Halford & Brough in the Morning - Frank Seravalli On The Canucks GM Search

Episode Date: April 22, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest news around the Canucks GM search with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:22), they discuss an interesting story about the owner of the Portland Trailblazers (27:00), plus the boys look at more of the action from around yesterday's NHL playoff games, and set up tonight's matchups (39:00). 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. 703 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford, Brough, SportsNet, 650. Halford in Brough for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Do you have CRA debt? If you do, Sands and Associates could cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at C.

sands dash trustee.com. We are now in our two of the program. Hour two is brought to by Jason Hominoch at Jason. Dot 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 them online at Jason. dot mortgage.

We are broadcasting live from the Kintech Studios. Step strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintech. Guests on SportsNet 650. Call in on the ABLE Auctions hotline email sales at abelheauctions. dot CA to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. Let's go now to the ABLE Auctions hotline. Our next guest is our NHL insider from Victory Plus. Frank Cerrally joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

Morning Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How are you guys doing? We're well. Let's start with the Vancouver Canucks GM search. Let's start with the names before we get to the lists, which is a thing. What are you hearing about the names of the guys that the Vancouver Canucks are

interviewing for their vacant GEMS. GM position. Well, the process is still really just kicking off in the list. There's names being added to it, I'm sure, on a daily basis. I think, well, not I think. I can tell you what I know is that the thought emanating around the league is that the Canucks are searching for someone with prior GM experience. so you can kind of chop up the list from that perspective moving forward.

Kevin Adams, which was of course reported yesterday, and his tenure in Buffalo certainly has a different look based on the Sabres consequentially winning the division. You've got some of the other recent candidates who have been in the mix in other markets, including Peter Shirelli, Mark Bergevan You could probably

Like there's like if you go really through the list of Of anyone who's been a general manager recently Like you could probably even add in a I'm sure there's calls being made for a Ron Hextall Or like go go through the whole Smorgersport of candidates that have experience So that's an easy exercise And then I think to contrast that

The real question is Where does Ryan John fit in with all of this. And if Ryan Johnson was the top candidate, why has there been a hesitation to make that switch? Would that process not have already been completed last week as this change was set up from the beginning with Patrick Alvin being fired?

So I think that looms large over the whole process to me is this push and pull between experience, someone who's done the job, and someone who, you know, at least by the view that Jim Rutherford presented last week, that he's not long for it, that maybe it's kind of becoming clear from ownership that they'd prefer someone if Jim Rutherford's gone that has done this before. Frank, Elliot Friedman has reported that there are two lists, at least two lists, and that ownership is interviewing experienced candidates, and Jim Rutherford is interviewing newer or younger candidates,

less experienced candidates. Is it possible that ownership has a list of Jim Rutherford replacements, and Rutherford has a list of Alveen replacements, and the Canucks could actually be hiring not one, but two new members of the Hockey Ops Department. possible yes but let me ask you like a dead serious question if it's so disjointed from the jump why is jim rutherford still involved at all

i mean we have that question too and i don't i don't understand i don't it doesn't make any sense to me okay so so jim rutherford wants to do his thing and ownership clearly prefers something different if this is all accurate now now what? Like how do these two things mesh? And again, where does Ryan Johnson fit in in all of this who appears to be a well-qualified internal candidate? Is it possible that ownership would be more comfortable with Ryan Johnson as the general manager if they also brought on a more experienced

person that would replace Jim Rutherford? Because I personally don't think it's a very good idea for Jim Rutherford to stick around after this hire is made. As you put it, it might not even be a good idea for him to stick around right now. That's how I see it. I mean, and it's not to diminish Jim Rutherford's career to mean his accomplishments. I'm judging based on a couple things. One, the notion that there seems to be a clash in terms of what this looks like, like moving forward. And two, just based on a pure meritocracy, why, like over these last four

years running the Vancouver Canucks, as this organization has been plunged into further chaos, and some of it unpredictable, some of it entirely predictable, and some of it due to the Canucks zone doing that what's like why should Jim Rutherford be afforded the opportunity to pick his successor or at least someone that for the very beginning

stages is someone that he's comfortable working with. He's not going to be here anyway. What's the difference? Just get out in front of it and make the decision that you think is best. How much of... Oh, sorry, keep going for it. No, I realize that

me saying that about Kinnock's ownership make the decision that you see as best sends a shiver up the spine of Kinnock's fans. But, I mean, it can't be any worse than the job that Jim Rutherford has done to this point. Right. I mean, I'm not trying to advocate for the way that things are going. I also think that it gets very muddled when Rutherford's sticking around for what feels like an indeterminate length of time. Like, if you're going to make the change, why not just make the change? but just to play devil's advocate here, how much of this might have to do

with trying to talk to as many candidates as possible, interview as many individuals as possible, and maybe not even necessarily for job candidacy, but just to, you know, when you pick the brains of people to get the idea of what people think of your organization, what the outside view is of your team, what people are willing to tell you, and maybe what people aren't willing to tell you in the interview process.

I'm always a big advocate for a fact-finding mission and to learn as much about how the perspective on the outside views your organization, and I think there's a ton of value in that. I just don't necessarily see that being a logical explanation for the potential difference in past based on what we're talking about. Sure. You know, the Canucks have really never been big on outside. influence and league view because just look at their searches over the last number of 10 years,

they generally tend to be pretty short-lived and with a small pool of candidates that some of it seems predetermined from the start. Like when Jim Rutherford was brought in, like we didn't, there wasn't like a big wide-ranging net that was cast around the league. like they made the choice. Francesco Aquilini met and went with Jim Rutherford and convinced them to come out west and take the job. It was kind of as simple as that.

So now to think that there's going to be this, hey, we're going to do this totally differently than we've ever done it before. I don't know if I buy that. You're right about that, Frank, because, you know, I think that goes back to even before Jim Rutherford. Yes. You know, John Tortorella, when he was hired. I don't know how many other candidates the Canucks were looking at then.

And then I remember Trevor Lyndon named president of hockey ops. And we almost immediately heard Benning and Willie DeJarden. And that's how it played out. Lyndon went out to interview Benning and he was the general manager. Yeah. And Bob is your uncle. I mean, that's basically how it's worked. I don't.

And so that's why when we initially heard Ryan Johnson, you thought, okay, maybe this is a fate of complete. Maybe this is just something that's preordained to happen. But I would argue the fact that it hasn't happened already clearly means that there's some kind of wrinkle here that we're not seeing or not understanding or maybe they just don't think the time is right and they're going to have to wrestle with all that.

And then I'm just thinking moving forward. Like I personally believe that Jim Rutherton, shadow that looms over this process with both the indeterminate amount of time that he's going to be in the position as well as the fact that the last guy that was here didn't actually make very many hockey operations decisions and yet was thrown on the tarmac. I don't think that's a good look either. And I think, yeah, look, it's one of 32. Are you always going to have someone that's willing to sign up for that pay scale and for that opportunity to have the title as general manager, of course. And it doesn't matter how dire the circumstance is or how bleak the picture is in

terms of the roster build, working for this ownership group, all those things. Someone's always going to be willing to do it because someone's, they're climbing over dead bodies all the time to try and get to the top. But I think that the entire scope of this. this opportunity, it changes in my view, based on Jim Rutherford still being part of it. Let's talk about the Leafs job search. What's the latest there? So they're getting closer. They've got three candidates in this week as quote-unquote finalists for the general manager position. And with that, I think what remains to be seen is the true machinations of the entire front office hierarchy.

I mean, is there a president of hockey operations? Yes or no? Is Matt Sundeen part of it? Yes or no? And what's his title? And how do all of those positions then intersect with Keith Pelley as CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment? and what kind of role will he have in all of the decision-making process moving forward, given that he had a big role over the last year.

What has Sundeen been doing since he retired? What is what? What has Matt Sundeen been doing? He's been in Sweden just raising his family. And anytime we've been over there for Global Series, I've seen him at the rink. I think he's been doing some community work with the Leafs and making a couple trips over a year

for different promotions and things like that. But for the most part, I think he's been enjoying life in Sweden. And that's the big question is, my understanding is from people close to Matt that he is willing to uprood his family and relocate his life to Toronto for a meaningful role for the right job. but I don't think he has very much interest in collecting a check to be a figurehead.

Right. Like it's either I'm going to dig in and actually do the work and I'm going to be totally bought into the process or I can just continue to do the typical community stuff that I've done as a former captain and player with his number retired. This reminds me of the Trevor Lyndon situation because there were plenty of questions also about, you know, how much has Lyndon been following the, the NHL since being retired? And people would say, well, you know, he had some,

you know, some experience in the NHLPA and maybe that could be helpful. And I just, I think there was a big time catch up mode for Lyndon when, when he took the job. Because as I always pointed out at the time, he wasn't named president of the organization. He was named president of hockey. hockey ops. And I think that that's important to clarify because, you know, then ultimately all the hockey decisions in theory stop with him. Is that going to be this? And I guess that's what you're

getting at with Matt Sundeen. Well, I also don't know if that's the level of role that they're offering him. It might not be that. It might be somewhere in between GM and president. It could be some kind of special advisor. But I think regardless, your point is really well made that no matter what, there's going to be a massive catch-up required, even as someone who is, just like Trevor Linden, not insanely far removed from playing. But living in Sweden, like, it's almost impossible to follow the NHL on a night-to-night basis,

given the time that games are played. So unless you're really waking up and watching hours of video, like you're missing every game for the most part, unless it's a weekend afternoon game. And I can't imagine that that person, even with a, you know, a Hall of Fame level caliber career, would think that they have enough knowledge or foresight

to step into a role of that magnitude without having to put in a lot of time to catch up. Okay, let's move on. Frank, what happens to the Pittsburgh Penguins if the Flyers make short work of them? Probably nothing. the penguins weren't really expected to make the playoffs this year. And if you rewind back to, and this is kind of what made me laugh as everyone was trying to laud Kyle Dubus as general manager of the year,

is that even he himself in his preparation for this season, in hiring Dan News and in putting the roster together, he didn't do anything to like try and put this team over the top. Did he make some really smart additions? from Shinikov to you know to some smart bets that they added to their roster Anthony Matha as a reclamation project

for instance yeah of course but he didn't come into this with any expectations like he thought and Pittsburgh and Calgary both thought that they were toward the bottom of the barrel in the league and didn't make they were the only teams not trying to

actively improve last summer and so now what happens to the Penguins moving forward? Like, if that indeed happens, my thought process is plan as usual, that at some point this team is going to have to turn over a new leaf and it's going to be at the direction of Sidney Crosby and Chris LaTang and ofgeny Malkin. What happens with Malkin needing a new contract? All those things sort of loom large. Does this give them added ammunition to say, hey, we can still be a team. I don't

know how all that meshes together, but I think it feels like the penguins are just kind of playing out the string until those players are moving on. I don't know that they're going to hasten it after this. I just think of some, sorry, I just think of some of the players that

they could monetize now, right? And, you know, they could trade. And we talked about this last year. They could trade Brian Russ. They could trade Ricard Raquel. You know, maybe you look at, an Eric Carlson deal again this offseason because he's only got one year left on that contract. But I understand what you're saying.

He's already been vocal saying I'm not trading Eric Carlson this summer. He actually answered that a couple weeks ago. Look, I think you enjoy the ride and you see if maybe you can piece together enough for one more run next season. but again, it's almost like an unexpected bonus that they've received as this score has aged significantly. The Nashville GM search, just to see if there's any overlap with what's going on in Vancouver. Is there a leading candidate there right now?

I think there's three that had separated themselves before Tom Fitzgerald went to Nashville this week. There's some overlap with the Leafs. Scott White is one of those guys overlapping. The other two guys that had put themselves in a strong position and had multiple in-person interviews were Bill Scott of the Edmonton Oilers and Brett Peterson of the Florida Panthers. And so I think the big question this week is where does Tom Fitzgerald fall into all this?

Does he become the frontrunner? Is it his job? And, you know, there's only a tiny overlap between that and Toronto and then thinking how Vancouver plays into all this, I mean, I think you would probably include Tom Fitzgerald in that experienced pool. But other than that, those guys have not held the GM title somewhere else. Hey, before we let you go, I know you don't cover the National Basketball Association, but there's an interesting overlap here with the NHL as it pertains to Tom Dundon and what

he's currently going through. Now, so for those that are unaware, I'll just try and, you know, recap this real quick. He's purchased the Portland Trailblazers. He's using a lot of his conservative financial approaches that he used with the Carolina Hurricanes now with the Portland Trailblazers. The only big difference is is that, you know,

NBA coverage and specifically NBA Twitter is a lot more robust and quite frankly, there's a lot more eyeballs on him as the owner of the trailblazers than there is as the Carolina Hurricanes. And he's getting, he's getting some less than stellar reviews for the ways that he's going about things. Are you, first off,

Are you following this story at all? I am. What do you think of the way that Dundon is approaching this in light of how he did things in Carolina? And I got to say, it's been moderately successful. They haven't wanted to Stanley Cup, but they've still been a perennial playoff team. I think moderately is underselling what's happened in Carolina.

Sure. I think in a lot of ways, they are one of the model franchises right now for how a team should operate in 2020. and I think they've nailed the notion of sustainable, long-term competitive window. And I think they get in a way that they've built their team, they get this more than anyone else. I think the biggest thing going on right now that is costing NHL team success is the constant change that occurs in front offices and behind the bench. The fact that Carolina can shape their team, knowing that they're committed to Rod Brindermore for the foreseeable future, and for that, I mean, as long as Rod Brindamore wants to coach, they can build their roster around him. And it's no accident to me that the teams that have had the most success in the NHL from Tampa to Carolina to Colorado on down the line, not only are they first time head coaches, but they are coaches with long runways.

that I think it means a lot. So as it relates to the trailblazers, I'll say one thing. It drives me nuts that people think Tom Dundan is cheap. He's not cheap. He wants everything to have a reason and a purpose. He's not going to spend money just to do it. And it's not the extra million bucks that he's saving

by having the team check out of the hotel at 1230 on the road is not to put an extra million. in his pocket. He's willing to spend to the cap. He's willing to use every dollar necessary for purposes that he believes help the team achieve success. And I've actually asked him about this, and you can go back and listen to it. I did a podcast with him a year or two ago, and I asked him exactly about that idea of like trying to pinch pennies. And I understand his notion. I think it's different than how everyone else does it, but generally the people that do something different for the first time are ostracized. And I talked to some people in Carolina yesterday amid

all this coverage, and they said it felt like deja vu, that they are watching the same thing play out in the NBA that they did in Raleigh. And I'd have to say that it's hard to argue with a guy that's been that successful and has found this much success in pro sports. Great answer. Frank, thanks for this, man. We appreciate it. Have it going, guys. You too. Thanks. Thanks. That's Frank. Sarah Valley from Victory Plus here on the Halford and Breff Show on SportsNet 650. We can get into that conversation and a whole lot more coming up because we've got an open segment

on the other side. 8 o'clock, Randy Jand is going to join the program 8.30. We're going to do what we learned. We're at the midway point of the show. So don't go anywhere. You're listening to the Halford & Brough 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 2 on Sportsnet 650.

Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Alfred and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Do you have credit card debt? If you do, Sands and Associates could cut that debt by up 80% with no upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands dash trustee.com. Still in hour two of the program, midway point of the show. Hour two is brought to by Jason Homonock at Jason. 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. So that conversation we are having with Frank Saravalee just prior to going to break was about Carolina Hurricane's owner Tom Dundon, who of course now is Portland Trailblazers

owner, Tom Dundon. Having recently purchased the team, Dundon is now undertaking some of the same financial ideologies. I'm trying to come up with very clever ways. to say this without calling him cheap because that's not accurate.

Some of the same financial ideology. He might be cheap just because he told Frank he's not cheap. But it's not. I'm not cheap is what cheap people say. I'm frugal. He didn't actually say that's what I say. Right. He's not cheap.

I'm good with money. He just doesn't spend where he doesn't feel that it has any positive impact or attribute on the team. Like he's paid big contracts in Carolina. He eventually paid Rod Brindamore. But, okay, so let me set the table here before we get into this. I want to read an excerpt from the Athletic story, which might actually make his point, but you go ahead. So right now, Tom Dundon is getting a lot of scrutiny from NBA media members,

and especially on social media platforms, particularly NBA Twitter, about these practices. And the Athletic had an article sort of capturing everything. everything that Dundon is done in a very short time as the owner of the Portland Trailblazers. And you got the excerpt here. Okay. So this is a culture shock for the Blazers players because when they were owned by Paul Allen, who of course also owned Seattle Seahawks, Paul Allen passed away, he spoiled the Portland Trailblazers. So I'm just going to read this paragraph.

The bargain budget approach is a culture shock in Portland, where for 38 years, the Blazers were owned by one of the richest men on the planet, Paul Allen. Alan famously lavished his players with rich contract and with perks that few, if any other NBA owner, provided. While players practiced, their cars were washed and detailed in the parking lot. They were fed to lunches on his 400. 13 foot private yacht, the octopus, from which they were given helicopter tours over the Golden Gate Bridge. And for years, the Blazers flew to road games on Allen's private Boeing 757 jet Blazer 1, complete with satellite TV, a wet bar, and a master bedroom. Sounds amazing. Sounds absolutely amazing.

I feel like Tom Dunden. I bet that master bedroom could tell a few stories. Yeah, I was going to say. Blazor 1. Hello. I'll say this. None of that's happening under Dundon right now. So the anecdotes that often get amplified are the really small ones that sound hilarious.

Like Dundon's decision that they weren't going to hand out playoff t-shirts this year for their home games. They don't need two mascots because they have two mascots in Portland. They only need one. Why do they have two mascots? One is the Blazor and the other ones is called Douglas fir, but it's F-U-R. So it's like a furry mascot that's supposed to be in the idea of like the trees and nature and all that. I don't know why they have them, Jason, to be honest.

I just know they have two. Okay. And Dundna would like to slash the mascot budget in half. It makes sense to cut the Douglas fir because that's what happens to trees. Sadly it does. A lot of people in Oregon got rich off of forestry. So there's also the players on two-way contracts. are no longer permitted to fly with the team of travel.

Right? Like there's no black aces for the playoffs. So they've cut that out essentially. A lot of these very, what people view is petty, cost-cutting measures that he implemented in Carolina and got like maybe I'd say a tenth of the blowback because let's be honest, it's the Carolina hurricanes.

Within the NHL media landscape, they're kind of a blip. But we did talk about the way they operated during certain stories like the Rantanin decision. We wondered if the way the hurricanes went about their business was maybe not for rantingantan. But we talked. I need my car detailed after every practice.

But we talked about it. And then we moved on to something else. And quite honestly, a lot of other people didn't even talk about it. And here's the thing. The Carolina Hurricanes continue to win a lot of hockey games and get to the playoffs and get all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. So you can't say that Dundon hasn't had success, at least in terms of putting together a good product

and being successful on the ice. Lots of playoff revenue. Now, here's the thing. The NBA is a decidedly, decidedly different landscape and environment. I cannot understate this or overstate this enough. Sorry. It is fundamentally different in terms of how the player culture,

how the league is covered and how you attract free agents to a place and let's be clear about Portland was never a hotbed for players to go to in the first place. Portland is, I would consider

leaning more towards being an NBA outpost than a desirable market. You know, when that Netflix documentary came out, looking back on the, the jailblazers. The jailblazers. My first thought was,

I haven't thought about the Trailblazers in a long time. And I used to go down to their games. I remember going to some Blazers, Utah Jazz games in the playoffs. And it was an amazing, an amazing atmosphere. And I remember actually being at a game

where Paul Allen was sitting front row with Bill Gates. And I was like, there are some rich. guys, I bet there's some security here. But it was a scene, right? And the Blazers for a little while were, they were a very good team. And they got to an NBA finals in case, if I'm not mistaken. And they were this great story because Portland is not, you know, a big market by any means when compared to other American markets.

But the storyline around Portland was like, Portland loves this. team. And then for whatever reason, and I honestly don't know the reason because I just stopped following, the Blazers have become, I would say, one of the least consequential franchises in North American pro sports. And I realized, like, they had some, they had, like, Lillard, but then he was, he was traded. And, you know, like, yeah, I don't even know he came back, right? Like, because it doesn't matter, does it?

Does it do the Portland Trailblazers matter right now? So my question for you is like, where's this going to lead with Dunden leading the team like this? Because, you know, in the NBA, free agency is kind of, it seems like a bigger deal. Because you can make fundamental changes to your team simply by bringing in one guy. There is a softer salary cap. So you can, if you're willing to pay the luxury tax, spend big.

And if you want to attract those players, don't you want to have like, hey, this is a pretty cool team to play for, not like, hey, make sure you're ready to go by 10 a.m. Because we don't do late checkouts here. And, okay, so when Mark Cuban broke in as the Maverick's owner and became a Maverick himself in terms of the way that he did things, he was a disruptor almost a total 180 from Dundon because he came in and said, what can I do to make players the happiest they can be and therefore the best employees they can be? And it was gratuitous over-the-top amenities everywhere, right?

Redoing the dressing room to have everything state of the art, making sure that the plane was custom fit to make sure that like these seven, foot tall basketball players were flying in the almost covered. The tiniest little details to spare no expense to cater to these players. And what happened was is inadvertently or not, Cuban sort of ushered in this era of owners understanding that in a league where it's so star-driven and you can have your entire franchise sort of hang in the balance of one or two singular talents,

you need to cater to these guys, unlike almost any other league, maybe outside of the NFL with quarterbacks. Yeah. Now what you're seeing is Dundon come in and trying to flip that to do another 180, almost entirely on its head and saying, not only am I going to show some financial restraint when it comes to player amenities, I'm going to do it across the board. So they've got a coach in Portland right now named Tiago Splitter, who is, was an assistant coach bumped up, who was an interim. He's done a nice job. He got them into the playoffs. They won yesterday, even though part of that had to do with Wemby getting a concussion and leaving the game. Anyway, the reports are that Dundon has like infamously lowballed Splitter on a new contract offer. I think he's offering them a million bucks, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 50% lower than what every other coach in the NBA is making. Also, they're interviewing other coaches to potentially fill that role while Splitter is coaching the team in the playoffs.

And I've heard some things like Dundon believes that he could go find some anonymous coach in the Euro League right now that could do a comparable job that there's this influx of great basketball minds throughout the globe that could do what he's doing. And another funny story was like to get a name coach like Mike Malone who just took the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina, they offered him something in the neighborhood of $4 million when Malone made $7.5 at a college job to give you an idea of how far off they are. Now, ultimately, the whole idea of whether this is going to work or not is going to come down to wins and losses.

So we're not going to get a verdict or a referendum for a while. But I am fascinated to see how this plays out because there's so much more scrutiny with what he's doing now in the NBA. And it sucks because the NHL doesn't get the coverage that the NBA does. That's just, that's a fact. You do this stuff in NBA circles. You're going to be up for a lot more skepticism and a lot more blowback than you are as the owner of the Carolina Hurricane. I wonder if he might have the same issue as he does in Carolina in that maybe he can put together a decent team that makes a playoffs every year. But if you don't have the guy, you know, I hate saying this, but it's effective.

Like Dran says, the capital D dude. And that's always, that's been the knock on Carolina. They've got some nice players, but they don't have the guy that can help put you over the top. now Carolina might make it happen this year. Who knows? But in the NBA, it's a big deal in the NHL. It's a massive deal in the NBA. Like, I'm glad you brought up Brandon in the context of that conversation

because they went out and tried to get the, again, hate saying it, capital D dude. And what happened? The dude wanted no part of being on that team. He didn't like the style. He didn't like the market. He did not want to be there. And that, I think it speaks volumes

when you go back to what the NBA is all about. and you need star players to do something in that league. Yeah. And I'm more interested in seeing if he's got the stomach for it. I think he's got the stomach for it. I don't know if he does. He didn't face a lot of scrutiny in Carolina. I'll just say it.

That's his personality. Caroline was small and it was folksy and it was kind of an outpost in the NHL. He's a billionaire. He's got his way of doing things. He made money in subprime loans. subprime car loans. Car loans, right? Is that what it was?

Yeah. Which, you know, if you're in that business, you've probably received some criticism. Sure, fair enough. You know, especially if you become a billionaire off essentially lending high interest loans to people, right? I mean, and then he goes to Carolina and it was kind of like his training ground. You know what I don't get? A good way of looking at it. What?

What don't you get? Why doesn't, why does Rob Brindamor stay there? Why doesn't he go and. make a lot of money somewhere else. Job security? Does he just like it there? Is it? Is it better to make... What does he have a 30-year deal or something? Sounds like it. Didn't you hear Frank?

Like it's basically Rod coaches until he decides he doesn't want to coach him. How many other markets are going to give you that? He's going to end up being those... But does the contract say that? Behind Cooper. Well, I think... Here's a thing. If you dig into what Dundon's talking about with coaches, it's... You know, if I find a guy that I really like,

And he's willing to stay on the terms that I provide for him. He will get that security, right? You just don't expect. And my term is you're not going to make very much money. You're not going to make a lot of money. But also, if you work long enough, you'll make the money. And I mean, especially in the National Hockey League where coaching turnover is so frequent. I do wonder if that job security does mean something in terms of, well, I might not make the money in the short amount of time I'm coaching.

But if I'm here for a while, I'll make it. Okay. what else happened yesterday in the NHL that we did not get to? We got to talk about the first ever playoff win for the Utah Mammoth. The retired elephants. Game courtesy. They got a ton. Utah retired elephants.

Logan Cooley scores the go-ahead goal late in the third period to help Utah win their first ever Stanley Cup playoff game. Here's what it sounded like. Cooley with the game winning goal three to win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Vegas in game two. Let's hear it. All of a sudden here comes Dylan got their driving to the Carter, up to see, rebound. Okay, so we've talked about the atmosphere in Buffalo.

Yep. We've talked about the atmosphere that we're going to see in Montreal. Yep. What are we going to see in Utah? Very curious about that. Very curious. I imagine it's going to be pretty energetic. I think it's going to be wild.

Imagine they go on a run first year. I could see it. I could see it. I think the whole thing is wide open. If they beat Vegas, I give them a chance to beat Edmonton. Totally. They're a good team. Yeah. Very good team.

I think it'll be loud. By the way, there was a ton of Utah fans in Vegas last night. It's not that far. Yeah, apparently they travel really well. And I know that Logan Cooley got the goal, but Dylan Gunther was driving that game last night. I'm sure that's music. All of the years of you Vancouver Canucks fans out there,

that Dylan Gunther is driving his team through the playoffs. But he's got, he's got a... Must we do this? So he's fun to watch because he's obviously the strong part of his game is a shot. And he was driving everything through his shooting prowess yesterday. But he does more than just shoot. Yeah, he does for sure, without question.

But the goal that he scored on Carter Hart was a rifle on a one-timer. And then the Cooley goal was generated from like his shot as well. They've got a really good team. They handed the first loss in regulation that Vegas has had under John Tortorella. and, you know, when we were talking about how a young upstart Montreal team is probably happy with the way things went in the first two games in Tampa Bay,

I'd put Utah in the exact same category right now. They've got to be happy with how things went in those first two games in Vegas. What do you think Buffalo is thinking? Because they had that, you're going to have to change a goalie. They had that magical game one comeback, but for most of the game, you know, Jeremy Swayman had shut them down.

Yep. And the fans in Buffalo, don't forget, before they were going crazy. We're kind of booing the team. They were like, we waited all this time for this. Like, let's go, guys. Josh Allen comes out for that huge bump before the game. For game two. And they come out completely flat.

What did you think of his, his beer drinking? I felt like that wasn't his expertise. And I felt like he left a lot of beer in that can. And it was a slim can, too. It was a Michelob Lite. Or a Michelob Ultra. That's what I was wondering. It was a Michelob Ultra.

Yeah. I went golfing with JPE. once and he ordered a Mickelope Ultra and I have not let him forget it. Like every time we go golfing, I'm like, would you like an ultra? One Mickelob Ulta. He's like, enough with that. I'm like, I thought you loved these.

These are great. Low calorie. That's why you looked so good. I bought 30 of them. I don't. You realize if you drink 30, it cancels out the low calorie bar. So they, for their first two games, 15 years of the playoffs, first two games. I mean, you can't pick two, they bring out Rick Generate's wife for the first game to bang the drum.

They bring out Josh Allen, the second one, bang the drum. The electricity and vibes in the building are high. And they didn't play great over the first two games. I mean, they trailed for the majority of game one. In game two, they spotted Boston a four-nothing lead. Ukopeca-lucan, it was not good last night. I mean, I don't know what else to say about it, but I thought the first goal that Arvinson scored wasn't all that great. Yeah. The second goal is geeky, you can't let in. It's funny. I was listening to former NHL goalie Andrew Raycroft working on the broadcast yesterday from the Boston side of

things. And he said it was, he thinks he thinks, it's the worst goal he's ever seen in the NHL playoffs. That goal that geeky scored, because it wasn't even a Sean Annette. Did he see the one that Clucay Leonard? But that's the, at least Lidstrom was shooting the puck. Right. Geeky was flipping it in. Sometimes those, did it take a weird bounce?

Yeah, but those weird bounces can be, I don't know, you know what the problem was. Uh, Ukopekulukinan tried to play with his glove instead of doing the little league grounder routine and get behind the ball. Get your body in front of it, right? Block that thing. Don't let it out of the infield. He didn't do that. You yelling at the TV? I was. I was like, get in front of that.

It's like, what are you scared of getting hurt? Eat a grounder. Shin's like, that'll stop the ball from going on the output. Enough of this, OLEA. Yeah, exactly. But I wonder if they go to Alex Lyon now. Because they did have a good rotation during the regular season. Remember we had Paul Hamilton on the show two weeks ago?

We asked who the starter's going to be. And he said it'll be UPL. But when they played their best hockey this year, it was almost flipping back and forth game in game out with Lion and Lucan. And then they had the third goal in the mix as well. They're going to have to go to Lyon. You think so? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. For sure. I think that's a concern. That's a concern. I think another concern is that Boston is pretty good team. Yeah. Swayman's been very good. They've looked solid.

They didn't seem too rattled yesterday. Even when Marco Sturm called what I called it like a panic timeout after they... Oh, right at the end? Not again, guys. Not again. They went from four nothing to four or two pretty quickly. And Sturm called a timeout. It worked because they managed to settle everybody down.

But I'll be curious. to see how that one changes now they're going to Boston. The other game, we haven't mentioned this one either, the late game last night. We got the audio here as well. In case you missed it, because it ended around 11 o'clock our time, it was the trade deadline acquisition for the Colorado Avalanche, Nick Waugh, scoring the overtime winner to beat the LA Kings

and take a two-nothing series lead. Here's what that one sounded like, Nick Waugh in overtime. Room for Manson, wrist shot, blocked again in front. Score! Wah wins it. Overtime. That was a nice pickup by the Aves. And if you think about how much they've had to replenish the roster

in just the last little while, I mean, the concern was the 2C position after Cadre left. Well, they got him back. He's the 3C now because they also got Brock Nelson from the Islanders. And then they picked up Niqua, who, you know, I think most people when Vegas won the Stanley Cup were like, that guy's a pretty good player. And he plays a heavy,

playoff style. And he was a guy that Leaf fans were excited about because they're like, oh, Baroube, I love this guy. Right? And I'm sure Baroubae did like them, but. It was such a lost season. Yeah, it was such a loss season. And the Leafs turned them into something

in a trade with Colorado. But, you know, you do look at the depth of Colorado now and you're kind of like, that's a pretty good team. It's not just Nate. That game last night, that was LA's chance to steal one in Colorado. Totally. That was it.

they so panarin scored i haven't watched much of this series panarin scored late in the third period on the power play with less than seven minutes remaining to give the kings a one-nothing lead and they couldn't get the job done you know what i actually think i think that l a missed its opportunity to steal a game i think it was last night and i know this is way too early to say this but i'm going to say it anyway i think anaheim blew its chance to steal the game in emminton i think game oh absolutely i think that was the one well they had a it was like what a hot take alfred they had a one well they had a one well they've been got a one goal lead and McDavid didn't get a point. But they've got another game tonight.

It's hard to say that they blew their only chance in game one. Would it be a smart decision for them to win tonight? McDavid's going to get at least three points tonight. There's a smart decision and a hot take. No, I mean, you can't say a smart decision was to win a hockey game, right? Well, it would be a dumb decision to decide to leave. I think the smart decision. I think, yeah, that would be a dumb decision.

I'm just trying to get you. Just trying to get you. Let's go. Well, I was going to get, I was going to actually make the smart decision, I think, would be to go to Alex Lyon in game three for Buffalo and not go back to Peck a And although I think Lindy Ruff's going to stick with UPL because he's old school and he's going to give him another shot at it, I think the smart decision will be going to lie in, but I think they're going to end up going with UPL. Anyway, that is the smart decision brought to you by Crow. You're trusting accounting and tax advisors for over 55 years.

Crow, smart decisions lasting value. Learn more at cromachai.com. Two hours of the show in the books, hour three coming up. It's Randy Janda on the other side. You're listening to The Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650.