Halford & Brough in the Morning - Did Rick Tocchet Quit On The Canucks?

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

In hour one, Mike & Jason look back at the previous day in sports (3:00), they discuss comments from Rick Tocchet yesterday on Donnie & Dhali (13:56), plus they chat this evening's NHL playoff action with Sportsnet's David Amber (27:54).  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- It was Rodriguez who spotted an open-air neck plant. Steroids aren't drugs. They occur naturally in the body like sweat or tumors. We all get kicked in the ass and we all take it. We take the heat. Last year didn't go away and you get some criticism. So you got to deal with it. That's the business for it. I kind of live by saying if you got no haters, you ain't poppin'.

So hate away. Good morning, Vancouver. Six o'clock on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. It is Alfred at his broth. It is Sportsnet 650. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studios in beautiful Fairview slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning.

And Ladi, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello. Alfred and Broth of the Morning is brought to you by Sands & Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for net help. With over 3,000 5-star reviews. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are in Hour 1 of the program. Hour 1 is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling, Vancouver's premier metal recycler. While they pay the highest prices on scrap metal, North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle,

you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, footwear and orthotics working together Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio Kintec Footwear and orthotics working together with you in step got a big show ahead on a Wednesday Guest list today is gonna begin at 630 David Amber Sportsnet hockey night Canada and HL host is gonna join us I believe he's gonna be joining us live from Dallas for game one of the Western Conference final at Edmonton They call it big D. They do call it big D. That's David's nickname as well Edmonton Dallas for the second David. Yes

Come on Honestly move along it's move along honestly big D David Amber is gonna join us from big D Dallas the host I've gave one of the Western Conference final second consecutive season. These two teams will meet. This one gets underway at five o'clock our time tonight. However, we will not be airing it on sports that 650 because we're going to be doing the Abbotsford, Colorado, AHL Calder Cup playoff game here on these airwaves with David.

We can also look back on Florida's big five to win over Carolina in game one of the Eastern Conference final last night. That's all happening at six thirty seven o'clock. First time guest on the program. Julian Edlow is going to join us. He covers the NBA and the New York Knicks for the draft Kings network tonight. Also at five o'clock. Wow. You got a lot of viewing options this evening. Game one of the much anticipated NBA Eastern Conference final between the New York Knickerbockers and the Indiana Pacers.

We're throwing it back to the mid nineties for this one. The ninth time, ninth time that these two franchises have met in the post season. It's also a rematch of last year's second round where the Pacers upset the Knicks to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. We'll talk to Julian Edlow about that at seven o'clock. 7.30, this one is near and dear

to our old curtain blog hearts. Craig Ludwig is going to join the program. We used to have a running joke back at the curtain blog that Craig Ludwig had the biggest shin pads in the history of the National Hockey League, blocked approximately nine billion shots with those shin pads over his long storied NHL career. Why are we talking to Craig Ludwig? Well, after a storied NHL career, which he won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 99, another great career moment for him.

He's a podcaster now. He's working for DLLS Sports. He's an analyst pregame, postgame, does the podcast with Owen Newkirk, who we've had on the show before. He did have giant shin pads. Massive shin pads. Just go Google image Craig Ludwig. There's a hockey card of him when he's playing for Dallas and it looks like he's wearing goalie pads

They are the biggest shin pads in NHL history I don't know if he still has are you gonna ask him about those there there are I don't they're mattresses it looks Photoshopped yeah Honestly be the first question was a good shop locker you win Stanley Cups with Craig Ludwig Craig before we get into the game Could you please can comment on your shin pads? Well, he was always very sensitive. He was like I have big shins, big delicate shins. He's wearing baggy pants on the ice Craig's gonna join us at 730 to talk about his shin pads and the Dallas Stars 8 o'clock IMAC Ian McIntyre is gonna join the program our intrepid Canucks reporter finally back home here in Vancouver

After working with Stars Jet series for Sportsnet We can talk to him about everything that he saw on the road Obviously a very emotional game six to close out that series after the passing of Mark Shifley's father We can also talk to him about the new head coach to the Vancouver Canucks hired while he was on the road So everything to talk about with iMac at 8 o'clock. So working in reverse on the guest list 8 o'clock. It's Ian McIntyre at eight o'clock. So working in reverse on the guest list, eight o'clock, it's Ian McIntyre. 730, it's Craig Ludwig. Seven o'clock, Julian Edlow for a little NBA talk. 630, David Amber. That's what's happening on the program. Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action

because I was. We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools or resources and safety training. Visit them online at bccsa.ca. We do have a fair bit of stuff to get into regarding former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tauke, but before we get into that, we do need to start the show appropriately. It is what happened. What happened yesterday was that Sergei Barovsky

made 31 saves and the Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in game one of the Eastern Conference Final at my favorite center, the Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Tuesday night. It was another dominant performance from the Florida Panthers who dare I say, dare I say, kind of look like a wagon right now in these playoffs.

Yeah. And the Hurricanes, I thought they started out okay. And they had some chances. There was a two on one where a Florida defenseman made a really nice play. I thought the pass across was a little bit rushed, but you know, there were chances for night, but in the end, they were able to get a little bit of a lead.

And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters.

And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters.

And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know, that's the only thing that really matters. And so, you know. Let's just put it that way. Um, the Panthers really didn't have many shots on goal on the night, but, um, you know, if you're not getting the saves and you're giving up some glaring, um, scoring chances within those minimal shots, it's going to be tough against the team like the Florida Panthers. That game started out very physically with a bang, several bangs as a matter of fact. And then they called like a weird roughing call.

Cause I actually wonder. They had to cool down the texture. I actually wonder if that was why. They were like, they were like, you know, cause everyone was like, what? You can't call that roughing. I believe you're talking about the Ajo penalty. Yeah. Yeah.

And then, well, I think Florida is scoring on that power play. You sure did. Right? So, you know, but I mean, some of the hits that were being laid, it was kind of like, good children, this is dangerous. Right? Like, but it was very intense for the first bit.

The Carolina arena was very loud, but then it got, then it got pretty quiet in there. And I think, you know, Carolina is the type of team that if they get a lead, it's going to be, it's going to be tough for you. But, um, if the other team gets a bit of a lead, especially if it's team like Florida, it's going to be tough for them. Um, and you know, I, it's, it's now, it's now, this is crazy stat, 13 straight

losses for the hurricanes in the conference finals. The last three times they went, they got swept, and now they've lost game one. And this has always been the knock on Carolina. I realize it's only been game one. It's always been the knock on Carolina. They can win a first round, they can even win a second round, but they still have not been able to get over the hump. And it's because game breakers, like who are they? Who, who is going to step up and be the man offensively for the

Carolina hurricanes? Is it going to be Ajo? Is it going to be Svechnikov? They brought in Rantanen for this very reason. He didn't want to say stay. So, so they traded him. So anyway, it's only one game. I realized that, but so far the narrative around the Carolina

Hurricanes is the same and the narrative around the Florida Panthers is the same because the Florida Panthers took to Carolina last year. Yeah. The 13 consecutive losses in the conference finals, a crazy stat. And you know, the Carolina Hurricanes have kind of become the Toronto Maple Leafs of the conference finals. It's like they can get to that point, whereas the Leafs can get to the second round. But once they get to this point, I do believe there's some level of mental

blockage around the team. Now, the interesting thing in that dynamic is that Carolina has made some pretty serious and significant alterations to their roster as they've moved along. Some of the key parts are still obviously have and will continue to be there, right? Ajo has been there forever, Stahl's been there forever, Slaven's been there for a long time too.

But. Svetlakov now. Yeah, Svetlakov's a disappointment to me. Yeah. Svetlakov's career has been a disappointment. And I know there were great things anticipated from him. And I think that maybe.

He was hurt last year, wasn't he? He's been hurt, um, on a number of occasions. Uh, I'll never forget the famous Alexander Ovechkin knockout early in his career. I don't know if that sort of paved the way for how things were going to go for him in the playoffs, but regardless, I think the story is less about the Carolina hurricanes and more

about the Florida Panthers. If you look at some of these numbers right now, um, Florida has been, I would say the most less about the Carolina Hurricanes and more about the Florida Panthers. If you look at some of these numbers right now, Florida has been, I would say, the most dominant team both by eye test and by metrics in the playoffs thus far. And this includes an Edmonton Oilers team that has been absolute like I'll say fire wagon this time. Yes, fire wagon after losing the first two games to L.A.

The Panthers have won five of their last six where the Panthers are killing it right now, where they didn't in the regular season is they're getting a ton of offense from their blue line. They've got 12 goals from the defense core. And this was a team, if you look at their numbers during the regular season, their production from the blue line was fine. It was middle of the pack in the NHL. Wasn't terrible, but it didn't necessarily stand out. The addition of Seth Jones, which I don't

think we've really talked about enough, especially in that Toronto series, how good he was and how much. He's had some rough games in the playoffs. Yeah, but he's been such a great plus for them because he can play like 28 minutes a night. So I remember last year when the Canucks took the Oilers to seven and then the Oilers fairly

easily took care of Dallas. And we were all sitting there going like, Canucks could have maybe had a chance against Dallas. Yeah. I wonder if Leafs fans are sitting there thinking the same thing. I think last year, most of us were like, the Oilers are probably the better team. They deserve to beat the Canucks. Yep.

And I think if you're honest as a Leafs fan, especially the way the series ended, you know, you're like, okay, well, Florida's probably better than us, but Game 7, if you just found a way to win that game, I wonder what Leafs fans were thinking watching last night. It's like, man, we could have beaten Carolina. The thing was is they weren't even close to beating Florida. Well, they were.

They were game seven. Five and seven, they got the doors blown off. But they got to game seven the same as the Canucks. The Canucks weren't close in game seven. The interesting thing out of Toronto is I have not heard the narrative yet from, and I know this is because a lot of the fans of Meteor sour, but I haven't heard anyone really say like,

man, they were so close. Like they, at the end of the day, and it's funny because it was a seven game series and the Florida Panthers in that pity party they were throwing in the aftermath said, look, they pushed us right to the brink. We think we're. Well, the other said the same thing about

the Canucks. Right. You know, and there were some guys on the Canucks, no names mentioned that, that, that didn't show up, the top players, and there were guys on the Toronto Maple Leafs that, you know, top players that didn't show up when the games mattered. Who?

Who didn't show up for the Toronto Maple Leafs? I just think it's a pretty similar story, especially the way that game one went. There's a long way to go in the series, though. Speaking of the Vancouver Canucks, we do have a new development in Vancouver Canuck land, although it involves a former Vancouver Canucks specifically former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tauke.

For the first time since he left or dare I say quit on the Vancouver Canucks, former head coach Rick Tauke spoke to the media. It was Donnie and Dolly that got the much anticipated interview yesterday, Tuesday morning. Rick Tauke spoke about a variety of things, but I think the one thing that drew a lot of people's attention, it was probably the most interesting part of the interview, was when Rick Dollywall asked Rick Tauket what he thought about fans who accused him of being a quitter and quitting on the Vancouver Canucks. Yeah. So, okay. Look, I'm just going to throw this out there. I know there are some fans that are tired of the Vancouver media praising talk it, but I was speaking for myself. I can't help that.

I mostly agree with the way he looks at things. Um, you know, I, I just, I've always said I call it like I see it. And maybe I'm wrong, but this is the way I see it. I really liked his answer when Rick Dollywall asked him to respond to those fans who called him a quitter. So let's play that audio right now and then we'll dig into this a bit because I think there are some lessons to be learned from players that play amidst the noise of a market like Vancouver, Toronto.

And boy, am I getting tired of hearing about the noise. A lot of fans understand why you left, but some are saying, Hey, embrace the hard, meet pressure with pressure. And they think that you quit on the Canucks. What are your comments about that? What do you think about those that say that?

I understand it. You know, I listen, you know, I can't, I can explain them. I'm not a quitter, but I understand where they're coming from. Sometimes in life, Ricky, you have decisions you got to make. And the crossroads, you got to go right or left and sometimes you make the right decision sometimes you don't you got to go with your conviction and it wasn't a quick thing it was just something I felt for me to evolve and just in my life this was the right decision and there's other things you know I can't I'm not going to dive into

it but I just feel like this was the time. But I understand the passion of fan base, man. They want a winner. Like, there's no better, you know, you want to be in a pressure cooker because the rewards there, if you can win in that town, the rewards are just, I mean, I picked Vancouver. If you want to Stanley Cup and all the 32 teams, I would say if the top three or four cities Vancouver is in one of them. If you won the Stanley Cup, how they would react to the celebration. Just the the the the just the system, the aura, the the the the it's just to me,

I can't even put it in words because I we went to the second round game seven. Yeah, I can't believe what I saw. I was like the city. So can you imagine winning Stanley Cup there? I can't imagine it. I don't think I can. So that's a pretty tough question to answer when you're asked, you know, what do you think about people calling you a quitter? And all he said was, well, I get why they'd feel that way.

He doesn't think he's a quitter, but here's the thing. He understands that fans might see him that way. There was no defensiveness in his answer. And that's something that the media could learn by the way. Just an awareness that this is the business that he's in. I think that's a really good message to send. And I think about teams that play in the noise. If you've got a coach that would be like, yeah, fans are going to say stuff

sometimes because they're really passionate, you know, especially in the age of, of social media, where no public figure goes unscathed, nobody. If you're a public figure, you're going to hear about it from the haters on social media. I'm sure it wasn't fun for him to read and hear the things that were written and said about him. Who likes to be criticized? Who likes their own words to be thrown back in their face in a disingenuous way? Who likes to be accused of looking like a horse, you know?

You know, that happens to some people. I don't know who. It's sad. Who does it happen to? Here's the thing, and here's what I think Tachin understands. There's what you'd like reality to be, and there's what reality actually is. And the actual reality is that not everyone is going to agree with you, not everyone is going to like you, and not everyone is going to say nice things about you.

That is a hard lesson to learn. Take it from a guy who said a lot of things that people disagree with, and sometimes people are very mean about it. They call me a horse. Call you a horse. But the quicker I think you learn that lesson, and it is tough when you're in your 20s.

You know, a lot of these guys are in their 20s. But the quicker you learn that lesson, the quicker you're just going to live your life on your own terms and call it like you see it. And that's what I see from Rick Tauket. And it's kind of liberating when you just accept the fact that you can't control what other people think or say. I'll say that again. You cannot control what other people think or say. I'll say that again. You cannot control what other people think or say.

You can only block them. Don't even waste your time trying because it's pointless. And there are probably people listening right now that are actively disagreeing with what I'm saying. I know there are people listening that don't particularly like me, especially in a certain fan club of a certain player on the Canucks.

Yeah. You know, my mom also not a fan. She loves speedy though. But she's not listening. Uh, one more thing. I've always found talk at quite introspective and willing to question his own decisions in hindsight. And not everyone's like that, especially in pro sports or politics for that matter,

we're openly doubting yourself and saying, oh, I might've made a mistake. It only feeds your critics, which is why so many of them don't do it. Yesterday, Taka conceded that maybe there was something he could have done differently to solve the whole PD Miller rift. I mean, it didn't work out very well for the Canucks. So it's certainly possible that there was a better way. There had to have been a better way. But like, what are you going to do? It happened and hopefully you learn something

from it. You look back on it honestly and you go, is there anything I could have done differently? Maybe. Okay. If I deal with this another time, maybe I'll use this experience. You know, and I just think like this, the way he accepts the business that he's in is a lesson that could be learned from a lot of the players in the modern age who struggle with, and Tauke had even mentioned, by the way, he's like, players deal with a lot, and he mentioned social media. And I wonder if there were some players on the Canucks that he was thinking about. And I just think like, there are so many times where, you know, the players, they,

and teams, I've seen it in Toronto and in Vancouver, they almost get this siege mentality where they're like, everyone's out to get us. Yep. So let's hate them. And you're like, okay, well that's fine, but not everyone is out to get you and not everyone hates you. They want success for you. Now, is there going to be some quote unquote noise along the way? Yeah, there is, but like, this is the business

that you're in. Did you, did you hear Patch Ready? I did hear Max Patch Ready. Max Patch Ready. So this is a guy that, I mean, he's a real veteran. He might be retired now, but he was the captain of the Montreal Canadians. And that was a very, very tough situation for him. He was a young guy. He's an American and he was made

the captain of the Montreal Canadians. Can speak French. And he was asked, you know, like, what's it like to, to play under the pressure of Toronto? And he said, I love it. It's a privilege to play under pressure. And you probably don't realize that when you're in it or when you're younger, he said, but it's a

privilege to have this many people care about how we do. And he said, I certainly never felt this way early on in my career, but it builds winners. It turns you into men. It helps you become who you're ultimately trying to become. Yeah. I mean, the pressure conversation has been so interesting because over the last, what,

48, 72 hours, we've had it from every different angle, right? We had the Toronto Maple Leafs crumbling under the weight of expectation and the crushing pressure. We had the Florida Panthers almost apologizing in a weird again. We called it a pity party, but it was almost like they were making the apologies for the Maple Leafs players for capitulating to that pressure. We had Rick talk at speaking about, you know, the pressures that he and others faced in Vancouver now that he's gone, you know, the residual aftermath and the effects of, you know, a very passionate

and very dialed in fan base that's angry now. Like there's, you know, there's there's a lot that goes into playing in this league and being in the sport and coaching in this league, too. And it's interesting because Patrick Reddy's perspective is that of a guy that's been through it and is in the twilight of his career. And he probably looks back and thinks, if I could go back and do those days again,

I'd love to be able to do it because they're at their end now, right? There is a sense of nostalgia that the pressure is one thing that you end up missing because with that comes the drive and the excitement and the adrenaline and. Dude, the payoff adrenaline and dude the payoff yeah the payoff

payoff if you win so or the disappointment when you lose but anyway but think about Brad Marshawn right now okay let's say the Panthers go on to win the cup what's gonna be a better experience afterwards the Panthers cup or when the Bruins won the cup? well I mean.

The parade in Boston. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the whole narrative. Remember the year before, the year before, I mean it might mean something to Marshawn because he's at the end of his career. That might mean something personally. Yeah, I was just kind of weighing it out, but I get what you're saying. But you know what I mean?

Like, like winning a Cup in Florida, like I've heard some people and I kind of agree with them, like Matthew Kachuck is always going on about like, there's no pressure in Florida. We love it here. I'm like, okay, is that, is that something to brag about? You know, you know what I mean? But like, so the year before the Bruins won the cup in, what was it? 2011?

You know, the year before they blew a three, nothing lead in the playoffs to the Flyers, like they heard about it. There was all sorts of pressure. You know, Boston might not quite be a Canadian city when it comes to hockey, but man, there's pressure there and you'll hear about it. You'll hear lots of criticism there. And then they come back and they win the Stanley

Cup in a very dramatic fashion too, right? And like the payoff from that must've been so huge. And that's why Rick Tauker is saying like, if Vancouver wins a cup or, or, you know, Toronto wins the cup, like it's going to be incredible. Right now. The interesting part of all of this, and I wanted to get into this yesterday, but we kind of ran out of time was that there is something with a certain genre and style of modern player that just doesn't want that,

either they're not wired for it or it's not in their DNA or they take a different view than their predecessors. Because when I was talking about the pressure thing yesterday, I said, look, oftentimes in this conversation, I look to the past and look

to history. And there were countless NHL players before you that had to deal with this. And it's sort of a rite of passage, time immemorial, all that stuff. But then I wanted to add on, while that's true, there's a new breed of player that says, we don't need to go through

what the previous generation went through. It doesn't apply to us. It's not the same thing. We don't have the same goals and ideals and objectives for our careers. Fair enough. And that's fair. Yeah.

And it's, you know, life. I think, I think a lot of this has to do with a younger generation being encouraged to be more vocal and more open with the challenges, mental or pressure or otherwise that they face and saying like, part of this is hard. And you know, part of this is difficult and you know part of this is difficult and it's interesting you just use AI for this yeah we have a wiener but it's

interesting to hear a guy like Patrick already talked about it in the twilight of his career because he would argue if I could go back I would embrace those moments even more because now at the you you know, he could be played his last game. Like there's a, there's a rush and all the things that you talked about, the adrenaline, the potential payoff that people, people care that you lose an athlete, but there is another, and I don't know if it's just a generational thing or what, but there is a new breed of player that doesn't hold that as a beacon of being a professional

Like his earlier generations and it's a really interesting dynamic dynamic. I wonder I fall on I wonder if so many have experienced Disappointment playing in Canada also being subjected to social media. Yeah, that's a big part That's that's a big part. Yeah, okay David Emmer is to join us next. Love to hear your thoughts on any of that into the Dunbar Lumber Text Line at 650-650. Metro Vancouver's trust of choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. David Amber going to join us next.

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Hockey Night in Canada Sportsnet NHL host David Amber joins us now on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, David. How are you? Jason, Mike, how are you guys? We are well. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Are you in Dallas right now? I am. I'm sitting in my hotel room that I don't think has been renovated since the 1930s.

Awesome. Okay, we will talk stars, oilers in a minute. We'll talk Panthers, Hurricanes in a moment, but we gotta start with the aftermath of the Toronto Maple Leaf season coming to an end in game seven in less than glorious fashion for the Leafs. I know that you're in Dallas right now, but what was it like in Toronto over those,

you know, 24, 48, 72 hours, you know, the loss in game seven, the aftermath, the media availabilities, all of it. I can only imagine it was a little tumultuous in Toronto. First of all, I love the little chuckle. If you ask the question, I'm sure that speaks for many hockey fans across Canada, who probably were very invested emotionally for a Leafs loss in game seven, and they received what they wanted in dramatic, dramatic fashion, more than anyone maybe would have imagined.

Yeah, the follow-up's been pretty substantial, probably no different than if that had happened in Vancouver, Calgary or wherever. I mean, you know, it was, it was, it was crazy to witness in some fashion, right? Game five, they get blown out. Game six, they played arguably their best game of the playoffs and shut out a very good Florida team. And then right from the first shift of game seven, it was all Panthers. And I think it was like the 12 stages of grief for the Leaf Nation, for their fans. It was sort of the disbelief into the frustration, into the anger, and then into the absolute

venom. And that's what we witnessed with the jerseys being thrown on the ice and full beers being thrown on the ice. You know, it takes a lot of balls to throw a full beer at Scotiabank Arena. It's expensive. It's like 24 bucks or something. You might go throw your wallet on the ice at the same time. Yeah, it's been a lot, I think,

because I think it was one of those situations where the narrative often from a lot of us in the media, and I think rightfully so, was this felt like a very different Leaf team. They defended much better. They had blocked the most shots in the league. They had beefed up their blue line. They had a tandem of goaltenders they felt were reliable and trustworthy. And then at the end of the day, they come out and they literally, gentlemen, looked paralyzed in game seven, as you witnessed. And Craig Barubei almost said as much in his post season post-mortem yesterday with the media where he's saying, this is a mental thing.

I mean, you see the talent on the team and doesn't mean they were going to win game seven, doesn't mean they were going to knock off the Florida Panthers, but it's how you lose and, you know, it was, again, you know, Elliot and I were there on site and Elliot said, yeah, in the first five minutes, the Leafs had, the shot attempts were 21 to nothing for Florida in the first five minutes. That doesn't speak to a team that's ready to play the most important game of the year that looked, you know, dramatically better in game six. So there's, there's a lot of follow-up. There's going to be, you know, substantial change.

What those changes are, we have to be seen. We can speculate and assume certain things which will probably transpire, but who knows. But it will not be the same group taking the ice next year in October. Can you teach players to play under pressure or do you just have to target players that have the personality to deal with it?

Yeah, I think that's a great question. And I think it's the latter. I think there's just certain, you know, I'll use a little bit of a basketball analogy and this is not to disparage Vince Carter. Vince Carter is a hall of famer and a great player. He didn't have the same DNA as Kobe and Michael and to Michael Jordan's. And he might've had the same athleticism. He was, you know, I got, I covered a lot of Raptors back when Vince

Carter was here and he was as good an athlete as I've ever seen. I mean, he was dominant. Um, but at the end of the day, I think he was just incredibly excited to play basketball and being the NBA and make this a good living doing something he was exceptional at. You know, he wasn't like Kobe who wins the championship and five in the morning the next day, legend has it he was back at the gym practicing. Like that just wasn't part of his DNA.

There are certain guys in the NHL who I think, you know, the Crosby's, McKinnon's, McDavid's, and I know McDavid hasn't won a championship yet, but you can just, it's in his DNA. He, he's always going to bring his best. No moment is too big for him. Um, McKinnon, Crosby, et cetera. And the guys on the Leafs, um, the, the best players, you know, have been paralyzed, not just once, but on several different times in these biggest moments. So it's, it's, it's, it's unfair to maybe paint, you know, the brush of all these guys just can't win. It's not that. Like Mitch Marner, there's a very good chance he's going to leave Toronto and a very good chance he ends up winning a cup somewhere else.

I don't doubt that at all. It's just that I think within the context of this collective group, you know, together, who's pulling things, who's pulling everyone forward. And I think that was the issue that maybe really glared its ugly head is, you know, if you put the right complementary pieces and guys who have it in them to not be paralyzed by the pressure, you could pull people along. But if you have four guys who look at one another and sort of say, well, who's leading the ship here? I'm not sure. It's a problem. But if you have four guys who look at one another and sort of say, well, who's leading the ship here?

I'm not sure, it's a problem. And again, I'm simplifying it, because this wasn't four guys didn't show up, but at the end of the day, your best players, as they say, the cliche, have to be your best players. And, you know, they certainly weren't down the stretch. Where does it start trying to identify players that can perform in those moments?

Is it the draft? Because it seems like the teams like Florida, where there isn't as much pressure and there's no state income tax and the weather is nicer. Like they, at this moment, they just seem to have such an advantage in recruiting. And I'm not talking about free agency. I'm talking about like, where would you be willing

to waive your no trade clause to go to? You know, Kachuk forced his way out of Calgary. And, you know, he wanted to go to Florida and he loves it in Florida. And that probably makes it even harder for the Canadian teams because you see a guy like Matthew Kachuk, he's winning Stanley cups. He's playing golf if he wants to every day,

he's probably making more money based on the income tax rules. It's getting harder and harder for Canadian teams to be like, hey, to sell the dream of winning a cup in Canada. Yeah, I think that you got a lot there. Listen, the last five teams to represent the Eastern Conference and the family

cup final reside from the state of Florida. So do with that as you will. And it probably is going to be six in a row if Florida knocks off Carolina. So, um, there's some inherent advantages, undoubtedly. And, you know, if you're, if you're in management in Florida or Vegas or Nashville or et cetera, et cetera, the Sun Belt teams where there's preferential packs, preferential weather, preferential maybe just day to day life for the players, that is a distinct advantage.

And here's the thing guys, we can't put it all on those factors, but certainly Matthew Kachuk and other players in their post-mortem, it was almost this pity party for the Maple Leafs and their players. Well, it's just so hard. If they didn't have the circus around them, they'd be doing well. I have a hard time blaming this on a passionate fan base, or blaming this on media who tried to not hold accountability but certainly the volume of media that you have to deal with in Vancouver, Toronto, etc. I don't think that's a bad thing. It certainly wasn't an issue for previous teams that have

had success. You know, when you ask Leon Dreisaitl about the pressure of playing in Edmonton and the expectations, he boxed at it. Like, again, I think this is a mental approach. Are the players overwhelmed by the spectacle and the passion of the interest in following the team? That's a good thing. You know, Matthew Kachuk painted it as, well, it's great, I don't have to deal with any of this extraneous stuff. You know, I was out there, I was there for games.

And it was wonderful on the ice, it was great. And I walked out of the arena, and you would have known a hockey game took place last year, let alone a game seven championship. So listen, if that's what you want, okay. You have sort of a diehard 10,000 people are into it and the rest of your province or in this case state don't care. Then I guess that works for some players for me or for, you know, for a lot of athletes, I imagine a Leon Dreisle, economic David, they love the fact that there's this incredible passion and this interest. It shouldn't be viewed as extra pressure. I think it should be

viewed as like, wow, this is great. People take an interest in the team and they rally around the team legitimately and there's going to come some criticism when things aren't going well. But I don't think that's a bad thing. I don't know. That's something I try. Listen, guys, I talked to commissioner Batman in, in, in February when the new deal, the new TV deal with Rogers. And one of the questions I asked him, I said, is there going to be, are they going to talk about this in the new CBA to try and find a way to equal the playing

field for, you know, Canadian teams specifically who are up against it. So difficult, you know, it's such a difficult thing because of the tax system. And he certainly said there's some things in place to help the Canadian teams already, but that's something that's always being looked at, to try and obviously equalize the playing field as best possible. Because I think we're going to need to look forward because it used to just be American players maybe wanted to stay in the States. Now you have a lot of Canadian players who are more eager to get out of

the spotlight so that is something if you're a GM or owner or whatever you're gonna need to be thoughtful about you know who you're bringing into your market and can they handle it. Chris Tanna is the perfect guy right he played in Vancouver Calgary Toronto he does not nothing bothers him he's unflappable he'd like he doesn't not that he wants people coming up and he accolades on the street but he just doesn't he's not bothered by the spotlight you need to find players like that you can certainly excel despite the fact there's a lot of media and attention we're speaking to David Amber a hockey nine Canada sports net NHL host

here on the Halford and Bruff show on sports net 650 you mentioned Leandre Isidle and the Edmonton Oilers there David they of course will be taking, will be taking on the Dallas Dars in game one of the Western Conference final tonight. A Western Conference finals rematch, which of course Edmonton won last year. And a lot of talk has been about the similarities between the two teams, same head coaches, same players for the most part, same systems and everything. But there's one major difference and it's on the Dallas side of things and that's Miko Renton and how much of the conversation is focused around

what Ranton has done these playoffs? You know, not quite the betting favorite for the ConSmithes right now, but right among the leaders, the leading scorer in these playoffs and just a real game breaker for Dallas, a guy that wasn't there last year when Edmonton won. Yeah, you talked about teams identifying players who could work in their marketplace.

Well, hats off to Jim Nill, who's already won back-to-back Jim Gregory awards for GM in the year. He's probably going to pull a hat-trick off because, you know, picking up Branton in the fashion he did, incredible. He's accounted for more than one quarter of the team's scoring so far in the postseason. I mean, think about that. He's just been, he's been sensational. He's the front-runner for the Con Smythe.

You know, obviously a lot to be determined, but right now he'd be the leader in the clubhouse. He's been great. Um, if you're, there's two ways to look at it. He's been great and where are the other guys, you know, you had a bunch of guys in that Winnipeg series, you know, where was Duchenne and Doudnav and Robertson coming back from the injury and Johnston and Hintz. Those guys were very, very quiet offensively in Winnipeg and had to rely on Rantanen and Grandlin

and Ottinger and that and that's probably not going to work against Edmonton. So there is some discussion, you know, as we get head to worst game one is like will that supporting cast, you know, take some of the pressure off Miko Rantanen because you know Edmonton's, you know, they're gonna have an eye on him and he's gonna be sort of their their shutdown guy just like Dallas is looking at McDavid and Dryside all this, look guys, we got to make sure we keep in, you know, we contain them. So Ranthani has been sensational. That's going to be a key coming into this one. Dallas does have a very good supporting cast. I mean, they had eight players with

20 or more goals during the regular season, most in the NHL. So it's now incumbent on those guys to find their offensive game and really add a little help. The other interesting storyline is Stewart Skinner. We're gonna get the Stewart Skinner who was blown out of the series versus LA. Or we're gonna get the Stewart Skinner with the swagger who has back-to-back shutouts coming into this and also was incredibly good. He actually outplayed Jay Gautenger last, if you remember. He had goals against less than two. He had a safe percentage, I think, in the nine twenties. If we get that Stuart Skinner, there's a very good chance Edmondon's going to find their way back to a second straight Stanley Cup final. The Oilers as a team sure seem motivated

to push back and prove the critics about their defensive play wrong. And I think about a game one against Vegas. Yeah, they gave up two goals early, but then played incredibly well and checked very hard. And then the final two games, obviously, you know, Skinner got the shutouts and played well, but I thought the Oilers just as a team played really well defensively. And I, and I'd seen, I think it was during that series, Conor McDavid getting a little bit testy with the notion that the Oilers don't defend well.

They've been, I think that's outside of dry sidle, that's been the most impressive thing for me about the Oilers. They've been so good defensively and yeah, in the last few days, both Drisital and McDavid a little prickly when asked about, you know, the defensive ability of the team. You know, the reporters, I don't know who asked the question, were like, wow, the team really defended well. It was almost like that backhanded compliment, like you guys really can't defend, I can't believe you defended well.

And they both were like, you know, where does this come from? But David was like, I can't believe I keep having to answer these questions. One thing that struck me in Vegas is how much sacrifice they made. They allowed 120 shots in that full series. They blocked 104 shots. I mean, they almost blocked as many shots as they allowed to get through. That is a way to insulate whether it was Pickard or Skinner in that case, in the back end of that series. Honestly, that's what it takes. And again, this is without their number one defender, Mathias Ekholm, who's going to apparently miss

the first two games, but he's back skating with the team, he's been getting interviewed, and he looks healthy, he sounds healthy, and he could be back in the mix. So the idea that he's now gonna come back at some point during this Western Conference Final will be a big boost for a team, as you said, that's been really defending quite well in the last little while. David, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy game one tonight. Should be a lot of fun.

And we'll do this again next week. Yeah, we got it was at five o'clock Pacific time. You drop in 430 pregame. So we look forward to it guys. Thanks and I'll talk to you in a week. Sounds good. Thanks David. Appreciate it.

That's David Amber, Hockey Night Canada, Sportsnet NHL host here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Yeah, we got a text into the Dunbar Lumber text line. The whole quote unquote noise discussion is interesting. It's interesting to see how defensive some members of the media get about it. Some people perform better under the pressure and some people can't handle it.

But the notion that some media members are saying it's a non-factor is naive. It is a factor, like it or not. Just some people handle it better. And, you know, I think we as media can take the exact same lessons that we preach to the players. We're defensive. You're defensive the players, we're defensive. You're defensive.

Well, you're defensive too. I'm not defensive. You're defensive. You're being defensive. We all, we all get defensive because nobody likes to get criticized. Like we get, you know, the same sort of mean messages, although not many, as many, uh, into the

Dunbar Lumber text line or on social media as the players do, and oftentimes we don't react well and we blame and we sit there and go, oh, the fans here are so stupid, right? Like, you know, they don't understand, like we understand. And the right thing to do is just be like, okay, I can see why you'd say that. Like, you know, like who is it? Sean in New West?

Texting all the time when I praise Tocket. And, you know, I don't agree with him in it. And when he's criticizing me and it's like, yeah, this isn't fun. But I also know that I have a sports talk show and not everything that I say is going to be agreed with. And that's part of what makes the sports talk show somewhat interesting, I think when you have different opinions and, and just want to end it, but like, um, Elliot Freeman is the best in the business because he always says like, that's life in the big city. You know, you can hear that,

you hear him say that over and over. He's like, it's life in the big city. Like this is what we signed up for. This is what we do. Sure. I think that what a lot of the listeners are suggesting, though, and maybe I don't want to put words in their mouth, but this is what I think they're suggesting is that they don't want the collective media to be introspective or to deal with pressure that they face in a different way. They want them to lay off the players. They want them to change their behaviors,

how they do their job, how they cover the team, et cetera, et cetera. That is the takeaway that I get from all of this. They're not really interested in saying, well, how will I deal with pressure differently? The Halford and Bruff show. That's not what they're interested in. What they're interested in is how are Halford and Bruff

going to meaningfully change their coverage of the Vancouver Canucks to alleviate the pressure and make it less toxic a market? Yeah, and I get that. I understand that they want success for the Vancouver Canucks. So what the media is going to need to do, I think, at a certain level is stop the knee jerk reaction. And oftentimes, the knee jerk reaction is I'm not paid to be a cheerleader of the team.-jerk reaction. And oftentimes the knee-jerk reaction is,

I'm not paid to be a cheerleader of the team. And I get that. But isn't that true? Don't we just call it like we see it? Well, if you call it like- Isn't that what we're supposed to do? But here's the thing, if you call it like you see it and you are a bona fide cheerleader of the team

or a fan of the team, then if you're acting in your truest self- I'm just talking about the truth. Yeah, but the truth is all relative when it comes to this kind of stuff. What are their alternative facts or something? I mean, well, when we speak in truth, oftentimes it's very heavily clouded by opinion, right? I mean, what are the, the truths about the Vancouver Canucks? That's my truth, Michael.

But a lot of, a lot of people, when we talk about the Canucks, we'll say, you guys aren't dealing in facts or you guys aren't dealing in what's actually happening. There's all this spin going on. Oh, what, are the Canucks actually quite successful? See, now that could be a statement of opinion and not a statement of fact. Because some people look at it and say, they went to the second round of the playoffs last year,

and despite all of the adversity that they faced this year, they still only missed by a handful of points this year. It's the duality of life, Michael. A little bit, but I do think that there's something to be said for as things change. And we talked about this with the players being more vocal and open about the pressures that they face. I do wonder if the way that we've done things in the past, both in terms of the players and the coaches and then the people that cover them and the fans, if that's just going to evolve naturally, because, you know, how does it evolve?

Well, a lot of people say like, going go Canucks go for three hours every day talk about traditions, right. And I always used to push back on traditions like traditions are just honoring dead people, right? And I always used to push back on traditions, like traditions are just honoring dead people, right? Like at a certain point, that's kind of what we're doing when we talk about. How do you think we should, okay, how do you think we should do things differently? Um, maybe not, you know, the endless conversations about Elias Pedersen to the point where we're not saying anything new. That seems personal.

And we haven't added anything to the conversation in like weeks, like anything tangible or like useful, right? Just talking about our frustrations with the Anything new? That seems personal. And we haven't added anything to the conversation in weeks. Anything tangible or useful, right? Just talking about our frustrations with the player, which are valid, right? But at a certain point, everyone's heard it and everyone knows our stance on the matter, right? Now, I'm not saying that any of it's gonna change.

Yes, but the content. Well, that's the thing. We exist in a, it's an attention industry half the time, is that there is something to be said for the way you're going to generate the most interest and the most feedback is oftentimes by saying something that's pretty definitive and pretty polarizing, right? But like, I'm going to push back on, like you saying that there's nothing new to add. Like the Canucks coach just left. And a lot of people wonder if Pedersen was one of the reasons why he left. Everyone was asked about Pedersen from

management to talk it to Adam Foote. Like there is new stuff when it comes to that. And we have to talk about it because he is so pivotal to the Canucks success. Now, does it go too far sometimes? Maybe. I mean, I'm open to hearing the criticism about how we've covered that story, but to me, it's

just like, it almost starts and ends with that story for the Canucks. If he bounces back, the Canucks are in much better shape. If he doesn't, they're not. It's also very interesting to me because it encompasses everything that we've been talking about today. And that is playing in a market like Vancouver and being able to handle the pressure.

But I understand what you're saying. Mm hmm. Which is good. We got to go to break. I know we have to do Jan Pro. We got a lot more to get to on the program. If you want to weigh in on this number, Lumbertex line is six fifty six fifty. We are going to shift gears in the seven o'clock hour. We're going to talk a little NBA because of course it is the Knicks and Pacers game one of the Eastern Conference final tonight. We're going to do a little bit of that in the seven o'clock hour.

Seven 30 Craig Ludwig is going to join the program from Dallas a former long time NHL defenseman, former Stanley Cup winner now doing pre and post game and podcasting for the D L L S network Dallas stars network. So that's the seven o'clock hour. Before we go to break, as mentioned, I need to tell you about Jan pro from waiting rooms to exam rooms and everything in between. Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean, and disinfected. For a free quote, visit JanPro.ca. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.