Halford & Brough in the Morning - Canucks Good? Quinn Stay. Canucks Bad? Quinn Leave.

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports, they react to hot Quinn Hughes audio from the most recent 32 Thoughts Podcast, as Hughes speaks on his playing future with the Canucks (3:00), plus they chat the latest baseball news with MLB Network's Adnan Virk (26:20). 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. You're listening to Halford and Brough. And the pitch on the way to Leo, not buddy, swinging, fly ball, deep right field down the line. Walk it up, Leo Rebus. Oh, walk-up, two-run, home run. That ball's drilled. High and deep to left field. Yider Diaz gives the Astros a 3-2 lead in the night.

Just shit next time. Just, you know, you can talk trash and stuff, but keep your hands to yourself. Good morning, Vancouver. 6-1 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. It is Halford and it is Brough. It is SportsNet 650. We are coming you live from the Kintech Studios in beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver.

Jason, good morning. Good morning. Good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Alford and Brought of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks.

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Oh my, do we have a lot to get into on a Thursday show here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650? We will begin with the guest list. It begins at 6.30. Adnan, Verk's going to join the program from MLB Network. A lot to get into with Adnan as we get closer and closer to the MLB

post season. Tough loss for the Jays last night. Huge win for the Mariners last night. Yanks keep getting caved in by the Tigers. We'll talk to Adnan about all that at 630, about 28 minutes time. 7 o'clock. Gareth Wheeler from one soccer is going to join the program

for a little Canadian footie talk. We will discuss those wins over Wales and Romania during the most recent international window. Key takeaways, thoughts on the job done by Jesse Marsh, the gaffer. And what's next for Canada to round out 2025? Gareth Wheeler is going to join us at 7 o'clock to talk about all that. 7.30 Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider from ESPN, is going to join the program.

The Seahawks are away this Sunday. to take on Aaron Rogers and the Steelers in Pittsburgh. No, D.K. Metcalfe and the Steelers in Pittsburgh. That's right. I mean, the reunion. I mean, they're both there, but this one for me is about D.K. The kickoff is 10 a.m. our time. The Seahawks are three-point dogs on the road.

And the total, which I will now be paying attention to for the remainder of the year, is set at a whopping 39 and a half points in Pittsburgh. And Pittsburgh almost scored 39 by themselves last week. So take that into consideration. We'll look back on what happened against the Niners We'll look ahead to the Steelers That's all coming up with Brady Henderson at 730 See Brock Purdy's out too

Yeah the Niners Had some health issues Had some kicking issues Had all kinds of issues Yet still managed to win in week one We're gonna talk about reek woolen too Yeah we do 8 o'clock the Drancer Thomas Drance

He's gonna join the program I'm telling you this right now There's gonna be a lot of Canucks news today folks There's a lot of Quinn Hughes content out there including some hot audio that we've got fresh this morning. There is going to be a lot of Quinn Hughes discourse throughout your Thursday. I'm just preparing you for it. It's going to start with us.

It's going to continue on throughout the day. There's a lot going on with Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks. A lot of it emanating from what he had to say about his future in Las Vegas during the ongoing NHL media tour. So Drancer will join us at 8, but rest assured, we will be doing a little. a lot of Canucks talk throughout the program today. This is SportsNet 650. You're home of the Canucks. So, working in reverse on the guest list.

8 o'clock, it's Drance, 7.30, Brady Henderson, 7 o'clock, Gareth Wheeler, 630, Adnan, Verk. It's a loaded show. We got a lot to get into. So without further ado, Laddy, 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? Miss it? 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.ca. So yesterday, we got our first look at a good majority of what Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks captain, had to say in the most recent 32 thoughts podcast with Elliot and Kyle. It was recorded live on location in Vegas, sorry Henderson, Nevada for the ongoing NHL media tour. There was an article written about it on Sportsnet.com. You can download the podcast if you like.

I guess what those clever guys at 32 Thoughts did, though, Jason, is hold off on some of the juicier stuff that Quinn Hughes had to say specifically about his playing future in Vancouver. And we've got that audio now that we can share with the masses. So he went down there, was in Vegas, and talked to the assembled media. He talked to everybody yesterday. And then maybe said, shared some real good stuff for Friege.

Was he at the golf tournament then? Was he at the milf and then just didn't talk because they were saving him for Vegas or something? He did mention during his interview with Fridge and Kyle that he was really tired because his travel schedule was loaded. So I do believe that that's what happened here. But that's almost the appetizer to the main course. We're going to jump right into this year.

So do we, I haven't actually listened to this clip as clipped. And I'll, I'll reiterate what Frege's question is in case it's not in the clip. Frege posed the million dollar question to Quinn Hughes about staying in Vancouver. Frege framed it as, I got a buddy in Vancouver, diehard Canucks fan. He asked if I was going to speak to you, Quinn. And his question is, do we have a chance of keeping this guy in Vancouver? That is how the stage was set. We'll let the audio roll right now.

Here is Quinn Hughes about his playing future in Vancouver, courtesy the 32 Thoughts podcast with Kyle Friedman, or Kyle Friedman, Kyle Bukascus and Elliot Friedman. Let's take it away. I mean, I've really enjoyed Vancouver. I'm very thankful. I mean, when I came to Vancouver, I don't think anyone thought I was going to become,

I have become. And that's happened because of the people. in Vancouver management, coaching. You know, I've had three great coaches between Bruce, Greener, and Rick. So, and management's been, you know, kind of gave me the keys to the kingdom a couple years ago naming me to see and very grateful. As far as this year, I just feel like last year's a failure and I want to propel my game even further and propel my teammates even further and see what we can do.

And as far as that question, I mean, I'll answer that. you know with my actions um next summer but i mean you know how it is anything can change if we have you know a terrible year this year that that's probably not going to be very fun but if we have a terrific year um you know that's what we want that'll be that'll be really fun like two years ago was really really fun so just leave it at that that's what that's what i said to him i said i guarantee you this year is going to tell the tale i bet you that's what quinn's going to say yeah yeah which is true, I think, so. So the line that's going to be replayed,

I would say about a thousand times today, is I'll answer that with my actions next summer. That's about his... But it's one of the explanation that he gives after that. Of course he's going to answer it with his actions next summer. He could have answered with his actions right now. No, no, no, whether he signs or not. But what I think he's laying out is,

and if you want to simplify it Canucks bad this year Quinn go bye bye Canucks good this year Quinn stay Ah the referendum season I love it Which is kind of what we all assumed right I mean it's nice to you know said

But it's just like yeah Canucks bad Quinn leave Canucks good Well you know Yesterday I was saying like I don't even know if Quinn knows himself I think he just confirmed That he might not know himself

What he's going to do And a lot of it's going to depend on how everything comes together this year and how certain players look, certain players that are signed to long-term contracts and, you know, maybe they're in the number one center, how some of the younger players look because he's looking at his future, how Adam Foote does as head coach. I mean, look, if the Canucks are a disaster this year,

I think the management group might change. You know, there have been one and done coaches in the NHL before. A lot of things might change. To use a drance phrase, this is a very high leverage season. It is. I asked him, him, I'm pointing at Halford. Before the show, like, what is a bad season in Hughes's mind, though? Like, if the Canucks make the playoffs say, but they get swept in the first round,

is that a bad season or is that a good season? Like, what's the bar? I would have loved, I mean, obviously he wouldn't give it, but I would have loved more specificity in terms of what he considers to be a good and a bad year. But here's the thing. He can't tell you. It's a feeling that you get at the end of the year.

It's a feeling and it's ultimately going to come down to that gut instinct. Like, are things going the right direction here? Because you can make the playoffs and you can make the playoffs and even win around. But if there are certain players that aren't playing well and you're like, we're not going to win a cup here. We're not going to turn into an elite team. and I don't see a path to that, then he'll probably decide to go elsewhere.

So you should have just said, if we win a Stanley Cup next year, I will stand. No, let's, no, if he sees the potential for it. I'm bugging you. I know that it's too early for that, and it's too big a topic. It would have been funny, though. If we win a cup, I'll stick. Let's look at this in terms of what could have been said

or what could have been done. Because you're bringing up, in a rare moment, you're bringing up a good point here, is what constitutes a good season. Yes, very backhanded. Someone would say it wasn't even a compliment. There's something to be said for what you're talking about because the merits and the markers of what a good season are

are entirely up to now one individual. Because it's his decision, it's his choice, and it's his vision as to where the team's going to go. You know, you talk about high leverage. He's got all the clout, and he holds all the cards, to use a very popular phrase, when it comes to where this is going to go, including judging the success or failure of next season. That's an entirely individual analysis there.

Hughes could have said a lot of things yesterday. He could have said, I'm the captain of this team and I'm committed to it long term. He could have said, I'm not ready to make any decision about my future now. And he said, and I think which is probably the most fair and quite frankly clever thing is, I'm going to wait till next summer. and he did the good year, bad year analysis. And then Frege confirmed it. Frege kind of put it in plainer terms.

And then Hughes said, yeah, that's about it. It's a dicey situation for this market without question. They've had the opportunity to build a team, a prospect base, an active roster around Hughes that would keep him here for the long term. to do that. That's plain and simple, right? It hasn't, it hasn't done. The success hasn't been there where this was a no-brainer to stay, right? So they've left the door open for this. I thought another interesting part was when he talked about what he's become and giving, you know, that would give me the keys to the kingdom by giving me the C. It's that I do think there's an element

of, hey, I've held up my end of the bargain here. Like, I've done everything that I could have possibly done for the organization that I, he's very grateful to the organization. He's very grateful of the organization. I don't think there's any question about that, but he's also delivered in terms of developing as a player, emerging as a superstar in the league, becoming the captain of the team and doing a very good job of it. And I think at a certain point, not unlike McDavid in Edmonton, when you're on that level, you do start to look around and say, what else do I got here? Yeah. And how am I as an elite player with aspirations of winning a cup going to get there with the current group that I've got.

And McDavid has dry-sidal. And McDavid's gotten a hell of a lot closer. Yeah. So, I mean, it's tangible for him. He's literally been in a cup final. But that doesn't mean he's going to stay in Edmonton because the Stanley Cup finals are in the past, and he's looking forward, and yes, he's got McDavid.

But I do think that they're... Dry saddle. Sorry. He's got dry-siddle, and yes, he's also got... He does have McDavid. He got himself. In a very appropriate statement, he does have him. himself um but he's probably looking at the prospect system there and he's looking at some of the

the players that are getting a little bit older and wondering if he wants to sign their their long term so they both have good reasons to wonder if they should commit long term and you're right both of them have held up their end of the bargain um you know i i really i really don't believe that Quinn has made up his mind fully what he wants to do. Well, I'll say he's made up his mind that this year is going to decide it. And part of it is designed for him. I think he's very astute and understands that by saying, I'll answer with my actions next summer, he's not anticipating going into the final year of his deal being like,

I'll give him one more kick at the can here, right? Like, I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to go into the last year of my contract and, you know, have this be a distraction all year. next summer is the referendum he's got two years left on the deal but this year is the one that's going to matter and is going to count and there's so much that goes into that right now

I think that this is a notification to the guys in charge of negotiating that contract Patrick Alvin and Jim Rutherford that if they haven't stepped on the gas with regards to particular positions that need to be strengthened that now might be a good time to do it

I don't know if there should be any soft-shoeing or we're going to take our time or we're going to be patient going into this season, the start becomes that much more amplified. Everything becomes that much more amplified. Now, I also want to pivot to, look, we're going to have this conversation throughout the show, but there's a lot of Quinn Hughes stuff I want to get to here.

He spent a ton of time, a ton of time, talking about international competition, the four nations, and how disappointed he was that he did not get to play. So you want to talk about the disappointments of last year, and he's mentioned it a couple times, But the deep dive on this is that his disappointment last year wasn't just in the fact that the Canucks sputtered, missed the playoffs, and took a step backwards.

It was also that he did not get to participate in Four Nations. Something that he said, Jason, is still bothering him now. Like this summer, it was a thorn in his side that he didn't get to participate in Four Nations. Well, of course it was. When he's been a player in the NHL, there hasn't been better hockey than that played.

And he didn't get a chance to do it. So let's go to some more audio here. We're going to play the first clip where Quinn talks about still being angry about missing the Four Nations. There's a second clip as well about how the Canucks come into all of this and what might be a good sign moving forward for the organization in Hughes. But we'll start with Quinn Hughes, how upset and angry he was this summer about not being able to play in the Four Nations.

It's a good question because obviously you want to say you're looking forward to the year and everything's behind you, but you're still like, I mean, a lot happened and you're disappointed. That never goes away, I feel like. Like, I'm still in the summer, was angry about missing four nations. I felt like I missed a cool opportunity there. But you just have to move on, take what you saw from last year, what you learned, and try to find ways where it made you better and how you can use it this year to improve.

Now, there's a really interesting part of the 32 Thoughts podcast where Frege poses that his absence from the Four Nations tournament might have had something to do. He called it a rumor. Frege called it a rumor that the Canucks were the ones that blocked him from participating. Hughes goes on to explain that that was not the case, that it was actually the NHL's intervention that prevented him from going because he was ready to go. We'll let the audio play. Any parts that are missing, I've got the notes here so we can fill in the blanks. But here's Hughes clarifying about the Canucks, not blocking him from going to the Four Nations, maybe, you know, putting a band-aid over what could

have been a bad situation there. Here's Quinn Hughes from the 32 Thoughts podcast. You know, I'm glad you cleared this up because the rumor was the Canucks didn't want you to play. I don't, I mean, I don't think they did want me to play just because they wanted me to be fresh. Right. And they knew I wasn't 100%. So, I mean, I can't really blame him for that. They didn't block you, though. No, no. No. No. Okay. Sorry, go ahead. No, I'll just leave it at that.

They didn't block me. They didn't. That's the truth. Okay. Jim and Patrick were very respectful. So what happened was, but I'm sure they... Oh, I've got it all here. You would be able to be in your best interest not to play. I won't block you, but... These guys over here, right?

We're not mad. We're just disappointed, speak. Hughes tore a ligament in his hand in January. He was playing with a cast on, and he said the cast was amazing, and then he shouted out of the doctor that gave it to him. Then he got hit by Jenny Dattanoff in a game in Dallas in late January, which later revealed that on the hit, he tore an oblique. So he's dealing with torn ligaments in his hand

and an oblique tear after an MRI. He still thought he could play through it, but after a few games following Dallas, and I think you remember this, it's where he was out of the lineup, and he would take the warm up and then wouldn't go in. Yeah, and he didn't look right. It's because he couldn't move, essentially.

Yeah. He said that he didn't want to show up the team USA camp ahead of the four nations and then either be unable to play or try and gut it out and then get hurt in the tournament like what happened to, for example, Matthew Kachuk. Then things changed during the tournament when Charlie McAvoy got hurt. Initially, Hughes thought that he was going to be able to join Team USA. And that's why Mike Sullivan kind of famously said, Quinn is on his way.

The NHL intervened. And they said that the situation with the U.S. adding a player was different than Canada's with Thomas Harley because Canada had multiple departures on the blue line, whereas the U.S. only had one. Yeah. So they couldn't bring a new player into the tournament. So this was put at the feet of the NHL. Canada was like legitimately short a player. So he wanted to make it like a button like this was a league decision. It also sounded like he was going to try and give it a go, despite the fact that he had been off ice for 20 days by the time that call came.

from USA hockey and Bill Garron. Now, Hughes did say that he spoke with Rutherford. And Rutherford said, you're probably not going to be up to speed because you're getting thrown into the middle of this tournament. Yeah. So that gives you an idea of where the Canucks were at. I guarantee you the Canucks probably said,

this is not a good idea. They're not going to block you from going, but they're also going to give you their opinion. Remember, you're the captain of the team. And you know what? Hughes did mention that. He's like, I am the captain of the Canucks. And he did point out that at the time of his injury,

they were still in a playoff spot. It spiraled out of control after that, but they were still hanging on to that final wildcard spot. So I go back to this year. In addition to everything else with Quinn Hughes, in terms of this being a referendum season and how high the stakes are, this year with Olympic competition,

he's more motivated than maybe any other guy out there to get in the mix and to be on that USA team. And I guarantee you he wants to be in top form. And I think most importantly, wants to be 100% healthier as close to going into the Olympics in Italy. You know, the Canucks coaching staff in the past has, if there, this isn't really criticism of Quinn Hughes, but one of the things they said he needs to learn is that,

especially in the playoffs, But this goes to the regular season, too. You cannot do it all yourself, and you have to be smart with your decisions, because the more that people realize how much of a game changer Quinn Hughes is, the more they're like, okay, get the body on him at all times. And I just wonder, you're looking ahead at this season, he's hopefully going to play at the Olympics, not for Canada's sake, but hopefully for his sense. sake he's going to be able to go and play in the Olympics and he's hopefully going to be able to stay healthy. Did he talk at all about his offseason training and whether or not he needs to do anything differently? As a matter of fact, he did, Jason. We don't have the audio for this, but it's okay. I took notes diligently last night while watching the Mariners walk it off in

13. Yeah. Nice. He said, I didn't try to grind my body as much during his offseason training. And that's why he changed up the types of activities that he was doing. Interestingly enough, he said he did, quote, more stuff to be athletic and to be a better athlete. I wonder if he started playing some other sports. You don't try to be a multi-sport guy? Pickle ball. Yeah, pickleball is a great one.

He also said he did, quote, more purposeful things that would relate to hockey more. So I guess that means doing athletic motions and movements that might replicate things he's doing on the ice as opposed to let's go lift. Yeah. And this isn't really anything like great. groundbreaking. He alluded to some of the work that Nathan McKinnon was doing, which I think a lot of guys do now, because that seems like some pretty good

training. Seems like a pretty good player. I think resting the body is the big takeaway for me because that was a tough year for Hughes health-wise last year. He's had health issues, not major ones, but minor ones in the past, but that

was a year, let's put it this way. The second half of his season was almost entirely interrupted by health issues. When you're dealing with a torn ligament in your hand and a torn oblique, it's very difficult to play anywhere close to 100%. It'd be difficult to play 100% with just one of those injuries, never mind two. And when you're pushing through, you're not allowing those injuries to heal. You're basically finding ways to work around them.

And usually that means not doing everything to the fullest of your abilities, right? You're cutting corners here and there. And maybe you're trying to find different ways to move that don't make you as dynamic. It all leads up to a guy that all. along with his team last year, didn't hit the expectations that they wanted. Now, in Hughes' case, he was still amazing, right? He still had an unbelievable season production-wise

and was still an elite-level defender and all that kind of stuff. And that just goes to show how good and how important a player he is. So look, we're up against it for time now for the first segment. It is in the books. We're going to be going back on this throughout the show. There's more Hughes audio that we can get into. His brother, the loudmouth, Jack Hughes,

also spoke with the 32 Thoughts podcast about playing with his brother one day. So there's more audio there as well. It's Hughesapalooza on a Thursday here. We're going to be doing this throughout the show. Way in, Dunbar Lumber text message in Baskin to 650, 650. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about Quinn Hughes's remarks about his playing future in Vancouver, you are listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.

It's time to chat with Adenan. It's Adnan Burke. He's on the show. We're going to talk some baseball and take a trip to the silver screen. That's right. It's time for Adenan. Yes, Adnan Berkey joins us now. We'll head out to the ball game and talk about all the films he sees see. 631 on a Thursday Happy Thursday everybody

Halford Brubb SportsNet 650 Halford and Brubb of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free In just two weeks Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com We are in Hour 1 of the program

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To the Power West Industries hotline, we go. Adnan, Virk, MLB Network, joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Adnan. How are you? I'm doing great, Mike, Jay. Good to be back here on Canadian soil. I'm here today back in Toronto. We got some Amazon meat and stuff fired up for the season.

So, yeah, good to shout these boys as always as I have a spectacular view right now, the Rogers Center and the CNN Tower. What a great place to start, because we're going to begin with what the Jays did last night. And another tough outing for Jeff Hoffman gave up his MLB tying 15th home run, tied for the most among all closers in baseball. And then I want to play some audio here. This is of the manager, John Schneider, following the game, saying he's still got faith in Hoffman. Let's play it now, laddie. This is John Schneider following the loss to the Astros last night.

I need a goddamn occasional save. you're the worst i feel like a broken record i mean it's just it's just one bad pitch you know um i feel like they kind of go hand in hand you know with hoff you know and it's you know the home runs are that are obviously going to hurt you but i think um you know that situation just we're trying to go in on ds kind of all night you know and it just kind of was middle middle but i think the difference between when he's really good um and when he has a rough outing um that's kind of it. You know, it's kind of just the damage right there. So he's got good stuff, you know,

still trust him. He's been throwing the ball really well and there's one bad pitch tonight. My question, Adnan, is how many more times is John Schneider going to have to utter that we have faith in Hoffman line as we get closer and closer to the postseason? Well, it would be amazing, Mike, if it was just

so candid and started that way. Listen, I know you guys, think, you know, I'm going to say we have to, but, quite honestly, we don't have faith on him. It's over. Like, it would be an all-time mic drop moment. I'm going to see if you hear it at least three more times because it'll be right now, 9-11, you know,

we still got a few weeks left in the season and looking at least one or two of these types of appearances. I just don't know in what universe fellows that they can go into the playoffs and say, yeah, we totally trust and believe this guy. Now, I've said this many a time.

When it comes to bullpets, when people say, how do you fix a bullpen, right? The whole bullpen stinks. Nobody can trust. Yankees had like this unbelievable blowout the other day. Everyone looked terrible. You know the easy answer is,

obviously score a bunch of runs, but also have a starting pitching staff that goes deeper in the games, and the less reliance you are on that bullpen, the better the news is. So, like, I'm not saying it always has to be on the starters, but to the likes of Gosman, Brillo, Scherzer, Bieber, like, if you can go seven strong the way guys

once did, then all of a sudden you're minimizing the chance for damage. Now, Hoffman is a knife and a guy. He's a closure. So no matter what, he's going to be in there in the big spots anyway. So even my plan, so to speak, of having deeper starters, that's more helping middle league for guys are getting overused. Hoffman still has to be the dude. If it's

a two-nothing game, he's still pitching the night. the two-ung-year, whatever it is. And honestly, Mike, I just, I don't have a good feeling about it. I'll be totally candid. It's one of those smoking mirrors where you go, oh, he's top five in saves. And you go, yeah, either he's really good or he's going to give it up. And those types of loss, it's just going to be so demoralizing and so damaging. To give up that many home runs, what happens in the postseason? Power arms, power bats. Guys are swinging away. They're A-swings, O-2, and they're looking to take you deep. And Jeff Hoffman is susceptible to the gopher ball. That's not good when you have such a narrow line between victory and defeat.

The other thing that happens in the postseason is the theater and the drama and the pressure ratchets up. And you go back through history and, you know, think about like Mitch Williams, Calvin Sheraldi, Bung Hung Kim, these guys that came in and are now living in infamy because they weren't able to get the job done in that closer spot in the playoffs. But in each of those instances, like there was a lead up to those failures. Like I remember specifically like Williams couldn't get a close, but the Phillies had to go with him because he was their guy. it didn't end well. Pyong Hung Kimmer. It was the same thing there.

He's our closer. We're going to live or die with him. When you die with them, it tends to stick around for a long time. And the fact that those names are sort of etched in baseball lore, I really hope that Hoffman isn't added to that list in the postseason. But as you said, his penchant for giving up home runs leads me to believe that he's a good candidate to

his postseason. Exactly. I don't think he'll wear the goat horns, but if I had to put money on it, he might as well do so. Is Fandu'll taking odds on this? Like, I think it might be him. The only good news is, Mike, those names you all mention are teams that went deep.

By the way, terrific, what? It's like Calvin Chiraldi, bringing back memories of the 86 Red Sox. The good news is those are all teams that, yeah, we're playing in the World Series and went deep. So, you know, hopefully that means if the Jays give up and hop and does, it's going to, you know, not being the ALDS, it will be deeper into the playoffs. But again, there's no other candidate. And what ends up happening is that those guys you mentioned, like the Jungian Kim's a great one, obviously all one, the Yankees, come off of that and one of those wild names.

back to back. Like, at that point of the season, you're not going to yank your closer. So I will say to John Schneider and Jay's management, like, if you have any apprehension, if you have any reservations, and you should, because we've all seen the same team, but you want to make the movie, do it now. Like, I do think there's a point of no return.

Like, once the playoffs start, if Jeff Hoffman's your closure, it's kind of the bed you're going with. Like, I do think it becomes damaging, difficult, disruptive, etc. If he blows, let's say, game one of the wild card series, and go, well, he's no longer our closer. And you wouldn't publicly say it, but in a closing he wasn't there, you'd go, oh, wow, I guess he's done.

So I do think if you're going to make the move, like for some reason they said, you know what, just don't think he's a guy. Sir Anthony Dominguez is our closer. You do it now, and you give it a couple weeks for everyone to kind of get used to it. I don't know if they're at that situation, but I'm sure they're having those conversations. And of course, if they had an easy answer, they would go to him. And then who's causing more consternation among the fan base? Is it Hoffman in Toronto or Volpe in New York?

That's a great one. Odyssey, Jay, I'm going to go with Volpe. It's nuts because what happens is the Yankees is, you know, too much attention is given to them and generally overrated, overinflated when it comes to everything. And that includes their prospects. There was a time when Jason Dominguez was getting called up.

He's already has a cool nickname, and he's the Martian, he's so great. And everyone's like, oh, maybe the Jays could trade like Ladd Jr. for Jason Dominguez. I'm like, what? This is the hype around this guy. And he's come up and he's atrocious defensively, and he's a decent hitter. He hits some home runs, but he hasn't lit it up. He's been a disappointment overall.

but that's what happens in the Yankee prospects. Volpey gets called up to like he's our number one position player prospect. He's a young shortstop who's going to carry this team for years. Derek Jeter 2.0. And what happens? He strikes out way too much, but he's excellent defensively. I don't know how he's got some promising potential. He's a 20-20 guy.

I'm like, okay, like he's clearly never going to be Jeter, but he's a good young player and you can see him building something better. And then what happens is there's regression. And you go, oh, my God, wait, wait, he still strikes a ton. Now he's hitting it at a lower average. Wait, no, his defense stakes. I thought this guy was a gold glove shorts. up. It's a disaster.

And you can't hide those guys. And there's only so much that Aaron Judge can do to carry the offense. There's only so much that Giancarlo Stanton can do. Willing to play defense, be a great bat. Bellinger's been an awesome signing. They're young guys. One thing that we can say, Brough, no matter what, Jays versus Yankees, hey, Toronto at least hit on their young guys.

Vlad and Bo were supposed to be stars, and they are. Dominguez and both people were supposed to be stars with the Yankees. They are not. I want to play some audio from, you might have heard it already, from Buck Martinez, and I want to get your thoughts on it after we play the clip. You know, the Yankees, they're not a good team.

I don't care what the record is. They have a lot of wild pitches. They make a lot of mistakes in the field. They don't run the bases very well. If they don't hit home runs, they don't have a chance to win. What do you think of Buck just putting it out there? I love that. You know what, the Yankees, not good.

Hysterical. I had lunch with a buddy of mine yesterday, and he said, to me. How about Buck Martinez saying the Yankees aren't good? I hadn't heard the audio. So I just assumed he was being, you know, flippant about it, and then backtracked as it, either not that good, but if you look at their, let's say, one differential, right? Michael Kay got into heat, the Yankees

broadcast, just saying that about the Blue Jays. I just assume that's what Buck said, but you're right. Now this is, he's actually saying, but they're not a good team. I kind of get what he's saying in that. They're so reliant on slugging. Like, they're the classic, hey, they don't play defense particularly well. Their bullpen can have these blowups. They're not like

a fundamentally strong team, but them they'll win 12 too. I'm like, yeah, because like six different guys are going to hit home runs and go deep. So I understand in a vacuum, like to box, somebody who loves baseball, baseball purists says they don't run the basis. They're like an anti-brewers. They're like an anti-brewer. The brewers are a great baseball team because they deal the little things well.

They're smart, heathed and etc. The Yankees, you get the sense, like Neanderthal. They just show up, knuckle dragging, mouth breathing. We're just hearing a home run. But I would dispute that they're not a good team. I mean, they're going to be in the playoffs. The three games back of the division, they could still push the Jays. Listen, the, the, the Yankees

right now. They've got this 12-game gauntlet in which they won two or three against the Shrews, two or three against the Jays. They've got to deal with the Tigers whom they got smoked against last night, then the Red Sox. After that, it's all cupcakes. Like, the Jays have a significantly tougher scheduled down the stretch, and the Yankees, even if Buckings, they are not a good team, could still

be division champions in about three weeks. We're speaking to Adnan, Verk from MLB Network here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Adnan, did you stay up late to watch your Mariners last night? I did not. Give me the Mariners update. What happened? Another free-falling loss from the M's? A 13-inning walk-off home run from Leo Rivas as the Mariners got a win and swept the series.

This, after in the 11th inning, loading the bases with nobody out and failing to get a run across, but they didn't let it phase them. So the Mariners get a huge win last night. They complete the sweep over the Cardinals. Things are looking a little bit better for them now in terms of their playoff lives. That AL Westo is really starting to heat up right now. Well, it was ridiculous. I mean, thank God they pulled off the wind because it's gotten so tight.

And again, Houston hasn't been great. Seattle's been worse. And then Texas, you're like, this doesn't make any sense. Nathanie Valde's their best starter he's done for the season. Corey Seeger Appendectomy could be back to the final seven to ten days. Simeon's out right now. They're hoping to get Adoles Garcia back. But for Texas to go on this kind of winning streak makes no sense.

And the fact that they're pushing, as you said, not only for the Wild Cup, but also the division. Like they were a game and a half out as of Wednesday night. So Seattle has definitely to start stringing some wins together. As I texted you guys off there, the Mariner's starting pitching has been such a huge disappointment. It's kind of gone on the radar. Kirby has been really up and down. Gilbert's been a huge disappointment. Like, Lou's been the one guy you can trust.

So their starters have not stepped up. It's not been their offense. Their offense is actually scoring runs. And, like, guys, Jayrod's at a great second half. Suarez has been much better after a quiet first 10 games so far with the Mariners. So if they pitch, they should make the playoffs. But this is on Seattle. They've got to come through here.

Adnan, this was great, buddy, as always. Thank you for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Enjoy Toronto for however long you're there, and we'll do this again next Thursday. I appreciate it, boys. One thing you can, I can't get in America, carrot muffins.

I'm about to dive into one right now. We'll talk to you soon. Enjoy it, buddy. Thanks, well. At Nanverk from MLV Network, carrot muffin enthusiast here on the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet, 650. We are, I like to use the word truncating.

We're going to truncate some of our interviews today. Nice. In order to get back to the Canucks Talk. Oftentimes, we'll be like, hey, if you want to hear a certain part of the show, download the podcast, Apple, Google, Spotify, whatever. But today, we will reset, rehash, and reiterate because this Quinn Hughes story is big. And the audio is fresh. It's new.

I understand a lot of people haven't heard it yet. We won't play it every single segment, but we'll probably play it a couple times throughout the show. 32 thoughts is out now, by the way, if you want to download the podcast after obviously listening to this show. Downloading ours, listening to ours, even though the podcast isn't up yet. There was a lot to get into there. I want to play some other audio, though, because for the importance of this season and how Quinn Hughes has kind of put this out there, it's going to be a referendum season on his future.

If it's good, he stays, if it's bad, he won't. That's the Cole's Notes version. There's another individual who's going to have a major say in how this season goes and thereby what Quinn Hughes does with his future. And it's his teammate Elias Pedersen. Who? Elias Peterson. Where's number 40?

Got married. Put on six kilos. Never heard of them. Okay. Quinn Hughes spoke about Elias Pedersen, this unknown individual. Yesterday in a wide-ranging interview,

which we're going to play a lot of audio from, here is Quinn Hughes on Petey. Moving forward. Bigger, stronger, leaner. Pedersen. Yeah, I mean, I saw him for four minutes yesterday. But did you notice anything? You looked bigger.

I didn't. I didn't. I don't even know what six kilos is. in terms of weight but um i mean i don't i don't care yeah i don't care if he came five pounds a lighter or five pounds heavier i think like he's a gifted player um and we're very similar guys i think he grew up and it was really undersized and i had to rely on his brain and i was similar to that and i think he sees the game in a special way um i mean not going to I think that all the nonsense last year weighed on them heavily from a personal standpoint

and a professional standpoint. And, you know, no one wants to deal with that. You could make an argument that you have to find a way to perform through that as well. But he's a really competitive person. I've said it a bunch of times that I don't think you get to his level without having some ingredients inside you. and I've seen them before, so I expect him to have a great year

because I just think he's a really good player. Listening to Hughes talk about his relationship with Pedersen is quite fascinating because he's mentioned us on a number of occasions. The number of similarities that he sees between himself and Pedersen. There's a kinship there. But it's also, I think, that they are similar

in terms of the things that he points out very, like astutely and specifically, he's not just like, oh, we're similar, we like hockey and we're good at it, right? There's very specific things that he talks about that I think are reasons why he sees a bit of himself and Pedersen and probably vice versa. The undersized thing,

which I don't think he's ever really explained in that great detail, is interesting. He's talked about the way that they see the game, how they approach it very, you know, in a cerebral way. And they're also friends. There's no question. And I know part of this is the duties of the captain, but I think a lot of this is personal as well.

He's gone to bat and defended Pedersen quite vocally a number of times. Yeah. right so and there's always that inkling though and there's always that little bit in all of this that quinn hughes has to say about piti where he does have like the holding of the feet to the fire and the personal responsibility he even said it there like of course there is a part of the person that has to play through the noise and has to push through and perform right and he said it in other instances like ptie's going to need to play at a high level and he's going to need to push

and get better right so it's a good dynamic as it looks forward to this season the pressure's on for Pedersen almost as much as it is for Hughes, to be dead honest. Like those two, not surprising because of the driving forces of this team,

there's so much at stake for both of them. The only difference right now is that Hughes is performing at elite level and Pedersen has not done that in over a year. What really struck me and I agree with it is that he's like, I don't care if he came heavier or lighter. he's a great player

and we've seen it before when Pedy was playing at his highest level and he looked like a future Selke winner and he was not only offensively involved in driving play that way he was also aggressive defensively

winning puck battles lifting guys sticks on the back check and coming up with the puck and we would compare into the things that, you know, Datsuk would do. I don't care about his weight there. I care about the battle level.

I care about the confidence that he displayed. And it's why I will die on the hill that 90% of this, 99% of this is all mental. And I think he got worn down in a big

way by whatever was going on internally on the team, maybe some other stuff, but I think a lot of it was mental. And if you say, well, what about his skating stats? I would say, yeah, like sometimes when you're drained mentally, you're drained physically. I do. And I'm just, I'm just saying I think if he is, if he's going to come to camp in a better mindset and he doesn't have any teammates who are trying to bring him down, who are trying to get him off his game, or, You know, I don't know why, you know, maybe the, the intentions were good from J.T. To try and kind of like whip them into shape.

There's an old school kind of mentality. And maybe that came from the coaching staff as well. That stuff doesn't work. And what I'm hoping is that the vibes just stay high for this guy. And he goes into this season with confidence and feeling good about himself. Maybe the added weight can help that when you're stronger and you're feeling like, you can better participate in some of the puck battles. Maybe that brings your confidence up.

But he just, he just needs to feel good. You know, he needs to feel, I think, I think he is a guy that goes very much on confidence. And I think you could even see how that played out in a singular game. If he tried something early on and it worked, he would have a good game. If he tried something early on and he bobbled the puck or whatever,

he was gone for the rest of that game. And you could have a debate about whether or not that's the kind of guy you want is your 1C, but I think if they can get him back up to speed and feeling good about himself, he's going to have a good season. I do wonder, and I'm sure that this would never be on the record, but maybe one of those private, quiet conversations,

if you were to have on with Quinn Hughes, what his thoughts would truly be about what happened between Pedersen and Miller last year and his role in all of it because he is the captain and he is the leader of the team and that is fairly or unfairly his room. I know some captains approach things differently

and I know some lead by example and don't lead with their voice and I know some don't have as prominent a role as others with regards to the peer group at the same time if you're going to take all the good that comes along with the captaincy and Hughes alluded to that in his comments

earlier saying they handed me the keys to the kingdom by giving me the sea you have to take all of that responsibility that comes with it so fairly or no you do have a role in that and from the 10,000 foot view

outside looking in his you know repeated and continual defense of Pedersen and acknowledging like their friendship and their kinship and camaraderie I do wonder if he felt that Miller's presence and the way that he

approached the situation was unfair it's hard to just like push back against a guy like that though a guy that's got a big personality a guy that is trying to do the right thing trying to push his teammates you know what I've been told multiple multiple times what's that Jason and this is from people that

we're in the room they missed the door off they missed Cole because Zedoref was the type of guy that would basically tell J-T-S-T-F-U. Yeah, right. You know?

Because maybe Hughes isn't that guy personality-wise. Okay, the other thing I heard was that Quinn was using so much energy during games that they didn't really want Hughes to have to go out and, you know, play 35 minutes a night but also yell at his teammates And, you know, like, and maybe that's not as, and also I think that's not his personality,

but that was the personality of a guy like Zedorov or a guy like Ian Cole. Sure. Where they were just like, bigger, older veteran guy, had that presence. Yeah, be quiet. And I would heard, I heard like even on the team bus, you'd get Zadora from the back of the bus. He'd be like, J.T. knock it off. And, you know, he'd. You would knock it off.

And that's it. But here's the thing. Those dynamics do matter. Of course they do. Right? Of course they do. You know, because to tell someone to knock it off or to shut the up, you do have to have a certain personality. God, I hate saying it like a swagger, right?

because it's not an easy thing to do if it doesn't come to you naturally. If you're not that type of person, if you're the type of person that's more withdrawn, you're not going to stand up and say it. Oftentimes, and the other thing too, is the guys that can step up and say it aren't really all that concerned about the ramifications.

They're like, in the moment, this is what needs to be done. We'll deal with the ramifications later. You know, I know there's a lot of people that get tired of the discussions around Miller and PD, but until we see what this team is like without JT for better or worse

and we only saw it kind of last year because the team was such a disaster we're talking about going into this season that's the comparison we have you know because it cuts both ways the removal of Miller from this team

you know we're hoping right now with this conversation that it's going to prove positive for Pedersen and thus the team but you've also got a serious question marks about the depth down the middle and how the hell that team is going to score goals

what the power play is going to look like you know and so if there is a bounce back from Pedersen and maybe it's related to JT not being there because remember a lot of this started right at the beginning of the season last year um

great and we'll probably hear about it then but if Pedersen doesn't really bounce back all that much and the Canucks are having trouble scoring goals you're going to hear the name J.T. Miller so I guess just be prepared for it like until we fully turn the page I know there are people that almost get triggered

by hearing about this over and over because it was it was a lot last year it was a lot and I get it but you can't just say JT's gone, we'll never talk to him, we'll never talk about him again because we're comparing things now. Sure. You know, like, you can't just be like, okay, we'll never talk about him again. Okay, we got a lot more to get...

He's part of the story still, is what I'm trying to say. We've got a lot more to get to on the Halford Improft Show on Sportsnet, 650, 7 o'clock hour on the horizon. Gareth Wheeler's going to join us for some Canada soccer talk in the wake of big wins over Wales and Romania. What's next for the remainder of 2025? We will dive back into the Quinn Hughes audio from 32 thoughts. We'll replay some of it in the 7 o'clock hour. 8 o'clock hour, Drancer's going to join the program. So even more, Canucks talk to come 7.30, don't forget, Brady Henderson,

our Seahawks insider, with a look ahead to the big game for the Seahawks this weekend in Pittsburgh. You're listening to The Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.