Halford & Brough in the Morning - Better Late Than Never

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they talk the Hockey Hall of Fame induction announcement, including Alex Mogilny finally getting in after seventeen years of waiting (3:00), plus they discuss when the Canucks might start making some moves ahead of the draft and free agency (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

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- High fly ball to deep left center field. It's gone! A grand slam for George Springer. Ronny at center ice. Moves it ahead for McGilley going down low! Cheers! It's a sick society, isn't it? It's a sick society. Good morning, Vancouver. Six o'clock on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. It's Halford, it is brough. It is Sports six society. Good morning Vancouver, six o'clock on a Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday everybody, it's Halford and his bruff at his 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.

Laddie, good morning to you as well. It's a six society, Halford. Halford and bruff of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for net help. With over 3,000 five-star reviews, visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are in hour one of the program. Hour one 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. We are coming to you live from the kintex studio kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step Big show ahead on a Wednesday first hour all uninterrupted Halford and brough Gonna be talking a lot of hockey Hall of Fame folks get ready for it That's the first hour of the program our guest list today begins at 7 o'clock Nick Kiprios is gonna join the program He of course the host of real Kipper and Bourne on Sportsnet's Fan 590.

Kipper's Trade Board 2.0 dropped yesterday. Marner, Robertson, Pedersen, all the big names are there. We'll talk about it with Nick at seven o'clock as we get closer and closer to the NHL. Entry drafted, of course. We are now just six days away from the start of free agency. Now, 730. And the Canucks have done.

Nothing. Nothing yet. A lot of prep work. So just getting ready. They're biding their time. They have everyone where they want them. David Amber's gonna join us at 730. He'll be joining us live from Los Angeles

at the 2025 NHL entry draft. Although it is a decentralized draft this year, we're still going to be there. Sportsnet still showing up, doing our thing. Draft goes on Friday, as I mentioned. Also, as I mentioned, the hockey hall of fame inductions happened yesterday. So we'll go over a very compelling 2025 entry class in the first hour of the program and with David, that's coming up at 730. Eight o'clock at Satyar Shah, host of Canucks Central right here on Sportsnet

650. What are we hearing out of Canucks land just six days ahead of free agency? What's the likelihood of Vancouver moving the 15th overall pick at Friday's draft? We will answer or at the very least try to answer some of these questions and more with Sat at 8 a.m. I have a question, finally, to end this whole thing off as we move along on the show Have you bought your tickets for the sports net 650 Jays care 5050 for challenger baseball yet? If you haven't you have you bought your hundred dollar. I am just as guilty as the people I still haven't done it Okay, and I need to do it. You're right to call me out. Yeah, I have not done it I have not fulfilled our wager. I have not given to charity

I have not supported that happens today challenge your baseball or tomorrow I will however do it and I implore all of you to do the same buy your tickets now at jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com It's a great cause challenge your baseball is a worthy endeavor. We've talked about it a lot on this show. Jayscaregolf.rafflenexus.com. Buy your tickets now. This entire thing is supported by Tiltown proudly Canadian owned and operated since 1971. Visit them online at mytiltown.ca. Okay. Working in reverse on the guest list, eight o'clock Satyar Shah, 7 30 David, Amber seven o'clock Nick Kiprios. 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 was. 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.

Yesterday, the big news of the day, the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame entry class was announced. And the biggest story of them all, without question, is that Alexander McGillin Lee's long wait To get in is finally over. Hell. Yeah after being eligible for selection 16 years in a row He finally got in on the 17th try along with a star-studded cast Joe Thornton Zanino Chara Duncan Keith on the women's side Brianna Decker and Jennifer Botterill It was a very very newsworthy day from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Okay, I'm gonna start with Adog. Why are you so excited about Alex McGill? He was one of my favorite players. He was one of your favorite players? But also, it is ludicrous it took him this long. I mean, his stats should have gotten him in much quicker than he got in. And of course, his defection story,

which is just incredible. It's like a movie. Yeah. Like he was heroic and his family could have been killed and it was just this incredible story of him getting over to the NHL and paving the way for so many more Russian players and Eastern European players.

And it's just this incredible story. He was one of the league's best goal scorers for many years, even though he was an enigma at time, sort of an Alexei Kovlev style, you know, some nights he just wouldn't show up, but when he did, man, he was one of the league's best goal scorers for many years, even though he was an enigma at times, sort of an Alexei Kovlev style. Some nights he just wouldn't show up, but when he did, man, he was one of the best players in the league. He was just an absolutely machine of a goal scorer when he was on his game. I know he only had really one great year in Vancouver, but he had many great years on

other teams, and yeah, he should have gotten in a long time ago. He was very well said, Andy. Yeah, I wanted to put it to you first, because I know you've been kind of one of the voices that's been like, this guy should get into the Hall of Fame. So good. He is so good. That's why he is. He was so good.

Just watch his highlight reels, man. Supremely talented. Incredible. Supremely talented player. And yeah, now he's finally in. Yep. And it was the story of the class, which isn't necessarily a shame, but it

does overshadow a lot of other really compelling narratives about the people that got in. And because it was such a loaded class, the people that didn't get in, as I mentioned, Jumbo Joe Thornton, who I think everyone assumed was going to be a first ballot guy, and the other two, Zidane Ochar and Duncan Keith. Is there anyone out there that's debating whether or not they should have a first ballot guy. And the other two Zdeno Char and Duncan Keith, is there anyone out there that's debating whether or not they should have been

first ballot guys as well? Not really. So who gets left on the outside looking in? Well, the two most prominent ones were the other two guys that were first time eligible that did not get in. Carrie Price and Ryan Getzlaff. Also, Henrik Zetterberg is left waiting and wanting on the outside for the fourth consecutive year. But there's a lot to get into with all of these stories. The McGillin thing is very interesting

for the reasons that Andy said. A lot of people spent the days leading up to yesterday in a weird conversation before the announcement that there didn't seem like there was a real wind of change blowing in the media. Like, I think I see this one coming, oh, this could be the year because one, the collective media had done that several times before. And two, there was a sentiment that the ship might have sailed.

Well, I also think there was a Russia factor at play. Now, this is an interesting thing that you've brought up here because people have spent and spilled a considerable amount of ink trying to explain why Alexander McGillinney took almost two decades to get into the hockey hall of fame. For those that are unaware with the process and a hockey hall of fame is a secret society. We don't get any results following the votes. All of the members are essentially sworn to secrecy about what goes on behind those doors and what those conversations entail.

So we had no idea where McGillinly was or if he was even close to being inducted. He could have been, you know, several votes off the even the idea or the notion of getting in. The only thing I'll note is that Ron Francis was the chairman of the 18 person selection committee for the first time yesterday. So he, along with the outgoing chairman, Lanny McDonald, got to make the call to Russia at

3 AM, 3 AM, Russia time that is, to tell McGillinney that he had gotten in. McGillinney got up, picked up the phone, thanked everyone, was very gracious, then went back to bed because it was in the middle of the night. The reason- His direct quote was, do you know what time it is? You couldn't have what time like a couple hours earlier so Andy did so annoyed like yeah come on like at this point like we made me wait like you call me at 3 in the morning I wonder if he

actually do you think actually cares no I don't think so so probably just like okay whatever why why did it take so long? He's McGill and that's part of his charge like whatever just call me in the morning Yeah, some people were alluding to the Russian factor like you were talking about But then some people would counter that argument by saying like Pavel Datsuk was recently elected Yeah, yeah And there's been other Russians that have been elected over the course of time that McGill need gone in That that one didn't really hold water. There was some thought that he might spurn the Hockey Hall of Fame because for a couple other honours that he's received, he either bypassed or just completely ignored.

I believe one was the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Anyway, that one didn't necessarily hold weight. Is it because he was inconsistent? Because like Kovalev's not in either and some people say it's because of his lack of consistency, regardless of stats and his ability. Two authors in particular Have spent a lot of time writing about this one is Tim Graham from the athletic out of Buffalo And that makes sense because McGillin these best years were as a Buffalo Sabre

76 goals one year was yep And the other one Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun who had covered McGillin for a year when McGillin was put two years Sorry McGillin is playing in Toronto, and then I think just kind of turned this up as a personal cause. The general consensus from those two writers is that McGill needs aloofness, enigmatic, mercurial, quirky, mystery, however you want to say it, ways throughout his playing career had a lot of people saying he left a lot on the table

and there was always more that we thought he could have given. And he did play with some very prevalent and prominent NHL players, was coached by Hall of Famers, and was also managed by a lot of executives during the Hall of Fame. And if you go back and look,

not a ton of them had a lot to say about the player publicly. It was almost like it was a riddle of a player. There's also, he suffered a ton of them had a lot to say about the player publicly. It was almost like it was a riddle of a player. Yeah, there's also he suffered a lot of injuries throughout his playing career. The 76 goals and then I think he hit 50 twice after that. It was a almost kind of a Lindros, like the the star shine very brightly and burn brightly, but it was for a very short period of time. Do you think there was a cultural thing there?

Like just like, you time. Do you think there was a cultural thing there? When you think about, I know it almost gets to stereotyping when you start calling these players this enigmatic Russian. You think about Kovalev, you think about McGilney, but you also think about personality wise, Pavel Bure. Mm-hmm. I mean, did anyone besides Gino really get to know Pavel Bure in Vancouver? And he didn't exactly leave on the best note. Mm-hmm. I just wonder, you know, I think I also think about,

you know, you remember when Krutov came over? Yeah. That was a long time ago, but he just, culturally, I think he, like those guys were like, I don't really get it, you know, Vlad the inhaler. Well, even Tramkin. Remember he came over and he was just like, yeah, I don't there's a little, you know, yeah, when it was in Vancouver, it was like a lot of people smoking weed. I'm like, yeah, there are, you know, and it ruined his Hall of Fame trajectory, which everyone thought he was on.

He's just like, this is awesome. So I'm happy that this story is now being told. You've always brought up this great point about the Hockey Hall of Fame, that when you go there, it should be about telling stories in part, right? It's not the NHL Hall of Fame, it's the Hockey Hall of Fame. And it's a celebration of the sport and all of the central figures that have made it up and have told its story over

time. And I think the hockey hall of fame is woefully incomplete without a trail blazer from the former Soviet Union that took the risk to defect. Part of this is also the Soviet Union's impact on the game of hockey and how the players from that era and that generation Really bridged that gap between international hockey and the NHL and McGillin he was the first to do it as for why it took so long This is one of the long-standing complaints of the hockey Hall of Fame. I don't think that they're ever gonna change it I think that they enjoy being a secret society. I think that they Find the public's perception of it unique to in a good way, whereas a lot of other people see it unique in a kind of archaic way.

Like this is, you've got every other Hall of Fame really transparent and public about who gets in and who doesn't and the reasons why. But the Hockey Hall of Fame really seems to enjoy being shrouded in secrecy and not having everyone in. Like it's this inner club and we decide and that's how it goes. They also don't have to be accountable. And there's no accountability this way, right? It's easier. Like Ron Francis becoming.

Accountability is overrated. The worst part is when they hold you accountable. Yeah, Ron Francis was the new chairman. I was like, I didn't even know that. I had no idea that that was up for term. Like I didn't know that we were anointing a new chairman. I didn't know that Ron Francis was getting it and now he's the new guy and he gets to be the Lanny McDonald

moving forward. Okay. So I've got a question for you guys and I've got a question for the listeners tuning in this morning. How do we feel about Duncan Keith just generally here in Vancouver? Because I know a lot of people remember him as part of the hated Chicago Blackhawks, not to mention the guy who elbowed Daniel Sedin back in 2012.

And I won't blame Canucks fans if that's how they remember him. And if they stubbornly say, I do not like Duncan Keith and I will never like Duncan Keith, because I'm not sure Daniel Sedin was ever quite the same after that hit. It was a dirty hit and there was no real justice because Keith ended up just getting a nice rest

for the playoffs where they got eliminated by Phoenix, but whatever. He's never really come across as super friendly in the media either. He's admittedly a private guy, um, not, you know, very jovial or it's certainly not public facing his teammates all of them, but, um, his teammates, I think are also all scared of him or they were, but I, I just think it's. I'll say it's unfortunate because Keith is one of the

greatest defensemen to ever play the game. And he suited up for Canada too. And he's got local ties, well, BC ties to Penticton. I actually don't think he gets enough credit for Chicago's success during those years. His performance in 2015 was one of the greatest in NHL playoff history. And that's no exaggeration. There are tons of stories about his fitness and

his diet and his competitiveness. It's why he was able to log all those minutes in that legendary series against Anaheim in 2015, the conference final. That Hawks team that won the cup, won it with log all those minutes in that legendary series against Anaheim in 2015, the conference final. That Hawks team that won the cup won it with four defensemen basically. It was Keith Seabrook, John Merson, and Johnny

O'Duya. They had, who was it? Like Tiemann and. Tiemann. Do you remember Kyle Kamisky? Yep. Yeah. They played like.

I remember his nickname. They played like seven minutes a game. And Johnny O'Dewy threw out his shoulder in that series, so they're basically down to three defensemen. There were a couple of games against the Ducks that went to OT where Keith played over 40 minutes. One where he almost played 50 minutes. And the Ducks were just teeing off on him over and over again.

And Ryan Kessler had the famous quote, well, I guess now infamous quote, no human can withstand that many hits. Well, Duncan Keith did. And you know who admired him and tried to gain some inspiration from him? The current Canucks captain. Do we have the audio queued up of, of

Quinn Hughes talking about Duncan Keith? Because even before he was drafted by the Canucks, he was talking about, um, you know, it's, it's not just that Duncan Keith was kind of an undersized defenseman. He said of Keith's intensity, I want to get to that point for sure. And I don't want to be remembered as just an offensive defenseman. Yeah.

I mean, I'm not never going to be like a shit, whatever. He's obviously bigger and can play defensive differently. But for me, as a young kid, I always grew up, you know, idolizing Duncan Keith because, um, you Keith because he could log those minutes. He was so effective offensively, but also defensively he was reliable. And more than reliable, he was a horse back there. And for me, that's something I can really respect. And I don't want to be known just as an offensive guy, and I don't think I will be.

But for me, a guy like Keith is someone I really respected growing up because he was, you know, he played both ways. And yeah, so I always watched him growing up and that's kind of where my mindset is, where I want to be. And, you know, it's not going to happen overnight, but, you know, like I said earlier,

I don't know who asked it, but I really like my game right now. I think I'm playing good and for me, I just got to keep building on it. So that was after the draft, but you know, he's a guy that Quinn Hughes has looked at. And it makes sense because Keith was such a phenomenal skater too, right? Yeah. They're very similar players in that respect. And he could log big.

I mean, obviously Keith was more physical and more intense than he is in a different way, but they're both incredible skaters. But I think Queen has added that intensity in his own end and I think it's just one of those things where he's aimed to do it and he's accomplishing what he aimed to do with Duncan Keith in mind. And I know some of you listening might be a little tired of this Duncan Keith love fest.

A lot of them, Jason. Yeah, but these are the types of, here's the thing. These are the types of guys you win Stanley Cups with. They are the leaders you need. They are ultra competitive guys, often with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. And Keith always had a chip on his shoulder because people have been telling him he was too small

to play the game for his whole career. And they occasionally crossed the line while competing in a very rough game. And in the playoffs, sometimes you would say rough is vicious. Jonathan Taves told the athletic in a text message that no one was more deserving than Duncan Keith. Aside from his success and everything he accomplished, this is the quote that stood out for me. People will never understand how much work and dedication he put in every day. That's the kind of player you need. I had a, actually a mutual friend who grew up in

Penticton and knew Keith growing up and he said the work rate and the dedication to improving his craft was borderline maniacal at times. And all the anecdotes that you hear of the true greats, which are like, hey, we're going to a party or we're going to burn down the moon tower. I assume that's what you do in Penticton. And they know we're all going to do that tonight. And, you know, you bypass it because you're going to work on your craft.

Though those moments. And for those of you that have young athletes that you're either coaching or it's your child, and if you ever wanna point to those particular moments where, it's like, this is where the difference is made. It's usually when the kid opts to do nothing so that they can sit around and play Valorant

or any whatever their video game of their choice is. Valorant, I'm amazed you even know what that is. Yeah, my kid plays it Wow or impressed Find those find those flashpoint moments where they just want to you know They're tired and they want to sit around do nothing or they you know They don't want to put in the work and they want to go out with their friends or they want to hang out Don't chastise them for doing it, but make those flashpoint moments. Just be like, just so you know, these are the moments when the ones that get to that super high level have the drive and the focus and the determination to go do those things.

Those are the exact moments. You have to catch them. Short term sacrifices for long term success. You have to catch those moments though, because they are fleeting. Where everyone's got those times where they're like, oh, I just wanna decompress. I just wanna recharge the batteries.

I'm tired, I'm feeling super great. And everyone, it's not even rationalizing. Like a lot of people, they need the rest, right? There are a handful of people out there that are wildly energetic and so focused and so driven that they understand that those are the moments where well I got to go put in work here because the key difference is you're gonna put in the work When the other people are taking their rests and whatever I mean It's a dangerous game to play with kids because they do need their time to step away from things

But it's just an interesting that I remember him saying like we would want to go to parties and dunk would be like I'm going To shoot pucks. Yeah, that would be and that would be. And Dunk would be like, I'm going to shoot pucks. Yeah. That would be it. And then he'd shoot. And just over and over and over again. And there's times where your buddies are out having a good time and everyone's having fun.

And you're off doing this thing. Dunk and Keith had an advantage, though, in that he didn't like other people. I mean, that was a big part of it. Quinn Hughes is like, I'm going to model that after my game now. Yeah. Because it's really mean to everyone next year. The better I got. It was incredible how that went. Wow, Quinn's so sur game now. Yeah. Because he's really moving everyone next year. The surly I got, the better I got.

It was incredible how that went. Wow, Quinn's so surly now. He was a miserable piece of business though. Yeah, I don't think I ever saw him smile in an interview. We got to, well yeah, he was missing teeth. But when we got to cheer for him when he was playing for Canada, that was always a great moment because you felt safe when he was on the ice, you know? And that blue line that Canada had with him when,

you know, like Shea Weber was on that, those blue lines were some of the greatest blue lines ever assembled, ever. Yeah. And any, you know, international, NHL, whatever, they were incredible. And I actually think like Canada's blue line now doesn't compare at all to when they had the likes

of Duncan Keith on it. You've got the audio from the Joe Thornton call you were saying, so. Yeah, it's courtesy ADOG actually alerting me to this audio. It's a pretty funny reaction from Joe. You guys wanna hear it? Let's hear it, laddie. Here's Joe Thornton getting the call from the hockey

All of me. Hey Joe. I just wanted to let you know that We're really excited to welcome you into the hockey all fame My god, oh my god, I'm taking thanks boy. Holy moly Holy doodle Break there that was my guy I know we spent a lot of time talking about Alexander McGillian I know we spent a lot of time talking about Duncan Keith, but jumbo was my that was when did he retire again? Well, it would have had to been three years ago. So was this the earliest he could get in?

Yeah, first ballot. So that trade from Boston now is even more baffling. It was already, but the fact that he's firmly in the Hall of Fame now. You know who that trade featured? The current head coach of the Boston Bruins, Marco Sturm, among others. So it worked out in the long run.

For everyone. Yeah, right. Right. Thorne was Thorne might have had the best personality of anyone that we covered, watched, rooted for or against during what I consider like our generation, which is like the first two decades of 2000, like all the way from 2000 to 2020. And there was a guy that above all else loved playing hockey, but not just playing hockey.

He loved every part of it. He loved hanging out with, with the fellas and he loved just being around the rink. He'd be one of those guys. Like if the game started at seven, he'd be there at like 10 o'clock in the morning. He's like, yeah, just going to spend the day here. I think when the lockouts were on, it was like straight to Switzerland so that he could go play more hockey. Another guy that gets in without a cup though.

First ballot, no Stanley Cup. Like the Sedines because it's going to happen more and more now. Sure. Because it is so difficult to win a cup and you have to have everything go right for you. Yep. And you know, I mean, he got right to the summit, right?

I mean, he had that Stanley Cup final where they lost to Pittsburgh. And that was, there's a lot of guys from that era in San Jose, obviously the big three with Pavelski and Thornton and Marlowe that never got the job done. Yeah, 15 years of group, really good, but not great. I guess you could say. Okay, let's put a cap on the Hall of Fame talk.

I want to hear from you, the listeners, not about Duncan Keith. Text into the Dunbar Lumber Text Line 650-650. I just want to know how you're feeling about the Canucks right now. Are you worried that they haven't made any moves? Are you confident that they've got some moves in mind and that they're going to pull the trigger as the draft comes up this weekend and into free agency on July 1st. Text into the Dunbar Lumber text line 650-650, 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. I saw a report, I think it was from Sarah Valley, that the Buffalo Sabres were looking for a right shot defenseman. I was just like, oh, is there something to do with Hronek there? Do they do something? Do they trade Hronek and bring in Bowen Byrom and maybe J.J. Peturka? All sorts of ideas in my mind because the Canucks, they got to do something. sorts of ideas in my mind because the Canucks, they got to do something. And, you know, Jim Rutherford has said, if we're going to make a trade, some people aren't going to like it because we're going to have to give to get.

But, you know, one of his quotes was, you know, it'll hurt a lot more if we don't make these trades to address the forward group. trades to address the forward group. We are heading seriously into this next week is integral for what the Canucks are gonna look like next season. Yeah they can still make moves after July 1st and into the summer but this is when the majority of moves in the NHL are gonna be made and the Canucks so far have done nothing. So text into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650-650. I want to hear your thoughts. We'll read them on the other side of the Alfred and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about

Jan Pro. From warehouses to washrooms and everywhere in between, Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected for a free quote. Visit them online at JanPro.ca. So 6.34 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80%. With no more interest. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in our one of the program. All uninterrupted Halbrow this hour. No guests, just me and Jason talking sports. We're here too.

Right. Also the dogs. Take you behind the scenes of the Haliford and Brough show. Got a listener. Goes by the name of Mr. Grumpy. Mr. Grumpy. Well, he lived up to his namesake this morning. He was upset that we didn't have any Abbotsford Canucks players on the show this morning. So I got into-

We should call someone, just wake them up. I got it. They're all still drunk. You know what time it is right now? I said that. I got into the Dunbar Lumbertex message in basket at 6.50, 6.50, and I said, Mr. Grumpy

It's hard to get them to come on the air at 6 a.m most of them as you said are probably sleeping or still drunk and Then mr. Grumpy defiantly said Well, I'll just your show goes till 9 o'clock I'll just turn back in tune back in tomorrow I said we got the chases out we're trying and then Grumpy said, you should have announced that at the beginning of the show. We should announce during the rundown where we talk about the guests, also all the guests we won't have.

I was going to say, that won't be on the show. Not many radio shows start off by announcing all their failings from the previous day. The following individuals turned us down unceremoniously. Do we have Ryan Johnson on the show? Yeah, tomorrow. Tomorrow? Awesome. Stick that in your tailpipe, Mr. Grumpy. You are listening to the Haliford and Brough show

on Sportsnet 650. Haliford and Brough for the morning. Hour one 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. A lot of people are texting in not about our

lackluster guest list, but about the lackluster Vancouver Canucks. Yeah, there's a general sense of, I don't know how they're going to accomplish this. Peter in Cloverdale, I'm starting to lose hope. What the Canucks are trying to accomplish doesn't feel achievable. I'm just going to go into the season with mid

expectations and watch the good games and switch the channel when it's not going our way. They are killing my spirit. Uh, they still have time to make deals and Jim Rutherford is a deal maker and, um, he's, he's gonna, they're going to pull the trigger on some stuff, whether it's smart remains to be seen. Uh, Marcus from Cloverdale.

I wonder if he knows Peter in Cloverdale. Both from Cloverdale. Do you know Dave from Canada? Yeah, we went to the rodeo together. Marcus says, I've been trying to keep my expectations low to avoid major disappointment, but I'm caught up in the Paterka talk. Marco Rossi doesn't do it for me and I like Jason Robertson, but I don't think Vancouver will give up enough of a package as other teams to land him. With Paterka, however, I feel it's realistic and very possible,

and most importantly necessary to the club's future. He's young, talented, and could be that missing piece on Petey's wing. JJ Peturka is definitely a guy that makes something happen out there. What's it going to cost to get him? Again, the Sabres need a right shot defenseman. So would you be willing to part with Hronik or even Willander?

To. Nodding my head over here. To get JJ Peturka. I don't even like Peturka and I'm nodding my head over here. To get JJ Paterka. I don't even like Paterka and I'm nodding my head over here. The Islanders are one of the teams that's also apparently in on JJ Paterka and they've got a decision to make on Noah Dobson. So I wonder if that's the competition for the JJ Paterka trade would be the New York Islanders.

JDog, the car hog. At this point, JDog writes, I'm okay with just promoting within plus adding the best possible scores you can in free agency to help offensively. Focus more on culture, team building, make that the major change this year. Make this team 25 best friends of each other.

Save all our draft picks, don't trade prospects, keep developing and see where that takes you. That ain't happening. That is not going to happen, but. Hey, JDog. But JDog, I want to read this quote from Ryan Johnson that he gave to Ian McIntyre post Calder Cup win, because I really liked this quote.

And I do think there is a lot to be said for culture. It's not quantifiable. So a lot of people just go, ah, I'm not going to worry about culture. Just bring me in the goal scorers, bring me in the talent. That's how I'm going to put my team together.

I think you need to do both, but here's this quote from Ryan Johnson on why they had success in Abbotsford. He said, we never focused necessarily on just the record or winning games. We focused on two things, which is one professionalism, how you practice as much as how you play.

And then the second part of that is the quality of teammates we could be. That doesn't mean buying lunch or beers after practice. That's how hard you push each other and the decisions you make every day. That allows you to have success and win something. That's what I want every single one of these guys and staff to take with them. Some of you might hear that and be like, that's awesome. That's the kind of team I want to cheer for. Others might kind of roll their eyes and be like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

JT Miller might be like, I pushed as hard as I could. Now I'm a ranger. I think it's important though. And I think over the past few years, one of the things that's been a real, well, especially last year, like a real turnoff about the Canucks is that there were many times where you wondered, do these guys even like each other?

You know, will they stick up for each other? Do they enjoy playing with each other? And we know for sure that two of them didn't enjoy playing together. And I think that, uh, you know, from what we heard that had a knock on effect in the dressing room. Sometimes people feel the need to take sides or sometimes if there's arguing and bickering

among key players on a team. You know what some people do? Check out. I was like, why am I going to sacrifice and fight for this group that can't even get along? Show up, get to work, get through it, and then get out of here. And you know, when I heard Leonis Carlson being interviewed after the Calder Cup win. In there right now. He talked about, okay, he talked about veteran guys like Chase Waters and Stevens on that team.

And like, I don't think much about those guys, right? Cause like I'm worried about the prospects, the young guys and the guys that are, you know, scoring the goals and you know, making the saves. But that just shows that, you know, it really was a team down in Abbotsford. And that doesn't always happen in a farm team. Like it's actually quite difficult to bring a farm team together.

First of all, you're constantly, the roster's shaking up all the time. And also guys are so competitive with each other. Yeah, I think that's it. For them to come together and win, I think, I think, I hope they learned some, some good lessons that even at the pro level, where sometimes you can get a little jaded, you know? And that's, that's another thing that happens, by the way.

And I think it did happen with the Canucks. They got jaded about the market, about the pessimism, about all the noise around them. It was nice to see that team come together and just focus on the, on the number one goal of winning a trophy. I think it's important to note too, the players that were in Abbotsford, most of them, this was like their first, or not most of them, but there's a good chunk of them where this was their first experience in all of this. First time members of the Abbotsford Canucks. If you look at

guys like Sammy Blay and Jujar Kyra, Jujar Kyra joined halfway through the year and became an important instrumental figure in all this. It doesn't take a lot of time, interestingly enough, to build this sort of thing if guys are committed to it. It's almost like you need the right personalities rather than some standoffish personalities where they gotta warm up to the group. Now, what does this matter?

Well, I think it can be applicable to the modern parent club, what does this matter? Well, I think it can be applicable to the modern parent club, the Vancouver Canucks, because I think part of figuring out what went wrong last year is trying to flush it from the system. Like when we talk about, is it time to move on from player X and player Y?

Player X being Brock Besser, player Y being Pugh Souter. It's not a condemnation of them as individuals. It's not suggesting that they played a key role in the culture of the team going downhill, but they were around for it. Sometimes you just need to change things out. I mean, it's the world of professional sports. Sometimes you make change for changes sake. Yeah.

P I always P people always say like, you, you don't just make change for changes. Say sometimes you do. Sometimes you do. make change for changes sake. Sometimes you do. Sometimes you do. Sometimes you do. Sometimes you do. Absolutely sometimes you do. What happens if we give it another look? Could it be any worse? Yeah.

You know, we're desperate here. We got to try some different things. And that's sometimes how you stumble upon maybe not necessarily a plan that works, but a plan that gives you an idea of, oh, we can move in a different direction and things will be okay. The Canucks need to try to get Kuzmenko back. He brought good vibes. Bring him back. I don't think it's gonna happen.

As a matter of fact, I know it's probably when Rapal comes with him. Bring him back. No. You think Kuzmenko is coming back? Well, you tasked me to. Well, I guess that's true. I will reach out and convince him.

Okay, all right. No, I know this is your responsibility. Take him out for now to the town. Yeah, that's true. I will reach out and convince him. Okay, all right. No, I know this is your responsibility. Take him out for now on the town. Yeah. Party it up. And be like, he has no money to take people on the town. He's part. Why are we at Denny's? Part of the they should trade Elias Pedersen narrative

that I've since parked because I think it's a waste of breath at this point. I don't think they're gonna do it. But one of the driving forces behind it was it doesn't have to be a condemnation of the player. Maybe the best thing for the player to move on from the location and the room and the teammates where he suffered the worst moments of his professional career.

Like, maybe it's just the change is going to be good for everybody. And it doesn't seem like the organization is in a place where they can entertain that big of a change because they need the player to rebound. They need the ceiling that he's got. And that's unfortunate because you're asking a lot in my estimation. The, I was, I spent some time on Canucks Reddit.

That's fun. Yesterday and we are fully in the Petey revenge tour, part of the off season because there've been some articles written and you know, he hasn't been crying in the articles. He's been generally positive. So people are like, he is so back. And I'm honestly, I'm on board with it because

if they don't trade them, I have no other choice, but to just hope that the first time we see Petey, whether it's training camp or in a pre-season game, and we just know like, oh, he's back. He's got that confidence again. His legs are moving. He's being creative out there. He's, you know, he's dogging pucks and like that's, I mean, the thing, the thing with

Pedersen is that people always rip me for criticizing him and I get it, but I saw what all these fans of Pedersen also saw. And I was so struck by how far his game fell off. That's where the criticism comes from. You know, it's, it's not from, it's not, I'm, I'm not one of these guys that was like, oh, he's, he's never going to make it.

He's too soft. Like I, I saw it. I was like, this guy's going to win a Selkie one day. This guy has something very, very special. So I wouldn't be shocked if he comes back and he looks like his old self because he's got that in him. I know he's got that in him but he needs to show it. Daniel texts in, the importance of the Calder Cup and the Abbotsford Canucks players being at potentially their highest value in both trades and potential roster spots has to be a factor in the Canucks not making any trades yet, right? It's possible. I think you're grossly overestimating that. Well, what about a guy like

Leckermacky? They weren't going to pull him out of the lineup and say you're traded. No. What about a guy like Mancini? They weren't going to pull him out of the lineup and say you're traded. Of course not, but I also don't think that, so man, there's no disrespect to either of those two players, but I don't think they are the biggest chips. If there was a huge deal on the table, I don't think Abbotsford's run was holding it up. Let's put it that way. One of the, I'm not sure exactly how much trade value,

I'm not saying he doesn't have any. Let's get that clear. Please don't tell the newspapers I said that. I just don't know how much trade value Leckermackity has as an individual entity right now. I'm sure he's got a lot. I'm sure he's got a significant amount, but I don't think singularly he's giving you something that's going to like in a one for one deal. But don't you think it's very, very possible

that if the Canucks make a deal over these next few days, that it involves someone who played for the absolute Canucks and won a Calder Cup? But don't you think it's very, very possible that if the Canucks make a deal over these next few days that it involves someone who played for the Absperger Canucks and won a Calder Cup? I don't think that that, I just don't think that that's what was holding anything up. Here's the thing, point me in the direction of the NHL market right now

where things are moving fast and furious. Like who's making a ton of moves right now? That's another good point. It's a good point, like no one else is like making a ton of trades. Seattle? That's another good point There's a good point like no one else is like making a ton of trades Yeah, crack it are the most exciting team right now, and they traded for a basement mark Mason Marchman trade away Andre Berkovski Yeah, I mean those are the big moves in the National Hockey League right now All the rumors are still very much that rumors, but they're percolating. They're sitting there

Everyone is stuck in glue right now. It's being held by Marner. I Just think that he the big because you know how there's always like one big Yeah, and then the dominoes domino that all the little ones after you know I don't think you know dominoes I don't think the why is so important because I think this is all going to happen eventually So I really don't think the why is that important? I think the point is our jobs are to sit here and to parse through this stuff and The more days that go by within activity it does lend credence to the original thought of all of this which is Man, it's gonna be hard to make moves it validates what we're saying. It's like look how hard it is to make moves

There's no moves going on right now. We got 31 buyers and one seller, but everyone's got money now right shouldn't be that hard It used to be hard because nobody had any money, but now I got money I mean the hard part is where are you buying from? Where you whose carcass are you picking off and the answer is Pittsburgh, and then you don't know who else I mean there's a lot of teams right now in the context of making hockey trades that Greg Wyshinski So thoroughly scoffed at yesterday. You know I the part the point of a hockey trade is both teams are supposed to walk away happy from it, right? It's not like, well, we're selling in their buying, like, trying to get assets out of this. They're harder to do.

I also think that there's a staring contest going on across the national hockey league right now. I think a lot of general managers want to see I think that squeeze that little extra of the opponent. Yeah, see what they can get mm-hmm Alvin and JR playing hungry hungry I do I do think that that's that's a big part of this right now is you're just in a stalemate league-wide the dam will break and the moves will start happening but until then it lends credence to what we were saying it's gonna be awfully difficult

and the one thing that remains unchanged, the one narrative that remains unchanged is that the Canucks are going into this very pivotal off season with a lot of hungry teams, not playing hungry, hungry hippos, but a lot of hungry teams and their asset poor. But I think that hasn't changed. You know, what they, what they want to give,

even with regards to futures, there's other teams that have they want to give. Even with regards to futures, there's other teams that have more futures to offer. And with active roster players like sure, you can move some of those active roster players, but you're going to miss their contributions. I think that at the end of the day, Rutherford and Alveen are going to be as active as we've seen them in the past. I don't think is anyone out there accusing rather the Rutherford and Alvin era of not being

active and on the front foot when it comes to making them move? They're very active. They're very aggressive. They've made changes. They've gone out and tried things and they've done things and they signed guys and they've quickly reversed course on a lot of guys as well.

So it's never been for a lack of effort and movement. I think the one thing you could maybe accuse them of is being unrealistic. You're just going to let that hang there? I was thinking about it. Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Maybe there's a lack of reality in it. Maybe. But we'll see, right? We'll see over these next few days. I have sat here and said, prove me wrong, but

with the assets the Canucks have and the market and all the other aggressive teams and you know, the, some of the advantages that other teams have with state taxes or, and the fact that Canucks are just not a destination that a lot of guys want to go to, which is why when Bowen Byrom, it was reported that he wants to be a Canuck. I was like, hmm, okay. Well, maybe that's too bad he's a left shot defenseman. We'll take it though. We'll take it.

That, that perked my ears up because with these RFAs even, I know you can get these guys in their quote unquote club controlled, but I think RFA's have learned that if they don't want to be somewhere they don't have to be forced into signing a long term contract. They can be like, you can talk to their agents ahead of time and be like, is this guy going to sign here?

And if he says, probably not, then you're like, okay well I'm not going to, I only want to get a guy who really wants to be here and commit he says probably not then you're like okay well I'm not gonna I only want to get a guy who really wants to be here and commit to being here. No the unrealistic thing I've just I'm letting it marinate right now and think because you know well I've been saying it for the last month so no no no I know but is it not marinated while I've said like how are they going to do this how are they going to get here's a thing top six center and a top six winger, how are they gonna do this? I think that part of the job is existing in an unrealistic world. I think part of the job is understanding that,

where, if everything goes right, if everything goes right, and then you add in the end of that sentence, and two years ago, was if everything goes right, we're a playoff team, and the Cucks were. Matter matter of fact they got to the second round of the playoffs matter of fact They got to game seven the unrealistic part is thinking that that's gonna happen Maybe more than once Because the very next year you saw the ugly side of what happens when everything doesn't go right right what happens

What I think was wrong yeah And I think there's that because it's it's not unrealistic to say, like, if if this player gets back to his form and this player stays healthy and this player does what he does, we're going to be good. I think you could apply that to the Canucks. I don't think that's unrealistic. You know, the most important thing for me next season, what? Is that I start really liking this team again.

Just have a good time. No, I just I like I cheer for them. That was a real turn off to me. And you could probably sense it. No. From the show that, you know, as much as I've been a lifelong Canuck fan, I did not enjoy this team this year. I did not find, there were certain things that I liked, sure.

Well, the Pedersen and Miller thing, I think. It was such a turn off. Justifiably. Both guys, I don't even care, I don't even care whose fault it was. I honestly don't care. And people always text in there like, you never criticized Miller. What are you, out of your mind?

Some of those games he played down the stretch for his last few games- Yeah, Mr. Back Check. Were just ridiculous. There was that one game one game can't remember who is against maybe Buffalo or something I know it's the Kings I'm like you can't have a guy like that out on the ice doing that like that that has to that that can't happen and you know I I think what's striking is really is how much the Canucks refused to blame Miller or anything and kind of seemed to play

favorites the whole way. I know we're up against it for time. But that's not the guy you kept. But ultimately here's the thing. JT Miller was the one that asked out and the Canucks are very clear that they didn't choose to move JT Miller over Elias Pedersen. In fact, they thought they had a trade to make

with Carolina involving Elias Pettersson and the Carolina said, uh, Colorado, what about Rantanoam? Right. And that, and the connect kind of got stabbed in the back in that deal. So it's, but it is striking to me that they have done everything in their power, not to say anything negative about JT Miller while they're quite

criticizing Elias Pettersson, but here's the thing. Maybe that's just how they see it. Yeah, I think it's a misstep though. I think it is too. I think it is too. They've read them wrong. They've read them wrong. You can't, he's not a guy that you can

criticize publicly and hope that he's going to be like, well, I'll show you. He's a shutdowner. But at the end, the inverse of that, when we're talking about Miller, I don't understand why organizationally they feel the need to continually talk glowingly about JT Miller in the aftermath of the trade. I don't get it. And they do it all the time. And it feels like a very specific talking point where you're talking. And it's like, he's gone. He's gone.

He's not part of your team anymore. If you're trying to rehabilitate everything that went wrong with Pedersen last year, I don't think that praising the guy that made his life a living hell is like a great strategy. No, I don't really understand why they do it, but guess what? Same for talk it. There's a disconnect between talk it and Pedersen. And the hope is that there's a fresh start next season and that, you know, Adam Foote comes in and, you know, brings the group together, whatever

this group comprises. And I hope they go out and add some talent, but I just, I just want to like the Canucks again. Does that, does that strike anyone listening or am I, am I crazy? Like I'd love, I'd love to hear from you guys. Like. I'd like them to win more games than they

want. Yeah. You know, for sure, for sure. But I want to get to that back to that point where I'm just like cheering for them. Cause I feel like they're a team. Okay. The dogs are yelling at us.

Oh, we got to go to break before we go to break. I need to tell you about the BC lions. It's the biggest rivalry party of the year. Lions rough riders, Saturday, July 19th at 4 PM with the watermelon smash on Terry Fox Plaza. Get your tickets at BCLions.com. You're listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. The Canucks are going into this very pivotal offseason with a lot of hungry teams, not playing Hungry Hungry Hippos, but a lot of hungry teams. The winning game sucks. Let's play Hungry

Hungry Hippos.