Halford & Brough in the Morning - Frank Seravalli On The Leverage Tocchet Has On The Canucks

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the top NHL stories of the day with Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli (1:20), they speak with Vancouver Giants head coach Manny Viveiros (24:19) as his squad gets ready for playoff action, plus they chat with New York Islanders radio commentator Chris King (30:51), as the Isles get set to host the Canucks this evening. 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.

Frank! Cerebelli, cerebelli, cerebelli. Frank! Cerebelli, Frank! Cerebelli, Frank! Daily face-off, Frank! Cerebelli! Frank! Daily face-off! Frank! 702 on a Wednesday! Happy Wednesday everybody!

Frank! You are listening to the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Haliford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. We are in hour two of the program. As the music suggests, Frank Saravalli from Daily Face Off 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 on the internet at Jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, Frank Ceravalli from Daily Face Off joins us now on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Frank, how are you? Pretty good, how are you guys doing? We're well, we want to start with the, uh, development in Philadelphia with Flyers head coach,

John Tortorello from yesterday. I'm going to throw to the audio after the game. This is Torz speaking about his team and having to coach this team after another loss. There's six in the row. This one, a seven to two loss in Toronto. We'll play the audio and get your thoughts on the other side.

Here's John Tortorello for following last night's loss in Toronto. We'll play the audio and get your thoughts on the other side. Here's John Tortorello following last night's game against Toronto. When you're in this type of situation and you're losing all the time and there's nothing at the end of the tunnel for you, there's certainly going to be some frustration. But this falls on me. I'm not really interested in learning how to coach this type, in this type of season where we're at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this type of season where we're at right now. Uh, but I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play, uh, the proper way until we get to the end. Your thoughts on what torts had to say after another dismal

outing for the Flyers last night. Well, on the one hand, kind of feels like classic John Tortorella, right? Your team gets slapped seven to two in Toronto, and you know that there's gonna be a throng of media waiting for your comments. And frankly, before his media availability even started, I'd seen some people, including my colleague at Daily Faceoff, Matt Larkin,

tweet over and under on how many seconds long his media availability lasts. So he's got a group of media that are hanging on every word and then you feed them the pound of beef, some flesh, and you get them talking about you and instead of your team and the players playing as poorly as they did. That's on one hand. And on the other hand, I'm noticing or seeing a coach who for the last couple seasons now has given off hints that he'd rather be in the front office than on the bench, he's watched games from the press box pre-season and, and otherwise. He's taken practices and and

media veils where he hands off the duties to his assistants and it looks like a guy who's either out of answers or only wants to coach winners and I don't know which one's worse. So it's it's a lot to process and I'd love to know which one is the real answer. Is it that he was just deflecting or is this a guy who's reached the end with his team? Right. So let's try and piece this together. So he says what he says last night.

He's given off some of the visual cues that you're talking about. He's going to be 67 in June. He's been doing this for an awfully long time. And this Flyers team doesn't seem like it's going to get a whole heck of a lot better in the immediate future. What does it say for John Tortorella's future based on all that? I think they're moving on whether it's his decision or not. He has one year left on his contract after this one and I think it's in the best interest of the team and frankly I've said

of the team and frankly I've said for years consistently now great coach wrong coach for this team this is a team that should be trying to accumulate as many draft picks as possible yet last season held down a playoff spot until just about last week mid-march in the season and then crumpled and ended up picking toward the middle of the first round. This year they're in a spot where they're potentially picking top five, but what if you had stacked three of these draft classes together as opposed to just one? And so that part I think undeniably he's a good coach that squeezes every last drop out of his players and as much as the league or

John Tortorello or even the Flyers want to talk about quote playing the right way, that's great. But there's definitely some other teacher that's available to do that, that isn't going to squeeze every last drop out that's going to leave your franchise in a better spot as it's going through a rebuild. You can't unring the bell, but I think they need a change. Okay. I'll just throw the question out there. Do you think the Flyers job would be attractive to Rick Tocket? Why wouldn't it be?

He's very close with Keith Jones. He I'm sure of course has interacted at some point with Danny Breyer. Probably, not probably, I know he loves the market. He's a fan favorite and he's as mentioned on this program repeatedly which somehow became a controversial thing on social media. He he assembled one of the top five coaching staffs in the NHL. Fact, not opinion. And top to bottom, that includes assistants that players love to play for.

So I think he'd be an attractive fit for the Flyers if they make a change. And I can't imagine that they wouldn't be on the list of teams that he'd consider, even if the team is not necessarily heading in the right direction, standings wise. Um, how much leverage does Tocket have in this

situation? I mean, with the, with the teams that you've reported would be interested in hiring Rick Tocket combined with the fact that management in Vancouver has made it very, very clear that they want Rick tock it longterm. And if Rick leaves, that does not make them look good. I think he's got a ton of leverage.

I mean, the tough part for me is again, asking the question, why wasn't this done last summer? If you're a believer in the coach, if you're a believer in the messaging, if you're a believer in where your team is heading, why not just step up last year, heading into the final year of his deal and get it done? Doesn't, still doesn't make sense to me, does not compute. And so what it's done is,

it's hurt the Canucks, the longer this has dragged on because he has all the leverage, even in this disastrous season in which, you know, we've reached, it feels like at times our pets heads are falling off stage that you watch a game like the other night and you go, that's, that's not a team that's quit on the coach. Nope. That's a coach that has his team well prepared to play with Pew suitor playing one C. I mean, I can't imagine that there's many coaches in a better position today than Rick Tocket.

With regards to that Philadelphia job, when you said, no, why wouldn't you? What would be the one hesitation? My answer would have probably been between the pipes, where it's been, I mean, that's been a real problem this year. I know the team's got a talent deficiency and Torts, it's probably not the most inspiring coaching job of the year, but the issues in net are glaring,

capital G glaring. Is there any solution on the horizon there? There really isn't. And I'll take it a step further. I think the biggest concern that I would have if you're looking long term is the flyers don't really have any of the key positional boxes checked as part of the rebuild. So they've got something we don't know exactly what it is yet in Matvei Michkov, but he's a winger and he's not fast. You don't have a goalie, you don't have a franchise

defenseman, and you don't have a franchise center. Those are three key areas. May that change in June in the draft? Yes. Let's see how the ping pong balls fall. But right now they've got a lot of work left to do. They've got plenty of wingers. They've got other offensive talent on the way. Alex bump looks really promising as a late round pick at Western Michigan.

Like they've got interesting pieces. They've got other defensemen, they just don't have a top defenseman. And I just think those going through that process to check more of those boxes, they need time. So bringing it back to the Canucks and Rick Tocket, besides a boatload of money, what is it do you think that would convince Rick Tocket to stay, to remain

as head coach of the Canucks? It's a great question. I would think some promise on the direction of the team. What's your game plan to get this roster back to the level that it was at this time last year. It's not an easy question to answer because there aren't definite answers, but as you're looking at the competitive landscape, when you consider where the Canucks are at, obviously levels above where the Flyers could be, but just to use as a hypothetical example,

there are going to be other teams that are closer to where the Canucks are heading and we haven't really had the discussion yet on Pedersen and the no trade clause kicking in and is he going to be part of it or not. So yeah then the next question is what's the true outlook for Thatcher Demko and his injury and you start to you know ask a series of those questions in order and you try and formulate as best you can a view of what the entire landscape looks like and where the Canucks fit in it. And I think that's really the question at the end of the day that matters.

We're speaking of Frank Ceravalli from Daily Faceoff here on the Haliford and Brush Show on Sportsnet 650. The Connexion are going to take on the New York Islanders tonight, Frank, an Islanders team that's fighting for its playoff life. And they had a very controversial moment in their previous game against Columbus when it looked like Kyle Palmeri had scored the game winner late, only to have it disallowed for goalie interference. Then no overturn on the video

review and that led Patrick Waugh, the Islanders head coach to say, if Toronto is afraid to overturn calls by the referee, we don't need Toronto. I bring this up because this is just a week removed from the NHL GM's meetings in Florida where it felt like they went over goalie interference quite thoroughly and I know you wrote about it for daily face-off so Worked through this with me here. What sort of came from those meetings first in Florida regarding goalie interference and what specifically were they discussing? So they went through 54 of their toughest challenges With video and then they voted on them. Is the way that we've called these

sequences, is this to your liking? Is this the way that you think that play should have gone whether it was goal or no goal? And on 52 out of the 54 the GM has voted that they were in agreement and in lockstep with how the NHL situation room ultimately ruled. Okay. So that brings us then to the Islander situation, which by the way, Patrick Wall should be fine. I mean, he's basically questioning the competitive integrity of the league. Yes. And I understand the frustration, but having sat through that presentation myself along with other media members, it was about an hour long and we went through a lot of the same clips. I was able to put together a guideline and checklist of exactly how

the Situation Room does it. And leaving there, obviously having posted the story on daily face-off and I tweeted it yesterday if you want to find it, it's evergreen. Like honestly, you could bookmark it because any time a goalie interference challenge comes up, you just call it up and ask yourself the series of questions that I posed because it points you in the right direction now. And I think where I come out on it is it doesn't really matter what my opinion is or what Patrick Wa's opinion is or anyone else. This is how the Situation Room is doing it and they've just gotten the stamp of approval or another vote of confidence from the GMs who are the guys who direct the Situation Room on how to call it.

It's not going anywhere unless there's a drastic rule change coming. So this is the way they're doing it. And one of the criteria on the guideline is, essentially was the call on the ice no goal? If it's no goal, that was number two on the list, was the contact deliberate. If the referee determines that it was deliberate

from standing five feet away, 99 times out of 100, the situation room's not overturning it. Because it is so rare that a goal is waved off in real time, in that case, they view it as the referee being that close has so much conviction to call it no goal, that clearly there was something significant there and they're not going to go back on that. And it might have been a different situation had it been ruled a goal and then the situation room has to look at it but that's neither here nor there. Go through

the checklist and go through the possibilities up. It's not a like it or not. It's this is what it is. I thought the same thing about Wa's comments and then, are you surprised, like I was, that there wasn't any fine almost in the immediacy of saying that? Sometimes those take a little bit of time. Okay. Like I remember, was it last week, another coach was fined for,

I guess, whatever they call it an appropriate gestures or abusive officials 25,000 bucks the fine came five days after a game was played right so I think they review it and they all take a time take a beat to take a deep breath but I mean I wouldn't be surprised to see one that's for sure I think it's deserving we're speaking to Frank Sarah Valley from daily Face-Off here in the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. So the Isles, as mentioned, if they get a win tonight,

they move into the second and final wild card spot in the East, and it would be at the expense of the Montreal Canadiens, who have had a great run recently, although they got thumped last night in St. Louis. And I know that you recently spoke with Canadian's GM, Kent Hughes, about this season, where the Habs are at. We've kind of been fans of what has happened this year because it's been a long time since playoff hockey

has been in Montreal. It might not happen this year, but the team is certainly on the right trajectory. What were your takeaways from speaking with Hughes and what's the next step in the rebuild for the Habs? Well, they want to be aggressive this summer, there's no doubt, but they're really careful about free agency and it's not that they don't wanna spend,

they're the Montreal Canadiens, of course they could spend, but he said pretty clearly that they wanna make, quote, an intelligent decision and what that means is it might feel really good to sign a guy to an eight year deal on July 1 and he can help you in years 2 & 3, 1, 2 & 3 to get going but then what happens to the latter half of that contract and their view in building this team with honestly draft picks that are still to come and prospects that they have so many that they won't be able to sign them all, their view is to be a sustainable contender for a 10-year period of time.

So if you've got four or five years of that window that are being chewed up by a guy on an eight-year contract that's hurting you, look no one has a crystal ball and can understand exactly how quickly that shift happens, but there's a lot of contracts that we all see that are signed as free agents that you go oh that one's not gonna age well right and so I think what you're gonna see is them avoiding dipping their toe into that water I see them being much more aggressive on the trade front I think they had spent the final 48 hours of trade deadline,

you know, going over a larger hockey trade that might've been a difference maker. That they're always open to conversations like that and trying to find players that fit their age scheme as opposed to going out and spending in free agency. Frank, this was great, man. As always, thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it.

Enjoy the rest of the week in the games tonight. We'll do this again next week See you guys. See you later That's Frank Sir Valley from daily face-off here on the health of the rough show on sports net 650 two takeaways there one all the stuff on talk it then to what they were trying to build a Montreal colony like a sustainable Sustainable contender not just like year-over-year, but multiple years in a row I prefer year to year though because it's a surprise every time you're like, what do like year over year, but multiple years in a row. I prefer year to year though, because it's a surprise every time. You're like, what do we got this year?

We're going to make the playoffs. Oh, we're not going to make the playoffs. I that's also got to do with an entertainment product. Right. Exactly. But that's also got to do with, I think when Rick Tocket is going to Team that makes the playoffs every year, that makes the regular season so boring. Yeah.

Rick's like, I want to live the highs and lows. year that makes the regular season so boring. Yeah. Rick's like, I want to live the highs and lows. I mean, if you're going to, if you're going to sell a coach that has an option to leave on the future direction of the team, I would say that a good selling point would be like, we want to build a contender, a sustainable contender where year over

year, we've got a plan in place so that if everything doesn't go a hundred percent right, it doesn't throw our entire season off kilter. That's what sustainable is, right? You have a model and a bunch of best practices and contingency plans and depth and organizational depth that if something doesn't go exactly right, you're able to withstand it. So I know there's some disagreement in the marketplace about the merits of Rick Taukead

as a head coach. I think he's a good head coach. You think he's a good head coach. A lot of people do, but a lot of people don't. And even Rick Taukead would admit, hey, when you have a season like this, people are going to dive in and they're going to take issue with some of the things that you've done.

And that's fine. Can we all agree? Can we all agree? Bring we all agree, bring together everyone and agree that if Rick Tocket decides to leave and take another job, that is a terrible look for management? Yes. I will agree with it. That will be very, very embarrassing.

I think it's hard to get universal agreement because I guarantee there'll be someone just to be a contrarian, but I almost, almost universally, if Tocket walks away from the gig, there will be major questions and major scrutiny of the guys that hired him in the first place. Yes.

How could you not convince him to stay? And if you can't convince your head coach to stay, how are you going to convince Quinn Hughes to stay? That's a fair line of questioning and I'm sure they'll be able to spin it in some way, but when you put yourself out there the way that Patrick Alveen has and said, we

want Rick Tauke. Yep. Right. And he doesn't have the leverage that he did with Ilias Pettersson when they leaned on Ilias Pettersson said, we want this guy to sign, we want him to make a decision and we want it now. Because remember the leverage was, well, if you

don't sign here, we're trading you to Carolina. So he went, so Pedersen went, okay, fine. I wanted to wait until the off season, but I guess I'll do this. And they gave him a lot of money, right? They gave him a big contract. And at the time his agents were probably telling him like, sign this contract. I don't know if you've seen how you're playing, but sign this contract. It's a lot of money.

I don't know if you've seen how you're playing, but signing this contract is a lot of money. You can always convince people with a lot of money and maybe this is what Rick Tuckett wants. And if it is, then his strategy is playing out. He's got all the leverage in this situation. But when you think about the potential job openings in Philly, the New York Rangers are probably going to be

looking for a new head coach. Chicago Canucks might be looking for a new head coach. All the leverage seems to be Tockett's right now. And if he says no to the Canucks, won't look good for this management group. So we're out of time now, unfortunately. We wanted to get to a piece that Ian McIntyre wrote, who's been doing great work on the road,

by the way, be sure to check it out at Sportsnet.ca. The headline is, Tocket emptying the tank amid season of upheaval. And it's an interesting story because it seems as though that Tocket sat down and was really sort of reflective and anecdotal and speaking with IMAC about a couple of players and the culture, building, sustaining all of it in Vancouver and who some of the key guys were. We can get into it later in the show. We've still got a lot of guests to get to on the program. Coming up on the other side of the break,

we have a two-guester coming up. We're gonna talk to Manny Vivaros, the head coach of the Vancouver Giants. That's gonna be next. And then after him, we're gonna talk to Chris Clark, who's the play-by-play voice on the radio. Chris King. Chris King after him, we're going to talk to Chris Clark, who's the play by play voice on the radio. Chris King. Chris King. Sorry, Chris Clark.

Chris King, the play by play voice. Yes, laddie. Also former captain. Yes. The Washington Capitals. That's who I was thinking of. I was like, Clarky. Oh, yeah. Chris Clark. No, Chris King. Still also very good radio play by play voice of the New York Islanders tonight's opponent, 430 puck drop from New York.

It is the Canucks and the Islanders. You can hear it all right here on Sportsnet 650. We gotta go to break. When we come back, Manny Viveros is gonna join us to look ahead at the Western Hockey League playoffs. It's the Vancouver Giants and the Spokane Chiefs. It gets underway on Friday. You're listening to the Halford and Bref Show

on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strantz. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app As levis in for a halibut a looking press it's got spit in and he scores His 40th of the season just the the sixth Giants to ever score 40 or more goals in a single season.

732 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Halford Ruff, Sportsnet 650. Halford Ruff of the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for sales,

financing, service or parts. We are in our two of the program. Bank of a giants head coach, Manny Viveros is going to join us in just a moment here. Our two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominock from 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 on the internet at jason.mortgage. There will definitely be some playoff hockey locally.

It begins on Friday at the Langley Event Center. It's the Giants, it's the Spokane Chiefs. Joining us now to preview the series, Giants head coach Manny Viveros here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Manny, how are you? Good morning guys, I'm doing fine, thank you. So you're gonna not only start the playoffs this Friday,

but you get to start them at home. Despite being the lower seed than the Spokane Chiefs, you guys are going to get to start at the Langley Event Center because the Women's March Madness is going on in Spokane. So what does it mean, and how excited are you guys not just to be able to start the Western Hockey League playoffs, but get to start them at home at the Friendly Confines at Langley

Events Center? Well, I certainly think it's gonna be a big part of this series here. Obviously, you know, a little bit of luck on our part as far as with their building availability in Spokane, but you know, having said that for us at home here, we're gonna to have the last change for the first two games here, which would be really, really important for our group, especially against a couple of the lines that Spokane has. And you know, our home record has been really good this year, and I think a lot of it has to do with our having the opportunity to have that last change that whole night.

Let's talk about the opponent here. Spokane, very good regular season record. Andrew Crystal lit it up ever since coming over at the trade deadline. You guys did play them close this year though, while the record might not reflect it. The games were pretty tight. How do you feel you match up with Spokane? I like it. We realized Spokane, they're one of the lead teams in the league, especially the moves they made at the trade deadline to strengthen their team. But I've liked the way we played them this year. Every time we played them, we haven't been completely healthy as a group and now we're healthy going

to the playoffs for the first time this year. So, obviously, the formidable challenge here that one line of a cat and with Crystal, and it's really important for our group to be aware of them on the ice still. But having said that, we're going to respect how good they are, but we're not going to be scared of them too. So I like our team and I think our matchups, you know, we have an opportunity to go head to head against these guys and, you know, hopefully win those matchups. You've got a guy that can put the puck in the back of the net as well, and Cameron Schmidt, 17 years old. So it's a big moment for him

in his career and a big playoff series, obviously going head to head with one of the elite teams in the dub. What can fans expect to see from Cameron Schmidt? What are you guys expecting from Cameron Schmidt in this playoff series? Well, yeah, I think, you know, this second year of, you know, of experience compared to what he had last year, the six nil against, you know, against Everton that first round last year, I think that experience that all our players that he had last year, the six-nil against Everton in that first round last year. I think that experience that all our players that were involved last year, it's going to be so valuable for our group going forward.

We can rely on the experiences that we had last year as far as the good times or the diversity throughout the playoffs. And with Cameron, like anything, the game changes and we've talked to him about it and our group about it at playoff time, how important or the significance of every little shift and every detail within our game here. We're going to have to wrap that up just a little bit more. I want Cameron and expect Cameron to go play his games. We get an opportunity to shoot the puck. He's going to shoot the puck. And if we don't have the puck, he's got to be in position to come back and defend and prepare to

defend against a good hockey team too. And that's just not just Cameron, but that's the whole mindset of our group here. And if we have that together collectively, I think we have a really good chance. How has Cameron dealt with just the pressure and the expectations, not only, you know, you're going to expect him to score and be a factor in this series against Spokane, but also there's a lot of talk about

where he's going to go in the draft this summer and for a teenager, that's a lot to deal with. I certainly agree. You know, I think it's something that Cameron's done a really good job of it this year. One of the big areas with Cameron, he went through a bit of a slump probably about a couple of weeks ago and he hasn't scored in about six or seven games, which he's never had that in his career. So we tried to work with him as far as accepting this adversity and this is going to happen in your career later on here, but you can't score every shift, you can't score every game. So you got to be doing other things on the ice too.

And I think this last month of the season, Cameron has really bought into the idea that how effective he can be without having to score every time. And he's really made strides as far as his speed is back. Like it's just one of those things where he's back and he's skating and he's checking with his legs and he's creating a lot of opportunities

through his speed alone here and that's something He's gonna understand going into playoffs Spokane is gonna play him really hard and really heavy and he's gonna have to expect that too But you know that experience he had last year is gonna be really valuable for this year You can always look back on the results and how you fared against the team But the reality is it doesn't really matter because it's what's in front of you. So with that being said, looking ahead, improving what's to come, what do you think the one key to this series against Spokane is going to be?

We're going to check. That's the biggest thing. They, you know, they're, they've got four lines and they're fast and we have to make sure we get above pucks and keep them between our net. And that's a big thing for us also too. And with that, like any team, if you check, we check with your legs, keep your feet moving all the time like that, you're gonna create a lot of chances, especially the junior hockey league level here like that. I think, you know, it's something that, you know,

if we've been trying to stress all the time here, checking doesn't mean just you're playing defense. Checking means you're getting on the fore check. Checking means you're being aggressive in the neutral zone on your routes or your back checks. So that's for me, if we do that and we're skating and getting above teams

and we're getting pucks in behind them, we're a pretty effective hockey team. The Vancouver Giants are in action this Friday, game one of their series against Spokane. A reminder we're going to be giving away tickets today. Call our number five at 815 this morning the number 604-280-650. That number again 604-280-650 if you want to see Manny and the rest of the Vancouver Giants on Friday. Manny thank you very much for doing this day we really appreciate it.

Best of luck against Spokane. Hopefully you guys can advance to the second round Thanks guys. Always a pleasure. Thanks for coming on. We appreciate it That's Vancouver Giants head coach Manny Vivaros here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650 the playoff chase for the Vancouver Canucks continues tonight 430 puck drop from New York against the Islanders joining us now for more on the New York Islanders. It is their radio play-by-play man, Chris King, here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Chris, how are you?

I'm great, how are you guys doing? We're good, thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. Big game for both teams tonight. The New York Islanders much closer to the final wild card spot in the East and the Canucks are to it in the West. So the Isles are 3-0 and 3 in their last six.

They're racking up points, they're scratching and they're clawing. What's been the story of these last six games for the Isles as they look to get into that second and final wild card spot? Yeah, I think it's just that guys, just trying to find a way to get points and it hasn't been pretty sometimes. They've certainly wasted away points on nights where it should have been two points and they had to settle for one but as you said you know when it's points in six straight and especially on home ice now where

they've got points in 12 of the last 14 they found a way to hang in there they got a lot of help on the out-of-town scoreboard last night and with a win tonight they're back in a playoff spot for the first time since November the 19th that's the last time they held a playoff spot at night and so uh... you know they hope it's a big night obviously your side hope it's not there and you guys are are chasing the hottest even the nl right now in st louis but uh... it's just that it's it's the ability to come up with points every single night

even if it's not the two that you want it's that you're finding ways to pick up one in these you know recent overtime and shootout losses how of uh... how the aisles convinced themselves that they didn't wave the white flag when they traded Brock Nelson? Well, you know, I think the fact that it was only Brock Nelson was a sign that, you know, they didn't

wave the white flag. And, you know, you look at the haul they got for Brock Nelson. I mean, they got Cal Richie who, you know, they project as certainly a future number one center. And they got a first round draft pick. And pick and you know and Brock Nelson has since helped the island is out quite a bit by doing some good things with the Avs in it in particular you know a huge game at Bell Center against Montreal the team the Islanders are chasing so I think the fact that Lou Lemerell didn't

make any other deals and just you know decided hey look we've got a strike when the irons hot on Brock Nelson and get the best package we can and he certainly did and a perfect example of that is there was talk that you know that Kyle Palmieri who was also an unrestricted free agent to be would also go but Lou said you know look we're very close in negotiations with Kyle and we're going to try to just finish that out you know rather than trade him away and there certainly were other players they could have dealt so I think you know Lou kind of found that middle ground of not risk losing Brock Nelson for nothing if you don't get something for him at the deadline, but yet bring back a nice package

for him and yet hold on to all the other assets that you still have. And I think that's the reason why they've kept the core together and made this push and here they are banging on the door once again. We're speaking to New York Islanders radio play-by-play man Chris King here on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. The Connex of course are in New York to take on the Islanders tonight. 430 puck drop you can hear it all right here on Sportsnet 650. Bo Horvat, former Vancouver Connex captain obviously now a member of the New York Islanders. How has his season been? I know he's been on a tear lately.

He's been racking up points as the Isles are continuing to fight for their playoff lives. How would you classify Bo Horvat's year in New York? Yeah, I would say great guys. Again, as you said, he's kind of been on a tear of late, so he's taken over the team lead in scoring. He's got 49 points going in tonight. Just a model of consistency really though.

This is probably the hottest streak that he's been on uh... four game point streak coming in and and uh... golden for the last six games so he's been read out and i think that the biggest thing is to his credit to those who aren't following the island is the plan all along when they made the deal for both or that was to have a play with matt barzell and matt barzell has basically been out injured the entire season he's had two lengthy injuries so that you know dream of whore that and

barzell together was very short-lived and really you know didn't have the chance to you know come to fruition this season basically at all so the fact that bo has had just a variety of wingers and none of which is the guy that you know the island is really wanted him to play with has proven that you know he can play with anybody and he can make the players around him better and uh... especially in key moments i mean he's got three overtime winners already this year and since the trade he's got six overtime game-winning goals which is not type of third most of any player in the national hockey league so it's

not just you know random point it's huge goals huge overtime winning goals and just really uh... done a great job on the face-off dot it is always done in his career, provided the leadership in that room, especially since Nelly's left. I think he stepped up that role a little bit, obviously that you guys saw in Vancouver where he was the captain there for the last four years. The team lead with 49 points in 69 games for Horvat. Good for Horvat, but is that where the Isles have struggled this year?

I mean, we make no bones about it. I mean, in Vancouver, they often go into games and they have trouble scoring. And if they score three goals, that's considered a success. Is that how it's been in New York this year? Yeah, there've been times that way. There were other times where, you know, they've gone on some burners where they've put up the goals,

but yeah, I still think that that becomes it but you know when you have Elias Sorokin when he's hot and he's on his game you know he can steal games for you if you don't score so certainly that's been one area but much more that the problem areas have been both sides of the special teams for a long stretch this year they were dead last in both categories and now just like scratching and clawing to stay out of the basement so that's been a big problem and and recently on this homestand you know something has reared its head that was a problem early in the year and that was

blown third period lead. So just the inability to close out when you have that lead in the third period and each of in fact each of the three games on this homestand so far there's been a point there that you know they could have had or prevented an opponent from getting that they're in the chase with that they gave up in the third period so I would I would recognize you know point out those areas more so than the lack of goals or scoring certainly to be dead last in both power play and penalty kill and to have all those third period blown leads if I went back and ended up all the points that they've you know given away in the

third period late they'd be comfortably in a playoff spot right now rather than trying to win tonight to leapfrog the Canadians into one. I was doing furious New York Islanders prep last night. So is Adam Boquist the winger now? Okay, here's the story guys. It's actually a pretty interesting one. No, he is definitely not. But here's what's happened with Adam Boquist. He's a defenseman.

He's never played anywhere but since he was a little kid, he told us he was a forward way back then. It's funny the reason he switched to defense though, he told us as a forward, playing juniors and mites, he just didn't feel like he had the puck enough. So he said, I found out when I played defense, I had the puck a lot more and I played a lot more. So that's when he switched over to defense, even though obviously his brother yes for uh... you know stayed up as a forward but in a couple recent games uh... the island has had some sickness some illness up front

and uh... in anaheim patrick was said you know let me try let me try put him on the fourth line center so he played fourth line center in anaheim he did ok and then monday night in the game against columbus we had uh... hudson bashing out ill so he'd been the third line right wing and he'd been playing really well there but Patrick said you know what I like what I saw from Adam in Anaheim let me give him a try there so he puts Boquist as third line right wing and he comes up with two assists so I'm not saying it's going to be a permanent switch but part of it is as well that Patrick Wile really likes him on one of those power play units. So it's the old, you know, 11-7 technically,

but you're playing him as a forward and having him in your arsenal to work on one of those power play units as well. But it's crazy how it's worked out in the Anaheim game, he had an assist too, and now he got two helpers. So really in two games up front, the career defenseman has three points, not bad at all. What are the main things that Patrick Waugh

preaches as a head coach? Like what are his go-to lines? I think just positivity guys. That's the thing. It's crazy, but you know, you think about all these things he's done in his career, obviously his hall of fame career. But I think, you know, when you talk to the

players, it's passion, it's intensity. Uh, to me, that's not at the level it was as a player and even in his first go roundround coaching in colorado where you know you've seen some of the videos of what he's done on the bench but he certainly have learned to mellow himself out a little bit although monday night might have been you know the most angry we've seen him in his islanders stint uh... with an overturned goal call that i don't want to get into how egregious it was uh... but uh... I think just always positivity.

Always, always, always positivity at the lowest point of the season. He's trying to point out the positives, just trying to keep it on an even keel, but be that positive presence in the room, but just passion, intensity, emotion. He brings all those things that he brought as a player, right? Those things he still does, but yet he's been able to tamp it down a bit so it doesn't get to the point where he blows up and loses cool as he often did as a player and certainly as the Aves head coach in his first go-round behind an NHL bench. What can you say about the impact that Tony D'Angelo has made to this team since coming

aboard midway through the season? Yeah, it's really crazy guys because for those who don't follow the Islanders, they had one game during the year this season where they lost three defensemen in the same game. Three of their starting six defensemen all went out in the same game. And Lou Lamorello realized, I have to do something and I have to do something quick. So he got three different defensemen in three different ways. He got Tony D'Angelo out of the KHL over in Russia. He got Scott Perunovitch in a trade with st louis and he got adam boquist on

waivers from the florida panthers but tony d angelo has just been a revelation he got fourteen points in his twenty three games with the islanders now and that's the most of almost points among all defenseman on the team since he came over and i'm looking at what he's done recently six assists in the last five games so you know he's provided the offense that he always has but the key thing i think is patrick why recently said i love what he's doing defensively and i've talked to tony about this tony knows that's always been the knock on his

game yes he can provide points he can quarterback the power play he can rush the park he's got that great first outlet pass but it was you know that the defensive part of being a defenseman but when patrick was praising that part of his game i think it did a lot to help build his confidence and he's really form the nice partnership immediately on that top pair with alex ramon of so ramona of the exact opposite he could stay at home he's the banger he the shop locker so you know they really do compliment each other very well but of all the defenseman that lou lamrell picked up in in that desperate situation d ang's the guy who's been so good that right now one of those top six who is out

right now is Scott Mayfield, who's a healthy scratch because Tony D's been so good. He's kept his place in the lineup and pushed Mayfield aside, at least for the time being. You played almost 27 minutes for the last game. That was wild. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, Chris, thanks a lot for doing this today, man. We really appreciate it. It's going to be a good game tonight. Enjoy it. All right. Thanks for having me guys.

Much appreciated. Yeah. Thanks for coming on. That's Chris King, New York Islanders Radio Play by Playman here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. So I do want to get into this because this is starting to become a very big story.

Uh, Alfonso Davies. Um, this is yet another big story, Alfonso Davies. This is yet another big story for Canada soccer. And he has got a knee injury. He's torn his ACL. Torn his ACL. Okay. A lot of you probably heard that already. Jesse Marsh after the Mexico game said, I think he's going to be okay.

Well, he's not okay. He's torn his ACL and his agent, Alfonso Davies agent, um, told Christian Jack, um, I am very disappointed. Alfonso was not a hundred percent after the Mexico game and it was planned that he was not going to start against the Americans. On Saturday night, the expectation was he would not be in the starting 11. As a captain, I feel, this is Agent saying, I feel he was pressured to start the game

by the coach. Alfonso is not the kind of guy to say no in those moments. He ended up playing and look what happened. Canada Soccer needs to do a better job managing these players in my opinion. Alfonso is down and obviously really disappointed about this injury. Thankfully he has wonderful hands with a world class group at Bayern who will take great care of him. He is expected to have the surgery within

the next 24 hours. More drama for Canada Soccer. Yep. care of him, he is expected to have the surgery within the next 24 hours. More drama for Canada soccer. Yep. And this is worst case scenario. Uh, Davies. Not only was there an injury to Alfonso Davies, Canada is essentially being blamed for it.

Davies has struggled with his health this year. I mean, it's, it's been well covered and well documented that he's had health issues this year. It's been well covered and well documented that he's had health issues this season. This is obviously one side of the story, what the agent is putting forth. The game ultimately, even though they really wanted to beat the US, was meaningless and with the benefit of hindsight, I'll say this. He didn't need to start and he didn't need to play that game. I think there would have been more to be gained by having squad and rotational players,

giving them the opportunity and stepping up and playing, as opposed to playing them in that match. Yeah, if it was the final, maybe it's different. Right? It was a proving point for Jesse Marsh in the program to beat the US. I get it. And it meant a lot, especially given the

geopolitical strife. But what happened after Davies went out might've been more beneficial in terms of team bonding and comradery and like Nico Seeger, who hasn't played at. Not because of the injury, but just because of the guys who got the opportunity. Because guys were able to rally in the face

of adversity and get an opportunity, right? And with every, you know, dark cloud comes a silver lining and injury happens, but someone gets a chance because of that. Um, I don't love that the agent has put this out there, but I got a feeling that that was probably the thing that was front of mind for Davies because this season is ruined with Bayern now and they still have a lot to play for, including the all-important Club World Cup. So he's also going to miss the, I don't know

if you and Dodd went over this last week when I was away, but Canada, uh, threw together that tournament that they're going to play a series of friendlies and they've got like, I want to say it's Ukraine, in Toronto, I think so. Ukraine, Ivory coast. And I can't remember the third team off the top of my head, but he's going to miss all those

games as well. Say what you will about friendlies that are thrown together for a June window. This Canadian team needs to play matches together when they're healthy. Now, if Davies wasn't able to go and wasn't scheduled to start against the US, then he should have been held out.

New Zealand is the other team. Thank you, New Zealand. But it doesn't look good for Jesse Marsh when he admits that Davies was nursing a bit of an injury and had to undergo a fitness test before the American match. I'm going to need to hear. It doesn't look good. I'm going to need to hear from Jesse Marsh about

the allegations made here because the allegations made here are kind of serious. Like on Saturday night, he wasn't in the starting 11 and Sunday morning he was. It's a pretty big change. Like this, you know. Well, that's what, I mean, it makes sense. Again, he had to, there was a fitness test done

right before the match. Like you're ready to go. And Davies was probably like, well, it sounds like my coach really wants me to play in this. Right. And Marsh took that USA game very seriously. This, the anecdote does not surprise me in the slightest.

Marsh was showing his guys the three fights between Canada and the U S at the four nations tournament to fire his guys up. He, he's American. He felt spurned by US soccer by not getting the job that went to Mauricio Pochettino. There is a lot into that. And then you saw in the match, how fired up Marsh was. Yeah, he got kicked out.

Yeah. I mean, you could say that maybe. Neither Davies or Marsh finished the match. Right. Maybe his he got kicked out. Yeah. I mean, you could say that maybe. Neither Davies or Marsh finished the match. Right. Maybe his emotions got the best of him. It's going to be a major talking point moving forward. Now here's the thing. This happens a lot in football when guys

leave their club teams who pay them all the money and who they have contracts with to go represent their country where they're not doing it for free, but there's always that push and pull. Guys getting hurt on international duty is nothing new. It happens a lot. With this particular instance though, the argument is he's way on international duty. He's not a hundred percent.

And he played the tough match. The big match was Mexico. If you won that one, then you had an even bigger match. But when you lose, everyone understands that you're playing in the consolation final. Everybody. Right. It was the, I mean, the U S were kind of making the argument that it's part of the reason why

they didn't play all that well. Yeah. In the third, fourth place game because it was a third, fourth place game. So there's going to, this is going to be a major, major story moving forward. The good news, I guess, is that the injury happens. Iron's going to be like, I guess, is that the injury happens.

Bayern's going to be like, we Germans are not all smiles and sunshine. They will, and they're not. The Germans are mad at me. Who? Historically, they're not. Um, well, it also sucks for Alfonso Davies. Like we need this guy a hundred percent for

the world cup. Thank God it happened now as opposed to five months away from the world cup, where it would have ruled him out entirely. 15 months away he can go get the surgery, recover and hopefully be back in tip top shape in time for 2026. Okay, we're way up against it for time.

We gotta go to break when we come back. Randy Jand is gonna join us. Canucks color analyst is gonna join us for a breakdown of tonight's game. Canucks Islanders 430. You can hear it all right here on Sportsnet 650. You're listening to the Halford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650.