. So if you can go power and

Dahlene and Byram, like, that becomes a really intoxicating thing, but Vancouver's goalies are in such a better spot. I mean, I don't know. There's a lot to unpack. Okay. Are you surprised that the Flyers

are in a playoff position still? I am. Look, they have worked incredibly hard. They have been a good road team. They have found just enough goal scoring. That's been one part that stood out. They've had a lot of success in shootouts.

They've had seven games go to shootouts. They're five and two. So that's a big contributing factor. Without those five shootout wins, they're well outside the playoffs and tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs. So that part has been a big game changer for them in the standings. Will they stay there, I think, is the question. Do they have the staying power? And just in the same way that I think we're all still, you know, look at some other teams that had been in playoff spots for a long haul this season. The sharks are still in one.

The Cracken were in one for the longest time. Do the Flyers have that staying power? I'm not convinced. Do you ever hear anything about the Cracken? Like, do they want to do something big? They should probably do something. like to add a scoring forward they've been jason potterill has made that his mission and mandate since he got there um i mean where good luck where you're going to get that guy from

yeah i just wonder what they're thinking where they're at right now because they looked it looked like you know they they're having some success earlier in the season and maybe locking things down a little bit but um how else could they play they have 77 goals they're minus 21 goal differential 10 fewer goals scored than the next closest team in the league it's crazy yeah we were just talking about the the lack of star power there and why that's you know it's a both an issue on the ice because they can't score but um you know i'm sure marketing it's a hard team it's a marketing issue right and that that the tough part is that person isn't in their pipeline either it's not like you can say well hold on a second let's wait until

Shane Wright gets going. Okay, I did want to circle back on the question I was going to ask earlier. So in the aftermath of the Quinn Hughes trade, all good. We are speaking to Frank Sarvalley from Victory Plus here. In the aftermath of the Quinn Hughes trade, the teams that didn't get them, you know, some of them seem like they'll just move on and conduct their business, the Detroit's and Washington and everything else. I do want to ask about New Jersey, though, because it's been a tough season for them.

They've only got one Hughes active on the roster right now with Jack still sidelined. They're losing more games than they're winning. And I know social media you can, you kind of get swayed by a couple of tweets and what you hear and what you see. But I certainly saw a lot of consternation from that market about missing out and losing on this potential acquisition. What's the vibe and the mood in New Jersey right now? What's going to be the fallout for the devils that they didn't land the third Hughes brother?

Well, I mean, the fan base is obviously beside themselves, right? and it's not necessarily for lack of trying it's more so just because they're bemoaning the fact that they've made so many financial and contractual obligations to players that quite clearly need to move on in order to make a transaction like that possible not just from a cap perspective but also from a roster

and role perspective And that part, you know, you can't snap your fingers with no trade and no move clauses and make that happen. I think that's the most unfortunate part is that it's by your own doing. And look, we've talked a lot about how I wasn't sold for a lot of reasons that Quinn Hughes is a fit in New Jersey. to say nothing of cannibalizing his own brother who makes $9 million on the power play but look there is no easy fix in New Jersey because of that if it's hard to make moves to get Quinn Hughes

then it's going to be hard to do other things for the same exact reason and it's not a defenseman that they need it's scoring help I mean missing the other Hughes brother Jack is the story of their season. They were a top five team in the league with him and they've been

seemingly a bottom five team without him and that's not just wins and losses. It's in every facet of their game. The way they generate offense off the rush, all those metrics they're somewhere between 27th and 32nd. And

it highlights the over-reliance on him and the need to get more help. Frank, this was great, bud. Thanks for the time to do it as always. We appreciate it. Thank you guys. Have a good one. Yeah, have a good one. Frank Sarvelli on Sportsnet 650. It was brought to you by Angry Otter Liquor.

Plus program members save for game days at Angry Outer Liquor. This month, score big on 750 milliliter bottles of Crown Royal and absolute vodka. Stock up before puck drop. Visit them online at Angry Otterlicker.cr.c. Little Vancouver Giants talk on the other side with Parker Burgess. And then we'll get into the Dunbar Lumber text line and answer some of your text, any questions or comments. Text them in. 650. 650 is the number to the Dunbar Lumber text line. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and renter warriors for over 50 years.

Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dunbarlumber.com. You're listening to the Alfred I abrupt show on Sportsnet 650. Real quick, before we go to break. A reminder, call in right at 7.30 to win today's $250 gift card to Golf Town giveaway. The number 604-280-0-650. That phone number again, 604-280-0-650. Caller number 5 at 730 on the nose will win a $250 gift card to Golf Town. As Jason mentioned, you're listening to the Halford & Brough 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 your favorite podcast app.

I'm going to be able to be. 731 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough of Sportsnet, 650. Halford Brum for the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Only a licensed insolvency trustee can cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. To learn how, visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are in our two of the program.

Parker Burgess, head coach of the Vancouver Giants is going to join us in just a moment here. Midway point of hour two. Hour two of this program is brought to by. at Jason Omnick at jason. 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. com.

Vancouver Giants are back in action. The Langley Events Center this Friday. Last game before an extended holiday break. Lots to get into on the Giants front. Joining us now, the head coach of those Vancouver Giants. Parker Burgess joins us now on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Parker. How are you? I'm good, guys. How are you today?

We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this, as always. We appreciate it. So dial it back to last weekend. Two wins out of three, five wins out of your last eight. Walk us through what happened last weekend and your slow climb up, a very congested Western Conference standing leaderboard. Yeah, it's definitely a log jam. It seems like weekend to weekend you can kind of jump four or five spots or go down four or five spots. So I thought we had a pretty good weekend last weekend. The guys are starting to find a little bit more consistency in our game and a little bit more comfort. You know, we had a new staff, new players, and so it takes a little bit to kind of get things clicking. But boys have been playing well.

We had a good win on Friday in Victoria in a shootout. It was kind of a back-and-forth one. And then they got us on Saturday at home. I thought we were a little bit flattened that one. But then we had a good response on Sunday and beat a good Spokane team, I think, 8-4. So things are going in the right direction. We've got a couple more here before Christmas break and, yeah, hopefully can keep the momentum going.

What's been like working with a young kid like Ryan Lynn? Yeah, it's a lot of fun. You know, I've had some experience at a few different spots with some younger high-end guys and Ryan's no different. He's very driven, very invested in his craft. He's starting to, like, the thing that, you know, right off the back kind of struck me with Ryan is just his maturity in his game.

You know, for a 17-year-old kid, he takes a lot of pride in kind of all the different facets within the game, and he just wants to help the team win. And over the past couple weeks, he's kind of found his scoring touch a little bit, too. So he's, you know, early on, it was a lot of assists, and, you know, he's making plays and things like that, but now he's finishing off his own chances. And so just helping the team out in a lot of different ways, and he's been excellent. I think Sunday he had a five-point night with two goals, and hopefully we can, and, yeah, just keep it rolling with him.

What does that look like off the ice with his commitment? Because, you know, he's only 17 years old. And I know these high-end prospects are built a little different than the average kid. But it is pretty impressive when you hear about the commitment of these kids at such a young age. Yeah, he just, I mean, he's already, you know, he already has a lot of pro habits. Like, you know, just the way he approaches every single day at the rink. he takes care of his schoolwork when he's at home

then when he gets to the rink whether it's video sessions individual film with a coach being in the gym his nutrition all those different things he's got a really strong understanding that those are the things

that are going to separate you once you get to the pro level and for a lot of players it takes them getting to the pro level and then they start figuring things out with Ryan he's already ahead of the game and he's just got

such an enthusiasm around the rink. Like he wants the junior season, you know, it's eight, nine months. You're together with the team six, seven days a week. So it can be a bit of a grind and the days can be long. But with Ryan, he just never seems to lose that drive or that enthusiasm to get better every single day. So as a coach, you know,

being around a player like that, that's what you want. It's infectious with the group too. Do you have to have conversations with the draft eligible players about, you know, how to go about your business on a day-to-day basis, maybe some advice on how to play when they know there are going to be a lot of scouts in the crowd? Yeah, I think we definitely have those conversations. It is, you know, obviously in junior hockey, the goal is to win championships and, you know, bring a lot of pride to the organization and the community.

But for the players, you know, especially the ones that are in their draft year or coming up on their draft year, like that's, you know, a big part of the reason they've chosen to go to junior hockey route. They want that exposure. They want the opportunity to get drafted. And the one thing I've learned, too, is, like, these kids have a tremendous amount of pressure on them already. You know, they all have agents, they have coaches, they have parents, you know, there's a lot of noise. And then you go into your draft here, and it's just another layer to it.

And I think the thing that's cool, and, you know, I've been a part of a few teams where, you know, we've had some high-end prospects. is when you have a player like Ryan, he's going to drive the scouts into the building. And, you know, a lot of the eyes, you know, a lot of the scouts who are traveling are coming to see Ryan play. But we have four, five, six other guys that are draft eligible or in their second year of draft eligibility

that they're going to benefit from that, you know. And with having a high profile player on the team, the rest of the team does benefit because when those scouts are in the building, they're not only seeing Ryan, but they're seeing a lot of the other guys that are able to make impression. And I think, you know, in terms of having conversations with the guys, it's just

giving them feedback as to what, not necessarily what the scouts are looking for, but what attributes are going to make them a pro prospect. You know, all the players that come to us, we're all the best players that whatever academy or U-18, U-16 team they were on, but when they're getting watched by these NHL teams, it's not necessarily always about the guy who's got the most points. You know, the NHLGMs and organizations are building teams. And so our job is to help communicate with our players, some of those little things that are going to make them a pro prospect. And I think just the understanding of, hey, it's not necessarily about the player that you were, the player that you think you are. It's the player you need to be when you get to that

level to have a career in pro hockey. So, yeah, definitely lots of conversations with those guys. What are some of those attributes that you spend time talking about? Well, I think, you know, it depends on the player. You know, like if, you know, I take Brett Olson, for example, he's a draft eligible 17-year-old. He's been really good for us as of late. You know, he's always been a high-profile score at every level. And now he's kind of starting to find his niche a little bit where it's, you know, he's

winning face-offs. He's been big on the penalty kill. He's, you know, he's six foot two, 200 pounds. So he's got that kind of prototypical power. forward build. And so just helping him utilize that a little bit more. Obviously, Ryan's case is a little bit different. We have Tyas Sparks, who again, like a kid that was, you know, a score at every level. And then last year, as a 16-year-old, he was just kind of finding his way. And now for us, he's taken on kind of, again, like that power forward mentality. He's been used on the power play,

you know, utilizing his one-timer and things like that. And then I guess just like, you know, like we talked about with Ryan a little bit, just those off-ice attributes, like being able to be consistent every day and show up and give an honest effort and start developing some of those pro habits, you know, being a good teammate and helping the team win however you need to.

And so, yeah, just a lot of those little things, but I think it is also dependent on, you know, what the player brings. Okay, Parker, before we let's set up these final two games before the break. You're in Victoria on Thursday. Then you host Victoria at the Langley Events Center on Friday. If I'm not mistaken, that's four games against Victoria in eight days. So there'll be some good feeling going into these last two.

Set it up for the listeners before you guys head into the holiday break. Yeah, it should be good. It's a lot of fun. You know, we spent a lot of the first half here playing teams kind of for the first time. You know, every time we played a had a weekend, you know, a game or two, it was like we were seeing them for the first time. So kind of fun to see Victoria here for the last five. It, you know, it definitely breeds that competitive fire within the players.

and it's fun as a staff to be able to make adjustments and you know, you know, your opponent pretty well. And, you know, I know kind of heading into Christmas break, guys are excited and it's always good hockey right before Christmas because they've got a little break here on the horizon. So, yeah, we're looking forward to two good games and hopefully get a couple wins and build that momentum going into the second half. Parker, thanks for doing this today.

We appreciate it. Best of luck in the final two games before the break. Awesome. Thanks, thanks, guys. Merry Christmas. Yeah, Merry Christmas. Thank you, too. That's Parker Burgess, a Vancouver Giants head coach here on the Halford and Rough Show. on Sportsnet, 650. Some breaking news out of the NFL.

Tua's been benched. Oh. And they're going with Quinn Ewers? Yes. That's a guy. They had another guy. Didn't they have, it wasn't Zach Wilson in their depth chart as well?

Yeah. Okay, so they're going with him. Quinn Ewers had quite the collegiate career because he played two of the biggest programs in America. He played Texas and Ohio State. I love these college guys now. He played at three programs. I was, there was a guy yesterday.

God, where do you play? I think it was Georgia State, which is a small school. He was applying for his... He had an okay year, though, I think. Yeah, he was applying for his seventh year of eligibility so he could join his seventh school. Van Wilder. It's crazy. But Van Wilder stayed at the same school, didn't he?

Or did he jump around? No, I don't think he jumped around. I don't think he was in, like, the party transfer portal. He kept going into the portal. He's like, I'm taking my talents to Savannah State. No, it's crazy. What are the dolphins going to do? Because...

Did you watch Monday? Did you watch the game? Yes. Yes. Did you hear the end? Troy Aikman. I wish I grabbed the audio. So Troy Aikman wanted to clearly get out of there. The game was over.

And I don't know if anybody watched it, but in the fourth quarter down three scores, the Dolphins started orchestrating their offense in a very weird way. So they started dinking and dunking to get chunks of yards. But they weren't scoring fast enough to come back. But they were moving the ball

effectively. Piling up the yards? And they were going out of bounds and calling timeouts. And you could hear Troy Akeman, who clearly had a plane to catch. He's like, I don't know what the dolphins are doing right now. This makes no sense. And they scored a couple late touchdowns and put some cosmetic scores on the board

to make it not seem as one-sided as it was. But after the game, everyone had the daggers out for Mike McDaniel and the organization because it was a bad performance in prime time. And then shortly thereafter, they made this announcement that they're moving off to a Tongue Vailoa.

But his contract is a problem next year as well. Correct. Right. And then there might be an out after next year? Yes. That is correct. I think that we're going to see an offseason in which they probably part ways with Tua. Arizona probably parts ways with Kyla Murray.

So how do they, so they just, they just eat it? They just eat it. Yeah. I mean, everyone seems to think that these teams won't take the financial penalty, but they always do. You remember when Matt Stafford was still a member of the Detroit Lions and Jared Goff was still a member of the L.A. Rams. and we would say like there's a trade there to be to be made everyone's like they can't afford it the the golf contract is too big of a poison pill they'll any NFL team when they want to write that wrong at quarterback because of the value of the position and the lack of patience that they have they'll move off it it's why these guys get these second opportunities and sometimes third opportunities to revive their career because people cut bait early sam darnald Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones.

You get a finite amount of time because they just don't have the patients anymore like they used to. If you don't show it right away, you're out. But you're not saying that Tua might have success somewhere else. Like, he might be down there. Why not? Yeah, his injuries. If you would have told me that Sam Darnold was where he is now

while he was a member of the Jets, I'd been like, no. Sam Darnold was like a laughing stock with the Jets. Remember where he got that, he got Mono and then they met a graphic? It's like, Sam Darnold, out with Mono. And then he remember he was seeing ghosts against the New England Patriots. Like he was a joke. Baker Mayfield's career was done. Yeah.

Done. Remember he was a member of the Carolina Panthers with Sam Darnold for five minutes? That's true. Like, I mean, the lows that two is going through right now, I'm hesitant to write him off just like Kyler Murray, anyone else. Who would have saw Daniel Jones's year? Yeah. You know, it just... The dolphins are a bad organization.

Let's be honest. We, you know, I know, we're very hockey-centric here, but what's going on with the quarter position in the national football league right now is profoundly interesting. If we could ever get Nathan Rourke on the show to maybe talk a little more candidly than he does about his experience in the NFL and the way the quarterback, what's the word I'm looking for, like the quarterback culture and the industry and the environment, it's a very weird thing because and the investment in guys that organizations and individuals, jewels have that leave

other candidates on the outside looking at. 100%. Like, you can't tell me, it still doesn't make any sense what Rourke went through in the NFL. When you've seen some of the guys that have played quarterback in the NFL. Yeah. Max Brosman. Brasmer.

Whatever. Yeah. That's Pierce Brosman? That's a crazy. From Bozman? That's a from Bozman. Right. But, I don't know. There's a lot of Hey, they went last night. They sure did. I was there. Tell us about it.

Your experience at the match. It was great. It was another fun night at the Pacific Coliseum. There was only 2-1 game, so not a lot of scoring, but there was a lot of offense, and the goaltender played great. Campbell was awesome. Good, good. Yeah, they're great at home.

They're good at home. They love playing at home. They've got to figure it out on the road. Okay, so a lot of you are texting in, and wondering if the Canucks are going to ruin their tank. I see it. There's a lot of people. And I get it because I wonder if the Canucks might be okay.

With Pedersen and Rossi down the middle, with Bouillon replacing some of what Quinn Hughes brought, certainly not all of it, but some of it. And with a healthy Thatcher Dempco, I understand it. But I also think we need to just like chill and realize that they were outplayed by New Jersey. I got a couple fortunate goals early on. I mean, the goal that Boolean scored, Brendan Dillon put that in his own net. And then the devils were kind of all over them for most of the rest of the game.

I think it was a slightly different story against. against the Rangers, even though J.T. Miller felt like, he said that, like, it felt like we were dominating out there, to which I responded. It didn't look like it. Yeah, it would feel like whatever you wanted to feel like. You had some pressure, certainly, on the power play. But just take it back a little bit. I mean, to answer the list of question, will the Knoch's ruin their tank?

The answer is always, yes. Always. Yes, they will. They'll go on like a nine-game win streak to end the season or something crazy, right? Like, they'll always find a way to get out of that spot that they need. I fully expect it, and I'm ready for it. Well, I say embrace it. They are going to look a lot more NHL-like down the middle now,

and that is something that they definitely weren't for much of this season. It was ridiculous, really, that they had David Kemp as their number one center at times. Yeah. You know, and now it's going to be, you know, if Pedersen returns to the lineup, even if he's not peak Pedersen now he's still better than David Kompf and then you got Pedersen and Rossi down the middle and then you start filling in

the guys in roles where they should be if you if they end up one day with and I'm going to rule Heidel out for now but let's say they go Pedersen Rossi Kompf and Bluger down the middle that's a totally adequate

one through four not good Yep, but it's adequate. Sure. It's adequate. Yep. And you will have results of attquotulence. That's what you'll get. Going back to your question about the tank

and what you're talking about and what I said earlier in the show, you got to remember this team at the onset of the year with the roster they were going in, was in no way, shape, or form designed to tank. It didn't have the right makeup for it. It didn't have the right, I mean, maybe it had the right coach for. for it, but didn't have the right makeup for it. It didn't have the right roster age. Didn't have the goaltending.

No, it was designed. They were designed to be, how should I phrase this? Playoff aspirational. I don't know if they were designed to be a playoff team, but they were designed to aspire for the playoffs. Can they get a lift in spirit? That counts. It does.

It's not something that the numbers can, can show, but. The Quinn Hughes thing was hanging over this team. There's no doubt about it. And there were probably some times where some of the players are like, well, Quinn, are you with us or not here? I absolutely think that what you're saying is correct. There's a vibe lift. But I think that's a short-term boost.

It's weird to say, like, hopefully, hopefully, right? Well, no, not even hopefully. I mean, I get the lower standing higher draft pick thing. But hear me out here. they're still woefully inept when it comes to chance generation and shot generation. Bick on the postgame show yesterday went through because I guess this sort of like 17 shot total has been, it's the last two games. And he went back and looked over the last few years of NHL results and teams that put 17 shots on net.

And the winning percentage worked out to being like 386 or something. Yeah. You just can't win with regularity in the National Hockey League. putting 20 shots or less on net. It just, it's reflective of too many things. You don't have the puck enough. You don't have enough big chances or scoring chances. You're not testing the opposition.

You're probably chasing the game more often than not. Do they have two wins on the trot with those low shot totals? Yes, but over an 82 game season, you don't really worry about winning a lot of games like that. And they're also, they just played two teams that are in trouble right now. The Devils are in trouble. The fan base is not happy. They got issues in New Jersey.

and New Jersey still carry play for much of that game and the Rangers six time they were shut out in Madison Square Garden that wasn't a rarity what happened last night at MSG

one thing that this organization can dictate as it pertains to how many games they win from here on and we talked about this earlier is how much they play Thatcher Demko and you could make a legitimate argument that if they're on the conservative side of things they're actually serving two masters

One, they're making sure that Demko doesn't go out and steal them games and win them games. And two, it is prudent to try and keep him healthy by playing him less. I think you can have a direct correlation between an overwork goalie, especially in his case, and one that gets hurt. You could make that case, but here's the problem. It would just be so nice for Demko personally and, frankly, his value as a player. If he could stay healthy, the rest of the season. no more. And I know he was probably a little

miffed at this latest injury because it plays into, and these are his words, the narrative around him. And the narrative is what the narrative is. He's a very talented goalie that when healthy is one of the best goleys

in the world, but isn't healthy enough. And some people wondered, well, are all these injuries related in some way to the knee injury. Are you suffering a groin injury because you put more stress on your body because of the knee injury? And there's no way to tell, right? We don't know. And you can just get a groin injury sometimes. It's hockey. But it would be nice for the rest of the season,

and there is still more than half of the season to go if you can just stay healthy. Because you know, the thing in the NHL is people have really short memories. Yeah. Yeah, I know I, I would love for that to happen. And I would love for it to happen almost as a separate ending regardless of where they finish in the standings. Like I think that Healthy Demka will translate into more wins. And if that happens, so be it. I've always been, and I think, you know, if everyone wants to check the receipts, I've always been staunchly opposed to, let's cheer for losses, let's see more garbage hockey, let's encourage a losing environment.

And I know, I know the only way that you get the high draft picks is by finishing near the bottom. I would suggest that what I said earlier in previous shows about stockpiling picks, again, can be a separate thing from having to finish near the bottom. Going in with an arsenal of picks allows you to do a lot of different things. Having two picks in the first round allows you to package them and move up in the draft and get to those spots where you would have been if you were the worst team in the national. That sounds pretty risky. What do you think this is? the NFL? Right. Didn't Pittsburgh do it? Pittsburgh did it, I think. They used the pick that they got from the Connects for Pedersen and another one and moved up in the draft. I'm not mistaken. You might be.

Yeah, but whatever, whatever the case. You've been mistaken before. It's true. And it's not going to stop me. Is it crazy that there's still more than half a season ago? Yes. Doesn't it feel like it's been going on for like three years? It's been a long season. It's been a long, it's crazy. Tiring. I'm going to, we're not even halfway there. I'm more intrigued now, though, by what they're going to do than what I was at the beginning of the year. Because at the beginning of the year, I knew what the team was. Yeah. There were no real surprises.

Heedle got a concussion and got hurt. Some people saw that coming. Demko had health concerns. Some people saw that coming. And then everything that we kind of thought were the shortcomings and the shortfallings of this team happened. Now, I am kind of interested to see what happens. And in part because the slate's pretty clean.

Yeah. You know, you can't go down. You can't be any worse than 32nd. So let's see what happens. Okay. All right. Who we got coming up next? Randy Jen is going to join us on the other.

side of the break. We will look back on the Kinex's 3-0 victory. Their first shutout victory of the year of Madison Square Garden over the Rangers last night. And then at 8.30 we're going to do some what we learned. Get yours in. Dunbar Lumber, text message in basket. 650, 6.50 hashtag it W.W.L

and tell us what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. It's your chance to be on the radio that's coming up at 830. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650.