Halford & Brough in the Morning - Former NHLer Blake Wheeler On Leading In A Divided Room

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat Stanley Cup finals action with Sportsnet Edmonton Oilers reporter Gene Principe (3:35), the boys discuss some hockey trade rumours plus a big MLB move over the weekend (15:00), plus they chat with former NHLer Blake Wheeler (25:14) about the challenges of leading in a divided locker room while also playing in the hockey-crazed nation of Canada. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Music 7.03 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford Brough Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five star reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Sportsnet Edmonton reporter Gene Princebay is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominuk at Jason.Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

Visit him online at Jason.Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studio Kintec. Footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Let's go now to the power west industries hotline. Gene Prince of a Edmonton ringside reporter joins us now on the Haliford and brush show on sports net six fifty. Good morning, Gene. How are you? Good morning, boys. How are you? It's mid morning here. I know it's early morning still there. We're well. Thanks for taking the time to do this we appreciate it so before we look ahead to game six let's look back on game five and it was obviously... No, no, no, sorry, I won't do that. Yeah we're gonna have to do it I know. It's disappointing for a lot of

different people fans in attendance I'm sure all of the Oilers your thoughts on what it did or I guess more specifically didn't happen for the Edmonton Oilers, um, your thoughts on what it did, or I guess more specifically, didn't happen for the Edmonton game five loss. Well, I would say that that game to me was the most unexpected one of the series. Uh, think when you come back and win game four, the way you do, uh, I know they always say, well, men who doesn't carry over, but you go home and there's Jean, I'm sorry, I hate to cut you off here, but you go home and there's. Gene, I'm sorry.

I hate to cut you off here, but we're having massive technical difficulties on our side with the call. Maybe try and pick that back up and see if we can get Jean on a different line or maybe not inside the shower. I'm not sure. It's not sounding great here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. So in case you missed it over the weekend, Oilers lose five to to the Panthers at home, Game five, Roger's place Saturday night hockey night in Canada in Edmonton

crowds jacked. Oilers are excited. Best of three with two or three games at home and it was just flat, flat, flat. And once again, the common theme that it's been throughout the Stanley cup final, super slow starts for the Edmonton Oilers, uh, an inability to get anything going in the first period, something that's plagued them throughout this series. We will talk to Gene at some point during this call about the goaltending situation, but the slow starts

are probably the most alarming because it doesn't feel like they've got a solution to that right now. Well, I mean, the problem they have is the Florida Panthers. Sure. It's hard to gain momentum on the Florida Panthers because they're so deep and their top three lines It's hard to gain momentum on the Florida Panthers because they're so deep and their top three lines are so good.

And I think the middle six of the Florida Panthers is greatly outplaying the Edmonton Oilers middle six. Have we got Gene back yet? Okay, we're gonna try this again now. We've got Gene Pritzpe, Edmonton ringside reporter here on the Halifax and in breath show on Sportsnet 650. Apologies for that gene Hopefully we've got a better connection now

You had no problem. No problem. Maybe someone on the technical crew didn't want to talk about game five either, but you know what I I don't want to throw it in the one of those just one of those games because of the magnitude of it, but I think the others had a couple of really good chances to score in the first two, three, four minutes. Connor Brown, Connor McDavid didn't score. Once Florida did get the lead, they're pretty quick at learning lessons. They weren't going to blow a two-nothing lead after blowing a three-nothing lead. So the building was after I blew in a three-nothing lead. So the building was not what I thought it was going to be like. Now, I just want to clarify, I'm not saying I thought,

like, oh, for sure the Oilers are gonna win game five. No, I just thought it would be a different game. I didn't think it would turn out the way it did. And then they had the sleeper hold on the Oilers and Edmonton until late couldn't come back and every time they did Florida would just respond and you know leads are a huge issue. This is rough like but the Oilers have led I think 30 plus minutes while the Panthers have led over 200 minutes. That's a huge stat and

that's one of the reasons I guess that Edmonton Trail is going into game six. I suppose there just has to be an appreciation too for how good the Florida Panthers are. We were saying their top three lines are, you know, each of them are better than anything that Vancouver currently has in their forward group. And to face three lines, what Marshawn has added to that third line, I mean, right has added to that, that third line.

Uh, I mean, right now it feels like it's the difference between the two teams. Yeah, I agree. Uh, you know, you always look sort of within when something, you know, doesn't go right. Uh, but we would be, I don't know if naive is the right word, but not credit Florida. You don't think the

orders are trying to get back in that game. I mean, they desperately were trying to get back in that game and Florida just, you know, they just put a clamp on them and they did it legally and the orders had power play chances. I mean, they had three power play chances before Florida even had one. So that was another area, you know, it's one nothing or it's two nothing and one goal feels like more, especially when you're at home. It really gives everybody something to feel good about, cheer about. So opportunities that either were missed or taken away. And when a team makes three straight cup finals and is a win away from back to back cups,

they're not there because they're lucky. They're not there because they aren't a really good team. And Edmonton, on Tuesday, have to find for one night another way to get a victory. And then it's funny going into game five, of course fans are going, this is done, you know, they're going to win in six. And now they're like, oh, I hope we have seven, right?

You'd extend the series to best of 11, if it meant your team that you cheer for had a chance to win it. But it's not best of 11 or nine or anything other than best of seven. Was there a sense in Edmonton that it was definitely going to happen? Like this was going to be the time that the Oilers

were going to win in a lot of ways, maybe because of ways, maybe because of history, because the 83 Oilers didn't win and then they came back and won in 84, or however it went. And then, the same with kind of Sidney Crosby, he needed to go to the Stanley Cup final and lose before he won.

Just history was suggesting that the Oilers were going to win the series and now I guess Eulers fans are contemplating how painful it's going to be if they lose two in a row. Well I think D, all of the above, all those things you listed were there. You know fans, they let their imaginations run wild. I mean, they're always thinking that their team has a chance and that the whole might advantage, which was a difference for Florida last year. I just think, I feel like the fans

and maybe the players felt like they were gonna get shot out of a rocket for game five back home. Florida maybe handled the only one day between games with travel better. Um, you know, they've got a really great goaltender and Bobrowski that makes a difference. So, you know, at this point, that game may not be the right example, but most of these games, listen, the orders of one and two and overtime. So that tells you how close the series has been.

They'd like to get a lead. They'd like to force Florida to maybe play different because they, for the most part, they, they, they haven't like, do they just keep playing Florida hockey and it's successful hockey. I mean, the only time they came back was when Jake Wolman scored with about six and a half minutes left and then Sam Reinhardt scored with, what was it, 18 or 20 seconds left. Other than that, they've been, you know, for the most part in the driver's seat, five games in and they have been in such a lead for such a long time.

And the other thing, a lot of times the lead has been a couple of goals for a big portion of that time. It's not a one goal lead. It's been a two goal lead and a big portion of that time. It's not a one goal lead, it's been a two goal lead and at times a three goal lead. You only have so many comebacks, so many, I guess, miracles like Edmonton performed in that three nothing deficit after one period of play. So, you know, fans are still thinking game seven.

And I would say this, there was a different feel last year. I think there was again, I'm speaking for fans, not players. There was a feel like, hey, you know, we waited so long to get into another cup final, we're happy to be here, want to win, but happy to be here. This year was way different. It was like, they're going to win a five or they're going to win in six. So they're going to, the fans had a more confident attitude or approach. And again, I I'm sure the orders were feeling more confident too than maybe they were last year, particularly when they were down three, nothing. Now it's three, two.

Maybe you look at it and say, Hey, glass half full. We're only down one game. We're not down three. Gene, I know you're up against it for time. So we'll let you go after this one. One final question for you. If you had to guess right now, who starts in goal for game six? I'm going to go Stuart Skinner. Okay. I just think that, yeah, I I I I'm thinking Stuart. He's a number one goalie. Uh, Calvin Pickert did his job to come back in that other game. Um, again, I don't think they lost because of Calvin for sure last game, but

you're at the point now where, and there is maybe big picture. I is Stuart your goalie of the future. And if so, how does that get tempered if you don't start them in your biggest game with elimination on the line, but for Tuesday it's about you know, who gives you the best chance to win? I Think the orders are gonna go with Stewart, but I don't know one thing Chris Nauvlock said I feel like both of our goalies can come up with a win, you know Pickard had won seven in a row before the loss. So

you know tough decision and the one that the coach, the assistant coaches, the GM will all think about, discuss and maybe we'll find out today, if not tomorrow. Gene, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Travel safe and let's try and do this again whenever the series wraps up.

Sounds good. Take care, boys. Yep. Thank you. That's Gene Principe, Sportsnet. Rigside reporter from Edmonton here on the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. So I hope the series goes seven. But if it doesn't and the Stanley Cup final is over

on Tuesday, how quickly are we going to start seeing action in terms of trades? Because the rumors are really picking up now. Rampant. There's a lot of talk about Mika Zabanićad and Arthur Staple who covers the ranges for the athletic is saying that he thinks that both sides have come together and said a fresh start is

probably best for everyone. And now there's rumors. I think it might've been, oh, it's Arthur Staple again. Classic Artie. The Maple Leafs are apparently interested in Zabana Jed, which is interesting. I do wonder if there was like a sort of off season to do list for Chris Drury,

which was like, we're going to get Mike Sullivan in as the head coach soon as he shook loose. And then we're going to systematically move out all of these troublesome aged core pieces that we have so that Sully isn't getting, you know, the remnants of last year's team, which was a mess. They were just as bad as the Vancouver Canucks. They were the Eastern version of the Vancouver Canucks. And they went about it and moved off Crider who all of last season was on the trade block.

We had also heard Zubinajad's name, uh, countless times. He was even tied to the Canucks for a brief spell about someone who was being offered up. He had a brutal season. Brutal. And I think the Rangers understood that if they were going to move on, they needed to do it like swiftly and they couldn't let this linger into the season. That was a big problem with last season is that Drury started the clean out with the Barclay Goodrow move,

which rankled a lot of the veterans on the team and the Truba thing lingered probably longer than it needed to. The Crider thing lingered way longer than anyone wanted it to. You can't play an entire year as a franchise icon under the microscope of when are you going to trade Chris Crider? It was a terrible situation. Well, speaking of franchise icons, Josh Yohe,

who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins for the athletic, he is reporting that this will be the final season for Malkin in Pittsburgh. And some people might say, well, duh, he's old and he's got a year left on his contract, but Yohi is just putting it out there that the penguins are not expected to offer him another contract. Uh, and he's citing sources with the, within

the organization. It's also been reported, I think the fourth period reported the Penguins are looking to sell off pieces, entertaining offers on Eric Carlson, Ricard Raquel, and a guy whose name you brought up last week with a, could he maybe come to the cocks, Brian Russ. Yep.

That was off the piece from Pierre Lebrun in the athletic, where he was doing his off season notebook and he talked about there's one and only one true identified seller right now. It's the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yeah. And that's crazy in a league of 32 teams, but the sense that a lot of insiders are getting right now

is a lot of the bad teams that traditionally over the last couple of years have been sellers are looking to move forward, i.e. Anaheim, San Jose, Chicago. A lot of the teams are still in that murky middle of they don't know what to do. And Pittsburgh, by putting up the sign, ready to sell or for sale,

might take advantage of a market that is thin on quality UFAs and flush with teams wanting to make changes and maybe get involved in trades. So could you get a team over bidding on say a Brian Rust? Could it be a team that's being led by the guy that drafted and developed Brian Rust? Then of course, it's Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alveen

who had Rust with Wilkes-Barre in the American League. I think he was a third round pick and he matured into a very good NHL player, Ryan Rust, then of course it's Jim Rutherford and Patrick Alveen who had Rust with Wilkes-Barre in the American League. I think he was a third round pick and he matured into a very good NHL player, a guy that had 30 goals and 70 points last year. What do you think's going on with Fenway Sports Group right now? Because they own the Penguins and there have been some reports and rumors. Yeah, that's really interesting. That they might be looking to sell the Penguins back to Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle.

I think the Penguins have denied those reports, but they're out there. And Fenway Sports Group made a bit of an interesting move yesterday with the baseball team that they owned. Right, so with regards to the Penguins, it was several months ago, they publicly stated that they were seeking to sell a minority share of the penguins. That was out there.

The reporting from LeBron was that the intention with Burkle, Lemuel, and Morehouse was the other guy, was that they were gonna buy back the entirety of the penguins. Now yesterday, you're talking about the Rafael Devers trade, out of nowhere, the Boston Red Sox traded. Well, not out of nowhere. Out of nowhere.

No. Out of nowhere. This particular report is out of nowhere. But there were some things that were going off. But no one expected him to be traded after he signed a 10 year, $330 million contract less than two years ago. I was reading some things when they were talking about, you know, you won't play first base and they said, they said a trade of this guy is possible.

I mean, this is the Red Sox who have sent away some key players. That's why they was shocked that they would do it again. Cause everyone's saying we're not quite at Mookie Betts level here. That's why they gave him that long term contract. They're like, we can't let another guy get away. So you might remember from our show, we talked about Devers at the beginning of the year. We had that, he had that historic slump, the 0 for 21,

where he struck out 15, 16 times in the 21. I bet it was ridiculous how he started. And a lot of people said, well, it's because you moved him off third base when you brought in Alex Bregman from the Astros. then you moved him to DH, which he didn't like. Then you asked them to play first base, which he liked even less. Since then he's been on a tear. He's been like the best hitter in baseball.

Essentially. He's OPSing close to 900. Yeah. He's been on a tear. He's been unbelievable. If you were a Red Sox fan, would you be mad at the Red Sox for fumbling this whole thing and it's another star player that's out the door? Or would you be like, hey man, you're making hundreds of millions of dollars, play first base, the team needs you there.

It's easier than third. Yeah, Hattaberg did it. Incredibly, incredibly hard. This one's confusing because... It is confusing. than third. Yeah, Hattaberg did it. Incredibly, incredibly hard. This one's confusing because- It is confusing. He was playing really well and hitting as a DH, like he was doing everything Aston. But they need someone to play first and he was like, no, I'm not playing first.

What's more difficult, I think, for Red Sox fans to swallow about this trade isn't just the fact that Devers is gone, it's who they got back for him. Yeah. Not a great haul. Not a lot of top tier players. And apparently didn't shop him. No. And I'm always curious about that, like why,

do you remember when Doncich was traded? People were like, they only talk to the Lakers. Well, why? Are they worried about? I know in this instance, the Giants were like, dead set on getting us, because they went after Aaron Judge, because Aaron Judge from the Bay Area, and that didn't work they're in judge from the Bay Area and that didn't work They made a bid for Otani that didn't work

I think it tried to get went down the road Carlos Correa like anyone they just wanted a star player and When Devers came available, I do wonder if it was on the the pretense of like you're not we're not getting in a bidding war Like here's our package. Let's get this done. Yeah, because the Red Sox are not like they're picking up zero of this remaining. The dollars are paid like it's done. They freed themselves financially from this deal that they of course, I was too. That was a big deal for them. Right. And, you know, 300 plus million dollars. The least, which already stunk gets way worse because the best hitter,

non-errant judge division is gone now and judges in a class of his own. The NL gets way stronger and it is really interesting to see a team making loose. Doesn't stink. The ALA's is terrible. The J's of the Yankees are 42 and 28. Yeah, the J's have kind of solid.

The Rays are seven above 500, the J's are above 500, the Red Sox are one game above 500 It doesn't stink the alley stinks. Okay. Yeah. All right compared to what it was. Yeah Compared to what it was anyway, the point being is that it took a Jays run of like 15 of 7. Yeah The the Red Sox are like significantly worse today That's the above 500. The Red Sox are like significantly worse today. The day you play the Devers home run coming into the call or it won to nothing because of a Devers home run.

So that could take them out of contention, really, because Bregman's hurt now, too. So we'll see what happens. Yeah. I mean, when you heard the news as a Jays fan, you're like, good. Yeah. You get Devers out of the division. Yeah. Great. Yeah. But I was I was worried about they were going to get a haul back from San Francisco and they got a former Blue Jays pitcher and a couple other random guys. So I don't know what they're thinking. I don't know what they're trying to do other than lose the contract. Yeah.

I mean, a lot of people are texting and I texted my buddy who was a big Red Sox fan yesterday and I was like, what's going on here? And I kind of came out at the, I asked him, if you're a part of a team and you're making hundreds of millions of dollars, if the team asks you to play a position and the team needs you to play a position, then shouldn't you play that position? And he said, yeah, I guess, but the Red Sox really fumbled this. Yeah, okay, I will say this.

For all the things that you said, you know, when he when he was playing third base, he was like one of the worst defensive third baseman in baseball. So the reason they got Bregman was to upgrade the fielding. And then the logical thought was, well, he's Rafi's still one of the best hitters in baseball. He can be the designated hitter. And then everyone's like, OK, cool. And Devers eventually agreed to it after, I think, pouting earlier in the season. Was it just his ego was bruised? I mean asking three positional

changes in the span like going from third to DH. Yeah but one's not a position it's it's it's cool you don't even have to go out there. So asking. I'm just going to rest on the bench. I also think if they if you sign him to be a franchise guy which is what 330 million dollars is and then you're telling them to just kind of platoon around. But if you give him $300 million, can't you play first base? Like, figure it out. Yeah, and I also think that they probably

could have seen this through. You're like, well, you took a while to get over playing Just D.H., but you did it, and you came back and you did it really well. Maybe with time, you would have been able to do that. I think this was- Well, maybe there's more behind the scenes. I think it was a cash dump.

I think they were, they looked at it and they were like, maybe we made a mistake. Maybe we were overzealous in trying to correct the mookie bet there with the deal. Maybe Liverpool needs to buy someone. That's what my Red Sox buddy said is like, they'll probably take this money and spend it on a striker. Well, they just signed Florian Virts.

They had a big signing in Liverpool. So maybe all that Davers money or Devers money is going over to sign him. I like it when you have these organizations that own multiple teams and the fans get frustrated. And it's like, they're like siblings. They're like, you love him more than you love me. I don't know what that makes him.

And John Henry might be like, yeah, I do. I don't know what that makes a Pittsburgh Penguins like at this point. Yeah, they are way down the list of priorities. The family hamster. Yeah. All right. We got to go to break before we do. I need to tell you about the Vancouver Giants. It's never too early to get your Vancouver Giants season's tickets. Tickets start at under $19 at vancouvergiants.com forward slash season tickets. Tickets start at under $19 of Vancouvergiants.com forward slash season tickets.

Blake Wheeler is going to join us next on the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to two on Sportsnet 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. Miller, Blancreniere blocked it front, rebound save, rebound score! Blake Wheeler! With his first goal as the New York Ranger.

Blake Wheeler! It's a power play goal! Here's the first goal as the New York Ranger. Blake Wheeler, it's a power play goal! 732 on a Monday, happy Monday everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com.

We are in hour two of the program. Former NHL'er, Sportsnet panelist over these playoffs, Blake Wheeler, is going to join us in just a moment here. In the midst of hour two, we're also at the midway point of the show. Our two of this program is brought to by Jason Hominick at Jason dot mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason dot mortgage. Do we have Blake on the line or Andy? Still working on it? Okay. Uh, we do have Blake Wheeler coming on the program. We're gonna ask him about a variety of different things. Uh,

the end of his career there, as you heard with the New York Rangers, it's time in Winnipeg under head coach Paul Maurice. Now, of course, the head coach of the Florida Panthers can ask about international hockey, by the way, on the international hockey front. All of the countries participating in the twenty twenty six Winter Olympics in Italy are announcing their first sixes Right now it's happening right in front of our very eyes so we can get into that a little bit later in the show as well We're still waiting on the two big dogs. Of course Canada in the US have not announced their first six yet, but Sweden Finland

We just got we got Latvia Latvia's got two goalies in there in their first six way to go Latvia So we'll get into all that a little bit later in the program. Can maybe ask Blake about it as well. He's on the line now. Former NHL'er Blake Wheeler joins us now on the Halford and Brev show on Sportsnet 650, courtesy of the Power West Industries hotline. Good morning, Blake. How are you? Hey, I'm doing great, guys. How are you? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. So first question, now that you're a member of the media,

just like us, maybe a little bit better at it already. What did you think of getting into the media game and doing some panelists work with sports that during the playoffs? Yeah, it was a blast. I actually loved it. I always kind of thought that it'd be something to be into. I mean, what better thing to do than watch hockey, talk about hockey? It was a, it was a great experience. The guys on Hockey Night in Canada, as you guys know, are absolutely first class. They treated me like gold. They

made it incredibly easy for me as a first timer doing it. So I had a ton of fun. It looked like a lot of fun. We had the clip there of you getting to interview your former teammate, Mark Schaipley, when you were working one of those series. You also got to cover a little bit of the Toronto Maple Leaf Florida Panthers series, which feels like a year ago now, but it wasn't that long ago. Uh, Florida obviously coached by your former head coach in Winnipeg, Paul Maurice. I'm curious, like what was the relationship with you and Maurice? Like, I mean the time in Winnipeg, you had a lot of highs, there were some lows as well.

He spoke about you glowingly on a number of occasions. What are your thoughts and memories of playing under Paul Maurice? Yeah, Paul's absolutely phenomenal. There's, you know, there's no, you know, it's no secret that he's had the amount of success that he's had, you know, that he had the career that he's had, but now that I don't see at the back end, but like he put in a lot of really quality

work over a long period of time and now he's reaping the rewards of that. He does such a phenomenal job of motivating, of relating to the players. And I think that's the most important thing with Paul is at the end of the day, like we are people and he's a person and it wasn't just about the hockey. I mean, clearly it's a lot about hockey between a coach and a player. But when I talked to Paul, you know, when he was my coach, he cared about my wife. He cared about my kids. He cared about how things were going outside of the rink.

And I think that those little things are what makes that connection and it makes the players want to play even that much harder for the guys they're playing for. What was it like when he decided to leave the team? It was, it was challenging, you know, um, it was abrupt.

Uh, at the time I was hurt, I had just gotten hurt actually in Vancouver. It was challenging. It was abrupt. At the time I was hurt, I had just gotten hurt actually in Vancouver. And so I was out and it came out of nowhere for sure. It was really tough. He had been with us for so long, had such a huge positive impact on our team, our group, the community, the organization. And when he's there one day and gone the next, it was a big team, our group, the community, the organization, and when he's there one day and gone the next, it was a big challenge for our group.

There's no question about that. What do you miss most about playing? Miss the locker room, miss the guys. I've talked about it with some other guys that have played and retired now, and you miss being really good at something too. You know what I mean? Like it's.

What's that like? What's that like? I've never had that. Yeah, you know, it's like you're really good at a thing your whole life and then you think that's just gonna bleed over to everything else you do. And then you step on the golf course and you're expecting to break 70 and reality hits. You know, and it's like, oh, we were, you're, you're expecting to, you know, break 70 and, and, and reality hits, you know,

and it's like, oh, we were, we were, you know, had it, had it pretty good there for a little while. Uh, there's things I don't miss about it for sure. But yeah, I mean, you, you remember all the great stuff about it and, and, um, yeah, just the teammates and the, the dinners on the road, all the things you probably hear from all the guys that have retired, those are the things that are

the most true for sure. But it is, I mean, it is challenging when you have something that has essentially been your life's purpose and now it's not. Have you got anything in mind on what you'd like to do? Would you like to stay in the game? Would you like to try something else? Little by little, I mean, I have three kids. They all three play hockey. That, that, that feels like a full time job right now. Um, you know, doing some of this broadcasting

stuff has been pretty cool too. So yeah, there's, there's been some fun things I've been up to, um, you know, that I've really enjoyed, uh, getting, you know, getting to try some new things out. It's a kind of a fun season of life where you get to experiment a little bit and kind of see some different different things, try some different hats on. And, yeah, we'll just kind of see what fits. But talking hockey with guys like you has been a lot of fun. So I could see myself doing some more of that in the future.

We're speaking to Blake Wheeler here on the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. You mentioned that you missed the room and the camaraderie and the guys and the dinners and all that. And we hear that a lot when we talk to ex players. And there is times though, when you've got a lot of different guys in the room, different sort of personalities, and sometimes they don't mix.

And at times they can clash. We saw it here in Vancouver this year. I'm sure you know as well as everybody else, it was very public the way that it played out. And you know, the room got bad and it ended up with departures. Now from your time in Winnipeg, it wasn't always roses right? There was times where things got tough as they do throughout the course of an NHL career but what do you remember about those times where there's a lot of strong personalities in the room and at times there can be clashes with leadership and who's in charge and who's calling the shots and how you work your way through it.

Yeah, I think the big takeaway, especially at this, like on this side of that equation is that like there's really no like no one at fault. You know, I think it's easy in the media or fans or, you know, even externally, if you don't really know the situation to point fingers or say it was this guy or it was that guy. You know, it's it's kind of everything, you know, it's it's organizationally, it's coaching. It's it's kind of like everyone has a hand in like creating that system. And I think what really gets caught by the wayside is communication in those scenarios. I think the quicker that, whether it's teams or players or however it's structured, if you're able to communicate, you get to the root of it pretty quickly.

And I think that that creates a closeness with the team again, and it kind of like reunites you. It's where you avoid the communication again and it kind of like reunites you. It's where you avoid the communication, you don't want to have the conversation, you don't want to address it, you get frustrated, all those different things start to you know like bubble at the surface and that's where things can get fractured when it gets to the point where maybe you have one or two players or groups of players who, you know, don't want to say a thing or don't want to have that conversation, then it kind of can can spiral out of control.

You know, it's interesting what you said there about there's not always just one particular person to blame and that sometimes that's the outside media perception that this guy's in the right or this guy's in the wrong or this guy's the problem and this guy's not. So like, again, in Winnipeg, when you had the captaincy taken away, did you feel like that this guy's in the right or this guy's in the wrong or this guy's the problem and this guy's not so like Again in Winnipeg when you had the captaincy taken away Did you feel like you were sort of publicly being blamed for what was going on and that that was the media was like well It's obviously something to do with Wheeler because he doesn't have to see anymore yeah, it's pretty easy to draw like a straight linear line to those things. I mean like Paul left the

team, the team had sort of a tough year that year, coaching change, capital city change. So like it's really easy to draw that line of that narrative. Now you know that's kind of where I think it's important that like there's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot of people, there's a lot of situations that go into those things. I really tried to address it from the standpoint like of like I owned my piece of it. I owned being the captain. I owned the fact that we didn't have a very good year. I own, I own that, like, you know, my leadership had kind of dipped a little bit.

Um, so, so there were a lot of factors at play there and at, at the end of the day, like you can either feel like a victim in that circumstance, or you can say, Hey, look, you know, I, I was a part of this and, you know, I accept the change and I want to be a big part of this going forward. And not to say that it was always easy, but I think that I really wanted to approach it from a position that I still wanted to make an impact on the team, just because I didn't have the C anymore.

I feel like even that next year might've been my best year of leadership I had in Winnipeg just by virtue of growing and learning and wanting to get better. even that next year might've been, you know, my best year of leadership I had in Winnipeg just by virtue of growing and learning and wanting to get better. Well, I think one of the issues in Vancouver at the heart of it was that JT Miller and Elias Pedersen are wired very differently. They have different personalities, different ideas on how to carry themselves. JT Miller is a very intense guy. And Elias Pedersen is probably more of an introvert. As a leader, yourself, what advice would you give

for you're a leader and you're dealing with someone maybe that's wired differently from you, but you still want to get the most out of them. How do you do it? Well, then I think that that's the challenge. And you got to keep in mind that I'm almost 40 years old now. And I, you know, I was captain of a team for a long time. I have perspective and I hope a little bit of maturity on my side. Now, when I was, you know, in my my early 30s, you're in the prime of your career, like every day it feels like you're climbing a mountain to try to win a Stanley Cup.

So admittedly, it wasn't something that I always excelled in. I would say that if there was a guy who wasn't like me, which was a little bit more intense, a little bit more trying to like get the most of myself every single day, there can be frustration from a leader when you have guys who maybe appeared not on that same page. Now, sitting where I sit now, I would say the first and foremost hack to the system,

like I said before, is just to communicate, I would say the first and foremost hacks to this system, like I said before, is just to communicate, what would it look like just to have that conversation of, hey, listen, this is what I'm seeing, this is what I'm noticing, because it might not be true. They may be feeling the same way as you, they may have a different perspective, but you get to the root of it so much faster,

the quicker that you have that conversation. When you're just assuming things, when you're just holding a grudge, you're getting frustrated because somebody's not the way you think they should be. I think that that's where a lot of tension builds in that system. How much additional pressure is there going through all this in a Canadian market? Because that's been a big talking point this postseason, specifically with what happened in Toronto against Florida. Well, yeah, but also I think it's important to note that like what a gift it is to play markets where people care that much about what you're doing that they talk about it, you know,

and then sure, like it's been how many months since the Canucks played a game and still talking about the same thing. So yeah, there's more pressure there, but at the same time, like when you win and have success in these markets, there's no better place to play. So it's like kind of like a double edged sword, a bit like that, where it's so great to play in markets that people genuinely care about what you're doing every day and then when it's slides yeah it can be challenging to you know have these things said whether they're true or not it's just it's a way to continue the dialogue and it's entertainment right for fans so that's as an

athlete where it can be challenging I I would say, in markets that have a little bit more exposure, where things get talked about and get spiraled and maybe get dissected so much that what's true and what's not sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Are you able to have a sense of humor about it ever? Oh man. Are you able to have a sense of humor about it ever? Oh man. If you're asking me personally, I wouldn't say that that was my approach. I took things pretty personally.

I was like aware of my heart on my sleeve type of guy. Like this was my, it was my life, you know, like every single moment of every day I was thinking about how I could be better, how the Winnipeg Jets could be better, like to win a Stanley Cup. Like that's, I just poured like my entire life and identity into that. So when that, when that's being challenged or talked about or dissected or whatever, it feels very threatening as a player. Cause you know, like I said, it's, it's so much of like your, who you are is tied into that and when it gets when it gets talked about from a standpoint of you know I guess negative yeah it can be tough so the answer is no. I did not laugh once. Did not care for it thank you.

Well and I think you can see with like how I was with the media after games and stuff like there were a whole lot of light moments and like I said I own that but that I think is a little bit of a sneak peek into sort of my mindset around that. So I know you've been a busy guy with your with your kids and their hockey as well. Have you managed to make time to watch any of this Stanley Cup final? I have, yeah I have. Yeah, I have. It's been a roller coaster for sure. It's been incredibly entertaining and yeah, it's been great for the game. What do you appreciate about this Florida Panthers team the most?

I mean, I'm not saying that they're going to win the Stanley Cup, but they've already won one and they just had a very impressive performance in game five. Yeah, I think that, I think, I think the way they, they bounced back after these tough, tough losses, even going back last year to the Stanley Cup finals, they're up three nothing, they lose three straight games and then they're playing a game seven where, I mean, the weight of the world's on their shoulders and they, the performance they had in game seven last year was, it was really incredible. I mean, the way they played, Ed seven last year was really incredible.

I mean, the way they played, Edmonton really didn't have a whole lot. I mean, that was a really impressive performance. And then you fast forward to this year, and just the way they're playing this year has been really incredible, especially emotional game four. They come back, they tie the game late, they lose in overtime. They kind of, quote, unquote unquote lose this great opportunity to take a stranglehold on the series. And, um, you know, I think I was expecting Edmonton to go home and be guns a blazing and you know, the way Florida played in game five was, was incredibly, incredibly impressive. So that would be the thing

that stands out for me. We're speaking to former NHL or Blake Wheeler here on the Halford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. Blake, before we got you on the show, we were talking about how the 12 teams that are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are announcing their first six for their roster today. And I wanted to ask you, like you answered the call numerous times for USA hockey at the World Juniors and the Olympics,

the World Championships, the world cup of hockey. How important was it for you during your playing career to like wear the red, white and blue and rep your country? Yeah, those are some of the highlights of my career. I mean, playing on those teams with the collection of players from USA hockey, you know, playing in an Olympics, that's not something I had on my bingo card, you know, when I was a kid. Um, so those are things like, players from USA hockey, playing in an Olympics, that's not something I had on my bingo card when I was a kid.

So those are things like we talk about, my kids are getting older now too, and they're like, wait, you played the Olympics? So those are pretty cool things to have experienced in my career, in my life. Feel incredibly grateful to USA hockey for giving me those opportunities. And it's, I mean, you saw what happened at the four nations. I think that.

It's incredible. Anytime you get the best on best, it's just, it's so good for the game. So I'm really happy that this generation of players is getting an opportunity to go to the Olympics again, you know, next time around. What kind of hockey dad are you? Hands on or hands off? Yeah, I'm hands on and I would consider myself like incredibly laid back. If they're being a bad teammate or they're not working hard, those are conversation pieces. But outside of that, you know, I'm pretty laid back. We like to have fun. We enjoy it. It's, it's,

it's my, my practices are, are pretty fun. I think that that's what's getting lost a little bit in youth sports. You know, the fun factor and for me, fun is, is not just like messing around and not taking things seriously, but you know, we fun factor and for me, fun is is not just like messing around and not taking things seriously. But, you know, we still work hard, but we're doing it in a way where these guys are hopefully getting better at the game and also enjoying it while doing it. Uh, TJ Oshie just called it a career. Speaking of the Olympics, do you remember this stand out that fondly?

Cause I'm right now for Jason. I were working at NBC at the time when he had the repeated shootouts against Russia in that one game. And TJ Oshie went to be like a national hero in front of Putin. Yeah. How much does I know you remember, but how much does that stand out to you? Well, I had the best seat in the house. I was standing, I think I was standing next to Paul Stasny on the bench for that entire thing. And, um, that was, that was incredible. It was,

it was one of those moments where you almost couldn't believe what you were seeing, you know, just, uh, how could that move? Keep working over and over. That was, that was, that was, that was pretty cool. Yeah. Hey Blake, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Uh, best of luck if you do end up pursuing the media thing on a more full-time basis, you're an insightful guy and I think you'd be really good at it. All right guys. Hey, I appreciate you have me. Yeah. Thank you. That's Blake Wheeler former NHL are here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650

I love that. Could you find the humor in it? No No, not at all. Yeah, but that's but I mean that's that's great answer though. It's very shows how he's wired Yeah, and and look the elephant in the room is that His relationship with Patrick Lyne in Winnipeg. I think it was a couple guys, right? And Shifely. Well, Shifely with Wheeler. With Andrew Kane, Dustin Buffland,

they had a lot of big personalities in Winnipeg. But the thing that people compare it to is Wheeler to Lyne, Miller to Pedersen. Yeah, it was very similar. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got an older vet who's very intense and a younger player who's very talented but maybe wired a little bit differently. Not maybe, definitely wired a little bit differently.

Yeah. And yeah, you know, like- His answer was very interesting about it, Lance. Yeah. Well, he also admitted that sometimes I fell short, you know. His answer was very interesting. His answer was just, yeah. Well, he also admitted that sometimes I fell short, you know, like the answer is you got to communicate. Yeah, communication was the whole key to the thing. Now, if you can, the thing is like the Canucks tried that, right?

I mean, how many times did they say they had meetings together, they tried to figure it out. Yep. The coaching staff tried to figure it out, the management group tried to figure out. The players wanted to have it. There's the problem, Jason. There's only two people that can figure it out. The coaching staff tried to figure it out. The management group tried to figure out. The players wanted to have it. There's the problem, Jason.

There's only two people that can figure it out. And the two people that need to talk. Yeah. They should have, they should have sent them off on a, on a road trip, comedy road trip. It's a buddy comedy without the buddies. Well, isn't that how great buddy road trips are? Like they're not like the same person. Yep. Well, they're the hangover They're all very different. They gotta have different personalities. Yeah. Yeah planes trains and automobiles, right?

John can yeah Steve Martin right very different personalities. This one's fat. This one's skinny. Yeah, it's perfect They're much different than that. And then Steve Martin punched John Candy right in the stomach It was edited out. It was like, that's how Houdini died. No. No. Oh man. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, right.

The mending of relationship between, yeah. I think it's interesting that he's also, it's almost like brave enough to be introspective, to be like, yeah, like I fell short on a number of occasions. Yeah, a lot of guys have a hard time doing that, not even hockey, just in general. Just in general.

Men in general. Well, yeah, but when you look back on past behavior and you're like, that was rough, there's a couple ways you can go about it. One is, you can be like, ah, it was in the past, I'm just gonna forget about it, I'm just gonna move on, I'm just gonna flush it. How many times do we say that?

It's gonna flush it, I'm not gonna address it, I'm just gonna flush it. How many times do we say that? It's gonna flush it. I'm not gonna address it, I'm just gonna move past it. And then there's other people that, and it's a tough thing to take a long, hard look at your behavior and be like, what could I have done differently in this situation? Because when you do that, you have to look at what you actually did in that situation. And oftentimes, it's either something

that you're not proud of, or something that didn't turn out the way you wanted it to turn out, right? And with something as sort of fragile and finite as a playing career, because they all end. You know, you're always, you always do the look back or what could have been, what could have been different. And a lot of guys look at it with regards to things they could have won and be trophies or whatever.

He mentioned he was getting into his thirties. Yeah. And he was like, I don't have many years left at this. And you can imagine that if there are some younger players that have lots of years left at it, you're probably like, Hey man, put the work in. Yeah. Right. And I think that's what happened between

Miller and Pedersen. Miller came to camp, he was in great shape. He was ready to go. And he was like, I don't have many kicks of the can left here. I'm getting into my thirties. We just got to the second round of the playoffs. We were one game away from getting to the conference final. Let's take that step forward.

But that doesn't, that doesn't justify any type of behavior though, but it is a very difficult situation and the Canucks ultimately just couldn't handle it. Okay, we gotta go to break. We got a lot more to get to on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Ingole Magazine is gonna join us on the other side.

And then after Woodley, we're going to do what we learns. It's the humanoid chance to be on the radio. Also, you get to tell us what you learned over the last 72 hours in sports. Let us know Dunbar number text line is 650 650 hashtag it WWL and tell us again, what did you learn over the last 24 hours in sports? You're listening to the Halford and Bruff show on sports net 650.