Halford & Brough in the Morning - BC Lions Training Camp Is Here

Episode Date: May 12, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat the wagon that is the Colorado Avalanche with Colorado Hockey Now's Aarif Deen (1:35), plus the boys head to BC Lions training camp with Leos General Manager Ryan Rigmaiden (25:44).  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.

703 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Halford and Brub in the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. They're open seven days a week, and they're open late to help you get debt-free. With no judgment or upfront fees, visit them today at Sands-Trustee.com. This one's part of the conveyor belt series. They're open late like a speakeasy. What kind of pet shop is open at 3 a.m. with raucous jazz music.

The best damn pet shop in town. We are in our... We'll get through a show without a Simpsons reference once. No, no, we won't. I like that. How dare you say that? We are in hour two of the program. Araf Dean from Colorado Hockey now.

He's going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Hour 2 is brought to by Jason Hominoch at Jason Dow Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more 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. Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear from Kintech. guests on SportsNet 650. Call in on the ABLE Auctions hotline.

Email sales at ABLEEauctions.ca to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. Let's go now to the ABLE Auctions. Hotline, our next guest is a beatwriter for Colorado Hockey now. Araf Dean joins us here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Araf. How are you? I'm doing well. I'm heading back to Denver here in a couple hours, but not before a fun couple of games here in Minnesota. Yeah, especially fun for the Colorado.

Colorado Avalanche. And, you know, one of the things that we haven't really mentioned, although we mentioned it briefly, big move, big gamble, if you will, by Jared Bedner, are going with McKenzie Blackwood, going to the lumberyard yesterday and going with Blackwood over Wedgwood. It pays off Colorado dominant in front of him, but Blackwood good as well. I guess the two-part question here, were you surprised that they made the flip to Blackwood? And what did you think of his performance last night in five, two victory for the abs? So I wasn't as surprised as others, just because there's a couple of things.

Number one, when the playoffs started, Jared Bedner was pretty open about, like, I'm using a tandem. But when your team goes six and no to start the playoffs, you don't really want to make a change. Like, I don't, I don't think it would have made sense to take out Scott Wedgwood after, you know, those first five or six games, maybe after game one. But that was just one of those crazy games that you don't really blame on the goal. league. And number two, he's been, he's done this all year. I think the surprise in all of this is that this had been the longest that Blackwood had pretty much gone as a healthy goalie because he has missed some time this year

without playing. And when you take that in the consideration, you know, it was almost a month. There is a pretty pivotal game. There's a huge difference between coming back home 3 to 1 and then it's a whole new series and it's two to two. So that was a big, big move there for Jared Bedner. And Blackwood responded, and he responded well. So great move there.

And then, sorry, what was your second question again? Oh, just the performance that Blackwood put up. Because, yeah, I also heard those remarks from Bednar earlier prior to the start of the playoffs that, you know, like some other teams that were going in that had relied on two goalies, he was comfortable going to a tandem. But it had been all Wedgwood. I know it was only 19 saves for Blackwood last night. but that game was tight in the third period before the empty netters.

And I thought he was especially good in the third period. Yeah, he had to make some really, really big saves there. And I think in the third period, it was 15 to 12 with scoring chances. And that comes in a game where that was more than half of scoring chances that the Minnesota Wild Paddle game. You know, as you know, it was a game that was pretty much tied or within a goal the entire way. So there were some big saves he had to. to make their to keep the accident.

I wanted to ask you about the Michael McCarran, Josh Manson incident only because, and we talked about this with Greg Woshenki earlier, like it was an incident for sure, but I felt like its impact on the actual game was somewhat minimal and really a minor story compared to some, although the trash talking between the two, you know, it got some notoriety

and it certainly made the rounds on social media last night. What did you think of the decision to rescind the major demands and give him a double minor for the penalty. And then what came after that for both him and the Colorado Avalanche? I thought it was best case scenario for the ads. I really thought there was a case to give them a major.

I don't know if it was one of those things where the officials just didn't want to fill a player out and make it really, really bad for one side so early in the game, or if it was a case of that it was just such a minimal attempt of a butt end that they didn't feel that it was worthy of five. You know, I think if I was trying to figure out exactly how the officials went or made up

that decision, it's more or less that, you know, they're sitting there, they're having their little scuffle, they get pulled down after the hit, and it just kind of looked more like they're both kind of jabbing at each other. And, you know, like Josh Manson said, he said, I miscalculated where I was holding my stick. I'm sure you saw the quote I didn't want to butt in him but he did want to punch him in the head unfortunately he was holding the stick

when he tried to punch him in the head so it was a little bit of an interesting of an interesting decision and one that obviously benefited the abs but also benefited the wild they got the power play goal they got the first goal and it it could have been a lot worse for the abs

as for the trash talk I was a little what we're all like when we all heard the thing that happened on SPN with P.K. Sub-Band where he just outright came out and said, yeah, well, P.K., you played against him and he's dirty and you know how he is. And Mason doesn't really have that kind of a reputation. So the first thing that I did was I hit the Google machine and I did a Michael McCarran, Josh Manson search, you know, expecting to find like a 20-21 play where some guy attacked another guy and there was nothing.

So it was really, it was really confusing as to where it led to. And then obviously, you know, after a game like that, there were a couple of suckers in the media like myself and a couple of others that, you know, we, we ignored the Nazan Caddries and all the other guys and we went straight to Josh Manc had talked to him and, you know, he kind of explained it from his part. So it was a fun little thing, but the Michael McCarron part was, you know, him talking to P.K. Subbin and then after game again, just, you know, unleashing dirty player, nobody respects him. that it was kind of like out of nowhere to sleep it was very strange so I remember back in 2022 right

from the start of the playoffs and Colorado swept Nashville yeah with my eyes I was like this team's winning the cup there's no doubt about it and they did and it was one of the more impressive Stanley Cup runs we've seen certainly in the salary cap era

are you getting that same vibe from this team I am and I've been kind of talking about it since pretty much since the postseason started and we knew that they were going to face, let's put it lightly a weak team in the first round whether it was going to be L.A. or San Jose or whoever. And then we knew it was going to be tough in round two between Minnesota or Dallas. I just didn't think it was going to be as tough, even if it was Dallas as the series they had a year ago. But going back to that 2022 Avalanche team, If you take it all the way back to like 1989 or 1988, I think the 1970s, the 1970s

Dynasty and there was one team in the 80s. It may have been one of the Edmonton. The 85 Oilers rolled. Yeah. So there was a team, but it's not just playoffs. It's regular season. Basically what I'm getting at is for as long as I've been alive and I'm 33, there has been no team as dominant October to June as the 2022 abs.

And basically how I came up with that is the 119 points that they had in the regular season in 2022 was the most by an eventual Stanley Cup champion since 1980 or whatever it was. So this team is not, they can't do the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning thing, where it's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, we'll just get on the playoffs, we'll be a wildcar team, will be the three-seat and we'll play Winnipeg in the first round. We'll play Dallas in the first round. And we'll turn it out. No, the Nathan McKinnon and Gayle and it's called Jared Bednar version of the Colorado Avalanche,

they have to dominate October to June. They did it in 2022. They looked to want to do it again. And yesterday was such a big game, you know, not that it would have automatically led to a series loss. But here's a fun fact for you. That is just mind-boggling. The Jared Bednar, Nathan McKinnon, and Colorado Avalanche, I've never won a series that was tied two to two.

So they have to roll. They're either sweeping teams and they're up three-nothing or they're up three to one. So it just seems like they need to be what you're talking about, that 2022 version. What we saw again earlier this year where they had like two regulation losses in 40 games, like they need to dominate start to finish. And it does look like they're well on their way to do that. It's quite impressive. So, Araf, the other day, the Selke finalists were announced, and we saw them, and we were like, wait, what?

Brock Nelson? How did Brock Nelson turn into a Selky finalist? Because this is not an award that he's ever been in contention for, certainly not during his time with the New York Islanders. What has happened in Colorado? So are you familiar with, and you guys had wishes to get on earlier, are you familiar with the monthly awards that? that wish does on ESPN where he'll send out an email to all the P professional hockey writers association people and just kind of like get a feel for what people are thinking for the awards.

He goes at the end every month. Okay. So he did it a couple times with me this year and I was digging into some numbers and I was trying my hardest, especially early in the season when the avalanche were like 35 and two or whatever. Like I was trying really hard not to just like, oh yeah, a heart, but kidding. Norris scale.

and doesn't have wedgloid. Like I was trying to not do the thing where, you know, Benar, Jack Adams. And then I was looking at defensive numbers. And I think I literally was going to flip a coin and be like, okay, either Brock Nelson or Val Matushkin need to be up for the selfie because their defensive metrics are insane. They were like 70% puck possession,

70% coursey, 70% that, expected goals insanely low. And then on top of that, Brock Nelson started the season a little slow offensively, five points in his first 16 games. And then he just went like berserk. There was the, you know, leading up to the Olympics and then coming out of the Olympics where something along the lines of 24 goals and 29 games, like he was leading the league for like two and a half months in goal scoring.

And then you look at his defensive metrics and I thought, okay, Nathan, McKinman is getting every offensive zone start. Brock Nelson has to take every face off in front of Blackwood and Wedgwood, and him and Val de Troche can have to go out there and finish off six on five games, and they have to have all these defensive end draws and face the tougher competition and do basically all the things you need to do so that Nathan McKinnon can go out there and be a heart trophy guy and put up 150 million points. And I was like, okay, this is like you, like you said, he's 34 years old.

He's never had anything like this. So I started to kind of throw it out there a little bit in those money. monthly with Shinsky things. Not that I had an impact on other voters, but I think a lot of people started to realize that too. Like, okay, Brock Nelson is basically, I don't know, 2007 Rob Niedemeyer, but he's also got 65 points and 33 goals. Like it is quite impressive what he's done to the point where when the avalanche traded for Nazan Caddrian, they, you know, they still brought him in. It was like, oh, great, you know, now the avalanche can reunite land of Cal Cadri and the Chushkin. I'm like, no, no, no, no,

Caddry's the third line center on this team. The guy from Long Island is having an insane season. So his offense has since kind of dried up a little bit. I think he scored his 30th goal, literally the game after the Olympics, you know, right in the high of that game gold medal that he took from us. But then he's kind of slowed down. He's got two goals in the playoffs. One of them was yesterday. They both empty netters. But he's still doing. that defensive zone being. Yesterday was the first game he was split up from Valenachushkin and both of those guys

went on to separate lines and they both impacted it defensively. It's insanely impressive what he's done this year and I think the ads were criticized a lot for giving him the contract they gave him in the summer and then halfway through the season Jared

Bednar I think we didn't even ask him about the contract. We just said how well is Brock Nelson been and it had been like around the time when one bird got $6 million and DeVorek got like five and a half or whatever he got from Philadelphia. And Benner's like, he's been good. A lot of people criticized Chris McFarland when he signed that deal. Look what other quote unquote second line centers are getting now.

So I think they made the right gamble. They made the right move. And, you know, it's well deserved. We all know Nick Seussuk is going to win. Yeah. But it's a well-deserved finalist award there for Brock Nelson. I wonder if people appreciate how good the abs were. not only is a team but defensively this season.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they had the lowest goals against and the best PK in the NHL. Correct on both. Most goals for, lowest goals against, best PK. Fun fact, who's the last team to have the most goals for and the least goals against? I know Vancouver had that back in 2011.

That's correct. It's the 2011 Vancouver Canucks. It hasn't been done in that long. And we all remember they were 55, 60 minutes away from winning his Stanley Cup. Like it's very rare to have a team have the best offense, the best defense. And that was kind of the LA series. It was, all right, we're not going to push on offense.

We're not going to sit here and cheat for offense. We're also not going to get stuck in a physical game. We're going to go through four games, make it feel as preseasony as possible so that we're ready for the second round. And it was by design. And so many people were so worried about, well, the Avalanche scored 13 goals in the first round. and they only had eight through the first three games and all this, and then they come out in game one and put up nine against Minnesota.

They're like, all right, well, we're no longer in that series. So it's like it was kind of a flex move that we can win in any way. We can do the defensive thing and we have what it takes to be the offensive powerhouse or the defensive powerhouse. Araf, before we let you go, what have you thought of Minnesota in this series? I don't want these to be like the kind of words. that get clipped and sound terrible, but I'm a little underwhelmed,

and that might just be because I'm so scarred by 2019, 2021, actually, 24, 24, I'm just scarred by losing to Peter DeBore every year. Yes. So I'm a little underwound, and I don't know if it's because Minnesota and Dallas are both really strong teams, but I had this theory coming into the playoffs that it's like, these are two really, really good teams, but I don't think they're as close to the avalanches people want to think they are.

Sure. I don't know if it's that or if it's the lack of a coach like Pete DeBoer, who's just, if Pete DeBoer is good at something, maybe it's not having a good relationship with their goalies, but he is good at very good at in-series adjustments. And maybe just John Heinz can't measure up to that. they're as advertised physically, there is advertised in the sense that,

you know, some guy named Quinn Hughes and Brock Fabor, like the offense comes from the defense. If those guys aren't moving the puck, then they just don't have the offensive firepower that the avalanche do. But, you know, that's the biggest issue. Like the avalanche have the games where Kel McCarsen, Malinsky, Devon, Taves dominate,

and that's what drives their offense. similar to what Minnesota's game is. But then they also have the games where Samalinsky is a late scratch for an upper body injury. Devon Taves and Kel McCar play 28 and 26 minutes because they've got a lot of guys in the lineup that they probably don't want in the lineup. But no need because Nathan McKinnon and Marty meets his game, Blanky, and Strachia from Brock Nelson, and that's what we just go down the list. Like that was always going to be the big difference in this series, and that's what it is. So it's hard to say underwhelmed.

but at the same time I kind of came into the series and I was talking to somebody off the record I was like this is this series will be three to one after gang four however we get there is how we're going to get there I just don't think Minnesota

is as close to Colorado students Eric this was great buddy thanks for taking the time to do this travel safe enjoy the rest of the series let's do this again as I think we're all collectively assuming the Colorado is going to move on here it's going to be a long one happy to be on

okay thanks buddy that's Araf Dean from Colorado now here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. So there's an update from Frank Serra Valley on this Bruce Cassidy story. Oh my. And in case you missed it earlier in the show, the Edmonton Oilers want to interview Bruce Cassidy, who is fired by the Vegas Golden Knights.

But because Cassidy is still under contract to Vegas, Vegas has apparently said, not yet. So this is Frank writing on hockey 24-7, and he said, sources said Vegas had not outright denied permission for Edmonton to interview Cassidy, but had more so kept the Oilers waiting as they continue playing their second round series against Anaheim, they being the Golden Knights. Cassidy is also a target of the Los Angeles Kings. Now, Frank goes on to write that Gary Bettman,

might have to get involved with this just to smooth things over. And Frank quoted one current NHL head coach who said, it's ridiculous that we even need to ask for permission. It should be a formality written into the deal that were free to seek employment

anywhere and should just be a formality that teams call to give a courtesy heads up. What a sticky situation because both of them, those teams, Edmonton and Los Angeles, are divisional rivals. And Frank alluded to that when initially reporting the Edmonton Oilers interest in Bruce Cassidy, the part of the holdup was, we don't want to release him to go coach a division rival. Well, L.A. is also in the Pacific. And I wonder, I wonder to what degree Bettman gets involved. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know

where to, where to stand on this because I think that coaches that could have fired, I mean, you don't want to force them to stay out of work for however long their their contract is, but they signed the contract. And for now, shouldn't the contract have, well, maybe this is the language of the contract as opposed to a rule across the board. But once you're dismissed, well, I guess you want to get paid. Yeah.

I mean, yeah. But if Cassidy wants, you want to get paid. Here's the thing. If Cassidy wants to go and interview somewhere else, there should be some sort of release clause that are like, You can go interview, but you're not getting paid, and you're out of contract, and you're officially out of contract.

It seems like this is leveraging. But I don't think coaches would be like, I'm going to... Well, Cassidy, because he's so confident that he's going to get a job, right? Yeah, and he's got two teams lined up to interview him right away. He is the number one coaching free agent on the market.

And he wants to get back in right away. I think my overriding take on all of this is that Chris Knoblock is done in Edmonton. Crazy. You can't have this news leak out. And then you're like, actually, yeah, we did want to watch, we did want to interview Bruce, but just, you know, we just want to talk to him. It's tough to ring that bell.

And also, look, there were some comments made by the likes of McDavid and Drysidal and Frank references those comments in his article up on Hockey 247.com. and he says, look, the star players kind of publicly criticized the coaching staff this season, called them out. And then remember the postseason press conference when both McDavid and Drysod were like, they didn't pretend not to be worried. They were like, there's a problem right now. And we are going backwards. The Oilers, I have a feeling, are going to make a coaching change.

Whether it's Bruce Cassidy or not remains to be seen. Okay, it's time now to tell everybody about the hometown heroes lottery. Our friends at Vancouver General Hospital and the hometown heroes lottery need your support to help change lives. BC's bravest answer the call. Your ticket answers theirs. Support BC's biggest hospital lottery and get your tickets now for your chance to win big and help big. Yeah, you got to get in on the welcome bonus deadline as well. only three days, 16 hours,

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Millions and prizes are just waiting to be won. And tickets start at four for only $85. Don't wait, buy your tickets now at heroeslottery.com. We're going to go to break on the other side. BC Lions general manager, Ryan Rig Maidens, going to join the program. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. It's Canucks Central on SportsNet 650.

From exclusive interviews to insider scoops and post-game breakdowns, we've got it all. Tune in weekdays 4 to 6 p.m. on radio and on demand through your favorite podcast app. Why does it sound like we are hosting some sort of gala? Oh, do we not tell you? You got to do that too. It's one of your reads. It's at the top.

Come on. I wouldn't doubt it at this point. You are listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. They're ready to give you the financial fresh start that you deserve. With no judgment or upfront fees, visit them today at sands dash trustee.com. We're an hour two of the program with the midway point of the show. Ryan Rigmeadon, Lyons, GM is going to join us.

just a moment here. Our two of this program is brought to by Jason Hominoch at Jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason dot mortgage. Real quick, before we get to Ryan on the Able Auctions hotline, I need to tell everybody that this is a weekly feature on the Halford and Brough Show, the BC Lions rundown. And I will remind you that single game tickets for BC Lions game go on sale May 26th and started the low, low price of just $19. For more information, visit BCLions.com forward slash season tickets.

Let's go now to the ABLE Auctions hotline. Our next guest is the general manager of the BC Lions. Ryan Wrigmaidon joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Boy, Ryan, how are you? I'm excellent. How are you? We are well. Let's talk training camp.

Things are up and underway at Camloops. How are the first few days of training camp been, Ryan? It's been excellent. terrific weather up here. We just got out of rookie camp. The vets reported on Saturday. And we're into the day three of training camp. So excited. The guys are looking forward to it. Early days of camp, how competitive is it? Are guys still trying to get their footing and, you know, getting used to the swing of things? Or is it really competitive and really engaging right off the hop? Yeah, right off the hop. I mean, these guys know that they're a good football team and in order to come in and crack the lineup or to unseat up.

or to unseat a veteran that they're going to have to play extremely well all the time. But it's not just how they play. It's their attitude. It's their work ethic. It's the kind of mental toughness and physical toughness that they have. So, you know, we are very, very transparent in what we're looking for with the players. And they know that. And it's competitive from getting off the plane.

What are you looking for? We are looking for grit, mental toughness, physical toughness, and the ability to play in the cold weather. And so if you guys have seen our seasons in the past couple of years, you know, they seem to have ended in Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. Yeah. We've got to take three points short of the Great Cup this year. We've got to take that next step. The good news is the battles in camp have been strong.

I think the rookies that we brought in have been what we thought they were going to be. So we've got several camp battles right now that are going strong, and we've still got plenty of time to evaluate these guys. So really excited for where we're going. How can you test whether they're good in the cold? Is there a large freezer up in Camelops that you can maybe throw them in there and see how they react? No, that's a great question. I guess we'll have to do some excursions further up north. But no, this is a mental toughness thing.

The cold and the heat and these guys have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And if they have the mental toughness to do that, usually that goes well within the cold. cold as well. So I got to say, I am very excited for the season that Nathan Rourke could potentially have. He is right in the prime of his athleticism, late 20s. He's had a year under Buck's system. By all accounts and by all measures, this should be a massive season for Nathan. Yeah, I agree. I mean, you know, he's coming off an MVP season. So I'm not sure. sure how much better he can get, but you're exactly right. There's a familiarity and a comfortability of being in Buck's system for the second year. And, you know, just by just watching

Nate's body language and how he's leading this year, you can tell he's way more comfortable. He's taking that next step as a leader as well. But, you know, it's only what day three of camp, and you've already seen it. You know, just you watch the ball comes and you watch how he talks to the vet so he talks to the rookies how he explains things to the younger guys he's he's just got that it factor that we've all seen on the field but it's something that you see every day from him and he's this is why he's truly special and so i you know we're we're all primed for a big year for him he sets the his expectations so high that that i don't think i could ever said anything further than he does but we're uh we're we're counting on him and you know there's a reason that he's the

best quarterback in the league. I mean, you're right. He's coming off in MVP season, and yet, I still think he can be even better. Is there an area? Would it be fair to say that he would maybe like to cut down on the number of interceptions that he threw last season 16? Yeah, you know, he said, he set a personal goal to be in a single digits. And again, that's, that's terrific. At the end of the day, we want to have him execute. And if he can minimize interceptions and take care of the ball better, then that's fantastic. But, you know, when you're talking about the player that the level that he is coming off a season that he just had, you know, if Nathan does what he did last year, we're going to be, we're going to be absolutely ecstatic.

The key for us is we need to elevate everybody else around him. And we've got a terrific receiving core. The offensive line has been improved. You know, I thought we had the best defensive line in football last year. It's even deeper. We've got some young kids that have come up that are doing extremely well. You know, we've all got to try to match that level. And fortunately, we've got the character guys and the skill guys that we think can do that. Are you going to try and turn this early season, you know, since you're not allowed into PC place while the World Cup is on?

So you're going to play a couple of games in Colonna. You're going to have a bunch of road games. Are you going to try and turn that into an advantage and really make sure that this is a close team by the time you get to the playoffs. You're exactly right. That's something that Buck and I have talked about when we heard about what the schedule was going to be. So, you know, Buck is absolutely magnificent with, you know, team building and culture.

And we both look at this as an opportunity for the team to get together and grow. And so we'll be up in Colonna for a couple of weeks. You know, it's technically a home game, but, you know, by definition, it is on the road for us. but it's an opportunity for the guys to continue to get together. We're going to have our families come up, and it's a great opportunity to bond. And the championship teams that I've ever been on, there was a true family atmosphere.

There was true love in the locker room. And we feel like we have that already, but we feel like it can always be improved. And so if we can do that, the guys can maintain their focus. I think it's an advantage for the tail end of the year. You must be pretty excited to play some games in Kelowna. It sounds like the atmosphere up there is going to be pretty cool. Yeah, you know, it's funny.

This is my, I think it's my 14th year with BC, and I've never been to Colonna, despite being up to Camloops a dozen times or whatever, we've been up here. And so, number one, I'm excited just to go see it because I've heard everybody said it's just absolutely magical up there. But Dwayne Vanneau, our president, does a terrific job of getting these satellite games set up for us like we did in Victoria. and just judging by, you know, how Touchnell Pacific and everything had went for us before,

I think it's going to be absolutely awesome. The guys are really looking forward to it. And then again, the families are too because they get to come up and see their guys. Real quick, just on the personnel front, I know you mentioned how happy you guys were with your defensive line. The layer behind them with regards to the linebackers, tell the list there's a little bit more about what you guys are getting in Darnell Sankey at Miller linebacker. Yeah, just a tremendous leader, just a true alpha on the defense in the front seven. This guy is the epitome of what you want for, I call it a Mike linebacker, Mike Benavides,

shoot me. He'd say you better call it a Mack linebacker now. But he's that alpha thumper in the middle that's going to direct traffic for us and be just an absolute beast in the box in between the tackle. So, you know, we really felt like this was an area we've had to upgrade this year to take that next step. some good players there before, but we felt like we needed an exceptional one for us to take the next step. And again, only in two or three days, Darnell's already out there doing what we thought he would. So this guy's a veteran player that plays at an all-star level, and we think putting him behind the D-line that we have is going to be exceptional. Ryan, this was excellent. Thank you very much for taking the time to do it. Enjoy the rest of camp, and I'm sure we'll be doing this routinely

throughout the preseason and regular season. We'll see you through the year. Thanks, guys. Take care. And thank you. That's Ryan Rig Maiden, the general manager of the BC Lions here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. We have some news from the National Hockey League that is going to act as a bit of a foreshadow to what free agency might look like at the center position, but also... The agency is going to suck. But also a reminder of how little the options are going to be in free agency.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed their own center. They've re-uped with... Charlie Coil. Now, get this. The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed Charlie Coil to a six-year, $36 million contract. And Charlie Coil is like 28, right? Charlie Coil is 34 years old. What? Charlie Coil is...

In a six-year deal, Charlie Coil? Charlie Coil turned 34 on March 2nd. Oh, my God. I really like Charlie Coil as a player. I think he's pretty underrated, but that's, crazy. Signing Charlie Coil through age 40 at $6 million a year. Now the cap hit with the cap going up. I don't know

if it necessarily matters that much. But this does speak to a few things. One, the dearth of centers available on the open market. You can take another one off that list now. And two, the continual insistence that

NHL clubs have on why don't we just keep the guy? You know, maybe we should just Resign him. So who's the top center that's out there? I'm not talking about Malkin. Because he's not going to go play anywhere else besides Pittsburgh. He might now.

He could be making $10 million a year annually if he goes to market. He's not going to go to market. But who is? Because Utah kept Schmaltz. And now Charlie Coil is off the board? Yeah. Who's the top center? Do we even, is there anyone?

Is there anyone out there? who is a free agent that can play center at a reasonable level. Because I know that there's at least one decent winger, okay, Alex Tuck. Yep. But, I mean, the way the Sabres are going right now, even if they lose to Montreal, I don't think their fans would be very happy if they lose Alex Tuck to unrestricted free agency.

You know, there's a couple of interesting defensemen out there, Rasmus Anderson, formerly of the flames now with the Vegas Golden Knights, Darren Radish, who will see. None of these are centers, of course. No, but I'm just throwing out names that I know. Boone Jenner. There you go.

A teammate of Charlie Coil. There's one. Boone Jenner could make $12 million a year in free agency. That's where this is going. Teddy Blugher's going to get signed to a big, like no one wanted them at the trade deadline, apparently, but here blueguard gets a six by six seriously

chaching okay some other names to consider Eric Holla Scott Lotton Jack Roslovick Jason Dickinson Roselvick's not even really a center in Edmonton I'm just telling you

Paula could get a holla I like holla Teddy blueger's right in that list yeah I know I know he's someone could overpay for teddy blugger I know he's not a free agent and I hate I hate to do this

but does this mean that PD stock is just gone way up. He's got like way up might be overstating it. Wow. I mean, we've been talking about it all year and that if you, you might have a team that's going to talk themselves into it. Yes, I know he's got the no move. I know he's got the no. So I'm like, forget the no move. I'm just saying like in general, his stock has probably risen maybe a little bit. A lot of it will depend on what Austin Matthews decides in Toronto. That's true. If he wants to stay in Toronto, well, okay, that takes him off the board. So who are you looking at? I mean, If you're St. Louis and you are actually willing to trade Robert Thomas, if you're actually willing to do it, the haul you could get for that guy is off the charts.

But then you're left with a problem if you don't get a center back. It's like, well, now we don't have a center. Yeah, I know. That's the same problem with the Canucks, right? Petey gets traded. But it shouldn't matter. It should matter for them. It should matter.

But they would want a center back. Like, you know who's going to get. Well, we'll see about what we'll see how the new management team, whoever, it is thinks about this situation because that's what we'd hear all the time. I mean, you go back to Jim Benning and remember that conversation I had with him about Chris Tannave. We need a defenseman back. I'm like, why are you, why wouldn't you be willing to trade Christanav?

He's like, well, he's a good player for us. I'm like, you're a bad. You're a bad team. You shouldn't care about next season. He's like, yeah, but we need a defenseman back. And I was like, why? And now we've kind of heard the same thing about. about any trade evolving

Elias Pedersen is you need a center you need a center in return. Yeah, right? And my whole thing is like, no, you don't. The trade market right now is I think Robert Thomas out of St. Louis, Leas Pedersen out of Vancouver and his Parker and Kitts

has pointed out, probably Pavel Zaka out of Boston. Well, and Matthews, if he was to actually be put on the market. Hey, it could happen. Don't shake your head, me. Well, I'm not shaking my head. I'm just saying that that is, it sounds crazy. No, no, no, it doesn't sound crazy, but it's yet to be established. Yeah.

And it could be later in the process. It's also just like a natural reaction when you say something. You shake our heads. No. No. Okay, for example, a guy that I think is going to get, you know, gratuitously overpaid. He's a guy that's just been in the news, Michael McCarran. Like, that's a guy that's, he made $900,000 last year.

He could make quadruple that on the open market. There are going to be some guys that are going to just be loving life because they hit free agency at the perfect time. where the cap is going up. There's absolutely no good centers available, and it's a bunch of secondary and tertiary guys, and they're just going to get paid. Like Charlie Coil, 34 years old, do you think if you went to him and said,

Charlie, you're still going to make $36 million more in this league? Like, what are you crazy? No, but Columbus is. Yeah. But I don't even think Columbus is that crazy. Honestly, what's the risk? If he plays poor, let's say the last three years of that contract age poorly. I don't know.

I don't know how it's structured or if you can buy them out or if there's going to be rules around the buyout. It's probably like a top end deal, right? Like he's probably going to get paid way more in the first three years in the last three. Whatever the pay. Do you mean front loaded, Adok? Top loaded. I like it. Top-in on deal.

Yeah. He's thinking of the video game, the top loader. He loaded on top. It's a top-bend deal you got there, Charlie. Yeah. Oh, man. That, yeah, that one really caught me off guard. Okay, quick reset here.

We got one final hour to go on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. If you want to weigh in on anything Canucks related, we are going to continue that conversation in the 8 o'clock hour. Satyar Shah is going to join us on the other side. We'll talk about Ryan Johnson, M. Gold, the Siddins, when we might get an answer as it pertains to what the Canucks front office is going to look like and where they're going to announce these new hires and the new structure.

I do right now need to do the smart, decision brought to you by Crow. And I'm going to go back to the white caps for this one. Totally off the board, though. This one actually kind of caught me by surprise yesterday. The white caps have made the smart decision, Jason, to go back to Swan Guard Stadium in Burnaby. Did you see this yesterday?

Full time. Full time. They're going back of their full time. Pause. Are there enough seats? Not full time. It's going to be maybe it's only one game for now. Maybe they'll be two. The white caps tease this yesterday on social media channels with a short video that included

a zoom out and then a zoom in on Swan Guard Stadium. The big old grandstand at Swan Guard. And everyone was like, hmm, what's going on here? Well, can confirm that the White Caps are going to be hosting their Canadian championship quarterfinal against Calgary, the CPL team.

July 8th at Swan Guard. Oh, I got to go to that. I got to go to it. That'll be amazing. Now, here's the thing. There were some other grounds that were in consideration here. They thought about maybe playing at Willoughby and Langley, of course. That's where Vancouver FC plays. They thought about maybe going to Victoria, do like a Starlight game and do what the Lions have done and kind of go all over the province.

But they decided to go back to their roots because you'll remember before the White Caps broke in as an MLS team in 2011, they played their final season as a USL team at Swan Guard Stadium. Now, I always loved the supporter section at the White Caps or at Swangard. There'd be like 20 guys behind the nets, just crushing beers. Supporting the caps. Yeah. Weaving flags. And the 86ers.

prior to that. Some real history. What's your favorite memory, you personally, from Swan Guard? Oh, it's not... I ran a four-by... I was one of the runners

in a four-by-200. I can't remember. Maybe elementary school. And I do remember wearing basketball shoes. They're a little clunky. They have good ankle support. Those heavy converses.

Well, we played there. U-12 Commonwealth Cup final, lost to Edmonds. a big deal. But my most fond memory was going to see Canada play World Cup qualifiers. There's specifically one against Honduras. Yeah. It was at El Salvador.

Paul Pescasolito got red carded. I remember that. And it was amazing to see a World Cup qualifier at Swan Guard. Yeah. You know? It didn't get the attention that it does now, those qualifiers. Oh, there was several. Yeah. There was a bunch of them. There was a highly competitive one against Mexico

with Jorge Campos and Netflix. And I think John Cali, have scored early for Canada and everyone thought that this might be, you know, a big result for Canada against the powerhouses of Conccaf. Didn't come to be. Mexico ended up winning. But there were some really great World Cup qualifiers of Swangor. I watched Canada and England. It was a B-side for England.

Yeah. In rugby. Yeah. They've had a lot of events there. So they're going back. It's a good time. I don't know. So because the white caps aren't going to have B.C. place available to them, I think everything is on like a sort of match-by-match basis.

Like, we'll figure it out as we go along. Because they've also got the least. League's Cup in August as well. So we'll see. But for now, definitely the white caps are returning to Swan Guard. It's going to happen on Wednesday, July 8th. It's a midweek match against Calgary in the Canadian Championship. That is your smart decision brought to you by Crow. You're trusting accounting and tax advisors for over 55 years.

Crow smart decisions lasting value. Learn more at chromakai.ca.com. Okay. So as I mentioned, Sat's going to join us on the other side. We'll get back into the Canucks talk. Also, this is a good time to. remind you to get your what we learns into the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket. 650. 650 is the text line. Hashtag it

WWL and tell us what did you learn over the last 24 hours in sports. By the way, we have not done any NBA really at all this postseason and I know it's neglectful on our part, but it's a big news in the NBA yesterday. Is it LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers were dumped out of the playoffs by Shea Gildj Gilles Alexander and the OKC Thunder and a lot of questions now about whether or not LeBron will be back for another season or if he's going to call it quits after getting swept out of the playoffs

by OKC. If you want to weigh in on that, do it now. Dunbar-Lumber text line, 650, 650, hashtag it WWL. That's all coming up in the final hour of the program. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650.