Halford & Brough in the Morning - Could Demko Be Back In Net Tonight?

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason talk the latest Canucks news with Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre (1:12), such as Saturday's brutal loss to the Rangers, as well as the possibility of Demko's return tonight versus New Jersey, plus the boys get the Devils side of things from NJD Hockey Now's James Nichols (24:18). 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.

Music 704 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halperd Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halperd and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Jason Hominuk at Jason.Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him on the internet at Jason.Mortgage. We are in hour two of the program. That music means that Sportsnet's very own Ian McIntyre is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two.

Hour two of this program is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Kinects are back in action tonight, 430 puck drop from the Prudential Center in New Jersey. A reminder, it is an Amazon game tonight.

Of course, you can hear everything, pregame, postgame, actual game, all right here on Sportsnet 650. Joining us now from New Jersey, Ian McIntyre, Sportsnet's very own, here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, I'm Matt. How are you? I'm doing well, guys. I don't know if you heard, I was on with Dan and Satyar on Friday afternoon while I was outside a restaurant in New York and I had such positive reviews for all the New York street

sounds that I thought I'd try it again and this is now the breakfast crowd or I guess the brunch crowd that you may hear around me plus assorted delivery trucks, emergency vehicles and crazy people. Nice. Nice. I don't know how much of it will come across and of course you're talking to a crazy person too, but there may be others.

Well, I've heard, I've heard a garbage truck backing up, I think. So we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll see what's to come. New York is a very busy city. Um, let's talk about, uh, the Rangers game before we get to what's going to happen tonight. Um, sure.

What was, we went through all the ways that that was the most frustrating game of the season. I think we came up with four. What was the most frustrating part for you or on behalf of Canucks fans? Yeah. Well, I, I mean, all of it, all of it. But I would say, first of all, for me,

it wasn't personally the most frustrated I've been watching this team play because that was what, game 70? I think they probably played 60 games that were not as good as the one they played in New York. But I think what was most frustrating is that for all the pressure they had and the territorial dominance, and it was absolute dominance. The Rangers weren't even there. 21 to 4 were the shots when it was 1-1, halfway through the game. And I know that people look at the missed opportunities

and how did you not get more out of all that pressure, especially in the first half of the game. But to me, the frustrating part was when the game was on the line in the third period and it was still there for them, they just couldn't defend it. And some of it was bad luck, like the Pakenov-Quinhuis skate, which was just a travesty by the hockey gods that in a game where Quinhuis was not only by far the best player in that game, might have been the best player in the National Hockey League that day. I don't know that anybody could have had a more dominant individual performance than Quinn Hughes did and yet Kegel in the third period goes off his toe.

But the bottom line is one of the best goalies in the world, Igor Shosturkin, played out out of his mind or at least his A game, let's say that, had his A game against the Canucks who on the road still scored three times. And given how much they dominated that game, that should have been enough to win those three goals on the road at MSG. But it wasn't because at key moments in the third period, they could just not defend. You know, Dakota Joshua lost his guy on one goal or veered away from his guy. Keeper Sherwood fell on another

and there was no, there should have been more help as well. I mean, Keeper Sherwood falling in the neutral zone as Brzezinski went by him, shouldn't have been cause for a goal against, but it ended up being. So in the end, the Canucks just, they couldn't defend. And to me, that's more frustrating than the not scoring. Like we understand the not scoring. We've seen the not scoring quite a bit, but we've also seen that this was a very good defensive team since December. And

in the third period, they were not. And of course, they didn't get a save as well by Kevin Lankton. But I'm not going to dump on Kevin Lankton because he's been such an outstanding story for the team this year. Although we may talk about him in a minute when we talk about today's game,

but it was also interesting to me after that game that Rick Tauke revealed that at one point, he thought about pulling Lankinen because Lankinen is struggling as well. They didn't mean struggling in goal, it just meant struggling to be healthy. So you know have some kind of bug that was affecting him. What's your sense on, I know we will get to the goaltending, but what's your sense on whether or not Pettersen or Hoaglander can play tonight?

I would say it's doubtful. I mean, I was at practice yesterday in New Jersey and, you know, neither one participated. I saw Hoeglinder briefly, I didn't see Elias and Rick Tauke, of course, has left open the possibility that they're going to play. And so did Patrick Alveen when I chatted with him briefly before I spoke to Rick. Also said it's not out of the question, but they did have Autu Rathi ready to go. I just think given how big the games are for Vancouver, and you know, if for Pedersen and Hoaglander to miss an entire third period, I think it just, I'd be surprised if whatever it was, they can turn around and come back and play tonight. But again, given the time of year, given that the canucks, well, it, you know, five back, let's be realistic.

It's probably too late now, but mathematically it could be, it could be over if they don't, fairly soon, if they don't start winning some games. So given, given the gravity, maybe those guys, I'm sure they're going to try and push themselves out there, if at all possible. But I'd be surprised if I saw them in the lineup tonight, but I've been surprised before. Maybe I will be again. I've pretty well been surprised

this entire season when watching the Canucks. Do we have any idea what's ailing Pedersen? The only thing that I could think of is like, he was engaged in a battle in front of the net with a, with a Rangers player at the end of the battle, he took a pretty nasty cross check to the back, but I don't know if that was the broadcast. Didn't, uh, didn't note that, but, uh, that was just me observing at home. Yeah. I mean, it could be, I mean, be, uh, hate saying it'd be great if it was backspouts. It could be, I mean, I hate to say it, it would be great if it was backspats, like if it was, if he, you know, seized up when he was cross-checked.

You know, I saw on the feed inside the arena, I saw a replay of him getting waved out of a face-off, didn't even take the face-off, but he was wincing after he crouched and got waved out he was wincing. So you know, could be something to do with his arm or wrist or it could be his back and just pain. Let's remember as well that Pedersen missed a few games after Christmas with some kind of torso injury and I don't know if he has been battling it since then but you know he hasn't I don't think he's been a hundred percent healthy let's put it that way and Holglunder I have no idea and I was talking to a Swedish reporter who's based in New York and was, of course, watches the Canucks like a hawk because of all the

Swedes on the team and he was asking me because he didn't see anything either. So, but we know that Hoaglund is the kind of player who would try and play if there was a bone sticking out of his arm. So. Yeah. It would have to be serious for him to miss, take Well, Glenders is the kind of player who would try and play if there was a bone sticking out of his arm.

It would have to be serious for him to miss, take himself out of the game like that in the third period, which again is why with the turnaround, mind you, an afternoon game, so maybe an extra few hours of recuperation time, but I'd still be surprised if we see him tonight. Is Thatcher Dempko their Hail Mary? Yeah, I don't know about, I don't think they view it that way, but they needed to get Thatcher back because they can't just play Kevin Lankinen

the rest of the way. And if Kevin Lankinen is struggling with something more than just some illness, some flu or something, then yeah, they may need him. But I don't really see it as a Hail Mary. I think that Thatcher was going to be back as soon as he was ready. I'm a little surprised just with the way the schedule lays out. You know, they have another practice Tuesday on Long Island before they play the Islanders Wednesday.

I was thinking that that would be the game that Thatcher would come back and play on Wednesday. But C. Lovz has kind of become unplayable even though he won against the Hawks when the Canucks scored six goals. So they needed Demko back. They need Demko and Lankinen and we'll see how that order plays out from here to the end of the year. So you spoke with Demko after Sunday's practice. There's an article up now at Sportsnet.ca if anyone listening wants to check it out. Is it fair to like paraphrase what Demko

said about his injury as like the current health status isn't related to his major knee injury but it is sort of related to the knee injury? Is that a fair assessment? Yeah I think that's what the point he was making to me that and this is his third injury because he's had two injuries since the knee and he says they're related in the context that because of what he dealt with Last summer in his knee and was dealing with it as we know into training camp Where they still really had no idea at that point and they knew what the injury was

they had no idea what the remedy was going to be. And so Demko feels that inability to have a proper training, a proper summer of training and preparation did not allow him to build the platform that he would like to have had to sustain the rigors of a NHL regular season. And he said with his with regard to his knee that when they finally figured out something that worked for the injury it was like okay great let's try and play. It wasn't like, okay, great. Now let's build that platform so you're ready to go because it was already December. And I guess in November, maybe when they when they unlocked some sort of medical secret about how to treat this extremely rare injury. And then he was back in December because they needed him then just like they need him now. So he is looking forward to and you

will rarely hear guys say this while the season is still going on and he was very careful about how he said it but he is looking forward to an offseason this year where it's basically full steam ahead and he can he can train I know he's got he's working with a new person or new people in terms of his fitness and prep and he's really looking forward to having a summer unencumbered by a great mystery injury and be able to get his body back to the point where he feels like he can be the goalie that he wants to be next season. Did you happen to speak with Demko about Kevin Lankinen and I guess specifically the contract that Kevin

Lankinen just got from the Canucks? Well I did because in the last couple of paragraphs of my story there is a quote which I thought was very generous of Demko and and he said and I'm paraphrasing here. This isn't the quote. Okay, I He he said that Kevin Lankin has earned every penny of that contract. He said he carried the mail for this team He's a great player and a great teammate and you can never be disappointed for anybody earning their contract. So he was happy for Kevin. He also said, which was why I was asking the question about, you know, well, how does it affect you or do you think it affects you?

And he said, he doesn't think it has anything to do with him that, you know, he's been committed all along to this team and loves being a Canuck and he wants to be here as long as possible. So he says it doesn't affect the way he views Thatcher, views his situation in Vancouver. Now we know the reality is the team suddenly has some options. They're paying Kevin Lankin and starting Goldie Money at $4.5M a season. Not elite starting Goldie Money, but starting Goldie money. You don't pay a backup for $4.5M. So the Canucks do have some options.

Right now, the team's intent is to have both, to go with both and see how that works. That would be a total of $9.5M invested in their goaltending next season, which is a lot of money. There will be some individual guys making that much. But if you're going to get, which I think they would, if you get a healthy Thatcher Demko who, let's say, plays 48 games and you have Kevin Lanken in the same forum this year that he plays 34 games you should have among the best goal-tending in the NHL but it's still a lot of money and they do have options now and I'm sure they're they're going to explore some of those options this summer but again right now the intent by the organization is that they'll have both. We're speaking to

Canucks reporter Ian McIntyre here on the Hellford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. IMAC, of course, is in New Jersey where the Canucks play tonight. 430 puck drop from the Prudential Center against the Devils. A reminder that game's on Amazon. You can hear it right here on Sportsnet 650. From interviews with current Canucks to interviews with former Canucks, how was your chat over the weekend with JT Miller? Yeah, it was great. I mean, I probably liked it more than JT did. I have to be on it. But I thought it was great that he talked to me and talked about his time in Vancouver.

Because he was traded on the road, which is always kind of weird We never see the pleasure. It's like he disappears. It's like aliens have abducted him I mean and you turn on your TV and he's wearing a New York Rangers jersey So it was good. It was good to to catch up with him. I and I thought it was interesting that he basically confirmed what Patrick Alveen had told us in that press conference at the South Terminal of YVR the day after the trade, that JT had never asked for a trade, but he felt in the end this was best for him and his family and for the Vancouver Canucks and obviously the New

York Rangers thought it was best for him. And JT I think is comfortable in New York. He said that there's, even though it's been almost eight years since he was here, or sorry, seven years, he said the franchise still feels familiar, he's great, and of course the city and playing here and living here will feel familiar to him. And he's grateful that the Rangers, quote, are taking a chance on him again. So I think it was something that he needed. I wish, of course, that he had talked maybe more about exactly what went wrong this year and maybe talk more about his relationship with Elias Pettersson. But he also said that to this day,

he still believes that the Pettersson Miller stuff was overblown. And we know that it was amplified to a deafening level by Jim Rutherford in that story he did with the Globe and Mail. And JT told me he talked to Jim about that. He understands that Jim had a job to do and for him that the trade was coming and Jim was

preparing the market. And he's not angry about that, but to this day, he thinks it was overblown and it's something that it's easy for people to run with and say, well, here's the reason why it didn't work out. In JT's words, there were a lot of moving parts. And I think a lot of it still comes back to his mental health and his personal happiness. And I hope that he certainly has a chance to find that in New York again, because

he was a fabulous player for the Canucks. And I think they're missing them, but this happens in sports. It's also a sobering reminder of how extraordinarily unexpected this season has unfolded for Vancouver, that JT Miller is now in New York because that trade would have been unthinkable back in September. Hey, I'm at For the Canucks now is, is the number one goal for the management team, just trying to find a way to keep Quinn Hughes? And how, and if so, how do you, how do you do it?

Is it like, do you have to go to him and talk about, or what do you want? Do you want us to resign? We'll resign best if you want that. I mean, is that where they're at right now or is it a little more complicated than that? Well, I think that I remember Jim Rutherford said something to me, and I wish I could recall

when, but it was before the season. Sometimes during the off season when we were talking about contracts and how the pieces fit and he said then that everything they do is with an eye to needing to resign Quinn Hughes in two years and making sure that they have whatever resources they need to do that and making sure that the environment is as whatever resources they need to do that and making sure that the environment is as strong as possible for him so that he will want to stay. I don't think the environment this year has been all that good.

So I think they have some work to do next year, certainly in terms of realigning, reconfiguring whatever term you want to use, their culture and their leadership. And I think that they are in contact with Quinn. I don't think Patrick Albine is having coffee with them every morning, saying, here's what we're thinking for today. But I do think on some of these big decisions that the team has brought Quinn into the loop

just to keep him informed. So, I mean, he's the captain. They don't want him to be surprised or blindsided by anything, but also certainly to get his input and see what he thinks. But next year is just a massive year. In terms of Quinn Hughes' future,

next season, it's hard to overstate how important it is for the Canucks to correct their course and show that they have a chance to do something meaningful next season. They don't have to do it next season, but you've got to point the team in a direction where Quinn Hughes will feel like he has a chance to win a Stanley Cup if he stays in Vancouver. I'm Mac, this was great. As always, thank you very much for taking the time

to do this. A reminder, the Canucks are in action tonight, 4.30 from the Prudential Center in New Jersey. The Devils are the opponent. Enjoy the game tonight, I'm Mac, and thank you again. All right, see you guys. See you later. Ian McIntyre here on the Haliford & Bre tonight at Mac and thank you again. All right. See you guys. See you later. Uh, Ian McIntyre here on the Halford and

Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Okay. We'll do a little New Jersey Devils talk with uh, James Nichols, uh, coming up on the Halford and Bref show. We've also got some audio from, uh, Elliot Freeman, latest 32 Thoughts podcast on the Thatcher Demko situation, uh, with the Vancouver

Canucks. You're listening to the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Strantz. Get your daily dose of Canucks. You're listening to the Halford Unbrewed Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd. And Thomas Drance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. You know, we're in a fight and hopefully that, you know,

gets us in that playoff mentality, you know, 10,11 games out and we carry that into playoffs. So, yeah, obviously the results are tough, but we're in a fight here and we're not going to back down. Kovacevic just mentioned to us that he thinks the team kind of needs to have that playoff mentality of going down the stretchers. Kovacevic just needs to play better.

That would help. 734 on a Monday. Jonathan Kovacevich. What did I do? I played 17 minutes on Saturday. Just just want to have a playoff mentality. Stop yelling at me. Sheldon Keefe. That was the big talking point from the New Jersey Devils over the weekend, by the way. I don't know what caused Keefe to go there. We'll try and find out shortly. We're going to talk to James Nichols from New Jersey Hockey Now in a minute here on the Haliford & Breff show on Sportsnet 650.

Devils of course are the Canucks' opponent tonight. 430 puck drop our time from New Jersey Prudential Center. Reminder, it's an Amazon game but you can hear it all right here on Sportsnet 650. Before we get to talking to little devils, we need to take care of some business. Half of the breath of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can open anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service or parts.

We are in hour two of this program. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuk from Jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him on the internet at Jason.mortgage. To the phone lines we go. Our next guest is from New Jersey Hockey Now.

James Nichols joins us here on the Haliford & Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning James, how are you? I'm good, how are you? We're good, thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. So let's start with that. What was that all about?

What was that all about on the weekend, James? Sometimes I awkwardly laugh like when in these situations and playing that clip right at the beginning when I hopped on here, I started doing it again. But yeah, it's one of those things where, I think that Sheldon and the team might be feeling a little bit of stress at this point of the season just because of obviously the names that they've lost in Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes plus Jonas Seigenthaler while trying to piece it

all together down the stretch, maintain their status in playoff position and finding a different kind of structure than they had to have before. Unfortunately, I think Kovacevich was just in the crosshairs with the way the question was structured and overall aggravation just poured out of out of Sheldon Keefe, so I don't think it was necessarily You know Sheldon sitting there and saying this is all Jonathan Kovac's fault And he's the one who's gonna fall on the sword here I think it was just a matter of him being in the line of fire What I'll say is you know earlier in the game on on Saturday

You know he did take a careless delay of game penalty. You know, he wasn't pressured. He had the puck on the end of his stick and he just sent the puck over the glass. The Devils at that point in the first period hadn't really had any momentum until maybe a couple of minutes before that penalty, which kind of took away any momentum they had. And Ottawa was already really pressing. And they were really on top of the devils to start that game.

So maybe a bit of frustration from that. And then, you know, when I zoomed the lens out a little, a little further and doing my research after the comments, you know, I realize that I had seen some struggles with Kovacevich over the last week or so. You know, he's taken on a larger role with, you know, the players who are out of the lineup. And he just got paid $20 million for the next four years, five years to be in New Jersey as a guy who they expect to be a crucial part of that blue line.

So, um, he struggled a little bit here as of late, you know, they want to, they want him to be able to take that next step without Seagant all around his side to continue to be that defenseman that next step without Seagant all around his side to continue to be that defenseman he was throughout the year. You know, so it's a little both, it's a little both where, you know, he's trying to hold his player accountable. And you know, some stresses about, you know, how the team is playing lately, they haven't been able to string together, you know, more than three wins at a time all season.

So definitely some stress heading down the stretch of the regular season here. Yeah. So I'm sure you've heard all the, all the right things that the devils were going to say in the wake of all these injuries, Jack Hughes being done for, um, the year. Uh, Dougie Hamilton, they've only said that he's out for the rest of the regular season, I don't know what his chances of coming back and playing on the playoffs are, but with the Hughes injury in particular, how hard has it been for the Devils to maintain that belief that they can actually go win

a Stanley Cup this year, missing a piece like that? Like I think is the second line center Cody Glass now, like that's tough when you go from Jack Hughes and Nico Huescher down the middle as your top two, Nico Huescher who's still a terrific player but you know Cody Glass I don't know if he's making up for Jack Hughes' loss. Yeah I agree with you there. I mean look the the fact of the matter is Nico Huescher could be a 1C on any team but the center depth for the New Jersey after that falls you know pretty far. It's been flip-flopping between Cody Glass and Dawson Mercer at the 2C. I think the Cody Glass line has impressed Keefe in their short tenure.

So he's elevated them a bit. But, you know, listen, the Devils still believe in themselves as a team who can win, you know, at least one round in the playoffs. You know, they don't they don't look at themselves and say, we lost Jacque and we have to fold. You know, I perhaps did think that they were going to take a bit of a bigger swing at the deadline. I know that they were in on a couple of bigger players. They fell just short on one player who could have come in and I think solidified that center depth, you know, in the absence of Jack Hughes and maybe a little further beyond. But

ultimately, you know, they got a couple of roll guys who can at least maybe buoy them and get them, you know, to the finish line and to the postseason. Look, this team still has really good players despite the absences. You know, people forget how much of a star Jesper brought is. He just broke the single season record for assists. Nico Heashear, obviously we've mentioned. Timo Meyer, in my eyes, he's a star as well. Luke Hughes has come on real strong. He's another developing star for New Jersey. So they don't look at themselves and say,

we can't win, but obviously it's gonna be that much harder without Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Jonas Stigenthaler. Whereas before they could be maybe a little bit more free, run and go with the puck. Now they're might gonna have to resort to their their ways in the 90s with the defensive structure and the goal pending. Because you know again they're they're deep on the blue line and they have really good goal pending with Jacob Marksham and Jake Allen. You put either of those guys in that on any

given night. They're gonna have a chance to win. So the goals will come. They just have to defend first and you know they're gonna have have a chance to win. So the goals will come, they just have to defend first. And you know, they're going to have to try and win those close games from here on out. And I think that's the mentality moving forward. They know they can win. They don't think that they're just Jack Hughes and a supporting cast. They believe that they're a deep team and it's up to them to prove it at this point. Hey James, I'm curious. We just spent a part of a segment, a good chunk of a segment talking about whatever

the Canucks need to do in order to keep Quinn Hughes. They need to do it and they need to talk to Quinn Hughes and talk about whether or not this is the right decision or that's the right decision. Everything has to do with keeping Quinn Hughes when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in two years. How much talk and chatter is there among the New Jersey fan base about getting Quinn Hughes out of Vancouver to play with his two brothers? I get at least four or five mentions on Twitter a day. Damn it.

Damn it. Damn it. They won't stop talking about it. And listen, I understand the excitement. I understand the hype, you know, but we're a few years away from that. And I think that fans, you know, thought earlier in the year with the whole JT Miller, Elias Pedersen thing, they were like, now's our time to strike. Let's go in and then let's pry Quinn Hughes from there.

Let's, you know, unite the trio. But, you know, I know, I understand that Quinn's a pretty loyal guy and he feels a sense of responsibility to, you know, as a captain of that team. And he's happy where he is. So, you know, the New Jersey fans are excited at the prospect of the idea. And, you know, if you ask them, they're pretty convinced it's going to happen. But, you know, there's a difference between the public perception on social media versus what's going on behind closed doors

with Quinn, Vancouver, and Jack, Luke, and the Devils. Yeah, it's exciting to think about, but we have a bit of time before that discussion is a bit more prevalent, in my opinion. We're speaking to James Nichols from New Jersey Hockey Now here on the Hellford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. James, is it a Jacob Markstrom game tonight? It is a Jacob Markstrom game tonight.

He is in the starters net as we speak. How has that rotation gone this year between Markstrom and Allen? Yeah, it's been really strong overall. I would say since Markstrom has returned from his injury, he's still trying to find his footing. He's been mediocre, you know, obviously before the injury. If you, you know, were asking me and maybe a little bit of bias because I watch him every night, but he was putting up Besenna caliber type numbers before the injury. I mean his December was incredible, his January was very strong and then he became injured and you know now he's you know unsettled it looks like to me. A couple of soft balls a couple nights ago that I thought you know before the injury he makes those saves and you know helps the devils maybe steal a game. That has not happened lately but Jake Allen on

the other hand has been phenomenal and you know he's a guy I look at obviously, depending on restricted free agent and this, this class of goaltenders coming up in the summer is probably one of the weaker ones and it's going to be headlined by Jake Allen if he is in fact in a go to market, I'm of the opinion, they should try to resign him and give him, you know, maybe one more year in New Jersey to run it back with Markstrom to see, you know, what's that tandem truly going to look like if they can get back to the playoffs fully healthy with Jack Hughes and everybody in the lineup. Um, but I mean, Alan has just been, you know, it's like Jacob

Marksman comes out of the lineup, putting up Beth and a caliber type numbers and you know, Jake Allen's like, Oh, I'll just step in with my 9 60 save percentage for the month. And it's's it's been incredible to see so No, no part of the devil's of struggles falls on the golf. I mean they've been incredible And and you know if they're going to succeed in the postseason They're gonna need those guys to be just as strong when they get there It is the Canucks it is the Devils tonight 430 from the Prudential Center in New Jersey James Thanks a lot for doing this today, man.

We really appreciate it. Yeah, anytime. Thanks for calling. Yep. Thank you. That's James Nichols from New Jersey Hockey Now here on the Haliferton Brough Show on Sportsnet at 6.50. I think the NHL should fold the Devils.

That's the way we keep Quinn Hughes out of there. Mickey Mouse franchise. You know, somebody said it a long time ago. A long time ago. Austin and Langley, Austin and Langley texted, don't worry about it because the Canucks are going to offer sheet Luke Hughes before they get a chance to sign Quinn Hughes. Take that New

Jersey. Yeah, New Jersey's going to be like, we'll match. Damn it. I wanted to finish on the subject of a former Canuck Schooley, Jacob Markstrom, which is why I asked James about it because apparently I have some audio on a current Canuck Schooley, Thatcher Demko from the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Yeah, this is what Elliot Friedman and Kyle Bacauskas were talking about on the latest edition of 32 Thoughts. I guess Demko's been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. He came to practice with them on Sunday. Ian McIntyre wrote a good story about it. And for all intents and purposes, they need need him and he knows it and he's gonna try to play barring anything unforeseen happening he's gonna start against the devils.

You can talk all about his health, his injuries, everything and like I said I heard today he's been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, but at some point in time, you have to dive into the deep end with your teammates. You have to look and you see the way they're battling. And like, if you're a ranger event on Saturday afternoon, you're like, uh, okay, everybody throw away the masks and start laundering the money we just stole because we got this, we, we did not deserve this victory. And if you're a Canucks fan, you're really like that team played its heart out.

Hughes was great. Everyone were there was great. Uh, and they lost. And the worst thing about it for the Canucks and their fans is it's Miller who puts in the dagger with the empty netter, right? So you're feeling terrible. And Demko just says

like, I have to show these guys I'm in the deep water with them. You know, whatever the doctors are saying, the trainer is saying, whatever percentage he's at, whether he's at 80, 90, 95, a hundred, maybe he's at a hundred, but you get into this point where you say, yeah, I can play and they need help. And that's what this is right now.

So I just want to talk about the rollercoaster that it's been for Canucks fans. I mean, it's been a rollercoaster all season, but just, let's just go back, I don't know, seven or eight games. You got the loss to Montreal at home, which followed up the loss to Dallas. Yeah.

Also at home and things were pretty low then. Yeah. But then they go into Calgary and they get that four, three shootout win. And then they follow that up with a six, two win over Chicago. Good win. Little bit of optimism, optimism around

Pedersen's play because he scored a good, a big goal against the Calgary Flames to force the overtime and then ultimately win it in a shootout. Then they, I guess they lay an egg against Utah. They lose at home three to one and things are bad again, because that was such a key loss to a Utah team that was among the four chasing.

Then they smoke Winnipeg at home and that might have been, was that the high point of the season? Might've been one of the best games of the year. How well they played. Now, Conor Hallebeck didn't play well for Winnipeg, but the Canucks deserve to win that game. They played very well. Yeah.

And they depart on this six game road trip. They lose in overtime in St. Louis, which was a game where you're kind of like some good, some bad. It's great that they got a point out of that, considering they were three seconds away from not getting any points, but they still lose in overtime to the blues.

And they lost in a pretty loud way with some of their key players making mistakes in overtime. Then that New York game happens and we're kind of like, what's that? No, I was like, I know it was bad, but there are some people hanging their hats on the fact that the Canucks played really well, right? I think the Canucks are trying to hang their hats on that.

I don't even know where we are right now with this Canucks team. The New York game was like a roller coaster on a roller coaster ride within the roller coaster. Like a metacoaster. It was unbelievable that they're, and the third period was a roller coaster in that game that had a lot of ups and downs. That's what it's been this entire year.

But here's another loop to loop. Thatcher Demko. Demko's back, baby. Is going to play tonight. And I, you know, I asked IMAC is this, is Thatcher Demko their Hail Mary? And he said, well, I don't know if the Canucks feel that way.

I'm like, I think they do. Yeah. Maybe they won't use the term Hail and Mary, but it's very similar. We got to get this guy, we got to get this guy back. Let me ask you, if the Canucks were in this situation or sorry, if the, if the Canucks were in a completely different situation in that they had wrapped up a playoff spot or maybe they were way out of the playoffs, one or the other. I don't think he's playing.

Is Demka playing? I don't think he's playing. Is Demko playing? I don't think so, not tonight. He might play eventually at some point down the stretch just to get back in, but not tonight. It's not like Demko needs this for his contract or his future, right? He's got another year left on this. If he comes back, if he has a great off season,

which, you know, I'm actin' like he was trying to be very careful about this, looking ahead to the off season already when the regular season isn't already over. I'm so excited to get out of here. But when he was talking about that, he's like, I'm excited for the off season to have a full season, full off season of just doing work. I don't have to rehab from anything, hopefully,

you know, if he's going to play these games, I guess there's an unwind of risks that a new injury crops up. But you know, for him is, is financial future, right? All he really has to do is come back next season, play really well and stay healthy. Now that might be a big ass, but if you're the

Canucks, like I think he represents your, your best chance of pulling off a miracle essentially. And it's going to need to be a miracle. If you look at what the Canucks are facing, they got four games left on this road trip. Three of them, you know, are, well, you're looking at New Jersey, the Islanders, Columbus and

Winnipeg, the Islanders are desperate. Columbus is desperate. New Jersey wants to turn their game around after the last few. Uh, and then Winnipeg is just going to be tough and Winnipeg is probably going to be looking for revenge after what happened at Rogers Arena a short time ago.

And then you've got all these tough games, like they still got to play Vegas twice. They got to go to Dallas. They got to go to Colorado. They got to host Minnesota. Like man, to get eight or nine wins, maybe they just see Demko as their best chance of doing that. Okay. But how, like, he's like one bad lunge across the crease away from another injury.

I'm going to flip the narrative here though, and focus on Demko rather than the Canucks. I got a lot of respect for him right now, if he's pushing and he wants to get back in there. Because there's a guy that wants to be a difference maker and a guy that knows that the season's pretty much on the line. And he's like, give me the ball, give me the MF. Yeah, he wants to play. What was the clip we had at the beginning?

Give me the MF and ball, give me the ball. Like, let me go here. Yeah, yeah. That clip, by the way, was from, Maryland was playing Colorado State in March Madness yesterday. Maryland had a star player who had had a great game last night, but the end of the game was, I think it was six seconds left.

Coach called a timeout. They were down. It was like one shot. You either make the shot and win or you miss the shot and go home. And the coach asked the players and asked like, who wants the ball? I asked everybody. I said, who wants the ball? And he said, give me the MF ball. And I said, all right. All right. That's good coaching, by the way. I took the MF ball and he scored.

Yeah, I take it, they won. Yeah, they won, Maryland won. Anyway, so back to- I would have been a very excited coach if they had lost. He asked for the ball and he shot an air ball. Talk, it's like Quinn Hughes said, gave me the MF ball and I said, all right. So you gotta remember, like,

as for all that's gone on this year, I'm sure Demko's probably got his nose out of joint a little bit though, like they forgot about Thatcher Demko. Like I'm a big part of this thing. I got nominated for the Vezna last year. I'm one of the best. You think he speaks in third person?

I'm one of the, yeah, I hope that he does. I hope he has that. They forgot about Thatcher Demko. I hope he has that kind of swag. Like I am gonna talk about myself in the third person. Thatcher Demko's playing tonight. This is Thatcher Demko speaking. Their season's on the line.

What's the likelihood of them getting in right now? I'd say pretty slim. They'd probably have to win like 10 of 12. I'd say they gotta win at least eight. I don't think they're gonna win that many. I mean, at least eight. And good on Demko for being like, you know, if I'm 100% healthy or not, that doesn't matter.

I think I can make a difference and I'm gonna push to play. I got a feeling it probably has something to do with what happened against New York as well. He wants to be in the fight. Yeah, everyone wants to be in the fight. Everyone wants to. So good on him.

Like hopefully. This has been a super frustrating year. I would assume that extends to Demko as well. He's gotta be frustrated at how this season went. Series of start stops with his health. You gotta remember the games that he played prior to getting hurt, he had the shutout win over Colorado. He had that overtime win over San Jose

where he stopped like 33 or 34 or something. Even in the game that he got hurt against the Leafs, perfect six for six on saves before he got hurt. Right, he was going. Yeah, it was gonna be a shutout. It on saves before he got hurt, right? He was going. Yeah, it was gonna be a shutout. It was gonna be a shutout, right? He was there. He was ready to go. So good on him for getting back in there. You know, if you've got any faith left and you haven't been overridden by frustration and angst and pessimism, throw some, you know, some good vibes behind tonight. Maybe, maybe this Hail Mary works.

Hail Marys do work sometimes. Just not often. One final hour to go on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. We'll continue this conversation with Kevin Woodley coming up next. Woods is gonna join us at NHL.com in Gwil Magazine. We'll talk to him about Demco

and everything else that's going on. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about CIBC. Smart Everyday Banking helps you easily track your spending with confidence. Get $450. Wow, $450 when you make the switch. Visit CIBC.com forward slash smart. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.