Halford & Brough in the Morning - EP40 Might Benefit From A Change Of Scenery

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest trade rumours with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:20), plus they discuss the latest hockey news with ESPN's Greg Wyshynski (24:24).  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.

Sarah Valley. Sarah Valley. Syravelli. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank.

Frank. 704 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford, Braves. Sportsnet 650. Frank. Halford and Brough for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Got payday loan debt?

If so, Sands and Associates could cut that debt by up to 80 with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands dash trustee.com. For more, we are now in Hour 2 of the program. Frank Saravale from Victory Plus is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off Hour 2. Our 2 is brad to by Jason Homonock at Jason. 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 them online at Jason. Dot Mortgage. We are coming to live from the Kintech Studio, Make 2026 your year to move better and step stronger with Kintech Custom Orthotic. To the phone lines we go, our next guest is a presentation of Angry Otter Liquor. It's Frank Sarvelli for Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports Night 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? Good. Morning, boys. I'm pretty good. How are you guys?

We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this as always. We're going to start with none other than Elias Pedersen. And we are sitting here waiting and looking at a lot of dates on the calendar. We've got the Olympic break coming up in two weeks' time. After the Olympics are done, you've got the trade deadline not long after. So there's a lot of good benchmarks here about when a deal might get done. Give us the current gauge of the temperature on Elias Pedersen talks as we look at this on a day-to-day basis. Well, there's definite interest, and it's heated up in a relatively big way in terms of the number of teams calling and their interest.

And the real question at the end of this is, and it goes back to really last summer and how, this situation and dynamic changed is does Elias Pedersen want to move and where would he want to go, if anywhere? So as this market develops and as the Canucks are given options and opportunities to consider, in the end, it's not their call as to whether or not a trade is made. So is there interest in a change of scenery? Is Alias Pedersen in for the long haul? Do the Canucks believe that he can be the player to help drag them out of their rebuild whenever that time it comes? Those are all questions that need to be asked.

And those are all questions that right at this exact juncture or moment in time, we really don't have a sense of that internal feel one way or the other. Is Pedersen stock price up compared to? Yes. Yeah. And is that his play, which has been better? I think, compared to last season. Is it because of that, or is it more because of the desperate need for centers around the NHL?

It's way more market dynamics. I mean, Pedersen's play has been, I think, probably fair to say, in relation to his contract, mediocre. I mean, there have been some stretches that he looked really good. there's some stretches where he's looked at times disinterested. And so I think what everyone's wondering is because of the incredible need, it's not just the position and centers, it's how can you find a difference maker? Who has that potential, who has that ceiling in their game that so few have

that that's what they're really looking at saying, can we unlock this? because if we can, the contract is going to take care of itself. It's so incredible what these guys are getting paid. The fact that Alex Wenberg is on track to be the NHL's most anonymous $73 million career player, it's, I mean, it tells you everything you need to know. Yeah. I mean, this is a one-time 59-point score that is now signed for another three years at $6 million

box that is kind of like he's looking at key for short word production essentially is what you're talking about and so then all of a sudden you switch the conversation and you say okay but peterson at 11.6 and he could be that true difference maker and legit number one center if we can pry him out of there that's really where the interest comes from why or how do they think Elias Pedersen can be unlocked. Is there a theory out there? Maybe it's an obvious theory, but is there a theory out there

about how to get back prime Elias Pedersen? I mean, the theory is the obvious one. It's just change of scenery. Maybe things have gone in the wrong direction for a while now. So it's not marketplace or coach as the coach has changed over.

But sometimes when you're in a rut and you can't find your way out in your game, now add in the idea that the roster is thinning or will thin around him, it places even more pressure and onus on him to produce. and that's a tough spot to be in. So does he want that, I think is the question. Does he want to be the guy that drags this team out? And I'm not saying he does or doesn't. I don't know.

But what if he could go somewhere and play in tandem with another really talented center and be the number two guy? What if he could go to a team where he doesn't have to be the guy, but a supporting piece, I think that's where it starts to get really interesting. It always comes back to, but what does he really think?

And it's really hard sometimes to figure out what's going on and Pedersen's head. I'll admit it. Because he says, if you read transcripts, he says all the right things. Like he's always said,

like, I want the pressure. I want to be the man. I want to be in Vancouver But the way he says it And then sometimes the way he goes out and plays In the way he's reluctant He's reluctant to To speak

You know people are like really It's a very very odd dynamic It's sometimes you see Something that's quoted on social media And you read it And then you listen to it And it doesn't sound at all like it reads and I'm with you in that I think it's one thing to say and it's another thing to do and

this isn't no one's digging at him or faulting him but sometimes in the end it doesn't matter how you say it or what you say it that it's your play that does a lot of the talking for you and that part I can't I mean I couldn't hazard a guess like I really couldn't and because of his relative introverted nature, I think that's part of why this whole situation is a bit tough to discern because I believe, and I'm not speaking or quoting anyone inside the Canucks front office, but I believe if they were to get the right deal, that they would want to move it. That when you start to line up all these timelines plus the contract and the risk, the biggest risk for the Canucks is if this relative mediocre play continues on for another 18 months,

then what? The whole specter and dynamic of, you know, can this change of scenery reinvigorate the player? At some point that diminishes, right? Well, he's going to play at the Olympics, too. Right. Remember the conversation we had one year ago at this time surrounding Four Nations? It was like, can he just go and play with the top players in?

in Four Nations and with Sweden, and will that reinvigorate his game? Yeah, and it didn't. And he didn't look very good at the tournament. And actually, my worry is that he goes over to the Olympics, and it's the same story as the Four Nations, and then anyone who might be interested in giving a good offer for him is like, oh, maybe not.

Well, maybe the opposite. Maybe that is what convinces him from an internal perspective that he really does need change, or maybe the by-low aspect nature of it for teams reaches a level where they're comfortable with the risk profile of the trade. We're speaking to Frank Sarvalley from Victory Plus, our NHL Insider here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650, Alias Pedersen's head coach, Adam Foote.

Speaking of things being said in the media this week, had some pretty pointed comments about the play and response to adversity from his veteran players. The first time he's done it all year. And I'm curious in your conversations with people around the league, not necessarily from a job security front. I know there's only been the one coach dismissal. I'm not sure that Adam Foots in line for dismissal right now,

but he is the guy behind the bench for a team that's mired in an 11 game losing streak. It's obviously been a difficult season and situation for him. I'm just curious what some of the conversations, if any, are about foot around the league as it pertains to maybe job security, maybe the job that he has to do, anything pertaining the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks? Honestly, there hasn't been a ton of conversation about Adam Foote or his job that I've heard or even the comments. There seem to be some thought process of, well, it's about time. Someone said this out loud. Yeah.

That this has been something that has. has body language, attention to detail, compete. All those things have kind of bubbled to the surface, and that it seemed to be only a matter of time before that was addressed in a public way. Now, that said, I've seen some of the commentary. Does this put him on thin ice or does this change the dynamic? and I don't know how it would because think about what the Canucks are embarking on here.

Like this is the beginning of the descent, not the bottom. And I know that's a scary phrase for Canucks fans to hear, but there's still like the pain point hasn't even really happened yet. Sure. Like there's still pairing down of the roster that needs to be done, which will continue on here, before the deadline. So what you want in the end is a coach that is able to set a standard and establish accountability

for the younger impressionable players that are about to be added to this group or that are there now. And the fact that a lot of times these guys arrive with excitement, they're just happy to be there, you know, even when things turn in a negative way, they don't have a lot of the same negative energy or habits that some of the vets do. That essentially it was almost to me a message to the guys that are teetering on this edge of. And Connor Garland, I don't view as part of this group, but I think is a prime example. His contract extension didn't kick in yet.

Yeah. So do you want to be part of this in setting the right example? or do you want to go play elsewhere, where the circumstance and situation, not what you signed up for, is just different. And so it was almost like this warning shot to the rest of the group, like this is how it's going to be moving forward. You can either get on or get off, but the bus is moving.

It's a good point to bring up because prior to Foote's remarks, we had Jim Rutherford speaking publicly talking about how he felt that they have several good veteran presences in the room already under contract that could serve as appropriate mentors for the young players that you're talking about. I don't know if one remark post game from a coach changes all that,

but it certainly casts doubt on Rutherford's assessment that there's a lot of guys that are doing the right things and I think more importantly, following the messaging that the coaches have put forth. Like, Foote also mentioned that this goes back to the Rick Tocket era where Tocket said the same things and had the same criticisms of the veteran players

who slammed gates when they were coming off the ice, smashed their sticks when things weren't going right, and they wanted to eradicate it. It didn't get eradicated under talk. It hasn't been eradicated underfoot. So suddenly you've got to start looking at the players themselves and saying, are you ever going to listen to the coach's message? Are you going to be an appropriate mentor for these young guys

that we're going to bring in during a rebuild? Well, and some guys, like, and this isn't a knock, like some guys just don't want that. Fair. And I don't mean to be a good mentor or a good teammate or anything like that. It's just that they don't want to play on a team that's lost 11 in a row. They don't want to be in 30 second place. And they'd rather play on a team that is in the mix,

fighting for a championship or a playoff spot or whatever it might be to even end a playoff drought. There's lots of different circumstances that you find yourself in, sometimes by happenstance, and you decide to sign or play in a city based on one set of circumstances, and in 18 months, it's flipped on its head. I mean, I can't believe that we're talking about a couple years ago when, you know, the Canucks are in the second round, game seven of the playoffs, and now are in a totally different situation. I can't really blame a player that signed on for the crazy infectious energy that existed in the city

to where this team is about to get to now. If you don't want to be part of that, I think that's perfectly okay. Yeah. I do want to turn our attention to the trade market as it evolves, and we obviously had the key for Sherwood trade here. The Rasmus Anderson trade out of Calgary. He goes to Vegas. if you had to guess what's going to be next for the Calgary Flames?

Well, now they get to engage in the fun part, right? They took care of the business that they needed to, which they absolutely unequivocally wanted to move Rasmus Anderson before the Olympics, and they've done that. And by the measure of the circumstance and situation, I think they did a nice job, the potential of a true NHL defenseman, and maybe if you're lucky, two first-round picks,

albeit late, that certainly beats the alternative. And their hands were tied in some ways that when he decided to not negotiate anywhere, that really left them in a tough spot and only one team standing. So what's next is, now that that's off their plate, they can get greedy in a way. We don't have to move Blake Coleman, make us do it.

We don't have to trade Nazim Cadry and we like him here and he likes it here. but if you knock our socks off, yeah, we could make something happen. So they've now got tons of runway and time to do that with neither of those guys going to the Olympics. And the interest in Coleman has been legitimate and significant. I reported a month ago that 20 teams already by that point in the season had called to register their interest in Coleman. And Cadre we just talked about the center position. And the real question is, if Nazim Cadre was a free agent this summer, he signed for three times seven, what would he get on the open market?

The answer is probably a bit more than that. So I think you're looking at a situation where they've got some real pieces of value. You know, we're talking about the value of centers and how some of these centers are going to get a lot of money in free agency. is Nick Schmaltz, the top center available in unrestricted free agency? I know Utah has drafted a lot of centers, and I'm wondering what the plan for Nick Schmaltz is, believe it or not. I mean, he is right now. I don't see that market getting better,

meaning more high-profile players will make it to market, but he is a turns 30 next month and has had a very productive season by his own measure and honestly if you really look at his career he's been a really consistent player

the last handful of years. You can pretty much pencil him in for 60 points and 22 goals every year and he's going to surpass that and do it in a year in which that center position is so incredibly thin, even though he's not a great face-off guy, even though I don't think that anyone would look at him

as a bona fide number one NHL center, but on a good team, he's a really solid middle, six center option that is going to make a boatload of money. Frank, this was great, man. As always, thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week.

We'll do this again next Wednesday. Thanks, guys. Have a good week. Yeah, you too, thanks. That's Frank Servali on Sports. Net 650, a presentation of Angry Otter Licker, plus program members save at Angry Outer Licker like 1490 off Bud Light 24 packs. You can see that and more at angryoutherlicker.cr.c, so there's a pretty wild press conference going on right now in Buffalo. Terry Pagula

in the GM of the Buffalo bill. Terry Pagula owns the bills. He owns the Sabers. Yeah. And they're doing a press conference in the wake of the firing of Sean McDermott. What's going on? I haven't seen this. Well, he said he fired McDermott because of the result in Denver, which is, I mean, they turned the ball over five times, so I don't know if that's on the head coach. But I don't think it was just about that. Because Terry Picoula also said that the coaching staff pushed to draft wide receiver Keon Coleman.

Oh, yeah, I was wondering if he could address this. And then so he said, the GM, Brandon Bean, said essentially like, fine, I'll support the coaching staff. So essentially they're totally roasting Kiann Coleman.

I was wondering if they were going to do this. Yeah, wide open and basically like Terry Pagula is airing all the dirty laundry right now. So there was a big, there's been a big debate raging all year in Buffalo about Kionn Coleman because he was a complete non-factor this year. He was

healthy scratch a couple of times. I think he ended up with like one catch or two catches. And there was a big thing about... Ridiculously low total. Yeah. And there was a big thing about the lack of wide receivers. And that was the reason they drafted him. Yeah, exactly.

It wasn't reached. Guy was big on talent, but there was obviously concerns about his maturity and the ability to adapt to becoming a professional at the NFL level. The crazy part is that Keon Coleman still on the roster. Yeah. They're having this conversation. It's like having a conversation about a corpse, and the corpse is like, I'm not even dead yet.

Like, I'm still here. You haven't done the autopsy yet. They're doing the autopsy before I passed away. It's a very, I can't believe they're doing this. I'm just kind of getting up to speed here. A lot of people are tweeting out that they've never actually seen or heard anything like this before from an end-a-year press conference where you openly talk about what a gaffe it was to have drafted a player

that is still on your active roster. But Terry Pagula, very much more hands-on, I would, say with the bills. Yes. And with the sabers. Yes. You don't get this kind of like, I'm going to be there right beside our general manager at the end of your press.

It's fun when owners do press conferences, though, isn't it? Yeah. Pagula, one day, I say this is a lot about the 30 for 30 meme, but one day they'll do a 30 for 30 on the Pagula era in Buffalo. In Buffalo. In Buffalo. Because you can't really write the story in the traditional sense. He owns two of the biggest entities in the city.

And he was seen. is such a savior for the sabers especially when he bought that team we were working at NBC at the time it was like heroic levels of like appreciation yeah and gratitude and when he started the checkbook was open and the money was flowing to a fault yeah to a fault it's it's a really lano yeah it's a very unique story because it doesn't follow the traditional you know hated oh well why is the owner hated because he's cheap and he's miserly and he cuts corners and he alienates the fan It just wasn't the case. It's a very unique story. I got to that at points. Yeah. Okay, we got a very busy show. We've still got three guests left on the Halford Ambrow show.

Greg Wischinski is going to join us next. Randiap Janda at 8 o'clock. And then Sarah Nurse from the Vancouver Golden Eyes and also Team Canada, as Sarah Nurse prepares for not only another game for the Golden Eyes, but the Olympics. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about Jan Pro. Reliable cleaning, clear communication, service you can count on. That's JanPro.

Start clean, stay clean. Visit them today at Janpro.com. Greg Wischinsey's coming up next. You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drans. 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. Sportsnet 650.

Halper and Brub of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Do you have payday loan debt? If you do, Sands and Associates could cut that debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at sands dash trustee.com. We're in hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show.

Greg Wyshinsky, our NHL insider from ESPN, is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason hominuck at Jason.morgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason.

Dom Mortgage. To the phone lines we go. Greg Wischinski from ESPN joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports 9650. What I wish? Just watching this Terry Fugula press conference with the Buffalo Bills. It's wild. It's amazing. I'm wondering if Don Granado is going to get blamed for drafting Matt Savoy because that's what we're doing now. We're exonerating the GM for bad draft picks because he's just like there. It's not like Not like the GM has final say on any of this. He's just there. The coaches wanted the bad player.

It's just amazing stuff. It sounds like there was some very interesting stuff going on behind the scenes in Buffalo. And as hockey fans and as people that cover the game, you know, we also are interested in Terry Pugula because he owns the Sabres. What's your main takeaway from this Bill's Press conference? I didn't think we'd start by asking you about the Buffalo Bills. But there is a hockey angle to this because the Sabres. or, you know, Buffalo's lone hope now.

Well, I think the takeaway is that Kevin Adams, you know, might have lost his job a lot earlier if T.H. Thompson had just openly wept after one of these seasons. Because apparently Josh Allen crying at a press conference is what got his coach fired, according to Terry Begoula. Look, man, like, I can't speak to Terry's management other than to say that, you know, like the Kevin Adams hire at the time and I think although he did some decent things during his run there, it kind of bore out that he was just kind of going to be an extension of what ownership wanted.

You know, I think the idea that Yarmokkeh Alainan was there as sort of a more independent voice is only a good thing for the franchise. And as we all try to figure out exactly what's gotten into the Sabres system in the last like two months to fuel this. surge up the standings. You know, my pet theory is that they all got pretty comfortable with Kevin Adams there because he was so ineffectual. They were all sure nobody was getting traded. And then Yarmo comes in and they're like, oh, the guy who literally would trade anybody

is now the GM. And now we're scared and we better get on our marks here because we might have to sell the condo. That's my pet theory. In actuality, though, I mean, like they're set. seventh and, you know, sixth in offense and, like, top ten in defense in the last two months. And then that has a lot to do with their goaltending. Yeah.

And that solves a lot of problems. So who knows? I mean, the, the baguola's work in mysterious ways and they always have in Buffalo. Yeah. And my only problem with your theory is that the threat of being traded away from the Buffalo Sabres, is that, is that a huge threat? It's just that you got to pack up your stuff. You've got to find a good place. There's no guarantee that where you go is going to be any better.

I mean, it may, you know, it may end up being Winnipeg, you know, which is, in my estimation, worse than Buffalo. So, you know, you got to keep that in the back of your mind, too. They wish the Washington Capitals are in Vancouver tonight. I know they've been without Dubois for most of the season. Tom Wilson is hurt right now. But what can we expect from the caps tonight? well i still think they're they're one of the most well-coached teams in the league i think i think

spencer carberry from my money is the second best coach in the conference behind john cooper um i think what he's done with that roster over the last couple of seasons is nothing short or remarkable um you know they like you said they're they're a team that has had a little bit of trouble really finding its stride because of some of those injury issues and and and not really being you know together in the same way that they were together in the previous two seasons. Good goal-tending, tough team to play against and certainly some dangerous players. But, you know, it's hard to call anybody in the Eastern Conference a huge disappointment outside of the Rangers because everybody's over 500. But I certainly thought the Capitals would be a little

a little bit higher in the standings than where they are now. But, you know, I get asked a lot about the sort of the mush that's around the middle of the Eastern Conference and, like, who's going to see their way into the playoffs. And, you know, the capitals have shown that they've been able to navigate their way there, despite maybe having underwhelming seasons. I think their goaltending is one reason for that. And so I'm still kind of like side-eyeing them as a potential playoff team, but they certainly haven't found the consistency that they've had in previous seasons.

Well, one of those teams in the mush, a team with many goaltending stories this year has been the Ottawa Senators. So the last time we had you on the show, if I'm not mistaken, that was in the aftermath of the statement that the club released addressing the rumors regarding Linus Allmark. Since then, much has changed. Linus Allmark conducted a very raw and emotional and vulnerable interview with Claire Hannah from TSN, which has been airing for the last 24 hours across Canada.

There was also the Jake Sanderson side to all of this, where he ripped Levi Merlin and then promptly apologize for it. I called it yesterday, by the way, on the show. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just waiting for that apology to come out, and there was right when we got off the air. And rightly so. You shouldn't have said that. Yeah, I know.

But, I mean, we knew it was coming, just a matter of time. Anyway, all this to say, will we go a week this season where we have you on the show and there's not an Ottawa senator's goaltending story to discuss? I want to talk about the all-marketing. Yes. For those who haven't seen the interview, like, make time for it. It's really one of the most stark. examples of a pro athlete talking about their mental health I think I've ever seen.

I mean, I clipped one segment of it and put it on my social media where he talks about the apprehension he had in going back to the senator's arena. Feeling as though he had fallen out of love with hockey and generally wondering if he had ever accomplished anything in his career. Like these, this is a depth of depression that I think a lot of us, many of us have dealt with and a lot of us know people that deal with it. And it's sort of disheartening to see some of the

reaction to that interview being like, but you're a multimillionaire, but you want a Vezina. Like that completely misses the point of depression. Like it's nothing to do with what you accomplished and everything else. It's just about what's going on with you chemically and mentally and in your past and

to see Allmark be this honest about it is something that's been celebrated and not nitpicks. Now that being said, let me go to the PR aspect of it. I don't think a lot of people saw this interview in comparison to how many people were talking about this story. It's a good point. And it goes back to the criticism that I had about that statement that Steve Steyos put out about the rumors surrounding his players, you know, primarily Allmark, that bought an insane amount of attention to these rumors and had people seeking them out.

If the first time we heard about them, like on the record, was Linus Olmark. One, Linus Allmark's interview gets a ton more attention than I think it did yesterday. And then two, a lot of people probably feel pretty bad about trying to search out the rumors that he's talking about because they've clearly devastated him and devastated his family. So instead of making it sort of tantalizing to go search around and find out what he's talking about, you kind of feel, different emotion when you see how all of this has impacted him. And so I go back to, I, I know that my friend Ian Mendez and I have a stark disagreement on this, on the senator's approach to this whole thing. But I go back to that just unbelievably bad PR move, in my opinion of putting that statement out there and completely missing the point, which is that the minute Olmark spoke about all of

this, it was going to, you know, satisfy a lot of the of the things that. that statement try to satisfy. Because the jackals of society have always existed and the race to the bottom to say the worst thing has always existed. The difference now, and this isn't anything new, but with social media platforms, is it makes it a lot more prevalent. It spreads a lot faster. And I think that was what we were dealing with here.

We've had this in Canada as a particular, like the world juniors every year when the one kid inevitably screws up for Canada at the world juniors, you can almost cut and paste the story year after year. He logs on to his Instagram. He's faced with death threats. And it's, but here's the thing. It never changes. Now, I'm not trying to excuse it away and say, like, well, it's something that you have to accept at that level.

Because I don't think that's the right answer either. I think it is. I think you have to have some semblance of acceptance that this is the job you got and there are idiots in the world. Sorry to cut you off. That's a sad statement. But it ultimately might be true. Is that where you're leaning with this? About the senators thing?

Yeah, because they addressed it head on. I mean, they fought the internet basically. I don't know what the truth is, but I mean, like there is a certain, look,

man, like when you push back so hard on something, there is going to be a certain segment of the, of the population that are like, you doff protest too much. Correct. You know, like when Brady Kachuk comes out of the corner swinging like he did,

you know, there's going to be a certain amount of people that want to believe this is true that are going to be like, well, this is certainly a bit emphatic for what is essentially an internet rumor. So, like, that was part of the mass for me, too, is like, do you really, like, the harder you push back on something that you're trying to dispel, the more you're going to give it validity for the people that want to believe that it's true. And I say this is somebody who used to work in PR. Like, I'm not, I'm not just, like, speaking extemporaneously here. Like, I've studied this stuff.

Yep. And so like, I don't know, I think the messaging from Olmark in that in that interview of TSN, and by the way, like Claire did an incredible job in that interview, just kind of pushing gently to get to places that we needed to get to while keeping the whole thing very empathetic. I thought that was a really, really good job by her. That had that had so much more power to it and was, you know, was just like a bomb. dropped on this whole story that changed the narrative in a way that that statement, you know, poured gasoline on it, I think. We're speaking to Greg Wischinski from ESPN here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Greg, what did you think of Cole Coughfield scoring with 15 seconds left yesterday to give

Montreal a 4-3 win over Minnesota and the Montreal Canadiens tweeting at USA hockey afterwards with a clip of Cofield's game-winning goal? I thought it was awesome. Like we've talked about before, like my dream for this. the 2026 Olympic team was bring, bring your best and brightest to bring, you know, the best offensive players that you have in your, in the U.S. pipeline, put the pedal down and see what you end up with. And, you know, the fact that Cole Cawfield's not on the team is, is, I think, a mistake.

And, you know, when you come off of four nations having lost that tournament by a goal and you have players like Kyle Connor and T.H. Thompson watching the game from the stands in Boston, like you should learn that lesson. And so I thought it was great. I think, you know, they made, they made some strategic errors with this roster. And again, it's it's the red, white, and blue-pilled brain worms that come from 1980, where all these guys that build these Olympic teams feel like they need some semblance of lunch pale, hard hat, blue-collar, American hockey players.

When in actuality in 2026, the U.S. has a depth of, a depth of talent that's as good as anybody in the world, and it should be flaunted. I went to watch the Islanders on Monday, and specifically I wanted to go watch Matthew Schaefer, and I wanted to see him in person. That kid is amazing, and my take is that that's, you know, it's not Connor Bedard that should have been on the team. It's not, you know, any of these forwards. The forward group is going to be fine, but I do wonder if they could regret leaving Matthew Schaefer off the team. What do you think?

Yeah, I think he's exhibiting that every time he touches the pocket. Like, he's such a special player and is mature beyond his years and is so effective. And, you know, I know there's some people that kind of make the Lane Hudson argument for Team USA. But, like, I think the Matthew Schaefer argument is a glaring one for Team Canada. He's just so good. And ultimately, again, like, the reason why you want to bring some of these guys with you to the Olympics is because you know that they're going to be the standard bearers for you for the next 15 years. And Schaefer is certainly one of them. And going through that

experience and having that experience of being around those players is only going to, you know, help Team Canada ultimately down the road too. What do you think the main injury is to keep an eye on for pretty well, anyone in the Olympics, American team, Canadian team, Swedish team? Well, I mean, I just, Swedes have just been devastated. Like, I mean, you know, if, if Leo Carlson's not going to go, you know, the center depth on that team, I don't think, can stand up at all to what Canada and the U.S. can put on the ice.

There's just a lot of little injuries here and there. I did see Pierre LeBron report that Darcy Kemper's injury, he suffered last night, shouldn't keep him out of the Olympics, which is obviously really good news for Canada, because he's like one of two good goalies you have in the entire country. I know what you're doing, Wish. I know what you're doing. not going to take the baby

but yeah like like Sweden you know these injuries are hitting at the wrong time ultimately though like honestly if we're talking about the biggest injury of the Olympics it's it's also probably the biggest

injury of the NHL regular season which is Barkoff like Barkoff on Finland all of a sudden your ears perk up and you're like okay they might be a disruptor in this tournament totally but like without him there

much like without him on the Panthers it just it just completely changes the math on all of it. And so, you know, we're going back away to the first practice of the preseason for what's the most impactful injury in the Olympics. But I think that's probably it, is Barkoff not being there. I think everyone keeps waiting for the Florida Panthers to take off, but I don't know if they're going to do it. What do you think? I still think they can. I mean, I think in the Easter conference, it's been proving that like two good weeks can put you right back in a conversation

in a pretty significant way. But like, you know, You know, Kachuk just got back. You want to give him a little bit of runway to get going and see what that looks like and see how that lineup gets reset. But again, like, you know, Barkoff's the engine for that team. Anyone who's watched those cup runs knows that he's the guy who drives everything and he's a leader on the ice and off the ice. And, you know, there's a certain amount of getting your heart ripped out

when you lose that guy in the preseason. So I'm not shocked that they are where they are. and I don't think that necessarily like Bill Zito and the management can get killed for doubling down on all the guys they've bought back because, you know, we simply haven't seen the same Panthers team that we've seen for the previous three years because Barkhoff's been out and Kachuk's missed most of the season.

Well, Braski's say percentage is 875. I mean, no wonder he's fighting. He wanted to, can I get out of this game, please? In this league, it doesn't that put him in line for the Vesla? Top 10 guys. We're back to the 80s. We got one more before we let you go, Wish, we saved the best for last.

I was reading your rundown appearance on the sheet, and it said, Canucks culture, and culture was in quotes, which I read as air quotes, and then I laughed, and laughed, and laughed. What kind of conversation did you have about the Canucks culture in the wake of Adam Foote calling it out following Monday's loss to the Islanders?

Well, yeah. So, I mean, first of all, please do check out me and Merrick on the sheet. We talk every Tuesday and Thursday, although not this Thursday, but you could catch the one that we did yesterday. It was a really good show. We had our friend, Urimenda, on, to wax, you know, nostalgic with him about the shark's past and also talk about the sharks present. But the culture thing was directly related to the question that Jason asked Patrick Alvin about there being a culture problem when Queen Hughes was traded. And then the irony of Adam Foote

acknowledging that there's a completely different culture problem happening where the veteran players on the team get all boo-boo-faced when they get down in a game. So it's funny. Like, you know, maybe the first one was a little overstated, no shade to Jason, about, like, what ultimately led Quinn Hughes to leave. But it is hilarious to see the coach be like, yeah, you know, there's actually an entirely different culture problem that we have right now, which is that none of these guys believe they can win.

And so it's just like, you know, pick your poison. You know, it's either either the backstage soap operatic drama of J.T. Miller and Pettersen feuding, or it's all the veterans sulking because they don't believe that they have what it takes to win. And there's a different kind of toxicity there, I think, was our point. 49 games. That's how long it took. 49 games for Adam Foote. We listened to 48 post-game press conferences where he said things like we were right there,

And our young guys are making mistakes. And finally, I don't know what the breaking point was, whether it was the 11th straight loss or something happened that he just couldn't hold it in anymore. But he finally decided to say, not only are the veterans responding in a poor fashion, but this predates him. This was something that Rick Tocott had to deal with. And I don't know if you're aware of this or not Jason, but Rick Tockech also left the organization.

He did? I know. He did. Where did go? He left the organization. and then they made the bold decision to hire Quinn Hughes's guy as the head coach and then Quinn Hughes left the organization

so I don't even know what to say about that. Wish, you're the best buddy. Thanks for doing this as always. We appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the week. We'll do this again next week. Anytime. Thanks for having me. Yeah, Greg Wischinski from ESPN here

on the Halford & Brough show on SportsNet 650. I love chatting with Wish. How long have we known Wish now? So we were doing curtain blog stuff late 2000, 2009, 2010. At least 15 years, I'd say. At least 15 years.

We've hung out on the road. Yeah. Consume many alcoholic beverages together. Remember when Wish used to smoke cigars? I think he stopped. Anyway, we got a lot more to get to on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Final hour of the program's coming up.

Know what we learns today. It's because we have two more guests for your listening pleasure. at 8 o'clock. Randy Janda is going to join us. Connect's color analyst right here on SportsNet 650. There's a game tonight, Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leading goal score. He and the Washington Capitals are in town. 7 o'clock puck drop, pregame, post game, and the actual game.

You can hear it all right here on SportsNet 650. Then at 8.30, Sarah Nurse is going to join the program. She, of course, of the Vancouver Golden Eyes and Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics in Italy. We'll talk to her about tomorrow's game against her former team. The Toronto Scepters will also talk about the international game. Canada on the wrong end of many, many scorelines against the Americans going into the Olympics. Don't care for that. I'm a little worried about it.

A little bit worried about that. So that's going to be 830. Before we go to break, I need to do the one to watch. Brought to you by Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts, specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid work spaces. Book your personalized tour of their Experience Center today. at Limelessavit.com. You know what?

In light of what we talked about this morning, the one to watch, all of them, all of the veterans on this team. I want to see, collectively, what that group is going to do in the wake of what Adam Foote said

following the Islanders game. What can't you just choose one? It's the one to watch. Yesterday you chose two. I know. And today you're choosing all of them. It's the idea is there's one player to watch.

And the day before that, he chose someone who didn't even play. It's called being a disruptor, guys. Maybe you want to look into it. This is how you change the world. You don't play. You don't play by their rules. You got to break things. You got to break things.

You shake it up. That's what you do. That's your one to watch. The group. The collective one. Like, I'm trying to get through this without laughing. Brought to my limitless AV. Vancouver is trusted audiovisual integration experts,

specializing in seamless video conference. Financing Solutions and Hybrid Workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitlessavv.ca. One final hour coming up. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.